Chapter Six: Mission Impossible
The shuttle landed on the planet's frozen, rocky surface near the mountains. To avoid detection by sensors, they landed two miles away from the Shadow Broker's facility. Ethan and Lynch, along with Christina and Alan, stood in front of the hatch.
Ever since they entered Alingon's atmosphere, Ethan was lighter, like he lost half of his weight. As he put his helmet on, the hatch opened, and the squad stepped outside. Since the atmosphere was thin with carbon dioxide, they had to wear helmets to breathe safely.
A cold wave swept over Ethan, and he shivered in response. His armor made him warm, like a coat, but it was still cold. Massive clouds covered the red sky, making everything darker. Since the gravity here was lower, Ethan wanted to jump and find out how high he could go, but that would make him look foolish.
He followed Lynch and the others, leaving the mountain range behind as the shuttle lifted off.
No one spoke as they walked by a series of mountains, which were formed from dry ice. Only silence greeted them, except for the wind groaning and the heavy breathing among the group as they climbed up the mountain. While it sent a shiver down Ethan's spine, he guessed it was better than encountering something hostile. Thankfully, their armor protected their fingers from getting burned by the dry ice, since they were at very low temperatures.
As they reached the top, the squad spotted a large facility at the other side of the mountain. Upon seeing this, Lynch turned to Ethan and ordered, "Check for any signs of activity."
Ethan nodded and pulled out his sniper rifle, the weapon forming in his hands. He lay on his stomach and looked through the scope. The rest crouched down, avoiding detection by the enemy, and watched him.
The facility was large, roughly oval, with square corners. A long-range sensor array stood on the flat roof, pointing toward the sky. At the side was a smaller building with sharper corners.
At this elevation, he saw several entrances to the central facility. Some led to hangars much like the ones at the abandoned factory but were all protected by dozens of security personnel. The few ventilation shafts were too small for them to fit through. What caught his eye was the sheer number of security cameras. Clusters of them hung at the corners, covering every approach.
He checked again and cursed under his breath. The only viable entrance was at the far side of the building, guarded by massive turrets, one at each side of the door. They were mounted on cylindrical bases, taller and wider than any human.
There were also three guards, male and turian, standing at their posts. Their armor was colored in a pattern of black and red. Despite the heavy security, this was a back door. The other side of the building had more turrets and guards.
"Yeah, there's enemy movement, all right," Ethan said and told Lynch of his findings.
The agent looked through his sniper rifle.
"So, what are our options here? Do we take out the guards here? Disable the cameras and sneak in?" Ethan hoped these options wouldn't be disastrous like last time.
Lynch lowered his sniper rifle. "The Shadow Broker doesn't hire idiots to guard his property. If they know we're here, they'll kill the prisoners and come here. These cameras are usually controlled by a VI, alerting the personnel of any disabled cameras."
"Great. That doesn't leave us a lot of options," Ethan remarked, exasperated.
"Christina's an engineer. She can deactivate weapons, shields, and other systems. Once we hit them, they can't call for help."
"What about the turrets?"
Christina spoke this time. "These turrets don't have much support. The network receives alerts if they're destroyed or taken offline. If we sabotage their weapons, the guards inside will be none the wiser."
"Right," Lynch agreed. "But we have to be quick. After 30 seconds, the turrets' systems and the guards' weapons will go back online. We need to get rid of the guards and be clear of the turrets by then. We can't do it from here, so we'll have to get closer."
They climbed down the mountain, crouching and crawling to avoid being seen. The muted colors of their armor were now covered in mud. One of the turians almost saw them but became distracted by the repairs he did on the turret. Lynch signaled for a halt as they reached a large boulder at the bottom of the mountain, about 80 feet away from the entrance. They couldn't get any closer without being seen.
"Once Christina launches the first mine, the VI will begin the countdown. It'll send the timer to our suits," Lynch told Ethanin a hushed voice. He turned to Christina and nodded. "Do it."
Christina nodded back. She activated her omni-tool. After a few moments, she pointed it at the turrets and launched a disk-like object, landing next to the Shadow Broker's lackeys. Before any of them could react, the disk detonated a green pulse. The blast caught them and lingered on their armor for a while, disabling their support system inside.
The HUD in Ethan's helmet showed thirty seconds, popping up at the upper-left corner of his peripheral vision.
"Ambush! Take cover!" The turian technician ducked behind a pile of crates a few yards away from the turrets and readied his assault rifle. The others were still dazed by the blast but followed suit.
Leaning out again, Christina fired the second projectile, creating an orange pulse that engulfed the guards and the turrets and overheated their weapons. The others left cover and advanced on Lynch's signal.
Twenty-five seconds left.
"Spirits! Hey Crino, why aren't our weapons working? I thought thermal clips are immune to this stuff!" One of the turians hid behind one of the disabled turrets and ejected a thermal clip from his sniper rifle. Christina began suppressing fire from her submachine gun, making sure he stayed there. The last guard sprinted back towards the exit and dove for cover, but he got caught in the crossfire from Ethan and Lynch's assault rifles. It was a surprise his shields held out.
Twenty seconds remain.
"The thermal clips are first-gen models. The upgrades are due in a couple years," Crino shouted at a quick pace from behind the crates. "I'll make sure the turrets work again!" He moved back towards the turret. Lynch, Ethan, and Christina fired at him, draining his shields. Crino ducked down and shot back with a projectile of his own. It produced a blue flash, this time, removing their shields.
And that was the last thing the turian ever did. Alan moved further than anyone else, despite his bulky armor. He opened fire to the Shadow Broker's engineer as he ducked down. The tech-savvy guard never got up.
"About time. I had enough of these damn light shows." Ethan smiled and switched to his Eviscerator from his spent Mattock.
Ten seconds left. Time was running out, and they had to move fast to get behind the turrets.
One guard went down, drawing fire from the others. Another turian emerged from cover, his rifle at hand, and fired at Christina, but she was too far away to lose her shields from the tech mine earlier. As the guard's shields recharged, he ran for the door, throwing a grenade at Alan beforehand.
Alan couldn't leave the blast entirely, but his armor and shields meant that he didn't need to. He rushed forward, discharging the rest of his Revenant's clip at the armored turian. His shots coincided with Lynch's Phalanx pistol, giving the unfortunate turian no chance to survive. His mangled body collapsed not far from the door as the grenade detonated. Alan got hurt, but he was on his feet.
Christina returned the favor to the turian sniper with the fire from her Phalanx, forcing him back to cover. The lone turian couldn't fire another shot. Delaying them enough for turrets to cool down and lock on would do the job. Ethan turned around, circling the turian's cover as he huddled down, firing from his Predator. The turian sniper was desperate, trying to survive and avoid gunfire.
Five seconds left. That time came with the boom of Ethan's Eviscerator, enhanced by his Pip-Boy's VATS.
That turian twitched and lay dead. Ethan turned back on the spot, realizing he had to cover the final yard. Alan and Lynch were already there, and Cristina was about to enter the dead zone.
Three seconds. Two seconds.
He dashed, almost out of the turrets' sensors. He slid at the last second, much like pre-War baseball players.
One second left.
He made it as the timer had reached zero. The two turrets whirred as their weapons came to life, but their re-activated sensors found nothing in range.
"That was close." Ethan panted as he brought his head off the ground. He stood up and wiped the mud off his legs. "So, what's next?" He was eager to see what awaited them inside.
"Christina, check that guard's omni-tool over here. He should have plans for the building and the patrolling schedule of the guards in the area," said Lynch. He pointed at the round-ridden body nearby.
"Yes, sir." Christina holstered her gun and connected her omni-tool to the one on the turian's arm.
Alan groaned in pain as the adrenaline from the fight wore off, with shrapnel sticking out at his side.
"Let me see that," said Lynch. There was a rare show of emotion in his voice. He walked over to the black-clad trooper and applied medi-gel to his injuries. Ethan had never guessed that the stoic agent of a terrorist organization could also be a trained medic. He wondered what else he might see in this galaxy.
He jolted as everyone's omni-tools beeped as the engineer extracted the relevant data. Ethan transferred the data to his Pip-Boy and looked at the map tab. The map wasn't detailed, but it had the scale of the facility. As he looked at the arrangement of corridors and rooms, he wanted to ask something.
"Hey, what are the chances of not having any cameras inside?" Ethan smirked.
"None." Lynch finished administering care to Alan and stood back up. "This facility's spliced together with pre-made hubs, making it difficult to trace. They discard anything unnecessary to reinforce the rest of the facility. Typical Shadow Broker logic at work."
"What about the cameras?" Ethan asked.
"The doors are opened through a console, like this one in front of us," Lynch explained. "The internal console's connected to the same VI as the cameras inside. Through it, we can hack into the network. Once we're there, we'll be able to loop the camera feed and find out where the body's at."
"Great, so now can we go in?" Ethan asked impatiently.
"Another thing." Christina held a corpse's shotgun in her hands. Ethan observed as she activated her omni-tool, which dissolved the weapon into gray gel and drained into the omni-tool. The process uncomfortably reminded him of plasma weapons and the way they reduced their victims to slag.
Christina noticed him raising an eyebrow through his visor. "That's omni-gel. It's used with omni-tools to help you hack and do repairs. We have plenty of it with us, but you'll never know how much hacking we might need to do. This is the Shadow Broker, after all."
She stood up, and Ethan noticed the turian's omni-tool and assault rifle were gone from the body. He followed the Cerberus agents as they entered the compound.
The air inside the airlock had its pressure equalized. Ethan grew heavier like he gained weight back. He breathed in, basking in the fresh air inside. It was nice after taking his helmet off. Breathing artificial, filtered air inside his helmet wasn't exactly thrilling for him.
They exited the airlock and stepped inside another room. The room was gray and empty, highlighted by harsh artificial lighting. As Christina applied omni-gel to the nearest console available, Alan looked around with a mixture of disappointment and respect.
"Huh. No medi-gel station or weapons locker here. Guy's either smarter than pirates or just paranoid. When I served the Alliance, pirates and mercs never placed their supplies where they could use them in a fight." Alan pointed at a bunch of red-and-white lockers at the end of the room, stacked side by side. "There. Usually, they place their weapons here and their medi-gel at the back. But these look like ordinary lockers."
Ethan smirked. That seemed like what the Vipers and the Fiends would do in the Mojave. He was glad he found something common in this universe. "Want me to check?"
"Yeah, sure," Alan shrugged.
Ethan approached the lockers and opened one, seeing the green light next to it. Inside, he found nothing, much to his disappointment.
"Find anything?" Alan asked.
"Nope." Ethan closed the locker.
"We're in." Lynch had interrupted their convocation as Christina applied the omni-gel. "Not only the cameras can't see us, but we also now have footage, and the results are… mixed. The body's at the North Portal. Small-ship hangar. The guards inside are congregated here, with few patrolling corridors as a result. We shouldn't have trouble until we get there.
"But the troops take constant shifts. With the comm center, Tazzik could alert them at a moment's notice. With the exchange scheduled to take place shortly, we'll have to split up and regroup at the North Portal. Alan and I will go to the comm center. I suggest you and Christina should rescue Dr. T'Soni."
Ethan nodded. That made sense to him, but something important was left out. "What about Feron? Should we try to rescue him as well?"
"No, they're kept separately, far from each other," Lynch answered. "Dr. T'Soni was a close friend of Shepard. If we succeed at resurrecting the Commander, Dr. T'Soni being left behind would probably trigger survivor's guilt. She'll already have enough psychological problems to deal with."
"The drell is just as important," Christina interjected. "He has valuable information on the Shadow Broker, and we can't let that go to waste. I'd consider that more important than how the Commander would feel about her friend going missing."
Ethan considered his options. He wanted to outright skip the comm center and try to free them both, maybe even take on Tazzik again. He would survive whatever the Shadow Broker would throw at him, but the rest of the squad might not.
Alan looked at him with an understanding gaze, mixed with hard-edged determination. "Both of these aliens knew the risk. If we don't get the job done, the Collectors, the Reapers… they will win. No matter how hard it is, sacrifices have to be made. That's what I learned in my service."
The thought of getting Tazzik while he was alone was tempting, but Lynch was right—the price was too high. He recalled that if he hadn't tried to kill Tazzik before, this wouldn't have happened. "Okay." He nodded. "We'll go rescue Liara."
The squad set off, leaving the locker room and into a large room filled with pillars supporting the base. So far, infiltration had gone to plan. Splitting off from Lynch and Alan, Ethan and Christina reached the short corridor that led to Liara's cell. Ethan poked his head out. The two guards, who stood watch on the outside of the cell before, went inside the cell. One guard was a tall, bald, dark-skinned man, and the other a light-blue-skinned asari, her face covered in tattoos.
Ethan turned to Christina, who nodded. "We're clear," she said. They approached the door and positioned themselves at each end. "Do you know what you're doing? Lynch has put me under your command, but I know what happened at the factory. We all got a report on it."
Ethan almost cursed again. News spread too fast for his liking, but that was another aspect of this new reality. "Do you want everybody to die because you have second thoughts?"
She swallowed nervously. Certain of her cooperation now, he punched the panel next to him. Their weapons ready, the door opened, and they entered the small, white room.
The man and the asari turned around from their captive, surprised at Ethan's and Christina's arrival. "What the…?" the man exclaimed in surprise as they pointed their guns at their heads.
Capitalizing on the distraction, Liara struck the asari guard with the shackles on her wrist. The asari guard fell with a dull thud, knocked unconscious from the hit. The other guard readied his assault rifle, only for Ethan to stop him by pressing the barrel of his Mattock against his cheek.
He glared at Ethan, a dark expression as he scowled. "What do you want?"
"My face on the dollar bill, but that's another story." Ethan smiled. "So you're a member of the staff? Top crew?"
"Something like that," the guard answered. "What's stopping me from setting off the alarm and calling in reinforcements?"
Ethan rolled his eyes. "Oh, I don't know. Kill more of your men? Or you can surrender. Even the Shadow Broker would appreciate the gravity of this situation. You can die for the Shadow Broker for nothing, or you can live and set Liara free."
The man bit his lower lip, cold sweat overtaking him. Seeing no other option, the man dropped his rifle on the floor. "Fucking psychopath. Guess I don't have a choice here." He raised his hands and went to his knees. "Rayla has the keycard. It'll unlock her restraints."
Satisfied with how it turned out, Ethan put his rifle away, sticking it on his back, and grabbed the keycard from the asari guard's waist. He approached Liara and placed it in the slot on the restraints, which made a clicking sound. After he had pulled the card out, the constraint made a clunking noise as it landed on the floor.
Liara rubbed her wrists. "Thank you."
Christina shook her head and issued a command on her omni-tool, and a red pulse engulfed the guard. It lingered long enough for him to pass out and slam into the ground.
Ethan reflexively jolted back as Liara gasped at the guard who was now lying on the floor.
"Neural shock. It attacks the nervous system." Christina turned her omni-tool off. "He's paralyzed, so it didn't hurt him… much. By the time they recover, we'll be long gone. Assuming no one else picks them up."
Ethan stared at the engineer, giving her an incredulous look. "Look at you. I assume Cerberus goes for the 'take no prisoners' approach. Going soft on me?"
Christina groaned and waved her arms, clearly annoyed at him. "Yes yes, we kill everyone wantonly."
Liara looked at Christina and Ethan. "There are Cerberus agents with you, right? That means we can save Shepard's body." She paused and sighed, looking down. "Only for them to claim it."
Ethan paused. He hadn't considered the aftermath of his mission before now, focusing on staying alive and saving Liara and Feron. Now that Feron had to be left behind, it was worth thinking about the body's fate.
Christina seemed to be insulted, but she recovered. "Feron was working for us."
Both Liara and Ethan were taken aback by this revelation. "Is that how you found us on Omega so quickly?" Ethan asked.
"That seems far-fetched. Feron despised Cerberus," Liara pointed out.
Christina frowned. "That didn't stop the drell. The Illusive Man has the technology to resurrect her. He was willing to do it, even after everything Shepard has done to us. Even if someone helping us now is an alien."
"Oh?" Liara's voice became firm, with no traces of sympathy nor regret. "Your researchers wiped out her unit on Akuze, with her barely escaping alive. You experimented on species like the Rachni and the Thorian creepers and killed Admiral Kahoku when he tried to intervene. And you wonder why she disrupted your operations as much as she could."
"Your own companies did illegal research on those same species to cut down labor costs when our scientists could have saved them from extinction!" Cristina retorted, her voice rising and falling. "The admiral sold human secrets to the same person we're fighting now! Akuze wasn't ever meant to…"
Suddenly, alarms blared out from the speakers.
"The hell?!" Christina asked, surprised.
Her omni-tool pinged, and Lynch's voice rang across the room. "Christina! I see you freed Liara, but you need to move! The comm link had the prototype security upgrades against omni-gel use. Manual hacking failed to work, and the alarm was set off before we destroyed it. They didn't realize we hacked into the cameras so get in before they reboot the system. Lynch out."
"Let's get going," Ethan spoke as the Cerberus engineer stared out in disbelief.
Christina turned her attention back to the camera feed on her omni-tool, finding an optimal route. Liara, her weapons confiscated by Tazzik, picked up the Tempest submachine gun dropped by the asari guard and looked around for a pistol. With some reluctance, Ethan gave her the Phalanx pistol he took from the frigate's armory as they exited the room.
The next few minutes were spent frantically moving, their eyes glued to the feed on the omni-tool screen. They either sped up when it was clear or slowed down to avoid being heard, ducking into the side rooms and changing routes if someone was moving towards them. A salarian guard couldn't be avoided, so the squad gunned him down in seconds.
The system rebooted when they were close to the North Portal. Their feed got cut off as the Shadow Broker's troops made surprised yelps. As soon as they shot out the nearby cameras and hid behind the crates in the nearby storage room, the door opened.
Ethan readied his weapon but was flung backward by a male human biotic in the group.
Christina collapsed to the ground in pain; her attempt to disable their equipment was countered by the jet of green poison launched by the salarian engineer. Despite the pain, she rolled behind a large crate nearby to avoid further gunfire.
Alone for the moment, Liara launched a singularity and went for cover.
Ethan threw a grenade as he got up to make the most of it. The explosion killed the salarian and another guard from the group of five, but the rest survived by spreading out.
"Bastard took him down!" another salarian trooper exclaimed from behind a nearby pillar and used suppressive fire from his Avenger. The last two guards, a krogan carrying a brick-like shotgun and the biotic, moved to encircle their position.
Hurt from being thrown against the wall, Ethan switched to his Eviscerator shotgun. He wondered if he had time to use it before the biotic used another trick with his powers.
He didn't have to worry. Christina overcame disorientation from the poison and shot another one of her projectiles. The biotic, who had been gathering energy for another attack, cursed as a dark green glow extinguished the blue light. He clutched his shotgun again and aimed it at Liara before falling dead to the floor from their combined fire.
The krogan advanced, his comrade's demise buying him time. He fired back at the Cerberus engineer, the shotgun's blast tearing down her shields.
She ducked as Ethan and Liara fired back at the krogan, taking out his shields. Instead of firing again, he roared.
"Shit, he's gonna charge! Get out of the way!" Christina barked.
The krogan charged forward at Ethan and Liara. Ethan dodged the giant lizard, but Liara stumbled.
"Huh, quick on your feet." The krogan showed a jagged grin as he faced them with his shotgun. "Too bad that—"
Liara used her biotics to lift the krogan in the air. They opened fire, taking advantage of the creature's vulnerability. The lone salarian tried to support the krogan with suppressive fire, but shots to the helmet from Liara's gun taught the salarian the virtues of staying down forever.
As the biotic lift ended, the krogan fell and stumbled back onto his feet. It seemed like their legendary toughness was true, matching that of the super mutants.
"Courier, watch out!"
Before he knew it, the krogan used the shotgun to fire a ball of hot plasma at his allies, which they had little time to dodge. As it exploded against the wall, the krogan dropped his gun and charged at Ethan, slamming him against the wall. The krogan growled at him, his breath wafting on Ethan's face. He couldn't breathe, with the krogan crushing his rib cage against the wall. Liara and Christina fired at the krogan, making him loosen his grip on Ethan.
Sensing a brief respite, Ethan pulled out his Bowie knife, struck it into the krogan's brown head crest, and began pulling it on. With his last ounce of strength, the krogan threw Ethan down several feet and pulled the knife out. Orange blood flowed down his face. As Liara threw a biotic warp, the krogan fell on the floor, truly dead this time.
Ethan was thankful that, once again, he was lucky to be alive.
Liara walked to Ethan and helped him to his feet. "Thanks," he said. His injuries were healing thanks to the Monocyte Breeder implant, but not fast enough. Wincing, he applied a dose of his medi-gel supply. He hoped they wouldn't have to encounter any more enemies here. He grabbed his knife from the krogan's hand. After cleaning it, he picked up the large M-6 Carnifex pistol carried by the biotic. If he was going to face more of these elite troops, he could at least use the same gun against them.
Their omni-tools rang again as they received a simple text message:
Near the alternate entrance to the North Portal. The way is clear now, but Alan got killed. Collector's presence verified by ship's intel. Synchronizing attack on the terminal with your arrival. Lynch out.
"Goddess! Do you have the map ready? We need to move now!" The panic in Liara's voice was palpable.
Ethan followed his gaze to Christina, who stared in shock at the omni-tool's screen for a few seconds. "We can't let his death go in vain…" With those words, they set off.
The corridors to North Portal had awakened a familiar feeling in him. He hadn't felt this since his travels in the Mojave. It was a deep, almost subconscious sense of conflict and uncertainty, but he wanted to get in there as soon as possible and defeat Tazzik's underlings and the Collectors) He was aware the Shadow Broker's minions knew of their presence despite shooting down the cameras.
They made it to the wide door that parted at the touch of a console and were greeted by the moderately sized hangar. It was divided into the wide, clear landing zone and the cramped storage area, the walkways built around the walls.
The Shadow Broker's troops were ready for them. Ethan noticed how the guards turned away and dashed to the side, into the open. Ahead, he made out with the light behind him at least a dozen guards, the casket's position, and a large silhouette that could be the Collector near it. As the light disappeared, he noticed a red targeting beam near him. Turning around in shock, he spotted two snipers on the adjacent walkway. As he ducked, his shields were exhausted.
The door behind them opened, and a shotgun rang out a split second before the shot. The sniper missed, his aim thrown off. His colleague turned around to face the threat, and the asari guard nearby glowed blue. Lynch interrupted her with a jet of green poison and closed in for close quarters combat.
He wondered why no one else had shot him, but he got his answer. Christina moved to the storage area and fought the opposition amongst the stacks of crates. Meanwhile, Liara ran out deeper into the landing zone with no ready cover so no one would risk standing in the open. The Collector was the sole exception. Ethan took in its large, insectoid body of great height. The cracks on the chitinous body showcased what appeared to be molten lava inside.
The Collector went after Liara and the commander's casket. If Ethan didn't do something about it, she would be done for. It was also clear the Shadow Broker's minions expected the creature to prevail without any help. However, he had built his career on beating impossible odds.
"Hey! No wonder you prawns don't want the galaxy to know about you. You make feral ghouls look pretty, and that's quite the accomplishment." Ethan approached the landing zone and fired a few times from his Mattock at the Collector. "I'll cover you, Liara! Go!"
Liara's eyes widened in elation, not expecting Ethan to risk his life for her. She set that aside and nodded. In a quick motion, she used her biotics to lift the casket.
"INSOLENCE." The Collector hadn't flinched from his shots as sharp, blade-like appendages emerged from its wrists.
Ethan ducked, realizing what it meant. The creature launched an entire salvo of those blades. Most flew above him, but one glanced off his shoulder plate. The heat from the remaining lava had burned his skin. There was a distant rumble, but he didn't pay attention to it.
Gritting his teeth, Ethan fired back through the pain and discharged the entire clip. Its barriers held on, not slowed down, as it advanced further towards him. As he reloaded, the Collector threw a biotic warp. Its subatomic forces pulled his body apart, his implants losing an uneven fight.
He threw a grenade as he swore, determining the Collector had moved far enough away from the casket to make this tactic viable. Ethan fought back the idea of the Collector brushing that off, but it was worse than he thought.
The abomination tossed aside the grenade with its powers, which exploded among the crates in the storage area.
"LIKE A SPARK TO THE FIRE." The Collector threw another barrage of projectiles.
Ready this time, Ethan fell, still in shock at the Collector's powers. He looked up to Lynch hacking the terminal while the others were busy taking the casket to a safe distance.
Once it was over, he ran and spotted a cabinet to the side of the wall. He slid behind it to avoid another biotic projectile.
"YOU CANNOT HIDE FROM YOUR DESTINY, HUMAN," the Collector taunted and circled him, sure of its success.
Ethan switched to his shotgun, but he knew it wouldn't be enough. He placed his last grenade on the floor and peeked out.
The Collector moved closer, now about several yards away.
He activated it and slid it out as far as he could. He heard the blast and charged out immediately. If that didn't work, it would sign his death warrant.
The trick worked. The Collector shook; without its barrier, it showed new cracks caused by the grenade's fragments. Staggered, it raised its hands in front of its face, the biotic energy building up again.
Sparks erupted in a bright shower, followed by a jet of lava from the shattered limb. As he fired, the rock-solid surface of the creature's body fell under the shotgun's blasts. Without warning, the Collector charged forward, attempting to get him with its remaining claw.
Ethan ducked down at the side as it went for his neck, only to slash at nothing. As it turned toward him, he used VATS and discharged the rest of the clip at its knees.
The creature collapsed, leaving a viscous trail as it crawled forward. There was another rumbling sound.
Ethan put away the shotgun and whipped out the pistol he took. A machine gun burst out, downing his shields for a moment before recharging. It seemed like the Shadow Broker's minions realized the Collector wasn't so invulnerable after all.
Ethan pulled the trigger, and the Collector's head exploded as it was about to say something. Its body followed suit with a strange mix of chitin and lava collapsed, leaving nothing but a slag mark on the floor.
Two more guards joined the original shooter, preventing him from his moment of triumph. He ducked, using two durable barrels as cover, and applied the rest of his medi-gel to his wounds. He needed help, but his allies were just as busy.
The rumbling sound intensified, and the hangar door opened, bringing in a cold breeze. The howling wind brought crushed ice, burning some of the Shadow Broker's men. And with it came a large shadow.
Ethan jumped and got out of the way. Almost half of the storage area was blown apart by shots from the cannons. The screams of the wounded and dying were drowned out by the noise of the engines as the frigate entered the North Portal and landed.
The guards on the ground were either dead or incapacitated. Liara and Christina ran out from their cover, the engineer's armor battered. Lynch emerged from the terminal side of the room and jumped down onto the floor. Ethan noticed his armor was covered in purple blood as he landed. The shooters on the sidewalk all got down, suppressed by the ship's machine guns.
As the Cerberus vessel hovered down and landed near the casket, Ethan's spirits soared. They all made it within yards of the casket in seconds, eager to leave this wretched place. The ship's hatch opened, and the ramp slid out. A wide door from the storage area opened with a clang. As Ethan turned around to face it, there was another flash of orange. The guns fell silent, cut off as his pistol overheated.
"So, Dr. T'Soni, Cerberus didn't abandon you and your friend after all. Perhaps you can give my regards to your goddess!" Tazzik approached the ship. "Would you agree, Feron?" he spoke to the drell dragged behind him by two guards. There were four guards with him, including the human and the asari they spared earlier. Ethan cursed, wishing that they had killed them.
"Can it! You can't use your grenade launcher close to the stasis casket. How much would you bet on your men's marksmanship?" Lynch asked. They all edged closer to the casket and reloaded their weapons, but they hadn't fired at Tazzik yet.
Tazzik gestured to the two guards near him, both wielding rocket launchers. "Not much. Think you could get away with it?"
They were almost next to the frigate now. Ethan thought the ship's shields and hull would hold. However, he noticed the cracks and burn marks on the hull. He recalled the frigate had fought the sentries, which explained the heavy damage. The mercs might as well bring it down at any moment.
"The envoy's dead, and it could be weeks before the Collectors send in another," Tazzik continued. "You ruined more than what they could pay us for that corpse, but the footage can be overwritten. You can take that body, and the Shadow Broker would never know. All you have to do is give me Dr. T'Soni and the wayward human. You already lost a man. You want the rest of your crew killed as well?"
Ethan turned to Lynch. His face remained indecipherable, but it seemed he understood what was going on. Now he hoped the others did.
"So what's it going to be?" Tazzik asked.
Ethan and Lynch exchanged looks, nodded, and fired at Tazzik. As the salarian ducked down and before any of the mercs could shoot back, Feron escaped the guard's grip and dragged Tazzik to the ground. A struggle ensued between the two before Ethan and the others realized what had happened. He looked down at the ramp for Feron, but the drell was nowhere in sight.
"Feron!" Liara tried to step out…
…only for Lynch to grab her shoulder. Liara turned and glared at the field agent. "I'm sorry, but we have to go. There's nothing we can do to help your friend."
The asari closed her eyes as tears welled up and nodded weakly, now understanding what Lynch said. She joined the personnel in bringing the casket to the cargo hold.
Ethan remembered what he learned about Shepard, that she fell to an uncharted planet from space. From his knowledge of physics and anatomy, it was a miracle that her body was intact. The exposure to the vacuum of space and the impact of landing on a planet would have obliterated her body.
Just as the engines turned back on and the ramp had closed, gunshots from the machine gun rang out, and Christina collapsed to the floor. Her helmet cracked open as blood stained her head and armor.
Lynch was at her side, applying medi-gel. He didn't say a word as he carried her to the medical bay. Ethan was shocked at this turn of events, even as the ship took off from the hangar. There weren't as many turrets as possible to hit them on their way, so the vessel took off into space with no further difficulties. No doubt the mission was a success. But to Lynch, it didn't feel like one.