Martian Explorers
Location: Milky Way / Local Cluster / Sol System / Mars
The arid fourth planet of the Sol System had been explored via various robotic expeditions for nearly a century before the first manned research stations had been placed in the 2080s. The first permanent settlement on Mars was Lowell City, founded in 2103 by the European Space Agency, and based in Eos Chasma. Within a decade, both the United North American States and the Chinese People's Federation had founded permanent settlements on the planet as well. However, satellites near Promethei Planum began reporting strange phenomena that gave the region a 'Bermuda Triangle' reputation, mostly unexplained magnetic field shifts.
In 2148, a prospecting team led by Mateus Silva had begun exploring near the Deseado Crater, and had found the source of these disturbances when they unearthed a subterranean Prothean ruin. The ruins had contained a malfunctioning mass effect core and several starships, as well as refined element zero. After a global effort, the information remaining in the ruins' computers had been translated, identifying the structure as a former observation and biosciences station, set up to receive and process data from Earth as the Protheans had studied Cro-Magnon humans.
After that, the Mars Archives had been constructed so that scientists could study what the Protheans had left behind.
And at one of the research terminal deep within the facility sat a single lone asari, Dr. Liara T'Soni, thoroughly engrossed in her research. Around her, the resident human scientists eyed her warily, but Liara ignored them and continued on with her translations.
After the events of the Bahak system, the former archaeologist had realized what little time the galaxy had left before the Reapers arrived. Admiral Hackett had known it too and had requested the new Shadow Broker's aid in finding a way to stop them.
Her first stop had been to the asari homeworld, Thessia. To her surprise, the archives there had contained very little information, none of which she could use against the Reapers.
But her former teacher, Dr. Alene Passante, had suggested that she investigate the much more sizable Prothean ruins on Kahje. Gaining access to the archive had not been easy, only once she'd offered some "funding" for an upcoming festival had the hanar permitted her to visit the archive-turned-shrine. And although her welcome to the shrine hadn't been the friendliest, she'd discovered a promising lead in the form of encryption keys for three other – older - Prothean archives.
One of which was her current location.
With Hackett's help she'd arrived at the Archives a month ago and had immediately set to work; translating the data that the encryption key had unlocked to see if there was anything that could help their cycle stop the sentient machines. And she'd struck gold when she'd discovered a blueprint for a weapon that could – theoretically – wipe out the Reapers.
"Manuel! Did you hear? Earth's been hit by the Reapers! !"
At the word 'Reapers' Liara lifted her head from her research to look at the pair of scientists not far from her. "Earth's been attacked?" she queried the two human males. 'Goddess, I hope Shepard's alright!'
"The news is covering what they can. From the looks of things they just cut right through Earth's defences!"
"I'm not surprised. Look at how many ships Sovereign took down during the Battle of the Citadel. And that was just one of them!" Another scientist spoke up, his eyes wide with shock as he processed the news. "With a whole fleet of the synthetic bastards attacking at once, Earth didn't stand a chance."
The sudden explosion of gunfire coming from the next room drew everyone's attention away from their conversation.
"What's going on?"
That question was answered pretty quickly when one of the attackers tossed a frag grenade into the midst of the scientists.
"Run!" one of them bellowed just before it detonated.
Liara barely had enough time to get to cover before several heavily-armoured troopers burst into the room and began to violently gun down the remaining researchers as they tried to flee.
~ o ~ O ~ o ~
Location: Milky Way / Local Cluster / Sol System / En route to Mars / SSV Normandy SR-2 / Deck 5: Shuttle Bay
Shepard - now fully kitted out in the N7 armour - stood at the weapons bench checking his armaments. Aside from the Avenger and Predator that he'd brought with him from Earth, he was also now packing an M-23 Katana Shotgun and an M-92 Mantis Sniper Rifle. Assured that his weapons were all in working order he collapsed them before clipping them to their respective places on his weapons harness.
'They're not Spectre weapons, but they'll have to do. For now.' He'd look into new arms when they went to the Citadel. 'Though this has got to be the fourth time I've had to requisition the HMWs in the past sixteen months,' His old weapons had been confiscated when he'd been arrested, though Hackett had assured him that they'd be returned when the marine was released.
"I think you mean 'if' sir, If I'm released," he'd responded at the time.
"No, Shepard. I meant what I said. As you yourself have repeatedly stated; the Reapers are coming. And when they get here, we're going to need someone who's fought these things before leading the charge against them."
"No pressure, then?" Shepard had wryly responded.
"Ready to go, Skipper," Ashley's voice broke Shepard from his thoughts and the marine turned to face his comrades as they approached him, both of them likewisely armoured up, their helmets clipped to their belts.
Ashley, clad in a set of standard issue latest-gen Onyx armour - though the suit's colour had been changed to match Alliance colours, was similarly armed as he, minus the Katana. Vega, however, was only packing an M-8 and an M-23 and was wearing a set of the special forces favoured Defender armour which made him look more like a tank than a soldier.
"We're just about to enter Mars' atmosphere, Commander," Joker reported over the comm.
"Thanks Joker. They Normandy's yours. Try not to let her get blown up or let a hostile race board her and kidnap all the crew.
"Hey, that only happened once! And you wiped out the Collectors; no way are they going to be able try and pull that stunt again!"
"So you say," the Spectre drawled back. "EDI, raise the Archives on a secure channel - and Liara, too, if possible – to let them know that we're coming."
"Right away, Commander."
Shepard turned to his squad. "Alright everyone, time to rock'n'roll. You sure you know how to pilot this thing, James?"
"He does. But I don't know if I'd trust him to do so, Commander," a voice spoke up from behind Shepard and the Spectre turned to face the newcomer, a dark-skinned and blue-eyed man who had snapped to attention. "Lieutenant Steve Cortez at your service," Cortez introduced himself to his CO. "I'm the Normandy's assigned shuttle pilot."
"Nice to meet you, Lieutenant," Shepard returned the salute.
"You afraid I'll steal your thunder, Esteban?" Vega jabbed.
"I'm sure that the Commander and Lieutenant Commander Williams want to be able to stay in one piece, Mr Vega. Which won't be happening if you get behind the wheel," the shuttle pilot retorted.
'I like this guy already,' Shepard chuckled to himself for a moment before turning serious. "I'm assuming that you have a set of armour?" the Spectre queried Cortez.
Cortez nodded. "Yes, sir."
"Then gear up. I want to get going ASAP."
"Give me ten and I'll be ready to go."
~ o ~ O ~ o ~
Location: Milky Way / Local Cluster / Sol System / Mars / Mars Archives
Liara sat crouched behind some crates in one of the Archives many corridors as she sought to avoid her pursuers, a grill to the air conditioning ducts a few paces from her position.
Once they'd discovered her, the assailant's had started coming after her with a vengeance.
Thus she found herself in her current predicament.
"I thought I saw her come this way," the voice of one trooper reached her ears and Liara tensed, bringing her submachine gun to bear and flaring her biotics.
With her own M-12 Locust and M-5 Phalanx Heavy Pistol back in her room, she'd had to pilfer her current armaments – an M-25 Hornet and an M-358 Talon - off of a slain trooper. It was whilst she was retrieving the weapons that she'd discovered who the assailants were; Cerberus.
'You did tell the Illusive Man to send an army after you the next time that he wanted to take you out,' the asari had grimly reminded herself upon the discovery. 'And it looks like he listened to your advice.'
Two months ago, the pro-human organization had sent several ships to the Sowilo system with the intent of capturing her. Her response had been a kamikaze run into the dreadnought. Just before she committed to the action, the Illusive Man had contacted her, proposing an alliance between them to stop the Reapers. When she'd refused, he'd warned her that he had her exactly where he wanted her and that there was no escape. "That's what you think," she'd retorted before setting the ship's course.
What her foe hadn't known is that she'd been controlling the old Broker's hulking ship remotely from the safety of one of the six new Normandy-class frigates that the yahg had had commissioned before his death, the ISV Canrum. So when the old ship and the Cerberus dreadnought had gone up in flames, she and Feron had been on the other side of Hagalaz, safe and very much alive, using the Canrum's stealth system to keep them undetected. But she'd known that the Illusive Man would eventually catch on to her deception.
Those thoughts had been proven right on Kajhe, just prior to her coming to Mars. Having dealt with the welcoming party that had been sent there before her, she'd accessed the data to discover the encryption keys before a communication had come through. The Cerberus CEO had denied that the sword-wielding assassin that had almost killed her and her guide, a drell named Quoyle. He'd also once again proposed an alliance between them. When she'd asked him to upload the data he had, he'd faltered and she'd seen the truth; he had no information to offer and just wanted to see what she had, she'd uttered those now infamous words to him just before she'd severed the communication.
So whether the Illusive Man's forces had come to Mars for her or something else entirely – namely the blueprints that she'd found - remained to be seen.
But she suspected that she'd find out soon enough.
Her train of thought was broken when her Omni-tool began to beep, alerting her that someone was trying to contact her.
'Who could be trying to get a hold of me now?'
Unfortunately, the sound also gave away her position to her pursuers.
"There she is!"
"After her!"
With no other choice, Liara fled into the ducts, briefly consulting the compound's schematics as she moved. If she could reach the entrance, she could commandeer one of Cerberus vehicles and try and get a message to either Admiral Hackett or Shepard.
~ o ~ O ~ o ~
Location: Milky Way / Local Cluster / Sol System / in Orbit around Mars
The space around Mars was devoid of any activity as the Normandy dropped out of faster than light travel and into the planet's atmosphere, continuing on its trajectory towards the Archives. When it was in acceptable range of the outpost, one of the frigate's two Kodiak shuttles lifted off from the hangar and continued on its way to the planet's surface.
~ o ~ O ~ o ~
Location: Milky Way / Local Cluster / Sol System / Kodiak shuttle / En route the Mars Archives
"Message coming from the Normandy, Commander," Cortez, now also clad in set of Onyx armour, alerted his CO from the cockpit.
After putting on his helmet and securing it, Shepard stepped into the space, stopping behind the pilot's chair. "Let's hear it."
"Joker here, Commander. We've been trying to reach the Archives like you asked us to, but no-one's responding."
"What about Liara? Any luck in contacting her?"
"Nada."
'Something's definitely not right here,' "What about the facility itself? Any sign of trouble?"
"The base appears to be online and functional," EDI informed him. "It is possible that the occupants could have already been evacuated prior to our arrival."
"True," Shepard conceded. "But then why would Liara not respond to the Normandy's hails to tell us that?" the Spectre questioned before shaking his head. "Never mind, we'll find out soon enough. Be ready though, Joker. Just in case."
"Roger that, Commander. Normandy out."
"We're almost there," Cortez alerted the three marines as he neared a suitable landing zone; a small plateau that was a click north from the Archives. "You'd better get moving. There's a massive storm headed our way and once it hits we're going to have trouble keeping up comms with the Normandy."
"How long 'till it hits?"
"Half hour. Tops."
"Alright. Thanks, Cortez."
"All part of the service, Commander."
"Alright," Shepard turned to Vega and Ashley as he drew his Avenger. "You heard the man. Time's against us, so we get in, get what we're after and then get out."
"What's the ROE?" Vega questioned
"Don't fire unless fired upon. Until we know what's going on, at least. Then, we'll see. Also, voice modules off, radio contact only."
"Understood, Commander." - "Yes, sir."
Ashley and Vega responded together before switching off their voice modules.
"Touching down now, Commander," Cortez announced as he landed the shuttle.
"Thanks, Cortez," Shepard responded before turning back to his squad and disengaging his own voice module. "Move out!" he ordered.
Leaving the Kodiak, James let out a whistle as they laid eyes on the massive front of the dust storm that was coming their way. "Man, that's a huge storm. Looks even bigger in person."
"C'mon, Lieutenant. It's not that bad." Ashley responded.
Vega glanced at her as they moved across the plateau, which was littered with westward facing solar panels that served as the base's main source of power. "Doesn't mean that it can't kill us."
Ashley just shook her head. "I'm more worried about the war back on Earth. And the fact that nobody here is reporting in."
"Fair enough." Vega conceded as ahead of them, Shepard dropped off of the raised ground onto a narrow path below. The Hispanic marine followed suit, then Ashley. But something in her peripheral vision caught her eye as she went to move off. "Hold up a second, Skipper!" she called out to the two men, who were already a few meters up the path.
Shepard turned back. "What's u-" he started to ask, but then saw what had caught her attention; a slain Alliance marine.
"He got any ID on him?" Shepard questioned as he backtracked to Ashley's position while she squatted by the body and rolled it over. Instantly they all saw the marine's CoD; a single GSW to the forehead.
"Sergeant Thomas Reeves." Ashley reported to her CO.
"Doesn't look like he put up much of a fight," Vega commented, referring to the deceased marines armaments, which were all still collapsed and holstered on his weapons harness.
"By the looks of the shot, he was taken out at range." Shepard observed. "Someone didn't want word getting back to the Archives that there were invaders incoming."
Any further speculation was halted by the sound two gunshots piercing the air for somewhere ahead of their position.
"What the hell! ?" James exclaimed.
"Move!" Shepard barked.
The three marines moved quickly across the rough terrain until they came across an outcropping. As they took cover behind it, two more shots were heard. When the sound's echo faded the trio peaked over their cover to assess the situation. Below them, they could see at least five heavily armoured soldiers clustered in front of a white ATV. Two of them, one restraining a fellow Alliance marine, another armed with a pistol – the executioner – were in their line of sight, whilst the remaining three were off to the side, guarding the remaining prisoners. All around the group were bodies of their slain captives, and as they watched, another was gunned down.
"Sons of bitches!" Vega cursed as he began to leave their cover, but Shepard grabbed his arm and forced him back down.
"Not yet!"
"Those are our own that're getting slaughtered down there!" Vega growled.
"I know that, James," Shepard replied patiently as he swapped his Avenger for his Mantis and signalled Ashley to do the same. "But we need to thin their numbers first, improve our odds, before we engage them."
"There's only five of them!"
"Here there is, but look up the hill. I count at least two vehicles and there's likely more that we can't see," Shepard pointed out.
"And where there's vehicles, there's bound to be more troopers." Ashley summed up
"Right. And once we start firing, we'll draw their attention. And then God knows how many we'll be facing."
Though he made a sound of frustration, Vega could see what Shepard was trying to tell him. "Orders?"
"Ash and I can snipe from up here. Once we engage, you hit the battlefield and deal with any stragglers we miss. Keep an eye out for any marines who're still alive and help them if you can."
"And speaking of marines. Look!"
At Ashley's warning, Shepard glanced over his cover to see a two of the invaders dragging a marine to the executioner.
"I'll take left, you take right," Shepard instructed the female marine. "Hopefully we'll give our man down there a chance to grab a weapon and start fighting back."
"Roger that, Skipper." Ashley replied as she set up her sniper rifle and Shepard followed suit.
"On three," the Spectre informed his fellow sniper once they were in position. "One," closing an eye, Shepard sighted his target through the scope of his rifle. "Two," he lined up the rifle's crosshairs on the invader's head. "Three!" Together he and Ashley squeezed their triggers simultaneously.
Both their rifles gave an almighty roar as below them, the two targets dropped like a sack of potatoes. And instantly, like Shepard had predicted, the remaining troopers ran into the open and opened fire on the trio, forgetting completely about their captive. Over the gun fire a cacophony of shouts were heard.
"Engage!"
"Throw down your weapons! We won't hurt you!"
"These guys don't fight like scientists!"
"Call for back u-" the last shout was brought to an abrupt halt by Vega as the burly marine joined the fray of battle, making his way towards the downed – but still breathing - captive. Shepard saw Vega offer his Avenger to the marine as Ashley picked off the last attacker.
"Clear!" came Vega's call over the radio.
"On our way." Collapsing his Mantis, Shepard holstered the M-23 and then drew his Avenger before he and Ash left cover and trekked down to the pair bellow.
As he moved the symbol, a black hexagonal oval with two gold side-bars, that was painted on the ATV's side caught Shepard's eye.
'The Illusive Man used the chaos of the Reapers arrival on Earth to mask an assault here from the Alliance's attention. But what's he after?' Shepard wondered, but stored his thoughts away for later before engaging his voice module and addressing their new addition. "You alright there, marine?"
"Yes, sir. A little shaken, but otherwise fine. Sergeant Dastan Ryker, reporting in, sir," the young sergeant snapped to attention.
"At ease, marine. Staff Commander Xavier Shepard," the Spectre returned the greeting before introducing Ashley and Vega.
"Shepard? As in the Commander Shepard? Hero of the Skylian Blitz, first human Spectre and Saviour of the Citadel Shepard?"
"What happened here?" Ashley queried, getting their conversation back on track before the young marine could get anymore star-struck.
"Couldn't tell you for sure. All I know is that my squad was out on patrol when they hit. Took out all the sentries first and then gathered the rest of us together and started executing us."
"That emblem on the truck, that's Cerberus' logo, right?" Vega questioned Shepard and the Spectre nodded his head in conformation.
"Did any of them go into the Archives?"
Ryker shook his head. "Couldn't say. Sorry."
"Omega Squad, do you copy?" a radio near Shepard's foot squawked to life. "Omega Squad, come in!"
"Looks like we might have incoming. Get to the crates." Shepard ordered.
"What's Cerberus doing here on Mars, Skipper?" Ashley inquired privately via the radio as the four moved quickly and quietly to their cover; several stacks of storage boxes that were further up the path.
"Good question," came his reply.
"You don't know?" she fished.
"I'm not with them anymore if that's what you asking, Ash," Shepard answered shortly.
"It wasn't," she hastily replied. "But you have to admit; it's a bit convenient."
Shepard silently agreed as he took cover. Ahead of their position, he could see the movement of another Cerberus squad behind on of the ATVs. "Omega Squad's not responding. We gotta check it out," he heard one tell the others as they rounded one of the vehicles and straight into the Alliance squad's firing line.
"Open fire!" Shepard ordered.
The invaders didn't know what hit them, and several were gunned down before the rest dove for cover and began firing back.
"What the hell? !"
"I thought we dealt with security?"
Shepard popped out of cover and sent a trooper staggering by shooting his leg, allowing Vega and Ashley to advance onto the battlefield.
"I don't think they're regular marines!"
"You're damn straight we aren't, Cerberus bastards!" Ryker shouted as he abandoned his cover to gun down the wounded trooper. "This is for my squad, you son of a bitch!"
But as the young marine turned to dish out some more payback on the remaining invaders, a targeting lazer appeared over his heart. His body jerked uncontrollably as the shots - three in all - hit home before he tumbled forward, face-planting into the desolate Martian soil where he remained, unmoving.
'Goddamnit!' Shepard cursed. "Watch yourselves, there's a sniper somewhere above us!" he warned the others.
"I got her!" Ashley hollered back from her position behind a rocky outcropping twenty meters ahead of the Spectre. Taking aim with her Mantis and squeezing off a single round. "Scoped and dropped!" she announced a second later as behind her Shepard took out the last trooper.
"Clear?" the Spectre questioned.
"All targets down, Commander," Vega confirmed as he re-appeared from behind one of the Cerberus land vehicles, once again wielding his Avenger.
"Re-group."
"God damn murdering sons of bitches!" Vega growled.
"You can say that again, James," Shepard shared the younger marine's fury for their fallen comrade. "But we'll make them pay for every Alliance life they've taken."
"Odd that there's only three vehicles here," Ashley commented as re-joined her teammates, swapping her M-92 for her Avenger as she moved. "You'd need nothing short of a full battalion to lay siege to this place normally."
"Which means that the Illusive Man must have someone on the inside." Shepard summed up as they made their way into freight elevator that made up the Archives entrance.
"Hey, Commander, didn't you tell me that you told Cerberus to go screw themselves after you destroyed the Collector base they were after?" Vega queried as Shepard stopped at the lift's control panel.
"That's exactly what I did, James," Shepard responded, turning his head and nodding it in thanks to the younger marine for supporting him.
Ashley, however, wasn't swayed. As Shepard closed the outside doors and began to pressurize the lift, she holstered her assault rifle and stalked over to him. "I need a straight answer, X."
Shepard, after stowing his Avenger, heaved a sigh briefly leaning against the safety railing. 'What does a man have to do around here to prove that he's a loyal Alliance marine?' he pondered exasperatedly. 'Lord give me strength,' "Ash…"
"Don't 'Ash' me. This is business!" Ashley responded sharply, not one bit pacified. "Do you know anything about this? Why Cerberus is here?"
Shepard turned to face her, his temper starting to rise. "What makes you think that I know what their up to?"
"You worked for them, for God's sake! How am I supposed to believe that you've cut all ties?"
"With," Shepard corrected
"What?"
"I worked with them. Not for them. Little word, big difference. And we joined forces temporarily to take down the Collectors. That's it."
Ashley shook her head, still not convinced. "There's more to it," she pressed doggedly. "They re-built you from scratch. They gave you a ship, resources…"
The Spectre felt his head beginning to throb with the beginnings of a headache starting to form. "Let me be clear," he ground out, getting frustrated at the lack of trust from woman he'd once considered his paramour. "I've had absolutely no contact from the Illusive Man, or anyone else within Cerberus, since I destroyed the Collector base."
"I can vouch for that," Vega entered the conversation. "The Commander's been under constant surveillance since he gave himself over to Alliance custody last year. There's no way anyone could have contacted him whilst he was on Earth without the Alliance knowing."
'Miranda could have, if she'd wanted to,' Shepard silently added, smiling with pride at his lady love's skills, before he addressed Ashley again. "I also have no idea why there here now, or what they want. Understand?"
"Sorry, Skipper. I just…" the rest of Ashley's words were drowned out by the rush of air that filtered into the room then, equalising it with the rest of the base before the lift began to rise upwards. As the lift moved, its three passengers moved to the middle of the platform and removed their helmets.
"I shouldn't have to explain myself to you, Ash," Shepard stated as he turned to regard his former flame for a moment as the roof above them opened and the lift entered the facility's vehicle bay. "With everything that we've been through, you - of all people - should know what I'm about." Not waiting for a response, Shepard turned and strode off the now stationary elevator.
Ashley was quick to catch up with him.
"X, I'm sorry."
Sighing again, Shepard looked at her as he moved. "I understand your doubts, Ash. All I'm asking is that you trust the guy that you used to know, 'cause that's who I still am. Cerberus didn't change me."
"I do trust you, X-"
A sudden noise from above sent the three marines scrabbling for cover behind a single Cerberus vehicle that was parked in the bay. Drawing his Predator, Shepard signalled for the others to wait until he investigated the situation. Peeking his head around the ATV, he watched the area ahead of them like a hawk as the thumping and the occasional ping of a bullet ricocheting within the shaft - coming from the air conditioning ducts above them he discovered - grew steadily louder and louder. 'Sounds like someone's trying to escape," Shepard mused. 'And Cerberus is giving chase.'
Who the escapee was soon revealed itself as seconds later the duct's grill was violently kicked open and his old friend and team-mate, Liara T'Soni, dropped onto the walkway above them and into Shepard's line of sight when she vaulted over some barrels and dropped down onto the lower level. Not stopping, she unknowingly made her way towards the Spectre's cover as her pursuers came into view. Upon hearing the Cerberus troopers touch down behind her, Liara turned, her biotics flaring about her body as she hurled a Singularity back at them. The invaders were instantly caught up in the dark energy sphere's black hole like gravity pull and were now at the asari maiden's mercy. Liara wasted no time in gunning them down. A single shot and they dropped like flies onto the floor below, where the asari quickly finished them off with two shots to the head each.
Behind his cover, Shepard scanned the area for any more threats. Assured that things were safe, he signalled his team that it was clear before rising and striding out into Liara's view, holstering his pistol as he went. Vega flanked him, but the Lieutenant was still wielding his Avenger which the Spectre spotted as the younger man drew level with him.
"Easy there, James," Shepard spoke, pausing and putting his hand on Vega's weapon to force the muzzle down and away from Liara. "She's who we're looking for."
"Shepard! You're alright! Thank the Goddess!" the relief in the asari's voice was palpable as she approached the trio and greeted the Spectre with a hug.
"Touché, T'Soni," the marine replied as they drew apart and he looked her over.
Liara was clad in the same white and blue armour that she'd had custom-made for herself when she'd settled on Illium two and a half years ago to become an information broker. In the process of achieving her goals, she'd also set up a now very successful analytics company which she'd left to her second-in-command when she'd become the new Shadow Broker.
"When we heard the news…" she trailed off, unwilling to put voice to the words that had immediately flooded her mind when the broadcast had first arrived. "They hit Earth hard?"
"Harder then we'd anticipated. Downright brutal. It was hard to watch. Even harder to leave behind."
"You can say that again," Ashley echoed.
The Shadow Broker turned to the other two marines. "Ashley, I'm sorry. To you too, Lieutenant."
Vega startled when Liara addressed him, not expecting to be recognised. "You know who I am?" he questioned.
The asari nodded her head. "Treeya told me of the events on Fehl Prime. I'm sorry."
"Yeah…" Vega responded half-heartedly before looking away.
Shepard furrowed his brow, the name tickling his memory for some reason. 'Wait a minute! Now I remember; Miranda mentioned it. Fehl Prime was one of the last colonies to be hit by the Collectors prior to me getting back on my feet.' Aloud he questioned Liara "Treeya?"
"Dr. Treeya Nuwani. A former student of mine," she informed him before getting back to business. "But why did you come here?"
"Hackett ordered us to come. Said that you'd know what was going on."
"I do," Liara confirmed as he turned away and strode to a nearby window, the three marines hot on her heels. Behind him, Shepard heard Vega mutter, "Hallelujah. Some answers. Finally!" as they moved.
"So what can you tell us?" the Spectre questioned
"I've discovered plans for a Prothean device in the Archives. One that could wipe out the Reapers."
"We've known about the Archives for decades, though. Why now?"
"Process of elimination mixed with a little desperation. When you destroyed the Alpha Relay, you bought us some time. But then you handed yourself into Alliance custody and was unable to do any more to help the galaxy prepare for the Reapers. I knew that someone needed to 'step up to the plate', as you humans say. Hackett knew it as well, so he contacted me and asked if I'd use my resources as the Shadow Broker to find a way to stop the Reapers."
"Wait," Ashley cut in. "Liara's the Shadow Broker? Since when?"
Shepard raised a hand to stop her rapid-fire questions. "Story for another time, Ash," he informed her before nodding at Liara to continue.
"Eventually my search led me here. Hackett got me access and kept me updated on your status." Liara stopped then, and look of guilt washed over her features. "I meant to come and see you, but-"
Shepard raised a hand to shush his friend. "It's fine, Liara," he assured her. "This was more important. I doubt I would have been much help anyway."
"Don't doubt yourself. You have the Cypher at your disposal, remember?"
"So this device, it's a weapon? One that can blow the Reapers to Hell and back?"
"It will become a weapon, if we can build it. For now, all we've got is the device's blueprints."
"Well, it's more than we had we had a minute ago. Where are the blueprints now?
"In the Archives." Liara pointed out the window to the facility's central hub, where the Prothean artifacts were kept. Shepard also noted that the dust storm outside was beginning to thicken. "We'll need to get to the tramway and take a tram to the other side, assuming that Cerberus hasn't already locked it down."
"What are they after?"
"Yeah, they seemed hell bent on catching you," Vega commented.
"I'm not certain, but I suspect that they could be after the blueprints as well."
"But why?"
"The Protheans came close to defeating the Reapers. They had plans for something that could wipe them out, but ran out of time to complete it."
"And anything powerful enough to stop the Reapers might just be something Cerberus would be interested in getting their hands on," Ashley summarized.
"But to do what?" Shepard queried. "Destroying the Reapers doesn't fit the Illusive Man's MO," the Spectre pointed out. "Controlling them, maybe. But destroying something that he could use to future humanity's place in the galaxy? Not likely."
"Regardless, we need to get there before they do."
Shepard nodded his head at that. "Agreed."
"So it's a race to the Archives, then?" Vega questioned.
An explosion rocked the room then, diverting the quartet's attention from each other to the incoming threat. Above them, sparks began to fly from the door as Cerberus cut it open from the other side.
"Looks like we've got company," Ashley noted as the four returned to the centre of the room, weapons drawn and ready to face the invaders. "We should find cover."
"Bring it on!" Vega exclaimed as he made a move to join the others, but then Shepard was suddenly in his path, blocking him.
"Not you, James," the Spectre shook his head.
"What?"
"I need you to head back to the shuttle and update Cortez on the situation. If Cerberus manages to beat us to the Archives I want the shuttle guarding the exit to stop them from getting away."
"But…"
"Now, Lieutenant," Shepard ordered in a non-negotiable tone of voice as he approached the lift's holographic controls, briefly glancing over his shoulder to check the invaders progress before turning his steely gaze on the Hispanic marine as he activated the platform and sent it back to ground level.
"Understood, Commander," Vega reluctantly acknowledged his CO's commands and stepped onto the lift as it began to descend.
"They're almost through, Skipper. Better find cover," Ashley advised Shepard as James disappeared from their view.
"Roger that, LC," the Spectre responded as he did just that, ducking behind one of two Archives ground vehicles that were stationed at the very back of the bay. "Liara, can you create a Singularity when they burst through the door?"
"Understood, Commander," Liara responded for her cover - the second vehicle that was just a few meters from Shepard's.
"Bastards won't know what hit 'em," Ashley chuckled lightly from her place behind Liara.
"My thoughts exactly, Ash. Easy pickings."
"Here they come!" Liara alerted her human companions.
Above them, they heard a whump sound out as a part of the severed door hit the ground. Followed by at shout of "There she is! There's the asari bitch!" as the troopers – six in all, Shepard counted – entered the room and opened fire on the trio below.
"Now Liara!" The Spectre ordered as he popped out of cover to fire up at the troopers as behind them a dark energy sphere burst into existence and immediately sucked the Cerberus soldiers from their cover.
"What the-" one of them started to shout in surprise as his feet left the ground. But he was quickly silenced as a barrage of bullets hit the group as they floated helplessly, tearing into their armour and spilling their lifeblood in a matter of moments.
"All targets down, Commander." Liara reported when the last trooper fell and the trio left their respective cover.
"Then let's keep moving."
The trio stepped onto the nearby elevator and Ashley hit the controls to send it skywards.
Nothing happened.
Ashley made a sound of frustration as Liara stepped in to look at the controls.
"Looks like they've sabotaged it somehow," the asari reported to the two humans after a few moments of examination. "We'll have to find another way up."
"Any ideas?" Shepard questioned.
"Just one," came her reply as she eyed one of the nearby vehicle elevators.
~ o ~ O ~ o ~
"Shepard, take cover!" Liara urgently whispered over the radio a few minutes later as the squad entered the upper level.
The Spectre immediately saw what had prompted the warning as just ahead of them a fleeing scientist was gunned down by a trooper. The group had just slid into cover behind some piping when a Cerberus radio crackled to life.
"This is Tango Squad. We've done a sweep of the residence. It's clear. Go and check on Alpha Squad, they're not reporting in."
"We're on it. Bravo Squad out."
"We still on clean-up duty?" a second trooper complained as Shepard sidled along his cover until he was level with the first trooper.
"Yeah. Some scientists are putting up a fight over in the vehicle bay."
"Let's go get 'em!" a third Cerberus soldier voiced his opinion.
'At least three,' Shepard thought to himself as he signalled Ashley and Liara to move past him. "You two deal with the others. This one's mine. On my mark."
"And what mark would that be Skipper?"
"This!"
Bursting out of his cover, Shepard grabbed the unsuspecting trooper by the back of his armour and hauled him back over the pipe, slamming him into the ground near his feet.
"What the hell!" the Cerberus grunt exclaimed as Shepard activated his Omni-Blade and rammed it into the troopers chest - killing him instantly - as beside him Ashley and Liara exploded into action against the remaining enemy forces.
"Who are these guys?"
"The Alliance must've sent reinforcements!"
"This is Bravo Squad. We've found the-" the trooper's report was halted when Liara tagged the speaker with Warp and he went down screaming before the combined fire-power from the asari and Shepard finished him off. A final burst of fire-power from Ashley's Avenger followed by the lieutenant commander's "All clear!"
"We'll need to access the pedway to get to the next building. The controls are in the next room." Liara advised.
"Lead the way," was Shepard's response and Liara took point.
"This is a secure station. How did Cerberus get in?" Ashley questioned the former-archaeologist as they moved.
"I'm afraid that I don't know any more in that regard then you do, Lieutenant," the asari replied. "We'd only just gotten reports of the invasion on Earth when they hit the facility. After that, chaos erupted. We didn't even realise it was Cerberus at first."
"Could they be working with the Reapers?" Ashley queried, her gaze shifting back to her CO
"Doubtful." Shepard shook his head as they reached their destination and Liara settled in front of one of the monitors. "But I suppose anything is possible. Need any help?" The Spectre asked the asari as he holstered his M-8.
"You should be able to access the pedway controls on the monitor in front of you."
The two set to work, lapsing into silence as Ashley remained on guard just outside the doorway. After a few more moments, Liara let out a frustrated huff.
Shepard looked up from his own work. "Anything?" he questioned as Ashley glanced back at the two of them.
The asari shook her head. "I can't unlock the live feeds. You?"
Before Shepard could respond, movement on one of the monitors caught Ashley's attention. "Hey, did you see that? Who's that women in the vid?" she queried, referring to the petite woman that had appeared in the recording.
"That's Dr. Eva Coré. She arrived here about a week ago." Liara informed her companions as they watched the doctor type something into one of the terminals before darting away. "Anything?" the asari parroted Shepard's own words back at him, snapping attention away from the recording.
The Spectre shook his head. "The pedway's been locked down," he reported. "Is there any other way to get across?"
"They were doing some construction nearby. We can use the maintenance hatch to get out on the roof and find a way round to the cafeteria from there."
"Let's move."
~ o ~ O ~ o ~
The winds that met the trio when they stepped out of the airlock buffeted them mercilessly and only their mag boots kept them from being blown away.
"Storm's getting closer," Ashley observed.
"Then we need to pick up the pace. Ten minutes have already passed." Shepard informed his companions as they moved as quickly as they could across the construction.
As they dropped down onto a lower platform, the sight of two trams engaged in a firefight as they crossed the tramway caught the group's attention.
"What the hell?" Ashley exclaimed as they watched the gunfight play out before their eyes.
"Looks like the remaining Alliance forces are still putting up a fight." Shepard noted.
"With good reason. That tramway is the only way to access the Archives. If Cerberus gets through, they'll be at the final security checkpoint."
"And then they'll likely bar anyone else from getting across."
"C-C-Commander? D-Do you c-c-copy?" Cortez voice came over the radio then, cutting into the squad's conversation.
"I copy, Cortez. Did James bring you up to speed?"
"Affirmative. We're p-parked… -e-e-entrance, watching it… -ith eagle eyes... -j-j-just lost contact… Nor-Normandy. W-W-What's your p-" Static suddenly drowned out the shuttle pilot's voice.
"I didn't read that, Cortez. Repeat your last."
"I-I-I-I said: Wha-" Once again the transmission was overcome with static.
"Damnit!" Shepard cussed. "Looks like we're on our own from here on out," the Spectre informed his team.
"Cortez? As in Lieutenant Steve Cortez?" Liara queried the two humans as they moved on.
"You know him?" Ashley questioned.
"He's a survivor from the Collector attacks last year."
"Outside of the colonists on Horizon and the ones we managed to free when we hit the Collector base I didn't know there were any other survivors." Shepard commented, his surprise at the news evident in his tone of voice, as he climbed a ladder that would take them to the upper platform. Liara and Ashley followed suit. "From what colony?"
"Ferris Fields. I was there with a small team the day it was hit, trying to gather some more intel on the Collectors. When we discovered his presence, I led a rescue party to retrieve him – but not before losing two of my squad when the Collector forces learned of our presence as we made our escape. This way."
Liara took the lead to show her companions where their entry point was. But when they reached it, the asari suddenly paused.
"Liara?" Shepard queried her lack of motion. But as he drew level her, he could see what had cause the abrupt halt.
The door of the airlock was wide open.
"This airlock shouldn't be open." Liara stated slowly.
"Doesn't look like it was forced," Ashley commented, passing Shepard and Liara to have a look at the door.
"No, someone would have had to override security protocols inside."
"Our mole maybe?" Shepard questioned.
"We'll see soon enough, I fear."
~ o ~ O ~ o ~
The sight that greeted them – other than pitch-black darkness, causing the trio to turn on their weapon's inbuilt flashlights so that they could see – was a gruesome one. Opening the airlock had vented the air from the room, leaving all those inside to asphyxiate to a slow and painful death. Some had even tried to claw their way towards the next room.
"This is brutal, even by Cerberus standards," Liara stated sombrely as they picked their way through the deceased scientists.
"Be grateful that you weren't with me last year when I investigated Project Overlord, then," Shepard informed her.
"Bad?"
"Let's just say my opinions of Cerberus and the Illusive Man are now six feet below rock bottom and leave it at that. Did you know anyone here?"
"Not personally. As the only asari here, I was viewed with a little suspicion. I spent most of my time alone researching and translating."
"Contact! Twelve o'clock!" Ashley suddenly announced as movement ahead of them caught her eye.
"Switch off your flashlights," Shepard ordered.
Within seconds they were enveloped by darkness and the Spectre used it to creep forwards to the windows that divided the room, putting him in perfect striking position for another ambush.
"Roger that, Delta Squad out."
"What're our orders?"
"There's Alliance squad incoming. We've got to keep them away from the core at all costs. Check the next room."
"But it's dark in there."
"So turn on the lights!"
"Shepard, we can use the open airlock to our advantage." Liara advised the Spectre. "Shoot out the windows and we'll decompress the next room as well, disorientating the troopers and making them easier targets."
Beneath his helmet, Shepard smiled wickedly. "I like the way you think, T'Soni," he told her. "Be ready with a Singularity."
"Aye, aye."
Readying his Avenger, the Spectre rose from his cover and slammed the butt of the assault rifle into the glass, shattering it completely. The Cerberus troops - one of whom was in the middle of saying there was nothing alive in the next room - shouted in surprise at the action.
And then Liara's biotic sphere appeared in their midst as Shepard's squad began firing on them.
Needless to say, things were over quickly.
~ o ~ O ~ o ~
"We'll need to pressurize the room before we can access the labs to get through to the tram station." Liara informed Shepard as she typed a few commands into the security station's computer to get the pressurization underway. After a few moments the monitor flashed green, signalling the room was safe and the squad took of their helmets.
"And it looks like there's a recording of what happened here," Liara informed her companions after studying the monitor for a few more moments.
"Play it."
After typing in a few more commands, the recording appeared on screen.
The trio watched as one of the now deceased security officers reported seeing some odd activity only for the pair to be suddenly gunned down by a familiar figure; one Dr. Eva Coré. The doctor then proceeded to open the cafeteria's airlock and the squad watched in horror as all those inside suffocated and - one by one - dropped like flies.
"Looks like we've finally found our mole," Shepard grimly stated.
"Son of a bitch!" Ashley growled from her place at the door.
Liara remain silent and contemplative, her back still turned away from her comrades.
Shepard approached her. "Liara?"
"I should have seen it before," she stated lowly whilst shaking her head at herself.
"Seen what?"
"Eva Coré was the name of one of the Illusive Man's mercenary companions that fought alongside him during the First Contact War," the asari explained to the human. "She died on Palaven shortly after. But I was too focused on decoding the blueprints, on finding a way to stop the Reapers to remember that. To realise that the Illusive Man's been following me from the moment that he realised that I was the Shadow Broker. All these people…"
Shepard cut into her speech. "Stopping the Reapers is the only thing that matters right now. What's happened here? It's Cerberus' fault, Liara. Not yours. Period."
"But what if we're wrong? What if there is no way to stop them and we end up spending our last days scurrying around trying to solve a problem that we can't fix?"
"Liara-" Shepard started to speak but Liara cut him off as she turned to face him.
"I know what you going to say. 'You can't think that way, Liara. We'll find a way to stop them. Together.'" The Spectre chuckled at her impersonation of him as she fell silent cocking her head to the side, seemingly studying him. "I don't know how you do it sometimes," she spoke after a few moments.
"Do what?"
"Manage to stay focused on the task at hand, even in the worst situations."
"It's not easy," he admitted. "But when there is so much at stake, I just think about my friends and family. What I'd lose if I fail."
"That's a terrible burden to carry around."
"As someone wise once said; 'With great power comes great responsibility.' I'm not fond of being thrust in to the saviour role, but those are the cards that I've been dealt so I have to run with them. And at the risk of sounding terribly clichéd; we will stop them, Liara. Or I'll die trying if I have to."
"Perhaps it's not wise to tempt the fates. We need you alive if this is going to succeed."
"I'll try not to inconvenience you, oh wise and mighty Shadow Broker," Shepard drawled, earning Liara's laughter. "C'mon, we better keep moving."
~ o ~ O ~ o ~
The trip through the labs was relatively easy.
At first they only encountered squads of regular troopers, but then two new units made themselves known.
The first - which the group quickly dubbed as Centurions – seemed to be the tacticians of the new Cerberus force, directing and co-ordinating their attacks on Shepard's squad as well as providing cover and concealment of their positions with smoke bombs. When Shepard – wielding his Katana - darted into one of the smoke clouds to take the opposing squad by surprise, he ran smack-bang into the second; a heavily-armoured and shield-bearing Guardian.
Unable to get a clear shot thanks to the soldier's heavy shield and his own kinetic barriers quickly being drained by the Guardian's shotgun-like heavy pistol, the Spectre was forced shoot his foe at point-blank range in order to stagger him so that he could safely retreat back to his team. Taking cover to allow his shields to regenerate, Shepard reported his findings to his companions, advising them that they needed to either take the Guardians out at range with sniper rifles or strip their shields from them to make them easier targets.
Using that advice, Liara created a Singularity in their enemies midst, pulling many of them from cover and ripping the Guardians shields right out of their hands, leaving them wide open to the volley of arm's fire that was streaking their way.
Realising that they couldn't win, the remaining Cerberus forces beat a hasty retreat, locking and sealing their exit behind them to slow down Shepard's squad.
And then a horrible stench suddenly filtered into the laboratory's corridors…
~ o ~ O ~ o ~
"Ugh, what's that smell?" Ashley questioned as she quickly pulled on her helmet, hoping that it would filter out the foul air. Liara and Shepard followed her example.
They found the cause of the odour in the very last room. The troopers had rounded up the last of the scientists and locked them in. And then they had started the room's decontamination protocols.
"Poor bastards," Shepard muttered as he surveyed the charred remains of the researchers, hating the Illusive Man just a little bit more for this latest act of inhumanity. "Can you shut it down so that we can get through?" the Spectre questioned Liara.
"Give me a moment," the asari replied as she set to work.
Once it was opened, the squad were through the room in a matter of moments, locking and sealing it behind them.
Once they were clear of the impromptu torture chamber, Shepard checked his chronometer - 'Less than ten minutes to go before the storm hits,' - before questioning Liara. "How far are we from the tramway now?"
"Not far. The security station is at the end of this corridor. If Cerberus has locked it down, we can override it from there."
Shepard gestured for her to take the lead again.
"We need to wrap this up quickly. The storm's going to be here soon."
But when Liara opened the door, they found a nasty surprise waiting for them; a massive ceiling mounted defence turret that their enemy had converted for their own purposes.
'Aw, hell! !'
"Look out!" came Ashley's warning as they all dove for cover.
"That's an understatement," Shepard muttered as they waited out the storm of fire.
"Is this the only way in?" Ashley asked Liara.
"It's the only way that I know of."
Risking exposing himself to the turrets fire, Shepard poked his head out from his cover to assess how they were going to get through their predicament. Upon seeing the various crates and cover strewn about the room, the Spectre began to formulate a plan as he pulled his head out of the turret's line of fire before it could get a bead on him.
"Anything?" his team questioned him.
"There are crates and covers all over the place. We can use them for cover and skirt around the turret until we're out of its range."
Moving as a unit and making sure they were in cover when the turret fired on them, the trio did just that until they were past the gun's swivel range. After that, dealing with the remaining Cerberus forces inside the security office was child's play. Once they'd cleared the room, Liara accessed the computer and confirmed what they thought would happen all along.
~ o ~ O ~ o ~
On the other side of the tramway, Coré ordered the Centurion that accompanied her to set up a perimeter to stop the incoming Alliance force. She'd need as much time as she could get to extract the blueprints for the Illusive Man
"But we still have teams on the other side!" the Centurion protested.
The Cerberus spy stopped and whirled on her subordinate. "No-one gets across!" the spy repeated forcefully and the Centurion relented.
"Yes, ma'am," the squad leader acknowledged the order.
"And somebody shut off those damn cameras!" she growled as she took aim with her sidearm and took out the one that was tracking their movements before turning and striding towards the door at the far end of the room
~ o ~ O ~ o ~
"Somebody's in a bad mood," Ashley quipped as the screen before them went blank.
Shepard turned to Liara. "Can you override the shutdown from here?"
"No. The Archives are on different network."
"So we're stuck here?"
Ashley eyed the body of a slain Centurion that was slumped up against a section of hand railing outside. "Maybe not."
Shepard turned to see what she was looking at. "What're you thinking, Ash?"
"They'd have to have a short-range transmitter – helmet to helmet - on them. If we can get his, we can convince them that we're on their side and that the Alliance squad has been taken care of. Then they might send a tram over."
"Good thinking, LC. See what you can find."
Shepard turned back to see Liara watching Ashley as she left. "What?" he questioned
"The Lieutenant Commander has become very capable," Liara observed.
Shepard chuckled. "That she has."
Any further conversation was halted by Ashley's startled "Oh, God!" cry from outside.
Shepard drew his Avenger as he raced out of the room, "What is it?"
"He looks like a husk," she whispered, her form stock still as she stared at the trooper's unhelmeted head. And she was right. The soldier's skin was turning a sickly grey, his eyes replaced by blue glowing implants and the beginnings of machinery tubes were violating his facial tissue.
"Yeah, not quite." Shepard rumbled as stowed his weapon before crouching down beside the slain man to locate his radio. "But they've definitely done something to him."
"And by 'they' you mean Cerberus? They claim to stand for humanity and they do this to their own people? !" There was a pause and then, "Is this what they did to you?"
Shepard sighed as he stood up, transmitter now in hand. This again?
"How can you compare me to that thing? !" His response came out a little harsher then he'd intended but Ashley's mistrust was really starting to get on his last nerve.
"I don't know what you are! Not since Cerberus got their hands on you! I mean, is it really you in there? With all your Cerberus implants, could they be controlling you? Would you even know if they were?"
"You know that's not fair, Ash."
"I'm just talking out loud. I doubt there's anything you could say to convince me anyway…" she trailed off. "I guess I just need time to get to know you again. To find the guy I used to love."
"Like I said before; I'm the same person that I always was. I wouldn't have been able to turn on Cerberus – and take some of their most valuable agents and assets with me – like I did otherwise."
"Not to mention that while we've seen Cerberus experiment on husks before, we've never seen them use it like this – to control someone. This tech was created after Shepard's return from the Omega-4 relay," Liara weighed in on the conversation. "I suspect that Shepard and Miranda turning on him – and getting away with it – shocked the Illusive Man a great deal, forcing him to rethink his strategy and take this course of action. To insure that no more of his agents would betray him like that ever again and remain fanatically devoted to the cause."
"Makes sense," Ashley admitted, her voice tempering as she took in the information.
"I understand your doubts Ash." The Spectre reiterated his earlier statement. "And if time is what you need to convince you that I'm still me, then that's what you'll get."
Ashley smiled appreciatively. "Thanks, X."
Nodding his head in return, Shepard focused back on the mission. "Let's see if we can get that tram sent over here. Maybe then we'll both get some answers."
~ o ~ O ~ o ~
After making the call, Shepard's squad took cover behind some creates as the tram made its way over, ambushing the Cerberus squad that had been sent to secure the station. Boarding the tram, they'd sent it on its way. But they'd only gotten halfway across when a charge placed on the track detonated, stopping them in their tracks before the second tram – loaded with a Cerberus squad – was sent out to greet them. This confirmed Ashley's suspicions that their enemy had known all along that it wasn't one of their own teams that had made the call. A Singularity from Liara soon stopped the trooper's suppressing fire and when she followed it up with a Warp, the sphere erupted in a biotic explosion that sent their hapless foes flying.
Crossing over to the working tram, they continued on to the final security check-point. As they expected, the Cerberus presence here was the stiffest they'd encountered as their foe pulled out all stops to stop Shepard and his squad from getting into the Archives.
"Holy shit! That's Shepard! !" One of them finally recognised Shepard for who he was, earning a slight chuckle from the aforementioned man and his squad.
But in the end, their enemy fell to the Alliance squad before they pressed on and entered the Archives proper. Once they were inside Liara could only smile as she watched Shepard and Ashley's stunned reactions to this historic place as she removed her helmet and clipped it to her belt. The action snapped Shepard back into reality and he and Ashley followed suit.
"Ash, you take overwatch. Stay sharp. We still haven't come across Coré yet. Liara, lead the way."
"Aye, aye, Skipper." – "Yes, Commander."
Ashley left to find a secure vantage point as Shepard and Liara approached the Archives interface controls. The asari had barely touched the monitor before they were interrupted from behind. The holographic display that usually showed the Archives status flickered out and was replaced by an immaculately dressed man in an expensive designer suit.
"Shepard."
~ o ~ O ~ o ~
Location: Unknown
An unknown star casted its light into a darkened office. The star burned with a beautiful, yet prophetic glow of an angry red surrounded by a serene blue, each vying for dominance.
The Illusive Man stood inside the office, his chair facing the star. He was surrounding by holographic monitors with varying charts and reports, detailing reports of varying operations, funds, and information to be stored, analysed, and used when the appropriate time came.
"Shepard."
On the holographic projector before him, Shepard and Liara, armed with their pistols, whirled to face him. Realising who they were speaking to, Shepard holstered his pistol before crossing his arms.
"Illusive Man," the Spectre returned coldy.
"Fascinating race, the Protheans. They left all of this for us to discover, but we've squandered it. The Alliance has known about the Archives for over thirty years, and what have they done with it?"
"What do you want?" Shepard demanded.
The Cerberus CEO looked past them and up at the Archives themselves. Shepard followed his gaze, turning to look at the artifact behind him.
"What I've always wanted," the Illusive Man after a few moments of silence. "The data in these artifacts holds the key to solving the Reaper threat."
"Your solution?" Shepard repeated. "You mean the one where you've turned your own people into murdering monsters?"
"Hardly. They're being improved."
"Improved?"
"That's what separates us, Shepard." The Illusive Man responded as he brought up two files – one was a detailed image of Harbinger and the other a scan of the Collector base – that he had managed to get a copy of before EDI had severed Cerberus' control of the Normandy last year. "Where you see only a means to destroy, I see a way to control, to dominate and harness the Reapers' power. Imagine how strong humanity could be if we controlled them."
Shepard shook his head in disgust. "Earth is under siege, and you're hatching a scheme to control the Reapers?"
The Illusive Man shook his head at the first human Spectre's unchanged attitude. "You've always been short-sighted. Hasty. Your destruction of the Collector base proved that."
"I destroyed that base because I didn't trust you with the information in it. Not to mention that it was an abomination. Hundreds of thousands of humans were slaughtered there! Or have your forgotten that?" Shepard retorted
"And so you threw away any chance we had to make those sacrifices worthwhile!" The Illusive Man fired back before he took another long drag on his cigarette. When his face emerged from behind its veil of smoke, it was hard and determined. "This isn't your fight any more, Shepard. You can't defeat the Reapers, even with the Prothean data."
"Work with us, then. Bring your resources into the fight, and we'll destroy the Reapers together."
"You'd do better than most," the Illusive Man admitted. "But the odds aren't in your favour. And more importantly, I don't want the Reapers destroyed. We can dominate them. Use their power. Harness their very essence to bring humanity to the apex of evolution."
"You've gone too far! The Reapers will kill us all if we don't stop fighting each other."
"I don't expect you to understand, Shepard," the Illusive Man responded as behind him one of his agents, former Alliance N7 marine Kai Leng, entered the room and strode over to him. "And I'm certainly not looking for your approval. You were nothing but a tool. An agent with a singular purpose. And despite our differences, you were relatively successful. But like the rest of the relics in that place, your time is over."
"Enough talk," Shepard growled as he signalled Liara back to the console to extract what they were after. The asari did as she was asked. But when she tried to bring up the stored blueprints, she found noting.
"Don't interfere with my plans, Shepard," the Illusive Man cautioned the Spectre. "I won't warn you again."
"Yeah? Well I've got a pearl of wisdom for you too; Go to hell!"
The Illusive Man gave no response as Shepard turned away to return to Liara's side.
"Shepard, we have a problem! !" Liara's panicked voice was heard just before he severed the communication.
"Goodbye, Shepard," he stated before he sent instructions to Coré.
~ o ~ O ~ o ~
Location: Milky Way / Local Cluster / Sol System / Mars / Mars Archives
"Shepard, we have a problem! !"
"What kind of problem?"
"The data! It's being erased! !"
"How's he doing it?"
"It's local. Someone's uploading the data from within the room."
"Coré?" Liara nodded and Shepard spoke into his radio. "Ash, be on alert. Coré's downloading the blueprints, we need to find her ASAP!"
"On i- Hey, what're you doing? Step away from the console!"
Shepard turned back to Liara. "Ash has found her. Let's g-"
A sudden shout of pain was heard as Ashley went down in a flurry of blows from the Cerberus infiltrator. Shepard turned to see a white blur dash past them and back out the way that they'd come from.
"She's got the data!" Ashley alerted the rest of the squad.
Shepard - pausing only briefly to holster his Avenger and pull on his helmet - broke out into a dead sprint, knowing that with his Cerberus upgrades he was only one who could possibly keep up with their fast-moving target. Within moments, he'd left Liara and Ashley behind as he dodged an Incendiary charge meant to slow him down while Coré climbed a ladder that led to a maintenance hatch. Shepard was hot on her heels.
"Cortez, do you copy?" A burst of static was heard with the pilot's voice in the middle, so Shepard took a chance that his message would get through as he burst out onto the roof. "A Cerberus infiltrator has the data. I'm in pursuit, but need back-up. Track my beacon to find me. I also need you to radio the Normandy and get them down here now!"
Continuing to chase Coré, Shepard found himself ducking and weaving to avoid the infiltrator's attacks and the obstructions she was constantly dropping in his path. Things only got worse when a Cerberus shuttle showed up to back up the fleeing agent. Throughout it all, the Spectre powered on, keeping Coré in his sights at all times. But he knew that he was running out of time. With the roof in their sights, all Coré needed to do was get clear of him so that she could board the waiting shuttle unhindered.
And then the spy got the break she needed. One of her Incinerate attacks caught him as he was scrambling up a ladder, the force of it causing him to lose his grip. By the time he'd righted himself and hauled himself up onto the platform, Coré was on the other side leaping into the shuttle before it took off into the sky, leaving Shepard to stare at it helplessly as it made its escape.
"Damn it, she's getting away! James? Cortez? ! Normandy? ! ? Anybody? ! ? !"
~ o ~ O ~ o ~
Location: Milky Way / Local Cluster / Sol System / Kodiak shuttle / En route to Shepard's position
"Cortez… -opy?" Shepard's voice came over the Kodiak's comm. channel.
"I read you, Commander," Cortez responded instantly.
"-erberus infil… -he data. -in pursuit… -eed back-u… -rack b-b-b-beacon… -ind m-m-m-m-me… -adio… N-N-Normandy…"
"Sounds like they need our help," Vega stated.
Though Vega hadn't been too happy when he'd arrived back at the landing zone close to half an hour ago, he'd done what Shepard had asked of him and alerted the shuttle pilot of what they'd discovered. They'd moved to their current location shortly after to assume their lookout duties and await any further instructions.
"Get the Kodiak going. I'll radio Joker."
"You got it, Esteban." With a few touches to the holographic controls, the Kodiak roared to life and left the ground. Once it was clear of the landing zone the shuttle sped off, Cortez locking onto their CO's tracking beacon to locate him as they raced to catch up with him.
"Kodiak to Normandy. Do you copy?"
"Joker here. Go ahead, Cortez."
"The Commander has just contacted us. He wants the Normandy down here ASAP."
"We're on our way. Normandy out."
They'd just arrived at the Spectre's location when his voice came over the radio, his tone of voice desperate. "Damn it, she's getting away! James? Cortez? ! Normandy? ! ? Anybody? ! ? !"
"Better fasten your seatbelt, Esteban!"
"What are you doing? !"
"My job! Hang on, Commander. I got this one!" Vega called into radio as he gunned the shuttles engines and dove towards the fleeing shuttle.
~ o ~ O ~ o ~
Location: Milky Way / Local Cluster / Sol System / Mars / Mars Archives
"Hang on, Commander. I got this one!"
Eyes widening as his mind registered the lieutenant's intent, Shepard had barely enough time to bark at his team to move before hauling ass himself as the Cerberus Kodiak was forced roughly back to the platform - bursting into flames upon impact - by its Alliance counterpart.
Scrambling to his feet, Shepard checked that Ashley and Liara were okay before he signalled the circling shuttle to land. Once it had done so, albeit roughly, the door opened and Cortez stumbled out.
"Mother of God! I am never letting you within a ten foot radius of the Normandy's shuttles ever again! ! !"
"Ah, keep your shirt on, Esteban." Vega responded as he stepped out of the shuttle casually - like no life threatening event had just occurred, grabbing a second Avenger and offering it to the pilot as he passed him. "We got the job done didn't we?"
"Not before nearly killing us and endangering the Commander and his squad first! !" Cortez retorted as he accepted the firearm.
"You two alright?" Shepard questioned the bickering men as he approached them.
"A little shaken up, but otherwise alright." Cortez responded.
"Were you able to contact the Normandy?"
The pilot nodded his head. "She's en route as we speak. Should be here in a minute or two."
A sudden burst of weapons fire was heard then and the three men raced around the downed shuttle - Shepard drawing his Predator as he moved - to see what had caused it.
They found Ashley struggling to free herself from the clutches of Coré's true form; a silver-skinned infiltration mech.
"Let. Her. GO!" The Spectre ground out as he trained his sidearm on her – Cortez and James following his example - but the mech ignored him, instead it raised a hand to the side of its head.
"Orders?" she questioned the Illusive Man.
"Finish her," came his reply over the comm.
Time seemed to slow down then as Coré whirled and slammed Ashley's head against the hull of the Cerberus shuttle with terrible, bone crushing force. Then again and again and again until the lieutenant commander went limp in its grip.
"No!" Shepard shouted as it discarded Ashley - tossing her away like she was nothing more than a broken toy - then turned and charged at him.
"Light her up! !" Shepard roared and the three men opened fire on the looming threat.
With their combined firepower, the mech only got two paces before it collapsed in a sparking heap.
Breathing heavily, Shepard lowered his pistol as he stared at Ashley's prone form as around them the Martian storm hit its peak, the dust carrying winds making it difficult to see anything beyond a certain radius.
Ash…
"Commander, do you read me? Shepard! ?" Joker's frantic voice sounded over the radio snapping Shepard out of his trance as the slim shape of the Normandy suddenly loomed over them, the hangar doors opening to allow the group to enter. "We've got Reaper signatures in orbit! ETA less than a minute. We've got to get moving!"
"Grab that thing, James. Bring it with us," the Spectre ordered the younger soldier, holstering his sidearm as he sprinted over to Ashley.
"Aye, aye," the burley marine responded as he slung the mech's lifeless shell over his shoulder.
"Ash? Come on, Ash!" Carefully he picked her up, bridal style, before turning and striding towards the waiting frigate as all around the Archives the Reapers began to touch down. "I'm getting you out of here."
"Need a hand, Dr. T'Soni?"Cortez approached the limping asari – she'd sprained her ankle as she'd leapt out of the way of the crashing Cerberus shuttle - as she hobbled after Shepard and Vega as they boarded the Normandy.
"Much obliged," Liara thanked him as she put her arm around his shoulders and took the weight off the throbbing limb.
Battered but alive, the group climbed into the Normandy's cargo hold, the access ramp closing behind them.
"We're in, Joker," Shepard alerted the pilot. "Get us out of here."
"Aye, aye, Commander," the helmsman responded as the frigate rose and fled the planet.
~ o ~ O ~ o ~
Author's Notes:
One line taken from Spider-Man. I think you all know what it is.
Ideas and a few exerts taken from Sharrukin's Memoirs series. Used with permission.
Ideas and a few exerts taken from LuxDragon's Fight for the Lost and Legacy of the Shadow Broker. Used with permission.