CHAPTER 28

Cassidy met her girlfriend after she had reported to Karin. Only the ground team and Joker knew what had happened to Alex. The spectre had talked to Karin for a few minutes before retreating to her cabin. Although she wanted to make sure her friend was okay she respected her obvious wish to be alone. When she had realised who Balak was she had sent up a prayer of thanks that Albert was safe, because if he wasn't there wasn't a force in this universe that would have stopped her from beating that information out of him, not even Ash. She had wandered down to help the team remove their armour. Liara looked shaken as Shiala helped her.

Most of the others were quiet. The Lt and Garrus would be back when they'd found the missing engineers. Cassidy hugged Abby before helping her off with her armour, noticing two dents in her chest plate. "You never said you got hit?"

"They never got through." replied Abby. It had happened when her sister had made her mad dash to Alex. She had deliberately stood up to take some of the heat off her sister.

"You're going to have a nasty bruise." commented Cassidy pulling up her girlfriends under shirt to see a large dark red mark on her ribs. Gently she brushed her fingers over it, Abby winced. Cassidy took some medi gel out of a wall locker and carefully spread it over the painful area. Technically she should have gone to Karin, but it was an easy fix.

"Don't tell Ash," asked Abby.

"Tell her what?" Cassidy grinned as she straightened her lover's clothes, "Good as new. And I can fix the dents before she sees them. Go have a shower." Abby nodded.

Once she left, Cassidy got work on Abby's chest plate, she ignored her aching back from being up so long. Two small dents didn't take long to repair. She found Abby in the mess drinking a cup of coffee.

Abby passed her cup over without a word frowning at the sheen of sweat on Cassidy's face, she was also pale. She had been so preoccupied worrying about Alex and her sister she hadn't realised her girlfriend had been on her feet far longer than she should have been. Karin was going to kill both of them. "Hungry?"

"No," replied Cassidy, to be honest she felt kind of nauseous.

"You need to rest," said Abby softly, she got up and helped her girlfriend to her feet then to their cabin. By the time they reached it Cass looked even less well.

"Lie down okay," said Abby, she fluffed the pillow then lifted Cassidy's legs up, "Sleep and tomorrow you are having a day off."

"Doctor's orders?"

"Girlfriend's orders!"

MEMEMEMEME

Ash woke tangled in the sheets and wrapped in her wife's arms. The back rub in the shower had turned into a long night of passion. She smiled as she turned to look at Alex who was watching her. "Hey you. We haven't done that in a while."

"I'm certainly up for it being a more regular thing," Alex smiled her trade mark half grin. "Thank you."

"My pleasure...literally." Alex laughed and rolled them both over. "And mine."

"Commander I have Captain Anderson for you. He apologises but says it's urgent. "

Ash groaned as her wife released her and sat up, "Our pilot has the worst timing!"

Alex stole a quick kiss before pulling on her clothes at top speed.

"Sir." Alex saluted, "Sorry to keep you waiting."

"And I am sorry to drag you away from your beautiful wife." Alex blushed. "An hour ago the Council received a garbled transmission from one of their STG teams. As soon as Saren was declared rogue all STG, asari commandos and our own special forces were told to keep an eye out for him."

"Someone found him?" asked Alex.

"We think so, the way STG teams report in is to say who they are where they are then what the message is about. The message told us they were on Virmire, but cut out right after. It was sent on a mission critical channel. The Normandy's the fastest ship in our fleet and if Saren is there you might be able to figure out what he's doing."

"Maybe stop him." added Alex with a nod, "Thank you. We'll get right on it."

"Gods speed Commander."

"Joker set a course for Virmire. Top speed." Alex opened ship wide. I want the ground team in the comm room in an hour and I want every scrap of information we have on the planet Virmire." Alex went to get her breakfast, meeting Ash on the way. "We have a lead on Saren."

"How strong a lead?"

"We'll see in a few hours." Alex's omni tool beeped, it was Abby asking her to come to her cabin for a moment. "I'll be right back."

"I'll sort your food. You need to eat and replenish all your energy from last night," added Ash with a smirk. Alex grinned and walked away chuckling.

She knocked on Abby's door. A second later it slid open.

"I'm okay. I slept like ten hours straight." Cassidy was saying she shut up when Alex stepped into the room.

"What's going on?"

Abby and Cassidy looked at each other. "One of you spit it out. I'm hungry."

"I... might have done way too much yesterday," said Cassidy with a sigh.

"And I want her to have a day off," added Abby.

"And I've just asked for all hands on deck." finished Alex, understanding. "Cass I need you co-ordinating on the condition when Abby says you've had enough you stop... no arguments."

"Wait," said Cassidy, "You're not going to take Abby? I swear I'll stop if I get tired. You can't go down without a medic."

Alex nodded, "I'll have Shiala work with you, so in five, six days when you're cleared she can take over. Her experience as a commando captain will help. Until we are ready to deploy you ARE resting."

"Aye, aye Captain."

Alex had her breakfast then went to the comm room to start reading through the Virmire data. The planet took over nine earth years to orbit it's sun. The day was slightly less than a normal day. The surface was tropical, humid and hot, average temp being 32 degrees. It had vast oceans. What she didn't know was what the salarian STG team were doing, even her spectre status hadn't got her that information.

Alex was the only one in the comm room when Ash entered, she couldn't resist wrapping her in a hug from behind. Alex turned and rested her forehead against her wife's, "We're going in almost blind."

"We'll make it through, we always do."

Alex nodded. "Let's round everyone up."

As they got close to Virmire Joker detected some serious AA guns. Which meant a Mako drop with a five man team. With no back-up until they dealt with the guns. Once it was safe for the Normandy the rest of the ground team would be dropped off.

The initial team was Alex, Ash, Abby, Garrus and Tali.

There were two geth ships in orbit. Alex ordered Joker to keep the Normandy in stealth mode.

To avoid detection Joker had to come in fast to drop the Mako. Which meant Alex was back in the driver's seat at least until they touched down. The type of landing they were attempting needed N7 vehicle training.

"Strap in people."

Joker barely bothered counting down to the drop, but Alex was ready. The Mako landed on what looked like a stream running parallel to the ocean, it could also have been a flooded road. The only signs of life were a few four foot tall pod crabs searching for food in the stream. Alex switched seats with her wife and manned the gun. "Ash, slow and steady." They had a nav point location for the salarian's camp.

Ash nodded. The geth were already jamming them and they couldn't afford to drive into an ambush. It wasn't long before a rocket impacted into the side of their ride.

"Rotten bosh'tet!" yelled Tali, pointing Garrus in the direction it had come from. The turian fired the cannon as two more rocket drones joined the fray. Once they were close enough to actually see them they were easy to dispatch. Ash stopped while their shields recharged. "You know. I really hate Geth." Alex released the triggers and squeezed her wife's shoulders. "I'm pretty sure they don't like us much either."

Around the next bend was a gate with a white stone structure built over and around it. The gate of course was closed.

"Abby take the gun." ordered Alex and opened the hatch, "Keep 'em busy." She jumped out, rolled to her feet and 'charged' to a bolder where she pulled out her sniper, still loaded with explosive rounds. Three geth lost their heads when Alex un-holstered her pistol and charged again, this time up to the upper level where the resistance was. That was when the two geth destroyers attacked from a passage leading to another room. Her shields went down as she threw herself behind a stone column.

Tali's combat drone skimmed past her diverting their attention nicely, allowing Alex to toss a grenade at them. Ash and Tali finished them off with their shotguns. The gate controls and a set of AA gun controls were in the room the destroyers had been guarding.

"One down, two to go." said Ash. "Joker should be able to land at the camp, now that this one is disabled." Alex nodded and Ash called the Normandy. Joker would have to come down low over the trees, but he was always bragging he was the best pilot in the Alliance, this was his chance to prove it.

It wasn't all smooth sailing getting to the salarian's, the team encountered four geth armatures and one colossus. It took awhile, but with a lot of swerving and using the jump jets to avoid in coming fire they whittled down their shields then concentrated fire on the metal bodies until they exploded or collapsed.

The salarian camp was situated in a cove with a high rock wall separating it from the surrounding jungle. The Normandy had landed in the water which fortunately seemed to be fairly shallow. The rest of the ground team were gathered around a tall salarian wearing green and yellow armour.

"Captain Kirrahe. 3rd Infiltration Regiment. STG." he said snapping a salute as Alex approached. "Commander Shepard. Are you in charge?"

"Yes. We picked up geth comm chatter two weeks ago and were sent here to see if there was any connection to Saren. Are you all the Council sent? We asked for a fleet."

"Your message wasn't clear we were sent to investigate," replied Kaidan.

"I've lost half my men investigating this place."

"Is Saren here?" asked Alex. The salarian showed them a partial map of the place.

"We don't know," admitted Kirrahe, "We have heard his name mentioned, but that's not why I sent for reinforcements...We have discovered that he is breeding an army of Krogan. He may have found a cure for the Genophage. We must destroy this facility."

"WHAT!" Wrex pushed his way closer. "If he's found a cure we can't destroy it."

"Commander we already have enough angry krogan to deal with."

"This isn't angry," muttered Wrex walking away.

"Is he going to be a problem?" asked the salarian.

"I'll talk to him." said Alex, "Do you have a plan?"

"Of sorts. We plan to convert our ships drive core into an explosive device. Detonated in the facility will completely obliterate it. "

"You planning on walking home?" asked Ash.

"Destroying this facility is more important than we are," replied the captain.

"Well the Normandy can get you back to the Citadel," said Alex, "How do we get this bomb where it'll do the most damage?"

"We need a diversion. I will slit my men into three teams that will let you and your shadow team to slip in the back. There are still two active AA guns, until they are down your ship cannot deliver the bomb."

"If you're down to half strength you'll need some of my people to bump up your numbers," mused Alex.

"I need someone to take command of Mannovia," said Kirrahe, "I will lead Jaeto and Commander Rentola will have Aegohr. The teams are named after our first three colonies."

"I volunteer," said Kaidan immediately.

"You should stay with the bomb, sir. I'll go with the salarians." offered Ash.

"With all due respect Sergeant, that's not your call to make."

"Why is it when people say with all due respect what they really mean is kiss my ass." commented Ash.

"Kaidan you go. No heroics, okay. Ash, you're in charge of guarding that bomb."

"Aye, aye ma'am." He saluted then followed Kirrahe to the team of six salarians he would be in charge of.

"Shiala, Garrus split yourselves between the other two teams. I'll go talk to Wrex. You need a biotic in each."

"Alex be careful," said Ash, seriously, "Wrex is really mad. If he goes all blood rage on you...I will shoot him."

Alex hoped it wouldn't come to that. "I'll be fine, trust me."

"Famous last words?"

Alex found the krogan glaring at the water. "This isn't right Shepard. This cure could help my people."

"We don't know that has. This place looks more like a factory than a nursery, so I'm guessing cloning."

"Even if that's what it is there are hundreds or thousands of krogan in there!"

"I know Wrex," said Alex sounding sad, "But if you were an evil rogue ex-spectre, what would you do with them?" she asked. The krogan remained silent, "Cannon fodder Wrex, that's what they are, just more tools at Saren's disposal. Is that what you want?"

Wrex sighed loudly, "No. We were tools of the Council once and for wiping out the rachni they neutered us all. I doubt Saren will be as generous."

"Wrex I promise I will help your people." To make certain he knew she was deadly serious she took out her boot knife and ran the blade across her palm, blood instantly started dripping onto the sand below. Immediately Wrex did the same and they shook hands.

"Very few humans know about a blood oath," said Wrex, "The pup tell you about it." Alex nodded.

Wrex grinned. "When we find Saren. I want his head!"

MEMEMEMEME

Alex, Abby, Liara and Tali made up Shadow. Their aim was to infiltrate the base, disrupt the geth if possible and take down the AA gun that was controlled from inside.

They met some geth at a guard post, Tali hacked the geth communications and Alex shot the antenna off the roof.

A moment later one of the salarians said the geth were suddenly less organised. So far so good. Before they reached the base proper Tali picked up a number of fuel tanks and guessed that the drones were re-fuelling there.

"Nice catch," said Alex with a grin at the quarian, "Let's go blow them up." They didn't even have to get that close Alex used her sniper rifle, one exploding tank set off a chain reaction.

Alex quickly found her way to the heavily guarded 'Back Door'. There were more krogan than geth. Even a krogan's redundant systems couldn't regrow a head. Or patch up a giant whole in their chests. Also all their weapons were modded with incendiary ammo.

Once the resistance had been dealt with Tali easily hacked the door. Behind it was a walkway leading to the AA tower. An assortment of rocket drones, geth troopers, flyers, hoppers and krogan stood between them and the way in.

"COVER!" Alex vaulted over a wall, she popped up and threw a singularity at a hopper snagging it mid leap. Liara added a warp causing a huge biotic detonation. "Nice. Blue."

Liara smiled, the asari was much better now and had told Shiala that she was okay and that Tali could move back into their tiny room. Shiala had claimed the extra cot down in the cargo hold.

This was where they got their first major injury, Abby took a polonium round to her left thigh. Medi gel stopped the bleeding and helped with the pain but the toxins it released were making her sick. "I'm okay. Just ignore me when I start throwing up. I might find something on the base to counter it."

After a worried glance Alex agreed, they couldn't stop and no way was anyone being left behind. Inside they turned off the AA guns and blew the controls stopping the geth from fixing them. At the end of another passage they found some labs, by the time Abby had sifted through their supplies she'd already lost everything in her stomach twice over. Luckily she found something that would help. Using a hypo spray from a drawer she administered it to the side of her neck.

"Better?" asked Alex.

"It'll kick in in a few minutes." replied Abby, "I'm good to go." In the next lab they found small containment cells in one was a salarian muttering to himself about voices in his head, when he saw them he begged to be let out. He said his name was Private Menos Avot.

"Shepard, he does not sound sane." said Liara, quietly as the salarian's eyes darted all around as if he was hearing something. "Do you think this is the indoctrination that Shiala and my...mother spoke of?"

"Wouldn't that mean Sovereign is here!" squeaked Tali.

"Or something from it," suggested Abby.

Alex didn't like either option. "Let's get this done and get out of here!"

The salarian got aggressive when he realised they were going to leave him and bashed his head against the door until he slid to the floor, the amount of blood and bone on the door indicated he was dead.

"Gross," muttered Tali. Alex lead them through another lab where they met another captive salarian, Lieutenant Ganto Imness, who seemed to have all his marbles and Alex released him, giving him the nav point for the other teams and the rendezvous location. The salarians in the cell next to him were a completely different story, they were milling around silently doing nothing. They didn't react to being spoken to.

"Leave them." said Alex there was nothing they could do.

"I don't want to end up like that." said Tali with a shudder. It wasn't a pleasant thought. The spectre hurried them along, the floor plan they were following showed they were getting close to the main lab which was huge. They started passing large tubes with maturing krogan in them.

"At least they won't feel anything," said Abby. "How long has this place been here? It takes roughly two years to produce a full adult clone. Has he been planning this that long?"

Alex shrugged, "Grab any data you can. I bet we find ties to Binary Helix."

The door wasn't guarded, obviously no one expected an attack this far into the base.

The big burly krogan doctor spotted them as soon as the door opened. His biotic throw caught Alex and slammed her into an examination table. There was also an asari helping him.

Around the room in separate containment fields were a number of husks. The krogan let them loose. The closest were soon floating in a singularity from Liara. While Tali and Abby tag teamed the asari, leaving the krogan to Alex. For a scientist he sure knew how to fight. She put him in stasis and charged, that sent the good doctor into the wall Alex was close enough to use her sniper rifle without aiming.

BANG! His head was a gooey mess. Alex snatched his ID Dr Droyas. Abby downloaded as much of the cloning data as she could. In the corridor there was a very helpful sign saying the main office was ahead. Their path took them outside onto a bridge over an aqueduct. In the office they found a terrified asari who surrendered, she explained Saren's research into indoctrination. Then opened an elevator to a lower private level where only Saren ever went.

"I'm going to blow this place up so if you want to live...Start running!"

Rana Thanoptis fled.

The room was all windows, a gantry led to a computer panel while the rest of the room dropped down another level.

"Goddess! Another beacon!" cried Liara. Alex caught her before she could charge down the slope to it.

"Slow down. Biotics activate those things."

Liara blushed, "I am sorry."

"No worries. I guess it's the only way to find out what he knows."

"Alex, Eden Prime knocked you cold for hours," said Abby.

"True, But I this time I don't think it'll be as bad. I'm sure most of that was getting the nanites. Stay back. Blue if I do pass out biotically pull me away. Do not go near it!"

Liara nodded.

Alex took a deep breath as she slowly put one foot in front of the other until she was standing next to it. The beacon started glowing then the green light enveloped Alex and she went rigid. The same horror show of destruction played through her mind, then it changed to star systems and ended on an unknown planet.

The light stopped and Alex's knees buckled and she hit the floor gasping for breath, she vaguely felt the tingle of biotics as Liara slid her to them away from the still glowing object.

Abby yanked off her sister-in-laws helmet Alex's nose was bleeding, "Can you hear me?"

"Don't shout." whispered Alex, hoarsely as she blinked to clear her vision. Her head was pounding. "Help me sit up?" Carefully she moved into a sitting position. She buried her head in her hands hoping the pain would lessen.

"Headache?" asked Abby. Alex nodded. "Here this should help."

The spectre sighed with relief as she felt the hypo spray. "Thanks. Next time I think of such a screw ball plan...talk me out of it." Abby laughed.

"We gotta move," said Alex letting Liara pull to her feet. At the top of the slope a red holo suddenly appeared, the shape was the same as the giant black ship they had seen on Eden Prime.

"YOU ARE NOT SAREN."

"Is that a VI?" asked Tali.

"No," replied Alex, "Saren didn't find a reaper ship he found an ACTUAL reaper."

"Rudimentary creatures of blood and flesh. You touch my mind stumbling in ignorance, incapable of understanding."

"This is an AI!"

"there is a realm of existence so far beyond your own you cannot even imagine it. I am beyond your comprehension. I am Sovereign."

"It's a reaper." said Abby shaking her head, the ship was two miles long!

"Reaper? A label created by the protheans to give voice to their destruction, in the end what they chose to call us is irrelevant. We simply are."

"The protheans vanished 50 000 years ago!" exclaimed Liara, "You could not have been there. It is impossible!"

"Organic life is nothing but a mutation, an accident. Your lives are measured in years and decades. You wither and die. We are eternal. The pinnacle of evolution and existence. Before us. You are nothing. Your extinction is inevitable. We are the end of everything."

"There is an entire galaxy of races united and ready to face you." stated Alex.

"Confidence born of ignorance. The cycle cannot be broken."

"Cycle?"

"The pattern has repeated itself more times than you can fathom. Organic civilizations rise, evolve, advance. And at the apex of their glory, they are extinguished. The protheans were not the first. They did not create the Citadel. They did not forge the mass relays. They merely found them, the legacy of my kind."

"Why would you make them and then leave them for others to find?" Alex hoped her helmet cam was getting all this.

"your civilization is based on the technology of the mass relays, our technology. By using it, your society develops along the paths we desire. We impose order on the chaos of organic evolution. YOU EXIST BECAUSE WE ALLOW IT. AND YOU WILL END BECAUSE WE DEMAND IT."

"They are harvesting us!" said Liara, sounding breathless, "Letting us advance to the level they require, then wipe us out!"

"What do you want?" asked Alex.

"My kind transcends your very understanding. We are each a nation. Independent, free of all weakness. You cannot even grasp the nature of our existence. We have no beginning. We have no end. We are infinite. Millions of years after your civilization has been eradicated and forgotten, we will endure."

"Are there more of you or are you the last of your kind?" asked Liara, still sounding stunned. Everything she thought she thought she knew was being turned on it's head.

"We are legion. The time of our return is coming. Our numbers will darken the sky of every world. You cannot escape your doom."

"You're a machine," said Alex angrily, "And machines can be broken!"

"Your words are as empty as your future. I am the vanguard of your destruction. THIS EXCHANGE IS OVER!"

The image vanished as the windows exploded, showering them all with glass.

"Commander that ship Sovereign just came from the other side of the planet. It just pulled a turn that would shear any of our ships in half. It heading for you fast." Joker's voice crackled over the comm.

"Thanks as soon as the last AA gun is down head for the landing zone. Shepard out." replied Alex, "Everyone okay? Let's blow this place to hell.!"

TBC...