A/N: So yeah, Freedom's Progress... talk about pulling teeth with this chapter. Ugh. I hope it's bearable. Just this bit, then quick run through Omega, and I will finally have a ship full of crazies to spin some banter with. Yayness.
It also occurs to me that today is my birthday. Woot. All of you reading, please accept this virtual slice of cake together with a virtual beverage of your choice. Those reviewing are entitled to an extra slice. :)
Chapter 9 - Taking Charge
A shuttle quickly takes them to Freedom's Progress, a small human colony deep in the Terminus Systems. On the way, there is little else to do than strike up a conversation with Taylor and Lawson, the first by far the more responsive. It turns out that Jacob has a checkered past with the Alliance, having faithfully served for five years before getting fed up with the bureaucratic bullshit and endless red tape.
"When there's a real problem, at least Cerberus gets things done," he says, even if he himself admits having issues with some of the actions Cerberus have taken in the past.
"I only have experience with real problems created by Cerberus," Morgan shrugs her shoulders.
"I know where you're coming from, Shepard," Jacob nods. "But maybe if we manage to stop the abductions of our colonists, people will start looking at us differently," he adds hopefully.
Shepard nods, even if she doesn't truly believe that. One act of heroism does not excuse dozen deeds of monstrosity... though, she admits, it would at least be a start.
Lawson has grown even colder to her after the long discussion Shepard has had with The Illusive Man. Combining that with the fact that it is Morgan in charge of the mission and not Miranda, Shepard believes Lawson is feeling as if she is no longer The Illusive Man's favorite operative.
They discuss Project Lazarus for a bit, and Miranda confesses that she would have done a few things differently from what The Illusive Man ordered, for instance implanting Shepard with some sort of control chip to ensure her loyalty.
"Charming," Morgan scowls. "In that case, I'm rather grateful you did not have full autonomy over the project."
Soon enough they reach the colony, sinking in darkness. The landing pad is deserted and so are the first few buildings around the pad. Inside one of the houses, they can see half-eaten meals still on the table, as if people have simply risen and left during dinner. The entire colony is like a deserted ghost town, not a single soul has remained behind.
Moving forward, however, they encounter resistance in the form of hacked LOKI and Fenris mechs. "Not this again," Shepard curses, putting a heavy slug through the charging doglike Fenris mech, severing all vital circuits with one precise rifle shot. "It's like Wilson coming back from the grave to haunt us. You sure you shot him, Lawson?" Jacob laughs as he launches a wave of biotics at another LOKI mech, but Miranda simply knits her lips even tighter, making Shepard worry that she might split her own head in two.
The next block of buildings holds a surprise that nobody could have expected. They run into a group of quarians, huddled together, reading and comparing their omni-tool data. To an untrained eye the masked quarians all look alike, but not to Shepard. There is one figure who is instantly recognizable, the squad leader of the quarians. She steps forth, her hands almost shaking from shock. "Shepard... is that you?" Tali, it really is her. "But... you were dead? How is this possible?"
The other quarians do not even want to give Shepard time to explain, recognizing both Lawson and Taylor as Cerberus agents. "And you're... with Cerberus now?" Tali asks, now stepping back a little. "No, that can't be you, you would not be working for Cerberus!"
"It's me alright, Tali. The one who got you the data on geth from the Armstrong Nebula. The data that helped you complete your Pilgrimage," Shepard says. Tali immediately nods and relaxes, before shouting to her people to lower their guns. "And I don't work for Cerberus. It seems that they brought me back from the dead, hoping that I would help them investigate the disappearances of human colonies... like this one."
"Perhaps your friend could explain her reasons for being here," Miranda steps in, and Shepard can mentally picture the angry glare Tali is currently sending Lawson's way, before she starts speaking.
From Tali's story, it appears that the quarians have come to collect some youth named Veetor, stuck here on his Pilgrimage. The young quarian is likely to blame for the reprogrammed mechs, panicking, possibly delirious due to damage to his enviro-suit. Shepard suggests that they work together in order to reach Veetor, however everyone but Tali opposes that idea, prompting Shepard to ask if there is a particular reason for them to hate Cerberus so passionately.
It seems there is some very recent history indeed, with Cerberus infiltrating the Migrant Fleet, killing several quarians and attempting to blow up one of their ships. "You just make friends wherever you go, don't you?" Shepard tells Miranda, relishing the opportunity to ruffle Lawson's feathers some more.
Miranda shakes her head curtly. "That's not how I would have explained it," she says. "It was nothing personal."
"A drug addict stabbing you in the back while you're crossing a dark alley and then taking your credit chit for another dose of red sand also thinks it's nothing personal," Shepard says, much to Miranda's annoyance and Tali's amusement.
After some more squabbling, they eventually agree to work together, but the alliance only lasts for a few minutes as the quarians rush ahead blindly, trying to reach Veetor first. They pay for their actions dearly, running into a reprogrammed YMIR mech that makes short work of most of them, and as they are mercilessly torn to shreds by heavy weapons fire their screams can be heard across the whole colony. Shepard and her small crew manage to sneak up on the YMIR mech while it is still busy reducing a pinned down quarian to a wet spot on the ground and they quickly disable its shields and armor, making it explode in a spectacular shower of metal parts.
As Tali sees to injuries of the very few alive quarians, Shepard leads her team to Veetor's hiding place, a small communications bunker at the far side of the colony. The quarian is quite insane from delirium and it is difficult to get any information out of him, but when they finally break through, the discoveries are startling.
Veetor rambles of monsters and swarms that have taken everyone, but he also has evidence to back up his wild claims. He provides pieced together vids that reveal odd looking species, human-sized bipeds who look very insect-like with their four glowing eyes. Their heads are large and bulbous and it seems as if they also have some kind of rudimentary wings on their backs, though at least in the vids not one of them can be seen flying, instead they are busy carrying out containers with trapped humans inside them.
"My god, I think those are the Collectors," Miranda exclaims, recognizing the mysterious attackers. She explains that Collectors rarely show themselves outside their home system. "If they are in league with the Reapers..." she concludes thoughtfully.
Shepard is confused about the motives of these Collectors. "Why are they loading these colonists onto their ship instead of killing them?" she wonders. "What are they really after?"
Veetor rambles on, about seeker swarms, some sort of advanced tech that the Collectors have used to disable the entire colony. He has valuable data on this tech recorded with his omni-tool, and Miranda suggests they grab Veetor and his omni-tool, stuff him into their shuttle and take him to Cerberus facilities for further 'questioning'. At that moment, Tali storms in, having overheard Lawson's suggestion and being none too impressed by it.
Before Tali and Miranda can draw weapons on each other, however, Shepard quickly comes up with a suggestion. "Tali, why don't you come along with Veetor and us?" she asks, hoping for a positive answer. I need at least one friend back. I need someone with me I can rely on. "Then we could both make sure he is treated well."
But to her disappointment, Tali shakes her head. "I'm sorry Shepard, but I have my own mission now, and I cannot abandon it," she says. "And I won't let you take Veetor. Copies of his omni-tool data will have to do."
"Are you sure I can't make you reconsider?" Shepard asks, feeling desperate. "I... really need someone like you."
"I'm sorry, Shepard," Tali sounds a little dejected too. "I wish I could give you a different answer, but I can't. Please... for old time's sake, don't push this."
"Alright, we'll make do with the omni-tool data," Shepard agrees. Miranda looks as if she is about to protest, but says nothing, remembering the chain of command. Morgan leans closer to Tali, aware that the others can still overhear her, but she does not give a damn. "A shame, I could have used someone with me that I can trust... but I understand."
"You'll be fine, Shepard, as long as you remember that you can't believe anything these people tell you," Tali points at Miranda and Jacob. "Also, this time I will make sure to stay in touch," she promises as they shake hands. "May we meet in better times, Commander..."
As Tali leads the delirious Veetor away to their shuttles, Morgan sighs, feeling rather depressed as she gives an annoyed stare to Miranda and Jacob. "Hanging out with you people is just like having garlic breath, nobody wants to come too close," she says angrily. "Geez, it's repelling even my oldest and closest friends."
Later, it is time for mission debrief with Shepard's new 'boss'. "The Illusive Man just seems like such a chore to say every time I want to address you," she speaks, watching as the ever-gallant, ever-smoking elegant gentleman reads over her mission report. "Can I just call you Tim, instead? Or Timmy? No? Okay, Tim it is."
The Illusive Man just ignores her jibes, commending her on a job well done, confirming that the Collectors are behind the abductions. He reveals a little more about the enigmatic species who now and then show up in the Terminus Systems, looking for trade of sapient beings, usually with some kind of unseen genetic mutations and anomalies, then disappearing through the unmapped Omega-4 relay back to wherever they came from.
The sudden interest in humans is something that The Illusive Man cannot explain, though he speculates that if Collectors are really working for the Reapers, then it might be due to the Reapers having developed a sudden interest in humanity, after a certain human had been so instrumental in defeating Sovereign and ruining its plots.
Morgan listens to all this, eventually forced to admit that the threat appears genuine enough. Very well, you slippery bastard. We'll keep dancing until I find out what the Alliance and the Council plan to do about this. The Illusive Man tells her that this mission will require a solid team and provides her with several dossiers on individuals he believes would be of huge assistance. Shepard shakes her head in refusal. "No deal, Tim," she snaps. "I had a team I trust fully. I want them. Make it happen."
The Illusive Man sighs and goes over each and every one of her old team, explaining why they are not available. Garrus has dropped off the grid a few months after the disaster over Alchera. Kaidan is promoted with the Alliance, his file well-classified, meaning he is engaged in something so secret even Tim has not been able to find out about it. Wrex is back on Tuchanka, uniting the krogan clans. He admits that Tali is a possibility, but claims he needs more intel on what it would take to recruit her.
Finally, Shepard braces herself for the news she has been dreading to hear. "Liara T'Soni is working for the Shadow Broker," The Illusive Man says. "She can't be trusted."
Morgan blinks, before a hollow, disbelieving laugh escapes her throat. "You are... so full of shit, Tim," she says. "Liara working for the Shadow Broker? That's insane. She would never do that. Never!"
"My intel is never wrong, Shepard," The Illusive Man says, a little apologetically. "But I will let you discover the truth for yourself, in time. Meanwhile, I recommend you stick with the dossiers I have forwarded to you. I strongly advise to start with recruiting Doctor Mordin Solus on Omega. He is our best bet to develop a countermeasure for the seeker swarms that the Collectors are employing. If we cannot neutralize that, this mission is doomed."
Shepard nods, conceding this particular point, even if her thoughts are still on Liara. If he wanted to lie, he could have come up with something more believable than that, she realizes. Something isn't right here, and I intend to find out what it is.
"And another thing, Shepard," the Illusive Man says, bringing the debrief to a close. "I found a pilot you can trust. I think you're going to like him."
The comm line is closed and Shepard feels someone slowly walking up to her from behind. She swirls around, only to come face to face with the smiling Jeff 'Joker' Moreau. "Hey, Commander," he grins broadly. "Just like old times, huh?"