SEE CHAPTER ONE FOR DISCLAIMERS
PLEASE READ & REVIEW, AND TEND TO THE TROPE PAGES
-CHAPTER START-
Realm ME-N7 – Sol System
Systems Alliance Stealth-Attack Frigate Normandy II – Deck 5 (Hangar)
As Ashley and Kal stood over a table, looking over weapons and armor, Shepard was walking toward them with a rather unhappy James following him.
"What the hell's going on?" James asked. "Where's Anderson? Where're we going? …Hey!"
"We're leaving" Shepard replied as he came up to one of the terminals.
"Leaving?-!"
"What's going on?" Ash asked.
"Anderson wants us to go to the Citadel," Shepard replied, "get help for the fight."
"Bullshit" James said. "He wouldn't order us to leave."
Shepard turned to him. "We don't have a choice" he told the man. "Without help, this war's already over."
"Forget it! Drop me off someplace, 'cause I'm not lea-"
"Enough!" Shepard snapped, staring Vega down. "Don't you think I'd rather stay and fight? We're going to the Citadel. If you want out, you can catch a ride back from there."
"Keelah…" Kal murmured. "We knew it would be bad, but that was straight out of a nightmare. I hope my people back in the Tikkun system are ready…"
"Commander" a familiar voice said over the intercom.
"Joker?" Shepard responded.
"Alive and kicking. Got an emergency transmission for Admiral Hackett for you."
"Patch it through" Shepard keyed in the console. A few seconds later, Admiral Steven Hackett appeared on-screen; his image was static-filled and distorted, and his voice was broken up in parts, a sign of the poor transmission.
"Shepard, we've sustained heavy losses" he said. "{STATIC} force was overwhelming. {STATIC} no way we can defeat them conventionally."
"Anderson's already ordered me to the Citadel, to talk to the Council."
"First, I need you to {STATIC}iance outpost on Mars {STATIC}fore we lose control of the system."
"…Yes, sir."
"{STATIC} been researching the Prothean archives with Dr. T'Soni. She found a way to stop the Reapers; maybe the only way to stop them. {STATIC} in contact soon. Hackett out."
The transmission ended.
"Joker, set a course for the Mars Archives" Shepard ordered as he headed over to the armory section.
"Mars? Uh, roger that."
"This is loco…" James remarked.
"Why Mars?" Ashley wondered. "What does he think we'll find there?"
"I don't know," Shepard replied, "but if it helps us win this war…"
-SCENE BREAK-
Sol System – Orbit over Mars
The Normandy II emerged from its short FTL jump, its stealth systems running at peak capacity, and its ventral hatch opened to release a UT-47 'Kodiak' shuttle that began its descent towards the planet with Shepard, James, Ashley, and Kal'Reegar onboard, the latter piloting.
"I've been trying to reach Mars on secure channels" Joker radioed. "No-one's answering."
"Any sign of Reaper activity?" Shepard asked.
"Negative."
"EDI?"
"The base appears to be online" the AI responded. "It is possible the inhabitants were evacuated."
"We'll know soon enough. Be ready, Joker… just in case."
"Roger that. Normandy out."
"How's the Kodiak treating you, Kal?"
"Flies like a brick, Commander," the Quarian soldier replied, "but I can handle her no problem. Remind me to tell ya about the time I safely landed a four-engine VTOL with only one working engine. …We're almost there."
The shuttle flew in towards the sizable Alliance base constructed around and over the Prothean ruins that had allowed the humanity of this realm to reach for the stars. The craft set down and parked on a rocky plateau.
"Still no contact from the base," James reported as the three humans donned their hazardous-environment armor and Kal checked his suit's seals, "but we've got a massive storm headed our way."
"How long 'til it hits?" Shepard asked.
"Half-hour, tops. After that, we're gonna have difficulty keeping up comms with the Normandy."
The quartet stepped out onto the red Martian soil, locking the shuttle behind them. Ashley was armed with an M8 Avenger assault rifle and an M90 Indra sniper rifle; James had an M15 Vindicator battle-tifle and an M27 Scimitar shotgun; Kal carried an M22 Eviscerator shotgun, an M8 Avenger, and an M6 Carnifex pistol; and Shepard had N7-series weapons – an Eagle pistol, Hurricane SMG, and Valiant sniper rifle. They walked on, past an array of solar panels.
"Damn, that's a huge storm" James said as he looked out at the massive dust storm off in the distance, slowly getting closer. "Looks a lot bigger in person."
"Come on, Lieutenant" Ashley replied. "It's not that bad."
"Doesn't mean it can't kill us."
"I'm more worried about the war back on Earth… or the fact that nobody here is reporting in."
"Fair enough."
As the quartet continued on and hopped down a short jump, they found the body of an Alliance marine leaning against a boulder; Ashley knelt down to check it out.
"Alliance," she said, "Sergeant Reeves. Doesn't look like he put up a fight."
"Somethin's not right here…" James said.
Suddenly, they heard a deep 'crack' from up ahead. The quartet quietly moved forward, taking position behind some low rocks, and looked ahead. A half-dozen soldiers in white, black, and gold armor were standing near a few vehicles, and over a few bodies. One man in Alliance colors was kneeling down, hands on the back of his head; one of the mysterious soldiers pulled out his pistol, held it to the prisoner's head, and pulled the trigger.
"Damn!" Shepard said. "Pick targets and take 'em out!"
Shepard and Ashley used their Valiant and Indra to pick off two of the enemy soldiers right off the bat, and immediately the four remaining dove for cover, returning fire. Kal'Reegar fired a Carnage shot that blew one's chest open, while James headshot another with his Vindicator. Shepard hit the last two with a Biotic Pull, hoisting them into the air for Ashley's Avenger to gun down. The team moved up, inspecting the bodies.
"This stylized yellow-diamond symbol…" Kal pointed out. "It's Cerberus."
"You sure?" James asked.
"After what happened to the Idenna, every Quarian in the galaxy knows who Cerberus is. No question about it; this is them. It looks like they've upgraded their hardware."
"What're they doing here on Mars?" Ashley wondered.
"Good question" Shepard replied.
"You don't know?"
"I'm not with them anymore, Ash, if that's what you're asking."
The group moved forward, up a hill, and came across another pack of Cerberus soldiers and their transports. The Cerberus soldiers immediately opened fire, and Team Shepard took cover. Shepard sent out a Combat Drone, which blasted one Cerberus Trooper with an Incinerate shot and zapped another, leaving him vulnerable to a shotgun blast from Kal. James and Ashley used their rifles to pick off a few more, while Shepard used his N7 Hurricane to pick off the stragglers.
"Doesn't look like they came here in force" James observed.
"Yeah," Shepard replied, "just a few vehicles."
"Kind of suggests they had help" Ashley said. "From the inside. You'd need a lot of men and firepower to take this place otherwise."
The team headed across the way and into the elevator room, the door sealing shut behind them. As Shepard worked on the elevator terminal, Ashley came up to him.
"I need a straight answer, Shepard" she said. "Do you know anything about this? What Cerberus might be doing here?"
"What makes you think I know what they're up to?"
"You worked with them. How am I supposed to believe you've cut all ties?"
"We joined forces to take down the Collectors. That's it."
"They rebuilt you; they gave you a ship, resources…"
"Let me be clear: I've had no contact with Cerberus since I destroyed the Collector Base. The Illusive Man didn't exactly approve of me doing that. And I have no idea why they're here now or what they want."
"Commander Shepard's been busy almost nonstop helping train people and set up preparations for the Reapers" James chimed in. "For all the good that did…" he mumbled.
Ashley sighed. "Sorry, Jason, I just…"
Air flooded into the room, normalizing the atmosphere. The three humans removed their helmets.
"I shouldn't have to explain myself to you, Ash" Shepard said.
The elevator moved up, carrying the team up into the hangar.
"Please…" Shepard said. "Trust me."
"I do" Ashley replied. "It's just that-"
Suddenly there was a series of loud thuds from an overhead ventilation duct – people moving through, along with a few gunshots inside. Everyone got into cover, readying weapons. A few seconds later, a ventilation grate overhead across the hangar was kicked off from within, allowing two people to drop out: a young-adult Asari in a white light-armored suit, and a human girl in dull-green armor that had the Greek letter 'Sigma' and the number 6 on the chestplate, with green hair. As the two leapt down onto the floor, a pair of Cerberus Troopers tried to follow, their bulky armor slowing the exodus from the ventilation shaft. The Asari took the opportunity to toss out a Singularity that snatched up the two hostiles just as they got free, hoisting them into the air; she then pulled out her Predator pistol and took them down with one shot each. As they landed on the floor, she walked over and performed a double-tap for each to finish them both off.
Team Shepard moved out of cover, most holstering their weapons; James had his rifle ready, but Shepard pushed it down.
"Easy there, Lieutenant" he told James. "They're with us."
"Shepard!" Liara called out as she saw him. "Thank the Goddess you're alive! I was so worried when the reports came in. They hit Earth hard?"
"Yeah" Ashley said as she walked up. "It was… difficult to leave."
"Ashley… I'm sorry."
"And what brings you here, Sigma-6?" Shepard asked Asa.
"I've been helping Dr. T'Soni with a few things" the green-haired girl replied. She grinned. "I'm hoping you won't make me hold up a one-way barrier through a Seeker-infested tunnel this time?"
"We'll see" Shepard replied with a grin.
"In any case," Liara asked, "why did you all come here?"
"Hackett ordered us to come," Shepard replied, "said you'd know what was going on."
"I do" Liara replied, walking over to a window overlooking other parts of the base.
"Hallelujah," James said, "finally some answers."
"Maybe" Asa replied. "Dr. T'Soni has discovered plans for a Prothean device, one that could wipe out the Reapers."
"Here on Mars?" Shepard asked.
"In the Prothean Archives, yes" Liara replied.
"We've known about the Archives for decades. Why now?"
"Process of elimination, mixed with a little desperation. When you destroyed the Alpha Relay, you bought us some time. But then you were stuck with a full workload on Earth. I knew I had to do something. Hackett knew it, too. He contacted me, asking if I would use my resources as the Shadow Broker to find a way to stop the Reapers. My search led me here. Hackett got me access to the Archives and kept me updated on you. Three days ago, Shigure here was sent by the DDF to give me a little extra help. …I meant to come see you, but…"
"We both had a whole lot of important things to do. There wasn't much I could do to help you, anyway."
"I suppose you're right. In any case, my work paid off. The Archives are full of useful data – an overwhelming amount. I think I found what we need."
"I guess I'll believe it when I see it. Where do we find this weapon?"
"It's not a weapon; not yet, anyway. It's plans for a device – a blueprint."
"It's more than we had a minute ago. How do we get it?"
"The Archives are just across that tramway," she pointed out the window at a rectangular tube-structure connecting two of the base's buildings, "assuming Cerberus hasn't locked it down."
"What are they after?"
"Yeah, they seemed hell-bent on catching you" James chimed in.
"They want what I'm here for," Liara replied, "what we're all here for."
"But why?" Shepard asked.
"The Protheans came close to defeating the Reapers. They had plans to destroy them, but ran out of time."
"And anything powerful enough to destroy Reapers…" Ashley started.
"…Just might be something Cerberus would be interested in" Shepard finished.
"So, that means it's a race to the Archives" Kal'Reegar observed.
Suddenly, there was a thud from up above. The sealed second-floor door now had sparks coming through it, as Cerberus began cutting their way in.
"We've got company" Shepard said.
"Bring it on" James readied his rifle.
"Not this time, James."
"What?"
"Get back to the shuttle. If Cerberus beats us to the Archives, I need you covering the exits."
"But-"
"Now, Lieutenant."
Vega frowned as he hurried over to the elevator, riding it down. The remaining five members of Team Shepard took cover, just as the upper door opened and Cerberus troops rushed through. Liara tossed out a Singularity, snatching up three of them, and Shepard & Ashley used the Eagle and Avenger to gun them down. More came out, and Liara pulled out the Geth Plasma SMG she'd requisitioned for this op, taking out another Cerberus Trooper. Asa used her COG M2 Lancer to head-shot a Trooper, and then she fired a bolt of specially-tuned magic that yanked another into the air, leaving him vulnerable to Kal'Reegar's assault rifle.
"Was that…?" Shepard started.
"This isn't the first time Shigure's worked with me" Liara said as she fired her Predator at the troopers. "We've been working on using her magic to emulate some of my Biotic abilities. We're currently working on generating a magic-based Singularity, and after that… well, there's a trick of yours that I recently got the hang of…"
Kal fired a Concussive Shot that stunned and wounded a Cerberus Trooper, leaving the hostile exposed to a pistol shot from Shepard. Ashley's Avenger cut down two more, and two bullets from Asa's UNSC M6C sidearm took out the final one.
"That's all of them" Liara said. "Let's find a way up."
After a little looking around, Shepard found a vehicle lift with a truck on it, and made it go up, forming a bridge between a stack of crates and the second level.
"This is a secure station" Ash said. "How did Cerberus get in?"
"Not sure" Liara replied. "One minute we were getting reports of the Reaper invasion, and the next there was chaos. We didn't even realize it was Cerberus at first."
"Could they be working with the Reapers?"
"Doubtful," Shepard replied as he made it up, "but I suppose anything's possible."
They made it to the second-floor door and passed through, just in time to see an Alliance scientist take several high-caliber rounds from behind as he tried to run, going down. Shepard moved in and took cover behind some pipes, while the other four stayed back.
"We've done a sweep through the residence" a Cerberus Trooper reported. "Going to check on Able Squad; they're not reporting in."
Shepard quietly crawled into position, just on the other side of the pipes from a Trooper. Then, in a flash of movement, he lunged out and grabbed the Cerberus soldier, pulling him over and to the ground, and then formed his Omni-Blade and stabbed it through the hostile's skull. A moment later, Asa threw a frag grenade, killing two more Cerberus Troopers. The last one fell to a shotgun blast from Kal'Reegar. The group headed into the next room, a lounge with a security station on the side.
"We'll need access to the pedway" Liara said. "Controls should be nearby."
They headed into the security station, Ashley and Kal looking around while Shepard and Liara checked the consoles.
"Shepard, see if you can gain access to the pedway" Liara said as she got to work on one of the computers. "I can't seem to unlock the live feeds, but…"
"Hey, did you see that?" Ashley pointed at a screen playing a video clip. "Who's that woman in the vid?"
"That's Dr. Eva Coré; she got here about a week ago." She turned to Shepard. "Any luck?"
"Pedway's been locked out" Shepard replied.
Liara had a look at the screen. "All right, it looks like there's construction nearby. We can get out on the roof. We can find a way around from there".
She unlocked a door on the right side of the room, and the five moved through into an airlock. As Shepard and Ashley donned their helmets and triggered their suits' seals, and Kal'Reegar made sure his suit was vacuum-sealed as well, Liara and Asa each pressed a sequence of buttons on their Omnitools. Parts of their armor shifted, and new parts emerged, from spaces that couldn't have actually held them, to cover gaps, forming air-tight vacuum-rated seals, while sealed helmets emerged from subspace to cover their heads.
"New tech from Wheeljack" Asa explained to Shepard.
"Yes, the Autobots' inventor has been a bit busy lately" Liara said. "He can't yet make armor that completely emerges from subspace, but he can make it so it can switch between standard and hazardous-environment modes like what you just saw."
"That sounds useful" Shepard said as the airlock room started venting. "It'd be nice to not have to carry my helmet around."
They emerged from the lock out into the exterior of the base, and already the wind was fierce, the massive wall of dust and lightning now much nearer.
"Storm's getting closer" Ashley said. "Wait, what the hell?"
She pointed across the way to a pair of trams crossing the tramway, the two cars' occupants exchanging gunfire.
"Looks like the Alliance is still putting up a fight" Shepard observed.
"That tram heads to the Archives" Liara said. "Once Cerberus is across, they're at the final security checkpoint."
"Commander, you read me?" James contacted.
"Barely" Shepard replied. "Storm's causing interference."
"Tell me about it; I've lost contact with the Normandy. What's your loc{STATIC}"
"I didn't read that, James. Say again?"
"I said, what's y{STATIC}"
"Damn it…"
The group moved down a path, up a ladder, and across a gap. On the left was an open door.
"This airlock shouldn't be open" Asa said.
"Doesn't look like it was forced…" Ashley observed.
"No, you have to override security protocols" Liara replied.
The five headed in, turning their flashlights on as they entered a dark room… with suffocated bodies on the floor all over the place.
"Someone vented the air from this room while they were still here…" Liara observed, a bit of horror in her tone.
"Looks like they died trying to claw their way out" Ashley said.
"Keelah, this is brutal, even for Cerberus" Kal'Reegar chimed in.
As they moved into the cafeteria section, shutters over a few windows ahead began to lower. Everyone turned their lights off and hid behind tables or walls, peeking out as a fireteam of Cerberus Troopers was visible on the other side of the glass.
"Roger that" the Trooper fireteam leader said. "Delta Team out."
"What's our order?" another one asked.
"There's an Alliance force in here somewhere. We need to keep them away from the core. Check the next room."
"It's dark in there. Want me to shoot out the windows?"
"No! Not unless you want to decompress this room, too."
"I don't see anyone…"
Deciding to get the jump on them, Shepard fired his N7 Valiant at the fireteam leader's head, the shot shattering the glass and punching through his skull. A split-second later, a headshot from Asa's Lancer took out the trooper he'd been talking to, while Liara and Ashley used the Geth Plasma SMG and Avenger rifle to take out the two remaining troopers. With the way clear, the team hopped through the now-broken window and moved to a security station off to the right. Liara got on the terminal, keying in a few commands, and the airlock door sealed shut and atmosphere was pumped into the room. After several seconds, a chime sounded.
"There we go" Liara said as she disengaged her armor's vacuum-seal mode, removing her helmet. "We have access to the labs. They'll take us right to the tram station."
"Hey, looks like there's a recording of what happened here" Ashley pointed out.
Shepard triggered a vid-screen, showing recorded footage from the computer's POV of an Alliance worker seated at the desk working on it, while a second man was visible in the background, focused on looking at readouts projected on the wall. Liara adjusted it so that every screen in the security station displayed the recording.
"Security station… come in" the security officer was saying. "We're seeing some odd activity down here. Our security protocols just kicked in; everything's locked down."
A woman – Dr. Eva Coré – walked in from the right on screen, the security officer briefly turning to acknowledge her presence.
"Doctor, I'll get you a report as soon as-"
Then, in a lightning-quick motion, Dr. Coré drew a heavy pistol and blew the man in the background's brains out at point-blank range. The officer at the desk turned around in shock just in time to catch a bullet between the eyes. Dr. Coré then moved to a console, hurriedly typing in commands. The recording switched to a ceiling-mounted camera in the cafeteria; an alarm was sounding, lights flashing red, as everyone in the room started gasping, clutching at their throats, and then collapsing to the floor.
"I guess we know how Cerberus got in" Shepard said.
"I should've realized it when I met her…" Liara said. "I was just so focused on finding a way to stop the Reapers."
"Stopping the Reapers is the only thing we should be focused on. It's not your fault."
"But what if we're wrong? What if there's no way to stop them? What if these are our last days, and we spend them scurrying around trying to solve a problem that can't be solved?"
"Come on, Liara…"
"I know; I shouldn't think that way. …I don't know how you do it. You've always stayed focused, even in the worst situations."
"When there's so much at stake, I just think about what I'd lose if I fail."
"That's a terrible burden."
"We'll stop them, Liara. Together."
"Thanks. I want to believe you…" She turned to a console, keying in a command, and a door on the far end of the room unlocked. "Okay, door's open. We can get to the labs and tram station through there."
"Good. Let's move."
The quintet moved through the door, into an area with a work-bench and a bunch of fallen crates, as well as a stairway leading up to a door. There was a datapad by the foot of the stairs:
"From: Amelia Hatterson
To: Mike O'Sullivan
Hey, stupid-head!
I won't ask how you're doing, since I hear you guys are propagating germs in the shape of a cold down there in storage. Look, I know your Prothean doodads are fascinating and all, but you guys have got to stop burning the midnight oil and keep regular sleeping hours, honestly! Anyway, I forwarded your latest findings to HQ on Earth and SOMEONE IS DEPRESSURIZING THE AREA WARN SECURI"
Shaking his head, Shepard led the team up the stairs and through the door. A few Cerberus troopers had their backs turned to Team Shepard down the hall.
"Why are we pulling back?" one asked.
"Sounds like the Alliance has sent reinforcements" another replied. "The doctor wants the Archives protected at all costs."
Shepard nodded to Kal'Reegar, who threw a frag grenade right into the Cerberus Troopers' midst. The blast killed two and stunned & wounded a third who was then hit by a Warp from Liara that finished him off. Ashley gunned down the lone survivor. Farther down the hall, two more Cerberus soldiers emerged, slowly walking behind huge thick metal shields, carrying small shotguns in their free hands – Guardians. Shepard took aim with his Valiant, and fired a shot right through the little slot that the left-hand Guardian to see through the shield, blowing his brains out. Asa used her magic to emulate a Pull attack, ripping the other Guardian's shield out of his hands, and then took him out with her Lancer's fire. As the group moved up, they found a datapad on a desk:
"From: Faiza Haikal Tkele
To: Sandoval Fletcher
Yeah, I know. Two external specialists in the same week is insane. But Hudson, I've heard about the Asari before! She's really well-known, and she's done some amazing research on the Protheans. I don't know zip about that Dr. Eva chick, but Liara T'Soni? She's the real thing. I'm attaching some of her advanced papers on Prothean culture. Read 'em. You'll be a believer too when you're done. I can't wait until they introduce her to people. This is so exciting!
Faiza"
"Sounds like you had a fan, Liara" Shepard said.
They moved ahead and rounded the corner left, encountering three more Cerberus Troopers; Kal'Reegar took out two of them with his shotgun, and Shepard's N7 Hurricane killed the third. The door up ahead opened, revealing the area to be a single very long hallway divided by doors at a few points, and more Cerberus troops poured in. The leader – a 'Centurion' – had more advanced-looking armor that carried the telltale faint shimmer of an active energy shield; a single Overload from Shepard stripped the Centurion's shields, and Ashley gunned him down. Liara tossed out a Singularity that snatched the baseline Troopers up, and a Carnage shot from Kal took care of them.
The next door opened to reveal more Troopers and another Guardian pair; Shepard used a Singularity to render the Guardians helpless, and then a Warp to destabilize the energy for a powerful explosion that killed them and a Trooper who was too close. Ashley used her Indra to pick off a few more Troopers, with Asa's Lancer taking the last. The few remaining Troopers retreated, sealing the door ahead behind them, and Team Shepard moved into the next lab.
"What's that smell?" Ashley said.
"Burnt flesh" Kal'Reegar replied, looking through the window into the side room, where orange 'panes' of light and energy swept back and forth through the room, which had two burnt corpses inside. "They activated the decontamination protocols."
"With the staff still inside…"
Shepard walked up to the clean-room control console, watching the energy fields sweeping through the room. When they were at their widest point, he 'paused' them, leaving a clear path to the door on the far wall inside. The group entered, looking at the various objects on tables and trying not to touch the glowing orange energy or the carbonized bodies.
"This is where they studied the various relics unearthed here" Liara said.
"What did they find?" Shepard asked.
"More than I could describe in a short conversation. And they'd only scratched the surface. There are vaults filled with Prothean data troves that have never been studied."
They passed through, into a hallway that would lead them to the tram station. They went left, rounded a corner, and came to the door that led to the station… and, suspended from the ceiling of the tram station room, looking at the group down a long hallway, was an automated heavy turret. The five immediately took cover as it opened fire, hiding behind crates or partitions.
"Is that the only way in?" Ashley asked.
"It's the only way I know of" Liara replied.
"We'll skirt around it" Shepard said. "Stay out of its sights."
Ashley moved up first, the heavy turret firing a bit too late, after she'd already gotten into cover. The team proceeded to leap-frog their way forward, moving from cover to cover down the hall and into the main room. Once in the room, they moved left toward the door to the security station, and once they got close they were safely out of the turret's horizontal traversal range, and it stopped firing.
The security station had a squad of Cerberus Troopers led by a Centurion. Kal hit the Centurion with an Overload, stripping his shields, and Shepard & Ashley tossed grenades in, killing all but two of the hostiles. Shepard then moved in and used his N7 Eagle to finish them off, clearing the security station. Everyone filed in, and Shepard moved to the central terminal, activating the camera feed from the other tram station, where Dr. Coré was ordering Cerberus troops around.
"Set up a perimeter" she said. "No-one else comes across."
"We still have teams on the other side…" a Trooper replied.
"No one! And shut down those cameras!"
She pulled out her pistol and shot the camera, cutting Team Shepard's view of what was going on over there.
"Looks like they've made it to the Archives" Liara said.
"And it looks like they won't be sending a tram anytime soon" Ashley added.
"Can you override it?" Shepard asked.
Liara checked the console, and then shook her head. "No, the Archives are on a separate network. We're completely locked out."
"Not completely" Ashley said. "What if we could find a short-range transmitter – helmet-to-helmet?"
"And…?" Shepard said.
"And then we convince them we're with them and the Alliance forces have been taken care of."
"Good idea. See what you can find."
Ashley nodded and headed out the other door. Shepard caught Liara staring.
"What?"
"The lieutenant-commander has become very… capable" Liara remarked.
"That she has…"
"Shepard! I found something!"
As Reegar and Asa helped Liara and looked around the security office, Shepard moved out to Ashley, who was kneeling by a dead Cerberus Trooper.
"What've you got?" Shepard asked.
"He's got a transmitter in his helmet" she replied. "If I can…"
She pressed something, and the front of the helmet opened… and Ashley gasped in horror and disgust; the dead man's eyes glowed an eerie whitish-blue, with glowing lines extending up and down from the on his face.
"Oh God… He looks like a Husk."
"Yeah, not quite" Shepard said. "But they've definitely done something to him." He started reaching around inside the helmet.
"Engineered? By Cerberus? They claim to stand for humanity, and they do this to their own people. …That could've been you, Shepard. For all I knew, that's what Cerberus had done to you."
"How can you compare me to that thing?"
"Is it really you in there? Do you even know? I mean, could they be controlling you?"
"That's not fair, Ash…"
"I'm just talking out loud. I doubt there's anything you could say to convince me. I guess… I just need some time to get to know you again."
"I'm the same person I always was, Ash. Time won't change that. But if that's what you need, I understand."
"Thanks… for understanding."
Shepard looked at the transmitter he'd picked out of the Cerberus Trooper's helmet. "Let's see if we can get that tram sent over here." He activated and spoke into it. "Hello. This is… Delta Team. Anybody there?"
"Where the hell have you been?" a Cerberus Trooper replied. "Never mind. What's your status?"
"We're at the tram station, waiting for extraction; all hostiles terminated."
"Roger that. Echo Team will ride over and secure the station."
"…Think they bought it?" Ashley asked.
"If they didn't, they'll figure it out soon enough" Shepard replied.
"We should get in position; flank them when they get off the tram."
"Good thinking, LC."
Liara, Kal, and Asa came out of the security station, reacting when they saw the unmasked Cerberus trooper.
"If they do that to their own people," Kal'Reegar said, "what the hell might they do to us?"
"Let's not find out" Asa replied.
Everyone took cover behind crates down below, while Shepard stayed up top with his N7 Valiant ready. Soon the tram arrived, dropping off a sizable force of Cerberus soldiers, all armed and ready; apparently they hadn't fallen for the ruse. Unfortunately for them, Team Shepard was a much fiercer opponent than they'd expected; Shepard sniped a Centurion, while Liara tossed out a Singularity that grabbed a Guardian and two Troopers, leaving them easy pickings for Ashley and Kal's assault rifles. Asa shot another Guardian in the foot, making him stagger, fired another couple rounds into his thusly-exposed arm, and a few more to his head. Shepard sniped the last few Troopers, and then he and the rest of the team headed down and into the tram, setting it forward as everyone donned their helmets.
"Storm's getting bad" Shepard said as the tram moved smoothly through the very rough and dusty winds. "We'd better wrap this up quickly."
"The archives are right on the other side" Liara said.
"That and a squad of pissed-off Cerberus troops" Ashley added.
Suddenly, everyone was thrown forward as an explosive detonated on the rail right in front of the tram, bringing it to an immediate halt. Up ahead, the doors of the Archives tram station opened, and another tram full of Cerberus soldiers started down the other track toward Team Shepard's, its occupants already firing at them. Shepard sent out a Combat Drone which spawned right inside the enemy tram, flitting about and using its shocker to wound the Cerberus troops. The enemy tram pulled up to a stop right across from Team Shepard's, and Kal & Asa leapt across, using his shotgun and her heavy pistol to quickly take out the enemies. They waved the others over, and Shepard, Ash, & Liara jumped across, Liara starting the tram going back to the Archives station.
"They put up a good fight" Ashley remarked.
"It confirms my assertions about the value of the data stored here" Liara replied.
The tram completed its journey, the doors closing behind it, and the sizable force of Cerberus troops in the station opened fire. Shepard and Ashley used the Valiant and Indra to start picking some of them off, Liara tossed out a Singularity to snatch up two Guardians and then a Warp to detonate it and kill them, Asa used a magic-based 'Pull' attack to hoist a Trooper into the air and then gun him down, and Kal'Reegar zapped a Centurion's shields with Overload and then took him out with AR fire. Shepard then moved in, drawing his N7 Eagle and putting it to good use against Troopers, while also using an Overload/headshot combo to take out another Centurion. Finally, the room was clear.
The quintet moved around the security station in the room's middle and stacked up by the door to the Archives. At Shepard's signal, Liara got the door, and everyone moved in, weapons ready, only to find no adversaries waiting for them. The large chamber had a circular catwalk, and in the center, surrounded by protective glass, was the obelisk-like Prothean artifact that had given humanity the knowledge and tech needed to take to the stars.
"Ash…" Shepard said.
The Alliance marine nodded, commencing a sweep of the room. Kal stood guard by the exit, as Shepard, Liara, and Asa walked up to the terminal overlooking the artifact, taking their helmets off. As they looked up at it, they suddenly heart the shimmering sound of an activating hologram, followed by a voice right behind them.
"Shepard…"
The blue-tinted hologram of a man with graying hair, a well-pressed suit, and glowing cybernetic eyes, holding a cigarette between his fingers, stared them down. The trio turned to face him, a scowl forming on Shepard's face.
"Illusive Man…" he said.
"Fascinating race, the Protheans. They left all this for us to discover, but we've squandered it. The Alliance has known about the Archives for more than 30 years, and what have they done with it?"
"What do you want?" Shepard asked.
The Illusive Man('s hologram) looked up at the Prothean construct. "What I've always wanted. The data in these artifacts holds the key to solving the Reaper threat."
"I've seen your 'solution'. Your people are turned into monsters."
"Hardly. They're being improved."
"Improved?"
"That's what separates us, Shepard: where you see a means to destroy, I see a way to control – to dominate and harness the Reapers' power. Imagine how strong humanity would be if we controlled them."
"Earth is under siege, and you're hatching a scheme to control the Reapers?"
"You've always been shortsighted, hasty… Your destruction of the Collector Base proved that."
"That base was an abomination. Hundreds of thousands of humans were murdered there."
"…This isn't your fight anymore, Shepard. You can't defeat the Reapers, even with the Prothean data."
"Work with me. Give me control over your resources, and I'll stop them."
"You'd do better than most, but the odds aren't in your favor. More importantly, I don't want the Reapers destroyed. We can dominate them, use their power, harness their very essence to bring humanity to the apex of evolution."
"You've gone too far. The Reapers will kill us all if we don't stop fighting each other!"
"I don't expect you to understand, Shepard. And I'm certainly not looking for your approval. …You were a tool, an agent with a singular purpose. And despite our differences, you were relatively successful." He glanced at something or someone off-screen on his end, and then turned back to Shepard. "But like the rest of the relics in this place, your time is over."
"Enough talk. Liara…"
The young Asari nodded, getting to work on the console.
"Don't interfere with my plans, Shepard. I won't warn you again."
"Duly noted."
"Shepard!" Liara called out.
"What?"
"The data's not here. …It's being erased."
"Goodbye, Shepard."
The communication was ended, as Liara continued to try and figure out what was going on.
"Damn it" Shepard cursed. "How's he doing it?"
"It's local. Someone's uploading the information."
Meanwhile, Ashley was finishing her circle-sweep of the room, when she came across a small walled-in workstation. Inside, the terminal was being interacted with by none other than Dr. Eva Coré.
"Hey!" Ashley pointed her Avenger. "Step away from the console." The woman didn't move. "Now!"
Suddenly, as Ash took a step closer, Coré spun with an elbow to Ashley's (still helmeted) face, followed by a roundhouse kick that knocked her to the floor. Coré then jammed her Omnitool into the console, and the Prothean artifact's lights went out.
"She's got the data!" Ashley shouted.
Dr. Coré took off sprinting toward the door. She let her kinetic barriers take Kal'Reegar's shots, and then swatted him aside as she passed through, with Shepard in hot pursuit and everyone else following. She fired an Incinerate at Shepard, who rolled under it and kept moving. She went left, up the ladder to the roof, and everyone followed.
"She's not even wearing a suit?-!" Ashley said, incredulous.
"She's gotta be a synthetic!" Kal'Reegar replied. "An 'Infiltrator' unit, most likely!"
Hearing that, Shepard fired an Overload, but Dr. Coré's shields withstood it, and she fired another Incinerate to keep him back. As they ran across the roof, a Cerberus shuttle flew by, two troopers firing at Team Shepard as they moved, only for Asa to hit them with a concussive blast of magic that knocked them back and almost knocked the shuttle out of the air. Shepard mantled over a stack of crates the Coré knocked over into his path, and followed her down into another pathway.
"James, you read me?-!" he radioed. "Cerberus has the data!"
Vega's reply was incomprehensibly garbled by the interference from the Martian dust storm.
"Radio the Normandy! Get them down here now!"
He climbed up onto the next rooftop, sprinting in pursuit, but Dr. Coré pulled ahead, rushing for a waiting Cerberus shuttle. She leapt inside, and the shuttle began to take off.
"Damn it! James! Normandy! Anybody!"
Suddenly, the Alliance shuttle flew in at high speed from the left…
"I got this one!"
"Oh, don't tell me he's going to-"
…and t-boned the Cerberus shuttle, knocking it out of the air. The hostile shuttle sailed low over Team Shepard's heads and crashed down onto the roof, parts coming loose and flames spewing from the craft. Seconds later, the Alliance shuttle unsteadily flew in, setting down fairly hard but not dangerously so.
"That was the second-craziest thing I've ever seen someone do with a shuttle!" Kal'Reegar said. "Points off for finesse, Vega, but great timing!"
"What's the craziest?" Ashley asked as she helped Asa to her feet.
"I'll tell ya later. It involved a Volus, an upsized eezo core, and a pack of angry varren."
The shuttle's door slid open, and James – helmet on – stepped out.
"The Normandy's en route" he said. "They'll be here soon."
On the other side of the shuttle, Ashley was helping Liara – whose leg had been clipped by shrapnel, not tearing the suit but hitting hard enough to leave a bruise – over toward the shuttle when suddenly both women heard banging from inside the burning Cerberus craft. The door was kicked off from within, and Eva Coré walked out; her artificial epidermis had been burned away, revealing the synthetic body beneath. Ashley shoved Liara aside and drew her pistol, firing as the gyndroid charged, but the machine ignored the few rounds that hit it and grabbed Ashley by the skull, lifting her off the ground. The others drew their weapons, but they couldn't get a clear shot. Coré held a finger to the side of her head as she contacted her master.
"Orders?" she asked.
"Dispose of her."
The robot assassin nodded, and then turned and slammed Ashley's head into the burning shuttle's side as hard as she could. She pulled back and did it again, Ashley's helmet warping and cracking (mercifully, the vacuum seal held). Then she tossed the now-unconscious Lieutenant-Commander aside and charged at Shepard. Shepard fired several rounds from his Eagle, and finally he hit something vital; the hostile synthetic stumbled and fell, inert and offline After taking a few seconds just in case it got up again, Shepard ran past it toward Ashley.
"Grab that thing," he ordered, "take it with us."
James and Kal'Reegar moved to pick up the disabled synthetic, as Shepard and Liara ran to Ashley's side.
"Shepard, we've got Reaper signatures in orbit!" Joker radioed.
Shepard knelt down and picked Ashley up, carrying her limp armored form as the Normandy II flew in, hovering over the roof with its ventral hatch down and waiting. Everyone hurried in, and the stealth-attack frigate took off just as half a dozen Reaper Destroyers landed in the surrounding area, zooming up into space and FTL-jumping out.
-SCENE BREAK-
Normandy II – Deck Three, Med-Bay
Shepard carefully sat Ashley down on one of the beds, removing her helmet; she was unconscious, her breathing irregular, and her head and face were badly bruised. Across the bay, James unceremoniously dumped the inert body of Eva Coré on another table. Liara, Asa, and Kal moved to check Ashley out.
"Commander," the Quarian said, "it's bad. We don't have the resources aboard to treat her. I know it hurts leaving Earth, but we've gotta get out of the Sol System, get her to a hospital on the Citadel."
"…Get us to the Citadel, Joker" Shepard said.
"Roger that."
"Do what you can for her," he told the three, "and then see what you and EDI can learn from that thing" he gestured to the Cerberus synthetic.
"Commander," EDI announced, "I'm receiving a signal over the secondary QEC. I believe it's Admiral Hackett."
"Patch me through" he took off running for the elevator.
"I'll forward it to the comm. room."
-Break-
Deck Two – War Room – Quantum Entanglement Communicator section
Admiral Hackett's hologram was wavering, the audio distorted.
"EDI, can you clear this up?" Shepard asked.
"I'll do my best" the AI replied.
The picture stabilized, and Hackett's voice came through loud and clear.
"Did you get to the Archives?" he asked.
"I was there" Shepard replied. "So was the Illusive Man. His people killed everyone else there."
"I was worried Cerberus might try something… Did you get the data?"
"Most of it. He downloaded some before I could stop him. EDI and Liara are analyzing what we recovered."
At this point, Liara walked in, standing beside Shepard. Hackett looked to her.
"What have you learned? Was it worth the effort?"
"Preliminary evidence suggests the data is a blueprint for a Prothean device" she replied.
"Device?"
Liara keyed her Omnitool, and a hologram of the blueprints appeared beside Hackett.
"A weapon, massive in size and scope, that's capable of unquantifiable levels of destruction."
Hackett looked it over for a few seconds. "Send me the data. We'll do our own analysis. If Liara's instincts are right, this might be the key to stopping the Reapers."
"I hope so" Shepard replied as Liara sent the data and walked away, back into the War Room. "Lieutenant-Commander Williams has been badly injured. We're taking her to the Citadel."
"I'm sorry to hear that, Shepard. But we both know this is just the beginning. Talk to the Council; show them what you've found. With luck, they'll give you all the support you need."
"And if they don't?"
"Do whatever it takes to get them on board."
"Yes, sir. What about the Dimensional Defense Force?"
"Some of their ships & people are here helping in what ways they can, but… they've got their own problems."
"Is it Amon making his move?"
"No, but it's just as bad. The Reapers have somehow managed to force open a few warp-rifts, and they're using the gateways to hit six DDF planets outside our realm."
"Which ones?"
Hackett consulted a datapad. "Cybertron, Sanghelios, Midchilda, Lucavos, Equestria, and Shakuras."
"This just gets worse and worse… How are they holding up?"
"Equestria's not being hit by as many Reapers as the others, but they're still in big trouble; reports suggest a Command-subtype Reaper, one of Sovereign's class, is overseeing the attack on that world. The COG and the UNSC garrison there are doing their best to help the locals beat back the fires, but they're struggling. Midchilda and Lucavos are fighting back hard, but they've got a bigger number of Reapers hitting them; worse, there's another Command-subtype Reaper leading the invasion of Lucavos.
"The Protoss are being hit by some nasty stuff, too, but their casualties haven't been as high as expected; they're adept at drone warfare and medi-vac via emergency teleportation. All the same, they need relief soon; there aren't that many Protoss left even without this whole debacle. Valerian Mengsk is mobilizing his Dominion's fleets now to try and help. Cybertron's putting up a fight, too; it helps that their people are immune to Reaper-hacking and can't be made into Husks, and they've got a whole lot of heavy defenses set up. But the Reapers are pushing them pretty hard. Thankfully they seem to be ignoring the Earth of that realm."
"And the Sangheili?"
"There's some hopeful news, for a change. It turns out that Sangheili ships are big enough, durable enough, with the right strength & type of energy shields and the right type of weapons that they're giving the Reapers a hell of a lot of trouble; their shields can handle Reaper weapons, and their plasma torpedoes and particle beams are making quite a few dead Reapers. Reports say that as of now, not a single Reaper has yet made planet-fall on Sanghelios; they can't get past the Sangheili fleets. The Sangheili ships are taking pretty big chunks out of the Reapers' numbers, and though they've lost some ships it's not very many, and it's mostly the smaller ones. …Damn shame there aren't anywhere near enough Sangheili ships to win us the whole war; those things are Reaper-killers, but there just aren't even close to enough of them to take on the entire Reaper Armada. If they can at least beat back the force of Reapers attacking their world and seal the hole they came in through, they'll be an invaluable asset. And speaking of help from that realm, the UNSC's MACs and nukes should be good for taking Reapers out, too, even though their navy hasn't yet recovered 100% from the Covenant War."
"Here's hoping…"
"We've received reports that all other member-states of the DDF are mobilizing as well, getting soldiers & ships ready to go. Things look dark, Shepard, but not pitch-black just yet. I'll be in touch soon, Commander. Hackett out."
"Commander…" Liara spoke softly. "EDI is extracting data from the Cerberus machine. We'll have details to present to the Council by the time we reach the Citadel."
"And Ashley?"
"We've done what we can for her. She needs proper medical attention soon. …The Admiral's right. It's going to get worse, isn't it?"
"Yeah…"
"I've looked at the data. This weapon could be the answer… if we can build it. I get the sense you don't quite believe it, though."
Shepard leaned against the holographic mission-briefing table.
"You didn't see what they did to Earth" he said. "How is one weapon supposed to stop them?"
"What other options are there? You know we can't win this conventionally. …Isn't it worth trying, at least?"
"I'm gonna go check on Williams… Make sure we're ready to present our findings to the Council."
"I'm sure they'll see the need to help."
"It'll be a hell of a short war if they don't."
-SCENE BREAK-
Equestria – Canterlot Castle
Celestia looked out the balcony window at the two Reaper Destroyers attacking Canterlot, being fired at by multiple heavy defenses. Down in the streets below, soldiers of human and pony did battle against Husks made from the same; pegasus-husks flew through the air, and unicorn-husks fired bolts of electricity from their reshaped and mutated horns, while human- and earth pony-husks simply rushed at their targets and tried to beat them to death. The city's defenders were holding, but for how much longer? She winced as she saw a UNSC corvette plummeting from the sky in flames.
"Princess…" a voice spoke up behind her, soft and worried. "What do we do?"
The alicorn turned around to see the six Harmony-Element bearers and the other members of their 'inner circle'; they'd been here visiting the castle when the invasion hit. Thankfully, the Reapers hadn't yet paid much attention to sleepy little Ponyville, just a few minor Husk forces that were easily repulsed by the defending garrison. But who knew how long that would last…
"I… honestly don't know, Twilight" she replied. "Equestria has never been through anything like… this. I think all we can do is fight back as best we can, and hope the Dimensional Defense Force can send some heavy firepower to chase the Reapers off our world and seal the rift they've torn open. If not… I just don't know."
"Really, now? The great 'Princess Celestia' at a loss for ideas? Well, that's a first."
Everypony present gasped as they heard the familiar voice. Sure enough, a whirl of space and color signified the arrival of an entity who looked like a mishmash of various creatures.
"Hello again~!" Discord said in a jolly tone.
"Discord?-!" Twilight and the others took position, ready to fight. "What are you doing here?-! How are you free?"
"Oh come now, Twilight. All this chaos, the emotions running rampant around here… it weakened my seal enough for me to break free again."
"And now you plan to help the invaders sow chaos, am I correct?" Celestia scowled.
"What? Oh goodness, no! You see, these 'Reapers' actually seek to wipe out organic sapient life here. And without that life, there's no chaos, no change! They seek to eliminate the very thing I stand for! So of course I'm going to help you people fight them; I have as much at stake here as you do!"
Everypony was shocked. "Really?" Twilight asked.
"Yes. Despite their chaotic methods, these beings seek absolute order – silent, ever-unchanging stillness, achieved via 'imposing order on the chaos of organic evolution'. And I just can't have that happen, now can I? Not only would it be horrendously boring, but they'll almost certainly come after me whether or not I side with you or even with them. And I can't beat them alone; they're immune to most of my particular brand of magic, and they're big enough and durable enough that raw offensive spells will take an amount of time & effort that's just not worth cost-efficient for fighting the whole invasion force. I'll help you all in this little war, and after that… well, I'll think of something; I never really plan very far ahead – y'know, embodiment of chaos and all that."
Celestia and the Bearers looked to each other; they were a bit unsure about this, especially with the mess Discord made recently, but at the same time it seemed like he had as much at stake here as them, if not more, and he actually seemed sincere. Celestia nodded, and then turned to Discord.
"I've received reports of refugees stuck behind enemy lines, out near Baltimare. Can you get them out alive?"
"Right away, Celly!" Discord saluted, and then vanished in a teleport.
"I hate it when he calls me that…" she grumbled.
-CHAPTER END-
Next Time: arriving at the Citadel