Underneath Tali's feet, the shuttle rumbled as it descended down Horizon's atmosphere.
As always, she felt nervous before deployment, as anyone with any sense would feel...yet it was stronger this time. She had seen the horrors of the Reapers first hand now, and though she'd seen much of Cerberus even before the arrival of the Reapers, the reports she'd read and a dark pit in her stomach told her it would be worse this time. Though what could be worse than stealing Thorian spores and infecting people with them or trying to turn Rachni into pets, Tali wasn't sure.
And we've been in better shape to tackle it. She glumly looked around the shuttle.
Javik was gone, making the shuttle...emptier. And the rest of the group didn't look their best either.
The cut over the side of Liara's face had been perfectly healed, yet she still seemed wounded. The loss of her planet was still fresh in Tali's mind, as such she couldn't even imagine how Liara felt about it. Though she held her head high, face impassive, Liara couldn't hide what she felt with her posture, and being a Quarian, Tali saw it all too well. The woman actually seemed even worse than when they had left Thessia, as if the knowledge of its loss was only now beginning to dig into her, wearing her down to an exhausted shell. Tali had hesitated in trying to offer comfort, held back by silly suspicions that no proper friend should feel...and of course when she'd finally worked up the nerve to do so Liara had been most evasive, clearly not wanting the help, or rather, not thinking she deserved it, no doubt blaming herself for Thessia's fate. Poor woman, she's a mess.
EDI looked perfectly well,which was no surprise, an AI might be sentient, but that didn't make it emotional. Then again, she says she loves Joker, and I kind of...believe her. What is that if not emotion? Maybe she's just harder to shake...heh, like Joker. Tali found some comfort in that, however bad it got, some didn't let that get them down. Of course, it helps having each other... Tali grimaced, still shaken after her conversation with Michael.
Like all organics in the shuttle, James looked tired, but he also looked grumpy, an annoyed frown on his face as over and over he reached up, hand touching the side of his helmet. Each time he touched the protective gear his frown deepened, his feet shuffled and a small grunt escaped. Just as Tali threw him a glance, he did it again, and Tali was not surprised by his glum mutter confirming her suspicions. "Stupid stitches are itching like crazy..."
"Cry me a river. " Was the dull response from Garrus. Of all in the team, he was the only one sitting down. The Turian had argued with Chakwas and Michel for quite a while before turning to Michael, wanting to come along on the mission. Being a Turian, Garrus was good at masking pain and looking tough, but Tali could see he was visibly struggling, not yet fit for duty, as the Doctors had said. Even Michael had been reluctant to bring the man along, noting that he needed the extra gun, but not being comfortable with using the man holding it.
James looked like he was about to snap back at the Turian's dismissive tone of his problem, but then shook his head as he watched Garrus' posture...apparently one needn't be a Quarian to see the Turian was suffering. "Sure, but I hear Turians aren't very good at swimming, so that might be a bad idea."
Garrus chuckled at that, straightening in his seat as he turned his attention back to the rifle in his lap, hands caressing the barrel. "You and Joker ought to put an act together, you could call it 'Mr Smartypants and Meat Mctalkscrap.'"
"Damn, that sounds fun, except I look horrible in a bow-tie." James grunted, making Tali arch an eyebrow. Do I even want to know what that is...? Humans are weird.
On cue to her thoughts, there was a shuffling of feet from the cockpit as Michael finally stepped away from Cortez, even with his back to the group, Tali could tell he was frowning, in 'commander mode'. Commander mode...
The thought made Tali shudder. It reminded her all too much of their hunt for Saren, of the broken shell Michael had been. Is he...is he like that again? The thought scared Tali, but then she mentally shook her head. No, he's not as...before, different. She frowned. But...in a good way? I...don't think so.
It was odd, she had meant every word when speaking to Michael, despite how alien it was to her...she could understand why he did what he did on Rannoch, she could even approve of it. Me approving of risking the Flotilla's existence...who could have seen that coming? Part of her wondered if that approval only came because of the loss of Kal'Reegar and Shala'Raan's and Gerrel's betrayal...what was there for her back with her people besides pain and regrets? She pushed that thought aside though, her loyalty to her people had never faded, and never would...yet...in the grand scheme of things, their actions seemed so petty in a burning galaxy...how could she not understand Michael's choice?
Yet, did that equal forgiveness? To dare to try to be with him again? No.
He threatened to kill me, he was ready to do it. How could I love such a man? Be with him? The answer was painfully obvious. But that's just the thing, isn't it? It's...painful, to not be with him...to not have him...it hurts. Glad for her visor, Tali grimaced, frustrated with Michael and their situation, but mostly herself. If he died this instance...what would I... Tali winced, the thought too much for her. Dammit, Michael, damn my heart! Grumbling she turned her attention to Michael, watching the man shift where he stood, obviously surprised by something Cortez had told him. No, this is stupid, and I shouldn't let such fears dictate my emotions, I...I need to be rational about this. Fact is that he was ready to kill me, fact is that he's completely dedicated to his war, fact is that-
"Are you sure?"
Michael's question interrupted Tali's thoughts, making her crane her neck as she tried to catch an earful of what the men were talking about.
She didn't have to, as a nod from Cortez made the man turn and take a step towards the group, his expression grim. "Right, listen up." His gaze moved across the team, expression grim, a tiredness Tali didn't like in his eyes. "Seems we're late to the party, the shuttle's systems are detecting smoke coming from the Sanctuary facility."
"Shit!" James grunted, eyes widening with concern. "You think the refugees are okay? There's supposed to be hundreds of thousands down there...!"
"I don't know." Was Michael's frank response, his stance weary. "That said, this is now a combat drop. We go in with guns drawn." He shot James a glance, somewhat reluctant as he gave his next order. "Watch your fire for civilians, but I want any resistance neutralized." His gaze turned grim. "Our primary mission is still intel, we want the location of the data. If we don't get it anyone we'll save will simply die later. Top priority goes to live prisoners, be they Cerberus officers or scientists. Given Cerberus' love for ocular implanted explosives, I've had Tali here build a jammer that should stop any attempts to detonate them." He shot the Quarian a glance, his face still grim even as his body shifted, showing a hint of the tension they both felt after their talk.
Tali nodded though, keeping her voice steady. "Well...I only tried it on a few corpses Chakwas supplied, so I'm not sure it works, but if it does anyone within a few feet of me shouldn't be able to detonate their implants." She patted the cylinder attached to her hip.
"Looks like a can of food." James commented, sounding confused.
"Well...I couldn't find a better casing for it." Tali sniffed, feeling her cheeks flush. "It's just the container, there's no food in it." The human arched an eyebrow. "I did wash it."
Garrus chuckled, patting the cylinder with a grin before throwing Tali an awkward glance and pulling his hand away from her hip, his voice was a casual drawl though. "Our success rests on a something our resident Quarian scrounged up and shoved into a can of soup...now why does that actually reassure me?"
Ignoring the snicker escaping both James and Cortez at that, as well as Tali's growing blush, Michael continued as if he'd never been interrupted. "Whether we can or can't capture any live prisoners for interrogation, we will strive for capturing any computers or databanks they have intact. This is vital to the survival of the galaxy, people, I can't stress that enough." He turned his head, looking back as he raised his voice. "Cortez! I want the shuttle within visual range of the facility at all times, anything tries to leave and you'll paint it." He barely paused to hear Cortez's quick confirmation of the order before he turned his head upwards. "Joker, anything Cortez paints you bring down, cripple it if you can, blow it up if you must, but nothing leaves this planet without me saying so."
"You know, you're kind of creepy when you give orders like that, like some megalomaniac with his eye on world domination...just saying." Joker replied through the radio, then, as if sensing Michael's frown, he added. "I mean...yes, Sir, Spectre Sir..."
"Right, good enough." Michael grunted, brushing past Tali, throwing her an uncertain glance before turning to face the door, drawing his Revenant. "Prepare to deploy, we fan out and find cover, then act as the situation requires."
A hum, and Tali felt the shuttle decelerate as Cortez brought it down to land, his voice strangely muted. "No hostile activity spotted, sir, visibility low though."
Then the shuttle doors opened and Tali leapt after Michael before turning, making sure Garrus – the Turian moving slower than he usually did – jumped out without trouble. A moment later she was moving, automatically finding a good piece of cover as she had done dozens of times before, the action more instinct than training by now. In that short span of time she noted two things though, first that there was a lot of burning debris around them, second that there was a lot of bodies.
Behind them, the engines of the shuttle roared as Cortez took off, but Tali barely noticed it as her gaze swept across the surrounding area, eyes widening even as Garrus grunted. "Clear so far..."
The only reply was a muttered gasp from James. "My God..."
Built in a forest, the Sanctuary facility kept most of its structure underground like most refugee centres. Built in the middle of nowhere and appearing as little more than a lone office building, it was inconspicuous and unlikely to draw attention...one of the few ways one could defend oneself against the Reapers when not commanding a fleet. As such, there were large pine trees surrounding the squat building of grey and white stone, some of which had been cleared away to make room for a large space of black asphalt that served as a landing pad...a dull picture if it wasn't for the bodies, burning wreckage and large turrets that stuck out from the ground surrounding the landing pad.
"Goddess...what happened here?" Liara asked, echoing Tali's thoughts.
Michael straightened, eyes narrowing as he looked to one of the closest turrets. "That's an automated AZ-five anti-air turret, usually hidden underground unless activated." He turned his gaze around, seeking out the still smoking wreckage of some twisted metal. "That's a shuttle, and all of the remains here suggests there were more that were destroyed...perhaps by the turrets?"
"Then why didn't they fire on us?" James muttered, grimacing as he stared around himself. "Someone deactivated them? Cut the power, maybe?"
"Possibly." Michael agreed with a bitter nod. "If Cerberus found someone trying to escape their facility, I'm sure they'd be willing to blow up the shuttles to keep the location of their base to spread."
"That's a lot of escapees though..." Liara muttered back, nodding at the bodies, forcing Tali to look more closely at them.
There were mounds of bodies strewn around the landing pad. Most lay face down. All looked like they'd fallen trying to run from the building ahead, a building whose large central doors had been bashed open. Garrus swore something under his breath. "Damn, there has to be over a hundred dead here..." He turned his gaze, looking towards the forest behind them. "And if they were heading away...I'll bet we'll find more out there if we looked."
"Shit! Look at them!" Tilting her head, Tali looked to James, finding the man's face turn red in anger as he squeezed his Falcon tighter. "They're just civilians, dammit! Cerberus is going to pay for this!"
"I'm not sure it's Cerberus that's responsible for this." EDI noted, her voice toneless as her eyes swept over the carnage. "I see no bullet wounds, some were killed by the blasts of the exploding shuttles, no doubt, but most seem to have received stabbing or slashing injuries, and I deem it unlikely that it was the work of an army of Phantoms."
James whistled, sounding worried. "Damn, you're not saying..."
"If the Reapers are here, we'll deal with them as we go, our objective hasn't changed." Michael snapped, hand moving to wave the squad forward. With that, they slowly moved their way over bodies while taking as much cover as possible, eyes fixed on the building ahead, wondering when a sniper or anything would appear to stop them.
Instead, EDI spoke after a moment of thoughtful silence. "My systems have detected no Reaper activity in this system, in fact, going here would be far out of the Reaper forces way...unless they sent a task force, I find it unlikely that this was the work of the Reapers."
"So what is responsible then?" Michael grunted, kneeling low to look at one of the dead, a lanky woman lying face down in a puddle of blood, her back shredded into a gory mess. "Because it looks like their work."
"I don't know."
EDI's frank response sent a shiver down Tali's spine, her grip tightening on the Geth shotgun in her hands. Keelah, this is like going into the lair of the Thorian all over again, not knowing what we'll face...
A tense silence fell over the group, the scrapping of their boots unnaturally loud in Tali's eyes as she swallowed, sensing herself as well as the entire group go nervous as their imagination went wild in trying to determine what was ahead of them.
Keelah, I'm sweating...I hate the wait..
Then, halfway to the building ahead, there was a scrapping sound to their right.
"Tali! Flank left! James! Right! Garrus, give me a target! EDI, Liara, on me!" Michael snapped the orders instantly and the team moved as one, forming a semi-circle facing the source of the sound with a precision only veterans were capable of on the field, ready to face anything.
Despite that, Tali breathed a sigh of relief as a squeaky voice called out, trembling in fright. "Don't shoot! Don't shoot!" A small dark hand shot up from behind a corpse, then another one, followed by a curly-haired head of a dark-skinned human boy, his scrawny body shaking with fear as his wide eyes stared at the many guns pointed at him. "I'm not a monster! Please!"
Slowly, the group lowered their weapons, exchanging confused looks.
Poor thing... Noticing that the boy was still shaking as his hands remained in the air – and no wonder given that he wore nothing but a sleeveless shirt and a pair of blue boxers – Tali was the first to move. Collapsing her shotgun and attaching it to the small of her back she sighed and moved forward, hands already moving to her medical pack and pulling out a thin silver blanket intended for people in shock. As she came closer, the boy shied away, hands coming down to the ground to drag himself away even as his wide eyes stared at her with a mixture of confusion and fear. Seeing that he was too weak to resist, not to mention not really about to refuse the blanket she held in front of her, Tali closed the distance and wrapped the material around his shoulders while kneeling next to his small frame. Unsure, she didn't deal with children even on the Flotilla, Tali kept her tone friendly and soft. "There, is that better?" Keelah, he can't be older than eight...
"What..." The boy looked down at his blanket, his hands moving within it to pull it further around himself before he looked back at him, the fear of his eyes dulling ever so slightly as he frowned at her in confusion. "...what are you?"
Ah, the Flotilla and Alliance hasn't had much contact, so I suppose the younger ones wouldn't know about us. Well at least I get to make the impression, rather than rumours and stereotypes. Tali caught herself smiling. "I'm a Quarian." She paused, watching the boy digest the information that apparently didn't ring any bells. "And my name is Tali'Zorah Vas Normandy." This time, there was a brief flash of something in the boy's eyes, his brows creasing in a thoughtful frown as he tried to remember something. "What's yours?"
"Theodore...but everyone calls me Ted." The boy replied, gaze momentarily moving from her face to the bodies around him, his body visibly shivering at the sight before his eyes moved, looking up at the next person kneeling in front of him.
Michael was smiling, though his body spoke of impatience that made Tali frown at him. Noticing her looking at him, he took a deep breath...and some of that impatience faded from his posture. Better. "Hello, Ted, I'm Michael Shepard, a Spectre."
"A Spectre!" The boy gasped, eyes widening as he stared at the other human. "Th-th-that's like a hero, right?"
"Some think so, yes." Michael muttered, grimacing ever so slightly. "Now, I need you to focus...what happened here?"
"I..." The boy stared at the man, then down at the ground, then over to the dead...and then lowered his face into as he pulled his knees up to his chin, his voice turning into a muted mutter. "...I don't want to..."
Michael frowned, moved forward...only to be stopped by Liara's hand briefly touching his shoulder before the Asari knelt down on the other side of child, her hand on his back as it began stroking it up and down. "It's okay now, you're safe..."
"Yes." Tali agreed, squeezing the boy's shoulder from the other side, trying to keep her voice as soft as the Asari. "No one can hurt you now."
"I...I don't know how to..." The boy hesitantly looked up, turning his head as he looked to the Quarian and Asari in turn, eyes puffy. "...it all was so fast and...so many things happened..."
"Perhaps you can explain what you meant with, and I quote 'I'm no monster'?" EDI suggested, the machine stepping up behind Michael with a curious look on her face.
"Well...I'm not." The boy replied, voice numb as he stared at the synthetic before him with eyes wide of wonder. "Wh-what are you?"
"EDI, a pleasure to meet you, Ted." The AI replied, offering a small bow that made the boy's lips quaver in a hint of a smile.
"Okay, so you're not a monster, we believe you." Garrus drawled, the Turian stepping up next to EDI, sighing. "But what is?"
The boy didn't answer at first, his eyes wide as he stared at Garrus as if the Turian was a ghost, making him arch his browplate as the others exchanged curious looks. When he spoke, the boy's voice was trembling, but no longer with fear. "Th-the things that k-killed everyone...s-sir."
Michael, looking slightly amused, looked up at Garrus, nodding to the Turian to continue, which the former C-Sec officer swiftly did without ever looking away from the boy, face serious without being unfriendly. "And what did they look like? Where did they come from?"
"L-like..." Ted licked his lips, shivering at the memory. "...people...but not...weird..." He shook his head, squeezing his eyes shut for a moment as Tali felt him shake under her hand, when he opened them again, his gaze was fixed on Garrus, as if finding some kind of calm in the grey eyes so steadily looking back at him. "Th-they came from...inside..."
"Inside the base? Inside Sanctuary?" Garrus pushed, though his voice almost held a gentle quality, something that made Tali throw him a surprised look, not sure she'd ever heard him speak like that.
The boy nodded eagerly at the questions. "Y-yeah, there were these doors...you weren't allowed to get in before you've signed all the papers and waited your turn..." Ted grimaced, shaking his head. "I...I came here alone...it was a lot of papers...a lot of people to wait for until I could enter..." His face screwed up, but no tears came as he kept staring at Garrus, the boy visibly swallowing as he held back his emotions with a force of will. "Th-then...then they opened and those...those things came out...e-everyone started dying a-and...and I ran..." Under the blanket, the boy gestured at the landing pad. "I...I came out and there were...shuttles exploding, those things shooting them down..." He nodded towards one of the turrets at the distance, then fell silent, his lips trembling as he turned to stare at the ground.
Moving to stand next to Michael, Garrus knelt, the sound Turian's movement enough to make the boy look back up. "And then what happened."
The boy's face turned slightly darker. "I...I fell..." He kept staring into Garrus' eyes, despite a look of shame crossing his face. "...and I just...lay still, people were dying a-and...and I didn't want to die too...so I lay still as everyone ran for the forest, th-those things going after them...I...I didn't want to die."
"Hiding, clever." Garrus nodded in approval, making the boy offer a hesitant smile. "And what of these turrets? They look offline."
"They...they were moving around, looking upwards for a long time...then..." The boy shrugged. "...they just stopped...then...then these men came..."
"Men, what men?" Michael suddenly asked, the man inching closer with an intense look on his face.
Ted shot him a frightened look, but after a glance at Garrus his shoulders visibly dropped as he replied. "They came in three shuttles, wore white...I...I saw the Cerberus logo...I heard they're bad...so I didn't dare say anything...they walked into Sanctuary..."
"Damn, and no shuttles in sight." Michael growled, hand coming up to his helmet. "Cortez, Joker, eyes and ears out, we have Cerberus shuttles hiding somewhere in the foliage." The next second his eyes were staring at the boy once more, glowing with intensity. "Now, this is very important, was there a man in black there? Possibly carrying a sword?"
The boy stared at Michael in fear, then swallowed before nodding. "Y-yeah...h-he looked mad..."
Michael slapped his thigh, face splitting into a grin as he jumped to his feet. "Yes! I knew it! Ted, I love you!"
Giving the Spectre an uncertain smile, the boy straightened slightly. "I...I did good?"
"Better." Michael grinned. "If you weren't so young I'd make you a bloody Spectre for this."
Rolling her eyes at him, Tali shook her head. "Michael, maybe we should take Ted here to-"
"Wait...you're Michael Shepard!" The boy interrupted, eyes alight as the pieces finally clicked into place. "You...you're that hero!" Before Tali could react, Ted was on his feet, staring at the group with a new light of energy in his eyes.
"Oh boy..." Michael smiled at the others in the group, looking amused even as Liara and Tali rolled their eyes in sync, knowing Michael's fame was widely spread, and however deserved it was, it was kind of annoying. "...yes, kid, that's me, now if you-"
"Which makes you Garrus!" The boy shouted, even more exuberant as he fixed his gaze on the Turian next to Michael, making both human and Turian blink in surprise. "Oh man! I knew I recognised your face!"
"Errr..." Clearly taken aback, Garrus rose to his feet, shooting Michael an awkward look that was met with a clearly surprised shrug. The Turian was a celebrity after all he'd done, but nowhere near Michael's status, especially around humans. "...I suppose I am, yes."
"Oh man! I'm like your biggest fan!" Ted shouted, the human taking two steps closer to Garrus before stopping, though there was no stopping the eager look in his eyes and the excited words tumbling out of him. "I have all your action figures! A replica of your armour fitted for humans and even your visor that doubles as an omni-tool! Oh! And of course your music album!"
Snickering, Tali watched Garrus arch his browplate in surprise, baffled by the gushing of the human as much as his words. "I...have a music album? Shouldn't that be something I know about?"
For the briefest of moments, an amused smile appeared on Liara's lips. "If you want I could retroactively secure your royalties, Garrus..."
"Why thank you." Was the dry response, the Turian opening his mouth to speak on, only for him to awkwardly grunt as Ted stepped close enough to touch him.
The human, as if forgetting the horrors surrounding him, was grinning at the Turian. "Could I have your autograph!? Oh, and if you're not busy, could you teach me to shoot like you!? Oh! Oh! And could you-!"
Michael interrupted the stream of words by putting a hand on the boy's shoulder, a conspiratory look in his eyes as he turned to Garrus. "You know...with Cortez busy watching the skies, you in need of some lighter combat duty, and I in need of someone watching this exit to make sure no one escapes...how about you find a nice spot to keep an eye on the door and take Ted here along with you?"
Garrus' eyes widened in shock, then narrowed in hostility, making Michael arch an amused eyebrow even as the boy began to bounce in eagerness, struggling not to interrupt the grownups. "Really, Michael, I think I would be better..."
"Now, now, Chakwas said I should put you on lighter duty and I do need someone to watch this exit...besides, I can't spare Ted a ride with these Cerberus shuttles about...it's a perfect solution." Michael grinned down at Ted. "You can talk about how awesome you are."
Oh dear... Holding back her snicker, Tali watched as Liara and James struggled to do the same as Garrus shot angry glares Michael's way...but in the end he didn't have much of a choice and his shoulders visibly sagged. "Fine...but only because Chakwas would kill me otherwise."
"Whoppie!" Ted exclaimed, hand instantly shooting up to grab Garrus as he dragged the reluctant Turian with him, a Turian shooting a smirking Michael a look of utter despair. "Hey, is it true that you were like a superhero on Omega!?"
"I don't have any powers..." Garrus muttered back even as the group followed the pair moving towards one of the turrets with amused eyes.
"Oh, like Batman!?"
A sigh. "Yes, like Batman..."
"Oh! Do you need a sidekick!? I'm really fast!"
Grinning, Michael turned and headed for the building ahead, the man looking a little less tense than usual as his usual grim mood momentarily lifted. "Ah, that felt good."
I've missed that smile...not predatory, not out of victory...just happy. Following, Tali couldn't help but smirk."And you're a little jealous that the boy's Garrus' fan and not yours..."
"What? No! No...don't be silly...I was...surprised, that's all."
"Sure..."
"I was!"
"Whatever you say."
"James, help me out!"
"Sorry, Sir, I'm with Sparks here."
"I hate you guys..."
8
8
8
Thanks to Abydos Jackson for dragging herself out of her grave to help me.
