That was how we spent the afternoon, not collecting the scientists, not returning to the ship, but wincing at grenade explosions and grumbling at how it made my ears ring. This was the best day of my life, well, no but after the recent events, it was close enough. Liara's missions did not coincide with mine, so we never saw each in in action. But judging from what previous ground crews had said about her performance, she had found her cool. She had a nasty habit of skittishness in battle before. Not too dissimilar to myself. A bullet slammed into my cover, lifting my lips. After a month of stress with no way to vent it, this well needed release via some combat experience filled me with joy. It helped me refocus on something that didn't involve a 45 man team that depended on every decision you make. Here, it was Liara, the Locust, the Carnifex and I. Nothing else. My hair flew as we progressed deeper, my worries about ship management forgotten. The Locust reloaded, the sound sending shivers of glee down my legs. My hand dropped, touching a heatsink looted from the armoury before leaving, just in case. The Combat team, and therefore Val, would not appreciate me taking special ammo without permission incendiary ammo though, so better not-
"Ah, you bastard!" I cried as bullet crashed through my shields and struck my shoulder. "Fuck that hurts!" The armour did its job and prevented it from touching my skin but damn it stung! "Oh, that's it! Mar! Kick their asses!"
The drone flew from my hand, aimed towards a group of aliens on the other side of the warehouse. The purple drone beeped in a quick, steady manner, growing higher in pitch until it smashed a batarian in the face. Giggles burst free as he ping-ponged between the batarian and a turian. He smashed into the head of an asari several times before a sniper took him out. Thank God his data was not stored on the drone, that semi-solid ball ended up wrecked more often than not! It was one of the many reasons he was an awesome little robot!
"Well... that works," Liara said, although my obscure fighting techniques failed to amuse her as her gaze drifted towards the oncoming shadow broker goons. "Combat drones tend not to make physical contact though,"
"Ach, where's the fun in that?" I laughed as my hands strained under my weight, legs vaulting over the cover to push us deeper into the warehouse. Liara formed words, a warning perhaps. My hand raised to fire an Overload, but my aim dropped and ended up zapping myself. My curses droned out the gunfire as my body crashed behind cover, jittering. "Fuck! I hate this thing!" The tingling muscles faded over the passing seconds, my shields hummed as they recharged. Liara laughed. A scowl pointed in her direction, although she never saw it with me on the floor. A bullet flew past my head. "Missed me, asshole!"
My gaze rose, meeting that of a man standing above me, omni-blade ready to strike. A squealed curse escaped as my body rolled out the way. Why did people get so close?! The human chased me, hurling curses at me. I cried pleads for help to Liara as my feet skidded around a crate, ducking under the firing bullets. The merc behind me yanked out a pistol, taking aim at my fleeing body. Before he fired, I leapt over the cover hiding Liara from danger. Liara rolled her eyes as a blue aura surrounded her. The human yell in surprise before his body soared across the room. My checks stained red, trying to prevent the hyperventilation overcoming my senses.
"And this, Endellion," Liara said, tapping me on the nose with the butt of her gun. "Is why we don't get cocky when it is two versus an army," Her hand squeezed my shoulder, grounding me as my brain straightened itself. "Deep breaths, calm down. You still have your crew waiting for you back there," Her words dug deep, the faces of the dozens of aliens under my command flashing past. My shoulders rolled forward, wishing to tuck itself into a ball. Liara aimed her pistol, taking out a few guards while the burden of leadership took its place on my shoulders once more.
Liara's right, as much as my nerves pleaded otherwise. A bullet slammed into the cover at my back, my muscles jerking at the sound. Despite wishing for all stress to just… vanish, to give my mind time to come back down from stress-hell, escape was not the answer. It forced me to adjust to the stress and to the new lifestyle. Without me, the mission would collapse. Ok, deep breaths, you can do this Dell, one day at a time. My first breath staggered in, crushing the embarrassment down. The second send a shudder down my spine, a reminder of what was at stake if something were to happen. The third felt calmer, the battle blindness my mind longed to delve into to forget my problems fading to allow common sense to function After the fourth, the Carnifex aimed and took out four guards before reloading.
Battle dragged my attention to finder details, things that needed immediate attention. My life being the main one. It forced me away from the havoc that awaited me back in the ship… back home. It was like a drug, distracting me and carrying me somewhere where simple things mattered. Like not getting your head blown off. Before a crew landed on my shoulders, fighting had been stressful, terrifying even. Now with a massive crew, a ship and a mission always on the brink of failure, fighting was the easy bit. The thought of tearing a life from the galaxy had sickened me once. Perhaps discovering Nyryntha had changed something in me, warping my sense of life and value with a monster in my head, just waiting for an opportunity to strike. A calming breath pushed those thoughts away. Nyryntha had to be dealt with at another time, not in the heat of battle for sure.
Just thinking about that Reaper steadied my resolve. That blasted machine, hidden somewhere inside me, just begging for a chance to help the Reapers return. Over my dead body, my stubbornness snarled. My hand snapped the reload harder than necessary, creeping with Liara deeper into the warehouse. Small pushes, just small ones. A worrying glance drifted over Liara every few seconds. With the blood lust tucked away for another day, the realisation of how fragile our situation was pushed all the wrong buttons. After training with people who held impressive military experience and knowledge around me – or at the least the body mass of your average whale – fighting alongside someone who had the same experience as me discerned me.
My head shook, snapping my thoughts away from that. Liara had trained with Shepard in those few months on the Normandy, hell, bedding the guy must be a mission in itself. She could handle herself, better than I could anyway. My eyes locked onto an asari, the Locust pulling free. A few rounds finished her soon enough. We reached a door at the end of the warehouse, leading into the next large section. My eyebrows upturned after an ammo check. It wasn't looking too healthy. The Locust powered through shots without the kick seen with Val and his Tempest, but the Locust was too easy to aim to abandon. Dammit, these bloody heat sink clips!
"So tell me something," I said, spying ammo lying on a batarian. I crouch walked behind cover, peeking around every corner before snatching it off the corpse before returning to the door. "What's with the Shadow Broker thugs, huh?"
"Let's just say the Shadow Broker is not pleased that one of his trades went off track," she said, reloading her pistol. "And then he took a friend from me. I will find him, if only I can just find information that will lead me in the right direction..."
"Hey, hey," I soothed, noting the way her brow furrowed and her eyes heated. "We'll find your friend, kick the Shadow Broker in the balls and destroy all the Reapers in the universe," Liara strained a laugh.
"Speaking of which, do you have any ideas of how to deal with said impending Reaper threat?" Liara asked, head poking through the doorway to assess the situation.
"As soon as I deal with the one in my head, I'm sure I can stop the rest," I grumbled. The new heat sink clicked into the Carnifex. Bloody Nyryntha, why didn't she- A headache roared to life, the first in many days, contorting my face. Yeah, she had problems with me, no doubt about it. My teeth grit, enduring the headache until it passed. Once able to see straight, my shoulders rolled back, Carnifex primed. "Right, let's deal with these... Liara?" I asked. Liara gaped at me, mouth ajar. My brow furrowed for several heartbeats before my words smacked me in the face. "Ah, I... haven't mentioned Nyryntha before now, have I?"
"Ny... ryntha?" Liara asked.
"My Reaper, to be exact," I said, cheeks heating. Well, this was awkward. "I... the condensed version is that after your mother sent me to Saren during the Noveria mission, Saren and Naz- fuck, Sovereign called me a 'Saboteur'. It's like a Reaper sleeper agent," I explained with a shrug. "I'm unusual because my Reaper isn't in control of my body and I am still... me. S-So yeah, if you think odd things, that's just me indoctrinating you... sorry, I-I have no control over that," I coughed. That was...an inadequate apology.
"...Give me the run down while we clear out this room," Liara said, although judging by her tight expression, my quick explanation didn't cover her needs at all. Either that or the threat of indoctrination set her on edge. My gaze passed the doorway, a resigned sigh escaping.
"Deal," I said with a weak smile as we darted into some cover within the room. Bullets flew towards us in seconds, my head ducking lower in case the cover failed. Liara stayed behind the wall until it was safer to move in.
"What happened on the Citadel? And on Noveria?" Liara called, her pistol firing off over my head. My head popped out of cover to shoot a human in the head before answering. Although, it would help if I hit the head. Bloody shoulders were too big a target.
"Well, I went for some shore leave on the Citadel. When I came back to dock, the ship wasn't in dock. The whole thing was a ploy made up by a salarian I met on Feros in order to 'kidnap' me away to train me up. I stayed on a space station with the STG for a while. The STG sent us to Noveria because the STG got word of potential geth in the area. So we headed out. I got separated from them and was trying to find my team when I flew past you. I then ran into with your mother. As she strangled me, she realised I wasn't human so she sent me up to Saren. I woke up in Sovereign,"
"That explains why we never found a trace of you after that. We ran into a salarian STG team, said they were looking for members of their team. I take it they were looking for you," she said. So Shepard and Mat'al got to meet… without me there to see it, dammit! "I see you got free from Saren though," Liara added, voice tight at the mention of her mother. Did she still care about her? She threw a singularity into a large group of guards, halting my questioning. That was a stupid question anyway.
"Yeah, although please don't send me to Virmire again. Or throw me on the wrong side of an angry krogan," I sighed. Liara's brow furrowed as she moved deeper into the room, ducking behind crates after an Incinerate flew from my hand. "Saren took me to Virmire because he needed information. I fled from Saren and but some krogan, one of which is my XO, helped me out. With the help of some captured STG salarians, most now members of my team, we got off planet and en route to the Citadel. We got a report a while later saying the facility had been destroyed,"
"Yes... Kaiden was brave," Liara answered. A frown pulled my lips down, my head popping over the cover to draw fire while she warmed up a Warp. The bullets snapped my head back down.
"What do you mean?" I asked, switching to the Locust when the Carnifex ran out of bullets. "I need ammo soon,"
"Here," Liara said, tossing over some heat sinks which clanked at my feet. "Kaiden died on Virmire. To destroy Saren's facility we had to use a nuke, it was the only explosive the STG had that could guarantee the end to the facility and the krogan inside. Kaiden remained behind to keep it safe until..."
"Christ... I know I wasn't close to the guy but... kudos when due," I said, emotions flipping with the words. Kaiden had treated me better than some, albeit colder, but he wasn't a hateful guy. My thoughts diverted with a snap as a bullet slammed into my shoulder, breaking through the shields and armour. My curses sang for 2 minutes, hurling promises of painful deaths to the bastard who shot me. Dammit, why did the Reapers drag me into a profession where I could get shot? Oh… wait… that was me who chose that. Fuck.
"So you left Virmire," Liara hinted, eager to escape this topic. My body started, brain frantic to remember where the story continued from.
"Ah, yeah. Well, we got back to the Citadel where I ran into the most insane person ever in the history of the galaxy. She stole my Locust and then took me clubbing a few hours later! ...After breaking into someone's house, stealing their clothes, beating up a paedophile and rapist and drinking one of the vilest of drinks in the known galaxy. And then the geth attacked. That was fun while you're whole body is shutting down due to an allergic reaction to hanar venom. Christ, why did I agree to that! Oh, yeah, she had me imagine Val and Mat'al on- Oh fuck, the mental images are back! Fuck you, Indira!" I screeched, my stomach wailing at the thought of another round of that drink.
"She sounds... eccentric?" Liara asked rather than stated.
"Understatement of the century! During the geth attack, we found the Mako in the Presidium, but we had geth to worry about. Were you up in the tower?"
"No, I was on the Normandy. Ashley and Garrus were with Shepard in the tower," Liara sighed. "And then Saren's dead corpse rose to life and ripped Ashley's rib cage out, complete with organs," my jaw dropped.
"Ashley is dead too?" I asked. "Liara nodded. A bubble of joy burst free, words tumbling out in jubilance. "Ding, dong, the witch is dead! Which old witch? The fucking witch!"
"Endellion Shaik!" Liara snapped over my Locust bursts.
"What? You know I hated her!" I whined, a puppy being yanked back in place. The mercs shot at my cover, making me wince as my ears complained about the noise.
"That's no excuse! Some people liked her!" Liara scolded.
"She was a xenophobic bitch! Ashley would sooner stab forks in her eyes than show any kindness to me! She stole my conditioner as well! Do you know how hard it is to find good conditioner that keeps this damn hair tamed?" I snapped, horrified that she defended this woman. Liara scowled, showing her disapproval with a Throw and Warp combo. Right… upsetting the biotic may not be such a good idea. My throat coughed to clear the rising unease. "A-Anyway! I stayed with my new 'friend' for a few weeks and then I had to help out some quarians. That wasn't long after Shepard had been KIA,"
"That was a dark day..." Liara mumbled.
"Again, another asshole gone from the galaxy," I said to myself.
"I'm not even going to say anything," Liara shook her head.
"You saw what he was like with me. I know you liked him and all, but you can do so much better than him. He was an egoistic dick who hated people talking back to him! And cowards," I said, frown growing as a merc lined up with my sight. We pushed forward. "Anyway, where was I? Oh... yeah. That,"
"That?" Liara echoed, sidling against a wall as she inched towards a new door.
"Yeah... remember that Reaper inside of me I mentioned?" I asked. Liara nodded. "Yeah, she gained control at one point. Ended up outright butchering Arnold Keplar before I reined her in,"
"So it was you?" Liara stared. My glare didn't deter the woman. This topic stung like a bullet to the heart.
"No. It was Nyryntha, not me! We are separate things!" I snapped. Liara frowned from across the room. "Nyryntha is a murderous machine that only cares about 'continuing the cycle'. I want to save as many people possible. That is why we're here on Illium. We need scientists to study me, to study other Saboteurs like Saria T'Spia and find out how to stop us! To free us, to send those Reapers packing, to stop people falling to indoctrination, to keep my friends safe." I finished, volume dropping. "I will hurl myself into the nearest star if that is what it takes to keep those around me from falling into Reaper hands. That I promise," My tone snapped, a swollen ferocity leaking free upon those final words.
Liara fell quiet. The young asari regarded me with a scientist eye, critical of every movement. From my kick to a dead turian's head to scanning the upper walkways. Liara saw much and remembered more, more than I remembered. She was an information bug. A scavenge for more heat sinks continued as my hands patted down a salarian. To run out of ammo here would be certain death, I would not resort to the incendiary rounds! Liara paused by the final door, a frown as she studied the large, empty room. My eyes narrowed, a growl rumbling in my chest. A snap of my fingers and Mar bounced into view.
"You have changed," Liara concluded. My gaze diverted for a moment. "Perhaps more than you know," I straightened my expression, stopping the flush building up.
"The last few months have been… eye opening," I said, trying to shake the rising blood away. "I've... come out of my shell a little more thanks to all of this," Liara hmmed as she slipped over the threshold into the room. "Also, before we do anything, this is tingling my video game senses. This is a trap if I ever saw one,"
"We have no choice, Dell," Liara said, creeping into the room. A single light flickered above, weak and clinging to life. It didn't even light the ceiling.
"Mar, get the lights," I ordered. He beeped, flying away to a panel on the wall. My feet stopped beside Liara, eyes scanning the darkness. The lights flared to life.
50 guns and several pissed off goons greeted, surrounding us. My jaw popped as my eyes scanned the closing loop of aliens around us.
"Well... fuck," my voice bounced around the silent room. Liara spun around as the ring of guards enclosed us. "Well, that explains the lack of crates in this room. Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen. Or is it evening now?" I asked, forcing my voice calm. Don't let these guys spook you, Dell.
"Quiet, Shaik," a voice rang. An eyebrow rose as a salarian approached, the white armour with the red mark on the chest showing where his loyalties lay. He looked... buff for a salarian with muscles bulking his shoulders. "We don't need you alive for you to be useful," A quiver threatened to overcome me.
"Oh, great. Thanks. That makes me feel so much better," I said, keeping my shoulders loose.
"I am relieved it did," the salarian responded, just as taut. "After you're dissection, however, you may feel otherwise, Saboteur,"
"Y'know, I have a name. Saboteur isn't one of them. It's an icky name, don't you think? Also, how the fuck do you know what I am?" I demanded, reloaded the Carnifex. The guns around us clicked in response. My fingers froze. Hmm, yeah, better not do anything too stupid. The salarian snorted at me before turning to Liara, ignoring my question.
"Ah, Miss T'Soni, the Shadow Broker sends his regards," the salarian said, walking around the rim of the wheel of guns. My eyes trained on the 30 shotguns, assault rifles and pistols aiming at my head. Nice and slow, deep breaths. Don't panic... panic, you lose. Liara's shoulders hackled.
"Where's Faron?" Liara demanded, raising her pistol towards the salarian. Fear spiked when the guns clicked and rose to eye level. My feet shuffled me back until my arm touched her side.
"A little bit hasty there, Liara," I whispered. Liara's composure cracked, her eyes on fire as she glared at this salarian. Whether raw emotion drove her on or lack of experience was a debate for another day. Liara spared me a look, glancing at her pistol before lowering it.
"Well, at least one of you is showing a little bit of sense for once," the salarian snorted. "A little," he stressed. My tongue stuck out towards him, rattling his shoulders as a glared at me. My eyes scanned the aliens, landing on a batarian whose eyes narrowed. You know, Nyryntha, this would be a brilliant time to 'sweat' that indoctrination... The Reaper didn't respond. Nyryntha? Earth to Ny- wait, this wasn't Earth. Illium to Nyryntha! C'mon, you did it when helping Shayan get his data back from the Blue Suns! To be fair, you took control but details! Goddam it, stupid, useless, brainless Reaper!
"Fuck!" I swore as pain rattled through me, lightning smashing each pain nerve. The pistol flew out of my hand, clattering on the ground. Those in the room leapt a mile in the air. "Goddam it, Nyryntha! Pack it in, you useless piece of shi- Ahhh!" My hands clutched my head, knees caving before my body collapsed on the ground, spots flashing before my eyes. The pain drove sane thought out the window. Basic thought impossible. Lightning and lava wrecked every nerve and blood vessel. My body twitched as if electrocuted, not a single muscle responding to my commands. In the few months after learning of Nyryntha's existence, this was first sanity destroying pain she forced upon me. Beyond how much pain consumed me, nothing else processed. A robotic crackle in my ears.
"I am not your toy to wield as you please, Shell," The monotone, female voice sounded in my head. "Now, cease your resistance and-"
"Oh, fuck off already! We've been through this often enough!" I snapped through my teeth, gasping for air. Breathe, Dell, you have to breathe! The room was spinning. Her static ridden growl of displeasure rumbled before she released me from my cocoon of pain. My body trembled, shuddering in a useless heap on the floor, gulping air down as my body tried to find the strength to move my limbs. She needed me alive and my body in a functioning state, she couldn't push me too far. Torture me too much and she loses everything. That was my sole saving grace.
"Dell?" Liara's voice broke through the sound of my pounding heart and gushing blood. My fingers refused to tear themselves away from my head.
"I-I'm ok. I'm fine. B-Bloody Reaper," I said, grunting as my body rolled onto my side. "S-She doesn't like me all that much," My arms shoved me up, body swaying as the cold floor pressed into my palms, quivering at the weight. The muscles refused to stop twitching. Everything spun; the people, room. My upper body swayed. The headache still pounded, but it was an after effect rather than a controlled headache. My eyes rolled as they tried to focus on the salarian, putting on as fake a face of bravery that felt drunk than anything else. Getting out of here seemed impossible. 51 against 2? Until my body recovered, walking was out of the question, my gun arm felt like a lead weight, the Carnifex was out of my reach and my sight swam like a dream sequence.
Gunfire deafened me. A cry of surprise ripped from my tongue, instincts flinging my body down onto the ground. The ring of aliens around me shouted in surprise, bodies dropping like flies as the hail of bullets pulverised them. Why was it always surprise attacks? Liara and the salarian ducked, crying out for answers as confusion clouded them. No answers came. My arms covered my head, body trembling from pain and fear as the echoes of guns shattered my eardrums. For the longest minute, I was a helpless, sitting duck in the middle of a climax of noise and fear. A child cowering in no-man's land. The gunfire eased, the silence heavy in the large, bullet ridden roomy arms twitched, allowing enough room for an eye to peek out into the carnage around me. My eyes landed on corpses. My pain fled, forgotten as my body rocketed into a sitting position. The Shadow Broker's goons lay flopped on the ground, useless piles of flesh and bone. Blood of all colours pooled around them. On the upper walkway surrounding us, a mess of mismatched armours grappled my attention, a variety of guns and wide, grinning faces. My eyes fell on Val, his Tempest secured in his hand. He raised a brow plate as his grin widened.
"And this, Captain, is why we put a tracker in your armour," he called. Liara's expression froze, taking in the bloodied scene around us as burning plasma stained the air. Relief burst through me, joy burning like a small fire until tears wished to fall- Wait, they had put a tracker on me? The bastards! Rage flailed my legs under me, trying to push me onto my feet. My knees had other ideas, refusing to bear weight. Dammit, that Reaper was toast as soon as we found out how she worked. My legs abandoned the attempt to stand, forcing me to be content on my knees.
"You've got a tracker on me!?" I snapped. My voice sounded tired and drained, but my anger pushed enough emotion into it to nurture Val's smirk. Liara still gaped at me. My small smile didn't ease her. "Relax, it's my crew. Here to save my worthless ass," My narrowed eyes snapped up to Val. The turian grinned.
"Mat'al's idea," Val said, chuckling. My muscles froze, understanding his words. A warning. Something grabbed my arm, hauling me to my feet. My head snapped around, eyes flung upwards to stare at silver speckled navy eyes. Ah shit...
"Under normal circumstances," Mat'al said, tone dead and flat. "I would have shot your knees out. However, I think you've learned your lesson now, hmm?" My lopsided smile betrayed my fear. His parched tone and his eyes struggled to stay in control.
"J-Just like that crash course training on Feros then," I said. Mat'al hmmed in agreement.
"Indeed," he dropped, me, leaving me to stagger about while my knees attempted to hold my weight.
Liara caught me as my legs stumbled into her, helping me stay on my feet. My knees refused to work for me. The salarian flicked a hand, signalling the two krogan, Shual and Verv. Shual, to enter. Shaul, the teal crested krogan, was hands down the most terrifying krogan ever, even more so than Wrex. My saving grace was that he respected authority or at least my authority. Which begged to question why he listened to a tiny hobbit like me. That respect had saved several crew members – including myself – after trying to pull him off a salarian or turian every now and then. Despite this and his cruel demeanour, his behaviour towards me remained easy for me, even friendly to Indira standards, which disturbed me. Verv, the royal blue krogan, was tamer than his counter-part, but don't mistake that for civil. He could wreak as much havoc as Shaul. The pair snatched up the salarian Shadow Broker goon. My eyes noted blood pooling from his knees, wondering who had taken them out. My eyes skirted past Mat'al. That explained why he didn't run, at least.
"Whacha want done with him, Captain?" Verv called over, grinning at the salarian. Mat'al checked over his Mantis sniper rifle, standing by my shoulder like a hawk. My throat twisted as it tried to swallow. Mat'al's anger surpassed all, his rage burned my skin like a sun. Only his self-control prevented him from exploding in public. No doubt it would be a different story once back on the ship.
"Liara? You want this guy?" I asked. Liara's gaze slid over, a slow movement as she debated. A swift glance to the panicking salarian caused a smile to grow on her face.
"I could... borrow him for a while. You are free to do as you wish with him then," Liara said, holstering her pistol. Her earlier anger dimmed, a calm settling over her.
"Awesome. Shual, Verv, make sure my good friend here gets her answers. Any means necessary. You can kill him when she's had enough," I said. The krogans' eyes danced, Shual punched his fists together with a grin.
"And this, Captain, is why we follow you and not that skinny bastard behind you," Shual laughed. Mat'al drew him an exacerbated frown as he leaned the rifle against his shoulder. My cheeks burned as something clogged my throat, a cough trying to dislodge it. Why did everyone want to make Mat'al angrier with me than he already was?
"Thanks, Shual. Now, if you excuse me," I said, eyes drifting to Mat'al. "I need to be briefed by my commander. Can you give Liara the details on where the Starquake is, Shual?" the krogan grinned.
"Sure, Captain. No problem at all," he turned his gaze to the salarian, who trembled under the gazes of the krogan around him. Any sympathy for the man died the instant he pulled a gun on me and told me how worthless my life was. That was his first – and last – mistake. Too bad he wouldn't be able to go back and tell his Shadow Broker friends the same message.