REQUIEM
CHAPTER THIRTY:
REQUIEM PART ONE
November 17, 2185
0833 hours.
Shuttle Bay, Normandy-Class Stealth Frigate Normandy SR-2, In Orbit over Aratoht, Bahak System.
Commander Marcus Lee Shepard, Chief Engineer Tali'Shepard vas Normandy, Gunnery Master Garrus Vakarian, Major General Kal'Reegar vas Normandy, First Lieutenant Madi'Soi vas Ceresa, Second Lieutenant Jacob Taylor, Master Thief Kasumi Goto, Justicar Samara, Staff Commander Kaidan Alenko.
The shuttle bay had never looked as daunting. Marcus marched forward and out of the elevator as it stopped and the doors slid open, omitting him entrance. He was fitting on his gloves as he moved forward, the Terminus armor fitting extremely well on him for armor that wasn't built for military manufacturing. He preferred his older Blood Dragon Armor, but obviously that armor couldn't be worn anymore, so he had to make do.
It wasn't long before he arrived beside the remaining kodiak of the frigate, the Normandy still having not gotten a replacement. The fact that the shuttle no longer flew Cerberus colors, as was the same with the Normandy herself, did alleviate that fact, and its new red and black colors would hide it well; if he was lucky, the Hegemony would mistake it for one of their own aircraft. He sighed inside his helmet, placing a hand on it and sliding it along the smooth metal surface, trying to feel the kodiak but unable to. He guessed this is what Tali must have felt like inside the suit.
No, he chastised himself, you musn't think about her. Shove those thoughts away. Focus on the mission. Only on the mission. If you do that, the quicker you can get back to her, safe and sound. Just focus on the task at hand. He inhaled and then exhaled, pushing himself off of the shuttle hatch as the doors to the elevator opened once more, and he turned to face them, removing his helmet in the process and pinning it under his right arm.
Kaidan was practically the first one to exit, clad in casual clothes and sporting a thin smile. His smile grew upon seeing his commander however, and he nodded curtly in his direction as he approached. Garrus wasn't far behind him, and neither was Jacob, Kal or Madi, for that matter.
"Shepard," Kaidan greeted, still sporting his smile as he came to stand next to Marcus, "I just heard what happened from Tali," his smile quickly dropped as he leaned back against the shuttle next to the spectre, "I can't believe Hackett is making you do this. Its insane."
He shrugged his shoulders, the gesture feeling more like an effort that should have in the armor he was wearing, "It is what it is. All that I care about is that I've been assigned for this task, and I'm going to do my damnest to make sure I get Kenson out. I bet you heard about the Reapers too."
"Damn right I did," Kaidan actually looked scared as he gulped and replied, hesitantly, "Seven days. Or is it six now? I can't believe they're that close. I can practically feel them...looming over us."
Garrus spoke up, his voice full of jest, "If that's the case, could you lean over and poke Harbinger in the eyes for me? His breath stinks," noticing the serious glares being shot at him, Garrus shook his head, meeting their glares in earnest, "I always thought alittle humor helped with situations like this. What's the point of fighting a war if you're damn gloomy and depressed all the time? We knew the Reapers were coming all along; we just got the timing a bit out of wack. Only thing that annoys me about this is the lack of...well, me down there. And the lack of Tali."
He shook his head, sighing heavily, "I have to do this alone. How many more times do I have to repeat that?"
"When it starts to sound less self-righteous and egotistical," Garrus replied dryly, "Remember what you said at your wedding? What we said to each other?"
Marcus' expression dropped, and he managed to say the words loudly enough for everyone to hear, "There's no Shepard without Vakarian."
Garrus nodded, "You're damn right. And from what I'm hearing, there's going to be a serious lack of Vakarian there, and only half a Shepard."
Marcus winced at that. He knew what Garrus meant by only 'half a Shepard' and it just served to rub his already sore mental bruises, "You act like I want this. Don't you think I want to bring Tali with me? Don't you think I want to go in, guns blazing, with my Dextro duo? Don't you think I'd rather bring all of you?" he motioned to everyone in the room, along with the fresh lot of people coming down the elevator, "Of course I want to! I'd like nothing better than to bring you all with me! But this isn't the Collector Base! This isn't the Citadel where all we have to worry about is stopping a Reaper from bringing annihilation upon us all and kill a rogue spectre! This is an operation that requires delicacy! It needs stealth. It needs someone with special operations experience and experience in 'no-strings attached' missions," he tapped his chestplate, "That's me."
"That's a load of bullshit. Stealth?" Garrus laughed, pointing at the newly arriving Kasumi, who had just arrived with the rest of the remaining squad, "She's a bloody master thief. The amount of times I've seen her using that cloak just to play pranks on me is just too much for me to right on the little roster I've got going. If anyone should be going with you, its her."
Marcus shook his head, turning to the thief in question, "Broken any prisoners out of prison before? You know, a prison full of murderous guards?"
She gave him a lopsided frown, "I'm a thief. What do you think? I steal trinkets, not people."
He raised an eyebrow at her, nodding before turning back to Garrus, eyebrow still raised, "See? Having a cloaking device doesn't mean your the 'bust person out of jail' person. I haven't broken people out of prison, but at least I have the experience to be able to do so. Besides, Tali's put a tracking device on my omni-tool. If you ever need to find me, you'll know where I am."
Garrus sighed, finally giving and shrugging, the rest of the crew forming up around the shuttle hatch, "Fine. I just hope you know what you're doing. I don't like you going in there alone. Brothers should fight together."
"You won't find any disagreement with me. But if that's the way it has to be, so be it," Marcus lamented, sighing as he pushed himself off the shuttle hatch. The rest of the squad had now formed around him and were waiting for him to speak, and it was then that he noticed the massive gap in their crew. Zaeed, Miranda, Jack, Grunt, Wrex, Liara, Mordin, Lia, Thane and Legion. All of them had left, and he had understood their reasons, and some of them simply had to leave due to injuries. But their absence had made the Normandy feel emptier, and that just made it even sadder. But he couldn't worry about that. The mission must always come first.
"As you all know by now, we're here to rescue a scientist named Amanda Kenson. She's being held in a batarian prison on the planet below on terrorism charges," the spectre explained, licking his lips to wet them as he continued, "It's vital I rescue her without starting a war; her living is the only thing that will help us in stopping a Reaper invasion due to occur in just six days. This is code red, and I've been given orders from the highest in the Alliance Navy; so this is serious shit. Which is why I'm going in alone. This mission requires absolute stealth, and for that I need to be able to move in quietly."
He looked around the group, all of them having their own silent objections. Kal and Madi shrugged, with Jacob looking ready to say something, but quickly closing his mouth. Kaidan and Garrus had already heard of course and remained in silence, as did Kasumi, the thief standing at Garrus' side. Samara looked as stone-faced and indifferent as usual, hands clasped behind her back, and she nodded her head at Marcus as his eyes moved past her form, giving him her understanding. Tali of course stood nearby and next to the shuttle, giving him a light smile behind her face, although it was full of reluctance. He gave her his own smile before reluctantly turning away, moving to put his helmet on, "The Normandy will remain in stealth during the remainder of this mission. Once I require pickup, you'll do so and we'll head over to Kenson's base. With luck, we'll stop the Reapers and buy ourselves some extra time."
"I don't know what to say Commander," Jacob spoke up, shaking his head, "All I can say is...good luck. Try not to get killed. And if you ever decide, 'to hell with this lone wolf bullshit,' then just call us. I'm sure Garrus will be ready to load up the Thanix Cannon, and EDI ready to fire it. And Tali will likely have her shotgun in reach, I don't doubt."
He grinned, laughing as the rest of the group did. Tali spoke up once the laughter descended, and everyone faced her, especially Marcus, "And Chiktika; she'll have a few words to say too. I'll also give you a personal reminder to stay safe and try not to cause too many explosions, you crazy bosh'tet. Your obsession is quite unhealthy."
His smile was grim, but it was one of attempted warmth, "I'll keep that in mind. Thank you," he turned to all of them, "All of you. I wish I was going down there with a team, but today is my day. I'll try not to end it on a bloody note."
He turned to the hatch, the pilot opening it as he took the helmet from under his armpit. He was about to put it on when Kasumi's voice rose up from behind him, and he halted his movement, helmet lowering back into his hand as he turned back to face the thief, who had run up to join him. The rest of the squad had looked about to leave, but stopped as all eyes dropped on the master thief. He looked her in the eyes, his face hard and of stone.
"What is it, Kasumi?" He asked.
She nodded and reached into one of her pockets, pulling out a spherical device and slipping it into one of his hands, "My tactical cloak. You'll need it."
His eyes widened and he quickly shook his head, eyes meeting hers, "Kasumi, no. I can't take this. You need this, and I-"
"My pranks can wait," she joked, shaking her head and forcing the hand into his pocket, where she then made him drop it there, "You need it more than me. It'll help with the whole stealth thing. Just...just try not to overclock it. That cloak is one a kind. The only one that doesn't need a recharge. Just...be careful with it, Shep."
He smirked, "Glad the device is your only concern. I'll try not to get blood all over it."
"See that you don't. Remember: expensive and ultra rare hardware," she whispered the last bit giggling. She went to say goodbye, but saw Tali in her peripherals and simply nodded at him, "I think a certain quarian wants to speak with you. Good luck, Shep. And try not to get this Kenson gal burnt. And don't give me that look. You can't go one day without causing even one explosion, no matter how small."
He shook his head, grinning as the thief ran off and he turned to Tali, the rest of the squad already leaving, with Jacob giving him a solid salute before doing so. Tali was fiddling with her fingers. His posture slumped at the sight of it, and he wanted nothing better than to hold her. To kiss her cheek. Whisper in her that everything will be alright. But he couldn't promise that. It wasn't a promise he wished to break. So instead he spoke, his voice low and soft, and meant for her ears only, "I'll be fine, I swear it."
She looked up at him, sighing, letting her hands fall to her sides, "I know. I'm just...keelah, I'm just so worried. I can't stop thinking 'what if.' There's so many of them. I know you've got that tracking device, and that cloaking device Kasumi gave you, but I just can't stop..."
"You're not going to offer me Chiktika, are you?" He asked, once again trying to lighten her up.
She tittered, but quickly stopped, meeting his eyes, shaking her head, "No...no I'm here to offer my luck. Its all I can do, really. That, and ask you to please stay safe. You mean too much to me for you to go off and die again. I need to know you'll come back to me."
He cupped her jaw, and made her look back up at him, "I swear to you, by my god, and your ancestors, and whoever the hell else is up there listening, that I will come back to you. I'll stay safe. Hell, I'll wear body armor made of batarian corpses or swim through sewers of shit if that's what it takes."
That got her to smile, and he enjoyed his victory while it lasted, "I'd rather you didn't. I'd have to ask you to take a shower. Or ten. Or twenty, just to be safe."
He laughed, and so did she, and it was a special moment for them to enjoy. They had had their goodbyes, but there was always time for one more. He was coming back afterall, wasn't he? "I love you, Tali. Remember that."
"How could I? You remind me everytime you're there with me, beside me," she retorted, nodding, "I love you too, Marcus. Stay safe. And remember that you'll always be on my mind. I won't stop thinking about you."
"And yours on mine," with a final nod, and a kiss on top of her visor for good measure, he turned back into the shuttle, afraid that looking at her any long would cripple his resolve and cause him to abandon the mission all together...or demand she grab her shotgun and pistol and come with him. He placed his helmet over his head, clicking it into place, and watching Tali's form disappear as the hatch closed behind him, sealing shut as the shuttle's thrusters roared to life and the shuttle lifted from the shuttle bay floor, and the kodiak shot out into space, leaving the Normandy behind him.
And once it had, he entered Commander Shepard mode.
He moved over to a seat across from the hatch and plopped down into it, his armor making a stiff fit but he ignored the itching it caused. He placed his elbows on his knees and leaned forward, examining the bulkhead infront of him as his head lay on his hands, not allowing himself to think as he listened to the hum of the shuttle's engines.
It was a relatively quiet ride down to the planet surface...
...but a lonely one, all the same.
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November 17, 2185
0851 hours.
Southern Entrance, Cell Block A, Aratoht Penitentiary, Aratoht.
Commander Marcus Lee Shepard.
The first observation Marcus made when he stepped out onto Aratoht's surface was that the planet's orbital view was extremely deceptive. It wasn't boiling hot or covered in lava patterns.
It was pouring down with rain. And he meant really pouring it down.
The kodiak's take off behind him disturbed him from his thoughts, and he turned around to give the pilot a thumbs up as it shot back up into the atmosphere, leaving him outside the prison's southern entrance. From the atmosphere, the prison itself looked massive, and that was just the part on the ground. What was it like underground? That's if it goes underground. The pitter patter of the rain on his armor began to annoy him, so he moved undercover and crouched behind a discarded cargo container, who's contents were empty and the lid left leaning against it, and he listened to the rain pelting down around him as he unlatched his geth pulse rifle and did a weapons check.
He had brought every weapon he had at his disposal for his mission. His Locust SMG had a suppressor on the end, and so did his geth pulse rifle. His claymore shotgun was for when he broke Kenson out, and had brought a Carnifex pistol just in case Kenson needed a weapon in their escape. He had brought a few flashbang grenades just in case, but didn't want to bring any frags, incendiaries or tech mines incase it caused too much of a ruckus and impeded their escape. And for good measure, he brought enough thermal clips to take down a horde of vorcha. All in all, he was well prepared.
He made sure his HUD was working properly, and made sure his weapons were linked to it so that they accurately displayed his ammo. His motion tracker worked fine, and so did everything else, so he felt fine. His hands moved along his form until he found the tactical cloak and pulled it out.
He looked at the tiny grey device for a few seconds, rotating it around in his palm and examining its smooth chrome finish. He found the activator and a button that made the cloak stick. Hitting the latter, he found a segregation in his chestplate and wedged it inside before linking the controls to his HUD. Once done, he tapped his helmet and watched as a hiss of static was heard, followed by his whole body disappearing in an instant. And just as Kasumi promised, there was none of the usual recharge meter at the stop of his helmet display; just nothing. It would work as long as nothing interfered it. Deactivating it again, he smiled. He would use that for sneaking past guards. Thanks, Kasumi. I owe you one after this. Maybe you can shout me and Tali a drink when this is over. Hell, the whole crew. My treat. He looked forward to it.
With his cloaking device secure, he quickly opened his omni-tool and made sure his tracking beacon was transmitting. Seeing that it was, he changed the settings so only the Normandy could pick it up. That way, the batarians wouldn't detect it unless they deliberately hacked into it and determined the source. Which he doubted, due to the state of the facility he was about to break into, would be very likely.
Pulse Rifle in hand, he positioned the butt against his shoulder, took a deep breath, and then leapt from his cover. Well timed as well, as thunder sounded at that very moment, whiting out the background that he could barely see due to the heavy fog. Admiral Grissom labelled this place 'Mount Everest in an oven.' How's that the case when I see rain and fog, and can hear thunder? Either this is not the same planet, or the batarians carry a inclement weather device with them.
Giving the rain a mere glance, he moved over to the main entrance; a single, metal door with a retractable belt along the middle, and a red haptic interface. Shit, he cursed mentally, lowering his rifle as his eyes looked all over the doorway. There has to be a way in, surely. He searched the area until he found an open control console next to it, an open toolbox left discarded next to it. Someone must have been fixing it and A. went on break, or B. had to do something. Either way, he or she will be coming back, so I better make this quick.
He moved over and eyed the console, and saw that it was displaying layers of coding and encryption he couldn't understand. Wish Tali, or Legion, or Kasumi were here. Hell, Garrus could probably figure this out! I've always been an idiot when it comes to engineering and...code! Eventually, he just winged it.
He took a step back and raised a leg, slamming his foot into the console and hearing it creak and crack, but nothing happened. Annoyed, he simply raised his rifle and fired a short burst into it, covering his face in natural defense against the sparks that shot out from the console and the small explosion. Kasumi's words came back to mind. "You can't go one day without causing even one explosion, no matter how small." He could imagine the petite thief giggling right now at being correct. Laugh it up.
But it had worked. He heard a creak and screech of gears as the belt retracted and the door split to both sides. He waited for a gasp of surprise, or some angry muttering, but nothing came, just the same pitter patter of rain on the roof above him. Whorling around the corner, weapon raised, he saw that noone was insight, and the corridor seemed to end right infront of him. The smell got to him first, and he smelt it even through the helmet; the stench of rotting corpses and the smell of vomit. He could even smell sewerage. The image didn't make it much better; there was blood spatters on the ground, and bits of charred stone and dust lay all over the place, a dim yellow light being the only source of light in the hall. He moved to the middle, and turned left to see a set of bars that blocked off the corridor from the cliffside. He turned to the right, only to see another dead end with two corridors on the left and right leading downwards. He recognized the semi-circle shape of the corridor in an instant, and shook his head.
This isn't the southern entrance; this is the bloody sewers. And it looks like it hasn't been in use for quite a long time. The cracked and stained floor was dry and parched, and the piping above looked to be rusted, worn out and the paint having dried out. This place really is dead. Perfect place to send people on death row, I guess. If this is what the sewers look like, what of the actual prison?
He moved down the right, and eventually came across a hole in the ground, where he heard hungry growling. Varren, he thought. Batarians seemed to love having them, he noticed. The hole was big enough that he couldn't leap across, but too small to be explosive induced. And his HUD was picking up any ordinance residue. Probably more likely that the rotting and rust got to it and it simply caved in. Wouldn't be surprised, the state it's in. Looking down into the hole, he saw a large puddle of green water, along with two varren, along with what looked to be a bigger and more buff varren. The alpha male, he surmised. With a sigh, he knew he was going to have jump down there to continue. The jump wasn't too high that he'd break his legs, but he didn't like jumping into a pit full of hungry animals.
With a grunt of effort, he braced himself and leapt into the hole, landing on one knee, as the varren acknowledged the sound and turned towards him, but he was faster. In an instant, his omni-blade was alight and slashing through the air, taking the alpha's head with it. Turning to face the other two varren, he saw one leap at him and it soon got a mouthful of energy as well as Marcus' arm went all the way down into its throat. With his blade arm stuck, he unholstered his locust and fired a burst into the other charging varren, downing it instantly. The danger having passed, he finally tore his arm free from the beast's jaws, and deactivated his blade, pushing himself up and onto his feet.
It was then, when he looked down, that he realized he wasn't looking at green water. It was red. And it was full with batarian, human and salarian bodies, all of them mutilated beyond recognition by the bite-sized chunks the varren had taken out of their flesh as they feasted on them. He switched off his olfactory filters, the smell becoming too powerful for him to endure as he turned to his left, seeing a way out of the pit and into what looked to be the Cell Block.
Moving inside, he did so with his pulse rifle equipped, having holstered his SMG. He checked both corners and then moved inside, seeing that the lighting here was much better than in the sewers. The place seemed to made entirely out of stone, as every hallway suggested, and dust lay everywhere, along with more dried blood on the walls. And when he turned to look at the empty cells that were either locked, showing green interfaces, or no interfaces at all, he knew he was in a certain cell block. But which one. Looking up, he saw his answer inscribed along the top of the wall in batarian lettering. Cell Block A. They would have taken Kenson to the interrogation cells, so that wouldn't be far, if EDI's map of the area is correct. Just got to find my way there.
So he continued down the empty corridor, seemingly not coming across any guards. Probably due to the lack of prisoners to guard, he thought, prioritized them to more important areas, maybe? He continued to move down the corridors, and as he progressed he saw more and more signs of lack of maintenance; fallen pipes, fire leaking from damaged fuel-lines, damaged cells, blown open walls and even rabid varren! This place was as rundown as prisons got. Even the quarians could do better than this, and they don't have anywhere near as many resources as the batarians have at their disposal. This is just pathetic.
Eventually, however, he heard voices in a nearby hallway leading up to the surface, and he quickly activated Kasumi's cloak, watching himself disappear in an instant dart off to the side, weapon in hand. Looking up, he saw more batarian inscription, this time informing him that he was heading up to the Main Block. Almost there. Just got to keep going.
Finally the voices found him and he watched as the door at the top of the ramp slid open, and two guards came into view, their batarian features hidden by their helmets. They wore the black and red of the Hegemony military, and carried avenger assault rifles in their hands as they moved down the steps. They spoke in angry batarian tones, but his translator picked out the chatter easy enough.
"They wanted to destroy the mass relay," one batarian said to his companion as they reached the bottom, moving down towards Marcus' position as he crouched down and further out of their vision, "Luckily, Captain Trak stopped them. Boarded the ship and captured Kenson herself. They've got her locked up and being interrogated. Serves the bitch right. Remind me to get our dear captain a drink at the end of the week. I'm bound to have some pay coming up."
The other batarian scoffed, unconvinced, "Destroy a mass relay? Can they even do that? I thought the relays were indestructible."
The guard stopped, holding out his arm and stopping his comrade in his tracks...and right infront of Marcus' hiding spot too. He just hoped they didn't see the distorted light behind them. He turned to him, eyes narrowed, "Who gives a fuck if they can do it or not? We caught 'em. That's what matters. Soon, we'll get those reinforcements from Khar'Shan and we'll be able to find where their base is, with or without the bitch."
"Yeah, sure, whatever you say," the other guard responded, and they continued on their way, the last part of their conversation heard as they turned the corner, "What if we don't need Kenson in the end? What then?"
"Whatever you do to terrorists," the guard responded, "I just hope they choose firing squad as the execution. I want to be the one to pull the trigger and watch her blood slide-"
Not staying long enough to hear the rest, Marcus rushed from his position and jogged up the ramp, keeping his breathing to a minimum. He kept his cloak active, not knowing what lay behind the door at the top. When he reached it, he hit the interface and watched it open, weapon raised to appraise any hostiles. Not even checking to see if there were, he rushed outside...
...and was welcomed by the pitter patter of more rain.
Great. Outside again. The open area in the center of the prison was built in a cavern like crevice, with many prefabs and portables littering the area and connecting. They looked interrogation cells and offices, along with what looked to be a firing range, so he guessed he was in the right place. Barricades littered the place, and he saw a gun emplacement fixed to one, the trigger facing his size; obviously for riot control. Moving down the steps, he ignored the rain falling around him and moved to the left, keeping to cover as he deactivated his cloak, seeing it as useless as anyone would be able to notice the fact that rain wasn't falling in a certain spot.
Turning left, he found a ramp leading into a nearby bunker. He rushed up to it, and was about to move up the steps when he heard muttering inside, followed by a loud, "I'll be right back! Just going for a piss. Got to let loose. Keep it on!"
Panicking, he quickly ducked left and slid behind a crate, and once again his timing was perfect, as the loud sound was instantly numbed out by the sound of thunder. Making sure his head was hiding too, he pulled his rifle behind the crate just as the door slid open, and one of the guards came down the steps.
Marcus watched his movement and watched him singing some batarian song as he moved into a corner, unzipping his pants. The batarian looked down and quickly freed his cock as he lined it up with the wall, and shortly after the movement was followed by a sigh of relief and the sound of urine impacting a steel door. With the guard distracted, he came out of cover, activating the cloak once more and moving up the steps, but before he palmed the interface, heard the batarian stop singing and talked, muttering to himself, "Can't wait...to go to war...with the Alliance. Gonna be...extremely...satisfying getting the chance...to serve under...Balak Uhtero...if anyone's going to kill...Shepard and his...quarian whore...it'll...be...him."
A grim smile crossed Marcus' face as he turned back, moving just an inch from the man's ear and he spoke, quietly as his cloak deactivated and he brought up his omni-blade, "Unfortunately, you have me. And you didn't take the chance."
Before he could cry out, Marcus' right hand covered his mouth and his other slowly slid his energy blade into the batarian's back, right where the heart was located. Only a suppressed gasp could be heard and a split-second of resistance, before the batarian went limp. With the guard dead, he picked up his body and rolled it behind a pile of crates, his cock stilling hanging out and the smell of urine constant as it stained his pants in a constant stream.
He moved up to the door and palmed the interface, cloak reactivated and the spectre crossing through the room. As he turned, he saw a large TV screen on the wall was turned on and displaying the new daily Fornax TV series entitled 'Sally Goes From Big-Breasted Journalist to Big-Titted Whore.' The images that popped up made Marcus sick, and he could only roll his eyes as the batarians roared with pleasure at the images, laughter or anger and they drank their alcohol, too busy to even hear or notice the door seemingly opening on its own. They probably wouldn't even notice their friend's absence, but he needed to make sure they didn't alert the Warden. They had to be silenced.
Slowly moving forward, he saw there was a total of four batarians in the room, all of them transfixed on the screen before them; two sat on the sofa, and two stood behind it. With only one idea coming to mind, he moved over to the window controls and silently used one hand to tint them, while the other produced a flashbang. Quickly hitting the button, he gave them no chance to demand answers before tossing the flashbang before them. Turning away, he let it go off and quickly raced forward, wasting no time as he unholstered his SMG and shot both of the standing batarians in the back of the head progressively, and then the two sitting on the sofa. All four eliminated, he reloaded his SMG, holstered it and moved on before anyone could investigate.
He was forced to evade numerous other patrols before finally reaching the other side of the portable-filled area, reaching a door that was carved into the face of the canyon's dead end, and saw the interface was green. Moving across the bridge, he was relieved to see no guards in his line of sight and palmed the interface, moving through the door and down the moderately empty corridor, following the sign that said Interrogation Block.
Moving past another couple of guards, he heard their chatter, and again it was on the same topic, "They wouldn't have succeeded. Mass Relays can't be damaged, much less destroyed."
"Those humans are out to destroy us, I swear," another replied, and Marcus could barely hold in a chuckle at the irony of that statement. I wonder why, asshole? Was it before or after you began enslaving everyone of our colonies you came across? I would know; I was there on Elysium. I could show you your ten thousand dead slaver buddies, how's that sound? He wanted to kill them, but he ignored them, knowing Kenson was the real objective. He moved further into the facility, hoping to find her.
He came across numerous interrogation cells, all of them empty. Eventually he came across the prison's main hangar bay, and he had to duck behind the fully plated metal railing as the PA system announced a shuttle was arriving. Peaking through the gap inbetween, he watched the two, thick blast doors slide slowly apart, omitting a Hegemony-colored kodiak shuttle to enter and land, the hatch blowing open as a detail of seven, no, twelve guards piled out, escorting four other batarian workers carrying what looked to be heavy shipping containers carrying food and drink. Probably for the guards only, though. Ignoring them, he activated his cloak and snuck through the doors on the left, leaving the hangar bay behind.
As he moved down through the prison, he hacked into the private terminals of some of the cell block chiefs, and heard them talk about Kenson's actions in their interrogations of her. One even said that their interrogations provided nothing, and she only gave them frenzied ramblings and rubbish about 'Reapers' and 'imminent destruction.' That sounded like the woman he was looking for.
He moved further until he eventually found an interrogation cell listed as 'Interrogation Cell 10.' Bracing himself, he raced inside, raising his rifle just in time to find three guards looking up in surprise, none of them baring weapons. They didn't get time to shout out warning though as he put them all down in very quick succession, and turned to assess the layout of the room. It was an observation office, and as he looked he saw a pane of glass seperating him from the interrogation room, where a seat sat. He saw a batarian interrogating an elderly looking human woman, with greying hair and wrinkled features, whilst also wearing a labcoat. He nodded.
She fits the description. She has to be Kenson. He moved forward and towards the door, hitting it and moving to the left and down the corridor leading to another door that lead into the actual interrogation room. Ready, he holstered his rifle and activated his omni-blade once more, hitting the interface as he did.
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November 17, 2185
0917 hours.
Interrogation Cell 10, Interrogation Block, Aratoht Penitentiary, Aratoht.
Chief Scientist Amanda Kenson, The Interrogator.
Kenson lay there, simply numb as the needles dug into her head, continuing their relentless assault on her brain and loading her full of drugs and anti-painkillers. None of them worked. That influence...the one that refused to name itself...it saved her from it. Made her immune to it. She felt she could fight off anything and it wouldn't be able to even hurt her. He gave her peace. And all she could do was repeat herself, over and over, as the interrogator question after question at her. And during all of this, she could feel the eyes of the observers behind the one-way glass beside her lying on her. Hinging on her every word. Waiting for her to break.
Waiting for something that would never come.
With a sigh, the interrogator repeated his line of question; the same line he'd been repeating over and over for the past day, "I'll ask you again. Where. Is. Your. Base?"
She could play the same repeating game, "You're wasting time! The Reapers are coming! Save yourselves while you still can! Warn the Hegemony!"
The interrogator, still not believing her, decided to play along, but she wasn't a fool. She didn't fall for it, "The Reapers. They're coming here. To this specific relay. The Alpha Relay."
She nodded, going along with it as well, "Every moment you keep here brings them one step closer. They will kill you all if you aren't ready." But for some reason, she didn't even seem to believe the words that came from her mouth. They came easily, but she didn't believe them. A matter of fact...just saying...it seemed to disgust her. Make her ill. Why? If I don't stop the Reapers, we're all doomed. Why does that disgust me? That fact? Even her thoughts seemed distasteful. And even more odd, was that the mere mention of the Reapers seemed to fill her with pleasure, and euphoria. Why? Just...why?
The batarian nodded, clearly rolling his eyes as he kept his arms folded upon his chest, "So...you want me to just let you destroy this relay? Weren't you the one to tell us that destroying it would destroy this entire system? What if I told you I had a family on Aratoht? A wife, and ten children? What I told you they mattered more to me than you're so called delusions you name Reapers? To be honest, the pleasure I get from fucking my wife is far more real than the threat you claim to exist. So which will I buy easier?"
She had had enough, "Do what you want to me, batarian. Torturing me won't save you."
"No. But it will amuse me."
Kenson was about to respond to that when she heard the door slide open. The batarian was too busy asking her questions to notice it, the questions she ignored, and she watched as nothing, as it seemed at first, came through. But then she saw something; a distortion of light, one she only just noticed. And a smile creased her features as she saw it arrive behind the interrogator's back. He looked at her, frowning.
"What the hell you smiling about? You think this is funny? Does the death of my family amuse you?"
"No," a male voice sounded behind him, "Just yours."
The distortion evaporated and in its place stood a man of stocky build and wearing, head to toe, full combat armor that she quickly identified as Terminus Armor; it was of turian design, but had been adapted for all races to use, especially humans. He lashed out, the batarian crying out as a omni-blade erupted on the other side of his belly from his back, and he merely looked at the red blood that poured out of his chest before the blade was violently ripped out, and he fell on his knees, blood pooling everywhere. Her rescuer stood over the interrogator's dying body, the batarian moaning in pain, but easily ignored by the soldier. Since he arrived, she finally got a good view of him as he came into her line of sight, removing his helmet.
He was tall, and his face was sharp and handsome; but riddled with battle scars and eyes that had seen death. He wore the face of a professional, but overall, a professional the galaxy knew by face and name; Commander Marcus Shepard.
"Commander Shepard," Kenson greeted, her smile never disappearing, but her thoughts, again, seemed to want to gag in disgust at the mention of his name. That, and a tingle in the back of her brain brought one word to mind. Shepard. It was said in a dark under tone, one that sent a chill up her spine, but she quickly ignored it as he frowned.
"You know me?" He asked.
She chuckled, "How could I not? Commander Shepard, Hero of the Citadel, is a hard face to miss. Especially the man who first presented the Reaper threat. Most of my research was inspired by you."
"I...well, I'm just glad to know someone other than my family and crew took me seriously," he said, moving around and, with his helmet pinned under one arm, began untying her from the device, "I probably don't need to state the obvious, but I'm hear to-"
"Execute me?" Kenson asked, all seriousness.
He frowned, shaking his head, "Uh, no. Don't know what gave you that impression. No, I'm here to break you out. Hackett informed me of your little predicament and sent me to get you out of here so you can continue helping stop the Reapers."
"Did he now?" Kenson asked queerly, "How courteous of him."
He grunted his agreement as he finished untying her, allowing her to fall forwards onto her hands and knees, finally able to rest. He moved to help her, but she shook her head, holding up a hand to discourage him. She rubbed at her sore wrists and ankles, but finally managed the strength to stand, turning to face him, and trying not to slip in the growing pool of blood on the floor as he did, and she frowned, noticing he was alone, "Where's your crew?"
His smile dropped, shaking his head slightly as he put his helmet back on, clasping it shut, "They...weren't allowed to come. This bail out required stealth, and its hard to do that with a team. So Hackett and I decided that the one-man rescue squad was the way to go."
She laughed, shaking her head. Silence followed, but she quickly managed to meet his eyes behind the helmet as he let his...odd, looking assault rifle fall into his hands, "So...you got an escape plan?"
"Sure do. Snuck in here, figured we could sneak back out," he suggested, motioning to the door, "I can call the Normandy for pickup. Same place as they dropped me off. Just let me-"
He was cut off by a loud whir as a siren was heard, followed by alarms within the room going off. An angry voice, likely the Warden, sounded over the PA system, "All guards, hit the armoury and head for the interrogation block! We have been infiltrated, I repeat, we have been infiltrated! Kenson is free, and is most likely with an armed human infiltrator! Shoot to kill with extreme prejudice, but do not kill Kenson! We need her alive! Find the human scum and bring the infiltrator's head to me."
She heard Shepard curse, the man shaking his head, "This wasn't how it was planned. I promised. Fuck, I promised." Confused at what he meant, she turned to him, eyebrows raised. He shook his head, turning to her whilst unholstering his pistol, "It doesn't matter now; all that matters is getting the hell out of here," he turned the carnifex around so the grip faced her, and she looked down at it, "You're going to need it. I planned for a stealthy exit, but that's clearly not an option anymore, so you're going to need to be able to defend yourself. Take it; I'm as heavily armed as it is."
She nodded, taking the weapon and making sure the chamber was loaded before nodding to him. Before they reached the door, she heard him mutter, "Just how the hell did they know I was here? They don't have any cameras I can see, and any guards I killed I hid-"
"I did," came the voice of the interrogator, and they both turned to him, bleeding out and slumped in a corner, blood dripping from his mouth as he deactivated his omni-tool, "I hope you both-"
She raised the carnifex and silenced him with a bullet to the head. Shepard nodded to her as he met his gaze, and they both gave affirmative nods, moving into the corridor. One guard spun around the corner, but was quickly dropped by a burst from Marcus' rifle, body tumbling to the floor as the alarms continued their continuous whine, "I'll contact the Normandy for evac," he opened his omni-tool, trying to comm the Normandy, but only getting angry red beeps from his tool, "Damn it! They've blocked all communications to and from the prison. I can't reach them. We'll need another way out. Plus, it'll be hard finding the Normandy because they're in stealth." Then he suddenly stopped, and she had to wheel around and stop herself to notice as she turned behind her, watching his epiphany draw his gaze to her, "Do you have skills in piloting shuttles?"
She snorted, "Of course I do. I'm a scientist. I need to be able to get around."
"Good," he said, moving to join her and then past, rifle in his hands and aimed forward, "Because we're going to go skill a batarian shuttle."
She could only smile as she raised her pistol and followed behind him, liking his thinking...
...if only she didn't have the constant urge to shoot him in the back of the head for no reason.
{Loading...}
November 17, 2185
0925 hours.
Emergency Lockdown Containment and Main Control Center, Officers' Block, Aratoht Penitentiary, Aratoht.
Commander Marcus Lee Shepard, Chief Scientist Amanda Kenson.
"Come on, you fools! They're in the ELCMCC! Get in there now before they override the lockdown!"
Thanks for that, Warden Fertagh, Marcus thanked in his head, Now we know for sure. Popping up from cover again, he lowered his rifle down range and opened fire, impacting one guard attempting to charge in the shields and depleting them before he could get back into cover. Quickly, he switched to the target behind him and fired straight into that guard's head, his brain matter meeting the floor quickly as Marcus dived back into cover, reloading his weapon as he looked up and checked on Kenson's status.
The trek to the Emergency Lockdown Containment and Main Control Center hadn't been a long one, but by the amount of guards thrown at them, you'd think it was. They were relatively inexperienced, and just came at them like waves of vorcha, and Marcus and Kenson gunned them down with coordinated precision, allowing them to progress, while they listened to the Warden shout anger filled orders over the PA.
They had tried to reach the hangar bay, but the batarians had locked it down, trying to keep them inside the prison. Kenson had then preceded to hack one of the terminals and find a schematic of the facility, where they then located the ELCMCC and knew that hacking into it would allow them to lift the lockdown in place. And now here they were; Kenson hacking into the mainframe, while Marcus kept her covered.
And they never stopped coming. Just how many guards does this prison have? Why would you need this many to guard a prison full of...nothing and noone? They came with an assortment of different weapons and tactics too; rocket launchers and assault rifles, poorly made sniper rifles and light shotguns, and a few pistols and SMGs too. Some even wore blue-colored tech armor, for all the good it did them. And Marcus just kept mowing them down, one by one, like he was playing turkey shoot. He remembered Liara's words from their mission in the Shadow Broker's base.
"If they grouped up and attacked at once, they'd be much more effective!"
The memory brought him a smile, and he once again jumped up from cover, only to watch as one guard leapt over his cover, shotgun dropping from his hand and tech armor aglow, and barrelled into the spectre, causing him to drop his rifle on the ground as the batarian straddled him and began trying to rip his helmet off.
Seeing that the guard's helmet was off, Marcus quickly launched his head forwards, causing it to snap into the batarian's face. He growled loudly in pain, holding a broken nose, giving the spectre beneath him enough time to then reach up around his head with both hands and violently snapping it. Body limp, he pushed the guard's cadaver off of his body and picked up his rifle just in time to fire a full four bursts into another charging guard, dropping him and giving him time to get back up and reassume his positions, taking down three more guards in the process.
He commed his radio, "Kenson, how much more time do you need?" Gunfire roared over his head, but he ignored it and continued to lay down suppressing fire as he waited for the doctor's response; which wasn't far away.
"Not much longer," the scientist replied, cursing as she did in the background, "Running into a few firewalls, but they only serve to irritate me rather than provide any challenge. I'll be through in roughly five minutes."
"You've got four!" He stood up, steadily falling back and unlatching his claymore, taking aim and firing at a batarian leaping over one of the steel pipes he had been taking cover behind, the claymore shotgun gutting him and blowing his torso's remains backwards and onto the stone. Pumping the chamber for a fresh shell, he turned around and rushed into the small hexagon-shaped bunker that served as the main control center for the entire compound, ignoring the bullets that impacted his shields as he slid inside, taking cover behind a wall. Turning, he could see Kenson working at the center console, her hands dancing across the interface faster than even Tali could match. Is it possible she's got my wife beat? That provided a little bit of mirth before a bullet impact on the wall he was hiding behind brought him back into the present.
Turning the corner, shotgun raised and fired again, blowing apart another guard, and forcing two more into cover behind a barricade. He noticed that one of the said guards had a missile launcher, and when he eyed the door ahead, he suddenly had an idea.
Holstering his claymore, he pulled out his Locust and charged forth and over the barricade, launching a kick to disbalance one guard, whilst raising his SMG to the rocket trooper's skull and firing. His body slumped backwards, missile launcher sliding from his grip, and Marcus turned around in time for a gunshot to impact and further weaken his barriers before his gauntleted fist impacted the side of the batarian's helmet, stunning him and allowing him to fire his Locust again into the back of his skull. Holstering the weapon, he picked up the missile launcher and rushed forward towards the door at the end of the room, where a fresh squad of guards was amassing.
Taking aim with the launcher, he waited for the squad to be through and the door closed before he fired at what looked to be the retraction belt in the middle of the blast door. The missile launcher hiccuped twice, and two missiles arched towards the belt, impacting with severe enough force that the belt was blown apart on impact, sending the bits flying everywhere. He even had to turn away as part of the shrapnel impacted a guard in the head, the force splitting his head wide open like a melon. The belt, now destroyed, made sure they wouldn't be able to open the door now. Or at least, not for a while.
The impacts on his shields showed he still had other matters to deal with. Seeing that the launcher still had three whole missiles in it, he tossed it before the charging group, and raised his Locust again, taking aim at it and pulling the trigger once before turning away and running back to Kenson's position. All he heard was the chorus of triple explosions that followed as the launcher's contents detonated and killed four of the batarians attempting to advance.
Back inside the bunker, he instead moved over to where Kenson was. Her new carnifex lay on the table infront of her, and lines of code raced by her console. He placed a hand on her shoulder, causing her to turn around, "I've blasted the door closed, but we're not going to have much time. How long until your-"
"-done?" she hit one final button, and he watched as the words 'Override Code Accepted. Lockdown Lifted' came onto the screen in batarian lettering. She gave him a wide-eyed, smug smirk as he picked up her carnifex, slapped in a fresh thermal clip and nodded to him, "That would be right now."
He simply shook his head, and levelled his rifle once more, turning around in time to gun down two guards attempting to get through the doorway, "How do we get to the hangar bay from here? The entrance is no longer an option."
"That shouldn't be a problem. Hangar bay is only one level down, right?" He nodded to her, wandering what she was getting at as they got outside, Kenson herself firing two carnifex shots into yet another approaching guard, gunning him down while Marcus simultaneously suppressed the rest of the converging squad, "Then we'll take the cargo elevators. Just let me bring it up."
A cry of pain, and Marcus turned from the dead batarian, looking at her, before noticing the wide open space before them, and the three empty gaps where elevators were located. Two were filled, but one was missing, and Kenson quickly moved to it, typing into the console to summon it.
The last guard fell, and he made his way over to her, and just in time as the elevator arrived, the large metal platform big enough to fit an entire Mako tank. She moved onto it, typing into her omni-tool to maintain a remote link, whilst motioning him onboard it. He did so, while also reloading his pulse rifle at the same time as the elevator began its short descent.
"I'm guessing you weren't able to lift the jamming frequency the batarians had in place?" Marcus asked, trying to hope.
"Unfortunately not. The Normandy won't be able to pick us up. Not that it matters now. The shuttle is as good as ours. The way you fight, these batarians won't be able to stop us."
He nodded, laughing at the same time, "Yeah, I've fought Blood Pack mercenaries who were more coordinated than this. That should say alot."
"It does indeed," she gave him a quizzical gaze, before stopping as the elevator arrived in the hangar bay; and quite literally as well. Directly above them was the railing he had hid behind on the balcony, and before them was the bay itself; multiple cargo containers littered its deck, and the same shuttle sat infront of the hangar doors, the blast doors themselves hard-locked tight. The hatch on the shuttle was closed, and it looked abandoned; ripe for the taking.
"Oh, one more thing," Kenson began, turning to him as she deactivated her omni-tool and brought his carnifex to bear, "Those blast doors...they are sealed tight and operate under a different lockdown. You'll have to unlock them via...well, force."
He smirked, drawing his pulse rifle once again, "Sounds like my style. You get inside the shuttle and prep it for launch, I'll handle the doors."
Kenson moved forward, but quickly stopped and leapt behind cover as a wall of gunfire impacted the place she had been standing in not too long ago. Obviously, the guards had known they'd be coming here, "Damn it! Batarians have us pinned!"
"Not much longer! Get to the shuttle, I'll keep 'em suppressed! They won't shoot you because they need you! Use that to your advantage!" Marcus shouted, sprinting from her position, and laying down a field of fire. His shields broke, and a bullet wedged itself into his chestplate, but it was nothing compared to what he could have suffered, and now the guards were too pinned to return fire. Again, he heard the Warden's voice from the PA, only this time...he wasn't saying it over the PA.
Looking up, he saw the Warden himself arrive in full battle armor, three escorts in tech armor with him and brandishing a Revenant LMG, shouting orders at his men, "What are you doing!? They're getting away! Get up and kill that fucking pyjak!"
Not today, he grabbed one of his flashbangs and threw it forward, turning away as it detonated and finding cover, nodding to Kenson as she opened the shuttle's hatch and got inside, sealing it behind her. With the guards sufficiently disoriented, he raised his rifle once more and fired, taking down two of them with two bursts, and another's kneecap apart, causing him to howl in pain and fall to the ground as Marcus fell back behind the crate, the batarians regathering their wits and suppressing him once more.
He looked over at the blast doors and knew he had to get them open; he could see the power conduits for them from his position. He just had to reach them. With an exhale of breath, he collapsed his rifle, holstered it, pulled out his SMG and then summoned his omni-shield. Turning it to face the enemy, he rushed forward, and their fire slammed into the field of energy. He winced from the impact, but managed to avoid it long enough to disappear from their line of sight, allowing him to reach the first conduit and firing three bursts into it, causing it to explode and half of the door to slide open. Turning to the second conduit, he did the same and the blast door full opened, and as Aratoht's landscape greeted them, its thunder roared. It was still pelting it down with rain outside. Does it ever stop?
Shaking those thoughts away, he holstered his SMG and kept his omni-shield up, listening as the shuttle came to life and he opened the hatch, leaping into the dark interior and closing it behind him. He felt the shuttle lift up beneath them, and he moved into the cockpit, opening the door and steeping inside as his shield evaporated and he took off his helmet, throwing it aside, turning to Kenson at the controls, "Get us out of here!"
She shook her head, not even turning to face him, "Not yet. Got one more thing I want to do."
"What!? Kenson, we need to-"
He felt the shuttle lurch to the left extremely fast and almost fell backwards as it hit the wall with high force, but among the sound of metal impacting metal, he thought he heard multiple screams along with flesh and bone blowing apart. Kenson merely smiled, pulling the shuttle way and then quickly shooting through the hangar bay door, speeding towards Aratoht's atmosphere. The batarians could not, and did not, give chase.
He sighed, falling into one of the cockpit's seats and looking at her incredulously, "What the hell did you just do, Kenson?"
She looked at him, grin still on her face as she offered his carnifex back to him, grip first like he had handed it to her, "Got some payback. Here."
He took the weapon, holstering it before asking again, "Kenson? How did you get payback? I heard a scream."
"That would have been Warden Fertagh as he was crushed between the wall of the hangar and our shuttle," Kenson replied, her smile dropping, "That SOB let me rot, so I thought I'd return the favor. Except this time it'll be his corpse that rots."
He shook his head, "You could have at least told me before you did it, but I understand," he picked up his helmet, placing it on the console infront of him, before remembering, opening his omni-tool, "We'll be out of jamming range now. We should call the Normandy for-"
She held up her hand, eyes widening as she did, and she grasped his wrist, pushing it down, "No, you must not contact the Normandy. They must not know where we are."
He looked at her incredulously, pulling his arm away from her grip, "What? They need to know where we are going! My team can help."
"Your team will only get in the way, I'm afraid," Kenson retorted, patting his shoulder, "Remember what you said about doing this alone? You may have broken me free of prison, but what happens when the batarians track the Normandy to Project Base?"
"How? They're in stealth mode. Nothing can pick them up in stealth mode," Marcus replied, unsure of what she was on about. I made a promise. A quick snatch and grab, and I'd be back in Tali's arms. I fucking promised, for godsake. Am I an oathbreaker, now?
"Are we willing to take the risk?" Kenson asked of him, "What if the batarians do? We need to look at all variables here. The batarians won't bother tracking one of their own shuttles, but if they do pick up the Normandy...they will track her back to Project Base. I promise you that. And then we'll lose everything. Besides, you don't need you squad for a simple escort, do you? I'm telling you now, there are now batarians on the Base."
He pondered her words, finding them hard to swallow. Remember, you have a tracking device on your omni-tool. If Tali gets worried or you need help, she can simply follow the beacon. Problem solved. But...damn it, I promised. Don't...damn it! There has to be a way to...yes!
"Why don't I just inform the Normandy that I'll be over there for a few hours?" Marcus told her, "I can't leave them thinking I'm dead or something."
"Yes...very well then," Kenson accepted, nodding her head, "You may do that. But it won't be for a few hours. This may well take several days. My absence has caused severe delays in our plans, and I'll need to be brought back up to speed."
"Days? Shit," Marcus responded, scratching his chin. Eventually, he gave in, sending the message to Joker on his omni-tool before shutting it down, "Fine. There, I've sent the message. Anyway, are we on our way there? Because I have a few questions to ask."
She nodded, hitting a button on the console, "I've input the coordinates, and we're now on our way to Project Base. We'll be there in just under two hours," she swivelled in the chair to face him, hands gripping her knees, "So...ask away. What do you wish to know?"
He snorted. Where do I start?
Then he remembered what the batarians had been talking about.
"The rumors," he began, clearing his throat, "Are they true? Do you plan to destroy the Alpha Relay?"
"Yes. Although its only about half the story," Kenson replied, hands gripping her head as she leaned on her knees, "We came here on a mission to find a way to stop the Reapers, no matter the cost. And now we are certain; the Reapers will arrive in six days, in this system, using a relay outside our galaxy linking to the Alpha Relay. Using it, they'll be able to invade anywhere in the galaxy in just a matter of minutes. Hours."
"How did you learn of this?" Marcus asked, amazed by the information she knew.
"Well, mostly through Reaper artefacts we found in multiple systems. Don't worry, we listened to your warnings and destroyed them after using them. They all lead to this system," she explained, "It was here we found Object Rho. It was found on the same asteroid we use as the location for our base, now. Its a colossal Reaper artefact. It proved what we'd seen; the Arrival is imminent, and the Reapers will be here within the week."
He raised an eyebrow at her, coming to an understanding, "So you decided that the only way to stop the Reapers from arriving was to destroy the relay? Cut them off?"
She nodded, "Exactly. Doing that would halt the Reapers' invasion, but not stop it. Even at FTL speeds, it would take them months...maybe even years to reach this galaxy without it. They will eventually reach it, but the time we will get will be ripe."
She met his eyes, and this time she leaned back in her seat, as if teaching a history lesson to school children, "We named ourselves The Project. It took us some time, but we've decided that conventional weaponry won't be anywhere near powerful enough to destroy the relay, or even dent it."
"What about a nuclear warhead?" he suggested.
"No. That wouldn't do anything either except cloud the relay in radiation. Nothing can harm the relay conventionally. But there is something that can harm it. Something massive, and travelling towards it at high speed; FTL speed, if you'd like. The sheer force and speed of which it impacts would be enough to crack and cripple the relay, and obliterate it. That's why we have built Project Base on the largest asteroid we could find; using fusion torches, we will fire it straight into the relay, escape through it, and the asteroid will be enough to blow it up."
Fusion Torches. Asteroid. Memories of Terra Nova from two years ago popped up in his head, but he quickly shook them away. He looked at her, gulping down the lump in his throat as he asked the next question, "And...what the interrogator...what he said...was it...was it true? Destroying a mass relay could possibly...well, destroy this entire system?"
She seemed entirely unfazed by the prospect, "Yes. Everything will be completely vaporized in the resulting explosion of energy from the mass relay detonating. The sun, Aratoht, everything. It will all cease to exist; blown into atoms."
His eyes widened in horror, "Aratoht...I know they're batarians, but...there are three hundred thousand people down there! You can't honestly tell me you'll murder them all without battering an eyelash?" All of them. Men. Women. Even children. All of them killed in an explosion they'll never see coming...
"You think we didn't try to find another way? We tried. God knows we did. But there isn't. We ran the numbers, and I'm still having trouble getting it through my head. That we'll murder hundreds of thousands of innocent people. Doom them all to die," Kenson sighed heavily, closing her eyes and then reopening them, "We have no choice. The Reapers must be stopped. If three hundred thousand must die so that trillions may live, that's a choice we have to make. Its a choice we all eventually have to make in war. Besides, at least it'll be a quick death. They won't feel a thing. It'll be over in seconds. Their pain will not linger, that I promise you."
Its not the pain I worry about. Its the cold-blooded murder of three hundred thousand. I was supposed to be fighting shit like this, yet now I'm about to help it occur.
You have no choice, though. The Reapers are coming, and they will wipe all life in the galaxy out if you don't stop them now. Humans. Quarians. Turians. Salarians. Asari. Elcor. Volus. The names just pour on. All of them will die. Would you rather have the blood of three hundred thousand on your hands, or would you rather die with the blood of trillions staining your corpse?
He knew the answer before he even asked himself. He had known it since Kenson told him. It just took time to comprehend it; it always did for a man like him.
He sighed, "I just hope their deaths are made worth it. This'll undoubtedly haunt me for years to come." Not even Tali will be able to help with those nightmares.
She nodded, ableit resigningly, "As it will me."
"And here it is. The final stretch."
- Tali'Shepard pav Rannoch.
"You keep saying that, but what do you mean? What's the Bahak Incident?"
- Reia'Inas pav Earth.
"Mass murder, that's what. Three Hundred Thousand."
- Marcus Shepard.
A/N:
Came sooner than you thought? The feeling is mutual. I didn't expect to finish such a large chapter so quickly. You can see why this is in two parts now. Oh well, guess I'll see you guys next chapter! Part Two should be coming soon, I hope!
Keelah Se'lai! And god help Marcus...