From Across the Galaxies
Chapter V: Into Purgatory

Something felt off as John Shepard, Jacob Taylor, and Garrus Vakarian stepped down the Normandy's boarding ramp and into the main hangar bay of the Prison Ship Purgatory. The vessel, a mercenary owned and primarily Turian run space station, was filled with angry looking guards, each with a gun trained on the trio. The disgruntled looking aliens all flared their manacles menacingly at the newcomers though they made no further move towards them. The three soldiers kept their eyes peeled for signs of an overly twitchy trigger finger. Nonetheless, they continued forward, towards the warden that stood at the end of the hallway.

The Turian that stood opposite them looked just as cold as the rest, though he had no weapon brandished towards them, which immediately made him feel much warmer to the recently resurrected former Spectre. He stood in a neutral stance with his arms crossed over his armored chest. The insignia that his uniform bore indicated him as a member of the Blue Suns Mercenary Company. As his guests approached, he made a simple gesture of his hand, indicating that his men should lower their weapons. They complied hastily, though none of them collapsed their guns into their storage modes. The warden stepped forward and his manacles flared into what appeared to be a smile.

"Commander Shepard, I'm Warden Kuril. It's good to meet you," he stated as he extended a hand and accepted a pleasant shake. "Your order has been processed and the funds have already been transferred from your account. If you'll give us a few minutes, Jack is being moved out of cryofreeze now."

"Thank you, Warden," the former Spectre replied graciously.

"There's some paperwork that I'll need you to fill out inside," the Turian continued as he gestured to the door behind him. "But this is a maximum security prison. Only security personnel can be armed. I'm afraid I'll have to ask you to leave your weapons behind."

Garrus immediately tensed but refrained from making any hasty actions. Jacob scoffed at the remark, which brought dirty glares from the guards. Shepard remained calm but replied in a firm voice. "We're not going anywhere unarmed, Warden. We can leave and the deal's off if that's the case."

Kuril sighed and looked from guard to guard. While they had not retrained their weapons on the uncooperative guests, they had ceased to relax. If there was any trouble, one of his men could take the shot necessary to end any altercation. With a sigh, he redirected his attention to Shepard and nodded. "Very well, Commander. Just don't make any sudden moves."

The Blue Sun jailer turned and started for the nearby door. The trio of Cerberus operatives followed behind him closely. None of them let their guards down for a second though. Kuril seemed suspicious and none of the three of them liked him at all, despite his gracious disposition. Garrus had spent too much time around guys like him at C-sec. He knew the type. Kuril had a hidden agenda. He wouldn't have asked three paying customers to surrender their weapons unless there might be a reason for a gunfight to break out while they were still aboard. Policy or no, doing something to offend someone paying as much as Shepard was paying for Jack seemed like a poor diplomatic move. The Turian made a mental note to keep his eye on Kuril as long as they remained aboard. Hopefully, they could get their prisoner and get the hell off this space station shortly.

As they passed into the main corridor of the ship, Shepard noted that the walls were actually ten square foot cells designed for prisoners. The walk was an interesting one as he cast glances at each of the many men and women of various species who lived in their little boxes. Some simply looked at them darkly. Others showed mild interest. A few paced back and forth. One slammed again the door in an attempt to startle them. He didn't.

As soon as they came to a split in the hall, Kuril stopped abruptly and turned to his guests. "I'll go oversee the prisoner's release myself," he stated calmly. "Our reception area is just ahead." He gestured towards the hall opposite the direction that he seemed to hover towards. "I'll be with you shortly."

"Thank you, Warden," Jacob said with a nod.

"Commander," the Turian acknowledged before departing.

The trio watched him go before they turned and started in the direction that Kuril had ordered. All three had become visibly tense at being abandoned by their guide. The prisoners didn't worry them half so much as the shady individuals that were stationed on and ran the Purgatory. Kuril and his men all had a suspicious vibe about them. It reminded Shepard very much of when he had met Operative Wilson aboard the Lazarus Project space station. Shepard cast a glance over his shoulder and met Jacob's eyes. The other soldier felt the same way. The look in his brown iris's said as much.

"Hey! Hey! Hold on!"

The three of them stopped and glanced over at the prisoner who had spoken with him. The poor young man, maybe in his very early twenties, stood up from the bench at the back of his cell. He limped over to the cell door and put his hands on the glass. He had clearly been beaten by his guards and his shaved head bore signs of trauma. Whatever his crimes were, he had been punished dearly for them. His pitiful appearance made Shepard's heart sag a bit, although Garrus and Jacob couldn't help but feel a sense of justice at the sight.

"You guys aren't prisoners. If you're here to buy one of us, I'm a good worker. My leg makes it hard for me to get around but I can cook and clean."

"You think we came to the only prison in Citadel space with this level of security looking for a janitor?" Garrus snapped as his manacles flared at the poor man.

"I'm good in a fight," the man pleaded. "Give me a chance."

"Come on Shepard," Jacob snorted as he turned on his heel and started walking towards the reception area. "Let's just get Jack and get out."

Shepard noticed the man's eyes go wide. "Jack?" he repeated nervously. "Never mind. Not sure I want out that badly."

"That doesn't sound good for us, John," Garrus commented before turning to follow Jacob.

Shepard wholeheartedly agreed. Shaking his head, he followed his two companions. The three of them continued onward, ignoring the men and women in the cells from that point on. They eventually reached a metallic door, which slid open as they approached. Inside was a large empty room, which looked like it could be a reception area. There were three desks, each with a metal chair. Oddly, however, no one was in the room. Everyone tensed visibly.

"Jacob, check the door at the opposite end of the room," Shepard ordered.

Jacob pulled the heavy pistol from his belt and activated it. Moving slowly, he walked over to the door and and pressed his hand against the pressure panel next to it, causing it to slide open. Inside, the three soldiers saw only another strange cell.

"Son of a bitch!" the former Spectre swore loudly as he reached for the M-8 Avenger assault rifle on his back. Garrus also drew the sniper rifle that he carried.

"Step into the cell, Shepard!" Kuril's voice boomed over an intercom.

"What's your game, Warden?" Jacob shouted as he turned his attention to the door that the trio had entered through.

Gesturing silently with his hand, Shepard ordered his men to take cover. They each dove behind on of the metal desks. The N7 soldier peaked up over his, ready for anything that may come. "Shepard, I am sorry, but you're more valuable to me as a prisoner than as a customer."

All three of them kept their guns trained on the door and began waiting for the Blue Suns mercenaries that would surely burst in on them.

"Kill the others but I want Shepard alive!" Kuril ordered.

In frustration, Shepard turned, took close aim, and opened fire on the speaker in the room. The bullets ripped through the device, causing it to die out quickly. "Garrus, provide flanking cover for me. Jacob, I want you to use your biotics to pick off as many as you can. I'll draw their fire!"

Back aboard the Normandy, Revan had no intention of staying on the crew deck, as he had been ordered by his new commanding officer. First off, for its impressive size and grandeur, the Normandy did not have comfortable quarters for the crew and the former Sith Lord had no intention of sharing a bunk with any of the miscellaneous Cerberus grunts that worked aboard the ship. He had found a nice little spot in the cargo hold where he had moved his few possessions and the bedding from his assigned room. He now sat with his back against the large open room's wall and his old armor across his lap. Before departing earlier in the day, Jacob had given him a basic tool kit, with which he now worked to repair the damage that both the Salarians and the Alliance had done to his gear. The work was slow and tedious and he didn't know if he actually had any chance of fixing his equipment but it passed the time well enough and sentimentality urged him to at least give it a try. The armor had been with him for many years now. To lose it would be a shame.

He idly wondered how the mission aboard the Purgatory prison ship was going. Shepard, Jacob, and the alien known as Garrus had left the ship nearly two hours previously. According to one of the Cerberus women on the crew's deck, they were supposed to be negotiating the release of a convicted criminal who, theoretically, would then join the team. The space station where they were now docked had been commissioned by a mercenary organization that looked to monetize off of criminal activity. The leaders and authoritarians of worlds paid impressive sums of credits in order to keep their most dangerous criminals in cryogentic containment.

The thought caused Revan to shake his head as he tightened one of the couplings of his armor. The Purgatory was a cesspit as far as he was concerned. Criminals didn't bother him. He had been branded a war criminal when he had been only eighteen years old. Those who committed such acts without honor or purpose, however, disgusted him. The murderers and rapists whose lives were suspended aboard the Purgatory deserved to be put to death. In his Sith Empire, the punishment had always been a match for the crime. Those in Citadel space would do well to adopt the same principal. Moreover, he almost felt a hint of empathy for the poor wretches. The Alliance had subdued and frozen him for two years. Everyone aboard the Normandy seemed to consider such a thing a type of cruel and unusual punishment but the Purgatory seemed to represent the same method on a much larger scale. Hypocrisy never ceased to amaze him.

With a sigh, Revan set his old armor aside and decided that it would not be salvageable. He'd need to build a new set using components that he could pick up in this sector of space. Leaning back, he rested his head against the wall and looked up at the ceiling, which hung nearly twenty meters overhead. He swallowed deeply and thought back to his empire. It was foolish to look back on it. Two years had passed since he had disappeared. They had either moved on without him or, more likely, they had succumbed to infighting and power vacuums. Bastila had never been his chosen successor. The woman had been powerful and a competent servant but her emotions had a tendency to interfere with her better judgment. She had simply filled the void that Malak's betrayal had left open. Eventually, when time allowed, he would have used her to mother a child and his offspring would become his succession plan. He smirked ironically at the thought. Bastila was probably dead by now. Opportunistic Sith would have taken full advantage of her weaknesses long ago.

With that part of his life gone, his only concern became finding Mina in this strange new sector of space. When they had fought one another, Mina had already seemed familiar with this galaxy. She had to be out there somewhere. When the chance arrived, he'd hunt her down and make her pay for all that she had taken from him. Then, once he'd had his fun, he would use her to discover a way back to the Republic and start over. He'd topple whatever Sith regime had risen in his place and once again wage war across the stars.

These entertaining musings were interrupted when the sleek metallic doors of the cargo back slid open and Miranda hurried into the room. Revan hastily pulled himself to his feet as she approached. Her expression seemed flustered and her body language screamed of tension. Brushing a lock of hair out of her hair, she shoved a small black metal case into his hand.

"Put those on," she ordered. "We're going into the field."

Revan wordlessly opened the small box and glanced at the two items inside. The first was a small plastic ball that seemed slightly misshapen. The other was some sort of wrist worn device with a digital screen.

"What are these?" he asked as he inspected them.

"Communications system. Put the bud in your ear and you'll be able to relay messages back to me or the ship. Control frequencies through the watch. Now hurry."

The Cerberus officer turned on her heal and started away from him. Revan moved to the storage unit where he kept his gear and retrieved both the sub-machine gun that Jacob had given to him and one of his two lightsabers. Attaching them to his hardsuit's belt as he walked, the Dark Lord quickly managed to catch up to the ship's second-in-command as she reached the lift. Stepping in together, the door slid shut and they were alone.

Revan could see that Miranda felt anxious to be alone with him in a confined space. Her arms were crossed with the palms of her hands pulling tightly on the opposite elbows. She chewed her lip nervously. Most interestingly, her eyes remained fixated on the lift's control panel and far from him. Their encounter earlier in the day must have shaken her a bit more than he had thought. A smile curved up across his features at the thought and he casually leaned against the wall opposite the door.

"Nervous?" he asked her as he crossed his hand in front of him.

Miranda didn't look at him. She appeared determined to maintain her staring contest with the panel. "No," she lied. "Tense about the problem."

"Problem?" he repeated.

"Our scans show that a firefight broke out aboard the Purgatory and our men's heart rates are elevated. We think they're in danger."

Revan frowned. "And what do you plan to do?" he inquired.

The genetically engineered woman cast a glance over her shoulder at the very pale man and clicked her tongue for a moment. "You and I are going to go in and provide assistance."

"Bold," he commented.

"Thank you," she responded.

"But foolish. You're this ship's first officer. You're to valuable to risk on a mission like this. I'll go in on my own."

Miranda gave him the look of a man who had just announced his intention to commit suicide. "They are over three hundred trained mercenaries aboard that ship, not to mention nearly two thousand prisoners, all of whom were convicted for repeated violent offense. You want to go in alone?"

Revan shrugged. "Against twenty-three hundred adversaries, do you really think two of us will make much more of a difference than one?"

Miranda knew the risk and that the odds were against them. Still, she didn't have much of a choice. If the Normandy stayed inactive, then the Blue Suns might think to take it for there own when they were done with Shepard, Jacob, and Garrus. Furthermore, if they tried to make a hasty getaway, the space station could fire on them and potentially knock their engines offline, leaving them at the complete mercy of the prison ship. No. An infiltration was their best option and as much as she hated to admit it, she needed to work with Revan for the sake of the mission.

The lift door slid open and the two emerged into the command control room. They traveled down the hall and made their way to the airlock, which Miranda disengaged. The young woman drew her sub-machine gun while Revan flipped his inactive lightsaber up into his hand in a reverse grip.

"You know you're still not combat certified," Miranda pointed out conversationally as they waited for the door to decompress.

"Well, I could use the exercise," he pointed out. "Keep up out there. I'm not slowing down for you."

"Don't need you to," she retorted as the door decompressed and she brushed passed him. Revan smirked as he followed behind her. Maybe there was something worth liking about Miranda.

A violent scream erupted from a Blue Sun Bartarian as he went flying through the air and smashed into the ground. The mystic blue aura that had surrounded him vanished and John Shepard, Jacob Taylor, and Garrus Vakarian stepped over his body as they approached a nearby computer terminal.

"Cover me!" Shepard ordered as he holstered his weapon and ran up to the computer. He quickly began to type through it before he found the information that he wanted. "Jack is here," he told the others. "In order to get her out, I'll have to release all of the prisoners under emergency protocol."

"They're gonna be pretty damn hostile, John," Garrus stated as he fired a round from his sniper rifle and took out an oncoming mercenary.

"I know," he replied through a labored breath.

"Commander, you alright?" Jacob asked, noting the strain in his voice. He stole a glance towards his commanding officer before returning his attention to the corridor that he defended. With a precise shot from his pistol, he managed to pick off an oncoming Batarian before he got too close. Shepard seemed weary. The trio had been fighting their way through the ship for nearly an hour now but most of it had been duck and cover. Shepard shouldn't have exhausted all of his energy by now. Something was off with him.

"I'm fine," the former Spectre answered as he straightened up and sucked in a deep breath. "Get ready! I'm opening the cells!"

The commander activated his omni-tool and began to interface with the computer system. It took him just a few seconds to find the override commands that he was looking for and punch them into the system. He cast a glance at the two soldiers to make sure that they were prepared before he keyed in the final command sequence.

Alarms and sirens immediately went off.

At the entrance of the facility, Revan and Miranda looked up at the blaring megaphones that were spouting the sound. In agitation, Revan reached up and balled his hand into a clenched fist, causing the Force to pressurizer around the speaker and crush it violently. Circuitry and metal rained to the ground and fell beside them, accompanied by a shower of sparks.

"Follow me!" he ordered her as his finger depressed the activation switch of his lightsaber and the crimson blade sprang forth with the usual snap-hiss.

Using the Force to enhance his already physically fit traits, the Dark Lord started running up the hallway, following the auras of their three companions. Miranda's eyes widened as she saw how fast her companion could run. Shaking her head in mild disbelief, she followed after him, SMG raised.

Revan rounded a corner and saw to Blue Suns standing in his way. Both raised their assault rifles and opened fire on the oncoming Sith Lord. With a grunt, he quickly brought up his blade and caught the storm of bullets on it. The projectiles dissipated against the energy charged saber, a sight whiched stunned the mercenaries into paralysis.

The lightsaber swept through the air as Revan continued to run, not even slowing his pace in the least. It struck the armor of the first mercenary, burned right through, and seared through his flesh. The poor man cried out in pain and collapsed quickly. The second Blue Sun fell just as quickly as the Dark Lord took his head off.

Miranda tried to ignore the sight as she fought to keep up with the maniac that now barreled through the halls of the Purgatory. He left a trail of eviscerated corpses in his path, which made him easy to track. Nonetheless, he was much faster than her and it would be impossible to catch up unless he did in fact slow down for her. How in the name of all that was holy could this man be capable of such destruction? His strength, speed, and technology all seemed advanced far beyond anything that modern science had constructed and working for Cerberus had given her access to everything deemed beyond cutting edge. Then there were his strange abilities. As she jogged down the now deserted corridors, she contemplated how he had managed to crush that siren a few minutes previously. She herself would be more than capable of doing such a thing but he hadn't shown the slightest signs of a mass effect field forming around him. There hadn't been any aura.

Back aboard the Lazarus Space Station, Miranda had helped develop Cerberus's lineup of biotic L5 implants. At the time, she had considered them to be the finest pieces of mass effect technology short of the mass relays themselves. This man seemed to have something even more sophisticated in his head. The operative made a note to check with Dr. Chawkwas upon returning to the Normandy. Her report hadn't mentioned any cerebral implants.

While Miranda pondered the curiosity that was Revan, Revan himself made his way around the chaos of the ship and at last reached his prey. While his crew's second-in-command had brought him along to help save Shepard and the others, the Dark Lord had a more pressing concern. After all that he had heard about Jack, he wanted to test this woman. He could sense the chaos of her aura and the destruction that she had already caused across the space station. Such power interested him.

He rounded another corner and continued his sprint. He was getting closer. She had to be within twenty meters in one direction or another. He just needed to zero in on her aura, which admittedly, had become more difficult as he had progressed since there were hundreds of panicked inmates running around like maniacs. He stopped for a second to focus. Closing his eyes, he allowed the Force to guide his movements as he searched through the hectic space station for Jack.

And while Revan hunted his prey, Shepard, Jacob, and Garrus were all pinned down by Warden Kuril in the far end of the Purgatory. The large square room had two levels with six pylons scattered throughout the room. All six seemed to be powering some sort of a barrier that the Turian had erected around himself. The trio had taken cover behind three of the pylons and simply had to wait as Kuril expended ammo from his sniper rifle as he nervously tried to take them out.

Shepard's breathing came in deep, labored gasps. He had spent way too much time trying to get through this insane space station but his strength was starting to ebb quickly. His head was spinning madly and he didn't know if he'd be able to make it through the fight. He cursed himself inwardly for this strange new weakness that he had experienced ever since his rebirth. He cast a glance over at Garrus and wondered if the crew would be able to keep going on the mission without him. Maybe Cerberus would spend another four billion credits to bring him back again. Miranda had already done it once. She could do it again, theoretically. Would they think he was worth it again though?

"Shepard!" Jacob cried out.

The commander turned to his tactical officer. Jacob noticed the glazed look in his superior's eyes and knew that something was the matter. "Commander, cover me. I think I can plant detonators on the pylons if you draw his attention."

Shepard's glazed look didn't seem to have processed the former marine's words. His head lulled over and he turned away from him. "Damn it," Jacob swore.

"Jacob!" Garrus called out. Jacob glanced over him and the Turian signaled him to go ahead with his plan and then gave him a reassuring nod.

Strangely, that didn't make him feel much better. He'd prefer it if he had two people to back him up rather than one. With a grunt, he turned to the pylon which he was hiding behind and withdrew a thick disc shaped device from his belt. He placed it against the smooth metal surface of the pylon. Upon depressing the small sensor on the back of the bomb, three spiked legs emerged from the body and latched into the metal itself, anchoring the explosive into its target.

Seeing that Jacob was ready to proceed, Garrus primed his weapon and dove out from behind his cover. Firing three shots from the rifle, he successfully drew Kuril's attention. The other Turian turned his attention away from Shepard's pylon and started firing at Garrus. Most of his nervous shots missed their mark but one did strike Garrus near the shoulder. Fortunately, the dense material of his armor and the shear strength of his shields absorbed most of the damage. Garrus continued to return fire, despite the fact that Kuril's shield protected him from any and all damage that the duo could send his way.

While the two Turians traded sniper fire, Jacob went around to the other pylons and attached explosives to all of them. The energy pylon that Shepard sat slumped behind was the last one. Jacob attempted to attach the explosive but he caught Kuril's eye at the last minute.

"Stop!" the Turian shouted as he turned his gun on the Cerberus operative and opened fire.

Jacob swore as he dove to avoid the shot. Unfortunately, Kuril managed to clip his left calf as he moved and the small bullet embedded itself in his leg. Pain seared in Jacob's leg, alerting him to the injury. He cried out as he quickly dragged himself out of range and behind his original cover.

"Shit, shit, shit," he swore to himself as he inspected the leg wound. Blood oozed freely and the pain felt considerable. Nonetheless, he knew that he needed to stay focused on Kuril and staying alive.

"Garrus, get Shepard!" the human shouted to his alien comrade.

"Don't even think about it!" Kuril's voice boomed as he fired a round from his newly reloaded weapon. Garrus dropped back to take cover behind one of the stairways that would lead up to the warden's position. Two more warning shots struck near his position, letting him know that the Blue Sun officer had him pinned down.

"He's got me pinned!" Garrus reported to his partner.

"God damn it!" Jacob swore to himself. "Shepard! Get up!" The soldier didn't reply. Jacob could only assume that he had completely lost consciousness. What had happened? He hadn't taken any shots that the Cerberus soldier had seen. In fact, ever since the shooting had started, Shepard had seemed to be losing strength quickly. Something was very wrong with the man. It was unfortunate that they had to discover this in the middle of a battle. Now Jacob had sustained an injury. Garrus was pinned down. Their commanding officer had passed out for unknown reasons. Things looked bleak.

"Jack!"

The young woman ground to a halt and cast a glance over her shoulder. Her vicious features curled into a sneer as she saw a single man standing down the hall behind her. He hadn't been there when she had run through mere moments before. Perhaps he'd been hiding. He'd regret sneaking up on her. He was only wearing a basic gray hardsuit and carried some sort of energy based melee woman. A small firearm rest on his belt, indicating that he could have opened fire on her already if he had chosen to do so. He hadn't. He wanted her for something. Everyone wanted her for something. The son of a bitch wouldn't get a damn thing. With a nearly feral growl, Jack raised the stolen heavy pistol that she had pulled off one of the guards that she had killed.

Revan examined the woman called Jack with an amused look. She definitely wasn't what he had expected. She stood only at about five feet and four inches with a deceptively slight build. All she wore above the waist was a simple harness around her breasts, though the number of tattoos spread across her upper body almost formed a delicate shirt of skin. In its own strange way, Revan found a certain kind of beauty in her markings, though he doubted that most would. It seemed strange that such an exotic creature would have such a lengthy and colorful criminal history but then again, nobody had expected him to fall to the dark side either.

The Dark Lord closed down his lightsaber and clipped it back it his belt. "I'd rather not get into a firefight with you," he told her honestly as he put both hands into the air where she could see them.

"I bet you wouldn't," she snarled at him. "You wouldn't last more than five seconds."

"It's possible," he conceded. "Though unlikely." Revan smiled politely at her. It was the same unnerving smile that he had used on Miranda aboard the Normandy. That simple curvature of his lips always had a profound effect on people. It even seemed to unnerve someone as hardened as Jack. Maybe she didn't have anything special to offer him in a fight. Still, he'd come this far. There was no reason to leave without his prize.

Jack pulled the trigger of her gun. Three rounds fired off before she released it and rocketed towards Revan. The Dark Lord ducked with speed granted to him only through his use of the Force itself. The rounds passed over him and burnt markings into the corridor's metal frame. With a small grunt, he reached out and used his telekinetic abilities to wrench the gun from her. It landed on the ground several feet from either of them. Jack went for it but Revan quickly moved to intercept. He delivered a swift kick to her stomach, causing her to stumble backward into the wall. Before she could react, he was on her. The Sith Lord assaulted her with a series of Echani attacks with which she could barely keep up. Adrenaline rushed through her, allowing the murderous woman to match him in terms of speed. She deflected all of his strikes until finally, frustration gave way to an outburst.

Jack reached into her mind and took control of her entire central nervous system. A thick blue aura of dark energy began to formulate around her as she continued to battle her assailant. Once she had enough control, which only took a moment, she unleashed a furious warp field. Revan was thrown backwards and slammed into the wall, denting it upon impact. Jack didn't squander her advantage. Gathering up another warp field, she lifted him into the air and proceeded to slam him back down into the ground. Attempting to repeat the process, she threw her arm up into the air again. Revan felt himself come up off of the ground but he knew what to do. Gathering up the little Force energy that he could quickly, he hurled it at her. The soft blow caused her to stumble backwards, destabilizing her mass effect field and dropping Revan down to the floor. He hopped up and returned her assault with one of his own.

Revan punched the woman clear in the jaw. The sheer force of the blow pushed her backwards but she didn't lose focus. Before he could retract his arm, Jack grabbed onto his wrist, pivoted her foot, and used his own weight to throw him over her shoulder. Revan slammed down onto the ground and rolled a few feet away. This gave the convicted serial killer and opening. With a loud grunt, she quickly gathered as much dark energy as she could muster and hurled it at him with all the force of her mind and body. Revan looked up just in time for it to collide with him face first.

Jack's cerulean warp field ripped down the hallway, prying up the floor plating and crushing the walls. Revan flew through the very center of it. The pressure around his body magnified exponentially. Were it not for his ability to shield himself through the Force, the mass effect field would have crushed him utterly and completely. When it finally dropped him, the blast continued down the hall even further. It hit the end of the corridor and kept on going, ripping the steel frame apart and bursting into the next room.

A little shaken by the experience, the Dark Lord slowly pulled himself to his feet. Jack's eyes went wide as he did. Involuntarily, she took a step backwards. Revan chuckled as he pulled himself up and rolled his neck, cracking it as he did. "Well that was impressive," he said earnestly. "You've answered my question. Let's get the hell off this ship."

"What?" she stuttered. "I'm not going anywhere with you?"

"This station is offline. How long do you think it is before life support gives out? You need a way off of this hole."

"I'm not done ripping you apart yet," she sneered as she took a menacing step towards him to compensate for her previous moment of weakness.

"If you've got something bigger than that last attack, by all means, kill me," he said as he put his arms out to the sides, leaving himself completely open. "If not, I suggest you come with me."

"Why did you come here for me?"

"It wasn't my decision. The people I'm with came here to recruit you. The people who run this place stabbed them in the back. I'm just finishing the job while they tie up some loose ends."

"Recruit me for what?"

"I'll let the commander fill you in. For now, let's get back to my ship."

Jack hesitated for a moment. Groaning, she knew that he was right. She wouldn't last long without a way off this ship. If things went south, she could always assume control of the vessel and break off. It had worked in the past. If this bastard was going to use her, she was going to use him.

"Fine. Let's get the fuck out of here," she snorted. "Lead the way."

Revan started back the way that he came with Jack close behind him. He activated the comm system that Miranda had given him earlier and opened a channel to her.

"Revan to Miranda, can you hear me?"

After a burst of static, a clear human voice came through. "This is Miranda. Go ahead, Revan."

"I've found Jack," he replied. "I'll bring her back to the Normandy. Have you found Shepard and the others?"

"I've been following you," she admitted to him. "But I've locked onto their bio-signs. I'll head to them now."

"Good," Revan said simply. "Over and out."

"Good," she heard Revan say from the comm bud in her ear. "Over and out."

Miranda brought her wrist up so that she could see it and activated her omni-tool. The holographic interface brought up a schematic of the space station and showed where her allies were in relation to her current position. She disengaged the device and started down the corridors towards them. By now, most of the convicts, guards, and security mechs that she came across were already dead, though she did have to put down one knife wielding psychopath named Billy near the warden's position.

When Miranda finally reached the generator room where Kuril had cornered himself, she saw the state of things instantly. Jacob had been injured and was taking cover behind one of the six pylons in the room. Garrus had taken cover beneath a staircase. Shepard appeared to be unconscious behind a second pylon. And then Kuril had sealed himself behind a barrier.

"Jacob!" she shouted as she ran into the room.

"Get Shepard!" he ordered, taking in her sudden presence quickly. The injured soldier stumbled out of his cover zone and opened fire on the warden with his pistol. As he shot, he limped over to Garrus's position and moved to safety.

Miranda was able to quickly dive between pylons, avoiding Kuril's shots and returning fire in short contained bursts. With speed most humans couldn't achieve, the genetically engineered woman grabbed her commander and pulled him from his cover position towards the others.

Knowing that the human woman made an easy target, Garrus dove from his position and moved to stand between her and the warden. While he didn't fancy the idea of sustaining another crippling and deforming injury as he had on Omega, his shields and armor provided better protection than her thin jumpsuit. The Turian fired several more shots at the Blue Sun in an attempt to distract him. As Miranda dragged the downed former Spectre, the former C-sec agent took two shots aimed at her. His shields took most of the brunt but he had a feeling that there would be two painful bruises in the morning.

His risky selfless act was exactly what Miranda needed to pull Shepard safely away from the pylon and behind the safe cover of the stairs. Once everyone was clear, Jacob activated his detonation device. All six of the bombs in the room detonated, causing a large explosion throughout the room. The three conscious teammates all heard the sound of Kuril's barrier going down and the nervous shocked cry of the startled warden.

"Open fire!" Miranda ordered.

All three simultaneously did so. Miranda's SMG, Jacob's pistol, and Garrus's sniper rifle all tore through the commander's armor and ripped into his flesh. His death cry rattled to a sputter and finally ceased altogether. When the smoke from the explosion had cleared away enough to be sure that their target had indeed fallen, Miranda turned her attention to her two comrades.

"What happened?" she demanded of Jacob.

"The commander wasn't doing too well in the fight. Passed out when things got tense. No injuries though."

"Damn it," the Cerberus operative swore as she pushed a lock of hair out of her eyes and continued to examine him. "Alright, Garrus, can you carry him?" The Turian nodded. "Good. Jacob and I will cover you but I don't think too many people are still alive here. Let's get him back to the Normandy.

"Right," Garrus confirmed as he hoisted the unconscious soldier up and over his shoulder.

With that, they started back towards the Normandy.