It was two long days since the Omega mission, 48 hours of scrambling. Shepard knew she was stalking the ship like a mother bear missing her cub.
They are my people and one of them is fucking captured.
Alenko had things well in hand. It allowed her to crash without worries, but sleep couldn't hold her for long, not with all the buzzing thoughts in her head. She was up and checking in on her fireteams before long. Chakwas chased her out of the med-bay with threats of securing a bed in the med-bay just for her.
"Shepard, what you are doing up?" Williams sighed.
"Checking in on everyone."
"No, you're not. You're just disrupting everyone's rest. We're fine. Banged up but fine," she growled. "You need to get some rest."
She sighed, looking at Williams. The Chief had bruises clear across her arms, and Shepard was sure there were more hidden under her loose t-shirt.
"Stop that."
"What did I do?"
"You are giving me those fucking puppy dog eyes."
"I do not possess any puppy dog eyes," Shepard retorted.
Williams gestured at the closed doors to the crew quarters. "I'm fine. They are fine. The ones who needed help are under Chakwas' watchful eyes. They are all resting as should you."
"I already did."
She frowned and glanced at her omni-tool. "What? Five hours? After being blasted twice? No, you need five more."
Shepard shook her head. "You're not my mother."
"I'm not, but you're forcing my maternal instincts to the fore. And don't forget I've got big sister credentials. I see what is going on, Skipper. Unless you want to get rid of me with an order?"
Shepard eyed the Chief who coolly returned her gaze.
"You don't want me to deploy the 'with all due respect', do you?" Williams pointed out.
Shepard winced. "No, anything but that."
But instead of heading to her quarters, she walked towards the cargo bay. Sleep was beyond her at the moment. If she couldn't train, she could at least take care of her own equipment. Williams followed. It didn't take long before Shepard was settled down on the station cleaning her weapons.
"You know you don't have to baby sit me," she pointed out.
"If I don't, who is going to?" Williams asked, pulling apart the weapon before her.
That was the beginning of a long 48 hours wait.
"Shepard," Alec Ryder's voice came through her terminal. "Are you seeing this?"
Her eyes scanned the message. It was a bunch of binary code that was decoded to reveal only a nav-point and three words.
Daughter for AI.
"Did you trace it?" Shepard asked, keying in the nav-point into her terminal. As she had expected, it was in the middle of nowhere, far beyond the reach of the Alliance.
"No, I couldn't."
"What about your AI?" She lifted her head at his reply. "You do have a fully functional AI, don't you? This is what it's all about, isn't it?"
"It's not ready," he growled.
"It's ready enough for someone to blackmail you for it."
His nostrils flared, his lips pressed thin as if he was holding back whatever unpleasant words he had for her. Alec Ryder had never been anything but a straight talker. This was a side of him, she had never seen before.
"Spit it out."
"How the AI develops is dependent on the things they are exposed to. Exposing my AI to Cerberus sounds like a stupid idea."
"Ryder," she growled. "This is your daughter. Who is more important?"
He took a deep breath and eventually nodded. Shepard didn't press him for an answer. "Get your AI on the job but send me the message. I'll have my people pick through it." Tapping on her terminal, sending him a file. "Here is what we found," Shepard offered as an olive branch.
He leaned forward, and she could picked out all the extra lines that marked his face. Lines she knew she had put there with just a comm call. Stifling a sigh, she turned back to the business at hand.
"The shuttle has been tracked to Imorkan."
"That's really close to Omega."
"It is but gangs that even the Queen of Omega couldn't control lurk there. It's not like an Alliance ship can dock and knock some heads to get some information. I don't want Cerberus to know we're that close on their tails. Plus, I do not know where on Imorkan their base is."
"And so you need me to set up the exchange as an in for you."
Shepard nodded.
"I'll see to it."
"I have a few favours I might be able to call in to help with this. I'll be in touch soon," she said. "We'll get her back, I promise."
Ryder peeled an eye open. The door pulled back but not all the way, just enough for a hand to toss a couple of ration bars in through the slit. A couple bottles of water followed quickly and it closed again.
Cerberus, apparently, didn't want her to starve.
She shuffled over to the food. At first she was worried the food might have been poisoned. But she reasoned they already had her, there was no need to resort to trickery if they could do it by force. Her hands tore at the ration bars and devoured them. They weren't enough for her biotic metabolism. This wasn't a diet she could subsist on for long.
Ryder twisted the cap off the bottle of water. She sniffed at it only to grimaced. "Fuck."
She had refused to drink it that first day, but Kai Ling returned with her cronies and force the water down her throat. She burnt with shame as she drank the provided water meekly after. They had added some kind of chemical biotic inhibitor into the water. Whatever it was, it was foul. The cloying sweet scent of dish soap and the foreign pungent chemical smell of swimming pools. Its taste matched. She sipped and gagged.
As one day turned into two, three and four, hope had turned cold. Regrets churned in her guts. Her last conversation with Scott had been an argument. That was not how she wanted to leave things. Ma would have to suffer through learning about her death over and over again because she'd just keep forgetting. That was the ultimate cruelty she could have inflict on her mother.
She squeezed her eyes shut.
No, I can't just give up. Someone will come for me. Someone will.
Cerberus had stopped coming in to mess with her. They feed her but never let her out. They hadn't bothered to treat her wounds either. Thankfully nothing seemed too serious. Her leg still throbbed, the wound was warm to the touch. Her chest was still sore, and it felt tender but she was still able to move if she didn't do it too suddenly.
Time to stop feeling sorry for yourself. Time to grow a fucking spine and think of a plan.
Ryder heaved herself upright and flexed her bad leg, mindful that her every move was tracked. She tipped the bottle to her lips, pretending to drink but she let it dribble down her chin. She had been doing that for days, careful to drink enough so that they don't realise what she was doing. Though her head pounded crazy fierce thanks to dehydration, her mouth tasted like ashes, she felt surer than she had in days.
Far better to regain my biotics again than to sit around and make things easier for them.
She had their routine down pat. The guard was due back with another batch of ration bars and bottled water soon. She bid her time and waited. Tugging at her core, the tiny embers of her biotics flickered and fluttered like a candle in the wind, but it was there. She'd be ready when the opportunity came.
Help is coming. Help will come.
The door slid open. It was earlier than usual. Ryder looked up only to see Kai Ling looking at her, decked out in full armour, complete with the inverse N7 colour scheme. Through the helmet Ryder could tell Kai Ling's eyes were crinkled, she was fucking grinning. Ryder's jaw was set, her guts clenched tight.
"Let's get you all pretty, Persephone. Daddy's coming."
Fuck.
"You know what you have to do?" Shepard eyed the others.
"Relax, Commander," Dworak said, "we got this thing well in hand."
Aroha nodded in tandem with her squad mate, but she only had eyes for Alenko. He had his helmet tucked under his arm, his gaze steady as they met hers. "We'll get this done," he said. His voice steady, calm and confident, Shepard trusted him but still she worry.
The plan was ridiculous, even by her standards. Or maybe it's because she wasn't leading the team that's why it felt more ridiculous than usual. Her teeth ground against each other, she squared her shoulders and nodded.
"Good hunting." She squeezed Alenko's shoulder.
Armed with only the nav-point, Alec Ryder travelled from Theia station via a private shuttle to the Citadel to meet with Vakarian. There on the docks, purchased with her own credits, was a shuttle. It was modded for speed and augmented with cloaking devices and some hidden goodies. That thing cost a bomb but Vakarian was there to see it done and she could afford it after years of being the poster girl for Alliance recruitment adverts. Vakarian handed Ryder the codes so that he could take ownership of that little shuttle.
Then, Ryder swung by Omega ostensibly for refuelling, but it was really to pick up with Alenko's team and a little something extra she had begged Tali for, a fake AI made from savaged Geth parts. Shepard was eternally grateful, and had promised marathon sessions of watching Fleet and Flotilla in payment.
Alenko and his team was supposed to exit the shuttle as it drifted towards the nav-point. They needed to infiltrate the Cerberus' shuttle from outside while Ryder's shuttle was being boarded. She trusted Tali to make a good enough fake to fool a regular Cerberus goon. That way Alenko and his team had time. From there it was a matter of creative interrogating to get the IFF codes for the secondary shuttle that would be deployed from the Normandy to rescue Baby Ryder.
The AI had came through with the nav-point for the Cerberus' base. It irked Shepard that she couldn't verify it before sending people down. As far as they could determined based on Alliance intel, there was some kind of base at that exact nav-point, was it Cerberus or not, nobody knew.
But can I trust Alliance intel?
Everything hinged on Alenko and his team. They needed the IFF codes.
Shepard knew she wasn't at full strength, she shouldn't lead the EVA team, though she'd admit she had considered it. One look from Chakwas was all she needed to dispel that idea. Alenko was the next best choice. He was as good as she was, better in ways she wasn't.
"Losing the Commander on a rescue operation this stupid is too much," Alenko had told her. "I don't want to have to explain to Hackett and Alliance High Command that this happened."
"So I'll get to do that if your mag-boots fail?"
"Precisely."
She snorted. Still, asking him to do something she couldn't felt wrong. She exhaled as she stepped onto the bridge.
"Commander, is that you?"
"Who else would it be?"
"I don't know, you N7s are all ninja with your silent walking and all that."
"Well not today," Shepard slid into the co-pilot seat. Her wounds were mostly healed. They were still sore and stiff, but no longer the deep pain that reached into her muscles, pulling when she moved, restricting her full range of motion.
"You good, Shepard?"
"I will be, once we get our baby bird home."
Joker took a deep breath, flexing his fingers. "Shall we?"
Shepard paced. Alenko's voice came through the comms. It crackled and buzzed as it bounced through dark space and all its radiation.
"Suit checks again."
Nobody complained despite it being the fourth such check. Fingers brushed over buckles and straps, omni-tools beeped a happy affirmative.
"All good," Aroha said.
"Sealed and locked," Dworak said.
Then, a fourth voice spoke. "Good luck, unlocking the hatch now." It was Alec Ryder. And he was here for his daughter.
Her boots clomped against the metal plate flooring. Back and forth, back and forth. There was a creak of faux-leather against butt.
"Shepard."
She stopped. The moment Alenko was off the ship, she got suited up, so did the others. Williams and fireteam Charlie as well as the functioning half of Delta were tasked with the actual rescue. As much as it chaffed at her, Shepard would be the backup.
"Can you stop pacing? You're wearing a groove on my bridge."
Shepard braced her weight against the back of Joker's chair.
"Not that either," he frowned, twisting to face her. "Just sit down, all right? You're making me very nervous."
She didn't deigned to speak and slid into the co-pilot chair. It was taking too long. Everything hinged on this first part. There was plans and there was contingencies for those plans but nothing matter once the boots hit the ground. In this case, mag-boots secured on the exterior of a fucking shuttle.
A tight beam signal popped up on Joker's screen. "Unknown shuttle approaching," he reported.
Shepard held her breath and waited some more.
Gunfire rang out through the comms. "Go, go, go!" Alenko barked.
The whiplash sound of a biotic punch distorted the audio output. Shepard's hands jerked reflexively.
"Aroha, cover the exit!"
"Copy."
"Dworak!"
"On it."
"Breathe, Shepard," Joker said.
That snapped her out of it. She chuckled, a vain attempt at hiding the tension. "Is it this exciting every time?"
"Something like that," he chuckled. "Though this is tame by your standards."
"Really?"
"Yes, really. There are no erupting volcanos around this time."
"Not yet, you mean," Shepard pointed out.
Joker flinched and his eyes widened in mock horror. "No Commander, don't joke about such things."
Her shoulder relaxed a fraction as they shared a laugh.
"Commander." The moment they shared snapped to a close as Shepard turned her attention back to the comms.
"Alenko, tell you me you've got it."
"We do. Transmitting now."
Shepard took a deep breath. "Good job. Head towards Imorkan. Stay out of hailing range. We'll come pick you up once Williams' team is away."
"Roger, see you soon."
She turned to Joker as she stood. "Take us down."
"One rescue operation, coming right up," he grinned tightly.
Ryder growled, tugging at the omni-cuffs around her wrists. "Where the fuck are you taking me?"
"To meet Daddy, of course," Kai Ling cooed sweetly, her helmet clad face pressed against Ryder's cheek.
Ryder pulled away, disgust written all over her face. Kai Ling chuckled. "We might be classified as a terrorist group, but we keep our promises despite how hard you're making it." A hand slammed down hard against her bare back, Ryder stumbled forward.
Cerberus troops flanked her, Kai Ling bringing up the rear, they marched her down a long corridor. They passed rooms, all of them bearing red holo-locks. Ryder couldn't help but wondered if they all held prisoners too. She shivered, the bite in the air made it pretty clear that she was planet-side, and a cold one to boot, unless Cerberus was cheap and didn't invested in heating. They hadn't bothered to give her any new clothes. She was still in her tattered undersuit. Her sports bra and bare skin her only defence against the elements. Wherever they were going, she hoped it would present her the opportunity she was hoping for.
Jaw set, Ryder limped on, her bare feet stinging.
Their destination clearly was the shuttle bay as they passed some windows looking down into it. Her steps slowed as she lingered to look. A handful of shuttles were secured in the bay. Three of them bore Alliance colours. She frowned, studying them intently. One of them was being prepped for take off.
The secure double doors slid open soundlessly under Kai Ling's palm. "After you," she waved Ryder through.
Ryder glared as she passed. The action was as futile as her pittance of resistance. Her stenum still ached, reminding her the price of her defiance. As she crossed the threshold, she stiffened. A howl swept through the shuttle bay. A gust of frigid air slammed into her chest like a punch. She stumbled backwards, unable to keep her footing. Kai Ling held her still by her hair. She yelped, following the motion to keep her hair from being ripped from its roots.
"Walk." Kai Ling barked.
Ryder growled and pulled away. Biting her lip, she kept herself from smiling. Her luck was changing. She spotted the exact thing she was waiting for.
Boots clomped down the stairs while Ryder winced as her bare feet made contact with the ice cold steps. Half way down Kai Ling cocked her head listening to the comms. Decked out in full armour, Ryder couldn't see the Operative's face, but she could feel anger radiating from her. Blue flames started flickering around Kai Ling, Ryder flinched, even the other Cerberus soldiers shuffled uncomfortably.
"You fucker," she shouted. "Your father has done it now. He had just thrown your life away."
A hand snaked out towards Ryder, aiming for her ponytail again. She was ready this time. Jerking backwards, seemingly stumbling against the soldier behind her, her hands reached for the unsecured utility pouch she had spotted earlier. Fingers reaching, searching and finally finding. It was fist sized, round and had a single button. Without hesitation, she depressed it. It started to beep with increasing frequency and urgency. Letting it go, she ran.
"Shoot her!" Kai Ling cried.
Ryder ran down the steps, right into the atrium of the shuttle bay, towards the huge and heavy shutters that opened to the outside. It didn't matter if she was shivering with every step, it didn't matter she could feel blood flowing down her leg again.
"Her father has voided the deal!"
Her thighs screamed for mercy but she forced herself on. Bullets whizzed passed her head. She weaved and ducked as best as her bad leg allowed. Then, alarms blared. Dark blurry shapes materialised in the snowy landscape on the outside. Ryder's footsteps faltered.
Cerberus?
Pain flashed across her arm. She stumbled but kept her balance. For a moment, she couldn't tell where the bullet was from. Were the dark shapes ahead firing at her? Or was it from behind? Kai Ling's shouts echoed across the shuttle bay.
Rock and hard place, she had to choose. Standing in the middle meant certain death. Ryder glanced behind her. The beeping had reached a crescendo. "Grenade!" a Cerberus operative screamed
As the blast ignited, a blue shield snapped up over Kai Ling. She had left her people to fend for themselves. Flames, red and yellow enveloped the group in an instant. Screams ripped through the air.
All thought fled. Ryder staggered on. Debris and shrapnel flew, peppering idle shuttles and human flesh alike without discrimination. Her breath condensed against the freezing air, but sweat beaded across her brow. The wind whipped her hair around. The figures ahead solidified as they shifted into cover. Ryder forced herself to keep moving. Her vision blurred as perspiration stung her eyes.
"Persephone!" Kai Ling screamed.
Ryder refused to turn. She couldn't afford to. She had to go. The exit was just right there.
"Ryder!" Another voice cried, this time from ahead of her.
The voice was familiar. She blinked, trying hard to clear her vision. One of the figures stood up, beckoning towards her. Clear as day were the Alliance colours on the armour.
"We'll cover you!" The figure shouted as drones took to the air, whizzing overhead.
Ryder twisted to track the drones' movement only to see Kai Ling rushing her. Her Charge slammed into Ryder and both of them went tumbling. Ryder's world narrowed down to a single face. She had no way to break her fall with her hands still cuffed behind her back. The impact slammed into her battered body and she slid a distance before coming to a stop. Kai Ling's armoured hands dug into the ground, scoring it but slowing down more gracefully. A hail of gunfire forced the Operative to seek cover.
"Ryder!" someone shouted before ordering. "Cover me!"
Ryder's world spun as she struggled to stand. Her bad leg buckled, refusing to take her weight. Her breath echoed loud in her ears, her head hot despite the ice creeping up her limbs. She shook her head, trying to dislodge the encroaching darkness at the edges of her vision.
Kai Ling snarled her impotence from behind cover. In her hands was a pistol, aiming directly at Ryder. Teeth gnashed, Ryder summoned what bit of biotics she had been hoarding. With a roar, she Pushed.
The force sent Kai Ling crashing into the nearest parked shuttle. Metal plates groaned under the impact.
Hands were upon her, lifting her to her feet and eventually hoisting her over one shoulder. Ryder's head bumped against their back as they ran. Every step sent waves of agony through her exhausted body.
"Come on, come on!"
As they stepped out into the open, a roar came from above. Ryder twisted to see the Normandy screaming as it came in for a landing. The sight brought tears to her eyes.
She was finally safe again.
"I'll walk," Ryder insisted despite leaning heavily against Williams.
"Stubborn fool. Are all you Ryders like this?" she asked.
"This one is," she huffed. "I need a little dignity here. Bouncing my head against your butt, isn't how I picture my triumphant return."
Williams rolled her eyes. "Fine, fine, I'll be dragging you on board if Cerberus send more troops out."
"Fine."
The ramp was lowered and soldiers poured out. She spotted the LT and his team leading the way. Then, a familiar figure cut in N7 colours rushed down. Through the slit of clear visor, green eyes took in the situation quickly. Between Shepard and Williams, she was hauled on board the Normandy despite her complaints.
Chakwas was inside the ship with a med-kit ready. She took one look and barked, "Med-bay now."
Shepard pressed a gentle hand on her shoulder. "Good to have you back."
Before Ryder could react, Shepard waved a hand at a soldier to take over. The soldier still wearing their helmet took a firm hold of her arm and waist as the Commander disappeared into the CIC, probably overseeing their escape or something. Thoughts were nebulous things she couldn't keep them tied down long enough to think.
As she was half carried, half dragged to the med-bay, between Williams and the soldier, all she wanted was to stop hurting. The med-bay's door slid open and Williams turned to a soldier. "You got this?"
The soldier nodded, not deigning to reply. Williams squeezed her shoulder. "Rest up, I'll see you in a bit."
Ryder nodded, between her uncontrollable trembles. The little jaunt between the Cerberus base and the Normandy had sapped all her body heat.
"I'm not human anymore, I'm a popsicle," she hissed. "I'm never going to be warm ever again."
"You will," Williams laughed. "Got to go help the Skipper wrangle the others."
Ryder offered a shaky smile, feeling giddy to have survive. As the soldier helped her into the med-bay proper. She shivered, muttering curses and apologies as they tried to manhandle her onto the nearest bed. In the end, the soldier just scooped her up like a child and eased her into the bed.
The Normandy's drive core whirled up and the entire ship shook a little before the inertia dampeners came on. Chakwas shoved a thick blanket at her. As she struggled to properly cover herself with it, the soldier stepped forward and helped her with it.
"Thank you," she whispered, through cracked lips and hazy vision.
As Chakwas activated the bed's scanner, Ryder's eyes sagged shut. The rumble of Normandy in flight was lulling her to sleep. A gentle hand touched her shoulder. "No sleeping, not yet."
"I'll try, doc." Her eyes fluttered open again.
Buckles were unlatched as the soldier removed their helmet. They stepped closer and loomed over her. "You will not try," they said. "You will do it."
Ryder stiffened. She knew that voice. It was one that barked orders at her, one that told her time and time again with its silence she wasn't good enough, she was never going to live up to his expectations.
No, why is he here?
She grunted and braced herself up into a sitting position. Chakwas tried to press her back onto the bed, looking frustrated and confused between the solider and herself. Ryder had eyes only for the man that stood in front of her.
"Sara Ryder, how the fuck did you screw up this badly?" her father asked.