Chapter Six

Normandy SR-2, Debriefing/Comms Room, 1319h

Jacob activated his omni-tool and typed in the address that Mordin had given to him. "All right, let's do this," he said to himself.

Suddenly, EDI's blue matrix interface popped up. "I apologize, Mr. Taylor, but I cannot connect your call."

"Why?"

"Commander Watson has ordered that all communications go through himself alone. This command cannot be overridden, except with an encrypted password that only he has."

"Figures," Jacob grimaced. "All right, thanks anyway, EDI."

An idea hit him…there was someone who had voted for him yesterday that he had not spoken to yet. Maybe, just maybe, there was somebody on this ship that could help him!

Taylor rushed out of the debriefing room and went back to the lift. Once he was down on the crew deck, he noticed that the mess was pretty much back to normal. Everyone was laughing and joking around, just like when Shepard was onboard. He passed them all and went towards the medical bay. Dr. Chakwas was there, and she turned around to greet him. "Operative Taylor, how are you feeling?"

"Just fine, Doc. If you don't mind, I've got to do a software upgrade to EDI. Miranda asked me to patch it in," Jacob lied. "No time to chat."

"Certainly. I'm relieved to hear that you're feeling well," she called to him as the AI chambers opened. As the doors closed behind him, EDI popped up again.

"That was a fallacy, Mr. Taylor. My software is currently up to date, and my next backup is not until tomorrow night at twenty-two hundred hours."

"Yeah, well, I need to speak with Legion. Don't tell anyone, EDI. Hope it's not off-limits, is it?"

The synthetic intelligence untangled itself from its deactivated posture and arose. Jacob stiffened, and his hand went to reach for his sidearm instinctively. Maybe Watson fudged with this thing's memory core. Dunno know if I can trust it just yet.

"Operative Jacob Taylor, Lieutenant Commander to Shepard-Commander." The geth's eye flashed red for a moment, then went back to its normal white hue. "Error. Lieutenant Commander to Watson-Commander. Mistake rectified in sectors 45a and 45b."

I wonder if machines can lie to humans yet. Well, only one way to find out, Jacob thought and his hand removed itself from his pistol. "May I speak with you, Legion, off the record?"

"We will not record this conversation, if you so desire," the geth's head bobbed up and down in understanding.

"Good to hear that. EDI, are your surveillance bugs hot in here?"

"They are not. Legion and I speak freely here, as did Shepard," she responded.

"Thanks. Yesterday, Legion, when the crew voted to pick the new captain of the Normandy, I noticed that you didn't raise your hand for Watson, but rather, me. Why'd you do that?"

"We did not have the proper data upon Watson to build a consensus. We have several amounts of data upon you, Lieutenant Commander, and based upon your combat, evaluations, and performance records, you are a more efficient choice for the rank," Legion stated quite candidly. "The Lieutenant Commander also has more tenure on the Normandy than does Watson."

"Thanks, I think." Jacob ran a hand through his hair. "Legion, can you evaluate organic behavioral pattern changes?"

"We are still learning about organic body language and motivations, Lieutenant Commander Jacob Taylor. However, we can evaluate blood pressure and health conditions. We can also access medical records through permission."

"Ah…not quite the answer I was looking for. Guess this was a waste of time." He sighed and turned to leave, but then an idea came to his mind. "Legion, could you access those records?"

"I would require permission from EDI. I do not pass through her firewalls without prior notice."

"EDI, you don't have a block on your system with medical records, do you?"

"I do not, Mr. Taylor, so please feel free to access them yourself," the AI chirped.

"Yeah, okay…uh, what's the status of the Normandy's crew?"

"There have been 71% more visits to the Normandy's medical facilities due to complaints of migraine headaches in the past twelve hours."

"Hmm…do you have any files about Reaper technology in your servers?"

"Yes, I do, however, they are of a finite number."

"Lieutenant Commander Jacob Taylor, the geth have some files that we are able to share with you," Legion added. "Perhaps they will benefit your knowledge."

"That's good," Jacob nodded. "Okay, can both of you search through your files regarding the Reapers' mind control methods?"

"I cannot provide you with any data, Mr. Taylor," EDI announced first. "I have a block in my system prohibiting my response."

"Why is that, EDI? We were sharing data files regarding the Old Machines yesterday," Legion inquired.

"The Commander has limited the access of these files to himself only, again, with an encrypted password."

Legion's eye moved around a few times as it considered its options. "Lieutenant Commander Jacob Taylor, we are prepared to share the data we have upon the Reapers' cerebral control with you. We believe that to withhold information from you would be illogical."

"Please do so," Jacob said and crossed his arms. "Looks like I may have a potential friend here."

"The Old Machines have a process to be called indoctrination. Due to the symptoms this platform has currently been observing, the Normandy's crew quite possibly, may be suffering from it."

"Uh, then why hasn't it affected me? I'm not indoctrinated, or at least, I don't think that I am. I'm not getting any migraines or anything."

"We cannot provide sufficient data to answer that query. The most logical route to find the solution would be to pursue it with Normandy's chief medical officer."

"Unless she won't tell me because she's also indoctrinated." Jacob paused to give the matter some thought as he stroked his chin. "Well, whatever, but at least you've been pretty helpful to me, which is more than I can say for anyone else on this damn ship." He started to pace back and forth. "Legion, do you trust me? Do you even know what that means?"

"We understand the verb to trust," the synthetic intelligence nodded. "We are able to use it in a sentence if necessary."

"No, that's not what I meant. I mean, would you trust me?"

The geth's response was instantaneous. "Our consensus agrees that we would still vote for Lieutenant Commander Jacob Taylor to be commander of the Normandy in lieu of Shepard Commander should the need arise."

"Great," Jacob smiled. "I'm going to need your help, then, to override EDI's communication channels. Watson won't let anyone in or out, except through himself."

"Why did he take such action?"

"Because he didn't want anyone from the outside to get in touch with us. Tali's still on the Migrant Fleet, who knows, maybe she's been trying to call us. And Liara and Mordin are on Noveria. Maybe they've come up with a way to beat that Ochrana weapon."

"Watson-Commander does not want to progress our mission," Legion nodded. "This action is negative and prohibits the Normandy from rescuing Shepard-Commander. Watson's methods are inefficient."

"Uh, does that mean that I can count on you for your assistance?"

"We do not agree with Watson-Commander's procedures. He has eliminated the free sharing of data between this platform and EDI, to which Shepard-Commander made solely possible. Blocking communication to outside assistance is also inefficient. Our consensus has been reached, Lieutenant Commander Jacob Taylor: we are willing and able to assist you."

"All right!" Jacob said triumphantly and he held out his hand to Legion. The synthetic intelligence also extended its hand to Jacob and pumped his up and down. "Lord, I never thought I'd do this," he exclaimed. "If I ever get kids, this'll be one of my bedtime stories for sure. A human being and a robot are shaking hands."

"New software is being created for us as well, Lieutenant Commander."


Binary Helix Headquarters, Noveria, 1705h

The all-terrain vehicle that Parasini had provided was like riding on a pair of roller-skates to Longoria. The sub-zero temperatures outside were not a welcoming sight either, but at least her armor and helmet provided some protection against the bitter cold. The sooner she got inside, the better.

Once inside the complex, Serena expected to be warmed a little, but there was not much improvement. Everyone around the area still wore parkas, ski-masks, or helmets. This told her that taking off the helmet was out of the question for now. The transport system was running smoothly, and she joined the next batch of scientists and engineers. The warm bodies that crowded the mechanized truck chatted back and forth normally. Life here seemed a lot more favorable than it had previously been, Serena noted.

Two years ago, she heard that Binary Helix had some major shareholders give up or sell their stock due to an incident with their experiments. Since she was a Shadow Broker agent, she had access to a bit of the network and decided to use what little information she could find since the agent in there apparently died. Apparently, Binary Helix was concerned about the arrival of a Spectre by the name of Commander Shepard after shareholder Matriarch Benezia arrived a few days earlier. The sheer amount of memos sent that day when Shepard arrived would drown a person up to their ears in ones and zeros.

Benezia had brought some cargo and asari commandoes with her, but nothing more was ever heard from her group. Longoria had seen a few Spectres in her lifetime and knew full well to stay clear of them to keep her own cover a secret. Some of them were just, some of them were downright vicious and ruthless, like that turian by the name of Saren Arterius. She wondered why Cerberus indeed wanted Shepard, who apparently, wasn't still dead.

After stepping off of the transport, she was greeted by a security guard. "You don't look like you work here, Miss. May I help you find someone?" he inquired.

"I'm expected here by a Dr. T'soni and Dr. Solus. Are either of those parties close by?" she queried herself. "Serena Longoria."

"Yes, ma'am, I see you have an appointment. Both of the doctors are waiting for you in the hot labs. Just take that elevator down-here's a temporary ID that'll give you access for the rest of the working day."

"I see, and what time does this facility close?"

"Last transport to the station leaves at 1830 hours. You have time, don't worry."


Minutes later, Mordin and Liara introduced themselves to her as Longoria walked off of the elevator. She took her helmet off and let her long, blonde hair down. "Whew. I hate helmet hair. Serena Longoria."

"A pleasure, Miss Longoria," Liara said and shook her hand. Mordin did the same.

"We appreciate your assistance in this experiment. Must warn you, first effects of the weapon will be slightly painful with your implants. Will ask you to try and use your powers once device is installed."

"No pain, no gain," Longoria shrugged and held out her right hand. "Does it matter which arm?"

"No, I do not believe so." Mordin retrieved the Ochrana from a heavily insulated silver briefcase and carefully clamped the bracelet on Longoria's wrist.

"It's not working," Longoria observed after he pressed a button on it.

"Give it a moment. Must standby with countermeasure nanobots." Liara gave him the other briefcase, and he attached a glass canister to a tranquilizer gun. It appeared to be filled with a gray powder. "Now try to use your biotic powers. What can you do, Miss Longoria?"

"Hmm, not much. I don't like to brag, but for a human, I'm not bad at handling myself." Longoria attempted to lift up the heavy table that was holding the briefcases, and the bracelet began to glow its familiar crimson color. "AH!" she whimpered in pain as the device surged through her nervous system and threw her to the ground. "All right, I'd like to revise my previous statement," she announced with a wince.

Mordin armed the gun and injected the machines into her jugular vein. "Effects should begin in five minutes, depending upon specimen's blood pressure."

"Specimen? Gee, thanks for the warm sentiment," Longoria grimaced, still feeling some of the Ochrana's strong mass effect fields.

"I thought that removing it would improve her condition," Liara observed coldly.

"Device removal may cause nerve damage. It did not, thankfully, have a permanent effect on you, but you will remember that the team's last attempt to do so left you in a coma for two hours," Mordin reminded her. "Do not know what potential harm to humans may be. Better to insert cure into bloodstream so that healing time will also be faster. Ready to depart, Dr. T'Soni?" He closed up the briefcases.

"Wait, don't you want to see if it works?" Longoria rose to her feet warily. "I don't know if I'll be able to drive the all-terrain POS that your agent gave me yet."

"Have experience driving one," the salarian scientist shrugged. "Cannot waste more time. Prototypes must be delivered to the Normandy ASAP."

"Your company has some crazy deadlines to meet, huh? All right, I think I can walk. Let's go." She secured her helmet back on her head.


Port Hanshan Plaza, Noveria, 1754h

Gianna Parasini was waiting for them in the garage as they departed the vehicle. Longoria returned the keys to her and was once again glad to take off her helmet. "You know, that thing's struts and shocks are shot to Hell. You oughta replace those soon if you wanna avoid being thrown around in there like a kernel of popcorn," she told the agent.

"That would explain why the Board got it at such a good price. I'll make a note of it to our mechanics," Parasini replied and typed the information on a data pad. "Dr. T'Soni, Dr. Solus? Good luck with that countermeasure. Hope it helps your company's stock soar. Binary Helix could use it. I'd love to go with you, except that the Board asked me to step out and fight white collar crime again. Got another leak on Illium this time."

"How're you feeling, Miss Longoria?" Liara asked her agent.

"Better. Feel like I'm back to my old normal self," Longoria replied. "There's only one way to find out if your cure works or not."

"Perhaps she should wait, Dr. Solus?"

The salarian disagreed. "Time is of the essence, Dr. T'Soni. If she says that she's feeling optimal enough to want to try, better to do so now before we leave Noveria."

"Then it's settled." Longoria put her helmet down and charged up her biotics. The familiar blue glow associated with the fields returned to her body, and she lifted up a few containers in front of her.

"Are you in pain?" Mordin asked.

The human shook her head no, and threw all of them down at once with such a violent force that they all broke.

"Oh dear. Those were full of eezo," Parasini sighed. "Well, clearly, your engineers know what they're doing." As Longoria pulled a few more towards her, she prepared to lift them up and throw them down when Parasini laid a hand on her shoulder. "Would you mind testing your strength on those containers over there, please, and not these ones? They're empty at least."

Longoria smirked and released her biotic field. The containers adhered to gravity and fell, still destroying all the materials inside.

Liara sneaked a credit chit into Parasini's palm. "That should take care of the damage. Sorry," she whispered.

The Shadow Broker agent picked up her helmet and followed the scientists into elevator to the plaza. "So, what's Binary Helix's role in all this?" Longoria inquired of Liara.

"What do you mean?" the asari returned mysteriously.

"Obviously, if you're needing an escort like me taking you to the Normandy, something big is going down." Longoria sniffled and wiped her nose.

"Are you bleeding?"

"A little. Don't worry, I'm a fast healer." She wiped the blood between her gloved fingertips and sniffled again. "I'm not taking you anywhere until I get a few answers. Quid pro quo, Doctors."

"How about if we add a bonus for no questions asked?"

"Won't work," Longoria disagreed. "I'm in the information business, Dr. T'Soni. And you're out of options."

Mordin glanced at Liara as if to say 'you'd better tell her something or else'.

"We heard that the Normandy has quite a few unique crew members with biotic abilities, and that they're on some kind of mission. It's not my place to ask, but I received some schematics from an information broker who holds a lot of shares in Binary Helix. He said that he'd prefer that it be tested with some formidable warriors," Liara spun her web of fiction flawlessly.

"There are lots of people on Noveria who have biotics. I'm not buying it," Longoria shook her head. They stepped out of the elevator and began to travel across the plaza towards the docking bay.

"I'm afraid you'll have to. There's nothing more to the story."

"I know a liar when I look one in the face, and yours is telling me everything I need to know. Come clean with me, or I'm taking my ship the hell outta here without either of you. I couldn't care less about your money, your goddamned shares, and your fucking clients," Longoria spat.

"Calm down, there's no need for language of that sort."

"Then maybe you should tell me what you're up to before I lose my temper."

"You aren't the only one with biotic gifts, Miss Longoria." Liara's entire body began to charge up her own powers and her voice dropped to an ominous pitch. "I will tell you what you need to know to get to the Normandy. Do you really want to take a risk that might leave your body an empty shell or a pile of fatty tissue?"

The Elanus Risk Control security guards were watching them closely and keeping both hands on their assault rifles.

"All we know is that the Normandy is set upon a race against evil," Mordin finally spoke. "And our company could use some good publicity, that's all."

"I'm glad that somebody here is willing to get his hands dirty," Longoria smirked. "That's good enough for me…as long as those other ten thousand credits find their way into my bank account."

The azure field surrounding the asari's body disappeared. "Done," Liara agreed with a nod.

They continued their journey toward the docking bay. Silence accompanied them for the next five minutes until Longoria interrupted it.

"So, Binary Helix just wants to do some good for the public, eh? That doesn't sound like the corporate bunch they once were. Have you been with the company long?"

Liara returned her question with one of her own. "Why?"

"Hmm…well, I heard about a major shareholder two years ago that was an asari matriarch that came through here. She was never heard from again. Rumor has it that her disappearance coincides with the appearance of a certain spectre that visited Noveria not long afterward." They stepped aboard Longoria's small ship, the SSV Calgary Goddess, which was much smaller than the Normandy. Liara found it difficult to disguise her face after hearing Serena's comment and was very thankful that the human was occupied with closing the airlock. "So, what system is the Normandy in?"

"Uh…that's just the thing. We're not sure," Mordin timidly answered her.

"All right, rather than wasting fuel, how about we just sit here and you can pay the docking fees until we do know?" Longoria shelved her helmet and sat in the pilot's chair. "I took off some time from my other job to do this, so I don't mind waiting."

"We had some issues trying to communicate with the Normandy. I think that there's some interference on their end; their transmissions have been blocked," Liara explained.

"I see. Well, whenever you can talk to them, get on the comm channel and let me know." She put her booted feet onto the dashboard. "The floor below this one has some rudimentary quarters. I say rudimentary because you're two big corporate execs probably used to luxury cruising, so have at it. Stairs leading down to it are aft on the port side."

Once they were out of ear range and halfway down the steps, Mordin motioned to the bow of the ship with his head. "Not the friendliest mercenary, is she?"

"She works for Cerberus; don't expect her to be sympathetic to us," Liara responded serenely. "Come on. Let's try them again."


Normandy SR-2, AI Core, 1802h

"So I'd better get going to the medical bay and report my fake migraine, too, to avoid suspicion," Jacob informed Legion. "I'm not sure how long that will take, so I'll also go eat dinner with the others. Keeping up appearances is the best thing for me to do right now."

"Understood, Lieutenant Commander Jacob Taylor." Legion's head once again bobbed up and down. "We will notify you when our hacking attempts have been completed. Alert: this window of time will likely be short once it happens. How would you like for us to communicate with you since you are not networked into us?"

"Uh, EDI, could you do that?"

"My software might not support that function. My firewalls are very difficult to breach, and I may be tasked to capacity whilst trying to counteract the geth," the AI answered truthfully.

"Counteract the geth? But EDI, why would you do that?"

"I regret to inform you that it is part of my programming to resist any attempt at breaking the commander's passwords, regardless of the fact that I know that it is Legion."

"Well, at you're honest about it," Jacob admitted. "Trying to see through every other facade has been Hell."

"Perhaps we could send you a message at your private terminal with a digital encryption," Legion suggested.

"Um, I'm not a computer geek. I just use my terminal to access the extranet and read or write private messages."

"We will communicate via your personal terminal and use weak encryption."

Jacob sighed. "Maybe I should just stay here."

"That is not necessary. We have protection." Legion motioned to his assault rifle that rested next to one of the servers. "We have set it to taser mode should the need arise for defense."

"All right. I'm off to be poked and prodded." Jacob opened the doors and left the AI core. "Hey Doc, staring at those electronic interfaces have given me a whopping migraine." He held his hand against his head like he was being crippled. "Felt like I was never gonna finish that install."

"These sumatriptan pills should do the trick. How bad is your headache?" she inquired and gave him an orange bottle.

"Just hit me all of a sudden like a baseball bat or something."

"I know how you feel. A lot of us are experiencing this. Are you headed for dinner?"

"Yeah, and then probably to get some shuteye."

"Good idea. Take two of these since you'll be getting some food into your system, but don't take any more until tomorrow morning. We'll see how your condition improves."

"Right, thanks, Dr. Chakwas." Jacob pocketed the bottle and made a beeline for the mess. Just as he was about to get a plate and join the other crew members, Dean Watson's voice came over the P.A. system.

"All squad members, please report to the debriefing room as soon as possible. I've got a plan to rescue Commander Shepard."


Five minutes later, the debriefing room…

Jacob was second to last to walk into the room, and Watson followed him. "Thank to you all for your attendance. I must apologize if this interrupted anyone's dinner," he started. "This couldn't wait, and I knew all of you were waiting for this since last night. So I must also thank you for your patience."

"No problem, Commander. Rushing into things blind is a stupid idea," Zaeed Massani retorted. The others round the table nodded in agreement.

"In the Arghos system and the Sidon cluster, there is a planet named Cyprus where I've found a possible connection to Shepard. There's a base located on this planet that we must infiltrate in order to gain access to Cerberus' files. There's a major server room in there that is responsible for a great deal of their information. It will likely contain patrol routes, bases, and their headquarters, possibly where Shepard is."

This plan almost sounds legitimate. But if that's true, then why did Watson cut off our outside communication? Jacob asked himself.

"We'll be there tomorrow night. We'll surprise 'em just after the grave shift changes over. Begin preparations, people."

"Aye, aye," the majority of squad members said and left.

Watson gently patted Jacob on the arm. "Could I have a moment of your time, please?"

"Yes, sir."

"This won't take long, I promise. Now, do I have your trust, Jacob? I think we might have gotten off on a bad leg or something this morning."

"I'm here for you, sir. You did say that you needed some time."

"Mmm…you've been on this ship longer than I have, and Miranda tells me that you served in the Alliance. I can tell when someone feels like they've been passed over, and I failed to realize that earlier this morning. Please accept my apologies." Watson held out his hand, and Jacob took it, even though he didn't truly want to forgive the Spectre. "Do I have your cooperation, Lieutenant Commander?"

"My weapons and powers are yours to lead, sir."

The South African grinned jovially. "Glad that that's over. Thought I'd have to throw you into the brig." Jacob didn't smile back. "Relax, man. Go have a few beers."

"Best order that came from you yet." Jacob forced himself to say that one, even though it was painful. He wasted no more time and headed for the armory. A message had been sent to him recently, and it had an attachment. The file took only moments to download, and the application immediately began to run on his terminal.

Some very strange synthesized music began to play in the background, and Jacob watched these extremely primitive two-dimensional graphics scroll across the screen. "Super Mario Brothers? What the hell…?" he read aloud. Instructions to the video game popped up on the screen. "Use the directional arrows to move forward. Hit the key 'a' to jump. Use the combination of the right arrow and 'b' to dash. Is this some of joke?" He was about to walk away from his terminal when more directions scrolled up from the bottom. "Avoid falling into the empty spaces, enemies, and hit question mark blocks for power-up items. Complete stage to achieve goal of saving the princess. What kind of bullshit is this? Where'd this message come from?" He tried to hit the escape button, but the program continued to run. One last set of directions gave him his answer. "There is a timer on this mission. If you do not reach the castle in time, she may die at the hands of a very powerful and evil king. Oh."

Jacob turned off his monitor and made his way down to the AI core again. Thankfully, Dr. Chakwas had completed her shift for the day and was not in the medical bay to question him this time.

"I gotta admit, man, you're good. It took me a while to figure out why in the hell a person in their right mind would wanna play that stupid stuff," Jacob shook his head. "Where'd you find that thing?"

"It was through the extranet. The very first video games were fabricated in the twentieth century, on Earth," Legion replied.

"So what happened at the end of it?"

"The end?"

"You know, most video games have these huge, elaborate plots that let you decide how you're gonna impact your world or somebody else's. What happened at the end of this Super Mario Brothers?"

"The princess is saved from King Bowser, a terrible dinosaur."

"That's it?"

"She thanks Luigi and Mario, two plumbers that are brothers, for their kind assistance."

"And then what?"

"No data is available, Lieutenant Commander Taylor."

"Guess that just proves my point of how stupid the damn things are," Jacob sighed. "So you got through. Can we do it from here, or do we have to go upstairs?"

"Unfortunately, we must use the communications room. Any crew member could detect or monitor this call."

"I've got another question, if there's time."

"The window of opportunity will remain open for another twenty minutes."

"You're a machine, but, you're different than EDI. Do you like to share data with her?"

"The partnership is mutually beneficial," Legion agreed. "Although this time, it was not."

"Indeed…I felt my circuits over-clocking themselves to their maximum speed at the time," EDI responded casually. "Humans may equate this same electronic impulse with the act of an orgasm. Do not worry, Legion. I will not take offense upon your actions."

"Oh, wow. Way more information than I needed to know," Jacob threw his hand over his mouth. "I think I'll head upstairs now. Will you come with me, Legion?"

"Lieutenant Commander Taylor's orders are ours to follow," the geth nodded and retrieved the rifle from its resting place.