The day of reckoning has come. No! I'm not talking about the Reapers! I'm talking about school! College is back in session, so make expectations accordingly.

I have three IMPORTANT notes:

Before reading this chapter, consider the ME2 dialogue. People repeatedly discuss the "cloning facility" on Virmire. Not only that, but Okeer and Wrex openly mock Saren, calling him a "liar/outsider" among other things. It makes sense when you think about it, and it's reinforced by Wrex's comparison of Grunt to all the other vat-grown krogan they've killed: "Not quite as big, but many."

Second, it would have been ridiculous for Team Shadow, which is supposed to be sneakingintheback, to conveniently come across every single problem the main teams are facing. That sabotage would have made any attempt at infiltration completely pointless. For the sake of common sense, I'm writing this as if the various points of assistance were at entirely separate locations, thus requiring a new solution altogether. You'll see how it works when you read.

Finally, you may wonder why I constantly break the three-person team rule. Well, if you listen to your squadmates over the course of the sequels, they make it sound like everyone was present for every mission. Occasionally, you get the line that proves otherwise (like Jack at Grissom Academy), but Garrus, Tali, and often Liara will act like they'd been on the ground when Virmire, Noveria, Feros, and Ilos happened. You'll see I'm giving them a canonical excuse to act that way by physically putting them there.

Summary: Not since Eden Prime has there been a split like this. Watch as five different teams hit Saren where it hurts… or so they think.

Spoilers: This is Virmire people. You know what to expect. Also watch for SEVERE Assassin's Creed, KotOR, Dead Space, and Bioshock spoilers as you get further into the chapter.

Disclaimer: ASSUMING ZERO CONTROL (Oh, yeah. I went there.)

Of Their Own Accord

Virmire

Frontal Assault

Team Aehohr

"Go," Captain Kirrahe whispered into his omni-tool. On his signal, the salarians of teams Aegohr, Mannovai, and Jaeto began downing the geth and krogan with assassination rounds and tech bursts. Winning a war before it started was the STG's modus operandi, but under the circumstances, they would settle for the element of surprise.

CRACK

Of course, a certain super soldier that redefined everything about the word "commando" was also fairly helpful. Having liberated a geth sniper of its weapon, the Master Chief proceeded to use it against more hostiles. The gun was heavy, packing enough recoil to probably shatter a normal organic's arm. Fully capable of withstanding the kick, the Chief would blow apart any priority targets and disappear like a ghost, only to reappear to begin the whole process again. He was unstoppable, and right now that was just what they needed. (A/N: Tac Cloak plus Widow equals WIN!)

Satisfied, Kirrahe radioed the other two groups. "Comm. check," he barked out. "Can you read me Spectres?"

"Team Shadow reads loud and clear," answered Commander Ryan, tone devoid of its usual playful arrogance.

"Team Thunder hears and sees all," MacGrath responded the next moment. While not a "team" per se, the electric man took the name as a self esteem boost. It dulled the pain of knowing that water hindered his life in ways nobody else would ever realize.

"Good," the captain responded. "We've just started our push, and your associates have already proven themselves quite talented." Kirrahe sighed. "The rest of us mere 'mortals' will do what we can to make it to the AA guns, but expect losses regardless."

"Don't bet on it," MacGrath countered. "I'll see what I can do to make life easy for your teams and miserable for Saren's."

Kirrahe shook his head, unable to share their impossible overconfidence. "It would certainly be appreciated." He waited a moment to track Ryan's progress before calling out, "Shadow is on the ground. Repeat: Shadow is on the ground." He radioed the two Normandy allies. "Chief Williams, with Aegohr Team. Master Chief, give cover to Mannovai and Jaeto as the move into position." He cracked a wry smile. "Let's really get their attention."

Tossing a grenade into a cluster of geth, Ashley kept her assault rifle trained ahead while the team advanced. The Master Chief used his thrusters for extra acceleration, moving to assist the other teams in seconds. He opened fire long before any normal man could have scoped a target, tearing apart one geth after another. The only reason the STG operatives got to shoot for themselves was because the geth rifle was slow to "reload" after each shot.

Of course, if it meant they survived this nightmare with fewer casualties, they'd gladly accept being upstaged by a single man.

Virmire

Base Outskirts

Team Shadow

When Kirrahe said that Shadow was on the ground, he probably wasn't thinking literally. Still, that was how Alex took it, shoving his arm deep into the sand before tearing up nearby enemies with groundspikes. Aside from Wrex and himself, Ryan's team had Garrus, Liara, and Tali. Kaidan was busy learning how to arm a jury-rigged nuke.

Four Supernovas and two Novas, and they still had their work cut out for them. Even though Saren didn't know they were here, the geth had learned to plan accordingly. More advanced platforms were now seen in larger numbers for the express purpose of combating the most powerful "humans" to ever exist. Inevitably, they all died, but not without putting up a hell of a fight.

For once, however, Wrex didn't want a good fight. "I don't have time for this!" he yelled, barreling into the oncoming juggernaut at full pelt. Negating the return fire with barriers and sheer physical fitness (read: immunity talent), the krogan blew the massive platform apart point blank with his HE shotgun. Trading it out for the Striker, it wasn't long before many shock troopers suffered nearly identical fates. Catching Liara's singularity with his peripheral vision, he launched a warp field at it to shred any hapless victims within.

Garrus was by no means rendered useless by the hectic on-the-move environment. If anything, it was a further testament to his skill. Rather than set up with a nice perch, the turian just aimed at anything that wasn't in cover and pulled the trigger. Carrying tungsten as usual, he kept a particularly close eye on Wrex, making sure nothing ambushed the enraged battlemaster while he wasn't looking.

Tali was putting down geth with her shotgun, hacking them with her omni-tool, and enjoying every moment of it. She was aware that the stakes were high, but at the moment, all that mattered was hurting the bane of her species. They had ruined her people's lives, so ruining their day seemed like a fair trade at the very least.

As an asari, Liara wasn't built for the front lines. But sneaking in the back and tearing the base apart? The archaeologist could easily handle that. She was quick to cast biotic fields where needed, putting sledgehammer-modded pistol rounds into her trapped enemies before moving forward.

Ryan let the gloves come off for this one. Since kinetic barriers didn't exist on Rapture, his idea of winning a gunfight revolved around not getting shot in the first place. Practically dancing across the rocky walls, sandy alcoves, and steel walkways, the Splicer King kept himself too mobile and unpredictable for even an AI to land a single hit. All the while, he was tearing into their numbers. For the sake of valuable time, Ryan launched out winter blasts to freeze the machines, shattering them with either his shotgun or his telekinetically controlled combat hooks.

Of course, nobody could deny the walking one-man-army that was Alex Mercer. Shrugging off a krogan in blood rage, the virus tossed his opponent into the distance, hardly giving it a second thought as he snapped a second krogan's neck and continued on his way. Four geth destroyers tried their luck, but there was no such thing against the inhuman sociopath. Shoving each hand through a platform, Alex shifted to tendrils, pulled the other two destroyers in, and reduced the entire group to a pile of scrap metal. This was all done with a manic smile on his face.

Everyone could feel it: Saren wasn't doing the terrorizing anymore. They were.

Virmire

Watchtower 1 Overlook

Team Shadow

"Mannovai is under coordinated crossfire," Ashley reported on the comm. "This kind of precision has to be triangulation from long-range turrets. Anything you can do, Cole?"

A single radar pulse gave the conduit his destination. Partially concealed among the cliffs was a small geth outpost. Eager to help and in need of a recharge, Cole jumped from the high ground, landing several dozen meters below with a thunder-drop that fried just about everything. A single geth destroyer had been outside the blast radius. Carrying a flamethrower of some kind, it barreled toward Cole, attempting to light him on fire.

The ex-courier smirked. "Nice try." A well placed lightning bolt turned the machine into a giant scorch mark. Walking up to some high end consoles, Cole drained them dry, returning himself to full strength.

"Looks like MacGrath scrambled their targeting," Kirrahe radioed the teams. "We've got a shot. Master Chief, move in ahead of Aegohr. Chief Williams, take the heat off Mannovai."

Cole grunted as he began free-soloing back up the steep cliff walls. The geth knew he was here now, and they'd be looking for him. "I say bring it," the conduit muttered.

"They're calling sat strikes!" Kirrahe suddenly announced. "Jaeto, watch for comm. stations. Williams, Master Chief, can you see anything?"

"I'm doubling back to

Hitting his dataphone, Cole chuckled darkly as he reached the top of the cliff. "No worries, people. Keep your heads down while I show them a real sat strike…"

Virmire

Base Approach

Team Shadow

"Just when I'd given up hope completely," Wrex shouted from cover. "A cure for the Genophage at last!" His words were partially drowned out by the shotgun in his hands, but the message was clear enough.

"I'm jealous Wrex," Tali called back while bringing her own shotgun to bear. "Even if we beat Saren, I doubt that will get the quarian race back on our homeworld just like that."

Garrus sighed in mock irritation while taking another shock trooper down with his sniper. "I'm hoping you'll remember who got you to this cure later on. I like my mandibles on my face thank you very much.

Wrex made a noise that sounded like a cross between growling and laughter. "As tempting as it would be to win round two, I know the score better than most. War with the galaxy only brings trouble to the krogan, and we've all had enough of that."

"You're a credit to your species Wrex," Liara stated while catching several platforms in a singularity field.

"I don't know," Ryan commented, tossing his gravity well plasmid into Liara's singularity for violently explosive results. "Saren has a reputation for lies and betrayal. Through deception, he's manipulated all the right groups into giving him exactly what he wants." The Splicer King had to pause and recollect his thoughts before he accidentally started describing himself rather than the rogue turian Spectre. "Just like posing as the Reapers' prophet won over the geth, perhaps this alleged cure is meant to do the same for the krogan."

Alex hissed in frustration while plucking a destroyer off the ground and dicing it with his claws. "There's no way to know for sure until we get inside. So let's quit wasting time and move!"

As they moved forward, the sociopath's mind was filled with worry. None of this made sense. He'd analyzed the biomass carried by his consumed krogan victims, both before and during this mission. They all had the Genophage virus, even the ones he'd consumed here on Virmire, further disproving the possibility of an actual cure. That aside, there was simply no way Saren could have done this without drawing massive attention to his actions.

The evidence lay in the infected biomass. From what Alex could tell, the Genophage had been modified, and recently at that. It now had set krogan population growth to pre-industrial levels. To do that, one needed first rate scientific geniuses, military tacticians, multiple spaceships, and the authority to discreetly unleash illegal biological warfare. In short, the salarian STG was still very closely monitoring the krogan for something exactly like what they were dealing with. If Saren's cure were real, the STG spooks would already know. They'd have known weeks in advance, and they'd have bombed this place into dust long before it even became an issue.

Instead, there was no prior knowledge of this alleged cure, and the STG team on site was horribly outmanned and outgunned. So either the STG got sloppy while keeping an eye out for their worst nightmare, which was unlikely…

Or Wrex was getting his hopes up for nothing. Alex didn't know which was worse, and that honestly upset him. To himself, he made a silent pledge:

"I don't have many friends. Liara and Wrex are on that very short list, and Saren has managed to hurt them both. For that, I'll hunt him down and butcher him if it's the last thing I do."

Virmire

Frontal Assault

Team Jaeto

The salarians watched in mixed fear and admiration as the sky darkened far too quickly for a natural occurrence. Suddenly, a spectacular display of lightning came down on a single distant location in ways that easily defied physics. So this was what Cole MacGrath was capable of.

Now with the satellite uplink clearly destroyed, the STG operatives moved forward under the direction of Captain Kirrahe, and Chief Williams. They unfortunately didn't make it far before geth heavy flyers descended on them like an angry robotic swarm.

Since that's essentially what it was, Cortana had tracked them in advance, alerting the Master Chief to take action. Sprinting at impossible speeds from Aegohr's position to Jaeto's, the Spartan unleashed hell just in time for the drones to make him the priority target rather than the salarians. Locking down his armor, the super soldier withstood their relentless barrage of rockets and machinegun fire.

It was perfect, the drones soon needed to resupply on fuel and heavy artillery, leaving the teams to catch their breath. With foot mobiles closing fast, Ashley made a quick decision.

"While the aircraft units make a supply run, we've got to bunker down. They won't target just the Master Chief next time since they know they can't hurt him." She clenched her teeth and shut her eyes. It sucked making her civilian boss run around like a headless chicken, but right now she needed the assist. "Cole, can you find where they're recharging and shut them down?"

"Is the Prime Minister human?" The light hearted tone in his voice wasn't a joke or a feigned insult, but rather an attempt at calming Ashley down in the midst of a chaotic battle.

"Good, then make it happen. Master Chief, while Light Socket goes to work, we need to make sure the rest of the hostile forces don't overwhelm our position."

"I've drawn a line in the sand. They won't cross it." He disconnected the comm. and started shooting. Long since out of ammunition for his geth sniper rifle, the ONI commando switched back to his own weapons. As krogan and geth alike stormed forward, he took a shotgun in his right hand and a knife in his left, and stood unflinching in the face of a small army.

True to the "Stonewall Jackson Effect" that the Master Chief was inducing, enemies were either confused or unsettled by the total lack of fear, and allies were spurred on by the bravery. Soon, most of Jaeto and Mannovai's snipers were laying down fire from their entrenched positions. As STGs, they naturally had been trained in putting down krogan with quick and lethal force.

The Master Chief himself didn't stay motionless once the opposition was closer. Opening with a carnage blast that destroyed a geth juggernaut, he followed up with a quick horizontal slash that tore a shock trooper's head and neck off. Sidestepping an enraged krogan, the Spartan simultaneously shot it in the spine while offhandedly lodging his blade in a second krogan's face before shooting him as well.

It continued like this for any and all who approached the hyper-lethal vector. After a few minutes, several explosions were heard in the distance, and Cole's voice came in over the comm.

"Now that's what I call clearing the air! Crap, they're looking for me now. Gotta go!" He cut the connection, but not before everyone heard the distinct sound of rapidly formed ice.

"He's crazy, but reliable," Kirrahe remarked. "Let's make this opportunity count. Hold the line men! Hold the line!"

They held every inch.

Virmire

Base Underworks

Team Shadow

"Why the fuck are these salarians attacking us?!" Alex yelled, backhanding yet another insane STG operative into the wall of the underground tunnel.

"You call this attacking?" Wrex scoffed. "I've felt more threatened by pyjaks than this lot."

"This is like what Benezia was dealing with," Liara observed as the last of their enemies fell, "only it seems much worse."

"'Worse' is putting it mildly T'Soni," Garrus drawled. "Your mother was at least civilized. These guys were practically drooling on the floor.

Tali's eyes widened behind her mask. "These are the men that Kirrahe told us he'd lost during recon! Keelah, what's Saren done to them?"

It was so low, they almost didn't hear it, but Ryan whispered a cold promise that Alex couldn't match on his best days.

"This is sweet, sweet mercy compared to what I have in store for that son of a bitch." Surprised by the venom in his tone, it took a moment for the squad to realize that their Commander was moving ahead without them.

Leaning against a door, he nodded at a security panel. "You're up Tali. I'd kick the door down, but then we'll set off the alarms installed."

After a moment, Tali was finished, but there was a catch. "The alarms are cut, Ryan. I might even be able to trigger them on the far side. It would make our path easier, but the Chief, Ashley, and the salarians may get hit hard."

Ryan thought for a moment. This kind of misdirection was something he preferred, but ever since this job had given him a damn conscience, making the call wasn't so easy. Sighing, the Splicer King made his choice.

"Just disable them. Alex will get bored otherwise."

"Damn right," the virus acknowledged.

Opening the door, there were more geth and indoctrinated salarians eager to kill them. Of particular worry was the geth juggernaut stomping quickly towards them.

"Oh your metal ass is dust!" the resident sociopath screamed, tackling the platform head on and pushing it back. The giant synthetic got a clean shot off, catching Alex in the head. The snarling, angry, partially disintegrated human face was the last thing its optics saw before video cut out.

The rest of the team finished mopping up the rest, leaving a salarian for Alex to consume for regeneration purposes. Initially, Ryan was concerned that doing so would make the virus susceptible to the indoctrination, but Alex laughed.

"My brain doesn't work that way." He put a finger to his left temple. "It's too loud in here for anyone to play mind games."

That actually made a lot of sense now that the Splicer King thought about it. That's probably why they were all chosen as well. Cole, like Kessler, was notoriously resistant to telepathy, as proven in Empire City. The "would you kindly" ordeal Ryan had experienced in a past life drastically increased his mental fortitude as well. Alex was an inverse hive mind. Naturally, there was zero possibility of him getting brain-jacked. And the Chief had Cortana, as well as experience dealing with the Gravemind. Nothing was getting inside his head.

"What do you want this time? I told you everything I- Who are you?"

Everyone turned in the direction of the outburst to see a salarian in a containment cell. He was twitching, exhibiting symptoms the Supernovas had seen from victims of other forms of mental domination. Still, he was talking, and that was an improvement over the others.

"Name and rank," Ryan demanded.

"Private Menos Avat of the Third Infiltration Regiment STG, sir!" the manic commando answered. "Captured while on reconnaissance six days ago. Glad to answer, sir!" Avat grumbled in frustration. "Never any questions from these bastards. Just whispers and poking and cutting. I'd have said anything to get out and get some payback." His expression became desperate. "That's not too much to ask is it? A little payback?"

Alex was clutching his head in pain as the salarian talked. Everything was horrifically familiar, and yet just out of reach. This was the indoctrination, and it had to do with the Reapers. But what the hell did it fucking mean? What was the damn point?

Knowing he'd regret the answer, Ryan asked anyway. "What the hell have they done to you and the other captives?"

"Experiments," Avat hissed. "I don't know what for though. What could they possibly learn by studying the effects of incessant whispering on my shortening temper?! I don't know or care, but I need out before I end up like the others: brainless and gone."

"Too late," Wrex and Garrus commented at the same time. They had developed quite the odd friendship while flying all over the galaxy.

"N-no, no!" the salarian yelled. "I'm not crazy, not yet! But if you leave me here, I soon will be. And that would be bad, very bad. It's too small, and the noise just won't. Go. Away! Whispering is loud you know?" He was pleading again now. "I need to get out. Let me out!"

Recognizing that he was beyond saving and that probably all the captured salarians were, Ryan nodded at Alex before backing up. "I hate mercy kills," the Splicer King muttered to himself. "Alex will help you soldier. Everyone else, come with me." Tali looked at her Captain suspiciously, but Ryan just shook his head. He didn't turn around, and he silently begged the quarian to follow his lead.

The moment the door shut behind Team Shadow, Alex shifted to his whipfist. Spinning it like a flail, he carved through all the containment cells – and their occupants – in a single vicious swipe. "That's the best help I can give you poor bastards."

"I suppose it was a mercy of sorts," Liara stated morosely as the virus caught back up with them.

They fought their way up the stairs and over a catwalk, taking down more geth and indoctrinated salarians. Letting Ryan vent his anger on the enemies, it was pretty easy going all the way to a security office. With three possible routes, an elevator, and two doors, Ryan deployed a scout plasmid to identify a possible route. Both doors led to dead ends, but one had another batch of salarian hostages. It pained Ryan to think of how nothing could be done but let their death be quick and nuclear. According to the Noveria report, once indoctrination sunk in, there was no getting back out. Shoving down any feelings of remorse, he guided the squad into the elevator.

As they took it up, he saw that Alex had his thermal vision up and running. Virus and Splicer King made eye contact, and they came to a silent agreement.

There was no chance in hell that Saren would survive their wrath.

Virmire

Base Interior

Saren's Personal Offices

The krogan warlord entered Saren's room, eager to serve, but terrified of giving this particularly bad news. Before he could announce his presence, Saren beat him to it.

"What?" It wasn't a question, but a demand. A demand for answers to the pointless annoyance outside his base.

"Sir," the krogan saluted, "We seem to be under… attack."

Saren turned to face his subordinate, unnatural blue eyes shining in the low light. "I know that, you idiot. Who is it? And why are they still breathing?" It wasn't that he was worried. Nothing could what was coming, but that didn't make the efforts of the ignorant any less irritating.

"Salarians it seems," the warlord replied. "They should have already been slaughtered I swear! Instead they've hardly taken a loss while making a damned frontal assault."

The ex-Spectre scoffed, almost insulted. They had no idea what they were getting involved in. "Salarian STG in a frontal assault? How far the Council's finest have fallen. Their operatives are infamous for striking without warning, long after counterattack is a moot point, yet they have the nerve to try brute force against…" pausing, Saren's mandibles flared in suspicion. "Other than their 'miraculous' survival, is anything else strange going on?" His voice was barely holding together

"The geth reported lots of weird crap sir, but it can't be possible."

The turian glared sadistically. "Surprise me."

"Lightning struck the comm. station, there's chatter of melee weapons in use, and a giant green suit of armor has been sighted at-"

WHAM

That was as far as the krogan got before Saren furiously backhanded the much larger man into the wall, killing him. "Incompetent fool! How could you miss the signs? It's them. It's them and the salarians were just a diversion!" Calming down after the moment of rage, the turian growled. "I'll deal with it myself. They've been a thorn in my side for too long, and before they die I'll make them understand. I'll drive it into their pathetic mammalian skulls how pointless every moment of their pursuit after me has truly been."

Setting out to do precisely that, the turian ordered six dropships of geth to take off and await further orders. He was sick and tired of these meddlesome freaks of nature, and this was the last time they would get in his way.

Virmire

Krogan Breeding Labs

Team Shadow

The moment everyone stepped out into the lab, they could practically hear Wrex's hopes and dreams for a krogan future shatter like glass.

"Clones," the battlemaster said slowly, looking at the back wall lined with tank bred krogan doppelgangers. His voice rumbled like actual thunder. "Clones. As if science hasn't caused us enough pain already. I should have known." (A/N: I know that's not what the room looked like, but see my notes section at the top of the page.)

Pointing his shotgun at the nearest incubation chamber, he casually pulled the trigger, ending not a life, but a lie.

"These aren't my people!" he roared.

Alex sighed as his friend went into a mad rant. "I've got this."

"How can we rebuild when this keeps ripping the krogan apart at the seams? Destroying our honor and spitting on the graves of-"

With as little force as possible, the virus slapped Wrex in the face to bring him back to his senses. "You're not doing those graves much good yourself right now! Krogan like using nukes right? Then pull your shit together and let's blow this place to hell with the one we've got waiting on us!"

Wrex never got a chance to respond before over a dozen husks moaned in unison. Even worse, or better depending on the perspective, a large krogan stepped out with an asari in tow.

"So the demons haunting Saren Arterius now come here for me?" he growled. Ryan silently motioned for everyone to step back. Things were going to get incredibly brutal in just a few seconds. "You dare interfere with my work? This is the glorious salvation of my species!"

"What was that about krogan scientists, Wrex?" Alex asked while striding forward. Biomass started writhing up and down his arms.

"What scientist?" the battlemaster asked, stepping out of the blast zone. "I don't see a scientist. Do you?"

Cackling like mad as he clenched his fists and dropped to one knee, the sociopath just said "Nope."

BOOM

A tendril barrage devastator ravaged the husks, tore apart the asari scientist, and left multiple holes in the krogan's body. He'd taken care to avoid killing the fanatical doctor, as he wanted some very specific information.

Grabbing the wounded krogan by the neck, Alex lifted him like paper. "You know these are clones dumbass! You made them! What possible salvation could this grant your species?" Not waiting for an answer, he shifted his free hand to a claw and drove it through the doctor's chest.

Web of Intrigue Node 193

Doctor Droyas

Saren: "Now do you understand? The Reapers are machines; creatures of pure logic. Only the useful will find salvation. Provide my army, and the krogan race will be spared inevitable extinction."

Droyas: "You shall have it, Lord Arterius. This I swear to you."

End of Node 193

"What the fuck?" the virus asked, though he didn't really expect an answer. Turning to Ryan, he explained. "Saren is using the return of the Reapers as leverage. Those who prove themselves 'useful' get to live, and the rest are wiped out."

Ryan frowned. "Naturally, the 'pinnacle of synthetic evolution' would think along those lines. Saren could sell that line, but without Reapers, it will eventually bite him in the ass."

Alex shook his head. "I'm less concerned about what he said and more about how he said it." The sociopath took a breath. "It was like he believed that shit himself. I've seen charismatic acting before, but that was the real deal."

Liara shook her head. "Saren has answers that we lack. It's time that we find those answers and end this wretched game."

Tali raised her shotgun in approval. "Keelah se'lai!"

They killed two more geth troopers on their way to the next section of the base, but rather than opening the door to a room full of trigger happy synthetics, they found an asari cowering behind a desk. It was pretty pitiful, all things considered.

"Don't shoot!" she begged. "Please, I just want to get out of here before it's too late."

Not trusting her in the slightest, Ryan kept his gun raised. "Explain why I should care."

"I'm Rana Thanoptis, neurospecialist," the asari said. "But this job isn't worth dying over." She looked at the nearby dissection table. "Or worse." Turning back to the people with guns aimed at her, Rana continued. "You think the indoctrination only affects Saren's enemies? Sooner or later, he'll want a look at my brain too."

"Wait," Garrus interrupted. "This was supposed to be a breeding-" a glare from Wrex cut him off, "I mean cloning facility."

Rana shook her head. "Not this level. Here we're studying Sovereign's effect on organic minds. At least, that's what I assumed. Saren kept us in the dark as much as possible."

Tali shook her head. "You helped him and you didn't even know why?"

The glorified brain surgeon rolled her eyes. "I didn't have the option of negotiating. This position is a little more… permanent than I'd expected." She then got that look in her eyes of somebody clearly more interested in her survival than anything else. "But I can help. This elevator behind me goes to Saren's private lab. I can get you in." She was about to walk over when Alex stopped her.

"I don't think so, lady." Pushing past Rana, he used the codes that were in Doctor Droyas' mind to simply open the door himself. "Now that your bargaining chip is useless, start talking about what you've done here. What the fuck is indoctrination?"

She sighed in defeat. "That ship, Sovereign? It emits some kind of… signal, for lack of a better word. Undetectable, but it's there. I've seen the effects," she looked at Alex's winces of pain. "And I'm guessing you have too. Saren uses it to influence and even control his followers. It's called indoctrination. Direct exposure turns you into a mindless slave like the salarian test subjects, but there's collateral damage too."

Alex, now feeling the pain start to dull, asked for more. "What the hell does 'collateral damage' mean?"

Rana was quick to explain, a sign that she was thorough in her research. Then, certain phrases she used hit home with the Supernovas, terrifying them completely.

"It's like a whisper you can't quite hear. You're compelled to do things but you don't know why. You just obey. Eventually, you just stop thinking for yourself."

"It changes thought patterns. Over time – days, maybe a week – it weakens your will. You become easier to manipulate and control, but it's a degenerative condition."

"There's a balance between control and usefulness. The less freedom a subject maintains, the less capable they become."

"I think Saren's scared it might be affecting him. Indoctrination is subtle. By the time the effects become noticeable, it's usually too late."

Alex and Ryan knew exactly what she was saying. They had seen all this before with other Supernovas or on certain jobs. Isaac Clarke would mention the Markers and their horrific mind games. The First Civilization had their Pieces of Eden capable of both subliminal control and outright mental domination that reduced people to empty shells. Kreia and Jedi on both sides of the Force possessed the skill to inflict terrors on the mind with a wave of a hand. They'd even wiped Revan's memory and given him the identity of a Republic lapdog.

And now this indoctrination was just another name for those same concepts. Blinded by rage, Alex grabbed the pistol from Garrus' waist and stood next to Ryan. The two Supernovas fired on her repeatedly and mercilessly, continuing to shoot long after she was dead.

"That's for the salarians bitch," Alex snarled, tossing Garrus back his gun. Liara was shocked by the outburst, and the virus obviously saw it. "We take free will very seriously, as you've now seen," he explained, gesturing to the bullet-riddled corpse.

Ryan sighed, upset that he'd let his emotions get the better of him like that. This mission really was wearing him down at this point. "Shall we?" he nodded towards the elevator door.

Virmire

Overwatch

Team Thunder

Cole was tense. Reading into the history of his territory, he'd learned a lot of interesting things. For example, when people talked about werewolves, vampires, ghosts, witches, or anything similar, it was conduits they'd seen rather than magical creatures. Legends of the supernatural were just conduit sightings throughout the ages.

Now maybe Cole wasn't superstitious, especially when he went in and out of the "afterlife" between every job. That didn't mean he would ignore the occasional bout of sixth sense jitters when it hit him like a brick wall.

"I don't know what you guys are doing, but please be careful."

Virmire

Saren's Private Lab

Team Shadow

"Careful" was the last thing in their minds as Ryan and Alex walked forward, anxious yet excited.

As they stood there looking at the Prothean beacon that Saren had been hoarding to himself, they only had one word that seemed appropriate.

"Jackpot."

And… cut! That's it for now. You get the big dramatic moments of epicness next time I update. Truth be told though, I have no idea when that will be.

I hope you liked this chapter, because I very much liked writing it.

Read, Review, and by all means, Enjoy!