Chapter 12

Genaric Name- True enough. We'll see just how disastrous the Chaos Marines operation will be for the Systems Alliance.

Random Anon- Erika? Oh, she's dead. Got transformed into flesh material for Volmas.

Jweller12- I see. I guess that makes sense with companies making AIs in the Mass Effect games.

DasPeas- Yeah, I think the Eldar, Tau, and Chaos is enough. No more beyond those three.

Dancing of Doom- Yes.

Normandy

Dakka system

"We're approaching the system now, commander." Said Joker as they approached the Dakka system in the Nubian Expanse. A relatively uninhabited system that would have been left alone by the Normandy crew had it not been the location of where Jack had been experimented on as a child.

Jack, wanting the entire facility to be destroyed, not out of any morality but because she wanted to erase it off the face of the galaxy, and thus her mind, asked Shepard to do this for her, to which he immediately agreed to do, promising it. And now they were here to make good on that promise.

From what Jack had told him, the research facility that had experimented on her was located on the planet Pragia. It was called the Teltin facility, and it was located deep in the jungles of Pragia. If it weren't for the coordinates of the Teltin facility being present in the Cerberus files that Miranda had given to Jack in exchange for her cooperation, they would be expending a little too much time than necessary trying to find the facility.

So, with that in mind, the mission was straightforward. Install a bomb big enough to destroy the entirety of the Teltin facility, leaving no traces of it, and the mission would be complete. Because of the simplicity of the mission and because they needed to see how well their new members were, Shepard decided to bring all the Farsight Enclave personal with him on this assignment. The commander was quite eager to see them all in action, even if it's something as meager as sweeping an empty Cerberus base. Plus, he was sure they'll all appreciate it as well.

With most of his team chosen, Shepard was thinking of who else to pick for this boring assignment. While he was doing this, Monun was making a report to Commander Farsight. As ordered by Farsight himself, Monun and his team were to make regular reports to him and the Eight when possible. Shepard and his crew knew this and understood it, seeing it to see if the Normandy crew is as trustworthy as they hoped they were.

So far, Monun and his team were liking to what they had seen from the Normandy crew. The human crew, despite being part of an organization that seemingly hates aliens, has treated his team with adequate respect. He mentioned this in his latest report to the Enclaves. He also mentioned how honorable and caring Shepard was to his crew. How he diverted time and resources to helping the soldiers under his command. And how he was as every bit as respectable as the Geth have made him out to be.

"Since our arrival to the Normandy, the crew has treated us as if we were humans ourselves." Typed Monun. "They have not treated us like monsters that need to be purged. Instead, they treated us like friends or comrades in arms that have fought with each other for years. Perhaps it is a result of our affiliation with the Enclaves, but I believe it is not. These people seem to genuinely enjoy our presence within the Normandy, baring one. This is, of course, contradictory to what we and the Geth know of Cerberus and how they operate as well as their beliefs. Therefore, I believe this is intentional. The crew of the Normandy is formed from those members of Cerberus that either only recently joined or do not know of Cerberus' true nature. Yurievich even told me that the human engineers of this ship have only recently joined and that their reason for joining Cerberus was because they are the only organization fighting against the Reapers. Or even acknowledge they exist. Further supporting this theory. Therefore, if we wish to entrust Shepard with anything, it must be only with him and only him. I do not know about the aliens, but I will continue to investigate if they are to be trusted as well." With all that typed, Monun ended that report, intending to send it the moment a comm buoy is within range of the Normandy.

Once he saved the report, Monun heard a call from Shepard. The commander had requested him and the entire Farsight Enclave team to report to the hanger bay. With that, Monun went to grab his weapons and equipment. This would be the first field assignment he had with the Normandy crew, and he wasn't going to disappoint them.

An hour later

Shuttle

"Alright, you all know the drill." Said Shepard as he addressed his team. The team consisted of Samara, Garrus, Jack, a thief by the name of Kasumi Goto, and the Enclave team. "We're going to an abandoned research facility and blow it up. Jack claims that it's abandoned, but knowing our luck, we're going to fight something. So, I want everyone to be on their guard. With some luck, it'll just be some hostile wildlife. Is that understood?" After hearing a chorus of yes sirs, Shepard spoke again. "Alright, just because we're here to destroy this place, doesn't mean we can't salvage something here. So, try to find what you can from the wreckage before we blow it all up. Understood?" After getting another chorus of yes sirs, Shepard looked at Jack and asked if that was alright with her.

"Look, Shepard." Said Jack as she glared at the commander. "I just want to destroy this entire fucking place. So long as that happens, I don't give a crap if you want some stuff here. Besides, I don't think there's going to be anything worth there that isn't scrap. Cerberus wouldn't have left anything of value there."

"Even scrap can be worth something." Said Garrus. "Could use the credits. The fact that Cerberus isn't funding us more is a disservice to us. Like, how do they expect us to do anything when they expect us to pay for necessities with our own pockets?"

"Maybe they didn't want to spend more money on Shepard after bringing him back from the dead and giving him a fancy new ship?" Joked Kasumi with a smile, causing Garrus to chuckle a bit. Before he could add to the joke, the shuttle pilot told them that they were making their final approach to the facility. With that, Shepard got out his Mattock assault rifle, modified to have a full auto and burst option, and ordered everyone to get ready.

Soon the shuttle landed at the facility's only landing pad, the only one that wasn't riddled with plant life. The shuttles doors then opened to disgorge its occupants. Getting out first, Jack and Shepard surveyed the surroundings, seeing just how much the planet's vegetation had covered the facility.

"Not as much as I thought it would be." Said Shepard as he saw that the facility wasn't as overrun with vegetation as he thought it would be. There were some trees and vines here and there, but overall, the facility was recognizable.

"Must have some automated vegetation removal that's partially active." Said Garrus as he surveyed their surroundings. "Otherwise, the whole facility would have been overrun with vegetation."

"Cerberus facilities are built to last it seems." Said Monun as they secured the area. Once the area was secured, everyone proceeded into the facility. The first door to the facility was locked, but that wasn't a problem for the Normandy team. A simple hack and the door opened for them. Upon entering, they saw crates of varying sizes along with stained glass windows and broken-down terminals.

"Never seen this part of the facility, even when I broke out." Said Jack as she saw the room they were entering. "Must be where they brought in new children. They were shipped here in containers. Must have been messed up and scared. Most of the time anyway." The team didn't comment on what they were all feeling about that. There was no need. As they kept went deeper and deeper into the facility, the more run-down and damaged it became. Barely working machinery, broken windows, and bullet holes, and explosions from biotic powers have become more and more common with each passing step.

Eventually, the group found a barely working security console showing a recording when the facility was still operational. Upon seeing it still active, Shepard went over there and began to overhear what it was saying.

"The Illusive Man requested operational logs again. He's getting suspicious." Said the hologram recording of a security officer as the hologram flickered in and out.

"When we get results, he won't care what we did. But if he knew…" Said another voice from the recording, from someone that wasn't visible from the security console.

"He won't find out." Finished the security guard. The recording then started over again. Realizing this, Shepard turned it off.

"Sounds like the facility went rouge." Said Garrus after hearing the recording. Jack, however, disagreed.

"They didn't say what they were hiding from the Illusive Man. Besides, you heard what it said. He wouldn't give a shit about what this facility did so long as it gave him something he can use." Said Jack.

"It does seem like successful fruition of whatever this facility was trying to achieve would have exempted them from any wrongdoings they've committed with Cerberus' resources." Said Monun, siding with Jack on this.

"Fucking exactly." Said Jack, satisfied that someone got what she was saying. Shepard just stayed silent at this as he processed all this. Soon, however, he ordered everyone to move on through a door next to the security console.

The door in question led to a large open area with a massive hole in the ceiling, letting the rain pour down into the facility.

"I remember escaping to this room." Said Jack as she entered the large room, guns still at the ready, along with everyone else. "Had to fight my way there. I saw sunlight through the cracks in the ceiling. Only a half-dead guard was standing between me and freedom. He was begging for his life."

"And you killed him." Said Yurievich with disgust in his tone.

"What do you think?" Asked Jack as they all slowly went down a floor to the base floor of the room. Once there, Shepard detected movement just ahead of them with his combat armor's onboard sensors. The movement of the targets suggested wildlife, but Shepard wasn't taking any chances. After alerting everyone, the team slowly encroached on the targets, careful not to make any noise as they approached their targets. Soon, they heard the growls of Varren and readied themselves.

Taking a risk and seeing that it seemed it was just Varren with how they moved, Shepard ordered Xavur to fly up to see how many Varren were and attack them from the air. When he fired the first shots, they'll move in. Xavur, understanding the plan, nodded before flying up, his strong wings taking him there. Although Shepard wanted to take the time to appreciate the strength of Xavur's wings, which seemed to be able to fly without much technological assistance, he didn't get a chance as the Varren howled and growled upon seeing Xavur. With that, Shepard moved ahead with Garuk close behind, his gun at the ready with its close combat blades. Although Shepard had seen Farsight use a sword to great effect back at the Collector ship, that was because Farsight was piloting a giant mech suit to help augment the sword's cutting power. Garuk had no such mech suit to help him with his blades. So, they shouldn't be of much help.

Although they were facing Varren, who weren't that hard to kill so long as one avoided their powerful jaws and he had confidence that Garuk was a trained killer with much experience behind him, so Shepard trusted that Garuk knew what he was doing. If nothing else, he'll provide support as best he can for the Kroot.

Soon, Xavur proceeded to open fire on the Varren, his gun firing constant green beams of energy at the Varren, causing them to howl in pain before dying. In the next few seconds, the squad was upon the remaining Varren as they tried to jump up to where Xavur was firing at them, some of their pack being reduced to puddles of biological material, much to Shepard and his team's shock, though the team soon recovered quickly as there were still Varren around.

Garuk, seizing the chance, pounced on the surviving Varren with frightening speed. With the blades mounted on his weapon, he began to hack and slice the remaining Varren up. Seeing Garuk there, Xavur stopped firing and watched as his teammate killed the remaining Varren. Screeching out, Garuk finished the remaining Varren with a slice to the neck, cutting it completely off. With all their enemies' dead, Garuk stopped and sheathed his weapon. With his free hands, Garuk began, to the disgust of some, began to chew and eat the flesh of the Varren that he had slain. While some looked at this in disgust, not in the act, but rather how Garuk ate and how he was eating raw flesh, others looked at it with fascination.

If the codex entry for the Kroot was to be believed, then Garuk would be able to alter himself with the DNA of the Varren, making him stronger. Some wanted to see just how he was able to do so, while others wanted to see if the codex wasn't bullshitting. Seeing that everyone was looking at Garuk, Monun looked at Garuk and explained what was on everyone's mind.

"It's not as simple as you might think it is." Said Monun, getting everyone's attention. "Garuk must first decide what genetic traits from the Varren are safe for him to take and what are not. I presume you have read the codex entries regarding what happens if a Kroot eats something that can lead to disastrous consequences."

"Yeah." Said Garrus as he watched Garuk eat. "Something about them devolving to animals, right?"

"Correct." Said Monun. "Sometimes, when they eat their prey, it can lead to loss of intelligence and lead them to become untamable beasts that attack their former allies. That is what the Kroot Shapers are for. They determine what genetic traits and characteristics do not regress his people and what are favorable to their survival. It's a long and grueling process. Garuk is a Shaper and must inspect the meat of the Varren to decide if there is anything worth having from such prey. I do not think any of you would like him to devolve into a four-legged beast that attacked anyone on sight nor becomes more feral than he is now." That was something everyone agreed. They already had Grunt for that, and they really didn't need anymore.

With Garuk eating and confident nothing was present in the immediate area, Shepard sent Monun and Garrus ahead of the team while the rest secured the area. As both Monun and Garrus left, the rest of the team looked around to see a small makeshift arena.

"I remember this place." Said Jack as she inspected the area, looking at an old bloodstain. "Yeah, they had me fight a bunch of other kids here. I loved it. Was the only time I was out of my cell." Upon hearing that, everyone present gave a noise of disgust except for Xavur and Garuk as the two were either busy eating or checking the perimeter.

"What the hell is wrong with these sick people?" Asked Yurievich in disgust, saying what was on everyone's mind. "Kidnaping children and subjecting them to sick experiments is one thing but making them fight each other to the death. It's beyond despicable."

"No fucking clue." Said Jack with a shrug. "Maybe they got their kicks out of it? Maybe they just wanted to get some cheap entertainment or something? I don't know. All I know is that they took me out of the cell and made me fight other kids. They shocked me if I hesitated. Pumped a bunch of drugs when I didn't and attacked."

"They rewarded you with drugs?" Asked Shepard in disgust, crossing his arms. More and more he wondered just how far the Illusive Man was willing to go just to help humanity become a powerful force in the galaxy. He knew that this facility went rogue and all, but he just knew that the Illusive Man would keep all data from this facility just because it was useful. Heck, he might even do recreate what happened here as well if he felt it was necessary.

"Narcotics mostly." Said Jack. "Had drugs already in my systems when the fighting started. Guess they wanted it to be something pleasurable. Make me a killing machine or something." Shepard just shook his head at all this. Before he could ask some more questions, he received a radio message from Garrus.

"Shepard, we have a dead Varren." Said Garrus as he inspected a dead Varren corpse. Only it was a fresh one and neither he nor Monun killed it. Neither did it have any bite marks related to Varren bites. "It's corpse is still fresh. Looks like it was killed only two hours ago. And it wasn't killed by another Varren. Looks like we have some company."

"Understood, we'll be right there." Said Shepard before turning the comms off. "Looks like we have some unexpected company. Some other people are here, so keep your guard up people." Everyone nodded at that before drawing out their weapons and preparing to move out.

"So why are people here?" Asked Kasumi as they went to Garrus' position. "I know why we're here, but why are other people here? Thought this place was a big unknown."

"Has to be scavengers." Said Yurievich. "But that raises another question. How did they find this place? I thought this was an off-the-grid location?"

"My guess is that they got lucky, or someone gave the location to them." Suggested Kasumi, her weapon at the ready. Shepard then cut the chatter as they neared Monun's and Garrus' position. Once there, Shepard saw Monun and Garrus near a security console.

"Shepard got some info off this old thing." Said Garrus as he turned to face Shepard. "Not really important info, per se, but we have some info regarding how Jack escaped."

"What do you mean?" Asked Shepard, curious about what Garrus found.

"Well according to this security terminal." Said Garrus as he pointed to said security console. "The kids started a riot that sent the whole facility into chaos. Apparently, it's what caused Jack to get loose in the first place." Upon hearing that, Jack glared at Garrus.

"No way in hell that happened." Said Jack. "I broke out when my guards disappeared. I started that riot."

"The security recordings do not lie. They have told have everything." Said Monun before turning on the security console. From there, everyone could see that both Monun and Garrus were telling the truth. A riot had occurred in the facility. One that occurred before Jack freed herself. Upon hearing the full recording, Jack shook her head in protest.

"That's not right." Said Jack. "I started the riot. I caused it all."

"Jack, you were a kid back then." Said Shepard as he tried to calm her down. "There may have been details that you haven't noticed, or you were too busy fighting to notice what was really going on."

"No fucking way." Said Jack, glaring at Shepard. "The other kids attacked me. The guards attacked. Even the fucking scientists got in my way. That doesn't leave much to question." Seeing no point in this little argument, Shepard ordered the squad to move on.

Eventually, they arrived in a large, spacious room that had containers in them. It almost looked like a makeshift morgue. Before anyone could determine if it was indeed a morgue, the sounds of breaking glass and gunfire soon erupted in the room.

"Take cover!" Yelled Shepard as the gunfire started. Taking cover behind a metal table, Shepard waited until the gunfire stopped before he popped out of cover and fired at something. To his luck, he hit and killed a Vorcha just as he was about to toss a grenade where Monun was. Seeing Vorcha, Shepard ordered the squad members with Mass Accelerator weapons to mod their weapons for incendiary rounds to counteract the Vorcha's ability to regenerate their wounds. He also advised his team to aim for the head as that was the surest way to kill a Vorcha.

As everyone was killing the Vorcha, of which Shepard counted over two dozen of them, Shepard saw how Monun and his men fought and was impressed.

Both Monun and Yurievich were limiting just how much of their body was being exposed to the enemy. Always never doing more than what was necessary to fire a shot or two and going back into cover. They also ensured that their flanks were always covered by either themselves or their allies whenever they were in cover, never doing anything that Shepard considered wasting precious time. Garuk, Legion, and Xavur were also doing the same thing, but Shepard noticed that Xavur was doing it a bit more poorly compared to the rest of his team, most likely because he was more used to using his wings in combat, flying around, and firing on anyone below him. Still, he was doing adequately enough, and Shepard made it a point to keep him properly supported when possible.

Soon, the Vorcha that they encountered were all dead. Shepard did a quick check of his radar to see if anyone else was moving beside his teammates but found nothing. Just to be safe, Shepard ordered everyone to remain in cover for a few more seconds while he ordered Legion to send out a drone to scan for additional hostiles. When Legion sent a drone and it detected no further hostiles, everyone got out of cover to assess where they were.

"This is definitely a morgue." Said Garrus as he went over to a corner filled with coffins. Coffins that around the size of human children.

"Why the fuck would they need a morgue?" Asked Jack as she scowled. "This was a small facility."

"It's for the children." Said Garrus with disgust as he picked a data-pad. "They brought in dozens, maybe even hundreds, of children and put them through these sick experiments." Monun, being the nearest to Garrus and thus his find, picked up another data-pad and read it.

"That is not the only harrowing thought." Said Monun after reading some of the datapad's contents. "They've done countless experiments on human children in this facility. Many of which had high fatality rates. It also seems that most of the experiments done to the other children were done to see if they were feasible to utilize on Jack."

"What?" Yelled out Jack as she scowled at this information. "What the fuck do you mean by that?"

"It appears that the reason for the morgue was because they've been doing experimental procedures that were, in theory, suppose to improve one's biotic potential." Explained Monun as he continued to read the data-pad. "However, many of these ended either ended in failure and the subjects died as a result. Or they succeeded in their intended function, but the high mortality rates of the experimental procedures were not safe for usage for Subject Zero. Jack." Monun gave the data-pad to Shepard before speaking again. "It appears they were protecting their most valued subject."

"Bullshit." Said Jack, getting angry at Monun from saying the lab fucks here were protecting her. "They weren't protecting me from shit."

"No." Agreed Monun. "Not in a typical way, at least. They weren't doing it because they cared about you. No, they did it because you were their most valued subject. The one that was close to realizing their goals. It would be a shame and perhaps fatal to them if they lost you over a simple procedure meant to help your biotic potential." Jack simply scowled more at that. Before she could even speak, Shepard spoke up.

"He's right, Jack." Said Shepard as he finished reading the data-pad, disgusted with what he read. "There was no possible way they're going to utilize an untested procedure on you. Not when the chances of you dying are high. So, it makes sense they do it on other kids."

"Whatever." Said Jack as she scowled even further. "Doesn't matter anyway. Let's just blow this place straight to hell. Alright?" Shepard just ordered people to move out. As they walked, Shepard spoke to Monun.

"Those Vorcha back there were from the Blood Pack." Said Shepard as they walked together. "You know about them?"

"Indeed." Said Monun. "A Krogan led mercenary organization. Only made up of Vorcha and Krogan with Varren as beasts of war. Highly dangerous, despite the lack of discipline. Best taken out via long-range. Correct?"

"You got it." Said Shepard as they continued to walk with the rest of the squad. "Your weapons should work well against them. Your plasma weapons will work well against the Vorcha and Krogan of the Blood Pack. They rely a lot on their natural hardiness to get them through battles. Your plasma weapons should make short work of that and their barriers."

"Yes. We should be able to eliminate them relatively quickly so long as we're properly supported." Said Monun. Early on, the enclave had found out that their plasma weapons worked wonders against the kinetic barriers of this galaxy. Contrary to what some people believed, or rather were unsure of, plasma weapons were affected by kinetic barrier, albeit to a lesser degree compared to Mass Accelerator weapons. Even Ion weapons trigger kinetic barriers, although said barriers matter little with such weapons.

During testing against on objects outfitted with kinetic barriers, both of which were provided generously by the Geth, the Tau realized that their plasma weapons had an adverse effect on the emitters responsible for generating the Mass Effect fields responsible for the Kinetic barriers found in combat armor and starships. Because the shields are emitted so close from the emitters and the entity they are supposed to protect, the heat and radiation emitted from both Tau Ion and plasma weaponry caused the emitters to seriously overheat and malfunction, resulting in them shutting down for long periods of time, thus depriving a soldier or a starship of their precious kinetic barriers. This effect is even more pronounced on emitters made for a soldier's suit of armor. All it takes was a glancing hit from a Tau weapon to cause this effect to all but the hardiest of emitters made for combat armor. Emitters for vehicles and starships fared better, but not by a significant amount. And even then, it mattered little as the weaponry for vehicles or starships made kinetic barriers irrelevant due to their sheer power or because they didn't trigger said barriers.

As a result, Tau military officials were initially unsure if they should devout time and resources to installing kinetic barrier emitters into the combat armor of their Fire Warriors, battlesuits, and starships. Eventually, they decided to do it as many realized that there still was value in doing so as most of their enemies now will mostly have Mass Accelerator weapons. Even still, many wonder if Kinetic barrier technology will become obsolete now that the Tau has brought their own weaponry into the equation and if people will attempt to figure out a way to make them reliable again.

"I know." Said Shepard as he remembered the few times that he's seen the Tau in action. "Your people seem to prefer ranged combat above all of us, huh?"

"Indeed." Agreed Monun as they all went through a door. "My people are not able to perform close combat as effectively as you humans. Our physiology simply does not have the necessary requirements for such a duty."

"I see." Said Shepard before asking a question. "If so, why does Farsight engage in close combat. Your codex says your people rather fight at ranged than to engage in close combat at all. If any close combat does need to happen, you have your allies do it. So, why does he do it?" Monun took a moment to process that question before speaking.

"Farsight, even at a young age, has shown a remarkable aptitude and unusual drive for close combat." Explained Monun. "I do not what caused him to develop such an interest in the first place, but his skills with a blade, especially with his battlesuit, are not to be denied." Shepard could agree there. Before they could continue, however, Jack interrupted them, having found a terminal that was showing a recording.

With that, the two stopped their conversation. With everyone present, they all listened to the recording, which revealed evidence supporting Monun's theory about the personal here making sure the experiments they did were not lethal enough to kill Jack. Upon hearing all this, Jack went into denial.

"That can't be." Said Jack. "They weren't doing anything to help me. They tortured me, drugged me, put through so much shit that it's a fucking miracle that I'm more fucked up than I am now."

"I know it's a lot to take in, Jack." Said Shepard, trying to calm her down. "But it's the truth."

"Fuck it is." Yelled Jack as she whirled around to glare at Shepard. Though she looked angry, Shepard and the others could see that she was having a hard time processing all this. All this new information that she had no knowledge of until now. Shepard could understand how she was feeling. Now just knowing pieces of information regarding your past that you were sure was accurate one hundred percent was something that can shake a person up for real. After all, that was what happened to Garrus when he found out the reason his traitorous teammate did what he did. And what Kolyat experienced when Thane told him what really happened to his mother and why he wasn't around. It was what Jack was experiencing now and Shepard knew that he had to help her through it less she does something she'll regret.

Seeing that Shepard was so bloody calm made Jack angry. Before she could use her biotics in any shape or way, she suddenly stopped herself, realizing that this was pointless, and calmed herself down. At least that was what she told herself.

With nothing else to do, Shepard ordered everyone to move up, but also to be cautious in case there were more Blood Pack mercenaries ahead.

Now I know when it comes to energy weapons and kinetic barriers there tends to be arguments on whether kinetic barriers can affect plasma weapons. I'm a little on the fence on either, so I decided to just make plasma and Ion weapons in this story cause kinetic barrier emitters to malfunction and overload when they get hit, making them effective against kinetic barriers. If you feel that this is either too much or too little, please leave a comment so I can change it before the next chapter is written up.