A/N: Hmm, can't think of a clever author's note for this chapter. So I'll just thank everyone reading and reviewing for their continued support and let's just get on with the show! Oh and by the way, folks: the more I write, the more this tale is starting to look like a 100+ parter. Yikes. We might be in for the long haul here.
Chapter 31 - Dreaming Dead Gods
"I think I finally have something for you, Shepard," The Illusive Man informs her, raising a glass of bourbon and taking a swig, before lighting up yet another cigarette. "We have discovered the resting place of a thirty-seven million year old derelict Reaper. You should be able to obtain it's IFF protocols."
"Finally! About time..." Shepard breathes a huge sigh of relief. "I imagine Joker already has the coordinates, and we are already on our way as we speak."
Tim nods. "I sent a science team to explore the Reaper before giving you the news."
"Wow, talk about redefining the term 'redshirt'," Morgan shakes her head. "Have you heard from them since?"
"We've lost all contact since two days ago," The Illusive Man says, predictably. "Thread with caution, Shepard. We are too close to fail now."
"Caution is my standard operating procedure," Shepard replies with a cocky smile. "Or was it a metric fuckton of heavy weapons fire? Either way, it's one of those two." The Illusive Man gives her a dubious stare. "Ah, cheer up Tim, we'll be fine!" she winks, terminating the connection.
On the way to the Thorne System, within Hawking Eta cluster, Shepard spends the time mentally assembling her team. Damn it, I have no idea what to expect onboard of a derelict Reaper. Certainly, indoctrination is a great risk, but hopefully we can get in and out fast. Maybe I should not bring my mentally unstable trigger-happy crazies with me, just in case.
In the end she chooses a small team of Garrus, Tali, Mordin and Miranda to accompany her. The sight of the several kilometers long shape of the Reaper, orbiting the brown dwarf of Mnemosyne, spreading below them, is breathtakingly impressive and at the same time chillingly frightening. EDI claims that the Reaper is inert, save for small power signatures in localized areas and the active mass effect fields, preventing it from crashing onto the planet below. Considering their capabilities, I would think that even small power signatures could present terrible danger, Morgan quietly admits to herself, feeling strangely subdued from the mere presence of the terror inducing monstrosity.
Normandy is getting shaken about rather roughly as they close in on the Reaper. "Winds gusting up to 500kph," Joker reports. "This might get a little... unpleasant."
"Detecting another ship alongside the Reaper," EDI informs them. "Ladar identification suggests a geth cruiser."
"Those guys are drawn towards Reapers like bees to honey," Morgan mutters, not looking forward to more and more flashlight heads pouring at them in massive swarms. "I guess they have met up with our redshirt scientists."
As the Normandy pulls close to the Reaper for docking, the massive winds completely die down, subdued by the Reaper's active mass effect fields. "Eye of the hurricane, huh?" Joker remarks as Shepard leads her strike team towards the docking bay.
It is a disconcerting feeling to step onto the docking bay floor inside a Reaper, even if the insides of it do appear like a cruiser, albeit a massive one. But these labyrinthine passages are actually the bowels of an almost godlike, super-advanced synthetic-organic being, and that knowledge is pressing down on them like a heavy veil, making even breathing feel like a heavy chore.
They haven't even walked ten yards inside past the docking bay, when they come across a large blood smear on the otherwise sterile white walls ahead of them. On the floor lies a badly shattered body of one of the scientists, looking as if it has been violently mauled and then torn apart, the kind of attack usually not practiced by the geth.
"These scientists never stood a chance," Miranda speaks quietly as they proceed further, into a wider hall with a small side-chamber in which the science team appear to have set up a base of operations of sorts. They have left behind all their equipment, some of it still unpacked. There are video logs documenting their progress and Shepard takes some time to quickly go through them, discovering what she has been fearing. It has not taken very long for the crew to start feeling the effects of the indoctrination.
"It does not seem as if they had any idea whatsoever what to expect," Morgan says, looking at Miranda. "They were not told about the indoctrination and the effects it causes."
"Well, of course," Garrus shrugs. "If they had known, they would probably have chosen to defect rather than come here."
"I have to agree with Garrus," Miranda concedes. "It is understandable that The Illusive Man did not want to throw us at the unknown right away, so he sent in someone else for the prep work, even if he knew he was sending them to their deaths."
"He wasn't so concerned with throwing us to the unknown when he lured us into that Collector trap," Tali remarks bitterly.
"Already discussed this, deemed irrelevant," Mordin says dismissively. "Completing mission parameters, only concern. Fate of science team tragic, regrettable. Also, necessary."
"Well, nothing we can do about it now. Let's just move on," Morgan says, leading the team onwards, through the insides of the Reaper, hoping for some sign that would indicate where to harvest the IFF that they so badly need. "'With any luck-" she starts to speak but the sentence is cut off by a loud crash, and turning around they see that the way back is blocked.
"You deserved that for daring to mention the word 'luck'," Garrus sighs. "We only ever get one kind of luck and it's all bad."
"Normandy to shore party! Normandy to shore party!" Shepard hears Joker's voice on the comms, quickly acknowledging she has heard the message. "The Reaper put up kinetic barriers," her helmsman explains. "No way through from this side anymore!"
"Maybe we can shut them off... any idea where to look for them?" Morgan asks.
"Likely powered by the mass effect core," EDI explains. "The same that supports the Reaper's mass effect fields."
"So when we deactivate it, the Reaper loses its altitude and crashes on the planet below," Miranda says, not looking particularly pleased. "Shepard, I thought we had not yet gotten to the part of this being a suicide mission."
Morgan can't stop herself from smiling, despite their situation. "I'm sure Joker can get us out of there in time. Right, Joker?"
"Yeah... uh, no pressure," Joker grumbles, still sounding proud from the praise. "Good hunting, ma'am."
Further on, there are more bodies, savagely beaten, ripped to shreds and left there to rot. The stench is unbearable, and they quickly move past the unfortunate victims. "Miranda, any idea how many scientists were on the team?"
"Close to fifty, together with the support staff," she replies. "So far, we've only found four corpses."
"I think I just found the others for you," Tali says grimly, pointing her pistol towards the further end of the corridor, a group of husks appearing there and starting to charge in their direction.
"Husks. It just had to be husks," Garrus mutters, readying his sniper rifle. "Work of those geth, you suppose?"
"Creation of husks most assuredly Reaper technology," Mordin offers his explanation. "Must consider possibility of Reapers using geth to employ it."
"Well, whatever it is... hey! What the..." Garrus exclaims, having been ready to already take the shot, but then seeing his target suddenly collapse dead mid run. "Shepard, we have another sniper here! Stole my kill!"
"Wasn't me," Shepard says. "Maybe a survivor of the science team?"
"Doubtful. They didn't have anyone as proficient with sniper rifles on the team," Miranda shakes her head, pitch black locks flailing around.
"Well, they're shooting husks, so points for them," Tali says as they all move forward as a group, weapons drawn and ready for another ambush.
There is a sort of a central chamber ahead of them, and more husks, abominations and the more powerful and annoying scions to deal with. Once they have been finished off, the source of their origins presents itself at the back of this central chamber. "Just like Eden Prime..." Shepard whispers, watching the disfigured human bodies impaled on the sharp spikes, the Dragon's Teeth.
"Fascinating technology. Would like to study in depth," Mordin speaks up, then catching Shepard's mild glare sent in his direction. "Purely scientific interest, of course. Use of humans reprehensible, amoral!"
"That's better, Mordin," Shepard chuckles, as they move onwards again, through the bowels of the dreaming dead god, as one of the indoctrinated scientists had called the Reaper in the video logs.
They pass through more hallways, listening to cheerful Cerberus announcements about having gone five days without a workplace death, then entering wider halls with various crates and heaps of collected junk. The husks have been preparing for them, setting up another ambush as soon as they enter, surrounding them on all sides, two of them lunging for Shepard, but before she can react, they both fall dead with their skulls shattered, yet again the work of the mysterious sniper.
As Shepard looks in the direction from which the shots have been fired, she is stunned to see a very strange looking geth, his chest seems to have been constructed from a part of old N7 armor. Even stranger is to hear the geth sniper uttering words 'Shepard-Commander', before turning around and disappearing from view.
"What the hell was that?" Miranda wonders, looking disturbed. "Since when do geth stop to speak with organics?"
"They... shouldn't," Tali says hesitantly. "This is very wrong, Shepard."
"Let's try not to kill it, unless we absolutely must," Morgan says. "It's been helping us and I would like to find out why. We can always disable it later if it proves to be a threat, Tali," she adds, sensing the quarian's disapproval.
The resistance becomes almost too overwhelming as they press on, it is as if the Reaper itself senses their progress and throws all its husk reinforcements into the fight to slow them down. "This is a lot more than they could have created from the science team," Shepard groans, clutching at a bleeding gash in her left arm, just above the elbow, patiently waiting for the medi-gel to take effect.
"They must have alternative means to produce them," Miranda muses, looking for something to wipe the bits of husk remains out of her face, in the end having to settle for using her gloves. "Or perhaps the geth cruiser brought some."
"I have doubts about that, Miranda. I find it strange that except for that one geth we haven't seen any others," Garrus remarks, standing over Tali's hunched form, the quarian already swimming in antibiotics after scion's heavy shockwave has ruptured her suit in several places.
"Yeah, I was kind of expecting more geth than bloody sodding husks," Morgan curses as they proceed, quietly hoping that they have already weathered the worst of the enemy forces.
After bypassing a set of sealed doors, they come across a Cerberus data terminal, and Mordin immediately starts to work on it, processing data that the science team managed to recover. "Reaper IFF secured," he states. "Also, mass effect core through this passage," the salarian points ahead. "Reasonably certain."
"What's this, good news?" Morgan blinks. "Don't make me want to kiss you, Mordin."
"Well, we still need to destroy that mass effect core and then get off the Reaper," Garrus remarks, eager to play the role of a spoiler. "We're not exactly safe, yet. Besides, Tali is already a little delirious from the drugs."
"I'm... perfectly f-fine..." Tali manages, a little unsteady on her feet. "Garrus, where are we? I said no to cheap hanar restaurants on the f-first date..."
"Err..." Garrus blinks, putting a palm to his face.
"...I'm not even going to comment on that," Morgan chuckles, once she has recovered from the surprise. "You might want to watch out for her, though. She doesn't seem to be in the best fighting shape." Garrus just nods at that, still trying to hide his embarrassment.
Shortly after, they storm the mass effect core chamber, coming up to the sight of a half dozen husks beating on the friendly geth unit that had helped them earlier. They quickly put a stop to all that nonsense, now standing before the vulnerable mass effect core and a helpless intact geth.
"You know, Shepard... there's an outstanding and very appealing bounty out for delivering an intact geth to Cerberus," Miranda says matter-of-factly.
For completely harmless experiments to benefit the entire humanity, I imagine. Gods, they're like Daro'Xen. Give them one geth, and they'll probably build the largest synthetic army in the galaxy. And then have it turn on the humanity...
"I'm not sure what we should do with it, but... it did help us," Shepard muses, having difficulty deciding. "Normally, I would ask Tali for advice, but..."
"I missed the last episode of 'The Fleet and the Flotilla'," Tali cries. Then her voice becomes a hysterical scream. "I'm so scared! Hold me, Garrus!"
"Seriously, that's starting to creep me out," Shepard blinks, then deciding to reach out to Joker over the comms. "Do you have the track on our location, Joker?" she asks. "Can you bring the Normandy closer? We're at the core."
"Will do," Joker replies quickly. "Start moving to the portside airlock. Back out and not far to your left."
"Garrus, take Tali there. Miranda, Mordin, grab the geth," Shepard quickly orders.
"Commander?" Garrus asks, concerned.
"I'll take care of the core and join you. Don't worry, I have no intention of going down with the ship. Especially a ship that isn't even mine," she replies, readying the grenade launcher. "Now, go!"
The others are already at the door when she opens fire. The first grenade flies a little over the core, causing little damage and she lowers the weapon, narrowing the angle. The next few grenades explode right upon reaching the core, causing a massive detonation that throws Morgan off her feet and tumbling down, and only in the last moment she manages to reach out with her arm and hold on to the railing, preventing herself from a lethal fall into the dark pits below.
She pulls herself up, unsteady, starting to run towards the exit, as the derelict Reaper is rocking with explosions as its mass effect fields shut down one by one. There, she can already see the airlock, Mordin and Miranda throwing the geth into the Normandy before making the jump themselves. A few more steps now, a mad dash, her right foot looking for support for the take-off, finding it in the last moment before the Reaper suddenly starts losing its altitude.
She flies through the air, towards Normandy's airlock, a moment that seems to last for eternity. Last time I went flying in open space didn't end up so well for me, a panicked thought shoots through her brain. Then, she suddenly feels a pair of strong hands grabbing her and pulling her inside the Normandy, to safety. Pfew... made it. We made it...