The odd, sideways Y-shape of the Veritas frigate blinked into view as the azure light disappeared around it. The cold fingers of space wrapped around the exterior as the warm light emanating from the center of the system bathed its occupants in red. The soft glow was broken by a series of shadows as the ship edged closer. The further it traveled, the more detail could be discerned.
A fleet of ships, hundreds in fact, were between them and the sun itself. Many were small and looked like they had been cobbled together from a hodgepodge of different crafts outright. A few were sleek and painted white, a gold symbol adorning the wings. Surrounded by these graceful craft was the spherical shape of a quarian liveship, the Rayya.
It was certainly a motley collection of ships, but more pressing was the fact that there didn't seem to be any conflict going on. This was a cause for concern because, to the occupants, it meant that Cerberus had their enemies in a vice. They were in possession of the liveship, an enormous vessel responsible for producing a significant portion of the flotilla's food supply. The miniature blockade around it had completely isolated it from the rest of the fleet.
It was clear from the tight formation that any quarian assault to take back the ship was a futile effort. A small shuttle would be shot down immediately, a full scale attack would only risk damaging the Rayya further. In short, it was a stalemate.
Joker tapped on the dashboard of the craft as it edged closer to the liveship, "I hope you realize how dumb this idea is, Shepard? I mean, if the quarians can't get one of their own ships close then what chance do we have?"
Shepard crossed his arms, clad once again in the demonic black armor, red slits peered through what passed for a visor on his helmet. His voice croaked through the voice modulator, "It may seem like a dumb idea on paper, Joker, but this whole charade is merely a trap, and Tali is the bait."
Garrus, now seated in the copilot chair, inspected his rifle for the last time, "So…going by your logic, by acknowledging the fact that a trap exists somehow makes it all right to spring it?"
"If you have an alternative, I'd be delighted to hear it."
The turian shrugged, "It just…isn't going to be that easy, Shepard. If they are aware of what you're capable of in that body…"
"Uh," Joker interrupted, "I hate to break up the argument but we seem to be approaching the blockade…rather fast."
Shepard tilted his head in interest, "That's okay."
Joker turned around to shoot Shepard a glance of extreme apprehension. He acknowledged the man before he explained.
"This body isn't invincible so I don't think blowing this ship up is on their minds to begin with."
"And how are they so sure it's even you?" Joker squinted.
"We kind of did steal this ship from a Cerberus held facility. It's still got the colors on and it still responds to the same designation. It doesn't really leave a lot of room for interpretation when a missing ship is now headed towards a sensitive operation in the middle of the Far Rim. Trust me, they know it's us."
"Somehow that doesn't make me feel any better," Joker groused.
The rest of the ride passed in silence as the craft skirted around the few vessels that guarded the liveship's outer perimeter. Just as Shepard predicted, none of the guns on the Cerberus craft even so much as twitched in their direction. They were definitely going for the "alive" option. The poor fools.
Joker was breathing hard but still maintained a level heading as the Veritas turned ever so slightly to line up with the nearest docking tube. Shepard and Garrus grabbed their assault rifles and readied themselves near the airlock door and waited for Joker's confirmation. Ten seconds later, a series of thumps reverberated followed by a loud click as they were locked into place. A hiss signified a good seal and that they were ready to go.
"Shepard," Joker called out, "I'm in the local security feed. You've got a small squad of five ready to roll out the red carpet just on the other side of the doors."
"Thanks, Joker," Shepard acknowledged, "Guess we're getting right to work very soon." Through proper memorization, he flitted through the option menu in embedded in his retina. Accessing the proper menu, he selected the appropriate file for the voice clip template. Satisfied that the proper procedures had been followed, he closed the open windows that were unseen to anyone but him.
"You ready, Garrus?" Shepard's own voice didn't filter through this time. Rather, a deep, pounding rasp replaced it. The sound was quite sinister and it actually reminded the both of them of Sovereign's pitched, reverberating voice.
Garrus stepped back for a split second before he recovered, "Spirits, that freaked me out. Why the hell are you using that voice?"
"Why do you think? I would think that it would be obvious."
The turian scratched his head for a moment, "Well, using it as an intimidation factor would be a strategic maneuver. On the other hand, you've always been fearsome in combat which means that the voice would not be necessary unless…" Garrus' mandibles twitched in surprise, "You're not telling her."
"Nothing gets past your cop mind, huh Garrus?" came the dark, but somewhat accepting tone.
"Damn it, Shepard…after what we just talked about, after what you promised me, you're still going to treat Tali this way? You're still going to play up your little disguise in the hopes that-"
"That is not my intention!" Shepard shouted, the noise frightfully loud in the cramped cabin, "I have no choice in this situation! I told you my reasoning before, I cannot let Tali see me like this! I just can't!"
"So this is just to protect her? To hide what you've become? She'll find out sooner or later, Shepard."
"I know she will, but she will never accept me if she-"
"Stop saying that!" Garrus roared, "You've said that several times to the point where you're repeating yourself! If you want to continue to cower behind a mask, that's fine. I won't tell her about you, Shepard, if I see her." The turian backed off, "This is something that either she has to find out on her own, or you go ahead and take that leap. Either way, it's none of my concern anymore. It's your burden to bear so I won't bring it up anymore."
"Good," Shepard muttered darkly, "I'm so glad we had this discussion."
The cyborg backed away towards the airlock controls, signifying that the exchange was now over. Shepard waited for Garrus to signal his readiness, hand outstretched over the release button. Garrus sighed in frustration, emotions writhing painfully at the transformation of his friend. He wasn't making things any better, from the looks of it. Every time he brought the subject up, Shepard always reacted strongly, as if something was eating him from the inside.
This was what made Shepard so enraging sometimes. He never wore his heart on his sleeve. He never had reacted impulsively through the guidance of emotional turmoil. He never confided in many people in his life, actually. He was a stoic commander, unyielding, and impressively precise as a leader.
But all that had been taken away from him. He was no longer a leader, he no longer had any more ties to his humanity, and he could no longer control his emotions from lashing out at the nearest person. Shepard was an empty shell, looking for some semblance of purpose but was fighting to keep a sense of logic in his actions. Deep down, perhaps he feared that the people who he let get close to him would see him as a liability, a weakling, someone who was incapable of controlling their life to the point where they had no reason to live anymore.
Separating the deluded man from his fantasy would be an arduous task. Sooner or later, he would have to accept who he was. Garrus sincerely hoped that his former commander would wake up from his never ending nightmare, if he even had the capacity to wake up in the first place.
Garrus gave a curt nod and Shepard hit the switch. The door cycled open a microsecond later but their weapons were already in position. Shouts of surprise and alarm hit them moments before they pulled the trigger, blurry white figures dancing momentarily beyond his threshold.
Both of them pulled their triggers and the hallway erupted in noise.
A snap hissed by Garrus, causing him to involuntarily blink in surprise. His finger was still depressed on the trigger, automatic bursts covering the area of fire. His body jerked as it felt like someone was giving him rather soft punches to his midsection. Those were just his shields taking the impacts from the opposing side.
The adrenaline was distorting his sense of time. Bright flashes from the barrel of his gun bloomed in slow motion, white plastic exploded into the dusty air, blood blossomed from the men into the dusty air. He breathed in and out as the shockwaves from nearby bullets pulsed through his ears, making them pop in response.
Garrus finished his blink as he now beheld the five bodies lying on the ground. Both his and Shepard's guns were smoking from the assault, but it wasn't done yet. The pair moved out of the tube into the hallway, where they could hear frantic orders being shouted, trying to yell over the upcoming din.
Shepard rounded the corner and began firing, Garrus staying behind to cover him, matching his intensity in earnest. The cyborg didn't even bother with trying to remain in cover, his shields were doing an admirable job of protecting his chassis and the targeting software that controlled his aim and reflexes was doing his job for him.
Snap movements from one head to another yielded precise results. Every time a trooper made the unwise move of peeking out of cover, they had a bullet sent through their cranium. Anyone close enough in arm's reach of Shepard found themselves lying broken at his feet, usually from the combination of several bone-shattering blows that did unspeakable internal damage.
Garrus cautiously moved up as Shepard ejected another spent heat sink. Rather than reach for another, he simply moved the gun to the magnetic strip on his back and projected his omni-sword as he burst out of the hallway into an amphitheater. Cerberus troops were scattered throughout the room and they overturned chairs and tables to set up makeshift forms of cover.
Such precautions were only delaying the inevitable, from Shepard's point of view. If he was simply another flesh-and-blood organism, he would have not acted so callously, with such disregard to his own life, that it made Garrus open his mouth wide with shock at what transpired next.
Shepard plunged a fist through an overturned table, grabbing a man by the neck as his arm fully extended. With a firm grip now established, he immediately yanked his arm back but the man's head caught on the small opening from the force of the initial blow. There was the tremendous sound of a snapping neck, but it went unnoticed over the ruckus of the firing guns.
He was already moving on to the next one. Shepard vaulted over a small barrier and swung his fist in a hammer motion to the side. It struck a soldier on the temple, the skull crushing inward, and he collapsed. Ducking from a point-blank burst, he turned and swiped his arm with the omni-sword across, disemboweling another man and letting his guts now stain the floor.
Garrus was hanging back, his sniper rifle now unfolded. Every enemy in the room was so focused on Shepard that they didn't even see the turian lingering in the shadows. Garrus peered through the scope as he swung the gun to the far side of the room. He let the crosshairs gently rest over the head of a man busy shooting at Shepard, unaware of how sudden the end would come to him.
A loud noise came, followed by a splatter. A perfect headshot.
Garrus moved the gun to the right a bit. The first casualty had been positioned behind his comrades so they were oblivious to the fact that a man was down on their side. The turian repeated the process four more times, exhaling when he saw bloody chunks expel from his marksmanship.
There were no more enemies left in the room, but Garrus did not holster his weapon. Instead, he came out of his crouch to join Shepard, who was standing in the middle of a pile of bodies, the blood of which was staining his boots. The armored cyborg was completely coated with red, but he didn't seem to notice. He was staring intently at the men he'd just dispatched with ease, his expression and body language unreadable to Garrus.
Rather than pry for more information, he gently put a hand on Shepard's shoulder. The human whirled at the touch but relaxed when he saw the turian's face. Shepard merely nodded and tilted to his head in a gesture for them to continue on their path. They moved to the door on the far side where their objective supposedly lay.
They were not expecting the absolute size of the craft to be revealed to them when they stepped through that door. They were now perched on a walkway on what appeared to be a structure embedded in the middle of the liveship. They could see all around them as the cavernous interior stretched for miles, the walls wrapping completely around them. The spherical shape of the ship was one of the most impressive sights Shepard had ever known and he expelled a breath of awe as the entire chamber rotated in place.
As they stepped off the catwalk moving forward, the flat platform that they were on now was a landing pad of sorts. And it was surrounded by Cerberus troops, both on the platform and on the railings above. Each one took precise aim at the new entrants, as if that was going to do much good.
"I'll take bottom, you take top," Shepard whispered.
"Got it,"
"Split, now!"
Both of them dived in opposite directions as the bullets smacked into the space they had just occupied. Breaking out of his roll, Shepard now had his assault rifle back in hand as he swept it across the flat surface, short bursts coming from the gun as enemy after enemy was felled.
Garrus too got out of his roll only to drop down into a maintenance crevice. Now in cover, he could get a good bead on the guys shooting at them from above. It was almost too easy as he only had to point and shoot.
A grenade went off near Shepard but he plowed through the smoke and dust to punch the thrower straight in the face. The frontof the helmet shattered as blood spurted out from between the cracks. Before the body had hit the floor, Shepard's Carnifex was in his hand as he stood sideways to aim at the next set of troopers that burst through the door.
Three shots, three hits. All dead.
One last boom echoed in the spacious area as a final body tumbled from the rafters to land with a meaty smack on the metal ground. Garrus shuffled out from his hidey hole to rejoin Shepard on the other side of the platform, giving the soldier a solid kick for his reassurance.
"Garrus," Shepard said, "Go up top and find a perfect position where you can do some damage."
Now was not the time to question orders. "On it, Shepard," Garrus nodded before pausing near a ladder, "What are you going to do?"
If there wasn't a helmet on his face or if he had a face at all, the turian could have bet everything he owned that the human would be smiling.
"I'm going to do what I do best."
Tali sniveled as a harsh jab into her back sent her stumbling. She barely caught herself as the butt of the gun had rudely interrupted her as she was shuffling along down the hallway. The quarian was incapable of thinking clearly as the death of her father had completely sapped her resolve away.
You couldn't say it, could you, Father? Even when you knew you were going to die, you couldn't tell me that you loved me. When am I ever going to hear that from anyone? Who do I have left that could possibly care?
The quartet of white troopers that surrounded her shunted her forward in their brisk pace. She begrudgingly complied as she matched them, body numb at this point to any further trauma.
The human with the bushy goatee in front barked out an order, a lieutenant running up to him as he bent to speak a few words that Tali couldn't catch. He seemed agitated, as if things were not going according to their plan.
But what plan would that be? If she wasn't the target then what was the point of all this? Why go to so much trouble to get her if their attention was not going to be on her anyway?
Continuing to walk hurriedly along, she realized that they were headed to the hanger bay. Cerberus must have placed a shuttle during the siege for easy access to the liveship. It was all uncharted territory for her now, she had no idea what was going to happen or where she was going to go. All she could do was sit back and let things unfold as fate intended.
It might not have been the best timing for Tali to suddenly get superstitious because her divine providence suddenly took shape as the door ahead of the main group slammed shut, cutting them off from the leader and the lieutenant, both of whom stared incredulously at the closed blast door. She could see them screaming in their comms from the other side, but no words could be heard. They engaged their omni-tools to hack open the door but quarian software systems were notoriously complex to crack. It would take them a better part of an hour to find a way through a simple door.
The four soldiers fidgeted anxiously alongside her. A couple of them tightened their grips on their weapons so hard she could hear the plastic straining.
One of the men turned, "If she makes a move, no matter what the boss says, kill her."
"Can't we just knock her out? Save us the trouble of-"
"Nope, no chances. We waste her right here and then we hope that nothing has been compromised, boss be damned."
"I don't believe that will be necessary," a new voice rasped from the shadows.
The soldier nearest to the noise screamed in reaction and depressed the trigger on his Mattock on full auto. Bullets sprayed across the hall, the flashes causing Tali to squint her eyes from the strobing.
The firing suddenly stopped as a wet pop sounded in lieu of the loud bangs and the man fell, with half his head missing. His comrades uttered cries of horror before a series of pistol reports were uttered from a dark corner and all three of them collapsed together, blood streaming down their chestplates as their heads and necks were completely destroyed from the Carnifex's stopping power.
Tali cried out as she covered her face with her hands, awaiting the same fate that befell her armed escort. If this was how it would end, then so be it. But the sound never came, there was only the soft clicking of a pistol being holstered and a series of heavy clangs as boots traversed across metal ground. She sensed a presence right in front of her and she timidly lowered her arms down so she could behold who she now realized was her savior and not her executioner.
He was tall, taller than a quarian. Judging by the size and shape of the form before her, this new person was most definitely a human. His armor was all black, shiny, as was his helmet apart from four red glowing strips that served as the eyeslits. His entire form was draped in a long coat, hiding most of his body contours as it lazily waved from his motions. Up close, she could now see that he was stained with dust and blood, no questioning where the latter came from. The intimidating physique of the man was rather frightening to Tali and she shrunk back a little in fear.
"Who…." she stammered, "Who are you?"
As the four bodies fell around her, Shepard calmly put his weapon away, trying to minimize his frightful appearance to the quarian. He could see her yelp in fear as she most likely thought that the next shot would find her next, but she would soon realize that it wasn't the case.
He started to walk forward as he took in the sight of her. Tali had changed, in terms of appearance. Her simple, purple hood that had become her defining feature, apart from her purple visor, was the same, although her helmet featured some more silver accents. The neckpiece was now gold colored and her boots were made out of a firmer material. The entire suit was more intricate and thought out rather than the motley collection of straps and buckles the last time he had seen her. Now, her suit was organized in a manner that suggested that she had meticulously planned and designed every aspect of this suit all on her own. Tali always did the best with what she had available.
She had grown up, he realized. There was a firmness in her posture that gave her an edge he had never seen her exhibit before. It made her all the more striking.
She lowered her arms to finally take in whoever saved her. When he was mere feet from her, she stepped back a few steps, alarmed at the sight of the man in front of her.
"Who…" came that familiar voice, "Who are you?"
It took all of his might to not answer her query truthfully. Instead, he took an unseen breath before finally speaking after a pregnant pause, in his deep voice this time, "A friend. I'm here to get you to safety." Shepard bent down and plucked a spare pistol up from the ground. Its owner didn't need it anymore and he offered it to the quarian with an outstretched hand.
She seemed to gain some confidence at this, taking the offered weapon, "Do I…know you? Have we met before?"
Heart pounding, it was an enormous effort for Shepard to shake his head back and forth in response. "We share some things in common, Tali'Zorah nar Rayya. Our hatred of Cerberus being one of them."
Now it was her turn to shake her head, "Vas Rayya. Tali'Zorah vas Rayya. I completed my Pilgrimage already. You know, the-"
"-The quarian rite of passage in which something of value is exchanged for-" Shepard blurted out before stopping himself. Just shut up. Shut up and don't say anything else, asshole. Stop giving away any hints about who you are! She can never know!
Tali tilted her head in confusion, "That's…right. I haven't met many…um, humans who know our traditions before."
"I've been all over the galaxy," Shepard was relieved at the chance to correct his gaff, "I've seen and heard many things that would surprise most people." While they were talking, he waved to get them moving. She picked up on the cue and they sidled off down a deserted hallway as Shepard took point, pistol aimed forward.
"I know the feeling," Tali sighed, "But I still have a few questions to ask."
"Can this wait a bit?"
Tali shrugged, "We have time and there's a room we can go into over there." She jerked her thumb at a spare bedroom nestled in the corner.
Shepard huffed, "Fine." He stalked inside the cramped room, Tali following. The door slammed behind them and it was only when he heard the soft pinging of the door locking itself did he suspect anything was amiss. He turned around to now see the pistol that he gave her aimed at his head, the hand that was holding it was trembling as the quarian's eyes were wide.
Goddamn it. That makes it three out of three. I really despise this type of greeting and it could have been easily avoidable this time!
As Shepard stewed at the hidden fact, Tali mustered some strength in her voice, "First things first, how do you know who I am? I don't know you and I don't know how you got here, so you better have a good explanation for this. Right now would be preferable."
"Does it really matter if I know who you are?" Shepard growled.
"Yes," she hissed, "It does matter. Why would you even care in the first place? Humans don't care about anyone other than humans so why help me?"
"Do you really believe that?"
"I didn't in the beginning! I once thought that all humans were selfless, that they strived to help anyone that needed assistance! That they actually cared about others…" She took a breath as she spoke, "But my one experience with humans close up was an anomaly, a fluke. He was killed a while ago and today Cerberus has taken away the one other person who I cared the most about in this galaxy! I have more reason than you to hate them, so I want to know the truth, starting with who you are, right here, right now!"
One experience? Killed? She's referring to me.
Shepard backed up until his legs collided against a chair. Slowly lowering himself down, his limbs groaned from the reprieve as the barrel of the pistol never left his face. He kept his gaze firmly on the quarian across from him as he chose his next words carefully, glad at the fact that his voice was disguised so he could no longer give away any more hints to his true identity.
"All right, Tali'Zorah vas Rayya, I'm not here to argue the merits of who should hate Cerberus more but there are more pressing matters at hand. First off, I used to be an Alliance marine stationed at Yandoa. This was back in 2170, when the old E-A refinery was still standing."
"I'm…I'm not familiar with Yandoa."
Shepard was pleased that she had started to bite into the lie, "I'm not surprised. It's not an event that would rate highly on the quarians' radar. Point is, the refinery was sabotaged, blown up, by Cerberus that year, exposing all of the colonists in the area to dust form element zero." Shepard made sure to slightly adjust his body position so that Tali could read his devotion to his story, "Most of the colonists died from the toxic exposure, but I got…well, I guess you could say lucky but I still refuse to use that word in my case. I was in the initial radius of the explosion during my shift and I was close enough for the heat to neutralize the raw eezo in the air. Unfortunately, it left me with severe burns all over my body. I was evac'd off planet where I underwent treatment to regen my skin."
"Did…did it work?"
"A bit. The results worked but it just wasn't me anymore. It didn't seem like who I was, this new skin, this…new body." It was much easier for Shepard to draw from parallels rather than fabricate an entirely different scenario in his head.
"They can fix that now, can't they? So much has changed in the field of-"
"It doesn't matter right now," Shepard interrupted with a wave of his hand, "The point I'm trying to get to is this: I'm just a soldier who got his whole life stolen away by Cerberus and I want to right all the wrongs that they've done in the past. What they've done to the Alliance...to the galaxy...cannot be forgiven. I'm here now because one of their bases happened to divulge sensitive information that they were going to attack the quarian flotilla and so I jumped at the chance to kill these bastards."
Tali's grip relaxed somewhat, "I'm not convinced by that. Why would they gun for me specifically? There would have to be a connection between you and me for there to have any purpose in launching this assault in the first place."
Shepard almost couldn't bring himself to say his next words, "There is no connection. Cerberus caught on to my aggressive maneuvers and used the attack as a ploy to draw me out. I'm the priority target. You only got in the way. I had recovered a list of potential victims that they had listed as options to use for hostages. I made sure to memorize every name on it. You were on it, as was your father, Rael'Zorah."
Tali dipped her head, "Rael…my father…is dead. They shot him not half an hour ago."
A metal fist clenched at the woman's words but held back lest the synthetic sound would arouse suspicion, "I'm…I'm sorry for your loss. But you have to understand how Cerberus operates. They would have used you as a ploy to draw out a reaction from your father, perhaps to get him to act rashly and to cost more lives in an attempt to save your life. That's how Cerberus operates: to win at the most bloodiest of costs."
The pistol slowly drew away from Shepard's head as Tali now sat across from him, "So…they were never after me specifically the whole time…" She sat in a position of disbelief for a few seconds before rising again, Shepard matching her move. She shook her head in remorse as she spoke.
"I-I'm…I'm so sorry for pointing the gun at you. It's just…after today…I don't know how-"
The hand that gently grasped her shoulder moved involuntarily, as if Shepard had no control over his motor functions at this point. The grip was firm but gently enough to steady and reassure her. She relaxed and stopped stammering as she looked up at him, no longer afraid in his presence.
"T-Thank you…but I still don't know your name."
"You can just call me 'Jenkins.'" The familiar name brought a pang to Shepard as he recalled the young, eager soldier who had departed his life far too soon. The borrowing of the man's name was a title out of respect, out of acknowledgement for his small, but pivotal role in his travels. Jenkins would have been proud to have his former commander remember him in such a way.
"Okay…Jenkins," Tali let the foreign name roll off her tongue, sizing him up with his appropriated name. "Did…did you have a plan for what happens next?"
Shepard knew what to say next, even if there was little validity in his claims, "My entire mission has gone to shambles. We are currently outnumbered and outgunned. You're the only one of merit left on this ship. I have transport waiting at the tubes, we can get you out and back to the rest of the flotilla in no time."
"I…" she said haltingly, "I'm not sure…it doesn't seem right to just leave…"
The grip on her shoulder tightened, "I know it feels wrong to be put in this position, but there aren't any other options. You can either remain here and most certainly get killed or follow me to safety. In the end, you'll have to make a choice, whether you like it or not."
"I'm sorry, Ash. I had to make a choice," he had said, leaning over the railing by the bay, as both Tali and Garrus fidgeted in the background, peering around anxiously...
Tali sighed, firmly stationary thanks to Shepard still holding onto her, "And why do you care if I live or not? I might not have anything left worth fighting for except an inept fleet and a cause that died over a year ago. There is nothing that could possibly be waiting for me at the end of all this. Nothing."
He decided to press his luck, "You did mention that there was one other person who you cared about. Who was it, your mother? A friend?"
"I…I guess you could have called him a friend…um, I certainly thought of him as one."
"What happened to this quarian friend of yours?"
"Oh no!" she said quickly, "He wasn't a quarian. He was actually a human, believe it or not, but he was…well…he was kind and friendly and…and I thought that maybe one day…oh, it was such a stupid thought…"
What are you doing? Are you deliberately trying to get your hopes up? She can't know, she won't know. Don't go any further with this and stop acting like an idiot!
Shepard shook his head as he spoke, "Okay, okay, I'm sorry I brought him up. It seems like a sore subject and it isn't fair that I reopen that to you. But do you really think that the people who do care about you would want you to view yourself as someone who's essentially worthless? You have your whole life ahead of you! There's no reason to give up now." He patted Tali awkwardly on the arm, but it seemed to reassure her, nonetheless, "So, Miss vas Rayya, are you going to just give up and let Cerberus win or are you going to just twiddle your thumbs in despair? I'm getting the hell off of this place and I suggest that you do too. But, in the end, you're the one who has to make the choice."
Tali's eyes shone behind the visor as she gave a soft laugh, "You're rather insightful, for a human."
"My experience with quarians has crafted the impression that all are impressively selfless and amazingly loyal. I keep finding myself having to consistently tell every quarian that I meet how important they are and that they need to be rather individualistic once in a while. It's just unfortunate that you've been painted a rather skewed picture on humans in general, perhaps. But would the interaction between two halfway decent humans in your life at least change your perceptions a little?"
Tali stepped back, never taking her eyes off Shepard as she reached behind her to unlock the door, cycling open behind her.
"No. But it's a start."
Garrus slammed a fresh clip into his rifle as he sprinted down the catwalk. Bullets made pings off the metal as the slugs shattered against the impassive face of the ship. He scowled as he slid to a halt, crouching behind a guardrail as he set up his weapon.
A clambering sound caused him to turn around. He could see that a small squad of soldiers was making their way toward him, guns at the ready.
Garrus muttered a curse, there was no time for him to stand. His arm shot to his side as he threw himself on his back, bullets flying over his prone body. Tilting his head up, he depressed the trigger on his pistol once…twice…three times. His shields took a beating but the danger had passed once the last body plummeted over the railing into the depths of the liveship. This was getting tense.
Getting back into position, he laid the rifle over the rail as his eyepiece indicated where Shepard was at the moment. It looked like he was in the central structure in the middle of the sphere so he kept the sights of the rifle trained across the way.
There were a few troopers milling about so it was almost a casual reaction for Garrus to tilt the sights in their direction and pull the trigger. There was something satisfying about seeing the blood splatter the ground as he fired again and again. It wasn't a desensitized mental response, but a precise and calculated disposition towards achieving a strategic objective.
"Garrus," his comm blared as Shepard's voice burst unevenly from it, "Where are you?"
"I'm in position," he replied, careful not to use Shepard's name in case this wasn't a private conversation. "Is this a party line?"
"No, it isn't. I have Tali with me but we're going to be out in the open for a bit. Can you see the main footway from where you are?"
"It's right across from me. You've got a few idiots on all levels so there's going to be some intense crossfire."
"That won't be a problem. What will be a cause for a concern is protecting Tali. We're going to need some cover, you up for it?"
Garrus smirked, "I got you all the way."
Less than ten seconds later, the turian saw two forms burst out from a doorway on the right side of the opposite catwalk, on the middle floor. They were moving fast and the Cerberus troops glanced in their direction, having heard their heavy footsteps. They started to ready their weapons but Garrus had them beat. Blood flew in an extended spurt as a round passed through a man's neck on the top floor, causing him to collapse like a puppet with its strings cut. His comrades next to him stopped focusing on Shepard and Tali and jumped in alarm, not knowing whether to stay or run. Their hesitation cost them their lives.
The top floor was now clear but there were still at least five guys shooting from below. Shepard and Tali had cleared their catwalk, the former expertly dispatching them with his weapon of choice. Garrus started to focus on one of the men aiming their weapons up but a grey object tumbled down Garrus' sight through the scope. Annoyed, he panned down to see a squat, cylindrical object at the foot of one of the men. A gift from Shepard. The turian could barely suppress a laugh as he looked up to see the results.
The grenade detonated with the force of a small bomb. The five men were disintegrated, their bodies consumed by the conflagration. The footway also did not escape unscathed. A tortured render of metal caused a horrific shriek as it burst from its foundation to tumble end over end to the ground far below. Garrus' eyebrows shot up at the crash that succeeded and grunted in satisfaction.
They were in the clear. His job was done, for now.
"You had backup?" Tali asked as they shut the door behind them.
"An old friend," Shepard cryptically answered, "He shared my distaste in Cerberus enough to tag along."
"Hm, Jenkins. You are full of surprises."
If you only knew.
He waved Tali for her to stick close. A grinding sound was now in the air as if they were approaching a manufacturing plant. Huge, heavy clangs resonated enough for Shepard to turn and fire a query.
"What's down here?"
"Refuse disposal," she responded, "Basically one huge incinerator."
There was a window in the dim room and Shepard moved over to it to get a better look. From here, he could see that the room that they were situated in was over a conveyor belt. That belt snaked through a maze of machinery towards a large gout of flame that was positioned on the far end of the disposal room.
He nodded before turning back to Tali, "Okay, no more sightseeing. Docking tubes are a few hundred meters away, we just need to get to-"
Tali jolted as she saw something beyond Shepard, yelling, "Behind you!"
Shepard instantly moved in front of Tali, letting the bullets impact on his own shields before he even knew who was attacking. Three men were approaching from the other side and Shepard craned his head to shout to Tali, "Go back through the door and use it as cover, I'll handle them!"
He watched her flee in earnest before turning around to properly dispose of yet more faceless troops. Shepard didn't even have a chance to fully perceive them before a huge fist caused him to stagger in place. His vision was still crystal clear but it was still a sobering experience. He hadn't been hit like that yet. This must have been one desperate person to try to take him on with just his fists.
It only took another moment before a blow to his midsection caused him to double over and wheeze in pain as his organs were uncomfortably pressed against one another in his synthsac. He coughed and could now see a small dab of blood spurt against the interior of his helmet. Definitely not good.
A knee was brought up to his face and Shepard now found himself on his back, all of his weapons dislodged and rolling away. Stunned, he could only watch as a huge pair of hands grabbed the front of his armor and hurled him against the plate glass window. Loose, jagged panes tumbled with him, the soft tinkling a kind music as he could only think, How could this happen?
Shepard blinked and righted himself mid-air as the internal software positioned his feet according to his gyroscopic orientation. Boots hit the metal of the conveyor belt and he felt another thud behind him as his relentless pursuer followed.
What was bothering Shepard more than his hurt pride at being thrown through a window was the fact that the heat was making the internal sensors of his helmet distort and fail. The display in front of his face was starting to spark in a wash of static, rendering him partially blind. It could only impede him at this point so he yanked it off and threw it, hearing the loud clatter as it tumbled away. The giant across from him only laughed behind his white enviro-armor as he stepped forward.
His vision now cleared, Shepard was now free to view the huge man as he slowly stalked forward on the conveyor belt. Shepard grimaced, "What have they been feeding you over there?"
Rosun grinned underneath his own helmet, ignoring the jibe, "You must be the one they're looking for. Rukin said you'd be here."
"Should I know who Rukin is?" The conveyor belt was still carrying them closer to the raging inferno, the heat getting stronger and starting to worry Shepard.
"Not particularly. He would- guh!"
Rosun choked as Shepard stepped in to sink a fist into the big man's stomach. Another blow to the chest dented the material slightly but Rosun recovered quickly and viciously sent a haymaker into Shepard's cheek. He spun around from the impact and sank to his knees momentarily, shocked.
"You interrupted me," Rosun growled, "That wasn't very nice."
"I'm not a very nice guy."
Springing off, Shepard roared as he raised his arm to hurl a punch. However, he was had maneuvered too close to the giant and the blow was easily plucked out of the air. Shepard's eyes briefly widened in shock before Rosun raised a leg and kicked him to the ground again.
Okay, this isn't going to work.
Small tubes up ahead were ejecting columns of flame onto the belt, and Shepard was too stunned to even move in his position. As the belt carried him into the flame, he simply laid there and let the heat and fire surround him in its warm embrace. Behind him, there were a few thumps as Rosun jumped over the flames, taking his time in the fight.
Shepard groaned as he tried to get up once he had been carried out of the inferno. His coat was completely ruined, despite the fact that it was fireproof. The flames had completely singed it to the point where it was starting to disintegrate, so he just shrugged it off. His armor was also in dire need of repairs. Light armor by itself is not rated for extreme environments, unlike Rosun's heavy armor. The high temperature had rendered it cracked and peeling, making his movements stiff.
Rosun was still stalking forward but Shepard had recovered by this point. Rushing toward him, Rosun was caught off guard as Shepard drove two quick strikes in to Rosun's stomach, causing him to double over in pain. That was the chance that he needed. He drove his fist upward in an uppercut but his wrecked armor impeded the full force of the blow. As it was, it knocked Rosun over so forcefully that his helmet was ripped off, causing him to start to pour sweat in the harsh area.
This needed to be done with quickly. Shepard started to peel off the layers of armor that surrounded him, the fractured material crinkled as each piece dropped to the floor. Now free from the restrictive prison, Shepard only had the bodysuit over his body as he approached the rising soldier.
Both combatants entered into a dance above the incinerator as each one traded blocks and blows with one another. A fist from Rosun caught the cyborg on the shoulder, staggering him backwards. Shepard leveled a kick that thumped against the man's leg, making him limp. It wasn't until that Shepard moved in to drive his fist into Rosun's face that the huge man stuck out an elbow and flattened Shepard against the floor once more.
Rosun booted him over on his stomach and held him down with his foot, "I was hoping for a better fight than this."
Desperation flooding every nerve, it took all of Shepard's strength to turn himself in his current position so that Rosun's foot was now planted on his stomach. But Shepard could use his arms now.
With his powerful limbs, he grabbed the foot that pinned him gripped it tightly with his fingers. Rosun appeared surprised by this new development.
"You talk too much," Shepard snarled and rotated his hands clockwise. There was a sickening crunch as Rosun's leg twisted one eighty degrees. The giant screamed and collapsed, allowing Shepard to rise again. Now pinning Rosun to the ground, Shepard prepared to silence the man before a lack of gravity caused both men to tumble in free fall as they reached the end of the conveyor belt.
To his surprise, they weren't swimming in a molten substance at this point. They had been deposited on a red-hot mesh material. The purpose of such a design was to let the garbage collect at the bottom and let the flame that burned from above turn it into a pile of ash. The ash would then filter through the mesh and down a tube where it would be summarily spaced.
Rosun struggled to get to his feet but his crippled leg was going to make that an impossibility. The man was frantically scrambling on all fours, trying to get off the platform before the inevitable happened. Hearing the man's whimpers, Shepard seized Rosun and held him firmly in place.
"You're not going anywhere, you little shit!"
Rosun writhed in Shepard's grip, screaming, "Let go of me! I'm gonna die!"
"Good," Shepard said tonelessly, "That was the inevitable outcome, anyway."
A humongous roar shook the both of them and all of a sudden, Shepard's world was engulfed in flame. He gasped for a second as he recalled pieces of wreckage floating by, the distant pain of dismemberment, the coldness of space.
Shepard saw the black bodysuit singe and turn to ember as it scorched away before his very eyes. His robotic chassis was becoming more and more exposed every second, revealing the demonic creature hidden beneath as his core temperature started to rise.
Rosun was taking the situation far worse. His hair was ablaze, his armor turning to putty. His screams were wet as his organs were ruptured from the intense heat. His armor was becoming soft in Shepard's grip as the fire continued to undulate with them inside it. A thick liquid dripped down Shepard's fingers and he realized, in alarm, that Rosun's face had melted, the shockingly white skull was now blackened and cracked. He let go of the body, letting it fall to the ground and whatever was left of Rosun disintegrated into ash.
The flame stopped and Shepard sighed at the drop in temperature. His body was glowing hot but his internal organs were relatively well protected as the synthsac was made of far less permeable material. The designers of this body had deserved their paycheck through and through.
He leaped toward a ladder before the incinerator could start the next cycle and started to clamber determinedly back up. Eventually, he reached the end of his climb and hurriedly moved from room to room, desperation rising. He had told Tali to run, but he had no idea where she had run off to. He called up his map so that he could estimate the one location to which she would travel to, a place that she would utilize to her advantage.
This one room looked promising on the map, but he had to hurry. No more friends were going to get hurt because of him.
Tali vaulted behind the podium as she scampered into a hiding spot. She had been unable to shake her two pursuers and had found no suitable location to make a stand. The courtyard that she was in was open enough, why not give it a shot now?
Bringing up her omni-tool, she called forth her attack drone, that she had named Chiktikka. She utilized its combat suite to position it in front of the door she had run through. Awaiting the inevitable resumption of the pursuit, she maneuvered so that she was right beside the door, drawing her knife from her boot, ready for anything.
On cue, the door hissed open and the drone, operating on faster than organic reflexes, arced a bolt of electricity that sent the first Cerberus soldier screaming in pain. Chiktikka had hit her mark.
Tali surged out from where she was hidden as she raked the knife across the man's throat, severing many blood vessels in the process. The surge of blood spouted in a long arc across the room, soaking Tali in the stuff, causing her to gag. As she numbly tried to wipe it off her suit, a blow to her stomach propelled her to the floor, coughing. She clutched her midsection as she saw the other soldier standing above her, weapon raised to her head, ready to reunite her with her father.
Before the reconciliation could get underway, an orange blur swiped across the man's throat from behind. A quick gag was uttered and the man's head fell clean off his shoulders, the helmet rolling down the steps and out of sight. As the body collapsed to the side she felt her body freeze up as every fiber in her body was paralyzed with fear.
A shining figure walked into view, metallic noises coming from every movement. It was humanoid in design but most definitely not organic. The steps it made were heavy and its eyes blazed with an orange hue. Clicks from its fingers deactivated the omni-sword as the light hit it in the face.
As the metallic, ash-streaked skull stared back at her, she let out a soft moan of pure horror. The skeletal chassis sent her into dismay as it regarded her with a terrifying silence. It was the shape of her nightmares, the form of her demons.
A monster.
A/N: With work getting in the way, my usual cycle time has been somewhat impeded at this point.
My goal is to have another chapter come out by this weekend with the next two after that to follow shortly.
Some exciting things to happen next!