ACT IV
Part 1:
Seven entered the bridge of the Flyer first, and took her position behind the helm. Tali came in second, and sat at the helm; she gently brushed the joystick controls with her fingertips. She had practiced flying a couple of times in the holodeck. It was less efficient, but she appreciated the poetry of piloting a ship manually. Harry followed quickly behind her, and sat just behind her on her left. He took a deep breath.
"Alright, is everyone ready?" Tali asked.
"Affirmative. Mass effect drive is active; all systems go." Seven said.
"Alright, here we go." Tali took the controls in her hands. The shuttle gently lifted off, and zipped out of the shuttle bay. Both Harry and Seven gripped their consoles tightly. It seems that Tali has a bit of a lead foot; she flew the flyer like Tom when he is angry or excited. Once they were out of the shuttle bay they released their grip. There's no danger of hitting the ceiling of the shuttle bay once they are in space.
Tali aligned the shuttle to interact with the relay. "Before we jump, I want to do a quick systems check. Obviously life support, thrusters, and impulse propulsion are operational. How are sensors?"
"Sensors are go" Harry responded.
"Warp drive?"
"Go."
"Weapons?"
"Phasers are operational." Seven replied.
"Are kinetic barriers operational?"
"Affirmative." Seven said, somewhat frustrated that they couldn't keep their original shields, "They may be less efficient, than the original Borg shielding, but they are working."
"They're better than nothing. Your phasic shields required too much power for the mass effect drive to produce. Since we had to overhaul the power system of the Flyer to work with the relays. We had to cut somewhere. It was either the photonic missiles and the phasic shielding had to go or we didn't go. Unless you'd be willing to go without life support?"
"I don't think it will be a problem" Harry said, "By this universe's standards, the kinetic shields are still pretty strong. Considering no one here has phasic weapons or photon torpedoes, we shouldn't have anything to worry about."
"See?" Tali said, "We'll be fine."
Seven was skeptical, but decided not to press the issue. As long as this unnecessarily long test flight wasn't too unnecessarily long, Harry should be right.
"Alright, all seems to be in order." Tali said, "Let's do this." Tali signaled the mass relay and accelerated. When she drove through the enormous gyroscopic rings, a large blue lightning bolt struck the Flyer, and they were propelled forward. Harry and Seven jumped when the bolt hit the Flyer.
"The simulation didn't do that justice." Harry said, catching his breath.
"You get used to it. Well, if all goes according to plan, you'll be gone after too long so you won't get used to it. You know what I mean." Tali went back to her console. Through the windows the crew saw space replaced with flashing blue streaks of light. It was hypnotic, and a bit disorienting. "How are we doing, Seven?" Tali asked.
"The mass effect drive is holding steady, power output is well within acceptable levels."
"I'm not detecting any irregularities" Harry said, "Looks like smooth sailing."
"Good. I am locking in our destination. The Relays should automatically choose the best path to our ending relay." Tali swung around in her chair to face Harry and Seven, "now, all we have to do is wait."
"Great." Harry said, "How long will it be?"
"A few hours."
"Hours?" Seven asked.
"We could sit. Talk. I brought cards!" Tali said.
"They in the back?"
"Yes! I'll show you how a quarian plays poker."
"That's not fair! I can't see your face, how am I supposed to read your reactions?"
"Exactly."
"Excellent." Seven said, somewhat sarcastically, "If you two would like to play your game, you are free to do so in the back. I will stay here and monitor the drive output."
"Thank you, Seven," Harry said, "Tali?" Harry and Tali stood and walked into the back room of the shuttle. They set up a makeshift table out of cargo crates and Tali retrieved cards from her pocket, and shuffled them.
"Alright, Kim, I hope your ready, because I am not going easy on you."
Part 2
Tuvok escorted Shepard and Garrus to the teleporter. "So," Garrus started, "This isn't the first time you've time traveled."
"No," Tuvok responded, "It is not."
"You usually do more sight seeing?"
"On the occasions wherein we traveled through time, we did not 'sight see.' We devoted our efforts to getting home without damaging the timeline."
"How'd you do?"
Tuvok glared at Garrus.
"So, not well, then?"
Tuvok looked back ahead.
"Why so concerned? I mean, how do you know that when you travel back in time you aren't meant to travel back in time? Ugh, I just gave myself a headache."
"Every time we've traveled through time we've encountered a federation timeship from the future, tasked with preserving the timeline. If we were 'meant' to travel though time, this precaution from the future federation would not be necessary."
"Must be nice." Shepard said, starting to drag. Tuvok looked at her and raised an eyebrow. Shepard noticed that she heard him, "Knowing you have a future, I mean."
They reached the transporter room, and Shepard and Garrus climbed onto the platform, "Until next time, Tuvok," Shepard said. Tuvok nodded to the crewman and the two were transported to the Normandy.
Once on board their own ship again, Garrus said goodbye to the commander and walked to his post at the forward battery, to the cot he had set up beside the cannon. Shepard walked into the elevator, leaned against the wall, and groaned. She wasn't used to being this exhausted and this restless at the same time. She was exhausted, having not slept at all the night before. After Joker left the observation deck she stayed, staring out the window at the stars, avoiding going to her cabin. She stole another two of Joker's beers and waited for the morning.
She was restless; she wasn't used to spending this much time in one place. And now she was stuck, sitting and waiting for Tali to come back. It would be another day at least. And the waiting, not being able to help, being forced to stand on the sidelines while others did the work, it forced her to confront what she was about to do. Her mission after Voyager's departure: The derelict Reaper. The Omega 4 relay. No one's come back from it before, and Shepard didn't hold much hope that she would be the first. No matter how hard she tried, she couldn't sleep. Her mind kept racing.
She groaned again as the elevator doors opened.
"You are disappointing me, Operative Asterman. You do not want to disappoint me." Liara said, not looking up from her console as Shepard entered the cabin, "Get it worked out. Don't forget, if need be, you can easily be replaced." The comm link closed as Shepard flopped onto the bed.
"Are not you feeling well, Commander?"
Shepard mumbled into her pillow.
"I'm sorry, Commander? I couldn't hear you." Liara politely said.
Shepard turned her head, "Could you please not use my console to anonymously threaten people?"
"Pardon me?" Liara reacted, "Since when have you been afraid to get your hands dirty?"
"You're right, I've threatened people, and I've hurt people. But I am the one who's done those things. And they always knew it was me."
"Is the person working for a galactic xenophobic terrorist organization going to lecture me on ethics?"
Shepard groaned one more time and pushed herself up into a kneeling position on the bed, "what have you been doing this whole time?"
"You know what I've been doing."
"You can start a war in ten minutes, but it takes you three days to reroute incoming ships? I get that we don't want anyone seeing Voyager, but we came out here to avoid being found. Ensuring that no one comes out here shouldn't be taking this long."
"I have other tasks I need to see to. Tasks that will help with our battle against the Collectors and the Reapers."
"I know, I know. Just."
"Just what?" Liara said, becoming irritated that she and Shepard were having this conversation again.
"Just…I don't know…just be careful." Shepard said, lying down on the bed and too tired to have this conversation again.
"No one outside of this room except Faron knows I am the Shadow Broker. I have nothing to worry about. I appreciate your concern, but…" Liara looked up at Shepard, who had fallen asleep in her increasingly worn Cerberus uniform.
Liara sighed and went back to work.
Part 3
The door to the back room of the Flyer opened with exclamations from Harry, "I still say you were cheating."
"What, think I have an ace up my sleeve?" Tali asked.
"Yes!"
"Harry, my sleeves are attached to my gloves. Even if I had cards stuffed into my suit, there's no way I'd be able to get them out."
"You could have them in a pocket. You have hundreds of them." Tali and Harry laughed as they approached their terminals. "How has everything been up here, Seven?" Harry asked.
"Uneventful." Seven said, a little bitter that she wasn't involved in the game, even though she didn't want to be in the game. Whatever the case, she was a little bitter.
"Looks like I was right, Harry, we're approaching the relay."
"Then we'll get to see where we're going?"
"Coming out of the relay in three…two…one…" The blue lights disappeared, leaving only stars and a distant spherical body.
"So, is this where we were headed? What's so special about this?" Harry said, looking out the window.
"Look at your sensors." Tali responded, Harry looked back at his console. He looked up, back down, and back up.
"That's Pluto." He was stunned, Seven walked to his console and looked at the sensor readout, and back out the window.
"That's Pluto!" he repeated, "We're in the Sol system!" He was audibly excited.
"What do you say we make one more stop before getting back in the relay?" Tali asked. She looked back at a stunned Seven and Harry. Harry looked back at her, "lets do it!"
Tali spun back around to the helm and entered warp.
When they disengaged warp drive, they reached their destination; Earth was now within visual range. The crew could see that big beautiful blue marble that Harry and Seven had been striving toward for years. It was the size of a basketball just out the window.
"We…We shouldn't linger," Seven said, "We don't want to be detected."
"Don't worry about it. I'm a quarian. Not being noticed is what we do."
The shuttle hovered there, undisturbed, as the Voyager crewmembers gazed upon their planet. Seven confronted something she wasn't expecting. For everyone on Voyager, Earth was "home." They all remembered times spent on Earth, even if they weren't from Earth, they had spent time at the academy. They all wanted to be where they recognized they belonged. Seven didn't belong there. Did she? She did. She wasn't sure.
"There, that's San Francisco. That's where the academy is." Harry stood next to Tali, pointing to a coast on the right side of a large landmass. He then pointed out his birth home. The excitement with which he talked about Earth reminded Tali of her own feelings toward Rennoch.
"It's funny," Tali started, turning to Harry, "You were showing me my homeworld at the same time I was planning on showing you yours."
"It's close. It's fantastic." Harry snapped out of a homesick trance, "but it's not home. It's not my home. Not really. I'll walk on the Earth one day, my Earth. Along with the rest of my crew. We'll all get back home."
"You will."
"Alright. Let's get back." Harry moved to the pilot's chair, "We don't want to keep Voyager waiting." Just as he started to move, a large ship, with smooth edges and a dark, reflective metal hull dropped out of FTL on top of them.
"Holy…" Before Harry could react, a red beam was emitted from the ship. Crashing into the Flyer. The shuttle jostled around, "Kinetic barriers are down! They burned out!" Tali said.
"Evasive manuvers!" Harry said, taking the helm and flying the Flyer away from the ship.
"I thought no one here had phasers!" Seven said.
"We don't!" Tali said.
"Collectors?" Harry asked, frightened.
"No. I've never seen a weapon like this. It's overloading our systems but not damaging the hardware. A collector ship would just tear you to shreds."
BANG, jostle.
"And that's not a collector ship." Tali continued, "That's a…"
BANG, jostle.
"Propulsion is down. Seven?" Harry asked.
"I am targeting their weapons syst…" Seven started.
BANG, another jostle.
"Weapons are down." The Flyer floated in space, lightly spinning from inertia, but otherwise motionless. The ship few in close and opened it's docking bay doors. It began to envelop the Delta Flyer.
"I am trying to hail the Normandy, but they are not responding!" Tali was now shouting. She went back to her comm, "Delta Flyer to Normandy! Delta Flyer to Normandy! Come in, Normandy! This is Tali: Mayday! Mayday! We are under attack by an unknown assailant. We are without propulsion and weapons! They are taking us aboard! We need assistance. Repeat: We need assistance immediately! Please hurry!"
The shuttle bay doors closed. The shuttle was guided with standard docking assistance tech to a landing zone in the middle of the bay. Once they landed, Seven, Harry, and Tali heard a blowtorch on the hatch of the shuttle. They ran to the weapons locker in the back room and each grabbed a phaser. They stood behind whatever cover they could and waited for the doors to open. Once the doors shot open, they could see a battle mech on the other side with the torch. They fired. The mech's head exploded, and its body fell inside the Flyer. To the crew's surprise, the mech wasn't accompanied by anyone.
Tali walked to the mech, covered by Seven and Harry. She opened the back hatch, to see if there was any licensing information so they could know who they were up against. Instead, she saw a tank and a timer. 4…3…2…
"Harry! Seven!" the timer beeped and with a "pfft," the tank expelled a thin yellow gas. Then blackness.
Part 4
"I'm just saying the obvious: it's a bad idea." Tom said, handing a tool to B'elanna, as she lay under an open console in engineering.
"Bad idea or not, the other option is worse." She said, wrenching her words as she contorted her arm to fit within the confines of the machinery.
"In what possible way is it worse?"
Janeway entered Engineering and scanned the room, "Lieutenant Torres?"
"Over here, Captain." Tom called. Captain Janeway nodded at Tom and crossed the room to where he was standing.
"Lieutenant Torres, I was nearby and figured I would stop in. How are we doing?" B'elanna slid out from under the console.
"We're just about finished up here, Captain. By the time the Flyer returns, we'll be more than ready to jump into our own dimension, as long as someone can fly us through the relay." She glanced at Tom.
Tom feigned indigence, "I'll be ready. Don't worry."
"Good." The Captain turned to leave.
"While your here, Captain," Tom said, "Maybe you could talk some sense into B'elanna?"
"hmm?" Janeway turned around, and Tom shot a look at an annoyed B'elanna.
"Captain," B'elanna started, not liking being thrown under the bus, "I don't think we should leave the Normandy empty handed."
Janeway paused and tilted her head, "You're not saying what I think you're saying…"
B'elanna took in a deep breath, "I think we should give them weapons technology."
"I have to say, B'elanna, of all the people who I thought would say that…you may not be the one I least expected, but you're close."
"Listen, I know how much it is asking…"
"If you did, you wouldn't be asking."
"…but, after spending time with Garrus, with Tali, I…I believe them. I don't think they're lying about these Reapers."
"Or maybe," Tom interjected, "They're insane? We all know Shepard's nuts…demanding them in the first place…Listen, I spent time with Garrus, Tali, and Joker. They're all great people, I like them too, but we don't hand over photon torpedo specs to every good person we meet."
"No, but we do help those who need it. We got stranded in the Delta Quadrant when we helped the Ocampa by destroying the Caretaker."
"The Ocampa weren't galactic terrorists." Tom interjected,
"We gave the Hirogen holodeck technology, and they certainly weren't warm and fuzzy. We're not strangers to bending the Prime Directive when the situation calls for it."
"When the situation calls for it," Janeway said, "I will admit, I haven't observed the Prime Directive as closely as I should, but giving terrorists advanced weapons technology is out of the question."
"Especially terrorists obsessed with imaginary space boogie men." B'elanna shot Tom a look, "What? You honestly believe that these 'Reapers' are real?"
"I don't know, I just know that everyone I've talked to from the Normandy thinks they're real. And they're from here, we aren't."
"I appreciate your concern," said the captain, "but unless a Reaper personally shows up and introduces itself, I don't see me changing my mind. Report in once everything is up and running."
"Yes, ma'am," B'elanna said, clearly frustrated. Captain Janeway walked back to the bridge.
Part 5
"What's going on, Joker?" a now rested Shepard stormed up to the cockpit after being summoned by EDI and Joker, Liara followed.
"EDI said she found something that you need to hear. She won't tell me without you."
"I've detected an irregularity in the nearest comm buoy."
"An irregularity?"
"The buoy has been tampered with."
"How?"
"It appears hardware has been added to the buoy. It is not only facilitating communications; it is feeding information on communications to a third party."
"What?" Liara exclaimed, worried about her identity as the Shadow Broker.
"Someone bugged the buoy?" Shepard asked.
"It's more than that. They were using to buoy specifically to monitor us. We have been monitored since we arrived in this area of space." Liara was still panicked. She never should have left Halagaz. If her identity was leaked, there could be massive consequences: for her, for Shepard, for more.
"Someone's spying on us?" Shepard asked. She was angry that this snuck up on them.
"Not only us, the person or people who modified this comm buoy have also been spying on Voyager's systems. It is unclear how much information they've gained from our two ships."
"How did this get past you, EDI?" Joker asked, "Wouldn't someone have to be some sort of technical genius to hide from you?
"I believe that is exactly what we are dealing with. In order to hack through both my and Voyager's firewalls undetected, one would need a genius level knowledge of computing and communication technology."
"Can you trace it? Find out who's bugged us?"
"Unfortunately, no, I cannot follow the data stream. It was too well hidden."
"Damn it!" Shepard slammed her fist on the wall. She was already on edge working with Cerberus; she didn't like being spied on, "wait…'was?".
"Yes. Until recently, the buoy was only monitoring us. Two hours ago, it actively attempted to interrupt communications. It actively blocked messages from coming in."
"What?"
"This is why I was able to detect the interference. We received the first seven nanoseconds of the message before the buoy cut it off. If not being monitored by an AI, the interference wouldn't have been noticed. I was able to combat the interference to receive part of the message."
"What was the message?"
"The transmission was corrupted. I will play what I can."
…lyer to Normandy! Delta Flyer to Nor…s is Tali. Mayday May…der attack by an unknow…need assistance. Repeat: We need assist…lease hurry!
Every muscle in Shepard's body tensed, with a clenched fist and gritted teeth she said as calmly as she could, "You said the data stream 'was' untraceable. Can we trace this transmission?"
"Yes. The transmission originally came from the Sol system. However, the transmission was blocked from somewhere in the Faryar system."
"Joker. Hail Voyager. Now." Shepard demanded.
"Opening a channel." Joker hailed Voyager.
The terminal above Joker Switched from it's normal orange readout to a holographic depiction of the Voyager bridge, Tom sitting at the helm, Tuvok in the background, Chakotay sitting in the center of the room and Janeway standing in front of him.
"Captain." Shepard started.
"Commander." Janeway said.
"It has come to my attention that our privacy has been violated."
"Come again?"
"The nearest comm buoy has been tampered with. It's been monitoring our communication, probably since you've arrived."
"What?" Janeway stepped forward, then turned behind her, "Tuvok?"
"I am not detecting anything."
"We didn't detect it either. Apparently, we're dealing with someone outside either of our technical wheelhouses. And there's more."
"More?" Janeway asked.
"Whoever it is, they blocked an incoming transmission from the Flyer." Janeway perked up. "It was a distress signal."
"Do we know where they are?" Janeway was angry. Like Shepard, she didn't like anyone hurting her crew, and she didn't like depending on Shepard and the Normandy for this information.
"We have an idea, but it will require us going through the Relays to get to them."
"I'm sending an away team." Janeway was resolute.
"I wouldn't have it any other way," she held up three fingers, "Only three. Any more than that and we won't have enough room on the shuttle. And bring Mordin and the Doctor, we may need them."
"Affirmative. Voyager out." Janeway started to turn.
"Wait, captain." Shepard called, "I need you to do one more thing." Janeway turned back to the screen, "I need you to destroy the comm buoy."
"Shepard!" Liara rushed forward, "You can't just…"
Shepard pushed the button to close the channel to Voyager, and spun around to Liara, "Liara, We're destroying it. We cannot allow that sort of technology to exist."
Liara leaned in, trying to speak so only Shepard could hear, "With that technology I could collect information on every organization researching the Reapers. I could gather intel on anyone with minimal risk. If applied the right way, we could ensure lasting peace throughout the galaxy."
"No, Liara. No one should be able to effortlessly spy on anyone they want from across the galaxy, regardless of intention. I trust you, but I'm not going to allow you the free reign to tap any ship, station, or planet you want. No one should have that much power. Not even us."
"But think of how many lives we could save."
"I'm thinking of how many lives we could ruin." Shepard put her hands on Liara's shoulders and spoke as earnestly as she could, "My head's on straight now. You helped me figure things out. Thank you. We're going to save the galaxy. We're going to do it right." Shepard looked into Liara's eyes, looking for her agreement. For encouragement.
Liara turned away, stepped back from Shepard's arms, and walked away.
"Joker," Shepard ordered, "reopen the channel."
Part 6
"The channel died." Tom said, turning to Janeway.
"Third party?" Janeway asked.
"Doesn't look like it. It was closed on their end."
"Hail them back." Tom sent out another hail as Chakotay stood and walked to Janeway.
"I don't like this." He asked.
"Obviously."
"No. I mean, we're not detecting any intrusion into our communications. It could be some sort of trap?"
"Why? They spent three days helping us devise a way to get home and adapt the Flyer. Why help us?"
"It could be they just wanted the flyer. It may not have torpedoes or the borg weapons aboard, but they still have phasers, which, in this universe, could be devastating if they were able to reverse engineer them."
"Then why tell us the Flyer was missing in the first place? Why not just strand us here and abduct the flyer themselves? It doesn't make sense."
"Opening the channel again, ma'am" Tom interrupted.
Shepard and Joker reappeared on the screen, now without Liara. "Is everything alright?" Janeway asked.
"Yes. We're sending you the coordinates of the buoy. Blow it to hell."
"Won't someone come by to repair it?"
"Eventually, but we're pretty far off the beaten path, and communications can easily be rerouted to other buoys. It should be a week or so before anyone comes, and we'll be back and you'll be long gone by then." Janeway nodded "As soon as the away team is on board we'll leave for the Flyer."
"Affirmative." Shepard nodded and closed the channel. Janeway tapped the badge on her chest, "Janeway to the Doctor."
"Doctor here, go ahead," the Doctor responded.
"I need you and Mordin to meet Tuvok and me in transporter room 2." She started walking to the turbolift; Tuvok nodded and walked there as well.
"You're not going with the away team?" Chakotay asked as he followed her.
"Our people are missing. I'm going to get them back."
"I can't let you go. It's too dangerous."
"I'm not arguing with you. We can talk about what is and is not too dangerous when we get back. As soon as we transport I want you to destroy that beacon. We'll be back as soon as we can." The turbolift doors closed. Chakotay clenched his jaw and walked back to the center of the room.
After a brief stop to the armory, Janeway and Tuvok walked into the transporter room.
"Phaser rifles?" The Doctor asked, already standing on the transporter platform with Mordin, "Is everything okay?"
"No." Janeway walked onto the platform and nodded at the crewman behind the console.
Janeway, Tuvok, Mordin, and the Doctor transported into the Normandy CIC beside the galaxy map. Shepard stood on the platform above the map, towering over the crew like a queen, "Okay, Joker," she said, "They're on board. Hit it."
The ship took off, flew by the Mass Relay, and was thrust into the relay network. Shepard walked down the stairs to Janeway and Tuvok. "Captain," she presented her hand to Janeway, "Welcome to the Normandy." Janeway took Shepard's hand and shook with a firm grasp. "Joker's got us on the way, and we'll be in the system where we suspect the Flyer was taken soon."
"You believe the Flyer was moved?"
"Yes. The distress signal came from the Sol system, but the transmission was blocked from a different system."
"Kelly," Shepard turned to the perky redheaded crewmember behind her, "Please take our guests to the crew lounge until we arrive in Faryar?" She turned back to Janeway, "It should be a couple of hours."
Kelly stepped forward, "Yes ma'am," She addressed the Voyager crew, "It's a pleasure to meet all of you; welcome to the Normandy. The elevator is this way," she gestured to the elevator behind them.
Tuvok turned back to Shepard. "Problem, Tuvok?" Shepard asked.
"We lack sufficient evidence to say that the Flyer was abducted. They could have simply been attacked." Tuvok said.
"That's true. Though, I find it hard to believe that some tech genius would go through the trouble to bug our communications and block transmissions just so they could blow up a ship from the future. I think there is something about the Flyer that they want. And if not, if they did just blow up the Flyer and kill our crewmates, we can at least return the favor."
After a few hours of rousing conversation with Kelly, Janeway was summoned to the cockpit. When walking up the path, she saw Shepard standing behind joker, now in her grey armor with what looked like weapons attached to her back and hips. "Ah, Captain. Enjoy your tour of the crew deck?"
"I did. What is Kelly's position on the Normandy?"
"Yeoman. Why?"
"I could swear she was trying to psycho-analyze Tuvok."
Shepard let out half a chuckle. 'I would pay to see that,' she thought. "We could use your help. We are in the system where the transmission block originated. There are no ships in the area, and we scanned the only habitable planets and found nothing. We were hoping you could give us a clue? Is there some way you know of that we can pinpoint the Flyer?"
The captain brought her hand to her chin and let out a "hmm," then "have you scanned for dilithium?" Shepard pursed her lips and furrowed her brow, trying to recall anything called dilithium. "It's the power source for our warp drive, but nothing in this dimension. Any dilithium that comes up on your scanners should be the Flyer." She walked to the terminal at the back of the cockpit, "May I?" Shepard nodded.
Captain Janeway's fingers danced on the holographic interface, adjusting the sensors so they could detect the rare element, "there, try it now." She said.
"Commander, we got something." Joker said, "It looks like a small base on Quarem."
"Quarem. Shepard said, determined.
"Quarem?" Janeway asked, not recognizing the name.
"You'd call it a 'demon class planet:' really hot, high gravity, thick/toxic atmosphere. Not the sort of place I'd like to set up a picnic." Joker said.
"But exactly where you'd want to go to set up a base if you didn't want to be found. EDI, what are we looking at?"
"It appears the base is largely subterranean. Powerful mass effect fields enclose the base, regulating temperature and atmosphere and gravity. We will not be able to breach the envelope undetected." EDI said.
"They've been watching us, remember? They know we're coming anyway." Shepard turned to Janeway, "I don't know what we'll find when we enter the base. We don't have the spare armor; I understand if you'd prefer to stay here while we go in and get the crew back."
"Don't ask me that again. My people are in there, just like yours. We go in together." Janeway extended her hand. Shepard nodded, grabbed Janeway's hand, and firmly shook it.
After the moment, Shepard ordered to the ceiling, "Garrus, Mordin, grab your gear and head to the Shuttle Bay. Tuvok, Doctor, you too. We're going on a rescue mission."
Part 7
Harry awoke on a jagged stone floor. He groaned as he looked around to try and catch his bearings through his blurry vision. Tali was lying on the floor beside him; he shook her awake. She groaned as Harry did, and put her head in her hand. She shook her head and looked at Harry, who's eyes were fixed ahead, she followed his gaze.
In front of them was a metal cage door, made of simple dingy black metal bars. On the other side of the cage was one armed mech. As they awoke, the mech tapped the side of its head, activating it's comm link.
"What is that thing?" Harry asked.
"Armed mech. People use them like security guards. Are you okay?"
"Yeah, my head hurts, but that's it. You?"
"No worries. Seven how are…" The two looked around the dark cell. "Seven?" She wasn't there. The cell was pretty small, not big enough to lie down in, so where was she?
"Seven?" Harry called, "Where is she?"
"Where are all of us? This isn't a ship, this is a planet." Tali moved to activate her omni-tool.
Nothing.
She moved again, signaling the tool to activate.
Nothing.
"You'll find your omni-tool will have trouble activating." Said a high pitched voice on the outside of the cage door. "I've disabled it." It was dark, but the pair could see a salarian. He was shorter than Mordin, younger too. His orange-tinted skin was almost completely smooth, except for large protruding red scales on his horns and a scar over his eye. His scarred eye was replaced by a metal one, with a glowing green light in its center.
"Who are you? Where are we?" Tali demanded.
"Where is Seven?"
The salarian chuckled, "The drone is helping me with some much needed research. That's all you really need to know." The salarian looked them up and down, "That ship is very impressive. More impressive than anything I've ever seen. Voyager must be a marvel."
"How do you know about Voyager?"
The salarian ignored Harry, "I'm tempted to keep it and fly it myself. She is a beauty. Almost salarian in design. But, Alas, after my research with the drone I will have to take her apart. Extrapolate. Rebuild. Reincorporate."
"You can't keep us in here forever. Shepard will come for us, if we don't get out and grind you to a pulp ourselves." Tali said, Harry too invested in the situation to be surprised by Tali's phrasing.
"Oh, I am well aware. I am good, but that damn EDI is incredible. They will come for you, and I will be ready. As for you breaking out prematurely…" The salarian paused, "I am sure you are able. Though, if you had something else to worry about…" The salarian pulled out a small sidearm and shot Harry in the stomach.
"Harry!" Tali shouted as he grabbed his stomach and keeled over, moaning in pain.
"Don't worry. STG developed bacteria used as interrogation tool." Harry's face contorted as he writhed on the floor, "The effects are temporary. Without an antidote, the effects will subdue around ten minutes or so. Nonleathal. Unless you happened to somehow evolve into a species with no immune system." The salarian shot Tali in the arm; she also fell over. Through the pain, she focused as hard as she could to repair the breach in her suit.
"Quarians. So well trained. Look at you, sealing the section of the suit, filling the hole. Even if you know the bacteria is already in your bloodstream. You probably have, what, 30 minutes?" Through clenched teeth, Tali grunted out a string of quarian swears.
"Right, well." The salarian put his sidearm away, "Back to the lab for me. Do have fun." He started walking away.
"Why?" Harry asked, panting on the floor, "why are you holding us if you're just going to kill us?"
The salarian stopped walking, tilted his head, and let out a high pitched "huh…" before turning the corner, and disappearing.
Part 8
There was no shutter on the shuttle bay. It could be that those at this base had never expected for someone to find them. It could be that they figured the mass effect generators did the job of keeping the atmosphere out anyway, why add a door? The crews in the shuttle didn't complain, it meant they didn't have to find another way in. But still, why?
The Kodiak shuttle landed in the shuttle bay beside the Delta Flyer. No signs of movement inside the shuttle bay, so the crews exited the shuttle, reasonably confident that they wouldn't be spotted, but armed anyway. This left Shepard uneasy. 'They know we're coming. They must be massing somewhere else, ready to ambush.' Janeway and Garrus went straight to the Delta Flyer. Janeway hopped into the pilot's seat and tapped away at the console,
"Structurally, the damage isn't that bad. The propulsion and weapons systems were overloaded and the door was forced open. If we can get those back online…" Janeway opened the panel underneath the pilot's console. She disconnected and crossed some wires. The ship's machines whirred on. "That should do it for now."
"What kind of weapon disengages the ship's systems but doesn't damage the ship?" Garrus asked.
"I recognize this tech." Mordin interjected, "STG weapons tests. Highly classified."
Shepard looked at Mordin, stunned, "STG? The salarians have this type of technology?"
"No. Never worked. Wanted way to disarm ships without harming crew."
"An effective peacekeeping measure." Tuvok interjected.
"Exactly. Could prevent armed assaults without casualties. However, tests proved useless. Always 'cooked' inside of ship. Fruitless endeavor."
"Is this an STG base?"
"Unlikely. Doesn't match STG protocol. No shuttle bay door. No one guarding point of entry. Sloppy. Not STG. Perhaps…was STG?"
"We'll find out when we get Tali back." Garrus anxiously interrupted, "The Flyer's operational. We can take both shuttles when we leave. We need to get going."
"Tuvok? Can you find Harry?" The captain asked.
Tuvok looked at his tri-corder, "The rocks are causing interference. His comm badge is here, but I cannot see how far away he is, or in what direction."
"At least we know he's here. We'll keep an eye on it. Let's move." The captain said.
As the two crews left, Janeway leaned into Shepard "STG?"
"I'll explain later." She whispered and then loudly ordered, "Eye's open everyone. If no one's here, that means they're somewhere else."
Shepard and Janeway took point, as they walked through the winding rock tunnels of the base. Garrus took the rear. The Doctor was in the middle and was flanked by Tuvok in front and Mordin in back. Everyone was focused, noting the smallest details, watching for an ambush, as per Shepard's warning. Janeway and Shepard turned at a split in the tunnel to face a small squadron of three armored mechs coming around a corner ahead.
"Captain! Look out!" Shepard wrapped herself around Janeway as three bullets buzzed off her kinetic barriers. Tuvok took aim and fired, destroying one of the mechs. The Doctor ducked as Mordin and Garrus fired, destroying the two others. Shepard stepped back as her barriers regenerated, "You okay?"
"I am fine." Janeway said, appreciative but slightly embarrassed that she needed saving.
"Captain" Tuvok said, as more mechs came around the corner. The group retreated to each side of the T junction behind them. The CO's on one side, the rest on the other. The mechs were massing on the other corner, and were firing and advancing without regard for their wellbeing. The crews peeked around the corners and fired, hitting mechs, but not reducing numbers.
"This isn't working!" Shepard shouted and fired.
"You're telling me." Garrus said.
Shepard sat back and activated her Omni-Tool. She hacked into one of the mechs, who started firing on the others, but was immediately destroyed, "That didn't go as well as I would have hoped." She turned to Garrus, "How about a little thunder and lightning?"
"You sure that will work?"
Shepard peeked around the corner, and quickly ducked back as bullets ricochet off the rock. "No," she said with a smirk, "Everyone, hold your fire! Garrus, on three. One…" Garrus activated his Omni-tool, "Two…" they made eye contact and nodded, "Three!"
Shepard started to run around the corner but, to Tuvok, Janeway, and the Doctor's astonishment, disappeared. Garrus peaked around the corner and hit a button on his Omni-tool. A large blue spark erupted in the group of mechs, causing many of them to shake. Suddenly, the head of the furthest back of the mechs twisted around until it was facing backwards. It fell to the ground. The mechs continued to march toward the group, another's head twisted around, but didn't fall. Instead, his knees bucked, his arms were held straight out, and it began firing on the others with more precision than before. Shepard's cloak dissipated, and she was visible again, holding the mech up like a shield and using its weapon to fire on the others. Now surrounded and unsure which side to prioritize, the mechs were picked off, one by one, by the group and Shepard.
Shepard threw down the broken mech she was using for a shield, now filled with holes, "See? I told you it would work." As Shepard was walking toward the group, another mech turned the corner and aimed for Shepard.
"Commander!" Janeway raised her rifle and fired, hitting the mech in its chest and causing it to burst. Shepard looked at the mech and back to Janeway. They nodded to each other.
"How did she…" The Doctor said to Mordin.
"Shepard is an Alliance N7 Infiltrator. She's been given biomechanical implants that assist in her avoiding detection. Including tactical cloak."
"Tuvok?" the captain asked.
"We are getting closer. However, I am still unable to get an exact location."
"Good enough for me," Shepard said, "Stay close everyone. We'll find them."
Part 9
Harry lay in the center of the cell, sweating and panting. The effects of the drug were wearing off, 10 minutes of fever induced torture. He looked outside the cell; the mech was still there, watching emotionlessly. "Tali? Tali, are you okay?" Harry groaned as sat up leaning against the cell wall. Tali was beside him, in a shivering ball.
"I'm…fine…" Tali spoke without moving her head. She was focused on fighting the infection, as much as she could. She tried to will herself well, but she's never felt this bad. Her fever was intense, her mask was beginning to condensate, which she couldn't see anyway since her eyes were closed to combat her nausea.
"We're going to get out of here, Tali!" Harry said, pulling her close, trying to keep her body warm with his arms, "We're going to be fine." He lied.
"I know, Garrus." Tali said, leaning into Harry, still shivering, "I won't let you die." Harry never felt so helpless. He could do nothing for her, but sit and wait, to make her feel comfortable. He held her and closed his eyes.
He heard a phaser rifle and a small burst. He opened his eyes to see the smoking legs of the mech hit the ground without it's top half. He looked up to see Captain Janeway and Commander Shepard run into his field of vision, followed by Tuvok, the Doctor, Mordin, and Garrus. The Captain and Mordin stopped to look at the cell door, and the Commander, Tuvok, and Garrus moved forward to the corner, and scanned the area with their weapons and ran back. The Doctor Walked to the cage wall to inspect the people inside.
"It looks like an old jail cell" The captain said, "No interface, no tech. Just bars."
"He captured a quarian. A talented one at that." Shepard said, "Don't want any tech nearby at all." She addressed Tali and Harry, "Is everything alright?"
Harry shook his head.
"Stand back" Shepard ordered everyone. She activated her omni-tool brought her right fist up by her head. A holographic blade extended from the tool and Shepard swiped her fist down with a growl. The lock melted and the door opened as Shepard's omni-tool flashed and deactivated. Janeway and the Doctor rushed into the cell.
"You downloaded a blade to your omni-tool?" Mordin asked.
"Yeah. It's still full of bugs, though. The damn thing keeps crashing." Shepard slapped her forearm and the tool reactivated without the blade.
"What happened?" Janeway asked Harry.
"He…he poisoned us." Harry said as the Doctor scanned Tali.
"Can you stand?"
Harry nodded. The Captain helped him slide out from under Tali, who was gently laid down on the floor. The two of them walked out of the cell.
"Where is Seven?"
Harry shook his head, "I don't know. He said she was helping him with research. I think he may have killed her." Janeway's jaw clenched
"Commander!" The doctor called. Shepard came to him. "She's in bad shape. We need to treat her, immediately."
"What do you need?"
"A sterile environment, which we aren't going to get here."
"The Flyer." The captain suggested.
"Yes! I can use the force fields on the Flyer to create a makeshift sick bay, but I don't have supplies to treat a quarian."
"There should be a first aid kit in the Kodiak." Shepard said, "Garrus, escort The Doctor, Mordin, Tali, and Harry to the shuttle bay…"
"Commander, Dr. Solis should stay with you. Once the sterile environment is created, I'm the only one who can ensure it stays that way, since I am a hologram. Seven may need Dr. Solis' help." Shepard looked at Mordin, who nodded.
"Very well. Escort the Doctor, Harry, and Tali to the shuttle bay. Once the Doctor is squared away, establish a defensible position. Hold the shuttle bay until we get back." Garrus nodded and picked up Tali. "Harry" Shepard turned to Harry and placed her hand on his shoulder, "Are you okay?"
Harry nodded.
"Can you work a weapon?"
Harry nodded.
Shepard pulled out her sidearm and gave it to Harry, "This is a Phalanx. I know that doesn't mean much to you, but know that it has a hell of a kick, be careful." She handed him the weapon. It was much larger and much heavier than a phaser. Harry held it in his hands for a moment, and then gripped the handle, finger on the trigger guard. Shepard continued, "You've got this, soldier."
Harry looked at Janeway who nodded. He looked back at Shepard, "Yes, ma'am." The Doctor, Garrus, and Harry walked away, Tali in Garrus' arms.
"Tuvok?" Janeway asked again, needing no other words.
"Seven's comm badge is still active. It is further down this passageway." Tuvok pointed forward.
"We're not done yet, people. We're not leaving without Seven." Captain Janeway said.
"Let's go get this son of a bitch." Shepard said.
The crew walked down the pathways, weapons drawn and alert. They dealt with another few more mech squads on their way, which told them they were on the right track. The four people worked as a single squad, acting and reacting without talking. They had different training, they were from different universes, but they had a singular goal in mind. They were determined to do whatever it took to get the last crewman back.
They came to a large laboratory door. "Everyone ready?" Janeway asked, she looked left; Mordin and Tuvok nodded. She looked right; Shepard nodded. Janeway touched the holographic panel and the laboratory door quickly swished open.
No one was ready.
Part 10
Seven lay on a lab table tilted toward the door surrounded by consoles, holographic projections, and trays of surgical and technical instruments. Her wrists, ankles, and waist were strapped to the table, though she had long stopped struggling.
The irises of her eyes glowed a bright blue. Tubes the width of her pinkie finger with glowing blue stripes ran from under her eye sockets to under her chin. Two other tubes ran from behind her ears, down her neck, and into incisions between her collarbones. A round hub was dug into her right shoulder, with three tubes sticking out of the sides with their ends burrowed into her shoulder. Several sockets were left open for more tubes. Her skin was becoming a pail blue.
"Where is the Doctor?" Seven asked, panicked, "I need the Doctor…"
"Mordin," Shepard ordered. Mordin put his firearm away and ran to the table, inspecting Seven in hopes of restoring her. He waited to remove the restraints until he got a better look at the situation.
"Oh, God." Captain Janeway exclaimed, "What is this? Who would…"
"I think…I think I recognize this technology."
"Of course you do, Commander." A salarian voice came from behind a towering server. Tuvok, Janeway, and Shepard focused their guns in the direction of the voice, where a red and orange salarian with a robotic eye walked from behind the server, hands in the air, "You've killed more husks than anyone else in the galaxy." The crew did not lower their weapons, "And mechs, so it would appear. Waste of credits." The salarian turned his head toward Mordin, "Hello, Professor."
"Korvin." Mordin said.
"He one of yours, Mordin?"
"No. Supposed to be on Genophage project. Experiments deemed unethical. Eventually discharged dishonorably."
"Can we put the weapons away? As you can see, I am disarmed." Korvin waved his arms. The crew kept their weapons in their hands, but lowered them from their active firing positions. "Thank you."
"What the hell is going on here?" Shepard asked.
"Have you met this drone, Commander? Fascinating specimen."
"She's not a drone. She is an individual, and is due the same rights as any other individual." Janeway said, trying to suppress her anger.
"Oh, she is so much more than that." Korvin dismissed her, "Commander, you've seen Husks. You've seen their strength. Their dexterity."
"I've seen enough to know they're monsters. Nothing more."
"Husks?" Janeway asked, eyes fixed on Korvin.
"Reaper ground troops. Humans who are infected with Reaper technology. They become mad, bloodthirsty, wild monsters."
"Yes, you are correct." Korvin confessed, "Husks do tend to attack…everything they see. I wondered, 'how can I implement Husk technology to increase a soldier's strength to that of a Husk, without the madness.' I had just about given up. And then, Voyager came into my life." Korvin gestured toward Janeway, "and the drone." He gestured toward Seven, who's arm restraints were being unfastened by Mordin. "I thought, 'what answers does the Borg technology hold? Is there some way I could use this Borg drone to bridge the gap between man and machine?' And do you know what I found?"
"That you've gone insane?" Shepard answered.
"They come from the same place! The Borg and the Reapers! They share an evolutionary tree!"
"What are you talking about?" Shepard asked.
"These Borg are descendants of the Reapers! They were developed through the synthesis of machine and organics hundreds of thousands of years ago!" Korvin became very excited, "It's the same technology! Within this drone is the potential for all the strength and physicality of the Husks without the mindless rage! This drone is the bridge we need! By merging Borg and Reaper technology I can develop super-soldiers unlike the galaxy has ever seen. Faster, stronger, more obedient."
"Okay. You're going to die now."
Korvin forced himself to calm down, "No, Commander. I am going to continue my research."
"You have three heavily armed people who are determined to stop you. The subject of your perverted experiments is being disconnected as we speak. How the hell do you figure you're going to continue?"
"You're going to let me."
"Try again."
"You're smart, Shepard. Practical. You know the Reapers are coming, and you'll do anything you can to stop them. You know what this research could produce. This research could mean the difference between survival and destruction, and you know it." As Korvin spoke, Janeway looked at Shepard to read her reaction. After all, the first time they met, Shepard was trying to extort weapons technology from them. Is Korvin wrong, or is Shepard going to try to let him continue?
"How many people are there in the galaxy?" Korvin continued, "10 billion salarians, 6 billion turians, 11 billion humans…5.5 billion asari, I hear you have a soft spot for the asari" he smiled, "Or do you? I must say, watching your little drama with the Dr. T'Soni has been endlessly entertaining."
"No." Shepard said, raising her weapon and gripping the tightly, "We're going to save the galaxy. But we're going to do it the right way."
"Don't you understand what I am doing? We cannot defeat the Reapers on our own! This gives us the tools to turn their weapons against them! This may even lead to technology that allows us to control the Reapers!"
Janeway listened to Shepard's answer carefully, "I will not let us sacrifice who we are to survive. This research was bought through deception, kidnapping, torture, and murder. I will not allow it to continue." Shepard, eyes locked on Korvin, fired at the server, destroying it with loud bangs and sparks.
Korvin, yelled with a start, "WHAT ARE YOU DOING?" Shepard looked around the room and fired at every storage device she could find. "STOP" Korvin yelled, "YOU'LL RUIN EVERYTHING." He ran toward Shepard. She stopped firing and grabbed the shirt of his collar with her left hand. She pulled him close, her grip was strong and her eyes were on fire, "You're done, Korvin. Seven is coming with us, your data is destroyed. Stop. Stop before I'm forced to shoot something else." She pressed the muzzle of the submachine gun against his stomach, "Something squishier."
She dropped him to the floor, "Mordin, how are we doing?"
Mordin stood, supporting part of Seven's weight. He had removed the Husk tube hub from her shoulder, but the conduits on her face and neck remained, "I've done everything I can here. Possibly we'll have more luck on Voyager. Ready to go."
"Alright, everyone," She shot the last data storage device, "Let's go home."
"NO!" Korvin screamed, "YOU'VE KILLED US, COMMANDER! YOU'VE KILLED US ALL!"
Korvin continued to scream as Mordin led the way out of the laboratory, followed by Tuvok. Shepard and Janeway walked out close behind. As they made their way through the tunnels, Janeway stopped Shepard, "I wasn't sure you were going to let him live."
"Me either." She responded, still shaken and angry.
"Why did you?"
Shepard paused, unsure of her answer, "He was unarmed. And Seven was your crewmate. If anyone was going to kill him, it should be you." The two CO's nodded to each other out of respect. Wordlessly, they walked toward the shuttles.