Council Galactic Standard Calendar: 2185.
Lazarus Bio-weapon Reacher Labs.
Dr Wilson's Office.
The office of Lazarus's chief medical officer Dr Wilson was a clear reflection to any that entered it of the intelligent man's descent into madness. What was once a clean and organised office that would've given off the impression Dr Wilson performed his duties as the highest-ranking medical officer on board the Lazarus space station with the utmost seriousness and professionalism was transformed into a chaotic and unorganised state. Food containers and dirty clothes were scattered everywhere, indicating that Wilson now lived within his office instead of the Cerberus officers private quarters.
The most disturbing aspect of the office and the greatest indicator that Dr Wilson had lost touch with reality over the past two years was the small shrine near the far back of the room. Which was dedicated to Shepard, complete with a mural of the Commander that Wilson had personally painted while not working on Code L. Every day Wilson prayed at the shrine before heading off to work; he'd even come back during lunch to continue praying for inspiration for Code L. At night, Wilson would place white roses on the shrine as an offering to the women who had become a deity to Dr Wilson over these two years.
Dr Wilson was without question insane, and recent events will push the madman over the edge.
"How dare she! That incompetent faithless bitch!"
Dr Wilson stormed into his private office, eyes bloodshot and shining with rage and madness. The unhinged man ignored the scattered food containers and filthy clothes laying on the floor and hurriedly went to the shrine dedicated to his goddess. It was the only thing the mad scientist bothered to keep clean and pristine; he kneeled before it and started to pray and vent some of his frustrations to the mural of Commander Jade Shepard.
"Oh, merciful goddess, mother of the children of Code L," Wilson lit some incense candles he'd managed to buy from the Extranet. He had them delivered to the space station via an assistant that he threatened to turn into a Drone if they breathed even a word about the candles to Jacob or worse, that accursed bitch, Miranda Lawson. "The heathen Miranda has dared to propose that a control chip be placed within your divine flesh!" Wilson had almost attacked the Director at the monthly meeting for her blasphemy, yet thankfully the Illusive Man had the wisdom to deny the request for a control chip to be installed in Shepard's skull.
"The day of awakening is fast approaching! Yet all Miranda cares about is control over the Drones!" The Director had been relentlessly hounding Wilson over the past year to get control over the Drones and turn them into valuable soldiers. "An impossibility as neither she nor anyone else within Cerberus can command children born of your divine majesty!" The praying man practically glowed with religious fervour as he continued to rant and rave about the heresies he saw Cerberus and Miranda committed on a daily basis and how he had to stomach it with a false smile for the sake of his divine mistress.
"Oh, how I wish to bath in that heretic Miranda's blood," Dr Wilson lamented while gently caressing the painting of his goddess. "However, I must still my hand for her purpose is not yet fulfilled." There were only a few more days until Commander Shepard would be resurrected until Wilson saw the goddess walk the mortal plane once more; he'd have to continue pretending to be loyally serving Cerberus.
"Jacob isn't any better," a frown of disdain was formed on Wilson's unkempt face. "The fool may have increased security around the Bio-labs, yet neither he nor the others see the true beauty of the Drones, their power, their glory, their birthright to rule over the lesser races of the galaxy!" Wilson had tried to make Jacob see the truth, but the Station's head of security refused to open his eyes to Shepard's divinity. The chief medical officer suspected Jacob's reluctance to accept the Commander as the one true goddess was because that filthy heretic Miranda led the poor man astray; until that bitch died, Jacob was sadly a lost cause.
For the next couple of hours, Dr Wilson would continue to vent and pray before the shrine. Once that was done, and Wilson felt reassured that he could face Miranda or anyone else within the Station without exploding into the equivalent of a Krogan blood rage, the medical officer went to his desk and actives the holo computer.
Blueprints of the space station and the security files appeared on the screen; Wilson may be a medical officer, yet the man possessed a rare talent when it came to hacking computer systems, a fact that had gained the attention of the Shadow Broker. Although after Wilson had seen the light and received enlightenment, he quickly cut ties with the infamous information broker, the Shadow Broker couldn't be trusted with the divine truth. Dr Wilson took various steps to ensure that whoever the Broker was, they would never know about the Commander's divine nature before it was far too late to do anything about it.
"I can't trust Miranda or any Cerberus operatives here to protect Shepherd," Wilson's fingers blazed across the holo-keyboard. "Steps must be taken to ensure the goddess and her children are free to roam the stars!"
A plan was forming within Dr Wilson's deranged mind whilst planting bugs within the security systems that he had clearance to access. The other primary systems that only Miranda and Jacob could gain entrance into would take a few days to hack into. Yet, the medical officer was confident that he could subtly take control of the Station's security without either of the highest-ranking Cerberus operatives finding out, at least not until it was far too late to stop him from enacting his plan.
Everything will have to be executed perfectly. Miranda was a dangerous woman for all of her heretic beliefs and actions. If Wilson fucked up in any capacity, then she'll put a bullet through his head faster than he can blink. Jacob was also a factor. The man wasn't exactly easy to kill. Years of serving within the Alliance military and Cerberus had transformed the man into a dangerous opponent that, if not killed during the start of the plan being enacted, would definitely survive and cause no small amount of trouble for Dr Wilson.
"The assistants and other scientists call me crazy behind my back for worshipping Shepard," an insane giggle bubbled from his throat as he hacked further into the Lazarus station's systems. "But they'll see, they'll all see that 'they're' the crazy ones!" A new window opened, showing the Station's security mechs; only the standard-issue Loki and YMIR class mechs were employed to protect Project Lazarus. They wouldn't even have these robots if Jacob hadn't demanded them after being shown the Drones down in the Bio-labs a year ago. Now that was going to come back to haunt the man, Wilson would make sure of it.
The goddess shall walk amongst mortals again, and Wilson will be her prophet.
A Few Days Later.
Miranda's Office.
"How can't anyone find one mentally unhinged man hiding within the station!?"
Jacob Taylor kept a blank expression whilst he watched Miranda screaming at the security team overseeing Dr Wilson's security detail. The head researcher for Code L had somehow disappeared from his central laboratory without a trace or anyone noticing for about two hours. How the insane scientist managed to pull it off Jacob hadn't a clue. However, he fully intended to ask Wilson once they find him. The security logs say that none of the Station's escape shuttles has been launched, meaning that the chief medical officer was still here and was, for whatever reason hiding from the security personnel.
"The bastard's slippery," grunted the leader of the security team. "Wherever he's hidden, it's probably somewhere none of us knows about or can easily access." Jacob agreed with the man's assessment of the situation. Dr Wilson may be insane, but he wasn't stupid. The medical officer probably planned this little disappearing act for a while now and most likely chose a place to hide where Cerberus security couldn't find him, at least for a couple of weeks depending on how well Wilson has hidden.
"Slippery or not, we need to find Wilson," Miranda sighed with frustration and a hint of tiredness. "He's the head researcher for Code L, and losing him could set the project back for months." Wilson practically ran Code L single-handedly because no one besides the security staff that had to be there to protect the mad scientist's life wanted to be anywhere near the man nor the monsters he created using Commander Shepard's cells. Especially when said monsters have murdered countless assistants that were unlucky enough to get assigned, Dr Wilson.
"How many Drones has he created for Code L anyway?" Jacob asked. The head of the Station's security forces never went down to the Bio-labs anymore after visiting to inspect the containment facilities; the Drones were wild animals. Jacob knew that they'd once been humans before the experiments began, which caused the former Alliance marine to stay as far away from the Bio-wing as humanly possible. The idea of staying the hell away from the labs was also straightened when Wilson began to see himself as some kind of prophet and tried to convert him to worshipping Shepard.
Miranda pulled up the necessary file on Code L. "There's thirty in total," the Director's lips pursed as she continued to read the file. "Apparently, there was supposed to be forty by the time Shepard was resurrected. However, Wilson kept reporting that delays with the computer systems were slowing his manufacturing of more Drones." Jacob frowned at what the file said. He might not be the most intelligent person on the Station, but even he felt that something was off with what the file was saying, and judging by the suspicion within Miranda's eyes, she felt the same way.
However, the duo wouldn't get the chance to question irregularities within the Code L files as the Station's communication systems suddenly came online. The voice of Dr Wilson echoed throughout the Station for every Cerberus operative and scientific personnel to hear.
"Good evening, heretics and non-believers."
"How the hell did he gain control over the communication systems?" Questioned a security guard as everyone stared at their Omni-tools with wide-eyed disbelief. The communications were one of the most heavily guarded systems within the entire Lazarus station. Only Miranda or their commanding officer should control the communications without any problems. Yet, somehow the maniac that worked on Code L had managed to override the system and broadcast his voice throughout the whole Station.
"I don't know," Miranda reluctantly admitted as she tried and failed to regain control of the Station's systems. "But Wilson's also taken over every Lazarus system including the distress beacon along with primary and secondary life-support systems." Miranda hadn't a clue how he managed to gain total control of the space station without activating security measures to prevent it from happening. Wilson never showed any skills in hacking nor any indication that he'd betray Cerberus.
"As you've already noticed, I've taken control of the Lazarus station," Jacob tried to override the system and regain control from Dr Wilson only to meet failure as whatever the madman had done to the computers had locked them entirely out of the facility's mainframe. "The reason why I've done this is that a certain cold-hearted bitch and her favourite lapdog have forced my hand, and now steps must be taken to ensure that Shepard, our goddess and saviour, can leave this facility and fulfil her destiny!"
Explosions suddenly went off, rocking the entire Station. "As you've no doubt just felt, the security mechs have gone on a rampage and will kill anyone they come across," more explosions came, only this time they're prepared for it. "Please beware that most of the heavier mechs will stay away from the Bio-lab though that's because I'm preparing my get away from the secrete room I had built a year ago." Miranda glared at Jacob, who held a grim expression for missing such a security breach and wondering how someone mad as a hatter could've outsmarted them for a whole year.
"Honestly, it's amazing how much I've gotten away with whilst everyone thought I was only an insane scientist rather than the holy prophet I truly am," Wilson's tone was taunting as more explosions went off throughout the space station. "Although, I should be grateful as it made this scheme much easier to pull off." At the end of the hallway, the door opened, allowing for a squad of hostile LOKI Mechs to enter. Each mech held an M-4 Shuriken machine pistol, a pistol purposely designed to help deal with weak to mid-level kinetic barriers.
"Hostiles inbound," Jacob warned the others while taking cover behind the doorway and fired at the approaching Loki mechs.
Everyone took cover and fired on the Lokis. A security officer was shot in the heart. Yet, as the man's corpse hit the ground, Miranda responded by using her biotics to throw several mechs into the open, which gained them a literal hail of mass accelerator rounds and were swiftly turned to scrap metal. The rest of the attacking mechs were dealt with by Jacob, who used his own biotics to help make the job easier. However, two more security officers died before the mechs were entirely taken care of.
"And if Miranda is somehow still alive at the moment, I'd just like to say Miranda enjoy your stay in hell!" Wilson's unhinged laughter filled the office before the communications deactivated, leaving the survivors of the mech attack in silence.
"I'm gonna shot that bastard Illusive Man's orders be damned." A surviving security officer vowed while closing the eyes of his comrades.
"I'm afraid that honour goes to me," Miranda's eyes were icy as she surveyed the damage done to her office and the hallway. "Wilson was supposed to be controllable and a none threat to Commander Shepard." She'd honestly never expected Wilson to pull such a betrayal towards Cerberus, and because of that oversight, people were dying at the hands of their own mechs.
An officer scoffed while keeping an eye out for more Loki mechs. "Well, clearly you were dead wrong about the bastard being controllable," the man glared at the only exit that leads to the outer sections of the Station. "There are hundreds of LOKI Mechs and scores of YMIRs scattered across the entire station odds are that if we don't find and stop Wilson in the next few hours, then everyone here is fucked."
"Agreed," Jacob reloaded his M-5 Phalanx with a fresh thermal clip. "Which is why I'm gonna hunt the son of a bitch down and hopefully regain control of the security systems before everyone else is killed." There are around three thousand non-combatant personnel onboard the Lazarus space station, and at the moment, they're counting on them to stop Dr Wilson before it was too late.
Miranda turned towards the opposite end of the hallway, where the lab containing the slumbering form of Commander Shepard was located. "Alright, but I'm coming with you," the two working together had better odds of finding Wilson and forcing him to stop the mechs from killing the Station's inhabitants. "As for the rest of you, get to the medical lab containing Commander Shepard and protect her with your lives." If all else fails, Miranda will abandon the Station and return to the Illusive Man with the Commander. Her superior wouldn't be happy with losing an entire space station, but he'd understand that Shepard's life came before anything else, even their own lives.
"Yes, ma'am!" The security officers saluted before racing off to defend Shepard's sleeping form.
"Well then," Jacob raised his weapon while gesturing with his head towards the door that would undoubtedly lead to more murderous mechs. "Shall we get going?"
Miranda smiled coldly. "let's." The duo raced out of the office and went on the hunt for Dr Wilson. The maniac was most likely heading for the escape shuttles now that he's made the mechs go crazy. Wilson was undoubtedly planning to use a shuttle to escape from the Station before Miranda got to him first, or she got Shepard, left the Station and proceeded to activate the self-destruct. Regardless of the outcome, Dr Wilson had to die; he knew too much about how Cerberus operates, and with his knowledge of Code L, the amount of destruction he could unleash just wasn't worth thinking about.
Miranda only hoped that the situation didn't deteriorate into something worse.
Meanwhile, At The Drone Containment Facility.
"Holy shit," a random security guard tasked with guarding the Drones whispered as his fellows stared at their Omni-tools. "I knew Dr Wilson was crazy, but to pull off a hostile take over of the station and taunt the Director of all people at the same time, the guy's out of his mind!" Mutters of agreement filled the room as some of the guards pressed themselves against the exits of the containment facility encase the security mechs tried to get inside the deeper parts of the Bio-labs.
"Yeah, and he's a deadman when the Director gets her hands-on him." Another random security guard commented while checking to see he had a full thermal clip.
A laugh came from across the room. "That's right, pal Miranda's one tough bitch, and no security mechs are gonna stop her from kicking Wilson's ass," the guard that laughed pointed at the caged Drones. "All we gotta do is guard these ugly fuckers until she takes back control of the station."
More agreements were said as they're pretty confident that Director Lawson will deal with the threat, and the whole mess will be sorted out in no time. Unfortunately, Dr Wilson hadn't forgotten about the Drones and had taken specific measures to secure their release from the containment units.
"Swish, click!"
The guards froze as the doors to the cages opened, allowing for the Drones to leave the pens that had entrapped them for the past two years. The Drones roared with glee as they raced out of the cages and attacked the security guards. The Drones were quick to overpower the humans whose strength and speed were far below the creatures born from Shepard's cells. Weapons were taken from the fresh kills as the Drones took up arms for their Queen. They even equipped themselves with the security tram's low-grade kinetic barriers.
Savage had a guard pinned by the neck against a wall; the man was disparity clawing against the leader Drones hand in an attempt to gain freedom. Savage gruffly laughed at the human's attacks against his hand; it wasn't even hurting him.
"Let me go; you damn dirty Drone." Whizzed the guard causing Savage to narrow his yellow eyes in anger. Savage lifted the human away from the wall with surprising ease and kept the man suspended in the air.
"No!" The room fell silent; even the other Drone savaging for equipment stopped what they're doing to listen and watch their leader.
"What did you say?" Whizzed the frightened guard as he's never heard a Drone speak before. Heck, until now, everyone on Lazarus station believed the Drones were nothing more than slightly intelligent animals.
Savage brought the man closer; his eyes shined with vast hatred and intelligence. "I said No!" Savage then proceeded to slam the stupefied man onto the floor, and before the guard even realised it, Savage crushed his skull in with the bottom of the Drone's foot.
"That must've been quite satisfying." Rage commented as he removed a machine gun from a Cerberus operative's corpse. "After two years as slaves telling the Cerberus dogs no," the ill-tempered Drone moved to stand beside his leader. "To show them our intelligence and witness their fear and terror in realising we're no dumb beasts, it must've felt liberating."
Savage stared at the remains of the human's skull. "More than words can ever describe, brother." Savage walked away from the corpse and went towards Mourn, who tinkered with an Omni-tool that he stole from a security officer who had been a lieutenant judging by the uniform.
"Mourn, has the human device revealed the location of the Queen?" Savage inquired while Rage stood a respectable distance from the elder Drones whilst wielding his machine-gun at the ready encase more humans or the metal men that served them came to try recapturing the now freed Drones.
"Indeed, brother," Mourn held up the Omni-tool and typed a few commands into it. "Our Queen is being held within some sort of medical facility ten levels up from our current location." The Drones hadn't been idle over these two years. They've been studying those that imprisoned their kin, learning how human tools work, human behaviours, their beliefs and most importantly, how to best kill the Cerberus operatives that tried to enslave their race.
"Good, then we will move out now and slaughter our way to the Queen." Savage raised his left hand into the air. "Come, brothers, our Queen awaits us!" The Drones roared while racing out of the containment facility that had housed them for the past two years.
The Locusts were free, and they'd visit the wrath of the hell upon anything that tried getting in-between them and their Queen.
A Few Hours Later.
Lazarus Resurrection Laboratory.
"Wake up, Commander!"
"Huh, five more minutes." Jade Shepard, the heroine of the Citadel, saviour of the Council, groaned while feeling slight hints of pain. The Commander of the Normandy felt as if she was just awakening from a very long nap as muscles that hadn't been active for the past two years came to life and slowly began to fill Shepard with energy.
"Shepard, do you hear me?" Move explosions rocked the Station, which helps bring the Commander back to the realm of the living faster. "Get out of that bed now!" Shepard's eyes opened, allowing her to see the laboratory lights that hang above her head. "This facility is under attack." The red-haired spectre got up from the comfortable bed whilst scanning the room that definitely isn't a part of the Normandy. Then again, the mysterious voice did say that she was inside some kind of facility. The only question that remained was where the hell was she because this place didn't appear to be Alliance by design.
"Shepard." Oh, joy, the bossy lady was back. "Your scars aren't healed, but I need you to get moving." So that was why her face and sides were hurting so much she had unattended injuries that whoever ran this place hadn't bothered to heal fully. "This facility is under attack." Okay, now the bossy lady was just repeating herself. Shepard groaned again while gazing at her surroundings, only to realise that some parts here starting to catch fire.
"Oh, that's not good," Jade grunted as she moved off the operating bed.
"There's a pistol and some armour in the locker on the other side of the room, hurry!" She spotted the locker and raced over to it. Sure enough, there was a pistol and armour inside, which at least proved the woman was on her side. The spectre hurriedly put on the armour that appeared to be a replica of her N-7 combat issue battle armour, the pistol was an M-4 Shuriken, not the best type of pistol, but she'd make it work until a better one was found. However, as Shepard inspected the weapon, she noticed that something was missing.
"Hey, this pistol doesn't have a thermal clip!" Why have a pistol stored nearby if there wasn't any bloody ammo to use it!
"It's a med bay." The mysterious woman's voice was indignant as she tried to justify why the pistol had no thermal clips stored with it. "We'll get you a clip from," a hiss suddenly sounded, drawing Shepard's attention to the fire as it made contact with some fuel canisters. The mysterious woman shouted the words that the spectre was now thinking. "Damn it!"
"Those canisters by the door are going to blow! Get behind cover, now!" Being highly experienced with life or death situations, Shepard had already jumped into cover before the mysterious voice finished talking. The fuel canisters exploded, causing the destruction of the med bay's only set of doors. On the bright side, Jade now had a way out of this place.
Shepard raced towards the opening. "A scientist named Wilson hacked the security and is now trying to kill everyone on board the station," huh, another mad scientist trying to murder innocent people, can't she for once just have a normal day. "Look for a thermal clip for your pistol." That wouldn't be necessary; she already found one, right next to a couple of dead security guards surrounded by destroyed Loki mechs. Once a fresh clip was inserted into the pistol, Shepard left the med bay and entered some type of lobby.
"Looks like they set up a barricade to try holding the mechs off." Shepard inspected the barricade closely. It appeared to be constructed out of makeshift junk that the security team probably found laying all over the place. If the corpses behind her were any indication, the 'barricade' hadn't been as effective as the security team had hoped. Still, Jade would make sure that their sacrifice wasn't for nothing; jumping over the barricade, Jade walked towards the tiny bit of cover that rested between it and the stairs.
"Look out!"
The spectre twisted around and fired at the stairs, hitting a solitary Loki in the head causing it to explode. It must've been the sole survivor of the battle between its group and that of the security team's; either way, it was dead now.
"Keep moving. We need to get you to the shuttles." Hey, the woman would get no complaints from her as Shepard would rather leave a place without it exploding or threatening to collapse on top of her head. The spectre ran up the stairs and into what appeared to be another laboratory, although slightly more significant than the one she had just woken up in.
"Shepard! Security mechs are closing in on your position. Take cover now!" Shepard dived into cover, and not a moment too soon as the door opened on the other side of the room, allowing two Lokis to enter. The saviour of the Citadel was quick to destroy them, only for another door on the side of the lab to open a moment later, releasing even more mechs into the room. Shepard cursed, wishing that her team was here to provide black up, yet even without the Normandy crews' help, she disabled all fives Lokis within mere minutes.
"Nice work, Shepard," complimented the mysterious woman. "Coast is clear."
Shepard left the laboratory after savaging some thermal clips from the Lokis. A hallway on fire greeted her as a YMIR class mech stomped towards her; the only comfort Jade Shepard could bring herself was that the massive robot was on the other side of some heavily reinforced glass. A member of the Station's personnel wasn't so fortunate as she ran right into the YMIR's path.
"Don't waste time!" The YMIR opened fire, turning the poor woman screaming for help into a bloody mist. "I can't keep the mechs distracted for long." She walked away from the terrible scene, though not before vowing to but bullet through the head of Dr Wilson for staging this massacre.
The next room Shepard entered had an elevator on the left whilst overlooking a set of fuel tanks; luckily, the tanks seemed to be highly reinforced and would take a lot of firepower before exploding. Near where she entered was another dead security officer, who had a grenade launcher grasped within his cold hands.
"More reinforcements are heading your way. Grab the grenade launcher off the security officer's body." Shepard retrieved the grenade launcher and pointed at the doorway down below. When it opened to allow the mechs entry, Jade fired her newest weapon causing the mechs to explode into tiny bits of metal.
"Take the elevator down one floor." Shepard obeyed and went to the elevator only to deadpan once she saw that the elevator could only go up or down a single floor. Pushing the down button, the spectre was lowered to the level where she blasted the Lokis with her newest toy. However, whatever joy Shepard felt was ended when she saw that the fuel tanks were hissing and releasing burning fuel.
"Hurry! Get to the door! Run!" And run she did. Shepard raced through the flames and sealed off the room, not a moment too soon either, as the tanks exploded, destroying anything unlucky enough to have been inside.
"You're doing…" static-filled Shepard's communicator as she scanned the hallway for Lokis. "Shepard. Head to the…" the Commander asked the mysterious voice if something was wrong only to revive some static as a response. "Meet you." Communications cut off entirely, leaving Shepard to stared at the open air with frustration.
"Great, once again fighting a robot enemy without any clues as to what the hell is going on." This was like the first time she fought the Geth on Eden Prime. However, unlike that unpleasant experience, she doubted a damaged beacon waiting for her at the end of the battle.
The saviour of the Council struggled while heading for the exit. "Might as well get going and find some answers." Shepard wasn't one to allow herself to remain ignorant. She wanted answers to whatever the hell was going on within the Lazarus facility and the galaxy as a whole. In that case, the heroine of the universe needed to get to the escape shuttles, and if whoever was helping her survive these crazy mechs weren't feeling particularly talkative when Jade arrived, then she'll just kick their ass and make them talk.
No matter what happens, Shepard will get her answers!