Chapter 55
STG Temporary Field Headquarters
"So, we have an understanding then?" asked Kirrahe as he saw the krogan enter the tent once more.
Wrex eyed the salarian before snorting in disgust. "I understand that I'm following Shepard. Whatever she tells me to kill, I'll kill. And I understand that Saren cloning my people and turning them into monsters is no less disgusting than what you scrawny bastards did to my people. So, understand that Shepard is the only reason you aren't on the ground with my boot on your head."
"Understood," said the captain, very non-plussed about the threats. "So, we have formulated a plan to take out the base. But it requires the use of your ship. It is small enough to enter the gravity of the planet, correct?"
"Yes. It's within the gravitational regulations and has no issues escaping from planets up to four Gs of gravity," responded Shepard as she looked across at him. "So, what's the plan?"
"This is good news," he said as he crossed his hands on the table. "Currently, members of my team are taking the engine out of our crashed ship and bringing it here. Inside all STG vehicles is a twenty-kiloton ordinance strong enough to take out an entire building. When planted deep within the labs, it should be able to erase everything inside the base."
"Why do your ships have bombs in them?" asked Ash incredulously.
Looking up to her, the captain blinked. "We do very important work that requires stealth and upmost secrecy. The information we collect could topple governments and end millennia old alliances. We take extra measures to make sure that if we are caught by the wrong kind of people, then we can destroy them, or at the very least, destroy ourselves so they cannot obtain the information."
"That's pretty hardcore," said Ash with a grin.
"Hardcore indeed," remarked the salarian as he turned back to Shepard. "In order to pull this off, we will need three teams. One to clear a path for the bomb, another to sneak the ordinance into the base and place it in a good enough location to maximize the damage. I will be in charge of the clearance team known as Aegohr, and I will be bringing Spectre Casso with me. Commander Rentola will oversee the bomb team named Jaetor."
"Understood. And likely the last team is the distraction team. Make as big a mess as possible to draw attention away from your teams," she said as she crossed her arms. "Normally my forte is stealth, but I do have a flare for making a mess."
"I am aware of your record of destruction. I was hoping you could apply it here. Your team name is Mannovai, and as you go through the base to no doubt search for Saren, I ask that you destroy anything of import that you see. While I trust the bomb to take out most of it, it won't hurt to be sure that nothing survives," he said as he blinked rapidly, a common habit of salarians when they were nervous. "In order to pull this off, I will need the assistance of a few of your crewmates. I was hoping you could spare a few to insure our objective."
Shepard nodded and tapped the chin of her helmet thoughtfully. But as she thought, Ash spoke up from behind her. "Spectre, I'll go with their team," she said as she stepped forward.
Shepard looked up at her curiously. "Well, looks like we've got a volunteer," said Shepard before looking back to the captain. "What kind of skillset do you need?"
"I have need of someone with extensive combat skills. When we reach this area…" he said, pointing to a T shaped walkway deep within the facility. "The bomb team and clearance team will split apart, and the clearance team will move to this landing zone and make sure it's secure for extraction. That landing zone will likely be the focus of the battle from that point forward, and I do not know if I have the men to hold it myself."
"Understood," she said as she finally stood up and turned around. "Ash, you're on the clearance team."
"I can take the bomb team, Shepard. My biotics will make the bomb a lot easier to move," Kaidan stated as he stepped forward as well.
Looking over at Kirrahe, the salarian nodded, making her turn back to Kaidan. "Then you're with the bomb team. Make sure to watch your back."
"Understood Shepard," said the lieutenant as he grinned at her.
Shepard turned to the rest of her party and pointed to Garrus, "You're with the clearance team as well. I don't know how guarded the LZ is, but I want to make sure that it's clear."
"You got it, Shepard," said the turian as he stood straight.
Then she turned to the others. "Wrex, Tali, Liara, you three are with me. We're going to kick the front door open and leave a trail of destruction so powerful that the other two teams will be invisible. Are we clear?"
Wrex smirked at her order. "If you want destruction, you've come to the right krogan," he said as he pulled up his newly cleaned shotgun.
"Good, because we'll be going in first," she said turning back to the salarians. "Spectre Zellin, Captain Kirrahe, we're ready to go when you are."
The captain stood and nodded his head. "They should be back here with the engine in a few minutes. Once we have it, we will proceed," he said before finally leaving the tent followed by most of his subordinates.
Spectre Zellin stood to his feet as well and gave Shepard a small grin. "Well, no telling if we'll make it out of this alive, Shepard."
"True, but I don't think Saren could find anything in the galaxy that could stand up to our combined forces," she said as she returned his grin.
He blinked before nodding. "Well, regardless of whether we make it out of this, feel free to call me Casso." Her eyebrows rose at the statement. "I believe we've been acquainted enough and have worked together enough for us to leave formalities behind."
"Understood and appreciated, Spectre Casso. Feel free to call me Jane if you like," she said an appreciative smile on her face.
"Will do, Jane. Now, I suggest we group up into our teams and get familiar with one another so we can work better together. When the engine arrives, Kirrahe will no doubt start the mission off with one of his speeches, and we'll be too distracted to do so then," he said with a slight chuckle before finally leaving the tent.
Outer Wall – Virmire Compound – Virmire
As Casso predicted, Kirrahe ended up giving one of his valorous speeches. And to his credit, his men seemed to stand a little taller with pride as he did. But as soon as it was over, Kaidan gripped the engine with his hands and lit it with blue biotic energy. Softly, it began to float, allowing Commander Rentola to place a hover carrier beneath it.
Once it was stable and tied to the cart, Shepard and her group boarded the shuttle and flew to an area well away from the other two teams. After dropping them off in front of what was likely a side door, the salarian pilot flew the vehicle back to the secondary breach zone. "We ready for this?" asked Shepard curiously as she looked at her squad, which consisted of a fully armored krogan, a cool as ice asari, an eager quarian, and two salarians who looked as stern as Kirrahe sounded. Nobody responded, and she smiled. "Good. Wrex, let's make some noise."
"On it," he said as he knelt down and held his massive laser weapon over his shoulder. Pulling the trigger, the two salarians eyed him curiously as the weapon began charging, each second its core whirring louder and louder. Shepard aimed her omni-tool at the wall and fired two of the adhesive coated grenades she kept, causing them to stick before cranking them to max explosive power. Seconds later, the laser fired and began slowly carving away at the metal door. "Hold on to your pants everyone!" she shouted as the laser finally cut through, weakening the metal. Shepard detonated the grenades and blew the door wide open, allowing Wrex to stand and release the trigger. "Team Mannovai has breached!" she shouted through the comm as Wrex ran through the hole.
Shepard stepped through as well with her pistol drawn. The others followed her through into the puddles on the inside, a result of the wall blocking off a stream that had once flowed here. Currently, they were in a canyon with rocky walls on both sides and water flowing around their feet. With no threats in the immediate area, Shepard swapped out for her long-range rifle. Holding the scope up to her eye, she knelt down and spied ahead of them.
"What lies ahead?" asked Liara curiously.
"It looks like some kind of geth outpost. They heard the explosion and are dropping their hex shields," she said before looking up as someone tapped on her shoulder. She eyed Tali curiously.
"May I take a look, Shepard?" she asked nervously. Smiling, Shepard stood and handed the weapon to Tali. As the quarian held up the gun and looked through the scope as best she could, she squeaked in surprise as it actually read her eye and adjusted accordingly. "This is amazing!" she said excitedly. But the excitement didn't last as she finally spied the base Shepard had mentioned. "That's a geth communications hub."
Wrex looked over at her curiously. "That sounds important. They need those, right?"
"Yes, they do. It's essentially a communication relay that they use to contact each other over great distances too far for their own internal networks. Think of them like geth comm units," she said as she handed the gun back.
Shepard took it and smirked. "Looks like we found our first target," she said as she knelt down again. "I'll stay here and provide cover fire. Liara, provide protection for them with your shield so they can get closer," she ordered as she looked through the scope again.
The asari nodded as the rifle fired, causing one of the hex shields to drop immediately and the geth behind it to fly backwards, damaged but not broken. Raising her arms, Liara created a biotic wall in front of her and began jogging towards the stairwell of the nearby hub. "Jane, did I hear you correctly? Did you say you found a geth communications hub?" came Casso's voice.
"Correct. They cover a pretty wide area if I recall from Feros, so there shouldn't be many more, if any at all in the base," she said as she fired again, sending the leg of a geth who wasn't completely covered flying off, causing it to topple over.
"That will make the rest of our jobs a lot easier if you take that down," said Kirrahe as he stepped into the conversation.
"Already on it," said Tali over the comm as she stood behind Liara, who was now at the stairs. They all stayed inside her bubble as the geth fired relentlessly at her shield, providing an even better opening for Shepard as they stopped focusing on hiding from her.
Wrex fazed through the barrier as he charged directly for the machines, bowling three over and sending one over the side and into the creek below where it was destroyed by a shot from Shepard's rifle. More geth fired at them from the other side of a partition, but Liara made quick work of them by lifting them up and slamming them against the cliffside with enough force to crack their armor. Any that were still alive were taken out by the salarians.
Shepard got to her feet as she saw Wrex enter the balcony area that was loaded with more geth and began turning them into mechanical confetti. "Geth hub is cleared," responded Wrex as he emerged back onto the main platform again, a burn wound on his face slowly bubbling as it began to heal.
"I've almost got this taken care of," said Tali as she worked on her omni-tool over one of the geth docking stations. "Got it!" she said as the entire thing shut down. Turning to Shepard, she grinned behind her mask as the spectre approached. "We can plant a marker here and have the Normandy blast it from orbit just to make sure they don't get it running again."
"Good work," she said as she activated the comm. "Mannovai has shut down the geth communications hub. The geth can no longer communicate further than ten meters. Use this to your advantage," she said as she waved them back down the stairs and underneath the structure to further move through the canyon after planting a tracking marker.
Casso spoke up over the comm again. "Understood. Team Aegohr is now silently breeching. Keep up the good work, Spectre."
Outer Wall – Virmire Compound
As soon as Casso closed the comm he nodded to the others. "Go!" he said as he hung out the side of the shuttle that carried the bomb. The vehicle hovered upwards and over the wall before sinking to the ground on the other side and zooming forward through the maze-like canyons inside the base.
At the first sign of geth, the clearance team jumped out of the shuttle. Casso, Garrus, Ashley, and the salarians on their team rushed forward while the shuttle stayed hidden and out of danger. Garrus immediately assaulted one of the geth soldiers with a sabotage from his omni-tool before doing a spinning roundhouse and shearing it in half with the blade on his spur. Raising his rifle, he then rolled into cover before firing at the oncoming geth.
Ash barreled forward and placed her back against an outcropping of rock. She turned her head and saw Casso following her. Waving her hand to get his attention, she jabbed her thumb towards the geth. Nodding in understanding, the spectre rose and assaulted the geth's shields with his submachine gun, then ducked behind a boulder as his burning plasma splashed against the rock he was using as cover.
Once he had rid them of their shields, Ash spun out of cover and aimed her rifle at the exposed machines. Pulling the trigger, she riddled them with holes until they were scrap. Casso turned back and waved to the others to move forward as silence permeated the canyon. Moving out of cover, he led the group through the guarded canyon, taking out any geth that stood in their way.
Finally, they had reached the back door of the facility with only minor injuries. The spectre activated his comm to report their position. "Team Aegohr has arrived at the rear entrance. Team Jaetor, you are clear to move forward. Mannovai, could you supply us with a distraction so we may blow our way into the-" he started, but was interrupted as an explosion so massive it knocked them all off their feet hit the base. This was followed by a second explosion, this one closer than the other, but weaker, resulting in a large cloud of thick black smoke to pollute the air above. "Ask and you shall receive," he said in amusement at the human phrase as he got to his feet. "Team Aegohr entering now."
Drone Refueling Station – Virmire Compound
"Just hit what looks like a drone fuel tank. Took most of them out with it. You're clear to move forward!" shouted Shepard through the comm. She waved the others forward onto the catwalk platform above the flowing waters of the creeks.
Wrex took point and ran up the ramp onto the catwalk, followed by the others. Slowly, they made their way towards the nearby facility, the remaining drones attacking them from above. Shepard raised her omni-tool and shorted their shields out as Liara and her both raised their weapons and splintered the geth before they got past the krogan's biotic barrier.
"Looks like that's the last of the drones over here. We should only see ground forces from this point on," said the spectre as she held her pistol low and maneuvered the catwalk silently, her party following in her wake. Finally, she turned the corner of a canyon wall and found herself staring at the frontside of the facility itself.
"Awww hell…" groaned Wrex as they all saw a small army of krogan guarding the walkways to the facility with an armored colossus standing behind them.
Immediately the machine turned its head and focused on the group, its eye glowing dangerously. Wrex grabbed Shepard and hurled them both to the side as the plasma streaked across the landscape and hit the catwalk where they were standing, warping it into slag.
"Thanks…" groaned Shepard as she stood again and opened her omni-tool.
"In order to take the big one out, I'm gonna need a few seconds," said Wrex in his gruff tone.
"Take all the time you need," she said as she raised her pistol again. "Wrex, you stay here and charge your weapon. The rest of us will circle back to another entrance and draw their attention away from you."
The krogan lifted the laser onto his shoulder again and nodded. Shepard turned to the others and rallied them together before they backtracked over the maze-like catwalks and approached another walkway onto the facility platform.
But, as soon as she turned the corner, she nearly ran smack into a fully armored krogan. It raised its shotgun and blasted her at near point-blank range. But luckily, her kinetic shields took most of the blow. Thinking quickly, she raised her pistol and began firing directly into the face of its helmet. The defender stumbled back as the rounds bypassed their shields and smashed into their visor.
Liara waved her hand, and her biotic power picked the warrior up off the ground and sent them drifting into the air. "He won't be coming back," she stated as she stood next to the spectre.
"Spectre Shepard," called the reddish-skinned salarian named Daros. She turned to look at him curiously. "Perhaps you could entice these krogan into this small entrance, allowing your asari compatriot to use a singularity."
Shepard turned from the salarian soldier and looked at the entrance they were about to walk into. With flashes from the battle of Thermopylae playing out in her head, she smiled. "Good call," she said as she activated the comm. "Wrex, you ready?"
"Running hot," he replied.
"Good. Everyone else, fire away!" she shouted as she stepped into the entrance. The entire squad fired their weapons into the horde of shielded krogan. The armature turned its head towards her and began to glow again as all of the krogan returned fire on their position. They all dove back onto the inner catwalk as the narrow gap was filled with return fire, followed by a blast from the armature that blew the safety rails off the walkway entirely.
Seconds later, a burning hot laser fired from Wrex's position, searing through armor and igniting flesh as it swept across the platform before focusing on the colossus' body. The geth tank turned to focus on the krogan again, but before it got a chance to charge, the laser burned through its neck and sent the entire head tumbling down into the creek below the platform with a splash, its body crumpling onto the platform lifeless.
The krogan ignored the crackling heat of the weapon and strapped it to his back as he pulled his shotgun free. "You good over there, Shepard?" he asked as he turned and looked towards them.
"We're going to lure them into the entrance. You hit them from behind when we do," she shouted as the krogan, as predicted, began to charge violently through the ones who had been nearly killed by the laser weapon. Trampling their brethren, the soldiers dashed through the entry walkway ready for battle.
But they grunted in horror as all six of the remaining krogan were lifted off the ground and sent spinning in a whirling vortex of biotics. Shepard, Tali, Wrex, and the salarians all unloaded their weapons on the spinning mass, killing their shields and peppering them with an endless number of rounds. Finally, Liara glared at them and closed her fist aggressively.
The singularity widened for a single second before it imploded, warping and bending the krogan before sending them crashing into the cliffsides, some limbless from the violent implosion. Shepard watched as Wrex walked over each one, looked them dead in the face, then ended their miserable lives.
"You alright Wrex?" she asked with concern.
"I'll be alright when I have Saren's head in my hand. Until then… assume I'm a bit trigger happy," he said listlessly as he turned towards the base. Shepard confirmed that the others were good before moving after him.
"Shepard!" called Tali, getting the spectre's attention. "I'm reading a massive buildup of geth inside the next room.
"How many?" asked Shepard as she stopped the others.
Tali just shook her head. "Too many. As much as I have faith in our survivability, going in there would be suicide."
Shepard snorted and shook her head. "Are there any other ways inside?"
"I can get Chatikka to scout out the area," said the quarian as she released the drone. As soon as it took its orb-like shape, it zoomed off towards the base.
"You sure we can't just open the door and do that thing we did with the clones?" asked Wrex as he approached the three.
"I'm afraid not. Geth aren't driven by anger. They're tactical and would never intentionally walk into a potential trap without some kind of plan. You may be able to get one or two in the doorway, but the grand majority would stay right where they are," said Tali as she shook her head.
"Hmm… smart for a bunch of walking flashlights," he said as he turned to stare at the door.
Tali's omni-tool flashed, and she held it up to read it. "It looks like Chatikka discovered a small sluice gate that allows the water buildup on the other side of the base to flow freely. There's an entrance on the inside."
"Then that's where we're going," said the spectre as she spun her pistol and gripped it tightly. Tali grabbed the rail of the catwalk and jumped over, landing in the shin deep waters of the creek below. The others followed with loud splashes before they once again moved like a single unit towards the drone.
When they finally arrived, Shepard looked at Wrex, who just nodded in return. Charging forward, the krogan slammed into the metal sluice, the blow bending it inwards. Stepping back, a single blast from his shotgun tore it from the frame and sent it splashing into the waters.
Reaching up, Shepard activated her comm. "Aegohr, Jaetor, Mannovai has entered the base."
Spectre Casso was the first to respond. "Affirmative. We are inside as well, but any move we make may attract attention."
"We'll see what we can do to draw them away from your end. In the meantime, sit tight and stay defensive," she ordered as she waved for the others to move forward. The tunnel was dark despite the bright daylight shining in. Shepard activated her omni-tool's search light and shined it ahead, immediately noticing a small alcove off to the right.
"Ugh… they probably use this for waste disposal…" said the krogan as he sloshed through the water.
"I doubt it. The geth are too efficient for that kind of disposal system. For whatever organics are contained here, they likely repurpose their waste for energy," responded Tali as she held her shotgun ready.
"Ick… that's even more gross…" said the krogan as he shook his head.
"Quiet, we're about to breach," said Shepard as she stepped from the water onto the solid platform in the alcove where Chatikka was waiting dutifully. Tali withdrew the drone and nodded to Shepard. The spectre turned to the door and blew the lock with a cyber-attack, causing the door to slide open. When she moved inside the base, however, she ran into two salarians just standing and gawking at them. Holding her pistol up, she growled, "Hands up where I can see them!"
Despite her order, they didn't move. They simply stood there, their bodies sagging, and their eyes half closed as if the soul had been sucked from them. "Identify yourself, soldier," demanded one of the salarians as he aimed his pistol at them. Instead, the turned towards him and charged. Shepard leapt forward and sent a spinning kick into one of their sides, sending them crashing to the side while the salarian operative knocked the other one senseless with a pistol whip to the neck.
Once both were subdued, Shepard looked up to her salarian partner. "You called them soldier. Why?"
"The uniforms they are wearing are STG. They aren't from our unit, but they most definitely came from our organization," he said as he and the other salarian slumped their former comrades into the corner with their limbs bound.
The other salarian, one with a pale grey skin and large, dark eyes shook his head. "Unlikely they got any information from them. We are trained for torture and interrogation."
Shepard let out a sigh. "That likely won't matter," she said, getting a questioning look from the two. "I'll fill you in later. For now, we have to keep moving."
Drawing their weapons again, she led the infiltration team up a ramp that opened into a large laboratory. Shepard raised her pistol again as she looked at the many cells that lined the walls. There were multiple kinds of species inside them. She walked by each one, looking inside to see the occupants. Two humans were huddled in the corner of a single cell. An asari was furiously lashing out at the door of the cell with her biotics, her mouth foaming slightly as she shouted. "Stop it! Stop the whispering!" she screamed as she threw another biotic attack at the door, but it didn't budge. Shepard stared at her wide-eyed when suddenly one of the salarians ran to a cell door further down.
"Menos!" gasped one grey-skinned salarian. He immediately reached the console and began typing away at it.
"Ladus, wait!" barked the darker salarian. But the cell door slid open. Immediately, the prisoner ran out of the cell and jumped on the salarian operative, grabbing their gun from their side and aiming it at his head.
"STOP! Stop the whispering you monsters!" screamed the prisoner before he fired two rounds into their head.
Shepard dove forward and tackled the unhinged man, practically crushing them under her armor. The remaining salarian ran forward and checked on his partner, but quickly found that there was no saving him. The spectre raised her elbow and cracked the struggling inmate between the horns on his head, knocking him out instantly. Rolling him over, she bound him the same as they did the others.
Liara moved up to the remaining salarian operative. "I'm sorry…"
He sighed to himself and closed his eyes before grabbing his partner's arms and crossing them over his chest. "What's that about?" asked Wrex curiously.
"He was one of the two of our unit that we sent to track Saren. I am honoring him in his death," said Daros as he leaned back on his haunches.
"Right. What about the rest of them?" asked the spectre as she looked at the cells. The asari was now on her knees, crying into her hands, the humans hadn't moved from their position at all, and the turian in the far cell was laying on the ground, dead to the world.
"As cruel as it may seem, after whatever Saren has done to them, leaving them to die may be a mercy," responded the operative as he drew his weapon again. "They will be a liability if released."
Shepard growled, knowing he was correct. "Alright, then let's keep moving. I want to hit those labs and make a hundred percent sure none of that tech survives."
Maintenance Walkway – Virmire Compound
Kaidan had to admit, as light as his biotics made the bomb, he was definitely starting to feel the toll of overexertion. He was sweating lightly as Garrus and Ash led the salarians in clearing the halls of krogan and geth in their path. He had to stop a few times as the gunnery chief fought off krogan. Garrus had taken one out by doing a spin kick that made his groin ache just seeing it, landing the blade he had on his spurs directly into one of the krogan's spines.
Most of the krogan they found inside weren't all that armored. Their biggest form of armor was their insanity, giving them a near immunity to pain. But no matter how adamant you were, you couldn't make a body with a severed spine move. Team Aegohr had cleared every room before he entered. It didn't matter what was inside. Krogan, geth, terminals, data banks, all of them were left in a smoking ruin. He somewhat wished he could be up there with them helping, but he knew his job was far too important for his ego to interrupt. In less than ten minutes, Team Aegohr had cleared floor after floor of insurgents while he carted the bomb along, sweat dotting his brow as he waited until the chaos calmed before moving again.
Finally, they had made it to the intersection. As they reached the split in the road, Kirrahe turned to Rentola and himself. "We are at the crossroads. Can you handle it from here?"
"We will be fine. Good fortune to you all," responded Rentola, who turned to him and nodded as Team Aegohr split off and headed to clear the evac zone. "We will take the lead and clear out anything in your way. Once it's placed, we will hold position until evac zone is cleared."
"Understood," said Kaidan as the salarian operatives behind him saluted in salarian fashion. True to his word, Rentola moved silently towards the opposite path of Team Aegohr and opened the door. Immediately the roar of a krogan sounded inside the room, causing the salarian operative team to split up to divide and conquer the threat. Kaidan set the bomb on the ground before stealing towards the door himself, peeking inside to see the krogan running in circles madly.
As soon as he got a bead on one of the STG squad, another popped up and shot him, stunning him long enough for the other to get away. But Kaidan wasn't sure how much these salarians knew about the krogan beyond this mission. Having been in a party with Wrex long enough, he became antsy when he saw the krogan's eyes start pulsing orange. If he got any more enraged, the shots wouldn't be enough to stop his charge.
Sure enough, Rentola fired several times into the back of the krogan's kneecap, trying to keep the charging behemoth from getting to one of his squad mates. But the krogan ignored it and charged on a bleeding and raw leg, towards the squirrely salarian. Shocked at the act of rage, the operative braced for impact. But the impact never came.
Rentola looked over at Kaidan in the doorway as he used his biotics to lift the krogan from the ground, its rage not helping it at all as it floated helplessly in the air. Once the shock passed, which was quickly for salarians, they all aimed together into the krogan's face and fired until there was nothing but gored flesh. Finally, the sentinel released the monster, letting it splatter against the ground.
"You have our thanks, Lieutenant," said Rentola as the others started towards the next door. A few more rooms and flights of stairs and they were in. The room they stopped in looked like a basement storage area for the labs they had just wrecked along the way. "Here should be fine," stated the salarian commander as he pointed to the mid-section of the lab.
Kaidan placed the bomb into position and breathed a heavy sigh of relief as he released his biotics.
The sentinel reached up and removed his helmet briefly to wipe the sweat from his face. "Finally. So, we're holding position here until they give the all clear?" he asked before firmly sliding the grey helmet over his head and sealing it again.
"That is correct. They should signal when the path has been cleared," said the commander as he opened his omni-tool. Kaidan nodded and pulled one of the chairs over and sat on it. But as soon as he sat down, a loud thud sounded above them. All weapons were aimed at the ceiling, including Kaidan's sub-machine gun.
"What the hell was that?" asked the lieutenant, his eyes darting back and forth on the ceiling.
"Unsure. Cover ventilation just in case," he ordered to one of the operatives. The salarian moved quickly towards the large vent in the ceiling of the room, but as soon as he neared it, a bolt of plasma blasted through the vent and nailed the operative directly in the chest. He spasmed as the heat ate away at his flesh, but they had no time to help as they fired on the wave of geth that was now falling out of the vent works.
Cell Block 2 – Virmire Compound – Virmire
Team Mannovai had cleared the lab full of geth, mad scientists, and a krogan big enough to be comparable to Wrex. The fight took a full five minutes as Wrex faced off against the krogan while Shepard and the others got rid of the geth and scientists. When the fighting was done, Wrex stood over the krogan, burn marks scarring his armor from random geth shots as he breathed heavily.
Ejecting the heat sink on his shotgun, he reached back and pulled another one out before slapping it into his smoking shotgun. Not waiting for the smoke to clear, Shepard led them from the lab into the next room which was lined with more cells. "More test subjects," stated Liara as she looked through the blast shield at them. The lineup was eerily similar. A human, an asari, and a turian inhabited the first three.
All of them seemed much less hostile than the last ones they released, but Shepard wasn't going to take any chances if they weren't cooperative. Suddenly, one of them spoke to her through the communicator in the cell. "Well, you aren't a geth, and you aren't wearing a lab coat. So, I guess I'm glad to see you."
Shepard turned to him and Daros stepped up behind her. "Ganto Imness of the Third Infiltration Regimen. The other half of the men we sent," commented the salarian, his pistol up and ready to fire.
"Lieutenant Daros, good to see you again, brother," said the imprisoned salarian. "If you are here then that means the fleet follows?"
"I'm afraid not. We have the assistance of two Spectres, however," responded Daros as he looked to Shepard. "He seems himself."
"We know this facility holds a krogan cloning technology. But can you tell us what happened to the prisoners in the other room?" asked Shepard quickly as she looked to make sure there weren't any hiding places for sneak attacks.
"I'm unsure of their condition. However, I have learned from Saren's presence here that he is worried," said Ganto, getting the spectre's attention. "He is worried he's losing himself to this indoctrination."
"Indoctrination? From Sovereign?" asked Shepard in surprise.
"Correct. This facility, while it serves as a labor and soldier pool for his army, it is also acting as a testing lab for the effects of indoctrination," he said looking between the pair of them. "What happened in the other lab?"
"Operative Ladus opened Menos' cell before we realized anything was wrong. Menos grabbed his weapon and killed him with it before we could stop him," said the salarian lieutenant. "He mentioned something about whispering."
Ganto closed his eyes in acknowledgement. "I see. Then he was farther along than me," he said solemnly. "I have only heard a low, annoying buzz. We've both been imprisoned for weeks, so I'm unsure what level of the signal he has been exposed to. But it appears whatever level I have been exposed to has allowed me to keep all my faculties. Others… were not so fortunate. They were reduced to mindless husks. The few who died during the integration process were to be envied."
Slowly, the prisoners in the other cells began to gather at the front and stare at Shepard's squad as she stared back at the salarian. "Integration process?"
Ganto shuddered. "Saren took prisoners and… did something to them. I couldn't see what it was, but something was tearing them apart. Burrowing into their flesh. Most didn't survive, but those who did were no longer… alive as we know it. They were changed, cords embedded in their skin, synthetic material like a flesh-eating creature devouring and repurposing. Those who lived became nothing more than mindless servants."
Shepard grimaced slightly at the image, but her mind immediately flashed a picture of the husks created by the geth. "Sick bastard…" she said sourly. "You said Saren was worried. What was he worried about?"
"Presumably the indoctrination. It is indiscriminate in its control. If you are exposed to the signal, you will turn, no matter how strong you think you are. I believe Saren is worried that it was getting to him as well. He wanted to test the effects of the indoctrination to see how it might affect him," replied the prisoner.
"Even he's a victim to indoctrination?" she asked, her eyes wide.
"I know he was affected by it, but I do not know the extent of the control it had over him," said the salarian as his hands came together and he began to fidget. "What do you plan to do with me?" he asked worriedly.
Wrex stepped forward and glared at Ganto through the shield. "The last time we opened one of these cells, the prisoner killed one of our squad. Who's to say you won't do the same?"
Liara shook her head and turned to the spectre. "Shepard, you can see he has his sanity. To leave him here would be heartless."
Ganto nodded to Shepard. "Both of your companions are correct. Nothing I could say could convince you either way."
Shepard's brow furrowed before she turned to Daros. "Thoughts?" she asked him curiously.
"I know Imness. He may have been affected by the indoctrination, but not enough to confuse him about who he is. Still too risky to take along with us," he said with a stern look on his face.
Nodding, Shepard turned to the cells and hacked into their electronic locks. "You and everyone in these cells seem less disturbed than the others we've come across. I'm freeing you to try and get away from this place as fast as you can," she said as she cracked all the locks, causing the cells for each to slide open. "Exit through that door, mind the bodies, take the ramp down in the other lab into the water channel. It'll lead you to a set of walkways with more bodies. You'll find a car port out there, get inside them and flee here as fast as you can. If you do not, you will be annihilated with this place," she ordered as she stepped back and held her pistol up.
"Do not approach us. Head for the exit," ordered Daros as he too held his weapon up.
Despite the salarian's words, the asari stumbled out of her cell and fell to her knees before bowing her head against the ground. "Thank you… thank you for freeing us."
"You're welcome, now go," commanded the spectre. The asari, scrubbing tears from her eyes, rose to her feet again and fled for her life followed by the humans. Imness saluted to Daros in salarian fashion before heading to the door himself. Shepard watched them go, wondering if they would ever return to normal, or if they would always remain victims to the torturous indoctrination signal. She recalled Benezia's words, describing how it felt, and remembered the look of agony on her face as she fought off the effects.
Turning away from the door, she sighed to herself and signaled the others to follow her lead. Those prisoners, if they survived, likely had a long road to recovery ahead of them.
CODEX ENTRIES
Crossed Arms | Culture | Salarian
In early salarian culture, it was believed that when Surakesh pulled your soul free from your body after death, your body was vulnerable. In this state of vulnerability, lost souls could take host over the body, leading to an awakening of the dead much like the human concept of zombies. This belief came from the salarians misunderstanding of their own cold-blooded biology that makes them hibernate deeply when put into environments that are too cold, mimicking closely the traits of death. It was believed that crossing the arms over a dying salarians chest would prevent lost souls from inhabiting the body, and while it's rarely used in the modern age for this literal purpose, it is still seen as a sign of respect for those who have passed on.