A/N: Still rocking this surge of inspiration.
There's lots going on in this chapter, so as always, please let me know what you think.
Happy holidays! ~J
"No matter where you go, I will find you." – I Will Find You, Enya
Chapter Thirty-Seven – One Step Forward, Three Steps Back
Out of all the worlds in the Hourglass Nebula, Alingon was one of the most inhospitable. Its molten core was constantly at odds with its frozen surface, resulting in a thick electro-magnetic field that shrouded the entire planet. The field wreaked havoc on ships' navigation instruments and comms systems, disrupting them as soon as they entered the atmosphere. Likewise, sending and receiving off-world communication from the planet's surface was next to impossible, unless one possessed the extremely sophisticated equipment to do so. All those features combined made Alingon an ideal place to hide for those who didn't want to be found. Of course, the downside was that it also hid those looking for those who did not want to be found.
It was hardly surprising, then, that the Shadow Broker had hidden an outpost on Alingon. Obscure and hard to find, the base was nestled inside a mountain range of dry ice formations found at the very bottom of a narrow chasm.
Feron steered the Plain Dealer through the channel, carefully weaving the small ship between the craggy peaks and towering spires of ice. To the best of his knowledge, the base had been unoccupied for some time now, and he could only hope that it had remained so in the months since he had last set foot within its confines.
Tucked away, virtually unseen underneath a rocky outcropping, a set of massive double doors served as a boundary between the harsh elements outside and the secret compound that lay beyond. As they approached, he opened his omnitool and queued up an algorithm that would search through all the possible combinations until it came up with the right entry code needed to unlock the doors. It wouldn't do to use his own code, since with one simple action he had betrayed both Cerberus and the Shadow Broker. Once the Shadow Broker caught wind of his duplicity, the consequences would no doubt be as swift as they would be ruthless. He needed to stay off the grid for as long as possible, and that meant taking every stolen second he could get. Until now, Feron had given little consideration to his own fate once Shepard had been reunited with her crew. Perhaps she would let him join her crew….
His omnitool flashed green, and three cheerful beeps preceded a low, vibrating groan as the doors opened, stretching wide jaws to welcome him into the cavern's dark, gaping maw. With wide eyes that searched for potential danger lurking around every turn and corner, he guided the Dealer through the tunnel toward the landing pad.
The receiving area was dark. The base was running on minimal power, which was a good sign. The dim, secondary lighting showed the landing pad and immediate area were empty as he touched down. Feron rose from his seat and grabbed his pistol, sliding it into the hip holster hidden under his jacket. He threw a quick glance toward the Commander, and then slipped outside to survey the surroundings.
His footfalls reverberated around the long corridors, despite his light steps. Keeping his gun in the low ready position, he silently moved from room to room, sweeping around corners and clearing the dark places. A fine layer of dust coated the floors and had settled over the equipment in each room, confirming the drell's suspicions that the base had been empty for a while. As he continued to clear the base, he made a mental note on which rooms would best suit his purpose.
Twenty minutes later he had situated Shepard as comfortably as possible in a small room on the far side of the base. The room was, for all intents and purposes, a cell, and while he had no intention of keeping her under lock and key, it did come with the added benefit of being able to shut the door and lock it in the event that someone infiltrated the compound. There was a control room a few doors down, and it was here that Feron decided to set up, as it contained several closed-circuit surveillance terminals that were not only connected to Shepard's cell, but also afforded him varying views of the interior and exterior of the base.
Well aware that the clock was ticking and time was steadily working against them, Feron hurried into Shepard's cell and cautiously approached her stretcher.
"Commander?" He called out, his voice low and gravelly.
Shepard stirred and a moan slipped past her slack lips.
"Commander, I need you to wake up." Placing a hand on her shoulder, he gave it a gentle squeeze. "Come on, Shepard. That's it. Yes, open your eyes."
Her eyelids fluttered open and he found himself staring into eyes that were as green as the seaweed that collected along the shores of Kahje's oceans. She blinked, and those penetrating pupils darkened as she slowly gained awareness.
"Thane?" she whispered. With an unmistakable look of hope, she raised her fingers towards his lips.
Feron intercepted her hand, clutching her fingers in what he hoped was a comforting gesture. "No. My name is Feron."
"Feron?" She repeated. Her brows knit together in confusion. "What do you want with me?"
"I rescued you from Cerberus. Look, Commander," he said, placing her hand back on her abdomen, "we don't have much time before Cerberus and the Shadow Broker come looking for us. Where is your crew? How do I contact them?"
"The Nor—" She stopped abruptly as her eyes rolled back.
"Commander!" He seized her shoulders, shaking her back to consciousness. "Stay with me, Shepard!"
Jane slowly opened her eyes.
"Good," he encouraged. "Now, how do I contact your crew?"
"John." Her voice cracked and she winced in pain. "John Shepard. On the…the Normandy."
"The Normandy? Okay." Feron breathed an internal sigh of relief. "Hold tight, Commander. I'll be back soon."
He spun around and jogged out of the room, pausing by the control center to grab an omnitool, a long-range radio, and an amplifier. There was a spot on the roof that, if the conditions were just right, would allow him to get a signal out without too much interference from the electro-magnetic field. He only hoped that the equipment he found around the base was powerful enough to penetrate it. No doubt it would take Jane's crew some time to get to their location—provided that they even received his message—and it would be a race to see which faction got to them first.
.x.x.x.
"Tali, this is perfect. Wherever did you get this?"
The quarian shrugged modestly. "I'm always keeping an eye out for useful parts to send back to the flotilla. Plus, I'm a bit of a tech nut. This caught my eye while I was on my pilgrimage and I grabbed it thinking it might come in handy later."
"It certainly does." Liara turned the OSD over in her hand, examining its exterior before inserting it into the terminal in Jane's cabin. "This will not only mine the data for any information that's been sent or received on this computer, but I can also push it out to the extranet to search for specific keywords such as 'Jane Shepard,' 'Cerberus,' and 'the Shadow Broker.'"
"I'm glad I can finally do something to help," Tali said plaintively, sinking down to the sofa between the desk and Jane's bed. "I still feel like if she didn't have to come after me..."
The asari twisted around in the chair and glared at her pointedly. "Stop that. You can't fix what happened and beating yourself up isn't going to help. It was an ambush; you were all caught off guard. Nobody here blames you, and you should know Jane well enough by now to know that she wouldn't blame you, either. Besides," Liara said, her voice softening, "from what I hear, you've been instrumental in helping EDI repair Legion."
"It's been slow going," she replied. "A lot of its internal hardware was fried as a result of Miranda's sabotage. And because Legion is based on technology that technically doesn't exist in this timeline, well, finding replacement parts has been somewhat difficult."
The two women fell silent and for a time the only sound that could be heard was the steady whir of Jane's machine as the program performed its search. Liara lingered a few more minutes and then stood.
"I have no idea how long this will take, or if it will even find something worth noting," Liara said, activating her omnitool. "But if it does, I've programmed it to forward any hits to my omnitool." She thought for a moment more and then added, "Remind me to tell Garrus not to access her terminal."
Tali nodded. "How long has he been sleeping in here?"
The corners of the asari's mouth drooped as she turned a gloomy gaze at the bed. "For the past few nights. I think it's the only way he can get some rest, and goddess knows, he needs it."
"He's taking this really hard," the young quarian said. Her head was bent as she concentrated on the hands she had been wringing together on her lap. "You should've seen what he did to Thane when we got back."
"He's angry. He blames himself."
"There's a lot of that going around."
"Yes, there is." Shifting her weight, Liara gave Tali her bravest smile. "The best way we can help Shepard now is to stay focused and not get discouraged. Come on."
Tali pushed to her feet, pausing to stare at the computer terminal before she followed the asari through the door.
.x.x.x.
When Shepard opened her eyes, her surroundings were once again unfamiliar. This time, however, they lacked the frightening views of medical tools and equipment. Gone too were dozens of wires and feeding tubes, along with the monitors and their incessant beeping, leaving her instead with nothing but empty, bone-chilling silence.
The room she was in now was small, barely big enough to accommodate her bed. The gunmetal gray walls were smooth, and as she craned her head she noted a folded-up cot leaning against one wall and a toilet protruding from the other.
What the hell?
Was she in a cell?
Jane's overworked heart began to flutter anew as she tried to stave off the mounting panic. Calm down, Jane, she told herself, it doesn't matter if you're in a cell because the door right in front of you is wide open.
"Hello?" she dared to call out, hating how weak and vulnerable her voice sounded.
Moments later the stranger, Feron, appeared, giving her the distinct impression that she was indeed someplace that was under surveillance. His presence before had seemed like part of a forgotten dream, the details of it fuzzy and just barely teasing the edges of her subconscious. It was easy to see how she had confused him with Thane when she'd first woken up. The drell's markings were incredibly similar to the assassin's, although Feron sported gold and black coloring around his chin and neck, whereas Thane's were more green and red.
"Commander," he greeted. "I'm glad you're awake." His voice held an unmistakable note of relief as he approached her bed. He had a handful of nutrient bars in one hand and a bottle of water in the other. "You had me really worried for a while there. How are you feeling?"
"Everything hurts."
The drell shook his head slowly, his eyes sympathetic as they traced the dark lines of stitches running down her arms. "What did Cerberus do to you?"
"I don't know. Something about implants. I—" Her breath hitched. She made a face as a burning sensation ignited in her chest, spreading fire across her collarbone and through her shoulders. When did the simple act of talking become so painful? "I wasn't supposed to wake up, and they were quick to put me back under again whenever I did."
"Bastards," he whispered.
Feron's quiet exclamation confused her. Why was he, a complete stranger, suddenly so concerned about her wellbeing? He claimed to have rescued her from Cerberus, but why?
"Who are you? Why are you helping me?" she demanded.
Sighing, the drell placed the nutrient bars and the bottle of water on the mattress.
"I'm a double agent," he revealed. "I work for the Shadow Broker and pose as a Cerberus operative. Well, at least I did, anyway."
"What does the Shadow Broker want with me?"
"I was called in to help broker a deal between Cerberus and the Collectors. I'm not sure why the Collectors wanted your body so badly, but whatever they offered in trade to the Shadow Broker to make the exchange was obviously valuable enough to garner his assistance and support."
Jesus. Was Cerberus just the tip of the iceberg? If they were working with the Collectors, were they behind all the Collector attacks on the Normandy? Was it all a setup meant to lead them directly into Cerberus hands? The implications of how thoroughly Cerberus had managed to infiltrate and control things behind the scenes was daunting. And that wasn't even taking into account the Shadow Broker's involvement. If her theory turned out to be true, then they'd been played from the very beginning.
Although her mind demanded that she keep working to find the solution to that puzzle, her body was in open rebellion. Fatigue settled over her to coexist alongside the constant ache in her muscles. The last thing she wanted to do was sleep more, but the relief that such a state promised was almost undeniable.
Distantly Jane recalled Feron's earlier comment, and latching on to those words, she soldiered past the encroaching darkness.
"Wait. You said did."
The drell's eyes skirted guiltily away. With his head bent penitently he replied, "I must confess that it was my original intention to deliver you to the Collectors as planned. It was only after I arrived at the Cerberus outpost that I learned who you were. The details of your identity had been kept from me," he muttered. "I couldn't let the Commander Shepard, hero of the galaxy, be turned over to Collectors' hands. There have been rumblings throughout the Shadow Broker network about the reapers. If those rumors are true and the reapers are real, then you're our best chance of survival."
"They're real," Shepard mumbled.
"Needless to say, I have burned bridges on all sides by deviating course and bringing you here."
"Thank you," she said softly.
Her resolve was fading fast and sleep beckoned to her now with an intensity that she no longer wanted to fight. Follow me, it whispered. For here there is no pain...
"Don't thank me just yet. We still have to reunite you with your crew, and it may take a while for them to come for you. Time that I fear we do not h—Shepard, don't! You need to stay awake. At least a little while longer." He tapped his fingers against her knee to rouse her. "I know you're exhausted and I know you hurt, but you're never going to recover if you don't give your body the fuel it needs to heal." Picking up a nutrient bar he peeled away the wrapper and broke off a small piece, handing it to her. "Here. This is all I could find. This base doesn't have much in the way of food or medical supplies, but once you've eaten a bit I'll go see if I can dig up some medi-gel. That should at least help dull some of the pain."
"Thanks." She took the proffered piece and allowed him to help her into a sitting position, cautiously sinking her teeth into a corner once she was upright. After having all of her nourishment pumped through her intravenously, she wasn't sure how her stomach would handle solid food. The bar tasted vaguely of fruit and fine sand, forming a grainy paste that quickly stuck to the roof of her mouth. She waved her hand, motioning for the bottle of water.
"That good, huh?"
Shepard eagerly gulped down the cool, refreshing liquid, until she was able to swallow the lump. "Ugh. I can honestly say that it's the best meal I've eaten in a while."
"Now that's sad."
Jane chuckled and then groaned as the action made her keenly aware of all the places on her body that hurt. Even her bones hurt. She finished off the rest of the bar, followed by the water, and then leaned back against the pillow.
"Feel a little better?"
"Mm-hmm."
Feron said, smiling down at her warmly as he gathered up the garbage. "Now you can get some rest. I'll let you know when I've heard from your crew."
Shepard relaxed and let herself surrender to the approaching blackness, drifting off with the thought that soon she would be home.
.x.x.x.
John leaned against the doorway, his arms folded loosely over his chest as he watched his crew gather around a large crate. Their excitement was palpable. It was a refreshing change of pace to see them experience joy and intrigue after having been mired in worry and depression for so long.
Williams had the honor of prying the lid of the crate; this was her brainchild after all. With Garrus' help the two of the lifted a large metal console and placed it on the floor in front of them.
Wrex lumbered over and picked up one of the imitation rifles. "How is this thing supposed to work?"
Ashley stood up and tilted her head as she regarded the machine. "According to the description on the extranet, it's supposed to come with a few pre-programmed simulations that you control with your omni-tool. And you use these," she leaned over the edge of the crate and pulled out a bag of small white discs, "so the program can sense where you are in the simulation and keep track of how many times you're hit."
"Guns are cool and all, but what about biotics?" Jack asked.
"You'd think that if they could sense the 'gunfire,' they'd be able to sense biotic blasts," Garrus said.
The chief shrugged. "I don't know, but it's worth a shot. This combat sim is supposed to be the top of the line."
John was grateful that Ashley had come up with the idea for the crew to safely blow off steam. God knows, they needed it. It would be a good way for both him and Garrus to channel their frustration and anger. Give them something else to focus on. That suddenly gave him an idea. "All right, Vakarian," he said, pushing away from the door frame. He grabbed the sniper rifle and tossed it to the turian. "You and me. Let's try this baby out."
Garrus caught it, a look a smug disbelief on his face. "You want to go up against me? Do I need to remind you that I held off three merc bands, by myself, for hours?"
Shepard smirked. "I seem to recall something…oh yeah. That was when I came in and saved your ass."
"Is that what you think you did? I was doing just fine on my own."
"That so? Well, Vakarian, if you're so confident, why don't you put your money where your mouth is?"
"Okay." Garrus shifted the rifle into a low ready position. "Let's make this interesting, then. What do you say, best two out of three? And the loser—"
"Has to wear a dress on the next mission," John finished.
"Damn, Commander!" Ashley howled.
"Oh, you're on."
John picked up the assault rifle. "You're gonna look so good in the dress I have in mind," he taunted. "I hope you aren't squeamish about a short hemline."
Williams fired up the machine while Garrus and Shepard worked on attaching the sensors to their clothing. She selected an encounter that would pit the two opponents against each other, and set the time limit for five minutes.
The machine whirred to life, projecting a large holographic jungle scene across the cargo hold. Dense trees and fallen logs provided the appropriate cover, and a night filter upped the difficulty.
"Hmph," Wrex grunted appreciatively.
"Gentleman, go to your spawn points," she instructed.
The two of them split up, each walking to the opposite edge of the hologram.
"Ready? Begin!" Ashley hit the button and a countdown ticked away the time until the match started.
"Kick his ass, Vakarian!" Jack screamed.
"People aren't going to want to miss this!" Ashley laughed. Pulling up her omni-tool she sent a message to the rest of the crew.
John took cover behind a tree as soon as the buzzer sounded. He was confident that he could get the drop on the turian once he got close enough, but Garrus was a wicked shot with a sniper rifle and possessed the stealth that went along with it. Peeking out from behind the tree trunk, he surveyed the area, trying to get a fix on his opponent's location. Seconds later, the sound of a simulated bullet whizzed past his ear and he staggered backward.
This was going to be harder than he thought. He took a small measure of comfort in the fact that Garrus had missed. That meant he was rattled, at least. Garrus never missed.
Dropping to the ground, he low-crawled to a position further up the battlefield. Something moved, just a brief flash of yellow ribbing through the leaves. Bringing up his rifle, he sighted down the scope. He spotted the edge of Garrus' arm, the gray and blue of his tunic almost indistinguishable from the shadows of the trees. John shifted slightly to get a better angle, and then slowly pulled back on the trigger.
"Commander!"
Shepard muttered a curse as his shot went wide.
"Where's Shepard?!"
Liara. Her voice sounded frantic.
The report of Garrus' sniper rifle reverberated through the air, and the sensor on John's right shoulder went off, sending volts of electricity coursing down his right arm.
"Ow! Damn it, Vakarian!" he roared. "That was a cheap shot."
"Commander, I need to speak with you!" Liara shouted. "I found something!"
John stepped forward and made a slashing motion across his neck. "Cut the feed, Williams."
The hologram disappeared. Liara surged forward.
"What did you find?"
"Tali and I installed a program on Jane's computer. It had an algorithm on it that monitors for certain keywords," the asari explained. She activated her omni-tool and forwarded the information to John. "It looks like this message was originally meant for you. The program must have flagged your name. According to the time stamp, it should have arrived days ago. However, it was intercepted by the Shadow Broker."
Garrus jogged over to them and peered over his shoulder at the message.
"'Commander Shepard, I have what you're looking for,'" John read. "What do these numbers mean?"
Liara shook her head. "Coordinates, I'm guessing."
"Could they be talking about Jane?" Garrus asked. Shepard could feel the tension radiating off him. "How do we know this isn't a trap?"
"We don't," the Commander replied stoically. "But right now, it's the only lead we've got." He keyed up his radio. EDI?"
"Yes, Commander?"
"Punch in these coordinates and tell me how long it will take us to get there."
The line was silent for a few moments as EDI entered the numbers into the navigation system.
"It will take us about three and a half hours to get there. I estimated our arrival at about 1900 hours."
"Shepard," Liara said softly. "If these coordinates do lead to Jane, that means the Shadow Broker has them, too."
"EDI, put in everything we've got into the FTL and see if you can get us there any faster. Shut down non-essential systems if you have to." Shepard centered a solemn gaze on Garrus. "Suit up and grab your gear. You too, Wrex. I'll meet both of you back here at 1830."
The turian nodded resolutely. "You got it, Commander."
.x.x.x.
Garrus' talons tightened reflexively around his rifle as the shuttle descended into Alingon's atmosphere. The Normandy's navigation system had gone haywire as soon as they were inside the planet's orbit. EDI had tried, but couldn't get an accurate reading of any movement or structures on the surface. In the end, they had been forced to take the shuttle down to investigate.
He wasn't sure what they were going to find when they got there. All they had to go on was a set of coordinates and a cryptic message from someone they knew nothing about. For all Garrus knew, the mysterious informant could've been talking about a rare upgrade that Shepard had been looking for. The messenger had given no indication that he was talking about Jane. He knew it was dangerous to get his hopes up that they would find her there, but it hadn't stopped him from doing it anyway.
What would he do when he found her? If he found her. What would he say? Would she forgive him for the way he had reacted? Or had he burned that bridge?
"Stop it," John commanded harshly. "You're going to wear a hole right through the bottom of this shuttle if you don't stop pacing back and forth."
Garrus froze. He hadn't even realized he was doing it.
Shepard sighed and stood up, walking over to him to place a hand on his pauldron. "I can only imagine what you're going through right now, but I need your head clear. We have no idea what we're going up against, and you being distracted and three steps ahead of us in your mind is only going to get you or someone else killed. Understand?"
"Yes, Shepard."
"Good."
"Got something, Shepard," Wrex gruffly interrupted. He leaned closer to the window. "Looks like big metal doors."
John pounded on the wall separating them and the shuttle's cockpit. "Take us down."
The shuttle's thrusters engaged as the spacecraft started its descent, the sudden energy pitching the three inhabitants inside the cabin forward. When it landed John motioned to them to exit single file. Then, centering his rifle on his shoulder, he jumped out and led the way to the large double doors.
"Fuck. This door requires a code."
"Can you bypass it," Garrus asked.
John crept closer, lowering his weapon slightly to examine the panel's housing. "I don't know. This looks pretty sophisticated."
"Outta my way," Wrex grumbled. He stomped forward, pushing both of them aside, and slammed the butt of his shotgun into the panel. Sparks shot out in all directions. The lights on the interface blinked a few times, and then fizzled out.
"Wrex!" Garrus yelled.
John jerked the panel from the wires and threw it roughly to the ground. He stared at the wiring, pulling in the corner of his mouth as he thought, and then grabbed two of them and touched them together. Another round of sparks flew out. He let go and jumped back.
Moments later a low rumble shook the platform, and the doors slowly slid open.
"Nice work, Wrex," he said.
Garrus let out an exasperated sigh.
They pushed deeper into the building, poised and ready for an inevitable attack. But nothing ever came. Everything was quiet. The place felt abandoned. With each passing step Garrus' confidence grew stronger that this would indeed become a rescue mission.
I'll be there soon, Jane, he chanted silently.
John signaled for them to stop when they came to an intersection, the corridors branching out in three separate directions. He flicked his head at each of them. "You take the right. Wrex, left. I'll go straight."
The turian nodded and continued down the right hallway, clearing rooms as he went. Most of them were small, confined. Almost like he was in a cell block…. What was this place?
"Garrus!"
John's sudden shout yanked him back into focus. Spinning roughly on his heel, he sprinted back down the corridor, only to be brought up short by the scene of utter devastation before him.
"Spirits," he whispered. "What happened?"
Several bodies were strewn all over the floor, blood splattering the walls and the furniture. Tables and chairs had been upended, and spent heatsinks were everywhere.
While Shepard went to check the terminals to see if he could find any sort of surveillance, Garrus inched his way into the room and knelt down to inspect one of the bodies.
A shadow fell over him.
"I know this armor," Wrex said in a grave voice. "It belongs to the Shadow Broker's agents."
Garrus' eyes locked on to the clump of red hair fisted in the agent's hand. "We took too long." His shoulders and head sagged as the weight of the universe came crashing down on him. "We're too late."