The ride down was deathly silent; the alarm had stopped a while ago. Kacey couldn't tell if it was a good or a bad sign that it had stopped. All she did know was that someone knew what was here, and how valuable it was.
The elevator promptly stopped, the doors snapping open to reveal the base's interior. It was dark, with minimal lighting and had less salarians in than Kacey would've expected. The personnel within the base didn't seem fazed by the events outside, even with the intercom system repeating the same concerning message.
"Base personnel must remain on site until further notice."
She wasn't too sure how that would affect her mission, at least not yet. She'd worry about that part later.
"Shepard. Excellent timing. Good to have you here."
Kacey's eyes widened at the sight of her former teammate, "Mordin?"
She didn't expect to see the salarian doctor here, mainly because he had long since left STG before Kacey had ever met him. He was as sharp witted and intelligent as ever, but he seemed to be happier having returned here. Kacey knew without a doubt that Mordin was the one who made the suicide mission possible; he was the half the reason they survived after all.
"Eyesight still sharp." Mordin noted, "Surprise understandable. Hadn't expected to return to work."
"You're back with STG?" Garrus asked.
"Special Consultant." Mordin replied, "Had to be me. Someone else might have gotten it wrong. Helped female krogan. Fed information to Clan Urdnot. Encouraged political pressure to free females." He added the last part in a hushed whisper.
"You must be Wrex's inside source." Kacey mused.
"Yes. Can explain later." Mordin said, as he turned and led the trio through the lab, "Security warnings not normal. Need to get offworld for the sake of krogan. Females had weakened immune systems. Side effects of Maelon's cure."
He stopped in front of a line of bodybags, "These didn't survive."
"But what about Maelon's research?" Kacey asked, "I thought we saved it."
"Indeed. Data saved, but not complete." Mordin explained, his tone bleak, "Lacks crucial details to reconstruct cure, but still useful for synthesising from living tissue. Couldn't save them."
"I'm sure you did everything you could, Mordin."
"Arrived too late. Cannot delay now." Mordin mused, "One survivor. Immune to genophage. Can synthesise cure from her tissue."
"She's still here?!" Kacey asked.
"Yes." Mordin confirmed, walking along the hall, "Last hope for krogan. If she dies, genophage cure…problematic."
That was certainly an understatement. Kacey knew that they would all be done for if the cure didn't happen. They needed krogan support, she needed krogan support. She didn't know all of the ins and outs of making a cure, much less about the research behind it, but she trusted Mordin's judgement on the matter.
She could hear the unease in his voice; it was clear that he still blamed himself for the krogan's suffering. It appears that the horrific scenes from the hospital on Tuchanka were still trapped in Mordin's mind.
"Please be careful." Mordin said as he stopped in front of the final container, "Krogan slow to trust."
Kacey nodded in acknowledgement before slowly approaching the container. She could see the female krogan bound to slab, held upright, her face covered by her dark attire. Golden patterns cross stitched across black clothes, with two laces of gold on either side of her head, only her eyes visible underneath. She looked at Kacey, tepid and cautious.
"I'm Commander Shepard." Kacey introduced herself, "Alliance Navy."
"Are you here to kill me?" She asked flatly, her tone sombre.
"Goddess, what's she's been through…" Liara remarked.
"No." Kacey replied, "Urdnot Wrex and I are here to take you home."
The krogan studied Kacey's expression and words carefully; looking for any sign of deceit. Kacey could feel the krogan's eyes practically burn through her as tepidness was replaced by curiosity.
"Why?" She asked, "What am I to you?"
"Why so worried?" Kacey asked, "Have the salarians been mistreating you?"
"Those were my sisters you saw back there." The krogan replied through contained anger, "They died in a lot of pain."
"Did the best we could." Mordin added quietly, shaking his head.
"And now, I am the only one left. That makes me dangerous to a lot of people." She continued, "What about you, Commander Shepard? Why are you here?"
Excellent question; unfortunately Kacey didn't have the answer. She knew that the krogan was referring to her arrival at the base, but Kacey couldn't help but wonder why she was even here, alive, to begin with.
"You're the future of the krogan race. I'm fighting for that." Kacey answered with determination.
And for everyone else too.
Red lights began to pierce through the darkened area, alarms ringing as a loud bang could be heard from above. More soon followed, and Kacey knew that trouble was on its way.
"Then I hope you brought an army." The krogan said, seemingly believing the truth in Kacey's words.
'Alert! Unidentified vessels have breached the perimeter.'
"Give me an update!" One of the scientists shouted.
"Outbound communications have been severed!" A solider shouted back, "We're cut off!"
"Secure all data to offsite location!"
"What the hell is happening?!" Kacey shouted as a solider ran towards them.
"We have multiple ships inbound!" The solider replied.
"The Reapers?" Garrus mused.
"It's not them." Kacey said, taking a deep breath.
"Then who–?"
Garrus was cut off by Kacey's omni-tool beeping rapidly. Kacey quickly tapped the button and an image of Wrex appeared, the krogan looking at her with concern.
"Shepard, it's Wrex! Cerberus troops are attacking the base!"
"Figures." Kacey huffed.
"Get the females out of there now!"
"Only one survived, Wrex." Kacey stated, "It might be safer down here."
"What?!" Wrex replied, "So the salarians can kill her like the others? No deal. If you still want this alliance, get her out of there now!"
Wrex promptly ended the call; Kacey was surprised that he remained as composed as he did. Usually he was much more angry and a little more trigger-happy in these situations. Then again, this wasn't the time for impulsive and reckless actions.
Kacey turned on her heel, "Release her. We're leaving."
"I can't!" The soldier replied, "Protocol states during lockdown no specimen—"
He didn't finish as Mordin had zapped him with his omni-tool, "Objection noted. Now, please release krogan."
The soldier did as he was ordered; probably out of fear of being zapped again. A door opened to the side of the containment pod and Mordin walked inside.
"Need to monitor pod as it clears quarantine procedures." Mordin answered before Kacey could ask, "Meet us at the next checkpoint, Shepard. Try not to get lost. Likely Cerberus opposes genophage cure."
"More likely it's out of spite." Kacey said through gritted teeth, though her gaze softened as she approached the krogan, "You'll see Tuchanka again, I promise."
Don't make promises you can't keep.
"Get to elevator, Shepard!" Mordin called as the trio turned and bolted towards the elevator.
'Threat Condition Three has been declared. Live fire is authorised!'
"Nice to have permission to blow things up." Garrus quipped.
Kacey approached the elevator and tried to open it; the usually green icon had turned amber as she tried to press the button. The salarians nearby quickly hacked the elevator.
"There! Try now, Commander!"
She opened the doors and immediately a sense of panic sent shockwaves through her body. Sat dead centre of the elevator was a large bomb, red lights flickering to indicate that it was already set to detonate.
"Oh crap…" Garrus said in realisation.
"Damn it! Get back!" Kacey shouted.
She had turned and only managed to move a few steps before it exploded, sending her flying far and hitting the ground hard. She saw Garrus land a few metres away as Liara had landed on her back. Shards of glass were everywhere as she checked her shields, only to find them broken and beginning the recharging process. She could clearly see that the same thing had happened to Garrus and Liara.
"Commander Shepard, are you all right?" One of the salarians asked.
"I'm fine." Kacey replied, out of breath and standing up, "Is there another way out of here?"
"Other side of the lab. An emergency exit."
"Let's move it, people!" Kacey shouted as she bolted to the other side of the lab.
…
The upper levels were a mess; the scenic beauty of the environment was hard to see through the plumes of smoke and the fires that generated them. Bullets were flying everywhere as were the Cerberus shuttles and salarian fighter jets. The floors were swarmed with Cerberus troops and Kacey did not hesitate to shoot every single one of them in the head as much as she could. Even their smoke bombs weren't enough of a deterrent to slow her down. Her rifle tore through their armour like tissue paper.
"Is it just me, or are Cerberus really slacking off in the competency department?" Garrus mused.
"It's not just you." Kacey replied flatly, searching for more Cerberus soldiers in the area.
"Were they this incompetent when you worked with them?" Liara asked as she threw a singularity to draw out the Cerberus soldiers.
"If I say yes, would that be such a bad thing?" Garrus quipped, "I mean they were bad, but not this bad."
"Bold of you to assume they could get any worse than this." Kacey scoffed, as she shot the final soldier, "We're clear!"
Kacey ran over and unlocked the door to the upper level, where two Cerberus soldiers got mauled by a yahg as it busted through the wall and jumped off the side of the building.
"Careful, there goes the next Shadow Broker." Kacey snickered.
"Could've sworn he was muttering T'Soni the whole time." Garrus snickered.
"Not funny." Liara huffed.
Cerberus troops were already waiting for them near the pod's checkpoint. They were entrenched in a defensive position, making it tricky to shoot them without facing some kind of return fire. Kacey skirted around the outside of the perimeter, using hit and run tactics to whittle down the enemy while Garrus carefully picked off the centurions in the back. Liara laid down a singularity to round the rest of them up for the duo to dispatch as Mordin spoke quickly down the comms.
"Quickly, Shepard! Technician dead. Clear us through the checkpoint."
"I'm coming!" Kacey replied as she approached the checkpoint, "Are you okay?"
"Containment shield is holding." Mordin replied, "Will try to repair if necessary. Can't speak for krogan's health, however."
"I'm fine, Commander." The krogan added.
"Females kept secret. Possibly a mole in STG. Could be indoctrinated." Mordin mused, "If no krogan alliance with turians, Reapers left unchallenged."
"We'll do more than challenge them." Kacey said.
The container moved upward; Mordin continued to type away as he addressed Kacey, "Shepard, meet us at next checkpoint. Cerberus likely to target—"
A concussive shot hit the container; Mordin simply picked himself up as the container moved. Kacey waited until the Cerberus shuttle was in sight to destroy the vessel with a few well-thrown grenades. Kacey avoided the gazes of her squad as she pressed on, running across the garden pots adorning the building.
…
"Cerberus isn't fooling around." Garrus said as they bolted upstairs towards the pod.
"They're capable of anything." Kacey replied flatly.
"You sound pissed off."
"That's because I am."
They reached the top and Kacey could see the shuttle, flown by Wrex, being chased by the Cerberus ones through the small alcoves between the hills.
They turned the corner; coming across Major Kirrahe and his unit fighting off the Cerberus forces. Kacey noted how advanced their small arms were, and how useful they could be against the Reapers. After all, they could use all the help they could get.
The salarians led them upstairs towards the next checkpoint. Cerberus forces were already entrenched in the area, forcing Kacey to fight dirty with grenades and a few inferno concussive shots.
"Seems like Cerberus has some upgrades." Garrus mused as he reloaded his rifle, "Mordin was right; Cerberus must have been tipped off. They got here too fast."
"Every war has its traitors," Liara mused.
Kacey contemplated their response; Garrus was right that they got here far too quickly. There was no way they just so happened to be in the system at the same as them. Unless…
"Yeah. And I think I know who." Kacey said through gritted teeth.
Liara shot Kacey a confused look as Kacey flanked the enemy, taking the soldiers out from behind. After Kacey took out the final soldier, the lights in the room flickered red.
"Cerberus has cut power to pod." Mordin said via the comms.
Kacey sighed, annoyed, "Of course they did."
Liara ran and found the power switch while Kacey approached the pod. The glass on the pod was littered with bullet holes, cracks sprawled across the glass. Mordin was typing frantically on the terminal, in an attempt to bring the shields back up on the pod.
"How are you holding up?" Kacey asked as she began to type on the console in front of her.
Mordin sighed, "Containment shield weakening. Can't take much more."
"I am not your problem, Commander." The krogan said, her voice restrained and weakened, "You don't know me."
"But I'd like to. Hang in there." Kacey said, "How many more checkpoints?"
"Just the landing area." Mordin explained, "Hope Urdnot Wrex is still waiting."
"He has to." The krogan added breathlessly.
"See you up top!" Kacey said as the pod moved upwards.
…
The more Kacey fought the Cerberus troops, the more she realised exactly what the Illusive Man had done to them.
Their armour was bulky, yet they were able to move as freely as Kacey, Garrus and Liara, the latter of whom wasn't really wearing armour in the traditional sense. Their gear was designed to be more offensive and made crowd control a walk in the park. Every time she shot one dead, another three turned their attention to her and opened fire with a viscous nature that didn't seem human.
Mordin shouted for them to hurry as they reached the top floor; Kacey could see the shuttle Wrex was flying circling the area. Kacey's eyes narrowed as she spotted an engineer in the rear of the enemy formation that was too busy setting up a turret to notice her gun trained on him. Kacey pulled the trigger and an inferno bullet pierced through his shields and helmet, killing him and drawing the troops towards her, and right into Garrus' proximity mines. After the detonated explosives killed the remaining troops, Kacey bolted towards the pod and typed frantically on the terminal.
"Shepard, you must authorise release!" Mordin said, "Pod then transfers to loading area."
The pod lifted into the air as Kacey said, "Let's get you out of here!"
"Shepard watch out!" Wrex shouted down the comms, "You've got incoming!"
An atlas mech hit the ground; creating a large crater upon its landing. Once the dust cleared, it trained its gun on Kacey, who ran and slid behind a terminal.
"Door is jammed!" Mordin shouted, "Can't get out!"
"I've got this Mordin! Stay down!" Kacey shouted, "Garrus, get those shields down!"
Kacey fired a disruptor concussive shot, taking a chunk out of its shields as Garrus began to overload it. Once the shields were down, Kacey fired every inferno shot she had as well as her grenades, in the hope the blasted thing would go down quickly.
Garrus planted another proximity mine; Kacey knew what Garrus had planned and fired a concussive shot at the mech, grabbing its attention and leading it towards the mine, which dealt the final blow to the mech. After it exploded, Kacey took a deep breath; she was finally ready to get out of here.
"Shepard, I think you did it. Looks clear from here. I'm coming in now." Wrex said.
Wrex was quick to land the shuttle and hopped out, a look of amusement on his face. Kacey assumed Wrex was enjoying the chaos on Sur'Kesh.
"You had me worried there for a minute." Wrex snickered as he shook Kacey's hand.
"Was there ever any doubt?" Kacey smirked, "Let's make this quick."
"Let's get you out of here." Wrex said as he approached the female krogan, offering his hand.
She however refused it and as a Cerberus soldier landed nearby, simply pulled Wrex's shotgun out of his holster and fired it, killing the soldier with a singular headshot through the temple.
"I can handle myself, Wrex." She said as she thrusted the gun into his arms.
"Women." Wrex scoffed, earning him a look of ire from Kacey and Liara.
They all made their way towards the shuttle, but the levity of the moment was interrupted as Kacey heard the pained grunts of a dying Cerberus soldier. Rather than ignore it, which she usually did, she paced towards the dying soldier and pulled him up by the thick collar, with her pistol aimed squarely at his face.
"Why is Cerberus here?" She seethed, "What do you want?"
Her voice came out cold, harsh, venomous. A stark contrast from her usual, relaxed yet authoritative tone. The soldier simply coughed as he passed away, leading to Kacey to impulsively fire a bullet through the corpse in frustration.
"Kacey." She heard Garrus call. She turned and saw that the turian was standing a few feet away.
"Let's get out of here." She said firmly. Kacey walked past him as he followed silently. Not another word was said between herself and the sharpshooter as the shuttle took off and flew back towards the Normandy.