Location: Zahni Corporation Main Headquarters, somewhere south of Buenos Aires, Argentina

Now with a splitting headache and in a disgruntled mood, Kynarus Vakarian found himself returning to consciousness and immediately realizing he shouldn't have. He groaned: he hadn't had a headache like this for a while. His vision was taking its time to clear but he could make out many blurry figures standing some distance away, against a backdrop of grey and blue. Bright white lights were at the ceiling of this room and it was then Kynarus knew he wasn't anywhere he should be.

Yellow suited figures, about two of them, were standing near where he found himself seated. One was fiddling with something at his wrist and as Kynarus' vision returned to its normal state the turian was able to make out what it was. It was some sort of metal claw which the yellow-suited men strapped around his wrist, effectively holding his hand against the arm of the large metal chair he was seated in.

Kynarus turned his head and saw off to his left about three more of the yellow-suited figures, now realizing that they were lab technicians from their outfits and seeing the Zahni Corporation logo on the backs of their uniforms. He could see Katherine, held down in a similar chair, her head close to a large circular plate at the top of it. She was wide awake and was struggling against the metal claws holding her hands and legs in place. She spat at one of the lab technicians but he simply ignored her, wiping away the spittle off of his yellow lab coat with one sleeve as he went about fiddling with a panel lined with buttons and switches. This panel was positioned next to the menacing looking chair.

Kynarus realized he must have been stuck down in a similar chair and had no idea just what it was for. He could make out the figures standing at the other side of the room and all were watching him, one of which seemed rather pleased while another seemed only a little annoyed.

Kynarus went about gathering in as much about his current situation as he could. He remembered the brawl in the bar and restaurant all too well and could remember that Dieter had injected him with something, presumably some sort of anaesthetic to knock him out long enough to bring him to wherever the hell he was now. He looked around what seemed to be a laboratory, a few windows off to the far right of the room had their blinds drawn but through the gaps Kynarus could see a fairly good view of the plains and forest outside.

Where the hell am I? Kynarus tried finding any sort of answer to this question, noticing the Corporation logos on the lab technician's uniforms and seeing the pair of Corporation officers standing guard at the door on the far left of the room. He knew then where he was and for some reason he didn't like this one bit.

He was in the Zahni Corporation's headquarters, located outside of Buenos Aires somewhere. That would explain the natural scenery visible through the windows and why it seemed to be raining heavily outside. It would also explain why Kynarus felt a little worried, knowing that he seemed to be at the full mercy of the Corporation and whatever they planned to do with him. He didn't like the idea of being tied up onto some sort of chair with a plate covered with electrodes and flashing lights directly behind his head and so he started to struggle, feeling the metal clamps at his wrists and ankles while trying to find if they would budge. It was a surprise when the one on the left did, if only slightly. He swallowed, deciding to wait and see what happened before he tried exploiting this little flaw. The last thing he needed was to get shot to pieces by the guards as soon as he had escaped from the chair.

He gazed towards the figures watching him and then Katherine with some curiosity. They must have captured Katherine a short time after they did him, she probably wouldn't have gotten far from the restaurant before being found by a Zahni Corporation patrol. She seemed to be in as much danger as he was right now and it was enough to make Kynarus quite annoyed with himself. He had been stupid to get into a fight in the restaurant in the first place, especially against Dieter who had proved himself that he was no pushover in a fight. In fact, he had easily overpowered the turian and didn't even seem to have received any sort of injury during the fight. Kynarus had been the one to get beaten up this time around, something that proved that even a turian like Kynarus had his limits.

Dieter was among the group watching him, a slightly annoyed look on his face. If Kynarus wasn't mistaken he could be sure that Dieter had preferred to simply kill him and Katherine rather than let them live for what appeared to be some sort of experiment. The fact that Kynarus found himself in a laboratory was more than enough to make him a little nervous and thus he didn't like to think about what it was Dieter had planned for him.

Unless, of course, Dieter wasn't the one who had planned it. Rather, it seemed that Schraeder had been the one to do such a thing. He was the one smiling a sinister looking smile, looking towards Kynarus and changing his expression to a snide smirk. Kynarus remembered the rather angry Schraeder from the last time they had met, remembering how he had shot the human through the leg during his attempts to prove his point to Dieter so he could get Katherine back. Well, Kynarus had figured that Schraeder would never have forgiven him for that but for some reason he seemed to have done so and as well as that he was standing up straight with no trace of impaired walking due to the previous bullet wound. Looking at where he had shot the human, Kynarus could see that the injury site was covered up with the human's trousers, implying that maybe it had been only a minor wound after all.

To the right of Schraeder was someone Kynarus hadn't been expecting to see for a while at least. Rellin Kia'Shan was standing near the lead human, a scowl on his half-synthetic face implying that he didn't seem to take too kindly to Kynarus being here as well. He was dressed in some heavy-duty looking body armour, looking sort of like the Corporation armour Kynarus had been stuck wearing since arriving on Mars days before. Perhaps Rellin was being sent off on some sort of dangerous mission? It was impossible to work out just why he was dressed in such heavy duty material but Kynarus didn't really care either. He didn't like Rellin and could see that the hatred was shared with the older turian.

To Rellin's right was Hermann Holst, still in his coat and still on crutches. He didn't seem too interested in watching the turian and his human friend get strapped into these mysterious metal chairs and seemed more interested in leaving. His eyes were gazing towards the door every now and then, enough to imply he didn't share Dieter and Schraeder's fascination in whatever was going to follow.

And to Hermann's right was Heinrich Walstedt, the apparent "businessman" of the bunch who Kynarus had had a go at interrogating back on the Citadel. That interrogation hadn't ended especially well for Kynarus since Rellin had showed up and subdued him, Kynarus waking up on board Dieter's frigate hours later while it was en route to Mars. He seemed especially pleased at whatever was going to happen to Kynarus and Katherine, rubbing his hands together with anticipation before putting a hand on the railing in front of him and tapping his fingers impatiently. His gaze sometimes fell onto Katherine and Kynarus could see the noticeable liking he had for her, something which made the turian quite angry. He started moving the loose clamp that was around his wrist but was doing it slowly and carefully so that it made hardly any noise and thus brought no attention to himself.

And finally, at the end of the group was someone which Kynarus had to do a double take to be sure who it was. When he did realize who it was he was overcome with enough anger that he felt standing up and charging at the human (if he wasn't strapped into this chair). Instead, he took a deep breath and tried gathering himself as he started thinking why he hadn't noticed this earlier.

It was Bradley, standing with the other Corporation assholes with a smug grin. He saw Kynarus' gaze fall upon him and he just shrugged innocently before using a hand to smooth out a crease on one sleeve of his white suit jacket. It was surprising to see him here, on the side of the bad guys, but Kynarus knew he had been stupid to not have seen it earlier.

That was when it hit the turian. Not an object but a realization, one that made him angrier than he already was. Seeing Bradley standing there, watching him with one of the most annoying smug grins he had ever seen had been enough to light a spark inside of him. Now that Kynarus could see that everything made more sense simply fuelled that spark into a full fire.

The reason they had been able to get off of Mars was because of Bradley and his contact with the forger. The reason they had been able to get past Customs at the spaceport in Buenos Aires had been because of Bradley. It shouldn't have been so easy to get off of Mars and get to Earth but thanks to Bradley it had all been seemingly routine and straightforward. Bradley had seemed friendly, if not a bit stupid, but Kynarus and Katherine needed all the help they could get. Bradley knew that and so did…

Dieter…

Dieter and his buddies had known all along about Kynarus and Katherine's situation. Whatever part of the plan had changed had ensured that Dieter, or at the very least, Schraeder, had wanted the two of them alive. Why was currently beyond Kynarus, he had no idea and neither did Katherine. The reason had been important enough for Dieter to arrange Bradley to come along and befriend the pair, helping them get off of Mars and to Earth. Bradley had been a timely acquaintance, arriving in Kynarus and Katherine's lives at a time when they needed his help most. It had almost been too good to be true.

It had been too good to be true. Kynarus felt like slamming his head into the nearest wall, realizing how stupid he had been to accept Bradley so easily. I was so stupid to not see it…

Kynarus eyed Bradley carefully, making sure his anger and his dislike of the human were made perfectly clear in the agitated scowl he directed towards him. Bradley shrugged again, bearing his pearly white teeth in a smile that made Kynarus shudder to the core. Not because it was menacing or sinister in any way but because it was so damn annoying.

It had only been about a minute since Kynarus had come to and once he had taken in each of the Corporation head honchos and Bradley he turned his head to look at Katherine. Seeing her in the same vulnerable position as he was only helped to fuel his rage but he managed to keep himself calm and controlled on the outside, letting the fury burn inside of him rather than take it out on whatever he could around him.

"Kynarus…" Katherine turned to him, her head movement restricted by the metal head-piece that one of the technicians routinely put on the back of her head, "they got you too, did they?" She swore under her breath before shooting a hateful scowl at Dieter. "What the hell do you want with us, Dieter?"

Dieter was dressed in his usual dark coat and matching trousers, this time sporting a cap that bore the eagle wings insignia of the Zahni Corporation ("Soaring humanity through the stars…with the best equipment available…" was just one of the many crappy slogans of the Corporation) and with the same grey-black design as the rest of his outfit. He lost his rather morbid frown and simply shook his head, not so much in pity but more because he really had nothing to do with her current situation. Sure, he might have apprehended both her and Kynarus but in fact he had only been following orders. Those orders had come straight from Schraeder who had taken command of the current operation much to Dieter's discontent.

"Don't give me that look, Miss Tyler," Dieter said in his usual charming manner. He brought his hands together, as if in anticipation, rubbing them excitedly as he nodded towards the chair she was strapped into. "After all, you should feel honoured. You're about to become the first official test subjects for our new memory implantation machine…"

"What?" Katherine couldn't keep the bewilderment out of her voice. Kynarus had to admit: what Dieter was saying sounded pretty stupid. Memory implantation machine? What the hell was that supposed to mean?

It was safe to assume the chair and the many devices that were on the plate behind their heads were in fact part of the "memory implantation machine". Kynarus couldn't do much about the lab technician who walked over and put the same sort of metal headpiece Katherine had on onto the back of his head, simply shooting a mean scowl at the technician who quickly shied away once the deed was done.

Schraeder, dressed in a grey Corporation officer's uniform with red shoulder patches, stepped forward and put a hand on the railing in front of him. From where he was standing they could gaze around the entire laboratory with ease, giving them an excellent view of what was to come. Schraeder seemed to be in charge now, a fact that Kynarus duly noted. This hinted at a shift in power within the Corporation but Kynarus could do little to exploit it now, considering he was clamped into a nasty looking chair and about to have God-only-knew-what done to him. He didn't like laboratories; they had always been a place he had had a strong dislike for. They were the type of place where often unsavoury experiments occurred, the types of experiments that never found their way into the news.

This laboratory seemed to be no different to the others Kynarus had been in. During his time as a mercenary he had come across a few, usually drug labs or ones that belonged to rival organizations that his employer wanted him to "get rid of". It was during these occasions that he had come across all manner of experimentations, such as the one time he had to kill a bunch of batarian scientists who were experimenting on innocent subjects in order to try and create a biological weapon…

"I was the one who ordered you two to be brought here," Schraeder said, speaking in an authoritative but stern tone. He looked at Kynarus without a hint of the previous dislike the turian had seen in him during the time they had been stuck with each other on Mars. Usually when someone shot you in the leg you had a dislike of them, but this time around Schraeder didn't seem to have a grudge against Kynarus. If he did have a grudge he certainly wasn't showing it. He seemed to be in a more "straight-to-business" mood.

"I would like to welcome you both to the very centre of the Corporation," Schraeder continued, spreading his arms and gesturing to the lab and building around them. Kynarus wasn't impressed and would have found it hard to be anyway seeing as he had just woken up from hours of unconsciousness. He hadn't seen much of the building save for this laboratory.

Kynarus wasn't really listening to Schraeder; instead he couldn't help but watch Bradley. The human had now turned his attention to Schraeder in order to listen to what the big boss had to say but was still wearing that idiotic grin. Kynarus felt like smashing his head in, just so he could get rid of that idiotic smile…

"You both are in the main headquarters of the Zahni Corporation," Schraeder boasted, sounding proud of the Corporation. He certainly had a right to be seeing as the Corporation seemed to be everywhere, on all known worlds and a few unknown ones. At least, that's what Kynarus had heard about this particular Corporation but otherwise he knew very little about them. He did know that they wanted that mysterious package and were willing to kill to get it and he also knew they had a dangerous rivalry with the Cerberus group. Otherwise Kynarus had been spending the past few weeks fighting an enemy he knew little about. It struck him as kind of strange but he realized it just came with the territory.

"We started off small, concentrating solely on gathering loyal fighters in order to grow and spread," Schraeder said, gazing briefly at the ceiling as he reminisced about past times, "way back in 1946, after the Second World War, several of our founders had been forced to flee the country known as Germany and come here, to Argentina…"

"Hang on one fucking second," Katherine interrupted, receiving a blatantly annoyed glare from Schraeder, "are you saying that this Corporation was founded by a bunch of…"

"Shut up and don't interrupt me!" Schraeder exclaimed angrily. Katherine fell silent, occasionally struggling against the clamps that held her in place but otherwise she did little else. She wasn't in much of a position to put up a fight or a decent argument, although what Schraeder was saying had piqued Kynarus' curiosity somewhat. The turian wasn't quite sure what this

"Second World War" was or when 1946 had been, but he assumed it had something to do with human history. This was one subject he wasn't particularly knowledgeable about.

"As I was saying, the Corporation began as a small organization dedicated to researching advanced technologies. For years we operated in secret, funded by contacts in the country's government until, back in the early 22nd century, we were able to become known in the public as the Zahni Corporation. Don't ask me who came up with the name, though.

"Since then we've supplied our own private armies with some of the most advanced weaponry and equipment in existence. We've been dedicated to giving humanity an edge over its interstellar alien rivals in this regard but we are yet to organize complete shipments of our weapons and equipment to the Alliance. So far we've kept it to ourselves, since we've been rather busy during the latest operation…"
"Let me guess," Kynarus said, making the turian equivalent of a frown. Schraeder seemed to be proudly boasting about the Corporation and would possibly get to whatever point he was trying to make soon enough but Kynarus thought he would interject, just to make it look like he had been listening. No need to annoy the big boss anymore.

"The package is what you've spent all this time looking for? I'm right, aren't I?" Kynarus looked towards Schraeder, hoping for some proper answers in regards to the very thing everyone in the room seemed to be after. Quite typically, Schraeder simply nodded and gave a rather simple answer.

"Yes, that's right," he replied, "and I just happen to know where it is. Once we're done here we'll be heading straight to where I left it."

Kynarus knew he was onto something, especially since Schraeder seemed so willing to disclose this sort of information. No one else in the room seemed bothered by it, perhaps implying that Kynarus should be worried about whatever they were planning to do to him.

"You see Kynarus, you and Katherine have proven to be such a resourceful pair that I've decided to keep you alive," Schraeder said, "people like you would do well to work for us. I'm hoping I'll be able to convince you here and now but I have a feeling that won't be possible…"

"You bet it won't," Kynarus said sternly. He had no intention for working for a bunch of scheming, sinister people who had nothing better to do than to go on some wild goose chase for some mysterious package. Besides, he didn't like Dieter or Schraeder.

Schraeder simply smiled in response to this remark, nodding in an understanding fashion. He had been expecting such an answer, thus the reason why he had brought the two of them here and had them clamped into the mysterious and experimental chairs.

"I had a feeling that would be your response to such a proposition," Schraeder said, "which is why I had you both brought here. You should both feel honoured, as Dieter said, since you are both about to be the first recipients of a new form of technology that I hope will take the Corporation into a much prosperous future."

He gestured towards the chair Kynarus was clamped into with one hand, smiling broadly. Kynarus wasn't sure what they had planned for him but he didn't like the sound of it, gently forcing the loose clamp against his left hand further and further out of where it was screwed on while Schraeder rambled on.

"You are both seated in what I like to call 'mind adjustment machines'. We haven't come up with an official name yet since they're still in their early prototypes, but I'm sure you can get the gist of it from the temporary name."

Kynarus was a little bewildered about it all, unable to quite pinpoint just what Schraeder meant by a "Mind adjustment machine". That was when he remembered something that had been said a while ago, back in Chora's Den on the Citadel during his first meeting with Colonel Sommers. The Colonel had been talking about the Zahni Corporation and mentioned a few of the things it researched…

"Thing is, they've been doing some work for the Alliance for some time now on mind altering technology…"

The Colonel's American accented voice filtered into the turian's mind briefly as he remembered what the Colonel had said. The truth was that the Corporation wasn't working for the Alliance. They were independent from everyone which may explain why they had been able to research such things without getting anyone else's direct attention. Even the Colonel could be wrong at times, it seemed.

What did that mean for him and Katherine then? Did it mean that they were about to get on the receiving end of this "Mind altering technology"?

Whatever it meant Kynarus wasn't willing to find out. He knew he had to escape somehow and began summing up his options, realizing that even if he somehow managed to break free it would be too easy for the guards and the technicians to subdue him again. It would be even easier if Schraeder, Dieter and their friends were inside the laboratory as well.

"These machines are the epitome of the Corporation's research," Schraeder continued, "we have been trying to find an easier way to get loyal followers and it occurred to me that what better way than to alter their minds so that anyone subjected to treatment by one of these machines was indefinitely loyal? It seemed so simple, yet a goal so out of reach.

"Research into this sort of thing had been going on for a number of years but it wasn't until recently that we actually made some progress," Schraeder said, "and now, after a few failed tests, we think we have made suitable progress for a successful trial run."

Kynarus didn't like the sound of this. Failed tests? What was that supposed to mean? Had there been others before him that had been strapped into one of these chairs, only for the "treatment" to go wrong?

"And so, Kynarus, you and Miss Tyler will be the first and definitely not the last to receive this sort of treatment. We're certain you'll live through it with all your brain cells intact, although with science you can never be sure…"
Dieter stepped forward, receiving a nod from Schraeder which was more or less the signal to start explaining things in a little more detail. Kynarus was both nervous and curious but he knew he would have to escape somehow. He certainly didn't think waiting around for much longer would help.

Dieter thought about what to say for a moment before speaking, a smile crawling onto his lips. It was one of his more pleased smiles but it still had the capacity to annoy the turian, giving him just one more reason to try and escape. If he escaped, he might be able to get rid of Dieter once and for all.

"What Schraeder is saying is that you two will be subjected to a specially made program via the chairs you are sitting in and the many devices attached to it. Your minds will be altered into what we want them to be, effectively giving you new identities." His gaze went to Kynarus, noticing that the turian had suddenly tensed up. Katherine, meanwhile, had begun to struggle against the clamps but to no avail.

"Kynarus, you and Miss Tyler will become loyal followers of the Corporation," Dieter said with a smile, "we've decided that since we can't get rid of you two we'll just make you join us. Since convincing you both is out of the question, we're just going to have to make you want to join us. I hope that's clear enough for you both…"

"So…you're going to change our minds? How the hell is that even possible?" Kynarus was nervous now. He knew that if Dieter was telling the truth, and it certainly sounded like he was, then perhaps Kynarus and Katherine had come to the end of their long journey. They would end up henchmen (or a henchwoman, in the case of Katherine) and they wouldn't even begin to think that they had once been the two people going against the Corporation. It seemed so unbelievable that such a thing was possible but Kynarus had seen a lot of things during recent times that had made him question what he should believe in and what he shouldn't. One thing had been Schraeder's apparent "abilities" but Kynarus was still sceptical. Right now though he had more pressing issues on his mind, like how he was going to get out of this one.

"The wonders of technology, Kynarus," Dieter replied, "after all, the mind is simply electrical impulses and such. Why would it not be possible to alter them?"

Dieter made a good point, one that made Kynarus believe that he was now in one hell of a predicament. He wasn't entirely sure how he would escape but the loose clamp had given him something to work with.

It made sense that they would want someone like him to work for them. So far he and Katherine had provided them with them with plenty of trouble, probably annoying Dieter but suitably impressing Schraeder from what he had been able to tell. Perhaps Schraeder had finally decided that they would be useful to them although Kynarus didn't like the idea of having his mind played around with. That sort of thing made him uneasy.

"The trouble is that the machines you are in are just prototypes. We are yet to perfect it and so far we've only tested on human brains, not turian ones. We're sure the differences won't be particularly major but even so, there is a chance that you'll end up lobotomized." Dieter didn't seem particularly concerned about this, simply shrugging before adding, "It'll be for the sake of research, of course."

Kynarus knew now that he would have to try his luck and escape. Having a go at getting out of here was certainly better than ending up a mindless vegetable or a loyal henchman of Schraeder. He could see Katherine was thinking the same thing since she had started to struggle against the clamps holding her in place, only to have one of the lab technicians walk over and hold her down in order to stop her from struggling.

"Perhaps you would like to know what new identities we plan to program in place of your current ones," Dieter asked, "It may give you an idea of what type of person you'll end up becoming."

Kynarus didn't answer and neither did Katherine. They were both too annoyed to really care about what Dieter had to say and as a result the Corporation head honcho went on to speak anyway.

"You, Kynarus, will become a high ranking officer in our unit of turian commandoes," Dieter said while he reached into a pocket and pulled out a carton of cigarettes. He flipped open the lid and removed one, putting the box back into his pocket and retrieving a lighter from another pocket. He placed the end of the cigarette into his mouth and lit the other end with the lighter, blowing gently into it before continuing his speech. He didn't seem too concerned about the whole memory altering procedure going wrong and it occurred to Kynarus that he probably didn't care about what happened to him.

"You will be loyal and will make an excellent squad leader," Dieter said, "you and your men will go on the most dangerous assignments in order to remove our rivals and cement the Corporation's reputation as an unopposed power.

"Katherine, on the other hand, will become a squad leader in our human commando group. She has the skills and the knowledge to make a good leader. And don't fret, either of you, because you'll be able to see each other most days when you're not on an assignment. You see, Schraeder and I have been kind enough to make sure your new personas still contain that obvious liking you two have for each other."
He turned to Kynarus, noticing the turian's obvious anger at the whole idea of altering his mind. Dieter simply smiled his usual type of annoying but sinister smile and continued talking.

"You shouldn't be such a sourpuss Kynarus," Dieter said, "after all you'll be able to fuck Katherine almost every night. We'll be making her into not only a good soldier but an obedient girlfriend to you, my turian friend…."

"As all girlfriends and wives should be," Schraeder added, "obedient and loyal. Katherine will be just that."

Kynarus didn't actually want anyone to screw around with his mind and knew he would have to escape. Katherine was thinking the same thing although looking at her now he could sense some uncertainty in her, as if she saw their futile chances of escaping.

"Once you two have been successfully altered, feel free to come up to the top floor office suites and join us in a small party we're having," Dieter said, gesturing to the others to follow him as he started for the door. Bradley tagged along behind the group, most of whom were giving Kynarus and Katherine passive glances. They didn't care; half of the members of the group had received some sort of injury from the turian anyway.

"We're celebrating Schraeder's return," Dieter said as the door slid open. Schraeder smiled as he stepped through the door, managing a last glance at both Katherine and Kynarus before disappearing into the corridor beyond. Kynarus knew that the absence of that group would benefit whatever plans of escape he came up with. Schraeder and Dieter could have easily subdued Kynarus if he broke free but with them gone his chances of escape were suitably increasing.

"There'll be food and drinks," Dieter said as Rellin, Heinrich and Hermann shuffled past him, "be there or be square!" He smiled broadly, having shamelessly delivered a cliché before turning around and disappearing into the hallway beyond the lab's door. Kynarus would have tried his best to beat the crap out of Dieter but he was sort of stuck in the chair for now, minutes away from getting a possible lobotomy. If it all went well then he would wake up as someone entirely different, perhaps with the same past but definitely not the same opinion of the Corporation and its head honchos than before.

Bradley turned to look at Kynarus and Katherine only momentarily. He smiled at them again and Kynarus shot him a hateful glare, unable to quite fathom why Bradley was working for pricks like Schraeder and Dieter.

"What the hell Bradley?" Kynarus asked, noticing how the technicians had begun to fiddle with some of the computers over in the corner of the room. This was an obvious indication that they were preparing the machines to start the process of changing the turian's and Katherine's minds. He was still annoyed about how Bradley had been working for Dieter all along and had a feeling he wouldn't get much of a helpful explanation out of him.

"They're going to pay me a heck of a lot of money for helping to bring you two troublemakers in," Bradley said, "so…I'll be seeing you at the party Kynarus!" He laughed, starting out of the door and disappearing from view as it slid shut behind him.

Kynarus kept his anger controlled as he summed up his immediate options. Two of the lab technicians were seated at the bank of computers in the corner, keying in all sorts of commands and occasionally glancing over at Katherine and Kynarus. The other three technicians were adjusting panels on the machines behind the heads of the chairs and occasionally flicking switches on them. Lights began to flash on the panels on both Kynarus and Katherine's chairs, indicating that the process was getting started.

Kynarus started rattling the loose clamp, gently enough so that none of the technicians really noticed. One of the technicians seated at the bank of computers reached over to the nearby wall and pulled a lever, inclining Kynarus to brace himself for whatever was to come.

That was when a skull-splitting pain shot its way seemingly right into his brain, causing him to tense his muscles and writhe involuntarily in the seat. He yelled out in pain, able to see in the corner of his vision that Katherine was suffering from the same thing. The pain seemed to go right into the very depths of his mind and was enough to drive him into a desperate struggle to break free. He began rattling the loose clamp much stronger and louder this time, finding it hard to actually concentrate on any one thing due to the immense agony. He saw one of the lab technicians walk over and attempt to hold him down, followed by another. The two guards at the door started walking over, concerned looks on their faces when they saw the turian struggling against the machine.

"Don't move around so much," one of the technicians said, "it'll just hurt more otherwise…"

Kynarus clenched his jaw, trying to think straight but finding an act like that impossibly hard to do. He could feel the clamp at his left hand loosening now, the screws that had once held it in place coming loose from the arm of the chair itself. Gathering a bout of strength he lifted his left arm, his mind clouded with intense pain as he did so. The clamp came up with his hand and with a single swipe he brought one of the protruding screws jutting from the base of the clamp into the neck of one of the lab technicians. Blood squirted out from a small jagged hole in the jugular and the technician clutched at his throat with both hands, gargling loudly before falling over.

Kynarus immediately reached over with his free hand to his right hand which was still clamped to the chair, opening the clamp and removing the one that was still stuck around his left wrist. He reached up and pulled the headpiece away from his head, the pain immediately subsiding and making it much easier to concentrate. Thankful that he was still himself he fixed his attention onto the two guards, both of whom had removed their batons and were coming straight towards him.

Kynarus bent over and undone the clamps at his ankles, freeing himself from the machine entirely. He looked around and saw Katherine was still stuck in the chair, yelling as the machine sent intense pain straight into her skull. Before the turian could rush over and free her he was set upon by one of the other lab technicians, this particular technician having removed a fire extinguisher from the wall and was now preparing to use it as a sort of club. Kynarus simply avoided the technician's first lunge, grabbing him from behind and pushing his head straight into the metal plate of lights and panels that were behind the top of the now empty chair. Sparks flew and the technician screamed as his head went straight into a glass panel, smashing it and sending shards of class cutting into his face. To top it off there was still power flowing through the machine, the technician jerking about wildly as he was electrocuted.

Picking up the fallen fire extinguisher the technician had once gripped Kynarus then brought it round into the head of the first guard that came running towards him. There was a satisfying thud and the guard fell, a big purple bruise on his temple. The other guard came from the turian's right with baton raised and disgruntled expression on his face. Kynarus found the trigger on the fire extinguisher and pulled it, sending a cloud of white smoke directly into the guard's face. He stumbled backwards, momentarily blinded while giving Kynarus a chance to punch him in the jaw.

With that guard down Kynarus turned around and raced over to where Katherine was seated. She was writhing about in the chair as it attempted to alter her very own mind. Kynarus only had to undo one of the clamps around her wrists before she did the rest herself, freeing herself from the machine just as the remaining three technicians were up and coming straight at them.

One of the technicians started racing for what looked to be an alarm switch on the wall. Rather than let the technician alert the entire building Kynarus took a moment to adjust his aim and threw the extinguisher across the room, hitting the technician in the side of the head and sending him falling onto the floor. By then the other two technicians were on them, fists up as they prepared to fight the escaping captives.

Being lab technicians they weren't exactly combat experts and it took only a few punches to send them onto the floor. When the dust had settled over the brawl and the pain in Katherine's head had subsided the pair exchanged glances, catching their breath and realizing just how close they had come to getting a total mind-change or lobotomy.

"You still yourself Katherine?" Kynarus asked. She certainly seemed her usual fiery-tempered self and she simply looked at him and smiled. The machines hadn't had the time to enact the earliest of the changes before the pair had escaped from them so as far as Kynarus could tell, Katherine was fine.

"Yeah, I'm myself," Katherine replied, sounding relieved. She had a right to be, any longer in that machine and she could have ended up a loyal follower of the Zahni Corporation. Or she could have ended up lobotomized; it was hard to figure out which alternative was the better one.

Looking around the lab, Kynarus stepped over to the unconscious pair of guards and knelt down to search them for anything useful. He took a sidearm from each of them, some sort of Zahni Corporation manufactured pistol that was more gunmetal grey than black. He handed one to Katherine and then stood back up, summing up their options.

They were both fairly certain that someone would come into the lab to check on them. When that happened chances are the entire base would be put on high alert and Kynarus was sure that would mean that plenty of Corporation goons would be arriving in this particular part of the complex when that happened. He and Katherine would have to leave now and move quickly, preferably avoiding getting caught on any surveillance cameras.

Looking around the room the turian couldn't see any which may explain the lack of an alarm siren that he had been expecting to sound at the first sign of their escape. It seemed safe to assume that the Corporation preferred to keep laboratories like this secret and so the absence of surveillance cameras would ensure anything done in this room remained secret to all except those directly involved.

He stepped over to the door which slid open as he approached, beyond it being a rather grey but brightly lit corridor. He could see a camera at both ends and so quickly ducked back into the lab and out of their view. He turned to look at Katherine who was standing a short distance behind him, pistol gripped in her right hand while she awaited his report about whatever was in the corridor.

"There's no one out there but I can see a few cameras," Kynarus said, trying to think of any way that could get them out of the lab without arousing suspicion. Katherine didn't seem too bothered, but then again she always seemed to keep herself level-headed in these kinds of situations.

"The guy watching the camera monitor's going to assume we've had our minds altered and are simply on our way to the office party we were invited to," she said, sticking her pistol underneath her brown-red jacket so that it was out of view. Kynarus nodded, realizing what she was getting at. "As long as we keep our guns out of sight we can probably make our way straight to the top level office suites without anyone taking any notice of us."
It was obvious that Katherine had the intention of going up to the party and getting rid of Dieter once and for all, along with Schraeder and the rest of the goons. Kynarus did have his doubts about the whole idea but knew that their goals of removing the Corporation's leadership were within reach. They had a chance, probably one of their last, and it was probably best they take it.

Kynarus found a compartment at the back of his armour built for storing water canteens and stored his pistol away in there, making sure to close the compartment so that the weapon was out of sight but within easy reach. He realized that if they were heading up to the top floor of the complex then chances were there would be no turning back: when they killed Dieter and Schraeder then everyone in the complex would come after those responsible for the deaths of their leadership. It was possible neither Kynarus or Katherine would make it out of this alive but both of them knew there was no use in simply escaping and letting Dieter and Schraeder get away again. Katherine didn't seem too bothered by these thoughts and was more determined on getting rid of Dieter than anything else. He had almost killed her back on Talerian, after all.

"So, you want to go to the party?" Kynarus asked, swallowing his doubts and already knowing Katherine's response.

"It's probably best we don't keep Schraeder and Dieter waiting," Katherine said, pushing past the turian as she stepped out into the corridor, "besides, there's going to be food there and right now I'm feeling really hungry."

Kynarus watched her as she confidently started down the corridor, managing a glance back towards him as she went. The look on her face was telling him to follow although neither of them really knew where they were going. Regardless Kynarus composed himself and started following her, prepared for whatever awaited them on the top floor. He could sense that the end of this battle with the Corporation was close; he just wasn't too keen on what the final result could turn out to be.