Chapter Eight
Orbit of Noveria, Pax cluster, Horse Head Nebula
Normandy SR-2 War Room, 0902h
Neither Alliance private batted an eyelid this time as Shepard escorted Miranda through the scanner. After they both passed inspection, his hand moved to the small of her back, and they joined Liara, James, and Ash. "Thank you in advance, EDI, for the graphical representations that will be used in this briefing," Shepard said and lifted his head to the ceiling speaker.
"These images may not entirely be accurate, Shepard. The Illusive Man may have changed the layout of Cronos Station since I officially broke the Normandy's connection from the servers," the AI warned him.
"That's unlikely. He devoted much of Cerberus' resources to building an army of loyal subjects as well as of course, the study of the remnants of the Collector base," Miranda disagreed and folded her hands behind her back. "The Illusive Man is cautious indeed, which is why Cronos Station is mobile. But he's also overconfident, which we can exploit to our advantage. I highly suggest that both parties bring breather masks and/or helmets, whichever you prefer, due to some security measures that Cerberus has in place on the station."
"Our first objective will be to secure the main hangar here," Shepard announced and highlighted a point on the rotating image. "That team will include Liara, EDI, and myself, otherwise known as alpha team. The other team will be composed of Ash, James, and Miranda-let's call them omega team. Omega team will secure the western hangar, and then your mission will be to accumulate as much Cerberus research and technology as you possibly can. Alpha team will be running Shepard's famous cleaning service and mopping up the floor with as many Cerberus troops as possible on the way to get that VI."
"The Prothean VI will likely be within the central lab or the Illusive Man's office," EDI told them all.
"It's time for some major payback. Let's do this, Commander," James enthused.
The holo images from the interior of Cronos Station transmogrified into the exterior, along with several Alliance cruisers in orbit. "Fifth fleet, we are a go. I don't want to see one goddamned Cerberus ship intact. Shoot to kill; we're not here to salvage their fleet. Decimate everything in sight!" Admiral Hackett's voice came in over the ship's P.A. system. "Normandy, you may begin your infiltration when ready."
"Yes, sir. We only have to make our last FTL jump to the Anadius system. Our ETA is approximately ten minutes. Gear up and get down to the shuttle, people," Shepard ordered the teams.
After he suited up, Shepard made his way up to the bridge. "How close can we get, Joker?"
"We've got a foothold, thanks to the Fifth Fleet, but there's a very narrow window of time for the shuttle to get to both hangar bays," the pilot stated.
"Can you do it?"
"Hey, I got us through Ilos' thin atmosphere at a twenty degree descent angle and didn't burn us to a crisp so that you could drop into that jungle practically on top of Saren with the Mako. This is a cinch compared to that."
"Excellent. You ready to go, EDI?" he inquired to the synthetic body sitting beside Joker.
"Yes. I was adjusting some of the software related to this body's optics," she pointed to herself. "It is now possible for me to be able to detect heat signatures, even through obstructions such as a wall."
"You mean that you've got infrared sensors in your eyes?"
"Hang on a second. You're taking her with you?" Joker's head snapped towards Shepard as EDI arose from her chair. "You can't go down there! What if Cerberus has got some kind of virus or kill switch or…-"
"You mustn't worry about this platform, Jeff. Remember, I still exist within the Normandy," EDI responded serenely. "And to answer your previous question, Shepard, yes, I do. I will also be able to detect bodies even through the smoke grenades that centurions utilize." She left, and Shepard tapped Joker on the arm.
"Yeah, well, it's not quite the same thing."
"I'm sorry, Joker. I know you don't want her down there, but, she wanted to go."
"Thanks for rubbing that in, by the way," Joker's face wrinkled. "And Shepard…take care of her."
"You as well. We'll be back in a jiffy." He gave him a wink.
Cronos Station Main Hangar, 0929h
Shepard ordered Lt. Cortez to go inside of the hangar but not to land; EDI, Liara, and he jumped onto the platform. "All right, Steve, make your second drop and get the hell outta there," he commanded the pilot.
"Aye aye, sir," Cortez returned over the radio.
As he suspected, the hangar was already overrun with Cerberus troops. "Get down!" he yelled to his other team mates, who had just taken in their surroundings.
"Shepard, those barriers are prohibiting our advance. I can override the controls via that panel on the wall over there if I am able to get to them," EDI informed him and pointed to a position that was just ahead of them on the left.
"We'll lay down some suppressing fire and cover you, then," Shepard agreed. "Are you all set, Liara?" he glanced in her direction and made one last check upon his breather helmet.
"I lost my home because of the Illusive Man's interference. He will pay for every single life that was taken by a Reaper," she vowed with a determined look.
"Okay, I'll take that as a yes." Shepard took the safety off of his assault rifle and sprinted forward with her.
Both hid behind some empty storage containers to avoid the influx of bullets that came right at them. "Ah, I hate cowering underneath these things for so long," he mumbled and picked off two assault troopers that were pressing forward towards them.
"Fighting from a distance isn't your style, I know, Shepard. Your resilience is astounding, but even you aren't impervious to bullets," Liara returned and nailed three soldiers with a singularity.
"Hah, you think so?" Together, they riddled the trio with several bullets. "How're you doing, EDI?"
The android turned her head briefly away from her work. "I am encountering some resistance to my hacking attempts, but there is no need to worry. I will require perhaps one more minute."
"And in the meantime, we'll just keep running the vacuum," Shepard nodded. He threw out a field that encompassed two more troopers and suspended them into mid-air; Liara followed through beautifully with a warp field that permanently disabled them. "Liara, watch my back," he ordered as he switched to his shotgun.
"Don't I always?"
He didn't respond and charged his body into a centurion like a mad bull. Shepard let a buckshot loose with an angry howl as he finished off his opponent. Liara blindly aimed her submachine gun to shoot around the corner from which she hid and killed the last soldier. "Where are you, Shepard?"
"It's a bad time to ask that question," he laughed and confidently strolled back to her. "But I'll let it slide just this once."
"But what…where did everyone go?"
EDI walked away from the console and joined them. "The next wave of troops has likely pulled back momentarily to regroup. There will be much more resistance as we go through the hangar bay."
"Looks like you're gonna get the opportunity to get some more revenge, Liara," Shepard commented as they cautiously proceeded into the hangar.
As if on cue, more Cerberus assault troops and centurions appeared. An Atlas mech launched a rocket right at Shepard's head, making him even more thankful that Miranda had suggested that the two teams bring helmets or breather masks. He'd likely have received a scar like Garrus' after that hit. "EDI, care to take out that fucker's shields for me?" he panted and tucked himself underneath an upside down crate for shelter.
"Doing it now," the AI responded, overloaded the mech's shields, and emptied an entire clip from her pistol into it.
Shepard tossed out a pull field to trap one centurion's unshielded and helpless body; Liara sent out another warp field. "I'll flay you alive!" she yelled.
When both attacks surged through his body, it nearly sounded as if a biotic bomb had gone off. The Alliance marine smashed his fist into the chin of an assault trooper who had wandered too closely to his position, and Liara's submachine gun shredded several rounds through the rest of his body. Shepard gradually got closer and fired his assault rifle at the Atlas' cockpit. The glass finally gave and cracked; with one more shot, the pilot lifelessly slumped to one side.
"You are exposed, Shepard!" EDI warned him, activated her omni-tool, and immolated one very unlucky assault trooper. He screamed in pain but continued to hobble forward with his last ounces of strength. Shepard was about to finish him off until EDI's pistol crippled the soldier by the leg, and down to the ground he went.
"Sniper, at ten o'clock!" Shepard exclaimed and took cover.
EDI came through once again and destroyed the nemesis' shields; Liara blasted her with a singularity field, and Shepard took the sniper out with three incendiary rounds. "Get back, Liara, there's another one at two o'clock!"
Unfortunately, as Liara nearly rolled away from the sniper's line of sight, a bullet landed upon her leg. She moaned in pain and crawled towards some shelter. Shepard waited until the nemesis moved from one place of cover to another and took his shots there. He got two in before he realized that his clip was now empty and grunted agitatedly with himself as he loaded another heat sink into his weapon. EDI had been patiently waiting for Shepard to hit the sniper. However, just a moment after Shepard started to reload his rifle, she finished the job. "The hangar is clear of hostiles for the moment, Commander," she told him.
He rushed over to Liara and spread an application of medi-gel onto her leg. "I'm glad that it's relatively superficial," she said with a sigh.
"So am I," he whispered. "Do you need a minute to rest?"
"I think I should be okay. Thank the goddess for those new greaves that you purchased the last time we were on the Citadel, or else my answer would likely be quite different." As her breathing calmed down, a synthetic voice came over the P.A. system.
"Initiating Achilles' protocol. Countdown will proceed to action in approximately-"
"Shepard, Cerberus intends to vent the hangar! We must find a console nearby to stop it," EDI informed him.
"Where's the closest one?" he inquired as his head snapped towards her.
"The upper level, I believe."
"Liara, can you climb?" Shepard's eyes left EDI's and went to the Asari's.
"I'll manage," she stated and picked herself up from the ground.
They hurried to the closest ladder, scaled it, and Shepard led the party over to a console. "Here, EDI, will this work?"
The android hurriedly typed an address into the computer, moved some of the windows around with her fingers, selected some tasks with one hand, and touched the holo screen twice with the other. "Achilles protocol has been disabled," she announced.
"Whew. This could have been a lot shorter of a mission," Shepard joked. "Team Omega, how're you doing over there? Heads up, you might have to deal with an Achilles protocol-Miranda should know what it means."
"Been there, done that, Commander," Ash responded. "Only it was something different over here. I don't exactly remember what it was called, but they tried to gas us and turn off the artificial gravity. Lawson shut down the procedure before one boot even came off the ground."
"Yeah, I guess it was a good idea to bring you along, Legs," Vega remarked. "Thanks for saving our asses."
"James, if you value your life, I'd stop calling her that…immediately," Shepard interjected. "It's easy to tell when Ash gets angry; Miranda…not so much."
"Well, we've swept out the bastards here and are headed for a hidden passageway, Shepard. Are you all right?" Miranda asked.
"Yep-no cuts or burns on me yet. I can't say the same for Liara, but she'll be okay," Shepard returned as he gave a sidelong glance upon his team mate. She gave him a taciturn nod as she checked her gun's clip.
"Right. Talk to you soon."
"Take care, Commander. Omega team out," Ash finished their conversation.
"I'm surprised that James picked that part of Miranda's body to give a nickname rather than another term I've heard some human males use," Liara muttered.
"And would the Asari have this same part of anatomy?" Shepard gave her an impish grin.
"Shepard, Cerberus is aware that the Achilles procedure has been disabled. More troops are likely headed for us," EDI told him.
"Well, we all knew that this mission wasn't going to be a piece of cake. Defensive positions, ladies," Shepard commanded them as they rounded another corner.
The asari and synthetic flanked themselves just behind him. Centurions threw out some smoke grenades before Shepard could get a read on their positions. "EDI, now would be a good time to test out those new eyes you got."
"They are actually optical sensors, Shepard. Activating them now." Underneath her amber visor, EDI's optics flashed a golden hue momentarily as she assessed the centurions' whereabouts on the battlefield. "Both have chosen to hide themselves together at two o'clock. Addendum, two guardians are now attempting to close in on our position at twelve."
Liara did not need an order from Shepard; she merely lifted her hand gracefully.
"Enjoy the ride, boys," she said with a smile.
A beautiful wave of singularity ensnared both of them; their shields plummeted to the floor. Both EDI and Shepard littered their bodies with bullets. "Anything else?" Shepard inquired after loading another clip into his rifle.
"One nemesis has hidden herself atop those crates to our left. I cannot be positive regarding her position, so I will activate my decoy now to draw out her fire and perhaps the centurions' as well."
The holographic image sneaked past Shepard into the open; the enemies began to fire upon it. While they were distracted, the squad moved up slowly as the smoke began to dissipate. Shepard switched to his shotgun, pumped it, and signaled Liara that he needed help. She froze one of the centurions in place; he helplessly watched as Shepard plowed his armored body with a biotic charge into his fellow ally. The nemesis attempted to shoot him but was hampered by the decoy's shock field as the body disappeared into thin air. Shortly after that, EDI accurately put two rounds into her head. She and Liara drew closer towards the centurion that was about to come out of stasis. "Behind you, Shepard!" Liara yelled.
He pivoted upon the balls of his feet, rammed himself against the other centurion, and sent him with a giant thud onto the ground with a biotic punch. "All troops in this area have been nullified, Commander, " EDI announced.
"Good," he remarked with a sigh and calmed himself. "Is there a way for you to open the hangar so that we can have access to the central labs?"
They made their way into the next room above the hangar, and EDI examined the terminal there. "No. However, I can access their fighter controls from here and launch one through," she replied as she continued to work. "I have successfully raised one up to the hangar bay and rotated the platform . All we need to do is to release the docking clamps."
"A giant battering ram that'll break down the front door," he said with a grin and chuckled. "Or rather, it'll make us one. I like it."
"I had assimilated that doing so would meet with your approval, Shepard. The release is down there." The AI's platform signaled his attention to the hangar bay. "There will probably be even more resistance once the fighter has been freed."
"Naturally so," Liara shook her head. "Although I'm supposedly a quarter krogan, I still don't have the taste for violence or explosions."
The trio journeyed down to the hangar bay. Shepard went first and slid down the ladder. "But your dad certainly noticed your body count. Looked like she was pretty proud of it, too," he snickered. "Aren't you glad that I conned you into speaking with her?"
"Yes," she admitted with a nod. "I never heard from her again after we went to Thessia. She might have gone home to…fight with the others…-" The asari's eyes left his.
"You'd better not be giving up hope, Liara T'soni. And if she didn't make it out, then, well…we'll avenge her spirit in the name of both the Asari and the Krogan."
EDI motioned towards Shepard to come closer to a nearby console. "This controls the docking clamps; you may release it when ready, Shepard," she informed him.
"All right. Be ready to duck and run for cover, ladies." He tapped the command twice on the terminal and exchanged his shotgun for his assault rifle.
This next round of troops was even more difficult than all three of their previous bouts. All sorts of centurions, assault troopers, and snipers came out of the woodwork. Two Atlas mechs joined the fight as well, and after Shepard spotted an unmanned one in a corner, he sprinted towards it. There was no chance in hell that they'd all survive this fight without some heavy firepower on their side.
A few bullets nailed him in the back as he climbed up into the cockpit, but his thick armor plating protected him from anything more than cosmetic damage. I'm glad that I sprayed some of that ablative coating onto myself this morning. It definitely just saved my life.
After he closed the Atlas' canopy, he brought its missiles online and fired one at the mech just across the hangar that was right in front of him. Its pilot returned fire, but Shepard was more accurate. Seconds later, the Atlas exploded into a million pieces, and he guided the hulking vehicle forward towards the other mech, which had just noticed that he was there. The second Atlas began to fire upon him and ignored the fact that EDI had just disabled its shields.
Shepard aimed the Atlas' clumsy gun for the other's cockpit and shattered the glass with no trouble. He primed the missile for another shot but had no need once he saw the pilot's body floating in yet another field of singularity. Shortly thereafter, the soldier died from both of his teammates' bullets. He fired the missile anyway, just to make sure that no one else could enter it, and assisted the rest of his squad with clearing out the rest of the hangar. "Looks like we're in the clear," Liara stated.
Shepard exited the mech, made a quick assessment of the area, and holstered his weapon after he was satisfied with Liara's opinion. He joined the others and picked up a new gun from a pile of rubble. "Hmm. This looks promising," he muttered as he examined it and set it beside his assault rifle upon his gun rack. "So, what's Cerberus doing now that we've made a new entrance?" he inquired to EDI. "Any more surprises like that Achilles procedure?"
"No. I will guide us through a path that will be free of their countermeasures. I suspect that Ms. Lawson is currently providing the same service to Lt. Commander Williams and Lt. Vega. Cerberus is currently organizing new defense lines. We will encounter their mobile defenses, turrets, the engineers who place them, and more scattered forces." They came to a locked door. "We will be through in one moment." EDI ran her omni-tool over it. "Cerberus has updated its encryption codes, but that will not pose much of a problem for me."
"I'm glad we brought you along, then. If I hadn't…-"
"Cerberus would have vented the hangar. I am pleased to assist."
"And think if Miranda hadn't come with Ashley and James," Liara noted. "They'd be dead, too."
The locked door turned the familiar moss green color to signify that it could be opened, and the party passed through it. Yet another locked door laid before them, and EDI began to crack that one as well. "Shepard, there is a surveillance log over there upon that console. If you are interested, there is pertinent information regarding you upon it."
"What do you mean?"
"It is about Project Lazarus…your re-construction."
Shepard's eyebrows knit together with keen interest, and he pressed a few commands on the holographic interface to operate it. The file opened to show a lone scientist standing in front of a QEC that was linked to the Illusive Man in a laboratory. "It can't be done, sir, and it's not a matter of resources."
"It's always a matter of resources. We are not losing Shepard."
"Sir, there was far too much trauma to the body. Shepard is clinically brain dead and has been deprived of oxygen for far too long. We just can't overcome nature," he argued.
"Operative Lawson disagrees; she is now in charge of Project Lazarus," the Illusive Man calmly responded and took a drag of his cigarette. The video file ended, and the window disappeared.
"I had no idea that it was that bad," Shepard mused. Liara stepped towards him and touched his shoulder.
"I saw what was left of you, and I knew that when we…uh…after I touched you again on Illium that you were real. You truly are a marvel of science, Shepard. What Miranda and her team managed to do…goddess…it never ceased to amaze me."
"I don't remember anything. Maybe they just patched me up…maybe I am some kind of high tech VI or something. There were records on that base that I saw before we had to leave it, but what if they're all lies, too?"
"You don't really think that Miranda would settle for just a Shepard VI, do you?"
Shepard chuckled and glanced at her. After smoothing a hand over his lower back, his grin grew wider as he recalled their interlude that occurred in the engine room. "No, you're right. She definitely wouldn't." Can VIs get scars from sex?
"There appears to be more footage, Shepard," EDI signaled his attention to the terminal. He activated the next file.
"Tissue regeneration is proceeding. Strangely enough, the helmet kept the brain intact," the scientist reported to the Illusive Man on the QEC.
"My helmet? What the hell is he talking about? I found it on Alchera among the original Normandy's wreckage," Shepard remarked.
Neither squad mate could contradict him; both knew that he had kept it in his quarters before the Alliance had confiscated the Normandy.
"Lawson will find a way," the Illusive Man proudly stated.
"Sir, Shepard's an Alliance soldier. As far as he knows, we're a terrorist organization. Who knows what kind of lies the Alliance has been telling him about us?"
"Yes, he's a soldier. He knows that the Reapers are the real threat. He'll work with us regardless of that; you obviously don't know his reputation."
"But the Illusive Man did," Shepard shook his head with disbelief. "He knew that I'll do nearly whatever it takes; they didn't call me the Butcher of Torfan for nothing. And there was this…nagging little shred of doubt in my head." He lifted his hand up beside his temple and pressed some of his fingertips to it. His thumb lay upon his jaw. "It told me not to trust Cerberus or that son of a bitch. But…no one was doing anything to help our people out in the Terminus systems…"
"You did what was necessary, Shepard. The Alliance had officially declared you dead," Liara reminded him. "You're not still angry with me, are you?"
"I'm sorry that I lashed out at you on Illium, Liara," Shepard apologized and turned to look at her. "It was wrong of me to do that."
"And I'm sorry that I was so cold towards you at first when you were reaching out to me." She made eye contact with him. "But let's not dwell upon that now. I think that there's one more file that you have yet to open."
"Yeah, there is." Shepard played the last one.
"Project Lazarus is reporting some neurological activity, sir. They're requesting more funding," the male scientist told the Illusive Man's image. A woman also dressed in a lab uniform approached the QEC.
"Granted. Get me our potential recruits file. From what you're telling me, it seems as though Shepard will be conscious soon. We need a crew for the ship we'll be giving to him for the mission," the Illusive Man ordered.
"If I may ask, sir, why not use our existing forces? They should be more than sufficient for the tasks that Shepard will require," the female scientist asked.
"No, we'll be needing sympathetic faces. I want Shepard as fully invested in Cerberus as we invested in him." The Illusive Man's head turned as he appeared to be studying a list of candidates. "Kelly Chambers will definitely be appropriate. She's very supportive of our doctrine and has played a vital role to the enlistment of many ex-Alliance soldiers or crew. I'll delegate her to the Lazarus cell away from recruitment and give her a raise for her loyal service thus far. Being a psychologist and physically attractive could possibly also allow her to manipulate Shepard however I'd like."
Shepard immediately paused the file and touched his radio earpiece. "Miranda? Are you able to talk?"
"Just let me finish this last bugger off…" she said and let loose one final trail of bullets. "I've got a moment now. What can I do for you?"
"Did you know how the Illusive Man picked out the rest of the Lazarus cell?"
"Well…I knew who Kelly Chambers was. I met her beforehand when she was first recruited to work with Cerberus."
"You didn't answer my question, though."
"What was it? I never heard you properly the first time. We're in the middle of a firefight now." Her submachine gun fired again and successfully hit all of its targets perfectly.
"Did you know how the Illusive Man got the crew aboard the Normandy when it was under Cerberus?"
"No, I had bigger projects to worry about. For two whole years, I was completely embroiled in your reconstruction, if you'll remember."
"I do, but-"
"Sorry, Shepard, I can't talk any longer." She closed the channel, and Shepard scratched at the top of his head. Liara reached around him to play the remainder of the vid file.
"Our engineering team formerly from the Alliance should do nicely," the Illusive Man commented. "Get me Mr. Donnelly, and Ms. Daniels will want to accompany him. We'll want some old friends that Shepard trusts, like Dr. Chakwas. And I like what I'm reading about the Normandy's pilot, Flight Lt. Jeff Moreau. He won't be able to resist an offer from Cerberus to fly again, especially with a complimentary bottle of Thessia '47 red and a substantial signing bonus."
"He populated the Normandy with people you already knew or could easily trust so that you never truly saw Cerberus for what it was," Liara remarked and reclaimed her hand from his shoulder. "He tried to trick you into believing that Cerberus wasn't evil."
"Tried is the right word. I eventually did see through them, and so did Miranda," Shepard bit his lip. "Come on, let's move." They left the room and proceeded down a ladder into the next level