PHOENIX RESURGENT

A Mass Effect Story by Vyrexuviel

Disclaimer: The author of this story does not, in any way, profit from the story and all creative rights to the characters belong to their original creator(s).

Shepard ducked behind a crate, bullets whizzing over her head. Her first recruitment mission had quickly degraded to another fast-paced firefight. Really, it was just another day in the life of the Galaxy's first human Spectre.

Her thoughts zipped by at insane speeds, clipped, precise, coldly calculating, and yet strangely elegant. 'Target, 3-o'clock low. Eliminated. Target, 5-o'clock high. Eliminated.' A swift snap roll to the left to avoid incoming fire she hadn't been completely aware of. A flurry of pistol cracks to retaliate. Roll. Dive. Come up against hard cover. Slip out, aim and fire. Duck back. Pop overloaded heat sinks. Reload. Leap up and dive for the next piece of cover. The dance of death was one she had much practice at. Her hands flashed from target to target, her pistols spitting death wherever she commanded, each shot precisely aimed for maximum effect. The twin pistols of her prior life had been lost when she reentered Alchera's frigid atmosphere, but these new heavy pistols did the job just as well, steady streams of pinpoint fire lancing from their barrels.

Fire. Ever since she could remember, Aurora Shepard's element had been fire. From getting into fights on old Earth in preschool to her bitter struggle with her arch-nemesis Patricia Klunz on Mindoir, she'd fought with fire all her life. The sight of her friends, family, and even enemies subjected to the horrors of the Batarian slave raid had snapped something inside her, some cap to a deep reservoir of volcanic rage, and ignited her even further. She didn't actually remember much after seeing her sister's head blown off by batarian rifles, but according to the men who rescued her, she had killed one batarian before he had noticed she was there, then slaughtered the other five in his group with his own pistol.

That fire had driven her into the military, partly to take advantage of that deep-seated rage, partly to learn to control it. Military discipline had indeed done that last part, oh yes. But part of what had made her such a damn fine spec-ops commando had been that battle fire simmering beneath her cold, controlled exterior. She wasn't quite a berserker, but she came as damn close as you could while still able to pull out of the bloodlust.

A sudden burst of enemy fire forced her behind cover, just in time for Aurora Shepard to notice the bright red warning label on the crate before her.

'Shit!'

The blast of the explosives-stuffed crate she had taken refuge behind threw her hurtling backwards past Tali and Legion to slam spine-first into the wall. She was up before she hit the ground, the impact hardly dazing her.

Tali winced as the blast sent Shepard flying. Unfortunately she didn't have time to do more than scream her friend's name before two more turians came charging after her. She popped out of cover and unloaded a full clip into the nearest one, backpedaling to keep out of melee range. Her shields were good, but they wouldn t stop a bayonet. That's when fire lashed out from behind her, so rapid that it could have been mistaken for full-auto, and the charging turian started to skitter sideways, seeking cover just as his shields went down. Tali hefted her now-reloaded shotgun to take his head off, when a final shot rang out and the turian's jaw exploded in a shower of exoskelletal fragments and blue-black blood. He stared wide-eyed over Tali's shoulder, then fell to the floor.

The quarian dropped back into cover and risked a look over her shoulder. Shepard was stalking forward, her body moving slower than usual, but her pistols cracking almost constantly, minute shifts of position actually blurring their edges slightly as her friend stalked past her. 'Just how good are her heat sinks?' Tali mused, racking the slide on her shotgun to reset the recalcitrant heat sink in her own gun. Finally, the guns clicked empty, but Shepard ejected on the fly, slapped her guns to her hips, and was almost instantly firing again. 'So that's why she keeps her clips on loops like that. Good idea.'

'Target. Eliminated. Target. Eliminated. Target. Eliminated.' Over and over, Shepard fired; each shot aimed with care and precision, but at a rate of speed that would have given her old target practice instructors the screaming meemies. 'Target. Eliminated.' That was the last one. Her gun barrels actually steamed slightly as she ceased her barrage. She held them ready, ready to resume fire if necessary, but her advanced sensor array and HUD display indicated that that was the last Blue Sun for a while. The clinic was just down the corridor and to the left. She turned, saw Legion getting out of cover and reloading its wide-bore sniper rifle, and looked for Tali. She spotted her crouched beside a pillar and staring. Shepard whipped around, guns raised, ready to fire. But there was no one there. That's when she realized how utterly inhuman she might have seemed. 'Shit, I didn't want to scare Tali...'

She gave a soft sigh and holstered her guns, the magnetic clamps locking them to her hips, just below the row of heat sinks slung above them. "Tali..."

Tali shook her head once to clear it. "Y-yeah, sorry Shepard." She got to her feet, slowly, trying to wrap her head around the concept of how fast Shepard could move. She'd seen Shepard charge that YMIR mech back on Freedom's Progress, but this was her first chance to really watch Shepard fight. 'Keelah, she's faster than anyone I've ever heard of!'

Shepard nodded a little, waiting for the rest of her crew, "I promise, Tali, I'll explain everything once we get back to the Zero Eight. It's..." she sighed. "It s a long story."

Tali nodded. "I figured. Just make sure not to leave out any details, OK, Shepard?"

Her old friend grinned through her faceplate, her face shifting from ice-blue to a more normal pink tone as she engaged her color filters, "knowing you, I wouldn't dare!"

Tali had to bite her lip to keep back a giggle.

The dark-suited figure perched between an angle of the wall and a pipe that ran into the ceiling, one foot planted on each and gripping a stanchion it had driven into the deteriorating surface.

It had moved unnoticed so far, keeping to shadows where it's dark matte-grey suit blended in perfectly while using acrobatic leaps to stay high and out of sight as it trailed its quarry. When the subjects of its pursuit entered a corridor, the lithe silhouette dropped to the floor soundlessly behind them, waiting for its three targets to move out of sight before following quickly in their wake.

Now, it watched patiently as the gleaming-armored soldier and it's pet geth gathered up the third member of their party. 'How did Tali fall for such tricks' fluttered through the figure's mind, 'she knows Shepard as well as I do. She couldn't have been so blind as to be taken in by this charlatan!'

But, Tali was smart. Moving precipitously would possibly put her in danger, if she had indeed been hoodwinked by this imposter. 'I must make certain to strike when Tali isn't in a position to assist.'

The trio was moving off now, into the hallway leading to the clinic. That was good. It would give the ill-intending figure a chance to get ahead of them. The shadow released the clamp holding the staple to the ceiling, dropped forward until only it's bracing legs against wall and pipe held it up, then let go. A blue biotic field blossomed into existence beneath it and the figure dropped into a cushion of buoyant air, landing soundlessly and sprinting through a side passage.

Mordin was working furiously on the console when the small group arrived. He glanced up sharply, taking in the details with rapid, trained glances. The center one, physique recognizable as that of a human female, spoke first. "Doctor Solus?" it questioned.

Stepping closer, he scanned the group, finding no trace of infection. "Human, curious. Don't recognize you from area. To well armed to be refugees. No mercenary uniform. Quarantine still in effect. Here for something else? Vorcha? Crew to clean them out? Unlikely. Vorcha a symptom, not a cause. The plague! Investigating possible use as bioweapon! No, no, no. Too many guns, not enough data-gathering equipment. Soldiers. Not Scientists. Yes, yes. Hired guns. Looking for someone? Yes, yes-"

The human, who's lips had quirked up higher and higher as he worked through the logic tree held up her hands, palms out. "Relax Mordin. I'm Spectre Shepard, and I came here to find you. I'm on a critical mission and I need your help."

That statement made him start. Shepard? Announced deceased some time ago. No matter. Have no time for mission regardless of identity. Too busy. Clinic understaffed. Plague spreading too fast. Suddenly, the salarian halted, a question worming its way into his mind. Who sent you?" He ducked down to examine his stocks of supplies, searching for the reagent to test the latest cure derivation.

"I m here on my own accord, the supposed spectre claimed, for two reasons. First, I'm probably going to need your help on an important mission to come, and second, I need a complete physical workup done by someone I can trust. You were trained by the best, were at the top of your field, and I need some answers."

Mordin popped up again, and was somewhat startled by the change in the human's face, through the faceplate of her helmet. It had gone from the traditional pink tones of a Caucasian human, to a blue more resembling that of an asari than a human, save a human suffering from extreme frostbite. Instantly his omnitool was scanning, scanning, but unable to penetrate the armor. The human raised a hand, gently waving it away. "It's not life-threatening, at least not in the immediate future. But I want an unbiased opinion, and your name came up as someone both with the biochemical training, and who knows the value of discretion."

For a moment, Mordin was speechless. Then he found his voice again, "Skin tone a symptom? Other reactions? Biochemistry alterations on this scale never before seen. Could revolutionize medical fields, could simply be anomaly. Yes, will help, but clinic understaffed. Must stay here."

The quarian who had been leaning against the wall spoke up. "This mission is bigger than you can guess, Doctor. Hundreds of billions of lives are at stake. We'll need your help when we go after the Collectors."

Mordin blinked rapidly. "Population of galaxy at large only statistic similar in scope. A threat to entire galaxy? Intriguing. Collectors? Interesting. Plague hitting these slums is engineered. Collectors one of few groups with technology to design it. Our goals may be similar." He turned to his console again. "But, must stop plague first. Already have a cure. Need to distribute it at environmental control center. Vorcha guarding it. Need to kill them."

Shepard, he was now certain that she was, in fact, the first human spectre, nodded slightly. "I'll get in and deal with the vorcha." Just then, the almost subliminal hum of the air recycling system began to shut down; it's tone descending the range of human hearing.

The quarian's head shot up, evidently listening. "That sounded like a failing air filter."

Mordin's scanner was already out, checking on the conduits, and it quickly confirmed the quarians diagnosis. "Vorcha have shut down environmental systems. Trying to kill everyone. Need to get power back on before district suffocates. Here, take plague cure," he slapped the now-completed canister into Shepard's hand, "One more thing. Daniel. One of my assistants. Went into vorcha territory looking for victims. Hasn't come back."

Shepard gave a curt nod. "I'll find him."

"Thank you. Told him not to go. He's smart, bright future. I hope."

She nodded again. "What can you tell me about this plague?"

"Hmm, advanced design. Suspected Collectors before you mentioned them. Purpose is experimental. Destroys respiratory system with harmful genetic mutations. Makes sense to avoid humans. Unnecessary to force mutations on human genetic structure for sake of variance."

She blinked, glanced at Tali, who shrugged helplessly. "Unnecessary mutations? What are you talking about?"

"Possible goal of virus. Testing viable mutation levels in various species. Horrific, but feasible for Collectors. Humans known to have diverse genetic background. Wider range than other sapient races. Makes sense to use as control group."

Shepard nodded, turned a little, shaking her head as if to clear it. "We'll talk later Mordin. Best to get this cure in place before we all start to suffocate." The tiny hint of doubt in her voice was noted, but cause unknown.

The quarian nodded and turned to go. Mordin's eyes widened as he spotted what looked like a geth platform following the quarian. 'Possible reconciliation between Quarians and Geth? Intriguing. Also, potentially politically destabilizing. Should acquire more data. But first, must return to distributing cure. Patients cannot wait.'

Shepard smiled as the giant fans of the air processing facility whined back into action. Dodging rockets was not her idea of fun, but at least they were easier to dodge than bullets. And when the acrobatics were over and done with, the technical aspect of the mission went off without a hitch. Tali was a wonder. She had the facility up and running again in seconds once they had cleared a path to the console from the door. One Vorcha had tried to talk to her, but before it had done more than confirm that yes, the Collectors were behind the plague, Shepard had put two shots into it's eyes. Even a Vorcha has difficulty regenerating a leaky skull.

Of course, once the krogan made their appearance, the combat became a bit more difficult. The fights were tough and brutal, the krogan s natural resiliency allowing them to shrug off bullets like mosquito bites. Tali's close-range shotgun and tech skills along with Legion s ludicrously powerful widow sniper rifle kept the threats manageable however. As it turned out, an anti-tank round through the eye proved too much for even a krogan to endure, and when said krogan was already twitching from an overload pulse well even the mighty Blood Pack mercenaries had proven unable to stave off their assault.

They had also encountered Mordin s assistant along their route, the poor man surrounded by a trio of trigger-happy batarians. Fortunately, Tali had risen to the challenge, talking the three down without bloodshed. The once shy and timid girl was turning into a most remarkable woman in Shepard's eyes, aware of both the intricacies of mechanical operation and social tightwires. Their retrieval of Daniel had been the last thing to pry the Salarian doctor out of his medical hole, now that the cure had been dispersed, and the clinic was ticking along under Daniel's guidance, the salarian doctor holding true to his word and returning with them to the Zero-Eight.

Of course, Mordin had been quite the chatterbox ever since he had slipped out of his clinic and came back with them towards the ship, running his mouth nonstop to Shepard, Tali, even Legion once he adapted to the Geth's laconic phrasing. Shepard heaved a sigh. It was going to be a long, long time before she got used to Mordin on the team.

Author's Note: My profound apologies for not getting this out sooner, my dratted muse keeps going on benders and winding up in the drunk tank. The next chapter should be quicker!