A few hours ago
Liara creased her brow into a frown. There was a new file of data in the Archive. How come that she didn't notice this before? She was all alone, had the archives all to herself as she browsed through the files on a monitor. She accessed the file, and to her surprise. She saw a man on the display. Liara would describe his appearance as gaunt with his thin-face and that tousled-mop of hair in the silvery shade of grey. He had a hooked nose and big ears. However, what captivated her was the intense silverly blue eyes framed by unruly, expressive eyebrows. "Hello Doctor T'soni. We've not met yet, I'm the Doctor."
The man said, addressing her directly. She was on full alert now, was this a recent addition to the archives? "How is this possible?" She murmured, quickly making her analysis of the file. The coding was rudimentary but unlike anything she has ever seen and it had somehow remained hidden in the archives.
"Oh, that's simple. Time travel. You're going to save this file on your Omni-tool and give it to me when we first meet." He explained like if it was something rudimentary. She shook her head.
"This isn't possible."
"Once you eliminate the impossible, whatever remains, no matter how improbable, must be the truth." He responded flatly, quoting Sir Arthur Doyle's Sherlock Holmes. Liara thought it was insane but she had to admit that it made some sense. Time travel.
"If you can travel in time, why can't you stop the Reapers from invading. Or prevent them from being created." She was definitively going insane if she was expecting a response from a recording.
"It doesn't work like that, I'm a part of the events taking place which means I can't go back without making a paradox. Granted, it's already a paradox. A bootstrap paradox provided that you give this message to me whenever you meet me."
She was absolutely vivid. He answered her question perfectly. This was real, it wasn't a trick. It couldn't possibly be a trick.
"Are you a human from the future?" She knew the question was ridiculous but had to ask anyway.
"No, I'm a Time Lord. I look human, or rather humans looks like Time Lords. It doesn't matter. What matters right now, is that if you're recieving this message then it means that the perception filter has expired." Liara somehow couldn't help but shiver the longer she felt those silverly blue eyes upon her. It was almost scrutinizing and outright impossible. "That means that you're running out of time. The Reapers will very soon invading and it's about get very dangerous at the Archives."
Every fiber of her being tensed as it dawned upon her that she had run out of time. Then she relaxed, he did mention that she was going to give this file to him when they meet which means that she'll live. However she would be foolish to rely on his words alone.
"What do I have to do?" She asked, her inquisitive mind saving her ever growing list of questions for later.
Liara then noticed the gleam in the Doctor's eyes while he smiled like some mischievious child.
…
"Normandy Actual to Badwolf One. I've tried to reach Mars on secure channels. No one is answering. How copy, over?" Joker said through their earpieces. Shepard's brow creased into a frown. There was no jamming of their communications; otherwise he wouldn't still be in contact with the Normandy.
"Solid copy Normandy Actual. Any sign of Reaper activity? Over." Shepard asked, having a sinking feeling that trouble was ahead of them.
"Negative, Badwolf One. No Reaper activity detected, over." Joker responded flatly. Could the communications array have been destroyed? "Be advised Normandy-One. The base appears to be online. Proceed with caution, the facility may be compromised." EDI chimed in through their coms with her feminine voice, picking up where Joker left off.
"Greyhound One to Badwolf Leader, your mission has not changed. Your priority is to locate and extract Doctor T'soni along with the intelligence she has acquired." Admiral Lethbridge-Stewart added, acting as their intelligence operator. "Weapons are free, you may engage and terminate hostiles with extreme prejudice at your discretion."
"Solid Copy, Greyhound One. We'll proceed with caution. Normandy Actual, keep me posted and standby for extraction."
"Roger that, Normandy Actual out."
"We're almost there." Vega voiced from the pilot seat with Jack Harkness acting as the Co-Pilot. The Kodiak came to a stop as it touched down. Vega and Harkness joined them while they performed their last minute check of their equipment. "Still no contact from the base but we got a massive storm heading our way."
"How long until it hits?" Shepard asked while his suit sealed itself while the kodiak pressurized in preparation for Extra-vehicular Activity. A last minute check where he loaded his weapons and made sure that it was green across the board.
"We got half an hour tops, after that there'll be difficulties to keep up comms with the Normandy." James answered, inserted a thermal clip into his M-99 Saber.
"Understood. Comms check everyone." Shepard said, activating his squad coms. One by one they acknowledged their callsigns; Shepard as Badwolf One with Ashley Williams designated as Badwolf Two. James Vega as Badwolf Three and Jack Harkness as Badwolf Four.
"All systems are a go. The Light is Green."
Shepard announced, knocking the end of his palm against the big button next to the door which opened with a light chime as a green light filled the interior of the Kodiak. They exited the Kodiak with their weapons ready and spread out with their rifles raised and aimed at all vectors. Everyone chimed in affirmatives that the landing zone was clear. Despite the circumstances, Shepard found comfort that he was with an Alliance unit. This is where he was meant to be. Mars, the red planet was sure a sight to behold with the red-tinted soil, craters and rock formations. Solar panels gleaming as they absorbed sunlight, converting it to energy.
Shepard took point with Vega while Williams and Harkness watched their rear while they advanced. "Damn, that's a huge storm. Looks a lot bigger in person." Vega commented once they spotted the approaching clouds of dust which covered the entire horizon, Shepard had to admit that it was huge.
"Come on, Lieutenant. It's not that bad." Ashley teased over the comms. Shepard almost decided to order them to cut the chat but thought better of it. They needed to cope with the Reaper invasion in their own way, even if it made seem more unprofessional.
"Doesn't mean it can't kill us."
"I'm more worried about the war back on Earth. Or the fact that nobody here is reporting back in."
"Fair Enough." James conceded while they approached to the ledge and vaulted down. They all took a knee as they raised their rifles in all directions. "What's that?", Shepard looked over at the location which Vega pointed out.
"Williams, check it out." His order was acknowledged. When they got closer, he couldn't help but feel his stomach twist. A squad of Alliance marines, all dead. They took a more defensive stance while Williams used her Omni-tool to make her assessment.
"Alliance. Sergeant Reeves, didn't put up much of a fight." The data conveyed through the Omni-tool wasn't reassuring. Their armor had ruptures and they didn't seem to have been able to fire a shot if their cool thermal clips was anything to go by. "Something isn't right here."
"Stay sharp and keep a low profile until we've identified the hostiles." Shepard commanded, there was no argument. They were soldiers, they advanced steadily with their weapons at the ready. The silence on secure channels and the verification of a dead squad had putt hem on high alert. There would be trouble and whatever they faced would've to be assumed to be hostiles. Then they heard it, gunfire.
Quickly moving to cover as they peeked over. They spotted armored men in the colour of yellow and white with a weapon trained at the frontal lob of an Alliance marine on his knees with the hands behind his head. He pulled the trigger, and the alliance marine collapsed with a big hole through the helmet. Shepard's grip on the weapon grew tighter in anger.
"Hostile Contacts, five of them. Pick your targets, fire on my mark then focus fire on the last one standing." He ordered silently through the comms. It was a clear shot, four of them were dead with ruptured armor and shredded kinetic barriers before they realized what happened; the fifth barely had time before being shot down aswell.
They heard more footsteps from behind the van which he now saw had the Cerberus logo, four or five at most. James took initiative and lobbed a grenade which put a quick end to the threat. They started to advance again but now moving from cover to cover in a staggered formation.
"Those were Cerberus weren't they." It was James and it was more of a statement than a question.
"Affirmative." Shepard responded curtly, he had identified the logo on the hostile's armor, verifying it was Cerberus.
"What's Cerberus doing here on Mars?" The tone was nothing short of a sublte accusation. That even Ashely even thought that he would abandon the Alliance in favor of Cerberus wounded him.
"Good question." Shepard retorted instantly, hoping it would be an end to it. If only it were so easy.
"You don't know?" She was skeptical of his answer, he could understand her disposition but this wasn't the right time for that conversation.
"Negative, I'm not with them anymore Ash, if that's what you're asking."
"It wasn't. But you've to admit, it's a bit convenient." She was right, it was convenient. They advanced, they spotted a few squads of cerberus troops digging themself in just outside the airlock. There was three vans, each carrying the cerberus logo. Shepard frowned, they were too few. It would require at the very least, a full battalion to capture the facility.
"Split up. Pincer Movement. Badwolf Two and Four. Badwolf Three with me." His order was perfectly executed. Their pincer movement quickly caught the Cerberus troopers in a crossfire. Harkness and Williams from one side, with Vega and Shepard from the other.
"Clear!" The Alliance soldiers chimed in one by one in confirmation, all hostiles had been eliminated.
"Doesn't look like they came here in force." Vega astutely observed.
"Indeed, it would require at the very least, a full battalion to capture this facility." Shepard added, voicing his analysis from before.
"Kind of suggest they had help, from the inside." Ashley said, the accusation more evident by the minute as they proceeded to enter the facility through the airlock. Slowly compensating the pressure and ventilation for a smooth transistion towards a more artifical environment. "I need a straight answer, Shepard."
"Ash—" Shepard said, turning to face her but was rudely interrupted.
"Don't 'Ash' me." Ashley blurted out with a finger on his chest. All traces of professionalism gone. "Do you know anything about this? What is Cerberus doing here?" Her accusation wasn't so subtle anymore.
"What makes you think that I know what they are up to?" Shepard's response was curt, inquisitive as his expression hardened. Emotions was obviously clouding her judgment, he had to admit that he wasn't far off either.
"You worked for them. How am I supposed to believe that you've cut all ties?"
"We joined forces to take down the Collectors, that's it." He responded firmly, not budging on the subject. Technically he didn't have to argue and just order her to be silent. Yet that would be problematic considering that they used to be involved.
"They rebuilt you from scratch. They gave you a ship, resources—" Shepard interrupted, his stare becoming all the more intense underneath the visor of his helmet.
"Let me be clear, I've had no contact with Cerberus after I destroyed the Collector Base. And I've no idea why they're here now or what they want."
"Commander Shepard has been under constant surveillance since coming back to Earth. No way have they been communicating since." Vega chimmed in, verifying Shepard's statement. It was sure good to know atleast someone trusted him
"Sorry, Shepard. I just—" Ashley said while realizing that she overstepped. She was obviously a bit embarrassed about it and unable to finish the sentence. Shepard's expression softened but he wasn't pleased in the slightest. He removed his helmet, looking straight into her eyes."You of all people should know what I'm about, Ash." His remark hit home. Ashley averted his gaze. Perhaps he was a bit harsh but they couldn't afford to be divided. "Please, trust me."
Harkness took point with Vega. Their weapons raised, they weren't expected. No hostiles in sight. Shepard and Williams took the rear with their weapons at the ready.
"I do." She said while they checked the corners of the maintenance bay. Shepard could tell that she had her doubts. "it's just that—" However, before they even could finish the sentence. They started to hear crawling sounds from the air vents, there was gunfire as they quickly proceeded to take position.
Suddenly the lid was kicked open and an Asari dressed in a white synthetic fabric dropped down and vaulted from the elevated area. Turning around as she flicked her hand while being enveloped by a blue hue of what was easily identified as biotics.
The two Cerberus troopers whom had pursued her, vaulted down after her but was instead caught in her singularity; an artificial gravity field imitating a black hole by pulling everything caught in its sphere of influence into a single point where the sheer pressure reduced materials to atoms.
The Asari raised her p M-5 Phalanx Heavy Pistol and fired several rounds encased with Wrap energy which caused a rather explosive reaction. She fired a few additional rounds into their bodies just to be sure that they were dead.
Vega had his rifle trained on her while they approached. Shepard put a hand on the muzzle and tapping it downwards. "Easy there, Lieutenant. She's with us."
Liara turned to face them and beamed with a smile. "Shepard. Thank the goddess you're alive." her voice was soothing. Shepard couldn't help but smile. "I was worried when the reports came in. They hit Earth hard?" she asked with a quizzical expression upon Jack Harkness whom approached her.
"Captain Jack Harkness." He spoke smoothly as he gently grasped her hand and bent over to kiss it like a gentlemen, making Liara's cheeks to turn indigo. She was blushing.
However their interaction was interrupted by a liberate cough from Ashley. "Yeah… it was difficult to leave." Liara seemed to snap back to reality as she gently walked over to embrace her comfortly in a friendly hug.
"Ashley, I'm sorry." Her voice was smooth, reassuring and Ashley eased a bit. Smiling at the comforting words of a friend. "But… why'd come here?" She added as she broke the hug, looking at the rest of them.
"Hackett ordered us to come. Said that you'd know what's going on." Shepard said, smiling cordially at Liara whom beamed at him with confidence.
"I do." She answered smugly while they walked over to a nearby window.
"Hallelujah, some answers. Finally." James said, speaking for the rest of them. They were really in need of good news.
"Maybe, I've found two things of interest, the first being plans for a Prothean device. One that potentially could be used against the Reapers." Liara answer as she looked at Shepard after making her clarification. "The other thing is actually a person, someone called the Doctor."
"There are files on the Doctor in the Archives?" Harkness asked, his forehead creased into a frown. Liara looked at him with a tilted head.
"Just vague references here and there, plenty of allegories and contradicting statements. It's evidently however is that the Protheans were afraid of him. Besides thay, the most concrete is the message he left me." Jack Harkness' eyes went wide, a stupid grin forming on his face.
"The Doctor left you a message?" The sudden change of Jack's tone caught Shepard off-guard. It was almost giddily, like if he was a teenager with a crush. Liara perked a brow, showing a loopsided smile in amusement at the sudden change of attitude.
"I take it that you know him?" Liara asked, the tone was mild. She was probing for information.
"Without him, I wouldn't be here today." He answered cryptically. "However, I do think we've more pressing matters."
"Quite right, Captain." Liara answered, still smiling. Shepard could tell that Liara was enjoying the attention and somewhat eccentric behaviour of the Captain. "In any case, my work here paid off. The Archives is full with data. An overwhelming amount."
Shepard frowned, it was too good to be true. "I believe it when I see it. Where will we find this weapon?"
"It's not a weapon, not yet. Its plans for a device, a blueprint." Liara's explanation was sound. Although, putting all their faith into one device didn't sit right with him. It would be a gamble, considering that they didn't actually know of its functions.
"It's more than we had a minute ago. How do we get to it?"
"The Archives are just across that tramway. Assuming Cerberus has not locked it down."
Well, that complicated things. However, it didn't make any sense. Why would Cerberus be fighting them while they could combine their resources to fight the Reapers?
"What are they after?"
James decided to chim in, "Yeah, they seem hell-bent on capturing you."
"They want what I'm here for, what we're all here for."
"But why?"
"The Protheans came close to defeating the Reapers. They had plans to destroy them but ran out of time."
"And anything powerful enough to destroy the Reapers." Ashley inserted while Jack finished with. "Just might be something Cerberus would be interested in."
"So, it's a race to the archives?" Vega asked until they suddenly heard the sound of more troopers and a weld searing through the door's lock.
"Heads up! We got company. Liara sync with our comms. Your designation is Badwolf Five." Shepard proclaimed.
"Bring it on." James said with a smirk while they took positions. They would be at a disadvantage with Cerberus having the high ground.
"Not this time, Vega." Shepard to Vega's disappointment.
"What?" Vega exclaimed in slight disbelief, his discipline lapsing briefly.
"Get back to the shuttle. If Cerberus beat us to the archives then I need you to cover the exits."
"But—"
"That was an order, Lieutenant." The command quickly got the marine to return to his more disciplined self and complied with the direct order from his superior officer. He had just put his helmet on before engaging the pressurization sequence of the airlock. Meanwhile, the rest of the Badwolves were ready to fight their way to their objective.
…
The Doctor looked around him, taking every nook and cranny he could spot. The Cerberus operatives were quite stoic and didn't even retort at any of his attempt at small-talk. Something about them rubbed him the wrong way, it was like if they were drones.
They had just reached the tram station where he spotted more Cerberus operatives but one stood out. A woman in a catsuit. What could've fooled others didn't fool him as he got closer. She wasn't breathing. That in itself implied that she wasn't a human. In fact, he hazard a guess that she was an Android.
The Doctor saw the creased forehead, recognizing a frown. "This man ain't in the personal roster. Identify yourself if you want to live." She demanded, the sound of gunfire could be heard from the trams.
"Wrong, the only reason I'm standing before you is because I wanted to talk directly to the head of this operation. That's you, isn't it?" The Doctor retorted, smirking mischievously. The operative scowled, aiming her M-4 Shuriken submachine gun at his forehead.
"I give you to the count of three before I…"
"You do what, pull the trigger?" He challenged. "You won't do that, because you want to know how I got into this facility without your knowledge. Furthermore, I can tell that you're aren't really human."
That statement gave Doctor Eva Coré pause, moving her finger to her ear as she rapidly asks in almost a synthetic manner while still holding the gun steady "Orders?"
It seems like the puppeteer had direct oversight over what Cerberus was doing here. He or she is no doubt a control freak if the stoic and drone-like behaviour of the troops was anything to go by. The Doctor knew that he had played his cards right when the gynoid lowered the firearm. "The Illusive Man would like to speak with you, follow me or be put down. Your choice."
The Doctor didn't feel any rush, time was relative afterall. Her attempt to intimidate only made him loft s brow. He would play their game, having this Illusive Man fall into a trap of false confidence.
"Set up a perimeter. No one else comes across." The gynoid commanded to a Cerberus Centurion once they were across.
"We still have teams on the other side." The centurion voiced as the gynoid halted, the two facing each other as she spoke with clear authority. "No one! And shut down those cameras."
With those words, she lifted the submachine one and shot one of the surveillance cameras. They continued on as they walked by a console unit. The Doctor flicked his wrist and the sonic screwdriver chimed lowly as he quickly swirled it about, tuning it with appropriate settings.
Fortunately, the gynoid failed to notice. She apparently didn't think him capable of meddling with anything on such a short notice. Cereberus clearly underestimated him as many others have done. Coming through the checkpoint, he stared in brief awe of the prothean databank at the center of the chamber.
...
Their aims were true as they advanced through the family, clearing room by room. The Cerberus troopers were fearless, unrelentling and thoroughly disciplined which peaked Jack's interest. He had known that the organization had rapidly grown over the past few months but he didn't expect them to have drilled squads this soon.
Shepard illuminated with a blue hue of his biotics; charging through solid matter and clash right into a Centurion whom was thrown back by the impact and broke his neck upon hitting the wall. Shepard then pointed the barrel of his M-11 Wraith Shotgun at s nearby trooper and fired before he turned about to strike another trooper with his biotic imbued gauntlet. The visor cracked as did the cranium as it hit the table, sliding down the floor in a dripping pool of blood.
The suppressing fire from Jack and Hasley kept them pinned while Liara bombarded them with biotics. They have fought their way ever since they rendevouz with Liara. Cerberus seem inclined to stop them, no matter the cost. Question is naturally, why. They had to find an alternate path through a room which had gone through a decontamination process, while there were people inside. The sight was revolting. That and that open airlock which suffocated the personnel in the mess hall. This took ruthless efficiency to the extreme.
They had learned from a terminal that a Doctor Eva Coré was behind the despicable act; a complete disregard for life. Liara ultimately felt responsible for not noticing.
The decontaminated room had been used for the study of prothean data and artifacts. Unfortunately, they didn't have time to go through any of it. The clock was ticking, well outside the room into a corridor with a long window following the entire walk way. If it wasn't for the present circumstances, he wouldn't mind admiring the view.
"That's the tram line. It'll take us straight to the Archives. No doubt Cerberus will have it locked down, hopefully we can override it at the security station." Liara's voice echoed in the long corridor. They started to walk it down until Jack Harkness suddenly came to a halt. He knew that feeling, it was that of a perception filter.
He glanced to the corner of his eye, to the place he didn't want to look and stared in wonder. His eyes went wide while letting out a childish cheer. The others turned about to see what Jack was excited about and just dropped their jaws when they saw it. "That's the TARDIS! Oh beautiful TARDIS!"
Jack dashed to a blue box, reminding them all about the red phone boxes in London. There were square windows on all sides which seemed to have been covered by curtains from the inside. The doorway was blocked by dual doors, one with each window and a single handle and a lock.
Jack grasp around the box to the best of his ability and plant a kiss on the door. Joyful at the sight. Shepard's forehead creased into a frowned, had Harkness gone mad?
"What's that?" Ashley asked a bit curious.
"It's a TARDIS. His TARDIS!" Jack shouted in a happy manner as he turned around to face the questioning looks.
"Who's?" Shepard said as his curiosity took over. Although, he could probable guess.
"The Doctor's! He's here!"
The belief of The Doctor being a tall tale was slowly washing away. Shepard had been skeptical ever since Earth but the more evidence he saw. He stared in awe, maybe there was hope. Maybe it all didn't depend on him?
They kept pushing onwards, reaching the end of the walkway. "The Tram Station is through this door."
Shepard touched the omni-door panel, the door slid open and they came face to face with a dual piped machine turret hanging from the roof, turning and aimed at time before sprayed controlled bursts their way. Fortunately, Shepard quickly dashed to cover as Liara shouted out for them to look out.
"Is that the only way in?" Ashley asked in a slight disbelief. Liara shook her head and as she reached for the intercom panel.
"Override code Doctor Disco. Shut down turret." Liara spoke and the turret stopped firing. "The Doctor said that I would know when to use that override."
The smugness in her voice only made Jack grin all the more wider. They caught the remaining Cerberus troops guarding the station off-guard and made short work of them. Liara sat down, her digits quickly typing series of codes. They caught the recent surveillance footage on a nearby monitor. It was Doctor Eva Coré giving orders before she shot the camera. However what caught Shepard's attention was the elderly man dressed in a velvet coat being escorted like a prisoner by two troopers.
"That's the Doctor. I recognize him from the message that he sent, or rather will leave for me." Liara said while her digits were at work. "Looks like they've arrived to the Archives."
"And it looks like they won't send a tram anytime soon." Ashley commented.
"Can you override it?" Shepard asked a bit puzzled but Liara just shook her head. "The Archives is on a separate network, we're completely locked out."
Ashley didn't seem that disheartened as an idea popped up in her head. "Not completely, what if we can find a short-range transmitter. Helmet to helmet. And then we convince them that we're with them, and the Alliance forces has been taken care off."
"Good idea, let's see what we can find." It didn't take long for them to find a dead Centurion. Ashley was crouching and fiddling with the helmet.
"He's got a transmitter in his helmet if I could just…" The rest of her sentence died when the visor slid open. The face underneath was pale, gaunt with a tint of blue to his complexion. A cord ran from the temple to behind the cranium. The eyes were artificial, hollow like if their very humanity had been replaced by tech. "Oh god, he looks like a husk."
It was a revolting sight to be sure. Yet despite the similarities, his skin showed no decay. "Yeah, not quite. But they've definitively done something to him." He voiced as he inspected the face further, seems like the Illusive Man had some implants operated into him, or rather every trooper. Reaching out to grasp the helmet to helmet transmitter.
"Engineered, by Cerberus!" Ashley was indignate. "They claim to stand for humanity, yet they do this to their own people."
Her gaze reverted back to Shepard, a scrutinizing stare which wasn't exactly unwarranted. "That could've been you, Shepard. For all I knew, that's what Cerberus had done to you."
Shepard rose to face her, narrowing his eyes. This was the second time she was second-guessing him. "How can you compare me with that thing, do I look like a husk to you Lieutenant-Commander."
The words coming through his mouth seem to shake her, not expecting such an answer. She shook her head. "No, Shepard. I just…"
"Enough, put your personal feelings aside for now. We'll talk after the mission. Have I made myself clear?"
Only silence followed as she nodded, falling back to the military doctrine they were so familiar with, "Yes, sir."
"Good." He muttered as he brought the com to his mouth, voicing. "Hello. This is Delta Team. Anybow there?"
"Where the hell have you been? Nevermind. What's your status?" came a harsh and malicious voice through the comm, same muffled voice they've heard all over from the troopers.
"At the tram station, waiting extraction. All hostiles terminated." Shepard voiced, the voice muffler must work both ways to ensure anonymously between the troops.
"Roger that. Echo Team will ride over and secure the station."
A smile formed on his lips, things were turning around for them and they saw in the distance of how the tram was heading their way. Time will tell what's going on the other side.
...
The Doctor stood before the virtual display of the prothean databank. The omni-based terminal illuminated the dimly lit chamber. His sonic screwdriver buzzed over the terminal briefly, "Beautiful." he said in admiration.
"Hello, Doctor." A voice said from behind, The Doctor turned about and came face to face with a holographic image. He saw a smartly dressed man in an exclusive synthetic suit with a cigarette between his fingers. Two artificial eyes and hair which may once have been considered, dashing.
"You're the Illusive Man." The Doctor said, more of a statement than a question. The illusive man just nodding. "Correct, I must say that your deduction skill is impressive. You saw through what have fooled the Alliance for weeks."
The Doctor scoffed, "She kept recycling oxygen to imitate breathing." Even a Dalek Sleeper drone was more convincing.
"Like I said, impressive." The Illusive man said, exhaling some smoke. "Your brilliance is undeniable. You've a ship which can appear and disappear anywhere."
"If you want my TARDIS then you can forget about it." The tone of broke no argument. The Illusive Man took another drag from his cigarette.
"You're missing the point. The Protheans, a most fascinating race left all this for us to discover, but we've squandered it." He began to speak, exhaling more smoke. "The archives has been left to gather dust for thirty years. All of this time and only now, there's been significant progress."
He's a good orator, The Doctor admit that. However, not as good as Winston Churchill. He'd teach this fellow something about speeches. "The archives jumpstarted the technological advancement of mankind by several centuries. Granted, it was at the expense of innovation."
"Exactly, your ship. Your knowledge. The Data in these artifacts are the key to solving the Reaper Threat. The Alliance will undoubtedly destroy the Reapers. I say, why destroy when we can control?" The way it was presented felt like a sale's pitch. It made his patience wear thin. It started to come together. Control.
"Is that why your troops are no better tham drones following orders?" The Doctor respoded distastefully.
"They've been improved." The Illusive Man answered cryptically. Improved, like a cyberman was an upgrade. "The Reapers, with your knowledge. We can dominate them, use their power. Harness their very essence to bring humanity to the apex of evolution."
The Doctor's eyebrows rose and narrowed into dangerous archs. His forehead creased into a frown while his eyes stared with such intensity that the Illusive Man involuntary shiver. "You're delusional. A megalomaniac. Your entire species are at risk and you decide to make a grab for power."
The Illusive Man took another exaggerated drag from his cigarette "A pity." He then nodded and the Cerberus troopers along with the gynoid trained their weapons on him. They pulled the triggers, yet nothing happened.
"Funny thing about mass accelerated weapons." The Doctor said with a grin, "If you reverse the polarity and instead imcrease the density, it jams instead." The cigarette slipped through the Illusive Man's fingers, his cybernetic eyes grew wide. However before anyone could say anything. The door to the tram station opened ans in came four people with their guns trained against the Cerberus personnel. Then there was gunfire, the troopers fell to the ground, dead. The gynoid tried to grab the Doctor but he simply sit out of the way, deftly grasping around the wrist and twisted it into an angle while throwing her over his hip to the ground. The sonic screwdriver buzzed and it was disabled. However the Doctor wasn't happy with the outcome.
"Shepard." The Illusive Man said, both as a greeting while sticking to the facts.
"You, shush!" The Doctor said indignant to the Cerberus Leader before turning towards Commander Shepard and his fireteam. "And you, I hope that you're proud of yourself. You just killed two disarmed drones of this megalomaniac."
To say they were startled was an understatement. "I believe that—"
"I said shut up!" The Doctor roared, cutting the Cerberus Leader off. "You're not out of the woods, Mister Illusive. Far from it, I'm giving you a chance to cease with your bid for power and human dominance! One chance before I make you and your Cerberus' existence a living hell!"
There was an unerving silence in the room as everyone present shivered. This was the indignant fury of the Doctor, risk it at your own peril.
"Now, considering that we're still in a pickle. The Harvest won't stop itself." The Doctor continued, turning about and approached the terminal to the databank with Liara rushing up to collect the data.
Ashley held her firearm trained on the hologram, despite that he wasn't there or posed a threat. Her scowl didn't hide the hatred she bode for him. "Illusive man?"
"The same." He answered smugly.
"What do you want?"
"What I've always wanted."
"The domination of mankind." Jack Harkness scolded the Illusive man who just cast him a nonchalant glance.
"Nevertheless, Lieutenant-Commander Ashley Williams. You've a lot to thank Shepard for during his time with Cerberus. Not only did he supply us with valuable intel on the Reapers by going through the Omega-4 Relay but also improved the public relations throughout the Terminus Systems."
He obviously pushed the right buttons, Ashley seemed to be boiling with anger. Smiling smugly as Shepard also took the bait. "I destroyed the Collector Base with my team."
"Speaking of which, how is your beloved XO, Miss Lawson doing?"
"Your what?!" Ashley voiced in a menacing tone as she glanced to her right at the Commander. No longer in the role of a soldier, more like an angry and jealous ex-girlfriend. The Illusive Man smirked triumphantly before the image flickered and vanished.
The Doctor and Liara turned about to see Ashley now shouting at Shepard. "Who the hell is Lawson!"
"What is it with you humans fighting one another." The Doctor scolded, was about to report but the Time Lord's scowl made the words get stuck in her throat. "Stop acting like children throwing tantrums. Harkness, you should've known better." That was as much acknowledgement which he was going to get before the Doctor turned his attention back to the terminal.
"You got a lot of explaining to do, once we're back on the Normandy." Ashley whispered to Shepard with a clenched fist.