A/N: The talk with Hackett should provide a hint on how I plan to address the Crucible/Catalyst solution. It's... kind of embarrassingly simple, really. But I figure, sometimes trying to overcomplicate these things can actually be detrimental.
Also, happy Thanksgiving to all who celebrate that particular holiday. :) I'd celebrate it too if it meant getting a day off work, alas...
Chapter 83 - Martyrs In Making
"So, it's not actually a mission of rescuing scientists," Garrus groans, peering through the scope of his sniper rifle, hoping for another curious Cerberus trooper to poke his head from behind the cover. "It's a mission of rescuing scientists, their spouses, small children, grandparents and assortment of small and useless animals of little nutritional value."
"They're called pets," Vega shrugs, staring across the rooftops, towards the disabled AA guns that they must activate in order to allow the shuttles filled with scientists and their families to escape. "I wouldn't recommend on eating them, Scars."
"I don't think anyone had fish with them," Javik remarks, looking a little glum as he speaks.
"I doubt that," Garrus replies, feeling a shiver run through him from the intense cold. "Spirits, I hate all this snow and ice. Shepard probably knew there would be snow here before she sent me on this mission, didn't she? Damn, sometimes I think that woman is a completely and utterly merciless sadist."
"You don't have much experience with human women, do you, Scars?" Vega chuckles. "They're all merciless and sadistic towards males, it's just in their nature. They make up for it by being drop dead gorgeous, at least. Like this Brynn chick. Don't usually go for the scientist types, but this one I'd hit."
"Humans of both genders seem exceptionally disagreeable and irritating," Javik remarks coolly.
"Now I'm starting to wonder what Prothean women were like," James says thoughtfully. "Probably not exactly enjoyable company, judging by your sour disposition."
"They would have held nothing but deep contempt for you, human," Javik snarls back at Vega.
"For a scientist, she certainly took a long time figuring out that no, Cerberus would probably not have a turian and a Prothean in their ranks, before she even agreed to talk to us," Garrus mutters darkly.
"Hey, we got to kill a dozen more Cerberus goons just to prove ourselves," James grins. "At least it was enjoyable. Gave me plenty of opportunities for a little showboating."
"By that you refer to almost getting killed by a frag grenade, human?" Javik rolls his eyes, all four of them.
"Alright, I think that's enough banter, people," Garrus speaks up, getting tired of the bickering. Combined with the freezing cold, it has all made him one extremely pissed off turian. "I think they've wizened up and dug in. About time, after I sniped like four of them. We'll just have to smoke them out the old fashioned way. Still got grenades, James?"
"You bet!" James grins in anticipation.
"Right," Garrus nods. "Let's show these Cerberus fools the error of their ways. Vega, treat them to some of those grenades. We might even provide covering fire for you."
"How very comforting," James grunts, vaulting over the creates providing them with cover and dashing towards the entrenched positions of Cerberus, keeping in a half-crouch. Two of the troopers react immediately, opening fire at Lieutenant Vega, but exposing themselves by doing so. Garrus immediately picks a target through the scope of his Widow, and the Cerberus trooper collapses behind the cover, new ventilation hole through his helmet. Javik targets the other with his biotics, lifting the helpless victim above the makeshift barricades, then slicing the Cerberus drone with the green beams shooting from his particle rifle.
James does not hesitate, throwing a cluster of frag grenades behind the well defended Cerberus fortifications, and seconds later a shower of body parts erupts from beyond the barricade. They mop up the last pockets of resistance quickly after that, granting swift death to those caught in the grenade explosion, silencing the screams of the dismembered troopers.
Garrus looks at the AA guns, further up on the roof, both towers requiring manual reactivation. His eyes scan the sky worriedly, looking for more Cerberus shuttles arriving, and even if for now everything seems clear, not for a moment does Garrus believe that this peace will last. "Alright, let's get up there and take care of those guns," he says, nodding at James to climb the ladder and reach the guns.
Vega gets up swiftly, but as Javik starts to climb, Garrus hears James calling out his name. The turian quickly looks up... and receives a shower of disgustingly damp snow right in his face, heaps of it falling inside his armor, making him shudder from the unpleasantly cold and wet sensation. "Argh, Vega!" he growls angrily, his mood quickly becoming downright murderous. "You're a dead man!"
"Now, now, Scars, let's not be hasty," James chuckles, though he does sound just a little bit worried, wondering whether he has finally overstepped the line. "Lola would not be happy about something terrible happening to me, si?"
"I'm sorely tempted to find out," Garrus snarls, starting to climb up the ladder. "Sick of all these frozen Noveria lookalikes, sick of all this snow and cold and... ugh, let's just toss those scientists in the shuttles and be off this rock..."
"So... we actually managed to get most of your people out of there alive?" Garrus asks, looking at a very relieved Dr. Brynn Cole, as the last shuttle piloted by one of the scientists takes off. "That's... impressive, considering the amount of forces Cerberus poured into this operation." He takes one last look outside the shuttle window to stare at the landing pad of the facility, Cerberus troopers swarming it like ants.
"The Illusive Man will be furious at the failure to capture a bunch of helpless scientists," James chuckles, sounding greatly pleased. "Whoever was in charge of this operation failed so badly, they probably should not return to Cerberus, they'd just be lined up against the wall and executed."
"I cannot believe the Illusive Man would send so many after us. That just proves his level of determination," Dr. Cole shakes her head. "Where do you plan to take us, Mr. Vakarian?" she asks then.
"An Alliance cruiser is on its way to pick you up," Garrus replies. "I understand that despite having some concerns, Admiral Hackett is willing to offer you a chance to contribute to the Alliance war effort by working against Cerberus and the Reapers. He hopes that you will accept this opportunity."
"Of course," Brynn nods quickly. "My people should be safe in the Alliance custody." Then her brow furrows slightly. "But you mentioned some concerns? I suppose it is understandable considering our previous employer."
"And even more so because you have been handling Collector and Reaper tech, so there is a great risk of indoctrination," Garrus speaks bluntly. "Expect to face some restrictions until the Alliance feel they can be certain of your loyalty."
"I can vouch for my people, I do not believe any of them are indoctrinated," Brynn replies, a little defensively.
"You would never be able to tell, this cycle appear to lack any method to detect them, until they reveal themselves," Javik adds grimly. "Even you could be indoctrinated without even realizing it."
"And Cerberus have been indoctrinating their own people for a while now," James nods.
"Indoctrinating our own? But tech like that is unheard of..." Brynn starts to speak, but then catches herself. "Now wait... all the research we did on the Collector tech, working on what assuredly were shards of a larger project... we were never told the whole picture, but now putting all the pieces of the puzzle together... mine and Horace's research on the Reaper-Collector communications... yes, it all paints a very disturbing picture."
"I'm sure Admiral Hackett will be interested in every bit of information you can share, Dr. Cole," Garrus says. "It might be of great help in dealing with Cerberus. And your experience working with the Collector tech might come in handy with a certain project that the Alliance is working on."
"Turian, it might not be safe to reveal everything," Javik turns towards Garrus, speaking warningly.
"If Hackett wants their help, they would have be told anyway," Garrus shrugs. "The Alliance are constructing a weapon of massive proportions, one that their scientists believe could wipe out the Reapers. Your aid would be welcome."
Brynn's eyes light up with fire immediately, she seems literally electrified by her scientific curiosity and opportunity to contribute to something so important. "Yes, yes, of course we will help! Working on something like that will be like a dream come true for many of us! Most of us truly believed that our work at Cerberus was in the best interests of humanity on the whole... as soon as doubts arose about the intended goals of our research, we immediately started to plan our escape."
Javik snorts at those words. "In my cycle, that was the most common excuse used by trait-" but then he gets interrupted by the butt of James' assault rifle, striking him hard in the shoulder.
"Uh, sorry about that," Vega gives him the most disarming, apologetic smile. "Was trying to settle in more comfortably and the rifle slipped. Accidentally."
"Well, despite what you may think of us, I will always remember what you did for me and my people on this day," Brynn takes Garrus' hand and squeezes it gratefully, her deep brown eyes shining with gratitude as she looks at the turian. "With heroes like you on our side... there is no reason why we should not believe we can end this war..."
After the Normandy has picked them up from the Mesana System, Shepard wants nothing else but to steal a few hours of nap in her quarters, but as always there are a lot of important issues demanding her immediate attention. Tevos, Anderson and Hackett are all waiting for her to speak with them in the comm room, but Morgan is in no hurry to get there, first helping Liara take Rila and Falere to the XO office. This has actually been Liara's idea to hide the two young Ardat-Yakshi in the sanctity of her quarters, knowing that they would be too naive in the ways of the galaxy to know anything about the Shadow Broker.
Liara stays behind to help Rila and Falere settle into their temporary housing, while Shepard first heads to meet Garrus in the War Room, listening to his colorful summary about the mission on Gellix. "I swear I had no idea the place looks like a cloned Noveria!" she exclaims, feeling a little apologetic after her turian friend has expressed his unhappiness for the umpteenth time.
Still, she is pleased to hear that the mission has been an almost miraculous success. Considering the amount of troops Cerberus had deployed, to escape with most of the scientists alive is an unexpected but welcome surprise, and excellent news for their Crucible plans. As Garrus tells her about the experiments the scientists have been performing, she feels both encouraged about the aid they can provide for the Alliance, but also alarmed about the indoctrination threats, making a mental note to warn Hackett once more to take extreme care with the ex-Cerberus scientists.
She releases Garrus once he has relayed all the relevant details, finally heading to the comm room to first speak with a slightly impatient Tevos, congratulating Morgan on the successful mission, looking relieved after hearing Shepard's lies that all the Ardat-Yakshi as well as the Reaper monstrosities lay dead under the ruins of the monastery. Morgan feels very pleased when the grateful looking Councilor tells her that she is sending one of their most decorated commando squads under command of Captain Coreen Lemaes to Admiral Hackett to use them as he sees fit.
Next, it is Admiral Anderson's turn. "David, this is a surprise," she says. "Didn't expect you to check in so soon after I tore into you about Kai Leng. I read his dossier and I feel I should apologize to you. Though he is still a clown for running around with a sword, I should not underestimate him."
"You should not. And your apology is accepted, Shepard. With such weight of responsibility on your shoulders, you can be forgiven for many worse things," Anderson smiles at her. "I should be thanking you instead, Commander. The news of the turian-krogan alliance have really boosted the spirits and rallied the resistance here on Earth. We're looking to use this momentum to strike back at the Reapers."
"Are you sure that is advisable?" Morgan suddenly feels very concerned. "Help is on its way, David, I would much prefer if you would just focus on survival until we get there..."
"I would agree with you, Shepard, but we feel that no longer is an option," Anderson shakes his head. "There is something big happening in London. Our networks in the UK say that the Reapers have arrived in huge numbers. So far we can only make guesses about their intentions, but I have a bad feeling about this."
"Don't commit too many resources until you know what you're dealing with," Shepard says, even as she realizes that her warnings are completely useless and unnecessary, she is not saying anything that Anderson wouldn't have thought of himself.
"We'll be careful, Commander," Anderson smiles, realizing that she simply is worried for their people back on Earth. "You just keep doing the good work out there, and soon enough we'll be fighting side by side to retake Earth, I know it."
"I pray you are right, David," Shepard nods, managing a nervous smile in reply as the connection gets terminated. She stands still for a long while, gathering herself, trying to sort out the jumbled mess of scattered thoughts floating through her head before she accepts the call from Hackett. "Admiral," she says simply, saluting when she sees Hackett's image appearing before her.
"I understand that a large team of Cerberus scientists have switched sides and are willing to work on the Crucible, Commander?" Hackett speaks, looking impressed. "Excellent job, snatching them from under Cerberus' nose, Shepard."
"They are very experienced in working with Reaper and Collector tech, sir," Shepard says. "However, that also implies elevated indoctrination hazard. Have them watched day and night, Admiral. Considering what is at stake, we will have to sacrifice some of their personal freedoms, and if they are truly committed to helping us, they will agree."
"Security will be tightened even more, Shepard, you can be sure of it," Hackett tells her, nodding in agreement. "I just received their dossiers. Those are some of the brightest minds amongst humanity. Especially snagging Dr. Cole from Cerberus is a real coup. Having her on our team could be a huge win for us. I expect a swift progress in decoding the last of the Crucible blueprints."
"Sounds good to me." And that will mean one less thing for Liara to do and worry about, she adds mentally.
"There is something about the Crucible that I think you deserve to know, Shepard," Hackett then says, a dark shadow suddenly falling over his face.
"Why do I have a feeling that I won't like what you're about to tell me?" Morgan asks, not feeling encouraged by Hackett's expression.
"As our scientists continue to study the blueprints, their understanding of this weapon's capabilities grows," Hackett starts to explain. "They believe that there are several ways to... configure the Crucible, to use layman's terms. Different ways to focus the dark energy that will be discharged by the Prothean weapon. Of course, we cannot be certain that it will actually do what it is believed to do, but at least the Protheans believed that it will."
"Protheans have a decent track record with these things, sir," Shepard says. "If they believed this weapon can wipe out the Reapers, then I believe so as well."
"So far our scientists are certain that they can configure the Crucible to either destroy or... control the Reapers," Hackett says simply, waiting for Morgan to process his statement.
"Control... the Reapers?" Shepard blinks, her eyes widening in shock. "How is such a thing even possible? That is... well, I guess we don't actually know how it is done, we just know that the Protheans believed it would do so," Hackett nods at that, simply waiting for her to stop rambling. "But... but, sir, nobody should have access to that kind of power! To control the Reapers... unfathomable, but whoever would seize this power would rule the galaxy!"
"Yes, tempting as it may sound, it also feels too much like playing with fire. I agree with you, Shepard, which is exactly why I am leaning towards ordering the scientists to set up the Crucible to the other known configuration. One that would destroy the Reapers once and for all."
"That is all we need, sir!" Shepard breaks into a broad, relieved smile. "Well, I suppose we still need the damn Catalyst, but once we have it, we'll be all set... this is good news, Admiral!"
"I had not finished, Shepard," Hackett interrupts her. "There is... a problem with this plan. The scientists have currently been unable to find a way to ensure that the Crucible survives this kind of energy discharge. Unless our research teams manage to find a way to avoid this, current projection is that anyone in the radius of up to two kilometers from the Crucible would be instantly vaporized."
"That's... less good," Shepard says, uncomfortably. "Especially for the one activating it." She stops suddenly, staring at Hackett. "Uh... you're not volunteering me, are you, Admiral?"
"There is no way we can predict how this will play out, Shepard," Hackett shakes his head. "I simply want you to be aware of the consequences, and I wanted to hear your opinion on how to configure the Crucible. Our scientists will continue to look for ways to improve the designs and also explore other configuration options."
"Don't have them waste time with that, sir," Shepard says impulsively. "We have what we need, the option to wipe out the Reapers, we don't need anything else. If it takes a sacrifice, then a sacrifice will be made, sir. We can ensure the safety of the galaxy for the generations to come. There can be no price too high to pay for that."
And somehow I can just see this decision coming down to me, she thinks bitterly. I always end up in these situations that call for foolish martyrs. But I will do what must be done, pay any price that must be paid. Ah, Liara, my sweetest, it was wonderful to dream.
"I hoped to hear something like that from you, Commander. You continue to be an inspiration for us all, Shepard," Hackett nods at her approvingly. "Perhaps our scientists will render this discussion moot, now that we have a genius like Dr. Cole on our side. Until then, stay strong, Commander." And with that Hackett's image is gone, leaving Morgan standing still in the comm room, frozen with sudden and inescapable conviction that even should they prevail in this war, she will not be there to enjoy the victory.