Chapter 34

"I don't like this," Captain Burke said.

"Yes, you've said that already," I reminded him.

"We shouldn't have come out this far. This is the fourth time we've had to divert our course to avoid Reaper-occupied territory. They've upped the rate of their expansion. Alliance intel says we lost control of another three star systems in the last twelve hours. If it gets any worse than this I'm gunna scrub the mission."

I stayed silent, struggling to form my rebuke in the face of the evidence. The journey from Noveria to Horizon isn't a particularly long one but we'd already had several close calls. In our last confrontation, we had emerged from the Relay to find a Reaper directly bearing down on us. We banked sharply and flew a tight circle right beneath its armored underbelly. It was only the Reaper's slow turning circle and our pilot's skill that had kept us from being crushed.

Now Burke was trying to talk himself into backing out. I think if he'd been flying solo he'd already have fled back to the main Alliance fleet with his tail between his legs. But the eyes of his men were on him, so he stayed the course, for now.

"We're still receiving comms from the Sanctuary base, so it hasn't been overrun yet."

"Not much of a comfort."

"But it is strange. Even for the Terminus Horizon isn't a particularly well defended world. Aria pulled her forces back weeks ago to focus on defending more important clusters but the Reapers still haven't moved in. Hell, they haven't even cut off all access to the system."

"What did you call that?" he replied, gesturing toward the Relay we had just fled from.

"It's a setback for sure but the refugee ships still have a free lane into the system. At this point, I think that's our best bet for getting to Sanctuary."

"With the civilian traffic?"

"That's what the stealth upgrades are for right?"

"Only if no one bothers to look at our ship too closely," he grumbled but agreed to make the course corrections.

The journey was easier after that but I could tell the captain was growing more and more uneasy about the whole idea by the minute. Seeing the situation slowly falling off a cliff, I was grateful when, two days later, we finally reached Horizon.

"Okay, we're here. So far all broadcasts from the colony and readings from our own scans indicate that this place is nothing more than it appears to be. A resettlement camp for refugees that have been displaced by the war," Captain Burke remarked.

"Obviously we are going to have to dig a little deeper to learn the facility's secrets," I replied.

"How are we going in?"

"Defenses seem either minimal or out of sight for the time being but I'm not going to authorize a direct assault this time. There's just too many civilians in play to risk a firefight."

"Makes sense. Besides given the size of the complex I want to make sure we have eyes on Oriana before we make a move. If we alert Cerberus or my father too early they might find a way to escape with my sister in the chaos. Better that I take a small squad, say five men maximum, and scope out the situation before we formulate our extraction plan."

"Yeah... That's something I was going to talk to you about. There isn't going to be an extraction."

"Excuse me? How do you expect me to pull off this mission without tactical backup?"

"That's up to you Lawson. Look the thing is Hackett has given a recall order on all ships not directly engaged with Reaper forces or given a special exemption. We're setting course back to the rally point in three hours. Now you can come with us and I'm sure the Admiral would appreciate having your expertise on board or you can stay here."

"Well, you know what my answer is."

"Lawson... Miranda, this could still just be a refugee camp. We haven't picked up any sign of a Cerberus presence in the area at all. If this isn't what was meant by 'Project Sanctuary', I mean you could wind up stuck here 'till the Reapers roll over this system. But if you come with us-"

"I could make a difference? Help you fight the war in some small way? Rescuing my sister is my top priority right now, it always has been."

"Alright, Lawson. We can mock up some credentials to get you inside. We'll pass you off as some refugees we picked up on a mission that we want to offload here."

"That might put me under suspicion," I noted.

"If this is a Cerberus run facility they might be keeping a close eye on anyone that arrives from an Alliance ship in case they want to attempt something just like this."

"Yeah but I don't see that we have any other choice on this one. Our 'stealth' won't get you onto the surface discretely, no matter what kind of ship we disguise ourselves as they'll realise something is up the moment we enter visual range. I suppose I could try and contact the captain of one of the other ships here. Ask him to pass you off as a member of the crew but if they've come here for safety from some war-torn hellscape somewhere..."

"They'd be more likely to rat me out to stop me from spoiling their one chance at protection," I finished for him in agreement.

"Alright, I'll have to find some way to make it work. What about the rest of my team?"

"I had your friends gather downstairs in the hanger bay. They've got the same choice to make that you do but I thought it best to let you break it to them."

And there they were, five minutes later, standing in the circle just in front of the nearest shuttle.

"So are we going it alone?" Melnar asked the moment I walked up.

I nodded wearily. "You guessed?"

"I've had plenty of experience dealing with guys like him," Nalar replied before looking up at me.

"You know my answer."

I gave him a single nod in return, it was enough to let him know how much I appreciated his support.

"Melnar?"

"I mean... ordinarily no. This mission doesn't look like good business, Lawson. But I have to admit I'm kinda curious to see how this all plays out in the end. And I still owe you for Omega. I'm in."

"Thank you," I replied. I paused hesitantly before turning to face the last member of our group.

"Kallen I-"

"It's alright Lawson, I'm coming too. It's a civilian facility this time, not a military one. Besides, you'll need my advice on the ground."

"I can't promise there won't be any fighting."

"Don't worry, over the past few years I've gotten good at finding a corner to hide in," he joked.

"Kallen-"

"Seriously, I want to do this Lawson. I want to see this thing through to the end. Whatever happens."

I looked around the room at the three of them, all united in their joint conviction.

"Well, I'm not sure if this is wise given Cerberus' attitude to aliens but thank you. Everyone in this room is now one of the bravest men I know."

"What about Shepard?" Nalar asked jokingly.

I held his gaze for a moment.

"Shepard knows he can handle himself. You- you just take care of yourselves okay? We're going down there to get someone back, not to lose anyone else."

"We'll find her Miranda, don't worry."

Once Burke had gotten clearance to approach the planet we took a shuttle down to Sanctuary's main processing center on the surface. Walking past the line of landing pads that were in constant use (our own pilot was shooed away within minutes to make room for the next arrivals) we soon found ourselves standing in front of the main facility.

Ahead of us was a long narrow courtyard, set in a canyon of sculpted buildings that rose up far above us on either side. Beyond the steps just ahead of us, several bridges spanned the chasm, creating an increasingly closed-in feeling as you got closer to the center. At the heart of the facility was the central tower which towered over all the other structures, like an oversized monolith dropped into place amid the sprawling complex.

The whole place was like an architect's paradise, every tower, bridge, and line carefully designed to be aesthetically pleasing. Green ferns poked out from the tops of several of the buildings, though we could see little of them from the ground. You'd get a better view of the place from the top of the tower I suspected.

"Looks more like a holiday resort than a refugee camp," Kallen noted as we walked forward.

"That's how we know my father is involved," I replied with some disdain.

The courtyard itself was overflowing with people that couldn't have contrasted more strongly with the serenity of their surroundings. These were the refugees of dozens of worlds now occupied by the Reapers. They huddled in family groups for the most part, small children being held aloft above the crowds by their parents, young men dragging huge rucksacks and suitcases or pushing makeshift trolleys that they needed help to move up the staircase that ran across the center of the courtyard. They were often dirty and disheveled, carrying haunted looks and too many possessions. Some were crying quietly as they got closer to the gates but there was joy in evidence too. Some of the arrivals whooped and cheered, clearly relieved to have landed somewhere that seemed to be safe.

The crowd was ostensibly just one huge, disorganized queue that drifted sluggishly forward as gaps opened up at the front. Of course with so many people on the ground, there was no clear order to any of it. It didn't take long for me to spot that while some groups waited patiently, or even lagged behind, seemingly unsure if they wanted to go in yet, others were pushing through, exploiting gaps to make progress to the front.

Impatient to get inside and begin the real mission I indicated that we should follow the latter technique. Trying to push through the gaps did elicit the occasional rebuke or angry hiss from a family annoyed that we should want to move ahead of them but for the most part we made smooth progress. Periodically we paused on our journey and mingled with the crowd to avoid suspicion.

Not everyone wanted to talk and everyone seemed at least a little suspicious of anyone that approached them but some were relaxed enough about it and even welcomed a distraction from their situation. The question on everyone's lips was 'can it really be safe?' Some were skeptical or even downright gloomy about the camp's prospects (usually the ones that were only here because they had no other choice) but most were cautiously optimistic. The facility had remained untouched for longer than most planets so they figured they must be doing something right here. Occasionally when we talked a felt an urge to try and warn them away but the risk of discovery was too great so I held my tongue.

On that note, I had made a few discrete alterations to my wardrobe that were intended to obscure my appearance but the closer we got to the main entrance the more unnecessary that seemed. Given the sheer volume of people they were taking in each hour it looked as if the organizers had done away with many of the basic checks I would have insisted on if I had been running the place myself.

"They don't seem to be turning away aliens," Kallen murmured to the rest of us quietly.

"I wondered if running this place wasn't Cerberus' way of guaranteeing which species received preferential entry to the camp but it looks like they're accepting everyone with open arms."

"Is it weird that I'm more nervous now than I was when they were shooting at us back on Korlus?" Nalar asked.

I shook my head carefully to show my agreement. Cerberus attacking its enemies was one thing, but Cerberus actively welcoming as many people as they possibly could under their protection had me unnerved. What could they possibly want with all these refugees?

Then a cheer went out from the crowd. Sporadically at first but constantly growing in volume and enthusiasm as more and more people added their voice to the cry. I looked around left and right but it wasn't until Kallen pointed skywards that I saw what had prompted this reaction. A single figure had stepped out from one of the lower balconies of the tower and was waving down to the crowds below. Details were hard to make out from this distance even for me but I could tell he was a man in his late sixties that could pass for forty at a pinch, so desperate was his plastic surgery efforts. He'd be wearing casual but modern clothing, I knew, and carrying a relaxed smile on his face that almost made you forget the kind of monster he was.

"It's my father," I gasped. "He's here."

I didn't wait for the misguided adulation to end. Instead we used it as the perfect cover to push forward to the front of the queue. Everyone else was so busy cheering for their benevolent benefactor they never thought to try and stop us. There was a bit of a wait at the other side as we were processed through the gate. It seems to be a universal rule of the galaxy that administrative process breeds bureaucracy and bureaucracy breeds delays. But even here it wasn't as bad as I had feared. The focus was on increasing the volume of people through the system.

Before long we were shepherded through to another courtyard, this one inside the walls of the complex. There were no signs of queuing here, we were just told to wait with everyone else until an official came to transfer us to our new accommodations. There were more crowds of people in here but they looked different to the ones outside. Some looked nervous, others confused and angry. I got the sense that already 'Sanctuary' was not quite living up to their expectations. I was still looking around when I heard a familiar voice coming from behind me.

"Hello again, Lawson. Welcome to the slaughterhouse," Kolvar called out cheerfully.