Zenna groaned as she slid under one of the main terminals in order to rewire the terminal and systems. Cerberus engineers were good, but it has damn clear that they had no minotaur's on station to help with construction. If they did, the mess of the wiring wouldn't have been this bad. Not that she had any problem with non-minotaur engineers, but it irked her that very few people understood simple mechanical and engineering aesthetics and efficiency.
After taking out the Collector base, and braking away from Cerberus, the Normandy had taken one hell of beating. Meaning that it couldn't take a Mass Relay to drydock for repairs. Even the spare parts they had weren't enough for what they needed to repair the ship. The plates, the engine, the thrusters. All of it needed replacing, not just repaired.
Thankfully the Shadow Broker had redirected a support ship to help them get to the nearest drydock. And provided them with more then enough funds for a vacation and to repair and refit the ship. But that was going to take a long time, longer than she felt comfortable.
As she moved to connect several wires, Kelly came over the comm.
"Incoming message from Admiral Hackett, Alliance HQ. He wants to speak to you." she said.
"Give us a sec," she said as she finished the job. "I'll take it in my room," she said before sliding out from the terminal and making her way up.
Reaching her room, Zenna turned the lights off and the video transmission of Hackett appeared before her.
"Commander, thank you for your time. I'll keep this brief. We have a deep-cover operative out in Batarian space. Name's Doctor Amanda Kenson. Dr. Kenson recently reported that she found evidence of an imminent Reaper invasion," he said, his voice betraying the panic he had.
"So why call me?" Shepard asked confused.
"Just this morning I received word that the Batarians arrested her. They're holding her in a secret prison outpost on terrorism charges. I need you to infiltrate the prison and get her out of there. As a favour to me, I'm asking you to go in alone," the Admiral said but Zenna just raised her brow.
"You are sending a 6,10 minotaur into Batarian space for a stealth mission," she smirked. "Why me and not a nekomata or lamia?"
"You are the best person for the job," he said in an apologetic tone. "You are a Spectre, and no longer officially part of the Alliance,"
"Plausible deniability," Zenna groaned.
"Afraid so," the admiral shrugged.
The minotaur sighed and shook her head. "I've heard of Kenson. I've read into her research of the Mass Relays. She's been causing a stir in the galactic community with her findings that the Relays are much older than 50'000 years. Didn't know she was an Alliance operative." she muttered remembering something about it in Galactic nature.
"That is correct," Hackett said with something in his tone that he didn't like what he was about to say. "While some in the Alliance don't want to believe that the Reapers are coming, there are still some who do. Kenson claims she found an artefact out in Batarian space. She believes it's a Reaper device, proof that the Reapers are indeed planning to invade. I've known her a long time. If she says she has proof, it's worth checking out. You already know of some of her work, so you know this is necessary to prove to the galaxy that the Reapers are real,"
Zenna swallowed as she realised the gravity of the saturation. "I'll get there as soon as I can sir, but my ship is out for the foreseeable future,"
"I'll send a stealth ship with an… acquired Kodiak for the mission,"
"Got it,"
"Hackett out,"
The screen turned blank and the lights and Shepard fell onto her chair. She could feel another headache come on. Hackett was one of the few she could trust and if he needed something done, he could just send someone else. But if he called her, it was more than likely trouble.
OOOOO
It was pouring rain around the prison that housed the Alliance scientist. A former Blood Pack shuttle flew in and landed next to an unguarded backdoor to the facility. The door opened and Zenna hopped out. As the shuttle flew away, she approached the door and noticed it was locked. The right side of it was a cable that powered the door's security. Looking up she watched as she shuttle fly away.
Once it was out of sight, she checked her omni-tool and watched as it was detected and got destroyed. Before she used the ship, she made sure to get a few bodies from the Blood Pact to put inside. Granted the ship smelled to high heaven, but it provided her the alibi she needed to be there. No one checked bodies in space. Even then the explosion sent shrapnel around the area. So if anyone did take a closer look, there would be no indication that she had killed them.
With that done, she mocked over and hacked the lock. The door opened, she entered with a hatchet at the ready. Guns wouldn't be useful here. The tunnel was decrepit and there were leaks everywhere. The engineer in her screamed at such disrespect to the fine art of engineering. But he moved forward until she reached a gap. She looked down below and saw a Varren sleeping.
'Varren,' she thought to herself looking around the intimidate area before noticing the skeletons. 'The Batarians must send their prisoners down here to die. I have to find Doctor Kenson now,'
She jumped over the gap and rolled in order to soften the sound as she landed on the other side. She did this quiet as quietly as she could as to not awaken the nearby Varren. Moving forward up some stairs and saw a Varren run by. She went down the corridor and shut off a security panel. To her right he saw a Varren resting in the direction he needed to go. Kira stealthily approached the Varren held its mouth tightly and twisting its head killing it. No one was coming down here any time soon, but she needed to make sure that this wasn't Alliance doing in order for her plan to work.
As she was walking by a laser field, she heard one of the Batarian guards. "Get the Human into questioning,"
"Get your damn hands off of me!" a Human women demanded.
Based on the sound Zenna assumed it was likely Kenson. She needed to hurry, moving to a deactivated door, but saw a damaged pipe just above it. She thew a hatchet into the pipe. It exploded which opened to way forward. The Batarians would likely believe that the explosion was just due to the poor condition of the place. She then turned the gas direction to remove the flames that blocked his path.
Eventually Shepard found the exit of the run-down tunnels. It opened to a lounge quarter for the guards, which luckily was unoccupied. Shepard could hear two of the guards speaking.
"They want to slam an asteroid into the mass relay," one said.
"Can they even do that?" the other one asked.
"What difference does it make?" the first replied. "We caught them,"
'Slam an asteroid into a relay?' Shepard thought. 'That could take out a star system, and start a war,'
She left the building and went outside into the rain. She knew that she would have to be extra careful out in the rain. Any kind of sound could attract them. Shepard moved quickly through the area. She went through a building and up the stairs into the main building of the prison facility. In there, Zenna then heard more guards talking.
"No way it would have worked. Relays can't be damaged, much less destroyed," one objected.
Another just grunted. "Those Humans will do anything to destroy us, I swear,"
"We have to make this one an example to others," the first said. We can't respond kindly to terrorists,"
'Look who's talking you slaver bastards,' Zenna thought.
As she round the room, one of the guards made an announcement. "There's a shuttle incoming. Clear the hangar bay,"
'Looks like I have my escape plan. Good,'
Shepard entered the storage room. More murmuring from the Batarians was heard in the locked room.
"I heard an artefact was found in that asteroid belt. Think the Humans got it?" one asked, but by this point Zenna was far past caring what they said.
The only way down was through the platform that the truck rested on. She jumped over the railing and landed on the ground. Zenna then activated the control on the truck platform. The platform lowered to the floor below. Once there was room, Shepard went down and continued in her search for Kenson.
After deactivating the laser field, Shepard found the interrogation room. Two Batarians were waiting for the interrogation to begin.
"This one is the mastermind," one said.
"If she doesn't talk, kill her," the officer ordered.
Shepard approached the two Batarians from behind. The glass was likely one-sided. She went in behind the two. Axes ready in hand she rapidly swung at the two Batarians beheading them, preventing them from raising alarm or even sound. She caught them then lowered them to the floor. Zenna then shut off the video feed from the interrogation room and moved around to the room's entrance. she entered inside and saw the Batarian was preparing to start the torture.
"Pst!" Shepard hissed at him.
The Batarian looked only to for Zenna to grab both sides of his head and twist so that his head was facing the other way. He fell to the ground limp.
"Who are you?" Kenson asked weakly. "What are you doing?"
"Doctor Kenson? I'm Commander Zenna Shepard. I'm here to get you out," she worked on releasing the restraints that held Kenson in place.
"Commander Shepard?" the doctor asked with some surprise. "I heard you were alive. Hackett must have received my message,"
"We're not safe here. Can you walk?" Shepard asked working the controls.
The restraints released and Kenson sluggishly got to her feet. "I'm fine. Just give me a moment,"
Zenna's ears began to twitch the sound of movement close. "We have to go. Now!"
Kenson nodded. "If we can find a console, I can hack security... make us an escape path,"
Just then the alarm went off.
"Shit," Zenna moaned. "Look, I already have an escape plan in place. I have a program which will hack a security console immediately. But we need to go now,"
Kenson picked up the pistol from the Batarian's body. "Ready,
Shepard took the Batarian guard by surprise and decapitated him with a quick slash of her hatchet before the two went down the stairs.
"This is a cell block," Kenson said glancing around. "There should be a security console here somewhere,"
They went through some doors and ran into several Batarians. Kenson fired off an incineration blast to burn one of them to death. Zenna fired a concussive shot blasting two off into the elevator shaft. She then moved as fast as she could pistol in hand and shot at the two Batarian soldiers point blank, eliminating the last of the resistance. In the corner of her eye her saw a console.
"Found the security console," Shepard announced to Kenson.
Kenson ran up to it and looked at its info before cursing. "The damn console too encrypted I cannot hack it,"
Zenna moved and looked at it before she let out a laugh and turned to the doctor. "You know how to use this?" she asked as she held out her SMG.
"Yes," Kenson nodded taking it and a few grenades from the minotaur before moving to stand by the door.
Zenna cracked her neck and fingers before working on the console. Her fingers moving a mile a minute as she digested the information before her and decrypting the systems. As she worked, barks of gunfire came from Kenson's position. Ignoring it, she moved faster to decrypt the systems. She smiled when she heard the doors unlock.
Zenna then moved to the door and fired a couple of rounds from her pistol taking out a couple of the Batarians. As the final one fell, Kenson handed back her smg.
"I've down alarms," Zenna said. "Orbital tracking network is down. The Hegemony have crap security," she then turned back to the terminal and began to type. "Opening hangar bay. Doors locking down to preventing anyone from attacking. And... Bringing down the elevator so we can get to the Hangar,"
The main elevator came down and connected to their level. Shepard and Kenson got onto the elevator. The Batarians on the level below couldn't do anything beyond shooting at them wildly.
"Get to the Hangar bay!" one of the guards announced on the speaker. "Don't let them escape!"
"Oh, one last thing," Shepard mentioned. "The Hangar doors are hard-locked. We'll have to get those open the old-fashioned way."
"Lovely," Kenson muttered. "Why can't anything be easy,"
"The universe isn't kind," Zenna smiled.
Once they got into the Hangar, Shepard spotted one of the pressured tanks that keeps the doors locked. She fired several rounds at it destroying it. A loud groan echoed across the hanger as one door opened up.
There were around eight Batarians in the Hangar. Wanting to end the fight quickly Shepard drew her grenade launcher and fired a few rounds at the soldiers sending them scattering. Kenson however fired a few fire rounds at the remaining Batarians setting them on fire.
Kira destroyed the last pressure tank which opened the Hangar doors. Kenson and Shepard entered the shuttle. Kenson took pilot of the vehicle. Several Batarians ran into the Hangar and fired at the shuttle. The craft turned and let off a burst to fly off. The flames from the thrusters set the flammable fluids on the ground on fire which engulfed the three guards.
OOOOO
"Engaging auto-pilot," Kenson said as she released the ship's controls. "We should be well out of range before they get their security measures unscrambled,"
"Do you think they'll come after you?" Shepard asked.
The doctor shook her head. "I'm not taking any chances. Batarians don't take kindly to Humans who plan to destroy their mass relays,"
That caused Zenna's brows to shoot up in surprise. "So, the charges against you are true,"
The doctor just shrugged. "Well. To be fair, that's about half the story. My people and I were here investigating rumours of Reaper technology out in the fringes of this system,"
"I guess you found something," the commander nodded.
"We found proof that the Reapers will be arriving in this system. When they get here, they'll use its mass relay to travel throughout the galaxy. We call it the 'Alpha Relay.' From here, the Reapers can invade anywhere in the galaxy," Kenson pointed to the relay outside the viewport.
"So, you decided to destroy it," Zenna concluded.
"Exactly," the doctor nodded. "Doing that would stop the Reapers' invasion. Even at FTL speeds, it'd be months or years before they got to the next relay. We came up with what we just called 'the Project': a plan to launch a nearby asteroid into the relay and destroy it before the Reapers could arrive. Of course, the resulting explosion would probably wipe out the system,"
The minotaur nodded before shaking her head. "I still don't see how you learned about this supposed invasion,"
Shepard and Kenson sat down across from each other.
"The evidence came from what we call Object Rho, a Reaper artefact we discovered among the asteroids near the relay itself. When we get back to Arcturus Station, I'll explain everything and provide copies of all our notes on the artefact," the doctor explained fiddling with her fingers.
"What's a Reaper artefact doing on an asteroid?"
The doctor shrugged. "We don't know, or even what its purpose is. Some things are just too old or large to comprehend. Even a Reaper thousands of years dead contains power. Their artefact are worthy of study, regardless of their purpose,"
Zenna nodded as she stroked her chin. "How exactly does a Reaper artefact give you proof of an impending invasion?"
"It should me visions of the Reaper's arrival... much like your Prothean beacon, I imagine. The Reapers are coming, Commander. That much I know for certain,"
Zenna frowned as she looked at the doctor. "If you're working near a Reaper artefact, how have you avoided indoctrination?"
"We've been very careful," Kenson defended, with a hint of being insulted. "We know what we're dealing with. You're not speaking to a child, Shepard. I saw what Sovereign did at the Citadel. Trust me... I know what's at stake,"
Shepard just shook her head. "The stakes are too high. If you were willing to destroy a whole system over this, I want to see your proof,"
"I guess I can't argue with that. Give me a moment." Kenson got to her feet and looked out the viewport, she activated her radio. "Kenson to Project Base."
"Good to hear your voice, Doctor," the voice on the other end said. "You coming home?"
"Affirmative. And I've got Commander Shepard with me,"
"Shepard? Really?" the voice asked shocked.
"Tidy up the lab. The Commander needs to confirm the artefact,"
"Right. I'll get everything set up for your arrival. Project Base out,"
Kenson sat back down. "All set. Just sit back and relax. We'll be there in no time."
OOOOO
The shuttle made its approach to one of the asteroids. It flew over the Project Base and lowered down into the Hangar Bay. As soon as it touched down, Shepard and Kenson hopped out.
"Here we are," Kenson said. "Welcome to Project Base,"
They took a few steps before Zenna noticed a countdown timer. "What's this?"
"That's our countdown to Arrival. When that gets to zero... the Reapers will have come. Just over two days and counting. Puts things in perspective, doesn't it?" the doctor asked, sounding unconcerned.
'That's not the half of it.' she thought. "How do you know that's an accurate countdown?"
"It is," Kenson said in a matter-of fact tone. "The artefact has been giving off pulse intervals since we found it. The intervals have been decreasing at a steady rate. The artefact is reacting to the Reaper's proximity. In just over forty-eight hours, the pulses will become constant, and the Reapers will be here."
"It sounds like the artefact is a beacon to lead the Reaper to this system," Zenna noted.
Kenson nodded in response. "That is a good theory,"
"If the Reapers will be here in two days, we need to hurry," the urgency in her growing.
"Then let's show you that proof," the doctor said pointing. "That door exits the Hangar. The artefact in our central lab area,"
Shepard followed Kenson toward the lab area. On the way they talked. Zenna also noticed that there were many guards and scientists they passed on the way. She frowned at that. Normally operations like this had few guards to avoid suspicion. But this… why did they need so many?
"So, what would it take to get the Project back up and running?" Shepard asked.
"Everything was in place when we were arrested," Kenson answered. "It wasn't a question of 'could we,' but 'should we.'"
"What alternative do we have?" Kira asked.
"The Reapers will reach this system, regardless. But the Alpha Relay is their shortcut to the rest of the galaxy. If you want to keep the Reapers at bay, this relay must be destroyed," her voice betraying something Zenna couldn't put her finger on.
They soon reached the door to the lab and Shepard fiddled with the door panel to open it. "We have to get the Project running again. It's probably the only chance we have,"
"One sec," Kenson said while using her omni-tool. "Let me get the door,"
The door opened. The artefact was enormous. It looked similar to a blooming flower. The device glowed. Kenson and Shepard approached the artefact. As soon as she saw it Shepard felt sick to her stomach and fear gripped her in a madding squeeze.
"Commander Shepard, I give you Object Rho," Kenson declared.
"You have the Reaper artefact just sitting here... out in…" Zenna moved like lighting and aimed her pistol at Kenson's head. "It makes sense now, why you didn't destroy the relay,"
Kenson just smiled. "When we found it, it showed me a vision of the Reaper's arrival. Give it a moment,"
Barely five seconds passed before the artefact gave off a burst of energy. A brief, but intense, image flashed through her mind. It showed the Reaper fleet approaching the Alpha Relay. Once the vision ended, Shepard fell to her knees. She looked up to see Kenson pointing a gun at her head.
"I can't let you start the Project, Shepard," she said. "I can't let you stop the arrival,"
Kenson looked to the soldiers who entered the room. As soon as she did, Shepard attacked her, disarming her. Shepard took cover from the AR fire from one of the soldiers.
"Take her down!" Kenson ordered before leaving the room.
Shepard fired two concussion rounds to kill the soldiers that were firing at her. She ran to a corner of the room to get better cover from the reinforcements that were entering the room. Shepard fought with everything she had against the waves of soldiers. All the while, Kenson and Harbinger, communicating through Object Rho despite the indoctrination resistor she had. They taunted her and demanded that she surrender. She maybe powerful but the waves they were throwing at her where really testing her limits.
As she fought, he noticed something wrong with the people she was fighting. They seemed stronger and rarely said anything. Almost like a hive mind. Just then the sound of a YMIR mech came into the room.
"Fuck my luck." Zenna yelled in annoyance as she left covers and brought up her grenade launcher.
She roared as she fired several rounds before the reactor of the mech went critical and detonated.
"The mech is down, she's too strong!" one of the soldiers yelled.
"Just hold on, it won't be much longer." Kenson said.
"That does not sound good," Zenna muttered before she stood and looked around. "BRING IT ON!" she roared.
"YOU SHALL BE THE FIRST TO WITNESS OUR ARRIVAL," a voice said.
Energy burst from the artefact. The energy wave hit Shepard with an even more intense vision than before. Shepard was knocked out as several soldiers entered the room with Kenson towards Shepard's body.
Zenna was briefly conscious to see Kenson bending over her. Her eyes glowed yellow just like the Harbinger possessed Collectors and the voice was like Harbinger's.
"Take her to the med bay and patch her up," she ordered her troops. "We want Shepard alive,"
Shepard faded back into unconsciousness.