Chapter Thirty-Nine

Roxanne

I push myself up from the ground, the ringing in my ears drowning out any other noise. I glance to the left to see Serenity under a metal piece from the platform.

I rush over to her and pull it off, fearful that she's dead. Her eyes pop open as soon as the piece is on the ground and she grins at me.

"I'm good, sis." Serenity says as she takes the hand I offered to pull her up.

Serenity heads to Raphael and I check on Miranda.

"I'm good, Commander." Miranda says, shaking her head. "We need to move."

"All good here, sis." Raphael says, blood dripping down his side.

"Commanders?" Joker shouts. "Come on, Raphael. Roxanne. Don't leave me hanging! Do you copy?"

"We're here, Joker." I say into the comm. "Did the ground team make it?"

"All survivors on board, no casualties." Joker lets out a relieved sigh. "We're just waiting on you guys."

A group of seeker swarms amass near us. The four of us turn to run as a voice starts speaking.

'Humans, you've changed nothing.' The voice says. 'Your species has the attention of those infinitely your greater.'

"Ignore the monologuer!" I shout as I throw a singularity into the swarm. "Keep moving! Put a barrier around yourself!"

"I don't hear it." Miranda remarks as we sprint away from the swarm.

"Me either." Serenity says, glancing back at me.

Raphael and I exchange a look but keep up the sprint.

"Enough chitchat. Keep going!" Raphael says.

'That which you know as Reapers are your salvation through destruction.' The voice says.

The four of us keep running, dodging bullets from the Collectors as they fire at us.

Relief floods my veins as the Normandy appears at the end of the path. Joker opens the airlock and starts firing with the assault rifle in his hands.

"Move it!" I shout as I let the biotic barrier I put up on me loose, sending a wave of Collectors back from us.

Miranda, Serenity, and Raphael hop onto the Normandy as I bring up the rear. A metal piece from the ceiling falls, knocking the platforms off that the other three used.

I don't think much as I sprint to the end and jump to the Normandy, using my biotics to boost my momentum. I catch myself on the edge of the airlock as Serenity and Raphael use their biotics to throw the Collectors behind me off of the edge.

Joker is still firing with his assault rifle as Miranda grips my arms and helps pull me into the ship.

We get the airlock closed quickly and make our way into the cockpit.

"Detonation in ten, nine, eight-" EDI says.

"Yeah, got the gist of it, EDI!" Joker says as he hobbles his way to his seat. "Hold on!"

Joker flies the Normandy away as the explosion happens behind us. As soon as he goes into FTL, I let out the breath I was holding.

Relief floods my body as I sag against his chair. I glance at Raphael, a grin on my face.

"We did it." I say, chuckling. "We fucking did it."

"Not a single person was lost." Raphael shakes his head. "You're right. WE did it. Without you, I never would have been able to do this myself."

"You two are amazing." Miranda shakes her head. "Greatness all on your own merits. Good job, Commanders."

Serenity shakes her head as the three of us head towards the conference room. "If I hadn't been here, I don't think I'd believe it myself." Serenity says. "You two are really heroes."

"So are you." Raphael says, placing a hand on her shoulder. "You just joined us on a suicide mission and destroyed the Collectors with us. You're a hero too."

"We're lucky to have you, Sen." I grin at her. "Now," I glance at Raphael, my eyebrow raised, "I'm sure Lucey is waiting for us."

"I'm going to go check on Tali and Garrus." Serenity says. "Good luck with that monster."

"Thanks." I smirk. "I already have a feeling how this will go."

Raphael and I make our way to the QEC, shoving debris and broken bits out of the way. The both of us step into the interface.

"Shepard." The Illusive Man snarls at Raphael. "You're making a habit of costing me more than time and money."

I chuckle. "Sorry, Lucey. We're having trouble hearing you. Sounds like a bunch of bullshit on this line."

"Don't try my patience." The Illusive Man glares at me. "You chose to destroy that base when that technology could have secured human dominance in the galaxy. Against the Reapers and beyond."

I roll my eyes. "Right."

"You don't mean human dominance." Raphael shakes his head. "You mean Cerberus."

"Strength for Cerberus is strength for every human." The Illusive Man says as he pushes from his chair to walk towards us. "Cerberus is humanity. I should have known you two would choke on the hard decisions. Too idealistic from the start."

"I know what you are, and the price of dealing with you." Raphael shakes his head.

"We do things our way from now on, Lucey." I smirk. "Harbinger is coming. And he won't be alone."

"We're going to make sure we're ready when they get here." Raphael says.

"You can fall in line or step aside, but don't get in our way." I cross my arms.

"You're sure that's what you want?" The Illusive Man asks, glancing between us. "You're taking a Hell of a risk, you two."

"Yeah, you see," I glance at Raphael before turning back to the Illusive Man, "I don't think we are. We're going to stop the Reapers."

"But we won't sacrifice the soul of our species to do it." Raphael adds on.

"EDI," I smirk at the Illusive Man, "lose this channel."

"Understood." EDI says, closing the connection. "Roxanne, there is also an incoming message from Admiral Hackett marked urgent."

I glance at Raphael. "Can I use your quarters?"

"Be my guest. I'm going to go see Tali." Raphael says.

"Thanks, EDI." I say as I head up to the captain's quarters.

Once in Raphael's quarters, I press a few buttons on the interface of the computer to pull up Hackett's call.

"Roxanne, thank you for your time. I'll keep this brief." Hackett says. "We have a deep-cover operative out in batarian space. Name's Doctor Amanda Kenson. Dr. Kenson recently reported that she found evidence of an imminent Reaper invasion."

"So, why call me?" I ask, raising an eyebrow.

"Just this morning I received word that the batarians arrested her. They're holding her in a secret prison outpost on terrorism charges." Hackett says. "I need you to infiltrate the prison and get her out of there. As a favor to me, I'm asking you to go in alone."

"There's a Hell of a squad on this ship." I say. "I'm sure they'd help out."

"Kenson is a friend. If an armed squad is seen by the batarians, they'll kill her." Hackett shakes his head. "This is serious, Roxanne. Go in with discretion, or not at all."

"What else can you tell me about the operative?" I ask.

"Amanda is a top scientist and Alliance agent working in batarian space. It's a deadly assignment, and she's one of the few up to the challenge." Hackett says. "She and I go back pretty far, Roxanne. I won't let her rot away in a batarian torture camp."

"What's Dr. Kenson actually doing out there?" I ask.

"She's a deep cover operative, Roxanne. We talk only when we have to." Hackett says. "I'd heard she was investigating a rumor of a Reaper artifact in the system. Her last report said she'd found it."

"I thought the Alliance denies the Reaper threat." I roll my eyes. "While also secretly preparing. That must be some proof she found."

"Kenson believes the artifact is a Reaper device, proof that the Reapers are indeed planning to invade." Hackett frowns. "I've known her a long time. If she says she has proof, it's worth checking out."

"The batarians won't take kindly to the Alliance breaking into a secret prison." I say.

"This is not an Alliance operation- it's one person going in alone to save a friend. If it were an official mission, of course the batarians would be upset." Hackett says. "You keep this quiet, Roxanne, and there's nothing to worry about."

"I'll take care of it, Admiral." I say. "I'll head there immediately. And you know me, I can be discreet."

"I'll leave this in your hands then." Hackett says. "And Roxanne? Thank you."

I end the transmission and let out a sigh. "Guess I'm infiltrating a batarian prison."