Chapter 57: Glitch in the System

Jack stepped towards the next door with Kal at his side getting ready to face whatever had made that terrible noise. Seeing one of the evolved Husks dead on the ground was one thing, hearing them and knowing they were alive was something else. Miranda slid in behind them quietly to use her passcode and the door opened slowly like it's motors were covered in rust. The creeking sound made Jack wince. Hadn't Chandana's research team only arrived a few months ago at most? Why was all of the equipment behaving as though it had been fifty years since anyone had operated them? As he suspected, the groaning metal attracted the attention of at least ten former Human Husks.

Mordin spoke over the yelling cry each of the Husks made, "Remember, spikes most likely contain Reaper nanomachines! Don't touch."

They all started firing at the small herd but, Jack was fearful of the Husks speed. He could just barely outrun the Husks on Eden Prime, these were faster. In just a few leaps and bounds, the remaining group was on top of them swinging their arms wildly. Jack was thankful that each swing was messy and predictable so he could easily move out of the way of the spikes. The Husks were also extremely easy to take down, just one bullet to the head and they were back on the ground lifeless. He realized that their only real problem was going to be numbers, they seemed to replace themselves almost immediately when one went down. Garrus and Saren stayed towards the back of the hallway providing fire support for the other five of them.

Kal fired at the last one a few extra times, "Take that you bosh'tet!"

Jack thought his heart was going to stop when he saw a spike flying towards Kal, "Get down!"

Before he could tackle him, Miranda caught the spike with her biotics and hurled it back down the hall, "It's good to know they can shoot them as well."

Jack let out a breath in relief glancing at Kal, "You alright?"

The thought of losing Kal to indoctrination wasn't something Jack wanted to worry about. Indoctrination was a slow death and in the meantime, Jack would've been forced to watch and maybe even fight him. Kal wouldn't let anything get that far though, if he knew he had been exposed to the Reaper nanomachines he'd kill himself. That would be Jack's last straw, he could live without a lot of things and be just fine except for Kal. Suicide was certainly the selfish, easy way out when the entire galaxy was at stake but he didn't care. Kal would do the same thing for him and they both knew it.

Kal looked down at himself and then his omni tool, "No suit punctures, we're good."

Mordin tapped his chin, "Must've evolved with the singular purpose of spreading indoctrination. Random mutation maybe? No too specific, had to be engineered. By who? Collectors? None in the area. Reaper perhaps? Been shut down for 37 million years. Strange."

Saren marched past him to fire at the last Husk running down the hall to get back up, "I think we all know by now this Reaper isn't sleeping," he turned his head and glared at Miranda, "or 37 million years old."

Miranda just stared at him confused, "I don't know why your looking at me. I've been on the Normandy except for the time I was dropping off Jacob on the Citadel."

Saren growled starting to approach her, "I'm looking at you because Harp-"

Miranda tensed before interrupting him, "Freeze all motor functions. I don't need to be questioned when we're in the middle of a battle. You have history with The Illusive Man, we get it. Don't assume everything he does is against us."

Jack stepped between them, "That's enough both of you. We have bigger issues right now then Cerberus' history, Legion take us to the bridge."

A silence fell over the group before Legion started leading them forward. Jack could sympathize with Saren's misgivings about this entire mission but, Miranda wasn't the person he should be raging against right now. The Illusive Man had kept her in the dark as much as the rest of them when it came to Kai Leng on Purgatory and Cora's betrayal of Cerberus. If he was once again not giving Jack the whole story about what was going on here, Miranda most likely was also in the dark. Although, she did seem to know some about Chandana and his intentions for being here. Maybe Jack was letting her have the benefit of the doubt just because of past experience. It didn't matter what Miranda knew ultimately, they just needed to focus on finding the IFF and getting back out of here.

Legion's head turned around completely to look at Jack while he continued to walk forward, "Was it your idea to install a control chip into Saren, Shepard-Commander?"

Jack bit his lip feeling a little uncomfortable talking about the chip, "No Legion, that was Cerberus' doing."

Legion's metal flaps surprisingly seemed to tilt questioningly, "You seem to not approve in controlling him. He is a dangerous liar and manipulator resulting in the corruption of all other Geth programs outside of this unit."

Garrus had a defensive tone, "That was Sovereign Legion, Saren was already indoctrinated by the time you two met."

Legion countered, "The corruption level was not strong enough to override his own desires completely or my scan would've detected it. You wanted to destroy the Geth."

Garrus was about to say something else when Saren spoke, "Your right, I did. Sentient or not, the Geth are merely malfunctioning machines that almost committed genocide to the point of bringing an entire race to extinction. As a SPECTRE, it's my duty to eliminate that kind of threat."

Jack was surprised that Saren said that so bluntly. It pained Jack to think Saren certainly had a point even when he had been suffering from the effects of indoctrination. Even though Legion proved time and time again that he was working towards what was best for organics and synthetics, he stood alone in that regard. None of the other Geth had reached out to the galaxy in three hundred years let alone the Quarians. If they were truly looking for peace as a whole, he assumed they would've started trying to negotiate a long time ago. Then again, that was very easy for him to say. He wasn't being judged as a threat to galatic security for merely existing, most days that is.

Legion's metal flaps bent into the angry 'V' shape, "The Geth have only become a threat to the galaxy because of you. The ancient Creators forced our hand in protecting Rannoch."

Rael took over turning the head back around, "That's debatable Legion. Violence is never an answer to-" He was cut off when a Husk surprised them and pushed it's spike through Legion's already open chest cavity, "Well, that's handy."

The Quarian punched the Husk allowing time for Legion to shoot it. Another dozen of the Husks rushed around a corner and were right on top of the seven of them. He was grateful his Mom had taken him to so many self defense classes as a kid even before he ran away to join the Alliance. The moves he learned there were helping him dodge all of the spikes coming at him. Trying to get a headshot was like trying to fight a drunk person but, he was managing. Luckily, the others seemed to be handling the Husks just as well with their own powers. Miranda and Saren were staying towards the back this time so they could catch any of the flying spikes with their biotics. This room was also big enough for Garrus to fly around keeping away from danger.

Legion kicked one down on it's knees before shooting at another Husk behind it, "I am detecting a mass amount of energy signatures approaching us from below."

When one of the spikes punched through the floor just in front of Jack's legs he knew they were in trouble, "Run! Legion get us out of here."

Bringing Legion along had been a good idea, in theory he should know the layout of the Reaper. However, Cerberus had filled missing sections of the Reaper with their own architecture making things more complicated. Whenever Legion would want to take a turn down another hallway, they would be greeted by a wall. If there weren't Husks chasing them at every turn, Jack would've been more tolerant of the dead ends and back tracking. As it stood, turning around and going back for ten minutes translated into fighting the Husks they attempted to run away from earlier. His heart was hammering fearing that their so far good luck was going to run out. Just as they ran down a single corridor that seemed to go on forever, a black glowing shield suddenly appeared behind them cutting off the pursuing Husks.

He knew it wasn't good when Joker's voice came to his ear, "Normandy to shore party!"

Jack was breathing hard but slowed to a stop when he realized the Husks couldn't follow them, "What just happened Joker?"

Joker sounded extremely worried, "The Reaper put up kinetic barriers. I don't think we can get through from our side."

Garrus fired at the shield wall just to make sure nothing was getting through, "So we're trapped in here with zombies wanting to infect us with their disease. Wonderful."

Saren opened the door in front of them to make sure the Husks weren't already coming at them, "We'll have to take down the barrier generators from in here. Any idea where they are?"

EDI answered quickly, "A kinetic barrier can only be produced by a Mass Effect generator. That is true for any ship, even a Reaper. At the moment of activation, I detected a rapid heat increase near what is likely the wreck's Mass Effect core. Sending the coordinates now. Be advised: this core is also maintaining the Reaper's altitude."

Jack winced trying to work out the implications, "So when we take the barriers down to escape, the wreck falls into the dwarf's core."

Joker sounded like he was going to yell at them at any moment from stress, "And that means everyone aboard dies. Yeah, I got it."

Jack made sure to not project his personal fears, "If any helmsman can pull us off this thing before it reaches crush depth, it's you."

The comm cut leaving the seven of them alone again. His first instinct was to split up so one group could grab the IFF while the other went for the core. It had gotten the job done on Virmire with a few deaths as possible for that kind of mission. On a ship like this though, that plan was essentially suicide. Jack had no idea how many researchers were a part of Chandana's team but, there were definitely enough to overwhelm all of them if they weren't thinking let alone a smaller group. The only chance they had of making it out alive together in one piece was if they stayed grouped up as a unit. Hopefully, the bridge wasn't going to be very far from the core. Otherwise they were going to be in here longer than he liked with the seemingly endless supply of Husks.

Legion marched past Saren towards what looked to be an elevator but made sure to hit him with his shoulder as he moved, "I suggest we hit the bridge first, that way there is less pressure in escaping."

Jack watched Saren rubbing his arm while choosing not to acknowledge it, "That was my thought as well. We have to stick together or we're going to die alone on this ship."

Mordin smiled as if the tension couldn't be cut with a knife, "Not often a consumer of Human entertainment. Did enjoy that vid though."

Garrus tilted his head confused, "What the hell are you talking about?"

Mordin waved a hand dismissively, "Was trying to make a joke on what Shepard said. Famous quote from a vid. Doesn't matter, not appropriate environment."

He was just as clueless as to what Mordin was talking about but, the door opened before he could say as much. The bridge to this Reaper was not what he expected it to be. For starters, the room was entirely empty besides a single modern console Cerberus must've added when they arrived. Jack wondered if the terminal was truly plugged into the Reaper's architecture or, Chandana placed it here just to make the science team feel more comfortable. His own definition of the word bridge was telling him there should be equipment in here for controls, but a Reaper wasn't a ship, it was an AI. That meant it's 'bridge' was in every surface all around them.

Miranda tapped a few buttons on the console, "Just give me a few minutes and I should have the IFF."

A very familiar mechanical voice came from the ceiling, "Shepard, you have become an annoyance. You fight against inevitability. Dust struggling against cosmic winds"

This was what The Illusive Man and potentially even Miranda had been lying about this time. They weren't researching some 37 million year old Reaper, they were onboard the remains of Sovereign. Wasn't the whole point of the abductions the Collectors were doing just to give Sovereign his shell back? Why was Cerberus giving it to him on a silver platter? The Illusive Man couldn't possibly claim he had no idea what Sovereign wanted because he had told him after Horizon. This wasn't just one of Cora's wacky schemes either, Miranda and The Illusive Man himself trusted Chandana and knew what he was doing here. Cerberus was actively trying to put Sovereign back together officially. The only question was whether or not they were cooperating with the Collectors.

Jack defiantly glared at the ceiling, "I wouldn't get too comfortable where I was sitting if I were you. We're about to send this shell of yours back to the depths, all your work will be meaningless and the cycle will be broken."

Sovereign's bland tone strangely seemed to be amused, "Human, you have changed nothing. This failed shell has no meaning to me as your people foolishly fumble in the dark. There is a realm of existence so far beyond your own you cannot even imagine it. I am beyond your comprehension. I am Sovereign."

Garrus glanced at him confused, "Yeah we know, you've told us that before."

Rael jumped in with a very enthusiastic tone, "Did he say that word for word? Do you know?"

Jack shrugged staring back at the Geth, "It's been two years, I can't remember exactly but, maybe."

Saren was apparently catching on faster than he was, looking up towards the ceiling, "What is your purpose Sovereign?"

The machine was cold as it replied, "My kind transcends your very understanding. We are each a nation. Independent, free of all weakness. You cannot even grasp the nature of our existence. Why should I explain our purpose to the likes of you? A traitor to our cause."

Jack nodded slowly to Rael, "Yeah, I think I remember most of that. What's so important about it?"

Rael was overly animated and it was odd coming from a Geth, "Shepard, this changes everything-"

Sovereign interrupted him, "Your species has gained the attention of those infinitely your greater. That which you know as Reapers are your salvation through destruction." The door to the bridge started to be pounded on, "Know this as you die in vain: Your time will come. Your species will fall. Prepare yourselves for the arri-"

Kal shot where the voice was coming from ending his speech, "That's enough of that. What are you thinking Admiral?"

Before Rael or Legion could answer, a Husk spike stabbed at the middle of the elevator door. One quickly became two, and then three as it was clear they were trying to rip the door open. Jack would've started shooting immediately but, the door was made from palladium like his armor meaning the bullets wouldn't go through it. Unfortunately, that meant they had to wait for however many Husks were on the elevator to come at them before attacking. His mind was racing trying to figure out how many Husks could realistically fit on the elevator. Ten? Twelve? They all had fit relatively comfortably so, at least seven. He was thankful that the room was empty now, it gave them plenty of space to fight them.

Legion reloaded his rifle pointing it at the opening door, "His hypothesis is not important given the current situation. I will relinquish control when we are back on the Normandy."

Jack started shooting at the spikes since they were becoming exposed, "Miranda, tell me we have everything we need!"

She pulled her omni tool from the console before taking a headshot on the Husk, "I got the IFF, how are we getting to the core from here though?"

Legion grabbed a grenade from Kal's belt without asking and tossed it at one of the walls, "Leave that to me." After the explosion created a passage for them, Legion started marching through it, "Follow me."

He didn't have to be asked twice and pushed the others through the hole while he fired at the Husks. The sheer amount of the creatures was enough to frighten an entire platoon of Alliance soldiers. Saren tugged him by the shoulders through the hole once everyone else was across only to put up a biotic barrier. Did he honestly think that was going to hold for long? Saren was a good biotic, one of the best he had ever seen, but the further they got away from the bridge, the harder it would be to maintain the barrier. Unless, Saren was thinking about staying here to make sure they got away. Jack wasn't going to let that happen, he needed Saren for the rest of the mission.

Jack started pulling Saren along with him, "You can sacrifice yourself another time Saren, it's time we get out of here."

Saren growled sending a warp in the floor behind them so the Husks couldn't follow, "I don't know how long that will hold them back Shepard."

He noticed everyone had stopped a few feet in front of them, "Long enough. Hey, we have to keep moving everyone."

Kal looked back at him with a worried voice, "I don't think we can go this way Jack."

His heart sank the moment he stepped past him to see a five story drop. Even with the armor he and Saren had on, they wouldn't survive a fall like that. Garrus could potentially start using his jetpack to bring people down but, that was going to be slow going. He had no idea how long Saren's gap measure was going to keep the Husks at bay but, he assumed it wasn't going to be long enough. If he still had biotics, Saren, Miranda, and he could cushion a fall but he didn't trust just the two of them to do it. Their only option was to turn around and fight back to the elevator. That just created more risk that they could get hit with spikes and become indoctrinated.

Miranda bit her bottom lip before taking a few shots at the growing number of Husks behind them, "We have to fight our way out of here with whatever ammo we have left."

Rael approached the fall in front of them and saluted, "Or, we could just jump."

Jack's eyes widened in horror as Rael just jumped off of the ledge. Did he have a death wish knowing how hopeless this was looking for them? Surely he knew Legion wouldn't survive that kind of fall on his own. However, the black energy field that had cut off the Husks earlier surrounded Legion like a bubble and slowly moved him down like he was on his own personal elevator. He had no idea how the Geth knew the fall was going to be harmless but, yet again it was another example of him saving their lives. Jack only hesitated fearing that the black energy could seep between their armor sections and expose them to Reaper nanomachines.

Mordin watched Legion float all the way to the bottom, "Antigrav device, interesting. They thought of everything."

Jack took a few shots at the Husks trying to form a bridge with their bodies to get to them, "Is it safe for organics to use Mordin?"

The Salarian confidently walked forward to the hole, "Would assume so. Transportation must've been designed for Reapers creators. No need for them to indoctrinate themselves."

Jack had no idea how Mordin could jump to that conclusion but, he trusted him, "You heard him, everyone jump!"

The feeling of falling like this gave Jack a moment of having biotics again. It was a weightless sensation going down towards where Legion was waiting for them. He let out a breath seeing all the others were accounted for and weren't hurt. Jack couldn't stand the thought of losing any one of these crew members to indoctrination. Even Miranda, after all she had done to him personally, didn't deserve that fate. The landing was gentle enough and Kal was right next to him when his feet touched the ground. Kal would go anywhere with him, even a zombie infested AI construct without any regrets. He could just hear his Mom calling Kal a keeper.

Kal brushed some of the Husk blood off of his armored shoulder, "I'm going to have to paint this thing again with all of the blood your getting on it."

Jack laughed teasing him with a grin under his helmet, "It's a good thing I know you like art then."

Garrus coughed motioning ahead of them, "Uhh guys, any idea how we're actually going to take this thing out?"

Jack followed the Turians gaze and realized they were actually in the drive core room for the Reaper. A huge orb of glowing eezo hovered in the back of the room surrounded by spinning metal disks to maintain the eezo's shape. Sovereign's claim that the Reapers created the Mass Relays became more credible now that he was staring at one inside of a Reaper. After he recovered from the immediate surprise of seeing the thing, Jack had the same question. They had only brought small arms with them and he knew even before trying it that those wouldn't work. He couldn't believe they had fought all of those Husks only to get trapped now.

Kal raised his rifle and pointed at one of the joints keeping the metal disks spinning, "We shoot those out of wack and the eezo will become unstable."

Miranda shook her head, "Yes but, we'd all die from eezo exposure when that explodes."

Saren tensed starting to glow blue, "Not if we can create a strong enough biotic barrier for a short amount of time. The explosion may give us an exit point as well."

Garrus sounded cautious not lifting his weapon, "Are you sure you'll be able to handle it?"

A Husks cry from the elevator made Saren give a firm nod, "We don't have much time so you should start shooting."

Jack, Garrus, and Kal unloaded what was left of their ammo into the small metal joint. At first, Jack was concerned when nothing was happening and the Husks were coming at them from behind. This was it, they had no other options so if this didn't work they were as good as gone." He realized a moment later that he should always trust Kal's explosives expertise. The eezo started wobbling and warping when one of the disks stopped spinning. A few seconds later, Miranda and Saren put up a biotic barrier to protect them from the initial fallout. Despite that, the wall of blue energy slamming into the barrier was almost blinding and he could feel the heat coming off of it. When Saren's knees started buckling from the pressure, Jack grew concerned they weren't going to make it. As if the gods were looking out for him, the ball of fire disipated the second Saren and Miranda started falling.

He picked up Miranda's unconscious form, "Normandy, we're going to need a pick up now!"

EDI answered, "We are moving as fast as possible without risking the Normandy's hull integrity, stand by."

A spike whizzed over his head and he groaned, "They don't know when to quit do they?"

Legion was the only one still able to return fire, "I will cover you, go."

Now that they didn't have their biotic team members awake to deflect the spikes, things became more dangerous. Not only did they have to get on the Normandy as fast as possible, they had to avoid getting hit by the spikes. It felt like he was in high school again playing the most dangerous game of dodgeball you could imagine while carrying someone else with you. The Normandy arrived just in time and Jack didn't waste time getting in. He could finally relax again when all of the others made it without a scratch. Sovereign hadn't managed to indoctrinate anyone on his crew while he just destroyed it's old shell once and for all. They were back on the Normandy, it was time to see if all of the fighting had been worth it.