Log 21
Date: 8TH NOV 2186
Location: CERBERUS BASE, UNKNOWN
They've taken us to another Cerberus facility. When the generator was destroyed all the kinetic barriers and the main cannons went offline. This left areas filled with civilians vulnerable to attack and Colonel Travis soon surrendered the village to prevent mass casualties. In exchange Cerberus lowered the communication barrier and allowed her to transmit a warning advising the reinforcements to stay away. The resistance would survive to fight another day but with Cerberus able to mass produce Adjutants out of the people they'd capture I worried their fight would be futile.
I learned most of this on the way to this place, wherever it is. After the battle was over large trunks were brought in so that whole groups of us could be herded onto each one like cattle. We were chained down but still able to talk. From the various accounts of my fellow prisoners I was able to piece the story together.
It's hard to tell but I think we headed north after we left what's left of Welcome. No idea how far we've come but we may have crossed the border back into Canada. Well it made a great metaphor for being knocked back to square one at least. We were back where we started geographically. I'd say we're in worse shape strategically than we were but with so much stacked against us already does one more disaster really make a difference?
We couldn't see outside on the journey and by the time we were let out (dragged out) we were in some loading bay inside the Cerberus base. I've no idea where we are or even if this is above or below ground (the lack of windows could mean either). We were forced into a line so that they they could search us one by one before sending us to our cells. The guards doing the searching were efficient, thorough and brutal but not aggressive they acted more like machines. They performed the same actions on each person and I idly wondered if anyone here hadn't received implants. Once they were finished they shoved each person forward in exactly the same way (I saw Xi Chan fall flat on his face having obtained some injuries I didn't recall him having before) and then moved onto the next person.
Eventually after we had all been processed the civilians, the soldiers and most of the officers were marched away. I can only pray they're all in cells now and not in some ghoulish experiment. The few high ranking officers that remained were instead marched off so that we could meet the good doctor himself.
We were taken to a pristine laboratory , brightly lit and with lots of sophisticated equipment around the room. The room was empty but I got the impression the scientists had just been ordered out of the room while we were there. However the calm civility of the area was somewhat spoiled by the tanks. There were about a dozen in total, bolted to the walls and each holding a different horror. A couple held Adjutants but the rest contained various Reaper foot soldiers. As I looked around the collection even I didn't recognize all the different types (there was a tall female looking one in the corner that could've been an Asari once. After taking one look I decided I never wanted to face one in the field). It was almost sad to see them this way. I would have happily destroyed them but took no pleasure seeing Cerberus add to the tortures they'd already faced at the hands of the Reapers.
And standing above it all, looking down on us and everything else was the man himself, Dr. Serov. He was standing on a platform at the far end of the room. From there he could speak to us easily without having to share a space with half a dozen trained soldiers that hated him. Even now he was cautious of us, I briefly looked around for anyway I could get to him but it was hopeless. Even if we all charged we'd be shot dead before we even got close. Maybe it'd be worth it.
"Ah Admiral, General and the Justicar how good of you all to drop by."
The bad jokes weren't exactly my highest priority at that point but somehow my desire to throttle him still increased slightly. None of us really knew how to reply though or could work up the effort to do so. We just stood there in silence until Lara finally spoke.
"Monster! The rest of the Justicar Order will hunt you down. They will never stop until you've been destroyed."
As she spoke I turned to face her. Her face was filled with defiance but I could see a massive bruise across it. From the size and shape you'd have thought someone had whacked her across the face with an iron bar. Maybe they had, come to think of it I couldn't recall seeing a single captured alien not bearing some kind of injury, usually several. I've heard Cerberus say in the past that promoting humanity's interests doesn't mean they hate aliens but right now they were showing their true colours.
Dr Serov laughed.
"Yes I imagine I'm the sort of person your antiquated Order goes after. The Justicar's lack any sort of real vision, the will to do what must be done in order to survive."
"You think the Justicar's lack conviction?" I found myself asking incredulously.
"Oh they're ruthless enough in their own way I'll grant you but their order is based on a Code. A set of rules they will never break under any circumstances."
"That means we have integrity," replied Lara with quiet dignity.
"It means they are WEAK. Stupid aliens who don't realize all rules must be abandoned when it comes to our survival."
"Our survival?" sneered General Coberg. "You've weakened humanities position, attacked your own with an enemy at the gates."
"A necessary step," replied Serov calming now from his earlier rant. "Your pathetic 'resistance' was always a waste of time, I think you always understood that General. My plans have the benefit of actually bringing some hope in this war."
"And what hope would that be?" asked the General.
"My Adjutants," said Serov simply. "A means to convert an entire population into soldiers that can fight the Reapers. That's our enemy's greatest strength. Every member of their race is a soldier, all of them willing to fight to the death to achieve victory. Imagine that if instead of the hundreds or thousands of troops your militia has gathered we could have an army of millions, tens of millions!"
At this point we simply stood there, all of us struck dumb by his insanity. His words echoed in my ears, 'tens of millions', how could he possibly rationalize killing so many just to win?
"When the time is right I will unleash the Adjutant virus across the continent, creating enough soldiers to drive out the Reaper occupation." Serov ranted.
"We will go to London in force, seize all the weapons there and-"
"What's in London?"
We all looked round when Coberg came out with that question, even Serov looked surprised to be interrupted. Of all of us there the General appeared to be least concerned by what he was hearing. It may have been an act so he could try and get more intel but I still felt some of the respect I had gained for the General in the past few days dry up.
"The Reapers have gathered there in force. According to my information they're setting up some kind of anti ship defenses on the ground there. We'll capture them and blast the Reapers out of the sky."
"It won't be enough," said Coberg critically. "Even if these Reaper weapons are all you're hoping for there's no chance you'll be able to defeat the entire fleet."
He's actually considering this I thought with contempt.
"You're probably right," admitted Serov. "I will need you to call in support from the Alliance fleet to capitalize on the attack."
The doctor became stony faced again.
"This you will do no matter what tortures or other procedures I must use to achieve it. Luckily for you that part of the plan is still some way off so I will allow you 48 hours to agree willingly before I start taking more drastic action."
"We'll never help you. Give up on this insane plan and let us go and fight the real enemy."
"We shall see. If it comes to it we're prepared to act alone."
"Then what's stopping you?"
"Oh I can see the General's the better strategist here Admiral. Am I going to launch into some doomsday plan right away? No, I need time to build my armies and infrastructure to prepare a secure base before I make larger moves. A vision as bold as mine need a strong secure foundation from which to operate." he looked at Lara and sneered again.
"I might even look into that idea of turning the Justicar into my own personal guard. I certainly can't think of any other use for them."
At this Lara threw herself at him. I've never seen anyone use biotics that way (her biotic implant had been switched off) but she launched herself up into the air grabbing onto the bottom of the platform and attempting to pull herself up.
The guards raised their guns preparing to shoot her (I tensed up ready to try and knock them down to give Lara a chance) but Serov raised a hand to indicate they should hold fire. The doctor peered down at Lara as she continued to climb up the railing towards him then calmly pressed a few buttons on a nearby console. The effect was immediate, Lara shrieked in pain and was thrown from the metal frame of the platform in a shower of sparks. Clearly the railing had been electrified.
"Is it still alive?" Serov asked casually.
One of the guards bent over her and checked before nodding.
"Take them to their cells then. And remember gentlemen; agree to help my cause in the next 48 hours. Or I will cause you more pain then you've ever endured in your lives."
"I'll think it over," the General called back.
The last thing I remember was trying to hit him.
I woke up in a cell with other prisoners. No idea how long I'd been unconscious. When I tried to attack Coberg in the lab the guards knocked me out and dragged me in here. At first I stayed where I was, slumped in a corner. I slowly remembered everything that had happened before I had been knocked out. That we were captured, Serov's insane plans, the fear that the General would betray us.
I looked around, apparently someone had had the sense not to put us in the same cell. Wouldn't want me killing him before he gave them what they're after. I had a headache again, it felt like being ground down by some massive weight. It feels like there's nothing left in the world except for responsibility and failure. I tried to remember to a time before the Reapers came but I couldn't.
I could remember back to before they arrived on Earth, back to the days of being a Councilor on the Citadel even. But the Reapers were still weighing on my mind even then. Back then they seemed like an inescapable threat and we were just waiting for their arrival. The few of us who knew and believed in them tried to do what we could to prepare or escape. All seems pointless now, the fear, the worry, the sleepless nights, all for nothing.
I can't recall what it felt like to not have that threat hanging over my head. It's like a nightmare that never ends but it happens during the day. Every day I wake up and remember the situation we're in. Every day I look for someway out, something that will let things go back to the way they used to be. Sometimes I think about that so called superweapon they're building and pray its finished soon. Sometimes I think it's a lie invented to help us stay sane.
"Admiral? Are you awake? I need help."
I forced myself to get up and focused on the scene in front of me. The one that had just spoken was a young female, she had bright ginger hair and a nervous expression on her face. I was sure I knew her from somewhere but at first I couldn't remember where. She was still wearing an Alliance uniform, rank of Cadet. Had she served under me at some point before all of this started? That didn't seem right but then I recalled.
"Cadet Sarah isn't it? You were part of Xi Chan's team when we were in Vancouver."
"I was sir. We were all very proud to be serving under you when you arrived at the base," she said.
"Can you help him? I don't know what to do."
I got up and she led me over to a man slumped in the corner. I pulled back the hood to reveal his face, he was the Drell I had met before our raid on the Reaper base. God feels like a lifetime ago not a couple of weeks. Karlakh his name was I think but if I didn't help him he wasn't going to be in a position to confirm that ever again.
Karlakh was in a bad way, the worst I'd seen since I'd arrived in this place. If he wasn't the only Drell in the resistance I wouldn't have recognized him for all his injuries. I'm not sure why they took particular exception to him but his face was covered in bruises, one eye was swollen shut and he had a cut that swept the full length of his face, barely missing his right eye. The worst of it that I could see were the two gunshot wounds in his right arm.
The Cadet had tried to apply a tourniquet but no where near tight enough. She wasn't to blame, just nerves and inexperience I guess. I was still in my armor so I tore off Karlakh's sleeve to use. Tied it round his arm and the bleeding started to slow down.
"Will he be OK?"
"We have to get him out of here."
"Of course sir, what's the plan?"
They were all still looking to me to save them. It should have felt like a burden. We were trapped, probably underground, in a military style prison guarded by an army. By the looks of things many of the prisoners would be injured or worse being turned into Serov's monsters. And I was just one man right now, not really an Admiral (you need a fleet for that) or a Council representative for Earth (I'd resigned thank god) or even a soldier (even soldiers get weapons). I was just a man and all the things I'd seen and done, all my experience didn't change the fact I was locked in a cell (somehow I doubted Cerberus would fall for any crude tricks. If I faked dying they'd probably just leave me to it).
But I felt privileged not burdened. I wasn't just a man but a leader, I had people to protect. Even when I gave up hope I wasn't allowed to give up on them. It's odd but there is strength to be found in fighting for a hopeless cause. The difficulty, the danger they don't matter any more because now nothing will stop you. If the task in front of you looks unachievable, so what? That's what you expected from the start.
"Sir?"
"Serov wants something from me, it might be possible to use that to our advantage. Sooner or later he's going to let me out of here again, either for interrogation or torture. We have to be patient until then."
"Patient!"
I looked up and saw Karlakh had woken up.
"Do I have enough time to be patient, Admiral?"
"Rest easy there son. There's no way out of this cell and I doubt banging on the door and saying we have injured is going to make Cerberus come running."
"I guess not," he coughed. "How long do you think they'll keep us waiting for?"
"I'm not sure," I admitted. "I hope its not too long."
"Thank you for your help anyway Admiral," Karlakh replied.
We sat in silence for awhile, waiting and hoping that the door would open again.
I think we were there for an hour before anyone came for us. At one point I did agree to start banging on the door to see if any Cerberus troops would come running. None did, either they weren't out there or they didn't care. There really was no way to break out of the cell either. We were in a metal box with no openings of any kind save the ventilation ducts running along the top of the front wall. If this were a film they'd be one duct big enough to crawl through, each of these was barely bigger than my fist.
So I did something I haven't done since the First Contact War, I prayed. Last time it was in the trenches on Shanxi, now in a Cerberus cell. Once again I was back in that situation, just a man asking anyone who might be listening for a chance to act before it was too late. Before Karlakh bled out, before the people I'd promised to protect were turned into Serov's pets. I don't know what luck keeps helping me stay alive after all these years but it answered my prayers that day. A few minutes later the door did open, a Cerberus soldier demanding I step out.
I got to my feet.
"My friend needs Medi gel, you must have some here."
The guard simply ignored this and repeated his demand word for word. Just another one of Serov's slaves then, with a computer for a brain but it gave me an idea.
"If Serov wants my help then you have to help my friend."
The trooper paused for a moment considering my request before nodding. It wouldn't have worked on a real soldier, they'd have just laughed or sneered at my request. But its computer brain calculated decisions rather differently. A useful thing to remember I thought. They've made their soldiers more obedient but also stripped them of cruelty, they make their decisions based on pure logic now. The gel was applied, the biological substance sealing the wound perfectly and easing the pain. With any luck he would be fine now after a few more hours rest. Now I just needed to find a way to get us all out of here.
I was marched back to the lab where I first met Serov. He was still there, along with the general who was now unguarded I noticed and several Cerberus troops that took up positions to guard me.
"Ah Admiral, it seems your friend has done the sensible thing and agreed to help us. I would have you executed now but it would be more convincing to have both of you calling the Alliance."
Said Serov with his usual level of smug arrogance.
"I'd rather die than serve Cerberus."
I looked for a way to get at the General, he wasn't far away and killing him before he could trick the Alliance seemed to be my first priority.
"As you wish, kill him now,"
Ah I hadn't quite counted on that. Before I could react I was knocked to my knees, a gun pressed against my head.
"Wait!" called General Coberg. "We should delay his execution until we're confident the Alliance has fallen for my story."
"Are you sure it isn't loyalty General?" Serov asked. "If this has been some kind of trick-"
"I agreed to help you because up until now I believed you had what it takes to put strategic concerns ahead of petty emotion. Was I wrong in that assessment Doctor?"
Serov considered this for a moment.
"Tiresome as the man is swiftly becoming I see your point General. Let's get on with this so I can be rid of him."
"Of course sir, I'll need you to lower the communications barrier so I can contact the Alliance fleet using their secure frequencies."
"Understood but stick to the script when you speak to the Alliance General, I warn you I am not a man to be crossed."
"Of course Doctor, I'll stay right here and allow you to monitor the entire conversation."
I was about to make a charge on the General, determined to break his neck before he could betray the fleet. Then he looked straight at me and then back towards the tanks storing the Reaper creatures. He repeated the gesture twice before turning his attention back to the task at hand. It took me several seconds to understand what he was suggesting and once I understood several minutes to get over my disbelief. But he was right, we were facing hell regardless now, all we could do now is chose which kind.
"Communication barrier down, you may begin when ready."
The General began tapping away at the console in front of him and then gave a loud shout and began clutching his chest, yelling about a heart attack. A touch too theatrical for my taste but it gave my guards a moments distraction and that was all I needed. I grabbed the gun pointed at me and turned it aside while swiftly rising to my he could react I drove a knee into his gut causing him to double up in pain. This left his head as a perfect target when I swung round with a vicious elbow strike. He dropped the gun and fell unconscious but I had no time to congratulate myself. The elbow strike had spun me round and I saw the second guard raising his pistol to shoot. I managed to knock his arm away with my right arm, and with my left still clutching the captured gun I scored a direct headshot at close range.
Turning away from the carnage I raced towards the tank the General had indicated. I tore off my helmet and threw it aside and finally looked directly into the tank, face to face with the Marauder inside. I've no idea what kind of hellish experiments Serov had been keeping it for but it was about to backfire badly. The creature was restrained so it could not writhe in pain as it usually would but I saw the spark of those glowing amber eyes ignite. Two Cerberus soldiers knocked me to the ground but it didn't matter as those words echoed around the room. Words that usually brought me dread but now for the first time gave me hope.
"Assuming direct control."