A/N
It has been a long time my friends. I have been busy with a new job, home life and any other number of excuses...but no more!
I do not own any of this work related to characters of franchises. Nor any products possible mentioned.
Chapter 16: Wrath
POV: Pvt. Ashe
"I wonder how long the Commander is going to be pissed this time?" asked Private Ashe aloud as he stared out of the Normandy's cockpit. It had been roughly twelve hours since Kai Leng had infiltrated the ship. People had scrambled frantically to get underway for no port seemed safe these days. Then the raging storm that was caused by Teagann happened.
"Well, she had every right to be pissed." responded Corporal Smith. Ashe rolled his eyes at Smith who was Joker's stand in pilot.
"Yeah, but the way she was screaming at people like a harpy...not something I need to see. I still have a head ache from her constant bitching." he snapped back. Ashe was sitting in the comm chair to the left of the pilot seat. The whole sip was on a night cycle with the red running lights and skeleton crew in position. But, Ashe was up here bored out of his friggin little mind for he was tasked to help Lieutenant Commander Sorley.
"I hear ya. But, here we go. Short range scanner test starting...now" said Smith into the comm to engineering. Ashe watched the short range radar. They could only test their systems on a small scale for the Reapers tended to pick them out if using full strength.
"Copy that. No problems down here with the power draw." responded Kyson. Ashe rolled his eyes again.
"Man, how does a hot head like Kyson get to the position he is in now?" he asked Smith who was busy checking the ships flight. They were ordered to proceed at almost a crawl while the crew got rest. The Pax system in which they currently were on the outskirts of, had thus far missed any Reaper attention. But Ashe didn't care so much about the danger he could always be in. He just wanted to get home back to earth. And the way things were handled with Rannoch well, people on the Normandy were beginning to have their doubts.
"By getting the job done. Albeit he is a bit brutal about things isn't he." said Smith as he began to laugh a bit. Ashe shook his head.
"Brutality only gets you so far." he replied. But before Ashe had any time to elaborate he got a warning from EDI.
"Anomaly detected. I suggest we bring the ship to a stop." Said EDI with caution. Ashe saw Smith frown a bit.
"What the hell is out here? EDI, how close is the object?" asked Smith as he slowed the ship to a full stop. Not that it took long.
"Hey, why are we stopping?" asked Kyson over the comm. Ashe picked it up.
"Sorry LC. EDI has found an Anomaly of sorts. Gonna get lights on here in a second." said Ashe.
"The fuck is an anomaly?" asked Kyson causing Ashe to laugh.
"From what I have heard sir, you are one" he replied causing Smith to laugh. Ashe got the controls up for aiming the outboard lights. He sighed knowing with his luck, it was a Reaper in hiding.
"Okay! Which way EDI? He asked.
"To your left Private. It should be only twenty meters from us." said EDI. Smith let out a low whistle.
"Daaaaaaammmnnn. That was close. I would have hated to be the one to scratch the Normandy. Joker would've sicked EDI on me." said Smith.
"That I don't doubt." replied Ashe as he lit up the lights. Right in front of him was the anomaly.
"It's a damn ship..." trailed of Smith with unease. Ashe had chills running down his spine for it was no ship he had ever seen before. The metal mass in front of him seemed incongruent with itself. Harsh angles seemed to erupt from smooth surfaces like rusty tumors. Nothing looked to be damaged but it seemed ancient at the same time. But upon closer inspection, more familiar origins came to mind.
"The body of the ship almost seems Salarian, but those are definitely Turian wings on it." said Ashe aloud. The thing in front of him wasn't right. He had heard of bootleg construction in space, but this was way off.
"Running scans now" Said EDI. They sat there in silence. Then a thought came to the private.
"Uh, LC...are you seeing this?" asked Ashe over the comm.
"Yeah, it's a piece of junk." said Kyson.
"Should we wake the commander for this?" asked Smith. Silence fell again.
"Do you want that job?" asked Kyson.
"Nope" said Smith quickly. Ashe knew the Commander would kill whoever woke him up after the chaos of Shepard's tantrum earlier.
"Okay then, EDI, anything yet?" asked Kyson. Ashe looked upon the dark ship free floating in space. He began to see intergraded parts from all of the modern space fairing species.
"At least it isn't a Reaper" said Ashe.
"This ship has no active registration, Kyson. For all intents and purposes, this was a dune buggy project." said EDI. Ashe could hear Kyson snort over the comm.
"So it looks like someone had time and money to burn and built their own ship for fun. I bet if we went over there, we would find the mummified corpse of some young millionaire who fucked up on building this shoddy pile of shit." said Kyson. Ashe sighed, for when he was a kid, he had always wondered if he could build his own ship. Best left to the pros it seemed.
"Alright, well, let's get moving again shall we?" asked Kyson.
"Copy that LC. Moving out now" replied Smith as he eased the ship to just over a man's walking pace.
"Private, I need you to come down to engineering in about ten minutes. I need a hand moving something." ordered Kyson.
"Yes sir" said Ashe promptly before leaning back in his chair.
"If it is heavy enough for Kyson to need help, it means it's going to hurt whatever it is" said Ashe moaning.
"Better you than me" said Smith with a smile.
(Counting Bodies like Sheep to the Rhythm of the War drums: by A Perfect Circle)
As the Normandy began to creep away from the derelict ship, someone emerged from a small bay under the Salarian style cockpit. With a dark smile only the vastness of space could see, the figure jumped into the black towards the Normandy's hull. As the Alliance ship was nearly within grasp. The dark figure began to lick its teeth with hunger and excitement. Allowing enough time for the lock down code that once belong to Cerberus to take effect. A chime sounded notifying the figure that full control of the ship now was in its hands.
The distant star Pax shone brightly but was much too far off for any light to illuminate the hull of the ship. Only the outer running lights dimly illuminated the persons feet casting distorted shadows. With an out stretched hand, the infiltrator of sorts made contact with no more noise than a pin being dropped on the floor...if in atmosphere. With calm movement the dark figure began to walk on the outside of the hull. There was a first goal. The starboard observation room. There was something very important there.
Getting onto all fours, the figure began to crawl down the side of the Normandy. The observation decks blast shield was lowered affording a perfect sneak peek of the woman inside. Black hair flowed over her shoulders as a book rested in her hands. Now the spy began to really get excited as drool almost began to escape the barrier of its lips. The fun was about to begin. For this was the woman who had begun the destruction of things most dear.
{Don't fret precious I'm here, step away from the window. Go back to sleep.}
The figure quickly scurried to the top of the window with half of his torso visible to the room.
Boom.
With a mighty blow, the attacker slammed his fist against the window causing several cracks to form. The woman nearly did a flip out of her seat on the sofa she was lounging on. A pistol instantly appearing in her hand. The figure smiled at the sight of her wide, fear beaming eyes.
Boom.
The fist connected again as the Woman began to frantically try to get her helmet on at the same time finding the door to her room locked.
{Safe from pain and truth and choice and other poison devils}
Boom.
{See, they don't give a fuck about you, like I do.}
The window shattered with the third blow. The air inside erupted outwards taking all of the contents inside with it to float aimlessly in the void. This included the Woman. The figure caught her by the ankle with a growl of like a fish out of water the woman lost her grip on the helmet she had, along with the pistol. Now all the stricken Human could do was flail in panic. She was mouthing things that in the hollowness of space meant nothing. The figure brought the woman up close to its face. Her bulging eyes showed that her breath was about to end. Cutting into her comm, the figure said one thing.
"Remember Lieutenant Commander Williams. In space, no one can hear you scream" it said with a cruel smile. And with that said, Ashley Williams was nudged gently downwards towards the intake to thruster No.1. The figure laughed cruelly as the woman slowly spun as she suffocated in space. Only to see at the last second, her feet sucked into the intake. The figure was right. Not a sound was heard.
{Count the bodies like sheep. Count the bodies like sheep.}
With no time to waste, the figure dropped into the starboard observation deck. Bringing up its Omni-Tool. It prepared to open up the door.
Corporal Smith's POV
"I can't believe this is happening again" stammered Private Ashe as the elevator came to a stop on the crew deck. Smith was busy getting his bearings.
"Why? We are at war? Were you on the Normandy when it was attacked by the Collectors?" he asked the young kid who was losing his shit. The boy shook his head saying no.
"But, the stories Joker had shared with us..." Private Ashe couldn't finish his sentence.
{Counting bodies like sheep to the rhythm of the war drums.}
"Look, just keep your head on straight. What I can't understand is how the elevator is not affected by this lock down? You head to engineering while I see if I can get to EDI. That's an order. Get Kyson and anyone else you can to do a shake down." he ordered as the elevator opened to the dark crew deck. Smith was taking cover to the right side of the elevator and checking his corners with his side arm.
"Y...Yes sir!" snapped Ashe way too loudly for the dangerous situation. It caused Smith to wince.
"Damn it shut up and go!" he said as he lurched out into the hall. The elevator closed behind him. Holding his breath, Smith tried to listen for any movement. Hearing none, he tried to see if the crew quarters were accessible. After a minute of struggling with the door and failing to open it. Then having the same result with the Starboard observation deck, he moved on to the med bay. There were supposed to be two people down here on a guard shift. But not as sound came from them if they were still here.
"Or alive." he whispered to himself. The med bay was completely black with another sealed door in his way. Cursing the situation, he had only one option left on this floor. He needed to go the short distance to the sleeper pods and see if anyone could be roused. His hair standing on end, Smith began to hug the wall for the darkest part of the whole deck was the center of the mess hall.
{Count the bodies like sheep.}
Making the few steps up to the hall leading to the sleeper pods and main battery, Smith took a deep breath for he had sudden chills. The air seemed to feel thick. Heavy even, but that was just paranoia settling in. Moving a bit faster, he checked the first set of life pods. Some of his fellow crew were sleeping soundly.
"Thank you, God!" Whispered Smith loudly. He moved on to check for anyone else, but a strong finger tapped him on the back of his left shoulder. With what felt like electricity jolting him, he spun around with his pistol at the ready. All that was seen was the black area of the mess hall. Nearly soiling himself, Smith turned back around.
A hooded figure with two barely discernible white tusks was hanging upside down in front of him. He began to shake, a cold sweat coated his skin as he relieved himself in his pants.
"Wh...What in God's name are you?!" he stammered. No response came, the air seemed to get humid as a pressure began to build inside of Smith. The pain was unbearable, he felt like he was going to...That was the last thing Smith ever felt. A light sound of a door opening and pressures equalizing could be heard. Followed by the sound of a wet cloth falling onto a tile floor.
{Go back to sleep. Go back to sleep.}
Liara's POV
"Why do I even try Benalia? I just want him to actually take a breather once and a while. But I'm afraid that if John doesn't give himself a break, he won't make it to the end of this war" said Liara to her much senior friend. Benalia shook her head in anger.
"That is still no excuse for him to haul off and snap at you like he did hon. I know you two deeply love each other. But Shepard is in the dog house this time babe. You put your foot down just like you should have. It hurts, but it is necessary." said Beni calmly. The voice didn't match the expression. Liara sighed loudly as she flopped down on her bed.
"Did you ever go through this while watching over Luke and Kyson?" asked Liara.
{Counting bodies like sheep to the rhythm of the war drums.}
"Shit, damn near every day. Them boys just don't know when to keep their fucking mouths shut." laughed Benalia. Liara began to laugh slightly herself for what Beni had said was an understatement. She looked at Beni who was looking at her wall of monitor screens. A very odd look was coming from the Matriarch.
"Beni, what is it?" asked Liara.
{Go back to sleep. Go back to sleep.}
"Quiet" said Beni tersely with a frown on her face. Liara began to sit up, but a wave of nausea began to overcome her. As if a wave of pain had erupted inside of her.
"What's going on?" she asked again. Beni was backing away from the wall with eyes full of fear. Something was on the other side of the wall. Beni, from the look of it, could see it.
{Counting bodies like sheep to the rhythm of the war drums.}
Liara watched as the first row of monitors began to lose resolution. Then, the next row until three rows were a wash of static. Then as if tracking whatever it was on the other side, the monitors that first went out came back online. Liara felt the sick in her stomach ebb away as she watched. Once whatever it was left. Liara became a flurry of motion. She tried to get a hold of EDI. Beni tried the door. Nothing worked. They were trapped. Something was on the ship that made Liara fear for her life in ways she never thought imaginable for in both Asari's minds, a deep gravely cackle entered their thoughts.
Private Ashe's POV
"Fuck me, not a single door will open. Kyson is going to blame this on me. Shit runs downhill as always I guess." gripped the Private. Ashe had even tried banging on the windows overlooking the maintenance bay but everyone down there was fast asleep. He did get a response from Javik though. He had lost his temper and began to bang on the door to the Prothean's room. He got some pounding back but that was it. All communication was down as well. He had given up. So he went back to the elevator.
{Go back to sleep. Go back to sleep}
"I don't want to go back empty handed but we're cut off. If anyone has a chance, it's Kyson and Miss Zorah." he said aloud to himself. When he thought about it, it might have been a hard shutdown at the eezo core. He had heard of things like this happening.
"Maybe Kyson found something odd and had to do an emergency shutdown" he said to himself again. The doors to the elevator opened and he stepped in still deep in thought. When he looked up a figure was standing in front of him. A hood covered the thing's head and two tusks could be seen protruding from the helmet it was wearing.
"Holy shit! The fuck are you?" yelped Ashe as he jumped back a few feet.
{Counting bodies like sheep.}
The tall figure began to slowly step towards him as he tried to frantically find a way out of his situation. But, all the doors were locked. He was a mouse in a trap.
{Go back to sleep}
"What do you want with us?" he asked defiantly. If he was going to die, or if he got out of this situation somehow, he would at least have information. The figure shook its head slowly at him not saying a word. But it was just a pace away from Ashe. The Private could feel the blood pumping though his veins as fear mixed with adrenaline kicked in. The figure was staring down at him as if he was nothing more than a curious little animal.
{Go to sleep [x14]}
The figure was annoyed by the little man in front of it. With a savage motion that would hurt any normal person, the figure kicked the Privet right through the safety glass overlooking the hangar bay. Shouts could be heard as people woke up. Someone looked up at the broken window and beefy guy known as Vega. The figure just calmly waved hello before he looked down at the crumpled and bloodied form of the young man he had killed. A pool of blood was forming on the deck below. Now it was time for the main course. It lay in the ship's Engineering
{Go back to sleep}
Kyson's POV
"What in the hell is going on with this ship?" asked Kyson for the tenth time in a row. He was busy trying to get a fix on what might be causing the lock down, but it wasn't a power problem. Tali kept telling him to check and see if any of the main power feeds had become burnt out but that was always ruled out because such a failure would result a very loud, catastrophic boom. In most cases. This was where Kyson had to grind his teeth and leave it to someone who knew how to hack. He was outclassed there.
"I'm finding a firewall of sorts, but it looks like EDI was disconnected manually. I'm getting no feedback from her at all. My system checks are showing a break in her feed to the rest of the ship." said Tali as she frantically skimmed through the ships schematics.
{Go back to sleep}
Kyson growled as he tried to help find any oddities himself. The Core was running fine but no power was coming from the core room at all except for three things. Emergency running lights, the elevator, and the life support. All of those things were still up and running just fine. He had been pacing in circles trying to understand how perfectly good wire connections could be cut dead with no junction boxes where something could be tampered with. Well, the schematics didn't show them. It didn't meant they weren't there.
{Go back to sleep. Counting bodies like sheep.}
"I'm going down under the decking. I have a hunch." he said to Tali has he began to lift a floor panel in the front middle of the deck. Most of the access panels were transparent for ease of examination but that didn't nearly reveal a fraction of what could be below. With the dark gloom of the hole facing him, he nutted up and went down in.
{Go back to sleep. Go back to sleep.}
"See anything?" asked Tali loudly. Kyson could barely inch forward with having one hand stretched out in the cramped space with his light. The main power cables were on either side of him as he scooted along. One thing he did notice was the break in the Alliance overhaul that was done on Earth.
{Counting bodies like sheep}
"Kyson! Anything?" shouted Tali again. Kyson was about to turn back for he was almost half way to the power core when he saw it. There were two huge junction boxes. Both of them had the Cerberus emblem on them.
"You have to be shitting me" he growled in disbelief. He swore loudly as he remembered his protest for not being able to be a part of the retrofit of the Normandy. Looking back at the junctions, each had a disconnect lever both in the off position. But that left a question.
"Who the hell got down here and switched them off?" he asked himself. Going a bit further, he got a hand on the lever.
{Go back to sleep}
"It won't budge." growled Kyson in frustration. As he lied in the darkness of the access tunnel, he tried to think of the reasons that could cause this problem. There were a few so he decided to go from worst case on back.
{Go back to sleep}
"Kyson. What's going on down there?" asked Tali a bit more clearly. Kyson had to hug his chin to his neck and use his light to see Tali half in the hole.
"I found disconnects on the two main power feeds. The have Cerberus emblems on them." he replied before looking back at the boxes.
"The Alliance missed that? Really?" she asked. Kyson could hear the sarcasm lining her words.
{Counting bodies like sheep to the rhythm of the war drums}
"I know, right? But I have a theory. Either there was a massive power flux causing them to slam off and weld themselves into the off position..." Kyson didn't finish for if he was right, they were in a very bad spot.
"I doubt that. If they are just disconnects why would they trip like a breaker? We already have those right against the core. Can you put them back on?" asked Tali at the end of her musings.
"Nope, not without a Krogan. It feels like there is something holding the lever back, to make things better, there is no access to the guts" he answered.
{Go back to sleep}
"If that's the case come back out of here. We need to find a solution." said Tali. Kyson grunted as he began to push himself back.
"What if those boxes could be accessed remotely?" he asked aloud.
{Go back to sleep}
"You are suggesting that the Alliance left devices behind that could render us at the mercy of The Illusive Man? No, that could never happen. Oh, wait. I bet you the land I claimed on Rannoch that they did." said Tali as she helped Kyson out of the hole.
"Thanks babe, but yeah. I think we found our problem. But, wouldn't EDI know this one? This doesn't make sense." he said trying to gain some reassurance.
{Counting bodies like sheep to the rhythm of the war drums}
"I think we should try and see if there is a signal being transmitted to those disconnects." said Tali getting them back on track.
"Yeah, we won't find out until we get this problem fixed, eh?" asked Kyson as he went back to his terminal and began to pull up a new screen. Tali leaned against the safety rail a few feet from her usual spot with crossed arms.
"You know...the best place to start is back down inside those junction boxes." she said with what sounded like restrained laughter. Kyson looked at her with a haggard look. But, she seemed to be looking at something on the deck above them.
{Go back to sleep}
"What's up?" he asked as he turned back to his terminal.
"Huh? Oh, nothing. Just tired is all." she replied. Kyson laughed.
{Go back to sleep}
"Well if you decided to lend me a hand" he said while giving her shit about leaning on the rail instead of helping him.
Tali's POV
That's right, laugh it up asshole. I've been working just as long as you have and I need to take a little break. Tali could see Kyson's smile in the glow of the red light. She knew he was messing with her, her own smile had to match his. But, a hand came out of the darkness from the ceiling above grabbing Kyson by the throat. She could see the confused look on her bond mates face as he was slammed against the wall to his left. She instantly reached for her pistol as a tall figure dropped to the ground. Before she could get her side arm up more than a single inch, the tall figure had a gun pointed at her.
{Counting bodies like sheep to the rhythm of the war drums}
A single shot rang out blinding Tali to her surroundings. But she could hear the fabric of her realk tear. Silence continued for a few seconds before she realized she hadn't been shot.
"Move again, and the next one goes through your face" growled the figure. She could hear Kyson stop struggling for his feet stopped kicking against the wall.
"Fuck off, Kerris!" Kyson managed to choke out.
{Counting bodies like sheep to the rhythm of the war drums}
Tali gasped as recognition settled in. Kerris was alive. Her grip on the pistol began to shake as she realized that there would be no reprieve from the now nearly seven foot tall figure. She had let Kyson leave Kerris to die. He would not be bluffing again. But seeing Kerris use his mechanical legs to their full sight seemed to cast her bother in a new light. The cold abruptness must have been what Kyson had been trying to warn people of this entire time. Kerris continued to stare at Kyson while Tali tried to come to grips with her mistake of letting Kerris live.
In the darkness of the red auxiliary lights, she could see Kyson staring back with a wild look in his eyes. By all rights Kyson should be full of fear. Kerris at this point was proving more powerful than Saren!
{I'll be the one to protect you from your enemies and all your demons. I'll be the one to protect you from a will to survive and a voice of reason. I'll be the one to protect you from your enemies and your choices son. They're one in the same, I must isolate you…Isolate and save you from yourself …}
"How did you survive Kerris?" Tali managed to say after snapping out of her shock. The only reason Kerris was here now, was for revenge.
"Doesn't fucking...ungh...matter, Tali." choked her lifemate.
"Really? Well, excuse us! We're having a little trouble understanding how you are not losing your mind right now. Never mind the fact that we just went through several natural disasters! So, really? No 'holy shit it's fucking Kerris' from you Kyson?" growled the cyborg in a rage that caused Kyson to make more grunting noises as the only organic arm left on Kerris continued to choke Kyson.
"Stop that!" yelled Tali involuntarily. She was not going to lose Kyson like this, she had brought enough grief on him with her decisions. In response Kerris kneed Kyson in the stomach causing her love to bang his fists against the wall in anguish. Kerris slowly looked at her.
"The more you plead, the more he will bleed" said her possessed brother. No, not her brother anymore. He was a threat that had to go. But, she was here all alone, shut off from any help. As she looked into the new mask Kerris wore—with its sharp angles and tusks that could only come off of a beast on Rannoch—she realized this had always been her weakness. She always needed help. When it came down to a critical moment, she had to rely on the help of others. She could never do things on her own.
"That's right, we can tell what's going through your mind right now, Tali. Cut off and alone. Scary, isn't it?" asked Kerris as. Tali swallowed hard as the weak lights that barely outlined Kerris seemed to fade. The hair on the back of her neck began to stand on end as the darkness inside Kerris began to seep out of him.
"Kerris, what the hell is inside of you?" she asked hoping to gain some time. Time for what was the question though. She was now the only hope for the Normandy.
"Something...greater. Something grand in scope and consequence." laughed Kerris with his gravelly voice.
"Something like cheap bullshit..." Kyson attempted to choke out, but made a loud sputtering noise as the hand around his throat clamped down hard.
"Should we kill it now? We want to kill it so badly!" hissed Kerris who had gotten right into the engineers face. Tali began to panic for if Kyson kept goading Kerris...
"Shhhh Kerris. You must enjoy this moment. These are the people who have set us back so far. They must suffer. And thus, you will gain joy" came a voice that seemed to fill the room. Kerris was quivering with what appeared to be barely contained excitement. But the pistol in Kerris's hand stayed steady leaving Tali still in check.
Kerris was still focused on Kyson while the voice began to cackle with glee. From the base of Kerris's neck, the darkness began to ooze out like a bubbling tar.
"Keelah, what are you..." said Tali in fear as two red eyes emerged from the dark tumor-like mass. It was looking right at her, gazing deeply into her. This time the chills were from much deeper than the skin. It was what she would later describe as her soul.
"What am I? I have told you before. I am chaos. Oh, don't make that face Miss Zorah. Yes, I can see through your visor. It is nice to finally converse with the one who has caused poor Kerris so much pain" said the creature. Tali shook her head in frustration. Despite her inability to take care of herself, she never did anything to cause Kerris torment. Kyson had taught her one thing, everyone is responsible for their own actions.
"I am not responsible for what you say." she said in her own defense. The shadow tut-tutted at her.
"You see Kerris, she doesn't even care enough to give you an honest excuse. Tali has abandoned you." said the Shadow.
"So it seems." growled Kerris. Kyson was looking at Tali now with a face of disgust. He obviously was disgusted by the shadow that called itself chaos.
"You have become a monster Kerris, you know this. Yet you can still get out of this with some dignity" Tali said trying to bring up her resolve. Kerris looked at her.
"Your chance is over! Done! Got it? You, your father, and the galaxy did this! We see what the true taint of this meager little galaxy is! It is you, Tali." screamed Kerris. Tali shrunk a little inside from the force of the hatred towards her. The very air around them seemed to ripple like a haze from Kerris.
"Look what you do to your dear Kerris, Tali. You have hurt him so. Why, we would almost say you are heartless" the shadow chided. Tali began to bristle at the slimy words of the monster.
"You did this to him. You are to blame, creature." said Tali.
"No! You are, Tali! You can't escape this. We were told to watch over you! We, were the one burdened with making sure you were safe! All we ever got from this task was pain! Suffering! Such excruciating choices were made for your comfort!" Kerris yelled.
"I never knew or asked for any of it. You did these things on your own." she responded. This, was the wrong thing to say. Kerris began to slam Kyson against the wall again while screaming at her.
"Liar! Liar liar liar liar!" shouted Kerris every time Kyson was slammed against the wall. Tali had tears beginning to form as she watched her love being abused. Kerris stopped long enough with a heaving chest for Kyson to get out a sentence.
"Kerris, you like every other being is responsible for their actions. You chose to dwell on this misery." said Kyson with a voice that was lined with anger. But, sorrow was laced in their as well.
"You do the same!" howled the cyborg as he kneed Kyson in the shin. Kyson yelped and cough as Kerris began choking again. Then, the shadow that seemed to grow out of Kerris, stretching around to be inches away from Kyson's face.
"Kerris, I think it would be good to teach Kyson a thing about retribution" said the shadow. Kerris with a swift motion slammed Kyson to the ground. The cyborg than began to kick the young man against the wall with his metallic talons.
"Stop!" screamed Tali as she began to draw her side arm. She would not let the beating go on. Kyson was letting out yells of pain as he kept getting kicked. With fury flooding her mind, Tali began to pull the trigger on her weapon. Nothing happened. He vision went black except for two red eyes in front of her. She couldn't move for the shadow had enveloped her.
"Now now, Tali. Everyone must pay their dues to the universe. Why don't I take that off of you? Relax for a while." said the shadow. Tali felt her weapon forced from her hands. It was an odd sensation, it felt like the gun was the one pushing her hand apart.
"Tali! Ah! I'm..." Kyson howled as a heavy thump was heard behind Tali. Then silence.
"Let me go! Kyson! Kyson answer me!" she screamed. She couldn't accept this. They had come so far.
"It hurts, doesn't it? Right now, he could be alive, or he could be dead. I always have taken joy from using Schrodinger's theory." said the shadow. Tali had no idea what it was talking about, all she wanted was Kyson to be alive. She wanted to be away from here. She began to sob silently as hopelessness began to envelope her. While she sobbed she could feel herself be rotated, he limbs controlled despite her struggling. Then, the darkness left her. She had been turned to see Kyson fighting to stand up. Then the noise returned.
"Let go of her. We are no longer a threat to you" begged Kyson. The shadow laughed with Kerris who was standing where Adams normally worked.
"We have waited a long time for this" hissed Kerris.
"Kyson..." she tried to say but she didn't hear her voice. She kept trying to call out to Kyson, to move, but nothing happened. She was trapped while she watched Kyson tremble while he stood.
"Do you make bargains? Or are you just another...fucking hell, what are you!?" snapped Kyson as he finally managed his footing. The darkness began to slink up to Kyson. The red eyes beaming with evil intentions.
"I? I am many things—called many names throughout time. I am eternal; I am infinite; I am chaos incarnate; I am the ninth plague. What am I, you ask? I am Khoshekh"said the shadow with self-inflated importance. Kyson glared at Khoshekh with pure hatred.
"What do you want?" asked Kyson. Tali began to scream in her mind. She knew what Kyson would do to save her. Anything.
"It is more than what I want, this is about Kerris! You should be more kind to your betters." growled Khoshekh. Looking very tired, with slumped shoulders, Kyson looked at Tali. She could see the 'I'm sorry' look he was giving her. The more she screamed in her mind, the more the darkness weighed down on her.
"So, my death is it?" asked Kyson bluntly. Tali screamed with every fiber in her body. Don't do it! Not without me! For a few seconds, she felt as if she could feel Kyson recognize her fear. The force keeping her caged lifted as a voice echoed back in her mind.
[I must, Tali. The others need you. If I can get us out of this, then John can focus on the war] said Kyson's voice in her head.
[But I can't do this alone!] She thought back. She watched as Kyson's eyes went wide with confusion. She felt very lost herself. Had they just communicated telepathically?
"Yes, your death" growled Kerris coldly. Tali's mind began to race. She tried to flex a finger, it curled once with her complete control. Filled with joy and hope, she focused her thoughts at Kyson. Hoping that her connection with him wasn't just wild imagination.
[Kyson, I have full control of myself again.] She thought quickly. Kyson just kept staring wildly at her.
[I'll ask later about this mind talk thingy, but you have a plan?] He asked.
[Do I still have my knife?] She asked she didn't want to risk giving herself away.
[Yes.] He answered. Tali watched at Kerris walked next to Kyson with his pistol. The gun was put to Kyson's head.
"This is what we came here for. Enjoy this Kerris. You have earned it" said the deep voice of Khoshekh.
[Run.] Tali thought loudly as she grabbed her knife. Kerris was laughing to himself as he began to squeeze upon the trigger. Tali closed the gap in a single bound with the very knife Kerris had given her years ago poised to strike.
"Kerris! She has escaped our grasp! The little traitor!" shrieked Khoshekh seconds before Tali's blade found the spine of Kerris. With unnatural quickness, the cyborg turned away. The blade met the mask's visor with such force, it caused the entire pane to shatter. The knife then entered just behind the left corner of the Cyborg's eye, lodging itself in the sinewy muscle. Tali's world around here changed instantly. A deafening roar of white noise filled her mind. Kerris howled with a most supreme agony as solid objects around Tali began to twist as if made from clay. The very air seemed to lose its saturation as everything went into a gray scale.
"You taint! You vile, slovenly cretin!" roared the glass against metal voice of Khoshekh. Tali felt a pressure strike her chest. She looked down as she was lifted off of her feet to see the black ethereal hand of the darkness push through her suit as if it wasn't there. Then a cold she had never known locked her lungs. She couldn't breathe as she flew through the air and into the wall Kyson was beaten upon. She dropped to the floor clutching at the growing cold inside of her. Her haggard attempts to draw breath came in loud raspy heaves. She looked up to see Kyson crawling next to her. But then there was Kerris. Khoshekh was completely beside him now looking at the wound.
"Awwww, look what they did to Kerris. Shhhh, it will be over soon." soothed the darkness. Tali was still fighting for breath as she watched Kerris grab the handle of the knife. With a nauseating crack, Kerris pried the knife out of his skull. The room was filled with a sickeningly loud suction sound as the blade was gently removed from the socket. A large 'plop' followed the extraction of the knife, allowing the eye to fall free from the socket only to hang from his optical muscle. With the synthetic right hand, Kerris gently held his eye out in front of himself. A quick flick of the knife severed the muscle causing the cyborg to shudder slightly.
Tali cringed as the eye was dropped unceremoniously to the floor.
"You...defy me this last time..." said Kerris referring to himself properly for the first time in the past few instances. Tali began to shrink into Kyson's arms as Kerris took a step towards her, his talons digging in furrows into the metal deck.
"With the very blade I gave you to protect yourself? My...pilgrimage gift...used like this?" asked Kerris with a growing tremble in his voice. Tali felt the place where Khoshekh touched her grow colder as Kerris got closer. She felt her bones being crushed with the dropping temp inside of her.
"So be it" said Kerris with quivering rage. With yet another deft movement, Kerris wistfully tossed the knife into the air before catching it within his cybernetic right hand. A harsh grinding noise was heard as the blade was crushed into oblivion while he let out a howl that began to shake the ship. The howl got louder as he arched his back with an all-consuming vision of wrath as the sounds of communication feedback joined his chorus. Tali's vision began to go black.
Kerris' POV
The eye was not a great loss. Khoshekh made sure of this, it even blocked out the pain as it gave him vison. His howl was his dirge. His mourning of his now gone past. There was only forward now. With a building tension of mind, Khoshekh showed him his destination. Kerris smiled as he sucked in a huge gulp of air, then stepped towards the door. He could feel himself become lighter as he looked at the pipes surrounding the elevator shaft. With a feeling of absolute bliss propelled by thoughts of vengeance Kerris felt himself travel through the objects before him.
Showing up with a violent twisting of metal, Kerris reformed in the elevator lobby for the engineering deck. Looking at the lights flickering on in the shuttle bay he could see that his override had been compromised.
"Hey, creature! Stay where you are!" said the annoying Prothean. With a twitch of a finger Kerris sent Javik flaying back against the bulkhead to the aliens room. Javik was conscious long enough to see long, black, ooze like tendrils break out from thin air around Kerris. They filled the lobby as one particularly thick tendril smashed through a window as the slithering mass dragged the monster up the wall and somehow seeping into the ceiling.
Now, he was in the sub-flooring in an ethereal state. Blacks and grays swirled around each other as four points of roiling rage found their way to the crew quarters. He moved as one with Khoshekh, they wreaked havoc upon the hidden electrical connections and vital air ducts. Shredding wires, twisting pipes merely in passing. They could feel life above them. They didn't need to be that way anymore.
With a violent expansion of force, the fused pair burst up through the floor of the crew quarters. The deck was left in a permanent swirl that seemed to be pulled outwards. Resembling the surface of water after a drop of liquid had hit the surface. But, matter suddenly appearing where it should not had a side effect. The sleeping people in the crew quarters were torn from their beds to the center of the room. Blood coated the walls as metal bed frames compacted with flesh and bone. This brought a smile to the cyborg as he waded through the red quagmire.
Calmly walking out of the room into the mess hall, he saw the horrified face of Dr. Chakwas from the windows of the med-bay. She will have a lot of work soon. Moving over to the elevator door, he felt the freeing feeling of Khoshekh force open the doors to the shaft. As the cyborg was guided into the shaft he almost wished he could describe to Kyson what he was missing! The exhilaration that came with these new movements! How he wanted to show Tali how great it felt as he allowed the darkness to fill the elevator shaft as he was lifted to the CIC deck. Oh! The power that was at his disposal when Khoshekh opened the doors revealing the Galaxy map.
Shepard was there, in nothing but his underwear. An insulation panel lay broken on the floor revealing where the Commander had crawled out from his cabin. It was time to go. Kerris could feel everything the dark tendrils could in the elevator column. It was time again for another leap. Shepard would later call it 'blinking' as he watched Kerris seem to dissipate from existence. The cyborg blinked through the galaxy map hologram. Just like the metal deck in the crew quarters, the holo distorted in a swirl dragging and bending the light behind him. The holo seemed to stretch fifteen feet as if being sucked into a black hole before snapping back to its proper place. Kerris looked back at Shepard who seemed very dumbfounded.
"Ah, shit" muttered John. Kerris couldn't help but laugh as he turned his back on the man. He opened the inner door to the airlock with a beaming grin. That's right, Shepard. Be afraid. Kerris closed the door behind him before he jettisoned out of the Normandy.
"Now, things will get very interesting" said the voice of Khoshekh. Kerris watched the Normandy slowly glide away towards the star Pax.
"Very interesting, indeed" added the cyborg as he turned back towards his ship.
Tali's POV
Once Kerris had left, things happened very quickly. The main power came on causing loose wires to arch or ground out between the decks of the ship. Loud crackling and flashes could be heard along with the trembling screams of the injured echoed through engineering. It was like Haestrom all over again for Tali. This time though, Kyson was screaming at the top of his lungs at EDI.
"Where the fuck is he? Tell me EDI!" he screamed. The A.I. told Kyson that her brother was already long gone. She still held onto her suit where the creature, Khoshekh, had touched her. It was getting easier to breath, but the cold remained. She was being dragged up by Kyson as he began to shout out to anyone who might around. Dianna Allers was in the lobby with a shocked expression.
"Tali, check on her while I..." the words died in Kyson's throat as he looked through the shattered window. Members of the crew were surrounding the crumpled body laying in glass shards. Cortez could be heard shouting for the man to hold on.
"What happened?" asked Tali. Her voice seemed distant, as if she was on the other side of her visor. When Allers told her what she heard the detached feeling got worse. Kyson began to call orders through the broken glass as a figure stirred on the floor.
"Kyson, Javik is hurt" said Tali. Kyson bounded into action. The Prothean seemed to have been knocked out but no worse for wear. Diana made a noise of surprise when Kyson reached out a hand to help. The engineer seemed to twitch for a second when he made contact. Javik's eyes went wide in surprise before Kyson grunted, pulling Javik up. The two just stared each other down before Javik spoke.
"Now is not the time. I fear much worse has happened above us" said the Prothean in a somber tone. When Kyson nodded and turned around, he looked rattled. He looked like he had seen ghosts. In fact, they both had. The four had to wait three minutes before their call for the elevator was answered. Kyson wanted to be at the bridge but Tali argued that they needed to have him seen by the Dr. Mostly, she wanted to be checked out for the ice in her chest would go away.
The crew deck opened up before them with Kyson getting status reports from EDI. The ship was waking up, and it had been beaten in its slumber. There was a line coming out of the med bay with dazed looking people. Tali could hear several people in tears as she looked to her right. Red. The color seeped across the entrance to the crew quarters.
"How many?" she whispered to herself as she heard Kyson go quiet. He saw it too. Liara was shaking in the arms of Beni. They were looking into the crew quarters. Tali looked in and saw the twisted metal of the floor. Pieces of distorted bodies lay around the protruding spike with blood flowing like a sticky waterfall. She ran away from the sight with bile rising in the back of her throat. She had to get away from the scene. It was too much for her. She had seen some of the most gruesome things in the galaxy. The Collector ship, their base that liquefied Humans to make the Proto-Reaper. But this was too much. This was the result of Kerris. She began to dry heave, thoughts became hard to grasp as she collapsed to her hands and knees. She barely saw heard the footsteps beside her.
"God, why did you leave us?" asked the voice of Kyson. Tali looked up towards the main battery. She could see Garrus holding Teagann up. Both were in casual clothes with dull distant eyes. Between Tali and her extended family, the sleeper pods were covered in more red. A fine, thin covering that seemed to explode outwards from a single point.
A skeleton stood upright in the middle of the pods, with only the boots still intact. A few tissues held the bones in place, even the jaw, locked in a silent scream.
"Kyson" said Garrus who was at a complete loss. She looked to her lifemate, he looked emotionless. Cold, far away from where they were. Lost. There were no words for what had happened. There never would be. Tali could hear voices about what had happened from those who had survived. All recounting their experience of finding out they were trapped. Then a new voice was beside her.
"I should have listened to you" said Shepard. It was calm and clinical. Not a single trace of what he was thinking.
"John. I...I think if there ever was a God. He is dead" replied Kyson. Tali began to weep silently, there was nothing else she could think of doing. They had been violated once again. At the place most vulnerable and sacred. Home. A strong pair of hands hauled her off of the ground. Shepard led her to a dining table.
"EDI, please get me a head count." asked Shepard as he led Kyson next to Tali. The words from Shepard were hollow.
"The seven in the crew quarters, they have all perished. The man in front of you is Corporal Smith. There was also one more casualty." said EDI. Shepard let out a heavy sigh.
"Commander Williams." said EDI. Tali, who was already on the point of breaking felt he balance give out. She lay slumped on the table with her helmet in her arm. She just cried now. Nowhere was safe.
"No. No! No damn it! No!" shouted John as he ran to the observation deck Ashley had been staying in. The sound of bare feet turned in to pasty slaps as Shepard couldn't avoid the blood pool.
"No, Commander. The room is exposed to the vacuum. Look at the stuff against the door. It was dragged here from the kitchen." Tali heard murmurs of fright. The thought of being sucked out into the void scared everyone.
Shepard rushed away.
"EDI, why hasn't a temporary barrier been erected?" asked Kyson.
"There are objects blocking the shield plane. I cannot compensate for the protrusions from the hull." replied EDI. Kyson nodded as he continued to stare at the skeleton. Seconds felt like hours as Tali fell silent trying to grasp everything that had happened. She wasn't aware of Garrus sitting beside her, or Kyson getting up and going to the med bay. All she could do was replay the look Kerris gave her when he crushed the knife he gave her long ago.
A knocking sensation began to beat on her mind causing her to grit her teeth. It felt like the accumulation of agony had finally found a way in.
[Tali, it's me] came the voice of Kyson in her head. She lifted her head from the table to find him. She could see him looking at a figure stretched out on a gurney in the med-bay.
[I'm sorry. I have been listening in on your thoughts for the past few minutes. We will get through this] said Kyson again in a somber tone. She felt him, a wave of dull warmth began to fill her with the images of the man in the bed. It was Private Ashe. He lay broken, with eyes showing shock. But, to her surprise, he was smiling.
"I didn't run, Kyson." said the private. Kyson chuckled, although Tali could feel how it made Kyson almost sick in order to muster the calming gesture.
"Damn you are stupid." said Kyson.
"Yes sir." laughed Ashe before he drifted out of consciousness. Kyson walked out of the room towards here. Boiling hot waves of anger twisted in Kyson's mind. She could see it on his face.
[How are you able to do this?] she asked in her head hoping Kyson could hear it. Kyson stopped mid step, looking into her eyes.
[I'm not sure, yet. But I think I know how...] his thought was cut off by a blanket of darkness. She felt as if her mind had been damped by some unseen cover. Kyson felt it too.
"I believe we can work on it some more later" said Kyson with a shrug.
"Work? Really, Kyson? Can't you think of something else right now? Look at the crew we have lost." huffed Teagann. Kyson scowled at his sister causing the three present around him to cringe.
"No." he deadpanned. Tali watched as Teagann seemed to shrink in fear for the first time in front of her brother.
"Kyson, the Commander needs your help in the shuttle bay." said EDI, who saved the youngest Sorley from an outburst. Kyson said nothing as he walked away. Tali would have followed, but she found herself laying down again on the table. There was nothing she could do.
Kyson's POV
He was alone in the elevator with nothing but his thoughts. Not a single one didn't have the color of blood on them. He was for the first time convinced they would lose the war long before his death. He didn't like the thought. The doors opened to the bay where glass was already being swept up. Vega was busy trying to get information from John.
"Why doesn't anybody know what happened? Who the hell was in charge when this went down?" snapped Vega. John gave the Marine a hard look before slapping on his helmet. Kyson had a feeling why he was needed. Grabbing his own armor, he silently put it on. John was waiting for him at the bay door. It was open with the blue glow of the environmental shield up.
"Ready?" asked John. Kyson nodded but just as quickly shook his head. He wasn't ready to go out there. He was scared of what he would find. A firm hand grabbed Kyson's forearm.
"Neither am I." said John sadly as he took his first step into the black. Kyson could see the star Pax shining brightly now. It gave just enough light to see where to step on the hull. The walk towards the starboard observation deck was a perfectly silent one. They both saw the smashed window with book cases and other debris clogging where Kerris must have come in. But no sign of Ashley.
"Christ, watch over her" said Shepard as he looked out into the blackness of space. Kyson shook his head with nothing to say. He began to push the lodged furniture back into the Normandy. Just a few pushes had everything back inside.
"Close the blast shield EDI. The debris has been cleared. Kyson watched as the Palladium blast shield sealed off the window.
"Shepard, Kyson. There is something obstructing engine number No.1." said EDI. Shepard walked over to the engine intake. It was dark with something sticking out of it.
Tali's POV
Everyone had assembled in the shuttle bay. There was a hush in the room that no sound could wade through as a figure was outlined by the star Pax. It was Shepard, who had outstretched arms ready to catch something. No details could be seen from the stark relief from the star. An object floated down to the Commander slowly followed by the outline of Kyson. No one moved. Even Shepard seemed to be frozen for a moment before stepping in. At first no one could see what make out what he had in his arms until the bay door closed. The shadows lifted, and everyone could see.
Ashley Williams, or half of her could be seen frozen in a timeless scream. Everything from the waist down was gone. As if it had been incinerated while her arms were bowed as if she was trying to hold onto something. Shepard walked slowly to the crew. The face would haunt everyone till their dying days. Tali had flash backs to when she had helped chase down Saren. How much she had wanted to punch Ashley for her arrogant ways. But as time went on, she had become a friend.
"By the spirits, Ashley" murmured Garrus who was relieving the same thing. Vega walked through the crowd, looked right at Ashley with tears in his eyes.
"How?" growled the Marine. Shepard just stood there holding Ashley in his arms silently.
"Engine one, it's not operational." said Kyson like a machine. A collective gasp from the crew was heard as Shepard made his way through the crowd.
A/N
There was a whole lot of POV changes this chapter so let me know if it worked. I was struggling to convey everything that was going on in a manner that felt right.
Also, that little competition I ran who knows how long ago? There is a winner.
S33k3r-Hun. With the line 'I'm back'. Yup, apparently I'm a sucker for the Terminator...The tricky part is I don't know if he/she is still reading so who knows? If you are still out there Hun, PM me for the prize.
Finally, I have almost ten chapters back logged. I just started writing again one day and couldn't stop myself for two weeks.
So thanks for hangin' in there and review as you will as always.
~RJ