A/N: Sup, we're back to Shepard and Virox as promised. Sorry (not really) for the cringe chapter title btw, and apologize for the longer waiting period. July is a month full of birthdays and other meet-up occasions in my family. And actually I won't have access to my PC for the next 3 days since I'm posting this, so just a heads-up. This is also the reason why the proofreading may be a little sloppy, so sorry about that in advance.
I actually got a review that I wanted to address. It came on the last chapter from a guest, and he wrote that the carvins are sort of like the UNSC from Halo. That's actually a fair point - I didn't create the carvins with Halo in the back of my head (their nature came to be before I even played a single Halo game), but I can understand why people may associate them with the UNSC. They both have this ruthless utilitarianism at the forefront of their identity and are willing to go to great, sometimes questionable, lengths to achieve their objectives. The difference that I see is that the UNSC was pushed into these developments by its internal and external problems (i.e. the Insurrection and later the Covenant), whereas Carvin Empire has its behavior tied deep into the very nature of their species.
There are a couple of secrets about the carvins that will be discovered deeper into the story, but let's just say that there are some fundamental reasons as to why they act in the way they act, both towards themselves and other species.
That being said,
Enjoy!
Crescent Nebula, Tasale System
Illium Orbit, Normandy Sr-2, Deck-3
0547 Local Time, June 11th, 2185 Gregorian Calendar
Shepard never thought that there could be a place that rubbed her the wrong way more than Omega. To a large extend this sentiment still held true. The complete lawlessness and disregard for the individual dignity found on the station had no equals. However Illium, even more than Noveria, represented the absolute worst aspects of what constituted a corporate paradise. Which is why she was glad to leave the planet behind for now, even if that meant trading its glamor for the potentially deadly insides of a Collector ship.
It was thus somewhat strange to think that she now took away two individuals with a character trait very rare on the planet - a willingness to do genuine good or justice. Thane and Samara were a stark contrast to each other. One was an assassin with a desire for a genuine redemption, while the other was a religious warrior following a very strict code of morals and ethics. And yet both were driven by a desire to atone for their past mistakes and making the universe a better place. It was an admirable drive that Shepard couldn't help but respect. Yet it was not them that she was concerned with now.
It was well over a week since the Haestrom escapade and the subsequent confrontation she had with Virox. Ever since, she received several concerned reports, both from Kelly and from Garrus who both noticed a very stark shift in the carvin's behavior. While initially he began as openly hostile and slowly opened up to a select few members of the crew (particularly those who were not members of Cerberus), after Haestrom he retreated into a borderline anti-social demeanor.
The almost hostile yet in a way blunt and honest way Virox usually conducted himself was gone, replaced instead by something that Kelly had theorized was some sort of apathy. The yeoman had also (with EDI's silent assistance) recorded several instances of the carvin intensely dreaming and waking up abruptly without much outside stimulus. She hypothesized that those were caused by nightmares, although their true nature was hard to read, much like Virox himself.
Shepard was still somewhat careful around Virox, given their rather intense encounter back in the Main Battery, but she also noticed that he was avoiding eye contact with her much more frequently than before. As a way to probably begin their reconciliation process, and a means for the carvin to gather information on the Collectors, she decided to bring him along for the sudden and unplanned mission to the Collector Ship that the Illusive Man informed her of.
She walked into the Main Battery room to see both Garrus and Virox in their usual spots. The former stood at the console, calibrating the ship's Thanix cannons, while the latter was leaning against a wall with his eyes closed. The moment she entered the room however, both looked towards her.
"Shepard, need something?" As usual Garrus was the first one to speak.
"That I do. Just got a message from the Illusive Man that the Collector ship was damaged during an engagement with a turian patrol, and I want both of you with me on a boarding party." She said, then glanced over at Virox who listened silently as usual. "Virox you proved your skills on Haestrom, especially in coordination with Garrus, and your superiors sent you here to gather intel on the Collectors anyway. If you want to familiarize yourself with any combat-relevant data, ask EDI. I'll make sure to give you clearance."
To her slight surprise and disappointment, the carvin simply stood up and nodded with a quick "Understood, Com-... Shepard."
He then quickly turned away, almost as if he was too shy to look her in the eye. Still, at least he bothered to follow her request and tried to call her by her surname rather than her rank for the first time. It was a start.
"A turian patrol in the Traverse? Now I know I haven't exactly been up to speed with everything going around in the Hierarchy, but that just seems a tad bit suspicious." Garrus interjected, clearly skeptical. "You sure the Illusive Man's intel is good?"
"If it's not, I'll have a long talk with him. But you have to admit, without his warning on Horizon, we would have never saved that colony." Shepard replied. "I still support a healthy dose of caution when dealing with Cerberus, but we have to work with them through this, even if only until the Collectors are defeated."
"Of course, Shepard. We'll be ready to move out shortly." Her turian friend reassured her, giving an impression that he spoke for both himself and Virox. She did not really know how to interpret that, but if she had to guess, then the two of them probably enjoyed a more friendly relationship with each other than she did with the carvin.
Deciding not to overstay her welcome, Shepard left the room and headed towards the elevator, ready to set course for the coordinates provided to them by the Illusive Man. Right as she stepped onto Deck 2, a familiar synthetic voice stopped her.
"Shepard. We are receiving a contact request from a heavily encrypted unidentified source. Based on the style and extensiveness of the encryption, I suspect this transmission is coming from the Carvin Empire." EDI said.
"The carvins? A bit weird of them to contact us directly, especially now." Shepard vocalized her thoughts. "Link us to the nearest comm buoy and patch them through. I'll be in the comm room shortly."
She then turned right, and after receiving a nod of acknowledgement from Kelly and several other crewmembers, she walked through the lab and into the comm room. Most of the lights were dimmed the moment she entered, as the table at the center slowly retracted into the floor. Once it did, Shepard stepped onto it and let the scanners do their work, then awaited the transmission from the carvins.
After about a dozen seconds, the holographic display in front of her flickered before its particles rearranged themselves into something that rapidly began resembling a carvin silhouette. It took only a few seconds for all the details to form on the mysterious individual, which did not help much considering the lackluster variety of carvin looks. A few small and colorful pieces of textile (likely ribbon bars for various military decorations) were the only things sticking out.
"Commander Shepard." The individual spoke with the same calm, albeit less hostile voice that Virox used. "Can I safely assume that this transmission is recorded by a... third party?"
"If you're referring to Cerberus then yes, I'd expect them to monitor this call." Shepard replied. She was still not exactly comfortable talking to someone without knowing much about them. "I don't believe we had the pleasure to meet."
"Inspector Za'Raan. That's all I can tell you." The carvin introduced himself cryptically. "I am contacting you with regards to the recent issues with the conduct... or rather misconduct... of sergeant Virox Ri'Kaan, the acting liaison to your vessel."
"I'm listening." Shepard nodded.
"Carvin Empire understands any frustration and dissatisfaction you may have with the actions and behavior of one of our brethren. We can assure you that the way sergeant Ri'Kaan acted towards you was not in any way sanctioned or endorsed by his superiors." Inspector stated, speaking in a way that made it feel like he was reading from a script. "We acknowledge that you may desire termination of our arrangement, or at the very least dismissal of Virox Ri'Kaan from his position. At the earliest possible convenience you can head to the system you refer to as Osun, located in the Hourglass Nebula. A replacement liaison will await you there."
"Hold on... You're rotating Virox from the Normandy?" Shepard asked, not really sure if she understood the inspector.
"That is correct. He had submitted a report 7 days ago regarding your mission to Haestrom as well as its aftermath, including the breach of conduct - assaulting a superior officer. " Carvin replied, his expression unchanged. "Are these facts correct? Or did sergeant Ri'Kaan falsify both the report and the visual evidence in order to excuse himself from his duty on your vessel?"
"...No, they're true..." She said, somewhat crestfallen.
Many thoughts ran through her head. If Virox included the post-Haestrom incident in his report to his superiors, it somehow explained his behavior. At the very least he accepted responsibility for his outburst, but Shepard had a feeling there was more to that. His profile hinted on bluntness and honesty, and yet time and time again she found Virox to be cryptic and restrained with his wording and vocabulary, despite the visible discomfort it caused him. Almost like he was forced into it.
"Then everything is in order. Carvin Empire assures you that such a mistake will not occur again. The replacement of sergeant Ri'Kaan was selected based on the identified shortcomings of his predecessor. The dossier is available at your leisure, however bear in mind that there are certain aspects of his profile that must remain hidden due to security concerns." Inspector said, and as if summoned by his words, a file was suddenly displayed next to him, not too dissimilar to Virox's. "As for sergeant Ri'Kaan himself, you can rest assured that he will be adequately punished for his misconduct."
The last part made something in Shepard's head click, as if several parts of the giant puzzle that was Virox somehow started falling into place. "What sort of punishment will he be facing?"
For a moment the Inspector looked at something outside of Shepard's field of view, likely a superior, before promptly returning his eyes towards her. "Standard procedure for assaulting a superior officer with an intent to kill, without a proper justification, is court martial. Usually followed by an execution. However, sergeant Ri'Kaan was under direct instructions from the High General Council to assist you in your endeavors, whatever they may be. Disobeying such a direct order through open hostility carries with it even greater consequences, the nature of which is classified. Even if he appealed to the Empire-wide directives regarding technological leak preventions, it is unlikely that the verdict of the court martial would be changed much, if at all."
"So you're going to kill him because he disobeyed orders?" Shepard asked in disbelief, and yet slowly piecing together Virox's issue.
"There are many fates far worse than death, Commander. I think you already know this." Inspector cryptically replied. "I cannot say for certain what will happen to sergeant Ri'Kaan after his misconduct on your vessel, but I can assure you that it will be a sufficient punishment."
If he was under such orders... coupled with working with Cerberus, Miranda's antics, hell even EDI... it's no wonder he seems so hounded and closed off. Shepard thought.
All of Virox's actions and behaviors up until this point seemed to her like some sort of cultural or philosophical barrier, perhaps coupled with past trauma on the part of the carvin that she was not aware of. But now, realizing what sort of consequences awaited him in case he failed (whatever his superiors deemed as such was up for debate), it was clear as day why he refused to talk and socialize. He was legitimately scared of what would happen if he acted in a way that went against his bosses' intentions.
And yet he was put in an impossible position - one where on one hand he had to cooperate and assist her in every way he could (despite her being a member of a blatantly terrorist organization in almost every way), and on the other hand he was to follow instructions of leak prevention when everyone seemed to watch him constantly, this could have never ended well.
"What if I... refuse the replacement?" Shepard cautiously asked. One couldn't ever be sure of anything with the carvins, especially their reactions.
"In such case, our agreement will be declared null and void. Your ship, or any vessel bearing Cerberus IFF for that matter would not be recognized as neutral or friendly, and we will engage you on sight." Inspector Za'Raan answered. "We would rather like to avoid such an arrangement, as your death by our hands could cause significant controversy given your current Spectre status."
"No, I meant replacing Virox specifically." She clarified.
The Inspector stared at her for a couple of seconds, and for the first time during their conversation he seemed to display any level of emotion, in this case confusion. "I beg your pardon?"
Shepard took a deep breath. It was a dangerous territory she was stepping in, but now slowly realizing why Virox was acting the way he did, she braced for a confrontation with his superiors. "What if I do not want you to replace Virox specifically?"
"I... we were under the impression that you would be highly displeased by his outburst, and his attempt to kill you. That is why we are attempting to rectify our mistakes." Za'Raan said, clearly perplexed by her response.
"I was angry, hell at first I was furious and frustrated that he wouldn't even try talking to me or anybody else unless I figuratively beat it out of him." She retorted. The inspector's reaction somewhat emboldened her. "But after what you said, I can see why he acted the way he did. You guys placed him in a Catch-22."
"Clarify." Inspector requested, not with any hostility, more with genuine curiosity.
"You put him on an alien warship, where he doesn't know anybody, with an order to assist me specifically, and yet you also demand of him to withhold almost EVERYTHING away, even what usually can be really mundane information, all the while faced with constant invasive surveillance attempts... for which I have to claim partial responsibility too... It's no wonder he snapped." Shepard consciously had to stop herself from raising her voice. "You told me Virox can face execution for disobeying his directives. And yet the way I see it he lashed out precisely because he was terrified of the consequences of allowing his equipment being thoroughly examined by a potentially hostile party - a direct violation of his directives. Then you throw him under the bus and are willing to kill him when he's unable to meet your unachievable standards? That... is disgusting."
Silence befell the room, with only the low hum of the Normandy's engines and the holographic display's occasional beeping and clicking sounds being the only things preventing a total lack of sound. Truth be told her reaction was probably too strict and confrontational, but what mattered was getting her point across.
Finally the Inspector was the one to end the quiet standstill. "You ordered your crew to spy on him?"
"Er-No. It's... difficult to explain. I am in command of the ship, however there are certain... individuals, who tend to jump rank and report directly to the Illusive Man. I have already taken steps to ensure that what happened with Virox does not repeat, and that the rest of the crew, especially belonging to Cerberus, treats him as any other member of the team." This time Shepard was put on the defensive, before realizing that what she said did not really put much legitimacy in her command. "All I'm saying is that it's unfair of you to put the entire blame on Virox when he was faced with a situation like this that had no way of adequately satisfying ALL of your expectations from him."
"I see... So you would prefer if he remained aboard?" Inspector Za'Raan asked.
"Yes. I have received a report just a dozen or so minutes ago about a disabled Collector ship, and I was planning on taking Virox with me to investigate, since you were interested in data about the Collectors in the first place." Shepard said. "Also we can't really work well together if we do not trust each other. I'm not asking you to declassify sensitive information, but just make it possible to get to know Virox. I can't trust you if I can't trust the liaison you sent me."
After another long break, the Inspector sighed. "I cannot guarantee that all your requests will be addressed, however I will pass down your opinion to the appropriate authorities. They will ultimately decide what actions to take regarding sergeant Ri'Kaan. If you so desire, he can remain on your vessel for now. We will contact you again soon regarding the verdict."
"Much appreciated." She nodded with gratitude, and the hologram disappeared, leaving her alone once again.
The lights came back on and the table had returned to its normal position. She was not sure just how much she did for Virox's case, but considering what awaited him had she not intervened... well, she wanted to think that she spared him from the worst.
But she would not tell him that yet. He did not need to bother himself with these things when there was a mission to be done.
Deep Space, Somewhere in the Attican Traverse
Collector Ship, Shuttle Landing Zone
1622 Normandy Time, June 11th, 2185 Gregorian Calendar
"I love what they've done with the place." Garrus mused out loud, inspecting the inside of the Collector ship.
"It's like a bug hive." Virox added, slowly walking beside him.
He was fully covered in armor, and even his long jaws were not exposed. His face was hidden behind a pressurized variant of his traditional helmet, which made him look a tad bit more intimidating than usual. If he was normally somewhat hostile-looking, now he was totally soulless. Perhaps it was just a carvin thing.
"So you'll fit right in... You know, with those insectoid jaws of yours." Garrus said jokingly.
Virox did not reply, which was just another type of concerning behavior coming from him in the recent days. Normally he would respond with a jab of his own, or at the very least a growl of disapproval to a joke of this kind. Instead he remained silent, his posture unchanged.
"Shepard, I have compared the ship's EM signature to known Collector profiles. It is the vessel you encountered on Horizon." A synthetic voice of EDI came through their built-in helmet speakers.
"Maybe the defense towers softened it for the turians." Shepard suggested.
This news sparked a small bit of hope in Garrus. He had been a member of the team that went down to Horizon and driven back the Collectors. Also it gave credence to the idea that a single turian patrol flotilla could actually disable the ship of this size. "The missing colonists might be aboard. If they're still alive."
All three of them walked through the surprisingly wide hallways of the ship. Metal, stone and the weird almost organic flesh-like structures of the Collectors blended almost seamlessly with each other. An impressive, if somewhat disturbing display.
Near the wall at one of the corners, several large organic containers were placed in a neat row. A few of them were open, letting out small clouds of yellow-ish smoke. Garrus instantly recognized these objects. They were the pods that the Collectors used to store humans in, just like on Horizon. Virox on the other hand, who had never seen them before, approached one of the pods. A blue light came out of his visor and hit the surface of the container.
"I'm reading traces of human DNA on these capsules. Judging by the fact it's empty, I'm assuming the Collectors used them for storage of the abducted human colonists." He deducted, receiving a silent nod from Shepard.
"Horrible... Trapped in these pods, completely at the mercy of the Collectors." Garrus voiced his disgust. He always had an instinct to protect the innocent and helpless. To think that the Collectors robbed the colonists of all of their power and dignity by storing them in these, almost like cattle... it made his finger itch on the trigger.
They continued, as the path led them through narrow corridors with no intersections or branching paths. Illumination was only granted by the weird flesh-like Collector structures that emitted the same dim, yellow light.
"Wait..." Virox stopped, prompting both Shepard and Garrus to halt as well. "I smell... corpses. Either it's a lot of them or a few decomposing very extensively."
Unfortunately it turned out that it was both. Garrus fought the urge to retch, as suddenly giant pile of bodies, laying out in the open, came into their view. Some of the corpses were still clothed, some were in advanced stages of decomposition by anaerobic bacteria, and most of them were either horrifically mangled or burned, likely by the cosmic radiation that the damaged vessel probably did not protect from. The rest was at least partially dissolved into what looked like a giant organic goop.
"You'd think the Collectors would at least clean it up. It's a waste for this to lie around like that." Virox remarked, surprisingly unfazed by the display.
"This doesn't bother you? These people were likely used for testing! Who knows what horrors they've been through?" Garrus asked in disbelief.
Virox shrugged, as if this was something he was accustomed to. "Not the first massacre I've seen, I'll say it like that."
"Guess there are worse things than death..." Shepard said, her voice almost boiling with rage. "Like being a test subject for twisted aliens."
"Then I advise you get used to it. If the Collectors are doing this so casually, you're in for a lot more." The carvin coldly replied, before all three of them moved on.
Slowly the scenery changed. No longer was it dominated by rocky structures, but instead by metal. There were still piles of decomposing corpses laying around, but they were smaller and fresher. At some point the path led them to what looked like some sort of lab. The "mad-scientist" type lab, and given his extensive experience with the concept, the prospect of entering it did not fill Garrus with optimism.
Once inside, they were met with quite a peculiar sight. A Collector containment pod was placed on what looked like an operating table and next to a terminal displaying something that Garrus' translator could not catch. Only this time the pod was not emitting any light. Shepard was the first to approach the device and attempted to activate it with her omni-tool. After a few seconds, the inner light inside the pod came back to life and illuminated its contents... revealing a surprising and unnerving discovery.
"That's a Collector... were they experimenting on one of their own?" Garrus asked, still processing what he was seeing.
An undamaged Collector body was placed inside the pod. There were no visible traces of damage. No incisions or injection markings so often seen in this kind of experimentation. Just a normal corpse, at first glance indistinguishable from its living counterparts. Either the Collectors were able to get the data they needed without any invasive procedures, or they learned a way to do so without leaving traces.
"EDI, I'm uploading the data from this terminal. See if you can figure out what they were up to." Shepard pressed a finger to her earpiece, and her omni-tool flashed several times while it transferred the files.
"Data received. Analyzing..." EDI said before going silent for a couple of seconds. "The Collectors were running baseline genetic comparisons between their species and humanity."
This discovery was quite strange. For a race so enigmatic that some people didn't even believe it existed, doing genetic comparisons with one of the more widespread species in the galaxy just for the hell of it seemed unusual. Shepard probably had the same idea. "Are they looking for similarities?"
"I have no hypothesis on their motivation. All I have the preliminary results. They reveal something remarkable." EDI answered. "A quad-strand genetic structure, identical to traces collected from ancient ruins. Only one race is known to have this structure - the Protheans."
Garrus' heart seemed to have stopped for a moment.
...
...
The Collectors, the mysterious menace responsible for abducting tens or hundreds of thousands of humans... were the Protheans? The same ones that the galaxy revered for their scientific, cultural and architectural marvels? It couldn't be... could it? Were the Reapers somehow involved? Most likely yes, there was little Shepard and her team was focusing on other than the Reapers and their inevitable return.
"My God... the Protheans did not vanish. They're just working for the Reapers." Shepard called out, her voice almost stuttering.
"They are no longer Protheans, Shepard. Their genes show distinct signs of extensive genetic rewrite." EDI clarified. "The Reapers have repurposed them to suit their needs."
Okay, so the Collectors are remnants of a fallen Prothean civilization, twisted by the Reapers. That's... better than the Protheans being the bad guys all along. Garrus thought and took another long look at the pod and its content. "No species should have to suffer through that."
"Let's find what we need before the Collectors come to salvage this vessel. Move out." Shepard ordered, signaling to follow her.
Garrus began oblige, but was stopped by the lack of noise behind him. He turned around, only to see Virox staring at the Collector carcass, utterly silent and motionless. It was slightly concerning that the carvin did not even flinch at the piles of decomposing bodies before, yet now he was stunned... or perhaps mesmerized by the fallen Prothean's corpse. His jaws were trembling slightly.
"Virox?" Garrus tried to snap him out, but seeing no reaction he approached the carvin and put his hand on his shoulder. "Hey, Virox."
Immediately the carvin flinched, as if snapped out of some sort of trance. He looked around in a brief moment of shock and confusion before staring at the hand on his arm. There was no way to read his expression with the fully sealed armor, but his jaws stopped moving erratically which was a good sign.
"You okay?" Garrus asked, still not certain that everything was alright.
"Yes... I was just... thinking about this thing. Let me just get a quick scan that I can send back to the Empire." Virox answered, though his voice was not as confident or emotionless as usual. His omni-tool flashed orange and a narrow blue ray of light engulfed the Collector corpse, before vanishing once again. "There, let's move. Commander should not wait for us longer than the Collectors."
On that we can agree. Garrus thought and both of them quickly joined Shepard in the dark corridor ahead.
Deep Space, Somewhere in the Attican Traverse
Collector Ship, Shuttle Landing Zone
1630 Normandy Time, June 11th, 2185 Gregorian Calendar
What the hell is wrong with me!? Virox's mind was working like crazy.
Since they arrived on the Collector vessel, nothing really surprised him. The ship, the pods, and even the piles of bodies just lying around, all felt mundane to him. During the Grox War he was a witness to many terrible atrocities committed by both sides of the conflict. Twisted experiments, mass industrialized executions, eating the prisoners alive (that was mostly carvin doing), each took place multiple times during the war.
So then why did a Collector corpse of all things agitated him?
As soon as he laid eyes upon it, something inside him snapped. It was as if the mere sight of it was enough to trigger Rage in him. But not quite, this feeling was different. While the traditional Rage felt like an unstoppable wave of anger and hate, it wasn't really focused on any specific individual or object. When Virox stared at the motionless Collector, he felt the need to kill IT specifically. To rip it to shreds and devour it, despite the fact that it was already dead. Once the faint smell reached through the olfactory ports in his suit, the effect was magnified exponentially and he couldn't focus on anything else.
Yet when Garrus intervened, the feeling was almost completely gone. A normal Rage would not vanish so quickly, unless someone had some severe brain damage. Virox did not really know if he qualified for that, though he liked to think that he didn't. No... this feeling was different... wrong. He had to report it after the mission. It's the least he could do before being called back for insubordination after all.
I won't repeat the last time! He mentally chastised himself, remembering his confrontation with Shepard a few days ago.
Once again surprising himself, he managed to calm down in record time, confirming that what he felt was not anything he had witnessed before. Shepard glanced at him and Virox recognized a faint hint of concern in her posture. He rose his hand in a signal that everything was alright, and all of them moved on.
Leaving the lab, they moved into a larger chamber where their surroundings were relatively well visible, even without enhanced eyesight or infrared vision. The ceiling was also higher, and it also housed around a hundred or so of the same capsules they saw before. Only these were all closed and had visible light coming from them.
"Look, on the ceiling. More of those strange pods." Garrus echoed the sentiment. His voice bore heavy indications of awe.
"Must be hundreds of them on the ship." Virox mused, making sure to record the footage for the High Command in detail. "How many are full though?"
"Too many." Shepard snarled.
"I detect no signs of life in the pods, Shepard. It is probable that the victims inside died when the ship lost primary power." EDI reported.
Dying due to a ship malfunction was a bad way to go. Especially when one had no input in what the ship was doing. Virox always thought that if he was to die, he wanted to be in control. Even if he fell in combat, his last moments would be dictated by his own action, not forced upon him by chance or some higher being. For the first time since he learned of the human colony abductions he felt some compassion for the victims.
He and Shepard grabbed quick scans of various Collector machinery around. It was valuable data that could likely be put to good use once analyzed. The path led them up, deeper into the ship's hull. While it was unsurprising that advanced control instruments were located in the inner parts of the vessel, it would likely make the potential exfiltration more difficult, especially if interrupted by the Collectors.
"Commander. You gotta hear this." Joker suddenly interjected. "On a hunch, I asked EDI to run an analysis on this ship."
"I compared the EM profile against the data recorded by the original Normandy two years ago." The AI continued. "They are an exact match."
"The same ship dogging me for two years? Way beyond coincidence." Shepard said, visibly taking a moment to study her surroundings, as if expecting an ambush from every direction.
"Something doesn't add up, Commander. Watch your back." Pilot warned clearly distressed.
This was new. Virox had read that Shepard... died two years ago (he couldn't really fathom her coming back to life quite yet), killed in an attack by an unknown vessel. Knowing that this was the very same ship felt him with a weird sense of uneasiness. The Commander was well known from his own observations, in some circles holding a near-legendary status. Maybe the Collectors were displeased that they didn't finish the job. But then why attack her in the first place? What connection do they have to her?
Whatever deliberations Virox wanted to have on the topic, they were all immediately deprioritized as the three of them walked into what was likely the central part of the ship - an absolutely enormous tube-shaped chamber, filled to the brim with Collector pods and gigantic spires that looked like insect nests, each also littered with even more pods.
For the first time since the Grox War, Virox was truly and utterly awestruck by something. And he didn't even feel bad about it.
"This is unbelievable." Garrus uttered with a mix of horror and amazement.
"By the Stars..." He joined in, not even realizing he lowered his rifle from the shock. "There's probably enough space in all of these to for all humans in the entire Terminus, or hell, even the Traverse..."
"They're going to target Earth." Garrus added.
"Not if we stop them." Shepard cut the conversation short. She was quite clearly both terrified and furious at the sight around her.
In a gesture of solidarity both of them followed the Commander through the wide trench paving the way forward. Numerous pipes and cables were converging at a point somewhere in the distance, and it was a logical conclusion they led to some sort of command center, or at least a local control interface.
"There, on the platform. Looks like some kind of control panel." Garrus reported, pointing at a collection of dark grey platforms and a green holographic display.
Something about this smells wrong. Virox thought, as he looked at the contraption and noticed a strange oddity. The platform was completely empty. For a ship that lost power in combat the lack of any Collectors, dead or alive, was concerning. "Where's the crew? We haven't seen any bodies around, except that one in the lab. Why aren't they here?"
He readied his rifle and moved to Shepard's side to cover her. Garrus probably figured out that something was amiss and joined him, holding his sniper rifle tight while scanning the perimeter. Meanwhile the Commander approached the console and activated it.
"EDI, I'm setting up a bridge between you and the Collector Ship. See if you can get anything useful from the databanks." She ordered.
The console began beeping while the AI worked through its systems. "Data-mine in progress, Shepard."
They waited for the information to be collected. The eerie silence wasn't making it easy.
Virox was about to speak up about his concerns when the platform suddenly shook violently and the console went dead. All of the sudden the large pipes running up the walls around the platform began transferring a few large objects upwards. Whatever they were, it meant trouble. Virox's fight or flight instincts were screaming at him, furious that the enemy did not yet reveal himself.
"Everyone's alright, Joker. What just happened?" Shepard reported after reestablishing connection with the Normandy.
"Major power surge. Everything went dark, but we're back up now." Joker answered.
"I managed to divert the majority of the overload to non-critical systems." EDI added. "Shepard, this wasn't a malfunction. It was a trap."
On cue with her words, the platform they were standing on abruptly shot up into the air in a wild spin. Virox instinctively engaged a magnetic lock in his legs, allowing himself to retain some of the balance. Shepard and Garrus on the other hand were struggling to remain standing.
"We need a little help here, EDI..." The Commander said, trying to keep herself on her feet.
"I am having trouble maintaining connection. There's someone else in the system." Came the AI's response.
A second later, the platform stopped as abruptly as it was launched into the air just moments ago. The sudden halt knocked Garrus off balance, causing him to tumble onto the ground. Virox quickly detached himself from the floor and helped the turian get back on his feet.
"Connection reestablished. I need to finish the download before I can override any systems." EDI said.
Great. Virox thought angrily.
Several other other flying platforms emerged from the giant walls of the central chamber and were now heading right for them. They carried multiple smaller hostiles that he quickly recognized as Collectors. In an instant the strange powerful feeling of focused and concentrated hatred returned, and he was filled with the desire to kill.
He set his rifle to high power mode and growled from behind the cover. The Collectors were about to face carvin hospitality.
Deep Space, Somewhere in the Attican Traverse
Collector Ship, Shuttle Landing Zone
1635 Normandy Time, June 11th, 2185 Gregorian Calendar
When Shepard picked up the surprisingly well maintained Vindicator rifle from the pile of weapons in the lab, she didn't really think of it much. Sure, just like every Alliance marine, she passed the firearms training course and was adequately proficient with all types of standard issue weaponry. Of course she was ultimately trained as a Vanguard, putting emphasis on pistols and her trusty shotgun, all relatively close-ranged weapons.
So when the Collector platforms started circling around them from a distance, Shepard thanked her past self for the foresight that now allowed her to fire at the enemies from a significantly greater distance.
*BRRR-ANG*
*BRRR-ANG*
*BRRR-ANG*
The powerful five-round burst was nothing she couldn't handle, considering her experiences with some of the most powerful shotguns available on the market, and it packed enough punch that one or two well-placed bursts could take down a Collector. It came in handy when all three of them were pressed hard against the console, trying to avoid being shot at by the incoming enemies.
Despite being almost surrounded, her squadmates did not break.
Garrus kept methodically taking potshots at the newly arriving Collectors with his sniper rifle. From time to time he fired at a Scion that kept circling around them in an attempt to find an opening. His aim was steady and his hands were quick just like always.
Virox was as effective as he was on Haestrom, if not more. Having switched his weapon to a high power semi-automatic mode, he kept the Collectors at bay with ruthless precision. Bolt after bolt, he enjoyed the barrier penetration capabilities of his rifle, and given the Collector bodies were at least partially organic, the laser rifle seemed to be even more effective against them than against the geth. Yet his moves were not as refined or mechanical as on Haestrom. This time he was more wild, more aggressive, like a wild animal lashing out.
"41% complete." EDI updated them through the comms.
"Come on, EDI! Speed it up!" Shepard urged, as several platforms were now connecting themselves to where they were standing, and deploying soldiers much closer than they'd like
Despite the near constant stream of reinforcements, it seemed that the initiative was slowly moving towards them. Shepard and Virox even left their original cover and moved forward in an attempt to push the Collectors to the edge of their respective platform, when suddenly a deep voice echoed in her ears.
"ASSUMING DIRECT CONTROL." It spoke with so much force that it caused the floor tiles of the platforms to vibrate.
Just as on Horizon, one of the Collectors began glowing, and cracks in its skin seemed to burst with energy. Small yellow maelstrom of biotic energy erupted around the body of the newly possessed soldier. It then turned directly towards her and immediately a large biotic sphere formed in its left hand.
"Shit..." She grunted and quickly swapped to her Scimitar shotgun. Virox still stood beside her, either ignorant of or unbothered by Harbinger's arrival. Knowing the danger that the possessed soldiers posed, she forcefully pulled him back into cover. "Watch out, Virox! Those glowing ones are tougher and can use biotics!"
He nodded slightly in agreement, while Harbinger unleashed a powerful biotic blast that shook the protective cover they were hiding behind. "IF I MUST TEAR YOU APART, SHEPARD, I WILL."
"And if I have to shove that rifle up your..." She muttered angrily. The trash talking was really getting on her nerves.
Taking a gamble, she peaked out of cover and noticed three other Collectors behind Harbinger. She focused her biotic energy and launched herself towards one of them. The strength of her charge was so great that the unshielded Collector was almost knocked off the platform. She fired a single shot that pushed the poor bastard over the edge, then turned towards the other two.
One immediately began firing at her, while the other deployed a shield to cover himself. Operating on instinct, Shepard launched a shockwave in between them to knock them off balance. The unshielded foe was knocked away, but the shielded Collector Guardian merely stumbled backwards. She exploited an opening created by the shockwave and made a mad dash towards the Guardian, bypassed his combat shield, before putting 3 shots point blank into its chest.
She did not get to celebrate her victory however, as Harbinger must have realized that the greater threat laid in the form of a rampaging biotic behind it than her squadmates. It launched himself upwards with his wings and slammed its biotically amplified fist just meters from where Shepard was standing.
"YOU CANNOT STOP US, SHEPARD." It boomed and fired at her, as she used her own biotics to dodge the incoming projectiles.
"Watch me." Focusing her biotic energy, she slid out of cover and charged at him. The impact staggered the glowing Collector, as she pumped shot after shot into the undying bastard that was Harbinger. It just took it like it was nothing. Frustrated with the lack of effect, Shepard channeled all her strength into her left hand and made a wide left swipe.
*THUD*
She stared in shock as Harbinger stopped her fist with its own, seemingly unfazed by her display of power. It then clenched his own fist, causing pain to jolt through her entire arm. She tried to pull or wriggle her hand out of the Collector's grip, but to no success.
"THIS DELAY IS POINTLESS." It spoke. "I WILL SHOW YOU TRUE PO-"
Suddenly the possessed Collector let out a screech of pain, as a metal fist slammed it in the right part of its waist. The grip on Shepard's hand loosened, which she quickly used to liberate herself, before returning her eyes to her foe.
Virox must have closed the gap between himself and Harbinger while they weren't looking, and used his cybernetic limbs to overpower the Collector. In a show of admirable boldness, he collapsed onto Harbinger like an unstoppable tide. He punched, jabbed, swung, slammed and sometimes even bit like an enraged wild beast. Harbinger did not even have a chance to retaliate, the mass of attacks forcing it into a rapid retreat.
"CARVIN. YO-*PUNCH* SPECIES IS A MISTAKE IN NEED OF CORREC-*WHACK*" He could barely speak, constantly interrupted by yet another attack, another punch that prevented him from counterattacking.
After the onslaught of melee that he forced upon the Collector, Virox then pulled out his shotgun, slammed it against Harbinger's guard, breaking it, pointed it at its head and pulled the trigger. The blast sent fragments of glowing flesh around, before they and the rest of the body rapidly began disintegrating into ash. The carvin then looked around, visibly searching for more enemies.
None came though, their surroundings went quiet.
"Shepard you must manually reestablish my link to the command console." EDI said out of the blue, making Shepard and Virox flinch slightly in surprise.
They returned to the main platform and joined Garrus, who was the only one remaining in the original position, then approached the console that caused this entire mess in the first place. Shepard quickly used her omni-tool to link up with EDI once again, and the AI's avatar appeared before them shortly after.
"I have regained control of the platform, Shepard." She said.
"I knew you wouldn't let us down, EDI." Shepard replied and switched off her omni-tool.
"I always work at optimal capacity." EDI said with a surprisingly pronounced hint of pride.
The platform slowly disconnected from its neighbors and gently floated forward, deeper into the ship. Why EDI did not just set them down in the original spot was unclear, but it was probably safe to assume the Collectors blocked their original path with significant enough forces to discourage its use.
"Did you get what we needed?" Shepard asked while keeping an eye around and above them for any potential Collector ambushes.
"I found the data that could help us successfully navigate the Omega 4 Relay." EDI's holographic projection vanished as the platform was slowly descending into a new landing zone. "I have also found the turian distress call that served the lure for this trap. The Collectors were the source. It is unusual."
"Unusual? It makes perfect sense, no matter how you look at it. A perfect trap, luring us exactly where they wanted us." Virox suddenly joined in. It was probably the most expressive set of sentences he said since their confrontation.
"No, it is unusual because turian emergency channels have secondary encryptions. It is corrupted in this message. It is not possible the Illusive Man would believe the distress call was genuine." EDI clarified.
"What makes you so sure?" Shepard asked. There were very few certainties regarding the character and motivations of the Illusive Man. Having at least one of them cleared up would have been great.
"I found an anomaly with Cerberus detection protocols." The AI explained. "He wrote them."
...
In a split second Shepard's blood seemed to have frozen solid. Then it felt like someone lit it on fire.
She really did not trust the Illusive Man before, but went along with his plans since their aims appeared to have been similar. Through the constant surveillance by Miranda, the near complete lockdown of sensitive information within EDI's systems, and even when he used Kaidan, someone whom despite their troublesome reunion she still respected and considered a friend, as a live bait for the Collectors, Shepard somehow tolerated it all.
But now, sending them right into a Collector trap without telling them ANYTHING beforehand, serving them to Harbinger on a silver platter...
"That son of a bitch sent us right into the Collector hands." She clenched her fist in furious anger. The adrenaline from the fight, which began to slowly wear off, returned with renewed strength.
"And here I thought I had my betrayal and attempted murder for this year." Garrus remarked half-jokingly.
Virox's reaction on the other hand was stoic, though still tense. "This is precisely why you do not trust terrorists, Commander. For Cerberus you are nothing more than a tool, to be used and sacrificed in the name of their interests."
"Uh, Commander? We've got another problem. The Collector ship is powering up." Joker suddenly reported. "You need to get out of there before their weapons come online. I'm not losing another Normandy!"
A loud noise coming from the back of the giant central chamber seemed to confirm the Pilot's worries. Shepard did not need a reminder of what this ship was capable of. she did not really want to die a second time.
A/N: Done. I have decided to split the mission and the escape sequence, which will continue in the next chapter. Of course I won't try to make the entire escape into a separate chapter (I'd have to cram words like a high school student writing essays with minimum word requirements). Given the next 3 days will be without access to a PC, I'll try to post a new chapter within the next 2 weeks of uploading this. No promises, but it should be possible all things considered.