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"You have my thanks Commander. You bought us some time." Dr. Archer said gratefully as we cleaned up his lab of the bodies and wrapped them up in bags. "Though probably not much. This isn't over yet."
"Figures." I muttered, still feeling those green VI eyes staring through the cameras. I walked over to a data inhibitor and accessed the network, cutting off any other external connections to the lab. Just to give us some privacy and in case the rogue entity tried anything funny.
"Who did you say you were again?" A loud clack echoed through the room as Shepard slapped home an extra plasmic battery onto her rifle.
"Dr. Gavin Archer, chief scientist at this facility." The doctor replied, "And probably the only one left."
"Well now, doctor, you promised us that explanation." Miranda pressed, finishing her work documenting the names of the fallen and putting aside the datapad held in her hand.
"This is Project Overlord." He explained, "An attempt to gain influence over the geth by interfacing a human mind with a VI. The results have been…less than satisfactory."
Was that even possible? The evidence proved it so. But Cerberus couldn't have gotten this idea on their own. I followed his eyes to the window overlooking the carnage below, giving voice to my suspicions. "I'm sensing Singularity handiworks all around the subject." I meet the doctor's gaze, "They put you up to this, didn't they?"
"Suggested, yes." He affirmed, "I see you are acquainted with the Board."
"More so than you think." I answer, remembering that battle on Nesoun.
"Calling this 'less than satisfactory' is putting it mildy, doc." Shepard crossed her arms, watching as Grunt emerged from the shuttle and dragged the filled body bags to the hold.
"You can't dismiss the entire project, Commander. We did succeed, at least partially." He defended, turning to sit down at his desk. "My brother David volunteered to serve as the test subject, but his mind couldn't handle the VI connection."
"He's like a virus now, infecting our networks and seizing control of any technology he finds. It's why you had to destroy the dish, imagine what would have happened if his program got off-world."
"What's the worst case scenario?" Shepard inquired.
"A technological apocalypse." Archer stood up and paced in front of the window overlooking the valley below the facility. "Every machine, every weapon, every computer could be turned against us."
"If he hit the Extranet…" I muse.
He nodded at my words, "Who knows where it will end?"
"I suppose you didn't consider that before starting the experiment?" I cross my arms.
"We couldn't be expected to account for every outcome! Certainly not the abomination David has become!" Archer bristled, sighing in finality. "Davi…the VI has fortified itself in the main laboratory at Atlas Station. It's in lockdown now."
"To enter, you must manually override security from our facilities in the Prometheus and Vulcan stations."
"How does the lockdown work?" I ask.
Dr. Archer moves to a nearby computer, accessing the directives to show us the lockdown status of the three laboratories, all displayed in baleful red. "It's a failsafe procedure in the event of an emergency. Normally, all three project leads have to agree to cancel the lockdown." He reached for a manual override handle and lifted the device from its shaft, twisting it about and reinserting it to its new place. One of the red indicators goes green.
Now that makes two for us to fix.
"I'm the only one left now. I can give my authorization, but you'll have to manually reset the other two yourself."
"What happens if we have to kill your brother?" Shepard asks.
A picture of Dr. Archer and his brother was conveniently placed atop his desk, "Let's just hope it doesn't come to that."
I move to inquire about Project Overlord, "What was the primary objective that moved you to conduct this experiment?"
"We wanted to turn the geth religious impulse into a weapon. When we saw them following Saren, we realized that they could be swayed. And if a proper figurehead was to be placed, a virus with a face if you will, the geth could be controlled."
I think back to the similarity of the Cult of Cerebri's desperation for a godlike figurehead, I could only be grateful I came along- who knows what would've happened if they started worshipping the Reapers? "That's an ambitious undertaking."
"It would be the perfect weapon." Dr. Archer stated with pride at what could've been, "A victory without casualties. We could avoid war with the geth altogether."
I think about Tali and what my bubbling little quarian friend would've thought about this. "That was the plan anyway. What exactly went wrong with the experiment?"
Dr. Archer pursed his lips, "David volunteered to interface with the VI to give it genuine consciousness. Theoretically, it should have been safe. But with artificial intelligence, there is no such thing as safe."
Shepard and I exchange glances, and there was a hint of a smile betraying her doubts on the notion. I'm proof that AI's can be safe when they want to be, if I don't say so myself.
"We're heading out now."
"The other stations are within driving distance, best of luck Commander." Dr. Archer swivels in his chair to turn to some more pressing concerns, like safeguarding data of import in the servers- which I covertly copied and downloaded while the conversation was going on.
I'm not sorry, though. A lot of stuff in those files were pretty incriminating on how nothing has changed in Cerberus' handlings, things that might sway Commander Shepard away from working with said organization. I wouldn't be so specific at the moment, but suffice it to say that this Cerberus Cell has been working on more than one project aside from Overlord. Hell, I don't think Miranda even knows these things were going on. Or did she?
An issue to address for another time.
"Shepard, think it's time to test out the M44- Hammerhead's modifications?" The XO asked once we emerged from the lab.
"That paper airplane?" I say in disgust, "Please, give the Jaeger a chance to spread her wings. She's been in the hold for a long time now."
Miranda raised an eyebrow, "A VI driven vehicle is more likely to get infected by the rogue VI than a manually driven one, unless you haven't been paying attention to Dr. Archer earlier?"
"I have been, I'll have you know, and even to the tiniest detail." I retort, "There's also the fact that the Jaeger is well protected and has a larger arsenal at its disposal compared to the Hammerhead."
"Versus excellent manueverability? I think this argument's won before it's begun, Commander?" Miranda said, looking to Shepard for a decision.
"I think I'll defer to Kara's recommendation on this one, XO." She replied, "And you can't deny the Jaeger's effectiveness. After all, that's the same vehicle that saved two of the Alliance's finest on Virmire two years ago."
Now that Shepard mentioned it, any chance that Kaidan and Ashley cooled down a bit about us joining Cerberus?
Nah. Not a chance. They're still mad…
I closed my eyes and connected with the Jaeger, feeling myself float from my body and into the air for a split second before feeling that familiar cheery presence of my electronic friend. The Jaeger broke through the clouds like a ray of sunlight, hovering just above us and setting our hair about with the winds it rode upon.
"Where to?" I ask as I assume the controls.
"We go to Vulcan Station first, it's the closest." Shepard answers, taking her seat beside Miranda.
"Here's hoping the Geth around here hadn't brought their armatures, those things take too long to blow up." I say, pulling on the wheel and taking us off the landing pad.
The valleys of Aite looked more beautiful seeing it this way than up there, and the animals too, like it was straight out of a fairytale. Al this made me sad to think that all was going to be gone in less than a few decades.
But then, perhaps it doesn't have to?
The Cult might have the technologies I need. I will save this world and preserve its beauty, as well as any other world out there fallen victim to the Reapers when they come for blood.
A new purpose dawned on me. Such a blessing to be a synthetic, I can pursue many dreams instead of just one. And even more so with Shepard at my side. My thoughts turned towards the redhead, prompting me to turn my gaze on her. The Spectre is everything to me, a bond stronger than anything I've ever felt akin to Mother while she was still alive had grown between us.
I knew it was time for me to devote a considerable portion of my time nurturing that relationship. I wonder if she's thinking the same?
Speaking of which, how is Sam faring these days? I found myself missing that bouncing little ball of fur.
"Commander, I advise extreme caution." Dr. Archer's voice over the comms interrupted my reverie, "Vulcan station is our geothermal plant. They stopped reporting in shortly after the experime-
That rogue VI presence filled my senses, so powerful that I felt somewhat wanting to puke. "We've got company."
Cerberus' defenses were activated, setting up rocket launcher turrets from the security checkpoints and filling the air with a barrage of screaming salvos. Explosions broke the stillness of that morning, driving out avian and terrestrial lifeform alike from their homes as the eruptions rocked the volcanic landscape.
The rogue VI had posted several contingents of Geth rocket troopers too, but thankfully, we took the Jaeger on this one, and they were torn to pieces with the twin rotary plasma cannons. Charred shale churned up into a black dust storm as the superheated payload found their marks, clearing the path of both turret and trooper.
This earned me an impressed smirk from my lover. "Easy now, no need to get excited."
"Look! That must be it!" Miranda leaned over to point at said facility, overlooking the lava waterfall cascading over the high mountain. I landed the Jaeger just outside the entrance, disembarking with the team to inspect our way in.
The doors were parted slightly, and I knew just by glancing at the sparks emanating from the shorted out wires that the doors won't budge unless acted on by a stronger force- namely me.
Planting my feet firmly on the ground and slipping my hands in between the doors, I forced them apart to let us in.
"Warning: Automated Controls are offline. Core systems have been compromised." The klaxon blared.
"Everything's compromised here." I mumble, drawing out my Hoplite pistols.
Hacked LOKI mechs sprang up from where they sat, their eyes casting a green glow throughout the dark room, and they lit up the chamber with gunfire.
The Omni-Glaive on my hand spawned with a faint hum, making a high pitch whizz as it soared through the air. I had to hand it to Caliban for the new design, sacrificing little of its stopping power for its continuity. Kind of like having a redhot boomerang in a fight.
And just like it sounds, the glaive bounced in and out of the room, slicing through the mechs with ease and mixing synthetic fluids with the drying blood of the fallen Cerberus engineers.
Poor bastards.
Further up the stairs, we encountered more of those bodies, the fear still etched on their petrified faces. Even up to the control center, where the head specialist was still hunched over the console. Another message was recorded on the computer, and I downloaded it to add to my databanks.
"…received an SOS from Atlas Station. Archer has declared a project emergency! We're trying to shut down the power generators to starve the VI,but it's already hacked our automated systems! I'm ordering my people to sabotage the plant any way they can."
"Ah, that explains all the rubbish we found coming here."
"Qui7e9t ple9a0se mak9e it st0p!" I jumped back in surprise as that green ghost face appeared in all its pixelated glory. "Fuck!"
A loud clamor from below alerted us to take defensive positions, those heavy footfalls indicating the presence of at least two YMIR mechs- not a problem unless they corner us- which they actually did.
The office was sealed away with two windows made from glass specifically crafted for intense heated environments, namely Vulcan Station. The name itself is a pun. The Commander shattered it with a swing of the butt of her rifle, gaining us access to our next objective.
A hacked LOKI mech was there, and it was slamming its foot on the lockdown console in futile attempt to sabotage it. What happened next can only be described as comical.
With a nod from the Commander, Miranda and I shot off both of its arms. Left with little options other than make a tantrum, the VI left the mech and let it run off.
Shepard walked over to the console, tapped a few buttons to release the lock on the manual override lever and took down the second of the three lockdown protocols. Of course, the rogue VI didn't take this kindly, and its face appeared seconds later on the screens.
"…Commander Shepard, this is Dr. Archer, please respond!"
Shepard opened the door we came through and tossed a grenade down the staircase. "I hear you doctor. We've hit the override at Vulcan Station and are moving on."
The armless mech kept pacing back and forth, stopped in its tracks when she planted one in its face.
"Shepard out." The Commander finished, shaking her head in disapproval.
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