A/N: Whoo hoo! Another chapter! This one has possibly brutal graphic violence, blood, maybe a little gore, and biotic awesomesauce. Haters are welcome.
Ch. 2- We Are Greater Than We Were Before
Minutes Ago…
"We need to be on that LZ now!"
The large turian glowered up at the batarian and asari pilots forward in the cockpit. His carapace was silver, the three broad spines sweeping back over the more common of turian males. He was distinctive, too much after the rogue Saren was made public. But this man, Tarkus D'Saad, was different, his eyes a soft rose color, it off set the stark silver of his shell and the inky blackness of his skin. It broke defenses, but after he had worked with EYEZ, it did not work on his comrades.
"Armali Civil Defense is shooting at anything in the air," the batarian said from his seat. "Manual LOS, ignoring our transponder, faked or not. We'll get there, she has a few more minutes' leeway."
In the back with the turian was a human, a large, dark skinned man with close cut hair. He said he was a linebacker before the Reapers dropped in on galaxy. There was a female quarian, acting as the team medic, and had enough equipment for a squad three times this size. She also ruled the shuttle like a mother hen. "I'd prefer to get them out of there before they come under fire. Our little Cherie is an expensive little girl to fix up, repetitive cloning or not."
A brief, uneasy chuckle works through the cabin, and Tarkus pulled the N7 Typhoon from the hardpoints on his back to check it for use. Full heat sink, with a shredder ammo mod. That ought to be deterrent enough, right? His stern face shot up as the batarian cleared his throat. "We're almost there, but they have company. Standby for hot exfiltration."
The two soldiers stepped up to the door, and as it opened their rifles raised to track the growing number of asari on the roof. It made the turian briefly wonder if they had enough heat sinks for this. The shuttle did not set down on the roof, but the bay door fully opened and the turian stepped down onto the deck, the human kneeling in the shuttle covering him. D'Saad stepped in close, reaching a hand out to touch the human woman's shoulder.
"Cherie, time to go, we're done," he said, but it did not elicit a response. Liara moved to try and get the human's attention, but Tarkus pulled the asari away. Cherie was typing a command into her omni-tool. An instant later, the turian's tool beeped, earning a growl as he hit the 'Answer Message' key. "Attack Pattern Alpha initiated." Suddenly dropping his rifle to his side, Tarkus seized Liara by her arm and all but threw her toward the shuttle.
"Stay down, she's mad about something," he said, dropping to his knee in front of the asari and raising his rifle again. Cherie had cycled several deep breaths, tensing her body for something. The opposition asari were closing in, not even making threats, no sneering, just glowering at the human who had become their new target. Then, without warning, a song filled the air. From Cherie's omni-tool played an old human metal band shredded the still air. The human's mouth pulled up into a near face splitting grin. She picked up the lyrics just before a chorus section:
"We're outnumbered ten to one here,
Still, I love the odds!
We will sacrifice them one by one,
Send them up to the GODS!"
The human was enveloped then in a violent biotic aura. She had been honed into a powerful biotic tool over the years, privately surpassing prodigies and public talents. The previous Shadow Broker spared no expense on this tool, all to ensure the integrity of his organization. Cherie's biotic amp had no real safeguards anymore, asari made and even had its complex processor overclocked to definitely exceed safety limits. Trained by asari matriarchs, further training to mind-bending ends. To the point she could force the element zero in her body to resonate into a full body amplifier.
Every muscle in her being tensed and resisted the compulsion to contract into a tiny ball. She hurt, in ways few could imagine and still be alive. Her visor shattered to reveal one green eye. It could very well have been a perfect emerald, though narrowed in a glare in her right socket. In the left was a prosthetic, gunmetal housing with an eye that was a faceted, unmoving, unblinking optic. Her ponytail came unbound, kicked up into the air as sheer force of will overcame the body's own mechanics.
The growling woman launched herself forward, a biotic charge into the center of the opposing asari, releasing the contained field in an expanding shockwave with her as the epicenter. He body shimmered with the familiar blue biotic energy as she closed with the first asari she could, throwing her left arm across her front to throw punch aside, twisting her body up and deliver an overhead right hook. The human dropped the asari to the deck just like that. Dead or not, she was out for the fight.
Several of the asari had extensive training, knowing how to shrug off biotic attacks and were already rushing in to mob the human. As her feet settled into solid footing, her body locked in a defensive stance, a trained fighter before a biotic, just from her body language. She blocked their kicks and fists with a swift arm block or checking kick then follow up with a punishing strike to a pressure point. Or throw a high rising kick, then dropping her heel before the asari even hit the ground.
No less than a minute later, most of the asari were scrambling away from the human. Murmuring she was a Reaper in some form, a mad dog, a demon from history made flesh. Only a matriarch stood in defiance of the Shadow Broker's agent, and neither wasted time on banter. As soon as their eyes met, both lunged for the other, feral growls and roars as they clawed and kicked the other with their might. It wasn't long until both combatants were using biotic throws to put space in between the other, but both instinctively shook off the attempts before lunging for throats again.
Liara stood stupefied, unbelieving in the spectacle. Could this seemingly benign human be doing this as a result of the Synthesis? Could any human truly be this powerful, this… feral? The turian next to her kept his rifle leveled, though the asari were all watching the matriarch steadily lose in slack jawed awe. Barely a minute and a half had passed, and now the matriarch and human were covered in blood; their own and the opposite. Biotic strength seemed steady, but Cherie possessed raw physical strength, which she used to batter the now formally beautiful matriarch into a bruised, swollen mess.
And in a single moment, it ended. The matriarch faltered a rising block with her right arm, Cherie's overhead kick scrapping down her face and throwing her off balance. With her feet on the ground, the human stepped in and threw her left shoulder into her and further threw the matriarch onto her back. Cherie stood over the powerful asari, heaving with fatigue but when the asari tried to bring a hand up; to surrender or throw a weak biotic warp attack, the human exploded.
It was like she had devolved into a primitive animal, hammering the asari with both fists long after the screams stopped. Blood was covering her front by the time the fury ended. The surrounding asari rose from their stupor, shock, horrified, and enraged that the human actually beat to death a powerful asari matriarch. But their fury was short lived as D'Saad and the human male cut the tension with their assault rifles. Taken by total surprise, most of the asari dropping back to the deck, dead or wounded. The rest moved to cover their sisters as the turian and Liara moved in to meet Cherie leaving the carnage behind, and she suddenly collapsed right into Tarkus' arms.
"What happened?" Liara demanded, pulling the human's left arm over her shoulders and rushing her to the waiting shuttle. The turian and asari handed the woman to the medic, who whisked the girl to a stretcher, strapped her in, and began some intensive treatments as the shuttle pulled away from the hospital roof. The turian seemed very irritated, and did not answer the question. Liara was now losing her temper again, but the human stepped in and pulled her to the only unoccupied corner of the cabin.
"The big man just high strung when he's on the clock," the man said, still smiles and generally aloof. Like this was every day for him. "As for baby girl there," he gestured to the unconscious human, being cleaned up and now receiving blood transfusions and more medigel than Shepard or her squad had ever used during the war. "She's tough to explain. She's a clone of a guy from way back. Back in the First Contact War. Shadow Broker been using him in the internal investigation division to find people holding out or fixing dangerous people problems for the Broker. She's kinda new to the game though, they only been cloning her for the past five years now," he said, collapsing his Mattock rifle and fixed it to the hardpoints on his back.
"Name's Darius, our medic is Saquel'Scurrah, she left the Migant Fleet almost a decade ago. Turian there is Tarkus D'Saad, ground side team lead. Up front is the division captain, Zhakah. He's a batarian, but he's good to us. I think the asari up there is a local, don't know her though."
Liara gazed around the cabin, cataloguing the identities of her apparent saviors. AS the threat of danger ebbed, fatigue crept in, and the hurt of loss reared up again. Liara slumped into a seat on the bulkhead, resting her head in her hands. She struggled with thoughts pulling her mind in so many different directions, she just wanted one night of dreamless sleep. Nothing else that could remind her of Shepard. Goddess…
Night had fallen by the time the shuttle touched down at the ruins of a small settlement within Armali's borders. The safe house was in a small valley with intact tree cover and sound damping. The shuttle set down in what was the backyard. As Liara stepped out with Tarkus, she saw old medical packs and their wrappers strewn about. Frames for cots, even a campfire ring. The house was dark, with its share of exterior damage. Liara knew that most of the agents of her organization were more talented than most, but the house was spurring second thoughts.
He picked up on her hesitation. "We restored power and installed kinetic barriers around the core of the structure. It will hold over until Armali Civil Defense quell this little rebellion." The asari spat, venomous if she could muster it. It was a little surprising to the turian. "Shepard saves us from the Reapers, and they have the nerve to throw their gift in her face. She gave her life for us all, and they can only lament the circumstances. I thought the asari could be more grateful," the information broker practically growled.
Darius and Saquel carried Cherie out on the stretcher and into the house, the door unpowered but forced open. It led into a large back room, carpet dirty with blood and tracked in dirty, couches and chairs equally filthy. A bar along a wall had a staircase beside it, where Cherie was carried down to a minimally lit basement. There was a large multipurpose room, a guest room by appearance, and a bathroom. Goddess, a bath would be nice, if she had clean clothes… No! No time for soft thoughts or comforts, the ungrateful had to pay for insulting Shepard's name… her precious Shepard. The batarian and human male went to secure the upper levels of the house, and the quarian continued to work on and keep a close eye on Cherie. Tarkus pulled a chair to sit next to the landing of the stairs, rifle across his lap.
Liara stood listless for a few silent moments, before she pulled up a seat to sit next to the medic. She sat silent, watching the quarian alternate cleaning the gore off the human and checking the various monitors and administering more medi-gel. Cherie was looking a little better, but still pale from blood loss. She was beginning to regain consciousness, which Liara supposed was good. "She is certainly resilient."
"She is; the Broker has gone to great lengths to keep her alive. Moles inside Cerberus got us the data they used to upgrade Commander Shepard's body. We were surprised. The weaving fibers into the body for strength and making medi-gel conduits is astounding, but it's making the cloning process lengthier."
"You keep mentioning cloning…"
Pointing to the human's head, Saquel summoned a hologram from her omni-tool that was a mockup of the human's brain. A lot of cybernetics, and powerful transmitters. "Her memory is continually backed up and transmitted to a secure location where it is prepared. When a clone is killed, the next one in line is brought out of cryo, gets her memory and personality downloaded. It's the same for the males."
Liara blinked and tried to assimilate the knowledge. Clones of a First Contact war human. When she had some privacy, she'd have to verify it all, but still. She had little idea EYEZ existed. But then the fear of an oversight group probably kept her agents loyal to the organization. "So, if they are merely clones, why bother mending her injuries?"
"Since… Shepard used the Crucible, the secure location has been having trouble maintaining stable communication. So far she has been using Council bandwidth and pirating offsite data storage until we get it fixed. Until then, she has to be more careful."
A sound like a gasp or sigh drew their attention to Cherie, whose eye was open and looking up at them. A weak smile tugged at her face, struggling against the restraints on the stretcher but had no strength at all. Saquel admonished the girl with a light tap on the tip of her nose. "You silly little human. You burned up every ounce of reserve in your body and burst half your capillaries. You're lucky you did not have a stroke."
"Thought I did," Cherie breathed, her eye fluttering between consciousness and sleep for a moment. "Sorry to make you work so hard."
The quarian chuckled softly, lightly patting her forehead. "You'll survive. Though I imagine you will be very hungry once the medi-gel wears off. We didn't have time to scrounge up intravenous nutrition for you. Good thing we were planning on staying a few days. We get to take care of you."
Liara couldn't help but smile a little at the exchange. They clearly knew each other fairly well. They were almost like the Normandy crew; aliens brought together and they were all getting along. Liara tenderly placed a hand on the girl's shoulder, drawing her attention immediately. "Thank you for rescuing me. I let my anger at the situation get the better of me. I wouldn't have made it out of there without you."
"Part of my job, Doctor. I was afraid you would have resisted, sending a human to get you seemed like an insult, after Shepard…"
Liara felt a sting at that, a sour mix of emotions swirling suddenly. But she could not be mad at Cherie, or hold it against the girl. She was grateful for her assistance in the end. Maybe she should step back from the conflict. She had been neglecting the network for meting out her own justice, she needed to get back to the big picture. Where she was safer, and could make a bigger difference.
"Hey Doc, didn't mean to make you upset or anything," Cherie's voice brought the asari out of her reverie, a moment of old embarrassment from before she was rescued by Shepard. Liara shook her head, laying a gentle hand on the human's shoulder. "It is alright, Cherie. Some things are still raw. But… you have shown me… I need to step back. Think rationally. I think I should retire to Serrice, after this uprising is over."
Cherie nodded and slipped into sleep, the medic pulling a blanket over her and rising up from the seat. Liara watched Cherie sleep for a while, examining her face and thought she recognized a few features, the shadows on her face, the curve of her lips. Something familiar. But she could not explain it. She looked around after a moment, then rose quietly to explore the ruined house. Everything was quiet, and she looked in the living area, the kitchen, and a front room that had a lot of powerless picture frames.
The food had been looted, so she moved up the stairs to explore the top part. She was greeted by the batarian, who wore pilfered Eclipse armor with EYEZ etched into the breastplate. He nodded and pointed her to the bedroom on the other side of a fireplace and sitting area at the top of the stairs. Darius had been sorting through the clothes of the bedroom, something Liara found a little distasteful, but she did find a few articles of clothing she could wear.
She decided it couldn't hurt to take a change of clothes, and went back downstairs to the basement to shower in the only functional bathroom. So far, no one tried to stop her. She shut the door and was pleased when the lock still functioned, and after disrobing, took a moment to make a secure connection from her omni-tool to the extranet and her network. She wasted little time looking into EYEZ, showering as she quickly read through all the available data.
Her saviors evidently were paying no attention to her, as she finished reading she realized she had been in there an hour. More than sufficiently clean, she dried and put the appropriated clothing on. Certainly not flattering by asari standards, it was clean and under her armor, better insulated. She exited the bathroom and found Tarkus and Saquel rearranged the sparse furniture so Liara could rest. They were definitely treating her like the scared scientist she used to be.
Liara settled on the marginally comfortable pallet, sparing Cherie a glance before she settled down and swiftly drifted off to sleep. Sleep was always troubling since the end of hostilities with the Reapers. There were reports that the Reapers themselves were not hostile, even helping clear rubble and ferry survivors with no apparent signs of indoctrination. But that wasn't really what troubled her dreams and nightmares. It was the Reaper converts. Humans, batarians, turians and asari. Some humans described them as zombies, a reanimated corpse that sought to feed upon the living. It was certainly a frightening enough prospect for Liara.
And then, obviously enough, whatever end befell Shepard. It astonished her what creativity her own mind could use to torment and kill Shepard. It disgusted her, what she wanted more than anything now was dreamless sleep. But this night she slept relatively well, no screaming nightmares, no awakening in sobs. Fatigue rendered her weak, something the synthetic addition to her was keen on reminding her. Find food and water. She had gotten to where she could suppress and ignore the computer like voice in her mind, but it was always there. Likely to remain.
Pushing herself up to a seated position, the Broker surveyed the dark room. The quarian and turian were fast asleep, the latter snoring occasionally. She rose despite the protests of her body and gingerly picked her way to the stairs and ascended them. On the ground floor, the sun had not yet crested the horizon, leaving the open air room dim. Darius was the only one awake apparently, picking at an emergency ration with disinterest. He looked up and nodded his head in greeting. There was an emergency radio in front of him, monitoring channels evidently. He did not seem willing to break the comfortable silence, which she was happy for. It felt peaceful, for a warzone.
She stepped outside to survey the yard in the predawn light. Still a mess, but thankfully, no carnage to greet her. The shuttle was still there, bay door open. Inside the pilot was running system checks, apparently getting ready to leave. Liara tentatively stepped in, catching the asari's attention. "Good morning, Dr. T'Soni. After they get the girl up, we're supposed to take you to Serrice. The Broker evidently has a place for you there. The human girl is supposed to be your bodyguard."
"I suppose I may need her for a while. There may be all manner of species driven half mad by the end of the war."
"I heard the EYEZ guys saying it may be ongoing for years. The galaxy is pretty fragile right now. You might be living with her for a while."
Liara had mixed feelings, which showed on her face. She was still raw, emotionally. She longed for any hope Shepard was alive, for her people to stop killing each other. For there to be lasting peace. But maybe Cherie might keep her from killing herself. It was something she could very could do, just working, not fighting.