Disclaimer: I do not own Mass Effect or any of its characters. They are products of BioWare, EA and certainly not me. This fan fiction is for entertainment purposes; no profit or intrusion of copyrightis intended.
Shepard gripped the overhead bar of the shuttle and shifted his weight for balance during the flight from the Normandy to the planet. He scanned the gathered crew, his entire squad. The shuttle was cramped but none complained, instead merely sat or stood quiet, sobered. The air was thick with tension and uncertainty. Within the next few weeks, they would make the jump through the Omega 4 relay with little likelihood of return. Amazing how the realization of one's own mortality weighted on the mind.
The only two who appeared unaffected were Samara and Thane. He understood Thane's acceptance. After saving his son, Thane was resigned to his own death - whether by natural causes or firefight. Shepard often wondered how Thane found such peace in a time of stress and impending death. Perhaps because Thane knew that death was unavoidable so was there no point in fear or resistance.
Samara, on the other hand, found peace in her code. Shepard understood the concept but could not personally relate. With the death of Morinth, the justicar finally achieved her long sought-after goal. Samara's code required her to enact justice in all manner of things. A never ending task. He spoke to her once about it in the days after their mission on Omega to stop the renegade Ardat-Yakshi. Her words stuck in his mind, vividly. 'Injustice will always be. And I will act as my code demands to those injustices that I witness.'
The key to her code - 'That I witness.' Of course there would always be murderers, swindlers, rapists, thieves and if someone obsessed over all the rampant injustices and crimes, it would drive anyone insane. 'To dwell upon the crimes and injustices that one cannot change brings only madness, for one's influence can only stretch so far. It is in bringing justice to those that we touch which brings satisfaction of the code.'
Her words often echoed in his mind especially during times of self doubt. He was only one man. How could he change the galaxy? He couldn't, but if instead he could make a difference somehow to those around him - his friends, his squad, his lover. Maybe that was enough.
The Illusive Man and Miranda placed him on a pedestal for stopping Saren and Sovereign. Was it deserved? Could anyone else have stopped Sovereign? Anderson could have and so could any good soldier. Shepard never understood what made him so special that Cerberus invested billions to resurrect him from the dead. Resurrection. Another crazy concept he couldn't wrap his head around. He stopped trying to think about that and the philosophical or theological connotations of coming back from the dead never mind how they physically did it.
Was there a soul? Was he really the same person if there was a soul? What happened between his death and resurrection and if there was a soul, why couldn't he remember the time that passed? If there was no afterlife, what was the point of being good or true? Why not just look out for himself? Why should he risk his ass all the time for nothing? No reward? Death, darkness, nothing. He could have a few years with Miranda on a beach somewhere. Or a few years with Garrus at the bars or just relaxing and not dodging bullets.
He was tired, beyond tired. The war never ended and all he wanted to do was stop. Rest … breathe. He scanned the shuttle again.
Miranda leaned against the far wall, eyes distant in thought. She wore a form-fitted light plated armor and held a helmet in her hand. A submachine gun was holstered at her hip. Across from Miranda sat Jack who leaned forward in the chair with arms resting casually on her knees, feet planted to the floor. In her hand, she held a pistol and rhythmically twirled it by the trigger guard for a second before catching it at the pistol grip. The process repeated, the gun swirling, its barrel pointed at Miranda in the process. The Operative's eyes shot towards the gun with each swirl but she made no attempt to stop it or interfere. A stand-off. Jack challenged, threatening and waiting for Miranda to bite. But Miranda was too smart to that. And Jack was too careful. The intent was not to shoot, Shepard knew, but to make the other nervous. A taunt.
Garrus approached Shepard from behind. "Jacob says we're about five minutes out. Smooth ride with him behind the controls. You could sleep like a baby on this thing. Well if you didn't know we were off to infiltrate another rogue Cerberus facility."
"And get shot at," Tali added beside him. "Don't forget being shot at."
"Well, of course," Garrus commented, mandibles twitching with amusement. "That's a requirement to be in the club."
Shepard smirked and shook his head. "I'm pretty sure this isn't a club most people want to join."
"That's right. Very exclusive." Tali agreed.
Garrus pointed to the healed but disfiguring scar on his face. "And the initiation is a real bitch."
"Hah," Zaeed scoffed. "Shepard's more committed than that pussy scar. Bastard died and came back for the game. Can't top that."
"Not by choice," Shepard answered. Miranda's eyes darted to his at the words but she made no other reaction.
"That must chafe, Cheerleader," Jack said and sat back, holstering her pistol at her waist. "So Shepard, happy to be back in the shit show?"
"Of course," he answered with a confident grin and slammed an armored palm on Garrus's chest. "I wouldn't miss this. Can't have him hogging all the glory. Alright. So here's the plan. According to our scans, the facility has three landing bases: north, south and west. From the layout forwarded to me from the Illusive Man, our best bet is to land on the western pad and infiltrate from there. It's closest to security and life support. The entire facility is underground, an entrance about two hundred meters from the landing pad. After we land, Jacob is going to keep the shuttle on the ground and ready. I'll need two volunteers to stay with him and keep the landing pad clear. Anyone?"
"I'll stay," Zaeed volunteered. "Rather take it easy than get my fuckin' head blown off by some damn turret with an attitude."
"I will stay as well, Shepard," Thane offered with a polite inclination of the head.
"Thanks. The rest of us will move into the facility. Secure the entry way. According to the Illusive Man, there is a checkpoint fifty meters beyond the external door. It was initially for decontamination and security of the facility. Once there, we'll make our next call."
The shuttle shook and rocked in the volatile atmosphere of the icy planet. Wind gust and snow whirled in funnel-like patterns. Shepard tightened his grip on the bar as he braced himself for the landing. Wind howled as frozen pellets of ice pounded against the sides of the shuttle. Shepard fastened his helmet to his armored suit. "Everyone ready? Sounds like it'll be hell out there."
"Why the fuck did I agree to this shit again?" Jack questioned with snark.
"It was the only way you were getting off that prison ship alive," Miranda replied coolly.
"That's what you think," Jack pointed a finger at Miranda and stepped up to the other woman, hostile. "I could have flayed you alive, Cerberus bitch."
"Save it for later," Shepard interrupted, taking the assault rifle from his back.
"Yeah," Zaeed added. "And we'll have ya roll around in a ring too. Be good for morale."
"Focus!" Shepard commanded and slammed his fist into the trigger button for the door of the shuttle. The door swung upwards and a blast of wind whirled into the shuttle; Shepard staggered at the blow but leaned forward. "Move out! Grunt, you're on point."
Grunt casually pulled the shotgun from his back and jumped out of the shuttle, landing hard on the landing pad. He sunk into the snow up to his knees. "It's deep here, Shepard."
Samara gracefully exited, her biotics flared but with the harsh conditions, even she sunk into the snow. Shepard followed and turned his back into the wind as he tapped on his omni-tool. He pointed to his left. "That way. West … two hundred meters."
"I can get us through the snow," Samara called to the Commander. "Stay behind me." The asari outstretched her hands and from her body a spherical biotic bubble erupted. The energy of the bubble pushed the surrounding snow out in a puff of white powder. The bubble retracted, the asari stepped forward and the biotics exploded out again.
The squad moved slowly through the snow behind Samara's lead but within an hour, they reached the sealed doors of the nearest building. "Tali, get the door," Shepard ordered and stood beside Grunt, assault rifle raised and pointed at the door. Grunt readied his shotgun as Shepard motioned the rest of his squad to stay in cover at the side.
Tali worked quickly, hacking the locked system. "It keeps overriding my attempts. It is … changing the entry code before I can hack it."
Grunt shook his head and pushed towards the terminal. "Make way." He shoved Tali aside and glared at the terminal.
A metallic and monotone voice spoke over the communications network. "Access denied."
Grunt pointed his shotgun at the terminal.
"Wait!" Tali called and reached out.
Grunt fired. "Too late." The console shorted and sparked, black and singed from the blast.
Shepard shook his head and activated the holographic bayonet blade of his weapon. "Garrus. Take point. Grunt, the door." He stabbed the bayonet blade into the seam at the center of the closed main door. He moved the gun back then forth, carefully prying the door.
Grunt stood ready at Shepard's side and he quickly gripped the door when Shepard inched the door open, Grunt braced it. With a low roar, he pushed on the door, forcing it to open and the krogan stepped into the doorway, arms extended as he held it open. "Get moving, Shepard," he growled, muscles trembling with the strain.
"Everybody in," Shepard motioned to the door. "Go, Garrus. Go."
Without hesitation, the turian ducked under Grunt's arm and stepped through the doors into the darkened building. The team moved quickly and once all were inside, Grunt jumped in and the doors slammed closed behind him.
"I assume you have a plan to get us out?" Miranda asked.
"Psh, I always have a plan," Shepard replied with a grin. "Ready?" He asked Grunt.
"I usually hate his plans," Tali commented.
The Krogan nodded and steadily moved forward. Shepard followed, instructing Garrus to watch their backs. The corridor was eerily quiet, cold and sterile with grated flooring and metallic walls. Emergency lighting flickered on then off in a sickening strobe effect. "All this for a computer …" Grunt grumbled.
"What was so important in this base anyway?" Garrus asked.
"It's probably as fucked up as the last two," Jack said.
"Geth experiments and then a Reaper." Garrus stated. "There is no way this place can be worse than either of those."
"I'll take that bet," Jack muttered.
As they neared the end of the corridor, the lights flickered and dimmed. A rhythmic whirring sound emitted from the corridor on the left and Grunt peered around the edge. "Turret. On the ceiling. I see glass on either side. Like the tank."
"Security is still activated but no life support," Miranda noted. "It's just like Jaharre station. Illusive Man was right."
"Illusive Man …" Jack scof fed and shook her head. "You just keep bending over for him, don't you, Cheerleader. The great ass fucker of the galaxy."
"Jack, cool it," Shepard barked sensing the tension in Miranda; he didn't blame her. "Kasumi, can your cloak keep you hidden from the turret?"
Samara watched the exchange, stoically though with curious interest. Miranda met the Justicar's gaze with confidence and cool control. The operative casually averted her eyes and checked the condition of the magazine of her submachine gun.
Kasumi shook her head. "I don't know about that, Shep. It depends on the sensitivity of the trackers. Before I try that kind of stuff, I do my homework."
Garrus sauntered through the crowd, sniper rifle slung over his shoulder. "I got this."
"You sure about that?" Shepard asked. "If it spots you before you get it in your sights..." he trailed off.
"I'll get it in my sights," Garrus said and crouched onto one knee at the corner of the corridor. He carefully placed his barrel around the edge and rested his elbow on his knee for balance. His gaze focused through the scope of the sniper rifle. Three barrels extended from the circular turret scanning first left then right in rhythmic motion. Garrus aimed over the barrels at the square brace upon which the turret rotated. He fired. The turret absorbed the charge, displaying no change. "There must be a shield. It didn't do anything. Can you strip it?"
"Strip shield. Yes. Can be done," Mordin answered with a curt nod. "Need better positioning. Find cover within better line of sight. I will attack from there."
"There's a … doorway about 20 feet ahead of this point. That's all I see," Garrus said. "Could be a risky run. We don't know when the turret will activate."
"Other solutions?" Mordin asked and he searched the surrounding area. "Ducts. Possible. Crawl through ducts and attempt to reach security terminals. Shut down turret from there."
"Ducts?" Kasumi shook her head. "Oh no. Not again."
Miranda slipped passed Kasumi and Mordin to stand at Garrus's side. She rested a hand on his shoulder to indicate to him her presence and then crouched behind him. "Have you ever seen that kind of turret before when you were at C-Sec?"
Garrus shook his head, still aiming through the scope. "No. You? Figured you'd have seen more Cerberus security systems than I have."
"It's hard to tell," she answered. "The ones I have experience with have about a ten meter range in about 240 degree radius." She sighed. "By the time they come up with a plan, I can be in that doorway."
"Your call, Lawson, if you want to make that run."
She nodded slowly and clenched the grip of her gun. "Can you overload with your omni-tool?"
He nodded. "Sure. But that won't do us any good if I'm trying to shoot it out. You'll have to strip most of the shields."
"Alright." Miranda stood and bent her knees, preparing to sprint. A biotic field emerged from her, encasing her, shielding her. She ignored Shepard's questioning tone when he called her name and sprung quickly from cover before he could stop her.
She raced across the expanse towards the doorway, raising her gun to fire upon the turret, drawing its attention. At the five foot point of her sprint, the turret fired, continuous shots in rapid succession. Gunfire echoed behind her. The turret fire blasted against her shield and she quickened her pace, pushing hard to reach the cover before her shields failed. Too late.
Within feet of the cover, her biotics flickered, drained. She panted, winded from holding the biotic shield and also the sprint. Three shots struck her, one on the arm, one on the hip and another grazed the back of her head. The impact dented her armor, crushing the metal inward and pinching the skin on her arm. She reached cover and pressed her back against the doorway, out of the line of fire. Thankfully, the armor prevented any serious injury from the turret fire though she was certain her hip and arm would bruise from the impact. Her suit in tact, she sighed in relief.
But the turret still fired and swung back towards the squad. Miranda's eyes followed and she frowned as Shepard charged across the distance. He was only ten feet away. Without shields, he was more susceptible to the gunfire and his armor dented at the shoulders and side five times before he squeezed into the doorway with her. Part of him still partially exposed, he pressed against her, pinning her with his body to the metallic doorway. They barely fit, enough of his exposed side to draw continuous fire from the turret although the gunfire never hit.
"What are you doing!" she hissed, eyes narrowed on his through her helmet. Only her eyes were visible through the visor, her nose and mouth covered with a dark black mask for oxygen.
"I could ask you the same thing," he snapped. His helmet masked his expression but he was seething with worry. "Why would you do that? There could have been another way!"
"And while you were thinking about it, this was a perfectly viable option. Though with you here now, I don't know how I'm going to overload its shields."
"In case you've forgotten, I'm the commander of this mission and I will not have my team taking drastic risks just to prove a point or because they think they can. My mission. My call."
"And I'm a competent operative that gets results when I see it." Miranda countered. "So feel free to waste time talking over different solutions when a perfectly viable solution was offered."
"We can hear you," Garrus interrupted. "And as entertaining as this made-for-extranet movie is, can we disable the turret now? It's getting cramped over here. Oh, and Shepard, get out of the way. The turret is still firing at you."
Shepard pivoted at the hip and molded his back against the sealed door. He crowded into the corner, closer to Miranda though both barely kept in cover. "Don't do it again," he warned.
"Then stop wasting time," she bit back and tapped her fingers on her omni-tool. She peered around the corner, let her biotics flare into a shield and reached around the edge, firing an electrical shock at the turret. The turret returned fire; Miranda turned away back into cover.
Shepard muttered a curse and slammed the palm of his hand against the side of his helmet once, then again as he forced the communications switch to change to the channel he shared with only Miranda. "God damn it, woman," he grabbed her arm and stared down at her intensely, though she could not see the expression behind his colored visor. "I don't want to lose you to some stray turret fire."
"Despite what you may have heard, I earned my position as an operative. A turret is nothing." Miranda shrugged out of his grasp and tapped her fingers on her omni-tool again. She aimed around the corner then fired an overloading charge at the turret. She ducked back into cover again when the turret fired.
Mordin fired an overloading charge from his omni-tool as did Kasumi. The turret turned to aim towards Mordin and Kasumi near where Garrus knelt. A ball of biotic energy flew from Samara's outstretched hand, wrapping around the turret and pulsed, draining. Jack extended her arms, emitting and holding a large biotic shield around Garrus, Kasumi and Mordin. The four continued the pattern and after the third round, Garrus fired his rifle. The shot impacted the turret. Garrus reloaded and fired again. The turret dangled by a single wire, swinging. Its aim uncertain, it fired wildly. Miranda turned away and Garrus fired once again. The turret dropped.
"Miranda," Shepard said, softly and rested a hand on her hip.
She sighed and holstered her weapon. "What, Shepard? It worked. I won't do it again. That's what you want to hear."
"Hey," he pressed a hand against the doorway to block her. When she shifted her weight impatiently, he tilted his head and watched her. "I get it. Jack rubs you the wrong way and probably being here right now is not where you want to be. It gives anyone more ammunition against Cerberus and you. But I need you focused. You don't owe them anything."
"I know that," she snapped and shook her head. "I'm … sorry. I'm fine.
"I know you are. You will be," he said confidently and his tone lightened. "Plus, I don't want anything happening to you. I need you in one piece when we get back to bed."
She chuckled, tension easing from her. "I'll be good." She pushed at his chest. "Promise."
"Mmm, that you are, Ms. Lawson," his voice teased and when she laughed, he smiled, turning his communications channel back to 'All'.
The team moved passed the turret. Grunt stepped up to the door and worked on prying it open. "I'll need a few on this one, Shepard."
Shepard nodded and stepped up to the glass on one side of the hallway, looking inside. On the left was a long table extending near the corridor with four consoles. Chairs were pushed back as if abandoned in a rush. His brow knitted at the white heap half hidden by the table. He pressed a hand against the glass and lifted up onto his toes, stretching to get a better look.
It was a body, half of it. A long leg and hip were visible sticking out from under the table, motionless. Shepard muttered a curse as Samara stepped up to his side. He shook his head. "Suffocated at their post."
Miranda peered through the opposite window, stretching to look down at the floor. Two bodies.
"Here too, Shepard," Mordin noted from beside Miranda.
"Got it!" Grunt called, as the door fully opened. The team raced through the door and once clear, Grunt entered as well. The door slammed closed.
Shepard stood in the central security station, hands pressed into the center table. Emergency lighting flickered along the ceiling. Monitors paneled two of the walls and upon the table was an elaborate blueprint of the station. Upon entering the security station, six bodies scattered on the floor, frozen. Life support systems and power systems were malfunctioning. Shepard pointed to a square shaped room on the opposite end of the station. "It is not possible for power systems to have failed. If that was true, the turrets wouldn't be working."
"Then they've all been diverted to the security system," Garrus answered. "What other explanation is there? The entire place is locked down and we're lucky there's emergency lighting."
"Alright, so we get the power restored. Then we restore life support." Shepard said. "Do you think there is any chance of survivors?"
"Truthfully, I doubt it," Miranda replied. "Not only is the oxygen level low, but temperatures are as well."
"Shepard, you need to see this," Tali called from across the room.
He left the center table to stand beside the engineer. "What do you have?"
"I've been going through the video recordings for the facility before the power outage." Tali said and brought up a visual on one of the monitors. "This one is dated three weeks ago."
Two security personnel armed with pistols stood at the doorway of the VI core. They paced, rhythmically - patrolling. The door burst open and in rushed a crazed woman, her hand raised with a shaky pistol. Without hesitation, she fired upon the one guard and rushed the console. The other guard charged her, gripping her legs to drag her to the ground. Tackled, the two tumbled to the floor. The woman struggled, kicking and flailing and she twisted beneath the guard to fire again. She turned quickly and brought a knee up between the guard's legs. The guard rolled to the side and heaved, clutching his groin. The woman scrambled forward and flung herself at the VI console, slamming her fist into a multitude of buttons. A red warning light swirled overhead and the VI core doors closed, locked. Gas vented into the room. Within 30 seconds, all movement within ceased as they suffocated.
"What did she push?" Shepard asked. "What happened?"
"From the best I can tell, it appears she activated some kind of self destruct button. The VI initiated self destruct protocols for the entire facility."
"Sabotage." Garrus said with a slow shake of his head.
"What the hell were they doing here to make one of their own try to destroy the place?" Shepard whispered.
Miranda rounded the center table, expression focused as she approached Tali and Shepard. "Show that again. Is there any record of who she is?"
"No," Tali answered with a short shake of the head as she replayed the video footage. "This console only has the security video feed. No personnel files."
"Why? What are you thinking?" Shepard asked, curiously.
"Shepard, Wilson tried to sabotage Project Lazarus. If you didn't wake up …" She tapped her fingers impatiently on her hip as she watches the video footage with intent concentration. "You were my project, Shepard, and if Wilson tried to destroy you … what did she want to destroy here?"
"Who gives a shit?" Jack stated and jumped off the counter on which she sat. "The place is empty. Get the shuttle up and we leave. End of mission."
"And what if there's another you here, Jack?" Shepard challenged the biotic. "Should we just leave them? Maybe tied down, plugged into something … strapped to a table."
Jack crossed her arms, leaning into a hip as she watched Miranda's reaction. "What, Cheerleader? Nothing? No defense? Pfft," she waved a dismissive hand to Miranda and after an extended pause, shook her head and scoffed. "Alright, Shepard. Let's see what poor bastard Cerberus is fucking with now."
Shepard reached for Miranda, resting a hand casually on the small of her back. The act meant to offer comfort but also solidarity with the operative despite the harsh judgement he and others shared against Cerberus practice. "Miranda, what are the odds that whatever or whoever the experiment was here is still intact?"
"Better than finding any other survivor." Miranda replied, simply. "The operative in charge of any cell has one duty. To ensure the survival of either the subject or the data."
"At all costs?" Shepard asked.
"Yes," she nodded. "All costs. If you did not wake up on that space station when I was calling to you, I would have gone to you. You were more important than anyone else in that cell."
"I weigh more than you," he noted. "And no offense, but you can't lift me and your biotics couldn't have lasted long enough for you to move me."
"There are ways. I would have gotten you onto a life pod at the expense of everyone on that station, including myself. The Illusive Man would have found you and you'd be right here, right now. But I don't know what this cell was for."
"Couldn't hurt to have some more backup, Shepard," Garrus said. "We could use everyone we can find against the Collectors."
Jack scoffed. "Yeah, right. If the poor asshole is any condition to speak. Nevermind, fight."
"If we're staying here, we're going to need to get the life support and power system back online." Shepard said. "But if we can't get the life support systems up, we're going to have to extract. Our suits can only last so long." He pressed his fingers to the side of his helmet, gloved fingers seeking the switch to control his communications channels. "Jacob, do you read me?"
"Yes, sir." Jacob answered.
"How soon can you get us in the air?"
"Depends, sir," Jacob said. "Massive storm on its way. Either we extract within the hour … or it could be a couple of days. Radar is showing it's pretty big."
Shepard paced to the monitors then back again. "Alright, Jacob, be ready to take off in half an hour. The rest of you, we're on the clock now. We'll need to split up. I need a team to get the power systems online. Once that's online, then the life support. I'll have a team at the VI core, ready to restart the system. Mordin, stay here and turn off the security protocols once the power is fully restored. It may be the only way the rest of us can get to our systems. Garrus, take a team for the Power systems. Miranda, give Garrus a ten minute head start then take a team to Life Support."
Jack pointed at Shepard. "Don't even think about putting me with that bitch."
"Then go with Garrus." Shepard said. "You too, Tali."
"I will go with Operative Lawson," Samara volunteered, voice lulling with grace and calm.
"Me too," Kasumi offered. "Well … as long as there's no ducts."
Shepard nodded his thanks. "If we can't do this within 45 minutes, rendezvous at the entrance we came in. I'll send Grunt there to open the doors."
Miranda, Samara and Kasumi weaved through the complex corridors of the Cerberus facility. As they rounded a corner, Miranda froze. Two bodies lay across the floor fifty feet ahead on their stomachs. Brown blood stained their white lab coats in multiple places. "There's no turret," Samara noted. "Something else killed these people."
"Mechs," Miranda answered. "Most facilities have them. Security personnel are usually at a minimum. Mechs are used for most security protocols." She knelt beside the corpses, feeling the pulse point of each. With a slow shake of the head, she stood and continued down the hall.
The door at the end opened, revealing an open spaced loading bay. Two shuttles elevated over the floor. Shipping crates were stacked in corners and sporadically throughout the bay, some ready for transport, others opened as if a delivery had been checked. Miranda gripped her gun, firmly and slipped into the bay, crouched low as she ducked behind cover to get a closer look around the room. Samara joined her to one side, Kasumi the other.
"Intruder … Alert."
The doors slammed closed and locked around the room as four heavy mechs activated, metallic limbs twitching and guns armed. Samara's biotics surged and Kasumi cloaked. Miranda ducked lower behind the cover as two mechs fired towards the crates behind which Miranda hid. "Garrus!" she called into her communications device.
No response.
"Garrus? Come in."
Nothing.
"Miranda, what's happening?" Shepard said, voice crackled with distortion.
"It's hot in here, Shep," Kasumi answered. "Wherever Garrus is, he better hurry."