Hey guys, this is the second posting for this chapter as I noticed a few silly mistakes. I think they are all fixed now and I am almost finished the next chapter. Please tell me what you think, I would really appreciate it.
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Chapter 7: Spidey sense
Selena Shepard had done some crazy things in her life. Things that most people would call darn right insane. She had taken on a Yahg in a fierce hand to hand battle, she had flown an asteroid into a mass relay, hell, she had even blown up a space station with her still inside, but as she silently made her way down the abandoned hallway of an unknown Cerberus base, filled with an unknown amount of enemies, devoted to an unknown, possibly homicidal cause, she could not help but think that this, was definitely in her top ten. Especially since she got in through an active launch tunnel.
As she managed to avoid yet another small patrol of guards Selena Shepard swallowed hard. The pristine white walls and clinical floors made her cringe, the harsh black and yellow Cerberus logo seeming to be painted on every wall, in fact, the base reminded her a lot of the Lazarus station; a memory that caused her to involuntarily shiver.
Pressing herself against the wall she peered round the corner, watching as two heavily clad troopers walked out from the open elevator, the harsh lighting seemed to make their white and gold armour glow with a cruel unnatural light. She held her breath, pressing herself into a alcove in the wall as they passed, when they were out of sight, she bolted for the elevator, her feet surprisingly light as her heavy boots hit the metal floor.
As the elevator doors closed, Selena could not help but feel a strange tingle of anticipation, a prickly feeling on the back of her neck making her hair stand up, alert, waiting and suspicious. She remembered getting this feeling when something bad was going to happen, she remembered having the feeling on Eden prime, she remembered having the feeling before the Normandy was destroyed and she definitely remembered having the feeling before the reapers had arrived on Earth. Ashley had normally referred to it her 'Spidey sense,' whatever that meant.
As the elevator ascended towards her unknown objective, Selena tried her radio again, one hand resting protectively over the hornet at her side, eyes focuses on the doors, ready for whatever was on the other side. The static of her radio made her growl in frustration. As the elevator came to a shuddering halt Selena pulled out her Valkyrie, the modified barrel pointed protectively in front of her. As the doors opened, she was once again greeted by a suspiciously empty hallway.
As she made her way down the brightly lit corridor, she was instantly assaulted by the stale stench of antiseptic, the unpleasant odour seeming to get worse as she neared the door at the end of the hallway. When the door opened without her doing anything, she was again overcome with a feeling of apprehension.
Slowly making her way into the room, her eyes focused on the prone figure of a man that lay on a medical chair, his wrists bound tightly by metal restraints. She surveyed the room before moving towards him. His body stiffened as she approached, eyes going wide as he turned to look at her. Shepard placed her rifle on her back, holding up her hands in a non-threatening gesture.
"It's okay. I'm not gonna to hurt you." She said softly, taking off her recon hood to reveal her face. The man visibly relaxed as she smiled down at him, a small smile tugged at his own lips, his pale completion seeming to brighten as she moved to his side. "I'm Commander Shepard, Alliance Navy."
He nodded franticly.
"Corporal Bentley Ma'am." He greeted, stuttering slightly as he spoke. "It's an honour to meet Commander."
Shepard offered the man another smile, moving towards the console that stood next to her. She searched for a way to release the restraints, reaching out two gloved fingers to type on the glowing keyboard. The console beeped, then went silent. Shepard frowned.
"You are in the Alliance?" she asked, only now noticing the black and white uniform that clung he wore. The man nodded proudly.
"Yes Ma'am, I joined a few years before the Reaper war, I was on the ground team when you activated the Crucible. Surrounded by those husk things. If it weren't for you…we would have been overrun."
Shepard nodded, passing her fingers over the keyboard once more, again she was met with an uncooperative beep. Shepard swore under her breath.
"Is everything alight Commander? Can you get me out of here?" The young Corporals voice quivered as he spoke. His eyes darting from Shepard to the console. Before Selena could answer, her attention was drawn to the door, the sudden interruption of muffled voices making her heart quicken.
"Shit!"
"What's happening? " Corporal Bentley started to panic, his large arms pulling against the metal restraints in a frantic attempt to escape. "Where are you going?"
"I need to get to cover. If I get captured, there will be no chance of us getting out of here. I will not leave you, I promise." She offered him another smile, then headed towards the end of the room, vaulting over a few crates and ducking behind them. A few seconds passed before she heard the hiss of the door, followed by the calm accented vocals of a man. Shepard peered over the top of her cover, squinting slightly at the three new occupants in the room. Two of them were doctors; that much she could tell, dressed in the thin white and black uniforms that clung to their frame like a second skin, the yellow Cerberus logo clearly presented on both biceps.
"Is the patient ready for treatment?" Shepard moved her gaze to the taller man that stood between the two doctors, a simple grey suit complementing his athletic frame. Shepard had to admit, the man was incredibly hansom, his raven coloured hair sat neatly on his head, cropped just above his ears, his pale skin held no hint of marks or scars, unless you counted the almost perfectly trimmed beard that curled around his chin and upper lip. The man's eyes shone with a brilliant blue, much like the illusive man's had and he held himself with a certain air of authority.
"Yes sir. We can begin the process on your order." One of the doctors answered.
"Do it."
Both doctors moved to Corporal Bentley's side, the elder of the two moving to the console beside the medical chair. She heard the young Corporal cry out, pain filled grunts accompanying the sound of struggling. She watched as the console began to glow, the medical chair seeming to come to life at the touch of a button. She held her breath as four snake like tubes slithered from the sides of the chair, sharp needles glinting on the ends like thin steel teeth as they moved to position themselves over the young man's body.
"Administering the serum." The younger doctor said, placing a small vial of orange liquid at the base of each tube. There was a distinctive hiss at the vials clicked into place, a s puff of white steam spitting out from the sides.
Shepard dared to move her gaze to Bentley face, her chest tightening as she saw his wide eyes fill with tears, sobs escaping his mouth as he struggled furiously against his metal bindings.
"Oh god. Please help me!" Shepard fought hard not to rise from her cover and gun the three operatives down, but she could not risk getting captured. All she could do was watch and wait
"Help me plea-!" The Corporals pleas were cut short as the snake like tubes suddenly dived towards him, the long needles plunging deep into his torso, his arms and his legs. His mouth was open in a silent scream as the orange liquid was quickly sucked from the vials, through the tubes and into his body. Selena covered her mouth with her gloved hand as the tubes slithered back to where they came from, watching in horror as the young man's body convulsed, then suddenly, become limp.
"Vitals?" The tall man asked suddenly, the calm tones of his voice infuriating the spectre that hid behind the crates. She clenched her fist and took a deep breath, stopping herself from doing anything rash.
"None..." The young doctor stated, looking at the medical screens at the end of the room.
"Good." The tall man said rather cheerfully, causing Shepard's anger to boil to the surface once more. The man opened his mouth to speak once again, his sentence cut off by the crackling of a radio.
"Sir, we have a situation on the lower floors." A harsh distorted voice sounded through the tall man's Omni tool. The man bit his lip as he looked between the prone body of the Corporal and the two doctors. He then typed something into the glowing device on his wrist, before turning towards the door.
"Leave him. We have matters to attend to." The tall man said. The two doctors nodded, leaving their 'patients' side and disappearing through the door. The tall man looked over his shoulder, Shepard could have sworn he was looking right at her. She squinted as he smiled smugly, stepping out of the room and letting the door close behind him.
As soon as they were gone, Shepard was at the Corporals side.
"Corporal" she whispered, placing two slender fingers against the man's neck, when she felt no pulse, her shoulders sagged.
"Dammit" She whispered to herself, clenching her jaw and bowing her head. Undoing the young solders top button, she reached for his dog tags, carefully removing them from around his neck. She clutched them in her hand tightly, sighing.
"I'm sorry Corporal."
Moving towards the control console, she removed the Corporal's restraints, hearing an echoing click as the metal bindings were forced apart. Activating her Omni-tool she waved her arm across the beeping console, the orange glow on her arm seeming to hypnotise her as she downloaded the information it still contained.
She shifted impatiently, watching as the data scrolled across the screen. She did not hear the shuffling of footsteps behind her, until two strong arms suddenly wrapped themselves around her chest, pulling her off her feet and squeezing tightly. She instantly felt the air rush from her lungs, her ribs screaming in protest as the arms continued to crush them. She grit her teeth and slammed her head back, feeling the back of her skull connect with something soft. She was momentarily stunned when she was thrown across the room, her body flying through the air and hitting the wall with a painful thud. She quickly rolled to her feet, pulling the Valkyrie from her back and pointing it towards her attacker, the rifle was instantly knocked from her hands, clashing to the floor at the same time a powerful hand wrapped itself around her throat. She clawed at the hand that seemed to have welded itself to her throat, her feet dangling mere centimetres from the floor. Her vision began to blur, the grey pale eyes of Corporal Bentley staring into her own as his hands tightened around her neck.
Selena reached for the hornet by her side, placing the barrel to Bentley's chest and pulling the trigger. The man jolted back, letting the Commander fall to her knees. Selena's hand instantly moved to rub her throat, coughing violently as she looked up through blurry eyes. Bentley towered over her, looking down at the holes that now scattered his chest. Selena's eyes widened in shock as the wounds seemed to sew themselves together. The damaged skin healing before her very eyes. Bentley looked up, glaring at her through dark untidy eyebrows.
"What the fu-" She was cut off once again as Bentley rushed forward, grabbing her by the neck and flinging her against the medical table. There was a loud clatter as her weapon was knocked from her grasp. She struggled against him, his vice like grip holding her in place effortlessly. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw the long black tube snake once again from its resting placing, gliding to a halt right above her face, her eyes darted from the solider to the device, her breathing becoming laboured.
"Corporal, you…" She tried, her vision already beginning to darken as Bentley hands squeezed tighter. She was not sure how to finish her sentence. She pried at his hands in a feeble attempt to escape, her eyes never moving from the needle that hovered just above her face.
The sudden burst of gunfire made her jump, her eyes moving to the door where her four companions stood. When the first few shots met their target, the Corporals hands loosened considerably, allowing Shepherd to push him away. Again the man's wounds began to heal, activating her Omni-blade Shepard surged forward, slicing the young soldiers head clear off his shoulders. The man fell to his knees, then to the floor, his head hitting the ground with a dull thud. Shepard took three large breaths, coughing once again.
"Shepard!" She heard a familiar voice call her name as she struggled to her feet, almost falling to the floor once more as Liara wrapped her arms around her neck, tightly embracing her.
"That the goddess, you're alive!" the Asari said, before looking up at Shepard with a scornful expression. "Don't ever do that again."
Shepard smirked mischievously, rubbing her neck.
"I did not exactly plan to fall into a launch tunnel Liara. But now that I have a taste for it…" She left the sentence unfinished, taking joy in the horrified expression that played across her lovers features. She looked down at the lifeless body of Corporal Bentley then sighed, a sudden heavy feeling in her chest.
"Did you manage to get any information Ma'am?" Ashley said from the door way, her attention focused for the arrival of any more troopers. Shepard shrugged.
"I managed to get whatever was on that console." She said as she continued to rub her throat. She could already feel the skin of her neck starting to bruise. She turned to the young doctor that was bent over the Corporals body, Alex's brow furrowed in concentration as she examined the partially healed wounds on his chest.
"Alex, can you suggest anything that will help us find out what Cerberus is doing with your research?" Shepard asked, her voice slightly hoarse. The dark haired women shook her head.
"All the information they have on the experiments would be on that console." She pointed a long finger to the console beside the medical chair, the snake like tube had retreated back to its compartment once more. "I could also take a sample of this man's blood. We could test it in the Normandy's medical bay. See if you can find me a needle please Shepard"
Shepard nodded, moving towards the desk that stood beside the medical chair. She grabbed one of the many syringes in the drawer and passed it to Alex, moving away to pick up her scattered weapons.
"Work quickly we have to get out of here before reinforcements arrive."
Shepard moved towards the door beside Ashley, pointing her rifle out into the corridor. She still could not shake the feeling that she was being watched.
She decided to push the feeling to the back of her mind, instead, focusing on the empty corridor in front of her.
Today had been a long day.
Shepard does have a little bit of a potty-mouth. I have noticed she has been swearing in every chapter.
Hope you enjoyed. Please tell me if I have made any major spelling, grammar mistakes. The next chapter will be up soon.
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