It took nearly the entire rest of the morning for the last straggling party-goers to finally wake up and collect enough of their wits to begin shaking off the events of the night previous. Shepard and Zaeed had started taking bets on who would be the next to wake up, but by mid-morning the game had gone so slowly that they had all but given up keeping count of who was ahead. Vega had been one of the first to wake up after Shepard, and, despite having drunk just as much as the rest of them the night previous, his explicably chipper attitude threatened to give even the Commander a headache as he buzzed animatedly around the commune, offering to fry up some of his signature scrambled eggs. Ashley was the next to come down, though she seemed much less enthused to be awake as she made her way down the stairs wearing one of Kahlee's plush white bathrobes. Dropping herself next to Shepard on the couch, she gave a hefty sigh, stretching her long, tan legs out in front of her and leaning her head back against the cushions as she let out a low, soft groan.
Shepard reached over, patting her shoulder reassuringly as she tried hard to hold in a sympathetic little chuckle. "You'll live, L.T.," she told her, before turning her attention back to the staircase just in time to watch as a sad, slowly ambling procession of half-awake, hungover houseguests began to make their way down, one at a time. Each guest rubbed their eyes and groaned as the smell of fresh breakfast wafted up through the house, rousing them from a hazy sleep and tempting them all downstairs. Just as Vega had promised, the eggs were prepared with the speed of a madman, and before long everyone found themselves sitting in front of a freshly-cooked platter of scrambled eggs, with the exception ofTali and Garrus, who had opted to wait until they had a chance to explore the Strip to find something suitable for their dextro-specific breakfast. While everyone else was eating breakfast, Garrus had wandered over to where Shepard sat on the couch, hoping to find a place beside her to sit, but, seeing that she was bookended on both sides already, he had turned away again, instead making his way over to Tali to converse with her about something Shepard could not hear.
Once breakfast was eaten and the plates were haphazardly stacked in the sink, the group had decided it was high time to explore the sights of the SilverSun Strip while their shore leave still held. As if of a single mind, they began to quickly make their way towards the door of the apartment, chattering amongst themselves as they tried to recall what had happened the night previous. Just as she was about to cross the threshold, herself, Shepard suddenly heard a sharp pinging sound coming from the study of the apartment, and, stepping to one side to allow the rest of the party to continue out the door without her, she waited until everyone had left before closing the apartment door and turning her attention towards the source of the unusual sound. She followed the sound until she came to where the pinging was the loudest, and when she got there, she was intrigued to see a bright, pulsating spot of light flashing out at her from the screen of Anderson's study computer. Coming closer, she reached out a curious hand, tapping the light, only to find that doing so caused it to lead directly to her e-mail access, much to her surprise.
She figured Anderson must have gone ahead and synced her information to the apartment the day before, but the thought was quickly pushed from her mind as she tapped the bolded title at the top of her inbox, opening the e-mail up and reading the message inside. The 'Urgent Message from General Hackett', as it was titled, contained a short notification informing her that the Normandy was nearly finished with its standard repairs, and a rather abrupt follow-up instruction for her to meet with someone named Doctor Garrett Bryson while she was still there on the Citadel. Doctor Bryson, the message said, had uncovered some important new information concerning the Reapers, and Shepard was to meet him at his lab to talk with him about it. Shepard frowned, tapping the side of the message where the scroll bar would normally be to see if there was some additional information, but, finding nothing else, she instead closed the message out, frustrated.
One evening of downtime was hardly enough to constitute a fully-appreciated shore leave, especially considering Shepard had not managed to do the one thing she had been determined to do while they were still on leave from the Normandy. Still, she figured any information pertinent to their fight against the Reapers was more important than any personal schedule, no matter how pressing, and so, turning away from the computer console, she set to looking for her omni-tool sensor and in-ear comm, finally locating them on the nightstand beside the bed where she and Garrus had spent the previous night. Slipping the sensor on over the back of her hand and the comm over the curve of her ear, she headed out the door of the apartment complex, and, once outside, she looked around for the nearest taxi terminal, quickly finding one within walking distance and heading over towards it. Shepard glanced warily over her shoulder as she summoned her ride, hoping that none of her crewmates were around to see her and possibly think she was intentionally trying to avoid spending time with them. The last thing she needed was more ill will among her crew when so many of them were already convinced she was acting strangely, or were holding onto a secret that could effectively end her current military career.
Shepard let out an audible sigh of relief as her taxi came streaming into view, settling down in front of her and popping open its lid with a hiss to allow her to get in. She wasted no time in slipping into the vehicle and closing the door behind her, quickly hiding herself from view, before accessing the navigation console and hesitating, her hand lingering above the numeral screen as she considered whether to punch the address she had been provided into the autopilot or not. Autopilot had never failed her before, but she still had an irrational distaste for it that had gotten her into much more trouble than honestly necessary, especially back in the day when Mako driving was the standard form of planetside transportation. The Mako had been inexplicably retired as the customary Alliance land travel vehicle the year after she became Commander of the Normandy, and the year after that, the Hammerhead was quick to meet the same untimely fate. This go-'round, she had been given a designated pilot, Cortez, to bring her and her crew down to the surface of the planets when necessary, but she still had to wonder why no one had ever seen fit to give her a sufficient reason as to why the other two vehicles had been retired. She could also not help but notice the sideways looks her crew always gave one another whenever she brought up the good old days of planetside travel, and she had to wonder if they somehow knew something she did not.
Typing the address for Bryson's lab into the navigation console, she allowed the autopilot a moment to think before the engines of the taxi blazed to life again and the car lifted off from the docking terminal. Turning slowly towards the outer city, the taxi hovered in the air a moment, calculating, before finally speeding off in what Shepard only hoped was the right direction. Of all the times for autopilot to inexplicably fail on her, she figured, now would probably be one of the worst.
The Citadel taxi whined loudly as it settled down outside of Doctor Bryson's laboratory, coming to a full, hovering stop before the lid popped open with a hiss to allow Shepard to get out. Pushing herself out of the vehicle, Shepard stared up at the building in front of her, curiously taking it in as she ran her hand along the sleek metal façade of the car, wordlessly prompting it to stay. Satisfied that she was in the right place, she started towards the door of the laboratory, passing her omni-tool sensor over the orange lock display and waiting a moment as it registered her, before finally sliding open to allow her to enter. The lab was enormous on the inside, much larger than it appeared from the outside, thanks in part to what seemed to be a sunken floor. The echoing sound of her footsteps warped eerily against the metallic walls as she descended the short throng of steps into the entryroom, her footfalls sounding more like two polished rocks vibrating together than the sound of boots on metal.
The laboratory appeared at first to be empty, and Shepard could not help but wonder if she had perhaps come at a bad time for the doctor. Suddenly, the low sound of voices reached her ears, and she turned, tucking her hands carefully into the pockets of her hoodie as she followed the source of the noise into the adjoining research room. A giant, glowing statue stood in the entryway of this room, its massive structure supported by a sturdy, three-legged ballast and ringed by a protective railing all the way around. Shepard stared at the structure for a moment, intrigued, before the sound of voices caught her attention again, and she turned her head, finally spotting where the voices were coming from. Doctor Bryson stood with his back to her, poring closely over a large blue screen filled with tiny white boxes of even tinier text. From where she stood, Shepard could barely make out any of the words on the screen, but as she got closer, she could see that each box contained a name, though none of them recognizable.
Doctor Bryson did not even seem to notice Shepard as she approached, seeming entirely engrossed in his research, only pausing from his work every so often to turn and speak to a third person also standing in the room with them. Bryson was a thin man, with a skeletal, almost languished look to him that paid testament to too many hours spent toiling in the lab and too few dedicated to proper eating and sleeping habits. His head was overlarge, almost puppet-like above his bony, weathered shoulders, his large, watery blue eyes pinched with crow's feet and circled with red and blue bags. His hard, steel-grey brows creased in what appeared to be a permanent frown as he turned his attention towards the only other person in the lab, a thirtysomething dark-haired lab assistant who also appeared too engrossed in his work to even notice someone new had entered their scientific domicile. "I want you to match this against all known locations and update the map," Bryson informed his assistant, intently. "Then contact the field teams for a progress report."
"Yes, sir," the assistant agreed, nodding his head, not even bothering to look up from his work as he did so. Dark circles had formed under the younger man's eyes, likely from many sleepless nights spent up in the research lab, hunched over his tiny, flickering computer console as he was doing now. Despite his uncomfortable stature, however, he did not seem to mind the work – if anything, he seemed completely absorbed in it, typing information into his holographic keypad faster than Shepard could even keep up.
Turning away from the broad data screen, Bryson looked up at Shepard, seeming surprised at the sight of a visitor, but he quickly regained his composure, offering her an agreeable, welcoming nod. "Ah, Commander Shepard," he greeted her, politely. "We've been expecting you. Just a moment." Turning away from her again, he pressed his datapad against his chest, craning his neck as he looked over towards his assistant, making sure the younger man was paying attention to what he was saying. "And Hadley?" he called. "Could you gather the Leviathan data for us?" Then, turning his attention towards Shepard again, he quickly brushed past her, indicating for her to follow him as he made his way through the long arm of the lab, leading her into the wide next room to show her more of his research. "Apologies, Commander," he told her, tersely, turning to face her again. "The rest of my team is out investigating leads right now. I'm Doctor Garrett Bryson, and this… is Taskforce Aurora."
Holding out a hand, he offered a sweeping gesture across a large galaxy map similar to the one Shepard used in the command centre of the Normandy, allowing her to approach and examine it as she pleased. The Milky Way galaxy swirled slowly across the centre of the hologram, peppered with stars and labelled systems, but as Shepard looked around at the rest of the room, she noticed that the galaxy map was far from the only thing in there. The walls were papered with photographs, sketches, cutouts from archaic newsprint, all with varying numbers of hand-written notes and addendums tacked onto them with wall adhesive. Red twine had been strung between some of the articles and photographs, held in place with astutely-placed thumbtacks, connecting the dots to a puzzle Shepard could not for the life of her figure out. "What's your assignment?" she asked, leaning in closer to examine one of the pieces of paper on the wall that appeared to have been clipped out of an old paper textbook, showing a blurry photograph of a half-submerged, long-necked aquatic creature.
"Our mandate is to investigate legends, rumours… old stories about the Reapers before anyone knew they existed," Bryson answered, evenly, moving to stand over by the galaxy map, watching as Shepard examined a few more pictures on the wall before turning to look back at him once more. Shepard frowned, a bit confused, before taking a few steps forward towards the galaxy map as well, offering Bryson her undivided attention.
"That's an interesting goal," she conceded, chewing thoughtfully on the inside of her lip as she spoke. "But is anyone doubting the Reapers exist these days?"
"The Alliance is still desperate for intelligence," Bryson informed her, gravely, folding his skeletal arms. "Reaper motives, their operational tactics… anything that can give us an edge."
"And how did you wind up in charge?" Shepard asked, glancing towards the galaxy map again, curious, before returning her attention to Bryson once more.
"When the rest of the galaxy says something doesn't exist, I take that as a chance to prove that it does," Bryson told her, matter-of-factly.
"So you're in it for the challenge," Shepard deduced, folding her arms across her chest as well, not entirely thrilled with what she was hearing from Bryson so far.
"For the truth," Bryson corrected her, resolutely, unfolding his arms to let them fall back to his sides again. Turning away from her, he moved over towards the wall of articles, looking over them, almost longingly. "Even as late as 2148, humanity still thought aliens were a myth," he told her, shaking his head, before turning to look back at her again, his weathered expression grim. "That was within my lifetime. Once that myth was proven to be a reality, our entire history changed."
"Reapers were part of that reality, too," Shepard added, taking a few steps forward towards him, her eyes making a quick pass over the topmost row of pictures and noting a familiar face standing out among them, that of Saren Arterius.
"But even they have a history, Commander," Bryson returned, intently, holding out his hands persuasively in front of him as he turned away from the wall again, starting to move back towards the galaxy map. "If we could just uncover it, there may be a weakness we could exploit."
"I could've used your help three years ago," Shepard told him, trying for a bit of dark humour.
"Yes…" Bryson agreed, disappointedly, not seeming quite as amused by the observation. Handing over the datapad he had taken with him from the first room of the lab to Shepard, he watched as she began to examine it, interestedly, his sharp blue eyes never leaving her face as she perused through the available data. "If more people had paid attention to your Prothean beacon, we might not be in this war," he finally added, turning his attention away from Shepard and towards the vast galaxy map, starting to type something into the command console. "But now, with new information we've recovered, a breakthrough is near…" Bryson trailed off, the sound of approaching footsteps causing him to look up momentarily from his work, only to turn his attention back again when he saw that it was only Hadley coming in to report something. "Hadley, do you have the data?" Bryson asked, his gaze fixed sternly on the galaxy map controls.
"No," Hadley answered, his voice sounding almost manic, causing Bryson to look up at him again, confused. His confusion quickly turned to panic, however, as he watched Hadley draw a weapon from the belt of his lab tunic, barely taking a moment to aim before firing once at Bryson, knocking the old man off his feet. Shepard had no time to react before the gun was on her as well, and so, thinking quickly, she threw the datapad she had been given into the young lab assistant's face, tackling him to the ground before he had time to recover. The gun Hadley had been holding skittered away across the laboratory floor as Shepard pinned him to the ground with one knee, using one free hand to hold his gun arm down while the other reached up to activate her in-ear comm.
"This is Commander Shepard," she reported, out of breath. "I need C-Sec at my location, now!"
"You shouldn't be here," Hadley told her, his voice flat and emotionless as he sat perfectly, eerily still under Shepard's pinning weight, moving only his head as he turned his gaze up towards the ceiling, unblinking. "The darkness cannot be breached…"
Shepard's frown deepened, disturbed, as she turned to look over her shoulder towards Bryson. He had not moved since being shot, but she knew she could not risk letting Hadley go to check if the doctor still had a pulse. Bringing her fingers up to her in-ear comm again, she switched channels, this time tapping into EDI's direct communication line. "EDI, I need you to meet me at Bryson's lab here on the Citadel," she told the AI. "You can track my location through this signal. Don't tell the others where I am, though, if you can manage. I don't need them to worry any more than necessary." Then, shutting off the comm link again, she sighed, heavily, turning her attention towards the galaxy map, still awaiting the rest of the command Bryson had been putting into it. Whatever he was about to show her was lost to the cosmos now, it seemed.
"Damn," she whispered, defeated.
Shepard paced in front of Hadley, watching him intently, but he had not stopped staring at the floor since the two C-Sec officers had arrived and coaxed him into a sitting position on one of the laboratory's chairs. His hands were folded conscientiously in front of him, his haggard face set in an expression of confusion and guilt as he waited with slouched, exhausted shoulders for his interrogation to be over. "Transit records show his name is Derek Hadley," one of the C-Sec officers reported, crossing his arms as he stared down at the mournful-looking human, as if expecting him to react somehow. "He's worked here for a couple months. More than that… we couldn't really say."
"Shepard," EDI reported, causing Shepard to turn, offering her her full attention. "I received your transmission from this location. Were you harmed in any way?"
"I'm fine," Shepard informed her, shaking her head. "But I could use your help sorting this out. Take a look through their files. I need to know what this task force was up to."
"At once," EDI agreed, giving an understanding nod of her head before moving past Shepard to begin her assigned task. Turning her attention back towards Hadley, Shepard crossed her arms again, observing him as his head rolled tiredly from one side of his neck to the other, before he suddenly seemed to become aware of his surroundings and looked up, his dark-ringed eyes wide with fear.
"Wh… I…" Hadley stammered, looking between Shepard and the two C-Sec officers, before his gaze finally came to rest on Shepard, deciding she was likely the best authority. "What's… happening…?"
"You tell me," Shepard informed him, coldly.
"I… I was gathering our data when you arrived," Hadley answered, uncertain, his jaw seeming almost slack as he tried hard to remember the most recent events. "And then… it was… dark…" He stopped here, his words seeming almost to freeze in his throat, before closing his tired eyes, squeezing them shut, almost as if trying to block something unpleasant out. "Cold… like I was… someplace else…"
"And then?" Shepard asked, bluntly, unmoved by his show of theatrics.
At this, Hadley suddenly looked up at her again, his eyes wide, almost panicked. "I don't know!" he exclaimed, his voice cracking with exertion. "A… gun was in my hand…! Doctor Bryson… there was… a loud noise…"
"That was you shooting him," Shepard informed him, pointing over his shoulder towards where Bryson still lay on the floor, covered with a reverent white sheet, though the blood from his fatal wound had soaked through the thin material, turning it a sickly shade of red. Seeing this, Hadley immediately sprang to his feet, crossing to where his mentor lay and dropping to his knees beside him. He reached forward, his hand hovering near the edge of the sheet, trying to convince himself to lift it, but then, unable to do it, he merely dropped his face into his hands instead, beginning to cry bitterly. The C-Sec officers were quick to react, crossing over to where he knelt and dragging him back to his feet, before pulling him back over to where he had been sitting before and forcing him down into the chair again.
"I didn't do it!" Hadley insisted, trying hard to speak through his onslaught of terrified tears. "It wasn't me! You have to believe that!"
"So someone else pulled that trigger?" Shepard returned, unmoved.
"But I would never do that!" Hadley exclaimed, bringing his hands to his face again.
"Commander, this does resemble reports of indoctrination," EDI put in, causing Shepard to look her way.
"Indoctrination?" Hadley asked, pulling Shepard's attention back to him again. "…Me?"
"What about that Leviathan Bryson mentioned?" Shepard asked Hadley, intently, frowning a bit at the suggestion. "How does that tie in?"
"It's… some kind of creature," Hadley told her, sniffling as he wiped the tears away from his eyes, his voice beginning to level out again as he returned to a topic he was more familiar with. "Our field teams have been tracking it." Turning then, he pointed back towards a large, orb-like object that sat in the room beyond, mere feet from where Bryson's body still lay on the floor. The orb, or whatever it was, sat on top of a large, obelisk-like base, covered by a thick shield of bulletproof glass. "That artefact came in from our researcher, Garneau," Hadley informed her, pragmatically. "He also sent an audio log if you… wanna…" Suddenly, he stopped, his voice trailing off again as the look of helpfulness dropped instantaneously from his face, replaced first with a blank, lifeless expression, and then a look of sheer agony as he let out a yell, gripping his face between his hands and ducking his head down painfully between his knees.
"What's wrong?" Shepard insisted, taking a startled step backwards.
Sliding off the chair where he had been sitting, Hadley dropped to his knees, his head lolling forward lifelessly on his neck as his entire body went limp and submissive. "Turn back," the lab tech insisted, his voice that same deep, dark, lifeless tone he had used with her once before.
Shepard frowned, glancing over her shoulder to make sure her path to the exit of the lab was clear, before turning her attention back to Hadley, concerned. "What are you talking about?" she asked, making sure to keep her voice low and calm, so as not to rile him up more than absolutely necessary.
"The darkness cannot be breached," Hadley repeated, firmer this time. Then, his eyes rolling back into his head, he collapsed, his body going limp as he toppled to one side, out like a light.
"Damnit," Shepard swore, frustrated, turning her attention to the two C-Sec officers, neither of whom seemed to know what to do now. Nothing like this had ever happened on either of their patrols before, and they apparently had no idea how to deal with it now that it had. "Get him over to the clinic," Shepard instructed, jerking her thumb indicatively over her shoulder towards the exit of the lab. "See if they can tell us what's wrong with him."
"Yes, ma'am," the first officer agreed, signalling to the second and attempting to drag Hadley to his feet, to little avail. Realizing they would have to carry him, they each took one of his arms, lugging him precariously towards the door of the lab as Shepard turned her attention instead to where EDI now stood, perusing interestedly through a holographic computer log of data files.
"Commander," EDI addressed her, motioning for Shepard to come closer. "You'll want to see this. It's an outgoing message from Doctor Bryson to Admiral Hackett." Intrigued, Shepard quickly made her way over to where EDI stood, moving up behind her and watching her work from over her shoulder. Pushing a button, EDI turned her attention back up to the screen as well, both women watching as an image of Bryson approached the screen, turning his intense, watery eyes up towards the camera.
"Doctor Bryson," Hackett's stern, familiar voice crackled through. "You have an update?"
"Admiral," Bryson returned, dutifully. "The Leviathan of Dis that we've been investigating…" He paused, glancing anxiously over his shoulder, as if expecting someone else to be listening in on their conversation. Then, turning his attention back to Hackett, he leaned in closer towards the vidcomm before adding, in a much lower voice, "I think we're really onto something."
"Give me the brief," Hackett insisted, his tone dark and solemn.
"About twenty years ago, the batarians discovered a Reaper corpse that had died in battle," Bryson informed Hackett, standing as close as he could to the screen, his face almost pressed up against it. "They covered it up and denied it ever existed… but I'm intrigued by the larger implication."
"What could have killed a Reaper in the first place," Hackett returned, intrigued.
"Exactly," Bryson agreed, intently. "That's the real Leviathan."
"It's worth pursuing," Hackett's voice conceded. "Continue your investigation and update me on the progress."
The message cut out almost immediately after that, and Shepard turned her attention to EDI, who had begun typing something else into the console, quickly pulling up a second vidcomm file. "There is also a follow-up message from a few weeks later," she informed Shepard, dutifully, before pushing the same button and setting the second file in motion. This time, Bryson paced anxiously in front of the vidcomm station, the dark circles under his eyes seeming even more pronounced as he kept throwing troubled glances towards the screen, as if expecting some sort of reassurance but ultimately finding none.
"Admiral, the Reapers are shadowing my field teams as if they're hunting Leviathan, themselves," he reported, on edge, sounding clipped and out of breath. "Whatever it is, I believe Leviathan is nothing less than a Reaper killer. Almost an apex predator. And it has them nervous. If we could just find it, imagine the impact on the war…!" Coming to a stop in his pacing, he turned his attention towards Hackett, standing perfectly still as he tucked his thin hands dutifully behind his back, looking up at the vidcomm screen. "I'm formally requesting assistance in tracking it down," he reported, sounding equal parts zealous and tense.
"You'll have it," Hackett confirmed, as if he had already made up his mind long ago. "This is now your top priority, Doctor. Find that thing." And with that, the current recording cut out just as suddenly as the last.
"It seems we were meant to be that assistance," EDI reported, turning her attention towards Shepard, who nodded, understanding.
"Anything capable of killing a Reaper could do a lot of collateral damage," Shepard observed, her gaze still fixed on the screen, though there was nothing there to see.
"Yet, given the state of this conflict, I believe the saying, 'the enemy of my enemy is my friend', may be relevant," EDI returned, astutely.
"Winston Churchill?" Shepard guessed, turning to look at the robot.
"Close," EDI conceded. "It is from an ancient Sanskrit treatise from the fourth century, B.C."
Shepard faltered, taken aback by this information. "How is that close?" she asked, frowning, confused.
"It is not," EDI returned, fairly. "I merely did not wish to make you feel badly. It seems my attempts have failed."
"I appreciate the sentiment, anyway," Shepard told her, trying hard not to sound too embarrassed. "But, either way, we won't know anything about Leviathan at all unless we can find it."
"Bryson's assistant did say they recently received a log from their field researcher," EDI reminded her, helpfully, turning to look at the datapad Shepard had used to defend herself from Hadley, which still lay on the floor where it had been thrown. "It may yield more information than we currently have."
Moving over to where the datapad had been discarded, Shepard let out a soft, frustrated grunt of effort as she bent down, picking it up off the floor, before straightening again and pressing a hand against her protesting back. Letting out a huff of breath, she turned her attention instead towards the cryptically encased orb sitting in the far corner of the research room. "This is the artefact the assistant mentioned," she commented, interestedly, moving over to observe it. As she stared at it, the artefact seemed to glimmer enticingly, almost like a tiny aurora borealis trapped within the confines of the sphere. "And here's the log," she added, bringing up the datapad and accessing one of the first files to pop up in the history, clearly marked 'Garneau'.
"Doctor Bryson," Garneau's voice spoke clearly from the datapad, sounding young, chipper, and healthy, much different from the way the assistant Hadley had sounded. "It's Garneau. I'm sending you an artefact I found. Well, the only thing I found there, in fact. Maybe it's nothing, but… I'd swear Leviathan came through here." At this, Shepard frowned, turning her attention towards the artefact again, which glimmered innocently from within its glass confines. "I'm gonna crunch some numbers, burn off the rest of this project travel allowance," Garneau went on. "Maybe I can project our Reaper killer's movements. I'll check in when I get to the next site." The message ended abruptly, and Shepard closed out the audio log, setting the datapad aside as she turned her attention towards EDI again, intrigued.
"Garneau appears to be our best lead to track Leviathan," EDI observed, incisively. "But he does not state a destination."
"Let's focus on what he does say, then," Shepard reasoned.
"He mentioned extrapolating Leviathan's path," EDI suggested, indicating towards the galaxy map.
"And crunching numbers," Shepard added, observantly. "He wasn't flying blind. He had data."
"A significant amount of data," EDI agreed. "Judging by this office."
"So how do we narrow it down?" Shepard asked.
"Bryson and his colleagues evidently used a galaxy map search program in their hunt for Leviathan," EDI informed her, turning and making her way to the slowly-swirling galaxy map in the centre of the room with Shepard following dutifully in her wake. "It may help us locate Garneau… if we can find the relevant data to narrow down our search."
At this, Shepard let out a long, tired breath, turning and looking around at the cluttered, multi-level, artefact-filled laboratory. "Well, EDI," she commented, dryly. "I hope you didn't make any plans today. 'Cause it looks like we're in for a long search."
The Kodiak rattled noisily as it made its descent towards the colonized asteroid of Mahavid, the tiny floating rocks and debris that surrounded the asteroid pinging off the hull every so often and sounding almost like rain as they neared their destination. It had taken just as long as Shepard had anticipated to find the information on Garneau in Bryson's lab, but it had been worth it, as, with EDI's help, they had managed to narrow the research assistant's location to within an unmistakeable distance. Her crew had not been thrilled with the news that their shore leave was being cut short, but they had come along with Shepard with little complaint, regardless. A few of them seemed almost relieved to be back on duty, as most of them had spent so long in the Alliance that they felt out of place without orders to carry out or a gun in their hands. Shepard could sympathise with this sentiment, and, even as she readjusted the belt of pouches around her waist for what felt like the thousandth time, she could not help but feel much more at home in her suit of armour than she had in her casual clothes.
"We're about five minutes out, Commander," Cortez informed her, turning to look back at her and instantly causing her to stop with her fiddling. Shepard nodded, taking an absorbed step forward to hover eagerly over the pilot's shoulder, watching unflinchingly as he manoeuvred through the minefield of rubble and space debris towards their current destination. Cortez was the best of the best, and if he was not worried about their course, she figured she had no reason to worry, either.
"What exactly is on this asteroid?" Shepard asked, interested, leaning a hand attentively against the back of his piloting chair.
"Mining facility," Cortez answered, matter-of-factly. "TGS Mineral Works. Small operation. Could be a good place for Leviathan to hide."
Shepard nodded again, switching the hand she was using to steady herself with the shuttle's overhead handlebar as she turned her attention back towards her selected ground crew. "We've all read EDI's notes on Bryson's lab," she told them, causing them to look up at her, attentive. "Any questions?"
"Is there a clearer idea of what this 'Leviathan' was?" Garrus asked her, sceptically.
Shepard shook her head. "Not really," she told him, truthfully. "We only know it killed a Reaper."
"And we're looking for Doctor Bryson's research partner, Garneau," Liara put in, causing both Shepard and Garrus to look her way.
"Right," Shepard confirmed. "We find Garneau, we find Leviathan."
"We hope," Liara added, uncertainly.
Ignoring her comment, Shepard turned her attention back towards Cortez, peering over his shoulder at the radar screen built into the Kodiak's steering console. "The doctor was right," she told him, letting out a soft, intent sigh. "Anything powerful enough to kill a Reaper needs to be investigated. Just hope Garneau has the answers we need."
"I'm reading Reaper enemy signatures in the asteroid field," Cortez informed her, warily, glancing quickly over his shoulder before returning his eyes to the path ahead.
"Bryson said they were shadowing his field teams," Shepard reported, affirmative. "If they're after Leviathan, too, Reapers are a good sign."
"That's not something you hear every day," Cortez put in, giving a low, nervous chuckle at the irony.
Shepard smirked, amused by the observation. "Take us in," she instructed, resolutely, before turning back towards her landing crew to prepare them for heading in.
Shepard's plan for Mahavid had been simple: she, Garrus, and Liara would make their way into the mining camp, grab Garneau, and be right back out again within five minutes, while Cortez stayed behind with the Kodiak and kept a watchful eye out for Reapers. It was a basic, straightforward strategy, nearly perfect in its simplicity, but, as with most things, nothing ever seemed to go according to plan when Shepard was involved. It did not take long for the ground team to fight their way through the wave of husks that attacked them almost as soon as their feet touched the ground, and before much longer they had made their way to the mining facility where Garneau's signal was the strongest. Despite being well tucked away underground, the facility had been simple enough to find with the help of EDI's tracking tech, and, with a bit of shamefully easy hacking, Shepard had hastily managed to trick her way past the orange-locked door, allowing her team inside the facility before the heavy doors closed and locked behind them again, shutting the husks out of the camp and rendering them safe, for the time being.
With the danger having passed, Shepard holstered her weapon, not wanting to appear hostile to the peaceful architectural mining team. She figured it would already be enough of a shock to have unexpected visitors dropping in on them without the extra added panic of unholstered weapons. Garrus and Liara were quick to do the same, and, now fully presentable, the party made their way into the lobby of the facility, where a smooth overhead voice chimed a genial message greeting the new visitors entering the complex as they passed through the open doorway, setting off the motion sensor. "Welcome to TGS Mineral Works," the upbeat, automated male's voice hailed them, causing Shepard to look up towards the overhead speakers. "All guests need to sign in at reception." Coming to a standstill in the middle of the facility lobby, Shepard paused, frowning around at the unnerving picture spread out before her. Safety of the facility aside, something did not feel right about the general atmosphere of almost eerie calm. Despite the automated greeting informing them that someone new had entered their facility – three someones, in fact – not one of the mining employees even seemed to notice the group of strangers now standing confusedly in the middle of their floor, looking around the vestibule like lost livestock.
"They're taking it pretty well, don't you think?" Garrus commented, coming up to stand behind Shepard and murmuring conspiratorially in her ear. Turning back to glance towards him, she moved away from him instead, taking a few steps forward towards the edge of the lobby overlook and staring down to where a group of three lab techs were discussing something in low voices, seeming completely unanimated in their conversation as they spoke. As she stared at them, one of the lab techs suddenly seemed to notice her, turning his head slowly to look at her, his flat, dark-ringed eyes cold and emotionless as he stared at her, blankly, unmoving, barely blinking. After a long moment of pause, a second of the lab techs in the discussion circle turned to look at her as well, this one a blonde-haired female, but her eyes were just as cold and hollow as her older male counterpart, causing a shiver to run up Shepard's spine at the sight of them. Tearing her gaze away from the techs, she started to make her way across the foyer to where the sign-in and information desk was, finally coming to stand in front of it and addressing the man behind the desk, who seemed completely engrossed in his work, even as she rapped three times on the glass to get his attention.
"I'm Commander Shepard, of the Alliance," she introduced herself, curtly, confused and frustrated when the man refused to look up at her. "You just had Reaper troops attacking your front door."
At this, the man finally turned his attention up towards her, slowly, mechanically, seeming almost indifferent at her statement. His eyes were hollow, dull, and blank, ringed with dark circles the likes of which Shepard had never seen on a living being before. "Are they still there?" he asked, slowly, his voice eerily calm despite the gravity of the situation.
Shepard frowned, disconcerted, feeling the hair on the back of her neck start to stand on edge at the abnormality of this entire facility. "I've taken care of them, for now," she returned, haltingly, resisting the urge to turn tail and run before they even had a chance to find Garneau.
"I see," the attendant informed her, emotionlessly. "That will be all." And with that, he returned his attention to his work, no longer interested in his visitors.
"That will be…?" Shepard repeated, taken aback. Glancing back towards Liara, confused, Shepard took another step forward, rapping on the glass again to get the attendant's attention. "Hello?" she asked, unsatisfied. Liara took a step forward as well, pushing the glowing green assistance button, causing it to give a soft ding, and at this, the attendant looked up again, summoned, his dark-ringed eyes just as lifeless as ever as he turned his attention to Shepard, intent.
"Yes," he said, distantly. "Welcome to TGS Mineral Works. How can I help you? For the tour, please sign in."
"You don't seem worried about those Reapers," Shepard observed, now more than a bit confused, though her frustration at the general attitude of this place was beginning to outweigh her fear the longer she talked to the attendant at the desk. "You know something I don't?"
"TGS Mineral Works is a small to mid-lever supplier of tungsten to the galaxy," the attendant returned, monotone.
"That's not what I meant," Shepard informed him, frowning, now annoyed.
The attendant looked up at her again at this, locking his dead eyes with hers. "Are you familiar with the applications of tungsten?" he asked, impassively.
"Listen, I'm looking for a researcher named Doctor Garneau," Shepard told him, letting out a sigh as she leaned forward against the welcome desk, hoping to get through to him in some small way. "He would have arrived within the last couple weeks. If he's still here, I need to speak to him."
"We have no Doctor Garneau," the attendant reported, detachedly, his attention fixed firmly on his computer screen. "Do you need to see a doctor?"
"How about I just go in and look around—" Shepard started to say, becoming peeved, but found herself quickly cut off by the attendant.
"No," the attendant told her, cutting her off unexpectedly. "The access elevator is for the tour only. And now… we're done. Step away. You don't belong here."
Feeling her hackles begin to rise at this unexpectedly rude addition, Shepard started to take another step forward towards the attendant, but quickly found herself pulled back from the desk by a familiar weight on her shoulder. "Bad vibe to these guys," Garrus told her, his thumb curling around the edge of her shoulder-guard as he pressed his hand down more firmly, coaxing her gently back away from the welcome desk. "Don't think we want to push it."
"Let's just get to the elevator," Shepard muttered, throwing the attendant one last dirty look as he returned his attention to his computer screen. "These guys aren't gonna stop us. Let's just go."
Shepard's arrival on the lower floor of the mining facility had been met with the same unnerving lack of enthusiasm as her initial arrival to the station, with all the lower-level inhabitants either quickly closing up their research rooms to bar the visitors out, or not even seeming to notice their presence at all. The only difference between the two was a low, barely audible humming drone emanating from somewhere within the lower level of the facility. Shepard had heard the same droning sound while on the first level of the compound, but she had chosen to ignore it at the time. It was not unusual for mining camps to make odd noises, especially ones that were actively in use. Now, however, though she was still not totally convinced the sound was anything more than noise pollution coming from the mining facility's lab equipment, she had to admit that, down here, it was not quite as easily disregarded as it had been on the floor above. Opting to ignore the strange noise for the time being, Shepard had turned her attention instead towards the winding hallways of the Mining Lab, peering through every window that did not have a shade lowered over it to deter her away, looking for some sign of their missing researcher.
"The security log for the elevator said Garneau was here in the facility in the last week," Liara put in, frowning gently as she followed Shepard from one window to the next, observing a group of lab techs standing in a far corner who had not stopped openly staring at them since their arrival, following the party's progress through the halls of the facility with their dead, dark-ringed eyes. "Why would they lie about that?"
"No idea," Shepard answered, honestly. "Let's hope we don't have to look too far, though." Approaching one of the lab techs who had not tried to make herself scarce at the party's arrival, she cleared her throat, conspicuously, getting the woman's vacant attention. "I'm looking for a Doctor Garneau," she told the woman, straightforwardly. "Do you know where I can find Doctor Garneau?"
"I don't know what you mean," the woman informed her, emotionlessly, staring ahead at her blankly with wide, unblinking eyes.
"Aren't any of you worried about the Reapers?" Shepard insisted, now thoroughly confused. How an entire facility of people could be so willingly blind was beyond her scope of belief, especially with certain death knocking so closely at their door. Perhaps that was part of what made them this way, knowing that they could be killed at any moment, though she had never seen anyone react quite like this before, let alone an entire group of independently-thinking people.
"We know nothing," the woman returned, her voice lower to a whisper now as she turned her gaze away from Shepard, seeming almost afraid to look at her. "Go away. You don't belong here."
Frowning, Shepard turned away from the woman again, looking back towards Liara, who shrugged, just as confused as she was. Realizing they were not going to get any help from the inhabitants of the facility, Shepard and her team had started looking for clues, themselves, and it was not long before they began to uncover a number of mysterious logs and reports, all indicative of Garneau. A datapad left unattended in one of the backmost rooms contained a never-sent message from the researcher, and as Shepard listened, she could not help a feeling of dread from setting in. "Bryson, it's Garneau," the young researcher's voice came through the datapad speaker, sounding much less chipper now than he had in the report Shepard had heard in Bryson's lab. "I've had to go into hiding, and I need you to come get me. I found another one of those artefacts here. They're more important than we realized. It's in the mines. Here's the nav point – that's where I'll be. If something happens, I'm attaching a passcode that I hacked together. It'll open any security terminal. Bryson, something is very wrong here. Please, hurry. Garneau, out."
With the failsafe passcode now in hand, it had not taken much longer for Shepard and her team to find another piece of telling evidence, a progress report indicating an altercation that had broken out in the mines involving a single unknown male, who had then been sent to the medical bay for attention. Quickly following the lead to the medbay, they were surprised to find when the doors slid open that the medical centre was completely empty. The air in the hallways was stale, untouched, the treatment rooms shuttered off, the only sound coming from the soft humming and beeping of monitors showcasing the TGI Mineral Works logo. The deep thrumming noise seemed louder here, unnervingly so, though Shepard could not tell if that was because it was actually louder or if it was simply the lack of other noises present to drown it out. Moving through the medical bay, the team finally stopped when they came across a bleached hallway, washed out with a glaringly bright white light and framed on both sides by darkened treatment room windows. This was the only hallway in the entire medbay that had not been closed off for whatever reason, the shutters lifted from the windows to allow visitors to look inside, though the low lighting inside the rooms and the glare from the bright light outside in the hall made it difficult to see anything at all.
Squinting against the hard, dark light, Shepard could barely make out the prostrate form of a man lying on a medical cot inside the room. "Is that Garneau?" she asked, hopeful, glancing back towards the other two members of her party and pointing in at the unidentified form behind the glass. Liara and Garrus moved up to the window as well, cupping their hand around their eyes and peering into the darkness as well.
"That man is dead," Garrus observed, moving away from the window and shaking his head, regretfully. "Been dead a while, from the looks of it. If it is Garneau, we came a long way for nothing."
At this news, Shepard sighed, disappointed, pushing herself frustratedly away from the window. Suddenly, the sound of a muffled male voice caused her to turn, surprised, in time to see a second shadowy figure staring out at the party languidly from the darkened window across the hallway from the one they were looking into. "If you are looking for Garneau, you have found him," the shadowy figure told them, his voice almost dragging as he sought to speak with them. "I… am Doctor Garneau."
Crossing over to the window, interested, Shepard stood a few feet away from the glass, looking in at the new, mysterious figure who had summoned them over. "I'm Commander Shepard of the Alliance," she introduced herself, trying not to sound too excited to see him. "Are you all right?"
At this question, Garneau paused, leaning heavily against the window ledge and hanging his head, seeming exhausted, almost painfully so. "Yes," he finally answered, slowly. "Only… I'm trapped in here."
"What's been going on in this place?" Shepard asked, keenly. She wanted to trust the man after everything she knew he had been through up to that point, but something about the way he spoke was putting her on edge, making her feel, as with everything else in the facility, that something about him was not quite right. She figured the least she could do while she had him here was to ask for some details, to hopefully get at least some idea of what had been happening here, in this eerie mineral mausoleum.
Garneau paused, considering, as if trying to think back to even the most recent events, but he seemed to be having a hard time even doing that. "I was doing my research…" he said, his voice slow again, thoughtful. "Until… the incident."
"They attacked you," Shepard returned, astutely.
"It's true," Garneau agreed, looking up at her again, heavily. "But, aside from my confinement… I'm fine."
"Bryson's research led me to you," Shepard told him, matter-of-factly, and at this, Garneau seemed to straighten his posture a bit, intrigued.
"Bryson sent you?" he asked, sounding almost hopeful, for the first time.
"He's dead, Doctor," Shepard informed him, regretfully. "Killed by his assistant." The low, droning noise Shepard had noticed before seemed to grow a bit louder at this, almost as if in response to this news, but she quickly shook her head, blocking it out again. The idea that there was some unseen force at work here that had any interest in the fate of Doctor Bryson was preposterous at best, and Shepard had no intention of letting this place get to her head any more than she already had.
Garneau stared at her blankly at the news, seeming strangely unaffected by the fate of his former research associate. "I see," he finally answered, unmoved.
"I need you to tell me everything you found on the Leviathan," Shepard insisted, taking a step closer to the glass. As she did so, the droning sound became suddenly louder again, this time seeming to come almost from within her own head, but she forced herself to ignore it, not wanting to acknowledge it and make a bigger deal out of it than she already had. All it was was static feedback from lab equipment, she told herself. Nothing more. "Bryson seemed to think it killed a Reaper," she went on, speaking over the sound of the droning, which continued to get steadily louder the longer she went on. "What do you know about that?"
Garneau stared at her, as if trying to determine the best way to answer. Then, hanging his head again, he shook it, his hands curling into half-claws on the edge of the windowsill. "A myth," he answered, deadpan. "A dead end."
"But what about the artefact you mentioned in your message?" Garrus asked, taking a step forward towards the glass as well, curious.
At this, Garneau looked up again, staring at Garrus, as if seeing him for the first time. "…I did?" he finally asked, sounding genuinely surprised at the news. Then, shaking his head again, he added, resolutely, "…No."
"Yes, Doctor, you did," Shepard told him, insistent, taking another step forward towards the glass, now standing so close she was almost pressed up against it. "But now we've got Reaper forces attacking, so I need to break you out. We'll grab the artefact and go—"
"Reapers?" Garneau cut her off, repeating the word, seeming to recognize it, though not quite where he knew it from. At this word, the thrumming grew even louder, louder than it had ever been before, too loud now to dismiss as some byproduct of lab equipment noise. "The darkness must not be breached," Garneau insisted, his voice rising for the first time, sounding strangely manic, even angry.
"The darkness…?" Shepard repeated, taken aback, taking a wary step away from the glass as the sound continued to grow louder, louder, almost ear-splittingly loud, vibrating out of the very foundation of the facility and through her head, causing her to reach up a hand to try to stop it, but to no avail. Suddenly, Garneau looked up at her, making eye contact for the first time, his eyes black, lifeless, ringed by circles so dark they looked almost as if the skin around his eyes had begun to rot away. Bringing up both hands, he slammed his fists into the bulletproof glass of the treatment room, the low sound growing ever louder, causing the lights in the hallway to flicker and spark as the entire pane rattled menacingly on its supports.
"WHY DO YOU PURSUE ME?" Garneau insisted, speaking with a voice not his own. It was a low voice, guttural, the same sort of menacing voice Shepard had heard from the Reapers, from Harbinger, from the Brute in her nightmare.
"Doctor?!" Shepard exclaimed, startled, taking another step back away from the window, her eyes wide.
In response, Garneau lifted his fists again, slamming them into the glass once more, this time causing a large, spiderweb crack to form across the bulletproof surface. "Leave the artefact," he demanded, speaking still in that low, haunted voice. "You will not take what is mine."
"I don't believe we're actually speaking with Garneau," Liara remarked, her hand hovering over the pistol at her belt as her malt-blue eyes stayed trained on the doctor, ready to fire at a moment's notice.
Suddenly getting an idea, Shepard looked up at Garneau again, feeling a sense of misplaced, almost manic bravery overtaking her as she took a step forward towards the possessed doctor. "You!" she addressed him, audaciously. "You killed a Reaper. I need your help."
Garneau's dead, black eyes widened at her tenacity, his hands pressed up against the window, pressed flat against the glass, the low, thrumming noise growing overwhelmingly loud as he stared her down. "YOU BRING ONLY DEATH," he told her, finalistically, and, with one last, loud rumble, the pane of the window blew out completely, showering Shepard, Liara, and Garrus in a cascade of thick, jagged glass, causing them to duck and cover their heads for fear of being sliced. Ignoring the perilous sharp edges left by the broken glass, Garneau hoisted himself over the edge of the open sill, cutting his hands and legs open as he jumped down onto the floor of the infirmary and leaving a telltale trail of blood in his wake as he ran. He did not even seem to notice his injuries as he took off through the lab with seeming superhuman speed, stopping only to close doors behind him to make it harder for Shepard and her team to follow.
"Get after him!" Shepard shouted, getting to her feet and starting to run, barely sparing a moment to brush the shards of glass from her armour and hair before setting off after Garneau as fast as she could run. She had almost made it all the way to the entrance to the mines when she suddenly stopped, grabbing blindly at a stitch in her side as she involuntarily lost her footing, falling noisily to one knee and letting out a yell of pain at her fumble. Garrus and Liara instantly stopped at the sound, turning to return to their friend to see what was the matter, but Shepard shook her head, waving a hand in Garneau's direction. "Don't worry about me!" she insisted, allowing Liara to coax one hand away from her side, and then the other, precariously. "I'll be fine! Don't lose Garneau! You have to get Garneau!"
Garrus hesitated, fidgeting anxiously in place, before finally taking her word for it and turning to follow Garneau again. Letting out another bark of pain, Shepard looked down to where Liara had slid her hand underneath Shepard's protective gear and was now gently massaging the stitch in her side through her undersuit. "You shouldn't be running like that," Liara told her, quietly, making sure to keep her voice down as Shepard practiced her breathing, returning her heart rate to as near as normal as she could manage. "You can't keep exerting yourself like this. You could seriously hurt yourself one of these days. Yourself or your other… your… you, yourself." Glancing over her shoulder to make sure no one was listening to them, she turned her attention back to Shepard again, her painted brow furrowed gently, more solemn this time. "Excess stress could cause you to go into early labour," she whispered. "You could miscarry out in the field if you're not careful. Even I wouldn't be able to help you then."
"What am I supposed to do instead, Liara?" Shepard insisted, wetting her lips and frowning up at her friend, frustrated. "Just not go on missions? Just not run? Just not fight?"
"I don't know what you should do, Shepard," Liara returned, letting out a soft sigh as she retrieved her hand, sliding Shepard's abdominal plate back into place. "If you must keep going on missions, I guess try to keep your stress to a minimum."
"I'll keep that in mind," Shepard told her, grunting as she pushed herself heavily to her feet. "Reapers and Cerberus and Leviathans aside… what could possibly cause me stress?"
"Shepard…" Liara began, but was quickly cut off by Shepard shaking her head and waving a hand in her direction.
"Let's just go, Liara," she said, jerking her head towards the mining tunnels. "Before Garneau gets away again. Garrus is good, but he's just one turian. It's gonna take more than that to take down Garneau."
"If you say so," Liara answered, worriedly, before turning and following Shepard into the tunnels after Garneau.