Chapter 43d: Virmire pt4
As the team continued on to the center of the base, they did not encounter any further enemy resistance, but on the other hand their exploration of the place only turned up dead ends. Saren's base was truly a maze, possibly to make it easier to capture unwanted intruders for their indoctrination tests, or recapture escaped prisoners for more tests. They had to walk back lots of times to find a route with no dead ends; the team turned a corner and found an elevator. Going down the elevator, they could hear radio chatter of the Salarians and Ash fighting, things were getting more intense, sooner or later the geth would figure out the real threats.
"I hope they're okay" Tali said concerned.
"They'll be fine, Ash is with them, she's a capable soldier" Shepherd reassured her, although he was getting worried about them also. The elevator stopped and the team got out of what looked like a lab area. The entire team had their weapons ready, for when they would meet a nasty surprise. They moved slowly examining the weird machines that littered the area. They then stopped at one particular machine, they're eyes wide.
"Is that…?" Tali asked.
Wrex came near the machine. "Yeah, krogan" All the machines held krogan, this area was the breeding center for the krogans. Shepherd nodded to Tali, who then went over to the consoles to look for the cure and delete Saren's copy. Shepherd looked at Wrex staring at the krogans. "It's strange…to think I was this close to giving up on my people only for a cure to be staring me in the face"
"What will the krogan do once they have the cure?" Shepherd asked seriously.
"Probably look for payback…but don't worry I won't let that happen" Wrex said. "Once this whole mess with Saren is done, I'll go back to Tuchanka and make sure my people don't do any stupid"
Shepherd looked at Wrex. "Wrex…"
Wrex snorted. "Don't get all mushy on me, kid, I'm only doing this because I owe you and krogan repays their debts" he said. "Plus, I don't want another rebellion to happen"
Shepherd smiled. "But still thanks" Wrex grunted and they made their way over to Tali, was close to done looking at the files. Her eyes went wide.
"Keelah, t…that can't be right…" Tali gasped.
"What is it, Rookie?" Shepherd asked.
Tali took a deep breath, what she found was almost too awful to talk about, but she took the time to gather her thoughts for the bad news. "I looked up data on the krogans being kept here; all of them had the genophage"
"So? They may not been cured yet" Wrex said.
Tali shook her head. "It's not just that, I did a DNA scan on all the Krogan, they're all…" she lowered her head. "…have the same DNA, exactly the same…"
Wrex looked at her blankly. "They're clones?" he whispered.
"I'm sorry, Wrex" Tali said sadly. After so many centuries of living with the genophage he truly thought his people were going to be free. That the krogan was going to have their dignity again, but this revelation was a slap in the face to him and his people. A low growl escaped his mouth and his fist shook and in roar of rage smashed the console. Then he took out his shotgun and shot every container that held the krogan clones as Shepherd and Tali stepped back and let him vent. In the end, the lab was a mess of ruined machinery, bullet filled holes, and walls and floors that was painted with the orange blood of krogan clones everywhere, it almost too much for the human and quarian to see, but they understood. After a while of letting his frustration and anger out he finally calmed down and looked at Shepherd, his eyes intense.
"Shepherd, that bastard took my people's hope and twisted into a sick joke" Wrex said angrily. "I want his head"
Shepherd nodded. "Then you'll get it" The door then opened revealing a krogan in a white lab coat and an asari, they looked around the room eyes wide at the carnage in the room. The krogan glared at the team, his eyes full of hate.
"You fools, have you any idea what have done?! You've ruined the future of the krogan people!"
Wrex growled and pointed his shotgun. "And you've disgraced the krogan people!" he said charging the krogan in white. The asari pressed a button, and a container was revealed from above, filled to the brim with husks. The door opened and the husks came out rushed the team, Shepherd and Tali took out their shotguns and started blasting the techno zombies. One of the husks dodged the bullet and came up to Shepherd glowing blue, a wave of electricity flowed from its body and suddenly the shotgun became too hot to hold.
"Shit!" Shepherd said dropping his shotgun. The husk then took the chance to swipe the spectre hard in face.
"Wayne!" Tali ran over and rammed the husk to the ground and blasted the husk point-blank. Meanwhile Wrex and the lab krogan had a battle of strength, but the battlemaster then glowed blue and overtook the lab krogan. He then slammed him to the ground and raised his shotgun.
The krogan growled. "You've killed our people!"
Wrex silently pulled the trigger. "No I saved them from being pawn once more…" Tali used some medi-gel to patch up Shepherd's face, the spectre flinched a little as the gel touched his skin. When Shepherd was ready the team went on to the next area, just in time too, things was getting bad for the salarians and Ash. The team made it to the interior of the base, only drones stood in their way, which was not the problem for Tali. Inside an office like building they met an asari named Rana Thanoptis, a scientist that is in a more permanent position than she would have wanted. She gave information on purpose of the base, to test the effects of indoctrination, mind control, much to the horror of the team. She asked if she could leave, but the Spectre was having none of it, as he raised his weapon. The asari's eyes went wide, as she begged for her life.
"You bitch" Shepherd growled as he pulled the trigger. The asari fell dead.
"This base is an abomination," Tali said in disgust. "Saren's research must be destroyed."
"Damn right" Wrex said. The team took the elevator to Saren's lab and at the bottom is another beacon, very much intact like the one on Eden Prime.
"Stand back" Shepherd ordered. As Shepherd got close to the beacon, the beacon glowed and lifted Shepherd.
"Wayne!" Tali said in horror. She tried to get to Shepherd, but was held back by Wrex. The beacon transmitted the full vision into Shepherd's brain, he could understand it all, the screams, the slaughter, the machines, and more importantly the way to Illos, a way to stop this vision from coming to past. The beacon dropped Shepherd, and Tali ran up to Shepherd and helped him up. "Are you okay?" she asked concerned.
Shepherd looked at her and smiled. "Better than okay, we have hope" he said. Tali tilted her head in confusion.
"THERE IS NO HOPE" The team turned around as black and red crack started to appear in the beacon, glowing a dark bloody crimson Shepherd found himself sweating, not from the heat, but from fear, it was different from the fear he faced during battle, this was much more intense, much more primal, like the fear of being alone, or of the dark.
"What is this?" Tali asked as she gripped Shepherd's arm tightly. Shepherd looked back at Wrex, even the deadly krogan battlemaster was shaking in his boots from the voice. The chamber reverberated as the glow of the cracks intensified...projecting a picture of a ship.
"YOU ARE NOT SAREN..." the voice boomed. "PATHETIC CREATURES OF FLESH AND BLOOD, YOU DARE TOUCH MY MIND" The voice of the ship, made it hard to breathe, it was like a dagger stabbing his soul, just being with the projection made him sick, it was quite possibly the most disgusting thing he had ever heard.
"A VI?" Wrex asked.
"No worse" Shepherd growled. "It's a reaper, Sovereign"
"OUR TITLE IS IRRELEVANT, ALL WILL END. THE CYCLE CANNOT BE STOPPED" it said.
"What cycle?" Shepherd asked.
"THE CYCLE BEGAN BEFORE YOU AND IT CONTINUE AFTER YOU."
"Why? For what purpose? Shepherd asked.
"OUR REASON IS BEYOND YOUR COMPREHENSION. IN THE END IT WILL NOT MATTER"
Shepherd gritted his teeth, he felt hated for the creature standing in front of him, he want end its perverted existence, and what scared him the most, he did not fully understand it "You're just one machine..." he hissed. "Machines can be broken!"
"I AM A NATION, UNITED AND FREE OF ALL PATHETIC WEAKNESSES OF ORGANICS, AND SOON WE WILL DARKEN THE SKIES" The voice boomed. "ORGANIC LIFE IS AN ABOMINATION" Its voice was full of scorn and wrath. "YOU ARE FRAGILE, YOU BEGIN AND YOU END WITHOUT PURPOSE"
Shepherd glowed a brilliant blue. "We will stop you." He growled as he pointed at the projection. "And you will die"
"CONFIDENCE BORN OF IGNORANCE, YOU EXIST BECAUSE WE ALLOW IT AND YOU WILL END BECAUSE WE DEMAND IT" The hologram throbbed, the cracks in the beacon widening. "THE MASS RELAYS, THE CITADEL, YOU DEFENSES WILL FALL"
"Why would you make them only so we could find them...?" Tali asked.
"ORGANIC LIFE IS UNPREDICTABLE LIKE A DISEASE; WE ENLIGHTENED YOUR KIND TO FOLLOW THE PATH WE DESIRE" There was a crack as a part of the beacon fell off. "YOUR EVERY ADVANCEMENT, EVERY SETTLEMENT, WE HAVE GUIDED YOU HERE"
The quarian's eyes went wide. "Keelah, y-you've set the entire galactic civilization up to be destroyed...you know every move before we make it…" Tali said in shocked horror.
"YOU CANNOT RESIST" A crack, a long part of the beacon falling to the floor with a crash. "THERE IS NO HOPE, WHILE YOU WERE EVOLVING A FROM YOUR PRIMITIVE FORMS, AND WHEN YOU CEASE TO EXIST TO BE FORGOTTEN BY THE COSMOS, WE WILL ENDURE"
"You won't win! We're not your puppets!" Shepherd yelled. "And the galaxy, will be ready to strike you down!"
"YOUR WORDS ARE AS EMPTY AS YOUR FUTURE, I AM THE VANGUARD OF YOUR DESTRUCTION AND THIS EXCHANGE IS FINISHED." A flash of crimson light...and the beacon shattered, all that was left was a smoking stump.
Shepherd calmed down as the com opened, it was Joker. "What is it, Joker?"
"Sir, We getting a huge reading from here, and its coming fast!" Joker said panicked
Shepherd eyes went wide. "Got ya" he looked back to his team. "We need to get hell out of here, now!" Wrex and Tali nodded and ran out with Shepherd. It was time to blow this base to hell.
The enemy revealed…REVIEW AND COMMENT
