Lazarus Space Station.
Entrance Level To The Bio-lab.
"Please vacate the area!"
The Drones were crouching behind turned over desks and anything else that could be used for the suitable cover as a squad of Loki mechs fired upon the escape Code L specimens. Savage glared at the metallic foes that dared to bar their way to the Queen while firing at a sole mech approaching from the left side. The foolish machine's head was blasted into pieces. The Loki mech exploded a moment later when its auto self-destruct system was activated, consequently taking out a couple of the other mechs that got caught in the explosion.
"Drop your weapons and be prepared to be taken into custody!"
Rage seeing an opportunity, hopped out of cover and charged towards the Lokis; the charging Drone's brethren gave covering fire, destroying more of the mechs as a result. Once Rage closed the distance, he grabbed the closest Loki by the leg and proceeded to use it as a makeshift club. A synthetic scream was generated from the captured mech as it was violently smashed into many of its squad-mates. The surviving Lokis tried to shot at Rage only to get their heads sniped by Mourn and other Drones, who were using sniper rifles that they'd found in weapons lockers on the five-level of the Bio-lab armoury.
"We've reduced their numbers to reasonable levels," Savage jumped out of cover and rushed to join the ill-tempered Drone's mechanical carnage. "Attack and destroy these metal men, for the Queen!" Drones left their shelter and joined Savage's frontal charge; Mourn and those who preferred to stay at a distance covered fired.
"For the Queen!"
The Loki mechs tried to put up a resistance towards the charging Drones. Sadly the low-grade security machines were no match for the genetically engineered super soldiers and were thus quickly overwhelmed and destroyed. With the threats taken care of, Savage, Mourn and Rage gathered together at the exit whilst their brothers tended to any injures they might have received from the fighting. None were too worried about their wounds as the Krogan D.N.A spliced into their genome granted the Locust Drones regenerative abilities; any damage taken would heal within a couple of minutes or a few hours based on how severe the injuries were.
"This is the exit to the Bio-labs," Mourn informed Savage while checking his stolen Omni-tool. "Only two levels now separate us from our Queen." The closer the Drones got to their Queen, the stronger they felt her presence within the hive mind. It wouldn't be long before the Drones reunited with Queen Shepard and escaped the Cerberus operated space station.
Rage grinned at the news while holding the severed leg of the Loki mech he'd used as a club. "Excellent, with how pitiful these metal men are at combat, we'll fight our way through the last two levels without much trouble." Every level the Drones have entered so far had at least some Loki mechs or station personnel. Between the two groups, Rage would've to say that the mechs put up a slightly better fight than the humans as the Cerberus operatives and scientists either ran for their lives or gave a pitiful resistance.
"Don't underestimate our enemies," Savage warned his ill-tempered brother while studying the tactical map that Mourn had managed to find within the Omni-tool. "This station is in chaos, which means that our foes are forced to divide their attention between fighting the corrupted metal men and securing a way off the station if the outcome of the battle shows signs of their defeat." Savage knew that this escape attempt would've been more difficult if Cerberus still had control of the metal men. The humans were weaker and less determined than their brethren. However, Cerberus vastly outnumber the Drones at this point, and in warfare, quantity was just as deadly as quality.
Mourn nodded in agreement while helping Savage plot their path through the station. "Also, unlike Cerberus, we're fighting so that we may reunite with our Queen," the other Drones gathered around them. Any wounds taken during previous battles were either healed through natural regeneration or using some Medi-gel found in the lower levels. "Those human dogs will prioritise their own lives before fulfilling their duty to transport the Queen to safety which sadly gives them an advantage in this particular situation." The Drones grunted with approval as they highly doubted that the humans wouldn't take advantage of their need to protect the Queen to save their miserable lives.
"Regardless, the Queen needs us." Savage's eyes narrowed as the tactical display showed the station's interior design. Once he'd memorised the entire map, the leader of the freed Drones gave out orders.
"Rage, you and several of our more aggressive brethren shall take point with shotgun armaments." An M-27 Scimitar was handed over to the ill-tempered Rage, who pumped the shotgun while grinning with savage glee. "I shall command the middle group whilst Mourn, and our distant fighters proved assistants from the back when necessary." Mourn and his fellow snipers bowed to Savage. They wouldn't disappoint their leader nor the Queen; Victory was the only option in this battle to escape the Cerberus facility.
Savage knew that there'd be more metal men waiting for them once they left this area. The station was an utter war zone at this point, and avoiding open combat with the station's inhabitants was impossible. Savage has adapted the Drones formation to deal maximum damage with the numbers and weaponry at their disposal in response to this knowledge. The Locusts end goal here was to find and escape with the Queen; nothing else mattered, not even the Drones own lives.
"Alright, let's get back on the move!" The Drones ran out of the Bio-labs, blasting anything that showed signs of hostility.
Meanwhile, With Commander Shepard.
"Okay, this place looks important," mumbled Shepard as she entered Miranda's wrecked office. "Maybe there's something here that could tell me where the hell I am in the galaxy." The spectre gazed around the office before her emerald eyes settled on what appeared to be a recording device. When Shepard scanned the recorder with her Omni-tool, it showed that the device belonged to Miranda Lawson. Without any clue where she was currently located, the Saviour of the Citadel Council activated the device, and surprisingly, the mysterious woman's voice filled the office.
"Progress is slow, but subject shows signs of recovery," Shepard was glad that she now had a name and a face to go with the voice of the person that had been helping her survivor the crazy mechs. "Amazingly, thanks to the mutation contained within the subject, the major organs are again functional, and there are signs of rudimentary neurological activity." Miranda's pleased tone hadn't gone unnoticed by Shepard as she listened to the recording.
"It appears that Dr Wilson's theory on the subject's body merely being in some unknown form of hibernation until enough nutrients are delivered to start regeneration was indeed true." The Commander shared Miranda's awe of this subject's regeneration abilities. Whoever this subject was, they had an incredible ability, and Shepard wouldn't mind having a near-immortal on her team. "Do to the subject's unique mutation and recently discovered hyper regeneration that's causing the rejection of all types of implants, we've decided to scrap the idea for Bio-synthetic fusion as we've no idea how the subject's body will react to the process." The recording ended, leaving the Commander alone to digest this new information.
"So there's someone here that can regenerate their wounds like a Krogan." Although, from what the recording had said, this subject held more excellent regenerative capabilities than a Krogan possessed. "I hope they're surviving this mess." Shepard went around the office for supplies. She found some Credits and another recording device though this one was an audio log. The Commander transferred the Credits to her Omni-tool and activated the audio log. Dr Wilson's unhinged voice occupied the office.
"Dr Wilson's: log update: The cost of the project is over nine billion Credits so far," Shepard's eyes narrowed as she listened to the voice of the madman that turned the station into a war zone. "I don't know where the Illusive Man gets the money for our main projects. However, truly I do not care. The Illusive Man is performing a holy deed by funding the resurrection of the goddess and the birth of more of her pure children. The man sees the truth and, like me, is purified for it." The log ended there, and the Commander made a note to bathe thoroughly once she puts a bullet in Wilson's skull.
"Not even five seconds of listening to Dr Wilson's voice, and I can already tell he's crazy." Honestly, how did the person running this place ever think it was a good idea to trust this Wilson guy with anything substantial or dangerous. The Commander sighed at the foolishness of the people operating the Lazarus station before continuing to scavenge for anything of value. Once that was done, she left Miranda's office and headed up a set of stairs, which sadly lead her to see another of the station's personnel get blasted to a bloody mist by another YMIR mech.
Shepard grimaced as the YMIR seemed to glare at her for a moment before turning away and going off to search for more victims. The Commander searched the area for anything useful and found a computer terminal that can be hacked to access some Data logs. Shepard immediately hacked into the terminal and activated the first log she saw, and unfortunately, the chosen log belonged to Dr Wilson.
"Miranda is a heretic!" Shepard jumped at the amount of rage and utter loathing contained within Dr Wilson's tone. "As Director, she does the holy work of the goddess by restoring the sacred vessel to completion so it may house her divine spirit!" A frustrated growl could be heard from the recording. "Shepard's resurrection is all that matters, yet that cold-hearted bitch wants is to delay the Commander's holy awakening because Miranda's Bio-synthetic fusion idea was a failure. Unacceptable!" The log ended, leaving a wide-eyed Jade Shepard as the pieces of the puzzle clicked into place.
"I'm the subject with the regenerative capabilities," bile built within her throat as another realisation hit the resurrected spectre. "I'm the cause of these people dying." Dr Wilson unleashed this chaos because he believed that she was some kind of divine entity. The Commander desperately wanted to push something or, better yet, shot Dr Wilson until no one could be able to recognise the madman corpse.
"Get it together, Jade," Shepard breathed deeply to regain control of her emotions. "First, get to the shuttles and escape the station, then you can focus on hunting Dr Wilson and avenging those he's murdered here." After Shepard calmed down, she went to the stairwell's exit, where she could hear the sounds of someone fighting the mechs. Once the door opened, the Commander rushed out onto a bridge where Jacob battled against some Lokis firing from a nearby balcony. Shepard hurried over to Jacob's side and took cover from the killer robots.
"Shepard? What the hell." Jacob's eyes shined with genuine surprise as the Saviour of the Citadel came to his assistance. The spectre didn't respond; instead, she fired the grenade launcher into the group of four Loki mechs, turning them to scrap metal. Unfortunately, the balcony door opened a moment later, allowing five new security mechs to replace the four that just got destroyed. The new Lokis fired on the duo, forcing them to take over behind the railings reinforced glass.
"What are you doing here?" Questioned Jacob as mass accelerator rounds soared past their heads. "I thought you were still a work in progress."
"Are you with Miranda?" Shepard replied with her own question while wishing that she had more grenades, for now, empty launcher.
Jacob sighed tiredly while waiting for the mechs to stop firing and reload their weapons. "Yeah, sorry. I forgot this is all new to you right now." The station's head of security admitted sheepishly while reloading his pistol with a fresh thermal clip. "I'm Jacob Taylor, I've been stationed here for," whilst he was explaining, Jacob took a look at the mechs only to duck when one took a shot at his head.
"Damn it!" Jacob cursed before jumping back up and fired at a Loki, blasting the mechs head to bits. However, the others fired at the man getting him to once again retried back into cover.
"Things must be worse than I thought if Miranda's got you running around. I'll fill you in, but we better get you to the shuttles first." The balcony door opened again, allowing even more Lokis to join the battle. The spectre saw the enemy reinforcements and fired on them, destroying two of the four newer murderous Lokis. However, the combined fire of the mechs forced Shepard to rejoin Jacob behind the reinforced glass cover.
Shepard stared at Jacob with annoyance. "I know this isn't the best time, but I'm getting real sick of stumbling around when I don't know what's going on." Ever since awakening up here, Shepard had been forced to fight for her life against crazy machines and learning a few minutes ago that some lunatic had decided to murder everyone on the station wasn't helping her mood in the slightest.
Jacob knew the Commander had the right to know about what happened to her, so he started talking. "Fair enough. I'll give you the quick version." The head of security took a deep breath. "You and your ship were attacked and destroyed. You were killed. Dead or what appeared as dead when they brought you here." Jacob face twisted like he was recalling an unpleasant memory. "Our scientists spent the last two years putting you back together. You've been comatose, or worse, the entire time. Welcome back to your life." Those last words were said sarcastically as Jacob told the reasons why Shepard was on the station.
"This doesn't look like an Alliance facility." The Commander remarks as they fire at the mechs managing to kill two more, reducing the numbers to five. Shepard absorbed the information and stored it within the back of her mind for later review.
"It isn't," Jacob admits as the mechs return fire. "I can't say much more than that for now." The duo duck again. "The Alliance officially declared you killed in action. The whole galaxy thinks you're dead." That didn't surprise the spectre. If the Normandy was destroyed and she killed along with it, the Alliance would've logically declared her dead. "And if we don't get to those shuttles, they'll be right." The real question was what happened to the others.
"Were there any survivors from the Normandy?" Shepard demanded to know, the Normandy crew had become a family during the hunt for Saren, and she'd be damned twice over before anything terrible happened to them.
"I'll tell you what," Jacob knew the mechs needed to be taken care of before the glass gave out, so any of Shepard's questions needed to wait. "You help me finish off these mechs, and I'll play Twenty Questions with you all day." He offered a handshake, and Shepard grasped the offered hand. With the deal sealed, the duo got back to the situation with the mechs. "We're low on thermal clips, but I'm a biotic. Just give the order when you want me to hit them with the good stuff." Jacob demonstrated via Biotic Pull, which, as the name suggests, pulled a mech off the balcony and into the abyss below, leaving only four more mechs to deal with.
The three Lokis simple computers ordered them to turn towards Shepard, opening themselves to another Biotic Pull from Jacob. The remaining Lokis tried to kill the Cerberus operative, only to fail when Jacob returned to cover while Shepard shot and killed another mech. The two surviving mechs fired at the duo, but their numbers reduced to two. Shepard and her ally had little trouble dispatching the remaining robot security guards. The threat gone; the Commander and Jacob left cover and stared at the boloney that had been swarming with Lokis.
Jacob nodded with satisfaction while holstering his pistol. "Okay. I promised I'd answer your questions. What do you want to know?" Shepard thought about it for a moment and decided to start at something simple.
"You said they spent two years rebuilding me? How bad were my injuries?" It had to have been pretty bad if they thought she was dead, and judging by Jacob's grimace; it was probably worse than she was expecting.
"I'm no doctor," Jacob admitted without shame. "But it was bad. When I first saw you, you were nothing but meat and tubes." Okay, that sounded pretty bad. "Anywhere else, they'd have put you in a coffin. But Project Lazarus was different. Cutting-edge technology." He actually sounded pretty proud of Project Lazarus's technology. Although, given the fact the Project had helped resurrect her from the grave made the Commander want to ask some pointed questions about the method used to revive her from the dead.
"What do you mean? Cloning? Cybernetics?" Cloning had been an experimental technology when she'd been alive onboard the Normandy. However, it could've been developed whilst she was dead. The idea of being a clone was unsettling as it meant that her life was based on another. Cybernetics, on the other hand, she could live with. Although, from the video log found in Miranda's office, cybernetics was out of the question thanks to the regeneration capabilities Shepard supposedly possessed.
Jacob shrugged while surveying their surroundings for danger. "I don't know the details. You'd have to ask the scientists." He gazed earnestly at the heroine of the galaxy. "But I'm pretty sure you're not a clone. They wanted to bring you back exactly as you were." Oh, good, she wasn't a clone. Now all that's left was to check Saren's coffin to make sure the bastard stayed dead. "You're still you…just a little different than before the Normandy was destroyed." The way Jacob worded it made Shepard's eyes narrow. He was hiding something until the Commander gained more trust she'd have to play this subtly.
"What can you tell me about the Project?" Shepard kept any suspicion out of her tone as she inquired about Project Lazarus. "Were there other test subjects?" Shepard swore to whatever deities that might be listening that if they had resurrected Saren, then she'll kick the whole Project staff collective asses. Then find whoever funded Lazarus and kick that person's ass extra hard for thinking that reviving that Turian bastard was a great idea.
Jacob appeared nervous. "Project Lazarus only had one main subject. The whole point was to bring you back." The man gazed at the gun Shepard was holding with worry. "However, during the starting days of Lazarus, a new sub-project was born codenamed Code L." The Commander felt like she wasn't going to like where this was going. "Its purpose was to weaponise the Stem cells from your body in order to create super soldiers that could fight toe to toe with the Reapers." Silence filled the bridge as Shepard's mind processed what Jacob had just told her.
Shepard's eyes turned icy. "So you're telling me that the scientists here not only violated my body," the heroine of the Citadel's tone was colder than Antarctica. "But also created a new type of soldier from my Stem cells." She didn't shout or show signs of rage; the Commander was far past that stage and was now only focused on finding the bastards that did this and subjecting them each to a mass accelerator round to the head.
"A whole new species, actually," Jacob informed while mentally calculating if he could make it to the exit before Shepard decided to shot him. The calculations he got back told the man that if Shepard turned violent, then survival wasn't likely. "Which, I was against creating, and so was Miranda," the Director of Project Lazarus was always against Code L, yet outside forces had prevented the sub-project's creation. "Our leader ordered that the Project went ahead even without Miranda's approval."
Shepard studied Jacob for a moment. "I believe you," the Commander's eyes lost some of their frostiness. "I've travelled all over the galaxy during the hunt for Saren, and those travels taught me when to spot a liar and Jacob, you're not lying." The iciness disappeared entirely, and the Cerberus operative's tension in those short moments faded to nothingnesses.
"Thank you, Shepard." Jacob sincerely thanked the Commander for believing him. "The Lazarus Project crossed a line when the Code L research was approved," he never liked the idea of monster soldiers fighting the Reapers. It was just a disaster waiting to happen, in his opinion. "The creatures born from the Stem cells are wild animals and attack everything in sight. The containment facility holding them is down in the Bio-wing. However, as chaotic as things are, it wouldn't surprise me if they managed to escape their pens." Or Dr Wilson opened the pens, but Jacob kept that idea to himself.
"I want the file of Code L once we've got off the station." Shepard would learn just how much the Lazarus staff violated her body. The logs found within Miranda's office said that she'd been hibernating somehow during the entire Project, meaning that the Commander was alive when they decided to steal her Stem cells to create a new race of super soldiers. Dr Wilson was a culprit Shepard already knew about, and the mad scientist was going to get a bullet to the face for taking what he'd no right to take from her body.
"I'll make sure you get that file," Jacob promised. It would help to make things right with the Commander. "If you've got any more questions, nows the time to ask them." The station was falling apart, and with the Drones most likely freed from the pens, they needed to get out of here before they're swarmed by either mechs or Dr Wilson's pet monsters.
"Do you know anything about this attack? I know a Dr Wilson is behind it, but what's he after?" The Commander had an idea of the reason for the attack from the logs she's found, but a confirmation from Jacob would be necessary as he spent time with Dr Wilson and might know the madman's motives.
Jacob's expression was grim. "I was in a meeting with some security staff and Miranda when the attack happened," the Cerberus soldier turned to the door leading to Miranda's office. "Dr Wilson had vanished, and we were discussing how to find him." Jacob scowled. "The crazy bastard somehow took over the station systems. The next thing I knew, every damn mech on the station starts shooting at us while Wilson taunts Miranda through the communication system." Well, that certainly explains why murderous robots were running around the station.
"Miranda and I went hunting the bastard and hoped to stop the mechs. Wilson must've known what we'd do since a swarm of YMIR and Lokis were waiting for us within cargo bay seven," Jacob seemed to age a few years as he mentally recalled the events down at the cargo bay. "There were too many for the two of us to handle. I got separated from Miranda and was forced to retreat here. I thought that I could check on the security officers tasked with guarding you when the balcony Lokis showed up and started trying to kill me."
"They're dead; I'm sorry," Shepard told the head of station security of his mens' fate.
"I figured since they're not here with you." Jacob sounded resigned to the fate of his subordinates. Although, given the station's state, he must've seen plenty of the personnel onboard die at the hands of the security mechs. Okay, now was the time to ask the big question and hopefully get Jacob's mind off the deaths of the station's security guards.
"The last thing I remember is the Normandy blowing up." A mental image of her beloved ship exploding into oblivion flashed within Shepard's mind. "Did anyone else make it?"
"Just about everybody survived." Relief filled Shepard as that meant her friends survived the destruction of the Normandy. "A few servicemen from the lower decks didn't get out. Navigator Pressly was killed by an explosion." Jade mourned the loss of the servicemen and navigator Pressly while vowing to avenge them once she's found the people responsible for attacking the Normandy. "But everyone else, including the non-Alliance crew. The Asari, Liara, and the Quarian they all made it out alive."
"Do you know what any of them are doing now?" If Jacob did then, Shepard could use that knowledge to track down her friends.
"I don't know, Commander. It's been two years." The Commander's eyes widen with disbelief at the number of years that she's been dead. "They've moved on. Left the Alliance. Could be anywhere." He wasn't wrong; the galaxy was a big place, and finding her old crew would take time.
"They were my team." More than that, they were family to Shepard, and she knew that the Normandy crew viewed her in the same light. "If they knew I was alive, they'd come back." Hell, if Garrus, Ashly, Tali, Wrex or any of the others knew she was here, they'd storm the place, and Jacob would've faced a foe far deadlier than any mechs could've ever hoped to be. That wasn't even considering what crazy moves Joker might pull off while piloting whatever ship her friends would've brought to the Lazarus station.
Jacob was slightly sceptical about the non-Alliance crews' loyalty but didn't voice it before the Commander. "Maybe you can track them down after we get off the station." An explosion rocked the station. "If we get off the station." He amended as the odds of surviving weren't exactly in their favour. Especially with the YMIR mechs running around, they don't possess any heavy weapons to deal with them.
"What's the quickest way to those Shuttles?" Shepard was satisfied for now, and any further questions she had could be answered after they've left this death trap.
"Depends where the mechs are thickest," Jacob informed while thinking of the best root to take. "It's probably best if we." Static burst from their communication systems, and an unknown voice filled the area.
"Check. Check. Anyone on this frequency?" The duo stared at each other as the survivor tried to make contact. "Anybody still alive out there? Hello?" It only took a moment for Jacob to recognise the person trying to communicate with them and respond swiftly.
"Matthew? This is Jacob. I'm here with Commander Shepard. Just took out a wave of mechs over in D-wing."
"Shepard's alive!" Matthew sounded relieved at the news. "You need to get her out of there. Get to the service tunnels and head for the network control room." Jacob agreed as the service tunnels weren't too far from where they currently are right now.
"Roger that, Matthew, stay on this frequency."
"I think I remember a Matthew checking on me one time when I wake up." A distorted image of a youthful man with brown hair and grey eyes flashed through her mind as she recalled the only time she had to awaken during the Lazarus process.
"That's him. After Wilson started to go, crazy Miranda assigned Matthew to be Dr Wilson's assistant." The tone used by Jacob told Shepard that being Wilson's assistant wasn't a pleasant task. "Was suppose to keep an eye on the crazy bastard and report directly to Miranda when possible." Given that the station was turned into a literal war zone, it was clear that Matthew had fucked up royally when it came to keeping an eye on Dr Wilson.
"C'mon, the service tunnels are this way." Jacob pointed to the exit, and without further delay, the duo made their way towards the network control room. The area exit was on the other side of the hallway with multiple doors at the sides. Scorch marks were everywhere, a clear sign that a battle had taken place here, yet strangely enough, there are no bodies of either humans or mechs laying around. The duo carefully walked to the exit at the end of the hallway. However, as they reached the exit, the side door next to them opened and surprisingly, Rage rushed out and grabbed Jacob by the neck.
The Cerberus operative released a startled cry as the ill-tempered Drone slammed him against the wall. Other Drones came flooding into the hallway, taking up defensive positions around Rage. Shepard stared dumfounded at the massive creatures that would've put a Krogan to shame with their muscle mass. However, the biggest shock came when some Drones raced over to her position and spread themselves out into a protective formation.
"Well, well, well." Rage grinned toothily at his captive, who stared wide-eyed at the ill-tempered Drone. "Looks like you're our captive now, Lapdog." The other Drones smiled as Jacob was a well-hated figure amongst them. As Jacob hanged, their helpless Savage entered the hallway, followed closely by Mourn.
"And he's lead us to the Queen," Savage was beyond pleased with the situation; the Lapdog was their prisoner, and Queen Shepard was now safe. The only thing that would've made this even better was if Miranda had been here. "Now, all that's left is to escape this prison." According to Mourn, there were enough shuttles for all of them. The Lapdog would be brought along with them until every secrete he knew was extracted from his filthy carcass.
"Indeed, brother," Mourn smiled whilst turning towards and kneeling before the Queen. "Your Majesty, it brings us great joy to finally be able to serve you." The other Drones kneeled in respect except for Rage, who was still holding Jacob, but the ill-tempered Drone did bow his head to his Queen.
"These must be the Code L test subjects." Shepard was quick to realise the beings kneeling before her. They certainly weren't acting like animals. "Jacob was either lied to about these guys intelligence, or they manage to fool the station's security for the past two years." She was going with the latter, then the former, as Jacob wasn't the type to be easily fooled. He already knew that Wilson was insane, so the man's trust in the scientist was inadequate and would've investigated the Drones thoroughly before deciding on the intelligence of the creatures.
"It's nice to meet you too," Shepard replied while staring at the small army of Drones that gazed at her with awe and devotion. "Um, could you release Jacob? I think he's having trouble breathing." The Commander knew that she should be nervous about being surrounded by an army of generally engineered super soldiers. Still, something within her mind was telling Shepard that she could trust the Drones, and the heroine of the Citadel had always listened to her gut instinct.
"As you command your Majesty," Savage raised from his kneeling position. "Rage release the Lapdog!" Rage huffed with disappointment that he couldn't continue choking the Cerberus Lapdog any further. Yet, the Queen commanded the human be released, and so he obeyed. Jacob hit the floor and greedily breathed in the recycled atmosphere. However, whatever relief he felt was short-lived as two Drone grabbed his arms, holstering the Cerberus operative up while others took away his weapons.
"Hey, I thought Shepard said release me?" Jacob glared at the Drone he recognised as Savage.
Savage glared back at the human. "The Queen said to release you from being chocked by Rage. Never was your freedom implied within Her commands." The Drone leader wasn't going to allow the Lapdog to have any weapons around the Queen. He was Cerberus and thus an enemy to the Locust.
"Give him back the weapons," Shepard ordered. Jacob had proven to be an ally, and with the station's current state, fighting each other wasn't a brilliant idea.
"But my Queen, he is Cerberus!" Mourn's informed while glaring hatefully at the Lapdog.
"In that case, keep him, prisoner," Shepard ordered after the revelation. She had terrible memories of Cerberus, and knowing that Jacob was a part of the terrorist organisation killed any goodwill he might've had with the Saviour of the Citadel. Speaking of Jacob, he appeared to be saddened yet, understanding the Commander's, chose to allow the Drones to keep him prisoner.
"Your will is our command." Savage bowed while two Drones tied Jacob's hands together. "I am Savage, your Majesty," the leader Drone introduced himself. "Leader of your soldiers and executioner of your will." The others introduced themselves after Savage.
"We need to leave," Shepard told the Drones after memorising their names and current equipment. "There's a person called Matthew near a network control room that might help us get to the shuttles," the Commander went towards the exit while being flanked by an honour guard of Drones. "The mechs are everywhere, so we must get to him fast." Shepard figured from past battles on the station that the Lokis and YMIR are set to patrol mode and thus could stumble onto Matthew at any moment.
Savage slammed a fist to where his primary heart was located." You've heard the Queen!" Savage roared at his brothers as they got ready for another battle. "We fight our away to the human and secure our escape from the Cerberus facility!"
Shepard admitted that she liked the Drones enthusiasm; if the standard Alliance soldier had the same motivation to fulfil their duty, then maybe outer colony raids from slavers would be diminished, if not stopped entirely. Then again, slavers weren't known for their intelligence or morals. Plus, so long as the Batarian Hegemony continued to exist, slavery raids would never stop happening throughout the known galaxy, especially when the Council refused to punish the Batarian government for its transparent funding of slavery operations.
A couple of Drones went ahead of the group and were immediately fired upon by Lokis hiding within the service tunnel. Shepard didn't even need to draw her pistol as the Drone quickly took care of the mechanical enemies. Jacob was forceful pushed into the room, and he cursed once seeing the scraped Lokis.
"Damn it, Matthew! This room was crawling with mechs!" The communications systems come back online, and Matthew's voice could again be heard by Shepard and the imprisoned Cerberus operative.
"This whole station is crawling with mechs!" The guy sounded beyond stressed, and she could faintly hear explosions going off in the background. "I'm doing the best I can!" More Lokis came into the room, yet they met the same fate as the rest of their mechanical brethren.
"Matthew? Find us another route out of here!" Shepard raised an eyebrow at Jacob's actions; she thought he'd be trying to escape instead of helping her and the Drones. "preferably one that doesn't lead straight into an enemy squad!" The Commander agreed with her captive as escaping without further need to fight the mechs would be desirable at the moment.
An explosion came over the communications. "Oh, god! They found me! Help!" Gunshots could be here from Matthew's side of the line.
"Matthew? Where are you?!" Jacob demanded as he didn't want the assistant to die.
"Server room B!" Matthew answered while more shots could be heard. "Hurry! They out of control!" Shepard raced out of the room, followed closely by Jacob and the Drones. Matthew's was still there, and panicking that he was shot, the Commander ran up the stairs and into Server room B, where she saw Matthew taking cover behind a piece of machinery. One of the assistant's legs had been shot clean through and was bleeding heavily, some mechs were scattered around the back exit, but Savage and the Drones took care of them.
"Shepard." Matthew smiled at the Commander in gratitude for the rescue. "Bastards got me in the leg." However, the assistant paled at the sight of the Drones. Savage ignored the frightened man and ordered his brothers to take a defensive perimeter near the exit where the mechs might return.
"I remember you," Shepard replied while being guarded by the massive Drones. "You were there the first time I regained consciousness." The poor guy appeared younger than Shepard thought, maybe early to mid-twenties at least. How someone so young got mixed up with a known terrorist group, she'd no idea.
"Yeah, that was me." Admitted Matthew while keeping a fearful eye on the surrounding Drones. "Miranda reassured me this was an easy job. Spy on that insane Dr Wilson, assist with the Project however I could, and I'll get a nice amount of Credits by the end of everything." A weak laugh escaped Matthew while Jacob inspected his leg. "Should've known she was only talking shit when I first meet Dr Wilson. Guy's crazier than a nesting female Thresher Maw."
"It doesn't appear to be too bad," Jacob reports while standing slowly back up. "Should be some Medi-gel in the first aid station on the wall." Shepard saw the first aid station was next to them on the right wall. "Hopefully, there's enough to get him up and to move again." Mourn walked to the first aid station and retrieved the Medical-gel. Once in hand, the distance fighter returned to the Queen and presented the medical supplies which Shepard took and then used to heal Matthew, who sighed with relief before standing back onto his feet.
"Thank you, Shepard. I never thought you'd save my life." The assistant smiled with gratitude. "Guess that makes us even now."
Matthew sighed tiredly while setting on the machinery he'd used for cover. "I thought maybe I could shut down the security mechs from here," he sighed again, only this time it was one of defeat. But Dr Wilson has fried the whole system. Completely irreversible."
"We didn't ask what you were doing here." Jacob's tone held annoyance and a hint of suspicion while being flanked by the Drones keeping him prisoner. "Why do you even have security mech clearance? You worked with Dr Wilson in the Bio-wing." The Drones growled at the mention of the Bio-wing, causing Matthew to shift uncomfortably.
"I don't have security mech clearance," Matthew snapped at Jacob. "That's why I tried to hack the system, which caused the mechs to come here in the first place." The Cerberus soldier calmed down upon hearing Matthew's explanation as the security mechs were programmed to investigate an area that might contain a hostile hacker. The programming didn't seem to stop Wilson, but that was something Jacob could look into later.
"Look, we can sort this mess out later," the Drones behind Shepard glared at the two men daring them to disagree with the Queen of the Locust Horde. "But our priority at the moment is to get to the shuttles and escape the station." The two Cerberus personnel nodded agreement, and they indeed weren't just doing it because Savage was growling threateningly at them.
"Agreed," Jacob turned to gaze towards the exit. "However, we need to find Miranda first. We can't just leave her behind." The man owed Miranda a lot, and Jacob would be damned if he abandoned his friend to this place.
"Forget about Miranda. She's Dr Wilson's primary target! The mechs are under his control, and she was last reported to be sighted in D-wing." Matthew knew Dr Wilson's hatred for Miranda and the likeliness of her surviving the crazed scientist's fury was minimal. "The mechs are swarming that sector; there's no way she survived."
"A bunch of mechs and Wilson won't drop Miranda. She's alive." Jacob bluntly told the assistant, who scoffed at the idea.
"Then where is she?" Matthew demanded. "Why haven't we heard from her?" The assistant pointed a finger at Jacob. "Face it; she's either dead or underneath Wilson's scalpel," Jacob's face twisted with pain at the very idea of Miranda being subject to Wilson's madness. "In any case, it doesn't matter we're here; she's not. Our main goal should be to save ourselves!" Matthew pointed to the exit. "The shuttle bay is only a few." The door suddenly opens, alerting the human and Drones to the arrival of more mechs.
"Brothers, our enemies approach," Savage fired at a mech blasting its head off. "Charge! For glory! For the Queen!"
"For the Queen!"
The entire army of Drones hopped out of cover and, to the disbelief of the humans watching from the safety of said cover, charged without fear into the Lokis. They tried to fire at the Locusts only to be overwhelmed by the creatures born of Shepard cells. Within minutes the mechs were smashed apart thanks to the Drones superior strength, allowing Shepard, Jacob and Matthew to leave their cover and study the damage done by the Locusts. The robots were reduced to pieces, and the Drones had little to no injures from the short battle.
"Holy shit." Matthew's muttered while watching Rage play catch with another Drone while using a Loki's head as the ball.
"You can say that again," Jacob whispered back to the assistant. A sensation of worry filled the Cerberus soldier; it took any thirty Drones to overpower the station's security systems and make it up here to Shepard. Jacob honestly didn't want to imagine what millions or billions of these guys could do to an enemy army. "Let's get out of here." This was above Jacob's pay grade; he'd leave it to people that could handle it like the Illusive Man or, better yet, Miranda once they've found her.
"Yeah, let's get going." Shepard led the way out of the server room, flanked by an honour guard of Drones. The large group went through more hallways finding dead security guards and scientists as they headed for the shuttles. Shepard even discovered more of Miranda's video logs and downloaded them onto her Omni-tool for later review. After a few more minutes of running, the Commander found herself in the shuttle bay. The massive area was filled with enough shuttles for everyone to escape on.
Sadly the shuttle bay also was crawling with more Lokis. The Drones snarled and fired at the metallic enemy. Savage barked commands to his brethren while Shepard shot at some of the Lokis from the safety of cover. Jacob helped by Biotic Pulling anything that wasn't an ally whilst Matthew coward behind some shipping containers. Rage and those as aggressive as himself hopped out of cover and charged the enemy with blazing shotguns. Mourn assisted by sniping the mechs that were furthest away from their position.
The fighting was violent and energy-draining. Within an hour, the group comprised of Locusts and humans managed to destroy every mech swarming the shuttle bay and make it to the docking area. Matthew was so happy that he ran past the others and typed the door release code into the holo-computer lock.
"C'mon through here. We're almost at the." The door opened before Matthew finished typing the release code revealing Miranda, who appeared injured and her clothes slightly damaged. Matthew stared with disbelief that his boss was standing before him. "Miranda! You're alive!" Relief was in Matthew's tone as Miranda smiled at the assistant.
"Ah, Matthew always knew that you'd make it." Miranda complemented the assistant while gazing unconcernedly at the Drones glaring at her with murder shining in their eyes.
"Miranda!" Jacob was relieved to see her alive. "I'm sorry we got separated," he apologised, which was waved away by Miranda. "But, did you get Dr Wilson?"
The Lazarus Director's smile dropped. "I'm afraid not," this earned grim expressions from everyone. "Wilson was far more clever than I gave him credit for." Miranda stared at a spot where a shuttle was missing. "The mechs swarmed me, and whilst I was distracted, Dr Wilson stole a shuttle and escaped the Lazarus station."
"I'd hate to stop your little brooding session," Shepard stepped before Miranda with Savage standing right behind his Queen. "What's our next step."
"We get to the shuttle and go," Miranda said simply whilst Matthew went to a shuttle as he didn't want to be near the Drones anymore. "My boss wants to speak to you."
Shepard glared at the beautiful woman. "You mean the Illusive Man? I know you work for Cerberus." Miranda was surprised that the Commander knew about the organisation, yet after some thought, she knew who might cause Shepard to find out.
"Ah, Jacob," Miranda shot an amused look at the Cerberus soldier. "I should've known your conscience would get the better of you." The man was honest and honourable to a fault; it was only a matter of time before he spilt the beans to the Saviour of the galaxy.
"I didn't," Jacob replied as the Drones guarding him continued to snarl at his friend. "The Drones told the Commander that we're part of Cerberus." This info caused Miranda's eyes to widen as she stared at the Drones with renewed interest.
"You can talk." Miranda inquired, yet with her bossy tone, it comes out as more of an order.
"We can do more than simply talk human," Savage answered for his brethren. "And you'll address the Queen with respect." Savage and the other Drone sneered at the Lazarus Director, who was now more aware of the danger the collective Drones represented with their intelligence. She'll have to act carefully around the Locust and take steps to ensure they never learn how she wanted to install a control chip into Shepard's brain for the foreseeable future.
"Well, since we're getting everything out to the open," Miranda hand subtly went to the pistol at her hip encase it was needed. "Is there anything else you want to ask before we go, Commander?" The sooner anything the Commander wanted to know was answered, the faster they'd be able to return to the Illusive Man.
"What about the rest of the people on the station?" Shepard never liked the idea of leaving people behind to die, even if they're working for Cerberus. The last time was with lieutenant Alenko during the battle on Virmire when the nuke had to be detonated manually. Alenko's sacrifice had left a hole in the hearts of the Normandy crew. Shepard suffered a few nightmares for a few days after the event, but those stopped after she killed Saren and his Reaper master.
"This is the evac area," Miranda gestured to the entire shuttle bay. "If they're not here now, they're not coming."
"We can leave without knowing for sure." Shepard stubbornly stated as she wasn't going to leave without checking for survivors. "We need to go back and look." Cerberus personnel or not, these people didn't deserve to die on this station.
"Don't you get it?" Miranda demand with a frustrated tone. "The only one worth saving is you. Everyone else is expendable." The Drones stared at each other in disbelief as they actually agreed with the bossy woman; the Queen's life was far more critical than any of theirs. Rage thought he was hallucinating and swiftly slapped himself to try snapping out of the hallucination, only to groan a moment later when the realisation that this was reality hit him like a stone wall.
"She's right. We all knew the risks when we signed up." Jacob carefully moved away from the Drones and stood next to Miranda, who noticed that he didn't have any weapons. "Without you, there's no point to any of this." Jacob would've said more, but he was grabbed by Savage and thrown back to the Drones with an order to keep him there until the Queen says otherwise.
"Fine." If these two said it was pointless to go back to search for survivors, then she'll believe them, though only because they knew the station far better than Shepard did. "Where are we going?" If the destination wasn't to her liking, then they're going to have problems.
"Another Cerberus facility." The Drones stepped closer to their Queen and raised their weapons at Miranda. "The Illusive Man is waiting for you there."
"Call it a gut feeling," Shepard smirked as Miranda took a nervous step backwards from the hostile Locust. "But I'm not sure I trust you." The fact she was Cerberus was more than enough to make the Commander capture Miranda and send her to an Alliance base for interrogation for knowledge on Cerberus operations. She hasn't yet because there were still some questions she personally wanted answers to.
"You can stay here with your Drones if you want. "Miranda said after regaining her composure. "However, the Illusive Man is the only person that can answer your question as to who it was that attacked the Normandy two years ago." That was a lie. Shepard just had to leave the station, head to an Alliance or Council planet, and she'd most likely find her answer by the end of the month. However, Miranda was confident that Shepard would come with Cerberus as none of the races would welcome the Drones, which was an advantage to the Lazarus Director.
Shepard thought it over for a minute. She could have Savage and the other Drones overpower the Cerberus operatives. However, that would leave the problem of finding a place to hold the three of them until the Alliance came to retrieve the Cerberus trio and rescue her from the station. Plus, Shepard had zero clues about how the Alliance would react to the Drones or the truth of their origin, which left Shepard with one painful yet necessary option.
"I've had enough of this station to last a lifetime." Shepard holstered her weapon and went past Miranda while her guards followed with weapons raised just encase the humans tried anything funny.
Miranda smirked with victory as she followed after the Commander. "Or, two in your case." Jacob sighed whilst wondering if it wasn't too late to go back and get shot by the mechs. Regardless the Cerberus followed after them to the shuttles, which were already getting filled by the Drones. Jacob entire the one Shepard and Miranda were getting into, which was pretty crowded thanks to Savage and some Drones taking up most of the space. Once the shuttles were full and their occupants secured, the transport vehicles took off into space and started to head to their programmed destination.
The Lazarus space station exploded into dust mere moments later.
Time Skip, An Asari republics outer colony.
Dr Wilson's escape shuttle.
"Oh, everything went perfectly according to plan!" Dr Wilson laughed madly as he piloted the shuttle towards the green, blue planet of Freedom Gate. This industrial world was closely operated, much like Noveria by its council of Matriarchs. It was the perfect place to hide away from Cerberus and conduct his Code L research in peace. Dr Wilson had already purchased a laboratory within the mountains via shell companies he'd created during the last two years.
"The goddess is free," a giggle left Dr Wilson as the shuttle entered the atmosphere. "And I'm also freed to expanded the field of Code L." Wilson turned away from the computer controls to gaze upon the medical tanks at the back, which contained vast amounts of Shepard's Stem cells. With these cells, Wilson can continue the holy work and bring enlightenment to the people of Freedom Gate.
"Ah, what fun I'll have here." Wilson saw the facility that would be his home for the foreseeable future. The location had been specifically chosen for its distance from the main settlements. The experiments would be seen as evil even by this world's government, so caution was needed until the time was right to reveal himself to the galaxy. The prophet of Shepard has found his nest, and now all that was left was to grow the brood into an unstoppable army.
"I've never tried to splice the cells into a base other than human before." An insane laugh escaped Wilson as the shuttle landed on the laboratory's landing pad. Miranda had forbidden that kind of research as was typical for the heretic, never seeing the goddess Stem cells' true power over life.
"I think I'll start with an Asari!"