Chapter 3: One Step Closer
Shepard, once passing Miranda's "tests" to make sure Shepard was all there, had been taken to yet another space station. This station, from what Shepard could see, was some kind of R&D facility, doing what exactly Shepard couldn't even begin to guess.
The inside of the station was stark white and brightly illuminated. The maze of corridors that Shepard was lead down was mostly devoid of any sort of windows or side passages. Only one of the doors that Shepard was lead past was not closed. The brief glimpse of the room beyond looked to be a lab of some sort, other than that all Shepard saw was white and the backs of Miranda and Jacob.
Those two were an odd pair. Shepard could practically see the tension radiating off them while they walked. They had the kind of tension she had seen rolling off of two that had once been lovers, yet one of them had broken it off. Shepard had first hand experience in that sort of tension. She had experienced it in the short week after Ilos between her and Liara and prior in her military career, before she became the "Daemon of Elysium".
Elysium, that was one place Shepard doubted she could ever go back to. It, like her past relationships, ended in heartache. That pain caused her to start down her path of being a tainted soul. Shepard would never admit it but sometimes she wished she hadn't been on Elysium when it was attacked. Shepard sometimes thought that if she hadn't taken some leave time she could have been on Azuke instead. She thought that maybe she could have been there to save her first lover. She would sometimes feel that if she hadn't been on Elysium then maybe she wouldn't have slaughter countless batarians. Maybe she wouldn't have tried killing herself after being told of her lover's, John's, death. Maybe she wouldn't have lived the life she had. Her thoughts on Elysium had been roughly shoved away when she met her old partner Jane. Meeting Garrus and the rest of her old crew had later helped to push Jane's death from her mind as well. Shepard still felt their loss as any does at the loss of loved ones but she no longer had a death wish. She knew that she really wouldn't have had it any other way if she could relive it all.
Garrus was another thing that kept springing to mind. Shepard, as soon as she stopped being shot at, had been wondering what had become of her friend. When she asked either Jacob or Miranda both claimed they didn't know. They told her that not long after the memorial the Council held for her Garrus fell completely off the grid.
"Commander? We're here." Miranda spoke, breaking Shepard out of her musings.
The Cerberus pair had lead her into a room filled with computer terminals and data servers. On the other side of the room was another door.
Miranda waved a hand towards the door. "The Illusive Man is waiting for you. We'll be out here when you're done."
Shepard nodded and headed through the door seeing she had little choice in the matter.
The door lead to a short flight of stairs, at the bottom of which was a small barren room. The only thing in the room was a raised platform. Shepard had seen prototypes of Quantum Entanglement Communicators before due to her status as an N7. Being the best of the best had it's perks. Shepard figured that this platform was a QEC so, having little other choice, she stepped up onto it. As promised the person on the other end was already waiting.
Once Shepard had fully stepped onto the QEC platform the room around her was replaced with a large spacious room. Almost everything in this room was a glassy black. The only things that had any color to them was the star on the other side of a wall length window Shepard was now facing and the holographic terminals behind the room's lone occupant.
The room's occupant was sitting in a minimalistic chair, made for both comfort and practicality. Shepard couldn't make out much more of the person, the orange glow of the holos and and shifting reds and blues from the star made seeing more than an outline of the man impossible. Shepard heard an intake of breath and watched as the man moved an arm away from his face, the cherry glow of a cigarette faintly outlining the man's hand.
"Shepard" The man breathed out "It's good to see you walking about so soon." His voice was strong and yet weathered with age, the voice of a man of power.
"The Illusive Man I presume?" Shepard asked, crossing her arms over her chest. She had little patience for people that hid in shadows.
The figure nodded. "Miranda filled you in on our situation, yes?" The Illusive Man made it sound more of a statement than the question it was.
"Colonies are going dark. There are no distress calls. All colonies are completely deserted. There are no bodies and no signs of an sort of struggle. And to top it all off the Reapers are in some way shape or form involved but you have no clue as to how they are involved or what they are doing. That sound about right?" Shepard couldn't help but allow her voice to drip with venom.
"I understand you're disliking of my organization after what has happened to you because of us. Now however, is not the time to address those issues. There are larger things at stake here than just you and me, Shepard."
"Fine. Just be glad I know how to put things behind me when it matters. I assume you have something to prove all this? I'm not going to take your word on something this massive." Shepard relaxed both her stance and her tone. Her voice still held a hostile edge to it.
"I'd be disappointed if I could convince you that easily. I have a shuttle waiting to take you to Freedom's Progress, the most recent of our colonies to go dark. If you find evidence that proves it's not the Reapers doing this you are free to return to your old life. No questions asked."
"Why do I get the feeling you're not sending me alone on this either."
"Your right, Shepard. You may be one of the most trust worthy people in the galaxy, but I need to protect my investment as well. I'm sending Jacob and Miranda with you. I've also acquired the services of one Zaeed Massani." The Illusive Man took another drag off of his cigarette. "I also have a better suite of armor for you. The set you're wearing was only meant for emergencies not for permanent use. There is also a rather extensive armory on the station. No point in sending you into a hot zone under equipped."
The Illusive Man took another drag off his cigarette and tapped the ashes off. He waited another breath before continuing.
"Jacob can show you your new armor and our armory, feel free to take anything you want. Once you are sufficiently armed let Miranda know and she will take you to the shuttle." He took another drag. "Good luck, Shepard. And good hunting."
Before Shepard could respond, the connection was cut. The room Shepard was in flashed back into focus.
"Well." Shepard sighed. "This is gonna suck."
"Here we are Commander. Take your pick. Everything and anything here is open for you to use."
Shepard let out a low whistle. The room Jacob had lead her to was massive. Massive and filled. Filled wall to wall, floor to ceiling row upon row of weapons. Any weapon Shepard could have wanted was there. It wasn't just guns that were there but blades as well. The only part of the room that wasn't covered in shelves and weapon racks was a small area in the front corner of the room. This area was occupied by a large locker, the same kind used to house body armor, and a large table covered in tools and various weapon mods.
Jacob pointed at the armor locker. "Your armor is in there. Take as much time as you need. I'll be right outside if you need anything." With that Jacob saluted Shepard and left.
Once Jacob left the room, Shepard stripped out of the armor she still wore from her awakening. With nothing left on but her under suite Shepard padded over to the locker.
Shepard opened the locker and was greeted with shelves full of various armor pieces. Unlike other armor lockers that held only one set of gear at a time, this locker had enough pieces to make five different sets. In Shepard's case these were all there for her to customize her armor how she wanted. On the inside panel of one of the locker's doors was a screen that gave the image of any piece in the locker and all it's specifications. The Illusive Man may not have known what exactly Shepard would have wanted from the top line armor, but he did know one thing.
Glancing up from the display to start looking at the different headpieces in person, Shepard's eyes were immediately to a small white box. Inside the box shepard found a pair of contacts. Shepard looked over to the display once more and found the information on the contacts.
Shepard found the entry on the contacts. At the start of the entry was a note.
Shepard,
The Illusive Man asked me to get your armor setup for you. However He did not give me your preferences as far as armor goes. There were only really a couple things I could actually do. In each chest piece I've installed a retractable breather helmet. If you'd rather have a different headpiece that's fine but the breathers will be there as a backup. I do know that you prefer black for color, so all pieces are black aside from the N7 stripe on the right arms.
The last thing I was able to do was the contacts. Even before becoming a Spectre you were famous just under a different name. As such the contacts are tailor made for you. They are exact copies of the ones you had on the previous Normandy aside from the updated tech software.
Let me know if you need anything,
Jacob Taylor
Shepard smirked after reading the note. It seemed Mr. Taylor knew more than he'd let on. Few people knew about her assignment before being placed under Anderson on the Normandy. Most of the people that did know about her past never came into public eye.
How the hell does he know about that? Hells I never even told my mother about that part of my life.
Shepard made a note to ask Jacob about it later. For now she had "shopping" to do. Shepard took the contacts out of their box and put them in before moving back to the locker.
After roughly two hours of waiting Jacob watched as Shepard exited the station's armoy. Jacob took in the armored form in front of him slowly starting at Shepard's feet and bringing his gaze up to her eyes. Jacob noted the armor choices Shepard had made. Before seeing her in action Jacob had no clue as to what Shepard would pick. After seeing her close-quarters combat style he had tried taking a guess at what she'd pick. Jacob smiled at seeing that most of his guess had been true.
N7 greaves. Check. Ammo pouches on the arms. Interesting. Aegis chest plate. Check. Strength booster shoulders. Check. No helmet. Odd but ok.
Jacob's smile widened upon meeting Shepard's eyes. Her pupils were no longer the round irises of a human, but now the slits of a cat's eyes.
He chuckled.
"What?" Shepard asked.
"Nothing. Just glad I made the right choice leaving those in there." Jacob gestured at Shepard's eyes.
"Yeah. Thanks for these by the way. The heads-up-display is pretty close to my preferences too." A mischievous look crossed Shepard's face. "After we're done with this I may need to beat the name of your contact out of you."
"Heh. No need for that." Jacob replied holding up his hands. "I met you in passing once when I was with the Alliance. Your eyes, mostly the pupils, stuck with me. Figured it'd be a gesture of good will towards you to give you them back in a sense. As to the HUD, that was mostly just a guess on my part."
Jacob noted the weapon choices Shepard had made as well.
"So. Two Tempest SMGs, a Scimitar shotgun, a Vindicator assault rifle, a Phalanx heavy pistol, and a Grenade launcher. Got enough fire power there Commander?"
Shepard chuckled. "You've never seen an N7 Destroyer before have you?"
Jacob shook his head no.
"Compared to them, this is a light kit. Those guys are practically walking tanks in every aspect. We Slayers on the other hand need mobility, but we still need to pack a punch for anything thrown at us."
"Fair enough, I've only seen a couple Furies in action myself, so that's what I went off of. So, you ready to head out?"
Shepard sighed. "Yeah, might as well get going while any clues are still some what warm."
Jacob nodded. "Follow me then, Commander."
Shepard couldn't believe this was happening. She and her friend Jane had been recruited into the best of the best. The two of them were already initiated into the best the Alliance had to offer, the N7 markings on their uniforms were testament to that. Now they were on their way to the HQ of the best outfit in the N7s. They were on their way to become members of Ghosts of the Past. Outside of the Alliance brass and it's own members the Ghosts were just that, ghosts. Few that were brought into the outfit ever left. Those that did only left because they were killed in combat.
Shepard was both excited for and dreading this. After you became a Ghost you gave up your past life. Shepard's mentor Anderson had told her of this when he offered the assignment to the two N7s.
"Come on Kat! Can't be late!" Jane's high pitched voice snapped Shepard back into focus.
"If you didn't pack everything I wouldn't be so slow." Shepard shifted the weight of the two duffle bags slung over her shoulder. "God Jane, what the hell do you have in here anyways? An anvil? maybe four?" Shepard teased back. She jogged to catch up to her friend and partner.
Of the two red haired women Shepard was by far the stronger of the two. Compared to her lean and wiry partner Shepard was much stronger but still nearly as agile. Shepard's style of rushing her enemies and destroying them with biotics, martial arts and her shotgun or SMGs required her high strength and agility. Shepard however was severely lacking in the tech skills needed for most N7 missions.
To solve this the brass had decided to pair her with a tech expert. As well as being one of the best techy's Shepard had met, Jane was also a very, very skilled infiltrator and had been paired together since the start of their time in the N7 program. The unlikely pair of a sniper and a close quarters specialist had been top of their class, both in their own fields and overall.
"Oh come on. I know you like not needing to worry about what's behind you all the time. If you want to keep it that way you'll carry my things with a bit less whining." Jane teased back and gave Shepard a wink.
Shepard easily caught up to her partner. Speed was another need for her in combat.
"If I'm going to have anyone behind me I'd rather it be you than anyone else." Shepard gave Jane a playful pinch on her backside. "But I don't mind having you in front of me either." Shepard gave Jane her own wink, this one much more mischievous than her partner's had been.
"Come now, Kat. No time for that now." Jane glanced around.
"If you don't screw this up for us then maybe later." Jane said in a much more hushed voice.
Shepard chuckled at Jane's words. Over the past year of doing assignments Shepard and Jane had gone from constantly at each others throats to a kind of "friends with benefits" . Both respected the other more than any other person in the galaxy and their "arrangement" did not hamper that respect in the slightest. If anything their "arrangement", more a form of stress relief than anything else, had caused their respect to grow. This ended up further helping them to act as a signal being in two bodies.
They kept walking on. They did need to be at their new barracks on time and any more of their casual back and forth would make them late.
"So how are the contacts working out? You used to them yet?" Jane asked setting them on a brisk pace.
"Yeah, it's still weird putting them in and taking them out, but they're starting to grown on me. Thanks for them, still don't like the pupil change. I can barely tolerate you calling me that stupid call sign from basic, I don't like giving you more reason to use it."
"Yeah well, what are friends for? Let me know if you need any more HUD changes. Not sure if I got it set up perfect last time." Jane replied. Shepard glanced at the time indicator on her new HUD, courtesy of Jane's gift.
"Come on. We're going to be late." Shepard stepped up the pace, taking her usual place in the lead of the two.
Shepard heard Jane chuckle behind her.
"Yes dear." Jane replied, practically at a jog trying to keep up.
Shepard glanced back at Jane over her shoulder.
"Um…. No. Never call me that. Never again."
Shepard shook her head as Jane burst into a fit of giggles.
"Commander." Miranda's voice broke Shepard from her sleep.
"Yes?" Shepard replied wiping the tiredness from her face.
"We're about to enter Freedom's Progress' atmosphere now. Is there anything you want us to be on the look out for on the ground?"
"Survivors." Shepard replied stretching the stiffness away from sleeping on a shuttle bench for the last three hours. "Be on the look out for survivors first and foremost. Other than that just any data that would prove or disprove the Illusive Man's theory."
Shepard's gaze was instantly snapped to the sound of gruff laughter.
"Survivors? Never took you for a guddamned optimist Shepard. If what these Cerberus nuts say is true, there won't be anyone left down there."
If looks could kill, Zaeed Massani, the voice's owner, would have turned to dust. Massani was infamous for his reputation as a cold blooded merc. He was known to be the image of professionalism on a job and his will unflinching. That being said Shepard made Massani flinch under her gaze. Few people could carry through with any threat given to Massani, even fewer could do so with just a look.
"Even still. There is always the chance that someone managed to hide from whoever did this. If they are still down there we need to find them and help them."
Shepard met the eyes of Jacob and Miranda.
"You have your orders. Follow them and we won't have any problems. Understood?"
Shepard mentally winced. She was never one that liked to be a hard ass. Jacob seemed to be a nice enough person, but, in Shepard's opinion, had his loyalty misplaced. Miranda on the other hand, she was through and through a Cerberus lapdog. Miranda was the only one Shepard was unsure of as to how she would react to following orders and not giving them.
"Aye, aye, Ma'am." Jacob replied and saluted.
"Of course, Commander." Miranda's response was filled with the ice Shepard was starting to expect from the woman.
"I'm getting paid to do this aren't I? You'll have no problem from my end Shepard." Massani replied.
So I've got one of the best mercs in the galaxy, a sniper at that, the soldier biotic, and the ice queen tech user with minor biotics. Not what I'd call a good team, but at least two of them won't stab me in the back.
"We're here, Commander." Miranda informed Shepard.
"About time." Shepard opened the hatch to the shuttle and stepped out. She pulled her Vindicator off her back and swept the area of any potential threats.
"Clear." Shepard called back into the shuttle.
Miranda, Jacob, and Zaeed followed her out of the shuttle.
"Massani, you're on over watch with your Mantis. Anything moves you kill it. Keep anything from flanking us. Taylor you and your Scimitar are on point with me. Lawson, stick with Massani and keep him covered. If there are any mechs here I want you to overload them as fast as possible."
Shepard's team nodded their acknowledgement. Shepard activated the controls on her chest plate causing her helmet to be released and sealing itself around her head.
"Alright, move out."
Shepard and Jacob moved up to the door leading off of the landing pad they had parked on. Each taking up a different side of the door. Shepard swapped out her Vindicator for her own Scimitar and nodded to Jacob to breach the door.
Jacob slapped his hand on the door controls. The door opened and Shepard and Jacob moved in shotguns at the ready. The room they entered was dead. Not the "rotting bodies" kind of dead but the "ghost town" dead. The room they entered seemed to be some type of processing center, the area where people would check into the colony on first arrival. The guard's station was empty save for a half eaten a now cold half full cup of coffee.
Ok. Definitely not a good sign, I don't know a single coffee drinker that wouldn't finish a cup no matter what.
"Clear." Jacob and Shepard both called. They moved forward and Shepard signaled Zaeed and Miranda to follow.
The group moved deeper into the maze of pre-fab buildings. The next two rooms they came upon were some kind of living area and what looked like a cafeteria. Both rooms were in the same sort of state as the first. There wasn't a single thing out of place save that there was no sign of life of any kind. The cafeteria had tables with trays full of food, some half eaten others completely untouched.
"Looks like everyone just got up and left in the middle of dinner. I'm not liking the feel of this place, Ma'am."
"Agreed." Shepard replied. "Lawson. You have a map of this place?"
"Yes, Commander."
"Good. Find us the security building. Maybe the cams were still up when all this happened."
"Right away, Commander."
They only had to wait a few moments before Miranda had them moving on a path to the security buildings.
"Commander, I'm getting power readings from up ahead, but they're out of place."
"Noted. Any idea as to what it is?"
"I'm not sure. Whatever it is it's not far away."
They came to another door. This one, unlike all the others they had come across so far, was locked.
"Taylor, Lawson, take the right side. Massani cover us. Lawson get the door open."
Once they were all in position Miranda brought up her omni-tool. It only took a few heart beats of waiting before the door's locking mechanism flashed from red to green. Shepard nodded to Jacob. He slapped his hand on the interface and opened the door.
The area on the other side of the door seemed to be a break in the maze of pre-fab buildings. This break typically signaled the change in purpose for what each grouping in the town was used for. A mechanical synthesized voice greeted them when Jacob and Shepard moved into the area.
"Hostiles detected. moving to engage."
Shepard watched as three security mechs unfolded from the spots on the floor.
"Just when I thought this was going to be easy. Taylor! Pull right! Lawson! Back! Massani! Left!"
Shepard called out to her team. They obeyed without hesitation. Right after the words left her mouth they sprung into action. Jacob pulled the mech on the right of the room. Shepard charged the same mech. She heard the loud crack of Zaeed's Mantis sniper rifle going off and the subsequent miniature explosion of the mech, now behind her, exploding. Shepard watched as the final mech spasmed and fell to the ground, sparks running along its body.
"That's strange." Miranda's tone was full of worry. "Those mechs should have recognized us as humans. Someone must be here to have reprogrammed them."
"Do another scan. If there are more of these things I want to know about it." Shepard turned to Miranda.
Before she could say anymore there came a deep thundering boom. Shepard thought she could faintly hear the screams of injured people coming from the same direction. Shepard realized the noises were coming from the same direction they were headed.
"Alright double time it people! I'm not letting mechs wreck anything that could give me an out here."
With that Shepard ran off deeper into the maze of buildings, not stopping to see if her squad was following her.
It wasn't long before Shepard heard the familiar sounds of a fire fight not far ahead of her. Shepard picked out the distinct rattling of automated weapons rife and the clean pops of pistols. Shepard once more heard the boom from earlier. This time it was much louder and shook the building. She now could more clearly hear the screams of the dying and couldn't place what it was but something was off with the voices. Shepard increased her run to a sprint after yet another explosion went off.
It took Shepard only moments to cover the final ground between her and the area that the fire fight was raging in. Shepard's eyes widened in shock as she took in the scene before her.
Shepard had expected looters or even slavers to be fighting with more of the same mechs and maybe a turret. What she hadn't expected was a pair of heavy mechs, basically walking tanks, to be slaughtering a squad of Quarians. Shepard quickly took cover before the mechs could acknowledge she was there and get a bead on her. Shepard quickly holstered her Scimitar on her back and drew her two Tempests.
Glancing over her cover of boxes Shepard once again took in the scene before her. Each of the two mechs had weapons for arms. One arm was a chain gun and the other a rocket launcher. At the feet of the mechs was about a half dozen still quarian forms. Their bodies riddled in holes and their suites blackened in varying degree. It seemed the mechs were currently trying to kill the remaining Quarians. Of what she could see, it looked as if there were only two or three Quarians left in the area. Luckily for both them and Shepard, they had taken cover behind a slab of stone. Unluckily however, the mechs were slowly chipping away at the stone.
"HEY!" Shepard yelled out and jumped out of cover.
"Come on walking scrap!" Shepard started firing into the mech closest to her. "Try an N7 for a change!" Shepard yelled out firing short bursts from both her Tempests, each one trained on a different mech.
Her plan worked, but a bit too well. The mechs immediately turned their attention away from the Quarians and both lumbered to try and get a shot at her.
"That's right come and get me." Shepard muttered to herself. She moved around the mechs to give their backs to the quarians.
"Shepard!" Shepard heard Zaeed call out. "We've got this one!" Zaeed called out and Shepard saw sparks crackle over the mech closest to the door.
Shepard switched her focus to the undamaged mech. Her shots at it from before had only weakened its shields.
"Was wondering if you guys were going to show up." Shepard called out after Zaeed's rifle cracked fully taking the shields off of the first mech.
"Can't let you have all the credit now can we?" Jacob called out, the booming sound of his shotgun going off almost drowning him out.
Shepard turned her attention back to the mech in front of her. She quickly emptied her two SMGs into the mech, taking it's shields out.
The mech finally got a bead on her just as she writhed herself in biotic energy. Shepard shields flared when the mech fired its chain gun at her. Acting on instinct alone, Shepard rolled to the side. Once she regained her feet she charged the mech.
Unlike its smaller counterparts Shepard's charge didn't send it flying way. Instead it left a large dent in its chest armor. Before the mech could react, Shepard quickly climbed up atop it. Once more filled with biotic energy, Shepard grabbed the mech's cylindrical head and pulled up. Shepard heard the metal on the mech creek just before it's head was violently ripped from it's body.
"Ha ha! I need to remember that for later!" Shepard said and jumped off of the mech that was now falling forward.
Shepard looked over to see the other mech on the ground and full of holes. Shepard glanced up at her team. Jacob and Miranda both wore expressions of shock and fear. Zaeed on the other hand was grinning ear to ear.
"That was outstanding Shepard. Best guddamned show I've seen in some time." Zaeed called out as Shepard activated the controls to retract her helmet.
'W-wait. Did-did you say Shepard?" Shepard heard from her left. The voice was the same soft voice she remembered from the long sleepless nights on the Normandy.
Shepard looked over to where the there Quarians were standing. All but one had their weapons out.
"Tali'Zorah? Is-is that you?" Shepard couldn't hide the shock from her voice or her face.
"It is." The quarian without her weapon out said and moved closer to Shepard. "How…. How are you here? I watched the Normandy explode! Joker, he said you didn't make it out!"
Shepard moved over to Tali. "I made it off Tali. I just, landed on the planet below."
Shepard motioned over at Jacob and Miranda. "Cerberus found my body. They put me back together. I don't know how to prove it Tali, but I'm me. Just with a few added parts."
Shepard felt the wind leave her as Tali slammed into her, wrapping her into a tight hug.
"I knew it! I knew it couldn't be true! I knew that you, of all people, couldn't die! Not on me, not on Garrus, not on any of us!"
Shepard chuckled and returned Tali's hug just as tightly. "I've missed you too, Tali. Wait. What do you mean, not on Garrus?"
Before Tali could reply, Miranda spoke up.
"I hate to interrupt this friendly reunion," disdain dripping from Miranda's voice "but we have a job to do Commander."
"And you." Miranda rounded on Tali. "What are you quarians doing here. This is a human colony. You have no right to be here."
"Miranda!" Shepard barked in her you've-pissed-off-your-CO voice. "Go do something useful. Something that doesn't involve being an asshole to my sister."
Shepard leaned closer to Tali. "You basically are a sister to me Tali."
Shepard pulled back from Tali a bit. "As much as I hate to say it but Miranda is right. I do have a job to do here. But first Tali, please tell me what you're doing here. I'd never have expected there to be Quarians here."
Tali sighed. "I'm here looking for a quarian named Veetor. He was here on Pilgrimage. The Fleet lost contact with him a few days ago, so my team and I were sent here to check up on him." Tali paused taking a steadying breath at the mention of her now dead team.
"My team and I saw him run into the building over there when we were landing." Tali pointed behind Shepard. Shepard turned and saw a small one room building with various antennas coming off the top of it.
"Well then. It looks like we're here for similar reasons. You're looking for Veetor and I'm looking for anyone that could explain what happened here. Come on. lets go try and talk to him." Shepard motioned for Tali to follow her.
"Massani, Taylor stand guard outside, I don't want any stray mechs coming up behind us." Shepard glanced at the two men seeing nods of acceptance in reply.
"Lawson." Shepard looked over to the other woman finding her gaze met by a cold icy stare. "Go back and prep the shuttle for departure. I don't want to spend anymore time on this rock than needed."
"Come on Tali."
When Shepard and Tali entered the building they were greeted by the harsh orange lights of multiple holo displays and muttered ramblings. They found the outlined figure of a male Quarian sitting in a chair in front of rows of displays. Shepard guessed that this must be where the security cameras were all controlled and monitored. As the two women approached they could faintly make out what the quarian was saying. Shepard glanced at the displays, she found all of them to be filled with data and graphs that she couldn't begin to comprehend.
"No no no. Can't let them find me. Can't let the monsters take me. No no no." Veetor's ramblings forced Shepard's gaze back to the Quarian in front of her. Shepard felt a twinge in her stomach at the sound of his voice. It was panicked and full of fear. Shepard pushed back the memories from Elysium that threatened to resurface.
"Veetor? Can you hear me" Shepard heard Tali's voice next to her, her voice filled with concern.
"Veetor?" Tali repeated.
An idea popped into Shepard's mind. Quickly she pulled up her omni-tool and connected to the displays. With a wave of her hand Shepard caused the holo displays to quickly shut off.
Shepard and Tali watched as Veetor froze with fear. In an instant Veetor was up and out of his chair facing the two women. Despite his face, like all Quarian faces, being hidden behind his tinted visor, Shepard could still see Veetor's illuminated eyes widen in surprise. Veetor's eyes were locked squarely on Shepard as he stared dumbfounded that she was there. In the time Shepard had spent getting to know and becoming close with Tali, Shepard had become to be quite good at reading Quarians based on body language. Shepard took in Veetor and if she had to guess she'd beat that his jaw was straining out of his helmet.
"You… You're human? How… How did they not find you? The-the seekers found everyone else." Veetor asked having finally found his voice.
Before Veetor could continue Shepard held up her hand and interrupted the string of questions she knew was to ensue.
"I wasn't here when the attack happened Veetor. I only got here about an hour ago." Shepard paused and brought back her habits from the Normandy. "Take a deep breath and tell us what happened here."
Shepard felt Tali tense next to her. Apparently her "motherly-commander" voice, as most of the crew called it when they thought she couldn't hear them, brought back memories to the younger woman. Shepard knew Tali's tells. It was clear to her when she glanced over to her friend that she was trying to not break down at the wellspring of memories she had unknowingly released.
Veetor did as Shepard asked and took a deep breath, seeming to relax a bit when he let it out. She may have been gone for two years but the memories and instincts were definitely still there.
"They came over us without warning. They came in a massive ship. Before we knew what was happening the seeker swarms came over us. They… They took everyone. I-I hid. They never found me. They took everyone but me. But they'll be back. They always take everyone."
Veetor turned back to the displays behind him and typed something on a keyboard. Shepard's own eyes widened as a looping bit of video from one of the cameras came up on the displays. Shepard heard Tali gasp and felt her tense again. Both women recognized the figures on the screens before them. Before now. Shepard had only thought the bipedal insect like creatures to have just be stories and myths. The image of a Collector seeming to be commanding over a group of husks however, dispelled any doubts she had.
Every culture has its own myths and stories that parents tell their children to keep them in line. As a spacer kid, Shepard's childhood stories were not unlike those of the migrant Quarians. While most stories had different ways of telling them they all had the same lessons. All but one of them were majorly different yet the same in lesson. The one that both Tali and Shepard both knew was of the creature before them, the story of the Collectors.
The story told of a race of insectoid creatures that would show up out of the black and steal away a ship's crew. They would never leave any trace that they were there other than the computer recordings of them. In the stories they was always some hero, usually the ship's captain, that would defeat the collectors when they boarded their ship and then rescue the other crews. Shepard had always dismissed the story as just that until now.
Shepard turned her attention back to Veetor. She schooled her expression to that of concern and interest, not hard to do since she was both. Shepard took a step closer to Veetor and laid a comforting hand on his shoulder. Shepard locked eyes with the young Quarian once more.
"Please Veetor. Tell me everything you know about them. I can stop them from doing what they did in the stories."
Veetor glanced over to Tali. Knowing Tali she had nodded to him to continue and to trust Shepard. Veetor locked eyes with Shepard and began telling her everything he knew.
"What the hell do you think is talking them so guddamned long? Been in there a good half hour. If I didn't know better I'd say those two were getting 're-acquainted'."
Jacob rolled his eyes at Zaeed's comment. Jacob was about to reply when he watched the door to the building Shepard and the Quarian went in open up. Jacob and Zaeed stood up from their respective creates when Shepard walked out followed closely by the quarian she had entered with. They were not alone however. Jacob raised an eyebrow at Shepard when he saw that there was another Quarian. This one was male and the female Quarian's arm was wrapped around his shoulders almost comfortingly so.
"Taylor!" He snapped to attention. "Radio Lawson and have her come pick us up. We're going to drop off Tali, her squad and Veetor at Tali's ship before we leave."
"Yes, Ma'am!" Jacob replied and saluted before going off to do as ordered.
"Massani! You and I are at Tali's disposal til we leave. I can't do all the heavy lifting alone and we're not leaving her team's bodies' here."
Zaeed nodded his acknowledgement.
"Shepard, you don't have to. We can manage without it." Tali voiced.
"I'm going to help you and you'll like it." Shepard allowed her humor into her voice as she smiled to her friend. "Besides, I know you a lot. This is the least I can do."
"Heh Alright then. Let's see… What can I have you do…" Shepard heard the mischief in Tali's voice. Zaeed seemed to hear it too as Shepard heard him groan in response, muttering some curse at women in general.
"Shepard. It seems I underestimated you." The Illusive Man's voice immediately came over Shepard when she stepped onto the QEC platform back at the space station. She was taking in the harsh glow of the holo displays behind The Illusive Man's seated form before replying. Shepard could see the open displays of various data from Veetor's omni-tool and even a paused recording from Shepard's helmet cams.
"Everyone does. Both enemies and allies alike." Shepard replied coldly. "It seems that for the time you and I will be the later."
"Indeed. Believe me when I say this, getting the Quarians to send me their data from Veetor was a surprising olive branch given our history with them." The Illusive Man took a pause to take a drag from his cigarette.
"Ever think of being nice once in a while? Even I know that being tactful has it's uses." Shepard replied, disapproval in her voice.
"Diplomacy is great when it works. It's hard to use however, when everyone already sees you as a threat. So, are you willing to work with me to solve this issue of the Collectors? Or will I need to find someone else to do it?"
Shepard resisted rolling her eyes at him. It was clear to her that he only wanted to hear the words himself.
"If I'm going to do this I'm going to need an army, or a really good team. I gathered from Miss Zorah that most of my old team has their own obligations. I assume you've accounted for this already?"
The Illusive Man took a deep inhale from his cigarette, it's red glow lighting up his face.
"Your loyalty to your friends and crew are admirable Shepard. You are correct that most of your old team is otherwise occupied at the moment. If it changes I will inform you." Another deep inhale.
"And you are again correct in your assumptions. I have taken the liberty of compiling a list of dossiers on the best and brightest that you'll need. I'm also sending Miranda, Jacob and Zaeed with you. Before you go, two things." Yet another deep inhale. Shepard had spent only a brief time talking to this man and she already knew some of his tells. Being a Skillian Five player sure had it's benefits.
"Go to Omega and acquire Mordin Solus. He's a brilliant scientist and biologist. You'll need need his expertise to help deal with these seeker swarms."
"Don't get too comfortable 'ordering' me around. keep it up and this won't last. I can see logic but I am not your puppet." Shepard interrupted him coldly. She never took kindly to being ordered around by people that weren't her superiors.
"Noted." The Illusive Man replied just as coldly.
"And the second?" Shepard wanted this over soon. She'd had enough of this shadowy being for the day.
"I believe I've found you a pilot I think you'll like. I hear he's one of the best."
Before Shepard could reply the com went offline. Shepard was back in the small baren room on the space station. She heard slow careful boot falls behind her. She thought she recognized the pattern in the step but couldn't place it. Shepard started to turn around. She caught a glimpse of the figure before its voice reached her ears.
"Hey Commander. Just like old times huh?" Jokers voice was light. To anyone else he would have sounded almost happy and humorous. Shepard knew all of her crew by heart. She heard the underlying tones of disbelief, shock and joy in his voice.
Shepard turned to face him and triggered the release on her helmet. She'd neglected to retract it when talking to The Illusive Man. For the second time in the last twelve hours of being awake Shepard allowed herself to show emotion. Shepard allowed the grin she had to show on her face. Her grin grew even wider on seeing the light of recognition and acceptance in her friend's eyes.
"Joker! It's good to see a friendly face around here." Shepard moved towards the shorter man.
"Hmmp. you have no idea Commander." Joker took a step forward, arm outstretched to shake her hand. Shepard in turn clasped Joker's arm.
"Come on. I've got something to show you." Joker turned around and started hobbling back up the steps.
Shepard followed her friend, slowing her usually brisk pace to keep in step with him.
"You know I don't like surprises Joker. Just remember that impromptu birthday party you and the team threw for me? Remember what I almost did to that room full of people that shouted 'surprise' when I walked into the mess? Surprises and grunts hardwired for combat don't exactly mix."
Shepard saw Joker grin at the memory. He'd told her later that it'd been his idea. If it wasn't for the adrenaline pumping shock that had her about to kill half the crew in the matter of seconds it would've been a nice thought.
"Hey! How was I supposed to know? I still owe Garrus a drink for that one. If I hadn't known better I'd be inclined to believe those rumors floating around about you two." Joker sent a glance her way . Seeing the look of confusion on Shepard's face he continued. "Besides, you'd've liked your death party better. None of that solemn and sorrow crap. Just like a regular party just celebrating you."
Shepard wouldn't be side tracked that easily however.
"Wait what rumors? I knew about all that crap about me being involved with either Liara or Kaidan. But Garrus? Seriously? Was my crew THAT gossipy?"
Shepard was both amused and intrigued about this new bit of information. It was only human nature to try and pair up different crew members. To some people it was their favorite hobby. Shepard never understood why she'd been thrown into the mix though. Shepard had been sort of a mother figure for the Normandy's crew, Shepard had gained her leadership skills from her mother, who captained a dreadnaught the same way.
"Well… um…" Joker shifted nervously. "Oh look we're here."
Shepard filed the conversation away for later and made a note to corner the man about it later. Shepard looked over the the window that she and Joker had ended up in front of. Joker reached over the the side of the window and pressed a button.
"They only told me about it this morning." Joker said and the room on the other side of the window was flooded with light.
Shepard's jaw went slack at the sight before her. On the other side of the window was a dry dock. In it was a ghost ship. Painted in Cerberus colors the Normandy sat before her. Shepard noted the increased size however, this one had to be at least half again as big as the original. Shepard saw Joker smile in the corner of her eye, weather it was from the ship or her face she couldn't tell.
"Welcome home Commander."
"Well, I guess we'll have to give her a name."
"Come on. Miss Lawson told me to have you on board in an hour for 'briefing'."
Shepard was brought out of her stupor at the Cerberus operative's name. She nodded in response to Joker.
"Lead the way then."
"So how'd your 'briefing' go?" Joker asked as Shepard approached the cockpit.
"As dull as expected. Still feels odd actually having an AI. They're so useful. Being made by Cerberus however is another matter." Shepard replied coming up behind Joker's chair and resting her hands on the back of his chair.
Shepard's gaze was taken from the screens in front of her to the glowing blue ball that appeared next to Joker. Shepard was used to VIs of all kinds, an AI however was still new. Shepard would gladly take any advantage she could get, getting them from Cerberus however made her teeth clench.
"I assure you Commander, I am only in control of the cyber warfare suits on the ship. Nothing else is in my capabilities to control. If you wish you can view my shackling protocols." The AI, EDI, told her in her monotone synthesized voice.
"Noted." Shepard replied. Sentience or not an AI was still just a tool.
Shepard turned back to Joker. "Set us a coarse for Omega. Make it as fast as you can."
"Setting coarse." Joker replied. "You know you can do that from the CIC right? No need to come up here personally."
"You know me Joker. I'd rather do everything in person than over comms if i can."
"You sure its not to come and see me? I hear that I'm quite easy on the eyes." Joker quipped back, Shepard smirked. It seemed that some things never changed.
"Joker, I've broken better men and women than you." Shepard joked back, feeling at ease with the familiar banter.
"Shepard. That was something that I didn't need to know. But if you have any proof of this I'd be happy if you decided to share."
Shepard snorted. "Joker not even if you were the last guy in the 'verse would I let you see me naked."
"Hey now! Some of us have feelings. Not all of us are hardened grunts like you."
"Fair point. So ETA on getting to Omega?"
Though she was reluctant to do so Shepard did have some things to get done before getting to Omega.
"ETA 6 hours. I'll ping you when we're an hour out."
"Thanks Joker." Shepard replied patting her friend's shoulder.
"Shepard." Joker stopped her as she turned to leave.
"Yeah?"
"Its really good to have you back Ma'am." Shepard heard the truth of his words in his voice.
"Its good to be back." She replied equally sincere.
He had lost track of time. Everything seemed to blur together. Every minute, every hour. They all seemed to be the same. Everything in his world had funneled down into nothing but him, his scope, and the idiots that kept coming into sight. Each shot a kill. Each kill an avenging death for his men, for his friends.
Archangel had lost track of everything but what came into scope. Each breath he drew another merc fell. each merc that fell another name left his mouth.
In the hours since arriving back at his base he had done nothing but slaughter the mercs that killed his team. Everything had become the dull and unsatisfying routine. Sight, breath, fire, reload, another name. His mind was blank but for the focus of killing as many mercs as he could.
The crack of his Mantis rang out. Another Merc fell. Eresh.
Crack. Melenis.
Crack. Krul.
Crack. Ripper.
Crack. Mierin.
Crack. Grundan.
Crack. Sensat.
Crack. Vortash.
Crack. Butler.
Crack. Monteague.
Crack. Wreaver.
Crack. Shepard.
It was an endless cycle. Archangel had no intentions of stopping until either they were all dead or he was. He had nothing left to lose.
I'll met you in that bar soon Shepard. Crack.
Just a while longer. Crack.
I'm not done yet. Crack.
Crack. Shepard.
A/N:
Wow this chapter was both fun and exhausting to write. When i Posted chapter 2 I had this at just over 3k words. But I didn't think that putting the talks with The Illusive Man in multiple chapters to be a good idea. So as a result, not only did this have some background on my Shepard but I also get to bring Garus into the main plot a tad faster.
This chapter took a bit longer the finish than I'd wanted but hopefully you all enjoy it. If you don't please let me know and I'll see what I can do to make this better.
And finally, I just need to let you all know that my updates will be only once MAYBE twice a month for the next few months. My writing time has been cut down quite a bit due to having a ton of stuff dropped onto my shoulders in my guild in Rift. As a result (until I can re-balance everything) I won't have as much time to write.
Thank you for reading! Please let me know how I'm doing, or if there is anything you thing I should add/change.
