A/N: For the sake of this story, all space vessels will utilize the mass effect propulsion method.
Two :::
Then and Now
Resting horizontal upon the bottom bunk, his back pressed against the wall, Isaac Clarke can't avert himself from replying the short video transmission he received from his girlfriend. He knows she's stationed onboard the CEC much acclaimed "planet cracker" class starship, the USG Ishimura. A ship he knows has been the unsung hero to Humanity's advancements through the known galaxy. The Council often didn't know or just played dumb on what the CEC fleet was up to around the galaxy. They assumed these massive vessels were constructed for the purpose and ability of syphoning ezzo from a planet's core without ever touching down. Of course, that was all bull, given the fact that ezzo hardly existed on solid terrestrial worlds. Any mouth breather with access to the extranet would know that.
Working under CEC often felt to Isaac like we was partaking in some huge above top secret project. The company consists of over a thousand personnel each outfitted with specific skillsets that give the company its prestigious status as one of the fastest growing public works organizations in the galaxy. Of course, the average galactic citizen doesn't even know this interstellar corporation even exists at all. It is well known, however of their notable "planet cracker" starships, but there is much more the corporation consists of that not even Isaac is aware of.
The work they do isn't all that illegal, but mining planets for their raw materials in this day in age is much like larceny on a galactic scale. From what Isaac has heard floating around about CEC is that they often overstep galactic boundaries in setting up colonies in otherwise nonhuman territories. There was one incident, if he can remember correctly, that almost sparked a war between Humanity and a race of spacefaring anthropoids who call themselves Batarians. It became known as the Skyllian Verge incident, of which the galaxy believes the Systems Alliance progressed too strongly into Batarian space, but that wasn't entirely true.
In fact, the Alliance took the blame for what the CEC caused. Like always, the cooperation stuck to the shadows. But what makes Isaac stomach queasy now is that the CEC may have another potential Skyllian Verge on their hands.
The Ishimura had stop squawking its encrypted transponder through the buoy network. Along with the ship, the colony on Aegis VII had also went dark. Now, Isaac is never the apprehensive type, but he can't fight the feelings of uncertainty that there was something else that caused the blackout, and it isn't the blame of a faulty transmission network array.
Anyway, all of that sits in the back of Isaac's head. For he doesn't care for what pile of crap the CEC plunged itself into this time. His girlfriend is onboard the Ishimura and based off this crummy transmission of hers, he can tell that something bad had happened onboard…
Her words hit him like ice cold water.
"…I wish I could talk to you. I'm sorry. I'm sorry about everything. I wish I could just talk to someone...It's all falling apart here; I can't believe what's happening...it's strange...such a little thing—"
~Playback ended~
The free floating lettering over writes Nicole's face, hovering before Isaac's watery eyes. He can feel her pain through the video. She was afraid… of something.
This isn't some blackout… Isaac deeply contemplates, rubbing a hand across his cleanly shaved chin. This isn't a blackout.
Before his shaken fingers could hit the replay button on the two-dimensional holographic screen, the door to the bunkroom slides open. In a haste, Isaac exits the video interface and makes himself attentive to the person that barged in on his privacy. At the door, he makes out Zack Hammond.
"We're five minutes from dropping into the Cygnus System," he informs Isaac. "Get situated and meet me up at the cockpit." With that, the security officer leaves Isaac's presences.
Yeah, thanks for knocking… Isaac recollects dryly as he scratches the tears from his eyes. He edges up off the bunk and gets to his feet.
Exiting the crew quarters, Isaac starts down the short length of the transport's fuselage until he reaches the aft section of the ship. Back here, he brings his eye to a scanner which verifies his authorization as 'CEC Systems Engineer, I. Clarke.' The metallic panel then parts ways allowing Isaac to retrieve his RIG suit.
RIG systems weren't widely used in the galactic scene, not since the days before Humanity had joined Council Space. It became a thing of the past—a nostalgic piece that was overshadowed with the introduction of what the other alien species call an Omi-tool. However, to retain some recognition of Human ingenuity, the CEC made RIGs standard issue. This often lead to people outside the organization calling them "Azul Backs" or "Glow worms" due to the holographic display that lines across the spine of the back.
Suited up in his engineer class suit, the numbing sensation of the RIG synchronizing with Isaac's nervous system leaves him unable to move his body for a moment. The stone wall effect as it is coined, and that it was. When it finally passes, Isaac tests the dexterity of the suit, finding all systems are operational.
Keeping his helmet apparatus off, Isaac enters the cockpit where the blue-shift of the mass effect drive continues to pour over the reinforced glass canopy. Hammond along with systems specialist Kendra Daniels stand behind the seats of the two pilots preparing to take the transport out of FTL.
An unusual sensation of déjà vu floods over Isaac. Everything from the smell of the recycled air, to the overall "feel" of the cockpit seems oddly familiar. Like he's been here before—well he has, hundreds of times actually, but never in this same exact moment. In a strange way, he can almost sense what the pilot, Chen, is about to say right about now…
"Alright, inflight nav computer coming back online…" the pilot mummers aloud consulting the console before him. "Systems check complete, all essential commands responding," Chen reaches above him, placing a hand on an overhanging lever, "Coming out of FTL in five… four… three… two—"
The transport lurches and the realm of real space springs back into existences, overtaking the canopy. Everyone in the cockpit are caught off guard by the sudden dropout turbulence, but it's nothing new.
"So much for one," Kendra jeers, recovering from her near fall.
Chen snickers, now gasping the steering yoke, "at least you didn't bash your head into the dashboard like last time right?"
"Just get us to the Ishimura in one piece," the Kendra replies.
Isaac remains silent, finding an open seat behind his crewmates. He shakes off the eerie sensation that's he's been here before. He findings that his mind continues to gravitate back to Nicole's last transmission. Just the thought of the message sends a chill going down his spine. He fights the urge of viewing the log now, not in front of Hammond and Kendra. Besides, maybe things on the Ishimura aren't as bad as he believes so. Still, he knew Nicole isn't the type to overact to things.
"Damnit!" Hammond's swearing brings Isaac's mind back to reality. The security officer is pressed against the viewport, starring out into the trash field space of the Cygnus System. "Can't see a damn thing with all this debris in the way."
"It's out there, sir," the co-pilot speaks, referring to the radar displayed on the console in front of him. "Sensor's going crazy, detecting a massive signature seventeen thousand kilometers to our bow."
"That's the Ishimura alright," Daniels adds in, coming over to the co-pilot's station. "Can you pick up any life signs or shipboard activities?"
The co-pilot shakes his head, "none from what I can tell… no life signs we can detect from this range." He pauses for a moment, pressing in his earbuds and listens inventively. A bewildered look manifest across his face.
"What is it?" Daniels asks.
The co-pilot shakes his head, "I don't know if its interference, but I'm picking up a strange noise… it sounds like… sounds like whispering... but I—"
"Patch it over the main speaker," Hammond instructs.
The co-pilot hits a button that relays what he was hearing on the sensors to the loud speakers of the cockpit. It comes out distorted, resonating through the spacious cockpit full of static and background residue. The sound is hardly audible to the untrained ear, but Isaac begins to hear a pattern in the message… and it repeats over and over again.
"Can you clean this up?" Daniel asks.
"I'll do my best," the co-pilot promises, rerouting the crummy transmission back into his ear-set.
While he is configuring the signal, Chen gasps in announcement. "I got a visual."
Everyone's attention flows up to the canopy. Starring pass the tons of space debris floating about, the unmistakable hull of the Ishimura comes into view. It's nothing but a spec in the backdrop of space and to the humongous chunk of planet held in place by its gravity tethers directly below it.
"There she is," Kendra says.
"And it looks like they just popped the cork," adds Hammond. "Get us in closer, Chen," he says to the pilot. "See if you can hail them in."
Chen begins to do just that. "USG Ishimura, this is the emergency maintenance team of the USG Kellion responding to your distress call. Come in Ishimura."
A long moment transpires with no reply. Chen repeats his last sentence, earning the same results as before.
"Hold up—wait a minute. This doesn't make sense," Johnston, the co-pilot begins to say. "The sensors are picking up lots of shipboard activity. Still negative on the life signs, but everything else is running at peak capacity."
"It's just no one's home to answer our hail," Hammond adds in with an apprehensive tint to his tone.
"Then we must've been right about this after all," Kendra says. "It may be nothing more than a communications malfunction."
"I can see that possibility," Hammond agrees, rubbing a thoughtful hand to his chin. "But by now, their sensors should have detected us the moment we meshed into the system. Why haven't they at least sent an escort craft out to meet us?"
He's right. It's standard procedure for all CEC starships, during the event of a communications failure, or any emergency of that matter, procedures are followed as to send a security escort vessel out to any incoming CEC verified ship during an attempted dock. Though Isaac believes this isn't the case at the moment.
"I'm telling you," Hammond continues through the silence of his crewmates, "something feels off about this. And the blackout on Aegis VII…"
"Magnetic interference," Kendra proclaims folding her arms. "Completely normal during the events following a planet crack. There shouldn't be anything to worry—"
—The Kellion is struck with a hard hitting impact against its hull, catching Isaac and his companions off guard.
"The hell was that!?" Hammond sneers to Chen.
"Debris from the planet crack," explains the pilot in a calm voice. "Some of it is floating into our flight path."
"Well dodge the freakin' things!" Kendra says. "We didn't come all this way to get hung up on a little debris field."
"I wouldn't call it… little…" Hammond says, bracing himself following another impact to the transport's hull. The once seamless journey is now riddled with shakes and sways of the immediate debris field they've flown into. Isaac guesses that it was inevitable to avoid, seeing that the Cygnus System is notorious for its dense debris fields, as he his crew are now facing.
"It's gonna get rougher than a son of a bitch," Johnston, the ship's navigator cautions. "Hold on to somethin'."
At that instant, the hull thunders with the ripple of thousands of micro debris fragments. Isaac grips the armrest of his chair with white knuckles as the transport shakes vigorously. The once eerie silence that held everyone hostage is now filled with the rumble of the hull plating breaking and tearing around them. And then, the unexpected happens.
The Kellion jolts violently, sending Hammond and Kendra nearly falling over. Screeching out over the thunderous sound, is the unmistakable sound of a compromised mass effect core. The flaring warning sirens blasting off from the console only highlight Isaac's fears
"Shit! We have multiple hull breaches!" Johnston shouts out over the deafening sounds. "We're losing pollution stabilizer pressure!"
Isaac's heart racing a thousand miles per minute, he can do nothing but ride this roller coaster of death homing in right for the Ishimura's rugged portside.
"Fuck it!" Chen spits out, gripping the steering yoke with vein popping arms. "Steering controls are shot to shit… I'll try to set er' down on the Ishimura. Everyone hang on—we're goin in hard!"
Isaac clenches his eyes shut, bracing for what he hopes won't be the end of his life. The sound of steel and glass blasting apart splinters his eardrums to the point where everything falls into a ringing silence.
Daring to open his eyes, Isaac discovers his sight is totally obscured in a blinding white light. The lingering ring in his ear increasing in volume to the point that it swallows him whole. The sound presses against his eardrums, creating discomfort that quickly alters into pain. Agony bouncing around his skull and resonating down to his ribs. Everything hurts as if the transport itself had landed on top of him. And then, he begins to see something, a small glimmer of detail that is enough to drag him back into reality.
Two pairs of voices, one belonging to a woman and the other a man. Distorted to Isaac, he latches on to the unfamiliar voices. It isn't Hammond or Kendra, or anyone that he's familiar with in the matter. Yet, for some reason, these two voices he recalls hearing before, many times before actually.
In that instant, the blinding white wrapped around his eyes retreats, and Isaac is brought back to the hard reality of where he's actually been.
He discovers that he's lying down looking up at the ceiling of a room. Unable to move an inch, the blinding light of the overhead lamp dims just a bit for Isaac to make out in the corner of his vision a dull green Asari standing over him. The Asari doesn't glance down at Isaac, who tries calling out to her, but he soon discovers that his words are forced back down his throat, unable to escape pass the numbness harboring his mouth.
"Why have you stopped?" The unseen male voice says strongly through what Isaac believes is a hologram interface based off its slight voice distortion. "Did you find it? Were you successful?"
"No," the Asari replies with a tired sigh. "His mind is—"
"The Specimen's mind," the man corrects her wording.
The Asari sighs placing a hand to her face, "his mind is too sporadic… resilient in a sense. I can't seem to progress beyond this one fragmented stream of his memory…"
"I don't want to hear what you can't do!" Came the man's boiling response. "Surly there is some way you can speed up the process; fast forward to a later part of the Specimen's psyche?"
The Asari pauses, finally, she looks down at Isaac, matching him eye to eye. Her expression blank of any emotion. "I could, but—"
"Ah—Ah! No buts. You claim you can perform as such, then you will. What this Specimen has locked in his head is of great importance. I do not care how long it takes, you will continue your session even if it last an entire solar year; do I make myself clear?"
The Asari shifts uncomfortable in her stance before replying, "I'll do my best to not jellify you're Specimen's head any more than it already is." Again, the Asari stares down at Isaac, this time, he is able to feel her cold, clammy hands touching on the sides of his head.
With pleading eyes, Isaac attempts to speak again only in a vain attempt of muffled murmurs and gargles. Desperately, he struggles to move his arms and legs off this table he's strapped on, but the restraints are so tight, not even a Krogan on speed could get free.
The Asari brings her face inches from Isaac of which the man can feel the exhale of her breath across his forehead. His eyes widen at the sight of the Asari's own eyes transforming into two darken orbs.
"I apologize in advance for whatever pain you may experience," she murmurs in a regretful tone.
Unable to put up a fight, Isaac is sucked back into the horrors of the Ishimura. Forced to relive the most frightening moments of his life as if it were his first.
An unknowable amount of time has passed by the time Isaac returns from his memory trip. Upon waking, he finds himself in a cold sweat, his body trembling like a leaf and the horrors trapped in the back of his mind playing Ping-Pong with his brain.
To the side of him, he can hear the Asari panting her breaths, like she just finished running a marathon.
"Status report," came that unseen man voice resonating out a holo-projector just out of Isaac's sight. "Status report," the man repeats in a raised tone.
"I… I tried," the Asari sighs breathless. "There is no way I can speed up this process—that's… that's not how organic memories work." She catches her breath somewhat, before continuing. "You have to remember, when I'm in his head… or anyone's at that matter, it's like riding a wave. I can't control where it goes… I can only ride it out… to see it through. There is no… jumping ahead to the good stuff—don't you understand that!?"
A long pauses harbors the damp enclosed room until the unseen man replies with, "I understand completely. I understand that you sold yourself pretty high judging upon the potential of your abilities. However, given the duration of your last trial, I guess you made some form of progress, yes? Have you seen it yet? Do you have a location of where the artifact may be?"
The Asari shakes her head, "I'm halfway there… but this man's mind is a shit mess." She wipes a slick of sweat from her face, where the precipitation lands across Isaac's bare chest. "Now if you asks me, I don't even know if he remembers his own name at this point. If he had contact with this… artifact, I hardly believe he'll be adequate in providing us with much of anything to go off of."
"My superiors believe otherwise," Came the man's response. "As for you, I'll grant you a few hours rest. Once you return, we'll pick up where you left off. I can feel it, we're getting close."
"If you say so," The Asari duly agrees. "What about him?" She asks nodding over towards Isaac.
"What about it?" Replies the man impassively.
Isaac doesn't remember being tossed into a holding cell… a familiar holding cell. His body so weak and limp, the cockroach marching across the floor pass his vision could probably beat him in a fight.
He lies on the hard cemented floor starring up sideways to the dank walls enclosed around him. There is a cot just a pace in front of him, but it might as well be a thousand miles away.
The familiar makeup of his cell reintroduces itself to Isaac, the hieroglyphic engravings carved into the walls begin to make sense to him all over again. He remembers seeing these symbols flash before his mind's eye, along with the various whispery voices that echo in his skull. The more he listens to the voices—the harder he studies the symbols, they begin to make sense… and then… she appears.
"You have to do it Isaac," her light, disembodied voice tickles the hairs lining his skin. "Make us whole again, Isaac. Make us whole."
A/N: Well its certainly clear that Isaac has been held prisoner for a while and that the events that occurred on the Ishimura have long since transpired. But who are these people holding him captive and what is their ultimate goal?
