Contact

There was not much room in the air vents, but Thane and Tali were able to wiggle and squirm their way around. Thane went in first with Tali following in right behind him. They had been crawling for a full 10 minutes and had passed through many vents but had yet to see anything that resembled a security office. Frustration was beginning to settle in on Thane. The heat from the vents did not bother him though.

Getting into the facilities was the easy part. They were able to find a way in through one of the many air vents that were placed on the side of one of the mountains. Thane and Tali were able easily maneuver their way up the labyrinth of ducts and air vents. The only problem now was not knowing where to go. Turning around would not be an option for them, because there was not enough room for even their smaller bodies to do a complete 360 degree turn. This made it very frustrating on them, and they felt like they were getting nowhere fast.

Thane stopped and removed one of the vents from the duct and poked his head down and looked around the best he could. There was just a long hallway below him with two rooms on either side of the hallway. He could not see any signs that would help him find out where he was. Then he heard something. He stopped and listen intently for a moment and heard two pairs of feet walking down the hallway. Thane shot his head back up into the vent and kept his eyes fixed on the hallway.

Tali poked his foot and Thane held up his hand and motioned for her to keep quiet. Almost a minute later two giant beasts came into his view. Each of them was covered in fur and had long snouts that were the home to razor sharp teeth. Both of them were muscular and built like two Krogans put together. They were an amazing sight to see, but Thane was also a little frightened by them as well. Mordin had briefed them all on what the Anahaus could do if they got their big claws on you, and Thane was not about to let that happen.

He ran his eyes over each of them carefully and did not see any type of Kinetic Barriers on them. That meant that a few well placed bullets would be able to down them. The only problem was trying to determine where is was they were going and if they were going to be walking anywhere near them.

He pulled his pistol out from its holster just as the two behemoths walked underneath him. He looked back to Tali and said, "Be ready to help." Her masked head nodded and readied her pistol as well.

Thane swiftly fell from the duct and landed silently on the floor behind the pair of Anahaus. Tali moved herself towards the hold and pointed her gun at them. Thane closed his eyes for a second before striking out. The first bullet he fired buried itself into the thick and meaty calf of the Anahaus on the left. The creature let out a terrifying howl of pain and grabbed at his leg. A second bullet came out from Thane's pistol and was buried in the side of its face. Blood and brain matter exited the other side of the Anahaus's head and it crashed to the ground. Thane was impressed that he was able to take him down so fast and easy. Of course he had caught it off guard and now the second one was alerted.

It swung his giant paw but before it could connect with Thane, Tali fired two successive shots into its chest. He stumbled back and like the first one, let out a howl of pain and discomfort. A third bullet from Tali finished him off. All in all, the scuffle lasted less than 15 seconds. The floor was covered in a red blood and brain matter. Tali dropped to the floor and stood next to Thane. The duo clipped their pistols back onto their hips and cautiously made their way to the next corner.

"Being out of the those ducts will be a little easier on us," Tali said. "Shepard is probably growing impatient right now." Thane nodded in agreement. The companions turned down a hallway and were very cautious before approaching any corners. After rounding a few more corners they finally found what it was they were looking for; a large room with computer mainframes and a variety of TV monitors. The only thing that was missing from the rooms were the guards. The guards could have been the two Anahaus that they dispatched of not 5 minutes ago.

They entered the room and tried to figure out what all went with what. There were buttons and switches all over the place, making it a proverbial game of 'pick and choose'. Tali looked over all of the controls and tried to make out what they could have meant. Of course all of the words were written in a foreign tounge, possibly the dialect that the Anahaus use. She brought up her Omni-Tool, trying to see if maybe it could have something useful for her. She scanned over the controls and switches and after a few moments looked back at Thane, who had been standing guard by the door.

"My Omni-Tool has not brought up anything concrete," the female Quarian began. "But it is getting a good electronic reading. With a little luck I may be able to have everything we need turned off, off." She smiled underneath her mask and turned back to the consoles.

"Be quick," Thane said. "I feel we may have visitors very soon." Tali worked with an efficient grace and after a few more moments of studying her Omni-Tool and the switches, every camera in the facility had gone dead. Doors were beginning to unlock and the comm buoys to the other mountains were switching off. She hid her Omni-Tool and looked up at the monitors on the wall. They were all static, except for two. The two she had left on were the ones that were at the two doors that the other teams would be entering in from. She left them on so her and Thane would know when they got inside. Thane stood by her side and smiled.

"We need to let Shepard know it is 'safe' to come in," Tali said. Safe was not the word she wanted to use for this particular mission but it was the best word she had. With the security systems shut off Jacob's team and Shepard's small team would be able to gain access to the facility without any problems.

"I will contact Shepard," Thane said. "Keep an eye on those vid screens."

Belly of the Beast

Christian Shepard stood on one of the many hills that Calypso had to offer him. The mountains that he and his team needed to get into were only 1 klik away from where he was at now. They had a decent distance to make up but they were making their way there fairly fast. Legion and Garrus had taken up their posts and prepared themselves with enough ammunition to keep the Normandy safe. Both of them were very patient and could sit prone for a long time. Tali and Thane took a 10 minute head start towards the mountains, hoping to be able to disable the security features if they needed too. That was going to be key if the other two teams were going to be able to make it into the base.

Mordin and Miranda walked next to the Commander both being ever vigilant and constantly rotating their heads side to side to make sure that did not miss anything that could around them. Shepard took point of course, and had his silenced pistol in his hand. This mission was going to need some finesse so he decided that going silent would be the best. Of course if all hell broke loose then he would bring out the big guns.

Once Tali and Thane were inside and began to disconnect any of the security systems that were set in place, the mission timer would begin. Shepard decided that 30 minutes would be enough to get Dr. Corson out and back to the Normandy. Before they all left the ship, he reiterated the fact that Dr. Corson was the only one they were going to extract at this time. Any more Salarians who had been tortured would only slow them down even more. Shepard knew that his team could not afford that.

The mountain ranges were getting closer and Shepard could begin to make out what he thought were the small tunnels that connected each of the peaks. Figuring out which one would be the best to enter would all be up to what Tali and Thane would relay to them. They were really the key if this entire operation was going to work out. Of course there was no telling what kind of security precautions had been set into place. Mordin painted these Anahaus as dumb beasts but if they have been able to research and develop cloning and facilities for it then they sound like they are slightly more intelligent then dumb beasts.

Shepard and his team stopped and knelt down, waiting for the news that Tali and Thane had been able to get into the mountains. Shepard pressed the button on his visor just to double check his shields. Everything was fine and secured. Nervousness was beginning to take its toll on him. Miranda took notice and put her hands on his shoulders and kissed his cheek. Almost instantaneously he began to calm down. After a couple of deep breaths and a second kiss from Miranda he was back to his normal level headedness. Shepard got back to his feet and surveyed the scenery in front of him. Over to his left he could see Jacob and the second team standing by and waiting for the signal to go.

"Come on guys," Shepard thought to himself. Shepard stared out at the mountains waiting. Thane and Tali should be done by now and relaying information to him about their success. Bad thoughts began to run through his mind. "What if they were caught by one of the animals? What if they were dead right now?" He shook his head slightly and tried to regain his focus.

"Shepard, its Thane," came the Drell's voice into Shepard's ear piece. "Tali has been able to shut down communications and their security precautions. Now is the time for you and the other team to strike. Thane out." Shepard nodded and turned back to Miranda and Mordin. The look on his face told the other two everything that they needed to know. They double checked their weapons and waited for Shepard's next orders.

Shepard put his fingers up to his ear, "Jacob, Shepard. Its time."

"Roger Commander," Jacob said. Shepard could see the second team in a small clearing. They began to move towards the mountain ranges. After another 5 minutes Shepard, Miranda, and Mordin were standing at the entry way needed to be. The door was the same color as the side of the mountain, and seemed to have a rocky covering to it. The camera panned over to Shepard and his team, stopped, and stared at them. After a moment the doors began to slowly open. Shepard smiled to himself; Thane and Tali had come through for them. Of course, there was never any doubt in his mind that they wouldn't.

Slowly the team of three began to work there way into the building, each of them having their weapons at the ready. Miranda and Mordin had their SMGs, and the Commander had his trusty Assault Rifle out. The Commander led his team down a long hallway lit only but small lights that were 5 meters apart from each other. He barely noticed how long it took them to get from the entrance to the next doorway but he figured it was a couple minutes. They approached the door and Shepard waved his hand over the automatic open button. It opened. The other side was clear so he and his team moved on in. There were a few doors in the hallway that lay in front of them. Carefully and methodically, Shepard and his team checked the rooms and found nothing.

They went through another automatic door saw a sign hanging down from the ceiling that read "LABS" with an arrow to pointing to the right. This piqued the Commander's interest and he lead his team the way the arrow pointed. Shepard was surprised to have not seen any of the Anahaus that he believed would have been patrolling the facilities. Not that he was hoping to see any, just a little surprised.

"Quite an amazing structural feat," Mordin chimed in. "Never thought Anahaus could create such intricate facilities. Maybe I was wrong. Smarter than I thought."

"Or perhaps it could be the Salarians," Miranda said. "They could have been the ones who made the designs for this and the Anahaus simply built it."

"Possibly," Mordin replied. "Would make sense. Still though, Anahaus could be smarter than I had initially proposed."

"That also makes them more dangerous," Shepard said. "Stay sharp, we are almost to the laboratories." Every hallway they went down looked relatively the same. Lights were 5 meters apart, pipes and vents lined the walls and ceiling, and the small misting of steam would come seeping through the walls. They came up to another corner and Shepard poked his head around the corner and finally he saw an Anahaus guard standing menacingly, his back to Shepard. Shepard watched to see what he would do, but the monster did not do anything other than stand and guard the door. Shepard turned back to his team.

"There is one down there," he whispered. "Bull rushing it may not be the best idea. Mordin, he will recognize a Salarian. You need to be the distraction so Miranda and I can bring him down." Mordin nodded and walked to where he would be in the Anahaus's line of sight. He stood there for a moment and then began to flail his arms.

"Excuse me," Mordin said. The guard looked up at him, surprised to see one of the Salarians walking around freely, and dressed the way that Mordin was. He growled and began to walk towards Mordin.

"Why are you not with the others?" the guard said, his voice a low, raspy growl. Shepard could hear his feet thump against the floor. Mordin began to move away from Shepard, hoping to keep the guard's focus on him. He was getting closer and Shepard readied his assault rifle.

"Answer me you big eyed freak!" the guard said trying to intimidate Mordin. "Why are you not with the others?" His intimidating words would be the last ones he would ever speak. The guard rounded the corner. Mordin dropped to the ground as the bullets from Shepard's assault rifle tore through his flesh, killing him. Shepard stood over it and brought out his Omni-Tool, and began to scan the Anahaus, sending his scans to EDI back on the Normandy. Maybe she would be able to find out more about these creatures.

The team of three turned their attention back to the laboratory door at the end of the hallway. He readied his assault rifle once more and led his team down the hallway. They made their way to the door and Shepard turned to the other two as if to ask 'are you ready?'. They both nodded, already knowing what he was going to ask. He nodded in reply and opened the door.

They walked in and what they saw was incredible. There was a long table that extended from one end of the room to the next. On that table were various sizes and shapes of microscopes, knives, and other medical instruments. Farther down the table there were boxes, marked with what seemed to be something written in the Anahaus's native tounge. There weren't that many boxes, only 6 of them. Coming from those boxes were an assortment of tubes and wires. Hanging from the ceiling were fine point lasers and robotic clamps and hands. Along side the walls were computers that were positioned about 15 meters apart from each other. Mordin was able to decipher some of the Salarian words and inscriptions, but the rest were Anahaus.

Mordin walked over to one of the boxes and put his hands on the sides and looked it over. Something was inside of it, but figuring out what was inside was going to be the real test. Mordin brought up his Omni-Tool and scanned it over the box, trying to get a read of its contents. A moment later he grinned and continued to analyze his findings. This box was a very cool temperature of -10 degrees Celsius, just the right temperature for what he found was inside. Two Anahaus embryos, both still in the earliest stages of development. Only a couple of the vital organs had begun to develop, including the brain. The brainwaves that Mordin was reading were off of the chart, higher that he could have ever imagined from a pair of embryos.

He moved to the next box and began to scan the contents of it as well. Like the first one it had two embryos but they were a little older, possibly by a few weeks. They had higher brainwaves than the ones before them and Mordin could tell from his scans that they had started to develop non-vital organs. This was such a fantastic find and Mordin was quickly becoming lost in all of this new data.

His eyes moved from the boxes and up to the wires that were connected to them. Gently, he put his fingers on one of the tubes and ran them up and down it trying to analyze things further. The tubes and wires were what was keeping the embryos alive. Each of them sending nutrients, amongst other valuable nourishment to each of the embryos. The slightest miscalculation in how much any of these embryos were to receive would prove to be fatal to them.

"What have you been able to find Mordin?" Shepard asked, standing over the doctor's shoulder.

"Breeding boxes," he said. "Two embryos in each box. All of these are in different developmental stages. Amazing that these boxes are sufficient enough to sustain a life form, let alone two. Salarian work indeed."

"So they are breeding a damned army," Miranda said. "It makes me wonder just how many more rooms there are like this. And where they put them once they begin to mature." Shepard went over and looked at one of the other boxes.

"How long have they been here breeding?" Shepard thought out loud. "Dr. Corson said in his message that he has been a captive for nearly five years. And in that time I wonder how many more of themselves they have made." He shook his head and walked away from the breeding box and back to the door way. Looking out at the hallway and Shepard could still see the dead guard he had killed not 5 minutes ago. It looked like no other guards had come by to check on him, because his body had not been moved. His blood has pooled underneath his massive frame and lined the walls around his body. Shepard turned back and watched as Miranda and Mordin continue to look over the breeding boxes. Shepard checked his mission timer. They only had about 15 minutes left before he wanted his people to be off of this world.

"I hate to break up this science party but we need to find Dr. Corson and get out before they find out that we are here," Shepard said. His two companions nodded and rejoined him at the door. They moved out quietly and back up to the dead guard and patted down his body to see if he had anything of importance on him. And he did, a card key. Shepard pocketed the card and they continued on, trying to locate where Dr. Corson and the other Salarian captives could be. In truth it was difficult to negotiate their way through the facilities, every hallway and doorway looked the same.

After a few more frustrating and wasteful moments the mission timer was down to 10 minutes, they came across a sign over head that Mordin was able to translate from Salarian to Human as "TEMPORARY HOME". Shepard could sense that they were getting close to where they needed to be. They stopped at a corner and Shepard poked his head around once more. Two guards stood in front of a door way that read the same way as the previous sign did. Both of the guards had on a little bit of armor, but still no Kinetic Barriers. Unfortunately they both had some kind of pistols with them. Along with their pistols they had a short blade strapped to their hips. This would make taking them down a bit more of a daunting task than the first one they were able to fool and kill. A direct assault may work, but they would still need to think of something that would take the guards by surprise, and that is when it hit him.

"Miranda, you told me once that you could hit a target from over 100 meters away," Shepard said. She nodded in agreement. "Well these two are less than 30, probably less than 20. Take one of them and try to take of the second. If you can only get one then I will jump in and help you."

"Will do Commander," she said with a sly half grin. She clipped the SMG back on the spot on her lower back and pulled out her pistol. She looked down the hallway and tried to judge how she would go about this. After a moment she turned back to Shepard and took a deep breath.

"Can you do it?" Shepard asked looked at her.

"Don't worry about it," she said, patting his shoulder. She steadied her nerves and peeked back around the corner and pulled the pistol over with her. She slowly brought it up and lined it up with the guard to the left. The pistols sights and eyes got a good beat on the bridge of the Anahaus's nose. She squeezed the trigger. The bullet zipped through the air and rocketed towards the guard. It penetrated its skin and tore through his cranium and brain and buried itself in the wall behind him. The body collapsed backwards and landed with a thud on the floor. The second guard howled and looked down the hallway to see Miranda standing there, pistol in hand. He growled and began to charge towards her.

"Miri what is going on?" Shepard asked, his back still against the wall.

"Everything is under control Shepard," she replied calmly. The Anahaus thundered down the hallway towards Miranda, getting his pistol out and readying it to fire at Miranda. She closed one of her eyes and kept the pistol pointed at his head. The Anahaus opened its mouth once more to growl at her. In that moment Miranda fired twice, both bullets finding their way into his mouth and causing him to stumble forward. The body convulsed one time, and then went still. She turned around to Shepard and grinned.

"I told you everything was under control," she said with a shake of her hips. Shepard smiled and they made their towards the door they hoped the prisoners were in. Shepard pulled out the card key and waved it in front of the door, and it opened. Mordin was shocked at what he saw.

Salarians were locked in cages that lined the walls and were stacked at least two high, three in some places. All of the Salarians looked starved and beaten by their captors. Their clothes were tattered and ragged and they all smelled like they had not bathed in days. Looks of sadness and defeat were etched on all of their faces as they looked at the three people enter the room. Mordin went to the lower rows of cages and checked on all of the captives that he could, and gave them what little Medi-Gel he had to spare. Shepard and Miranda split up from Mordin and did the same as well, but they were looking for Dr. Corson.

"Dr. Corson!" Shepard hollered as he walked in front of the cages, looking for the Salarian. "Dr. Corson this is Commander Shepard of the Normandy. I am here with my crew to rescue you." Shepard stopped walking and tried to make out if he could hear the doctor responding at all.

"Comm…Commander Shep…Shepard?" a weak voice came crying out from one of the cages. "Commander Shepard? You came? I am in the cage just a little further down." Dr. Corson put his hand outside of the bars of his cage and Shepard took notice of it. He ran and knelt down by the Salarians cage. He had three scratches across what was an already beaten and bruised face. One of his eyes was almost completely bruised shut. Despite looking like hell he was able to flash the Commander a grin, a sign that he was at least still alive and kicking.

"My God what have they done to all of you?" Shepard asked. He looked over the doctor and gave him some Medi-Gel straight from his Omni-Tool. Dr. Corson took in a deep breath and was able to relax just a little bit.

"I am not concerned with what they have done to me," the doctor said. I am more concerned with what it is that we have done here. We have created us an army of animalistic beasts that are only after one thing." Corson began to tear up a little bit and sat up, after being in a prone position.

"You did what you had to do to survive doctor. No one is going to hold that against you." Shepard said. He began to examine the bars that held the doctor inside his prison.

"But look what we have done now," Corson said. "A new kind of terror will be unleashed upon the galaxy soon and I am one of the ones to blame." He took a breath and tried to calm himself down. "But maybe you are right Commander. I saw many of my people and friends killed right in front of me and for what? So a power hungry ass can have an empire." Shepard stopped looking and turned his attention back to Dr. Corson. "But now you are here Commander. You are here to liberate us."

"Not all of you doctor," Shepard said. "Just you."

"Why not everyone? We all need to leave this place. If we leave then they will have no way of continuing the breeding process."

"If I take too many then we would be slowed down and I cannot afford that," Shepard said. "Right now my priority is getting you out of here doctor. You need to trust my judgment on this." The two stared at each other for a moment before Dr. Corson nodded.

"I understand Commander. Your reputation does proceed you," Corson said with a smile. Shepard grabbed the card key and looked at the cage door. It was a long shot that this would even work, but what the hell. He waved the card in front of the senor and the cage door came open. The risk paid off. The good doctor stumbled out of his cage and into Shepard's arms. Mordin and Miranda joined the Commander as the rest of the Salarians captives began to yell and shout to be freed from their cages as well.

"Dr. Corson. My name is Miranda Lawson," Miranda said, introducing herself with a warm smile.

"Mordin Solus," Mordin added in. "Pleasure to meet such a highly recognized scientist in your field."

"Yes Dr. Solus," Corson said. "Your work always impressed me doctor. I am very glad to finally be meeting you. I do wish the circumstances were better."

"Of course. Perhaps we should better acquaint ourselves on the ship. Less dangerous there," Mordin said as he motioned towards the doorway.

"I believe that would be a great idea Dr. Solus," Corson said. He gently pushed away from Shepard and was able to stand on his own feet. Shepard was surprised at the resiliency of the man. He had been through emotional and physicals hells and here he was able to walk out of it with his head high, almost like nothing had ever happened.

Shepard put one finger to his ear, "Jacob its Shepard."

"Go ahead Commander," Jacob replied over the comms.

"We have Dr. Corson and will be making our back to the Normandy now. Get you and the rest of your team the hell out of this place before we get noticed," Shepard ordered.

"Roger that Commander," Jacob responded. "We will see you back at the ship. Jacob out."

Shepard led his team out of the room that had been dubbed "TEMPORARY HOME". Getting the doctor out had been too damn easy, and that frightened him. Thus far he had only seen three Anahaus, and they had all been easy kills. Then it finally dawned on him. They did know they were there. He stopped walking, almost in shock just thinking about it. If the Anahaus knew that they were here then why not try and stop them and lock them up in this facility.

"Goddamn it!" Shepard blasted. Miranda stopped and turned back and looked at Shepard.

"Shepard come on," she said looking back at him. "We don't have much time to waste."

"The bastards know that we are here," Shepard said. "We got to get back to the ship. NOW!"