A/N: I can see the home-stretch now!
"Love takes off masks that we fear we cannot live without and know we cannot live within."
(James A. Baldwin)
"Your visions will become clear only when you can look into your own heart. Who looks outside, dreams; who looks inside, awakes."
(Carl Gustav Jung)
Probity and Tenebrosity
"How are they, doc?"
"They were in nearly critical condition, Commander. But Kaidan and Wrex will pull through. And Garrus and Kirrahe will be back to full strength within the week's end. They're fighters, Shepard. Of that, there is no doubt."
"... Thank goodness. Variance has smiled on us slightly at least..."
"Sam... Jamie was a fine young man. The mission was a success in no small part due to him. Even if you didn't retrieve his body he would - "
"Good day, Doctor Chakwas."
"Samus, those wounds of yours are debilitating and require that I - "
"Do, nothing. I've had worse in the past, Karin. My people will always take precedence above my hurts."
"Commander, you took gunfire to your vertex! Not to mention numerous inflictions of invasive distortion field lacerations. My scanner shows your nerve receptor's threshold tolerance can and has been overridden!"
"A nasty side-effect of tangling with a warp wielder... at the end of the day... it's only pain. I have no danger of catching an infection either. You will leave - me - be. That's an order."
"... Yes, Commander."
The Hunter was a mess. Hands and forearms wrapped, a multitude of plasters on her face and nose and two larger blood-stained pads over her eye and scalp. It would take her healing factor a good few days to fully counteract the warp sparks eating her alive from the inside out; and even longer for the complex sinew in her hands to regrow and acclimatize with intensive physical, and mental, therapy.
With a groan, Aran sunk down onto the side edge of her bed, having finished her report to the Council on the battle of Virmire with her mind. She hissed lowly as she awkwardly peeled the recently fresh but now sweat-soaked Alliance fatigue off her bruised and cut torso. Her dress shirt underneath was also drenched with perspiration along with half congealed blood from the numerous wounds she'd taken on the last mission.
Some rest would do her a Galaxy of good.
Only as she was preparing to take forty winks, the door to her quarters hissed back to reveal Dr. T'Soni; with a first aid kit of her own.
"Oh... not you too, Liara," Sam groused halfheartedly.
"You haven't let anyone check on you," her partner admonished, quickly hurrying over to sit with Aran and help her pull the shirt off her aching limbs. Which elicited fresh gasps of discomfort from Aran.
"You may look the same," the Maiden massaged a patch on her lover's back that wasn't mottled green and purple. "But you're not the woman you once were all those eons ago."
"It's not the years, honey. It's the mileage."
"Here, let me see to those," Liara continued, soaking a cotton pad in an antiseptic and trying to dab at the rents, scrapes, clefts and abrasions Saren had inflicted.
"T'Soni... leave me alone... I don't need a nurse... I just need to sleep..." she protested, trying to ward the Asari archaeologist away with bare feet playfully as she leant back to lie down on her pillows.
Liara countered by tucking Aran's now feeble legs up onto the duvet and hopping into the bed to straddle her Commander without a care.
"Don't be such a baby. Where does it hurt?"
"Ow, Liara, stop that... yes, it does hurt... ouch!"
Liara had pressed down a wee bit too hard on a stinging lesion over the pectorals of her left lung, causing the Hunter to nearly buck her off she flinched so hard.
"Well by the goddess, Shepard! Where doesn't it hurt?" Liara snapped forcibly, stopping Samus' smarting throes in her tracks.
Wide-eyed and somewhere between feeling vexed and astonished. Aran affected a sullen look and tapped her raised elbow.
"Here!" she demanded with a touch of jejune. Liara kissed the area with similar venturing impetuosity.
Though she would sooner die than admit it; Aran was already starting to enjoy this game.
"... And here...!" she indicated her bandaged scalp. T'Soni removed the roll with the utmost gentleness and laid her lips against her forehead; slower and softer this time.
Aran was becoming well and truly undone now; though none would be able to tell as she was nearly rigid where she lay.
"There's not so bad, either," Sam gestured to her right eye. With the careful deftness of her profession Liara lifted away the absorption pad to reveal the blood-shot, darkened but nearly pristine orb blinking at her; the last time she had seen the wound she was sure her paramour would be blind-sided for the rest of her life but the degree of cellular healing that Aran's physiology was capable of still took her breath away.
Even then, Liara kissed her ever so tenderly over Sam's closed eyelid, as if afraid of damaging her recovery.
Increasingly drowsy, Aran tapped her own lips with a surprisingly high degree of uncertainty. And growing arousal.
"... Here," she murmured.
Liara kissed her, deep and urgent as she lavished her spirit with Agápe. Which the Hunter returned with equal contentment; until she fell into blissful, snoring slumber. T'Soni watching over her...
A certain member of Clan Urdnot griped and grumbled as Tali tried to remove the solid chunks of sea basalt buried in his hump. The excruciating torment reminded him of his Rite, he hadn't known suffering like this for quite a while.
"Hold still, Wrex!"
"I'm - trying! Blast it! ... thought you Quarians were supposed to have nimble fingers. And - "
'RIIP-CHUNK!'
"ARGH!" Wrex roared as Samus pulled the deeply embedded shrapnel out in one clean go, sending the pieces he'd been unwilling to let Chakwas attempt to remove flying out of his back with her biotics to clatter onto the deck noisily.
"Grow a quad, Battlemaster." Aran sniffed lazily. "We've both suffered far worse than those pin-pricks."
"Hah!" Wrex barked as he raised himself up from his stomach. "Only you could get away with talking to me like that. Well, you and Aleena."
"And me!" Tali chirped.
"Yeah... you too, little one."
The wandering Chozo hybrid and the deposed Krogan warlord faced each other for a moment's comfortable silence. Which Wrex finally disturbed.
"Look, Commander... things got heated back on Virmire... I want you to know that I respect your choice. And I truly value your friendship."
"So we're friends, huh? Thought you liked Liara more than me."
"I do. But I would never dream of doing you the disservice of not seeing you as potentially the most terrible threat my people could ever hope to face before our end. You could be our deliverer, or our damnation, Shepard. After yesterday, I've considered for the first time in my life that you could be the former... there's no greater honour I could possibly give you."
"I appreciate that, Wrex. As well as your faith in my ability to reward you a grisly demise. You've made a very wise choice today."
"Just make sure it was worth it... Saren needs to pay for all that he's done."
"One way or another, I'm going to hunt him down and kill that sick fuck."
"I like the sound of that," Wrex rumbled darkly. "But how are you going to do it?"
"Sovereign's injected him with a nanite infusion from its primary computing processor. Extremely powerful, some of the most advanced miniaturized synthetics I've ever had the good fortune to analyze. Thankfully, the sample is unique enough to Sovereign's hardware that they can't be replaced easily. But doing enough damage to destroy them in one go is the problem. The energy source he's drawing off is simply too great... but that connection is a double-edged sword. And the injectors variably run up his spine at different points. I might have finished him on Virmire with sheer dumb luck. But I won't be relying on that when we meet again... next time, he's finished."
Tali sidled up to the pair.
"It feels like we're getting near the end, doesn't it? With Saren, I mean."
"It'll all be over soon, Tal... then you'll be leaving us I imagine..."
"When I go back to my people, I'll be glad to say I was a part of this."
"An important part. We couldn't have even done half of this without you."
"Sam... you've been good to me. A lot of people treat Quarians like second-class citizens. They just want us to go back to the Flotilla and disappear. But you've treated me just like everyone else on your crew - "
"I should hope not, you've got a much more special place than that."
"Heh, I meant as an equal. That means a lot and it says something about you. Whatever happens, I just want to say, thank you for that..."
Aran swallowed a lump in her throat.
"Ghosts, I'm going to miss you."
"Not anytime soon you're not. I'll be right here anytime you need me."
"I know, Tali. And thank you."
"Skipper," Ash stood along with a pale Kaidan as soon as her superior officer entered the communications room. "Jesus... you look like you were run over with a lawnmower!"
"Heh, and I feel like it as well. Should have seen what I did to Saren in turn. We sent him running with his tail between his legs."
"That is great news, Skipper. I - we just have to come out and say this..." she clasped the LT's hand in her own for support; an action that wasn't lost on the Hunter.
"Thank you, Commander. Thing's got pretty crazy down there. You saved my life."
"Both our lives. I don't know how you did it: turning an army away, and fighting Saren, organising us all to fall back in relative safety, keeping Sovereign off our backs... the Alliance will come up with a whole new medal for what you pulled off here."
"If they don't court-martial you first!" Williams half joked, half condemned. "You endangered the entire mission! Why didn't you just leave one of us behind?"
"No-one get's left behind," Aran nearly choked on her words, clutching the war-torn dog tags of nine good soldiers and one young friend. "Not while I'm in charge. Not when it can be helped. And not when a subordinate decided to take certain parameters of the mission into her own hands..."
Williams had the grace to look shamefaced.
"I would have gladly stayed behind..." she mumbled quietly, unable to bear the sheer malice and scorn that seemed to radiate from the Hunter's unequivocal glare.
Samus opened her mouth for a stinging rebuttal, then thought otherwise; deflating where she stood until she no longer seemed to be the formidable individual the Universe knew her as.
"You desired to redeem your grandfather's honour. You longed to avenge him from those politicking ball-cutters who relegated him to infamy and black-listed the Williams family... you fought for what you believed in yesterday, Ash. You all did. In theory I can't condemn that because it's what I encouraged you to do. But... to throw yourself on that sword... you are better than what you think yourself to be..."
"That's not fair."
"Please. What's done is done. I'm not your big sis, Ash. Even if I want to be. Let's not argue anymore... please..."
"Oh, Sam..." she hugged Aran tearfully, which the ancient Defender returned as best as she could, given her splinted hands, before kissing Ash hard on the cheek; which stunned the Gunnery Chief silly.
"Besides," Samus added, clearing her throat gruffly. "Too many people always fall on the field. Jamie... he died for me. He died for us, he died proud."
Kaidan was quick to assuage his Squad Leader. "We might have tried, Commander. But I don't think for a second that either one of us could have pulled this off. Anyone else, I'd say they got lucky. The fact that any more of our compliment didn't go down as KIA yesterday - is nothing short of a miracle."
"LT's right. No-one else could have made a stunt like that work. Put anyone else in charge of a commando team and they all get left behind. Disposable-like. Or the mission fails. Neither one of those happened, Commander. Now I want you to get this straight, ma'am... you - are - a - hero!"
"These..." she ushered solemnly, wrapping and adjusting the identification tag chains around her arm. "Are the only heroes I know..."
Behind the three of them, the doors slid apart to admit the rest of the team: Tali, Liara, Garrus, Wrex and even Kirrahe.
"Commander Shepard," the head of the Salarian STG Regiment greeted her with the sign of the Legion. "I salute you and all your officers."
"Which I return with all my strength, Captain Kirrahe. Your losses were catastrophic; they'll be honoured."
"The cold reality every soldier must face. They would not be at our sides if they were not up to such a task. The actions of Corporal Andrews have garnered a great deal of respect from my people. You command exceptional loyalty."
"We do what we must."
"Of course. I want you to know without reservation that you have made an ally of the Salarian people, Aran. We will work together again one day, I am certain of it."
"Nothing would please me more. Please, sit with us, Kirrahe."
"I'd be honoured."
Every chair was filled, though Aran was sorely aware that of the men standing guard on the bridge. None of them were the boys she'd met back on Earth. The other Officers of the Normandy were given extra sitting accommodations among the ground team while Captain David Anderson and Admiral Steven Hackett watched the proceedings from their video links Garrus had set up for them.
"The mission was a complete success," she proclaimed. "We cut off Saren's army at its source and discovered Intel that has proven without a doubt, several of my long-standing theories... I will deliver all our accumulated evidence to the Council in several redacted files for the sake of Galactic Security. Which Gabrilan and several other Agents are already on their way to the Citadel to testify as to its absolute authenticity. I've also gathered you all here to witness the last recorded testament of a Prothean beacon vision, the method by which you will witness this cannot be imparted to anyone outside the highest echelons of your respective governments. So Wrex, keep this to yourself."
With the ice cracked if not broken, the lights dimmed and Aran and Liara stood together
"Dr. Chakwas, monitor my vitals... Pressly, begin recording... "
"Yes, ma'am."
"Try to relax, Commander... embrace eternity!"
T'Soni submerged herself in what parts of Aran's consciousness she was permitted entry, the two beacons now formed the full warning sent out by the last of the Protheans. She saw images, images of a paelological site mired in antiquity and legend, mentioned in several surviving Prothean manuscripts...
An outpouring swirl of green and orange holographic lights emitted from Aran's eyes and formed into an indistinct VI interface that was imposed over her.
"Act of desperation... the Conduit... cannot be stopped... can... not... be... stopped!" she spoke in a voice that was also not her own. Eventually, the static settled and Aran enunciated clearly for all to hear, with the soothing tone of a quiet, reserved male that spoke through her via the encoded memories. Though her lips did not move due to her ventriloquism.
"You are not Prothean, but you are not machine, either. This eventuality was one of many that was anticipated. This is why we sent our warning through the beacons."
"Who are you?" Liara asked.
"I am an advanced non-organic analysis system with personality imprints from Ksad Ishan, chief overseer of the Ilos research facility. But I am known as Vigil. You are safe for the moment, but that is likely to change. Soon - nowhere will be safe."
"What do you want from us?" Garrus questioned, leaning forward in his seat, enthralled.
"You must break a cycle that has continued for millions of years. But to stop it you must understand, or you will make the same mistakes we did. The Citadel is the heart of your civilisation and the seat of government. As it was with us, and as it has been with every civilisation that came before us. But the Citadel is a trap. The station is in actuality an enormous mass relay, one that links to dark space, the empty void beyond the Galaxy's horizon. When the Citadel relay is activated, the Reapers will pour through, and all you know will be destroyed."
Everyone was stunned beyond words.
"So if Saren activates it, the Reapers will wipe out the Council and the Citadel fleet in one fell swoop!" Kirrahe exclaimed.
"That was our fate," Vigil replied. "Our leaders were dead before we even realised we were under attack. The Reapers seized control of the Citadel, and through it, the mass relays. Communication and transportation across our empire were crippled. Each star system was isolated, cut off from the others. Easy prey for the Reaper fleets. Over the next decades, the Reapers systematically obliterated our people. World by world, system by system, they methodically wiped us out."
"And why did you not fall to your knees in supplication? Would they not have let some of you live?" Aran posed to Vigil for the first time.
"No offer of surrender was ever given. Our enemy had a single goal: the extinction of all advanced organic life. Through the Citadel, the Reapers had access to all our records, star-charts, census data. Information is power and they knew everything about us. Their fleets advanced across every settled region of the Galaxy. Some Worlds were utterly destroyed. Others were conquered, their populations enslaved. These indoctrinated servants became sleeper agents under Reaper control. Taken in as refugees by other Protheans, they betrayed them to the machines... within a few centuries, the Reapers had killed or converted nearly every Prothean in the Galaxy. They were relentless, brutal and absolutely thorough. Our worlds were then stripped bare, harvested by the indoctrinated slaves. Everything of value - all resources, all technology - was taken. Certain that all space-faring organic life had been extinguished, the Reapers retreated back through the Citadel relay into dark space, sealing it behind them. All evidence of their invasion had been wiped away. Only their indoctrinated slaves were left behind, abandoned. As mindless husks, no longer capable of independent thought, the indoctrinated soon starved or died of exposure. The genocide of the Protheans - was complete."
"What is Saren's ultimate goal? How will he bring about the beginning of the end?" Aran demanded of the Prothean avatar. Though she already knew the answer, this was for her companion's benefit and that of the Council's.
"The Conduit is the key. Before the Reapers invaded, we Protheans were on the cusp of unlocking the mysteries behind mass relay technology. Ilos is home to a classified research facility. There, we worked to create a small-scale, mono-directional version of a mass relay. One that linked directly to the Citadel: it was to be a symbol of our empire's unparallelled unity but in our darkest hour it provided a secret route to the very hub of the relay network..."
"Not a weapon then, something far worse. A bypass of all the Citadel's defences... a back door..." Liara compounded on Vigil's words.
"How did you remain hidden?" Tali directed at the observance VI.
"All official records of our project were destroyed just in time before the Reapers took the Citadel. And we were informed via our own beacon that our seat of power had been overthrown. While the empire fell. Ilos was spared. We severed all communication with the outside and our facility went dark. Personnel retreated underground into the sealed archives and to preserve our limited resources, everyone was placed in cryogenic stasis. I was programmed to monitor the facility, and wake the staff when the danger had passed. But the genocide of an entire species is a long, slow process. Years passed. Decades, centuries. The Reapers lingered. And my energy reserves were dwindling... I began to disable the life support of non-essential personnel. First support staff, then security. One by one their pods were shut down to conserve energy. Eventually, only the stasis pods of the top scientists remained active. Even these were in danger of failing when the Reapers finally withdrew through the Citadel relay."
"The vision..." Liara addressed Vigil with unease and outrage. "I saw them! There were hundreds of pods in that bunker! You just shut them down? You killed them?!"
"Better to let them die so that those who could provide salvation would live. Never in history has such an action been more necessary," Aran replied firmly.
"My actions are the only reason any hope remains," Vigil concurred. "I saved the top researchers, key personnel that went on to provide this cycle with time. Time you needed. When the researchers awoke they swiftly concluded that the Prothean species was doomed. There were only a dozen individuals left, far too few to sustain a viable population. Yet they vowed to stop the Reapers from returning. A way to break the cycle; forever. And they knew the Keepers were the key."
"Yes! I was always suspicious of those little bug-eyed monstrosities!" Aran crowed. "Me and Chorban were right! They're not just care-takers. They hide what's in plain sight and lull every race into a false sense of importance, power and security!"
"Yes, the Reapers were careful to keep the greatest secrets of the Citadel hidden. That is why they created a race of seemingly benign organic caretakers. The Keepers maintain the station's most basic functions. They enable any species that discovers the Citadel to use it without fully understanding the technology. Reliance on the Keepers therefore ensures that no other species will ever discover the Citadel's true nature until it is far too late. But our research revealed their primary objective and much more. The Keepers are controlled by sub-systems within the Citadel itself. Before each invasion, a signal is sent through the station by the sentinel holding watch over the Galaxy, compelling the Keepers to activate the Citadel relay. After decades of feverish study, the last Prothean scientists found a way to transcode, capture and alter this signal. Using the Conduit, they gained access to the station and made the modifications to the master control unit. This time, a few thousand years ago, when the Reaper you call Sovereign sent the signal to the Citadel; the Keepers ignored it. Leaving the Reapers trapped in dark space."
"But once Saren marshals his forces on both sides. He's going to undo everything you worked and died for..." Wrex stated.
"You now know more than your enemy does at the final stretch of this long race. The one you call Saren has been briefed by Sovereign itself. He will make his way to Ilos. Use the Conduit to circumvent the Citadel's defences. Once inside, he will transfer control of the station to Sovereign. Who will override the systems we put in place and manually open the relay. And the cycle of extinction - will begin again."
"Not if I can help it. We'll stop Saren and find a way to take Sovereign down," Samus announced with more confidence than she felt. "Somehow," she added in disquiet.
"Find me on Ilos. Saren could not decipher the beacon's VI formed message in its entirety, the Reaper's taint on his mind is too strong. But I have data files, files that are the amassed knowledge of the Protheans regarding the Citadel, its functions and its first inhabitants. There is still hope to end this, once and for all. But you must hurry. Find the Watcher's Chamber... on Ilos..."
Aran looked around at those assembled as the beacon's recollection programme terminated.
"So... any tactical input?"
Kaidan was the first to voice a shaky opinion.
"Input? Hell, I don't know. We're fighting giant machines from outside the Galaxy. Should I be afraid of them, or in awe of them? Anything so - old, so intelligent..."
"No kidding LT," Ash agreed. "We've got a hard fight ahead of us. Fleets of AI dreadnoughts who've exterminated all life in the Galaxy at least a dozen times over. I think the odds are against us."
"We know about the full extent of their indoctrination at least. Plus, Sam's got us a counter-measure. And we've got a greater chance than any other cycle has had before or since thanks to this forewarning," Wrex reminded her.
"I'm not going to lay down and die, Wrex. Don't worry about that. What I mean is - all of us here - we're infantry! Our rifles might as well be firing spitballs when stacked up against Reapers! We won't have a place in this war! And that's what pisses me off the most! Not being able to shoot back!"
"Bullshit, Chief!" Garrus interjected vehemently. "Shepard proved they can bleed! Sovereign fled the blast zone because it would have been obliterated otherwise! Imagine what one of those nuke's could do inside its guts? 'BAM!' They also gave away that they can't hold up their shields when planet-side either. And even better... the more Saren relies upon the power the Reapers give him the more parts he sells of himself. He's at the end of his tether... he's going to make the mistake we need to nail him!"
"Sovereign will not be at Ilos," Liara reminded them, "there are two dozen relay entries to the Widow Cluster. The Council has to be warned of the attack. With the amount of evidence we have; they will summon the Citadel Fleets in force."
"And station them at the relays," Hackett murmured, removing his cap and padding his brow with a snowy handkerchief. "They divert their armada in such a way and Sovereign and the Geth will rip right through them."
Anderson agreed. "You should all know that Udina has been pushing for this joint-operation for a long time. Ever since they sent you on this hunt, Shepard. They'll recall you as soon as the Citadel Archive Analyst's verify your reports. Since you've put them all under an oncoming threat of such significance; it's quite likely they'll recall the Spectres that worked with you as well. Who monitored Virmire from afar."
"They will. And I will return with them."
Tali spoke up. "Shepard, the Ambassador will want to take charge of the situation. He's a politician. And you've been keeping the spotlight for the last year! Alliance ships may not be welcome in the Terminus but we have the IES stealth sysytem. We can get to the Mu relay and Ilos in three days, tops. We have to find the Conduit before Saren does!"
"And if we do? What then? Disable it? We'd be shooting ourselves in the foot. The only way to end this is to lure Sovereign to the Citadel. It's remained hidden because it can be destroyed. They can be destroyed. We will stop them from returning, together."
"Shepard, I'll have the full might of the Fifth Fleet on standby. The Joint Chief's will take this seriously. Even if I have to force them to see clear."
"Thank you, Admiral. But I want the Normandy at its head when the time comes. Joker, you'll have a couple of hours to make the successive relay jumps back to the Arcturus Stream since we won't need pick up."
"You can count on me, Commander!" Jeff declared over the intercom.
"Then we're all in agreement. We move for Ilos. But only once the Council has been... completely informed of the situation. And once they respond - appropriately."
In Normandy's cargo hold, they held a wake for the brave men and women who died on Virmire.
Kirrahe lit seventy three candles. Only he, Rentola, Imness and four others had survived the disastrous operation. Though for the STG, such losses were actually seen as a blessing when the unit survived high risk missions to reform at all. And Aran perceived slight iniquity that she felt more sorrow for ten of hers struck down on the field than the many more Salarians who had died for the sake of Galactic peace.
"I don't understand..." crew-member Monica Negulesco asked tearfully of Lieutenant Alenko, standing next to her. "The Commander loved Jamie like her own child. Yet she won't even let it out."
Before Alenko could respond Command Deck Officer Abishek Pakti replied: "I heard she wept for her men on Sovereign. But she was with Dr. T'Soni then. As a leader she cannot be seen to break down in front of us."
Kaidan had a differing opinion to voice on the matter.
"She didn't weep, she cried. But I didn't see a single tear. After all the time she's lived. I don't think she has any left to shed."
"Then why do you cry?"
"Because she is Samus Aran. Last of the Defenders. She won't cry... so I'll cry for her..."
Intai'sei. The red paradise planet was home to swaying wind-farm plains and arid deserts rich in mineral resources.
Aran sat on a low boulder among the emptiness; soaking up the peace and tranquility of the land and sky while she waited for them to arrive.
Three rovers crested the ambit vista. Cerberus had come to talk.
Once the vehicles were no more than twenty metres away from the Hunter, four men exited along with a contingent of twelve Dog Soldiers in Skunk-work's camouflage armoured hard suits.
"Commander Shepard!" the lead scientist greeted her brightly.
"... Doctor Wayne..."
"I see you've finally decided to be reasonable. We're on the same side, here, Shepard. We all just want what's best for Humanity, you know."
"I know, gentleman. I know about it all... about the gun-running to Batarian extremists, about the eezo transport crashes; Pragia and Akuze. About Feros and Nodacrux. About Palaven and Chasca. Altahe, Nepmos, Depot Sigma-23, Ontarom, Edolus... Binthu and Nepheron."
"Commander - "
"Nothing you can possibly say will save you from me... you people and what you've committed, frankly, sicken me."
"What we've done?! It is you who is the greatest traitor to mankind!"
"Yes! As Aguirre said: I am the great traitor. There must be no other. Anyone who even thinks about deserting this mission will be cut up into a hundred and ninety eight pieces. Those pieces will be stamped on until what is left can be used only to paint walls. Whoever takes one grain of corn or one drop of water more than his ration, will be locked up for a hundred and fifty five years. If I, Aguirre, want the birds to drop dead from the trees, then the birds will drop dead from the trees. I am the wrath of God, sent to chastise you! The earth I pass will see me and tremble!"
"You're mad!"
"Come now, gentlemen. Did you really think I came here to draw up a peace? I - want - Harper... and you will help me on the way to finding him..."
"The Illusive Man...? You'll never take any of us alive, Shepard."
"That remains to be seen. Now... kneel."
"You are a funny woman, Shep - "
"I SAID KNEEL!"
Wayne's right leg disintegrated in half, courtesy of a sniper grain to his patella. Though the angle was impossible considering there were no hills for hundreds of miles. That had been one of the terms of their meeting place after all.
It was bedlam for all of five seconds as the black ops group were cut down to the last by a twin stream of long range cross-fire. Aran stasis locked the final Cerberus scientist on the spot and watched with some interest as the final shot tore through the side of his open mouth and sent his back molars flying though his ear and cheek in a burst of blood; leaving him without his cyanide capsule and a way to self-terminate.
Cerberus had monitored Aran closely when they had agreed to meet. Normandy had not entered the Phoenix System. But the Nova Corvette had. And not through a relay. Her ship uncloaked, to reveal Garrus Vakarian standing aloft, rifle shouldered. Two more Trybondian ships appeared around the site from several hundred metres away. Ashley Williams and the recently liberated Christopher Toombs, the only survivor of the Thresher Maw disaster of 77' had lain in wait on top of the vessels and participated in the massacre.
Aran let the field drop and the real Doctor Emmanuel Wayne collapsed, moaning. His decoy having done him no good. The Hunter grabbed his foot with her renewed iron grasp and dragged him across the red-stained sand towards Vakarian and Toombs.
"You want to sit in on the IR, Chris?" she queried of the insane Alliance Marine.
"... Oh, yes," the former lab guinea pig said in a deadly whisper. "Then will the screaming stop, Sam?"
"It will, Corporal. I'll make sure your Unit rests easy... Garrus!"
"Yes, Boss?"
"Let's hone your skills a bit more. I taught you to always follow the safest path, so that when you need to do things like this. You do them right."
"It'd be my pleasure..."
Garrus departed from the room, whistling jauntily to find his Commander sitting in her pilot's chair. She washed the scarlet gore from his hands while he spoke.
"He gave up the flash-drive override codes pretty quick. Not a lot of stomach for suffering that one... Adam helped me transmit them to the others in the Columbia System. With them all over the place; the base fell in minutes. No casualties on our side."
"Excellent. And has Tali cracked their servers on the other end?"
"Yeah. The entire registry is ours. It's gonna go a long way to putting Cerberus down for good. Though you'd think they'd end up doing it to themselves; the things they experiment on. Rachni Soldiers, Thorian Creepers, Geth Husks..."
"Probably Reaper tech, the Man's been interested in it since First Contact. Doubtless he knows about their resurgence thanks to all those spouting leaks in the Council Chambers..."
"They're all pathetic, Sam. You are going to be the one to bring him, them down. I know it. We just have to draw them in close, like a cautious Nathak..."
"You, are one of a kind, Garrus. I think I know what you'll do when this is all over and done. I wish you every success; it's been a privilege having you along for the ride."
"And here I was trying to work up my courage to declare my gratitude, another time then."
"Hm, alright."
"Shepard... Toombs gave his Brawler a blow-job after I broke Wayne."
"... That's not - unexpected. He was looking for release. He found it."
Wayne was unrecognisable as Aran dumped him in the ash of an Uncharted World. She stood above him, smoking her Blue Root cigar, before taking another nearby flat boulder as a seat, while the broken Human Supremacist rolled feebly in the dust.
"God, forgive me... ideas - are forever, Shepard... Earth will remain strong thanks to what I did. Cerberus will never die..."
"That's quite the interesting perception you've got there. It's a wonderful thought I suppose... however, I'm afraid that Oingo Boingo said it best: no one lives forever. That's just the way it goes. Now then, I suppose I could be cruel and torture you further, keep you above water for days, considering what you've done to my comrades and countless other innocents there's no question it would be appropriate. Fortunately, I'm not as vulgar as you. It would bring me no satisfaction. So I think I'll sit here and watch until you've taken your last miserable breath. Judging by those ministrations you probably have around ten minutes at best. I dedicate these last few moments before you leave this world to Toomb's and Kahoku's memories. May they rest in peace. Though I'm sure you wouldn't understand..."
Wayne sobbed as he began to expire slowly. Aran rested her forehead in her free palm, cigar between her fingers.
"Don't cry, you fool."
"Commander, Shepard. I'm pleased to see your mission on Virmire was a success. The footage you gave us was quite... striking," Councilor Tevos continued warmly. "We're sorry for loss of the men and women under you as well. But your own bravery cannot be understated. We are prepared to offer you a commendation few Spectres warrant due to the valour you displayed under fire and your now distinguished combat record for the Legion."
Sparatus agreed, smugly preening, as if recommending Aran for the Spectres and an elevated trophy had been his idea.
"Saren is dangerous enough without an army of Krogan serving under him. Agent's Bau and J'awos struck the back-up cloning labs on the other side of the planet in a daring night-raid while you and Kirrahe dealt with the main base. Saren may still be at large, but at least he doesn't have a quarter of a million regenerators in his hands."
"A few thousand may still be enough, Councilor. And those Krogan wouldn't have served Saren. They would have served Sovereign. A Reaper."
"Yes, we saw mention of this in your report," Valern ventured. "Sovereign. A sentient machine, supposedly responsible for the mental brainwashing of Matriarch Benezia and nearly a hundred others. A true artificial intelligence. This news is quite alarming... if it turns out to be accurate."
"It is accurate, Councillors. And I can prove it beyond a shadow of a doubt if you indulge me with a private audience after the award ceremony. My fellow Agents should be honoured along side me for their part in putting an end to this threat."
"That would be a wonderful show of solidarity, Commander. And though the visual and - audio, evidence of the Reapers is very arresting. I'm afraid the Council can take no official action here. Your reports and those of your colleagues' are being heavily edited and compiled in the deepest level of the archives. But that is why our predecessors created the Spectres. You have the authority to act outside the law and as you see fit for the sake of the trillions we all must protect."
"Perhaps you'll realise what incredible trust we place in you now, Shepard," Sparatus clicked, seemingly hurt. "And you are one of our most meticulous Agents - *Ahem* I mean - even a broken clock is right twice a day..."
Valern concurred. "If you believe that Sovereign is the real threat. You must take whatever steps are necessary to stop it. And Saren."
"Good luck, Commander. From all of us."
The link cut off and Aran switched to the secondary hail that was also marked with top priority clearance.
"Greetings, Commander," the distorted voice and figure of a single holo entity appeared before her.
"I suppose I wouldn't know if you were just an interested party or the Broker himself, would I?"
"No, you would not. But since you've been waiting for this call; you must know that I am extremely interested in acquiring information on Cerberus."
"Cut to the chase, Operative."
"Admiral Kahoku contacted me to help him locate information on any possible Cerberus facilities. I provided him with that Intel on the promise that he would turn over copies of all files from the Cerberus systems to us."
"Copies? Then what good is that to you?"
"Cerberus encryption is my trade, Shepard. The Alliance won't be able to decipher it for years. Its value is far more substantial in my hands. And I am aware that the volume of data recovered by your team - has smashed my estimations."
"So... I'd be well compensated for this."
"Correct."
"What if I gave you our one and only hard-copy? Encryption blocks can't be duplicated to the same extent as open files. We'd lose key Intel. But you foresaw that when you contacted me."
"Indeed. I knew you were a reasonable woman, Commander. I will remember this the next time you need something from us."
"Next time? I'm sorry, Mr. Broker. But all the zeroes in the Universe aren't as important to me as favours."
"I'm listening..."
"I want two of your inside men within Cerberus."
"Considering you may have compromised them, their viability is accordingly limited to me. Name them. And it shall be done."
"You can retain oversight of their handlers. But I want every update on their activities, plus full disclosure and open channels to them at all times."
"This is an unprecedented move, Shepard."
"As is the Intel you stand to gain."
" - Their names, Commander."
"... Paul Grayson and Robert Wilson."