Omega Nebula.
Sahrabarik System.
Normandy SR-2.
The Medical Bay.
"Healer, what is the status of Ravage's condition?"
Dr Karin Chakwas, formerly a System Alliance military doctor and now chief medical officer onboard the Normandy SR-2, paused her examination of various medical reports, which scrolled across the medical ward's main computer terminal. Gazing toward the Medical Bay's main entrance revealed the voice belonged to Krav Savage. Who calmly passed two Drones assigned with the task of guarding the vessel's medical facility from anything which might threaten those currently receiving care from the highly experienced medical officer.
The chief medical officer watched from the medical bay's central workstation as Krav Savage walked across the room until standing before the sedated Ravage lying on the medical bed. The Krav quietly studied the horrible third-degree burns which covered most of Ravage's torso, head and sole remaining arm. Even with the Normandy's sophisticated medical technology, Dr Chakwas knew Ravage would carry multiple burn scars from the rocket, which had been meant for the ship's new addition. Garrus Vakarian.
Dr Chakwas left her comfortable chair and went to the occupied medical bed. "Vitals are stable, and his natural regeneration has fixed most of the internal damage," she professionally informed the sole Krav underneath Commander Shepard's command. "I'm simply waiting for the cybernetic replacements to be manufactured before beginning Ravage's surgery." The medical officer knew she couldn't provide further assistance to the injured Drone since the fabricators were still busily manufacturing the cybernetics needed for the surgery.
"The cybernetics shall be finished within a week," Krav Savage's ceased studying his brother's injured form and shifted his yellowish orbs towards the medical officer. "A Drone will deliver our brother's new arm and eye to this location after they're assembled." it went without saying that the assumably process shall be heavily monitored by several Locust Drones at all times. Krav Savage wasn't going to blindly trust Cerberus with anything regarding Ravage's health, and his Queen fully supported him on the subject.
"That's perfectly acceptable." Dr Chakwas nodded with acceptance, confident that the surgery equipment and other necessities would be ready before the replacement cybernetics was finally fabricated. "He'll also need some physical therapy in order to adjust to his new cybernetics." She warned Krav Savage whilst checking Ravage's internal biology with her Omni-tool. Dr Chakwas was pleased when the return diagnostic revealed the Drone's natural regeneration was almost done, repairing what minor damage remained from the rocket's explosion, meaning it should be safe to awaken him within the next few hours.
Krav Savage frowned at Dr Chakwas's warning regarding Ravage's need for physical therapy. "Ravage won't be pleased with this delay, Healer," an understatement since the heavily burn-scarred Drone would wish to return to active duty as soon as possible. "However, I shall order Ravage to stay within this medical ward until you've cleared him for active duty." Krav Savage would also command the two Drones guarding the entrance to keep a close eye on Ravage just in case he tried sneaking out when Dr Chakwas wasn't paying attention.
"I appreciate the reassurance," she was genuinely thankful since it would've been a nightmare to keep a determined Ravage here without the Krav's express orders to stay and heal within the Normandy's medical facility. "Also, may I inquire when will the Commander visit the patient?"
Krav Savage's frown morphed into a sneer of great displeasure. "Our Sovereign is currently discussing some minor matters with the female Cerberus operative." The Drone captain definitely hadn't left Shepard alone with Miranda Lawson since he'd assigned Rage, plus two other Drones, to watch over the meeting and report anything suspicious to him. "Once done with the vessel's XO, she'll arrive here to personally check on Ravage's condition." After the Queen finishes her business with the crew, they will leave the Normandy to rescue the Salarian scientist.
"Commander Shepard has always cared deeply for those under her command." Dr Chakwas respectfully comments on Jade Shepard's admirable trait of wanting to protect the Normandy crew while also moving back to the comfortable chair next to the medical bay's central workstation. "It's why so many of the Normandy's crew admire the Commander; they know she'll do everything within her power to protect them." Although, Dr Chakwas knew that sometimes the choice was out of Shepard's control, as the unfortunate events on Virmire had shown to the original Normandy's medical officer.
Krav Savage didn't respond to the medical officer's comment and instead stood quietly beside Ravage's medical bed. Dr Chakwas watched the two Drones for a moment before shifting her attention to the medical data, which slowly scrolled downwards on the terminal. The medical officer studied the crew's current physical health reports for a couple of minutes. However, Dr Chakwas soon glanced back towards Krav Savage, who seemed to be softly muttering a few words to the unconscious Locust Drone.
Dr Chakwas had mixed emotions regarding the Locust Drones living onboard the Normandy. They're the product of highly illegal genetic experiments which used Shepard's stem cells as the catalyst of Drone creation, the knowledge that Shepard was experimented upon while essentially hibernating was enough to genuinely infuriate the medic. Yet, Dr Chakwas also took some solace in the fact the Drones were unquestionably loyal to the Commander and would sooner die than betray their Queen's trust.
During the past few days since the Locust came onboard the Normandy, the medical officer noticed that some Drones took after their progenitor. The key example would be none other than Savage, who seemed to take after Jade Shepard's miraculously abilities to command soldiers on the battlefield to impossible victories. The Krav also cared deeply about the other Drones underneath his command, a trait he must've inherited from the Commander. Although, Dr Chakwas found it rather amusing that Krav Savage hide his care underneath a gruff and intimidating exterior.
Dr Chakwas just hoped the Drones hadn't inherited the Commander's tendencies towards causing random space stations or other expensive infrastructure to spontaneously exploded in a fiery, and not to mention epic, fashion. Should the System Alliance upper brass and the Council ever catch wind of the truth behind the Drones' creation, they would undoubtedly have heart attacks if the Locust Horde took after their progenitor's more destructive qualities regarding innocent structures that inhabited the galaxy.
Should such events happen, Dr Chakwas planned to have her Omni-tool primed to capture the image of destruction. It would be helpful teasing material whenever Shepard protests against her ability to make almost every enemy stronghold they visit spontaneously explode around her whilst making an escape back to the Normandy. Dr Chakwas mentally noted to send a copy of such an image to Anderson as the newest Council member might need a good laugh after spending the last two years dealing with the Citadels political landscape.
All in all, Dr Chakwas was simply glad to be back onboard the Normandy, regardless of the craziness that generally followed the Commander no matter where she decided to visit. It was nice to finally be back within the unending madhouse she joyfully called home.
Time Skip.
Omega Space Station.
Omega Marketplace.
"Repent! The end is nigh!"
Jade Shepard, equipped with her black and crimson N7 standard issue armour, uncaringly walked passed a raving Batarian preacher, which the inhabitants of Omega affectionately dubbed as The Mad Prophet. While heading for the quarantined zone, her position was dutifully flanked by Krav Savage, Vurl Rage, Jacob Taylor, and Zaeed Massani. At the far back of the main group were five Maag Drone soldiers assigned to assist their Queen with the current retrieval mission.
The Maag soldiers growled threateningly at the small crowd of station inhabitants, which typically gathered around The Mad Prophet for simple entertainment; they collectively flinched backwards when the Drones brandished their System Alliance standard-issue Lancer Assault Rifles at them. Understanding the clear message that any attempts of violence would result in their untimely deaths, the crowd returned their full attention to The Mad Prophet. Who began another rave about how humanity was a blight on the galaxy and must thus be purged for the greater good of the universe.
The Normandy crew walked into an alleyway sandwiched between several rundown apartment complexes, which should lead their group to the entrance of the quarantine zone. Shepard spotted two individuals, a male Turian and a female human, at the sealed access point to the Gozu district. It didn't take more than a few steps before the Locust Queen could clearly hear the conversation between these two inhabitants of the Citadel's dark twin, and judging by the slightly raised voices, they'd been arguing over something for some time now.
"Complaining is pointless, human." The Turian, who appeared to be a part of the local district's guard unit, told the female human civilian with a frustrated tone. "There's a plague. Nobody gets in or out." The District guard hoped the human civilian saw reason and quietly left the area so he could return to guarding the sealed Gozu district entrance in peace.
"You can't keep me out! I live in there!" The refugee angrily retorted, immediately dashing any hope the Turian District Guard had for a quick and easy resolution to his current problem.
The Guard took a deep calming breath before replying. "I'm doing you a favour, lady. If you go inside, the guards will cut you down." He wasn't joking since several of the guards were former mercenaries who wouldn't hesitate for even a moment to blast the arguing women into tiny blood-soaked pieces. The corrupt district guards might even decide to have some 'fun' with the female refugee before putting a mass accelerator bullet through her pretty little head.
However, the threat of death didn't seem to deter the human for even a second. "You can't do this!" Her face morphed into a furious mask. "Everything I own is in that apartment!" It wasn't her fault the quarantine was enacted whilst she was visiting a friend on the other side of Omega.
The Guard's expression turned an ugly sneer since he was now genuinely fed up with the woman's complaints. "I already told you to get lost, lady!" He gestured with his assault rifle towards the sealed entrance. "The plague has the whole zone quarantined! Nobody's getting inside!" By the spirits, when was this refugee going to take the hint and leave him alone.
"I'm human, you ass! Humans can't even get the damn plague!" The refugee returned the sneer with an equal amount of disdain. "Now let me get my stuff out before looters get it!" She tried to move past the Turian, only to be roughly pushed backwards for the attempt.
"This thing affects every other race out there!" The Guard roared with outrage whilst lifting his weapon encase the civilian tried anything which might endanger the quarantine. "We're not taking any chances. Nobody gets in until the plague runs its course." The Guard was about to order the women to leave, only to pause when he noticed the approaching Normandy crew; the Turian felt a little nervous as the heavily armed group arrived at the main entrance to Omega's slums.
"Can I help you?" The District Guard politely asked Jade Shepard while trying to not be intimidated by the hulking forms of the Locust Drones. On the other hand, the refugee slightly flinched as the Drones moved to block the alleyway's exit. The heavily armed Locust ignored the fearful citizen and kept an eye out for anything that might endanger their Queen.
After the alleyway was secured, Shepard immediately got down to business. "There's a salarian named Mordin Solus in the slums. I've got to get in there to find him." She gestured towards the sealed access point while the Turian Guard stared at the Commander with utter disbelief. The nearby refugee didn't blame the District Guard as she also believed no one was crazy enough to actually go searching for the dangerous salarian doctor.
"The doctor?" The Turian's eyes clouded over almost as if he was recalling a distant and very unpleasant memory. "Crazy bastard opened a clinic in the district a few months ago. The Blue Suns weren't too happy when he moved in." An understatement as the District Guard heard certain rumours regarding how the Blue Suns tried to force the salarian doctor to pay their monthly protection fees only to be 'dealt with' by the very person who the mercenaries tried to extort Credits from. The rumour was why the Turian was grateful that he was on this side of the quarantine zone.
The District Guard grunted as he refocused on the matter at hand. "I hear Mordin's trying to deal with the plague. I wish him luck, but the area is still locked down." The Turian was genuinely hopeful that Dr Mordin would succeed in curing the plague since it was a significant threat to Omega's multi-species populace. "Anyway, our orders are to wait until either the plague or Blue Suns kill everyone, then go in and clean up." Aria's lieutenant had made it clear that nobody would be allowed to enter or leave the quarantine until the plague was gone, so until the all-clear signal was given, he was forced to keep everyone away from the sealed access point.
"What are the effects of this plague?" Krav Savage asked the Turian. Any information about the virus might help them better navigate through the quarantined district. The Guard frowned distrustfully at the Locust captain for a moment. Yet, still decided to answer the question.
"It starts out as a cough, then you start coughing up blood, and…" the Turian bluntly explained the plague's effects on the body, only to be uncomfortable towards the end. "Well, then I shoot you." It was unpleasant business. However, if the plague victims managed to leave quarantine, then Omega as a whole might become infected by the deadly virus. The Turian didn't like killing the helpless; at the very least, he made it painless, unlike some district guards who wanted to savour the moment before making the kill shot.
At any rate, the District Guard further explained the virus was airborne and affected multiple species, with the sole exceptions being humans and Vorcha. When Aria learned about an airborne virus which affects numerous species, she immediately ordered the entire district quarantined since the criminal inhabitants couldn't risk such a deadly virus from spreading throughout Omega. It was one of the rare cases when every crime lord was in agreement, and the Turian hoped it would be the last one seen for a long time.
"This virus doesn't sound natural," Krav Savage said after thinking over the information given by the Turian Guard. "Targeting one or two species with similar biology is theoretically possible, but with all known races affected. No, the virus must be artificial." For heaven's sake, Turians and salarians can't even eat the same food, so the odds of a virus suddenly appearing with the miraculous ability to cross multiple species barriers were so far out of the realm of probability that it wasn't even funny.
The Turian agreed with Krav Savage's idea on the virus's true nature. "Most people figure it has to be synthetic. Somebody engineered it, and it either got loose, or they're testing it here." The Turian even heard some rumours that Aria T'Loak was establishing a sizeable bounty for any information on the plague's creators. Apparently, Omega's Queen Bitch wanted to personally murder the bastards who believed that it was a great idea to unleash such a virus onboard her space station; the District Guard was beyond glad that he wasn't on Aria's shit list.
He shrugged his shoulders. "Anyway, seeing as how humans are immune to the plague and doing a fair bit of looting, a lot of people think humans made it." The Turian wasn't among those who believed the humans created the plague since all it would've accomplished was turning everyone on Omega against their kind. No, an unknown third party was behind this madness, and the Guard suspected they were using humanity as scapegoats to avoid the collective wrath of Omega's crime lords.
Shepard, allowing Krav Savager to spend a few more minutes gathering further info on the situation, decided it was time to convince the Guard to let them into the quarantine zone. "Listen, you're stuck here until the quarantine is over. Which could take weeks." the Commander gestured towards her assembled Drone troops, who seemed to stand straighter upon being mentioned. "What you really need is to get this problem solved now," she gestured at herself with a confident smile. "That's what I do solve problems. Let me in, and I'll get this district straightened out."
The Turian studied the assembled Normandy crew. "You think you can fix this mess?" His gaze shifted to the sealed access point for a moment before shrugging in acceptance. "Why not? The quarantine is more to keep infected people in," the District Guard moved out of the way while activating his Omni-tool. "Anyway. I'll radio ahead, telling them you're coming in." However, before the Guard could radio his comrades on the other side of the quarantine zone, the refugee ran forward with a thunderous expression.
"Wait, you're stopping me but not them? You son of a bitch!" The refugee snarled at the Turian, who raised his head skywards whilst honestly wondering which spirit he pissed off to deserve this kind of punishment.
After breathing deeply, the Turian retorted. "You don't have friends who appear to be distant cousins of the Krogan and are fully capable of ripping me apart should I decide to get in their way," he gestured towards the Drones. They smiled at the refugee causing the women to become pale upon witnessing the massive fangs which filled their maws. "So, in other words, leave now." Finally taking the hint, the refugee walked back down the alleyway whilst muttering about how she would be back for her stuff once the quarantine ended.
Shepard waited until the refugee left before addressing her crew. "Alright, every one, one last equipment check and then prepare for combat," the Locust Queen wasn't naive enough to believe they'll just walk out of the district with Mordin without at least having to fight a few Blue Suns. "Once we've entered the quarantine zone, we're not leaving without obtaining our target." The District Guard held no information about where Mordin's clinic was located within the sealed district, meaning they'll have to search the whole zone for the salarian scientist.
"Commander, what are your orders in regards to civilians." Jacob inquired as the surrounding Locust and Zaeed began checking their weapons and other equipment one last time before heading into the quarantine zone.
Shepard paused, inserting a fresh ammo clip into her sniper rifle. "If they're not hostile, we'll help them get to Mordin's clinic since that's likely to be the safest place within the district," after inserting the thermal clip, she switches to inspecting her heavy pistol. "However, should the locals appear uncooperative, you have permission to take the necessary steps to pacify them." Shepard honestly preferred no violence befell the civilians. Yet, with looters running around and the plague likely affecting the minds of the general population, it was sadly inevitable they'll find hostile citizens.
Jacob must've reached the same conclusion since he soon grimaced while holstering his M-23 Katana class shotgun. "Understood, Commander," the assembled Normandy crew gathered around the sealed access point. "Though personally, I hope those inside the quarantine can be reasoned with." The Cerberus operative knew violence with the Blue Suns was unavoidable. However, he hoped the civilians trapped in the sealed district still had enough common sense to not fire at Shepard, as the Drones aren't the type to show mercy to anything they consider a threat to their Queen.
Shepard gave Jacob a reassuring smile whilst gesturing for the Turian to open the sealed entrance; the Guard activated the entrance's release mechanisms which caused the heavy door to silently move into the metallic floor. Once the heavy door was gone, the Maag Drones raced ahead to secure the tunnel leading to the main road of the Gozu District. Krav Savage took point as the main group slowly advanced into the tunnel, where the only illumination came from the crimson quarantine holographic signs. After the whole crew entered the tunnel, the Turian resealed the door so the plague couldn't escape the zone.
The Normandy crew were now trapped within Omega's quarantine zone.
Normandy SR-2.
Deck 3: Crew's Quarters.
Executive Officer's Offices.
As the Normandy's XO, Miranda Lawson was required to make regular reports on their mission's progress to the Illusive Man. Generally, those reports were carefully written and sent through the communication network via several secretly constructed comm buoys. While waiting for a response from her superior, Miranda would perform the duties customarily associated with a vessel's XO, which meant handling the typical day-to-day activities whilst Shepard was away on the retrieval mission for the salarian scientist.
However, today was proving different than usual since the Illusive Man ignored the standard written report and activated her terminal's live video feed. The Illusive Man's office appeared as Lawson remembered it, covered entirely with shadows, and only the Cerberus leader's silhouette could be seen within the inky void. Icy blue optics stared dispassionately from the darkness. Miranda knew from experience that it was the sole physical feature the man allowed anyone to see while communicating on secure Cerberus channels.
"Illusive Man," Miranda calmly greeted Cerberus's supreme leader while removing some unimportant documents from her desk. "Is there something you wish to discuss, sir?"
A cloud of smoke briefly appeared on the terminal's screen before being swallowed by the darkness. "It's about Shepard's Locust," Illusive Man revealed the reason for the sudden call whilst more smoke was breathed into existence. "Our scientists working on what little research data Dr Wilson left behind after the Lazarus station was destroyed managed to find this within the wreckage." An image of a massive black and red container crafted into the form of an upside-down tear appeared on screen with a text describing its function near the bottom of the picture.
Miranda frowned at the unusual image. "What is it?" She curiously inquired as most of the text was just Dr Wilson's general crazed writing about Shepard's divinity and how the 'sacred Iron womb' shall give birth to the next generation of holy warriors.
The Illusive Man was more than happy to explain the image's function to Miranda. "According to the data, our scientists discovered these pods are specialised devices which convert normal humans into Locust Drones," another cloud of smoke bloomed into temporary existence. "Apparently, all that these conversion pods need to properly function is Shepard's blood." The Cerberus leader explained that a few notes from Dr Wilson's research revealed the madman had been planning to manufacture thousands of pods to create an army of Locust Drones.
"Dr Wilson can't manufacture the necessary amount of pods for his army for obvious reasons." Illusive Man said smugly. If the mad scientist tried which method, then Cerberus would easily track the materials needed for the pods back to his hidden location. "Cerberus is already manufacturing eight hundred pods for Shepard, and they should be fully constructed within two months." The Illusive Man was looking forward to the day when eight hundred Drones marched upon the Collectors' homeworld; the servants of the Reapers wouldn't know what hit them.
However, Miranda wasn't as sold on the idea as her employer. "Sir, with all due respect, Shepard's not going to approve of these Locust conversion pods," if anything, the Commander would demand the pods destroyed and all research data on the subject be erased from Cerberus systems. "Besides, the Locust are uncontrollable without Shepard, so how will Cerberus even breed this army?" The Drones would likely overrun any Cerberus facility chosen for the task within a few months. Miranda feared how the Commander might react should she discover the new Drone breeding facility.
The Illusive man's silhouette shifty slightly whilst faint terminal typing could be heard within the background. "Shepard, with some minor convincing, will see the benefit these pods will bring to the fight against the Collectors." The conversion pod's image was replaced with what appeared to be an old Alliance cargo carrier. "As for where the Drones shall be bred, our recently acquired cargo vessel, The Twilight, will be retrofitted into a suitable facility." The Illusive Man continued by saying the Twilight would be given over to Shepard once its hull was utterly filled with conversion pods.
"You're giving Shepard a cargo vessel?" Miranda's tone was incredulous as she studied the vessel's design; the Twilight only had enough defensive lasers to hold off an enemy assault until reinforcements arrived to assist it. Granted, the Twilight was a cargo vessel, not a military ship; thus, it wasn't expected to join any space battles. However, it would soon be joining the Normandy so the Twilight would need significant improvements to its defensive grid and the armour and weapon systems.
If the Illusive Man was surprised by Miranda's reaction to the news, he hid it well. "As you've pointed out, the Drones won't listen to anyone except Shepard," smoke was breathed into existence as Miranda read more of Twilight's schematics. "Which Is why we're removing the middleman and gifting Shepard with an upgraded cargo vessel that can house her future soldiers." It also possessed the added benefit of not losing anything of value should anything unexpected happen during the birthing process of new Drones.
"Sir, you're still going to need Shepard's approval," Miranda pointed out, as this plan could quickly spiral out of control if the situation wasn't handled properly. "Otherwise, she might decide to remove our operatives from the Normandy and try to stop the Collectors by herself." Miranda knew better than most onboard the Normandy how much Krav Savage would enjoy kicking Cerberus off his Queen's vessel; the Locust captain wouldn't hesitate for even a moment to turn the situation into a bloodbath should he find it necessary.
"You've fought with the Commander at Freedoms Progress and during Archangel's retrieval mission," Illusive Man replied as the cargo vessel's image disappeared from the terminal's screen. "I'm sure you'll be able to convince Shepard of the necessity of the Locust conversion pods." His tone conveyed that the Illusive Man wouldn't take a negative answer from his female operative.
"Understood, sir." Miranda had been a part of Cerberus long enough to know when to give up and accept her superiors judgment and thus she quietly nodded in agreement.
"Excellent," the silhouette of the Illusive Man appeared to be smiling with happiness at Miranda's decision to obey his orders. "I'll inform Shepard where to pick up the Twilight once its retrofit is completed." The Illusive Man terminated the communication channel leaving Miranda alone in her office. The Normandy XO wondered how she was going to convince the Commander to accept the idea of conversion pods without entering the equivalent of Krogan's blood rage. At the very least, Miranda would ensure she's hiding behind a heavy bulkhead whilst informing Shepard about the Illusive Man's latest decision.
Yet, somehow Miranda had a dreadful feeling the bulkhead wouldn't be enough to stop an enraged Commander Jade Shepard.