Interloper Rewrite: Chapter 23
Inevitable Betrayal
Voices echoed in the shaft below, loud even over the low whine of machinery and the dulled roar of the storm outside. They slowly resolved into recognizable voices, the rest of the team. They were arguing about something, though the thickness of the metal obscured exactly what until we jerked to a stop and the lift doors slowly parted.
"…up after them. I know the VI says the hardlines have been reconnected, but if they're stuck up there…" Shepard's voice came out hard and harsh in response to whatever Garrus had last said. Before the Commander could respond, I called out.
"Reporting for duty, Commander." The words almost made the seasoned team jump, but relief quickly shot through them as they turned to see me and Liara step out of the elevator. "Please tell me you got some usable intel out of that VI. I would hate to have risked frostbite AND Geth for nothing."
"We did, actually. The VI hasn't exactly been cooperative, but through questioning it looks like whatever these things are, they came from the Rift Station labs. Binary Helix made them here."
"They made them?" Liara asked.
"It looks like it," Shepard confirmed, "Some kind of genetic experiment. Very top secret. Even connected directly to the labs, the VI was not able to retrieve any information. What it was able to do though, was unlock the trams. We have access to the station and a ticket to ride. Tali's just making sure the cab didn't sustain any damage from the cold. We were just debating whether or not to come get you." She finished, fixing Garrus with a significant look.
Garrus spluttered defensively. "I want you to know I had nothing against you, Liddle. It's just that the survivors don't have much longer, given the circumstances."
"I'll remember that next time I have to pull your scaly ass out of the fire, Vakarian," I responded. The retort had more bitterness in it than I'd intended, but the Turian's mollified expression quickly melted away any hard feelings. "So, are we good to go or what?"
"Are you good to go, Deputy? Looks like you took some hits." Shepard looked at me, her face creased with concern.
"It's not as bad as it looks," I answered, although the ache in my shoulder throbbed accusingly in response, "the arm's shot, but I can still fight." I had used a dot of omni-gel to spot weld the injured arm to my chest and immobilize the joint. The limb hung awkwardly in front of me, but the medi-gel blocked most of the pain.
"Okay, stay behind us when we go in. The tram's just through this way. We go in hot, extract the surviving scientists, and we find out what Saren's stake in this whole event is. Got it?"
"Got it, Commander."
The tram station was dark and still as the party filed in. Our torchlight played over a metal cavern whose thin stalactites of frost were only now beginning to defrost as great furnaces deep below sluggishly began to push warm air into the facility. Though still cold, the dry air of Peak 15 was quickly become humid, making the air feel raw on my face. With the new tendrils of heat came a slithering, insectoid smell, the smell of earth and rotten leaves. And of battery acid.
"Commander, over here!" Tali called out from where she labored against the side of the tram. She slammed down an open panel as we moved up carefully. "This one looks ready to run. I can't speak for the rails up ahead, but if they're built to the same standards as this pod then they should be safe. Binary Helix might have been building monsters down here, but they spared no expense on the infrastructure."
"Good, start her up then. I want a rifle at each quarter. If those things spring an ambush on us, I don't want it to take us by surprise."
The tram glid out of the station with a whisper of metal on metal. The rail brought us out of the station and over a precipitous ravine before plunging us into a dark tunnel. Lights flickered on ahead of us, slowly peeling back the shadow. I peered out over the edge of the tram and out into the tunnel below. Empty, hollow. Occasionally, my audio pickups would catch the slight hint of scrabbling, or Garrus' motion tracker would blip briefly, but no monster leapt from the depths of that tunnel to drag us down into that darkness. The waiting sawed at my frayed nerves. I found myself jumping at the slightest sound, my light beam chasing ghosts around the tunnel. The numbness in my shoulder only added to the hellish ride. It itched around the edges. I shone my light down again.
"It's a long way down," Garrus commented.
"Sure is," I replied, "Wouldn't want to fall down there." A skittering above brought our attention back to the tram. "That one sounded closer."
"We're nearing the station, get ready." Shepard readied her assault rifle. I clumsily gripped my Stinger in one hand as I shuffled in behind the rest of the party to stack up on the tram door. The car came to a halting stop with a scraping crunch, as if we were dragging something, and Shepard punched the door controls. They slid half open, grinding to a halt in their tracks. Shepard stepped out onto the brightly lit platform. The harsh light of the tram cast hard shadows off the benches and discarded litter that dotted the deck.
"Don't bunch up, check those corners." Shepard stepped over an upturned barrel. "Secure the room." We spilled out into the room with weapons raised. Looking back, I saw what had arrested the doors. A Rachni soldier had managed to wedge itself beneath the tram. It's passing had left a greasy green smear along the underside of the tram car. But it must have been dead before we arrived. Otherwise, it would have put up more of a fight, or at least made more of a noise. There were other corpses littered around the abandoned station, riddled with bullet holes and creating their own slick, half frozen puddles. I tore my eyes away from them and moved to check the doors. As expected, the path to the Hot Labs and Binary Helix's deadly secret were sealed.
"Over here." Shepard indicated the door marked barracks.
"I'm getting more movement up here; it's less erratic than before," Garrus said.
"Friendlies?"
"From their positioning; most likely. Looks like a cordon."
"Why don't we go say hello? If these are friendlies, I don't want us getting into a firefight. Keep your weapons ready, but don't fire unless I give the order." We stepped into the elevator and spread out as much as possible within the space. Tali hit the switch, sending us up. This ride was shorter, but the reception was a lot louder.
"Shit, Cap, we got movement in the shaft!"
"Prepare to fire! We've got 'em pinned, boys!"
"They're people! Hold your fire!"
"Council Spectre, lower your weapons!" Commander Shepard yelled the last sentence. The white clad security officers seemed cowed, but their captain stared us down, gun raised. "I won't say it again."
"Do as she says, they're obviously not those things," the guard in the center of the pack called. The rest of the guards stepped back and lowered their rifles. We did the same. "Captain Ventralis, I'm head of the security forces her at Rift Station. Did the Company send you?"
"No, we're here investigating the sighting of asari Matriarch Benezia. You know anything about her?" Shepard asked. A barely perceptible ripple went through the guards at her name.
"Can't say that I do," Ventralis replied, his dark brow furrowing. "I just watch the doors. Wait, listen..."
There was the shriek of more Rachni behind us. The aliens heaved their pulsating, shrimp-like bodies out of vents in the ground and rushed our position with waving tentacle pods out and waving. Our team fell in beside the guards and poured shot after shot into the advancing enemy. One guard went down as the Rachni spat acid. I fired my handgun one handed, scoring hits thanks to the extreme close range. Our fire was joined by the chatter of sentry turrets, which tore the Rachni to gooey shreds. The insects withdrew, chittering, into the vents they had swarmed out of. Several of the guards kicked the corpses of their fallen in after them.
"They started coming less often when we started doing that," the Captain noted, "we think they eat their wounded. It's been a close thing, Commander, thank God we found these sentries, otherwise we would have been overrun a long time ago."
"It's hard to say." The Captain seemed to struggle for words for a second. He shook his head. "Maybe a week or two. Listen, Commander, the men haven't slept, they're getting jumpy. I've got everyone on stims, but… I don't know. Talk to the scientists. They might be more together." The Captain returned to his post. Shepard gave him an odd look, but waved us forward. The tunnel down to the barracks was empty, each step echoed as we walked forward. The tunnel opened up into a large bay full of crates. Scientists stood scattered around the room. The feel of unease was almost palpable in the air. The mixture of Humans, Salarians, and Asari cast us sidelong glances and muttered in their close knots.
"Stay here; I want a word with whoever's in charge." Shepard headed towards the nearest cluster of scientists. We gathered together in our own huddle.
"Do you notice something off about these people?" Garrus asked.
"They're tired, Garrus. The captain said they've been out here for almost two weeks. I know I couldn't sleep with the threat of those things out there," Tali said, doing a full body shiver for emphasis.
"No, he's right, it's something else," I chimed in, "like they're hiding something. Look at how they keep glancing at us, at that door on the other side of the room." The seed seemed to take root.
"Come to think of it…" Garrus started. "I'm getting flashbacks of Feros."
"You think these people planted a Thorian here?" Liara asked.
"No, but the colonists were acting so strangely because they had something in their heads. If these scientists are compromised, we could be walking into a trap," I responded.
"We'll be extra careful then. Try not to set them off. The colonists didn't go nuts until they knew we were on to them," Garrus said, with stony finality.
We waited, and we waited. Shepard appeared to be getting nowhere fast with the tight-lipped science team from Binary Helix and that left the rest of us with very little to do. So, we waited. I found a crate to perch on and try and work my welded arm plates loose. I didn't notice the tapping of approaching shoes on metal under they appeared at the edge of my vision. One of the scientists had wandered over, an Asari with pale blue skin and a face set in an expression of supreme disinterest. There was something striking about the way she walked, every movement precise, the careful placement of footing so that she could pivot in any direction at a moment's notice. The way she shifted her weight just a little too perfectly to disguise the extra weight of a firearm on one side. This was no scientist. If any of the training that Garrus had passed onto me held any weight, the approaching alien was an Asari Commando.
"Can I help you?" I asked guardedly. The Asari didn't respond to my question, instead stopping just short of my seat.
"They tell me you've been injured," she said, "I've been asked to render assistance."
"Are you a doctor?" I asked. The asari made a barely disguised face of disgust.
"I am a geneticist; that butchery you humans call doctoring is beneath me. I will, however, be able to tend to your wounds." She ran her Omni-tool over my shoulder. "You have a phasic shard buried in your collarbone. I will extract it with biotics." The Asari seemed to take almost savage pleasure in informing me of my injuries. She braced a hand against my shoulder and sent a powerful wave of biotics through my armor. At once something began to move. The broken shard of the Geth's bullet tore a new channel on its way out. The Asari was apparently doing nothing for the pain, because the bullet left a white-hot trail through my flesh. I clenched my teeth and resisted the urge to ram my pistol into her stomach. With a final tug, she pulled the millimeter long shard from my skin. She let it hang there for a second, suspended in a mass effect field.
"Would you like to hold onto it?" she said with a smirk. "A souvenir, perhaps."
"You know, I think I will," I said mulishly. She dropped the shard into my open palm then turned and left. I watched her leave with a feeling of malice. Blood started to drip down my armor; the commando had neglected to seal the wound.
"Michael, I… What happened, you're bleeding again." Liara's voice wavered between concern and exasperation. She rushed over to me and knelt to apply medigel to the injury.
"One of the scientists," I ground out through gritted teeth. My eyes did not leave the commando in disguise. "Dug the bullet out. Wasn't too gentle." I hissed as the icy cold sting of the painkiller hit bare skin. Liara followed my gaze.
"Alestia Iallis, yes. She's cold. I don't think I like her."
"You know her?" I asked, curious.
"Only by association. She's one of the various hangers-on in my mother's orbit. A geneticist, I believe. My mother keeps her fingers in many cakes, as you would say." Liara withdrew the medigel injector, leaving only the spreading numbness of the medication.
"Pies, fingers in many pies," I corrected softly, but my eyes were still on Alestia. So, not just a commando, but an actual scientist as well. Unless that was just a cover. I averted my eyes as she finished stalking to a safe distance and turned to watch us.
"Oh, yes, of course," Liara said. I felt her fingers curl around mine through the numbing of the medigel. I squeezed back, relishing the warmth in the cold depths of Noveria. "I should go talk to her." Liara continued. She stood suddenly. "If she's here, she may have arrived with my mother. She may know where she is, what they're doing here!"
"Liara, I don't know if that's a good idea..." I started, trying to follow. My arm screamed in protest, sapping my strength. I sunk back to the crate as panic fought nausea for control of my body.
"Do not worry about me, I can handle one of my mother's followers," Liara answered. Her tone was kind, but firm. She gave my hand one last squeeze and headed towards the Commando. I watched, helplessly, as the two bent close, an exchange of words maddeningly out of my range of hearing.
"Deputy."
Shepard's words pulled my head around. I quickly slipped the shard of the Geth round into a hip pouch. "Commander."
"We've got another job to do. We're going down into the tox labs, Dr. Cohen wants us to synthesize a cure for a bioweapon that got out." She motioned towards Garrus and Tali already gathered by the elevator. I struggled to my feet, trying hard not to sway. The medigel was holding me together, for now. I cast a glance in the direction of Liara. She was still chatting with Alestia. The conversation still seemed light, relaxed. "She's a big girl, Liddle. And older than you, I should add." Shepeard said kindly.
"Yeah, I know," I replied, following her toward the rest of the group. I felt like I was leaving Liara in the lion's den.
"Commander, no offence, but shouldn't we avoid going down into the site of a bioweapon leak?" Garrus asked as we approached.
"Dr. Cohen assured me the virus has expired. As a precaution I want you all wearing your helmets. Cohen says the equipment we need to use is mostly automated," Shepard assured us. She smacked the controls and opened up the doors.
*Synthesis Complete*
The centrifuge spun down. Shepard reached in and pulled the flask from the machine. I had ducked into one of the bays to search for the upgrades and weapons that my memory told me would be there. To my disappointment, I only found a few medical VI plugins. Which on second thought made more sense than finding a sniper rifle tucked away in a viral lab locker. Just another reminder that I wasn't playing a game anymore.
"We need to get this to Dr. Cohen," Shepard said, "those infected researchers didn't look like they were going to last too long without the cure." The party fell in behind her. Nervously, I felt for my weapon. If I remembered right, we were about to be ambushed by an Asari commando and her Geth friends. With a fright, my hand closed on empty air. My shotgun was missing from its magnetic anchor point. My Stinger too. Where had I left them? I broke out into a sweat under my helmet as we reached the sealed doors to the lab. They opened on empty corridor.
"Expecting trouble?" Garrus asked, leaning in.
"Just a bad feeling," I murmured. My mind raced. This wasn't supposed to happen this way. I fell into step behind Garrus, questions chasing themselves around my brain. I felt lost. A few things going differently, I had expected. I'd seen what had happened when I'd directly interfered with the galaxy around me. But this was the Main Quest. No, I had to stop thinking about it that way. Things were going to change, some because I'd meddled, but some just because I was here. Jenkins was proof of that. And I'd just been there, sitting with Liara.
Liara
A fresh jolt of that sickly feeling roiled through my belly. Liara had been talking to Alestia. Alestia the Commando. Benezia's Commando. As soon as the elevator opened, I was looking for her. Neither Liara or her deadly counterpart were evident, but the remaining scientists seemed more on edge than before. Shepard peeled off from the group to deliver her antiviral agent, and I headed straight towards the nearest Binary Helix employee. A Salarian, as it happened. The green-black alien avoided my eye as I closed with him.
"The Asari who came with us, have you seen her?" I asked. The Salarian stepped back a half step.
"Sure, saw her when she came in, haven't seen her recently. Didn't go with you?" He spoke almost too fast to follow. "Suppose not, as you're currently asking me, funny, I suppose, why would you be asking if she was already with you." The talking got faster, the Salarian's chest rose and fell like bellows. He was clearly hyper ventilating. I had to catch him as he began to sway and waver on his feet.
"Mild Concern. You won't get anything more from that one, Human," the monotonous tones of an Elcor sounded behind me, "Resigned. He's gone over his safe dosage of stimulants multiple times. Everyone around here has."
I let the Salarian sink slowly to the floor and turned to see the massive grey bulk of the Elcor leaning warily behind a small holographic kiosk that looked tiny beside him. "I suppose those things outside make sleeping a dangerous proposition."
"Conspiratorial Whisper. You don't know the half of it, Human. It's not just the scientists, but the guards as well. Apparent Concern. They're all on edge. Trigger happy. It won't take much to have all of these people at each other's throats."
"I guess that puts you in a good place as the guy selling all the weapons, huh," I said idly, trying to look over his mountainous shoulder.
"Shocked surprise. Oh, no. Fearful regret. If fighting broke out, I fear I would only be caught in the crossfire. Resigned. I wish the fighting was far from here. I heard you talking to the Salarian. Your Asari is not here."
"What? You saw her leave?"
"Nervous. I do not know if I should say. The woman she was talking to is very dangerous, Human. My life is in as much danger from her as it is from the Rachni."
"It's about to be in danger from me," I ground out, impatient. "So, this Asari took Liara somewhere. I need to know where. If you tell me where, I'll go there, take the fighting away. If not, maybe the fighting has to happen here, you understand?"
"Frightful Discomfort. I understand, Human. The two Asari went through that door there." The Elcor motioned with a shake of his head. "Resentful Aside. I hope you find everything you deserve down there. Now go. I am done listening to your threats."
I left the Elcor behind. My body was shaking. I felt sick to my stomach, one part from the thought of Liara trapped and alone with the Commando, one part the guilt at bullying the Elcor shopkeeper. Shepard caught my eye as I stormed towards the door that I'd been pointed to.
"Woah, Deputy. Where are you off to? She asked, stepping in front of me.
"Liara's missing. The merchant over there says she went off with one of the scientists. Someone who used to hang around with Matriarch Benezia."
Realization dawned in Shepard's eyes. "You thinking she's taking her to meet Mom?"
I nodded my agreement.
"Okay, I'll rally the troops for a rescue mission. You post up here, make sure we're not followed," she responded. Before I could respond, she cut me off. "I know you want in on this, but I watched you get a bullet dug out of your arm less than half an hour ago. And it looks like you've lost my gun. Again. Stay here, keep watch. No arguments."
Shepard, Garrus, and Tali disappeared into the elevator, leaving me alone. With a whirr of machinery, my friends were gone.
Time passed. The seconds, agonizingly slow. The minutes, blisteringly fast. I checked my omni-tool again. Shepard had been in the labs below for almost twenty minutes. I paced a now familiar path, caught between the need to stick to my orders and the gut feeling that something had gone terribly wrong.
"This is stupid," I told no one in particular, and hit the call button on the elevator. The corridor below was dark, empty, like so much of the facility. I crept forward, navigating by the scant emergency lighting. A brighter light risked giving away my position. My heart pounded heavily, obliterating all sound. I froze up as my boot caught on something loose and metallic. It pinged and rolled across the floor, a din in the silence. It rolled into the light, a brightly packaged instant meal of some kind. I waited for excruciating seconds, waiting to be made into dinner myself. Nothing emerged from the darkness to spit acid on me or split my head with biotics. I released a held breath and continued onwards. Voices floated out of the hidden recesses of the corridor up ahead, drawing me forwards. There was a light at the end of the corridor, beaconing me forward. It was only when I reached the doorway that I remembered that I still had not retrieved my gun.
"You." Shepard was talking to someone.
"Me," the familiar voice spoke in reply, now stripped of its contempt. It was a cold, calculating voice.
"You're one of the scientists, what are you doing working with the Geth?" Shepard's voice had grown cold too.
"I'm not working with the Geth, and I'm not a simple scientist, as you so gullibly believed. I am an Asari commando in the service of Matriarch Benezia. I'm afraid I can't let you continue to meddle with her plans."
"What is my mother planning?" Liara urged. "Why has she sided with Saren?" I risked a peek into the room. Shepard and co. were cornered in the far side of the room. Alestia was between them and the door, flanked by Geth platforms. In one hand, she held a struggling Liara by the back of the neck, in the other, My shotgun.
"I don't have time for your questions. Destroy these distractions." There was a flurry of gunfire back and forth. Shots rang out and the rattling of the Geth was silenced. "You fools! You have brought the wrath of a true commando!" My ears filled with the ringing of a strong stasis field going up. In front of me, Shepard and the team were wrapped in dancing light and frozen, stock still. Their unblinking eyes were locked on their enemy. The Asari laughed cruelly. "So, this is the great Commander Shepard, the human who is supposedly worthy of the rank of Spectre? I can't see what the council saw in you. Whatever it is, they won't be seeing it again." The commando tipped the Commander over with a savage kick.
From my position hidden in the doorway, I scanned the room for something, anything that could get me us out of the situation we were in. As quietly as I could, I activated my Omni-tool. I ran through the list of combat programs, discarding one after another. I couldn't risk my attack backfiring or the commando would rip me apart.
"You have been found unworthy," The asari continued her tirade, "I will finish you myself." She levelled my shotgun at Commander Shepard's head.
"Hey Alestia!" I called, standing up from behind my cover. "Catch!" I raised my arm and activated my batarian designed magnetic catapult. Caught in its mass effect field was the Geth shard. The Omni-tool bucked. Alestia could only stand agape as the filament she had pulled from my body was driven through her forehead. With a snap, she fell backwards and the stasis fields collapsed.
"What happened?" Garrus asked groggily.
"We were caught in a stasis field." Liara answered. "Michael, you took out an Asari commando?"
"She was distracted, and she thought she had disarmed me," I said.
"Good work, Deputy," Shepard said, "Remind me to bring you with next time."
