Past: 15 Years Post War
It had taken Liara all of ten minutes to unravel Vasquez's little 'code', pinpointing the location of rendezvous. Five of those minutes were taken up with fast replaying everything he had said, and isolating anything that might have a double meaning.
In the end, he wasn't even that clever. The six useless planets with pending mining rights were called Ar, Ax12, I-19, and S-238B. Take away the numerical suffixes and that left Ar, Ax, I, S- Araxis.
The planet of Araxis was a gas giant- hardly a suitable rendezvous. However it had two moons, one of which was tiny and surrounded by an unbreathable, corrosive atmosphere. The second one was slightly smaller than Earth itself, had decent gravity and a good atmosphere. There was no indigent life, not even plant-based, but a quick moment of research showed there was an old slaver colony on the lower hemisphere. According to the Alliance, it had been abandoned for years after the slave base had been raided by authorities and shut down.
It was the perfect place for the rendezvous.
After making arrangements with Hackett for Irie and Melara's protection and placing a few quick calls, they were on their way toward the moon on a small, private ship captained by a very dear friend.
Liara looked over as Jack appeared in the doorway eighteen hours later, glancing into the passenger compartment at those gathered. "We're about to land, Blue," she said, then jerked her chin toward Del, who stood near the closed ramp way, her back to them. Near her were the rest of the Alliance N training class- fully hard-suited and armored up- and no fewer than four other biotics. By contrast, Del wore nothing but her uniform…she did not even have a weapon. "First drop, then I'll put down at the rendezvous point to let her off."
"They provided specific coordinates?" Liara asked.
"The moment we were in transmit range of the moon," Jack replied with a nod, folding her arms as she leaned on the wall. Though she bore a few new scars and some new ink, she looked more or less as she always had. Time had not yet put its full ravages upon her, it seemed. "You think they'll really give up Tali?"
"They will," Liara said with soft, but firm, conviction. "The others?"
"As planned."
The asari nodded, then headed over to where Shepard was standing. Her face set, Liara idly fiddled with straightening her uniform a bit as dark eyes studied her intently.
"We are ready," Liara said, feeling the soft bump as the ship landed.
"Understood."
The doors opened, exposing a rocky, dry landscape. The N1s headed off, followed by the biotics. The moment the last boot left the ship, they lifted off again, heading in toward the rendezvous. Liara and Jack were the only two to remain in the compartment with Del.
The second rendezvous was at the edge of the abandoned slaver facility. A flat expanse of land separated the ship from the half collapsed structures, and the wind moaned low as it whipped dust and dirt over the rock. Each side had cover, but Del and Tali would have to cross wide open ground- every inch of which, no doubt, was covered with snipers from either side.
Shepard stood in the shadow of the rocks on their end of the expanse, the wind whipping against her with the faint sting of blowing dust. Stoic, her dark eyes remained fixed on the far end of the valley. Liara and Jack were among the rocks just behind her.
Liara lit her omni-tool, lifting her wrist to her lips as she contacted Orthrus via the comm signal they had provided. "We are in position. We request visual confirmation of Tali'Shideh."
"You shall have your visual of the admiral when we have ours of your trade," a voice replied. "Show us Shepard."
"Very well. Ten seconds."
She nodded at Del, who paused only a few moments before she stepped away from the safety of the rocks and into the open. At the same moment, another distant form appeared outside the slaver base, a smudged shadow.
"Do we have verification?" Liara asked. N1 Ferai replied almost instantly.
"We've got her in our scopes, doing a scan now. That's a confirmation- it is Admiral Shideh."
"Is she all right? Does she look injured?" Liara asked in worry.
"She does not appear to be injured."
"All right," she changed channels. "Are you satisfied?"
"We are."
"Good. Then we exchange on my mark. Three…two…one…mark."
Del and Tali both started forward at the same time, walking out into the open air, lit brilliantly by the low golden light of a sharp, pre-evening sun. The only sound was the low static of the wind and the sound of their footsteps, echoing in the wake of their elongated shadows.
As they neared each other, Tali's luminescent eyes fixed on Del from behind her facemask, and she paused slightly, her voice trembling. "Shepard…"
"Keep moving," Del replied. As they passed each other, their hands reached out a moment, fingers brushing past each other's lightly.
They kept walking. Five steps, then ten, then fifteen- Tali drawing closer to the rocks and Shepard toward the base.
Then a shot rang out, a sharp, high slap that rang back and forth across stone. A hole was punched through the center of Shepard's chest, exploding out her back. She stumbled back a step, a second and then a third shot swiftly following.
The second took her in the forehead, the third in the temple as her head twisted to the right. The fourth caught an arm as she began to fall, the final shot whipping through the thick of her thigh. She fell in a boneless heap…a marionette with its strings cut.
Tali had whirled on the first shot, watching with wide, horrified eyes. As the first strangled cry escaped her, a curtain of shimmering blue fell around her.
Then there was more gunfire, erupting from nearly everywhere. The biotic field pulled Tali backward even as she struggled to rush forward, trying to reach her fallen friend. As arms took hold of her, pulling her into the protection of the rock face, she saw dozens of forms swarming out of seeming nowhere, descending on the slaver base.
"No!" She gasped, sobbing, trying to pull away from the arms restraining her. "No, Shepard…!"
"Tali! Tali, shh! Shepard is fine!"
It was Liara. Tali looked at her with miserable bewilderment, stumbling a bit as the asari urged her toward the waiting ship. Jack was there, too, prodding them along and holding a biotic bubble overhead.
"Wh-what?"
"That was not Shepard!" Liara said breathlessly as they reached the ramp. The ship closed on their heels and Jack ran past up toward the helm, shouting orders.
Liara sat Tali down on a bench, looking her over with a concerned wrinkle to her brow. Tali was shaking, but seemed physically unharmed.
"Wasn't…that wasn't…?"
Liara took the sides of her helmet lightly, looking at her intently. "That was not Shepard. It was a synthetic chassis driven with a Shepard VI…compliments of EDI and some very quick alteration and disguise work."
Relief thundered through the quarian, making her feel weak a moment. "Oh, Keelah…thank the stars. You…you knew they would try to kill her? I thought they wanted her alive-?"
"No, but we did know that as soon as she got close enough, scans would reveal she was not the real Del Shepard. Apparently, they did not take that revelation kindly. I am sorry that it frightened you, but we had little choice. We had to get you safe."
"D-Deefa and Micah-"
"Your husband and daughter are fine. Micah was knocked out but received no permanent injury. Deefa was completely unharmed."
Tali let out another breath of relief. "They wouldn't tell me…not a word. They hardly spoke to me. I didn't know if my family was even alive-"
"Did they hurt you?"
"N-No. I was just…locked in a room. They took this suit from my house as well, made sure I put it on before they locked me up. They provided food, but never said a word to me. I overheard a few distant conversations but nothing really telling. The name Orthrus-"
"That is what this group calls themselves. They attempted to take Irie at her recital. When that failed, they took you instead."
"Just because they wanted Shepard?"
"We are not entirely sure what their motivation is at this point, but it does seem Shepard is at the crux of it. We proposed the hostage exchange and EDI provided the chassis upon our request. It took little doing to make her present exactly as Shepard…so long as she did not talk too much or vary beyond a simple program. With any luck, perhaps the Ns or the rachni will be able to capture an agent here alive, and we can get some answers."
Ten minutes later, Jack reappeared in the compartment. "Fight's over. We took the ruins. She ok?"
"She's just fine," Tali replied dryly. "It is good to see you too, Jack."
"Course it is," Jack replied with a snort, but couldn't entirely hide the faint smile she had.
"Did we get any prisoners? Do we have any of them alive?" Liara asked.
"They put up a hell of a fight, but according to Bax they've got one. He's hurt bad, but he's able to talk. Thought you might want to go press him."
"Bax…where is Shepard?" Tali asked, confused. Her assumption- after learning that it hadn't been the real Shepard out on that field- was that Del was leading the charge to take the base.
"Shepard is not here," Liara said. "I will explain more of that later. For now, I want to see what we can learn from our prisoner."
"I'm coming too," Tali said firmly, getting to her feet. Liara automatically caught her elbow.
"Are you sure?"
"I'm fine, Liara, really…just a bit shaken up. These bosh'tets broke into my home. I'd like some answers as well."
Two of the N1s- Chen and Singleton- were waiting as they stepped off the ship again. As they escorted them toward the base, they could see clusters of rachni. A large one broke off from the main body and headed their way. Liara smiled, reaching out a hand and taking an offered appendage.
"Riot, it is good to see you again," she said to the now fully grown (and rather massive) Rachni queen. Though she had come into her maturity, Riot still bore the ragged scars of the final battle for Earth on her carapace, the worst of them around where her missing leg should have been.
IT IS GOOD TO SEE MY FRIEND AGAIN AS WELL, Riot replied with cheerful swirls of song and color.
"Thank you for your help. We appreciate your prompt response."
FOR YOU AND FOR SHEPARD, WE WILL ALWAYS COME.
Riot herself could not fit within the ruined base, but several of her much smaller drone soldiers had done so, and were waiting guard around a center area. The bodies of mercs and snipers lay here and there, and someone had dragged the destroyed 'Shepard' synthetic inside. It was propped against the edge of the doorway. Blank eyes stared past them, its ruined head a clog of black and brown lubrication fluid and tortured biocircuitry. Tali shuddered a little as they passed it, but Liara didn't so much as give it a glance.
The wounded soldier- a human man- was sitting on the floor, back against a wall. Nearly a dozen weapons were aimed at him, but Tali didn't think he'd be trying anything soon. His color was pale gray, sheened with sweat. He did an admirable job of not showing how much pain he was in, but the tautness at his lips and the corners of his eyes betrayed him.
From what she could see, he'd been shot at least twice. His hand was over one of the holes in the chest of his hard-suit. The other wound appeared to have taken out his knee.
As Liara approached, he looked up at her, lips spreading into a grimace…or a smile. "Dr. T'Soni…it's nice to see you again."
She looked startled. "You…you are Dr. Padrik Vehn!"
"He's a colleague of yours?" Singleton asked, surprised.
"Was, years ago. I did some work with him as I was establishing my customer base on Ilium. He is a renowned mathematician. Like Dr. Kurat, he was part of the Anadius research group."
"Well, he's gonna tell us how a numbers geek got it into his head to be a merc," Jack said, crouching near to him. "Or else we're going to reintroduce him to the concept of pain."
Reaching out, she pushed on his wounded leg, and he hissed a growl, baring his teeth in agony before she let up.
"Why did you and Dr. Kurat join Orthrus?" Liara asked. "What is your interest in Del Shepard? What are your plans?"
"We're under orders," he said with a sick, languid smile.
"Orders from whom?"
He laughed faintly, replying in an almost whispered sing-song. "Iovino must face her crimes."
Liara went still, eyes narrowing almost imperceptibly. "How do you know the name Iovino?"
He laughed again, but she could see his eyes fluttering to half-mast. He was bleeding badly. "You're so clever, Dr. T'Soni. He's clever too, you know. Much more clever than I'd expect from one of them-"
"One of whom?"
"-but then, one thing I have learned about life…it is full of endless wonder and surprise. It was a surprise that you brought a fake puppet Shepard to this rendezvous…but not as big of one as you might think. Cause and effect, Liara. There is more than one way to snag your prey, and even now she's bolting right for our rabbit hole."
"Guy is a fucking loon," Jack said in irritation.
"There is another trap, isn't there," Liara said quietly. "That is what you mean. This was only one…if Del came and kept her part of the bargain, then you had her. If not, then it did not matter if you surrendered Tali because…you still had her."
"Down, down the rabbit hole, Liara," he said, eyes almost closed. "The vorpal blade goes snicker-snack, and the Red Queen gets her final pound of flesh."
As he died his grin only grew the wider, the last flutter of his lashes punctuating the words riding on his dying breath.
"Off goes her head…"
The Anadius Research Station was a rather large mobile observation platform that was visible the moment they left the relay. It was still a two hour FTL flight from that relay to what had once been the Anadius red giant, and a thirty minute FTL flight before you started entering the equatorial ergosphere, but quarantines prevented anyone from venturing any closer to it than the station.
Dr. Sanjay Hewitt smiled as Sundby stepped through the airlock, flanked by the two N1 marines and what appeared to be a synthetic. He bobbed his head happily, holding his hand out for the blonde to take.
"Dr. Sundby, we are honored to have you here but…a bit puzzled as to your presence, and that of the Alliance. Are we in some danger?"
She smiled. "We have no reason to suspect that, Dr. Hewitt. However there has been some unpleasantness on Earth that may be related to Dr. Kurat, and possibly to his research. When was the last time you spoke to him?"
He blinked. "Jevenar? Oh, let me think. It has been about…well, nearly two months now, I think it was. Not since he and Padrik went to follow up on the unusual accretion signatures we've been reading."
"Padrik? That would be Padrik Vehn, the mathematician on the team?"
"Yes, that's him."
"Do you mind if we see Dr. Kurat's office?" she asked.
"No, of course not. Please, this way."
As they followed him down a corridor, Sundby looked around carefully. "You said that they were following up on some unusual accretion signatures?"
"Indeed. Anadius, as you probably know, is an absolutely unique phenomenon. Not only is it an opportunity to research a newly born black hole- something that has never really been done in the whole of recorded galactic history- its creation itself is unprecedented. I'm…assuming you're familiar with the research?"
Sundby nodded, but the smaller of the two marines silently shadowing them shook her head. "Not all of us are eggheads," she said. Hewitt blinked at her in surprise, but it was EDI who spoke.
"The Anadius black hole was created when Colonel Shepard- then a captain- set off an ancient artifact that was designed to hold and disperse dark energy. Unknown to her, the device was charged with enormous amounts of energy at the time that she released it in the element zero core of the Cronos station. The resultant explosion and feedback loop of dark energy collapsed the Anadius red giant, creating a black hole."
"Yes, exactly. It, in fact, demonstrates that a large enough application of dark energy in a focused area can cause unimaginable damage. A release of two, perhaps three times the size of the one that created this black hole could- theoretically- punch a hole through the very fabric of space-time and unravel the molecular essence of the universe. Again...theoretically. Unfortunately or…fortunately, perhaps…the device is irretrievable."
"I would think it would have been destroyed by the mass of the black hole," Sundby said, surprised.
"Yes, and that remains a possibility, however some of our findings indicate that the device may still be functioning within the ergosphere of the phenomenon, and may be responsible for the odd signatures emanating from the accretion disc."
"That was what Kurat and Vehn were working on?" Sundby asked.
"Yes. Ah, here is the office."
He let them into one of the labs, gesturing at the dormant equipment. "All their research should be recorded on the mainframe."
"Is it a networked connection?" Sundby asked, eyeing him.
"Yes, of course. Full reports are sent automatically to the Alliance on all our findings…which is why I find it surprising that you- and they- are here."
"Did he have private records? Journals, a personal hub…something that would be stand alone, not networked in?"
"I would be against regulations, and he had no such items as far as I'm aware but…if he did, they would most likely be in his living quarters."
"Ok. EDI, if you would please look through these databases, see what you can find? Dr. Hewitt, if you could show me where his living quarters are?"
"Yes, right this way."
They left EDI and the marines in the main lab, Hewitt leading Sundby to Kurat's personal rooms. They were neatly maintained, though it was clear their occupant had not been in them for some time. However, personal effects and other items told that the occupant had, in fact, intended to return after a short while.
She looked around, spotting a personal console and heading over. A quick examination showed it, too, was tied into the mainframe and therefore likely not to be what she was looking for. As she poked around, her back to Hewitt, he shut the door, watching her with a careful wariness and wiping a thin sheen of sweat off his upper lip.
"What did they find about the signatures?" she asked, not looking over at him as she sought for anything that might even theoretically be a private data stash. "Why depart the station to follow up?"
"Well, as I said, the signatures were highly unique…like nothing we've ever seen before. Dr. Kurat became excited one afternoon when he discovered the same pattern of signature radiating weakly from a desolate world somewhere out on the edge. He was convinced that a device similar to the one that caused this black hole might be buried on that world. He and Dr. Vehn went to investigate."
"Another device?" she asked, momentarily glancing at him.
"Or one like it," he said with a helpless shrug. "The artifact that triggered Anadius was a thin, metallic belt…or chain. No longer than two meters and less than an inch in diameter. Even were it highly radiative it is unlikely an object of a similar size and mass would emit a strong enough signature on its own to be read from light years away. The only reason we can read the signature from the first device is because the radiation is being magnified by its continuing, stable, dark energy dispersion. That is why we are convinced it is still intact just outside the event horizon, rather than lost in the mass of the hole itself."
"So if it isn't a similar device per se, it was his belief that it might at least be similar technology?"
She had continued to look around, and spotting the edge of some kind of footlocker beneath the neatly made bed, she went down on a knee and fished for it, sliding it out.
"Yes, precisely. From what we know, the Anadius device is contemporary with or even predates the Citadel and relay system. Finding any other technology of a like kind would be an astronomical discovery."
"Yet, only two of you went to investigate?" she asked, lifting the locker and putting it on the bed as she fiddled with the controls. "Without informing the Alliance, setting up a full recognizance team? Seems foolhardy to me-"
She broke off as Dr. Hewitt's arms swung around her from behind, pinning hers to her side. At almost the same moment, the door slid open, a pair of station security entering with their weapons raised.
"I am sorry, Dr. Sundby," Hewitt hissed in her ear, " but I cannot allow you to interfere-"
He broke off as the back of her head cracked with brutal force into his nose. Pain exploded in his skull accompanying a brilliant flash of white light, and he fell backward, losing his hold on her. Half-blind for a few seconds, he turned and scrambled along the ground, staring wide-eyed over his ruined nose.
The moment he'd hit the ground the two security grunts had moved in. One swung at the blonde only to miss as she easily ducked under his blow, caught his arm, and wrenched. It broke with an audible crack and she drove his head into the wall in almost the same motion. Spinning, her foot caught the second man in the face. He crashed back and she advanced, grabbing him before he could recover and palming his head against the ground. He went limp.
"I…I d-don't-" Hewitt stammered, staring at her in horror as she walked toward him.
"Next time, you might ask for actual Alliance marines as interior security instead of hired civvie grunts," she said. Crouching in front of him she reached out and gripped his broken nose between two of her knuckles. He bellowed, shoving back against the wall, but there was nowhere for him to go. She twisted his nose back the other way and he roared again, flailing at her hand.
"Stop! Stop, please! I beg of you!" His voice was a thick, desperate wheeze.
She stopped the twisting but still held on, glaring into his face. "Are you going to answer my questions?"
"Those m-men…you just…"
"Yes, I did just. And you will be next if you don't cooperate."
"Anything! I'll tell you anything you want to know!"
"It wasn't just Vehn and Kurat that went to investigate this odd signature on that distant world, was it? You went as well. Who else?"
"J-just us three-"
She twisted and he wailed. "Just us three! I swear!"
Tears were streaming down his reddened face, snot mingled with blood flowing out of his nose whenever the vice grip she held loosened even slightly.
"What did you find there?"
"I don't r-remember-" A twist and a shriek. "I don't remember! IsweartoGodIdon'tremember!"
"Tell me what you do remember!"
"There was a cave, an ancient mine I th-th-think. When we got to the entrance it was like it…it c-called to us-"
"What?"
"I d-d-don't know. It's…it's like a bad dream. I…th-there were others there, people. S-Some vorcha, I think and…b-b-batarians-"
"Batarians? You're sure?"
"Y-yes, I-I-I think so. B-batarians. And the R-R-Red Queen…" He moaned. "Whenever I try to think about it, I just h-hear the R-R-Red Queen…"
"The Red Queen? What does this 'Red Queen' want? What does she tell you?"
"O-o-off with her head," he said weakly, mouth hanging open as he tried to breathe. "Off with her head…Iovino…"
Her blue eyes narrowed and she released his nose. He gasped, the sound thick and wet, and cradled his face.
"What world was this mine on? What world were you getting the odd signature from?"
He moaned into his hands. When he didn't answer, she snatched out and grabbed his ear, giving it as hard a twist as she'd done his nose.
"What world?"
"Rakhana!" he said with a shriek, snorting desperately. "Rakhana! The Queen is on Rakhana!"