Chapter Fifty-Four
Jodie walked down to engineering. She looked over, seeing the two Cerberus engineers typing away at their terminals. She nodded to them politely, walking past them as she looked over to Tali on the opposite end. The quarian seemed lost in thought, and she sighed gently, continuing to work.
Jodie approached, and it was then that Tali looked up. "Oh, hello Jodie," she said. "Things have been rather quiet since Thane's son left again, haven't they?"
"They have," Jodie replied. She crossed her arms, looking up. "But I have a feeling they'll pick up again."
"They always do around Jon'i-... John." She chuckled, glancing over at the two engineers before looking to Jodie. "Jodie, can I talk to you for a second? Out of earshot of everyone?"
Jodie smiled, gesturing to the engine room. "Always," she said. She then walked over, Tali following her slowly. "What's on your mind?"
Tali nodded, bowing her head. "I... I worry about the Fleet," she said. She looked up, crossing her arms as they settled close to the control panel in front of the Normandy's engine. She looked out to it. "Did I make the right call, to leave them?"
Jodie frowned, crossing her arms. "Why are you asking me this?" she asked. "This seems like a question for Shepard."
"I have asked him that," Tali replies. "But every time I bring it up, he only says I did. He always tells me everything I have done is for the good of the Fleet. He promised me a lot..." She looked to her hands. "I don't know if Shepard wants me to tell you this, but... he gave me a cure for my immune system."
Jodie blinked, widening her eyes a little bit. Aiden gurgled his annoyance, but Jodie paid it no mind. "Was it during that one Cerberus operation where you nearly died?" she asked.
"Yes," said Tali. "That was when he told me. He said that I could help him, and in return he would help the Fleet get their own cure there." She crossed her arms. "And his galaxy offered it to me, too. Do you know it was me who had to bring Shepard's body to Cerberus?"
Jodie blinked in surprise, this blink a little more genuine. "Really?" she asked. "So you already know Miranda?"
"A little," said Tali. "I did not speak to her much. It was the moles in Cerberus that the galaxy has that did the work." She sighed, looking to the floor. "His galaxy wanted him back badly. They never told me why, but they did. And they told me they would work on getting the cure to my people afterwards." She sighed. "I know how important this is. But the Fleet..." She sighed. "They have relegated me to menial tasks. I am not stupid: I could see the mission on Haestrom as the attempt to distract me it was. Even then, I do it, but... it is almost like they want me to see nothing that is going on outside." She then looked up. "I feel maybe the Fleet was right to have left me on Haestrom."
"And why is that?" Jodie asked.
Tali sighed. "Shepard's galaxy asked me not to say anything about what I've experienced to the Fleet," she said. "I admit, I have thought about it a lot. If nothing else, it would have given them hope. But the fact I can't tell them..." Tali looked to the floor. "I'm certain my departure has given them the wrong idea about my intentions. You have no idea how much I've wanted to tell them. I nearly slipped with my father before the mission. But then I think about Shepard, and then I think about the Fleet, and I never know what to do. I tell myself it is for the good of the Fleet, but doing so by a lie of omission doesn't feel right, Jodie." She then sighed, looking down. "I should have listened to my Auntie Raan."
Jodie swallowed. She did not expect Shala'Raan's name to come up, but it made it a little easier. "Auntie Raan?"
"A friend of my father's," Tali replied. "She has been part of the family for a while. She told me that I could tell her anything, and not to wait until it was too late." She sighed. "And she said she would never tell anyone, it would be our secret..."
Jodie blinked, leaning forward and grasping Tali's wrists gently. "You'll... You may want to tell them, sometime," she said. "You never know, with these things. But..." She sighed, looking at Jodie. "Part of me thinks they don't want to believe you would betray the Fleet."
Tali looked up. "Really?" she asked.
"Yeah," said Jodie. "I'm sure your Auntie Raan is looking out for your best interests. It looks bad that you left them that way, for sure, but you may be able to clear this up with them. I'm sure they just want answers, and..." She sighed. "I hope you can clear this up with them. They'll have to listen, if only to get answers."
Tali nodded. "I hope you are right," she said. She sighed. "I hope I do not regret putting my trust in Shepard."
"You care about him," Jodie replied. "I think you could be forgiven for that."
Tali nodded, walking back. Jodie noticed that her step was a little lighter than before. "Thank you, Jodie," Tali said. "For listening."
Jodie smiled, but before she could say anything else she looked up, seeing Shepard walk past Tali's panel. The commander looked determined, and it was then that Jodie noticed he was already in armor.
"Ah, Tali, there you are," he said. "We need you for a mission."
Jodie looked at Tali. "What for?" the quarian asked.
Shepard grinned. "Well, as luck would have it, we found the Collector ship," he said. "It's giving off a signal, and it got damaged by what we did to it on Horizon. It's there, and we're going to infiltrate it." He grinned. "Jack's coming with us, so I'm expecting we'll finally be able to get down to the bottom of this. Maybe even figure out the missing pieces of intelligence that'll lead us to the Collector base."
Jodie blinked in surprise. "Wait, seriously?" she asked. "It's that big?"
"Yeah," said Shepard. He cracked his knuckles. "And I for one can't wait to uncover its secrets." He nodded to Jodie. "I'm almost expecting this to be a trap. If it is a trap, I need you to do what's got to be done."
Jodie nodded. "As you say, Commander," she said. She then looked to Tali. "Good luck there."
Shepard turned. "Come on, Tali," he said. "Let's go see what we can uncover here."
Tali turned, nodding to Shepard. "Yes, of course."
She then followed him out. As she did, though, she spared a final glance back at Jodie. Jodie noticed that Tali was probably smiling: her eyes shone a little brighter from behind her face mask, and her steps seemed a little more sure. In response, Jodie could only smile back, before Tali rounded the corner.
And then, Jodie stopped. She breathed in, looking around her. There Shepard was, about to take Tali off of the Normandy. Combined with that, Jodie knew that Shepard would likely take Xi'tro with him, too. Thus, that left nobody to supervise his quarters.
Aiden trilled. Jodie nodded as she walked off. Yeah, that's a good idea, Jodie thought. Come on. We may never get another chance to do this...
Shepard stepped off the shuttle, exhaling as he looked around at the entranceway the shuttle had landed at. He stood there, hearing two other sets of footsteps set down on the ground behind him.
"I don't like this, Shepard," Jack replied. "This is too fuckin' quiet."
Shepard only smirked. "It was until you got here, Jack," he replied.
Jack glared at Shepard. "The fuck's that supposed to mean?" she asked.
"You'll have to humor him, Jack," Tali replied as she too walked up to the commander. "That was his attempt at humor."
"Have they got clown schools?" asked Jack. "He could use one."
Shepard shook his head, before he looked up at the ship. "We need to go further in." He sighed, looking up at the ceiling. "And yeah, Jack, to your original statement: I don't like this either. No hull breaches detected, it's too quiet..." He looked back at his shoulder. "Be thankful I made you guys bring your weapons. This is probably some kind of trap."
"It does look like one," Tali noted as they began to enter the Collector ship. She looked around, stepping further into the ship. "Where do we go from here, though?"
Shepard nodded, bringing a hand to his ear. "EDI?" he asked.
"Penetrating scans have detected an access node to uplink with Collector databanks," the AI replied. "Uploading to your UI."
Shepard then turned to his omni-tool. As soon as he did this, he saw an indicator pointing into the heart of the ship. Shepard closed his omni-tool, before looking to the path ahead. "So I guess we just keep going here," said Shepard. "I can do that. And we'll kick some Collective ass if we have to."
Jack chuckled. "Okay, that wasn't too bad," she said.
Shepard stepped forward, walking down the path. "Let's go," he said. "We've got a lot of ground to cover!"
And with no further protest, Tali and Jack followed the Commander. As he did this, the Commander switched to a private comms channel. He then looked at his omni-tool.
"Xi'tro, you ready in case we need to data mine?" he asked.
"Absolutely, Commander," the exion replied. "You think this will keep EDI focused on the ship in case the traitor make their move?"
"I hope so," Shepard replied. "You know I'm going to have to ask EDI to decrypt a couple of things to keep up appearances, though."
"Yeah..." Xi'tro sighed. "Still, if I can lighten the load, I will. Just say the word and I'm there!"
"Of course," Shepard replied. "Stay on standby."
And with this, Shepard continued on.
Thane stood in life support. Jacob leaned against the bench, looking straight at him. They both waited for some kind of sign from Jodie, waiting out there in Jacob's omni-tool. They looked up at each other, Jacob glancing back down.
"You know the plan," said Jacob. "But remind me how quickly everything is going to go?"
"The plan is for Aiden to break the encryption on the computer," said Thane. "Without this Xi'tro there, we should get in quickly, and I should be able to access the information."
"And of course we will have to watch out for EDI," said Jacob.
"Jodie overheard that EDI may have to help them there," said Thane. "We will see what happens, but if we coordinate our moves carefully, I can go in and out without being seen."
Jacob nodded. "And she is connected to you via comms," he said. "Or at least, that's the plan." He let out a quick sigh. "I hope this works."
"As do I," said Thane.
And then, Jacob's omnitool pinged. He looked down, seeing the art program Aiden liked so much appearing. He then chuckled, seeing the chicken scratch written out.
"It looks just like a little kid's drawing," he noted. He then looked at Thane, giving him a nod. "But I think you know what this means. Let's get started."
Thane nodded. He then cupped his hands together, bowing his head as he gently breathed out. "Amonkira, Lord of Hunters. Grant that my hands be steady, my feet be swift, and my eyes open. And should the worst come to pass, grant me the strength to resist what may come."
With this, Thane ducked into the air vent. Jacob looked on, and as he did, Thane quickly disappeared into the vent.
Jodie inhaled deeply, looking up at the ceiling. "Come on, Aiden, this encryption can't be that hard to break!"
Aiden chirped angrily, before he continued work. It was agonizing waiting for Aiden to break the encryption: it was taking longer than usual, but there was nothing she could do. She knew marching right into the room was a terrible idea even if it were possible, and she knew that not seeing what he was doing was a killer. She'd known Aiden was dependable on these types of missions, certainly, but knowing that someone else had to pick up the information, and knowing that it would be better if it were Thane thanks to his eidetic memory...
Jodie exhaled, before looking at her omni-tool. As she did, she heard something come up.
"EDI, what the hell is this? There's a dead collector here!"
Jodie perked up. "A dead Collector?"
"I can't figure this out," Jodie heard Jack say. "I thought we were fighting these things, that this was its ship. The fuck is it doing on some... sciency table?"
"I don't know," said Shepard. "EDI, can you analyze it?"
Jodie perked up. She then looked up at the room, Aiden gurgling non-stop as he fought to finish the encryption. She knew that this was as likely a chance as any to get Thane into the captain's quarters: she knew he waited from a text message, but there was no way for him to say the encryption was not yet cracked. But if they did not move then, they would lose the chance...
"Analyzing..." EDI said.
Jodie shook her head, looking up at Aiden. Aiden, forget the encryption for now, she thought. EDI's distracted, you've got to get Thane in before her surveillance turns on!
Aiden released an angry trill. Nevertheless, Jodie grit her teeth, shaking her head. Aiden, you have to do it now! she thought. We haven't got time!
The entity released a rolling gurgle. Jodie then tensed, looking up at the captain's quarters as she breathed in. Come on... she thought. Make sure he's hiding before-
"Analysis complete," EDI stated.
Fuck!
Jodie could only breathe. Aiden was silent, and Jodie knew this did not normally bode well. Neither had Thane given her any indication. The silence of the meeting room became almost deafening at that point, and the single second it took for EDI to begin explaining what had happened passed by far too quickly for comfort.
"I have no hypothesis on their motivations. All I have are preliminary results. They reveal something remarkable: a quad-strand genetic structure, identical to traces collected from ancient ruins. Only one race is known to have this structure: the Protheans."
Shepard inhaled sharply, looking up. "What?" he asked. "The Protheans created all this?"
"No," EDI replied. "There are differences: these Collectors are missing three chromosomes from Prothean data. But their genetic code also shows extensive signs of engineering."
"So that could be the Reapers," said Tali.
Shepard groaned. "Those things again?" he said aloud. "Ugh... They always find a way to get involved with galactic politics, I swear to Christ..." He shook his head, before leaning back and crossing his arms. "So great, the Reapers are behind everything again."
Jack chuckled. "Shepard, you're killing me here," she said. "Do you actually believe this crap?"
Shepard shook his head. "It doesn't matter," he replied. He then looked up. "Whatever the case, these things need to be stopped. It's looking they could do the same thing to us if we don't fucking stop them."
"Yeah, and I'm not gonna get turned into mush," Jack replied. "Although I know one guy who could use that right now."
"Patience, Jack," said Shepard. He then turned away, continuing to walk down. "Keep an eye out for anything else, EDI. And if there's anything more interesting coming up before we hit that control panel, let me know."
He then nodded as they walked along. As Tali and Jack followed along in silence, Shepard brought his hands up, switching comms channels once again. "Xi'tro, that was all EDI, right?" he asked.
"Yep, it was," said Xi'tro. "But I don't think she was out long enough for anyone to slip past her surveillance. Eliem moves quick, doesn't she?"
Here, Shepard smiled. "Yes," he agreed. "Yes, she does. And I love it."
Shepard imagined Xi'tro to reply with a nod, before he continued on, keeping his eyes peeled for anything that would catch him off guard.
The underside of Shepard's desk was rather cramped and uncomfortable. Still, Thane had been in more cramped situations before, and for much longer: he knew he would be alright, as long as his foot did not appear under the desk.
The drell considered himself lucky, all told: with the amount of time that had been afforded to him, he had barely been able to get inside before Aiden had to flash a warning across his omni-tool. Still, he'd had enough sense to hide as quickly as he could. It was a very close shave, and he wondered if EDI had noticed. However, one minute of waiting turned into two, and nothing had happened. He assumed this meant he'd avoided getting spied by EDI.
Thus, he waited, hearing the beeping occur up top as Aiden worked on the encryption.
He looked up, before gently tapping the underside of the desk. He did not think the Commander paranoid enough to believe he kept listening devices in his own quarters, but the drell knew there was never such a thing as being too careful in his profession. When he heard a silence, he mouthed a silent question to Aiden.
The terminal sounds resumed. Thane only nodded impassively, before settling back in. He then looked up at the ceiling, tapping his fingers gently against the floor.
Then, the computer's sounds abruptly stopped. As soon as they did, Thane looked down at his omni-tool. It then opened, with something written there for him in Aiden's signature chicken-scratch.
Thane nodded, leaning back. "Then wait I will," he mouthed silently, leaning back.
And so, he waited, pushing himself against the wall under the desk.
Shepard walked out into an open area. He let out a gasp as soon as he saw the sight that greeted him: pods, like the ones they'd seen on Horizon. There were so many thousands of them in the vast, expansive chamber that he had just entered, so many that he was certain only a small portion of them were filled. He was filled with a quiet awe as he looked about, his feet slowly planting themselves in the ground.
"Keelah..." Tali stepped in behind him, laying a hand on his forearm as she looked around him. "Look at all these pods..."
Jack breathed in, for once looking on with wide eyes. "Holy shit..." she said. "How many fuckers do you think would've been put in these pods?"
Shepard shook his head. "There can't be enough for everyone on Horizon..." he said. He shook his head. "And there isn't enough for every human colony you could get."
Tali gripped Shepard's arm tightly. "You don't think they would go after Earth," she said, less as a question and more as a statement.
Shepard breathed in. "They're going after mostly human colonies, right?" His fingers twitched, and had to take a breath to steady himself. "And with those seeker swarms, they could take out the whole planet." He then looked down, shaking his head. "It'd be a massacre..."
Shepard knelt down, his hands laying flat against the surface he was standing on. He shook his head, looking up at the hollow cavern of the ship. Tali noted the frown on his face, and she stepped away.
Jack leaned close, looking at Shepard. "You're not getting all teary-eyed, are you, Shepard?" she asked. "That's not like you."
Shepard sighed. "I... may..." he said. He then looked to his omni-tool. "EDI, can you give me a second?"
"Of course, Commander," said EDI. "Your communications with the ship have been severed. You can talk freely."
Shepard nodded. "My species went through something similar," he said. "This that the Collectors are planning would result in genocide. Cerberus may be evil, but no species deserves genocide. And once the humans are gone..." He frowned. "When we started looking into the Collectors, we knew they were up to something horrid, but this? I never could have imagined this would be one of their goals." He shook his head. "Or maybe it isn't their goal. What's important is the result..."
He stood up, exhaling roughly. A new determination seemed to fill his stance. "Tali, Jack, mark my words: my galaxy's got a plan to deal with these guys. They were thinking they would use their technology, but after seeing this..." He shook his head. "I'm not so sure harnessing this technology is worth it if it is wrought from the plans of ones who would eradicate an entire species in doing so. We have our plans, and either way this goes down, these guys are getting destroyed, Prothean or not."
Jack crossed her arms. "That's while we get revenge on those fuckers at Cerberus, right?" she asked.
"Yes," said Shepard. He then stepped forward. "We're doing this together, right?"
"All the way, Shepard," said Tali. "I'm with you every step of the way.
Smile turned, flashing a genuine smile to Tali. He then acknowledged Jack with a nod, before bringing a hand to his ear and stepping forward. "Alright, EDI, you can reestablish connection with the ship."
With this, EDI came back on. "Apologies, Shepard, I ran into some interference," she said.
"Don't worry about it, EDI," Shepard replied as he stepped further down the path. "We just hit a rough spot on signal, is all."
With this, the group continued on.
Jodie paused as the conversation picked right up. All she'd been able to hear from the commander was static for a few minutes. She suspected that Shepard had said something to Tali and Jack that even she could not know, and that did not sit well with her. She knew full well the reason why, but as she thought about it Jodie could not help but think that Shepard was not beginning to trust her.
In response, Aiden gurgled gently at her. She then nodded, exhaling gently.
Yeah, that's true, she thought. It's not like I have any room to criticize him for that.
Still, she sighed, waiting for something else to happen. Her gaze turned to the ceiling as she waited for some other kind of sign of EDI's distraction.
And after a while...
"Alright, looks like there's a command console here."
"Finally we're gonna get the fuck out of this place. Damn place gives me the creeps."
"Where are the Collectors, though? We haven't seen a single one... Be careful Shepard, something isn't right here."
Jodie nodded, breathing in and looking there. They knew that to access the control panel, they would need EDI. That would mean another distraction that Jodie could use to get Thane to get the information. Aiden had finally cracked the encryption, and while he could not exactly set anything up he kept himself ready to go at a moment's notice. She breathed in and out: the waiting game was her least favorite part of missions like this, but she also distinctly remembered the waiting game being everyone else's least favorite part of the job as well and so kept her annoyance down.
"Alright..." Shepard said. "EDI, let's link up with this ship."
"Of course, Commander."
Jodie then nodded, looking up at the room above her. Okay, Aiden, go!
Thane's omni-tool went off. He did not even need to see Aiden's picture to know that it was a signal to go, as he immediately pulled himself up, opening the terminal with speed that the drell was certain likely alarmed even him. His fingers flew across the holographic keyboard, and before Thane new it he'd pulled up the email client.
He had just turned to the search engine when the EDI console right by the elevator flared up. He had only noticed it out of the corner of his eye, and so he barely had enough time to duck behind the desk as his heart began to race.
Oh no...
He then watched as a different form was displayed: this hologram was of a strange insectoid creature, the large thing lumbering about as it looked randomly. For a second, Thane thought it had connected eyesight with him, and that very nearly broke the drell's calm.
And then, just as quick as it had arrived, the hologram died down, before reappearing. Thane thought he could see EDI's form appear in tandem with it, and so he kept his head down.
Thane shook his head, looking all around him. He looked at the space above the terminal, hoping that Aiden stood by there.
"What is happening?" he mouthed.
Shepard ducked back as machines all around him began to move. "What the hell is going on?" he asked.
"Shepard, the Normandy was nearly overloaded," EDI replied. "This ship is not damaged: this was a trap."
Almost as soon as EDI said this, however, the platform that Shepard and the others stood on shifted suddenly, before lifting in the air. As it rotated, Shepard had to grab onto the console to have any kind of purchase at all. The platform's rotation also threw Jack off her feet, the biotic swearing loudly as she hit the floor. And all Tali could do was grasp on to Shepard, looking around her as the platform lifted up in the air.
"EDI, I could use some help here!" Shepard shouted.
"I'm having trouble with the connection, Shepard," EDI replied. "Someone else is in the system."
With this, the platform abruptly stopped. Tali stumbled forward but didn't fall over, as she was able to grab onto a rail for purchase. Shepard grunted, before looking up about the rest of the shit. "Well, fuck me with a virus," Shepard replied. He then looked down. "Watch, some Collectors are going to come riding in too, just to spite me."
Shepard then heard a strange high-pitched whizzing sound from somewhere in front of him. He frowned, before seeing another hexagonal platform similar to the one he, Tali, and Jack occupied whizzing straight towards them. As it came closer, he saw the forms of several Collectors readying their weapons, all of them turning to look at Shepard.
Jack had managed to pull herself up, shaking her head in derision. "You just had to jinx it, Shepard," she said.
Shepard turned away. "EDI, we need your help here!"
"I am trying to reestablish the connection," she said. "That is proving difficult."
Shepard shook his head, before leaning behind cover as he saw a second platform levitate towards them. "Must I do everything myself?" he muttered, before opening his omni-tool and holding it against the console. "Hang on, EDI, I'm going to try to help you from this end. I can't promise anything while I'm under fire from Collectors, though!"
"Heh." Shepard then looked up to see Jack glowing blue, the biotic cracking her knuckles as she leapt past the console Shepard took cover behind. "Leave this to me, Shepard. I'm gonna fuck these guys up!"
With this, Jack rushed forward, glowing a bright blue as she rushed right at a Collector. He noticed she'd actually jumped the gap straight to the platform, as well, right as the platform nestled in next to the platform he and Tali occupied. As he saw this, he witnessed Jack punch a Collector straight into the sky, before turning around and giving a jump. As she leapt, she slammed her fist back into the ground, the biotic shockwave lifting the other two Collectors into the air.
Shepard chuckled, before noticing Jack pull out her shotgun and shoot one of the Collectors in the face. "I'm glad she's on our side," Shepard replied.
"Same," said Tali. She then pulled out her own shotgun. "You do what you can, Shepard. I'll help her deal with the Collectors."
Shepard nodded, before looking at his omni-tool. He saw the familiar green spark of the exion jump occur, before he looked up. "EDI, what's your status?"
"Reestablishing connection still," said EDI. "This may require me to use all my systems."
"Then do it!" Shepard ordered. "We're under fire here!"
"Of course, Shepard. Reconfiguring..."
Thane looked up as soon as EDI's avatar appeared on the ship. He then ducked back under the desk, doing his best to stay absolutely still. He said a silent prayer to Amonkira that Aiden had somehow had the sense to at least turn the monitor off. Just in case, he turned back to the vent: he had indeed closed it properly. He wondered if EDI could tell the grate was just a centimeter too far out, but he knew he could not fix it, not under EDI's eye.
He then heard the sound of EDI's terminal turning off. The drell then turned, looking at the EDI console to see that she was no longer spying there. He then nodded, turning back to the terminal.
The terminal display switched back on right as Thane turned to look at it, and he sighed in relief as soon as he saw that the display still read what he had seen it as. He then turned to the message client's search bar, entering in Cerberus Base as quickly as he could. He then breathed in, before he hit enter.
The messages that came up were many in number, but even that number seemed to dip very quickly into a date range that had happened six months ago. Thane immediately knew that many of these were old emails, but only one would have the coordinates.
Thankfully, he did not have to look far: there was one star with a message. When Thane's hand hovered over the message, a display also came up indicating that it had been recently accessed, more than just a few times. Thane breathed in, before he selected the email. He hoped that Shepard would not look at that again, before the email came up.
And there it was:
"Supreme Commander,
We have narrowed down the location of their headquarters. It has taken us nearly fifteen years to get to this point, but we know where the Illusive Man is.
He is in Anadius. There is a single space station there, around a single star and an asteroid belt. It is the perfect place to hide: no habitable planets means that nobody has a reason to go there, there are no asteroids large enough to mine, and there is no relay that goes directly there. Also, it is located close to Noveria, which will throw anyone off.
However, we will have to wait: Cerberus seems to have gotten interested in the Collectors as of late. This is a new faction we haven't heard of before, but from what rumors we have gathered, we can tell you now that it is a technologically advanced one, with different technology from our own. It may be beneficial to our ultimate objective to look further into this. From what we can tell, they have been abducting human colonists, taking them somewhere. For what purpose, nobody knows, but if we can find out and track these Collectors, we may be able to use this to our advantage.
Anadius is in the Horsehead Nebula, as you can likely tell. We recommend assessing the Collectors first: they may be a threat, and if we can take them down, we will have an advantage nobody else in this galaxy will have. If you want to take down Cerberus first, we will understand, but we will then lose our best avenue to find out more about the Collectors.
Choose wisely, Commander.
Yours,
Operative Aether."
Thane nodded, before opening his omni-tool. The evidence was meaningless with his perfect memory, but physically securing it would be good for Jacob, as he knew the Corsairs operative would need something physical to corroborate Thane's memory. Thus, Thane held his omni-tool to the terminal, before taking a picture of the email.
As soon as this was done, he turned to the vent. He knew he would have to act quickly: the Normandy would get moving any time, and he needed to be out of the room before then. With this, he popped the cover off, pulled himself into the vent, and carefully closed the vent after him.
"46 percent done, Shepard. We're working on it the best I can!"
"Work on it faster, dammit!"
"This is going off across eight thousand nodes with more firewalls than you could shake a stick at! EDI and I are doing our best here, Shepard!"
Shepard growled, looking up as yet another platform rushed at where he and Tali were. Jack had noticed this platform, too, and as Shepard knelt behind cover with the omni-tool he watched as Jack threw a biotic warp at a series of Collectors on the platform.
"Assuming direct control!"
Of course, the warp met one of the Collectors on the incoming platform, but it did not have any really noticeable effect on the Collector that began to glow similar to the way the Collectors on Horizon glowed. It then stepped forward, almost defiantly facing Jack as it inched forward.
He shook his head, before pulling out his pistol. "EDI, you'll have to work this out," he said. "I don't think Tali and Jack can handle one of those glowing guys on their own."
"Noted," EDI replied. "Increasing runtimes."
Shepard then pulled himself out of cover, before lifting his gun and shooting at the Collectors. "Come on, you sons of bitches!" he shouted. "I'm right here! Come and get me."
The glowing Collector turned to Shepard, and as he fired off a shot he began to move towards the Commander. Tali noticed this, before deploying a drone to attack the Collector. Shepard rushed forward, firing off more shots at it as it moved forward.
The Collector then rushed forward, before grabbing at Shepard. The Commander jumped back, dodging it. As he did this, he then growled, before tossing his pistol to the side carelessly. The commander then glowed green, gritting his teeth at the Collector.
"Fine, that's the way you want to play?" he asked. "Come at me, then!"
With this, the Commander rushed forward, extending a fist and punching the glowing Collector in the chest. This caused the Collector to stumble back, Shepard pulling out his trusted sword. And as the light blade danced to life, the Collector could not move too far before the two of them were engaged in a wild battle all across the platform.
And as they traded blows, EDI could only whisper one status update:
"84 percent."
Jacob was startled by the sound of the door to life support opening. As soon as he turned, he saw Jodie rush in, panting heavily as she looked over to him. She nodded, gesturing to the vent cover.
"He's on his way back," Jodie said. "EDI's distracted, so she didn't see him leave, but as soon as EDI reestablishes the connection, she'll be back to surveillance on the Normandy. Thane needs to be out of the vent before then!"
Jacob nodded, before he folded his arms together. "That's on him," he said. "Let's hope he's fast..."
The two of them then heard a clamor from within the vents. Jacob immediately sat up, before he took a step back. And as he did, he looked to the vent, taking a deep breath to steady himself. Aiden trilled, and then Jodie found herself swallowing a lump in her throat.
After a second, the vent cover popped off. The ship lurched violently to the side as soon as this happened, and while Thane did tumble out indelicately he did manage to recover, sprawling against the wall to steady himself. As soon as he was out of the vent, the vent cover was lifted in the air by Aiden. Jodie quickly grabbed it, before rushing to the vent hole and slamming the cover back on as best she could. When she stepped back, Aiden gave it a little push so it was securely in place.
"The location," said Jacob, opening his omni-tool as he turned to Thane.
"Anadius, in the Horsehead Nebula," said Thane. He opened the omni-tool. "Here is the picture of the email I took."
Jacob nodded, writing up the message quickly as he received Thane's image. He then tapped a few more buttons, not saying anything as he finished out the message.
And then, with a dramatic gesture, he sent the message. He exhaled roughly, taking a step back as he breathed in and out. It was with this that Jodie finally acted in kind, slumping against the wall before she sank to the floor.
"Holy shit, we actually pulled this off," Jodie replied.
"I can't believe we got help from the Collectors, of all things to get help from," Jacob added. He then sighed, chuckling softly. "Well, there we have it. Now, the Council will have to move to capture the Illusive Man before they do. And who knows when Shepard will take care of that?"
"I don't know, but we might have the jump on them, considering this whole Collector homeworld thing," said Jodie. She sighed. "Maybe we'll get that galaxy to see."
"I would not be certain of that." Thane stepped forward. "The message also alluded to their true intentions. I do not believe they mean well for the Council."
"They'll see that in the message though, right?" Jodie asked.
Jacob nodded. "I trust the Council will do the right thing," he said. "Either way, we'll be cutting off Cerberus' head with this action, and that's something that needs to happen. We'll figure this out."
Jodie sighed. Aiden let out a soft trill, the trill rising in pitch slightly. Jodie could only nod in response.
"Yeah, Aiden," she said. "Yeah... You did well."
Shepard growled as the Collector managed to catch his blade. Shepard pushed harder against the Collector, gritting his teeth hard as he pushed.
"You will not win!" Shepard shouted.
"Submit," the Collector replied. "Resistance is useless."
Shepard then growled, before raising his leg and delivering a powered kick to the Collector's midsection. It then stumbled back, before Shepard followed up with another one. This sent the Collector flying off the platform, its back slamming into a nearby outcropping of pods. Shepard followed soon after, and though he thought he heard Tali cry out in shock, he did not care.
For then, he stabbed the Collector through the torso, sticking him in place to the pod directly behind them.
Shepard then leaned close, squeezing his hand around the Collector's neck in its final death throes. "I know you're listening, Collectors," Shepard said. "So heed my warning: I will come for you, and you'll regret embarking on your plans with us. The genocide of an entire species will not happen, not now, and I refuse to allow that. So come at me. We'll be dealing worse to you!"
And with this, Shepard planted his feet on the Collector, before using his energy to propel himself back to the platform in question. The Collector dissolved behind him, and as Shepard landed on the platform he let out a sigh of relief. As he walked back to the console, Jack and Tali both came up to him.
"Hah, crazy times, Shepard!" Jack said. "Can't believe you took on that psycho by hand!"
"Be careful next time!" Tali replied. "I was seriously worried!"
Shepard shrugged. "I'm fine, Tali," he replied. "It's nothing you needed to be worried about." He then turned to the console. "EDI, are you there?"
EDI's avatar then appeared right on the console. "Connection reestablished, Shepard," she said. "I have control of the platform now."
"Good," said Shepard. "Please tell me you have something else that's good, too."
"I do," said EDI. "I have information that will help us pinpoint the location of the Collectors' homeworld."
"Oh, good," said Jack. "We can finally figure out where we need to go to kick people's asses!"
"Well, at least this wasn't totally worthless," said Shepard. He then looked to EDI's avatar. "What else is there?"
"We discovered something interesting about the distress call that brought us here..."
Miranda walked into the room, Okeer following in her footsteps. Jodie and Tali remained still as they looked to the table, looking to the center as Shepard stepped out of a call with the Illusive Man.
"So he put us in danger intentionally to get that information," Shepard said. He shook his head, crossing his arms in disbelief.
"I can't believe we got away from that," said Okeer. "That was a close one, Shepard. Sloppy."
"Not sloppy," he said. He then glared at Miranda. "Especially considering that we all thought it was abandoned! That could've gotten us killed!"
Miranda frowned, crossing her arms. "We needed that intel and you know it," she said. "I imagine if the Illusive Man lured us into a trap, it was worth it."
But Shepard glared at her, before shaking his head. "Once a cheerleader, always a cheerleader," he muttered. He then glanced to the side, looking up at the hologram. "Whatever. I've given the data to EDI so she can analyze it. You sure this IFF the Illusive Man mentioned is going to work?"
EDI's globe came up. "Yes, Shepard," she said. "I have also extrapolated the approximate location of the Collector homeworld based on navigational data from their vessel."
And with this, a map of the galaxy came up. Jodie leaned forward, watching as the coordinate highlighter came up. It then moved close to the center of the galaxy, before settling just beneath the bright lights that took up the galaxy's center in the map.
Everyone else in the room leaned forward, all of them looking there in some disbelief.
"That can't be right," Miranda said.
"Gotta say, she's got a point," said Shepard. "No planet can exist that close to a bunch of black holes!"
"No, it must be right," said Tali. "If EDI is an AI, its computing would be second to none." She then pushed back. "What if it's not a homeworld we are looking for at all?"
"Like a base?" Okeer stood upright, a deep rumble forming in his chest. "Hm... There's nothing we have that can stabilize a base in a place like that. But if anybody would have that, you bet it's the Collectors."
"Absolutely," said Shepard. He shook his head. "No wonder nobody has ever returned."
"The logical conclusion is that a safe zone exists on the far side of the relay," EDI replied. "A zone where ships can survive. But that is not a ship that is triggered by standard relay protocols. The Reaper IFF maybe triggers advanced protocols to help the ship arrive safely."
"Then I think we know what our priority is," said Miranda. "Find the IFF."
"Indeed," said Shepard. He then gestured. "We'll plot a course to that derelict Reaper for our very next mission. I expect everyone to be at their best game."
"Of course, Commander," said Okeer. "You can bet we will all be ready."
With this, Okeer and Miranda turned. The two of them exited the room, with Miranda glancing back at the galaxy projection. Jodie nodded to her, before she exited. The door closed behind her with a decisive close, and then EDI's hologram disappeared.
Jodie looked to Tali, before her gaze turned to Sehpard. "Well... we'll be out of Cerberus' hair soon, once we get that IFF," said Jodie. "And then, we'll be getting into the Collector base, and stopping the Collectors."
"No. Not us, anyway."
Tali and Jodie started in surprise at Shepard's declaration. Jodie took a step back, reeling slightly at the confidence in Shepard's tone, the way he stood up and crossed his arms, the way he grinned as he looked at the display showing the Collector Base's location on his omni-tool.
"What do you mean?" asked Jodie.
Shepard chuckled. "The Illusive Man told me I need the IFF from that derelict Reaper to get through the Omega 4 Relay," he began. "But here's the thing: the relay is only important to me as long as it prevents people from getting to the Collectors. But with my galaxy, they don't need the relays, and we can land in our destination with a precision that would render the IFF meaningless." He then chuckled. "It's really very simple: I can give them the coordinates, they can make their own way there, and they can take the Collector base."
Tali looked at the center of the galaxy projection. "Then Cerberus..." She frowned, crossing her arms.
"Some of our intelligence had been eyeing the activity of the Collectors for about a week before I died," he said. He chuckled. "Cerberus is a rotten organization, but I'll be damned if they didn't turn out to be incredibly useful in the end. They wanted to know where the Collectors came from, what secrets their technology held. They wanted to know, and so did we. So we decided to piggyback off of that. And now that we finally know where the Collectors are, I have no more need to pretend with Cerberus."
Jodie swallowed, looking at Shepard. "And what does that mean?"
Shepard grinned, rubbing his hands together. "What that means, Jodie, is that our opportunity to wipe Cerberus off the face of this twisted galaxy has arrived at long last," he said. He turned away. "See, my galaxy has had the coordinates to the Illusive Man's base for a while. I plan to send a fleet to take the Collector Base for ourselves. And while they do that, I am going directly for the Illusive Man." He then grinned, crossing his arms. "Tali, have I ever told you about the Reckoning?"
Aiden had to trill louder than usual, and Jodie found her hand tensing out of control. A sudden wave of fear rushed through her entire body, and Jodie found it very difficult to breathe after the fact. She was glad, however, that Shepard's gaze remained fixed on Tali; it meant she could collect her bearings.
Tali frowned. "N... no..." she said. "Why?"
Shepard turned, looking up. "It is the greatest punishment my people can bestow on others," he said. "It forces them to feel the pain of every single person they have wronged. It is slow at first, and it slowly consumes anyone who undergoes it with guilt that drives them to literal insanity. We only reserve it for the most hated enemies of the Artician people."
Jodie watched Shepard look back at them, a malevolent glint in his eyes. "There are some who say the Reckoning is worse if the artician who gives it was personally wronged by the other party, to the point it can kill them" he said. "I've never been able to verify it for myself. However, I think there is truly no better time to verify this than now." He then grinned. "Even if it kills him, he will feel millions of lifetimes of pain, my lifetime of pain, my lifetime of waiting for this moment, all as I bring him face to face with what he wrought upon us. And those lifetimes will stretch on for eternity. It may only kill him in a second, but it will be the longest second of his life."
Jodie felt a chill rush down her spine as soon as she saw the way Shepard's teeth seemed to glint in the light. It was absolutely chilling, and she could sense from the way Tali stepped back that she felt the same way as well. And then, Jodie looked back, Shepard's grin darkening as he looked at the both of them.
"You have no idea how long I've waited for this, Tali. Everything I have done has led to this moment. And it will be glorious!"
"Sir, we have a top priority message from our moles on the Normandy! Come quick!"
Victus and Pravuil turned at the same time half the control room did. One of the turian technicians pointed right at his terminal's display, sitting back in his chair to give Pravuil and Victus time to look.
Victus approached first, Pravuil following behind in short order. Both of them read over the contents of the message as quickly as they could. The name Anadius came up, and then Victus nodded.
"Anadius... Of course!" He then turned back to the technician. "Alert everyone else in our alliance immediately. This is too important to pass up."
"Yes, sir!" the technician barked.
Victus and Pravuil pulled themselves away from the technician, and just in time for all the other technicians to crowd around him. Pravuil's steps seemed more hesitant, and Victus noted that his shoulders carried a tension that was otherwise foreign to the aqueron. After a few seconds, Pravuil had to take a deep breath, closing his eyes as he exhaled slowly.
"I take it this is big news," said Victus.
"My whole galaxy has waited for the date of Cerberus' decapitation..." Pravuil looked away, holding his arms together. "I just never imagined you could have a part in it."
Victus rested his hand on Pravuil's shoulders. "Whatever happens now, Pravuil, the Illusive Man will be made to answer for his crimes," he said. "Whether it be at the hands of your galaxy or ours is incidental. Let's just hope this succeeds, for everybody's sake."
Pravuil nodded. He then exhaled sharply, before turning to look at the other technicians, watching as they began to peel away from the terminal, chattering animatedly amongst themselves as the volume of their chattering slowly increased.
