As Kacey stormed off inside the facility, fuming, the scarlet-haired commander could hear the thundering, rumbling noises of a couple of people crawling rapidly through the vent. The noise had put Kacey on guard as she moved into cover, with James and Kaidan following her lead. The trio remained poised, ready to move; Kacey could hear a few gunshots as the rumbling noise continued. Kacey peered around the corner as the grate was forcefully kicked off, and an asari in a white and blue suit hopped out of the vent and over some tanks of fuel. As she ran, two Cerberus troopers crawled out of the vent behind her. The asari then swiftly turned on her heel, and threw a singularity at the pair, sending the pair floating through the air as she shot the pair in the head with her pistol with ease. She gracefully walked over to the corpses as they dropped to the floor and shot the bodies twice each. Kacey then stepped out of cover as she recognised the asari in question.
"I never took you as the type to waste ammo, Liara." Kacey quipped as she walked towards the asari. James had his assault rifle raised at Liara, but Kacey pushed the gun down, "Easy there, Lieutenant. She's with us."
"Shepard!" Liara said as she turned to face Kacey, "Thank the goddess you're alive!"
"You too, Liara." Kacey replied.
"I've heard what happened to Earth. I'm sorry."
"Yeah." Kaidan mused, "It was…difficult to leave."
"Kaidan, I'm sorry." Liara replied.
The asari looked at Kaidan, a bit sheepish; Kacey knew why. And she already knew Liara's reasons for not sharing it with the biotic. Kacey had already had that argument on Illium with Liara, and they both knew where the other stood on the matter.
"Shepard, I'm sorry."
"You don't have to apologise to me, Liara."
More memories. It was a tense conversation, meeting with Liara right after Horizon. Right after her shouting match with Kaidan. It was nice that Liara wasn't as argumentative as Kaidan, but her sudden change in attitude had thrown her off. Thankfully, they managed to clear things up.
"But why'd you come here?" Liara questioned.
"Hackett ordered us to come." Kacey replied bluntly, "Said you'd know what was going on."
"I do." Liara said, walking towards the nearby window.
"Hallelujah." James said, "Some answers, finally."
"I've discovered plans for a Prothean device." Liara said, "One that could wipe out the Reapers."
Kacey couldn't believe it. It couldn't be possible. If there truly was a plan for a device that could end the Reapers…she needed it. Now.
"Here? On Mars?" Kacey quizzed.
"In the Prothean Archives, yes."
"We've known about the Archives for decades." Kacey said confused, "Why now?"
"Process of elimination, mixed with a little desperation." Liara explained, "You bought us some time, albeit not much. But then you were 'under investigation'. I knew I had to do something. Hackett knew it, too. He contacted me, asking if I would use my resources as the Shadow Broker to find a way to stop the Reapers. My search led me here. Hackett got me access to the Archives and kept me updated on your status. I meant to come see you but…"
"I was under house arrest, so you probably couldn't even if you want to." Kacey replied.
"Yes, well, in any case, my work paid off." Liara mused, "The Archives are full of data. An overwhelming amount. I think I found what we need."
"I guess I'll believe it when I see it." Kacey replied pessimistic, "Where do we find this weapon?"
"It's not a weapon, not yet. Its plans for a device. A blueprint."
"Its more than we had a minute ago. How do we get it?"
"The Archives are just across that tramway." Liara pointed out, "Assuming Cerberus hasn't locked it down."
"What are they after?" Kacey asked.
"Yeah, they seemed hell-bent on catching you." James added.
"They want what I'm here for…what we're all here for." Liara answered.
"But why?" Kacey asked again.
"The Protheans came close to defeating the Reapers." Liara explained, "They had plans to destroy them, but they ran out of time."
"And anything powerful enough to destroy the Reapers…" Kaidan mused.
"Just might be something Cerberus would be interested in." Kacey sighed.
"So, it's a race to the Archives." James concluded.
"Looks like it."
The base shook: the sound of a door being sawed in half thundered around the area. Kacey moved towards the sound and saw it was the door on the upper level getting cut clean in half.
"We've got company." Kacey said.
"Bring it on!" James said.
Kacey took a quick glance at the trio behind her; with Cerberus here, there was no guarantee that the shuttle they arrived on would be safe. And Kacey knew that if Cerberus found it, they would probably destroy it, not to mention the Normandy would also be in trouble. She knew that as much as there was tension between her and Kaidan, he was experienced enough to handle the Cerberus soldiers not to mention that his biotics would be critical if there were as many troops as Kacey suspected.
"Not this time, James." Kacey said, her tone firm.
"What?" James said.
"Get back to the shuttle." Kacey explained, "If Cerberus beats us to the Archives, I need you covering the exits."
She moved over toward the terminal to let James back out. The bulky marine followed suit, not pleased by his orders.
"But…"
"Now, Lieutenant." She replied, her tone calm and firm.
James relented with another word; the conversation with him reminded Kacey of a similar conversation she had with the man behind her. One that did not have a happy ending.
"Commander! Kacey!"
"Kaidan, go! Now!"
Stubbornness. That's what it was. Her own lack of self-preservation stubbornness. No matter how many times she was told otherwise, Kacey always put herself into the line of fire, in the most amount of danger to protect those around her. No matter what.
"It sounds like they're getting closer." Kaidan mused, "We should probably move into cover."
"There she is!" One of the Cerberus troops said as they burst through the door.
"Looks like they found us!" Liara shouted.
James had already left by the time the troops flooded into the room. Kacey narrowly avoided their shots as she moved into cover, only to find the cowards bundled up together hiding behind a railing. Liara didn't hesitate however, and placed a singularity an inch above the troops, lifting them into the air for Kacey and Kaidan to maul down. Kacey avoided Kaidan's gaze as Liara turned around and confirmed that all the troops in the room were dead.
"Okay. Let's find a way up." Kacey said to no one in particular.
"This is a secure Alliance station." Kaidan mused, "How did Cerberus get in?"
"Not sure." Liara replied, "One minute we were getting reports of the Reaper invasion…the next, there was chaos. Didn't even realise it was Cerberus at first."
"Cerberus has moles everywhere." Kacey said, clearly agitated, "They probably had one inside the base before all this shit started."
Kaidan and Liara looked at Kacey confused as they hopped up on top of the vehicles to reach the upper level. The only reason she knew that was because the Illusive Man did everything he could to keep Kacey in line six months ago, not mention the intel that she and Joker had forwarded to the Alliance the entire time. Again, she told the Alliance all of this, and it seemed that she had not been listened to. Yet again.
"You think they're working with the Reapers?" Kaidan asked.
"Doubtful." Kacey replied firmly, "But I suppose anything is possible."
"And you're sure that's the case?" Kaidan asked.
"It is. You just have to trust me, Kaidan." Kacey replied.
Kacey hopped over to the other side of the upper catwalk, refusing to meet the gazes of Liara and more specifically Kaidan. She couldn't believe they were going back to this again. After everything that had happened between them, he didn't trust her? And the fact that it was a possibility hurt.
She was so distracted that she nearly got shot by a Cerberus trooper, who had already gunned down a researcher. Thankfully, the trooper hadn't noticed any of them and decided to talk to someone through their comms. Kacey instinctively went behind the railing the Cerberus soldier was leaning on and snuck up on the trooper.
"We've done a sweep through the residence." The Cerberus soldier informed, "Going to check on Able Squad. They're not reporting in."
"Neither will you." Kacey said quietly as she pulled the trooper over the railing and killed him by stabbing him in the head with her omni-blade.
The move had caught the attention of the other soldiers in the room. Kacey wasn't bothered by it one bit. After six months of confinement, it was a bit cathartic to shoot them down; after all that Cerberus had done, it was only fair.
"Who the hell are these guys?" One of the soldiers shouted, "She just lifted him off his feet like he was nothing!"
"I think the Alliance had backups!" Another shouted.
"Why does she look familiar?" One of them called, "The one with the red hair?"
Kacey silently cursed that she was called out like that; not just for looking familiar, but for what she had done to the soldier. She knew better than to make it that obvious. She was quick to silence the troops, who grew more confused as to who the trio were.
"This is Bravo Team." One of the soldier's radioed, "We've found a—"
The soldier was cut off by a headshot by Kaidan. Once they had determined that all of the troops were dead, Kacey marched on without so much as a backward glance.
"We'll need access to the pedway." Liara explained, "Controls should be nearby."
Kacey nodded and moved forward into what looked to be the tram station. She wasn't interested in having a conversation, or rather an interrogation, while she waited for Liara to finish typing on the terminal. Kacey instead opted to reload her gun and make sure her assault rifle was ready, as opposed to talking to either party. Liara furiously typed away on the terminal like she was on a mission and stopped once the screen started to flash.
"I can't seem to activate the live feeds, but…" Liara trailed off.
"Hey. Whose that woman there? On the vid?" Kaidan asked.
A woman with short dark hair was running around on the camera. Kacey couldn't shake the feeling that something wasn't right. Cerberus had eyes and ears everywhere. Well-hidden ones too. The woman looked suspicious to Kacey, and her suspicious only grew upon hearing Liara's response.
"That's Doctor Eva Core." Liara answered, "She arrived about a week ago."
How convenient. Kacey wasn't the most trusting person; it was a running joke with her crew about Kacey was suspicious about everything and everyone, even the reflection in the mirror as Joker once quipped. But she had her reasons. Her trust issues came from experience; she simply adapted. That was all.
"Any luck, Liara?" Kacey asked.
"None. The pedway's been locked out." Liara said, "There is some construction nearby. We can get to the roof. We can find a way around from there."
"Great. Let's move." Kacey said, less than enthusiastic.
Back outside? No, she didn't want to go back outside. Not again. She felt anxious; it was a strange feeling. She didn't understand it; why was she feeling nervous about this. It was the same at the Collector ship, on the quarian ships, on the geth ship. Each time, this feeling of unease would radiate out through her body, making her anxious at the mere mention of going outside in an atmosphere with no oxygen.
As they entered the airlock, Kacey began to put her helmet on, repeating the pattern of checking the latches of the helmet. It was secure, right? It has to be secure. Check once, twice, thrice.
"Kacey are you okay?"
She jumped as she turned to see Kaidan facing her, his helmet already latched on. He had kept his voice low, probably to avoid Liara eavesdropping on their conversation. So, he had noticed. She wasn't sure if that was a good or a bad thing but right now, she didn't give a damn.
"I'm fine." Kacey replied defensively, "Let's go."
…
The storm was getting a bit too close for Kacey's liking. That sicking feeling she had earlier returned in force, and it was an unrelenting bastard. What had not helped matters was the strong winds that could easily have thrown them off the scaffolding if they weren't careful. Kacey slid down the ladder, avoiding Kaidan's gaze. She was still pissed off from earlier, understandably so, but chose to remain professional and remain silent, only talking when necessary; the last thing she wanted was to run her mouth off and get another disciplinary notice.
"That storm's getting closer!" Kaidan said, "What the hell's going on over there?"
Kacey looked over towards the tramway, where an intense firefight was being carried out between who she assumed was Cerberus and Alliance forces.
"Looks like the Alliance is still putting up a fight." Kacey mused as she headed along a narrow catwalk.
"That tram heads to the Archives." Liara said, "Once Cerberus is across, they're at the final security checkpoint."
"Commander, do you read me?" James said through the comms.
"Barely." Kacey replied, "Storm's causing interference."
"Tell me about it." James groaned, "I've lost contact with the Normandy. What's y…"
"I didn't read that, James. Repeat?"
"I said…"
Static. Nothing but static. Kacey cleared the gap between the scaffolding effortlessly and entered the building via the airlock. She tried to establish contact with James again, but to no avail; communications were lost.
"Damn it!" she said frustrated. She punched the wall, leaving another dent behind. With the armour, the dent was much larger and deeper, almost piercing the wall. She tried to take a deep breath to calm herself down; but her body wouldn't let her. Intrusive thoughts flooded her mind, she couldn't breathe, couldn't focus. Can't, can't, can't…
"That storm is going to be in here very soon." Liara mused; her voice brought Kacey back down to reality, "Wait. This airlock shouldn't be open."
"It doesn't look like it's been forced open." Kaidan mused as he entered, noticing the dent in the wall, "Commander, did you punch the wall again?"
"Yes, no, maybe, so?" Kacey replied, irritated, "Can we just get inside?"
She sounded jumpy; she was never jumpy. The fact that the airlock was open did not concern her at that moment. She just wanted to breathe.
"You have to override security protocols to open the airlock." Liara mused.
Kacey moved down the steps into a darkened room that looked a lot like a mess hall. She turned her rifle's flashlight on; once it flickered on, she saw that body of a young man, lying face first on the ground.
"What the fuck?" Kacey muttered in surprise.
She had to admit; these bastards were thorough. The base was completely silent and if it weren't for the fact that Hackett had sent them here, nobody would've known otherwise. It was horrific; and it…scared her.
Kacey wasn't used to feeling fear; her life had been a series of life-threatening and dangerous events. Not once, through her many years of service had she felt fear. Real fear. She didn't fear the enemy; whether it be batarian, krogan, turian or a fucking Reaper, it didn't matter. She'd fight them and take them down all the same or die trying. She didn't fear for the safety of her friends or family; worried yes, but not scared for them. She didn't fear spiders or the dark or things that go bump in the night. She didn't even fear death itself; she was still standing, even if she was out of commission for two years.
But for the first time, since her childhood, she actually felt fear. She couldn't understand it; it was hard for her to process what it was that scared her in this room and outside. She couldn't put it into words, even if she wanted to.
"Someone vented the air from this room while they were still in here." Liara said, horrified.
"It looks like they died trying to claw their way out." Kaidan added mournfully.
"This is brutal, even by Cerberus standards."
Oh, the irony.
"This is their standards." Kacey corrected, walking past yet another body, "This isn't new; they're just showing their true colours now."
She may have opened herself up to another fight with Kaidan, but she didn't give a fuck anymore. She just wanted to sort this out, grab those blueprints, and end this war. After the war, well, her fate was uncertain. She figured she'd probably be thrown in the brig, although she would make them fucking work for it if they tried; consequences be dammed.
She carefully walked down the steps, just as the shutters for the security room opened to reveal Cerberus assault troopers. Kacey turned off her flashlight and quickly hid behind a table, out of sight.
"Flashlight." Kacey said, careful to keep her voice low.
"Roger that." One of the soldiers said, "Delta Team out."
"What's our order?" Another asked.
"There's an Alliance force in here somewhere." The first soldier said, "We need to keep them away from the core."
"Aww, I'm touched." Kacey muttered.
"I'm touched that they think I'm Alliance." Liara quipped.
"Check the next room." One of the soldiers added.
"Its dark in there." The second solider said, "Want me to shoot out the windows?"
"No!" The first replied firmly, "Not unless you want to decompress this room too."
"I want to decompress that room." Kacey mused, "I can shoot the windows."
"I don't see anyone…" The second soldier said.
"Come on. There's no one alive in there." The third soldier complained, "Let's keep moving."
Kacey opened fire on the window, shooting through the glass and right through the soldiers shouting, "Surprise assholes!"
Once the soldiers were dead Kacey moved up towards where the windows previously were and hopped over the ledge. Liara headed over toward the environmental controls after clearly the ledge; Kacey followed Liara while Kaidan kept an eye on their surroundings.
"We need to pressurise the room first." Liara said as she typed away on the terminal.
The vents turned on immediately as the room began to pressurise; her anxiety easing as the process continued.
"There we go." Liara said, "We have access to the labs. They'll take us to the tram station."
Once the room was fully pressurised and safe enough to breathe in, Kacey quickly removed her helmet and instinctively took a deep breath. She felt a wave of relief wash over her as she took another deep breath of air.
"Hey look." Kaidan said all of a sudden, "That looks like a recording of what happened here."
Kacey noticed the computer Kaidan was referring to and played the recording. She already had a sneaking suspicion of who was the mole, and she silently hoped that this would prove her right.
"Security station….come in?" a security officer said, "We're seeing some odd activity down here. Our security protocols just kicked in. Everything's locked down."
It was then that Kacey could see Dr Eva appear on the screen, looking at the officer with a murderous intent that Kacey had come to recognise well over the years. The officer turned and looked at her confused.
"Doctor, I'll get you a report as soon as—"
Eva pulled a pistol out and shot the officer in front of her and the one at the desk with absolute precision. She then started to type away on the environmental controls, venting the room.
"I guess we know how Cerberus got in." Kacey said bluntly, "I fucking knew it."
"You were right." Kaidan mused, "They do have moles everywhere."
"Don't say I didn't warn you." Kacey replied.
Liara sighed, "I should've realised it when I met her. I was just so focused on finding a way to stop the Reapers."
"Stopping the Reapers is the only thing we should be focused on." Kacey said, "It's not your fault."
"But what if we're wrong? What if there's no way to stop them? What if these are our last days and we spend them scurrying around trying to solve a problem we can't fix?"
Kacey had already asked herself those questions; she spent six months trying to find the answers. No one, nothing was invincible. Not even the Reapers. Kacey knew that, and so did Kaidan and Liara; Sovereign did fall. They did defeat a Reaper and Kacey was going to make damn sure that she took down as many as she could. Sovereign thought it was invincible, and yet its hubris led to its demise. By working together, they defeated that Reaper, and they could do it again.
"Come on, Liara." Kacey said.
"I know. I shouldn't think like that." Liara replied, facing Kacey, "I don't know how you do it. You've always stayed focused, even in the worst situations."
It was a glowing endorsement; shame it wasn't completely true. Kacey wasn't focused, her mind felt like it had been through a blender. Too many complicated emotions, uncertainties, and memories, all piled on top of one another, mixed up in a lethal cocktail that not even the hardiest of krogan could drink. It was too much.
"You've built a career on performing the impossible."
Her fault for setting the bar so damn high then.
"When there's so much at stake, I just think about what I'd lose if I fail." Kacey blurted out.
Her gaze had moved towards Kaidan; she wasn't wrong necessarily. The problem was that her relationship with the biotic was complicated and was not as stable as it used to be. She hadn't meant for her response to have so much truth in it; she was used to handing out half-truths and deflections. Easier that way.
"That's a terrible burden." Liara replied, following Kacey's gaze.
Kacey had looked away sharply as Kaidan turned around; a look of confusion on his face.
"We'll stop them, Liara. Together." Kacey said.
"I believe you." Liara replied, "Or rather, I believe that you believe. Maybe that's enough."
'At least someone does.' Kacey thought to herself as Liara continued.
"Okay. Door's open. We can get to the labs and tram station through there."
"Good." Kacey replied bluntly, "Let's move."