II
Dylan activated the transponder signal for the SSV Orizaba to track and intercept from the seat of his shuttle's flight console. He prayed that Samara had received the message he left about preventing his wife from killing Cadrina if he exceeded his self-imposed four day deadline. Learning of the true extent of their daughter's plight and the loss of Miranda had left Hannah bereft of hope and might be driven to act if she believed her husband was lost to her as well. It was only within the past several hours that he finally picked up the Illusive Man's trail again, leading to a world inside the mineral-rich Grayson Belt. If Dylan judged the response time to the transponder right, his wife's dreadnought would enter orbit for his extraction just as he completed what he had to do.
PGV-81D was located not far from planet Phosom, site of the infamous Phosom Rebellion that took place many years ago. A revolt by overworked and abused mine workers that Dylan's wife was called in to help put down. Improved labor and safety regulations helped the region rebound and enjoy a period of high output and prosperity, attracting scores of workers looking to risk a little life and limb for good pay. Able bodies that were now fodder for the Reapers who sought to cut off energy and material supply lines to Earth.
Dylan clipped his weapons onto his armor and stood before the hatch. He brought to bear all the old faculties, the mindset of his former days as a covert operative.
One final mission… one last time...
His darker impulses, long subdued and controlled, would now be utilized for a higher purpose. This was no mission to eliminate a rebellious government official, company executive or insurgents. Success meant saving his daughter and countless other lives. And correcting a mistake he left festering for over thirty years. It was the most critical mission he would ever undertake, paling his severance with General Marcus Dienz and Cerberus.
Dylan opened the hatch and disembarked from the shuttle. A darkening blue sky above, Husks could be heard shambling about near the red, rocky outcropping he set down under. Dylan pressed close to the ground as he made his way up the hillside, stopping just shy of the top. An Alpha Husk and its more diminutive escorts passed by, looking for survivors and holdouts. They lived still and so did their ancient machine masters, meaning the Illusive Man had not yet acted and was still vulnerable. Once the Husks were clear of him, Dylan switched on his omni-tool and called up a map displaying the location of his shuttle relative to the approximate location the Cerberus craft touched down. It landed at one of the larger mining operations about three miles beyond the outcropping. Still keeping low and arming a Matlock rifle, the retired operative set out towards the mine.
Dylan was able to reach his destination despite a brief sidetrack to deal with another wandering band of Husks directly in his path. Leaning out past a graveled corner, Dylan peered through his rifle's scope at the sealed, dull gray entrance to the mine. It was built into a cliff with guide lights fanning out on either side of it. Dylan counted twenty Husks of assorted species scattered around the entrance along with two Alphas. The combined firepower of his Matlock and other armaments would only severely wound one Alpha Husk, leaving the rest to swarm him. The creatures did not notice him slink out from cover to a nearby boulder to hide. Dylan paused a moment to rest, take in his surroundings and look about for anything he could use to thin their numbers.
No potential for rockslides on the unsuspecting this time… what's this?
He spotted a tractor several feet away with drilling and rock boring tools on its flatbed parked by a metal work shed situated a good distance from the entrance. It looked to be in working condition.
Could be useful…
Dylan scrambled behind one of the tractor wheels. One Husk stopped, wheezed, and tilted its head about, looking for the sound. Its glowing eyes saw only traces of dust caught in the breeze. It took three steps towards the tractor and paused again, as still as a statue. Dylan listened for the Husk to get closer, running over in his mind ways of dispatching it without alerting the others. But it determined to his relief that nothing was there and went off on its way. Dylan then climbed up onto the flatbed, the rack of tools and equipment keeping him out of sight, and made his way to the tractor cab to peer inside. The controls were intact and the power cell meter read just under three quarters full. Going back to the rack on the flat bed, he looked through the gaps between the mounted tools into the open shed. A wheeled generator sat inside with ports to accommodate three plasma rock borers.
Will definitely be useful, thought Dylan as he carefully removed a rock borer and slung its carry strap over one shoulder, holding its looped power cable in hand.
The groaning and wheezing of the patrolling Husks were all Dylan could hear as he worked to set his idea in motion. He permitted himself a moment of reflection and amusement, remembering an old vid he once watched with his wife and then young daughter. In it, the heroes were forced to use their wits to survive and fight against a zombie apocalypse. Dylan was himself in much the same situation.
Like you said, Hannah: fate can be a cruel bitch goddess…
Finishing his preparations, Dylan took cover in the shed and attached the power cord on his procured tool to the generator. He then opened its side panel and crossed key wires to overclock the power output. Finally, he found and donned a protective, heat resistant apron and visor. Leaving the visor open for a clearer view, he waited silently as Husks came and went. The moment an Alpha Husk moved in front of the tractor, Dylan triggered his omni-tool and started its power cell. The whine of the tractor's hydraulics startled the beast, causing it to whirl around and plunge a massive arm through the tractor's driver cab. Dylan tapped another button on his omni-tool and the tractor barreled towards the sealed entrance at its top speed while plowing the Alpha, its arm still caught inside the cab. The surrounding Husks scampered towards the tractor, climbing over it, trying to get at any humans or other sentient beings that may be inside. The tractor rammed into the doors, knocking one free and severely warping another. The Alpha Husk pushed the tractor to one side and shook off its injury, smaller creatures still circling about it.
Dylan folded down his visor and tugged his rigged generator out from the shed as fast as his strength would allow while aiming his rock borer. He squeezed the trigger handle and a blinding blue-white plasma beam shot out, causing a miniature sonic boom as it split the air, into the power cell of the tractor. Dylan shielded his eyes from the blast despite the protection of his visor. The resulting orange and black plume roasted every Husk caught within its radius, scattering their pieces all about the entrance. The remaining Husks were now aware of his presence and began charging at him. Dylan continued dragging the generator behind him as he fired three more volleys, sweeping the rock borer hanging from his shoulder, the improvised beam lance cutting his pursuers into smoldering halves. Dylan resembled a gardener in welder's garb watering demonic blossoms as he fired and huffed past charred remains.
All right, just a few more feet to the… shit!
The last Alpha Husk spotted him through the smoke and picked up speed. Dylan backpedaled and squeezed the handle on his rock borer again, but this time it did not fire; the barrel of his rock borer had melted from the bursts. As he dropped the useless tool, he backed into his generator and saw its warning light flash. The core had also overheated and was about to suffer a catastrophic failure.
"Oooh SHIT!" Dylan cried out.
The Alpha Husk was at full gallop when it leapt towards Dylan, its jaws wide. Reacting quickly, he dove to safety as the Alpha narrowly missed him and caught the generator in its mouth. Dylan sprang up and ran as it skidded along the ground, digging a rut as it came to a stop and tried to stand upright again. But it was much too slow to release the exploding generator…
Kai Leng and the Illusive Man had set down on the planetoid to scavenge for mined eezo deposits needed for their ship's cloaking systems and the QE transmitter tied to Cadrina Shepard. After battling and killing off the Husks within the mine, they set to work loading their shuttle with as many crates as it could carry. Nearing capacity, they were interrupted by the sounds of rumbling and seismic warning klaxons around the enclosed landing pad. They ran into its control shed and logged in to the surveillance system, cancelling the alarms. Kai shortly discovered the cause of the commotion when he could not get a picture from the cameras by the main entrance.
"The outer door has been breached. Our presence here may no longer a secret to the locals."
"Check seismic and heat sensors also," instructed Illusive Man "Every worker had a tracking device implanted… and they're all dead."
Kai and his master scanned the holographic map of tunnels and passageways and then came upon a heat signal steadily making its way into the mine.
"That is not the signature of a Reaper Husk…" indicated the Illusive Man.
Kai toggled to the camera nearest to the signal. A stern, late-middle aged, balding blond man in black assault armor passed by the lens, prompting the Illusive Man to roll back the video capture and zoom in on the intruder's face.
"Well, I'll be damned… he's here…"
"How was he able to track us?" asked Kai, studying the close-up image.
"Indeed we've underestimated Dylan Matthias Shepard. The ghost of Cerberus Past insists on haunting us! "
"He came all this way to fight for his daughter…" Kai sneered and grasped the hilt on the inactive holosword hanging at his side "I cannot help but admire his courage and persistence. It would almost be a crime to disappoint him."
"…I agree."
Kai and Illusive Man left the control shed and approached their packed shuttle. As the Cerberus leader accounted for his cargo and made ready to launch, Kai leaned into the cockpit and stacked one last crate.
"This should be enough eezo for your needs. Get back to the ship and leave the system while you can. I will locate and commandeer the old man's transport to rejoin you after I have dispatched him."
Illusive Man swiveled about in his seat "That 'old man' was Marcus Dienz's right hand before he abandoned Cerberus. Locating us was only a sample of his cunning. Don't enter this lightly!"
"I am a much better man than I once was, Mr. Harper," said Kai as he wrung his wrists, the servos in his augmented hands buzzing as the mechanical tendons flexed and relaxed "You saw to that!"
Illusive Man smiled enigmatically "… then I shall leave him in your capable hands, Mr. Leng!"
The Cerberus assassin backed away as Illusive Man initialized the shuttle's drive core, kicking out dust from underneath as it hovered in place. When Kai was clear of the craft's wake, its side door slid shut and the engines engaged, carrying the Illusive Man to the safety of his cloaked starship in orbit around the planetoid's dark side. Kai jogged off the illuminated pad towards a covered ramp leading back into the bowels of the mine.
Inside, Kai set his visor to detect heat signatures. He crept past Husk remains strewn about the ground, eyeing a few he recognized dismembering with his blade. Nothing was found in the tunnels he and Illusive Man plundered for eezo. Kai moved deeper in until coming to a large, hollowed out space lined with a series of orange-brown pillars carved out of the rock itself as natural supports for the ceiling. Off to one side was a raised, smoothed out platform also made from the surrounding rock, the wall bordering it showing evidence of being stripped of precious ores. Kai stepped up on to the platform, edged midway down the space and spotted his target at the other opening to the hollow. The man in black armor was down on one knee, examining the ground. He picked something up and turned it in his hands, slowing his actions somewhat in recognition of another presence. Kai paused and raised his visor as the man in black armor stood up and turned, the remains of a cigarette pinched between his fingers.
"Not a good idea… for the Illusive Man to be using a mine as an ashtray" commented Dylan as he flicked away the cigarette and rubbed his fingers to wipe off the ash "Could have ignited the fumes."
"Dylan Shepard," said Leng, clasping his fist in front of his waist "It is truly an honor to meet one of the founding members of Cerberus!"
Dylan ignored Kai's adulation "Kai Leng… is your boss so scared of me he has to send his little errand boy to do his dirty work? I figured he was at least a little curious to see the man he was supposed to replace."
"My superior has far more important matters to tend to and cannot suffer delays." Kai rested a foot on a small stalagmite and leaned forward, draping his forearm across his lap "I am curious as to what you think of what Cerberus has become, what it's about to achieve."
Dylan paced in slowly, always keeping Kai in his sights.
"Untold suffering and misery for all? I –think- it's about time it was shut down!"
Kai motioned to keep watch on Dylan, taking his foot off the stalagmite.
"The present calamity upon us is not of our making, but soon the madness will end. The Interface will be activated, the Reapers will die and a new order will be imposed. All aliens shall acknowledge humanity as the true masters of the stars!"
"With your master in charge? I don't think so - he's a psychopath who uses humanity!"
"If you're referring to your daughter's implantation… she could have cooperated with us, contributed to a glorious future. But like her father she has grown weak and idealistic, unwilling to accept force and sheer power as a necessity in shaping human destiny."
"I'm not here to waste time with you, Kai. I'm here to end Jack Harper!"
Kai took up the hilt of his holosword and activated its blade "You know I cannot permit that. Besides, he is well on his way by now."
Dylan reversed direction, keeping his slow pace amongst the pillars and feigned marvel at Kai's weapon.
"Well, look…at…that! That is some piece of hardware! I used to read about stuff like that in comic books… never dreamed I'd live to see one."
Dylan stopped by a pillar with a clear view of Leng.
"A lot can change in a single human lifetime…"
Dylan's hand slowly went for his Phalanx pistol. He tapped it, causing to unfold, expand and arm while still on his hip.
"But some things'll never change…"
Dylan's fingers curled around the pistols grip, his eyes focused on his opponent. Leng pointed his holosword outwards, prepared for the imminent attack.
"Someone should've told you, son… never bring a knife to a gunfight!"
With that, Dylan swiftly drew up his pistol and fired a round at Leng, who immediately dodged the shot. Dylan ran between the rock pillars, weaving between them, firing one shot after another while closing in on the Cerberus assassin. He had dodged and deflected every bullet as Dylan bounded up onto the platform and aimed for Kai's head. Kai swung his holosword, slicing off the barrel of Dylan's pistol. The old operative ducked and whirled past Kai's second swing as his dropped his ruined weapon. Kai swung again and suddenly felt the blade stop. Dylan held a fist in front of his face - his omni-blade deployed - and pushed away Kai. The combatants circled each other and swung their blades, missing their intended marks, their blades making sparking and crackling contact with each other. Dylan soon found his back against the wall of the platform with Kai moving in. He retracted his omni-blade and maneuvered his arms to insert within the assassin's grip of his sword as it started to come down on him, parting Kai's arms. Kai used his free hand to swat at Dylan and pin his neck to allow him a precious instant to reorient his blade. Dylan grabbed the wrist of Kai's sword hand and managed to knock the hilt upwards and away, switching it off. As it spun in the air, Dylan folded in his elbows and knocked them into Kai, trying to get away from the wall. One shove caused Kai to spin about, only for him to reach upwards, catch his holosword, ignite it and, upon facing Dylan again, drive the blade into his left shoulder pinning him to the rock wall. Dylan cried out, crooking his arm and gritting against the pain. Kai took the hilt with both hands again and pushed the blade further in until his face was inches from Dylan's.
"Someone should have told you, old man…! A knife does not need to reload! And it can be far more fatal in a single stroke than a hail of bullets!"
Still gritting his teeth, Dylan grunted "I'll keep that in mind…"
His retaliation was swift. He struck at Kai's jaw with the heel of his right hand; disorienting him and making him lose his grip on his holosword, switching it off. Dylan then grabbed the hilt and slid out of Kai's space, running to the platform edge. A pillar in front of it had an indentation that would serve Dylan's purpose. In one flowing motion he jumped off the platform, landed on the ground, jammed the hilt in the indentation and then brought an elbow down to break the handle in two. Dylan peered behind him to see Kai barreling towards him. He then braced himself against the pillar and piled his legs into Kai's chest as he dropped down, knocking him into the front face of the platform. As Kai recovered and stood again, Dylan hid behind one of the pillars. Kai chuckled to himself and reached to his side, withdrawing a titanium-laminate knife from a sheath embedded in his armor.
"That is not the only weapon at my disposal!" he teased and crept through the pillars, searching for his prey.
Three pillars away from Kai, Dylan listened as the breathing and the grinding dirt beneath his opponent's footsteps got closer. He engaged the medigel feature on his armor to dull the pain and control the bleeding from his shoulder.
Kai Leng, close-quarter combat specialist. Illusive Man's best wet-works operative. Known xenophobe.
Coming up on Dylan's hiding place, Kai spread his arms, smiled and exhaled harshly as he reached around the pillar. Dylan slid to the ground and rolled clear, narrowing avoiding Kai's knife. Dylan bolted upright and redeployed his omni-blade. Kai chuckled and made two mocking swipes before closing distance. Dylan parried the assassin's thrust and came about ready for another strike. Kai slammed his elbow into Dylan's head and cut into one of Dylan's hands as he raised it instinctively to block. Kai then purposely stabbed his knife past Dylan's face only to cut his cheek as he pulled back. As the senior combatant staggered back holding it, Kai circled around him, taunting with his knife and laughing.
"Old, Dylan…! Old and weak!"
Dylan's face wrinkled in pain and disgust, but his mind was still sharp and aware.
He's toying with me…
Kai lunged again, Dylan evading. Kai hopped on one foot and sent the other on a path to Dylan's skull, missing and knocking fragments off a pillar. Kai spun around and kicked again, making contact with another pillar. This time, the point of contact exploded and sent bits of shattered rock flying. Dylan shielded his eyes from the rain of dust. He could make out the bottom of Kai's smoking foot at the gap made in the pillar; his legs had been augmented and one was installed with a ramset barrel for devastating kill power. Kai, holding his position, saw Dylan's apprehensive expression and laughed again. Dylan's faculties still served him, though.
The new breed in action, showing off. Perfect.
Kai swung his outstretched leg at Dylan, using his shin to catch Dylan's torso and throw him to the ground. Dylan spun and used his forearms to prevent going face first into the dirt, his omni-blade deactivating. His armor's medigel dispenser injected another dose as he strained to get up. Though the pain was dulled, he felt strange cracks in his lower chest: a couple of fractured ribs. A louder metallic sliding sound was heard, something extending, and Dylan felt a jolt of electricity course through him as he was hit once more on the side. Dylan barked out, rolled and scurried backwards and upright to face Kai, who now twirled a stun baton in his hands and sparked its live end at Dylan threateningly. Dylan shook his head quickly to clear his vision.
"The vital spark you're missing, Dylan!" Kai teased again as he purposefully swung and missed "Shall I infuse you again?"
Kai swiped the stun baton again and caught Dylan in his right thigh, holding it there while Dylan groaned loudly and fell on the knee of his unaffected leg. Kai removed the baton and moved to strike downwards. Dylan raised his hands and caught Kai's wrist, straining to hold it in place. Kai backhanded Dylan's face with his free arm to force him to let go. Dylan then used one hand to block Kai's next strike and executed a complex tuck and roll maneuver, with himself as a pivot, to hurl Kai into the ground flat on his face, seizing the stun baton.
Okay, Kai. My turn…
Dylan sat up on Kai's back to pin him down, raised the baton and jammed it into Kai's ramset leg, twisting it in and then rolling away to avoid another shock. Kai flailed about on the ground as he screamed, eventually turning over and swinging his steaming leg to snap the baton in two. In those precious few seconds, Dylan adjusted the medigel flow on his armor in anticipation of more punishment. He limped about and took on a defensive stance as Kai also limped to his feet, deciding to engage the former Cerberus operative hand to hand. Blood trickled down Dylan's temple. The medigel helped keep his mind off the pain so he could concentrate on Illusive Man's top assassin.
So some of you is still real. Let's find out what…
Kai and Dylan circled and hobbled about like two drunken bar patrons, fists swinging and missing their marks as each man evaded the other. Kai caught Dylan twice in the jaw, regaining some of his confidence and strength. Dylan's blows to Kai's chest did not register. Kai then threw a haymaker. Dylan ducked under and an old instinct prompted him to catch Kai's throat between a thumb and forefinger. Dylan immediately withdrew his hand as Kai coughed out and staggered backwards clutching it.
That's one…
Another odd reflex possessed Dylan to stand more upright and give Kai a quick slap across the face. The assassin's face slackened in surprise, his eyes bulging at Dylan's choice to follow a setup for a possible kill strike with such a pedestrian move. Before he could react, Dylan flicked his eyebrows playfully and mustered speed befitting someone half his age to hit Kai's face again, this time with a left and right cross followed by an elbow strike to the base of the neck. Dylan then balanced on his damaged leg, ignoring its reduced faculties as he brought up his good leg to jam the top of his foot into Kai's groin. Bending his knee further up, and before his bad leg gave out completely, he extended his good leg and sent Kai flying backwards into the front of the raised platform. Kai gritted his teeth and hissed as his back scraped the side of the platform while he slid down. His face grimaced.
Found two…
Kai held his hands over his groin, tensely rocking to stave off the pain. His eyes squinted and opened to see Dylan postured a few feet away, ready for another engagement. Dylan looked down on the fallen warrior and allowed a cocky sneer to take his lips.
That's right - the old man still knows a few moves!
Kai boiled inside, outraged that someone old enough to be his father - and a retired killer at that - was able to keep pace and get the better of him. The rage vented up and out through Kai's wide mouth, setting his head vibrating as he lunged forward, using his momentum to stand and barrel towards Dylan. Dylan leaned in and braced his shoulder to Kai's head as he rolled onto his back and cartwheeled the assassin over and down. Kai gripped and clamped down on one of Dylan's arms, landing square on his back. He drew his knife again with his other hand and stabbed overhead, Dylan's head avoiding the strike and rolling to his feet. Kai still holding an arm, he pulled himself to Dylan and swung his knife. Dylan leaned back and slammed Kai into a rock pillar. Dylan was free of Kai's grip and stumbled to cover behind another pillar as Kai regained awareness of his surroundings. Dylan assessed the situation.
Good, he's softening up. He's annoyed, his mind's racing and the adrenaline's flowing. Start the poison drip…
Bobbing side to side, ready to dart behind adjacent cover, Dylan called out "You're playing for the wrong team, Kai!"
"You will not get inside my head, Dylan Shepard…" Kai breathed in growing frustration, wiping blood from his nose.
Dylan saw Kai's approach and dodged another knife strike, moving to another pillar.
They all say that…
"Why bother? There's no room in there, anyway. Jack Harper's got it leased up, lock, stock and barrel!"
"Harper is the true voice of the Systems Alliance. He speaks aloud what it dares not admit openly. He does what is necessary… to show the Galactic Council its place!"
Another missed stab, another pillar to hide behind and taunt from.
"And he convinced you that you're just the kind of people he needs!" added Dylan.
"You were wrong to leave us, Dylan! You could have stayed… joined our efforts!"
Yet another stab and another pillar. Dylan touched it with outstretched hands, ready to run again.
"Now I'm curious. Just what is Cerberus to you?"
"The means by which to cleanse the galaxy of alien filth… and the embracing of the human potential without fear!"
Dylan scoffed at Kai's proclamation "Please! They're nothing but a bunch of killers, always have been! Only now they're stalking bigger game!"
Dylan emerged from behind his pillar to confront Kai this time, commencing another duel between metal knife and omni-blade. Kai interjected between every other of his moves.
"We make no apologies for our methods…"
Kai managed to stick his blade into Dylan's lower right side. Dylan began to lose ground.
"Every effort, every failure… pushes us harder!"
Kai circled and punched Dylan's gut, pushing him towards the wall of the hollow opposite the platform.
"Steels us…!"
A left-handed backhand across Dylan's face.
"Evolves us…!"
An uppercut to the jaw sent Dylan tumbling back first into the wall. Kai then stood as straight as he could manage and limped closer.
"…makes us stronger!"
Dylan propped himself against the wall with his back and hands, trying to keep from slipping to the ground. "Yeah, 'proud new model, brave new world…'"
Kai paused a couple of feet away. "You may have been good for your time, but it has long passed. You've lost your edge!"
The medigel dispenser in Dylan's armor was running low and Dylan could start to feel dull pain setting in that would only increase as the effects wore off. He had to keep up his guard, keep pushing. Keep up the adrenaline and keep railing at Kai.
"I woke up! I found better things to fight for… Having a family… can change you! Losing family… can change you! Isn't that right, Kai? 'My daddy died fighting aliens in the First Contact War… and now evvery alien has to die!' Changed you so much that living for yourself is something you just can't manage anymore, can you? Oh, no! Got yourself thrown in jail, pissed your life away. Then your new daddy Jack Harper comes along and busts you out. Gives you a new life and a new job so he could use your hatred to his advantage. You're so messed up you can't even think for yourself. You let Harper think for you – a man… who can give less than a SHIT about human potential!"
Kai appeared unmoved but inside something was jarred. He stifled this sensation "You know nothing!"
Dylan continued "You do what-evvver he tells you to do. Roll over. Fetch. Kill! Stay…! He ordered you to stay behind and kill me… and you obeyed like a good dog!"
Kai corrected him "I advised him to leave and he agreed. I bought him valuable time!"
"Bet he didn't exactly beg you to reconsider, did he?"
Kai felt something start to come loose within his psyche. He moved quickly to repair the fault "He has confidence in my abilities!"
Dylan directed a pointed stare "Or maybe he's just cutting his LOSSES!"
Kai snarled and attacked again. Dylan loosed a rock from the wall and used it to club Kai's neck and knock his knife from his hand. Kai held his neck and hip as he staggered back while Dylan triggered his omni-blade and held it outstretched. Suddenly with blinding speed, Kai's hand moved from his hip and extended to Dylan's omni-blade. It held some kind of curved rectangle pointed right to Dylan's wrist. There was a flash of blue light. When the light faded, Dylan's left arm throbbed. He fell backwards as he cradled it. He saw his hand fly off into another corner of the hollow. The stump left behind was smoldering and cauterized. Dylan screamed out, more out of surprise than pain, still somewhat numbed by the doses of omnigel.
Honestly… did not see that coming…
Dylan lay on his side tucking his amputation under his good arm, panting. Kai stood above him, hair ragged, injured but triumphant.
"You have failed, Dylan Shepard. Give way to the future."
Dylan stumbled a bit internally.
Come on… keep it together. That last remark riled him, but he's not going to kill you outright. He wants to gloat, savor the moment. Rub it into your face that you're wrong. Maybe even grant you last words…
Kai knelt down, aiming his device at Dylan's neck and proceeded as Dylan visualized.
"Tell me…" Kai cocked his head "Was it worth your life?"
Predictable.
Dylan gave his strained response "For my family, my daughter… yes… is it worth yours… to serve him?"
Kai smiled proudly "To achieve our great destiny… it is service I render gladly!"
Dylan could feel his injuries even more.
Let's go. You're on.
Dylan looked up at his would be executioner.
"Uhhh…oh man… he used both hands when he shoveled it to you…! He's hell bent… on getting control of that device, isn't he? To stop the Reapers? Promote human supremacy? Flesh is frail… you know that, you've proved that… Is the human soul also frail…? He seems to think so. He's ready to sell his to prove it. Does that sound… like embracing human potential… to you?"
Kai smirked and shook his head "Still clinging to insane insinuations. The combined product of age and medigel, no less. I do not hold it against you, old man. I forgive you your frailty… a pity you refuse to partake in the revitalization the new Cerberus can offer!"
Resistance is a normal response…
"Still… gonna let him do the thinking for you, Kai…? Cause soon he's gonna be thinking for all of us… once he has his Inter-face!"
Steady…steady…
Kai allowed Dylan to speak more, feeling himself the superior and in control.
"He's about to become all powerful… trans-cendent…"
Let him have it!
"…no longer… hu-man…"
Kai eyes twinged slightly. His instinct was to silence his fallen opponent permanently, but he could not bring himself to act. Dylan Shepard was not the fool that Kai attempted to portray him as. He had been one of the three heads of Cerberus, used his skills and resolve to break with them and then forge a new life for himself. Those resilient qualities were still present in Dylan's eyes even as he lay broken upon the ground. Kai remembered that his own father was much the same way before his death. This weary but sure, experienced voice from the past was now warning him that his efforts may be misguided.
Dylan picked up on Kai's internal debate.
There it is. That little glint in the eyes. Turn that spark into a flame…
"Why else do you think… he was so willing to sacrifice everything he built… and the lives he used to build it? Why else would he agree… to leave you behind so easily…? Cause he won't need you to protect him anymore…! He won't need any-one… any-more!"
Kai slowly lowered his weapon as Dylan's words washed into him.
"He'll be a thing… an entity with no enemies to protect it from. Because if anyone tries to stop it, it can kill with a thought… he'll become completely… unstoppable…"
Kai began to appear lost and directionless.
"You're useless to him, now. What good… is a man like you… to a god?"
Dylan ceased to speak a moment to observe his handiwork.
He's worried. Good… now get him scared.
"Or maybe… may-be… the puppeteer… may be just a puppet himself! All his research on Reapers? Salvaging and reengineering their tech? I'm sure you've heard the stories. It does things to people. Whispers to them, warps them. Chan-ges them. Those zombies you carved up back there… just the final stage. You've served him for what, ten years…? He's been in this shit for well over twenty! He must be seriously fucked in the head… it's a wonder he hasn't tried to eat your brains yet…! Shame that you're sooo willing to serve them up!"
Dylan thought he could see Kai trembling ever so slightly.
"And if he is working… for the same Reapers he says he wants to destroy…? He's about to hand over humanity for all time. There's your grand des-tiny! To live and die as cattle… for mechanized… alien… squid!"
Dylan focused his eyes more. Kai was trembling.
Hmph, easier than I thought it would be. It's helpful that either case could very well be true.
Something else came to Dylan's attention, but seemed to escape Kai's: the sounds of distant gunfire and shrieking off in the corridors.
"So go on, Kai…use your little toy. Set me to sleep eternal. My sleep… will be a lot sounder than yours!"
The gunshots stopped. Footfalls echoed about, growing louder. Recognizable voices called out Dylan's name…
The extraction team had arrived.
Kai blinked rapidly. "No… you will live…"
He looked to one end of the hollow. James Vega appeared in the entrance and spotted him. Kai sprang to his feet, backpedaled and called out to Dylan before he turned and scampered out the opposite end of the hollow as fast as he could.
"You will live, Dylan Shepard! To sleep no more!"
Dylan exhaled and sat up, back to the rock wall with his stump under his other arm.
Sweet dreams, asshole…
Vega opened fire on Kai and gave chase.
Dylan shouted to get his rescuer's attention. "NO! Let him go! He's not an issue anymore!"
The young lieutenant slowed and stopped, put up his rifle and attended to the fallen warrior. He was covered in dirt, ooze and pieces of exploded Husks.
"Christ, sir!" he said with an encouraging grin as he bent down "You look like hell!"
Dylan smiled awkwardly "… you could use a good shower yourself, son…"
Vega noticed Dylan's missing hand and waved to the salarian scientist Mordin Solus entering the hollow "Yeech! Don't worry; I'll get Doc Solus on the case. Hey Doc - man down!"
Mordin trotted over to Vega and began scanning Dylan with his omni-tool.
"Need a hand, Captain Shepard?"
Dylan wheezed as Vega shoved Mordin's shoulder, calling attention to the missing appendage.
"Oh! Terribly sorry, Captain," Mordin apologized "Did not realize nature of your injuries!"
"Really, Doc, you've got the bedside manner of a mortician!" Vega chastised.
Dylan interrupted with "Could one of you please go and find my hand?" His head motioned to the opening of the hollow where Kai ran through. "I think Kai may have tripped on it on his way out!"
Mordin nodded at Vega, who stood up and went in search of it. "With haste, James. Must refrigerate as quickly as possible if we are to salvage and reattach limb successfully." Mordin applied another dose of medigel to Dylan "There - should keep you until return to Normandy."
Normandy? What happened to the Orizaba?
Two more soldiers entered the hollow and moved towards Dylan's location. The asari justicar Samara.
And Cadrina Shepard.
Dylan's face brightened in gratitude. Samara had received his message. His daughter lived. Samara looked down upon the father and nodded slightly in acknowledgement, glad to see he had also lived. But her eyes simmered with worry, with a look that seemed to say you have much to answer for. Cadrina kneeled aside her father as Mordin continued to assess injuries. She seemed as she was trying to decide how exactly she should feel or react to finding her father alive but not altogether well. Her lips thinned more and more.
"Cady…" Dylan sighed with emotion and relief.
Samara's sentiment was confirmed when Cadrina suddenly slapped him hard across the face, setting the cut from Kai's knife to bleed again. Dylan regretted hitting his daughter in much the same way months earlier and did not protest her action.
He rubbed his cheek, smearing blood on his gloved hand and nodded. "I… I - I earned that…"
Cadrina gripped her father's shoulders firmly and shook "What the hell's wrong with you? Have you gone insane?"
"Insane? Maybe...? But that Kai Leng… now he is one serious head case, Cadrina!"
Cadrina was emotional "Just what did you hope to accomplish out here alone?"
"What I've accomplished? Well…" Dylan cast his eyes down a moment in consideration and then looked to his daughter again "That's yet to be seen."
Mordin finished his scans and gave instructions to carefully lift up Dylan and walk him out of the mine. Cadrina slowly took up one of Dylan's shoulders while Samara took the other and moved along with Dylan at his pace. Dylan was groggy from the medigel now that his adrenaline levels were low again. Vega scrambled up to follow with Mordin in tow. Vega was able to find Dylan's hand. Mordin sealed it into a plastic covering and then applied a small burst of coolant from his omni-tool to preserve it. One thought played over in Dylan's mind as he fell in and out of consciousness as he walked out of the mine with the rescue party.
Objective complete; ball is in play. It's all up to you now, Cady.
It's all up to you…
End of Part II
Author's Notes and Thoughts:
- Suggested music for the fight between Kai and Dylan: The Game Has Changed from the Tron: Legacy soundtrack
- Kai Leng is from the Mass Effect novels and Mass Effect 3 game, but I improvised his personality and behavior from the wiki entries (didn't read the novels), so apologies if he is out of character