The last place Kacey thought she would ever have a shoot-out was in a classroom. And yet the Cerberus soldiers standing in her way were making things difficult. She was pinned down behind a desk, with an injured girl right next to her, holding her leg. Kacey had put some Medi-Gel on the young girl's leg before the fight was underway. Liara had delayed the movement of the enemy with a singularity while Garrus opened fire on the stragglers.
By the time the Cerberus soldiers were wiped out, Kacey told the young girl to head for the security office. They were doing well so far, but Kacey wasn't sure that their luck would hold out for long.
"There are Alliance soldiers on the station now. They claim they want to help you. But all they're doing is threatening your safety. Please don't risk getting caught in the crossfire. Surrender now."
"Uh, correction; there is one Alliance soldier on this station." Kacey said, "Fucking idiots."
"Oh here we go." Garrus shook his head.
"Kacey, look!" Liara said, pointing down the hall.
Kacey saw another young girl down the hall; she ran over and could see that she was bleeding. Without hesitation, Kacey applied Medi-Gel and tried her best to reassure the girl.
"What's your name?" Kacey asked calmly.
"Seanne" She replied, "My brother! He—!"
"What's your brother's name?"
"Reiley." Seanne replied.
"He's safe." Kacey reaffirmed, "We saved him. He's with Kahlee Sanders at security. Can you get to her?"
"Yeah, I'll try. Thank you, Commander." Seanne said before leaving.
"Commander!" Kahlee called down the comms, "I just got an emergency message from the students in Orion Hall. One of our instructors is with them, but they can't hold out much longer!"
"We're on it!" Kacey said as they bolted down the hall.
"Kahlee, I've patched you into the PDA system." Liara said, "You can use it now!"
"Thank you." Kahlee said through the PDA, "Students, if you can hear me, this is Kahlee Sanders. I am still alive, and help is coming. Commander Shepard and an Alliance team are here to rescue us. Stay safe. Get to me if you can, or send me a message if you need help."
Kacey opened the door to Orion Hall and was surprised at the sight. She couldn't believe who she saw wiping the floor with the Cerberus troops.
"Eat this!" Jack shouted as she used her biotics to kill the soldiers.
"Jack?" Kacey mused.
Jack turned, her eyes widening upon recognising the ruby haired commander, "Shepard?"
Before Kacey could say anything, they were interrupted by a large, mechanical noise. She turned, and saw a large heavy mech attempt to claw its way into Orion Hall. It was similar in size and scope to a YMIR mech; but different as its firepower had increased and a lone Cerberus soldier piloted the mech. Jack attempted to use her biotics on the machine, but instead drew its attention. Kacey took advantage of the pilot's distraction to fire a disruptor concussive shot in its back.
"Everyone, get down!" Jack said as she ushered the students away from the mech, "This thing's outta your league! Shepard, keep it off us!"
"On it!" Kacey replied, "Garrus, Liara! Hit it from the rear! I'll take the front!"
They both nodded and did as they were ordered to without a second look; Kacey drew most of its fire and unloaded clip after clip into the mech while rolling to avoid rockets and machine gun fire. She hid behind a pillar, counting her breaths as Garrus fired a concussive shot into the glass windshield of the machine.
She counted each of the students in Jack's group; fourteen students were protected by Jack's barrier and with three already with Kahlee, it meant that there were still another three students unaccounted for. She had to find them before Cerberus did, of that she was certain.
Kacey peeked around the side of the pillar, and saw the mech make its way towards Garrus. The infernal thing was already sparking and plumes of smoke were pouring out of it from behind. Kacey took the sight as a reassuring sign, it meant that it was close to being destroyed. She made her way over to Garrus, who was hiding near some potted plants.
"On three, we fire two consecutive right at the pilot." Kacey said, "Sound good?"
"Sounds good to me." Garrus replied.
Both waited until Kacey gave the signal; then they both fired a concussive shot that obliterated the mech. Kacey gave a sigh of relief as Jack dropped the barrier and leaned over the railing on the upper balcony.
Jack was the last person she thought she would see at a school like this; when they had first met, Jack was a foul-mouthed, psychotic individual who cared very little, if at all, for anyone around her. She enjoyed killing, pillaging and generally being as much of a sociopath as possible. Or so it would seem at a glance. She had her reasons for being so closed off, and her psychotic behaviour was something that Cerberus had honed into Jack as a child. Thankfully, over six months ago, Jack finally had let the past go, and it seemed that she was making something out of her life.
"Kahlee said she was putting out an SOS." Jack mused with a smirk, "I had no idea the Queen of the Girl Scouts would show up."
Kacey stuck up her middle finger as Jack turned to address her students, "All right; amp check! Prangley, those fields were weak. Cerberus isn't gonna lie down out of pity like that girl you took to prom. Grab juice and an energy bar. We move in five."
Jack vaulted over the railing and walked over to Kacey. Before Kacey could say or do anything, Jack's right fist had already planted itself into Kacey's jaw.
"Well, hello to you too." Kacey said as she gave Jack a sharp look.
"Damn it, how many times did I tell you not to trust Cerberus?" Jack spat.
"If I were to make a rough guess I would say…a thousand times?" Kacey mused, "Not like I needed to be told."
"Clearly you needed a reminder." Jack replied, "Smartass."
Garrus smirked, "As charming as ever."
"Good to see you again, Garrus." Jack said, "Face still looks like shit. Okay. Right now, all I care about is getting my guys out of here."
Kacey smirked, "Your guys, huh?"
Jack looked towards the balcony, "Yeah, I guess so."
"Aww that's cute." Kacey mused, "I can't think of anybody who could care about them more."
"Fuck off, Shepard." Jack mused, "I had some free time while you were off playing hero. Alliance Brass knew I helped you. They offered me this, and apparently the students responded well to my teaching style."
"That's good to hear." Kacey replied, hoping Jack wouldn't ask how the brass knew about her and what she herself was doing for six months.
"Cortez to extraction team." Cortez said via the comms, "The Cerberus cruiser is coming back."
"Damn it." Kacey replied, "How long have we got?"
"Two minutes tops, Commander. After that, there's no way we'll get past them."
Kacey looked at the kids; there was no way they could run from here to the cargo bay in less than two minutes. They needed another plan.
"Get out of here and back to the Normandy." Kacey replied, "We'll find another way off the station."
"Roger that. Good luck, ma'am."
Kacey quickly switched over to contact Kahlee, "Shepard to Sanders. The students are safe, but the shuttle's a no-go."
"Understood." Kahlee replied, "I might know another way off this station, but I need station wide camera access. Can you disable the Cerberus security protocols? It's routed through Orion Hall so it should be nearby."
"I've found it." Liara mused, "It'll take a few minutes."
"How's your students holding up?" Kacey asked.
"What do you think? They're a bunch of teenagers." Jack replied, "Until a few months ago, their biggest concern was getting laid."
"You don't think they're reading for war?"
"I don't think they have a choice."
"So all this talk about biotic artillery strikes…" Kacey trailed off.
"It's great in theory." Jack sighed, "Maybe they'll get it together once they've seen some action."
"But?"
"They'd be better off as support." Jack replied, "Put them in the back ranks, helping with barriers and shit. I don't know."
"Have you told them that?" Kacey asked.
"No! They need me to believe in them." Jack responded quickly, "I did pick up a few things listening to your damn speeches."
"That's the only thing you picked up?" Kacey smirked.
"Maybe some of your attitude rubbed off on me. Maybe." Jack mused before looking up at her students, "Heh, seems like they're all starstruck by you."
Kacey shook her head, smirking as she did. She knew Jack would never admit it, but she really cared for those kids.
"I got it, Shepard." Liara said.
"Thanks, Liara." Kacey replied, "Kahlee, you should have camera access now. So, how exactly does this get us off this station?"
"We need to reach the Cerberus shuttles. The cruiser won't auto-target friendly ships, which gives us a fighting chance to escape. The fastest way is through the Atrium, but Cerberus has sealed the doors. You'll need to remove the magnetic locks. The overrides should be directly above the door. I'll get to the shuttles ahead of you and get a pair ready to fly."
"It's done, Shepard." Garrus said.
Kacey headed towards the door to the Atrium and pried the door open with ease; the path so far was clear. She turned to find Jack and the students gathered together.
"Everyone be ready." Kacey said, "We'll go in first and draw their fire."
"We'll shadow you from the second level and hit those fu…those guys from above." Jack corrected as Garrus choked.
"Okay. Just time your shots and stay safe." Kacey replied, hoping that they would take her advice.
"All right, I didn't bust my ass training you so you could die now." Jack addressed her students, "Keep low, pick your targets."
Jack never got the chance to continue however. All fourteen students looked at their omni-tools as the Cerberus commander spoke through their devices, and Kacey had finally reached the end of her patience.
"Students of Grissom Academy, this station is sealed. The Alliance soldiers cannot save you. All they can do is get you killed. Surrender peacefully and you won't be harmed."
"Okay I have just about had enough of this." Kacey seethed as she headed over to the nearest student, Prangley, and grabbed his omni-tool, "Hey, asshole! The only ones dying today are you and goons. Stop trying to scare the kids, you coward, and pick on someone your own size!"
"Ah, Commander Shepard. Abrasive as ever. If you care for these students, you would let them surrender."
"So you can turn them into husks? I don't think so."
"No matter. You are an ideal candidate yourself." The Cerberus commander scoffed, "You are coming with us, dead or alive."
Kahlee then cut through the comms, "Students, switch your omni-tools to privacy mode so they can't track you."
"What if…"one of the students said, "What if they're not lying?"
"You can do this." Kacey said, "You've already held your own against Cerberus. You've been trained for this by one of the best."
"Come on, Rodriguez." Jack said, "They're only asking nicely cause you scared 'em in that last fight. So take your balls outta your purse and kick some ass."
"Yes ma'am!"
"Let's go!" Kacey said as she headed through to the Atrium.
…
Kacey ducked as yet another grenade was thrown in her direction; it rolled past her and fell off the side of grass and into the water. This was starting to become irritating.
The fight in the Atrium was intense. It seemed that the majority of the Cerberus soldiers on the station were stationed here. Lots of soldiers and centurions, and a handful of engineers that quickly got on Kacey's nerves with their turrets; the blasted things tore through her shields rapidly. It took quite a few concussive shots to blow the thing up, and the engineers always found a way to try and repair them, at which point Kacey aimed her gun at the the poor sap and blasted them away with the aforementioned concussive shots. Boy, she loved the upgrades that were put on the shots.
The students were handling themselves fine; they timed their shots, and defending themselves while keeping out of line of fire. Jack kept her students on their toes with her comments. Liara kept the Cerberus soldiers in line with her much more powerful biotics while Garrus carefully picked off the engineers.
The soldiers however, attempted to convince the students to stand down, while also shouting for Kacey's head on a stick. Kacey simply ignored it and shot each soldier in the head with ruthless efficiency.
"Kahlee, we're in the Atrium." Kacey said.
"I'm taking a back route to the shuttles. I'll meet you there." Kahlee said.
"Everyone okay up there?" Kacey asked as she heard shouting.
"Rodriguez took one in the arm…because she didn't watch her barrier!" Jack replied.
"Commander. I've reached the Cerberus shuttles without being detected." Kahlee interrupted, "They know what we're doing though. You need to hurry!"
Kacey bolted out of the Atrium and down another hall; three students were still unaccounted for and it was annoying her. She didn't want to risk their lives just to escape. But as she opened the door, she found what she was looking for.
Three students were hiding in a barrier, with two soldiers talking to them from outside, sounding rather frustrated by the teens lack of cooperation. Two shots from Kacey's rifle and both soldiers went down; as Kacey approached the barrier, the young girl suddenly shouted at her.
"I don't know who you are, but stay back!" She shouted.
"Relax." Kacey said in a calm voice, "I'm Commander Shepard with the Alliance. I'm here to help."
The girl scoffed, "I didn't buy it from the last guy, and I've got no reason to buy it now."
Suddenly the young man at the foot of the barrier device started to mutter, "The square root of 906.01 equals…"
Kacey's eyes widened in realisation, "30.1."
"Hello, Commander Shepard." David Archer said as he looked up at her. The last time Kacey had saw David, he was in a horrific state, in a truly horrific place. But now, he looked better, healthier. Happier.
"David, you know her?" The young boy said.
"Yes." David replied, "She rescued me from Cerberus. Sent me here. She made it quiet."
The two teens lowered the barrier, seemingly trusting David's judgement.
"You did a great job keeping yourselves safe." Kacey said, "The biotic students are up there. Stay close. They'll get you out of here."
"Okay." The girl said, "Thanks."
Both teens left, leaving David with the trio. Kacey could see Garrus eye the young man, musing, "He looks better."
"I remember you." David said to Garrus, "Normandy Crew. Sorry."
"It was never your fault." Garrus replied sympathetically.
"Has Grissom Academy been all right?" Kacey asked.
"Yes. I've been counting." David replied.
"Anything in particular?"
"The number of days you have lengthened my life." David replied, "Good luck, and goodbye."
David ran off to join the others. Kacey was happy to see the young man alive and well. After surviving the nightmare Cerberus had put him through, he certainly deserved to be in a place that truly benefited him.
The next room had a lone engineer in it with an empty mech, and one shot from Garrus' gun put an end to the engineer. Kacey took a look at the mech; it was functional although the windscreen was still damaged. She started to climb inside as a loud bang could be heard within the docking bay.
"I assume you have a plan?" Garrus smirked.
"A very explosive one." Kacey mused, "Open the door. It's showtime."