[Book Three] Chapter 01: Invasion, reunion, revelation

[Book Three] Chapter 01: Invasion, reunion, revelation

Chapter 01: Invasion, reunion, revelation

“He is very competent in what he does, we can’t not have him with us and she knows that.”

“True.”

“Who the hell is that guy?!”

Kaidan and Ashley looked at each other for a moment then looked at James.

““Shepard’s worst headache.””

____________________________________________________________

They arrived on Mars in less than half an hour, the planet being rather close. After landing on a small cliff on the outside of the outpost, not too far from the entrance, they could see in better detail the huge storm coming their way. Getting down from their position, they found the body of an alliance soldier, a bullet in the head from behind.

“Executed.” Ashley said.

“Between this and no one answering the coms....” began James.

“Something is very wrong here, keep an eye open.” Jane ordered.

They walked a few dozen feet when the team saw alliance’s soldiers on their knees being executed by Cerberus agents. Immediately they leapt into action and fired at their opponent. Taken by surprise their enemies didn’t last long. Moving forward, they engaged another group who met the same end. Entering the complex and taking an elevator. Kaidan, with the subtlety of an elephant in a porcelain store, asked Shepard if she knew anything about this as she used to be with them. That ruffled her feathers a bit and denied having any relation with Cerberus, something that James confirmed as he explained that she was cut off from the rest of the world since her arrest. Turning towards Ashley, Jane looked at her intently.

“What?”

“Nothing to say about me and Cerberus, Ash?”

“Skipper, if you were working for them Rick would have put a bullet in your head the moment you dealt with the Collectors. You’re still alive, it’s proof enough for me.” she said as she shrugged her shoulders.

“Seriously, who’s that guy?!” asked James for the second time. Ashley and Kaidan’s answer had not been satisfactory to him.

“The greatest pain in my ass.” she replied nonchalantly, prompting the two others in the know to smirk. “But also, the best fighter and smartest man I’ve ever met. If you’re unlucky, you’ll get to know him.”

She didn’t add anything else to her description and the ride continued in silence. When it stopped at the desired level they took a stance and moved ahead carefully. Twenty feet into the area and some noise came from the ceiling as they looked up they understood that people were in the vent system and quickly took cover. When the plate closing the vent burst open, they were ready to shoot and nearly did when an asari got out of it and landed on the ground. Turning around the alien trapped her chaser in a singularity and shot each of them in their head.

“That’s...”

James got out from his cover assault rifle drawn when Jane stopped him.

“She’s with us.” Walking towards the asari she made herself known.

“Liara.”

“Jane! You’re alive!” Liara replied and hugged the redhead. When she saw who she was with, she greeted her old teammates with as much enthusiasm without the hug though.

“I’m sorry about earth. I heard the report when...”

“Cerberus happened.”

“Yes. Why have you come here though? Not that I’m complaining but...”

“Admiral Hackett sent us here. He said you found something, a way to stop the reapers?”

“I did. Plans for a prothean device, one able to wipe out all the reapers.”

“Here on Mars? How come? The prothean archives have been known for nearly forty years! How was it not known before now?!”

“The amount of data is astronomical, Jane. And in prothean. Translating everything is a life’s work.”

“What matters is that we get that weapon.”

“It’s not a weapon or I don’t think it is, it looks more like a part of something but it’s just plans, blueprints. We’ll have to build it. First, though, we must get them from the archives.”

“It’s more than what we got two minutes ago, so I’m taking it. How do we get into the archives from here?”

“Through the tram, over there.” she said as she pointed beyond the big window near them. “That is if Cerberus didn’t lock it down.”

“How did you know there was something here?” asked Kaidan from the side.

“I didn’t, it was just the best lead we had.”

“We?” Jane asked, hoping.

“Rick and I. We contacted Hackett who agreed it was worth a look. He gave us special permission. With Rick able to read protheans it made things easier.”

“He’s here?!” the redhead exclaimed, trying to do her best to hide her joy. As Liara nodded affirmatively, Jane asked for his location.

“I don’t know where. He was analyzing the translated data in our room when Cerberus attacked.”

“I almost feel sorry for them.” the commander replied and noticing the looks she was receiving she justified herself. “Almost. I mean...”

“““We know what you mean.”””

“I don’t.” said James.

Any explanation for the soldier had to wait as Cerberus agents were there, trying to open a locked door. Jane ordered him to go back to the shuttle to be ready to cover their exit as the huge storm outside was getting closer. Once again the man was not happy with his orders but obeyed nonetheless.

Jane felt nostalgic as she fought her enemies with her friends by her side, remembering the time, three years prior, when they chased Saren. However one thing was different now, she was a biotics and when Liara casted a singularity at Cerberus, her body moved on reflex and she sent a Throw creating a brutal biotic explosion killing all their opponents. Clearly her training had paid off.

“That was a powerful Throw, Jane.”

“Wait, you’re a biotic now?!” Ash exclaimed.

“I always had the potential but since I was never tested, nobody knew. When Cerberus brought me back, I was given a biotic implant and before you ask, it has been checked and it’s a run out of the mill implant.”

“Still, this kind of power after only a year... It’s unheard of.” said Kaidan.

“I had very good teachers.” Jane replied enigmatically with a smile.

The team didn’t tarry any longer and made their way deeper into the outpost, dealing properly with every Cerberus soldier they encountered. They discovered a security room on the way and had a look at the video recordings. Thanks to Liara, who recognized the woman on them, they understood that the attack originally came from the inside as the terrorist organization seemed to have sleeper agents.

After taking a shortcut which brought them outside, they arrived in the mess hall. With its door to the outside open it had been depressurised, everyone in it died of suffocation, not a good way to go. Thankfully for them another security control room was just beyond the mess window. Taking care of the three soldiers just behind it, Liara separated from the group and pressurized the area. Watching the video recordings they saw the same woman as earlier killed the guards and opened the doors to the outside, killing everyone.

“She didn’t even hesitate.” Ashley noticed.

“I can’t believe, I didn’t see it coming.” lamented the asari.

“It’s not your fault, and you know it.” denied Jane.

“You came here to get answers against the reapers, no one will blame you for being focused on it and not seeking things.”

“Thank you, Kaidan.”

“Besides, Rick was there and he didn’t see anything either.” Ash tried to her up and it worked as Liara chuckled.

“The only thing he saw was our room and the archives. If I didn’t bring him food, he would have died of starvation without even noticing it.”

“Something must really have caught his eye.”

“Not really, he just didn’t see the point with ‘interacting with idiots who've been there for years and found nothing and were more interested in talking than researching’.” she said, trying to mimic his synthetic voice.

“He really didn’t get any better in three years.” stated Kaidan.

“On interacting with strangers? Not one bit.” admitted Jane.

“Come on, we need to go through the labs to get to the tram, it’s not far from here.” Liara said as she took the lead.

They steam-roll group after group of Cerberus men and while it wasn’t difficult some soldiers were annoying. Between the smoke screens and the ones with actual physical shields they took a bit more time than they should have. When the team opened the big double door giving access to the tram area, they saw a very lethal turret firing on-stop on the side. Sneaking closer, they witness the automatic defense system focusing on a very thick container.

Is the turret malfunctioning? Jane wondered.

She got the answer to her question when two Cerberus agents, came from the control room on the other side of the team’s position and began to shoot behind the container.

“Someone’s there! Let’s...”

She stopped her sentence when she saw a blue blur coming from behind the container, colliding with the cerberus guys so hard that they were sent back into the control room. What followed was a succession of loud gunshots and blue blurs, they could all witness through the room’s window. It happened in a flash, ten seconds at most. Unfortunately for the team without its target the turret went in search mode and found the team. As it was about to fire it was turned off.

“I can’t believe, we stayed right there in the open like idiots.” Jane said in a low voice.

“I can’t believe you stayed right there in the open like idiots.” came a voice from the room speakers.

They haven’t even met again properly, that she already wanted to punch him. Shepard took a deep breath and let it go. This is not how she wanted their reunion to start and it will not. She had a lot to talk about with him.

A talk we should have had six months ago if it hasn’t been for this god damned to all hell mission.

They walked to the control room and joined him inside.

“Those assholes are everywhere but the main force is concentrating around the archives and the tram.” Rick said, typing away on a console.

“No greetings, no ‘How have you been? It’s been a while.’.”

“No. More important things to do.”

“And now, you’re talking like Mordin.”

“Faster, more efficient.” he said as he stopped using the console, picked up his shotgun from the desk near it and turned around. “ Tram coming, few minutes. Unwanted passengers. Should get in position.” he said as he exited from the door opposite of which they had all entered.

Jane went immediately after him and grabbed his arm.

“You and I need to talk.”

“You need.”

“We need. Once we’re back on the Normandy.”

From the back the trio looked at the scene in front of them.

“Something happened between them?”

“I don’t know. Last time I saw any of them was on Horizon, they warded off the Collectors. They seemed fine, almost friendly.”

“For me it was when... They weren’t fighting, in fact they were ganging up on me.” shared Liara, stopping herself for revealing anything about the Shadow broker.

“Ganging up on you?” Ashley asked.

“I may or may not have made our mission harder by raising many flags...”

“May or may not?! You almost disintegrated me!” Rick protested.

“It wasn’t on purpose!”

“Oh, I want to hear that story!” the brunette interjected.

They stopped talking as a yellow alarm activated, indicating that the tram was arriving. Ashley and Liara went to one side of the hanger, Kaidan on the other and Jane and Rick took position in the front behind some containers. The ambush was ready and the poor bastards in the tram got caught in a crossfire a few feet after exiting it. Wasting no time they picked up the few thermal clips of their enemies and got into the vehicle.

“We should travel at a slow speed.” advised Rick.

“Why?” Kaidan asked.

“You think they did something on the way?” inquired Jane.

“It’s the only way to the archives. You want people kept away? You booby trap the path.”

“We’ll have to risk it, we don’t have time to go slow.” the redhead ordered after a small hesitation.

“I miss my shotgun.” Rick lamented as he looked at his M-6 Carnifex in hand.

“Why don’t you take a weapon from them? In fact, why don’t you have any weapons besides your gun?”

“I wasn’t allowed to bring any weapons. It’s bullshit because Liara was.” he complained.

“A simple precaution from Hackett who didn’t want the Alliance’s personnel to get hurt.”

“If I had killed every idiot I’ve ever met... He’s just paying me back for all those business deals.”

“Look me in the eyes and tell me you wouldn’t have shot any of them.”

“Just one. That haughty bitch.”

“Let me guess. 5”10 brunette, slender and fit with huge boobs?” said Ashley.

“Yeah, you saw her?”

“On the surveillance recordings, she’s Cerberus.”

“Now no one can say shit if I shoot her. Anyway, as for why I don’t pick any of their weapons is because I don’t like assault rifles and they’re all tailored to them. I was lucky to find a Carnifex. ”

“Tailored to them?” inquired Jane.

“Remember my last deal with the Alliance? In six months they only had the time to fit their most important military sections. I’m not surprised Cerberus got some weapons.”

“N7 being one of them.” Kaidan said. “I miss my TR-11 Junon.”

“Junon?”

“They’re all named after human gods and goddesses.” he replied.

She was about to ask why she didn’t have one of those weapons as she was N7 when a bomb exploded on the rail putting a stop to their advance.

“Called it.”

“Not now! We need to find a way to cross the gap.”

“We can’t charge to the other side, there is nowhere to land as the gate is closed. So unless they use the other tram, we’re stuck because I doubt that they’re retarded enough to...”

Just as he was saying that the gate opened and the second tram loaded with cerberus agents came in their direction.

“Apparently, they are.” said Liara as Rick looked dumbfounded at what was happening.

“I... but... Seriously, how come those morons still exist?!” he replied, coming back to his senses.

“Don’t know, don’t care. Be ready to get on that tram.” ordered Jane.

Cerberus had been so stupid that they stopped just next to them.One singularity from Liara and a Throw to detonate it sent them all flying overboard. Taking control of the vehicle they reached the other side and saw Cerberus troops aggregating beyond the second gate. A complete reversal of what they did earlier in the other tram area.

“Oh, now they’re trying to stop us.”said Rick.

“It’s not good, we’re not really in an advantageous position.” noted Kaidan.

“Don’t worry, I got an ace up my sleeve. Be ready to get out of here and find some cover.”

They all had questions for the helmet man but refrain for asking them as the gate separating them to their own onslaught began to retract into the ground. As it was nearly completely gone Rick charged a group and to everyone’s surprise followed up with a slam of his fist on the ground, creating a biotic dome that sent flying all around the Cerberus agents around him. Immediately the team sprung into action and made their way behind crates while shooting at the distracted enemies.

Rick being in the middle of the room without much protection dove onto the ground and rolled towards an alcove in the wall. There he got back on his feet again and began shooting from behind. When reinforcement arrived from his back, he quickly moved to find a better cover but took a shot to the side. Fortunately for him, the others were done with the first group and began a suppressing fire, allowing him to drag himself in a safe spot.

“You got shot.” Jane said as she came to him, the reinforcement being dealt with.

“Astute observation.”

“You never get shot. Your shield usually handles it and you charge away before taking another one.” she said as she kneeled down and started applying medi-gel on the wound.

“That’s because of the... nova. It depleted my shields.”

“Nova? That dome thingy?”

“Yeah. I drew too much energy from my shields and that left me defenseless.”

“That’s very risky.”

“If I had my shotgun I wouldn’t have a need to create it.”

“Wait! Created it? Just now?” Ashley asked from behind the redhead.

“Yeah.”

“Only you Rick. Only you.” Liara said, shaking her head in exasperation.

“None of you are dead in that tram, so you’re all welcome.” he said as Shepard was done with the medi-gel and put him on his feet.

“You’re good?”

“I can probably run, but another charge would be costly for my body. As for other tasks... I’ll tell you once everything stopped spinning a bit.”

Jane nodded and they went into the archives. It was a big circular room with multiple consoles in the middle where what looked like a gigantic prothean beacon stood up. She signaled Ashley and Kaidan to clear the perimeter, each going their own side, while her, Liara and Rick went to the console. TIM paid them a visit through a hologram. As the tech expert turned on his omni-tool to give the man another dose of Mordin’s singing like he did on the Collector base, he was stopped.

“There is no need for that, Wald. Measures have been taken, it won’t work.”

“Give me some time, you’ll see.”

“Time you don’t have.” turning to the commander he spoke to her. “Fascinating race, the protheans...”

“Oh, shut up! We know your speech already. You’re talking about advancement and preservation of humanity but all you want is the Reapers under your thumb to control the galaxy.” interrupted Rick.

“Humanity would be preserved by being at the top of all species!”

“You’re just a poor bastard that survived Shanxi and never had his PTSD treated, Jackie. That time is over, humanity is already at the top with other species, its legacy preserved.”

“Oh, yes, I’m well aware of your little Safeguard project, Wald. Fruitless endeavor I’m afraid, and useless.” TIM bit back. “You may know who I am but it won’t help you...”

“We’re not going to win the war if we kill each other, you could help, use Cerberus as you present it to the galaxy...”

“Jane! The data! It’s not there!” Liara exclaimed, prompting both Jane and Rick to turn around to look at her. Rick immediately went to the console and began to check.

“It’s being erased as we speak. Someone is here with us.” he announced.

At that moment they heard Ashley shout to someone to step away from a console, then noise of a short fight. Turning towards the direction of the sound they saw the traitorous brunette run as fast as she could towards the exit.

“She has the data!” Ashley yelled.

Jane and Rick began the pursuit, the latter lagging a bit behind because of his wound. The former tried to charge her, but she received an incinerate that she didn’t completely dodged, scratching her left pauldron but giving time to the Cerberus agent to get away. The chase led them to the roof of the facility but they were too late. The woman got on a Cerberus shuttle and was succeeding in her escape. Rick in a desperate move charged and collided with her inside the shuttle as its door wasn’t yet closed. A doomed action as while his shields stopped the projectiles he was shots with, they did nothing to stop the incinerate and the kick that sent him falling fifteen feet below head first. Thankfully James was there and in a brave but stupid maneuver, used the own shuttle he was piloting to take down the Cerberus’ one crashing it on the roof and making it explode. Jane signaled James to land, while Ashley and Liara went to Rick. Kaidan got closer to the destroyed shuttle when its door was sent flying and the brunette, now monochrome and made of metal, got out of the wreckage. He tried to shoot her but she was too close and hit him multiple times with her fist before finally grabbing him by the throat and repeatedly smashing his head against the burning shuttle. Kaidan’s body went limp and she released him then turning around, she ran towards Jane, probably to do the same. The redhead had enough distance and her aim was true, the multiple shots of her gun put the thing down.

Immediately, she went to check on Kaidan, while Ashley and Liara came back, from behind the wrecked shuttle, the former carrying on her shoulder an unconscious Rick as fast as she could.

“We need to hurry, his helmet is broken, he’ll suffocate!” Ashley yelled.

“Liara, take that thing in the shuttle, I’m taking Kaidan.” Jane ordered as she crouched down to pick up her teammate. “We’re getting out of here, now!” she said as the storm was almost upon them along with reapers landing on the planet.

____________________________________________________________

James pushed the shuttle as far as he could and in less than five minutes they were back on the Normandy. Thankfully for Rick, the shuttle was air tight, he wouldn't have made it otherwise. They quickly disembarked and brought the two injured to the empty med-bay. They needed to remove Rick’s helmet and Liara was in panic.

“Damn it! I can’t.. I can’t remember the sequence.”

“0-3-0-6-9-0-0-7-8-0-6-6-6-4-2-0-6-9.”

“Thank you, EDI.” the asari answered as she entered the numbers on the side of Rick’s helmet.

Hearing the locking mechanism unlocking gave her a tiny sense of relief. Delicately she removed the helmet from his head, revealing his face to anyone in the room. It was with wide eyes and confusion that Shepard shouted one single word, a name.

“JOHN?!”