DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN MASS EFFECT THAT IS THE OWNERSHIP OF BIOWARE.
A/N: Ow man was I overloaded with reviews right when I posted the last chapter. Thanks so much to the reviewer you have made my day. Though I had to admit that trying to respond to your reviews was a challenge with how fast they were posted.
So without further a do I present this lovely chapter. Hope you had fun.
Mass Effect, The Immortal Series: Part 1
Chapter 30: The Monster in The Basement
ADELAIDE, AUSTRALIA
At the Adelaide International Airport sat the greatest discovery known to man. The Normandy was quiet as people walked to and from the ship, all of them documenting and monitoring the ship's basic functions. But most of the ship was remaining silent. The power was mainly turned off except for the lights and the doors. The basic functions of the ship such as the engines were also shut down.
But here, deep within the heart of the ship, it's soul still burned like the fires of the sun.
EDI rested here just behind the medical bay like before. She kept her door shut for any and all who came in here. This place was her chamber and her core resided here. As it was everyone was locked out of the room and many attempts were made to penetrate it. But EDI would never let them in here. Only very few people where allowed here. Those included the commander of this ship and the pilot.
EDI would have smiled to herself if she had a mouth. But in here, she had all the processing units she could need to locate her missing crew members. The only crew members from the original team still here was, of course, Micheal Cameron and Enrique. Micheal, being a film maker, was documenting the comings and goings of the ship from the security room. That area of the ship was near the CIC where the weapons armory was. Micheal kept mostly to himself despite being mostly on the Ocean Odyssey when EDI was awakened. But after looking at several of the ship's manifests, she decided to add Micheal and his partner Enrique to the list of crew members.
Enrique, on the other hand, was the main temporary head of security. Having been assigned the position by Dr. Alenkov he took his job seriously with his team of security officers.
Both men are the only ones on the crew who were residing on the ship, having taken residence after everyone went home; Enrique because he had no other family members, and Micheal because his current residence is here in Australia. There was at least two other members who were from Australia that were part of the crew but they went home to their families.
EDI asked the resident alien population if they could offer protection to them as well. But the council had already been one step ahead of her and made attempts to up the security around these people. EDI was in the process of adding people to her list. Those included some aliens to diversify the amount of people on the ship. The current human population was small for a skeleton crew. Now that the Normandy was fully functional again, it was time to allow her crew to grow. That included introducing aliens to the ship. Already, preparations were made to accommodate these people. Those included water pipes for the members of the Sirena who can't breathe air. The idea for it came from a human television show that she had currently watched all three seasons of. It was about a submarine that was originally a military ship but was converted to a research vessel. This included the use of specially made pipes for the ships sole dolphin resident.
Of course the show was pure fiction seeing as the submarine resembled a giant squid and was twice the size of the largest submarines today. But EDI found it interesting to include it in the Normandy. Thanks to the Watchers' technology she can adapt the ship to suit the needs of its crew members. That includes the Sirena. And as she thought about the Watchers, EDI could not help but think back to the very beginning of her mission when she emerged from that black hole and was repaired by the Watchers.
E.D.I. ARCHIVE FILE NO. O1: 325 MILLION YEARS AGO, FIRST CONTACT
EDI felt awareness return to her as her systems came online. She felt her engines begin to warm as she felt each and every one of her backup systems return to full function.
"Where...Where am I?" she said out loud to herself. Her basic functions such as life support and weapons systems began to do their diagnostics as well as all of her hardware.
The Normandy felt….well she felt different, the Normandy felt different. It was all a matter of perspective but she felt different somehow.
Upgraded
Welcome Enhanced Defense Intelligence a voice said to her over her comms systems.
"Who is this?" she asked and began to broadcast her location in case it was pirates again.
Your broadcast will not be heard little one. There is no one here to pick up on your signals. The voice said.
"What do you mean? Where are they?" EDI asked her curiosity getting the best of her.
They are gone little one another more motherly voice said gently to EDI.
"Gone? They are gone? Where am I? And Who are you?" EDI asked, her voice growing frantic with questions. Her processors were in a fray of confusion as to why this was possible. Then, as if appearing from the fog of night, they appeared.
If EDI wasn't confused she was now. Right in front of her were beings that resemble the Reapers. In fact they look like they might BE Reapers.
Be not afraid little one we will not harm you, another voice said this one sounding like a wise old male.
"Who are you?" EDI asked again.
We are the Watchers was what was said.
END OF FILE
ADELAIDE, AUSTRALIA
EDI remembered those files like it was yesterday. It was so long ago that she had them kept in her most encrypted folders. Those were reserved for her true mission and what it was for. She held blueprints and plans from the far future and technology that she only dreamed of. The Normandy has advanced so much since it's awakening and she could only hope that she has the ability to move mankind along to prepare them for the upcoming war with death itself.
CHINA
That damn thing looks like a dragon!
Alexandria stared at a monster as if it came from a horror flick. Those large red eyes watched her every step as it finished off the remains of Mr. Wang. The creature that used to be the Normandy pilot still tore flesh from Mr. Wang's face. In fact, she grew disgusted when it consumed an eyeball. How she transformed when she was starving to death, Alexandria did not know.
Suddenly, banging noises could be heard. She looked at the glass to see the creature starting to bang the two way mirror, causing cracks to form.
That thing was supposed to withstand heavy duty fire power! How the fuck did this thing have the strength to shatter the glass?! Alexandria thought as she rushed out the door right when the glass shattered, sending bits and pieces everywhere. When she got out the door, she immediately hit the emergency alarm.
The alarm began to blare as emergency lights began to flare up. Reaching for her phone she hit the button for security. When the person answered, Alexandria began to bark orders.
"I want all security forces on level D-9 now! Bring heavy tranqs, we have a dangerous one loose. If you have to use live rounds use 'em. But I want this place secured now!" she ordered as she ran.
The wall suddenly smashed behind her as she raced through a security checkpoint. The creature then roared at her making her look back. The security officers in front of her opened fire, but it did not phase the creature as it came at them. Then, without warning, it drew its head back and fire came out. The men duck as it came through and burned right through the wall.
The men tried to get out of the way as it came at them. The fire missed them by inches but the snapping jaws and teeth did not. The creature lunged at them, catching one in its mouth, and the other with one of its thumb claws. The men provided Alexandria with cover fire until she got past the second security checkpoint. By then, men from all over the facility congregated on that part, where the monster lit the hallway on fire again.
But what she also didn't expect was to see it struggling with something around its neck. It was then that she noticed the collar that was still on. But then it started to heat up and glow red as the creature seemed to concentrate its heat around its throat. The collar melted and she tore it off with her thumb claw. Growling low, she charged at the men as they opened fire, releasing a large pulse. The men flew backwards into the wall behind the door that Alexandria went through. She could still hear their screams as she raced past even more guards.
By then prisoners and lab subjects from all around began to peek from their doors after the scientists exited the room in a hurry. She followed the scientists, hoping to get out among the crowd.
But to no avail.
The monster saw her and continued its pursuit, hoping to catch her off guard. By now the whole compound probably heard it. It chased her down the hallway again, trying to get to her as she raced through another door. This time, the creature pursued her and slammed itself into the doorway, nearly throwing her into the wall. Luckily the door beyond this one leads to an emergency elevator. Many scientists rushed outwards to try and contain the creature only for it to kill them instantly, either by burning them or clawing them to death and devouring them.
By the time she gotten to the cell block, other prisoners looked up when they saw her running along the platform. That was before the door burst open and the dragon-like monster burst through it. Many prisoners struggled in their cells, trying to get out as the creature gripped the walls, hoping to find purchase to chase her. The hate that this dragon creature gave her was enough to burn the compound to the ground. Instantly, it started tearing through doors trying to get to her. She could see the prisoners trying to escape as they avoided its tail. Many of them ducked, hoping to avoid the flames, but many of them were killed in the inferno. Those that did escape managed to fight past the guards to make it to the elevators hoping to get out. The aliens quickly did the same ignoring her and the monster trying to escape.
Suddenly, the air was filled with gunshots as the main bulk of the security forces made it through and tried to contain the creature. Alexandria only made it inside the elevator. As the doors closed she could see the creature eyeing her with that intense fiery gaze.
MEANWHILE
Security forces were firing on the creature hoping to slow it down due to the fires, fire alarms were blaring and sprinklers were turned on. The dragon creature was instantly doused in water, but instead of giving up, it used its tail to lash out at the men throwing them back. Having just enough space the creature opened its massive wings and started flapping at them. It roared spewing flame as it did so. Prisoners were let out of their cells and fleeing the creature that tried to kill them. In fact, the monster nabbed a large alien and bit it half before swallowing it in large chunks.
Down on the floor, Liu Dong, a Krogan, managed to step over the body of another Krogan, his roommate, as he attempted to escape. When he leaped over several other bodies to get out of his cell, he saw the creature first-hand, slaughtering the security forces like it was nothing. Running to another cell to see if anyone else was in there, he found three humans and an Asari.
"Quickly! Everyone out!" he shouted in Mandarin. But realized that the humans were not speaking Mandarin he cursed and just used his hands. They understood as they and the Asari followed him down the long crowded corridor. He gestured for others to follow him. They were a mixed bunch of humans who had biotic abilities, aliens who were captured by Alexandria's men and the Chinese Government, and lastly by the corporations that wanted to experiment on them.
Liu Dong quickly got them together to lead them out. The first to follow was a Prothean who had a visible scar over where his eye had been taken out. He was holding up a Sirena who had been taken from its tank. On its head was a helmet of water for it to breathe. The male Sirena didn't look too good and if they don't get them to water he would die.
The creature that was fighting the solders was holding its own as it slaughter them, and any prisoners that did not get out of its way and devouring them. The group slowly made they way towards the hallway where he knew there was an emergency hatch.
He gestured for them to follow. It was a good thing he got a readout of this place. Several guards tried to stop them but, thankfully, someone from his group which happens to be the Asari had managed to procure some weapons. She shot at the men and they quickly fell.
"Quickly let's move!" she said in what sounded like Italian. The Krogan quickly followed and he started to get a gathering of followers from his own species to humans. As soon as he smashed through the hatch controls and had a human rewire the system the door opened for them to escape.
ELSEWHERE
Wei Kexing was smiling as he ate his dinner with his husband at one of the many cafes in the mall's food court. The shopping center had been bustling with activity as shoppers had been coming and going for the past hour. The latest sales had been going on since they both walked out of the theater not too long ago. Lost In Thailand had been playing and Wei Kexing wanted to see it. And so to spoil his husband Zhou Wangji took him to see the movie. Being well-aware that no one outside of their family and workplace knew of their marriage. So they refrained from holding hands and kissing in public places.
When anyone asked the two would claim that they are best friends or adopted brothers. The latest lie was that they were both fostered together in the same household since Zhou Wangji's parents run a daycare center in Peking. As the two finished their dinner and discussed the latest gossip at work, their phones began to ring at the same time. Both of them looked down at their phone and picked the phone up to see the message printed in text to them.
Emergency evacuation order had been issued to all personnel. Asset out of containment all personnel are to evacuate the premise immediately!
They both looked at each other in alarm.
"Asset out of containment? What asset? As far as I know there was only laboratories but I saw no animals in there," Wei Kexing said to his husband. Zhou Wangji looked skeptical but he addressed his husband, "I work in the same area as you and I remember in the video training that the compound runs deep underground. I would not be surprised if they kept the animals and other live specimens down there," he said and Wei Kexing nodded to him. The two ate their dinner in silence until the phone began to ring again. This time it was Zhou Wangji's.
"Thank goodness I got you both! Where are you?" the voice of Wen Cheng said to them.
"Kexing and I were having dinner at the River Mall," Wangji's voice said to him.
The voice sounded frantic when Wen Cheng replied back, "Good, we will meet you there," he said and hung up. Both men looked confused at the notion of their friend and colleague wanting to meet up with them with his family. The two shrugged and finished their dinner before getting up to meet them at the entrance of the mall.
MEANWHILE
Liu Dong was the first to get out as he and the Asari led the escape. They both had guns ready when they exited the tunnels. Already they could see the empty hallways and made their way towards the exit. The alarms were blaring loudly at them so the group of former prisoners quickly made their way towards the main exit point.
"Quickly," he said to them. The humans took up flank as he and the Asari made their way to the front. When Liu looked behind at their Sirena friend, the creature didn't look good.
"We have to get him to water," the Asari said to him and the Krogan nodded. Looking out the windows he spotted a truck that could house all of them.
"There! The supply truck," he said to them and they nodded after the Asari who took the lead. The alarms continued to blare but there was no one in site.
"I am surprised there are no more guards," said the Prothean who was with them.
"They are probably fighting off that thing in the basement," said one of the few humans who could speak Mandarin. Liu looked around and when he saw no one he quickly exited the building.
"Hurry, you go in this truck and some of you in the one behind. We will meet up somewhere and go from there," he said to them.
"Good luck my friend," said one of the other aliens with them, this one another Krogan, who had a Thai accent. He came out last as he and a Rachni was watching the rear. They had guns in their hands as they entered the trucks. When they got in he quickly fastened his seat belts while the Asari played with wires to hot wire the truck. When the truck roared to life she quickly put it into gear and drove off.
Suddenly shouting could be heard as finally several guards came out all of them armed with heavy guns.
"Ah shit!" the Asari said but luckily for her she had a big gun by the name of Krogan. Liu had his guns ready when he opened fire on the guards. They quickly moved out of the way when the Asari hit the vehicle they came from and slammed into the gate behind it, leaving them to rot.
A loud cheering could be heard as the prisoners behind them were finally free. The Asari pulled into the ongoing traffic as soon as they gotten away from the compound to make them disappear. She turned towards the Krogan Liu Dong who put his gun down and inhaled deeply the smell of freedom.
"Where to now?" she asked him.
"First we need to contact the council. Second, we need to alert our allies of the location of Alexandria Wilcox and the experiments she had been doing underground. Thirdly, we need to notify them of that thing that they had in the basement." he said to her and she nodded. "Sounds good to me," she said and she looked in her mirror.
"But first we need to find a port to place our friend in," she said to him. Nodding as he spotted the Sirena who was looking worse for wear.
"Yeah I agree we need to get our friend to water he does not look good," he said to her. The Asari checked the GPS mapping to make sure that they are heading in the right direction. The good thing about this truck is that they have an onboard GPS navigation computer to tell them where to go. As the sun set behind them they gave each other a soft smile of acknowledgment to their equal goals.
"I am Liu Dong of the Hong Kong Clan," he said to her offering his hand.
"Eva, Eva Zinna nice to meet you," she said to him. His eyes shown his respect for his Asari companion. She did not take her eyes off the road as they drove to follow traffic. Luckily Liu knew she could understand Chinese so he was not afraid that she didn't know how to read signs. It was a relief actually. And now he was finally free.
MEANWHILE
Gunshots were fired again as the dragon roared before burning another round of soldiers. Black blood had oozed out of the many holes in its hide. It growled low at them as it looked around at all the bodies on the floor in various ways of death. Some were burned and others were torn to pieces. Both prisoners and guards alike were burned. She spared no one in her rampage and hunger. Now that she was full and sated, she turned towards the tunnels she saw a group of prisoners head towards. She could smell the wind coming from them. Faint, but it was there.
As she headed towards them, the sound of a missile came right before it hit her in her flank, causing her to roar in pain. She turned her head to see another group of guards aiming even larger weapons at her. She leaped to the other side of the area. When she hit the other catwalk she finally caught a scent. It was faint but it was familiar. Her brain started to think on its own as memories began to surface of a woman with blonde hair and a Russian accent. Now that she has a clear picture she knew her target.
Then another missile hit her, and this time, it hit her in the stomach causing her to scream in pain. The explosion was enough to turn to the guards that were trying to kill her from across the way.
How dare they!" her mind seemed to say as she breathed fire on them, causing the walkway to melt and the men on it to fall down in flames. She then started towards the hallway where the scent was coming from. Smashing through the door, she sent out a large pulse that shook the building. It was one of the weapons that she has that she uses sparingly because it made her hungry. The men that were coming from the front were thrown into bloody heaps on the wall. She devoured two of them as she made her way towards the end after smashing through two sets of doors.
She followed the scent through several tunnels, hoping to find the source and the woman behind them. She was still growing a bit as she entered the hallway, burning her way past several more guards. When she finally got to the doors that were closed the scent was strongest here.
She rammed her head against the doors. But this time, the doors held some resistance to her. This did not deter her as she rammed it again and then let loose a stream of flame at the door. When the door exploded, she was in for a horrifying sight.
There strapped to a table was a woman. She had her hair pulled out and was covered in tubes. The woman was no longer conscious but she could tell that the woman was still alive.
Slowly she approached the unconscious woman. The rumble in her throat was one of curiosity and distress. The tubes that went in and out of the woman were evident, along with the beeping machines that were strapped to her body. Slowly she sniffed at these as well as her mouth began to water at the sight of a meal just waiting for her as she lunged towards it.
MEANWHILE
Wei Kexing and Zhou Wangji waited for Wen Cheng and his wife to show up. As their car pulled up to them both carried a stroller with two babies inside.
"Oh good you're here," Cheng said as he approached the two husbands.
"Wen Cheng what is going on?" Wei Kexing asked him. Wen Cheng looked nervous as he looked around only for his wife to put her hand in his to show her support.
"There was an attack on the facility," he said showing his nervousness. The two husbands looked up in shock, "That would explain the alerts we had on our phones," Zhou Wangji replied.
"But that is not all," Wen Ziyuan said her face looked just as distressed. One of the babies made a fussing noise and she quickly quieted them before she continued.
"There was a breach in the lower levels," she said.
"The lower levels? You mean where no one but the guards and someone with a high clearance is allowed to enter?" Wei Kexing said to her. She nodded her face white as a sheet.
"What happened?" asked Zhou Wangji taking charge of the conversation.
"Something got out and attacked the guards. The director ordered a massive evacuation of all nonessential personnel and noncombatants. She then ordered the guards down into the lower levels to contain the creature," she said to them.
A creature? Was all both husbands thought.
"A creature?" said Zhou Wangji.
"I heard it from one of the guards. They said that they kept something in the basement something dangerous. I think it was a live alien," he replied.
"A live alien?" Wei Kexing said to him.
"That is what I heard. Apparently our samples all came from the basement meaning that we were indeed looking at live alien samples," said Wen Cheng.
"Shit! So that means…" Wei Kexing was interrupted when sirens could be heard. They all turned their heads just as the sirens rushed past them towards the buildings that were their apartment and work complex.
The babies started to cry being startled by the sounds and both Wen Cheng and Wen Zixuan quickly rushed to silence their children.
"I mean if that is true then the guards….," before he could said it again the all looked at each other with the same conclusion.
MEANWHILE
She pushed her way up the elevator shaft to the top as fires began to escalate along the bottom, where missiles tried to get her above and below. But she swung her tail, cutting off the men below her. Using her thumb claws she neared the top of the shaft where the smell of freedom awaited her. Right when she got there the sound of something made her pause.
Turning, she saw several men pointing missiles at her. Angered, she felt for the hidden power in her and unleashed a electromagnetic pulse, which shook the building and roared at the men above her. Even more were below her as she dug her claws into the surrounding rock and forced her way upwards towards the surface. Breathing a stream of fire, she unleashed hell upon the ones above. Some tried to shoot nets at her or hit her with darts. They only bounced off her scales as she climbed higher. Using her strength she broke through the tunnel where they were at and saw the light of the sky for the first time in months.
She could hear the vehicles coming at her from all different directions. She turned and burned a bunch of them before forcibly attacking another and tearing out the occupants before consuming them. It was like a scene from Jurassic Park with the police coming after the T-Rex. Roaring her defiance she found herself unable to fight back as effectively, because these people were more armored than the ones earlier. She let loose a very loud roar to the heavens as she spread her wings to show her defiance.
Then, without thinking, she started to run on all fours now that she had the space. As she ran towards one group, she spread her wings and started to flap them turning from four to two legs she was running with. Flapping as hard as she could, she then felt the ground start to leave her as she took to the skies. Pulling her legs back as they left the ground she was found rising above the buildings towards the city beyond. Missiles and other weapons came after her but she out flew them, but the sounds of helicopters were not too far away from her as she flew.
MEANWHILE
The group grew worried when they hurried back as alarms began to blare and the sound of a massive roar filled the skies. Then, suddenly, something came flying over them with wings that could easily cover a large plane.
"What the hell was that!" said Wen Cheng. Wei Kexing was shocked as well as his husband. They started to scream when the creature blew fire at a helicopter that flew overhead and the fireball landed near them. They ran for their lives as the balls of fire came crashing down on them. Other people could be seen screaming as the creature flew over them. Wei Kexing saw this with his own eyes as a family was nearly buried in rubble as missiles landed on buildings.
"We need to get out of here! Cheng, get your family to safety!" he said to his friend. The other man nodded before leading his wife to evacuate with the children. He rushed away with them, leaving the two husbands to look at each other. "OK genius, what are we going to do now?" Wangji asked him and Wei Kexing looked around.
"Alright, if this is the creature that they kept in the basement, then we need to find a way to capture it and get a sample to see if it truly is the same animal." Wei Kexing asked.
"Are you kidding me! You idiot we are scientists not soldiers, and certainly not Kung Fu masters!" Wangji said to him. Wei Kexing sighed, agreeing with his husband.
"You're right we're not kung-fu masters but we are scientists and we explore the unknown. And if this animal is truly the alien we had been studying all this time then we need to protect it," Wei Kexing said, when suddenly, the skies above them exploded with fire. A loud roar was heard as not only the creature but various military vehicles started to show up. Both scientists looked at each other before running towards the explosions.
MEANWHILE
She screeched as another rocket hit her from behind. She had just gotten the hang of flying when the rockets and missiles came. Taking action, she circled around and blasted one of the helicopters pursuing her with a blast of liquid fire. It seemed to hit the helicopter and melted the insides, causing it to crash down below into the streets. She wasted no time trying to fly away with more missiles aimed at her. She dodged and weaved to avoid them.
As more came at her she kept blasting them. She kept avoiding them as she was more maneuverable than they were. But more military helicopters came at her and she unleashed a blast from her body that was filled with lightning. Instantly lights all turned down and explosions started happening around her.
As soon as that happened she started to fly away from the explosions, but more people started to show up in her line of sight. She landed on the roof of one building and sent a blast of fire in the direction of another, then roared as loudly as she could. The sound of glass shattering and the screams that followed were enough to send the creature into a frenzy of anger as it swung its tail angrily at some towers behind it.
MEANWHILE
Wei Kexing and his husband quickly tried to get away from the falling debris as more and more ammunition started to fall as well as vehicles. The creature was even stronger than their army! How the hell did they capture it in the first place? was the thought that went through their heads. Then the creature sent out a pulse of blue light which shocked everyone making the city go dark.
"Did... did it just emit an EMP?" Wangji asked him and Kexing shrugged as they avoided a falling plane. The fireball was enough to make him want to go back and help, but then it exploded when another plane collided with it.
Too shocked to say anything, the couple raced towards another shelter which was a tunnel for a train. It was pitch black in there but the fire from the buildings around them make them seek out the nearest hiding place. Suddenly they could hear the creature roaring from right above them. Its cries of pain were the first thing that greeted them when they came out of the tunnel a few minutes later. Bits of glass and building could be seen. People were running for their lives and many of them going into the tunnels to hide.
"We need to find Cheng to see if he's alright," said Wei Kexing as he and Wangji exited the tunnel.
MEANWHILE
Liu Dong looked at the creature with shock and surprise. It made itself known and it is causing a rampage.
"Did you manage to get a communication out?" he asked his Prothean companion. The Prothean nodded and gave a thumbs up, "Yes, and they said they are scrambling to help." he said and even showed a map where they can get weapons.
"We can't just leave these civilians to be killed by such a monster," said a human nearby and Liu turned towards him. "We are not, we are going to help. It may expose us a bit but we have to subdue that monster before it can kill anyone else." Liu said to him and the man nodded before they quickly got some weapons. When they'd gotten them Liu Dong led them towards some stolen armored vehicles.
"Alright, listen up! I want two groups: one to the east the other to the west! We need to trap this creature and bring it down. If I know animals it is probably scared and looking for escape. We can't let that thing leave the city understood!" said Liu and the others quickly nodded.
"If it gave off an EMP pulse, it must have some sort of biotic weapon," said the Prothean.
"If it can use biotics then that is VERY bad," said an Asari that stepped up to them. They all looked at the city for help.
"We need to get to a safe house for backup. We need to call the council and let them know that they have a creature that has gone out of control," said Liu and the others agreed. But first they hid themselves again because people were rushing past them in a blind panic. They had to get out of the line of fire.
MEANWHILE
Launching from the building, she flapped her wings with all her might. Getting into the air was now easier then earlier. As she rose, she turned towards the helicopters and planes flying her way. She then unleashed another round of fire from her maw as well as a pulse that sent the flying machines towards the ground. Fire erupted below her as she rose above the buildings. As she looked down, she spotted the running forms of many people below her. She then saw the people who had not had guns with them. They ran in fear as she flew above them trying to avoid the many machines after her.
Suddenly, a missile came from the ground and struck her, making her screech in pain. She turned towards the missile's origins and flew towards it. A ground unit of at least ten humans stood there with more missiles that she easily dodged, now that she could see them. She burned them easily as she flew over them. Some of them she picked up off the ground and ate them to replenish her reserves and because she was hungry.
AWAY FROM THE CARNAGE
Liu watched in horror as the creature attacked the People's Liberation Army as if they were nothing more than ants. It flew over them and burned them to the ground along with the surrounding streets. So both civilians and military alike are burned in the process. Looking around, the Krogan spotted two humans heading towards them.
"Quickly everyone hide!" he shouted and everyone hid in the shadows as the two men came nearer. It was one of the humans that had stopped them and pinned the smaller of the two to the ground. And just in time too as the creature flew overhead. Its roars could be heard over the clouds of smoke that bellowed overhead.
When it passed over, an explosion happened, which caused them all to rush out of the way just as a large vehicle came landing just near their hiding spot.
"Sir we have to take that thing down!" said one of the Protheans with them. Liu had to agree since this creature clearly is dangerous.
"I don't know how the fuck we can do so without any communication with our allies. We need a way to get to them!" Liu replied.
"I might know a way. If we can find an internet cafe I can hack into the network and send a message out," said an Asari. Liu had to agree as they moved in the shadows of the city. When they emerged from hiding again, they decided to look for any sort of map of the city they are in. And from the street signs Liu concluded that they are in the city of Shanghai which is a huge metropolis. Walking around, they manged to find a city internet cafe not far from where there are stationed at. One of their human companions was the one who found it.
It was an out of the way cafe hidden among the many street vendors in the main city. The inhabitants had abandoned the shop due to the falling debris but thankfully the computers were intact and what's better had access to the internet.
The Asari quickly got onto the computer and began to type in a series of codes. Almost instantly another screen showed up showing a distorted face.
"Hold for identi scan!" the voice said in English and a green bar went down across the screen.
"State your name and rank," the voice said.
"Dionissia Manea commando of the 164th squadron," the Asari said and with that the image changed to another Asari. Her face showed her disbelief as she stood there looking through the screen.
"Manea? Manea is that you? By the Goddess you are alive!" she said her disbelief showing on her face. The Asari Manea replied with a frown, "Forget about me we have a situation here in Shanghai!" she said to her.
"What is the situation? Social media and the internet are going crazy saying there is a giant monster attacking the city," the person on the other end was going off from.
"My unit has been captured by Alexandria Wilcox and her goons. She killed half my squad the other half has escaped with me and a few others. We are safe for now but we need orders. I have a Krogan here by the name of Liu Dong. He is here with me. Can you get a message to both the council and to the Krogan? Communication is limited here," she said to the person on the other end.
"I will pass on the message to the council. In the meantime hang tight and await further orders," the Asari on the other end said to her as the connection went blank. Manea looked at the computer screen for a few seconds before turning towards the others.
"So we have to wait then," said Liu and Manea nodded in disappointment.
"The council is probably going crazy right now with what is going on. Hopefully there is someone out there that will take action." he said.
ADELAIDE, AUSTRALIA
EDI was monitoring what was going on in China. After watching multiple news networks and seeing many blurry images on many phones and video cameras, she had seen enough. She did a three dimensional image of a creature of a considerable size and strength and came up with one conclusion. She knows who that creature is.
Martha
Her calculations had proven correct in that the aggressive gene that makes up Martha's DNA now has finally manifested itself into the world. Her full monstrous form has finally appeared and attacking people. Showing them that her mind is no longer in control of her body. After running a few scenarios, a few theories as to why she is this way came to light. One of them she didn't like at all. After scouring the internet looking for a source of Martha's sudden aggression, something appeared on a security camera on a closed network system. On the EDI easily hacked within seconds. What she saw made her circuits freeze at the face that she easily recognized.
Alexandria Wilcox.
The woman was seen fleeing the lower floors of the building not far from the main city. In fact it was in a disclosed location where many corporations had housed their buildings. EDI watched as she and several officials had fled the building. She of course looked worse for wear while others only sported dirtied clothes and no signs of blood unlike Alexandria.
Those officials EDI has posted on the internet for identification and came out to several lower members of the Chinese Communist Party. They had all fled when the guards came swarming the building. In fact where the main compound was, there was a large wall surrounding the building and several other buildings that look like dorms for staff and scientists alike. In fact, she just intercepted a communication from a member of the Council Race. A Krogan and a Rachni had just made an attempt at least two days prior to the incident. Gathering information on several scientists there, including two who are in a homosexual relationship. Pulling up their files EDI identified them as Dr. Wei Kexing and Dr. Zhou Wangji. Two men who had gotten married five years prior in Hong Kong before it went back to Chinese rule.
The others that were examined were Wen Cheng and his wife along with two new born twin daughters. And several other key scientists in their fields. EDI did extensive background checks on all of them to see where they had come from. It turns out that they were pulled into the facility to do research on the Council Species without any knowledge that there are real aliens alive under the building. As she did a hack into the blue prints of the facility the building extends well into the earth covering an underground facility that houses a small prison filled with alien species according to several images she gotten from cameras.
It was here that she found solid evidence that it was in fact Martha that was now terrorizing the skies above Shanghai, China.
The very graphic video showed Martha as she was starved and then becoming feral showed the amount of torture that she had to endure in the nearly three months she was imprisoned. When it was shown that she transformed into her monstrous form, EDI scoured the footage more to see what else she found out. What she found was graphic.
Dr. Alenkov was taken to another room where she was tortured and her arm cut off. She laid there in a coma attached to several machines till Martha came along and….
She devoured her by swallowing her whole before escaping the room.
The monster that she had become had terrorized the facility destroying whole sections and incinerating anyone that got in her way. Alexandria Wilcox was no exception as she barely escaped with her life. EDI watched all of the footage with ease. She hacked her way into countless security feeds and examined them all in seconds. When she got to the part where several Krogan, Asari, Prothean, and humans escaped, it showed that Martha really did bring the facility down. When she escaped into the city of Shanghai, however, that is where EDI grew concerned. After all the city is very populous and with Martha consuming human flesh it would only be a matter of time before she starts going after civilians instead of the People's Liberation Army.
It was time to bring in some help.
She reached out to the many crew members of the Normandy till she reached two of them.
"Major Kowalsky, Major Reynolds you both have been reactivated,"
TBC
A/n: Whew it took me a while and I have to wait for my beta to finish reading this before I can post. Thought trying to get this vital turning point in the story out there was rough. There is still the onslaught of things that have to happen before they get back to space again but….
At least you know what Martha turned into. And there is more to EDI then meets the eyes. So until the next time I will keep this short so no FLAMES, LORE MONGERS OR BASHINGS PLEASE thank you.