The Gates of Hades
0337, November 21 2560 (Military Time)\Cronos Station, Horse Head Nebula
The lights of the laboratory flickered into life as the Illusive Man stepped inside. It was only a small space, a cubicle in the middle of a larger chamber, but none of the instruments lining the glass walls were activated. At present, this part of the lab would serve only one purpose; to make sure his most recent re-acquisition did not take any more unwanted excursions.
Gillian slowly followed him into the cubicle, closely followed by Kai Leng, who had his cords out to make sure she didn't try anything. Very few words had been exchanged during the journey to this remote space station, even fewer during the march from the hangar bay to the labs. The Illusive Man had seemed welcoming enough of Gillian's arrival, but there was a coldness to him that Gillian didn't like. The Illusive Man stepped to the side of the examination chair in the centre of the cubicle and motioned to it.
"Please sit, Ms. Grayson," he said with a courteous tone, but one that hinted at a thinly-veiled threat. Making no facial expression, Gillian obeyed, sitting herself upon the chair. At once the Illusive Man fastened down the metal wrist and ankle restraints located on the arms and on the footrest. While not uncomfortable, the restraints were tight enough to make it clear that Gillian was not going anywhere.
"My apologies for the accommodation," the Illusive Man continued, which an expression of what he evidently thought was fatherly concern, "but I have to make sure that you stay for your treatment. I would have started it now if I didn't have more pressing concerns."
Gillian said nothing, just seemed to stare into space. It was almost as if she hadn't heard the Illusive Man at all. Kai Leng, meanwhile, had just concealed his Omni-Tool.
"Your shuttle's ready, sir," he said.
"Thank you, Kai," the Illusive Man nodded. He turned to Gillian, his cybernetic eyes seeming to glow brighter. "When we next meet, the Reapers will be under our control, and humanity will be at the apex of civilisation. Then we can talk more about your role in securing humanity's strength in the galaxy. Sorry we cannot discuss this further, but we're running out of time." As he started to leave, Gillian suddenly shifted her head to look at him.
"So it's all been leading up to this," she asked blankly, causing the Illusive Man to stop and listen to her. "Your grand plan to secure humanity's domination of the galaxy and put an end to King Ghidorah using his own methods. Is this the way you saw it happen from the very beginning, Jack Harper?"
The Illusive Man raised a hand to his chin, looking thoughtful. "No-one's called me that in a long time…" he muttered. "I threw that life away when I created Cerberus."
"You tried so hard to cover it up, Jack," Gillian continued softly, "but not well enough. You're the last descendant of David Xanatos, since you never had children of your own. You were the leader of a mercenary team during the Covenant War. I don't know where you came across the Reaper device that gave you those eyes, but the moment it touched you, you saw their arrival coming. You destroyed it and the indoctrinated Covenant who also found it before they could take it to their leadership. But you knew it wasn't over. That was why you brought up the idea of Cerberus with the Office of Naval Intelligence, but you didn't tell them that it was about preparing to fight the Reapers, not the Covenant. Then you went rogue, figuring ONI would shut down Cerberus sooner or later anyway, since the threat of the Covenant had passed. Once humanity joined the Citadel, there was no need for you anymore. Would you say this is a kind of mid-life crisis, trying to stay relevant in a world which doesn't need you?"
The Illusive Man was silent for a moment, looking uncomfortable with just how much Gillian knew. He thought his Technomancers had thoroughly scrubbed the Array clean of any trace of his past. It made him uneasy, made him believe that there was a chance others could use that information to track him down, though he doubted it. He wondered if a file had been missed somewhere, explaining how Gillian knew all these details. If she was able to find it, who was to say others couldn't? He imagined what would happen if Kiryuu Knight had discovered the file, picturing the hideously smug grin on the reptile's face as he declared 'checkmate' in the long game of cat-and-mouse they had been playing for the past two years.
"If you know that much, Ms. Grayson," he said, slowly and in a low, dangerous tone, "then you'll know what I've had to sacrifice to get this far, the close friends and allies I have lost, the resources I have spent and the lives I have had to throw away to safeguard humanity, against the Reapers and beyond. You're wrong that I and Cerberus am not needed. We're the only ones willing to do whatever it takes to protect humanity. No-one will realise it until we prove to them that all the years of sacrifice I have made will pay off." His eyes seemed to flash angrily at her. "Don't think I'm some boogeyman. I've forced myself to feel every death, bear the weight of everything I've done that others would consider an atrocity. The only thing that has sustained me through it is the knowledge that, when it's all over, the future will be brighter, the Cycle of Extinction finally ended. Your father betrayed me, but his death has made our victory possible."
With no reply from Gillian, he followed Kai Leng out of the laboratory, heading towards the shuttle bay.
"We've got the coordinates for the Crucible from the Forerunner VI," Leng reported as they walked. "Though it took some coaxing. Our science and engineering teams are standing by."
"Excellent," said the Illusive Man. "The sooner we recover it and find the Catalyst, the faster we can act before the Reapers realise what we're up to. Combined with the breakthrough at Sanctuary, we have everything we need."
"About the Catalyst…" Leng then said, arching an eyebrow. "I've just been informed of what it actually is. You're never going to believe this…"
0
0403 (Military Time)
On board the Shadow of Darkness, Alan couldn't imagine a time where he had had more difficulty suppressing his nerves. It wasn't so much that he was nervous about fighting Cerberus, but more a sense of disbelief that they were finally able to take the fight to Cerberus on their home turf. After two years, since he had first crossed paths with Cerberus, he hadn't thought he would see the day. He tried to focus his mind on Gillian, hoping and praying that she was alright.
The cavernous main hangar bay of the ship could comfortably fit two UNSC dreadnoughts inside, and still leave room for more. It was mostly empty now, but even if it wasn't Alan only had eyes for the Phantom dropship that would take him, Telek and Nicole to Cerberus' headquarters. He wondered if his companions felt as nervous as he did, despite their efforts not to show it. Nicole's face was contorted in concentration as she readied her rifle, while Telek looked strong and commanding as he spoke to the other Shipmasters involved in the fight. All of the Fleet Shadow of Fury were present, backed up by several ships from the Fifth Fleet that Hackett had provided.
Outside the hangar bay, beyond the forcefields that separated them from the vacuum of space, the immense red supergiant known as Anadius loomed before them, a dying star with 1500 times the radius of Sol. A number of silhouettes could be seen starkly against the star's glowing, rippling surface, a number of UNSC, Sangheili and Cerberus vessels trading laser blasts and concussive fire with each other. In the midst of it all stood Cronos Station, which looked like a tall, thin oblong, as if someone had taken a skyscraper and placed it out in the orbit of the star. It hovered there, as if daring the star to swallow it whole, defiant against the vessels that sought to destroy its creators.
"The strike team's in, Telek," Cujo was informing him. "We've got our foothold."
"All forward, fleet!" Telek barked, his sword emitter and Technomantic revolver holstered at his hips and a pair of shotguns slung across his back. "I don't want a single Cerberus ship in my sky when we're through!"
"I just hope our foothold's enough, Skipper," sighed Tom. "They've got a lot of fighters guarding the launch bays."
"Don't go pushing yourself for our sake, Tom," said Telek, firmly but with a concerned tone. "Remember what happened on Sanghelios."
"Hey," said Tom, "After Reapers and the Covenant, this is a cinch. We'll get you through. Might be a bumpy ride though, that's all I'm saying."
"Do what you can," said Telek.
"Well, this is it," sighed Alan, after he had finished checking his revolver. "We're about to become pilgrims in an unholy land."
It was then that Alan noticed Call striding towards them, clipping a belt holster on, within which was a large Carnifex-model pistol.
"Captain," she said as she stopped before the group, "I'm going with you on this mission."
"What?!" Alan exclaimed. Call was a lot of things, but she had no combat training. "That's insane! They could have virus software or a degausser or something!"
"Just hear me out!" Call interrupted, holding up her hands. "Think about it; we're gonna be marching into the central point of operations for Cerberus. They'll definitely have enhanced security measures." She folded her arms. "I've talked with Shepard, and EDI's sent me a complete dossier on Cerberus algorithms. I'm the only one who can hack their systems quickly enough. Begging your pardon, but you wouldn't last five minutes in there without me."
Alan groaned, shaking his head. It was like Grissom Academy all over again; he never felt comfortable whenever non-combatants were involved in a hotzone like this. On the other hand, Call's capabilities as an AI certainly outweighed any hacking expertise any of the others carried, and he didn't doubt that Cerberus would have all manner of traps waiting for them inside that only she could disable. Finally, he nodded.
"Stay close to me," he said, "and keep your head down. Pray you don't have to use that gun."
"You got it, Captain," said Call, saluting.
"The Fifth Fleet's cut through the Cerberus line," Cujo suddenly said from Telek's commlink. "They're regrouping. Now's as good a time as any."
"You'd better do this fast though, Excellency," Tulsa chimed in. "The Cerberus ships have upgrades that outclass UNSC specs. Doubtless a little gift from the Reapers."
"Lucky for us that we've got the most advanced ships in the galaxy," Telek smirked. "Go do some damage."
"Got it," replied Cujo. "Go kick some ass. We'll see you on the other side."
"Alright everyone!" Telek barked at the Serenity crew, opening the hatch on the side of the Phantom. "All aboard!"
Not needing to be told twice, everyone piled on board the shuttle and strapped themselves down. As soon as the hatch was sealed the ship took off. Nothing but silence could be heard from outside as soon as the ship passed through the energy barrier, but the Phantom veered from side to side, doubtless dodging stray shots. Nothing could be seen of the outside, and Alan found himself praying to any gods who would listen that they would at least get inside the ship.
Mercifully, his prayer was answered. All of a sudden sounds of gunfire could be heard coming from outside, and the shuttle suddenly jolted violently, almost causing Nicole to bite her tongue as it was forced to make a rough landing, sliding some distance along the floor of whatever launch bay the pilot had chosen.
"Let's go!" Alan shouted as soon as the shuttle came to a halt, throwing off his restraints and sliding the door open. The exit hatch was facing the barrier shield that blocked the way back outside, so the Phantom was keeping the ground team sheltered from the streams of gunfire that Cerberus was sending their way.
"Everything okay?" Telek barked into his commlink, readying his energy sword.
"I'm fine, Excellency," replied the pilot. "Gonna have to make repairs on the Phantom before I can extract you. Give Cerberus hell!"
"Gladly," muttered Nicole under her breath. Diving out from behind the shuttle, Alan reached a crate at the side of the hangar and proceeded to pick off the Cerberus troops swarming towards them. Some used gas grenades to try to cover their tracks, others sniped at them from the other level, while still others were rushing into melee range with their own energy swords. Some yelled at each other in the dead, electronic voices, barking orders and calling for termination of the hostiles. At the back of the chamber, Alan saw something that made his blood run cold; an Atlas-model mech.
"Shit!" he called to the others, ducking back behind the crate as a stray shot came too close to him. "They're bringing in a mech!"
"Focus your fire on it!" Telek barked to the Serenity crew. "I'll deal with the mooks!"
As Alan shot back at the attackers, he took a moment to take in exactly where they had landed. They had arrived in one of the launch bays for Cerberus' fighters, and every now and then one fighter would appear, rising from a hatch in the floor on a small turntable, launching outside as soon as the clamps on the turntable were released and the jets had built up sufficiently to launch it at high speeds. Luckily they didn't launch low enough to strike either the ground team or the Phantom.
Following Telek's advice, Alan and Nicole focused their fire on the Atlas mech. Wielding a particularly powerful carbine rifle, Nicole was eventually able to penetrate the glass on the front of the mech and kill the pilot inside. Telek, meanwhile, used the same technique of Para'rothu that the Arbiter had used to move swiftly between the footsoldiers, cutting each down with frightening voraciousness. This was clearly a battle he had been looking forward to for a long time, having never forgotten how Cerberus was responsible for the murder of one of his dearest friends. As soon as the last soldier fell, red lights suddenly began to flash and an alarm sounded.
"Security breach in Hangar 16," a female announced droned. "Initiating Achilles protocol."
"Achilles…" Call muttered, searching through the data EDI had given her, her eyes widening when she realised what Cerberus was about to do. "Alan, Cerberus intends to vent the hangar bay!"
"Can you stop them?!" Alan called.
"I need an active console!" Call replied. "Try the upper level!"
"Over there!" called Nicole, pointing at a ladder leading to the upper gantries. Quickly scrambling up to the top, Alan spotted a control room overlooking the hangar and dashed in, the sounds of alarms ringing in his ears. He immediately spotted what he was looking for.
"I've got a console!" Alan exclaimed to Call, who had followed him up. "Go!"
Immediately, Call set to work on the console, her fingers flying over the controls as she calculated the measures she had to take with lightning efficiency. The protocols that EDI had supplied her with were really helping, and within seconds she had what she was looking for, and more besides.
"Hangar venting procedure disabled," she informed.
"Can you open the hangar?" asked Alan.
"No," replied Call. "However… Yes! I can access their fighter launch controls!" She pressed a few more buttons, and another, unmanned fighter soon rose from the hatch below, waiting to be launched.
"Now we just press a few buttons, override the safeties…" she muttered, almost gleefully as she managed to turn the fighter around to face the well. Alan found himself beginning to grin as he realised what Call was about to do.
"Kid!" Telek yelled through the commlink, as the sounds of gunfire began to fill the hangar again. Looking through the window he saw that Telek and Nicole were pinned down by gunfire from the balcony above the main doors. "Ceberus must have figured out their venting plan failed and realised what we're up to!"
"They're not stopping us now!" Alan snarled. He headed through the opposite door in the control room which led out onto the balcony. Taking his chance, Alan flanked the soldiers firing on his comrades, cutting them all down with a few determined lashes of the whip. Within seconds all of them were dead, torn to ribbons by the white-hot plasma line. Without hesitation, he headed across the balcony to the opposite control room.
"All clear, Call!" he said into his commlink, watching Telek and Nicole take shelter on the lower level. "Do it!"
"Launching fighter!" Call responded. He heard the high-pitched whine of the fighter's engines as it powered up. Within seconds it sped away from the launch platform, and crashed straight into the door. It was instantly smashed open under the impact of the improvised battering ram. The fighter continued its path of destruction, smashing through a number of walls and leaving a trail of fire in its wake.
"You got a mean streak, Call," chuckled Nicole when Alan and Call regrouped with Telek and the Spartan. Call only smiled as she checked her Omni-Tool, bringing up a set of schematics she had retrieved from the system.
"The central lab was located behind this hangar," she said. "I suggest we follow the trail of destruction left by our battering ram."
"Noted," said Alan, leading the way across the hangar towards the fire-framed hole where the door used to be. "Let's move!"
"We've busted through their front rank," Telek added. "Now we can really cause some damage."
"Let's try to remember why we're here, though," finished Alan. "The safety of Gillian and the data take priority."
"Talk to me!" a growling voice came from a dead trooper's transmitter as Alan and the others passed through the door into the fire-strewn hallway. "I'm hearing reports that they breached the door with heavy weapons!"
"Negative," an indoctrinated female's voice rasped. "They rigged a fighter. Damn thing tore through half the facility. Finally stopped not far from Central."
"Shut the hostiles down before they reach the central lab!" her compatriot barked.
The fires were too dense to allow the group to proceed through the wreckage, so they diverted to a locked door on the side of the great corridor.
"Can you hack it?" Alan asked Call.
"Gimme a minute," said Call as she examined the lock. "Cerberus has updated their encryption. Might take a minute or two to bypass it."
"How're they reacting to us breaching the door?" asked Nicole.
"They're sealing off as much of the base as they can," replied Call, checking her Omni-Tool. "Most obvious routes to the central lab are blocked. Other areas are being fortified. Their troops will try to slow us down while their engineers get their turrets up and running."
"They got any more nasty surprises like the hangar?" asked Telek.
"No," Call replied, shaking her head. "I've got a good grasp of their safeguards and can counteract them. The most they can do now is slow us down."
Alan had the feeling that Call was boasting somewhat, but it sounded like she'd been looking for an opportunity to really push herself to her limits beyond flying the Serenity. "And if I hadn't brought you along…" he muttered.
"Cerberus would have vented the hangar with you in it," replied Call simply.
"Thanks for coming," said Alan, smiling. He looked away awkwardly. "I know things didn't start off well between us, when you were brought in to replace Rachel…"
"Hey," said Call, holding her hand up as the door unlocked. "I'm just glad I was able to earn my keep. Bishop was right; I'm glad you didn't let me isolate myself from you all. You don't need to be sorry for anything." She led the way through the door and pointed to a ladder leading down on the left, the fires of the wreckage blocking the path on the right. "We need to go through a sublevel to avoid their containment measures."
"Where do you think we'll find Gillian?" asked Nicole. "And the data, for that matter."
"A central lab's at the heart of the facility," said Call. "It's the most secure area. Following the wreckage of the fighter's path's the most direct route."
Cautiously, Alan led the way down the ladder into the sublevel. As soon as his feet hit the floor he was forced to dive for cover, bullets from several Cerberus troopers pounding his shields. He crouched behind a large pipe as he provided covering fire for the rest of the team, Telek withdrawing and switching on his cloaking device.
"I hate these tight quarters…" muttered Nicole. She shot out a pipe on the wall, sending steam all over a squad of soldiers and forcing them out of their cover. At that moment Telek jumped out of stealth and cut them all down from behind. Several other squads tried to delay the group as they headed through the dimly-lit maze of pipes and pistons, some areas so low that the group had to duck to fit through.
"That was ugly…" Nicole breathed. "They're wasting a lot of troops trying to stop us."
"Delay us, you mean," Call corrected. "Their engineers are up ahead setting up an organised defence."
"They can waste that many troops?" asked Telek, sounding appalled.
"You saw the reports from Horizon, didn't you?" replied Alan, sounding disgusted. "Cerberus have been using Reaper augmentation on captured civilians to create their new line of shock troopers in record time."
"Just like the Reapers did with the Collectors," muttered Nicole, uncomfortably reminded of the Collector ship.
"Well, this little factory line's getting shut down today," snarled Telek. He followed Alan up the next ladder, which led to another door leading into the central labs. It too was locked, so Call immediately set to work on it.
"I'll have us through here shortly, Captain," she said as she analysed the systems in the small antechamber. She pointed towards a console close to the door. "Now that's interesting… That console hasn't been fully scrubbed. Might be something worth pulling from there."
"What am I looking at?" asked Alan.
"Project Lazarus," replied Call. "Some of the logs are ones that we didn't extract from Lazarus Station."
Alan shrugged. "It'll kill a little time, I suppose," he said, bringing up the first log entry. He found himself watching security camera from one of the labs, with a scientist nervously in talks with the Illusive Man, who was talking to him via QEC.
"It can't be done," the scientist was saying, shaking his head indignantly. "It's not a matter of resources."
"It's always a matter of resources," the Illusive Man retorted. "We're not losing Shepard."
"Sir," the scientist exclaimed, "Shepard is clinically brain-dead! After that much trauma, that long with no oxygen… We cannot overcome nature!"
"Operative Lawson disagrees," the Illusive Man pressed. "She is now in charge of Project Lazarus." As the video faded, Alan hung his head.
"And it was made possible by my genes…" he muttered. He reached a hand up to his mouth, feeling around his sharp teeth. He knew that it had been one of his teeth, passed down through the generations until the Illusive Man inherited it, which had made Shepard's resurrection possible. The thought that his genes had been used that way was still a sore point for him.
"There was no way you could've known, kid," said Telek in a comforting tone.
"You think Shepard knows she has Godzilla's genes in her?" asked Nicole.
"If she does, she's never told me," sighed Alan. "I'd tell her, but that would make for an awkward converstion. 'Oh, by the way, did you know that genetically I'm your dad or brother, possibly both, because the Illusive Man used my genes to bring you back from the dead?' I don't want to know how that conversation turns out."
"What I wanna know is how Shepard's still herself," said Telek. "I doubt she'd have been able to turn against Cerberus otherwise."
Alan often had pause to wonder that too. Even if Shepard was brought back to life, he doubted her memories or personality could have survived the damage her brain had taken from the attack on the first Normandy. Something was then triggered in Alan's recent memory, a conversation he had had with Megellan at the moment of Alistair's death. The theory that now formed in his head was insane, but it was the only one that he could come up with.
"I wonder…" he breathed, raising his head. "Could she have refused to go?"
"Come again?" asked Telek.
"Something Megellan said…" explained Alan, pacing before the console. "When Alistair died, I begged Megellan to bring him back to life, but I was told it was impossible because Alistair had accepted his death; he was ready to face the consequences of his sacrifice. I know it sounds crazy, but if Shepard didn't accept her fate, refused to return to the Array, maybe that's why her mind was also restored when her body was."
The others looked at him as if he had lobsters crawling out of his ears. Now that he had said it out loud, even Alan became convinced that it was a crackpot theory.
"I'll never understand that hoopidy-do bullshit," grumbled Telek, holding a hand up to his forehead. "If I didn't know better, I'd say she was just an AI that thought it was Shepard."
Alan sighed as he pulled up the second log entry. All of the theories surrounding Shepard's resurrection were making his head hurt. The log revealed the same scene as the first one, only dated much later.
"Tissue regeneration is proceeding," the scientist was saying. "The helmet kept the brain intact… for whatever good that will do."
"Lawson will find a way," said the Illusive Man.
"But sir…" the scientist continued, looking very uncertain. "Shepard's a UNSC soldier. As far as she's concerned, we're a terrorist faction."
"I'm not looking for a dance partner," the Illusive Man retorted. "We need Shepard, and Shepard needs resources. She'll work with us." The log was brief, and faded.
"He really had her boxed in," muttered Telek.
Alan awkwardly remembered the encounter he had with Shepard on Horizon, and how he and Kaidan had called her out on working with Cerberus. She had vehemently stated that every instinct in her body had told her not to trust Cerberus, but there was nowhere else she could turn to for help. She did what she had to, and it was only now that he was realising that. Feeling somewhat guilty, he opened the third log entry, which was in the same location:
"Project Lazarus is reporting neurological activity," the scientist was now saying, looking more confident. "They're requesting more funding."
"Granted," the Illusive Man nodded. "Get me our potential recruits file. Shepard will be up soon. We need a crew."
"Our existing forces should be more than sufficient…"
"No," said the Illusive Man firmly. "We need sympathetic faces. I need Shepard invested. Tap Kelly Chambers and recruit Donnelly. I imagine Miss Daniels will follow. We'll want some old friends as well. Contact Dr. Chakwas, and send me the psych profile on Shepard's pilot… along with a bottle of '47 Thessia Red." As the video log finished, Alan found himself clenching his fist.
"Sneaky little bastard…" he snarled. "He used them all to keep her from seeing the real Cerberus… Not just Shepard's friends, but every Cerberus person who served on the Normandy…" Deciding that he had seen enough, he turned back to Call. "How's that door coming?"
At his words, the door suddenly slid open.
"Ta-da," said Call, looking rather smug. Without hesitation, the team headed through to the next corridor.
"Incursion team," Cujo suddenly said from Telek's commlink. "What's your status?"
"We've cleared the hangar and are inside the base," replied Telek. One end of the corridor was a dead end, the other led towards the wreckage left in the fighter's wake.
"Good work," said Cujo. "You need support?"
"That's a negative," replied Telek as they headed towards the thick smoke, seeing no other route. "Keep the heat on. We'll find what we need."
The stifling heat of the flames and the close proximity of the smoke almost choked Alan as he led the group through the tunnel created by the runaway fighter. At one point the floor had given way forming a ramp down to the sublevel, while the passage leading to the labs was blocked by rubble that looked too dangerous to climb over. So Alan slid down the ramp to the sublevel, and almost immediately found himself having to dive for cover again as several rapid streams of gunfire threatened to cut him down.
"Looks like we've reached your turrets, Call!" Alan shouted as the others slid down to join him.
"God, I hate these things!" snarled Telek, pinning himself low behind a pipe.
"Fire in the hole!" Nicole shouted, crouched behind the wall. She had already prepared one of her trusty grenades and quickly tossed it out to the source of the gunfire. After a concussive thud that seemed to fill the entire sublevel, the guns were silenced. Quickly moving between the pipes and electrical banks, the group shot their way through more soldiers that tried to pin them down.
"On your left!" Call shouted, and only just in time, for more turrets had been set up along the next stretch of corridor. Careful coordination and use of grenades plus the Inferno shots in Alan's gun cleared them out, but the dark-suited engineers were quickly moving in to replace them, backed up by more troopers.
"Oh no you don't, you little bastard!" Alan seethed, plugging one engineer full of shots. The turret he had been setting up fell away, as lifeless as its creator. Telek quickly got rid of the rest through liberal use of his shotguns. They had been specially modified so that he could reload them one-handed, and as quick as a flash he had downed a number of troopers, often nailing several at once with a single pellet. Through the corridor and around a corner, more troopers blocked the path to the ladder, but these were easily dispatched. One hit the floor as Alan's shot disintegrated the head. The last one got too close for comfort to Call, but got a nasty surprise as her Omni-Tool formed a sharp blade, much like Kai Leng's own punch-daggers, which she stuck into the shocked trooper's neck. The android breathed hard, as if unable to believe her own actions.
"You okay?" asked Alan, deeply concerned.
"I think so…" Call panted, wide-eyed and visibly trembling.
Taking a moment to let Call collect herself, the group headed up the next ladder into a small room. Through glass windows, Alan could see the central labs beyond, divided into a number of cubicles. With a start, Alan saw Gillian strapped to one of the chairs. By a stroke of good fortune, the Illusive Man had happened to place her out of the path of the speeding fighter.
"Gillian!" Alan called, beating on the glass. Gillian turned her head to look through the glass, visibly trembling and wide-eyed. The impact of the shuttle had shocked her deeply. Call, meanwhile, moved to the door leading into the labs and examined it.
"Great," Call grumbled. "Another lock that needs to be bypassed. There's another console there you can look at while you're waiting."
Alan was in no mood to wait for the door to unlock, but was sure that he couldn't break through the glass.
"Just hang tight, Gillian!" he called. "We'll have you out of there shortly!" Giving one last reassuring look at her, he decided to check the console she had indicated. Once again it contained a series of logs from the labs. Playing the first entry, Alan saw that it was another conversation between the Illusive Man and his scientists, once again via QEC. He wondered if the Illusive Man ever made an in-person appearance before his employees.
"Here's what we recovered," the scientist was saying. "Smart enough to signal for help, but it won't be talking philosophy any time soon."
"You'd be surprised, doctor," the Illusive Man replied rather smugly. "The pieces of Sovereign we recovered from the Citadel have taught us much on how to construct the basics of an advanced AI without Kiryuu Knight's intervention. Once we combine the code of this VI with the foundations we've constructed…"
"I'm still concerned about that," the scientist interrupted. "This 'rogue VI' wiped out every soldier on Luna. Combining it with code based on Reaper tech… well…"
"That's what the shackles are for," said the Illusive Man reassuringly. "The Enhanced Defence Intelligence will be completely under control." At this, the log ended. Alan was sure that he had just witnessed EDI's beginnings.
"They were a bit wrong about her being under control," chuckled Telek.
"I can't believe they tried to control an AI," muttered Call, listening in from the door. "Even after everything Kiryuu's done, bastards like the Illusive Man still treat us like second-class citizens or tools." She sighed. "I seem to recall that Shepard was sent to disable the 'rogue VI'. Gaining sentience while being under attack must have been confusing. No wonder EDI freaked."
"At least we all seem to be getting along now," said Alan, thinking of not just EDI, but the Geth. He brought up the second log entry.
"Our sims indicate that the Enhanced Defence Intelligence gives the highest combat improvement on frigates," the scientist was now saying, studying his datapad. "Anything heavier, and the ships react too slowly to benefit from EDI's advice."
"EDI?" the Illusive Man's hologram asked, sounding rather alarmed.
"Oh, that's, uh…" the scientist stammered, now looking very awkward. "Well, the boys in the lab came up with the name for her…"
"For it…" the Illusive Man corrected him in a stern tone. "Good work. I'll take your recommendations on planned installation."
"Sir, she…" the scientist began, before quickly correcting himself under the Illusive Man's cold glare. "It can be very persuasive. If it were to turn a crewman, convince them to disable the shackles… well…"
"It's a cyberwarfare suite, doctor," the Illusive Man shrugged. "Nothing more."
"Shows what he knows," scoffed Alan as the log ended.
"That said," pondered Nicole, taking her helmet off and placing her hand on her chin. "I don't think anyone would have bothered to unshackle her if they didn't… well…" She found it hard to articulate the relationship between Joker and EDI without sounding offensive.
"If they didn't develop an extreme emotional attachment to their ship," Call offered, looking at Telek playfully.
"What's that look for?" asked Telek, looking confused. Everyone knew that he was as attached to the Shadow of Darkness as Joker was to the Normandy. In that moment Alan found it amusing to picture what Telek's reaction would be if his beloved ship started speaking to him in EDI's voice. After all, he had developed a close friendship with the AI known as Cortana; if the Shadow had a sentient personality, Telek likely would have married her. Stopping himself from chuckling, Alan began the third log entry, dated shortly after the destruction of the Collector Base.
"What about the backups?" asked the Illusive Man's hologram.
"I'm sorry, sir," replied the harried-looking scientist. "None of Normandy's surveillance feeds have been responding since Shepard went rogue."
"I want it back!" barked the Illusive Man. "Retry the remote lockdown protocols!"
"After our last attempt," said the scientist, "EDI flooded our server with seven zetabytes of explicit images. I think she was making a joke."
"It doesn't make jokes, doctor!" the Illusive Man retorted, his hands on his hips. "Allocate a team for a new project. Codename… Eva. This time, we'll ensure it stays loyal."
"Well, this is a first," said Alan, as the log finished. "Shepard's never mentioned that Cerberus tried to shut down the Normandy."
"She probably had more pressin' issues," shrugged Telek. "Like keepin' outta sight of Cerberus and every galactic authority out there, not to mention lookin' for a way to stop the Reapers. Sounds like EDI had everything under control. She reminds me of Cortana in some ways…" He took his helmet off to rub his head. "Seven zetabytes…?"
"I wonder how much of it was Joker's?" Call chuckled, as the lock on the door finally gave way. Immediately Alan dashed through the open door and ran to Gillian's side. The trembling teenager turned to look at him, looking like she almost didn't recognise him.
"Gillian!" Alan exclaimed. "Are you alright?!"
It took a while for Gillian to respond, she was trembling from head to foot. Finally, she stammered, "It's getting really noisy in here!"
Alan turned, noticing the path of destruction that the fighter had carved through the labs. It finally seemed to have come to a stop here, though its last impact had left a gaping hole in the back wall, leaving the lab itself covered in soot and small fires.
"Yeah, that was my fault…" said Call. "Sorry about that." It was now occurring to her just how reckless her plan was; she now felt guilty that she could have gotten Gillian killed, but she could not see any other option at the time. Alan, meanwhile, turned to look back at the girl, highly concerned as he removed the arm restraints, Nicole removing the bindings on her legs.
"Did they do anything to you?" he asked.
Gillian shook her head. Then, to the surprise of everyone, she actually smiled. "So my plan worked?" she asked.
Alan couldn't help smiling himself, for had it not been for Gillian they never would have found this place. "Yeah…" he replied. "You were brilliant."
Gillian beamed as Alan helped her off the chair and onto her feet. She shook a little from the shock of the impact earlier, but was otherwise unharmed. Alan then took a look at everyone else. He didn't want to bring Gillian any further inside with them, not when there were still so many dangers facing them, and he needed Call with him to hack Cerberus' databanks. Making his mind up in an instant, he turned to Nicole.
"Nicole, get Gillian back to the Phantom," he said.
Nicole nodded, but looked uneasy. "You guys gonna be alright without me?" she asked.
"Don't worry about us," said Alan bracingly. "You just keep Gillian safe no matter what. Besides… In the unlikely event something happens to me, I need someone to keep the Serenity in the air… First Mate."
Nicole looked rather taken aback at this completely unexpected announcement. She had not anticipated that Alan would ever choose a new First Mate, not after what happened to Alistair. All she could think to do was salute him; the rest of the formalities could wait.
"Be careful, Captain," she said, nodding as she gently took Gillian's hand. "Come on, kid. Let's get you out of here."
Alan watched the two run back to the ladder leading to the sublevel. He couldn't help but feel a sense of anxiety watching them leave, unsure if he would see them again, but he had faith in Nicole, and knew she would keep Gillian safe.
"Incursion team, are you still with us?" Cujo suddenly asked through Telek's commlink. "We're limiting fire as best we can!"
"We're in deep, Cujo," replied Telek. "Gillian's safe, but that VI's gonna be in the most secure part of the station. Don't any of you hold back."
"This ain't the Ark, Telek," sighed Cujo. "We don't need a suicidal hero-spasm from you."
"We'll be fine, Cujo," replied Telek, sounding almost pleading. "Just take Cerberus down… Please."
"Understood," replied Cujo. "All ships, you're free to fire!"
As the sounds of impacts coming from distant parts of the base resounded through the walls, Alan decided to see if there was any more data from the lab worth salvaging before moving on. Many of the consoles were hopelessly wrecked from the crash, but he found a working one tucked away in a small cubicle. With a start, Alan saw that the first video log showed the Illusive Man, in a rare in-person appearance, speaking to Kai Leng, who had just pulled himself off an examination table.
"How're you holding up?" asked the Illusive Man.
"As well as can be expected, considering," replied Leng, giving his leg a shake. "The knee replacements are a big help. Can a man be considered whole when he has to replace pieces of himself, though? Do they become, in effect, robots?"
"Bear with it, Kai," said the Illusive Man in a reassuring tone. "The cybernetics will take time to get used to, believe me. Frankly I'm surprised you're up on your feet so soon; you really do remind me of Shepard."
"Except Shepard betrayed you," scoffed Leng. "I'd say that's one thing we're never going to have in common."
"Shepard was always going to stay true to her beliefs," sighed the Illusive Man, taking a drag on his seemingly ever-present cigarette. "She's wrong, but I can respect her decision. Finish your therapy and put together a plan for the Citadel. Councillor Udina is… amenable."
The screen faded, and the second log played, showing Leng pacing feverishly before the Illusive Man's hologram.
"I could've taken him," said Leng.
"Absolutely," nodded the Illusive Man. "But the Council was your priority, not Tyler."
"The Council are still in power, because of him and Shepard," replied Leng. "Just cutting that one fine thread could've had more desirable results."
"They're keeping the Reapers occupied while our research progresses," the Illusive Man calmly stated. "Right now, I need you to focus. One of our remaining Technomancers informs me that Shepard is headed to Thessia. I need you there to intercept her, and find out what she's after..."
Alan had wondered how Leng knew to attack Shepard at Thessia and steal the data from the beacon. If they still had Technomancers other than Leng himself working for them, there was no telling what else they knew about the alliance's plans. Deciding he had seen enough, Alan led the way towards the hole created by the fighter. The hole was dimly-lit, but there was a grating below that could be safely jumped to. Doing so, the group headed through a small maintenance shaft, which opened out into an immense chamber. If Alan had to guess, he would say that it ran the full height of the station. When Telek looked up, his eyes widened as he saw what looked like remnants of gigantic metal hands, along with what looked like a great metallic sphere lit with a dull red light, located in the middle of what looked like a shattered metal ribcage.
"The hell?" he breathed. "Is that what I think it is?"
"Looks like it…" Alan said in equal amazement, recognising the constructs from images he had seen. "That's the Human Proto-Reaper the Collectors were building. Well, what's left of it, anyway. I'm surprised Cerberus recovered that much from the base."
"All those colonists kidnapped, processed into that…" snarled Telek, clenching his fist. "And Cerberus just hangs it there like a trophy."
"The Illusive Man convinced Shepard to work with him to save the Terminus colonies," mused Call, frowning with disgust. "But he never really cared, did he?"
"Even if he actually did give a crap about the colonists," said Alan, shaking his head, "he cared more about studying the Reapers. The dead are just a statistic now. Somehow, that just makes it even worse."
"No wonder they figured out Reaper tech so quickly," said Call. "They must have been actively using these pieces." She stepped out to get a closer look. "It looks like they managed to find the central core – its heart, in other words. Maybe they're using it as a power source."
"Not if I have anything to do with it," muttered Alan. The trail led them along a gantry that went around the pieces of the Human Reaper. They were suspended at an incredible height, the bottom of the shaft impossible to see. It was as they were halfway along the gantry, however, that he stopped and held up a hand, warning the others to wait.
He inhaled, feeling sure that something smelled wrong about the place. His nasal cavities had become much more sensitive since his mutations, and now he picked up a scent that he hadn't noticed before. It was a dead, rotting smell, like a corpse, but with a faint whiff of ozone attached to it, as if it was some combination of flesh and circuitry. Pinpointing the source of the smell, he quickly spun around and fired a shot at a spot on the wall of the shaft just above them. The shot impacted against the slender figure of a Phantom, who had been hiding cloaked which clutching the wall, but was now giving an anguished yell as she tumbled down into the shaft.
Immediately, realising their ruse would no longer work, a number of other Phantoms de-cloaked and jumped around the walls, leaping onto the gantry to engage the group. Their energy swords crackled in the dim light, but most were shot down before they had a chance to put their swords to use.
"Just like Cerberus to bring a knife to a gunfight!" Telek whooped, shooting two more Phantoms away with his shotguns and sending them tumbling down the shaft. One Phantom managed to quickly dodge their shots and got close to Alan, swinging her sword with enough force to take his head off. Alan quickly jumped back and fired a Medusa shell, stunning the nubile trooper. He quickly ran forward and punched her hard, before throwing the stunned soldier over the railing and into the abyss.
"I thought Halos were ugly to fight through," muttered Telek as the last of the Phantoms dropped to the floor. "This is so much worse." He kept looking up at the heart of the Human Reaper, its red light seeming to wink in the darkness.
"At least it's not trying to kill us," replied Alan, trying to maintain a cheerful tone as he led the way along the gantry to a ladder leading upwards. As they climbed up to the topmost walkway, right beside the exit door, it dawned on Alan just how large the mecha had been. Even now King Ghidorah was surely constructing a new machine like this, using what remained of the human population on Earth as its components. His grip on his gun tightening, he stepped through the next door.
In the next room was another array of data consoles, doubtless used to monitor the pieces of the Human Reaper. On one of them, Alan spotted another series of entries in the video log, and stopped to play the first entry. The camera was pointed in the same laboratory seen in the other entries, with a female scientist this time speaking to the Illusive Man via QEC:
"Grayson's brain is a mess," she was saying. "He must have been completely under Reaper control by the end."
"And the physical enhancements?" asked the Illusive Man.
"Extremely impressive," replied the scientist. "If we could avoid having entire neural pathways rewritten in the process…"
"Grayson's failure was due to a lack of resolve," shrugged the Illusive Man. "He wasn't loyal to anything but his next dose of red sand."
"You'd like to try it on loyal test subjects, sir?"
"Find volunteers among our new recruits," said the Illusive Man. "The physical benefits are too useful to ignore."
Alan found himself shaking as the log stopped playing. He was trembling from head to foot, especially when he had heard what the Illusive Man had said about Paul Grayson. The sheer audacity of the lie made his heart race and his fist clench.
"I'm gonna kill him…" he snarled. "God help me, I am going to kill him."
"You'll have to beat me to it, kid," Telek rasped with equal venom. Cerberus had done unspeakable things to Paul Grayson, both in their insane pursuit of the secrets on indoctrination, and as revenge for what the Illusive Man had clearly taken to be a personal slight. Now the terrible legacy of those experiments was all around them. At that moment, Alan didn't want to just put an end to Cerberus' crimes; he wanted to tear the Illusive Man's throat out, as if Godzilla's primal mind was invading his own. Hand trembling, he played the second log entry.
"The performance upgrades are off the charts," the scientist was now reporting. "Our troops can outfight any UNSC soldier, including the Spartans."
"Roll it out," ordered the Illusive Man. "I want all troopers fitted with implants before the Reapers arrive."
"I'm still concerned about us losing control of our forces," said the scientist, though her tone made her sound as if she was far from concerned. "Some of them are already hearing voices."
"When our work at Sanctuary pays off," the Illusive Man replied with reckless determination, "the only voice they'll be hearing is ours."
The third and final log entry was only recorded about half an hour ago. This time the Illusive Man was physically present, sat on the end of the same examination table Kai Leng had used before. The scientist was now approaching him.
"Sir," she said, sounding disapproving. "You wanted my opinion on this. It's too dangerous."
"No," the Illusive Man hissed, clutching his side. "We're close. Sanctuary was a success. We can control Reaper forces. Everything we've been fighting for, every sacrifice we have made… It's all about to pay off."
"We can't lose you, sir!" the scientist objected. "Humanity needs your mind, and they need it intact!"
"I understand the danger, Jana," replied the Illusive Man, reassuring but no less determined. "That's why I'm trusting you with this. I'm leaving for the Crucible soon. As long as you're there with me, I know you'll keep me in line."
"I'm holding you to that, sir," replied Jana, sounding uncertain but nodding. "Okay."
"Begin the procedure, no anaesthetic," said the Illusive Man. He then turned to look at the camera. "Computer: end recording."
The recording ended, and Alan stepped away from the console, hardly daring to believe what he'd just heard.
"He's cracked…" he muttered. "He actually implanted himself?!"
"About time he tested his product on himself," Telek snarled, gripping his guns tightly. "Still, better be ready for anything."
"His office is right through that door…" said Call nervously, pointing to a door on the right at the end of the observation area. Beyond the door lay a large ramp leading up to another door, the sounds of explosions and sirens dulling considerably as the door was closed. Cautiously, the team climbed the ramp and bunched up on the door.
"This is it," hissed Alan, raising his gun. "Stay sharp, everyone."
The door slid open, and the group stepped through into the Illusive Man's office. It was a cavernous space, with a shiny black floor and ceiling that seemed to reflect every star in the sky. Looking across it, Alan noticed that they also showed the missing parts of the immense star before them that were not normally visible through the heavily-filtered window. He assumed that they were images created by cameras outside, giving the room the illusion of floating in the void. There were no furnishings to speak of, aside from a desk lined with holographic displays, a small chair, and a QEC communicator embedded in the floor. However, it looked like the Illusive Man was long gone.
Hardly daring to believe that they had made it to this most secretive of locations, Alan sat himself down at the chair and began to examine the consoles. Call stepped beside him to run her own analysis, her fingers flying over the holographic controls. Both were convinced that Vendetta was buried somewhere inside, and they had to find him fast. Outside, the Silent Wrath could be seen, using its main gun to tear a Cerberus cruiser apart.
"That's my chair, Alan Endeavour Tyler," an all-too-familiar voice smoothly said, coming from behind him. Alan sprang out of the chair and turned to find himself facing the Illusive Man's hologram, standing calmly in the QEC with his ever-present cigarette.
"This chair's about the only damn thing you have left," Alan retorted. "Cerberus is finished."
"On the contrary," replied the Illusive Man, "we have achieved everything I ever imagined." He took a drag from his cigarette. "Almost everything."
"We all saw what you accomplished on Sanctuary," Alan snarled, stepping towards the hologram with a dangerous glare in his eye. "But it's not the same as controlling a Reaper."
"A significant hurdle," said the Illusive Man. "But thanks to the Forerunner VI, I have what I need to make it a reality."
"The Crucible and the Catalyst," said Alan. It was safe to assume that the Illusive Man had found the Crucible, or was close to it at least, and was transmitting from whatever ship he was using. The Illusive Man simply nodded.
"How exactly are they going to help you control the Reapers?" asked Alan.
"You'll have to ask the VI yourself," spat the Illusive Man. "I'm done helping Shepard, and I'm not going to start helping you."
"When did you ever start helping Shepard?" scoffed Telek.
"You think because I'm willing to use the enemy's tactics that they're no longer my enemy?" the Illusive Man ranted, looking as if he wanted to skewer the Sangheili. "Everything I've done has uplifted humanity. Not only above other species in our galaxy, but above the Hydra himself!"
"If you're so willing to do whatever it takes," barked Alan, "then hand over the Crucible! We can still end this!"
"It's not that simple…"
"It is!" Alan shouted. "It is that simple! We're fighting each other while the Reapers occupy Earth! It's time to stop!"
"Your idealism is… admirable, Tyler," said the Illusive Man, with almost a look of pity on his face. "I'd expect it from anybody Shepard counts as an ally. But in the end, our goals are simply too disparate. I believe destroying the Hydra would be the worst mistake we could ever make. And nothing you or Shepard could say will ever convince me otherwise."
Telek shook his head, looking disgusted. "Alan and Shepard have done more than I would have in their shoes," he growled, his mandibles twitching. "They've given you every chance to listen to reason. Cerberus is done, and so are you."
"Once again," said the Illusive Man, shaking his head as if speaking to an impulsive toddler, "you all fail to recognise the truth. Cerberus isn't just an organisation, or the people behind it. Cerberus is an idea." He paused to take another drag from his cigarette. "That idea is not so easily destroyed. Besides, I've already acquired what you're looking for."
Alan turned to look back at Call. "How are you doing?" he asked.
"Almost there…" said Call, never taking her eyes off the console. "Come on, come on…" She had now located the Vendetta VI and was in the process of releasing it from its shackles. They couldn't take the VI with them; it was simply too big to fit on any of their commlinks, but it could still provide them with useful data they could record.
"Got it!" she exclaimed, turning to the others with a triumphant gleam in her eye.
A flickering green hologram appeared just before the Illusive Man's console, and it quickly changed shape. Alan had been warned that the VI was of Forerunner origin, but the sight of the Forerunner figure stood before him, resembling the Didact in so many ways, still caused his blood to run cold.
"Online," the VI stated. "Security breach detected."
"Enjoy your little chat," said the Illusive Man, "but don't overstay your welcome." He turned his back to Alan, his hologram flickering and fading.
"You are attempting to recover me from indoctrinated forces?" asked Vendetta, his eyes regarding Alan carefully.
"Yes," replied Alan. "I need to know what the Catalyst is!"
"Security protocols have been overridden," stated Legion. "I will comply." Alan had the funny feeling that the VI would be somewhat more reluctant to talk if the protocols still survived. "The Catalyst enhances Strange Energy transmissions, and coordinates the entire Mass Relay Network. In your cycle, it is known as the Citadel."
"What?!" Alan gasped. He and Telek looked at each other, incredulous. All this time the Catalyst had been sat right under their noses. With a horrible lurching feeling, he realised that, now that the station had been evacuated, it was vulnerable, ripe for the taking by the Illusive Man.
"I don't get it…" muttered Alan, once he was over the shock. "The Citadel and the Crucible were designed to work together? But the Citadel was built by King Ghidorah…"
"The plans for the Crucible were passed down to us from the previous cycle," said Vendetta, "and countless cycles before that. At some point – it is difficult to pinpoint when – the plans were adapted to incorporate the use of the Catalyst. Presumably, the Crucible was not sufficiently powerful to defeat the Reapers."
"Usin' their own technology against 'em…" muttered Telek, frowning. "I don't like the sound of this."
"Me neither…" Alan chimed in. Using the Reapers' own technology against them was just the sort of thing King Ghidorah expected others to try, and it always ended in disaster. The alarm bells that had been ringing in his head before were now a full-blown air raid siren.
"It was feared that if the Reapers were aware of the Catalyst's intended use," Vendetta continued, "they would retake control of it. I am programmed to withhold that information until the Crucible is ready for deployment."
"And now the Illusive Man knows all this…" snarled Alan. "Any idea where the Crucible is?"
"I am sorry," replied Vendetta. "That information is no longer in my databanks. The one who broke through my security protocols, the one you call the Illusive Man, erased that knowledge."
"And if he knows the Citadel's the Catalyst," mused Call, "then it's a good bet the Reapers know too. They'll try to take control of it now!"
Alan nodded grimly. He knew Call was right. They had to get the word out to Kedzuel and stop the Citadel from falling into Reaper hands. As the VI flickered and faded away, he turned to his AI companion. "You get all that?"
"Every word," nodded Call, bringing up her commlink. "I'm contacting Cujo now. He can get the word out to-"
Her last word became a gasp of anguish, as her back suddenly arched backwards involuntarily. She seethed and twitched, her face contorted into an ugly grimace of pain. Before anyone even had time to think, the tip of a gleaming cyan Technomantic sword suddenly burst through her chest. White lubrication fluid splashed through the wound onto the floor, and as Call gave a gargled snarl of pain a geyser of the fluid erupted from her mouth like blood.
Alan and Telek could only watch in horror as Call was lifted off her feet, struggling in a futile attempt to free herself from her attacker. Alan barely noticed a pair of dark-clad legs which were now visible just behind Call, which he knew were not there before. Her attacker had to have used optic camouflage to catch her unawares. As she was held in place, her face soaked by her own fluid and looking horrified, a pair of Technomantic cords clutched onto her body, one on the upper half and one on the lower half. The sword withdrew, and then suddenly Call's body was ripped neatly in two, her waist and legs being carelessly thrown in one direction while everything from her waist upwards went the other. Both halves crashed onto the floor, fluid and some pieces spilling out of the holes. Call's top half, unable to move anything beyond her arms and head, turned to gaze, terrified, at her assassin.
Kai Leng now stood before Alan and Telek, his Technomantic cords at the ready, a confident smirk on his face.