"Jenkin's! Move the goddamned Turrets away from this entrance, Shephard and the Aliens are coming from here; so unless you want to turn them into swiss cheese, move your ass like your chasing some actual woman." Massani barked.
"Yes Sir!" Jenkins replied, struggling to lift the reprogrammed Combine turrets away from the tunnels.
Massani watched the kid scramble to follow his orders while Anderson stood to his right, and Ulysses stood to his left.
David and Zaeed were old friends even before Black Mesa and the Seven Hour War. The HECU had been a 'PMC' unofficially hired by the US government; and while the vast Majority of the unit had been US Marines, they weren't picky about who they took.
Zaeed had been Australian SAS, and David had been a Navy SEAL; having served together in the clusterfuck that was Somalia, then later in Black Mesa.
Neither really liked talking about their time in the HECU, or working with the Black Op's because while some like Adrian, Ayashe, Hackett, Tower, and Jackson had been decent people who were abhorrent to many of the orders they had received, many of the Marines having been the same way; It was the… other hire's that were the ones that had done most of the killing of civilians.
And the majority of the Black Ops had been complete Sociopaths; Ayashe had been the exception, not the rule.
"Hm…" Ulysses murmured, his brown Cloak and Cane making him look like an old man; which made sense considering the fact that, as far as David and Zaeed could gleen from Ayita, Ulysses was an Elder Vortigaunt. He had been in his current Mortal Frame for Millennia, from when the Combine first kicked his species off his homeworld to now.
No one really understood the Vorts, but they were implied to reincarnate after spending some time in the Vortessence after they 'died'. But Ulysses was so old that he had actually developed his own personality; a very dry and mostly humorless one, but a personality nonetheless.
Although according to Dr. Chakwas, that wasn't particularly unique; as any Vorts that spent a certain amount of time amongst humans gained personalities of their own, something that was as mystifying to them as it was to everyone else.
Zaeed and David both looked at the Vortigaunt, then at each other; both using sign language to communicate since as far as they knew Ulysses didn't understand that.
He's doing that Mr. M-I-Y-A-G-I thing again. Zaeed noted.
Ayita must have messed something up and feels bad about it then. He always gets this way when she's depressed or sad. David replied.
Zaeed smirked and adjusted his red beret, and tugged on the sleeves of his old HECU urban camo fatigues. She takes after her old man in that regard, Adrian always beat himself up over any screwups his squad did under his command.
"The Anderson and The Massani need not discuss their opinions on The Ayita Shephard without us." Ulysses interjected, startling the two former SF operators.
Zaeed cleared his throat while Anderson rubbed his jaw sheepishly; "Sorry Ulys, old habits die hard." Anderson apologized.
Ulysses just gave a soft shake of his head and turned his attention back to the tunnel.
Zaeed opened his mouth to say something when they both heard someone walk up behind them. Turning around, they came face to face with the base's mechanic; former Navy Chief Petty Officer Gregory Adams. "Where's the fire Chief?" Zaeed asked.
"The status of our Turrets." He said bluntly.
"What's the problem Greg?" Anderson asked with a resigned expression on his face, the two of them having long since given up on formal titles and last names in the long years since the end of the Seven Hour War.
"I can reprogram them to not target the Aliens, but I need to shut them down until then because I'll need an X-Ray and 3D model of them so the Turrets know not to attack them." He explained, wiping a greasy hand on his miners overalls.
"Not too big of a problem, just get everyone who's slacking around on the tunnels until Shephard and the others arrive." Zaeed said, turning back to the Tunnel Ulysses was waiting in; shifting his M4A1 Carbine into a more comfortable position.
"That's not the problem guys." Adams said, taking out a circuit board from one of his many pockets and started fiddling with it.
"Well what is the problem Chief?" Anderson demanded.
Adams stared right into the former SEAL's eyes and said, "The problem David is that we need new turrets; these things are at the end of their rope, we got plenty of Resin to make parts for them but the Fabricators broke, and it's a two person job. Do you honestly expect Kelly or Rupert to be of any help?"
"What about Donnely or Daniels?" Zaeed asked.
"Repairing the medical suite since Ulys advised us to do so." The group looked at the cloaked, cane wielding Vortigaunt who didn't even spare them a glance; before turning their attention back to each other.
Anderson sighed and rubbed his eyes; "I'll see if I can get Chakwas or Hackett to spare someone; if not we'll have to go turret hunting."
Adams nodded reluctantly and turned to leave before stopping; "Oh! We opened up that shipment of stolen Combine Medical supplies."
"What did ya get?" Zaeed asked.
"The usual, immune boosters, gene therapy kits, healing syringes, med packs; the works."
A loud buzz and a chirping sound stopped their conversation in its tracks; Everyone in the pit and the resting area turned to see three lights flashing from the Antlion sensor.
"Shit!"
"Three Lights we got three Lights!"
"Why are there so many?!"
Everyone began grabbing weapons, but a crackle of Energy stopped them; Ulysses calmly strode out of the tunnel and leaned two of his three hands on his cane, "There need not be any alarm, for The Ayita Shephard has returned; go about your business." He called, tapping his cane on the ground.
Reluctantly, the three dozen or so rebels went back to their previous tasks; though everyone kept an eye on the flashing tunnel and the others. Anderson, Zaeed, Adams, and Ulysses watched as Shephard and her new cadre of Aliens appeared from the darkness; and the three humans had to school their expressions of surprise.
Ayita for one thing, had utterly destroyed her Black Op's suit; and was wearing a Poncho to protect her modesty, the shadows hiding her face quite well.
And as for the Aliens… well they were certainly interesting… most interesting indeed.
Tali moved slightly in front of her brother as they exited the tunnel.
There were dozens of Shephards, nearly all of them armed. I really need to learn the name of their species. The only exception was a hunched figure in a loose brown Sehni leaning on a cane. The strange creature's hood covered its face, but a yellowish glow came from several points inside.
It rapped it's cane on the ground once. "The Shephard returns with the External Visitors. It is good we should meet you before your inevitable departure." It spread its arms wide, which is when Tali saw it was grasping the cane in a smaller third arm.
It then made its way over to their group.
Everyone watched as Shephard bowed deeply, and they felt her mind brush against theirs. Tali winced, as while hard to detect, she could still feel the sadness and shame in her emotions; "Master Ulysses, We are grateful you have graced our ariv-"
-Whack!- "OW!" Tali watched and had to fight down a giggle at the sight of Shephard hopping up and down on one foot while holding the leg that her Master had hit with his cane.
"TheShephard will cease this instant." He ordered, his monotonic voice nonetheless tinged with slight reproachfulness and amusement.
"What? I-" Shephard started to protest, sounding like Cato whenever Auntie 'Raan had told him that he needed to look after some of the infants on the Liveships.
"You know full well of what we speak. Events need to play out as they have, or this continuity shall fall as so many others." The ancient being laid a gnarled hand on Ayita's shoulder. "Too long has a wound been left to fester." The alien looked over to Liara, who shivered at the sudden attention. "There were no other paths open at that moment. Now, that wound may heal and future possibilities become open once again."
Shephard finally stopped rubbing her shin. "You mean you-"
-Whack!- A second rap to her shin caused Ayita to hop back in pain. "OW! Same Damned Leg!" She yelped out loud to the group's surprise; Tali couldn't help but notice that while her normal voice sounded the same as her mental voice, it was slightly raspy and quieter, probably from disuse.
"The Shephard knows her words and will use them; She has intruded her consciousness upon these ones enough." 'Master Ulysses' admonished.
Tali had to fight back another giggle at the All-Powerful Shephard brought down to the level of mere mortals; and Cato was clearly holding back from bursting out laughing.
Wrex wasn't so inclined to politeness, and was openly laughing at the Apprentice and Masters exchange. Liara was hiding a smile behind the palm of her hand; while Garrus and Nihlus both chuffed at the exchange.
Only Skreech and Mordin did not find the humor, with Skreech just tilting her head in curiosity; and Mordin immediately walked up to 'The Ulysses' to begin scanning him.
"Fascinating, Decay shows at least Millennia old, Dark Energy is through the roof; far exceeds 'Rat Queen', Shepard, or young Mr. Zorah. Different species of course." Solus rambled.
-Whack!- "Ouch!" Mordin exclaimed, rubbing his leg; "Was that necessary?" He demanded.
By this point Tali was genuinely struggling to stop herself from laughing; this Alien was how she had pictured her Auntie 'Raan when she had grown old.
"This one's secrets are ours alone, and not ours to share; refrain from attempting to take them in the future." Ulysses chastised the old Salarian.
All of the Shephards began to relax at Ulysses' seeming confidence in, and control of the situation. She looked around and saw the assorted mixture of weapons and gear that spoke of a people making do with what they had or could find.
A peculiar chirping sound drew her attention as a younger male Shephard danced away from a bladelike object on a tripod. "Damnit Jenkins, what did you do?!" Another Shephard came over to the younger one and the device. This individual had the bearing of a Ship's Captain.
The younger one threw his arms up. "Nothing sir! I just moved it like you told me."
The device groaned and chirped as it tried to rotate. Tali focused on the actuators while 'Sir' dressed 'Jenkins' down. Her hud enhanced and magnified the machine, and she could see several problems; namely corrosive pitting on the actuators and hinge points, as well as one blown bearing. She did a quick check of her omni-tool and saw she had enough Omni-Gel to at least generate some silicon-carbide grease and a grease-gun for the actuator arm and the hinges, though the bearing and actuator really needed replacing.
She'd need a little time and materials to fabricate those.
She walked over to the device, ignoring the two Shephards and set to work. The first two finally noticed her when a third came rushing up. "Hey! What do you-" He was cut off as the device stopped groaning and began swinging freely. "Well I'll be damned. What did you do?"
She turned and looked at the new arrival, while the first two stared at her; the elder with suspicion, and the younger with a look that made her want to slap him. "I greased it. The pivot points are all mildly corroded. So is this actuator arm, and this bearing is just done."
The Shephard smiled an almost manic grin at the elder. "Boss, I think my prayers have been answered!" He turned back to Tali and thrust out a hand Asari style. "My name's Adams, by the way. And you are?"
She gingerly gripped his hand. "Tali'Zorah."
"Great to meet you Tali! Could you come with me? There's a lot of equipment that needs repairs around here, and there just haven't been enough helping hands, much less skilled ones." He noticed her pensively looking at Cato and chuckled as a large, bald, scarred male Shephard stalked towards him. "Ah don't worry. Massani will look after everyone."
She huffed a breath and nodded. It had been an insane day, and tinkering with new technologies would help calm her nerves.
Benezia opened her eyes and looked around.
A Cell then, not good; but not terrible. She thought, taking in the bed, toilet, and sink.
There were no windows, three of the walls seemed to be made of solid concrete, and the fourth wall had both these thick metal bars that were spaced close together; close enough that not even a child could squeeze through it.
But there was also a semi transparent blue barrier in front of the bars, meaning that even if a being could slip through then it would still be unable to leave their Cell.
Looking down at her restraints, Benezia closed her eyes again and was relieved when she felt her Biotics flicker weakly; Good I still have a fallback then, She thought.
Walking up to the wall she looked outside into the hallway, and saw that it was filled with Cells exactly like hers; and most of them were filled with people. She could tell some were empty since they lacked the blue barrier in front of the metal bars; while ones that were occupied had the blue barrier activated.
Looking around, she spotted Spectre Arterius in the cell opposite her to the left, Spectre Bau to the right, and while she couldn't see her Asari Spectre; she could vaguely sense the Biotic signature of Spectre Vasir to her right.
Directly across from Benezia's cell was one of the Aliens in his own cell.
Like her, he had manicals around his wrists and his neck; though his glowed a dull Emerald as opposed to the dull Sapphire that hers was emitting. He had dark skin, and his head and face were shaved of any of the Quarian like hair from earlier.
"Matriarch, are you all right?" Saren asked, whisper shouting as he did so.
"I am fine, I can't see that well from where I am; are the others all right?" She asked in reply, concerned about the other survivors.
"They are all fine Matriarch, we did a count before you woke up." Tela assured her from beside her cell.
Benezia looked around the Prison cell complex, "How many of the Aliens are here."
"No guards unfortunately, but they have these drones flying around taking everyones pictures; I think this area's mostly automated to prevent prisoners from overwhelming guards and taking weapons." Saren informed her with a hint of grudging respect.
"This whole area's automated; there's a pair of turrets at the main entrance that guns down anyone not in their cells." The Alien prisoner directly across from Benezia slowly sat up from where he lay.
Everyone turned to look at him, and he winced and rubbed his eyes; "Damn, they're bringing in other Aliens besides Vorts now? That ain't good."
"Who are you?" Saren demanded.
"The names Jacob, don't know how you're understanding me; but I understand you cause the Vortessence has given me access to your languages." The alien called Jacob replied. Then he frowned and scratched his head, "Huh… must be execution night if you guys have been brought in; they only bring in prisoners from the unconscious holding containers to here on execution night."
Benezia opened and closed her mouth, somewhat stunned at how callouse the Alien seemed to treat the prospect of a night of Executions.
Jacob looked and saw her expression and shrugged, "They do it to reinforce the idea that they're the ones in control and can do whatever they want to you."
Clang! Everyone turned except Jacob, who just said in a resigned tone, "Speak of the devil."
Many sets of footsteps echoed through the cell block, and the fat Human scientist she had seen in that holographic call from when they'd been captured appeared; along with about a dozen of the black uniformed Aliens from earlier.
He was wearing a pair of primitive eyesight enhancers and was holding several sheets of paper.
He handed one to an Alien to his left and pointed at some of the writing, "Shoot her before him, but make sure he sees it." He ordered.
The Alien nodded and three broke off; unholstering their pistols.
The fat alien then pulled out another sheet of paper and handed it to another soldier, pointing to another name; "Oh, and this one. Kill him, take his body to the Church, and dump him in the pulpit."
Another three aliens quickly split off from the group while drawing their pistols.
The fat one then handed the rest of the papers off to another saying, "And I'll leave the rest up to you." Before he turned his attention to Benezia and the rest of the Ascension's survivors.
He smiled as he took everyone in, "Welcome one and all to Combine Holding Center One-One. I am your warden, doctor, torturer, psychiatrist… well i'm whatever you want me to be; my name's Doctor Henry Lawson, and my species is Human. But I'm afraid you have me at the disadvantage here, for I don't know your names or your species. So if you would be so kind as to indulge this scientist's curiosity, would you be so kind as to give me your names and species."
Benezia was not at all swayed by the 'Humans' cheerful demeanor.
They'd all heard his instructions to his subordinates, and Benezia had seen the look in his eye; it was the look of a person who enjoyed what they did, and it was very clear to the Matriarch that he was a murderer with a fancy label.
"Long Live the Resi-!"BANG!
The gunshot and the voice of the human rebel being executed startled everyone except the human prisoner Jacob and Benezia.
She glared at Lawson, and despite his barbarity she could see the keen intelligence in his eyes; she would have to tread carefully if she wanted everyone to get out of this alive.
She opened her mouth to say something, but Jacob interrupted her; "Why would you care Doctor, they're just Aliens; and the fact that they're here as opposed to the Overworld means that the Administrator doesn't know they're here. So who's work is this, the Commandant or the Consul; or is it both?"
"Ah Jacob I had forgotten you were there honestly; how are your ribs doing?"
"You'll never win Communist Pigs!"BANG!
"Oh so much better after your 'treatment' of my ribs." Jacob replied, sarcasm dripping from his voice. "So tender, and soft you must have gotten laid before hand."
To Benezia's surprise, Lawson didn't lose his temper unlike most psychotic people she had met, such as captured Batarian Slavers who tried to appear dignified and polite; he just smiled and said, "Hm… not quite; though now that you mention it perhaps I should find someone."
While outwardly, he didn't change, Benezia could see the flash of alarm in Jacob's eyes; "Going out tonight Doctor?" He asked, trying to sound flippant. But Benezia could hear the fear in his voice.
"Mmm… yes I am, perhaps I should pick up some beer from the nearby factory." Lawson mused.
"God Save Me!"BANG!
"In any case, these are the rules here. Do not attempt to escape, or the consequences will be very unpleasant for you."
"I forgive you, for you know not what you do my children..."BANG!
"Do not resist during transport or interrogations, or face the Consequences."
"You'll get what's comin-"BANG!
"No talking with others and don't interrupt me when I'm visiting the cell blocks"
"Please! I don't want t-"BANG!
"And please keep your… privates to yourself when in the communal showers, If I want a demonstration on Alien Mating habits I'll ask for it in a more closed and private setting."
"Please! Please Spare My Daughter!"
"Papa! Help!"BANG!BANG!
"I think that'll be all for the night; have yourselves a good evening, i'll see you all during our one on one 'Chats'." Here Lawson's smile grew somewhat manic, "And please enjoy your stay here in 'Hades Gate'."
Cato watched as Tali bonded with the Human called Adams, smiling the whole time.
It was good to see that she hadn't lost her inquisitive spirit in engineering since landing on this Ancestor's forsaken planet… Kheelah, we've only been here for a day at most. He realized, tugging on the sleeve of the oddly patterned uniform shirt that the human Commander had given him.
"So you don't need a suit but your big sister does huh, seems rather unfair kid." The heavily accented and gravelly voice of the human called 'Master Sergeant Massani' startled Cato.
He jumped back instinctively, then calmed himself as he remembered that he was among friends.
"Y-yeah, Ayita healed my immune system and my injuries from the battle after she saved us." Cato said nervously. He had to admit he was a little, no very, intimidated by the human Sergeant; he reminded Cato of Sgt. Reegar, a practical legend amongst the Migrant Fleet Marines. "My race, the Quarian's, our immune systems have Atrophied after being stuck on spaceships for almost three centuries. On top of that, it works differently than other species; so we can't live without them."
"Hm… well Shep or Ulys could fix that for her if you guys let them." He mused, then his eyes turned serious as he looked at Cato, "Ayita? She lets you call her that?" He asked.
"Er, yeah; she doesn't let you?" Cato asked in turn, surprised at that.
"Kid, she's only allowed three people to call her 'Ayita' since her dear old mum died; and i'm one of them." Zaeed gave him the stink eye, and Cato found himself snapping to attention instinctively; "I haven't missed the way you look at her, and the way she's looked at you; though she probably doesn't even realize it. You think you're good enough for her? What's more important is that girls like the grandkid I never had, and she has suffered a lot in her life; how do I know you won't hurt her?" The former SF soldier growled, looming over the Quarian as he spoke.
Cato felt several emotions run through his mind, confusion followed by embarrassment being the chief among them. I don't feel that way about her, do I? I mean, yes she saved all our lives, and she is pretty even when she's scowling, he pinched his eyes as if to drive the thought out of his head, but she also endangered us all over her grudge!
His eyes and mind drifted to where Ayita was sitting next to Ulysses. He could see as easily as he could feel her emotions. Quarians spent their lives behind masks, so reading body language was critical to communication; hers spoke of deep regret and shame. He felt a surge of concern and realized it was coming from both himself and the human infront of him.
He squared his shoulders and locked eyes with the scarred man. "With all due respect sir, I would Never hurt her. I owe her mine and my sister's lives. She's also my teacher; I don't know about your people, but such relationships are strongly frowned upon in the Fleet. Besides, we've known each other less than a day."
Zaeed snorted and crossed his arms. "Her parents knew each other for only a few weeks. I worked with Ayashe for years before the Resonance Cascade, and in all the time before or since she never looked for another partner. Those two looked at each other like you and Ayita do, so don't try taking-the-piss with me about how 'you don't have feelings for her'."
Cato shrank back slightly from the intense stare, then clenched his jaw. "Maybe I do, and maybe I don't. That's our business. And if you're worried about me hurting her," he nodded towards where Shephard was sitting, "if I ever did anything like that, she and my sister would both beat me like a tak'tal." He grimaced slightly. "That is if Auntie 'Raan didn't sense me being a bosh'tet and drop the Heavy Fleet on me."
The scarred human quirked an eyebrow and chuffed out a laugh. "Sounds like my kind of cast-iron-bitch." He leaned back from his looming posture and popped his back with a grimace and a sigh. "Well, you brats are young yet, and I don't think anyone here is in a hurry to find out if you two can have kids."
He thumped the sputtering Quarian teen on the back and guided him deeper into the base. "Come on then; I'll give you the Tiki-Tour and introduce everybody."
He set a fast pace, but Cato had long since learned how to keep up with others; he stopped at the mouth of one of the eight tunnels that fed into the giant room. A vertical strip of three lights sat next to the mouth of it; the old human smacked the side of it with his fist, and one of the lights flickered on.
"This here is the Antlion sensor, if a light turns on it means there's Antlions coming; more lights mean more Antlions. When a tunnel lights up normally-" He shot a look at the human called Adams, who was working on what Massani had called a 'Combine Fabricator' with Tali; "We move a couple of turrets in front of it with one person to make sure they get all of them."
Cato blinked, "What do you mean by 'normally'." He asked, twitching his fingers as Energy sparked between them.
"Well… all except for two of them are down at the moment; and even the operational ones are pretty much only held together with Baling Wire and Duct Tape at this point. Nice to have them in a pinch, but none of us are really willing to trust 'em with our lives." Zaeed explained, walking away from the tunnel and towards the high rising area in the back where there seemed to be a lot of appropriated equipment.
"This here is the Command Area; Anderson's an old Swabbie, er, Navy Man so he likes having the area where he does most of his work above the rest so he can see what everyones doing." He explained, while said Commander continued typing at one of the Computers; ignoring his subordinate beyond giving him an exasperated glare.
He pointed down to the Pit area, which had an elevator and a staircase in the center of it; which led upward to the main entrance and exit into the mountain. "That elevator leads to the Airlock to the surface; you can take it if you want, but it's pretty damned slow. We only use it to move heavy equipment and the seriously wounded. Most people take the stairs, and we always have a guard up top."
"Why?" Cato looked up into the darkness that led up to the top of the mountain, and sure enough there was a rebel just sitting there at the top of the staircase reading something.
"Two reasons, gives us warning in case the Combine comes knocking; and it also lets us catch anyone who tries to leave and forget their mask. And yes, it has happened before." Zaeed said, raising a finger to forestall the question; "And yes, it ended poorly."
He then pointed to each of the tunnels; "With three exceptions, which I'll get into in a bit; all these tunnels lead into the Antlions own vast network of tunnels. We haven't blown them up because the Antlions will just tunnel through them or breach through the wall to get around it. Plus, they provide us with more than one possible means of escape if the main entrance is compromised. It would take a while, but everyone has practically memorized the way out through these tunnels."
Cato gaped at him, he had gotten lost so many times trying to keep track over where Ayita had been going as they had made their way here. Before he had assumed that she was using the Vortessence to guide them; but the fact that she had memorized the way was simply astonishing.
"How…" He started to say, but trailed off.
Zaaed just chuckled, "Well Ayita ain't that good at math and all that other nerdy stuff; and it was an absolute pain to get her to learn how to read. She can barely spell her name," He scratched his chin as a troubled expression overcame his face for a moment "Well… she can barely speak physically. Absolutely despises talking honestly, even using Telepathy; prefers using emotions, imagery, or just impressing on people what she thinks."
Cato nodded, that made sense; soldiers wouldn't make the best teachers or parents without proper guidance for them. "We just assumed your species didn't talk when we met her. Cause neither the Soldiers that tried to capture us talked, Skreech just… screeched at us; and Ayita used that impressions and emotions thing."
Zaeed grunted, then turned to the three tunnels he hadn't pointed too. "These three are the crew quarters, the Xen Pool Pumps and Water Pumps, and the Generator and Storage tunnels respectively. And before you ask, yes you and your crew will be getting their own Quarters; though everyone will have to share. 'Cept you and Ayita of course, since you're Vortals; 'snot safe for other non-Vortals to bunk with you."
Both Cato and Zaeed stared at the tunnel for a moment, before both realized what he said.
"I'm not bunking with her." Cato exclaimed.
"Good, cause I'd kick your ass if you tried; don't worry, this mine held hundreds of people in the olden days back when Monopolistic Billionaires cared more about profits than their workers. We got plenty of Crew Quarters to spare." Zaeed agreed.
Cato then turned his attention back to the pit, and saw Garrus and Nihlus talking with a portly and bald human; who seemed to be cooking things for dinner. To his relief, the Dextro food supply was more than enough to last the four Dextro Aliens for a few months; though they would have to find something soon to replace it in case something happened.
"Who's that talking with Garrus and Nihlus?" He asked, pointing to the human, they were talking to.
"Oh that's Mess Sergeant Gardner; he was our Company cook in the HECU, actually made our damned MRE's taste somewhat good." Zaeed explained.
"Well if he can work his magic on Dextro based foods, then i'll protect him with my life." Cato replied, with a joking smile.
Zaeed chuckled, "I'm pretty sure every single person on the base would take you up on that kid." Then he turned serious, "You're Dextro, like Ulysses?"
Cato shrugged, "Yeah, we brought a few months worth of stuff; but hearing that Ayita's teacher is Dextro does give me hope that we'll find some good food."
Zaeed coughed into his fist with a chagrined expression on his face; "yeah about that, the food Ulysses eats… I wouldn't really recommend eating it."
"Why not?" Cato asked, tilting his head.
"I made the mistake of trying it once… let's just say I would rather be waterboarded again rather than try that crap. C'mon, let's go find you a room."
Wrex kept one eye on the 'Ulysses' Alien.
He had known and met many Asari Matriarchs in his life, and this guy reminded him very much of them. The Wisdom, the Experience, the apparent 'Harmlessness'; and above all the power they hid within themselves. For the moment, it's attention was on Mordin and Shephard, and that suited him just fine. He had his own claws full with...
"Aw hell, where'd you get off to?" He started sniffing and circling.
"Is there a Problem Mr…?" A matronly human with red hair asked him, giving him a funny look.
Wrex located her scent. "Yeah, Skreech took off." He set off down one of the side tunnels.
She followed after him. "Skreech? Is she one of your people?" She asked in curiosity, both at the Alien sounding name and the fact that they had missed one.
Wrex eyed the dowdy creature. What he saw strangely reminded him of some of the females of his own people. "No, one of yours. We picked her up in the tunnels on the way here."
"And you saved her? That's quite commendable. So many people have been lost since..." The female faded off while they marched.
That was when Wrex realised what it was that reminded him of the females of Tuchanka: the crushing sense of loss, and the self resigned stoicism to keep on. "Well children are rare on my world, it would be unforgivable not to help her; even if she was trying to kill us."
"I'm sorry, what?" The human asked, looking at him as if he was telling some sort of Joke; but he could also see her mind working to process what he'd said about Children being rare on his world.
Wrex paused and huffed. "Look, I doubt very much she's the child your-" he held back from saying more. He'd said something like that once, centuries ago. He Still had scars from that conversation.
He caught a look from the female that promised either a scolding, or a castration. "My Miranda died years ago, in my arms. I'm not looking to project my hopes or maternal instincts onto whomever this 'Skreech' is. But I do have a responsibility to the Base; if you are bringing back somebody who could pose a danger then I need to know." She ordered, staring him down with narrowed eyes.
More and more she was looking and acting like a Krogan.
Wrex fought back a bark of laughter; more than a millennia old, and he was still underestimating females. "Fair enough." He turned back down the tunnel. "I don't have anything else to go by other than Shephard's word and my own experience fighting her, but the little Pyjack is apparently some kind of cybernetically enhanced, genetically engineered, supersoldier."
His traveling companion gasped, but rallied quickly. "I'd heard Overwatch was working on a new generation of troops, though the details are understandably sparse." She narrowed her eyes, and began looking upward into the darkness; searching for human sized holes in the ceiling. "Hm… tell me; what's her personality like? Many Brainwashed Overwatch troopers are cold and clinical, but the way you describe her makes her sound like a child." She noted, sounding more like a doctor or…
What was it those mental Asari doctors were called? Psychics?
"Well she may as well be one." Wrex snorted, intentionally being vague; both as a test and because he didn't feel like explaining himself.
The female nodded, and her eyes flashed slightly; as if he had answered her question, then asked, "Never got your name Mr?"
"Urdnot Wrex, but everyone just calls me Wrex." He replied with a toothy grin that would scare pretty much anyone away.
But this human matron just gave a smile in return and stuck her hand out in a very Asari way; "Doctor Kelly Chambers; former psychiatrist, now Lambda Resistance Fighter."
He just chuckled and took her hand and shook it; "Now that we got the pleasantries out of the way, where in the pits of hell did Skreech go?" He wondered, smelling the air again in confusion.
She smelled very close, on top of them even; so where the hell was she?
A mote of dust fell into one of his eyes and he heard the faintest of creaks from the boards above them. "Clever Girl-"
-crash- "Rharrgh!"
"Ow!" Skreech broke through the rotting planks above them, directly onto Wrex's head.
She latched onto his upper lip and began punching him in the eye as fast as she could. It hurt, but more like a Varren biting him in a harder area; or someone shooting his head crest. Growling, he quickly grabbed her by the leg and threw her against the wall.
To his surprise, she twisted in midair and landed on the wall feet first; before springing off of it, launching herself toward him.
Despite the incredibly fast maneuver and the amount of skill involved in it; Wrex knew it wouldn't be enough for her. He could see that she was far, far slower than when she had fought him at the river, and when she'd fought him in the caves.
She had probably gone close to twenty hours without food; and while any species could last for a time without eating, it didn't mean their combat abilities didn't suffer because of it. And while she was going on empty, he had eaten some Antlion Legs during the long journey from the outside to the base; so while he wasn't a hundred percent, he was definitely in better shape than Skreech was.
He shrouded his arm in Biotics, and clotheslined her in the chest; knocking Skreech flat onto her back while knocking the wind out of her. Then, before she could get up and try to run, or try and attack him; he quickly trapped her in a biotic field.
All of this happening within the span of five seconds.
Kelly blinked and stepped back in surprise, "Well… that was a thing." She said.
"Hmph, that should do it." Wrex agreed.
"Rahgh! Lemme go!" she thrashed against the barrier.
Wrex looked her in the eye. "And why would I do that?"
"Cause your a stupid alien and I'm under Control and you have to!"
The Battlemaster barked a laugh at that. "Oh well, when you put it like that-"
"Young lady, you will stop this nonsense right now!"
Both Wrex and his captive froze in place at the sound known galaxy wide as 'The Mom Voice'.
"That's better. Now you're an intelligent girl. Explain to us why we should let you go." Wrex moved to the side to allow Kelly a better look at Skreech.
M-91811441 was at a loss. In her admittedly short life she had been called many things, none of them pleasant, and most by Dr.'s Core and Lawson; but she'd never been called 'intelligent'.
She looked this strangely defiant and yet oddly gentle woman in the eyes. "Well, you're the Resistance; and you," she spun to face Wrex, "are the aliens I was sent to retrieve. I have to take you back!"
Kelly crossed her hands over her stomach. "Those are reasons you need to return, but not reasons we should let you return. Tell me, what is your name?"
"Overwatch Operative M-91811441."
"I've been calling her 'Skreech', since that's usually the first thing she does at new people." Wrex flinched at the look Kelly directed his way; he could almost taste the Garma Root he was certain Kelly intended to wash his mouth out with.
"Neither of those will do. How old are you?"
"Two!" She proudly declared.
Wrex watched as a dozen emotions raced across Kelly's face, none of which boded well for this 'Combine'. She settled on a look of motherly pride. "My Miranda was two when all of this began. I think rather than an impersonal number," she sent a baleful side eye to Wrex, "or a dehumanizing noise, I should call you Miranda. Would that be okay?"
M-91811441 was again dumbstruck; the Doctors had names, the Director had a name, but operatives like herself didn't. It was unheard of; she'd never had a name. There was a part of her, a small, bitter part that sounded like Dr. Core that said she didn't deserve a name. But there was another part that demanded it: that demanded she be recognized as her own person, that wanted a name more than anything else she had ever known.
"Yes." While her voice was soft, there was a fire behind it like nothing Wrex had ever heard from the young creature before.
"Well then, Miranda," Kelly smiled at the way the young woman lit up at that, "why should we let you go?"
Miranda was becoming frustrated at how easily this lesser human, this... rebel kept leaving her stumped.
"What would happen to us," Kelly pressed on, "if you were to return to Control?"
A thousand scenarios played out in Miranda's head at that question. All of them ended in bloodshed and chains.
"Would they let you keep your name?"
She was caught off guard by Wrex's question. She wanted to say yes, but she knew in her heart that it was a lie. They'd never let her keep her new name. At best she could expect to be subjected to a complete Cognitive Suppression Biodat. Not only would she never be able to call herself Miranda, she wouldn't even remember. Her name was the first thing in her entire existence which had been freely given to her, that was truly hers, and Control would take that away without hesitation.
-sniff- "No, they wouldn't."
"Then why would we let you return to a place that won't even let you keep your name?" Kelly's voice was laden with sympathy. Miranda began crying as she hadn't in more than a year and a half. She didn't realize she was no longer in the bubble until she felt a pair of arms wrap around her. "Come on Miranda, let's go home."
"Alright Ms. Zorah, hold this wire here; and don't let that other wire touch it, unless you want this damned thing to become a puddle of liquid metal." Adams warned her from under the fabricator.
Tali was fascinated by the device; it was so similar to an Omni-tool's fabrication function, and was simultaneously more and less advanced than one of the cornerstone technologies of the Citadel Council. It was bulkier and more crudely constructed, but even the most advanced industrial omni-tools were incapable of fabricating complex microcircuitry. If she and Cato could bring a schematic of this machine back to the Flotilla, that alone would be a worthy Pilgrimage gift.
Adams shimmied out from under the device and wiped his hands on his worn overalls. "Okay, let's reconnect this and see if that fixed it." The wires were re-spliced and wrapped in insulating tape, and Greg flipped the switch. He whooped as the upper case unfolded, exposing a control console and a cradle.
"Alright! Now to see if it works." He started rummaging around for something, then glanced at Tali. "Can I borrow that for a moment?" He pointed to her shotgun.
She hesitantly unclipped the weapon. "S-sure? What are you going to do with it?"
"I'm going to fit it with a grenade launcher," he proudly declared as he set the weapon in the cradle, "or blow us all to kingdom come because it's all alien tech held together with Safety Wire and 100 Mph Tape."
The machine closed up and began spinning around the weapon. Within seconds, the spinning stopped and the cradle extended. There was her shotgun though there now was a peculiar clamp and foregrip.
She looked at the contraption with uncertainty. "What is this?"
Greg pulled a flat yellow boxy object out of a case, then clipped it to the end of the shotgun. "I told you; it's a grenade launcher." He presented the weapon to her proudly.
She was simultaneously flattered and concerned with the gift. "You certainly know what a lady likes." She cycled the grip a few times, becoming accustomed to its operation.
Greg smiled, then noticed something on the fabricator control panel. "Huh, what's this? 'Inverse Mass Acceleration'." He started typing on the controls. "Well color me impressed. The fabricator did a full scan of your shotty while making the launcher. If I'm reading this right, this little darlin can upgrade all our conventional weapons to work sort of like yours."
Tali gawked at Greg, then the machine. "You're telling me this can make Mass Accelerators now?"
Greg scratched his chin. "Whole weapons systems use up a lot of resources, and this would require Dark Energy cells as well, so I think it's more like what it normally does and just beefs up whatever you feed it. I need to get this pattern loaded onto the other fabricators!" He began fiddling with the controls. "If we can get this template out to the other resistance cells, we might just be able to make a dent in the Combine and the Xennian life infestations, and not just hang on for dear life."
"I've heard Shephard use that term before, 'Xennian life'. What is it?" She recorded what Greg was doing as she asked.
He moved on to the other fabricator in the room. "Headcrabs, Coral Polyps, Antlions. They're all minor but still dangerous problems in the city, but Antlions are the real problem out in the countryside. They burrow under everything, they attack anything that gets close to the nest; and don't get me started on what happens if you step on one of their grubs." Tali froze. "I heard of one cell in the Sierras; the swarm tracked a scouting party 300 km because one guy stepped on a grub. One survivor in a resistance cell of 28."
"Keelah!"
"Ah, it's not so bad if you take precau-"
Tali dashed for the main chamber. "I stepped on a grub on our way here!"
"What?!" He dropped what he had been doing and ran after her.
A loud buzz filled the cavern, and everyone turned to see two lights at the tunnel Tali and the others had entered from.
"Shit!" Adams snapped, quickly grabbing one of the two functional turrets; while the one called Jenkins grabbed the other. Tali drew her newly upgraded shotgun, while making sure her Pulse SMG was loaded.
The three of them quickly rushed over to the tunnel, several of the soldiers quickly joining them.
"What's going on?" The loud, rumbling voice of Wrex asked; walking over with Skreech and another matronly human behind him.
Tali saw that Skreech seemed to be red eyed, and sticking close to the other human; but she shrugged it off as unimportant, "Antlions!" She exclaimed.
"Shouldn't be too much of a problem, it's just two lights and one tunnel-" Jenkins was saying, looking at Tali with that expression that made her want to slap him; when suddenly he ducked.
A wave of green acid spewed where his head had been just seconds before.
The turret's VI immediately targeted the Worker Antlion as the bigger threat; even as Jenkins cursed and began firing at the Antlion soldiers with his submachine gun, the other humans quickly followed suit.
"Jenkins you good?" Adams asked, firing a pistol into the Antlions' midst.
"Just singed my beanie, I'm good." The young rebel replied, still cheerfully optimistic.
Wrex quickly began spraying his own shotgun; "Damned Rachni knockoffs, just leave us alone!" He bellowed.
Tali felt so guilty, she had stepped on one of the Bosh'tet's grubs; and now they had tracked her to the base. She hadn't even had the chance to tell the others that she had stepped on one; but the Antlions knew it was her.
They immediately seemed to target her, buzzing their wings and hissing in anger.
"Shit! Their clumping together to charge, Tali! Use your grenade launcher!" Adams bellowed, tossing her a grenade.
Tali fumbled with it in her panic, ducking as another Worker spat acid at her; quickly fitting the grenade to it, she worked the pump and fired. The grenade went flying down the hall and smacked into the mouth of the Worker Antlion as it prepared to spit another bout of acid at her.
BOOM!
The Grenade exploded on impact, sending acid all over the few Antlions that survived the explosion. The bugs screamed in pain, thrashing around as the Acid corroded their wings, armor, and legs.
"Take that you fricking bugs!" A rebel shouted.
Tali sighed in relief, but then the turret stopped firing.
"OH NO! The turret just went Kaput!" Jenkins shouted.
"Shit! Get back!" Adams bellowed.
Tali pulled up her omnitool as the turret began sparking and beeping; trying to hack it and shut it down to stop it from melting.
"Zorah! Run!" Adams bellowed.
"I can save it!" Tali insisted, she typed a command into her omnitool; and the beeping stopped for a moment, and Tali smirked in satisfaction. "Ha! How's that for a quick save?" she said, her voice cocky and self assured.
Then her smile dropped as the Turret began beeping even faster.
"Oh Bosh'tet!" She yelped, stumbling and falling onto her back as she tried to run backwards.
"Jenkins! What are you doing!"
A pair of hands grabbed Tali by her Realk's shoulder straps and quickly dragged her backwards. For a moment, Tali thought they would be fast enough.
BOOM!
The turret exploded in a heat of shrapnel and twisted metal; Tali blinked, as Jenkins stopped dragging her and slumped over and fell to the ground. Tali rolled over onto her stomach, blinking dumbly as her ears were ringing from the explosion; That shouldn't be possible, my helmet would stop any harmful noise. She thought slowly.
She stared at Jenkins, the boy who'd she'd seen checking both her and Liara out; the boy who'd many of the rebels treated like a clumsy idiot. He'd saved her at the cost of his own; a piece of twisted metal had buried itself in his eye, all the way down to his brain.
"Shit! Jenkins is down!" Adams was saying, his voice muffled and slow.
"Tali! Tali! SISTER!" Tali blinked and found herself looking up into Cato and Shephards eyes.
Shephards face was hidden by shadows; but she knew both were looking at her in wide eyed terror and concern. "What…?" Tali started to say, then she looked down.
Another piece of metal was lodged in her side just below the right ribcage, and a second was stuck in her left shoulder; while a third much smaller piece had only partially buried itself in between her breasts in her sternum.
Tali blinked again as the pain started to catch up with her; and she idly realized another thing.
There was no more purple tint to her vision. She brought her hand up to her face, where she saw another minor cut on her palm; and she felt a twinge of pain from her left cheek and her forehead.
She looked at her little brother as she realized what had happened; "Oh… I have a suit breech." the now demasked Tali'Zorah said dumbly, before promptly fainting from the wave of pain that overtook her.
Pilot A/N: And here Tali's arrogant belief that she can fix anything comes back to bite her.
Shephard gets some humanization, with Ulysses doing a whole 'Mr. Miyagi' routine with her; to everyone else's entertainment.
Miranda finally gets her name, and a new mother and father figure through Kelly Chambers and Urdnot Wrex; and I'm pretty sure you guys can guess who 'O-1891141' is, if you do you win a virtual cookie.
The Combine fabricator of course will play a key role coming up; and Tali's recovery will as well.
That's all I have to say, Ian?
Ian A/N: Ah Jenkins; we hardly knew ye. Not a story goes by where this poor lad doesn't bite it. Still, his redemptive moment is important for Tali's development, as well as Shepard's.
Here we begin to lay the groundwork for the actual, eventual ouster of the Combine and it's puppet state, though it is a long, circuitous road. We have some fun Wrex moments, and taking on the surrogate father role for Miranda is another step in his own redemptive story.
Not much else I can say without spoiling things, so I will simply say: stay tuned folks.
Pilot: Alright, sorry for the delay as it has been a busy day; Now then, next chapter of A Ghost and a Spectre will be up this friday.
Please leave a review and tell us what you guys think.
Check my profile for the link to the discord.
And we will see ya when we see ya.