My neck throbbed like a jackhammer, reminding me that every time it moved. The pain blinded me, white spots flickering across my vision. The bandage circled my neck, Sassy destroying both removed flesh and bug, leaving a horizontal hole in my neck. A skin graft worked its magic, but a horizontal line would still mark the back of my neck for the rest of my life. That didn't bother me so much. Scars I could live with, it wasn't my first. The Hunter's sickle scar on my shoulder was pretty bad. Sassy checked over the Widow, turning over my modification installation. My eyes drifted over the console, waiting for Shepard, Marruns and Liara to return to the Normandy. They still hadn't returned and my skin crawled at the thought of the Ravager finding us. As time crept on, temptation demanded to load up a shuttle and get us off the planet. Every second counted. The exterior cameras picked up everything that moved dockside. No sign of a crazy quarian yet. Although, if the Ravager was anything like mum described, he wouldn't use the door. My eye twitched as pain flared again. Dammit, Shepard, where the hell are you-
Movement dockside. Every hair leapt to attention, even after Kala called friendly. Shepard, Liara and Marruns power walked towards the Normandy, heads bowed and deep in conversation. Sassy frowned, eyes tight as he stalked towards the elevator and the airlock. Kala and I followed. Sassy's face said it all. Had I anywhere near as much nerve, my face would carry the same taut anger. After hours of attempts to drag Shepard back, he finally appeared. He wouldn't get off without a severe scolding. Shepard and Liara ignored us as they powered through the airlock. Shepard tried to calm the asari as she seethed, asari blood soaking both people. It didn't seem to be Liara's though. Marruns, however, spotted us across the bridge. His mandibles waved at Sassy's expression and the bandage around my neck.
"Where they hell have you been?" Sassy snapped. Shepard paused, Liara only a step after him. "I told you to get back here ASAP!" Shepard frowned, hackles bustling at the veiled order.
"We had things to do," he said, tone sugared up. It only worsened Sassy's mood.
"And while you pranced around the city like a pair of teenage love birds, we've been sitting here wondering if we were sitting in a death trap!" he barked. Shepard's eyebrows twitched, fluttering up as confusion and concern rose.
"I did not have a piece of my neck carved up just for the Ravager to come along and fuck me over too!" I added, eager to get the ship moving. Marruns' back snapped straight.
"Where?" he asked. Shepard frowned at the turian, looking between us.
"Dunno. We ran into the other asari Saboteur, Kokkonen. Computers said her shell is Arteza Matomi. But that is beyond the point. What happened was even the Saboteurs are desperate to keep me out of the Ravager's reach. She warned me he was on the planet. He's still looking for mum," Marruns ground his teeth.
"Shepard, get this ship off this planet," Marruns hissed, eyes now on the combat computers on the bridge. Shepard opened his mouth. "You saved Dell from that Cerberus facility, yes?" Shepard nodded. "Did you perchance run across a crazed quarian? Because if you did, that's the Ravager," Shepard's face lost colour. His head turned to the cockpit.
"Joker, get the Normandy airborne. Now," he ordered. Sassy's lungs emptied in a single agitated rush before stalking back to the elevator.
"What happened to your neck?" Shepard asked, noting the bandage.
"Remember that Saboteur I mentioned who warned me about the Ravager? She planted something on me," I said. "Sassy had to remove skin to get it off. I'm on medi-gel and painkillers until the skin graft takes," My hand raised to scratch it before stopping. Stubbornness lowered it to my side again. We bundled into the elevator as the clamping docks released. My stomach eased, knowing distance between me and the madman grew by the second. Down into the old XO room, a gathering grew as Shepard herded everyone together. Sassy leaned against a console as Liara flicked through her omni-tool.
"We found the information we needed. Hagalaz in the Hourglass Nebula. His base flies in the storm riddled atmosphere of the planet, masking his presence in the vicious storms," Liara said, bringing up a map of the planet. Her face set, a frown hard enough to cut stone. My eyes drifted to Sassy. Mum spoke of Liara, told me a thousand times she was a gentle, knowledgeable woman. She seemed anything but gentle. Kala, noting my change in expression and sideways glances, settled in front of me.
"And this helps us… how?" I asked.
"The Shadow Broker has information, information on anything. He will have ways of following Nyryntha through the relays. If anyone can track and Reaper, it will be him," Liara said. Doubt scrunched my face up.
"Question one; do you even know what the Shadow Broker looks like? How will you know when you find him? Next question; what are you going to do when you find him? If you find him? There is no way he'll just give you this information. I've seen people deal with Shadow Broker agents before. It's always a trade" I asked. Shepard blinked. Sassy smiled.
"No, I don't know what the Shadow Broker looks like. But there are ways to tell when someone is important," Liara said, unfazed by my questions, perhaps annoyed by them. It just made me shuffle closer to Sassy. "And when I find him, he will pay for making Faron suffer. We'll take the information we want by force," she said.
"Kill the Shadow Broker…" Marruns snorted.
"What about the Saboteurs within the Shadow Broker ranks? What if the Shadow Broker is a Saboteur? Or indoctrinated?" I asked.
"All the more reason to remove the Broker and deal with the Saboteurs within," Liara said, undisturbed.
"Oh yeah, it'll be that easy," I grumbled. Sassy smirked beside me.
"Ah my dear boy, you've learn so well," he said, pride in his tone. His words fluttered my heart. "After our run in with the last Saboteur, I think we'll pass on this mission. We'll stay on the ship," Shepard's gaze flicked towards me. My eyes lifted, but no complaint surfaced. The Shadow Broker's base smelt of trouble and corruption. Saboteurs running everywhere, Shadow Broker goons trouncing everywhere. No, not mixing those two up with a sore neck. Besides, Sassy's pride in my progress bloomed a bubble of warmth in my stomach. Arguing against him would destroy that. Sassy's smile grew, lifting his brows as he regarded Shepard. The human narrowed his gaze, suspicion in his hunting eyes. He turned to Liara.
"Have you contacted anyone to give us some backup? I'm still gathering where everyone is," he asked.
"I'll see what I can do. Zaeed may be up for it," she said. "Most other people have other concerns or are otherwise out of reach for the time being,"
"Keep digging. We'll make a quick detour if necessary. Miranda might be up for it," Shepard said. Marruns nodded his head to the door. We crept out as the pair continued a debate, innuendos slipping free. Sassy turned to Marruns.
"Damn mission was a mess and a half. A Spectre was a Shadow Broker agent and she stole the data and killed Liara's agent. Chased her halfway across Illium," Marruns grumbled. "And those two never stopped with the damn jokes and suggestions. Spirits, I never thought I'd miss Shaik and that fat copper bastard. At least they didn't make innuendos every second line," Sassy chuckled.
"Then be glad we are warming the bench, Shepard can deal with the Shadow Broker. We'll deal with the Saboteurs later," Sassy said.
"Think to databases will have information on the other Saboteur identification?" I asked. Sassy clucked his tongue.
"A possibility. But I would suspect the Saboteurs inside would remove such information," Sassy said. A sigh rushed out. "But once we remove those Saboteurs, then we will have much better luck in that regard,"
"We've got so much to do before the Reapers get here," I mumbled.
"There is no way we'll kill all the Saboteurs before the Reapers get here," Marruns said, the med-bay doors closing behind us. The crinkling of the cloning machine hummed in the background. "Some Saboteurs will go to ground, they are so close and they are losing people left right and centre,"
"A dire conclusion, but a correct one," Sassy sighed, pulling back the curtain to enter the cloning section. He leaned against a wall, staring at the battle plan on the back wall. "Even if Dell were still here, we wouldn't dent the Saboteurs numbers much more than they already are,"
"So what do we do?" I asked.
"Prepare," Marruns said, scrubbing the board of the dead plan. "But focus on getting Shaik back with us. We need her problem solving and stubbornness if we want to get through this damn war,"
"Get back to work on the read-write algorithm, Gid. And remember to hold your head properly otherwise your neck won't heal," Sassy warned.
"I don't think there is much more I can do without exposing myself or Kala to Reaper code," I said.
"Then expose yourself," Sassy said. My foot froze mid-air, gawking at him. "With care. Kala is off-limits from interacting with it,"
"I… I'll see what I can do," I said. Sassy nodded, sharing a long look with Marruns as the curtain dropped.
Within minutes, the wall of unanswered problems rose. The code barricaded me. Delving into the Reaper code provided many risks, but the potential rewards… My jaw set. We had no choice. We had to delve into the code. Just for a little bit, then a long break until my next RIT. In the drawers below the desk, a spare computer sat. It was the only computer that had access to the Reaper data. My hand trembled over the handle, the weight of what I was about to delve into heavy on my shoulders. We had no choice. The drawer pulled open, the computer glaring up. After fiddling with the battery connections, it sprung to life. A dire warning dominated the screen, another reminder of the danger.
A simple desktop greeted me. Only a few icons decorated the desktop, all of which allowed either coding or access to the code itself. It took a minute to pluck up the courage to open the console and play with what we had. The first thing that battered me was the code altering, trying to find an escape route out of the computer. When it found none, it returned to normal. Ok. That was terrifying. My head shook, dislodging the doubt growing. Once inside the code, looking at how it behaved and the basic commands, striking similarities appeared. Not that different from anything else. In fact, it behaved like an AI. It was like the Reapers were all of one mind. Well, not really. My face scrunched up. The code allowed for small deviations, but they synchronised with each other like geth, and they didn't have to worry about too much data corruption because the code self-repaired. It was impressive. It only worsened the stones in my stomach though.
After trying some code to see how the damn thing would react – as I expected, it disregarded it and repaired itself to the original – I asked EDI and Kala for help. EDI had worked with Reaper code before, she might give me insight into what I'm missing. When she described how to alter the code, everything I did made sense. The code relied on using verification codes, buried deep within the data files which changed every few hours. Unless everything ran by this verification, the code assumed it wasn't normal code or outsiders planted it like a virus and would attack it. Referencing the damn codes though was a herculean challenge. EDI walked me through the whole process. I took 3 days just to get the damn thing typed in. It took EDI a near day to get that stage done. An AI took a day to get code to work.
The last thing to try before taking a break from the code was to try the Saboteur codes from the Collector Base. It didn't have everything, but enough survived to piece together everything if you knew the schema for the database. My earlier attempts failed. The code even tried to hijack something in retaliation, as if pissed off. A few hours of refining made it someone happier, but it still rejected it. With a shake of my head, the computer shut down. Or wanted to. The Reaper code overrode the command and kept the machine online. My hand yanked the battery out. The screen died, but on the monitor machine for the Reaper server showed a spike in processing ability, fighting to get control back. The code fluttered away, realising it was fruitless. It wasn't fighting as long or hard these days. It was learning. That terrified me more than anything. The code was damn intelligent. Only the restricted hardware stopped it from taking over. I'd have to ask Sassy to destroy a few more processors. My chair leaned away from the desk, a throbbing running rampant in my head. Part of me wanted to reach out and restart the computer, but when that happened, I walked away. When I stood up, that was Kala's cue to shove me out the door. Sassy would lock the computer away somewhere, away from me.
Days later, the Normandy sailed through the stars to the Hourglass Nebula. The Sowilo cluster wasn't well explored. Despite connection to the Crescent and Omega nebulas, the Shrike Abyssal and the Valhalian Threshold. My neck healed to where the pain only throbbed if strained too much. But that still didn't mean I wanted to tango with Saboteurs and Shadow Broker goons. The Reaper headache still pounded from time to time. It was more than enough reason to warm the bench. Shepard, Liara and Miranda departed the ship on a shuttle, disappearing down to one of the largest storms I'd seen on a rocky planet. The storm chased the twilight and dawn, the temperature extremes kicking up the wicked winds. Lanster hadn't taken me through planet flying. Flying the Starquake with exploding engines, deformed wings and a ship-wide venting had put me off trying terrestrial flying for a while. One day. But for now, Sassy clucked his tongue as he puzzled over the code. He may not have the same level of expertise as I, but he had experience. He leaned back in the chair.
"I see what you mean. In theory the code should work but if the Reaper code isn't taking to it, we're missing a step," he said. "How is the headaches?"
"Easing. They aren't as bad or as common as they were a few days ago," I said.
"Good. Keep taking the painkillers and no looking at the Reaper code until your next RIT. We will have time to deal with that later. No progress on the Read-Write device?" he asked. My head shook. "Then we had best find a way to pin Nyryntha down,"
"Any luck on that?" I asked. Sassy snorted.
"No. Even if we lure her somewhere, how to we trap her? She has weapons able to punch through mountains, weight and strength to overpower any machine we have," Sassy shook his head. "We'll work on it though. She can't fight forever,"
"She'll damn well bloody try," I muttered. Sassy chuckled, ruffling my hair as he stood.
My brain needed a break from all this code. Away from the constant crinkling of bubbles and beeps of the machines, my mind cleared. Kala trotted by my heel, ever my companion. We meandered between the bustling people, the retrofit still in full blast. My head sang from the pounding until a small rest bite surfaced in the old storage room on Deck 5. Overlooking the bulging cargo hold, my head pressed against the cold glass, breathing through the headache as it passed. Everyone depended on me getting this damn code right. So many people… and not one understood the mountain between us and victory. My eyes closed. So much work to do. So little time.
My mind wandered to the Reaper Code. If mum ever learned I had messed with such a thing, she'd take my head of my shoulders. That code, for whatever reason, caused errors and malfunctions across our software codes. Earlier attempts to mess with Reaper Code left many of the test systems in shambles. The code behaved like a virus unless adjusted just so. That and then there was the indoctrination fears. Looking at the code for long periods of time caused headaches and migraines, strange dreams and God knows what else. And with the limit of RIT to once a month, I needed Sassy to make me a schedule to give me a break from the damn code. A knock on the door dragged me back, eyes blinking to clear the haze before looking up. A soldier walked in, nodding his head in greeting.
"We have a message from Commander Shepard. They are requesting backup. Commanders Delern and Bellum are leaving to assist," he said.
"Oh… ok, thanks for letting me know," I said, frowning. The Soldier made a hasty retreat out the door. My eyes narrowed, glancing down to the cargo hold below. They sure didn't seem ready to pull any other shuttles free. The one that dropped Shepard off was still on the pad but it wasn't going anywhere for a while. No one had even opened the damn doors. My tongue clucked, unease burning in my stomach. Something smelt off. With my stomach knotting, it was time to get back to Sassy, wherever he was.
A trip up the elevator to the crew deck, however, provided me with a different problem. The elevator refused to move. My heart thundered, fear spiking. This was wrong. This was so damn wrong. My eyes trailed over the ducts, leading into the bowels of the ship. But that would mean abandoning Kala down here until the elevator turned back on. Dammit, what was more important; Sassy or Kala physically beside me? The elevator still beeped as an error took over.
"EDI, where is Sassy?" I asked, calling up. Silence. Ok, I was not abandoning Kala now. My eyes landed on the cargo hold, on the shuttles. No, escaping on them wouldn't do us any good. "Kala, can you get in contact with EDI?"
"I have been attempting to. I believe her AI core is… disabled?" She said, confused. "Why is-" she shuddered, a pitched screech filled my ears.
With a yell, the visor ripped off my head to the ground. The mech stumbled before collapsing, the lights dead. My heart faltered. Why was Kala going down too? Her omni-tool blinked the answer. Lost connection with server. Had someone fucked with her servers? With my ribs aching from my thundering heart, the door to engineering parted. Before the door even opened, the butt of a shotgun slammed into my face. My ears rang, blotting out the sound of my head smashing into the ground. My vision swam, blurred until the silver floor became a sheet of colour, taking over everything. Muffled voices rumbled like ghosts in my ears, but nothing made sense. Pain radiated from my skull. Time faded, blackness coming and going for seconds. Hours. Sensations came and went. Taste of copper, smell of grime, cold metal against my skin. When my vision returned, it took minutes before my brain could register my surroundings.
A chill shuddered my skin, rousing me sharper than the pain in my face. The first thing that hit me was the smell of dextro blood, like blood that had turned sour. My stomach rolled, coughing. It echoed around me, bouncing from one end of the room to the other. When my eyes pried open, everything blurred, my head swayed. As time slipped by, it cleared. The circular room wasn't spectacular. Floor lighting encircled the outer rim of the room, casting light up to the domed roof above. The light caught movable panels on the walls and ceilings. I sat in the middle, arms wrapped around me by a mass effect 'rope' for a lack of a better word. My head hurt too much to lift from the floor. My breath rushed in white billows. So cold…
"Is he conscious this time?" a voice asked, female. It drawled, itching me the wrong way. "You hit him too hard. He's a child. If he has brain damage-"
"The Reapers won't mind if he is a bit damaged," a distorted voice rumbled through a speaker. Someone entered my view, pacing around me with long, lazy steps. An asari, deep purple in tone. Her dark blue eyes flicked down to assess my expression.
"Ah, I think he has come 'round. Hello, my dear boy. I hope Aidan didn't hurt you too much." The asari crouched down before me, reaching out to my face. My forehead burst into pain, stealing air from me. "Aw, you poor dear. Does it sting? You wouldn't have been hit had you just been a good, spontaneous boy and dashed out to demand to join the rescue mission. " she crooned.
"Fuck you," I wheezed. The asari's lips dropped. Her hand pressed into my head, flaring the pain until my vision failed.
"Didn't your mother ever teach you to be nice to strangers?" the asari asked.
"She taught me to piss on people who fuck with me," I breathed, fighting for air. The asari tutted, straightening. Her boot caught me in the stomach. White spots flashed before my eyes.
"You, child, are only useful because the Reapers are interested in you. The Shadow Broker loves information and he will do anything to get it," she said. It took a few seconds for me to find my voice.
"So he plans to sell me? Like every other bastard I ran into before finding mum?" I spat. The asari smiled.
"It's all you're good for," she said, dragging the all. My teeth grit. "And before you try, we've already removed your little toy. She won't be able to help you here,"
"Won't need her to shove your boot up your ass," I snarled. The asari's smile dropped again. My body braced. The pain roared in my gut, but I refused to relent. Her frown deepened. A second later, her boot smashed into my face, kicking me off the ground to roll onto my other side. Lightning lit my body, everything blinding me. Blood trickled down the back of my throat, choking me.
"Get us to the drop-off point so we can be rid of him," the asari hissed, stalking away to the door. My hard breaths deafened me. Why was the room so cold? No, focus, focus!
The Shadow Broker had me, planned to sell me to the Reapers. Bloody fools. As if the Saboteurs would let that happen. They'd kill him and take me anyway. Or was this a trap to lure the Saboteurs in the Shadow Broker ranks out? My tongue clucked. That was probably the plan. What could the Reapers tell the Shadow Broker that made him have people slip onto the Normandy and kidnap me? And what about Sassy? ...did he take mum? My heart skipped a beat. If her hurt mum, if he delayed or killed what we were doing- No, be positive. Breathe. Remember your training. It took everything to lower my heart rate, to calm my aching nerves.
The doors parted behind me. My head lifted, just enough to peek over my shoulder. A form silhouetted against the light, a feminine form. My eyes narrowed.
"Saboteur," I greeted, lowering my head back down to the cold floor. It acted as an ice pack to my aching face.
"Oh you are learning quick, little spawn," the voice chuckled.
The Timeline and Galaxy Map have been updated for this chapter. Please see profile for link to Archive.
A/N: Sorry for the delay. I've been getting distracted with the comic and getting the Inclusion poster done. Hopefully shouldn't take me as long next time.