7/4 2186
WAR ROOM, SSV NORMANDY.
Losing Mordin was-… It was harder than Mads had expected. It was on level with losing Ashley three years ago. It felt like a stab in the heart. Mordin had been a good friend, and he died a hero. Maybe his time had come, but Mads still felt like he couldn't accept that… And that made him think. Mostly about his other team mates, and just how willing he was to sacrifice them to stop this war.
It was a selfish thought though. This war was much bigger than any of them; it was much bigger than the Normandy. If the Normandy and its crew had to die, so that the rest of the galaxy might live… Then perhaps it would be worth it.
"You alright, Romanov?" Garrus brought Mads out his thoughts. Mads looked over at Garrus, who looked rather concerned.
"Yeah, I'm fine. Just thinking about Mordin I guess." Mads replied. Garrus nodded in some sense of understanding.
"You know… If I had been in charge of this operation then-… I might have been tempted to take that deal. What kept you from taking it? You could have certainly have used the Salarians' help." Garrus asked.
"I'm not entirely sure… But my guts told me not to do it. It felt wrong… The Krogan are about to spill blood for another race than their own. It felt… Unethical to fool them and use them like that. I couldn't do it." Mads answered as he leaned forward on the rails.
"You might be right. We won't know until this war is over. But-..." Garrus held long pause and sighed a bit. "-Maybe you should get some rest. Clear your head. I'll make sure the Normandy doesn't go anywhere. I have been ordered by Victus to coordinate the ships for the crucible anyhow… So, you won't get rid of me any time soon." Garrus suggested and laughed. Mads looked over at Garrus and thought about the proposal for a second or so.
"You might be right… I still got to debrief Hackett though. Lord knows how angry the Salarians might be." Mads replied.
"You go on and debrief Hackett, and then you go and catch some shut eye. We need you at your best, Romanov." Garrus almost ordered.
"Yeah… I'll go and do that." Mads finally agreed. Garrus looked satisfied with the answer, and promptly returned to his duties at the forward cannons. Mads took a deep breath and went into the comm room to try and hail Admiral Hackett. Following the Reapers' destruction of most comm buoys, the connection was always a bit glitchy, especially over long distances.
It took some time, but Hackett did answer. "Captain Romanov. That's one hell of a thing you just pulled off there. Curing the genophage? I never thought I'd live to see the day… Especially not by the hands of a human." Hackett said.
"Yeah… Well, it did come at a cost. Though; Wrex has agreed to deploy his troops to Palaven with immediate effect. But that does mean that-" Before Mads could continue, Hackett caught him off.
"That the Salarians are sitting this one out? I figured they would never accept this outcome as ideal." Hackett finished for him.
"Their support was too costly. I couldn't do it… It would only have come back to bite us in the end." Mads replied.
"I'll accept your judgment on that, Captain. Let's hope we can survive without them. I have no further orders for you at the moment, but stand ready to go at any time." Hackett instructed.
"Roger that, Sir. I'll be ready for deployment whenever you need me." Mads promised.
"Good. Hackett out." And with that, the hologram disappeared from sight. But took a moment to breathe and think on what Garrus had said. Perhaps it was a good thing to get some sleep; it felt like a long time since he had gotten any.
On the way out, Mads bumped into Victus, who quickly turned around to face him. "Romanov. You did well. Wrex has reported that he will honor his agreement, and the first fighters are already on their way. You upheld your end of the deal, time for me to uphold mine. The Turian Hierarchy will stand with Humanity against the Reapers." Victus promised.
"Good-… Good. We need to stand together in order to win. Otherwise, this-" Mads gestured all over the room. "-Will have been for nothing." Mads said.
"I know, and I agree. I have dispatched several dry dock ships to help with the crucible. As I'm sure Garrus has informed you, he is in charge of coordinating them." Victus informed him. Mads nodded. "And when the time comes, I'll deploy the full fleet to help reclaim Earth." Victus once again promised.
"Thank you, Primach." Mads offered him a handshake, one that Victus accepted. They gave each other a nod as well. At least that was a little bit of it settled. Now, Mads could go and get that shut eye he had been ordered to get. If he could even sleep…
His quarter was a mess. It was littered with papers and data pads he hadn't gotten around to reading. It had been some time since he had done a proper clean up, and with how things were at the moment, it wasn't likely to happen any time soon. Mads lit up a cigarette and sat himself down in his chair.
He cleared the table and found his favorite drinking glass, and the tucked away bottle of Vodka. He needed something to sleep, and Vodka had never let him down yet. He exhaled some smoke and drank the contents of the glass quickly. He poured another and drank it just as quickly. He then began the process of removing his boots. They were stuck to his feet like glue, and he realized he hadn't really removed since… Well, he hadn't removed them for a long time.
He always like that expression: 'To die with your boots on'. It felt a lot better or at least more natural than dying of old age. Still, he battled with his boots for a bit, but in the end he got them off. He took another drag of his cigarette and debated with himself if he should go to sleep now, or continue his rampage of his personal bar.
He decided upon the latter. Considering he had been relieved of duty for the next day or so, he might as well utilize it to the fullest. Though Chakwas would probably object to him stuffing himself with alcohol. Not that it matter either way. He finished that bottle within almost record time, and he welcomed the general carelessness that it brought with it.
"What are you looking at?" Mads drunkenly asked the family picture on his desk.
He suddenly found himself in a different environment completely. Without much thought, he moved through the ruined city with ease. What city it was, Mads couldn't tell, only that it was a major one. The buildings were all but gone, in their place was rubble. A major metropolis turned into a battlefield. Mads checked the ammo in his rifle. It wasn't looking too good, he would have to head back and refill soon. Either that, or pick some up from a dead guy.
Where ever the Reapers went, they left a wave of destruction in their path. Everything was to be erased, so that the next civilization to rise would have no clue what had happened the ones before it. Mads killed a few husks that were charging at him, but nothing major seemed to be in his path at the moment. Therefore, he would try and reconnect with his squad. He called out their names; James, Kaminski, Garrus, Liara, Riesman… And Tali. Only one to respond was Tali, and Mads instantly went towards the sound. He climbed atop of the rubble, trying to gain some sort of overview of his surroundings. She kept calling for him, and it was clear that she was in distress and in dire need of help. Mads jumped back down, and ran towards the source of the sound. He finally found her, and he knew what was wrong. She was riddled with bullet holes, and it was clear that no amount of medi-gel could fix what had been done.
Still, he couldn't abandon her. Not now, not ever. She was his soul mate, and there was no way in hell he would ever let her die like this. She did not deserve it, but maybe he did. So, he attempted to heal her wounds with whatever medi-gel he had left.
"It's alright… It's going to be okay. I'm here. I won't leave you." Mads tried to reassure Tali as he attempted to, at the very least, stop the bleeding. Tali yelped as he applied pressure upon her wounds. "You're gonna be okay." He said to her, and he really hoped he it was true.
"Why did you leave me?" She asked, in her meek voice. Mads was stunned and speechless. He didn't know how to respond to her. He felt dumb, but mostly he felt guilt ridden. He kept the pressure on the wound, but Tali was losing consciousness.
"I'm sorry. I'm so sorry." Mads whispered as he kept trying. No matter the odds, he would save her. She died in his arms.
Mads woke up screaming as he jumped from his bed to get the magnum from his nightstand. He quickly scanned and secured his quarters, even though there was no threat present. Never had been. He needed to make sure, so he searched a square inch of his quarters.
Finally, he decided that it was safe. He let the hammer go back on his Magnum and put it back on the nightstand. He sat back down on the bed to catch his breath. That dreaded dream… It would come around every 3 or 4 days. It was probably the highest one to endure of them all. Watching Tali die in his arms… He couldn't do that… he couldn't even think about it.
So, he had to take his mind off it. A cold shower to get him back into reality. It did it's job, perhaps a little to well. Nothing like getting blasted with cold – No, Freezing – Water to wake you up and get ready for the day. He cleaned himself up and finally granted himself a cigarette break.
Those little soldiers of death had carried him through so much. Even though so few people smoked nowadays, he could never stop. They kept him sane… Or they kept him grounded, at least. When everything was going to hell, the cigarette made him keep his calm. Of course, Chakwas would never approve, no one ever would. But as long as it helped him, he would use them.
As he finished the last drag of his cigarette, someone knocked on his door. "Come in!" Mads yelled, and heard the door open within a second of saying it. It was none other than Liara. "What's up?" Mads asked as he rubbed his eyes to clear out the last remains of the sleep.
"Is this a bad time?" She asked, and Mads chuckled.
"Depends on how you look at it. The Reapers are invading us, so yeah; it's a bad time all around." Mads replied in a witty manner.
"Well… I suppose you can look at it that way, so-" Liara still had a lot of the old Liara in her. Not in her combat manner, mind you, but in her normal day-to-day manner.
"Just tell me what you came here to say." Mads requested.
"The Salarian councilor is asking to speak with you in the comm room. I think they want you to come to the Citadel. They must be taking the crucible seriously now!" Liara proclaimed.
"Let's hope so. It's not often the Council takes me serious." Mads replied as he leaned back in his seat.
"Is there something on your mind, Captain?" Liara asked concerned. His voice must have betrayed him.
"I have been thinking about Mordin. I keep trying to think about how I could have saved him-"
"You did everything you could. And from what I heard; it was what he wanted." Liara interrupted him. She was trying to reassure him. But Mads knew that only one person could that…
"I know. Mordin died a hero… And I somehow remembered Ashley. How brave she was in her final moments. She isn't around anymore… And that's because of me." Mads remarked.
"But-"
"Let me finish." Mads requested, and Liara shut up. "Maybe there was no way to do it different. It was either Kaiden or Ashley that had to die that day. I had to choose, and maybe it was the right choice. Maybe it was how it had to be. I don't know… All I know is; I can't change the past. I can only influence the future… Well, maybe I can't even do that. Fate seems to be set in stone nowadays." Mads explained.
"We chose our own fate." Liara replied. Her optimism was to be admired.
"Then it wouldn't be fate, would it?" Mads asked, and he saw that she pondered on that question a bit. "But I do wonder what Ashley would have thought about fighting a whole fleet of reapers." Mads thought out loud.
"My best guess is that she would have called it target practice." Liara replied, and that comment got Mads to chuckle.
"Yeah. That sounds like her alright." Mads remarked. He hoped Ashley was happy in Heaven. He knew she was there. Perhaps that was the optimal place to be during this-… This war. "I'll go down and talk with the councilor in just a second." Mads promised.
"Good. Let me know if there is anything else." Liara replied and quickly went out the door. Mads stepped into the bathroom to wash his face one more time. Maybe Liara was right, maybe the council would finally take this project seriously.
Mads made sure he looked presentable. Not that it matter in the end though. This war had made sure that most meetings were informal anyhow. Mads wondered what the Salarian councilor wanted. Probably nothing good. He figured he would probably get some kind of lecture from him. About how he changed the future for the worst.
It didn't matter now. It was done. He would make no apologies. But, somehow he had a feeling this wouldn't really concern that matter all too much. If anything, the Salarian would probably have taken a step back from him after his little stunt.
Mads quickly made his way into the comm room and pressed the buttons to establish connection. It took a few seconds, but sure enough; The Hologram of the Salarian councilor appeared in front of him. He still looked the same; he hadn't changed much over the last three years. Mads, on the other hand, had changed almost massively. He was quite a bit more muscular and rough around the edges than when he first stepped on the original Normandy three years ago. His beard almost went down to his collarbone and masked most of his lower face. He sported many more scars than ever before… And the list went on really.
"Captain Romanov. I'm glad to see you are alright. I would have expected that rewriting galactic history would have taken more of a toll on someone." Councilor Valern remarked.
"I did what I had to do, councilor. I make no apologies for it. It's not like anyone can really do anything about it now." Mads replied. He was rather annoyed at the councilor's sarcastic tone.
"Yes… Well, in a few decades or so, there will be billions of Krogans in the galaxy. I hope you are ready for that, Captain. Though, it's a good thing you saved my life once… Otherwise… Well, that's not the issue I wanted to talk with you about. I have grave concerns about humanity's representative, Councilor Udina." Valern said, he took a deep breath. "My agents have discovered that he is using his authority to move vast amounts of money around… For what purpose we aren't quite sure." Valern explained, and it was indeed a valid concern.
Mads had never liked Udina. Ever since he first set eyes on that rat prick, he knew that one day he would overstep his boundaries. But now? In the middle of a war? Udina was playing a dangerous game. "I see… We should investigate this further. If Udina is dirty, we need to expose him." Mads replied. Somwehere did down, Mads knew that Udina was guilty of something dirty.
"Agreed. Come to the citadel. We can review the evidence and discuss what to do next in private. Valern out." And so, the councilor's hologram disappeared. Mads sighed, he had hoped for a few more days off, but as it seemed; That was next to impossible to get nowadays.
So, Mads decided to go up and set the course for the Citadel. He would be able to speak with a few of his crew members as well when he was there. It felt like he didn't do much talking these days… Time flew by so quickly, and there just didn't seem to be any reason to bother too much. But he had always placed a premium on having a good relationship with the crew.
He walked through that damned security scan, which the Alliance had, for some reason, deemed absolutely necessary. He gave his magnum to the guards, who quickly passed it through the scanner. He stepped through himself, and unsurprisingly there were no issues… Just like the last fifty times he had done it.
As soon as Mads was out on the other side, and his Magnum was back in his holster, he went over to his terminal to check if there was anything else new for him – There wasn't -. He decided to speak a little bit with Traynor, since he hadn't had the chance in a long time.
"You still hard at work, Traynor?" Mads asked as he leaned against the railing.
"Being underneath your command ensures that I will always work hard, Captain." Traynor replied with a smile.
"Isn't that the sad truth?" Mads laughed. "You falling in good? I know you had your doubts when you.. Well- when you were forced into this position." Mads inquired.
"Yeah… I honestly didn't think I would be cut out for it… But, I have learned a lot within the last few weeks. Watching you in action has certainly given me new perspective. Also, everyone on this vessel is so friendly…. Did you know about Edi installing herself in that body?" Traynor asked.
"Not until she had done it. I thought she and Joker had planned it out together, but apparently not. I remember you talking about how much you.. Erh-… Liked Edi's voice." Mads teased.
"Shut up… My God, I'm going to die of embarrassment..." Traynor's cheeks were a bright red in that moment… With good reason probably.
"So, do you pass the time with doing other things than fantasizing about Edi?" Mads asked curiously.
"Well, yeah. I play a lot of games. Mostly board games." Traynor answered.
"Oh yeah? I know Riesman likes playing chess. Perhaps the two of you could take a game? See who is the better player?" Mads suggested.
"That might not be a bad idea actually… The few people I have played with these last few weeks have been absolute dreadful!" Traynor confessed.
"I know. Chess isn't the biggest part time hobby of this crew. We also got a regular Poker game going, if you like that sort of thing." Mads offered.
"Thanks but no thanks. I don't really like poker… I guess I'm just no good at bluffing." Traynor replied.
"That's quite alright... Anyhow I need to get going. Talk to you later, Traynor." Mads said as he left. He walked up the aisle towards the cockpit where Edi, Joker and Garrus were currently talking… Well, it was mostly Garrus and Joker exchanging jokes with each other. It was nice to see that people weren't overly stressed on the Normandy. That there was still time for some good fun like this.
"Do you know why the Alliance makes Russians Captain of their vessels?" Joker asked, and Mads couldn't wait to see where he would go with this.
"No, I don't. Why do they make Russians Captain?" Garrus asked back.
"Well, it's so they can quickly replace them with Americans as soon as the Russians died from rushing the enemy." Joker replied, and as soon as the last words, Mads came down from his behind and took Joker into a choking position.
"That wasn't even funny!" Mads said as he pretended to choke Joker out.
"Well Hello Captain. Didn't see you there." Joker replied as he struggle to get Mads off again. "Garrus and I are just sharing some jokes." He added.
"I figured." Mads said as he let go off Joker again. "Any good ones?" Mads asked.
"Tell him the one about me." Joker requested and Mads looked over at Garrus.
"Why does the Alliance hire pilots with brittle bone disease?" Garrus asked.
"No way. The Turians actually have one about Joker?" Mads asked with a laugh.
"They sure do. I heard it myself from a private back on Palaven." Garrus replied.
"Oh, I can't wait to hear this one." Mads proclaimed.
"It's so that their marines can actually win a sparring match with someone." Garrus said, and it learned a laugh from Mads.
"That's a good one." Mads admitted.
"You know Captain. I never thought I'd live to see an Alliance between the Turians and the Krogan. I mean, even the Reapers must be sweating and shitting bricks at that thought." Joker said.
"They already are." Garrus confirmed.
"Well, if the Reapers know fears, they will fear that." Mads remarked.
"And… Urh… I'm sorry about Mordin." Joker said, with a surprising amount of sincerity in his voice.
"Mordin was a damn hero. Never thought I'd see him go out like that… But he died braver than most." Mads replied.
"Yeah, he was a good man. Although he was always running those test. You know, one time he tagged me in the middle of the night to ask how many livers humans have." Joker shared. "And this bump on my elbow-" Joker showed it off to them. "Mordin said it was just a slight bone deformation… But I'm pretty sure he stuck a probe in there… Or something." Joker explained, and Mads chuckle a little.
"I always thought he was crazy. Useful, but crazy. Then goes and gives up his own life..." Garrus remarked.
"To save the Krogan! Doesn't do much to disprove the crazy theory, huh?" Joker added.
"I guess not. But he was one of ours." Garrus said.
"So now that the Turians and Krogan are buddies… What happens next?" Joker asked.
"The Krogan will come and help turn the tide on Palaven. They can actually shoot at something useful for a change." Garrus replied as he gestured for Mads to follow him.
"Dig until we hit daylight, huh? Works for me." Joker remarked as he looked back to his terminal. Garrys and Mads walked a few steps before stopping again.
"So, how does it feel to know that the Krogan will sing battle songs of you for the rest of time?" Garrus jokingly asked. "I'd bet it must feel pretty good." He added.
"I'm glad at least something went right. It felt good to know that I made a change… Not so sure I would approve of those battle songs though." Mads replied with a slight chuckle.
"Can't really say I have ever witnessed history in the making before… Well, there was taking down Saren, saving the Citadel and finishing the collectors. But… This one felt good." Garrus remarked.
"I'd say the other ones felt good as well." Mads replied.
"Let's just hope Wrex keeps running the show on Tuchanka. Perhaps we should consider hiring a food taster for him? Imagine how fast it could go down the drain if someone like that thick headed brother of his took over" Garrus theorized.
"I'd rather not think about it… But it's always a possibility." Mads agreed.
"Anyhow… Did you get some sleep?" Garrus asked.
"Sort of…" Mads replied.
"You know… We could head down and get a few drinks before we get to the citadel?" Garrus offered.
"That might not be such a bad idea." Mads replied. They both went down to let off a little steam.
A few hours later…
Engineering Department.
The last time Mads was on the citadel, he had taken the liberty to… Pardon Kenneth and Gabriela. They had been caught in the Alliance purge after the Normandy was taken in… Only because Mads had reminded Hackett of their deal, did they manage to still be free. Now, they were back on the Normandy, which was damn great. They had been nothing but good luck for the ship so far.
Engineer Adams was also back, and he was still as good a chief engineer as ever. They had asked Mads to source them a GX12 Thermal Pipe. It had been hard to track down, granted, but he had managed to find one. They had been quick in installing it… Since it made sure they wouldn't vaporize if the Normandy came under heavy fire.
"I'm real glad you got Kenneth and Gabriela on board, Captain. They sure know their stuff." Adams remarked as he turned around to face Mads.
"Of course they know their stuff. I wouldn't have busted them out of jail if they were worthless. Though I wonder if they can work under a human now, they used to be bossed around by Tali." Mads replied with a slight laugh, Adams joined him.
"Ah yes, I heard about that. Tali as Chief Engineer? Not too bad to be honest. She was always a smart cookie that one. I hope I get the chance to work with her again." Adams confessed.
"Yeah… Me too. Anyhow, did everything go smoothly with the installation?" Mads asked.
"Yes, it did. And as a matter of fact, Kenneth and Gabriela have been cooking up some ideas about it. I compared some notes with Edi, and it seems like with some tweaking, we have deduced theoretical improvements to the ship's eezo capacitors. On a larger scale, this can't be that useful on the Normandy, but maybe the crucible could use it?" Adams suggested.
"Good idea. Send it over to them. They could use all the help they can get." Mads replied.
"Done." Adams said as he finished sending it. "Although, I have something confess, Captain." Adams said.
"Go ahead, Adams." Mads said as he leaned up against the railing.
"Well… It's just that… When Chakwas was head hunted for Cerberus, she called me up to ask if I wanted to join her. I-… Well, I didn't believe you were really back. I saw the Normandy go down… And, it sure didn't look survivable…. But, seeing you now… I made me realize that I should have joined you back then." Adams explained.
"Well… I don't blame you for not joining, Adams. Serving under Cerberus wasn't always easy… And you had no way of knowing. I'm just glad to have you here now." Mads reassured Adams.
"Well, one thing to compliment Cerberus on; They sure know how to build a good ship. Even though they made the oversight with the Thermal Pipe… Anyhow, I won't keep you any more, Captain." Adams said as he swung around to continue his work on his terminal.
"Yeah, I'll see you around." Mads remarked, as he left the room as well.
Mads talked with quite a few of his crew members over the following hours. Javik told him about how he could read what people had been on the Normandy before, and it was rather interesting. He could accurately say things about the former crew members without having ever met them. In some ways, the Protheans were truly more advanced than Mads thought.
But, Javik's whole existence seemed… Sad, or at least his view of his existence seemed sad. Doomed to only fight, and nothing else. Perhaps it reminded Mads a bit too much of himself. Javik ideas of society were also… Interesting, to say the least. Almost hardcore Darwinism. Survival of the fittest. Mads knew that there was little to do in regards to convincing the Prothean about anything else… But he tried anyway.
Liara seemed less than pleased with how Javik turned out. She had expected some noble scholar, an advocate for peace and all that. Instead, she got a warrior that only saw the galaxy one way. Mads wondered how it must have felt, to have all your life's work be made almost null when you actually see the truth… Must be horrible.
Anyhow, Javik was excited about the Reaper being killed on Tuchanka, and he hoped for many more to come, even though the fight would be hard. Mads agreed with him, killing that Reaper felt good, even though Kalros was the one to do it. Joker had remarked that they just needed a gun that fired giant Thresher Maws… Wasn't a bad idea actually.
With that in mind, Mads went down to the Cargo bay. Mostly with the intention of speaking with the low lives down there. James was, as always, hard at work with his routine work out. Seemed like the guy could never stop with that… Some people were just plain addicted to it. Cortez was working on the shuttle.
Mads had a very interesting conversation with Cortez. Turned out he used to have a husband, who died in one of the collector attacks… Nothing quite like losing your spouse. Mads understood why Cortez worked himself to the bone all day long… That's one of the key ways to deal with loss… Alongside a heavy diet of alcohol… Mads tried to encourage Cortez to move on, but that's a hard thing to convince someone to do, when you haven't even done it yourself.
Still, Cortez remarked that he enjoyed watching ships leave and enter a terminal, or a dry dock… It made his mind at ease. So, Mads suggested Cortez go to the terminal on the Citadel and watch some ship fly off there, which should help Cortez relax a little. There was probably no way for Cortez to ever fully recover for that sort of trauma… Best bet would be to try and rekindle it with someone else… Hopefully he would find someone someday that would be able to fill out the empty void.
James was just as thick headed as usual, but something interesting emerged. James vented the thought that he had thought about getting a tattoo done, as a way of making him joining the N7 program official. He had thought about going to A Batarian on the Citadel with it, but Mads had protested that. Instead, Mads offered to do it for him, as soon as he got his hands on a tattoo kit. Mads had some experience with it.
9/4 2186
SSV NORMANDY.
"Normandy to the Citadel. Requesting permission to dock. Over." Joker politely requested. He waited patiently for a response. Mads was just behind him, and was rather confused at how slow they were at responding to them. Seemed awfully weird, even though the traffic controllers were overworked, they still responded relatively quickly.
"Normandy to the Citadel. Please respond. Over." Joker repeated and waited for a few more seconds. Nothing came this time either.
"Try the emergency channel. Perhaps something is going on." Mads suggested as he leaned forward and rested his arms on the top of Joker's seat. Joker switched to the emergency channel, and sure enough; Something was waiting for them.
"Hello? Yeah?… No kidding…. Sure, I'll get the Captain." Joker replied to someone. "Captain. There is communication from Thane… He says it's important. Might wanna listen to it." Joker suggested.
"Put him through." Mads ordered, and Joker did just that.
"Romanov. This is Thane. Cerberus has attempted a coup on the Citadel. They are everywhere and they are in control of the docks." Thane explained.
"Are you safe?" Mads asked concerned.
"Barely. I had to evade their commandos at the hospital. I'm currently hiding out in a presidium store front." Thane answered.
"What about Kaiden? Is he alright?" Mads asked further.
"I don't know. We got separated. He said he had to protect the council. I'm going to the C-sec headquarters." Thane replied.
"And why are you doing that?" Mads questioned.
"They have been compromised. As long as Cerberus control their HQ, they are flying blind. If we can liberate it, then they might have a chance at re-taking the station." Thane replied and he sounded more and more out of breath.
"Copy that." Mads said. "Joker, get us to the C-Sec HQ. We'll deploy in the shuttle." Mads ordered.
"Aye aye, Captain. I'll have it done in a jiffy." Joker replied.
The entire team had loaded up. Garrus, Liara, James, Riesman, Kaminski and Javik. They were taking back the station, no matter what. It was a pretty ballsy move by Cerberus. It made sense though, they had probably managed to convince Udina to join their ranks. With his help, they had almost unlimited access to the station.
The entire station is in chaos. It felt just like when Saren invaded three years ago… And now it was happening again, and the station was still not prepared for it. Perhaps this time they would actually wake up and smell the ashes of the conflict. There was heavy fighting at C-sec HQ, and many brave servicemen gave their life in an almost futile effort to stop Cerberus.
Good thing Mads came when he did. Cortez dropped them off just at the very edge of the C-sec docks, they would have to fight their way to the offices. "Garrus, Take Riesman, James and Liara with you. Go that way!" Mads ordered as he pointed to the left catwalk. "I'll take the rest and clear the right side!" Mads added.
"Copy that!" Garrus replied as he took point with his squad. Mads was damn proud of Garrus' leadership capabilities, he had greatly improved since their first meeting. Mads took the left side and made his way with Kaminski and Javik.
The Cerberus troops were there in numbers. But, they had hoped if they moved fast they could secure the station without too much trouble. Seems that C-Sec had at least put up some resistance to their invaders. Too bad that many of them were dead already, they had fought bravely to protect the council, who were probably sitting with their feet kicked up at the moment.
In the chaos of the fighting, Mads saw Commander Bailey take a bullet by the front door. He went down, but Mads wasn't sure if he was dead or not. Mads barked some more orders to his comrades, and made sure they moved a bit faster. Having Bailey on his side would help make things easier. He knew the system inside and out.
Mads was getting tired of fighting Cerberus at every turn. He felt it was much productive to kill Reapers, but somehow Cerberus happened to interfere all the damn time. The theory that the Reapers and Cerberus was in bed together was becoming more and more obvious as the days went by. Fighting others humans in this conflict felt… Wrong. Like killing your brethren while invaders burned your fields.
They fought hard to get to Bailey, but they managed to beat the Cerberus troops back and give themselves a moment of pause to collect themselves. They rushed to the side of Commander Bailey, who wasn't doing too hot. Kaminski was quick to tend to his wounds.
"Holy shit! Are you alright Bailey?" Mads asked concerned as he came to Bailey's side.
"It will take more than a bullet to stop me." Bailey replied, although it was through grinded teeth. Kaminski applied some medi-gel as best he could in that situation. "I'll stop Cerberus from taking this Station, even if it is the last thing I'll ever do." Bailey promised.
"If you don't stop moving so much, it will be the last thing you'll ever do." Kaminski suggested as he finished up cleaning the wound.
"We need to get going. Can you help us in?" Mads asked Bailey, who simply nodded as Kaminski slowly helped him up.
"I'll get the door for you-" Bailey said as he limped his way over to the console with Kaminski's help. With a few commands, it opened up for them. Garrus and his side of the team linked up with them as they headed inside. "Over here." Bailey said as he pointed to the desk in front of them. Kaminski lowered Bailey into the seat and made sure that the wound was as healed as it could be in that moment. "I can regain entry into the system from here… Courtesy of Cerberus." Bailey remarked as he logged back into the system.
"How will that help us?" Mads asked. He wasn't sure just how much the C-sec system was worth at this point… There were more pressing matters to attend to.
"Cerberus has control over the main channels… But I can set up a new one… Without it, our people are flying blind with no plan and no chance-" Bailey was interrupted by a notification on the terminal he was operating at the moment. "-Hello..." Bailey said.
"Tell me you got something." Mads requested.
"Oh, I got something alright. It's a warning from Councilor Valern. He is supposed to be here, meeting with the executor. 'Be on guard. The likelihood of betrayal from inside is high…' Not much else, but if he is inside…" Bailey explained.
"I need the councilor alive. Where do you think he is at?" Mads asked. If the councilors were all dead, this could spell even more trouble.
"The executor's office is quite defensible, it's possible that he might have holed up there when the shooting started. I'd start there if I were you." Bailey suggested.
"Copy that. I'll see if I can find him." Mads replied as he gestured for his teammates to move out.
"Just a sec!" Bailey stopped him. He pressed a few commands on his omni-tool that allowed for them to communicate. "That should allow us to speak over the omni-tool… Good luck Romanov." Bailey said.
"Thanks. We'll be back in a jiffy." Mads promised as he ordered his team mates to move out. They had a lot of ground to cover, and they had find Thane as well.
10 minutes later.
Executor's office, C-Sec HQ.
"Where the fuck is he?" Mads muttered as he searched the office. The Executor was dead, shot by Cerberus operative. It was clear that the councilor was here at some point, and until Mads saw a corpse he wasn't counting the Salarian dead. Mads took a look out the window and down into the courtyard below, and saw the most puzzling thing. One of the chairs moved on it's own. Mads had to blink his eye a few times to make sure he wasn't seeing things.
Mads knew that Thane was indeed on his way. Although it would take a lot of effort, since his illness wasn't really doing him any favors at the moment. Mads saw the shape of a person stand up and de-cloak… It was the Councilor safe and unharmed.
"That sneaky bastard." Mads laughed as observed the councilor checked the room to see if it was safe. Mads turned around to tell Bailey and Thane that he had found councilor alive. Bailey ordered him to get Valern somewhere safe before it was too late. When Mads looked back, he saw a new figure had appeared. It wasn't Thane… In fact, he didn't know who it was… Other than the fact that it was a Cerberus operative.
The Cerberus operative was moving towards the Salarian councilor with deadly intent. Mads had to act quickly if he was to avoid losing the Councilor. He shot out the glass of the window to get down faster. It was quite a drop, he was at the scene in just mere seconds. Compared to the rest of his team, who took the stairs.
This assassin appeared to be a great fan of the Samurai, at least if you took notes from that Katana he wielded. However, Mads was in no mood to play dress up. "Put the sword down before you hurt yourself!" Mads ordered with a harsh commanding tone. However, the assassin barely acknowledged his presence.
The rest of his team trained their guns at the would be assassin. Valern began to try and convey the information regarding Udina to Mads. He told Mads that Udina wanted to hand over the other councilors to Cerberus, effectively giving Cerberus the best bargaining chip they could ever get.
"Give it up pal. You got no chance." Mads suggested.
"Oh, this only makes it more interesting." The Assassin responded. He clearly thought highly of himself. Mads cocked his hammer back and began to line up his shot. The Cerberus assassin began to charge up his biotics, getting ready for the kill. Only he was interrupted by a very familiar Drell.
Mads hadn't seen Thane, he had been too focused on the Cerberus operative. But, then again, Thane never really let his presence be known unless he wanted it to. He too with a gun next to the head of the wannabe Samurai, and he was just about to pull the trigger and end it all. Only this assassin was quick with his hands and feet. He began to fight with Thane.
Mads wanted to intervene, but Thane kept getting in his line of fire. There was little chance that Mads could fire and not get friendly fire in the mix. But, watching Thane whoop this little bastard's ass wasn't bad. Despite Thane's illness, he could easily keep up with the Cerberus operative. That was probably due to that Thane fought not with brute strength, but rather effectively. If nothing else, at least Mads made sure the councilor got behind them, so that he was safe.
Finally, the Assassin managed to tackle Thane, but he was back in his feet in mere seconds. Thane fired a few rounds off, only to hit nothing but air. It seemed clear that the councilor wasn't the only one with a cloaking device in this room. The assassin reappeared and once again took on Thane. They struggled for dominance for a while, but it seemed neither of them were the better man.
Until that damned assassin cut his blade right through Thane's torso. Mads was in pure shock as he watched it happen. He couldn't believe it… Even with Thane's illness, he always seemed… Immortal in some way. But watching that blade cut through Thane's skin was enough for Mads to know that Thane was done for.
"FUCK! NO! THANE!?" Mads yelled as Thane hit the ground like a rag doll. Completely lifeless. "YOU MOTHERFUCKER! YOU'LL PAY FOR THAT!" Mads yelled as he emptied his chamber at the Assassin. Whoever that operative was, he was that quick on his feet. Mads didn't land a single shot, and he usually considers himself one of the better marksman around.
Mads went after the assassin. There was no way in hell he would get away with this. He would kill that Samurai Jack wannabe, even if it was the last thing he would ever do. The Cerberus operative jumped off the balcony and it looked like he went into free fall. Mads ran all the way to the edge to see where the little prick had landed. Turns out the fucker had an escape plan as well. A car had been waiting for him.
Watching that little bitch get away with a smug look on his face was one of the most cursed thing Mads had ever laid his eyes on. Pure rage ran through his veins. He felt like punching something. As he looked back to see where the others were, he saw Thane in the doorway, firing off a few last defying shots at the car.
"Thane! For Christ sake, are you alright?" Mads frantically asked as he began to check Thane's wound. It was even worse than he thought.
"I have time… Go catch him..." Thane replied with a slight cough.
"I got him Romanov." Kaminski reassured both Mads and Thane as he went to apply medi-gel to the wound. Everyone knew it was already too late. The amount of blood Thane was losing… Compared with his illness made sure that Thane's chances couldn't be lower.
"Romanov! What's going on?" Bailey asked over the comm.
"Thane needs medical attention, and fast! I'm going after the dipshit assassin" Mads answered as he got back up.
"He must be going after the rest of the council." Bailey theorized.
"Get the word out. Udina is a power hungry prick who is trying on the crown for size. I'll make sure the councilors will make it." Mads requested.
"Roger that. I'll spread the word… Let me get a car for you as well-… Just a sec." Bailey said as he pressed some commands on his end. Within a few seconds, a C-Sec police car showed up, ready to take them where ever they needed to go. Bailey gave them directions and told them that he would try and raise them on the comm… However unlikely it might be.
10 minutes later.
It felt like they were chasing the assassin all over the citadel. It only made matters worse than he sabotaged their car and forced them to crash land. They had to proceed on foot, and time was running out fast. Without the council, the entire galaxy would be in chaos, and making alliance would be even more difficult than it already was. Mads wasn't really interested in letting that happen, so he ran like there was no tomorrow.
He had updated Bailey on their situation, and was making sure that everyone was doing what they could to get this shit show under control. Perhaps blind luck had stepped in, or maybe it was fate. But during their path to get to the council, they ran straight past the bar/restaurant that Mads owned. Mads simply had to stop and see if Tony and Olga was okay. It felt wrong to not do so.
Just as he got to the front door, he heard two loud gunshots from inside. Mads quickly busted the door open and forced his way inside. Only to be stared down by the blackness of the double barrels of Tony's shotgun. He was still in his bartender clothes, and on the otherwise nice floor was the bloody mess of two Cerberus soldiers.
"Romanov? Is that you?" Tony asked in disbelief as he lowered his shotgun.
"It is indeed. Sorry to interrupt you." Mads replied in a joking manner. "Are you and Olga alright?" Mads asked concerned.
"Yes… These two pricks here thought that you might be in here, hiding… Considering you own the place and all. Too bad they hadn't counted on the bartender packing heat." Tony replied with a slight laugh.
"I see… Well, stay down and stay out of sight. I have to go save the council." Mads ordered.
"Copy that boss man. I won't be going anywhere." Tony replied with a mocking salute. He returned behind the counter and reloaded his double barrel shotgun. Mads bid him farewell and got back on his way to the elevators. It felt good knowing that the shotgun had been a wise investment all those years ago. Nice to know it came in good use finally.
After all this was over, Mads would probably relocate them somewhere safe. Even if they managed to secure the citadel, it felt like it was less than optimal to keep them here. But never mind that, there were bigger things at hand.
Mads caught a glimpse of the assassin in the elevator before the doors closed. While Mads fired off a few shots, none of them hit. He was really cursing his aim today… It seemed worse than ever. Garrus and James pried the other elevator doors open just in time for them to have a shot at catching up… Luckily Bailey was on their side as well. He made sure that the Assassin's elevator stopped at every fucking floor on the way.
And when that failed… Well, you could always just shot the power cables and force the fucking thing down again. They did that several times during their ride up. But, the tension was still high. That Assassin was nothing if not resourceful, every time they gained a step, he came right up beside them.
Way up top, Kaiden was escorting the council to their shuttle in an attempt to get them to safety. Now Kaiden didn't know about Udina's little push for power, and so he was still blindly loyal to the human councilor. Mads hoped to God he wouldn't have to kill Kaiden… He sure as shit didn't have Kaiden in any way. He never had, and you can't fault someone for being ignorant.
Somehow, they still manged to get up top before Cerberus did. Garrus and Riesman locked the door behind them as they got out to the council. The council was shocked to find their shuttle destroyed, and even more shocked to see Mads there. They were more confused than anything… Well, anyone but Udina was confused.
Mads lifted his gun to point it at Udina. He wanted to take the shot so bad…
"Romanov! What's going on?" Kaiden asked confused.
"Romanov is blocking our escape! He is still with Cerberus!" Udina lied. That only made Mads even more angry.
"Just hang on! - I got this. Everyone calm down!" Kaiden ordered.
"Put the gun down, Kaiden! I came here for that rat Udina. He is the one with Cerberus!" Mads replied.
"Romanov… Why should I believe you? Drawing your gun on a councilor like that looks kinda bad." Kaiden pointed.
"That's enough Kaiden! Udina is behind this attack, the Salarian councilor confirmed it!" Mads argued.
"Please. You have you proof… Somehow, you never do." Udina said with a smug fucking look on his face, and Mads wanted nothing more than to blow it straight to hell.
"There are Cerberus troops right behind that door!-" Mads pointed back to the door they had sealed. "If you open that door, I can fucking guarantee you that they will kill you all." Mads informed them. There was a moment of silence as the tension still rose.
"We have mistrusted Romanov before… And it did not help us." The Asari councilor remarked.
"We don't have time to debate. We are dead if we stay out here! I'm overriding the locks!" Udina said as he went over the console. Mads took a few steps forwards to get a better shot. At first, Kaiden went in front of him, and Mads feared what might happen next… But Kaiden finally took Mads' word for once, he looked at Mads and said.
"I'd better not regret this."
"You won't. I promise you." Mads replied. They both trained their guns on Udina, in fact, all of Mads' squad did. A lot of guns on that rat prick all of a sudden.
"Udina, step away from the console." Kaiden ordered.
"You better listen." Mads advised as he took a few more steps forwards.
Udina, like the idiot he was, refused and began to override it anyway. Kaiden hesitated with shooting him, and the Asari councilor decided to try and stop Udina one last time. In ended in her falling on her ass and Udina pointing a gun at her. Mads knew there was no time to debate this with anyone. He shot Udina in the shoulder, he wanted a last word with him before he died.
Udina fell on the ground, grunting in pain. Kaiden looked over at Mads with a shocked look. Mads quickly walked over to Udina as Kaiden helped the other councilors up again. Mads emptied the chamber of his magnum and let the empty cartridges fall right down besides Udina. He reloaded the Magnum and he began t speak.
"You know what, Udina? For the past three years, I've had to see your dumb face every time I had to talk with the council. I hated it them, and I hate it now. Life time politiceans like you might not understand, but people like me… Well, we only know how to kill. For the last 190 years, all I have done is kill; I killed for my country-" Mads shot Udina in the leg."I killed for my family-" Mads shot him in the Stomach. "-I killed to save the galaxy.. Twice-" Mads shot Udina in the Shoulder. "In fact, I killed everybody that got in my way-" Mads fired once more, and hit Udina in the upper Torso. Udina rolled over and spat out a huge amount of blood.
"But this kill? Well… This one is for me..." Mads shot the fucker right in the forehead. Warm blood oozed out of the wound as Mads once again reloaded his magnum. Just as Mads finished with his reload, the door began to be welded open again. Everyone quickly turned their guns to the door. They all awaited the Cerberus troops that no doubt were inside.
Only it wasn't Cerberus troops… It was Bailey. He was back on his feet again, which was nice. "Bailey?" Mads asked confused.
"We came as fast as we could… But, erh… Looks like you already handled things." Bailey replied.
"Hold up… Something doesn't add up. You said that there were Cerberus troops behind that door." The Asari councilor pointed out.
"Cerberus was indeed right here, but they high tailed it to the Keeper tunnels as soon as they saw us coming… Sorry councilor, but I'll give it to you straight: Romanov just saved your asses." Bailey explained. The Turian councilor approached Mads.
"Then you have saved my life twice now. I owe not just a personal debt, but also a debt on behalf of Palaven." The Turian councilor said.
"Well, as much as I would like to cash that in right now… You don't owe me much of anything, councilor. We have to stand together… If we are ever going to survive this." Mads replied, and that stinged like hell to say.
"Captain… Do you have any idea why the Illusive man did this?" The Turian councilor asked.
"My best guess is that he wanted to get the station and use it for himself. Throw us into Chaos or something like that… But, well… I don't actually know." Mads replied. No one really knew, besides the Illusive man himself.
Bailey told them to get a move on. Their job was far from done… there was no telling how many more Cerberus troops there was on the station, and they still had to be careful. That assassin was out there somewhere… But at least the council was safe for now, and they could re-secure the station in due time… So this was a small victory… Although it came at a heavy cost.
But finally killing Udina was good… Mads had wanted to do that since he list met the man three years ago. They had beaten back Cerberus and shown that they are not easily defeated. Mads only hoped that Thane could be saved in some way… He didn't want to see him go so soon.