Chapter Eleven
Normandy SR-2 Medical Bay, 2348h
Jacob traveled into the infirmary. "Dr. Chakwas? How is she?"
"Very lucky. She's still in critical condition and can't go anywhere for a while, but," the doctor replied with a smile, "give her time and rest, and she'll be right as rain."
"How much? Are we talking hours or days?" He glanced down at Lawson, who had tubes going in and out of her nose and arms.
"Well, since she was genetically modified, she will heal more quickly than you or I. But she did suffer a lot of trauma…and speaking of trauma, how are you doing with your condition? Not long after this whole adventure began, Ms. Lawson informed me that you were not feeling well."
"I'm okay." He shrugged.
"Did you ever visit Dr. Michel?"
"No, but I promise to go after this is over."
The doctor unrolled her sleeve and carefully inserted a needle into her vein that was connected to a phial. "I'll be needing some blood from you, then."
Jacob grimaced. "Again?"
"You were the only organic not affected by the reaper's indoctrination. Surely you understand at this point why this should be examined."
"Guess that makes sense. Think somebody can make up an antidote to counteract the Reapers?"
"Precisely. I intend to take this specimen to some of my colleagues back on Earth."
A few minutes later after she sealed both phials, she put them into a refrigerator. "Now, if you don't mind, I've got Ms. Lawson's vital signs and status hooked up to my omni-tool. I think that I'd like to retire for the evening, it's been a rather busy day."
"Of course, Dr. Chakwas, thank you for saving her." After Chakwas departed from the medical bay, Jacob squeezed Miranda's hand. "You'd better not die on me or Shepard, Miranda. Can't think of someone he'd rather have at his side. You know, he asked me about you, about what makes you tick. I still don't get it some days, but for the time we had together, it made me into the man I am now, and I thank you for it." He released her limp hand and walked out into the mess where most of the other squad mates were having a late meal.
"Legion, how're you and EDI doing with that data decryption?" Jacob touched his hand to his ear to speak into his radio.
"We have downloaded 75% of the Cerberus servers' data into EDI. It is a large quantity of information and will take half an hour longer to complete the task," the geth replied.
"But what about decrypting it?"
"There is much scrub or junk data to siphon off. Between the two of us, we estimate that it will take one month."
"We don't have one month! We don't even have one week!"
"We suggest an alternative method to filtering Cerberus data servers for location of Shepard-Commander should you not want to wait."
"Yeah, thanks, I'll keep that in mind," Jacob sighed and broke off radio communication. "Well, I don't like doing this, but for once, we need to go on the offensive," he told the rest of the team members.
"How so?" Liara inquired.
"I was doing some thinking earlier. We could lure in the Illusive Man."
"He's already got Shepard, what more could he want?" Tali broke in.
"This ship was a major asset, like Shepard, for Cerberus. Now that it's got better armor plating, fortified shields, and has a helluva lot better set of cannons, it's all the more tempting for him to get back. I say we pull off a Trojan horse scam."
Most of the squad mates all looked at one another for guidance, with the exception of Samara, who nodded with understanding. "I know precisely what Commander Taylor means," she said and began to recount the story to all in the room.
"Ah, that was a brilliant human idea!" Mordin happily exclaimed. "However, we must find a way to fool Cerberus scanning equipment. Will definitely detect heat signatures aboard ship. If Cerberus observes hostile activity, will take evasive action and operation will fail."
"That's why we need to leave the ship running operationally." Jacob held up a finger to make his point. "We leave the working crew aboard here to make it all look legit except for a few of us that are hidden on board to make the surprise happen."
"Hmm, can supply up to three crew members with cloaking devices. Suggest one for each deck, perhaps?"
"My shuttle is also equipped with a cloaking device," Samara spoke up. "We can take the remainder of the team down to the planet's surface or cloak in space until the time is ripe."
"I volunteer to hide on the Normandy," Thane and Kasumi both announced with hands raised.
"Okay," Jacob nodded. "Now we need one more person."
"That'll be me," Serena announced. "I always love a good ambush."
"Now it's up to me to set the bait."
"Commander Taylor, there is an incoming call for you," EDI informed him.
"Mordin, can you see to it that Kasumi, Thane, and Serena are properly equipped? I'm gonna go take this call in the debriefing room."
"As you say, Commander Taylor," Mordin nodded submissively.
One minute later in the debriefing room, Jacob rushed into it. "Jacob, it's Garrus. Here are the coordinates for the base where Shepard is being kept. We're also on the inside but we cannot get to him without the Normandy's help."
"Looks like it's in the Hawking Eta cluster. Hmm…is this Cerberus HQ?" Jacob wondered.
"We don't know. Jack and I know that Shepard's alive...for now. But we don't know for how much longer…or what the Illusive Man's plans are." The turian looked behind himself.
"We've been made," Jack yelled as the Cerberus guards just tore down their makeshift barricades. There was some gunfire as the communication channel was left open, and fifteen seconds later, the Illusive Man appeared in front of the camera.
"Ah, Jacob, good to see you," he greeted his former employee.
"I'd say the same, 'cept I'd be lying through my goddamned teeth," Jacob growled. "Cut the crap."
"So, you know where we are now, I see. You should know that I could move our operation within two hours' notice, which is most likely how long it would take for the Normandy to get here."
"I've got a proposition for you," Jacob set his hands down on the table. "If I trade you the Normandy for Jack, Garrus, and Shepard, will you let them go?"
"Hmm…very tempting, Jacob. This ship was a significant investment as well as Commander Shepard. Tomorrow morning, after nine hundred hours, come to Cerberus and we'll discuss the arrangements. We will designate with a beacon as to where you may land the Normandy. If you come any closer or take the shuttle to try to infiltrate the base, I'll have Garrus and Jack terminated. Are we clear?"
"Perfectly."
"See you tomorrow morning. I'll have the beacon launched this evening."
Cerberus Operational Facility #24, orbit of Shamir, 847h
Normandy SR-2 Medical Bay
"Good morning, Dr. Chakwas," Jacob greeted her as he came through the door. "How's Miranda doing?"
"You can ask her that yourself. She just regained consciousness in the wee hours of the morning while everyone was asleep," Chakwas said and sat back down in her chair at her desk.
"Maybe I'd better not wake her up if she's still sleeping." The ex-Alliance soldier turned to exit, but Lawson sat up and cleared her throat.
"I'm not sleeping, Jacob," she called. "I've been getting plenty of that."
He crossed the infirmary to get to her bed and gave her a genuine affectionate smile. "How're you feeling?"
"I've been better, that's for sure. But I'm no worse for wear than I was after we finished the Collectors off."
"I don't remember Shepard having to drag your ass over his shoulder before we blew that place sky-high," Jacob smirked.
"Not exactly, no. But I meant now, at this precise moment."
"Doc, will Miranda be all right if I move her, or should I take her to a hospital?"
"Move her?"
"I'm not going to leave her in the infirmary while we let the Cerberus crew aboard to inspect the Normandy. They'd try to kill her. Chambers sent you a message detailing my plan, right?" Jacob inquired.
"She did, and I have to admit that I'm not having good feelings about it, Operative Taylor."
"I'd like my question answered, Doc."
"That's up to Ms. Lawson. She doesn't need a hospital, but I wouldn't plan on releasing her fit for active duty quite yet," Chakwas responded frankly.
"Wait, Jacob, what's going on?"
"I'll tell ya later, Miranda. Doc, you'll be protected by Kasumi, who will be here on this floor."
"I know, Jacob, I read the memo. You understand, though, it's just that the other crew members and I haven't quite mended psychologically from the Collector or the Watson ordeal. It's getting harder to understand what a normal day feels like."
"I hear ya, and I'd much rather be out on the lake waterskiing at home or lyin' on the beach. Relief is gonna come soon, Doc…"
"Business as usual, then, Operative Taylor. We understand one another. And best of luck on the mission. We all want Shepard back."
"Right. I'll do my best."
"Jacob, I'm coming with you," Miranda stated and extricated all the tubes from herself.
"But Dr. Chakwas said-"
"I need to know what the plan is if I'm going to be trying to avoid a direct confrontation, right?"
"Yeah. Come on, I'll explain it to you as we get to the shuttle bay in the elevator."
"Jacob, I think I owe you an apology…for what happened. I wasn't thinking with my head," Miranda began.
"No one was," he shook his head. "I don't blame you, Miranda. I blame the reaper…Harbinger. Let's go."
"I'll join you shortly…after I have a moment with Dr. Chakwas."
"Knock yourself out." He did an about-face and exited the med bay.
Miranda picked up her chart from the physician's bureau. "Chakwas, about Jacob's drepanocytosis…-could that be why he was immune to the effects of indoctrination?"
"That is my hypothesis, but it will have to wait until we can access some better equipment to fully study it. Trust me, Ms. Lawson, this is not something that I will neglect…not with the imminent return of the Reapers."
Normandy SR-2 Shuttle Bay, 858h
Samara's shuttle was way too crowded for Miranda's taste. Not only was she still not feeling entirely healthy, but she was also crammed into her seat in between twelve other quarian marines, Kal'Reegar, Grunt, and Tali. Liara fortunately was able to ride in the cockpit with Samara. The stench of sweat and the krogan was enough nearly to make Miranda keel over as the shuttle took off. She took comfort in remembering that she'd see Shepard soon. Alive. And in her arms again. The memories she had of watching him do something as simple as shave kept her conscious.
The plan was to remain in a cloaking field until Jacob gave them a signal or that they saw actual harm coming to him. Part of Miranda hoped something would happen-it was the only way she'd be able to get rid of the numbness settling into her arms and fingers from being squished.
The planet Shamir had red soil much like Mars, but unlike the fourth planet from the Sun in the local cluster, the temperature outside was not freezing cold. It was actually somewhat pleasant, minus the winds that seemed to blow that crimson sand everywhere.
True to his word, the Illusive Man arrived with Kai Leng, a scanning crew, and six Cerberus soldiers. "You completely understand that I don't trust you," he kept his voice raised because of the violent wind.
"Do whatever you need. I've got nothing to hide," Jacob told him and kept the bay to the shuttle entrance open. All of the Cerberus personnel minus the Illusive Man went inside.
"Where's the rest of your squad? Surely you didn't throw them out of the airlock last night."
"They've been taken care of. You'll get everyone you originally hired back, except for me and Miranda."
"Your service isn't part of the deal, Jacob?"
"I said I'd trade the Normandy for Shepard, sir. But I didn't say that I'd sell my soul to the devil."
"Fair enough."
Five minutes later, the scientists reappeared in complete good health, saying that all was in order, and that they were going to return to the station.
"Where are your assault troopers?" Jacob yelled.
"I said I wanted the ship clean. They're doing just that."
Jacob's expression hardened, and his hand reached behind himself to rip the shotgun out of his belt clip. "Pull them back."
"I can't. I don't have them in radio contact," the Illusive Man said and shrugged. "I think I'll start to compile that secondary list of dossiers for crew members that I nearly threw away the first time. What do you think?"
Normandy SR-2 Engine Control Room, 906h
Engineer Kenneth Donnelly set down his mug of coffee in its usual place to the left of his console and collected one of his data pads. "Okay," he yawned, "forward capacitors, starboard side. Check. Forward capacitors, port side. Check."
Engineer Gabriella Daniels preferred to do her system evaluation silently while listening to her companion drone on in his sexy Scottish accent. It gave her actually five minutes to watch him at the start of their morning shift without having to talk about work for once and imagine their relationship going forward instead of nowhere.
"I can't believe I voted for that dirty bugger Watson, Gabby," he lamented.
"I did, too, remember? We were all brainwashed," Gabby reminded him gently.
"Yeah, but, he was English. I mean, that, of all things, should've set me off into thinking that that was a bad idea."
"You Scots still hate the English?"
"Do Americans love Canadians for burning down their White House?"
"Point taken. Besides, Watson was from South Africa."
"Am I hearing things?"
"I dunno, maybe you should either cut back on the coffee or switch to decaf, Kenneth," Gabby suggested with a shrug.
"No, I thought I heard footsteps. Ah, I'll wager that the drive core's got something stuck inside of her or…maybe something's loose, needs to be tightened," Ken said, took out a screwdriver from his pants pocket, and walked towards the core.
"Yeah, I know someone who's got a few screws loose that need tightening," she muttered to herself, completely unaware of the Cerberus soldier that had been sneaking up on her. Fortunately, Longoria (who was cloaked) reached him first and killed him with a knife in his back. He fell to the floor with a loud thump, and made Gabby yelp.
Seconds later, Ken traveled back to her side. His jaw dropped when he saw the dead body and Gabby mortified in fear standing over it. "Gabby, did you-"
"Look out!" she pointed behind him.
Another Cerberus soldier was preparing to shoot him by screwing a silencer on his pistol but was interrupted with another knife in the back. He gulped in shock, dropped both weapons, and tried to grab Ken on his way to the floor. The male Scottish engineer stepped back and let gravity take its course. Serena Longoria revealed herself as she reclaimed her knives one by one from her dead victims.
Neither Ken nor Gabby could say anything. They were frozen with shock.
"Personally, if I were gonna bother to kill somebody with a silencer in of all places an engine control room, I'd recommend putting it onto the gun before doing the deed," Longoria commented. "Stupid idiot. Probably one of the Blue Suns' rejects."
"Ah…who are you?" Ken finally stammered.
"Name's Serena Longoria. You can call me your guardian angel if you'd like. The three troopers that were trying to kill you two on this deck are dead now."
"Three? I only see two," Gabby spoke up.
"He's near the elevator. I have to admit that that was playing dirty, but…guess he chose the wrong day to not call in sick." She sheathed the throwing knives back into her boots and set her golden locks into a ponytail. "Have a pleasant day." The Shadow Broker agent rolled up her sleeve, touched the omni-tool, and disappeared again.
Ken's mouth popped open. "I think I'm in love."
Gabby smacked him in the arm.
Normandy SR-2 Crew Mess, 910h
Serena Longoria crept through the entire crew deck only to find Sgt. Gardner in the mess giving a bowl of cereal to Kasumi Goto. "What? I woke up late-didn't have breakfast," the thief told her.
"I'm assuming that this area's clean," Longoria mused.
"Certainly. Cerberus moron corpses are in the battery. All three of them came up in the elevator one at a time."
"One at a time? Easy work!"
"That's what I thought, well, along with 'good job, shit for brains'. Anyway, got a minute? Could use someone to chat with."
"Maybe after the bridge is clear. That Chinese guy didn't seem like your normal run-of-the mill Cerberus numskull."
Normandy SR-2 Combat Information Center, 912h
Although he'd been ordered to kill all personnel aboard the Normandy, Kai Leng decided not to waste his energy. He knocked out Yeoman Chambers and all other service personnel rather easily. Unfortunately, one of the servicemen managed to get a shot out with a pistol. Thane, who had been cloaking right near the cockpit and Joker heard it. "Resume your normal duties, Joker. I will be here, do not worry." The helmsman nodded quietly. Thane hid himself near the Normandy airlock.
Leng tried to access the laboratory but found himself locked out, from both hallways. Frustrated and impatient, he ignored whoever was in there, and devoted his focus to his next target, which was to eliminate the helmsman. The Illusive Man had been reluctant to have Joker taken out, but Leng reminded him that pilots can be easily replaced, especially disgruntled ones from the Alliance. Although Joker was a fantastic helmsman, he was indeed loyal to Shepard.
Leng minimized his movements, knowing full well that the Normandy's floors were constructed of titanium and therefore, were quite reverberant. He was about four feet away from the helmsman's chair when all of a sudden, he got surprised from the side. Thane grasped Leng's neck in a lock and threw him down to the ground.
Leng rolled away from Thane, who was about to approach him and try for another grapple, and did a back handspring to get back up. He approached Thane carefully, trying to read the drell's next move. Thane kicked at him a couple of times, which Leng easily avoided. Upon his third attempt, he seized hold of Thane's leg and quickly twisted his ankle. His grip suddenly became more fierce as he now took Thane's calf and threw him to the ground. They struggled for position, in between trying to take holds upon one another with arms and legs.
Thane managed to get a hold of Leng's neck and held him down to his chest with all of his might, but Leng pounded his fist repeatedly into Thane's ribs. Thane tried to repel the punches but instead got himself trapped into another neck hold. He next attempted to free himself by slamming his knee into Leng's own ribs. This powerful blow finally sent the Chinese assassin backward and allowed Thane to gain the advantage of tackling his opponent face first downward.
Outside the Normandy SR-2, 915h
"This scheme would have been a brilliant idea had it never actually worked in history, Jacob," the Illusive Man gestured the ex-Alliance soldier's attention to the ship. "The Trojan horse could only work once, and it already did over three thousand years ago."
"Then imagine that there were two of them," Miranda said from behind him with her submachine gun drawn.
The Illusive Man turned to witness himself surrounded by the quarians, Samara, Liara, and Grunt. He raised his arms in surrender. "This won't stop anything from what's happening on the Normandy, you know."
"Your soldiers are dead," Jacob shook his head. "We were waiting for them."
"But you didn't anticipate my agent Kai Leng. Just how safe is the Normandy? You might want to ask your pilot, if you can get in touch with him."
"Call off your agent…now." Miranda's eyes narrowed as she raised her gun. "I want Shepard. No more questions, no more deals. And I won't take no for an answer."
"Could you truly do it, Miranda?" He stepped forward. "After all I did for you?"
"I believe I made myself incredibly clear when I cut you off the last time that I was finished with you."
"Why? Because Shepard helped you save your sister? We already did that for you…hell, I even had to pull several strings for that idiot father of Oriana's to get a decent job-"
"Don't think that I'm not grateful for your help in the past. I am. But to order me to kill the very man you said was the final hope for humanity…something's changed in you. You're not the same man I knew when I first joined Cerberus."
"Sentimentality is not something I expected from you, Miranda. Shepard was a liability in the end for us, a loose cannon, for Cerberus. I should have let you have your way. He would've been far less trouble." He took a step towards her. "And I hope you're finding ways of paying for your rather expensive tastes with Shepard. There would be no problem accommodating them if you stayed with Cerberus."
"Tempting offer, but I think I'll stay with my decision. With all the liberties you took from me earlier in my life when I was younger and more vulnerable, the thought of pulling this trigger is all the more satisfying," Miranda groused.
"I'd rather die than give up Shepard to you." The Illusive Man crossed his arms. "He's that important."
"For once, you're the one willing to make a sacrifice? How ironic."
Miranda felt her strength returning to her slowly but surely all throughout his conversation. It started to become pretty transparent that her former superior and pseudo-father was not going to acquiesce to her demands. Her mind began to play out all the contingencies-again, he still held the bargaining chip and would not let go of it…of Shepard. She remembered how he had once taught her not to let anything get in her way of what she wanted, and this situation was no exception. She would not back down for Shepard's life. Period.
"We both know that Shepard's not the only person you're worried about." He pointed his finger at her. "Would you abandon her?"
Liara and Samara eyed one another. They did not need to speak to understand what either asari knew would happen next. They both saw the tension rising in Miranda and the stubborn perseverance of the Illusive Man. Before Miranda's finger could come anywhere near the trigger of her gun, Liara captured her in a stasis field, and Samara threw the Illusive Man down to the ground so hard that the wind was knocked out of him.
"For Shepard!" Jacob screamed and led the rest of his Normandy teammates towards the Cerberus base.
