Chapter 19: Problems
The trip to the Bahak system was giving Shepard a chance to relax a little and heal. James had taken it upon himself to keep her corralled and off of her feet as much as he could when Garrus wasn't around. She was willing to bet good money that the two had conspired together because whenever one wasn't around, the other surely was. Shepard couldn't help the stupid grin that crept up on her face when James got frustrated trying to teach her how to play a game he called Malilla. It was supposed to be a four player game but it was just the two of them in her cabin.
Kasumi and Lia had made their way to Shepard's cabin to see how Shepard liked her gift. Shepard had forgotten all about the little blue and white bag with everything that had happened that night. It didn't take Kasumi long to find it tucked away in a draw in Shepard's desk. She handed it to Shepard with a sly grin and told her that it was definitely appropriate to open in front of James. Shepard opened the bag and dug around until her hand hit something lacey. She pulled her hand back out of the bag leaving whatever it was tucked away inside before raising an eyebrow at Kasumi. Lia broke into a fit of giggles when the thief snatched the bag back and dug out the black lace nightie. James had whistled and suggested that Shepard try it on right away. Shepard rolled her eyes at the three of them and insisted that Kasumi put it away. James had convinced the two women to stay and play cards, insisting that the game was much easier to learn than Shepard was making it out to be.
Jack had even managed to find her way up to Shepard's cabin to check on her, although, of course, she refused to admit that was what she was doing. She brought with her several sketches of phoenixes for Shepard to look at. Shepard was amazed at Jack's drawing skills and together the two of them picked out their top three favorites. Jack left them with Shepard to make her final decision. James picked them up from the coffee table on his next check-in and asked what they were for. When Shepard told him they were tattoo concepts, he handed her one and insisted it was the right one. Shepard studied the image for long minutes, running her fingers over the flame-touched feathers of the reincarnated bird almost expecting to feel their soft touch, or the heat of the flames. She nodded her head; he was right. That was the one.
When Shepard failed to name the snake, which turned out to be a male, after the first day Garrus started calling it Spike and it just stuck. Shepard let him have the privilege of feeding Spike his first meal aboard the Normandy and they both watched in fascination as the snake stalked and then struck at its prey; its jaws crushing the skull of the white rat. Shepard cringed when blood trickled out of the rodent's nose and eyes.
That evening, Shepard was more than a little shocked when EDI informed her Grundan Krul was on his way to her cabin. James raised an eyebrow and Shepard shrugged. EDI let Grundan Krul in he made his way to the top of the stairs to watch her and James in silence before accepting Shepard's offer to sit down.
"Garrus send you to check on me?" Shepard asked.
"No, he just needed some space and I… thought we could talk," Grundan Krul said.
"Alright," Shepard said slowly. "James, you mind cutting out of here for a little bit?"
"You got it, Ídolo," James said gathering the cards up off of the coffee table and stuffing them back into their box before heading for the door.
Shepard turned to sit sideways on the couch so she could watch the batarian sitting a few feet away from her. Grundan Krul sat on the edge of the cushion, elbows resting on his knees. He ran idle fingers across the glass surface of the coffee table before speaking.
"I don't do well with communicating with others, but Archangel seemed to think that you needed to hear this from me," Grundan Krul said.
The hairs on the back of Shepard's neck started to stand on end. She had a sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach. Jane began to stir restlessly in the back of her mind.
Shepard finally filled the stretch of silence by asking, "Hear what from you?"
"Batarians, we aren't… we aren't close knit people. Family doesn't hold as great of a meaning to us as it does to humans," Grundan Krul said.
Shepard frowned trying to make sense of the batarian's train of thought. She waited quietly while he worked through what he wanted to say.
"I've never been a part of the Hegemony. Never on Khar'shan; I lied. I was born aboard a slaver vessel and raised by my father and his crew. My father killed my mother when she tried to take me and leave," Grundan Krul said.
"Slaver vessel…," Jane repeated.
Shepard wasn't sure what to say and she hated trite responses, especially in moments like these. She pulled at her lip with her teeth, tearing away bits of dry skin until she tasted blood.
"You said that your family died on Mindoir during a batarian slave raid," Grundan Krul said turning to look at Shepard.
"Oh gods…," Jane said.
She nodded slowly and said, "Yeah, I was sixteen when it happened…"
"Shepard, I was there. My father led that raid," Grundan Krul said.
"You son-of-a-bitch!" Shepard growled.
Biotics flared around Shepard and she was on her feet standing over the batarian before the thought to move even occurred to her. He didn't flinch away; he didn't move or speak at all. He only watched her with those emotionless black eyes of his. She growled and forced herself away from him. Shepard walked across the room to stand at the foot of her bed. She pushed the biotics down, shoving Jane and the other's rage away from her. She slid her Commander's mask back into place and forced herself to stand at parade rest.
"You helped to torture, kill, and enslave innocent people… my family and friends… and you… you came on to my ship… fought beside me?" Shepard asked.
"Kill him, he's supposed to be dead anyway!" Jane insisted.
Her hands ached to wrap themselves around his throat and strangle the life out of him. Her fingers itched to pick up her pistol and pull the trigger. Her stomach twisted into knots. Biotics flared up around Shepard again as she struggled to keep them in check. Grundan Krul's eyes tracked her movements, his face a tight mask of neutrality.
"I was fourteen. My father had been trying to groom me to take over. I wasn't interested in it, didn't want the job. He said it was because I was weak and beat me half to death more than once, as if that would change my mind," Grundan Krul said.
"Garrus will understand," Jane said.
The muscles along Shepard's jaw flexed as she clenched her teeth. Conflicting emotions swirled around her mind, echoing back to her from Jane and the others. Shepard had trouble thinking about the voice as just Jane after having been trapped inside her own mind and hearing the others – feeling the others so clearly.
"I saw… what they did to your people. I know what you endured. I watched it all from a distance, hidden away behind cargo crates. I ran away and hid like a coward in the chaos. My father and his crew were gone long before he realized I was missing," Grundan Krul said his words coming a little faster. "I spent weeks hiding in the shadows and walking among your dead until a scavenger ship arrived. I stowed away on that ship and wound up on Omega."
"He's lying. You know he's lying. Even if he's not, he did nothing to help. Nothing to stop people from being taken," Jane said.
Shepard watched as he stood up from the couch. They watched each other in silence from opposite ends of the room. Biotics danced and licked across the surface of her skin.
"What we're going to do in the Bahak System," Grundan Krul said.
"Has nothing to do with Mindoir," Shepard snapped.
Grundan Krul held up a hand and said, "I know. You've done everything you could to ensure that batarian lives were spared in this. I don't understand why. I saw what my people did to yours. I know the… the brutality of it all and yet you're still doing something for them that they would never do for humans."
Grundan Krul tilted his head to the left and watched her before turning to leave the room. Shepard watched him go in silence. He stopped at the top of the stairs and turned back to face her.
"If you want me off of the Normandy, I understand. I thought you should know, though that the one responsible for the death of your family is dead. I put the bullet between his eyes myself. Just ask Archangel," Grundan Krul said before walking out of her cabin.
Shepard dropped her hands to her sides before collapsing onto her bed, hiding her face in her hands as soon as the door closed behind him. She shook with rage; with relief. Her body trembled with the sorrow of mourning those long lost and the heartbreaking image of a fourteen year old batarian boy surrounded by bloated, rotting corpse to escape a man who killed his mother and beat him without mercy.
Shepard sat on the bed for a few minutes doing her best to calm her racing thoughts and filter through the emotions; trying to decide what it was that she really felt. Shepard stood and hurried out of the room, pushing the elevator call button before the cabin door could even hiss closed behind her. The elevator came and she took it down to the third deck where she made her way determinedly through the mess past the cryo pods and into the main battery.
"It wasn't his fault, he was just a kid," Shepard thought.
"He could have done something. Anything," Jane said.
"Maybe… but he doesn't deserve to die for that," Shepard thought.
"No, I suppose he doesn't," Jane said.
Shepard stopped in her tracks when she found Garrus and Altiria half stripped from their armor and nuzzling into each other's necks. Garrus glanced up calmly when the door opened but Altiria pulled away from Garrus with mandibles fluttering wildly as she snapped a salute. Shepard hadn't seen terror on enough dying turians to recognize the look on Altiria's face.
"Oh," Jane said.
"Oh, sorry. I was looking for Grundan Krul. Did he come back here? Do you know where he went?" Shepard asked.
Garrus stepped away from Altiria to cup Shepard's elbow.
"No, Shepard what's wrong? Did he… did you two finally talk?" Garrus asked.
Shepard raked a hand through her hair and said, "Yeah, and I could have handled it a lot better. 'Course I could have handled it a lot worse. Anyway, I need to find him."
EDI's console sprang to life, she spoke in a soft voice, "Mr. Grundan Krul is in the hangar, Shepard."
"Thanks, EDI," Shepard said.
"You're welcome, Shepard," EDI said.
"Shepard, are you sure you're ready to talk to him? I can go instead," Garrus said.
"No, I'm good. I've got this," Shepard said forcing a smile she didn't feel at the moment on her face.
She rose up on her tip toes to kiss Garrus' mandible before gently pushing him away.
"You stay here and keep that pretty turian over there company," Shepard said.
Garrus' mandibles fluttered before he pressed his forehead into Shepards and turned back to Altiria. Altiria was still watching Shepard with wide eyes, frozen in salute.
"As you were, Altiria," Shepard said.
"Yes – yes ma'am," Altiria said.
Shepard stepped out of the main battery and as the door closed behind her she heard Altiria comment that she thought humans were more territorial over their mates. Shepard made her way to the hangar. It didn't take her long to find Grundan Krul sitting on some crates starring at the Cerberus logo on one of the shuttles. His head turned to watch Shepard as she approached and she caught only a glimpse of the pain he was hiding before his features slipped back into a mask of neutrality.
His eyes followed her as she came to sit down on the crate next to him. She didn't speak right away so he turned his attention back to the Cerberus logo. Shepard let her eyes rest on the orange and black diamond pattern as well. She took a deep breath and leaned forward on the crate resting her elbows on her knees.
"What happened? How'd he end up with your bullet between his eyes?" Shepard asked quietly.
Grundan Krul was quiet for so long that Shepard was starting to think he wasn't going to answer. When he did, he spoke about the incident as calmly as if he were making an official debrief.
"They were taking a bit of shore leave on Omega. Enjoying the sights in Afterlife. He recognized me when he found me in the markets. I recognized him, too, of course but I didn't think he'd seen me. I left the markets and found myself surrounded by him and four of his men. He wasn't expecting me to fight back, but I wasn't a child anymore," Grundan Krul said glancing at Shepard.
"Still, they had me dead to rights… until they started dropping like flies around me. I didn't know where the shots were coming from, but by that point I didn't care. I saw my chance and grabbed my gun off the ground," Grundan Krul said. "I half expected him to drop like the others before I could pull the trigger but he didn't. He laughed and told me I was too much of a coward to pull the trigger. Told me I was no son of his. I swear he looked proud for just a second before his body hit the floor."
Jane had stilled herself and was listening intently as Grundan Krul told the story of how he came to kill his father. The man responsible for the death of Dawn's family, and the families of so many of the other Shepards. Shepard let out a slow breath and turned back to stare at the shuttle. Grundan Krul did the same.
"Garrus?" Shepard asked.
"Yeah, it was Archangel. He came sauntering down the alley a minute later with Mierin, Butler, and Weaver," Grundan Krul said.
Shepard nodded and looked down at the floor between her knees.
"I could have handled that better, back there," Shepard said.
"You didn't kill me so I'd say you handled it fine," Grundan Krul said.
Shepard snorted and said, "I was tempted."
"I know," Grundan Krul said.
Shepard hopped down from the crate and turned to face Grundan Krul. She held a hand out to him.
"We good?" Shepard asked.
Grundan Krul shook Shepard's hand and said, "Yeah, we're good."
Shepard left the batarian to his thoughts and made her way out of the hangar. Instead of taking the elevator up to her cabin she made her way to the cockpit to slide into the seat next to Joker. Without asking, Joker reached over and pushed a button on his console and the shutters slid closed blocking the stars from sight.
"I have to admit, Shepard, it was kind of nice to see someone limping around worse than I do even if it didn't last long," Joker said.
Shepard snorted and said, "Sorry to disappoint."
"Yeah. We'll be in the Bahak System in a few hours. You really going to blow up a relay?" Joker asked.
"Unless I magically find some other option," Shepard said.
"There is no other option," Jane said.
"Awesome. Well, at least it'll give me a good chance to put my baby to real use pulling our asses out of there before we explode, too," Joker said.
"If I do my job right, we'll have plenty of time," Shepard said.
"You take so much of the fun out of this for me," Joker said.
Shepard smirked and said, "Oh but it makes it so much more fun for me."
Joker made a face at her before turning his attention back to the console.
"These people down there, they're all indoctrinated. As soon as they figure out what I'm doing, they're going to fight against it. I don't want to put the Normandy at risk for no reason so you're going to hold back by the relay," Shepard said.
"Yeah, yeah. So this is real, then? The reapers are trying to come through that relay?" Joker asked.
"Yeah. This will only delay them. Things are going to get real ugly before this is over," Shepard said.
"Great," Joker said.
They fell into a comfortable silence as Shepard watched Joker work his magic, keeping this ship on course. After a while, she left him with a pat on his shoulder and made her way to her cabin to pass the time responding to messages and filling out reports. When EDI told her they had arrived at the Bahak System. Shepard had EDI alert the Council Four.
"Commander, sorry to bother you but someone named Admiral Hackett is requesting to speak with you on vid-comm and he says that it's urgent," Kelly's voice broke through Shepard's cabin as she got her armor into place.
"Patch him though, Kelly," Shepard said and moved over to turn on the screen at the back of her model ship display.
Admiral Hackett's face appeared. Shepard could tell right away that he was agitated. The scars on his face had taken on a red hue in his distress. She saluted the screen and waited for him to speak.
"Shepard, I just learned that you are going to the Bahak System. The Council wouldn't give me the details of your mission but I've heard the reports of a terrorist threat. Shepard, we have deep cover operatives there. Dr. Amanda Kenson is in a batarian prison in the Bahak System. They're holding her on charges of terrorism. Shepard, I've known Dr. Kenson for a long time. I don't know what's going on with all of this, but she can't be responsible. I need you to get her out of there," Hackett said.
"We can't go after Kenson with the Council Four with us. If we leave now, they're going to want to know where you went and why. This will stain their reports to the Council. Just leave her, she'd only try to indoctrinate us anyway," Jane said.
"Admiral, sir, the Council has placed four soldiers with me for this mission. There is nothing that I can do here that won't be reported right back to the Council. Are you sure the prison wasn't evacuated with the rest of the system?" Shepard asked.
"I'm positive, Commander. The Council would never approve of my co-opting you for this," Hackett said rubbing a hand over his face.
"Sir, there is one option," Shepard said.
"You can't be serious? It'll look just as bad if you send out a second team, Dawn," Jane said.
"They'll go after we're gone. Garrus is good enough to make sure they aren't seen and no one on from Cerberus is going to be in any rush to tell the Council Four anything," Shepard thought.
"What do you have in mind, Shepard?" Hackett asked a spark of hope flickering across his face.
"After I take a shuttle with the Council Four, I can privately instruct others from my crew to make a rescue attempt for Dr. Kenson," Shepard said.
Shepard watched as Admiral Hackett ran a hand over his face once more and sighed.
"You trust them to be discreet? If they see an armed team moving in, they'll kill her. That is nothing to say of the potential political backlash if word of this gets out," Hackett said.
"I do sir," Shepard said.
"Alright. I'll trust your judgement, Shepard. Thank you," Hackett said.
"For your sake, I hope you're right," Jane said.
"Thank you, sir," Shepard said.
"Hackett out," the admiral said before the screen went dark.
"EDI tell Garrus to get to my cabin on the double," Shepard said.
"At once, Shepard," EDI said.
Shepard paced the floor in front of her desk waiting for Garrus. Two minutes later the turian walked in; the look on Shepard's face had him studying her intently with his mandibles pulled in tight against his face.
"There's a slight problem and I don't have time to brief you on the details. Chose a team, no more than two and they need to be able to move quiet and follow your orders. Take a shuttle and go to these coordinates as soon as I've got the Council Four off the ship," Shepard said sending him the coordinates Hackett forwarded to her console.
"It's a batarian prison. You will go in as quiet as you can, find the Alliance operative Dr. Amanda Kenson and extract her with as little fanfare as possible. Getting in will be easier than getting out. She is indoctrinated, but will work with you to get out of the prison. Don't let her know that you know. Once you are clear, restrain her well and bring her back to the Normandy. Miranda can help you figure out where to keep her. The Council's deactivation team doesn't see you come or go. The Council Four never sees her, never hears her, never hear about her. Got it?" Shepard asked.
"If she's indoctrinated why are we saving her?" Garrus asked.
"See, he gets it. Why don't you?" Jane asked.
"She has valuable intel on the invasion… and Hackett needs to see that she's indoctrinated for himself," Shepard said. "She's Alliance, Garrus, even if her head isn't on straight so please try to treat her as kindly as you can but don't trust her. You need to be out of there before the shit hits the fan on my end."
"I've got this, Shepard," Garrus said.
"Shepard, we're getting a docking request from the Council's deactivation team," Joker's voice came over the comm.
"Permission granted," Shepard said. "EDI tell the Council Four to meet me in the comm room."
Shepard started to move past Garrus when he stopped her and pressed his mouth to hers. She made her way down to the CIC to meet the team of asari and turians flanking the asari captain boarding her ship. Shepard saluted the asari who introduced herself as Captain T'Vede before leading her to the comm room. The Council Four were already waiting, gathered around the table.
"Commander, thank you for having me aboard. I'm glad you've arrived, we've had some problems," T'Vede said.
"What a surprise," Jane said.
"What problems? Are you unable to deactivate the relay?" Shepard asked.
"No, everything is in order with the relay. As soon as your team is clear, we will finalize the process and ride the final wave out of the system," T'Vede said.
"Final wave?" Shepard asked.
"When a relay is deactivated, it sends out a final pulse to release some of the energy it already has built up before the rings spin down and it stops generating a mass effect," T'Vede said.
"OK, so what's the problem?" Shepard asked.
"We have had small waves of resistance. Our ships have come under attack and there have been sabotage attempts to prevent the relay from being shut down," T'Vede said.
"Batarians?" Shepard asked.
"In part, but that was to be expected. We prepared for that, we were not prepared for the human infiltrators we found meddling with the relay," T'Vede said.
"Humans…," Shepard repeated.
"Kenson's team. That's good though, right? More proof that they're all bat shit crazy and trying to let the reapers through," Jane said.
"Every few hours more come in from that asteroid. We were given strict orders to defend ourselves and the relay as necessary until you gave us the final order, but to otherwise keep our distance. They've been trying to sneak past our defenses in shuttles. Most of them flee when we power up the guns but once a group did get past us, they were shot on sight when they were found attempting to sabotage the deactivation process," T'Vede said.
Shepard pinched the bridge of her nose and thanked T'Vede for the intel. She told her to keep doing as they have been. Shepard was taking her team down right away and would notify her when they were ready to leave. T'Vede nodded and led her team back through the Normandy and to her own ship before making her way to the hangar.
"Assume that these people are indoctrinated. Do not wander off; do not leave your weapons behind under any circumstances. Keep your eyes and ears open," Shepard said.
Shepard didn't wait for the chorus of 'yes ma'am' and salutes before opening the shuttle door and ushering them inside. She banged her fist on the shuttle wall once the doors were closed giving the Cerberus shuttle pilot the all clear to issue the command to open the hangar doors.
"If they're indoctrinated, will they have something like on Fehl Prime?" James asked.
"Most likely," Shepard said.
"Object Rho is far bigger. Far more dangerous than the artifact on Fehl Prime," Jane said.
Kirrahe opened his omni-tool and ran his hands over the screen. The screen morphed into an image of the reaper artifact that they found on Fehl Prime. He leaned forward in his seat so that it could be clearly seen by the others in the shuttle.
"This is an image of the reaper artifact that was discovered on Fehl Prime. Prolonged exposure to such an artifact causes indoctrination. The people who were in the research facility with this artifact were insane. They were performing experiments on themselves and abducted colonists," Shepard said.
"Experiments doesn't quite cover it, Commander," James said taking on a more formal tone in light of the conversation and active mission.
"What do you mean?" Norisne asked leaning towards Kirrahe to study the image.
James half shrugged before he said, "It was loco; they were sticking parts ripped right out of husks and collectors into themselves. They had these rooms with dead people and husks piled up, rotting and stinking up the place and they just continued to work around it like it was nothing. They had cells set up in the back filled with people… Dios, children even, right next to a room with this thing in it."
"They were doing it to themselves?" Norisne asked glancing at James.
James nodded and said, "Yeah. Like I said, completely loco. And they fought like rabid animals to keep us out. Kept saying they were going to save humanity."
"Is this what we are to expect on the asteroid, ma'am?" Altiria asked.
"No, just a lot of crazy people with guns," Jane said.
Shepard turned her attention to the turian and said, "To some extent, yes. We don't have any reason to think that they have husks or collectors down there experimenting on themselves but when challenged, you can expect them to behave much the same way."
"Orders on dealing with hostiles, ma'am?" Altiria asked.
"If things get violent, defend yourself and our team. When you shoot, shoot to kill because they will not show you mercy," Shepard said.
"Yes, ma'am," Altiria said.
"And if someone surrenders?" Norisne asked.
"No one will surrender," Jane said.
"I doubt that will happen, but in the event, secure the prisoner for transport," Shepard said.
"If you will allow," Kirrahe said before drawing a dart gun to show Shepard, "I recommend knocking them out before securing them."
Shepard nodded her head and said, "Sounds good."
"Landing in five, Commander," the Cerberus pilot's voice came over the comm.
"Thanks," Shepard said.
"Alright, be alert, stick together, and if you see anything unusual don't touch it," Shepard said.
People were gathering out on the landing platform as Shepard's shuttle approached. She told the pilot to retreat to another location and wait for her to call him back. He lowered the shuttle to hover a couple of feet above the ground while Shepard and the Council Four jumped out. The shuttle rose up and took off as Shepard led her team towards the waiting researchers.
"Who are you? What are you doing here?" a man in a lab coat asked Shepard.
"Council Spectre Commander Shepard. This system has been evacuated. Why are you here?" Shepard asked for the benefit of the Council Four.
"Shepard…," the man said his eyebrows twitching in surprise. "We can't leave. Not until the project is complete."
"What project?" Shepard asked.
The man looked back over his shoulders where the small group gathered behind him whispered in excitement amongst themselves. He turned back to look at Shepard and nodded.
"Shepard, yes. You'll understand. I'll show you. Come," the man said.
Shepard glanced at the Council Four who gripped their weapons close but kept them aimed at the ground. Shepard followed the man in the lab coat as the other researchers moved aside to let her and her team past. He led them through the shuttle bay and Shepard was uncomfortably aware that the other researchers were moving behind her team, following them inside. Her eyes moved upwards to take in the giant countdown clock looming over the facility's entrance.
"Three days, twelve hours, twenty-five minutes, and twenty-eight seconds. You've gotten here early," Jane said.
"Commander, we have found proof that the reaper invasion is far closer than expected," the man said.
"What's your proof, Mr…," Shepard asked.
"Oh forgive me, how rude, of course. My name is Dr. Vincent Martinez. I'm afraid I'm filling in for our lead researcher, Dr. Amanda Kenson. She has been… unavailable for a couple of days. Anyway, we found something of great importance on the asteroid," Dr. Martinez said.
Shepard continued to follow him into the facility, her eyes moved around noting the locked door to her right. Dr. Martinez moved down the hall to the left, the small group of researchers helped herd her team forward. The door at the end of the hall glowed green, indicating it was the only unlocked door in the area. They were leading her to the reaper artifact just as before.
"You've got to make him talk before you get to that artifact. They need to hear this from one of them," Jane said.
"So what is it that you've found, Dr. Martinez?" Shepard asked.
The middle-aged man stopped in front of the door at the end of the hall and turned to face Shepard.
"We discovered a reaper artifact; we're calling it Object Rho. The artifact has been emitting a pulse that has slowly been counting down the time to the reaper invasion," Dr. Martinez said.
Dr. Martinez turned and opened the door before continuing, "I assume you saw the countdown above the entrance? When that clock hits zero, the reapers will invade through the Alpha Relay if we don't stop them."
"Dr. Martinez, are you aware that exposure to a reaper artifact can cause indoctrination?" Shepard asked.
"Oh yes, of course. We've been extremely careful, of course," Dr. Martinez said.
He led them on through the next room and to the elevator. James gave her a questioning look and Shepard nodded her head. They stepped inside the elevator with Dr. Martinez. Norsine shared a wary look with James while Altiria kept her attention straight ahead. Kirrahe signaled to Shepard that he was ready on her command. Shepard signaled back to hold fire. She needed them to see everything this place had to offer, not just to be able to sufficiently convince the Council but to get whatever information they could since she never had the chance before… and to buy Garrus more time.
"Pardon me, doctor, but how can you be sure that this pulse is counting down to a reaper invasion?" Shepard asked.
"The visions, of course," Dr. Martinez said as if it were really that simple. "That is why we've made plans to destroy the relay. We've managed to rig the asteroid so that it can be propelled into the Alpha Relay. It's just waiting for activation," Dr. Martinez said.
Shepard's team adjusted their grips on their weapons and shared looks between one another.
"Dr. Martinez, why is your team attempting to sabotage the Council's attempts to shut down the relay?" Shepard asked.
"Here, it's just through here. Once you see it, you'll understand everything," Dr. Martinez said as they stepped off the elevator and he led them to a door.
It was the room Shepard knew housed Object Rho. Dr. Martinez set to work opening the door with his omni-tool.
"Dr. Martinez, why is your team attempting to sabotage the Council's attempts to shut down the Alpha Relay?" Shepard asked again using her hand to signal her team to be ready.
The hall held a few other researches and armed guards. Some looked on curiously while others conversed quietly. At least the others hadn't followed them down on the elevator. The door slid open and Dr. Martinez gesture towards the reaper artifact sitting squarely in the middle of the room. Black metallic pieces rose towards the ceiling, cupped together like a lotus with swirling blue light and black, wispy tendrils of something altogether alien and wrong licking out around the metal.
"Dios is that…," James said.
"What in the name of the goddess is that thing?" Norsine asked.
"That ladies and gentlemen is a very large, very much unshielded reaper artifact. We will not be going in there," Shepard said.
"But you must. You must see the visions. You must understand what is to come so that you can understand why we must let it happen!" Dr. Martinez said.
"Just to be clear, you want me to go in there with a reaper artifact so that I can get visions of an imminent reaper invasions so that I will understand why we should not stop the reaper invasion?" Shepard asked.
James and the rest of the Council Four shifted, raising their guns slightly.
"Yes, exactly. You will see why this is necessary. The reapers can't be –," Dr. Martinez said.
"I'm afraid I can't allow that to happen, Dr. Martinez. Your team has clearly become indoctrinated by the artifact. I must insist that you turn this project and all the information that you have over to me at once," Shepard said.
"They're coming, Shepard! They're coming and you have been promised a reprieve if only you'll listen. Go, go inside. Let them show you. You'll see this is the only –," Dr. Martinez said.
Shepard cut him off by punching him in the nose. Dr. Martinez stumbled back, blood pouring from his nose as Shepard drew her pistol and leveled it at the doctor. James and Altiria turned to point their guns at the men standing near the elevator while Norsine and Kirrahe turned theirs on the men standing at the other end of the hall.
"This is your last chance. Surrender and you will not be harmed," Shepard said.
"Great showmanship. You know damn well they aren't going to surrender," Jane said.
Dr. Martinez snarled and launched himself at Shepard. She pulled the trigger on her pistol twice, catching the doctor in the chest and he fell to the ground. The other researchers fled while the guards drew their weapons and began firing on Shepard and her team. Norsine sent a Shockwave down the hall, knocking them on their asses before Kirrahe set them on fire with an Incinerate. James and Altiria opened fire on the ones by the elevator. As soon as they were down more were piling in through the door at the other end of the hall.
"Uhhh, Shepard, we have a problem," James said pulling Shepard's attention to the artifact.
Armed men were making their way around the artifact toward Shepard and her team but James was clearly more concerned with the black tendrils that were pushing themselves out past the artifact, twisting through the air and coming straight for her and her team.
"The others won't be able to resist, you've got to get them out of here!" Jane yelled.
"Down the hall! Move! Move!" Shepard yelled.
"Do not resist. Give yourself over and be spared," the ominous voice resonated from Object Rho.
"Spirits," Altiria said.
Shepard and James forced their way through the wall of guards spilling out of the door at the end of the hall while the others defended their flank. They were getting hit hard, but they held it together long enough to push into the next room and lock the door behind them. Shepard ordered her team into cover as they continued to fight off the guards who threw themselves at Shepard's team relentlessly. Kirrahe kept the door locked thwarting the attempts of the guards on the other side to make their way in. Norsine used her Singularity to tie up as many of the guards as she could, making them easy targets for the rest. Whenever they got too close, Shepard used her Shockwave to push them back again. James filled the air with a spray of bullets while Altiria took her time to aim before each pull of the trigger. The turian was well trained and damned effective, everything Shepard expected from the turian military.
They pushed the guards back and advanced further into the room, sticking to cover as much as they could until the flow of new guards slowed to a trickle and the corpses littered the floor. Shepard moved up to the door and pressed her back to the wall before peering into the next area. It led into another hall. She was coming in from a different area and was having trouble matching up Jane's memories to her current location. Shepard waved Altiria forward. The turian jogged down the hall, trusting Shepard to provide covering fire as needed. She stopped at the first door and hacked her way in.
"Clear," Altiria called back over her shoulder before moving to the next door.
Shepard waved Norisne forward, signaling her to move to the room Altiria already cleared and hold that position. Altiria called out the all clear for the next room and Shepard waved James forward. Altiria moved to the next door as Shepard and Kirrahe made their way down the hall after her. Shepard pressed her back against the wall next to the last door with Altiria on the other side. Kirrahe took cover behind a support beam. Shepard nodded and Altiria hacked her way through the final door. It opened up into another hall already filled with guards taking cover behind crates staggered through the hall.
Shepard and Altiria open fired on the guards and Shepard waved to Kirrahe who moved to her position to wait for her signal. As soon as there was a pause in the fire from the hall, Shepard signaled to Kirrahe who ducked low and ran into the hall to take cover behind a crate. They repeated this for the others until all of her crew had pushed into the hall and taken ground from the guards. The few remaining guards began to panic and retreated back down the hall into the next room, closing the door behind them.
"EDI, can you read me?" Shepard spoke into her mic.
"Yes, Shepard," EDI's voice came through.
"EDI, I need you to copy whatever you can from the terminals in this place," Shepard said.
"At once, Shepard," EDI said.
Shepard pushed forward and gave the signal for Altiria to open the door. The guards were set up directly across from the door, tucked behind crates and protected on one side by a metal support that angled down from the ceiling. More filled the room to the left. Shepard thought she recognized the room. A console formed a horseshoe in the center and she could see security monitors and video logs paused on the screens. Shepard activated her biotic Charge and slammed into one of the guards across from the door. When a second guard turned to fire on her, he was hit with three shots from her team before dropping to the ground. Shepard finished off the first guard and pressed her back to the support beam before firing at the guards on the other side of the console. Kirrahe made his way to her side when there was an opening, switching between Incinerate and pistol as he went.
"Get to that console when you have an opening and defend it. If the four of you are going to be able to speak in my favor, you need to see whatever information they have here," Shepard said over the comm.
"Easy enough," Kirrahe said from beside her before using a Cryo Blast to snap freeze a guard.
James sprayed the frozen guard with his assault rifle, shattering him completely. Altiria crouched down low behind a crate and made her way to the edge. Shepard and Norsine provided the turian with cover fire while she bolted to the next crate. Altiria was determined to fulfill Shepard's orders and protect that console. Norsine threw up a Singularity next to the console on the right, tripping up two guards and making four others back away from the console. James and Kirrahe fired at the guards suspended midair by the glowing blue orb. Altiria ran for the console, getting tagged by a guard twice before she dropped to her side and slid feet first behind the horseshoe cover. It reminded Shepard of that old game they still played on Earth.
"Shields are down," Altiria said.
Altiria stayed down long enough for her shields to recover before popping out of cover and returning fire. Shepard didn't like her being out there alone, stranded on an island surrounded by enemies no matter how good the turian was. She signaled to Kirrahe and he nodded before making his way to the nearest crate and inching his way towards Altiria's location. James peppered the air above the console with bullets discouraging interlopers.
"Vega, cover me, I'm pushing forward. Norsine, get to that console once they're on me," Shepard ordered.
She didn't wait for confirmation before activating her biotic Charge, angling herself past the console to slam into the nearest guard. There wasn't much cover on this side of the room, and the door next to her opened up letting in a few more guards. One of them exploded a few feet away from her as Kirrahe used and Incinerate on the pyro tank the guard had strapped to her back. Shepard punched an engineer in the face before shooting him in the chest. Another was on her before she could turn around and she elbowed him in the face. She heard the rapid fire rapport of James' assault rifle tearing through the shields of those advancing on her location.
"He wants her alive," one of the guards said. "Grab her! Grab her!"
She caught a glimpse of James charging forward as she turned to shoot another guard in the head. His helmet deflected the bullet but it rang his bell enough to make him stop in his tracks. Shepard wrapped him up in a Reave before turning to put a bullet in the breastplate of a guard creeping up on her left. She was taking shots but so far her shields had held. Kirrahe set the guard on fire and he immediately began to flail around trying to put out the flames that spread up along his left side. Shepard caught a glimpse of a few more guards being pulled up into a Singularity courtesy of Norsine. Shepard was hit twice, once in the chest and once in her still tender shoulder. They didn't make it through her armor but they dropped her shields.
"Lost shields," Shepard said.
"On your six, moving up on your three," James said from behind her.
Shepard turned to her left and felt James move past her. She completed the turn and he pressed his back to hers. She let the bear of a man provide her a source of cover while she waited for her shields to recharge. She glanced to her left and saw Norsine pop her head out of cover and throw out another Singularity. Altiria took aim at the floating guards and filled them with holes. James raged at her back, filling the area in front of them with bullets keeping the guards back from Shepard. Her shields were up and Shepard turned out away from James to join back in the fight.
When finally the guards in the room were all down, Shepard moved to the other side of the door and hit the controls. James continued to fire out into the next hall until the doors slid shut. Kirrahe vaulted over the console and moved to the door, his omni-tool already opened he jammed the door's signal buying them some time.
"Go, see what you can find on that console," Shepard ordered.
James hesitated next to Shepard, not wanting to leave her to defend the door on her own.
"Commander, they were trying to take you," James said in a hushed tone.
"That's an order, Vega," Shepard said.
James frowned but ran back to the console and around the far side. He kept his eye on the door as Kirrahe started pulling open files and playing video logs. A male voice filled the air speaking about how he didn't understand why he ever thought the dreams he'd been having could be nightmares.
"I see it now. The reapers aren't coming to destroy us, they're coming to save us!" the voice said.
That log ended and Kirrahe started another, it was one of Kenson's. She spoke about making a terrible mistake with the project. Shepard kept her eye on the doors, her gaze moving from one to the other at the opposite side of the room. When the Council Four were finished at that console they signaled Shepard that they were ready and took cover. Kirrahe moved to the door across from Shepard and unlocked it, opening it when she gave him the go ahead. A heartbeat later and the sound of gunfire filled the room once more.
They pushed their way down the hall, leaving a trail of bodies behind them. They made their way through the facility stopping at every central hub they came across so her team could review the files. Shepard's shoulder and thigh were starting to ache by the third central hub. Norsine was starting to show signs of exhaustion from using her biotics so much but the others still seemed to be holding up.
"Interesting," Kirrahe said.
Shepard turned her head to take in the salarian as he stood over a console. A holographic projection hovered above the console of the plans for Kenson's project to use the asteroid as a weapon.
"What did you find?" Shepard asked.
"Detailed analysis of the pulse emitted by the artifact. I've checked the equations, they seem to be correct. The artifact is counting down to something," Kirrahe said.
"Yeah, a reaper invasion," James said.
"That seems to be what these people believed. Yet to find clear evidence, other than logs reporting visions of the invasion," Kirrahe said.
"Of course the salarian needs more proof," Jane said.
"Then he'll get it," Shepard thought.
The rest of the Council Four gathered around Kirrahe to look over the specs. James shook his head and turned back to Shepard.
"Sorry, Commander, all those numbers are beyond me. Hey, whose idea do you think it was to add letters to math? Like it wasn't complicated enough already?" James asked.
Shepard smirked and turned back to the door.
"Humans first began using algebraic equations in –," Kirrahe began.
"We don't need a history lesson, Kirrahe," Norsine said cutting him off. "Ready when you are, Shepard."
Kirrahe harrumphed but let it go, moving to disengage the door for Shepard instead. They were encountering less and less armed resistance and more and more crazed researchers desperate to protect the relay from Shepard's team. They had passed the med bay Shepard remembered waking up in the other times, and fighting her way out of it by hijacking a LOKI mech. Firmly reoriented, she was able to guide her team more easily to where they needed to be. They stopped at several more central hubs to review the logs and by the time they reached the engine control room the grim faces on the Council Four told Shepard that they had seen enough but they started opening logs anyway.
Altiria found a security feed log and pressed play. Shepard glanced over the turian's shoulder when she recognized the grating voice from thousands of nightmares. The video showed Dr. Amanda Kenson standing in front of Object Rho where a projection of Harbinger hung in the air.
"The cycle must continue," Harbinger said.
"Yes, yes I see that now. What do you want me to do?" Kenson asked looking up at the reaper with awe written all over her face.
"Goddess… it's just like Sovereign," Norsine said.
"You must stop this project of yours. The cycle cannot be stopped, destroying the relay will only delay the inevitable," Harbinger said.
"I – I can't… the other researchers will never allow it. They won't understand," Kenson said.
"They are mine as you are mine. They will not stand in your way," Harbinger said.
"Yes, of course. I'll stop the project, the relay won't be destroyed," Kenson said.
The image of Harbinger flickered out of existence and Kenson was left staring at empty space. The video feed cut off there.
"If you have any doubts, now is your last chance to speak up," Shepard said.
The countdown clock above the engine controls showed Shepard they had been on the base for nearly four hours already. She didn't know if Garrus had made it back to the ship with Kenson yet or not, but she couldn't delay this any longer. She looked into the eyes of each of the Council Four and saw only resoluteness staring back at her as they each nodded their heads. Shepard approached the engine controls and the console sprang to life in front of her.
"Welcome to project control," a feminine VI said.
"Activate the project," Shepard ordered.
"Warning, activating the project will result in an estimated three hundred and five thousand casualties," the VI said as the screen calculated the actual number of 304,942. "Do you wish to continue?"
"I thought the system was evacuated?" James asked.
"Just the batarian prison and this base. Far fewer lives lost even if the relay does completely destroy the system. Not that we'll know anytime soon," Jane said.
"It was. Simple VI, it's referencing the last known population. It's data is outdated," Kirrahe said.
Shepard didn't hesitate, she touched the center of the console where a series of red lights formed a circle. The lights turned green and began to spin. She felt the thrusters kick on and stumbled back a step.
"Project activation in progress. Warning: Collision with mass relay is imminent. Begin evacuation procedures," the VI said.
Shepard stood back and pointed her gun at the console.
"Shepard, what are you doing?" Kirrahe asked her.
"Why, it's never happened before?" Jane asked.
"Yeah, and I've changed enough here that it would be just my luck," Shepard thought.
"Making sure no one comes in behind us and shuts this thing off," Shepard said.
Kirrahe made a tsking sound and Shepard was pretty sure he mumbled something about foolish humans under his breath as he pushed past her and waved his omni-tool over the console. Shepard watched as he ran his fingers over the screen and pushed a few other buttons on the console.
"Shooting it could cause it to shut down. No one will have time to hack through this," Kirrahe said.
"That works, too," Shepard said with a shrug. "Let's go."
"Shepard, wait. What's that guy doing?" Norisne said.
Shepard followed the asari's finger to where she was pointing at a security feed next to the engine controls. A researcher was tearing through the halls, looking back over his shoulder and talking to someone who wasn't there. Kirrahe moved to the console and used it to trace the man's location.
"He's headed to the reactor core," Kirrahe said.
"Damn it. Alright, let's move. We have to stop him," Shepard said.
Shepard had hoped that with Kenson away from the base that they wouldn't have to deal with this crap. With the VI warning of an imminent collision, those who still had even the smallest control of themselves were rushing to the hangar to flee the asteroid. Those that were completely under the reaper's control were throwing themselves at Shepard and her team as they forced their way through to the reactor core.
"Shepard, we've got a problem," Joker's voice broke through the comm.
"Perfect," Shepard grumbled.
"We've got a batarian prison ship moving in towards our location, fast, with guns powered up," Joker said.
"Alright, they might just be trying to evacuate last minute. Hold fire to give them the opportunity to get to the relay. If they don't head right for that relay, fire at will. Defend the deactivation team," Shepard said.
"Aye, aye, Commander," Joker said.
Shepard advanced into the reactor core module. The man they saw running through the halls on the security feed bolted when he saw Shepard and her team. Shepard knocked him down with a Shockwave before grabbing him by the collar of his coat. The man struggled, clawing at her gauntlets as he tried to free himself.
"What did you do?" Shepard asked.
It was mentally exhausting keeping track of what she wasn't supposed to know in order to keep it hidden away from the Council Four. He didn't answer her, only continued to claw at her hands and growl his frustrations.
She shook him and asked again, "What did you do?"
"I've set the reactor to meltdown. You can't do this. The reapers have to come!" the man yelled, spittle flying from his mouth.
The man went slack in her hands and she saw a small feathered dart protruding from his neck. She turned to see Kirrahe putting his dart gun away. Shepard handed the man off to James who pulled him up to hang limply over his shoulder. Altiria produced a short length of metal cord and wrapped it around the man's wrists before waving her omni-tool over the cord which fused itself together at her command.
"Elevator there should take us to cooling controls," Kirrahe said.
Shepard nodded and made her way to the elevator. They took the elevator up to the next floor where a few guards still lingered. While Shepard, Altiria, and Norsine fought off the guards, James defended his prisoner and Kirrahe made his way to the cooling rod. He slammed the cooling rod back into place and waved his omni-tool over the station.
"Commander, the batarian ship is through the relay. They fired a couple of shots and then turned tail. The Normandy is clear. Garrus wants to know, what's your twenty?" Joker said.
"We are re-stabilizing the reactor core and then getting the hell off of this rock," Shepard said.
Relief lightened her body; Garrus had made it back to the Normandy. She pushed through the rest of the reactor core with renewed vigor. They had to fight through more guards and hop around from room to room. Either the guards or the researchers had the bright idea of using the plasma venting process to try to block Shepard's path by venting the super-heated air into rooms she needed to pass through. It might have slowed them down, but nothing that simple was going to stop her from getting off that asteroid. It certainly never stopped Jane or the others.
Kirrahe slid the last cooling rod into place and locked the console. Blue fluid flowed down both sides of the mass effect reactor core, cooling the reactor and stopping the meltdown. They fought their way back up and out to the hangar where guards fired at them as they fled for their shuttles but not before activating a YMIR mech to occupy Shepard. The last project shuttle took off leaving a handful of guards to their deaths as the mass relay grew larger in the distance.
Shepard called the Cerberus shuttle for pick up before glancing at the landing pad at the far end of the strip. The form of a collector began to coalesce above the platform. Its head resembling that of the other collectors she had fought, a remnant of the prothean peoples but its body far more insectoid than other collectors. Shepard began to walk towards the collector. The Council Four followed her movement, turning their heads to see where she was going. Shepard heard Norsine gasp.
"Shepard. You have become an annoyance," the collector said. "You fight against inevitability. Dust struggling against cosmic winds. This seems a victory to you. A star system sacrificed. But even now, your greatest civilizations are doomed to fall. Your leaders will beg to be harvested."
"Harbinger," Jane seethed.
"Harbinger. Why hide behind the collector mask? Show us your ugly face, I know the collectors are nothing but your puppets," Shepard said stopping in front of the landing pad.
"So be it," the collector said.
Shepard waited with her arms crossed as the image shifted, morphing into a much larger image of Harbinger.
"Dios mío," James whispered from beside Shepard.
Kirrahe opened his omni-tool and waved it in front of the image, likely recording the conversation, Shepard thought. Altiria, not knowing what else to do pointed her assault rifle at the projection. Norsine flared with biotics.
"Good, now I can tell you directly. This cycle is over! Do you hear me? Over! So why don't you and your crew of misbegotten psychotic friends do yourselves a favor and crawl back to the depths of whatever hell you came from? Because I won't stop, I won't give up until every last one of you sons-of-bitches is lying in pieces," Shepard said.
"Do you think yourself important, Shepard? Insignificant human, do you think you are the first to make such a threat? You come in the wake of many far greater species, and yet you will fall and be harvested just the same," Harbinger said. "It is inevitable."
"No, the only thing that is inevitable is that you will join Sovereign," Shepard said.
"Prepare yourselves for the arrival," Harbinger said.
The image began to fade and the man slung across James' shoulder woke up and began to struggle. His eyes began to glow with an intense light, the same light she saw in the collectors' eyes when Harbinger took over. The same light Jane's hazed memories recalled seeing in Dr. Kenson's eyes. He wasn't just taking the man over though, he was killing him. James lowered him to the ground and fought to keep the man under control as he writhed and seized before finally falling silent. His body fell limp once more before disintegrating into pieces of ash floating away on the wind. Shepard put a hand on James' shoulder, he turned his head to meet her eyes and she could swear his eyes looked as if he'd aged twenty years in that moment. James stood and brushed away pieces of dead man's ash from his armor.
The Cerberus shuttle landed and Shepard pulled the door open, ushering everyone inside. As soon as the door was closed she banged on the metal wall and the shuttle rose into the air before arching around and angling towards the Normandy. As soon as the shuttle was inside of the Normandy, Shepard didn't wait for the air pressure to normalize so she could get out of the shuttle before radioing Joker.
"Joker, we're in. Give the deactivation team the signal and get us the hell out of here," Shepard said.
"Aye, aye, Commander," Joker said.
They were still sitting in the shuttle when Shepard felt the Normandy enter the Alpha Relay.