Vanguard of Vengeance: 13
With access barred to Nihlus' usual preferred base of operations, the local police precinct, by surly looking ERCS officers, the team was forced to retreat to the next best thing, the local bar. Linksano's was deserted when Nihlus pushed open the door. Only the bartender stood in the dimly lit place, repeatedly rubbing down the same empty glass with a rag. Nihlus nodded respectfully and received nothing in acknowledgment. His mandibles fluttered.
"Good a place as any other, I suppose," he muttered back. He pushed through the door and held it open, allowing the rest of the team to slink in. There was a flurry of snaps, hisses, and pops as helmets were removed and dumped on one of the nearby table. The door snapped closed on the sounds of foot traffic. Shepard doffed her own helmet and threw it into an unoccupied chair, then peeled off her armoured gauntlets, which followed close after. Her knuckles still stung from her brief scuffle, but that wasn't why they shook ever so slightly. Shepard's blood was up now and she wanted nothing more than to go and find something to fight.
"Hey."
She shook herself, someone was talking to her. "Huh, what?"
"Is there going to be a problem?" Nihlus said evenly. "Because there is something going on around here, and if I'm going to get to the bottom of it, I'm going to need Shepard the N7 graduate, not Shepard the Tenth Street Red." His words were quiet but firm, as was the hand he placed on her shoulder. Shepard shook it off.
"I'm sorry. I'll cool off. You still want me to take Tali out scouting?"
"If you can promise me you won't try and pick a fight with Elanus Risk Control Services," he replied with a chuckle. Shepard nodded. "Well then, I want you to take a peek around the engineering spaces. I'll head off the administration and try to clear a path for you."
"Got it," Shepard said. Nihlus turned to leave, but she stopped him. "Nihlus, my time with the Red's, it's not in file, not even the ones held by the Tops. How'd you find out?"
"That's a story for a different time, I'm afraid." Nihlus replied. He started to say something else, but at that moment the doors to the outside opened with a hiss. In the doorway stood a tall asari. The alien woman stepped gracefully across the threshold, her long dress seemingly hovering mere centimeters from the ground. The dress was conservatively cut from white cloth, its panels bordered in pale gold chord that complimented her dappled violet skin. Her face was a mask of collected stillness, a mask that broke as her eyes swept the room.
"Celle!" Liara called and gleefully rushed to her. The two shared a giggling embrace as the team looked on. At long last, Liara broke the hug self-consciously.
"Everyone, this is Doctor Celebrian Sviati, head xeno-archaeologist for the Academy of Sciences on Illium."
"It's Peer Sviati now," the other asari said in a high and fluted voice, "of the Noveria Institute. Which of course you would know, if you stuck your head out from underground more often. How long has it been now, seven years?"
"Only six," Liara protested. "Five if you count that dig we went on in the Attican Traverse."
"The dig we met on in the Attican Traverse, you mean," Celle said good-naturedly. "Anyway, you must tell me what you are doing on Noveria! I was ever so excited when I received your message, but you never mentioned what brings you here. You're not still on that mad crusade chasing after the secret of the Protheans are you?" she looked past Liara to look at the gathered team.
"It is not mad," Liara said. "And I'm not chasing it anymore."
"Oh?" Celle said quizzically. Before Doctor T'Soni could spill any more as to the nature of their Prothean passenger, Nihlus stepped in.
"Professor, I understand that you had a hand in getting us a surface pass down to the planet," he said quickly, drawing the attention of the white-clad alien.
"Why yes, I suppose I did. It would have been a real pity if Little Wing here got herself shot down." She said with a smile. Shepard shot the younger asari a questioning look, but Liara looked away with a light blush. "I was, of course, accompanying the Matriarch during her visit here. When I saw your request to land, I assumed that you finally deigned to pay her a visit. Judging by your traveling companions though, this is a somewhat more official matter."
"Y-yes, well, this is Nihlus. He's a Council Spectre."
"A Spectre? We don't see many Spectres here on Noveria. You didn't wander into some primitive culture's sacred temple uninvited again did you? Spectre Nihlus, if she's done anything…" The turian raise his hands.
"That won't be necessary. You see, Doctor T'Soni became part of my latest investigation when her dig came under attack by elements of the Geth. The same Geth we think might be on Noveria. The woman we spoke to, Gianna Parasini, said there were no Geth here though."
"And she'd be right," Celebrian said airily, "Noveria has no connection to A.I. either past or present, and we've been especially vigilant to ward against both Geth, and their creators."
"Be that as it may," Nihlus said diplomatically, "we have received reports from several sources. If you could set it up, we'd like to meet with Matriarch Benezia, just to make sure she's safe. We're afraid that the Geth might make her a target as well, and the Administrator has denied us access."
The smile on Celebrian's face fell abruptly, replaced with a flaccid expression that was almost slack. "All is well, Matriarch Benezia is at Peak 15." She said. Shepard caught Nihlus' eye, but the turian Spectre made a subtle sign to keep quiet. Celebrian came back, a shallow grin flickered back across her face and she spoke sweetly. "I'm afraid it'll just about impossible to meet her. There's a storm blowing in off the mountains, the roads out will be the only path to the Peak, and the Administrator hasn't handed out a pass to the garages for several months. If you want my advice, you'll take your ship and take your Geth investigation somewhere else." With that, the asari turned gracefully on her heels and strode from the bar.
"Celle, wait!" Liara called, but her friend had already whisked herself away. "Ooh, why does she always have to do this?" Liara shook her palled up fists before smoothing down her coat and taking a deep, steadying breath.
"You two have a history past mutual archaeological research, I assume?" Nihlus said as the doors swished closed behind the retreating asari.
"Celebrian has the ear of my mother, though sometimes I think she believes she has more. This is not the first time she has refused to bring some of my concerns to Benezia's attention."
"Do you think you can get her to come around? The longer I spend here, the longer I get the sense that we're being played. I'm going to need you to go after her, try to work her over to our side. Can you do that?"
Liara nodded had briskly followed her old mentor out of the double doors. Nihlus rounded on Shepard. "Take your team out, Commander. I want hourly status updates." Shepard saluted sharply.
"Come on, we've got a gutter to seep."
Off the beaten path of the blisteringly white walkways and streets, Noveria had a different face. Sure it didn't hold a candle to the alleyways and dead end roads that Shepard had grown up on, but next to Noveria's public face, the difference was startling, though perhaps not to the untrained eye. Shepard could see it though, the thin layer of dust and grime, the steel construction not quite so shiny, clear signs that the scouring mechs didn't mind giving this part of town the odd pass over. Small scraps of rubbish dotted the ground. In any other city, they would have blended in, even been expected, but on Noveria they shone as bright as billboards. She knelt to brush aside a flimsy placard to reveal a half empty pot of contraband pain pills.
"Weird, I didn't think that paces like Noveria even had a gutter," Tali mused behind her. Shepard looked up at her Quarian teammate.
"Trust me, the Navy's taken me here, there, and everywhere, and there isn't a habitable planet I've visited yet that didn't have a gutter." Shepard tossed the pills aside. They rattled and rolled down the empty alley. "What I want to know is if this is the slum, where are all the slummers?"
"Perhaps there aren't any? Or maybe they move about, there's nothing keeping them here." Tali replied.
Shepard shook her head. "Noveria's got an image to keep, and that image doesn't have a place for dropouts and burned out lab subjects. Otherwise we wouldn't have had to slip by three patrols to get back here. And besides," Shepard fished out the placard again, "I don't think this guy just got up and left." She held it up in Tali's line of sight. Clearly visible on the card were the words Veteran, Relay 314, disabled. "Which again begs the question, where did they all go?" Shepard gave the street another critical look. She had the weirdest feeling… Something glinted from atop a nearby building. Shepard's N7 sharpened reflexes kicked in before she had a chance to process what she was seeing. She lunged for the Quarian, who protested angrily as the two went down in a tangle of limbs.
"Shepard! What are you…" was all she got out before the crack of the rifle reached them. The metal pavement mere feet behind them exploded in a shower of sparks as the armour piercing tungsten round tore into the ground. Shepard ripped her pistol from its magnetic holster and fired a few shots blindly back in the direction of the would-be assassin as she struggled to extricate herself from Tali. She rolled back onto her feet in time to see the sniper drop from the building to the ground in what had to be a mass effect assisted jump.
"We have to call this in to Nihlus!" Tali squeaked, but it fell on deaf ears as Shepard took off after the shooter. The pavement became a blur beneath her feet as she rushed headlong towards where she'd last seen her attacker. Behind her Tali spluttered in an effort to keep up with her, but without the Commander's augmented lungs and conditioning she was having a rough time of it.
A flash of grey caught Shepard's eye off to the side. She turned to see A slim figure in grey armour plate burst from a side passage, a tall rifle slung across one shoulder. Even through the opaque helmet glass Shepard could tell her attacker was surprised to see her closing so fast. The attacker broke into a flat sprint, narrowly avoiding a collision. Shepard fell in behind her, grunting with exertion as the enemy stayed infuriatingly just out of reach. With near blinding speed, the grey clad assassin whipped to the side, ducking down another alley. Shepard turned in time to see her artfully leap and swing herself up the side of the building in a dizzying flurry of moves. She disappeared over the lip of the building and continued running along the roof tops. Shepard took off after her on the ground, shadowing the leaping assailant. Whoever she was, she was fast, but she was also running out of roof. Shepard counted doorways as they rushed past.
One… two… three… four… Shepard triggered her biotics, and sprung high into the air as negative gravity wreathed every part of her body. If she had counted right, the current run of buildings was about to meet a wide avenue, and without biotics of her own, the assassin would have to cross right… about…
Shepard collided in midair, driving a shoulder into the surprised sniper. Wreathed as she was in dark energy, Shepard did little to effect the pair's momentum, so they both continued along the sniper's original arc until they came crashing down atop a roof across the narrow alleyway. They rolled, Shepard coming up into a kneeling guard just in time to block a snap kick as her attacker continued her roll. The other woman rose, throwing another kick that drove Shepard back. She caught the third strike and lifted with all her might. Her opponent spun away which gave Shepard the breathing room she needed to regain her feet. She was soon under assault again as a sliver of metal flashed by her head. The attacker had pulled a knife. The blade knicked and skittered across Shepard's armguards as it flicked out again and again. Finally she had an opening, as the blade rushed down in a stabbing arc. Shepard's arms flashed up, ready to make the redirect. But her opponent was ready for her. The attacker shifted her weight, pulling Shepard into the path of her own redirect. The thin blade came down on her gut, slicing the thin rubbery material between the hardened plates.
Shepard hissed as the metal dug in. Her attacker delivered a vicious instep kick to the back of the knee and drove her to the ground before throwing her down on her belly. The knife twisted. Shepard bit her lip to stifle a yell. She felt herself being turned over as the other woman knelt down over her. She withdrew the knife and whispered down to Shepard in a cruel voice.
"Not so nice to be on the other side of the knife, huh, bitch?" she said. "You'll pay for what you did to Hagan." She tapped the knife along to top of Shepard's helmet.
"I don't know what you're talking about," Shepard spat, leaving a wet red spot on the inside of her visor. "If this is about at the gates…"
"The gates? That wasn't nothing but a little bit of fun. Or do you not remember who I am?" At Shepard's stubborn silence, she went on. "I thought they built N7s smarter these days. And I definitely thought the knife would be a better reminder."
Something clicked. The voice, the knife. "You're the interrogator, you were on the Citadel!"
"Now she gets it," The woman ripped off her ERCS helmet to reveal a handsome yet scarred face with pointed features. Those features were twisted in a spiteful smile as the woman continued in her mock-congratulatory tone. "Go right to the front of the class." Her eyes burrowed into Shepard's. "You know, I'm kind of glad you caught up with me, it'd be a shame to take you out without getting a chance to have a little chat."
"What do you want? Are you with Saren? Are you here for the Matriarch?" Shepard asked. The woman shushed her with a cocked finger and a sharp look.
"Now, now. You don't want to ruin the surprise." she admonished. "And besides, I think we'll stick to my questions." The woman's cruel smile sent chills through Shepard, the cold in the pit of her stomach rising above the hot anger that ran in her veins. The grin widened until all of a sudden, it fell. Shepard looked back, following her eye line. A glowing orange sphere bounced and floated up and over the lip of the building, it's wide open face opening and closing like the iris of an eye.
"What the…?" the woman managed to say before the drone flashed red. A long streamer of static discharge leapt out, catching the kneeling attacker right in the fingers that clasped the knife. With a gasp, the blade flew from her fingers and skittered away. "Questions will have to wait!" She spat before ducking low under another blast. She ran stood over, pausing only briefly to scoop up the smoking knife. Shepard sat up painfully, clutching at the ragged hole in her armour plate that was already staining a bright crimson. Weakly, she raised a gauntleted fist, her pistol clenched tight. One shot was all she managed before she dropped the pistol as another sliver of pain shot through her midsection. The shot went high, catching the fleeing attacker high in the shoulder. She grunted but kept going, dropping from the roof. Shepard grasped uselessly at the air behind her attacker, though it did little good. She swore viciously and went for her medigel. The medicated paste was cool out of its injectors and the flood of painkillers washed through her like an icy and numbing tide. Shepard lay back as the exertive grunts of somebody climbing reached her ears. Tali emerged over the lip of the building.
"Commander!" She yelled, rushing to Shepard's side. She reached for her own medigel container before Shepard caught her by the arm. Tali pulled away, but got the gist when she saw Shepard's container blinking empty. "Are you okay? Can you move?"
"Yeah. Yeah, I'll be fine," Shepard said through gritted teeth. "Trust me, I've had worse. Now help me up." The two women grunted as the alien helped up her bleeding human teammate. "Thanks for the assist."
"It was the least I could do," Tali said in a strained cheerfulness that rang slightly false in Shepard's ears. "You did push me out of the way of a bullet back there."
Shepard's comm. chimed. She reached for it with her clean hand. "Shepard here."
"Shepard, it's Nihlus," the turian said in a voice that instantly set Shepard's teeth on edge. The flange in his tones had the crackle of recent combat.
"Go ahead, Nihlus," She said, trying to hide the pain in her own voice.
"Commander, I'm going to need you to stop what you're doing right now and make your way to the administrator's office. You sound like you need patching up, but do it on the fly. This can't wait for long."
"Yes, sir!" Shepard said with more snap than she intended, slapping the comm. off.
Shepard skidded to a halt outside the impressive sculpted façade of Administrator Anoleus' private offices. Outside the outer lobby doors, Garrus stood at uneasy attention.
"Shepard," he said, barely above a whisper. He jerked his head back towards the office, his eyes fixated on the port's security personnel. Shepard looked out and watched them too. They wandered stiffly in wide circles around the promenade, eyes fixed ahead. Shepard walked past Garrus and into the lobby. Tali gasped behind her. Shepard couldn't blame the young Quarian woman, the sight before them was as grisly as it was surprising. The administrator's assistant, Gianna Parasini, lay still on the metal flooring. A gash opened up her once pretty face, the evidence of a mass driver hit at close range. Blood was already congealing on her dark skin. Behind her, Shepard heard Tali gag.
"Is that?" She asked, hard faced.
"Yes," Nihlus said stiffly. His hand was on his shotgun and his eyes were beady, cold. "Unavoidable, she attacked us. I knew something wasn't right, and when she fed me that line about Benezia again… well, I pushed, and she pushed back. Only she pulled a gun, over there." He pointed towards an abandoned heavy pistol on the floor a few feet away.
"How are we fielding this, sir?" Shepard asked.
"We keep it quiet. As far as I know, nobody heard, this office is likely soundproofed to prevent bugging. I've sent the doctor back for a plasma cutter."
"A cutter, sir?" Shepard asked, surprised. Plasma cutters were generally held back for heavy duty work, cutting through hull plate and the like.
"Yes," Nihlus said. He pointed at the high double doors into Anoleus' inner sanctum. Where the two wooden slabs met, a thick ropy chunk had been levered out of the doors. Underneath, purple-grey metal shone. "The doors are soft wood veneer, but underneath they've got some kind of metal I've never seen before. Ah, here she is now." There was a soft knock at the door, the sound of someone being brusquely shoved aside, and then the doors slammed open. A furious prothean marched through, Ashley close at his heels and a furiously blushing Liara behind the both of them. Javik fumed, his four, red-rimmed eyes blazing as he looked between Shepard and Nihlus.
"You left me behind," he said simply, his voice searing. "And you thought to set your guard dog one me to keep me there!" Ashley bristled at the comment. "But now you've let yourself get drawn into a trap!"
"What are you talking about?" Nihlus asked sharply, signaling for Garrus to close the doors tightly behind them."
"Can you not see it?" Javik asked, "Can you not smell it, taste it on the air? These creatures are indoctrinated, bent to the will of a Reaper."
"The voices," Liara said suddenly, "the same lines, over and over, but how many could they have gotten to?"
"All of them," Javik said, his voice heavy as a tombstone.
The glare of the torch burned bright in the small lobby as it cut deep red scars in the metal underlayer of the inner doors. Already the thin wood had burned completely away, leaving only the blackened shell behind. And now that was about to give way. The team stood in an uneasy semi-circle as Ashley and Garrus hefted the heavy cutter for the final stroke. The doors gave way with a puff of smoke, a tongue of flame, and a wave of stale, foul-smelling air. The room beyond was dark and dank.
"Pull the doors," Nihlus ordered. Ash and Garrus each grabbed a section of the still cherry red door and tugged. The doors swung open, revealing the interior. The room was bare and grey, it's walls stripped of metals, paint, wood, any decoration. The outer facing windows were blackened, covered over by some paint or paste. The oozy, oily smell that had roiled through the crack now belched forth in great stinking clouds.
But it was what lay in the center that drew the eye and curdled the stomach. The form, at first squat looking until the opening doors revealed its bulk, loomed from the center of the room. It was a wide, pulsating mass of grey-green flesh, easily five feet high at its peak. Its wide, sweaty sides were split by an arrack of black tubes that ran like worms through the fetid pile. Just under the surface, fierce blue orbs winked on, shining through the skin.
"My God," Ashley whispered, her hand clapped over her mouth.
At her words, the mass stirred, it's forward most limb shifting and moving, it flared open, the thick tendril blossoming to reveal the pale body of an emaciated salarian. It too was riven by the black cords, it's skin broken to reveal blue circuitry. It's head was a grotesque distortion, jaw snapped to hang wide and bright, pupils electric blue orbs bulged from its sockets. And then it began to speak. Its voice was wet, guttural, at once a scream and a roar and a groan. It bellowed, its tones like oil in Shepard's head.
All is well. The thing blared. Benezia is at Peak 15.
"Do not let it corrupt you!" Javik bellowed in return. He raised his particle rifle to his shoulder. "This thing is of the Enemy, it must be burned!"
No. You…. The thing struggled. It's bulging eyes swiveled onto Javik. You… You must… DIE.
Author's Note:
It Liiiiiiiives!
My apologies for the massive time gap in publishing. Hopefully this marks the return to regularly scheduled updates. For those of you who've stuck with me, thank you for your patience.
-Liddle Out
