…
"One's an anomaly, two's a trend. Rule #89, Boss."
(Delta 62 "Scorch")
…
MFV Normandy, January 30th, 10:11 AM, 2185
…
After sitting in port for a few days, we were finally moving out again. Not a moment too soon, either, considering the pressure that had previously been placed on me by a very angry Han'Gerrel. Miranda and I had spent the last few days corroborating our intel together, trying to narrow down a new location of interest. We knew if we didn't move fast enough, Cerberus would wipe the trail clean, ruining all our progress. It was my number one priority to make sure that didn't happen. The stakes were too high.
Luckily, Miranda (with some silent help from Lydia) recently broke the encryption on the omni-tool I had recovered from that woman's body on Pragia. It was mostly empty sans a few intrusion programs, but there was one, small file that revealed an interesting tidbit of information. A small travel advisory warning Cerberus ships of an asteroid field between two systems.
It pointed to a seemingly uncharted system surprisingly close to Arvuna, only an hour's worth of travel time with the Gravity Drive. I knew they had begun to use our technology to spread to undocumented systems, but the proximity of said system made me weary of their growing influence. It was getting worse, real fast.
At the rate they were going, we'd never be able to wipe them out.
Jack had calmed down substantially in the previous days as well, seeming more content with herself now than she had before. She was still foul-mouthed and violent, but then again… couldn't really fault her for that.
I stood in the lab, working quickly to finish up the work on my new gas mask while listening to Queen's "Another One Bites The Dust". This time, I had fabricated it from one of the older quarian ones we had on backup, having properly modified it for our line of work. It featured a full faceplate, keeping all the vital elements in the back of the mask. Considering how easily that woman was able to rip off my old one, I wanted something a little more low profile this time around. It was equipped with an assisted targeting computer, flashlight, thermals, and a faceplate with toggleable polarization. The thermals would be especially useful in case we ever ran into cloaked combatants again. While they were invisible to the naked eye, I could still pick up heat if viewed through the right medium.
"Alright, let's see what we can see…" I said to myself, pulling the mask over my head and sealing it. "OK, pressure is good, seal is good… let's try them out."
I pulled out my Carnifex, unloading the ammo block and checking to make sure the chamber was completely clear. I activated the tracker, aiming my handgun around the room. A cursor followed the infrared laser built into the gun, allowing me to aim without use of the sights. So far, I was pretty happy with it. Later, I'd have to test it with my plasma gun to make sure it worked well too.
I then switched on the thermals, picked up by a monocle about the size of a pill bottle on the side of the helmet and projected onto the inside of the mask's visor. The vision was on a grayscale like all other normal military models, white being hot and black being cold. I held my arm out, seeing it light up on the image. I then walked over to the exposed maintenance corridor in the back of the room, seeing the electrical lines from the reactor glow a light grey. Perfect.
Now that that was out of the way, I turned my mind to something that had been on the backburner for a few days now. Dixon, Tony, and Morgan. Despite Shepard's initial suggestion that we relinquish our three former Cerberus techs to the colonial authorities here on Arvuna, I decided against it. Lydia and I had finished running full background checks on them, and I had absolutely no reason to doubt their stories and alibis.
My new, approved plan was to offer them work aboard the Normandy. They'd be allowed to work on our ship for now, but under heavy supervision and intense scrutiny. Lydia hadn't been happy with the idea.
"So… you still angry with my decision?" I asked out loud, leaning against the lab table with my arms crossed as she appeared above said table, looking quite unamused.
"I don't know. Would you be angry if you had three unproven, potentially dangerous elements being put to work inside of you?" She chastised, hands on her hips.
"Heh… sounds like a virus." I muttered out of the corner of my mouth, knowing she could hear me.
"You're an asshole. You know exactly what I mean." She immediately exclaimed, closing her eyes as she stood there quietly for a moment. "While I understand what you're trying to do here, I still don't like it."
"I'm not asking you to like it. I'm asking you to trust me." I reassured, turning to face her. "If I didn't think they were trustworthy, they'd be off the ship already."
"I know, I know…" She remarked, still looking incredibly dissatisfied with the arrangement. "Just remember, if anything at all happens with them, you'll never hear the end of it from me."
"Now you're just starting to sound like my mother." I shook my head as she frowned again, glaring before she cut off the hologram.
Knowing the conversation was over, I packed up the tools and left the lab, carrying the mask over my shoulder until I had reached my locker below in the hangar. The walk to the elevator was uneventful, with everyone else getting ready to leave port. The elevator ride down was similarly unengaging, and part of me was happy about that.
That changed when I walked into the hangar, seeing Garrus throw a large synthetic chew toy across the space of the shuttle bay. Hobbes ran after it, shaking the floor panels as he ran over to retrieve it. It was a strange, but funny sight to say the least. Tali stood next to him, watching the scene unfold.
"I never had you pegged as a varren person, Garrus." Tali joked, sounding quite amused. "Thought you couldn't stand them."
"If you're referring to those wild varren on Feros, you'd be correct." He remarked as Hobbes brought the chew back over, laying it at his feet. "However, this is a special case. I'm stuck with him."
"Just admit that you like him." I urged, walking past them towards the equipment and armor lockers. "It's not like he's going anywhere, right?"
Garrus grumbled and Tali laughed as I opened my locker, looking at my suit of armor. It had to go through decontamination a second time after the mission due to how much blood and… brain matter had ended up on me during the course of the mission. Now, it was completely clean, though the memories would forever be left on it. Especially that knife. I placed the mask in its usual spot, closing the locker with a sense of satisfaction. I then walked to one of the larger lockers, opening it to reveal rows of vacuum-sealed military fatigues. I took three of the packs and tucked them under my arm, mentally preparing myself for the upcoming conversation.
I walked into the holding area, seeing they were sitting around talking to one another. They all went silent when they heard me walking in, leaving the room completely quiet aside from the rumble of the reactor.
"So, I've got some news for the three of you." I began, fatigues still tucked under my arms. "We've got a lead on what we hope is another Cerberus facility, and we'll be leaving dock soon."
"Ok… what does that mean for us?" Dixon questioned, standing up as I walked closer.
"Well, its funny that you should ask that." I nodded, looking at Tony and Morgan before focusing all my attention on Dixon. "I've worked very hard figuring out how to handle this unique situation, and now I'm here with an offer for the three of you. I'm inviting you to join our crew and, by extension, the Migrant Fleet as members of my science team. This is something I'll only offer once, and something not many people agree with me on."
They looked surprised by this, looking at one another in minor confusion.
"What would joining the crew mean?" Morgan asked, standing up as well. "I mean, we're certainly no scientist."
"I'm not looking for scientists. Only people willing to pull their own weight when asked to." I refocused, wanting to make my intentions as clear as possible without sounding like I was trying to intimidate them. "For now, you'd work aboard this ship, getting to know the crew and learning the ropes of basic maintenance here. Later, when I return to the Fleet, the three of you would accompany me."
"So, theoretically, what happens if we don't accept your offer?" Tony questioned, sounding reasonably suspicious. Considering what they had gone through with Cerberus, I couldn't blame him for being reluctant.
"Well, that would unfortunately mean handing you guys off to the colonial police." I answered, being as completely honest as I could. "We don't have the resources to hold you here indefinitely, and don't want to risk letting you go due to your past affiliations."
"I'm confused… why are you even offering this to us in the first place?" Dixon questioned, sounding mildly bewildered. "You have no reason to trust us. Why choose us?"
"Well, let's just say I saw part of myself in the three of you, fighting against something that sought to exploit you to their own ends." I said, shrugging my shoulders. "I've already searched your personal histories, run background checks, and so on. I have no reason not to trust you. So… what do you say?"
The three of them looked reluctant at first, whispering to one another as I stared up at the camera in the corner of the room. It didn't take long for them to decide.
"Alright, we'll do it." Dixon nodded as they all stood up, and I smiled.
"Glad to hear it." I nodded enthusiastically, opening the door to let them out and offering each of them one of the bags. "Come with me."
Finally, something I could feel good about after the last few days.
…
MFV Normandy, January 30th, 12:31 PM, 2185
…
Nearly through our jump to the Cerberus system, I was in Engineering with our three new crewmembers using the opportunity to show off the Gravity Drive and other ship systems at full operation. They were thoroughly enthralled as I gave them the personal tour, through still getting used to the new uniforms. They were a bit uncomfortable until they were washed. I was already in my own set of armor, ready in case we ended up in some kind of combat scenario.
"Here you can see the Gravity Drive in full operation." I pointed out, directing their attention to the device in the middle of the room. "Using that centrifuge, we produce a magnetic field that isolates the ship from normal space, enabling it to move faster-than-light through the warping of said magnetic field."
"Sounds complicated." Morgan mused, crossing her arms as we stopped to look at it. It spun unimaginably fast, small plasma arcs jumping between the centrifuge and housing unit. Unlike the plasma created by the NM reactor, this was simple thermal plasma that didn't even burn hot enough to cut through wood.
"So this thing propels the ship to FTL velocities?" Tony questioned, rubbing the underside of his chin.
"Well, yes and no." I remarked, hands folded behind my back. "It's not really being propelled. In terms of the physics involved, it's more or less being pulled forward."
"Wow." Dixon exclaimed, taking a few steps towards it and putting his hands on the railing.
"Careful, don't get too close." I warned, holding up one of my hands. "That thing'll rip your hand, arm, and shoulder right off if you get it caught in the gravitational field."
He immediately backed off, getting chuckles from both Tony and Morgan.
"Behind us you can see our Nemo-Michaels reactor system." I redirected, walking past them to where Gabriella and Kenneth were stationed. "It uses a mix of fusion and element zero reactions to produce electricity and a unique plasma byproduct."
"It's also temperamental." Gabby added, turning around to face us as Kenneth did the same. "I'd recommend wearing a shielded uniform or one of the light combat suits if you plan on inspecting the lower half of the reactor."
"Heh, she's exaggerating." I reassured, stepping slightly to the side. "These two grease monkeys are Gabriella Daniels and Kenneth Donnelly. They, along with Tali'Zorah and Inoe'Whilk, are the four best engineers we have on this ship."
"Not counting yourself, aye Captain?" Ken remarked, crossing his arms with a big smile.
"Hey, I was just trying to give credit where credit is due." I downplayed, unable to keep myself from cracking a smile. "I only co-designed the ship and the reactor. You guys are the true heroes here, keeping all of it in tip-top shape."
"Wait, so you designed all of this?" Dixon questioned, looking confused as I noticed the Gravity Drive spinning down.
"Co-designed." I corrected, standing with my back straighter. "While I consider myself fairly capable, most of our inventions are group ventures. In fact, I think the only device here made by one person is the Gravity Drive."
"But, then why would you go out and get yourself shot at?" Tony prodded, sounding as if he wasn't convinced. "That doesn't seem very smart."
"Well, I'm not worried about going out and getting my hands dirty. If I sit down and let others do the hard work, I'm afraid I'll lose touch with our goals and motivations." I explained as concisely as possible.
I ran my hand through my hair, taking a deep sigh. I didn't like the direction this conversation was going.
"Well, back on topic." I redirected, looking back at our two engineers. "Gabby and Ken will be training you three on the proper engineering procedures we go through here on the Normandy. They, along with Tali and Inoe, will mold you into proper maintenance technicians, ready for any challenges we may face. I expect you three to follow their instructions to the letter. Understood?"
"Yes'sir!" The three awkwardly saluted, forcing me to crack a smile.
"No need for that kind of formality around me." I reassured, shaking my head. "Just use your heads, and read the manuals I've written for the ship systems. I'm sure you three will do fine."
"Captain Michaels, please report to the CIC immediately." Joker announced over the ship's PA system, knocking my train of thought straight back into the dirt.
"Well, duty calls." I waved, breaking into a jog as I left the five of them together.
Something interesting must have been in the works.
…
Six Minutes Later
…
I walked into the CIC, seeing Shepard in full combat gear standing at one of the consoles with Miranda at his side and his hands held together behind his back. I could already tell something was in the works based on how quickly everyone else was moving. On the main holographic projector, I saw an unmapped planet slowly being constructed digitally.
"What's going on?" I questioned, walking up to the scene in progress as Shepard turned to face me.
"Take a look at this." He quickly redirected, pointing towards the display. "We just picked it up our long-range scanners."
It took a moment for me to fully process what I was looking at, but when I did finish, I was immediately furious.
"Son of a bitch… it's an Orbital Defense Platform." I sneered, unable to keep my hands from shaking. "I can't believe the audacity of these people… our stealth countermeasures are active, right?"
"Yes'sir!" One of the crewmen announced, filling me with some relief.
"This is an interesting situation we've found ourselves in…" I mused, rubbing my goatee. "If they've got their own version of our ODP, that means they've got something interesting down there. Something important."
"We're scanning the surface now, but it'll take some time to get a full idea of where they may be." Miranda explained, pointing back at the hologram. "The planet is massive, over nine thousand miles across the equator. There's any number of places a facility could have been built."
Looking at the hologram and the images on the monitor, I tried putting the pieces together as best I could. Not only had they ripped off the design of our ODP, but they had also claimed what appeared to be an entire garden world for themselves. This was indeed troubling.
"Sir!" I heard another one of the crewmen call out, looking over to see it was Vadim. "There's something here I… need input on."
"What is it?" I inquired, walking over to him.
"Well sir, I was monitoring the broadband frequencies for any irregularities, and all of them seem completely silent, with the exception to a background layer of strange static." He explained, handing his headset to me. "Here, listen for yourself."
I obliged, putting the headphones on and listening as he cycled through several common frequencies. Not a single peep on the standard and non-standard channels. He was completely right about the static, through. It permeated every single one of the frequencies, sounding similar the sound of an old CRT monitor idling. Not TV static, but just the sound of the screen running.
"Strange… what kind of signal covers that range of frequencies?" I asked out loud, suddenly even more puzzled than before. "It would have to be a particularly high-powered one."
"I've scanned several times already, but I can't pinpoint the location of the transmission." He added, getting me to let out a "hm" in minor annoyance. "I'll keep trying, sir."
I nodded, looking back to to Shepard and Miranda as ran through everything in my head. It was unusual that there would be no comm traffic at all, not even automated shipping control or aerospace authorization signals. Unless the entire system was under a communication blackout, something serious was happening.
"I think we've stumbled upon something here." I remarked, unable to shake the feeling from my gut.
"I agree. However, for now we need to focus on this ODP." Shepard redirected, pointing at the image on the console.
"Well… the way I see it, we have several options available to us." I began brainstorming, pacing from side to side. "We could either attack the platform and attempt to destroy it, bypass it entirely, or we could board it."
"Why would you even suggest boarding action?" Shepard questioned, sounding as if I was crazy. "I was under the impression that these things were dangerous."
"Oh, trust me, they are." I nodded, pulling up the 3D scan of the station. "Thing is, this platform doesn't look nearly as well-armed as ours. They're missing all the point-defense guns, and what looks to be most of their GARDAN arrays. They got cheap with it."
"That still doesn't answer my question." Shepard remarked, looking unsatisfied with my assessment. "What makes you think boarding action is at all practical?"
"Well, this is the way I see it; even after a lengthy, full scan of the planet, there's still no guarantee that we'll be able to find this facility." I ran through, walking over to the holographic projector and switching over to the fuzzy 3D image. "If we board that station, we might be able to get an exact location, then either destroy it with demo charges planted in the reactor room or remotely overload it from the command bridge."
"Seems risky." Miranda said, crossing her arms. "You'd need someone familiar with Cerberus protocols to get aboard undetected."
"You volunteering for a little float time?" I smiled, crossing my arms.
"I could use the chance to stretch my legs." She replied, letting a cocky look slip onto her face.
I looked back at Shepard, who still looked unsure about the plan. He looked at us for a few moments before sighing and shaking his head.
"Fine, we'll give it a shot." He agreed, getting Miranda to crack a smile. "Take Tali and your robot friend with you. I'll prepare another team to come in behind you if things go hot, and in the meantime, I'll gear up everyone else for a ground assault."
"Sound good." I nodded, looking back to Miranda with a smile. "Let's go for a walk, shall we?"
…
Ten Minutes Later
...
I stood in the port airlock alongside Miranda, Tali, and Powell, sealing my spacesuit in preparation for our little operation. I had traded in my plasma gun for my backup gun, a black, customized M-96 Mattock, not wanting to risk being left with a useless weapon in case we were exposed to fire outside of the station. Miranda wore a light armored suit with black and grey accents, and brought a Tempest submachine gun with her.
Tali carried her heavily-modified M-22 Eviscerator, looking ready for some action as she swapped out her mask filter. Pistis, as usual, carried his massive M8-12 Assault Platform, shouldering it without any difficulty whatsoever as he narrowed his eyes on Tali, as if keeping watch on her. All in all, I thought we had a pretty good balance of firepower for this mission.
"Are you sure that stealth field will stay active when the airlock opens?" Tali questioned, seeming mildly concerned.
"The electromagnetic field isn't affected by the airlock or hangar doors, we've tested them thoroughly." I reassured, smiling before polarizing the faceplate on my new mask. "Once onboard, we'll try to sneak to the command center. Once there, we'll seal it off from the rest of the station, priming their reactor for detonation and stealing as much intel as we can. Failing that, well..."
I pointed my thumb at the two demo charges attached to my back, getting my point across.
"Demolition charges should prove sufficient for destabilizing reactor system." Pistis remarked to my minor surprise, getting me to grin.
"I'd imagine they would. I wouldn't bring them otherwise." I nodded, giving him a thumbs up as he repeated the gesture, nearly getting me to burst out laughing.
"Decompression in five...four...three...two...one." The computer announced, sucking all the air out of the airlock and replacing it with a familiar cold sensation.
"Alright, comm check." I said, getting acknowledgements from everyone much to my satisfaction. "Good. Stick to this channel, and keep your ears open for any interference. We still don't know what it could be."
"Got it." Tali nodded as I opened the airlock door, getting my first real good look at the Cerberus ODP.
It was roughly the same size as the Cairo, but I could see a few notable differences. First, there didn't appear to be any surface lights that I could spot, leaving half the station in shadow and the rest in direct sunlight. Second, the primary ring structure was entirely round, leaving it with a much more streamlined shape. Third, it lacked any visible armor plating, especially around what looked like the command bridge.
Overall, it looked like another one of Cerberus' cheap knockoffs. I could only imagine how radically different the interior must have been.
We slowly disconnected ourselves from the deck, propelling ourselves away from the ship with MMUs. It was certainly better than using our weapons to propel us, that much was certain.
"No visible activity along exterior, Doctor-Michaels." Pistis announced as we floated towards the station, entering its shadow. "Shall we attempt local systems access?"
"No, hold off on that for now, we don't know if they have any intrusion alarms in their system or not." I denied, looking back at where the Normandy was, unable to tell it was there at all. "If they copied our design as well as it looks like they have, there should be exterior airlocks at the base of the gun's recoil mechanism. Ideally, one of the inclinators would be the most discreet entry point."
"Understood." Miranda acknowledged, looking back at me for a brief moment.
We flew over the top of the box-shaped command bridge, unable to see any activity at all as we made our way towards the base of the gun. Scanning it with my new thermals, I couldn't even spot any active heat signatures. To say it was starting to feel very eerie around here was an understatement.
"There it is!" I announced, pointing at the small airlock. "Let's get in there."
We all landed at the base of the door with gentle thumps, seeing red lights around the airlock door. It was locked up tight.
"Alright, let's see if I can get this open." Miranda mused, opening her omni-tool as she interfaced with the controls. "Hm, looks like they've updated their OS. Shouldn't be a problem…"
A few seconds later, the door lights went green and opened, suddenly revealing the frozen corpse of a Cerberus agent.
"Jesus!" I exclaimed, nearly jumping off of the station's hull as the corpse hung lazily in the zero-g environment.
"It would appear the human male died of rapid decompression." Pistis assessed, looking over the body as it floated by. "Frost buildup on body suggests three days since exposure and a lack of internal climate control."
"Three days? Why would they leave someone in there for so long?" Tali questioned, leaving me with my own list of theories. Unfortunately, we didn't have time to dwell on the man's fate.
"Let's focus on the mission. We'll figure out what happened later if there's time." I redirected, stepping into the dark airlock as everyone else followed suit.
As Miranda worked on the inner door, I couldn't help but notice that the interior lights appeared to be set to low-power mode. My optimistic guess was that they were having power trouble, but the body in the airlock led me to believe that there was a much more serious problem here.
"Strange… there's no atmosphere on the other side." Miranda said, ticking my alert mode up a few notches. "It's all vacuum."
"Is the entire station decompressed, or it it just this one section?" Tali asked, drawing her shotgun in anticipation.
"No idea, I've only got a readout on the pressure inside of the next room." Miranda answered, tapping away at her omni-tool. "Get ready, I'm opening the inner door."
The door behind us closed, forcing me to switch on my flashlight. The main power was obviously out around here, including artificial gravity. The inclinator shaft in front of us looked clear, but like everything else, was down without electricity.
"Well, at least that saves us the trouble of climbing our way up." I remarked, disengaging my magnetic boots. "Keep your eyes open for any movement."
"Affirmative." Pistis replied, lighting up a large majority of the darkness with his photoreceptor.
We floated to the top of the shaft, peering into each corner and making sure the room was clear. It was pitch black, with various tools and other miscellaneous gear floating by. The internal design around here was certainly different here, with a larger cargo hold and various weapon lockers near the doors.
"Lydia, you gettin' all of this?" I asked through a different channel, tapping the camera positioned slightly above my thermals.
"I am." She confirmed, sounding both intrigued and worried. "I've scanned the exterior several times already, but I can't find a single heat source. I'm beginning to suspect the station's reactor is either disabled or shut down."
"That thought had crossed my mind, too." I nodded to myself, watching carefully as Pistis pulled open the inactive doors on the left side of the hold, revealing more darkness. As we moved into the hallway, I found another body, this one neatly frozen to the floor panels.
"I'm starting to think everyone here might be dead." Tali hypothesised, walking past the body as she took point with her shotgun. "But, no signs of a fight. No struggle."
"I agree. This is very strange." Miranda agreed, checking the nearby stairwell for any movement as Pistis followed closely.
I took a good, long look at the body, knowing Lydia was interested.
"It doesn't appear that there was any sort of explosive decompression, that would have ruptured his lungs." Lydia almost immediately commented as i started moving again, careful to watch my footing and not trailblaze. "Pistis did mention rapid decompression."
"It was controlled, that's for sure." I replied, going up the stairs that led towards the nearby habitat. "Not a single trace of nitrogen or carbon dioxide either, all vacuum. A power failure wouldn't have vented their atmosphere, at least not in all sections."
"You're suggesting someone did this intentionally?" Lydia said, sounding surprised.
"I'm not suggesting." I remarked in a grave tone, moving into the habitat to find that nothing here had changed either.
As we moved towards our objective, we kept finding more and more bodies. We passed through two habitats, shuttle bays, and one of the docking arms before finally reaching the heavy door that led to the command bridge itself. It was sealed tight.
"Well, we're not pulling those doors open. They're way too heavy." I remarked, taking one of the charges off of my back. "Since we're not going to need a full set, we'll use one here to get inside."
"I hope you know how to use that correctly." Tali jeered, taking a few cautious steps backwards. "I've seen how easily people can get vaporized by those things."
"Just think happy thoughts." I joked, placing the charge on the door and configuring its strength. "Now, was it red-red-green, or red-green-red…"
"That's not funny." Tali immediately replied, her body language suggesting she wasn't at all amused.
"Colors do not factor into the arming of explosive devices." Pistis butted in, obviously not understanding the joke based on the confusion in his voice.
"All right, charge is set. Find some cover!" I yelled, running as quickly as I could with magnetic boots to hide behind one of the nearby support beams.
I drew the detonator, pressing it as a bright, soundless flash briefly illuminated the area, followed closely by a shower of free-flying debris. When I poked my head back out, there was a good, car-sized hole where the door used to be.
"You think we used enough?" I further joked, getting Tali to shake her head as Miranda took point.
The inside of the command bridge was radically different to the ones on the Cairo and Tabanca. It was built much more compact, with all the space in use to some degree. I wasn't sure why they had designed it like this, but it was the least of my concerns. There were at least two dozen frozen corpses here, some dead where they sat. I couldn't help but wonder what had happened to them. There was only one console still running here, and it appeared to be their power control station.
"Shepard, Sean here." I began, instinctively holding the side of my helmet as I spoke. "We've reached the command bridge. No survivors, complete loss of atmosphere on the entire station. Whatever happened here, we missed it."
"Roger that, Sean. Stick to the original plan." He ordered as some chatter could be heard in the background. "Find out where this facility is, then overload the station's reactor."
"Understood. Sean out." I nodded out of habit, looking over at my squadmates. "Get up there. Let's try to get some electricity flowing. At least some emergency power."
"Understood." Tali nodded, walking over to the dimly lit station as I followed her. "It looks like they deliberately SCRAM'd their own reactor, but all the status updates show its in perfect condition."
"Why would they do that?" I asked out loud, before focusing back on Tali. "Nevermind, it doesn't matter. We're going to destroy it anyway. Fire it up in emergency mode so we can at least get these consoles running."
She nodded, turning back to the console and running it through the start-up sequence, sending a rumble through my feet as the station shook for a moment.
Suddenly, just as the emergency lights and vital stations lit up, this blaring static rang out through our helmets, sounding like a distorted, screaming voice. I fruitlessly attempted to cover my ears as Tali and Miranda did the same, with Legion immediately turning to face the consoles. After several seconds, it stopped, leaving me with ringing in my ears.
"What the hell was that?!" I yelled, free hand clenched into a fist as I looked at the consoles, seeing them beginning to flicker rapidly.
"Doctor-Michaels, we have an imminent situation." Pistis announced, as I felt more rumbles beneath my feet.
"What's going on?" I quickly asked, running over to him.
"The station is rapidly de-orbiting. Retrograde thrusters are propelling us towards the planet's atmosphere." He explained, his photoreceptor rapidly opening and closing. "We recommend evacuating before station descends below one-hundred and forty kilometers."
"Run! RUN!" I yelled without a second thought as loudly as I could, heading back the way we came before. "Get to the shuttle bay!"
The rumbling through the hull of the station grew stronger as several of the thrusters likely began fusing from excess heat. The thumps that could be felt beneath my feet were likely caused by the blocked fuel lines exploding. We ran into the shuttle bay seeing debris flying left and right as the station began rolling.
"I'll blow the doors open, get that shuttle prepped!" I barked out, knowing that if we weren't fast enough, we'd be burnt to a crisp.
I frantically placed my remaining three charges on the bay doors, not even bothering to configure their strength as I connected them and ran back for the shuttle.
"We've got power!" Miranda announced, sitting at the pilot's seat. "Ready?"
"Here goes nothing!" I nodded, blowing the rest of the explosive charges and sending the doors flying out into space. The planet outside slowly tumbled into view as we descended further into the upper layers of the atmosphere.
Miranda fired the engines as hard as they would go, sending us flying outside of the station. As Miranda stabilized our roll, Tali, Pistis and I watched as the station plummeted into the atmosphere, burning up and breaking into pieces on its way through the mesosphere.
I had no idea what had just happened, but I knew one thing.
It must have had something to do with what was going on down there.
…
A/N: Yet another chapter under my belt. Those of you who are savvy probably already know what's going on here, but for those of you who are confused, you'll find out next time. This was an especially fun chapter to write, and one of the longest I've written in a while. I hope you guys appreciate the extra length this time around!
As always, I'd love to read any reviews, and I'm always up for suggestions and constructive criticism! Stay tuned!