DISCLAIMER – I do not own Mass Effect franchise, the story, or any of its characters. All rights go to Bioware.
AUTHOR'S NOTE:
This is me giving excuses about delaying this chapter for one whole month: basically, I have no idea how it came to that.
Actually, scratch that – yes, I do know exactly why it came to the delay. This chapter required a big re-write. Originally, I was about to release it a week after the previous chapter, but when I got to edit and polish it, I noticed there were several giant issues that I didn't want my story to have. Basically, it was one big giant flaw that would have made the whole story seem more bland and unsatisfactory to me, and it would have affected several other chapters. That needed to be rectified. And I didn't want to post this chapter until I had reworked the rest of the oncoming storyline details to a sufficient degree. I know you'd have liked a speedy post, but 'quality beats speed' had always been my credo. That's one of the reasons why this chapter is extra long.
On another note…
200k words! Wow. What a milestone! It has always been my desire to leave my mark by writing a big story on this site, and this number… it kinda feels good, you know? It feels even better to know that you guys like it. The reviews, the favorites, the follows – it makes me really feel good to see them in such number. It gives me the motivation to create more, to keep up with it. So, thanks, again guys! I hope you remain as generous with your reviews and support in the future.
Chapter posted on 21.5.2017.
Main Tags: Action, Sci-fi, Adventure, Friendship building, Love.
Additional Tags: Slowly turning AU, Technology-heavy, Geopolitical themes (to an extent), Economic themes (there are some), Intrigue (a bit o' that, too)…
Rated M – for mature and adult content.
Enjoy…
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Chapter 24 – Into The Beast's Lair
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22 hours after Binthu, in orbit above Nepheron
...
Marcus and Jaina stood together on the command platform in the CIC in full combat gear, observing the tactical display.
"What's the verdict?" Jaina demanded from the crewman.
"There's definite presence down there, ma'am," the sensors operator replied. "Looks like a larger-than-average Type-3 outpost with average-to-low levels of apparent activity. The movements we've seen so far are comparable to the standard Alliance base procedures, but it definitely isn't an Alliance compound."
"Makes sense," she said as she manipulated the tactical overlay. She looked to Marcus over her shoulder. "If Cerberus worked with the Alliance in the past, it stands to assume they'd have assimilated many of their procedures."
"No indications of mobilization or scrambling to flee…" Marcus noticed.
"That confirms this base isn't the part of the same cell as the one we've been chasing," Jaina said. "It wasn't among the data Kahoku's men found on Armistan Banes. They don't know they're compromised yet!"
"What about those few orbital satellites we've detected on our approach?" he demanded from the crewman.
"None of their scanners are turned toward the planet, sir," the operator reported. "They're only scanning the outer space."
He nodded. "They're relying on detecting any incoming ships rather than watching their own surroundings," he commented.
"And it would have worked for any normal ship other than Normandy," Jaina agreed. "We have shot at this!"
He nodded, his grim, icy gaze riveted to the display. "Stealth insertion M.O. We breech the atmo at about 1000 clicks to remove us from their visual, then approach at low flight to 50 clicks and launch the assault vehicles."
She zoomed out to the planet view, panning around the area until she found the acceptable surface features.
"This descent approach is the best," she said, highlighting the trajectory and surface terrain. "The high rises give us cover almost all the way. We eject the vehicles here," she tapped the point, highlighting it. "The final couple of clicks are mostly an open ground with only a little cover, but with how much the Makos are improved, I say we can strike them with impunity in a direct, storming assault."
He nodded. "We approach fast," he said motioning with his fingers. "We go in low; we go in supersonic. With the afterburners, the few clicks can be covered in fifteen seconds."
"And we come head-on to these two AA guns, taking them out in a strafing run," she said. "Then, the Normandy swoops in, drops the Triton mechs, and continues to provide air superiority."
"But we'll need to jam everything that goes in or out of the planet the moment the first round is fired," he added.
"Good for start," she gave her assent, then zoomed in to the main building. "Once the outside threat has been neutralized, the Normandy sweeps the central hub with the pulsar scan, giving us the internal layout." She tapped the entrance. "We proceed through the main entrance and fight through the inner defenses until the main hub is cleared."
"And, once we're done, the cleanup of the remainder of the base will be a cakewalk," he finished.
"Right," she said.
"Right," he said.
For a few moments, they didn't move or utter a word, merely observing the aerial view and the layout of the enemy base.
She shook her head. "We're doing this the whole wrong."
"Yeah," he agreed.
"We're treating this as a 'Clear the Nest' scenario, but that's not it, is it?" she said, her tone troubled. "This is 'Secure the Hostages' situation."
He nodded. "The moment the first round is fired, they're gonna destroy all intel they possess in that base, and we're screwed."
"We need an infiltration," she finished, giving him a somber look.
Marcus turned his steel blue gaze back to the base display, a grim frown cresting his forehead as he spent a few moments scrutinizing the view before him.
He tapped the intercom.
"This is Shepard," his voice echoed throughout the ship. "All ground forces to the briefing room – now."
With a military-like efficiency that was slowly becoming their second nature, all six of the specialists quickly found their way to the briefing room, followed closely by Sergeant Miller and his marine squad.
The large group of people quickly filed into the room where Marcus and Jaina already waited for them and arranged themselves around the room's outer walls, leaving the center stage clear for the two Commanders.
At the room's center, a holographic projection was activated, showing the Cerberus base and its surrounding areas in 3D.
"This is the target," Jaina started, slowly walking around the large projection, the base's structure highlighting at her speech. "From the outside, it looks like a standard Alliance Type-3 outpost a bit on the large side. It's a compound of several structures and prefabs, all mutually interconnected through the underground tunnels. Three gates are apparent – here, here, and here – all three with guardhouses. A large landing pad with a control tower, here, and an adjacent hangar bay. This large structure is most likely the command center.
"So far, our passive observations have detected at least two platoons of enemy combatants, armored vehicles here, as well as these defensive turret emplacements. The visuals and thermals were very thorough on the latter and we're pretty sure there will be no additional hidden turrets, but we're not excluding the possibility of there being some hidden surprises that the passive scans cannot detect."
"What about using the actives once the battle starts?" Sergeant Miller asked in his raspy, Aussie-accented voice.
"Once the battle starts, all means are a go," Marcus said, "but this battle isn't the standard 'Clear the Nest' scenario."
"Our main goal is any and all information that lies inside this base – most likely in this structure," Jaina said, highlighting the building in question, "which we assume is the command center. However, judging from what we've seen of Cerberus in the previous bases we've encountered, it can be entirely guaranteed that they are going to initiate a full purge of all data terminals they have the moment the battle starts. And losing this data would be considered a mission failure."
"So – a hostage situation," Garrus said.
"Precisely," Marcus confirmed. "The data is held hostage and at gunpoint. We need to secure it. And storming the base would be a big 'No'."
"Not necessarily," Tali chirped. "Data is exceptionally hard to destroy from standard quantum computers. They're designed to retain the residual charge that denotes data, and you can't just put a hammer to it or send an EMP. To truly wipe it, they need to actually rewrite the true data with junk data, and that takes dozens of minutes."
"Which means that we might have a shot at a head-on strike," Wrex said. "None of those Cerberus's vehicles or turrets can stand up to the newly-improved Makos nor the Normandy's strafing run. The outside opposition could be cleared in seconds!"
"That's only assuming they exit the compound," Marcus countered. "Which I guarantee they won't do if they see an overwhelming attack. Cerberus isn't stupid; not with the efficiency we've seen of their operations so far. They'll bunker down and fight through the hallways – something which can last for days if the conditions are right – while their support personnel stages a data wipe and/or an evacuation."
"Escape via shuttle craft?" Miller asked. "Bugger me if they don't have at least four shuttles behind those large hangar doors."
"And every shred of common sense would agree that that's exactly what's the best approach in their situation," Jaina said. "Which is why a head-on assault is a no-go. This mission is going to be a covert infiltration."
"Ready and able, ma'am," Miller declared with his men nodding readily at his sides.
"Negative," Jaina said, shaking her head. "We need you and your men at the Tritons as a strike team after the infiltration has been successful."
"Then who's supposed to be the infiltration team?" Wrex queried. "I'm not exactly the one to skulk around."
"And you won't be," Jaina said. "The infiltrator is going to be me."
"You?" Liara parroted.
"I hold the highest experience as a tactical infiltrator out of everyone present," Jaina declared. "Which is why I am going to be the one to lead this entire operation inside and out. Pay attention and do exactly as I say when I say it, and we just might get through this mission with all of our objectives secure. Understood?"
Murmurs of affirmation spread across the present crowd.
"Good," Jaina said, returning her eyes back to the base layout before them. "Now, the first order of business is the retrieval of data. Even if I successfully infiltrate the base, that won't mean a thing if we can't retrieve what we came here for. Tali, this is where you come in. Are you familiar with DPRST systems for covert remote signal transfers?"
"Yes, I have the micro-components on me right now," Tali said, "but the comm protocols are not Alliance standard, Commander; they're quarian."
"Exactly what I was hoping for," Jaina pointed out. "Cerberus knows the Alliance protocols, which means that they'll have the systems specifically designed to detect Alliance's covert signals. Quarian, on the other hand, are almost a complete unknown to anyone outside the Flotilla; they play exactly into our hand. You are going to install the hardware add-ons to both of our omni-tools and then use me as a mobile node to hack the systems once I'm inside the base."
"It'll be done," Tali declared.
"Good. Now. With the most important aspect of the mission taken care of, we're getting to the infiltration itself," Jaina said, then widened the field of view of the projection, zooming far away. "The Normandy will pierce the atmo some 1000 clicks east of the base and will deploy the IFVs carrying the specialist team once we approach within 50 clicks of the base. The two vehicles will proceed to this point. Scorpion-1 will stay there, while the Mako-2 will continue to this point, where it will deposit me before it returns to join the Scorpion-1, from where I will advance down this small gully that leads straight toward the base."
"Risky," Garrus said. "If I built a base there, I'd have made sure that that gully is watched or booby trapped."
"True, but the passive scans didn't detect any thermals to indicate guards or automated defenses guarding that approach," she said. "It is likely that Cerberus is relying on detecting the incoming ships in space first."
Garrus hummed, nodding. "A much more practical means of defense, to be sure," he admitted. "Can't be too careful, though. If I was as paranoid as Cerberus appears to be, I'd place some landmines on any blind side approach I might have."
"That's why I have the narrow-band scanner," she said. "Standard infiltrator gear. It'll detect any nasty surprises or alarm triggers on my way."
"How will you get in?" Kaidan questioned as he looked over the base's perimeter.
"Here," she said, highlighting the location and zooming in to show a real-image render. "A secondary security station."
Almost everyone frowned at what they were seeing.
"Are that security station's doors and windows wide open to the outside environment?" Ashley said incredulously. "What's going on?"
"Nepheron's atmosphere has similar temperature and air pressure to that of Earth," Marcus said. "It's only lacking oxygen."
"Huh, I see what's going on!" Ash exclaimed in understanding.
"Right, the Alliance does that in its own field outposts as well," Kaidan agreed, explaining it to the alien crew. "In the cases of this kind of atmosphere, it's feasible and actually more expedient to use low-density mass effect barriers to only keep the interior atmosphere from mixing with the one outside. The open windows become gun ports, instantly turning it into a bunker."
"Which is our ticket in," Jaina said to everyone. "Despite keeping the planet's atmo out, the security station's interior is connected to the main base with life support ducts. That is where I get in. Using the standard tactical cloak, I'll slip past the guards and enter the interior of the base."
"Aren't building's air ducts built from tin?" Tali asked. "Everyone's gonna hear you."
"No, those ducts are deeper in. These ones need to endure differing environment pressures and are far sturdier," Kaidan said.
"What about its internal layout?" Garrus asked.
"The structures of that base look every bit the standard military outpost prefabs," Jaina said. "Just like the ones the Alliance uses. That means I can't get lost inside. It'll only take time to discover which room houses the main server."
"What happens if they detect the hack?" Liara asked. "Bases like these surely come with at least some protection."
"That's where Tali comes into play," Jaina said, looking at the quarian girl. "This is going to be a high-pressure moment. You're gonna have to work fast via my omni-tool's node in order to overtake their purging protocols."
"It can be done," Tali said, then trailed off. "Or… huh!"
"You have something better in mind?" Jaina prompted her.
"Y… yes, actually, I do!" Tali exclaimed animatedly. "We could trick them and let them begin the data wipe!"
The rest of the people looked amongst each other in apparent confusion.
"How does that get us what we need?" Jaina asked nonplussed.
"Using this!" Tali said as she began rummaging through her new suit's numerous pockets. "I have it somewhere… uhm… ah! Here it is!"
Jaina took the device that was the size of a large coin.
"An OSD?" She asked.
"More than that," Tali spoke animatedly. "Remember those Prothean OSDs we've recovered from Liara's apartment?"
"The ones I gave you to try and figure them out?" Marcus said.
"And I did!" Tali said excitedly. "Those Prothean OSDs were more than OSDs; they had Prothean processors on them. I had managed to remove a processor unit from one of the OSDs and rigged it onto a standard OSD! The Prothean OSD processors had an adaptive matrix that mimics the surrounding electric impulses and memorizes them. The perfect data transference device – they record it as quickly as the terminal's processor can read the data! They are not compatible with how our computers work, but they can mimic. And that means that they pick up every shred of electric quantum data that happens to be firing off in the surrounding computer system and transfer it onto themselves – everything that is being done on the computer while they are slotted into the port!"
"Won't Cerberus security software pick up an OSD that is slotted into the port?" Marcus asked.
"No, because there won't be any standard linkup established," Tali said. "This rigged OSD is essentially a dead OSD drive as far as the operating system is concerned! But by being slotted in, it will be hooked onto the server's power and circuitry nonetheless. The Prothean mimicking matrix will simply start to record everything that's going on."
"And if Cerberus wipes the data?" Marcus asked, raising an eyebrow.
"The wiped data needs to be mapped in order to be wiped," Tali said slowly, bearing tones of great excitement. "If it is being mapped, then the Prothean chip will detect the electric impulses and mimic everything onto itself!"
"And with it being rigged onto today's standard OSD format…" Jaina picked up.
"It can write everything down onto it for us to read later," Marcus finished, a smile breaking in the corner of his lips.
"That's damn ingenious!" Garrus exclaimed. "How come nobody ever thought about using Prothean OSDs in this way?"
"The archeological community is more worried about preserving than actually figuring it out," Liara said dryly.
"Their loss," Marcus said. "Assuming this works, perhaps we should put 'Search for more Prothean Data Disks throughout the Traverse' on our bucket list?" he asked Jaina.
"Definitely," she said, smirking, then turned to Tali. "So, all I have to do is slot this little sucker into one of the main server's ports and wait for them to start wiping the data?"
"Exactly!" Tali exclaimed. "The disk's adaptive mimicking matrix will do everything on its own!"
"So, that just leaves the matter of us actually assaulting the compound from the outside in order to spook them into trying to wipe out all the data, which plays them right into our hands!" Wrex declared thunderously. "I like it!"
"How do you want to perform the assault?" Garrus queried as his tactical mind began shifting across the potential battlefield. "A direct head-on, or spooking them from the distance?"
"It needs to be a head-on," Marcus said, reaching out and pointing to the hangar bay with two fingers. "Once we strike, all of the potential VIPs are going to be promptly evacuated; capturing them would be as much of a victory as securing the data, which means that we cannot loiter at range and need to storm the compound in order to make them bunker in."
"It will be downright hell to achieve situational awareness, though," Garrus commented. "Those structures are strategically positioned to provide visual cover for the defenders. We won't be able to see their movements or flanking maneuvers."
Jaina chuckled. "Hadn't you paid attention Garrus?" she asked. "I said at the beginning of the briefing that I am going to be the one to lead this entire operation inside and out."
At the turian's confused expression, she pointed at the control tower that overlooked the hangar bay and the large landing pad.
"After I've planted the OSD, I'll proceed to the top of the control tower," she said. "From there, I am going to provide the complete tactical support and leadership for your advance. Listen to what I say, when I say it, and this mission will be a success."
Garrus, stood straighter, his mandibles tight against his jaw and nodded firmly in understanding.
"Good." Jaina acknowledged. "Once the battle starts, it will be pretty simple. The Scorpion and the Hover-Mako will jump out from their hidey hole and take out the AA-Towers, then proceed into the base proper. The Normandy will swoop in, drop Miller and his team with the Triton mechs. The specialists will leave the vehicles and provide support. Garrus – your task is two-fold: take the high ground that overlooks both the base's perimeter and the control tower where I'm at. You will provide cover for me should I need it."
"Understood."
"Marcus, Wrex, and Liara," Jaina continued. "You three are the frontline artillery. All three of you possess biotics and have an extreme potential to pierce their lines while absorbing fire." She looked at Liara. "Think you can handle it?"
"It will be done, Jaina," Liara declared firmly.
"Good. Your job is to flank the enemy while the Tritons and our IFVs keep them busy."
"Understood," Marcus said.
"Finally, the rest of the crew will support the vehicles – keep them alive and out of enemy heavies' crosshairs. That's Tali and Kaidan supported by the four more Miller's men while Ash and one additional soldier will man the IFVs."
"What about the Normandy, ma'am?" Ashley asked.
"As soon as the AA turrets are down, Joker will direct the ship down and begin strafing runs," Jaina said. "Once that happens, the outside battle will be pretty much done. What remains is to clear the base's interior. But that will be subject to the situation and will need to be addressed once the upper base is secure. Questions?"
People shook their heads silently.
Jaina shared a silent look with Marcus, who nodded and tapped the comms.
"Pressly, sound general quarters!"
"General quarters – aye, sir!" Pressley responded.
"Ground team to the cargo bay," Marcus ordered, leading the way out of the comm room as the deep, repetitive thrumming of the general quarters claxons filled the air.
.
Ten minutes later, the Normandy was piercing the lower levels of the planet's troposphere on the final approach to the hover tank drop. All teams were mounted and ready and Jaina was giving final instructions.
"I want radio silence the moment the Scorpion and the Hover-Mako are dropped," she said into the comm from where she sat in the vehicle. "Joker, you are to monitor our actions. As soon as we engage the base, you are to engage the jamming field. The moment the AA towers are destroyed, deploy the Tritons and start performing air superiority maneuvers."
"Understood, Commander," Joker replied. "Disengaging inertial fields at the vehicle launch ramp. Cargo bay ramp opening… Combat drop in… five, four, three, two, one…"
The Normandy extended its aero-brakes, decelerating, and the two hover vehicles shot out of the cargo bay like bolts under the pull of inertia. The main thrusters of the vehicles instantly blasted off in perfect synch, launching the vehicles into high velocities.
Under the powerful drive of the hover system and the afterburners, the vessels quickly achieved supersonic speeds, quickly covering the barren landscape beneath them.
"Marcus, I am detecting a bit of turbulence at these speeds, but the fly-by-wire is compensating," Jaina said. "How's it look on your end?"
"About the same," he replied. "We can maintain this speed without problems."
"Still, avoid sharp maneuvers," she cautioned. "These vehicles are far from aerodynamically stable."
"Understood," he said, then: "Garrus, how's the tactical overlay looking on the targeting systems?"
"Looking seamless," the turian replied. "I already have the base's defenses marked on my targeting. Distance: 14.2 clicks and closing."
The two vehicles quickly covered the ground, weaving between the hilly ridges as they approached the base's perimeter.
"Approaching nav point one," Kaidan spoke up. "Shutting down main thrusters; proceeding only on hoverdrive."
The two vehicle's thrusters cut off and their velocity dropped, any dust that they were raising with their passing instantly dropping off to nothing more than minuscule puffs as the main hoverdrive took over.
"Nav point two," Kaidan spoke and the two vehicles instantly separated.
The Scorpion, the vehicle that sported the new, long main cannon, went straight toward the area from which they would later storm the base. The Hover-Mako that carried Jaina went sideways toward a ravine.
They weaved through the canyon that kept narrowing down and becoming shallower until they left the hills behind them and the ravine began tapering off.
"That's far enough," Jaina said and the vehicle drew to a halt. "Alright boys and girls, from this moment on, until I'm on that tower, the radio silence is active."
She popped the hatch, quickly hopping out and dropping lithely on the ground next to the vehicle. She walked out, giving a circling hand signal to Kaidan, and watched as the vehicle quickly turned and sped off to join up with the Scorpion on their hidden perch.
Good, she thought as she turned toward the ravine's incline; now, it was just her and her task.
Taking one sweeping look over the path in front of her, she dropped to a quick trot, advancing quickly up the mild incline as she hopped from one rocky ledge to another.
Reaching the top, she mentally activated her tactical cloak via her cranial implant before she crossed into the base's sensors field of view and then paused just over the edge, observing the base's perimeter before her.
At the distance, the activity seemed to be minimal. The few patrolling guards were quickly detected and marked out on her HUD, the suit's VI outlining their movements. The base's sensors were sweeping the outer perimeter, marked by the intermittent sounds as they swept the location she was at.
She lowered her head and shoulders back below the ravine's edge, letting her cloak's capacitors recharge before she cloaked again, vaulted the edge, and ran toward the small gully a few dozen meters out.
Landing on her feet, she de-cloaked and set off at a quick trot through the gully, keeping her head and shoulders low. She moved with care, paying close attention to her surroundings and everything the suit's narrow-band scans were painting out on her HUD. Zero traps so far. Good.
The gully's floor began to rise and taper off, and she dropped to all fours, prowling carefully toward the edge. Approaching the edge as much as possible, she activated the cloak and raised her head to look around. The closest prefab structure was less than a hundred meters away, her narrow band scanners once more showing the approach clear of any traps; Cerberus must've felt comfortable that they felt the satellites scanning the outer space were the sufficient early warning.
Checking left and right, she marked a couple of visible guards at the far sides, and the VI instantly calculated and displayed their field of vision and their blind spots.
She went down once more, resetting her cloak before she surged out of the gully, crossing the hundred meter dash in seconds and planting her back silently against the prefab's wall.
She let the cloak taper off.
With her back planted against the wall, she edged along it, using the cover of structures as she advanced. Keeping to the blind spots, she dodged a guard patrol and a security cam, then went for the clear stretch until she reached the needed location.
Cloaking, she peered around the corner.
The security station was there, in the same state as the orbital scans showed it to be – a bunker-type structure, protruding from the larger building's side, sporting fortified walls with broad but low windows and doors at the side. All of the ports open, with low-density barriers separating the inner, breathable atmosphere from the outer, noxious one. Two guards; one inside, at the security console, wearing no helm; the other one outside, under full combat gear. Both looking at leisure and bored out of their wits.
She hacked into their comms.
"-about why the Ice Queen was here last week?" the one outside asked.
"I did," the one in the guardhouse replied. "The word is there was an information leak and they had to perform an emergency shutdown of one of the other cells. The Illusive Man's sent her to personally examine the state of readiness of all of the bases everywhere."
The one outside snorted. "She'll have work cut out for her," he said mirthlessly. "Too bad she wasn't around for much longer."
"What? Don't tell me you thought you had a shot with her?"
"No, but I didn't mind the scenery."
The other inside snorted. "No, way man. I'm glad that she's gone. She talks to you and you have to be on top of your game, except that that catsuit of hers is making your eyes go down and your brain turn to mush. I don't need that kinda pressure."
"Think she does that on purpose?"
"Who knows…"
She tuned them out. The conversation they were having was good enough for her needs; gossiping kept people relaxed and their alertness low.
Looking up from the two guards at the small sensor array antenna at the guard station's rooftop, she focused and channeled her biotics at it. The antenna slowly rotated in its axial joint until it faced the rear wall. It didn't take the guard inside the station long to notice something was off on his instruments.
"Uhh… hey, Mike, can you check out the sensor array for me?"
A pause. "Yeah, it's facing the other way! What gives?"
"Must be a glitch in the engine control software," he said and pressed the controls to realign the sensor array properly.
Jaina pressed hard with her biotics, blocking the weak servo engine's gear in its tracks.
The guard inside harrumphed frustratedly. "The engine's acting up," he said. "It must be clogged up by dust. Lemme just report this… Control, this is guard station 2. Sensor array's engine is acting up; going up to check it out."
He hung up, then grabbed his breather helm and went outside.
"Come on, give me a hand with this one," he said, and both of them started climbing the ladder to the top of the structure.
Taking the created opportunity, Jaina cloaked and dashed out from the corner, slipping soundlessly into the security station through its opened doors. Not wasting any time, she instantly went for the ventilation shaft, slicing the bolts that held the hatch away with her omni-tool and popped it off as soundlessly as she could. She hopped in lithely like a cat, then used her biotics to lift and secure the hatch back into place.
She twisted agilely inside the vent, her feminine physique lending her the flexibility, and advanced further down the hatch. She slithered smoothly like a serpent, minimizing the chance of the high-powered anti-materiel rifle and the SMG that were folded on her back striking the walls.
It didn't take her long to find her way through the shaft maze and reach the underground hallways that linked the entire complex.
Finding herself on top of a hallway, she peered through the grate hatch and prepared an active sensor sweep through the surrounding area. She knew that this deep inside a base, installing active scan detectors was not feasible.
The broadband sweep she launched quickly bounced through the hallways, penetrating the thinner walls and bouncing through chambers whilst disappearing in thicker rocks through which the complex ran. Within moments, the HUD pinged back with the closest area minimap, the surveillance systems, power conduits, and people. Zero cameras were overlooking the hallway she was at.
With her omni-tool, she quickly removed the bolts of the vent hatch and was about to pop it off, when her HUD pinged a warning: a pair of people were approaching her location. She stopped all motion and focused her senses. A male voice came through:
"… loved to have had two minutes alone with that Lawson woman to bring up my charms," a man spoke, sounding cocky as hell.
"You wish," the other, much level-headed voice spoke. "They don't call her the Ice Queen for nothing."
"I'm surprised by you," the gigolo chastised. "A man should accept the challenge. I mean, have you seen her? Man, that ass effect makes my mass erect!"
The second guy sighed. "You're hopeless."
The two men passed by and she took a good look at them. Both wore uniforms that were cut like a military crewman's outfit. Low rank – grunts.
With their backs to her, she silently dislodged the hatch, lowering it down with her biotics and slithering out of the hatch, cloaking the moment her feet touched the floor. She replaced the hatch and silently trotted after the two men, catching up as they neared the end of the hallway.
"You know, you always sound like a by-the-book guy," the gigolo ranted at the other guy. "But I think you and the others are too uptight. You gotta relax. Now, I'm gonna grab me a beer and then have a good R&R. Whaddaya say?"
"See ya later, Harm," the other guy brushed him off.
"Pfff… Whatever. Your loss."
The two men separated at the two-way intersection and Jaina knew which one to follow. No matter how big, no matter how well-trained, and no matter how zealous, there was always a weak link or two in any organization. And the laid-back gigolo just happened to be one.
She prowled silently after him down the empty hallway, waiting for the best moment to strike; and it was coming up on them real fast – a small side chamber, most likely used as a storage closet.
The man walked by the door without a care in the world, when he suddenly heard them hiss open behind him.
Reflexively, he turned his head to glance at it, when he suddenly felt something bumping the back of his knee, buckling the leg and sending him careening toward the floor. He yelped, his hands lashed outward, trying to prevent the fall, when his body suddenly glowed blue and went weightless as a pair of hands roughly grabbed him by the back of his shirt, spun him through the air, and threw him into the closet like a sack of potatoes.
He slammed bodily into the crates, knocking the air out of him before he fell head-first down onto the floor.
Before his spinning head and pain-addled brain could comprehend what had happened, the pair of hands grabbed him again, spun him around like a helpless babe, and pinned him down in an elaborate body lock. He opened his mouth to shout in distress but didn't get far as something gripped him around the throat like a vice, blocking all air.
And then came the pain. Excruciating, agonizing pain.
He began jerking violently, trying instinctively to get loose, but he barely moved an inch. Somewhere in his hazed, panicking mind, he realized the pain was coming from the region of his kidney. It seemed to stretch on for an eternity. Then it ceased.
It was like strings of his body were cut. He went limp, all strength in his body leaving him. The choke on his throat relented, letting him wheeze the air in, but he didn't have the strength to so much as mewl.
And then, like a contrast to the pain, a hot and titillating female voice tickled his earlobe from behind.
"Do I have your undivided attention?" she spoke huskily, the voice both seductive and deathly chilling at the same time.
His head quickly jerked in the 'yes', eager to do anything to prevent the pain.
"Good," she crooned as she slowly shifted.
From the corner of his eye, he noticed the woman's gauntleted hand trailing down his front until it cupped his scrotum. A light blue haze enveloped it and he felt an unseen force begin to gently roll and vibrate against his balls.
"Have you ever experienced what it's like using biotic fields during sex?" she asked. "My husband likes letting me do these things for him, you know… It's the trust and thrill; like the blowjob – the knowing that the thing that could tear your dick away is instead being used tenderly to give you pleasure. And it requires great control, because if you're careless and let the passions get the better of you… you can rip the flesh right off." She warped her biotics for emphasis, sending pain deep into his balls. His grunt was high-pitched. She continued:
"As you can see, you can be sure that I have had plenty of opportunities to perfect my control and keep your jewels from being too damaged so that the pain can go on, and on, and on… So… either you unlock your omni-tool and provide administrative privileges, or I will make you wish you were born a woman."
A small whimper escaped the gigolo's lips, and he began nodding empathically.
She shifted her hold on him, releasing his hands, and the man went down to work. He was a low-level grunt, but his omni-tool painted him as a 'friendly' and it had the base's layout. She cloned the entire omni-tool content onto her own advanced, spec-ops grade one, setting it to send out the coded 'friendly' signature.
The moment the transfer was complete, Jaina's black N7 ka-bar knife flew out of its holster and sank hilt-deep into the man's neck. With a few final gurgles and a surge of blood, the man's life drained away from him as he was laid quietly onto the floor.
With that, Jaina scanned the outside area and left the closet without a backward glance, only bothering long enough to weld the lock shut with an electric overload.
With the stolen omni-tool's info at her disposal, Jaina quickly navigated through the compound all the way to the main server room, using her cloak to quickly slip past everything and everyone in her way.
When she reached the main server room's entrance, she saw that it was guarded by a pair of cameras and protected by a secure access console. Quite expected. Raising her cloak, she crossed straight into the cameras' field of vision unseen and slapped on some omni-gel onto the lock, letting the omni-tool fuel the newly-forming circuitry's as it spread through the lock, bypassing the entire system and opened the doors in mere seconds.
A couple of scientists currently in the room turned around to see the doors open to the empty space of the hallway.
"Dafuq…?" one of them muttered as he stepped away from a terminal and walked up to the doors.
He looked left and right, seeing no one. He reached to the console to the side and pressed the manual close. The doors stayed open. He tapped his comms.
"Uhh… this is Halid at the main server. Something's wrong with the doors. Send a security team with someone to check it up, asap!"
"Roger that," came the response.
Another scientist approached and tried a couple more clicks to the manual override.
"Nothing," he muttered as they both began checking out the doorframe at where the electric mechanism should be as if looking it over would cause it to work again.
Neither of them had noticed the black-armored woman de-cloaking behind them and inserting an OSD into the main terminal's port.
As they slowly and cautiously backtracked into the room, the black-armored woman disappeared behind her cloak and slipped past them unseen, walking through the wide open doors and leaving the server room as if she had never been there.
With the most important part of the work over, Jaina quickly retreated down the halls, advancing toward the flight control tower for the second part of their plan. As she advanced further away from the main server, the security installments quickly went non-existent, and she abandoned all stealth as she passed into the control tower's access hall.
At this point, stealth was no longer necessary.
"Hey, who are you?!" one of the two fully armed and armored guards at the elevator shouted out in alarm when he saw her sprint toward them, raising his hand in a halting motion as he moved to intercept her.
Too late he noticed the red-and-white strip down her arm. Too late did he notice the N7 logo. Before his eyes even managed to widen in shock, she was on top of him.
With a running jump, she raised both her knees high and slammed them straight into his chest with a crushing force, lifting him off his feet and sending him crashing six feet backwards with her kneeling on his torso. The other guard quick-drew his sidearm, only to have her foot lash out and slam into his shin from below, sending his head straight into her waiting knee. The strike rattling his brain around, she grabbed his helmeted head between her shins and spun her whole body lengthwise in a 360, snapping his neck like a twig before she quick-drew her silenced Carnifex and pressed the muzzle into the first guard's neck, pulling the trigger twice and spraying a mist of blood over the floor.
Jumping up on her feet, she entered the elevator and promptly pressed the top floor button, readying her hand cannon, an omni-tool EMP blast, and priming her biotics all in one go.
Not five seconds later, the elevator buzzed to a halt and the doors opened, with her blindly launching an overloading EMP followed by a biotic push. The two armed guards that were waiting for her went flying back with their shields shortened out, with her stepping out of the elevator and planting two shots in each of their heads with dead-eye precision.
The two control tower operators at the back fared even worse as their pistol shots got swatted away by Jaina's powerful shields before she planted one shot in each of their unshielded foreheads.
She stepped up to the command tower's console and promptly disabled the main hangar bay's doors, locking the shuttles down, then stepped out onto the terrace that circled the control tower's top floor. Taking a long, sweeping look over the surrounding area, she took a first-person account of the base's layout and then tapped the comm link.
"Thunder, this is Viper," she called out through her comms, finally breaking the radio silence. "Strike's a go! I say again, strike's a go!"
"Affirmative," came the single word from Marcus.
With that, she went down to one knee, replacing her hand cannon on her hip and reaching out over her shoulder.
The powerful anti-materiel rifle unfolded in her arms, elongating the stock and barrel and clicking the extensions into place. From where she perched, an uninhibited view of the entire soon-to-be battlefield laid in front of her like an open palm. Zooming into the distance with her helm's binocs, a pair of dots transformed themselves into the two recognizable hover vehicles charging at full speed and afterburners toward the base.
At that moment, powerful, resounding alarms rose to existence all over the base.
Long before the defending troops managed to react, though, the Scorpion's new main gun discharged.
With a high-pitched whizz, the round sliced into the first enemy AA turret with unstoppable force and exited on the other side, the exit shock making the turret's armor blossom out like a flower.
Not two seconds later, the second AA turret received the next round that struck straight through its eezo core, making it explode with a blue shockwave and a shower of electric sparks. Any kinetic barriers that the two turrets should have had might as well have been nonexistent next to the Scorpion's main gun powered by the large core.
At that point, the defensive surface turrets that spanned the perimeter finally woke up, rotating toward the oncoming threat and spinning up their guns as the few patrolling troopers ran toward the defensive positions.
"Normandy, the AA towers are down," Jaina commanded as she observed the battlefield. "Get down here."
"Roger that, Commander; combat drop and assault underway," Joker replied.
She turned to the assault vehicles.
"Thunder, ignore the external defensive perimeter; fly over it and get straight into the base's courtyard – the turrets won't have the angle of attack on you there." she directed, commanding coolly and calculatedly.
"Roger that," Marcus replied.
"The enemy platoons are forming up on the outside," she continued, "Marking and tracking their positions."
The two vehicles whooshed over the base's outer perimeter, shrugging off the few defensive turrets' shots that managed to connect and diving in, guns blazing. Swaths of defending troops were blasted up into the air as the force of the heavy guns inverted earth and the defenders scattered toward the closest defensive positions.
"Three armored vehicles approaching your position," she called out from her perch, marking the encroaching APCs. "Dispatch them first…" She glanced to the other side from the corner of her eye. "… you have fifteen seconds."
The two hover vehicles boosted up over the building that covered them, taking bead straight toward the enemy vehicles and rained fire down on them. The rounds quickly defeated the enemy APCs' barriers and sliced through the weakly armored rooftop, the vehicles jerking as the concussive force and explosions racked them.
"Get down, now!" Jaina commanded, and the vehicles instantly ducked behind the cover of buildings without question. "A large squad of enemy heavies is bearing down on you carrying ML-77s. Normandy! I want a strafing run at this line!" she declared, marking the vector on the global HUD.
"Roger that, Commander; ETA: NOW!"
She glanced up just in time to see the sleek silhouette of the aircraft-shaped vessel wrapped in a supersonic shockwave bearing down on the base, right before a burst of a dozen small missiles surged out of its wing nacelles and wreaked fiery havoc straight down the marked line. The blast of the fiery inferno rocked the entire base, rattling the superstructure that she sat on and illuminating the area in a blaze of gold as the fiery plume rose above it.
"Jesus, Joker, save some for us," she chided.
"Uh, yeah – I'm respectfully refusing that order…?" he replied smugly as the Normandy swept over the base, braking its speed in a cobra maneuver before it banked and doubled back. "You can court martial me later."
"You're lucky I'm in the good mood," she replied. "Marking the Triton drop point, now. Thunder crew, sortie, and advance on foot! Garrus, I want you on that perch there. Watch my back and snipe any targets of opportunity."
"Roger that," Garrus responded.
The teammates' silhouettes began popping up in green over her HUD as they left their vehicles and began grouping into pre-designated packs just as the Normandy reached the position and leveled out above them. The cargo bay doors swung open and the heavy machines walked out, dropping to the ground with a thunderous bang, followed quickly by the rest of Miller's marines being dropped with mass effect field.
The fireteams assembled with cutting efficiency, taking up covered holds as the Tritons lumbered forward. Looking closer to home, Jaina assessed the enemy dispositions.
"Triton-1," she directed, "advance down this lane. Triton-2, advance down the opposite side. Pincer maneuver."
"Right-o," Miller's voice came through from the Triton's cockpit.
The Cerberus troops had, by that point, reformed and bolstered with the men that left the inner sanctum of the compound. Just as Jaina predicted, the large force advanced tactically in an attempt to flank the attackers, when the Tritons lumbered out from two opposing sides, catching them right in the open ground.
The blazing inferno of the 12.7-cal rounds crisscrossed over the open field, scything the entire groups of Cerberus troopers and stopping the entire assault dead in its tracks, the Cerberus troops falling back in droves behind any protective walls they could find.
"They're bunkering down," Jaina declared. "Biotic team, advance down your right through the cover! Tritons, be aware: the hostiles are bringing out heavy weapons. Keep advancing." Her voice turned deathly cold." I'll take the heavies off your back."
Her anti-materiel rifle swiveled down and her killer cold gaze turned on the Cerberus troops' fully exposed rear as she aimed with both of her eyes open.
The blast pierced the air like a whiplash, thundering and echoing at the same time.
A Cerberus rocket trooper slumped against the wall he was hiding behind, his head sliced clean off his shoulders.
The trooper behind him jerked back and fell on his ass after a full second delay, wondering what was the gooey red and grey substance that had suddenly splattered itself all over his visor. The trooper behind him looked up dumbly at the headless corpse and the huge splatter of blood on the wall before his head exploded as well while the second guy was still reaching up in confusion to wipe the blood and brain off his visor.
One of the Cerberus troops managed to shout out, "Sniper!" before the third head exploded.
The Cerberus troopers scrambled in panic, diving for any cover that provided protection from as many sides as possible. Instead, they found that the deep penetration ammo just went through the walls; through the crates; through everything. And where she didn't strike, Garrus would. No enemy trooper could escape his keen raptor eyes.
Through the blaze of combat, she heard the hiss of the elevator doors far behind in the control tower, followed by the vibration of two pairs of feet running out onto the terrace where she was. A thunderous sniper blast echoed through the air once, and the two pairs of running feet turned into a pair of thuds as the pair of lifeless bodies fell down from one shot.
"Thanks, Garrus," she said without even flinching to turn, the jovial tone in her voice not even registering on her stone-cold, deadly visage. "Biotic team, you're coming up on a large squad, tightly grouped," she said without even looking that way, merely continuing to fire her rifle at the remaining entrenched troops.
Three seconds after she said that, a lift-warp-throw combo flashed in the corner of her eye, and a group of limp enemy troops flew out into the open like ragdolls, their bodies puffing the blue biotic mist residue as the fiery rounds tore through the ones that remained of their squad.
Taking note of the remaining enemies in her sights, she hacked into the Cerberus comms and spoke slowly, chillingly:
"Remaining Cerberus troops, this is Alliance Commander Jaina Shepard. I am giving you the one and final chance to drop your weapons and come out with your hands on your head. You have five seconds to comply."
Instead, she saw all of the remaining troopers mustering zealously, preparing for a glorious last stand for the cause. She raised her rifle and took a bead.
"Kill 'em," she said and pulled the trigger.
The Normandy's team fell down to the remaining entrenched squad of enemy troops like piranhas; it wasn't even fair. But since time immemorial, when it came to the question of living through the frontlines, nobody ever argued against the overkill.
Within a mere couple of minutes, the last few Cerberus troopers that had sortied to defend the base were dead, and the battlefield fell silent.
Jaina stood up on her perch and took stock of the battlefield and the status of her crew before she spoke:
"We should hurry up and storm the base while we still –"
Before she finished, a loud hiss and a clang sounded off to her side where the control tower's terrace doors were at. A red hologram of a lockdown stood in place, and a quick glance through the window told her the elevator doors were the same.
"Well, that takes that plan out the window," she commented, then turned her gaze back toward the base exterior. "Miller! Have your men pilot the Scorpion and the Hover-Mako. The Scorpion is to run a patrol circle above the base and scout for any Cerberus personnel. The Tritons and the Hover-Mako are to deploy in a one-by-two formation in the courtyard for a guard duty."
"Roger that, ma'am," he said.
She then turned toward one of the entrances at the ground level, marking it on their joint network. "That entrance is the closest one to the main server. It will be the quickest to penetrate; we should assemble there."
"I'll send the Hover-Mako to get you, ma'am," Miller spoke from the Triton's cockpit.
"No need," Jaina said and vaulted over the terrace's fence into a free fall.
Channeling her biotics, she lowered her own mass and let the surrounding air slow down her descent, finishing with a parkour landing and roll, and promptly getting up on her feet. Trotting up to Marcus, the two briefly touched each other with their free hands, almost to reassure one another of the other one's presence.
"Normandy?" Marcus spoke up, raising his gaze upward to the ship that hovered above them.
"Right here, Commander," Joker responded jovially.
"Good work with that strafing run, but how about we improve that?" he spoke as he walked with Jaina to join up the rest of the team. "I want you to unlock the ship's defensive GARDIAN arrays and switch them to manual targeting. Those lasers can cut down through swaths of ground troops with next to zero collateral. Keep them that way unless you detect enemy ships."
"And here I thought the Normandy didn't have enough weapon options," Joker quipped amusedly. "On it, Commander!"
"Good," Marcus said as they all assembled in front of the main doors. "How does that lock look like, Tali?" he asked.
"This is some advanced security algorithm I'm seeing here," the girl replied. "And they have an explosive charge set at the door. Give me a moment."
"That's one serious approach to security, alright," Garrus commented.
"Not one of the men outside surrendered," Liara said with stark realization. "Not even those last few men when we encircled them. They were wounded, yet they still fought."
"Makes you think we won't find anything different once we breach the interior," Wrex rumbled. "Something to be aware of."
"True," Marcus said, then looked to Jaina at his side. "Jaina, fall back; I'm taking over command from here. Hallway combat will require a bit more of a blunt instrument."
"Understood," she said, taking a step back and prepping her SMG.
"Wrex and I are up front," he declared. "Liara and Jaina are right at our backs."
The two women instantly repositioned, firmly planting their left palms against the two men's backs and bracing, their light SMGs braced securely against their shoulders and aiming around the men's shoulder and flanks.
"Garrus, Tali, the middle as soon as the doors are opened. Kaidan, Ash – rear guard!"
"Got it!" Tali exclaimed as the light on the door's lock turned green, the large metal doors sliding open.
The team shuffled into the very large airlock, obviously designed to allow an entire platoon to fit in, with Tali effortlessly hacking into the system and hijacking the locked-down processes.
"Prep for hostiles," he directed, and Jaina and Liara immediately shimmered blue.
The chamber quickly filled out with breathable air and the opposite doors slid open to reveal a long hallway; and a whir of a hostile weapons system spinning to life.
Instantly, Jaina and Liara slammed down a massive barrier in front of them, blocking the spray of rounds from the ceiling turrets dead in its tracks as Marcus and Garrus discharged the EMPs, locking their mechanisms with a flurry of electric sparks.
A swift burst of concentrated gunfire from the entire team tore the turrets down to shreds, blasting them off of their turreted housing like they were made of cardboard.
"Move!" Marcus barked.
With the base's interior already at their HUDs, they quickly advanced down the corridor in their established disposition, passing the first juncture and reaching the doors to the largest chamber on the base.
Tali promptly rushed forward, raising her omni-tool to begin a hack, when the door's holographic interface turned from red to green.
Faster than the mind processed, Marcus's arm lashed out sideways like a bar, halting Tali's advance just as the first hiss of the hydraulics heralded the doors opening, and he flicked his adrenaline implants on with a mental command.
Time seemed to slow down to a crawl as colors and lights became more vivid, his mind evaluating in a microsecond what would otherwise take fatally too long. As the two halves of the door began crawling apart at a snail's pace, the large room opened up before him and his gaze scanned the battlefield:
Whatever furniture or objects had been present in the room had been moved and rearranged into an improvised protective bulwark at the far side, with no less than thirty enemy combatants securely entrenched behind it, and a completely open killzone in between.
And in a split microsecond, his adrenaline-fueled mind knew what to do.
His biotics surged into a form, space and time distorting as the shock front of a biotic charge began to coalesce in front of him. He moved forward into a half-crouch, the wake of the shock front enveloping him as he positioned his left shoulder forward in a practiced motion. The front reached critical yield and discharged, pulling the entire space-time bubble that wrapped Marcus in its wake and sending him flying straight toward the enemy's frontline.
The mass effect front cannonballed through the improvised bulwark, the impact destabilizing it and morphing it into a powerful shockwave that sent the objects and bodies flying. Wasting no time, he launched a Nova follow-up, blasting everything around him away in an explosion of debris.
Just as his adrenaline surge came to a close, another biotic charge slammed into the enemy's line to his right, discharging a follow-up nova as well and tearing another gaping hole in their formation.
Knowing that his right was secure, he pivoted in his crouch leftward, launching a long burst of explosive rounds into the stunned enemy's lines just as a group of massive biotic combos began tearing into their ranks to the far left, lifting them, slamming them, warping them and exploding with impunity.
And then, Wrex steamrolled through the bulwark, throwing everything and everyone around like a raging bull, his claymore barking and barking relentlessly as it tore the limbs and ribcages apart.
Crippled, shocked, and awed, and with their own allies in the line of fire, all plans went out the window as even their ability to retaliate was nulled. Within mere seconds, the entirety of a platoon-strong unit succumbed to the unstoppable onslaught.
The mayhem stopped as fast as it had started, the silence deafening.
"RRRAAAAA-HAHAHAHAHA!" Wrex's triumphant laughter exploded through the chamber. "Destroying your enemies so utterly like that? Now that is a cathartic pleasure!"
A moment of silence.
"When was it the last time you got laid again?" Garrus jabbed.
"Don't worry, turian," Wrex retorted. "I will always have twice as many balls and see twice as much action than you."
"Men," Tali said with a shake of her head as she passed them with Ashley and Liara in tow.
"And here I thought only human men were susceptible to that," Ashley agreed with a snicker. "Guess it really does cross the species boundary."
"Is this the fabled phenomenon of males measuring whose is bigger?" Liara asked with a smile. "You will have to explain that to me sometime."
"Oh, you don't know what you've been missing, hon!" Ashley croaked.
As the three girls passed them by, the four men looked at each other. Then their gazes fell down for a split second. Then, back up again. Squaring their shoulders and looking around as if nothing happened, they returned to their positions. A muffled snorting snigger came from Marcus's side and he looked down to be met with Jaina's amused gaze, and her shoulders heaving as she tried her damnedest to suppress her laughter.
Ah well, Marcus shrugged internally; it's not like it was the worst or most ridiculous position she ever caught him in.
"Advance," he called.
Losing little time, they advanced down the hallway, passing next to empty common rooms, storage rooms, offices and security stations, until they reached the large server room that Jaina had previously visited.
The doors were wide open, and a group of unarmed and unarmored people was working frantically on it, completely oblivious to anything but their work.
Marcus waited a second until his team had fully entered and fanned across the chamber before he hollered:
"Nobody move!"
"Nobody move!" Kaidan and Ashley parroted in turn as they aimed down their sights at the panicking men.
Shouts of surprise and fear echoed throughout the apparent scientists as almost all of them jumped up in fear and moved.
"DON'T. MOOOOVE!" Marcus hollered thunderously, freezing all of the men and women at their spots. "Keep your hands UP where I can see them! Good! Now, move SLOWLY toward that open area of the room. SLOWLY!"
The scientists moved as he instructed, with Garrus promptly slipping behind them and securing each of their hands behind their back with plastic zip cuffs before forcing them to sit down on the ground.
As the rest of the team was busy securing the techies, Jaina advanced to the main server hub, where rows and rows of data were rolling across the main screen at great speed.
"It's no use," one of the scientists spoke up heatedly, his tone that of spite, "the purge of all the data is already long underway." The main server's screen suddenly pinged, showing a single red line denoting a critical error. "And it's done," he said smugly.
Jaina looked at him, then to the server, then reached down to one of the several OSD ports and ejected the Prothean-standard disk hybrid.
"Tali," she called, proffering the disk.
Tali grabbed it and placed it into the slot on her omni-tool, and scanned the disk contents.
"Hah!" the techie barked. "You Alliance types and xenos sure are stupid to think that an OSD would retain any data! It was a full media purge! It would have –"
"It's all here," Tali spoke up, interrupting him as she raised her eyes solemnly to Jaina. "It has managed to clone their entire system!"
The Cerberus techie's mug turned from smug to incredulous in record time.
"Y… you're bluff –"
A head-rattling smack from Wrex silenced him.
"Enough yapping, lest I devour your liver," the huge krogan rumbled annoyedly. "I heard it's quite tasty with some fava beans and a khiati."
"Chianti," Marcus corrected, not taking his eyes off the Cerberus personnel.
Wrex harrumphed. "Yeah. What he said."
The scientists paled, their throats working audibly as they gulped.
Marcus reached up and unclasped his faceless helmet, removing it, and then glared down at the scientists with his icy eyes for a few long moments. The few men and women were shifting where they sat with their hands bound behind their backs, fidgeting nervously as they tried tucking their heads deeper between their shoulders. Even the loudmouth from before found his throat suddenly dry. All of them were scared. All of them were turning their gazes away from his. All except one of them.
"Who's was in charge?" Marcus demanded, sending the question to all of them.
Most of the scientists immediately glanced at the one man that didn't seem as phased as the rest, sitting with his back straight and head held high instead, with Marcus following their gaze to him. There was an unmistakable superiority complex in the man's eyes, far more than what was healthy for anyone in his situation.
Marcus turned bodily toward him and scrutinized him for a few moments as Jaina leisurely and unperceptively walked behind the scientist, standing above him. The man turned and cast a brief look at her before turning back toward Marcus.
"You don't know who you're dealing with here, officer," the man said, his voice dripping acid. "Acquiring this data will only put you in the crosshairs of the most powerful people within the Alliance military brass. It would be wise if you were to release us and forget everything has ever happened."
Marcus glanced at Jaina, giving her a silent cue.
She reached down and grabbed the scientist, applying pressure at a specific location. The scientist screamed – first in surprise, and then in shear and unbearable agony, his legs and body thrashing futilely as he tried to escape the pain. After a few seconds of wrenching her fingers into the spot, Jaina released him, leaving him to pant it out.
"I am Commander Marcus Shepard, of the Special Tactics and Reconnaissance branch of the Citadel Council," Marcus spoke. "The Alliance has no jurisdiction over me, and you have no rights in front of me. You fail to understand that I can gouge out your eyes and then leave you on Omega, with nobody in the Galaxy the wiser. And after it was over, I would still be left to do my job, and you'd still be left blind – for the rest of your life."
The man seemed defiant, even though Marcus recognized a shadow of dread crossing his face.
"The organization I work for would find me, given time," he said, trying to sound brave. "And they would heal me."
"You sound pretty convinced of that," Jaina crooned softly as he gently rubbed on the neural cluster she had mercilessly pressed upon a minute ago, making the scientist flinch.
"He does indeed," Marcus rumbled as he stared down at the scientist for a couple of moments, and then began slowly removing his gauntlets. Hooking them on his belt, next to his helmet, he stepped up and crouched down in front of him, just boring into the man with a grim glare for a few silent moments. And then his hand lashed out and grabbed him by the side of his neck, pinching the flesh into his grip hard, like holding an unruly dog by the scruff.
The scientist made a short, gargling sound as he tried tucking his head into his shoulders, but Marcus's grip was firm; his palm was already absorbing and sifting through the chemical imprints of the scientist's memories with an ease that could be compared with browsing the extranet. The impression of who and what kind of person the scientist was, what kind of job he did here, what kind of people were his coworkers – all of it, and more, was laid bare before Marcus. It was not perfect, true; the images and sounds were blurry, but the mental impression they carried was something that transcended them in a far better way. And Marcus did not like what he was seeing one bit.
Cerberus was a huge, sprawling organization, with operating cells that were only aware that there were others, but that much was clear to him already. The ugly surprise lied in how Cerberus did its business and the shear extent of how far they were willing to go to achieve it. 'The end justifies the means' did not even come close.
But the Man of the organization… the Illusive Man, the imprint spoke… he was always there, and not. He was always present but never seen. The invisible puppet master that controlled a thousand strings. Fear; that's what the chief scientist felt when thinking of the Illusive Man. Fear. And a calculated, ruthless, and unscrupulous personality.
Marcus pushed the scientist away roughly and stood up, his face grim. The scientist coughed, trying to rub the sore spot on his neck with his shoulder, his face showing complete confusion.
"He's not gonna tell us a lot. Not like this," Marcus said, and then shared a look with Jaina. "We don't have that much of a time to interrogate them. We'll have to leave this to the Alliance's interrogation experts."
"I don't think that's such a good idea," Garrus spoke up urgently with a shake of his head. "If the information we have on Cerberus is true, then they have agents deep within the Alliance. This scumbag will walk free in no time! I've seen it many times before."
"He has a point," Jaina agreed, looking at Marcus. "And based on what we suspect Cerberus's average span of activities is, he might be too great of a threat to be out."
Marcus thought on it for a moment and then looked at her, silently giving her a go. Jaina reached down with her hands to the confused chief scientist's head and cleanly snapped his neck.
The other scientists shouted out, and one of them even released a veritable sissy squal as the limp body of the chief scientist fell down to the ground.
"Hehehe," Wrex chuckled evilly. "Look at that one. He's pissing himself."
The man actually was. A wet patch had begun forming all along his crotch and was spreading along the inside of his thighs. One didn't need to be a mind reader to recognize the terror and desperation on the rest of the scientist's faces, but Marcus, in particular, was struck by a palpable and rancid sensation that radiated out of the Cerberus personnel.
"The rest of them can be left for the Alliance to interrogate them," Marcus stated, bringing any further shouting to a hold. "If they don't talk, well…"
He pointedly trailed off, letting the scientists themselves realize the extent of their own predicament. Jaina shared a small smile with him before she turned to look at Tali.
"Tal, how's it going over there?"
"A lot of data on this system was heavily encrypted," Tali spoke up, sounding for all the life of her eager instead of frustrated. "It will take me some time to crack it. It will be a fun challenge!"
"Good," Marcus nodded, then tapped the comms. "Ground team to Normandy! Land the ship and send out a salvage team."
"Aye-aye, Commander," Joker called.
"Alright then," Jaina said, clapping her hands for attention. "Listen up! Garrus and Wrex, escort the prisoners to the Normandy, then guide the salvage team back to us. We're gonna scour the interior of this base. Pilfer through any crates that you come upon. Find whatever can be useful for us: weapons, mods, electronics – anything that can be readily picked up and carried off. If we cannot use it, we'll break it down to omni-gel; there's bound to be some valuable materials to be extracted."
The team voiced their assent and spread out, moving off in various directions – Wrex and Garrus escorting the captured scientists, and the rest of the team moving off to various directions. As they moved off, Jaina walked up to Marcus and motioned him to follow her a bit off to the side. She sat back against one of the desks, crossing her arms, and Marcus settled himself right next to her.
"So," she started as she looked up at him with a small, knowing smile. "Are you going to tell me what is going on?"
He looked down at her in slight confusion. "About what?"
"Something is happening with you, Marcus," she stated confidently. "You remove your helmet and gauntlets, and pass with your bared hand above the surface in a seemingly casual manner, yet you wear a frown of concentration as if you're trying to sense something. And then you do. You suddenly stop for a split second, looking like you've had a sudden realization, a sudden find. Your eyes shift focus as if you're seeing a thousand images race in front of you for a split second, and you tilt your head unperceptively as if you're hearing some distant sounds. A moment after that, you suddenly have answers to what was happening in that location, disguising it as a 'gut feeling'. And the same thing seems to happen when you touch people. It happened now with that scientist as well."
She straightened from where she was leaning against the desk, turning and stepping up close in front of him with a knowing smirk on her lips, their armored bodies pressing together.
"So," she said, "are you going to talk?"
There was a moment of resigned pause from Marcus.
"I didn't realize I was that obvious," he said after a moment.
"Aw, poor baby, you still think you can keep things away from your wife," Jaina crooned with a warm smile, then tsk-ed. "I thought I had you trained better than that."
He chuckled heartily, shaking his head.
"And what about the others?" he asked somewhat more seriously. "Have they noticed something strange as well?"
"No," Jaina stated with a shake of her head. "As far as they are aware, that was your usual behavior. They don't know you as well as I do. Sooo," she trailed a finger down his armored front. "Are you going to tell me what is happening, or should I interrogate it out of you?"
He smirked. "I remembered liking it very much the last time when you interrogated me."
"Aw, and you lasted for sooo looong," she said passionately, squinting her eyes. "But in the end, not even a man like you could endure my techniques."
He chuckled, grabbing hold of her ass with one hand and pulling her in forcefully for a toe-wrenching kiss. They separated after a long moment, panting and looking into each other's eyes.
"Ain't that the truth," he said, making a content sigh. "To notice this on your own? Perceptive little minx, aren't you?"
She shrugged in mock helplessness, giving him an innocent look.
Marcus sighed and nodded. "Truth be told, it was never my intention to keep this hidden from you."
"Good boy," she said warmly. "Now, what is 'this' thing exactly?"
"Not completely sure," Marcus said somberly with a slight shake of his head. "But it is a sense of some kind. Not some metaphysical 'sixth' sense, but very real, very physical. It all began immediately after Feros, after I had received the Cipher from Thorian. I didn't realize anything at the time, though. It was like a… small feeling in my palms that I've never experienced before, and an itch at the back of my head that went with it. Over the next few days, it began to grow and develop, shaping into something more."
He raised his hand, looking down at it.
"Now, whenever I touch things, I get… impressions on those things. It was like I was absorbing information through my skin and interpreting it. If I would touch a person, I would get impressions of the things about that person. At first, it was only basic things: current emotions, whether the person was telling the truth or not – that sort of thing. Anything more than that was vague, having to be something very recent and very intense for the impression to pass through the threshold. But it was there all the time, like an instinct. It was guiding me in the way in which I had to use it. And it worked."
Jaina was silent, her face a mix of concern and concentration.
"Have there been any complications?" she asked. "Anything that would be troubling?"
He shook his head.
"Nothing," he said sincerely. "It's just a bit strange, that's all… Surely, you'd have noticed any changes before I did, right?"
"Hmm," Jaina hummed, looking off to the side with a frown. "I did notice that you wash your hands more often."
"Yeah," he said. "It's like an aftertaste in your mouth. Washing my hands cleans it up. Except that it's not just hands that I can use to sense things. I can feel strong emotions radiating. I just pick them up."
"Like mind reading?"
"No, this is not mind reading," he shook his head. "This is more like… picking up trails that are left in the air. Like chemistry."
"Why didn't you go to Doctor Chakwas with this?" she asked.
"You needed to be the first to know," he said simply. "Then, I'll go to Chakwas."
She smiled warmly at him. "Fair enough... So, what do you think this thing is, anyway? You say you received it via the Cipher; is it a Prothean thing, or is it a side effect from Thorian?"
"No, this is definitely Prothean," he stated. "The Cipher has given me a lot of… let's call it a recognition ability when it comes to all things Prothean. After the meld with Liara, a lot of things started to become clear. The Cipher has also developed, taken root. This ability is one of those things that came with the package."
She hummed, thinking on it.
"I feel that it would be wise of you to have another meld with Liara," she said seriously. "This ability wasn't manifested during that first time, and we don't really know what it is, or what it does."
Marcus looked at her, thinking it over.
"If it will make you feel better," he acquiesced.
"Come on," she said, standing up and motioning with her head sideways and smirking. "We need to make a lab rat outa you."
"Well, that's comforting," he chuckled as he followed her lead.
...