Chapter 7: Degradation

The mechanical lord's eyes glowed green as he watched Shepard's first victory unfold remotely via wireless connection to a hidden camera feed, "Interesting solution Shepard..."

Veronakh had been observing the trial he was putting the Spectre through from his throne chamber on the Teqyt. The Phaeron was giving thought to Shepard's next trial when he was given a communique from Solvatas who had been allowed to secure the Normandy. She was currently calling him from the engineering section of the human vessel.

"Great One, the Normandy is now under our control." Solvatas reported.

Veronakh was pleased at the news though he still maintained focus on Shepard who now regrouped with his team, "Excellent, have my parameters been followed to the letter?"

"Yes, though subduing the Krogan was more difficult than anticipated. No casualties of the crew have been incurred, though I find your request to do so odd if I may say so." replied the Thanatar.

"I have plans for them Solvatas, for now that is all I can say at the moment. Though how was the Krogan matter more difficult?" asked Veronakh.

"He proved formidable, almost reminded me of the damn Orks in their ferocity and stubborn will. I was forced to contain him within a tesseract labyrinth." she answered.

Veronakh began to laugh, "A tesseract labyrinth? Hah! A krogan required such an object from you?"

Solvatas by contrast felt annoyed by her brother's mockery but still answered the question, "Given it was close quarters where the beast was in his element, I was growing particularly...frustrated at his persistence."

Veronakh laughed again as he linked with the visual data from one of her warriors and played back the incident. The warrior beside Solvatas showed how the Krogan roared and smashed any other Necrons attempting to subdue him against the wall and floor. He headbutted another before a small swarm of scarabs were sent against him. But even covered in scarabs, it did nothing to slow the Krogan down. The beastial alien charged and crashed into Solvatas' elite warriors, sending them to the floor in a heap. Before the roaring Saurian could bring his wrath to bear on Solvatas, she withdrew a cube that then brilliantly brimmed with viridian energies blinding all as the Krogan charged her. When the light faded, the Krogan had disappeared leaving only Solvatas and her warriors with just the cube in her hand now glowing with green symbols.

The Phaeron of Solvatakh had one last chuckle at his sister's expense before continuing, "Well this evening has certainly been enjoyable, thank you Solvatas for adding to it."

"I...am pleased you find it humorous...Great One." replied Solvatas doing her best to remain composed.

"Oh yes, as entertaining as making their Commander go through my...trials." Veronakh sinisterly said.

Solvatas however wanted to know what her brother's goal was with all this, "Great One...brother...why are you playing these games with this human? He may be a famous Spectre but ultimately it would be safer to simply eliminate him and his crew then move on with our plan."

Veronakh merely shrugged, "It may seem a trifling matter to you, but all I ask is that you trust me Solvatas. Should Commander Shepard prove himself, then your questions will be answered that I promise."

The voice returned again echoing throughout the pyramid facility as Shepard and his team recovered from the previous fight with the skeleton robots. They looked around the room but couldn't find where the source of the voice was coming from.

"Well done Shepard...let us see how you handle this."

The green gateway where the last wave came from began to flare in brilliance again. The Commander and his squad got back into cover as the next group of machine killers walked through the light. A squad of skeletal robots came through it just as before but then something new came along with them. Four larger looking skeleton machine bipeds even more armored than their lesser kin, armed with weapons that looked incredibly heavy to carry. The same green energy coursed through both barrels of their large guns as the heavier skeleton warriors took up positions.

Suddenly the Commander felt the cover he was pressed against begin to move jarring him out of position. It was happening all over as the arena objects were being rearranged throwing the rest of the team out of their hiding places as well. Surprisingly the machines didn't take advantage and attack, they stood and waited for the rearrangements to complete even allowing Shepard to get back into cover. Then the green energy beams began to fly again but Shepard peeked out and took note of the larger robots as one of them pointed its weapon in his direction.

"Incoming your way Shepard!" warned Zaeed as he saw the large killer bot charge up its gun.

The Commander rolled from his pedestal to one of the walls and seconds later the pedestal was blasted apart along with anything else in the energy's path. When the Commander recovered from the evasive maneuver he gave the order, "Spread out and keep moving! Zaeed use your grenade launcher to cover us!"

The old mercenary withdrew his heavy weapon and fired a shot when he got an opening. The explosive struck the group of machines and stunned the smaller skeleton bots, though the larger ones merely moved forward and began to ready their cannons. Zaeed followed up with a barrage of grenades that knocked the smaller skeletons down but their burly cousins shrugged off the attack as they powered up their double barreled guns.

"MOVE!" shouted Shepard as he cloaked and dove past some of the obsidian walls. Right behind him a large green beam blasted through his previous position. The rest of the team did the same as swathes of green energy beams lanced through their cover. Miranda sent in an overload to prevent the smaller metal killers from firing on them as they maneuvered. She noted the electrical attack hitting one of the larger skeleton bots as well. While it was stunned for a second it quickly shrugged it off.

"Overload isn't effective against the larger ones Shepard!" The XO reported.

"It'll at least keep the smaller ones down, just keep moving and don't stay in cover for too long. Let's get rid of the small fries first, same as before!" The Spectre ordered.

Miranda acknowledged and then sent a warp attack before dodge rolling from another green beam that annihilated her cover. The biotic warp washed over the skeleton bots but they didn't react and continued to resume their constant volleys of fire. Mordin fired a cryo blast from his position on the right side before he ran and slid away. The explosion of ice washed over the first two minor skeleton warriors standing in front of the armored robots freezing them solid.

"Use a disc charge Zaeed!" Shepard shouted.

Zaeed checked his explosive pouch and frowned, "I only got four left Shepard!"

"Just do it, we need an edge on these bastards!" The Commander wasn't in the mood to argue. They needed to inflict some damage otherwise this fight would end very badly very quickly.

Zaeed pulled one of the disc explosives with what little time he had and activated it. Shepard from the left of the enemy shot another overload to stun the remaining smaller skeletons, even if it had little affect on the larger machines. One of the armored bots aimed at the Commander again and fired. The Spectre rolled away from his cover, the obsidian spire being annihilated in a green explosion. Zaeed flung the disc charge and dove behind a wall as a green lance of energy destroyed his own cover as well. The charge was a conversion from an Alliance standard Mark fourteen grenade which allowed it to glide through the air to its target and adhere to one of the frozen robots. After counting to three while laying down Zaeed detonated the charge, shattering the two robots in a large explosion that washed the enemy's position in smoke.

More shots of green energy cut through the smoke and out to the other members of his team while Shepard switched his vision modes on his hood. Peering through the smoke the Spectre noted that two of the smaller skeletons were gone but the situation was getting tenuous. The armored robots were cutting swathes through their cover. If they didn't bring them down soon there would be nothing left to hide behind. The Commander paid close attention to the large mech's weapons to searching for any kind of weakness. He noted a cable linking the weapon into the back of the burly robot. A possible weak point maybe? Only one way to find out, Shepard cloaked and aimed through his Viper's scope, AP mod armed. He also activated the rifle's Assassination module, causing a slight hum to emit from the weapon as it readied to slice off a much larger round.

The Commander got on the comm to Miranda who just dodged another large beam shot from the metal monsters, "Miranda I'm going to give you an opening for another warp, I'm about to try something."

Miranda was panting, the constant evading of energy beams was taking its toll on her, "Best do it quick, not sure how much longer we can keep this up Shepard!"

"Mordin on this next overload hit those last two smaller mechs with the Avalanche! I'll finish them off this time!" The Commander ordered.

"Will try Shepard!" replied the salarian as he dodged another green beam that cut through several walls nearby.

Shepard waited for the right moment as he saw one of the armored robots fire another shot towards Zaeed. It seemed the old merc was slowing down, the large energy beam missing his back but not his weapons. Zaeed cursed as he felt the grenade launcher and Vindicator rifle on his back turn to ash. The Commander knew it was either now or never so he unleashed an overload on the squad of robots. A warp from Miranda followed washing over the robots again as Mordin came out from one of the last standing spires in the room to fire his Avalanche. One of the heavy robots came out of the stun early and readied to fire on the salarian when Shepard took his chance. The Commander aimed and fired his Viper at the cabling to the mech's weapon as it built up power causing a slight explosion. The weapon's power supply now severed, the killer machine could only look down at it's now inert weapon and then to the bubbles of super cooled sub-atomic particles that then slammed into it. The other robots couldn't charge up their weapons fast enough before they too were turned into frozen statues. Shepard withdrew his own heavy weapon, a custom ML-77 Missile Launcher with greater blast yield but less ammunition. The Commander set the launcher to dumb-fire, took aim and fired into the crowd of frozen machines. The missile flew fast and struck home consuming the robot statues in fire and green flashes. Shepard fell to his knee panting, finally being able to relax from the constant evading.

Then a mechanical form came rushing from the smoke of the explosion right towards the Spectre with incredible speed. It was the larger armored robot that had lost it's weapon, though moderately damaged it was now running at full sprint right towards him. Shepard tried to get up quickly but the robot was too fast, shoulder checking him as well as grabbing his missile launcher. The robot than smashed the launcher over its mechanical knee before it walked over to the Spectre as he tried to recover from the blow. Miranda was about to order the team to help Shepard when she saw glowing eyes through the smoking ruin of Shepard's attack. The other armored robots were still moving and no doubt still armed with their heavy weaponry.

The Normandy XO however had seen what Shepard had done with his sniper rifle and formulated a plan while withdrawing the Arc Projector from her back. She quickly aimed and fired at the robot approaching Shepard, stunning it while flinging another warp attack at it. The Commander still on the ground took advantage of his XO's opening and withdrew his Avenger arming its AP function. The Spectre unloaded his entire thermal clip at the stunned robot, shredding it's weakened body with holes before aiming at it's neck. The damage from the explosion and the biotic warp along with the assault from Shepard seemed to have been too much for it. Shepard decapitated his mechanical foe with his assault rifle only to see its body and broken pieces disappear in a flash of green light. The Commander could only assume he had killed the machine or at least hopefully neutralized it. He then saw charging cannon barrels out of the corner of his right eye as his adrenaline kicked in.

"INCOMING!" yelled Shepard as he dove for one of the last few bits of cover left just barely avoiding an energy beam.

Miranda fired another shot from her Arc projector into the squad of heavy machines disrupting them for a moment, "Zaeed! You still have a weapon?"

the old soldier of fortune was keeping down behind some of the remaining walls when he looked to the XO, "Still got my Incisor, everthing else is gone!"

"Focus your fire on the cabling of the mech on the right side!" Miranda pointed the target out for Zaeed which he looked to in turn, "That'll be less fire for us to dodge, hopefully!"

Zaeed got up, feeling the ash that was once his weapons falling off his back as he found his target. The old mercenary aimed for the cable going up to the mech's weapon from its back and opened up as they were coming out of the Arc Projector's attack. The burst of rounds struck and weakened the cable but it wasn't enough to cut it as the machine turned to Zaeed's position and took aim. Suddenly a shot from the opposite side finished the job and the mech's weapon fell inert.

Shepard decloaked and put another round into one of the other mech's eye lens for good measure in an attempt to blind it. Which only prompted said mech to turn around and fire on his position. But it seems the shot to its eye had caused errors in it's targeting matrix which sent the beam off course. The third mech was firing on Mordin who was now short on cover. Miranda fired another Arc Projector round into the group of metal robots and stunned them for the last time as it was now out of power. The Normandy XO followed up with a warp to wash over them though she was now breathing heavily from the constant exertion. Mordin fired a cryo blast which froze the offending mech that attacked him, while Zaeed cut its now frozen cable with a burst of AP rifle rounds.

The half blind skeletal robot suddenly detached the cable to it's back and dropped it's heavy weapon. It moved into cover and took up one of the fallen weapons from its lesser brethren and began firing a burst of shots toward Shepard forcing him to seek cover himself. The other mech with it's cable shot out followed the example of its half blind fellow dropping it's heavy cannon. It pressed it's back to a wall taking up another smaller gun from the ground and began firing on Zaeed who rolled behind the last obsidian spire on the right. The frozen robot suddenly broke free of its icy prison, dropped its own weapon and then charged Shepard's last known position.

Miranda saw what the robots were doing and called to the Commander, "Look out Shepard!"

The Spectre saw the mechanical skeleton barreling towards him and rolled to avoid a metal foot from smashing his head. The one eyed robot from earlier took aim to take out the Commander while he was distracted only to get hit with an overload along with AP rounds hitting it in the head. Quickly recovering the robot turned to return fire on the Normandy XO who ducked down behind one of the remaining walls. Mordin from his position fired another cryo blast at Zaeed's mechanical foe and ducked down to avoid a returning shot. The robot dodge rolled away from the freezing attack but that was what Zaeed was waiting for. He activated one of his disc charges and flung it at the machine as it recovered from the dodge. It stuck in between its armor plates under its left arm pit and mag locked into place.

"Gotcha!" Zaeed grinned as he pressed the button on his omni-tool to detonate the charge. The explosion blew off the entire left side of robot, leaving it wobbling around somewhat. Bubbles of sub-atomic particles slammed into it and the one eyed mech behind it as Mordin used up nearly the last of the Avalanche. Yet another warp from Miranda and two more disc charges from Zaeed on both frozen machines shattered them into parts that then were enveloped in green light and disappeared.

While that was going on, Shepard had been fending off his mechanical attacker using overload and dodging with a concussive shot every now and again. Yet the machine was relentless, attempting to hit him with punches, kicks, or grab him and crush him in it's hands. Now Shepard found himself on his back after dodging another blow, loading another thermal clip into his Avenger. He unleashed a bullet storm but the machine merely took the rounds, rushing to stand over him and smash him with his mechanical foot before it was hit with a concussive shot from the side. The rest of the squad had arrived and was now unleashing everything they had left into the last of the killer robots. A warp attack along with a cryo blast allowed the Commander to back up and get off the ground while the other teammates just unloaded their weapons into the frozen skeletal robot. Shepard joined them and they simply kept reloading and shooting the iced machine until it fell apart into pieces and disappeared like the others in a green flash.

Finally, the entire squad could catch their collective breath and find a place to rest for a moment. Zaeed sat on a wall and rested his Incisor on his lap while Mordin began massaging his own shoulders, apparently a little sore from constantly hefting the Avalanche. Miranda walked over to the Commander and offered him a hand up. After he had a moment to rest on the ground the Spectre took his XO's hand and got up off the floor. Then the rasping metal voice was heard throughout the room again.

"Masterfully done Shepard! I must say, a truly admirable performance given your resources. You certainly live up to your reputation Spectre. Yet like all great things, they must inevitably end and sadly so must this entertainment you have provided me. So I will give you an end worthy of your efforts."

The team looked to the gate again and saw it shift upwards along the metallic wall to the second floor. A small obsidian catwalk appeared in front of it and then the voice spoke again.

"Forbytr! It is time to finish the game! Give the Commander a swift finale!"

The gateway glowed brilliantly and a single figure appeared. It stepped forward onto the catwalk where Shepard got a good look at it. It was another mechanical skeletal biped like the others they had faced so far but it stood at what the Commander figured was nine feet high. It had a gilded bronze crest on its head with a kind of bronze metal tassel dangling between its legs and its body was even more armored than the other bots they had faced so far. Green alien script was also inscribed in dark patches of its face like tattoos on its checks and shoulders. It carried a large shield and some kind of sword that faintly glowed green in its hands. Suddenly it jumped from the catwalk and onto the ground floor with a loud clang that shook the room. As it rose from the fall, it stared at Shepard emitting a metallic breath that sounded like a death rattle of a man before his end. It then activated its sword and shield, both glowing in green energy as it readied itself to charge Shepard's team who despite being tired reloaded their weapons for one last fight. The giant robot brought it's shield out in front and began running full sprint at them with it's sword held high.

"Scatter!" Shouted Shepard.

The squad split up and dodged as the metal giant's sword came down on the obsidian floor with a crash. The sword's impact emitted a shockwave that sent Miranda and Shepard flying a few yards away from each other despite their evasion. A burst of rounds suddenly hit Forbytr in the side, it was Zaeed falling back to a spire while firing his Incisor. The giant metal swordsman turned presenting his shield forward and charged at the old mercenary as the human got to the obsidian spire. Zaeed found his shots rebound off the shield's energy field, either flying back in his direction or off randomly. Forbytr slashed at the human, attempting to cut him in half but Zaeed dodged the blow and fired a concussive shot when he got back up. Forbytr blocked the attack and slashed again from the left which severed the obsidian spire in half, forcing the old merc to roll away backwards or be crushed. When Zaeed stood up again, he quickly found Forbytr upon him. The metal warrior shield bashed Zaeed in a sweeping motion, sending the old mercenary flying back twenty yards before coming to a rolling stop. Zaeed moved slightly, seemingly trying to get up but he quickly fell unconscious.

Forbytr suddenly found himself being attacked from his flank again. Turning around he looked with narrowed eyes at the salarian firing its SMG at him. Sadly the rounds from Mordin's Tempest found little effect on the now annoyed mechanical humanoid. The salarian scientist drew the Avalanche yet again and fired what was left of its energy at the now charging metal giant freezing it in place. However, within seconds the giant robot broke its freezing bonds and charged again emitting an annoyed groan. Mordin could only mutter, "Oh dear..." before attempting to jump away from Forbytr's attack. Viridian energy pooled in the center ornamentation of the shield as the skeletal warrior brought it high and slammed it into the ground in front of Mordin. A blast wave of energy sent Mordin flying into one of the remaining spires in the center of the room. The salarian crashed against the spire hard before he fell to the ground in a heap.

Shepard and Miranda were only now recovering from the first attack from Forbytr. As they attempted to stand the mechanical warrior was already barreling towards them again. Miranda gasped and sent a warp attack against him which merely slammed into the giant's shield. Miranda attempted to pool energy for another attack but Forbytr merely batted her away with the back end of his sword, continuing forward toward the Commander. The blow was strong enough to knock her out instantly causing her to fall face down onto the metal floor.

"Miranda!" Shepard cried out swapping to his Viper due to his Avenger now being out of clips. He attempted to cloak away but the metal giant was just too quick, now a mere few steps away from Shepard and sword raised for a killing stroke. In the metal warrior's artificial mind however, he quickly recalled his master's orders. Shepard was about to dodge the sword swing but Forbytr suddenly dropped the sword and brought his metal fist quickly towards the Commander's hooded face. The last thing the Commander heard was the sound of a metallic thud as his head met Forbytr's right hook.

As he came to, Shepard heard the sound of mechanical motors and footsteps. Then when feeling began to return, he realized he was being carried though his vision was still blurry from...something...the Commander was having a hard time remembering. Considering the pain his face was feeling right now, it must have been a helluva hit. Shepard figured it must be short term memory loss as to why he couldn't remember. With a little time maybe he could recall what had happened. Unfortunately, it seemed time was not on his side. Whoever was carrying him was now taking him into some kind of dark chamber. Soon the Spectre found himself dropped to his knees. He instinctively put his hands out to keep from falling on his face. The Commander's vision now clearing, he looked around finding that the other members of his team had also been brought here. They too were on their knees still dazed from the last battle. The battered team leader saw Miranda on his left and her face was bloodied with some bruising.

"Miranda?" Shepard asked weakly.

The Normandy XO looked to her Commander, "Oh god...Shepard. I'm sure I look just as bad as I feel right now."

"You're not the only one I think..." Shepard said feeling his swelling face.

A slow rasping laugh was heard from the darkened stairs up ahead of them and two glowing green eyes appeared. Green lighting began to slowly reveal their surroundings until eventually a mechanical figure sitting upon a throne atop the stairs was revealed. It was tall, perhaps taller than even the larger skeletal guards with melee weapons now surrounding them. Shepard then recognized the one named Forbytr among them. There were other machines he did not recognize around the steps to the throne as well. One with a single eye like a cyclops that held a staff in one hand and stroking its chin with the other. There was another large skeletal warrior with a heavier build holding its own ornamental looking staff bearing a golden chest and shoulders. Finally the Spectre scrutinized the figure on the throne, it had a bladed crown on it's head and a body that shined silver. The lordly looking machine had a brilliant viridian metal cape and an armored collar plate which added to it's armored appearance. The robot laid back in it's seat with its hands interlocked together still chuckling at the Commander and his team.

The figure then ceased laughing and said, "Welcome Shepard."

"Who..." the Commander coughed, "Who are you?"

"I am Veronakh, Phaeron of the Solvatakh dynasty. Forgive the dramatic exit from our... "game", but as I am reminded one cannot be distracted by their pleasures for too long. After all we have business to attend to, don't we Shepard?"

The Commander began to stand on his feet, making the nearby skeletal guards emit metallic grunts in annoyance. They readied to strike the Spectre for his insolence, however Veronakh waved them off, "It is alright, I will allow this. After all Shepard has proven himself thus far."

"What business are you talking about?" growled the Commander.

"The kind that involves what you can offer me to spare you and your crew's lives." stated the metallic lord.

Shepard merely responded with, "What?" at Veronakh's comment.

The silvered machine merely pointed two fingers toward the pedestal in the center of the room. It then showed images from the Normandy's interior: various crew members being captured by mechanical warriors or pinned to the ground by scarab beetles.

Shepard looked back to Veronakh as he explained what was happening, "As you can see Shepard, your vessel...now belongs to me. With but a gesture I could kill every man and woman aboard, unless...you cooperate."

The Spectre however, continued scowling towards the mechanical lord, "I think you'll find its not going to be that simple."

"Really? Do their lives truly mean so little to you?" said Veronakh, somewhat surprised by Shepard's retort.

The Commander took several steps forward to the steps and showed no fear or hesitation, "If it means denying you an advantage...then we will gladly give our lives in service to humanity. We're not just going to sit back and let you Reapers get what you want, at least not without a fight."

Veronakh huffed at the association, "Reapers? Is that what you think we are?"

"You certainly seem the type." shot back Shepard.

A quick laugh emitted from the giant robot lord at the Spectre's comment, "Hah! Well...we are "Reapers" of a sort. Just not what you think Commander."

Shepard was slightly confused, "So...you're saying you're not with the Reapers?"

The metal lord simply laid back in his throne, seemingly bored at the thought of such beings, "Not with those ugly cephalopod looking constructs no." Then Veronakh leaned forward, looking to the Commander with more interest, "...But I daresay you continue to impress me Shepard. Even defeated, your body battered, your own comrades held at gun point...you still refuse to surrender. An incredible strength of will to say the least."

The human Spectre crossed his arms taking a little pride in the metal lord's statement, "That stubborn will is what's allowed humanity to survive Veronakh. No matter what challenge we face, someone among us will always rise to meet it. Even against someone like you..."

Veronakh laughed thoughtfully as he leaned back in his throne again, "Heh heh heh...ah how amusing. Reminds me of my own people during the early eras of our reign, facing down the inevitable with sheer stubbornness of willpower. Indeed were you one of us, you would certainly have been a mighty lord Shepard. Sadly though, fate has placed you beneath us...and a will no matter how strong..." Veronakh then brought up his right hand and began to slowly form a fist.

Shepard suddenly felt a ringing in his ears and his body began to fall to its knees again. He attempted to resist, groaning under the strain but the pressure on his mind and leg muscles only intensified the more he resisted.

"...inevitably must yield to a greater one." Veronakh continued to gradually tighten his grip. Shepard in response felt the pain intensify even more, causing him to cry out but still refusing to give in to the command to bend the knee before this metal bastard.

Du'Maat communicated with Veronakh through the internal comm link, "Great One, I advise caution lest this one break under the strain."

"I am aware Du'Maat..."

Finally Veronakh clenched his fist tight and the pain for the Commander was so intense that Shepard finally felt one of his knees buckle and hit the deck. At that point Veronakh released his fist and the Spectre collapsed to the ground.

"Shepard!" Miranda cried out as she watched the Commander sprawl out on the deck panting heavily. Mordin grimaced at the scene in spite of his own pain, while Zaeed merely shook his head with his eyes closed.

Shepard forced himself up on his hands and knees but his legs were still shaking, "What...what did you do to me?"

Veronakh was nonchalante, "A mere precautionary measure, though I've been trying to rely less upon it. But for individuals such as yourself Commander...well...one can't be too careful."

The Commander gritted his teeth looking to Veronakh glaring, "...Bastard."

The mechanical giant seemed amused at the Commander's pain, "Now now Shepard, you should be pleased with yourself. There are few in the galaxy whose will even the mindshackle cannot wholly enslave. Still, even so there are limits to what a will on its own can achieve."

Shepard was still hurting but he mustered the strength to look the metal bastard in the eye, "So...is this what you're planning? Enslaving the galaxy to serve your whims?"

"Hmmmm, as a matter of fact...yes. Such is the way of the universe Shepard. I do believe the ancient peoples of your homeworld said it well enough. 'The strong do what they can, the weak suffer what they must.' The quote is quite apt for this situation is it not?" Veronakh replied smugly.

"Even so..." Shepard coughed once again, spitting some blood on the floor, "we're not just...going to give you what you want..."

Veronakh leaned forward on his throne, "You clearly have not met Jarold Knox, the Colonial Administrator. His men did everything they could against the weakest of my warriors, fighting to the last. But in the end the outcome was already decided when we arrived in orbit. Mr. Knox knew, when he was brought before me...that resistance was useless. This welcoming, open galaxy Shepard...has made your people soft. You may be the outlier, but the billions of your lessers will easily fall to their knees once they behold our might. This galaxy is wrought with weakness and disorder. Would it not be better to live serving a higher purpose that ensures order rather than to suffer and die over mere pride?"

"There are fates worse than death..." Shepard spat back.

"Ho ho, including your will not wholly being your own? Shall we continue to show you the futility of your struggle?" The mechanical lord gestured to one of his guards near the Commander.

The mechanical guard removed something attached to its side, it was Shepard's Carnifex. The guard then tossed the weapon in front of Shepard. He looked at the pistol, than to Veronakh with a confused look on his face.

"Go ahead...take it...use it. We don't fear a little scratch from such a mere toy..." dared the Phaeron softly.

Shepard's confusion then turned to a scowl and he quickly grabbed the pistol, got to his feet, and aimed it at Veronakh. When he tried to pull the trigger though, he found his finger wouldn't move. He looked at the weapon confused, then he tried again and yet still he found his finger couldn't pull the trigger no matter how much he willed it.

The metal lord laughed again before continuing, "Do you see now? Though the mindshackle cannot wholly control your mind, it can control enough to prevent you from attempting to harm any of us. Anymore struggling or plotting Shepard is pointless. I won as soon as you arrogantly came to this system..."

Shepard let his arm fall to his side and his head drooped, "That's why you sent that cargo ship there wasn't it? You wanted to remove me and my crew from possibly interfering with your plans."

Veronakh merely shrugged, "Honestly you weren't even that relevant at the time Shepard. The fact that it was you who took the bait was simply good fortune for me. That and it helped me root out one of the humans who was attempting to call for aid. I knew when I allowed the colonists here some freedom that one of them would no doubt try. So why not let them think they could get away with it and make an example of them at the same time?"

Shepard looked at Veronakh again in realization, "The colonist at the site...that was him wasn't it?"

"As you said, there are fates worse than death. Being driven mad, tortured with hallucinations and ultimately having his will subsumed. I find it a fitting punishment for abusing the freedom I so generously allowed."

"You're insane..."

"I'm insane? I'm not the one futilely struggling against inevitability Shepard. But I believe it is time to conclude our business here."

Veronakh nodded to the skeletal guard behind Miranda and it forcefully brought the XO to her feet.

Shepard looked to the scene and then to Veronakh with a pained expression, "What are you doing?!"

"As I said before Shepard, weighing your options as to what you can offer me."

The metal lord then motioned his left hand to the darkness and another guard walked into the light with another prisoner in its arms. Said prisoner was a woman with a shaved head and tattoos constantly struggling and cursing at the robot giant.

"Fuck you fucking robot fucker! I'll tear your fucking ass wide open!" she yelled as she kept struggling and attempting to hit the metal giant with little effect.

Shepard widened his eyes when he realized who it was, "Jack!"

Jack looked to the Commander surprised, "Wha...Shepard what the fuck is going on!"

The Spectre looked to the Phaeron again incensed, "What is this Veronakh?!"

"Its quite simple Commander... I am presenting to you a choice. As you saw earlier my Cryptek has taken quite an interest in biotics. In exchange for you and the rest of your crew's survival, you must decide whom here we will take." stated the robot lord pointing to each of his choices.

Shepard's head began drooping again at the realization of his team's circumstances, "...No..."

Miranda called out to Shepard still struggling against her own guard, "It's alright Shepard...if its me they want, then it'll be fine. My loss is a small price compared to the rest of the crew. Remember, the mission comes first I'm not that important!"

The Commander than looked to Jack who now was even more pissed that Shepard could be considering her as a candidate, "Don't you fucking dare Shepard! You promised me no more of this bullshit! If you do then I'll come back to fucking haunt you!"

The Spectre then looked to the mechanical lord with an anxious look on his face. Veronakh's matrix felt the pleasurable satisfaction at the sight of this proud human so humbled, so pained, so unsure now at what to do.

"Time to choose...Commander." Veronakh said beginning to sinisterly chuckle once more.