…
"You wanna play it soft? We'll play it soft. You wanna play it hard? Let's play it hard."
(Korben Dallas)
…
Ark Ship "Purgatory", January 16th, 11:09 AM, 2185
…
I pulled my head back, turning from side to side as several loud pops rang out in the shuttle. I stood quietly next to a helmeted Garrus in my armor, sighing as we pulled into the shuttle bay of the mercenary-run prison Purgatory. My body shivered, feeling like cold needles contacting my skin, knowing full and well how difficult this was going to be.
"I hope your right about her." Garrus mused in the privacy of the shuttle cabin while Miranda was still at the controls. "If she pulls anything, she'll get a bullet before any of those mercs get to us."
"Knock it off with the negative waves, we'll be fine." I reassured, looking at him for a moment before slipping my breathing mask over my head. "You've got to bury that thought process."
Garrus chose not to respond to my statement as we landed with a gentle thump inside of the ship. I could already see a small team of Blue Suns forming up outside of the shuttle, fully armed with Vindicators and grenades. Miranda walked out of the cockpit, stopping in front of us before forcing a smile. She couldn't see either of our faces, which probably boded well for Garrus.
"You two ready for this?" She asked, immediately reverting to her resting face as we both nodded. "Alright… lets go."
She slipped on her own helmet before opening the door, revealing the shuttle bay in full. It was very small, only enough space for our shuttle alone. The place had obviously seen some wear and tear over the years, with loose wiring and exposed conduits readily obvious just from taking a brief look around. There were four mercs waiting for us as we followed closely behind Miranda.
"Welcome to Purgatory." The one of the guards greeted, stepping forward. "The warden will be here shortly. We have a strict "no firearms" policy for guests, so we'll have to confiscate your weapons for the duration of your visit."
"You will not touch our weapons." Miranda immediately rejected, taking a step forward as the mercs slowly raised their rifles towards us. I quickly drew my M-6 Carnifex as Garrus pulled out his M-92 Mantis, Miranda quickly drawing her M-9 Tempest as both sides became stuck in a Mexican standoff.
My sweat turned to ice as my body became cold, already thinking that we had failed our mission. I was tempted to pull the trigger until the door opened, revealing a barefaced Turian in full armor.
"Everyone stand down!" He ordered with authority as all the mercs lowered their rifles, looking directly at the three of us. "Ms. Mars, I am Warden Kuril, the owner of this prison. I know how Cerberus is about their firearms, but we do not allow unsanctioned weapons inside."
"If you know how Cerberus is, then you'd know we never surrender our weapons." She rebutted, lowing her Tempest as Garrus and I kept our respective weapons at the ready.
The two of them stared at one another for a few moments, narrowing their eyes before Kuril leaned back.
"Fine. You may bring your sidearms only. This is the only concession I will grant you." He said with finality, waving one of his arms dismissively. "You can never be too careful around the galaxy's most dangerous criminals, Ms. Mars."
Miranda nodded, looking at each of us as we lowered our weapons.
"Just do as he says." She ordered, walking towards the guards and handing them her Tempest.
I knew we were already taking a risk at this point, but decided to go along with it anyways. Garrus slowly and reluctantly gave the guard his Mantis as I quickly thought up an excuse for the plasma rifle strapped to my back.
"Please relinquish your weapons, Mr. Dallas." One of the mercs ordered, sounding rather annoyed as I stepped forward.
"This is the only weapon I have." I lied though my mask, holding up my Carnifex for him to see.
"Then what's that on your back?" He questioned as another merc took out a hand scanner and waved it over my backside.
"That's part of my armor. It's a custom shield booster." I explained, knowing there was no way their scanners would be able to identify it as a weapon in its collapsed state. "Why? You gonna start taking pieces of my armor too?"
"Let him go, he's clean." The other merc reassured, putting down the scanner as his buddy stepped aside.
"It's about time." I finished, pushing past him and up through the door with Miranda and Garrus.
Inside, we found ourselves in a hallway with transparent walls that allowed us to view the open prison areas below. There were hundreds of inmates inside, all wearing orange jumpsuits that easily identified them. Occasionally, you could see several inmates begin fighting one another, only for several guards to run out with stun guns and batons to subdue the offenders.
The walls were lined with personal cells for individual prisoners, dozens of them. A large manipulator arm occasionally moved them in and out with enough speed to throw around the people inside. I could see them scratching at the small glass windows from where I stood, and some were even stained with blood.
"This is quite the operation you have here." Miranda complemented, taking the lead behind Kuril as Garrus and I stuck close to each other. "Can't be cheap to operate."
"Trust me, the planets who've sent us these criminals pay well to keep them here." He chuckled, giving me a twinge of annoyance in the back of my head as he turned around to face Garrus. "I must admit, it's a little odd seeing a human supremacist organization enlisting the help of an turian biotic."
"I don't ask questions." Garrus replied in a filtered monotone through his helmet, crossing his arms. "Talk to them, not me."
He narrowed his gaze on Garrus for a few moments, seemingly put off by his attitude before turning back around to face Miranda.
"Jack is being prepared as we speak, she'll be removed from her cryo unit as soon as funds from Cerberus have cleared." He said, looking her right in the eyes. "We'll proceed to Out-Processing in the meantime. I hope you don't mind waiting."
"Not at all." Miranda replied quickly, folding her hands behind her back as we walked.
We entered another cellblock, walking past a large exercise area that looked like it had seen its fair share of wear and tear. We followed the glass hallway until we came to a point where the hallway split into two different paths.
"Out-Processing is through the door on the right there." He pointed out, raising his finger towards it before turning to face us all. "I'll begin prepping the team that'll remove Jack from her cell. We'll call you when she's been properly secured."
"Hold on, we agreed that my team be present for the transfer." Miranda immediately argued, taking a step towards the tall turian with a lot of attitude behind her voice. "Why do you suddenly want us to wait?"
"Ms. Mars, we don't make a habit of allowing people into our secured areas, especially those who've been known to be dirty in their past dealings with other groups." He rebutted, pointing his finger in her face. "If you don't like our policies, feel free to turn around and leave without your prisoner."
The two stared at one another in complete silence for several moments, creating a tense atmosphere that could be felt all around before Miranda took a step back and let out a deep sigh.
"That's what I thought." He sneered, walking back the way we came, staring at both Garrus and I before disappearing behind the door we had previously entered before.
"That guy's more crooked than a bendy straw." I remarked over the private comm channel with a small amount of attempted humor, staring into a nearby camera as Miranda walked back towards us. "I don't like this, Miranda."
"Neither do I." She replied, adjusting one of her shoulder pads as she tapped her foot against the floor. "Let's go. We'll start working in the next area if it isn't too busy."
We went where the warden told us to, entering the Out-Processing section of the ship to find ourselves in a converted "office" area that seemed devoid of all life except for one man in a maintenance outfit working at a nearby console. The lack of activity in what was obviously supposed to be a traffic-heavy area immediately began setting off my internal alarms.
"This isn't right at all." I commented out of nerves, looking at Miranda as Garrus stopped in his tracks as well. "If we're going to act, now's the time."
"I agree. It looks like the access port to the fifth quadrant is still there." She pointed out, looking at it for a moment as both of us homed in on it. "Sean, distract or kill the guard over there while Garrus and I open the hatch. Kuril already suspects us, so we'll have to move quickly."
"Understood." I confirmed, walking over to the man while the other two idled for a few moments. "Hey there, can you tell me where the shitter is? I've got a turtle head poking out and I'm ready to unleash hot fury."
"Wha, are you fockin' stupid or summthin?" He answered in a deep British country drawl, looking none too pleased with my question. "You passed it on your way 'ere."
"Can you show it to me?" I inquired further, trying to get him to leave the area so I wouldn't have to kill him. "I'm very bad with directions."
"Go fin' it yourself, wanker." He immediately cut off, looking back to his console without a second thought.
"Aw, fuck this." I said under my breath with finality, pulling my plasma rifle out and pointing it at him as it extended to its full length. "Get your ass down on the ground now!"
"Shit!" He yelled in surprise, attempting to grab the handgun at his hip before I put a single plasma bolt through his head, blowing half of it off and leaving the other unidentifiable.
"Goddammit… we're on the clock!" I announced, shooting out the camera in the corner of the room before running back over to Garrus and Miranda as they pulled off the hatch cover.
"Get in!" Miranda shouted, waving me towards them as I jumped into the access shaft, landing with a loud clunk. The alarm began blearing in the background just as we pulled the hatch back on to cover our tracks.
"Where to next?" I asked, panting slightly as adrenaline could be felt flowing through my veins.
"We'll follow this path for about twenty meters before taking a left. At the end of that path we should be above the cryo containment unit." She explained, the light from her omni-tool illuminating her faceplate in the nearly pitch-black corridor. "We need to move quickly, it won't be long before they realize where we've gone. Sean, take point with the Plasma Rifle. Garrus, cover our rear."
"Got it." I agreed, squeezing past the two and taking the lead. Despite the din of the general alarm vibrating through the hull of the ship, it was disturbingly quiet in the maintenance corridor as we slowly moved through.
We made it about twelve meters before the floor below me turned into a grate. I took two steps before immediately stopping and holding up my hand.
"Stop. Don't move." I ordered, crouching down slowly as I watched several squads of Blue Suns run through the hallway, loaded up with lethal and non-lethal weapons. I saw the warden and one of his mercs stop in the middle of the hallway and begin talking to one another as several LOKI mechs walked past.
"I knew those three were trouble the moment I laid eyes on them." Kuril commented in an annoyed tone, crossing his arms. "Secure Out-Processing and the sixth and seventh quadrants. Orders are to capture, Sergeant, but if they prove too much you're authorized to use lethal force."
"Sir, why not just kill them in the first place?" The human woman asked, sounding more than a little confused.
"I don't think they're Cerberus. I want to find out who they really are." He answered, looking up for a moment before looking back to the sergeant. "You have your orders. Get it done."
"Aye, sir." She nodded, breaking into a dash as Kuril walked away out of my visual range.
"Alright, we're clear for the moment, keep going." I said, pointing forward towards solid ground ahead.
"Sounds like they suspected us from the beginning." Garrus remarked, sounding slightly coy as I shook my head.
"Now's not the time." Miranda shot back, sounding mildly annoyed. I couldn't blame her.
We walked a little farther, reaching the end of the hallway ceiling as a loud bang resonated behind us from where we had entered.
"We need to move now!" I urged, throwing caution to the wind and allowing myself to move faster as we ran around the bend. I could already see we were above our destination, the Cryo Containment Unit.
I kicked open the grate, surprising a single turian technician with a rifle at the console overlooking the area. He fired a volley of rounds at me as he called for help over his radio, hitting me twice and knocking me back into the access hatch. I fired blindly at him, managing to miss twice before my third shot connected with his right arm.
"Son of a bitch…" I gritted, allowing Garrus and Miranda to go past as I checked to make sure neither of the shots got through my kinetic barriers. After determining I was fine, I jumped down to see the full scope of the cryo unit.
"Wow… even for the Suns that's impressive." I said, walking over to Miranda at the console as Garrus locked out the controls on the door behind us. "She still in there?"
"Tube Number 7… here we go." Miranda replied with what I assumed was a smile as she began the extraction procedure. "The whole prison knows we're here. We'll need to move her quick."
"Agreed." I nodded, watching the arm below pull the tube out with Jack inside. Mist shot up out of the tube as it was removed from its holding area, covering the window with enough condensation that it became impossible to see through.
My concentration was broken as shouting could be heard both behind and above us. The mercs were trying to get in.
"Garrus, here!" I said, throwing the Vindicator the tech had been using over to him. He grabbed it mid-air, snatching it and immediately checking its ergonomics.
"Thanks." He replied with satisfaction in his voice, walking over to us as windshield wipers turned on in the cryo chamber, clearing the glass so we could see again.
She was in the open air, still covered with a large amount of frost as binds held her arms and head secured.
"How're we supposed to get her out of here?" I asked, not sure what our game plan was at this point. Before Miranda could answer a high-power plasma torch began cutting through the door behind us, sending a shower of molten metal flying into the room.
"Not good." Garrus observed, looking quickly between the door and the window trying to think of a way out.
Then something completely unexpected happened. Jack burst out of her binds, creating a biotic shockwave that vibrated through the whole ship. All of us were thrown to the floor as she raced forward below us, shattering the windows all the way up here as we were showered with glass.
"What the fuck!?" I shouted, losing all my self-restraint as my mind raced. "How's she using biotics without an implant?!"
"She doesn't need one!" Miranda quickly replied, pulling off her helmet due to the faceplate now being broken. "I told you, she's no ordinary biotic."
"We need to get down there before the Suns get to her." Garrus observed, looking over the edge of the broken glass as emergency lights switched on around us. "Come on, we can go this way!"
"Roger that!" I quickly agreed, jumping back to my feet as the torch behind us started back up.
Miranda and I jumped onto a piece of scaffolding that hugged part of the chamber, immediately feeling the difference in temperature as we jumped down several times before reaching the floor below. The entire chamber was a wreck. Jack had splattered several of the mercs down here, turning them into bloodstains as she smashed through the large vault door at the base of the chamber.
We ran though the passage Jack had opened, seeing she had also punched a hole in the wall leading to one of the cell blocks. We immediately followed, seeing her run through the back end of the cell block leaving a trail of destruction in her wake. This, in turn, seemed to have spurred on a prison riot as inmates attacked the confused an outnumbered Blue Suns with improvised weapons and bare hands.
"My god…" I exclaimed, pausing for a moment to look at the carnage before gunfire forced my head back down. Several LOKI mechs came out of the slots in the walls to assist in quelling the prisoners, shooting on sight as the warden shouted various commands and threats over the intercom system.
"This might be harder than I thought." Miranda joked with another forced smile as we all took cover behind a cell unit, waiting for the two sides to thin each other out a little bit more. "She'll wreck half of the damn ship before we get to her."
"I'm having second thoughts, Miri." I admitted, beginning to worry. "Even if we do get through this and she's still alive, how're we going to get someone who can do this to join us?"
"We'll figure that out when the time comes." She reassured, peeking past the edge of the prison cell before ducking back. "The prisoners are dead, let's go!"
I nodded, following closely behind as Garrus covered our rear. We moved through the open areas, jumping behind pieces of cover as I laid down heavy fire with my plasma rifle. It melted the mechs and fried the guards, keeping us moving at a steady pace before we reached the next cellblock. Inside, the prisoners had overpowered the guards due to Jack's indirect intervention.
We made it several meters in before one of Jack's biotic blasts tore open another hole in the wall, hitting something vital. All the power in the section went out as we were plunged into total darkness, leaving Miranda at a tactical disadvantage.
"Damn, I can't see a thing." She exclaimed in a lowered tone, bumping into my back as her eyes attempted to adjust to the dark.
"Hand on my shoulder, Miranda." I commanded, night vision automatically kicking in on my helmet as I took out my handgun for the time being. "We'll get out of here."
Garrus took point as we moved through the darkened area, still filled with criminals of all shapes and sizes as they bumbled around trying to get through pitch blackness. We took out time when we had to, and tried not to bump into anyone or cause any racket that could attract unwanted attention. We got about three-quarters of the way through the cellblock before one of the prisoners who had stolen a guard's helmet started taking potshots at us with a shitty Kessler handgun knockoff.
"Over there!" He shouted, firing off a few more rounds before another prisoner tackled him to the ground, apparently wanting his gun. We let the two kill one another as we reached the door, easily pulling it open due to the magnetic locks being disabled.
The final cellblock before the shuttle bay still had power, and the Blue Suns had established a firm perimeter defending the area from the rioting inmates. Kuril himself was overseeing the defense, using what appeared to be a heavily-modified Turian Phaeston. We watched him shoot a helpless prisoner right between the eyes as Jack took cover behind several tables that had overturned for cover.
At this point, she looked incredibly tired, panting like a dog as she held a gunshot wound on her left arm while still clutching a Kessler in the other. It didn't take a rocket scientist to realize she wasn't going to get past Kuril without help.
We moved up carefully, making sure not to let the Suns see us as we inched closer to Jack. The moment she saw us, she pointed the handgun straight at me.
"Wait, wait!" I pleaded, holding both my hands up to show her I wasn't a threat. "We're here to help!"
At this range, even that handgun could still cause serious damage to my barriers.
"Bullshit!" She immediately shot down, keeping the gun trained on my head as she carefully looked at the three of us. "Who the fuck are you?!"
"I'm Captain Sean Michaels, working with the Migrant Fleet, and we came here to rescue you." I told her, plain and simple, as a look of confusion rolled over her face.
"The Migrant Fleet?" She repeated, sounding completely unconvinced as she winced in minor pain. "What would a bunch of bucket heads want with me?"
Before I could say anything else, several shots ricocheted off the wall next to her as one of the guards spotted her, forcing her to move closer.
"Listen, this isn't the time or place to explain." I urged, moving closer despite there being a gun pointed at my face. "We've got a way off this ship, and you've got the skills we're looking for. Do you want in or not?"
She took in a deep breath, looking down at the floor in thought for a few moments before lowering her gun.
"Fine… whatever." She reluctantly agreed, letting herself slide down the wall. "Just give me some medi-gel, will you? I'm bleedin' like a stuck pig here."
I nodded to Miranda as she quickly got to work. Garrus and I stacked up on the corner as I pulled my plasma rifle back out, loading a new canister into it with a satisfying clack.
"Kuril, I'll give you one last chance to leave with your life!" I threatened, knowing no amount of shielding his armor had would be able to withstand my rifle. "We can all still walk away from this as men."
"As men?! I've lost millions of credits worth of valuable resources in less than an hour, and you think we can still settle this as men?!" He shouted, sounding rather pissed off as I heard his men moving around the corner. "Thanks to you three, I'll have to start all over again. The least I can do is take your head as compensation!"
"I don't think he wants to play nice." I remarked to Garrus, getting a quick chuckle out of him.
"Suits me just fine." He replied, bouncing on his feet slightly before diving out of cover to a spot behind a table. I covered him, blasting away the three men who had been moving up on our position before quickly shifting my fire to Kuril's fortified position at the top of the chamber.
"I want all available reinforcements at the first quadrant! Now!" He yelled into the intercom system with a frantic voice, taking cover as Garrus shot and killed two more mercs in quick succession below. "Now, damnit, now!"
I ran out of cover while he was distracted, trying to get closer to his position. I made it to the base of his makeshift tower before four more mercs came out of the door on the other side, pinning me down.
"Damn!" I exclaimed, firing off a few blind shots to keep them away. "I need support!"
Before I knew it, the four were blasted into a wall by Jack as Miranda fired up at Kuril's position to keep his head down. I took the opportunity to move around his "tower", getting behind him as he moved out of cover to shoot at Garrus. I put a round in his back, causing him to yell in pain as he fell to the floor, dead.
"He's down, move up!" I shouted in minor triumph, raising my fist into the air before waving them over. The four of us formed up on the door behind Kuril's position, knowing many of the mercs and prisoners alike would likely be swarming the area looking for a way off the ship. We breached it, clearing out the guards who ran for escape craft as we made our way back over to our shuttle.
Luckily, the mercs hadn't been able to get inside, and had even been dumb enough to leave our weapons here unsupervised, much to Garrus' joy. We piled in with the angry biotic woman, knowing I'd have a lot of questions to answer before the day was out.
Now that we were sitting here, I finally had a chance to look at Jack as she was. To say her appearance was intimidating was putting it lightly. She was covered from head to toe with various tattoos, some personal, and some looking more like vectors to mark needle points. She was nearly naked, wearing what basically amounted to a leather strap to conceal her breasts from prying eyes. The upper portion of her prison jumpsuit hung at her sides, leaving only the pants and boots.
She must have noticed I was looking at her, prompting her to speak.
"So… why me?" She asked without any context, leaving me slightly confused as I focused back on her face.
"Why what?" I said, not knowing what she was getting at as I pulled off my helmet and watched the stars pass outside.
"Why would you go through all this trouble for me?" She clarified, putting both her hands together as she crackled with biotic energy. Her eyes looked like daggers from where I was sitting. "The only other group that's ever put this much effort into me was Cerberus."
I knew I'd have to pick my responses carefully from this point on. If she thought for a second that we were Cerberus, she'd turn me into paste like the guards back in the cryo unit.
"Trust me, I know that feeling better than you think." I said in a tired, yet relaxed tone as I leaned forward. "Like you, I've had my fair share of run-ins with Cerberus over the years. None of them good."
"You don't know a goddamn thing." She rebutted, looking unimpressed as my face shifted to as neutral of a shape as possible. "I've seen shit that'd make you piss yourself in that little armor set, and I don't want to hear your sob stories. I just want to know two things: what do you want, and what's in it for me?"
Even after having interacted with her a few times, I found her forceful attitude very familiar. It was obvious she had experienced a lot of trauma, and part of me was indeed frightened of her.
"Straight to the point… I can appreciate that." I nodded, not wanting it to sound like I was being condescending. "Fine. I'm working with Commander Shepard in a joint human/quarian coalition to bring an end to the Collectors. They've been abducting whole human colonies from the Terminus Systems, and according to some old Cerberus files we dug up, you were very skilled in-"
"Files? Cerberus files?" She interrupted, cracking her knuckles repeatedly as she focused solely on my eyes once more. "About me?"
"Indeed." I nodded, knowing Miranda had complied the dossiers quite nicely. "Why?"
"Let's get this straight, I don't give a shit about you or your cause, but if you give me full access to those files on me, I'll do whatever the hell you want." She said, surprising me as my eyebrows shot up. "Got it?"
"Well then, it sounds like we have an agreement." I nodded, standing up and offering her a handshake. She looked at my hand with a hit of annoyance, before she focused on me one last time. "Well?"
"Deal." She agreed with a smile, giving my hand one single shake before quickly pulling back. "Congrats, you just bought yourself the services of the biggest bitch in the galaxy."
"After seeing the carnage you caused in there, I can speak for everyone when I say we're happy to have you on our side." I shot back, allowing a smile of my own end as I sat back down, confident that I had accomplished my mission.
Things were going to get a lot more interesting around the ship at the rate we were going, especially if things worked out on Shepard's end.
Part of me wondered what I'd be like having a krogan on-board the ship for the first time, especially with a woman like Jack around.
…
A/N: Wrote this chapter pretty fast after finally getting bitten by the writing bug again. It's the chapter most of you expected, but hopefully I've made it more interesting than it would usually be. I tried to introduce more dynamics to an otherwise boring mission, aiming to add a bit more depth to parts I found lacking. Hopefully you guys liked it!
As usual, updates will be sporadic, especially with Fall finals fast approaching and mandatory overtime kicking in at work to deal with the holiday rush. With any luck, I'll be able to squeeze out another chapter mid-December, but you know how life is. Wish me luck!
I'd love to read any reviews, I'm always up for suggestions or constructive criticism. Stay tuned!