All eyes landed on a structure floating in a safe space among the floating wreckage. A towering column of rock and metal, cylindrical in shape, bobbed, the wreckage diverted around the object. Miranda ran up from the CIC, datapad in hand to see the view for herself. The Normandy pressed onwards, coasting through the debris field. From the corner of my eye, something glittered, something red. My gaze narrowed on it. A black spherical object floated, a red light twitching as it scanned the ship. My head erupted, buried memories roaring to life. My hands tore at my hair, teethed gnashed as memories of massive black blurs pursuing us. Wait, how did I know they pursued me? My eyes squeezed shut. Was this Namacuix's specialisation afflicting me?
"We've got incoming," I said. Shepard's gaze snapped over before scanning the systems. Red dots blinked as half a dozen spheres of metal, metal poking out like spikes, zoomed towards us. Lasers streaked past the windows. "They know I'm not controlled,"
"Taking evasive manoeuvres!" Joker cried as the engines surged.
My hands gripped my hold tighter, clinging to ship as it barrelled through the carnage. The ship thundered as the guns freed, the artillery rounds powering through wreckage as the nimble machines darted around us. When a round burned on the skin, the Normandy rattled. My stomach tumbled to my feet as Joker flipped the ship, darting back the other way. My norm for evasive manoeuvres included sharp, on-a-penny spins. Vertical G-forces were uncommon on the Starquake unless the rotary was down. New plating preventing the lasers penetrating the interior, but it didn't reduce the quivering in my knees. A warning blared on the consoles.
"Dammit, it's in the cargo hold," Joker growled.
"I'll take Grunt and Jack into there and take care of it. Shaik, stay here and see if there's anything you can suggest," Shepard said.
"Beyond run and gun?" I muttered as Shepard marched towards the elevator. My hand gripped the back of Joker's chair, watching the weaving wreckage.
Explosions rattled deep inside the cargo hold as the Normandy danced, although it became apparent that the oversized drones were too nimble for the ship to deal with, even with EDI adjusting the aiming under Joker's commands. We swerved around a floating stern, one drone crashing into it with a fiery explosion. Gears spun in Joker's head. He spun into a deep concentration of wreckage, ignoring EDI's calls her fears over the kinetic barrier strength. My teeth rattled as pieces of ship scraped past us, the screeching metal setting my teeth on end and the shaking quaking my already shaken knees. All but one drone erupted into fireballs in the carnage, unable to weave around the wrecks to strike us. The fighting in the hold intensified as it re-entered the Normandy cargo hold. An explosion shook every bolt in the ship, my knees giving and sending me tumbling to the floor.
"How much do you wanna bet that was Shepard breaking out the Cain?" I snapped.
"Not taking that bet, everyone knows Shepard too well," Joker said as we punched through the debris field. My arms dragged me back to my feet. Shepard thundered down the CIC behind us, skidding to a stop to stare out the window as the base approached.
"It won't be bothering us," Shepard said. Although his smile died when something pulled free from the Collector base, a smaller version of the base made from rock and metal. Shepard's jaw tightened. My mind tensed, a flood of memories sinking in. Helpless, can't move, rot, aliens, fear. My knees lowered me to a crouch, hand in my hair. Shepard glanced down. "Something wrong?"
"Had a run in… with another Martyr Saboteur, unleashed a whole bunch of memories. Some must still trigger," I shook my head. "I've… been on that ship, but the memories are hazy, just a few sensations, a few emotions."
"Well, that's the ship that destroyed the last Normandy, so I think it's time for some payback. Show them our new teeth," Shepard ordered.
Joker cracked his fingers as we danced around the brilliant yellow beam of death. My hands ached from clinging onto anything to hand. The main cannons clunked into place, the build-up sending my hairs to attention. A tremor ran through the ship as the first shot fired, the blue streak slamming into the ship with fiery devastation. The Collector cruiser creaked, listing to port. Joker cheered as he swung us around for another shot, swerving around the answering artillery from the Collectors. The second shot ripped the Collector ship into pieces, a cheer rumbling up from the crew. Miranda frowned, studying the burning ship before crying out, hands latching onto a hold as an explosion shockwave slammed into the Normandy, systems shutting down as we twisted towards the Collector base.
"I hate ship crashes," I groaned as braced myself. Despite both EDI and Joker, the systems refused to respond. The port wing slammed into an upright pole, cartwheeling us as AI and pilot fought to keep the bow up. Shepard and Miranda tumbled to the ground, my grip slipping. The Normandy slammed into base, skidding along the uneven surface before coming to rest. My fingers twitched testing to ensure the rest of the body yet lived before sending a barrage of pain. Had something broken? No, no, nothing broken, just sore. My eyes scanned the ship, taking in the collapsed panels, the sparking electrics and upheaved computers. At least we were in one piece, better than my last crash. Shepard heaved himself up, studying the crew as Joker moaned, hand over his ribs. The sound of our heaving breaths filled the air.
"Well, we said it would be a one way trip," Miranda said.
"I am not dying here," Shepard snarled. "Joker, EDI, can you get the ship up and running again?"
"Several key systems have sustained damage from the impact, however restoring basic ship functionality will require time. It is possible, Shepard," EDI said.
"Get on it, Miranda, get everyone to the war room," he ordered. "Dell-"
"Do you thing, Shepard," I grunted, pulling myself upright. My feet stumbled back, arms flying out for balance. My eyes scanned for the transmitter. "I need to set up the transmitter to stream the data back home in case something happens," the metal case glinted. My hands grappled it free from the overturned chairs outside the cockpit. If the impact broke the transmitter... "Fill me in when you're done," Shepard's jaw twitched, but he nodded, marching towards the back of the CIC. My hips ached from the landing, but any complaints died as the helmet slipped over my head.
The air lock slid open without resistance, the mass effect field the only thing protecting the ship and the occupants. A substantial drop awaited me, but it was more than survivable. My knees creaked upon landing, however. Safe on solid ground, setting up the transmitter took priority. The case opened, towering pieces of metal telescoping out before a hologram appeared before me. Kala chimed in my ear, walking me through the process to set it up. The acronyms made no sense, so following the AI was my only option. After delving through the unfamiliar interface, I plugged the coordinates in for the Starquake and the Constellation, waiting for the ping response from the servers. Once verified, Kala sent pieces of data to confirm her link with her servers were online. Job completed, my eyes scanned the surrounding area, Paladin popping free. Nothing came to greet us. Did they assume we didn't survive the crash landing? A frown furrowed my brow, but my thoughts couldn't progress beyond that. Shepard and his crew dropped from the Normandy, expressions taut and guns primed. Shepard's eyes skimmed past the transmitter and its blinking light before stopping at my side.
"We'll be splitting up into teams. We need a distraction team to some of us can slip around defences via the vents. Garrus is leading the second team," he said.
"Then I'll go with the second team. They may need help," I said. "That and safety in numbers," Shepard strained a smile, patting my shoulder, squeezing it.
"Understood. Stay safe, Dell. I'll see you on the other side. All right, let's move out!" Shepard called. With the Paladin's clip full, we pushed into the Collector base. Shepard, Tali, Samara and Grunt vanished down a hole, while we dropped through a hole ripped open from the crash landing.
The interior felt more cave-like than ship-like. Rocky walls twisted and jutted, the hot and rot soiled air gagging even through the filters. Vein like tendrils clung to the walls, metal protruding out like implants on the walls. Roots, or rotted cables, made footing erratic. As we crept down the halls, white insect-like sacs decorated the ceiling like contemporary artistic lighting, the walls carried pods seen in the video of my capture. My spine shuddered, but resolve pushed me on as I shadowed Mordin. When the roots on the floor eased, broken slaps of rock replaced them, holes missing through time and neglect. Plinths of metal sheered from the ground, no true purpose obvious.
We entered a cavernous room, angular metal sheets like basaltic columnar jointing decorated the walls, benches of gleaming metal criss-crossing around the room. Tables or something more sinister? A fog coated the upper level, blocking the ceiling. It did not stay quiet for long. Our entrance had not gone unnoticed. Collectors streamed into the room, bullets flying towards us. The tables acted as good cover, but the tiered floor made pushing forward difficult. They had the high ground. Garrus hollered the commands and the fight began. As an engineer – and therefore the most 'squishy' of classes – I kept to the middle, hurling Marshall behind their lines to distract them. Mordin and I would toss Incinerates, the floor erupting with burning corpses. A bullet punched through my shield, but Thane pulled me to the side to avoid a painful wound to the shoulder. A biotic quake thundered past, Collectors scattering to avoid the blast.
We pushed them back, the Collectors disappearing down the hall. Shepard radioed to ask for progress, but Garrus dealt with it, my focus remained on trying to take out the straggling Collectors. A cryo blast froze one, giving Jacob enough time to shatter it into tiny pieces. With the Collectors in retreat, we pressed on out of the room. We inched across a gorge, a drop into an abyss down either side. My gaze stayed up, afraid of vertigo dragging me to the bottom. This was not the time to be fainting. The next room, while not as large as the last, brought a new problem. 3 distinct tiers rose and fell throughout the room. We arrived on a middle tier, overlooking the long room with an upper walkway above us. The Collectors swarmed the upper walkways, guns aimed down. Ours pointed up. One Collector, unlike the others, held glowing yellow eyes, a yellow aura bursting through parts of his skin and sparking over his body. Several Collectors dropped from the walkway to cover the bottom to prevent an advancement.
"Advocacy!" the yellow Collector cried. "You are beyond an annoyance, grown past any state of usefulness," My eyes narrowed, putting a hand on Garrus' shoulder as I passed him. Was he the Architect?
"Then you shouldn't have kidnapped me and turned me into a monster!" I snapped back. I turned to Garrus, mandibles pinned to his cheeks. "You know him?"
"Harbinger, leader of the Reapers. He takes control of the Collectors bodies. He's had a few choice words with Shepard," he said. So… controlling other organics like RC toys was his specialisation? My gaze returned to the glowing Collector.
"I've got a few choice words for you, Harbinger! Where's your Shell?" I shouted.
"Your futile attempt for information ends here. Too many Saboteurs have been complacent with you," Harbinger said.
"What, afraid of little ol' me?" I mocked.
"Fear? Fear is an organic emotion, irreverent to our needs. You and the Enforcer need no more aid. You are too powerful as it is," Harbinger said.
"Then face me! Show me your Shell! I want to know the face of the Architect before I fell you and add another dead Saboteur to the list!" I snapped.
"There is nothing to gain from-" Harbinger began. My jaw snapped shut, arm outstretched as a grappling hook fired towards the walkway, jamming itself in the rock under the glowing Collector. It yanked me up, the metal blade sliding free from my boot. It pierced the glowing Collector's skull, my legs curled up and pressed to his chest as I landed on the Collector, yanking the blade free. The guns of the Collectors around him clicked, but my Paladin remained relaxed by my side.
"Take me to the Architect," I hissed. A Collector twisted, yellow light bursting free. The Paladin raised, shot the Collector point blank. The Collector dropped dead. "And not through an avatar," The Collectors glanced among themselves, odd clicking sounds emanating from them. The cries from the Normandy crew echoed past me as the Collectors stood down, those before me turning to walk down the walkway. My chin raised as I followed them, eyes hard. Feet clicked behind me as more followed in behind.
They led me down the weaving corridors, past piles of corpses and up through the winding ramps. We passed a room hundreds of metres tall, filled with honeycomb like pods. Pipes lined the roof and walls, drifting away to the horizon. We continued upwards, the faint pops of gunfire in the air. The halls narrowed once more, pipes filled with green fluid trickled beside me. My eyes scanned as we progressed, aware of a buzz in the air. A large doorway encroached. My instincts didn't like it. A hologram beside it caught my eye. The buzz worsened. My jaw set. The Collectors before me crossed the threshold.
An Overload sent the Collectors tumbling, my hand slamming on a close button. Those before me turned with raised rifles, but the slamming door crushed them. My omni-blade sliced through one Collector, Paladin shattering the shields of another before the head ruptured open. The final two charged with gunfire roaring. My shields failed, but my hands drew the metal blades out, slamming each into their heads. Metal cleaved heads off, a trail of gore in their wake. The blades slammed back into their sheaths before I tore down an adjacent corridor. The hallways climbed with sharp turns, pipes of green fluid increasing with each step. My feet skidded to a stop inside a long, narrow room. A gangway walked high above the floor of the room, vertical tubes filled with green fluid on all sides of the long room, pillars of metal decked holograms slide up and down, spinning to gain access to the various panels from the walkway. Below, the room plunged in a sea of green vats. Before me, a circular gangway in the middle of the room. A hologram of a Reaper towered from the middle of this circular bundle of computers. Debris floated above us as a glass roof dragged the sights of the black hole into view. Something moved on the other side of the room.
In the distance, a tall Collector turned. This Collector was more akin to the appearance I expected from an insect based species; multiple limbs, a large, crested head. The glowing yellow eyes stood out the most. Those scythe like limbs rubbed over each other as it scuttled closer. My frown deepened, seeing the only chance of keeping my distance from this thing via the circular gangway. My feet clattered on the metal grate, reaching the circle as it did. We began a slow pace around each other. My eyes skimmed past a slot in one computer. With only my pistol in hand and not raised, my hand slipped a chip free, eyes locked to the Collector. When we circled around again, my hand slipped behind me, slotting it inside. With luck, he wouldn't know what I just did.
"Firewalls disabled, beginning data mining," Kala said in my ear. "Distract him, if he suspects I am here, he may try to counteract me,"
"Advocacy, why do you persist? A victory here will accomplish nothing," Harbinger asked.
"Because every little weapon I can take from your arsenal will help our chances. You will not kill the galaxy, not again," I said.
"Organics are simple-minded, unable to conceive of the wider threats to galaxy. You do not understand. You will never understand," he said.
"Sure, maybe not, but what I know is that you kidnapped my brother and me and turned us into monsters, tools for your use. You ruined my family because of that! You do not understand what that means, do you?" I snapped.
"Irrelevant. We choose you for a variety of reasons; peculiar abnormalities within your genetic code, strong but easy to manipulate emotions, unusual brain wiring. It was your inbred behavioural code that both you and the Enforcer held that passed you for selection as a Saboteur. And led to our downfall," Harbinger said.
"What? Our stubbornness? We could've told you that," I snorted.
"Minor, irreverent," Harbinger said. "You need not the details-"
"Oh piss off and just tell me! Our ship is wrecked, not like I can go anywhere," I growled. Harbinger's hands clawed together, head twitching as he bolted around the circle. My legs kicked back, but lost footing. The giant Collector was faster than I realised. My back ached as it slammed into a computer bank, Collector claws at my face and throat. My arms flailed, but the multiple limbed beast pinned my wrists to the side. One hocked limb raised my chin, another trailing above my helmet like a blade.
"You and Enforcer are hardwired to break barriers between you and your goal. From the thousands of organics we processed to find suitable Shells, that organic trait is rare. It is a double edged sword; as a Saboteur, your Shell will adapt and respond to problems more quickly, but before you are ours, you can resist our call. The Enforcer resisted long enough, tortured himself often enough to find a way to hold back our control, to free their mind from my control. Nyryntha stood no chance of controlling you while around the Enforcer," The claw dug into the helmet, a crack sounding that brought no confidence, my teeth locked together. "All attempts to separate you failed… until another annoyance entered the scene. Shepard took you from the Enforcer, giving Nyryntha time to control you. But Nazara and Nyryntha were careless, informing you of what you were. You put the pieces together. On the cusp of control, the Enforcer found you once more. There was no saving you at the point. You had learned your trigger, learned how to control it and forced yourself to fight. Now you have become the Saboteur's Bane, 11 Saboteurs lost to a single foe, let alone one of our own creations, is unheard of," Harbinger hissed.
"To be fair," I wheezed. "Most of the kills were by my crew or me rather than just me. We didn't kill Anasuya either, Cerberus got that bastard. No idea who the other 2 you are thinking of are though,"
"Nazara's original Shell and Raheem. The Enforcer lays claim to those deaths," Harbinger said.
"Data mine complete, Captain. Transferring the data," Kala said.
"Wish I could've met them," I grunted, trying to ease a leg into a better position.
"You were partial to Nazara's Shell before you were processed," Harbinger said, leaning close. "The Ravager and the Enforcer did not agree,"
"Boo fucking hoo. If you're trying to make me feel sympathy, you're doing a bad bloody job! And you keep mentioning this 'processing'. How did you make us? I swear, if I need to Marshall in someone-" I said.
Marshal slammed into the Collector, freeing an arm to grab a blade and raise it to jab. Harbinger hurled my away, clattering through the Reaper hologram to tumble over the consoles and crash to the floor. My body launched back up, survival instincts on high alert as the Paladin drew, the Collector shattering Mar. His glowing eyes turned back, a cut wrenching chuffing wriggling free. We began the circle once more. This time, my legs prepared to flee.
"I will not fall for the same ploy that Nyryntha and Nazara fell into. The information I have parted with you will not save you. A remanence of your history to satisfy your curious mind before your death. If you wish to know how you to create Saboteurs, ask the machine you have mining our data," Harbinger said. My eyes widened.
"Data is not streaming, Captain. Something is blocking the sign- incoming assault, counteracting," Kala said.
"Have you got it?" I whispered.
"I do, but I have transmitted nothing to the ships-" Kala said.
"Eject," I ordered as the pistol trained on the Collector. Kala beeped, understanding. As I passed the slot, a hand snapped back to draw the chip from the computer, pushing it back into the omni-tool. Now I had even more reason to live.
"You will not leave here alive, Advocacy. Your data mining will be for naught," Harbinger said.
"Really, because you've just given me even more reason to fight for my life. You know how my problem solving works," I said. A hissed sound escaped the Collector.
"Nyryntha. This is your final chance. Deal with this Shell before our arrival, before she can destroy any other Saboteurs," Harbinger said.
"Understood, Harbinger," Nyryntha said, a robotic base vibrating the air. Every muscle froze, my mind petrified.
That didn't come from inside my head.
A shadow drifted over the room, dragging my gaze upwards. My jaw sagged. A Reaper towered above us, legs sprawled like a hunting spider. My arms fell limp, gun dropping to my side. Kala chimed, snapping my attention to the advancing Collector. My legs launched me away, sprinting down one of the long corridors. In an instant, I crashed to the ground, my head exploding in pain. My screams bounced off the walls, muscles twitching and taut from torment. Nothing responded, my mind couldn't think. It drowned in an endless sea of pain. No relief came, but a vague apparition of blue lightning sparking over the Collector stirred me. My body twitched trying to flee, rolling towards the edge of the gangway. A dropping sensation twisted my stomach as my body tumbled between the railings into the abyss below.
My back slammed into something cold and fluid, green staining my vision. Limbs flailed above me, but the pain never ceased. A purple and yellow hue dominated my vision, the faint smashing of glass reaching me through the gurgling water. Pressure pushed me through a gap, high pitched scratching past the armour that just made it through the sound of gushing water. The cold vanished, sound returned in an instant and my body slammed into the ground, lungs wheezing for air as the screams continued. There was no thinking, no nothing, just pain. Endless pain. The ground trembled, explosions rumbled through the air, jittering my body. My hands grabbed my helmet, trying to tear my hair out as my body writhed. Kala tried to call over my screams, but I never heard them. I only ever saw the flashes of Overloads and Incinerates soaring above me. Something heavy landed on top of me, ceasing my screaming. My lungs wheezed, pleaded for air.
"Shaik!" Someone called. "Get the husk off her of her! C'mon we gotta go! Vakarian, carry her! Shepard, we've got Shaik, get out of there!"
Hands pulled the weight from my chest, relieving my chest to scream again. My vision blackened on the edges, my sense of reality vanishing. The growing pain was too much to bear. Someone grappled my twisting body, pulling me off the floor as they charged, gunfire popping over my screams. Running jolted me, sending a new sense of pain rocketing around me and nausea. My muscles stiffened, unable to move, unable to release. The minutes past, the explosions grew louder and the sounds of enemy reinforcements trickled through my deafened ears. My voice ran hoarse, the screeches pitching in painful ways. The jolting stopped, a hard floor pressed onto my back. When it vibrated, my stomach twisted, something dragging my body back. The G-forces snapped to a halt, sending my stomach to my throat, unconsciousness looming. We remained still for only a few seconds.
"Go, go, go, go!" Shepard screamed over my crackling voice.
"We've got a Reaper here!" someone called from the cockpit.
"Why the hell do you think I'm telling you to go? Get the Normandy out of here!" Shepard snapped. The G-forces dragged me along the floor before someone grabbed me. An explosion erupted, the whole ship quaking as we powered away from the shockwave, racing to reach FTL speeds.
"You cannot escape, Shell. You cannot hide and you cannot run forever. Your end is nigh," Nyryntha warned. The ship launched into FTL. The pain stopped dead. My lungs wheezed, every muscle trembling from shock. Everything ached, even thinking hurt. Above me, Mordin tapped at his omni-tool, a bagged-eyed Dr Chakwas running an omni-tool over my body.
"We got everyone?" Shepard asked.
"Aye, aye, everyone aboard and accounted for," Miranda said. "We wouldn't have had to do that mad dash at the end had Shaik not run off,"
"She had her mission," Shepard grumbled, marching over to hover over the medical team. "We're all alive, that's the main thing. I need to have a few words with the Illusive Man. I don't think he'll be too pleased we destroyed the base," Shepard vanished from my sight, disappearing into the labs. My breathing eased, but the tingles of pain remained. My fingers flexed, trying to get feeling back into them as I rolled onto my side, finding a meagre strength to push me up off my side.
"I… I need to get back to my crew," I gasped. My trembling hands refused to lift themselves from the floor. Kala chimed.
"I will message Gideon. Standby," Kala said.
"We'll arrange a drop off. Did you get the data you wanted?" Jacob asked.
"I-I think so. T-The Architect blocked the transmitter. I-I couldn't transfer the data," I said.
"All the more reason to get you back to your crew," Garrus said. "You take it easy, we're not sure what happened to you, but shaking like a leaf. All right people, let's clear this place up!" Mordin and Dr Chakwas eased me onto my weakened knees, carrying me towards the galaxy map to get me out of the way.
The interior of the ship was a train wreck. The impact had ripped many outer plates off, only mass effect fields held the air inside. Metal lay strewn across the room, parts of the ceiling and floor had collapsed and computers fizzled as they struggled to operate on broken systems. A grunt escaped as my ass hit the floor, Mordin continuing his examination of me for good measure. Shepard returned after a few minutes, a satisfied smile on his face, dusting his hands. He began an approach towards me, spotting my red hair among the broken grey metal.
"I've established contact with Gideon. He is none too pleased," Kala said. "The crew is aware you are missing and are waiting for you to return to the Omega nebula," Shepard knelt down before me with a smile.
"And my ties to Cerberus are cut. He wasn't thrilled," he said.
"I bet he wasn't," I sighed. "I need to get back, Shepard. My crew knows I'm missing. They're still in Omega,"
"We'll drop you off. I've got a mission to do out in batarian space anyway so I'm not quite done with my missions," he said. "We'll drop out of FTL to realign ourselves for a relay to take us to Omega. Sit tight, we'll get you back," he winked.
Within minutes, the Normandy decelerated as it prepared to set a vector for a relay to take them to Omega. It gave them time to assess the drive core to see if could sustain another long burst or whether it was better to bring the Starquake here. My body settled, the muscles releasing enough to ease the final twinges of pain away. I did it, I had gone to the Collector base. With the base exploded Shepard style, there was no way the Architect would have survived that. He was dead. My arm rose Kala's omni-tool, trying to summon up some of the data. Kala prepared a small bundle of data for me to look through.
We didn't get information that solved our problem with Saboteur identification. A frown grew. The Shell names was not among the data gathered by Kala. What she got was the names of the remaining Reapers and what species they belonged to. Information on the steps to create a Reaper and a Saboteur did exist though. There were even blueprints for a few species, humans being one of them. My finger touched the file for Saboteur creation, my breath stalling in my lungs.
After choosing an organic to make into a Saboteur, based on a variety of reasons, they strapped the organic down and to remove the top of the skull. Something called an OMR device – that acronym had no expansion from what I saw – then attached to certain parts of the brain, allowing a digital copy of the memories of the organic. The Collectors dissolve the body in order to collect the base DNA material. My heart leapt. Dissolved? As in… melted to gloop? They dissolved me!? My throat parched as I read on. After getting the base genetic code, minor alternations are made in order to prevent any body rejection of the Reaper material and removing anything that would otherwise hinder the mission; allergies, genetic disorders, recurring ailments. Once ready, they use the DNA to make a clone of the organic, Reaper technology added as and when required to ensure seamless integration. While the brain formed, the memories are then implanted back into the new Saboteur after removing any memories related to Reapers. The spine, from the blueprints, held 18 fusion generators for material generation. 6 others were mass effect generators to act as protection and also to add mass to the atoms produced by the fusion generators, allowing sturdy materials for form in a short amount of time. The final vertebrae, scattered throughout the spine, acted as transmitters and communication devices between Saboteurs. They also produced the chemicals or electrical disturbances that became their specialisations.
The data went into greater detail, but even this short version made my stomach twist. As my finger flicked the screen up to read more, the sea of pain that had consumed before returned. My recovered lungs returned to full screech. The muscles seized, toppling my body to the ground. Shepard bolted to my side, turning to the crew for answers. The answer came from the cockpit. The Reaper had followed us from the Collector base. Joker forced the ship into FTL, using rough vectors to get us to a relay. Once in FTL, the pain vanished, my senses returning. The quivering returned, muscles twitching. My eyes lifted to Shepard as he stared down at me. We both reached the same answer.
"Tell your crew to be in space and ready to FTL the instant you get on board. Have them meet us as close to the relay as they can," Shepard ordered. A shaken nod answered him as my hands twitched towards my omni-tool. Kala, noting my struggling limbs, transferred the order for me. We had to stop one more time, but we left the region before the Reaper appeared. Once at the relay, Shepard yanked my helmet over my head and hauled me over his shoulder before matching to the airlock.
"We'll throw you out the airlock and into the Starquake, we don't have time to-" Shepard said.
"Wait, you're going to space me?!" I gagged. "S-Shepard, n-no! You can't!"
"You'll be fine, you'll go straight into your ship," Shepard frowned.
"I-I can't. P-Please, I-I can't cope with z-zero G…" I whimpered. Shepard narrowed his eyes, studying me as we stopped in the airlock. "Not… Not after… Kahje…"
"Close your eyes then," he said, eyes ahead as the Normandy launched through the relay to the Omega nebula. How the hell would closing my eyes help me here?! My body would still feel it! Shepard stole that choice from me. Nyryntha had weakened my body, there was no way for me to fight him in this condition. Shepard pulled his helmet on as we dropped out of FTL. Joker steered us towards the Starquake, spotting the ship a safe distance away. The airlock opened. A took a minute and a radio call before the Starquake's airlock shuddered apart. Val stood in the airlock, hand holding a bar above his head. Shuffled me off his shoulder.
"Shepard, no, please, don't throw me-AHHHHHH!" I screeched as he threw me out into space, my eyes captured by the streaking stars, my limbs pinned as I spun. My heart thundered, dark tendrils licked my vision as hyperventilation stole my breath from me. My back crashed into something hand, an arm clamping down on my waist.
"Get her out of here!" Shepard yelled over the radio. Val clicked his mandibles. "FTL away, anywhere!" he yelled as the two airlocks shut. Gravity returned, my knees caving as shaken hands pulled the helmet off.
"Dell, what the hell-" Val started.
"FTL," I wheezed. "FTL now! Before she gets here!" I stumbled to my feet, staggering down the hall to the CIC. Can't think about being spaced, gotta think about the bigger danger. Raisha looked up, a frown on her face. Gideon trotted by her heel, eyes wide. "FT-" I went to cry. The flood returned, my knees caved and my scream lit the room on fire. Activity droned under my screams, the jerking muscles unresponsive. Voices called over my screams as the engines surged. Seconds later, the pain vanished. It left me gasping on the floor, Raisha and Val holding my shoulders and Gideon hovering with his blood in his toes.
"What the hell was that? Was that a Reaper?" Val asked. My parched throat proved impossible to quench.
"It's Nyryntha," I wheezed. Val's mandibles flared. "She's coming for me,"
The Timeline, Saboteur Sheet and Galaxy Map have been updated for this chapter. Please see profile for link to Archive.
A/N: Well, it's technically the 24th here (despite only being 1 hour into it) but hey, I'm awake! And here is the last chapter! I do love cliffhangers XD Time to update everything for the new book! Anyway, its time to reveal the name and release date for the next book! The book blurb and the poster have been released and are on my profile for you to look at! (Poster link is in the art section)
Starquake: Renaissance (Book 4) : Release Date: 25th of February 2017
Renaissance is the next book! Looking forward to starting it, it's going to be a great adventure! Now, why am I waiting two months to post the next chapter? Well, a few reasons;
A) I have a lot of editing to do for Book 2 and now Book 3
B) I'm away for a week in Greece next month visiting a friend, so I get to enjoy Thessaloniki (my first foreign holiday for 9 years + first holiday without my parents)
C) I have a job! I start at the end of January.
Basically, it's to give me plenty of time to get used to a work-life balance again and have plenty of time for writing up a few chapters. So I'll be in touch with the edits, but for the most part, no new chapters until then (I may release them earlier depending on how everything goes).