Collective Rebirth
ESKK: Chapter 17 time to get this started.
(Start the Castle of Lion)
On the Castle of Lions training deck Samara was surrounded by each of the Paladins who had their Bayards active. Samara had a combat dagger she was borrowing as the Paladins carefully circled the Asari Justicar. Off to the sidelines Lotarius, Ashley, Kasumi, Shiara, Zaeed, watched the scene with Sven. Kosmo and Urz were also watching with the Mice on the table as well.
Of course, judging by Zaeeds grin it was clear that the Paladins were not doing so well against the Justicar. The Paladins then all charged in with Bayards at the ready with Leon, Allura, Peni, and Kalvin going close range while Hector tried to support fire from behind. "No discipline." Samara said, tripping up one of the Paladins that charged her which was Leon with a fluid sweep of her leg. Samara then dodged Allura's whip and moved between it before grabbing her arm and with a flash of her biotics over herself and into the ground. "None of you will survive against the Hoplites if you fight me without discipline," She said, as she paired Kalvin and Penny's attacks on her. They plus Hector were the only members of the team she had not, 'killed,' yet.
Kalvin and Penny moved back as Penny switched her Bayard into the Asari Vambrace and fired a tether line at Samara. Samara allowed it to wrap around her arm before using her Biotics to bring Penny close and then threw her over to Hector. Hector cried out just before he got hit and Samara dealt both of them a 'killing blow,' removing them from the exercise. It was now just Kalvin and Samara as the two circled each other.
Samara had insisted that the Paladins needed training and while she will admit they species they trained under provided them with a good foundation they needed improvement. She had often focused mostly on Kalvin and Penny with these sessions. Allura had prior training as expected from the matriarch to be and thus hardly needed much. Hector needed to discipline his mind and learn self-control as he and Leon needed more attention in those departments.
She focused mostly on Kalvin and Penny because Samara felt Jane would have wanted her to do so and Penny so she can learn to master the Asari Vambrace. It was an ancient weapon after all and was hardly in use by modern Asari culture anymore. It was often seen as the weapon of assassins which gave it a bloody history.
Samara's insistence on training the Paladin's to sharpen their minds and instincts had led to her starting a series of completely nonsensical training regimes, which she insisted would be important for teaching mental fortitude. She taught the Paladins an esoteric mixture of poetry, gardening, meditation, and physical exercises. And as a result, Kaltenecker's pen had become quite beautiful as the Paladins were forced to tend to the contained landscape.
There was some merit to what Samara made them due during these training exercises. For example, their links to their Lions grew in strength almost like they were still inside the cockpit without actually being there. EDI theorized that the Paladins link may become strong enough that they could command the Lions from outside of them. It was a theory and it had merits, but no one wanted to test it out. John heard about it and approved the training though he did have questions about the non-combatant parts. Still if got results so he won't complain too much about it.
Kalvin reached for his person, drew his dagger, and shifted it into its full sword form. Samara saw Kalvin had been practicing with dual wielding. It was a useful skill for Kalvin to learn, Jane had done the same when they crossed paths. A sword in one hand and a gun in the other. It made the woman quiet, unpredictable for Samara to face and Jane knew it well. She still recalled how Jane had thrown mud in her eyes one time during a fight which led to Jane sparing her once again.
The two went at it with Kalvin keeping himself within range to attack. But just like the other Paladins Kalvin ended up getting knocked on his ass with Samara holding the knife to his neck signaling the killing blow. Zaeed laughed at that as he saw the kids get their butts handed to them.
"What I tell you, the kiddies didn't stand a chance." Zaeed laughed as he slapped his knees a bit to this.
"I would not say so, in fact I believe they lasted longer than last time." Samara said that in an actual fight Kalvin had the ace in his new Bayard form. "Unfortunately for Penny her Bayards new form did not come with its twin, most if not all Asari Vambraces come in pairs." Samara said as she knew Penny needed a second Vambrace to go with the first one. "But they had lasted longer than the last time." Samara said noting that the Paladins had a great deal of improvement over their last confrontation.
"Any idea where I can find a second one?" Peni asked as she looked to Samara.
"Most Asari Vambraces are seen as relics at best and criminal tools at worse finding a pair is as difficult as finding a singular one." Samara said as this caused Peni to sigh in defeat to this.
"Great." Peni said but Samara had more to say on this.
"However, the art of making one is a different matter entirely." Samara said surprising Penny when she said that. "Most if not all Asari Vambraces were made for the user constructing them no two sets of Vambraces are ever truly the same similar yes but never the same." Samara said showing there was a great deal of culture behind the Vambraces. "While I cannot aid you in finding an unattached Vambrace I can teach you the art of making one." Samara said revealing that she knew how to make them.
"REALLY!?" Penny and Shiara both asked as Shiara had been surprised when Penny had first revealed the Vambrace after Tuchanka.
"Yes, I had learned the skills after..." Samara trailed off for a moment the group noting she had this distant look in her eyes. She focused her emotions and got down to it. "It will require materials however." Samara said getting back on track.
"I can provide that; I should still have some spare materials from by time running with the Asari Commando's and more left over from my work on the Pride." Penny said recalling the tank she build a while back.
"I see then we will also need tools and I assume the Castle of Lions has said tools." Samara said as she looked over to Allura who had moved off to the side and had a bottle of water in her hand.
"Yes, I can show you where we keep them." Allura said while wiping off a bit of sweat from her brow.
"That would be appreciated." Samara said and in turn she and Penny followed after Allura to start working on the Asari Vambrace. With that training for the Paladins was done as they all got ready to head out. They had other things to do tasks to carry out, and most of all calls to make. However, they did have one thing to note and that was about to make itself known to the group from the Normandy.
(Scene Break SR2-Normandy John)
John entered the comms room after getting word from Joker that an urgent message came in from the Illusive Man of all people. Entering the room, the scanner activated and from there the meeting table lowered to shift the room to a giant QE projection room. Once it was finished John was met with the sight of the Illusive Man who was as always smoking his cigar.
"Shepard- we caught a break." The Illusive Man began after taking a drag of his smoke. "I intercepted a distress call from a Turian Patrol." He said before turning towards John. "They stumbled on to a Collectors ship beyond the Korlus system." He said as John paid close attention to the man. "The Turians were wiped out but not before they crippled the Collector Vessel." He said before taking a seat on his chair. "I need you and the Paladins to board that ship and get some hard data on the Collectors. Find us a way to get to their home world." The Illusive Man said as John stood there with his arms crossed.
"Hard to imagine how a Turian Patrol can take out a Collector Ship." John said as he found that suspicious as all get out. He still recalled the Collector Ship the SR1-Normandy faced and got shot down by. Not to mention how it carried a Robeast inside it controlled by a Reaper of all things.
"Reports indicate that the hull is intact, but all systems seem to be offline." The Illusive Man said no doubt anticipating this mistrust from John. "They could be making repairs as we speak. I'm not saying it won't be dangerous, but we can't let an opportunity like this slip by." The Illusive Man said reminding that this was a gold mind they had to take full advantage of.
"If they had a patrol out there, why aren't the Turians sending a recon team out there?" John asked finding this suspicious even now.
"They will eventually. But I intercepted the transmissions. In the meantime, we're feeding them false reports." The Illusive Man said on his chair with one leg resting over the other. "You're close enough that you can be in and out before the Turians learn the truth." The Illusive Man said but John still had his suspicions.
"Are you sure this information is good?" John asked still having issues from what happened back on Horizon.
"Information is my weapon Shepard, Its good." The Illusive Man said assuring John the information was legit.
"Send me the coordinates and I'll take care of it." John said as while he had his doubts, he knew this was too big of a chance to waste.
"Already sent." The Illusive Man said showing he was one step ahead of John. "Once you're aboard the ship, establish an uplink with EDI. She'll mine their data for information regarding the Omega-4 Relay. Good Luck Shepard." The Illusive Man said as with that information they can take the fight to the Collectors.
The call came to an end as Joker's voice was soon heard. "Coordinates punched in." Joker said which John nodded to this.
"Contact the Castle of Lions I want all hands, on deck in case of a Robeast." John said not wanting to lose another Normandy anytime soon.
"On it, Commander." John said as he began to make the call to the Castle of Lions to let them know what's going on. They needed to take every precaution needed for this one because John was sure as hell not about to lose this ship.
(Scene Break Castle of Lions)
The Paladins with Ashley, Sven, Kasumi, Zaeed, Samara, and Lotarius were gathered in the main command deck of the Castle of Lions. On the screen was the image of John Shepard's face as he informed them of what they had found. "So, the Turians managed to cripple a Collectors ship." Penny said as she raised a brow to this. "Doesn't that seem kind of suspicious?" Penny asked as she may be acting paranoid, but she felt something was not right with this.
"Trust me I feel the same way but if it's true we have a chance to make some headway against the Collectors." John said making it clear that it was a chance worth taking.
"He'z not vrong." Sven said noting that it may be a chance worth taking.
"Plus, with what Mordin and I found out recently from the Collectors this may also help us learn more about them." Penny said as she and Mordin had found a few things of note about the Collectors from the corpse Mordin had in his lab back on the Normandy.
"Well, if we can figure out the secrets of the Collectors form this, we will have to take a shot at it, assuming we're taking the lions out as well in case of emergency?" Kalvin said as his father said, "That right. I want all hands on deck for this that includes Voltron when things get out of hand."
"Understood, we'll prep for the mission now and wormhole to the coordinates," Kalvin said as John nodded and said, "Alright. Be ready in thirty, Normandy out."
After that, the call end as Kalvin turn to everyone and said, "Alright it's all hands on deck. Penny is all the armor and suit equip with the Anti-Collector equipment in case the collector sick their bugs on us?"
"I mostly have the paladin suit protected, but it shouldn't be too hard setting up for other as well," Penny said with Kalvin nodded and said to her, "Get to it. Leon are all the additional weapon on the castle of lion operational and sync with the castle's own weapon systems, including the railguns?"
"Hell yeah, those puppies can blow a hole into any collector shielding that may come our way, including the railguns," Leon said as he finally got the railgun install as they may fire every minute or so due to the power charge but for him it was worth installing as Kalvin nodded and said, "Good. Sven, I need you to stay in the castle to help monitor thing and use the weapon system in case of an emergency."
"Understood," Sven said as he knew there not much he can do out in space as there is no fighter jet within the castle of lions to use but he will help anyway he can as Kalvin said, "Good, and also we will have Lotarius stay with you as well just in case, and before you say anything Hector you are coming along as well because we need all the paladins there to form Voltron, no exception."
"Great," Hector said as he lower his hand as he was about to ask to stay in the castle, but Kalvin beat him to the punch, as then Kalvin look to Allura and said to her, "Ready to take on the collector?"
"More than ready," Allura said as she knew there wasn't any other choice but to stop the collector somehow and this may save a lot of lives as Kalvin nodded and said, "Alright then, we'll have Samara, Ashley, and Zaeed join us as well for more numbers and firepower. We know how these guys fight, and how big their forces can be, so we're going all in for this extra omni gel, armor piercing rounds, anything, and everything we need and get it done in 20 minute. Let move."
And with that everyone went off to prepare, as the paladin and the crew gearing up to explore a Collector ship not knowing what they may find but sure ain't going in half-cocked or unprepared.
(Collector ship location)
With the Collector ship floating dead in space before a wormhole open up with the castle of lions and the Normandy exit out before it closed behind them with EDI started a scan of it.
Within the Normandy as John Shepard was coming up to the cockpit with joker said to him, "We have a visual on the collector ship Commander."
"Very low emissions. Passive infrared temperatures suggest most system are offline. Thrusters are cold," Edi reported as Joker said seeing the collector ship more up close as he said, "That thing's massive. How the hell did the Turians take it out?"
"No idea Joker, but we're not here for those kinds of answers." John said before turning to the Castle of Lions crew. "Did you guys hear EDI report?" John question to the Castle of lion as they were in communication with each other via their battle net as Kalvin spoken up saying, "We heard, and given the fact I'm getting a bad feeling about."
"Sooner we can get this done the better then," John said as EDI soon reported more as she said, "Ladar scans do not detect any hull breaches on the side facing us. I detect no mass effect field distortions. It appears the drive core is offline."
"Rendezvous in 30 seconds, Commander. Good luck," Joker said as John nodded as John call out saying, "Alright, castle of lions get ready for launch."
(castle of lions)
"Roger that, lions ready for launch" Kalvin said as the lions were ready to deploy while Ashley was in an Altean pod ready to fly out as well, and thankful she knew out to fly it as she said, "Crew team ready for launch."
"Just remember to fly close to us in case we're attack, we can shield you from incoming fire," Kalvin said as Ashley nodded and said, "I know. Ready when you are paladins."
"Ah, is it too late for a bathroom break?" Hector said over the coms with the sound of face palms can be heard.
(space)
The Normandy and castle of lion flew close to the collector ship, still being cautious about it and of any enemy that may come at them from nowhere. Meanwhile the Normandy ship hanger doors opened with the Kodiak flying out. Meanwhile with the castle of lions an Altean pod was launched with the five lions coming out as well with the black and yellow lion flying close to the pod as they fly over to the collector ship. So far there were no enemies detected anywhere at the moment and flew into open hanger areas of the collector ships with the Kodiak and pod landing, follow with the lions as they kneel down and off load the paladins before going into standby mode with their shields activating.
"I've never seen a ship like this before," Tali said as she looks around seeing how the inside of the collector ship is like as Penny said, "IT really does look like a hive, and on the inside too."
"Yeah, we can tell," Leon said as he saw the organic stuff melted with the metal of the ship as well while seeing liquid drops down from above as Hector said, "Gross."
"Penetrating scans have detected an access node to uplink with collector databanks. Marking location to your hard shit computers," EDI said as she mark out a pathway through the ship, no doubt they will need it as they started to head inside guns out and Bayard's ready as Kalvin was ready to use his new Bayard weapon if needed as well.
The two teams head through the ship as Kalvin was looking around and said, "You know, with all the horror sci-fi movies I watched as a kid, this mostly seems almost tame compared to the movies."
"Yeah, as least there's no giant eggs with spider like creatures that would come out and try to hug for your face while it lays an embryo in the victim," Leon said as he remember seeing that old classic movie as Hector said, "Can we not talk about that scary alien movie."
"Why, it's not like a before a chest burster comes out of one of us and grow really fast before it hunt us down one by one," Leon said in a creepy tone before he got kicked in the ass for that as it was Kalvin that did it and said, "Come on Leon, you know hector don't do horror movies that well."
"Cut the chatter and stay alert," John said as they keep walking deeper into the ship with EDI soon report something else as she said, "Shepard. I have compared the ship's EM signature to a known Collector profiles. It is the vessel you encountered on Horizon."
"Well, that's oddly convenient." Penny said as she had a bad feeling about this while they moved around the ship in practiced movements.
"Maybe Voltron and the Defense Towers soften them up for the Turians." John said keeping a close eye on the scene around them.
"Maybe the Colonists are still alive in here somewhere." Kalvin said as Tali agreed with that.
"Assuming they are." Tali added recalling how big the ship is. While they all wanted to save the people if they were still here, they also knew that they may not have that luxury on their side.
Allura then moaned as she stumbled a bit grabbing her head. "Lu you, ok?" Kalvin asked when he noticed Allura was out of it.
"Yes sorry... for a moment I thought I heard voices." Allura said as she looked to the group.
"I didn't hear anything." Ashley said noting that Allura didn't seem unwell. Maybe it was an Altean thing... or maybe she hit her head at some point.
"Hey look at this." Hector said and thus the group moved towards what Hector found. Upon arriving they saw that it was Pods the same ones the Collectors put humans in.
"The Collectors used this kind of container on Horizon." Miranda began noticing how familiar the pods were.
"But these ones are empty." Garrus added which did not bode well for those in here.
The inside of the pod, where they otherwise put human bodies, distorted, and rippled with the heat and vapor pouring out of it. Another property that suggested the ship was holding some form of atmosphere, even if not a breathable one, and something that encouraged the unit to keep from getting too close.
"It must have been horrible. Trapped in these pods. Helpless. Completely at the mercy of the Collectors." Tali said as she could already imagine it.
"All the more reason to get that data and find any survivors." Kalvin added as knowing they had to keep moving. With that they began to move with John and Jacob leading the pack and Kalvin handling the rear with Leon.
"Sentimental little fucker ain't ya." Zaeed said as the merc gave Kalvin a bit of grief for that.
"Just focus on the mission older timer." Leon said as Zaeed laughed to this.
"I may be old, but I can still kick your ass." Zaeed said while they kept moving on through.
The ambiance of the space was somehow made worse by the complete and total lack of sound. Something they haven't had to deal with on a mission before now. In addition to not having been in a vacuum on any of the missions they also had audio synthesizers built into their suits to give them audio for environments that don't carry sound. But here, there was no recorded data for what this space should sound like. There's nothing to synthesize from, so the only sound they heard was the tapping of each other's footsteps, and the rustling of their armor.
But then, abruptly, the steady tapping was instead replaced with one demonstrably unpleasant squelch. They all paused for a moment and looking down they found that Garrus stepped in some sort of paste. He pulled his foot back and scanned around the surrounding ground to find the source.
No one was happy with what they found. Allura gasped as the horror they found was Flesh. Human, if they had to make an educated guess, but at this point it was hard to tell. Moving further ahead they found increasingly intact limbs and parts of organs, bones, meat. It was hard to stomach, but it didn't seem to end.
"Ancients." Allura gasped shocked at what she saw before her. Meanwhile Hector was attempting to hold in his stomach ready to hurl.
"What happened here?" Tali asked with silent horror as her head panned over the bodies they begin to pass by.
No one else had an answer in fact they didn't have anything to say at all actually. They simply focused their attention on the spread of corpses that covered the ground. The team was seemingly trying to avoid stepping on them if nothing else out of respect for the dead. The team then slowly began to approach the central mound the rest seemed to be scattered from. When they arrived at the mound in question, they sat that unmistakably, it was just a mass of flesh and meat. The group saw that there was a dozen or so intact bodies and limbs near the top. Meanwhile the mound itself was closer to a paste than actual corpses which disturbed the group.
At the same time Allura heard the whispers return and tried her best to ignore it. This place felt wrong for the princess like a perversion of life itself. She didn't like it and at the same time she felt this twisting feeling in her stomach, it was hard to describe it.
"Why would the Collectors just leave a pile of bodies lying around?" Garrus asked, his voice showing a clear tone of disgust his controlled posture failed to convey.
"They must have been used for testing." Tali began getting the groups attention. "If they were a control group, they would have been discarded at the end of the experiment." Tali said as her deduction seemed spot on.
"It makes sense... though seeing it here, it doesn't do much help." Penny said as she felt sick seeing such a morbid sight before her.
"There are worse things than death – like being a test subject for twisted aliens." Shepard said as he tried to comfort his team over what they saw.
"I know you're right, but it doesn't make me feel any better." Tali said and no one could say she was not justifiably for it. After all they all agreed and Kalvin for his part was tempted to get back to the lions and start blowing this place up data be damned.
Thankfully, after this point, they seemed to move away from the main grouping of bodies. The floor then gradually became clearer as they traveled away, letting the team start walking with less conscious care again. There were still bodies moving forward, carelessly laid about the floor, or propped against the occasional empty pod. Perhaps more disturbingly though, as they moved deeper, the bodies become recognizable. Intact, more human shaped, as they noted that most were still wearing clothes.
However more than just the bodies accenting a change in ambiance, the floor itself started to become increasingly mechanical. Steel plating revealed beneath the stone layer and mechanisms built into the walls that seem intended for individual use more than simply forming the ship. Even the lighting began to cool from the yellow and oranges to a pale white.
The Squad turned a corner as they seem to come upon a junction of sorts. The hall leading forward gradually returns to the organic structure of the ship, but the area around them appears almost like a laboratory. If this was a laboratory as theorized, then it just might explain the bodies.
Large mechanical beds emerged from the wall holding a pod on each of them. They saw that two were empty but notably they seemed to be inactive. The third however was the most curious as it contained not a human body, but the body of a Collector. John was the first to approach the adjacent console, summoning his omni-tool to let it figure out the operations. At the same time Penny was doing the same as she had been gathering samples for Mordin to look at later.
"Is that?" Hector asked shocked at what he was seeing before him.
"Yeah... a Collector." Kalvin said confirming what they were seeing.
"Were they experimenting on one of their own?" Garrus asked shocked over what he saw seeing.
"How barbaric." Allura said horrified that the Collectors would do this to their own kind.
"But why would they do this to their own?" Penny asked seeing something was not adding up here.
"Let's find out." John said as he finished his scan and then placed a hand to the side of his helmet to contact EDI. "EDI, I'm uploading the data from this terminal." John said as he uploaded the data for EDI to look at. "See if you can figure out what they were up to." Shepard ordered while he leaded away from the console.
"Data received. Analyzing." The AI responded as she was already doing her part for the mission. It didn't take long for EDI to find what she needed and in turn she began to make her report. "The collectors were running baseline genetic comparisons between their species and humanity." EDI began to explain as this got the group worried.
The others stepped back to make room for John as he moved to look down at the Collectors body. "Are they looking for similarities?" John asked concern deep in his voice.
"I have no hypothesis on their motivations. All I have are the preliminary results." EDI said and without needing to be asked EDI revealed those results. "They reveal something remarkable. A quad-stand genetic structure, identical to traces collected from ancient ruins." She said as the gears in everyone's heads began to turn at the implication of what EDI was saying. "Only one race is known to have this structure: the Protheans." EDI revealed and in turn all eyes were widen in shock at what they just heard.
"That explains everything." Penny said as she looked at the Collector before her.
"The Collectors are like our Husks those who were so thoroughly indoctrinated that they stopped being human entirely." Penny said realizing what she was seeing.
"Similar yes." EDI revealed as Allura was horrified at what she was seeing. "These are no longer Protheans their genes show distinct signs of extensive genetic rewrite." EDI explained as this meant only one thing which the AI confirmed. "The reapers have repurposed them to suit their needs." EDI said as Allura could not tell to be horrified at this fate, sorrowful for the Protheans, or furious at the level of the Reapers barbaric practices against the Prothean race.
"The Reapers turned the Protheans into monsters to serve them." Kalvin said realizing that this might become their fate if they don't stop the Reapers.
"I'm almost glad I slept through their Harvest." Allura mournfully admitted as she feared this would have been her fate back then. No one could fault her for that because one can only imagine what the Reapers would have done to the Alteans in their cycle. "No species should be forced the endure this horror." Allura added and in turn Garrus nodded in agreement.
"I agree, but still they're working for the reapers now. And we have to stop them," John said as regardless of if the Protheans are slaves to the reapers, its kill or be killed, while Miranda said, "They're not doing to us what they did to the Protheans."
"Some of this stuff happen over 50,000 years ago. Who know what the reapers did back then to them," Ashley said as it doesn't take a genius to know what reaper did or didn't to the Protheans back then as John said, "Let's find what we need before the Collector come to salvage this vessel. Move out."
With the team moving Allura stagger behind a bit as it seem she was holding a hand to her head a bit as Kalvin saw this walked up Allura as he said, "Are you feeling alright Allura, looks like you're getting dizzy or something. IS your oxygen level running low or something?"
"No, my oxygen is fine, it's just... I think I'm hearing many voices speaking," Allura said catching a lot of people attention as Kalvin said to her, "Voices?"
"They aren't loud or anything but I'm hearing so many, some sounding so much in pain," Allura said as she sounding very worry as Zaeed, "Hearing voices princess? Sound like your losing your mind."
"But it's not impossible if she really is hearing voices, as at first before Voltron I would think it would crazy as well, but now I learn with Voltron and Alteans, almost anything could be possible," Penny said as she would keep an open mind about this as if she didn't go into space with all of her friend and live her normal life she would most likely be close minded, while Kalvin would agree with what Penny said and wondering if being on a collector ship is triggering something within Allura as he said to her, "Take is easy then. Stay by me, so just in case something happen I'll cover for you. IF the voices get worse, You and I will head back to the lions."
"Alright I will... and thank you Kalvin," Allura said as Kalvin is being a worry boyfriend/lover to her, she would feel like a lucky girl in a way if it wasn't for the voices causing a headache for her.
"Hey guys look at all these guns!" Leon said as he found a small stockpile of gun lying about on the ground as he pick up one up and cock it to check to see if they still work as he look through one and said, "Awesome. Some of these are real collectables to have."
"They could be useful," John said as he grab a gun for himself and check it and saw how well they look with Kalvin grabbing one, which was a revenant Machine gun, high velocity slug that can do damage to shields and armor, while the accuracy may not be as good, he may like, but he fights close range himself, so it was perfect for him, as he gives it a few test cycles before lock and loaded it while he said, "Nice. I think I'll keep this one with me then. Can't get weapons like these go to waste."
The group gather around and grab a gun for themselves as well before moving on, going deeper into the Collector ship as they came upon more pods as Tali call out saying, "Look on the ceiling, More of those strange pods."
"There must be hundreds of them. How many do you think are full?" Miranda said as both Shepard's said at the same time, "Too many."
"Ah are there anyone still alive in them?" Hector question as he saw them as EDI answer for him saying, "I detect no signs of life in these pods."
"Everyone must have died when the ship lost its main power," Penny said as she may not like saying it, but facts are facts with Allura was greatly disturbed, and sadden with Kalvin just pissed off. As all of those people that were taken. They should have saved them, but it seem they were too late again as he said, "WE need to move on and find that terminal. The sooner we can get the data from it the sooner we can prevent this from happening again."
"Agreed," John said as they move on once more with everyone keeping it together, which wasn't easy, especially Ashley as some of the victim here could have been from Horizon, the people she was meant to help and protect.
Penny was scanning as much as she could, collecting many samples as well for later study with Mordin, and snap some images for later analyzing, while also collected some technology around that could help improve both the Normandy and the castle of lion technology, if this stuff was made by the collector who use to be the Protheans, no telling how much that itself is worth in gold for all the information on how it was made and such, which penny wasn't interested in other than knowledge while figure out a way to improve a special upgrade that she been working on for Voltron as well.
Suddenly Joker spoken up on coms as he said, "Commander. You gotta hear this. On a hunch, I asked EDI to run an analysis on this ship."
"I compared the EM profile against data recorded by the original Normandy two years ago, as well records from the castle of lion from two years ago to help compare it as well. They are an exact match," EDI said as this surprise the group as what are the changes the same thing that attack them two years ago is the same ship that attack horizon and, now standing inside of it also, for Kalvin it felt like a set up or something with John getting a similar feeling as he said, "The same ship dogging me for two years? Way beyond coincidence."
"Did you hack into my castle?" Allura questioned as EDI said, "I did not. I requested them and had the data sent over by the co-captain Shiala."
"At least she is polite to ask at least. Man, why couldn't we have you EDI," Penny said as EDI said to her, "If you did have me, the castle of lion would not have a A.I Nodes for me to interface with the castle itself."
Penny was about to say something until Kalvin held up his hand to her and said, "whatever idea you have Penny will have to wait until after the mission."
"Ahhh, fine," Penny pouted a bit as Joker spoken up again as he said "Something doesn't add up Commander. Watch your back."
After that, the group keep advancing through the ship, which is getting more and more suspicious as not once they saw a collector flying about or walking around. Heck it was almost like the ship become a ghost ship in itself minus deadly machine acting on their own and such, and/or lack of ghostly activity, but soon enough the group came upon a very large chamber within the collectors ship with tens of millions of pods around maybe hundreds of millions all stack together for neatly storage with everyone look in awe, shock, and horror as Teli said, "Keelah."
"They could take every human in the terminus system and not have enough to fill these pods," Miranda said while is a scary truth with Leon said, "And earth may be their next target."
"Not if we stop them," John said as he won't let the collector and reapers get their way anymore as they keep moving on with Tali point out something as she said, "There, on the platform. Looks like some of the control panel."
"Where are the bodies of the collector crew?" Miranda said as Hector said, "Guy I'm getting a really bad feeling about this."
"Just hold it together hector," Penny said as she was getting a scan on everything as fast as she could before she would mess with the Panel."
Meanwhile Allura was acting up again as she started to wobble a bit before collapsing as Kalvin quickly caught her and said in a worry tone, "Allura."
"So many voice... it's all around us," Allura said while sounding very much in pain, as Kalvin didn't like this and look to Penny while he said to her, "Make it fast Penny. The sooner the better. Allura may not last long in here the if we stay anymore."
"Got it," Penny said as she quickly comes up to the control panel and started hacking.
Garrus kept his eyes peeled as did Zaeed as they knew something fishy was going on here. Miranda was right there were no bodies so if the ship were actually damaged there would have been more bodies of Collectors.
"Careful, you two." Garrus said urging the Quarian and the Paladin to exercise caution as they moved for it.
"EDI?" Penny asked as she and Tali got to work and getting that data bridge working.
It's clearly function. One of the few mechanical pieces of the vessel they've encountered thus far that's actually working. A green interface rests above the face of the pedestal, drawn out holographically in thin calculated lines.
"EDI?" Penny asked as she and Tali got to work and getting that data bridge working. "I'm setting up a bridge between you and the Collector ship." Penny said with her Omni-Tool active. "See if you can get anything useful from the data banks." Penny instructed, while typing away on her Omni-Tool.
There was then a moment of silence as the two teams moved to cover Tali and Penny. Then, after a few flat tones, EDI spoke up getting their attention. "Data-mine in progress." EDI reported as she got to work on her end of the scene.
Then there's a sort of interference. A low droning, clicking sound. Comes over their radios. It's almost a growl, really.
"Uh… that can't be good." Joker reacted when he saw something wrong on his end.
Then, with a violent red flash that forces the group to step back, the console shuts itself off. Following this up the synthetic sounds of heavy machinery arose while several tubed structures rose up from the surrounding drops.
The two Shepard's glanced around at their teams, making sure they were all okay before raising a hand to his helmet. "Everyone's alright, Joker. What just happened?" John asked as he was confused.
"Major power surge." Joker reported as the group reorganized themselves. "Everything went dark, but we're back up now." Joker quickly explained which was good news on his end.
"I managed to divert the majority of the overload to non-critical systems." EDI informed showing why she was the teams tech support.
Just then Allura cried out as a sudden surge hit her mind as she fell over. "Allura/Princess!" Came the varying voices of John, Tali, Garrus, Ashley, and even Kalvin. Even Jacob, Samara, and Miranda were worried for the Altean.
Just then movement was heard that had Kalvin drawing his gun. Leon saw this and with Hector they had their guns or Bayards at the ready. "I think we got company." Kalvin said as Allura's facial marks were glowing.
Just then Allura grabbed her Sub-machine gun and swallowed the pain. "ITS A TRAP!" Allura yelled out and in turn a high-pitched whirr resonated from the platform they were on. The platform began to rise from the surrounding pathways, forcing everyone to catch their balance. As it continued to rise, it was seen rotating, rising higher and higher over the tunnels they emerged from.
"We need a little help here, EDI." John said alerting them of the situation.
"I am having trouble maintaining the connection." EDI said reporting her current progress. "There is someone else in the system." She added making it clear that they walked dicks first into a trap.
"Well, this is fucking great!" Jack roared realizing they were in trouble now. "If I die, I'm haunting you Shepard!" Jack added making it clear she will punch Saint what's his name to make it happen.
Just then the platform stops, completely knocking over Garrus and Miranda as Jack managed to catch herself while Jacob did the same. Their balance took a moment to return, by which point Tali was seen moving to give Garrus a hand back up. "Dammit all your getting sloppy Masani." Zaeed said berating himself for not seeing the trap for what it was. The others were looking around as they saw the ship was lighting up showing them a better view of the ships interior. The group saw that from either end of the main chamber there was a blinding light casted over the space in warm hues. Thankfully, their helmets had the visors automatically dimmed in appropriate regions.
But something else was blocking out the light up ahead, in the distance. Looking at it they saw another hexagonal platform, like the one they were on now, with another set of figures atop it was coming towards them. It did not take the group long to figure out they had more Collectors coming their way.
"Connection reestablished." EDI said alerting the group of some good news. "I need to finish the download before I can override any systems." EDI added informing them of the bad news.
"Then you better get it done fast EDI." John said as their situation was going from bad to worst.
"What her majesty?!" Jack asked as the moment Allura was out of it. She was mumbling words no one could understand... no one save for John.
"Pain, endless pain. Reapers Indoctrination. Voltron." Allura said as Jacob then cut in.
"What the heck is she saying?" Jacob asked confused as to why the Princess was speaking gibberish.
"She's not speaking gibberish... she's speaking Prothean." John said realizing what this was as he recalled the Cypher, he got from Shiala was playing a role here.
"We got baddies!" Penny said reminding the group of what was going on.
"Jack you and Jacob cover Allura, Penny you and Tali focus assisting EDI." Kalvin said distributing orders.
"Samara you and Miranda use your Biotics to provide support, Zaeed, you're with me Ashley, and Jacob." John went on to give orders.
"Hector support my dad and his team, Leon you and Garrus provide support fire." Kalvin said as the two Shepard's worked in synergy to each other. As they all got into position more platforms showed up as it was clearly going to be one of those fights for the group. Laser and gunfire began to resonate across the ship as the two sides clashed trying to get the advantage over one another. Flashed of Biotics were also in use as the Biotics on the teams were seen using their gifts to their advantage. However, Allura was having an entirely different battle one on a more spiritual plain.
(With Allura the Astral Plain)
Allura's eyes shot open as she found herself in a strange place one, she could not put her finger on. Looking around she saw what appeared to be creatures shaped like the Collectors. But it did not take Allura long to realize who they were, Protheans.
"It hurts. The Pain. What they did to us. Make it stop end it." The voices spoke one after the other as Allura heard them all.
"The Protheans." Allura said realizing to whom she was speaking.
"Altean. You can hear us. You can save us. You can end us." The Protheans said as Allura heard them out. "Please make it end. Make it stop. Save us. End us." The Protheans all begged one after the other as Allura tried to drown them out. But looking at their energy forms Allura realized what the problem was. Their Quintessence was stolen from them their life energy warped and mutilated to become these abominations perversions of life.
"Don't worry I'll save you... all of you." Allura said as she knew what to do, she must give back what was taken to begin with. "Just hang on." Allura said promising them an end to their pain.
(Back to the waking world)
Allura's eyes snapped open, and she found herself in the middle of the sound of gunfire. "Stop shooting stop shooting!" Allura called out as she got the teams to stop.
"What the have you lost your bloody mind?!" Zaeed snapped as he heard what she was saying.
"Look I know this will sound crazy, but I think I have a way to severe the Reapers control of the Collectors." Allura said as she had no time to stop this. "They're still in there and they're in pain." Allura said as the group heard this.
"Princess, I know you mean well but now is not the time to play doctor." Ashley said knowing that they had to do what was needed.
"I say we blow the lot of them send these bugs to hell." Zaeed said knowing they can't risk whatever Allura wanted to do or the whole Mercy Killing deal.
"Hey, this kid has my vote." Garrus said showing he trusted Allura. "I might not agree but she wouldn't suggest this if she wasn't sure that it would work." Garrus said as those who knew Allura back on the original Normandy agreed.
"Dad if there is a chance that we can help them we need to try." Kalvin said putting his vote in as well.
John knew it was a risky idea, but he also knew Allura would not suggest this otherwise. Taking a sigh John gave out his next orders. "Alright Princess we'll try your plan but if it doesn't work." John began but Allura cut him off.
"I know." Allura said as death was preferable to this horrifying existence the Protheans were forced to live. Once done Allura headed to one of the Platforms with the team following her. She then focused her power and kneeled down with her hands on the ground. In turn she began to charge up her own Quintessence using the same ritual used on the Balmerra when harvesting they're crystals. Only this time all Allura was doing was giving back what was stolen from the Protheans. The Team moved in to cover Allura knows at this state she was vulnerable.
"Forty-one percent complete." EDI said giving the team an update on what was happening.
"Come on, EDI. Speed it up." Shepard requests, ducking out for another moment to drop another two Collectors. They kept fighting until a new voice was heard, one that many in the group recognized on the spot.
"Assuming direct control." Harbinger was heard as everyone got ready.
"Defensive Circle everyone!" Kalvin called out knowing that if Harbinger gets to Allura she won't be able to heal the Reapers. Allura focused her power as the battle began the group were trying for disarming shots now when John gave the call for it. At the same time, the teams Biotic Members were putting up shields to keep the Collectors off their backs while they did their job.
Harbinger was seemingly working the hardest to get the Paladins to stop what they were doing. "Allura are you sure we can change them back into Protheans?" Ashley asked but Allura then surprised the group.
"I'm not reverting them back into Protheans if this had been 50,000 years ago perhaps but too much time has passed." Allura said and thus the group got worried.
"Then what are you doing to them?!" Tali asked worried that Allura had finally cracked.
"Giving back what once was taken." Allura revealed as soon enough her eyes opened to show they were glowing. "I suggest you hold on to something." Allura said as an aura formed around her for what was about to happen.
"You sure that's a good idea?" Miranda asked giving concerns about this. "What if they still serve the Reapers afterwards?" Miranda asked but it seems Allura was set on this path.
"Only one way to find out." Allura said as she reached the apex of her charge. In turn Allura crossed her arms over her chest and then proceeded to spread them out with her fingers wide open. From there a burst of quintessence erupted from her reaching out as a dome of energy.
The energy began to surge through the Collector ship touching everything and everyone in it. It went through every hall every chamber and every room on the ship. The Quintessence reached even further touching the Normandy and the Castle of Lions. the reach was large enough that it could even cover a planet if Allura had done this on said planet.
Eventually the light faded and from it Allura nearly collapsed if not for Kalvin catching her. The sound of gun fire came to an end as they saw the Collectors that attacked were either on the ground or leaning on what kept them stable. One of the Collectors, the one Harbinger controlled, was the first to move. It was looking around the room and then at its own hands in confusion flexing its fingers as if it had never done so on its own merit before.
It then noticed the group as more of its kind were starting to come too. "Easy." John said worried the fight was about to restart on them. The Group noted that the Collectors and its cohorts now looked different. The changes were unknown until you looked closer their bodies now bore marking similar to that of an Altean but instead of the face the entire body had the markings. The marks seemed to form similar to what the Turians had used for face paint as for a moment there seemed to be some kind of crests on said markings each meaning a different term. Tali was the first to note that a few of them had the same marks from each other.
The Collector arrived before them looking upon the group curiously as they seemed ready to open fire on it. It noticed how they looked and stepped back almost in a fearful way, but Allura stepped in.
"Wait do not fear us... we mean you no harm not anymore." Allura said as she tried to get up but could not. She spoke in Prothean and with it Allura noted the Collector understood her before offering its hand.
Seeing the gesture John took the hand shaking it noting how the Collector had flinched almost fearfully like it did earlier. The Collector then raised its other hand and placed it on the side of Johns head and only left it there for a brief second before removing it.
"You… save me." The Collector began its voice hesitant when it spoke. "You saved us." It struggled but spoke regardless to offer the group its gratitude.
"You speak English?" John asked shocked by the sudden tone it spoke.
"Too much to explain… We need to move." The Collector said trying to make its intentions known. We need to… To move the ship. They will be coming for us." It said looking to its fellows before the Platforms began to lower themselves via a silent command. In the same moment, the ship began to blare. It was like an alarm, or the whirring of turbines, as a wailing noise echoed through the space at rhythmic intervals and under it a constant rumbling tone.
"How do I know we can trust you?" Kalvin asked giving them a fair point. Even John had a similar question about this.
"You… don't." The Collector said making it clear that it had not earned such trust. "There is no time for trust, not now." It said in a tone similar to urgency. "There is only survival. They will be here soon; they will find us. We must move the ship." It repeated its intentions.
"Commander Shepard, I could remotely pilot the ship, but you must manually reestablish my link to the command console." EDI said informing them that she can help with this.
Hearing this John relayed the message. "If you want us to trust you, we need you to let our AI control your ship." John said knowing the Collectors were trying to escape their creators now.
"You… yes. Yes." The Collector said before it began to lead the teams to the console to which they had initially connected. Around them the two teams saw platforms beginning to travel about. In hardly a minute the main channel running through the ship went from a space more dead that should be possible for something so organic, to a bustling system. The collectors that whizzed by bore different markings on their bodies while a few had exo-skeletons that were a range of different colors. It seems that Allura's method had worked even as Kalvin carried her in his arms bridal style. Meanwhile the platforms that move do so with clear mechanical purpose, heading for a destination in another part of the ship.
"EDI, you're sure about this?" Leon asked showing some concern about all of this.
"Since the Princess had repaired them collector control has been forfeited to me at nearly all available points." EDI said revealing this new information to the group. "They are no longer fighting us." EDI added which meant good news for the team. Reaching the console Penny and Tali once more connected it to EDI through there Omni-Tools and after a second of erratic tones through their coms, the holographic representation of EDI appears above the station.
"I have full control of their systems." EDI reported as this meant they could get the Collectors anywhere in the galaxy even into a sun if they wanted to.
"Then get us out of here." John said as he knew the Collectors had a point about more coming. "We don't want to be around when the Reapers send out another ship to take this one back." Shepard said knowing they needed to hightail it out of there.
"Moving Normandy to loading bay now." EDI said but needed more instructions. "Please specify a destination, Shepard." EDI requested but it was Kalvin who spoke up.
"Serpent nebula. Edge of the widow system." Kalvin said before his father could get the chance.
"Course set." EDI stated, and the hologram disappeared right after.
Garrus looked at Kalvin in shock over what he did. "You want to bring us to the Citadel? Are you crazy?" Garrus asked shocked that Kalvin would do this.
However, it was Allura who spoke up as she made her presence known. "Garrus, we have in our purview a new sentient species." Allura said as she looked to Garrus speaking from her time as a diplomat. "It's noted that they're slightly more advanced than everyone short of the reapers." Allura said before getting to the big part of this. "Do you honestly think hiding them from the Council is really the correct course of action?" Allura asked almost sounding like she was scolding the Turian.
"Hiding them? No." Garrus began with his counter towards Allura. "But bringing the ship straight to the Citadel?" Garrus began but was then stopped with a gesture from John.
"Kalvin said the edge of the widow system. That means we should be able to take the Normandy down first to give them a heads up." Kalvin said showing that Kalvin had clearly thought it through. "Hopefully before anyone notices us." John added as this feels too good to be true, a mission that goes smoothly.
"Shepard, are you forgetting something?" Tali interjected which got Shepard to look towards the Quarian. It takes John a brief moment to understand what she meant. The collector standing beside Tali then registered he was the subject of discussion and in response he completely turned his body to face them.
Seeing this, their eyes lock on him and the Paladins. "Commander… Johnathan Shepard." It greeted to John. "Kalvin Yorak Shepard Paladin of Voltron." The Collector went on before its eyes directed upon Allura. "Princess Allura." The collector said looking to the last daughter of Altea.
"You know our names?" John asked with concern.
"We… all do." The Collectors said as it explained why they felt like they were being watched. The Collectors were worried over what the named guests would do next. "The Reapers… know you. Fear you. Hate you. You names are all… in our minds. What our minds… were. Before." It explained, struggling to find the right words. "Too much to tell. Too much. Need time to… think." The collector said rubbing its head showing that it was still confused as its mind was fresh.
"I'm sure this is a lot." Penny said offering a calm tone to the Collector.
"We have a few days before we reach council space, but before then we need to discuss your people." Allura said knowing this needs to be discussed.
"We'll return to the Normandy. When you're ready, send someone over to talk." John said which the Collector understood.
"A… representative. An ambassador." The Collector said which Garrus nodded to this.
"Functionally." Garrus confirmed with his arms crossed.
"We'll… think. Thank you, Shepard… Thank you, Paladins… Thank you… all." The Collector said and in turn went to gather his people so they may... get their minds in order.
(Scene Break Castle of Lions)
The squads do indeed return to the Normandy through the halls of the vessel. It was impressive just how quickly the former Collector were able to start changing small things. Moving and sorting the human corpses was a big one. Apparently, they were organizing them now based on who had more identifying features likely to give any next of kin some needed closure.
The Normandy, just as EDI said it was, had moved to a loading bay or at least the closest analog to one on a ship that's not truly meant to be boarded. The group made their way up the loading ramp, and then into the elevator after that glad to rest for a bit. At the same time the Paladins had returned to the Castle of Lions so they can wormhole their way to the Serpent Nebula if need be.
After a medical examination, the two crews were now in a meeting once more with the Castle of Lions key crew members gathered in what served as their CIC, the Paladin Lounge. They were currently going over information that EDI had discovered both from the after mission medical scans and the Collector database.
When the Paladins had returned to the Castle of Lions Allura had noted Lotarious seemed to be the Krogan equivalent to bouncing off the walls. In fact, many of the Paladins felt different like something had put an extra kick in their step. "Now that everyone is gathered, we can begin." EDI spoke as the Paladins and their ground team members were inside the Castle of Lions while they spoke to the Normandy Ground Team via their QEC link up.
"Yes, stunning discovery after Quintessence Energy burst." Mordin said as even he was feeling the effects of it. "Everyone within range health takes a sudden increase." Mordin said as John had to admit he felt it too.
"Yeah, I had this stiffness in my neck I could never get rid of, after the burst it was gone." Ashley admitted but thought it was just a coincidence.
"Yes, ran tests entire crew's own health had taken an upturn." Mordin added as he got down to it. "Jack's scars fades to no existence, Tali's immune system has been repaired if desires can begin weaning out of the suit." Mordin said which caused Tali's eyes to widen in shock at this.
"Wait what?!" Tali asked shocked that her immune system had been repaired.
"Now that ya mention it I do feel like I'm 10 years younger." Zaeed said as it was the closest analogy he could get.
"And the joint pains I had are all gone." John added which was confusing for everyone here.
"It's the Quintessence." Allura said getting the crews attention. "It's for lack of better terms, life energy." Allura said explaining it to the crew. "It's rumored to have healing properties if used right and seeing as I used it right... I suspected you all had benefited from the healing properties." Allura said explaining in detail what the two ship crews were experiencing.
"Remarkable." Mordin said seeing how this power could possibly revolutionize healing and medicine.
"However, there is more." EDI said which got the groups attention. "I've found data that could help us successfully navigate the Omega 4 relay, but I have also found the Turian distress call that served as the lure for this trap." EDI said before getting down to it. "The Collectors were its source. It is unusual." EDI informed the two teams as this left everyone confused.
"Seems logical to me that they would have sent the initial message as bait." Shepard said showing he did not understand why this was so important.
"No, it is unusual because Turian emergency channels have secondary encryption." EDI said adding context to what she revealed. "It is corrupted in the message. It is not possible that the Illusive Man would believe the distress call was genuine." EDI clarified to the team so that they would understand her meaning.
"Why are you so sure?" Shepard asked surprised when he heard EDI revealing tis to the team.
"I found the anomaly with Cerberus decryption protocols. He wrote them." EDI stated which got the group shocked and upset.
"He knew it was a trap?" Joker asked shocked that they flew the ship straight into a trap. "Why would he send us into a trap?" Joker questioned over the intercom seeing the time and money the Illusive Man had put into reviving John.
"That son of a bitch sent us right into Collector hands." Shepard realized as Kalvin snarled upon hearing this.
"We should have known this would happen." Tali said kicking herself for not suspecting. "Cerberus can't be trusted." Tali said which Ashley agreed.
"If I ever find him, I'm putting a bullet right between his eyes." Ashley said showing she was not going to take this lying down.
John meanwhile took a deep breath to calm his nerve reminding himself of his N7 Training. "Let me know when we're out of FTL." John said as he needed to calm down. "I want a word with the Illusive Man." He said which Kalvin understood his tone.
"I'm sure he'll want a word with you too, after what Allura pulled off out there." Joker commented knowing both Shepard's may be expecting a call from the Illusive Man soon. The Call ended as they had a lot to think about such as the fact that Allura needed to rest the strain of what she did was major, so she was off duty until she fully recovered. Still there was a lot to think about and the worst of it... what Cerberus would do once they know the full upper limits of Quintessence.
(TBC)
ESKK: Another chapter has been finished I hope you all enjoyed it and will join us next time for chapter 18. Until then be sure to leave a review before leaving and as always, ja-ne.