NOVERIA, ABOUT 25 MINUTES LATER
"Normandy, your arrival wasn't scheduled. Our defense grid is armed and tracking you. State your business." Noveria Control approach warned the Normandy when the Normandy entered the planet's atmosphere.
"Citadel business. We've got a Council Spectre aboard." Joker replied to the Noveria control.
"Landing access granted, Normandy. Be advised, we will be confirming that identification on arrival. If confirmation cannot be established, your vessel will be impounded."
"What a fun bunch. I think I'll take my next leave here." Joker murmured.
AT THE DOCKING BAY OF NOVERIA
Kaira Stirling, one of the guards at the Noveria docking bay, was walking towards the docking bay with her boss, Captain Maeko Matsuo at her toes. She is stationed here for two years now. This planet was peaceful, until recently. As the whole planet is covered with snow and the weather is extremely cold for any organics to survive. So, the security is somewhat low here compared to other planets. The geth being synthetics has no difficulty coping with the extreme weather conditions of this planet. They easily managed to overpower the securities and guards. But Kaira don't know what the geth could want in this planet. And now the Controls informed them that a vessel is coming here with the purpose of Citadel business. She hoped that the Council is sending reinforcements to drive away the geth from this planet. This station is secure, for now. But the geth can attack this station any time. The situation is very tense here. She also hoped that this visit isn't about some stupid politics.
"Be careful, Sergeant Stirling. We aren't sure whether they are hostiles or not." The Captain advised Kaira as if she was a novice. Kaira would've rolled her eyes in different circumstances.
They reached the docks and saw that the vessel named Normandy has already landed. No sooner than they arrived the door of the Normandy and seven individuals stepped out from inside. There were three humans, two of them were females. There were also an Asari, a krogan, a turian and a quarian. All of them were armed to teeth but they didn't drew their guns on her. She sighed in relief that they weren't hostiles. Kaira noticed another male individual exiting the Normandy. Kaira gasped. The human male wore a black and red armor and there was an unmistakable N7 logo on his armored chest. He wasn't a huge man but he was extremely well built and extremely handsome. She recognized him as soon as she saw him. It was Commander John Shepard. She quickly straightened her hairs with her free hand. She eyed her boss from the corner of her eyes and saw that she was trying to fix her hairs and was trying very hard not to blush.
God! 'Handsome' is an understatement for his looks. Kaira thought watching the Commander.
"We're not here to cause problems." Commander Shepard stated softly.
"This is an unscheduled arrival. I need your credentials." Captain Maeko demanded.
Kaira's head snapped towards the Captain.
What is she doing?
She understands that it's their duty to check the identity of everyone who arrives here but it's Commander Shepard.
"Also, I must advise you that firearms are not permitted on Noveria." Maeko turned her head towards Kaira and ordered her to secure their weapons. Kaira hesitantly took one step forward and darkened skin woman in Shepard's team stepped in front of the Commander with her gun pointing at Kaira. The asari started to glow with her biotics and the others were all pointing their guns towards her and her boss.
"Don't even try." The woman warned in a cold voice.
"Let's not start a fight." Commander Shepard said placing a hand on the shoulder of the dark-skinned woman, calming her down.
Kaira saw with relief that at their Commander's request the entire team holstered their individual weapons. But the woman who stepped in front of the Commander was still glaring at her even if she lowered her gun and stepped back.
"Captain Matsuo! Stand down." A voice said from behind Kaira. She turned back to saw that it was Gianna Parasini, the ambassador's assistant. "We confirmed their identity, Spectres are authorized to carry weapons here, Captain." Gianna Parasini informed and quickly went upstairs.
"I was only doing my job. I hope you understand, Commander." Captain Maeko apologised after Gianna left.
"I understand, Captain. I would've done the same in your position." Commander Shepard replied calmly.
"Gianna Parasini will meet you upstairs, Commander." The Captain informed.
The Commander nodded and he went upstairs with his team at his toes. Kaira let out a sigh looking towards the direction where the Commander went. She still couldn't believe she just met Commander Shepard.
UPSTAIRS
"I am Gianna Parasini, assistant to Administrator Anoleis. We apologize for the incident in the docking bay." Gianna introduced herself.
"I appreciate your help." John replied.
"You're welcome. You understand our security officer was only doing her job. One of my duties is orientation of new arrivals. Do you have any questions?" Gianna asked politely.
"Has anyone, unusual passed through here recently?" John asked.
"Unusual? Yeah… An asari Matriarch passed through a few days ago. Lady Benezia." Gianna informed. John realized Liara stiffened beside him. He took her hand silently and gave a slight squeeze, telling her wordlessly that he is with her.
"Passed through? Where is she now?" Tali asked.
"Benezia left for the Peak 15 research complex days ago. To the best of my knowledge, she is still there." Gianna answered.
"How can we get there?" John asked.
"You'll need to ask Administrator Anoleis for clearance to leave this post. His office is on the main level. Left at the top of the elevator."
"Understood. Can we go in now?"
"Of course. If you need any help, I will be at the Administrator's office." Gianna informed.
After Gianna left them alone, Liara immediately pulled John away from others. John was surprised at her but he said nothing. He followed her as she wanted. He saw that she was looking nervous.
"What is it Liara?" John asked kindly.
"I imagine you want to talk to me about my mother, John." She said nervously.
"No. I don't need to, Liara. When I told you that I look upon you as my sister, I meant that in every way. You are part of my family, Liara." John said cupping her face with his hands.
Liara's eyes watered hearing his words. She hugged him tightly.
"Thank you, John. You don't know how much this means to me. It's true that my mother cared for me but never like this. It's just….. That I never felt so much loved in my life. I used to believe that all these human emotions were nonsense but now I know better. Knowing that you are beside me, it gave me a renewed strength." Liara confessed.
"I will always be there for you, Liara. It's what a family does, look after each other." John said after pulling back from her embrace and looking at her eyes.
"I….. I also understand another thing now." She said softly.
"And?" He asked.
"I understand from where you get the strength to fight and never give up. Her love for you keeps you going. Isn't it, John?" She said.
"You are right Liara. You are right."
Miranda saw Liara embracing Shepard and she felt something jolt inside her. When Liara dragged Shepard away she followed them silently. Watching the asari embracing Shepard she desperately wanted to hit something with her bare hands in anger. She clenched her fists so tightly that her nails dig into her palms and drew blood.
She couldn't understand why she is feeling so angry. She didn't care about whom Shepard loves, isn't it? No. Whom is she lying? She did care, a lot. Ever since the possibility of Shepard being her John entered her mind, she became overly protective of him. More than what she is tasked to do. If he is indeed her John, then no woman is allowed to touch him except her. Yeah, she is insanely possessive about him and she doesn't feel ashamed of it. He is hers, only hers in every possible way. She is now becoming to understand her feelings.
She is jealous.
Not now. Not now. Miranda get a hold of yourself and don't do anything stupid. She thought to herself. But at that moment she couldn't help but feel jealous when she saw Liara embracing Shepard. It only ignited her fury. First Ashley Williams and now the asari.
Shit! She cursed silently.
Destination: Peak 15
John went to get a garage pass from the ambassador but Anoleis denied to give him a pass even after he stated that the situation is emergency. When he left the ambassador's office in defeat, he found that Gianna Parasini is standing there waiting for him. She told him that she could help him to get a garage pass and advised him to meet someone named Lorik Quiïn at the hotel bar. He did as Gianna told him to do since he had no other option. Lorik, turned out to be a turian, who introduced himself as the manager of the Local Synthetic Insights Office. He revealed that his office is closed by Anoleis as he suspects Lorik to be be corrupted but Lorik revealed he isn't involved in criminal activity, it was the ambassador himself. Lorik even managed to get some evidence regarding the ambassador's illegal activities. Lorik also said that Anoleis hired goons to make sure the evidence is destroyed. He requested John to get the evidence from his office and drive the goons away with minimum bloodshed. Wrex grunted at this request since he was itching to get his hands on the hired mercenaries. Lorik said that if John helps him, he will give his garage pass to John as a favor for favor. When John agreed Lorik said that the goons are the security team of the Hanshan port who were hired by Anoleis but Captain Matsuo wasn't aware of these activities. Lorik also let John know where the evidence is and how to extract it when he handed his office pass to John.
When the team exited from the elevator on the upper floor, they were stopped by the security team outside Lorik's office. John told them to stay away from his way but they didn't listen to him. Instantly sounds of gunshots filled the area. The security team were superior in number but they weren't' match for the Normandy team. Garrus took out several with his sniper and Tali watched his back with her shotgun and tech powers. She sent a combat drone behind the security team and took them out from behind. Wrex was waiting for this moment for too long. He let put a growl and charged at the enemies. He tackled six guards at once and crushed them to the wall with his body. He took a few shots in the process but they were absorbed by his shield and armor. He left the crushed bodies and charged at the other enemies with his shotgun in his hand. Ashley and Kaidan were shooting from covers and taking out merc after merc combining gun and biotics. Liara and Miranda didn't have heavy fire power but both of them had powerful biotics which was enough. Liara cast a singularity at a group of mercs who were shooting at them from behind a large cover. With the force of the singularity they begin to float helplessly above the ground. Miranda took the chance and detonated the singularity with a warp attack. The force of the blast instantly killed majority of the mercs who were caught in the singularity field and those who weren't dead they had broken bodies. The detonation force was so powerful, they broke their bodies when they impacted on the wall. John didn't have to raise his gun. He saw his team with pride in in his eyes as they took down merc after merc. Within few minutes every merc either lay dead or unconscious. John gave them a smile telling them silently that he is proud of them. They returned his smile. Ashley could feel her cheeks growing warm. Garrus arrogantly placed the sniper on his shoulder and returned John's smile with a cocky smirk. John just shook his head with a smile at Garrus' reaction. Tali kept glaring at Garrus from under her helmet which he ignored. Wrex seemed satisfied with the fight and Liara just stood behind John, placing her hand on his shoulder. Kaidan just stood there with a small smile. Miranda had to accept the fact that if there is any team that can take down Saren, it's them. At first, she had doubts about this team but now all of her doubts are gone. She admitted to herself that this team is best and it's only because of one man. There is no doubt that everyone in the team is talented and exceptional but without their Commander to lead them in battle, they would have been lost.
On their way back to Lorik Quiïn, Gianna requested John to meet her before he returns the evidence to Lorik. Later, she turned out to be undercover for months as Anoleis' assistant who was trying to find evidence to arrest Anoleis. She requested John to convince Lorik to testify against the board and she will make arrangement for the garage pass. John said that he will do it but not for the garage pass, but to put an end to Anoleis' illegal activities. John managed to convince Lorik to testify in front of the board against Anoleis. They waited for few minutes to see Gianna arrest Anoleis. After few minutes they saw Gianna has arrested Anoleis and pulling him away. Anoleis was protesting but Gianna pushed him forward. As she passed by John she said, "I owe you a beer, Commander."
FEW MINUTES LATER, AT THE GARAGE
"Lorik was right. The weather is terrible indeed." Kaidan said, observing the snow through the Mako's side glass.
"And on top of that a lot of geth is waiting for us." Ashley cut in.
"We should keep this Mako intact at all cost. Without this, we won't be able to survive a minute out there." John said.
"This seems fun. A lot of geth to kill." Wrex said.
"You call this fun? I wish I was in some party getting drinks and hitting on hot women." Garrus said dreamily. Then there was a sound of flesh meeting flesh and an "Ouch!" from Garrus as Tali punched him hard in his arms.
Miranda smiled slightly.
"Shields down at 50%" Garrus informed.
"We should try to dodge those missiles." Ashley said.
"There are too many turrets to avoid. Take them out damn it!" John said.
They managed to destroy those turrets and push forward. By the time they reached Peak 15 smoke was rising from the Mako. They encountered hundreds of geth on the way, several turrets and several geth Armature which were particularly hard to take out since those damn things can regenerate their armor. They entered the facility with their guns ready. Suddenly they heard a strange noise which was closing in.
"What the hell are those things?" Ashley said, her eyes wide.
"Rachni….." Wrex answered.
Chapter 21: Shepard is down!
"Rachni!" Wrex grumbled.
John was ahead of the others and one of the creatures got too close to him. He shot it, and it got killed but not before bursting and releasing poisonous gas. He couldn't avoid it and took the gas in. The effect started immediately, he could see his vision was going hazy and he couldn't make out what his teammates were saying. Everything became blurry to him.
Miranda saw John got affected by the gas and he started to stumble in his steps. Soon, she saw his eyes rolled up in his head and he slumped down on the ground with his back against the wall. Before anyone could reach him, she was at his side checking his vitals. Liara reached to John next. She cupped his face and tried to wake him up.
"He inhaled a lot of gas." Wrex said.
"We have some antidote in the Mako, get them quickly!" Miranda shouted.
"I'll get them." Garrus said and within the blink of an eye he was gone.
"How is he holding up?" Ashley whispered with worried eyes.
"Not good. Not good." Miranda mumbled under her breath. Come on Shepard, hold on.
Suddenly he began to take deep breaths. His chest was rising up and down with his effort to breather.
"Shit! He is struggling to breath." Liara cursed.
"He needs oxygen!" Kaidan shouted.
"Let m…" Ashley was about to say but she stopped as she saw Alicia has already placed her lips on Commander's and begin to do the CPR. Ashley knew it was necessary but she couldn't help but feel insanely jealous.
Miranda knew she had to do the CPR but when she placed her lips on his, she felt as if she knew the taste of his lips. She ignored it for the moment and begin to pump air into his lungs. At that moment Garrus was back with the antidote.
Miranda separated her lips from his. "Liara give him the antidote." She said and again proceeded to do the CPR.
Liara nodded and pushed the antidote in his veins after pulling away the armor from his hand. "I hope this works." She spoke. Garrus squeezed her shoulder reassuringly. She turned to him and let out a small sad smile.
Liara felt helpless. She couldn't let him go, ever. She can't deny that at first when she interacted with him in the Normandy, she felt attracted to him. Slowly, she got over that feeling and got close to him as a friend and that turned into something more, love. The love was anything but romantic. It was a bond which formed between the two of them and she couldn't express the feelings, even to herself. She looked down at the still form of the man lying on the ground, who made her feel for the first time in her life that she isn't alone in this galaxy. She prayed silently for the antidote to work. She looked up to see that Alicia was still doing the CPR and there is….. Is it really? Can it be? Liara swore she saw genuine concern on Alicia's eyes. But when Alicia looked at Liara, her expression was stony as it always was, there was no sign of any emotion.
As Miranda was doing the CPR, her heart was breaking at the thought that Shepard could die now. She couldn't help but she knew her facial expressions were enough to give away her true feelings. She knew Liara probably saw her and she knew she had to cover it up. She turned her expression emotionless, like an Ice Queen, the title she earned in Cerberus. From this moment Miranda knew she cannot let this man die because somehow, he captured a place in her heart despite her feelings for John and that made her more confused and conflicted than ever.
She panicked when she realized he has stopped breathing.
No! No! No! No! He can't die. Fate can't be that cruel to her, can it?
She separated her lips from his and lay him down on the floor.
"Liara! Pump his heart!" Miranda almost yelled in panic. Liara hesitated a little since she isn't familiar with the process. Miranda was out of patience. "Now!" She yelled. Liara flinched. Ashley came forward and started to pump his heart. Satisfied, Miranda again pressed her lips to his and started to push air into his lungs.
Come on! Come on! Breathe! Damn it!
Suddenly he coughed out loud in her mouth. She pulled back in surprise and without her noticing a huge grin formed on her face. She saw that he was breathing evenly now. She checked his pulse and it was almost normal. She let out a sigh in relief.
"What should we do now? He is no condition to go on and we cannot leave him here." Tali asked.
"Kaidan you are the second in command. It's your call." Garrus said.
Kaidan thought for a moment and then said, "We should move ahead."
"What!?" Ashley asked almost outraged.
"He would have wanted this. Trust me. I know the Commander." Kaidan replied.
"But we can't just leave him here. He can get killed." Liara said.
"No, we aren't leaving him here. We will leave him inside the Mako. He will be safe there until we get back." Kaidan offered.
"Someone should stay back with him." Ashley offered.
"We cannot afford that Ashley since we don't know what danger lies ahead. We will need everyone out there. It's unfortunate that the Commander will not be there to lead us. I don't know if we can do this without him." Kaidan said with his head down.
Garrus placed a hand on Kaidan's shoulder. "I trust you Kaidan and I am willing to follow you in battle like the way I followed him." Garrus said indicating John's unconscious form.
"I am willing to follow you too human." Wrex grumbled. The others also nodded.
Kaidan sighed. "Alright guys. But before we go ahead, I would like to say one thing." He paused and looked at his teammates.
"I am no Commander Shepard." Kaidan said.
"Kaidan, we believe in you and Shepard always told us how good you are. Believe me I am not making this up. He is proud of you Kaidan." Garrus said.
Kaidan let out a small smile. "Alright let's secure the Commander first."
Wrex gently lift up John's body in his arms and carried him to the Mako. He placed John down on the back seat gently. Miranda, Liara and Tali gently positioned his body on the seat properly, so he won't fall down in his sleep. Liara caressed his face lovingly, like a sister would to her brother. Ashley looked at his unconscious face with worried eyes and slowly followed Liara to outside. Tali also placed her hand on his forehead and stayed like that for a few seconds until Garrus placed his hand on her shoulder gently assuring her that nothing would happen to him. After Tali left Garrus took John's hand in his and murmured, "Be safe, brother!" and left. Wrex and Kaidan also followed him but Miranda stayed behind. She bent down beside him and kissed his forehead gently. She didn't want to leave him like this…. Vulnerable. Since she never saw him this vulnerable. He was always so strong and full of life and courage. There was always an aura of strength around him. But now he looks so little and lost. Miranda was about to get up and leave but she stopped when her eyes fell on something. She slowly reached towards his hand and brought it closer to her face.
There is something inside his hand. He is holding something.
She tried to open his fingers but she couldn't. Even when he is unconscious his grip is stronger than anyone she has ever seen.
"Come on John, let me see." She murmured pleadingly. She didn't notice that she called him as 'John' instead of 'Shepard'. As if answering to her call his fingers loosened and she retrieved the small thing from his hand. Her eyes widened seeing the object. It was her locket that she lost in Feros.
But how on earth it came in his possession? And more important than that why did he kept it with him and not merely kept it, he even held it in his arms even when he was dying as if it was the most precious thing to him in the galaxy. This could mean only one thing.
Her heart started to race faster than ever in anticipation.
Is it true what I suspected? Is he really?
A huge smile appeared on her face. She was so happy that she couldn't explain. But then she remembered Shepard's character. It is his nature to help people and even those he had no connection with.
Yeah, it's probably that. He probably picked it up hoping that it is important to someone else and he wanted to return it if he found that person or someone close to him or her. How can I even think that Commander Shepard is my John?
Even though she assured herself in her mind that he is not her John, her heart was telling otherwise.
Why? Why now? She sobbed burying her face in his shoulder. She realized that she couldn't stand this feeling for any longer. She needs to stay away from him to calm herself. She took the locket away from his hand and quickly left the Mako without looking back after removing the tears from her face. Because if she looked back, she knew she wouldn't be able to leave again. When she was outside the Mako, she saw Garrus was looking at her with questioning eyes.
"What took you so long?" Garrus asked politely.
"I was….. Nothing. Let's go." Miranda stuttered because she couldn't lie at that time. She was too emotional at that moment to lie calmly. Then she walked past Garrus, Liara and Tali and followed Kaidan and Ashley who were trying to call the elevator a few steps ahead.
"What was that about?" Garrus asked looking towards Liara and Tali.
It was Tali who answered because she suspected something. "I don't know. Something isn't right about Alicia." She looked at Garrus and Liara's expression and quickly explained what she meant, "It's not that I don't trust her. She saved his life. But… she is hiding something."
"As long it does not interfere or she has some bad intention, I don't think it is our business to poke our nose in her personal matter." Liara said.
Tali nodded. "You are right… but there is something more." She murmured under her breath.
LOCATION: UNKNOWN
A man was sitting in his chair puffing a cigar. There was a large glass in front of him through which a large star was visible. The room was almost dark except few holograms. A door chimed open behind the man and another man came in. His face couldn't be seen in the dark but it could be seen that there was a sword which on his back which was shining because of the light from the star.
"Facility in Noveria is compromised. She will be there. Make it look like the scientists have gone rogue." The man said who was sitting in the chair.
"Anything else sir?" The man asked who just entered the room.
"No. Just make sure she doesn't come to know about your presence in Noveria. You have eight hours until they reach there." The man sitting in the chair replied.
"Consider it done, sir."
"I don't expect anything less from you, Kai Leng."
The man named Kai Leng, gave a nod and left the room.
"I am sorry, Miranda. You cannot know about this and I cannot let you." The man muttered to himself.
NOVERIA, PEAK 15
The elevator ride was slow and long. Kaidan could see that one or two of his team-mates are becoming quite restless. Especially Urdnot Wrex. He wholeheartedly wished that the krogan remains in control because if he loses his patience or something else goes wrong, he will probably do something stupid and no one can pursue him otherwise. The only one who could have, is not with them now. Kaidan sighed internally. He didn't want this. When he told them that he isn't Shepard, he meant that. He realized that Garrus was looking at him with a questioning gaze. He assured him silently that he is okay, at least for now. Kaidan looked at Liara. Her face looked worried. He knew that she and Shepard is very close but he knew that it isn't anything romantic, they are like siblings and that could be said for Garrus and Tali, too. Even Wrex is also looking worried. He looked at Ashley and saw that she is barely holding herself against going back to Shepard's side. He felt sad for her. He knows that Ashley has some real feelings for Shepard but Shepard never returned it but he wasn't ever rude to her, instead he was friendly with her. Kaidan could proudly speak of himself as one of Shepard's men, whom he trusts most. But among all these he couldn't figure out that woman - Alicia. She is strange. One time she is cold and next time she is so caring for Shepard that it seems no one cares about him more than she does. Kaidan knew that it's only because of her Shepard is still alive and he is grateful for that and truth be told he is ready to trust her at some level. But he could tell that she surely has some secrets, which sometimes concerns him for the team's safety. He even told Shepard but he seems to trust her explicitly, so Kaidan didn't bother Shepard anymore. Instead, he himself kept eyes on her whereabouts and because of that he found her occasionally missing from the Normandy after the Normandy lands somewhere. He wanted to tell this to Shepard, but thought better of it and decided to wait and keep watch on her for a little longer. Now he could see that she is more anxious than Ashley to go back to Shepard's side. He could tell it from her body language and the expression on her face. Kaidan's thoughts broke as the elevator door opened and the team exited.
No sooner than they exited they were ambushed by small spider like creatures, coming out from the vents on the floor. Wrex didn't need to be told. He already started firing on those little creatures with his shotgun. He even squashed some of them under his legs. But they were too many even for Wrex to handle alone. Garrus tossed an inferno grenade and took out at least four of them at once. He put his sniper rifle at his back and started to fire with the assault rifle. Tali was helping them with her combat drone and occasionally taking out some of those creatures with her shotgun. Ashley was doing her job pretty well. She was taking them down one after another with her rifle and shotgun. Liara and Alicia was a sight to be seen though. Both of their biotics did amazing job. They both took out at least ten creatures at once in the same way they killed the mercs outside Lorik's office, a combination of Singularity and Warp. The resulting explosion killed several creatures. Kaidan himself killed several with his biotics and guns. But these creatures seems endless as they keep on coming from the vents. Suddenly Kaidan tripped as he felt something hit his leg from behind. He fell down hard on the floor and gun jerked away from his hand and landed a few feet away. He turned back while on the ground that a creature is on top of him and ready to attack. His eyes widened. But suddenly the creature froze in its place as a biotic field enveloped it. He quickly stood up on his feet and took it out with few shots from his pistol.
"Thanks, Doctor T'Soni." Kaidan said.
She acknowledged her presence and said with a small smile, "Just Liara."
"Okay… Liara. Thanks." Kaidan said while shooting.
After few more minutes the enemy wave was clear.
"Phew!" Garrus let out a sigh of relief.
"That was close." Tali said. Liara nodded. Even Wrex seemed to be panting. But Alicia looked calm even though she was breathing heavily. Her expression stony.
"What were those things?" Garrus asked.
"Rachni!" Wrex said.
"Don't know how many more we will have to face, again." Ashley said.
Kaidan looked around and saw that there were several doors but they were all locked but there was a terminal at front of them. When he tried to switch on the VI in the terminal, he realized that the whole system is somehow turned off, and in order to proceed they have to restart it.
"I am checking the terminal and see if I can start the system." Tali offered.
After few seconds of looking, she stepped back from the terminal defeated.
"There's nothing I can do. We have to restart the system from somewhere else." Tali revealed.
"Great. Just great." Garrus mumbled.
"Why don't we check there?" Alicia said indicating a large round terminal at front of them.
Tali, Kaidan and Alicia stepped forward. When they reached the terminal, they found nothing to which they could interact. Tali looked confused.
"Something must be here." She muttered and stepped forward. As she stepped on forward the platform begin to descend with her. "What the….?" It came to a halt after descending a few feet and Tali saw the switches to restart the VI system.
"Tali, you okay down there?" Kaidan asked from above.
"I'm okay. It's alright. I found the switches." She assured.
With few strokes of Tali's finger the VI on the terminal activated.
A FEW MINUTES LATER
"It looks like you're trying to restore this facility. Would you like help?" The VI asked Kaidan after it was activated.
"Help would be great. Who are you?" Kaidan said.
"This system is monitored to respond to the name 'Mira'. May I ask your name?" The VI replied.
"I am Lieutenant Kaidan Alenko, second in command of Commander Shepard." Kaidan said.
"One moment please…." The VI paused. "Identity confirmed. Access denied." The VI said after few seconds.
"Denied? Why?" Ashley asked.
"Council Spectre is required to access help. However, I may assist you in direction." The VI replied.
"Well at least she will help in the direction." Garrus commented.
"That won't be much help since we don't know where Benezia is." Liara said.
"You are right Liara. But we can get the VI's help to open the damn doors." Tali said.
"Can you open the doors for us?" Kaidan said.
"One moment….. Access granted." The VI said and the doors behind it opened.
"But how will we know which way Benezia went?" Wrex questioned.
"She went through here." Alicia said standing in front of the last door at the right.
"How can you be so sure?" Ashley asked narrowing her eyes.
"If you see carefully, you can see footprints on the ground in front of the door. There are no footprints anywhere else." Alicia replied pointing towards the ground.
"You are right. Good job, Alicia." Kaidan appreciated her observation. Then he turned towards the VI and asked, "Where do this way lead us?"
"This door will lead you to the tram station from where you can take a tram to go to Binary Helix lab. But the tram is offline. To board the tram, you have to start the system online from the roof and then fix the pipelines." The VI replied.
"Not again…." Garrus groaned.
LATER ON THE ROOF
"Take out the one on our left." Kaidan shouted.
"Wrex!" Tali yelled.
Wrex threw away his shotgun and charged towards the bigger Rachni creature. Wrex bumped his skull against the Rachni creature. It toppled on the ground screeching in pain. But Wrex didn't waste any time. He lifted the creature over his head and threw it towards the smaller ones. Ashley threw an inferno grenade at them which blew some of them apart and put the remaining ones on flame. The last creature died with a loud screeching noise and blowing apart into pieces.
"Looks like this is the end of them." Ashley said.
"Everyone okay?" Kaidan asked.
"Tali is not. One of the creatures ruptured her suit." Liara said from Tali's side. She was looking over her wounds.
"Nothing to worry about. I am not hurt. It's just my suit." Tali said.
Kaidan moved towards the switch and Liara kept on fixing Tali's suit. Kaidan successfully restarted the system and Liara fixed Tali's suit.
"We should keep pushing forward. We still need to fix the pipelines." Kaidan said.
A FEW MOMENTS LATER
After restarting the system, the team took the elevator down to fix the pipelines so they could reach the labs. But as they exited the elevator, they were ambushed by geth. Ashley took a shot on her left shoulder.
"Ahh!" She groaned in pain.
Liara ran to her side immediately and started to apply medi-gel. But before she could heal Ashley a small missile blasted them apart. Ashley was already injured, so after the blow from the missile she lost consciousness from her injury and loss of blood. On the other hand, from the blast of the force Liara got smashed hard on the opposite wall. She saw stars in front of her eyes after she slid down on the ground.
"Liara! Ashley!" Kaidan yelled while firing at the geth. Wrex grabbed two geth at once and threw them down from the platform. He kicked another one down and emptied his shotgun in its head. But then he took a shot at his leg and fell on the ground clutching his leg with a groan. Garrus toppled another geth from top of the platform with a heavy concussive shot. Tali managed to hack one of the geth and turned it against its own kind. But it was temporary. The hacked geth was killed easily by the other geth. Tali didn't stop though. She killed one with overload and send an attack drone towards the remaining geth. The drone didn't do much damage. It was taken out by the geth. Garrus and Kaidan used the distraction. Garrus took one out with a clean headshot and Kaidan rolled a grenade right at their feet. The blast killed two of them instantly and the remaining ones fell down from the platform.
The three of them didn't wait to get to their injured teammates. Kaidan went towards Wrex, Garrus and Tali went to Liara and Tali. When the duo reached Liara and Ashley they saw that Liara is already up and helping Alicia in patching up Ashley.
Tali bent down on her knees beside Liara. "Liara, you okay?" Tali asked with concern in her voice.
"Yes. I am okay. Alicia patched me well." She smiled at Tali.
"She is proving herself quite useful, don't you think?" Tali whispered in Liara's ears.
"Indeed." Liara whispered back.
"I am sorry." Kaidan said out of nowhere.
"What are you talking about Kaidan? And why are you sorry?" Garrus asked.
"It's because of me that my team got hurt. I was not good enough to lead and I knew that. Now I realize why he is unique." Kaidan said.
"Nonsense! You did great Kaidan. We didn't get hurt because of you." Tali said.
Everyone nodded in agreement. Kaidan watched their reaction for few seconds and let out a sigh. "Very well. Let's move."
LATER AT THE RIFT STATION
As the team exited the elevator, they found themselves surrounded by armed men. When the armed men realized that they were human they lowered their guns.
"Sorry. We couldn't be sure what was on the tram." One of the armed men said.
"I would have done the same. What's going on here?" Kaidan said.
"Bugs. Zillions of them, coming up the tunnels from the hot labs. My team is running on stims for days." He paused for a moment and then continued, "Look. You're human, and that's enough that I won't shoot. But I'd like to know who you are."
"I am Lieutenant Kaidan Alenko, second in command of Commander Shepard. We are here on council business." Kaidan introduced himself and the team.
"Co… Commander Shepard. You mean THE COMMANDER SHEPARD?" He said as if he couldn't believe his ears.
"Aye."
"Where is he?"
"He isn't here. Okay, alright, I guess. Uh… I am Captain Ventralis." The captain introduced himself and shook hands with Kaidan. "So yeah, the aliens overrun the hot labs last week. Only Han Olar got out, and he ain't all there anymore. The first we knew; the bastards were clawing into my command post. We had a lot more staff then."
"You were taken by surprise and had civilians to protect. You did a good job, Captain." Kaidan said.
"Yeah? Sure as hell doesn't feel like it. The board sent an asari to clean up the mess. She went to the hot labs yesterday. We haven't heard from her since." The Captain informed.
"We are not going to let any of your people die, Captain." Kaidan assured him.
He shook his head defeated and sighed. "All I can do is hold out here and protect the civilians. There is an emergency elevator out by the trams." He paused and handed Kaidan a card. "This card will let you activate it. It can take you down to the hot labs. And if you need any first aid, Dr. Cohen is downstairs in the med bay."
Kaidan nodded and started to move towards the elevator but he stopped as he heard loud screeching noises.
"Shit, they are coming again. Men, be ready." The Captain said. No sooner than the words left his mouth the area became flooded with Rachni creatures. Bullets, biotics covered the area. No sooner than they cleared the wave, more emerged from tunnels.
"We have to seal those exit points somehow." Kaidan said.
While firing and keeping the bugs away Wrex with Alicia's instruction pushed forward. He lifted a huge metal cover from the ground easily and placed it on the exit point of the tunnel. He did the same to the other exit points also. Captain Ventralis' men quickly placed heavy boxes on top of them so the Rachni's couldn't come through the tunnels anymore.
"Thank you, Lieutenant." Captain Ventralis said. "Every few hours, a group comes out from the tram tunnel. It actually better since we locked down the elevator."
"We need to get going Captain and we will do our best to stop this." Kaidan said and walked towards the elevator without wasting any time.
DOWN AT THE LAB
The team exited the elevator and looked around.
"No one is here." Ashley said looking around.
"Something bad happened here." Tali said.
Suddenly Liara shouted. "Look! Someone is lying there." She said indicating towards a corner. They all hurried towards the body lying on the ground. The body was of a man and his outfit was indicating that he was one of the scientists in the lab. Kaidan carefully turned him around.
The man was clearly dead for some time now. There was a large wound right at his chest. It looked like something sharp went through his chest and pierced his heart. Everyone was looking around for some clues, except one. Miranda was totally shocked seeing the face of the dead man because she knew this man. His name is Dr. Yaroslev Tartakovsky. He worked for Cerberus.
So, what was he doing here? Cerberus couldn't be involved, they couldn't be.
Meanwhile, Kaidan found some notes from the man's pockets. He searched in the notes for some clues and what he found made him angrier than ever.
"Cerberus." He hissed angrily.
"What is that?" Liara asked curiously.
"A terrorist organization. In the name of humanity, they do foul things, horrible things." Ashley answered with a frown on her face.
Kaidan threw away the notes angrily. Tali spotted a computer on a desk. She immediately started hacking it and recovered the data in her omni-tool.
"Look what I found." Tali announced grabbing everyone's attention.
The data showed that Dr. Tartakovsky left Cerberus with some of his own men and started to work here and they are the one who are experimenting on a Rachini egg. They found several in a derelict Rachni ship but only one of them hatched. Binary Helix was planning to clone rachni. Mass- produce them and create an army. But when they got the egg they realized it was not a common rachni egg but a queen. After the queen lays eggs they were trying to raise the babies to be their obedient but that was the worst decision they made. After that everything fell apart. The data also explained that there is no way to save the rachnis, they needed to be destroyed by setting off a neutron purge.
After hearing this Miranda let out a breath, she didn't realize she was holding.
"This is monstrous!" Ashley said in disgust.
"Did you expect anything else from Cerberus?" Kaidan asked.
"They exactly weren't Cerberus." Liara said.
"We can't be sure. This can be one of their plans to stay out from the problem they created." Kaidan replied.
"But where is the code?" Tali asked.
"Check the notes again." Kaidan said.
"Here it is. But first we must find Benezia." Liara said.
"We already got it. She is in the labs and we have to go up again to get to the lab." Alicia said.
"Let's go team." Kaidan ordered.
When the team reached the upper level and tried to get to the labs Captain Ventralis and his team blocked their way.
"We cannot let you in the labs, Lieutenant. Benezia's order." The Captain said.
"You betrayed us." Kaidan hissed angrily.
Ashley was not patient. Her fist connected right at Ventralis' jaw. He fell on the ground groaning in pain. His men started to fire but they were no match for the Normandy team. Soon all of them were killed including the Captain.
LATER, IN THE LAB
When the team entered the lab, they saw Benezia. She was standing with her back on them. Her gaze was on a huge creature which was trapped behind a glass. They realized it was none other than the queen of the Rachni.
"You do not know the privilege of being a mother. There is power in creation. To shape a life. Turn it towards happiness or despair. Her children were to be ours. Raised to hunt and slay Saren's enemies." Benezia said coldly without looking at them.
And when she turned around her body started to glow with her biotics. "And I won't be moved by sympathy. No matter who you bring into this confrontation." Benezia said again.
"Liara is here because she wants to be. Not because I asked her to." Kaidan said.
"Indeed? What have you told him about me, Liara?" Benezia asked.
"What could I say, mother? That you're insane? Evil? Should I explain how to kill you? What could I say?" Liara replied sadly.
Benezia snorted. "Have you faced an asari commando unit before? Few humans have. Now face their wrath, including mine." The words left her mouth and immediately an asari commando unit entered the lab. Liara ignored them and went straight for her mother. But Benezia cast a powerful shield to protect herself which Liara couldn't penetrate. Soon she was thrown back on the ground.
"There is no way you can win today, daughter." Benezia taunted.
True to her words the Normandy team was overwhelmed from the combined attack of asari commando unit and the Matriarch herself. Wrex was lifted off his feet and thrown to against the wall. He slid down the wall groaning in pain. Ashley was disarmed and one asari kicked in her stomach hard. She yelled in pain and fell to the ground. Kaidan tried to save her but he was taken down by the Matriarch herself. Next Tali and Garrus were also taken down. Only Alicia remained standing on her feet, but she was also wounded and panting heavily. One asari commando attacked her with biotics which she avoided and countered it with a powerful warp bringing the asari to her knees.
"Enough!" Benezia shouted and with biotic blast she threw Alicia few feet away. "Your game is over, human." Then she hurled a warp at the human female.
Miranda was too wounded and exhausted to avoid the biotic attack. It hit her directly and she screamed out in pain before she lost consciousness and one name escaped from her mouth, "Jooooohhnnn!"
And answering to her scream a pair of closed eyes opened suddenly which was glowing blue with biotics, inhumanly.
The Saviour
Liara tried to compose herself while lying on the ground. She tried to get past the dizziness she was feeling. Slowly the dizziness went away and her vision also cleared. She could hear voices around her, so she looked around. She saw a there were at least ten asari commandos in the room along with few geth and her mother is still standing right at the front of the glass watching the Rachni queen. She felt totally helpless. First of all she was in no condition to fight and was totally outnumbered. But where are her friends and teammates?
She watched her mother conversing with the asari commandos but she was telling them, Liara couldn't hear. Suddenly as if sensing her, Benezia turned towards her.
"I see you have woken up, my daughter." Benezia said.
"Where are my friends?" Liara spat out angrily.
"Your friends? They are alive at the moment but not for long. But I won't kill you my daughter, you will come with me and work with Saren. He wants you by his side." Benezia said calmly.
"I will never work with a mad turian. Never! You heard me? NEVER!" Liara almost yelled out in anger.
"Don't be so stubborn my daughter, because your friend's lives depends on your decision. You refuse to join Saren, I will be forced to kill them and if you accept Saren's offer, I may consider of letting your friends go, alive. Now, the choice is yours." Benezia said.
"I….. I don't believe you." Liara said.
Benezia arched an eyebrow questioningly. "You don't believe what?"
"I don't believe my friends are in danger." Liara said even though she didn't believe it herself.
"It seems you require proof." Benezia said and signaled one of the asari commandos. She nodded and tapped few keys on the terminal in front of her.
Liara's eyes widened in fear as a window opened and through the glass of the window she saw her friends, tied and gagged. She could see that they were somehow kept unconscious.
"Now you see my daughter? With my instruction I could get your friends killed, now. So, make your choice." Benezia said.
"Why? Why are you doing this mother? Why work with Saren?" Liara almost pleaded.
"I had no choice." Benezia replied evenly.
"We always have a choice." Liara spat.
"I don't want to talk about my decision to join Saren. I need to know what you decided."
"I….." Liara was interrupted as one of the asari commandos.
"Matriarch! We have a problem." One of the asari commandos said.
"What is it?" Benezia asked.
"Something is approaching us, fast. Very fast. I have never seen anything move so fast." The asari commando said.
"What is it?"
"We cannot detect it, Matriarch."
Benezia placed her hand under her chin and thought for a moment. "Bring one of the prisoners to me and get ready to fight."
Liara watched helplessly as the asari commandos brought the unconscious form of Alicia out from the containment chamber and placed her at Benezia's feet. She couldn't figure out why they brought her out from the chamber. She also noticed that the squad of asari commandos and the geth trained their weapons at the door of the lab waiting for something.
What are they waiting for? Liara thought.
"How far is it?" Liara heard Benezia talking.
"Anytime now, Matriarch. Any…" The asari commando couldn't finish her sentence as the door of the lab blasted open by a blue light and the entire asari squad and the geth squad were thrown apart. Benezia turned sharply towards the door trying to see what caused the door to blast apart. She saw a human slowly stepping inside the lab and looked straight towards her. His entire body was glowing with the dark energy of biotics and his eyes they were hollow blue.
In her defense she quickly protected herself with a biotic barrier and placed her hand at the throat of the unconscious body of the female human.
"Whoever you are, stay back there or else I will kill this woman. You cannot penetrate my barrier." Benezia threatened and saw that the male human's eyes fell on the unconscious body of the woman in her hands. All this time he looked calm; she could tell it from his facial expression. But now she saw that his expression is turning to anger and now he is furious. She saw that his chest was heaving in anger. He slowly started to approach her without saying anything with his eyes on the woman in her hands.
"I am warning y….." Benezia stopped as he suddenly disappeared from her sight and next second, she knew she was flying backwards and smashed hard against the glass behind her and slowly slid down on the floor. Benezia couldn't understand what just happened. She looked straight and her eyes widened, not in fear but understanding.
"It can't be…." She whispered to herself and stood up on her feet. The male human didn't even look at her, he was busy with the female human in his arms. Benezia saw that he was whispering something and tears were tricking down from those inhuman eyes. She came near him slowly and concentrated on what he was speaking.
"Miri…. Please wake up. Please. Don't leave me. Please wake up. Look, I came for you, didn't I? You called I came. So, please open your eyes and tell me you are okay." The man kept on pleading. Watching him so close Benezia had no doubt now that, he is the savior about whom the prophecy was made.
Benezia fell on her knees and bowed to him in respect and admiration. Still, he didn't look towards her. Benezia got up on her feet and walked towards the terminal at the far end. She tapped on the terminal and the Normandy team was released from their captivity. Then, she came back at the human's side.
"She is not harmed, Commander Shepard. She is merely unconscious." Benezia spoke.
That got his attention. He looked towards her with those inhuman eyes. Then he turned back his face and slowly caressed the woman's face lovingly. Suddenly the Rachni queen let out a shriek. He looked towards the queen and gently lay down the woman back on the floor. He stood up and walked towards the glass behind which the Rachni queen was kept. The queen of the Rachni and the human stared at each other for a full minute. Next second, he was tapping on the terminal.
"What are you doing? John!" Liara shouted still lying bound on the ground.
"I am releasing the queen." He answered simply.
Benezia walked up to her daughter and released her from the hold. But her daughter rushed past her without even looking at her.
"John! Are you sure?" Liara asked after reaching John's side.
"Dead." Came the curt reply.
Liara was about to stop him but she halted as she felt a hand on her shoulder. She sharply turned backward and came face to face with her mother. "Let him do, what he thinks is best." Benezia said.
Liara removed her mother's hand away from her shoulder roughly. "You can't tell me what to do. You are not my mother anymore." Liara replied angrily.
"I know I had done many wrong things. But Liara you must know that I cannot control myself. I am trying to resist but I am failing." Benezia said sadly.
"What do you mean?" Liara asked.
"The ship of Saren has some kind of power, the one he calls Sovereign. It corrupts your mind slowly. It is not set how much time it takes to corrupt one's mind. It maybe one day, one week, one month or maybe even a year. But it does not matter because the mind gets corrupted at the end." Benezia stated.
"What made your mind recover, then?" Liara said.
"This is temporary. I am already beginning to hear Saren inside my head again. It's because of his power I was able to get control of my mind for now." Benezia indicated towards John.
"Him….? How?" Liara asked in surprise.
Benezia opened her mouth to answer but stopped at the sound of something heavy falling on the ground. Liara turned to her left and saw that John was lying on floor facedown and he was deeply unconscious. Liara rushed towards him and pulled his head on her lap.
"What happened to him? John!" She tried to wake him up but got no response.
"Liara, he is okay. Listen daughter. I must be quick. I will not be able to hold Saren out of my mind for long." Benezia almost pleaded.
"No don't say that mother. Come with us. We will find a solution." Liara said, tears forming in her eyes.
"No. Listen to me. He is not an ordinary human. Soon all life in the galaxy will be in danger of being extinct and he is the only one who can stop it. He is the only one. But first he must find the thing that gives him strength to fight. He must find it, he must and Liara you must help him to find it. Promise me you will." Benezia requested her daughter.
"I will, mother. I promise." Liara said with tear filled eyes.
"Thank you, my daughter. I am proud of you." Benezia smiled for the first time in a long time.
"Mother…." Liara pleaded.
Benezia let out another smile and suddenly placed a gun at her head and fired, killing herself with a single shot.
"No…No… mother." Liara cried.