Ayita slowly walked through the ruins of the city; her Poncho protecting her from the freezing rain rather well.
Her Winfeild was primed and ready, but there were no targets for her to shoot at; nothing but the ghosts of the dead. She could feel it almost, the death and pain that had occurred in this ruined and Ancient City.
Anderson had said that he had gone to something called the 'Naval Academy'; a place where only the rich and the most intelligent could enroll and learn. That place was now known simply as 'Hades Gate'; the Combine wall that surrounded the old buildings brought shudders to her frame.
Sixty-four people to turn the tide, liberate the few remaining survivors of Dr. Lawson's interrogations; Human and Alien, and to take control of the first Warship of human design. Not an easy task; but the fate of the galaxy and the universe rested on their shoulders.
The Combine could not leave Earth, under any circumstances.
And they had one LAV-25, a few old Army trucks, and a bunch of cobbled together pickups with armor and guns slapped onto them to do it; against an unknown number of Striders, Hunters, and Overwatch troopers.
Ayita sighed, her breath steaming as she wiped some water droplets from her Poncho.
She could see the massive COMM's tower at one end of what used to be something called the 'Football Field'; and the giant Combine Battlecruiser ready for takeoff at the other end. The Tower had several platforms at numerous levels; along with searchlights to keep an eye out for any potential intruders.
Frowning, Ayita turned back to the Convoy; everyone else was waiting for her as she approached.
As she sat down on some rubble, Garrus asked; "Well?"
Ayita looked at Cato, and the Quarian smiled and nodded in understanding; she opened a link to him, and he relayed her words "The Spokesman was right, it seems there's a token Garrison, though we will need to worry about Striders and Hunters it seems. I spotted three Striders patrolling the perimeter, with at least two hunters travelling with each."
"Hah! Bring em on!" Wrex's voice boomed as he scoffed at the defensive structure.
Garrus huffed and rolled his eyes. "How about no you crazy Krogan Bastard. We have enough to deal with; let's not borrow trouble when we don't need to."
The Battlemaster sneered at Garrus. "Shows what you know; I know exactly who my father was!"
"Yes, yes; record of the Wrex Clan feud well documented," Mordin's dry tone broke in, "including your killing of the former clan head. May we continue?"
"Yes, lets."Anderson's tone was sharp and tinged with bitterness. "We can't ignore the Hunters and Striders, but we don't have the firepower to take them on in a head-on fight."
"How about one on one?"Garrus looked at the high walls and narrow checkpoints. "If we can funnel them through one of these gateways, we'd only have to deal with what could fit through at once."
Massani considered their limited resources. "We still need to get across, and the moment we beach, they'll start coming for us."He nodded thoughtfully. "It should draw the Hunters and Striders away from the main campus, and that will give all the infiltration teams a shot."
Anderson huffed and looked around. "It'll be rough. The only thing we have that can punch through the Striders are the AP rounds for the LAV, and we only have a dozen. We'll need to keep those Hunters at bay so the LAV can bring the striders down."
Ayita thought it over, even as she could hear a debate breaking out over how things should be done. She stood up and took a quick walk around the perimeter while the rest argued; mostly to clear her head and come up with a plan. By the time she came back around to the camp site, she had finally thought of what to do.
Everyone paused and turned to look at her as she emerged from the darkness into the dim lighting caused by Ulysses holding an Orb of light. She gave a nod to Cato and he nodded in return; taking a breath as Ayita relayed her plan to him.
"Okay… Here's the plan; no matter what, all of this means nothing if we don't get that ship. From what I could see, there are no walls at the shoreline; what I propose is that the majority of you take the LAV and the Technicals and ride through the water and storm ashore.
"The Technicals can be made waterborne if we weld barrels to their sides; and the LAV can tow them through the water to the beach.
"While this is happening, three small squads will sneak inside; One needs to sneak into Dr. Lawson's Lab and unlock the controls to the Battlecruiser, steal all his data regarding everything he's found about the Vortessence and the other Council Races, and then wipe it.
"A second squad will free the Prisoners; and as much as I know that they desire to stay on Earth, Everyone is coming with us. We can't leave anyone behind, nor will we.
"And a third squad will need to sneak through the Motorpool and set up an extraction point; so that way we can leave the Area safely and make it to the Cruiser with minimal hassle."
Ayita paused, both to gather her thoughts and to allow Cato to catch his breath.
"Lawson's lab is the most Dangerous, as once inside; we're deep within enemy territory. Freeing the Prisoners is the safest, and going ashore through the water and securing the exits are moderately dangerous. So who wants to do what?"
Cato immediately raised his hand, along with Professor Solus, and Dr. T'Soni; "We'll head to the lab and get the data; I'm Quarian and Vortal, so I'm good with tech and I have a natural advantage with my 'Anti-Biotics'."
Liara smiled, "And I have my Biotics, they likely have not found a good counter to them yet; so I'll have the advantage."
"And I'm veteran of STG; Done far more dangerous missions in life, never had this great stakes though." Mordin added.
Ayita looked at them, then at Cato; and the two quickly conversed telepathically, "Cato I don't wa-"
"Ayita I have too; I refuse to allow my sister to go in there, and I'm the only other one who's Qualified to hack the console. Tali and I have to go inside anyway, I'd rather she be safe." He interrupted, his voice soft; but his tone left no room for argument.
The two stared at each other for a moment, before Ayita lowered her head. "Very well… but I'm coming after you at the first sign of trouble."
Cato just smiled, "I'd expect nothing less."
With that, the two resumed planning with Cato as Ayita's mouthpiece; "Tali, I hate to ask this of you… but you need to be part of the team that releases the Prisoners; no one else has the Ability or the expertise to hack into the mainframe and release them an-"
"Of course I'll do it." Tali interrupted.
Cato's expression soured, but he immediately had to content himself knowing that while she would not sit out for any reason, his sister at least had the safest job in this mission.
Ayita looked down again; before asking "And who would like to go with her?"
"I'll go…" Zaeed said, stepping forward. "And don't try and tell me no kid; I've survived far worse and you know it."
Miranda stepped forward to the group's surprise, while Doctor Chambers stepped up with her; "I know the facility inside and out, I can get you there without ever being seen."
"And I can treat any potential wounded; I have little doubts Dr. Lawson has been 'experimenting' and 'indulging' himself with the prisoners." Chambers added.
Ayita nodded, agreeing with the logic; and knowing that out of everyone there, Miranda was probably the one most qualified to care for herself. "That just leaves holding the extraction point; I'll lead it." She said bluntly.
To her surprise, everyone accepted her decree with a round of nods.
Wrex stepped forward, "Ah… I'm not good at stealth anyways; I'll stand with ya Shephard."
Nihlus and Garrus were next, "You'll need a good sniper team to take out any long range enemies; and well… I don't mean to brag, but I'm the best shot here." Garrus said with a Turian equivalent of a smirk adorning his face.
"Yes… yes you do mean to brag, but it's something that you can back up; and that's what matters." Nihlus added.
As the group dispersed, Ayita walked up to Cato and pulled him aside.
"Ayita? What is it?" He asked, somewhat concerned.
Ayita didn't say anything for a long moment; she just stared into his eyes before she finally gathered the courage to say, "Cato… I know this has different meanings in our societies; but… I need to do this... my Inszel." They both trembled at her use of the word, before Ayita did something that Cato would remember for the rest of his life.
Ayita pulled down her hood, stood on her tippy toes, leaned forward, and kissed Cato on the lips.
It was quick, only for a second; but it felt like an eternity to them both. Once she broke it, Ayita said, "I Will see you soon Cato." And then she put her hood back up, turned, and ran off into the darkness to join her group.
Cato looked oddly at Liara and Mordin. There was an odd tension between them, but they seemed to be getting along so he put that thought in the 'punch-list' for later. They followed a reinforced wall towards a gatehouse.
The young Pilgrim was wracking his brain for a way past the CP's when Mordin laid a hand on his shoulder. "Allow me to deal with this. I have," the elderly Salarian's eyes defocused for a second, "experience with this sort of thing."
Cato and Liara huddled towards the wall, though Liara restrained him from actually touching it. "There's a weak EM field coming from the wall."
It took him a moment to realize how she could feel something like that, then saw the faint blue halo around the hand closest to the wall. It must be catalyzing her Biotics. He wondered why he'd never thought about how the world must feel to someone whose body was suffused with Eezo.
He caught a flash of movement from the corner of his eyes and saw Mordin waving them forward. When they got there, they saw one CP sitting nearly imobile in a chair at the gate, a small section of sparking metal protruding from the base of his skull. Another was, for lack of a better word, folded under the console in the gatehouse, it's extremities twitching occasionally.
Liara gasped as Mordin looked at the two deceased CP's. "Every society aggressive enough to make it to space, is aggressive enough to be a threat in someone's eyes." He looked at Liara. "We have the luxury of stability to hide our aggression."
He then turned and looked at their destination. A white multi story building with oddly faceted panels on it's roof was on the other side of an open space. A rectangular stone block was in the middle, with a Combine sentry gun on top of it. Cato linked into it using a program Tali had developed for diagnostics back in Frost Mine.
Mordin seemed about to speak when Cato glanced at him. "I'm not turning it off; I'm activating a five minute self-check diagnostic cycle. It will stay on, but won't target anything or fire until it's done. Starting, now!"
He hit a key on his Omnitool and received a faint chirp from the device. He looked at his two partners and nodded, and all three bolted across the open space to the building entrance.
They looked in and saw nobody: no guards, no researchers, not even janitorial staff.
Cato glanced at his partners. "Liara, could you check if there's-"
She concentrated for a moment, then shook her head. "There's no EM fields surrounding the building, though I can feel a relatively strong unshielded Dark Energy source inside."
Mordin pursed his lips while Cato glanced at the building entrance. "How strong are we talking?"
She shrugged. "Stronger than one of these energy plugs, but weaker than than a shuttle's Mass Effect core. Perhaps we could use it to deal with whatever-"
Both Cato and Mordin shook their heads. "Too much risk of Ionizing Radiation burst."
Liara nodded. "Then what should we use if we aren't able to access their computers?"
Mordin began detailing possible scenarios when Cato pried a pair of bricks out of the ground and handed one to each of the others. "Then we use the first tool any people invented."
Everyone nodded, and the three of them continued inside.
Nihlus held up a fist, and Ayita froze; Garrus doing the same beside her, while Wrex stopped in his tracks in the back.
After a few moments, a Combine ACP drove past; while a squad of six CP's walked past. She could hear them talking, the rain and boredom loosening their tongues. She listened closely as they walked past, quietly digesting the information they so carelessly let loose.
"Man… my dogs are barking." One of them grumbled loudly.
"Eh, we don't got long till the end of our shift; what do you want to do?" Another asked.
"See if I can get slated with one of those Assassin chicks." The first replied.
"Don't know how you can stick it in those things… They can kill you with their thighs while you go at it with them you know?" The second noted.
"Eh… at least I'd die happy; you're one to talk anyway, I saw you checking those blue women out." The First joked.
"...Shut up…" And with that, they were too far away for her to pick up what they were saying.
"Disgusting excuses for Law Enforcement…" Garrus mumbled, and Ayita silently agreed.
Nihlus peeked his head out again, looking left and right before gesturing them to move; keeping his rifle pointed down towards where the CP patrol had gone off too.
The three of them quickly rushed across to the other side, hiding behind vehicles and crates to avoid being spotted. Digging into her bag, Ayita quickly handed each of her Alien companions two of the objects that she had carried with her from the LAV.
The three of them tensed slightly as Ayita touched their minds; "These are sticky bombs with a remote detonator; place them under the APC's and heavier vehicles. It will be the perfect distraction." She ordered.
The three of them nodded and quickly went to carry out her tasks, while Ayita herself pulled out the last two sticky bombs and the clacker that went with it. Looking around, she spotted two parked Hunter-Choppers; fueled up and ready to go, and prime targets for her sticky bombs.
With a ferocious grin, Ayita went to work.
Tali's eyes were as big as dinner plates as she took in the massive 'Striders' walking in the distance; the 'hunters' galloping around them like a pack of Varren.
"Kheelah… look at the size of those things." she murmured from the groups vantage point.
Miranda gave a soft sniff, "Well of course, they're symbols of the Combine's greatness."
Zaeed spat. "The 'Combine's Greatness' isn't going to care about your praise if it spots us."
Miranda wanted to round on the brute, but she couldn't deny he was right.
Kelly rested a hand on her shoulder. "Is there anything you can tell us about them in case they do spot us?"
The Assassin furrowed her brow. "They'll squat low before firing their heavy weapons which renders them temporarily imobile, and they don't turn well unless they stop."
"They sound like a Geth Armature or Colossus." Tali stared at the ponderous walker.
Zaeed looked surprised. "You've seen something similar?"
Tali glanced at the rest of the team. "Seen personally, no; but I have read field reports about encounters with them. And if by similar you mean, 'multi-legged killing machines I wish we had air-support to deal with', then yes."
Zaeed chuckled. "Well if our Sheela here is right, all we really need is a trip-wire or a couple of log-pendulums." Kelly smirked at that, though whatever was funny about it eluded Tali.
Miranda on the other hand was openly dismissive. "Not likely in either case; Striders can easily right themselves if knocked over, and do you see the spines along the lower legs?" She waited for everyone to look. "Mono-filament Fullerene: they'll cut through nearly anything that they come in contact with."
Zaeed scowled, but refocused back on the Striders. "Fine, fine; no Speeders or Ewoks."
Everyone waited for the war machines to move off, then rushed up to the wall. They edged towards one of the gates, where Tali held up a hand. She swiftly hacked the turrets and linked their feed to her Omnitool.
She smirked at her team as she panned the turret around. "It looks like this is an automated entrance. Give me a moment to... and done!" She stood up and casually walked towards the checkpoint.
The rest of the team joined her. "What did you do?" Miranda cautiously circled the Sentry gun.
"I reprogrammed them;" Tali smugly leaned against one of the tripods, "now, they'll only target Antlions. They're perfectly harmless to everything else."
Kelly smiled at the young Quarian. "Very clever. Once we're done here, we can pick these up and bring them back to Frost Mountain by way of apology for the ruckus we caused."
The four continued deeper into the compound until they came to the building where the prisoners were being held. Tali was trying to figure out how to get in past the guards at the front entrance, when Zaeed pulled a grey roll from his pack. He put several criss-crossing strips of adhesive on one of the windows before punching it.
Rather than the shrill clatter of broken glass, there was simply a crackling noise as he pried the now dented window pane out of its frame. "Come on Sheelas, time's a wastin."
The three ladies followed him in. Everyone was about to continue on when Miranda hissed. "We can't just wander through the detention center; there are cameras and regular patrols." She looked at Tali. "The cameras use the Combine's universal data interface; it's identical to that used by Sentry Guns."
Tali hacked into the system. "Hm; too many cameras to hack." She scrolled through the system. "But, they all feed into a central monitoring room. Hold on a second; I'm going to see if I can loop the feed from the central server. If I do this right, they should just see an endless looping pattern."
"And if you do it wrong?" Zaeed hunkered next to the door.
"Then we will have saved them some time in bringing us to their prison since every alarm in the building will go off."
"Seven minutes." Tali glanced over to Miranda. The former Assassin nodded to the hallway. "The patrol route is precisely seven minutes. Loop for that long, and that long only."
Tali pulled up the archival footage, created the loop, and hit enter. Everyone breathed a sigh of relief when no alarm sounded.
Kelly patted her on the back. "Very nicely done. Now we just have to evade the guards."
Tali smirked again. "I created the loop in the server, remember? I'm still receiving the live feed."
Even Miranda had to admit, silently, that this alien was quite resourceful, as the four of them navigated safely through the compound.
Benezia opened her eyes with a frown.
There was another presence nearby, one that felt vaguely familiar; an aura that the Asari had only felt once before.
She glanced at the guards, who were doing their standard patrols.
Then the doors opened, and two CP's opened the massive vault doors to the holding areas, carrying a prisoner between their arms. Benezia did not immediately recognize this woman, which meant that she was a new addition; or she had gained Lawson's attention and he had had her transferred to his 'special' block.
Jacob sat up in his bed across from her and watched as the CP's dragged the woman past.
The two shared a look, and Benezia tilted her head; asking him the silent question.
He shook his head, "Red Tattoo Stripe down the center of her lower lip, Japanese I think, standard Civilian Clothing; probably one of Lawson's… 'entertainers' for the night."
Benezia felt her heart sink, Another young woman taken off the streets to be used for her body; and presumably her DNA, if what Jacob had said about the Clones was true.
Both quickly shut up and listened as the two guards quickly returned; while the four that were on duty asked them what everyone was likely thinking. "Another one of Lawson's 'dates'?" One asked.
"Yes and no; She's a little thief apparently, caught her stealing food from one of the dispensaries. Apparently she's been doing this for months now, and only just now did she get caught." Another replied.
"Yeah… apparently she and this other guy were stealin' food for a group of refugee kids. Assassin caught them though, Girl gave herself up so the guy and all the kids they were feeding could get away." A third stated.
"Hmph, stupid bitch." A fourth chuckled.
After a long pause the group dispersed and the two that had dragged the civilian inside exited through the doors; while the other four went back to their posts.
Benezia went back to her bunk, and started to close her eyes again when she heard it.
Tink!
She blinked and stood up again, walking to the very edge of her cell; reaching out to try and sense the Aura of what she had heard. From what little she had been able to gather, there seemed to be a distinct lack of vermin; which meant that it probably was sentient as opposed to an animal.
Frowning, Benezia realized that it was indeed sentient; in fact it felt very familiar.
"The hell?" She heard Jacob whisper, and Benezia looked over and saw that it was one of the Quarians that she had hired sneaking around up on the catwalks; her omnitool pointed at the turrets and the security Cameras.
She smiled lightly, and watched as the Quarian began to type at the consol.
Quickly deactivating the barrier in front of her cell and all the others holding both her fellow crash survivors and the other humans. Benezia sighed and stepped outside as the manacles that had been bound around her neck, ankles, and her wrists snapped open and fell to the ground.
"Ahh…" she sighed, rubbing her neck.
Zap!
She jumped at the flash of green, and saw Jacob grinning like a madman; "Ohhohoho… you're fucked now." He cackled, turning and rubbing his hands together; his eyes began glowing bright green.
Saren hissed and moved to subdue the human; seeing him as a threat, before Benezia held up a hand.
The four CP's came rushing around the corner, and froze in place. "Oh shit!" One exclaimed, just as Jacob slammed his hands into the ground; sending bright Emerald Green Bolts of energy through the ground and all four CP's stiffened before collapsing to the ground.
"Guddamn son, we need to get you some anger management classes." A new, harsh, Krogan-like voice remarked.
Benezia turned, and found a very old, dirty, and scarred human staring back at her; "Well then, who's in charge here? Cause we need to get the Hell out of here."
"Work quickly Doctor, Professor; time is not on our side." Cato hissed angrily at the delay; even as the two intellectuals downloaded the data.
"Will be fast Mr. Zorah." Was all Mordin said as he typed.
Cato grumbled under his breath, then tensed as he heard a distant clang. "You hear that?" he asked.
"No, what was it?" Liara asked in kind, sounding very nervous and scared.
"I don't know… I'll check it out." Cato replied, drawing his SMG and slowly moving towards where he had heard the sound.
"Use caution Cato." Mordin advised, giving him a sideways look.
Cato just nodded and moved towards where he had heard the noise; trying his best to ignore the seemingly endless columns of cylindrical tanks. Most of them were empty, but some off in the distance had… things, floating inside of them. What it was, Cato didn't want to know; but he had a feeling that he would eventually find out.
Approaching the area he had heard the noise; Cato swept his SMG around, trying to see what or who could have made it.
As he did so, he caught sight of one of the tanks; and he couldn't help but stare at it, looking at what seemed to be a clump of flesh floating inside of it. "What is this place?" He murmured.
The lights flicked on, and Cato immediately crouched behind the tank and brought his Pulse SMG to bear; trying to see who had turned the lights on.
"This place is what you get when industry marries genetics… now put your gun down." A sultry, female voice ordered from nearby.
Cato froze, and turned to see a woman that looked exactly like Miranda staring him down; a blocky pistol of some kind in her hand. Only she looked colder, a little bit older, and her hair was a yellowish-golden color. She wore the same jumpsuit that Miranda had worn when she had captured the group; although this Miranda lookalike wasn't wearing the helmet.
She wasn't aiming her pistol at him, but Cato had no doubts that he would die if he tried anything; so he did as she ordered and threw his gun away.
"Rather poor stopping power if you ask me; what you need is one of these." She stated, never breaking eye contact with him.
She reached into a second holster and tossed him another pistol of the exact same make; although it was unloaded from what he could see. Cato caught it and fumbled for a moment, and used the opportunity to glance over at the console Liara and Mordin had been working.
To his concern and slight relief, they weren't there.
"It fires 9x19mm Parabellum rounds, carried in one of these." She then tossed him a magazine, which he also caught.
Cato grimaced, it was painful not using his Telekinesis, but he had little doubts the woman in front of him knew that he was Vortal. His eyes glowing Emerald rather than Mercury was probably a dead giveaway.
He didn't know what this human females game was, but he knew he had to play it regardless.
"Easy enough to load…" She stated, loading the ammo block; Cato doing the same.
In a flash he brought the gun up and pulled the trigger.
Click!
Cato blinked while the female smirked; "You need to pull the slide back and engage the hammer." She said walking up to him while doing said action, pointed her gun right at his forehead. "Easier done than said." She admitted.
Two more sets of footsteps, and Cato looked behind him to see another female; this one yanked the pistol out of his hands while putting him in a chokehold and held a cloth with a sweet smelling scent coming from it over his mouth and nose.
Cato choked and thrashed, but already felt himself losing consciousness as the other glared him down, lowering her pistol.
Ayita… Cato thought as he drifted off.
Dr. Core scowled and walked up to the two Assassins; M-91792449 was the one that drew her ire the most, though O-1872397 wasn't exempt from it either
M-91792449 turned with a proud smile on her face, and opened her mouth to speak.
Smack!
The assassin stumbled back and held her face in surprise; while Eva marched up to the clone and got in her face, "You toyed with him… had he been smarter or had help you would be dead. When this is over you will submit yourself for punishment to the base Commander!" She snarled.
M-91792449 shuddered and bowed her head, her hands drifting towards her chest and below her waist.
Eva turned to O-1872397, "And you didn't correct or stop her behavior, you will also submit yourself for lesser punishment." The light brown skinned and red eyed Human-Alien hybrid also shuddered and bowed her head; her own hands drifting unconsciously to her back.
Eva fumed for a moment more, then ordered; "Take him to the Labs, I'll find the rest."
Ayita took in the big artillery gun in front of her, while Wrex, Garrus, and Nihlus just stared open mouthed at it.
"By the Spirits, it's huge… that's a dreadnought gun, repurposed as ground Artillery." Nihlus rasped as he took in the shield on the front of it.
Ayita looked over at the COMM tower and frowned at the faint tingle in the back of her mind. She didn't know why but she couldn't shake the feeling that Cato was in trouble; and the two of them had cut themselves off from each other to prevent the Combine from potentially picking up their Vortal link, so she didn't know for sure.
"That gun… good vantage… don't fire if spotted…" She hissed, not even waiting for a response from her three companions as she sneaked towards the giant siege gun. She was so distracted, that it was the worst thing she could have done.
Splash!
Cato sputtered and flailed for a moment; the shock of getting a face full of water startled him awake. Immediately he took in his surroundings, and saw that while he wasn't restrained in the chair he had found himself in, the two females from earlier were glaring him down; which likely meant that it was best he stayed put.
Cato blinked in confusion as he took in the room around him; it was filled with so many tools, objects, computers, monitors, and other such equipment that Cato had no clue as to the purpose of the room.
Then Cato saw him, the fat human sitting at a desk facing away from him, writing in something.
"Someone hacked into my database; and stole and wiped all my data regarding your Faster Than Light and Navigation data." The human said, in that same accent that Miranda had.
Cato gulped slightly, the man sounded friendly; but Cato could sense the malice from the human in front of him.
"So my question is this… who was with you?" He asked calmly, though Cato did not miss the subtle threat in the man's tone.
Cato gulped, and trying to stall for time said, "I'll answer your questions if you answer mine."
He tensed in anticipation of something painful, but to his surprise the human simply smirked; which Cato only saw since the human was seated in front of a mirror. "Brave of you boy… but I suppose it's only fair. And I'll preempt a few of yours, my name is Dr. Henry Lawson; this facility is a cloning, prison, research, and armaments manufactury all in one. Now then… who downloaded and wiped my spaceship data?"
Cato swallowed; but knew that he had to obliged the man if he wanted to get out alive. "Dr. Solus and Dr. T'Soni, they were with me."
"Well that much is obvious; but I do thank you for the names. Hm… T'Soni, I suppose that old woman would be glad to hear her daughters alive. Now then… your turn." Lawson said, writing in a little notebook of sorts.
Cato thought for a moment, and looked through the skylight on the roof; seeing the massive tower obstructing most of his view, while the rain continued to pour downward. "What… What were those things In those tubes back there?" He finally asked.
"I am so glad you asked… what you saw were my sons and daughters; my legacy, a whole generation of elite shock troopers for the Universal Union." Lawson said proudly.
Cato blinked as he felt a tingle in the back of his mind, that of another Vortal nearby.
But that didn't make any sense; he and Ayita were the only Vortals in the area, not counting those in the prison hold on the opposite end of the complex.
But it was Lawson's turn; "Now then, where did your friends go off to? They weren't anywhere near you when we captured you."
Cato couldn't stop the relieved smile that had crossed his face; "I don't know, I had split off from them because I went to check out a noise."
Lawson gave a disappointed sigh, turning the page and continuing writing; "Well… you are as truthful as you are stupid; what did you think would happen, splitting off from the group like that?" The Doctor sounded more like a disappointed parent than an enemy; but Cato stayed on guard.
"Didn't really think truthfully, my turn." He took a breath, "You say that those tubes contain… I assume clones of some kind... Did you make any of the other crash survivors?"
Cato wasn't sure why he asked that, but the tingle in the back of his mind had told him that that was the question that he needed answered.
Here, the doctor actually stood up from his chair; took off the long black coat that he had been wearing, and walked up to Cato with something akin to a manic smile on his face.
Cato had to restrain himself to keep from leaning away from the man as he pressed his face only inches from Cato's. He could see the insanity and the sadism behind the man's glasses, in the humans eyes; and Cato knew that he was toeing some kind of line.
"Wouldn't you like to know…" Then he walked over to a console and typed in several commands. "Tell me… does this look familiar?" Lawson stood aside, allowing Cato to see two pictures on the screen.
Cato felt all the blood drain out of his face.
One picture was of Ayita, the other was of him; both of their picture versions were devoid of any emotion, and stood with their arms and legs spread apart, absent any clothing.
"Yes… I knew I recognized your face from somewhere." Lawson smirked and walked over to a pillar in the middle of the room, "I'd like you to meet someone."
Cato watched as another one of those tubes from earlier slid upward from the floor; and any semblance of control fell away as he saw what was floating inside.
A Quarian infant, about eight to ten months old, floated inside while sucking on its thumb.
But what made his blood run cold was two things; one was that it was occasionally sparking Emerald energy, and the other was that it had five fingers and five toes. And Cato could already feel his mind reaching out to the infant, primal concern, anger, and worry surging through him as he watched the infant; though he had no clue why, much to his confusion.
"Fascinating… you sense your connection to her, even if you don't understand it." Lawson muttered, quickly jotting it down in his notebook. "I'd like you to meet O-1891141… your daughter."
Cato stared uncomprehending for a moment at the child floating in the tank. I know I was unconscious during some parts of the last week, but I'm pretty certain I wasn't that out of it. He tentatively reached out like he would with Ayita, and for the faintest of moments it felt like that was who this child was. He felt fear and confusion, pain and isolation, a brief flash of freedom and a lifetime of imprisonment.
He calmed his breathing and focused on the baby in front of him.
It occurred in The Moment; that this being, this child was his and Ayita's. The implications were staggering; to completely rebuild the Quarian race in a single year, to hybridize his people so they could survive anywhere and everywhere was wholly within the realm of possibility. What else could be accomplished with this amazing technology?
An unfamiliar presence surrounded him; Nothing good. An unknown voice said.
Cato felt a flutter in the Moment, and he saw rank after rank of tubes extending as far as he could perceive. He felt the rage of his people twisted into a malicious contempt as the Admirals grew a vast Quarian Clone army, both to retake Rannoch and to revisit cruelty on the Citadel Council for centuries of mistreatment.
He saw his father with a rifle raised and ready to kill his abomination of a 'granddaughter'.
He saw his Auntie 'Raan begging Cato to leave the child in the care of others, others more 'qualified' to raise her.
Admiral Daro'Xen experimenting on the child, his Child, all the while coldly recording everything done to it.
Admiral 'Koris propping her up as an example of a 'New Homeworld'.
Admiral 'Gerral raising her as the first of a new generation of Shock Troopers.
The Moment rippled, and he saw it mirrored what was already in front of him, but instead of Rannoch and the Council, it was Earth and the Combine that this army would be unleashed on; the fat Doctor could be heard laughing in the background the whole while.
Cato stared at Lawson, digesting the info that he had received through the Vortessence as the Moment ended and faded away; processing it into words, even as the human sat back down in his chair with his back turned to the Quarian, writing more notes.
Cato contemplated speaking his thoughts, and looked at his… 'Daughter' and felt primal rage at seeing her contained like she was giving him the courage to finally speak.
"You want to replace the Consul…" He murmured, not taking his eyes off of 'O-1891141'.
Lawson looked up into the mirror in front of him with a confused expression; "Beg Pardon?" he asked with a slight laugh.
"That's why you've made these clones, why you're making an Army of Assassins and Elite Shock Troopers; you want to slowly phase out transhumans through natural means and replace them with your tube grown troops. Ones that are only loyal to you; and then supplant the Consul, Commandant, and the Administrator.
"And from there, go to war with the Combine; win through sheer numbers… and then your legacy will forever be the 'savior of mankind'. That's your end goal… isn't it?" Cato asked, turning away from O-1891141 and focusing on Lawson.
The smile was gone, Lawson's lips were pressed together in a thin line; and he was tapping his writing utensil on his little notebook while adjusting his rimless glasses, never breaking eye contact with Cato as he did so.
After a long moment he stood up and walked over to a table, saying "As an Alien, having been on Earth for only a few days with a bunch of uncultured Peasants, I very much doubt that you would be familiar with the wonders of German Composer Franz Schubert." He began fiddling with some very old machines as he talked. "'Die Forelle' is perhaps my favorite."
Ayita was so distracted by her worry about Cato, and more importantly, the tingle of another Vortal at the edge of her senses; that she did not sense the Civil Protection Officer as she walked into his line of sight.
"Hold It!" He snapped, yanking the charging handle of his MP7.
Ayita huffed and held up her hands, subtly charging up an attack as she did so. Sensing Wrex, Nihlus, and Garrus's intentions she quickly snapped at them telepathically; "Don't do anything; I'll take care of him so his biomoniter doesn't set off the alarms of the base."
The CP pointed at the ground and snarled, "On your knees."
Ayita did so, watching the CP the whole time.
Lawson continued his monologue, unaware of what was happening outside. "A fisherman grows tired of attempting to catch a particularly intelligent and elusive fish."
Eva looked through the scope of her Overwatch Pulse Sniper Rifle, cursing the CP the whole time. "Get out of the way… Get out of the way…" She growled angrily.
With a strict radio silence in place until all the intruders had been located; she couldn't tell said CP to move, or else she would end up tipping the enemy off. Especially considering the fact that they had probably infiltrated their radio frequencies.
She slowly began to squeeze the trigger, not concerned for the CP's life; but she didn't like wasting things, and this CP was more attentive than most. It would be a waste to kill him, but if it came down to it she would take the shot.
"I'm warning you... you idiot." She hissed, thankful the spotlight to her left kept her hidden from sight.
"And so the fisherman stirs up the mud and the water."
Eva could feel the trigger was close to firing.
"Last chance you fool." She muttered.
"And in doing so, confuses the fish."
"This is unit HG-A113, uh… we got a probable Anti-Citizen; please advi-"
THUMP!
The CP's biomonitor flatlined; while Ayita shrieked in surprise as the Pulse slug missed her head by inches. Close enough that it actually knocked the hood of her Poncho down. She sprinted to the left, no longer caring about being seen even as Garrus and Nihlus began searching for the sniper.
Reaching the massive wheel of the siege gun, she dove behind it; as two more rounds smacked into the ground right beside her and into the wheel itself, denting the metal on impact.
Ayita panted and trembled in fear; Please be okay Cato…
Eva growled in disappointment.
The CP had spoiled her first shot and caused her to miss the human by inches; and while she had the girl pinned, she couldn't shoot her. Not to mention the fact that the two Aliens Eva had seen were doubtlessly looking for her now.
Let them, they'll never find me. She sneered.
Lawson smirked, while Cato tensed at the sound of gunfire; his own heart rate accelerating and he could feel faint traces of panic worm its way into his mind for some reason.
Ayita?! He thought.
Lawson seemed to see him tense, and his smirk turned once again to a manic smile; "The fish doesn't realize until too late that he has swum into a trap."
Cato heard a set of footsteps to his left and he turned to look.
SHINK!
Cato gasped at the ice cold feeling in his shoulder, and he looked over with wide eyes to see a hooked piece of metal buried in his right shoulder. He yelled in pain despite his best efforts to control himself, as he was hoisted up several meters in the air; hanging by the hook in his shoulder, giving a muffled howl of pain and holding onto the hook with his good arm to minimize the damage and pain.
He didn't notice O-1891141 twitch and glow at his jolt of pain; nor did he notice Lawson fiddling with his equipment.
After a minute, Lawson walked back to the mirror and stared at his reflection; and music began to play.
Everyone in the prison hold jumped and looked up at the speakers in the walls.
Zaeed frowned and turned to the group; "None of you were taken away to Lawson's labs right?" He demanded.
The woman named Benezia shook her head; "No, everyone is accounted for; both Human and Alien." She informed him, worry crossing her face.
Liara held a hand over her mouth as she watched in horror; while Mordin put a hand on her shoulder with a grim look on his face. Until the attack started, there was nothing they could do; they just had to wait for the perfect moment to strike.
Ayita looked around in surprise and gasped; holding her shoulder. It felt like someone had stabbed her there with a knife. Garrus, Nihlus, and Wrex all looked at each other in concern as the piano notes began to echo throughout the compound.
Lawson continued to stare at the mirror; and then he began to sing, a nearby microphone catching every word from both him and the record player.
"In einem Bächlein helle da schoß in froher Eil" Lawson actually began to sway slightly, as if he were actually dancing with a woman at a Victorian style ball.
His grin threatened to split his face as he sang. "Die launische Forelle vorüber wie ein Pfeil"
Cato for his part was trembling with pain and fear as he swung back and forth; while O-1891141 began to thrash in her tank, her peaceful expression growing pained. "Ich stand an dem Gestade und sah in süßer Ruh"
Here Lawson turned and faced Cato fully, "Des muntern Fischleins Bade im klaren Bächlein zu" The scientist rushed forward and shoved Cato like he was a pinata, and Cato howled as the hook dug deeper into his skin.
"Des muntern Fischleins Bade im klaren Bächlein zu"
Ayita drew her Winfield with a ferocious snarl; she knew now that her Inszel was in danger.
She aimed and swung out from behind cover and fired a shot at the sniper in the tower; only for the sniper to return fire with a shot that missed her stomach by inches, forcing Ayita back into cover with a hiss.
Garrus peaked out from where he was hidden and fired his own shot, but the sniper fired back and only Garrus's quick reflexes saved his life. As it was, it still cost him his Sniper rifle, the scope shattering into a million pieces as Garrus ducked back down.
"Ein Fischer mit der Rute wohl an dem Ufer stand" Lawson began to work his 'magic', punching Cato in the ribs; Grabbing hold of his legs and yanking downward, anything to increase the pain.
Cato just screamed.
"AHHHHH!"
Ayita peaked out and fired again, Energy sparking off her body as she trembled in rage. All the while that damned music just kept playing.
"Und sah's mit kaltem Blute, wie sich das Fischlein wand"
"So lang dem Wasser Helle, so dacht ich, nicht gebricht"
All Cato could see was purple.
So much pain, it was unbearable; he gave another shout and sent several sparks of energy off into the air. Lawson simply let go of his arm, as the Energy traveled through the hook in his shoulder.
Lawson allowed him to hang there, for how long Cato wasn't sure; but he waited for Cato to burn himself out as Emerald Energy sparked in the air.
All the while O-1891141 trembled in her tank, kicking the wall of the tube as she did so.
Ayita growled and Telekinetically pulled a barrel of water in front of her as she left cover.
THUMP!
The pulse round slammed into the barrel, and shattered it while water sprayed everywhere; but it bought Ayita more than enough time to scramble up the ladder to the platform of the siege gun, taking cover behind its blast shield.
THUMP!
The pulse round zipped in between the tiny crack between the blast shield and the breech of the gun. Ayita huddled behind the gun, and put her hands to her ears, trying to block out the music and the screams as she crouched behind cover.
As the song drew to a close, Lawson looked over to the Assassin handling the rope as Cato finally exhausted himself; and made a chopping motion with his hand.
Cato unceremoniously dropped to the floor, yelping in surprise and pain.
O-1891141 continued to squirm in her tank, no one in the room noticed the increasing glow from the baby as she floated in the tube.
But the two Aliens outside the room noticed, and watched with bated breath.
Wrex set his helmet on his gun, and slowly leaned it outwards from behind the wall; just as the final note from the song echoed throughout the compound.
THUMP!
The Battlemasters helmet shattered; and while he knew it would happen, Wrex couldn't help but feel disappointed that his old 'companion' would not make it out of the trip alive.
Nihlus however noticed something, and nudged Wrex to look at the Siege gun where Ayita was moving again. Both watched while Garrus kept an eye out for the sniper, as the two veteran warriors realized with giant smiles what Ayita intended to do.
Lawson stepped up to Cato; as the Quarians energy faded away, and the music finally stopped.
"Now then… to answer your question, yes that is my plan; to be enacted someday." He said with a smirk, reaching down and burying the hook deeper into Cato's shoulder as the Quarian gasped in pain.
As Lawson did so, he still failed to notice what the two Assassins and Cato himself had noticed; the glow coming from O-1891141 was approaching a point Lawson himself had seen only once before. "And now, it's my turn; and it's rather simple… which of us is the fisherman, and which the fish?"
CRASH!
The glass shattered and the tube full of Amniotic Fluid splattered the lab; the two assassins hopping back in surprise while Lawson flinched as the memory of the first time it had happened sprang to the forefront.
Cato, acting on instinct and out of primal anger, kicked Lawson in the chest; sending the fat human flying backward and into his desk.
At the same time, Liara and Mordin burst into the room.
Mordin quickly knocked out both of the Assassins rather than kill them, somewhat to Cato's confusion; while Liara aimed her SMG at the Psychotic Doctor. Cato meanwhile, through sheer force of will, pulled the hook out of his shoulder; howling in pain, before he swallowed it down and tossed the hook aside.
He crawled over towards O-1891141, the infant already wailing and crying; his mental link telling him that it wanted its parents and was ready to imprint on someone.
Professor Solus tossed Cato a bottle of Antlion extract; which the Quarian immediately caught and applied to his wound, numbing the pain and quickly beginning to heal it.
Reaching forward, he gingerly picked up O-1891141; the baby Quarian-Human hybrid calming a little bit as he reached forward and let her grab his finger, ignoring the mess of fluids staining his clothes and hands.
His only regret was that he didn't have a spare Zorah clan Sehni to clean and wrap the girl in.
"Shhhh… be still Mo'ja c'órka." He murmured, rocking the naked infant back and forth; "Your Oj'ciec is here little one."
Eva watched as the Artillery gun began to traverse to the right, much to her confusion. "What are you playing at Vortal?" She wondered.
Then a tarp covering the gun fell, revealing to her that the barrel was pointed right at her tower.
Eva lowered her gun, stunned that the Vortal would resort to such… extreme means to get rid of her. Still… the sheer ludicrousness of the situation prompted a somewhat childish response from Core, "That's not fair!" She snapped, shouldering her rifle and sprinting to the ladder.
She quickly started climbing, and then looked over and noticed that the gun was almost in position. Looking down, she realized she had only one option left to her; even as the gun traversed downward.
This is gonna hurt…
Core jumped for the nearest building; right as Ayita fired the gun.
BOOOOM!
Cato cringed at the sound as O-1891141 began wailing even louder, her ears hurting from the sudden loud noise.
Mordin and Liara flinched and looked up, which Lawson took advantage off; grabbing the little notebook on his desk and sprinting out a secret doorway only he had known about. Mordin spotted him and fired, scaring O-1891141 even more; as the shot slammed into the door frame, missing the Scientist by inches.
Creeeeeeaaaaaak!
All three looked at each other, and instantly knew what had happened.
"You two run! Protect the child! I will get and wipe data." Mordin ordered, moving with a speed that Cato had not seen before. But Cato wasn't one to question a superior's orders, especially not when he could hear the support cables holding the tower up were snapping loudly.
He ran out of the room, while Liara dragged the two Assassins out of the room.
Cato glared at the two clones before turning his ire on Liara; "Why did you save them?" He demanded.
"Because Dr. Solus ordered me to." She said simply.
Cato opened and closed his mouth and trembled with rage that the two of them had saved the assassins that had captured and tortured him; energy sparking off his body, before O-1891141's cries grew louder, fearful that her father was angry.
CREEEEAAAAK!SNAP!SNAP!SNAP!
The last tower cables snapped, just as Mordin emerged from the lab; a tremendous crashing noise resounded, Cato covering O-1891141's ears so she wasn't hurt or frightened anymore than she already was.
The three of them looked back into the now thoroughly destroyed lab, then at each other.
"Did you get everything?" Cato asked.
"All of it, and wiped the original; all the data left in Doctor's mind and this data stick. Including development of 'Humrians'." He replied with a light smirk.
The two stared at him while O-1891141's cries had calmed down to whimpers; the sudden blast of cold air causing her to shiver, while her father's anger having dissipated calmed her somewhat.
"'Humrians'?" Liara asked incredulously while Cato's attention alternated between the two unconscious Assassins, and the infant in his hands.
Mordin shrugged, "Bad joke, Human and Quarian hybrid, 'Humrian'." He explained.
Liara and Cato looked at each other, just as the sound of the base's alarms triggering and distant explosions shook the building.
Ayita...
Pilot A/N: And so it begins, the finale of Act one.
Just two more chapters after this, and then we have two interludes between acts; one which will be released a week after the last chapter of Act one goes up, and then the other will go up a week before the first chapter of Act two. Now then, this will likely be a very long break between the two acts; as Ian and I will only start releasing chapters once we're about three quarters done with an act, and I'll be honest we haven't gotten very far with it as we've been prioritizing AGAS.
With good reason of course; Now then, onto this chapter.
As I said before, I very heavily based our version of Henry Lawson off of Sir Simon Russell Beale's Portrayal of Lavrentiy Beria in the Death of Stalin (great movie, you should go see it); and here his sadism and his cutthroat ambition fully breaks through for all to see.
The scene with Cato being Tortured and the circumstances surrounding it are of course inspired by Sherlock Holmes: a Game of Shadows with our own flair on it.
O-1891141 gets to meet her daddy, and it made my heart melt a little getting to write them together at last; and of course the Assassins...
We at last get to see what they endure, as many eagle eyed viewers likely caught when Shephards group was listening in on the CP's walking by; and caught how the Assassins reacted when they were told they would be given 'Punishments'.
The Blond Assassin is a reference to both ME and how Miranda was originally meant to be blonde; and Half Life, where the Assassins originally had blonde braids that peeked out of their jumpsuits. And the Indian looking one is of course a character you guys all know of; I'll give you a hint and say she's from ME3.
Now then, Next chapter is going to get a little… hectic…
What do you have to say Ian?
Ian A/N: I can't say that there's any more to add except this is the opening act of the confrontation we've been building... though that much is obvious.
We begin to see what it looks like when the various players cut loose, and in the next chapter we'll see the consequences of that. We'll also see a couple of characters rise to the occasion
Stay tuned dear readers.
Pilot: Right then, check my profile for the link to the discord and my writing challenge; PM me if the discord link needs to be updated.
A TV Tropes page would be loved and appreciated, and we would love it if you guys could tell your friends about this story; as it could use some love.
Leave a review and tell us what you think; the feedback helps us out immensely.
And we will see ya when we see ya.