Avernus Station
Deck Six
There was no resistance, only widespread emptiness. Deceptively passive. Orsinae knew every imprint she made on the floor sent a signal to the silent watchers. If her physical state was being examined, there was nothing to show. Asari huntresses were taught to modulate their bodies and maintain calm in whatever situation they faced. The passage she and her squad were moving in did not correspond to the schematics sent back by the geth probes. It was doubtful the probes would make mistakes. Either the probes were meddled with, their signal intercepted and substituted or their environment was changing every minute. There was one way to find out.
When they reached an intersection, she beckoned her second, Raenar, to her. She muttered in the asari battle language every commando knew. Raenar nodded and fell back to her position as they continued to proceed through the corridors. Osinae kept to the pattern; straight, turn left, left, right, left, then move straight again. She called another halt and consulted the map, looking back at the area they left behind.
"This way," she said, choosing a passage that should lead them back to the intersection.
No one in the squad raised a question. Within half an hour they were right back at the three-way point or what should have been the intersection. Under the guise of checking the map again, Osinae waited while Raenar examined the wall. She felt no triumph when Raenar flicked her a tiny signal; the mark she had secretly left behind was not there. Just as she suspected, the surroundings around them was not static, it was changing. She did not question Raenar, veteran of many battles, she would not make a mistake. Under such circumstances, it was too dangerous to continue on. For all she knew, they were wandering around in circles for the last hour or possibly circling within an area without realising it.
To be ensnared in an ever shifting front line sent her skin crawling. The closest she had ever encountered such a predicament was an assault against a nest of batarian smuggler slavers preying on a colony several decades ago. They had cleverly made a defensive maze to confuse and trap any intruders. It took a day before her teams made it through. The current situation however was worst, their adversary was tracking their movement and adapting every second. The only advantage they had was they did not move in that deep on that level. They were on deck six for about an hour. If the environs were already shifting the moment they entered the first set of corridors, they should still be close to the entry point. Heading back for the perimeter was more ideal, she decided. Whatever was being done with the internal layout, the outer hull would not be affected.
"We're making for the EP (exit point)," she said to her squad. "Let's go."
Deck Six, Adjunct Corridor
The going was slow. Slower than Miranda liked but the confines of the passage forced a measured pace since it only allowed a single body to pass through. Such constriction was at odds with what she knew of escape routes laid down in Cerberus bases. There was no equipment or supply lockers along the escape route. There was no alternate pathways. The passage she found was a continuous snake with hundreds of fine light veins that seemed to pulse. She felt as if she was walking through a living thing. She had no idea if the passage was going to lead them to the central core. A problem on top of other problems.
Comm was down, deck schematics appeared different, refusing to coalesce into a solid layout. The situation was not optimum. She was a hundred percent certain Shepard and the other teams were in trouble or heading towards it. They all knew what they would get into. If only the passage were leading in the direction she was hoping it would but there was yet any sign of an entry point to deck seven. The geth, Maxtine, taking point, stopped.
"What is it?" she said.
"We're detecting increasing heat signature from groups of ramparts twenty metres away. Sit team is parallel to our current position and will encounter the first group if they continue to follow their present path."
"Ramparts?! The probes did not find-," began Miranda before cutting herself off with a soft curse when she remembered the inconsistent data. "Is Sit aware of the current development?"
"They are holding on to their present heading towards Orb's last confirmed position."
Meaning the salarians did not detect the droid activity. If the ramparts outflanked them, they're trapped.
"How far away are they?"
"Ten metres."
"Vord and I are going to backtrack to XP2 (exit point) and pull Sit out if they cannot retreat in time. Maxtine, you and Pisor continue ahead for another thirty minutes. If you cannot find the EP (entry point) to the upper level, regroup with us." Miranda turned to find Vord already striding back down the passage and followed quickly.
Deck Six, Second Ante-Chamber
Garrus tried not to pace, tried not to bark at the tech working on the door controls. They should have been in the core chamber twenty minutes ago but someone saw fit to put three security doors in their way. He glared at the third door, feeling it an affront. Comm was down. He felt it in his spines that Shepard was in trouble. Someone wanted to delay help from reaching her. The door was mocking their every effort to break past it.
Ignoring the rest of the squad deployed around the room, he paced back to the cryo units and contemplated once more over the bodies of the men and women in them. The harduits they wore, the unit patches, reminded him of another human who wore such an outfit; Corporal Toombs. The man had accused Cerberus of kidnapping the survivors of his unit, Shepard's old unit years ago, and experimented on them. Were these people part of that unit?
Shepard is not going to be pleased if she sees this. She's not expecting to see the ghosts of the past. Not so far back.
Which begged the question; what did she find on her side? There had to be something, he was sure of that. He turned at the sound of an opening hatch. Finally! Motioning to the squad, he stepped in cautiously, eyeing the strange shining veins on the floor dubiously. The chamber was much larger than he expected. Several crystal beams gleamed high overhead. Were they lights or something else? He toggled his comm. Still nothing. He came up against a pillar and examined it briefly. What was it? An alien tree? Or just specialised power conduits? More strange scripts. What was that pulsing? A heartbeat? He imagined an alien tree growth from deck seven up.
"Sir," one of his sentries whispered and pointed ahead when he looked in his direction.
His eyes widened. "I knew it," he muttered when he saw the swarm of small oculus surrounding an asari and the geth, huddled behind a pillar in the distance. Where was Shepard and the other asari? Were they off on some task or separated? He tried his comm again. His heart leaped when Hiaras answered his call with relief.
"Miona's overtaken by Cerberus, she's fighting Shepard somewhere," was her answer to his query. "I can't see them from where we are."
Spirits! He cast a searching look around. No sign of them nor was there any sound of battle. "We can see you. We're going to lay down a barrage and pull that swarm over. See if you can locate Shepard once you're clear."
"Wait. There's another group guarding the other entrance. They may outflank you if they join in," Hiaras warned.
"We'll watch for them. Just find Shepard." Garrus nodded to his squad, gesturing them to their positions before picking his own spot. Bringing up his own rifle to bear, he squeezed the trigger.
Deck Fourteen, Inner Sanctum
Shepard put every ounce of her strength into the wallop she meted out despite the pain she was feeling. She watched with some satisfaction when Lance went flying. What he was wearing was not on par with her augmented hardsuit. His helmet would absorb some of the impact but his head should be rattling like a pea in a pod.
He met the floor with a heavy thunk and lay there motionless, no doubt stunned. While he collected his wits, she examined the room. Other than the plasglass window taking up half the wall, there was nothing else. The ceiling was high above but it did not match the height of the core chamber. Her eyes swept round again, coming to a halt when she spotted the control panel of a hatch. Was that the hatch to an escape pod or the exit? Miona was still frozen in her spot.
With an eye on Lance who was still out for the count, Shepard made her way over to the asari, wincing at the pain all over her body. Her arms were trembling from the buffeting she received. The constriction in her chest was subsiding. She waved a hand over the asari's eyes. With that total blue glaze across the entire orb and the semi-translucent helmet visor, it was hard to make out whether the pupils were dilating, whether Miona was subconsciously aware.
A groan drew her attention over to Lance who fumbled to a sitting position, hands to his head. He muttered an imprecation and unhooked his helmet before tossing it aside with disgust. A tiny movement, more sensed than heard, drew her attention back to Miona. Her heart leaped when she saw a tiny flicker in the asari's eyes. Was she attempting to break loose?
"Saer-elis," she whispered, peering into the visor, hoping Miona could hear her.
Rubbing the back of his head to ease the ache and the swimming sensation, Lance said coldly, "Turned totally native have you?" He couldn't understand what she said but guessed it was asari.
She looked at him. Other than the few specks of grey in his hair, the faint grooves around his eyes, he looked almost the same as the day she met him. Except that then, his grey eyes was clear. Now, they held flickers of smoldering emotions she couldn't even begin to guess at and in no mood to bother with.
"Let's cut to the chase," she said crisply. "What do you want?"
Pushing himself to his feet, he said as he approached her slowly. "Manners, April. After so many years, the least you can do is face me," he gestured to his bare head. "I'm all here."
She noted with some surprise that she was slightly taller than him before recalling the enhancements she was given when she was accepted into the Systems Alliance. She frowned as she considered his words. "Do you take me for a fool?" she said. "This station is one giant hot lab and you want me to open myself to infection? For that matter, are you the real Lance?"
A shadow crossed his face. "All this while," he shook his head, "I thought you'd know me best."
"What I've seen tells a different story."
"I did not create the beginning but I carried on the work because I-," he thumbed his chest in emphasis, "see the possibilities. Everything that was done here, is done with one specific goal. I don't have to spell it out for you, do I?"
"Human ascendancy? Human-supremacists?" she said. "Is that what you think people back home wants?"
"Just because not everyone openly supports it, doesn't mean they don't desire it. Deep down, who wants to be bottom of the pile? Who wants to be shunted aside, digging for scraps because someone else happens to be first? Those who profess they don't want it, they're pretending, hiding. Hypocrites."
"That is a subjective perception, a erroneous judgment," she returned, a feeling of dejavu coming over her. Didn't they have the same sort of conversation years ago? Well almost. She was more of a sounding board than a participant in a discussion oft dominated by him. "How long do you think standing at the top is going to last?"
"Longer than the asari. With humans in control, there wouldn't be any of the mistakes we saw in the war. We would have triumphed easily."
"No one is infallible. A humanocentrism galaxy cannot hold out against the Reapers. The Protheans thought the same way as you did. They fell because they made everyone marched to their tune. When their leadership fell, the rest never knew what to do. The key to survival is the unique distinctiveness each brings to the whole. It's the key to evolution, development and strength."
"We are different," he said confidently. "You are the first of us to show the galaxy that humans are superior. The first step to that acknowledgement was your rise to Spectre. There should have been more. But like all others lacking foresight, the aliens were more interested in protecting their miserable patches than listening and respecting the very person they appointed to be the vanguard against galactic threats. Why raised you so high when they didn't want to listen to you?" He paused to see if she had anything to say but she remained silent.
"You had to go rogue to stop the invasion. Our people had to make sacrifices to protect them. Yet for all their thanks and praises, did they really understand what was at stake? They've never really believed nor supported you or you would not have gone out there alone where the Collectors had the chance to kill you. When you were lost, how much tears did they shed? How much effort did they make to look for you? In the end, you're nothing to them, just a convenient tool in their political games."
There were half a dozen things she could say to his rhetoric. What he was sprouting wasn't anything new to her, they were some of the stuff she tormented herself with in those dark days while hunting down the Collectors. Issues she gradually come to terms with over the years. However, she wasn't there to enter a roundabout debate with him but to find out what he was after so she crossed her arms and cocked her head, making it plain she wasn't about to engage in any discussion. His face turned darker.
"Tell me you did not feel betrayed by the very people who swore to protect humanity, protect their own. Semper fi!" He saluted mockingly. "Never surrender your dead, your wounded, your weapons. How much time and effort did the precious Systems Alliance spare to search for you? How did they treat you after you went out there to save the colonies and took down the Collectors? Did they thank you? They put you on trial! They were ready to make an example of you!"
He stabbed at the air several times with angry emphasis and began to pace, hands arched into claws. She frowned as she watched him.
"Your own people didn't believe a single thing you said until the Reapers planted their claws on Earth. Humanity made the wrong choice to trust in the Alliance. They're nothing but a brown noser to a group of outsiders. If humanity had chosen not to follow their leaders, you would not have been abandoned. Humanity, led by those with the right determination, would have stood with you, fought the Reapers and won."
"If you were so keen to support me, stand with me, where were you when the Collectors destroyed my ship and left me for dead? Should I remind you that I was found, not by Cerberus, not by Terra Firma, not by you but by an alien that you so despised."
"She was lucky but what could she do with you?" His lips twisted as if a dark memory came to mind. Did he see her ruined body, Shepard wondered. "In the end, she had to leave you with Cerberus. Your salvation."
"All that stuff you're saying?" She ignored the icy look he gave her. "That's what life throws at you. That's what people are but that doesn't mean they won't change for the better. Whatever happened in the past, it's water under the bridge. I know what I am. What I will always do."
"Stubborn. As always." He shrugged. "Humanity's future must not be left to the whims of outsiders. We can be far better than what we are now. We will never be able to achieve what we are capable of with alien dominion over our sovereignty, our rights when we have to abide by their laws. We need to stand together and dictate our own destiny." He stopped to stare at her. "I thought Cerberus was the beacon lighting the way but the Illusive Man's ambitions and fears became their undoing."
"So you killed off everyone on the station?"
He laughed as if he found her question amusing. "Is that what you think I've turned into? A murderer? You wound me." He clapped his hands to his chest as if he suffered an injury. "The murder knife belonged to the Illusive Man. Top to bottom, hardly any one was not touched by Reaper corruption. They killed themselves, not I. Cerberus is dead because they followed the wrong man."
The ring of distaste in his voice almost convinced her he was telling the truth, but then, he could be dissembling. "Did you subvert the original directive of the attack on Earth?"
"I did. The pitiful remnants of the Cerberus leadership intended to invade and remove the Alliance but they, they were rotten up here," he gestured at his head. "All they would gain is the destruction of our homeworld. How can I let that happen when our goals are yet to be realised?" He paused for a moment, regarding her intently. "I think you know by now my people are leaving."
"Yes." She didn't bother to ask where, it was unlikely he would tell her. "You took the Asterian protoype grain."
"Every advantage to survival, we will gather. Why should we not? We are heading towards the unknown. You'll be interested to know the last military elements of Cerberus was also destroyed in that battle." He sensed her skepticism though she said nothing. "It doesn't matter whether you believe me or not. One day, we will return. We will show you, the people back home, what they would have achieved if they believed in us, followed us."
"If they're leaving, your being here only means one thing. You set in motion a comprehensive plan to get me here. Tell me, what would you do if I didn't show up?"
He smiled. "Only a fool relies on a single plan."
Meaning what? That he still had agents back on Earth to carry out a secondary plan if she didn't appear? "What do you want."
"You owe us."
Here it comes. "What do I owe?"
"If Cerberus had not chosen to take a stance, you will not be here today."
"True," she conceded the point, "but it was the Illusive Man I owe the debt to. It was his decision to bring me back so what do I owe you and Terra Firma?"
"You don't owe me or Terra Firma anything but to the future of humanity."
"You're exacting payment on-," she hesitated, reluctant to lay any claim to the duplicates. "The clones?"
"The clones served a purpose," he said with a note of regret. "Believe what you will, not every one who was tested on was unwilling."
On the latter, she believed him. Zealots were always too willing to make sacrifices but she didn't think he was all that broken up about the clones or those test subjects in the laboratories. While she would like to give him the thrashing of his life, she had to find out why he went through such lengths to maneuver her here.
"What exactly were you trying achieve?"
"Humanity can be better. We must be stronger, united to build our future, keep out interlopers to maintain the purity of our race. We are disadvantaged by our flaws. Flaws that must be overcome. There is still a long way to go and there are still many questions to which we have no answers. But you are the key to one."
"Which is?"
"Don't be coy, April," he said reprovingly. "You know what it is. Your long time friend and colleague, Dr Chakwas, has detailed files on you. Why would she keep you in the dark?"
"Other than giving me a clean bill of health, telling me to sleep more and meeting up for drinks, no, she didn't really tell me anything," she said flippantly. "What would you know about the files she kept unless you are the one behind the attempt to hack into her computer and-," she lowered her voice in accusation, "the attempt to kidnap my bondmate."
"Bondmate," he said contemptuously. "You-," he cut himself off abruptly. "I will admit to hiring a party to get the files but I've nothing to do with the kidnap attempt. That party have their own agenda. I only want the files as they are hard evidence to what I already suspect."
Shepard held out her hands in query, slightly relieved that the kidnap attempt wasn't his doing, "Then why don't you tell me what you think I'm the answer to."
"Prolonging the life span of a human, April, and more."
She stared at him and forced herself to laugh incredulously. I'm so dead on the money. Miranda, you owe me one.
"You went through so much trouble to-." His wounded and angry stare didn't faze her. She was not going to admit she knew what he was referring to. "What're you talking about?"
"Current gene therapies correct genetic flaws, diseases. The Alliance use it to enhance a soldier's natural abilities to make them stronger, resilient, faster. It extends the normal life span of a human for another few decades. It would take another century perhaps, for another breakthrough to further enhance the capabilities of a human. But then, you came along-," he said with a touch of awe, "you assimilated the implants and cellular fusions you were given. You changed them somehow. You healed faster from injuries that should have killed you, your strength, your pain barrier, your reflexes have all been enhanced beyond the norm."
Was this why Chakwas was so insistent in seeing her? Was it exactly the same thing Miranda had discussed with her? Shepard found the idea she held the key to human longevity hard to swallow.
"How did you arrive at such a conclusion?"
"We have the medical records dating from the time when you were retrieved. The good doctor did not lock your files until a few years ago. Every injury you sustained from the time you were revived up to the time you ended the Reaper invasion was carefully recorded. You suffered external and fatal internal injuries in the final battle. You were bleeding away. They found you, hours later, still breathing. You should already be dead but you weren't. That could only mean the moment you suffer an injury, your body immediately began to revitalize and heal at twice, possibly three times the normal rate. It's also possible your cells are constantly renewing, slowing down the aging process."
"I find that hard to believe," she said skeptically.
"Is it? How do you feel right now?" He nodded towards Miona, still frozen mid-step. "The augmented asari's abilities should have proven more than you can handle. She was one of the groups that were enhanced to kill. You should have been incapacitated. Yet, you withstood her assault and stand there, suffering no lasting effects of her attack."
What he said was true, she realised. The tiredness, the weakness and pain she was feeling from sustaining so many biotic blows from Miona had vanished though she felt somewhat hungry and thirsty. But was he right? Her attention jerked back to him when he spoke up.
"I'm asking for your help. We tried to duplicate the rejuvenation process in order to study the changes but we failed."
"You tried to repeat the Lazarus Project on the clones," she said flatly.
"Yes. It didn't work," he sighed. "The clones were not supposed to be part of the equation," he said unhappily, "but when every other subject failed, it was decided there has to be something unique in your genetic structure so the clones were created in an attempt to find the answer. April-," he stepped nearer, peering at her as if hoping to see her eyes, "you can help us move on to the next step."
"Aren't you presuming too much?"
"If I thought there's even a chance." His hand came up as if to touch her but he let it dropped. "I would ask you to come with us but I know you've been...you will not so I'm asking for a biological sample."
Shepard stepped away from him. "Terra Firma's ambitions and ideals will become a crushing juggernaut. I want no part in its foundation."
"April, please."
Ignoring his plea, she moved over to the asari, letting her hand hovered near her pistol since Lance would definitely not like what she was going to say. "This discussion is ended. Let her go and we'll leave. You're free to go wherever you will."
He gave her an inscrutable look. "I'm sorry April."
She reached for her pistol but was a fraction of a second too slow. A bright arc leaped up from the floor and struck her. Her entire body stiffened as her muscles clamped up in response to the burning pain. It flashed across her mind that it was no normal electrical current coursing through her when it could reach through the protective layers of the hardsuit.
Then all thought vanished when every nerve seemed to catch fire. The agony that enveloped her was so excruciating she could not release the scream that swelled in her throat. Her vision hazed. Dimly she felt herself fall to the floor. Something moved over her, straddling her torso. Hands fumbled at her neck, unsealing the helmet. Lance. She tried to move her hands, to stop him but found her limbs weak from the shock. Then it was too late. A breath of cool air brushed her face.
Lance stared down at her. Even with her brows furrowed deep in her effort to stay conscious, he could see the blue glimmers of her eyes as she blinked blearily. None of the clones had opened their eyes. Awareness was not necessary in the testing process. He was grateful for that for he would never be able to face them but now with her right in front of him, he had no desire to see her judgement of him. Better to get what he wanted quickly.
He reached for the tissue extractor at his belt and bent to insert it into her nape. Sensing what he was about to do, she made an effort, trying to will strength into her arms. Come on. Faintly, among the buzz at the back of her head, familiar voices echoed. Her right hand curled.
"Get off me," she growled angrily, blinking rapidly as her vision began to clear, and threw a wild punch. Her fist connected with the extractor.
"Damn it, April," he cursed when it flew out of his hand, grabbed the collar of her hardsuit and shook her. "Do you know the lives of your allies are hanging in the balance? I was prepared to be magnanimous, give your precious Alliance a fighting chance to face what's coming. I was going let you go, live out your life with that alien bitch."
"We didn't come in blind." The shaking was not helping the swimming in her head so she grabbed his wrists and tried to pull them away. Damn it, still weak.
He slammed her down hard. The back of her head hit the deck. She nearly blacked out, losing her grip on his wrists. Turning towards the ceiling, he rapped out something before regarding her grimly. "Then they'll get what they expected. I'll just have to take what I need."
Going to need some help, damn it. She thought desperately when the deck beneath her trembled. Whatever it was he set in motion, she definitely had to get herself and everyone else off the station fast. A slight tingle swept over her, as if nerves were awakening. Her eyes snapped wide open. She grabbed his forearms, her legs twitched and began to move as she sought purchase to throw him off. He let go off of the collar and resisted her push.
"You won't be able to get back." His eyes widened in disbelief when she began to exert more pressure on his arms to force him off.
"Not when I'm still breathing," she bit out each word furiously, her blue eyes locked in a battle of will with his.
His brows furrowed. "Don't make me do what I don't want to," he said through clenched teeth as he tried to pry her fingers off his left arm.
She let go and struck him in the chest with both fists, rocking him backwards. With sudden abruptness, he flew across the room. She watched open-mouthed as he struck the plasglass window and fell to the floor in a heap. Where did that biotic blast come from?
"Shepard." Miona bent over her. "Are you all right?"
"You broke free," Shepard said in relief before falling back in pain when lightning arc through the air, striking them both. Miona staggered and nearly fell. "Shoot the floor," she rasped as she reached for her pistol, fighting the reeling darkness threatening to overwhelm her, and fired into the floor. She cursed when her hand shook uncontrollably. Her shots skittered and went wide, nearly hitting the plasglass on the far side. While she was certain the window was impervious to projectiles, she didn't want to be proven wrong. Grabbing hold of her shaking hand with her other hand, she tried to place her shots.
Snarling in defiance at the agonizing fire racing through her, Miona reached for her rifle and added several shots with Shepard's into the floor around them. The shiny tiles blew apart, revealing more of the strange veins that covered the core room.
Without hesitation, Shepard fired into them and curled to cover her head when the veins exploded, releasing some sort of liquid into the air. When no more lightning arcs appeared, she reached for her helmet, fastened it and tried to stand. Her feet slipped out under her. She would have fallen except that Miona caught her, pulling one of her arms over her shoulders.
"Thanks," she coughed. Her throat felt so dry. "We have to get out of here."
"What about him?" Miona looked back at the man moving feebly at the window. If Shepard did not need aid, she would finish him off there and then.
"Leave him. Killing him may provoke whatever entity is controlling the station. We have to get out fast." Shepard nodded towards the hatch. "That could be the entrance."
Miona headed towards the hatch, keeping a firm grip on the human for she could feel her shaking. "You don't know?"
"I was kind of busy to take note of where I was going."
"Fending me off," Miona returned half guiltily. "Are you really all right?" she asked anxiously when Shepard's feet gave out again.
"I'm okay, just a little weak. How much did you hear?"
"Almost everything."
Shepard looked back. "Do you see the tissue extractor?"
Miona went to look. "Yes." Raising her rifle, she shot it to pieces before returning to the hatch. "Locked." She propped Shepard against the wall and set her omni-tool to hack the controls.
Taking out her rifle, Shepard hoped she was not too shaky to aim it, her hands were still trembling like she had a bout of bad fever. "There's a little situation in the core room when we left."
"How little is little?" Miona began to ask when the hatch snapped aside, letting in a blast of the fire storm brewing in the core room. "Oh.."
Shepard took a look. She could just make out Hiaras and Cy dashing pillar to pillar to dodge several occulus. The sound of gunfire in the distance had to be Garrus and his squad.
"Yeah, just the party we left behind." She regarded the floor uneasily. If the conduits in the core room were the same as the inner sanctum, the others would not be able to withstand a strike. Miona didn't seem affected but that could be due to her augmented abilities but she herself would not be able to take another dose.
"We're going to have to break the conduits on the floor, everyone getting knocked out by that weird lightning isn't going to help."
Miona nodded. "Ready."
Taking a deep breath and willing her legs to stand firm, Shepard lifted her rifle and stepped into the core chamber.