XxX ~ xx ~ XxX ~ xx ~ XxX ~ xx ~ XxX
After securing all that they needed Naruto, Jacob, and Miranda returned to their shuttle after a second sweep of the colony. The blond's old partner went to the cockpit to get them out while the blond and buxom brunette sat opposite of one another; "Like to hear a bit more about this scuffle with the Quarians and Cerberus."
The shuttle came to life and begun to ascend to the sky and space. Miranda sighed; "Do you really?"
"Cerberus had agents in Jon Grissom Academy. They were studying that girl I mentioned with extremely powerful Biotics to rival yours. Gillian Grayson is her name." Jacob spoke up candidly. A scathing glare grew on Miranda's pretty face; "If we want the commander on our side we should be upfront about with him. And I don't lie to friends."
Naruto almost gave a grin to Miranda, though he let that one be hidden to not potentially rub in the preference of the company. "You say you know Jacob, and you think he's going to lie or shut his mouth? He's never been the type to sit down and watch or be quiet about truth and justice in the universe. If you wanted a puppet to fling around and do as you say, you picked the wrong guy as a second in command. So, what exactly happened?"
Not exactly liking how this was going, Miranda just crossed everything, arms, and legs with brows to boot. "Gillian Grayson is the daughter of a former high-level covert operations agent. Adopted, mind you, and the papers were forged perfectly to make him seem legitimately father-like. She was found by the Alliance one day when we found her, and we couldn't get her out without some sort of issues coming to light."
"Such as Cerberus having an interest in a biotic child after everything else they've done so far, who's in a military-run complex? I'd wager." Getting a look and listen, Naruto put his hands up to show he'd be quiet and leaned back in his seat.
"Yes, well, it wasn't easy to do what we wanted. See, she was not only a powerful biotic, but she was also an anomaly. Our nervous system controls biotics, so any disease or medical condition that affects that creates a volatile mix, potentially more dangerous than anything we've seen from Asari Commandos." Trying to remember the exact details, the buxom agent taped her foot a little. "The reports we received were less flattering... Someone we had on the inside overdosed on a new medicine we developed to help her condition, causing her to nearly cripple herself. The Alliance captured him, and we've not heard anything since. Grayson was there shortly after, and he was ordered to pull her out, no matter the consequences. She was hurt by one of our agents from a new medical component; the Alliance wouldn't have been able to help her in time if she went critical. Everything went sideways when we gathered a report that he was with two personnel from the facility, and they had made for Omega."
A low grumble came from the blond; "And somehow the Quarians got involved in this."
Jacob nodded; "Shit went sideways faster than you could blink. All we know is Gillian stayed with the Quarians. Tali might know more, but she'd likely only tell you, Commander."
"That condition you said she had?"
"Autism, high functioning," Miranda clarified garnering a surprised look from the blond; "The medicine we used was highly complex, and she was the only patient we had for it. It was showing some progress, and then everything went south."
Knowing Cerberus well enough, the whiskered man could only try to think about what was left out. "Maybe they were trying to help her; I highly doubt they would scrub an asset that wasn't lost to them yet. The problem I why did it go south and what else were they trying to accomplish?"
He would have to figure it out later; it didn't take too long to get back to the station. "We'll have to pick this up another time, and I'll have to talk with Tali. I cannot say you weren't trying to help her, but I am not naive enough to suggest you didn't have other plans for her after that. Remember, I have seen enough of Cerberus' experiments, was trapped in one myself at one point, to know that there's much you are not telling me."
Knowing his former partner, the dark-skinned biotic soldier was rather nonchalant about the finishing thought. "Either from just being secretive, or not knowing ourselves, right? I'm just a soldier, I don't get told very many details."
As they went out of the shuttle, Naruto noticed it was a different station. "We'll meet you in Hangar Bay Echo; Follow the red line to the comms. You'll have a debrief with the Illusive Man, and we'll go from there." That was all she wrote, Miranda quickly leaving after speaking.
"Don't let it get to you. Though I would ask to tone it down on the prying." Seeing Naruto look at him with confusion galore, Jacob could only try to put it plainly. "Believe it or not, she believes the word-for-word version of Cerberus' slogan, and I've heard rumors of a lot of cells 'going rogue' more than enough times to say something is fishy. She's not so sure until she sees it for herself, so until then, she believes anything that's gone wrong is what the boss says was not by design."
"So, you're telling me until she sees the bullshit she's not about to second guess someone she's loyal to. As fucked up as it is for it to be Cerberus, I understand. I'll try and ease up on the 'other side' arguments... But I am not going to believe everything said to me."
"Fair enough."
XxX ~ xx ~ XxX
Following the line, the blond entered another dark room much like from the other station. Finding the platform of the same design his holo image appeared in front of the Illusive Man once more. "Commander," the older man spoke taking a drag from a cigarette; "What news do you have?"
"You heard of the Collectors?"
The boss of Cerberus nodded; "The famed legendary bogeymen of the Terminus. So they're real?"
"Yeah."
Puffing out a little smoke, he could only really wonder what was going through the blonde's brain. He had to be careful with how he presented his information. "Never saw one myself, not in person, but then again they are enigmatic and rather sparse when it comes to their activities with others."
"Miranda forwarded the information; I know you saw the footage."
"And she mentioned where it came from. I half expected to get nothing from the Quarians at all, and in a sense, I was right because we already pulled enough evidence to guess that the Collectors were potentially at fault here. But because it's been fully confirmed, and they gave us anything at all, it's an olive branch that was given because of you, Naruto."
Eyes narrowed, the baby blues looking stern. Confrontational responses in his head, but he had to be smart. "Next time you deal with others, maybe try not to do anything they perceive as threatening."
The Illusive man shrugged; "Perhaps, but now we have an objective. Finding and stopping the Collectors."
"Easier said than done given how recluse these beings are. Searching for their whereabouts alone will be a nightmare," Naruto grumped crossing his arms.
"Moreover you need a full team and a ship for this mission. Can't go after them with just a shuttle with Miranda and Jacob."
Naruto cocked his brow; "More of your agents?"
"If you have a better idea, by all means. Who would you like to bring along for this mission? And you would of course have to start out finding a ship capable of surviving their arsenal, it can't be as simple as getting another frigate the size of the Normandy." The strange eyes of the Illusive man watched as he prepared his arguments. He could already tell what kind of crew the blonde would want.
Not having a great feeling about that open invitation, Naruto felt like he would regret this. "I know the old team's been disbanded, but circumstances aren't going to stop us from coming back together. No way they just all left without a word. Wrex isn't the type to turn down a fight."
"You mean the Krogan Battlemaster? You'd be right if his current battle wasn't taking his time. it didn't take him long to decide to head back to Tuchunka, his homeworld. Been there almost as long as you were dead, and hasn't left planet side for anything for over a year. He's attempting to bring the clans together; I hear he's made quite the progress in uniting his people above their rather extinction-level mindset of fighting each other till none are left. You'd want him to leave that just to go after the Collectors with you? You do realize it might be a suicide mission."
Shock etched on Naruto's face before morphing to a relieved smirk; "He found his hope again."
"He just needed a good example, you gave him that."
The blond clicked his tongue; "Down a heavy hitter."
"Not entirely," The illusive man took a drag from his cigarette; "I'm sending dossiers to Miranda of elite specialists both human and alien. This threat goes beyond us all, so it needs to be handled by those who can do the impossible."
Not one to back down from finding his friends and teammates, the blonde could only really suggest his displeasure at being forced through a new set of people on the whims of someone he does not fully trust. "There are still others from my days on the Normandy to be brought back. Surely Garrus, even Liara, would be happy to come back. Ash and Alenko too. Tali is already willing to join me when she's done with her current mission for her people. If I'm gonna bring in anyone, though, it's my sister. I'm not just blindly accepting your dossiers without someone I trust on my side in this."
"We've looked into finding Officer Vakarian. He quite literally vanished off the radar as it were and even we can't find him. Liara is currently working as an information broker on Illium. She's made quite the name for herself there. Lieutenant Alenko and Gunnery Chief Williams were both promoted and currently doing classified assignments."
Though that was obviously shorthand, it was clear that this man was trying to prove it wouldn't be very easy...
With a large drag of his smoke and a deep exhale, the glowing eyes stared towards the blond with conviction. "It's not easy to accept, I'm sure. Two years of time passed by in the blink of an eye for you, but to them? Nothing can be further from the truth." Standing up, The illusive man walked forward. "I'll gladly give you the records to prove it, but there's a reason we didn't include any of your former strike squad in this endeavor, they were far too busy with their own devices. In fact, I'm still not sold on Ms. Zorah's involvement coming to fruition anytime soon. If anyone would join you on the drop of a dime, it'd most likely be Shepard. She's been quite the busy agent, but I happen to know where she's currently heading."
Naruto leaned in; "Where."
"Omega, she is currently on the hunt for a vigilantly mercenary code-named Archangel. He is one of the dossiers I might mention. Also on Omega, there is a Salarian doctor named Mordin Solus and a mercenary Zaeed Massani we enlisted to help you."
"Alright then... So go to Omega." He groaned silently as he pictured how Aria would react, knowing her from previous meetings. "This can only go swimmingly..."
"I've faith you'll get all the help you will need on this mission and you'll find it's not to your rather low opinion of Cerberus. Whatever you've seen from us, I'd ask you to put it aside. You've only noticed what others consider morally bad, and sometimes from rogue cells that went against orders. One of the prices we pay to give creative freedom to our cells, they do tend to go off in other directions. Whilst I do not agree with, and would have ordered a stop to, the Thresher maw experiment's conclusion to use your squad on Akuze by accident at the time, the data your alliance recovered from their servers is valuable for future prevention of such atrocities. Sometimes bad things have to happen, and sacrifices required, to progress to a better future."
"Say that all you want, but your narrow view of sacrifice stems from a mindset that's going to get more killed in the long run. Sure, sacrifices are required in the name of progress, but they shouldn't be given freely, and with people who do not consent to it. There will always be those who would happily lay their lives for progress, use them. What happened on Akuze never needed to happen." Sighing heavily, Naruto just shook his head. "Anyway, before I get going, there's one thing you better believe, Tali's not one to say what she'll do lightly. She said she'd hop aboard the moment she was finished with her mission, that's what will happen. None of that 'I doubt it' talk, your network is capable of keeping tabs on everyone. If her mission goes south, or if she's ready for pickup, you let me know. Got it? Tali joining my crew again is not up for debate."
Surprisingly the older man nodded; "I can agree to that. The pilot to your new ship will be waiting outside the room. Take care, Commander."
In a blink, the holo communication stopped as the blond stepped and begun to leave the room. As the door slid open he was surprised to see who was waiting for him; "Joker?"
The Alliance pilot smirked; "Expecting someone else, Commander?"
XxX ~ xx ~ XxX
The two men made their way for the hanger; "How the hell did you join Cerberus?" Naruto questioned.
"A long story I can fill ya in on later. Let's just say it's been a long two years and damn glad your back."
"Yeah, still getting over the whole time thing... Last I saw you I got your scrawny ass into the pod, feels like a few days ago to me."
"Two years and feeling like a jackass ever since to me... Seeing you get blown into atmo with nothing to keep you from death? All because I refused to get out of that seat?" Stopping and turning to the blond man and friend, Joker smile sadly. "The shit I put you through shouldn't be so punishing, ya know?"
"We pulled through and managed somehow. Just glad seeing another good friend."
Joker adjusted his hat; "You mean that Jacob guy? Got to say he's been straight with me since joining. Still wary of him. Now Miranda, hot as hell but a complete bitch."
"Don't let her catch you saying that." Though he had to agree so far, she wasn't the most pleasant neutral party in regards to their situation. Even Naruto's views have been amicable compared to her so far.
As they got closer to the hangar, the pilot grunted going up the stairs. "Emily kept the crew afloat for a while, but eventually it would have been ended anyway. Sad to say, but Wrex and Tali both made it clear they had their own things to do eventually, but Liara split hard from your death. Most of the surviving alliance crew got reassigned, I've seen Staff Commander Alenko and Operations Chief Williams from time to time, they took it hard, feeling they should have been the ones spaced, not you. Kaidan took it the hardest of the two. Some may say it fell apart without you, but we both know it wasn't always going to last as just the ragtag team we assembled going after Saren."
"I see..." Feeling bad about not being able to have done something to make the eventual split easier, all the newly resurrected commander could do was hope to see them and give them some hopeful news again. Hearing about the promotions, though, he couldn't help but feel proud. "Williams curse is gone? Bet Ash was happy to finally break from Gunny. Can't believe Alenko outranks me now."
"Technically he doesn't. Cause you're KIA officially, you were promoted to Captain. Though they may take that one back when you show up alive and well." Finishing their trek, they stopped next to the window for the Hangar bay. "Wish I could tell you more, but we got work to do. You've got no idea how excited I am though, they only just showed me this last night and I've got no sleep since. Say what you want about Cerberus, heck I'll agree with ya, but they got you back on your feet and gave me a pilot seat again. Was flightless for over a year before I got the invite. Now? They gave me this puppy." He grinned wide and pointed to the ship, which was being lit up by the Hangar's lighting system.
Had the blond's eyes grew any wider the ace pilot wondered if they would pop out as they stared at a new Normandy! Twice as big as the original and even sleeker than the first. Joker couldn't stop grinning; "Now this feels like we're back home."
XxX ~ xx ~ XxX
Going past the threshold Naruto only looks in at the new Normandy interior. Joker keeps grinning as the blond took a look at the folks working at the terminals near the cockpit. His brow rose; "You guys are..."
All of them stopped to glance at the blond with warm smiles. "Yeah, half the old staff is working in SR-2, even the nighttime pilot Jenny Goldstein and nighttime doctor Thomas Hawthorne. Oh, Chakwas is here too."
"Glad your back, Captain," One of the staff spoke before they all resume working.
"Uhhh, still just an LC technically... But thanks, glad to see you're all doing well." The shock was just a little much to digest for the time being, but thankfully he was just happy to see familiar faces more than not. Still, he couldn't shake the feeling this was just another ploy to tug his heartstrings towards Cerberus. Getting to the central table, he was met by Jacob and Miranda, both standing at the ready.
"Well, you can either take your death promotion, or you can do what your sister did, and captain the ship regardless of official rank." Miranda was suggestively simple with that explanation.
"Regardless, you are the one leading this mission. Welcome to the new Normandy, bigger and better than the original by a large degree. Still a Frigate, but we're on the larger side to be sure." Jacob crossed his arms with an amused look on his face. "Wasn't easy, I'll tell you that."
"I see." Looking around, it did feel larger but also still very similar in every way. It was jarring to think it was his command, but he chose to take it in later. work first. "I'll be needing the Dossiers to look over, and all the information I've requested sent soon."
Knowing that was coming, the buxom agent nodded. "Yes, well that's obviously going to happen, you are the one in charge here. All are being sent, or have already been sent, to your private inbox. May I suggest we move to one of our Dossiers so we do not remain idle for too long? Considering the Collectors have advanced technology we've never seen before, it would be best we get the advice and expertise of a scientific mind capable of giving us an edge. We should pick up Mordin Solus as our first priority, but the order is yours to give."
"I second this decision; it would be the most logical step forward to counter whatever stasis they seem to force upon their victims." The synthetic voice was clear and sudden, which gave Naruto a short but noticeable confusion.
Joker deadpans as a holo image of a pixelated blue orb appears on the central table; "Greetings commander." the orb glowed.
"This is EDI or Enhanced Defense Intelligence," Jacob gave a nod to the blue orb; "And before you ask yes, she is an AI but she's shackled."
"It, not she;" Miranda clarified.
"If the AI wants to identify as a woman, let it." Making it final with a wave of his hand at Miranda, and then turned to the image. "So, EDI, huh? How much of this ship are you able to control? Because I'm pretty sure we wouldn't have a full crew, and Joker as a pilot, if you were the one taking the reins."
"You'd assume correctly, Uzumaki," Edi said gently. "I do not control any of the operational systems of the Normandy's flight deck, nor do I have any control, or ability to operate, many subsystems of the Normandy's stealth fields, engine output, shield systems, or the like. My operational capacity is at maximum efficiency under the cyberwarfare suites and computational defense matrixes. None of the crew's abilities and expertise will go to waste, least of all Joker's exceptional piloting skills."
"So all you do is hack our enemies and make sure they don't hack us, whilst giving advice and suggestions on how best to utilize our resources."
"To put it bluntly, yes. Also, as an AI, I do not identify as any gender, I am only here to aid in your mission, nothing more." With that, she blipped out.
Joker deadpanned; "Charming isn't she?"
"How safe is EDI exactly," Naruto questioned with a cocked brow.
Jacob gave a reassuring nod; "It's all above board Commander, trust me we need whatever edge we can get with the Collectors."
Slowly the blond rubbed his chin before a woman in Cerberus regs walked beside Miranda giving a decent salute; "Yeoman Kelly Chambers at your service Captain Uzumaki. There is a surprise waiting for you down in med-bay with Dr. Chakwas."
"A Surprise?" Naruto glanced to Joker who only grinned.
XxX ~ xx ~ XxX
Going down the elevator Naruto along with Miranda and Jacob entered; "The crew quarters, bathrooms, life support control, a mess-hall run by Mess Sergeant Gardner," Jacob explained as they walked through and pointed to the right; "Med-bay is in there, we'll leave ya to it." With that, both Cerberus agents left the blond be as he started walking.
Looking around, the recently revived biotic soldier could see the differences, and also many similarities, from the original. The mess hall was bigger; the sleep pods more numerous, though he wondered why have them AND crew quarters, instead of just adding more beds and ability for some off time through larger quarters.
Realizing he couldn't complain, and shouldn't, given the circumstances, he made it to the med bay and opened the door. As he did, he was surprised alright; the first thing in his vision was pink locks and a squeezing hug that was VERY familiar. "Naruto!"
Sitting in her chair, Chakwas could not help but smile at the sight. The blond was dumbfounded at first till realizing who was hugging him; "Sakura?"
The rosette looked up with a tearful grin; "who else you big goof." she buried her head in his chest weakly pounding it once; "Don't ever do that again..."
Still bewildered he turned his gaze Chakwas; "When you died Sakura decided to rejoin the medical field under my tutelage."
Though he was happy to see her doing what she loved, he could already tell the two years had to have been rough. Holding the young woman in his arms, Naruto gave her head a few strokes. "I'm back though and don't you worry it won't happen again. Especially if you're half as good at Chakwas at patching my sorry ass up after a firefight."
Pulling away to wipe her tears out of her eyes, all the medic in training could do was given a small grin in response. Chakwas explained it well. "She's quite talented; if she keeps up her training she would even surpass me one day. Before I die of old age even."
"And we both know that isn't going to happen, you're way too stubborn to die." Turning to her mentor, Sakura had a fierce look on her face. "Too stubborn to give me breaks during training sometimes too..." Then the pout Naruto knew so well had formed and he couldn't help but chuckle. He also had to agree with that statement though.
Chakwas chuckled herself; "Dr. Hawthorne has also been giving her pointers and tips."
"Hopefully not his bedside manners," The blond muttered dryly before the elderly woman stood up and came in front of him. Her eyes going over the faintly visible cybernetics.
"Miranda gave me the full details on how they resurrected you. But feel some of it was still hidden from me." the doctor grabbed Naruto's chin to move his head from side to side. "When you're not busy I want to examine you myself."
"Consider it done, doctor." Naruto smiled though as he was let go for the time being. "More interested in hearing what happened with you after everything."
Taking notes, Chakwas kept professional as well as personal, one of her many talents. "After the Normandy was destroyed, I was re-assigned. Mars colony, prestigious position mind you, but I've never liked the static behaviors of being ground-side. You know me well enough to know that, don't you?"
The blond gave a nod; "You got restless, and Cerberus found you?"
"Just after Sakura came on as my apprentice. We both joined once we heard their plan about you."
Sakura walked over to the desk; "We don't trust Cerberus or the Illusive Man. He respected that. Said; 'Better to earn trust'," the rosette shivered; "Something about him felt off."
"In any case, we and the members of the old Normandy crew who joined this work for you," Chakwas declared; "Not Cerberus."
"At least that's some comfort, but I don't like the fact it's all on their payroll regardless of how we feel about them." Naruto sighed heavily at that, knowing full well the trap being sprung before he even knew about it.
Without much hesitation, though, Sakura gave her two cents on the subject. "The way I see it, there was nothing we could have done. If you'd survived and tried to continue searching for ways to stop the Reapers, the Council would have stopped you from moving freely. At least in this way, you've got the freedom and resources to keep on top of it all."
"And besides all that," The good doctor with them spoke in turn. "Nothing is stopping you from going to see the Council and clearing things up with them about the situation. You are still a Spectre and saved the Citadel from Saren's takeover. They'd listen to you, I'm sure of it. Anderson would even make sure you got an audience to speak your peace."
Naruto gave a nod; "Will do that after Omega."
"Omega," Sakura cocked a brow; "That old station in the Terminus?"
"Yup, need to find members of the crew to help for this mission. also, Emily is there." That drew his longtime friend's attention.
Chakwas bore a grim expression; "That place is run by Aria T'loak, a rather ruthless Asari."
"We've met," the blond quipped dryly.
Deciding to keep setting up the medical bay to what her mentor suggested, Sakura went to work. "Just be careful, ok? If you get into trouble, we'll be ready to put you back together."
"Thanks, Sakura." Turning towards Chakwas, the blonde chose to make sure. "Before I go, anything I need to look out for? Omega has some cheaper prices for good gear sometimes."
"Nothing in particular, we've got everything stocked and our equipment in top shape. We'll be stocked for a good while, even with the recklessness you usually present." That got him a grin of playful teasing from her and him returning it with a rolling of eyes.
XxX ~ xx ~ XxX
The elevator of opens as the blond stepped out into deck 1; his private cabin. Having inspected the mess hall and greeted Jenny and Dr. Hawthorne who both were having a bit to eat. He went to engineering and greet the eccentric duo Kenneth Donnelly and Gabriella Daniels. Both were decent people and easy to get along with.
They had also mentioned a desire to retrieve discontinued high-quality parts when they got to Omega, which gave them something to do off the ship when it was docked. He still chuckled remembering the chemistry between the two, where Kenneth said he didn't want to complain, started to, and Gabriella had mentioned it before he could continue doing so.
Going through a sliding door Naruto entered his cabin. A very spacious room with a large desk and terminal, shelves behind, and a door to the shower and restroom. further in was a large bed and couch with cabinets and a coffee table. The one thing that caught his eye was the massive aquarium in the wall, complete with all manner of fish swimming around.
"Hope this thing has a self-feeder," he mumbled.
EDI chimed in; "It does, Commander."
"Thanks, EDI." He wasn't sure how to respond with this one. "On the one hand, I'm always supportive of synthetic life and AI if given the right circumstances for peace and understanding, but then again this one is from a terrorist group, shackled to boot so potential mayhem there…"
Finding the bed, Naruto felt the cushioning to see how well it was made, to notice it was not exactly a cloud but he'd slept on worse things by far. The room sported many amenities, such as a desk and even a book collection, with what looked like space for decorations on the 'office' walls next to the rather spacious shower. As he looked at the book collection, he noticed a dull translucent light behind a book in the darkness under the top shelf. Pulling the book out, he noticed it was one of his favorite novels, and the light vanished upon pulling it out. Seeing the bookmark, he opened it to the page and was confused by what he saw.
Within the book's bookmark was a piece of paper, colored very light green. After a moment he could tell it was glow-in-the-dark coloring paint, which was why he noticed the glow. Opening the paper, he read the note silently. "Dear Naruto, if you're reading this then I'm either dead or had to evacuate before getting you out. My name is Wilson, and I'm a double agent inside Cerberus. I'll keep this brief, but the moment you're done reading this destroy the note and don't let that AI's cameras catch the information I am about to give you. I was tasked by Hackett to infiltrate the Shadow Broker, who had eyes on getting your corpse after you died. Once Cerberus claimed your body, I was sent in undercover by both Hackett and the Broker to get you out of there the moment you woke up. The Broker doesn't know I'm shitting on his orders, but that's irrelevant. If I am not with you, then you're in deep. They've got cameras on you in the entire ship, and the AI reporting every five seconds on your activities. Miranda, the bitch, will be trying to keep you from getting the more classified information, so no use asking them for every piece of information moving forward. Sorry, I couldn't get you out of there, but it's probably for the best, The Illusive man grabbed everyone close to you from your previous crew he could get to make your trip with them more comfortable. Better to stick with them than to leave them to his devices right?"
Naruto's face grew grim, so it was exactly like he thought in the illusive man trying to play at him emotionally. But it was none of his old crew's fault, all the blame went to the man in charge of reviving him. He looked more at the note; "You know the admiral even better than I do, and while he can't openly help you he will still try. No matter how much the Alliance and council will treat you like a traitor and lunatic. Just know you still got friends and allies who will help however they can. Good luck..."
The blond let out a sigh.
The letter had one more note at the bottom, one that made the biotic powerhouse confused. "P.S. Keep the book and give it to your sister. Give her this code-phrase; 'Rome fell in a week'. She'll understand. It's for something Hackett's been working on, she's been helping."
With the note done, the blonde crunched it up upon memorizing the information he needed to keep for later use, and closed the book. The paper in his hands turned to ash from the intense heat and pressure he concentrated with his biotic abilities and put it inside the dirt of the nearby plant.
Coming onto the comms, his friend and pilot called for him. "We're nearing Omega, Miranda and Jacob are waiting for you in the weapons room, Captain."
"On my way."
XxX ~ xx ~ XxX
Finishing the last armor placement of his new suit Naruto checked his firearms beside Miranda and Jacob. "Before we do anything we will likely have to speak with Aria," Miranda commented.
"Goes without saying," the blond quipped; "She'll want to know what we're doing and making sure it does not come back on her."
Miranda raised a brow; "You had dealings with her correct?"
"Yeah, and her primary concern is herself and her empire. Everything else is secondary." Naruto attached his firearms to his suit. "And she is only friendly if something is in it for her."
"Lovely," Jacob groaned checking his shotgun and pistol.
As they finished suiting up, Jacob gave his sidearm a final check on the core. "So, what's the first issue we cross off the list?"
Knowing they had four people to pick up, Naruto hummed in thought. "After Aria talks our ears off a minute or two, we should head to find this Doctor Mordin. As much as it pains me to admit it, that is the best course of action. The faster he gets on board, the faster we get counter-measures to fight the Collectors swarm of stasis devices. After that, we find my sister."
"Cerberus told the mercenary to stay near the docking areas, though we may find ourselves at a different area than they are, so we should keep that in mind." Miranda crossed her arms. "Whatever your orders, we'll follow them. If you'd prefer not to bring them aboard, we can forego either of them."
He didn't get the chance to look at Archangel's Dossier, he only glimpsed past this Zaeed's file, and he was already agreeing to grab Mordin. the CO of this operation and he was given little time and a large amount of information to digest. "Kind of feels like I'm being pushed into a position I didn't agree to, but I can't ignore the situation." Straightening his act up, he did his best to command. "I'll talk to Zaeed, if you'll permit me time to read Archangel's file after we get back on the ship, I'll decide on them later. That agreeable?"
"Of course, Commander," Miranda gave a curt nod before leaving the room.
The blond's old partner gave a sideways glance to her; "Sorry we're moving at full cylinders without a real break."
"Just like the old missions patrolling the Terminus border. I'm good," Naruto paused; "Your take on the Cerberus crew that aren't from my old Normandy team?"
Jacob thought for a moment; "Solid bunch who are professionals at their work. Some like Chambers might be a pure civilian but they got heart. Just watch it with Chambers, that girl can read you as easy as that one doc back on Arterius."
"That good?"
"That good."
After both men were finished they left the room to make their way to Joker. Miranda lightly paced behind the pilot who glanced at her; "I can respect folks being serious about their work and all but you'll leave an indent on the floor with all the pacing."
"We are in one of the most dangerous areas of the Terminus outside of the Nemean Abyss. We have to be ready for anything Pilot Moreau."
The pilot rolled his eyes; "No shit. But hyper-focusing doesn't help. And call me Joker please."
"He's right, besides if you didn't trust Joker's flying skills he wouldn't be here." The blonde crossed his arms and stood next to his pilot friend. "Anyone tries anything, Joker can handle it and then some. Speaking of, how are we doing on Omega entry?"
Outside the window, they could see the orbiting station coming closer into view. "We were hailed almost immediately upon coming through the Relay, they knew we were coming. Not the weirdest thing, seeing as we aren't cloaked and they have very good detection systems probably."
Chiming in, EDI had her take. "I have already checked, and their detection array is spread throughout the entire solar system, they pick up any ship not cloaked upon their entry, and as we are the only hip who could enter through a relay whilst in stealth mode they would have not found us if you had taken my suggestion to do so."
"Oh buzz off, we're not going to stealth into a docking bay on Omega, they'd shoot us down the moment they saw us come close. better they know a ship's coming than not know until we are at their front door." Joker clicked into the incoming call suddenly. "This is SSV-Normandy SR-2. We are requesting permission to dock."
"Roger, Normandy. We've been expecting you. Docking Bay 6, don't dawdle. Aria does not like being kept waiting." The harsh hang-up click made Joker wince a moment.
The blonde shrugged. "I'm guessing she knows it's me? This is already a fabulous start."
"How friendly will this be?" Jacob asked the bond.
"Depends on her mood."
XxX ~ xx ~ XxX
Amusement danced on the Asari crime lord as she stared down at Uzumaki and his current unit who entered her personal room within the Afterlife; "I must say you look spry for a dead man Uzumaki."
Jacob and Miranda kept a sharp eye on all of Aria's guards while the blond shrugged; "Guess death didn't take. How you been?" He faintly groaned as the music blaring in the dance room was just as loud as ever.
In turn, Aria shrugged herself; "Oh I finally took out that annoying Batarian warlord from Tortuga who was trying to muscle his way in Omega. Otherwise, it has been boring." She spoke in mock exhaustion before looking wide-eyed; "Your sister lost her arm here while looking for something about a few months ago. Got her ass saved by Nightshade of all people."
To say that was a shocker was an understatement, for several reasons. He died, so he couldn't really expect anyone, especially those he knew were tougher than most, to be in perfect condition, still, he didn't like hearing Emily had lost a limb. The most shocking news was the legendary hidden force themselves. "That urban legend is starting to sound more and more likely that they are in on something here in Omega. You sure they aren't after your seat?"
The smirk the Queen had from seeing the jaw almost drop from the blonde was weakened as the question was asked. "Normally, I suspect everyone of coming after my throne. Though I met her recently, and she's every bit as skilled as the legends say. If she didn't make a deal with me, I'd have blown up half the club just trying to kill her after she snuck into my bed chambers. She's left Omega, but she took out a few of my enemies before doing so. Not interested in your sister at the moment?"
"Of course I'm concerned for her, but you said it was a while back. and I know for sure she's on the station currently, meaning she's not out of the fight yet. I'll find her, but first thing's first. I have to find myself some people with certain skills and professions for another dangerous mission." Naruto stepped up and sat on the couch, at the furthest he could sit without falling off the cushions.
"I see..." Aria hummed, but thankfully she was in a good mood for once. "What is it that brought you here then? Some information isn't free, just so you know."
Naruto deadpans; "I'm well aware. We're looking for professor Mordin Solus and a mercenary vigilante named Archangel."
"The Salarian doctor," the Asari leaned back on her seat; "Well looks like you'll be doing me a favor after all. Solus is in residential district J. We had to quarantine the entire area due to a dangerous plague surging through it. My guards at the gates can tell you more." A smile formed on Aria's lips; "As for Archangel, your sister as I heard is currently with him having a firefight with the Blue suns, Eclipse, and Blood Pack. Even has all their bosses there coordinating the fight."
Naruto's eyes narrowed as he knew that woman's look; "You told her where."
"Of course, she managed to kill Jaroth so far but Tarak and Garm are keeping back."
"I'd ask many more questions on the subject, but if she's in a firefight currently..." Shaking his head, the blonde could only think about what he needed to do right now. "I'll have to hurry then, won't I? We'll grab Solus and then hurry to find my sister and this vigilante. Know anything else about the firefight happening currently?"
"You'll find out when you see it yourself, now won't you?" Aria laughed lightly before standing up. She turned to the dance floor and gave a point to the door. "You'll find the residential district, and my guards, out of the club and turning left. Follow the signs, can't miss where they point. As for Archangel? The gangs after him currently have a station in my club to gain mercenaries in their fight, go down there and find out more when you're ready." Seeing the blonde stand and look at where she pointed she finished by sitting back down and crossing her legs in a rather flashy way to assert dominance. "Enjoy your stay on Omega, Uzumaki..."
XxX ~ xx ~ XxX
Bypassing the mercenary recruitment box Naruto made a mental note to come back later. He, Miranda, and Jacob let out a sigh as they left the Afterlife. "Place is suffocating," the blond's partner quipped.
"Never mind the overly loud music," Miranda groaned rubbing her forehead; "I feel like I need a shower."
The blond kept quiet as they started their way for the residential; "Well all be damn," A deep gruff English accented voice caught their attention. "So that Cerberus contact wasn't lying out his ass."
Walking out from a dock entrance was a tall muscular man in thick heavy armor with a scar on the side of his face walked towards them. "So they did bring your ass back from the goddamn grave."
Recognition bloomed on Miranda's eyes; "Zaeed Massani."
Turning towards the man, Naruto could see this was the hardest-looking human on this side of the terminus. "So you're the mercenary we're picking up here?"
"Yeah. That's me, and you're Commander Uzumaki." Walking closer, the one glass eye stared at the man before him. "Takes one to know one, doesn't it? Too stubborn to stay in the ground, ey? Heard we got a galaxy to save as well. Sounds like a suicide mission to me."
"Then why join up?" Crossing his arms, all the biotic sniper could do was gauge the man before him and his intentions. "Merc's never take anything that's suicidal in nature, not for any amount of money."
With a short laugh, Zaeed turned to Miranda with a nod towards her. "Cerberus, they didn't pay me 'any amount of money'. They paid me more. The offer they sent me was nothing short of insanity." Turning back to the leader of the group, the mercenary could only turn serious. "And this Illusive Man can move that cash quickly, so when it got that serious, I made a demand of my own. What I get in return for seeing this mission through with you to the end is worth the risks."
Naruto could respect that; "Head to the Normandy to put up your gear. Then wait by the Blue Sun's recruitment area where they are looking for people to go after Archangel."
"Got'cha, and keep an ear open for any chatter," The older man gave a nod before heading off.
With the trio resumed walking through the station; "Read his file, decorated mercenary, and a bounty hunter all his life." the blond remarked.
"I was wondering if you had the chance." The Cerberus scientist said as she walked with the group closely. They were near to where they were going.
Knowing they didn't really get much time before racing for Omega, the thought was valid. "I agreed for Mordin so there was no need to read their file, so I had to choose. I chose Zaeed's file, accepted him as acceptable for the team. Was hoping to have a little time to read over Archangel, but with my sister helping them I got my answer. If Emily is helping them, then that's grounds enough for me to trust them."
Making it near their destination, they could hear arguing. "My stuff is in there! You can't stop me from going in, my home is there! Plague be damned, this is unfair!"
"I'm guessing we found the place?" Jacob said as they rounded the corner to the district they were going for.
Nearing an intersection that led to the market was an open hallway to its side where they saw a human woman arguing with a Turian guard. "Look lady, even if humans are immune I can't let you in. Every other species in the district has gone nearly feral. If they don't shoot you on sight they will do worse." His mandibles twitched seeing more humans coming forward; "Now what."
Naruto gave the man a placating wave; "Aria sent us, need to find professor Mordin Solus. and you know what's going on with this plague"
The Turian grumbled; "Yeah I got the message. And I would not say I'm an expert, just seen what that shit is doing to every species except humans. Not pretty, folks are either dying on the street, turning pure feral by attacking anything that moves or shoot at you."
"Let us in and see if we can fix this. Or at least help Solus cure it."
The guard thought for a moment; "Well if the Son of Mercy has a death wish who am I to argue."
outrage bore on the Omega resident; "What the fuck?! You're letting them in, bullshit."
"You're not armed to the teeth and wearing full body armor," The Turian tapped his Omni-Tool opening the door; "Watch yourself Uzumaki."
XxX ~ xx ~ XxX
Passing the threshold the three-person team turned as the door shut and was sealed. "Got a feeling we're in for a fight," Jacob pulled out his shotgun.
"Kind of obvious," Miranda quipped taking out her SMG.
Walking forward into the warning signs, they saw a barricade. Three men popped out and aimed at them all, and the trio of the Normandy took their aim as well. Before a shot was fired, though, someone shouted. "HOLD YOUR FIRE! These three are allowed through, Aria's orders." A Turian walked out from the security room. "Sorry, just got the message and was clarifying with the higher-ups." he turned and put a hand up to gesture his guards to lay weapons down.
As they did, Naruto did the same for his two. "Glad we didn't shoot either... So, what's the situation so far?"
"Blue Suns and the local Vorcha, along with a few groups of the Blood Pack, are still having it out on the streets from time to time, Vorcha pushing in on the Suns. This was a Turian dominant district with the Suns protecting it till the plague. Mordin's clinic is through the district on the other side. you'll probably meet some holdouts, so be careful. The Blue Suns still control the nearby area."
Jacob grunted; "Lovely."
"And with this plague, a lot of them have gotten more ruthless. They will shoot you on sight."
"Good to know, thanks." Naruto nodded before walking ahead with his team. "So it's a gauntlet run."
Miranda tapped on her Omni-Tool; "This district is pretty dense and narrow. We will have to be careful."
Making it to the final door with the guard, he started inputting the code to open it. "Be careful, heard something earlier near the door." As it opened, the team got their weapons ready and started down the long stairs into Gozu District. "Good luck."
The team walked forward after the door closed behind them, and as they got down, they saw two people, wearing matching uniforms of blue with their backs turned to them looking at a locked door. "Do we risk talking to them?"
"I wouldn't, but it's your call Uzumaki." Miranda prepared her pistol, training it on the head of the one without the helmet, a Batarian.
They seem to be not as quiet as they thought as said Batarian turned; "Thought I... Humans!" In an instant, he brought out a shotgun while his buddy sharply spun around with an assault rifle. In an instant bullets were flying as Naruto's team went for some cover.
"Well some much for the silent approach," Jacob quipped.
"Yeah, silent was never my strong suit!" Naruto groaned as he hit the nearest stack of boxes, Jacob getting in behind him as well.
The moment the Batarian and his partner opened fire, Miranda activated a barrier which saved her from being hit by a few shots aimed for her head, having to fully climb down the stairs quickly for the cover they had, but she didn't have much except a small tank, which thankfully was for water. "Care to give me a hand?!"
"Already on it!" Jacob activated his biotics and pulled one of them closer, the one aiming after Miranda thankfully.
His partner floating up and away, the Batarian groaned and started trying to blast the tank away, but his change in targets gave both Jacob and the blonde leader chance enough to pick their shots at him, Jacob rushing forward with a low charge as Naruto picked a couple of shots at the Batarian's head, knocking out the shield.
Putting his arms up to cover his head, it was his mistake to defend as Jacob managed to get close enough for a point-blank shot into the dude's chest, sending him back into the locked door with a hole where his torso used to be.
Checking the area, Jacob found another Batarian, but this one had civilian clothes on and was a little away from the fight. "Clear of hostiles, but we have a downed civilian here."
They quickly ran over with Uzumaki kneeling with Miranda turning them over the human bodies; "Gun down in cold blood."
Scanning the body the buxom brunette frown; "No signs of plague. Looks like it really does only hits aliens."
"...Some might be thinking humans caused the plague," Jacob theorized grimly.
"Then this is more than a recruitment mission," Naruto stood with determination; "We need to stop this damn plague before the district kills itself."
Seeing the fires and the smell of burnt flesh, they knew things were getting desperate. Jacob checked his shotgun and nodded. "As much as I hate to admit it, you're right. Omega still houses innocent lives in between the criminal elements."
"I don't see how we can cure a plague we don't even know about. We don't have any samples, and it would take the equipment on the Normandy to pull off something like a cure in enough time to save the district before everyone is dead." Miranda was checking the bodies for any information on the genetic markers for the virus. She was coming up short.
Naruto looked at her and had to wonder. "Salarian doctor running a clinic in an area of the plague? He may be trying to find a cure here himself."
Beside him, his partner in the Corsairs agreed. "Solus' skills in biology are unparalleled, he'd be best suited to making the cure. If he hasn't left already, he may be trying to cure it as we speak."
"Then let's move out and hurry." The team started through the street, looking around for any enemies. What they found, however, was a living civilian, Batarian in nature, sitting in a corner in hiding. "We got a live one!"
Leaning against the wall the Batarian coughed out a bit of blood as he stared at the ground. Was this how he was going to die? Alone in a gods-forsaken trash heap of a station ruled by thugs? His eyes noticed movement coming his way, probably Blue Suns. "Hey," A voice rang out with surprisingly sounding concern that made him look upward. There stood three humans, the one at the lead he recognized.
"I thought I heard you died Uzumaki?" The Batarian's voice was horse and dry.
The blond shrugged; "Eh, I got better." He knelt before the dying Batarian; "You look like shit, however."
"What do you expect, you humans made this plague after all. Killing off all the other species but your kind..." The four-eyed alien sneered before coughing.
Like hell was he going to let that slide. "Yeah? got any proof of that?"
With a short wheeze, the Batarian looked at the blonde in anger, believing it the fault of humans like him. "Look around you, the proof is there to see. This plague isn't natural, it had to have been created in a lab. the near-perfect mortality rate amongst several species? Quarians and Elcor can't even eat the same foods, but Salarians and Turians dying from the exact same virus? The only ones immune are humans. You and the Vorcha, but-" He coughed loudly before finishing, but Naruto knew what he was going to suggest.
Seeing him get worse, though, Naruto grabbed some medicine, It wasn't going to cure anything, but it would boost the body's ability to fight it for a little longer. "Yeah, they are immune to disease no matter what. that it? no hard evidence at all and only one little fluke of nature? What if this was made by another party? You'd never know. But we are going to find out, and find a cure, with the help of Mordin Solus who's in this district. Can you stand?"
"The hell do you care?"
Naruto leaned in; "Because I choose to." He injected the medi-gel into the Batarian who gave no real fight. "I'm going to prove you wrong and save this damn district."
The Batarian felt the pain in his body ease up if only slightly, but kept his gaze on the blond; "We'll see..."
With no more words, the trio left the man, with Naruto hoping he makes to Solus's clinic. Going down a long hallway they saw many doors, which are mostly closed or barred off. However, they stopped at one door that was half-open. And they heard voices within.
Heading in, guns raised, the trio managed to find the source of the voices. It was two human men standing over a Turian corpse. "Hey, you two! What's going on here?"
The men stood and turned to them, seeing they were currently under the barrel though made them raise their arms. "Hey! What the hell?! Who are you? You don't look like the Suns. This is our place."
"And the dead Turian? Doesn't seem to be a gang member either." He wasn't, civilian wear clear as day on his carapace.
"Shit, just shoot them!" The other man yelled before drawing a gun and starting to fire.
Both were easily brought down with non-lethal shots from Naruto to their legs sending them both down crying out in pain. "What the hell man?!" Naruto marched over to them; "Not like this guy was going miss any of this!"
Naruto glared down at both; "You want me to kill you. Keep making it easier for me not to care."
"Shit!" The one who pulled the gun saw as Jacob kept his shotgun trained on him, aimed higher than just the legs this time. "Fuck it... Look, the dude died from the damn plague, we didn't kill him! Not like anyone would believe us cause every non-human in the area blames us humans for this shit."
Miranda took the time to judge the Turian's body for proof. Turns out nothing killed him except the virus. "Least he's telling the truth about not killing anyone. Not yet anyway, they did try to gun us down."
Glancing at Jacob who nodded Naruto did not waste his breath on the two scum and pulled the trigger on both. Miranda looked a little surprised; "A lot of things my old partner could never stand," her current partner quipped before he and Naruto left the apartment.
XxX ~ xx ~ XxX
Rounding a corner they came to an open area where several armed people walked around. All wore the armor known for Blue suns. Quickly they took some cover before being noticed. "Doubt we can get through silently," Miranda remarked
"Never was an option, remember? So, we kill as many as fast as we can?" Jacob asked, grabbing his pistol to take some potshots and hope none of their shields were up.
Looking past the cover, Naruto hummed in thought. After a few seconds, he turned to them. "Miranda, can you create a Singularity with your biotics?"
"Of course I can, but why do you ask?"
"Because we're going to be making the first move on them, and disorientate them with something flashy." Gripping his rifle, the blonde got ready. "We all take as many down as we can the first few seconds, the moment they try to disperse, throw a singularity as close to as many of them as you can. Jacob, make it erupt with something volatile ok?"
Jacob grinned; "You got it." he pulled out two frag grenades; "Let's see how they dance."
Further away from them a Blue Sun Turian swayed his head wildly before feeling something hit his foot. Looking down his eyes went wide; "SHIT GREN-" He was dead in a moment as the grenades exploded. Around him, several other Blue suns went flying from the blast.
Popping a few shots, Naruto managed to take down one of the human members, having to go through the shields before the headshot hit. Seeing the group start to get up, Miranda did as asked, creating a singularity up in the middle of the area. Thanks to the power of the ability generated by Miranda, it even sucked in some of the closer stragglers.
Without hesitation, the former Corsair tossed a Warp field into the middle of the large Singularity, and with the volatile mix, the entire thing went, blasting the ones inside it to death, and knocking the rest back down from getting up and behind some cover. "I count seven more left!" Firing his pistol, Jacob pinned one still alive behind some VERY small cover.
It was a canister of corrosive materials, waste from the nearby food places, which have been abandoned thanks to the plague. With a chance to cause some damage, Miranda overloaded the canister's locking system, making the thing empty itself on the floor and start causing the member of the Suns to get away or his armor's systems start malfunctioning.
The moment he moved was his downfall, with his shields so far gone it couldn't stop the two shots of Naruto's rifle, which had overheated right after. "Reloading! Move-in!"
Getting the message, his two comrades starting getting in closer as the remaining soldiers got into their cover and started firing blindly in their direction at first, disorientated from the two blasts before.
Their recklessness was their enemy's gain as they were gunned down with ease. "Clear!" Naruto sounded off with Jacob and Miranda following. "Doubt it will be that simple next time."
"Might get even wilder next time," Jacob commented.
"Then let's not waste time," Miranda addressed as all three left the area.
XxX ~ xx ~ XxX
Naruto and the others bit back their disgust at the sight of another body pile that burned as they passed by. It had gotten so bad people resorted to just burning corpses.
As they began to enter into the more residential area of the district, they heard a door close and went to investigate. As it was locked up, Naruto gave it a simple knock. "We're not the Suns or the Vorcha, we're here to help! Would you mind speaking with us? We need directions."
The silence was his answer, but he knew this door was the one because the indicator of the door's status changed when he looked this way after it was shut. Miranda started up her Omni-Tool. "I'll open it up, shouldn't be a problem."
"Not yet, give me one more chance." Taking a breath, he chose the more assertive route. "Kindly open the door so we may ask you some questions about the area. We know you're in there, it won't take too long. Keep refusing, and we'll have no choice but to hack this door open and come in anyway."
Once more they were greeted with silence, as Naruto was about to look at Miranda with the go-ahead the door slid open. "Fine come in, but be quick." A man called out in a panicked tone.
Passing through the door they found a human man and woman, both in their late thirties, married by the rings on their fingers as Miranda took in every detail. The husband stood in front of his wife; "We don't want trouble, if you're here to steal we won't stop you. Just don't kill us."
"We're not here to kill you, like I said we just want to know more about the district layout to get to professor Mordin Solus," Naruto explained calmly.
The wife clutched her husband's arm; "Yeah right," fear glowed in her voice; "This is Omega. Nothing is done out of kindness. You just want to kill us." Her voice grew more panicked as her husband tried to calm her.
typing on her Omni-tool Miranda scanned the apartment; "Well no hidden weapons or people to try to kill us." She stopped at the couple before cocking a brow; "You know your three weeks pregnant right?" She looked to the wife.
"Yes, and I'd thank you not to spread that around. I still have friends who haven't been killed yet from this plague or the deadly looters." She was just keeping watch as three heavily armed people were in their apartment.
Truth be told, the husband was starting to suspect otherwise on the theft. Looters didn't come in politely with enough firepower to wreck a fortress. "Whoever you are, you're obviously not from around here. And if you want that crazed doctor's location, you're heading in the right direction so far. You'll have to go back towards the restaurant stalls if you came in from Omega proper where I think you did. After that, you go right and down a level, through the next residential zone before you make it to the stairs down to the Clinic. Don't know what you're going to him for, though. Mordin's not a doctor I'd trust with anything but death."
Jacob crossed his arms; "where you hear that?"
"You hear things when living in Omega."
"Doesn't make them true," Naruto quipped; "Will the path be blocked?"
The husband slowly nodded; "Blue Suns who went crazy or Blood Pack. You'll be fighting the whole way through."
At that Naruto wasn't surprised; "We clear a path, make your way to Mordin's clinic."
"What?! Are you crazy," The wife nearly panicked; "We go out there we'll die!" Subconsciously her hand went to her stomach.
"That door won't hold someone determined to get in here. And that will be the end of you, your husband, and your baby." Miranda stepped a bit forward speaking sharply; "We will clear a path, a safe one. Just trust us in that."
Naruto gave a surprised look to the woman before glancing to Jacob who whispered; "Miranda has a soft spot for kids."
Nodding, the blond reaffirmed the statement. "We've already cleared the way back, but at this point, you have only one chance to get to safety, that's behind us to the clinic. We'll cut through, wait a little while, and then head towards the clinic. As much as you might not trust Mordin, I doubt he'll kill anyone looking for shelter if he runs a clinic. Omega or not."
The couple looked at each other, holding hands a minute to think. After a heavy sigh, the husband just looked at them sternly. "Ahead will probably be where the Suns and the Blood Pack are going to be fighting it out, if we still hear gunfire in that direction, we'll high tail it to the door or something. But you're right, our best chance is the clinic. Just don't expect Mordin to be your typical doctor, he's ruthless when it counts."
"Understood." With that, the trio started outside again, letting the couple lock the door behind them for a little while. Following their directions, they were slowly starting to hear the sounds of gunfire, just as the couple said as this was probably ground zero for the current area's defenses.
XxX ~ xx ~ XxX
"Sounds like a damn firefight," Jacob expressed holding his shotgun.
The gunfire ahead sounded heavy, no doubt the gangs were not even close to finishing the other off. Naruto looked at his old partner and Miranda; "Looks like we will have to take out both."
"Wouldn't a better idea be to wait until the numbers have lowered before going in?" the Cerberus officer pipped up with the idea. "It would tax our supplies less and the danger of getting hit by stray shots."
Holding his sniper close, and getting his Omni-Tool ready, the resurrected biotic turned towards the corner they had to get past to enter the fight. "Sure, that could be arranged... But if either of them gains ground, the other splits. And if the danger gets closer to the Clinic we're looking at the patients there being in the line of fire potentially. And if they come this way instead, that's closer to the couple and their kid. We wait it out, we're looking at collateral casualties. So, what's your plan knowing that?"
The potential danger argument worked, as the buxom woman grabbed her SMG and pistol in each hand. "I have your back, Commander."
"Jacob, you focus on pulling in the further away dudes, I'll take them out. Miranda, pressure anyone closer than that. We take their cover and disrupt their battlefield. We keep this a three-way firefight and keep to our cover advantage. Let's roll!"
Further ahead the battle raged between the Suns and the Pack. Adorned in red armor a Krogan shot wildly as he roared charging an enemy. Several Suns leap out of the way save one lone Batarian who got caught by the massive alien before being slammed into a pillar. Blood poured out of the man's mouth as he felt his internal organs being smashed.
The same Krogan backed off the crushing to slam a hand into the neck of the Batarian, then throw him into his allies, all of which were trying to gun him down, and managing a focus fire that took the shields off the massive armored beast of a Krogan. As Vorcha were running in with their pets, the Suns were starting to get pressed hard.
The notion that the Suns were the ones getting backed into a corner was also the notion in Naruto's situational advice, if this kind of bloody warpath from the Vorcha and Blood Pack went too far back, towards the couple... "This won't stand!" Almost like an unspoken order, everyone from the trio popped from their cover to start their assault, Miranda roaring with firing her SMG wildly into the Krogan alongside the Blue Sun's, stripping away the plating chunk by chunk as he pistol fired into the head of the huge beast.
Thankfully, this was the only Krogan, but the Vorcha were swarming on all sides, half a dozen with half that number in Varren, two jumping the Suns to try and get to Jacob and his blonde companion. Seeing this, Jacob created a lifting field that made them just hover in the air, giving Naruto the shots to end the Varren without much pain.
The third went in for a Blue Suns Turian, getting a surprise attack in and tearing at a leg viciously as its Vorcha master with a flamethrower started burning the cover the Suns were behind. It didn't take long for the Krogan to succumb to the constant firepower, bullets filling every orifice with deadly force until he finally just slumped into nothing but a pile of meat in metal coating.
Without hesitation, Naruto fired two shots in quick succession into the fiery tank of napalm the Vorcha was currently spewing, and it didn't take long for the rupture to turn volatile enough for the entire thing to blow, causing the barricade, a few Blue Suns, the Vorcha and his pet to all end up cooked in a fiery ball of death, one Blue Sun skidding into the very hall the trio found themselves. Practically punching the faceplate with her pistol, the Cerberus officer fired point-blank into the head of the downed Blue Sun gang member to confirm their death. "We're almost done!"
"Just a few more Suns, and two more Vorcha!" the dark-skinned soldier called as he pulled one Vorcha up and above the remaining Suns who were trying to get out to different cover.
With another shot to the dome, Naruto fired his last shot into the final Vorcha and both fell to their demise as his sniper hissed in overheating. "Just the Suns now!"
despite being disoriented the suns were quick to react firing their weapons in the direction they heard the shot. Naruto was quick to get to cover, though he might have needed to with the poor aim the remaining enemies had. "Really wishing I had my biotics right now."
"We'll sort it out later, just focus on what we can do now!" Miranda fired into the remaining fire from the three enemies left. "Any ideas?"
Seeing the huge replacement of enemies and guns still in the area from the corpses, there was an idea. "Remember Elysium?"
Jacob turned to the bone. "Reports were kind of scarce, but your sis managed to hold back a battalion almost single-handedly. Still don't know how though. Why? She told you?"
"You know it!" Getting on his Omni-Tool, he started the sequence. "Lawson, sending you the code! On my signal, wide range low-frequency pulse!" After getting it ready, he swiped it to the buxom woman. "Ready?" Seeing her nod, he did too. "Aim for the dead bodies!"
Getting ready, Miranda waited for her signal and got it when Naruto rose his hand up and took a step out of cover. Casting the frequency, both she and the blonde's signal took a moment before arriving at the dead bodies before activating like an airborne virus for electronics, the internal suit mechanics, and the gun's cores all suddenly started bursting in rapid and random explosions. The signal stopped within a second of activating, but the infected electronics all blew up until the entire area was covered in blood, guts, and charred walls and ground, causing the Blue Suns to start panicking.
"OPEN FIRE! CHARGE!" Running into the fray, Naruto got his pistol and ran for the first Blue Suns member to start trying to get away, tackling him to the ground and popping a double-tap to the back of the neck.
Joining him, Jacob pulled the partner to the downed gang member towards him and blew him into the sky with his Shotgun. Looking to Miranda, both men saw the final one just standstill before being lifted into the air, and then without warning slammed like he had fallen from orbit into the floor, crushing him dead in his armor. With the silence of the battle over, the three took stock before regrouping their lost ammo and moving forward.
"Clear!" Naruto sounded off as he and Jacob surveyed around them.
Lowering their guns Miranda huffed; "Well this is a workout."
"Nah," Jacob quipped; "This is just a normal Tuesday with Uzumaki."
"A normal Tuesday usually involves just coffee and music." The blond remarked back; "This should clear the way for the couple. Just hope they have a strong stomach."
Having read the reports of Elysium, Jacob could only look around. "This is less mild than the paperwork suggested from what Shepard did. She really did something like this?"
"She used that type of virus on mainly the weaponry for distractions, and in some cases enemy armor systems if she had to. Some of them were still alive when she sent it out." As they walked forward, seeing the signs for the clinic getting closer, the blonde explained best he could. "Though how we just did it was a concentrated blast from several corpses and weapons in a tightly compacted area and group, she only got off a single eruption every once in a while. Had to be tactical to survive that onslaught with no reinforcement. I always seem to be stuck with higher-profile scenarios, which kind of kept me from fully being a Corsair.
The other man nodded; "Yeah, we both known the Corsairs prefer less noise."
Ahead of the men, Miranda scanned the area; "Regardless of your good luck or bad luck you always pulled through."
"By the skin of my teeth... Till two years ago." Naruto grew quiet before finding a cement ramp way going down. Motioning for the others they followed as they followed the path for the professor.
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Thankfully after a bit of walking, they neared an open entrance with a neon sign above showing the universal symbol of a doctor. "We found it," Miranda muttered.
Heading down and into the first section of security, they found four high-grade shotgun-wielding mechs and a single operator with a rifle. "No funny business when you're in the clinic, and you won't have to face the mechs. Understand? Guns holstered at all times."
"Understood." With a nod to the others, the three of them did as asked and went inside, where a few people were sick, and others trying to take care of them. It was not that huge, but it was taking on several patients right in the lobby, and as they started towards the back, they started hearing what sounded like the main physician, along with several patients in the rooms being taken care of.
Said Physician was quite the vocal oddity. "Use Malanarin. Plenty on hand, almost as good. Causes cramping in Batarians, however. Ah, Supplement with Butemerol."
"Got it." One of the nurses came out, almost running face-first into painful nose injuries from bashing into a chest plate. "Whoa! Uh, sorry. We're stacked back here. Anything I can do for you?"
"We're here to see Mordin, is he the one who suggested the medicines just now?" The blonde asked, having caught the nurse before they ran into him, and helped him from falling.
"Uh, yes, Mordin Solus is just in the room right there. He's still busy trying to come up with a cure, though. If it's urgent, try not to take too much of his time. Thank you." With that, he ran off into the lobby.
"Hmmm, Cenozine is the catalyst, bonds to genetic markers. Hard to find. Expensive to mass-produce." A VERY short silence with a very audible inhale of breath. "Why not Heplacore?"
Coming around the corner to see, the team noticed a few humans, a couple of mechs, and one dead Turian patient. "Too unstable, inconsistent results! Demozane better option... No, no! Demozane is not an option, not an option, toxic to humans."
With the medics stood a single lone Salarian in a red and white medical armor, missing a horn with white and reddish skin and a scar on his cheek. "Professor Mordin Solus?" The Salarian glanced towards them.
"Humans. Don't recognize you from the area. Too well armed to be refugees, no mercenary insignia, quarantine still in effect." The professor went over to a terminal; "Care for something else?"
Jacob leaned to Miranda; "Did you catch all that?" Her answer was a small smirk; "Course you did."
What was surprising to Jacob, who had his eyes a little wide, was Naruto did as well. "We're here to recruit you for a very dangerous but crucial mission, but before that, we'll need to help you cure this plague, which I suspect you're close to getting done."
The rapid-fire questions began. "Mission? What mission? Interesting... No, first the plague. Cure the disease, then my work here is settled. Curious, who sent you?" Almost immediately, he began to try and piece the puzzle together, looking the trio over. "Uniform colors coordinated, though not the usual style of gangs in the area. Not Alliance, different colors, too well armed to be commandos sent by any public entity."
"Before you try to sus out the organization, maybe it's best to complete introduction." Interrupting the rather interestingly inquisitive Salarian. "I am Naruto Uzumaki, and these are my crew. Jacob, and Miranda." He pointed to each when introducing them.
The Salarian gave the blond a long look before activating his Omni-Tool and scanning the blond; "Hmm, hyper-advanced biocybernetics. Beyond anything I've seen. The only means too in resurrecting you, such an endeavor would be costly. At least over a Trillion credits worth..."
Slowly the blond turned to Miranda; "Did it cost that much?"
"Yes...Roughly"
"It's clear who sent you..." Taking a deep breath through his nose, he sent a glare their way for a moment, but it didn't seem for them but more for recognition. "Cerberus." Getting back to work, finally having his curiosity fulfilled, he started finding the final sequence as he spoke. "Only non-alliance group with humans that would know me specifically by name and where to find me. Unexpected."
Thankfully, the former trainee Corsair managed to catch enough to digest. "What's unexpected is a Salarian doctor on Omega knows about the group enough to make that assumption."
The dark-haired scientific member of the crew put a hand on her hip and looked at her partner. "You didn't read his file either."
"Salarian STG, the scars to prove he's seen a battlefield or two, you're slight sag to the hook you do have on your head still suggests you're getting on in years too." Knowing enough about Salarian biology, thanks to his mentor the Matriarch. "Probably high ranking, or was. If you're seemingly in retirement on Omega... Bad choice some would say. You'd know Cerberus by the smell, if they had a certain one to begin with."
Mordin gave a sideways glance; "Indeed you are correct. STG, high ranking, retired as you said. Chose Omega because many need the work of a healer. Those who have nowhere to go, too many enemies, or no trust for the citadel and their associates. Not everyone on this station is a degenerate. Many are just lost or outcasts of society unable to fit in anywhere."
True words were spoken... "So you came here since hardly anyone else would help around here."
"Correct," The Salarian kept working
Naruto leaned in; "Then we would like your help professor. And we will help however we can against this plague." He looked at Miranda; "what did you find?"
"Likely no more than the professor found," Miranda spoke up; "This plague isn't natural. Someone did engineer it." She typed on her Omni-Tool; "And whoever made it knows what they are doing."
Mordin nodded; "correct, and using Vorcha to administer the plague throughout the area."
"Great..." With a sigh, the blonde crossed his arms and shook his head. "So, we'll be here for a bit. The Collectors will have to wait, then."
That got the attention of the doctor. "Collectors? Interesting. Yes, has to be." Turning to them, Mordin came closer. "Collectors are only species with advanced tech capable of manufacturing this virus. Would make sense to test here, would make sense as well to not attack human genes. Which means... Yes!" He went right back to his table and started again.
"This guy is already making my head spin. How can either of you catch what he's saying? I'm missing every other word almost."
Turning to Jacob, the blonde shrugged. "He's not speaking in complete grammatically on paper sentences, probably why it's messing with you." Turning back though, he was confused by what was said. "You think the Collectors did this? They got this plague started? And why would it be good for them to test here, with a virus that doesn't attack humans? They are currently attacking humans by abducting colonies by the hundreds of thousands."
Mordin rubbed his chin; "Hmm, heard about that. Connect to this perhaps?" It was then red lights flares as an emergency siren blared. everyone then saw the fans of the vents came to stop; "No time for more question! Vorcha deactivated the ventilation systems, will kill hundreds!"
"Then you better get the cure doc. We'll go stop them from suffocating everyone in the district." As Naruto turned, Mordin stopped him. "You're needed here, Mordin."
"Wasn't asking to tag along." Letting go, he quickly went to his desk and crafted a vial, filling it with another liquid he found in the storage boxes nearby. "Was asking you to wait. Epiphany from discussion, knew what was missing. This is an airborne cure, replicates using plague's own viral code to reproduce. When you fix the airflow, add this to environmental control, will disperse and cure district."
Taking the thing, the leader of the group nodded and pocketed it in his hard protective ammo case. "Will do. If you can, could you send a scout out? I cleared the district out towards the Afterlife elevator. A couple with a lady expecting will be coming in, and there's a Batarian seriously needing to be taken care of until the cure can get to him."
"Will send who I can, risky though. One more thing, asking you to search as well. Number one assistant, Daniel. Left without permission into Vorcha territory looking for victims. Hasn't come back." Mordin looked hopeful, though he continued to eye them weirdly. Maybe it was his way of showing he was serious about the subject.
Jacob answered for the group, knowing enough to know the Salarian was asking for help finding a friend. "If he's nearby our route, we'll keep an eye out."
Getting back to work, Mordin started getting ready to help the people in the lobby or intensive care room next door. The trio started heading out. Though they did forget one thing, as they reached reception. "Is there a map of the area we can have? Trying to reach Environmental control."
The receptionist nodded, sending a map of the area to them. "Sure thing. It's out the other door there. Be careful and good luck."
Heading for the door, Naruto got ready to grab his rifle. "Let's go clean the area up, team."
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