Chapter 7
In the Nick of Time

"Are you sure about this?" Booker asked, holding the glass-fronted helmet sceptically, "I've done a lot of crazy things in my time, but taking a walk in space is a new one."
The private investigator was standing in the Normandy's forward airlock, already wearing a bulky spacesuit and magnetic boots. With him was the ship's silver-haired medical officer, Karin Chakwas.

"You're the only person here who can do it," Doctor Chakwas replied, taking the helmet and placing it over his head.
"Are you kidding lady? Up until yesterday, I didn't even know space travel was possible!"
"And I didn't know that different universes existed until yesterday. We're all learning new things Mr. DeWitte."

She locked the helmet into place and there was a rush of air as the suit pressurised.
Booker sighed. The ship's computer had detected something moving around the ship's hull. They had not been able to get any images of it, but they knew it needed to be removed before it caused any damage. To that end, it had been decided that Booker would don a spacesuit and go outside to deal with the problem. He had been armed with a mass effect assault rifle from the Normandy's armoury, as his own shotgun would not work in the vacuum of space.

"Alright, you're all set," said Chakwas, stepping out of the airlock.
Beside her, Elizabeth watched, clearly worried.
"Don't do anything stupid out there okay?" she said, twisting her hands together.
"Don't worry Elizabeth," he replied, hoping he sounded more confident than he felt, "I've faced worse than this."
"Okay Booker, we're all set," said Chakwas, "I'm activating the airlock."

She pressed a button and the door slid closed, leaving him with one last sight of Elizabeth's worried face.
"Fantastic," he grumbled as a rush of noise filled the room as the air was pumped out.
A few seconds later the noises ended, and another door opened silently in front of him. Beyond was the vastness of the gas giant's cloudy surface and the endless black of space.
"Testing, testing," came the voice of EDI in his ear, "Booker can you hear me?"
"I hear you," he replied.

"Very good. The lifeform is currently on the top of the ship near the stern. There is a ladder to your right you can use."
"Umm, thanks EDI."
He was still unsure if he should trust the computer, but right now she was the only thing between him and eternity.
"Here goes nothing."

Stepping out of the airlock, Booker felt suddenly weightless as he left the ship's artificial gravity field. He was saved from floating off however by the magnetic boots and reached over to the ladder EDI had told him about.
Aside from his breathing, all was deathly quiet as he climbed the ship's curved hull. Looking up, he was confronted by the vast walls of Sevastopol Station.

"A port in space," he thought, "Ridiculous."
Reaching the top of the hull, he found it deserted.
"Okay, I'm right above you," he said, "Can't see anything yet."
"The lifeform is still at the stern of the ship," said EDI, "But appears to be moving toward your position."
"Brilliant."

He unclipped the mass effect rifle from his back and placed it against his shoulder. The shape of the hull meant what he was tracking could not be seen.
"What could possibly be out here?" he thought with a chill.
Something moved ahead of him, whip-like and fast. Keeping the rifle raised, Booker aimed as best he could with the helmet in the way.

Moving silently in the vacuum, a creature appeared. It was tall and thin, with an insect-like body the colour of blackened metal, a whip-thin tail moving back and forth behind it.
For a second the two froze, staring at each other, then the creature came charging at Booker, faster than he would have believed possible, its mouth opening in a silent scream.
Without hesitating, Booker pulled the trigger and mass effect rounds soundlessly streamed out of the gun, striking the creature just as its arms reached out. The impact knocked it clean off its feet and it was sent spinning into the void, yellowish blood spewing from its wounds.

"Booker? Booker, did you get it?" Joker's voice came through the radio.
"Yeah, yeah I got it," he replied, letting out a deep shuddering breath.
"What was it?"
"I don't know, but it was dangerous whatever it was."
"Alright, well you'd better get back inside."
Booker was happy to agree and took a step toward the airlock when EDI's voice stopped him.
"Just a moment Mr. DeWitt. I am detecting movement approaching the Normandy."
"From where?" Booker asked, sensing he would not like the reply.
"About one hundred metres above you."

Turning toward the station's uneven wall, Booker looked up and saw dozens of dark skeletal shapes creeping downward.
"Do you have a visual?" asked EDI.
"Yeah, I see 'em," Booker replied, shouldering the rifle once again.
"Can you handle the threat?"
"Do I have a choice?"

•

Passing through another set of automatic doors, Shepard's team entered a narrow room with a semi-circular window at the front, ringed by a control panel. Like the corridor before, it was empty, but everyone kept their weapons ready, not wanting to risk another ambush.
"Clear," Shepard said, once he had swept the room twice.
"This place is a ghost town," Garrus remarked.
"Not quite," replied Sherlock.

He pointed to the window and the others came forward. Beyond the glass was a vast room, its floor and ceiling shrouded in darkness. The walls were covered in pipes, and three large columns were spread around the open space, sparking with electrical power. In the centre was another, even larger column, with a series of walkways leading to control panels around it. On the walkways, the bulky silver forms of Cybermen could be seen moving around.
"What are they doing?" asked Inspector Lestrade.

Garrus unhooked a sniper rifle from his back and looked through the scope for a better view.
"Hmm," he muttered, "They're placing devices around that central column."
"Any idea what those 'devices' are?" said Shepard.
"Not a clue, but they don't look like bombs."
"Could they be a means of transporting the reactor core?" asked Sherlock, peering down at the vast room through a pair of small brass binoculars.

"I don't see how... unless…" Shepard began, when a thought came to him. "The devices could create a field that removes an object from this reality and sends it to another."
"Whatever it is, we need to stop them," said Tali. "Regardless of whether they destroy or teleport the reactor, it will throw this whole station out of orbit in a matter of minutes if they do it."
"Too right," Shepard replied, "Garrus, Sherlock, Lestrade. You come with me. We'll sneak down to the walkways and take them out. Tali, I need you to stay here and keep an eye on the systems. Watson, can you stay here on guard?"
"Of course," the robotic giant replied.
"You can't just leave me behind!" Tali protested.

"I don't want to," Shepard replied, feeling a sting of remorse. "But it's possible the Cybermen, or those androids, could launch a counter-attack on this place, and we can't afford this room to fall into their hands."
Tali grumbled, but nodded in understanding.
"Just stay safe down there."
"Don't worry, I will."
He squeezed her hand, then called for the other team members to follow him down a ladder that was beside the control panels.

"I see you and the commander are… close," Watson remarked.
"I… I… what?" Tali spluttered.
"Oh, forgive me Miss Vas Normandy, I didn't mean to pry."
"No, no, it's fine, it's just, I didn't expect you to notice."
A smile crossed Watson's face.
"I was in love myself once, many years ago."

Tali was rather surprised. In all her years working with machinery, she had never heard one talk about love, much less having experienced it. Perhaps there was something human about this 'compudroid' after all.
"I'll… I'll keep an eye on the systems," she said after a few moments, "Maybe I can work out what those Cybermen are doing."
"A very good idea Miss Vas Normandy," Watson replied, "If you need a hand let me know."
He turned toward the entrance and drew his electric pistol.

•

Trying to keep noise to a minimum, Shepard and his team made their way down the ladder and reached a walkway. Here the room felt even larger, while electrical discharges from the columns echoed like cannon fire. Ahead were a few boxes and plastic barrels, giving them some cover from the Cybermen.
"Stay low," he whispered to the other team members as he crept across the walkway and peeked at the central control column. The Cybermen were still placing their silver devices around the machines and did not seem to be taking notice of anything else.

"So, what's the plan?" asked Garrus, propping his sniper rifle on the edge of a crate.
"We need to take them out," Shepard replied, still scanning the distant walkways, "And do it fast. Otherwise, they'll just teleport the whole power plant in one go."
"Surely they need to calibrate the teleporter before using it?" remarked Lestrade as she checked the settings on her gun.
"No doubt Inspector," replied Sherlock, still observing the Cybermen with his binoculars. "But if we put them under pressure, they might try to transport it beforehand. The equipment might be damaged in the process, but I would assume they have the means to repair it."
"So how do we do this?" asked Lestrade.

Shepard silently watched the Cybermen for a minute or two.
"How many are there Garrus?" he said eventually.
"Ten, maybe fifteen," his friend replied, "I'm guessing there's a few we can't see around the back."
"How many can we take out from here?"
"From here? I'd say six at most, more likely five."
"We have to get closer," said Lestrade, "Hit them hard and fast."
Shepard scanned the walkway that led to the central column. The Cybermen had left it unguarded, but it was very exposed, with little cover, save for a few boxes.
"Garrus," Shepard ordered, "You stay here and give us covering fire. Lestrade, Holmes, you're with me."

He took grenades from his belt and handed them to the pair.
"We get as close as we can and hit those Cybermen with these," he went on. "After that, keep shooting until none of them are left standing."
"Got it," replied Lestrade.
"Lead on," stated Sherlock.

Crouching low, the three crept along the walkway. Garrus lay down on the metal floor and slipped the barrel of his sniper rifle between two boxes. From there, he had an almost unbroken view of the central platform.
"Almost too easy," he whispered with a smile.
The Cybermen moved slowly around the large column, the electrical flashes of the generators casting ghostly reflections off their suits. None of them looked toward the approach walkway, instead focusing on their own equipment.
"How much longer until the transporter is ready?" Shepard overheard one of the Cybermen ask as he pressed himself against a crate.
"The transporter requires two minutes to calibrate."
"Excellent."
"We're outta time," he thought.

His squad was only halfway along the walkway, but doubted they would get any closer without being seen. Sherlock peeked a head out at him, as if asking for a signal. Wordlessly Shepard took a grenade from his belt and nodded. Sherlock nodded back.
"Transporter ready in one minute and ten seconds," one of the Cybermen announced.
Shepard pressed the detonator.
"NOW!"

Moving as fast as his armour would allow, the commander jumped up and threw his grenade at the closest Cyberman. Sherlock and Lestrade did the same and three explosions ripped through the machine men in quick succession.
"Enemy forces!" announced a surviving Cyberman.
He raised his gun at Shepard when there was a sharp crack and he dropped to the floor, shot through by Garrus's sniper rifle.
"Push forward!" Shepard ordered.

Levelling his M-76 Revenant, he depressed the trigger, letting off controlled bursts of fire. Two Cybermen were cut down but more took their place. Lasers crashed against his kinetic barriers, and he dropped behind another crate to let them recharge. The central column was just a few metres ahead, but the remaining Cybermen were rallying. He began to realise they were not dealing with a handful of enemies, but a whole platoon.

"Shepard! We're running out of time!" Lestrade shouted, blasting away with her electric pistol.
"Keep pushing!" he yelled.
His shields recharged and he jumped out from cover, just in time to see a Cyberman activating a small device in his hand.

•

In the power plant's control room, Tali watched as Shepard slowly crept toward the walkway that led to the central column. She knew he could handle himself in a fight, she had seen it countless times by now, but all the same, she could not help but feel nervous. He was the only man she had ever loved, and to see him in danger was almost more than she could bear. Trying to distract herself from the worry, she linked her omni tool to the control panel and began taking readings. The technology of the place was fascinating. It was all extremely basic, the sort of thing that the Quarians had surpassed before they'd even begun to colonise space. Yet in this universe, the humans had set up a whole space trade network with it.

"How are you doing?" Watson asked, keeping his back to her as he watched the entrance.
"I… I'm not sure yet," Tali replied, "I need to take a few more readings."
"Very well. Let me know if you need any assistance."
The compudroid shifted his feet as if trying to make itself more comfortable.
"Don't be silly Tali," she thought, "Robots don't need to make themselves comfortable."
Three explosions sounded out, and Shepard began firing down the walkway, Sherlock and Lestrade covering him.
"Please stay safe."

As the gun battle raged below, Tali looked down at the readings she was getting from the controls. The power levels from the reactor were fluctuating wildly but remained within safety parameters.
"Looks like the Cybermen are testing the reactor," she stated aloud.
"Any idea why they would do that?" asked Watson.
"Not yet, we might get a better idea once we're…"
A scraping sound from the ventilation shaft above cut her off.
"What was that? she whispered, reaching for the shotgun strapped to her back.
"Let me check," Watson replied.

He walked to the shaft's exit in the middle of the ceiling and looked up.
"Hmm, my scans aren't picking up anything. Perhaps-"
A wiry black body with a long whip-like tail dropped on the compudroid, screeching at the top of its lungs.
"Unhand me you fiend!" he yelled.
Ignoring his protests, the creature lashed out with its clawed fingers, slicing through Watson's cloak with ease. Tali tried to take aim with her shotgun, but the creature had wrapped itself around the robotic man tightly, making a shot almost impossible.

"Hold it still!" she yelled.
"No Miss vas Normandy!" Watson shouted back, "You must escape! I'll handle this monster!"
He spun around, throwing the creature against a wall. It tried to rise but Watson fired his electric pistol into its body. Lightening crackled around its carapace and it screamed again. Watson went to take a second shot when the tail smacked him across the face, knocking him to the floor.

Making what sounded like a triumphal hiss, the creature raised itself up to its full eight-foot height, ready to strike at the fallen robot.
Making it a clear target.
Tali's shotgun roared, the small fragments of metal ripping through the shiny carapace and splattering yellowish blood across the wall. The creature turned to face her, but two more rounds struck it in the face, sending it crashing to the ground.

"My word…" Watson muttered as he looked at the fallen monster, "That was rather unexpected."
He turned to the young Quarian.
"Are you alright?"
"I'm fine," she breathed, lowering her shotgun, "What about you?"
"Oh, just a few bumps and scrapes. I should be fine."

He began to rise when a brilliant flash of blue light filled the control room. Tali turned around, just in time to see a ball of blue engulf the centre of the reactor room before winking out of existence, taking all the machinery with it.