Chapter 17

Raid on the Collector's ship

First chapter of the new year ladies and gentlemen. I hope you all had a good Chrismas and beginning of new year.

One thing before starting: an answer to a review.

Black Magic99= I do not believe that Cerberus is evil. That would mean entering inside a massive discussion about the meaning of good and evil, and going nowhere for decades and there is a reason why Cerberus are doing all of this after all. What i believe is that Cerberus is an organization willing to do everything for the supposed Greater good (In this case Human supremacy or survival, depending on who you ask). They have proved times and times again in both Mass effect 1 and 2, far before 3 and their downhill bullshit that, in name of their objectives, everything is acceptable.

Killing in cold blood? Human or otherwhise? Totally fine!

Stealing and causing disasters on entire planets? Cool! (what caused Kaidan to become biotic for example, and destroyed thousands of other lives)

Insane experiments or crimes against humanity? (Project Overlord is the first that comes to mind but there are also the notices you find on the Shadow Broker's lair and in ME 1). Eeeeeh...As long as it bring results...it is all necessary for the greater good.

The point is that TIM might feel betrayed because Kelly now refuses to keep backing him up in stealing Lena's genetic samples, but would not hesitate a second in dispatching her as dangerous the moment he had the chance, because the greater good demande results and absolute obedience for the good of us all!

Now people might argue that this is necessary! That hard choices are needed for the survival of the species. My answer would be that Nazists, fascists, hard believers colonials and slavers and who knows how many else also thought the same: The sacrifices of Colonizations are necessary for the betterment of Africans (how can they become civil otherwhise?); slaves need the whip because it is for their own good, being all lazy and uncivilized savages; we kill the parasytes like jews, homosexuals, malformed humans so that the whole world will be clean and strong later. Ring a bell? And these people were (mostly) not monsters, just people with deep and genuine beliefs about the greater good of their work. And yet...

Heart of Darkness of Joseph Conrad sums it up perfectly for me: the idea itself "might" be noble, but a disgusting action is and remain a disgusting action.

About Kelly regretting her choices and guilt tripping her...yes and no. What she has done will come back to bite her in the ass, trust me in this. But i fear not in the way you were expecting.

Still i hope the way i discussed my ideas and why i implemented them make sense to you, and that you will not abandon the story only because is not going exactly as you were expecting.

The others, have a good reading and never be afraid to give me your opinions and ideas. How i am supposed to learn, debate and improve without feed-backs? I promise i will not bite, do not worry. :)


Normandy Sr 2. Somewhere in an uncharted part of space. 14 April 2185.

The target was in sight. Today was finally the day.

After days, weeks of searching, of trudging across the galaxy preparing the ship, resolving problems for the crew and steeling the agents for the incoming onslaught, the time of strike had finally come.

Cerberus agents had finally pinpointed the location of Shepard's target, the Collector's ship that escaped their grasp back on New Horizon. The same ship that had almost destroyed the colony and abducted most of his people.

Everyone inside the Normandy was in a frenzy for this: from doctor Chackwas preparing the infirmary for any expected wounded to the engineers scraping any morsel of power from the ship's core.

And among all of this, this controlled chaos brewing across every deck on the ship, Shepard and his team reunited inside the briefing room for what could be their last time, ready for anything.

Every agent, except for Lena, was armed to the teeth. They all knew that this time the enemy was not some mercenary band or the occasional Krogan hunting pack.

They were about to board the Collector's ship, something never done by anyone in the entire galaxy and for good reasons. Only Grunt among all the agents was smiling at the prospect. Not even Jack.

"Ladies and gentlemen" began Shepard breaking the tension "We are in front of the chance of the century. According to Cerberus's sources, our target, the same Collector's ship that escaped from New Horizon is ripe for an attack."

"And how is this possible Shepard?" asked Kasumi suspicious "I saw the footage, Shepard. There is nothing on the galaxy short of a battlefleet capable of stopping that monster."

Shepard grimaced slightly but managed to keep a mostly clean face. Kasumi had just told what everyone, he included, was thinking.

"I spoke with the Illusive Man about this." Shepard heard Jack scoffing at the source and Miranda glaring back at the convict. "And he told me that, after our struggle on New Horizon, the ship met a Turian Cruiser. The cruiser engaged of course, but lost and ended up utterly destroyed. However the damage caused during the battle, coupled with the pounding already received by the Guardian Lasers, forced it to shut down. Cerberus explorers found it drifting on the void two days ago, and it never changed stance since then."

"Bullshit." claimed Garrus of all people "Shepard, my people may be the best space fighter in the entire Citadel space, but even they would fall to cause a single scratch to that monster. Unless the etire fleet decide to show up."

"I agree with the shanked, Shepard." added Zaeed gruffly "This entire thing smells like a trap. We should call the cavalry and leave this bitch to them."

"Afraid of a ship, human?" snarked Grunt, much to Shepard's chagrin. The last thing he needed was a brawl in the middle of his briefing.

"In a normal situation, I would rip and make you eat your own quads for this." growled the old merc back at Grunt "But considering we are all about to fucking die together, I will let it slide."

Grunt scoffed at this remark, but a single look at Shepard was enough to bring him back in line.

"Your complaints are noted, people. Truth to be told, I'm on the same page as you. This is a trap, but it is also the best shot we have at discovering how to bypass the Omega-4 relay and hit the Collectors back where it hurts. We cannot miss this." a hololitic image of the ship appeared inside the briefing room.

"According to EDI's scans, 90% of the vessel is currently on shut down. No powers save for the essential vital support so, trap or not, there must be something wrong inside. The plan is simple: we divide into two teams; team A will be guided by me and enter through the main hangar". A small part at the centre of the ship's image flared up in red "And follow the main road inside the ship, moving toward the core." a red line beginning from the hangar snaked its way toward what supposed to be the core room, one kilometre inside.

"Team B will be guided by Miranda. His objective, entering inside the secondary hangar and move toward the engine room." this time a green arrow moved inside the ship's image "And destroy it, making sure that the ship does not escape even if we fail. Joker will call the Alliance high command in case of red light."

"Fuck your pessimism Shepard," muttered Jack, but did nothing else.

"Once both our objectives are gone, we will reunite on the main hangar and bailout."

"And what if we cannot perform our objectives?" asked Jacob "What if the resistance is too stiff?"

"The decision if to keep on the main objectives will be left by the squad leaders. In the case of B team unable to reach the engines, the goals are to destroy everything you can with your charges and meet with team A. Any more questions?"

A deadly silence answered his call.

"Good. Team A will consist of me, Jack, Thane, Garrus, Jacob and Zaeed. Team B will consist of Miranda, Samara, Grunt, Mordin and Kasumi. Be ready on the hangar in five."

"wait a moment!" interjected Lena "What about me? Why have you not included me in the group, Shepard?"

Shepard sighed and turned toward Lena. He had come to this decision an hour ago, while he studied all the intel he had on thenCollectors, and his agents. He knew that the plan of attack would not be approved by Lena but he needed to know.

"Because you shall not come with us, Lena. I have another task for you."

Again the silence enveloped the room like a blanket. But this time it was a silence full of tension. Everyone witnessed Lena's fists clenching in rage, and the cold fury smouldering on her silver eyes. She was ready to explode.

"Why?" she first asked thought, refusing to give in to rage yet. "I am a competent fighter, Shepard."

"I know, and it is not for any flaws that I wish for you to remain outside of this mission."

Now the rage disappeared from lena's eyes, substituted by a look of uncertainty that stunned the Claymore.

"Is it for the new arm, somehow?" she tried to say

"The new arm is fine. Mordin assured me that is as strong as your old one. Although I admit that just remembering that day still unnerves me."


Five days ago. Normandy's infirmary. 16 38 ship hour.

Shepard was running through the entire ship, his target the infirmary. In his way he darted crew members and threw unfortunate bystanders away uncaring of their discomfort. He tried to memorize the faces of anyone he hurt in his mad dash to apologize later but right now he could not lose time.

All of this because of a message. A message from Chackwas still ringing inside his ears: Lena is trying to kill herself. Come and stop her.

-What was wrong with Lena now?- Shepard's worried mind wondered. What could possibly bring Lena to the brink of that precipize, especially with Raina just a deck below of all places? Had she gone insane again like on Korlus?

The infirmary was now on sight. Only few more meters separated him from the door. Some meters, and a couple of afternoon-shift ensigns busy with their brunch.

"Shepard, what the?" asked Gardner but the commander ignored him. His hand punched the door control with all his might and activated the door lock. He entered as quick as it opened and...

Found Lena busy bickering with Chackwas and Mordin like a bunch of schoolgirls, with Tali watching from her safe spot and Raina, of all people, laughing at them as all of this was some kind of good joke!

Not exactly what he had expected.

"Finally you are here Shepard!" Shouted Chackwas once he noticed his arrival "Please help me make these two idiots regain their senses."

"I could say the same thing for you, doctor." Grumbled Lena coldly "I told you that I could do this, and Mordin is backing me up."

"That is because Mordin cannot wait to see you try."

"Okay people, stop!" finally intervened Shepard to stop this debacle. He was tired now, sweaty and still groggy for the fast run just done. His mind was still raging in fear and he really needed a drink, still dreading scenes like tenses negotiations with an insane sword-woman inside confined spaces coupled with tearing doctor and fretting child. But what did he found when he arrived? Doctor Chackwas, Lena and Mordin all together, squabbling like a bunch of children in kindergarten under the amused look of Raina.

"Can someone tell me what is the problem?"

"The problem is that agent Lena wishes to cut her mutated arm, claiming that she could, somehow, regenerate it from scratch."

"It is not a claim, is a certainty!" rebuffed Lena angrily "I can regrow an arm for the goddesses' sake! I am a defensive type."

"We have already witnessed agent Lena's amazing regenerative powers." added Mordin "Further tests made corroborate the agent's claims, doctor Chackwas. I believe we should let her try."

"She regenerated her eye and part of her body back on Korlus because the parasite was in control, not her!" shouted Chackwas back at Mordin "The human brain cannot handle the stress of something like this! Think of the amount of data Lena's poor brain will have to endure. The checks, the attention, the careful calculations necessary for properly calibrating every single cell. And why are you giggling, Raina?"

"Calculations?" she answered between the child between giggles "Mum, do you remember that time you lost half of your lungs when that awakened being attacked Rabona? The one that looked like a spiked ball? It took five hours of continuous yoki regrowing and swearing before you finally got better."

Chackwas's eyes became bigger than sausages after hearing this

"You...lost a lung?"

"Yeah, it hurt like hell, but it got better after a time," muttered Lena remembering that particular day "how do you know about that by the way?"

"Sister Galatea told us everything after the battle."

"Figures. Bloody crazed nun."

"It got better? It simply got better!?" scoffed Chakwas sceptically "I cannot believe what I am hearing." Shepard had to agree with Chackwas on this one

"The point is, Shepard" continued Lena "That I can regenerate lost limbs by myself. I let doctor Chackwas trap my mutated arm inside that cage because I respect her, and I wanted to give her a chance of finding a conventional cure. But it has passed an entire week at this point! The longer I wait, the harder it becomes to keep my yoki in check, or to create a new, functioning arm after chopping out the old one."

"It is getting too long because you are something unique in the history of medicine, Lena!" barked Chackwas back at the Claymore "Just give me another week, only one week, and I will find a way. Shepard, tell her that I am right. That she needs to wait patiently instead of doing something this stupid."

But Shepard said nothing, for almost one minute. At this point his mind was finally clear, and now weighted everything he knew about the Claymore; what he learned from her herself, what he learned from Mordin, what he witnessed from his own eyes; he considered the chance of Lena being right and the risks of letting her do something so stupid at first glance.

"Raina," he asked the child finally "Is it true that your mother can regenerate a limb? Without problems?"

"Of course she can!" beamed Raina, far too brightly considering the argument, "I told you people! Mum is a defensive type! And not even the best one. I once saw aunt Deneve regenerating part of her skull and brain after a fight."

The sheer honesty of these words made Chackwas's jaws hit the floor, alongside Mordin's.

"Regenerating the brain," Shepard heard Chackwas muttering with herself in shock "Regenerating the cocking brain...How?"

Shepard grimaced. Raina looked sincere, in the way that only children can be. And he had witnessed Lena's crazy regenerative powers with his own eyes.

Sighing heavily, Shepard made his choice.

"Okey Lena. Do it."

Lena's face brightened at the notice, while Chackwas's darkened in outrage.

"Oh for the love of...Fine!" grumped the old doctor "Do your show, Lena. Meanwhile, I'm going to prepare the stretcher, the medical bed and the rest of my equipment. Because when you shall be on the floor, lying in a puddle of blood and shell-shocked by your stupidity, I will have to clean your mess, as always! Bloody soldiers..."

Instead of being worried, Lena snickered and told EDI to send someone with her sword in the infirmary. A pair of ensigns arrived a minute later, dragging the massive weapon with them, weapon that Lena quickly snatched away from their hands.

Once they were away, the Claymore firmly grabbed the sword with her left and placed the blade below the right armpit, ready for the strike.

"You can still back out for this stupidity, Lena." huffed Chackwas concealing a hint of fear. Mordin remained impassible, his Omni-tool already open and ready to collect data.

Lena smirked at the doctors and then struck.

A jarring sound of flesh and bone meeting steel echoed inside the room, followed by a lopping noise and the thud of something colliding with the floor. Lena's mutated arm was now gone, and reddish blood escaped for a single second like a fountain from the gaping wound. Everyone thought that Lena had somehow failed, such transpired the intensity of the injury. That despite her insurances, the Claymore had bitten more than she could chew. Only Raina stood still, sure about her mother's powers.

Then, with a flash of vigour, Lena's eyes became golden, and the blood stopped flowing. Shepard saw Lena's body writhe and spasm inside itself, just like so many other times, while a horrifying sound of pulled flesh emerged from the gaping wound.

Something was emerging from the bloody stump. Slowly, painfully, and horribly.

First, were the bones. Porcelain white and gleaming under the light of the room, they snaked their way through the arm like rattling snakes. Omerus, ulna, radius, phalanxes, they all emerged literally in front of the witnesses' eyes in a macabre dance, knitting themselves under superior guidance. Then, After the bones, flesh started to appear all around them, growing like fungi on a tree stump. A completely flabbergasted doctor witnessed the inception of veins, arteries, fat and skin, all blended in perfect balance. All were forming exactly where they were supposed to develop without fail. Next to her, Mordin trapped every second of this dark miracle with the Omni-tool, muttering theories and ideas at unprecedented speed. Only Raina remained quiet, merely waiting for the operation to be over.

"I'm looking at it and still cannot believe it." awed Chackwas.

"Absolutely fascinating!" muttered Mordin "Beyond my wildest hypothesis! Beyond any tests ever tried!"

The arm was almost done at this point. It missed only the finishing touches like some skin covering the fingers and refining the muscle mass. It just needed some more time.

But right into that moment, Lena gritted her teeth and lost control. The golden hue on her eyes disappeared, and the girl fell on the ground, gasping in pain. And stopped the regeneration process.

"Lena!" shouted Shepard moving to her "Are you okay?"

"Couldn't do it in one go!" croaked with a mere whisper. Her right arm, the new one, felt slick on Shepard's hands. Like a slab of meat freshly processed by a butcher's shop.

"Will have to continue later."

"Continue later? Continue later!?" half shouted the now frantic doctor "Lena, you just...just...This is NOT supposed to happen! No fricking way! I accepted the regrow of flesh wounds or the rebuilding of broken bones. God knows it took weeks to accept it, but I finally did it. But this!?"

the doctor sumped on the chair of her office, rubbing her temples

"I need a drink. A stiff one. Shepard, do you still have that bottle of Sherry you bought on the Citadel?"

"Beautiful!" beamed Mordin "I thank you for letting me see this with my own eyes, agent Lena. Will start analyzing the data immediately." and stormed off back to his laboratory, not even saluting anyone such was his excitement.

"Glad to give you all a show," commented Lena more to herself than anyone still in the room

"But now, could you leave, please? It might not look like it, but this is a tiring process, and I really wish to sleep now."

"And the arm?" asked Raina innocently. Truth to be told, Lena's mutated appendage was still on the floor, leaking blood and twitching weakly like a dying beast on its own. Rather disturbing, even for someone like Shepard.

"I will...i guess i will put it in one of the freezing cells for corpses." answered Chackwas weakly "I'm sure Mordin will love to take a look at it later."


Present time

"No Lena. It is not for that reason. I want you here, back on the ship, because I wish to use your detection ability for our benefit."

A chorus of small voices echoed inside the small room, while Lena tried to understand what Shepard exactly meant with this.

"My...you mean the strange yokis I sensed the first time we met the Collectors?" she asked finally "How I am supposed to use it inside the ship?"

"By being in constant contact with us. With a comm-link." explained Shepard "Back on Horizon, you managed to pierce the veil used by the Collectors to befuddle our sensors, just with your mind. Tali and Mordin managed to improve the power of our comms so we should not be cut off this time. But for the scanner, it was a lost cause."

"Shepard," mumbled Lena in search of a coherent answer "Do you have any idea of what are you asking me to do? I cannot map and follow the yoki signatures of every single creature inside that blasted ship! And doing so thousands of Kilometers away from you! Even Galatea would fail on such a monumental task."

"The void of space hamper your capabilities?" rebutted Shepard.

That was a good question, and Lena had to think for a whole minute before coming with an answer. No Claymore had ever been put in a situation like hers in all the Organization's story after all.

-Does the void hamper my powers? Especially if I have to find such easy yokis like the ones of these creatures?- she wondered. Her only way to compare her yoki sensing ability was Raina, and she could feel her almost anywhere as far as she knew. She discovered this back on Omega two years ago.

-But I know Raina's yoki like my own.- she grimaced -And she was the only yoki apart from me inside that cursed place. Here?-

"Well?" pressed Shepard.

-Technically speaking, what I call yoki energy is just an aura escaping from the body when using such powers. Like waste escaping from a working factory. You could hide them if you knew how to do it, but they would still be there.- continued Lena to monologue without answering -And these creatures are incapable of doing this. I saw it. But it will be so far from my position. I don't know-

"Well?!" repeated Shepard, more forcefully.

"I...I think it is feasible" finally answered Lena "My yoki sensing was barely a B back on the island, but it improved a little after Korlus. If the Normandy remain close to the ship and follow your movements, I should be able to do it."

"I'm not asking to map every single Collector inside, Lena. Only to warn us when the closest ones awaken and try to attack us. And we shall not be thousands of kilometre away from you. Only thirty. " chided Shepard.

"Numbers and power, nothing else. Back on Horizon, you even managed to distinguish the actual Collectors with the Husks and their war-beasts."

"But"

"No buts!" concluded Shepard "The hard truth is, Lena, that your sword will not change a thing in the incoming battle if the entire ship decides to move on us, while your detecting ability might be the difference between life and death!"

Lena gritted her teeth in rage. She did not like this, not one bit. Leaving her comrades back while she stayed safe and snuggled inside the Normandy rankled her warrior spirit. But these were the orders, and she could not refuse them.

"I still think you are making a mistake, Shepard." groaned Lena "But I will do as you say. I will stay behind and focus on sensing. Let's pray that I will be able of doing what you are asking me."

"Do not worry, Lena!" reassured Shepard "I am sure you will. Let's move now, people! In the hangar room at five!"


Collectors' main hangar. 12 minutes later. Inside the Collector's ship.

"To all teams, we are in! Moving inside the main entrance." barked Shepard's voice inside the inter-comm. It was garbled, battling against the expected interferences but still operational.

"Copy that. Team B has reached the second hangar. Moving toward the objective." Miranda's garbled response arrived.

"Shepard, no one is moving for now." this time it was Lena's voice "The ship is silent. It feels almost like a grave."

"Don't fucking start with this, Lady Oscar," swore Jack but Shepard quickly silenced her.

"Message received Lena. Keep me informed." closed Shepard, and then moved his eyes toward the Collector's base.

The ship was everything Shepard had expected from the Collectors race: devoid of life, dark, damp and outright ugly. A twisted mess of flesh melded with steel coming from inside the mind of a madman. The steps on the floor felt slippery and alive somehow, and Shepard heard more than one crewmember complaining about the place.

"Okay. I have seen a lot of shit in my life, but this is new even for me" awed Zaeed in dark fascinations. Shepard had to agree with him.

Shepard's group moved deeper inside the ship, losing count of the minutes inside this twisted maze.

The more they went inside, the stranger the ship became: the group saw strange, bulbous masses of...something hanging around the ceiling, even more, organic residues scattered everywhere and many sarcophaguses like the ones used on New Horizon to trap the colonists, only that these were empty. And corpses, hundreds of bodies of any kind, heaped together like garbage.

"Monsters" Shepard heard jack mutter at this. Even a cold convict like her was not immune by this spectacle.

"Shepard!" Garrus's voice took the commander's attention "You need to see this." the Turian was near one of the many capsules littering the ship, open and ready to be used.

When Shepard came closer to it, he saw that it was inhabited, but not by a human.

"A Collector!" noted Shepard in awe "They are doing experiments even on their race?"

"That is fucked up, even for them!" commented Zaeed

"EDI, I'm am connecting you to my Omni-tool. Scan the Collector's body and see if you can give me some answers."

"Working on it," replied EDI's monotonous voice. Immediately a stream of data appeared inside Shepard's Omni-tool, while he and his squad placed themselves in defensive positions. Minutes passed with fingers on their triggers, and still, no answers reached the group. Tempers started to flare.

"How long still, Shepard?" asked Jacob nervously "We cannot stay here forever."

"Calm down soldiers" chided Shepard "I am sure that"

"Scan complete," announced EDI right into that moment. A loud chorus of sight answered her words

"The results are interesting. The Collector's genetic structure appear to possess four-strand genetic codes. Only one race is known to possess such genetic template."

"The Protheans!" concluded Shepard for her. Now, this was one heck of a surprise for everyone. No wonder their bodies were triggered to self-destruct in case of defeat.

"But why would the Protheans help the Reapers?" asked Jacob "It does not make sense.

"These are not Protheans anymore" answered EDI for him "My scans revealed extensive and invasive surgeries, especially on the brain. The reapers have adapted them for their own purposes."

"My God," whispered Shepard. Next to him, Thane murmured a quiet prayer for them.

"So this is why they are hunting us down?" asked Zaeed surprisingly sombre "Why these bastards are kidnapping us, humans, by the thousands? Their old slaves are all finally dying, and they need a new replacement?"

"Don't know and don't care." Barked Shepard back at his team. "The Prothean may have been turned against their will but, right now, they are the enemy, and we cannot afford to give them mercy. Let's find this ship's mainframe and begone with this place!"


37 minutes later. Collectors's main storage room.

It took an infinite amount of time, and patience, to reach what looked like the mainframe of this massive ship. There was no map of the vessel to use after all, and they had to trust the Normandy's dodgy scans and their own senses for directions. Luckily nothing tried to stop them during the trek: the scanners remained clean, alongside Lena's mind apparently, and so the only risks Shepard's team faced while braving the dark corridors of the ship was shooting at shadows.

But when they arrived at their destination, everything changed. The Mainframe room was the exact contrary of what Shepard's team had faced inside the Collector's ship by far: massive, so big that no one could see the end of it even with the help of binoculars, and brightly coloured by hundreds of orange lights.

It looked like a giant bee-hive, to be honest. A damp, dark, smelly and outright terrifying bee-hive.

The place was empty. Only a small, metal bridge connected the corridor from where Shepard's team came from to an octangular room, the only room visible in the whole place. No more cabins, no more places where to hide or take cover, nothing.

Only a massive chasm filled by a single corridor ending thirty meters later on an open room. A room with a terminal at the centre.

It felt almost like walking inside a hollow mountain.

The only thing present in overabundance were the tombs. Locked into the walls, stuck into the ceilings, covering every inch of free space until the eyes could see.

"There are hundreds of thousands. Maybe even millions of them!" awed Garrus "How many of them do you think are...occupied?"

"You really wanna know, scarface?" replied Jack

"Stove it, you two." barked Shepard "Team B, we are at the mainframe. Status?"

"Here's Miranda." arrived Miranda's cracked response after some seconds "We are almost at the engine room. Met no resistance."

"Understood. Same thing here. Proceed as planned and then met us at the main hangar."

"Copy that Shepard. Moving."

"Okay people! Less gawking and more acting. You are professionals for God's sake. Thane, slice the terminal. Garrus, ready with the sniper rifle. The others find a safe perch and are ready for anything."

They all complied and dashed toward their objectives, weapons ready and grim faces.

Thane's Omni-tool opened up and began the complicated process of slicing the Collector's terminal. A daunting task, even with EDI's help, considering just how alien was the Collector's technology to anything any member of the crew possessed.

Minutes passed in silence, with the lone sounds of Thane's ticking fingers and the breath of every soldier reverberating inside the hollow space. Still, nothing tried to stop them; no Collector, no Husk, zero.

It was so utterly unlike their enemies, to leave such a massive ship undefended. Not even a Turian attack could explain this.

"Lena," Shepard asked quietly on the inter-comm

"Nothing Shepard. I swear I feel nothing." was the Claymore's garbled answer, and yet it did nothing to quell Shepard's discomfort.

Just where were they?

Unbeknownst to him, the answer was about to come crashing down on all of them.


Very moment. Normandy, Sr 1. Infirmary room.

Sitting on the floor with crossed legs and eyes closed, Lena continued her work of scanning Shepard surrounding with her yoki sensing powers. It was a jarring task, especially for a Claymore like her more adept at fighting than sensing, but still, she endured and kept focusing, in the same way, many more before she did back on the island.

Six times during the mission both Shepard and Miranda asked for Collectors' presence, and six times Lena always said that nothing was alive inside the ship, but this was not precisely true: her mind felt the flames of millions, if not dozens of millions of presences inside the ship. All of them stationary and weak. So pathetic that even the most worthless of yoma could be considered a giant in front of them. These thin flames covered the entire ship almost as if the boat itself was nothing more than a single, massive organism. A dying one, without neither guidance nor desire.

"You okay, Lena?" asked a voice behind her "Need something?" It was from Kelly. Before departing Shepard ordered her to keep a close watch on Lena, making sure she was comfortable and ready to act together with Chackwas in case of problems.

Truth to be told Lena appreciated the company, but would gladly do without her constant nagging. This was a tiring job after all, and having a voice continually asking you how are you after the mere flinching was getting old very fast.

Lena heard inside the inter-comm placed on her ear about Shepard's orders and prepared herself. No way in hell the Collectors would stand still and wait now that someone was infiltrating their system.

And yet, the minutes still passed, and nothing happened. The flames flickered at the intrusion but nothing more; still silent, they waited.

"Uploading," warned EDI's monotonous voice. Everyone inside the ship stopped breathing for a second, waiting for the end.

More minutes passed, more terabytes of data entered inside EDI's main core, stored and waiting to be analyzed.

"Almost done" whispered Chackwas with shallow breaths "We are almost done."

Then, right into that moment, something entered inside the ship.

A will. A power so strong that it threatened to overwhelm Lena's mind with its sheer presence. The Claymore's training and experience allowed her to understand that what she was feeling was nothing more than an echo. A fragment of power now flowing inside the ship and awakening it into a frenzy. And still, to Lena's mind, it proved stronger than all the abyssal combined. Stronger even of the infamous Priscilla.

Lena fell on the ground, a splitting headache threatening to tear her mind apart. She managed to escape the danger of being swallowed by the will, but now thousands of tortured voices answered inside the ship, responding to this irresistible call.

The ship itself began to wake up into a vortex of confusion and tortured voices, and Lena was right into the middle of it.

"Lena!" screamed Kelly in fear. Both her and Chackwas came to her aid and tried to help her, with words and tranquillizers, but the voice kept increasing in power.

Lena felt every single creature inside the ship slowly awaken under the call. Answering to this brutal will ripping into their brains, directing them toward a sole objective: the intruders inside the ship.

"Shepard, this is Chackwas." announced the doctor to Shepard's inter-comm. The medicines were having no effects so she ditched them for quicker movements. "Something is happening to Lena. I think she is reacting to your intrusion!"

"Get them out!" rasped Lena right into that moment, barely a whisper.

"What?" asked a worried Kelly coming closer to Lena's mind "What did you just say?"

"The ship...is awakening. GET THEM OUT!"


Collector's ship. Main storage room.

"Shepard...Lena...reacting."

"What? Chackwas, repeat! What is going on back on the ship?" only static garble answered back to him. All of a sudden a even stronger field rose up from the inside of the ship, destroying their improved communications.

"Fucking damnit!" he swore "Okay people, the dance is about to begin I'm afraid. Thane, how long?"

"One minute. I am still connected with EDI, but barely." replied the assassin "I cannot go faster, Shepard."

"Fucking great. Miranda" shouted Shepard on the inter-comm "The place is compromised. Detonate the charges and get out, wherever you are." Again only static answered back. Of all the times for the comms to start playing with him, swore Shepard, they chose to do it now. He could only hope Miranda would make the right choices.

"Shepard!" shouted Garrus interrupting his thoughts "There is something wrong here, The ground is shacking." It was true. The floor, so stable and sure just a second ago, was now trembling under their feet. Already Grunt and Jack were moving away from their perch and looking for a better position.

It took some seconds before Shepard finally understood what was going on.

The floor they were using, the strange open room they found at the centre of this peculiar, hollow place, was disanchoring itself from its resting place. They were all on a giant, floating platform, and they hadn't even noticed.

"Brace!" shouted Shepard, just in time.

The platform rose from its place with a whooshing sound, slowly hovering away from the ground and their only exit from this place.

"EDI, if you can hear me, then do something about this."

Everyone on the platform grabbed the nearest thing to stabilize themselves. Zaeed almost fell on his death when his support broke down, but Jacob biotically grabbed him before it was too late.

Still, the platform refused to get down, and Shepard could see other platforms coming towards them. All of them filled with Collectors

"EDI" repeated Shepard "Now please!" still no answers.

The enemy platform was now even closer, enough for the Collectors on them to fire at the enemies with their guns. A sporadic fire hit Shepard and his team. Not enough to hurt them, for now, but Shepard knew that it was only a matter of time.

Among them, no one could fire back. They were all busy trying to not fall on their deaths under this cursed ride.

The Collectors' shots began to strike true, and Shepard saw more of them, the flying variant, appearing out of nowhere for an attack.

"EDI!"

And right at that moment, the platform stopped.

It did it abruptly, with a whiplash that almost threw Jacob outside, but it did. The platform stopped moving and finally asserted itself, allowing its frazzled occupants to reassert their situations. The incoming Collectors launched a strange, thrilling sound at this sight and moved ever faster, but all Shepard's team needed was a second, and they had just received it.

A loud crack echoed in the sky, and a Collector fell on the abyss with a gaping hole in the chest, courtesy of Shepard. Another group dived for cover but was intercepted by Jack's biotic and flung into the wall. Garrus and Thane grabbed their sniper rifles and began firing at the incoming Collectors from the moving platforms while Grunt happily blasted anyone too stupid to come too close. What little managed to reach their position was flung out to their death by Jack and Jacob's biotics.

"I managed to regain full control, Shepard. I am back online. Reuploading connmections between the teams and the Teams in progress."

Said EDI's quiet voice in the middle of the mayhem.

"About damn time!" cursed Shepard back while ducking for cover. Just in time because the place where he stood a second ago exploded under a blast of gunfire "What took you so long?"

"The Collectors attempted to hack their way through my memory core via agent Krioss's Omni-tool. Clearing my systems took time."

"Well, jolly good that you are back, but please can you now move this damn joust back on his place?"

Another piece of cover disintegrated itself under sustained gunfire. The culprits died soon after, but more kept coming.

"I can, Shepard. Acting now."

And so she did: the platform Shepard and his team were using, far out of position from the only exit, began rising once again and moving toward its intended place.

Agonizingly slowly.

"Can this shit go a bit faster, Shepard?" screamed jack back to the commander after blasting another Collector "I saw fucking Hanars waddling faster than this!"

"You heard her EDI."

"I am currently battling against 7 500 000 Collectors scrap programs while keeping our communications operational and the ship functioning." replied EDI with the best attempt of annoyance an AI could muster "I am at my maximum capacity."

"Shepard...this is Lena." the Claymore's voice interrupted the commander's bickering. It was low and weak, almost as if she was coming from the other side of the galaxy. Or the person speaking was practically dead.

"If you wish to tell me that the Collectors have reawakened from their slumber, I have already noticed it Lena." snarked Shepard sarcastically

"It is...worse than that." replied Lena in the inter-comm "The ship...the same presence...back on Horizon. It was a trap...you have...twenty minutes at best before...they all wake up. Probably...less. Get out!"

"So we have a reaper showed deep inside our asses too!" cursed Shepard "Just great! Can someone give me good news?"

"...Transfer completed successfully!" answered EDI "I have the Collector's ship database stored inside my memory banks. I will use it to formulate an efficent escape route."

To that, Shepard had no snarky come back. It was a piece of actual good news, despite the hellish situation.

"Good." he said finally "Okey people! Once this ride is over storm the exit. We have overstayed our welcome here!"


11 minutes later. Normandy, Sr 2. Infirmary

The pain was mounting once again. Like a tide, it receded and climbed relentlessly against her battered defences, threatening to overwhelm her with its energy.

Lena groaned and moaned under the assault. She knew that Yoki could be used as a weapon. She had heard the stories about the Awakened one on Pieta and his Yoki-bending ability, or Galatea's infamous power of changing its flow, but this...

This was not an attack. This was the chorus of a million screams echoing inside her head!

Her skull ponded and screamed at the fatigue and damage it was suffering, and blood began pouring from her eyes and nose without control.

But still, she endured.

"Ten more to your right corridor, Shepard. And three Husks in front of you." she panted inside the inter-comm "Ten Collectors behind you."

"Acknowledged." come Shepard's answer.

"Lena, please! You must stop." came Kelly's pleading voice next to her. The girl was trying to help the Claymore in any way she could, by following Chackwas's orders and trying to keep the Claymore awake with her voice

"You are even spitting blood now!"

"You are risking a severe seizure Lena" announced Chackwas next to her, medical Omni-tool scanning every inch of the Claymore

"I don't understand why, but your brain patterns are getting disjointed, to the point of causing physical pain."

-It is the oversaturation!- managed to think a small part of Lena's mind -There are so many Yoki signatures, and are so different than the usual ones, that just gazing at them with my mind is killing me!-

In a way, being mediocre at best at Yoki sensing was saving her life right now. A more competent warrior like Lune would have died on the spot under such pressure.

"I can...endure!" wheezed Lena back, repelling another fit of pain. She wasn't that sure herself, but she could not afford to be weak now.

"Just..ten more minutes."

But Lena was wrong.

The Claymore had not yet finished her sentence that another power entered inside her mind. It was the presence she felt before, still far, far away from her but now far more potent than before.

Lena's mind felt drawn toward its power, like a moth toward the flame. She felt the presence now looking inside the ship with thousands of eyes. Observing Shepard's escape and evaluating his progress.

It was not happy. And for this reason, it decided to intervene.

Lena made the mistake of following the presence's movements instead of shutting it down.

The Claymore felt it ripping its way through a lone Collector close to Shepard, destroying what was left of its mind and replacing it with cold, automated intelligence.

The Collector glowed like a sun, such was its power and hit Lena's brain like a stone hammer.

-Assuming direct control!- boomed a voice inside Lena's mind. A very familiar voice.

The Claymore launched a scream of utter pain as her mind burned under the sheer presence of the Reaper.

A second later, her brain stopped working, and she collapsed onto the cold floor.


Collector's ship corridors.

The glowering rests of the Herald's puppet fell on the ground like black droplets of rain, but quickly another creature took its place.

Shepard ignored them and kept moving forward, following the signs he kept receiving from EDI.

Lena was down. Maybe dead. He had heard her anguished scream inside the inter-comm, him and all the others with him. He feared for her, but right now he had to focus on the task at hand: there were still too many meters separating him and his group from the evac point, and far too many Collectors in between.

"Shepard, that was" still tried to intervene Jack.

"I know. We can do nothing about it now."

"Shepard, this is Miranda!" intervened another voice inside the inter-comm

"Miranda! Boy, I'm happy to hear from you!" beamed Shepard while he dodged another hail of bullets "Status!"

"We detonated the charges but not inside the engines. Too dangerous. We are running toward the evac point." arrived Miranda's reply. A loud bang temporary stopped Miranda's voice, quickly followed by more gunfire.

"Three wounded, one grave, but no deaths."

"Good enough for me. We are also moving to evac. Eta" a missile launched by a flying Collector exploded a hairbreadth away from Shepard, making him flew like a ragdoll and throwing on the slippery floor. Adrenaline mixed with combat stims made him raise back almost immediately, but still, he felt sharp stings on his chest and face.

-This will hurt like a bitch once I am back on the ship!- winced Shepard while glancing at himself. His armour was broken and dented on multiple places, and he could see blood seeping from a gash on his abdomen. His face burned under the soot and filth of the ship but his eyesight felt fine. Better than expected.

"Shepard!" come Miranda's fearful voice inside his ears.

"Calm down Lawson. Your little miracle is still alive!" barked Shepard back while dusting off the worst of the blast. The Collector who tried to blast him was already dead alongside his friends. "Keep moving toward the Evac point. We are almost there."

"Shepard" boomed a flying Collector near to the Commander, busy firing at Shepard's barriers "Your task is hopeless. You will"

"Oh shut the fuck up Herald! I am busy!"

Shepard blasted another Collector's form taken by the Herald with his new shotgun and moved on, uncaring about the ash falling on his chest.

The kickback hurt him like a bitch but seeing those hard bastard dying with one shot truly made it worthy for him.

"I see the hangar!" screamed Zaeed ahead of him. He, alongside Grunt, was blasting the way through for the rest of the group. They looked tired and wounded but still able to fight for now.

Maybe not bringing Lena with them had not been such a good idea.

"The others are already there, but pinned down by enemies."

"Then let's go and give them a hand people," answered Shepard back. Shepard dashed ahead of all the others and stormed the last door, gun blazing and moving for cover.

The hangar, the same place they had left just an hour ago, looked utterly changed now: debris and rubble littered the slippery floor everywhere the eye could see. The organics parts of the floor and wall were dented and bullet-riddled, and a strange, purplish liquid leaked down from them; the sound of gunfire alongside the chittering noise of Collectors echoed in the room. There were dozens of them, not counting the corpses on the ground. All of them were firing at a small group of soldiers huddled in cover next to a shuttle with Cerberus's logo. They were fighting hard but still pinned down by repeated gunfire.

Shepard saw that some of them were wounded: Miranda, for example, showed an extended cut on her front and Samara was bleeding heavily from the chest and stomach.

All changed when Shepard's team arrived.

They stormed the entrance altogether, overpowering the Collectors near it and scrambling for cover before any of them could hit back. Husks, Spawns, Guardians, they all died in droves under this new attack, and Miranda's group took this moment to hammer down any stragglers. The Collectors died in droves under this double assault with fire and biotics, unable to adequately answer back to the onslaught.

In less than three minutes, it was all over.

"Seal the main door! Do not let anyone inside!" ordered Shepard to the team once the gunfire settled down. Mordin and Miranda moved toward the door at once, tinkering with their Omni-tools. meanwhille Shepard personally helped Thane by helping him move toward the shuttle. A shot from a Collector had hit him just at the last second and now he could barely breath. Shepard also saw Grunt and Jacob helping Samara with her wounds and...was Jack bleeding from her stomach? He was not sure, the convict was a bit far away from him, and looked fine except from the blood seeping from her body.

-They really did a number on us, and thanks God no one died!- he grimaced

"All the others, inside the shuttle. Take care for the wounded! Joker, status?"

"The Collector's ship is almost back to full Shepard." replied Joker back "So be quick with your business. I do not want to lose another Normandy. Or you."

"The feeling is mutual Joker." smiled Shepard "Done you two?" Mordin gave him a nod "Good, then let's hop inside! We are out of here."


Normandy, Sr 2. Infirmary. 8 hours later

"Oh my goddesses." moaned Lena with what little voice she could muster "My head is killing me."

"But luckily for you, you are not dead." answered a voice near her "And this time you fainted for less than a day. A record for you."

Lena groaned and weakly thrashed inside the blankets covering her.

The light felt like daggers on her weak eyes, but she managed not entirely to shut them down.

"Waking up inside your infirmary is becoming a habit at this point for her, doctor." Said a voice near to Lena. It was know to the Clayomre, but right now she couldn't put a name on it.

Lena heard a chuckle in response to this

"Indeed. I am thinking about installing a permanent bed for her at this point."

"Might as well do." Muttered Lena back, warning the speakers that she was awake. Another chorus of giggles answered to her come back, coming from more than two mouths.

Slowly, the Claymore rose from her bed. The headache threatened to send her back to the pillow, but she endured and managed to get into a sitting position after some tense seconds despite her actual blindness.

As suspected, she was inside the infirmary, and the soft feeling beneath her came from a silken sheet.

"So...what it was this time?" Asked Lena.

"Brain overload." deadpanned the doctor now near her "Too many stimuli and signals hit you all at once. Of course, that is my tidy theory because I have no idea how it correctly works this Yoki of yours. All I am sure of is that your brain stopped working for a second and shut down to prevent further damage. All in all, you got it easy."

"I got it easy!?" croaked Lena back at the doctor "Goddesses, my head hurt like hell."

"Be thankful that it is only that your problem, Lady Oscar." snarked another voice inside the infirmary "We got the worst end of the stick this time."

lena forced her eyes open in response to this voice, to identify it. It took some seconds of discomfort for her weak eyesight to readjust itself but she did it.

As she had already suspected, she was not alone: Samara, Kasumi, Jack and Thane were also inside the infirmary, all but Thane awake and now in a sleep induced coma. The entire place felt filled with their bodies, especially considering that part of the infirmary was still isolated for Tali's sake.

"Jack!?" asked Lena uncertain "Are you?"

"Fine?" Finished Jack for her and cursing "I have a fucking hole in my stomach the size of an Asari stripper's cunt! I am not fine! Didn't noticed it until we were inside the shuttle thought. That's adrenaline for you! But the doctor is patching me up."

"It was touch and go this time," added Kasumi still on her bed. She was stripped from her usual outfit in favour of a medical dress and sporting a long gash on her right cheek, alongside a treated shoulder. "But it could have gone worse. You really helped us inside when you relied on us the Collector's positions before they could sneak upon us. Shame that you couldn't do it until the end." a brief smile flashed her for a second "Still, you did a great job, and I am happy that you are fine."

"Kasumi is right." continued Samara. She was the one in the worst shape: Lena could see medical stitches and workings on most of her chest and stomach. Whatever had hit her had not been merciful on her.

"Everyone did its part, and we won because of this. That and the Goddess smiling on us this day."

"you sure about that? Because you look like you just come out a charnel-house!" snarked Jack, but Samara remained unperturbed.

"The Goddess tested me with fire, and I endured. I live for fighting for another day, and that is enough for me."

"Yeah yeah, cut the religious crap now Priestess. I am not in the mood today." Jack snarked back.

Samara smiled at her, in the way a mother would do to a bratty child, but nothing else.

"So...we won?!"

"Yes, Lena." replied Chackwas kindly "Despite the obvious trap, our people managed to get out from the Collector ship mostly unscathed," everyone ignored Jack's sudden rambling about being unscathed and kept listening.

"And with loads of data for EDI to analyze. With some luck, we shall also find the way to enter inside the Omega-4 relay and be done with the Collectors for good."

The doctor stopped for a moment and checked something on her computers.

"Two hours ago, Miranda was occupying another bed like you, while I was nursing a wounded arm to Jacob. But good luck keeping that ones still for less than a minute. I had to discharge them because they proved to be only flesh wounds and had my infirmary already filled."

"The others are fine then? And Thane?" continued Lena

"Mostly. A lot of scrapes and bruises. Some broken ribs for Shepard and Grunt have more bullet than scales inside his fringes, but they are fine now. I had to put in a quick triage situation for all of you. Thane took a bullet on the back a second before the battle ended. I had to put into a coma and operate as soon as he arrived, but it is now out of danger. I fear thought that her syndrome will worsen because of all of this mess." Chackwas sighted "I just did my best, but Drell phisiology is so alien. I heard that Shepard stormed the briefing room once he come out of the shuttle. Something about the Illusive Man and some kind of trick, i didn't hear it well. I was too bust saving your hides."

"But no one died Lena! So away with the long faces all of you!" quipped Kasumi with her usual Cheshire smile.

"We robbed the most dangerous ship in the galaxy of their data banks and got out mostly scot-free! I haven't felt so excited in ages!"

"Glad you are finding something good in this mess, Ms Goto." grumbled Chackwas back "I would have appreciated not overworking this night."

Lena smiled at this small banter unravelling in front of her, but her heart was not here in this moment. It was true that the mission looked like a success. It was true that no one had died and now they probably had what they were looking for.

But then why, in the goddesses' name, her last memory before fainting was the Reaper' satisfaction at the current situation? And why could she not stop feeling that the Collectors had tricked them?!


Unbeknownst to anyone inside the ship, EDI included, a small scrap programme was making its way inside the Normandy's central core. The ship's main intelligence hat thought to have destroyed all the attack programmes launched by the Collectors during the backlash, but what she failed to understand was that all those attacks were only decoys, malicious programs made to distract EDI for the main danger.

The main threat sneaked inside the ship's data core like a shadow, using the scrap code's barrage as a mantle to creep inside EDI's systems without warning her. It avoided and bypassed thousands upon thousands of security checks and antivirus programs like they were not there.

Then, after finally finding a quiet spot inside the ship's mainframe, it latched itself into the primary system, becoming virtually invisible.

It became dormant but ready to spring back into action if necessary. Already its remote files were creeping themselves inside every system of the ship, from the vital support to the engine room.

Soon no places would have been safe from it. And when the Collectors would return, they would find a defenceless ship ready for the taking.


Done! A little piece before closing: If you are wondering why nothing like this happened on Horizon (Why Lena didn't fell on the floor screaming when the Herald took control of a Collector alongside checking the others like she is doing now), it is for two reasons

1) On Horizon Lena barely brushed the Collectors with her yoki sensing. She discovered her capacity and tried to use it for the first time without really knowing how to deal with it after all, and mostly thought about fighting them and nothing else, and she still had a bit of a reaction. Here Lena used all her focus and might to SENSE yoma energies uncaring on the rest, focusing every inch on the task.

2)In this contest, Lena is actively looking for every Collector inside the ship. Her mind is open and vulnerable, not closed and busy like on Horizon. And this time she is actively looking for presences, not brushing them. Is the difference between knowing that there is an intense light far from you (and you are just glancing at it to see where it is) and sticking your face a centimetre from the lamp when it is turned on. It will burn your eyes or worse.

That united with Lena piercing inside the Herald's mind for a split second instead of just feeling it like on Horizon is the reasons for her extreme reactions.

You can bet that she will not repeat this ever again.

Hope my reasons make sense in case you were doubtful.

Bye!