2185
Disabled Collector Vessel
The Doctor looked up from the battle he was waging against the Collector computer at the sound of someone other than Shepard, Garrus, or Grunt speaking. His mind cast back to what Shepard had said on the shuttle, about one of the Collectors possessing others. So, this was Harbinger. He needed to see this for himself.
He stood up, ignoring Garrus' yelp of "Get down!" and strode forward.
"Doctor! What the hell do you think you're doing?!" Shepard shouted.
"AH. THE ONE CALLED THE DOCTOR IS HERE."
The Doctor looked at the Collector who was now Harbinger, who seemed to glow from within as though he was about to explode, jagged cracks of orange-yellow light seeping through his exoskeleton. "So. You've heard of me."
"YOUR ARRIVAL WAS ANTICIPATED."
"Which means that you can somehow see through the rift, hmm? Or did you create it?" the Doctor asked, striding forward confidently, continuing to ignore the shouts from the others. He knew what he was doing. Probably. "From what I understand, it might not be outside of your capabilities. You live in dark space outside the galaxy - what've you found in the fifty thousand years since you killed the Protheans?"
"WE DID NOT CREATE THE RIFT. WE MERELY FOUND WHAT WAS ON THE OTHER SIDE."
"So you wipe out this universe, as you've done before, and then move onto the next one? Is that your plan?" The Doctor came to the edge of the platform that the others were on, looking up at the platform Harbinger was standing on. He was surrounded by dead Collectors and something that looked absolutely monstrous, and that was saying something given what else he'd seen and heard today.
"He's not shooting. Why isn't he shooting?" the Doctor heard Garrus ask, from behind him.
"I don't know, but keep your head down," Shepard hissed through her teeth. "And your voice, too!"
"THE NEXT ONE, AND ALL ONES AFTER THAT. ALL ORGANICS WILL KNOW THEIR DESTINY. ALL ORGANICS IN ALL UNIVERSES."
"And what destiny would that be?" the Doctor asked, shouting. "What do you want? Why collect these humans? Why do any of this? Why is it that you feel the need to wipe out species every fifty thousand years?"
"YOU DO NOT YET COMPREHEND YOUR PLACE IN THINGS."
"Right. So you're not going to answer, then." The Doctor was starting to feel frustrated. It was to be expected, but he wished he could have gotten more. They always gave nonsensical answers.
"YOU CANNOT STOP US."
"Oh, really?" The Doctor stepped up onto the edge of the platform, glaring at the thing's face. "You just watch me." He lifted his sonic screwdriver and pointed it at Harbinger, hearing it charge up.
"DESTROYING THIS BODY GAINS YOU NOTHING. WE WILL MEET AGAIN, DOCTOR." The Collector body exploded outwards from where the light was seeping through, motes falling into the abyss below. The Doctor couldn't tell if it had been from his screwdriver, or if Harbinger had just … self-destructed.
He hopped backwards onto the platform's floor and looked over at Shepard, who was standing and holstering her shotgun. "That was … interesting," she said.
"You could say that," the Doctor replied. "He knew me."
"Yeah," Shepard said, nodding. "I wonder how." She looked back at the control console. "Did you disable the - virus? Or whatever it was?"
"I think so." The Doctor touched his omni-tool. "EDI. This is the Doctor, can you hear me?"
"Yes, I can," EDI replied. "Are you ready to establish the link?"
The Doctor held out his omni-tool, marveling for a moment at how it glittered just above his skin, then squinted at the buttons. "Ah…"
"Let me," Shepard said, bringing up her omni-tool. "Setting up a bridge."
A hologram of what the Doctor supposed was EDI's chosen form came into existence over the console. "Data mine in progress," EDI said. "The Doctor has successfully eliminated the Reaper virus. I have control. Thank you, Doctor." She paused, then spoke again. "Shepard, I found the turian distress call that served as the lure for this trap. The Collectors were the source. It is unusual."
"Well, it's obvious that the initial message was bait," Shepard said. The Doctor saw Garrus and Grunt coming to stand besides her. "What's unusual about that?"
"Turian emergency channels have secondary encryption," EDI said, and Garrus nodded at that. "It is corrupted in the message. It is not possible that the Illusive Man would believe the distress call was genuine."
"What makes you so sure about that?" the Doctor asked, putting both his hands on the console and leaning forward to stare at the hologram.
"I found the anomaly with Cerberus detection protocols. He wrote them."
"He knew it was a trap?" the Doctor heard Joker say, over the turian and krogan curses coming from behind him. "Why would he send us into a trap?"
Shepard's face hardened - the Doctor thought that if the man in question had been in front of them, she might have tried to kill him barehanded. "That son of a bitch. I knew we couldn't trust him. He's got a lot to answer for once we get back to the Normandy."
"Shepard. The Collector ship is powering up," EDI said. "I recommend returning to the Normandy. I have found data about the Omega-4 relay, which I will share upon your return."
"Get out of there before their weapons come online!" Joker said.
"Don't need telling twice," Shepard said intently, pulling out her shotgun. "Double time, people!"
"Sending coordinates for shuttle extraction," EDI said. "I will do what I can to assist."
"Is there anything I can-" the Doctor stared to say, before he was interrupted by Grunt, who grabbed him by the arm and started hauling him along.
"Shepard said move," the krogan … grunted. "Can't move and help at the same time."
"Grunt, that's enough," Shepard said, and Grunt reluctantly released the Doctor. "He got the message."
The Doctor glared at Grunt, who was already moving forward, and sprinted after the group.
"Around the corner. Take the door on your right," he heard EDI say through his omni-tool as he caught up to Shepard. She had her shotgun out again and was scanning the area. They came down an incline into an open area just as the Collectors did, flying in from some unknown height to land and start shooting at the party. The Doctor jumped out of the way just in time to avoid one of those beam weapons Shepard had brought out earlier. As he got to his feet, he saw Shepard start glowing bright blue. And then-
She simply wasn't there any more. The Doctor yelled, but then saw that her path had taken her directly in to one of the Collectors, knocking it over. Some sort of biotic trick, then.
The yell had drawn the attention of one of the Collectors, who shot at him, and the Doctor ducked, fumbling at his omni-tool, trying desperately to remember what Mordin had shown him-
He saw a curving beam of orange light leaving a trail in the air, sailing right over the Collector's head. Well, at least he'd gotten something out of it. The Doctor pulled out his screwdriver and pointed it at the Collector, but it was already dead by someone else's hand. He looked around and saw that they were all dead.
"Keep moving!" Shepard yelled at him before ejecting a clip and moving down the corridor, once again forcing the Doctor to sprint to keep up. Bullets started flying as soon as they entered the next open area, with Collectors coming from the air as well as the other entrance. This time, he would see what the sonic screwdriver could do to a Collector.
—
Shepard had no time to see how the Doctor was doing. She barely had time to give instructions to Grunt and Garrus, settling for giving a nod to Grunt as he settled in behind the low edge across from hers. "Focus fire," she called to the krogan before standing up and shooting at one of the drones - noticing that Grunt was shooting at the same drone, which showed he'd gotten the message. Good.
One of the Collectors staggered backwards, a faint glow vanishing, and she knew that Garrus was following her instructions from earlier. She and Grunt followed through, filling the Collector full of shotgun pellets - flaming ones, in Grunt's case.
"Cover me!" she shouted to Grunt, and felt her amp start to hum. An instant later she was knocking over a Collector, blasting it with the Claymore to make sure it stayed down. She looked off to her left and to her astonishment, saw the Doctor there, up a small rise. He was behind a wall, at least, but still too exposed for Shepard's liking. He had his screwdriver out in front of him, both hands on it, pointed at a Collector. Shepard heard a high-pitched whine and the Collector dropped his gun. Shepard tracked the gun and saw that it was smoking.
Huh. She had little time to ponder this new development, except to register that he wouldn't need to be watched quite as much anymore. Instead, she shot the now-defenseless Collector before moving on to the next one.
Then, from in front of her-
"ASSUMING CONTROL OF THIS FORM."
Harbinger was back.
—
The Doctor was pleased that he'd been able to do something with the sonic screwdriver. Under different circumstances, he'd be turning around and trying to find another way out, except that EDI was already doing her best to give them a path of least resistance and there likely was no other way out. He was trying not to think too hard about the number of bullets his new allies were using. It wasn't as though they were shooting defenseless civilians - this was an alien race that was not interested in negotiation or compromise. He destroyed Daleks all the time.
… Except that when the other you blew them all up, you called him a genocidal lunatic.
Let's continue this argument when we're not in mortal danger.
"DIRECT INTERVENTION IS NECESSARY."
Ah. Harbinger had chosen to make another appearance. The Doctor wondered if his little trick earlier had actually been effective, or if Harbinger had simply chosen to retreat after delivering his threats. He decided he would try to answer that question, pointing the sonic screwdriver at Harbinger. He saw Harbinger's weapon start smoking, and Harbinger wheeled its head around to look at the Doctor. The smoke evaporated as though it had never been there.
"THIS IS WHAT YOU FACE, DOCTOR."
Harbinger's right arm moved, and a shimmering ball of light came hurtling at the Doctor, knocking him backwards. He hit the wall with a hard thud and shook his head as he got back on his feet. He pointed the sonic screwdriver at Harbinger again - to no effect.
"YOUR ATTACK IS AN INSULT."
"You're making this personal," the Doctor said between deep gasps. "You really don't want to do that. I am the Oncoming Storm. I am the last person in the universe you want as an enemy."
"THIS IS NOT YOUR UNIVERSE. IT IS OURS. YOU CANNOT STOP US."
"You said that already," the Doctor replied. "I'm still here." He pocketed the sonic screwdriver - reluctantly - and brought up his omni-tool-laden left arm. He shot off a flash of orange light at the same time that Harbinger unleashed another of those shimmering balls, and the Doctor fell to the floor again.
"PITIFUL." Harbinger's voice was getting closer. The Doctor tried to struggle to his feet, and failed. No. It doesn't end here. It can't. It just … can't.
Something bright and blue flew over the Doctor's head - Shepard. Through barely opened eyes, the Doctor saw Harbinger stagger back. Shepard brought her shotgun around to blast Harbinger, then began to glow blue again.
"THIS CHANGES NOTHING, SHEPARD." The body that Harbinger had been holding disintegrated into nothing again. The Doctor sagged against the floor.
"Hang on, Doctor," Shepard said, pressing her omni-tool to his side. All at once he felt heat and warmth racing through him, his pain gone, his energy restored. Shepard's omni-tool disappeared and she offered him her hand, which the Doctor took.
"How did you do that?" he asked.
"Medi-gel," Shepard said. "It's universal. Works on every species in the galaxy. Mordin forwarded your scan data to my omni-tool."
"I … thank you, Shepard," the Doctor said.
"Don't do something stupid like that again," Shepard said, her voice turning steely. "Harbinger knocks me on my ass, and I'm wearing armor."
"No promises," the Doctor said, offering her a smile. Shepard just sighed and dropped his hand.
"Let's go before they show up again."
Naturally, there was another group waiting for them right after EDI tried to help them by opening a door. The Doctor saw something hovering above the ground, moving towards them - it almost looked like a manta ray, except that it clearly had a hard exoskeleton, and it had multiple legs dangling below its main body.
"Praetorian!" Garrus cried, a second before it shot a beam of energy directly towards the group. Everyone was in cover before they could get hurt, including the Doctor. He eyed the beam weapon that Shepard was bringing out. He'd disabled it before - it hadn't worked on Harbinger, who was clearly the boss here. So what if-
"Shepard. I want to try something."
Shepard eyed the sonic screwdriver skeptically. "Didn't that cause one of these to get set on fire before?"
"I was trying to disable it. I think I can also enhance it."
"Think, or know?" Shepard asked urgently. "It's the best thing I have to use against the Praetorian."
"Trust me, Shepard," the Doctor said softly. "Please."
Shepard reluctantly nodded. "All right. Quickly. The thing'll be on us any moment."
The Doctor ran a finger over the buttons of his sonic screwdriver. This one - no. The other one. Yes. If he tapped it just so-
The beam weapon in Shepard's hands glowed brightly. "Try it," he said to her.
Shepard listened before standing up and clicking the beam on. The Praetorian had moved closer - the Doctor could make out some of the detail on its 'face', the multiple eyes above - oh. There were skulls there. Shepard fired.
The Praetorian exploded from its midsection out, blue light flooding the area as it screamed its death-cry. Pieces flew everywhere, limbs skittering across the floor, the head crushing an approaching humanoid - a husk.
"Hahaha!" Grunt shouted. "Finally, that stupid thing of yours does something useful!" He blasted another husk that had come up near them, then turned and fired upon another one.
"That all of them?" Shepard asked.
"That's it," Garrus said, and without any further discussion, they moved towards the door that EDI had opened for them. They were silent as they ran through the hallways - the only sound the Doctor could hear was his hearts pumping at the excitement of everything that had happened. Up another ramp they went, and just as they rounded a corner, they saw more humanoids pouring in to the space they had just passed through.
"Run!" Shepard yelled, as the humanoids were joined by Collectors. The Doctor decided he didn't need to know if Harbinger was there, again, or not. Shepard spun around, shotgun firing rapidly, but the humanoids didn't seem to be deterred by the fact that they were approaching certain annihilation. Grunt fell back slightly to join her while Garrus and the Doctor ran ahead.
The Doctor heard Joker's voice from his omni-tool, only vaguely catching the words. Of course they were running out of time. He was always running out of time.
The screams from the humanoids - husks - increased in pitch and volume, and the Doctor saw that he and Garrus were about to run into yet another group. Adrenaline lent him the focus that fear had not, and his left arm flew up, gleaming orange, to unleash a burst of flame. Those poor creatures. He wished he had another way, any other way, but there simply wasn't one. All he could do was acknowledge that they'd deserved better and keep moving. To his side, he saw Garrus switching the sniper rifle for something that proved to have a faster rate of fire. The Doctor's right hand went into his coat pocket, coming out with the sonic screwdriver. He wanted to see if it had any effect on these husks - they looked to have some sort of wiring, circuits, running through their bodies. Synthetics. That was the jargon of this universe.
The Doctor pointed the sonic screwdriver at one of the husks, and felt some satisfaction when the creature fell over, screaming in pain. The Doctor repeated the gesture - quickly felling a string of them, clearing a path for himself and Garrus to advance. Behind them, he heard footsteps. Garrus wheeled, then relaxed - and a moment later Shepard and Grunt joined them. The group moved forward quickly, the cries of husks behind them serving as a powerful impetus. That, and the knowledge that the ship was about to power up.
Finally, they reached the shuttle. The door opened for them as they approached it, practically throwing themselves inside. Shepard was the last one in, the door closing after her.
The Doctor looked out the window as the shuttle pulled away from the Collector ship, and for the first time he felt like he truly appreciated its magnitude. The Normandy was dwarfed next to the massive vessel, and it wasn't hard to see how it could have been blown out of the sky by one of these. The shuttle accelerated, maneuvering through space flotsam before entering the cargo bay.
"Strap in, people, going to make them work for it this time," Joker's voice came over the loudspeakers. Shepard was out and running as soon as the shuttle's door opened again. The Doctor was not in such a hurry, casting a glance over at his TARDIS, satisfying himself that all was as he'd left it. He followed Garrus and Grunt to the elevator.
"Where will she be?" he asked.
"I'd imagine she'll be going to the briefing room to speak to the Illusive Man," Garrus said. "It's on the second floor, behind the bridge." The turian paused. "You'll be wanting to join her?"
"Absolutely," the Doctor said. "I need to have a few words with him."