DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN MASS EFFECT ONLY MY SELF AND THE PLOT OF THIS FIC...I AM BROKE PEOPLE!
A/n: Sorry for the much long wait so many things happened at the end of the year so many things….well that and a very bad case of bronchitis yet again! Thank you neighbor for blowing barbecue smoke into my house! Anyhow thank you so much for your patience it is much appreciated and to you my awesome beta for being patient with me despite the computer problems * ahem * (e-mail, e-mail). So as always to my lovely audience please leave a review after reading this and no FLAMES, BASHINGS OR LORE MONGERS PLEASE!
Mass Effect The Immortal Series pt 1: Flight of the Normandy
Chapter 9: Getting some Answers
Alenkov stormed through the hallways of the ship, avoiding rocks and debris. The other crew members quickly moved out of her way, not even asking after seeing the look on her face. The Russian woman made her way up a shaft towards where the communications array was set up. The person in charged noticed her appearance and turned towards her.
"Get me a line to the United Nations Science division now!" Alenkov ordered.
The man behind the terminal became rigid as he got to work, immediately typing in some numbers. Alenkov waited till the phone started ringing. She tapped into her bluetooth that she carries on her ear at all times.
It was almost five minutes of ringing before someone answered.
"This is the United Nations science division Hayden speaking," the voice on the other end said.
"Hayden this is Dr. Elena Alenkov of the Challenger Deep Station. I need to speak with you, this is a matter of much urgency," she said.
There was a pause and then the man was back online.
"What can I do for you Dr. Alenkov?" he said
"It has come to my attention that there has been a breach of security aboard this research station. We had discovered that someone has been stealing valuable data from our computer terminals using government issue bugs, and have been smuggling humans aboard this ship to be burned near the element zero core!" she sounded completely angry now.
Again there was a pause and a sigh. "Are you sure?" Hayden replied, his voice sounding tired.
"Damn it, Hayden! I do have proof, this is no joke and...why the fuck are you sounding bored?" Alenkov demanded.
"Dr. Alenkov, do you know how many people come to my office with their crap? I take care of things you will not understand on a daily basis. Bethune should know, why didn't you call her directly?" Hayden asked.
"That's because Bethune, as I recall, is out of country at the moment with her family and is not taking calls. That is why you're in charge as acting director until she returns. Besides, as Operations Manager of the Science Division, this is part of your responsibility," Alenkov replied.
"You said you have proof of the breach in security what sort of proof do you have," Hayden replied.
"I am transmitting it now," she said and as soon as she transmitted the photos that Lawoski and his men had taken just before she left.
There was a pause before...
"JESUS CHRIST!" Hayden shouted from the other end.
"My thoughts exactly. While we waited for rescue, the Element Zero Core blew, leaving all of those bodies dead and one of ours as well. She gave her life to ensure that two of my scientists escaped. As soon as the area is cooled, we will retrieve her body to be sent home as soon as help arrives," Alenkov said.
"Holy shit Elena do you realize what this information leads to?" Hayden said on the other end, his voice shocked and full of disbelief.
"Yes, I do: it leads to a breach in every humanitarian law out there. It is also an act of murder. Someone is behind this, Hayden, and I demand a full investigation as to how those people got on board this vessel and where they came from," Alenkov said, her voice tense with anger.
"I will see what I can do on my end in notifying the board. In the meantime, I also grant you full permission to conduct a full investigation on your end to find further security breaches. I will notify the board and Dr. Bethune immediately." At this, the connection was cut.
Alenkov allowed herself to relax, her anger dissipating as she sighed. Turning back from the communications board, she then proceeded out of the communications room and down towards the main Mess Hall. Since it was the only area large enough for them to meet, it was a good enough place as any to relax.
When she got there, the entire heads of staff were waiting, along with the security crew who went to the core. They were sitting around the tables with worried looks on their faces. The room was electrified with apprehension and worry as many folks wanted to know what is going on. The muttering stopped immediately when Dr. Alenkov entered the room. The silence was deafening.
"What did they say?" asked a Japanese woman named Dr. Inoue. She was taking over for Dr. Kimber while Kimber was in the medical bay.
Alenkov moved towards the front of the mess where she could see her heads of staff. Her back was rigid and stiff and her posture one of a soldier walking towards the executioner's block. She was not happy at this conclusion and dreaded bringing bad news to the entire crew. But as leader of this expedition, she had to take full responsibility to the people onboard this vessel. Slowly taking a breath, she gave the dark news.
"Today is a tragic day. As you all know, Dr. Kimber had gone into the Element Zero Core to take samples of the heated concentrations of Element Zero, and to test the temperature of the core. She and Dr. Jackson were attacked by unknown persons who were driven insane by the massive amounts of element zero. Martha Kahalewai gave her life to save both doctors from death. Until we have a complete confirmation that she is truly dead, I want a full out search party to search the core when the temperature in the core is safe enough. In the meantime, Dr. Amari and Dr. Shenoy of the medical ward will conduct autopsies of the bodies to find out the cause of the insanity, and to find out who they are and where they came from. I want to know who sent them and why they are here." When she was done the medical staff stood up to go do their task.
"Major Lawoski you and your men will search the core; find Martha's body and bring it back here. If they are any more of those things in the core you have my permission to shoot them," she said, her Russian accent coming out fully as she choked with emotion. Lawoski stood up and gave a salute before he and his men departed for the core.
"Dr. Inoue, I want you and your team to continue the search for the rest of the bugs. Martha managed to find pretty much all of them, but if my information is correct, there is still the master transceiver that is still out there, find it and report back to me."
Dr. Inoue stood up and began to make her way out, "And one more thing," and at this Inoue turned, "I want you to check all surveillance footage coming and going from when the submersibles are docked to our ship. Find out if there are any changes in the cargo or the crew got it?" Inoue bowed and left the room, her footsteps crisp against the rocky ground.
She turned towards the others, "I want you all to pray and hope that we find something of use. If any of you have any information that we can use, now is the time to remember and bring it up. In the meantime, I will be in my office monitoring everything with Dr. Zenger. If you have any issues you would like to bring up, take it up with him. I will await word from the mainland. For now, we must fend for ourselves and hope that our comrade down in the element zero chamber is still alive."
She took a deep breath before continuing, "Dr. Kimber and Dr. Jackson have been hurt by these bastards and Martha has gone missing. I have no intention of letting those Lokhiwin. Is that understood!" she said and a chorus of 'Hell Yeah's!' could be heard around the room.
Everyone departed, hoping to find out more of what happened in the Element Zero Core. The air was filled with static as they raced away, hoping to get a chance to deal with the one who started this mess.
MEANWHILE
OCEAN ODYSSEY 1200 MILES FROM THE CHALLENGER DEEP
Mark Cameron was in the mess hall along with the other hostages. The binds that tied them up were twist ties used for electrical wiring, though Mark noted to himself that he personally would've gone with zip ties. The metal in these ties, however, made sure they couldn't be just pulled or cut with simply anything. They were being kept in a crowded room under heavy guard. There were at least six guards with automatic rifles; enough to cut anyone down. Several guards roamed the hallways and there were more on the deck. He concluded that there were at least fifty pirates on this ship. From the direction they were traveling, they were heading north, but to where, he had no idea.
He turned to the side, seeing one of his cohorts sitting still and rocking in a pool of their own urine. Madaline De-longpre, a French woman from Northern France, was scared witless. Her dark hair and narrow face was shallow with bags running under her eyes. She was just as exhausted as they were and with the smell of urine and feces in the air. Cameron concluded that things were not going so well for the rest of the crew.
He turned to the other side where one of the submarine operators was currently sitting. Enrique was watching the men who kidnapped them with intense interest. Years of combat filming had trained Cameron to know the signs of someone looking for a way out of this mess. And the cameraman hoped that Enrique has some sort of plan and soon.
MEANWHILE
On the main deck, Tun-Yin sat on the stern with his two trusted officers. The captain was already locked in his cabin along with the rest of his officers and under constant watch. They were on schedule, the plan was to deliver any artifacts and data to his buyer in the Philippines and then sell the ship and crew off to other countries who could profit from such useful tech. He was well-prepared for any counter attack from the United Nations and its allies. He had worked too long for this, and the materials on this ship was worth billions to those who wish to buy it.
For too long, the combined efforts of the United Nations and the Space Foundations such as NASA and the Russian Federal Space Agency have taken the technology from the alien vessel without sharing the knowledge with other, less-fortunate countries. They were currently making billions off of the research found there. The technology has revolutionized those countries by leaps and bounds. Even global ocean research programs have found money to study the sea life at the bottom of the ocean. In fact, the submarines on this ship were the deepest diving manned subs available. Better suited for someone like him, who can make a fortune with a submarine that can go to the deepest part of the ocean and not feel the pressure. The things he could do and the attacks he could conduct on unsuspecting submarines were what had him itching to try them out.
That is, if his superiors allowed him to keep such vessels.
He looked down at his weather radar - a mass of swirling clouds became known on screen.
Looks like a storm is coming, he thought to himself.
Going over his walkie, he gave orders for the men to prepare for a possible storm, and the helmsman to alter course slightly to take them around the typhoon. They could not afford to lose this ship. His leaders would be very cross with him if he had this ship sunk before delivery.
UNITED STATES NORTH PACIFIC FLEET
The naval ship U.S.S. Alaska was currently en route to intercept the Ocean Odyssey. The ship was of high value to the United States and its allies and they could not afford to lose it. The hostages onboard were of biggest concern to the Alaska and her crew.
They were briefed on how the ship was hijacked and were well-aware of which pirate group has stolen it. This group is considered the most dangerous because most of them are ex-guerrilla fighters and special forces from various countries. They are also masters of naval warfare, being as they had been on the high seas for years, scouring the equatorial ocean for any victims that would be too weak to fight back. Several of them even bragged about hijacking a cruise ship or two, terrorizing the passengers and making off with their valuables. They were even known to kill their victims with military precision.
And that was what made this mission dangerous for the crew of the Alaska.
Absolute caution should be used to deal with them.
The high-tech equipment onboard the Ocean Odyssey was another concern to the Alaska, as alien technology was also aboard, having yet to be studied. They didn't know what was onboard and how, along with several million dollars worth of deep sea equipment.
"Admiral, satellite has tracked the Odyssey west at 0.09 dash 6.664. It is altering course, sir!" the helmsman said to his admiral.
The Admiral turned towards his companions, "Any reason why, Lieutenant?" he asked.
"Positive readouts suggest typhoon class category three storm heading south towards their path. Ship is attempting to go around the storm sir," the helmsman said to him.
"How far from the Odyssey are we?" the Admiral said.
"We are about 2019.147 km from the Odyssey sir," the helmsman replied.
"Speed?"
"We are at full speed, sir. All engines running full. The Japanese and Chinese fleets are also in pursuit and will be joining us in our attempt to take back the ship, sir," he said.
"Just remind them to be careful, these guys just might destroy the ship and the hostages with them." he reminded the helmsman.
"Aye, aye sir,"
WASHINGTON D.C. U.S.A.
Alexandria Wilcox was not pleased. In fact, she was downright pissed. How could something like this happen? She was not one to emphasize, but she was angry. Someone on her end fucked up, and now she was reeling in the repercussions of her decision. Looking down at the tablet in front of her, she thought things like this should not be made possible, but they were. Now, she had to think of something to cover this up. Looking at the latest reports, she was far from pleased.
Those people in the core were not supposed to be found. If they were, then it would uncover the biggest government cover-up the world has ever seen. That was why she ordered the bodies to be burned in the first place. The one place no one would think about that would destroy them. Cover up the evidence.
The Element Zero Core was supposed to be a place where no one goes because it is so dangerous. The intense heat from the core was enough to incinerate even the most microscopic of evidence. Those people should have been dead, and Alexandria was still reeling from the repercussions. How they survived was beyond her, and all that matters now is that she try and clean up the mess that was left there by idiots. Trying to cover her tracks was another thing that Alexandria was determined to do. Any connection to her had to be eliminated now.
Taking out her cell phone, she walked down the streets of Washington D.C., getting a hold of her contacts. Once she had gotten to the right people, she began to give instructions. The instructions were simple; get rid of any evidence of her involvement with the bodies. She wanted to keep her tracks clean and was willing to do anything to ensure it. They could not afford to have the scientists and the test subjects to go rogue on them now.
KAILUA KONA, HAWAII
Aaron Stene was worried.
More than worried - he was scared.
Already, he had received the email by Dr. Alenkov, Head of the Challenger Deep Project, about the accident involving Martha. He had also heard on the news of what happened to the crew and he prayed that Martha was still alive. Her emails kept him up to date on what is going on onboard the vessel. She and the rest of the crew are starving and nearly without water. Soon the air was going to run out for them as well. The news broadcasts said that the world navies ware going after the culprits responsible. Humanitarian efforts ware underway to help the people down there so they can get fresh food and water.
But the news broadcasts were made after he had gotten the email from Dr. Alenkov.
What he liked about the head of the project was that she was a woman who was not afraid to admit the truth. She was scared herself, and Aaron wanted to help.
So the Doctor had asked him to check any news feeds about what is going on. Keep them informed, since their normal surface contacts are out of the question. Though communications are still open no one is giving them any updates.
Aaron is determined to end it.
He emailed her all the information he has and told her that he would try and help as best he could. He forwarded news feeds, articles, and thanks to a few contacts; information from within the military. That was a start, and even some of his contacts from within the government had passed on information regarding what is going on. He hoped that would also help with the lack of information.
Alenkov told him that once she knows more about Martha's whereabouts, she will contact him immediately. That is all Aaron could hope for. As he sat there in front of his computer going over his emails and contacts list, he opened up a Facebook page for the people onboard the alien vessel with any sort of information on the world. Thousands of people responded to Aaron's call with information and news feeds from around the world. Russia, China, Mongolia, Arabia, Egypt, Mexico, Guatemala, Venezuela, New Zealand, Australia, California, New, York, the list goes on and on. And from Alenkov herself - she has not been able to get anymore information till they can get a team down into the E.Z.C. and attempt a rescue.
Aaron crossed his fingers, hoped for the best and prayed that the good doctor could find Martha soon. His worry had added to his already prematurely-graying hair. But he would do his best to help the people onboard out as best as possible. Hope against hope, he wished to see Martha alive and well again.
But that would take time and he hoped for the best.
CHALLENGER DEEP
Alenkov was busy typing away on her computer, her fingers gliding across the keyboard with practiced precision. The familiar tapping of the keys on her personal computer had enabled her to read the latest information from Aaron. She was not pleased by what she found as she read news articles and satellite feeds. But one thing was for sure: at least she had a way of getting information, thanks to the communications buoys on the surface. When the Ocean Odyssey is not above the trench, the buoys act as a way for the families to get information and stay connected. Social media, thankfully, had also been a help. Aaron's facebook page for the crew of the alien vessel had helped her stay in touch with Russia and her fellows at the U.N. Direct communication is vital and with the generators slowly running out of fuel, things were looking grim. Alenkov quickly sorted through the information, using her training in the Russian Military to help her in her quest.
Aaron's contacts had one main suspect to whom was transporting people to the Alien Vessel for disposal: Alexandria Wilcox. The files he sent her contained evidence that a contact of a contact had sent to him regarding the incident. He was on Aaron's facebook page and asked to send something to him in private. The man's sister was onboard the vessel, or he believed she was onboard the vessel - one of the former scientists. The woman had disappeared some time ago, and Alenkov had yet to identify the bodies. The contact then forwarded the information about her to Aaron, who forwarded it to Alenkov.
Now, when Alenkov read this, she knew she had to investigate. She had Dr. Shenoy looked into the bodies they had so far. And, without a doubt, most of them were quickly identified on their databases. It was something that Alenkov was determined to put to rest and bring the people responsible to justice. It was found that the bodies were in fact people who failed the psychiatric testing for the Challenger Deep station. People who were originally brought onboard to help with the alien technology but, after some time on the ship, were asked to leave because of mental breakdowns. That is why there is a shore leave policy for all Element Zero patients. One month shore leave to rest the brain from the dreams. And then return for another round of working.
They are required to go through psychiatric testing to see if they are sound enough to return. Most weren't, and those that were often given multiple shore leaves to help their brains recover. Each time, it was the same thing, and those that failed were returned to their families with a full payout for their services.
Now, reading this report, it seemed that some of the darker aspects of science wanted to cover their tracks by getting rid of these people. That darker aspect was the politics behind the science of this expedition. Alenkov was more than familiar with politics, seeing it from many perspectives. And now, looking at the medical reports, these people finally went over the edge in the E.Z.C. Something in there drove them to insanity. These people should have been fully recovered and enjoying life with their families or, if they were insane, receive the care that they should have been given at home.
But it seems as if fate had other ideas for them. Alexandria, as much as she is a bitch, she knew how to deceive people. She knew how to work manipulation to her advantage, and when things are turned against her, that is when you see what she truly is capable of. These people are evidence against her and now she was getting rid of all traces of her involvement now that her operation is exposed. Alenkov smiled to herself, knowing that Alexandria's days are numbered, for the Russian woman had the evidence now to have Wilcox arrested for treason against the United Nations and the American Government. That woman had gone too far and not even her connections can save her now.
Alenkov smiled to herself. For there is hope yet. It may be small, but there is still hope.
ELEMENT ZERO CORE
Work crews were working constantly to bring down the door, but the heat has sealed it shut. Ichigo had volunteered, along with Hilary to help with the search party. Being the only one on the team with Element Zero in his blood, Ichigo was working to decode the door. The locks were in place for safety, and he tried to crack it as best he could. It was part of his job onboard this ship. With his face covered in sweat from the heat in his suit and the pressure of opening the door, Ichigo wanted to collapse, but time was not on his side.
Then, suddenly a beeping sound was heard from one of the few holographic controls nearby and the door started to finally open. From the temperature gauges, the room had cooled significantly, allowing them to enter without worry of being boiled alive. They had adorned their hazmat suits, though. Though the heat was gone, the radiation was still present, and the men did not want to take any chances of radiation poisoning. Still, in case more of those creatures were there, they held their guns ready as they walked in.
It was dark and foreboding, with some of the rock melted and crystalized. The coral was gone, leaving further traces of metal and exposing more of the ship. The core was cold - not a single sign of heat left in the core.
It was completely silent, with the only traces of those human bodies being burnt corpses. One of the security officers walked up to a corpse and touched it. The corpse, when touched, crumbled to ash.
"Shit!" said the security officers.
"Fuck!" another said.
"Damn!" said a third.
"Come on people, let's keep moving!" said a fourth. The group then peeled away from the piles of powder on the ground, walking away from what would have to be identified later by the doctors. They kept on walking, taking notes and video of the remains of the E.Z.C.
Major Lawoski walked carefully around the remaining rocks, searching for any signs of Martha. Her last whereabouts were near the core itself. Heading towards the front of the group, he turned towards his men.
"Alright, I want to split into two teams: one looks over there, on the right, the other on the left. The core gave us more maneuvering space, but be careful. If you find anything, let me know, alright?" he said.
An affirmative was heard from among the crew.
"Good, now MOVE OUT!" he called out, voice echoing from the walls, and the group split.
The room was massive! Some parts dropped down into lower depths, while others rose up to where they can't reach without climbing gear. They searched for nearly two hours, trying to find Martha, and hoped she was still alive. All they found were corpses and more charred remains. There was even some strange spiky devices found in the room where people had been impaled on them. However, once touched or the air blew at them, they crumbled along with the devices.
"Have you found anything?" Major Lawoski said into the walkie.
"Nope," said one member.
"Nothing. That is a negative," said another.
"Alright, folks, we need to head out and report back to Alenkov. We searched everywhere and found nothing, so I assume that she was burned like the rest of them," he said with great sadness. The others felt it too as they started to pack up to head out.
They walked past the core, with the glow of the element zero inside it. There was minimum heat coming from it. In fact, the blue glow was all that was left and there was still plenty of it for everyone to see. Major Lawoski was fascinated by it as he looked towards the blue glow. It was when he stopped to look that he heard someone shouting.
"Major!" "Major Lawoski, come quick!" the voice shouted.
The general scramble was all they could see as the security team ran towards the source of the noise.
One of the officers had found a glowing pod of some sort off to the side of the main drive core. It was glowing a faint orange and was the brightest on the upper left side. Lawoski approached it slowly with his gun drawn. Slowly, he tapped it with his barrel and it started to fall apart to reveal human skin.
Naked human skin was exposed to them, along with bits of what could only be plastic and rubber. Upon closer inspection, Major Lawoski knew instantly what it was.
A hazmat suit.
The hazmat suit was melted and fallen off in parts, leaving burnt flesh and bits of bone. The light was coming from the left arm, where there was a familiar alien device stuck to it. It glowed a faint orange, and made its appearance while giving off a faint ringing sound with each flash. The rest of the pod gave way to a very familiar face. Burnt and barely alive, the form no longer had any hair, and the tattered remains of the hazmat suit was all that stood between her and total death. Reaching for his radio, Lawoski quickly radioed Dr. Alenkov.
"Dr. Alenkov. We found her."
TBC
A/n: Whew that took me a while to write considering all that is going on with this chapter. Rewriting it took a bit of time to do and a few movies to watch to get some ideas going. When I first reread this chapter I realized that I left so much out and not much description into the story and why people were acting a certain way. So I had to fix that right away because frankly this was one of the table turners of the story before the big reveal. So anyhow thank you all for reading this far and please leave a review at the end an no FLAMES, BASHINGS, OR LORE MONGERS PLEASE! Thanks.