To Fear Them Redundant
ME:1/ME:2 Bridge
Chapter 3
On the observation deck of Cronos Station, Lord Inquisitor Illusive Man is going over the makeup of the recovery team destined to hunt down Shepard's body and the representatives of any interested parties not directly controlled by His Majesty's Most Holy and Noble Inquisition. Taking a puff his cigarette tip flares a cherry red as he pulls up Kai Lang's file. He will do perfectly as the team leader. This is more of a wet job anyway. Miss Lawson isn't suited for combat as much as Lang and she is needed to help finish the integration of the Quarians and the interrogation of Ms. Vasir.
His bright blue eyes scan the list of his active cells. Most of them are unable to mission capability. The Imperium has sent a platoon of warriors led by a Commissar and consists of Kasrkin, guardsmen, enginseers and a host of pyskers. They are testing and checking his employees for loyalty and taint. A result of this retraining and testing is number of agents and operatives have decreased for various reasons. A shame the Man thinks what wasted potential. Still he has an important mission to fill.
He calls up the dossiers of several people; Karskin, Tech-Priests, Inquisitional Agents, and former associates of Shepard. This will work he thinks with a long puff. Hitting a button on his expensive and high tech chair the intercom beeps, "I need Kai Lang, Kasrkin Solomon Padilla and Davis Warren, Magos Ignotus Vaul, Sanctioned Pysker Selene Wyrm, Agent Jacob Talyor, and Centurion Gav Troop Platoon 12 in the primary briefing room." Closing off that channel he select the line that connects him to the station's primary hangar. "I need the destroyer Knife in the Darkness readied for an immediate combat mission."
Throughout the station boots clang off the metal deck plates, orders are shouted as the summoned soldiers rush to ensure that Lord Inquisitor's commands are completed. Massive doors bearing a blood red capital I trimmed in silver part. Lights snap on as the sixty soldiers file into the briefing hall. The lights dim as the Illusive Man's hologram forms. He assembled agents snap to attention each of them bearing the sign of the Aquila on their chests.
"Ave Imperator," T.I.M. begins, "You are to recover the body of Commander Tyler Shepard. This is a black operation, any witnesses must be killed. We have intercepted several communications broadcasts concerning Shepard's body. The one with the most promise are from the Shadow Broker and one Liara T'Soni. She apparently is feeding the Broker intel through a Drell she thinks works for us. Both the Council and Alliance are searching in the wrong place due to some signal manipulation from the Senior Magos here on Cronos. Plus they are still trying to deal with the aftermath of the Flotilla Debacle."
T.I.M. stops speaking as missions details flash into existence. Location, projected enemy forces, and a time frame are memorized by the assembled soldiers. Taking a sip of whiskey and a drag on his cigarette the Lord Inquisitor continues, "Try and capture any Broker agents. I want their minds plundered for the location of the Broker's operations. You have your orders, leave no witnesses, The Emperor Protects! Dismissed!"
Hours later the assembled soldiers are rushing to the icy desolate moon that is Shepard's tomb. The Relay flashes blue-white and black dagger shaped destroyer enters the system. "Full sensor sweep," orders Lang, "Find me targets Captain."
"Yes sir at once," replies the Captain with a faint tremor of fear in his voice. Invisible beams of energy emit from the pitch black stealth vessel. Several minutes pass in terse silence as the auspex array gathers and interprets the collected data.
"One ship detected. Length 200 meters. Weapons: A dozen torpedoes, a small Guardian Network, and a single light Mass Accelerator. Markings are similar to other Broker vessels encountered." Intones a Servitor.
"Power weapons, rise shields, and accelerate to battle speed!" Orders the Captain. "Prepare to destroy that ship! For the Emperor!"
"Wait!" Interrupts Lang, "Disable that ship. The Centurions will board the vessel and kill or capture everyone on board."
"Of course Sir."
As Lang and his retinue walks to the hangar, the heavy guns on the destroyer loads a salvo of disruptor shells. It opens fire a few minutes later, as eight streaks of red fire lance through the blackness of space. The Broker ship gets its first detection of the prowling destroyer. Its drives flare in blue cone of flame as it tries to dodge the EMP laden projectiles. It fails.
Waves of energy engulf the ship. Its drives flicker and dies as its power systems seize and fail. The corvette drifts helplessly in space. Dropships, assault craft, and their escorts stream from the hangar bay of the Knife. Most angle toward the crippled broker vessel bearing 40 Centurions and Kasrkin Sargent Padilla. The rest of the unit heads planet side with Inquisitor Lang.
"Pilot. Drop us right on top of the bastards. Blanket them with rockets."
"On your orders Inquisitor."
The Valkyries and Vultures, bellies cherry red from diving through the atmosphere, open fire on the black clad agents of the Shadow Broker. The deep BBRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR of the Punisher Gatling Cannons engulf the wreckage filled valley. It drowns out the screams of the twisted dying fighters.
Like ants the mercs scatter, hoping to avoid being hit by the massive tank killing rounds. The Vultures peel off and circle as the troop laden Valkyries rush into the ice and slush covered area. Whoosh…Whoosh…Whoosh cuts through the now still air as dozens of rockets hit the cannon scared ice. Fire and fragments are thrown all over. An ice cold steam hugs the ground. Black shapes slide from the hovering gunships they quickly fan out into the murk.
Kai Lang leads his men through the twisted metal caverns and ice tunnels. Auspex units warn them of every ambush and hidden agent. A liberal use of grenades leave the snow bright red. With a ragged cry the few remaining Broker agents charge their attackers. Warren levels his plasma cannon and chants to the machine-spirits and fires. A ball of primordial energy, a condensed star, roars from the muzzle and impacts the mercs with a loud boom. A massive whole is ripped in their lines a fused bone and ash litter the once white ground.
"First Rank…Fire…Second Rank…Fire!" roars Lang as he draws his chainsaw sword. The blade's throat growl easily overpower the cracking whine of the lasgun armed Centurions. "Fix bayonets and charge!" orders Lang as he sprints into the broken merc band. The two masses slam into each other.
Limbs fly as whirling teeth bite deep. Bayonets once a polished silver are now stained red. War cries mingle with dying screams. Several black clad soldiers are lifted into the air by an unseen force and are torn apart. Blood and guts shower the fighters as the Pysker Wyrm chants in a grave cold voice. Slowly the Broker soldiers throw down their weapons and surrender. The fighting comes to a stop.
"Wyrm mind rape them. Squad 1 deal with them after, No Prisoners! Squad 2 search for Shepard." Orders Lang his voce ringing with battle-lust. She goes to each of the wounded, dirty, and defeated prisoner and rips their memories from their head. The dozen survivors scream in pain and terror. With a smile and prayer to the Emperor on her lips she comes to destroy their psyche. The drooling twitching bodies are rounded up afterward and shot. Then two flamer armed Centurions reduce the pile of dead to ash.
As the Inquisitional forces comb through the corpse of the once proud warship. The Shark Assault Boats along with their Fury escorts race to the crippled corvette. Among the armed mercenaries and the ship's crew sits a single Asari in a cold cell. Tears stream down her bruised face. Flashes of her past year with Shepard fills her mind. A dry sob escapes her lips, she thought Ferron was helping her. He knew little things about their mission, about her. He played on her naivety, her sense of grief over the loss of her mom, and now her loss of Shepard. She thought he would help, He is helping just not Shepard. Ferron is helping collect the bounty on Shepard's body for the Broker, for the strange aliens that attacked them, ultimately for the Reapers.
Her crying is interrupted when a series of earthquakes rock through the ship. In space the Furies strafe the flanks and top of the 200 meter long converted warship. Ruby red beams thicker than a man leap from the gun-metal grey lascannons and hit hull. Sheets of armor liquefy and burst inwards. The jets of molten metal burn to death the unfortunates on the other side. Their screams echo amongst the chaos.
The armored prows of the assault boats punch deep into the hull. Explosive bolts turn the doors into an adamantium battering ram. The crackling whine of the hell-gun equipped troopers fill the corridors. Black clad fighters die with fist sized holes blasted into them. "Fan out. Standard Search and Destroy Op. No Heavy weapons except the Volley gun, no need to space ourselves." Shouts Padilla over the squad vox.
Five man teams break off at every intersection. Doors are blasted apart and liquid promethium is poured in. The foes who run out screaming are quickly gunned down. The few hard points that are encountered are overwhelmed with a dozen grenades. Razor sharp shards of sand size metal ping off thick carapace armour while the Hell-Guns, designed to punch through power armor reap a gruesome tally.
The once clean decks are slippery with blood. The smooth walls pot-marked with shrapnel and melted with laser fire. None are spared. The wounded are killed with either a single knife thrust to the heart or a las shot to the head. This is done by cold-eyed veterans with the Litany of Hate on their lips. The Bridge falls with the senior officers captured relatively intact. Not without cost. Biotic warps and shockwaves have taken the lives of dozen Centurions before their team mates can avenge them.
Carapace armor offers an unparalleled level of protection compared to the mass effect hard suit. It thick shell was the cause of shattered bones and pulped organs. A result of the being slammed into the bulkhead walls and not having the body to survive the concussion effects. Each fallen troops armour is still perfectly functional apart from the blood stains.
When Padilla comes across Liara, his baleful red visor elicits a scream of fear. His vox altered voice is the last thing she hears before her whole world goes black courtesy of a rifle butt to the back of the head. "All squads sound off?" Padilla demands over the vox. It has been seven minutes, they should be done securing the ship and rigging it to blow.
"All clear Sir!" is the overwhelming reply.
"Good. Set the timer. Gather the prisoners and let's leave this place." He sends. The troopers fall back in good order taking the bodies of their dead. The assault boats engines screaming in full reverse. With a shriek of tortured metal the Sharks pull free and head back to the destroyer. Looking at his demo specialist Padilla says, "We're clear, blow it." The masked trooper nods and hits the detonator.
The corvette leaking atmosphere from numerous rents in its once smooth hull explodes in a blue flash as the mass effect core is destroyed. Over the command channels Padilla calls Lang, "Inquisitor we have several high ranking prisoners for mind rape. Including one of Shepard's former crew plus the Drell spy. Orders?"
A burst of static then "Take them to the ship we are already enroute. Package has been recovered. It's pretty beat up." Replies Lang.
"Yes Sir. Ave Imperator." The Sharks and their escort move swiftly and smoothly back into the cavernous hangar of the Knife in the Darkness. The prisoners are frog marched into temporary cells as they wait for Wyrm to extract any knowledge from their minds. One by one they are dragged across the rough metal plate, uniforms torn and dirty from the fighting are further fouled. Each one has a look of terror etched upon their features as a statuequaese pale blond places her long delicate looking nails on the sides of their head.
A felling of cold fills the room as Wyrm chants in a spidery dialect of High Gothic. Her prisoner writhes and screams as his brain boils. Every memory is ripped painfully from his psyche. She giggles madly in between the chanting much to the dismay and worry of the surrounding Kasrkin and Armsmen. One by one she rips the information from the Brokers agents. She gets all kinds of data except where he is located. With only the Drell and Asari left she takes a break to rid herself of the more destructive thoughts and humours. The bodies are dumped into the nearest airlock still twitching and gibbering. They are just as quickly vented into space.
A few hours, a few days Ferron and Liara can't tell. Left alone in a dark gothic cell. With only the occasional hate-filled glares to increase the message of doom and despair. Boots clank on bare metal. Several shadowy figures move through the brig. Stopping in front of her cell no voices are heard as the door slide with an agonizing sound like nails on a chalk board, like the screams of the other prisoners. Liara curls up in a ball hoping this nightmare goes away. She screams as the heavily armored soldiers pull her from the floor.
Her screams stop as she locks eyes with a red visor and a fist is driven into her stomach. A sharp gasp escapes her as she dragged to meet her faith. Forced on her knees the strange women grabs her head and pulls it sharply. A burst of power and Liara screams, she tries to fight. To shield her mind for naught. A cold twisted laughter echoes in her head seconds before her mental defenses crumble. Screams pour from her mouth and her mind as Wyrm takes every thought, every memory, all of the information Liara has.
It is over in less than two minutes. Ferron is forced next to the young women he betrayed. The process is repeated and thanks to the Drell's eidetic memories it was done in thirty seconds. Wyrm sighs bows to the visage of the Emperor in the Confessor/Interrogation chamber and leaves. Two Servitors take the broken bodies for disposal.
With that finished Lang orders the ship to return to Watch Fortress Cronos for debrief and to allow Wyrm to process and scribe the data for further analysis.
As the Illusive Man puffs on his cigarettes he smiles. His agents has have managed to contact Tali Zora and Garrus Varkain. He has them both on Omega honing their combat potential as well as dealing with high ranking targets in the mercenary groups based on the hollowed out asteroid. Weakening their hold on the important space station. Their deployment time is coming up and Magos Vaul wants his most promising Enginseer back to further her training. Solus will have to be protected in the meantime. A few credits should be more than enough to ensure his safety.
Author Note:
To Clarify the ME:2 Team in the Beginning:
More will be added.
Miranda Lawson, Inquisitor
Selene Wyrm- Sanctioned Pysker, Beta Level
Solomon Padilla- Kasrkin Soldier
Davis Warren- Kasrkin Soldier/Weapons Specialist
Ignotus Vaul- Magos