AUTHOR'S NOTE: Alright guys, bit of bad news with this one. Or good, if you're a glass half full kind of guy. So, to be safe, as I don't want to rush my work or stress myself out for when I add school to my weekly schedule, I'm going to reduce the uploads to once a week on every Monday. The place I work is closed on Mondays and as my school schedule is now, I don't have school on Mondays either. Strange turn of events that is. Looking forward to Mondays. After having worked for a week, I've come to realize just how little time I really have left. Either from being dead tired when I get home, or sleeping in because of a hard night at work the previous day. Anyways, it's not impossible that the regular schedule could resume in the near future as either I get more used to it or I overestimate how much time school and work are really going to take. So. I wouldn't expect a chapter on Friday.
But… a thought I'm toying with. DEPENDING on my work schedule, I.E. like this week, where I have both Monday and Tuesday off, I MIGHT get uploads on Fridays as well. These will not be guaranteed, nor will you be alerted to them. I don't want to get any hopes up if I can help it, and I want to be cautious about biting myself in the ass and not being able to upload the following Monday. Either way, this will ONLY happen when I don't have a commission that I need to get done. So, I'll be working on that a good deal tomorrow. Anyways, hope you enjoy, and hope y'all are alright with my decision. Thanks!
Commander John Shepard
The Collector Drone had arrived as scheduled, and Mordin quickly got the little bastard secured in his lab. As for our next destination, I took some time to think. On one hand, Dr. Okeer could be in some trouble with the Blue Suns. On the other, he's a Krogan who's been there for a while already. And not to mention, it's possible that the Blue Suns holding Jack might learn we've been screwing with them, and go back on the deal. Not to mention, that's all in the Hourglass Nebula, which is basically right next door to Omega. Throw in the fact that the Relay network has a few primaries around Omega, getting Jack, and then Okeer is a relatively simple matter. So, Purgatory it is. Now, onto less pleasant matters…
The elevator doors opened to the cargo hold. Metal coffins were waiting for the remaining bodies. Garrus and I moved to place the bodies within. One by one. Joker was slowly taking the Normandy out of the Omega asteroid belt, and making way towards the proper Mass Relay. Only at normal speed, until we were done. Garrus, understandably, wasn't saying a word. And so, neither did I. As each coffin was filled, we lined them up, feet facing the cargo bay doors.
"Joker, it's ready," I informed through the comms.
"Aye, aye, Commander. Holding position." Garrus ran one last hand over each coffin, whispering something I couldn't make out. We returned to the elevator and took it up to engineering. The doors opened, and we watched from the observation.
"Venting the hold," EDI stated. There was no visual change in the cargo hold, but the door to Zaeed's quarters opened, and the merc stepped out. He didn't say anything, but he didn't need to. Just took a spot to watch. The doors behind us opened, Kenn, Ken, and Gabby stepping out. I was a bit surprised, I wasn't spreading this information that much.
"How'd you hear?" I asked.
"Part Chakwas, part noticing the body bags," Gabby answered quietly.
"I wasn't on Omega that long, but long enough to breathe easier thanks to them," Kenn added. "I thank you, and them, Archangel."
"It's… it's just Garrus. Thanks," the Turian murmured.
"Oh, sorry G-"
"Shh," Gabby gently silenced the Quarian. "Just let him be." Kenn followed the recommendation. Next was the elevator. Joker, helped by Chakwas stepped out and took positions by the front. Followed by plenty of other crewmembers. Mess Sergeant Gardner, Jacob, and even Mordin stood out.
"Thought you'd be in the lab, Professor," I mentioned.
"Approved of Archangel and team's actions. Left impact on patients. Their loss unfortunate. Will pay my respect," The Salarian explained.
"Hold has been vented," EDI stated. "Shall I open the cargo bay doors?"
"Yes," Garrus answered. The doors began to open on his command. The artificial gravity in the hold was also disabled, and the coffins began to float up. Then EDI, manipulating the artificial gravity, reactivated it, but gently pushed the coffins towards space. I noticed a faint orange light in the distance. A pulsating one. It wasn't the local star, but the strange orange light of the Omega 4 relay. It was almost haunting, this funeral service in sight of the object that will mark the end of this mission. One way or another.
Commander John Shepard
"So, what do we know about Purgatory? And what are the odds of them turning on us?" I questioned. The entirety of the ground team with the exception of Mordin, as I wanted him to finish his initial research on the drone, were gathered in the meeting room on CIC."
"It's a repurposed Ark ship. Instead of agricultural animals and supplies, it holds prisoners now. Sometimes taken in battle, sometimes sold to them by politicians claiming subcontracts and outsourcing. Rumors suggest that the Blue Suns will sell skilled and or fit prisoners to Batarian slavers. The official population is four-thousand-three-hundred-fifty. However independent journalists claim that it can be nearly three times larger during periods of overcrowding."
"Makes sense. The Blue Suns wouldn't care about keeping the prisoners comfortable. They probably only keep them alive for some kind of extortion," Zaeed grumbled.
"As for betrayal, they could make a hefty profit off of you, Commander. Not sure if they'll value it more or less than what Cerberus is offering, but I'd keep a weapon on me," Jacob recommended.
"While the deal has been struck, is waiting until we're at the Prison ship and retrieving Jack. They could try to double down and betray us as soon as the transfer has finished," Miranda pointed out.
"Hm… Miranda, I want you to stay on board and organize the crew for a potential defense. I don't want them pushing out into the station, just protecting the Normandy from any sabotage or any troops looking for extra prisoners. The rest of you, and I think I'll pull Mordin from the lab, will be with me."
"What if they recognize Zaeed?" Garrus asked.
"Not impossible. It'll either go like Tarak, and they don't mind, or worse, and they want to claim the not so little bounty on my head. I'll wear a helmet, though it might not matter." Zaeed shrugged.
"Remind me that you still need to tell me that whole story sometime," I remarked. I got on the intercom. "Mordin, change of plan. You're in the field with me."
"Understood. Will be ready," the Salarian responded.
"Joker, how far out from the station?"
"Exiting FTL in fifteen minutes, Commander. Not sure how long it'll take for docking clearance."
"Understood. Miranda, organize what crewmembers you can for the defense before we dock. Rest of you, let's get to the airlock.
Getting clearance to dock didn't take nearly as long as one would expect, and that's probably a bad sign. Well, good thing I pulled Mordin from the lab at least. He was armed with an M-9 Tempest and while he arrived with a Carnifex, was happy to take the upgrade of a Phalanx. And, like the rest of the team, the doctor was wearing a helmet. All of us were as protected as we could be. Though my own helmet was in its unsealed state. Just waiting for any sign of a vacuum or gas. The ship docked, and we disembarked. A security checkpoint staffed by Blue Suns just outside the docking tube. Over the security checkpoint, what seemed like additional security. Consoles waiting for the input to lock the area down, the entire wall being glass, so they could see us. A Turian guard at the center of the 'pack' spoke up.
"Welcome to Purgatory, Shepard. Your package is being prepped, and you can claim it shortly." They know who I am? I glanced back at Jacob.
"Cerberus had to let them know who would be picking Jack up," he shrugged. Makes sense.
"As this is a high-security vessel, you'll need to relinquish your weapons before we proceed."
"No." The guard was clearly surprised at such an immediate, and… uncooperative response. And from someone so, high profile, let's call it. He and the other guards nervously glanced amongst each other. No longer standing as rigid. The door behind the guards opened, and another Turian stepped through. This one without a helmet. And without colony markings.
"Stand down, stand down," the Turian spoke, I suppose easing his men, as they stood to the side. "Commander, I'm Warden Kuril, and this is my ship. Your weapons will be returned on the way out. You must realize this is just standard procedure."
"Look, Warden, we can be reasonable. Tell you what," I slowly pulled out my pistol, keeping it folded so not to cause much alarm. "I'll relinquish all my bullets. One at a time. Where do you want them?" I asked. Smirking. Ok, I'm really glad to have just come up with that one on the spot. That's absolutely a line I'm going to make sure gets into my biography someday. Kuril frowned, and stared at me, I stared back.
"Let them proceed," he relented. "Our facility is more than secure enough to handle five armed guests." I gave a mock bow. "We're bringing Jack out of cryo. As soon as the funds clear, you can be on your way. If you'll follow me," he gestured, and we began to do just that, the guards letting us by. "I'll bring you to Out-processing for the pickup." The doors opened to a secure hallway, lined with thick glass, no doubt resilient to every conceivable form of damage a space prison can expect. Not unbreakable, no, nothing is, but the point stands. I took note of the weapon that the Warden had on his back, a Revenant.
"Cellblock two," the Warden pointed out and down. Cells stacked along the walls, horizontally, and vertically. Only a small handful walking around, their equivalent of yard time, I'd bet. With plenty of guards patrolling, watching. "As you can see, we keep tight control over the population." There was a pair of large mechanical arms that reached in and grabbed two cells, moving them to wherever they needed to be. "Each prisoner's cell is a self-contained, modular unit. I've blown a few out the airlocks as an example." With or without their prisoners, I wonder. Also, funny, I don't recall asking him about the facility. Could be pride, could be… a warning. "This ship is made up of thirty identical blocks. We house thousands of criminals. Wonder what that number would be if they counted the Blue Suns on board. "We can put the whole station or just a single block on complete lockdown on a moment's notice. Nothing goes wrong here."
"Must be expensive," Garrus mused.
"We can cut corners that Governments can't. And each prisoner brings in a fee from their home world. These individuals are violent, and their home planets pay well to keep them here."
"And if they don't?" I asked.
"We explain that we can't maintain the prisoner without their help, so we'll be forced to release him back onto his home world. At an undisclosed place and time."
"Extortion. Knew it," Zaeed grumbled on the comms, ensuring Kuril didn't hear.
"And what can I expect from Jack?" Well, surprise surprise. I saw nervousness, fear, even, flash in the warden's eyes. He wrung his hands as he answered.
"Cerberus hasn't told you? Jack is the meanest handful of violence and hate I've ever encountered. Dangerous, crazy, and very, very powerful. You'll see soon enough." Hm, not sounding good. Maybe we can win some points from Jack since we freed them? Hm, might just look at it like we bought them instead. Going to have to tread very carefully. I looked down to see two of the prisoners start throwing punches at one another. Then, a security pillar extended, and trapped both of them in a mass effect field, pulling them apart from each other, and letting four guards rush in the barrier drop, and then beat the shit out of them.
"I'm going to confirm that the funds from Cerberus have cleared," the Warden explained as another set of doors opened. "Out-processing is just down this hallway. Just keep going past the interrogation rooms, and the supermax wing," he gestured and began walking down a different hall. Hm, a lackey could just confirm it over the comms for him. He's not joining us for this? That's sketchy. At least we're ready. The Blue Suns guards watching over the cell blocks paid us no heed, and we returned the favor. We walked past the interrogation cells, one of which had a Turian guard watching a cell with a human prisoner being beat senseless by another Turian guard. He was on the ground, his arm clearly broken, crying out in pain. No idea what the man did, but it's not right. Still, I thought better of intervening here. There's already enough that's fishy here. I want to just get Jack, and get out.
"No one walks away from torture unchanged," Zaeed muttered. "Not the tortured, or torturer. Never found it worth the price myself."
"Ineffective. Stress and trauma will cause victim to create new, false information out of desperation to cease the pain," Mordin thought out loud. As we passed more interrogation cells, some prisoners tried to get our attention. Some trying to be friendly, some trying to be threatening. Some just ranting batshit crazy talk. We ignored them all. Just following the hall to out processing. A door marked it opened to a large, mostly empty room. A lone human working a terminal in Blue Suns civvie garb. Basically, just a T-shirt with their logo. There were desks with other consoles, they were all unmanned. A single small door at the other end.
Poor cover, a door in what's little more than an open field, if they're going to stab us in the back anywhere… I glanced back at the others, giving them a nod. Be ready. Hm, at the very least, on the left side of the room are some large metal mechanical equipment that should still make sufficient cover for one person each. The desks? Yeah, those sure as hell aren't stopping bullets. We approached the door, thumbing our pistols. The door opened. A prison cell. Kuril's voice appeared on the intercom, and the worker who was once in the room just ran out.
"My apologies, Shepard. But you're more valuable as a prisoner than a customer. Drop your weapons, and proceed into the cell. You will not be harmed. Unfortunately for Zaeed, I can't say the same for when Mr. Santiago gets his hands on him." I gestured for Mordin to take cover behind one of the equipment sets as his armor is light, and Jacob took the other. Garrus, Zaeed, and I took a knee and watched the door, rifles trained on it, waiting for a hint of movement.
"Go fucking figure. You're just another two-bit slaver like half the scumbags on this station. Go fuck yourself, Kuril," I growled.
"You asked for this, Shepard," Kuril muttered. A fireteam of Blue Suns stormed through, leaving themselves just as open as we were to our fire. But we were ready, and they were unable to use the walls on the outside of the door on their side for cover. Too narrow. It was a killing field. As those guards fell over, Zaeed, Garrus and I took the opportunity to rush forward, making it to the middle of out-processing before getting back on a knee. Taking out another wave of guards who tried to rush in, this time with FENRIS mechs. Our shields were taking hits. The downside of getting closer meant that we were easier targets. That wave fell, our shields began recharging as we made it to the door, taking cover along its sides. I took cover against our left side of the door. I had taken a knee and was able to lean out to fire. Garrus would do the same, but standing behind me. Another fireteam of guards came for us, but with our superior position, and support from Mordin and Jacob, we put them down. I got on comms for this downtime.
"Miranda, they've turned on us. We'll fight our way to Jack, and return to the ship. Do you read?"
"We read you, Commander. EDI's watching for hostiles, and we're gathered at the airlock."
"Good," I got off the comms and sighed. "Why the fuck can't it ever be simple? Credits were offered, and a deal was made! How much did Cerberus offer anyway? I mean, Jesus fuck, it's not like these bastards are hurting for credits!" This time, half a dozen Blue Suns tried to rush, and they were able to use the corner of the hallway for cover. Not as good as ours, but not better than nothing. "Oh, fuck off!" I shouted as I opened fire.
"Eat shit, you blue bastards," Zaeed growled as he primed, cooked, and threw a grenade around the corner. Some of the mercs cried out just before it detonated. Causing heavy damage to the glass at the very least. We rushed forward to take position along the corners. The Blue Suns were dead and dismembered, the metal of the corridor warped and damaged.
"Move up, watch your step," I ordered. Mordin and Jacob regrouped with us, and we pushed. Kuril said out processing was past the Supermax. Given how he described Jack, I bet that's where they are. Not to mention, that's where most of the Suns had been coming from. The path to the Supermax was clear, but as the door opened, the same technician who ran was inside with a pistol. He fired a single round at us before Zaeed put one right in his skull. This room overlooked a room with two Ymir mechs standing guard. And, a console just before the glass. It was security controls. I linked with my Omni-tool. I could do it myself, like a slow organic, or get an AI to do it with quantum computing.
"EDI, find Jack, open their cell."
"Acknowledged. Alert, I cannot get access to individual cell controls. It may be on a separate system. However, I have a bypass that will open all cells in your cellblock."
"Should make for a nice distraction," Garrus mused.
"Do it." A mechanical arm in the room ahead raised. Ah… this is Jack's cell, isn't it? Let's just hope they don't piss off the YMIR's right away. But… where the hell is Jack? The arm bent down to a circle on a raised platform on the floor. Gas was released, and it turned, raising the circle, and the essential canister it was attached to. Ah, a cryo cell. There was… a woman, with a shaved head, nothing but leather straps covering… well, only really the nipples on her small breasts, orange cargo pants, and absolutely covered in tattoos strapped to a table. A metal clamp on both her wrists and around her neck.
"Well… Jack's different than I expected," Garrus remarked. Her fingers began to twitch, and she jerked awake, eyes opening wide, grimacing as she came to. The clasps must have been in the process of releasing, as her right arm broke through, tried to open the one on her neck, then broke her left arm free to pull it open. She almost fell to her knees but caught herself, breathing. The YMIR mechs readied themselves, warning her. She ran a hand over her face, taking in her surroundings. Readying herself for a fight and-oh for fuck's sake, a third YMIR? They really were terrified of her. She glowed blue, pulled herself back, and launched.
"Damn it! Get moving! We didn't get stabbed in the back for a fucking corpse!" I exclaimed. We took a door and ran down. An explosion shook the ground. Shit. The door to the cell opened and… the fuck?! Not one, not two, not three, but four fucking YMIR mechs lay as smoking, warped piles of rubble on the ground. And a hole essentially punched through a wall. The ship alarm blared.
"All guards: restore order!" Kuril ordered through the ship intercom. "Lethal force authorized, but don't kill Jack! Techs: Lockdown! Lockdown!" We followed the hole into what seems like a maintenance corridor. Already half a dozen dead, mutilated guards inside. We heard more explosions, so I sealed my suit.
"Sectors seven, nine, and eleven have lost life support," the Ship VI informed. "No survivors."
…What the fuck has this woman done? We followed the carnage into a cell block that was… on fire. Rubble from the ceiling collapsed, cells broke, the armored halls, broken. One of the mechanical arms then collapsed.
"One girl did all this?" Zaeed muttered. She must have hit something critical. A fuel line or something. It's the only thing that makes sense. Guards and prisoners were in firefights, bodies already strewn about. So, Jack wasn't stopping to kill just everyone. Only those getting in her way. So, not completely batshit, I suppose.
"All prisoners! Return to your cells or I will open every airlock on this ship!" Kuril screamed into the intercom. It wasn't seeming to work. With the element of surprise, we joined the firefight, putting down both prisoner and Blue Suns alike.
"Warning: power plant damage has led to overload. Core systems failure imminent," the VI warned. We made our way into the next part of the cell block, "The hull has been breached in sectors twelve, fourteen, and thirty. No survivors. The Blue Suns here seemed to have just gotten the prisoners here back under control. By killing them. So, they had just begun taking a breather when we charged in and opened fire. Acting significantly more intelligent than the prisoners. Ah, a YMIR mech. Wonderful. That's how they got it under control. We spread out. Whoever got pinned, stayed in cover while Mordin, Garrus, and I barraged it with tech attacks, keeping its shielding down while we broke through the armor to its critical systems. Now, the next section. Prisoners were being gunned down, some taking cover. And I recognized who was gunning most of them down. Kuril had taken an elevated position with his Revenant and was protected by one of the mass effect fields those security pylons emit. Wait, ah, clever. I followed the beams and noticed three separate ones were protecting him. Combine it with a VI, and he can probably get an opening in the shields right where he fires, for as long as he fires. His attention was taken by another prisoner, so we took the opportunity to move forward, getting cover.
"You're valuable, Shepard," he called out. Firing at us just as we got our cover. "I could have sold you and lived like a king. But you're too much trouble. At least I can recapture Jack!"
"Oh, shut up with your whining and let's get this over with!" I shouted back. He just cried out and fired what seemed like a full thermal clip into my cover. Thick metal crates behind a metal barrier meant for cover. Would have torn it to shreds I bet, but it got wildly inaccurate the longer he followed. "Kill the mercs, and move around to get eyes on the generators." One was already in our line of fire, as well as a small fireteam of mercs. Tech attacks on their shields, bullets to the brain, bullets to the generator, and Kuril's shield weakened. One generator was to the right, and another, the left. But the right, we had an advantage. The mercs were gathering closer to Kuril. And there was a sweet spot where we could shoot the generator while being out of Kuril's line of fire. When that generator fell, I fell back, and we regrouped to push down the left. We pinned down or killed the mercs, and easily put a few rounds in the generator. Leaving the Warden not so confident.
"Take down his shields, I'll finish him off," I ordered. Mordin and Garrus both sent an overload the Warden's way, draining his shields instantly as I lined up a shot with my sniper. He noticed too late. His head turning to mine, eyes wide as I pulled the trigger. His head exploded in bone and brain and blood.
"Commander, I have detected Jack. She is approaching the ship. You are in the cell block you would have first seen upon entering the prison," EDI informed. I looked up at the corridor, and there she was, running along. I looked for a way up. A staircase labeled as authorized personnel only. As good a start as any. We ran on up and found we picked the right path just in time to see Jack engage two more guards. They turned to fire, but she picked up one guard with her Biotics and slammed him into the glass damaging it, breaking his neck, as she charged the other. Screaming. She sent him flying with a biotically charged punch. She saw the ship, getting a closer look at it as another guard ran up, and was just readying his weapon. I put a round right in his skull, getting Jack's attention in the process. She glared at me, as my rifle was still raised, as were the others. I lowered my weapon. She relaxed her stance but was still clearly ready to jump back into a fight at any moment.
"What the hell do you want?" she questioned. Jacob, Zaeed, and Garrus also lowering their weapons. She sounded to be in her early twenties.
"The name's Commander Shepard. Came here to buy your freedom, but The Warden thought he could make some extra money off of me," I shrugged.
"You don't expect me to believe that the Alliance would pay to free me, do you?" she countered.
"Never said the Alliance did. I'm going after the Collectors, and some really rich assholes thought you might be able to help me." Her eyes narrowed further, suspicious.
"And those assholes are?" she was pacing back and forth, glaring at us still.
"Cerberus." Her biotics glowed bright, and she growled.
"I'm not going any-fucking-where with Cerberus," I smirked.
"I see you and I are going to get along just fine then. I don't know what they've done to you, but they've done plenty to me too. I'm only putting that aside temporarily because millions of lives are at stake."
"I don't buy it. You show up with Cerberus to take me away somewhere. You think I'm stupid?"
"Look, Jack, this ship isn't going to last long. You can die here, or come with us. Your choice."
"We could knock her out and-" Zaeed began.
"I'd like to see you try," Jack growled, glowing blue again.
"I'm no kidnapper, Zaeed. This isn't one of your bounties."
"Fair enough," he shrugged.
"You want me to come with you? Make it worth my while," Jack stated, stepping closer. Still, more or less, just as angry.
"Credits, a weapon, whatever, you got it. I am perfectly happy to spend Cerberus resources."
"Your ship Cerberus?"
"Built by them, yeah."
"Then I bet it has plenty of databases. I want everything they have on me."
"Agreed. You'll have to pass that along to my XO though. I don't really think I have much access myself. Still, I'll order her to give you her clearance."
"You better be straight up with me," Jack warned.
"Take it from me. When Shepard keeps his word," Garrus remarked.
"Bloody boy scout he is," Zaeed chuckled.
"Then why the fuck we standing here still?" Jack questioned. I activated my comms.
"Miranda, stand down. It's us coming through. And Joker, I want us gone the moment we step inside."