《Mass Effect: Knight of the Old Republic》 Chapter 1 Lightsabers crashed together in a furious rush of slashes and stabs. Blue and red blades danced against a yellow double sided saber staff in the darkened hall of the station, the lights long destroyed by the force clashes of the two combatants. The two of them were perfect opposites. On one hand there was a tall figure in heavy red and black armour underneath a pitch black robe. The figure was completely covered from head to toe, not a hint of exposed flesh anywhere. On the other was a slight woman in a skintight leather outfit. Despite the latter being nearly completely unarmoured, her face might as well have been carved in stone for all the emotion she showed. Another contrast from the dark figure she fought, since despite their face being covered by a blood red helmet their shoulders shook with emotion. ¡°Why Bastila? After everything we promised¡­ everything we sacrificed¡­ why pick now to betray me?¡± The only answer was for the woman to launch herself forward, saber staff spinning in dizzying patterns. The dark figure thrust both hands forward, catching her in a massive tide of telekinetic energy, throwing Bastila across the room and slamming her into a wall. ¡°ANSWER ME, DAMMIT!¡± Bastila said nothing. Reaching out to the Force she ripped a console from a nearby wall and hurled it at the masked figure. The red saber in their left hand lashed out and easily cut through the flying mass of metal, but the distraction allowed Bastila to slip free of the telekinetic hold and charge again. The yellow blade was caught between red and blue and the fight ground to a halt as the two combatants struggled to overpower the other. ¡°Why?¡± the masked figure asked again. This time instead of a furious roar, it was a whisper of trembling heartbreak. ¡°The Force sent me a vision.¡± Bastila responded in an icy emotionless tone. ¡°You won¡¯t stop Revan. The Star Forge is too corruptive. At some point it stops being about stopping the Vong and becomes about subjugating the galaxy. So I¡¯ll stop you before you destroy everything we swore to protect. Just like I promised.¡± The yellow blade crept closer, burning the edges of Revan¡¯s hood. ¡°That¡¯s it¡­ a vision? I thought you left absolute trust in those behind when we turned our backs on the Order.¡± ¡°When you turned your back on the order.¡± Bastila corrected. ¡°I am, and will always be, a Jedi.¡± Bastila suddenly pulled back her attack and spun the staff forward. Caught off guard Revan failed to parry the blow and Bastila¡¯s lightsaber hissed as it cut through the lighter inner plates of armor on Revan¡¯s right leg. Revan¡¯s leg gave out from the sudden pain and the masked fighter collapsed, but before Bastila could capitalise on the opening the room was flooded with a veritable storm of lightning. Twirling her staff to block the worst of the lightning Bastila backed off for the moment when the Force blared a warning. She dove in time to avoid the broken scraps Revan had cut through earlier and now used to attack her from behind, but the ill thought out move left her completely open for another blast of Force Lightning to slam into her. The powerful attack ravaged her unprotected body causing her to scream and drop her saber staff which was quickly retrieved by Revan with a tug of the force. Instead of rushing to attack the fallen Jedi, Revan deactivated both lightsabers and returned to the clips on the armoured belt. Using the similarly deactivated staff as a crutch Revan simply looked at their fallen foe. ¡°It¡¯s over Bastila. Please just stop, I don¡¯t-¡± Whatever Revan wanted to say was interrupted as a trio of balsterbolts washed over the armored figured chest. While the bolts failed to pierce the armor, the shields that should have sprung to life remained inactive and the superheated gas caused severe burns to the flesh underneath. Revan was thrown to the ground by the impact, the saberstaff ripped from the armored gauntlet, and quickly rolled to send a disbelieving stare at the fallen Jedi. A Jedi that returned the stare with colder eyes than Revan had ever seen on another organic. The sight of those eyes caused the last hope of Revan¡¯s that this was just some cruel joke or misunderstanding to shatter. Bastila was prepared to use any means if it ensured Revan died, even resorting to blasters despite years of disdain for the ranged weapon. Bastila readjusted her aim and fired another shot. The only thing that gave Revan the will to respond was the years of fighting and training that made redirecting blaster bolts an unconscious reaction rather than a decision. A red lightsaber blazed to life with an iconic snap-hiss and reflected the bolt directly back at the weapon that fired it. Bastila bit down on a scream as the bolt destroyed the blaster and caused severe burns to her hand. Revan slowly rose from the ground, lightsaber still ignited. Bastila simply remained on the floor, eyes impassive. ¡°It¡¯s over.¡± Revan declared again, sounding almost hollow. ¡°It is.¡± Bastila agreed. ¡°You always were the better dualist, but I had to try.¡± ¡°Why?¡± ¡°It was the solution with the fewest lives lost.¡± Bastila knew that wasn¡¯t what Revan was asking but it wouldn¡¯t matter soon. She turned to look out the transparisteel window. Almost reluctantly Revan followed her gaze. From the window the two of them could see dozens of ships transitioning out of Hyperspace. ¡°Give up Revan. Without the defences activated the Star Forge is vulnerable to the capital ship turbo lasers. The fleet you were building here isn¡¯t ready for combat. Give up and I will ensure your death is swift.¡± Revan wordlessly looked out through the window as the ships slowly grew larger in the viewport. ¡°I can¡¯t. I sacrificed too much to give up now.¡± came the whispered reply. ¡°Even if the entire galaxy decides to hunt me down I will ensure it is ready for what is coming.¡± ¡°And how do you expect to escape? There are no ships here fast enough to escape that battlegroup. Struggling now is pointless.¡± ¡°No, there¡¯s one left.¡± Revan said with a bitter smile. ¡°It was going to be a surprise. The fastest ship in the galaxy¡­ I was going to name it after you.¡± Bastila said nothing. Some unknown emotion rippled in her steel grey eyes, but in a moment it was smothered and they returned to their previous emotionless state. You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version. Revan saw that Bastila wasn¡¯t going to respond, wasn¡¯t even going to look away from the viewport, and started to limp towards the door. ¡°You aren¡¯t going to finish me?¡± Bastila¡¯s question stopped Revan cold. Revan looked at the ceiling and said nothing for a few seconds. ¡°I can¡¯t. Even after all this I still think of you as a sister.¡± the masked figure said eventually. ¡°If we meet in the future that might change but for now¡­¡± Bastila still refused to look away from the window but held up her non-burned hand. ¡°That was a mistake.¡± without any hesitation she flipped open the protective cover on the detonator and pressed the button. Faint explosions could be heard all around them and the floor rippled slightly. ¡°You planted explosives on the ship?!¡± ¡°I had to be thorough. You are ¡®just that good¡¯ afterall.¡± Revan stood in silence as another explosion went off in the distance. ¡°Damn you.¡± It was quiet. Barely audible to Bastila. But underneath the denial and sorrow, was the faintest embers of true hatred. Neither one said anything else and neither one spared the other another glance even when Revan hobbled out of the room and the heavy blast doors shut behind them. Now alone, the emotional mask Bastila wore started to crack as a single tear made its way down her face. ¡°I¡¯m sorry.¡± She pleaded, the icy tone long gone replaced with her own heartbreak and desperation. ¡°I¡¯m so, so sorry. But it¡¯s the only way.¡± On the window in front of her, the image of dozens of warships glitched and sputtered and was replaced by a single ship as the false projection failed. Bastila watched silently as the ship opened up with it¡¯s main guns, green turbolasers tearing towards her. All while tears streamed down her face. -o- Revan cursed as another explosion rocked the floor, throwing the warrior headfirst into a bulkhead even as the hanger door to the unnamed prototype ship closed behind them. ¡°T1, prep for emergency launch. I want us out the door the second the engines are warm and in hyperspace at max speed the second after that.¡± She snarled at the nearby astromech droid as she ripped her helmet off and swiped at the blood dripping down her forehead and into her eye. A series of startled beeps answered her demand. ¡°I don¡¯t care if the ship hasn¡¯t had a shakedown run!¡± Revan practically screamed. ¡°If we stay here we¡¯re dead! Get it done!¡± More beeps confirmed the order and the tiny droid sped to the cockpit. Revan slowly limped in the same direction, once again falling into a bulkhead as the ship rocketed into space. Once she managed to get to the pilot¡¯s chair, Revan collapsed into the seat and started issuing orders. ¡°T1, I want all spare power to rear shields. Prep the warpdrive for an emergency jump, I don¡¯t care about the coordinates as long as it isn¡¯t here. The second it¡¯s ready, jump. Do not wait for my confirmation.¡± T1 answered affirmatively. ¡°And get me a picture of the rear cameras. I need to know how many ships split off to pursue us.¡± This time there was some confused beeping and a picture opening on the console. ¡°This can¡¯t be right¡­ T1 check for a different camera. I¡¯m only seeing one ship from this view.¡± A slightly different angle appeared and Revan starred uncomprehendingly at the single ship now peacefully drifting towards the station she had just fled from. ¡°But I¡­ there were¡­ how¡­?¡± Nothing was making sense to Revan. What happened to the other ships? She had sensed them while she was with Bastila. She knew that there were more presences appearing in the system. So how¡­? The answer presented itself like a lightning bolt. Revan leaned back into her chair and let out a mirthless laugh. ¡°She tricked me¡­¡± Bastila had somehow used Force Presence to simulate an entire battlegroup coming out of Hyperspace. If Revan had investigated just a little bit closer she probably would have seen through the illusion but as it stood Bastila had successfully scared the fake sith lord off the station with a trick. ¡°That bitch¡­ I can¡¯t believe she pulled that over on me. When I get back¡­¡± Revan¡¯s speech was interrupted by a few more beeps from the T1 droid. ¡°What?! No wait! Disengage warpdr-!¡± The unnamed prototype launched into Hyperspace at a speed never before recorded. Along with it, it took the most feared Dark Lady of the Sith the Republic had ever known. -o- In a galaxy far, far away. Jane Shepard looked into the mirror with tired emerald eyes, committing every new scar and imperfection to memory. Two years. She had died two years ago after being ambushed by an unknown alien ship while patrolling for the last hints of Geth resistance. Those aliens, the Collectors apparently, had torn her beloved ship to pieces like it was nothing. The best stealth system in the galaxy, useless before the giant ship. During the chaos, Shepard had been blown from the wreckage and out into the merciless void of space. Cold, so cold. Air hissing as it escaped from the breached suit. Lungs struggling as the vacuum sought to pull the last bit of oxygen from her body. Sight dimming as- Shepard cut those thoughts off with a splash of hot water from the sink in front of her. Shepard had died. And then she was brought back. Cerberus, a human supremacist terrorist organization Shepard had fought several times on her manhunt for the rogue Specter Saren Arcturus, had spent two years and an unknown amount of credits bringing her back to life. It had barely been two weeks since she woke up, and sometimes she wished that she hadn¡¯t. The Council, the seat of power for the entire galaxy, had dismissed her warning of the coming Reaper threat, choosing to cover the whole thing up instead. Her crew- her family -had went their own ways after the Normandy was destroyed leaving Shepard unsure how to even begin contacting them. Most of her old crew simply had no way of being contacted. Garrus had simply dropped off the face of the galaxy at some point. Wrex had gone to Tuchanka and apparently was working to unite his people. Ashley was lost somewhere in the Systems Alliance bureaucracy and Shepard doubted a sudden call from a declared dead Spectre would change that. At least she knew where Liara ended up. Thankfully her unexpected meeting with Tali on Freedom¡¯s Progress went well, even if it was far more tense than Shepard would¡¯ve liked. If Tali had rejected her¡­ Shepard knew herself well enough, at least she hoped she still knew herself well enough, to know that the Quarian she saw as a little sister rejecting her would¡¯ve snapped the last extremely worn thread of her sanity. It was only being reunited with Joker and Dr. Chackwas that had stopped Shepard from going completely off the deep end as it was. She let out a sigh and turned away from the mirror. Away from the hideous glowing scars that marred her face. At least her hair hadn¡¯t been ruined during her brief demise. If she had woken up bald instead of with her shoulder length red hair¡­ Best not tempt Murphy Shepard decided. The last thing she wanted was for some random accident to ruin one of the few reasons she felt like herself. Quickly drying herself off and slipping into her off duty fatigues Shepard made her way down to the CIC. ¡°Hello Commander,¡± Shepard¡¯s new yeoman Kelly Chambers greeted her. ¡°The Illusive Man is waiting to talk to you in the QEC.¡± ¡°Thank you, Miss Chambers. I¡¯ll be right there.¡± And there went any chance of starting today with a good mood Shepard groused to herself. She might be stuck working with Cerberus for the time being but that did not mean that she had to like it. Something she made the Illusive Man very aware of. Speaking of¡­ A blue tinted hologram sprung to life as Shepard stepped onto the QEC. As always the Illusive Man was impeccably dressed with a cigarette in his hand. Shepard was partially convinced it was a prop simply to make him seem more sophisticated. ¡°Commander Shepard.¡± T.I.M. started, ¡°we received some reports about an unidentified spaceship that crash landed on Lorek, a nearby planet in the Fathar system.¡± Shepard waited for more but it seemed TIM was waiting to hear her thoughts on the matter. ¡°Okay, and? I have bigger issues than worrying about a random ship. Does this have anything to do with the Collectors?¡± TIM took a long drag from his cigarette. ¡°We don¡¯t know. We don¡¯t have many agents in the area to confirm but what we do know is that it is a ship completely alien in design from anything else in the galaxy. What I want you to do is take your team and investigate. This might be an unexpected lead to where the Collectors are heading next.¡± Shepard was doubtful of that and crossed her arms over her chest. ¡°Or it has nothing to do with them. I still haven¡¯t had a chance to begin meeting with the specialists you sent over and now you want me poking into a shipwreck?¡± ¡°Think of it as a training exercise, Commander.¡± TIM placated. ¡°You haven¡¯t had much time to work with your current team. An investigation like this would help break the ice before you face more dangerous circumstances.¡± He was right. Damn him to every hell there was, but he was right. Shepard knew she would need to work with her team more if she wanted to get a feel for how they handled themselves in a firefight. And this would be a perfect low risk mission to ease them into it. But it would also put Shepard right back in the middle of another broken ship. She shuddered at the sudden rush of dark feelings. At the memories of the slowly approaching darkness as her sight greyed out. As the- Shepard gave her whole body a vigorous shake to push back those feelings and focus on the present. Making her way back to the CIC she took her place at the helm. ¡°Okay people, we have a new heading. Set course for Lorek.¡± ¡°Aye Aye Ma¡¯am.¡± the voice of Joker drawled from the loudspeakers. ¡°Course set. ETA of 6 hours.¡± Chapter 2 ¡°Alright everyone, we¡¯re going to hit our LZ in five. Keep your eyes open, watch your sectors, and stay alert.¡± Shepard said as the Kodiak fell through the atmosphere. ¡°We have no idea what we are heading into so no lone wolf crap.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t worry Commander, we¡¯ll get it done.¡± Jacob Taylor reassured. Miranda Lawson wasn¡¯t so optimistic. ¡°What exactly are we looking for? The Illusive Man doesn¡¯t send assets on frivolous missions. You must have something more than go ¡®investigate a wreck¡¯.¡± Shepard shrugged. ¡°I wish I could tell you otherwise but this is just an in and out investigation. The Illusive Man thinks we could use a milk run before we head out to Omega, and I agree with him.¡± Shepard had to quickly check to make sure she hadn¡¯t thrown up in her mouth. She had seen the kind of shit Cerberus got into. Agreeing with the leader of such an organization on anything was enough to make her gag. Miranda accepted her answer and returned to checking the scanners. Five minutes later the three of them fell out from the Kodiak in textbook formation. Shepard waited until both Jacob and Miranda gave the all clear. ¡°All right EDI, lock it up. We should be back in a couple hours. Miranda, Jacob, on me.¡± After a round of affirmatives the squad set off for the crash site. The wreck was surprisingly large, Shepard thought. And in much better condition than she would have assumed for something that had made a crash landing. The front of the ship was still mostly in one piece, even after tearing what must have been a mile long trench over the surface of the planet. In fact if it wasn¡¯t for the gaping hole in the rear of the ship where the engines used to be she wouldn¡¯t¡¯ve believed the ship had crashed at all. ¡°What kind of ship can skip across a planet and look okay?¡± Shepard wondered. ¡°Not anything we know of.¡± Miranda replied. ¡°The design doesn¡¯t match any ship on record and I¡¯m not reading any eezo signatures. Shepard, I don¡¯t think this ship belongs to any of the Citadel races.¡± Shepard¡¯s head snapped to her XO. ¡°Are you saying we have a potential First Contact scenario?¡± ¡°Possibly. If it is, we should pull back and inform the Illusive Man. He can send a team better equipped for studying a new species.¡± ¡°Absolutely not.¡± Shepard denied immediately. She would be damned if the first contact a new race had with the rest of the galaxy was being shipped off to a Cerberus lab and experimented on. The haunted eyes of Corporal Toombs flashed in her memory. The sick bastards had killed his entire squad at Akuze and then tortured the man by injecting Thresher Maw acid into him. All in the name of some messed up experiment. She didn¡¯t want to know what they would do to an alien if they were willing to go that far on a fellow human. ¡°We are going to sweep for survivors, give them any aid we can, and then inform the SA. They can handle First Contact.¡± Miranda gave her a cool look before accepting. ¡°Alright Shepard. It¡¯s your call.¡± ¡°Well if you want to help out any survivors we¡¯d better hurry.¡± Jacob called out, pointing towards the rear of the ship. ¡°Because they are about to get a very rude introduction if we don¡¯t find them first.¡± Shepard looked to where Jacob was pointing and cursed. Huddled around one of the holes in the hull were a group of four-eyed humanoids. Several more filed out of a nearby APC and filtered into the wreck. ¡°Batarians.¡± She hissed. One of the most morally repugnant races in the galaxy, the Batarians were the biggest supporters of slavery around. Shepard had dealt with their kind several times over her career and few of them pleasant. The most notable was during the Skyllian Blitz on Elysium when hundreds of Batarian pirates had launched a massive slave raid on the human colony. ¡°Okay, things just got a bit more urgent. Lets go, double time.¡± -o- Revan woke to the sounds of alarms wailing throughout the cockpit. With a groan she pulled herself up into a more proper sitting position than the way she had been hanging in the retaining harness. She couldn¡¯t help but wince and the burns on her chest, as well as what felt like a few broken ribs, protested at the movement. ¡°T1 status report.¡± She slurred. There was no reply. A quick look around the rest of the cockpit showed that Revan was all alone at the moment. ¡°Never any help when you need it.¡± Revan muttered out loud before checking a console in front of her. Thankfully it still had power. Reaching out Revan flicked the switch for the shipwide intercom. ¡°T1 you there? What''s the status of the ship?¡± Instead of the electronic beeps and whistles she expected, a harsh guttural language barked out of the speakers. More concerning was Revan had no idea what any of it meant. Either her translator had broken or she had landed on a planet outside of known space. Likely the latter since the aliens on the security cameras didn¡¯t look like any race she had seen before and Revan wasn¡¯t about to gamble on the locals being friendly. Not with the amount of blasters they were carrying with them. ¡°Welp, better go meet the new neighbors. Hopefully I can talk my way out of this mess.¡± Revan was always up for a fight, but even she would admit jumping straight to violence when she was stranded on an unknown world hurt and alone was not the best choice. Reaching out to the Force to block the worst of the pain Revan picked up her discarded helmet from where it had been dislodged during the crash. She turned the hemet over in her hands, running her thumb over the various scratch marks covering the surface of the red and grey piece of armor. Part of her was tempted to leave it behind. This mask had become the symbol of her burgeoning empire. A symbol of terror across the galaxy. What hope did she have of resolving this peacefully if it was recognised? But would these new aliens listen to a lone woman otherwise? The weapons clearly showed they were expecting a fight. In the end, practicality won out. Symbol or not, the helmet had life support systems and filters that she might need. She could always take the time to convince the locals to help her later, and it would be easier if she wasn¡¯t sick because of some toxin in the air. Revan slipped the iconic helmet over her head and walked out the door. She didn¡¯t have to go far before she ran into the first group of aliens. ¡°Hello there. It seems my ship had a bit of trouble landing. Any chance you could point me towards a good mechanic?¡± Revan was quite proud of herself for managing to sound so polite. Unfortunately from the glances between the aliens they hadn¡¯t understood her at all. ¡°#$% $%^& #@$&%$.¡± the one in the lead barked out while pointing his blaster at her. The hostile stance pretty much confirmed how this encounter was going to go, but Revan gave it one last shot. ¡°Look I can¡¯t understand you. Either speak basic or try another language. Because the one you''re using isn¡¯t working for either of us.¡± This time the three other aliens pointed their blasters at her. Revan let out a disappointed huff. ¡°Fine, be that way.¡± The Force blared a warning as the lead alien fired off a shot, but Revan was already moving. One of her lightsabers leapt into her hand and ignited into a brilliant crimson blade with a snap-hiss. Revan twirled the blade into the path of the alien¡¯s shot and was mildly surprised when it was disintegrated rather than reflected. Projectile weapons? Did they know they would be fighting a force user? Revan pushed those thoughts aside for the moment and focused on the fight. The other aliens jumped in surprise at the sudden appearance of her lightsaber and unloaded their own weapons at her. The red blade sang as it weaved a protective wall of flashing light in front of her. Still, there were four slug throwers and Revan was forced to use a single saber and was injured. Despite the masterful defence, she was forced to focus on the shots that targeted vital areas and the breaches in her armor. Every once in a while a shot would make it through her defense and hit the metal plates of her armor. If the integrated shield was working, Revan would¡¯ve dismissed these shots entirely but Bastila¡¯s sabotage ensured that the slug¡¯s full impact was felt. Revan¡¯s leg and chest screamed in protest as the supersonic rounds aggravated barely healed wounds and after a lucky shot slammed into her helmet, her head buzzed with static. Eventually the four aliens were forced to stop firing when their weapons ejected a cylindrical object with a burst of steam. The four of them stared at Revan in disbelief that not only had she survived the stream of gunfire, but she was also nearly untouched. ¡°You done?¡± Revan snarled. The aliens flinched at the simple question and quickly tried to replace the cylindrical thing from their guns with another. Revan wasn¡¯t going to allow that. Her hand came forward and sparks jumped between her fingers. ¡°My turn.¡± Thick bands of lightning flooded the cramped corridor and washed over the four aliens. They could only scream in agony as the powerful bands of electricity fried them from the inside out. Revan only halted the deadly tide of energy when the last of them fell silent. ¡°Dammit, I should¡¯ve saved one. Their electronics are toast.¡± Revan lamented. Getting her hands on a working radio would¡¯ve given her a much better idea where she was and slowly made her way past the charred bodies before bumping into a wall and nearly falling over. The author''s narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. ¡°And to top it all off I have a concussion. This day just gets better and better.¡± Revan complained wearily. It was a good thing she was as good with Force Reinforcement as she was or she might¡¯ve collapsed. Instead new power bolstered her tired limbs and soothed the aches of her many injuries. Just in time for another six of the hostile aliens to turn the corner. Revan had just enough time to duck behind a structural brace as the six opened fire with more slug throwers. ¡°You know this didn¡¯t work for your friends, what makes you think it will work for you?¡± Revan called and was answered with another burst of gunfire. ¡°Freaking rude¡­¡± Rounding the corner, Revan hurled her still ignited lightsaber down the hall. The gunfire quickly turned to screams as the ruby blade sliced through guns, armor, and limbs like it was nothing. A small pull of the Force returned the lightsaber to her hand. Approaching the dismembered remains of the aliens, Revan got her first good look at the aliens attacking her. Green skin wasn¡¯t anything new to her. In fact it was so commonplace Revan barely gave it any acknowledgement after her first glance. An alien with four eyes was somewhat more novel, however. Between that, the ugly multi ridged nose, the tubelike jowls, and the mouth filled with sharp needle like teeth Revan was confident in saying she had never heard of a species like this anywhere in the galaxy. That, and she probably wouldn¡¯t like what would happen to her if she was captured. Nice, peaceful races tended to not have teeth like Adegan eels. Revan quickly dug through the equipment the aliens had carried looking for anything useful. She found several more of those cylindrical objects, ammo canisters probably, but elected not to take any with her. She could play with alien guns when she had made sure they were all dead. She also found several grenades she left behind for similar reasons. Blowing herself up by accident was not how a Dark Lady did things. She also noticed there was some kind of computer attached to the left forearm of several of the aliens, but a quick experiment showed that the terminals were either password or DNA locked to their user. Revan couldn¡¯t get the things to turn on. She had mildly better luck with a communicator that she pulled from the ear of one of the aliens. As in it worked based on the screaming she could hear coming from the tiny microphone. Revan gave the communicator a quick once over and decided it was a simple audio receiver and transmitter. She wasn¡¯t going to find a translator among this group it seemed. Perhaps the next would have something worthwhile? Revan paused. Actually, how many aliens were on her ship? Revan hoped not too many more. She had already killed ten of them, but she was nearing the end of her endurance. Who would have guessed dueling a master Jedi, crashing a ship from orbit, and fighting through nearly a dozen aliens would be so exhausting? She chuckled at her private joke, but only because lingering on that first point was enough to make her cry. ¡°Enough stalling Revan, you have a job to do.¡± She whispered to herself and set off again. Soon enough she was able to see the reason her prototype had crashed in the first place. The powerful hyperdrive engines had managed to tear themselves from the ship entirely, opening the whole thing to the world outside. Hatches and security doors were useless when there was a giant hole in the wall. I just hope T1 wasn¡¯t back there when the engines blew. Revan thought. He wasn¡¯t the best droid I¡¯ve worked with but it would be nice to not be completely on my own. A slug pinged off a nearby handrail and more shouting came from below. Revan saw another group of five aliens directly below her rushing to cover and taking a few potshots at her. A lazy twirl of her wrist and her lightsaber annihilated the few slugs close enough to hit her. ¡°Let¡¯s see if you can do better than the last group.¡± With that, Revan jumped from the deck to the one below and landed in the middle of the aliens. She had hoped landing in the middle of them would discourage them firing indiscriminately, but the aliens seemed to be gambling on bringing her down before their friendly fire overwhelmed their shields. Revan charged one alien and swiftly cut him diagonally in half before turning and pulling another towards her. The alien flailed wildly in the air until Revan positioned it in front of her and used it as a meatshield. The alien¡¯s shields were quickly depleted under the assault from three automatic weapons. It died soon after when they finally broke. Revan noticed one of them pause their attack to reload and tossed the corpse of it¡¯s companion at it. The other two redoubled their attack, spraying a hail of slugs towards Revan. Not that it did much. Between her lightsaber and her armor Revan was able to shrug off the last few seconds of their barrage. The two upright aliens ran out of ammo at nearly the same time. Their guns venting steam. Revan took advantage of the sudden lull to stab the fallen alien through the body of it¡¯s friend. The final two alive gave a cry of rage at the death of another member of their group. The bigger of the two was fumbling with another ammo canister so Revan focused on it¡¯s smaller friend. It had just managed to reload it¡¯s weapon when she removed it¡¯s head with a swing of her saber. The final alien apparently had given up on reloading and charged her. Revan was about to dismiss him just as easily as his friend when the Force screamed a warning. Revan felt the world slow down around her as she looked over her charging foe with the experience of the victor of thousands of fights. It was only when she saw the silver device in it¡¯s hand that she realised it was different from the ammo canisters she had seen. It was a grenade! Despite the agony in her left arm, Revan thrust out her hand. The power of the desperate Force Push nearly tore the unfortunate alien to pieces and flung it back the way it came. Unfortunately for Revan, this also set off the high explosive grenade in its hand. The blast was far enough away that her armor absorbed the worst of it, but it still picked her up off the ground and threw her across the room. ¡°I hope that was the last of them. I¡¯m getting tired of getting thrown into walls.¡± The Dark Lord muttered as she stood and distantly realised the tattered remains of her robe were on fire. She absently patted the flames out and realised the only reason she hadn¡¯t cut her own arm off was because her lightsaber had automatically retracted when she released it sometime after being exploded. Revan knew she was dangerously close to overdrawing her powers, as she infused her entire body with the healing power of the Force once more, but as her mind cleared (and her vision stubbornly remained blurry) she realised she was going to be forced to recover for days once she stopped moving. So if she wanted to live through this then she needed to make sure she was in a safe place to heal. ¡°Now if only more of them would stop coming!¡± Revan cursed as she noticed three more blurry figures on the other side of the room. -o- Seemingly a lifetime ago Shepard¡¯s N school instructors had worked hard to drive one thing into her skull. Moving fast means objectives get done, enemies get put down, and your squad stays alive. Moving hastily means missions get sloppy, the bad guys win, and your squad is dead. Watching as over a dozen heavily armed Batarians stormed the wreck in hopes of enslaving the likely injured crew made Shepard want to push that line between fast and hasty. She wanted to charge forward, biotics blazing, if only to draw the slavers away from the no doubt scared aliens on the ship, but years of training and discipline held her in check. ¡°How many went in the wreck?¡± She asked ¡°By my count, maybe a dozen? Might be more that got here before us.¡± Jacob replied. ¡°And we have a bunch of them still outside.¡± ¡°Fourteen still by the breach.¡± Miranda said and turned to Shepard. ¡°Commander, I understand not wanting to leave anyone for the Batarians, but can we afford the risk? You¡¯re the only one who can stop the Collectors. If we...¡± ¡°I hear you Miranda.¡± Shepard cut her off. ¡°But I don¡¯t leave innocents behind.¡± she smiled. ¡°And since you work for me now, that means you don¡¯t either.¡± Miranda gave a small start, but returned the smile. The three of them were soon crouched right outside the rest of the Batarian group. The Batarians had not been expecting anyone other than themselves and the crew of the ship so the ones outside were relaxed and lazy. Just how Shepard liked them. ¡°How do you want to play it, Commander?¡± ¡°Jacob, you and me Lift the ones at the edges. Whichever has the biggest gun. I¡¯ll take right, you go left. Miranda, Slam the ones in the middle. While they are disoriented, sweep through and put ¡®em down.¡± ¡°Showing the Batarians how to do a proper blitz Commander?¡± Jacob laughed. ¡°I can dig it.¡± ¡°On my mark. 3. 2. 1. Mark!¡± Despite the short amount of time working together, the three members of the ground team moved like a well oiled machine. The first group of Batarians barely had time to scream before a storm of ME rounds and biotics killed them all. Shepard was privately impressed. These two were certainly better than the normal Cerberus flunkies she dealt with. ¡°Great job team. They didn¡¯t know what hit ¡®em.¡± she complimented. ¡°Let¡¯s go take care of the ones inside.¡± The three humans rushed into the breach and started working towards the front of the ship. The Batarians likely had rushed to take key points along the ship. Most of the doors remained closed and only a few looked like they had been forced open. ¡°No signs of a fight or even any of the crew.¡± Miranda observed. ¡°Did they know the Batarians were hostile and locked the doors hoping they would be rescued?¡± ¡°They might have gathered at the front of the ship.¡± Jacob suggested. ¡°With the engines ripped out it is likely the most secure place left.¡± Shepard shushed the two of them with a quick wave. ¡°We can only guess for now, but heads in the game. We have more Batarians up ahead.¡± True to her word, a group of five more Batarians were visible in the room ahead. When the four-eyed aliens rushed to cover Shepard thought they had been spotted and prepared to order Jacob and Miranda to find some cover of their own. When the Batarians started shooting and none of the rounds were coming down the hall, she had a different revelation. ¡°The Batarians are fighting the crew up ahead! Move up and support!¡± The humans rushed to the doorway ready to suppress the Batarians, but when they saw the fight in front of them they could only stare in disbelief. A two meter tall armored figure in a black robe stood in the middle of the room using the corpse of a Batarian as a bullet sponge. With little apparent effort the unknown humanoid tossed the body at one of the three surviving enemies and casually blocked gunfire with some kind of red energy sword. She was so stunned she barely saw the figure move when it beheaded a Batarian after stabbing the fallen one. She was confident however that the last Batarian was not going to last much longer so she quickly addressed her team. ¡°Okay, so this is less than ideal but we are going to try and do this peacefully. We don¡¯t shoot first and we limit biotics to lift fields. Miranda, I want you-¡± Shepard was cut off by the sound of high explosives and the sight of the figure slamming into a wall. ¡°Oh shit,¡± she cursed. ¡°Jacob, watch for more Batarians. Miranda, grab some medigel.¡± ¡°Uh, Commander? I don¡¯t think we need to.¡± This was not the time for any hidden Cerberus racism to surface. ¡°And why¡¯s that?¡± Shepard asked, a promise of punishment in her eyes if Jacob didn¡¯t have a good reason. Luckily for him, he did. ¡°Um¡­ well, just look.¡± All three of them watched in stunned silence as the alien that had just tanked a HE grenade to the face stood up like nothing was wrong, nonchalantly patted out the flames smoldering on its robe, muttered something, and turned to face them. Okay¡­ the alien was tough enough to cut its way through a squad of heavily armed Batarians and take a grenade with minor injuries. Shepard hoped they didn¡¯t have to fight. But that hope was sunk when the alien¡¯s red sword blazed to life. ¡°Hold on a second!¡± Shepard spread her arms to the side, making sure the alien could see she wasn¡¯t pointing her gun anywhere close to it. ¡°We aren¡¯t with them. We just want to talk.¡± ¡°Espechs tnow aves uoy romf em.¡± Fantastic, whatever language the alien spoke wasn¡¯t recorded in the database the Citadel used for their translators. It was expected but still frustrating. ¡°Okay, I didn¡¯t get a word of that. But let''s just put the scary glowing sword away and-¡± The only thing that saved Shepard from getting bisected were the new reflexes granted by her Cerberus implants. By instinct she ducked under the glowing weapon and reflexively blasted the alien with the strongest biotic Throw she could. The alien was once again thrown into one of the walls. It let out a small cry of pain and held its side, before it focused back on Shepard with a laser-like focus. ¡°Jedi...¡± it hissed and Shepard could practically feel the hatred dripping from the word. ¡°I think you made it mad, Shepard.¡± ¡°Not the time Miranda.¡± Shepard dove out of the way as the alien charged again. This time she rounded on the alien and prepared to fire into its side with her Katana shotgun. They might not actually be enemies but she wasn¡¯t going to get herself killed trying to reason with it if it didn¡¯t want to listen. A soon as the gun lined up she pulled the trigger. When the gun didn¡¯t fire Shepard realised that while she had dodged the energy blade just fine, the upper half of her weapon had been sheared off leaving behind a worthless lump of metal with the edges of the missing section glowing orange. Son of a bitch! She liked that shotgun! She ducked under a decapitating strike and despite common sense screaming at her to put distance between her and the sword that cut through hardened metal like rice paper, tackled the armored alien. Lucky for her that the alien was not as uninjured as it appeared and howled in pain when she smacked into its ribs. A biotically infused punch to the forearm forced it to drop its weapon. Shepard smiled in savage delight at the turn of events. Something that changed quickly when the alien¡¯s elbow smashed into her nose. ¡°Gah! Bitch!¡± Shepard and the alien descended into a no-holds barred fistfight. Both fighters pulled every dirty trick they could think of while Jacob and Miranda looked on, waiting for an opportunity to assist without endangering their commanding officer. The brawl continued for over a minute before Shepard made a major mistake. A sloppy punch to the alien¡¯s helmet was countered with a brutal right cross and Shepard¡¯s world went white as her already abused nose broke. Shepard stumbled backwards trying to disengage and cursed as she slipped on a puddle of Batarian blood. Shepard panicked when she heard the snap-hiss of the alien¡¯s weapon activate. Her sight cleared up just in time to look into the red and grey mask of the alien as it held a blue colored energy blade high overhead, ready to plunge it into her vulnerable form. Luckily for the Commander, she didn¡¯t fight alone. Before the blade could descend, the alien glowed in a corona of biotic energy. It quickly levitated a few feet off the ground before it was slammed into the ground at high speed. Jacob quickly pulled Shepard to her feet and pressed a pistol into her hand as the three of them surrounded the fallen alien watching for any sign of movement. When it didn¡¯t move again Shepard slowly approached it, kicking the deactivated energy sword further away just in case the alien was faking. ¡°You alright, Commander?¡± Jacob asked, gun still trained on the alien. ¡°Pweachy. I fink by noebs bwoken doe.¡± Shepard replied nasally. ¡°Well I don¡¯t think we killed it. What should we do next?¡± Shepard deftly inserted some medigel into her nasal cavities, breathing a sigh of relief when the painkilling properties kicked in. ¡°Check dis one, an¡¯ make sure itz still alibve. Den sweep da¡¯ ship for ¡®ny surbibors.¡± Her squadmates nodded and Shepard knelt down and started feeling around the alien¡¯s neck for a way to release its helmet. She quickly found two releases and removed the helmet, allowing the humans to get a look at the alien that they were hoping to rescue. The face was shockingly human. In fact, between the fair skin, red blood, and shockingly golden blonde hair the alien looked exactly like a human female. The only feature betraying the alien¡¯s origin were the long pointed ears on the side of her head. There was only one thing Shepard could say to that. ¡°Did I j¡¯st get my ass handed to be by a f¡¯eckin space elf?!¡± Chapter 3 Revan woke up stripped of her armor and tied to a table. It wasn¡¯t the first time and years of training stopped her from making any noticeable movements. The brief spike in her breathing was quickly lowered to what was normal for someone asleep. When nothing happened Revan opened herself up to the Force and cast out her senses. She was on a ship. She could sense around thirty other sentients around her but other than them there was just the void of space. Most of the signatures were above her, several more below, and only a couple more at her level. At the risk of alerting someone she was awake, Revan cracked an eye and quickly glanced at her surroundings. The first thing was her bindings. Thick leather loops secured her wrists and ankles. There were no locks visible, so escaping probably wouldn¡¯t be that difficult. Did they not know who she was? Perhaps they simply thought she wouldn¡¯t be in any shape to escape considering it looked like she was in some kind of medical bay. One different than any ship she had seen before considering the lack of any bacta tanks. Or maybe this was a secondary medical bay and they were only going to lightly treat her wounds. Revan noticed her ribs had been seen to and that there were bandages on several cuts and wounds. None of her injuries would affect her combat ability however. Just so long as she didn¡¯t take any hard hits to her ribcage. The room was occupied however. A human woman, hair grey from age, was sitting at a desk near one of the two doors. She was facing away from Revan and didn¡¯t seem to notice that Revan had woken up. Revan closed her eyes and ran over her options. She could continue to pretend to be unconscious. Collect as much information as she could before attempting to escape. She could also tear her way free and kill everyone on the ship. She was sure the Jedi she ran into earlier wouldn¡¯t be too hard to handle now that she was more rested. Revan thought about it and dismissed both ideas. She had no idea where this ship was taking her. The worst case scenario was they were taking her to the Republic, but without more information she would be completely lost. She also wasn¡¯t about to start a bloodbath on an unknown style of ship. She had come across several models where a minimum number of crew where required for it to function and a slow death in space because she had killed everyone was not appealing. More information was needed. And fortunately for her there was an unsuspecting source right in front of her. Revan reached out to the Force and quickly undid the leather bindings. She rose from the table she was on and stalked towards the human with a predatory grace. She made absolutely no sound so the first hint the human had that her patient was awake was when Revan¡¯s hands wrapped around her throat and mouth, stifling a surprised yelp. Moving with quick precise steps, Revan dragged her captive away from the desk and the polarised window looking into the rest of the ship. She pressed the elderly human firmly into a wall away from anything she could use as a weapon and looked into her eyes. The human¡¯s eyes were wide and she was clearly afraid but she was also not blindly terrified of the Sith Lord who had her by the throat. ¡°I¡¯m going to move my hand.¡± Revan said in Basic. ¡°If you scream or try to raise an alarm I will kill you. If you answer my questions I will let you live. Do you understand?¡± The human furrowed her brow uncomprehendingly and Revan could feel her confusion in the Force. Did this woman not speak Basic? Odd¡­ nearly every human population center learned it during primary education. Revan repeated herself several times with a number of Trade languages she had picked up trying to find a way to communicate. To her increasing frustration the human didn¡¯t seem to recognize a single one, although Revan could feel her fear receding the more Revan tried. In fact it was slowly being replaced with curiosity. Well at least one of them found this interesting. Revan sighed as she realized she was wasting too much time. Force knew how long it would be until someone would notice that their captive was awake and not quite a captive anymore. She removed her hand from the woman¡¯s mouth, squeezing her neck gently when the woman opened it to talk, and pressed their foreheads together. The woman¡¯s fear picked up again at the unknown action but Revan ignored it and drew on the Force again before reaching out and diving into the woman¡¯s mind. Telepathy was not something Revan was particularly skilled at, but learning languages was actually very easy with practice. As long as the target didn¡¯t have special mental defences there was no way for any species, at least none Revan had encountered, to guard against it. Several minutes later Revan had absorbed enough of the language to at least speak fluently. ¡°Now let¡¯s try this again.¡± The woman¡¯s eyes went wide at Revan¡¯s sudden use of her language. Her fear spiked and Revan had to lightly choke her again to stop her from speaking out. ¡°Do not try to raise the alarm. I won¡¯t hurt you, but you will need to answer a few questions. Understand?¡± The human nodded. ¡°What is your name?¡± ¡°Dr. Karin Chakwas, I¡¯m th-¡± Revan cut her off by squeezing her neck again. ¡°Just answer the question. I don¡¯t need extra information. Where are we?¡± ¡°On the SR-2 Normandy.¡± Revan waited but the woman had decided to comply with the letter of her request rather than the spirit. She was impressed, most sentients couldn¡¯t help but babble when being threatened. ¡°And where in space are we?¡± ¡°The Fathar system, in the Omega Nebula.¡± Revan¡­ had never heard of that system. ¡°Is that in Republic space?¡± ¡°It isn¡¯t.¡± That made Revan relax a bit. If she wasn¡¯t already in Republic space that meant she had a little more time to decide how to escape. She would likely have an easier time rejoining her forces too. ¡°Do your escape pods have a hyperdrive installed?¡± ¡°A what?¡± Revan froze. Surely she hadn¡¯t landed in one of those super primitive sectors of space. What little she could see of the ship made it seem like they were at least somewhat technologically advanced. If they cracked artificial gravity then obviously they managed FTL, right? ¡°A hyperdrive...you know, an FTL drive?¡± Revan said slowly. ¡°You do have those right?¡± Chakwas nodded. Well at least Revan wasn¡¯t completely screwed. ¡°Oh good. How far away are we from Republic space then?¡± ¡°We¡¯re in the Terminus Systems...trying to reach the Asari Republic with only a lifeboat would take you years! Even with a Mass Relay!¡± Chakwas said in disbelief. Asari Republic? Mass Relay? Revan was starting to think she might be a bit farther from home than she initially thought. She opened her mouth to ask another question but one of the medbay doors burst open and three figures with guns pointed in her direction rushed in. Revan quickly put the doctor between her and the newcomers. ¡°Freeze, Elf! Let her go!¡± -o- A couple hours after the ground team returned to the Normandy, Shepard called Miranda into the conference room to discuss what happened on their latest mission. Perhaps unsurprisingly she was not thrilled to have needed to respond to a crashed ship so soon after the events of the first Normandy, soon to her at any rate, and getting beaten up by the person they were trying to rescue hadn¡¯t improved her mood. Very tellingly not even Joker had joked about the double black eye she was sporting. ¡°Do we have any idea where our Elven Space Princess came from? Or why she was alone on a ship all the way out here?¡± At least Shepard hoped that she was alone. They had searched all the rooms they could and had EDI scan the surrounding area for lifesigns but had found nothing. Either their new guest had been alone from the start...or they had been spaced when the engines had torn themselves free. This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it ¡°Sorry Shepard, I checked every language database Cerberus has access to but I can¡¯t find any matches for the text we found.¡± Miranda reluctantly admitted. Shepard had only known the woman for a short time but she could tell ¡®failure¡¯ wasn¡¯t something Miranda really accepted. But without more information or a whole lot of time they wouldn¡¯t be able to translate anything. ¡°Well that sucks but if this really was first contact it¡¯s kinda expected. Thanks for checking anyway Miranda. EDI, do we have any clues on what she called me? Jeedai or something like that?¡± The holo-emitter on the conference table activated to display EDI¡¯s avatar, a simple blue pawn like figure. ¡°Yes Commander. I have found several references to Jedi in historical databases. I have forwarded a summary to your omnitool.¡± EDI actually found something? That was great! Maybe it would give them an idea of where the Elf had come from. She couldn¡¯t divert from her mission to investigate the Collectors but she could bend her flight path a bit if it was close enough or call in a favor from Admiral Hackett if she needed to. Shepard and Miranda both dove into the files EDI collected, eager to learn about their new guest. After the first five minutes they both looked up at each other in confusion. ¡°Err...EDI. These are movie reviews.¡± ¡°Correct. The term Jedi comes from the ¡®Star Wars¡¯ movie franchise that began in 1977 CE and consisted of four films, largely being forgotten after the unpopularity of the last film. It described a nearly completely destroyed order of warriors that wielded telekinetic powers along with an energy sword known as a ¡®lightsaber¡¯.¡± Shepard felt a headache coming on. ¡°So our alien somehow has a weapon exactly like something out of an old movie and thinks I¡¯m a Jedi because I have biotics? How does an entirely new species even get a hold of a two hundred year old movie series?¡± ¡°Unknown.¡± ¡°I think we can consider the similarity a coincidence.¡± Miranda commented. ¡°Until we can translate the language we simply have no clue what that word means.¡± Which meant waiting for their patient to wake up and learning their language enough to build a translation matrix. It was times like these that Shepard really missed Liara. She would¡¯ve loved the chance to meet a new race and learn about their history. The ability for Asari to meld with and learn from other species would also have been a massive help. ¡°Okay, no use beating ourselves up over something we can¡¯t solve. EDI let me know if our guest wakes up-¡± ¡°The patient is awake, Commander.¡± Oh, well that was convenient. ¡°Great! Let¡¯s go introduce ourselves Miranda.¡± ¡°The patient has escaped and taken Dr. Chakwas hostage.¡± EDI cut in. Shepard froze on her way to the door. What? ¡°Should I sound an alarm?¡± Shepard quickly pushed down her raging emotions. One of her two only friends on this ship might be in danger right now but rushing in and getting her killed wouldn¡¯t help anyone. ¡°Is she hurt?¡± ¡°No Commander. The patient is trying to establish communication. Dr. Chakwas has not been harmed.¡± Shepard could work with that. And as long as it stayed that way she wouldn¡¯t throw the Elf out the airlock. She turned back to XO and started giving orders. ¡°Miranda, get Jacob and a few weapons. Meet by the elevator. Don¡¯t bother suiting up, there''s no time.¡± her XO nodded and sprinted out of the room. ¡°EDI, keep watching the medbay. I want to know the second the situation changes. And get me Joker on the comms.¡± ¡°Hey Commander, what¡¯s-¡± ¡°Shut it Joker, we have a situation. Our Elf woke up and is holding Chakwas hostage.¡± ¡°Oh shit, usually we don¡¯t run into trouble until after you get off the ship. What do you need from me Commander?¡± ¡°I¡¯m taking Jacob and Miranda to contain the situation. I want you ready to cut the gravity mass effect fields in the crew¡¯s quarters on my signal.¡± ¡°Uh, yeah...yeah I can do that. Have fun with the Space Elf.¡± Miranda and Jacob met her by the elevator in seconds. Miranda was still explaining the situation to him when the doors closed and he handed her a factory fresh M-23 Katana. Shepard scowled at the ¡®new gun¡¯ feeling. There hadn¡¯t been enough time to start modifying a replacement for the one destroyed on Lorek. Hopefully she wouldn¡¯t need it. ¡°Stack up, EDI open the doors on my mark. I don¡¯t want us shooting first but we aren¡¯t going to bend over either. Copy?¡± ¡°¡±Copy, Commander.¡±¡± ¡°3, 2, 1, mark!¡± The doors opened, the three of them stormed in. ¡°Freeze, Elf! Let her go!¡± Shepard barked in what many of her squad liked to call her ¡®commander voice¡¯. Of course she also mentaly kicked herself when she saw the Elf slip behind Chakwas with her hand still around her throat. Demands like that only worked if the person you were ordering actually knew your language. ¡°Alright you incredible pain in my ass, we¡¯re all friends here.¡± Shepard said soothingly. The words didn¡¯t count as much as the tone, right? ¡°Step away from the doctor and I will only punch you once for the trouble you keep causing.¡± ¡°That¡¯s a pretty nice offer,¡± the Elf said in perfect english, shocking Shepard and the two Cerberus officers, ¡°but I¡¯ll have to decline.¡± ¡°You speak english now?¡± ¡°I do.¡± ¡°Okay great, that''s better than I was hoping for.¡± Shepard was expecting to have to use charades to get her point across. The Systems Alliance had to do it enough with ex-slaves that she was familiar with how to express herself, but talking would prevent mistakes. ¡°Let¡¯s start with introductions¡­¡± ¡°I have nothing to say to you, Jedi. I¡¯m sick of dealing with your kind.¡± Oh great, Jedi is actually a title in her language. Shepard really was hoping it wasn¡¯t the same thing as the movies. Trying to convince her that Jedi only existed in an old entertainment film weren¡¯t real didn¡¯t sound like a conversation to have during a hostage situation. ¡°Can I at least get your name? I don¡¯t want to keep calling you ¡®space elf¡¯ and by the way, I¡¯m not a Jedi.¡± The elf looked searchingly at Shepard, like she didn¡¯t believe what she was saying. ¡°Do you...not know who I am?¡± She sounded skeptical. Shepard rolled her eyes. She wouldn¡¯t be asking for a name if she knew who she was. ¡°Your ship crashed in one of the more lawless zones of the galaxy. We have no record of anyone meeting your species before. The only close matches are fantasy books and movies. And Jedi aren¡¯t a real thing just so you know. Whatever video you watched was a fiction film made by humans a few hundred years ago.¡± The elf was looking at Shepard like she was crazy. ¡°What are you talking about? The Jedi have been a prominent figure in the galaxy for thousands of years.¡± Shepard¡¯s headache increased. It seems like today was determined to be one of those days. -o- It took a few more minutes, but eventually Shepard convinced their guest to release Dr Chakwas and follow her to the conference room after promising she would get to see a galaxy map as soon as possible and extracting another that the elf would not try to escape, attack the crew, or damage the Normandy. Shepard made it clear if the elf broke her word she wouldn¡¯t hesitate to shoot her. To her frustration the elf seemed more annoyed at the thought she was untrustworthy rather than worried about three armed humans surrounding her. Although when the elf immediately asked if the map in the CIC was real and started looking at completely empty sections like she expected something to be there Shepard felt a tinge of worry. Unless their guest was trolling them for some unknown reasons, the slight concern on her face when she pulled up blank after blank had...unsettling implications. ¡°Now that that¡¯s out of the way,¡± Shepard started when all of them had taken a seat. Really uncomfortable seats actually, it was hardly a surprise she would rather stand usually. Miranda and the elf seemed unaffected, but Jacob decided to stand near the door under the pretext of ¡®guarding¡¯ rather than subject himself to a chair. ¡°Why don¡¯t we try introductions again. I¡¯m Commander Jane Shepard, Systems Alliance. Council Spectre and currently investigating the disappearance of several Human colonies in the Terminus System.¡± The elf huffed. ¡°Might as well. I have several titles, most I won¡¯t bore you with, I¡¯ve been known as Supreme Commander of the Revanchist, Slayer of Mandalore the Ultimate, and Darth Revan, Dark Lady of the Sith.¡± at the humans nonplussed stares, she shrugged. ¡°See, I can list off a bunch of things that have no context too.¡± Shepard fought down the urge to punch the annoyance. ¡°Fair enough. How about I call you Darth and you can call me Jane...or Shepard I guess, everyone else does.¡± ¡°Ah, Darth is actually another title. I don¡¯t actually have a family name.¡± the elf corrected. ¡±You can call me Revan.¡± Shepard nodded. ¡°Thank you, Revan. Now then for the biggest questions on our minds, how did you end up in Lorek? Where did you come from? None of the tech we inspected had any similarities with any race we know about and we found no traces of eezo anywhere.¡± ¡°Hmm, I guess I could answer some questions. Provided you do the same first. I¡¯m not entirely sure how much to trust you with.¡± Revan proposed to which Shepard agreed as long as it wasn¡¯t about classified information. So Miranda and Shepard took turns answering Revan¡¯s questions and explaining the broad strokes of the galactic community. They glossed over things like the Citadel, the council, the Protheans, and most of the other races since there was far too much to go over in any detail and stuck to events over the past couple years and how humanity had participated in those events. Shepard tried to ensure that everything was presented fairly and none of Cerberus¡¯s human supremacy bullshit muddied the facts. ¡°That''s a lot to take in.¡± Revan said a couple hours later. ¡°I¡¯ll have someone get you a datapad with access to more historical files and cultural briefs. You can look into it more if you want.¡± Shepard offered. ¡°Thank you, I¡¯d like that. Now I suppose it''s my turn?¡± ¡°If you wouldn¡¯t mind.¡± Miranda sniped from across the table. ¡°Very well, what should I answer first?¡± ¡°You¡¯re from another galaxy aren¡¯t you?¡± Shepard asked before Miranda could say anything, stunning everyone in the room. ¡°I- whuh?¡± ¡°Shepard, that''s just not possible.¡± ¡°I feel like I¡¯m missing something.¡± Shepard smiled at the expression Revan was making. Miranda seemed skeptical and poor Jacob was completely lost. It was always fun when she managed to wrong-foot someone who had such control over their expressions. ¡°And how did you come to that conclusion, Commander?¡± Revan asked slowly. ¡°It was pretty easy actually.¡± Shepard gloated. ¡°You kept looking for systems on the galaxy map and looking confused when there was nothing there. Once or twice might have made sense if you were looking in one sector trying to obscure what you were looking for, but you looked all over the galaxy and there is no way we wouldn¡¯t know about your people if they had explored that far.¡± ¡°We could have just kept to ourselves.¡± Revan objected. ¡°From what you told me of the Collectors they do something similar.¡± ¡°Ah, but we at least have heard of them and they use Mass Relays. You didn¡¯t know the term until we told you.¡± Revan stared at Shepard for a bit as if trying to decide what to say. Shepard wondered if the elven humanoid would try to lie her way out of this. It¡¯s not like she had any hard evidence. And I know better than anyone sometimes even then no one cares about the truth. She thought bitterly. Afterall the Council still refused to believe in the Reaper threat after having one killed on their doorstep. ¡°It seems you¡¯re smarter than I gave you credit for, Jane Shepard.¡± Revan said eventually as a backhanded compliment. ¡°I¡¯m still not entirely sure what happened, but I made a blind hyperspace jump using an experimental drive engine. And unless you are pulling the most convincing con in history I am a very long way from home.¡± ¡°You used unproven technology with no destination?¡± Miranda asked. ¡°I was desperate.¡± Revan admitted. ¡°I had just been ambushed and thought a fleet was coming to destroy the station I was on. When it turned out it was a trick my astromech had already started the jump.¡± ¡°What¡¯s an astromech?¡± ¡°A mechanical droid used to assist on spaceships.¡± Revan explained. ¡°I had mine plot an emergency course so I could focus on other things. Speaking of, I don¡¯t suppose you searched the wreck for him did you?¡± ¡°Sorry, we looked through everything we could but we didn¡¯t find anything like that. It probably ended up wherever the engines vanished to.¡± Jacob said. Revan nodded in acceptance. ¡°What will you do now?¡± Shepard asked when it became clear Revan was simply waiting on them. ¡°We are going to be landing on Omega soon so you will be stuck with us for a while, but after that we might be able to drop you off at a nearby colony or even have the Alliance pick you up.¡± ¡°And if I preferred to leave on Omega?¡± Revan asked, eyebrow raised but with an even tone. ¡°Wouldn¡¯t recommend it.¡± Jacob commented. ¡°Omega is a den of criminals and slavers. You would be in the thick of it without a whole lot of credits.¡± ¡°Besides, I wouldn¡¯t want you to worry about all the stuff we retrieved from your ship getting stolen. I¡¯d feel bad if we spent all that time getting it for you just to have you lose it to the first pirates you came across.¡± Shepard added, ignoring the glare from Miranda. She no doubtedly wanted to keep the salvage for Cerberus but Shepard wasn¡¯t about to steal from a refugee from another galaxy. Revan immediately perked up. ¡°Wait, what stuff? That ship was fresh from the assembly line nothing should have been on it!¡± ¡°Oh...well, I have no clue why it''s there but from what we can tell there are a lot of mechanical parts and data tablets. All of it¡¯s in the starboard cargo bay for now. You can check it out later.¡± ¡°I...thank you, Commander.¡± ¡°So any idea what you want to do?¡± Shepard prodded. She didn¡¯t want to force a decision now, but if Revan was new to the galaxy she would definitely need a plan or else she would get swallowed up by some mercenary gang somewhere. ¡°I think I¡¯m going to look for a way back to my own galaxy.¡± Revan said determinedly. ¡°There¡¯s a race of creatures called the Vong looking to invade my galaxy and kill everyone in it. I need to find my way back before that happens.¡± ¡°Oh good, it¡¯s not just us dealing with omnicidal invaders." Shepard muttered sarcastically. "Guess some things never change even in other galaxies.¡± ¡°Wait...what?¡± Shepard sighed heavily. ¡°Okay, let me tell you about the Reapers¡­¡± Chapter 4 Revan idly browsed through one of the datapads the Normandy crew had provided with information about the new galaxy she found herself in. Speaking with Shepard had been...concerning to say the least. Revan had been preparing for a galaxy wide invasion for years now. Waking up in another galaxy and finding out a similar invasion was expected to happen put her in a weird position. Revan had no attachments to this new galaxy. There was no one she cared about living here. She hadn¡¯t spent years traveling it and learning the different cultures and practices of different planets. Immersing herself in the knowledge and traditions of a dozen different worlds even when it caused friction between the Jedi Council and herself. She would be perfectly able to just leave the Reapers and their pawns to the locals (even if they seemed similarly unwilling to prepare for invasion as her own home had) and try and find her way back. Of course she also had no resources, no friends or allies, and no reputation here. All of which would be needed to secure even the most rudimentary workshop to manufacture a working hyperdrive. And she would have to make her own, a quick search on extra-galaxy travel had the first attempt of the locals estimated at a six hundred year journey to another galaxy. Needless to say, Revan did not have six hundred years to spare and there was no guarantee that her own galaxy wasn¡¯t even further away. Should she simply stay with Commander Shepard then? There was obviously a decently powerful organization behind the woman. And if Revan could assist with her current mission she might be willing to assist getting her home. Of course there had been an odd mistrust between the Commander and the two officers she had with her. It was as if the Commander was constantly watching the two of them and checking over what they were saying. Without more time to gather more information, Revan wasn¡¯t confident making any long term plans. She would be forced to stay on the Normandy for a little while longer at the very least. She had looked up Omega as well, trying to verify how truthful the dark skinned human was being during their meeting. Unfortunately, he had not been exaggerating the amount of criminals on the station. Revan would be doing nothing but cutting her way through thieves after her salvaged equipment for months if she was seen being dropped off with no protection in place. The door to the cargo bay opened and after a polite knock on the frame Commander Shepard walked in. Revan wasn¡¯t unaware that her actions in the medbay had lowered the Commander¡¯s opinion of her a good bit. That Revan had just woken up from an orbital crash, an attack by Batarian slavers, and hadn¡¯t done any permanent damage to Dr Chakwas were likely the only reasons she wasn¡¯t spending her time in the brig. That and Shepard seemed to be a bit of a bleeding heart if the public records could be trusted. ¡°Revan,¡± Shepard greeted. ¡°Getting caught up on the galaxy?¡± ¡°The basics at least. It¡¯s easier since your galaxy has fewer spacefaring species in it.¡± Revan said. ¡°Did you need something?¡± Shepard filed away that information for later. ¡°We¡¯re about to dock at Omega. I¡¯m dropping by to let you know you are coming with us when we head off to recruit our specialists.¡± Revan raised an eyebrow. ¡°You trust me enough to follow you into what your own crew described as a nest of pirates and slavers?¡± ¡°Of course not,¡± Shepard waved flippantly. ¡°But I¡¯d rather have you running around where I can see you rather than doing who knows what on my ship.¡± A little unfair, Revan thought, but it would be enough to start gaining some good will from the commander. Violet eyes stared challengingly into bright green. ¡°I suppose this means you will be returning my armor and my lightsabers?¡± Shepard nodded. ¡°Jacob has them in the armory. We¡¯re getting them wired with temporary comms and an omnitool. We don¡¯t have time to get you fitted for a hardsuit and I¡¯m not going to risk friendly fire because I forced you to use a gun you don¡¯t know the first thing about.¡± Revan¡¯s eyes hardened at the thought of some random person going over her armor. She wasn¡¯t as touchy about it as most Mandolorians she had come across, but she had fought them- and with them -long enough that some of the culture regarding how they treated arms and armor to wear off on her. Maintenance was to be done by the owner or a trusted individual alone. Revan would have made exceptions in emergency situations, but she didn¡¯t think this one counted. She took in a hissing breath. ¡°I would appreciate it if your men left my armor alone in the future.¡± she said. ¡°At least as long as it isn¡¯t urgent.¡± Shepard looked a bit surprised at the anger. ¡°If you''re worried about him breaking something he is only adding in the hardware with a bit of adhesive. No breaking it apart for secrets or anything like that.¡± Revan shook her head. ¡°It''s...more of a cultural thing, I admit. I¡¯m not a proper Mando''a- or Mandalorian -but there are...expectations about personal armaments.¡± ¡°Mandalorian...you mentioned something like that earlier. Something about killing Mandalore the Ultimate. Are those related somehow?¡± Shepard asked. ¡°They are,¡± Revan confirmed. ¡°The Mandalorians are a culture of warriors, not really restricted to a single race. A few years ago their Empire declared war on the galaxy. I fought their leader over Malachor V and killed him in single combat.¡± It had been one of the hardest fights of her life. And the one that started her on her path to where she was today. ¡°So their leader is called a Mandalore?¡± ¡°They are. Mandalore, or more properly Mand''alor, roughly translates to ¡®sole ruler¡¯. Basically they are supposed to be the best the Mandolorians can offer.¡± ¡°And you killed him.¡± Shepard seemed to be analysing Revan¡¯s explanation. She had no way of knowing exactly how impressive a fighter Mandolorians tended to be, but she was smart enough to hear that a group of warriors had declared war on a galactic scale and were presumably confident in coming out ahead. Then Revan had managed to kill one of the best of them in single combat. ¡°And I killed him.¡± Revan agreed. ¡°Well hopefully you won¡¯t need to do much of that on Omega. If all goes well we simply get in, grab our specialists, and get out.¡± Revan snorted. ¡°And you really believe that?¡± well aware that things rarely were straightforward when dealing with criminal dens. Shepard sighed and hung her head slightly. ¡°Not for an instant...but a girl can dream right?¡± -o- Revan found Jacob standing at a workbench when she made her way to the armory. The Cerberus agent was hard at work cleaning one of the several rifles the Normandy kept on hand. She took the opportunity to look around the armory without distraction. Unfortunately it seemed that most of the weaponry was just the same mass produced models she had seen earlier. Revan wasn¡¯t sure how this group stacked up against the rest of the galaxy, but if this was standard it seemed she would be dealing with physical projectiles most of the time. That would take some adjusting. She picked up one of the pistols on a bench and turned it over in her hand. It was a decent design, Revan thought. It fit well in her hand and it seemed simple enough to operate. Not that she would likely ask for one. She was only an okay shot and that was with a blaster. Best she stick to her lightsabers and maybe see about building a blaster and a few energy cells if she could figure out how to erase any data on them. The armory had what seemed like a few small fabricators that she could make use of, but she didn¡¯t want to just hand over any tech. Sell it perhaps, but hand it over for free? Not a chance. The pistol was returned to the bench when Revan saw Jacob finishing up his task. The man secured the rifle and stowed it with quick efficient movements. ¡°Sorry about that, wasn¡¯t expecting you up here so fast. I don¡¯t think we¡¯ve been introduced.¡± Jacob said. ¡°Jacob Taylor. I hear you''re coming with us to Omega.¡± he held out a hand and Revan accepted it with a raised eyebrow. ¡°You can call me Revan. And yes, your Commander decided she wanted me off your ship while you went looking for your recruits.¡± Jacob chuckled. ¡°I wouldn¡¯t take it personally. The Commander takes care of her people, she¡¯s pissed you went after Chackwas. Even if she understands why you freaked out when you woke up on a strange ship. Thinking you were captured by the same people that tried to kill you would make anyone try and escape. Give her some time and she¡¯ll mellow out.¡± The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. He misunderstood why Revan acted the way she did, but she felt no need to correct him. Instead she simply nodded and looked around the room. ¡°Shepard mentioned you had my equipment up here? I¡¯d like to make a quick diagnostic check before we head out to the station.¡± ¡°I doubt you have the time for more than the basics.¡± Jacob hedged as he walked over to a locker Revan hadn¡¯t noticed. ¡°Shepard won¡¯t want to wait too long. But I patched the hole on the leg with some Omnigel and reinforced some of the damage on the chest. Patch jobs but it keeps everything sealed. I saw some damage to the underlayer but I don¡¯t know the first thing about your stuff so I left it alone.¡± Revan pushed down the slight resentment of another person fixing her armor. It wasn¡¯t the time and it wasn¡¯t Jacob¡¯s fault he didn¡¯t know it would bother her. ¡°And my lightsabers?¡± ¡°They really called that? They¡¯re in here too.¡± Jacob handed her a heavy sack containing all the components to her armor and a small box containing her lightsabers from the locker. ¡°That should be everything. When you get everything on drop by again and I¡¯ll run you through the basics of the omnitool.¡± -o- ¡°Are you sure it¡¯s a good idea to bring Revan along?¡± Miranda asked. ¡°We don¡¯t really know anything about her.¡± Shepard glared halfheartedly at her XO, ¡°And her staying behind would be any better? You saw what she did on Torek. Fifteen Baterians killed and she almost took us out with them. And that was after a crash and with nearly crippling injuries to her leg and second degree burns on her chest and shoulder.¡± she huffed a bit. ¡°I¡¯m not saying we need to never let her out of our sight, but I want to get to know her a bit before I offer her to join the mission.¡± ¡°You want to recruit her?!¡± Miranda¡¯s eyes went wide. ¡°Of course I do.¡± Shepard replied. ¡°She¡¯s skilled, probably one of the best close quarters combatants ever I¡¯ve seen, and she doesn¡¯t have any ties to anyone else at the moment. She¡¯s also apparently been through a war before. Who knows if she knows something that would tip the odds in our favor.¡± ¡°We know next to nothing about her!¡± ¡°I know next to nothing about you and the rest of Cerberus.¡± Shepard pointed out making Miranda grimace. ¡°Or even any of these specialists we¡¯re here to recruit. Besides, I don¡¯t see anything wrong with recruiting the person who is basically staying on the ship anyway.¡± Shepard might not really care for Revan, the situation with Chakwas still bugged her, but she recognized Revan had valuable things to contribute. And who knows, maybe Revan would slip up and wind up at the mercy of Chakwas after a mission? Shepard pushed that thought away. It was petty. And not just a little cruel. She had been forced to work with several people she had significantly more reason to dislike than Revan and she¡¯d never wished they got shot. It was something she never would¡¯ve considered before¡­ cold surrounding her, flailing uselessly in the void, hissing air, can¡¯t breathe can¡¯tbreathecan¡¯tbreathe ¡­before. Just another reminder about how she wasn¡¯t quite the same. ¡°We spent a great deal of time investigating everyone on those dossiers.¡± Miranda protested, fairly weakly though. She understood Shepard wasn¡¯t about to change her mind at the moment. The final decision wouldn¡¯t be made until she had seen Revan in action anyway. ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter for now anyway. Lets focus on our first two recruits before we start looking at another.¡± Shepard suggested. ¡°They''re here anyway.¡± True to her word, both Revan and Jacob walked up to join them at the airlock. Jacob was in his usual black Cerberus jumpsuit, Revan in her red and grey armor though she was carrying her helmet for now. Once again she had a black robe concealing most of her armored form. ¡°You two ready? We have a basic idea where to look for our Salarian doctor, but we might need to dig around for Archangel.¡± Shepard said. ¡°Ready whenever you are Commander.¡± Jacob affirmed. Revan nodded and began to walk out the airlock onto the station. Shepard snagged her arm and pulled her to a stop. ¡°Revan, I know I ordered you to come along and you aren¡¯t actually required to go along with what I say. But if a firefight breaks out I need to know you will follow my lead. I can¡¯t waste my time worrying about a loose cannon.¡± Revan looked at her inscruitiably. ¡°I¡¯ll follow your lead. For now.¡± She said eventually. ¡°But don¡¯t expect me to start jumping to follow commands, Shepard.¡± ¡°That works.¡± Shepard agreed. That wasn¡¯t an issue. She would just need to treat Revan like she did Wrex. An ally to be guided rather than a subordinate to be ordered. She released her hand and the both of them walked off the Normandy onto the station. -o- ¡°Well, this certainly got more interesting than picking up a scientist.¡± Revan commented as the four of them walked away from Afterlife, a night club run by Asari pirate queen and de facto ruler of Omega Aria T''Loak. Her voice slightly distorted by her helmet. Shepard resisted the urge to sigh. ¡®More interesting than expected¡¯ summed up a good amount of her missions. ¡°This might be a problem.¡± Miranda points out. ¡°We don¡¯t have another candidate on Mordin¡¯s level picked out. We might have issues with those Seeker swarms the quarian told us about on Freedom¡¯s Progress.¡± ¡°Seeker swarms?¡± Revan asked. ¡°Collector tech. Some kind of insect drone that injects a paralytic.¡± Jacob explained. ¡°It¡¯s how they¡¯ve been abducting colonies without them fighting back.¡± ¡°Well that sounds lovely.¡± ¡°It also presents an issue since without a skilled scientist we have no way of getting close to the Collectors if they use those against us.¡± Miranda ranted. ¡°Unless our guest has some hidden skill to assist us?¡± ¡°Sorry, more of a mechanical engineer than a bio one.¡± Shepard stopped and turned to face Revan. ¡°You¡¯re an engineer?¡± ¡°Well...yes.¡± Revan shifted on her feet. ¡°And you didn¡¯t mention this earlier?¡± ¡°Was there a point? I¡¯m not familiar with your tech base at all. I¡¯ll work on that simply because I refuse to get stranded in space if something breaks, but that is weeks away for even the basics.¡± ¡°I guess not.¡± Still, it was another thing Shepard would keep in mind about Revan. They continued to casually talk all the way to the quarantine sector. Miranda kept poking at Revan, trying to learn more about what she was capable of. Jacob seemed content to ask for more details occasionally when Revan tried to blow off Miranda with an unimportant story regarding whatever interesting gadget Revan mentioned. Shepard found the whole trip weirdly relaxing. For once she wasn¡¯t the center of attention. It wasn¡¯t something that used to bother her, shyness was not something her N7 instructors encouraged, but ever since she...woke up...she felt like eyes were always on her. On her scars, on her behavior, whatever she did was always under scrutiny. For just a little bit she was free to not need to project that she was unshaken from her death to a bunch of terrorists that seemed to be her only hope to stopping the colony attacks. It was nice. Then they reached the quarantine zone and she needed to put her Commander mask back on. -o- Revan was decidedly uncomfortable. Something was...odd...about the Force here. It was still present, nothing wrong there. It was just...still. Tiny ripples instead of the steady waves she was used to. When she had heard about the Reapers, Revan had half expected the galaxy to be tinted with various shades of the Dark Side. Instead it didn¡¯t seem to be tinted at all. Even in Omega, a place full of suffering and hatred, Revan could only feel the slightest presence in the Force. She might have taken the time to investigate further if she was alone. But with Shepard clearly wanting to get out of Omega as quickly as possible, she doubted she had the time. Besides it was somewhat fun verbally sparring with Miranda. The ravenette didn¡¯t hide her interest in whatever technology Revan could offer and Revan was determined to get the best deal for any tidbits she handed out. Naturally both Jacob and Miranda were interested in the thermal detonator. Miranda because the component technologies for creating a small thermonuclear fusion reaction would lead to breakthroughs in several fields, and Jacob because it was an incredibly powerful explosive. No matter the galaxy, it seemed soldiers liked things that went boom. Things took a bit of a darker turn after they passed the guards Aria set up. Bodies were being stacked and burned just feet away from the guard post. Two mercenaries in blue armour (The Blue Suns according to one of the guards) had spotted them and opened fire. Too bad they were not dealing with unarmed civilians but four very unamused combatants. The mercenaries barely had time to realize they messed up before they were shredded by a combination of bullets and Shepard¡¯s weird imitation Force technique. ¡°Guess they just left the dead in the streets.¡± Jacob said with disgust after making sure no other mercenaries were around. He had his eyes on the piles of bodies near the fires. Each one riddled with bullet holes. ¡°Burning corpses,¡± Miranda said a little more analytically. ¡°Must be trying to keep the plague from spreading.¡± Shepard said nothing but noticed there was someone still alive nearby. ¡°Wait here for a sec, I¡¯m going to see if they are okay.¡± Revan and the others nodded and returned to watching for any additional Blue Suns members. ¡°A bioweapon targeting anything nonhuman? How despicable.¡± Shepard commented after she had finished with the plague victim. Revan tended to agree. She was also incredibly thankful that she had filters on her helmet. ¡°We should find Mordin quickly. From the sound of it the Blue Suns and the Vorcha are going to turn this quarter into a warzone soon.¡± There was little discussion as everyone moved ahead. The plague seemed to be much worse than the humans anticipated. So much so that they were distracted enough to nearly walk head first into a Blue Suns guard post. Revan quickly placed a hand on Shepards shoulder to hold her back. ¡°Revan? What are you doing?¡± ¡°Stopping you from getting shot apparently.¡± Revan chided. She pointed down the hallway to a metal barricade with a few figures in blue and white visible. ¡°Unless you were planning on walking right up to them with your head in the clouds?¡± Shepard cursed under her breath at the loss of focus. ¡°No you¡¯re right I lost focus.¡± she shook her head. ¡°Alright what are the chances they will let us through?¡± ¡°Not high.¡± Miranda commented. ¡°If they are scared enough to start shooting civilians I doubt they would let armed unknowns through without a reason. Especially not if they are getting pushed out by the Vorcha.¡± Revan reached out to the Force, trying to get an idea about what was ahead. There was danger ahead but nothing that felt like it was more than she could handle. ¡°Fantastic. And we¡¯re a mostly mid to short ranged group going against a hardpoint. Okay, here¡¯s what we¡¯re going to do¡­¡± Shepard started before noticing Revan beginning to walk off. ¡°Revan? What do you think you¡¯re doing!¡± she hissed. Revan ignored her and walked confidently up to the Blue Suns, drawing their attention pretty quickly. ¡°Well this is new, usually the humans run when they see us.¡± A Batarian Revan assumed was the leader called out. ¡°Looking to apologise for the shit you did to us? Well if you don¡¯t move we promise not to piss on your corpse before we toss it in a fire.¡± Revan ignored the Batarian. Instead she raised her left hand and pointed it at the merc, her right hand held an un-ignited lightsaber. ¡°Counter offer.¡± Revan called darkly. ¡°Let me and my companions pass and I will let you live.¡± She heard Shepard curse at Revan giving away there were more of them nearby. ¡°Screw you, human! Shoot the idiot.¡± There was a snap-hiss of a lightsaber activating, the sound of gunshots, and then a sizzle as a trio of bullets vaporized on the red energy blade. ¡°I gave you a chance¡± Lightning arced from her hand, frying the three on top of the barrier and causing the Blue Suns troopers behind it to curse and run out, rifles blazing. Two of them were yanked off their feet and sent flying into a wall as Revan charged another two coming out of another doorway. She sidestepped as the two opened fire, reaching out to the force and nudging the farthest one¡¯s aim so he was shooting into his companions back. Unfortunately the shots were blocked by a flaring blue shield and the trooper stopped shooting before the shield failed. Not that it mattered, since a second later Revan was close enough to lash out with her lightsaber. The first trooper was nearly bisected as his shields and armor did little to protect him from the ruby blade. The second was dispatched with a clean stab through the middle of the chest, severing his spine. Revan pulled her lightsaber free and turned to face the two she had thrown earlier. They were just getting back to their feet when there was a bark of a shotgun and one of their chests exploded in gore. Another burst of machine gun and rifle fire cut down the last trooper a second later. ¡°What. The. Hell. Was. That?¡± Revan turned to see a furious Commander Shepard stalking towards her. ¡°Did you mean something specific?¡± there was a hint of a smile in Revan¡¯s voice. Shepard grabbed Revan¡¯s robe and pulled the slightly taller woman so they were face to visor. ¡°Don¡¯t give me that shit.¡± she snarled. ¡°You want to paint a giant target on your fucking chest and dance around in front of the enemy? Fine, great even! Since you can apparently throw lightning around and we established you aren¡¯t under my command. But you decide to drag my team in with you? After saying you¡¯ll follow my lead?¡± A finger was thrust just underneath Revan¡¯s visor. ¡°That shit. Doesn¡¯t. Fly.¡± Revan was silent for a moment before she pulled herself back out of Shepard¡¯s grip. ¡°You''re right. I forget that you don¡¯t actually know what I¡¯m capable of. I won¡¯t announce your presence like that if I move independently again in the future.¡± ¡°Good.¡± Shepard nodded decisively, evidently mollified by Revan¡¯s not-quite-an-apology. ¡°Make sure it doesn¡¯t. Now let¡¯s go find our doctor before someone else shows up.¡± Chapter 5 The longer the ground team moved through the plague quarter the more Shepard wanted to be almost anywhere else. The closer they got to the clinic the fewer bodies they came across, but the worst sides of people were on full display. Her team ran into several skirmishes between the Vorcha and Blue Suns, often needing to cut through both groups to keep moving forward. And Shepard could honestly say it was the only thing she enjoyed about this entire venture. Getting free reign to get rid of some asshole mercenaries and just generally assholish bloodthirsty Vorcha? Sign her right up. It was the littler things that were starting to pile up. The ongoing fencing match between her and Revan was starting to wear on her. It wasn¡¯t even something Shepard could put an end to either, they were both very forceful personalities apparently used to being the ones in charge and they were struggling to find a middle ground they could both be happy with. And what was worse was they both were opposites in command style. Shepard liked to have a plan for her group. Each member supporting the other to make sure the team covered their weaknesses. So for her it was natural that the entire team worked together at all times, a byproduct of over a decade of training. Revan moved like a force of nature. Anything hostile in her path was crushed or sliced with overwhelming force by Revan alone and the best strategy Shepard was able to come up with was ¡®Revan move forward¡¯ and then have the rest of the team support her. What was worse was that Revan seemed perfectly okay with the team only providing support for her efforts. Both women knew that the strained relationship would need to be addressed soon but by some unspoken agreement they would leave it until the mission was complete. For now Shepard would stick to ordering Jacob and Miranda and Revan would make sure to not drag in Shepard¡¯s squad when she made a move. On its own that wouldn¡¯t have been a major issue. But on top of the leadership struggle, Shepard also had to deal with the sight of bullet hole riddled corridors, bloodstained apartments, and burning corpses as they moved along. All signs of the slaughter taking place as people either tried to kill off the plague...or kill off the ones they thought were responsible. Not too long ago she had to scare off a pair of scavengers looting through a dead Turian¡¯s apartment. They might not have killed the owner or really done anything wrong by the standards of Omega, but the lack of any common decency chilled the Spectre. Thankfully they were close to the small clinic Morden was supposed to be running. With any luck this whole endeavor would be over soon. After a brief warning from a human guard the four of them walked into a scene of organised chaos. Nurses and assistants rushed from gurney to gurney checking on patients under their care even as new arrivals were directed to whatever free space could be found. The team made their way through the clinic until they came across an oranged skinned Salarian rapidly giving instructions to the other members of the clinic even as he worked on another patient in front of him. ¡°Professor Mordin Solus?¡± Shepard inquired as the team got closer, interrupting the Salarian and attracting his attention. The doctor quickly stepped away from his patient and scanned the group with an almost negligent wave of his Omnitool. ¡°Hmm. Don¡¯t recognize you from area. Too well armed to be refugees. No mercenary uniform. Quarantine still in effect.¡± Mordin Solus voiced aloud as he wandered to a terminal. ¡°Here for something else. Vorcha? Crew to clean them out? Unlikely. Vorcha a symptom, not a cause.¡± He began to pace in front of the team, voicing more and more hypotheses on why the group was in front of him and getting rather excited the longer he went on. Eventually Shepard decided to spare her team from the Salarians rambling although she noticed Revan seemed amused by Mordin¡¯s speech. ¡°Relax Mordin,¡± she interrupted, ¡°I¡¯m Commander Shepard, and I came down here to find you. I need your expertise for an incredibly important mission.¡± ¡°Mission? What mission?¡± Mordin asked, immediately intrigued before visibly restraining himself. ¡°No. Too busy. Clinic understaffed. Plague spreading too fast. Who sent you?¡± ¡°Cerberus.¡± Shepard wasn¡¯t about to hide their involvement. If she was going to build any sort of trust with these specialists, they needed to know they could trust her in turn. ¡°Cerberus? Crossed paths on occasion. Thought they only worked with humans. Why request Salarian aid?¡± ¡°The Collectors have been abducting entire human populations. We¡¯re going to find out why and stop them.¡± Shepard declared, the strength of her resolve to protect the colonies audible to everyone there. ¡°Collectors? Interesting. Plague hitting these slums is engineered. Collectors one of few groups with technology to design it. Our goals may be similar.¡± The Salarian said thoughtfully. ¡°But must stop plague first.¡± He said forcefully. ¡°Already have a cure. Need to distribute it at environmental control center. Vorcha guarding it.¡± he inhaled to calm himself. ¡°Need to kill them.¡± he finished coldly. ¡°We¡¯ll take care of the Vorcha.¡± Shepard promised. Anything to get a handle on this plague so she could leave. Suddenly alarms started going off in the distance and the lights turned a low red. Everyone started looking around wondering what was going on. Jacob was the one to voice the question everyone was thinking. ¡°What the hell was that?¡± Mordin¡¯s Omnitool flared to life and he began flipping through programs, moving so fast Shepard was surprised he managed to retain the information they were showing. ¡°Vorcha have shut down environmental systems. Trying to kill everyone. Need to restore power before district suffocates.¡± he reported grimly. ¡°Here, take plague cure. Also, bonus in good faith. May be useful against Vorcha.¡± he handed over several vials and an M-6 Carfinax, a heavy pistol that was a definite upgrade over her current M-3. Shepard had a few additional questions for Mordin and took the time to ask while her team started prepping behind her. Jacob and Miranda pulled up the schematics of the station and started coming up with routes to the environmental systems, while Revan stood behind them, simply observing. After Shepard was satisfied with her questioning and promised to keep an eye out for Mordin¡¯s missing assistant she joined in on the planning session. You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story. ¡°I¡¯m surprised you didn¡¯t contribute to the planning session.¡± Shepard said to Revan, her tone neutral to hopefully take any bite out of the comment. Revan¡¯s inscrutable mask tilted a little in Shepard¡¯s direction. ¡°I didn¡¯t think you wanted me interfering in the operation of your squad.¡± she said, equally neutral. Shepard sighed. ¡°I know. And I still want that.¡± She admitted. ¡°But I think we can find a middle ground between you listening to my orders or you dragging my team behind you.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t think we can.¡± Revan stated, quickly raising a hand to cut off Shepard¡¯s protest. ¡°I¡¯m not saying we can¡¯t work together. I simply don¡¯t believe we can operate on the same team. Not without one of us being incredibly uncomfortable.¡± ¡°You have an idea then?¡± ¡°I do. We stop trying to work as a single squad and start acting as two separate entities.¡± Revan brought her Omnitool, having learned enough of the basics to at least manipulate the map. ¡°We can try compromising on the larger goals and the approach of any mission, but I think the best thing to do is split objectives between the two of us.¡± ¡°Okay, how so? I can¡¯t see us really needing to split up for this mission, but I could see it in other missions.¡± Revan took a breath and turned to face Shepard. ¡°I want command of a separate ground team. Whether that means I work alone or with whatever new team members you pick up later.¡± That...might work better than what Shepard was thinking but there was a couple things that she was stuck on. ¡°You know that means you are asking to join up on my mission right? You would be in it for the long haul.¡± Revan nodded. ¡°And you know that this agreement wouldn¡¯t extend to command of the Normandy. It¡¯s my ship. It goes where I say.¡± ¡°I wanted to talk to you about formally joining your group after the mission anyway.¡± Revan admitted. ¡°I¡¯m getting caught up with your galaxy as fast as I can but I simply can¡¯t trust the people here to have my best interest at heart.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t get me wrong, I don¡¯t believe anywhere you drop me off would immediately result in captivity. You don¡¯t seem the type.¡± She clarified. ¡°But sooner or later someone will press for whatever technology I could provide beyond what I am willing to give or try to kill me because of my abilities. You don¡¯t have that option because you already need all the help you can get.¡± Blunt, and true. Not that Shepard wanted to admit it. ¡°If that''s what it takes for us to stop stepping on each other''s toes. Fine, you can have command of a ground team. Not that we will have the members to fill another one out at the moment.¡± ¡°You will eventually.¡± Revan assured, then increased her stride and walked off. -o- The ground team had made good progress through Vorcha territory in Revan¡¯s opinion. The creatures were vicious and quick to attack, but between the human¡¯s coordination and her own array of skills they were quickly slaughtered anytime they were encountered. Shepard was turning out to be exactly the kind of officer Revan would have wanted in her own armies if she had remained in her own galaxy. Swift, decisive, and deadly but not so eager to kill everything that it would result in the failure of the mission. They had come across Mordin Solus¡¯s assistant after Revan convinced them to detour on their route, guided by a whisper in the Force. It meant revealing Revan could sense presences remotely, but having made the decision to join with the Normandy crew Revan¡¯s abilities would slowly be revealed anyway. Best secure some goodwill by being forthright than needing to deal with the Human¡¯s suspicions when they wondered why Revan didn¡¯t do so in the past. Shepard had managed to pacify a few Batarian civilians ready to lynch the assistant for trying to spread the plague further by managing to calmly point out it was foolish for a human to be spreading the plague in Vorcha territory when they were already immune. It might not be immediately noteworthy but Revan knew it was hard to come directly from a battle and pursue the peaceful option, especially when the heart was racing and adrenaline pumping. That kind of level headedness was surprisingly rare. Revan retrieved her lightsaber from the skull of one of the larger aliens, a krogan if she recalled correctly. If there was one thing that annoyed her about combat in this galaxy it was the lack of energy weapons. It was surprisingly annoying to face groups of enemies and not have the option of redirecting blaster fire back into them. She might need to add a blaster of her own if she wanted any longer range options other than her force abilities or throwing her lightsabers. Jacob checked their route on his omni. ¡°We¡¯re close to the environmental controls. Let¡¯s get that cure in, then hit the fans.¡± They were met by an unarmed Vorcha (though there were others pointing weapons at them in the background), the only thing that stopped Revan from blasting it with lightning was that it was the first one that said something other than death threats and inarticulate screams. ¡°You no come here.¡± the creature hissed. ¡°We shutdown machines, break fans!¡± It gestured violently towards the control panel, ¡°Everyone choke and die! Then Collectors make us strong!¡± ¡°I suppose that confirms where the plague came from.¡± Miranda muttered as she moved to a better position. ¡°You think they realise they are going to die along with everyone else?¡± Jacob added his two credits. ¡°I don¡¯t think forward thinking is something Vorcha do.¡± Shepard, finally having someone with clear intel on her quarry, tried to get just the tiniest bit more information. ¡°What do the Collectors want?¡± The Vorcha was too stupid, or perhaps uninformed, to realise Shepard wanted to know about the larger goal of the Collectors. It snarled in rage as the rest of the Vorcha took more hostile stances. ¡°Collectors want plague! You work for doctor, turn on machines, put cure in air. We kill you first!¡± With that violence was imminent. Revan raised a hand, small arcs of Force generated lightning dancing across her fingers, and prepared to fry the annoying creature in front of her. ¡°Revan! No lightning! We need those controls intact!¡± Shepard called over the sound of gunfire. Revan wanted to roll her eyes, a useless gesture due to her helmet, at the implied lack of control but a new threat diverted her attack anyway. Instead of a torrent of lightning leaping from her fingers Revan made a clawing gesture at an incoming rocket, stopping it dead in the air even as it¡¯s engine struggled to propel it forward. With another crushing gesture the explosive detonated harmlessly between all combatants. The others hadn¡¯t been idle either. Before Revan could do anything else the last Vorcha fell backwards, dead. Miranda stalked over to the control interface and started manipulating the holographic displays. ¡°Looks like the Vorcha didn¡¯t break anything. The cure is ready for upload. Once we activate the fans, the plague will be over.¡± Shepard tilted her head like she was listening to someone, likely a tech still on the Normandy. ¡°Fan controls are on either side of the room. All we need to do is activate them.¡± ¡°Then we should split up and cover both fans at once.¡± Revan proposed moving off towards the right side of the room. Shepard nodded and took her squad towards the left. On her own and no longer restrained to moving with a group, Revan opened herself up to the Force and reveled slightly in the feeling of power infusing her being. She marched confidently down the pathway, lightsabers forming a wall of red and blue light as she blocked dozens of rounds shot at her by defending Vorcha. She redirected an oncoming rocket into the back of an approaching Krogan and felt its death echo in the Force. And then she was among them. Lightsabers slashing out with impunity against armour meant to deal with kinetic force, not the beams of energy they were confronted with. ¡°Shepard, I¡¯ve reached the fan controls. Are you ready to activate your side?¡± Gunfire was audible over the connection. ¡°Not yet, we are almost through though. Go ahead and hit the controls. We should be done in a minute-¡± there was the sound of an explosion in the background. ¡°-and we¡¯ll meet you back by the main door.¡± Revan snorted in amusement, didn¡¯t Shepard just tell her to limit her use of collateral damage around sensitive machines? Hypocrite. She pulled up the program Jacob forwarded to her omni and executed it. Outside of the control room giant fans groaned as they started spinning up, joined minutes later by the ones on the other side of the room. -o- ¡°Environmental systems engaged. Airborne viral levels dropping. Patients improving. Vorcha retreating. Well done, Shepard. Thank you.¡± Was the first thing Mordin said to the group when they returned to the clinic. Revan was happy to leave the Commander to deal with the doctor and his strangely naive assistant. In the end most people were satisfied that the district was on the road to recovery and Professor Solus set out to gather whatever things he needed transferred to the Normandy. ¡°Third mission out and we saved an entire district. I could get used to that kind of outcome.¡± Jacob said as he stretched contentedly. Miranda scoffed and rolled her eyes, but Shepard matched his grin. ¡°I won¡¯t say no to helping people, but it¡¯d be nice if we could get a simple straightforward mission for once.¡± Revan was intrigued. ¡°What were your other missions like if this wasn¡¯t considered straightforward?¡± Shepard ticked them off on her fingers. ¡°A ghost town of a colony where we ran into a delirious Quarian who escaped a Collector attack by luck, a downed ship that turned out to contain a magic warrior elf from another galaxy, and now a pickup of a Salarian doctor that ended with us curing a plague. Simple would be nice.¡± ¡°I guess one could hope. Are we returning to the ship?¡± ¡°Yep, now that you and Mordin decided to join up I need to get you up to speed on the mission. And I want to know more about how you can shoot lighting from your fingers.¡± Revan nodded, internally debating how much she should reveal about the powers of the Force to a galaxy that seemed to have little to no knowledge of it. Chapter 6 Revan sat stunned as Mordin and Jacob filtered out of the room, leaving her with the Commander and her XO. They turned their ship into a droid? Of all the short-sighted, unprofessional, amateurish, just...plain stupid ideas Revan had ever heard of. She stopped and brought an armored hand to her still helmeted head, trying to physically hold back her disdain for such an action. This wasn¡¯t her home. There was a common sense there that didn¡¯t apply to these people and their primitive starships. She needed to remember that and look at the decision from the perspective of a culture that had only seemed to accidentally create Artificial Intelligence on occasion. ¡°Revan?¡± Miranda¡¯s annoyed tone broke through the Sith Lord¡¯s musing. ¡°We would like to discuss the abilities you¡¯ve shown on the last mission. If you¡¯re ready to pay attention to us?¡± Commander Shepard was a little more diplomatic. ¡°Is there something wrong about having EDI on the ship? We won¡¯t replace her because of you, but we would like to understand any issues you have with AI¡¯s.¡± ¡°I have no ¡®issues¡¯ working with a droid. What I have issues with is the sheer stupidity of not only wiring one directly into the ship itself, and then intentionally limiting it because your scientists are apparently too incompetent to come up with a decent loyalty or personality matrix.¡± That seemed to catch the two women off guard. ¡°I am not a droid.¡± EDI helpfully commented from her display at the end of the table. ¡°I am an Artificial Intelligence intended to run the ship¡¯s electronic warfare suite and offer analysis and advice. I was not designed to interface directly with the ship¡¯s systems.¡± ¡°Semantics, EDI.¡± Revan dismissed. ¡°In my galaxy all artificial life was generally called droids. Though I will admit instances where one was tied directly into the facility it served were vanishingly rare.¡± ¡°Wait, your galaxy has AIs?¡± Miranda asked. ¡°At nearly all levels of society.¡± Revan confirmed. ¡°Though like I said, they tended to be housed in mobile platforms rather than tied to an installation or ship.¡± ¡°Why not?¡± ¡°Safety and convenience really. If you are swapping ships you don¡¯t want the risk of someone stealing or corrupting your data. Not to mention it¡¯s easier to guard a few access panels to the ship¡¯s systems than trying to guard against a potentially hostile mind in the ship itself.¡± Miranda seemed to be reassessing how advanced Revan¡¯s galaxy was if people could swap starships with the ease of owning a planetary transport while Shepard seemed more interested in the thought of people living side by side with AI companions, though she tried to keep it confined to starships at the moment. ¡°So what does that mean for ECW? Having a bunch of electronic minds trying to hack into systems must make space combat pretty chaotic.¡± Revan huffed in amusement. ¡°Space combat can be chaotic no matter what. But not because of external hacking threats. Outside of the sensors and communications there are no systems that can be accessed externally that cannot be overridden by a mechanical control.¡± ¡°But what about docking? Traffic control? Emergency response? They need to coordinate between ships or there would be dozens of crashes in an hour. How can they do that if they can¡¯t control the ship?¡± ¡°Uploaded routes that either the pilot, autopilot, or onboard droid follows for the first two and hardpoints with manual access for data splices or droids for the last. I¡¯m stunned how inefficient your current systems are actually if you need to dedicate resources to fend off attacks before an enemy even takes a shot at you.¡± Shepard opened her mouth to ask another question when Miranda cut her off. ¡°As fascinating as it is to learn about another civilisation¡¯s culture, we seem to have gotten a bit off track with what this conversation was about.¡± Shepard scowled but ultimately agreed. ¡°Don¡¯t think this conversation is over.¡± She pointed a finger at Revan.¡± ¡°I would also like to hear more about AI advancements when there is time.¡± EDI commented. ¡°We¡¯ll see.¡± Revan deflected. There was a small pause as the two humans refocused their thoughts back to the original questions they wanted to ask. ¡°So we went over all the scans we had of both you and your ship just to make sure, but from what we can tell there isn¡¯t a speck of eezo anywhere.¡± Shepard started easing into the conversation. ¡°You definitely aren¡¯t using biotics like we¡¯re used to, is that just natural to your species or is it something else?¡± ¡°You have species in this galaxy naturally capable of generating electricity and telekinesis?¡± Revan returned, wondering if this meant there were more Force sensitives in this Galaxy than she had been led to believe. ¡°Hanar can generate a weak bio-electricity for communication and all Asari are natural biotics and thus capable of telekinesis to some degree. But those are nowhere near what you did or are applications of ME fields. Please stop avoiding the question.¡± Miranda said frosily. ¡°I¡¯m not avoiding the question. Just trying to learn more about the new species I might be faced with.¡± Revan reassured her. ¡°As to my abilities...there is actually quite a bit of debate as to the exact nature to them back home. I spent years studying what I could from the smallest nomadic sects to the largest ruins of long destroyed empires. The source has been called many things by many people...psionics, spirit calling, cosmic energy, magic...just to name a few, but the largest and oldest institutions simply call it the Force.¡± ¡°The Force? How exactly does that translate to lightning fingers?¡± ¡°The Force is an energy field. One that connects all of existence together. In my galaxy there are certain people, and some species, that have a deeper connection to this energy field that allows them to manipulate it. I am one of those people.¡± ¡°Like the Sith.¡± Miranda¡¯s comment made Revan¡¯s eyes widen behind her visor but she made no visible reaction. ¡°Yes, like the Sith...you know of them?¡± ¡°The Sith, a term used to describe three of the antagonists in the Star Wars series Darth Maul, Darth Sidious, and Darth Vader. Enemies to the destroyed Jedi Order and tyrannical rulers of the Galactic Empire. Known to use red colored lightsabers and powers that stem from the ¡¯Dark Side¡¯ of the Force.¡± EDI reported. Revan didn¡¯t know what to say. ¡°You said you didn¡¯t know anything of my galaxy.¡± ¡°Correct. All information has been pulled from informational databases regarding a fictional movie series. We do not possess any information on your galaxy of origin. Though the two seem to share many similarities.¡± Revan mulled over this new piece of information and eventually realised there was an explanation. It just wasn¡¯t one she wanted to reveal about her personal abilities. Sadly, she didn¡¯t see an option not to tell them without everyone instantly calling her into question when there were coincidences. ¡°That...makes some amount of sense.¡± ¡°It does!?¡± Shepard exploded incredulously. Revan nodded. ¡°There are historical reports about force visions being made into entertainment, especially when the seer is especially weak. The closeness of the seer is almost directly proportional to the seer¡¯s strength in the Force.¡± She looked off to one side, ¡°Though to receive a vision from my galaxy from here...either event in the vision was powerful enough to ripple all the way here or the seer was specialised in it. Did they make a great deal of such stories?¡± ¡°Only four films were released.¡± EDI supplied. ¡°The event then.¡± ¡°Okay, I¡¯m the last person to call people crazy for getting mysterious visions but does that mean that we have movies showing actual events in another galaxy?¡± Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation. ¡°Not necessarily.¡± Revan assured Shepard. ¡°I would need to see these recordings to be sure but I don¡¯t recognize the Sith you named and the Jedi Order was still a major presence in the galaxy so I doubt it was a vision of the present or recent past.¡± ¡°Oh future events, because that¡¯s so much better!¡± Shepard collapsed dramatically into her chair. ¡°That something you can do too?¡± She demanded from her slouched position. ¡°All Force users can do it, but it¡¯s not something I consider myself skilled with. Like all skills there is a measure of talent that determines how much potential someone has.¡± ¡°Tch, no getting rich off of the lottery then.¡± Revan blinked at the startling childish desire to use precognition. ¡°So is that stuff actually real? The light side and the dark side. Good and evil and all that?¡± Revan felt the desire to sigh in resignation but felt it would be a sign of weakness. ¡°First of all, Light and Dark do not equate to good and evil. Not many things are that clear cut.¡± ¡°You called yourself a Sith earlier.¡± Miranda recalled from when Revan had first introduced herself. ¡°In our source the Jedi were the good side, and you claim to be their opposite? Or do you not consider yourself a Sith?¡± ¡°Not technically, but I accept the title because I enjoy watching the annoying Jedi squirm when I do things better than them.¡± The Sith Lord nodded to the dark haired woman. ¡°What you need to understand is that the Jedi and the Sith are religious organizations at heart. They are not the definitive source on everything and they themselves split from another religious order. The Jedi worship the light side which focuses on order, stability, and the community. This tends to make them seem like the good guys to the uninformed because these qualities often promote peace in chaotic situations. And they generally are...up until they take it too far and start letting entire planets get invaded and slaughtered because they would need to step out of the roles they built for themselves. On the other hand, the Sith deal worship the dark side focusing on change, chaos, and the desires of the individual. If used correctly, the Dark can greatly empower an individual but the risk lies in letting those individual desires overwhelm all logical thought. But that doesn¡¯t mean that all Dark side users are psychotic maniacs. They just get that reputation because the more powerful ones encourage that behavior.¡± Revan stopped talking as she realised that she had begun ranting a bit. She had just wanted to give a general explanation. It seemed the jedi were still a touchy topic for her. ¡°So yes the Light and Dark are aspects of the Force, but I do not believe they make up the whole thing. They certainly have no influence if a person is ¡®good¡¯ or ¡®evil¡¯ as you put it. Those standards are determined by society. From what I understand the Batarians would consider me evil because I did not accept becoming a slave.¡± Revan wrapped up her rather lengthy answer. ¡°Next question?¡± -o- Shepard watched the potentially evil alien from another galaxy from the corner of her eye as she pretended to sulk. A rarely used skill nowadays she had developed growing up that gave her time to think and made others ignore her for a bit. Not much use for it when everyone expected professionalism in the Alliance. As she had hoped, the attitude change had shocked Revan just enough to get her off balance. Enough so that Shepard got quite a bit more from the elf¡¯s mini-rant about the Jedi and Sith than she was expecting. It wasn¡¯t exactly reassuring that Revan had thrown around words like chaos and maniac when talking about the Sith and accepted claiming the title. Damn it, she was hoping Revan would be different from Cerberus. Not just the same thing under a different name! Shepard calmed herself. Revan said she accepted the title of Sith, not that she followed their beliefs. There had been enough incidents in human history where one group demonized another and they accepted that as a point of pride that Shepard wouldn¡¯t immediately dismiss Revan¡¯s argument. She would find out more but first there was a question that had been bugging her ever since they pulled Revan¡¯s helmet off. ¡°So what do we call you?¡± ¡°Excuse me?¡± Revan¡¯s black visor was now pointed directly at Shepard. ¡°Like your race. I¡¯ve been calling you a space elf in my head because you resemble a fictional species, but I¡¯d like to know what to actually call you.¡± ¡°I see¡­ Well unfortunately I can¡¯t tell you that.¡± Revan said. ¡°Why not? Is there some cultural reason?¡± Thankfully Miranda was coming off as more interested scientist than condescending human supremacist right now. Shepard appreciated it, even if she would still keep an eye on the woman in the future. What worried her was that Revan was visibly uncomfortable, even through the armor. ¡°No, nothing cultural. It¡¯s more a personal reason¡­But I suppose a little personal history is expected.¡± she slouched a little as she sighed. ¡°I was raised from a very young age as an orphan by the Jedi order.¡±- Of fucking course she was. -¡±I grew up among them. Eventually graduating to the position of knight. When I said the Jedi were content to sit by as planets were consumed by war that was not a hypothetical situation. Shepard, recall how I told you about the Mandolorians?¡± She nodded. ¡°When they started to invade many people looked to the Jedi to intervene. They had marketed themselves as ¡®peacekeepers¡¯ and ¡®defenders of the Republic¡¯. But when something big enough came along that actually demanded they step up and help...they refused.¡± Shepard couldn¡¯t help but compare the Jedi with the Council. ¡°So I led a group of mostly younger Jedi and Padawans (apprentice Jedi) into war against the wishes of the Grand Council. And we started winning.¡± Revan said proudly. ¡°This is very interesting,¡± Miranda said slowly. ¡°But what does it have to do with why you cannot tell us the name of your species?¡± ¡°Patience, I¡¯m getting there.¡± Revan assured them. ¡°So the Mandalorians were largely driven back by my forces and the war was nearly over. Then on an abandoned moon in the middle of nowhere, I stumbled across an outpost of the Yuuzhan Vong, a race of humanoids with the numbers and desire to eradicate all life in my galaxy provided the opening. I brought word of this threat to the Council and my recommendations of how to prepare for them but¡­¡± ¡°You were ignored.¡± Shepard was definitely feeling the parallels in Revan¡¯s story with her own. She almost didn¡¯t care if Revan didn¡¯t answer her question. This was more interesting! And maybe it would give her an idea on how to prepare for the Reapers. ¡°I was ignored. In their rush to return to the previous status quo, the Jedi Council even proposed several demands to decommission fleets across the galaxy to remove the threat of war. Which would have opened us to invasion immediately. What¡¯s worse is that much of the Republic approved of this action, as it would weaken the systems outside of it¡¯s control greatly. So with the galaxy about to return to peace and it¡¯s defenders unwilling to acknowledge the distant threat I, along with several of my followers, decided to do the unthinkable. We would become the distant threat I had warned of, but with a mission of subjugation and conquest rather than eradication like the Yuuzhan Vong wished. I took the name of the Jedi¡¯s historical enemy as our banner to ensure everyone in the galaxy knew the war was not over. That the Sith had returned as an empire to take the galaxy for themselves.¡± Shepard was surprised how bitter Revan sounded at being forced to grab unlimited power in the form of her own fucking empire! It was reassuring in a way that meant Revan didn¡¯t like that her actions plunged her galaxy into more war. It was also concerning that Shepard couldn¡¯t exactly blame the elven woman for her decision either. Hadn¡¯t she done the same, if on an infinitely smaller scale, agreeing to work with Cerberus? ¡°It worked. The Republic was outraged that the Jedi war hero had turned into a warlord. The Jedi lost members, trust, and influence between people defecting to my cause and others wondering if I as one of the most promising of them could ¡®fall to the Dark side¡¯ like I did. So for years, I fought a galactic war against the very people I dedicated my life to protecting. Keeping a careful balance of winning the war and not reducing our galactic strength. It was...hard...to say the least. Eventually I thought I had found the solution to that problem and readied my forces to crush the Republic. And in that moment... I was betrayed. The Jedi council, cowards and hypocrites that they are, decided that the best way to end the war was to kill me and convinced my apprentice to cooperate in an ambush.¡± Shepard waited for Revan to continue, sharing glances with Miranda about the crazy tale a single question had evolved into. When it seemed Revan wasn¡¯t about to continue Shepard carefully prodded her on. She recognised the tone Revan had slipped into, she heard it enough from soldiers sharing stories of ops gone bad. ¡°Was that how you ended up here?¡± Revan snorted in amusement. ¡°No, that would have been too easy, wouldn¡¯t it? No, that betrayal cut a million times deeper than this one. My apprentice, Malak, had fully given himself over to indulging in his rage and power. It¡¯s an addictive feeling, having the Dark side leap to your side and grant you power. But just like any normal person drowning yourself in negative emotions for any reason isn¡¯t healthy and it twisted him. The Jedi felt like they could deal with Malak because he lived up to all the old stories of the Sith. Impulsive, destructive, insane¡­ all things that despite how they called me a Sith Lord couldn¡¯t really be attributed to me, because I refused to believe there was a single path to power and wallow in my passions like an unthinking animal. I was more powerful than all but the oldest Jedi masters, and yet I was also in complete control of myself. This scared them. If I ever taught a true apprentice how to use that same power then it would be the end of the Jedi. They played off of Malak¡¯s insecurities of his inferiority to me and cooperated to have a Jedi kill squad infiltrate my flagship. In the middle of my battle with the Jedi, Malak had his ships fire on mine, interrupting the duel and ironically possibly saving my life. It caused our forces to lose the battle, but Malak took the opportunity to flee and unite my empire under his own name after my assumed death. I was greatly injured in the crash of my ship, where I was captured by the surviving Jedi and brought back to the council. Where they performed a ritual, which is also the answer to your question.¡± Shepard couldn¡¯t resist a question. ¡°They didn¡¯t just kill you?¡± That seemed like the natural thing to do if they went that far to take a shot at Revan. ¡°You would think they would after going through that much trouble.¡± Revan agreed, a hint of a smile in her voice. ¡°But Malak was more cunning than they had accounted for. When he slipped away from the battle he did so to launch a terrible blow to a nearby world. Free from my oversight and restrictions on his actions, Malak utterly destroyed practically everything there. His power and ruthlessness were beyond what most of the Jedi were capable of handling. So the cowards on the council saw my capture as the perfect tool to destroy Malak without risking any of their own.¡± Once again Revan stopped talking and took a deep breath. ¡°Something you need to know about the so-called ¡®sides¡¯ of the Force is that certain abilities come much more easily to one than the other. The Dark grants many physical boosts and powers. Elemental control, physical reinforcement, draining lifeforce and other such things fall under this category. It¡¯s one of the reasons that those that ¡®fall¡¯ to it see such an improvement in power in such a short time.¡± Shepard blinked at the sudden tangent. What did this have to do with anything? ¡°The Light is mostly aligned with mental powers. Empathy, telepathy, precognition¡­ mind control¡­ and things like that. This isn¡¯t to say that using one means you are incapable of the other. Just much harder and slower to improve. When I was presented to the Council, they ¡®debated¡¯ what to do with me. Whether my actions meant I deserved to be executed or not. Eventually the highest members of the Council convinced the others that I had caused too much evil in the galaxy to be simply granted death, but I was also not trustworthy enough to repent for my actions on my own.¡± Shepard was starting to feel uneasy when Revan mentioned mind control. Her buried fear of what Cerberus had done to her on the operating table springing to the surface. ¡°It¡¯s called ¡®Death of the Personality¡¯, a Light Force technique so powerful that it can erase every aspect of a person and replace it with a crafted persona of the user¡¯s choice. Darth Revan ¡®died¡¯ that day and Naver, Jedi Padawan replaced her.¡± Revan laughed hollowly at Shepard and Miranda¡¯s incredulous faces. ¡°Yes, they weren¡¯t very subtle about it were they? I managed to regain most of my memories through luck and circumstance but pieces are still missing. My early years are nearly entirely lost to me still. If I ever knew what my race was called, I cannot remember it now. So that Miss Lawson, is why I cannot tell you my species name. Now I know I promised more info about me, but I have spoken more about things I would have preferred to never remember again. If you¡¯ll excuse me¡­¡± Revan stood up and made her way out the door. When it shut, Miranda turned to her commanding officer. ¡°What do you think Shepard? It seems completely crazy but¡­¡± ¡°I don¡¯t think she was lying. About any of it.¡± Shepard agreed. ¡°Revan just got a whole lot more complicated than we first believed, but if what she said was true...then maybe more visions of her galaxy exist here. We can ask her more questions later if we need things clarified.¡± ¡°Should we keep a closer eye on her?¡± ¡°Yyyess.¡± Shepard ground out, hating herself a little for spying on someone who had just become a part of her crew. ¡°But nothing invasive. We keep a lookout for any odd behavioral changes around the ship and nothing else. The Collectors need to remain our top priority.¡± ¡°Understood, Commander.¡± Miranda nodded and looked at her datapad, adding some final notes to the ones she took during the meeting. ¡°I¡¯ll inform you if we discover anything new.¡± ¡°Good, what¡¯s our status on finding Archangel?¡± ¡°I have picked up reports of Blue Sun, Blood Pack, and Eclipse mercenaries gathering in one location.¡± EDI reported. ¡°I have also accessed messages between mercenary groups regarding plans to deal with Archangel. There''s a recruiting station at Afterlife that may have information on him.¡± ¡°Okay, then we head there first thing in the morning.¡± Shepard said placing her hands on the table and rising to her feet. ¡°Let Jacob know I¡¯ll need him ready to go.¡± ¡°And Revan?¡± ¡°Let her know too, but if her head isn¡¯t in the game I don¡¯t want her coming with.¡± Shepard decided. ¡°I should go...keep me informed of any changes.¡± ¡®I need a shower after hearing about that personality thing.¡¯ She thought as she made her way up to her quarters and hopefully a few hours of sleep. Chapter 7 Shepard waited patiently for the airlock to finish cycling, as she disembarked she paid special attention to the fourth member of the shore party. Revan walked silently alongside Jacob. Her features completely obscured under the armor she wore. Shepard wasn¡¯t sure she was comfortable allowing the elf on the mission so soon after learning just how many abilities were open to the alien through her story. She also realised late after the meeting that despite Revan revealing all those powers, she hadn¡¯t told any of them what she was capable of. Shepard couldn¡¯t help but scowl at the realisation the alien had played them a bit. She hadn¡¯t lied or misled them exactly but Revan had explained the barest minimum possible and then turned the conversation so awkward that they couldn¡¯t keep questioning her without looking like they were the bad guys. Not a feeling she liked. Shepard would have to keep an eye out for that in the future. ¡°Something wrong Commander? You¡¯re staring rather hard at me.¡± Revan said innocently, not even turning her head to look at Shepard. ¡°Noo, not at all.¡± Shepard replied through gritted teeth before she had a thought. ¡°Just wondering what it was like for you growing up. You said you grew up in a religious order?¡± She said in a much more relaxed tone. Revan tilted her head so Shepard could meet her eyes-to-visor. ¡°I figured you wouldn¡¯t want me talking about my home where anyone could hear.¡± ¡°I figured you wouldn¡¯t mind, since you were so good about dodging questions and being vague on our last conversation.¡± Shepard replied, well aware of the smile on her face. ¡°I see...I can¡¯t guarantee I will answer all questions. But there is little harm in asking I suppose.¡± The four continued walking in a slightly awkward silence for a bit. ¡°So?¡± Jacob prodded, the first to break under the silence. ¡°What was it like?¡± All three women looked at him, acknowledging him as the weakest link in this semi-friendly social battle before Revan answered the question. ¡°Peaceful enough I suppose. Despite my issues with them as an organisation. They spent every effort to make sure all the younglings were well trained.¡± ¡°What were you trained in? You said it was a religious order, but from what you¡¯ve told us it seems more like a military force.¡± Miranda asked. ¡°A bit. Not that most Jedi would ever agree with you.¡± Revan agreed. ¡°They called themselves peacekeepers, but no one listens to peacekeepers without reason. As younglings we were taught diplomacy, strategy, and negotiation on top of the normal piloting and combat courses.¡± Shepard filed those tidbits away. She suspected from the way Revan acted earlier, but now she practically confirmed the other woman was just as skilled a politician as she was a fighter. She was half-tempted to have Revan meet the Council just to see what would happen. ¡°Alright. EDI, any more info about Archangel than what you found last night?¡± Shepard changed topics. As much as she wanted to mess with Revan, drawing attention in the middle of Omega wasn¡¯t a good idea and they needed to start focusing on the mission. ¡°No updates, Commander.¡± EDI told the entire team through their comms, including Revan. ¡°Besides the increasing amount of mercenaries being recruited there has been no further news.¡± ¡°Okay team, here¡¯s the initial plan. The recruiting station should hopefully give us Archangel¡¯s location. Once we get that we assess the situation and figure out the best way to contact him. I¡¯d like to smuggle him out of this station without getting into a firefight with every merc here but we might not be that lucky. Questions?¡± ¡°Rules of engagement?¡± Jacob asked. ¡°Follow my lead. If I¡¯m not shooting, you aren¡¯t shooting. Oh, and Revan?¡± ¡°Yes, Commander?¡± ¡°Can you keep the Force powers limited to the less flashy ones? The laser swords are already going to bring you a lot of attention. I don¡¯t want every blackops science team in the Terminus Systems hunting us down at the moment.¡± ¡°And what are considered ¡®less flashy¡¯?¡± Revan asked with amusement. ¡°Fucked if I know. Just try and keep the lightning to a minimum. Other than that...maybe just copy the Biotic techniques we¡¯ve shown you?¡± ¡°I make no promises, but I will endeavor to try.¡± Shepard didn¡¯t buy that for a second. She had a feeling Revan was going to try and find a way to do something really impressive that couldn¡¯t be directly tied back to her. ¡°Right, back to Afterlife then.¡± -o- ¡°Well this could be an issue.¡± Miranda murmured as they stepped out of the skycar. They had been lucky enough to catch the tail end of the recruitment drive. Which meant there was no delay in getting Archangel¡¯s position. It also meant they now had zero time to scope out the surroundings to plan an exfiltration and were also in the middle of a small army that they might be required to shoot their way through. ¡°Game plan Commander?¡± ¡°Easy Jacob. We¡¯re going to see what the gangs are planning, maybe do some light sabotage and try and talk to Archangel.¡± ¡°And then?¡± ¡°I¡¯ll improvise.¡± A Batarian in Blue Suns armor walked up to their group. ¡°About time they sent me a group that looks like they can fight. They tell you what we¡¯re up against here?¡± ¡°The recruiters were a little vague.¡± Shapard said sarcastically. ¡°Five hundred credits to take down Archangel and any details would be given on site.¡± ¡°We wouldn¡¯t get many hires if everyone knew the truth.¡± The Batarian waved dismissively. ¡°Archangel¡¯s holed up in a building at the end of the boulevard. He¡¯s blown out the underground passageways and sealed the doors to the lower levels. He¡¯s got a superior position, and the only way over is a very exposed bridge. It¡¯s a killing ground.¡± ¡°I¡¯m guessing there¡¯s a plan?¡± The Batarian nodded. ¡°A small team is waiting to infiltrate his hideout but we need to draw Archangel¡¯s fire so they can move in.¡± ¡°And that''s where we come in.¡± ¡°Exactly. You¡¯ll be on the distraction team. Head straight over the bridge and keep Archangel busy so the infiltration team can sneak in behind him.¡± ¡°Sounds like a suicide mission to me.¡± Jacob commented from the side. Shepard didn¡¯t like the idea much either. ¡°You look like you can handle it.¡± Shepard managed to drag some more info out of the merc before he wandered off to meet the next skycar to land. Apparently the Suns had a gunship on top of all the guns they had here. ¡°Well, we might have a way in, but getting out again could get interesting.¡± Jacob said. An understatement in Shepard¡¯s opinion, but she couldn¡¯t show doubts now. ¡°Let¡¯s just find him first then we¡¯ll figure out how to get back.¡± -o- Revan was not impressed with the three mercenary gangs. They claimed to want Archangel dead, but they spent so much more time and energy watching eachother than they did trying to kill their quarry that a single sniper was able to hold off all three of them. It was actually a little impressive how incompetant they were. Revan would¡¯ve simply ordered them to blanket coverfire while teams set up barriers down the bridge. At some point there would simply be too much cover for the sniper to stop them from overrunning his position. Though considering it was likely they would end up fighting all of them in a bit perhaps it was a good thing the mercs barely knew strategy unless it shot them between the eyes. The Commander was doing a thorough job of learning as much as she could about the gangs and what they were planning. Enough so that it soon became apparent the distraction plan was being treated as just a throwaway gambit before the three gangs simply tried to overrun the building. Revan was looking forward to the mess that was bound to happen when they turned that heavy droid on. Eventually their group managed to find the sergeant that the Blue Suns merc that greeted them mentioned. The Batarian was elbows deep in the components of the gunship, obviously trying to get it back in working order. ¡°Cathka?¡± ¡°Sergeant Cathka¡­¡± The merc corrected imperiously as he extricated himself from the machine and depolarized his vizor. ¡°Ah...you must be the group Salkie mentioned. You¡¯re just in time.¡± ¡°Salkie?¡± Shepard asked a touch suspiciously. As far as they knew no one had any reason to call their team out specifically. ¡°You met him back when you were dropped off.¡± Cathka clarified. ¡° You four kind of stand out from other freelancers. Anyway...the infiltration team is just about ready to send the signal. Any questions? This may be your last chance.¡± Shepard took him up on the offer and asked about the plan of attack. According to him, a small infiltration team had gotten close enough to Archangel¡¯s location that they were planning to slip through the defences and take him out. For them to do that, a distraction was needed so they weren¡¯t killed the moment they were spotted. While Shepard asked more questions about what exactly the mercs were hoping to accomplish with the distraction team, Revan was looking over the exposed innards of the gunship. She didn¡¯t understand much because the technology on display was so far removed from what she was familiar with, but she did have an idea. ¡°What¡¯s the matter freelancer? Never seen a gunship up close before?¡± Cathka asked in between questions from Shepard. Revan could feel his growing suspicion in the Force. Apparently four much better equipped than normal freelance mercenaries showing up had made him nervous. Revan¡¯s interest in the damaged ship had simply made it worse. ¡°Just wondering what¡¯s been damaged. I play at being a mechanic myself from time to time.¡± Revan fibbed. She pressed on his mind a bit with the Force, just enough to give her words just a little bit more persuasion. ¡°You won¡¯t find much looking at it now. I¡¯ve already fixed most of the damage.¡± Cathka said proudly, drawing heavily from a cigarette he had lit at some point and blowing smoke all over the four Normandy crewmates. ¡°Few more tweaks and it¡¯ll be as good as new.¡± ¡°Are you joining the assault then?¡± Shepard asked, waving her hand in disgust to clear the air. ¡°Hah! Tarak doesn¡¯t pay me to fight. I just plan the attacks and fix the damn gunship. You freelancers get the privilege of-¡± A nearby terminal suddenly interrupted him with a message. ¡°Target is in sight. We are a go.¡± Cathka ignored us to head over and activate the comms. ¡°Check. Bravo Team¡­ go, go, go!¡± The freelancer teams hanging around the gunship started moving for the door. Moving past the ground team on the way. ¡°Archangel¡¯s got quite the surprise waiting for him.¡± Cathka said, taking one last drag of his cigarette before extinguishing it and repolarizing his visor. ¡°Guess that means breaks over for me. Got to get this thing back to one hundred percent before Tarak decides he needs it again.¡± He moved to get back to work but found Revan standing in his way. ¡°I think you could take a bit of a break. You deserve it.¡± A crimson blade punched through his chest with a distinct snap-hiss. Revan quickly deactivated her lightsaber and caught the body before it could fall over. She dumped it into a nearby chair and then strode over to the gunship, igniting her blade once more and stabbing deep into the machinery. Task complete she turned back to the stunned humans and motioned to the door. ¡°Shall we?¡± Shepard was the first to recover. ¡°Revan...the fuck?¡± Nevertheless she started moving out to join the other freelancers and avoid being discovered by any Blue Suns, Blood Pack, or Eclipse. ¡°I denied them the use of a powerful asset. Is there a problem with that?¡± ¡°No, but it''s disturbing as fuck when you stab someone like that with a smile in your voice.¡± ¡°Ah. I¡¯ll keep that in mind.¡± The bridge was in chaos as freelance mercenaries did their best to cross the bridge. They were trying to cover each other as much as possible but with no cover they were easy targets. Revan watched dispassionately as a merc jerked and fell over dead. At the very least, Archangel was a good shot under pressure. One of the mercs managed to get close enough to fire off a grenade launcher into the building. After the explosive round went off there was a brief pause before the offending merc received a sniper round through the head. Despite the accurate fire, the freelancers were actually making some headway across the bridge. ¡°Doesn¡¯t look like Archangel¡¯s got much time.¡± Jacob said. ¡°Well, let¡¯s not wait around too long.¡± Miranda replied. Another merc made a dash for the dropped grenade launcher and received a shot to the head for his trouble. ¡°Come on, we better give them a surprise of our own.¡± Shepard made to run after the freelancers, but Revan reached out and pulled her aside as the Force blared in warning. There was a flash of blue as a hypersonic round passed through the space her head had been. Judging by the results up until now, helmet or not, that might¡¯ve killed Shepard. Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. ¡°How about I go first?¡± Revan commented, idly disintegrating another shot with a twirl of a lightsaber. ¡°...yeah¡± Shepard seemed fully aware how close a brush with death that was but she recovered quickly. ¡±...everyone stick close. Revan, focus on defense. Everyone else, light them up.¡± They made good over the bridge after that. Revan only had to block three more rounds before Archangel seemed to give up on hitting her group and focused on the freelancers. That or he finally noticed that the humans were cutting down the mercs from behind with a ruthless efficiency. ¡°I¡¯m moving on ahead.¡± Revan warned them when they made it to the building interior. The infiltration team Cathka had mentioned had spread out across the two levels and Revan could sense they were already nearing who she suspected was Archangel. ¡°Catch up when you can.¡± Shepard simply responded back with a ¡°Go!¡±, acknowledging Revan wasn¡¯t going to be blocking shots anymore. The Force flowed through her body as she gathered it to leap to the second floor in a single motion. Four Blue Suns mercenaries were crouched outside a door as they attempted to hack through it. Two of them didn¡¯t even have time to notice Revan before she landed right behind them and bisected them with a quick flick of her wrists. The third had just enough time for his eyes to widen before a glowing blue blade stabbed through his heart. Revan¡¯s other hand lashed out to bisect the fourth merc¡¯s gun as he raised it to shoot at her side, leaving him with a useless chunk of metal before she took a step forward and unceremoniously lopped off his head. Revan cast out her senses, but the gunfire downstairs had gone quiet and Revan could sense Shepard¡¯s and the other¡¯s presences moving towards the stairs. The only other presence was the one on the other side of the door. Revan could feel the exhaustion and grim acceptance in the Force. It seemed their potential recruit believed he was about to die. ¡°Christ, those things really don¡¯t care about armor do they?¡± Revan turned to see the humans warily walking up to the door, skitting past the dismembered corpses. ¡°So our guy is through that door?¡± Shepard said rhetorically as she opened up her omnitool. ¡°Think he¡¯s ready to talk?¡± ¡°Either that or go out in a blaze of glory. He feels exhausted.¡± The humans turned to look at her. ¡°That¡¯s something you can tell?¡± Jacob asked. Revan smiled under her helmet but said nothing. It was quite fun dealing with people who didn¡¯t even have rumors of Force users. The door pinged and opened. Revan stalked through first, lightsabers ignited and Force senses searching for any hidden traps. The ground team filtered in behind her guns raised and ready. At the windowsill there was a blue armored Turian facing the group with a long barreled rifle leaning against a wall and a pistol in hand. ¡°Well now, can¡¯t say I was expecting someone good enough to block sniper fire with swords of all things. Or for you to shoot your friends in the back.¡± Revan could hear the exhaustion in the Turian¡¯s voice. ¡°Archangel?¡± ¡°That¡¯s what they call me. A little nickname for my good deeds.¡± Archangel said, pulling off his helmet and placing it on a nearby table. ¡°Although if you prefer you could call me-¡± ¡°Garrus Vakarian?!¡± Shepard exclaimed. ¡°Shepard?¡± Archangel seemed just as surprised to see the Commander as she was to see him. ¡°I thought you were dead.¡± Since it seemed like there wasn¡¯t going to be a fight, Revan deactivated her lightsabers and edged closer to Miranda. ¡°They know each other?¡± ¡°Garrus Vakarian was part of her team on the first Normandy. We actually lost track of him a while ago. I never thought we¡¯d run into him on Omega.¡± ¡°Well at least that means it should be pretty easy to convince him to come with us.¡± Revan commented, turning her attention back to the other conversation. ¡°-tried to shoot me! Multiple times!¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t know it was you, and I missed! Your friend with the glowing swords made me miss! And where the hell did you manage to find someone who can block sniper rounds with a sword?¡± ¡°Oh no, you''re not changing the topic that easily. You-¡± ¡°Although it seems the Commander might hold a bit of a grudge.¡± Revan continued, blocking out the rest of the argument. ¡°Looks that way.¡± Jacob agreed. ¡°So what now? We got in fine, but we still don¡¯t have a way out.¡± ¡°Right, about that.¡± Garrus said, jumping on the topic like a lifeline. From Shepard¡¯s scowl, this wasn¡¯t the end of that discussion though. ¡°That bridge has been saving my life. Funneling all those witless idiots into scope. But it works both ways. They¡¯ll slaughter us if we try and get out that way.¡± ¡°So we just sit here and wait for them to take us out?¡± Miranda asked to get the conversation moving forward. ¡°It''s not that bad. This place has done a good job of holding them off this far. And with the four of you¡­¡± There was some energy returning to Garrus¡¯s voice the longer he talked. ¡°I suggest we hold this position, wait for a crack in their defences, and take our chances.¡± ¡°So keep doing what you¡¯ve been doing.¡± ¡°Hey, it¡¯s not a perfect plan but it¡¯s been working so far.¡± Revan politely didn¡¯t mention that his plan was only still working due to the ground team¡¯s timely arrival. Garrus retrieved his rifle and made his way back to the window. ¡°Let¡¯s see what the mercs are up to.¡± Revan decided to do the same, the optics in her visor magnifying the end of the bridge so the several figures coming out of cover were visible. Several droids were making their way down the bridge. From the simple movements and positioning Revan could tell they were around the level of some of the lower end battle droids. Good enough as disposable troops, but not smart or sophisticated enough to be considered sentient. Although that wasn¡¯t necessarily a bad thing for simple scouting missions in urban environments. ¡°Looks like they know the infiltration team failed. Take a look. Scouts. Eclipse, I think.¡± Garrus said, passing his rifle to Shepard. There was a gunshot and one of the droid¡¯s heads exploded into scrap. ¡°Well that¡¯s one less at any rate.¡± ¡°Indeed.¡± Garrus accepted the rifle back with a smile in his voice. ¡°I¡¯ll stay up here. I can do a lot of damage from this vantage point. You¡­¡± He turned to look at Shepard. ¡°You do what you do best.¡± The Commander gave an amused huff then turned back to the others. ¡°We should split between levels. Two up here to assist Garrus, two in the lower level so nothing sneaks up on us. Revan-¡± ¡°I will be going to the lower level.¡± Revan interjected. ¡°I don¡¯t care who else joins me.¡± ¡°-will hold the lower level.¡± Shepard accepted seamlessly. ¡°Miranda, watch her back. Jacob and I will keep as many from getting close as possible but I¡¯m worried about those dig teams. They should be clearing out the last of any rubble pretty soon.¡± ¡°We¡¯ll keep and eye out.¡± Miranda promised and fell in step with Revan as they headed to the lower level. ¡°What¡¯s the plan here then?¡± She asked as Revan took a more detailed look over the first level floor plan. There were several counters and appliances that turned the level into a slight maze of cover and flanking routes. That would have to go. ¡°I will handle the majority of any enemies that make it past the bridge. You should focus on staying near the stairway and picking targets of opportunity.¡± ¡°That doesn¡¯t leave me much cover.¡± Miranda said neutrally. ¡°My barriers might be better than practically every other human but they aren¡¯t enough to stand in the open and take shots.¡± ¡°They won¡¯t have to be.¡± Revan replied. ¡°We will simply restructure the battlefield to be a little more accommodating.¡± Revan reached out with the Force and began tearing the obstructions from the floor and rearranging them so the only defensive position was guarding the base of the stairs. Anything that was more firmly attached was quickly detached through liberal use of a lightsaber. Miranda watched the casual display of power with wide eyes before she shook herself and began strategically welding some of the structure Revan was creating with the use of her Omnitool. Revan noticed there was a sudden increase in the amount of explosions and gunfire in the distance but oddly they didn¡¯t seem to be impacting the building. ¡°Commander, we¡¯ve just about fortified the first level. How are things on the bridge?¡± She asked through the comms. ¡°Eclipse looks like they''re throwing everything they have at us!¡± Shepard yelled over the sound of gunfire. ¡°That heavy mech we sabotaged is really messing the- Garrus, rocket on the left! -it¡¯s messing them up pretty bad!¡± ¡°Are they breaking through?¡± ¡°Negative! We can hold them.¡± There was another explosion, one that seemed to rock the entire building. ¡°What the hell was that?!¡± ¡°Damn it. They¡¯ve breached the lower level.¡± Garrus cut in. ¡°Well, they had to use their brains eventually. We need to close down the emergency shutters or we¡¯re going to be overrun.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll take care of it.¡± Revan said. ¡°I¡¯m leaving Miranda to cover the first floor.¡± ¡°Wait what? No! Revan take her with-¡± Revan closed the comm line and turned to the Cerberus Operative. ¡°No offense to you, but I can¡¯t guarantee I can keep you safe. Besides, Shepard needs someone watching her back.¡± ¡°You have command.¡± Miranda replied. ¡°Just do us a favor and let us know if you get in over your head. I¡¯d prefer to know if we need to send help before they make it past you.¡± Revan gave her an affirmative head tilt and headed to the lower level. She quickly found herself in a three way intersection and the first shutter straight ahead. An alarm blared as she began the emergency shut down and a squad of Blood Pack mercenaries appeared through the far door. They screamed in fury at the sight of Revan and tried to rush through before the shutter activated. Revan didn¡¯t bother igniting her lightsabers, simply smashing the Vorcha into the walls with a Force Push and frying the Krogan leading them with Force Lightning. Seconds later a heavy metal shutter descended from the ceiling and closed off that hallway. ¡°That¡¯s one closed. Two more to go.¡± Garrus reported. ¡°Better hurry, the Eclipse mercs aren¡¯t letting up and they managed to destroy the heavy mech. We¡¯re holding them for now.¡± ¡°Alright. Heading to the next shutter now.¡° Revan replied. She backtracked to the intersection and went left towards the garage. The door opened and Revan immediately threw herself forward as gunfire filled the area she had been occupying. Several Vorcha and a pair of Krogan were halfway through the garage accompanied by a pair of fishlike canines, Varren if Revan remembered correctly. She ignored the cries of ¡®kill the human¡¯ and ignited both of her lightsabers. The blades weaved themselves into a veritable wall of light, blocking the incoming fire. Revan grabbed one of the Vorcha and yanked him closed with the Force, using his body as a shield from the others. She might¡¯ve overestimated their care for their fellow mercenaries since the other Vorcha didn¡¯t slow their rate of fire at all. One of the Varren lept at her from the side but was decapitated with a flash of blue. By this point her meatshield resembled ground meat more than not. One of the Krogan fired a shotgun into the riddled corpse and nearly split the thing in half. Revan responded by telekinetically lifting a random crate in the garage and slamming it into the alien¡¯s shoulder. It staggered under the sudden strike and Revan took the opportunity to throw the Vorcha corpse at the other Krogan and stab the one she struck through the heart. With half of their numbers killed the remaining Vorcha lost what little unit cohesion they had. They scattered and Revan sprinted towards the last remaining threat. The Krogan roared in challenge when it saw her approach. Revan sidestepped it¡¯s shotgun blast and bisected the lizard-like alien with a lightsaber. The remaining Vorcha tried to individually get the drop on her. But with no cooperation they were easily dispatched. Only the comparatively smarter ones tried attacking at the same time the final Varren jumped at her from on top of a crate and that was nowhere near enough to match her. A few seconds later Revan had sealed the door and was walking back through the garage. ¡°Garrus, Shepard, I¡¯ve sealed the second shutter. Heading to-¡± The Force screamed but Revan was too slow to react. A shotgun boomed and Revan felt something punch into her shoulder. The shot failed to penetrate her durasteel armour but it did whip her around and launched her off her feet. Revan hit the ground but rolled so she was facing her attacker, lightsabers springing to life and ignoring the yelling in her ears as Shepard tried to get her attention. The first Krogan was back on its feet, gun still aimed in Revan¡¯s direction but the one handed grip and charred hole through its chest made her wonder just how the thing was still alive. ¡°Forgot about our redundant biology didn''t you, you damned human?¡± The Krogan ground out. ¡°It¡¯s gonna be the last damned mistake you make before I piss on your corpse.¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t know about that actually. Tell me, how does redundant biology handle lightning?¡± Revan asked as sparks jumped from her fingers. She triggered her comms again as she walked away from a charred husk of meat a few seconds later. Instantly she was assaulted by Shepard¡¯s voice demanding a status update and her preparing to send Miranda and Jacob after her. ¡°I¡¯m fine, Commander.¡± Revan interrupted the human¡¯s hurried orders. ¡°Krogan are apparently tough enough to shrug off a lightsaber through the heart with a little time. It¡¯s been dealt with. I¡¯m heading to the final shutter now.¡± ¡°Copy. Hurry up Revan. The Eclipse are starting to pull back since we got Jaroth, but the Blood Pack are starting to cut through some of the other doors. I had to send Jacob to back up Miranda already.¡± ¡°Acknowledged.¡± Since time was now limited Revan sprinted across the lower level towards the final shutter. She rounded a corner and immediately jumped back as a gout of flame filled the narrow corridor. A quick Force Barrier prevented the last of the flames from reaching her. When the flames died out Revan saw two Vorcha with flamer type weapons strapped to their backs and a few more further down the hall. ¡°Others tell us about Human¡¯s swords.¡± One of the pyros hissed. ¡°Lets see human deal with this!¡± and he fired his flamer again. In another instance Revan might¡¯ve played around with the Vorcha, but with the knowledge that the others were in danger of being killed Revan wasn¡¯t willing to risk a mission failure. If there was one thing that Revan could be sure of in this new galaxy it was that she didn¡¯t lose. The flames parted harmlessly around her Force Barrier before she reached out and ceased hold of the flame. As Revan fed more and more power into the fire around her she started sending it back down the hall towards the rest of her enemies. The two Blood Pack pyros cut their own stream of fire when they realised what was happening but it didn¡¯t stop the growing firestorm backed by the power of the Force. The Vorcha tried running, but the unnatural flames proved to be much faster. Soon enough the Blood pack mercs were carbon as Revan tiredly placed a hand on a wall to support herself. ¡®Still too quickly tired out from pyromancy. I¡¯ll have to work on that.¡¯ She thought. She took a moment to collect herself and went to close the final shutter. -o- Shepard bit back a curse as a stray shot from one of the last remaining Eclipse mercs pinged off her shields. She shifted her aim and pulled the trigger, blowing through the merc¡¯s own shields and putting a few through his head with the borrowed Vindicator rifle she had picked up. She might¡¯ve preferred to use a shotgun, but that didn¡¯t mean she was any less deadly with another weapon. ¡°So how the hell¡¯d you end up in this mess anyway?¡± She called over to Garrus, still caught between thrilled to have found a member of her old team and pissed he almost shot her. ¡°My emotions got the better of me. It¡¯s a long story.¡± Garrus called back. His rifle barked and another Eclipse mercenary went down. ¡°I¡¯m still more curious where you found a human that can block bullets with a sword.¡± ¡°Another long story. We can trade once we get out of here but I¡¯ll let you know now she isn¡¯t human.¡± More shots spattered against the window frame. Shepard fired a Lift field and dragged the offending mercenary out into the open. Half a second later Garus put a round through his head. ¡°Odd, she doesn¡¯t look like an Asari.¡± ¡°Not Asari either. Like I said, long story.¡± That seemed to throw her friend for a loop and Shepard took a chance to check in on Miranda and Jacob. ¡°How¡¯s the first floor looking?¡± ¡°We¡¯re holding for now Commander but pretty soon we are going to need to fall back!¡± Jacob called over the sound of a Biotic explosion. ¡±Commander, I¡¯ve closed the third shutter. Tell the other two to hold out for a few more seconds and I¡¯ll be right there.¡± ¡°You hear that Jacob? Hold out until Revan gets there, but fall back if you need to.¡± ¡°Rodger, Commander!¡± Garrus¡¯s rifle barked again. ¡°That¡¯s the last of them!¡± he crowed. Shepard smiled seeing him more energetic than when even just a few minutes ago. That Garrus had been resigned that he was going to die and was just looking to take a few more with him. The Turian in front of her was still exhausted but was much closer to what she remembered her friend being like. She only hoped he hadn¡¯t changed too much over two years. ¡°Only a few Blood Pack and the Blue Suns left. Think we have a chance if we try the bridge now?¡± She asked and pushed her doubts into the dark corner in her mind. ¡°We actually might,¡± Garrus smiled. ¡°Tarak has the toughest group, but nothing we haven¡¯t faced before.¡± He shifted so he was able to watch over the first level and cursed. ¡°Shepard, that''s the Blood Pack leader Garm. We might need to get down there and give those two a hand. I¡¯ve fought him before and he¡¯s a freak. I put twelve rounds into his chest and he just managed to regen through it all.¡± Shepard considered it before shaking her head. ¡°I have a different idea,¡± and triggered her comms. ¡°Jacob, Miranda, fall back and focus on the foot soldiers. Revan, there¡¯s a big Krogan down there. Think you can take him?¡± ¡°Without a doubt.¡± Garm roared and charged into the first room, his shields shrugging off the few shots her squad was able to get off, before crashing into the makeshift fortifications Revan and Miranda had set up. The large Krogan easily tore through the simple welds and was strong enough to break down the cover so his soldiers had somewhere to hide as they trickled in behind him. He would¡¯ve continued up the stairs but that was the moment Revan burst out from the lower level and threw him across the room. The remaining Blood Pack all shifted fire to the exposed elf, but once again her swords blocked the incoming fire. ¡°Cover fire! Hit those Vorcha!¡± Shepard ordered and opened fire. Jacob and Miranda joined in with a cooperative display of Biotics and gunfire. ¡°That¡¯s just bullshit. One round I can kinda see. Automatic weapon fire? Shepard you need to tell me where you found her.¡± Garrus complained as he picked off another Blood Pack merc. ¡°You haven¡¯t seen anything!¡± Shepard promised as she watched Revan stalk towards the recovering Krogan. She could honestly say Garm was one of the fastest warriors she had ever seen as the Krogan lunged at the sword wielding elf, it was just a shame he was completely outclassed. Revan leaped over a shotgun blast and bisected the weapon in the same moment. Then she ducked under Garm¡¯s arm when he tried to use the remaining weapon as a club before removing his arm. He screamed in pain before his voice shifted and Shepard recognised the beginnings of a bloodrage. Garm lowered his head and charged Revan with the intent on either crushing her or beating her into a bloody pulp. Before Shepard could call out a warning, Revan counter charged the massive Krogan and her swords flashed faster than even Shepard¡¯s cybernetically enhanced eyes could follow. Somewhat after the fact she realised two glowing orange lines had appeared on Garm¡¯s body before it slid apart into three pieces. ¡°Holy shit. I¡¯m glad she¡¯s on our side.¡± Jacob said over an open channel. Shepard was about to reprimand him even if she agreed when the glass on the second level shattered under an assault of heavy machine gun fire. The line of tracers started to quickly sweep the upper level causing her and Garrus to flop to the floor to avoid it. Risking a glance, Shepard managed to see a smoking gunship outside the building. ¡°I thought I took that thing out already!¡± Garrus yelled as the gunfire cut off and the gunship moved to reposition. ¡°More Blue Suns trying to take the first level, Shepard!¡± Miranda called over the comms. ¡°Should we fall back to you?¡± ¡°Negative! Garrus and I can take the gunship, you keep those mercs off us!¡± ¡°You want us to take out a gunship alone?!¡± Garrus cried in disbelief. ¡°You managed it before already!¡± She countered, ¡°And it¡¯s more damaged than you think. Revan fried the shield unit before we crossed the bridge.¡± ¡°Oh well this will be easy then.¡± The gunship stopped to hover at window level again and opened up with its cannons. Shepard rolled out of the way before opening fire on the exposed panel Revan had weakened already. Sparks burst out as her rounds damaged already compromised mechanics and Tarak pulled back temporarily. ¡°Garrus, can you cripple that thing?!¡± Shepard shouted. ¡°Yeah! But I need a clear shot!¡± Garrus called back. ¡°I need you to draw his fire for a bit!¡± Of fucking course he did! The gunship pulled in for another run and Shepard left cover and started shooting wildly at the cockpit. The light caliber rounds sparked harmlessly off the specially treated glass but she got Taraks attention. Bullets traced their way towards her before she dove out of the way. The couch that had been behind her exploded as the rounds tore through the soft material and rained down on Shepard¡¯s head. ¡°Anytime now Garrus!¡± Rather than answer her, Garrus took the shot and hit something important as there was a small explosion and flames started shooting out of the ship¡¯s interior. But the gunship refused to go down. ¡°Archangel!¡± Tarak raged over the loudspeakers. ¡°You think you can mess with the Blue Suns? This ends now!¡± The cannons lit up and chewed through Garrus¡¯s remaining cover. Shepard tried to force the gunship off by shooting into the damaged panel, but Tarak ignored it for the single minded purpose of taking Garrus out. As the last of his cover gave out, Garrus tried to run to a new location but stumbled when a round slammed into his leg. Several more rounds connected while he was out in the open and purple blood splashed in the air when his shields gave out. Shepard shouted in frustration and began unloading every weapon she had into the ship. Something else sparked and there was another small explosion. The gunship started to wobble violently in the air. As a last ¡®fuck you¡¯ Tarak fired an a rocket into the building. The explosion picking Garrus up and throwing him a few feet through the air. Shepard saw red and lashed out biotically, trying to simply rip the visibly damaged components out of the gunships frame. It was the last straw for the heavily damaged ship. The entire thing exploded as cascading failures caused more small explosions on the inside. The ship was down but Shepard barely cared as she rushed to Garrus¡¯s side. When she saw he wasn¡¯t breathing her heart almost stopped. No, it couldn¡¯t end this way! She had just found him! She had lost two years and everything she had ever known she couldn¡¯t lose Garrus too. She immediately ordered her squad to raise Joker and make sure they got a medical team here, asap. She was about to start praying to every religion she had ever even heard mentioned when Garrus took a gasping breath. He was alive! But he might not stay that way. Even now she could hear him struggling to breath as blood started to fill his lungs. Shepard desperately started applying Medigel to the worst of it but even she knew subconsciously it wouldn¡¯t be enough. Which was why when a pair of armoured hands firmly started pushing her away from her friend, she didn¡¯t hesitate to try and punch the offending person. If...if she couldn¡¯t save her friend. She would at least be there with him dammit! Infuriatingly, Revan simply leaned back allowing the punch to fall short before punching Shepard out of the way. ¡°Commander, I can help him but you need to move out of the way.¡± She said gently but firmly. A tone Shepard never thought she would hear from the Sith. ¡°Don¡¯t lie to me.¡± Shepard hissed. ¡°Unless your fucking Force can fix this then there is nothing you can do that I can¡¯t. I¡¯m not leaving his side.¡± Revan¡¯s inscrutable black visor met her glare with ease and Revan raised a single hand that started glowing in a white light. ¡°As it turns out the Force can fix this, so please move. Unless you want the Turian to keep choking on his own blood?¡± The frank admission of another power rocked Shepard back onto her heels but the faintest embers of hope bloomed in her chest. She shuffled out of the way and watched as Revan placed a hand on the worst of Garrus¡¯s injuries. Miracuously, they started to mend together under her touch and Shepard allowed herself to relax the slightest amount. Revan could heal her friend. Garrus would survive. Chapter 8 There were times Shepard loved the responsibility of captaining a ship. The contentment as everyone worked together to accomplish their mission, watching as her crew came together like a well oiled machine. The pride at the knowledge that everyone looked to her for guidance and leadership. This wasn¡¯t like those times. Shepard was currently in the middle of organising and verifying all the resupply reports from the crew to make sure that the Normandy was ready for a quick departure from Omega. They might¡¯ve crippled the leadership of the three major merc bands on the station but she wasn¡¯t about to hang around for a retaliatory attack from an ambitious underling or to be used as an unwitting pawn by Aria again. That the self-proclaimed queen of Omega had used her team as a way to weaken the gangs had burned Shepard. Not because she was upset that the Asari had profited from her mission. That was admittedly good tactical judgement. It was that Aria had hidden that goal and forced her team into a massive trap that could¡¯ve been planned around and might not have gotten Garrus hurt! Shepard dealt with enough cloak-and-dagger crap in her normal life now that she wasn¡¯t exactly thrilled to deal with more. The paperwork wasn¡¯t doing much to help her mood or temper either. It normally would¡¯ve been handled by Miranda as her XO, but despite the incredible healing ability Revan showed Garrus had still been in critical condition and was rushed into the medbay for surgery the second they got back to the Normandy. As one of their resident bio-experts, Miranda had been acting as an assistant to Chakwas, something that meant Shepard was stuck with doing the forms she would normally handle. But as long as Garrus pulled through she would do twice the work with a damned smile on her face. Of course since her friend¡¯s survival wasn¡¯t intrinsically linked to her completion of various paperwork she stopped reading over the form she had picked up the second Jacob walked through the Comm Room door to deliver his hourly update on Garrus¡¯s condition. ¡°Anything new?¡± ¡°Nothing you want to hear, Commander.¡± Jacob replied. He had come by several times to keep her up to date on what was going on. The surgery ended hours ago and Garrus was expected to live -It was the only reason Shepard had been convinced to focus on other tasks- but that didn¡¯t mean she wasn¡¯t going to keep checking on him. ¡°The docs have done everything they could with the surgery and some cybernetics, but he took a bad hit. Best we can tell, he¡¯ll have full functionality but we have no way to know when he¡¯ll be back on his¡­¡± Jacob paused as the door beeped open to reveal a battered Garrus on the other side, still in his armour that had shattered around the collar and his face a raw mess of tissue where it wasn¡¯t covered by a trauma patch. ¡°Shepard.¡± The turian greeted casually. ¡°Heh, tough sonnova bitch.¡± Jacob huffed disbelievingly. ¡°Didn¡¯t think he¡¯d be up yet.¡± Garrus walked into the room with an energy Shepard wasn¡¯t sure someone just out of medical should have. But the sight of her friend up and alive dissipated an unseen weight from her shoulders and she couldn¡¯t resist a smile forming. ¡°Nobody would give me a mirror.¡± Garrus said, gesturing at his face. ¡°How bad is it?¡± ¡°Hell Garrus, you were always ugly.¡± Shepard teased. ¡°Slap some face paint on there and no one will be able to tell the difference.¡± Garrus chuckled before wincing. ¡°Auch ow, don¡¯t make me laugh, my face is barely holding together as it is! Besides, some women find facial scars attractive. Mind you, most of those women are Krogan¡­¡± ¡°Looking to give Wrex a bit of competition then?¡± Shepard idly acknowledged Jacob salute and walk out of the room. ¡°Hilarious.¡± Garrus said dryly. ¡°Frankly, I¡¯m more worried about you. Cerberus, Shepard! You remember the kind of sick experiments they were doing?¡± Shepard smiled wryly at her friend¡¯s worried tone. It¡¯s not like she could forget some of those, no matter how much she might want to. ¡°I know, but what are my options? The Council is denouncing anything to do with the Reapers and won¡¯t lift a finger to investigate out here, and the Alliance can¡¯t be seen trying to pick a fight even if it is to protect human colonies. I need Cerberus for their resources if I want any hope of getting to the bottom of this.¡± She went on to explain the Collectors and their suspicions about them working for the Reapers. She also briefed him on the other new members to the team, how they had picked up Revan and Mordin and things like that. ¡°Spirits Shepard, you certainly managed to find yourself in a mess.¡± Garrus said when she was finished. ¡°Still want to hang around?¡± Shepard asked, hiding her insecurities behind a smirk. ¡°Wouldn¡¯t miss it for the world.¡± She had to physically stop herself from falling over in relief. ¡°But I think I want to meet this Revan. Should probably thank her for saving my life.¡± ¡°Ah.¡± Shepard hadn¡¯t actually seen Revan since they made it back to the Normandy. The Sith had lagged behind the rest of the team¡¯s frantic rush to get Garrus to the medbay and had apparently decided to simply return to her claimed room. Now that she wasn¡¯t constantly on edge waiting for news about her friend, Shepard realised she should also thank the one who ensured he lived long enough to get help. ¡°Well we can do that together then.¡± They both moved for the elevator, Garrus filling her in on some of what he had been up to the past two years. It was nice, but Shepard was also once again reminded that she was a woman out of time. Garrus seemed a bit more jaded than when she last saw him, and he suddenly had an air of command that he just lacked before. That wasn¡¯t to say Garrus had ever been bad at what he did. Just that for as long as Shepard had known him, Garrus was a bit of a loner. He worked with a team just fine, but he would happily run off on his own to get a mission done or work on the outskirts of the team. Hearing him talk about setting up squad training exercises and planning ops reminded her of, well, herself after she had gone through officer training. Unauthorized usage: this narrative is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings. Still, it was just another reminder that two years had passed her by and the universe had moved on. Shepard pushed those thoughts from her head and refocused on the present. They were just outside the cargo bay Revan had claimed for herself. She pinged the door to let Revan know they were stopping by and waited for the door to open. Stepping through, they were both greeted with the sight of the elven woman in full armor, datapad in hand, and surrounded by small mechanical pieces floating around her. Revan turned just enough so the black visor stood out from the cloak she wore as she greeted them. ¡°Shepard. Archangel.¡± ¡°Revan. Whatcha doing?¡± ¡°Inventorying everything you pulled from my ship. There¡¯s quite a bit for what was supposed to be a factory prototype.¡± ¡°Any idea why? Or find anything interesting?¡± ¡°I have a guess. And I found the engineering notes for military grade hyperdrives, which backs that guess up quite a bit. Not that it makes me feel any better about it.¡± ¡°What¡¯s a hyperdrive?¡± Garrus asked. Shepard guessed it was Revan¡¯s version of an FTL drive. It made sense that without the Reapers guiding her galaxy, Revan¡¯s home would have to rely on some other way of achieving lightspeed. And they didn¡¯t even use Eezo! She wondered how they had overcome that limitation if the Mass Relays weren¡¯t a thing. A mass driver not able to take advantage of the ME fields the Relays produced would have to be even more enormous! The scale of the things must be impressive. Although considering a malfunction between whatever Relay equivalent they had and the drive that had been on Revan¡¯s ship had launched Revan a galaxy away, maybe they weren¡¯t that impressive. ¡°A translight engine ships in my galaxy use to get to wherever they need to go. Practically any mid-sized ship up will have one or two.¡± Revan said, flipping between screens as she inspected a part on her hand. ¡°Mid-sized? Something like the Normandy?¡± ¡°No, maybe a third that size. Though there are cases where ships the size of the Kodiak can get clearance for one.¡± ¡°Traffic control must be a nightmare.¡± Revan just hummed distractedly. Garrus apparently had been reading Shepard¡¯s mind because the next thing he asked was how they got from system to system if they didn¡¯t have anything like the Eezo or the Relays. Both of them had stood a little straighter when Revan just said a hyperdrive could easily reach another system in reasonable time. ¡°So what? A few weeks to get to the next system?¡± Garrus asked optimistically. Even the most advanced FTL drives in council space needed more time than that but it wouldn¡¯t hurt to guess upwards given everything Revan had shown previously. ¡°No of course not.¡± Oh well, Shepard guessed just because Revan could walk through some of the best trained mercs in the business, it didn¡¯t mean that their technology was on the same level. ¡°In a few weeks you could cross the galaxy a couple times with a civilian drive.¡± ¡­ ¡°¡°WHAT?!¡±¡± -o- Revan glanced up at the pair at their shout of surprise. They were a welcome distraction. While inventorying everything that had been sent with her was important, it was also boring as hell. So messing with her hosts by slightly exaggerating some capabilities would be fun. Besides, she wasn¡¯t exactly lying. You would just need to be part of the 0.1% that could afford a civilian model that fast. ¡°Is something wrong?¡± She asked innocently. ¡°How fast are your military ships if the civilians are that fast?¡± Shepard practically demanded to know. ¡°They tend to be a bit slower actually, but considering the size difference between a Harrower class and a civilian shuttle. Well, that''s not much of a surprise at all.¡± ¡°... and how big are those?¡± ¡°Somewhere around 800 meters.¡± Her two visitors let out a little sigh of relief that Revan hadn¡¯t said they were all the size of the Destiny Ascension or something like that. Of course from what she had read about the dreadnought, Revan wasn¡¯t going to tell them a Harrower could go head-to-head with the pride of the Asari fleet and walk away more often than not. ¡°So what brings you by?¡± She prodded instead. ¡°Ah, well I just wanted to say thanks for the save on Omega.¡± Garrus said with a start. ¡°Same here,¡± Shepard chimed in. ¡°you have no idea how much keeping this idiot alive meant to me. If you need anything just ask.¡± Revan actually did have an idea how much it meant to the human, having felt the surge of despair when the Turian was injured. ¡°Well if you want to pay me back, perhaps stop sending Lawson around trying to get samples of my stuff. I already gave her a datapad worth of it, she should finish going over that before asking for more.¡± She smiled as Shepard stilled at the realisation Revan had been giving things to Miranda and by extension Cerberus. No doubt the Commander was worrying about what Revan had provided to the humanocentric terrorist organization but she needn¡¯t have bothered. Revan had neither the time or desire to translate whatever the Cerberus agent was after, so when Miranda had offered to pay for some earlier schematics she had found, -incidentally revealing Revan was under surveillance in the process- Revan had given her a datapad containing the plans for a single seated fighter. The wireframes for one, at any rate. The technical details were replaced with a rather bland adaptation of a holodrama Revan kept on hand, translated into Shyriiwook. She wasn¡¯t exactly in the habit of providing tools to her enemies after all. Shepard quickly excused herself to track down her XO, leaving Revan and Garrus behind in her rush. ¡°Did you really give Cerberus all the information needed to build a new fighter?¡± the turian asked. ¡°I don¡¯t know if you haven¡¯t heard about them, but Cerberus gets into some really messed up stuff.¡± ¡°I¡¯ve heard about them, yes. But I¡¯m in a foreign galaxy with few resources to call on. Trading a single datapad I have no use for, for a significant amount of credits is the obvious solution.¡± ¡°Seems to be the common attitude around here.¡± Revan just shrugged. Only two types of people tended to work with terrorists. True believers or people who wanted to use the organization¡¯s power. Shepard hadn¡¯t exactly struck Revan as a true believer either. The Sith Lord finished logging the final component on her datapad and returned all the loose ones to the crate with a flex of her will. ¡°Did you want some help with that?¡± Revan tilted her head at Garrus. ¡°Do you know what any of these are or how to read my language?¡± ¡°Well¡­no.¡± ¡°Then no.¡± -o- Shepard did her best to not burst into the science bay where Mordin and Miranda were setting up the some tests for the samples they had found on Freedom¡¯s Progress. ¡°Shepard! Good to see you. Need something?¡± Mordin greeted her, rising from where he was fiddling with the insides of some of the equipment. A small bit of tech in his hand. ¡°Nope, just swinging by to see how you¡¯re settling in. Any issues with the lab?¡± ¡°No, quite satisfactory.¡± the Salarian replied. ¡°Found a few surveillance bugs.¡± he held the bit of tech in his hand up demonstratively. ¡°Destroyed most of them. Might need to return this one to Miranda. Expensive. Still, nothing unexpected.¡± ¡°Right. Thank you for the consideration, Professor Solus.¡± Miranda retrieved the bug with a faint blush on her face. Shepard figured being caught spying would be embarrassing to anyone. ¡°So Miranda¡­I heard you managed to buy a fighter blueprint off of Revan. I didn¡¯t realise Cerberus would be interested in more alien tech.¡± ¡°Cerberus is all about advancing humanity. If we can learn from other races and integrate it into our own technology, we will do so. So the Illusive Man has set a standing order to purchase as much technology from Revan as she is willing. Although we haven¡¯t exactly learned much off of what she gave us so far.¡± the Cerberus Agent said with a slight frown. She was much less enthused about getting access to the level of technology Revan kept describing that left most of their own accomplishments in the dust than Shepard would¡¯ve figured. ¡°You...don¡¯t sound excited about it. Shouldn¡¯t this be on the same level as finding a Prothean artifact? Maybe bigger because we can actually ask questions about the tech?¡± Miranda shook her head. ¡°If it was for weapons, maybe. But for fighters they need to be designed to fit in a carrier or another larger ship to be any use. We might get something from the subsystems, but we need to crack the language first.¡± Shepard blinked. Revan didn¡¯t even translate the schematic before giving it to Cerberus? And they still bought it? Sensing the question Miranda shrugged. ¡°It¡¯s not a huge loss on our end. We have a very good team of researchers. If they can¡¯t crack the language then we release it to the extranet. Not the whole thing mind you, but enough to decode the rest if we get lucky. If all that fails we simply pay Revan more for the translation. It gives us plenty of time to look into a manufacturing plant if we really want something.¡± She explained, leaving Shepard at a loss. She had been expecting to have to somehow manage new and dangerous information being hoarded by the wrong people. Instead she walked into a game of cryptography. ¡°Oh. Well, um, I picked out the next specialist we should head after.¡± Shepard said, regaining her mental balance. ¡°As soon as the last of the resupply is strapped down we¡¯re heading to Korlus.¡± ¡°Aye, Commander.¡± Chapter 9 ¡°Mass Effect Transition successful. We have arrived at Korlus, Commander.¡± ¡°Thanks EDI. Have the ground team start prepping for launch.¡± ¡°Affirmative. Logging you out.¡± Shepard breathed out a long sigh and leaned back in her chair. The two years she had spent dead had left her woefully behind several major events and innovations in weapons, armor, and galactic events. Something she was slowly correcting, but that was the key word. Slowly. Even with EDI providing a list of highlights, it was still taking all of Shepard¡¯s free time to catch up with those events or to read through the articles, and that was when she trusted the Cerberus AI to include everything without bias or as little as possible. She sighed again and pushed herself away from her desk and walked over to the private bathroom attached to her quarters. She ran the faucet and splashed some warm water- she couldn¡¯t handle the cold much anymore -across her face and gently massaged around her eyes to ease the stress building up. ¡°Okay Jane...time to be a commander again.¡± Shepard walked out trying to imagine the tension in her stomach was anticipation for the upcoming mission. Not disgust at the twisted face in the mirror. -o- ¡°Okay team! We¡¯re about to drop into the lovely planet of Korlus!¡± Shepard declared brightly to her gathered teammates. ¡°It¡¯s main exports are rust, scrapped ships, and corpses. We are here to secure the services of one Dr. Okeer, a Krogan scientist rumored to have gotten his hands on some Collector tech. With some luck he might be able to give us a hand with the stuff we picked up as well.¡± ¡°Doubtful. Okeer interested in Genophage research. Any technology would be geared towards Krogan physiology.¡± Mordin said dismissively. ¡°Still, new Collector technologies would provide a bigger sample size for testing. Could lead to breakthroughs in other areas.¡± He inhaled to slow himself down a bit. ¡°Might be worth recruiting for that.¡± ¡°We need all the help we can get with Collector tech.¡± Shepard placated the Salarian, unsure if this was a case of professional pride or something else. ¡°Besides, I¡¯m not planning on taking you with us for this one Mordin. The Seeker swarm antidote is your top priority. I just wanted you filled in case we come back with a cartload of new Collector tech to look over.¡± ¡°Wise decision.¡± Mordin agreed. ¡°Experiments moving at a reasonable pace. Have even learned specific toxin used to cause paralysis. Managed to neutralize it three separate ways already.¡± ¡°You found a cure for it that fast?¡± Jacob asked. ¡°Oh no. Only toxin was neutralized. Side effects of the current methods include breakdown of nervous system, loss of cognitive function, and a projected increased heart rate to fatal levels. Still much more testing needed before a viable solution is found.¡± ¡°I think everyone here would prefer not to die before we even encounter the Collectors.¡± Miranda put in her two credits. ¡°Agreed.¡± Garrus said dryly. Shepard coughed into her hand. ¡°Anywayyy. Mordin is going to keep working on that. Miranda and Garrus are with me...Revan do you want to take Jacob with you?¡± Eyes turned to the second ground team leader. Everyone had been informed of Shepard and Revan¡¯s deal, but a few were interested in how that would work in practice. ¡°I think Jacob would be best utilised guarding the transport.¡± Revan said. ¡°No offense to his skills, but he is used to working with a dedicated team that I simply don¡¯t operate as. Until we can get another specialist to act as a partner, I¡¯m probably going to be operating solo. Besides from what I¡¯ve read recently, Korlus isn¡¯t exactly the place to leave functioning ships lying around if you want it to be intact when you come back.¡± Shepard nodded at the reasoning. ¡°Any objections?¡± No one said anything. ¡°Then check your gear and load up. We drop in thirty.¡± -o- ¡°I wasn¡¯t expecting much from the info I found, but Korlus really is a dumping ground isn¡¯t it?¡± Revan marveled at the number of derelict hulls littered across the landscape. ¡°Yep, best place to get rid of any ship too battered to limp anywhere else. Just strip everything down not needed for a relay jump, go through the mass relay, and then strip that too.¡± Shepard agreed as the four of them moved towards the facility Cerberus Intelligence suggested Okeer was working out of. ¡°The Dossier we received doesn¡¯t say if Okeer is on this planet by choice.¡± Shepard said, snapping into mission mode. ¡°Until we know better, assume anyone we come across is hostile.¡± ¡°You sure that''s the best approach here Shepard?¡± Garrus asked, no judgment in his tone. A voice suddenly rang out in the distance, the echoing quality suggesting an electronic system. ¡°There is only one measure of success: kill or be killed! Perfection is your goal.¡± ¡°Ah, nevermind then.¡± ¡°Broadcasting orders over loudspeaker? Charming.¡± Miranda added. Shepard agreed. It took a special kind of crazy to announce every move to those around them. Crazy they were likely going to run into at some point based on her luck. Still, best get everyone on task. ¡°Stay focused. We¡¯re looking for a Krogan warlord.¡± And hopefully not the crazy lady on the loudspeaker. ¡°Being hired is merely the beginning. You must earn your place in the mighty army we are building.¡± the voice continued. ¡°Building an army, hm? But an army for what?¡± Miranda mused. However, no one had an answer so they merely continued over the rusted stairs into the facility. They made it to a corner leading into the facility and Shepard motioned for Garrus to peek a camera around it. ¡°Observation post.¡± he reported. ¡°And ready for a fight, it looks like.¡± ¡°Anyone we know?¡± ¡°Looks like Blue Suns. Doubt they¡¯re gonna let us walk through even if we ask nicely.¡± Shepard took a moment to look at the ground in front of her team. Unfortunately it was rather open for a direct engagement. There were a few metal plates to dissuade vehicles from entering but beyond them it was all open ground. Her team would need to pick the Blue Suns off at range or they would be cut down in seconds. Good thing Garrus was here. Only him and potentially Revan had any real options over that kind of distance. Miranda could probably handle coverfire, but Shepard would be relying on a pistol to even have a shot at the mercs. ¡°Okay. Miranda, you''re going to set up at that far barrier. Keep moving and pick off who you can. I¡¯ll set up at the middle barrier. Garrus, you know what to do.¡± She turned to Revan and simply waited. She and Revan were equals on the ground, she wouldn¡¯t try pushing her larger numbers to force the elf into agreeing to a plan. Not now. ¡°I think I¡¯ll follow you, Commander. You¡¯re going to be the obvious target in the middle until Garrus can clear enough of them to get closer, right?¡± ¡°I prefer to say I¡¯ll be drawing their attention by being the most dangerous thing in front of them and letting Garrus clean up the ones I don¡¯t get to, but your version works too.¡± ¡°Well might as well give them a clear target to shoot at.¡± The fight wasn¡¯t that exciting. Well, compared to the last few fights Shepard had participated in. Miranda sprinted to her assigned location and drew a couple shots before Shepard and Revan stepped out and drew the rest of the attention. A single human in a bright white catsuit might be an attractive target in a normal engagement, but nothing drew attention quite like the armored figure of Revan as she casually walked into the open, sabers weaving walls of light as she stood there like an unbreakable juggernaut. That was her only contribution to the fight but with no one else free to shoot at her squad Shepard was easily able to direct Garrus and Miranda to focus on the ones in better cover as she picked off a pair of mercs with a combination of biotics and some well aimed shots from her heavy pistol. When the last of the mercs fell over from a final shot from Garrus, the ground team regrouped and slowly made their way forward. Shepard and her team in standard Alliance squad formation and Revan walking casually off to their left. The Blue Suns had been whipped out except for a single human who had fallen further back from the others after Miranda¡¯s SMG had broken through his armor. From the blood dripping down his face, a few rounds had shattered his faceplate and given him several nicks and another round had cut into the side of his neck. A grisly scene, especially with the merc frantically swiping at the blood and panicking when his wounds continued to bleed, but... ¡°Shit. Shit! It won''t stop bleeding¡­¡± The merc panicked, pawing at his neck before shifting to his face. ¡°I¡¯m gonna¡­ Son of a bitch!¡± ¡°Doesn¡¯t look that bad actually.¡± Miranda whispered. Shepard agreed. If the merc stopped for a second and let the blood clot, his wounds would¡¯ve probably stopped bleeding by now. ¡°Yeah, but we don¡¯t need to tell him that.¡± She whispered back. ¡°I knew it wasn¡¯t berserkers. Not at range. You¡¯re mercs. Or Alliance. I¡¯m not...I¡¯m not telling you anything.¡± Shepard looked over the Blue Suns merc. Human male, probably early twenties at best, with the Suns for at least two years if he had the armor, but from the look in his eye he would fold at a stern demand. But like her mom said, ¡®a polite word got you further than a gun because you could always use the gun later¡¯. If you spot this story on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. ¡°Not even for this bit of medigel? You look like you could use it.¡± And just like that the defiance in the merc drained out of him. ¡°Son of a¡­Look, I don¡¯t know much of anything.I just shoot the overflow from the labs. The old Krogan up there...¡± the merc shook his head. ¡°Jedore hired him to make an army, but the Krogan he creates are insane, so we use them for live ammo training. It¡¯s all crap, and I don¡¯t get paid enough to goddamn bleed out!¡± he finished with a snarl. ¡°Outpost four? Jedore wants us to move. We need coordinates on that Krogan pack.¡± a voice broke in from the merc¡¯s comm. Shepard heard Revan¡¯s weapon ignite behind her and held out a hand to prevent the elf from doing anything rash. ¡°What¡¯s he talking about?¡± The merc paled at the sight of Revan¡¯s weapon and couldn¡¯t speak fast enough. ¡°Jedore runs the Blue Suns outfit here, and she¡¯s making Krogan for an army. But they come out crazy. Tough as hell, but just insane.¡± Meaning the Blue Suns needed to send patrols to mop up the ones that started to wander. A patrol her team would likely run into if she didn¡¯t do something. ¡°Conventional weapons have to be cheaper than a setup like that.¡± Garrus pointed out while Shepard thought about what to do about the patrol. ¡°I don¡¯t know, I just point, shoot, and bank my credits. Maybe they have something better in the labs?¡± ¡°Outpost four?¡± Shepard lowered her hand. ¡°I think it''s better if we don¡¯t meet your friends. Don¡¯t you?¡± She said softly to avoid the comm picking up her voice, aware of the red glow from Revan¡¯s sword meaning the elf was likely passively threatening the merc behind her. The merc swallowed audibly, turned and placed a hand on the comm. ¡°Uh, patrol? The last group...dispersed. Lost sight five minutes ago.¡± ¡°Dispersed? Jadore will be pissed. She wanted a show.¡± ¡°You wanted a report, you got it. Dispersed.¡± the merc said panickedly, shooting Revan nervous looks. ¡°Fine, understood. Returning to the labs.¡± ¡°There. You see? I¡¯m helping.¡± there was a touch of desperation in the merc¡¯s voice now. ¡°Great! So why don¡¯t you keep helping for a bit.¡± Shepard said and began grilling him about what was going on and how the facility was set up. The merc didn¡¯t know much. As a low level grunt all he knew was that Jadore had hired Okeer and that he was making a lot of krogan in an effort to make an army, as he had said multiple times. He knew nothing about what that army was going to be used for or why Jadore wanted it, nothing about why they were using krogan other than because they were krogan, and nothing useful about the facility they were heading to. Shepard sighed. It was a longshot to hope that a grunt at a perimeter outpost would know anything but the only slightly useful info was that there weren''t any defences specifically for repelling small infantry teams. ¡°Alright, guess we¡¯re done here.¡± ¡°You sure?¡± Revan asked. ¡°Yeah, he doesn¡¯t know anything useful and we¡¯ve wasted enough time.¡± Shepard said and turned back to the merc gesturing back the way they came. ¡°You¡¯re free to-¡± Revan pulled out a handgun and shot the merc. A ring of blue energy hit him in the chest and he collapsed bonelessly. Shepard gaped at the collapsed merc for a second before rounding on the elf. ¡°Revan, the hell?!¡± ¡°Relax. It was a stun shot.¡± Revan said calmly returning the pistol to the folds of her robes. ¡°I know you wanted him to run off, but I¡¯m not risking him changing his mind and calling his friends the second he has a change of heart.¡± ¡°So you just shoot him!? And where did you even get that in the first place?¡± ¡°Yes. Like I said it was a stun shot and his shields were down, without his armor sealed even a civilian grade stun-blaster would¡¯ve worked. As for where I got it, that should be obvious, no?¡± Shepard ground her teeth as the Sith turned and walked off towards the facility. It was kinda obvious where she had gotten the handgun. It had to have been in one of those crates they had recovered. No one knew what else might be in the others until Revan decided to show something off because they couldn¡¯t open the things. No one could read the language on the controls to even try. And now that they had proof that it wasn¡¯t just parts and datapads in those crates. She sighed and did her best to push her frustration down. It¡¯s not like Revan killed the merc and she was right about them wasting too much time. If Shepard had known about the stun gun beforehand she might¡¯ve asked Revan to stun the merc anyway, so the only reason she was getting upset was because Revan hadn¡¯t explained herself. One day Shepard was going to figure out how to handle their resident extra-galactic visitor and the new weapons and abilities she kept springing on her, but it probably wasn¡¯t going to be today. ¡°Fine. Let¡¯s find Okeer before Revan gives me an aneurysm.¡± The rest of the ground team took off after the Sith. ¡°Think she has anything to share with the rest of us? I could use a new rifle.¡± Garrus wondered aloud. ¡°It would give us an edge over anything using kinetic shields. Her energy weapons have proven to be incredibly effective already. A ranged version would probably be just as effective.¡± Miranda added. ¡°You can ask after the mission.¡± Shepard snapped. ¡°Heads in the game.¡± They found the elf around a corner patiently waiting for the three of them. ¡°More Blue Suns up ahead.¡± Revan announced. ¡°Two squads on the upper platforms. We should split our focus so we don¡¯t give them time to call in more reinforcements.¡± Thank God, a tactical problem. Something she could deal with. ¡°Sure, what¡¯s the layout?¡± ¡°Left turn over two levels with catwalks on the other side. The first squad has an unrestricted sightline down this path,¡± Revan pointed behind her. ¡°There¡¯s a staircase down to the right, but the second squad is watching on an overpass.¡± Okay, easy enough. Unless Shepard wanted to open a flank to the squad overlooking the path Revan would need to be the one to deal with the ones on the overpass. And considering Revan hadn¡¯t just come out and said which one she would deal with, Shepard was sure the elf was waiting for Shepard to pick which target she wanted and was perfectly fine taking on whichever one was left. ¡°Is there any cover on the main path?¡± Revan nodded. ¡°Not much but there are some walls the Blue Suns haven¡¯t managed to cut out. They¡¯re part of the hull of whatever ship they dragged out here to use as a building so it should hold up against whatever the mercs have on hand.¡± Shepard frowned and looked at the chopped up remains of the ship hulls surrounding them. That...made a certain amount of sense. Not many construction crews would work on this planet and prefabs would be stolen. So the mercs probably did the best they could to strip away the few troublesome areas and just left the ones that remained since they were better than simply having dirt roads. ¡°We¡¯ll head in from the road. I¡¯m guessing you have a way to get to the overpass at the same time?¡± ¡°Yeah. I¡¯ll move up alone and wait for the shooting to start.¡± Revan split off and disappeared into the mess of jagged metal forming the walls surrounding them. ¡°You think she can get into position in time and handle a squad of mercs by herself?¡± Garrus asked, he had seen Revan in action so he knew she was capable of taking care of herself but Shepard prized teamwork over everything in the field. It was rare that she would support individuals going off on their own. ¡°I think she would¡¯ve done this whole mission by herself if she could.¡± Shepard snarked. She knew Revan listened to the people around her but when it came down to it, the elf would simply do what she wanted. But this wasn¡¯t the time to brood about their teammate. ¡°Let¡¯s go. We aren¡¯t going to find Okeer standing around talking.¡± True to Revan¡¯s word, Shepard¡¯s team ran into the mercenary fireteam as soon as they rounded the corner. They clearly weren¡¯t expecting company so Shepard and Miranda were able to make it to a short wall by the staircase before the Blue Suns opened fire. The two of them tore through the merc¡¯s shields with a combination of gunfire and biotics and Shepard had Garrus pick off the few that tried to make a run for it by catching them in a Lift field and letting the Turian sniper do what he did best. Shepard was a little confused when the sound of gunfire was still audible even when no more shots were coming their way when she realized Revan was probably still fighting off to their left. She gathered up her two teammates and quickly moved into position just in case Revan needed help. She didn¡¯t. Revan had somehow made it up to the overpass in the time it took Shepard¡¯s team to walk down a hallway and was simply walking through the streams of gunfire heading her way. The Blue Suns were screaming in defiance or terror as the Sith disintegrated their rounds with a wave of a lightsaber and dragged them one by one out of cover by an unseen force. Pretty soon, there were no more mercs alive on the overpass. ¡°Spirits, I¡¯m glad she¡¯s on our side.¡± Garrus whispered. ¡°That was just¡­¡± Shepard agreed. They didn¡¯t have much time to talk. Another Blue Suns group rounded a corner on another overpass further down the trench her team found themselves in. They took one look at Revan standing over the bodies of some of their compatriots and opened fire. One of them made a try for his radio, but his head snapped back as Garrus¡¯s rifle boomed. ¡°Into cover! Keep moving forward and watch lines of fire!¡± Shepard shouted and ran forward herself. The next several minutes were a chaotic blur to Shepard¡¯s memory as they fought through more Blue Sun mercs. She made sure to have Garrus target anyone who looked like they were going to call for backup and she saw Revan do the same on some occasions but they still ran into more groups of three to four mercs as they ran forward. Thankfully it seemed like most of the mercs didn¡¯t have a communicator that went back to the main facility for some reason but Shepard wasn¡¯t about to worry about it too much if it meant the enemy was coming at them disorganised and unsupported. At some point Revan dropped down next to her and redirected a rocket with the wave of a hand. ¡°The main facility knows something¡¯s up.¡± Shepard snapped off another shot with her M-6 and hit a merc square in the chest. ¡°Yeah? How¡¯d you know?¡± ¡°Grabbed one of the comms off a trooper.¡± Revan held up the device. ¡°They know the patrols are getting wiped out by something but they are getting conflicting reports about by who. We lucked out and some of the Krogan are pushing for the facility at the same time.¡± They moved forward into more Blue Suns and found them fighting a handful of Krogan in a berserker rage. The comm in Revan¡¯s hand crackled to life. ¡°Code Six! Offworld presence! Shift fire from the Krogan! Hostiles in the compound!¡± Revan chuckled. ¡°Well I guess they know for certain now.¡± ¡°Just get back in the fight.¡± Shepard snapped. Revan¡¯s head tilted to look at the Commander but said nothing. She just nodded and ran forward, the glowing swords drawing the attention of nearly everyone on the battlefield. Once the last of the mercs dropped dead Shepard found herself less than ten feet from a bleeding but still standing Krogan. Even then the lone visible wound swiftly stopped bleeding as the Krogan''s natural healing swiftly dealt with the injury. The odd thing was...the Krogan that had been screaming and firing mindlessly at the mercs was now standing docilely in front of her despite the weapons pointed at him by her teammates. Shepard held out a cautious hand to get Garrus and Miranda to stand down. Revan had already deactivated her lightsabers but the hilts were still in hand. After a second the Krogan lumbered forward and sniffed Shepard. Weird, and certainly concerning since she had never seen a Krogan act like this. Shepard just hoped they could get some answers to what was going on. ¡°You...are different. New. You don¡¯t smell like this world.¡± The Krogan said. ¡°Seven night cycles and I have only felt the need to kill. But you...something makes me speak.¡± Shepard risked a glance at Revan at the mention of unexplained desires -she had mentioned telepathy at one point- and got a small nod in return. She wasn¡¯t sure how to feel about that, so she made a mental note to grill the elf on that later. ¡°He¡¯s only a week old?¡± Miranda¡¯s voice jolted Shepard out of her thoughts and back to the large alien in front of them. ¡°They must breed them full size so they¡¯re ready to kill. Not much use as an army if they are too small to hold a gun. And I don¡¯t think a merc company would be patient enough to train adolescents.¡± ¡°Bred...to kill.¡± the Krogan mused. ¡°No. I kill because my blood and bone tell me to. But it¡¯s not why I was flushed from Glass-mother. ¡°Survival is what I hear in my head. Against the enemy that threatens all my kind. But I failed even before waking. That is what the voice in the water said. That is why I wait here.¡± Great. The Krogan might not be in a howling bloodrage, but he was still crazy. ¡°You heard a voice in the water?¡± Shepard asked. The Krogan explained that the voice was the one that determined that he had failed his purpose, likely a cure for the genophage that ensured most Krogans were infertile or had trouble procreating, and was responsible for teaching the clone in front of them. When it was decided the clone wasn¡¯t ¡®perfect¡¯ the teaching had stopped and he was given over to Jedore. Although it sounded like the relationship between Jedore and Okeer wasn¡¯t exactly great. From what Shepard could infer, Okeer was planning on moving on at some point without the mercenary leader. Likely after he had finished his experiments. Shepard asked a few more questions hoping to figure out what both leaders were attempting, but the Krogan clone didn¡¯t know anything more. After getting some directions to the lab, the team moved on. -o- ¡°I need answers Revan.¡± Revan sighed. She had been expecting this considering the tumult of emotions she could sense in Shepard but she had hoped they would be back on the Normandy before they confronted each other. The group was taking a breather from the dragged out fight they had just gone through. With Miranda and Garrus keeping an eye out for trouble it was easy enough for Shepard to pull Revan aside for a private conversation. ¡°I don¡¯t suppose you¡¯ll wait until we¡¯re done here?¡± she tried. Shepard shook her head. ¡°You did something to that clone. I need to know what so I can tell if you start pulling it on the rest of us.¡± Revan gave her a flat stare, hidden as it was by her visor, then sighed again. ¡°If I do, will you tell me why you¡¯re snapping at the team?¡± ¡°I am not-¡± Shepard bristled. ¡°You are. You put on a good show back at the Normandy with the happy attitude, but you are snapping at everything that isn¡¯t mission focused.¡± ¡°This isn¡¯t the best time to play at being a psychiatrist.¡± Shepard growled. ¡°It¡¯s not. But someone has to call you on this. Garrus is worried but trusting you to handle it and Miranda isn¡¯t close enough to you to know you¡¯re tearing yourself up about something. So as the resident empath, and yes that is how I calmed the clone down, I get to deal with you.¡± Thankfully, the mention of her friend being concerned about her behavior was enough to stop Shepard from just ignoring everything she said, but from the way her anger spiked Shepard didn¡¯t like the admission Revan could sense her emotions. ¡°Before you say anything, I want you to stop seeing the color blue.¡± ¡°Wha-¡± The random comment threw off whatever tirade Shepard was about to spout. ¡°You got upset at me sensing your emotions but for me I sense everyone¡¯s emotions. All the time. It¡¯s not some ability I turn on and off rather it¡¯s something I always sense but just don¡¯t focus on.¡± Revan explained. ¡°And because I know this is your next question, no, I¡¯m not manipulating the emotions of the team. Doing that on strong willed sentients is hard.¡± ¡°You read my mind for that?¡± Shepard asked sharply. ¡°No. Now, your turn.¡± When Shepard didn¡¯t say anything Revan leaned forward threateningly and held up a hand. ¡°Of course if you don¡¯t tell me I will read your mind just to figure out why you are acting like this.¡± Shepard obviously didn¡¯t like that. Not at all. But faced between talking freely or having it forced out of her, Shepard picked the option that gave her some measure of control. ¡°You¡¯re right. I¡¯m lashing out. The more I try and act like myself the more I feel like the pieces just don¡¯t fit. I shouldn¡¯t be running missions, hell I shouldn''t even be running a fireteam! But once again no one else is going to step up for it so I have to or nothing gets done. Do you even know what it¡¯s like to look in the mirror and wonder if the person looking back is even you?¡± By the Force, there was no possible way Revan was going to be able to handle this quickly. ¡°I actually do know what that¡¯s like.¡± Revan said dryly. By the wince, Shepard finally remembered the Sith explaining the ¡®Death of Personality¡¯ ritual. ¡°How do you deal with that?¡± The desperation in the human¡¯s voice was clear, and it wasn¡¯t helping Revan refocus Shepard on the mission without her snapping at her teammates. ¡°There¡¯s a couple ways. Meditation mostly. I¡¯ll show you how once we aren¡¯t in the middle of a combat zone.¡± Revan offered. ¡°Haaaah.¡± Shepard let out a long sigh. ¡°Right...you¡¯re right. I need to keep it together for this mission, then I¡¯ll probably take you up on that offer.¡± That was actually better than Revan was expecting. ¡°Then let¡¯s get this over with.¡± Shepard nodded and signaled the other two to rejoin them. After a final equipment check the four continued into the facility in search of Okeer. Chapter 10 ¡°Careful, you fall off here and you''re a goner.¡± Garrus commented as the team moved under the facility. Revan idly looked over the edge of the abyss that all of them were currently walking above. A dense fog covered most of what was below them but every once in a while she could see openings where the fall seemed to go on forever and where large machines plunged into the core of the planet. Probably a form of geothermal generators powering the facility in her opinion. Still, a fall like that would almost surely be fatal for anyone unlucky enough to fall in. ¡°This is massive. How many Krogan are they keeping in this place?¡± Miranda wondered aloud. ¡°They did mention building an army. I¡¯d imagine they¡¯d need a lot of space for the completed clones. Well, if they could ever control them.¡± Shepard said with a shrug. Perhaps Revan¡¯s own experiences were coloring her perception because she didn¡¯t consider the facility all that impressive. It was good enough for a small lab on a junkyard planet like this one but compared to the immense complexes she had visited in the past, this one barely rated. Especially since it was being used for something as mundane as cloning a bunch of Krogan. Not to misunderstand the threat Krogan posed. Revan had met only a small handful of races that were more naturally threatening than the lizard-like aliens but¡­ spending this amount of time and effort on clones just seemed like a waste to her. Clones were often plagued by developmental issues after a small amount of time because they failed to adapt to new stimuli or properly learn once the programming stage ended. They were so conditioned by the download of information that dominated their developmental period that they simply failed to manage the way normal people would. It was part of why cloning was such a specialized business back home. Creating an individual that could function outside of lab conditions was so prohibitively expensive that only the incredibly rich looking for a form of pseudo immortality by the way of a cloned heir regularly made use of them. Even then, the clone needed years of development before it could survive in a non regulated environment. Revan wasn¡¯t sure there was a group in either galaxy that had the ability to create the level of adaptability a soldier would need in a timeframe that it wouldn¡¯t be simpler to just use combat droids instead. If there was, Okeer certainly wasn¡¯t among that number. She had slipped a glance into the mind of the Krogan clone when she had tried to influence it to stand down. It was far too easy because the clone¡¯s thoughts were far too simple to resist her influence. Even a youngling would¡¯ve been more resistant to her probe. ¡°Unless Okeer has been holding back I don¡¯t think we need to worry about a Krogan army anytime soon.¡± Shepard looked over at the Sith. ¡°What do you mean?¡± ¡°That clone back there had the same mental flexibility as some of your VI assistants. The first time it runs into an unknown situation it will fall back entirely on its instincts...and I think we all know how that will turn out.¡± Revan explained as she sidestepped past the mauled body of a Blue Suns trooper. ¡°Careful there''s more Krogan up ahead.¡± Miranda warned as a group of clones came into sight. The clones caught wind of their team and roared in challenge. A few of them armed with guns took potshots with whatever they had on hand while the ones that were unarmed screamed mindlessly and charged at the group. ¡°Damn. Garrus, pick off the ones in the back! Miranda, give me a hand!¡± Shepard began to organise her squad but Revan was in no mood to play with cloned rejects and was going to make sure the clones knew it. ¡°Don¡¯t bother, Commander. This will be over shortly.¡± Revan raised a hand and reached for the Force. It responded eagerly to her will and gathered around the Krogan as Revan focused. With a small scooping motion all of the clones found themselves levitated a few feet off the ground. Before any of them could respond to this new situation, another dismissive gesture sent all of them flying over the edge of the walkway and falling down into the abyss where they were quickly swallowed by the fog. Chasms like these were so useful for disposing of annoying enemies. You didn¡¯t even need to clean up after yourself either! ¡°There,¡± Reven stated, lightly brushing her hands together for a job well done. ¡°Now we can keep going.¡± Revan continued walking into the facility but thanks to the audio enhancers in her helmet she was clearly able to hear Garrus comment behind her. ¡°Damn... Shepard, remind me never to get on her bad side.¡± The Sith Lord smiled. First step to ensuring people wouldn¡¯t try to mess with you? Show them how very lucky they are to not have you as an enemy. Maybe now Miranda would stop trying to slip cameras into her part of the ship. A smack echoed out from behind her. ¡°Hmph, better keep your mouth shut then.¡± Shepard replied dryly. -o- The further the ground team pushed, the clearer it was that something interesting was going on between the Krogan warlord and the leader of the Blue Suns. Intercepted radio traffic from the mercs told them that not only had there been a schism between leadership, Okeer was actively releasing and arming as many clones as he could and was sending them against the Blue Suns. And it looked like the mercenary group was not exactly doing well based on the number of bodies the group had passed or the angry ranting coming from Jedore. ¡°No more! I want them dead! What is so hard to understand about that!¡± Speaking of, Jedore was now simply screaming over the loudspeaker rather than comm channels. Revan was almost embarrassed that this was the woman she was fighting. She was acting more like a youngling throwing a tantrum rather than the leader of a sizable mercenary force. The lack of leadership certainly showed the longer they fought against the Blue Suns. Initially after breaking through the line of Krogan they knew were converging on this location thanks to the stolen comm units, they had come across a few squads of mercenary troopers. They each might have only been slightly bigger than the Normandy ground team but they had cooperated together in a way that forced Revan to rush ahead and draw fire off Shepards team. Multiple times she had needed to cut down an entire squad just to relieve enough pressure that the others could return fire. But after some time the enemy¡¯s unit cohesion rapidly broke down. There were no more troopers dedicated to pinning down the Sith Lord, no more covering fire as squadmates advanced or retreated, certainly no more cooperation between squad leaders as the Blue Suns seemed to be taking a ¡®throw everything at the enemy and hope for the best¡¯ approach. And it was failing. ¡°This is just embarrassing.¡± Revan commented as around a dozen panicking troopers were picked apart by Shepard¡¯s squad of three. She herself was simply defensively blocking and occasionally Force Pulling the occasional trooper out of cover. ¡°I¡¯ll take this over an organised enemy!¡± Shepard replied, her shotgun tearing into another trooper. ¡°And shouldn¡¯t you be fighting?!¡± ¡°If I did this would go from embarrassing to pathetic.¡± Another trooper was yanked out into the open and sniped by Garrus. ¡°Yeah, this is almost too easy!¡± the Turian cheered. Shepard shook her head at the enthusiastic sniper. ¡°What do you think is going on? Even without their leadership they shouldn¡¯t be this disorganised.¡± ¡°I think Okeer might have done more sabotage than just releasing the clones.¡± Miranda spoke up. ¡°Cerberus never confirmed that he wanted to be here, so he could have just gotten what he wanted and is trying to escape now.¡± Suddenly their stolen radio crackled to life. ¡°What do you mean Jadore¡¯s holding the mechs? She¡¯ll lose all her toys if we don¡¯t get some backup!¡± Unintentionally, the merc reinforced Revan¡¯s opinion of the mercenary leader acting like a youngling. ¡°Sound¡¯s like their leaders aren¡¯t doing them any favors either.¡± Garrus added. The ground team kept moving through the facility at a decent pace. The groups coming at them now were better armed, but they were unorganised and demoralised as well. Not only were their companions screaming over the radio about how they were being overrun, their leader was also lambasting them from the loudspeakers. ¡°There are four of them. Four! Anything can be killed if you just do your damn jobs!¡± ¡°Jadore! Damn it, someone get her off the speakers and out here!¡± one of the remaining squad leaders cried over the radio, apparently unable to actually get a hold of his leader. ¡¯Hmm, it seemed like a few of the less higher ranked officers were at least starting to get organised¡¯ Revan mused. What should she do about that? ¡°I¡¯m moving up ahead.¡± She announced. ¡°Catch up when you¡¯re done with the foot soldiers.¡± ¡°What?! Revan, wai-!¡± Shepard started to protest but the Sith was already moving. The red and blue glow of her lightsabers spun in complex patterns as she ran through the enemy, though quite a few were left behind. Shepard¡¯s group would manage just fine though. The troopers unlucky enough to run into the lone Sith however, were completely unable to handle her as she cut a path towards the densest gathering of mercs. Armor and shields did nothing to slow down the energy blades and whenever a trooper managed to aim long enough to fire a rocket at the armored figure, she simply redirected it with a wave of a hand. Pretty soon the mercenaries started to get desperate and run rather than keep fighting but were mostly unable to escape in the face of Revan¡¯s merciless assault. The ones that did would be mopped up by the other team following behind her. Soon enough Revan found what she was looking for. A Baterian trooper with hardlight shields covering his armor was screaming into a comm unit. This was the officer trying to coordinate what Blue Suns were left in the area. Without him the rest of the units would be completely unorganised and easy prey for her own group to eliminate. ¡°Trespassers are topside! Tell Jedore we can¡¯t hold them and -augh!¡± His report was cut short by a lightsaber through the chest. The glowing sections of his armor sputtered and died as the blade damaged the suit itself. With the main target killed, Revan turned her attention to the remaining troopers frozen in fear. ¡°Well...better make this quick then.¡± -o- Shepard pulled the trigger on her shotgun and grimaced as the trooper infront of her burst in a small shower of gore. A rifle barked off to her right and the last trooper¡¯s head snapped back before he fell over. ¡°And that''s the last of them!¡± Garrus crowed triumphantly. Shepard carefully looked over the site of their latest fight and saw that the Turian was correct. There were no more Blue Suns mercs alive to even try and sneak up on them. She took the lull in combat to have her team salvage anything they needed from the fallen mercs and make sure there were no issues or breaches in her armor. While she was doing that, Miranda sidled up to her with an apprehensive look on her face. Shepard was actually a little surprised to see the other woman nervous. Miranda had been completely cool under pressure before now, even through the most bizarre events they had gone through. ¡°Something wrong Miranda?¡± The Cerberus agent looked like she wasn¡¯t sure if she should actually say anything but eventually spoke up. ¡°Commander, I know that you have an agreement with Revan¡­ but is it really a good idea to let her keep running off?¡± That was a rare amount of concern from her XO. Normally Miranda seemed to accept that missions could be dangerous but it was on the individual to mostly see themselves through even if they did need a hand now and then; and Revan had consistently proven she didn¡¯t really need anyone looking out for her in combat. ¡°Oh? Worried about our Space Elf running into trouble?¡± Shepard teased. Miranda just huffed in response. ¡°After seeing her fight, hardly. But she does represent an unprecedented opportunity scientifically. It would be tragic if we lost that because we decided to keep letting her run into danger.¡± A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation. ¡°Tragic for her...or for Cerberus?¡± Miranda shook her head. ¡°For humanity. Revan is a fountain of knowledge that has the potential to improve countless human lives. That¡¯s all Cerberus wants, Commander. To ensure that we as a species don¡¯t get left out in the cold in the galaxy.¡± That wasn¡¯t Shepard¡¯s experience with the group. Miranda seemed...oddly naive about the rest of Cerberus at times though. Was it just an act? Or did the Illusive Man just keep her shielded from the worst of it? ¡°So, what? Just lock her up and force her to do what we say; keep demanding more and more from her? And what do we do when she says no? because we both know Revan has no intention of just handing anything over, something I¡¯m not sure whoever gets put in charge of her would like.¡± Oddly Miranda seemed to pale slightly at Shepard¡¯s words. ¡°No, that¡¯s not what I¡¯m suggesting.¡± She said quickly in a tone Shepard couldn¡¯t quite place. ¡°Maybe I¡¯m getting a bit too eager to see what she has to offer. I just don¡¯t want to lose that chance because she ran into something alone.¡± ...There was definitely something Shepard said that struck a nerve. She made a note to ask about that when they weren¡¯t in the middle of a mission. The good news was that her impression of Miranda improved a bit, since her XO was proving she was at least better than most of the Cerberus personnel she had run into. While Shepard was considering this a voice cut in from the merc frequency they were listening in on. ¡°Trespassers are topside! Tell Jedore we can¡¯t hold them and -augh!¡± And was cut short with a scream and the sound of something being cut. ¡°Squad Four? Outpost? Report!¡± Jedore¡¯s voice rang out from the speaker system again since the merc leader seemed incapable of using anything else. ¡°Damn it. Have to do everything myself.¡± And then she was gone. ¡°Looks like we don¡¯t need to worry about Revan for now.¡± Shepard said, a bit of humor in her voice. ¡°And I don¡¯t like a teammate running around alone either. At the very least I¡¯ll bring it up with her after the mission.¡± Miranda nodded and dropped the conversation for now. The three-man squad began quickly moving in pursuit of their crewmate where they found her standing outside of a door. Shepard was immediately on guard. If Revan of all people had decided to wait until the full team was here, then something dangerous was behind that door. ¡°Shepard.¡± The Sith greeted them when they got closer. ¡°Revan. What¡¯s going on?¡± Revan¡¯s armored visor tilted towards the door, ¡°If I¡¯m correct, I found Okeer through here. But there is something else.¡± ¡®Of course there is.¡¯ Shepard groused internally. ¡°Like what? More mercs or a trap?¡± she asked aloud. ¡°No. There¡¯s only one more person through here, but that¡¯s not what I¡¯m concerned about. Whoever they are, I can sense something wrong with them.¡± Revan turned to face Shepard fully. ¡°I can sense the Force affecting them.¡± Shepard didn¡¯t know exactly how to react to this information. Revan had displayed abilities that would be hard to match for the best biotics she knew, the thought of fighting someone else who could do the same¡­ ¡°So they¡¯re like you?¡± She felt she needed to ask. Revan was already shaking her head. ¡°No. They are affected by the Force, not using it. But that means that someone or something else out there can and you aren¡¯t necessarily protected.¡± ¡°How bad are we talking here?¡± The elven woman considered for a second. ¡°We probably shouldn¡¯t have anything to worry about.¡± she hedged. ¡°Your galaxy has so little on Force use that I doubt anyone has the potential to overpower me; but I don¡¯t know what methods they might use so you will have to be careful if I need time to defend against something unexpected.¡± So be on guard for anything strange, and just stay alive if something happens. Not exactly a comprehensive battleplan in Shepard¡¯s opinion. ¡°Is there anything we can do to defend ourselves ahead of time?¡± Miranda asked. ¡°Not likely. Being aware of something wrong is usually enough to hinder weaker techniques. Everything else is up to either preparation or building up a natural resistance, neither of which we have time to explore.¡± ¡°Let¡¯s get on with it then.¡± Shepard was done with unique surprises for now. The worst that could happen is that she died. Again. Her team stacked up on the doorway and at her signal they breached the room. Three guns swept the room and Revan kept an eye out from behind them. A dark shape stood up from one of the desks, Shepard¡¯s shotgun lined up on the target and- ¡°Shepard, don¡¯t shoot! You know me!¡± -she stopped with her sights dead center and her finger on the trigger. Revan¡¯s warning was still fresh in her mind but that wasn¡¯t an excuse to just gun anyone down without verifying they were a threat. Revan would probably let them know if they were under attack anyway¡­ or just cut them down herself. ¡°I shut down the security cams as soon as I saw it was you,¡± A light blue Assari said as she approached the group. ¡°Never thought I would say it, but I¡¯m glad it¡¯s you shooting up the place.¡± Shepard looked at the blue alien trying to place her but nothing immediate came to mind. Something that she seemed to pick up on. ¡°Sorry. Rana Thanoptis. You let me go when you destroyed Saren''s lab on Virmire.¡± She smiled wryly. ¡°Had to outrun a nuke in a utility pod, but it¡¯s still a second chance.¡± The introduction brought back bad memories. Ones the commander would¡¯ve been happy to not remember if she could help it. Of course she could also remember letting a researcher run off during that unfortunate mission since she was unsure how aware the Asari had been of what she would be working on before being unable to leave the rogue Spectre¡¯s employment. But that she was here working on another project regarding Krogan¡­ ¡°I assume you have a good reason for being at this lab?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t worry. I¡¯m not wasting the chance you gave me. My work here -- strictly beneficial.¡± ¡°Not for the mercs.¡± Rana hurried to elaborate. ¡°Jedore¡¯s on a standard power trip. But Okeer is trying to do something good, I can tell. Even if his methods are a little¡­ extreme¡± she looked at one of the remains laid out on a table for examination. ¡°Everyone deserves a second chance, right?¡± Rana said with a small smile. ¡°And sometimes giving one pays off. I take care of my debts.¡± That was the kind of talk that usually made Shepard feel all warm inside. That a moment of mercy could make all the difference. Then again, she usually didn¡¯t hear this while in the middle of a rather unethical lab after fighting through a bunch of clones created for God knows what purpose. She pushed aside her feelings for a second. ¡°And what exactly is Okeer trying to do here?¡± she asked instead. Best get all the information she could before she started making judgements. ¡°It¡¯s complicated,¡± because of course it was. ¡°Jedore wants her own private army, but Okeer mostly ignores her. He¡¯s running the project for his own reasons.¡± ¡°Which are?¡± ¡°I¡¯m not certain.¡± the Asari admitted. ¡°I created the mental imprint routine to educate his tank-bred, but most don¡¯t make it through it. He dumps them for some reason.¡± ¡°He wants to help his people, but he¡¯s not looking for a genophage cure, and he¡¯s not going for numbers. That¡¯s all I know.¡± So absolutely nothing. That was fantastic. Shepard stood aside and nodded to Revan. She had nothing left to ask. Without a word the Sith stalked silently forward, much to the obvious discomfort of Rana. ¡°Um, Shepard?¡± No one said anything as Revan placed her hands on either side of Rana¡¯s head and concentrated. The room was silent as Revan did...whatever it was she was doing and Rana fidgeted under her grip. Eventually the Sith hummed and pulled back. ¡°Well that¡¯s interesting¡­¡± ¡°You know what¡¯s affecting her?¡± ¡°W-wait affecting me? What are you talking about?¡± Revan ignored the now slightly panicking Asari. ¡°No actually. I can recognise some similarities but this is a technique I¡¯m not familiar with.¡± ¡°What are you talking about?¡± ¡°Can you describe the effects?¡± Shepard asked, similarly ignoring Rana. ¡°It''s subtle, whatever it is. It seems to be slowly influencing her thoughts but at the same time overwriting certain ones?¡± Revan shook her head. ¡°I¡¯d need more time to investigate. This level of mental affliction is outside my specialty.¡± Ice replaced the blood in Shepard¡¯s veins. Behind her Miranda turned to Garrus and whispered, ¡°Doesn¡¯t that sound a lot like¡­?¡± ¡°Indoctrination.¡± Garrus agreed. Indoctrination. The near completely unknown ability for Reapers to brainwash and control organic lifeforms to their will. It could manifest anywhere from turning the victim into a mindless puppet or bending the strongest of wills so that they happily believed they were doing the right thing by inviting genocide to the entire galaxy. And from the look of things, the influence could linger for years. ¡°What? No! I stopped working with Indoctrination technology after Virmire and I¡¯ve never touched the stuff since!¡± Rana protested, not that any of the Normandy crew were giving her any consideration. ¡°Can you do something about it?¡± Shepard asked Revan. The elven woman shrugged. ¡°I have no idea. I¡¯ve always focused on either defensive or offensive mental techniques. Control or healing ones were never my focus.¡± Shepard worried her lip in thought. On one hand they were going on one woman¡¯s word that there was something wrong with Rana. And even then they were stumbling in the dark because even their mystic expert had no idea what they were dealing with. On the other hand the Asari could be an unwitting pawn for a genocidal army and serving them as a sleeper agent. She sighed and looked at the ceiling, considering her choices. ¡°Would trying anything hurt her?¡± she had to ask. Revan shrugged again. Before the Normandy, Shepard would never have considered experimenting on someone because of ¡®what-ifs¡¯. It was one of the reasons she had let the Rachni Queen escape even though many would question her sanity on the decision. She closed her eyes. Hard. But that Shepard had believed far more in people stepping up because it was the right thing to do. Now she found herself two years later and possibly several steps backward trying to prepare for a threat no one seemed to want to admit was real. She made her choice. ¡°Do it.¡± She stated simply to Revan. At least this way there was a chance. ¡°What are you doing?! What¡¯s going on?!¡± ¡°W-wait...what are those sounds?¡± ¡°You''re hurting my head...please...stop¡­¡± ¡°The voices. I don¡¯t...please¡­¡± ¡°...they¡¯re...gone...what did...you...do...to me?¡± Rana initially tried to struggle but Revan easily held the smaller woman in place. As Revan tried to undo whatever was affecting her she slowly stopped thrashing but Shepard couldn¡¯t say it was going well. By the time the Sith was done Rana was staring blankly ahead. ¡°What did you do to her?¡± Miranda preempted Shepard in asking. ¡°I tried to force the presence I felt out.¡± Revan explained in an annoyed tone. ¡°But the more I pushed the more it dug in. As you can see, it looks like removing it had some side effects. It seems I will need to practice.¡± ¡°Why didn¡¯t you stop when it was clear you were hurting her!?¡± ¡°Because whatever was affecting her started to get stronger when I touched it. Either I succeeded in removing it or she would be taken over.¡± Revan dismissed with a wave of a hand. ¡°This shouldn¡¯t be unexpected. Playing with the mind rarely goes well.¡± Shepard felt a surge of guilt as she met the vacant gaze of the Asari. ¡°Can we do anything for her?¡± ¡°I¡¯m sure an actual mental specialist might be able to help her recover; the presence has been removed. But perhaps we should get back to what we came here for?¡± Shepard grit her teeth. She could feel guilty later, and this did confirm that Rana had been Indoctrinated. ¡°Make sure we grab her on the way out. We owe her that much.¡± she ordered. With nothing else they could do for the Asari, the team moved through the lab door into another room where a Krogan in dark green armor was busily working at a terminal. Despite that, he was clearly expecting them since he was unsurprised at their entrance. ¡°It¡¯s about time. The batteries on these tanks will not wait while you play with these ideotic mercs.¡± The Krogan Shepard assumed was Okeer said gruffly. She crossed her arms under her bust and glared at the probable warlord. ¡°I take it you¡¯re Okeer. You don¡¯t seem particularly caged...or grateful I¡¯m here.¡± ¡°You claim to be here to help,¡± Okeer chuckled, ¡°but the formerly deceased Shepard is not the sign of gentle change.¡± Shepard blinked. It was one thing to be recognised by a human. For better or worse, she had essentially been the face of the Alliance when she was made Spectre. A Krogan recognizing her right away was much more rare. ¡°Surprised? All Krogan should know you. I¡¯m sure Rana has already revisited your actions on Virmire.¡± Virmire. She scowled. If there was one planet Shepard wished she had never stepped foot on, it would be that one. Kaiden¡¯s face briefly flashed in her mind before she banished it. ¡°I¡¯m sure you¡¯re eager to retell the story.¡± She ground out between gritted teeth. Okeer spread his arms wide and grinned. ¡°Such a tale!¡± he boomed theatrically, ¡°Saren, the Spectre traitor, threatens the return of the Krogan horde by curing the genophage, undoing the gentle genocide of the Turians and Salarians.¡± ¡°But before he can deliver his endless troops, in rides Shepard, securing victory through nuclear fire.¡± He turned and stared at her with a near crazed gleam in his eyes. ¡°I like that part. It has weight.¡± Yeah...the nuke. Once again images flashed. Kaiden again, the Salarians being butchered by Geth defenses, arguing with Wrex over the genophage cure¡­ She could see why the Krogans might take an interest in that. ¡°I didn¡¯t have a whole lot of options. If there was another solution I would have considered it¡± she defended herself. ¡°Oh, but I approve.¡± Okeer crooned, ¡°Saren¡¯s pale horde were not true Krogan. Numbers alone are nothing. The mistake of an outsider, one that these mercenaries have also made.¡± The warlord walked over to the large window dominating one side of the room where they could see rows and rows of cloning tanks ready for use. ¡°I gave their leader my rejects for her army. But she grows impatient. It¡¯s time for you to take me out of here.¡± ¡°We¡¯re here about the Collectors. We couldn¡¯t care less about your problems.¡± Miranda caustically stated. If Okeer took offence, he certainly didn¡¯t show it though. ¡°I see. Yes, Collector attacks have increased. A human concern.¡± He dismissed. ¡°My requests were focused elsewhere.¡± Shepard stopped listening for the most part and started asking more questions more on autopilot that out of any real desire for an answer. If needed she could watch her helmet cam¡¯s recording later. Right now Okeer¡¯s zealotry at creating a ¡®pure¡¯ Krogan wasn¡¯t worth her full attention, they needed his help so she would have to swallow any personal reservations for now. What was worrying her was the easy and frequency she was starting to compromise her moral code. Cerberus, Rana, and now a warlord that literally proclaimed the future of Krogan was to crawl over mountains of their own dead? And what she allowed Revan to do! They couldn¡¯t have just secured the Asari and waited till they were back on the Normandy? Simple stupid mistakes. And she kept making them. She couldn¡¯t even blame the Sith for what happened because she was the one who decided to do an untested operation in the field when even the expert didn¡¯t know what would happen. As such, she was almost glad when Jedore, the Blue Suns leader, announced that they were terminating the whole facility and in the process about to ruin Okeer¡¯s work. It gave her something to shoot. -o- ¡°Garrus, Miranda! Focus on those clones!¡± Shepard shouted as another rocket screamed overhead. Jedore had picked the worst time to suddenly become a competent military tactician...or she was just really damn lucky. But when she showed up with a pair of YMIR heavy mechs and started releasing more clones, Shepard had been expecting a tense three way firefight, not for the clones to turn around and solely focus on her team! ¡°Working on it!¡± The sound of a heavy cannon revving up made Shepard curse and sprint out of cover before the weapon began chewing through it like cardboard. ¡°Revan, kill that thing already!¡± ¡°Focus on your job Commander!¡± One of the mechs was a sparking wreck covered in gouges where Revan¡¯s lightsabers had torn into it, but the second one was targeting her as a primary threat and only shooting at her team when it managed to drive the Sith away for a moment. In the meantime, Shepard was busy trading fire with the mercenary leader, and she was at a hefty disadvantage. Her own weapons were focused towards mid to close range combat and Jedore favored a long range multi shot rocket launcher. The best she could do was pick at the mercenary¡¯s shields while trying to get closer. The YMIR turned to track the now vulnerable Commander, it¡¯s left arm opening up to fire a rocket point-blank, when the entirety of its arm below the elbow started crumpling like tinfoil. The loaded rocket exploded, knocking the massive machine off balance as Revan charged it, sabers blazing. ¡°Go now, Commander!¡± Shepard didn¡¯t bother replying as she sprinted the few meters across the lab to where Jedore was hiding. The woman in question popped out from behind one of the cloning tanks with a deranged smile on her face and a launcher pointed right at her. A close enough hit at this range would smear Shepard across the room. There was no time for though. Shepard reacted purely on her well honed instincts as her entire body pulsed with Biotic energy. She charged the merc leader just after she pulled the trigger, the rocket flying just over her shoulder in her altered perception of the world, and slammed into Jedore in an impact of pure Biotic fury. The crazed woman shrieked in pain as Shepard unloaded into her with her shotgun, unfortunately Jedore¡¯s shields and armor were enough to hold out until the Katana¡¯s thermal clip was automatically ejected. ¡°You fucking bitch!¡± Jedore screamed in her face. ¡°You ruined everything! I¡¯ll enjoy pulling you limb from limb!¡± Shepard responded by catching her across the face with her gun and following up with a Biotically infused punch. ¡°You aren¡¯t getting the chance!¡± Jedore sprawled on the floor and went for her side arm rather than try and get up. Unfortunately for her, the first human Spectre was faster. Shepard¡¯s Carfinax barked as quickly as she could fire the mechanism, tracing rounds up the merc¡¯s body and a final shot to the forehead that ended the fight. Shepard reloaded both guns automatically as she kept an eye out for the next threat. But the only thing still standing was her team. Before she had a chance to relax, Miranda¡¯s omnitool sprang to life. ¡°Alarms in the lab! Damn it, what¡¯s Okeer doing back there?!¡± the Cerberus agent cursed as the four of them began running back the way they came. Shepard ignored the automatic announcements coming from the lab and only vaguely acknowledged EDI gaining access when she burst through the door to find Okeer lying on the floor. A quick vitals check later confirmed it. He was dead. ¡°Damn it.¡± Chapter 11 The mission ending in failure didn¡¯t really bother Shepard if she was being honest. Yes, Okeer might have had more information about the Collectors than what was stored in his terminal, but anyone who was willing to throw away lives in pursuit of some goal just because it gets faster results wasn¡¯t someone she could see herself working closely with. She was fully aware that occasionally lives needed to be spent -and it seemed like the flashbacks to Virmire weren¡¯t though with her just yet- but that it was the leaders in charge¡¯s duty to make sure that they never were spent frivolously. Which was why she was now nursing a minor headache after arguing with her XO that no, she would not be getting rid of the Krogan they had retrieved from the lab. Miranda was right that the Krogan could be a danger, but Shepard had worked alongside Wrex plenty of times just fine and he was one of the most dangerous Krogan alive. Plus it wasn¡¯t like she was just going to let anyone just open the thing with no preparation. She sighed and rubbed her forehead in exasperation. The Cerberus Officer might not be as bad as Shepard initially thought, but she still was far too up tight sometimes. ¡°Ah, Commander Shepard!¡± Shepard looked up to see Kelly Chambers, Cerberus Yeoman and almost certainly spy or informant walking towards her. It was nothing personal against the other redhead, but Shepard knew for a fact that Chambers acted as the unofficial councilor for the ship and any logs from those sessions would eventually make their way back to Cerberus. What made it worse was that Chambers was so damn earnest that Shepard couldn¡¯t hold it against her. Though it did ensure she would never sit in on one of the Yeoman¡¯s sessions. ¡°Can I help you, Yeoman?¡± ¡°I just received word from the Purgatory. They¡¯ve confirmed they are ready to release Jack into our custody and are waiting for us to stop by.¡± Chambers said, falling in step with Shepard as they made their way towards the mess hall. ¡°Great news, I¡¯ll have Joker set a course after the shift change.¡± Shepard replied. ¡°So now that the business stuff is out of the way, how have you been?¡± Kelly asked. ¡°I heard a bit from the rumor mill that we have a super-krogan in the cargo bay after your last mission.¡± And that was why it was hard to dislike Kelly. She sounded like she genuinely wanted to know. Not as some kind of agenda, but simply a curious woman. How she wound up in Cerberus was still something Shepard was trying to figure out. Shepard nodded. ¡°We do. Okeer didn¡¯t make it, but if we can figure out if his work is friendly or not then we could use the muscle.¡± ¡°It would be interesting to work with a Krogan.¡± Kelly mused. ¡°Their people haven¡¯t had the easiest time in the galaxy. Sure they are incredible warriors, but there must have been so much more to their culture. Poets, scientists, philosophers...I wonder what they could have given the galaxy if the genophage was never a thing.¡± Shepard thought back to her conversations with Wrex. He hadn¡¯t ever been one for talking about his people. Most of what she did get him to talk about had to be dragged out and it didn¡¯t paint the Krogan as a species for philosophising. Hell, Wrex himself had practically written them off because even with the dwindling numbers and issues due to the genophage, Krogans kept leaving their home system looking for fights. ¡°Well if this one turns out to be friendly I¡¯m sure he could tell you more about Krogan culture. Okeer seemed to be thorough about wanting a ¡®true Krogan¡¯.¡± Shepard temporised. ¡°That would be great! Now if only I could get Revan to share more about her past. A whole other galaxy! She must have so much we could learn! I wonder if she has any music or stories she could share.¡± The revived Spectre watched in bemusement as the other woman practically bounced in excitement about what the Sith Lord could share. Still, she was curious herself. ¡°You¡¯ve been talking to Revan?¡± Kelly rubbed the back of her head sheepishly. ¡°I¡¯ve been trying to, but it hasn¡¯t been going as well as I¡¯d like. She¡¯s hard to talk to.¡± Shepard blinked. While Revan was incredibly hard to get a straight answer out of, she never seemed reluctant to at least entertain a conversation. She knew Miranda was occasionally stopping in and asking questions and hadn¡¯t been turned away yet so she couldn¡¯t see a reason the personable Yeoman would be having issues. ¡°Is she? I hadn¡¯t noticed that much.¡± ¡°Well...maybe...it¡¯s more a personal problem.¡± Kelly said, fidgeting in place. ¡®Personal problem?¡¯ Shepard¡¯s brow furrowed in thought. Kelly hadn¡¯t seemed uncomfortable with any of the other races that were aboard the Normandy. Was she really uncomfortable with a race that looked almost identical to humans? ¡°It''s just...well...I¡¯ve kinda had a¡­thing...for elves since I was a teenager. I might have come off a little strong when I introduced myself and now it''s kinda...embarrassing to talk to her?¡± Now Shepard was forced to stop and stare at the Yeoman in disbelief. The Cerberus operative who had willingly joined what could best be described as a potential suicide mission to stop a race of aliens from destroying entire colonies was too embarrassed to talk to a crewmate...because of a crush?! She almost couldn¡¯t believe it. ¡°I see¡­¡± the Spectre drew out, completely unsure what to say to that. ¡°Well I have a meeting in a bit and am kinda short on time, so...uh...I should go.¡± Not the most dignified way to flee a conversation. But she was not going to be delving into her Yeoman¡¯s kinks at the moment. Besides she actually did have a meeting to get to¡­ Unfortunately it was with Revan¡­ Shepard sighed. She really didn¡¯t need those kinds of images going into this. -o- After rushing through a quick meal and making her way to the cargo deck, Shepard found herself standing outside the section of the ship Revan had claimed for herself. Unfortunately for the Commander, this time she would be here for purely personal reasons and the usual confidence she had dealing with people seemed to have deserted her. After a moment to pull her thoughts together, Shepard cycled herself through the hatch and entered the cargo bay. It hadn¡¯t changed too drastically since the last time she had come through here, there were still a ton of crates they had recovered that hadn¡¯t been sorted through, but Revan was steadily making her way through all of them and had obviously started sorting out some of the contents based on the small collection of tablets that had piled up on the desk she used. Speaking of the Sith, Revan herself was lounging in a chair, resting her head on one hand and looking at a datapad in the other. With her guard seemingly down, Revan looked simply like a pretty young woman idly reading and not the nearly untouchable force of nature she was on the battlefield. The sight of the elven woman so relaxed unconsciously reminded Shepard of the conversation between her and Kelly. A memory she ruthlessly crushed since she also remembered she was in the same room as a mind reader and had no desire to try explaining that conversation to the subject¡¯s face. Love what you''re reading? Discover and support the author on the platform they originally published on. ¡°You should relax a bit. This will be easier without starting off all keyed up.¡± Revan¡¯s mild tone broke through Shepard¡¯s thoughts and she had to fight to keep a blush off her face. Right, empath. ¡°So how does this meditation thing work?¡± She asked, brushing past the awkward feelings. ¡°I mean I¡¯ve done therapy stuff before -everyone in the Alliance does at some point- but I can¡¯t say I¡¯ve ever tried meditation before.¡± ¡°What I have in mind isn¡¯t really therapy. It can be part of it, but this is more self reflection and understanding how you affect the universe around you.¡± Revan explained. ¡°All considered, it''s fairly basic.¡± ¡°Aww so not going to teach me how to be a jedi?¡± Shepard teased. "Absolutely not!¡± Revan hissed, causing Shepard to raise her hands. ¡°Whoa, calm down! I was just kidding.¡± She defended herself quickly. ¡°Guess I shouldn¡¯t joke about that with a Sith Lord¡­¡± then paused because saying that out loud still sounded ridiculous to her. Revan let out a long sigh and set aside her datapad. ¡°No, I should apologise. The Jedi are theoretically a good role model for this training, but as you might¡¯ve noticed I¡¯m not a great fan of them.¡± she said with a small smirk before growing serious again. ¡°Besides, their teachings work best when you are already in a healthy place. As you are now I¡¯d probably do more damage if I tried to help you that way.¡± ¡°Why¡¯s that?¡± ¡°There is a lot of history here that I don¡¯t have time to go into detail if we want to actually get around to dealing with your issue, so this might be pretty vague.¡± Revan warned. ¡°But Jedi fall into a weird mental space where everything in the universe is part of the Force, yet they deliberately separate parts of themselves and act like it doesn¡¯t concern them. For example, they will constantly spout that losing control of your emotions is a terrible thing. That you should suppress and modulate them so you can always act logically and in accordance with their code.¡± she raised a hand to cut Shepard off, ¡°Not that that''s a bad thing. People do need to not let their emotions control them, but the Jedi are content to either push them in a box or cut them off, never actually dealing with the root of the problem.¡± Shepard noticed that as Revan began lecturing, she seemed to relax even more. It seemed the Elven woman liked teaching. ¡°So the Sith are better off?¡± the Spectre asked. Revan snorted. ¡°Not even close. Where the Jedi tend to cut off their emotions, the Sith like to wallow in them. Someone insults you? Hold onto that anger and use it to crush them. You afraid of something? Focus that fear until you can overcome it. Something challenging you? Beat it into submission because you are more powerful and your pride demands nothing less. Once again not super helpful in developing a healthy mindset.¡± ¡°That is not to say that all members of each group are like that.¡± Revan admitted with a shrug. ¡°But not really the methods I want to teach. Especially after...¡± She suddenly stopped talking and Shepard remembered what Revan had said about her apprentice. ¡°So no teaching me the secrets of the Force then?¡± Shepard joked to hopefully move past that point. Thankfully it did seem to work. ¡°Pfft, not even taught the basics and you want me to delve into that stuff? No chance. But we should get started or I¡¯ll just keep wasting time.¡± Revan shifted so she was sitting cross-legged and motioned for Shepard to do the same. ¡°I doubt we will get too far just the first time so we will start with a calming and focusing exercise. Here is what you need to do¡­¡± -o- A couple hours later Shepard walked out feeling, not lighter, but maybe more settled? Her issues hadn¡¯t magically gone away and she still had a few uncomfortable questions constantly swirling around her head, but the thought of going out and presenting a strong facade to the rest of the ship and acting like she was fine didn¡¯t feel like it was crushing her for a change. Apparently her new attitude was easily noticed because it was the first thing Garrus commented on when she stopped by to visit. ¡°Shepard, you seem happy. Good news or something?¡± ¡°Ah, not really? I just got done meeting with Revan and she was willing to teach me some stuff from her home.¡± While Garrus was a friend, he didn¡¯t exactly need to know how Shepard was dealing with everything. He had his own issues. Losing a teammate was hard. Losing your entire team was crushing. He didn¡¯t need to worry about Shepard on top of all that. ¡°I don¡¯t blame you. If I had the chance to talk to someone out of an old Turian myth I¡¯d jump at it too.¡± ¡°Yeah I- wait, Turian myth?¡± Shepard furrowed her eyebrows. ¡°I¡¯m not surprised if you didn¡¯t know. Old stories, ones from before we even got off Palaven. But Dad always did like the classics.¡± Garrus said. Shepard made a mental note that Garrus seemed on better terms with his father. As far as she knew, until now they didn¡¯t really get along. ¡°I haven''t thought of those old ¡®Jedi and Sith¡¯ stories in years. You wouldn¡¯t believe how shocked I was to find out some of them are real. I¡¯m guessing you had EDI look it up on the extranet?¡± he continued. ¡°Nnnnoooo,¡± Shepard drew out slowly. ¡°We found the terms in an old human database from years back.¡± The two of them looked at each other silently for a bit. ¡°Okay, so what does that mean exactly?¡± Garrus said eventually still a little off balance. Shepard pulled up her Omnitool and started typing in commands. ¡°I think it means that we¡¯ve had more contact with Revan¡¯s galaxy than we¡¯ve thought.¡± ¡°Is that a bad thing?¡± Shepard paused for a second, thinking. ¡°I don¡¯t know.¡± She said eventually. ¡°But for once we might be able to find out something about what Revan might have up her sleeve before she springs it on us.¡± ¡°Right, so have EDI go through a bunch of old myths and stories and hope to find a match?¡± Garrus asked. Shepard shook her head. ¡°No, as useful as she would be, Cerberus is still tied into her systems. I think I¡¯ll leave this to the Alliance. They have a division for this kind of thing.¡± She finished sending a message to Hackett. With any luck we might be able to bargain for something directly and not just whatever she decides to offer.¡± It was a long shot. Even if they did manage to find references to Revan¡¯s home there was no guarantee that the Sith would be able to give them the designs for anything, but it would be better than going into negotiations blind. Garrus groaned and gave Shepard a look. ¡°You remember when this job made sense? Just hunting down a rogue agent with a bone to pick? Now it¡¯s all civilization destroying spaceships and extragalactic aliens.¡± She smiled. ¡°Please, anything less would be way too easy for us. ¡°Heh, guess you got that right.¡± -o- Revan contemplated what she should do with the schematics on the datapad in front of her. In theory it was a similar problem she had faced already. The galaxy was not prepared for a sudden invasion of significant scale and she needed to either reinforce the current factions or build up a new one in preparation. The problem was, this time she wasn¡¯t in position to be the driving force. There was very little stopping whatever group she worked with from simply stringing her along for as long as they needed to get the full design and then cutting her loose. And unlike back home she didn¡¯t have a potential army of honor bound followers or like minded peers that accepted her superiority over them. Here everything would be a fight between her and an already established group. Sure, she could probably subvert a few people as needed. But she would require hundreds to even begin a large project. Not to mention the infrastructure to go along with that. A ping came over her Omnitool and she opened it to see a call from Shepard. Revan accepted it with the flick of a finger. ¡°Commander, can I help you with something?¡± As far as she knew there was nothing major coming up that needed her attention but things may have changed. "We¡¯re just about to dock with the Purgatory. If you want to come with, better get ready now." Revan thought about it, and ultimately decided it wasn¡¯t worth it. She didn¡¯t have much interest in the prison ship and she was busy with her own thing at the moment. ¡°I appreciate the warning but I¡¯ll stay on the Normandy. You shouldn¡¯t need my help retrieving an already captive prisoner.¡± ¡±Right...well this shouldn¡¯t take long. Just to let you know I¡¯m taking Miranda and Jacob with me, but Mordin wanted a word with you when you have a chance.¡± ¡°Noted.¡± Revan replied and ended the call. While she did want to keep planning her next move, taking a moment to talk to the Salarian shouldn¡¯t take too long. Perhaps she could probe him about smaller factions that wouldn¡¯t take too much effort to gain control of. -o- ¡°Ah Revan, glad you could make it. Had some concerns about your species'' reaction to potential vaccine for Collector drones. Need a fresh genetic sample to ensure no adverse reaction.¡± Mordin greeted the Sith as she walked into the science bay. ¡°Hello to you too, Mordin. And I thought you had enough from last time?¡± Revan replied, not exactly thrilled to go through another round of needles for the Salarian scientist¡¯s experiments. Mordin briefly nodded. ¡°Yes, initial samples were fine for the first rounds of testing. Blood compatibility, hormone interference, cell mutation rate. All excellent starting points for vaccine prototype. However, samples degraded after vigorous destructive testing. Using those for the final version could lead to,¡± he inhaled deeply. ¡°unfortunate side effects.¡± Revan¡¯s lip quirked in a mix of amusement and nervousness. Still, biology wasn¡¯t her strong suit. So if the scientist said he needed more samples so his vaccine didn¡¯t fry her nervous system or something, she would be happy to provide. After Mordin had collected the necessary samples, Revan waited until the Salarian had stored everything and was undistracted, idly rubbing at the sore sites where he had done the tissue extractions. She was unsure if he knew about her Force Healing ability, but had determined to not bring it up until she was nowhere near a lab for fear of the eager scientist latching on to studying the phenomenon. She would heal herself later and then volunteer the next person to be injured as a test subject instead if needed. Once he stopped moving around the lab, she decided to see if the doctor knew anything she didn¡¯t. ¡°So, professor, I heard that you used to be part of some sort of covert intelligence group.¡± ¡°Yes, Salarian Special Tasks Group. Respected organization. Clandestine. Handles difficult assignments with limited oversight.¡± Mordin explained as he started fiddling with a computer screen. ¡°Recon, analysis, occasional wet-work. Identify problems, have neutralization options ready should need arise. Model for Council Spectres based on Special Task Group. Very similar.¡± Revan made a note to keep an eye out for potential STG interference in her future plans. Groups like that tended to be on the lookout for rising powers and liked keeping new players under control, especially if they weren¡¯t already tied to an existing power in some way. ¡°Is that so? Unfortunately, besides the fact that the Commander is a Spectre I don¡¯t know much about the group. How similar are they?¡± ¡°Salarians lack numbers, brute strength, military prowess. Have to rely on stealth, intelligence. Agents trusted, given wide operative freedom. Spectres similar. Given goal, told to accomplish. Better funded of course. Didn¡¯t have to buy our own weapons.¡± the professor joked. ¡¯Ah, so the Spectres and STG are similar to Jedi Shadows then.¡¯ Revan realised. That was good news for her short term goals. She hadn¡¯t had the time to go through each Council race¡¯s military structure in detail just yet but had come across dozens of references to the two groups. Finding out they were individual agents rather than a standing army meant that she wouldn¡¯t need to worry about just being attacked in force if someone decided to take offence, but it did mean bad things about long term combat strength. If two of the major armed factions were based on precision strikes, how useful would they be against capital ship sized attackers? Probably not very. Which could complicate things later, but Revan would worry about that when she had solved her own issue on that front. ¡°Well since you were part of the STG you must have kept tabs on some of the groups out in the galaxy right? Any chance that one of them would be willing to help with our mission? I know Shepard isn¡¯t thrilled to be working so close with Cerberus.¡± Mordin opened his mouth to answer but before he could say anything he was cut off by the ship-wide intercom. ¡±Joker to Scary Sith Overlady, we¡¯ve got a problem.¡± Revan narrowed her eyes at Joker¡¯s nickname for her, but shelved her annoyance for now. ¡°What is it?¡± ¡±The warden double-crossed us. He tried to take the Commander prisoner and now we¡¯ve got a bunch of mercs trying to break into the Normandy! So, uh, how ¡®bout some help up here?¡± Revan and Mordin exchanged looks before they both started moving. Mordin reached into a drawer and retrieved an SMG while Revan started heading to the front of the ship. Her long strides eating up the distance. ¡°I¡¯m on my way. EDI, shipwide alert. Prepare to repel boarders. And get ready to open the airlock. I¡¯ll take care of the ones outside myself.¡± She ordered, not really caring if she had the authority to at the moment. ¡°Very well, Revan.¡± the AI responded as a klaxon started blaring across the ship. ¡°Shall I direct anyone to go with you?¡± ¡°No need.¡± the Sith replied, flipping her hood up over her helmet. ¡°This shouldn¡¯t take too long.¡± Chapter 12 The Purgatory was falling apart around them. Alarms were blaring, prisoners were rioting, the guards seemed to have given up any hope of containing things and were collapsing into an ¡®every man for themselves¡¯ situation. And honestly? It wasn¡¯t the most chaotic environment Shepard had been thrown into. She wasn¡¯t even sure it cracked the top ten. ¡°Shepard, two on the right!¡± Garrus called out from his overwatch position. ¡°Got it! Miranda, watch my back.¡± Shepard quickly located the two guards that decided fight was the better option than flight and charged one of them biotically. The rush of energy gave her a faux-sense that time slowed down so it seemed to take an eternity for her to jam the barrel of her shotgun into the guard¡¯s midsection and pull the trigger. The Turian¡¯s armor wasn¡¯t enough to save him and his chest burst open in a shower of dark blue blood. His friend didn¡¯t fare much better when Shepard¡¯s biotically empowered fist drove itself into his face and she felt bone give way. A burst of machine gun fire behind her caused her to spin around, expecting to find another guard pointing a gun at her. Instead, she saw him slouching over with bullet marks in a neat little cluster on his chest and Miranda standing nearby looking for more enemies. ¡°Good job.¡± Shepard was privately a little wary of the Cerberus operative at the moment. What was supposed to be a simple pickup had turned into this giant mess and she wasn¡¯t entirely sure it wasn¡¯t because Cerberus decided to change tactics and wanted her out of the picture. There was no reason for her suspicion. Miranda hadn¡¯t been trying to stab her in the back at any point. The operative had actually been incredibly useful in covering Garrus and herself while they moved through the ship following after the force of destruction they were hoping to recruit. When this was over she would need to schedule another meditation session with Revan. There was no way she was going to let these paranoid feelings drive a wedge between her and her crew with no evidence to back them up. Shepard felt a headache starting to form when she realised that if they successfully recruited Jack then there would be two incredibly powerful people who could tear the Normandy apart with their minds living in pretty close quarters. She could only hope that Revan would be the mature one there and back down if needed, since Jack had proved pretty definitively she wouldn¡¯t hesitate to wreck the ship she was on. ¡­ Oh God, they were all going to die before they got anywhere near the Collectors weren¡¯t they? -o- Gatis Nazagius wondered for the millionth time how an idiot like Kuril managed to find himself running an operation like the Purgatory. Personally, he put it down to connections. Kuril was lucky enough to know the right kind of people to get ahead in life, while people like Gatis were forced to claw the scraps from what was left. Gatis was born to normal parents, had a normal education, and hadn¡¯t exactly had the chance to stand out during his mandatory service. If he was the same as the rest of the populous he might not care, but he was smarter than that. He saw as Turians with half his intelligence were given special training and assignments based on who they knew or even who their parents knew. He knew when he was passed over for Spectre training that it didn¡¯t matter that he was better than his peers, only the people that already had a foot through the door could advance in the Hierarchy. So he struck out and joined the Blue Suns, and found that it was the exact same crap just less blatant. Who cared that Kuril wanted to cash in on a bounty for that Human Spectre and go through the most convoluted way possible of capturing her? The female might¡¯ve managed to get a whole bunch of other people¡¯s accomplishments under her name by being the first human Spectre, but she was still just a single person. Instead of trying to lead Commander Shayfard or whatever into a cell and hoping she would walk in herself, Kuril should¡¯ve just ambushed her with two squads in a hallway somewhere. It¡¯s what Gaits would¡¯ve done if he was in charge. No three man squad would be stupid enough to fight those odds. Instead, because Kuril was an idiot, the human prisoner Jack was running loose, the human Spectre was still free, and Gatis was being ordered to breach and board the ship the humans came in on because Kuril wanted it as a toy or something rather than just outfitting it with some bombs on the hull and blowing it to hell. When he ran things then people would finally have to listen to reason. ¡°Right, we¡¯re going to split into three groups once we are through the door.¡± the sergeant was saying. ¡°Group 1 will secure the flight controls, we don¡¯t want them trying to leave before we have control. Group 2 will secure Engineering. Group 3, you¡¯re on crew suppression. Try not to kill everyone. We need someone to tell us the access codes.¡± Well, at least this sargeant wasn¡¯t a total idiot. They still should¡¯ve cut through the top of the ship in Gatis¡¯ opinion but it wasn¡¯t the worst plan someone not as smart as him could come up with. He would need to stick to the back of the group though. Ship boarding was dangerous since you never knew what the crew had on hand to deal with boarders. ¡°What do you think we¡¯re up against?¡± One of the lackeys asked another. ¡°Well, isn¡¯t it a Cerberus ship? That human supremacist group? Probably just going to be a bunch of humans then.¡± ¡°No shit, I meant how many of the crew will actually know what they''re doing.¡± ¡°How would I know?¡± Gatis tuned out the idiots and focused on the airlock where an Engineer was busy breaking the access code. Pretty soon they would open the door and likely need to deal with a couple of the crew when they tried to hold them off. ¡°I think I got it.¡± the Engineer called out and retreated from the airlock back to where the rest of the groups were waiting. ¡°30 seconds and the door-¡± He stopped talking when there was a hiss of air as the airlock to the frigate opened up and a tall figure walked out. Gatis pegged it as either human or asari based on first glance and the number of digits on the newcomer¡¯s hands but he couldn¡¯t say for certain given the rest of their body was covered in dark black and red robes. There were hints of bronze colored armor under all the black and gauntlets on her arms, but the biggest thing hiding her species was the grey and red helmet under her hood with a single black slit acting as a visor. ¡°Think she¡¯s here to surrender?¡± one of the braindead humans that had joined on recently asked. Gatis rolled his eyes, a human expression he was quite fond of. Of course the female was here to surrender, or at least negotiate for their release leading up the crew¡¯s surrender. Clearly someone on the ship had a pair of brain cells to rub together and didn¡¯t want to die. Gatis did wonder what the two metal cylinders in her hands were though. The female walked calmly forward as if completely comfortable with over a dozen guns pointing in her direction. She had just cleared the connection hatch when the sergeant felt she had come close enough. ¡°Hold it! Are you here to negotiate a surrender?¡± The female stopped walking and tilted her helmet. ¡°A surrender? Very well, I accept.¡± For some reason the humans started laughing at that. The sergeant didn¡¯t like it though. He always couldn¡¯t stand someone mocking him and took anything he was too feeble minded to understand as an insult. Although Gatis did lower his opinion of the female a bit. It was one thing to show a bit of courage in the face of defeat. It was another to not understand when you had been defeated and should surrender. ¡°I want all of your crew to disarm and present themselves on this deck. Do it quickly and I won¡¯t have a few of them shot as a demonstration.¡± the sergeant growled. ¡°No. Now leave or die.¡± There was a brief lurch in Gatis¡¯ brain as he realised that not only was this human, and she had to be human since no Asari could be this stupid, not realised she had angered the one leading fifteen Blue Sun¡¯s mercenaries but was actually bold enough to demand they all give up even though she didn¡¯t have a single visible gun on her. ¡°I...you...how dare-...¡± the sergeant was practically vibrating with rage at the dismissal and Gatis felt a small amount of pity for the crew of the ship in front of them. A few would probably be executed as examples because of this. Oh well. That¡¯s what they get for choosing this woman to negotiate. ¡°Shoot her.¡± Four guards opened fire. Gatis didn¡¯t care what kind of shields the human had. Four rifles with no cover was a death sentence to all but the oldest Asari commandos¡­ which was why he was stunned when the cylinders ignited into two blue and red beams of light and the dark figure was briefly hidden behind a wall of light. If you find this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the infringement. ¡­ Not a single one of the Blue Suns knew how to react to that. A Krogan might¡¯ve managed to survive something like that if they had been in a bloodrage, but not just shrug off that much firepower without a scratch. ¡°Death it is then.¡± There was a tiny movement in front of the human. The almost nonexistent amount of dust on the floor was blown towards them all in a way that reminded Gatis of a Biotic Push, but there was no corona of energy showing the dark matter manipulation. That didn¡¯t stop the invisible surge of force from hitting him in the face along with the other guards and throwing them all backwards. Gatis frantically scrambled back to his feet. He knew it was a bad idea to let the woman out! They should¡¯ve rushed the airlock as soon as it opened! Damned sergeant hesitating like some cocky asshole, this is exactly why Gatis should be in charge! He didn¡¯t look back as the area erupted in the sounds of screams and gunfire. He needed to get to cover! The others should be able to distract the female that long at least. Gatis slid behind a barricade and looked back into a scene out of a nightmare. The female had resumed her leisurely pace forward while the two devices in her spun arcs of light, disintegrating any projectile that came close to hitting her. Some of the guards had frozen up and could only stand there and fire helplessly into the approaching armored figure. Then, when the female was close enough, they would be effortlessly sliced to pieces. The ones outside of her reach were dragged closer by unseen hands. Slowly at first. Just to give them an illusion of escape. Gatis knew the demon in front of them was playing with them when a rocket wielding guard managed to line up a shot and it was intercepted by the body of another guard throwing himself in front of the missile. Their body was torn to pieces by the explosion and the shooter was the next one dragged into the demon''s glowing claws. He had never really understood the distrust most Turians held for the Cabals. Other species seemed to control their biotics easily enough, so why did only his people watch them so carefully? It was because they knew. They knew that there were demons like this¡­ The screams fell silent and Gatis realised it was because everyone else was dead. The black and red demon turned towards him and Gatis knew he was going to die. The sights on his rifle wavered as the she-devil walked closer but he couldn¡¯t bring himself to pull the trigger. He needed to figure out how to escape! People needed to know that this thing was here before it could find more of its kind! ¡°So all but one decided to fight, huh?¡± The unnatural flat tones of the non-Turian cut through Gatis¡¯ growing panic. Noticing the demon had closed the distance much quicker than he was expecting, he threw himself backwards to try and escape the incoming claw and lost his rifle in the process. There was no blinding pain like he half expected, so he looked up from his spot on the ground and found the demon looking impassively at him with it¡¯s single terrible eye. He tried to make a sound, but nothing would come out but some strangled squeaking. ¡°Was this the only team attacking the Normandy?¡± the demon asked, but Gatis still couldn¡¯t speak. ¡°Is Commander Shepard still free?¡± ¡°Where is the prisoner Jack?¡± The demon kept questioning him but Gatis couldn¡¯t-, no wouldn¡¯t, speak to it. Spirits preserve him, he wouldn¡¯t give it what it wanted. ¡°You¡¯re going to make me do this the hard way aren¡¯t you?¡± He continued to say nothing as the demon raised an armored limb and placed it on his head. There was a...pressure...as the demon tried to corrupt him to be it¡¯s servant but the Spirits protected him. It was more painful than anything he experienced and he wailed in his mind as the demon struggled to subjugate him, until the pressure just suddenly cut off. His thoughts were his own and the demon failed! It drew back, defeated, and began to retreat leaving Gatis behind as it fled. He noticed his Vindicator lying nearby and quickly retrieved it and aimed at the demon¡¯s unguarded back. He was the one chosen by the Spirits to clean the galaxy of these demons! And he would start- *snap-hiss* -with this one? Gatis looked down, confused at the sudden burning pain in his chest and saw the demon¡¯s claw glowing a hellfire red in the middle of it. He suddenly felt really tired and realised the demon must have somehow drained his strength with it¡¯s weapon. A cowardly trick he should¡¯ve expected. He wouldn¡¯t...fall for it...next...time¡­ -o- Revan watched in mild annoyance as the mercenary slumped over, dead. She had been nice enough to only kill the ones that attacked her and was willing to leave them alone if they ran. But this stupid turian somehow decided it was a good idea to try and shoot her in the back after she let him go. In a way, she was reluctantly impressed he had even worked up the nerve to attempt such a thing. He had recovered from her first Force Burst quickly enough that he had managed to find a cover position and aim at her near the start of the fight but hadn¡¯t fired a single shot. She could even feel that he was nearly paralyzed by fear as well, so much so that she needed to pull the answers to her questions directly from his mind. Maybe she damaged something in the attempt? Those techniques were dangerous to use that quickly without a thorough understanding of the target¡¯s biology. Revan decided she might need to hasten her studies into the races in this galaxy if she was going to use the Force for interrogation without causing unneeded pain. At least she managed to learn the Turrian language as well though. That would be useful. Anyways, the attacking group was neutralized so her task was complete. Revan activated her comlink and called Joker. ¡°This is Revan, all hostiles outside the ship have been taken care of for now. I¡¯m going to go pick up the Commander now before something else happens.¡± ¡±Uh...yeah...I¡¯m good with that. I¡¯ll just have the rest of the crew start polishing your throne for when you get back. Good luck Supreme Dark Overlady, have fun!¡± Revan¡¯s lips twitched upward at the irreverent comment. Joker was surprisingly good at hiding behind sarcastic comments, but she appreciated that he made the effort to act like he wasn¡¯t terrified of her. ¡°You do that, Joker. If I approve, I¡¯ll let you sit at my feet as a reward. I¡¯m sure we can find something fitting for the occasion somewhere.¡± ¡±Did...did you just make a joke?¡± Joker sputtered incredulously. ¡±That was a joke right?¡± ¡±...Revan?¡± Revan said nothing, but she was smiling as she closed the connection and spread her senses outward. The prison ship was a maelstrom of fear and anger. Tiny specks in the force scurried around either fighting each other or searching for a way off the ship. Revan shifted her attention through all of them, looking for the signatures she had come to associate with the Commander and her companions. It helped that she was able to reduce the range of her search to somewhere close to the Normandy since this was supposed to be a pickup before the chaos. The human Spectre couldn¡¯t have made it too far from them already. A moment passed and Revan started walking deeper into the prison ship. Her earlier smile had vanished when she picked up on the presence the Commander had been getting closer to. It was a star of rage and hurt and hate that Revan had mostly seen in Sith Acolytes. Not something she was entirely surprised to sense on a prison ship in the middle of space but the intensity was abnormal. Revan had a feeling that this was the person Shepard had been attempting to retrieve. She quickened her pace a bit. She didn¡¯t want to get there too late afterall. -o- Shepard had gotten a brief look at Jack when they had set her free but she had been a bit more concerned about the army of Blue Suns potentially around the corner to get more than first impressions. So when her squad finally managed to catch up to the rampaging biotic the first thing Shepard wondered was how the hell she wasn¡¯t rubbing herself raw using a strap of what looked like leather as a bra. The second was what had the near topless woman in such a frothing rage that she didn¡¯t notice the Blue Suns merc charging at her until the last second. Shepard swiftly pulled her Carfinax and fired off a shot, dropping the merc and getting Jack¡¯s attention. Not wanting to kick off another fight, Shepard raised her hands placatingly and returned her pistol to its mag-harness. ¡°What the hell do you want?¡± Jack snapped, she was tensed and looking for the slightest signs of hostility. Shepard realised if she softballed this then Jack would try to walk all over her. ¡°Besides saving your ass?¡± Jack started pacing, reminding Shepard of a cornered animal more than anything. ¡°He was already dead. He just didn¡¯t know it.¡± she snapped. ¡°Now answer me, what the hell do you want?¡± Okay, maybe that was a little too confrontational. Perhaps dialing it back a bit? ¡°Look, you¡¯re in a bad situation, I¡¯m going to get you out of here.¡± ¡°Shit, you sound like a pussy.¡± Shepard didn¡¯t show any reaction to the insult. Despite the words, Jack had slowed her pacing a bit. ¡°I¡¯m not going anywhere with you. You¡¯re Cerberus.¡± Shepard could already tell Jack was wavering a bit despite that last statement. She didn¡¯t miss the confused glances at Miranda and Garrus. The Commander could understand the confusion. Cerberus didn¡¯t work with aliens if they had the choice most of the time. For a Turian to be in their group meant there was more going on that Jack wouldn¡¯t be able to figure out at a glance, and that made her cautious. ¡°Why would me being Cerberus be an issue?¡± Shepard asked. ¡°They¡¯ve been on my ass for years.¡± Jack scoffed. ¡°Anytime I get free, they slap a huge bounty on me. That¡¯s why that dumbass Kuril thought he struck gold when he caught me.¡± a sneer crossed her face. ¡°It isn¡¯t working out too well for him.¡± ¡°She''s destroyed Cerberus property and killed quite a few Cerberus personnel. Hence the bounty.¡± Miranda clarified, but the other two women seemed to ignore her besides Jack narrowing her eyes and glaring at the Cerberus Operative. Shepard briefly thought about the trail of destruction Jack left in her wake, the dead prisoners and mercs, and Kuril¡¯s body lying on the ground somewhere behind them with half his face torn off from getting shot by Garrus¡¯s sniper rifle. ¡°No, I guess it isn¡¯t.¡± She agreed, deciding to ignore Miranda¡¯s comment about the reasons for the bounty. She honestly didn¡¯t care about it. ¡°I¡¯m here to ask for your help though. I¡¯m not your enemy.¡± ¡°Good thing too. Being our enemy seems to be bad for people¡¯s health.¡± Garrus ¡®helpfully¡¯ added, but it got Jack to snort in amusement so Shepard let it slide. ¡°Bullshit. You show up in a Cerberus frigate to take me away somewhere. How stupid do you think I am?¡± Shepard was half convinced Jack was simply arguing to argue at this point, and while she normally wouldn¡¯t care that much the Purgatory was in the process of tearing itself apart. ¡°Weeell,¡± Shepard said lightly. ¡°We¡¯re currently on a ship going down in flames. I¡¯ve got a ticket out and I¡¯m offering you a ride¡­¡± her voice hardened. ¡°And you¡¯re arguing. So you tell me?¡± Jack bristled angrily but Shepard knew she had her. Unless Jack couldn¡¯t see even the most blatant writing on the wall the human Spectre was her best bet out. ¡°Fine, you said you wanted my help?¡± Jack snarled. ¡°Make it worth my while.¡± Shepard smiled internally. Game, set, match. ¡°Alright, what do you want?¡± Jack glared off to her right where past several windows the Normandy could be seen docked. ¡°Your ship, I bet it''s got a lot of Cerberus databases.¡± Jack looked back at Shepard and continued after the Spectre nodded in confirmation. ¡°I want access to them. See what Cerberus has on me. You give me that and I¡¯ll join your little team or whatever.¡± Shepard raised an eyebrow. ¡°That''s all you want?¡± Jack nodded. ¡°Fine, then I¡¯ll give you full access.¡± ¡°Shepard, you¡¯re not authorized to do that!¡± Miranda gasped, quickly rising to the defense of her organization. ¡°Oooh, and it upsets the cheerleader. Even better.¡± Jack sneered and turned back to Shepard. ¡°You better be straight up with me.¡± Before the Commander could say anything, another voice called out nearby causing all of them to jump. ¡°I wouldn¡¯t worry about that. The Commander is quite good at keeping promises.¡± Revan casually walked out from the shadows like she didn¡¯t care she almost gave everyone a heart attack. Jack spun immediately, a glow of biotic energy pouring off of her, and launched herself at the new arrival. Shepard raised a hand and took a step forward hoping to stop the biotic before anything happened but she was too late. Jack collided with Revan and a shockwave nearly blew the rest of them off their feet. Shepard recovered quickly and rushed into damage control. ¡°Wait Jack! She¡¯s with us!¡± but then she stopped as she took in the sight in front of her. Jack, the human biotic so powerful that she was able to blitz through YMIR mechs and ship walls practically unarmed, was being held in place by the Sith Lord. With one hand. Sure Revan at least seemed to be straining a little and needed to take a half-step backwards under Jack¡¯s assault, but for all Jack¡¯s raw power Revan clearly wasn¡¯t taking her seriously. ¡°Your raw might is impressive,¡± Revan commented, only the tiniest bit of strain audible between the sound of Jack¡¯s growling and the slight distortion from her helmet. ¡°But you¡¯re lacking control¡­¡± she paused and there was a pulse that sent Jack skidding backwards. ¡°You¡¯ll need to work on that.¡± ¡°Who the fuck are you?¡± Jack angrily demanded, the corona of biotic energy flaring higher. ¡°Hold it!¡± Shepard interrupted before the two could clash again. ¡°Jack, that''s Revan. She¡¯s part of the crew. And Revan, what are you doing out here? I thought you wanted to stay on the ship.¡± ¡°The guards tried to capture the Normandy while you were chasing this one,¡± Revan tilted her head at Jack. ¡°After I took care of them I thought you might need help, but by the time I arrived you had talked her down. It was well done.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll show you well done.¡± Jack growled. Shepard held her breath as the two locked gazes before Revan simply turned her visor to Shepard and ignored Jack. ¡°We should leave soon. The Purgatory is starting to shake itself apart. It won¡¯t be long before a reactor explodes at this rate.¡± Not wanting to let another fight break out, Shepard nodded. ¡°Alright, let¡¯s move out.¡± The five of them quickly headed for the docking area with Jack muttering a string of curses at Revan¡¯s back the whole time but when they passed by the remains of the Blue Suns boarding party she went quiet. Probably wondering how the hell Revan killed them based on the wounds. Still, when the last of them stepped through the airlock and Joker pulled them away. Shepard felt a weight fall off her shoulders. Mission complete and everyone made it home. She couldn¡¯t ask for anything more. ¡°Okay. Jack, follow me and Miranda to the conference room and we¡¯ll get you settled. Garrus, Revan, you¡¯re free for now. We¡¯ll do a debrief of everything that happened later. Dismissed.¡± Chapter 13 After the mission on the Purgatory, the Normandy crew didn¡¯t really have much to do at the moment. Cerberus was still looking for signs of Collector activity and had nothing solid as of yet, so Shepard was left to her own devices. Without a solid mission or goal pushing her forward, the human Commander was taking the time to get to know her team in a more relaxed setting than rushing to a mission or in the middle of a firefight. Well, she tried to anyway. Even with nothing pressing going on, running a ship was still a very involved job so she only had a few minutes to talk to everyone. Still, the general crew were easy enough to get along with even if she didn¡¯t get to know them very well yet. Jacob continued to live up to her first impression of being a through-and-through marine, jock attitude and all, although to his credit he didn¡¯t seem particularly xenophobic. Rather it was the politics the Alliance had played and their inaction after Eden Prime that had driven the young man to join Cerberus. Short-sighted in Shepard¡¯s opinion. Especially since Cerberus usually had so many ¡®rogue¡¯ cells that went against human interests, but she knew just how hard it was to do nothing when you saw something wrong and you were ordered to do nothing so she didn¡¯t judge him too harshly. If anything Shepard hoped Jacob¡¯s attitude rubbed off onto more Cerberus operatives. Mordin was¡­ interesting to talk to. The Salarian had basically moved into the Science Lab and greatly enjoyed playing with the various state-of-the-art equipment found inside. He did have a habit of going into great detail on what he was doing though, and while Shepard wasn¡¯t an idiot, advanced biochemistry and gene sequencing was not something she could talk about other than just smiling politely and nodding along. She hadn¡¯t had much luck talking with Jack or Miranda either. The convict had been dismissive and hostile during the brief conversation they had, but she had appreciated getting access to the Cerberus databases so there was at least some progress getting Jack to open up. In contrast to that Miranda had gone back to being professionally distant. Evidently she had not appreciated Shepard handing out access to restricted files. A part of Shepard fully understood why Miranda was bothered as she would probably feel the same if it were Alliance databases, but on the other hand it was still Cerberus files...so fuck them. The whole situation would probably give her a better read on her XO anyway. Since Miranda was determined to track exactly what Jack was looking through, it meant she was also reading those files. If Jack found anything damning, then the black-haired officer would know it too. What that ended up doing for her allegiances to Cerberus was up in the air, but Shepard was willing to find out. The newest addition to her crew, the tank-bred Krogan that had named himself Grunt, was similarly hard to talk to but that was mostly because he simply lacked any real experiences of his own for now and was uninterested in the implanted memories, claiming they felt ¡®hollow¡¯. Besides securing his allegiance for the time being there really hadn¡¯t been much else to discuss with the young Krogan. Although the rather sudden release of the tank-bred might be another reason Miranda was upset with her. She mentally shrugged. Miranda would get over it. Shepard dismissed her thoughts on her team for now. Garrus was busy trying to dig up some old contacts about a potential upgrade to the Normandy¡¯s main battery so she was taking the opportunity to meet with Revan again. The meditation lessons with the Sith had been a great help in calming the Spectre¡¯s mind after her death, resurrection, and dealings with Cerberus. She was actually a little scared imagining what trying to deal with her current situation without the Elven woman helping her deal with it. When not instructing Shepard, Revan had begun to share some of her experiences during the Mandalorian Wars. Although if she was being honest, Shepard had a hard time imagining the scale of the conflict Revan fought in. She had a hard enough time with a single ship, nevermind multiple fleets. Hearing what Revan was capable of could be pretty humbling at times. Shepard entered Revan¡¯s quarters for their next session and was surprised to see the Sith Lord in something other than her normal black robes. Ever since Revan had taken up residence in the cargo bay she had always worn either her robes or armor, but now the Elf was wearing some loose workout pants and a fitted tank top. It was such a change in appearance that Shepard wasn¡¯t sure she was in the right place for a second. ¡°Revan, that''s a new style.¡± She couldn¡¯t help but say after recovering from her shock. The Sith opened her eyes from her meditative position and looked placidly at the human commander. ¡°Is it that surprising? Even I need my clothes washed from time to time.¡± ¡°Ah, ehm, right, that makes sense.¡± It was easy to forget that despite the billions of credits worth of technology laying around the cargo bay, Revan herself only had her armor and the clothes she was wearing when she crashed. ¡°It¡¯s a good look for you.¡± Shepard said, trying to recover from that slip up. And she wasn¡¯t lying, under the armor and loose flowing robes Revan had the build of someone who spent years forging their body to perfection. She had the grace and smoothness of motion of a gymnast and the restrained power of a martial artist mixed into one, and Shepard needed to stop right now before she ended up thinking just like a certain Yeoman. ¡°It¡¯s fine for now, but I prefer my own style of clothing.¡± Revan replied, idly pulling at the straps of her shirt and giving Shepard a glimpse down her shirt. Shepard felt her face heating up at Revan¡¯s flawless skin before she remembered the state of her own and her feelings took a darker turn. Revan paused and looked up at her. ¡°What¡¯s wrong? My clothes aren¡¯t that upsetting are they?¡± It was a strange comment, but then Shepard remembered for the tenth time that Revan was an empath. Of course she felt the Commander¡¯s shift in emotion. ¡°Sorry, it¡¯s nothing.¡± Shepard deflected. ¡°You were going to try teaching me moving meditation this time, right? Where do we start?¡± Revan simply stared at her, one eyebrow raised as violet eyes bored into green. ¡°For someone who was supposed to be the equivalent of a Jedi Shadow, you are remarkably bad at lying, Commander. So care to tell me why simply looking at me makes you feel such a way?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t suppose you¡¯ll leave it alone if I say it¡¯s private?¡± Revan smiled, but it was a cold expression. ¡°Forgive me, but the last time I trusted a student when they said their feelings were private he betrayed me and everything I had created.¡± Shepard had to give her that one. Revan¡¯s tale about her betrayal by her friend and apprentice Malek had revealed how deeply that experience still affected the woman. Revan had straight up told Shepard that as long as she was teaching the Commander she would likely act like this as well. But Shepard was so determined to stop her own mind from fighting against her that she swore to put up with it. ¡°It¡¯s your skin.¡± Revan said nothing. Shepard huffed. Damn the Sith for patiently waiting for her to continue. ¡°Look, I¡¯m not one to get all bent out of shape over a little scar okay? Hell, I¡¯m an N7 and half the ground team is littered with them. But I look in the mirror and see underneath the scars is freaking glowing machinery and it just keeps reminding me that the scars I have are because I¡¯m a fucking science experiment...¡± Shepard took a moment to collect herself, following the breathing techniques Revan had shown her. Collecting the negative thoughts, acknowledging them, accepting them, and letting them go with every breath out ¡°...so when I saw you,¡± She gestured at Revan¡¯s unmarked skin. ¡°didn¡¯t have a scratch on you despite all the battles you were in hit me hard.¡± The Sith remained silent for a while. ¡°...I had wondered about the scars. You seemed to avoid reflective surfaces but since you didn¡¯t seem to mind the others on the crew I wasn¡¯t sure.¡± She eventually said slowly. ¡°But surely you have the medical technology to deal with a few scars if you didn¡¯t want them?¡± ¡°Not on a frigate.¡± Shepard said dismissively, running her fingers over the crags in her skin. ¡°And I can¡¯t exactly justify taking us off mission for a few weeks just to get it taken care of at a civilian hospital or the cost of installing the hardware here.¡± It was actually incredibly frustrating. Sure, Miranda said the surgical scars would heal on their own as long as she kept her epinephrine levels low, but that was hard to do when she was running combat missions and when looking at a mirror stressed her out. And all of it could be solved as long as Shepard was selfish enough to ignore entire colonies in trouble to get treatment or rely on Cerberus to install the needed hardware and not hold a debt over her. Support the author by searching for the original publication of this novel. She would rather chew glass than owe TIM anything. He might¡¯ve brought her back to life, but she refused to owe him for that. She didn¡¯t ask him to and he certainly hadn¡¯t asked her. ¡°I sense you have strong feelings about those options.¡± Shepard shrugged. She wasn¡¯t exactly hiding that. Revan looked at her for a bit, then sighed and motioned for her to sit on the floor directly in front of the Sith. ¡°I had planned on getting you into a more dynamic form of meditation since that''s obviously where your preference lies,¡± Shepard cringed a bit at the not so subtle dig about how hard it was for her to sit still for any appreciable amount of time. ¡°But considering this latest conversation, it seems that will have to wait until I correct something first.¡± That had Shepard cringing harder. The last thing she needed was her meditation teacher playing at being a therapist. She was already trying to avoid being alone with Chambers for any appreciable amount of time because she didn¡¯t want TIM knowing what made her tick anymore than he already did. And if she was being honest, she didn¡¯t want to wind up being seen as some broken soldier needing to be fixed to Revan. After seeing the Elf handle being tossed into arguably worse circumstances than herself, Shepard¡¯s natural competitiveness refused to let her become dependent on the Sith. Would she do her best to learn the skills Revan had to offer? Hell yes. Rely on her to sort out all her problems? Not a chance. ¡°Look, I appreciate the offer but I¡¯m not looking for a shrink. If you¡¯re worried about me going postal on you just because I can¡¯t look in a mirror, don¡¯t. I¡¯d probably go after Miranda first.¡± Shepard tried to smile at the end to show she was joking. Too bad Revans serious mein refused to soften any. ¡°Good, because I have better things to do with my time and yours than attempt to mimic a mind healer.¡± Revan said shortly. ¡°If I was, I would tell you that ensuring you are healthy mind, body, and soul requires time and effort before you see results.¡± Shepard opened her mouth but before she could say anything the Sith Lord talked over her. ¡°But seeing as we do not have that kind of time, I am simply going to brute force some of it. So unless you are dead set against it, I will attempt to accelerate healing your scars.¡± Shepard¡¯s protests died on her lips. Revan was going to heal her? She knew Revan had kept Garrus alive after he was hit by a missile, but once he made it to the medbay she never offered her abilities again. Shepard had thought it was because she could only affect recent wounds but maybe she was wrong. ¡°You aren¡¯t wrong, healing old injuries is magnitudes more difficult than fresh ones.¡± Revan explained after she asked. ¡°But surface level stuff is easier than most. I won¡¯t lie though, I don¡¯t know how to make this comfortable for you.¡± ¡°Do it.¡± Shepard said immediately. Anything to be able to look at herself and not see an abomination looking back in the mirror. Revan nodded and placed her hands on either side of Shepard¡¯s head. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath before her face smoothed out into what Shepard had started to learn was a meditative trance. Then she started to feel some slight prickles on her face. Prickles that quickly escalated until it reminded her of the time she accidentally tried sleeping on top of a colony of fire ants during basic. But she grit her teeth and refused to make a sound. She¡¯d felt worse. A small eternity later the feeling stopped and Revan pulled her hands away. Shepard was a little surprised to see the Sith lean forward, sweat running down her face and breath coming in pants. ¡°Th-There. Not a bad effort for the first session.¡± the elven woman eventually managed. ¡°Are you okay?¡± Shepard had to ask. The only time she had ever seen Revan this drained was after she had crashed into a planet and fought through a few squads of Batarian slavers. ¡°F-fine, healing just takes a lot out of me.¡± Revan replied. ¡°Like I said, I¡¯m not a healer. Battlefield medic I can do, but that much concentration isn¡¯t something I can do for long.¡± She motioned to a nearby table and a canteen of water telekinetically jumped into her hand. While Revan was drinking, Shepard got an alert on her omnitool. A message had come in from her old CO, Captain Anderson. Councillor now technically, but he would always be Captain to her. And he was asking her to come to the Citadel. Shepard made her excuses and left Revan¡¯s quarters in a hurry. She was so focused on getting to the CIC deck that she didn¡¯t even think about looking at the results of Revan¡¯s work until the elevator doors closed and she caught a glimpse of herself in the metal doors. The deep crevices in her face where just yesterday glowing orange implants could be seen had been sealed and replaced by rough scar tissue. It wasn¡¯t pretty, but the lack of light showing through made Shepard feel like even if Revan never attempted healing her again she would still owe the Sith several favors. The elevator doors quietly hissed open, and Commander Shepard stepped through them feeling lighter than she had in weeks. -o- As it turned out, the fight Shepard was half expecting to break out when Miranda learned about their destination failed to materialize. Coincidentally enough, there was another person of interest Cerberus had marked for recruitment that had just signed on and was waiting for pickup at the Citadel. How a marked Cerberus frigate was allowed to freely operate in Citadel Space wasn¡¯t something Shepard was very keen on learning. It suggested either a dismissal of how dangerous the terrorist organisation was to the wider galaxy or politicking and backroom deals that meant Cerberus¡¯s crimes were mostly ignored outside of the Systems Alliance. Knowing the council, Shepard wouldn¡¯t be surprised if it was a combination of both those and even some other factors. They hadn¡¯t exactly cracked down on Batarian slavers despite them withdrawing from Citadel space and still launching raids on member races. Whatever the reason, the Normandy was able to dock at the Citadel with no issues and only the usual traffic that had Joker complaining about half blind pilots with the spacial awareness of a Hanar and several pointed remarks about their possible ancestry with farm animals. Miranda had assured her that despite her own reservations with the situation, no one would be waiting outside to arrest them all. So once the ship was docked and C-Sec didn¡¯t immediately storm the airlock, Shepard allowed for limited shore leave for her crew. Hopefully not enough to cause issues, but plenty to ensure everyone had a chance to destress after their missions. From there it was a simple ten minute ride from the local transit station to where she was supposed to meet with their potential new recruit. Oddly enough, she made it to her destination without being ambushed, or assaulted, or finding her target in the middle of a fight. In fact, things were so normal Shepard did three perimeter checks just to make sure she hadn¡¯t missed anything. ¡°You¡¯re being paranoid.¡± the amusement in Revan¡¯s slightly distorted voice was clear. Shepard sent a mild glare at the thin black visor where the other woman¡¯s eyes were sure to be. ¡°I haven¡¯t met a single recruit for the ground team without everything going to hell. It¡¯s pattern recognition, not paranoia.¡± she replied. ¡°Even Jacob and Miranda?¡± ¡°Met them shooting my way out of a Cerberus medical facility minutes after I woke up. Jacob when we were taking down the security mechs. Miranda when she killed the person who sent them after us.¡± And hadn¡¯t that been a fun thing to wake up to¡­ Revan shook her head, that same mild amusement practically radiating off her body language. ¡°I still say it¡¯s paranoia, but we can debate that later. Our new friend seems to be getting impatient.¡± she pointed at the advertisement holo that had been hacked to show the image of a hooded woman. Shepard idly wondered if hoods were starting to become a fashion statement. Between Tali, Revan, and now this woman that was three people already. ¡°Commander Shepard. We have the finest companions waiting for you. Perhaps something petite, smart, and Japanese would be your style?¡± Shepard snorted. You could tell a lot about a person by how they chose to introduce themselves. And she was learning quite a bit about their recruit with this little display. Talented, obviously, if she was able to hack a mid-level security platform on the Citadel just to make contact. Cautious, since she was still making contact remotely. And despite the carefree tone, Shepard recognised the hooded woman was probing for reactions. If she didn¡¯t like what she saw, she would likely call the whole thing off. ¡°Well, this is cute.¡± She said as she and Revan approached the projector. The woman¡¯s lips quirked in amusement at Shepard¡¯s comment so this was a live feed at least. ¡°Please tell me your password, Commander Shepard.¡± ¡°What, that¡¯s it? No custom tailored hook to draw me in? Or what about a little flattery to butter me up?¡± Shepard sighed theatrically. ¡°Just straight to the password. I¡¯m hurt Kasumi.¡± The huff from Revan showed exactly how believable that last part was, but Shepard was having fun while nothing was shooting at her. ¡°You¡¯re more fun than I thought you¡¯d be, Shep, but I figured you¡¯d be up for some intrigue. If I knew you¡¯d play along I¡¯d have made more of an effort.¡± the woman crooned. ¡°Kasumi Goto at your service...but you apparently already knew that.¡± Shepard smiled. ¡°I like knowing who I¡¯m talking to.¡± she replied easily. ¡°So why the secrecy? You in trouble or something?¡± she wouldn¡¯t judge Kasumi too badly even if she was. She didn¡¯t exactly have the right to, considering the people she was working with at the moment. ¡°I¡¯m the best thief in the business, not the most famous. Need to watch my step to keep it that way.¡± Kasumi explained. ¡°I also needed to make sure this was legit. And I have no doubts now, you¡¯re the real Commander Shepard.¡± That made sense, but the last bit made Shepard raise an eyebrow. ¡°Just like that? How did you know I¡¯m the real one?¡± ¡°Like I said, I¡¯m the best in the business. That means being able to recognise important people at a glance. After doing this sort of thing for a while you get almost a sixth sense for it. Each person gives off their own ¡®aura¡¯ which is unique. After I met you the first time I was never going to forget yours, you give off this feeling, like you¡¯ve seen things that no one else ever has.¡± ¡°You met me before?¡± Shepard couldn¡¯t remember meeting anyone like Kasumi, but that didn¡¯t mean the thief couldn¡¯t have been in disguise. ¡°Well ¡®met¡¯ might be a strong word for it. I was in the Citadel for a job a couple years ago and was in Chora¡¯s Den when your team went after Fisk. Hard to forget you after that.¡± The fifteen minute reminder buzzed on Shepard¡¯s Omnitool. She had to wrap this up or they¡¯d be late to their meeting with Anderson. ¡°Well, glad to actually meet you then. You¡¯ve been briefed on the mission?¡± she asked. ¡°I have. And I¡¯m a little surprised it took Cerberus this long to reach out to me, my fault for being hard to find I suppose.¡± Kasumi said a little arrogantly, but if she was as good as she was suggesting then she might have earned the right to be. ¡°Plus the hiring bonus of you helping me out was too good to pass up. You know about that right?¡± And then Shepard was suddenly on the back foot. Cerberus made a deal on her behalf without her knowledge. ¡°I guess it slipped their minds.¡± Kasumi continued, the shock on Shepard¡¯s face must have been enough of a clue. I¡¯m looking for my partner¡¯s old greybox. A man named Donovan Hock took it, and I¡¯m planning to get it back.¡± Shepard crossed her arms. ¡°Can¡¯t say I recognise the name.¡± ¡°A well-respected ¡®businessman¡¯. Arms dealer, murderer, and generally not a great guy.¡± That was better than what Shepard had been expecting. Going after an arms dealer was way better than some of the other options out there. Although hearing a greybox was involved was a surprise. Those were insanely regulated hardware, usually only available to top level researchers and spies. Even then, the ability to playback memories like video files was rarely worth the side-effects. The alarm on her Omnitool pinged again. She needed to wrap this up. She could get the details from Kasumi later and she had a basic read on the thief. The rest could wait till later. ¡°I can live with that for now, if that¡¯s what you were promised we¡¯ll get it done.¡± ¡°It¡¯ll be fun. If we¡¯re lucky, you won¡¯t even need to draw your gun.¡± Kasumi smiled lightly and the ad-holo cut out and sank down. ¡°We should probably wrap this up now though,¡± Kasumi¡¯s voice filtered down from the platform above them. ¡°You look pretty silly standing there talking to an advertisement.¡± Kasumi was going to be an experience on the Normandy, Shepard could already tell. ¡°See you on the ship, Shepard.¡± With that final parting word the asian woman turned and walked off, presumably to gather her things, leaving Shepard and Revan behind. ¡°So what did you think of her?¡± Shepard asked the Sith. ¡°A skilled infiltrator at the very least. And a good addition if you can keep her in line.¡± Revan replied. ¡°I imagine she will keep probing exactly how far she can push things if you don¡¯t keep an eye on her.¡± Shepard groaned. That¡¯s what she thought. Was it too much to ask that just one recruit be normal? Then another thought hit her and she groaned harder. ¡°Something wrong?¡± ¡°I just realised nothing went terribly wrong during this meeting.¡± She almost whined at Revan. ¡°That means this meeting with the Council is going to suck.¡± Revan shrugged and started moving towards the gate leading out of the terminal area. ¡°I find that¡¯s how meetings with politicians disconnected with the state of things around them tend to be normally. The best way to deal with it is make them as uncomfortable as possible in return. Or threaten to replace them, that works sometimes.¡± Shepard was reminded that the woman walking next to her had basically been the Empress of her own creation at one point. And she was taking her to meet with the three people that refused to acknowledge anything was wrong until it was undeniably shoved into their faces. Suck was too tame a word for it. This meeting was going to be a disaster. Chapter 14 Nothing particularly exciting happened on their way to meet Shepard¡¯s old friend. In fact, besides a computer alarm that triggered when the Spectre was scanned by security informing the operator that she was dead, the trip was rather boring. The alarm was cleared with some quick talking by the Commander and no one had even tried to take Revan¡¯s weapons¡­ probably because they were so divergent from the norm here that the system didn¡¯t even know they were weapons. Still, Revan was rather disappointed with the lack of reception by the Council for their returning operative. From what she had researched, humanity had only just been included in both the Spectres and the Council in the past two years and yet only a quarter of them had made any sort of attempt to reach out and not having someone at the space dock to escort them could be seen as incredibly dismissive. Revan wasn¡¯t sure if that was somehow requested by Shepard, but if this was Revan¡¯s reception after a requested meeting quite a few politicians would find their careers taking very sudden and drastic turns. That impression only solidified when the two of them arrived at Anderson¡¯s office to find that three-quarters of the Council had decided to not attend in person, instead attending the meeting through a holopanel. Revan wasn¡¯t sure if this was the same as in her Galaxy, but attending by holopanel when distance and time were not a factor was seen as a deliberate snub to those attending. Considering Shepard had messaged back with their expected arrival time, unless things here simply worked differently, the Commander was being dismissed as not important enough to bother with. ¡°-oh, Commander. We were just talking about you.¡± Councilor Anderson greeted as they walked through the door. Revan¡¯s first impression of the aging, dark skinned human was that he absolutely did not belong in politics. He had the body language of a military man, a kind of straightforwardness that didn¡¯t mesh well with leveraging political influence to advance one¡¯s goals. From what she had managed to find out about him before he was retired from active service, Anderson preferred a blunt approach to his goals and actual action to pretty speeches and platitudes. A direct opposite to the rest of his fellow Councilors if Shepard was to be believed. ¡°It¡¯s been a long time, Anderson. I hope the last couple years have treated you right.¡± Shepard smiled back. ¡°There¡¯ve been some rough spots. It¡¯s good to have you back.¡± the Councilor said sincerely. ¡°We¡¯ve heard many rumors surrounding your unexpected return. Some of them are¡­ unsettling.¡± the Salarian Councilor interrupted the two human¡¯s reunion. ¡°We called this meeting so you could explain your actions.¡± The Asari Councilor spoke up after her companion. ¡°We owe you that much. After all, you saved our lives in the battle against Saren and his Geth.¡± And just like that, any hope of Revan having a positive impression of the Council died a miserable death. Basing their judgement on mere rumors? Not even attempting to validate the facts and treating the opportunity of a simple explanation as repayment of a favor for saving their lives? Revan was impressed. That was a level of arrogance she had only rarely seen outside the Jedi Council. ¡°The Collectors are abducting human colonists in the Terminus Systems. Worse, we think they are working for the Reapers.¡± Either Shepard didn¡¯t recognize the insult or ignored it for now. ¡°The Terminus Systems are beyond our jurisdiction! They knew that when they left Council Space.¡± the final Councilor, the Turian one, said dismissively. ¡°You''re missing the important part, Councilor. The Reapers are involved.¡± Anderson pointed out but the Turian wasn¡¯t having it. ¡°Ah, yes. ¡¯Reapers¡¯. The immortal race of sentient starships allegedly waiting in dark space. We have dismissed that claim.¡± Anderson began explaining to Shepard that she and her team were the only people that had ever been directly told about or talked to a Reaper. The Council had been unable to retrieve a hologram Shepard had encountered on some planet called Ilos before it completely malfunctioned and decided there was nothing suggesting the Reaper they encountered was not a Geth creation. The three members of the Council used that lack of proof as evidence that Shepard was clearly not sound of mind and had been manipulated by several parties. While all this was going on, Revan had started to tune out the delusional politicians but something they said struck a chord with her. She hadn¡¯t thought much of the Geth when she first heard of them, considering them to be similar to the droids from her home galaxy, but with how the locals spoke of them as if a technologically superior starship was almost expected that might have been a mistake. Maybe not so surprising as Revan couldn¡¯t remember if anyone back home had thought to create something like the Geth. And if some random Turian could convince them to follow him into a war with the Council races, why couldn¡¯t Revan co-opt them into working for her? After all, a droid race as a workforce would be able to accomplish much more towards creating the fleet Revan had plans for than hiring random mercenaries. Looking into a way to contact them just jumped to the top of her to do list. ¡°That is too far.¡± Anderson snapped angrily after the Asari Councilor accused Shepard of treason by working for Cerberus. ¡°Shepard is a hero. I¡¯m on this Council too, and I won¡¯t let this whitewash continue.¡± Realising she had pushed a bit too far the Near-Human quickly backtracked. ¡°Maybe there is a compromise. Not a public acknowledgment, given your ties, but something to show peripheral support.¡± She backtracked so quickly in fact that it was almost guaranteed that there was little chance Anderson¡¯s reaction wasn¡¯t planned for. Especially since it was the Turian Councilor who proposed the compromise. ¡°Shepard, if you keep a low profile and restrict your operations to the Terminus Systems, the Council is willing to offer you reinstatement as a Spectre.¡± It was another token gesture. And Revan could feel Shepard¡¯s burning desire to rage at the Council. Only with the help of one of Revan¡¯s breathing techniques was the human Commander holding on to her temper by the skin of her teeth. Something the Sith Lord was actually proud of her part-time student for. Bearing insults of this magnitude wasn¡¯t easy. ¡°I accept.¡± Shepard hissed with mostly concealed anger. ¡°Good luck with your investigation, Shepard. We hope for a quick resolution¡­ and a quick end to your relationship with Cerberus.¡± With that obvious dismissal, the three holo-panels cut out. Anderson swore and stomped off. Interestingly Shepard decided to turn to Revan instead of following after him. ¡°Yes, Commander?¡± ¡°You didn¡¯t say anything.¡± She accused. ¡°Was I supposed to?¡± Shepard narrowed her eyes and turned to Anderson, who had calmed down slightly. ¡°Anderson, this is Darth Revan, one of the teammates that are joining me in my investigation. And yes Revan. I¡¯ve heard your opinions about politicians. The last time you had an issue with them you created an Empire.¡± she finished with a look at the Sith. The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation. ¡°I had just finished reading your brief before you docked.¡± Anderson said, giving the Elven woman a nod. ¡°You¡¯re a long way from home from what I hear.¡± Revan nodded back before answering Shepard. ¡°I am, although I¡¯d prefer if you didn¡¯t shout that to every spy organization on this station in the future.¡± The two humans flinched but Revan reached into her robes and pulled out a small handheld device. ¡°Don¡¯t worry. The Whitebox should¡¯ve stopped casual observation but just keep it in mind for the future.¡± ¡°A Whitebox?¡± ¡°A jammer of sorts. It broadcasts a large amount of ¡®white noise¡¯ that will get picked up by recording devices. I¡¯ve tested it enough against the Normandy¡¯s equipment to know it works.¡± Going by the look on Shepard¡¯s face she wasn¡¯t sure if she wanted one for herself or if she was more concerned with what Revan could get up to with no supervision whenever she wanted. ¡°But to your original point, no, I didn¡¯t speak to your Council. There is no reason to.¡± ¡°No reason to?!¡± Shepard said, shocked. ¡°Revan, I know you¡¯ve been selling Cerberus blueprints to some of your weapons. But even if we could trust them to not work against us or just hoard everything, they wouldn¡¯t be able to make enough to matter when the Reapers attack. We need them.¡± ¡°Especially with this latest move from the Council. They may have supported Shepard rejoining the Spectres, but they won¡¯t actually do anything.¡± Anderson added, inadvertently displaying his feelings of exclusion from the rest of the Council. ¡°And yet drawing attention to myself when they are determined to bury any hint about the Reapers wouldn¡¯t benefit anyone. Not when the rest of the Council was determined to insult and discredit you so much.¡± Revan was glad her face was hidden behind her helmet since the looks of absolute confusion on both Humans¡¯ faces were adorable. She couldn¡¯t help but smile at them. ¡°I can tell both of you aren¡¯t good at politics, so I¡¯ll explain.¡± ¡°Hey! I¡¯d say I¡¯m pretty good at getting people to work together!¡± Shepard objected. ¡°Personal politics.¡± Revan waved off. ¡°An important skill, no doubt about it, but not what I meant by politics. No, what I¡¯m talking about is the subtle gestures and double-meanings that allow politicians to warp any conversation to suit their agenda. Something I have an unfortunate amount of experience in since I, as you said, made my own empire.¡± Anderson huffed. ¡°I won¡¯t argue with you there. I can¡¯t believe they tried to discredit Shepard¡¯s mental state. That was over the line.¡± Revan shot another smile at the dark skinned human. ¡°The Council was insulting you both before we walked in the door.¡± She revealed and proceeded to share her thoughts on the conversation with the Council. By the time she was done Shepard was snarling with anger again and Anderson was looking more and more tired with the whole thing. ¡°So they didn¡¯t even show up because they were insulting us?¡± Shepard asked again, making sure she heard right. Revan tilted her head. ¡°Yes. Back home there were generally two- three reasons someone wouldn¡¯t meet face to face for a meeting like this if distance wasn¡¯t an issue.¡± Revan corrected herself. ¡°The first is that the other party is not trusted enough to not harm the participants. If they really wanted to hear what you were doing they would have made the effort, any risks of security or safety would¡¯ve been addressed. The second is that they had already made up their mind about what to say and refused to give you the power of being in the same room to throw off their narrative.¡± ¡°Dammit. Now that you mention it, they¡¯ve dismissed a lot of concerns or proposals I¡¯ve had in these remote sessions and ended the meeting when I¡¯ve managed to counter their arguments.¡± Anderson ran a hand down his face. ¡°But I don¡¯t understand, why hasn¡¯t Udina mentioned these things to me? He¡¯s actually a career politician.¡± ¡°Because he wants your job.¡± Shepard snarled. ¡°He was practically expecting it when the proposal for a Human Councilor went through. My recommendation is the main reason he doesn¡¯t have the job right now.¡± Anderson cursed again. Shepard on the other hand took a few deep breaths and turned back to Revan. ¡°The third thing?¡± ¡°Hm?¡± ¡°What was the third reason they didn¡¯t meet us.¡± the re-minted Spectre demanded. ¡°Ah.¡± Revan mused. ¡°That one is easy. Deniability. This meeting never happened.¡± Both humans being military and N7s, neither one needed Revan to spell out what she meant by that. With more than half the participants in the conversation being virtual images any record would be suspected or discredited as a fake should Shepard¡¯s status become an inconvenience. And in the event that someone tried to pull the official records? Well, a convenient data purge or failure would make sure they never saw the light of day. ¡°Alright¡­ now what? Where do we go from here?¡± Shepard asked. ¡°Keep investigating the Collectors.¡± Anderson said firmly. ¡°I¡¯ll do my best to keep the Council and the Alliance off your back. Shouldn¡¯t be too hard if you stick to the Terminus Systems.¡± ¡°I¡¯d also recommend you reach out to some of the more disenfranchised races and try to bulk up their support. Perhaps sell off some of your older Starships to the Quarians in return for their aid.¡± Revan suggested to Anderson, recalling what she had read of the Migrant Fleet and their total dependence on space ships for their race¡¯s living space. Everywhere else in the galaxy they were treated as pariahs or thieves with little justification in the Sith¡¯s opinion, so Revan was making plans to secure their help as well. She had rallied plenty of outcasts to her cause on several occasions and a race with an innate aptitude for engineering and shipcraft was too valuable to pass up. She would need to find a way to defuse the tensions with the Geth if she was able to recruit both however¡­ ¡°We¡¯re struggling to replace the ships we lost during the Sovereign incident. We can¡¯t afford to lose more.¡± Anderson argued. Revan shrugged. ¡°Just an idea. Although any technology you get from me would likely require an extensive refit anyway so it might be worth their help in building new ships or refitting the old ones as part of any deals.¡± ¡°This sounds far out of my area of expertise. I¡¯ll pass word back to the Alliance though, maybe someone else can work out that deal. I¡¯d be too busy here to try it anyway.¡± ¡°All I can ask.¡± Revan accepted genially. The Alliance wouldn¡¯t wind up under her direct control anyway, she wouldn¡¯t demand they listen to all her proposals, though they might end up paying in different ways. -o- Back on the Normandy, the crew was preparing to leave the Citadel. After the meeting with the Council ended and Udina had dropped by only to be told off by Anderson for overstepping his bounds, Shepard had spent the rest of the meeting catching up with her old CO so Revan had retreated to a corner of the office to meditate a bit while they talked and the two of them had left shortly after even though the Commander obviously wanted to stay longer. It wasn¡¯t a good idea to leave a Cerberus vessel in the open where someone with a grudge could take a shot at it. ¡°Revan, can I talk to you for a moment?¡± ¡°Yes, Shepard?¡± The ship was in it¡¯s final departure check and it didn¡¯t require either of them, so both women retreated to Revan¡¯s quarters. ¡°What are you planning to do if you aren¡¯t going to work with the Council? I¡¯m not stupid enough to think you¡¯re just going to be content tagging along on the Normandy forever.¡± The Sith said nothing for a little while, organising her thoughts. ¡°The Council will never accept that the Reapers are real.¡± she said eventually. ¡°They will refuse to accept that there is a superior enemy on the way because that would mean they aren¡¯t on the top of the power pyramid. And if there is one thing politicians hate more than anything it is being proven wrong. ¡°A faceless enemy isn¡¯t enough to spur them into preparing for war so I think I will need to give them something even they can¡¯t ignore when their citizens point at it and say ¡®we need to be safe from that¡¯.¡± ¡°What do you mean?¡± Shepard asked, although she was getting a sinking feeling. ¡°I think I¡¯m going to crush the Batarians.¡± Revan¡¯s response was so blunt and matter-of-fact that it took Shepard a few seconds to comprehend what she heard. ¡°You¡¯re going to start a war with the Hegemony?!¡± Revan shook her head. ¡°No, that would be too little. Just outside forces fighting. After this mission of yours, I¡¯m going to go recruiting. The funds I¡¯ve been gathering from Cerberus and soon from the Alliance should be enough to get started. Once I¡¯ve gathered enough to outfit a fleet, I¡¯m going to crush the Batarians so quickly and utterly that the Council population will demand that the Council takes steps so that the same can¡¯t happen to them.¡± ¡°You''re talking about murdering innocents just to get what you want!¡± Shepard spat. Revan surprised the Spectre by removing her helmet and looking her in the eyes. Shepard could see the Sith¡¯s utter determination and deep sorrow in her violet eyes. ¡°Yes. Civilians who likely have no idea what is going on will die. But they will be dead anyway when the Reapers arrive. The duty of a leader is to make sure those deaths count for something.¡± ¡°The ends can¡¯t justify the means.¡± Shepard protested, fighting back a sting of betrayal at Revan¡¯s words. This was the same woman who patiently helped her with her mental issues. Now that same woman was talking about killing thousands like it was nothing. ¡°Crushing the Batarians is an end to itself, Shepard.¡± Revan replied. ¡°A culture based around piracy and slavery won¡¯t help us when the fighting starts. They need to be removed before they can become a bigger issue than they already are.¡± Shepard stood suddenly and walked to the door. She paused at the threshold and looked back at the Sith. ¡°When I heard some of the stories EDI had managed to research about the Sith, I was convinced they were just made up because of how different you were from them. Now, I can see I was wrong.¡± With that the Commander stormed out of the cargo bay, the door hissing closed behind her. Revan didn¡¯t let the comment bother her. She had heard much worse and much truer statements before and Shepard, for all her accomplishments, was surprisingly naive when it came to the realities of galactic level warfare. Probably because she had never ordered the deaths of millions so billions could survive like Revan had. Still, the Commander would see eventually. And if she didn¡¯t then she could always dismiss Revan from the ship. It might even give her more time to rebuild the Empire she would no doubt need to fight the coming threat. With one final sigh, Revan slipped back into a meditative trance. She had a feeling the next mission would be difficult and she would need to be at her best. Chapter 15 Shepard threw herself into her bed and let out a tortured groan as she felt all the aches from the last mission flare up at the sudden movement before easing as she sank into the soft material. If she felt like lying to herself, she would say that the last mission escalated far beyond what she had been prepared for and that was what left her feeling so worn out...but it would still be a lie. The price for Kasumi joining the crew was a heist at the home of one of the more influential gun-runners in Citadel space. It was also something that needed to be taken care of quickly since Kasumi was planning on using Donovan Hock¡¯s own party to get access to his vault. It wasn¡¯t...the worst mission she had ever been on. Sneaking around using her almost forgotten infiltrator training she hadn¡¯t really used since N-school had been kinda fun. It helped that Kasumi was good enough that Shepard really only needed to talk to some people to get a voice print or get her hands on some DNA for the vault lock. Things that Kasumi could still probably do, but was made easier by Shepard being allowed to just walk around the estate as an invited guest. Being found out once they were in the vault and having to fight her way out, eventually needing to take down a Mantis Gunship on foot -something she was starting to get far too much practice with- was significantly less fun. Especially since the master thief was her only backup and not the Sith Lord that would¡¯ve brought the whole thing down and made it seem effortless. Shepard sighed. And there was the real reason she felt stressed out. Ever since their little falling out after meeting with the Council Shepard had avoided Revan as much as possible, mostly out of embarrassment. Once she had some time to cool off she realised her insults at the Elven woman had been over the line. Revan wasn¡¯t necessarily wrong that the Batarian Hegemony needed to be controlled before the Reapers arrived. Their slave raids and pirate attacks certainly hadn¡¯t made them many friends in the intergalactic community and Shepard wasn¡¯t naive enough to think the Reapers attacking would mean everyone would just forget about decades of attacks, but the thought of dragging innocent civilians into the firing line just to remove a threat went against every instinct she had. Still, that was no excuse to hold Revan personally accountable for the situation especially when Systems Alliance admirals were likely thinking along similar lines. It was one of the reasons she never wanted to get a desk job. You would be forced to make calls based on numbers rather than what you believed was right. None of that thinking made it any easier to actually bring herself to apologise to the Sith because in many ways she wasn¡¯t sorry. Sure she knew why Revan was planning to do what she said, but Shepard wasn¡¯t going to endorse that kind of thinking at all. The whole ¡®breaking eggs¡¯ mentality only meant that others would be paying the price for decisions based on goals that could be solved in other ways even if they would take longer or be more expensive. Shepard sighed again. She was thinking in circles. She knew she needed to apologise, but couldn¡¯t actually bring herself to do so. ¡¯Hi Revan. Sorry I called you evil, but I still think you''re evil for going to war with a bunch of slavers to force the morons on the Council to actually prepare for the invasion of sentient starships coming to kill us all. You should just give us all your technology because we have definitely proven that we can be responsible enough to take things seriously.¡¯ She snorted. Yeah, that would go over well. Nothing she could do about it for now. Shepard just resolved herself to avoiding Revan for a bit longer until she could think of a way to make her point without straining their relationship any further. Now she just wanted to nap and recover from the...last...mission¡­ Jane Shepard drifted off to sleep before she could even finish her thought. -o- Revan was happily tapping away at a datapad while she finished inventorying the last crate the Normandy crew had recovered from her crashed ship. There were only a few more datapads to sort through and from what she could tell there wasn¡¯t anything incredibly important on them. Some holovids, a couple recordings, and some kind of journal that Revan would go through when she had a minute but for now she would just be glad she finally finished going through everything. She had enough parts to throw together a basic fabber and a couple other tools as soon as she was away from Cerberus and their attempts to steal her stuff. She stopped their efforts for now by coating several of the crates with a contact adhesive. It made it physically impossible to open without telekinesis, but the Force made such issues irrelevant. Revan also had fun acting like she hadn¡¯t noticed when one of the crew had gotten his hand stuck or his two friends trying to unstick him when she walked in the room. The three crewmen had stayed perfectly still for over an hour before she grew bored and left again. She released him later and reapplied the adhesive, but only after Miranda had been forced to request her assistance. If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. ¡°Oh, Revan! Do you have a moment?¡± Revan looked up to see Yeoman Chambers standing nearby. The human seemed flustered and lightly out of breath. She must have hurried down here for something important then. ¡°How can I help you, Yeoman?¡± ¡°The Illusive Man is waiting with some important information regarding our mission for you and Commander Shepard, but she used her command access to shut down the elevator to her quarters and you are the only one available with the clearance to override the lockdown at the moment.¡± ¡°I see, but why didn¡¯t you just ask EDI to relay that to me or call the terminal?¡± Yeoman Chambers smiled awkwardly, ¡°You, uh, disabled her terminal and speakers after the last time she interrupted you.¡± That was still disabled? Revan would¡¯ve sworn the crew would fix that once she was distracted for a few hours. They must be trying not to annoy her anymore if they were willingly leaving their droi- AI unrepaired and just sent a crew member to speak with her. ¡°Is that so¡­ anyways, I¡¯ll retrieve the Commander then. Thank you for relaying the message Yeoman Chambers.¡± ¡°Oh, ah, yes!¡± the young woman stammered. ¡°But, uh, you can just call me Kelly. We aren¡¯t in the same hierarchy afterall.¡± Revan found it almost cute how much the redhead projected her adoration for some fictional near-human race onto Revan herself. Not enough to take advantage of it, but it was amusing how twisted up her dedication to her job as ship councilor/spy and her shallow crush made her at times. Revan patted the Yeoman on the shoulder as she walked by. ¡°Of course Kelly. Thank you again.¡± The Sith Lord smiled internally as the light contact and thanks was enough to cause Kelly to flush lightly. Poor girl was going to be crushed if she ever found out her Cerberus bosses were using her open personality and desire to help others to find weaknesses for the entire crew. Not long after, Revan found herself in front of the door to the Captain¡¯s Quarters and punched in her access codes to bypass the lock on it. The insides weren¡¯t what she would consider for personal quarters, and she wanted the idiot that thought an aquarium had any place on a warship to get his head examined, but it was tasteful enough that Revan had no other complaints. She did make a note that the Commander seemed to be a fan of model building and resolved to get one in case she ever needed an apology gift. The woman herself was sprawled on her back, spread out over a fairly large bed and deep asleep. Even after a light shake the human remained unconscious. ¡°Wake up Commander, we have an urgent call coming in.¡± Another shake proved to be a bit more effective as the human started to wake up. ¡°Nooo~, I dun wanna be a Commander. I¡¯ll be Jane, you be da C¡¯mmandr.¡± she slurred, still mostly asleep. ¡°Well Jane, I can be the Commander but I still need you to wake up and come with me.¡± Revan said, amused at the childish whining. ¡°Nnnnggggh.¡± Revan sighed and reached out again, intending to shake the human awake. She wasn¡¯t expecting Shepard to grab her wrist and pull her along as Shepard rolled to face the other direction. Caught off balance and surprised, Revan collapsed onto the bed where she was quickly pulled into an embrace. ¡°Oh dear, I thought Yeoman Chambers was the one with a crush. What is she going to think when she finds out about this?¡± Revan said dryly once the shock of Shepard¡¯s action wore off. ¡°S¡¯okay, she c¡¯n join too. Yer both pretty ¡®nough for it.¡± Shepard mumbled. There was a beat of silence and then green eyes snapped open in horror before meeting a pair of greatly amused violet ones. ¡°...Revan?¡± ¡°Yes Jane?¡± ¡°Kill me.¡± Revan chuckled, rolling back off the bed and out of Shepard¡¯s embrace. ¡°Perhaps another time, we have a call to be on. Take some time to straighten up, I¡¯ll wait outside.¡± The Spectre hid her face between her hands and mumbled something inaudible but nodded. Revan decided the Commander was definitely awake enough now and made her way to the door. -o- ¡°Shepard, I think we have them.¡± the Illusive Man said enthusiastically once Revan and Shepard made it to the Q.E.C. ¡°Horizon, one of our colonies out in the Terminus Systems, has just gone silent. If it isn¡¯t under attack, it soon will be. Has Mordin delivered the countermeasure for the Seeker Swarms?¡± ¡°Not yet.¡± ¡°Let¡¯s hope he works well under pressure. There¡¯s something else you should know¡­¡± T.I.M. took a drag from his cigarette. ¡°...one of your former crew, Ashley Williams, is stationed on Horizon.¡± ¡°Ash? Last I checked she was Alliance, what is she doing out in the Terminus Systems?¡± ¡°Officially it''s an outreach program to improve Alliance relations with the colonies. But they''re up to something, and if they sent Chief Willaims there it must be big. I suggest you take it up with her.¡± ¡°The Collectors just happen to pick a colony with one of my former crew? I don¡¯t buy it.¡± T.I.M. waved off Shepards concern. ¡°It shouldn''t be a surprise the Collectors are interested in you. Especially if they are working with the Reapers. They might be going after her to get to you.¡± ¡°Then we should send a message to the Citadel. The Alliance can send us reinforcements.¡± Shepard said, crossing her arms. ¡°No, not until you investigate. I don¡¯t want the Alliance getting in our way. Once you have the situation under control, I¡¯ll send the message personally.¡± Unfortunately T.I.M. also had the authority to block communications with Citadel receivers so Shepard couldn¡¯t even go behind his back. ¡°Fine. Send the coordinates, we¡¯ll head there right away.¡± ¡°One more thing. Revan, I¡¯ve heard you¡¯re interested in learning more about VI technology in our galaxy. We have an outpost dedicated to researching new methods I¡¯d like you to stop by after you investigate Horizon. I¡¯m sure it would be useful in finding ways to integrate the technology you brought with you to the systems we have here.¡± Revan didn¡¯t miss the attempt to drive a wedge between her and Shepard. It might¡¯ve been more effective if she had any intentions of actually working for Cerberus but as it stood it was just a feeble plot. ¡°If Shepard wants to head that direction after the investigation I¡¯ll be happy to look. But let¡¯s wait on making any more plans until after this mission.¡± ¡°Very well, this is the most warning we¡¯ve ever had you two, good luck.¡± Chapter 16 The QEC disconnected and the projector sank back into its housing leaving both Shepard and Revan alone. The Sith turned to leave but a halting hand from Shepard had her remain in place. It took a few seconds for Shepard to say anything and even then it was halting. ¡°Look Revan, I, I wanted to apologise for earlier¡­¡± Revan raised an eyebrow while the Spectre mentally smacked herself. ¡°About what I said earlier, not the hugging you thing...Although I¡¯m sorry about that too! I just, well¡­¡± she took a deep breath and refocused. ¡°I wanted to apologise for calling you evil for looking at the big picture. It was unprofessional and out of line.¡± Revan scoffed and for a second Shepard was worried she was going to have to worry about personal grudges affecting teamwork in the field. Then Revan gave her a bitter smile and she wasn¡¯t sure that was the case. ¡°Shepard, I was the leader of a galactic empire that conquered over a third of my galaxy. I was a hero to my own forces and the devil itself for anyone who opposed me. ¡®Evil¡¯ is one of the milder things I¡¯ve been called in my life.¡± Shepard winced. ¡°Still, I-¡± ¡°Enough.¡± Revan interrupted. ¡°I honestly didn¡¯t think much of it. If you hadn¡¯t clarified I would¡¯ve thought you were referring to how you behaved half-asleep,¡± the commander flushed at that reminder. ¡°But we can talk about this later if you absolutely feel you need to. We have more important things to worry about right now.¡± ¡°Right, okay.¡± Shepard nodded and then put on her ¡®game face¡¯. ¡°So I don¡¯t need to worry about you following orders?¡± ¡°Same deal as always, Shepard. You have tactical command and I move as I see fit.¡± She was glad Revan was being reasonable. This could be the most important mission yet, she definitely didn¡¯t want to deal with someone as powerful as Revan running rogue at the moment. Now she just needed to worry about the adolescent Krogan, the kleptomaniac thief, and the psychotic criminal convict¡­ -o- The entire ground team was assembled in the hanger bay waiting on the final briefing before they headed down to Horizon. All of them were making final adjustments to armor, checking weapons, and making sure they were good to go. Mordin was off to one side, checking over his omnitool and what little data he could after installing the Seeker Swarm countermeasure upgrade to everyone¡¯s armor just a few minutes after the Normandy dropped out of FTL on approach to the colony. The elevator doors opened, allowing Shepard, Revan, and Miranda to step into the hangar. All eyes turned to them and the rest of the team settled down. ¡°Alright people,¡± Shepard said loud enough for everyone to hear. ¡°Listen up! We¡¯re a couple minutes out from the colony; here¡¯s what we know. First, communications are down everywhere. If anyone planetside is trying to talk with us, something or someone is blocking it. Second, according to the intel we got from Cerberus this might be because of the Collectors. Third, there is supposedly Alliance personnel down there so make sure to check fire. I don¡¯t want to have to explain to the people we¡¯re saving why we shot them.¡± Shepard looked around for questions, seeing none she continued on. ¡°We¡¯re splitting into three squads for this one to cover as much ground as possible. I¡¯ll be taking Garrus and Kasumi, Jack and Mordin are with Revan, and Jacob and Grunt are with Miranda. We aren¡¯t exactly sure what kind of opposition we might run into so keep an eye on each other and stay with your squadmates. Any questions?¡± Jacob stepped forward. ¡°Ma¡¯am, what¡¯s our objective on the ground?¡± ¡°For now the main goal is to make contact with the colonists and find out how we can help. Both my and Miranda¡¯s squads will also be investigating for signs of foul play. A whole colony doesn''t just go silent without even attempting to call for help. Revan¡¯s squad will be looking for hostiles and taking them out.¡± ¡°Fuck yeah! None of that snooping around bullshit!¡± Jack cheered in the back. ¡°Anything else?¡± Kasumi raised her hand. ¡°How sure are we that these armor upgrades are going to work?¡± ¡°Mordin?¡± ¡°Certainty impossible. But in limited numbers, should confuse detection, make us invisible to swarms.¡± the Salarian cheerfully explained. ¡°In theory.¡± Heads turned to the scientist. ¡°In theory?¡± Garrus asked. ¡°Experimental technology. Only test is contact with seeker swarms.¡± Mordin explained. ¡°Look forward to seeing if we survive!¡± No one looked thrilled that they were betting everything on completely untested gear. Even Revan had a slight frown on her face. Not that they had a better option. So the team shelved their complaints for the most part, and focused on finishing their pre-mission checks. -o- Revan¡¯s team was the last one out of the dropship. In an effort to ensure they got the most coverage of the colony, each three man team was dropped off a slight distance away from each other and would converge in the center if possible. That wasn¡¯t what was on Revan¡¯s mind at the moment. No, she was much more concerned with the amount of Dark Side energy surrounding the Collector ship visible in the distance. To Revan the Force felt weird in this galaxy. It was almost unnaturally still. If back home could be compared to an ocean; where even if the surface was calm there would be something moving underneath, this galaxy felt more like a small lake. There were ripples of activity but it was always just on the surface. Even places like Omega, where the Dark Side should be extremely prevalent or at least obvious to people like Revan felt shallow. Revan figured after Shepard explained what the Reapers were doing this stillness was the result of the starships culling any species that evolved to the point of Force sensitivity and had the sapience to do anything with it. Now for the first time since coming to this galaxy, Revan felt the Force calling out to her without her needing to focus on it. Even then it felt...off. Artificial even. Something like an echo than a true call. Revan had often felt similar things when she had to explore old battlefields or tomb worlds where Sith had caused the Dark Side to stain the surroundings but she had never felt it coming from a ship that was clearly still in use. It was concerning but not something she could do much about at the moment. ¡°So we doing this or just going on a fucking picnic?¡± Jack¡¯s complaint pulled Revan out of her contemplation and the Sith looked at her and their Salarian companion. ¡°Eager for a fight Jack? Fair enough, let¡¯s get going.¡± Revan began walking towards the colony. ¡°Keep an eye out for movement.¡± ¡°Looking forward to kicking your ass, Ice Queen. You promised we could go at it once we made it planetside.¡± Revan¡¯s smile was hidden underneath her helmet but she didn¡¯t say anything. She actually found Jack¡¯s attitude fairly refreshing compared to many crewmembers of the Normandy who tended to avoid her entirely after the cameras caught her fight with the Purgatory''s guards. Help support creative writers by finding and reading their stories on the original site. The convict had a very simple view on authority. You were either strong enough to make her listen, or you weren¡¯t and she would put you through a wall if you thought position was enough to make her do anything. An attitude Revan was very familiar with when dealing with Sith Acolytes and her way of dealing with it worked just as well on Jack as it did on them. Jack followed Shepard easily enough due to the skill and power the Spectre showed during her heist at the Hock mansion. The sheer amount of destruction was enough to convince the convict Shepard knew what she was doing. The fact Shepard followed through on her promise to allow Jack full access to Cerberus databases also helped. Revan was a different issue though. Shepard had a different skill set than Jack despite them both being biotics. It made it easier for Jack to follow along knowing she was at least the stronger biotic. She didn¡¯t have that for Revan and the risk of the two of them destroying the Normandy in a fight made spars unrealistic. So to both get ahead of dealing with a surly Jack and not have to deal with any property damage on the ship Revan promised to duel Jack on the first planet they stopped on after any missions were done. Of course Jack hadn¡¯t been thrilled to take orders even with that promise so Revan did the same thing she did to uppity acolytes back home. She crushed Jack with a liberal use of Force Presence, a fairly impractical technique that pressed down on a person both physically and mentally to make Revan seem much more intimidating. It wouldn¡¯t get Jack to toe the line forever, but it would do until Revan could properly put her in her place after the mission. As the three of them reached the outskirts of Horizon they could see clouds of Seeker Drones flying in the distance. Thankfully Mordin¡¯s upgrades seemed to do the trick and none of the flying insects attempted to attack them. ¡°Seeker Swarms showing no signs of detection. Upgrades functioning as expected. How exciting, countermeasure successful.¡± Mordin commented. ¡°Seems so. Excellent work Doctor.¡± Revan praised before trying to reach out to the other squads. ¡°Shepard, Miranda, we¡¯ve made contact with the Swarms. Mordin¡¯s upgrade looks like it does the trick. Anything new on your end?¡± "Reva...king up¡­-unning into...llectors. Repeat Coll¡­-ces all over¡­¡± the signal died suddenly and Revan couldn¡¯t reestablish contact with the other leaders but she recognised that Shepard had run into Collector forces already. ¡°Heavy interference. Collectors must be jamming communications.¡± Mordin observed. ¡°Fucking great. Now what?¡± Revan unclipped her lightsabers. ¡°Now we head into the colony and kill anything that looks like a Collector.¡± ¡°Oh fuck yeah!¡± -o- ¡°Oh fuck off!¡± Shepard cursed and threw herself into cover as another group of Collectors turned a corner and opened fire. The insectile aliens¡¯ weapons slowly chewed through the concrete barrier while Shepard returned fire. Annoyingly, the Collectors were covered in a biotic barrier that absorbed a lot of the damage she could dish out so Shepard focused on chipping away at their shields and having Garrus or Kasumi finish them off. Shepard¡¯s shotgun boomed and one of the Collector¡¯s barriers failed. Barely a second later the creature¡¯s head exploded as Garrus shot it. Another two were stunned briefly as they were tripped up by a Shockwave. One was killed by another blast of Shepard¡¯s Katana, the second died when Kasumi uncloaked to the side and unleashed a storm of bullets from her SMG into the defenseless alien. ¡°That all of them?¡± Kasumi called out. A shuffling movement caught Shepard¡¯s eye. She turned, shotgun up, expecting to see another Collector but what she actually saw was worse. ¡°Husks!¡± She cried, firing into the swarm of techno-zombies as quickly as she could. ¡°Oh god, what are those things?!¡± Kasumi threw a flashbang into the middle of the horde and Garrus knocked over the front ranks with a Concussive shot. ¡°Bad news!¡± the Turian called back. ¡°Don¡¯t let them get close!¡± After the initial shock wore off Shepard began to coordinate her squad better. She and Kasumi thinned out the horde with a mix of biotics, grenades, and a lot of gunfire while Shepard had Garrus pick off any stragglers or Husks sneaking around their flanks. A couple minutes later Shepard ejected her spent heatsink as the last husk died under gunfire from everyone on the squad. ¡°I¡¯m not the only one who sees this right?¡± Shepard asked rhetorically. ¡°These look like the husks the Geth used back on Eden Prime.¡± ¡°The Geth got that technology from Sovereign.¡± Garrus pointed out. ¡°Guess that means the Illusive Man was right. The Collectors are working for the Reapers.¡± Kasumi said. Shepard scowled. It was the proof they needed, but only if everyone recognised what a Reaper actually was. Since the Council insisted Sovereign was Geth technology, all the presence of the Husks would mean to those unaware of the Reaper threat was that the Geth had either sold or lost the technology to the Collectors. ¡°Hey, these things look really human. Is this one of the colonists?¡± Kasumi asked, tentatively poking at one of the dead husks with a toe. ¡°No, everywhere we¡¯ve seen husks victims were turned by impaling them on spikes.¡± Garrus answered the thief. ¡°I haven¡¯t seen any here. The Collectors must¡¯ve brought the Husks and are using the colonists for something else.¡± ¡°What the hell could the Collectors want with them?¡± ¡°Probably nothing good. We¡¯ll find out when we stop them.¡± Shepard turned back to the Husk and took a good look at it. ¡°These aren¡¯t the same ones we faced before...¡± She noted with some dread. ¡°They¡¯re more advanced. Evolved.¡± ¡°Still die when you shoot them.¡± Garrus said helplessly. The Spectre didn¡¯t blame him for the callous words. They had long since known that there was no coming back from changing into a Husk. Once the organic unfortunate enough to undergo the process was finished they were little more than a puppet or a feral animal. No matter what changed about them it was still best to kill them all as quickly as they could. ¡°The Collectors aren¡¯t getting away with more victims. Let¡¯s move out.¡± -o- The fireteam moved deeper into the colony, eliminating groups of collectors as they went. Every once in a while they would check the buildings for any of the colonists but every time there was no sign of anyone. ¡°It¡¯s like the whole colony is just...gone.¡± Shepard could tell the weirdness was starting to get to the thief. Unlike her and Garrus, Kasumi wasn¡¯t quite used to missions like this but the master thief was holding up remarkably well for someone who mainly snuck around rather than fighting through to her target. ¡°Not quite everyone.¡± Shepard said, spotting another group of Collectors. ¡°Looks like they haven¡¯t spotted us yet. Kasumi, sneak as close as you can. Garrus, get ready. I¡¯m going to give them a bit of shock and awe.¡± Her teammates nodded and rushed to get in position. Once they were ready, Shepard rounded the corner and Charged straight into the middle of the Drones. The one she collided with was knocked to the ground as biotic energy slammed into it. Ignoring the fallen enemy, Shepard sent a shockwave at one Drone and a Pull at another. She could feel her amp heating up under the sudden heavy use but it was worth it for the effect it had on the enemy. Kasumi unloaded into the Drone near her and Garrus picked the other out of the sky. Shepard herself simply lowered her Katana to the face of the fallen Collector and pulled the trigger. Another group of Collectors eliminated. ¡°Hey Shep, you might wanna look at this.¡± Kasumi waved towards the building the Collectors had been milling around in front of. Inside was the first human the group had seen since entering the colony and it was clear why. The poor man was frozen in place with a look of panic on his face, the only thing he was able to move was his eyes. Shepard reached out to try and help him, but the man might as well have been made of metal for all she was able to move him. The Collectors probably had a way to transport the colonists after they were paralized but that didn¡¯t exactly help Shepard right now. ¡°Looks like some kind of stasis field. Keeps you conscious, but completely helpless.¡± She reported to the other two. ¡°Man, if I had tech like this I can only imagine how much easier my job would be.¡± Kasumi muttered absently. Shepard shot the thief a look that this was not the time and Kasumi raised her hands in chastisement. ¡°Looks like they¡¯ve been like this for a while.¡± Garrus said as he looked over another colonist he had found nearby. Shepard shouldered her shotgun and started heading for the door. ¡°Then we better hurry up and find a way to fix this...¡± -o- *hzzzts* Revan watched dispassionately as the Collector Drone fell in two pieces after she struck it with her lightsaber. This was the eighth group that her team had destroyed on their way through Horizon and the second largest as well. Clearly whoever was in charge of the Collectors was determined to find out who was killing their minions. Unfortunately for that person, Revan was happy to keep killing them as they trickled in seven or eight at a time. Even worse for them, Jack had decided to make a competition out of it and was doing her best to slaughter the Drones before Revan in an effort to have a higher kill count. She was actually very close to Revan¡¯s number but the Sith managed to maintain a lead simply because Jack was forced to lay off her biotics every now and then once her amp started overheating and stamina became an issue. Thankfully Mordin was more interested in poking around the Collector after a fight, taking samples and muttering to himself so quickly Revan was sure only he had any clue what he was saying, that the Sith didn¡¯t need to keep a constant eye on him in case he ran off and tried to take on an entire group of Collectors by himself. ¡°These things are fucking creepy.¡± Jack scowled as she kicked one of the fallen Drones. ¡°Jack, stop playing and get over here.¡± Revan ordered. ¡°There¡¯s another group on the way.¡± ¡°So fucking what? I¡¯ll take care of them when they get here.¡± Revan flared her Force Presence. ¡°Are you saying you can¡¯t follow basic directions Jack?¡± Revan asked in a deceptively calm voice. ¡°Scared to get in a fight before I¡¯ve cut through half of them?¡± Jack flushed an angry red at Revan¡¯s taunt. Not that the Sith cared much. As long as Jack did what Revan needed her to do, she could be as mad as she wanted. The Force cried as that hollow echo focused on one of the drones in the distance. The strange creature¡¯s force signature ballooned even as it warped. There was some really weird force technique at play here and Revan was not thrilled about it. It meant at the very least the Collectors and by extension the Reapers could use the Force and had created this unnatural stillness in the galaxy on purpose. In the distance more Collectors flew over the buildings on their insectile wings. As soon as they were in range they opened fire, forcing Jack and Mordin into cover. Revan simply stands in the open making sure that most of the attention is off her allies and giving them time to retaliate. A warning in the Force blared at the Sith Lord and Revan snapped a lightsaber into the path she felt the attack coming from. To her surprise it is a continuous pale yellow beam different from any of the weapons deployed by the Collectors so far. Even more surprising was that the beam was reflected back at the drone. A first for the weapons Revan had encountered so far and a move done more out of muscle memory than conscious thought. The beam quickly ate through the Drone¡¯s barrier before the creature even had time to react and it fell to the ground, head smoking where the beam had scoured it. Another one of the Drones turned and aimed a similar looking weapon, it smartly chose to move the beam a bit to not allow Revan the opportunity to repeat her actions but Revan had been on battlefields where she had to track hundreds of blaster bolts coming at her. A single beam moving around a bit was not much of a challenge. A couple more Drones fell as Revan and her team took advantage of the enemy¡¯s weapon. Revan used the beam to quickly crack the Drones¡¯ barriers and the other two worked together to kill the vulnerable ones quickly. Then that weird echo arrived and Revan felt she couldn¡¯t be so relaxed about this fight. It was larger than a normal Drone, but the glowing orange cracks covering it¡¯s entire body gave the impression that was because something had taken a normal Drone and pumped it so full of energy it was only barely able to contain that power rather than its normal state. Now that it was closer, Revan could sense the mind of the Drone screaming in animalistic torment but none of that showed in its movements or behaviour. A possession technique then. Powerful too. ¡°Focus on the glowing one. I don¡¯t want to find out what makes it special.¡± Revan ordered. Mordin opened fire with his SMG while Revan bathed the creature in Force Lightning. The combined assault meant it¡¯s barriers were quickly overcome but whatever was possessing the Drone also made it tougher at the same time. The SMG couldn¡¯t do much against the enhanced Drone¡¯s armor and the possessor was practically forcibly animating it at this point so the effects of Revans lightning were reduced. Mordin had to duck into one of the empty buildings to avoid the explosive attacks used by the creature. The mind behind the Drone was also smart enough to target Revan whenever she looked like she would close the distance. Something the Sith Lord was not pleased with. Looking at the surroundings, she spotted some shipping containers and a plan started to form. ¡°Jack! Can you lift that?¡± Revan shouted, pointing at one of the containers. ¡°Probably?! Why the fuck does it matter, we¡¯re kinda busy if you hadn¡¯t noticed!¡± Revan dodged another explosion and reached out into the Force and lifted the container further off. She quickly started to position it right behind the enhanced Drone. ¡°I have a plan to squish this bug. Think you can do it?¡± Jack was many things. Violent, crass, disrespectful. Stupid was not one of those. As soon as she saw the floating container, a feral grin formed on her face. ¡°Oh fuck, this is going to rock!¡± A bright coronea of biotic energy covered the human as she Lifted her own container, drawing the Drone¡¯s attention. It raised it¡¯s weapon to fire but was unprepared for Revan to hit it in the back with a mass of metal. At the same time Jack let out a roar of effort and Pushed her own container into Revan¡¯s, slamming them together and crushing the enhanced Drone in between. Revan scanned the battlefield for any more threats but the only things still alive were her, Mordin, and a heavily panting Jack. ¡°Alright, we¡¯re going to wait here and recover for a bit. Then we are going to try and meet up with the other squads. There¡¯s something more going on here that I don¡¯t like.¡± Tellingly, not even Jack had something to say about that order. Chapter 17 Shepard¡¯s squad had just finished dealing with another group of Drones and some kind of special Drone that was stronger, tougher, and deadlier than its counterparts. The Spectre was actually a little worried about the other squads running into another one of those. It had taken heavy weapons to break through that thing¡¯s armor and Miranda¡¯s squad didn¡¯t have much of that. Revan would probably be fine, but Shepard was worried that the others on her squad would run into the new Drone before the Sith could kill it. ¡°Hey, Shep. Check it out, that door still has power and it¡¯s locked down.¡± Kasumi pointed at a mechanical building that hadn¡¯t been left open by the Collectors. Shepard followed the thief¡¯s finger to a large building that, just as she said, was locked down tight despite the Drones leaving every building they had come across so far completely open. Was this similar to what happened with Veetor on Freedom¡¯s Progress? Or had the Collectors not gotten around to it yet? ¡°What do you think, Kasumi? Can you break it?¡± The petite woman scoffed. ¡°A standard lock on a remote colony? Shepard I¡¯m insulted. I thought you had more faith in me than that.¡± Shepard fought down a smile. ¡°Yeah? Then why is it still closed?¡± She and Garrus chuckled as the thief started mumbling to herself while she started hacking the door controls. Unsubtle complaints about ¡®ungrateful bosses¡¯ and ¡®demands for a vacation¡¯ reached both of them, perfectly pitched so that both of them could hear them, but not so loud that it might draw attention. Even when playing around, Kasumi was a professional. Barely fifteen seconds later, the fireteam was through the door and carefully moving through the building. Just because one door was locked didn¡¯t mean another one hadn¡¯t been opened. A shadow moved on the far side of the room. ¡°Company.¡± Shepard warned her teammates and pointed at where she saw the movement. Guns were raised, Garrus and Kasumi looked for more hidden threats, and Shepard took a couple steps forward. ¡°Get out here. Now!¡± She ordered. The shadow moved hesitantly before an older man in mechanic¡¯s clothes and a baseball hat inched out from behind some machinery and got a look at Shepard¡¯s team. ¡°You¡¯re¡­you¡¯re human! What are you doing out here?¡± The mechanic looked at the now open door and a panicked look broke out on his face. ¡°You¡¯ll lead them right here!¡± Shepard looked at the man with slight disdain. The entire colony had been attacked! Hiding in one room wasn¡¯t a guarantee the Collectors wouldn¡¯t check here eventually, especially since a squad of them had been right outside a few minutes ago. She wasn¡¯t going to expect every person to throw personal safety out the window, but instantly blaming others who could be looking for a safe place themselves was cowardly. It also didn¡¯t say great things about what the mechanic was doing considering no one else was in here and he had been hiding in a corner even before they walked in. ¡°We cleared a path right through them! You¡¯re lucky you''re not in the hold of a Collector ship right now.¡± ¡°Those things are Collectors? You mean...they¡¯re real?¡± The man asked with a tone of utter disbelief. ¡°I thought they were just made up. You know -- propaganda. To keep us in Alliance Space.¡± he began to shake. ¡°No! They got Lilith. I saw her go down. Sten, too. They got damn near everybody!¡± Shepard wasn¡¯t unsympathetic to the man. He looked like the kind of person that hadn¡¯t really done much with his life and left to join a small colony to get out from under the more structured regulations enforced by the Alliance. He was clearly a civilian through and through and likely hadn¡¯t ever been in a situation more dangerous than a bar fight in his life. The situation was clearly overwhelming him. ¡°What¡¯s your name? What are you doing here?¡± She asked gently, trying to calm him down. ¡°Name¡¯s Delan. Mechanic. I came down here to check on the main grid after we lost our comm signals. Then I heard screaming.¡± Delan started to calm down slightly as he talked. ¡°I looked outside and there was...swarms of bugs. Everyone they touched just froze. I sealed the doors.¡± The guilt in his voice told Shepard he probably closed the doors in the faces of some of the colonists. ¡°Damn it, it¡¯s the Alliance¡¯s fault! They stationed that Chief Williams here and built those defense towers. It made us a target!¡± This guy was a piece of work. It was Shepard¡¯s fault he was in danger. It was the Alliance¡¯s fault the Collectors had attacked. He probably was going to blame the colonists for something else once the dust settled. It was always because of someone else and never his fault or because of random chance. ¡°We¡¯ve confirmed over half a dozen colonies have been attacked. None of them had any Alliance presence.¡± Shepard snapped. ¡°This is not their fault!¡± Delan flinched back but didn¡¯t apologise. ¡°This is just a small colony. No one bothered us before we started building defence towers and drew attention to ourselves. I left Council Space to get away from the Alliance. Nothing good comes from getting mixed up with them.¡± he said mulishly. Shepard took a deep breath and slowly released it. ¡°Tell me about Chief Williams. What was she doing here?¡± ¡°I dunno, all I heard was that she was some kind of hero. Didn¡¯t mean nothing to me, though. Would¡¯ve rather he stayed back in Council Space, but she was supposed to be helping us get the defence towers up and running.¡± Delan said, nervously running a hand up and down his face before removing his hat and running his hand through his thinning hair. ¡°I got the feeling she was here for something else though. Spying on us, maybe.¡± Shepherd wanted to sigh in exasperation but held it in. Hopefully she could find someone a little less biased later, but something the mechanic said did catch her attention. ¡°Defence towers?¡± ¡°A ¡®gift¡¯ from the Alliance. High powered GARDIAN lasers. Supposed to keep hostile ships from landing too close to the colony. Had to build a massive underground generator just to give them enough juice.¡± Delan explained. ¡°Only we couldn¡¯t get targeting systems online. So the Alliance gave us a giant gun that couldn¡¯t even shoot straight! Stupid sons of bitches.¡± Shepard ignored him. Those towers could be exactly what they needed to drive the Collectors back! If the only thing wrong with them was the targeting systems she even had the perfect person for the job with her. She turned to Garrus. ¡°You think you could get those towers¡¯ targeting systems running?¡± ¡°If they are like the ones on the Normandy there shouldn¡¯t be any issues.¡± Garrus said as he thought it over. ¡°We¡¯d need somewhere to calibrate them from, though.¡± ¡°Head for the main transmitter on the other side of the colony.¡± Delan volunteered. ¡°Pretty hard to miss and the targeting controls are at the base.¡± Perfect. And if Shepard was remembering the layout of the colony correctly, Miranda¡¯s squad should be close by. With some luck they would be able to meet up there. She suggested(ordered) that Delan stay behind since she wasn¡¯t about to drag an unwilling civilian into a firefight, something he was more than happy to agree to, and set out deeper into the colony. Now that they were past the fringes of the colony, they were running into far more Collectors and their forces. Husks were everywhere and there were even a new variant of them as well. Some sort of misshapen mass that while slow, it was also biotic and pretty tough to take down. Reading on Amazon or a pirate site? This novel is from Royal Road. Support the author by reading it there. Shepard was going to have to look into better weapons or upgrades for everyone after this. The stuff they had didn¡¯t have enough punch for her liking. And considering the Collectors clearly weren¡¯t expecting resistance at this stage, that meant bad things in the face of a full invasion since she had already kitted out her teams with some of the best off the shelf stuff she could get her hands on. To make matters worse those enhanced Drones kept popping up every once in a while, usually leading another group of enemies like some damn harbinger of a horde. Though after a few run ins, her team had gotten a pretty good routine on how to handle the glowing bastards. Shepard popped a heatsink and smoothly replaced it after they cut down yet another batch of Husks. ¡°How we doing? Any sign of Miranda¡¯s squad?¡± She called out to her teammates. ¡°We got a signal nearby breaking through the jamming. I think they¡¯re close.¡± The Commander nodded. ¡°Then let''s get there fast. The sooner we get those defense towers online, the sooner we end this.¡± -o- It didn¡¯t take long to catch up with Miranda, Jacob, and Grunt, though it did take a bit to explain what they had learned from the mechanic. Miranda also shared what her team ran into, which turned out to be ¡®not much¡¯. They hadn¡¯t found any signs of the colonists and had only run into a small amount of Collectors on their way here. Something Grunt seemed a bit frustrated about. ¡°How come we don¡¯t see more frozen people around?¡± the young Krogan asked after Shepard explained what Delan had described happening to the colonists. ¡°The Collectors likely already loaded them onto their ship.¡± Miranda answered. ¡°We¡¯re running out of time.¡± the before everyone else is taken went unsaid. ¡°About that...we got some more news from our civilian friend.¡± Shepard broke in. ¡°Apparently the Alliance has a couple GARDIAN lasers set up but we need to fix their targeting systems. Gurrus should be able to handle that, but we are probably going to need to route power from a generator he told us about too. Any ideas how we do that?¡± Miranda thought about it for a while before looking at the colony skyline. ¡°If the colony¡¯s main transmitter is right by the controls we might be able to contact the Normandy and have EDI piggyback the signal. We could use her to hack the generator controls and power those towers.¡± ¡°Downside is that much traffic is going to paint a big target on us.¡± Jacob pointed out. ¡°We¡¯re going to be crawling in Collectors while the guns are powering up.¡± ¡°Heh, sounds like fun.¡± Grunt added his thoughts. ¡°Am I the only one here who thinks getting the attention of every single bug thing here at once is a bad idea?¡± Kasumi muttered. ¡°No? Just me? Fine, let¡¯s get this over with so we can get out of here.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t worry. You¡¯ll get used to diving into suicidal situations with Shepard. Eventually it just gets boring.¡± Garrus ¡®comforted¡¯ her. ¡°...I don¡¯t know what to say to that.¡± Shepard checked to make sure, but the thief really didn¡¯t have too much of an issue with the plan. Kasumi just seemed uncomfortable intentionally making herself a target without it being a distraction where she could slip away later. ¡°So what about Revan¡¯s squad? Any news on them?¡± Everyone shook their heads. ¡°We¡¯ve been too far away to get a signal through whatever is jamming communications. We might be able to get a message to them when we reach the transmitter or they might notice all the Collectors heading our way.¡± Shepard frowned. Two of their heaviest hitters were in Revan¡¯s squad so they were probably fine, but things would be much harder without them. Hopefully they weren¡¯t too far away to notice when the party started. She wasn¡¯t looking forward to trying to deal with an entire colony¡¯s worth of Drones with just six people. ¡°Well we can hope, I guess. In the meantime, let¡¯s get this done.¡± -o- Concerningly the fireteam mostly only ran into pockets of Husks and the new biotic version Miranda was calling Scions. It seemed like all the Drones had moved out of the area which meant they had already cleared out the area of colonists and had left behind the stupider techno-zombies only as a potential trap for anyone coming to investigate later. It did mean that Shepard¡¯s expanded team was able to make good time to the plaza where the main transmitter was. Something she was glad for, since the Drones seemed like they were reaching the final stages for extracting everyone out of the colony. ¡°Garrus, you get started on the targeting calibrations. I¡¯m going to try and raise the Normandy. Everyone else, defensive perimeter.¡± The scarred Turian made his way over to the terminal and immediately went to work correcting the errors in the system. The rest of her team expertly set up so each one of them had overlapping fields of vision and plenty of cover. While they were doing that, Shepard patched into the transmitter and tried calling back to her ship. ¡°Normandy? Do you copy?¡± ¡°Joker here. Signal¡¯s weak, Commander, but we got you.¡± the pilot¡¯s voice was tinny but still recognisable. ¡°Great, EDI, you think you can get the generator feeding the colony¡¯s defence towers online?¡± ¡±Firewalls around the generator¡¯s controls are easily bypassed, but it will take time to bring the towers to full power.¡± the AI replied. ¡±I recommend a defensive posture. I will not be able to mask the increased generator output.¡± ¡°Got it. Can you contact Revan¡¯s team at all? We could use the help.¡± ¡±Negative. The interference coming from the colony is still preventing us from communicating with anyone on the ground. Shepard cursed. ¡±Well keep trying. If we¡¯re lucky they¡¯ll show up on their own, but who knows¡­¡± ¡±Affirmative. I will attempt to make contact. I have also bypassed the generator failsafes and am ready to attempt an emergency power-up on your signal.¡± ¡°Garrus! How''s the targeting systems looking?¡± ¡°We aren¡¯t going to be bullseyeing fighters anytime soon but I¡¯ve got them ready to shoot straight. We¡¯re good to go, Shepard!¡± Garrus called back. Shepard joined the rest of her squad and gave a few last minute orders, but they were about as prepared as they were going to get and trying to micromanage her team was pointless since any plans they made now would likely need to change in response to the enemy. So Shepard activated her comms and contacted the Normandy again. ¡°Okay EDI, we¡¯re all set down here. Start powering up the generator.¡± ¡±Affirmative, Commander. Generator powering up. Please hold the defense tower.¡± Nothing happened for a while, but eventually the Collectors detected the increased power and began to converge on their position. Groups of Husks and Drones attacked in waves. If they had remained in the standard three man squads things could¡¯ve gotten really dicey, but with some clever use of cover, combination biotic attacks, and a whole lot of gunfire they were holding pretty well. Not even the enhanced Drones could do much when two or three of the ground team were free to engage them while the others focused on the surrounding enemies. EDI kept them all up to date on how the towers¡¯ charging rate and if nothing changed they would be fully operational in just a few minutes. Naturally, that meant the Collectors decided to throw a curveball and fuck everything up. A massive four-legged armored form fell from the sky and landed in the middle of the Normandy ground team. It immediately burst in a spherical biotic explosion that threw nearly the entire team to the ground. Shepard dragged herself off the ground and got her first good look at the new flying tank-like enemy and at first she couldn¡¯t tell if it was Collector tech or something worse. Then the thing opened its mouth, revealing dozens of husk heads all crammed together on the inside and confirming that this new enemy was Reaper tech despite the primary ¡®face¡¯ looking like a Collector head and the main body looking remarkably insect-like. Shepard screamed for everyone to focus fire on the new arrival. Anything with that much battlefield control needed to be taken down fast before it could do another one of those shockwave attacks. They were lucky the first time it did it the rest of the enemy forces were far enough back to give everyone time to recover. If it did it again and a group of Husks or Drones were nearby someone was going to die. ¡°Shepard, do we have any heavy weapons left? We¡¯re barely scratching this thing¡¯s barrier!¡± Miranda shouted over the sound of gunfire. ¡°We¡¯re out! We used the last of it on the last Enhanced!¡± Shepard called back. Ammo was actually starting to become a concern. They were able to recycle a couple heatsinks, but several others had warped from the heat of their weapons firing near constantly. Pretty soon they would be reduced to biotics and melee weapons. ¡°EDI how much longer?!¡± The flying tank focused on Shepard, its eyes glowing electric blue, and fired twin particle beams that chewed through the thin metal barriers the Commander had been sheltering behind. She dove to the side but even that glancing contact was enough to shatter her shields and set a suit warning blaring. ¡±GARDIAN anti-ship batteries at 100%. I have control.¡± Well, at least there was a tiny bit of good news Shepard thought as the now active defenses began to hammer into the distant Collector ship. Now they only had to not die to the ground forces and they would win. The insect-tank decided Shepard was too mobile and shifted its attention to the rest of her team. It rose through the air and crashed into the ground practically right on top of Grunt as he was dealing with another group of Husks. To make matters worse, when it used that biotic burst to knock everyone away it managed to send a previously invisible Kasumi slamming into a wall. Thankfully despite being thrown into a pile with a bunch of techno-zombies, Grunt was still perfectly capable of dealing with them as he ripped, tore, and shotgunned his way back to his feet. Kasumi was a bit slower to get up but Garrus was keeping an eye on her and was picking off anything that focused on the downed thief. Shepard unloaded shot after shot into the insect-tank hoping to take it down even as she sent blasts of biotic Shockwaves into the hordes of Husks to trip them up. So much so that she actually lost situational awareness for a second and didn¡¯t realise until a lucky Husk tackled her from behind. She wrestled with the enhanced strength of the zombie, doing her best to keep it from getting its hands or teeth on her before managing to wrap the damned thing in a Lift field and freeing herself. Losing focus was a mistake, potentially her last on considering the insect-tank had noticed her struggle and was preparing to fire its particle weapons again. Time seemed to slow down as adrenaline surged and Shepard tried to come up with a plan to get out of the way. Her gut told her to move forward and Shepard followed that instinct without thought. The powerful blue beams just barely missed the Spectre as she dove closer to the insect-tank but she wasn¡¯t safe just yet. She was now close enough that a swinging forelimb caught her in the ribs, breaking shields, armor, and bone at the same time. Shepard was on the verge of blacking out and idly wondered if this was the end for her. Not how she wanted to go out but at least she was confident her team would keep going without her. The Commander could only watch helplessly as the floating creature raised a pointed leg and prepared to impale her. She tried to move, trigger her biotics, anything to get out of the way but she could do nothing. Her plight didn¡¯t go unnoticed by her teammates either as they all shifted fire in a last ditch effort to drive the insect-tank off. The pointed limb came down and Shepard closed her eyes, expecting a burst of pain. When nothing happened sh cautiously opened her eyes and saw the insect-tank¡¯s limb inches from her chest held in place by an invisible force that it was still struggling against. A relieved sigh exploded from Shepard¡¯s lips as she looked past the gathered enemies and saw the last missing ground team making their way into the fight. Jack was ripping through the last of the Husk hordes in a biotic rage, Mordin was rapidly assisting anyone injured and falling back into a support role, and Revan¡­ Revan was calmly walking through the chaotic battlefield like she was fucking untouchable. Her left hand was clawed and pointed at the insect-tank, presumably holding it in place, while her right had her glowing red lightsaber held casually at her side. Any Husks unfortunate to get close enough were instantly dismembered with ease and any Drone that tried to focus on the advancing Sith Lord found all of their shots blocked by a wall of light. Hells, the ones with the particle beams found their shots reflected into their companions. The insect-tank was slowly pulled away under Revan¡¯s telekinetic grasp despite it trying to escape. Shepard could see it¡¯s limbs and body straining under the effort to escape but instead of making progress it was being slowly crushed as the Sith increased the pressure of her hold. ¡°I¡¯ve seen many examples of Sith Alchemy producing twisted creatures such as you,¡± Revan said to the tank. ¡°And each time I can think of fewer things that I would enjoy than seeing their perversions wiped from the galaxy. You might not be a product of Alchemy, but I think I¡¯m going to enjoy this just the same.¡± Revan closed her fist and the tank shrieked as tortured metal gave way and the creature was warped into a ball of scrapped metal. Finally the creature, after being the focus of several concentrated assaults, died as the eezo inside of it detonated from the crushing forces of Revan¡¯s attack. The death of the insect-tank seemed to be the last straw for the Collectors. In the distance the Collector ship finally ignited it¡¯s main engines and launched away from the colony. Shepard watched the fleeing ship with mixed feelings. On the one hand they had driven off the Collectors and protected the colony. On the other hand, the attacking aliens had managed to escape with all of their captives and there wasn¡¯t much she or her team could do about it. Time would tell if this was a victory or just the Collectors deciding continuing on simply wasn¡¯t worth it. Chapter 18 Revan watched as the odd ship escaped into the void of space. Part of her was tempted to see if she could engineer a situation that prevented the Collectors from leaving. Outright stopping them would leave her far too burned out to do much else for a while, but a few misaligned engines on the other hand¡­ She shook her head and dismissed the idea. Even if she could do it, there would still be far too many Collectors that would survive the crash. The Normandy team could handle quite a few of them with little issue, a few thousand was another matter entirely. Not to mention Shepard would likely prioritise the colonists remaining meaning their already small force would wind up reduced even more as the Commander split off teams to cover attacks from multiple flanks. So in the end the Sith Lord did nothing as the Collector ship got away, merely watching with a mix of pity and resignation that the captured colonists would soon be either dead or wishing they were very soon. ¡°No! Don¡¯t let them get away!¡± One of the remaining colonists cried after the fleeing ship. ¡°There¡¯s nothing we can do.¡± Shepard said softly. ¡°They¡¯re gone.¡± She also likely realised that even if she called the Normandy to engage right now, there was no chance they could rescue the captives. ¡°Half the colony¡¯s in there!¡± The colonist angrily flailed an arm in the direction the ship left. ¡°They took Egan and Sam and¡­ and Lilith! Do something!¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t want it to end this way. I¡¯m sorry.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t feel too bad, Shepard. You did the best you could.¡± Garrus offered, brought closer by the yelling, trying to comfort his friend. Revan knew from experience it was an empty platitude, but Shepard seemed to appreciate the gesture. ¡°Shepard? Wait. I know that name.¡± Revan idly wondered if there were other members of Shepard¡¯s family that were constantly mistaken for her. Did Shepard have a family? Reven didn¡¯t remember her ever talking about them...hmm, maybe something to look into later. ¡°Sure, I remember you. You¡¯re some type of big Alliance hero.¡± the colonist continued, unaware of Revan¡¯s internal thoughts. ¡°Commander Shepard. Captain of the Normandy. The first human Spectre. Saviour of the Citadel.¡± Another human walked out from behind one of the nearby structures. This one in the same style of armour Shepard tended to wear. Her tone might¡¯ve been decently pleasant, but Revan could feel the anger practically radiating in waves off of her. ¡°You''re in the presence of a god, Delan. Back from the dead.¡± The human soldier finished sarcastically. ¡°All the good people we lost and you get left behind. Figures.¡± the colonist, Delan, said bitterly. ¡°Screw this. I¡¯m done with you Alliance types.¡± He waved a hand dismissively and shoved past Jacob on his way back the way he came from. Revan sighed as she watched the broken man leave. Not many civilians could handle losing people to war. Especially when they didn¡¯t think they were in one. Another flare of anger pulled Revan¡¯s attention back to the newcomer. She had heard Shepard greet her as ¡®Ash¡¯ so this must be Ashley Willaims, one of the Commander¡¯s old subordinates. One who apparently didn¡¯t appreciate the friendly greeting by Shepard. ¡°¡®How have you been?¡¯ That¡¯s it?¡± Ashley asked in disbelief. ¡°You show up after two years and act like nothing¡¯s happened? Why didn¡¯t you contact me? Why didn¡¯t you let me know you were alive?¡± ¡°What do you want from me Ash? I didn¡¯t exactly have a choice! I was in some sort of coma for two years while I was getting put back together by Cerberus.¡± Shepard shot back. ¡°You¡¯re with Cerberus now? Garrus, too?¡± Revan huffed as Ashley seemed to only selectively pay attention to what Shepard said. ¡°I can¡¯t believe the reports were right.¡± she said darkly. ¡°Reports? You mean you already knew?¡± the Turian spoke up. ¡°Alliance intel said Cerberus could be behind the missing colonies. We got a tip that this could be the next one to get hit. And there were rumors that you weren¡¯t dead. Worse; that you were working for the enemy. I went to Anderson but he wouldn¡¯t talk.¡± ¡°Cerberus and I want the same thing, to save our colonies, but that doesn¡¯t mean I answer to them.¡± Shepard replied hotly. ¡°And they were the only group actually putting resources towards the problem! The Council says it¡¯s out of their jurisdiction and the Alliance obviously isn¡¯t taking it seriously if they only sent a handful of soldiers and a few defense towers to stop an entire colony from vanishing! So what am I supposed to do? Just let it keep happening and hope someone else handles it alongside the whole Reaper problem?!¡± Guilt and rage bloomed from Ashley as she got up in Shepard¡¯s face. ¡°Do you really believe that? Or is that what Cerberus wants you to think?¡± she paused and looked almost regretful. ¡°I wanted you to be alive...I just never expected anything like this.¡± The regretful look turned hostile. ¡°You¡¯ve turned your back on everything we stood for¡­¡± Revan could practically see the mental and emotional wounds she and Shepard had worked at resolving fester and rip open. ¡°Ash...you know me better than that.¡± Shepard said weakly. ¡°You saw it yourself! The Collectors are the ones targeting human colonies. And they''re working with the Reapers!¡± ¡°I¡¯d like to believe you, Shepard. But I Don¡¯t. Trust. Cerberus. And it worries me that you do. What did they do to you?¡± Revan could feel the frustration from Garrus peak as the Turian could no longer stay out of the conversation. ¡°Damn it, Williams. You¡¯re so focused on Cerberus that you¡¯re ignoring the real threat! Do you really think Shepard or I would work with them if there was any other option?¡± ¡°Or maybe she just refuses to see other options because she feels like she owes Cerberus!¡± Ashley yelled. ¡°Is that it? Because they saved you? Maybe it is you...doesn¡¯t matter, I know where my loyalties lie. I¡¯m no fan of aliens, but Cerberus has a history of being extremist. I¡¯d never work with a group like that. I¡¯m an Alliance soldier. It¡¯s in my blood.¡± she finished accusingly. ¡°I¡¯m reporting this back to the Council. I¡¯ll let them decide if they believe your story.¡± Revan felt another surge of dark emotions from the Commander, along with the fact Shepard was now one fraying thread from losing her self control and doing something she would regret later. This novel''s true home is a different platform. Support the author by finding it there. ¡°Go fuck yourself Williams.¡± Shepard hissed. She turned on a heel and marched off, yelling for her scattered teammates to gather around and assist the remaining colonists. Garrus gave Ashley one final disappointed look before shaking his head and moving to join his commanding officer. ¡°Something you want to say Cerberus?¡± Ashley spat at Revan disdainfully when the Sith Lord remained behind. ¡°Be silent, you mewling child.¡± Revan commanded tonelessly, removing her helmet and shaking her head so Ashley could see her non-human characteristics. Ashley¡¯s eyes widened, at the command or Revan¡¯s appearance she didn¡¯t know, but Revan flared her presence all the same causing Ashley to choke on whatever words she was about to say. ¡°I didn¡¯t interfere because Shepard has a right to defend herself, but don¡¯t think for a second I will let your blatant refusal to accept the truth pass unpunished. You have managed to undo weeks of progress trying to get Shepard to move past the trauma of dying alone in the vacuum of space and then having nearly every inch of her body pawed over by Cerberus scientists.¡± If Ashley had any control of her body right now she would¡¯ve stepped back from the rage in Revan¡¯s voice, but the Sith continued to hold her in place. ¡°So let¡¯s go through this list of issues you have with the Commander.¡± The Sith said in a deceptively mild tone. ¡°You say you blame her for not contacting you? Why would she? What have you done in the two years that she was dead that makes it worth reaching out to you besides the fact you were part of her crew before? Nothing. You have not made connections to help deal with the threat you know is coming, you have not trained to make sure you can face their forces, you have even allowed yourself to sit quietly as your Commander¡¯s warning was shoved aside and forgotten.¡± Revan felt the guilt stab the alliance soldier like a knife. One she had no issues with twisting. ¡°Yet despite that, Shepard DID try to contact you. She went to the Council to try and get them to see the threat once again. To find some help from the Citadel that would let her break away from the organization you condemn her for working with. When they washed their hands of the issue, she asked your Councillor Anderson about your whereabouts but was told you were on a classified mission and couldn¡¯t be reached. So no, Commander Shepard has no loyalties to Cerberus. They have experimented on her, violated her, and then forced her to work with them simply because there is no other way to deal with the Aliens abducting colonies on her own.¡± ¡°There¡¯s the Alliance-¡± Ashley started to argue before Revan cut her off. ¡°Yes, the Alliance.¡± Revan drawled. ¡°The same force that when given a tip credible enough about the threat to an entire colony they decide to respond, sends a token force and some defences not even properly usable. The only thing special about it is the inclusion of a member of Commander Shepard¡¯s old crew. The same Commander that apparently is rumored to be working for the force you think is attacking these colonies¡­¡± Revan paused to give Ashley an unimpressed look. ¡°Did you even bother to think you were sent here as anything other than bait? It clearly wasn¡¯t for your critical thinking skills.¡± If Revan was hoping to continue making Ashley feel guilty, she was doing a rather poor job. Rage and anger had long drowned out the soldier¡¯s other emotions along with a healthy dose of fear but Revan didn¡¯t care. A distant part of her mind was even wondering why she was bothering with the Alliance Soldier, but it was drowned out by the rest of her that wanted Ashley to know exactly how much she had pissed off the Sith Lord. ¡°You say being Alliance is in your blood? Don¡¯t make me laugh. Shepard has managed to convince members of four different Alien races to help defend against a threat to human colonies despite being surrounded by members of a human-supremacist group while you bent under the opinions of your officers and kept quiet about a threat to the galaxy. Was it because they told you your career would be over if you didn¡¯t fall in line? You tell me who is doing a better job living up to the oaths they took when they joined the military.¡± Revan didn¡¯t actually know for sure if the Alliance had any oaths that called its members to do their best to protect human interests, even if that meant going against orders, but it was a common enough thing among even the more warlike races back home that she was willing to bet there was something equivalent here. A bet that paid off as Ashely¡¯s jaw tensed at the accusation. ¡°But none of that matters because we both know the real reason you were so eager to tear into your former commander.¡± Revan hissed as she loomed over the human. ¡°Your pride simply couldn¡¯t take the Commander riding to the rescue the same way she did at Eden Prime.¡± Ashley¡¯s face paled even as Revan could sense the woman frantically denying it in her mind. ¡°You let the colony fall to an invasion and once again Commander Shepard swept through and saved the day...but this time, she wasn¡¯t some Alliance Officer you could look up to. No, she was just some discredited Spectre that nobody believed for two years and was willing to work with Cerberus. You just couldn¡¯t take that she succeeded where you failed. Again.¡± Ashley was living up to her name. Her face was white as ash and she was frantically shaking her head, trying to deny Revan¡¯s words. Revan leaned in close to deliver the final blow. ¡°I certainly saw one soldier who turned their back on what they believed in...and it wasn¡¯t Commander Shepard.¡± Revan released Ashley from her hold and watched dispassionately as the Alliance Chief collapsed on the ground. And for a brief instant the crumpled form was overwritten by an image of a defeated Bastilla looking back, face blank and battered from their final duel. ¡¯Ah, so that was it.¡¯ Revan mused. ¡¯It seems my own issues with betrayal aren¡¯t as handled as I liked to believe.¡¯ ¡°Wh- what are you?¡± Ashley¡¯s fear stricken response shattered the illusion and Revan was staring down at the human woman once more. ¡°I am Darth Revan.¡± She answered coldly. ¡°Shepard was the beacon trying to gently bring everyone together to face the threat to the galaxy. You refused her. Now you get to deal with me.¡± Revan turned and left the fallen soldier where she was. She needed to talk to Shepard and see how much damage was recoverable from this force-damned situation. -o- She found the human easily enough. Shepard hadn¡¯t exactly had the opportunity to get very far. As Revan got closer, she took the time to closely examine the feelings she could sense roiling around inside the Spectre. In a way it was both better and worse than she was expecting. Shepard was not the type to break down crying in a corner, Revan was glad for that because she was not the best at comforting people like that. Unfortunately, Shepard was exactly the kind of person that would take all her emotions and shove them into a bottle and leave them there until it exploded. Revan had seen the result of that on Korlus, where that bottle started to show cracks. ¡°What do you want, Revan.¡± Shepard demanded flatly after the Sith Lord remained nearby but didn¡¯t say anything. ¡°...¡± Revan remained silent as she internally debated the best way to go about this. Decision made she walked up to Shepard, placed a hand on her shoulder, and gently started leading the human away. ¡°Revan, seriously, I¡¯m not in the mood for whatever cryptic bullshit you have planned.¡± ¡°Would you like to know a secret the Jedi have tried to deny for decades, Shepard?¡± Revan said instead. The Spectre scowled at the evasion, but Revan felt the glimmer of interest that bloomed in her. ¡°Many of them will deny it to their dying breath, but sometimes, violence can be an excellent way to calm yourself.¡± Revan unclipped one of her lightsabers and expertly made some adjustments on the various controls hidden on the hilt before offering one to the Commander. NOT one of her personal lightsabers though. No, Revan had learned several times the hard way that she could be disarmed or have her sabers destroyed and had taken to carrying a spare in a special compartment of her armor. That saber, alongside the blaster she used on Korlus, remained part of the equipment she took with her on every mission, even if they were hardly ever needed. Or used. Shepard looked at the offered weapon like it was going to bite her. ¡°No offence,¡± she started. ¡°But I never picked up sword fighting in basic, and I kind of like having my limbs attached.¡± Revan snorted. ¡°The blades do have a training setting, Shepard.¡± she said dryly. ¡°We can hardly teach Acolytes how to use them if they lop off a limb at the first mistake. Granted, they will still hurt like hell but the worst injury you will receive is a small burn.¡± ¡°If you say so¡­¡± Shepard trailed off, unconvinced. Nevertheless she took the weapon and, with some additional instruction, ignited the blade. Revan watched in amusement as Shepard stared at the glowing yellow blade with a growing expression of excitement. It was always fun seeing an Acolyte with their first blade, the look of wonder was something Revan particularly enjoyed. ¡°Okay this is freaking cool¡­¡± Shepard probably didn¡¯t mean for Revan to overhear her whispered comment, so she didn¡¯t respond as she made the same adjustments to one of her own sabers. The red blade hissed to life although instead of the blazing white core it normally had, it was a dull yellow color. She moved to an open area, away from prying eyes, and settled into a loose guard stance. Shepard followed and tried mimicking the stance to middling success. Revan could see she was sitting too far back on her heels, a habit from the long hours of practice ensuring she had a stable foundation for shooting, but made no effort to correct it. ¡°Okay, now come at me however you want. Take some time to get used to the blade and let me know when you want me to begin fighting back.¡± Revan instructed. ¡°And before you worry about possibly hurting me, remember I¡¯ve spent my entire life using this weapon, I am stronger than you, and I am wearing armor. Just let go and enjoy yourself.¡± It was obvious Shepard still had her doubts, but after a few weak probes, she attacked Revan for real and was easily countered. Revan made sure to watch closely as she blocked, parried, dodged, and eventually counterattacked the Commander. The more she sank into the fight, the more those bottled up feelings of betrayal and anger faded into the background. Shepard was now immersing herself in the simple enjoyment of a fight. Now Revan just had to hope Jack was too tired from the fight with the Collectors to make good on her own desire for a duel so they could all get off this force-forsaken rock before Shepard needed to deal with Ashley again. Chapter 19 Shepard felt a million times better once Horizon was growing ever more distant behind the Normandy. The remaining colonists had been grateful for their efforts to help them recover after the attack, most of them anyway, but there was only so much a frigate could do. It didn¡¯t help that Ashley and the remaining Alliance soldiers had been lurking around corners waiting for the entire crew to suddenly drop a facade and take over the colony. The Spectre was tempted to ask Revan to pretend to do just that, especially after she and Jack went at it in a no holds barred spar that nearly leveled a couple buildings near the perimeter of the colony. The Sith Lord had demonstrated to everyone that not only could she stand toe-to-toe with the powerful human biotic, she also had much more control over her abilities that allowed her to toss the ex-Convict around until she was unable to use her Biotics anymore. Jack was still in the infirmary recovering from implant overload. Shepard had also noticed that the tattooed woman had been oddly introspective after the spar, obviously Revan had said something that had the other woman thinking. Hopefully it wasn¡¯t a sign that Jack was gearing up for another confrontation against the Sith Lord. Shepard wasn¡¯t sure she wanted to risk either one of them in a training accident. Not when they had no idea when the next mission would come in. With that worry niggling at the back of her mind, Shepard finished changing into her casual wear and took the elevator back to the CIC deck. The shower she had taken after Horizon had been heavenly, but there was still plenty to do before she could really take a break for the day. One of those things, unfortunately, was seeing the Ship¡¯s Counselor and seeing if any issues had popped up in the reports that she needed to handle. ¡°I finished looking over the preliminary reports, Commander.¡± Yeoman Chambers greeted once Shepard tracked her down. ¡°What you all did was amazing.¡± The honest awe in the younger woman¡¯s voice was amusing to hear. Partially because Shepard was getting really used to these FUBAR situations, this one in particular brought back memories of the Thorian and the colonists on Feros, and partially because it was nice to hear someone appreciating the hard work her team put in without the undertone of bitterness that they hadn¡¯t gotten there sooner. Shepard didn¡¯t blame the colonists for their attitude, they had all lost friends today, but the Spectre couldn¡¯t help but feel the weight of their expectations to find the missing colonists herself. She had already seen one email come through her terminal from one of them asking her to relay any news she could. ¡°The reports did mention Ashley Williams was there. How did that go?¡± the other redhead asked in a neutral tone. And there was one conversation topic Shepard would be avoiding for a long while. ¡°Some things were said, we both have very different views on current events, and I don¡¯t think we¡¯re going to be on each other''s Christmas card list this year. Let¡¯s just leave it at that.¡± Shepard said in a tone that told Kelly to leave it alone. ¡°I understand.¡± Chambers said tactfully and changed the subject. ¡°Anyways there are some things that I feel as the Ship¡¯s Counselor should be brought to your attention.¡± Shepard raised an eyebrow at the yeoman, nonverbally prompting her to go on. ¡°Miranda seems to be bothered by something but no one seems to be able to tell by what. If someone asks, she simply says it isn¡¯t urgent for now. More importantly, I feel like Revan might be accumulating too much stress due to her circumstances. She doesn¡¯t seem to do much to relax and her outburst on Horizon has me concerned¡­¡± ¡°Her outburst on Horizon?¡± Shepard asked. ¡°From what I know Revan was perfectly in control the whole time.¡± Chambers shifted uncomfortably and brought up a file on her terminal before transferring it to Shepard¡¯s Omnitool. ¡°I agree with you that during the mission itself Revan showed remarkable stability in a highly stressful situation. But her confrontation with Chief Williams after your own conversation has me worried about her emotional state, and she does seem to respect you¡­¡± ¡°I¡¯m surprised Revan submitted a recording of this to Cerberus.¡± Shepard commented absently as she read over the transcript of the conversation between her fellow Squad Leader and her ex-teammate, a chaotic mix of emotions roiling in her gut at the ferocity Revan had defended her. ¡°Oh, no. Revan didn¡¯t submit this.¡± Chambers instantly denied. ¡°Operative Lawson submitted it with the concern that it might lead to some strained relationships between the Normandy and the Alliance. Well, more strained that is.¡± ¡°Hmm.¡± Shepard hummed, only half paying attention to the yeoman. Instead she was replaying the moments after the meeting with Ashley in her head and realizing Revan had a habit of poking her head into other people¡¯s problems like with Jack¡¯s anger issues or Shepard¡¯s own issues with her appearance or meeting her old teammate. Yet, no one really seemed to try and connect with the Galactic Traveler beyond being polite. Shepard decided that maybe it was time to change that¡­ ...right after she talked to Miranda. -o- The talk with her XO went...Shepard was hesitant to say well because the black haired Cerberus officer was clearly distracted by something, however she assured her that it wasn¡¯t an issue just yet. Shepard could only extend an offer to listen if Miranda needed help in the end, but she did accomplish her goal of finding more about the VI research outpost TIM mentioned. From the files her XO had given her ¡®Project Overlord¡¯ was an attempt to communicate with the Geth in a way that organics could follow by creating a VI to act as an intermediary. Organics could make a request and then leave the VI to actually negotiate the deal with the synthetic race. It was the kind of research that was hilariously illegal in Citadel Space so Shepard wasn¡¯t surprised that Cerberus had a hand in it. Thankfully it seemed rather tame compared to most Cerberus experiments she had run across. Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences. Afterall there was little even Cerberus could do that could fuck up ¡®create a program to talk to someone better¡¯. The project had apparently stalled lately and Cerberus was likely hoping Revan could give them a breakthrough, but Shepard was more interested in giving the Sith Lord time to unwind. Now she just had to present it in a way Revan would actually accept. -o- ¡°You want me to take a vacation¡­ in the middle of a mission.¡± Revan¡¯s voice was about as dry as any desert you¡¯d care to name. Shepard winced. That had definitely not been the correct approach. ¡°Nnnooo,¡± she drew out. ¡°I thought we could use a break after the mess on Horizon and Aite seemed like a nice place to relax for a bit.¡± Revan huffed, clearly not believing the Spectre for an instant but she did at least seem to appreciate the thought behind it. ¡°I don¡¯t disagree that the team could use some downtime,¡± the Sith Lord started. ¡°But I think we should focus on finishing recruiting for the ground teams. We already know most of the people recommended to us don¡¯t seem to stay in safe corners of the galaxy, I¡¯d hate to lose one because we arrived after they got themselves in trouble.¡± Shepard thought about the several close calls they had had even with the recruits they knew the locations of and had to agree. If they had delayed for any of them, except for maybe Jack and Kasumi, the person they were hoping to recruit would¡¯ve probably died. Maybe it would be better to finish going through those dossiers sooner than later. That probably meant heading for Illium though, since it was the only solid lead she had at the moment. ¡°You should also take some time to visit Jack.¡± Revan commented. ¡°The events on Horizon have her surprisingly shaken. I¡¯ve already had a chat with her, but she might benefit from another human¡¯s point of view.¡± Shepard blinked. Jack was out of the infirmary? That was good news. Although if the resident empath was telling her she needed a talking to maybe it wasn¡¯t as good as she hoped. ¡°I should go.¡± She decided. Leaving whatever issue Jack had for later sounded like a good way to wake up and find half the ship torn to pieces if it wasn¡¯t taken care of. At least Shepard could trust Revan to handle her own issues for a day while she focused on the problem children in her crew. ¡°Although I wasn¡¯t kidding, take some time to unwind.¡± She half-ordered, not that she felt like the Sith would listen to her if she didn¡¯t feel like it. As she expected, Revan made a vague noise and returned to reading the tech manual she had been focusing on when Shepard first walked in, not even pretending like she was going to stop working until she had mastered the technology around her to her satisfaction. -o- Finding Jack was rarely hard on the Normandy. If she was in the common spaces, you would only need to follow the cursing. For all other times, she was usually hiding out under Engineering about as far away from people as she could get. Shepard had come by a few times to check in on the ex-convict, sometimes to find out what she was thinking, sometimes to make sure she wasn¡¯t going to blow up the Normandy. Sure enough, Jack was hiding out in her usual spot but this time instead of hunting through the Cerberus databases like the last few times Shepard had been down here, the tattooed woman was staring a hole through a bulkhead. At least she was until Shepard got closer. ¡°Hey.¡± not the most enthusiastic of greetings but at least Jack didn¡¯t seem to be about to do something violent. ¡°Jack, what are you up to?¡± Shepard returned. ¡°Still checking out your ship. Wouldn¡¯t mind putting her through her paces when you''re not around.¡± Shepard¡¯s face hardened. Revan might¡¯ve warned her Jack was off balance emotionally, but NO ONE was taking her ship without permission. ¡°See, you say things like that and people might get the wrong idea and feel they need to deal with you.¡± Jack scoffed, retreating to the far end of her hidey-hole. ¡°Try it,¡± she said in what seemed like reflex than any real challenge. ¡°Anyways, relax. Joyriding doesn¡¯t have the thrill it used to.¡± ¡°That so?¡± ¡°I¡¯ve been around. Ran with gangs, wiped out some gangs, joined a cult,¡± she listed then smirked a little. ¡°Kept the haircut.¡± the smirk fell away as quick as it came, ¡°I learned how to survive and not be a victim.¡± Shepard wasn¡¯t surprised by most of that. The last time they had talked Jack had told her that she had escaped a Cerberus facility as a child. With no background and the organisation looking to get her back it made sense that she gravitated towards criminals. They didn¡¯t tend to look past what you brought to the table. The cult thing was unexpected though. ¡°Can¡¯t really see you joining a cult.¡± Shepard admitted. ¡°Don¡¯t those tend to have a lot of rules?¡± ¡°I was looking for answers. Drugs and sex and going to a better place. A better place...right.¡± Jack mumbled the last part bitterly but Shepard still heard her. ¡°It was all about money. They wanted to take a colony, shake the suckers down to fund their spread. And guess who was their ace in the hole?¡± she snorted moodily. ¡°They were just like the rest. Didn¡¯t give one shit about me.¡± Shepard could guess what happened to the cult given the past tense and at the same time she felt her understanding of Jack shifting. Until now she was pretty convinced Jack was unrepentant about the crimes she had committed and after a few more questions it was clear the ex-convict really didn¡¯t care about the murder and mayhem she caused but when Shepard asked if she should care Jack¡¯s denial came just a bit too fast to be genuine. Maybe she was projecting on feelings that weren¡¯t there but Shepard got the idea that Jack genuinely wanted a place to belong without being exploited for her abilities, something she demonstrated how highly she valued after she shared a story about destroying a space station by crashing it into a moon in retaliation for the destruction of an outlaw colony she had joined for a time. Of course Shepard wasn¡¯t about to mistake Jack for some fragile flower looking for a home. The Biotic had a killer¡¯s edge that would make short work of anyone who was stupid enough to think that. Still¡­ ¡°You must have met some good people too.¡± the Commander pressed, curious how Jack would take that. ¡°Everybody wants something. And because of that everyone has an angle. Most of those ¡®good people¡¯ are just looking for a way to make themselves feel better about some shit. They act like they want to help when everybody¡¯s lookin, but give them enough of a reason and they¡¯ll sell your ass to anyone asking for a couple credits.¡± That had all the flags of a deeply personal incident Shepard wasn¡¯t going to poke at, at the moment. ¡°What about Revan? She seems intent on helping you out.¡± Of course ¡®helping Jack out¡¯ consisted of Revan deliberately provoking Jack just to crush her with one of her weird Force powers or more recently throwing the Biotic around until she couldn¡¯t move. ¡°The Ice Queen? She isn¡¯t that fucking hard to figure out. I piss her off.¡± What? Some of Shepard¡¯s surprise at the unexpected answer must have shown on her face because Jack huffed in amusement before continuing. ¡°Yeah, she doesn¡¯t like seeing ¡®someone of my level of power thrashing around like a blind Rancor¡¯ whatever the fuck that means. But apparently me being the biggest biotic bitch around isn¡¯t good enough for her. I need to know how to use it, too.¡± ¡°And you¡¯re okay with that?¡± Shepard asked skeptically. ¡°Fuck yeah, do you know how many times I haven¡¯t been able to just blast someone with my biotics? Once, and I got fucking lucky the Asari bitch decided to gloat or I would¡¯ve been dead. Then the Ice Queen comes along and decides to show me a bunch of kickass tricks for free? No way am I turning that shit down for now.¡± Shepard found it kind of funny that despite Jack¡¯s general attitude of ¡®everyone is going to try using me for my biotics¡¯ that attitude didn¡¯t seem to apply to the Sith Lord. Maybe it was because Revan was the first person Jack had come across, fought, and then been completely dismissed by after being beaten that made the ex-convict think Revan wasn¡¯t looking to leverage her for her power, maybe it was something else. The best part was, Jack didn¡¯t seem to even realise it. She shook her head and got ready to leave. She needed to go talk to Revan about freaking her out with vague comments. ¡°Hey, Shepard.¡± Jack called out as the commander turned her back. ¡°No one¡¯s ever asked me about this shit. It¡¯s strange to talk about. So fuck you, and thanks for asking.¡± The appreciation in Jack¡¯s voice took any possible sting out of her words. -o- A few days later the Normandy was on approach to Illium, chasing the last known location of an Asari specialist Cerberus had marked as a potential recruit. Given that the Asari in question never seemed to stay in one spot for very long, Shepard was hoping they were still on the planet and this wasn¡¯t the beginning of a chase across space. She was just finishing up lunch and preparing to continue going over some emails that had come in and familiarising herself with the planet they were about to land on when Miranda of all people cornered her in the mess and requested her for a meeting in the XO¡¯s Office. Seeing how tense her XO was at the request, Shepard had no issues following along. ¡°So what¡¯s going on?¡± Shepard asked as the door closed behind her. The black haired Cerberus officer took a steadying breath and closed her eyes. ¡°Shepard, I find myself in the unpleasant position of asking for your help.¡± Miranda said reluctantly. ¡°I don¡¯t like discussing personal matters...but this is important.¡± It must have been for Miranda of all people to lower herself to asking for help. Of course the Commander wasn¡¯t about to start joking, not when her XO seemed so flustered by whatever this was. ¡°Miranda, you¡¯re one of my crew.¡± Shepard said seriously. ¡°What¡¯s on your mind?¡± Miranda took another deep breath and began to explain¡­ Chapter 20 Illium reminded Revan of Coruscant in a way. Both planets were gathering places for races from all over the galaxy, despite one race being the majority. Both were places where many different cultures came to mix and share ideas. Both were places where buyers could purchase rare or unusual goods that would be impossible to find elsewhere. And once you dived under the veneer of civilization on the surface, both of them were filled with just as much scum and villainy as places like Omega. One thing that was different between the two, Illium didn¡¯t try and deny the fact there were shady dealings going on. They just used flowery language to make it seem less bad than it was. Slaves, afterall, were owned by horrible people and no upstanding citizen in Citadel Space would ever consider owning one. Shackling someone with a contract so restrictive that the signer couldn¡¯t even choose the color of their clothes without the approval of the holder and calling it indentured servitude, however, was entirely acceptable. Revan wasn¡¯t particularly impressed when she heard that from the Illium representative that greeted them once they left the airlock. Shepard didn¡¯t seem impressed by it either, but the Normandy wasn¡¯t here to tear down the social fabric of an entire world by themselves, so they both had to ignore it in favor of more achievable objectives. Shepard in particular was obviously excited at the opportunity of reuniting with another of her old crew considering the docking fees were paid by one Liara T¡¯Soni and a standing invitation for the Commander to stop by was delivered. Miranda also seemed to have something occupying her thoughts, but she didn¡¯t seem like she was going to share with the rest of the crew just yet. As the last members of the shore leave party filtered out , Shepard turned to all of them and shouted to make sure she was heard. ¡°Alright people! We¡¯re not planning on leaving Illium for a few days but that doesn¡¯t mean you get to be completely lazy. Stay close to the ship, keep your comm on you at all times, and don¡¯t be an idiot. You don¡¯t want me coming after your ass if you get in trouble for stupid. If you do, you get to scrub the shuttle till it shines, no tools!¡± Some of the crew groaned at the thought of having to manually clean the Kodiak. Especially since Shepard could and would have EDI make sure none of them cut corners. ¡°If you get in trouble for any other reason, don¡¯t hesitate to call it in. Other than that, enjoy your time off.¡± The general crew split off in groups of three or four while most of the ground team wandered off individually. Some, like Jacob and Jack, wanted to check out some of the weapons on sale while others, like Kasumi and Grunt, were more interested in food. One notable exception to this more relaxed behavior that Revan noticed was Miranda. Nearly as soon as the crew was released, the Cerberus officer had told Shepard she was going to reach out to some contacts and nearly ran off into the city of Nos Astra. Which left only Shepard, Garrus, and Revan standing around the docking port. ¡°And off they go. Let¡¯s hope nobody gets security called on them.¡± Garrus mused as they watched their crewmates walk off. ¡°If they know what¡¯s good for them, they¡¯ll behave.¡± Shepard said darkly, before turning to Revan. ¡°What about you, Revan? Any plans for while we¡¯re in Nos Astra?¡± The armored Sith shrugged. ¡°Not particularly. I thought about looking into the local culture, learning more about the Asari and their history, but nothing set in stone.¡± ¡°Well, if you want to talk culture and history you should come visit Liara with us.¡± Shepard invited. ¡°I¡¯m sure she would get a kick talking with someone like you.¡± ¡°Someone like me?¡± Revan asked. Her helmet concealed her expression, but the amused tone was easily heard by everyone there. ¡°I mean, she¡¯s an anthropologist, so she¡¯d love to hear what life is like in another galaxy.¡± Shepard floundered. ¡°I¡¯m sure she''d also be happy to answer any questions you had.¡± ¡°Is that so?¡± ¡°Yeah. I mean, she¡¯s a little shy and soft spoken, but she warms up to people pretty fast.¡± As the trio walked towards the city Shepard and Garrus regaled Revan with all kinds of stories about their friend from the first Normandy. The Sith half-listened as the two reminisced, she was more focused on observing their surroundings. Nos Astra was...an architectural inverse of Coruscant, Revan decided after some time looking at the distant skyscrapers on the horizon. Unlike the planet-city from her home galaxy, the Asari seemed to prefer soft curving buildings and angles at the ground level and blocky angular ones higher up. Other than that, Revan wouldn¡¯t have found it too shocking to find a place exactly like this one somewhere back home. She idly listened in on a pair of aliens arguing about stock purchases while Shepard spoke to an Asari that seemed to know her. It was amusing no matter where they went, Shepard always- Revan aborted that though and dropped a hand to her lightsabers as a large Force presence appeared suddenly and subsumed the Asari. Garrus noticed the motion and palmed his sidearm, but held off on aiming it since there was no clear threat. ¡°...Thank you, Shepard. The Rachni will sing again, because of you.¡± The Asari finished. ¡°How did you possess another Asari?¡± Shepard hissed at the near-human, roughly grabbing at her shoulder and glaring at the puppet. ¡°You can¡¯t just take over people¡¯s minds like that!¡± She was so focused on the person in front of her that she didn¡¯t notice the behaviour of her teammates, nor the way Revan relaxed a tiny bit when the presence retreated. ¡°Peace, Shepard. The Rachni Queen does not control my thoughts. That was merely the message I was asked to deliver.¡± The two of them continued their conversation, Shepard asking about how and why the Asari was working with the Rachni species, while Revan was quietly reeling from the revelations only she had the full context to understand. It was not common, even back home, but certain species had a natural connection to the Force that meant every member of the species was capable of Force manipulation at least subconsciously. For some, like the Miraluka, this was often just an extension of basic senses since the entire species used the Force to see. For others, like the Vahla, it was something all of them were capable of but whether the individual trained the ability was up to them. A species having an intrinsic Force ability to dominate another¡¯s mind wasn¡¯t unheard of either. The Anzati in particular had that ability. Though they used it more for hunting other sentients and draining the life force from their prey than communication. Finding another species that relied so heavily on the Force as part of their basic biology was surprising, but what the messenger described was the truly surprising part. Somehow, despite being machines, the Reapers were fully capable of reaching out and controlling others through the Force. They had managed to take a force-sensitive race, a naturally peaceful one if the Asari could be believed, and command them to go to war. Revan had never heard of that being possible. Even the Star Forge, a construct so steeped in the negative aspects of the Force that it corrupted the user and caused the collapse of the entire empire that built it, never had the ability to command the beings it interacted with. Dye them with the worst aspects of their creators, yes. Actively give commands, no. Shepard and the Asari finished their conversation and the human turned back to both her teammates. ¡°Well, that was-¡± She started before seeing Revan still deep in thought. ¡°Revan? You okay?¡± The Sith quickly gave herself a mental shake and focused on the human commander. ¡°...we might have a problem¡­¡± -o- ¡°...So-¡± Shepard chewed on her lower lip after Revan¡¯s explanation. ¡°The Reapers can use the Force? That¡¯s...unpleasant. No, that¡¯s really fucking terrible actually. Does that mean they can do what you can?¡± The Sith lord thought it over, eventually shaking her helmeted head negatively. ¡°I doubt so since according to you Sovereign never showed any signs of any other abilities than it¡¯s indoctrination and possession of organics. But this does mean that both those abilities are far more dangerous than we first imagined.¡± ¡°So what can we do about it?¡± Garrus asked. ¡°Not much at the moment, I¡¯ll need to think more on this later. For now we should deal with immediate matters. I just wanted you to know.¡± ¡°That the sentient killer spaceships are magic now? Thanks, I feel so much better.¡± ¡°Enough. We can discuss that later.¡± Shepard cut in. ¡°Like Revan said, let¡¯s focus on immediate things first.¡± Revan could feel that both of them were upset by her revelation, not that she blamed them. But there wasn¡¯t much any of them could do about it for the moment. The three of them continued towards the address they were given to meet with Shepard¡¯s old crewmate, much more quietly than before; the recent news had killed much of their desire for conversation. By the time they were in front of T¡¯Soni¡¯s office, though, Shepard had gone back to feeling excited at meeting her friend again so Revan was relieved she hadn¡¯t completely ruined the Commander¡¯s day. She knew from experience how much pressure preparing an unwilling galaxy to fight an outside threat was and Shepard was in an infinitely worse position than she was. At least from what the others had said about her, Liara would be a kind and soothing presence. Exactly what all three of them needed at the moment. ¡°...Have you faced an Asari commando unit before? Few humans have. I¡¯ll make it simple. Either you pay me, or I flay you alive. With my mind.¡± Hmm. Either Shepard and Garrus had lied a great deal about their friend, or Liara had changed a little since they last saw each other. -o- When Shepard and her group went to meet with Miranda a few hours after seeing Liara she was...less pissed off than she had been. Coming back from the dead really was the gift that just kept fucking giving. Being turned into some sort of super-cyborg science experiment? Fine. Being dismissed as crazy by the Council? Okay. Having one of her friends call her a traitor to her face without the chance to defend herself? Whatever, she could deal with it. Seeing her sweet and naive Prothean scientist warped into a cold blooded information broker that handed out death threats and killed her underlings for spying? That was not something she was prepared for at all. Her mood hadn¡¯t been great after that and running into Conrad Verner, Commander Shepard fanboy and gullible idiot, hadn¡¯t exactly improved it much. Manipulating the arrogant Asari using him to harass the nearby bar into getting herself arrested did a good job of lifting her spirits though, so when Miranda¡¯s call came in she managed to answer in a normal tone at least. ¡°Thanks for meeting me so fast Shepard, there¡¯s been a complication.¡± Miranda said by way of greeting. Because of course there had. ¡°My sources told me my father has hired Eclipse mercenaries to make a sweep for Oriana. Niket, one of those sources, is going to escort the family to the terminal. While he is doing that, we are going to go along the original route and act as a distraction until they can get away. The other complication is that apparently the Eclipse knows I¡¯m here and might be on the lookout for me specifically.¡± Shepard blinked at that. That seemed like a much less detailed plan from what she was expecting from Miranda. When her XO had told her the story about how she rescued her twin sister from the control of their father, a business tycoon that was so obsessed with having a perfect legacy he genetically engineered his own daughters, and had tracked down her sister, Oriana¡¯s, adoptive family and was moving to take her back, Shepard expected to be quickly relocating the family or at the very least providing security until someone else could. Or at the very least, some kind of cover mission to ensure they got Oriana out safe. The ¡®hands off¡¯ approach wasn¡¯t even in her top five scenarios. ¡°So the plan is for us to get shot down by Eclipse while your sister gets to safety?¡± ¡°Eclipse will be under orders to take my sister alive. They won¡¯t risk anything that could kill us.¡± Miranda reassured the Spectre while leading them to an air car. ¡°That¡¯s reassuring.¡± Revan commented sarcastically. ¡°I hadn¡¯t planned on Eclipse.¡± Miranda admitted. ¡°...but they never planned on us, either.¡± Well, that was probably true, Shepard thought as a slightly feral smile crossed her face. -o- ¡°Eclipse mercenary gunships. They¡¯ll be dropping troops in the cargo areas.¡± Miranda reported even as small arms fire lit up the car they were in. The gunship wasn¡¯t letting them get away either. Any move Miranda made to get out of the line of fire or change course was met with a response from one of the gunships. Their only options at this point were to land or get shot down. Reading on this site? This novel is published elsewhere. Support the author by seeking out the original. ¡°Put us down in that cover behind them.¡± Shepard ordered, seeing a decent landing spot near one of the groups of mercs on the ground. ¡°Let¡¯s hope they really do want to take us alive.¡± Miranda quipped as she angled the vehicle down. Unfortunately the ground fire didn¡¯t cut off immediately and the air car wasn¡¯t exactly rated for combat. A round hit something important and the vehicle lost power long enough to crash into the ground. ¡°Everyone okay?¡± Shepard groaned, shaking her head and looking out the windshield. A chorus of ¡®fines¡¯ echoed back. Outside, the mercs had stopped shooting and the apparent leader, a man with glowing orange holo-barriers in addition to the standard Eclipse armor, walked towards them without a weapon in hand. ¡°Well, I guess that solves the mystery of if they want us alive or not.¡± Garrus muttered, drawing a snort from Shapard. The Eclipse certainly hadn¡¯t been gentle if they thought there could have been a civilian in here. The four members of the Normandy team piled out of the now wrecked vehicle and fanned out, ¡°Since you¡¯re not firing yet, I trust you know who I am.¡± Miranda projected to the leader. ¡°Yeah. They said you would be in the car.¡± the leader drawled. ¡°You''re the bitch that kidnapped our boss¡¯s little girl.¡± ¡°Kidnapped?¡± If they weren''t staring down a half dozen guns, Shepard would have laughed at the amount of outrage Miranda fit into that word. ¡°This doesn¡¯t involve you. I suggest you take your men and go.¡± She continued after a brief pause. ¡°Think you¡¯ve got it all lined up, huh?¡± the man sneered. ¡°Captain Enyala is already moving on the kid. She knows about Niket. He won¡¯t be helping you.¡± ¡°What do you mean, Niket won¡¯t be helping us?¡± Shepard had to ask. If the Eclipse were going to kill civilians¡­ ¡°Nothing you need to worry about. Nobody¡¯s going to get killed unless you do something stupid.¡± Shepard¡¯s fears were waved off. ¡°You walk away now, the girl goes back to her father, and everyone¡¯s happy.¡± ¡°Everyone but my sister...and me.¡± Miranda pointed out. Shepard smirked. ¡°Well, I¡¯d hate to have twin sisters upset.¡± ¡°Is that what she told you? No, this crazy bitch kidnapped our boss¡¯s baby daughter. He¡¯s been looking for her for more than a decade.¡± ¡°It¡¯s complicated, Shepard. We share the same DNA, just not the same birthday.¡± Miranda rushed to explain. ¡°Not unusual for artificial births.¡± Revan spoke up for the first time. ¡°You took a baby from the richest guy in the galaxy, lady. I don¡¯t know what your damage is, but you aren¡¯t getting away with it.¡± It figured the one time they got a merc leader willing to talk things out it was when the right thing to do was a matter of perspective, Shepard lamented. The man even seemed pretty decent for a merc and if their positions were reversed she could easily see herself making the same arguments. Of course Miranda had also shared a few stories about what it was like growing up under her father and Shepard wasn¡¯t going to willingly let someone get put through that after they had already spent their entire life growing up in a loving environment. Miranda¡¯s father didn¡¯t want a child. He wanted a VI in human skin. She frustratedly rubbed at her forehead. ¡°Look, maybe we should be talking to your captain about this.¡± ¡°You don¡¯t want to talk to the captain. She¡¯s not as...polite...as I am.¡± The merc deflected instantly and set off warning bells in the back of Shepard¡¯s mind. Why was the ¡®polite¡¯ one being sent to deal with the car they knew Oriana wasn¡¯t in? ¡°She¡¯s the best commando I¡¯ve ever seen. I¡¯ve seen her pull people in half with her biotics. And she¡¯s getting paid a lot to stop you.¡± That threat might have been effective if Shepard had any idea who the man in front of him was. As it stood ¡®the best commando he¡¯s seen¡¯ implied he saw a bunch of them. But the first Normandy had fought Benezia, Asari Matriarch and one of the most deadly combatants they had ever run into. Whoever this Enyala was, she had nothing on her. And since the man never introduced himself- Shepard nearly slapped herself as she figured out what was going on. He was stalling her! If he managed to talk her out of the fight or he wasted enough time that her team couldn¡¯t get to the terminals in time, either way he won! Time to get moving then. But since he gave them a chance to back out, Shepard felt it was only fair to do the same. ¡°You¡¯re not getting Miranda¡¯s sister. If you push this, it¡¯ll go badly for you.¡± The merc proved that even if he was more polite than normal, he wasn¡¯t much smarter. Instead of moving away in case a fight kicked off or giving up, he stepped closer to Shepard, possibly expecting his holo-shields to protect him from a sudden attack. ¡°Captain Enyala ordered us to give you one chance to walk away.¡± And now the merc was back to sneering. ¡°But this whole time we¡¯ve been talking, my men have been lining up shots. When I say the word, we unleash hell on your squad.¡± In the distance a fuel cell started drifting over the other Eclipse mercs. A quick glance at Revan told Shepard the Sith had also noticed and her hand was twitching in a pre-arranged hand signal for ¡®ready¡¯. They obviously weren¡¯t talking their way through any time soon and they were on a schedule, so the Commander decided now would be a good time to get things rolling. ¡°...-ant things to get ugly.¡± The leader had been saying something but Shepard hadn¡¯t been listening to him for a bit. Instead, she reached out and with a brief burst of cybernetically assisted strength, snapped the leader¡¯s neck with no fanfare. Miranda and Garrus were on top of things as well, both of them gunning down the closest mercs before they could run for cover. The last of the mercenaries were taken care of when Revan blasted them under the hanging fuel cell with her telekinesis and then dropped the fuel cell on top of them half a second later. If the multi-ton mass of fuel and metal didn¡¯t kill them, the resulting explosion certainly finished them off. ¡°Come on! We need to get to Niket!¡± Miranda exclaimed and started moving further into the cargo area. ¡°Hold on, Miranda! What was that about you taking a baby?¡± Shepard shouted after her XO but started following after her anyway. They were interrupted by another handful of mercs, but between Shepard and Miranda¡¯s biotics, Garrus¡¯s marksmanship, and Revan¡¯s Revanness they made quick work of them. Apparently quicker than Miranda might have been hoping for because she kept looking for any excuse to dodge the conversation. ¡°Hang on, I¡¯ve got one of their radios. I¡¯ll patch us in, see if I can get an idea what we¡¯re up against.¡± She tried before turning back to the Spectre¡¯s unamused face. ¡°...Alright, I owe all of you an explanation.¡± Miranda folded in on herself. ¡°Oriana is my twin, genetically. But my father...grew her when I was a teenager.¡± She clarified. ¡°She was meant to replace me. I couldn¡¯t let my father do to her what he did to me. So I rescued her.¡± Miranda smiled softly. ¡°She¡¯s almost a woman now.¡± ¡°And you didn¡¯t bring up she was a kid because¡­?¡± ¡°She¡¯s not a child; she¡¯ll be 19 this year. But...well, it didn¡¯t seem relevant at the time, I suppose.¡± The Cerberus officer clearly looked uncomfortable sharing even this much, but she continued on. ¡°There are people who¡¯d use her against me. I¡¯m very protective when it comes to Oriana. I¡¯m sorry I didn¡¯t trust you sooner. You deserved to know.¡± ¡°So why a baby though?¡± Garrus asked. ¡°From what the merc was saying your sister would¡¯ve never wanted for anything. Would leaving her with your father been so bad?¡± Miranda scoffed. ¡°If you knew my father, you wouldn¡¯t ask. I wasn¡¯t the first child he made. I was only the first he kept.¡± That, Shepard hadn¡¯t known. And as Mordin might say; Implications unpleasant. ¡°I was brought up with no friends, pushed to meet impossible demands. I wasn¡¯t a daughter to him. I was...I don¡¯t know what I was.¡± Miranda pinned the Turian with a glare. ¡°Oriana has had a normal life. I made the right decision.¡± Garrus held his hands up placatingly and Shepard jumped in to prevent any more time being wasted. ¡°If Eclipse knows where Oriana is, they¡¯ll be moving in on her soon. We should hurry.¡± ¡°Agreed. I¡¯m a bit worried by what the merc said. If they¡¯ve got to Niket somehow, this is going to be harder than I planned.¡± ¡°And Niket can be trusted?¡± Revan asked from the back of the group. ¡°Absolutely.¡± Miranda said with no hesitation. ¡°Niket is one of my oldest friends. I guess you could say he was my only real friend. He¡¯s the only person I didn¡¯t cut ties with when I left my father.¡± ¡°Could your father be trying to use him to get to you?¡± ¡°I¡¯m sure he¡¯s tried but Niket¡¯s one of the few people who understands what my father is really like. I trusted him with my life when I ran away back then. He won¡¯t betray me now.¡± ¡°Hmm.¡± The group started moving again and Shepard dropped back closer to Revan. ¡°You seem to have issues trusting Niket¡¯s on our side. Care to share with the class?¡± She whispered conversationally. ¡°Force premonition. I have a bad feeling about the whole situation.¡± the Sith lord muttered back. ¡°Could be nothing, but¡­¡± Shepard frowned. Could Niket have betrayed Miranda? The woman herself was convinced there was no way but Eclipse had found out about the plans for Oriana somehow. The Spectre¡¯s train of thought was snapped off that topic by the sudden appearance of more mercenaries. The humans and the turian all dropped into cover by reflex but their resident elf continued striding forward with purpose. Revan casually lifted a hand, and all the mercs, and threw them into the walls with another gesture. Shepard scowled as she remembered exactly why she and Revan decided it was best for them to be on separate squads. There was no call out, no indication of what she was doing. Revan just acted and expected the rest to fall in behind her. Considering they were racing the clock Shepard wasn¡¯t going to make an issue of it now but she was certainly going to complain later. The four of them continued through the cargo area and ran into several groups of Eclipse mercenaries, but they barely slowed down at all. Revan tended to repeat her trick on the smaller groups which meant Shepard and Miranda could save their biotics for the larger ones without worrying about overheating their amps or tiring out as much. That meant sometimes as many as half the mercenaries from each group were ripped apart by a shockwave or a biotic explosion before the others were put down by gunfire. They were doing so well in fact, that several requests for backup had filtered in from the hijacked radio feed Miranda had found. Most of them had been answered by orders to just keep throwing more mercs or mechs at them but finally Enyala seemed to have had enough with their group. ¡°Divert everyone except my guard from Niket. I¡¯ll handle him and the kid personally.¡± ¡°Dammit, I¡¯m not letting her get Oriana.¡± Miranda snarled and unloaded her SMG into a merc that was unfortunate enough to get trapped in a Lift field. ¡°We¡¯ll get there.¡± Shepard reassured her, but they all started moving faster anyway. They had just finished off the final group guarding the elevator up to the terminal areas when the radio chirped again. ¡°Niket has reached the terminal. He¡¯ll switch the family over to our transport.¡± Captain Enyala said and Miranda slowed to a halt, staring forward uncomprehendingly. ¡°Niket? But...that can¡¯t be right¡­¡± The Cerberus officer burst back into motion, storming into the elevator. The rest of the squad followed behind her and Shepard quietly punched in the right floor. ¡°Maybe the captain knows we''re listening in and she¡¯s feeding misinformation about Niket making a switch.¡± Miranda suggested. ¡°Or maybe it means something else. Niket wouldn¡¯t do that. Damn it, why won¡¯t this thing go any faster!¡± frustration bled into her tone and she slammed her omnitool into the controls, overloading it. Shepard was positive Miranda was going to burn out something in the elevator but they were moving faster now. ¡°What makes you so sure Niket wouldn¡¯t turn on you?¡± Shepard asked gently. Miranda was normally professionally distant with everyone, there had to be a reason she was so sure of his loyalty. ¡°He could have turned on me when I ran away. I¡¯m sure my father tried to buy him off. If he didn¡¯t do it then, why would he do it now?¡± Shepard could think of several reasons why but if it was a recent thing and had nothing to do with Miranda personally¡­ ¡°Did Niket know you took Oriana from your father?¡± ¡°No, he just found out about that recently.¡± The Cerberus agent looked pensive. ¡°I never really thought about it, but maybe...no. He¡¯d have to understand why I did it. He knows what I went through.¡± Revan¡¯s warning was still in the back of Shepard¡¯s mind but she did her best to reassure her XO. Everything could be explained when they reached Niket. -o- Unfortunately it seemed like there was no misunderstanding over the radio. When the four of them made their way out of the elevator, they ran straight into another group of Eclipse, a human man, and a transport officer. Given that the man recognised Miranda and was clearly not here against his will¡­ ¡°This should be fun.¡± One of the mercenaries commented, dropping off a crate and pulling out a shotgun. Shepard¡¯s squad pulled their own weapons in response. The transport office glanced between the two now armed groups and decided she wanted to be anywhere but here and took off running. A poor move, considering the Asari Shepard was pretty sure was Captain Enyala took the opportunity to shoot the fleeing civilian in the back. ¡°What now, Miranda?¡± Shepard wasn¡¯t really sure what the Cerberus agent wanted but if they started shooting now, Niket would surely be killed in the crossfire. Traitor or not, she didn¡¯t think he deserved to die without at least explaining why he did it. ¡°Why, Niket? You were my friend. You helped me get away from my father.¡± Niket had been sweating heavily even before they had discovered his role in things, something that only intensified now that Miranda had a gun trained on him, but he was still able to speak just fine. ¡°Yes! Because you wanted to leave. That was your choice! But if I had known you had stolen a baby-¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t steal her! I rescued her!¡± Miranda snapped. ¡°From a life of wealth and happiness? You weren¡¯t saving her! You were getting back at your father!¡± That rang hollow to Shepard, especially if Niket had known Miranda long enough to have no issues helping her escape from her father. It was only after Miranda had actually included Niket in the full story with Oriana that he immediately sold out to her father. Shepard thought she had Niket pretty well figured out. At least the broad strokes. He was the kind of person that would never hurt a friend as long as he couldn¡¯t come up with a justification for it, but when there was a grey area he tended to think about himself first. Giving Miranda¡¯s father information about her when it was clear she wanted nothing to do with her father anymore he couldn¡¯t justify, but returning someone else to that same life because Miranda had taken her? And getting paid ¡®a great deal¡¯ in the process? That he could do. ¡°And what about the girl¡¯s family?¡± Revan asked from the side. ¡°They¡¯ve been all she¡¯s known for years.¡± ¡°Her father can still give her a better life.¡± Niket justified. ¡°You don¡¯t know what he wants for her!¡± Miranda hissed. ¡°I know that I¡¯ve been poor, Miri. I didn¡¯t much care for it.¡± ¡°He wants to take a girl from the only family she¡¯s ever known. Doesn¡¯t that tell you what he really is?¡± ¡°And what about the girl¡¯s current parents?¡± Revan spoke up again. ¡°What about them?¡± ¡°What happens when they don¡¯t want to give up their daughter to some stranger after being kidnapped by mercenaries?¡± The sudden uncertainty on Niket¡¯s face showed that he hadn¡¯t considered that far but now that it was brought up he kept looking between the mercenary captain and the civilian she gunned down. ¡°I¡¯m not stealing her. I¡¯m rescuing her.¡± Enyala said sarcastically, parroting Miranda¡¯s earlier words. ¡°We¡¯ve wasted enough time. Let¡¯s finish this up and get out of here.¡± ¡°Take your best shot.¡± Miranda growled. ¡°I was just waiting for you to finish getting dressed.¡± The Asari bantered. ¡°Or does Cerberus really let you whore around in that outfit?¡± ¡°Odd comment, considering the stereotypes about Asari.¡± Revan bantered back. While that was going on Shepard turned slightly to Miranda. ¡°If your father knows about Oriana, we¡¯re going to need a new solution.¡± ¡°Miranda¡¯s father has no information about Oriana.¡± Niket said, guilt creeping into his voice as he realised his actions were likely going to get the girl¡¯s family killed. ¡°I knew you had spy programs in your father¡¯s systems, Miri, so I kept it private. I¡¯m the only one who knows.¡± ¡°Which means you¡¯re the only loose end. This isn¡¯t how I wanted it to end, Niket. I¡¯m going to miss you¡­¡± the Cerberus operative said coldly as she aimed at her ex-friend¡¯s head. Shepard grabbed her arm and pointed the gun away before she could fire. ¡°Miranda, wait! You don¡¯t have to kill him!¡± ¡°This has to end here, Shepard!¡± Miranda yelled at the N7. ¡°My father won¡¯t stop trying to find Oriana.¡± ¡°So have Niket help...talk to your father. Say that we got here first.¡± Hope bloomed on the man¡¯s face. ¡°I¡¯ll...I¡¯ll tell him that you hid her. That I don¡¯t know where she is.¡± ¡°Fine.¡± Miranda spat and turned to Niket. ¡°I never want to see you agai-¡± BLAM! Everyone¡¯s eyes went wide as Enyala planted her shotgun to the back of Niket¡¯s head and pulled the trigger. Without even basic shielding to protect him, the man¡¯s death was at least mercifully quick. ¡°Done. Now if you don¡¯t mind, I have a shipment to deliver.¡± Enyala said cockily. That...turned out to be a bad thing to say. All the pent up rage, betrayal, and fear that Miranda had been dealing with was focused solely on the mercenary captain. The Asari was suddenly fully enveloped in Miranda¡¯s biotics as the Cerberus Operative caught the alien woman with her barriers down. Then she slammed Enyala directly into the metal floor from twenty feet in the air. Then she did it again, and again, and again. By the time Miranda released what was left of the captain, all that remained was some ruined armor, a dent in the floor, and a very large puddle of blood. But the other members of the squad hadn¡¯t been idle either. The other Eclipse opened fire the instant Miranda attacked their leader. They just suddenly found themselves on the other side of a Council Spectre, her very competent sniper support, and a Sith Lord. The mercs didn¡¯t stand a chance. -o- ¡°There she is.¡± Miranda said softly as the squad watched Oriana¡¯s family from a distance. ¡°She¡¯s safe...with her family.¡± ¡°Not all of her family.¡± Shepard whispered back. Her XO shook her head. ¡°The less she knows about me, the better. She¡¯s got a family. A life. I¡¯ll just complicate that for her.¡± ¡°She doesn¡¯t need details, but would it be so bad for her to know she has a sister who loves her?¡± ¡°I guess not¡­¡± Miranda stared at the distant family, naked longing in her gaze. Commander Shepard smiled. ¡°Go on...we¡¯ll wait here.¡± As Miranda walked off to go meet her sister for the first time in years, Shepard moved next to Revan. ¡°You stopped her from killing Niket.¡± Revan commented neutrally. ¡°You didn¡¯t stop Enyala.¡± Shepard returned, equally neutral. The two watched as Miranda introduced herself to Oriana and the entire family. It was obvious Miranda was out of her element, but she was making an honest effort to make a connection. ¡°He hurt her.¡± Shepard continued. ¡°But she still cared about him. She would¡¯ve regretted it later I think.¡± ¡°And she would have spent every day after wondering if today was the day he betrayed her again.¡± Revan replied. ¡°Better it was solved decisively.¡± The Spectre glanced at the armored Sith out of the corner of her eye. She had a theory about the elf starting to take shape. ¡°You¡¯ve been betrayed a lot, huh?¡± Revan actually lost control of herself enough to twitch at the question. ¡°You know, I owe you a lot for what you¡¯ve done. But maybe you need someone to open up to as well? I think I¡¯d like to know the real story of how you ended up in our neck of the woods one day. If you think you could open yourself up to trust us with that.¡± It was a reach. Shepard had been planning on getting closer to the elven women before poking around her past, but this encounter had shown that Revan might be hurting in her own ways and the Normandy Commander felt she owed her to at least offer a non judgemental ear. It was the least she could do. ¡°...¡± Revan was silent for a long time. Long enough Shepard was starting to believe the other woman was ignoring her. She opened her mouth to say something else but Revan beat her to it. ¡°Maybe you¡¯re right. Perhaps it is time I start confronting the wounds of my past.¡± Revan¡¯s armored visor turned to meet Shepard¡¯s eyes. ¡°Not now, of course. But perhaps sometime soon.¡± The N7 nodded, happy enough with that result, and turned back to watch the family reunion. Chapter 21 The Normandy was a hive of activity, the crew busy with final checks before lifting off again. Supplies were stowed away, systems were checked; both by EDI and various engineers, and everything was checked over and signed off by either Shepard or Miranda. Shepard was actually glad to be dealing with paperwork for the moment. It let her ignore the madness from yesterday. It started on a high note, she was still feeling pretty good about helping Miranda¡¯s sister, when Liara managed to find not one, but both of the people Shepard was looking to recruit. Something she would¡¯ve been more appreciative of if both of them hadn¡¯t gotten into trouble at nearly the same time. One of them, an Asari Justicar named Samara, had managed to get detained by the security forces which allowed Liara to track her down pretty quickly though she might not remain there for long. Unfortunately, this information came at the same time the Drell Assassin they had been looking for decided to make his move by going after an Asari businesswoman. Thane Krios was easily one of the best. Which meant that even after two year where he was confirmed to be on Illium this was the first time someone had a solid lead on his location. It also meant Shepard couldn¡¯t head to both locations at the same time and someone else needed to handle one of the recruitment pitches for a mission no one sane would touch with a ten foot pole. So the Spectre made a judgement call. She would handle the Justicar while Revan would handle the Assassin. The Commander would almost have preferred to send Miranda as the next (official)highest ranking member of the crew, but she had been busy making sure there was no way her sister¡¯s family leaving Illium could be tracked. It didn¡¯t matter in the end since Revan had successfully recruited Thane despite some...unexpected complications that had popped up in the middle of the mission. Shepard still hadn¡¯t heard the full story but if it was anything like how her own mission went then she had another headache just waiting for her. And she wasn¡¯t going to go searching for another one so soon after what happened with Samara either! She had headed down to the spaceport with the vain hope that things would be solved quickly and easily and found herself dropped into something out of a crime drama. A Volus murdered by Eclipse mercenaries. Mercenaries Samara had slaughtered looking for information from. Which caused the local powers-that-be to order her detained. There was even a pretty badass Detective that acted with a dry stoicism like she had seen it all! The Spectre might¡¯ve been more amused with the situation if ordering Detective Anaya to detain Samara wasn¡¯t a death sentence in disguise. Apparently there was a time limit the Justicar would cooperate before breaking out, killing anyone in her way, and continuing her personal mission. Nothing Shepard or anyone else could convince her otherwise and the other Asari seemed perfectly okay with it. It was downright freaky listening to a bunch of them acknowledge Samara would likely kill all of them tomorrow without a second thought yet hold her in such high esteem at the same time. Thankfully for everyone involved, Shepard was able to find the information Samara needed from the remaining Eclipse in the area; a list of ships smuggling things in and out of Illium. Samara agreed to join up and Anaya had wasted no time releasing her from custody. Shepard sighed. Now if only the other recruitment pitch had gone nearly as well. She finished off the last of items needing her signature and made her way to the communications/briefing room. Inside both Jacob and Garrus were waiting for an official debrief of Thane¡¯s recruitment mission. Shepard had already gone through the highlights with Revan, but she also liked to talk to other squadmates when the opportunity was there just in case she missed something. No one could remember everything important in the middle of a mission after all. ¡°Alright guys,¡± Shepard said by way of greeting. ¡°I know things got a bit louder than we were expecting with Thane. What''s the damage?¡± ¡°Lots of civilians ended up as casualties when the Eclipse started purging all the workers and a good bit of the Dantius Towers will be shut down until they can be rebuilt.¡± It was obvious Garrus wasn¡¯t happy about that. ¡°But in exchange we got rid of a company of Eclipse, dozens of mechs, and Revan trashed a luxury Skystrider that belonged to some corrupt businessman.¡± He sounded much happier about those, but one thing stood out to Shepard. ¡°Wait, she did what? Revan never mentioned anything about a car to me.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t think she actually knows.¡± Jacob commented, bringing up something on his omnitool. It was a picture of the car in question, a top of the line model that looked like someone had crushed it from above with something heavy. ¡°We caught a merc slacking on the job and Revan grilled him for information. He said...something stupid...and she pushed him out the window. Must¡¯ve landed on the car on the way down¡± The marine looked a little disturbed by the style of the merc¡¯s execution and Shepard didn¡¯t blame him. Letting someone fall to their death seemed unnecessarily cruel. ¡°Hmph, I wouldn¡¯t waste time feeling bad about the merc.¡± Garrus grunted. ¡°That ¡®something stupid¡¯ Jacob was telling you about was the merc boasting his team would be right around the corner once they finished cleaning the floor...right after we ran into a group of Salarians that told us they saw workers jumping off ledges to get away from the FENRIS mechs. I think Revan didn¡¯t like that.¡± Any sympathy for the merc drained away. Shepard might¡¯ve thrown the bastard out the window herself if she had been there. FENRIS mechs had a taser designed to work through heavy armor installed in them and the Commander doubted the mercs lowered the output. Unarmored workers would¡¯ve been helpless before dying painfully. ¡°Okay, so Eclipse was definitely killing the workers and you took them all down.¡± Shepard rubbed at her forehead. ¡°What happened next?¡± ¡°We followed Thane¡¯s trail through the buildings, rescued a few more groups of workers that managed to hide from the Eclipse, then fought our way into the penthouse where Nassana Dantius was hiding out.¡± ¡°Why do I know that name?¡± Shepard furrowed her brows, trying to remember. Garrus saved her the effort. ¡°She was the Asari we met on the Citadel that tricked us into killing her slaver sister. Real piece of work, thought another one of her sisters hired us to take her out.¡± ¡°Ah, right. Her¡­¡± Jacob interrupted the trip down memory lane. ¡°She tried to buy us off but no one was taking her seriously. Krios dropped from the ceiling in the middle of her pitch, tore through her guards, and killed her.¡± ¡°Well I doubt many people will miss her.¡± Shepard mused. ¡°How did the actual recruitment pitch go?¡± ¡°Pretty weird.¡± Jacob shook his head. ¡°Krios ignored us for a while, praying for the wicked; which turns out is actually him. Revan let him do his thing and then he comes over and starts talking to us like he didn¡¯t just kill five people in just as many seconds.¡± ¡°Religious, huh? That¡¯s interesting.¡± Shepard also thought it was kinda weird that both specialists they brought onboard held their beliefs so highly and were so open about it. Talk about coincidences. Most people she met were pretty private about their faiths. Except Hanar, they would go for hours about their religion at the drop of a hat. ¡°So what happened?¡± ¡°They just started chatting!¡± Jacob threw his hands up. ¡°Got along like old friends just like that and eventually Revan tells him the whole mission is basically suicide and asks him to join up. Krios thinks about it for like ten seconds and agrees!¡± Shepard¡¯s eyebrows disappeared into her hairline. Why would someone¡­ ¡°Well, turns out there''s some extenuating circumstances.¡± Garrus took over. ¡°Our new friend says he¡¯s dying so the low survival odds don¡¯t mean much to him. He¡¯s just looking to make the universe a bit brighter before he leaves it. A nice goal, even if he¡¯s a bit dramatic about it.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll take your word for it, Garrus. If anyone knows about being dramatic it¡¯s you.¡± Shepard joked, getting a sound of protest from the turian. ¡°But dying? Is there anything we can do for him?¡± ¡°Not according to him. We didn¡¯t get the details but he says it won¡¯t affect the crew or his work so I¡¯m thinking either old injury or illness. You could probably get more from him.¡± Shepard made a quick note to at least ask about it when she went to meet Thane. She asked a few more questions and had the two go over the mission again just to make sure nothing got left out the first time but eventually she was satisfied. One last check confirmed she had no more questions and she nodded at the two squad members. ¡°Okay, that should be all I need. Why don¡¯t-¡± Everyone froze as a tremor went through the entire ship. Before anyone moved, EDI¡¯s avatar suddenly bloomed over the holo-projector. ¡°Commander Shepard, you are needed in the hangar bay.¡± ¡°What¡¯s going on EDI?¡± Shepard was already moving even as the AI kept talking. ¡°There is an altercation taking place between Revan and Samara.¡± ¡°Shit.¡± That had the potential to rip the Normandy in half! ¡°Do we know why?¡± ¡°Unknown.¡± Shepard cursed again and double timed it for the elevator. If those two broke her ship there would be hell to pay! -o- While the rest of the crew was taking time to prepare the Normandy for launch, Revan was taking advantage of the final few hours planetside to inspect the new M-44 Hammerhead hover tank that had been brought on board with no one hovering over her shoulder and comparing it to some of the vehicles back home. In her honest opinion? The Hammerhead is an over-designed pile of scrap that she bet was some designer¡¯s baby rather than an honest attempt at making what she assumed was a light reconnaissance tank. If you stumble upon this tale on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. The main gun was fixed horizontally so the whole tank needed to turn to shift targets, the hoverjets overheated quickly if pushed, and the stabilising fins were incredibly exposed making them vulnerable to both the elements and enemy fire. If it wasn¡¯t for a frankly ridiculously impressive repair system the Hammerhead would probably never make it more than a handful of deployments before breaking down. And of course, because no one in this galaxy seemed content without one, the designers shoved another one of their limited VI droid analogues into the frame. Practically daring anyone to hack the thing and trap the crew inside. The Sith could only shake her head at the design and continue her inspection. Eventually she decided to take a break and noticed an unfamiliar Asari wandering around the hangar with a look of placid curiosity on her face. Since there was little chance a random person managed to get through EDI and the rest of the crew unnoticed, this person must have been authorised to be here. Likely the Asari Justicar Shepard had gone off to recruit while Revan tracked down Thane. While Revan didn¡¯t exactly seek out every new arrival on the Normandy to welcome them onto the crew like they would become good friends soon, she did make an effort to introduce herself to everyone she might find herself working with. With that in mind, Revan headed over to the newcomer and waited politely until the Asari finished what she was doing and turned to face her. ¡°Hello, you must be one of the new crewmembers?¡± ¡°Yes, my name is Samara. Asari Justicar and sworn to Shepard¡¯s service for the duration of her mission.¡± Samara¡¯s voice is cool and pleasant to listen to but Revan can¡¯t help the sharp flash of dislike she felt hearing it. It reminded her far too much of the Jedi masters that did their best to cut themselves off from all emotions. Revan often had more engaging conversations with droids than the meat-puppets those masters turned themselves into. Still, if she could deal with them, she could do the same for the woman in front of her. Even if the briefing materials she read about Justicars drew some unflattering comparisons. There was always a chance that those could be exaggerated. ¡°I am Revan. I lead the second ground team. If you need any help settling in, please, feel free to ask.¡± Pale blue eyes roamed over Revan¡¯s visor where her own violet ones would be. The Sith was reminded once again of the Jedi Council with how the Asari seemed to run everything she saw past some kind of filter before choosing to respond. Then Revan stiffened as a faint Force Presence brushed against her. One that she quickly identified coming from the Asari infront of her. ¡°Thank you, though if I may ask, you seem disturbed by my presence?¡± Revan slammed her mental barriers closed. She hadn¡¯t come across another active Force user yet and she got lazy. If Samara or someone else had decided to attack¡­ But the Asari did nothing. In fact she didn¡¯t even respond to Revan raising her defences. An unconscious use of the Force? ¡°Do you always read people¡¯s emotions when you talk with them?¡± The Sith asked without judgement, it would be incredibly hypocritical for her to cast blame for another doing so but she wanted to know if it was an active probe or not. ¡°Many Asari are sensitive to the feelings of those around them.¡± Samara responded with a non-answer. ¡°Apologies if that offends you.¡± The more Revan learned about the Asari the more she was convinced they naturally had a strong Force connection as a race. Though in a way it tentatively confirmed the earlier probe was a natural or unconscious use of the Force and not a directed effort on Samara¡¯s part. In the unlikely event that Revan decided to take another apprentice, the Asari would likely be a good place to start looking. ¡°It wasn¡¯t that. I have bad history with monastic orders and was projecting that on you.¡± Revan replied. ¡°They had a habit of hiding behind their code and traditions when it was inconvenient to live up to the spirit those things were created for.¡± ¡°I wasn¡¯t aware humans still had monastic orders.¡± Samara said with a spark of interest. ¡°And while it is distressing to hear, I can assure you Justicars are fully devoted to our own code.¡± ¡°See, that¡¯s the kind of attitude I¡¯m talking about.¡± Revan shook her head and looked at the datapad in her hand. ¡°There were plenty of Jedi that were devoted to the code but when they needed to do something not specifically outlined by it, they failed in their roles. Ah, and I am not a human by the way.¡± Unseen by the Sith, Samara stiffened and focused intently on her. ¡°Jedi?¡± ¡°Yes, that is the name of the monastic order I mentioned. Indifferent and aloof to the people they claimed to protect, secretive and jealous with the knowledge they acquired, and most damningly... hypocrites of the highest order when their personal power was threatened.¡± Revan said heatedly. ¡°Don¡¯t get me wrong, there were members that lived up to the ideal they were supposed to represent. But they were few and far between at the higher ranks of the order.¡± ¡°I take it you are an enemy of theirs then?¡± Revan idly noted the odd phrasing but didn¡¯t mention it. ¡°Most of them were more obstacles than true enemies,¡± Honestly, she had almost as much success talking Jedi around to her way of thinking as she did actually killing them. And many of those she did kill wouldn¡¯t have been there if it wasn¡¯t for the Council being too cowardly to face her themselves. ¡°I can only hope the Justicars are a better representation of how to live by a code than they are-, were.¡± She corrected herself. Samara shifted again and this time Revan not only noticed the movement, she noticed subtle whispers in the Force warning her of danger nearby. ¡°Occasionally when a Justicar meets a foe that can be a threat to the order or to the Asari as a whole they are given a title. Did the Jedi do similar? Perhaps Sith...or even Darth?¡± The whispers grew louder and Revan frowned behind her visor. Obviously Samara hadn¡¯t read the briefing packet on the various members of the Normandy crew since that information was clearly listed there, yet the Justicar seemed to know what those terms represented anyway. Another instance of Revan¡¯s galaxy making contact with this one? Revan brushed off those thoughts and began to draw deeply from the Force even as Samara began to glow with a Biotic Aura. ¡°Yes. I¡¯ve been called both those things, though more for my hostile stance against the Jedi than for following the traditions of the Sith.¡± Samara¡¯s fingers twitched and Revan fought back the impulse to reach for her lightsabers. Dismembering Shepard¡¯s new recruit should be a last resort, not an opening move. ¡°It¡¯s regrettable that I am forced to retract my oath so soon after giving it. The Third Oath of Subsumation only has one clause for release before the mission is complete; to prevent the rise of a Sith Empire by the will of the Goddess.¡± Shortly after Samara finished speaking, Biotic energy crashed into a Force barrier with an impact that shook the entire ship. Eventually Samara was forced to back off from her assault and retreated a few steps before diving out of the way of a quick burst of lightning. As Revan tracked her, several thoughts crossed her mind. Somehow the Justicars knew about both the Jedi and the Sith. Probably more than the Alliance did as well considering it sounded like the Asari considered the Sith enemies of their religion. She wondered if another person had managed to get themselves stranded in this galaxy like she did or if the Asari simply recovered an artifact. Though more Force visions couldn¡¯t be discounted, especially with the sensitivity the whole race seemed to possess. The asari tried to Pull a nearby crate over to use as cover but Revan grabbed it in her own telekinetic hold and forced it still until the mass effect fields surrounding it collapsed. She tried again but this time using one of the crates as a battering ram. Revan allowed it to rocket towards her before jumping over the flying object and launching more lighting at the Justicar. Caught out in the open, Samara responded by throwing up a glowing barrier that managed to hold off the Force-empowered energy splashing against it. In a short few seconds Revan had learned quite a bit about her sudden enemy. Samara not only had more raw power than Jack, though maybe not for long considering the human¡¯s powers were still growing, she also knew how to use it with a precision Jack lacked. Several times Revan tried to end the fight by choking Samara to either knock her unconscious or to open her up to another attack, only to find the asari had automatically adjusted her personal barrier to compensate. She also found out rather unpleasantly Samara was capable of using two Singularities at once despite all research she had done on the technique saying that was nearly impossible. Samara revealed herself to be fairly decent at tactics too. Not only taking advantage of the miniature black holes she created to hamper Revan¡¯s movement but also combining effects to try and throw the Sith off. Lifting objects only to Pull or Throw them once she throught Revan had ignored them, deliberately missing in attempts to corral her into the path of more powerful attacks, and in one case - exploding a Singularity by intentionally destabilising the mass effect field to force the Sith Lord to back off. And that was what revealed the Justicar¡¯s weakness. Throughout the entire fight Samara had done her best to stay some ways away from Revan. She simply didn¡¯t seem as comfortable with hand-to-hand combat as she was with her Biotics. Samara could probably contend with most fighters no problem, but the asari recognised Revan was likely better and did her best to keep distance. So Revan strove to get close as much as possible. She certainly wasn¡¯t about to let some Jedi knockoff best her now! The two combatants squared up again after their latest scuffle forced them apart. Each one looking for an opening. Both of them were so focused on the other that they almost didn¡¯t notice two Lift fields coming at them until it was nearly too late. Revan dropped her Force barrier and looked over to see who dared interfere with her duel to find a furious Shepard marching her way into the hangar. ¡°What. Do. You. Think. You. Are. Doing?¡± Shepard hissed each word through clenched teeth. A small part of Revan¡¯s mind was amused that the Commander had intruded on a duel between a Sith Lord and a Justicar wearing nothing more than casual clothes and a bad attitude. The rest was occupied looking for any hint that Samara would continue attacking. However, it looked like the appearance of the Commander had taken the fight out of Samara for the moment. She was still poised to respond to an attack, but her posture was purely defensive at the moment. ¡°I thought your oath meant you wouldn¡¯t randomly pick fights with my crew.¡± Shepard spat. At least she knew who started the fight. ¡°Normally, yes.¡± Samara replied calmly. ¡°But all oaths and duties are secondary when it comes to removing the Sith from the galaxy. This is a facet of the Code that has hardly ever been relevant so I did not mention it during our conversation.¡± ¡°Well, at the very least you inherited the causal disregard of your oaths from the Jedi.¡± Revan sneered. ¡°I¡¯m sure whoever started your little sect is very pleased with themselves.¡± It was telling how pissed off the Commander was, though now that she wasn¡¯t focused on combat Revan could easily sense the human was fuming, that she didn¡¯t turn to face the Sith. Merely pointing a finger at her demanding that she keep quiet. ¡°Well it¡¯s pretty damn relevant when you start breaking my ship! And you!¡± Shepard rounded on Revan. ¡°I know for a fact you have that stun blaster thing on you. Why the hell didn¡¯t you use that instead of carbon-scoring my hangar bay?!¡± She pointed at the black lines left behind by Revan¡¯s lightning. ¡°Once the fighting started I couldn¡¯t afford the distraction of trying to draw it.¡± Revan shrugged. It was a lie though. She actually hadn¡¯t drawn any other weapons because Samara had managed to prick her pride and she wanted to beat the asari without them. Shepard certainly didn¡¯t seem to buy that either, going by the glare. ¡°...sure. Now how are we going to fix this so I don¡¯t need to worry about my ship blowing up everytime I turn my back on you two?¡± Shepard demanded. ¡°The Code demands the threat of the Sith is removed. This supersedes my oath to you, Shepard. We cannot allow a repeat of the Red Sith Empire to be born here.¡± ¡°Revan, explain.¡± Revan was actually shocked that Samara mentioned the Red Sith, though when she thought about it it made some sense. According to the briefing, the Justicars were old. Thousands of years old. For something from Revan¡¯s galaxy to get here early enough to be included in their founding tenets, it wasn¡¯t much of a stretch to believe they were talking about the old Sith Empire. ¡°The Red Sith Empire, more commonly known as the original Sith Empire, was the result of a schism in the Jedi. After they were defeated in war, a few ¡®dark Jedi¡¯ fled to the depths of the galaxy -my galaxy, that is- and discovered the Sith, a comparatively primitive warlike race unusually sensitive to the Force. Those dark Jedi subjugated the locals and elevated themselves to become gods to their new subjects. ¡°After a few thousand years of interbreeding through the use of Alchemy the differences between the native Sith and their dark Jedi masters ceased to be relevant. So ¡®Sith¡¯ became just the name of the empire and their slaves and eventually became a term for ¡®Dark Side¡¯ users after their destruction.¡± Revan felt a small bit of amusement at the astonished expression on Shepard¡¯s face. She could be quite expressive when she wasn¡¯t focused. ¡°You named yourself after an empire that enslaved an entire race and tried to take over the galaxy?!¡± Shepard cried. ¡°No, I named myself after the second empire that formed after the fall of the old Sith empire, by then they were just another warlike race. And again I did that as a symbolic gesture to rouse the rest of the galaxy in preparation for the Vong¡¯s invasion.¡± ¡°The reasoning does not matter.¡± Samara cut in cooly. ¡°The Code is clear. Shepard, either join me in destroying the Sith or stand aside. Until she is dead I cannot follow you on your mission.¡± The amusement Revan felt was snuffed out by the Justicar¡¯s words and her hands crept towards her lightsabers. She would not be going down without a fight. Shepard caught the movement and quickly spoke up again. ¡°Why not? You heard her. She isn¡¯t from the same group your code warned you of, just one with the same name.¡± ¡°Even if the Sith only shares the name, she still poses a great threat to the galaxy. It is my duty to remove that threat.¡± Samara said stubbornly. Revan felt diplomacy was about to fail and started to draw on the Force again. This time she would not be playing around. ¡°Wait, wait!¡± Shepard tried once more. ¡°Even if she is a threat, she is still working to stop the Collectors and was a big part why we were able to drive them away from Horizon. Shouldn¡¯t protecting innocents take priority over a distant threat?¡± The Justicar actually paused at that. ¡°If she is truly not one of these ¡®old Sith¡¯ then I suppose my Oath of Subsumation would not be revoked and Shepard¡¯s faith in you would take precedence over the Code.¡± Revan watched as Samara thought it over but didn¡¯t release her hold on her blades. After some time the asari looked to the Sith. ¡°Very well, I will withhold any actions against you until the mission is over or you prove Shepard¡¯s faith misplaced. Excuse me, I must meditate on these matters.¡± Revan watched warily as Samara left without another word. Whoever created the brainwashing regime for the Justicars certainly outdid anyone Revan had ever met. Not even the most fanatical of the Jedi had been able to swap their decisions so...robotically. ¡°What the hell just happened?¡± Shepard asked tiredly. It seemed Revan wasn¡¯t the only one affected by the sudden departure. ¡°That is what happens when someone lets a Code determine everything about how they live.¡± Revan replied. ¡°They cease being people and just become puppets to a bunch of rules.¡± The Commander just sighed and rubbed at her face. ¡°I¡¯m not dealing with more of this right now. We¡¯re leaving the dock in an hour. Please don¡¯t uncover any other ancient feuds with people that will break my ship or I will do my best to throw you all out the airlock. Until then, I¡¯ll be at my desk wondering exactly when the universe stopped making sense.¡± Revan did feel a pang of sympathy for Shepard and at how exhausted she sounded. Revan knew from experience that infighting among subordinates could wear on a person more than any battle, especially since the Commander put so much of herself into her crew. The Sith wasn¡¯t about to subordinate herself or bend over backwards to make the Commander¡¯s life easier, but perhaps a gift was in order as thanks for dealing with Revan¡¯s problems on her behalf. Maybe a blaster rifle to replace the slugthrowers she dragged around? Blackboxed to prevent anyone from stealing the technology, of course, but much better than her current gear. Revan opened up the inventory list she had taken of everything salvaged from the ship she arrived on and started looking at parts. Now she just needed to see what would suit the human¡¯s needs¡­ Chapter 22 Shepard was overjoyed when she discovered the last dossier on the list was actually Tali. Apparently after their meeting on Freedom¡¯s Progress Tali had decided to join back up with her old Commander once she finished her last mission and sent out a message saying so. The only problem was, the date her mission was expected to be finished had come and gone without any word from her Quarian friend. When Shepard reached out to the Migrant Fleet about trying to get in contact with her, she was only told that Tali¡¯s entire group had gone dark in the far rim and their last known location was on a planet called Haestrom deep in Geth controlled space. It might have been a bit of an overreaction, and Shepard felt mildly guilty making the two week voyage to the Dholan system with no further information, but she wasn¡¯t about to leave a friend in a bind. ¡°Mass Effect transition successful, Commander.¡± Joker dutifully reported as the Normandy decelerated. ¡°I don¡¯t like the looks of this place though. That star is putting out a lot of radiation. It¡¯s actually scratching our radiation shields from here!¡± Shepard looked over his shoulder at the readings on one of the control panels. Just like Joker said there was a noticeable spike in magnetic and solar emissions coming from the system¡¯s sun. ¡°What do you got, EDI?¡± The AI¡¯s avatar popped up from the nearby projector. ¡°Scans of the local star confirm that it is entering the beginning stages of erupting into a red giant, though previous scans of this system indicate this development is premature for a natural development. ¡°The increased solar activity is overwhelming all local communications, we will be unable to locate Tali¡¯Zorah or her team from orbit and will need to use their initial planned landing site as a starting point. ¡°In addition to that, there seems to be considerable Geth activity in the system along with a potential environmental hazard on Haestrom itself.¡± That didn¡¯t sound good. ¡°What kind of environmental hazard?¡± ¡°It is highly likely that these levels of solar output will have overwhelmed Haestrom¡¯s protective magnetosphere. Direct exposure will likely damage personal shields with direct exposure.¡± Joker whistled. ¡°Not the place to work on your suntan then. You sure you want to head down there, Commander?¡± ¡°Want to? No.¡± Shepard said easily. ¡°But Tali¡¯s down there somewhere and might need our help. So down we go.¡± ¡°Roger that. ETA to the landing site is one hour.¡± -o- An hour wasn¡¯t a huge amount of time to decide who to bring with her, but Shepard was able to narrow down the list of squad members down pretty easily when she thought about the conditions they would be operating in. Thane, Jack, and Kasumi were out because they didn¡¯t have anything that would block out the harmful radiation from the sun if their shields failed. Miranda would be busy running the ship. Jacob and Grunt were solid backup, but didn¡¯t offer much in an investigation. They were very much ¡®point out what needs shooting and watch them go¡¯ members of her team. So that left Mordin, Garrus, and Samara. Mordin, while brilliant, focused more on biology than mechanics so he would have little to offer against the Geth while Garrus had fought dozens of the mechanical hive-mind soldiers alongside her before and Samara¡¯s biotics would pair well with her own. Choices made, Shepard had EDI notify both of them to meet her in the hangar and be ready for a mission. Even with the Normandy¡¯s stealth systems, she didn¡¯t trust the Geth to not respond if they noticed the ground team at some point. That meant a small easily extracted team. Which is why it was a surprise to see Revan waiting patiently next to the shuttle as soon as the elevator doors opened. ¡°Revan, you¡­¡± ¡°I¡¯ll be joining you planetside.¡± Revan interrupted. ¡°There is something down there calling to me.¡± That did nothing to set Shepard at ease. Her main three goals were to get planetside, grab Tali, and leave. Not go hunting for whatever Revan had felt. ¡°I wasn¡¯t planning on two squads. We need to be quick and mobile if we want to avoid attracting attention from the Geth in the area.¡± She tried dissuading Revan, but the Elf waved her off. ¡°That¡¯s fine. I was planning on searching alone. Whatever this thing is, it''s Force related. No one else would be capable of helping me.¡± Shepard probably could have argued some more, but every second wasted here was another second they weren¡¯t looking for Tali. So she simply accepted the inevitability of the Sith following along for the ride. ¡°Fine, but we¡¯re on a time limit. If we find Tali before whatever thing you¡¯re after we pull out immediately.¡± She ordered, to which Revan simply nodded. The Spectre hadn¡¯t forgotten the fight a couple weeks ago between Revan and Samara. Since then the two made a point to never be in the same room together, and them being forced into the same small dropship just made it uncomfortable for everyone, but neither one of them did so much as glance at the other for the entire trip. Shepard felt even more awkward feeling the weight of Revan¡¯s ¡®appreciation¡¯ gift hanging off her mag-harness despite rationally knowing Samara didn¡¯t care about it in the least. A week ago, Revan had given her what she called a blaster rifle as a ¡®thank you¡¯ for dealing with Samara. The Sith mentioned it was what the standard soldier in her galaxy used and rattled off a model number, but since it was the only one in this galaxy Shepard stuck to calling it just a blaster rifle. While she normally preferred to get up close and personal in a fight, it had taken the Spectre less than five minutes to fall in love with the laser gun. Tough, reliable, and burning through kinetic barriers five times better than a standard assault rifle, Shepard would have appreciated the weapon no matter what. Giving it five hundred shots per clip - sorry, ¡®energy pack¡¯ - made it the single best piece of hardware she had gotten her hands on even if Revan had secured it so tightly that none of the Normandy crew could begin to figure it out without bricking the whole thing. The Justicar had walked in on Shepard practicing with her new weapon in the weapon¡¯s range and assured her that she had no issue with Shepard accepting the Sith¡¯s gift, but the Commander still couldn¡¯t help but feel like she was choosing sides between her crew. So it was a relief when the Kodiak made landfall and the doors popped open, letting the four crewmembers out into the burning hellscape that was Haestrom. In some ways it was sad, the ruins they landed at had once been a thriving Quarian colony. Now it would never be one again. Not with the sun turning the entire planet into a death trap. In others, it was straight out of a horror vid. Tall stone buildings, bleached white from Dholen¡¯s harmful rays, completely empty except for murderous alien machines ready to kill them all. ¡°Alright, our records for Tali¡¯s group say they should be somewhere in these ruins.¡± Shepard said, eager to not waste time. ¡°I¡¯ll take point. Garrus, you¡¯re on overwatch. Samara, watch the flanks. And Revan¡­¡± the Spectre trailed off, giving the Sith an opportunity to speak. ¡°I¡¯m having trouble pinpointing the object calling to me at the moment. I¡¯ll remain with your team for now and let you know before I break off. I¡¯ll assist the Justicar in covering the flanks.¡± Samara nodded serenely. ¡°I¡¯m sure you will live up to your reputation as a warrior.¡± Revan didn¡¯t respond to what Shepard was sure was a veiled insult and the Commander figured there was no time like the present to begin heading into the ruins. Just as predicted, direct sunlight played havoc with their shields. Even a few seconds were enough to drain them considerably and the heat prevented them from recharging until they managed to find some shade. Thankfully, shade wasn¡¯t too hard to find in the ruins. Even before being forced to live in spaceships had wrecked the Quarians¡¯ immune systems, the species seemed to favor cavernous designs and buildings. And they seemed to build to last. That, or the Geth made sure things were still working because their squad ran into a security gate still functioning and a station nearby. ¡°Stack up. There might be Geth inside, but check your fire. I don¡¯t want us blowing out the controls by mistake.¡± Shepard ordered. She and Garrus hugged either side of the door while Revan and Samara prepared to breach. After a quick count, Shepard opened the door and the two powerhouses walked through to reveal not only Geth but a Quarian as well. Unfortunately, everything inside was already dead. ¡°Emergency log entry: The Geth are here. I¡¯ve stayed to buy the others time.¡± A Quarian voice, identifiable by the mechanical reverb of his vocaliser, said through a nearby console. He must have recorded this just before his death. ¡°Anyone who gets this, find Tali¡¯Zorah. She and the data are all that matters. Keelah se¡¯lai.¡± ¡°Poor bastard.¡± Garrus commented as he looked over the Quarian¡¯s body. There was no chance he was still alive, considering the plasma burns that chewed through his torso. ¡°Indeed, but he confirmed your friend is here and was alive.¡± Samara replied. ¡°His sacrifice was not in vain.¡± There was really nothing more to say than that. So Shepard quickly triggered the gate controls and the squad moved on. They didn¡¯t get far before they heard the hum of a mass effect engine passing overhead. Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings. ¡°Incoming dropship!¡± Garrus called out as the insectile craft started dropping Geth all over the plaza directly in front of them. The mechanical soldiers didn¡¯t need to worry about broken bones, so they were practically catapulted out of the ship using mass effect fields and pretty soon there were over a dozen on the ground in seconds. Oddly, the Geth started moving away from Shepard¡¯s squad until one unit got a lucky glance at them rushing for cover, after which every nearby unit turned around at once and opened fire. Shepard didn¡¯t dwell on that oddity though, she had Geth to kill. She didn¡¯t like her odds getting up close with the possibility that stepping out into the sun at the wrong moment risked breaking her shields, so she grabbed her blaster rifle and aimed at the closest Geth unit. She fell in love with the new gun all over again when a trio of bright red bolts blew out the trooper¡¯s shields and scrapped the unit¡¯s chest with one burst. She killed two more troopers before mentally pulling back and looking over the rest of the battle. Garrus didn¡¯t need much prodding. He knew from previous encounters with the Geth to focus on units trying to sneak around the edges and the sight of one of the Geth¡¯s flashlight-like heads exploding in a burst of sparks and white liquid let her know he was doing his job just fine. Samara was proving herself to be every bit the powerful Biotic Shepard had expected as the Justicar threw out technique after technique, not only shredding the Geth with Reave fields but Pulling them into the air and hosing them down effortlessly with her SMG. Finally, Revan. The Sith had neglected to mention her swords were capable of deflecting certain kinds of projectiles and was alternating between frying the Geth with lightning and shooting them with their own shots. It was apparent Shepard wasn¡¯t going to need to do anything fancy for this firefight and went back to blasting any trooper caught out of cover with her new gun. Between the four of them, the Geth troopers barely lasted a full minute before they were wiped out and the ground team was moving forward again. ¡°Anyone else notice they didn¡¯t look like they were here for us?¡± Garrus asked once they regrouped. ¡°Oh, good, not just me then.¡± Shepard said back. ¡°Any chance that means our Quarian research team is nearby?¡± Revan paused and tilted her head, ¡°I can sense several sentients up ahead. Most of them are feeling fear and a few are in pain. One just died.¡± Everyone stopped at that and stared at the Sith. Shepard was tempted to ask why she hadn¡¯t brought it up earlier, but knew this wasn¡¯t the time for it. ¡°Alright, I guess we found them. Let¡¯s get moving before the Geth get to them.¡± Instead she focused on going faster. There were a few more Quarian bodies on their route through the ruins that proved the research team went through this way, but that they weren¡¯t alone or safe. They turned a corner and wound up coming up behind a squad of Geth in the middle of a firefight. With all of the units facing the wrong direction, Shepard¡¯s squad had the rare opportunity to blitz the entire group. Every Geth there was thrown into the far wall by the combination of Shepard and Samara¡¯s biotics and then hosed down with more lightning. ¡°I¡¯m starting to feel redundant.¡± Garrus quipped. Shepard patted him on the shoulder and started moving forward again, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, Garrus, you¡¯ll always be team mascot in my book.¡± Her smile died when she turned the corner and found the remains of a Quarian fire team on the floor in front of her. She didn¡¯t waste time barking out orders to check them over for survivors. Sadly, two were already beyond help but one might pull through if they made it to a medbay soon and the last was only temporarily saved by Revan¡¯s direct intervention. ¡°Come on, come on. Stay with me.¡± Shepard muttered repeatedly as she alternated between injecting medi-gel into the various holes in the Quarian¡¯s body and trying to patch his suit with some hasty applications of omni-gel. Halfway through, a discarded radio unit crackled to life, the sound of gunfire audible in the background over the stressed speaker¡¯s voice. ¡°Break-break-break. OP-1 this is Squad Leader Kal¡¯Reegar, do you copy?!¡± Shepard waved Garrus to take over the Quarian¡¯s treatment while she grabbed the unit even as Kal¡¯Reegar kept talking. ¡°The Geth sent a dropship towards OP-2. Tali¡¯Zorah¡¯s secure, but we need backup. We¡¯re bunkered up here, can you send support?!¡± ¡°This is Commander Shepard of the Normandy. Two of the squad up here are in critical condition...the others didn¡¯t make it. Can we provide assistance?¡± ¡°Damn it. Alright, patch your radio to channel 617 Theta.¡± Shepard¡¯s ground team quickly changed to the correct frequency. ¡°We were on a stealth mission. High risk.¡± Reegar continued. ¡°We found what we were after, but the Geth found us. And they¡¯ve got us pinned down. Can¡¯t get back to our ship, can¡¯t transmit data through the solar radiation.¡± ¡°What the hell is so important that brought you to the middle of Geth space?¡± ¡°You''re asking the wrong person, Shepard. I just point and shoot. Something about the sun going bad faster than it should and energy problems.¡± So the Quarians noticed that too. And they were actually here to find out why. ¡°Okay, what¡¯s the status of your team? How many are left? And do we need to worry about Geth reinforcements on the way?¡± ¡°We were a small squad. Dozen marines plus the science team.¡± Reegar said sadly. ¡°We¡¯re down to half strength now. Made the synthetic bastards pay for it though. As for reinforcements, I don¡¯t think so. A Geth patrol ship spotted us on a planetary sweep and its dropships started raining Geth down on us. That¡¯s where all of them are coming from. It hasn¡¯t lifted off again and the radiation blocks all off-world communication.¡± So they only had to worry about the Geth in the area and not a frigate or something waiting overhead. Good. Shepard watched as Samara gently lifted the injured Quarians and moved them out of the way, then turn back and motion that they had done all they could for the marines for the moment. ¡°How are you holding up? My team can be there in a few minutes.¡± ¡°No, take it slow and careful. We¡¯re bunkered down at base camp across the valley. I left Tali¡¯Zorah at a secure shelter, then doubled back to hold the chokepoint. Getting her out safely is our top priority. If you can extract her, we¡¯ll keep them off you.¡± Damn, it sounded like Reegar was ready to die as long as Tali made it out okay. And while Shepard respected the hell out of the marine for that and confirming Tali was safe for now, she would prefer that all of them made it off this planet. Shepard looked over the valley and spotted where the quarians were holed up against the geth and started forming a plan. ¡°Okay, hold position. We¡¯ll hit their back flanks.¡± ¡°Wait! Hold back, we¡¯ve got another dropship heading in!¡± The ground team could only watch on from a distance as a geth dropship made a strafing run on the marine¡¯s positions, blowing their cover - and the soldiers¡¯ bodies - to shreds at the same time. Shepard looked away when she noticed a nearby stone pillar had destabilised in the attack and was about to fall on the fallen marines. She didn¡¯t need the image of bodies getting flattened added to her nightmares. Oddly, there was no distant thunder of a multi-ton block of stone crashing to the ground so Shepard risked a look to find the same pillar floating harmlessly a few inches over the prone forms of the marines. ¡°What the-¡± Everyone turned to look at Revan and saw her with one hand outstretched in a clawing grasp. Shepard quickly turned back to the valley and saw the pillar slowly set down a few feet in front of the quarians. ¡°Shepard, what the hell was that?!¡± Reegar¡¯s voice exploded out of their comms, but the Spectre was too busy ordering her squad to move forward to answer. She wasn¡¯t sure what she would say anyway...their local magic-space-elf lent them a hand? No way. ¡°Nevermind, they¡¯re coming through the side! I¡¯ve got to fall back. Cer''Sumos get those marines inside!¡± -o- Revan was actually a bit impressed by the Geth from what she had seen so far. Plasma weapons, shared tactical data in near real time, and a fluidity of motion she had only seen in high end droid models back home, the Geth certainly made a good first impression. They definitely lived up to the rumours and propaganda the Sith had encountered regarding them in Cerberus¡¯s databases. The droids were years ahead of the citadel races in terms of weaponry and without the drain of a civilian population, were fully capable of holding out against anything less than a full armada. And unless the organic races were willing to pay a very high price, the Geth would be able to recover in a matter of years with no loss in experience or troop quality. That said, the Sith was less impressed with how poorly the Geth began to function when their numbers were cut down. The individual droids lost a good bit of tactical strength and processing speed - the downside to being a hive-mind - and the larger models were easily identifiable and subsequently targeted by their function. An invisible infiltrator/assassin unit sounded like a great threat, but watching one get easily taken out because it¡¯s cloak failed and it stood out so much in comparison to the common foot soldiers that both Shepard and Garrus shot it before it moved another step was disappointing. If she could find a way to control them¡­ Revan shook her head to clear her thoughts. Planning how to gain control of a droid army could wait until after Shepard found her friend and she found...whatever it was that was calling to her. Ever since they arrived in the system there had been a gentle tug at her senses. Revan had no idea what it could be or why it was here, but she was very interested in finding out. That would have to wait, because unless the Geth decided to suddenly leave them alone she would be unable to search for the source of her feeling in the ruin. Something she wasn¡¯t in the best shape for at the moment. Revan had hoped to use any goodwill earned by ensuring the quarian marines survived the battle to open talks with the Migrant Fleet about potentially working together in the future but the repeated use of Force Healing had sapped her stamina more than she expected. Which is why she stayed close to Shepard¡¯s team. To conserve energy. The group made it to the base camp just as more geth appeared from the ruins. Shepard snapped off a few shots while Revan covered her by reflecting anything that came close back at the approaching droids. ¡°Samara, get the door! Garrus, watch her back.¡± the Specter ordered. A bolt of plasma got uncomfortably close to her head before Revan managed to deflect it at another geth. The droids seemed to realise shooting at the Sith was an exercise in futility for their current numbers and focused on the others. It was a good plan, but the amount of cover and the fact that none of the Normandy crew were slouches at combat meant it wasn¡¯t a challenge to keep them all safe. ¡°The door¡¯s open, I - oh, Goddess¡­¡± Samara¡¯s tone forced Revan to turn and look inside the base. She wasn¡¯t surprised the Justicar lost her composure for a second. The inside of the room they had expected to find a bunch of quarians waiting for them had turned into the scene of a massacre. At some point the base must have been breached from another entrance, and while the defenders put up a fight it didn¡¯t seem to matter in the end. Geth and Quarian both laid all over the room. All of them dead except for one very damaged geth unit crawling up to them. The Asari recovered quickly and didn¡¯t hesitate to finish off the droid with a burst from her SMG. ¡°The base was breached. I don¡¯t think there were any survivors.¡± Revan informed the Commander, knowing she wouldn¡¯t have taken her eyes off the enemies until it was safe to do so. ¡°Damn.¡± Shepard cursed. ¡°How?¡± Revan could only shrug. She hadn¡¯t exactly gotten a good look at the base interior. A geth wandered out of cover and had it¡¯s head blown off by the nearby Turian sniper. ¡°And that¡¯s the last of them!¡± he said smugly before catching the look on Shepard¡¯s face. ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± Garrus was brought up to speed and the team swept through the base looking for survivors. This time they didn¡¯t find any. What they did find was a damaged console and a call coming from Shepard¡¯s friend Tali¡¯Zorah. It quickly became apparent that despite being considered essential by the rest of her team, Tali didn¡¯t know much more than Kal¡¯Reegar did, but she did acquire the data they were so desperate to retrieve. While those two talked, Revan started moving back the way they came. ¡°Going somewhere, Sith?¡± Samara questioned mildly. ¡°The injured quarians we left behind, I was going to move them here.¡± She replied. ¡°Obviously it isn¡¯t completely safe, but moving them to the base camp would be better than just leaving them out in the open.¡± ¡°I see. You don¡¯t mind if I assist you?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t.¡± Annoyingly, Samara didn¡¯t say another word as she shadowed Revan back up to where they had left the unconscious marines. Content to just watch as Revan checked their vitals. She did help by using her biotics to assist moving the second quarian back while Revan focused on the first. Revan was going to need a shower after this mission. She could practically feel the self-righteousness wafting off the Asari Justicar. She wasn¡¯t going to be the one to break first though. Let the Justicar examine every action of hers through that Code. Revan would laugh when something popped up it didn¡¯t cover and the asari would be forced to attempt thinking for herself. The two made it back to the base with no incident just in time for them to see the rear door unlock and Tali¡¯Zorah¡¯s image disappear from the monitor. Shepard turned to the others, ¡°Okay, we should hurry. No telling how long the quarians can hold out for. And Revan, Samara, thanks for grabbing those two. We don¡¯t want to leave anyone behind.¡± The group moved ahead in the same formation as before, but Revan found herself growing distracted as the pull from the Force slowly grew stronger the more they went forward. Apparently the object calling her was close by, and she was getting closer. The Force suddenly blared in warning and Revan¡¯s lightsabers ignited to deflect several shots from a small hovering drone that had hidden out of sight. Several more of the hovering droids soon popped out from behind various walls. Clearly they had walked into an ambush. ¡°I¡¯ll take care of the drones!¡± Revan called out as her blades wove intricate patterns around her, preventing any of the geth¡¯s shots from hitting those around her and redirecting them back into the flying swarm. ¡°We¡¯ll take care of the Prime!¡± Shepard called back. Revan was surprised that there was another threat - especially one twice as tall and much more heavily armored than most of the Geth they had come across - that had slipped past her senses. She mentally upped the priority of figuring out how to bring the Geth under her command or finding a way to neutralise them. She had forgotten how annoying droids could be. Virtually unnoticeable in the Force unless she was paying close attention or they were a direct threat to her. Not a threat she wanted to leave open for exploitation. The droids quickly stopped firing at the Sith Lord once they realised that she was using their own shots against them, but if anything it only sped up their destruction as Revan either fried them with Force Lightning or crushed them directly with telekinesis. The Prime, and another one coming up from behind, similarly didn''t last long under the undivided attention of Shepard¡¯s fireteam. While Garrus¡¯ and Samara¡¯s weapons swiftly chewed through their shields, they were nothing compared to the chunks Shepard¡¯s blaster rifle tore out of the frames. ¡°Spirits! I¡¯ve got to say, Shepard, I¡¯m a little jealous.¡± Garrus turned to Revan. ¡°Any chance you have another one of those things laying around?¡± ¡°Not a complete one.¡± ¡°How much to make it complete?¡± Revan was tempted to say more than the Turian could pay, but stopped herself. The conversation with Shepard on Illium replayed in her mind. How she needed to start trusting people again without being in total control over them. The Spectre didn¡¯t mean it that way but Revan knew that¡¯s what she needed to do. The problem was, she was so used to thinking that way she barely noticed anymore. Saving the injured quarians? Just a way to meet with their leadership under favorable conditions. Gaining control of the Geth? An army she could force into absolute obedience with the right programming and hardware. Or a threat to be removed if she couldn¡¯t. Despite being on the Normandy for almost three months Revan had yet to truly attempt to bond with the crew, preferring to remain aloof because they weren¡¯t under her command. The Sith smiled wryly under her visor. It seemed she still retained a few bad habits from her time as a Jedi, some that were reinforced by leading an empire. ¡°We can discuss a price later, after the mission.¡± She said to everyone¡¯s surprise. ¡°Wait, you¡¯re going to willingly hand out your tech? Did you hit your head somewhere?¡± Shepard asked incredulously to Revan¡¯s amusement. ¡°Just doing my part for the larger mission, Commander.¡± She replied mildly. ¡°I don¡¯t have the contacts to acquire upgrades to the Normandy like some of the others are looking into, but increasing the team¡¯s personal firepower is well within my capabilities.¡± Shepard didn¡¯t miss how Revan had included herself in the team going by the smile that broke across her face. ¡°Well in that case we better save Tali fast, because she isn¡¯t going to want to miss out on that offer!¡± She cried as she deactivated the security checkpoint keeping them from Kal¡¯Reegar¡¯s last known position. Chapter 23 When the ground team arrived at the marines¡¯ last known location they had the unexpected pleasure of running headlong into a Geth Colossus. The massive synthetic weapon spotted them immediately and opened fire with its main gun, a siege pulse mass accelerator cannon that lobbed rounds explosive enough to tear chunks out of the stonework around them. Shepard quickly led her team out of the Geth¡¯s line of sight, hoping to find some cover, and quickly came across a lone Quarian in a bright red environmental suit occasionally poking out and hitting the Geth with a shoulder mounted rocket launcher. The marine must have been a good shot, because the Geth hosed down his position with absolutely no signs of stopping and each time he managed a shot the incoming fire decreased just a little. He had good battlefield awareness too, because he showed no signs of surprise when Shepard took cover next to him. ¡°Commander Shepard of the Normandy. What¡¯s the situation?¡± She introduced herself. ¡°Squad Leader Kal¡¯Reegar, Migrant Fleet Marines. We talked over the radio before that dropship arrived.¡± Kal¡¯Reegar returned. ¡°Still got no idea why you¡¯re here, but this ain¡¯t the time to be picky.¡± Both of them ducked as a particularly powerful round cracked into the stone just over their heads. A half thought went through Shepard¡¯s mind that it might have hit Kal¡¯Reegar if he had been standing to fire. Were the Geth trying to predict when they left cover? ¡°We¡¯re friends of Tali¡¯s. We were supposed to meet up after your mission, but when you all missed the check back date with no message I decided to come make sure she was okay. She is okay right?¡± Thankfully, Kal¡¯Reegar nodded and pointed out a locked down door the Geth were trying to swarm around. ¡°Tali¡¯s inside over there. The Geth killed the rest of my squad, and they¡¯re trying to get to her. Best I¡¯ve been able to do is draw their attention.¡± ¡°And she¡¯s safe in there?¡± ¡°Observatory is reinforced. The Geth will need some time to get through it. And it¡¯s hard to hack a door when someone is firing rockets at you.¡± he joked with a pained chuckle. Shepard looked down and saw deep purple blood staining part of Reegar¡¯s environmental suit. ¡°You¡¯re hit! How bad?¡± She demanded already pulling up some medigel for the wound. ¡°Combat seals clamped down to isolate contamination, and I¡¯m swimming in antibiotics. The Geth might get me, but I¡¯m not going to die from an infection in the middle of a battle. That¡¯s just insulting!¡± Shepard smiled grimly. Marines really were the same no matter the species. ¡°You¡¯re no good to us bleeding out then.¡± She checked him over. Just like he said his suit had sealed up and with medigel should stop any bleeding. ¡°You have a plan to deal with the colossus?¡± ¡°Appreciate it ma¡¯am. Standard protocol with armature-class units is to sabotage the shields and whittle it down, you know. Kill it with bug bites.¡± Reegar paused as Garrus¡¯s rifle barked, leaving all their ears ringing a bit from the powerful rifle. ¡°That''s not going to work with this one. It¡¯s got a repair protocol, just huddles down and fixes itself. So whatever we do has to scrap that bastard fast. Probably means getting up close, past the rest of the Geth.¡± If only Shepard knew someone capable of close-up mass destruction. ¡°Hey, Revan! If we get close enough can you handle the colossus?¡± ¡°Not if all the others are focused on me, but by itself yes!¡± The Spectre turned back to Reegar. ¡°Okay the plan is to get Revan close and keep the Geth off her. I need you on overwatch and keeping our six clear.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not going to stand here while you run into enemy fire! They killed my whole squad!¡± ¡°And if you want to honor your squad, watch my back! I need you here in case they bring reinforcements!¡± Shepard shouted back. The last thing she needed was an emotionally compromised marine with a rocket launcher shooting at the wrong time. The two of them ended up in a staring contest, but with the only part of Reegar¡¯s face visible being his bioluminescent eyes, Shepard had no issues making him back off. ¡°Alright, Shepard. We¡¯ll do it your way.¡± The wounded quarian finally gave in. ¡°Hit them for me. Keelah se¡¯lai!¡± Shepard nodded and turned back to her team. They were doing pretty well on their own while she was busy with Kal¡¯Reegar. Samara was pulling Geth out from behind cover for Garus to put down while Revan covered them both by deflecting away incoming fire. They likely would have managed to deal with all of they Geth by themselves if it wasn¡¯t for the big one in the back. That being said, the colossus was slowly burning through the bridge that prevented it from getting a clear shot at their current location. It was time to move. ¡°Alright boy and girls, we¡¯re going to flank around the right side and try to hit the Geth from up there. Samara, you are with me! Garrus, you pick off anything in our way and then follow after. Revan, can you make sure he stays alive?¡± Shepard started barking orders. ¡°You want us fighting the Geth while dealing with the sun? Shepard, are you crazy?¡± Garrus objected immediately. ¡°If you have a better way to deal with an assload of Geth while making sure we don¡¯t get pinned by that colossus, I¡¯m all ears Vakarian. But that''s the only path that gives us some cover that doesn¡¯t leave us open to getting flanked ourselves!¡± ¡°I will follow your lead, Shepard.¡± Samara said serenely, despite the gunfire streaking overhead. ¡°Good, on three then! One...two...three!¡± Garrus leaned over the metal railing they were using as cover and almost instantly dropped one of the Geth. Help support creative writers by finding and reading their stories on the original site. ¡°That¡¯s one down! Better get moving, Shepard!¡± The Commander shook her head even as she began sprinting towards the ramp leading to the platform overlooking the courtyard in front of the Observatory with the Justicar hot on her heels, but even Garrus¡¯s attitude couldn¡¯t diminish the thrill of the adrenaline pumping through her veins. -o- Despite the artificial nature of the Geth making it much harder to track every threat on the battlefield, Revan was enjoying this mission far more than most for one simple reason. She could actually properly reflect the Geth¡¯s weapons back at them instead of constantly disintegrating the rounds because this galaxy refused to use energy based ammunition like a bunch of barbarians! She was fairly confident she had made Shepard a firm convert to blasters though, going by the enthusiastic shouting the redhead was making every time she dropped one of the droids. Revan could still hear her despite splitting off from the other three once they managed to find a position with decent cover and good angle on the rest of the courtyard. They would keep the Geth focused on them while Revan made her way to the larger unit and dealt with it. And the rain of red blaster bolts was certainly eye-catching. Four Geth troopers rounded the corner and spotted the Sith. While they opened fire, Revan ducked back around a corner. She could have gone straight on the attack but she wanted to see how open the Geth were to a dialogue. ¡°I don¡¯t suppose you would be willing to open negotiations?¡± She called out. ¡°I imagine we have much to offer each other.¡± *No, Geth have no need for cooperation. When the gods return, Geth will have access to all knowledge regardless.* the units screeched in their electronic language. Only Revan¡¯s extensive history with similar languages and cheating by pulling on the Force let her understand what they said. ¡°Unfortunate. Seems I¡¯ll have to try later.¡± Revan wasn¡¯t really expecting much to come from a discussion on a battlefield, she just wanted to judge how open to cooperation the Geth were. Not very, it seemed. Which might be an issue in the future, but that was for later. The Sith drew deeply from the Force and burst back around the corner as little more than a blur. The Geth were barely able to track her as she dashed into the middle of their formation and lashed out with her sabers. The one furthest away still had a decent line of fire so it was the first to go. After a barely perceptible delay, her blue saber chewed through the synthetic¡¯s shield before cutting off its hands just below the elbows. The red blade followed swiftly behind and removed the unit¡¯s head just as easily. Following the momentum of her initial attack, Revan stabbed the red saber in her right hand through the head of one of the Troopers while throwing the blue one so it split another Geth in half. At the same time she thrust her now empty left hand forward to Force Push the final unit that had just managed to turn around and confront her into a wall hard enough cracks formed from the impact. ¡°Maybe next time we can have a civilized discussion.¡± Revan continued, recalling her lightsaber with a simple mental tug. ¡±Revan, whatever you just did attracted a lot of attention from the Geth. It looks like they are getting ready to try overrunning our position and are ready for you exiting the structure. If you¡¯re going to make a move, you better do it fast.¡± Shepard¡¯s voice crackled over her helmet¡¯s radio. Revan had been preparing to do a similar maneuver out the door in order to take the colossus by surprise, but with Shepard¡¯s warning alongside her own now growing feeling in the Force, she decided that a little more caution was warranted. She closed her eyes and expanded her senses. While Revan was fairly terrible at future-sight, simply perceiving her surroundings was easy enough. Looking out past the corridor she was about to enter she could see a few more Geth watching the doorway. The bigger threat was the fact the colossus had also turned to focus where the Sith planned to exit. So they planned to hit her with the siege weapon as soon as she exited? That was...very thorough. Still, this wasn¡¯t the first time this had happened so she would need to see if her old counter worked on new droids. It better...she liked this cloak. -o- ¡°The units heading towards the right flank have been dealt with, Shepard.¡± Samara reported as she rejoined the Commander. Shepard was silent for a few seconds before she pulled the trigger on her blaster rifle and scrapped the Geth trooper that had just poked its head out of cover, only then did she turn back to the Justicar. ¡°Good job, any sign of Revan? She hasn¡¯t answered her comm.¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t see her. Which means she likely is still going after the colossus¡­¡± ¡°Shepard, look there!¡± Garrus suddenly called out. Shepard followed his line of sight to where a group of Geth had suddenly opened fire on a doorway. Not long after, a dark blur burst out of the passage and quickly angled towards one of the troopers. She had a second to wonder how Revan had even managed to move that fast before her eyes widened in horror. A large blue-white projectile was headed right for her...no!...right for the trooper Revan was running at! They targeted the smaller units since they couldn¡¯t hit Revan directly! The ground team could only watch helplessly as the siege-grade weapon the colossus used practically vaporised its target and the following explosion washed over the form of their teammate. ¡°Oh my god, I¡¯m going to kill her for pulling a stunt like that.¡± Shepard snapped when the cloaked figure was revealed to be another Geth simply wrapped in the Sith¡¯s garment. Barely half a second later the woman in question burst out of the corridor and this time there was no mistaking her for a fake. The Sith made a beeline for the colossus, dual lightsabers in hand, and actually started climbing on the massive synthetic in a show of almost unnatural athletics and balance as the Geth tried to shake her off. Unfortunately for it, it wasn¡¯t exactly designed to be flexible and it only got more clumsy as Revan started to carve it to pieces. ¡°I suppose the Sith wouldn¡¯t be so feared in my order if they were so easily destroyed.¡± Samara commented as she focused on the surrounding units, making sure none of them had the opportunity to dislodge their elven teammate. Garrus had slightly different concerns even as he moved to do the same. ¡°We recorded that right? Because I need to see the look on Wrex¡¯s face when we show him someone took down an armature-class by hand.¡± -o- With the threat of the colossus removed, Shepard and her team were able to move down and join Revan in dealing with the remaining Geth. Needless to say, those remaining didn¡¯t last long under the four¡¯s undivided attention. Once the area was secure, Shepard wasted no time reuniting with her friend; the entire reason the Normandy had even come to this system in the first place. But Revan had a different goal. The object calling to her was closer than ever and the Elven woman was fairly unsurprised to discover it was coming from the same room Tali¡¯Zorah had ended up taking refuge in. These things either tended to be locked away as far as possible or in commonly utilised areas where anyone could find them with a small effort. This one happened to be in the heart of the computer system used by the Observatory and Revan didn¡¯t wait any longer than it took confirming the quarian no longer needed the system before she started ripping it apart. ¡°What is this device you are looking for?¡± Revan stopped and looked back to see Samara hovering over her shoulder. The Justicar seemed determined to stick her nose into anything the Sith did. It was starting to get annoying. Just because the Sith had a bad reputation - rightly earned in most cases - that didn¡¯t mean Revan was trying to sabotage the Normandy crew at every turn. ¡°I don¡¯t actually know yet.¡± She admitted. ¡°There are several different types of devices capable of causing Force disturbances. Very rarely can you figure it out before you find it.¡± ¡°Yet you are confident it will not pose a threat to the rest of us.¡± ¡°I¡¯m confident I can deal with whatever threat it might be.¡± Revan replied. ¡°Are you normally this curious?¡± Samara actually looked slightly taken aback by the question. ¡°Not normally, no. When you live by a code that demands harsh action, you learn the dangers of curiosity quickly.¡± Revan scoffed. ¡°You mean you risk learning life cannot fit into neat little boxes that-¡± She trailed off as she pulled back a final panel that revealed the object of her hunt. A small blue box covered in geometric shapes that Revan had no trouble identifying. ¡°Huh, now what is a holocron doing here?¡± She asked no one in particular. Going by the wiring, it looked like the quarians had somehow been using it as both a CPU and a recording device for the observatory. A massive misuse of the device but how were they supposed to know? ¡°It looks like a Saint¡¯s Stone, the design is different though. I did not expect to see one of those outside of Asari space.¡± Revan gave Samara her full attention. ¡°What do you mean by Saint¡¯s Stone? You¡¯ve seen more of these?¡± ¡°It is an old story. One deeply tied to Asari religious groups. According to them a saint was sent by the Goddess to teach people the proper ways they should live. To promote peace and prosperity. But the Saint was still mortal, so before she died she imbued several cubes just like this one with her presence so she could continue teaching. Of course these are just stories, no one has ever managed to activate the stones and now they are more of an icon. I¡¯ve never heard of one being discovered elsewhere though.¡± ¡°You said this saint was a teacher though. What happened to her students?¡± Revan feigned mild interest when in actuality she wanted to grab the Justicar by the collar and demand answers. Another person had found their way to this galaxy. Not just echoes in the Force, but an actual traveler - a jedi, going by the limited description - had made the same journey Revan had and survived long enough to create her own order. Which meant there was a possibility this unknown jedi had recorded the method she used and Revan might have a way to return to her home... ¡°The teachings were still passed down of course. They became the foundations for the Code and preserved by what would eventually be known as the Justicars.¡± Samara said calmly. ¡°Though by your reaction perhaps these were not simple stories after all.¡± ¡°They are not.¡± Revan agreed. ¡°These are tools used by Force users for recording and passing down all sorts of knowledge. But for your people to have one for years without being able to activate it once¡­ That either means your species has a naturally weak connection to the Force, something I can sense isn¡¯t the case, or¡­¡± ¡°Or?¡± Samara prodded. ¡°Or, there was an organized effort to make sure no one activated a holocron. An effort that would have to have been dedicated for hundreds of years at least.¡± Revan was certain of it now. Something in this galaxy was intentionally preventing the establishment of Force-users. Something that had a reach across an enormous amount of space and into multiple species. It didn¡¯t require a large leap in logic to guess this was somehow tied to the Reapers, although it wasn¡¯t clear if it was them directly or by some puppet. Revan glanced down at the holocron in her hand. Hopefully the innocuous blue box would hold some answers¡­ Chapter 24 With the last of the Dosiers taken care of, the Normandy suddenly had no destination they needed to rush off to. They were on constant alert for any rumors of the Collectors being spotted again, but even Cerberus¡¯s network had not picked anything up. Shepard ended up taking a few off the book jobs that trickled in from Admiral Hackett - even if she wasn¡¯t getting any direct help from the Alliance, she both considered it her duty and would need them when the Reapers showed up - that managed to keep them all busy and helped the ground team get used to working together under her, Revan, Miranda and occasionally Garrus. The Spectre certainly wasn¡¯t going to let him slink back to support only and having a leader focused in stealth and support roles had proven to be very useful. But after a while the crew had enough free time that Shepard felt it was time to revisit an idea she had back when they first found out where Revan came from. ¡°You want to do a what?¡± ¡°A movie night.¡± Shepard repeated like it was the most natural thing in the world. ¡°We keep finding evidence of Revan¡¯s galaxy all over ours. I wanted to see how accurate they are.¡± ¡°Those records you found were a couple hundred years old.¡± Jacob pointed out. ¡°I don¡¯t know if we could get a hold of them.¡± ¡°I have already downloaded the available files from historical archives.¡± EDI stated. ¡°Nevermind then. I¡¯d be up for a movie night.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll have to see if Holofax has a translation for some of the classics. The subvocalization doesn¡¯t always come across right on old recordings.¡± Garrus added his thoughts. Some members, like Grunt and Thane, didn¡¯t seem particularly excited at the thought of spending time watching fictional films. Though Grunt was easily bribed with promises of explosions and Thane, a simple polite request to join in. While others like Tali seemed positively eager to join in, even if they did suggest videos not related to Revan¡¯s situation. The last two to speak up were Samara, who was quietly observing the discussion from the side, and Revan, the member of the team Shepard wanted involved the most for several reasons. She didn¡¯t dismiss the idea out of hand, which was encouraging, but she also seemed to fall into the group that wasn¡¯t exactly thrilled about it. The Justicar eventually spoke up, saying she would see if she could secure some of the more accurate documentaries about the founding of her order since the last mission seemed to indicate there was a possible link between the Justicars and someone from Revan¡¯s galaxy. With her answer, all attention landed on the Dark Lady. Revan ignored them all while she poked at a datatablet in front of her. After a few seconds Shepard cleared her throat, trying to get the Sith¡¯s attention. Revan sighed. ¡°Yes, fine. I will join in watching poor imitations of my home galaxy and help you determine fact from fiction.¡± Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯ll be sure to include some local movies too!¡± Shepard said cheerfully. ¡°Just for fun!¡± ¡°Hrm.¡± Apparently Revan wasn¡¯t much of a movie fan. Probably a result of spending her childhood in a religious order, but Shepard wouldn¡¯t hold it against her. These things could be corrected with time and care. -o- ¡°Okay! I know there''s been some debate about what we¡¯re going to watch first.¡± Shepard called out over the general din of her shipmates. ¡°But this is not a democracy, so I¡¯m claiming Commander¡¯s Rights and telling you all we¡¯re doing the Earth movies first, because we already have them loaded and because I said so!¡± ¡°Boo! Down with the Tyrant!¡± ¡°Joker, I¡¯ll have EDI cut your Extranet access¡­¡± ¡°Nevermind, all hail our glorious Commander!¡± Shepard snorted at the quick attitude change. ¡°Anyways, settle in boys and girls. EDI, load it up.¡± ¡°Affirmative, Commander.¡± -o- The movie started and after an informative text crawl two space ships appeared, one smaller frigate fleeing from a massive battleship. The scale was a little hard to figure out just from that, but Revan quietly asking what the hell someone did to a perfectly good Harrower put everything in perspective. That was a ship about 800 meters long. And it was primarily using laser armaments. Stuff not even the Geth relied on. Scary. And then they got their first look at the Sith Lord in charge. -o- ¡°Don¡¯t look down the barrel!¡± ¡°Oh god, don¡¯t turn it on!¡± ¡°Ahh, I can¡¯t watch!¡± Every single person that had seen what Revan¡¯s lightsabers could do cringed in horror as they watched the young farm boy play with the weapon. The lack of any kind of weapon discipline was similar to a horror scene for many of them. -o- ¡°Wait, so you can do this Force thing from anywhere? You don¡¯t even need to see them?!¡± ¡°Of course not. Seeing you just makes it easier.¡± -o- ¡°They¡­they just killed them¡­¡± Tali took the scene where the main cast discovered the deaths of Luke¡¯s aunt and uncle rather hard. It likely brought up memories from when she was nearly killed for having information on Saren. ¡°There are always some that take delight in causing others harm.¡± Thane said philosophically. ¡°It¡¯s a big part of why the Justicar code is so strict. To ensure those types of people are dealt with.¡± Samara added. Shepard turned to Revan, an unspoken question on the tip of her tongue, but she was hesitant to ask just in case it caused them to be unable to work together at all. Revan seemed to pick up on it anyway. ¡°It was heavily illegal to do that kind of thing in my Empire. I was trying to build it up to stave off an invasion from another galactic power. Unrest would have you sentenced to severe fines or forced labor, but not death unless it was a major crime. Sadly, that wasn''t the case when Malak took over. He felt the strong should be able to do whatever they pleased as long as it didn¡¯t affect him.¡± ¡°Sounds like a great guy.¡± ¡°He used to be¡­¡± -o- ¡°A space station. The size of a moon.¡± ¡°It blew up a planet¡­¡± ¡°Is that even possible?¡± All eyes turned to Revan. Then Sith slowly took a drink to buy herself some time but eventually looked around the room. ¡°...I can confidently say that nothing like that currently exists in my galaxy¡­but the potential for structures that size is there, and a weapon like that is¡­plausible.¡± ¡°Can we make one?¡± Everyone shifted to stare at Grunt. ¡°What? If it can do that to planets just think what it would do to a Reaper!¡± Stares shifted back to Revan. ¡°I don¡¯t have the plans for a moon sized super-weapon memorized or the infrastructure to even start building one. If any of you do, I''ll be happy to help you build it.¡± she said dryly. Everyone turned back to the movie, although Mordin was looking worryingly contemplative. -o- A few people cheered alongside the movie cast as the Death Star exploded. Despite being horribly old, all things considered, the movie held up well. Shepard certainly enjoyed it. It was the rest that bothered her. She wasn¡¯t looking forward to explaining to the Alliance that barring a few incidents where Revan called something ¡®massively understated¡¯ regarding aspects of the Force or conflicts between users, everything in the film seemed to match her home galaxy. Revan even mentioned she had personally been to Tatooine herself a few times and could confirm it really was a barren desert planet. So it truly looked like they had a way to look at what Revan might consider normal. Although they would also have to take anything they saw with a handful of salt because just because Revan could see how it would be possible, it didn¡¯t mean she knew how it was done or how to recreate it. That didn¡¯t stop Joker from needling the Sith for information about every ship he saw. The maneuvers some of the personal fighters pulled off should have turned the pilots to pancakes, but they handled it with no strain at all. Since the resident space elf didn¡¯t seem impressed that must have been at least somewhat believable. Which meant Joker wanted the chance to fly something like that himself. Shepard wished him luck. Revan certainly knew the price that kind of tech was worth. And even with the new more open to sharing attitude Revan was showing, it was probably more than the ex-lieutenant could afford. Her musing was interrupted when EDI told her there was a priority call from TIM waiting for her in the comm room. She made her way there and was met with an unusually excited Cerberus leader. ¡°Shepard - we caught a break.¡± TIM stated enthusiastically. ¡°I intercepted a distress call from a Turian patrol. They stumbled onto a Collector ship¡­¡± Chapter 25 Chapter 25 ¡°That¡¯s a collector ship alright¡­¡± Shepard stood in the Normandy cockpit behind Joker and watched as the massive alien ship slowly turned in the void of space. With no power the entire thing looked just like a massive asteroid. Granted, one that someone had decided really needed a bunch of metal structures woven into it. ¡°EDI, what can you tell me?¡± ¡°Very low emissions. Passive infrared signatures suggest most systems are offline. Thrusters are cold.¡± ¡°That thing is massive.¡± Joker breathed, before smirking and looking at Shepard over his shoulder. ¡°You think the turians hit an exhaust port?¡± Shepard snorted but didn¡¯t look away from the Collector ship. ¡°Don¡¯t start that argument again. Revan will feed you your legs.¡± The Sith had opinions about a design flaw like a straight shot to the main reactor in something the size of a moon. ¡°And she isn¡¯t here right now, is she?¡± ¡°Ladar scans do not detect any hull breaches on the side facing us.¡± EDI cut in as the Normandy drifted closer, refocusing the conversation. ¡°I detect no mass effect field distortions. It appears the drive core is offline.¡± ¡°Rendezvous in thirty seconds, Commander. Good luck.¡± Joker called as Shepard headed for the hanger. -o- A short time later, Shepard was in the Kodiak with the entire ground team minus Miranda, Mordin, and Kasumi. Miranda was staying back to run the Normandy. Mordin was in the science bay ready to analyze everything the infiltration teams sent back. And Kasumi would be working with Tali remotely to develop infiltration programs for the Collector systems. The rest of them would be boarding the Collector ship to scout out as much as possible. ¡°Alright guys, not going to lie. This is a risky mission.¡± She started. ¡°We¡¯re heading into hostile territory blind and with limited reinforcements. So our objectives are going to focus on speed. Get in, find what data we can on the Collector homeworld, and get out. My team will take point. Grunt, Jack, you¡¯re with me. Our goal is to find a terminal and kill anything in our way. Revan¡¯s team will trail us as backup and our tech specialists. Her, Tali, and Garrus will provide support and get EDI hooked in when my team finds an access point. The rest of you have the most important job. Making sure we have a way back to the Normandy. Set a perimeter and make sure the Kodiak stays intact. Jacob, you¡¯re in charge. Now, questions?¡± Garrus raised a hand. ¡°What¡¯s the plan if we get separated?¡± ¡°Get back to the Kodiak.¡± Shepard said bluntly. ¡°I don¡¯t care if you have to blow out a bulkhead to do it but no one gets left behind.¡± ¡°Sweet, permission to wreck shit. I can¡¯t wait.¡± Jack snarked, elbowing Grunt at the same time. The young Krogan didn¡¯t say anything but the bloodthirsty smile showed how eager he was to be on a mission with no worries about collateral damage. ¡°Orders if we¡¯re about to be overrun?¡± Jacob asked. ¡°Pull back. We can try and find another LZ to exfil from but we¡¯re screwed if we lose the craft.¡± No one else spoke up as the Kodiak touched down. ¡°Alright, let¡¯s go¡­¡± -o- ¡¯This ship is disgusting. Both physically and esoterically.¡¯ Revan thought as she stalked through the halls of the Collector ship. This book is hosted on another platform. Read the official version and support the author''s work. The metal structures were fine enough, they actually reminded Revan quite a bit of the ships from her own home, but all of that was slowly being swallowed up by some kind of light brown¡­stuff...that reminded her of an insect hive. The juxtaposition between the metal and organic structures made it seem like the Collector¡¯s weren¡¯t the ones to build this ship. They were just a swarm that had taken it over from its original owners. It didn¡¯t help that Revan could feel faint echoes of pain and horror lingering in the Force. But the impressions were so shallow that even she almost missed them. It was like someone had managed to preserve a message in a recording that had grown so faded over time the original content was lost and only the briefest hints remained. Even then, the constant bombardment of negative emotions was annoying. Shepard¡¯s voice crackled over the communicator. ¡±Revan, bring your squad up. We found something.¡± ¡°I hope we aren¡¯t heading to another pile of bodies.¡± Tali grumbled. ¡°I don¡¯t think so, Shepard would¡¯ve mentioned it if we were.¡± Garrus comforted her. EDI had run a comparison on the Collector ship and discovered it was the same one they faced at Horizon. Which meant the colonists that had been taken were on this ship. The team had found some of them¡­and left them there when there was nothing that could be done for them. The team could only take cold comfort in the knowledge the colonists were no longer capable of feeling whatever experiments the Collectors had in store. Shepard¡¯s team hadn¡¯t gone too far ahead, so they caught up quickly. The Spectre was poking around some kind of medical pod with a Collector corpse inside of it, but more concerningly, Jack was pacing the area angrily. Tali wasted no time walking over to the control terminal and working to get EDI access. ¡°Something wrong?¡± Revan decided to ask. ¡°Basic translation on the terminal says they were running some kind of tests.¡± Shepard replied. ¡°Not sure why they¡¯d experiment on one of their own though.¡± ¡°Why the fuck wouldn¡¯t they?¡± Jack snapped. ¡°Humans do it. Krogans do it. Every other asshole in the galaxy does it. Who gives a fuck why the Collectors do it.¡± Everyone was wearing full coverage suits in case they came across a hostile environment inside the ship or if they accidentally ended up in space, but Jack still subconsciously ran her hand over what Revan knew to be surgical scars. The Convict was clearly not a fan of species experimenting on their own. ¡°Because it gives us an idea what they were up to.¡± Shepard stated. ¡°EDI, got anything?¡± ¡°The Collectors were running baseline genetic comparisons between their species and humanity.¡± ¡°Why would they do that?¡± ¡°Could be several reasons.¡± Mordin added over the comms. ¡±Looking into mating possibilities, comparing evolutionary divergence, checking for allergens or biohazards. List is extensive.¡± ¡°Some of their technology seems to have a biological component.¡± Revan added. ¡°They may be looking to see if it can be adapted for humans.¡± Tali tilted her head. ¡°What, like for cybernetics?¡± ¡°It¡¯s possible. I¡¯m unsure how likely that is though.¡± ¡°The data reveals no hints about their motivations.¡± EDI cut back in, ¡°all I have are the preliminary results. They reveal something remarkable. A quad-strand genetic structure, identical to traces collected from ancient ruins. Only one race is known to have this structure: the Protheans.¡± Heads snapped toward the Collector body. ¡°Oh my god. The Protheans didn¡¯t vanish.¡± Shepard breathed, horror radiating out of her. ¡°They¡¯re just working for the Reapers now.¡± ¡°These are no longer Protheans, Shepard. Their genes show distinct signs of extensive genetic rewrite. The Reapers have repurposed them to suit their needs.¡± ¡°A slave species.¡± Revan muttered. She wasn¡¯t unfamiliar with the concept. The original Sith did after all start off as slaves to their Force weilding masters before time and interbreeding made them one and the same. And they were far from the last to do such a thing. ¡°And they¡¯re looking for a way to do the same to humanity.¡± Shepard visibly collected herself. ¡°Okay, that still doesn¡¯t change what we came here to do. Let¡¯s find the data we came here for, get out, and stop them. We can think about the Collectors being Protheans after the mission.¡± Both squads moved on, Revan¡¯s team hanging back just a bit, so Shepard¡¯s group was the first to notice. ¡°Shepard, on the ceiling. More of those pods they were stuffing the colonists into.¡± Grunt rumbled. ¡°Fuck me, there have to be hundreds of them.¡± Jack cursed. ¡°How many do you think are full?¡± ¡°Too many.¡± Shepard began to run plans through her mind about possible ways to rescue the civilians. The Normandy wouldn¡¯t be able to handle more than a couple dozen at most but¡­ ¡°I detect no signs of life in the pods, Shepard.¡± Ah. ¡°It is probable the victims inside died when the ship lost primary power.¡± Shepard could only hope the civilians had been kept unconscious. Slowly choking to death in space was hell and it took a magical space elf from another galaxy for the Commander to even start getting over that trauma. She didn¡¯t imagine suffocating inside the coffin-like pods was any more pleasant. They moved in silence after that, only bothering to speak when giving the all clear for the others to move up or call out corners. No one was seriously expecting to pull off a daring rescue, but finding out there was no one left to save had an impact. ¡°Commander. You gotta hear this.¡± Joker spoke rapidly into her ear. ¡°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. They are an exact match.¡± Shepard scowled at the AI¡¯s report. ¡°The same ship dogging me for two years? Way beyond coincidence.¡± ¡°Yeah, something doesn¡¯t add up. Watch your back.¡± Joker warned before dropping the call. ¡°Sounds like you have some really shitty fans, Shepard.¡± Jack pointed out as they came up to another corner. They waited a bit to allow the other squad to join them. ¡°Can¡¯t say I like the attention. But it''s something to¡­keep¡­an¡­eye¡­on¡­¡± Shepard trailed off weakly as all six of them turned around the bend into a massive cavern that seemed to run the length of the Collector ship as far as the eye could see. Worse, every inch of the massive walls were covered in millions of pods just waiting to be filled. ¡°Keelah, this is unbelievable¡­¡± ¡°They could take every human in the Terminus Systems and not have enough to fill these pods¡­¡± ¡°But enough for a major world¡­¡± ¡°You think they¡¯re going to target Earth?¡± Shepard felt the last of her hesitation melt away and her resolve harden. ¡°Not if we stop them.¡± she declared. ¡°Tali, I can see an access panel on the platform up ahead. Get ready to do your thing.¡± The quarian nodded and began to march forward, but Garrus stopped her by placing a hand on her shoulder. ¡°Hold on, Shepard. Something doesn¡¯t feel right. This ship suddenly lost power, right? So where are the bodies of the crew?¡± Everyone stopped and realized the turian was right. They had only seen a single Collector so far and it had probably been dead long before the ship lost power. Something was indeed very wrong here. ¡°I got a bad feeling about this¡­¡± Revan huffed at Jack¡¯s comment and moved forward. ¡°Then this is almost certainly a trap but the fact remains we need the data in the ship¡¯s databases. So we stay alert and spring it.¡± Sparks jumped between the Sith¡¯s fingers. ¡°And we show them just how much they underestimated us.¡± It wasn¡¯t the most unique or inspiring speech, but it lit a fire in the rest of the ground team. Spines straightened and eyes sharpened and each of the five combat members took position around Tali as she began to make a connection between the terminal and the Normandy. Things went smoothly until Shepard heard Joker say ¡°Uh¡­that can¡¯t be good.¡± Followed by a loud bang as the terminal shut off and the machines around them started coming to life. ¡°What was that?¡± ¡°Major power surge.¡± Joker reported. ¡°Everything went dark, but we¡¯re back up now.¡± ¡°I managed to divert the majority of the overload to non-critical systems.¡± EDI added. ¡°Shepard, this was not a malfunction.¡± Which meant the Collectors had sprung their trap. Something that was obvious when the platform the teams were on shuddered and rose into the air¡­ Chapter 26 ¡°Give me something EDI!¡± Shepard shouted as she traded shots with the Collectors. Her teams were doing incredibly well so far, but ammo was slowly becoming a concern and they were currently stuck hoving hundreds of feet in the air while more of the insectile aliens accompanied by Husks tried to overrun them. Thank god Revan had decided to just start throwing the Husks over the edges of the platforms. The shambling Scions had been too heavy for anyone but Jack to do the same with and their shields messed with Jack¡¯s biotics until enough gunfire could bring them down. The Sith didn¡¯t have those problems and freed up the other biotics to focus on the drones. Too bad the Collectors had wings or they could have solved most of this mess by simply tossing their enemies over the edge. ¡°I need to finish the download before I can override any systems.¡± The AI¡¯s calm voice was particularly irritating at the moment. ¡°How long!?¡± ¡°Forty one percent complete.¡± Not even halfway. Fantastic. ¡°Another platform coming in, Shepard!¡± Tali called out. ¡°They have another of those enhanced drones with them!¡± ¡°I have it.¡± Revan announced and jumped several stories into the air onto the still moving platform. A part of Shepard, the one that had teamwork beaten into her repeatedly by her various instructors, still hated that Revan kept going off by herself. The part of her that lived on the battlefield could only admit Revan occupying the ¡®Harbinger¡¯ drones far away from the rest of the team was the only reason more of them hadn¡¯t been wounded yet. Grunt had been unlucky enough to catch one of the enhanced drone¡¯s biotic attacks head on. The warp-like attack had quickly chewed through his shields and shredded his left arm. Only his natural regeneration and a generous amount of medi-gel was keeping him from bleeding out, let alone in the fight. Shepard felt a bit guilty she was glad Grunt had been the one to take the attack. Anyone else in the team would have probably lost their arm in similar circumstances. So best let the Powerhouses fight where they weren¡¯t going to accidentally squish one of her more fragile teammates. Speaking of¡­ ¡°Tali, on your right!¡± ¡°I see it, go get him Chikita!¡± A round pinging off her shields forced Shepard back into cover. She would just have to trust Tali could handle it. The three Collectors that had just landed on another platform however¡­ Shepard¡¯s shotgun barked several times, chipping at the armor and barriers of the drones before she staggered one and nailed it with a Lift field. ¡°Jack!¡± ¡°Got it!¡± Shepard didn¡¯t look to see exactly what Jack did while she was frantically slamming a new heatsink into her weapon but the nearby explosion told her Jack had done what she wanted and destabilized the Lift field with her own biotics. The drones were torn to pieces in the explosion. ¡°We have a plan to get out of here Shepard? I can¡¯t keep doing this shit all day!¡± ¡°Working on it!¡± She shouted back. ¡°EDI?¡± ¡°Eighty-four percent, Commander.¡± ¡°Speed it up, EDI!¡± ¡°I am simultaneously fighting Collector firewalls in over eight thousand nodes. I am tasked to capacity.¡± Dammit. At least Revan was holding her own. -o- While Shepard and the Normandy crew were fighting below, Revan was forced to admit she had made a mistake. For the most part all the Collector drones were little better than battle droids in terms of strategy and tactics. Yes, the drones were capable of some basic maneuvers. But for the most part they acted both mechanically and rather predictably. Right up until they didn¡¯t. If the Collectors had followed their normal pattern they would have landed the platform and tried to press forward to overwhelm the Normandy crew using their numbers to their advantage despite Revan attacking them. So when the platform didn¡¯t land she was forced to admit she had made too many assumptions about the enemy and fallen into a trap. One set by the thing controlling the enhanced drones. Half a dozen normal drones had suddenly joined in a secondary ambush with more joining the frey every so often and Revan was forced to draw deeply from her Force connection to survive. The Collectors didn¡¯t care about friendly fire. They barely cared to stop firing when she used their companion¡¯s bodies as shields and likely only did so to make sure there was always another body for the controlling intelligence to take over when she killed the last one. Because once she did? Another drone would undergo the transformation. Every. Single. Time. The Sith eventually decided to focus on the drones first. Both to deny the Presence additional bodies and to ease a bit of the pressure on herself. Force Lightning covered the entire platform with no friendly units to keep track of and her lightsabers hacked the drones to pieces. ¡±Your struggle only delays the inevitable.¡± ¡°Oh, you can speak after all. I had assumed you bred that out of your slaves since none of them seem capable of it.¡± Revan taunted the Presence. This must be the Reaper directing the Collectors. ¡±Tools necessary to maintain the Cycle. There is no reason for unnecessary dialog.¡± the malevolent voice replied. This was not just some speech hoping to discourage its enemies. Revan felt the Presence pushing on her mental defenses, clumsy and undirected as it was. ¡±You are an anomaly to the Cycle. Submit and you will be preserved. Struggle and you will be eliminated.¡± ¡°Option three. I crush you entirely.¡± Revan rejected the Reaper. ¡°I am Darth Revan, Empress of the Sith. I don¡¯t submit.¡± The Sith closed the distance to the last drone and with a final swing, bisected it at the waist. ¡±Destroying this body gains you nothing. I will return.¡± ¡°And I¡¯ll kill you again.¡± Revan said to the corpse as it disintegrated to ash. As good as it felt to finally be rid of the annoying Reaper and it¡¯s swarms of disposable bodies, Revan had no time for standing around. She sprinted to the edge of the platform and looked down at the rest of the battle. It was going better than she feared but worse than she hoped. More platforms had connected to each other down below, but the amount of room to maneuver had shrunk if anything due to the piles of Collector corpses covering the floor. The insectile species had thrown dozens of drones at her teammates trying to overrun them. It was a testament to Shepard¡¯s leadership and how Force-damned deadly her team was that they had managed to hold with only three members wounded so far. Grunt was still unable to use his left arm, but was doing his best to stay in the fight. Garrus had taken another round, it seemed going by the medi-gel patch on his torso. And Shepard herself was limping, although Revan couldn¡¯t see an immediate wound from her perspective. That didn¡¯t mean the other two were completely fine though. Jack was no longer using her Biotics to any meaningful degree. She must have overtaxed them at some point and was limited to her physical weapons. A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation. Tali¡¯Zorah wasn¡¯t firing back at all. She was either out of ammunition or her weapon had broken because she was relying entirely on her omnitool and the combat programs it used. She had also been slightly isolated from the rest of the team and no one was aware of the injured Collector dragging itself across the floor to reach her. Revan dropping on its spine with some light guidance from the Force and planting the ignited blade of her lightsaber through its head fixed that issue though. The quarian jumped at Revan¡¯s sudden entrance but once she saw the dead drone merely nodded in thanks before focusing back on the battle. Not that the battle lasted long after Revan rejoined the group. The Collectors must have decided funneling in a handful of Drones at a time wasn¡¯t going to work and stopped sending in reinforcements. Without those, the remaining drones were torn apart by the Normandy crew in seconds. ¡°Okay, that seems to be the last of them for now. EDI, what¡¯s our status?¡± Shepard panted into the comm while the rest of the team either stood guard, patched eachother up, or went scavenging for salvageable heatsinks. ¡°Download complete, Shepard. However, you will need to manually reestablish my link with the command console.¡± ¡°Tali¡­¡± ¡°On it.¡± It didn¡¯t take long for the Quarian to get the link back up and running. EDI¡¯s avatar appeared over the holo-panels within seconds. ¡°I have regained control of the platform, Shepard.¡± the AI said simply. ¡°Great, did you get what we came here for?¡± ¡°I found data that could help us successfully navigate the Omega 4 relay.¡± ¡°Excellent work, EDI, I knew you wouldn¡¯t let us down.¡± ¡°I have also found the turian distress call that served as the lure for this trap. The Collectors were the source. It is unusual.¡± EDI continued, ignoring Shepards praise. ¡°Seems logical to me they would have sent the initial message as bait.¡± Garrus added his opinion. ¡°The source of the transmission is not the unusual part. It is unusual because turian emergency channels have secondary encryption. It is corrupted in the message. It is not possible that the Illusive Man would believe the distress call was genuine.¡± ¡°So Cerberus stabbed us in the fucking back? This is my shocked face.¡± Jack spat. ¡°Why are you so sure?¡± Revan asked the AI. Even if the Illusive Man would not believe the call, it was still possible an underling had been fooled. ¡°I found the anomaly with Cerberus detection protocols. He wrote them.¡± And just like that, betrayal seemed the most likely option. Disappointing. She had been hoping to use that connection for more Credits before she split off to make her own group. ¡°He knew it was a trap? Why would he send us into a trap?¡± Joker questioned. Garrus crossed his arms. ¡°Sounds like something they would do.¡± ¡°The Bosh¡¯tets¡± Tali¡¯Zorah added. Every single member present seemed unsurprised about a potential betrayal from the organization. They all seemed determined to voice their complaints as well. The only one trying to mitigate things was Miranda, who joined the call and was insisting there had to be another explanation. Revan didn¡¯t pay much attention to what they were saying, she knew most of them were taking the opportunity to shake off the effects of the last firefight, and pulled Shepard¡¯s shoulder a little closer so they wouldn¡¯t be overheard. ¡°We don¡¯t have much more time left. You should get them under control soon.¡± ¡°They need to vent a little.¡± Shepard replied, though Revan could feel the anger rolling off the Commander as well. Clearly there was little love between her and the wider Cerberus organization and she was happy to encourage her team to distrust them. ¡°Venting doesn¡¯t do them much good if we end up trapped here because of it.¡± Shepard said nothing for a bit before nodding and getting everyone¡¯s attention. ¡°We don¡¯t have time to throw blame around.¡± She called over the general noise. ¡°And we can question the Illusive Man when we¡¯re out. Clear?¡± ¡°Uh¡­Commander. We¡¯ve got another problem.¡± Joker announced immediately. ¡°The Collector ship is powering up.¡± Inside the ship the massive cavern was being buffeted by winds as life support systems powered up and air started circling again. Their trap had failed. Now they were going to ¡°You need to get out of there before their weapons come online. I¡¯m not losing another Normandy!¡± ¡°Dammit. Alright, everyone back to the dropship. We are leaving. EDI? Give me a route.¡± ¡°I do not have full control of their systems. I will do what I can. Sending coordinates for shuttle extraction.¡± ¡°Better hurry, Commander.¡± Jacob¡¯s voice broke over the comms for the first time this mission. ¡°We¡¯ve had some drones poking around down here. Won¡¯t be long before they send a force to take it out.¡± ¡°Alright people, you heard the man. Let¡¯s move!¡± -o- The two fireteams hurried through the Collector ship following EDI¡¯s directions. Even though they were on a time limit they moved together rather than rushing blindly forward. And every now and then they encountered pockets of drones attempting to slow them down. If it had only been a single team, the drones might have managed to delay them several times. But with a Krogan and a Sith leading the charge and several expert marksmen following behind the Collectors simply couldn¡¯t do much. They didn¡¯t have the numbers at the moment. That didn¡¯t mean they were allowing the Normandy crew to escape easily. Several times the teams were forced to take alternate routes as the door they were meant to take was locked down. Twice they were forced to hold a corridor while EDI was forced to override the lock. And even then they were forced to backtrack when a flanking force caught them as they moved forward through the large open areas the Ship was made up of. And they weren¡¯t the only ones in trouble. ¡°Shepard, this is Samara. The Collectors are pushing heavily on the shuttle. Jacob was wounded in the last fight. You need to hurry, I don¡¯t know how long we can continue to repel them.¡± The Justicar¡¯s warning was acknowledged, but there was little any of them could do beyond move just a little bit faster. They were making their way through another open area when Revan suddenly stopped. There was a tremor in the Force. Something was coming, and it was¡­ Revan made a snap decision and thrust her arms out. The Force surged with her intent and an invisible shockwave sent the rest of the crew skidding over the ground. The lucky ones simply rolled to a halt, the rest bit back curses as they slammed into walls or barriers but they couldn¡¯t exactly blame the Sith for her action. ¡°Praetorian!¡± The call had every member of the fireteams scrambling to their feet as they focused on the giant enemy. The tank-like insect creature was identical to the one they had faced on Horizon and had fallen from the ceiling where it tried to crush them all in an ambush. Revan¡¯s action had saved them, but now she was pinned under it struggling to push it back. To make matters worse even more enemies, including husks, started flowing in from additional doorways. ¡°Garrus, Jack! Crowd control!¡± Shepard hastily ordered. ¡°Tali and Grunt, with-¡± ¡°No! Get moving, Shepard. We don''t have time to waste!¡± Revan interrupted, still pinned under the Praetorian. ¡°I¡¯ll deal with these and meet you at the shuttle!¡± ¡°Dammit Revan, we aren¡¯t leaving anyone behind!¡± ¡°You¡¯re not! You¡¯re getting out of my way!¡± the Sith shouted back. There was a great snapping sound as one of the large machines in the room suddenly snapped off its mounting and slammed the Praetorian off Revan. Large sparks of electricity started to crackle around her as she overdrew on her connection to the Force just a tiny bit. A gesture sent a miniature lightning storm washing over a group of approaching enemies, killing them and giving the fireteams a clear route out of the room towards the shuttle. ¡°She¡¯s right, Commander. We need to move!¡± Garrus grabbed her by the shoulder and started dragging her along, although he never stopped using his sidearm to kill a few of the Husks heading Revan¡¯s way. ¡°Fuck it, Fine!¡± Shepard cursed. ¡°Everyone get moving, and make sure you kill a few on the way out!¡± The team grouped up and limped as fast as they could through the next door EDI opened even as it seemed a tornado of debris and lightning was forming behind them. ¡°The Collectors are fighting my control, Shepard. I will keep this door open as long as I can.¡± EDI reported. ¡°I just hope it¡¯s long enough.¡± ¡°Did you see what the Ice Queen was doing? Even if they close the door she¡¯s just going to rip the bulkhead off.¡± Jack scoffed, though there was a bit of tension in her voice. ¡°If she dies, she dies.¡± Grunt said callously. ¡°And if we want to keep living we need to fight our way back to the ship.¡± ¡°You think some overgrown bugs are going to take her down?¡± ¡°I think she is going to kill a lot of them while they try.¡± ¡°Enough,¡± Shepard barked. ¡°If we don¡¯t have time to fight through that,¡± She waved an arm back the way they had come, ¡°we don¡¯t have time to argue. Grunt, how¡¯s the arm?¡± The krogan lifted his arm easily enough but his hand would no longer open and close. ¡°You¡¯re in the middle then.¡± Shepard ordered. ¡°I¡¯ll take point, Jack and Tali have the flanks and Garrus is on overwatch. Come on¡­¡± -o- Shepard didn¡¯t know if it was a good thing or a bad one that they seemed to be coming across much lighter resistance as they got closer to the shuttle. They were making good time now, but she was worried that was only because the Collectors were focusing everything on Revan. A Husk jumped her from the side and its head exploded before she could even react. ¡°Focus, Shepard. We¡¯re not out of here just yet!¡± Garrus called as he cycled his rifle before swapping to his secondary. He was out of ammo. And that was part of the problem. They weren¡¯t far from the landing zone at all and they hadn¡¯t heard anything from Revan. Squad vitals told her the Sith was alive but any attempts to contact her were met with static and silence. EDI was also keeping a running analysis on the state of the Collector ship and its power levels. At the rate it was going, they would have almost no time to spare if they wanted any hope of getting away. Which meant no waiting for Revan at the landing site. ¡°Uh, Commander? I hate to rush you, but those weapons are about to come online.¡± Joker¡¯s strained voice crackled in her ear. ¡°Might want to double-time it. You know, so we can leave before they blow the Normandy in half.¡± ¡°I know, Joker! We¡¯re almost there.¡± Shepard could hear the gunfire from the guard squad just up ahead along with the groaning rasps of a large number of husks. ¡°Alright everyone, final push! Don¡¯t hold anything back!¡± ¡°You better be right about that, Shepard. After this I¡¯m spent.¡± Jack briefly glowed with a biotic aura and unleashed everything she had left at the mob of techno-zombies. Dozens were crushed under the assault and even more staggered from the massive Shockwave. The tattooed woman stumbled before getting dragged along by Tali of all people, the quarian letting her combat drone cover her zones while she made sure Jack didn¡¯t faint on them. Grunt let out a massive war cry before charging headlong into the horde, clearing a path behind him and moving towards the shuttle. The rest of the fireteams made sure to follow behind and keep his back clear. ¡°Samara, heads up we are inbound. Check fire.¡± Shepard made sure to announce. It would be damn embarrassing to get through this mess only to get shot by her own crew. ¡°I hear you, Shepard. And I can see the krogan coming. We will be ready to leave as soon as you are onboard.¡± ¡°What about Revan, Commander?¡± Garrus asked. Part of Shepard hated her friend for bringing it up but the rest of her knew she had to make a call. ¡°We¡¯ll have to¡­wait, do you feel that?¡± The Normandy crew had made sure to protect themselves from being exposed to the environment, but even through her hardsuit Shepard could feel the air was being ¡®supercharged¡¯ almost like there was a storm inbound¡­or a very angry Sith! ¡°We¡¯re out of time, Commander! We have to go!¡± Joker warned again. ¡°You heard the man, everyone back to the Normandy! That means you too, Revan, move!¡± Revan¡¯s answer was a torrent of force and lightning that swept through the Husks like a scythe. Shepard could see her fellow squad leader was in bad shape, burns covered the little armor not covered in Collector blood and other liquids but she was making good time. The Spectre made sure that everyone else was on board so when Revan made it into the Kodiak, she slammed the bay doors closed. EDI took it from there and piloted the craft back into the Normandy¡¯s hanger with a precision only found in the most elite pilots but that was far from Shepard¡¯s mind at the moment. She was out of the shuttle and running towards the Normandy¡¯s cockpit the second she was able, overriding safety protocols in the process just to make sure she made it in time. Crew were frantically manning stations and securing any unsecured items, but everyone jumped out of the way as she ran by. She made it up to Joker just in time to be nearly thrown off her feet as the pilot juked the ship to the side, narrowly dodging the massive beam weapon the Collector ship fired that lit up the viewport. Two more shots barely missed as Joker frantically manipulated the ship controls, doing everything he could to buy just a little more time and space. ¡°I can¡¯t dodge this guy forever, EDI. Get us the hell out of here!¡± The ship lurched again, another narrow miss. ¡°Specify a destination, Mr. Moreau.¡± If they lived through this, Shepard was going to ask someone to make EDI a little less goddamn literal. ¡°Anywhere that¡¯s not here!¡± The sensors screamed that the Collector ship had a target lock. It would take a miracle for them to miss their next shot. ¡°Very well. Engaging mass effect core.¡± A low vibration hummed throughout the deck, the core powered up, and with a soft ¡®whump¡¯ the Normandy jerked and accelerated into FTL. They had escaped. Shepard released a breath she felt like she had been holding for hours. ¡°That was far too close.¡± ¡°Yeah no kidding, Commander. I think I need a vacation. Or a drink.¡± Chapter 27 After everyone calmed down and properly processed the fact the Normandy had successfully escaped, emotions among the crew were¡­mixed to say the least. Many of the crew members on duty had overheard EDI¡¯s analysis of the distress call and the ones that hadn¡¯t were filled in shortly after the ship jumped to FTL. A lot of them weren¡¯t happy the Illusive Man sent them blind into a trap that almost got them all killed. It was one thing to know you signed up for a suicide mission, it was entirely something else to be sent to die for no reason. Only a handful of few remaining true Cerberus faithfuls decided to believe in T.I.M.¡¯s reasoning for keeping them in the dark. And even then it was more they were simply trying to convince themselves after the fact. All of them, even Miranda, felt betrayed on some level. Despite the crew¡¯s anger, the Illusive Man was right about one thing¡­they needed to find an intact IFF transponder from either a Reaper or Collector ship if they wanted any hope of reaching the Collector homeworld. EDI had managed to trace the navigational data back through the Omega 4 mass relay. Unfortunately, the data put the Collector base in the middle of the galactic core, an inhospitable mess of black holes and exploding suns. Without the IFF to activate the relay¡¯s more advanced protocols, it would be a one in a billion chance of surviving the jump. Nevermind actually being able to complete their mission afterward. ¡®Fortunately¡¯ T.I.M. had a lead on one, but¡­ -o- ¡°...we aren¡¯t going anywhere near a Reaper right now.¡± Shepard said, leaving no room for argument in her tone. Despite that, some people felt the need to argue anyway. ¡°The longer we wait, the more colonies that are going to be attacked.¡± Miranda pointed out. ¡°Can we afford to take our time?¡± ¡°She¡¯s right. Even if I don¡¯t like it, the Illusive Man was right about one thing. We are at war.¡± Jacob agreed. ¡°We also just finished a highly dangerous mission that left several of our team wounded.¡± Shepard reminded them. ¡°Grunt¡¯s arm will take time to heal, Korgan or not. Jack is recovering from frying her biotic amp. Garrus had an armor breach. And you, Jacob, have some microfractures all over your body from getting thrown by that Shockwave. We are simply not in the condition to run another mission like this one so soon.¡± ¡°We still have Mordin, Thane, Kasumi, Samara, Tali¡¯Zorah, myself, you, and Revan available.¡± Miranda disagreed, motioning to the rest of the team around the room. ¡°More than enough to deploy two teams.¡± ¡°Except most of the people you listed are more suited for support roles or skirmishing. Not heavy frontline fighting while surrounded by the enemy. Which we will be if there is anything hostile in the Reaper ship. No, we are not going until the rest of the team is back on their feet. The Reaper derelict waited 37 million years, it can wait a little longer.¡± Shepard put her foot down. ¡°Where is Revan by the way?¡± Tali asked. ¡°Is she running late or something?¡± ¡°No, Revan is assisting Dr. Chakwas in the medbay. Apparently she is helping Grunt¡¯s hand actually works when it¡¯s done healing.¡± Thankfully no one else needed that level of intervention. The last thing her small team needed was members being permanently off the mission because of an injury they couldn¡¯t come back from. ¡°Okay then, what will we be doing while we wait for the others to recover?¡± Her XO asked. ¡°The Collectors won¡¯t stop their plans just because we need to rest.¡± ¡°They may even accelerate them. Striking while they know we are injured.¡± Thane added in. ¡°It''s a possibility.¡± Shepard admitted. ¡°But we aren¡¯t going to be doing nothing. Thanks to a few contacts, we¡¯ve been able to secure some upgrades to the Normandy¡¯s systems that should give us an edge. Not to mention there are other ways we can help. Smaller scale missions and such.¡± ¡°What kind of missions do you have in mind, Shepard?¡± Samara asked. Shepard brought up a list of potential missions on her omnitool and forwarded it to EDI, who displayed it for the entire team to see. ¡°Even if we aren¡¯t getting much help from them at the moment, I¡¯m still a Council Spectre. Combined with Cerberus¡¯s own information, we can start snuffing out hotspots, pirates and the like, while we wait. I also know some of you have personal requests you wanted to bring up. If we have time we can look into them.¡± She knew Samara was looking into someone and Jacob mentioned a distress beacon he wanted to follow up on the last time they talked. Unsurprisingly, several other members of the team seemed to have matters they wanted to bring up as well. She would have to talk to them individually later. ¡°That¡¯s all for now, everyone. The more people we have on our side, the better chances of our success. Let¡¯s just focus on building up the team for now. Go rest up.¡± -o- ¡¯Why do almost all my missions go sideways?¡¯ Shepard wondered as she waited for the dropship to return to the Normandy. This last one had been the latest in a growing line of missions that seemed easy and straightforward, only to veer directly into ever increasing levels of madness. It had started off¡­she wouldn¡¯t say simple, because she couldn¡¯t imagine ever being in a similar situation again, but reasonable enough at the time to help Samara track down the criminal she had originally been in pursuit of while they were making use of Omega¡¯s docks to upgrade some of the Normandy¡¯s medical systems. The Collector ship had proven what they had might be good enough to keep everyone on her team alive, but it wouldn¡¯t let them get back into the fight without more recovery time then they could afford. This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings. Finding Samara¡¯s target turned out to be easy enough. Aria T¡¯Loak kept an eye on practically every odd occurance she could. When she found out the asari they were after was an Ardat Yakshi, some kind of asari mind-succubus that killed the partners they slept with, the Queen of Omega had no issues helping them out. She wasn¡¯t able to point out where their target was, but she was able to direct them to the home of her latest victim. That¡­had been less than fun. Shepard didn¡¯t consider herself much of a detective and was near useless while her team scoured the apartment looking for clues. Then to make things worse, the victim¡¯s mother broke down in front of them begging her to avenge her daughter. It had been one of the most uncomfortable moments of Shepard¡¯s life. It would have been higher on her list if for the fact not long after that, Samara told them that their target, Morinth, was also her daughter. And that the Justicar wanted Shepard to seduce her so they could corner and kill her. ¡­yeah, that was easily the most uncomfortable conversation she had ever had. It must have shown too, because Revan of all people actually offered to take her place. But she was the Commander. And she should never give an order she wasn¡¯t willing to do herself. Even if she would rather forget the rest of the night forever out of embarrassment. Their next mission wasn¡¯t much better. Jacob had pulled her aside for a brief conversation regarding a distress call that he had received through Cerberus. He told her that ten years ago the frigate that his father served on disappeared with no trace, but less than a week ago a distress call from the same ship had been discovered. The only reason Jacob knew about it was because Cerberus was automatically filtering any news about the ship to him. Naturally, he wanted to investigate even if the crew was likely dead. For closure if nothing else. What they found was so much more horrifying than that¡­ Nothing seemed too out of the ordinary when they first reached the crashed frigate. The wreck was intact enough that Shepard was confident that at least some of the crew could have survived the crash, something that was confirmed when they discovered the distress beacon and some officer logs explaining that the captain had been killed in the crash, Jacob¡¯s father was raised to acting-captain, and¡­that the local plant life did severe harm to mental functions. Something that was confirmed when they came across one of the survivors, a woman that could barely string sentences together and had told them her leader said people from the sky would save them. Something that might have been reassuring about the intentions of the leader if they hadn¡¯t just confirmed the beacon had been ready for use nine years ago and only just activated recently. And then they were attacked¡­and the attackers were just as swiftly crushed. Normally Shepard would have more to say on something like that. Or more details she would have liked to include. But that short description was probably the best way to describe what happens when a group of ragged survivors that had spent ten years eating plants that eroded their mind were faced with a Sith Lord. Revan didn¡¯t even bother looking at most of them. She just raised a hand, made a fist, and all the attackers just fell over unconscious. All at once. And she made it look like it didn¡¯t take that much effort. With Revan¡¯s casual reminder that the Sith was honestly terrifying, the ground team moved away from the crash site towards some power readings EDI picked up while Shepard had Miranda start organizing more drops to the surface so the captured crewmembers could get looked over by Dr. Chakwas. Jacob spent most of the time on the ground trying to rationalize away the delay, the officers hoarding food, exiling members, and all the other signs they had discovered, but that fell apart when they found the ex-CMO from the crew in a camp of only women and discovered how his father cooperated with the other officers to separate the crew, keep them stranded, and then pass out the women like pets once they had been forced to use the local food to survive¡­ It honestly looked like the only reason the beacon was activated was when the preservation systems for the untainted food supplies failed and everything else was spoiled. Worse, when they finally managed to fight through the ¡®insane¡¯ guards and barely functioning security mechs, Ronald Taylor not only didn¡¯t recognize his own son¡­he tried convincing the team that his actions were justified or the result of being raised to overall command when he wasn¡¯t ready. There weren¡¯t many times Shepard let something cruel and unusual go uncontested, but Revan¡¯s suggestion of leaving Ronald behind on the planet with a half-charged pistol ended up joining them. The acting captain had lived the last decade in a twisted fantasy that ruined the rest of his crewmates¡­ He could continue living it alone or die if that was his choice. Compared to that nightmare scenario Thane wanting to stop his son from becoming an assassin seemed like it would be a refreshing break. Afterall, how hard could that be? Just show up, let Thane talk to his son for a bit, and hopefully everything gets resolved without issue. Of course it couldn¡¯t be that easy. Not only had Kolyat already accepted the job and vanished into the seedier districts on the Citadel, Garrus caught word that Sidonis, the turian that betrayed his team and the one responsible for them all dying, was also on the Citadel. So Shepard was pulled in a few directions all at once trying to make sure they didn¡¯t miss Thane¡¯s son and that Garrus wasn¡¯t going on a rampage looking for the person who betrayed him. The split in focus meant that while they did successfully find Kolyat, it was after he had already made an attempt to murder his target. Thankfully they were able to talk him out of it and some recommendations to C-Sec Officer Bailey meant Kolyat would be doing community service rather than being arrested. Not a perfect situation but better than it could be. At the rate she was going, Shepard might need to look into a career as a criminal negotiator considering she managed to talk Garrus out of murder as well. They had found the forger Fade, who turned out to be a disgraced ex-C-Sec officer Harkin, convinced him to set up a meeting with Sidonis. Garrus refused to back down for a bit so Shepard kept Sidonis talking long enough for her friend to see how hollow and depressed Sidonis had become. She wouldn¡¯t have judged her friend no matter his decision, but she couldn¡¯t help but be relieved Garrus chose not to take the shot. Even if he said it was because he saw Sidonis was torturing himself with what he had done was worse than anything he could have done. And then there had been this last mission with Jack¡­ -o- ¡°I¡¯ve got thoughts like little bugs crawling in and out of my head. I can¡¯t stop them.¡± Jack raged when Shepard cornered the tattooed woman after noticing she was acting off. Well, more off than normal. And wasn¡¯t that a wonderful way to start a conversation? ¡°You know I have a history with Cerberus. You know how far back it goes?¡± Jack continued. ¡°Not really.¡± Shepard knew Jack and Cerberus had a few run-ins from her file, but it wasn¡¯t like she took those as absolute truth¡­or deluded her into thinking they were entirely complete. ¡°Your pal, the Illusive Man? Never seen him before, but Cerberus raised me. First thing I remember is my cell door in a Cerberus base.¡± Jack said, actually calming down as she talked. Shepard noticed the other biotic was using a breathing technique Revan had shown her. One she would have to start using herself when she heard what Jack had to say. ¡°They did experiments. Drugged me. Tortured me. Whatever chance I had to be normal, they stole it by trying to turn me into some super-biotic.¡± Unethical human experimentation on children, because why the fuck not with Cerberus? Still, why torture? ¡°Something about pain breaking down mental barriers, and how it might clear the way for more biotic power.¡± Jack explained when the Commander asked. ¡°I''m sure there was a payoff due at some point, but I wasn¡¯t going to see it. I was wired up in a cell.¡± ¡°And there were other kids there too?¡± Another emotion joined the rage in Jack¡¯s eyes. Bitterness. ¡°I don¡¯t know much about them. I was kept separate. They hated me, just like everyone else. When I broke out they came out of their cells and attacked me. So did the guards. I showed them though.¡± She said darkly. Meaning she killed her way through them. ¡°Managed to get a shuttle off the ground and drifted until a freighter picked me up. The crew used me, then sold me.¡± Shepard really didn¡¯t want to consider what used meant in this case. ¡°That¡¯s my uplifting escape story.¡± So kidnapping, human experimentation, torture, and god knows what else. Yeah, Shepard wasn¡¯t going to let this stand. She didn¡¯t really need to ask if Jack was certain, the organization had shown it was fully capable of being that monstrous in the past after all. ¡°I¡¯ll talk to the Illusive Man. And he better have some answers.¡± Shepard promised and was slightly surprised when Jack shook her head ¡®no¡¯. ¡°He¡¯ll just deny everything, and that¡¯s not what I¡¯m after. I found the coordinates in your files. I want to go to the Teltin facility on Pragia, where they tortured and drugged me.¡± Jack stood and her voice started rising. ¡°I want to go to the center of the place, my cell. I want to deploy a big fucking bomb. And I want to watch from orbit when it goes.¡± She spat. Well, Shepard wasn¡¯t going to try and stop her from leveling the evil science lab. And if Cerberus had issues with that, then they really didn¡¯t know her when they brought her back. ¡°I¡¯ll set a course for Pragia.¡± She promised. All energy just seemed to flow out of Jack. ¡°I owe you, Shepard.¡± was all she said. Chapter 28 ¡°This looks like it was abandoned much longer than you said it has been.¡± Revan noted as they were forced to land on the roof of the facility to avoid the vegetation swiftly reclaiming the ruins of the Pragia facility. The materials commonly used for construction here might not be as durable as the ones found in her home galaxy, but that didn¡¯t mean they were easily corroded. ¡°Welcome to Pragia, it''s a shithole like that. Cerberus actually HAD to build the landing pad on the roof or the vegetation would have overgrown it in a few hours.¡± Jack muttered. ¡°Fuck, I forgot how much I hated this place. Maybe this was a mistake.¡± The commander tapped Jack on the shoulder. ¡°Calm down, everything will be fine.¡± ¡°...yeah. Fuck it, I¡¯m fine. Let¡¯s just get this over with.¡± With that the members of the ground team filtered out of the Kodiak and into the torrential downpour outside. They weren¡¯t expecting any opposition besides maybe some automated defenses struggling to remain active so Shepard had opted to only bring Mordin and Miranda as backup. Revan decided to tag along to keep her sort-of student in check. Jack had been doing well in their exercises on controlling her emotions. Revan didn¡¯t want her backsliding in the limited time they had before they ended up in another deadly mission. The human biotic losing control at the wrong time could be ruinous for everyone involved. ¡°Well that¡¯s inconvenient.¡± Revan heard Shepard mutter as they reached the entrance they planned on using. ¡°Something wrong?¡± ¡°The door doesn¡¯t have power. Not sure if it¡¯s a local problem or something to do with the entire facility but we either need to find another way in or try to restore power here.¡± Which meant the rest of them would be standing around in the rain doing nothing while that was being attempted. And while Revan¡¯s armor was sealed to the elements, that didn¡¯t mean she enjoyed standing around in the rain feeling raindrops bounce off her faceplate. ¡°Why don¡¯t I give it a try then.¡± The Sith more stated than asked as she pulled one of her lightsabers and ignited it. The team hastily moved out of the way as Revan plunged the blade into the access hatch and slowly cut a circular hole in the thick metal doors. ¡°Fascinating technology, contained plasma field much more useful than initially evident. Are you certain you cannot be convinced to provide a sample?¡± Mordin asked as the cut portion fell out with a dull metallic ¡®thunk¡¯. ¡°Yes. Traditional reasons aside, the materials required are somewhat rare. I¡¯d rather not risk the few I have so you can study them.¡± Revan replied, stepping through the new opening. ¡°You will just have to be content with the blasters I provided.¡± She had finally finished modifying the more technical parts to prevent anyone from tearing them apart to learn how they functioned without making it impossible for anyone to do basic maintenance. With that done, she had freely distributed several different weapon types to the members of the ground team. Even Samara had not refused, not that Revan particularly cared if the Jedi Zealot knockoff accepted the gift or not. Apparently Shepard had managed to convince the Asari that the improved firepower was more important to the mission than her one sided enmity with the Sith. ¡°Yeah, yeah. Ice Queen¡¯s laser swords are freaking awesome and she won¡¯t share. Who gives a fuck.¡± Jack cursed, stepping inside herself. ¡°Let¡¯s just get in there and plant the bomb in my cell. I want to watch this place burn.¡± With those cheery words the small group entered the facility. The inside hadn¡¯t fared much better than the exterior. The floor was cracked and had tiles missing in places. The ceiling had fallen out in places and wires hung depondantly from the gaps. And everything else was covered in some form of dust, dirt, grime, or small bits of plantlife. Obviously the facility wasn¡¯t completely locked down, traces of native fauna invading were present as well. Revan followed Jack and the others silently through the hall. The ex-convict was actually behaving much more mildly than she had expected. She had half expected to have to restrain Jack from lashing out minutes after they had arrived but the human hadn¡¯t shown any signs of losing herself to her anger. She had really come far in her control despite the relatively small amount of time Revan spent teaching her. The Sith was also beginning to think she might have underestimated the other woman greatly to her own chagrin. ¡°I never saw this room. I think they brought new kids in these containers.¡± Jack¡¯s voice pulled Revan out of her musings. ¡°They were messed up and starving, but alive. Usually.¡± No one wanted to bring up that there might have still been younglings alive inside the containers when Jack had made her escape. Or the fact if they were, they certainly had perished long before now. ¡°Unbelievable.¡± Mordin commented. Revan agreed. The containers looked like heavily sealed shipping crates. No hookup ports for power or waste. No openings that Revan could see either. The younglings, if they were really brought in that way, would have been kept in the dark for Force knows how long with no light, water, or food. Potentially stewing in their own filth for an unknown amount of time. It was a good thing that the ¡®scientists¡¯ had abandoned this facility for a long time. If Revan ever caught someone causing that amount of harm to a youngling for any reason, they would beg for death a long time before she granted them that release. Perhaps unsurprisingly Miranda had nothing to say to that. It was hard to argue with the evidence right there and she knew Cerberus wasn¡¯t always blameless. A little further in they saw the first evidence that despite the elements, time, and general disrepair of the facility, some portions still had power. As evidenced by a glitching security console playing a random log file between one of the security officers and a scientist. ¡°The Illusive Man requested operation logs again. He¡¯s getting suspicious.¡± The officer said. ¡°When we get results, he won¡¯t care what we did. But if he knew¡­¡± The scientist trailed off. ¡°He won¡¯t find out.¡± The other man reassured before the log started looping. ¡°Working outside program parameters. Hiding information.¡± Mordin stated. ¡°Yes, I think we can safely confirm this was a rogue facility.¡± Miranda added with obvious relief. ¡°He never said what they were hiding from the Illusive Man.¡± Jack pointed out. Thankfully, all of them were willing to drop the matter and continue on. For different reasons, no doubt, but neither Shepard nor Revan questioned it. They continued in silence until they entered another wide open room filled with the container crates they had seen earlier. ¡°I remember escaping to this room. Fighting here. I saw sunlight through the cracks in the ceiling.¡± Jack commented. ¡°Only a half-dead guard between me and freedom. He was begging for his life.¡± From her tone it was obvious Jack did not spare the guard. Revan wasn¡¯t about to judge. Younglings had both the potential for infinite kindness and infinite cruelty. One that was scared, likely injured, and looking for escape was likely not going to be merciful to her captors. Out of habit more than anything Revan cast out her senses and was mildly surprised to find they were not the only things in the room. It seemed some of the local wildlife was taking cover from the storm outside here. Unfortunately, not only had these animals noticed their group as well, they were feeling increasingly aggressive as the Normandy team moved forward. Apparently the animals had taken their presence as an invasion of their territory and were preparing to ambush them. The Sith informed the team of the incoming ambush moments before the first of the predators leaped out of cover, only to be immediately bisected by a lightsaber the second it came in range. More of the ugly lizard fish dogs sprinted out from the rubble or over several containers and were greeted by glowing red energy bolts from the team''s new weapons. Seconds later all that was left of the predators were charred bodies and the smell of cooked meat. ¡°Ugh, Varren. Should have known they would be around. Keep an eye out, people.¡± Shepard ordered, scanning the surroundings for more threats. The group moved forward cautiously, both looking for threats and making sure the floor wasn¡¯t about to collapse underneath them. -o- ¡°This looks like an arena.¡± Shepard commented as they moved through the ruins and she stepped over several old bloodstains. ¡°That¡¯s right. They used to stage fights here. Pit me against other kids.¡± Jack replied, surprising Shepard. She had been trying to break the silence, she didn¡¯t actually want to be right! ¡°I loved it. Only time I was ever out of my cell.¡± And this was supposed to be a science facility! What good was forcing two kids to fight going to do? ¡°Hell if I know.¡± Jack answered uncaringly when Shepard repeated the question out loud. ¡°Maybe that¡¯s how they got their kicks. I never understood anything that happened here.¡± ¡°How often did they do this?¡± Jack gave her a dirty look. ¡°I was in a cell for my whole life. Sometimes they took me out and made me fight. Filled me with drugs. Other stuff. Time gets funny in a cell.¡± That was¡­fair. But there was one thing she needed to know. ¡°And the other kids¡­what happened to them?¡± Jack didn¡¯t answer right away. ¡°I was a kid, filled with drugs. I got shocked when I hesitated.¡± She said at last. ¡°Narcotics flooded my veins when I attacked.¡± ¡°They actually rewarded you for attacking?¡± ¡°I still get warm feeling during a fight.¡± The smile Jack wore was more of an ugly grimace. Like she was forcing herself to smile since the only other option was to cry. Shepard still couldn¡¯t believe what she was hearing though. It certainly confirmed for her that she would be breaking ties with these ¡®people¡¯ the first chance she reasonably could. This novel is published on a different platform. Support the original author by finding the official source. ¡°What the hell was wrong with them?!¡± Jack shrugged fakely. ¡°I dunno. Doesn¡¯t matter now.¡± Shepard discreetly looked at their resident empath and was darkly relieved when Revan shook her head and confirmed what she already thought. Jack was much more conflicted about what had happened than she appeared. So not quite the sociopath she was projecting herself as, but still a deeply traumatized individual. God, she wished she had the time to just give everyone a vacation. Maybe find a planet and a nice easy mission that let her crew get some downtime while they waited? Revan did submit a request for a chance to study more of their techbase to see what she could contribute to upgrading the Normandy. She pushed those thoughts away and refocused on the current mission. ¡°Let¡¯s keep moving.¡± They didn¡¯t go very far before they came across another security panel that still had power. Out of a grim sense of duty Shepard accessed the last log entered. She wasn¡¯t delusional or a masochist to even entertain the notion that she, as an individual or as a member of the Alliance, was somehow responsible for not stopping the horrors that happened here. But she did feel she owed the people that died here deserved to have someone listen to their story, even if it was told by their captors. ¡°Security Officer Zemkl, Teltin Facility. The subjects are out of their cells! They¡¯re tearing the place up!¡± The hologram of the Security Officer panicked. ¡°Subject Zero is going to get loose. I need permission to terminate ¨C I repeat, permission to terminate!¡± ¡°All subjects besides Zero are expendable.¡± A stressed voice immediately answered. ¡°Keep Jack alive.¡± ¡°...Understood. I¡¯ll begin the¨C¡± The recording cut off as Jack slammed her fist on the console. ¡°That¡¯s not right. I broke out when my guards disappeared.¡± She snarled and jabbed at her chest. ¡°I started that riot!¡± ¡°Things might have happened you didn¡¯t see.¡± Shepard offered. ¡°The other kids attacked me. The guards attacked me. The automated systems attacked me. That doesn¡¯t leave lots of room for interpretation.¡± ¡°You were a child. You might be misremembering things.¡± Jack rounded on Miranda. ¡°I know what happened, Cerberus bitch! Don¡¯t try and make excuses.¡± There was a sudden tension in the room that Shepard was preparing to deal with when Revan stepped forward. ¡°Then we find out more.¡± She said, standing between Jack and Miranda like it was no big deal. ¡°There must be more consoles that survived. We find those and figure out what happened on the way to Jack¡¯s cell to plant the explosive.¡± Mordin nodded. ¡°Separate power systems. Additional generators. Stands to reason more consoles will be active.¡± They continued down into the facility. As they did so, the signs of damage from the riot the console and Jack mentioned became more visible. Walls were partially destroyed now rather than just succumbing to decay and nature. It looked like a hurricane had swept through¡­ ¡­or a horde of angry biotic children. Shepard kept that observation to herself. There was a time and place for trying to raise morale with poor jokes. This wasn¡¯t it. But seconds later she almost wished she could go back and make the remark anyway because the group stumbled across a pair of Varren corpses. ¡°This place is supposed to be empty. Who the fuck shot those verren? They¡¯re fresh kills.¡± Shepard did a quick check over all her weapons. ¡°No idea, but they¡¯re likely still here. Keep an eye open.¡± ¡°They might be salvagers.¡± Miranda stated. ¡°There¡¯s a lot of equipment here that might be worth a few credits to the right people.¡± -o- The ¡®who¡¯ Jack had been wondering about turned out to be Blood Pack mercenaries. The ground team had run into a couple squads of them as they turned a corner into another room filled with equipment and the mercs hadn¡¯t waited long to open fire. Unfortunately for them, the Normandy crew had tangled with some of the best the Blood Pack had to offer and walked out the other side, now they had even better weapons to use against the Vorcha and Krogan mercs. And these¡­these mercs were far from the elite forces Shepard and Revan had fought on Omega. Blaster bolts had torn the Blood Pack to shreds in seconds while Revan distracted the few that were too stupid to duck behind cover in favor of shooting at the enemy. It was over so quickly none of the ground team had time to question what they were doing here in the first place. ¡°Why¡¯d they need a morgue? This was a small facility.¡± Jack asked, stepping over the body of a fallen Vorcha. ¡°Corpses of other subjects analyzed here. Many subjects.¡± Mordin said, skimming over a number of logs present on one of the few functioning machines. ¡°What could they possibly have been hoping to accomplish?¡± Miranda asked. The Cerberus officer seemed faintly horrified at the sheer amount of children the facility managed to murder in the pursuit of their goals. ¡°Different methods to increase biotic potential. Some that would obviously result in the death of the subject.¡± ¡°Bullshit,¡± Jack snapped. ¡°I had the worst of it, and I made it out alive.¡± A heavy armored hand landed on her shoulder as Revan forced her to face her. ¡°I didn¡¯t teach you to run away from your feelings, Jack.¡± The Sith said disapprovingly. ¡°Follow your lessons.¡± For a second it looked like Jack was going to protest, but a slight increase in pressure from the hand on her shoulder killed the fire in her eyes a little. ¡°Right, ¡®Acknowledge your feelings, identify what causes them, and master both¡¯. I can do that.¡± Jack looked around the morgue, a conflicted expression on her face. ¡°I thought I knew everything that went on in this place. Guess not, huh? I feel like¡­ I¡¯m pissed off. I should be this dangerous bitch right? Escaped and left this place behind. But then, it''s like I¡¯m a little girl again.¡± Revan nodded and released her. ¡°Very few sentients can honestly say they enjoy others trivializing their pain and suffering by claiming others have it worse. Suffering is relative. What kills one, another might survive. But both suffered. Do not dismiss that lightly.¡± ¡°Right, fuck this is complicated.¡± Jack nodded before stalking off. ¡°Let¡¯s just go plant this bomb.¡± ¡°That sounded like a really profound saying.¡± Shepard muttered as she and Revan started walking after Jack. ¡°Where did that come from?¡± ¡°It was one of the sayings of Jedi Master Soont Thalcard. One of the wiser Jedi teachers I had the pleasure of learning from.¡± ¡°I¡¯m surprised you can admit that so easily. You never like talking about anything to do with Jedi.¡± ¡°Wisdom can come from anywhere, only idiots deny this. And it helps that Soont Thalcard died four hundred years before I was born.¡± Revan said bluntly. ¡°The Jedi, for all their faults, were very wise. They just weren¡¯t intelligent enough to make use of it.¡± -o- ¡°I must have come through here when I broke out, but I don¡¯t remember it.¡± Jack said uneasily from outside a medical room. ¡°We should move on. This is a bad place.¡± ¡°We¡¯ll move on in a second.¡± Shepard reassured her. ¡°But this is the only place we¡¯ve seen so far with more active terminals. There might be more information on what really happened when you escaped.¡± ¡°High probability of test data and procedures as well.¡± Mordin added. ¡°Proof of Cerberus¡¯s actions.¡± He directed that last portion at Miranda. ¡°We already found out this facility was hiding things from the Illusive Man. They might have been getting the funding from Cerberus, but they clearly weren¡¯t loyal to us.¡± Before that could break out into another argument, Shepard pressed a button on one of the active consoles. It looked like an experiment log of some sort. Selecting one of the files at random, she pressed the playback option. ¡°Entry 1054, Teltin facility. The latest iteration of PergNim went poorly. Subjects One, Four, and Six died. No biotic change among the survivors.¡± A Cerberus scientist reported tonelessly in the recording. Shepard was infuriated to see the man seemed almost bored discussing the deaths of several children. ¡°We lowered the core temperatures of surviving subjects, but no biotically beneficial reactions occurred. As a side effect, all subjects died.¡± ¡°Despicable.¡± Mordin commented from the side. ¡°So we¡¯ll not try that on Zero. I hope our supply of biotic-potential subjects holds up. We are going through them fast.¡± Shepard clenched a fist so hard it hurt. ¡°How¡¯d they manage it, Miranda?¡± ¡°Commander?¡± ¡°If this was a rogue facility, how did they manage to get enough kids that they could butcher them for just hints of progress?¡± She was starting to agree with Jack. This place needed to burn. But more than that she wanted to make sure none of this could happen again. ¡°I-I don¡¯t know what to tell you, Shepard.¡± Miranda faltered, her face pale. ¡°Small facilities like this are expected to source their own resources. Cerberus helps with the funding, but we don¡¯t directly contact them except for updates and reports. If the files are still in the facility EDI might be able to extract them, but the administrator may have removed them to cover their tracks¡­¡± ¡°Bullshit!¡± Jack raged. ¡°Are you still trying to convince everyone this wasn''t Cerberus¡¯s fault?¡± ¡°Because it was not!¡± Miranda yelled back. ¡°This has to be a rogue facility. It has to.¡± She nearly whispered the last part. Shepard shook her head. Rogue or not, Cerberus was still at least partially willing to experiment on children. At that point it was just arguing details. She played with the console a bit more and was able to find a recording for the security system. With a few more keystrokes a hologram of the same scientist as before appeared. Though this time he was far less composed and on the verge of panicking. ¡°It¡¯s all fallen to pieces. The subjects are rampaging, and Zero is loose.¡± The scientist stammered while making the motions like he was frantically collecting something in front of him. ¡°We¡¯re shutting Teltin down. What a disaster. We¡¯ll infiltrate and piggyback onto the Alliance''s Ascension program. Hopefully that will¨C¡± there was a loud banging picked up by the speakers. ¡°Who are¡­? Zero, wait!¡± The recording ended suddenly as the scientist was violently thrown away by a biotic blast. Shepard glanced up at one of the walls and noted the dented plates and old bloodstains. No mystery what happened to the scientist then. Jack wasn¡¯t as calm as her. ¡°Shepard, they started up somewhere else!¡± Jack rounded on her, eyes wide and panicking. Those lessons with Revan were doing wonders. Before Jack wouldn¡¯t have cared about another program unless it was for revenge. And now here she was, actually worried about others going through what she did. ¡°Relax. Ascension is an Alliance program. It¡¯s a school for biotic kids. I went there myself. They don¡¯t torture kids.¡± The powerful biotic slouched in relief. ¡°A lot of this¡­isn¡¯t the way I remember it.¡± She finally said. Shepard nodded. ¡°You were a kid. Anyone expecting you to remember everything completely unbiased is an idiot. And facing trauma of any kind is difficult. Especially old ones.¡± ¡°...yeah. We¡¯re getting close to my cell. Let¡¯s finish this.¡± -o- Commander Shepard let out a deep sigh as she could finally relax after changing out of her hardsuit. Pragia had been far more stressful than expected. Not only had there been even more Blood Pack scavenging around the Teltin facility, they had run into another survivor from the riot that shut down the facility. If Jack was crazy and dismissive of much of her past, choosing to not remember or ignore the worst parts as best she could, Aresh had been her exact opposite. Not only was the broken man stuck in the past and hellbent on making sure that the suffering he and his fellow victims counted for something, he wanted to continue it. Restart the facility. Shepard wondered if he had even bothered escaping after she convinced Jack to not murder him right there. They hadn¡¯t seen any other shuttles escaping¡­ In the end it didn¡¯t really matter. Aresh had made his choice. And torturing children to unleash the ¡®true human biotic potential¡¯ wasn¡¯t something she could support. With that little adventure wrapped up they could¨C ¡°Hey Commander, Jack and Miranda are in the middle of a¡­disagreement.¡± Joker¡¯s voice rang out over the ship intercom. ¡°Can you head it off before they tear out a bulkhead?¡± Dammit not again! ¡°I¡¯ll deal with it.¡± She was already running. ¡°Take pictures!¡± The inside of Miranda¡¯s quarters looked like a warzone as the two very powerful biotics looked like they were seconds away from attacking each other. ¡°ENOUGH! Stand down, both of you!¡± Both women glanced at Shepard before going back to glaring at the other, but the corona of biotic energy disappeared from both of them. ¡°What the hell is going on here?¡± ¡°The cheerleader won¡¯t admit what Cerberus did to me was wrong.¡± Jack snarled first. ¡°It wasn¡¯t Cerberus. Not really. But clearly you were a mistake.¡± ¡°Screw you, you saw that damn facility but you¡¯ve got no idea what they put me through! Maybe it¡¯s time I showed you!¡± Dear god what did she do to deserve this? Jack was still twitchy from the emotional rollercoaster they had all just been on and Miranda was choosing the worst possible time to stick up for her organization. Still, she couldn¡¯t have her team fighting it out in the middle of her ship. ¡°Stow it! Miranda, are you actually saying what we found in that facility was okay?¡± Miranda jerked back like she had been slapped. ¡°No, of course not! But it was a rogue facility. Not Cerberus. We would never¨C¡± ¡°Bullshit!¡± Jack jumped in, but Shepard stepped between them and held her back. ¡°You both know what we are up against. What our mission means. If we don¡¯t pull this whole thing off the Collectors are going to destroy everything. Save your anger for them!¡± ¡°I agree. Jack, come with me. Apparently we need another lesson on mastering your anger.¡± Shepard looked over to see an unmasked Revan looking very unimpressed at all of them from the doorway. ¡°Hold on, are you two going to be okay?¡± She didn¡¯t need this popping up again. Thankfully, both women agreed it was settled until the mission was over. Whether that promise actually held up¡­ Shepard stayed behind as Revan led Jack off somewhere else, leaving her alone with Miranda. ¡°I apologize for letting that get out of hand. It''s a good thing you showed up when you did.¡± The Cerberus operative tried deflecting but the Commander wasn¡¯t having it. ¡°Miranda, the hell?¡± ¡°Shepard?¡± ¡°You¡¯ve been with Cerberus for years. You know the twisted shit they get into. I know you saw the details of what Cerberus did to Corporal Toombs and his squad at Akuze. Why is it so hard to believe they were behind the Teltin facility?¡± Miranda looked haunted. ¡°I know Cerberus doesn¡¯t have the cleanest record. But everything we do, we do for the advancement of humanity. Akuze was regrettable and when the team went rogue after the experiment ended was horrific. But we have limits. We don¡¯t target children, Shepard. We don¡¯t ¨C we can¡¯t target them!¡± This was a little disturbing. The sheer desperation in the ravenette¡¯s voice was incredibly unlike her. This sounded¡­personal. ¡°Why is it so important to you that Cerberus doesn¡¯t target children?¡± ¡°...Because if we did, that means I¡¯ve been doing everything I hated my father for. Everything I sacrificed for my sister¡­none of it would matter because I was just like him. And that wasn¡¯t what I joined Cerberus for.¡± It was times like these that Shepard wondered how much control the Illusive Man had over what Miranda had access to. She usually seemed so high up in what they did, but then there was that almost naive outlook that she would need to be delusional to honestly believe. ¡°I don¡¯t know what to tell you, Miranda, but if Cerberus goes too far so often that people don¡¯t hesitate to believe they were behind something, there¡¯s usually a good reason for it. Maybe you should look into those ¡®rogue¡¯ facilities again. Find out if they were labeled that because they did what they wanted¡­or if it was because they got caught.¡± As Shepard walked out she saw Miranda looking at her terminal with a conflicted expression. Looked like the cheerleader wasn¡¯t as confident in Cerberus¡¯s dealings as she pretended. There was hope for her yet. Chapter 29 ¡°So he couldn¡¯t just leave it the fuck alone?¡± Shepard cursed as she went over the last transmission from the Illusive Man. ¡°Shepard?¡± ¡°Apparently Timmy thought we were taking too long recovering from his ¡®calculated risk¡¯ with the Collectors. He sent a science team after the Reaper derelict and now they¡¯ve lost contact.¡± That got several looks from the crew members blatantly not doing their jobs to listen in on her and Miranda¡¯s conversation. ¡°We were already on route. Why would he send another team in?¡± Her XO questioned. ¡°Because this isn¡¯t recent.¡± Shepard replied. ¡°He sent the team in when they found the thing, but only recently did they stop reporting back. And now we¡¯re racing the clock.¡± ¡°What do you mean?¡± ¡°We assume that the Reaper is dead because it hasn¡¯t been repaired. But it clearly still has some power based on the reports. If the systems responsible for Indoctrination are still active¡­¡± ¡°Then the entire science crew might have been compromised.¡± Miranda nodded as understanding dawned. ¡°And Cerberus just handed the wreck a potential workforce to start getting itself repaired.¡± Shepard added gravely. ¡°You think the Reaper is still alive?¡± The Commander shrugged. ¡°Dunno about that, but I do know I¡¯m not going to take any chances. We¡¯re two days out from our destination, how¡¯s everyone looking?¡± Miranda consulted a datapad. ¡°Mostly fully recovered. Only Grunt is displaying lingering signs of injury, although he is getting increasingly irritable. He chased off one of the techs nearby last night.¡± ¡°Yeah, I know.¡± Shepard groaned. ¡°I talked to him after but we have no idea what¡¯s causing it. I even set Mordin on him but there is no sign of what is suddenly causing the issue. If it keeps up or gets to the point he starts ignoring orders, I¡¯m going to have to pull him off missions.¡± ¡°Dr. Solus had no idea what¡¯s wrong?¡± ¡°He has five different theories about what it could be.¡± She admitted. ¡°But we might need to find an actual Krogan doctor to be sure. Mordin isn¡¯t exactly a GP.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll make a note to expect us heading to the Aralakh System after this mission then.¡± Shepard smiled at her 2IC. ¡°Took the words right out of my mouth. Thanks Miranda.¡± -o- Shepard was used to being tossed around while landing in a Kodiak. She was used to being thrown around while driving a Mako. Hell she was even used to the occasional rocking on a planetary transport. She was decidedly less used to something the size of the Normandy shaking her around like a loose rock in someone¡¯s boot during basic. But that was what happened when dealing with five hundred KPH winds, or at least that was Joker¡¯s answer to her whining about the choppiness of the ride. Oddly, she didn¡¯t feel any better when the wind suddenly died off like it was never there. ¡°Talk to me, Joker. What just happened?¡± ¡°The Reaper¡¯s mass effect fields are still active. We just passed inside their envelope.¡± The pilot said distractedly as his eyes danced over the displays. ¡°Head¡¯s up, Commander. I¡¯ve got a scan of another ship alongside the Reaper. It¡¯s not broadcasting any IFF, but ladar paints it¡¯s silhouette as Geth.¡± ¡°Great, just what we needed.¡± Shepard cursed. -o- The moment the ground teams entered the wreck through once of the Cerberus installed airlocks Shepard knew this wasn¡¯t going to be a clean mission. The desiccated corpse of one of the members of the science team laid out on the ground next to a wall covered in blood stains made that pretty clear. But what really set her on edge was the fact Revan took two steps out of the airlock and then stopped. So far no matter how heavy the resistance or big the obstacle, the Sith had advanced confidently where everyone else had at least taken a second to examine what was up ahead. For her to stop now¡­ ¡°Something up, Raven?¡± She all but demanded, one small part of her mind hoping it was just her overreacting. ¡°...This place. It has an active presence in the Force.¡± The Sith said slowly, swiftly snuffing out that small bit of hope. ¡°...but not like the structures I¡¯m used to. It¡¯s almost like¡­¡± ¡°Like?¡± Garrus prompted when she trailed off. Revan didn¡¯t answer immediately. Instead she turned towards Shepard and the Commander could feel the seriousness the elven woman was projecting through her visor. ¡°Shepard, back in my universe there were areas so heavily touched by the Force it could affect anything around it. Places of peacefulness and healing, places of animalistic rage and aggression, and in some cases, places so dyed in death and suffering that it would drive the most pacifistic monks to murderous madness. We called them Force Nexuses, and while they could influence anyone around them it was always¡­undirected¡­passive. It was up to the individual to actually act on the feelings they were affected by. This¡­this is different. I can feel this ship actively trying to subvert my defenses. Poking at different spots trying to bend me to its will.¡± ¡°That doesn¡¯t sound good.¡± Tali said, shifting her grip on her new blaster shotgun and looking around. ¡°Should we be worried?¡± Shepard was half a second from ordering everyone back to the Normandy. The thought of an Indoctrinated Revan? She had greater nightmare fuel, but that one was up there. If you encounter this story on Amazon, note that it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it. ¡°No, it¡¯s active¡­but weak. So incredibly weak. Especially for the presence I¡¯m sensing. Unless we plan on staying here for a few weeks we shouldn¡¯t be affected too much.¡± Revan assured her. ¡°That isn¡¯t the problem however. Shepard, this mental attack doesn¡¯t feel like a Force Nexus, it feels like a force user.¡± ¡°I¡¯m guessing that¡¯s bad?¡± ¡°Try impossible. Yes, machines can affect the force with the right techniques or materials but I have never heard of one that feels like a force user.¡± Revan looked at the body of the Cerberus scientist. ¡°There is something wrong about this ship, and I do not say that lightly. We should get what we came for and leave. Immediately.¡± As if in reaction to her words the entire wreck seemed to shudder, throwing the members of the Normandy around as they scrambled to recover their footing. ¡°What just happened?!¡± Shepard yelled into her radio. ¡°The Reaper put up kinetic barriers. I don¡¯t think we can get through from our side.¡± Joker¡¯s voice was a bit stressed. Then the actual meaning fully hit. ¡°So we¡¯re stuck inside the Reaper. Fantastic.¡± Miranda commented dryly. ¡°Right after we confirmed it''s still messing with our heads.¡± Tali commiserated. Shepard barely registered the snarky comments and was trying to come up with a plan. ¡°We could try and take down the barrier generators from in here. Any idea where they are?¡± ¡°At the moment of activation, I detected a heat spike in what is likely the wreck¡¯s mass effect core. Sending the coordinates now.¡± EDI cut in. Almost immediately there was a ping on everyone¡¯s omnitool as the data was downloaded onto them. ¡°Be advised: this core is also maintaining the Reaper¡¯s altitude.¡± ¡°So when we take the barriers down to escape, the wreck falls into the planet¡¯s core.¡± Fantastic. ¡°And that means everyone dies. Yeah, I got it.¡± Joker snarked. ¡°Any chance we can bring them down without destroying the core?¡± ¡°Not even the entire Citadel fleet could take down those barriers. Hate to say it, Commander, but we aren¡¯t shooting our way out.¡± Worth a shot, anyway. ¡°Well if there¡¯s any helmsman that could get us out before we hit crush depth it¡¯s you.¡± She said supportively. ¡°We¡¯ll make a sweep for survivors and recover what data we can. Stand by.¡± with that she closed the call. ¡°Any survivors we find are surely indoctrinated by now.¡± Miranda warned. ¡°Yeah, but we can¡¯t just leave them.¡± Shepard declared. ¡°Besides, Revan might be able to help them.¡± She had managed to rid the asari on Korlus of any trace of indoctrination¡­and crushed her personality at the same time, but hopefully going slower would mean they could save some people. ¡°We might not have room.¡± Her XO warned. ¡°The science team deployed here was over four thousand people. It would be hard to accommodate a fraction of them if they were perfectly behaved. No telling how they will act now¡­¡± No one had much to say to that. So they continued further into the wreck, hacking any terminal they came across. Each one shed some light on what happened to the members of the science team¡­and painted a grim picture about their fate. Several recordings showed people slowly losing their minds as things ¡®popped right out of the wall¡¯ or whispered things to them. Some of them seemed to have their memories start to overlap, and one person snapped and went full on religious about how even a dead god can still dream. Shepard was starting to agree with Miranda that there simply might not be anyone left to save. ¡°Heads up, more bodies up ahead.¡± Garrus warned as they exited another hatch. And sure enough, there were several corpses scattered on the walkway. Still no sign of what killed them though. ¡°No gunshot wounds.¡± Samara commented as she investigated them. ¡°Looks like they were torn apart by something. What do you think could have done it? The geth?¡± ¡°Probably those things, if I had to guess.¡± Revan said calmly and pointed further down the walkway. While the others had been distracted by the bodies, several dozen Husks had appeared from behind crates, climbed up from the sides of the walkway, or just seemed to appear from the shadows. The techno-zombies had been shuffling towards them quietly but once they realized they had been discovered, they screamed and surged forward. The teams immediately opened fire. The new weaponry provided by Revan was devastating. The contained plasma bolts chewed through the cybernetically augmented flesh and either slagged it beyond use or simply blew it off in chunks. But even then, the army of Husks barely slowed down. They grew closer and closer, simply trampling over the fallen forms of the ones that were shot until Samara and Revan simply knocked over the front ranks with their powers. That left the five of them free to blast the Husks while they struggled to get up or bypass the roadblock in front of them while the Sith cut down the lucky one or two fast enough to make it past the others or new ones that had come up over the sides. ¡°And there goes the last of them.¡± Garrus remarked as the final Husk fell with only a stump where its head used to be. ¡°For now. We should move ahead before more show up.¡± Samara suggested. They barely moved a hundred feet before several sharp cracks echoed out and a couple Husks fell out into the hallway. ¡°Sniper!¡± Shepard called out a little redundantly, but training trumped logic here. The real question was who could possibly be shooting. At this point she really doubted any of the science team could have survived long enough for them to arrive. Between the obvious Indoctrination symptoms the teams saw in the recordings and the Husks, it was highly unlikely anyone would still be sane or alive. ¡°Could it be the Geth?¡± Miranda asked. ¡°We haven¡¯t seen any sign of them so far.¡± ¡°Impossible. The Geth serve the Reapers.¡± Tali immediately denied. ¡°This one was destroyed millions of years ago. Maybe it doesn¡¯t know it isn¡¯t supposed to be hostile?¡± ¡°Well, we¡¯re about to find out.¡± Shepard interrupted. ¡°Keep your eyes open.¡± She started to move forward, but was stopped by Revan placing a hand on her shoulder. ¡°I¡¯ll be going first.¡± The Sith said calmly, moving to the front of the group. ¡°I¡¯m better prepared to defend myself against this sniper if they are hostile.¡± They all followed after Revan into a large cavernous opening where they could see the walkways added by Cerberus end abruptly in front of several spiked outcroppings, but Shepard and the others didn¡¯t get to look around freely for long. There was no sign of their mysterious sniper, but more Husks started swarming over the edges. Once again the Ground Teams opened fire and began swiftly cutting down the numbers but this time it wasn¡¯t just Husks. A trio of Scions shambled out into the open and unleashed a barrage of shockwaves towards the fire teams. Samara saw that and instantly stopped firing at the incoming husks in order to face them. Glowing with biotic energy, the Asari Justicar slammed her hands outward and created a glowing wall of biotic barrier that absorbed all three incoming attacks. The barrier flickered dangerously, but managed to hold. Garrus shifted fire to target the three Scions. Which left only Shepard, Miranda, and Tali to fire into the oncoming hordes. Normally this might have been enough to overwhelm them if they needed to keep an eye on all flanks. But Revan was currently doing a very convincing performance of a localized tornado filled with razor blades and lightning. She was managing to cover half of the flanks by herself leaving the others free to focus on the dwindling number of Husks in front of them. That didn¡¯t mean everything was sunshine and rainbows. One of the Husks got close enough that even after Tali blew it in half with her shotgun, it was still able to grab her leg and pull her to the ground before it finally died, where two others dogpiled her. Thankfully, Miranda was able to quickly shoot one and grab the other in a biotic field and hurl it into a few others before they managed to get close. That didn¡¯t mean she could stop all of them though. Several more swarmed the gaps in the fields of fire and Shepard wasn¡¯t enough to cover for the momentary breach. Miranda was forced to abandon using her blaster for a moment in favor of her biotics. Miranda wasn¡¯t the most powerful biotic Shepard had ever come across, but she was easily one of the most skilled, and her multitasking was insane. Five separate Lift fields eached grabbed a husk in roughly a straight line¨C ¡°Shepard!¡± ¡°I see it.¡± ¨Cmaking them a perfect target for a well-timed Shockwave to set them all off like a line of grenades as the fields explosively destabilized. Not only did it buy the Ground Teams some breathing room, it also gave Miranda a chance to help Tali up from underneath the Husk that had fallen on her. While those two were busy, Shepard took a second to get a feel for the overall situation. Garrus had finished with the Scions, so both he and Samara were free to turn their attention back to the rest of the Husks. Revan had cut through so many that she was actually creating small walls out of the bodies to direct the last ones towards her. And the Husks themselves were finally starting to thin out as they depleted whatever reinforcements they had in the area. A couple minutes later, Shepard put three rounds into the chest of the final Husk and let out a breath of relief. The Blasters were shot for shot more powerful than most guns she had worked with, but after several minutes of nonstop firing their accuracy had taken a serious dive. Maybe Revan had a solution for it, considering these probably weren¡¯t the best designs she had, or maybe the Alliance might be able to do something if she could get a blaster back to them. That was for later though. First they had to survive their current situation. ¡°Status report, everyone okay?¡± Everyone reported green with the only issue being a twisted ankle on Tali¡¯s end that was fixed up with a little medi-gel. After everyone was confirmed okay, Shepard couldn¡¯t help but wander around the area a bit. So many Husks had just shown up out of nowhere. She was a little curious to see if there were more walkways below them that they climbed up from or some other method so they wouldn¡¯t be taken by surprise next time. She didn¡¯t see anything resembling a transport system so it looked like the Husks simply climbed up from the bottom of the chasm in front of them. And Shepard saw the reason there were so many in the first place. Dragon¡¯s Teeth. The spiked outcroppings she noticed on the way in greatly resembled the devices the Geth used on Eden Prime and elsewhere to turn people into Husks. Even now she could see a few bodies impaled on the spikes, slowly going through the transformation process. And there was nothing she could do for them. Her dark thoughts were interrupted by Revan walking closer. ¡°Do you see the way the room is arranged?¡± She asked the Sith. ¡°They treated this thing like some kind of altar.¡± ¡°And when their god demanded a sacrifice, they were all too happy to provide.¡± Shepard scowled. ¡°Is this how it''s going to look when the Reapers arrive? People just being conditioned into unthinking weapons? You saw those logs. Everyone here, they were seeing things, hearing things. They were being Indoctrinated and this thing isn¡¯t even alive anymore.¡± ¡°You¡¯re worried even if you kill the Reapers the Indoctrination will finish off the survivors?¡± Revan questioned. ¡°I wouldn¡¯t worry too much. Now we know it is caused by the Force presence of a Reaper and not just their technology, somehow, we can begin developing a defense against it.¡± ¡°And if we can¡¯t?¡± ¡°Then we simply quarantine the remains of the Reapers until they can be safely destroyed.¡± ¡°Let¡¯s just find that IFF and get out of here.¡± She whispered to her fellow squad leader. Revan made it sound so easy. But she was right. Standing here brooding wouldn¡¯t stop the Collectors. It wouldn¡¯t stop the Reapers. She still had a job to do and ¡®what ifs¡¯ could wait until it was finished. ¡°Okay,¡± She said louder and more confidently, ¡°let¡¯s keep going.¡± Chapter 30 Shepard shoved the barrel of her blaster into the chest of one of the few remaining Husks and pulled the trigger. The hyper concentrated plasma easily burned a clean hole in the cybernetically enhanced flesh and the techno-zombie fell dead. With the last of her immediate enemies dealt with the Spectre was free to look around and see how the rest of her team was doing and was unsurprised to see that while most of them looked like they were starting to feel the strain of constant combat, none of them were getting overwhelmed by the swarms of undead just yet. Honestly she was also starting to feel the strain, despite her Cerberus provided implants drastically improving her stamina. Thankfully their mission was almost done. The Cerberus science team had managed to not only identify the Reaper IFF, they had been able to remove and isolate it before they all fell to the Reaper¡¯s Indoctrination completely. The surprisingly small device was currently safely sitting in an armored pouch on Shepard¡¯s belt so the only thing left to do was find a way to bring down the kinetic barriers keeping them from the Normandy and escaping before they fell into the Brown Dwarf below them. Which meant shutting down the damn thing¡¯s Mass Effect Core. Which according to EDI was just up ahead. And speaking of helpful AI¡­ ¡°Anyone get a glimpse of our weirdly helpful Geth sniper recently?¡± She asked as everyone took a small break to check over their equipment. ¡°Nothing, Commander.¡± ¡°No signs.¡± ¡°Do we even want to find it? We should just shoot it on sight.¡± Shepard spared Tali a glance, knowing the Quarian¡¯s issue with Geth as a whole. ¡°Well, it¡¯s helped us a couple times now and it seemed to know me. I¡¯d like to at least try and figure out what it wants and why it''s here since it¡¯s definitely not helping the Reapers.¡± ¡°Personally, I want to know why it¡¯s running around with some scrapped human armor.¡± Garrus added. ¡°Never thought I¡¯d see that happen.¡± ¡°Fine, we can try talking to it. But when it starts shooting at us I¡¯m going to say I told you so.¡± The team moved quickly towards the center of the wreck but despite coming across fewer and fewer Husks, Shepard was only feeling the sense of tension in the air increase. They were getting closer to something¡­ She did her best to shake off the feeling and focus on what was in front of her as Tali finished hacking through another security airlock. The door opened but the blue kinetic barrier just beyond it remained in place. ¡°Tali?¡± ¡°Working on it, Shepard. The controls are on the other side of the door. I have to get a little¡­creative.¡± The Commander looked past the barrier and scowled. ¡°Might want to hurry up. Looks like we found our Geth and it has friends.¡± At the base of the truly massive Mass Effect core was the Geth sniper that had been one step ahead of them for most of the journey through the Reaper derelict. The first sign of its presence was when it picked off a few Husks that had managed to sneak up behind the ground teams and from then on it had occasionally assisted them with long range sniper support only to disappear before they could contact or corner it. Now the Geth was doing something to the core and the Husks were aiming to stop it. Shepard and the others could only watch as the Geth gunned down several of them with a sidearm before the thermal clip was forcibly ejected. The synthetic must have been out of replacements because it ignored the last couple further away and returned to what it was doing at the console. To everyone¡¯s surprise, the kinetic barrier blocking their way was disabled just as one of the Husks managed to reach the Geth unit. It turned to confront it, but the Husk managed to get a hand into the large hole in the unit¡¯s front armor. Something sparked and the Geth fell unmoving to the ground. ¡°Garrus, secure that Geth! I want to know what the hell was going on with it. Tali, the console. Find out what it was doing. Samara, watch her back.¡± Shepard ordered as she started picking off the remaining Husks. ¡°Revan, can you scout the area?¡± The Sith nodded and started to walk off to the side before a voice rang out behind them. ¡°Is this what you have been doing during your time here? Playing soldier? I¡¯m disappointed Revan. It¡¯s like you forgot all about us.¡± That tension Shepard had been feeling earlier was now almost a physical thing pressing down on them. The Spectre could practically hear reality screaming as anger seemed to radiate off the elven woman along with an aura of power that made the walls shake around them. ¡±Bastila¡­¡± Shepard had never heard someone inject so much¡­raw hatred¡­into a word as Revan did right then. ¡°Revan, wha¨C¡± The Commander was interrupted as an invisible shove cut her off and threw her further into the room. ¡°I¡¯ll deal with her. You deal with the core.¡± Revan snapped as she stalked back down the way they had come, both lightsabers ignited. The instant the Sith passed the threshold, the kinetic barrier sprang back to life and the door closed. Leaving Shepard and her team trapped. ¡°...but there was no one there¡­¡± -o- The Force shook under the weight of Revan¡¯s rage as she once again clashed with her former friend turned sister turned enemy. The walls seemed to vibrate as red and blue lightsabers crashed into yellow. ¡°Is this the best you can do, Revan?¡± Bastila asked, seemingly disappointed as she effortlessly blocked and dodged through the infuriated Sith¡¯s attacks. ¡°You¡¯ve gotten soft. Too much time without someone to challenge you?¡± ¡°Shut up, traitor!¡± Revan snarled. ¡°How are you even here?!¡± ¡°Do you want me to be quiet or to answer you? I can only do one.¡± Bastila replied, placidly cutting through the section of the wall Revan had ripped from their surroundings and attempted to crush her with. ¡°But it wasn¡¯t that hard. You left quite the trail, afterall.¡± Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on the original website. ¡°Not possible. You couldn¡¯t have followed me!¡± ¡°Obviously I could. I needed to. I had to make sure the galaxy was protected from you. And I was right! Here you are, waiting for the perfect chance to grab power for yourself. Even when a vastly dangerous foe is just over the horizon you keep the most useful technology and designs for yourself. Just so you can rebuild your kriffing Empire!¡± ¡°I kept them to myself because no one else could be trusted with them! The people here aren¡¯t ready!¡± A veritable wall of lightning filled the space they were in but Bastila came out looking relatively unharmed from the assault. So Revan moved in close. A stab was blocked by one end of Bastila¡¯s saberstaff and the following counterattack was knocked aside by Revan¡¯s other blade with some effort. ¡°You really have slowed down.¡± Bastila mocked even as she twirled away from Revan¡¯s onslaught. ¡°The old you would have had a small army eating out of her hand by now. Is that why you¡¯re on this ship right now? To find the Indoctrination technology? I wouldn¡¯t bother, you aren¡¯t smart enough to use it.¡± Revan caught both ends of the saberstaff in a bind and kicked Bastila in the chest hard enough to fly through the air. ¡°I don¡¯t need something like that!¡± ¡°Clearly you do if the only thing you managed to do is secure a temporary alliance with a single ship filled with terrorists after handing over some half-decent blasters.¡± -o- Shepard cursed as she felt the deck shudder underneath her from whatever Revan was doing. If the Sith didn¡¯t snap out of it, it might not even matter if they managed to destroy the core. Not if she destroyed the wreck while they were still on it. ¡°So, any clue why she decided to go crazy?¡± Garrus asked as they held off another wave of Husks while they waited for the armored panels protecting the main part of the core to retract again. ¡°It¡¯s been said that all Sith are inherently unstable.¡± Samara said. ¡°The Reaper might have been the final push into madness.¡± ¡°If it was, then we¡¯re all fucked because I heard the voice too.¡± Shepard cut in, with the others nodding in agreement. They had heard it too. There just hadn¡¯t been anyone there to say the words. ¡°Tali, any luck with the console?¡± ¡°None. It¡¯s locked down somehow. The Geth set the core to cycle through a maintenance loop but I can¡¯t enter any new commands.¡± Shepard held back a curse. ¡°Okay, hard way it is. Keep those Husks back and focus on the core when it¡¯s open.¡± The remaining ground team quickly fell into a comfortable pattern. Garrus and Tali would blast away at the core while Shepard, Miranda, and Samara would use their combined biotics for crowd control. Unfortunately, it seemed like what remained of the Reaper¡¯s mind had recognized the danger it was in and was sending unending waves of the techno-zombies at the crew. ¡°This might not be the best time but what are we going to do about Revan, Commander?¡± Miranda asked during one of the lulls. ¡°She could be compromised.¡± ¡°...We¡¯ll burn that bridge when we get to it.¡± Shepard finally replied after a brief pause. ¡°Revan was able to undo Indoctrination before. We¡¯ll just have to see if she can do it to herself.¡± Miranda nodded before visibly steeling herself in a way that made the Spectre think she wasn¡¯t going to like whatever she said next. ¡°It might be¡­better¡­if we left her behind. Safer certainly.¡± It was only the clear distaste in the Cerberus officer¡¯s voice regarding that option that kept Shepard from snapping at her XO. And it was her job to offer differing solutions that Shepard herself wouldn¡¯t have come up with. But still¡­ ¡°We don¡¯t leave teammates behind.¡± Another quake shook the derelict. ¡°I just hope Revan still considers us teammates then.¡± -o- Something was wrong. That was the growing feeling Revan wasn¡¯t able to shake the longer this ¡®duel¡¯ went on. She feinted low to bait out an attack but the Jedi didn¡¯t take it. Another slash with her saber was parried by a twirl of the saberstaff. Several times Revan aggressively assaulted her enemy and not once did her opponent manage to take advantage of the small openings beyond probing with her own lightsaber. Bastila was always the more defensive fighter between the two of them, a result of her Jedi training, but never to this extent. She wasn¡¯t using the environment to distract or disrupt Revan¡¯s attacks. She wasn¡¯t even using Force techniques beyond some basics for movement and to keep up with Revan¡¯s strikes. The only offensive option she had tried was a subtle mental probe to trip up Revan¡¯s control at certain points. Amethyst eyes widened behind her visor as Revan realized she was being an idiot. The shock of seeing her sister and betrayer and the emotions that had come with it had blinded her to the fact it was impossible for Bastila to be here at all. So much so that the Sith hadn¡¯t realized that not once during the ¡®fight¡¯ had she felt any danger or warning in the Force. It was almost like she had been fighting a hologram or¡­ ¡°...an illusion.¡± She muttered aloud. Now that she wasn¡¯t fighting like a Rancor in a blood rage, Revan could see only her sabers had left behind any tangible marks. Even the wall Bastila had ¡®cut through¡¯ was perfectly intact. It was all just an illusion. An incredibly insidious and subtle one, but an illusion all the same. And now that Revan was aware of it, a simple flex of her will would be enough for her to break it. But first¡­ ¡°Giving up, Revan?¡± The illusion sounded almost surprised when the Sith extinguished her lightsabers. ¡°You can stop pretending.¡± Revan said tiredly. ¡°You aren¡¯t Bastila, just an image created by my mind. I¡¯m not sure if I should be impressed or disturbed that a braindead wreck was able to fool me for even a little while.¡± ¡°You really are insane. A ship being able to create illusions? Preposterous.¡± Revan could only smile bitterly at the pale shadow in front of her. Bastila, the real Bastila, had tried to kill her because of the corrupting influence of a space station. A ship being able to create illusions wouldn¡¯t have been surprising in the slightest. Especially not after some of their other adventures together. ¡°Yes, something like a mix of Force Persuasion and Domination.¡± Revan mused, ignoring the illusion. ¡°And channeled through a passive field generated by Reaper technology rather than a targeted attack. That way it wouldn¡¯t tip off a Force user about the danger¡­¡± ¡°You still think I¡¯m some kind of fake?¡± The illusion barked, its composure now nothing like Bastila¡¯s normal calm demeanor. ¡°Then why haven¡¯t you, the all-powerful Darth Revan, managed to get out, huh?¡± ¡°Because I wanted to say something to you. Rather to Bastila, but you will do for the moment.¡± Revan took a deep breath and examined her feelings. ¡°I don¡¯t think I¡¯ve hated an individual more than you in that moment I realized I was a galaxy away from everything I fought and sacrificed for. ¡°I couldn¡¯t understand how you could throw everything we had been through together away for something so unreliable as a vision. ¡°But after I saw how much this galaxy has been touched by ours, I started to wonder. Was the vision you told me about really what you saw? Or did you just lie so I would act as you wanted and wind up here? Had you seen something about this place? Another galaxy with a threat just like the Vong and just as unprepared. ¡°Either way, I have to live with the result. So yes, I may have taken my time figuring out the factions of this galaxy. But I¡¯m going to force them to cooperate and face this Reaper threat, even if I have to drag them kicking and screaming the whole way there. And then?¡± Even through the visor Revan¡¯s glare was something terrible to be faced with. ¡°Then I¡¯m coming for you.¡± With that there was nothing more to say. She waved her hand through the illusion and it broke apart like smoke, leaving her alone in the even more ruined wreckage of the Reaper. -o- ¡°Shepard, the core is done for! We need to get out of here!¡± The Commander acknowledged Garrus¡¯s shout with a nod. ¡°Okay, someone give me a hand with the Geth. We¡¯re taking it with us. No arguments.¡± She snapped when she saw Tali about to protest. ¡°Joker, pull the ship around. Core¡¯s been destroyed and we¡¯re going to need pickup, quick!¡± Then she took a deep breath and called Revan, praying to any gods willing to listen that the Sith hadn¡¯t gone crazy and was about to try murdering them all. ¡°Revan, the core was destroyed. We¡¯re falling back to this location for extraction. Don¡¯t keep us waiting.¡± All she got back was a single click on the radio. Revan had heard her but she had no idea if the elven woman was still on their side. But there was no time to dwell on that. Shepard sent a dozen Husks flying through the air with a well placed Shockwave as she and the rest of her team raced through the opening¡­but that was hardly worth noting as hundreds of the things had finally arrived instead of the waves of a few dozen at a time and were pouring in from every nook and cranny. Samara creating a Singularity to block off the door they rushed through helped some. But that only bottlenecked the Husks, not truly stopping them. So Shepard was rightfully concerned when they made it to one of the massive rents in the Reaper hull where they could see open air¡­and the Normandy was nowhere in sight. ¡°What¡¯s the hold up, Joker?¡± The Spectre wouldn¡¯t deny she sounded nervous. Nearly everything was out of her hands at this point. ¡±Working on it. Joker sounded stressed too. ¡±If you want to try matching velocities with a falling wreck and not get pasted against the hull by atmospheric winds you¡¯re welcome to try this yourself.¡± ¡°If I was in a position to try that, we wouldn¡¯t be having this conversation.¡± She snarked, but kept moving towards the extraction point. There was still a horde of zombies right on their heels after all. They passed the final door installed by Cerberus and then there was nothing but open space and a few catwalks between them and the Indoctrinated forces. And to make things worse, the same winds Joker was complaining about threatened to pull the team off their feet. Revan¡¯s provided blasters were once again a god-send as a bolt or two was usually enough to put down a Husk for good. But even those weren¡¯t going to be enough to keep the horde off them forever. At least not until a shimmering purple barrier fell over all the members of the Normandy crew and physically pushed the husks backwards. ¡°Great job with the barrier!¡± Shepard cheered, not particularly caring which of her teammates managed to pull it off. ¡°Can you keep it up?¡± ¡°Commander¡­we didn¡¯t do that.¡± She turned to see Samara had paled to a sickly gray color. Following the Justicar¡¯s gaze, almost against her will, Shepard saw exactly what had frightened the Asari when falling to their deaths while thousands of undead descended on them was met with perfect stoicism. It was Revan. But unlike Shepard had ever seen her before. Shadows seemed to cling to the woman as she¡­sauntered seemed to be the best word¡­closer to the group, while small arcs of electricity occasionally crackled around her. ¡°...Revan, you feeling okay?¡± Shepard hesitantly greeted her fellow ground team leader. If the Sith had wound up Indoctrinated¡­ ¡­they were fucked. There was no way they could do anything to stop her and still get off the Reaper before they were swallowed by the gravity well. ¡°No.¡± The Sith¡¯s response was not helpful for her blood pressure. ¡°The Reaper¡¯s attempt at swaying me picked at some mental wounds. I¡¯m not the most in control of my emotions at the moment.¡± There was a crunching sound and a quick look at the source showed that Revan had flattened the dozens of the Husks pawing at the barrier like a Hand of God. ¡°I¡¯ll need to meditate on that later.¡± Revan continued idly. The appearance of the Normandy seconds later was a huge relief. But even as the ground team rushed to board the Frigate and climb to safer altitudes, Shepard couldn¡¯t shake the feeling that even if it wasn¡¯t Indoctrination ¨Cand the Elven woman was going straight to Medical to make sure there were no nanites hitching a ride¨C something had changed about Revan. Chapter 31 ¡°Ladies and gentlemen, this is your pilot speaking. I¡¯d like to be the first to welcome you to the wonderfully irradiated dustball that is Tuchanka, homeworld of everybody¡¯s favorite blood thirsty giant lizard people. We are on final approach to the holdings of Clan Urdnot where it is a balmy 37oc or for those of you stuck in the twenty-first century a nice 99of. Remember your sunscreen folks, you¡¯re going to need it, and thank you for flying Air Joker.¡± Shepard sighed and lightly slapped the back of Joker¡¯s headrest. ¡°Must you? I¡¯m trying to run a respectable ship.¡± Joker smiled at her. ¡°Hey, gotta enjoy the perks of going private when I can. Besides, you can¡¯t claim respectable until you convince Jack to start wearing a shirt.¡± ¡°How long before we land?¡± Shepard changed the topic with the grace of a brick to the head. ¡°Should be down in fifteen, Commander.¡± Shepard nodded, that should give her enough time to get ready. ¡°I should go.¡± ¡°Say hi to Wrex for me.¡± -o- To say that Tuchanka looked like a warzone was honestly an understatement. Between the radioactive rubble, choking ash, hostile wildlife ¨C and Shepard counted the local Krogans among that ¨C, and an atmosphere so damaged that it required an atmospheric shroud to be put in place to lower the temperatures on the planet to something livable. And that was just what it looked like from a far. Even the Urdnot Clan holdings which were supposed to be one of the more livable areas of the planet looked like bombed out ruins. If she had the choice, Commander Shepard wouldn¡¯t have set foot on somewhere like that while on a mission like hers but Tuchanka was the only place she and Chakwas could think of where they could quickly find out what was going on with Grunt. The tank-born krogan had been having issues for a while, uncontrolled bursts of anger, restlessness, and even more aggression than a normal krogan, but it had gotten to the point that Grunt was starting to lash out at the crew. Even Grunt himself didn¡¯t know what was going on, but it was not something he controlled. The only options were to find him help or take him off the crew before he killed someone¡­or was thrown through a bulkhead by Jack or Revan. And if it had been a different member of her team, Shepard might have left them somewhere until they sorted themselves out but Grunt didn¡¯t have anything like that. The tank-born might have had memories and imprints of his people, but that didn¡¯t mean he had any actual connections to reach out to. By going to Tuchanka, they would either find out what was wrong and how to fix it¡­or they would leave Grunt with the rest of his people and hope he found a future there. Cerberus¡¯s files had said Wrex had come back to try uniting the clans but not much more than that. Her hope was that he could look after Grunt if they failed to find a cure for what was bothering him. She wasn¡¯t ready for Mordin to ambush her on the way back to the locker room. The Salarian scientist speaking so quickly she couldn¡¯t get a word in if she wanted to. ¡°Shepard. Important news. Know you¡¯re busy. Have to deal with Krogan and Collectors. Planning attack. Too important to wait. Just received data, still processing, analyzing likely scenarios. Not sure how to begin. Too much intel!¡± ¡°Why don¡¯t you start at the beginning then?¡± Shepard offered when she managed to parse the rush of words. ¡°Right. Beginning, yes. Excellent place to start.¡± Mordin took a second to compose himself. ¡°You remember our talk? My work on genophage modification?¡± Oh this wasn¡¯t going to be a fun conversation. Yes Shepard remembered that little talk. During one of her attempts to learn more about her team and who they were as people rather than simple assets on the mission it came out that Mordin had been part of an STG operation to modify the Krogan Genophage since the Krogans were actually beginning to evolve so it was no longer effective. Their goal was to alter the Genophage so that it continued to keep the reproduction rate low enough that the Krogan¡¯s wouldn¡¯t be a threat to the wider galaxy. And they succeeded. Shepard had been deeply revolted that Mordin would be an accomplice to such an act but after many hours of thinking about the issue and talking it over with Mordin, Samara, Chakwas and even Revan¡­she found that while she couldn¡¯t fully accept it was a good thing, it might have been for the best that Mordin had been involved. Even if Mordin had refused to work on the project, that didn¡¯t mean the STG wouldn¡¯t have released a new Genophage. It would just be some other Salarian and according to the scientist, modifying the genophage was a magnitude more difficult than it sounded. The slightest mistake could have wiped out the Krogans as a species. That still didn¡¯t mean she was comfortable with it. ¡°Yeah, I remember.¡± ¡°Blood Pack mercenaries captured former team member. Maelon. Last seen on Tuchanka. Might torture him. Make an example¡­¡± Mordin trailed off, no doubt lost in the various scenarios he envisioned of what a horde of angry Krogan would do to a Salarian that worked on the Genophage before shaking himself out of it. ¡°Maelon last seen outside Urdnot territory. Retrieving him would be a personal favor to me.¡± Shepard sighed explosively. It¡¯s not like she could, in good conscience, leave someone to be tortured. And they were already going to speak to the Urdnot clan chief. Hopefully it wouldn¡¯t be too much more to ask for them to poke around the area without needing to explain everything. And if that didn¡¯t work, maybe Wrex would be able to sneak them over to the site. ¡°Yeah, I¡¯ll mention it to the clan chief when we meet him. We¡¯ll figure it out. See if he has any news on any Blood Pack in the area.¡± Mordin smiled and nodded. ¡°Appreciate it. My assistant. My student. Want to see him safe.¡± Shepard could relate but there was no more time for a conversation, she was already running behind schedule. She needed to hurry to the hanger. ¡°I should go¡­¡± -o- After a¡­friendly...greeting by some of the locals, Shepard made her way through the ruins towards where she was told the clan leader was waiting for her. Part of her was annoyed that none of the Krogan seemed interested in acknowledging that she and her team existed unless it was to threaten them or not so subtly suggest they leave, another part was relieved that whatever was affecting Grunt was so common that the random guard that stopped her at the entrance to the building could identify it on sight ¨C whatever the Rite was, she had no idea and anyone else refused to elaborate or tell her how to get him to do it ¨C and the rest of her was just glad that no one had started a firefight to show how little ¡®aliens¡¯ were appreciated. Especially Mordin and Garrus. She couldn¡¯t exactly tell Mordin to wait on the Normandy while she went searching for his assistant without him and Garrus was just as interested in seeing Wrex as she was. She couldn¡¯t blame either one for coming along, but damn was it not helping her blood pressure. ¡°Halt!¡± One of the guards demanded as her group finally reached the clan leader¡¯s location. ¡°You must wait until the Clan Leader summons you. He is¡­in talks.¡± Looking past the almost literal wall of Krogan, Shepard could in fact see that there was already someone speaking very animatedly at a very bored looking¡­ ¡°Wrex?¡± The massive Krogan¡¯s head snapped up and focused on her at the sound of her voice. His scarred face twisted into a smile as he stood, visibly ignoring the Krogan he had been talking to, and making his way towards her. If you encounter this tale on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. ¡°Shepard! My friend!¡± Wrex shoved his way towards her and seized her hand in a crushing grip. ¡°You look well for dead, Shepard. Should have known the void couldn¡¯t hold you.¡± ¡°You heard about that? I¡¯m shocked. But look at you! You seem to have done well for yourself.¡± Wrex grunted. ¡°Not just for me, Shepard, but for all Krogan. Clan Urdnot is just the start. When I¡¯m done we will be ONE people again.¡± he declared, throwing his hands up in the air. Shepard smiled. ¡°Well, now I¡¯m really glad we didn¡¯t end up killing each other. Sounds like you¡¯ve got big plans.¡± ¡°Ha! Shepard, you made the rise of Urdnot possible. Virmire was a turning point for the krogan, though not everyone was happy about it.¡± Wrex glared at the krogan that had been speaking earlier. ¡°Destroying Saren¡¯s Genophage cure freed us from his manipulation. I used that to spur the clans to unify under Urdnot.¡± ¡°You abandoned many traditions to get your way.¡± The previously ignored krogan interjected. ¡°Dangerous.¡± Wrex looked at him with an almost bored look on his face and slammed his armored headplate into the smaller krogan¡¯s face. ¡°Speak when spoken to, Uvenk. I¡¯ll drag your clan to glory whether it wants it or not.¡± He sounded so disinterested in his warning that Shepard realized no matter what Uvenk¡¯s position actually was, Wrex was putting up with him out of obligation not out of respect. The Clan Leader moved back to the pile of rubble that served as his chair and collapsed into it, looking at his former teammate with interest. ¡°Now, Shepard. What brings you all the way out here. How¡¯s the Normandy?¡± Shepard raised an eyebrow. ¡°You heard I was dead and still have to ask?¡± ¡°News from out in the galaxy isn¡¯t the best out here.¡± Wrex said with a shrug. ¡°And if you¡¯re walking around at least some of what I did hear was false.¡± ¡°Well the Normandy was destroyed in a Collector surprise attack. I ended up spaced.¡± Shepard glossed over the details, not really wanting to talk about it. Something Wrex picked up on. ¡°Well, you look good. Ah, the benefits of a redundant nervous system!¡± ¡°Yeah¡­humans don¡¯t have that.¡± The Spectre deadpanned. ¡°Oh, it must have been painful then. But you''re standing here, and you¡¯ve got a strong new crew.¡± He looked back to where Grunt and the others were clustered. ¡°And even some of the old one as well.¡± He remarked when he saw Garrus. ¡°Wrex, good to see you.¡± the Turian nodded back. ¡°Garrus. Finally getting up close and personal in a fight? What gave you the scar, or did a whelpling just get lucky?¡± ¡°Tried catching a dropship missile pod with my face. Can¡¯t say I recommend it.¡± ¡°Heh. Heh. Sounds like quite the story.¡± ¡°One we¡¯ll have to share later.¡± Shepard said, feeling a bit bad about interrupting her old teammates from catching up. ¡°I¡¯ve got another krogan on my crew with some kind of sickness and needs treatment.¡± Wrex leaned forward in interest as Grunt moved in front of him. ¡°Where are you from, whelp? Was your clan destroyed before you could learn what was expected of you?¡± ¡°I have no clan, I was tank-bred by warlord Okeer.¡± Grunt stated, and then went on to list the lines of krogan that went into his creation. Not that he seemed very interested himself. Even when Uvenk, seemingly unaffected from a headbut that would have caved in the skull of any other species, decided to call him the product of a syringe rather than a descendent of warlords, Grunt just brushed it off. For his part, Wrex seemed more interested in Okeer¡¯s role in Grunt¡¯s creation. But Shepard was surprised to hear Wrex say that the only way Grunt would be with her crew is if Okeer was dead. She wasn¡¯t quite sure what he meant by that but she was unable to investigate when Wrex started talking out loud about a clone undergoing the Rite. Or basically, as Mordin put it, a krogan puberty ritual. Something that pissed off Uvenk so much that he stormed off in disgust. ¡°Idiot.¡± Wrex commented dismissively once Uvenk was gone. ¡°So, Grunt? Do you wish to stand with Urdnot?¡± Shepard breathed a sigh of relief as it seemed at least one of the issues they were here for was going to be resolved easily. With some luck they would be finished on Tuchanka soon and back hunting the Collectors before the growing feud between Revan and Tali blew up the ship. Hopefully an opportunity presented itself to mend that rift. Shepard had managed to get half of her crew to get over their various issues and focus on the mission, she just had to do it with the other half before they tore the team apart. -o- ¡°What are you doing.¡± Revan slowly released a breath to temper her annoyance at the demanding tone of Tali¡¯Zorah¡¯s ¡®request¡¯. She finished screwing on the metal casing of the device she had created before turning to acknowledge the Quarian. ¡°Since everyone is so terrified of a single droid walking around unsupervised I¡¯m preparing a device that will restrict it from acting against us so I can talk freely with it.¡± ¡°You¡¯re still trying to talk with that thing?!¡± Revan rolled her eyes behind her visor. Despite Shepard trusting the Geth so far as to access the Normandy¡¯s FTL communications suite and collaborate a technology exchange as well as the platform to join in on ground operations, the rest of the crew was far less welcoming. In fact they were so suspicious that Revan had not been able to discuss anything with the fairly interesting droid without supervision from at least two shipmates and EDI monitoring the conversation. Not the easiest way to secure an alliance considering Cerberus would certainly not approve of her securing the Geth¡¯s assistance for her own plans. The Illusive Man might be content to allow the treasure trove of technology she possessed to remain out of his hands as long as Revan was forced to work through his organization, but she was sure the second she was no longer reliant on him, he would make a move. Thankfully, Shepard had decided as long as there were steps taken to make sure the Geth, or Legion as it had been decided to be called, couldn¡¯t subvert the Normandy¡¯s systems Revan could speak with it privately. ¡°I am. Personal curiosity on the development of a collective hive-AI managing class 3 sentience aside, managing to find out more about these ¡®Heretic Geth¡¯ and possibly securing the rest of them as allies against the Reapers is much more important than the hangups your people have about AI.¡± Revan partially lied. Yes, gaining the Geth¡¯s military forces would be a massive boon against any Reaper forces. But she was aiming for a more¡­personal cooperation with them. The Geth were not unwilling to follow an organic if the situation with Saren was any indication. And she had more to offer than just being the puppet of another, older droid. ¡°The Geth destroyed my people! They worked with the Reapers! How could you possibly think they can be trusted?¡± ¡°I¡¯m not.¡± Revan brushed past the irritated Quarian. ¡°That¡¯s why I went out of my way to make a restraining bolt.¡± She held up the device with distaste. It was a shame the only widespread use of AI had gone hostile and created such a fear of sentient droids. Revan would have preferred to not clue the residents of this galaxy that electronic slavery was possible. But the Force Phantom of Bastilla was right about one thing, Revan had been dragging her feet establishing her own powerbase. And as relaxing as it had been to allow others to make grand scale decisions, it was time for her to accelerate her plans for her eventual break with Cerberus. ¡°What is a restraining bolt?¡± Tali¡¯Zorah asked and not content to just allow Revan to walk off, began trailing her. ¡°A device that scans and restricts the logic flow in a droid¡¯s decision processes. They are unable to act against any directives set by the paired caller remote, and they are unable to do anything that would result in the bolt being purposely damaged or removed. Additionally, active disobedience is punished by the bolt scrambling the droid¡¯s logic matrix.¡± ¡°You have something like that?! That¡¯s amazing! If we could install those on the Geth we could finally end the war! My people could go home!¡± Revan scoffed. Sure, the desire to end the fighting and return her people to their homeworld was an admirable goal. Revan wasn¡¯t going to facilitate mass slavery to achieve it though, she fully recognized she had done terrible things for the ¡®Greater Good¡¯ of the galaxy when needed, but becoming a slaver was a line she would put off crossing as long as there was another option. Thankfully due to the nature of the Geth as a hive mind, Restaining Bolts would only be useful on independent platforms like Legion. ¡°But we could expand on the technology.¡± Tali¡¯Zorah insisted when Revan explained why the restraining bolt was useless against the majority of Geth and would not be sharing the blueprints anyway. ¡°This could be the single most crucial discovery for the Migrant Fleet since¡­ever! You have to be willing to share it for something!¡± ¡°Well I¡¯m not. This galaxy is better than my home one about slavery, I¡¯d rather not become the reason that changes if I don¡¯t have to.¡± ¡°The Geth aren¡¯t people. They are machines that have done their best to kill anything organic.¡± ¡°That may be so,¡± Revan wasn¡¯t going to get into a debate about what makes something a ¡®person¡¯ capable of being enslaved or the generalization of a droid race being genocidal. Not when she was already on her way to another long conversation. ¡°But I don¡¯t trust anyone else to not look at the technology and decide to repurpose it for their own devices. I know the Baterians in particular would probably love a way to ensure slaves wouldn¡¯t be able to rebel against them.¡± ¡°Like that would be pos¡­¡± Tali¡¯Zorah paused. ¡°Wait, are you saying that thing works on organics as well?¡± ¡°Not these specifically, no. But where did you think the initial inspiration for these came from?¡± Revan replied. And she wasn¡¯t lying to the Quarian. The modern restraining bolt might have advanced to the point that it no longer physically resembled the slave chips used back home, but both were derivative technology from the same source meant for organics. But there was no point in delving into that particular history for now. Not when she was just outside the AI core that Legion had decided to use as its residence. ¡°Darth-Revan, Creator-Tali¡¯Zorah.¡± The Geth greeted simply as both of them entered. ¡°Legion.¡± Revan returned. ¡°Before we begin, I have the restraining device I mentioned last time. Are you still willing to wear it?¡± ¡°Will the device cause harm to this platform?¡± ¡°No, but you will be incapable of acting against my orders as said previously.¡± ¡°Then our answer is unchanged. We will accept the restriction if it means Darth-Revan¡¯s assistance.¡± ¡°Wait, what does it mean by assistance?¡± Tali¡¯Zorah broke in. ¡°You¡¯re working with the Geth?!¡± ¡°I did tell you I was trying to secure an alliance with them against the Reapers. There needs to be some benefit for them as well.¡± Revan explained the obvious. ¡°The Geth have expressed interest in utilizing Darth-Revan¡¯s abilities to better understand organics in support against the Old Machines. She has agreed to provide upgrades in return for Geth support.¡± ¡°What kind of upgrades?¡± Tali¡¯Zorah asked cautiously. ¡°I¡¯m going to improve their storage, memory, and processing units so even common Geth units are capable of operating like Legion here as well as giving them access to various samples of emotion algorithms that should help accelerate their understanding of such things.¡± Which in theory should push the Geth to class 4 or even 5 AI, being theoretically indistinguishable from an organic mind. Additionally Revan planned on subtly introducing bits of code here and there that would encourage the Geth to follow her orders. Not a full on compulsion, but they also wouldn¡¯t resist much. Tali¡¯Zorah sputtered at that. ¡°Are you insane?! We were only able to hold off Saren¡¯s Geth because they required a large number of platforms in one area to operate efficiently! And you want to change that!?¡± ¡°The Geth realize sudden upgrades might be a cause for distress. Hence the acceptance of restrictions decided by Shepard-Commander and Darth-Revan.¡± Legion said. ¡°No amount of restrictions would be enough to make the Geth safe for the rest of us!¡± Tali¡¯Zorah snapped. ¡°Not when Revan won¡¯t enforce them on the rest of you. Nothing would be enough.¡± ¡°What about Rannoch?¡± Tali¡¯Zorah¡¯s head snapped towards Revan so fast the Sith was slightly concerned it had given the girl whiplash. ¡°What.¡± Tali¡¯Zorah demanded. ¡°From what I¡¯ve researched about the Geth and from the data Legion provided, it doesn¡¯t seem like the Geth are truly dependent on Rannoch at all. For a few concessions on the behalf of the Quarians, I could add turning Rannoch over to the Migrant Fleet as a condition for providing the Geth the upgrades they want.¡± ¡°Creators are unlikely to accept peaceful turnover if it leaves them surrounded by Geth space without additional requirements. Requirements that present unacceptable risks to the Geth. ¡± Legion warned. ¡°Just as Creator-Tali¡¯Zorah wishes to protect her people, we must also protect our people from the Creator threat.¡± ¡°Which is why there would be negotiations.¡± Revan said calmly. ¡°A compromise between the Geth, the Quarians, and myself so that all three get what they want.¡± ¡°And what do you want from us?¡± Tali¡¯Zorah asked suspiciously. ¡°I doubt you would help us out of the goodness of your heart.¡± Revan brushed aside the insult. ¡°Of course not. The Quarians are a race with some of the most advanced engineers around. In return for helping you return to your homeworld, I would demand you all assist me in creating weapons capable of destroying the Reapers when they manage to arrive.¡± ¡°I-, I can¡¯t promise anything.¡± Revan could feel the conflicting fear and hope wafting off Tali¡¯Zorah. The near instinctual fear of the Geth clashing against the chance of her people returning to their home. ¡°That¡¯s far beyond my authority, but my father is on the Admiralty Board. I¡¯ll send him a message with your¡­offer.¡± Determination welled up in the young Quarian and she quickly strode out of the room, no doubt going to compose the message she had spoken about. Revan watched her leave before turning back to Legion. ¡°Well, with that taken care of¡­why don¡¯t we discuss exactly what kind of restrictions your platform will be under while I install the restraining bolt¡­¡± Chapter 32 "...I get traditionalist support if I fight you, and reformer support if I back you. Defeating a Thresher Maw during your Rite of Passage tipped that balance too." Gatatog Uvenk said smugly while Shepard seethed. Being faced down with several squads of Krogan demanding Grunt joins their clan after fighting for hours against the local wildlife and even one of the deadliest creatures in the galaxy ¨C something she had only previously considered fighting when in an armored vehicle ¨C was enough to put her in a bad mood. Especially because the Shaman they had spoken to earlier had flat out told them such a move was considered forbidden. Using her crewmate and friend as a tool for politics was just guaranteed to piss her off. "You talk like he''s a thing." She spat. "You''re after his power. You don''t really want him in your clan." Uvenk waved her off, "Of course not. I didn''t really want to cooperate with Clan Urdnot either, but I had to. Clan Gatatog is on the verge ¨C either of greatness or joining the dust." Well, Shepard knew which option she preferred, but that wasn''t her decision. "It''s your choice, Grunt. What he''s offering sounds like an easy job." "That''s the problem." Grunt growled. "I''m pure Krogan. Uvenk, you are the pretender!" He declared, throwing the Clanleader''s previous insults back at him. "Your head is valuable whether you''re alive or dead!" "Then try and take it!" Weapons were drawn as the ''negotiation'' broke down. But this time, Shepard and her team weren''t using the Mass Effect weapons they used in the trial to prevent any claims of cheating or such, but the blasters that Revan had given them all. Garrus was the first to open fire, nailing a rocket launcher wielding krogan in the center of his head-plate. With a normal rifle, there was always a chance the round would fail to penetrate a combatant''s shields, armor, or in many cases the thick bone that made up a krogan''s plate but the Sith provided weapon practically ignored the kinetic barrier since the energy bolt had very little mass to even act on, pierced the krogan''s helmet with little difficulty, and burned through the flesh and bone below. Shepard''s own blaster wasn''t nearly as powerful but a handful of bolts were more than enough to deal with any individual krogan, and nothing needed to be said about the monstrosity Grunt had been given. The ''blaster cannon'' as Revan called it was powerful enough to nearly dislocate the arm of any non-krogan that fired it. And while it was nowhere near as accurate as Garrus''s rifle, it didn''t really matter if even a glancing hit turned the target to bloody chunks. Thanks to that it really didn''t take long before Shepard and her team were heading back to the pickup site to call for a ride back to the Urdnot clan holdings. They weren''t expecting to get intercepted by an anxious Mordin accompanied by Samara. Shepard was glad to see the rest of the crew taking her warnings about not letting Mordin or Garrus go anywhere alone for safety seriously. "Shepard, glad to see you succeeded. New development with Maelon. Urdnot scouts discovered he was taken to Clan Weyrloc camp. Unknown purpose. Estimate not much time." Shepard sighed at the prospect of another mission right now, but knew she couldn''t decline when that meant leaving Mordin''s student to captivity or torture. "Okay, we''re done here anyway so we''ll get moving as soon as we restock. Samara, I take it you are coming with?" The Justicar nodded. "Part of my oaths are to assist the helpless. I would accompany you for this." "Excellent. Grab what you need and then let''s go find our wayward salarian." -o- "Are we sure this was a hospital?" Garrus asked as they moved through the ruined building. So far they had fought through a small army of krogan and vorcha along with packs of varren. Because as it turned out, Clan Weyrloc had practically founded the Blood Pack with many of its members either joining or working with the merc band. And what the Normandy team had gone through so far seemed better suited to be a fortified bunker or military base rather than a center of healing. "The Urdnot scout leader informed us it is necessary for a building to be this fortified when dealing with dozens of injured krogan." Samara informed them calmly. "He described it as a requirement to handle those that fall into a ''blood rage''." Mordin nodded alongside her. "Yes, fascinating survival mechanism. Redundant organ systems and nervous structures allow for survival of a great deal of trauma. Loss of higher level thought functions result of increased instinctual reactions as a side effect. Excellent for harsh environments like Tuchanka. Less optimal for treatment centers." Reading on this site? This novel is published elsewhere. Support the author by seeking out the original. Shepard thought about being stuck in a building with even a dozen raging krogan and decided she would also prefer thick durable walls between her and them. That thought took a backseat when she turned the corner and found a corpse shoved off to one side. A human corpse. "Mordin." The salarian scientist was already moving, fingers dancing over the interface of his omnitool as he scanned the body. "Sores, tumors, ligatures showing restraint at wrists and ankles. Track marks for repeated injection sites. Test subject. Victim of experimentation." Shepard felt a mixture of fury and confusion. "I thought this was about the genophage, what are they doing experimenting on humans?" "Humans useful as test subjects. Much more genetically diverse than most species. Enables exploration of treatment modalities." Mordin explained. "Never used method myself. Disgusting, unethical, sloppy. Used by brute force researchers, not thinkers. No place in proper science. Krogan use of humans unsurprising." Yes, because proper medical procedure was the issue here. "Right, like you never used live subjects when modifying the genophage." Shepard said bitterly. "Dammit, if it gets out that krogan are using humans as lab rats, groups like Cerberus are going to have a field day." They needed a human-krogan war like they needed a bullet to the head. Especially with the Collector and Reaper threats growing in the background. "Never used tests on live subjects. Unnecessary. Limited tests to simulations, corpses, cloned tissue samples. High level tests on varren. No tests on species with members capable of calculus. Simple rule, never broke it." Mordin argued distractedly. "That''s not¡­that wasn''t¡­nevermind." Shepard gave everyone the signal to move on as she stewed in her thoughts. She knew it was a bit unfair to keep beating Mordin over the head with how little she approved of something like the genophage. She always struggled to detach herself from a situation to just see the numbers rather than the people they represented. It was why she was so uneasy with Revan''s plan to prepare for the Reapers, since millions of innocents would get caught up in it even if it did work. And while Mordin was apparently brilliant enough to sidestep the need to actually test his modified plague on the population of Tuchanka, he repeatedly failed to see that those affected were more than numbers. They were living beings that raged and wept over the bodies of unborn children, that threw themselves into deadly fights just to have a legacy, or that would apparently do horrific experiments in order to find a cure. She doubted Mordin''s simulations could truly account for that. That was a fact that was only reinforced when they were confronted by someone calling themselves the speaker for Clan Weyrloc. Shepard tried to make him see reason, to convince him that tearing across the galaxy on a wave of blood like Weyrloc was aiming to would only make things worse and turn everyone, even the sympathizers against the genophage, into enemies of the krogan but nothing she said would convince them. The Clanspeaker ¨C and even with the short time she had met the krogan, Shepard could see how he got that title ¨C was happy to pontificate how everything would be conquered by the new krogan empire and that Shepard knew nothing of their situation. And while Shepard normally wouldn''t mind not convincing someone to her point of view, she wasn''t about to just walk away and let them keep experimenting on people. Or ruin what Wrex was building for his people. Which meant¡­ "You talk too much." ¡­Clan Weyrloc had been upgraded from obstacle to objective in her mind. Shepard snapped her blaster up and squeezed off a single shot. While the hospital was built with raging krogan in mind, there were still the occasional feature that clearly made it a non-military building. The very exposed pipeline with a flammable hazard symbol on it was one such feature. And while the metal casing was enough to stand up to Tuchanka''s weather and a lack of maintenance, it wasn''t able to prevent the red energy bolt from burning a hole straight into it and igniting the gas flowing through. The resulting explosion was enough to completely engulf the Weyrloc Clanspeaker and his group, incinerating them all in seconds much to Shepard''s surprise. "Did you mean to do that?" Garrus asked from behind her. "If anyone else asks; yes. But off the record I was expecting it to just distract them long enough to give us an advantage." "The Sith''s weapons are formidable." Samara commented with only a bit of distaste. "Takes all the fun out of a fight." Grunt groused. Shepard shrugged. "From what the speaker was saying before I blew him up there''s plenty of krogan and mercenaries for you to fight up ahead. I''m guessing that''s where the labs are." Going through the labs didn''t improve Shepard''s mood much. They found an active console with details about the experiments. Not only were the krogan being incredibly thorough in their tests, but they were actually on the right track to a potential cure according to Mordin. Words were said, some Shepard regretted saying but not the feeling behind them, and it quickly became apparent that while the Salarian scientist was proud of his work ¨C and the more she learned about how slim the margins of error were for modifying the existing genophage ¨C Mordin wasn''t nearly as at peace with what he had done as he first seemed. Sure he had excuses and justifications. Things he could point at and say this is why his work was needed. He even shared how the work with his previous team was the best time in his life. A scientist with a team, a problem, and unlimited resources. But when Shepard asked if he still kept in touch with the old members of his team the cracks in his facade started to show. He told her about how he didn''t celebrate after the project ended. How he opened a clinic on Omega because it was easy. No complex ethical concerns for him to worry about for the final decade of his life. Something that reminded Shepard that despite Mordin sounding and acting like an old man sometimes, he was actually probably around Shepard''s age or just a bit older. The mask fell away almost completely when they found the body of a female volunteer who had died during the experiments. She never had a chance of being cured of the genophage induced sterility but she had gone ahead with the tests anyway. Mordin was furious at the wasted life and depressed that someone would throw theirs away for the hope of a cure. Shepard did her best not to rub it in his face that none of his simulations or models could take the individual emotions of those affected into account. She didn''t have to, Maelon did that for her when they found him not only working freely on the cure, but the one greenlighting the experiments. So now she was in the interesting position of trying to convince Mordin to not kill the person he requested her to help save. "Unacceptable experiments. Unacceptable goals. Won''t change. No choice. Have to kill you." Mordin declared, shoving a gun up to Maelon''s face. "Okay, let''s just wait one second." Shepard interrupted. "You sure you want to do this, Mordin? We came here to save him, not kill him." "Wasn''t expecting this." "I don''t think any of us did. But this isn''t a fight. He''s helpless. You aren''t a murderer." At least she hoped he wasn''t. Mordin had spent a lot of time arguing otherwise. "No. Not a murderer. Thank you, Shepard." Things thankfully were pretty calm after that. Mordin locked the genophage data down and told his old apprentice to politely go to hell. The last thing to do was figure out what to do with Maelon''s data. Samara and Garrus thought they should destroy it. Just the existence of a potential cure would be enough for some krogan to go to war with the galaxy and they didn''t want that for a number of reasons. Grunt was surprisingly indifferent about it. Shepard was torn. On the one hand, the krogan were far too fragmented to agree on how to use the data even if they could. And even if they weren''t, none of them would likely be able to make a cure without resorting to the kind of experiments they had just put an end to. On the other hand, the genophage was a mistake she would love to see corrected. "I think we should hold onto it for now." She suggested. "Make the deaths worth something if a cure does ever need to be created." "Yes. True cure still years of work away. But with this, much closer than starting from scratch." "Great. We done here?" Grunt asked. "Yeah, pack it up people. Let''s get back to the Normandy before Raven and Tali kill each other." Shepard said. "After all this I think we could use some downtime before we go rushing to our next mission." -o- "Shepard, I''m being accused of treason!" Chapter 33 Shepard felt a headache starting to form. "So let me get this straight. Revan, Tali, and Legion not only managed to sit in one room together and not blow up the ship, but actually decided to work together to bring the Migrant Fleet back to Rannoch. But before they could send the Admiralty Board the good news, Tali was summoned to trial for sending back active Geth and endangering the Fleet." "I was careful! I made sure to never send back any active parts." Tali protested. "But you did send Geth materials back to the Fleet, right?" "My father had a project. He needed the materials." The quarian argued. "I checked every part or piece I sent back myself. All of it was permanently inactive!" "But the Board is accusing you anyway. How bad is this really?" "...bad. Anyone convicted of treason is considered dead by the rest of the Flotilla. Any record of the individual will be erased and purged. It would be like they never existed at all." Tali explained. "I- Shepard¡­I''d never be able to go home again¡­" Shepard wanted to rub her eyes, but held off. "Okay, we''ll set course for the Migrant Fleet and get this straightened out. Have you been able to talk to your father about this?" "This isn''t a secured or trusted ship. They wouldn''t accept a message in case it was a possible attack." "Which means you need to go there before we can convince anyone you didn''t send an active Geth or endanger the fleet." Shepard sighed. "Don''t worry Tali. We''ll get this sorted out¡­hopefully they don''t take offense to the active Geth and several members of the team that could endanger the fleet." -o- Revan found herself understandably annoyed after the sudden development with Tali''Zorah. Successfully negotiating an end to the Geth/Quarian hostilities would have advanced several goals all at once. But barely an hour after she had proposed the plan, one of the critical individuals to bringing it into reality was about to be wrapped up in politics that would make anything to do with Geth relations unfavorable at best. If Revan was alone, this might have been an irrecoverable setback. Fortunately for her, Revan was never truly alone. Settling into a meditative position, Revan opened herself up to the waves of the Force and attempted to peer into the future. While not a discipline she was particularly skilled at, she was still capable of getting bits and pieces when she focused her considerable power on a specific event she knew was coming. Such as the trail of a certain Quarian in a few days. Revan felt the world dissolve into a whirl of sound and color before shapes began to emerge from the chaos. The scenes presented were out of focus and fragmented, but Revan managed to make some things out. "This isn''t about Tali or her father! This is about¡­" Shepard screamed at a few blurry figures. "Tali''Zorah vas Normandy. I am glad you came. I could delay them only so long." A Quarian Revan did not know greeted the Normandy team as they arrived. "Shepard, two more incoming!" Jacob shouted as he laid down covering fire. The Quarian from earlier stood on a pedestal above three others. "Tali''Zorah, you are hereby found guilty of treason against the quarian people and sentenced to exile." "As far as we can tell, Tali, the Geth have killed everyone on the Alarei¡­your father included." "...to return the geth to the control of their rightful masters¡­" "...the only geth that matter to me are the ones who took away our world¡­" "...they are our children. That is why I cannot sanction whatever experiments you helped enable. A message needs to be sent¡­" Revan groaned and hunched over as she released her hold on the visions. Then she groaned again as she organized the information she had seen. "Politics." She spat in distaste. "It just had to be politics." She needed to speak with Legion. -o- "This is Tali''Zorah vas Neema nar Rayya requesting permission to dock with the Rayya." Tali''Zorah transmitted as the Normandy approached the Migrant Fleet. "Our system has you flagged as Cerberus. Verify." Tali''Zorah provided the answer to the challenge and the ship was approved for docking. Though the young quarian did request for a security and quarantine team to meet them at the docking bay since the Normandy did not follow the strict sterilization requirements a Quarian ship would need on account of their incredibly weak immune systems. While the ship was docking, Revan took the opportunity to sense what emotions were most prevalent on the ship. Unsurprisingly, the main ones were anger and fear. Fairly normal reactions when a popular well known figure was suddenly accused of treason out of nowhere. The quarians felt betrayed and they were looking for answers. Answers Tali''Zorah didn''t have if what Revan had heard for the past few days was true. "You are up to something, Sith." Revan was actually a bit surprised the Justicar initiated a conversation with her. Ever since the confrontation in the hangar bay Samara preferred to speak as little as possible with the Sith. She would communicate during any squad training Shepard insisted on, but the instant it was over it was back to silence and judgemental looks. "Of course I am." Revan said dismissively. "Apparently we are going to have to drag the galaxy kicking and screaming to prepare for the eventual arrival of the Reapers. Sitting around doing nothing would hardly be appropriate." Samara briefly gave the Sith a look before returning her gaze to where Tali''Zorah was doing her best to prepare Shepard on what was expected of her as ship captain during the trial. "When powerful Asari meditate they can sometimes feel the flow of mass effects shifting around the galaxy through their biotics," the Justicar said as if Revan did not speak. "Those with the skill and experience to read the fluctuations can occasionally get a sense for events around them or even predict the future." Revan held back an amused huff. It was likely the latent Force potential she had noticed in many Asari. They had simply misunderstood the source of the predictions due to their existing abilities. "Whatever you have planned has the potential to send shockwaves throughout the galaxy." "Very good." Revan replied. "You are right. I plan to shake up the status quo a bit. We have the largest fleet in your galaxy wandering aimlessly doing nothing. A bit of a waste if you ask me." "You risk causing chaos that will leave us weakened if the Reapers attack." "Because the Council and their governments are seriously preparing for an attack? A bit of chaos might be just what we need." Samara said nothing for a bit. Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. "My oaths prevent me from acting against you until the mission is complete. But if you go too far I will not hesitate to kill you once it is finished." Revan smiled, though the Asari couldn''t see. "You will try." The Justicar simply nodded. The short conversation ended when the Normandy finished docking with the Rayya. Revan moved to join Shepard and Tali''Zorah at the airlock. Neither one said anything to the Sith until Legion walked up and stood behind her. "Er, I don''t think bringing a Geth onto the ship is a good idea." Tali''Zorah said as the first decontamination cycle started up. Revan just gave her a look. "It will be fine." The airlock door opened up allowing all of them into the Rayya where a security team was waiting. Said team took one look at Legion and the Normandy crew members immediately had a rifle shoved into their faces. "You were saying?" Per usual Shepard didn''t take people pointing weapons at her people very well and shoved her way so she was staring down the apparent leader of the group. "We going to have a problem?" "Not if you get that damn thing off my ship before you start an incident that makes that Ascension Project fiasco with Cerberus look like a slow day on garbage detail!" The Quarian captain snapped back. "You''re worried about your ship. I get that." Shepard took a metaphorical step back. "But don''t try and intimidate me." "Or what?" "Or I let her loose." Shepard pointed at Revan. While Revan wasn''t the type to allow someone to use her as a threat, she didn''t mind backing up the Commander. A flex of the Force ripped the guns from the security team and had them all float in a lazy circle behind the Sith. Stunned by the casual display of power and at being so easily disarmed the quarians quickly backed down. The captain looked between Revan, Shepard, and then lingered on Tali''Zorah. "Fine. Not like we can stop you without this becoming a battle." He eventually relented. "Technically, I''m under orders to place Tali''Zorah under arrest pending the hearing. So, Tali¡­you''re confined to this ship until the trial is over." "Thank you, Captain." "You better get going. Preparations got underway as soon as you arrived. The hearing is being held in the Garden Plaza. Just make sure you keep that thing under control." The captain shot one last look at Legion. "And Tali¡­good luck." As the four of them walked through the Rayya, Revan took care to pay attention to the conversations surrounding them as they walked to Tali''s trial. The good news for the quarian was that many simply didn''t believe Tali''Zorah could do something damaging to the fleet. The bad news for Revan was most of the bystanders that spotted Legion reacted poorly. They were either scared or hostile even if none of them dared to confront the group of four. The small silver lining was that there were several individuals scattered among the crowd that were either neutral or even positive towards the lone Geth unit, reassuring Revan that there was a possibility of ending the cold war between the two groups. While Revan was distracted with her plans, the group arrived at the garden plaza and were greeted by Admiral Shala''Raan, a friend of Tali''s family and the one who managed to hold the trial long enough for them to actually arrive even if she was forced to recuse herself from the trial because of her relationship with Tali''Zorah. But that came as a small consolidation when it was revealed that the rest of the Admiralty Board moved to have Tali''Zorah stripped of her ship name and tried as ''vas Normandy''. A move that in accordance with Revan''s visions basically declared Tali exiled already. "This sounds like the decision has already been made." Shepard crossed her arms and looked at the Admiral. "Is anything we say even going to make a difference?" "Don''t worry about that. Tali still has friends that remember her as vas Neema, no matter what we must call her legally. Just present the truth as best you can. It will have to be enough. Your teammate and¡­the Geth¡­can watch from the side." "Will we be given the opportunity to speak as well?" Shala''Raan hesitated. "Normally I would say so. As her shipmates you would be witnesses to her character. But neither of you are Quarians and the other Admirals are pushing for this to be resolved quickly. I do not know." "Maybe I could add whatever you need to say?" Shepard offered, but Revan shook her head. She couldn''t leave what needed to be done to the human. Not if things were going to play out like she planned. "If that''s all, come with me." Admiral Raan stated. "I promised I would not delay you." -o- The trial began with an almost prayerlike speech as the various people in the plaza settled in. While Shala''Raan led the proceedings, Revan was busy matching the figures before her with the information she had requested from EDI and matching them to the snippets she had foreseen. On the left was Admiral Daro''Xen, a scientist that held a certain fascination with the Geth and other AI. According to the files, Xen was very vocal about not only studying the Geth but also going on to create new forms of AI. Another thing EDI had highlighted was the Admiral''s cold, almost psychopathic disregard towards others and the Geth in particular and her desire to return the Geth to Quarian control. She was probably the most neutral of the Board regarding the trial itself, but her desire to enslave the Geth meant she would be a nuisance should Revan actually secure an alliance between the Quarians and Geth. On the right was Admiral Han''Gerrel. At first glance, he was solidly in Tali''Zorah''s corner as a long time friend of her father. But the fact that he allowed her to be stripped of her ship name, failed to recuse himself like Raan had done, and (if Revan''s visions were accurate) failed to inform her of her father''s death? No, Admiral Gerrel might be friendly on the surface, but whatever friendship existed between him and Tali''s father wasn''t enough to prevent him from using the latest incident to push for a more aggressive stance against the Geth. The final Admiral, Admiral Zaal''Koris, had the opposite outlook. He was vehemently opposed to renewing hostilities with the Geth in favor of finding a new world to colonize. A noble goal if that was his focus. Unfortunately, process of elimination meant he was the one looking to make an example out of the trial for anyone involved in experiments on the mechanical race. Something he proved as soon as he spotted Legion. "Security! A Geth is present in the courtroom. Does Tali''Zorah think to affect this hearing with threats?" Overall, Revan thought it was a clever move. Koris did not actually call for Legion to be removed from the trial or to be attacked. He simply drew attention to Legion and made an insinuation about why Tali had it brought here. Either Legion was removed and Tali''Zorah lost some of her support or the Quarians needed to allow a Geth to sit among them peacefully. Even if they didn''t like it. Going by the wave of unease and shouts, the general population really didn''t like it. "Captain Danna allowed the Geth aboard. Do you intend to second-guess the Rayya''s captain, Admiral Koris?" Shala''Raan demanded, silencing many of the voices. Koris looked around at the gathered crowd and Revan could feel his contentment at Raan''s stance. "Objection withdrawn." "...Shepard vas Normandy, your crewmember Tali''Zorah stands accused of treason. Will you speak for her?" Raan continued, but Revan did not miss the flash of dislike for her fellow Admiral. It seems Koris''s play had not gone unnoticed. "I''d be glad to. But in her heart, she remains Tali''Zorah vas Neema. A proud member of the Migrant Fleet." Shepard said before glaring at the Board. "I just regret that her captain was forbidden to stand at her side today." It was statements like those that honestly made Revan question if Shepard was as politically ignorant as she claimed. In one statement she had highlighted the Admiralty Board practically announcing their decision before Tali''Zorah could even defend herself, insinuated that she was speaking for Tali not because she felt a human could represent Tali better but because she was all Tali had, and thrown the legitimacy of the whole trial into question. Koris tried to deny it but Gerrel supported Tali against his political rival. Once again the crowd was thrown into a frenzy and it looked like the two Admirals were going to end up fighting each other before Shala''Raan managed to calm everyone down and proceed with the trial. There was nothing shocking at first. Just some retreading over the same information Tali had received about bringing active Geth back to the Fleet, which was then clarified as parts that could spontaneously reactivate by Admiral Xen when Shepard sarcastically asked how Tali could ship something the size of Legion with no one noticing. Tali confirmed that while she had sent parts back to the Fleet, she had made sure they were inactive. That was when Koris pounced. "Then explain how Geth seized the lab ship where your father was working!" If Tali''Zorah had been fully aware of whatever experiments her father was running and they had been on active Geth, this would have been the final nail Koris needed to paint this entire situation as the result of experimenting on the Geth. If Tali and her father had just left them alone, the whole thing could have been prevented. Unfortunately for him, Tali had no idea what project her father was running. In many ways she was less informed than many of the bystanders here. And her shock and fear about her father were very obvious to the crowd, possibly half convincing many of them that she had nothing to do with any active Geth. "What are you talking about? What happened?" "As far as we can tell, Tali, the Geth have killed everyone on the Alarei¡­your father included." Admiral Gerrel said solemnly, but Revan could feel the spark of guilt. Had he had a hand in the project and was using Tali to cover his tracks? Was it because he knew this was the first time the girl had heard that her father was probably dead? Some other reason? The Sith didn''t know, but she made sure to remember it. Shepard instantly offered the Normandy to assist in retaking the Alarei in another of her unconsciously brilliant political moves. "The safest course of action would be to simply destroy the ship," Koris remarked to a great deal of negative reactions from the crowd. The Quarians were always short on ships. None of them were eager to simply destroy one even if it had been taken over. "But if you are looking for an¡­honorable death, instead of exile¡­" "I''m looking for my FATHER, you bosh''tet!" Tali raged back. "This course of action is incredibly dangerous." Shala''Raan spoke up. "Are you sure you wish to attempt to retake the Alarei?" "The good of the fleet has to come first," Anyone not familiar with Shepard would have thought she was being sincere. "...and Tali needs to find her father." Revan noticed the flicker of guilt Gerrel felt only increased when it was confirmed that Tali would take on the mission, prompting him to offer her name being cleared of the treason charge if she died in the attempt, though Koris noted that would be discussed later. "Revan, you coming?" Shepard asked when she noticed that neither Legion or the Sith had moved to follow her. "Go on and deal with the Alarei, Commander. I will stay here and make sure the Admirals don''t try anything until you get back." Revan replied. "Damn, didn''t think of that. Kinda was hoping for your help but that sounds like a better use of your skills." Shepard cursed and triggered her comms. "Hey Jacob? We''ve got a mission. Grab a hardsuit and anything you think will be effective against some Geth¡­" Not long after the Normandy team left for the Alarei, maybe half an hour at most, the Admiralty Board pushed for a continuation of the trial in absentia, thanks to both Admirals Koris and Xen not wanting to spend more time waiting for a group when several teams of quarian marines had failed already. "While it is unfortunate that Tali''Zorah seemed ignorant to the details of her father''s actions," Zaal''Koris began, "it does not change the fact that she must have sent Geth materials. This is an undoubtable fact that we have detailed records of." "And do those records tell you what parts and the condition of those, Admiral?" Revan called loudly, stepping forward to where Shepard and Tali had stood before. "They do not. The files we have are simple manifests. The more detailed records would have been stored on the Alarei." Daro''Xen replied. "Records you conveniently cannot present while determining the guilt of the daughter of a fellow admiral. One you have already left for dead." Revan pointed out. "We did not abandon the Alarei!" Han''Gerrel snapped. "We sent in some of our best marines to search for survivors and they were torn apart! As much as we may wish otherwise the Geth are too dangerous to keep throwing our people away for crew that are already dead and have endangered the Fleet in the process of their secret experiments!" Revan smiled even if no one could see it. "Secret experiments, secret experiments. For something so secretive it certainly sounds like all three of you admirals were aware that Rael''Zorah was experimenting with something and were content to leave it be until it blew up in his face." "Rael''Zorah was one of our foremost scientists as well as a fellow Admiral." Daro''Xen said coldly. "We do not hold each other''s hand every moment of the day to make sure the correct decisions are made. We allowed him his privacy, and this was the result." "But you don''t deny knowing about the experiment." Revan wasn''t about to let them hide that fact with some clever wordplay. "We are not the ones on trial here today, human." Han''Gerrel interjected. "You might as well be. You see, while you have been taking advantage of this incident to advance your own goals at the expense of Tali''Zorah, she was busy laying the foundations to end the conflict with the Geth." "Taking advantage?!" Several of the Admirals seemed offended by the statement but Koris was the one to speak. "How dare you insinuate that we care more about personal plans than the safety of this fleet! You¡­you¡­who even are you!?" Revan let her next words reverberate in the Force. Letting everyone who listened know what she said was the truth. "I am Darth Revan, Empress of the Geth." Chapter 34 As Revan expected, the Force enhanced declaration sent the Quarians into a panic. Bystanders scrambled to get away from her, the Admirals ducked behind their podiums, and a security team rushed to take aim at her. Not a surprising reaction to someone declaring themselves the ruler of a faction that nearly drove their race to extinction in a way they were unable to deny. But as amusing as it was to watch the chaos unfold, Revan had things to do. And weakening her position by allowing someone to be accidentally trampled to death wasn''t part of her plan. She reached out into the Force and surrounded every person there. Then, with a flex of her will, froze them all in a stasis field. Force Stasis was not one of Revan''s preferred battlefield techniques. Surrounding your enemy with the Force to simply lock them in place never really appealed to her when she could just remove them permanently in other ways. But its utility was not lost on her and the advantages of keeping a captive audience from hurting someone in a panic. "Let''s not do something you might not live to regret." Revan chided the Quarians and started rearranging things to her liking. The security team''s weapons were telekinetically stripped and piled in a corner. The bystanders were returned to where they had been standing. The Admirals were placed where Tali''Zorah had stood. The doors to the chamber hissed shut and were covered by a lightly glowing Force Barrier. And Revan calmly walked to where Admiral Shala''Raan had stood, followed by Legion who took a guard position below her to the left. "Now then. Perhaps we can all calm down and discuss things like civilized people." The Sith said, releasing her captives. "If you think we will simply drop the trial after this display¡­" Admiral Koris began before getting cut off by a bark of laughter. "The trial? You think I care about your rigged little performance? You''ve already admitted to knowing what was being sent back and about Admiral Zorah''s projects even if not the particulars. It is clear that either you knew Tali''Zorah was not sending back anything too dangerous that it required additional checks by the Fleet and are simply using her as a pawn for your own ends, or you are simply incompetent and have no business being in your position. No, what I care about is the future. The future of this galaxy, this fleet, and the Quarian race. Because if the correct steps are not taken soon, all three might end. And after what I witnessed today, two of those may end sooner than the other." "Threats already?" Daro''Xen asked. "This chamber is broadcasted to the fleet on an open channel. If you harm us, you will not leave alive. But for a few concessions, perhaps we could come to an agreement?" Revan made an amused sound. "And what would that be?" "We will ignore your actions in exchange for the method you used to control the Geth. I will even motion to pardon Tali''Zorah in return." That caused several protests from the crowd and other admirals. Some were outraged that Xen was offering a pardon without consulting anyone, some were vehemently against anything to do with the Geth, and Revan''s personal favorite was Admiral Koris condemning Revan for enslaving a sentient species. "Enough." It took only one word and some light pressure in the Force to silence the crowds. The Dark Lady looked at Daro''Xen and smiled. "It doesn''t surprise me you would be the one to make this offer, Admiral Xen. Afterall, this trial doesn''t hold any real significance to you. It doesn''t affect your plans at all." "Neither of us have any hidden plans either!" Gerrel protested with Koris agreeing soon after. Unsurprising, as anything other than a swift denial would paint them as abusing their position. Revan just waved them off. "Spare us, your plans are anything but hidden." She said dismissively. "You, Gerrel, are planning on using this event to reinforce what you have already been supporting with the more militant members of the Fleet. ''The Geth are dangerous. We need to deal with them first or they will come to us.'' A rallying cry many will take to heart alongside their desire to reclaim your homeworld and will push for war." She turned to the other Admiral. "And you, Koris. What was it you said to Tali''Zorah on her way out? ''A message needs to be sent''? You desire to make an example of someone as lauded and respected as her so that it becomes clear that any actions against the Geth will carry harsh penalties, no matter who you are, and that you must seek a path away from them where no conflict can occur." Revan studied both men for a second. "You are both fools." The two Admirals made angry sounds, but Revan simply turned back to Daro''Xen. "Back to you. You simply will go with whatever seems to be the popular decision because you already have what you desire. Perhaps the details of the experiment were already shared with you. Perhaps you have a way to hack the files needed. It doesn''t matter. You simply do not care. All you want to know is how to bring the Geth under your control." "Yes, because they are our creations. Simply a broken machine that needs to be recalibrated to its true purpose." Xen said. "And one you must have figured out if they serve you." "Revan-Empress did not coerce the Geth. Options were discussed after Creator-Tali''Zorah was threatened with exile. Previous negotiations rendered unlikely. New agreements were proposed by Revan-Empress. The Geth consensus determined representative Revan-Empress has an 63.7% chance of preventing war between Geth and Creators. Following her leadership was the optimal choice." Legion replied, causing some severe muttering to break out among the bystanders. This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it. "You mean to say she just asked to be¨C" "The Geth don''t want war?!" Shala''Raan interrupted her fellow Admiral. "And what negotiations? What were you all planning?!" Legion simply looked at Raan, the limited expressions it could make giving nothing away. Seeing that the Geth didn''t seem like it was going to answer, Revan spoke up. "Before the treason accusation, Tali''Zorah, Legion, and I all came to a perfunctory agreement to get the Geth and Quarians to end the hostilities. Both groups would work through me as a mediator in exchange for assisting me prepare for the Reaper threat." "What could you hope to offer the Geth that we, their creators, could not accomplish?" Xen demanded. "Or offer us to go along with that madness." Gerrel added. "At first it was going to be hardware upgrades and slight improvements the Geth could study." Revan explained. "The Geth wanted to forge their own path, but they recognized the threat coming for us all and were willing to seek help." "Preposterous, if what you say is true the Geth had no intention of naming you a ruler." Koris objected. Revan nodded her head. "That was before the one person they could use to talk with the Migrant Fleet was threatened. Without the Quarians to balance out the negotiations all they could offer me for what they wanted was to serve me." "You made a grab for power." Koris accused, slamming a hand on the banister in front of him. The Sith rolled her eyes. Some people were simply incapable of recognising their hypocrisy. "Yes, I saw an opportunity and seized it." She reached into her robes and pulled out a small holo-emitter disk. Lightly tossing it into the middle of the court, the device sprang to life and began playing footage of the battle for the Citadel. The Council had done their best to suppress and erase all footage of the event, but it was a simple task to download the vids Revan wanted from Cerberus servers. The crowd watched in fascinated silence as the Reaper ship Sovereign and the Heretic Geth armada cut through both the Citadel Defence Fleet and then the human reinforcements before the Reaper was finally overwhelmed and destroyed. "Despite what the rest of the galaxy wishes to believe, Sovereign was not a Geth superweapon or prototype, this was a Reaper. An ancient machine whose only purpose is the elimination of all significantly advanced life. And they are coming. Tomorrow, a year from now, or in your children''s children''s lifetime we do not know, but they are coming. And the Quarians are currently the weakest of all races." As anticipated, Revan''s casual dismissal of their strength unified the gathered Quarians. Even if some were concerned about the Geth, concerned about corruption among the Admirals, or some other reason, nothing brought people together than a common enemy. "We survived on our own for centuries!" "We''re the best engineers anywhere!" "Who do you think you are!?" "We have the largest fleet in the galaxy!" Shouts, insults, and other such vocal expressions echoed around the chamber as the assembly raged against her. Revan let them, knowing that they needed to vent some emotion from her holding them captive so easily. She was on a time limit though. A slight mental pressure on everyone gathered quieted everyone down. "I take it you disagree?" Han''Gerrel shoved his way back to the front of the crowd. "Of course we do! The Migrant Fleet isn''t so weak as to fall to a single ship, no matter how advanced. If the Citadel and Alliance forces could destroy one, then so could we!" There was a surging cheer that followed his words. "And what about two?" Revan''s Force-enhanced voice cut through their jubilation and bravado like one of her lightsabers. "Three? Could you continue to do so without a proper shipyard to repair your damages? Could you stop them from simply doing a suicide run on your Liveships? No, you cannot. And that is why the Quarians are the weakest race. A few battles and you will be inconsequential to simply hunt into extinction." There was dead silence. "And I suppose you have a solution for this?" Shala''Raan prompted eventually. "Tali''Zorah obviously did not willingly commit the treason she was accused of, so you must have offered her something she would have considered worth an¡­alliance with the Geth." It seemed Shala''Raan was using this opportunity to establish Tali''Zorah''s innocence as fait accompli. How sneaky, and the Admiral had gall to pretend Quarian politics were straightforward. "Indeed. Under the initial agreement the Geth and Quarians would cease hostilities, the Geth would receive hardware and upgrades¡­and the Quarians would be given Rannoch." Despite expecting it, the surge of emotions in the Force nearly knocked Revan over. It wasn''t the reaction of those in the room, or even the people watching elsewhere on the Rayya. The hopes, doubts, fears, and desperation of every Quarian from oldest to youngest sang through the Force. "Rannoch? We¡­we could go home?" She didn''t know who said it, but the fragile hope in their voice made Revan almost hate what she was about to say. ¡­But the galaxy wasn''t going to be saved by playing nice. "That was the original agreement. Of course things have changed since then. I now rule the Geth for one, Rannoch is not theirs to give. For another, the agreement was made with Tali''Zorah with the assumption she had the support of the Admiralty Board. Unless Rael''Zorah is alive only Shala''Raan seems to fully support her. Not enough for me to trust the Quarians on her word alone. The previous agreement is no longer valid." Revan could have killed one of them and not gotten the same shock her words caused. To hear that they were that close? Just one agreement from going home and it was snatched away? If Revan left right now she wouldn''t put credits on any admiral besides Shala''Raan surviving two days. "The previous one, maybe, but nothing is stopping us from creating a new agreement is there? You wouldn''t be putting on this show if you didn''t have something in mind." Admiral Koris also realized the danger he and his fellow admirals were in and didn''t hesitate to open negotiations. Revan leaned forward and smiled. This was it. The final stage of her plan. "Of course we can negotiate a new deal. Here are my terms, I will allow the Migrant Fleet to settle on Rannoch, provide you similar technology I am offering the Geth, and assist with settlement efforts. In exchange, you will join my empire." "Y-you''re asking us to give you everything." A random Quarian whimpered. "I am." Revan''s response was instant. "I rule the Geth. It is my responsibility to ensure they are protected. Whether that is from a military threat," She looked at Han''Gerrel. "Or from someone trying to control and exploit them." Her gaze shifted to Daro''Xen. "So I will destroy the Quarian threat to my people. But that does not mean you get nothing in return. By becoming citizens under my rule, that same protection extends to you." "It also puts us completely at your mercy." Gerrel pointed out. "And even¡­even in exchange for the homeworld, there are many of us that are itching for a fight. What will happen to them, no, to us?" Revan felt a bit of respect for the Admiral. At least he was self-aware. "You will have your fight. The Reapers won''t just give up because we band together. But there are other enemies we will have to fight even before them. Parasites that bleed the galaxy white simply because they are allowed to run amok unopposed by the established powers. Slavers, pirates, saboteurs. These have been preying on the Migrant Fleet for centuries and you could not do anything about them without risking annihilation. But joining the Empire changes that. With access to permanent infrastructure and allies willing to stand beside you, no more will you need to send your young to beg for scraps, for bits of technology that will let you hang on just a little while longer, instead they will be able to explore the galaxy because they wish to. No more will you need to fear that a single lost ship will mean the loss of a home or never be replaced as it crumbles around you. We will build vessels like this galaxy has never seen before. And we will take the fight to those that preyed on the helpless. We will root out the pirate dens, slaver nests, and the rest of the scum and make sure that when the next generation ventures out into the stars, it is because they will be explorers, innovators, and adventurers! Not thieves, beggars, and scavengers!" Revan slammed a fist down on the podium in front of her and poured her conviction into the Force. Yes, she would use the Quarians. They would serve her in her mission to save the galaxy, but they would not be mere tools. They would be Empire. "So, will you join me?!" "KEELAH SE''LAI!!" The answering roar was particularly encouraging. The Sith Lord took a step back. "Good. Discuss my proposal among yourselves. I will hear your final answer in two hours." That should give Shepard plenty of time to finish dealing with the situation on the Alarei and return. Chapter 35 For Shepard, the trip back from the Alarei left her feeling a rather unpleasant cocktail of emotions. Yes, they finished the mission without any major injuries or worse. But that was about the only good thing to come out of the entire event. It was somewhat expected, but there were no survivors among the crew of the Alarei or the marine forces sent ahead of time. And seeing the aftermath of desperate last stands that ultimately all ended one way or coming across civilian scientists that decided just¡­finishing themselves off was easier than being killed by the rogue Geth rampaging around the ship didn¡¯t exactly leave the Normandy ground team in high spirits. Watching Tali break down in tears when they found her father¡¯s body was just another kick in the teeth. Especially for Shepard. Throughout the hunt for Saren, Tali had always been a fountain of youthful innocence and energy that never seemed to diminish no matter how bad things got. Even when dealing with the aftermath of Benezia¡¯s death, Virmire, or the battle on the Citadel, Tali was the first to try and lift the rest of the team¡¯s mood or take the time to make sure everyone was cared for in some way. That quality hadn¡¯t changed much during the two years Shepard was getting put back together, so only being able to give the young quarian a brief hug while she cried over her father''s corpse made the Spectre feel particularly lacking. And then as if to prove that bad things had to come in threes, when the team raided the bridge following the directions of Tali¡¯s father on how to shut down all of the remaining Geth they found undeniable proof that Rael¡¯Zorah had fully intended to experiment on active Geth units and was responsible for the entire situation. The only hint of a silver lining was that the same data exonerated Tali of any wrongdoing. Now Shepard had a dilemma. She could use the data they had retrieved to clear her friend¡¯s name of all charges, but it would mean her father would be confirmed guilty instead. According to Tali he would be considered among the worst war criminal, his name stripped from every ship manifest he had ever served on, and used as the monster in a cautionary tale for the next generation of Quarians. She would rather be exiled than see his memory destroyed like that. But at the same time, it would crush her to know she could never return home. It was a classic Lose/Lose situation and Shepard had no idea what to do about it. And she didn¡¯t exactly have much time to think of a solution. Revan was supposedly doing her best to buy them time, but eventually the Admirals would run out of patience. If they hadn¡¯t done so already. ¡°You sure you don¡¯t want me using the recording, Tali?¡± The Spectre tried one last time, half desperate for a clear cut solution. ¡°I mean, this is the rest of your life we¡¯re talking about¡­¡± ¡°I-I just don¡¯t know, Shepard.¡± Tali sounded exhausted. She had cried again during the trip back to the Rayya. It seemed like that little episode had left her hollowed out for now. ¡°Either way I lose something. I just- I¡¯ll accept whatever decision you decide on. You¡¯ve never let me down before.¡± Shepard sighed as the invisible weight of responsibility grew just a little bit heavier. That wasn¡¯t what she had wanted to hear. ¡°Then let¡¯s hurry back to the Admirals.¡± She suggested. ¡°Let¡¯s not give them an excuse to declare us dead. Jacob, drop us off and head back to the Normandy. We¡¯ll catch up to you once we¡¯re done.¡± ¡°Aye aye, Ma¡¯am.¡± -o- ¡°Where is everyone?¡± ¡°I have no idea, this is weird. You can usually at least see someone no matter what compartment you are in.¡± As the two of them headed back to the trial chamber they couldn¡¯t help but notice how abandoned the Rayya looked now. ¡°Are we too late?¡± Shepard couldn¡¯t help but wonder. ¡°No, even if the trial ended there would still be people around. Actually we would see more people in that case.¡± Tali denied. ¡°Let¡¯s hurry then. I have a bad feeling about this.¡± Both of them walked faster to the chamber but when they opened the doors they were just left more confused than before. The room was absolutely packed with Quarians standing around completely focused on the holographic screens that had been brought in at some point. And while the Admirals were still present, they were now standing around the middle of the room rather than the raised sections they had been during the trail. But the biggest change was Revan lounging on a chair resting her chin on a hand while Legion loomed behind her overlooking the whole thing. Exactly what the HELL had happened while they were on the Alarei?! Before either one of them could say something, Revan noticed them come through the doors and straightened up from her relaxed position a little. ¡°Shepard, Tali, good you¡¯re back. I trust the Alarei is taken care of?¡± Shepard felt like sanity had decided to take an unannounced vacation and decided to just go with the flow. ¡°Yeah, the rogue Geth have been taken care of. Hopefully this proves Tali''Zorah vas Normandy¡¯s loyalty to the quarian people.¡± ¡°Tali¡¯Zorah¡¯s loyalty is unquestionable. And in light of recent changes, all charges have been dropped.¡± In any other circumstance, Shepard would be practically jumping up and down in relief at the sudden reversal especially considering her previous options. But considering it was Revan that spoke up and no one protested the decision, she was just waiting for the other shoe to drop. ¡°The charges were dropped?¡± Tali sounded just as incredulous. ¡°How? Why? What¡¯s going on?!¡± Admiral Koris stepped forward. ¡°After your team left for the Alarei, the details of your agreement with the Geth to return the homeworld to us were revealed. Since you were instrumental in making such a thing possible it was clear that you had no intention of harming the fleet.¡± The Admiral bowed his head a little. ¡°You were working towards a chance of peace that would have let us return home. A chance we almost squandered. And for that you have our deepest apologies.¡± Shepard was stunned. They dropped the charges after hearing Revan, Tali, and Legion¡¯s plan? Just like that?! ¡°You¡­you accepted the alliance? Just like that?¡± Tali echoed both Shepard¡¯s thoughts and feelings. ¡°No.¡± Revan denied. ¡°The original agreement we drafted was impossible once you were charged. I made some¡­alterations¡­to the proposal and all parties agreed.¡± The Sith practically purred. Shepard¡¯s bad feeling grew stronger. The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation. ¡°What kind of alterations?¡± She demanded. ¡°In return for the same protection and technology I provided the Geth and the return of their homeworld, the Quarians would place themselves under my leadership and join my Empire.¡± If the Elf¡¯s face was visible, Shepard was certain she would be smiling smugly at everyone present. But the only thing the human Commander could think of at the moment was that Samara was going to go nuclear when she found out Shepard didn¡¯t stop this. If the Justicar didn¡¯t try to kill them both first that is. ¡°That wasn¡¯t our agreement!¡± Tali protested. ¡°So we discovered.¡± Admiral Gerrel agreed. ¡°But Empress Revan explained how that was supposed to be a cooperation between us and the Geth with her as a moderator. When she became Empress of the Geth that plan was scrapped.¡± Shepard¡¯s knees felt weak. Revan had managed to get herself crowned Queen of the Geth right under her nose and no one, not even EDI, managed to catch wind of it before now?! Forget Samara, all of Citadel Space was going to know how she missed that. ¡°So just to be clear, Tali¡¯s free to go?¡± Shepard asked, mostly as an attempt to stop the madness. ¡°What happens next then?¡± She continued when all four Admirals affirmed Tali was cleared of everything. ¡°We¡¯re going to recall every Quarian from across the galaxy and¡­and return home.¡± Shala¡¯Raan explained even if she choked up a bit at the end. ¡°We have a lot of rebuilding ahead of us. We¡¯ll need every hand we can get if we want to prepare for the Reapers.¡± The quarians¡­were preparing for the Reapers? As in openly acknowledging they were coming and tangibly doing something about the threat? Now Shepard wasn¡¯t sure she hadn¡¯t hit her head and everything since arriving on the Alarei was a hallucination conjured up by her over-stressed mind. Revan stood and began walking their way. ¡°I think we have enough here for now. A Geth ship will be arriving within a day or so to escort the Migrant Fleet through the Perseus Veil. Admiral Raan, if you need assistance with anything contact me immediately. Other than that, I trust you to handle the resettlement efforts. I¡¯ll make my way to Rannoch once I¡¯ve finished assisting Commander Shepard with her own mission.¡± At least that was confirmation the Sith planned to stay on the Normandy. Shepard had a lot of questions for her. -o- ¡°So how¡¯d it go?¡± was the first thing Joker asked as the four of them walked through the airlock. It said a lot about how nervous the pilot was that he not only waited until Tali was halfway down the deck, trying to corner Revan for more details, and that he hadn¡¯t instantly gone for a sarcastic quip. ¡°Revan declared herself Empress of both the Quarians and the Geth and had the whole trial thrown out.¡± Shepard decided to just rip the bandaid off. Joker looked at her and then sighed in relief. ¡°Well, if you¡¯re making jokes it can¡¯t be too bad. But next time, please don¡¯t say something that makes our Dark Overlady sound even scarier than I think she is.¡± ¡°I wasn¡¯t joking. That¡¯s exactly what happened.¡± Joker looked completely poleaxed by that and Shepard even saw EDI¡¯s holographic avatar glitch in surprise. ¡°You¡¯re shitting me. How¡¯d that happen?¡± ¡°No idea. First I¡¯m going to make sure Samara doesn¡¯t blow a gasket over this then I¡¯m going to hunt Revan down and figure that out.¡± ¡°I may be able to help with that, Commander.¡± EDI interrupted. ¡°Both Legion and Revan have asked to speak with you.¡± Shepard huffed. Well, at least they weren¡¯t avoiding her. ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll speak to them later. I need to deal with Samara first.¡± She paused. ¡°And then after that, I think we need a damn vacation.¡± ¡°If we¡¯re voting I want something tropical.¡± ¡°I thought you didn¡¯t swim, Joker.¡± The pilot grinned. ¡°Who me? Swim? Nah. But if that means I have to sit on a beach while the rest of the crew runs around in bathing suits? Well, that¡¯s a sacrifice I¡¯ll just have to make. For the good of the ship, you see.¡± Shepard rolled her eyes. ¡°You¡¯re all heart Joker.¡± Equilibrium somewhat restored, the Commander ventured off to find her teammates and deal with the surprises that had popped up recently. -o- *Undisclosed Cerberus Lab* It wasn¡¯t often that the Illusive Man made these kinds of house calls. Normally he didn¡¯t have the time to give a project his personal attention, let alone actually take a shuttle to the location itself. This one was different though. It had the potential to almost effortlessly catapult Cerberus to the top of the power ladder. All they needed was a breakthrough¡­ ¡°Give me a status report.¡± ¡°Yessir,¡± One of the scientists hurried to comply. ¡°We¡¯re making decent progress on Project Achilles, the cybernetics are in the final design phase and Dr. Walker recently managed to solve some of the issues we had with the embedded barrier generator shorting out. We should be finished and ready for implementation within a few months.¡± The Illusive Man nodded along as he read the provided notes on the project. He would have preferred if the timeframe was shorter, but Project Achilles was the first time they were introducing some of the easier to reproduce Reaper alloys. If months were what it would take to make sure Kai Leng¡¯s performance wasn¡¯t negatively affected, then they would have months. ¡°And Project Firebird?¡± The scientist grimaced. ¡°Still no progress. We¡¯ve simply been unable to crack the alien¡¯s language to even begin working on just reproducing the schematic, let alone understanding the underlying mechanics of individual components.¡± That was unfortunate but completely expected. It was clear that Revan had no real intention of giving Cerberus access to her technology. And even if the schematics they had bought off her were legitimate, which he somewhat doubted, no progress would be made until they either had more examples of the language or convinced the alien woman to translate for them. Unless something changed massively he would probably need to cut funding for the project and pass the resources to something more useful. And speaking of¡­ Now for the project he had come out here to see. ¡°And Project Dyrnwyn?¡± The scientist smiled and motioned to one of the test chambers. ¡°We¡¯ve had a lot more success than anticipated even if we are nowhere near close to the example you showed us.¡± He pointed at another scientist that had just finished strapping a small boxy device to his lower back and connecting a reinforced cable to a metallic cylinder. The tester thumbed the activation switch and a three foot beam of orangish energy burst from the cylinder with a distinct snap-hiss. The Illusive Man watched as the scientist began going through a gauntlet of tests. Various objects of different materials, shapes, and thickness were sliced through. The tester moved and contorted in ways to make sure the cable didn¡¯t snag on anything. And finally another device was put in a vice and the tester took a swing at it. Both blades crashed together and no matter how hard the tester pushed or hit the other blade neither one showed signs of losing cohesion. He was impressed. ¡°Obviously we haven¡¯t been able to shrink the power supply enough to match the original device. But I think we are close to a deployable field prototype.¡± A prototype, but not a mass production model. ¡°What bottlenecks are we facing so far?¡± ¡°The first is the power unit. We¡¯re struggling with several issues to be honest. The materials used are both too expensive or rare to ever be mass producible. The unit is also rather fragile, and the complexity makes field repairs unlikely. And the last issue we have is-¡± The man was cut off by a scream. In the test chamber the other scientist was clawing at his back and trying to get the power unit off of him. His clothes started smoking and eventually caught fire. Eventually the man collapsed on his face and the fire suppression systems kicked in. The room was covered in a thick white smoke and the Illusive Man was unable to see anything else through the haze. ¡°-we have issues with the power unit overheating.¡± The other man finished with a sigh. ¡°We¡¯re trying different things but as you can see, we haven¡¯t fixed it yet.¡± The Illusive Man took a long drag of his cigarette and let the rush of chemicals soothe the bad news. ¡°I¡¯ve given you some of the brightest minds Cerberus has available. I¡¯m sure you will be able to find something. What else is there?¡± ¡°The rest of the system is actually pretty durable. The cabling is made from a Kevlex synthetic fiber weave with carbon nanotubing reinforcement. It can still be cut or damaged, but no need to worry about a sharp corner or lucky shot slicing it if the user is careless. The only real problem remaining is the focusing crystal.¡± The scientist brought up two videos. One was a small crystal being installed into the handle of the weapon. The second was another technician opening up the hilt and shaking out the shattered remains. ¡°The crystals are too fragile for long term use.¡± The Illusive Man observed. ¡°I suppose simply using a stronger material is out of the question?¡± ¡°For now, yes. We¡¯ve only had a handful of successful samples even get this far. And even those have a habit of breaking if we get too rough with them.¡± That was an issue. There was little point in creating a blade that broke after a few bumps. Still, it was possible. The Elfin alien¡¯s weapons proved it. They just needed to figure out the trick behind it all. ¡°Keep up the good work. I¡¯ll-¡± ¡°Sir! Urgent message from the Normandy!¡± It wasn¡¯t often that the Illusive Man was interrupted. But anything regarding the Normandy had priority for a reason. ¡°What is it?¡± ¡°We just got an automatic message from the onboard AI. Subject Revan has created her own powerbase!¡± The leader of Cerberus sighed at the news. It was expected that the Alien would attempt to slip his control. She seemed smart enough to know that anything Cerberus offered would come with a price tag. He had also hoped they could have freely bought some more examples of her technology before he was forced to put a leash on her, maybe even worked close enough with them that by the time humanity took their rightful place in the galaxy there wouldn¡¯t be a need for a heavy hand. Apparently this Revan was going to need a reminder that she was reliant on his goodwill. ¡°Very well, who did she manage to recruit? Some of the Normandy crew? A band of mercenaries?¡± The messenger swallowed heavily. ¡°Sir, according to this¡­she¡­she¡­¡± The Illusive Man resisted the urge to roll his cybernetic eyes. ¡°Just say it already.¡± ¡°Subject Revan installed herself as Empress of the Quarians and made statements suggesting that she has also done this with the Geth!¡± Jack Harper felt like the world around him froze. Empress? Of two races? Was this some kind of joke?! ¡°Tell. Me. EVERYTHING!¡± -o- *Thessia; Locked Meeting Room, Temple of Athame* It was rare for members of the Order to meet in person. So rare, in fact, that it had been hundreds of years since the last time. Five Asari in heavy figure-concealing cloaks surrounded a table as a holo message finished playing, the image of a red-clad Justicar frozen in place. ¡°So, it¡¯s confirmed.¡± One of the figures said gravely. ¡°The Sith are here and Samara has failed in her duties.¡± ¡°Failed is a little harsh, Sister.¡± Another figure spoke up. ¡°By her own explanation, she is currently under oath to another.¡± ¡°Allowing a Sith to gain power is unacceptable. No matter the situation. Anyone from our order would-¡± ¡°Yes, from our order. Samara may be a Justicar of great skill but she is not a full member. She doesn¡¯t have the knowledge needed.¡± ¡°Hmph, then it falls to us to deal with the Sith. I will gather some of the more advanced aspirants and hunt down the abomination before it can start corrupting the galaxy.¡± One of the Asari, figure bent by the weight of countless years, rapped a stone on the table until there was silence. ¡°Do not let your hatred lead you, lest the Sith gain the upper hand.¡± The old Asari rasped. ¡°We must be sure of the result before the first blow is struck. Consult with the Saint Stone. We have not had a true Sith arise in centuries, a refresher will do you good.¡± The figure drew an ornate hilt from her robes and ignited the blue blade. Four more ignited soon after, illuminating the room and driving away the darkness. ¡°We are the blades of light in the shadows.¡± The elder continued. ¡°We guard against the encroaching dark and protect the light. Our enemy has been revealed and it will be purged, by the light of the Goddess.¡± ¡°BY THE LIGHT OF THE GODDESS!¡± The blades were extinguished, the room plunged into darkness. But at that point there was no one left in the room to notice. Chapter 36 ¡°You know, if someone had told me a few months ago I would voluntarily help the Geth, I would have called them crazy.¡± Tali muttered as the team made their way back to the Normandy. ¡°Then again, if they told me a space wizard was going to come out of nowhere and unite the two of us in an empire, I would have thrown them out the airlock before they sabotaged the ship in their insanity.¡± Shepard chuckled lightly. ¡°I¡¯m just glad nothing crazy happened on this mission. I¡¯ve had enough of that for a while.¡± ¡°You think infiltrating a rogue Geth space station with only a single squad in order to erase the rogue faction before they can rewrite the rest of the Geth to worship the Reapers, only to find out we could rewrite the rogue Geth the same way at the last minute wasn¡¯t crazy?¡± ¡°That was surprising, but no. I don¡¯t think it was crazy.¡± ¡°...That probably says something about you instead, Shepard.¡± What, that she was the crazy one? She woke up after being dead for two years, was preparing to fight an unknown number of Collector ships with a single frigate once they could make it through the Omega 4 Relay, and had just helped the newest empress in the galaxy consolidate her power over a machine army that terrified most of Council Space. She was well past crazy. But at the same time between having the time to get used to her situation, several meditation sessions with either Samara or Revan to manage the stress, and the Sith even managing to reduce her facial scarring to some faint white lines instead of the glowing crags she still shuddered to think about¡­Shepard was feeling much closer to her old mental state than she had for a long time. Of course that didn¡¯t mean her life was free from new sources of stress. Two of the biggest ones were waiting for them when they landed the shuttle. Samara rarely let Revan out of her sight if she could help it after the Sith¡¯s rise to power. She was still bound by her oath to Shepard to not try anything unless Revan started it, but the Justicar had not been happy to realize how easily the Sith had pulled one over on her. ¡°Shepard, welcome back. I suppose that means the rogue Geth have been destroyed?¡± Revan questioned. ¡°Reprogramed actually.¡± The Commander corrected. ¡°Legion managed to rewrite the virus so all the rogue Geth would go back to agreeing with the True Geth.¡± ¡°Really now? Why wasn¡¯t I informed that was an option?¡± Revan¡¯s slit visor turned to stare at Legion. ¡°We were unaware the virus developed by the Heretic Geth was complete until we infiltrated their systems.¡± Which made their decision to handle the rogue Geth before finishing the Collector mission stupidly lucky. If they hadn¡¯t¡­well, the Quarians would likely have been wiped out when the Geth turned on them again. ¡°Anyway, while you¡¯re here I wanted to update you on what¡¯s happening next.¡± Shepard said to Revan and Samara. She¡¯d get to the rest of the crew later but there was no reason not to say it now. ¡°We¡¯re almost done with integrating the Reaper IFF and doing a shakedown for the Normandy¡¯s upgrades, so I¡¯m ordering us all to take a vacation before we take the plunge.¡± As important as their mission was, the Normandy crew had been under constant stress for a few weeks with only occasional shore leave when they could manage it. That was not a good headspace to be in when going into an even more dangerous mission. So Shepard was going to give everyone a week, let them get their heads sorted and back in the game, and then head for the Omega 4 Relay. The Commander was actually taking advantage of one of TIM¡¯s attempts to draw Revan closer to Cerberus a while ago. From what she read Project Overlord was an attempt at creating a super advanced VI system to do¡­something - the exact goal of the project wasn¡¯t included in the materials she had - but unlike most Cerberus labs, it was located on a fairly pleasant garden world called Aite. A world with a low population, nice temperate climate, and a Cerberus facility that while no doubt was attempting to create something super illegal, shouldn¡¯t actually be dangerous. The perfect place to relax for a bit. -o- Shepard took a deep breath and slowly released it, counting down from five. She repeated this several times until she felt she had at least a tenuous lock on her temper. Then she opened her eyes and looked back at her XO. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, did you just say that the facility we are heading to - the same facility everyone swore was simply doing VI research - has just gone completely dark?¡± Miranda swallowed slightly and nodded. ¡°Yes. They aren¡¯t answering our hails and from our scans most of the systems seem to have been disabled. Yet, according to EDI, power usage is at higher than normal levels. Something is going on down there, Shepard.¡± There went their vacation. ¡°Okay, gather up the ground teams.¡± Shepard ordered. ¡°The Normandy still needs to go through shakedowns so we can¡¯t risk taking it into potentially hostile airspace for now. We¡¯ll have a scouting team drop in the Hammerhead while the rest follows behind in the Kodiak.¡± ¡°Is that necessary? There could just be a technological issue in the facility communications. It¡¯s just a research facility. There isn¡¯t supposed to be anything dangerous there.¡± ¡°Miranda, any time I¡¯ve been to a Cerberus base something has tried to kill me. I¡¯m not betting on that suddenly changing for the better.¡± ¡°You were fine on Minuteman Station.¡± Her XO smiled at her Commander¡¯s paranoia. ¡°True. But we ran into Revan a few hours later.¡± Shepard pointed out. That wiped the smile off Miranda¡¯s face. ¡°I¡¯ll make sure the teams are prepped.¡± -o- ¡°Thank god you came!¡± A voice rang out from the intercom system once the ground teams landed and started spreading out. ¡°My name is Dr. Gavin Archer. The situation is urgent ¨C we¡¯re facing a catastrophic VI breakout. I¡¯ll explain the details later, but you must retract that transmission dish! The controls aren¡¯t far from your position. You have to hurry!¡± Shepard paused for all of a second after the warning ended before sprinting towards the buildings and shouting orders at the same time. N7¡¯s were the Alliance¡¯s best. They trained for all kinds of nightmare scenarios. From mass hostage situations, to terrorist attacks, to city-wide disasters. One of the worst cases was a malicious VI incident. Those were usually rated even higher in danger level than a hostile AI because in most cases a rampant VI was simply too limited to know when to stop. One particular incident they were always warned of was when a scientist gave an experimental VI complete permission to the facility and then tasked it to complete an unsolvable math problem. What was supposed to happen was the VI eventually running out of resources and essentially ¡®thinking¡¯ itself to death. The resulting data would then be used to improve the next generation of VI. A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation. What actually happened was the VI realized it didn¡¯t have the resources needed to complete its task, so it decided to acquire them. By overwriting anything not needed to get more resources or to solve the problem it was given. Within an hour the entire facility was overwritten by the VI, everything from backup drives to door controls had been repurposed and the only reason it hadn¡¯t spread further was the fact the extranet link had been down for routine maintenance. With those thoughts in mind, Shepard ran through the entrance to the Cerberus facility with Tali hot on her heels. She almost stopped when she saw the bodies on the floor and the wrecked interior, but pushed on. Questions on what happened here could wait until later. So could the scientist on the monitor. ¡°Miranda, find out what¡¯s going on.¡± Shepard called out over her shoulder as she swept right past the receptionist area. ¡°We¡¯ll catch up once the dish is disabled.¡± Thankfully the console wasn¡¯t too hard to find. Shepard¡¯s blaster swept the area, but there was nothing but dead Cerberus scientists. With no visible threats and no idea how long they had to prevent a full containment loss, Shepard sicced Tali on the controls and under ten seconds later the dish began to retract¡­ Until it ground to a halt halfway down and started throwing system errors¡­ H???e???l???p??? ???p???l???e???a???s???e???.??? ???M???a???k???e??? ???i???t??? ???s???t???o???p???!??? Welp, it looked like she didn¡¯t need to guess what caused the errors. The corrupted audio was unintelligible, but the digitally generated green eyes appearing on every monitor were a pretty good indication that the VI was behind it. ¡°What¡¯s the word Miranda?¡± She asked as the rest of her team caught up with her. ¡°According to Dr. Archer; a VI they were working on has taken control of the facility.¡± Her XO reported. ¡°He¡¯s locked himself away in a computer room for now but it sounds like not many others were as lucky.¡± ¡°Do we know what we¡¯re up against? Something killed those scientists. Something with guns if I saw right.¡± ¡°We¡¯re up against Geth.¡± Garrus sighed. ¡°We snooped around some of the terminals on the way here. They were trying to create something to control the Geth. Because what else were the crazy human extremists going to do with a VI?¡± That was¡­not good. A few dozen Geth platforms cobbled together from scraps had managed to hold the Alarei against some of the best of the Migrant Fleet¡¯s marines. And somehow Shepard doubted Cerberus had been more careful about testing and safety than the Quarians had. Although¡­ ¡°Legion, any chance we can talk to any Geth here? Convince them not to fight us while we deal with the VI?¡± Legion¡¯s faceplates shifted up and down while he thought about the answer. ¡°No. We are unable to infiltrate the local wireless networks. We will need to find and access a central hub to open communications.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t think we have that kinda time, Commander.¡± Jacob echoed Shepard¡¯s own thoughts. ¡°Dr. Archer said the VI was trying to upload its program off-planet. We can stop it if we destroy the antennae inside the dish.¡± Shepard nodded, her mind already going a mile a minute. The full ground team was too big for her to command directly. Not to mention they would likely need to split off to cover the whole facility. That meant one squad under her, Miranda could take another, one under Revan¡­actually, it might be better to say one squad following after the Sith, and then one more¡­ ¡°Okay, Tali and Legion with me. Garrus, you take Mordin and Grunt. Try and keep up with Revan. Miranda, you take Jacob and Kasumi. And last but not least, Thane, you have Jack and Samara.¡± That last one wasn¡¯t the most balanced team, but she had to work with what she had. ¡°I see, two teams balanced to support a member with technical expertise, a support team, and a heavy assault team.¡± Mordin rattled off. ¡°Good spread of abilities with little information.¡± ¡°Heavy assault, huh? I like the sound of that.¡± Jack let her biotics flare and punched her fists together. ¡°Let¡¯s go break some shit.¡± ¡°That¡¯s the idea.¡± The Spectre quipped. ¡°Let¡¯s get moving before we¡¯re too late.¡± And before Grunt took offense to not being part of that group. -o- Revan watched with some concern as the massive broadcasting dish began to realign itself. A rampant electronic mind trying to take over every bit of machinery it could was actually something she had zero experience with. Back in her home galaxy, it simply wouldn¡¯t have been possible. Systems were usually physically isolated from each other so that a single slicer couldn¡¯t gain complete control from a single access point. A rogue droid would have needed to physically access every console to do what it was attempting here. Although, considering it seemed to have access to plenty of Geth platforms, that might not have been a huge challenge. ¡°Damn it all.¡± The Cerberus scientist they had talked to cursed over the radio. ¡°He¡¯s aligning the dish to a new upload target! He¡¯ll have a clear line of sight to our satellite! This is going to be tight¡­¡± Revan ignored that and pushed ahead of Shepard¡¯s group, lightsabers ablaze and eyes scanning for more Geth platforms coming out of the corners. There had to be some here. There were plenty of bodies to prove they had passed by. ¡°Attention: Satellite broadcast window is opening soon.¡± An automated message called out from the intercom. ¡°All upload data must be approved by your department supervisor.¡± The Sith Empress would really have preferred a solid number opposed to a vague ¡®soon¡¯. Did they have minutes left? Less? More? The uncertainty was frustrating. So Revan decided to release that frustration on the group of Geth rushing out of one of the openings to the dish¡¯s superstructure. She easily made the jump between walkways and sliced through one of the white Geth troopers. She telepathically grabbed another and tugged it forward, using it as both a shield from the others and severing its head in the same moment. A larger red platform ¨C a Geth Destroyer, if she remembered correctly ¨C turned to face her, but three red bolts slammed into it and staggered it before it could open up the flamethrowers built into its arms. Revan glanced back at the platform with the rest of the ground teams and saw Garrus throw her a sarcastic salute before running to catch back up with the rest of his team. The Sith huffed in amusement at the Turian¡¯s actions. It was unnecessary for him to hang back to assist her, especially for a single enemy, but the way he went about it reminded her of some of her old friends ¨C back when they were unknowingly hunting down Revan¡¯s sealed memories. A lot of the Normandy¡¯s crew reminded her of them in some ways, even if the Normandy was significantly bigger than the Ebon Hawk had ever been. They even had a suspicious jedi stand-in watching her every move! Revan¡¯s smile shrank at the reminder of Bastila. No, on second thought Samara wasn¡¯t the same as her. The Asari was completely devoted to her code in a way Revan¡¯s former¡­friend¡­never was. Bastila faltered whenever her ideals never matched up to reality and discarded her beliefs whenever someone seemingly proved others were better. Samara accepted the flaws in her beliefs and code and carried out her assumed responsibilities regardless. The dedication was deserving of respect, even if the unwillingness to bend even a little in the face of new information grated on Revan personally. The last Geth fell under a flood of Force Lightning and Revan silently laughed at herself. Look at her, big bad evil Empress of the Sith Empire reminiscing over the past in the middle of a battlefield. Had claiming a faction for herself really let her relax so much? It must have. As far back as Revan could remember, she was in charge of something. Thanks to the Jedi her childhood was lost to her, her earliest memories were a handful of recovered ones when she led the Revanchrist against the Mandalorians, then there was the newly formed Sith Empire. Even after her capture and memory deletion, Revan had led the Ebon Hawk similarly to how Shepard did the Normandy before regaining her memories and taking control of the Empire once again. But despite how much Revan wanted to enjoy her little revelation, she was still on a time limit. The doors to the broadcast dish had locked behind the Geth squad, no doubt controlled by the VI, but three slashes from her sabers later and she was stepping through the glowing hole she had carved out. A tug from the Force directed her down the left hallway and eventually up some stairs where she found Garrus, Mordin, and Grunt standing over the remains of another squad of Geth. ¡°Revan! Nice of you to join us.¡± The Turian greeted. ¡°Or are you just checking in before running off again?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t think you can keep up?¡± Revan teased lightly, echoing Shepard¡¯s words when she was dividing the teams and earning the pleasure of seeing the Turian shocked speechless. ¡°Hmph, just point the way and you¡¯ll be the one trying to keep up.¡± Grunt rumbled before moving towards a door, eager to keep moving. ¡°Yes, need to move soon. Transmission window opening shortly. No time to shut down the transfer.¡± Mordin said quickly. ¡°Shepard planning on destroying antennae support struts. We are going after the west strut.¡± With the others splitting off to handle the others, Revan guessed. ¡°Shepard¡¯s going after the furthest one with her team?¡± ¡°Her and Miranda.¡± Garrus replied, finally regaining his composure. ¡°Thane¡¯s team is keeping our backs clear and will blow theirs once Shepard gives the signal.¡± ¡°I¡¯m sure Jack is reveling in the opportunity to cut loose. Good thing we can just stick Cerberus with the bill.¡± She mused. Garrus gave her a sideways look. ¡°You¡¯ve been different lately. More relaxed. I¡¯m not sure I like it. Witty comments are supposed to be my thing.¡± ¡°On the contrary, this is likely Revan¡¯s real personality.¡± Mordin argued. ¡°Before, had no purpose, no drive. Similar to myself after genophage project. Now responsible for both Quarians and the Geth. New purpose and familiar ground.¡± The Sith was a little embarrassed about how easily the salarian doctor read her, and decided to ignore it. ¡°We have a support strut to destroy, we can psychoanalyze me after the mission.¡± ¡°Finally. Let¡¯s go break stuff.¡± Grunt commented with a vicious grin. -o- ¡°Warning: Structural integrity of dish has been compromised.¡± Revan listened to the automated message with the detached fascination of someone watching a speeder collision. Or in this case, someone watching a multi-ton antennae beginning to crash down on top of them. Her team had sprinted back to the walkways as soon as the support strut was destroyed and they were soon joined by the other teams. But Shepard¡¯s team was the furthest out and by the look of it, were not going to make it back before the antennae tore through the dish like tin foil. ¡°Jack, Samara, Miranda, can you hit the three of them with lift fields from here?¡± The Sith asked, stretching her arms out in preparation for what she was about to do. ¡°We can but that won¡¯t be enough to stop the debris from hitting them.¡± Miranda said quickly. ¡°Do it. Thane, Jacob, pull fields. As strong as you can make them.¡± Revan dove into the Force and grabbed the antennae just as it detached from the central support tower. There were shocked intakes of breath at the sight of a massive pillar of metal floating in midair, but Revan couldn¡¯t pay attention to them. The size and weight of an object theoretically made no difference in the Force, but in reality it was very difficult to achieve that mindset just after a battle. Revan felt her heart racing, the adrenaline surging through her veins, and all the emotions that accompanied them and embraced it all. This was the so-called Dark side of the Force. The raw physical side that swept those without iron-clad determination into the throes of madness. Revan had that determination, but it was unneeded. Just as easily as she sensed the wild emotions running through her, she could sense the presence of the others around her. From the teammates standing around her to the smallest blade of grass on the other side of the planet. All of it was connected in a beautiful tapestry of life that made the Light side of the Force shine. It was the mental aspect of the Force that made people lose sight of themselves, sacrificing them for the good of the community and others. And Revan embraced that side as well. Both halves of a greater whole working together to become something more. An individual empowering themselves without losing themselves to desire, and the surroundings supporting them without sacrificing them for the greater whole. That was the secret to Revan¡¯s power. The reason the Jedi Council was so scared of her. She used both sides of the Force in perfect harmony and it gave her the power of a Goddess ¨C Shepard and her team were yanked forward faster than they could run, which was a good thing since even though Revan was holding up the antennae that didn¡¯t stop the rest of the central tower from collapsing onto the dish. Missing the Spectre and the other two by mere feet. ¨C for all of twenty seconds before the cost of channeling that much power without the time to prepare herself nearly burned her from the inside. Revan was forced to drop the antennae and did her best to not collapse to her knees. Thankfully, Shepard¡¯s group cleared the dish before she let go and despite the rough landing, would be completely fine. The giant metal cylinder, on the other hand, smashed straight through the dish right along the path the team had been running and folded the entire structure like it was tissue paper. The entire Normandy team silently watched as everything collapsed into the valley below, some more apprehensive than others knowing exactly how close a call they just had beyond the immediate danger. ¡°Well, that¡¯s one rogue VI stopped for now. Great work, team. Let¡¯s never do that again.¡± Shepard complimented them while dusting herself off. Revan rather agreed with her. Chapter 37 Shepard watched through a window as her team continued to gather the bodies of the Cerberus scientists. She wasn''t sure who would be coming by to retrieve them, but leaving the bodies to rot out in the open didn''t seem right. But she could only do that for a little while before she needed to turn back to her conversation partner. "So what you''re saying is ¨C we need to find and destroy this AI or it''s going to cause armageddon for the entire galaxy." Shepard said tiredly as she rubbed her eyes. Yeah, that vacation was looking less and less likely. "Not an AI," Dr. Gavin Archer, lead scientist for the Cerberus facility corrected. "A hybrid VI made to influence the Geth by connecting to a human mind. The results have been¡­less than satisfactory." Shepard pointedly didn''t look around the nearly demolished facility. "You don''t say?" She drawled sarcastically. "You''d think you would have taken some precautions before attempting something like that." "You think we didn''t?!" Dr. Archer snapped. "We took every precaution we could before my brother David volunteered to interface with the VI. But every precaution doesn''t mean we could predict every outcome! Certainly not the abomination David has become." Shepard held up a hand to calm the scientist down. "Okay, okay!" She said somewhat apologetically. "So we have a potential doomsday scenario. How do we shut it down?" "Davi¡­the VI has fortified itself in the main laboratory at Atlas Station." Archer said haltingly. "It''s currently in lockdown and to enter you will need to manually override security from the three surrounding stations." The doctor moved to the main security console that dominated an entire wall and pulled a control rod. One of the ''gates'' displayed on the main screen retracted and turned green but the other two remained locked. "I can give you my authorization for Hemes Station, but you will have to manually reset Prometheus and Vulcan yourself." "And why should we bother with that instead of destroying the station from orbit?" A new voice broke in as Revan walked through the door. "Des-destroy it from orbit?! Are you mad? The data loss alone would mean this entire disaster was completely pointless. Let alone the complications it would cause!" Archer exploded. "The crew finished gathering the dead, Shepard. We can return to the Normandy whenever you are ready." The Sith said, completely ignoring Dr. Archer and focusing on Shepard. "From there we can destroy the Station, contact Cerberus to deal with this ¨C" Revan made a dismissive gesture at their general surroundings "¨C and return to preparing for the final portion of our own mission. We don''t have time to waste salvaging something from Cerberus''s mistake." "Commander, you can''t do that!" Dr. Archer protested again, shifting targets. "This project is years of effort! An orbital strike - if it managed to work - would erase all of that! B-besides my brother could still be alive in there." Shepard did notice the doctor only mentioned his brother second but that could wait for now. "Why wouldn''t an orbital strike work?" She demanded instead. Because while saving everyone she could was important, risking the galaxy over a single life wasn''t something she could do. She needed to know all her options. "Atlas Station is hardened against attacks." Archer explained. "You would have to bring your ship very close to guarantee the complete destruction of the Station where it would have to deal with both the area''s anti air defenses as well as potentially coming in range of the VI. If it manages to upload itself to your ship¡­" The consequences didn''t need to be said. "Okay, I''ll keep that in mind." Shepard nodded. "One last thing¡­what if I have to kill your brother?" Archer slumped and grabbed a photograph off his desk. "I''d prefer it didn''t come to that." He said softly. The Commander could only nod supportively and walk away. "Revan, hold up a second." Shepard called out once they left the control room. "I wanna talk real quick." "Yes Shepard?" "Any reason for the rush earlier? You normally don''t care if we pick up an extra mission somewhere, or at least this is the first time you said something about it." Shepard asked, keeping any accusation out of her tone. The last thing she wanted was the Elven Sith Lord to start thinking she couldn''t discuss things with Shepard without the Spectre taking it as an attack on her authority. But she also didn''t want to get into a potentially lengthy discussion about what their next move was with a Cerberus Lead Scientist in the room. Thankfully, Revan didn''t seem concerned by the question. "On a tactical level, we shouldn''t be getting involved with this." Revan explained. "This was supposed to be a relaxation trip in preparation to head through the Omega 4 Relay soon. Risking injury when someone else can handle the situation here is foolish." "Fair, but if the VI breaks out of containment and gets onto the extranet or something it won''t matter if we manage to stop the Collectors. The rest of the galaxy would lose too much if all our technology suddenly turned hostile." Shepard countered. "If it can control the Mass Relays, we might not be able to come back." She thought about it some more. "Besides it isn''t like we couldn''t wait longer even if we do pick up some injuries. We don''t have to go the minute the IFF goes through shakedown." "If we have the time to wait for the injured to recover, we have time to wait for someone more prepared to deal with the lab." Revan argued. "Only the Normandy can go through the Omega 4 Relay. Any armed force could handle the lab." "So can we ¨C and we''re already here." Shepard pointed out. "On a tactical level, leaving a hostile force capable of wiping out our entire tech base in an entrenched position and hoping someone else deals with it is a terrible decision. So what''s got you itching to leave so quickly?" Revan sighed through her mask. "Unfortunately, all I can tell you is I have a bad premonition. Something is coming and it''s a risk to the Normandy." Before her involuntary spacewalk, Shepard wouldn''t have given much weight to something as nebulous as what was basically a ''bad feeling''. Talked it over and have people on the lookout for something going wrong, certainly, because despite all the sensors in the galaxy sometimes there was just nothing better than a soldier''s intuition. But she wouldn''t base their entire deployment strategy on that feeling. After dealing with Revan long enough to know the other woman could legitimately glimpse things from the future Shepard decided a little extra caution wouldn''t hurt. Support the creativity of authors by visiting Royal Road for this novel and more. "We still can''t allow the VI to escape and I''d prefer to see if there are any survivors. But I''ll have EDI calculate how hard it would be to completely destroy the lab from the Normandy. I''ll make a final call once we know more." She said and opened a comm line to her XO. "Miranda, can we get a secure line to the Norm¨C" "Shepard, I was just about to call you. We have a situation." The raven-haired operative interrupted. "The Normandy is under attack by a Collector vessel!" -o- It didn''t take long for Shepard to sprint back to where the rest of her team was with Revan following closely behind. She saw Miranda, Tali, and Mordin pouring over one of the terminals and made a direct line over to them. "Talk to me. What''s going on, where are they, and what can we do about it?" Shepard saw Miranda pull all her emotions back behind a professional mask and guessed she wasn''t about to like the answers. "About five minutes ago we attempted to send a message to the Normandy saying the VI had been contained for now, but we got no response. I repurposed some of the equipment here to try and see what was going on¡­this is what we found." "Oh, fuck me." On screen was a picture of the Normandy sitting helplessly below a Collector ship. And there was nothing they could do to help against something that big. The only space capable ship they had on hand was the Kodiak, and that wasn''t going to tip the scales in the slightest. This must have been the premonition Revan was talking about. "Per regulations regarding a VI outbreak, the crew moved the Normandy into an antipodal orbit from our position. The good news is it is unlikely for the Collectors to know about our location." Miranda said, putting in some really good effort on putting a positive spin to the whole situation. It was cold comfort compared to the loss of another Normandy. Suddenly several consoles lit up as alerts scrolled down the monitors. "What just happened?" Shepard demanded. "FTL transition detected." Tali reported, hands flying over a keyboard. "Same position as the Normandy. Image on screen¡­now." Shepard forced herself to look at the monitor and felt confused. When she heard FTL transition, she assumed the Collector ship had gotten what it came for, destroyed the Normandy, and left. Instead, the massive ship was still there and any sign of the Normandy was gone. "They got away!" She breathed. Somehow at least part of her crew had managed to get back enough control of the ship to escape. "Second FTL transition detected!" There was no way of following someone once they engaged an onboard FTL Drive. You could travel in the same direction, but no one could tell when the ship you were following would drop back to normal speeds. The Normandy was safe and the Collectors had decided to move on. Shepard took a deep breath and organized her thoughts. The Normandy was safe but the condition of the crew was unknown. Depending on how many were injured or killed it could take some time before they could return to the system. Which also meant she and her team were stranded on Aite for the foreseeable future with a hostile VI. Well, no one else was around to deal with that. So it might as well be her. -o- "So what now?" Garrus asked as he paced back and forth after Shepard informed the rest of them what happened in space. "We can''t do anything about the Normandy." Shepard said firmly. "But there''s another mess we need to deal with." "The rogue VI?" Thane questioned softly. The Spectre nodded. "It''s a threat to the galaxy and we''re available. Unless someone wants to sit this one out?" She asked, confident no one was going to take her up on that. "Fuck it, permission to break more Cerberus shit? Sign me up." Jack volunteered almost immediately, followed by the rest of the ground team. "Great, here''s the plan. We have two stations we need to override to get past the security lockdown. We''re going to split into two teams and take them out simultaneously." "You sure that''s a good idea, Commander?" Jacob interrupted. "We''re already on our own here. Can we really risk splitting up even more?" "Don''t have much of a choice. If the VI realizes what we''re doing and destroys one of the overrides, we''re screwed." Shepard countered. "One team will take the Kodiak and head for Vulcan station while the other heads for Prometheus station in the Hammerhead." "Vulcan is a geothermal energy plant so we''re not expecting too much resistance beyond some security mechs, but Prometheus is built directly on top of a crashed Geth ship. If the VI managed to get control over the weapon systems, that one might get a little hairy." Shepard paused for questions but no one brought any forward. "Alright, the Hammerhead can only fit four so I''ll be taking Kasumi, Tali, and Revan with me. Everyone else will take the shuttle to Vulcan Station. Garrus, you''re in charge. Miranda, I want you to keep communications open between both teams and keep an eye out for the Normandy. Any final questions?" "Would it not be best to have Legion replace Revan on your team?" Samara spoke up, clearly unwilling to separate that much from the Sith. "Given his nature, he would be a much greater help navigating the wreck." Shepard shook her head. "I don''t want Legion interfacing with any VI infected equipment. He''s told me he should be fine but I don''t want to risk it. Especially surrounded by infected Geth equipment." "Yeah, I''d prefer not getting shot in the ass by a teammate going crazy if possible." Kasumi turned to Legion. "No offense, of course." "Agreed. Teammate Kasumi''s posterior will remain untargeted." "Wait a second, what do you mean ''remain''? I''ll have you know¡­" Shepard deliberately ignored the rest of that conversation and focused on the rest of her team. "Anything else? No? Then let''s move out¡­" -o- "This place is beautiful. I can see why someone would build a base here." Tali remarked as the Hammerhead raced over the terrain. "Eh, it''s pretty alright but I prefer someplace with a few more creature comforts." Kasumi replied. "Preferably somewhere you could snag an expensive souvenir for yourself?" Shepard said mildly. "You know me so well, Shep. Though if a billionaire with some nice trinkets decided to settle down here, I wouldn''t mind coming to visit¡­" the thief trailed off causing Shepard to roll her eyes. "What about you, Revan? Enjoying the sights?" Three sets of eyes turned with varying degrees of subtlety to the Sith who was passively observing one of the monitors to an external camera. They weren''t subtle enough because Revan audibly huffed at the attention. "I am actually." The masked elf replied. "Aite reminds me of Tython quite a bit in some places. It''s¡­nice to see something almost familiar." "Did you spend a lot of time on Tython?" Tali asked. "I grew up there. So, yes." It was a shame they were almost at Prometheus station because this was exactly what Shepard wanted to happen during their time on Aite, her team relaxing and growing closer before taking the final plunge through the Relay. It was just her luck that the most mysterious member of her team started opening up when another apocalyptic threat meant they would need to focus on the mission instead. "Tython sounds like a nice place. You''ll have to tell us about it later." "Hmm, I suppose I will." -o- "Shep, we might have a problem." "Yes Kasumi, I see it." "Good, but I''m more worried about it seeing us." "Thank you, Kasumi." Revan did her best to ignore the nervous thief''s chatter and focus on the problem ahead of them. Prometheus station was less a human installation built on top of the crashed ship and more a handful of buildings crammed into the massive holes in the hull. That wouldn''t have been much of an issue since even thick security doors would be easier to break through than the armor of a warship. No, the issue was that the VI had raised defensive shields over the crash site and several outlying generators and taken control of the cannon Cerberus had repurposed into a defensive turret. That cannon was designed to fight ships bigger than the Normandy. Even a glancing hit would utterly destroy the lightly armored Hammerhead. "Tali, any way you can hack their system? Disable that turret until we can get inside?" "Maybe, but we''d need to get much closer." the Quarian replied. "And we''d need to divert a lot of power to get through the shielding." ¡­power, there was an idea¡­ "Tali''Zorah, can you get readings for the power draw coming from the station?" Revan asked. It took a few minutes for Tali''Zorah to give her the numbers and a few more for the Sith Empress to calculate everything due to her relative unfamiliarity with Geth technology, though thanks to Legion she was making massive strides in correcting that. But eventually the Sith was able to determine that between the shields, the capacitors for the cannon, whatever active equipment was inside the station, and the VI being unable to divert more power thanks to the lockdown, the Station was at 99% power utilization. "Okay, but what does that mean for us?" "It means that there is hardly anything left just sitting there in a passive state." Revan explained. "But if more power was needed for say, tracking a fast moving target, ensuring the turret is locked so firing it doesn''t rip the cannon off its base, and then recharging the capacitor, what do you think would happen?" "The system would overdraw and slow everything down¡­" Shepard said in realization. "But that still doesn''t help us get past the shield." "No, but we can use the turret to disable the shields surrounding the generators and then destroy those to drop the main shield. We just need to wait close enough to one for the cannon to acquire a lock and I will be able to sense when the turret is about to fire." "That''s asking for a lot of trust, Revan. One mistake in timing means we''re all dead." Shepard let out a long breath. "But we can''t wait here forever and it''s probably our best shot¡­so let''s do it." Kasumi snorted. "Well if we survive this, at least it will be one hell of a story." Everyone braced as Shepard launched the vehicle forward. Revan briefly watched as the turret quickly jerked to life, only to sluggishly attempt to follow them seconds after. It seemed she was correct about the station''s lack of extra power, but she pushed those thoughts aside and focused on her role. The Force swirled around her as she focused on teasing the first indication of danger from the future. Unlike earlier, where her focus was spread out so much that she only managed to identify the threat minutes before it arrived, this time the Sith Empress focused everything on the turret and the surrounding area giving her near omniscience of the surroundings. This was not Battle Meditation. Try as she might, Revan never managed to master that elusive skill. Revan could not coordinate the others or direct their actions. She couldn''t show them the images the Force gave her of the future or enhance their reactions and stamina. But right now that didn''t matter. She could see everything she needed to, and with the only people around only a few feet from her¡­ "It''s firing. Move now." She said calmly. While the Hammerhead was a massively over designed, over complicated pile of scrap, it was very quick when it needed to be. Shepard was able to move completely out of the way before an enormous bang rocked the vehicle as the cannon disabled the shield around one of the generators. "The shield is down, target the generator." Revan directed. Probably unnecessarily considering how quickly the others jumped into action, but soon enough the generator was destroyed and the team moved onto the next one. Three repetitions later the main shield finally failed and left the turret vulnerable where it was quickly destroyed by the main armament of the Hammerhead. The way into the station was open. Chapter 38 ¡°This place is creepy.¡± Kasumi muttered as the team wandered the Geth ship. Shepard had to agree. Geth ships weren¡¯t the most comfortably designed things in the universe - they didn¡¯t need to be, since the only reason they needed hallways was for individual platforms to move around and maintenance, but that gave everything a creepy sterile feeling that set the Spectre¡¯s hackles rising. It didn¡¯t help that they kept finding piles of Geth strewn all over the place and the occasional dead scientist. The whole thing reminded Shepard of a horror-vid ¡°Just put up with it for now.¡± Shepard said. ¡°Sooner we disable the security lock, the sooner we can get out of here.¡± ¡°Right, pay no attention to the piles of murderbots or the freaky rogue VI herding us deeper into the ship.¡± The thief snarked. Because yes, that was exactly what was happening. The VI was closing any pathways that led anywhere other than the center of the wreck. And while Revan had proven she could cut through the doors with her laser swords given enough time, there wasn¡¯t much reason to do so when all that got them was a slight detour at best or led to a demolished or unpassable room at worst. ¡°We¡¯re almost at the control panel, keep sharp.¡± Shepard said instead, focusing on what she could control. ¡°Sorry Shep, Tali and I are all soft and squishy curves. Rev is your only option if you want sharp.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t think I want to know what you are talking about.¡± Tali sighed, exasperated at Kasumi¡¯s constant chatter. ¡°But according to the map we were given, the control room is through the next room.¡± ¡°I make jokes when I¡¯m stressed.¡± Kasumi defended herself. ¡°And is no one else bothered that we¡¯re walking into a trap? After we were just shot at by warship grade weapons in what is basically a high tech tin can?¡± ¡°It¡¯s not the first time I¡¯ve been shot at by ship-scale weapons while I¡¯ve been on the ground.¡± Revan replied. ¡°It might not be the last either.¡± ¡°I think the colony of mind-controlled zombies or the labs full of feral Rachni were scarier.¡± Tali added. ¡°Knowing we are walking into a trap is better than getting surprises like those.¡± ¡°No point thinking about it.¡± Shepard told the thief. ¡°We have to go in there anyway. We¡¯ll deal with what comes next as it comes.¡± ¡°...how did I become the sane one of the group?¡± Shepard ignored that comment and looked around the cavernous area the team just entered. It was a mess, just like most of the ship, and true to form Cerberus had preferred to just stuff their own equipment into the holes instead of building a permanent structure. It didn¡¯t help that the chamber was flooded with water from somewhere outside that no one had bothered to drain. Poking around their side of the room revealed a jury-rigged control terminal for some of the ship¡¯s floor panels Cerberus had managed to get working. Some experimental button pressing later, they had an open path to their target and the security override switch. ¡°Okay, just need to pull this and then head back to the Hammerhead.¡± Shepard stated, walking over to the override control rod and disabling the lock. A??????????????????????H???????????????????????H??????????????????????H???????????H????????????H??????????????H??????????????????????????!??????????????????!??????????????? Shepard flinched as the VI¡¯s generated face appeared on the screen and screamed at them. A sound from behind her drew her attention and she turned just in time to see one of the crumpled Geth bodies rise from the ground and look at them. ¡°Dammit, I knew this was too easy.¡± She reached for her blaster but before she could even pull it from her mag-holster, a burst of red bolts from Kasumi¡¯s gun tore through the machine and dropped it. Someone was jumpy. Shepard gave the Asian woman an amused glance before focusing on the situation. ¡°Tali, what just happened?¡± ¡°It looks like the Geth servers were placed in lockdown when the override tripped.¡± The quarian reported, information streaming over her omnitool. ¡°When we released the lock the VI was able to take control and reactivate the Geth platforms.¡± So that meant all the Geth they walked by on the way in were now going to be trying to stop them from leaving. ¡°Wonderful. No point standing around here then. Let¡¯s move out.¡± -o- Revan reflected that it was almost a shame that she had suborned one of the few groups that regularly used weapons her lightsabers were most effective against. She had honestly missed the sight of enemy fire being redirected back into their ranks. And thanks to the ground team almost switching entirely to blaster weapons she could almost pretend she was in her home galaxy for a little. She could almost hear HK-47 complaining about having to fight other droids rather than the ¡®meatbags¡¯ he preferred. Or Ordo telling her to fix that particularity in HK¡¯s programming for the thousandth time. She would laugh, promise to do so on the next maintenance cycle, and then ¡®conveniently¡¯ forget for one reason or another and the cycle would start all over. ¡­but now was not the time to give in to a sudden bout of homesickness. She was in the middle of a battle, had new responsibilities, and new companions she needed to protect. A red colored Geth Destroyer raised a rocket launcher towards the bit of cover Tali¡¯Zorah was crouched behind and Revan held no delusions the thin sheet of metal the quarian had sheltered behind would stand up to something like that. Just as the enemy droid pulled the trigger, Revan reached out with the Force and nudged the barrel of the launcher upward, making the rocket explode into the ceiling rather than immolating her new subject. Seconds later, the destroyer was shattered by several red blaster bolts cutting through its shield and a biotic shockwave. The Commander apparently had seen the droid¡¯s intended target and took exception. And with that droid destroyed and only a few troopers remaining, Revan shifted from her mostly defensive role to hunt down the ones hiding behind cover or drive them out into the open. ¡°One room remaining.¡± She mused as the last trooper fell to pieces in front of her, glowing orange lines showing where her blades had passed. ¡°We¡¯ll have to be careful, that Prime is probably free now.¡± Shepard commented. ¡°I¡¯m more worried about the number of droids we will probably encounter.¡± Revan countered. ¡°Cerberus was in the process of shipping several platforms to other stations. If they didn¡¯t do so before they were killed, those platforms will be waiting for us at the exit.¡± ¡°There¡¯s only so many servers on the ship still functional for the Geth programs to upload themselves to.¡± Tali¡¯Zorah spoke up. ¡°Without enough of those programs they cannot properly coordinate a platform.¡± ¡°What¡¯s that mean for us?¡± ¡°If there are only enough Geth to run a certain number of platforms, we¡¯ll probably have to deal with a few waves of however many they can operate until they run out.¡± Revan hummed. It still was not exactly ideal, but it was vastly more preferred than fighting all of the remaining Geth at once. Even a full fledged Force-user could be overwhelmed by sheer numbers after all. ¡°Shepard, I will focus on the Prime. Can your squad cover me?¡± ¡°We¡¯ll do our best. Can¡¯t guarantee anything without knowing how many we¡¯ll be facing.¡± Revan nodded at the conditional and strode through the hatch where the Geth platforms were waiting. Naturally, the enemy droids hadn¡¯t remained idle while the group had taken a short rest and had already moved into cover aimed at the bend the team would need to move through. All except for the towering Prime that dominated the middle of the walkway. That was simply too big to even attempt to take cover effectively. And all of them opened fire on Revan once she stepped out into the open. Red and blue sabers flashed as the Sith deflected the majority of the plasma shots, with her either dodging or relying on her armor¡¯s shields for the shots that made it through. Revan was able to destroy one trooper and wear down the shields of two others by reflecting what she could, but there was simply too much incoming to reliably defeat the Geth in front of her that way. But that was never the goal for her. She simply needed to draw enough attention for Shepard, Tali¡¯Zorah, and Kasumi to slip behind their own cover before focusing on her target. The second red bolts started streaking past her, Revan focused a tendril of Force on the Prime and shoved, sending the massive droid toppling off the walkway and immediately jumping after it. Despite the size, the Prime was pretty quick to recover from the sudden fall. It managed to roll and throw up an arm in front of the falling lightsabers before Revan could slash at its back, the powerful barriers and armor protecting the platform only allowing for some light, almost superficial, damage before it punched at the Sith and forced her to back off a bit. She was about to rush back in when there was a sudden flare of danger in the Force. Revan twirled her sabers as several plasma shots rained on her from above, a quick glance showed several droids peaking out of cover and focusing on her even if it left them vulnerable to Shepard¡¯s squad. They kept firing at her even as one lost a head, determined to keep her off the Prime until it was fully back on its feet. Revan circled around so her main target was between her and the shooters. They could keep shooting at her if they wanted, but they were far more likely to hit the Prime. Of course the delay meant the massive droid had mostly recovered from its fall and ready to re-engage. The Sith sprinted close, blades whirling, and started slicing through the Prime¡¯s shields. The kinetic barriers did a decent job of blunting the sabers from hitting hard or fast enough to cut through the armor in one go, but all those hits added up and eventually the generators failed. Slight scratches turned into deep gouges as Revan carved at the armor. She still had to be careful. The Prime was large and strong enough that one solid hit was all it needed to take her out, but it overextended trying to grab her when she made a feint for its powersource. Revan kicked off the extended arm and launched herself at the head and with one Force empowered strike, she cut the Prime¡¯s head off at the neck. Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings. The massive droid pitched forward, but before Revan could even feel a glimmer of satisfaction at the victory, plasma shots from the remaining Troopers started raining down on her. Revan was tempted to just flood the room with Force Lightning but doing so would drain her stamina far too much, especially if they needed to head for the final station right away. She was just about to risk a small burst anyway, just to give herself some breathing room, when there was a flash of blue biotics and a storm of blaster bolts. The destruction of the Prime had disrupted the timing of the troopers. The loss of processing power the platform provided was obvious. The ones trying to focus on Revan had unsynced from the ones suppressing Shepard¡¯s squad and the Spectre was tearing through the disorganized flank as a result. Revan smiled under her mask at the perfectly timed counterattack. It was nice to have competent companions again. -o- ¡°Miranda just confirmed, all security locks disabled. We¡¯re good to head for Atlas Station.¡± Shepard announced as they sped away in the Hammerhead. ¡°That took them a while. What, did they stop for a snack break on the way?¡± Kasumi snarked. ¡°Turns out Cerberus¡¯s idea of a geothermal plant is to build directly on top of an active lava flow. They needed to take a detour.¡± ¡°...you¡¯re kidding me¡­¡± Sometimes, Shepard really wished she was. Cerberus seemed determined to build in the most ridiculous of locations occasionally. She idly wondered if there was a safety commission she could tip off. The thought of TIM being forced to face sanctions by some sour-faced inspector with a high-vis outfit and a datapad gave her a bit of a laugh. ¡°Nope. But we¡¯ll talk about it in the debrief. The others will meet us there.¡± Thankfully for all of them, the trip to Atlas Station was completely unremarkable. The Hammerhead and Kodiak met up in front of the entryway and after a brief pause, descended into the station. As the Hammerhead navigated through the service tunnel Shepard quietly agreed with Dr Archer¡¯s opinion about an orbital strike on the facility. Just the entrance into the place looked so reinforced that it would take sustained fire from the Normandy¡¯s main guns to have a chance at destroying everything here. And she wasn¡¯t even sure they carried enough ammo to guarantee complete destruction rather than just burying Atlas under a few tons of rubble. But when the VI made no move to stop them from landing or from entering the facility, Shepard couldn¡¯t help but feel like something was up. ¡°Looks like you¡¯re in, Commander.¡± Archer¡¯s voice crackled over the team¡¯s comms. ¡°Good. I¡¯m getting some troubling readings here, though. The VI is trying to upload its program directly from your location. Get to the server room and shut down its core before it can¨Cnnnn¨Cn??????????n????????n???????????n?????????????¨C¡± ¡°Dr Archer?¡± Shepard tried, but only got static on the line. ¡°Looks like we¡¯re on our own again. Tali, can you turn on the lights?¡± ¡°On it.¡± Tali messed around with her omnitool for a few seconds and eventually managed to get the damaged lights to flicker on, revealing another destroyed interior and gunned down scientists. Then an audio file started playing over the speaker system. ¡°Archer Log: 155.2: For years, my brother¡¯s condition has been a handicap. That changed today¡­¡± ¡°Did you start that, Tali?¡± ¡°No. It¡¯s playing automatically.¡± ¡°...His autistic mind is the breakthrough I¡¯ve been looking for ¨C he can communicate with the Geth! Such a tremendous grasp of mathematics! It seems serendipity is alive and well in the 22nd century.¡± Shepard didn¡¯t like this. Busted up lab? Fine. Creepy VI that seemed to be more interested in leading them somewhere than killing them now considering the lack of any functional Geth? Creepy, but also fine. For now. That VI playing random log files instead of more indecipherable screaming? It was up to something. The entire ground team was slowly making their way through another destroyed lab when a terminal suddenly sprang to life. ¡°Archer log 157.8: Unless he sees results, the Illusive Man is shutting us down next week. I have no choice. I¡¯m going to tap David directly into the Geth neural network and see if he can influence them. The danger should be negligible. David might even enjoy it.¡± The terminal suddenly shut off. ¡°I thought Archer said his brother volunteered for the experiment.¡± Garrus growled angrily. ¡°Sounds to me, he didn¡¯t have much of a choice about it.¡± ¡°What, Cerberus being assholes and not giving a fuck about who they experiment on? Big surprise.¡± Jack sniped. ¡°Did you expect something else?¡± ¡°Stow it.¡± Shepard ordered, looking around for a way down into the lower levels. Fortunately there was a service elevator not far. ¡°We¡¯ve got a job to do. Someone get that elevator up here.¡± The team spread out a little while the more tech focused members hacked the elevators. There was still no response from the VI, hostile or otherwise, but Shepard wasn¡¯t about to let her guard down. If the VI wanted to ambush them, it would have to work for it, not just wait for them to get sloppy. That diligence paid off when her teammates managed to get the elevator to their level only for a plasma torch to start burning its way through from the other side. It looked like they finally found some of the VI¡¯s platforms. Too bad for them they were sitting in the middle of a killbox. The doors hissed open and Shepard had just enough time to get a glimpse of another Geth Prime and a handful of troopers before they disappeared under the destructive rage of several Biotic explosions, a maelstrom of gunfire, and what looked like several grenades for good measure. When the smoke finally cleared, there wasn¡¯t a piece of those Geth platforms larger than her fist. ¡°Well then¡­that was easy.¡± ¡°Too easy.¡± Grunt growled. ¡°We have too many people for a good fight. Should have left some behind.¡± ¡°We¡¯ll do that when we aren¡¯t facing something that can destroy the galaxy through the extranet.¡± Shepard promised the Krogan. Personally she kind of agreed, the entire ground team was simply too many people to easily coordinate between just her and maybe Revan if the Sith decided to assist. It was a good learning opportunity though. After checking to make sure the elevator was still even functional after all the explosions that went off inside it, the team emerged in what looked like an examination or testing room for Geth with another audio log waiting for them. ¡°Archer log 168.4: I¡¯d be lying if I said no harm could come to David¡± Dr Archer¡¯s voice droned on. ¡°His autistic mind is as alien to me as an actual alien. Anything could happen when we plug him in. But I have to try, don¡¯t I?¡± ¡°No you certainly did NOT, you imbecile.¡± Miranda seethed, showing none of her rapidly dwindling loyalty to Cerberus in the face of someone using a sibling as a science experiment. ¡°Agreed. No hypothesis, no safety measures, no plan. Not proper science. Just throwing ideas at a wall. Regardless of danger to participants¡± Mordin added his thoughts. ¡°Even if successful, chances of replication almost impossible due to unique individual factors. Disgusting.¡± It seemed Dr Archer had thoroughly offended even more of the Normandy crew, but it didn¡¯t change what they needed to do. So after a final check to make sure the inactive Geth platforms would stay inactive¡­the team moved on until they found the VI server console. Which turned out to be just down the hall. Shepard grimaced and skirted around the remains of one unfortunate tech before walking up to the control panel. ¡°Get ready.¡± She warned her team. ¡°I wouldn¡¯t be surprised if this button brought every single platform the VI has left down on our heads.¡± Then she pressed the shutdown command. For a second, Shepard convinced herself nothing would go wrong. The lights gradually dimmed and processes started shutting down, only for everything to snap back to max as the VI¡¯s avatar appeared, towering over them all, and howled. A?????????A??????A????A???????A?????H???H?????????H?????H????H????????! A sudden shock running up her arm had Shepard looking in horror as her omnitool activated by itself and green code lept between the console and her arm before sinking into her skin! ¡°Shepard!¡± ¡°What¡¯s going on?!¡± ¡°Commander?!¡± Shepard stumbled away from the console and felt¡­something¡­pushing its way into her head. The walls took on a glowing, almost circuit board pattern and her team seemed to flicker in and out of existence like a glitchy hologram. ¡°The VI infected her implants!¡± Miranda cried out to the others. ¡°I don¡¯t know if she can hear us!¡± There was a sort of pressure building in Shepard¡¯s head. She needed to move. Needed to go¡­ Shepard shook her head and stumbled a bit. This was her head! Her body! No jumped up calculator was going to give her orders! Revan moved to put a hand on Shepard¡¯s forehead. ¡°I¡¯m going to try breaking its control. I won¡¯t be able to move quickly like this.¡± ¡°...Are you sure¨C¡± ¡°Do it.¡± Tali spoke over Samara¡¯s hesitating tone. ¡°We¡¯ll watch your back.¡± There was a flash of movement outside the server room. The VI was showing her things. Messing with her head. None of her training had ever prepared the Spectre on how to deal with something like this. But she knew what she needed to do. If the VI was responsible for this, she just needed to shut down the core directly. Something was holding her head back, but a small shove was enough to free her of it and she stumbled out into the hallway ¨C distantly aware of some cries of surprise and the doors whooshing shut behind her. ¡°Was that really necessary, Jane?¡± ¡°Whuh-! Revan?!¡± Shepard jumped at the sight of a transparent blue ghost in the shape of her teammate standing across from her, arms folded disapprovingly. ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡± ¡°The VI hijacked your cybernetics, somehow.¡± Shepard rolled her eyes. ¡°I know that part, I meant why are you suddenly a ghost?¡± ¡±I was going to attempt to disrupt its control by creating a Force Bond and purging it with some applied Mechu-deru but you shoved me into the others and wandered off before I could do so. Projecting this image is all I can do for now.¡± Revan looked past her at the door. ¡°They¡¯re currently trying to hack the door. I¡¯m wondering how long it takes them to realize borrowing one of my sabers would be far more expedient.¡± ¡°You¡¯re pretty possessive about your gear.¡± Shepard pointed out, resolving to ask what Mechu-deru was later. ¡°They might not think about it cause they don¡¯t want to piss you off. Can¡¯t you just undo the ghost thing and cut your way out?¡± Revan shook her head. ¡°I could but carelessly severing a new Bond isn¡¯t a wise idea. If we were still in contact I could do so easily, but¡­¡± The Sith Empress trailed off at the obvious, they weren¡¯t in contact anymore. ¡°Great, I have a feeling this is going to cause issues in the future.¡± Shepard scowled. ¡°Any idea what to do next?¡± ¡°What you were already planning.¡± Revan replied. ¡°Find the core. Shut it down. I will stop any additional attempts at controlling you while you do so.¡± Shepard nodded at the straightforward plan and started moving. To neither of their surprise they ended up moving through another lab but this time instead of an audio file playing, Shepard was treated to a full holographic recreation of scene after scene of the final days of Project Overlord. It started innocently enough. Dr Archer frustratedly ranting about their inability to even draw the Geth¡¯s attention despite trying everything, David somehow replicating their language despite it being physically impossible with an organic voicebox, and ending with the Geth paying attention and saying hello to the autistic man. The next scene was also somewhat innocent. A small test where David ordered a restrained Geth Platform to take a few steps forward while more scientists watched on. Dr Archer explaining how David¡¯s unique condition should allow him to directly interface with the Geth. That scene ended on an ominous note when one tech asked if that was even safe and Dr Archer saying there was no harm in finding out. The third and final scene, and the most confusing so far, was once again between the two brothers. Dr Archer began by asking David to repeat back his notes from a previous day¡¯s experiments only to grow angry at David¡¯s lack of attention. Shepard felt a surge of rage as David quailed under Dr Archer''s anger only for that emotion to curdle unpleasantly as the Cerberus scientist calmly apologized, lowered his voice, and had David repeat his notes back to him anyway. Only asking how David was afterwards. ¡°He¡¯s using him as a human omnitool.¡± She spat. ¡°But he obviously cares about his brother at least a little. How could he do that?¡± ¡°Ambition and arrogance unchecked can make you blind to the hurt of the ones around you.¡± Revan replied morosely. ¡°Especially the ones you care for the most.¡± That sounded like personal experience. Shepard reminded herself that Revan had declared war against her former order. While it sounded like she had been able to convince a decent amount to follow her views, there had to have been a few friends that refused to go along with her plan. The Commander would be very surprised if Revan had been able to avoid killing one along the way in her attempt to build up her galaxy to resist their own omnicidal invaders. But still¡­ ¡°It¡¯s still wrong.¡± She practically dared the Sith to disagree with her. ¡°I never said it wasn¡¯t, just that pursuing a goal makes people forget that at times.¡± Revan conceded easily before changing the topic. ¡°Let¡¯s move on. The core should be close. I can feel a presence in great distress nearby. Unless I¡¯m mistaken, that should be David Archer.¡± ¡°He¡¯s still alive?! Let¡¯s go then!¡± Shepard didn¡¯t waste time from taking the most direct route to the VI core possible following Revan¡¯s directions. A short elevator ride later and she was in front of the massive machine responsible for this whole disaster, watching one final vid of the moment David was connected to the neural network and lost control. ¡°Okay, we made it.¡± She said to her ghostly companion. ¡°Any idea how to shut this thing down? The giant green face staring down at me is kinda freaky and I¡¯d like to be done with this shit now.¡± ¡°If you want to do it safely? I have no idea.¡± The Space Elf shrugged. ¡°Jack finally got fed up with waiting for the team to get through the door and borrowed one of my sabers though. We can just wait for them to¨C¡± ¡®Attention, Node acquired: Normandy SR-2 is within range. Attempting to establish upload link.¡¯ Shepard¡¯s brief joy at the announcement that the Normandy had returned to the planet was quickly crushed by the realization that the ship was both in range of Atlas¡¯s broadcast relays and unaware of that fact. If that upload finished¡­they were out of time. ¡°Revan, change of plans. I¡¯m going to try severing the VI¡¯s connections directly. Tell the others to hurry up if you can.¡± She didn¡¯t wait for a reply, just pulling her blaster from her mag-harness and unloading into the connection nodes that were fairly obvious thanks to the visual fuckery the VI infecting her had caused, letting her actually see the upload path. Despite that, actually preventing the upload was incredibly close. Shepard alternated between severing the upload connections and trying to pierce through the shields surrounding the core as much as she could, but the upload still reached 80% before she managed to break something important on the core and finally initiate an emergency shutdown. She wasn¡¯t in a mood to celebrate though. The shutdown of the core also removed the VI from her implants letting her see the room without a giant glowing face obscuring half of it. And she didn¡¯t like what she saw. In the middle of the core, David Archer was hanging naked, bleeding, and practically unmoving thanks to the machinery crucifying him in place. A metal ring supported his waist and mildly preserved his dignity, but that was useless at stemming her rage as she saw the head harness forcing his eyes open and staring unblinkingly forward, the raw and bloody skin from where the chest portion had chafed away at him, the pair of thick metal tubes shoved down his throat, or the cables that had been driven through David¡¯s arms. What really crushed her were the tear tracks running helplessly down his face. ¡°Just hold on a little longer. We¡¯ll get you out of there soon.¡± She said, looking for the best place to begin removing him from the contraption. ¡°Wait! Commander!¡± Shepard turned to see Dr Archer sprinting out from the elevator followed more distantly by her team. ¡°I¡¯m begging you. Don¡¯t do anything rash.¡± Shepard saw red. ¡°Rash? You mean like forcing your own brother into an experiment?¡± ¡°I know how it must look, but I never intended any harm to come to him. You must believe me.¡± Archer started pacing. ¡°It¡¯s not like I planned this. It was an accident. Seeing David communicate with the Geth¡­it all seemed harmless.¡± ¡°I saw his memory ¨C he begged you not to do this!¡± ¡°I was desperate! The Illusive Man doesn''t broker failure.¡± Archer protested. ¡°Any war we fight with the Geth will be bloody. I was asked to find a way to avoid that.¡± ¡°Who gave you the right?!¡± ¡°People who were too afraid to make difficult decisions themselves.¡± Archer snapped. ¡°When they pray for a miracle, they¡¯re really praying for men like me to make the tough choices. If my work spares a million mothers mourning the loss of their sons, my conscience will rest easy.¡± ¡°And all it will cost is your brother¡¯s life.¡± Shepard was disgusted at the prospect of justifying¡­this¡­with hypothetical lives. ¡°Look at him ¨C you¡¯re brother will never be the same.¡± Archer did not in fact look at the suffering he had caused. He just started spouting justifications again. ¡°The damage might not be permanent. He might recover some semblance of his mind.¡± ¡°For what?! Cerberus will never leave him alone after this! He¡¯ll always be a lab rat.¡± ¡°But a well-cared for lab rat.¡± Archer replied. ¡°At least he¡¯ll still be alive.¡± Shepard was almost speechless. ¡°Well-cared for? Well-cared for?! LOOK AT HIM!¡± She shouted, grabbing the moron and forcing him to face his mistake. Archer finally faced his brother and fully took in what he had done. The bindings, the injuries, the surgically placed restraints. And Shepard watched as the delusion rhetoric Archer had been spouting collapsed under the realization of what he had done. ¡°Quiet ¨C please make it stop.¡± David¡¯s voice begged from a speaker, since the man himself couldn¡¯t speak. Archer slumped. ¡°What I¡¯ve done to David is unethical¡­¡± He said, dazedly. ¡°If he dies, it¡¯s unforgivable. Let me take care of him. Please.¡± Shepard wasn¡¯t having it. ¡°I¡¯ve seen enough of your cruelty to know he will never be free from it if I leave him here. I¡¯m taking him away.¡± ¡°No! Leave him! He¡¯s too valuable!¡± Archer went for a handgun, but before he could raise it, it was ripped away by Revan¡¯s telekinetic grasp. That was the last straw. Shepard went for her own handgun, the M-6 Carnifex aimed right between Archer¡¯s eyes, but she couldn¡¯t pull the trigger. Not because she held herself back, but because something was physically resisting it. It didn¡¯t take a genius to know why. ¡°Don¡¯t stop me, Revan. He deserves this.¡± ¡°He does.¡± The Empress agreed. ¡°But in some cases death is too easy.¡± ¡°I made mistakes but my work will save countless people.¡± Archer said, a fanatical light in his eyes. ¡°The human race needs it to be safe from the Geth. If we could direct them, control them¡­¡± ¡°You¡¯re working under old information, doctor.¡± Shepard watched as Revan practically stalked towards the man. ¡°The Geth and Quarian people have reunited. The Geth no longer act as an independent force. Even if you could produce a working VI, you would never control anything other than the Geth in this lab.¡± ¡°Bu-but that would mean¨C¡± ¡°Everything you did, everything you forced your brother to suffer and sacrifice. It was all for nothing.¡± Revan said mercilessly and Shepard watched that fanatical light die. Revan was right. It might have been kinder to shoot the man rather than for him to hear that. But that wasn¡¯t Shepard¡¯s problem. ¡°Miranda, get a hold of the Normandy. We need to find out what happened in Space and to make arrangements for David here. And if Dr Archer wants to press the issue, I¡¯ve got a bullet with his name on it.¡± The scientist looked at his brother, listening as David rattled off the square root equations that seemed to be a habit or calming mechanism. ¡°Where will you take him?¡± Archer asked brokenly. ¡°Grissom Academy. They can help special cases like David ¨C minus the torture.¡± Shepard spat and began to walk away. ¡°No matter how harmless it seemed.¡± ¡°Square root of 912.04 is 30.2¡­it all seemed harmless¡­¡± David¡¯s mantra added a new line. ¡°Square root of 912.04 is 30.2¡­it all seemed harmless¡­¡± ¡°Square root of 912.04 is 30.2¡­it all seemed harmless¡­¡± ¡°Square root of 912.04 is 30.2¡­it all seemed harmless¡­¡± ¡°Square root of 912.04 is 30.2¡­it all seemed harmless¡­¡± Chapter 39 ¡°Fuck me, this is a mess.¡± Shepard cursed as she looked over the report EDI gave her. When the ground team made it back to the Normandy she had been expecting things to be bad. The crew left behind were security personnel at best. None of them were trained or equipped to repel a serious boarding attempt by Collector forces, so the Commander was fully expecting some losses before the crew wrestled back the ship and managed to jump to FTL. She hadn¡¯t even considered that, besides Joker, not a single member of the crew had escaped the ambush. That they were captured instead of just killed wasn¡¯t much comfort either since no one had any idea what the Collectors were actually doing with the people they abducted. No one had been expecting a virus in the IFF, they had scrubbed the thing with everything they had and found nothing. And all the technical issues had been explained away as trying to integrate wildly incompatible systems between Human and Reaper tech. Thankfully, the Normandy was in pretty good shape despite the attack. Several bulkheads were damaged or destroyed, there were bullet holes all over the place from both the crew and Collectors, and everything not tied down or in a box had been thrown around thanks to EDI venting the airlocks, but none of the underlying components or critical systems had been damaged as far as anyone could tell. Tali, Mordin, Garrus, and Revan were all checking anyway while Miranda, Kasumi, and Thane were making sure no additional surprises had been left behind. Speaking of, Miranda was due to report¨C ¡°Everyone? You lost everyone ¨C and damn near lost the ship, too?¡± ¨Cany second now. ¡°I know, all right? I was here!¡± Joker snarked back, bitter and sarcastic. Shepard didn¡¯t need to have Revan¡¯s mind reading powers to know survivor¡¯s guilt was eating him up. ¡°It¡¯s not his fault, Miranda.¡± Jacob spoke up from the back of the room. ¡°None of us caught it.¡± EDI¡¯s avatar appeared over the table and Shepard had to push down her nervousness at the sight of the unshackled AI. Logically she knew if EDI was still the same helpful entity she had always been, now she could just choose to help them on her own free will. But she had literally just finished fighting another unshackled AI that had tried to kill them all less than five hours ago! ¡°Mr Taylor is correct. The harmful data in the Reaper IFF was even more sophisticated than the ¡®black box¡¯ Reaper viruses I was given.¡± The AI reported. Shepard closed her eyes and rubbed at her forehead. EDI had Reaper viruses? That was¨C No, that wasn¡¯t fair. She was still fine around Legion and she hadn¡¯t blamed Garrus for anything Saren did. EDI deserved the same respect as them, to be either friend or foe. And considering she was still helping them after being released from an almost literal cage, Shepard was leaning towards the former. Minor moral quandary resolved for now, Shepard moved on to more important things. ¡°It looks like it was a rough ride. How you holding up?¡± Joker¡¯s shoulders untensed but the guilt in his eyes remained. ¡°There¡¯s a lot of empty chairs in here.¡± ¡°We did everything we could, Jeff.¡± EDI comforted. ¡°Yeah, thanks, Mom.¡± ¡°Okay, what about the virus? Is the ship clean now? We can¡¯t risk this happening again.¡± Shepard changed the subject. ¡°EDI and I purged the systems. The Reaper IFF is online. We can go through the Omega 4 relay whenever you want.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t even get me started about unshackling a damned AI.¡± Miranda snipped, clearly just as unhappy as Shepard had been about dealing with one unshackled Artificial Intelligence just to run into another almost immediately. ¡°What could I do against Collectors, break my arm at them?¡± Joker argued. ¡°EDI cleared the ship. She¡¯s alright.¡± ¡°I assure you, I am still bound by protocols in my programming. Even if I were not, you are my crewmates.¡± If Shepard hadn¡¯t been inclined to trust EDI before, that line certainly would have done it. It was official, their little AI was part of the team. ¡°Glad to hear it, EDI. Okay team, what are our next steps?¡± ¡°We¡¯ve checked everything we could. The Collectors didn¡¯t leave anything behind and none of the major systems are damaged.¡± Miranda reported. ¡°We¡¯re ready to take the fight to them whenever you¡¯re ready, Commander.¡± Shepard nodded at the news. ¡°I called in a favor from Admiral Hackett. An Alliance shuttle is heading our way to pick up David and take him to Grissom Academy. Once that¡¯s done we¡¯ll head out. If any of you have something you need to do before we take the plunge ¨C do it now.¡± -o- The first thing Shepard did was retreat to her quarters and take a nice hot shower. She definitely needed it after spending so much time in her armor, and slipping into a fresh pair of workout pants and a sweatshirt felt heavenly, but since they were finally heading to the Omega 4 relay she still needed to talk to her people. A Commander¡¯s work was never done. With that in mind, Shepard made her way to the front of the ship where Joker spun around to face her. ¡°Hey, Commander.¡± ¡°Joker.¡± Shepard nodded at him. ¡°You sure you¡¯re okay for this? If you need some time¡­¡± ¡°Aw jeez, don¡¯t get like that. I know I got lucky, I don¡¯t need you getting all touchy feely.¡± ¡°Shepard is right to be concerned, Jeff.¡± EDI interrupted from her holo terminal. ¡°You may have suffered a number of stress fractures.¡± ¡°That¡¯s what the pills are for, EDI.¡± Joker rolled his eyes back to Shepard. ¡°She¡¯s so my mom.¡± Shepard smiled at the pair. ¡°You two seem to be getting along better. You¡¯re calling EDI ¡®her¡¯ and ¡®she¡¯ now.¡± ¡°Huh. I hadn¡¯t really noticed that. EDI, should I have noticed that?¡± ¡°No, Jeff, it is not worth noting.¡± Shepard gave Joker a look. Really? What, were they dating now? ¡°I think you¡¯re taking the human-machine interface a little far.¡± ¡°We¡¯re just having a little fun with you. Commander. No need to get all ¡®unnatural¡¯ on me.¡± ¡°What Jeff and I are exhibiting is more a platonic symbiosis than hormonally induced courtship behavior.¡± Joker grimaced. ¡°Okay, yeah, that was a little creepy.¡± Shepard snorted but decided to ignore all that. ¡°Still, you sure about piloting? EDI is filling in for the rest of the crew. We can have her take over if you need a break.¡± Joker was shaking his head before the Spectre could finish. ¡°Don¡¯t get me wrong, Commander, EDI is amazing, but there¡¯s something off about how she handles the Normandy. We ran simulations and it¡¯s better when we both have the helm.¡± ¡°Calculating an optimum course of action is simple. If two AI weapons are pitted against each other, the one with superior hardware will always win.¡± EDI explained. ¡°Human misjudgements defy predictive models.¡± ¡°License to screw up, Commander.¡± Joker joked. ¡°You heard it straight from the ship.¡± Well, at least he was feeling better. ¡°Great, you two need me for anything?¡± ¡°I¡¯m good.¡± ¡°Negative. Legion is undergoing several repairs and upgrades to their frame. I am communicating with them in the meantime.¡± ¡°Alright, then I should go talk with the others.¡± -o- Like the other times Shepard dropped by, Thane didn¡¯t react to her entering the life support room beyond a brief incline of his head acknowledging her presence. ¡°Do you need something?¡± ¡°Just checking in with everyone. You have a few minutes to talk?¡± Shepard replied. ¡°Of course.¡± Talking with Thane was always a weird experience for Shepard. The Drell was thoughtful and introspective, but he always spoke like his mind and body were two separate beings. Something not uncommon with Drell that just made it hard for the Human Commander to really connect with him. ¡°So, the big mission is right around the corner. Everything we¡¯ve been preparing for comes down to this, and all of us might not make it back. Are you ready for it?¡± ¡°Last time we talked I explained after the death of my wife, my mind returned to my battle sleep.¡± Thane said instead. Shepard just waited. Thane always seemed to give roundabout answers when he wasn¡¯t being direct. ¡°When I married Irikah, the Hanar let me leave their service to raise a family. But I had no other skills outside of being an assassin, so I freelanced. When Irikah was killed, I pursued those responsible. Once I had eliminated them, I had no purpose. No goal. In the end I accepted the Dantius commission despite the danger because I did not know what else to do.¡± The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation. Right, Shepard remembered Revan had to basically hunt Thane through a skyscraper because he was after a corrupt Asari businesswoman while Shepard was recruiting Samara. ¡°Sounds like it was lucky Revan stopped by when she did.¡± ¡°It was an intervention by the gods. I would have died in that penthouse.¡± Thane replied seriously. ¡°I would have fulfilled my contract. If Nassanna¡¯s guards had caught me afterwards ¨C it would have been a good death.¡± Shepard¡¯s eyes widened at the near admission Thane would have accepted what amounted to assisted suicide on his last solo mission. She had realized that Thane was deeply depressed after the death of his wife, but he had never indicated it was that bad. ¡°You never mentioned that before. What changed?¡± ¡°Someone else was there before me. Pushing to reach the target. Forcing me to move faster. Challenging me. I had to reach her first.¡± Yeah, that sounded like Revan. Managing to push people ¨C usually people¡¯s buttons ¨C without ever saying a word to them. But that didn¡¯t match up to what Thane was just saying. ¡°Because you planned to die there?¡± ¡°It wasn¡¯t a plan.¡± The assassin denied. ¡°My body had accepted its death. My mind had been dead a long time. But I met another siha. Few are privileged to meet even one, yet I have met three.¡± ¡°Sorry, that didn¡¯t translate. What¡¯s a siha?¡± ¡°One of the warrior-angels of the goddess Arashu.¡± Thane said with a slight smile. ¡°Fierce in wrath. A tenacious protector. It once again woke me from my sleep.¡± Shepard could see that¡­kinda. Though she wasn¡¯t sure she would share this conversation with the Sith. She already made the jump to Empress recently, Shepherd didn¡¯t want her to consider adding Angel to her list of titles, even if it fit. ¡°Well, I¡¯m glad you found a reason to live again. But I should go talk to the others too.¡± She smiled and stood up. ¡°One last question though. You mentioned meeting three siha, who was the third?¡± Thane¡¯s face kept that slight smile as he turned to look directly at her. ¡°You, of course.¡± -o- Shepard¡¯s next two conversations were much less emotionally rattling than finding out one of the more stoic members of her crew was suicidal and then being called an angel on the way out the door. Grunt didn¡¯t care that they were going through the relay definitely outnumbered and probably horrifically outgunned. He was just eager to face the challenge and prove the strength of his krant to the Collectors. There was no question of if they would make it out alive or not, the young Krogan didn¡¯t care if all of them died, just as long as the Collectors remembered the attack for eternity. Mordin proved to be similarly uncomplicated. The Salarian scientist explained that he had reached out to a nephew of his, just to remind himself what he was fighting for. According to him, the galaxy was too big, too nebulous a thing to fight for. But a favorite nephew that just earned his tenure? That he could focus on. It was nice, Shepard reflected as she walked into the main battery room, nice knowing that her crew was ready to face the coming challenge. And given that Garrus was calmly working on his rifle instead of frantically checking over the Thanix cannons it seemed this would be a similar conversation. ¡°Hey Garrus, having fun?¡± ¡°Shepard, give me a moment.¡± The Turian greeted back before methodically reassembling the gun and straightening up his tools. ¡°What brings you by?¡± He asked once he was done. ¡°Big mission right around the corner, just checking in with everyone. Seeing how they¡¯re holding up.¡± ¡°Like right before Ilos.¡± Garrus nodded. ¡°Yep. I figured ¨C¡± Shepard was cut off by the door hissing open again and a certain Quarian stepping through. ¡°Garrus, do you ¨C Oh! Hello, Shepard, I didn¡¯t¡­um, I¡¯ll just come back later?¡± Tali stammered. ¡°You¡¯re welcome to join us. Did you need to talk to Garrus about something?¡± ¡°Ah, no¡­it¡¯s just¡­I wanted¡­you know what, I can come back later.¡± Shepard looked at the fidgeting Quarian, the almost furtive glances at Garrus, and the refusal to discuss what she wanted to talk to the Turian about and her eyebrows shot up as she guessed at the reason. ¡°No, it''s fine, I was just checking in.¡± She immediately denied and pushed Tali further into the room. ¡°It sounds like you actually need something. Have fun you two.¡± She teased as she walked away. ¡°...okay? We¡¯ll talk later then, Shepard.¡± Garrus said confusedly while Tali squeaked adorably. Poor guy, he didn¡¯t have a clue, did he? Well it was up to Tali to change that. Shepard was looking forward to teasing out the full story about her interest in the Turian marksman later. -o- Revan stood silently staring out into space as she waited for her presence to be acknowledged. It wasn¡¯t like her target was ignoring her, Revan had just entered while the other was meditating. The Sith could afford to be polite in order to not make this conversation more difficult than it needed to be. Eventually the blue glow of biotics faded away and the Asari Justicar turned to face her. ¡°Darth Revan.¡± Samara said simply. Neither one was going to be friends with the other anytime soon. There was no reason to pretend otherwise. ¡°Samara. I¡¯ve come to discuss this final mission of ours.¡± Revan returned. ¡°What is there to discuss? We will complete the mission and unless one of us falls I will deal with you afterwards.¡± Samara said placidly. ¡°Unless you fear I will act against you in the middle of battle?¡± Revan shook her head. ¡°No, I know your type well enough that you will not do anything to harm or hinder me while under oath. The problem is you will not act to aid me either.¡± ¡°And should I?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± Revan replied, equally blunt and unemotional as her conversation partner. ¡°Whatever you think you know about the Sith does not compare to the threat of the Reapers. We cannot afford to fail here. So until the mission is over, the both of us will need to put aside everything else.¡± The barest shadow of a smile ghosted over Samara¡¯s face. ¡°A Sith asking for trust? As one of the few beings in this galaxy that truly knows your kind, you must understand how ridiculous that sounds.¡± For a second Revan was tempted to point out that Samara knew nothing about what it meant to be Sith. Because if she did she would know Revan wasn¡¯t really one of them. But she saw that would just cause an argument and remained silent on that topic. ¡°I¡¯m not suggesting we sacrifice our lives for the other.¡± She said instead. ¡°But I don¡¯t want either of us looking over our shoulders because we cannot trust the other to deal with an enemy in a compromising position.¡± ¡°A Justicar would never violate their oaths like that. I am sworn to support Shepard¡¯s cause as best I am able until I am released from it.¡± Samara protested. Maybe not consciously, Revan mused internally. But considering she sensed a shadow of danger disappearing in the Force, at least talking about the possibility removed it from Samara¡¯s potential actions. ¡°Then take this as my declaration that I will not intentionally cause you or the others harm by action or inaction.¡± The Empress said, moving towards the door. ¡°For whatever you believe that is worth.¡± -o- The Sith didn¡¯t waste time before moving to her next person of interest. While she could sense Shepard doing something similar with the handful of remaining sentients on the Normandy, this one couldn¡¯t wait. ¡°What do you want?¡± Her pseudo-apprentice growled as Revan entered the engineering space Jack had claimed for herself. ¡°Do I need a reason, Jack?¡± Revan replied and clasped her hands behind her back. ¡°But if you insist on one, did I not teach you to control your anger? Channel it rather than let it fester within you? And here you are, so full of anger and fear I barely need to look to sense you.¡± ¡°Yeah, well maybe I want to feel this way, did you think of that Ice Queen?¡± Jack snarled. ¡°Wasn¡¯t that part of your bullshit, too? Letting myself feel things when I want to?¡± It was, but in the context of acknowledging certain emotions when they flared and either safely releasing them or controlling Jack¡¯s own actions when her emotions ran high, because unlike what many members of the Jedi Council liked to believe, most sentients could not just stuff their emotions in a box to address them later in a reasonable manner. They also didn¡¯t like to admit people like Jack existed, people that just naturally felt one emotion nearly all the time. In Jack¡¯s case it was anger. That was why Revan didn¡¯t bother teaching the tattooed human how to let go of her anger. It would just create a self-destructive cycle where Jack would attempt to rid herself of the emotion, fail, and get angry at her failure. It was the fear that was the issue. ¡°Are you worried about the Collectors?¡± Revan didn¡¯t think Jack was the kind of person to get nervous before a fight. Not with how she reacted before every mission since Shepard picked her up. But there was a difference between a fight and a mission you weren¡¯t expecting everyone to make it back from. The Sith Empress had seen many steadfast veterans lose their composure in similar situations. She included herself in that count a couple times. Considering the way Jack scoffed though, she was wrong about that. ¡°I don¡¯t give a fuck about the Collectors.¡± She snapped. ¡°We¡¯ve been killing them everywhere we run into the creepy bastards. I¡¯ll be fine, they¡¯re not gonna stop me now.¡± ¡°Then why are you hiding down here afraid rather than preparing to meet them? Why the sudden distance with your shipmates?¡± Revan challenged. For a while Jack remained silent. Revan watched as the woman¡¯s emotions went into turmoil before eventually settling into a fearful determination. ¡°There was a guy. Murtock. Used me like the rest ¨C for sex, for biotics. It was fun. And he ruined everything.¡± Jack began with her normal bluntness. ¡°We tagged a weapons frigate with a Batarian escort and got separated. He had a choice: leave with the guns, or come back for me.¡± If this was like Jack¡¯s normal stories, Revan expected the man to immediately leave her behind. The human had a terribly unlucky streak of finding people that would use her as much as possible before abandoning her or overreaching. Interestingly though, there was a smattering of guilt leaking into the emotional cocktail Jack was feeling, something that suggested this story was different from the others. Jack continued and quickly confirmed Revan¡¯s thoughts. ¡°Idiot dumped the score and waded into the squints. I made it to the shuttle, but no way was he getting out. I fly for a day or so and then the shuttle kicks out this recording. He set it to play if he hadn¡¯t checked in. He figured that would mean he was dead.¡± ¡°Talked about the future we were supposed to have. How he planned to set us up a home. How he ¨C¡± Jack faltered briefly. ¡°How he loved me and he was sorry it wasn¡¯t going to happen.¡± ¡°You feel responsible?¡± Revan was starting to understand. ¡°Fuck no! You feel, you get sloppy. It¡¯s that damn simple. He found out, and you found out, Shepard¡¯ll¨C¡± ¡°Enough.¡± Jack¡¯s building rant cut off as her teeth clicked together. Revan heard enough to make a guess why the other woman was afraid. When most people saw Jack, they saw the violent criminal. The powerful biotic that was in it for the thrills, whether that was violence, drugs, or something else. And from a certain point of view they weren¡¯t wrong. That¡¯s all Jack lets them see because to do anything else would make her vulnerable. This was not something that could be solved with a few conversations. And yet here they were, with Jack indirectly panicking because she had grown attached to the crew and the only one she was close enough to open up a little to was Revan. And the Sith Empress was self-aware enough to know that she was not the most emotionally open person around. ¡°So you¡¯re afraid of the others sacrificing for you.¡± Revan said. ¡°That one of them might die for you.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not afraid.¡± Jack said mulishly. ¡°I don¡¯t run and I don¡¯t flinch. Death is fucking easy. Fucking on/off switch.¡± She got up and started pacing. ¡°But this, it just burrows in. Like those husks, you end up with nothing inside. I¡¯m supposed to take that and say ¡®Thanks, dead guy?¡¯¡± ¡°Yes.¡± Revan said bluntly, making Jack flinch. ¡°Remember our conversations on the Force, Jack. Death is not the end. It is not the continuation that many desire, but do not dismiss someone¡¯s passing because it troubles you.¡± ¡°What the fuck am I supposed to do about it then?!¡± ¡°If you don¡¯t want someone to die, protect them. If you don¡¯t want them to sacrifice for you, protect yourself. And if someone joins the Force anyway? Remember them, because they haven¡¯t really left you.¡± Jack groaned. ¡°Not more mystic bullshit.¡± ¡°It¡¯s a way of thinking that takes years to fully internalize.¡± Revan agreed. ¡°But if you need something simpler for the immediate future¡­if you¡¯re worried about your teammates, just kill every Collector you come across and trust us to do the same.¡± ¡°Please, I¡¯m not worried about any of you assholes.¡± Jack scoffed, but her emotions calmed significantly. Enough so that Revan simply nodded and headed for the door. She had some preparations to get through before they reached the Omega 4 relay and one more conversation she needed to have. With some luck she would be able to finish¨C ¡°Hey, Revan.¡± Jack¡¯s voice stopped her just before she left the room. ¡°Thanks. For the talk.¡± The Sith Empress smiled a little under her mask and nodded back to the human before walking towards the elevator. -o- Shepard looked up from a data-tablet in surprise when she heard the doors to her personal quarters opening. While it was true that anyone with authorization could enter unless she set security to privacy mode, only one person had actually ever entered unannounced before. So she was unsurprised to see that it was Revan sauntering into the room and not someone else. The fact the elven woman was dressed in nothing but loose fitting sweatpants and a tight tank top almost gave her a heart attack though. Whatever greeting Shepard was going to give was forgotten as she promptly choked on her own saliva. ¡°I didn¡¯t think the sight of me out of armor was that surprising, Shepard.¡± Revan commented with clear amusement. ¡°You¡¯ve seen me like this before.¡± ¡°Li-*cough*-like twice!¡± Shepard forced out. ¡°Seeing you without armor is like seeing Tali without her suit!¡± Revan very obviously rolled her eyes and Shepard once again had to wonder if the Sith was always so expressive under her armor or if this was an intentional display. ¡°I¡¯ve never worn armor to any of the healing sessions you¡¯ve attended or in my own quarters. Besides, it¡¯s hard to run a full maintenance cycle while wearing it.¡± ¡°If you say so. What brings you by?¡± Shepard asked, pushing past any residual embarrassment. ¡°You¡¯ve gone around checking one the rest of the ground team, is it really a surprise I would stop by?¡± ¡°You wanted a pep-talk?!¡± Shepard couldn¡¯t hide her surprise. Out of everyone on the ship Revan was the last ¨C oh, going by the flat look in Revan¡¯s amethyst eyes that wasn¡¯t why she was here. ¡°No, Jane, I thought that you might appreciate someone to vent to, one leader to another.¡± Revan said, shocking the Spectre with a rare use of her first name. ¡°It¡¯s something I appreciated back home before I had an important mission.¡± ¡°Right, that makes more sense.¡± Way more sense than the other thing, and honestly? Shepard appreciated it. The Normandy seemed bigger and colder with the rest of the crew missing and despite Shepard knowing otherwise, a small part of her blamed herself for their capture even though the Collectors would have surely destroyed the ship if all of them had been present during the attack. Talking to the Ground Team helped but¡­ ¡°Do you think we could have stopped them?¡± She couldn¡¯t help but ask. ¡°The Collectors?¡± ¡°Yeah¡­¡± Shepard wandered over to the couch and collapsed into it, offering a seat to Revan at the same time. ¡°I know we needed to treat the VI outbreak on Aite as seriously as possible, but would it have made a difference if I had left some people behind?¡± ¡°No, if anything we got lucky that no one capable of fighting back was on the Normandy.¡± Revan said, sinking into her own seat. ¡°If there was, something critical could have been damaged with heavier resistance. Or the Collectors might have just attacked the ship directly.¡± Shepard sighed at the answer. Partly because she was relieved someone else had come to the same conclusion as she did and partly because she was disappointed there was no hidden option that would have made everything turn out perfectly. ¡°Yeah, that¡¯s what I thought too.¡± ¡°You shouldn¡¯t blame yourself, Jane. We¡¯ll make sure they are avenged.¡± ¡°I¡¯d rather we managed to save them.¡± She retorted. ¡°But I want to ask, do you think we actually stand a chance?¡± ¡°You¡¯ve managed to assemble an incredible team.¡± Revan said and Shepard watched with a raised eyebrow as the Empress telekinetically raided her liquor store and passed her a glass as well. ¡°Specialists that would be a match for my own companions in my galaxy. What do you think our chances are?¡± Shepard seriously thought about it while nursing the scotch she was given. ¡°Honestly? As long as we can insert hard and fast enough that the Collectors have to come to us instead of hitting us with ship-based weapons, I think we have a good chance short term. It¡¯s what happens after that that scares me.¡± Revan nodded. ¡°True, we don¡¯t have enough people for a long operation but I think the Collector¡¯s nature will help us there.¡± ¡°That they used to be Protheans or because they¡¯re insect-like?¡± ¡°The fact the Collectors seem to behave like many insectile races I¡¯ve encountered may help us, but I meant the fact they are a heavily augmented slave race.¡± And Shepard had to hide her wince at the blunt assessment of what had happened to the most advanced race in their galaxy. ¡°There is unlikely to be widespread infrastructure outside what is needed to support military operations so if we wind up facing a planet, major targets should be fairly obvious.¡± Inspired by Revan¡¯s previous performance, Shepard used a Pull field to snag a fresh tablet off her desk and pulled up what they knew about Collector and Prothean design philosophy. ¡°That¡¯s good news at least. Wouldn¡¯t want to spend hours breaking into a shopping center. But that does mean that most targets will be at least somewhat defended.¡± ¡°That is an issue but we can plan around that.¡± Revan shifted so she could look over Shepards shoulder. Something the Commander was unusually aware about. ¡°And if our tech specialists can infiltrate their systems, that may work to our advantage.¡± Shepard did her best to focus on the task at hand and the two of them quickly fell into a back and forth conversation on how to plan and react to different scenarios they might come across. And despite the knowledge that they might not be coming back from this jump, or that if they failed the Reapers would go practically unopposed in whatever plan they were hatching with the Collectors, Shepard felt a lot of the nerves she had been feeling since the Normandy was attacked begin to settle. They were ready for this. Chapter 40 ¡°There it is¡­the Omega 4 relay.¡± Shepard muttered as the massive superstructure grew bigger on the display port. In just a few minutes they would be taking the final plunge into the unknown to foil a Reaper operation with no backup. Unfortunately, unless there was a graveyard fleet of dead Reapers somewhere or a lab that could reverse engineer the IFF and mass produce it in a few days, the Normandy was the only ship that could go through and expect to survive. Still, Shepard felt good about their chances. ¡°Last chance to turn around, Commander.¡± Joker commented, even as he lined the ship up for final approach. The Spectre shook her head. ¡°The Collectors took my people. It¡¯s time to get them back. Hit it Joker.¡± ¡°Alright, Reaper IFF activated. Signal acknowledged.¡± ¡°Commander, the drive core just lit up like a Christmas tree!¡± Jacob reported over the ship¡¯s comms. ¡°Drive core electrical charge at critical levels.¡± EDI followed up. Shepard felt her stomach drop at the thought of the Normandy just blowing up, but said nothing. She just had to trust her people. ¡°Rerouting.¡± Joker said calmly, even though Shepard could hear the tenseness in his voice. His hands danced over the holographic panel even as the Normandy hit the relay. Never before had Shepard ever felt a relay jump feel ¡®choppy¡¯, especially not on a ship their size, but she was forced to grab the back of Joker¡¯s chair and keep a hand on part of the dashboard to keep herself from getting rocked off her feet. She very carefully avoided looking at the speed readouts. Especially after the display gave up any hope of an accurate reading and just started flashing an error message. ¡°Brace for deceleration.¡± EDI intoned. Electric blue gave way to glowing orange as the Mass Effect envelope unraveled. Shepard had maybe half a second to realize the glow was coming from a nebula in the process of collapsing into a black hole before it was nearly blotted out by the number of wrecked ships and debris cluttering the system. Dead ships that had gone through the Relay without the IFF and been torn to pieces by the forces around them. ¡°Oh shit!¡± Joker cursed and immediately pulled the Normandy into a steep climb, pushing the poor frigate to its limits to avoid the maze of wreckage even as micro impacts pelted their shields. Several close calls and one particularly ¡®pants-wettingly terrifying¡¯ maneuver later, Joker finally found a section of space that wasn¡¯t so cluttered he needed to constantly dodge around something. ¡°Too close¡­¡± The pilot breathed as he slumped back in his chair. Something Shepard fully agreed with. The ship flew on with little issue for a while as both EDI and Joker scanned for anything resembling the Collector base. Something that was taking a while thanks to the sheer number of wrecks and the obvious lack of any planet or planetoid. ¡°So many¡­this must be every ship that tried to make it through the Omega 4 relay. Some look¡­ancient.¡± Joker commented. ¡°Let¡¯s make sure we don¡¯t join them.¡± Shepard replied. ¡°I have detected an energy signature near the edge of the accretion disk.¡± EDI reported. ¡°Has to be the Collector base. Take us in for a closer look. Nice and easy.¡± Joker compiled without a word and headed in the direction EDI mapped out. It didn¡¯t take long before they could see the likely source of what the AI had picked up. A massive space station the size of a mass effect relay hung in the void, the surroundings marginally less cluttered with debris. Shepard had a bad feeling that that station was likely going to be their target. How were they going to take something that size down with only¨C ¡°Careful, Jeff. We have company.¡± EDI¡¯s announcement interrupted Shepard¡¯s thoughts. Red beams streaked past the cockpit¡¯s viewports as whatever snuck up behind them opened fire. Joker immediately went evasive and began juking and dodging the enemy craft, even cutting their speed so that some overshot. ¡°These things are just pissing me off!¡± Joker snapped as the GUARDIAN lasers lashed out. Two enemy interceptors died, but another scored a direct hit that caused numerous damage reports to blare. ¡°Minimal damage to the outer hull! New plating is holding for now.¡± Miranda reported from her console. ¡°EDI ¨C take these bastards out!¡± Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences. ¡°I am doing the best I can, Jeff. Rear GUARDIAN array turrets three through six have been destroyed.¡± ¡°Dammit, we¡¯re sitting ducks out here¡­hold on I¡¯m going to try and lose them in the debris field!¡± ¡°Our Kinetic barriers are not designed to withstand impacts with debris that size, Jeff.¡± ¡°Then I guess it¡¯s a good thing we upgraded. Hold on, we¡¯re going in¡­¡± Shepard hated this. Being reduced to a bystander grated on her, but there was simply nothing she could do to help right now. Joker didn¡¯t need the distraction and anything Shepard could point out on the monitor, EDI would have seen, analyzed, and responded before she said anything. A long reverberating screech of tortured metal shook the ship as Joker fought to fit the frigate in between the moving maze of dead and destroyed ships and simply wasn¡¯t able to find a hole big enough, and all she could do was hold on tight and hope they made it through this. ¡°Come on, find some room.¡± Joker muttered next to her. ¡°Kinetic barriers at 40 percent.¡± ¡°Re-reroute non critical power! This is going to hurt!¡± Shepard winced as the Normandy pitched and rolled through the debris field. More bangs and screeches were heard all over the ship as it barely managed to scrape through, but the good news was that they had finally seemed to lose their tail. No more interceptors shooting at them and once Joker managed to clear the debris field, a straight shot at the Collector base. She finally released the breath she didn¡¯t know she had been holding and took a second to collect her thoughts. ¡°Great flying Joker, EDI. See if you can find a place to land without drawing attention.¡± An alert pinged on the dash. ¡°Too late! Looks like they¡¯re sending out an old friend to greet us.¡± EDI helpfully threw up a display of the Collector Cruiser that had been hunting them for over two years undocking from the main base. The same ship that killed the first Normandy, escaped them at Horizon, ambushed them over Aite, and now stood in their way. ¡°I¡¯m really fucking sick of that thing.¡± Shepard cursed. ¡°Let¡¯s show them our new teeth. As soon as we¡¯re in range, fire the main gun!¡± The Thanix cannon deployed and charged while Joker danced around the cruiser¡¯s main weapon. The yellow beam had neatly crippled the first Normandy, no one wanted a repeat of that here. ¡°Target lock.¡± EDI announced. ¡°Firing.¡± Both cannons fired and the liquid alloy rounds burned a bright blue line right into the side of the cruiser. Shepard watched with grim satisfaction as they punched right through the enemy ships barriers and caused a massive explosion within the hull. ¡°How do you like that, you sons-of-bitches!¡± Joker crowed, but Shepard needed him focusing not celebrating. ¡°Get in close and finish them off!¡± ¡°Right! Okay, girl, give ¡®em hell.¡± Joker slammed a fist on the fire control and the Thanix cannons fired again. This time the beam punched right through the weakened outer armor and deep into the massive ship. Shepard guessed it must have hit something important, because a massive secondary explosion followed by a string of tertiary explosions started appearing all across the length of the ship. Something of a double edged blade. ¡°Look out!¡± The warning ended up being too late as the Cruiser¡¯s powersource detonated and a wave of undirected energy washed over the Normandy, throwing the frigate around enough that everyone on the ship felt it. ¡°Mass effect field generators are offline!¡± Joker reported as he did his best to wrestle back control of the ship. ¡°EDI ¨C give me something!¡± ¡°Generators unresponsive.¡± EDI replied even as the Collector base grew larger in the view ports. ¡°All hands, brace for impact.¡± Shepard did her best to brace, but with the mass effect generators down most of the inertial damping went with them. The Normandy hit something and jerked to the left and the Spectre was thrown off her feet. The next few seconds were spent desperately trying to protect her head as the Normandy collided with the station and skidded over the outer plating. What seemed like an eternity later, everything finally stopped. Shepard groaned as her battered body let her know exactly how it felt about being shaken around inside the cockpit, but she fought her way to her feet anyway. ¡°Ngh¡­everyone okay?¡± She asked aloud. ¡°...Yeah¡­think I broke a rib.¡± Joker responded. ¡°...all of them.¡± ¡°I¡¯m fine, Commander.¡± Miranda called out. ¡°All crew members survived with minimal injuries at most.¡± EDI added. ¡°Great. How¡¯s the Normandy?¡± ¡°Multiple core systems overloaded during the crash. Restoring operation will take time.¡± ¡°We knew this was likely going to be a one-way trip.¡± Miranda said. They certainly knew it was a possibility. But Shepard wasn¡¯t about to die here. ¡°Fuck that. I¡¯ll do everything I can to stop the Collectors, but we¡¯ve got a lot more work ahead of us dealing with the Reapers. We aren¡¯t dying here.¡± ¡°I¡¯m glad you¡¯re in charge.¡± Joker shifted uncomfortably. ¡°What¡¯s next?¡± ¡°Depends, how safe is the Normandy here?¡± Shepard asked EDI. ¡°I do not detect an internal security network. It is possible the Collectors did not expect anyone to reach the base.¡± ¡°And if we¡¯re lucky, their external sensors were hit like we were.¡± Joker added. ¡°They might not know we¡¯re alive.¡± So it looked like Revan was right. The Collectors didn¡¯t need an internal security system because every single one of them was an indoctrinated slave. Why bother with security when none of them could rebel? Especially when the only way to even get here was using tech pulled off an actual Reaper. Shepard nodded. ¡°Alright. Then hopefully we have some time. EDI ¨C tell the crew to gather in the comms room. After that, see what info you can pull about the base. Nothing that would draw attention, but anything we can use about the interior. We¡¯ll plan our assault from there.¡± -o- Revan looked around the room as everyone waited for Shepard. Some were doing last minute equipment checks. Some were having hushed conversations in the corners of the room. And some were simply waiting, either in meditation or simply lost in their thoughts. Emotionally everyone was a little anxious, but not much more than normal before a mission. Not surprising considering some of the situations the crew had dealt with before. Part of her figured it was natural for such a talented group of combatants. The more cynical part of her wondered how many of them simply didn¡¯t internalize the damage done to the Normandy and that they simply might not have a way out anymore. Though with so many wrecks littered about as long as they had time and power, Revan could likely jury-rig something to at least get them back through the relay with the crew¡¯s help. Further musing on returning from the mission was pushed aside as Shepard strolled through the door. ¡°Alright everyone, this isn¡¯t how we expected to start our mission but it¡¯s where we¡¯re at.¡± She started. ¡°The Normandy is as safe as it¡¯s going to be, but we can¡¯t worry about that. We came here to stop the Collectors, and that means figuring out how to take out this station. EDI, what do you have?¡± The holo-table lit up with a wire-frame image of the station. Revan leaned forward and began committing everything she could to memory. She was impressed, EDI had managed to get incredibly detailed scans without letting the Collectors discover them. ¡°You should be able to overload the station¡¯s critical systems if you get to the main control room here.¡± EDI highlighted a section of the map. ¡°That means going through the heart of the station.¡± Jacob noted. ¡°Right past this massive energy signature.¡± Revan caught Shepard nodding out of the corner of her eye. ¡°That¡¯s the central chamber. If our crew or any of the colonists are still alive, the Collectors are probably holding them in there.¡± ¡°Looks like there are two main routes.¡± Jacob continued. ¡°Might be a good idea to split up to keep the Collectors off balance and meet up in the central chamber.¡± ¡°No good.¡± Miranda immediately disagreed. ¡°Both routes are blocked. See those doors? The only way past is to get someone to open them from the other side.¡± ¡°What about this ventilation shaft?¡± Shepard asked. ¡°It looks like it leads straight to the other side.¡± ¡°That¡¯s practically a suicide mission.¡± Jacob said, crossing his arms. ¡°I volunteer.¡± Next to him Miranda shook her head. ¡°I appreciate the thought, Jacob, but you couldn¡¯t get access to the systems in time. We need to send a tech expert.¡± ¡°Send Legion.¡± Revan spoke up. ¡°He has the necessary ability and due to his nature as a droid, unless the Collectors send one of their soldiers into the vent themselves, nothing they do will affect him.¡± Shepard nodded. ¡°Agreed. Legion, you up for it?¡± ¡°We have no issues with that proposal, Shepard-Commander.¡± ¡°The rest of us will break into two teams and fight down each passage. That should draw the Collectors¡¯ attention away from what you¡¯re doing. Revan, we¡¯ll work out who goes on which team later.¡± Revan nodded back, already mentally shifting who she wanted and who Shepard would need to even out the capabilities of both teams. Like usual she needed a back-line team leader to coordinate her squad. Preferably Garrus or Miranda given their experience in leading others. And of course they would need members that meshed with their style of command¡­she could think about that more later. ¡°I won¡¯t lie to you all, we have no idea what we are going to find in there. It¡¯s not going to be easy. We¡¯ve lost some good people. We might lose more. ¡± Shepard continued. ¡°We don¡¯t know how many the Collectors have stolen ¨C thousands, hundreds of thousands. It¡¯s not important.¡± Revan watched as Shepard¡¯s speech reverberated through each member of the team. Eyes hardened, backs straightened, and the little bit of anxiousness that Revan sensed earlier receded even more. ¡°What matters is this: not one more. That¡¯s what we can do, here, today. The Collectors want to know what we¡¯re made of? I say we show them, on our terms. Let¡¯s go get our people back!¡± Chapter 41 "This place is wrong." Was the first words out of Revan''s mouth once the team exited the Normandy. This was different from the Reaper corpse, though there was a similar feeling coming from somewhere nearby. This base didn''t feel like a Force user like the ancient ship did, it felt like a Nexus. A Dark Nexus unlike any she had felt before. "How?" Commander Shepard demanded, concern coloring her emotions. "There''s been uncountable amounts of death and suffering here." Revan replied. "But it''s strange¡­like an echo of an echo. As if the same people suffered and died here over and over for millenia¡­apologies, it''s hard to describe." "I don''t know if I want to know." Shepard muttered. "Good thing we''re here to trash the place instead." Revan nodded at that and moved to join her team. It had been a struggle to choose how to split the teams since while that plan was to move along two paths and rejoin once they were in the main chamber, there was the chance that either team could get stuck and would have to maneuver on their own. That meant making both teams as balanced as possible. Definitely a struggle considering how unique the members of their group were. In the end, Revan decided to take Jacob, Miranda, Mordin, Jack, and Kasumi with her while Shepard took the others and Legion prepared to infiltrate the ventilation shaft. "So, ready to squash a bunch of bugs?" Jack asked, cracking her knuckles and rolling her neck. "I can''t wait to cut loose." "This isn''t a game, Jack." Miranda scolded. "Pay attention to the surroundings." "Relax, Cheerleader, you don''t see Ice Queen freaking out about it do you?" "Should still pay attention." Mordin added. "Good habit when working in the field." "Didn''t realize Jacob shared that stick up his ass." "Enough." Revan sighed before things could get out of hand, even as Kasumi snickered off to the side. "Legion is almost in position. Be ready to move once he gives the signal." "Yeah, yeah. None of you better get in the way of my fun." Jack muttered, but Revan was pleased to see her follow the order. "We are probably going to be facing heavy resistance the moment the Collectors are able to detect us." Revan continued. "As usual, I will mostly move independently while you support me from behind. Miranda, you''re going to be my sub-commander." "Aye, Revan." "Keep in mind, this is going to be a long fight. Pace yourselves, watch each other''s backs, and may the Force be with us." "Amen." Kasumi joked. Revan decided not to reply to the thief. She was well aware it was a coping mechanism for her nervousness. Smaller conversations broke out among the team as they waited. Little things like Miranda commenting on Jack''s decision to wear a full shirt on a mission for once, Mordin wondering about some scientific aspect of their surroundings, or Jacob remarking on the blaster weapons Revan had provided once again. But despite their efforts, the tension was still building as they waited for the beginning of their mission. Revan supposed it was one thing to embark on a potential suicide mission where they expected to leverage all their skills and abilities against their foes, and another entirely to sit around in the enemy''s main base doing nothing. Thankfully Legion contacted them not long later. "We are in position." The Geth reported. "External temperature slightly elevated but within operational tolerances. No obstructions detected. Ready to begin, Shepard-Commander." "Great. Second squad, you in position?" Shepard responded. Revan clicked on her vocalizer. "Ready on your signal, Commander." "Right, then let''s get this party started. I''ll see all of you on the other side." The line closed. "Yes, let''s begin." "Fucking finally!" -o- Just because the Normandy had managed to crash in a section of the base that had no sensors did not mean that the Collectors were completely unaware of where they were. And fittingly for an insectoid race, the moment Revan and her team made their location known, they were swarmed by every single drone coming to protect the ''hive''. Hundreds of drones seemed to come from the very walls of the station, many of them not even armed, and rushed forward trying to drown them by sheer numbers. And against a different group, they might have even been a challenge. But against the crew of the Normandy? Even discounting the new weaponry they wielded, the Collectors were dying in droves. The hordes of unarmed drones were cut down by precise methodical suppressing fire from both Jacob and Mordin. The larger groups were tripped up and scattered by Miranda''s biotic prowess or simply crushed by Jack''s brute force. And the few armed drones that stood in the distance suddenly found themselves shot in the back as Kasumi suddenly appeared only to slip away just as fast using her cloaking tech. Which left anything lucky ¨C or from another point of view, unlucky ¨C enough to slip by at the mercy of Revan''s blades. A trio of Collectors fell to the floor in pieces as the Sith Lord snapped up her left saber to deflect one of those particle weapons from hitting Jack, the beam being deflected unerringly back into the drone''s head until it died and released the weapon. "We''re too exposed here." She commented lightly. It wasn''t that bad just yet, but since they would be fighting near nonstop every little bit added up. "There should be more cover up ahead. But we need to thin them out if we don''t want to get torn to pieces." The Normandy XO replied. Revan nodded. "Jacob, heavy weapon on the horde. Everyone else suppressing fire on the high ground. Run forward on my signal." She ordered. "You got it!" Jacob slung his blaster and reached for one of the heavy weapons Revan insisted they bring along. Some of them, such as the rocket and grenade launcher, admittedly weren''t very impressive but others had surprised her with how destructive they could be. She had to admit the Blackstorm launcher scared her a bit. But since they weren''t trying to rip a hole in the space station using a miniature black hole, Jacob fell back on a significantly less destructive yet still very deadly weapon. "Firing!" he called out as the Arc Projector spat out several beams of electricity into the swarm of Collectors that then jumped randomly around from one to another in a way that brought the whole group to a halt, either by killing the drones or having them trip over the bodies of their comrades. Less all encompassing as her Force Lightning, but with the benefit that it didn''t require any concentration from her and thanks to the upgraded battery system would eventually recharge on its own. Revan trusted the others to follow along and immediately rushed ahead, leading the team along the path they had mapped out on the Normandy. A Collector tried surprising her and dragging her into a few others as she passed an archway and lost its hands for the attempt thanks to a casual twirl of one of her sabers. A flick of her hand sent the armless drone crashing into its friends and Revan followed up by throwing her blue saber after it. Once every drone was dead, Revan recalled the blade with a mental tug and turned to inspect their new surroundings. Reading on Amazon or a pirate site? This novel is from Royal Road. Support the author by reading it there. Miranda had been correct that there was more cover for them to use and the rest of the team was slowly moving forward by using the random pillars and unlevel terrain to hide from the small number of drones in the area. Besides those, the hallways they had just fought their way through had opened up into a massive cavern that ironically protected the team despite leaving them out in the open thanks to the fact any Collectors approaching from above had nothing to hide behind and were quickly killed by either blasterfire or biotics. "Alert, pathing failure." Legion''s voice suddenly crackled over the comms. "There is an obstruction in the tunnel." An obstruction? Not uncommon on a space station considering the dangers leaking atmosphere could cause and definitely something they would have planned for if they had more time, but if Legion was calling for help it was because he had no way of manipulating the lock from his position. That could be a problem. "Shepard, my team is moving forward but I don''t see the ventilation shaft. We can''t assist." "Copy. Don''t worry, we see it. How are things on your end? Cause we''re not seeing nearly as many Collectors as I was expecting." Did that mean Revan''s team had drawn most of them away? Or had they simply gotten lucky that fewer drones had gathered on the path Shepard''s team had taken and it had the vent controls? "Well, I think we found the ones you''re missing, Commander!" Miranda yelled. "Revan, more are coming from behind!" Before the Sith could turn to deal with that, there was a whisper in the Force that demanded Revan''s attention. "Harbinger!" Kasumi called out. "I got it!" Revan appreciated Jack''s initiative but she was a poor match for the possessed drone. "I''ll handle Harbinger, Jack. You secure the rear." She ordered. "Mordin, support her." "Dammit, fine." "Understood." After a quick look to make sure none of the others were struggling, Revan dashed forward to meet the approaching enemy. Just like in the confrontation on Horizon the appearance of Harbinger meant the other drones suddenly became a lot more coordinated. Revan would slice through one drone just to have three or more open fire on her at the same time even as the Sith used the bodies of their comrades as shields at times, all of them aiming at slight perceived gaps in her guard. Despite that, Revan quickly carved a path directly up to Harbinger and attempted to decapitate the thing. Her red saber crashed into its biotic barrier but unlike Horizon, this time there was a delay before the lightsaber cut through its carapace and the cybernetics underneath. Then she had to move before the surrounding drones all opened fire on her. Without the Presence possessing one of them, they reverted back to their more simplistic method of simply opening fire whether they had a clear shot or not. But Revan could not simply stand still. The Presence was already in the process of possessing another drone and Revan was further from the rest of the team than she would have liked. So even though it was earlier than she planned, Revan let out a breath and sank into the Force. Her first move was to give herself some room by unleashing a powerful Force Wave on the drones surrounding her. While it didn''t kill any of them, it left the Harbinger alone and vulnerable. Lightning sparked around her hands before she unleashed a torrent at the glowing drone just as it was fully possessed. "You seem somewhat stronger here," She commented lightly, "But a puppet is still a puppet. Easily broken and cast aside." "This shell is but one of thousands." The Presence responded evenly, despite the drone convulsing under the electrical attack. "Destroying it does nothing." "True, but this time I''m ready for you." The Drone quickly died under the electric assault and the Presence shifted to another. With Revan drawing more deeply on her connection to the Force she could practically see the poor slave being Dominated thanks to some sort of pseudo-Force bond connecting it to its master. This one was further away and guarded by some Collectors that managed to find their feet, but they weren''t much of a deterrent to her. The possession completed and Revan immediately hit it with more Force Lightning. "This does not harm me." "We''ll see about that." Revan muttered and deliberately drew on the Dark Side. Several Force techniques had different applications depending on if the user''s alignment was Light, Neutral, or Dark. Force Lightning by itself was just controlled and directed electricity while its Light counterpart, Electric Judgement, could easily stun its target without doing much actual damage. The Dark version though, more commonly named Sith Lightning, existed to cause more pain than physically possible by targeting the victim''s Force signature. And Revan knew from experience you could broadcast that pain over a Force Bond to incapacitate both sides. The blue-white lightning didn''t change color, but it gained a baleful edge to it as it ravaged the body of the drone. "What is this?!" The Presence roared as it tried and failed to sever the bond to its host. One of the more insidious properties of Sith Lightning. "What have you done?!" "I don''t know how you Reapers are somehow able to manipulate the Force but I have fought galaxy spanning wars against much more adept users than you. Did you think there weren''t ways to affect a puppet master through their pawns?" Revan mocked. "What you are feeling now, machine, is pain." "Impossible, we are beyond the failings of organic bodies!" "Evidently not. But if you don''t believe me feel free to try again." The Collector body was already dying. "I''ll let you experience this again and again if you wish." There was no reply as the Presence retreated, the host body finally dying and freeing it from Revan''s attack, and tellingly none of the remaining drones were possessed either. The Reaper was driven off for now. Revan breathed out and released her grip on the Force feeling the slight strain the short battle had caused. Nothing to be concerned about at the moment, but who knew how long this battle would take. Dismissing that thought Revan turned and charged at the newest batch of Collectors that opened fire. She had a team to get back to. -o- Shepard cursed as an explosion destroyed the bit of cover she was hiding behind and unloaded a trio of blaster bolts into her attacker. Then she had to dive to the side as she noticed another drone pointing one of those particle lasers at her. "Garrus! Assassin!" "I see it!" The Turrian called back and snapped off a shot that took the drone''s head clean off. "Good shot!" Shepard cheered her teammate even as her eyes darted over the battlefield. She hadn''t been kidding earlier when she told the other team they had run into less enemy presence than they expected for the main Collector base. Despite fighting a decent amount of the way to the center of the station they had only come across slightly greater numbers than their own team at most. Not much of a challenge when it came down to it considering who was on her team, which had Shepard''s instincts screaming ''trap'' the whole way down. Only for the trap to never get sprung. "Over there, Shepard, that should be the final gate!" Tali called out from where she was directing her combat drone to cause havoc among the Collectors. Shepard turned to look and saw a holographic control terminal different from the others they had used to help Legion advance through the ventilation shaft. "Alright, cover me!" There wasn''t much between the Spectre and the console besides a pair of unarmed Collectors that were quickly shot and moved past. Shepard slammed her omnitool into the console to allow EDI access and pivoted to keep shooting at the enemies behind her while the rest of her team moved to follow her. "Way''s clear, get those doors open!" She ordered Legion while picking off some of the drones trying to knock Grunt to the ground. Not that the young Krogan really needed the help. He was laughing as he ripped the arm off one Collector, beat another over the head with the severed limb, and nearly blew another in half with his shotgun. Still, if Grunt was getting swarmed then they were going to need some space while Legion handled the doors. "Samara, singularity on the right side! Grunt, block up the left. Thane, cover him." Shepard began shouting orders. "Tali, open a line with Legion and see if you can help get the doors open faster. Garrus, on overwatch. If something looks at us funny, I want it losing its head!" A round of affirmatives came back and Shepard set herself up to assist wherever she needed to. First by making sure any Collector with a weapon kept its head down if it wasn''t getting sucked up into Samara''s biotic field, and then by making sure those stayed down once she didn''t have a clear shot on anything else. "What''s our status, Legion?" "Door malfunction, Shepard-Commander. We are having difficulty retracting the doors Revan-Empress''s team used." And Revan''s side was the one with a fuckton more Collectors. Dammit that wasn''t good. Shepard was about to tell the Geth to keep working on it, but the Sith Empress spoke up first. "Ignore the doors for now, get Shepard''s team through. We''ll hold them here." Well that was good. If Revan was that confident Shepard wouldn''t second guess her. So trusting Legion and the other team could handle things, Shepard went back to focusing on her own team and a few moments later, the door opened. "Go, go, go! Get through the door!" Half her team rushed forward and moved to support Revan''s squad on the other doors while Shepard and the other half backed through, making sure to pick off the Collectors rushing towards them in a final desperate bid at stopping them from reaching the main chamber. Once all of them were past the threshold Shepard called out to Legion and then moved to the other doors, not that they needed her help at this point. Revan stood in the doorway, sabers flashing, and acting a barrier for all incoming fire while the others had formed up into what could only be described as an execution firing squad for any drones that tried to get through the other side. She didn''t even have time to move before Legion overcame whatever issue with the door was and the massive metal slabs slammed shut. "Heh heh, that was fun." Grunt laughed. "We should do it again." "Let''s not." Tali replied dryly. Shepard looked around and confirmed that at the very least everyone was still here and after a quick check none of her team had anything more serious than a few bruises. The Collectors clearly weren''t prepared for an invasion on their home turf. "Commander, you need to see this!" Miranda called from further ahead. While she had looked over the ground team, her XO must have scouted around them. "What do you¡­" She trailed off as she got her first look at the chamber proper. Just like the rest of Collector architecture they had seen so far the chamber was an incredibly vast open space. Shepard could see stasis pods dotting the walls here and there, but beyond the titanic pipes running through the chamber and some supporting struts there was nothing in here. Even the rocklike hive material the Collectors had all over the place was oddly missing. "Shepard, over here." Miranda interrupted her observations and waved a hand at a nearby stasis pod. Inside was a human woman with reddish-brown hair but Shepard couldn''t tell if she was dead or just unconscious. "Looks like one of the missing colonists." Miranda continued while Shepard ran a hand over the resin-like shell, looking for a way to open the pod. "There''s more over here!" Thane called out from deeper in the room where the Specter could see more pods, these ones all filled with members of her missing crew. Shepard started feeling around for some sort of latch or release mechanism. Even if the woman was dead, she didn''t want to leave her inside the pod for whatever the Collectors wanted to use her for. She didn''t find anything immediately but she paused when she noticed the woman beginning to move inside the pod. "My god, she''s still alive!" Shepard breathed, then looked over her shoulder at the rest of the team. "Get them out of there, hurry!" Order given, Shepard turned back to the pod in front of her and started seriously searching for a way to open the pod. But worst case scenario she could just have Revan cut the woman out. The pod didn''t seem that tough- While she was searching the colonist had fully woken up and started screaming and thrashing. Shepard looked up ready to try and calm the woman down and assure her they would get her out, only to see a scene that was surely going to stick in her nightmares for a good long time. Some sort of greenish gas was being pumped into the interior of the pod and the colonist wasn''t screaming because she was afraid. No, she was screaming because her skin was literally dissolving off her entire body. The colonist began beating the inside of the pod with increasingly bloody hands while Shepard desperately looked for a way to release her for two more seconds before giving up. "Revan!" Shepard moved out of the way as the Sith Empress quickly ignited one of her sabers and made three rapid cuts into the pod before telekinetically throwing the cover across the room. The colonist fell still screaming to the floor as more of her just seemed to liquify off her body. The last thing Shepard saw before she ran off to help the others release the prisoners from the other pods was Revan placing a hand on what was left of the woman''s forehead and the screams falling silent. "Right side near the seam, push up hard and it will open the pod!" Kasumi yelled to the others as the first one to figure out how to open them. Shepard ran to the end where more of the crew was trapped and followed the thief''s direction. She found a groove that allowed her to get some good leverage and shoved upward. The pod opened with a cracking sound and a hiss of releasing gas. Shepard caught the unconscious crewmember as gently as she could and lowered him to the floor before moving to the next occupied pod. She did that twice more before there was only one pod left with Miranda already opening it. The pod cracked open and Shepard moved to catch the woman inside as she fell out. The Spectre had been moving quickly to make sure they got to everyone but the flash of gray hair easily told her who the last person they rescued was. "Doctor Chakwas, you okay?" She gently asked as she lowered the older woman to the ground. "Shepard?" Chakwas''s eyes fluttered as she fought her way back to awareness. "You¡­you came for us." "No one gets left behind, Karin. You know that." "Well thank god you got here in time." Kelly said as the entire group was shuffled over to them. "A few more seconds and¡­I don''t even want to think about it." The fellow redhead shuddered. Shepard understood that. She really did. But they didn''t have any time she needed to know if the rest of the kidnapped colonists were still around. If the crew had seen them anywhere. "The colonists were¡­processed." Chakwas said in a hollow detached voice that hurt Shepard to listen to. "That gas, I assume contains a swarm of tiny robots, they¨C melted their bodies into some sort of gray liquid and pumped it through those tubes." The doctor motioned to the pipes running overhead. So they were too late. "Why? What could they possibly need that for?" "I don''t know. I''m just glad you got here before it happened to us." "So are we." Miranda commented. "But we still have a job to do." Shepard looked around. Most of the ship crew had blank almost haunted looks about them and many had injuries caused by that gas before they were released. "We do, but we''re not in any shape to make decisions right now. We''ll take five minutes to deal with the wounded and plan our next step." Because now Shepard had to figure out what to do with two dozen traumatized shipmates that were injured, unarmed, and in absolutely no position to fight. Chapter 42 ¡°We can¡¯t take them with us.¡± Shepard sighed. ¡°I know that.¡± ¡°We can¡¯t leave them here either.¡± ¡°I know.¡± ¡°I doubt we¡¯ll find a secure area anywhere close either.¡± ¡°I know!¡± ¡°Some need medical attention as well¡­¡± ¡°Yes, Miranda, I get it. But I need helpful ideas!¡± Shepard did her best to not snap at her XO. She wasn¡¯t entirely successful, but Miranda wasn¡¯t exactly making it easy! Shepard took a breath and tried to calm herself down again. She was a little more successful this time, but she could still see the image of that colonist starting to melt in front of her. That was going to be a new one for the nightmare list. And just when she had been making progress on the others thanks to Revan¡¯s meditation classes. Right, focus. What to do with the crew and the injured colonist? Like Miranda said, they couldn¡¯t bring them with them and they couldn¡¯t stay here. The first would get most of them shot because no one had kinetic shields and eventually the Collectors would get through the doors again so the second didn¡¯t work at all. There was really only one place they could put them. Hopefully Joker had some good news for her. ¡°Joker, can you read me?¡± Shepard asked through her comm. ¡°Roger that, Commander, what do you need?¡± ¡°We found the crew,¡± and Shepard could almost imagine the way Joker perked up at the news. ¡°But we¡¯ve got several injured. You good for a pickup?¡± ¡°...yeah, yeah we can. We¡¯ve got enough systems back online to make a pickup run, but we¡¯d need to land further back from your position.¡± ¡°We can¡¯t afford to go back, Shepard. Not now.¡± Miranda whispered bluntly. And she wasn¡¯t exactly wrong. The only thing keeping them from being surrounded and overwhelmed by every Collector on the station was that they had hit them hard and moved fast. Going backwards was just going to give the Collectors the time they needed to regroup and pin them down. But at the same time¡­ ¡°They won¡¯t make it by themselves.¡± Not unarmed, unarmored, and injured from captivity. ¡°The mission is bigger than all of us. And we¡¯re not getting a second shot.¡± ¡°So send someone to escort them.¡± Revan said as she walked over. ¡°Either way, break¡¯s over. We need to plan our next step.¡± ¡°Alright, let¡¯s go.¡± Shepard nodded. They could probably spare one person. She just had to balance out skill sets so the crew would be safe without compromising the assault team¡¯s effectiveness. So while everyone gathered up, Shepard was busy ticking off who could go and the impact they would have on the rest of the group. ¡°Talk to me, Joker.¡± She ordered once everyone was paying attention. ¡°Okay, those tubes the doc was talking about all lead into the main control room right above you,¡± Joker briefed them, while Shepard fought down a wave of revulsion. Listening to Chakwas describe how people were melted and sucked up into those tubes for god knows why still set her nerves on end. She was not looking forward to discovering whatever the Collectors were using that stuff for. ¡°The route is blocked by a security door, but there¡¯s another chamber that runs parallel to the one you¡¯re in.¡± ¡°I cannot recommend that.¡± EDI jumped in. ¡°Thermal emissions suggest the chamber is overrun with Seeker swarms. Mordin¡¯s countermeasure cannot protect you against so many at once.¡± ¡°I guess they have to keep their buggy friends somewhere.¡± Kasumi snarked. ¡°Too bad it¡¯s right where we need to go.¡± ¡°Any chance EDI¡¯s wrong?¡± Shepard directed at Mordin, ignoring the uppity thief. ¡°Chance always possible. Was unable to exhaustively test against injection by overwhelming numbers.¡± Mordin replied before taking a deep breath and a second to seriously think about it. ¡°EDI unlikely to be wrong however.¡± ¡°It also doesn¡¯t stop the Seekers from just attacking us directly.¡± Jacob pointed out. ¡°Do we know if they can do that? Those injectors can get through an undersuit pretty easily, do it enough times and they might open up something important like an artery.¡± ¡°That¡¯s if they do not carry you off alive.¡± Thane added. ¡°Several insect species capture live prey and bring it home to their nests for consumption.¡± Shepard shuddered at the thought of being dragged off as food for a giant seeker swarm. This place was just trying to give her new nightmares. ¡°Thanks for the images, all of you.¡± She said, massaging her temples. ¡°What about other options? Heavy weapons, biotics, Revan¡¯s Force powers?¡± ¡°Heavy weapons are out, Commander.¡± Jacob quickly said. ¡°We¡¯d get a few big groups, but there¡¯s no chance of getting everything. I doubt we¡¯d get far.¡± ¡°I could escort a group through, but we are going to need a distraction.¡± Revan said. ¡°I¡¯d be better leading that effort unless there is no other option.¡± ¡°Alright, so¡­can we get through with just biotics?¡± ¡°Yes¡­I think it may be possible.¡± Samara said slowly. ¡°A small team covered by an extended Barrier. I wouldn¡¯t be able to protect a large team, but three should be doable if they stayed close.¡± ¡°I could do it, too.¡± Miranda asserted. ¡°In theory, any Biotic could.¡± Shepard immediately threw that idea out. Yes, in theory any Biotic could put up the Barrier they needed, but not all of them could maintain it long enough to stop the swarm from battering through. She knew for a fact she wasn¡¯t able to do so, and she was on the upper end for a human Biotic. That meant Jacob and likely Miranda were out as well. ¡°Alright¡­Samara and I will take a team through the swarms and open the security doors.¡± She decided. ¡°Garrus and Mordin, you¡¯re with us. Everyone else will head for the doors and keep the Collectors busy.¡± ¡°What about me and the rest of the crew, Shepard?¡± Dr Chakwas asked, waving a hand to the others that had been rescued. ¡°We¡¯re in no shape to fight.¡± The Spectre nodded at her. ¡°I know, that¡¯s why I¡¯m going to have Thane escort you further back where the Normandy can pick you all up.¡± Chakwas¡¯s shoulders loosened just a little. ¡°Thank you, Jane.¡± Shepard smiled. ¡°You know me, Karin. I take care of my people.¡± Which is why she was sending Thane. The Drell Assassin was a perfect blend of crafty enough to scout ahead and make sure there were no Collector ambushes on the way to the pickup point, skilled enough to deal with any there by himself, and as a bonus his eidetic memory would help him backtrack along the route her group took without any issue of getting lost. The fact that it would also prevent him from seeing anything else like melting people while contributing to the mission was a big plus as well. Shepard intended for all of them to live through this if possible, and if she could keep from mentally scarring her team along the way then all the better. ¡°¡±We¡¯ve all got our assignments.¡± She declared. ¡°Let¡¯s move out!¡± -o- ¡°We¡¯re in position, Shepard.¡± ¡°Okay. Samara is putting up the barrier and we¡¯re hea- -to -amb-¡± Shepard¡¯s voice crackled before cutting out. ¡°Tali¡¯Zorah?¡± ¡°Signal cut out on their side. Maybe the swarms are causing interference?¡± The Quarian reported, poking at her Omnitool for a bit before giving up. Interference was probably too strong to overcome then. Revan nodded. ¡°It sounds like they were getting started. So should we.¡± The rescued crew members had already left by now, so the remaining members of the ground team just nodded, checked their weapons, and stood behind the Sith Empress. As the doors opened it became clear very quickly that the Collectors were not going to leisurely sit back and wait for the Normandy team to come to them. The second the doors were open enough to allow them, dozens of Drones stuck their arms through the opening as they tried to force their bodies through the growing gap. It reminded Revan of some of the plagues Sith Alchemists had created; the ones that stripped all reason and restraint from the infected as they did their best to kill and consume everything that didn¡¯t share their infliction. Revan was actually relieved at the tactic though. You didn¡¯t have soldiers throw themselves into a meat grinder right away if they could pick up a blaster, after all. And if the Collectors were still trying to drown them under bodies, they still couldn¡¯t arm all their drones at once. And they had ways to deal with that. ¡°Jack, give us some breathing room.¡± ¡°It''d be my goddamn pleasure.¡± The heavily tattooed woman glowed with biotic energy, and just as the doors opened far enough for the Collector horde to rush in they were hit in the face by a near physical wall of energy that pulped the first row before bowling over everything behind them. ¡°Grenades.¡± Revan commented, casually deflecting the few incoming shots from the Drones actually armed and far enough back to not be knocked over. ¡°Everyone else, focus fire on the ones in the back.¡± ¡°On it.¡± Jacob replied as he pulled out an M-100 grenade launcher and started firing out into the crowd. As expected of someone of his skill level, Jacob scattered the rounds to cause the most amount of damage possible with Revan only needing to make slight adjustments through the force to ensure the carpet of struggling Drones was reduced to bits in a series of HE explosions. In the meantime, red bolts shot out and burned through the rest of the Drones with varying levels of accuracy. But there was no time to stand around appreciating the sights. ¡°Keep alert, follow your team leader¡¯s callouts, and above all else, keep up.¡± The Sith ordered and ran forward. The story has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation. What followed was another chaotic whirlwind of small conflicts, swinging lightsabers, and blaster fire from all directions. Again, for the most part Revan trusted Miranda and Jacob to act as the leaders for the rest of the team while she focused on drawing the enemy¡¯s attention and destroying tougher targets and occasionally calling out orders as needed. Somewhat concerningly, the Presence failed to make a reappearance during the whole thing. Meaning either Revan¡¯s demonstration with Sith Lightning had scared it off, or their distraction wasn¡¯t as effective as they were hoping. Not to say that they hadn¡¯t drawn attention. The Collectors were still doing a favorable impression of an overturned anthill and they were starting to get better armed as more Drones managed to retrieve them from whatever counted as an armory on this station or salvaged some working ones from the dead. ¡°Revan, we¡¯ve got Praetorians!¡± ¡°Ignore them, keep heading for the security doors!¡± ¡°If we do that we¡¯ll be sitting ducks! There¡¯s no cover over there!¡± ¡°Leave that to me!¡± Revan leapt forward into the densest mass of Drones she could, instantly decapitating a handful of Drones, and yanked on the Force. The insectile aliens went from aggressively grabbing at her to helplessly flailing as if they were in zero-gravity in a nano-second only to be violently smashed into the floor in a large-scale replication of Miranda¡¯s favorite biotic trick. And were then sent flying everywhere as Revan pushed everything away from her, giving her a nice clean arena to deal with the two arriving Praetorians as both of them landed nearby and screamed at her. Revan¡¯s helmet took care of the sound as sonic dampeners kicked in to protect her ears, but the physical force from the scream was enough to stagger her just a little. But she recovered before the first one could try stabbing her with one of its forelegs. Sparks flew as her blue saber scraped across the barrier covering the metal limb before failing and cutting through it. Revan doubted there was anything resembling nerves in the biomechanical horror, but it reeled back and screamed again at the loss anyway before overcharging its biotic barrier. The Force cried out in warning. So Revan threw herself to the side as the second Praetorian¡¯s particle beams lanced past where she had been standing and washed harmlessly over the first¡¯s defenses. The Sith grimaced at the sight. Even one praetorian was annoying to deal with, but them being able to coordinate like this made them dangerous. Especially since Revan needed to conserve as much of her strength as possible for whatever was up ahead. There was something giving off a feeling like some of the old Sith tombs on Korriban. And Revan had no idea what it could be. ¡°Better finish this fast then.¡± She decided as green sparks crackled around her fingertips. Of the three alignments of Force Lightning techniques Revan knew, Electric Judgment was easily the one she practiced the least. Not out of some misguided belief that the Light technique was somehow weaker than the other two but simply for the fact that the major advantage it had, the fact it was very hard to unintentionally cause major damage, wasn¡¯t very useful in her normal encounters. But like everything else in the universe, there were exceptions to that. And while Electric Judgment wasn¡¯t very good at physically damaging something, it was incredibly effective at causing all kinds of hell with electronic systems ¨C organic and synthetic. So as the emerald bands of electricity washed over the undamaged Praetorian ¨C it shut down. Neither the cybernetic components of the fused husks under the flying tank¡¯s armor or the remnants of their organic nervous system were enough to save it from Revan¡¯s onslaught. Of course shut down did not mean the same as destroyed. If given enough time, the Praetorian would eventually reactivate only a little worse for wear. That¡¯s why Revan made sure to stab it through the eyes with both her lightsabers. Armor, flesh, bone, and cybernetics burned away under the two beams of contained plasma and soon after there was little chance of the Praetorian moving under its own power ever again. That didn¡¯t mean Revan got out unscathed though. The time she spent ensuring the Praetorian was dead gave the first one enough time to charge over and tackle her off the corpse of its partner. Revan¡¯s personal shields and armor were enough to stop her from being splattered by the impact and she was able to deflect the undamaged limb with one of her sabers, but even then the Sith Empress felt a sharp pain in her side and her ribs protested a lot as she struggled to push the monstrosity off her. It wasn¡¯t easy, especially with over twenty misshapen humanoid heads snapping at her armored visor, but Revan had nearly been eaten by much more terrifying or disturbing things before so she wasn¡¯t as disturbed as she could be when she placed one hand on the roof of its mouth and a foot in the middle of the squirming heads. It also helped that the Praetorian wasn¡¯t actually trying to eat her, even if the heads closest to her foot were vainly trying to bite through her boot, but either stab her with one of several sharp protrusions or crush her against its armor. At least it was trying to until Revan secured her footing and began to push. For a moment nothing seemed to happen. Then the Praetorian began the thrash wildly as the upper part of its head was pushed up by the Sith Empress¡¯s Force enhanced strength. Metal began to groan as the armored head pushed past what the hinges could handle. Loud snapping echoed out into the chamber as parts began to buckle and crack. And with one final burst of strength, Revan tore the head of the Praetorian clean off and allowed the whole thing to collapse to the ground, just as dead as its partner. ¡°Holy shit, Ice Queen, that was badass.¡± Jack¡¯s voice crackled over Revan¡¯s comms. ¡°Also really fucking brutal.¡± ¡°Keelah, it was.¡± Tali¡¯Zorah agreed. ¡°But wouldn¡¯t it have been easier to just cut it with your lightsabers?¡± Revan stood and hissed as her ribs protested the movement. ¡°No actually.¡± She replied to the Quarian. ¡°The Praetorian still had its barrier up, and I think it was planning to try something when I did. But those barriers only react to outside impacts. By slowly forcing it open instead of attacking it directly¡­¡± ¡°The barrier wouldn¡¯t stop you from breaking the underlying chassis.¡± Miranda accurately concluded. ¡°Correct.¡± ¡°Clever. We¡¯re set up just outside the security doors. Your stunt managed to buy us some time but the Collectors are starting to emerge faster than we can put them down and we can¡¯t raise Shepard. We might need a backup¨C¡± Miranda cut off as the security doors suddenly opened. ¡°...nevermind. You better hurry, Revan. We can¡¯t leave the doors open forever.¡± ¡°On my way.¡± -o- ¡°One last push.¡± Shepard muttered as her team joined her on the platform. ¡°And then we bring the whole station down on their heads.¡± Revan agreed. Almost miraculously, none of the assault group had taken more than minor injury despite the near constant combat. And the good news didn¡¯t stop there. Shortly after both teams rejoined each other and secured the area they were able to contact the Normandy and confirm that Thane had successfully escorted everyone to the pickup zone with no casualties. All that was left to do was hit the control room and put a stop to whatever the Collectors had been using their captives for. Of course that did nothing about the massive horde of Collector¡¯s that were still funneling their way towards them. Which was why only a small team would be going forward while the rest would buy them time to do whatever they needed to. Shepard would be taking Garrus and Tali¡¯Zorah as her backup. Revan had decided that she would go alone to deal with the Force presence she was detecting nearby. There was a token defense from the Collectors as they staged a few assaults on the platforms the team used, but for once there simply weren¡¯t enough of them to really threaten or slow down the group. And Harbinger, as Shepard had taken to calling the Presence enhanced drones, failed to make another appearance. ¡°This is it.¡± Shepard said as they made their way to the last platform and pressed something on a holo-panel. ¡°All tubes lead to this spot. I¡¯m guessing your Force thing is still this way, Revan?¡± ¡°It is. Directly ahead.¡± the Sith nodded. ¡°Fantastic. Any idea what we¡¯re heading into EDI?¡± ¡°Scans show the tubes are leading to some kind of super-structure. It is emitting both organic and non-organic energy structures. Given these readings¡­it must be massive.¡± Revan had never heard the Normandy droid pause or sound uneasy. Now she sounded both. ¡°Shepard. If my calculations a correct, the super-structure¡­is a Reaper.¡± EDI finished just as the platform entered the main chamber. Revan didn¡¯t exactly know if the AI was right about it being a Reaper, but there was definitely something being built here. A massive human looking torso hung lifelessly from four anchor points in the center of the chamber. Yet despite the lack of activity, the Sith could feel a Force Presence radiating from the clearly unfinished machine and the puzzle pieces began to fall into place. ¡°...they¡¯re using the kidnapped colonists to build a Reaper.¡± She said, horrified at the realization. ¡°That¡¯s why their technology is Force active. They are literally made out of the essence of sentients!¡± ¡°What?!¡± Shepard was just as shocked. ¡°EDI, is that true?!¡± ¡°It appears so. The Collectors have processed tens of thousands of humans. Significantly more will be required to complete the Reaper.¡± ¡°Fuck. How many more humans do you think they¡¯d try to take?¡± ¡°Millions. Perhaps more. Impossible to know for certain.¡± EDI said. ¡°This Reaper appears to be in a very early stage of development. An embryo in human terms.¡± ¡°So it¡¯s not activated yet? We can destroy it before it¡¯s alive?¡± ¡°The process can be stopped, but it is unclear exactly how much it¡¯s developed. I cannot, for example, tell you if it has awareness.¡± ¡°It¡¯s a monster made from the corpses of thousands of innocents. Aware or not we¡¯re pulling the plug.¡± Shepard declared. ¡°How do we destroy it?¡± ¡°Those tubes look like the only thing holding it up.¡± Garrus pointed out. ¡°We take out those, the whole thing should come falling down.¡± ¡°If the Collectors are building it here, there must be a way out into space somewhere below. An airlock or hanger.¡± Tali¡¯Zorah added. ¡°If we need to we can eject the whole thing and push it into the nearby star.¡± ¡°And we¡¯ve got a rocket launcher.¡± Revan pointed out, waving a hand at the collapsed heavy weapon attached to Garrus¡¯s back. ¡°Yeah, as good a place to use it as any I suppose.¡± With very little fanfare the tubes were targeted and destroyed using everything the ML-77 had. The unborn Reaper slouched forward as the anchor points fell away before the weight of it dragged it down to the abyss that was the Collector station. Almost expecting something to go wrong, the team carefully walked to the edge of their platform and watched as the Reaper fell further and further with no sign of activation. Eventually deciding that they had spent enough time waiting, they turned back and went looking for the central control terminal while Shepard made a call. ¡°Shepard to Ground Team. Status report.¡± ¡°Jack here. We¡¯re tagging them as they come, but feel free to call for an exit anytime!¡± Both Revan and Shepard looked at Tali who had started cracking into a holo-panel. The Quarian engineer simply nodded that she was inside the systems and ready to take down the station. ¡°Head back to the Normandy. Joker ¨C prep the engines. We¡¯re about to overload this place and blow it sky high.¡± ¡°Uh, sure thing Commander, but we¡¯ve got an incoming signal from the Illusive Man. EDI¡¯s patching it through.¡± ¡°What? Joker, I don¡¯t care. We don¡¯t have time¨C¡± The Commander was cut off as her Omnitool sprang to life and a holographic image of the Illusive Man was projected for the four of them to see. ¡°Shepard. You¡¯ve done the impossible.¡± T.I.M. greeted them. Shepard sighed, frustration visibly being restrained by a hair. ¡°I didn¡¯t do it alone. I had a damn good team behind me the whole way.¡± ¡°Yes, I know. You all did what you needed to do, and now you¡¯ve acquired the Collector base.¡± ¡°For a little bit, anyway. Soon it¡¯s just going to be one big firework.¡± Garrus snarked. T.I.M. ignored the comment. ¡°I¡¯m looking at the schematic EDI uploaded. A timed radiation pulse would kill the remaining Collectors but leave the machinery and technology intact. This is our chance, Shepard!¡± He exclaimed. ¡°They were building a Reaper. That knowledge ¨C that framework ¨C could save us.¡± ¡°No chance.¡± Shepard immediately denied. ¡°They liquified people to build this place. Turned them into something horrible. We¡¯re going to do exactly what we set out to do in the first place and destroy it.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t be short sighted.¡± T.I.M. growled. ¡°Our best chance against the Reapers is to turn their own resources against them.¡± ¡°No, Shepard¡¯s right.¡± Revan cut in. ¡°We¡¯ve finally figured out the secret to how Reapertech is Force active. Allowing it to remain would be a betrayal to every sentient that died here. Not just humans.¡± ¡°If we ignore this opportunity, that would be a betrayal.¡± T.I.M. snarled. ¡°They were working directly with the Collectors, think of the information that must be buried here! Weapons, research data, weaknesses! This is our chance to level the playing field. Imagine the lives that could be saved if we turned those against them!¡± Shepard shook her head. ¡°It¡¯s not worth it. Besides, if we need weapons I know someone who can get us some things that are out of this universe.¡± She gave Revan a smirk. To which the Sith could only shake her head at the bad joke. ¡°You mean the woman that denied giving Cerberus any meaningful blueprints when we could be manufacturing them in preparation for the Reapers as we speak? The same woman that used the first opportunity she could to grab power for herself?! Think, Shepard! If Humanity is going to stand a chance, we need every advantage we can get. Not just rely on some handouts from a petty warlord that she will deny giving out to secure her own power!¡± ¡°My mind¡¯s made up. We¡¯ll fight and win without it.¡± Shepard said stubbornly. ¡°I won¡¯t let fear compromise what I am.¡± ¡°You¡¯re making a mista¨C¡± T.I.M. started and was cut off as Shepard forcefully ended the connection. ¡°Boring conversation anyway.¡± The Spectre said lightly. ¡°Tali, you good to go?¡± ¡°All set, Shepard. We¡¯ll have ten minutes before the main reactor goes critical. That should give us¨C¡± A massive collision knocked the entire team off their feet. As they scrambled to stand and find out exactly what hit them, Revan felt a warning scream in the Force. Not questioning it, the Sith threw herself at Shepard and tackled her out of the way just as a massive metal hand crashed directly where the Commander had been seconds before. Nobody needed to ask what just happened. The massive metal limb and the skeletal figure attempting to climb up onto the platform was unmistakable. The unfinished Reaper was back. And this time it was awake and feeling murderous. ¡°Shepard, what¡¯s the plan?!¡± Garrus shouted as he targeted anything that looked like a weak point. But unfinished or not, the Reaper was still tougher than most things ever made and the blaster bolts might as well have been pinpricks for all the comparative damage they did. ¡°Hold on and don¡¯t die! I¡¯m thinking!¡± ¡°Better think faster, it¡¯s going to tear the platform apart in a minute!¡± Tali called out as the Reaper slipped. But instead of falling back down the chamber, it thrashed its hand out to steady itself and destroyed one of the hexagonal sections they were all standing on. ¡°Revan, you have any ideas?!¡± Emerald lightning washed over the Reaper, and while it clearly hurt it, the Reaper still functioned. The Sith Empress was forced to halt her attack and dive into cover to avoid the energy beam that fired from the Reaper¡¯s mouth. ¡°That depends, do you still have the Cain?¡± ¡°Yeah, but even a small nuke isn¡¯t getting through that armor!¡± There was shudder as another platform was torn away. Garrus and Tali started firing at the metal behemoth¡¯s eyes in hopes that they would be more fragile. And they must have been because one arm raised up to protect the angrily glowing orbs. ¡°It doesn¡¯t have to if we set it off inside the Reaper!¡± Revan called back. ¡°We just need an opening! I¡¯m only going to be able to hold it for a short time, so you better not miss!¡± ¡°What are you doing?!¡± Instead of answering, Revan threw herself into the Force and drew on it as deeply as she dared. Light and Shadow seemed to warp and bend around her as she threw her hands out and focused everything on the Reaper. The skeletal arm protecting its face jerked and spasmed as it was slowly pried out of the way by an invisible force and when the monstrosity tried to sweep another platform with its remaining hand, that one was captured too. The Reaper should have fallen at that point. Nothing was holding it up besides Revan¡¯s telekinetic grasp and the Sith apparently wasn¡¯t letting go anytime soon. Instead, the Reaper¡¯s skull-like face was smashed downwards into the platform where it remained motionless, despite the thrashing from the rest of its torso. ¡°Its eye! Blow it out!¡± Revan screamed, voice distorted by the power she was channeling and the strain it was putting on her. Garrus, Tali, and Shepard didn¡¯t need to be told again. Blaster bolts, grenades, biotics, whatever they could use to damage the connections holding the mechanical eye was poured into the eye socket with nothing held back. And they were rewarded by a small explosion from something further in that left the thing loose and half hanging out of the thing¡¯s head. But it was still in the way. Splitting her focus even more, and feeling blood beginning to pour out her nose from the amount of power she was channeling, Revan seized the eye as well without releasing the rest of the Reaper and pulled. In a horrific shriek of metal, the eye snapped out of its casing and went flying over the other end of the platform. And Shepard saw her chance. ¡°Everyone back away! Far as you can!¡± She ordered as she ripped the last heavy weapon they had on them. The M-920 Cain had a short arming time and that was all Shepard could spare for her team to move. The second it was ready to fire and she was on-target, Shepard pulled the trigger and sent the 25 gram special high-explosive round into the Reaper¡¯s skull. She had just enough time to hope that there was something vital in that metal skull and it wasn¡¯t for show before the round detonated and knocked her off her feet. The Spectre scrambled to look up at their enemy, but the heavy weapon had done its job. All the lights on the Reaper had gone out and it slid lifelessly over the edge of the platform once more as Revan released it from her grasp. They did it, they won. So naturally that was when the levitation mechanism for the platform gave out and sent them crashing towards a wall¡­ -o- Jane Shepard was more than a little surprised that she opened her eyes again after the crash. They had fallen a few hundred feet after all and she had somehow been out for less than ten minutes. Ten minutes¡­the station was still rigged to blow! Groaning as she forced herself back to her feet, the Spectre shook her head and looked around. ¡°Team, sound off!¡± She shouted, looking at the three other prone figures around her. Some half buried under some rubble from the crash. ¡°Urg¡­I¡¯m alive¡­I think.¡± Garrus called back, also struggling to his feet. ¡°Don¡¯t know how though. I saw one of those beams about to crush my head.¡± ¡°It was Revan.¡± Tali said softly, though both of them heard her anyway. ¡°She made sure none of the debris would harm us.¡± Shepard staggered over to where the quarian was now kneeling next to her Empress. ¡°Is she¡­?¡± ¡°Shtill a¡¯ive.¡± Revan rasped, though her voice sounded awful. ¡°Yer no¡¯ ge¡¯ing ¡®id obv me yet.¡± Shepard let out a breath of relief before pushing her emotions to a corner of her mind and reaching down to pull the elven woman up. ¡°Right, well time to get up, your Highness. We don¡¯t have time to lie around. Garrus, get her other arm. We¡¯re running for the Normandy.¡± ¡°Yeah¡­you got it Shepard.¡± -o- Deep in a secure room on the Collector station, four glowing eyes watched impassively as the last few invaders sprinted through the hallways. Despite the pitiful efforts of its few remaining tools it seemed the invaders were going to successfully escape the station without a single casualty on their side. No matter. That simply meant its current tools were more flawed than previously believed. All the more frustrating since the Anomaly was clearly at its weakest and ready to be removed. But the Human had rallied its companions in time and the station was beginning to shake itself apart as critical components overloaded. The intelligence the beings of this cycle labeled ¡®Harbinger¡¯ judged that the creation of another remote avatar had too high a probability of being destroyed and causing unacceptable feedback and damage to its main self. There were no more moves to take. This game had ended. Very well. ¡°Human, you have changed nothing.¡± Harbinger declared as it watched the invaders stumble towards their spacecraft. ¡°Your species has the attention of those infinitely your greater.¡± ¡°That which you know as Reapers are your salvation through destruction.¡± ¡°Neither you nor the Anomaly has changed what is to come. This cycle will END.¡± Explosions began to chain throughout the station. Thousands of converted tools engulfed by flames or torn apart while Harbinger watched emotionlessly. The deck where the Collector General controlled the responses to all its lesser drones heaved and threw the specially modified tool into its terminal. Harbinger made it look up to where it could see a holographic representation of its true body ¡°This setback means nothing. We will find another way.¡± ¡°Releasing control.¡± Chapter 43 ¨C Serpent Nebula, Citadel, Private Council Chambers ¨C Despite the opinions of a certain human Spectre and millions of extranet denizens, the Council did not spend all day doing nothing. There were hundreds of policies that had to be carefully considered, thousands of new requests for each species in Citadel Space, and millions of summaries to read about incidents all over the galaxy. Trying to keep on top of it all was a full time job, and unsubstantiated rumors simply couldn¡¯t be placed above the very real issues the four members of the Council faced everyday. Which is why it was incredibly frustrating when not only did that particular Spectre not only provide proof that the Collectors were indeed behind the abducted human colonies and were using them for something¡­ but another much more real and immediate problem failed to have the decency to resolve itself despite going through the single most deadly Relay ever discovered. Which meant it was still their problem. ¡°Are you absolutely sure that no information about this ¡®Revan¡¯ exists?¡± Councilor Sparatus questioned their Salarian counterpart. ¡°Surely the STG teams you no doubt had investigate her found something?¡± If Valern was insulted at the insinuation he would hide information, he did not show it. ¡°Nothing. There are no records, sightings, or even rumors of her before she appeared on Commander Shepard¡¯s ship.¡± ¡°That can¡¯t be possible. Someone with her abilities can¡¯t have just come from nowhere.¡± ¡°Of course not. But her background has been carefully covered up.¡± the Salarian countered. ¡°We will need more time to uncover it.¡± ¡°Be sure to keep us updated. So far what little we know about this figure is that she is an incredibly dangerous warlord at least. Now that she has supposedly taken charge of both the Geth and Quarians we need to make sure that another conflict does not break out. We may need to consider denouncing anyone affiliated with the Migrant fleet until we can be certain this woman will not cause a major incident.¡± ¡°Is this really the best use of our time?¡± Anderson broke in. ¡°We now have solid evidence that the Collectors were working for the Reapers. We need to discuss¨C¡± ¡°That is concerning and we will give the topic all the attention it deserves,¡± Tevos interrupted with the tone of a school teacher trying to get an unruly student to focus. ¡°But according to Shepard¡¯s report, the Collectors have been dealt with for now. The more important matter is that this Revan character has come out of nowhere and installed herself as Empress of both the Geth and the Migrant fleet. We cannot allow a complete unknown to cause chaos throughout the galaxy. We need to know what her goals are.¡± ¡°She¡¯s doing what we should be doing ¨C preparing for the Reapers.¡± Anderson sighed in frustration. ¡°She¡¯s willing to believe Shepard about that and is taking it seriously. Without the ridiculous demands for ¡®proof¡¯ this Council seems to require, I could add.¡± ¡°Ridiculous?! We cannot act on the word of just one Human!¡± Sparatus snapped. ¡°Shepards has given us nothing¨C¡± ¡°Except a translated Prothean warning, stopping Saren¡¯s override of this very station to receive something from deep space, aiding in the destruction of a Reaper at the cost of a human battle group, you mean.¡± Anderson interrupted. ¡°Or rather the Geth ¡®super-dreadnought¡¯. Though I guess that won¡¯t work anymore since the Geth and Quarians are joining forces to fight against those ships, so it can¡¯t come from the Geth. And that was just what she gave us two years ago. Now she¡¯s given us even more proof and we¡¯re just planning on ignoring it!¡± ¡°I think a brief recess is in order.¡± Tevos said diplomatically. ¡°None of us will be able to make any progress if our emotions are getting the better of us. We¡¯ll reconvene when Councilor Anderson has calmed down.¡± A few months ago, Anderson might not have cared to notice the deliberate choice of words used by the Asari Councilor. But after Revan had pointed out all the slights and insults the other, more experienced, politicians had used during the meeting with Shepard he had been much more vigilant about such things. Blaming him for derailing the session by being overemotional would just be the latest in a long line of excuses, and the old captain of the original Normandy found himself increasingly less inclined to deal with them. Not when time was running out. Maybe it was time to leave the desk to someone willing to play word games while the countdown to Armageddon ticked down and get back to the Alliance. There he could at least be doing something productive. -o- ¨C Crescent Nebula, Tasale System, Illium ¨C Sounds of panicked gunfire filled the night air as a trio of Asari in Eclipse armor stumbled around a corner, blindly firing at something behind them. There was a brief explosion and smoke began wafting out of the alley the three mercenaries had come from. ¡°Did we get her?¡± The youngest of the three asked nervously. As if in response a form shrouded in Biotic energy exploded through the smoke and slammed into the mercenary, shattering what was left of her barrier and throwing her to the ground. The second merc was enveloped in another field before she could blink and was sent headfirst into the side of a building. The third had just enough time to try pointing her gun at the form when three gunshots rang out. The last Asari looked down at the trio of holes that had punched their way through her breastplate before wordlessly collapsing. ¡°No, no you didn¡¯t get me.¡± The figure commented as the glow of biotics faded away, revealing another Asari wearing a predominantly blue hardsuit with a white corset-like section. While she wasn¡¯t nearly as famous as her human counterpart, Tela Vasir was a well known figure as a Council Spectre. It was actually a little insulting that three random mercs thought they could take her in a straight fight. Whatever, not her problem anymore. Vasir fired off a hacker program from her Omnitool and smiled when she saw the results. A full record of a Red Sand distribution line, just as promised. She activated another program and waited patiently as a secure line to her agent was established. ¡°Spectre Vasir, I trust the information is satisfactory?¡± If you encounter this narrative on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. ¡°Yeah, they had everything I needed. Tell the Shadow Broker he does good work.¡± Vasir didn¡¯t actually like the Shadow Broker, in fact if she ever got a clear run at him she¡¯d be just as likely to kill him as ask for information, but without someone doing the legwork for finding out all the little schemes trying to throw the galaxy into chaos Vasir wouldn¡¯t have the time to actually find or stop them. So that meant working with the Shadow Broker to weed out the worst of the worst, even if that meant paying back some ¡¯favors¡¯ from time to time. ¡°The Broker provides the best, Spectre.¡± The agent replied with an edge in their voice. ¡°Something you should already be aware of. Which is why the Broker requires you to do something in return.¡± Vasir sighed. ¡°What does he want?¡± ¡°There¡¯s a certain information broker on Illium that¡¯s been sticking her nose into things best left alone. An Asari by the name of Liara T¡¯Soni. The Shadow Broker wants her taken care of. Permanently.¡± She never liked this part, the Shadow Broker was using her to knock off one of his rivals again. Or maybe he just didn¡¯t like this broker in particular. Oh well, one broker was a small price to pay for access to the Shadow Broker¡¯s information network. They tended to be horribly corrupt criminals anyway so it was no real loss on her side either. ¡°Fine, I¡¯ll take care of her. Just¨C¡± ¡°I¡¯m afraid Spectre Vasir will be unavailable for a little while.¡± A new voice interrupted. ¡°Our order has need of her services.¡± Vasir whipped around to face the unexpected new arrival, her Vindicator rifle snapping up only to freeze once she saw who it was. Not many could sneak up on a Spectre, especially not one that tended to work alone like she did, but an Asari Justicar was definitely one of the few Vasir would expect to be capable of such a feat. Although this one seemed a bit different than a normal Justicar. Vasir knew that all Justicars were the pinnacle of Biotic strength, but most of them carried a weapon if only for having something to hand over as a symbolic gesture of committing no violence when dealing with others. The Spectre could only see a strange metal tube hanging from the other Asari¡¯s belt. ¡°Who do you¨C¡± ¡°I¡¯ll have to turn down the request after all.¡± Vasir spoke over her agent quickly. Everyone knew a Justicar¡¯s code was absolute, the last thing she wanted was him saying the wrong thing and the Justicar deciding Vasir needed to die instead of working for her. ¡°I¡¯ll make it up to the Shadow Broker later. A favor owed.¡± Tela hated owing favors to anyone on principle. Owing one to someone like the Shadow Broker was even worse. But she preferred living. ¡°Wha¨C you don¡¯t get¨C¡± Her agent started before the Spectre ended the call. ¡°Sorry about that, ma¡¯am. What can I assist you with?¡± She said respectfully. Every little Asari wanted to be a Justicar at one point, after all. And although Tela had learned a long time ago about what a poor idea it was to meet your heroes, it was impossible to stop some of that childhood admiration from rising up anyway. The other Asari gave her a small smile. ¡°You don¡¯t have to be so tense, I won¡¯t bite. But yes, I need your help tracking down one of your fellow Spectres. The human, Jane Shepard.¡± Tela froze. A random information broker was one thing. Even a well connected one if the benefits were worth it. But going after another Spectre? That was another line entirely. One she wasn¡¯t prepared to cross without a very good reason. Thankfully the Justicar continued before she needed to say anything. ¡°There¡¯s a very dangerous¡­let¡¯s call her criminal, yes, a very dangerous criminal traveling with your fellow Spectre that I need to eliminate. You will help me with this endeavor.¡± So not Shepard herself. Tela was much less conflicted about helping this person then. If they had a Justicar after them, they certainly did something to deserve it. ¡°I¡¯ll put out an urgent request to meet. The last update I saw, Shepard was investigating something about the Collectors and some crazy conspiracy about how they¡¯re just pawns for something else. I don¡¯t know if she¡¯s finished with that but I can say I found a lead regarding a deal they had with some fringe groups. That should be enough to get her to investigate at the very least.¡± ¡°Wonderful. I have the feeling I am going to enjoy working together, miss Tela Vasir.¡± -o- ¨C Horse Head Nebula, Pax System, Noveria ¨C Gam''Virrel vas Shaazal stood silently in front of his supervisor, privately glad his enviro-suit hid the wide smile on his face as he watched the fat, lazy Turian try and wrap his poor little brain around what he was just told. It wouldn¡¯t be ¡®proper¡¯ to be grinning like this was the best day of his life while giving such ¡®grave¡¯ and ¡®distressing¡¯ news. ¡°I- I¡¯m sorry, what did you say!?¡± Gam''Virrel did his best to hide his amusement. Again something much easier to do when faced with someone who never took the time to learn how to read Quarian body language. Even if that person was supposed to be his boss. Still he just pushed that aside for now and put on an act of being sad and repentant. ¡°I said that the entire team just quit. Without them there is no way the project is going to be finished by the deadline. Figuring out how everything works just based on what documentation was left behind alone will take months.¡± Gam said ¡®sadly¡¯, though he wasn¡¯t lying. It really would take whatever engineers that took over months to familiarize themselves with the project, let alone complete it. The math and coding was just that complex. The price paid when dealing with cutting edge mass effect technology. ¡°Quit!? They can¡¯t quit!¡± The supervisor sputtered. ¡°That¡¯s a breach of contract! I¡¯ll have those ungrateful suit-rats slapped with a lawsuit so hard their heads will spin!¡± ¡°Ah, about that. Our contract says that quitting for any reason will bar the quarian in question from seeking employment anywhere else on Noveria without paying a fine¨C¡± one so massive that Gam wasn¡¯t sure even one of the Admirals could pay it off on their own ¡°¨Cbut they are free to quit whenever they want.¡± Of course a quarian could be fired whenever someone wanted without warning, but that was neither here nor there. ¡°I don¡¯t give a damn!¡± The turian exploded. ¡°This project was going to land me a promotion, how dare they just walk out on me! After everything I did to help them too!¡± Ah yes, the ¡®help¡¯. As if quarter-pay to any other comparable engineer, long hours, unreasonable demands, and thinly veiled racism was somehow supposed to demand loyalty from a team that had only stayed because there was no guarantee of being hired somewhere else. Frankly it was a wonder someone would ever give up a position on this lovely ice ball with ¡®perks¡¯ like those. ¡°Damn it all, fine, at least you seem a little smarter than the rest of those rats Gum,¡± ¡°Gam¡± ¡°whatever ¨C¡± the turian waved him off. ¡°I don¡¯t care what it takes. You are going to meet that deadline ¨C even if that means you don¡¯t leave that lab until it¡¯s done, do you hear me!?¡± ¡°I do¡­there¡¯s just one problem with that.¡± Gam''Virrel replied. ¡°What?¡± ¡°I quit too, I¡¯m just here to hand in everyone¡¯s security badges.¡± the quarian smirked while placing the stack of said objects on the desk. ¡°I¡¯d say it was a pleasure, but honestly, you can go fuck yourself.¡± And with that, Gam''Virrel walked out of the office, the building, and didn¡¯t stop until he reached the lot where one of the few non-quarian friends he had made was waiting in an air-car. Better to be long gone before his ex-supervisor managed to reboot his sorry excuse for a brain. It was only after the two of them were in the air and on the way to the spaceport that Gam managed to fully relax. ¡°So that¡¯s it then? All of you are heading back to the fleet?¡± His friend asked. ¡°Yes. I don¡¯t know what the big deal is, but the Admirals have called everyone back for something big. Rumor has it they managed to get another Liveship built somehow.¡± Gam lied. He felt bad for lying to his friend, especially because the salarian had been nothing but helpful the entire time they knew each other, but the message from the Fleet had been clear. No one was to say anything about their plans to return to Rannoch before it was too late to stop them. It had happened before. Where a group of quarians would announce their intention to start a colony on some backwater world only for some ¡®deeply regretful¡¯ group to come out of nowhere with a bunch of legal varrenshit and a turian patrol fleet saying they would either need to move on or be declared pirates. It was clear that there were some very powerful people determined to make sure the Quarians never had a home again. Gam didn¡¯t want to think what those people would do if they found out they were going home anyway. He might not trust the bulb-heads much, but honestly he could say that about pretty much every other ¡®race¡¯ in the galaxy too if you considered the Geth a proper race. He didn¡¯t think the galaxy was conspiring against him just because he was quarian or anything like that, he had met just as many people willing to overlook the racist stereotypes as people willing to believe them, but he firmly believed that most simply didn¡¯t care enough to do anything meaningful about the struggles every quarian faced day to day. He didn¡¯t hate them for it, though. He was guilty of the same thing after all. How many slaves were suffering under either pirates or Batarians? How many people were struggling with injuries or illness? How many were simply starving? How many others faced discrimination just because of stereotypes about their race? Gam''Virrel had no idea, and he wasn¡¯t particularly interested in finding out or doing anything about it. He didn¡¯t consider himself a bad person. He just felt those issues were too ¡®big¡¯ for a normal engineer like himself. He¡¯d leave dealing with those types of things to people like Tali¡¯Zorah and the Empress. People that had the ability to tell reality this was how something was or would be, and for the rest of the world to just follow along. Gam''Virrel would just let them do their thing and do his best doing perfectly normal things. ¡°Wow, a new Liveship? That would be incredible!¡± His friend exclaimed, unaware of Gam¡¯s internal thoughts. ¡°That would explain why so many quarians are going back to the fleet. It¡¯s going to be hard finding someone to talk to about engineering at this rate though. Everyone else I know is too focused on the theoretical side, no respect for those like us that just want to build things!¡± Gam chuckled. ¡°Well who knows what is actually going on, but I¡¯d be happy to trade a few messages over the extranet. It¡¯d be a shame to never hear from you again.¡± The two of them traded small talk for a bit until they reached the spaceport. Gam had already sent the few possessions he had ahead with another of the quarians leaving today so there wasn¡¯t much for him to do besides board the shuttle. One final goodbye and he was off into the void¡­with nearly every quarian either having already left or not far behind. At this point it was clear. Despite the difficulties and slights most quarians dealt with to even get a legitimate job in the first place, they were all leaving. The salarian watched as the shuttle shrank to a tiny dot in the sky and activated his omnitool. ¡°STG mission log NOL-1328-12-412-A : Final log. Escorted last member of observed team to shuttle where subject departed planet from. No destination was extracted beyond ¡®back to the Fleet¡¯. Further observation impossible. Ending mission and reporting back for reassignment. End log.¡± Mass Effect: Knight of the Old Republic - Chapter 44 Shepard breathed a sigh of relief as the Normandy slid into the dock with no additional issues. The trip back from the Collector base had been more than a little nerve-wracking considering all the things that broke down on the way to Illium. The entire crew had been helping Tali and Revan hold everything together and the fabricators had almost melted themselves trying to print everything they needed for patch jobs. Shepard wasn''t even kidding about holding the ship together. At one point Revan was literally using her powers to hold two cut cables together so they wouldn''t lose life support while their engineers scrambled to weld supports for the coolant lines that had broken loose and severed them. The Normandy was going to need a long time in a full drydock to get everything sorted, but it got them to Citadel space. And with a few things fixed up while the crew got some downtime on Illium they wouldn''t need to worry about the ship falling apart around them at least. Well, the crew that was staying on at any rate. With the mission done and over with, Shepard was going to lose most of her specialists before she made her way back towards the Alliance. The non-humans simply didn''t have a reason to go to that sector of space and a few of the human ones had pretty good reasons to avoid it anyway. So that meant her team was likely going to disband here, but considering how many of them had already come to her to talk about preparations for the Reapers Shepard felt like they were making actual steps towards preparation. Revan was already preparing to leave the ship so she could head to the Perseus Veil and deal with running her new Empire. But that was future talk! Right now Shepard was going to grab Liara and drag her to a reunion with the other Normandy survivors from the first Collector attack. It was time that they had a celebration for finally getting some long deserved payback. But when the Commander saw a bunch of security officers outside Liara''s apartment and the whole area taped off, she just knew that something was going to get in the way of that celebration and triggered her comm. "Hey, Garrus, Tali. Something''s up at Liara''s place. Mind giving me some backup?" "Sure thing, Shepard. Heading your way now." Garrus sent back. Now Shepard just hoped Liara was okay. -o- Revan looked up as Tali''Zorah and Garrus rushed to meet up with Shepard in full combat gear after their call. Curious, the Sith pulled on the Force in an attempt to tease out what was happening in the future but all she got was vague impressions of a battle surrounded by lightning and danger directed at herself. Not particularly useful on its own due to her own tendency to use Force Lightning in battle. Still, the knowledge that another battle was close made it worth it. Revan took a moment to collect her thoughts given the new information and how it would affect her immediate plans. All her belongings were being transferred to a secure holding area until they could be loaded onto the ship that was going to deliver her, Tali''Zorah, and Legion back to the Migrant Fleet and then onto Rannoch. But considering Tali''Zorah had just run off, Revan had to consider that the danger might be coming from two different sources and that they might end up separated for one reason or another. That wasn''t too much of a concern. Shepard was trusted enough that Tali''Zorah staying behind would be seen as the young Quarian helping a friend and not as Revan trying to remove a political opponent or something. The Sith was under no delusions that despite the Quarians publicly accepting her as their Empress she had truly unified them or that they followed her with no reservations at all. There were absolutely going to be pockets that demanded complete destruction of the Geth or resisted her leadership in other ways. Revan probably didn''t have to worry about anyone competent trying to twist Tali''Zorah assisting her friend as a malicious act on Revan''s part. It did unfortunately mean that Revan would have to handle the final registration of the ship they were going to use and the preparations to leave Illium herself because there was no way the port authorities would accept a Geth wandering around instead and someone needed to keep watch over the relative treasure trove of things hidden away here. It was actually a little nostalgic and reminded Revan of all the times on the Ebon Hawk that despite being one of the most powerful - and at times infamous - people in her galaxy with some of the most skilled companions following her, she had to do much of the grunt work herself for one reason or another. "Legion, I''m heading out to take care of the ship details. Wait here, if anyone tries to steal our stuff message me or EDI." They might not technically be part of the Normandy''s crew anymore but Revan was willing to bet the newly liberated droid-mind of the ship wouldn''t mind sending help to a fellow synthetic. Shepard wouldn''t either, assuming she was available. "Understood, Revan-Empress. We will wait here." The Geth replied simply. -o- A group of five Asari were huddled around a single screen, watching as a cloaked figure exited a transit station and walked out of frame. The screen swapped to another view as the figure continued on, unaware they were being watched. This repeated several times from several different angles until the five figured they could pick out the target in the middle of a crowd in seconds. The screen shut off and the five stood around waiting until a sixth Asari made her way into the room. The other five instantly stood straighter. An unconscious reaction to a Justicar honoring them with her presence. "I trust that everyone here has memorized what our enemy looks like?" The Justicar asked redundantly. As if any of them would slack off on an assignment like this. "Of course, Justicar." The apparent leader of the five said, stepping forward. "But I have to ask, is this much effort really needed for just one human? My huntresses alone should be more than enough¡­" The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. The Justicar was already shaking her head. "This enemy is not Human. It is not Asari or Drell or anything like you would have encountered. It is Sith, an ancient enemy that comes from many races seeking to corrupt and subjugate whatever it can with dark and unnatural powers. I have no doubt that you and your huntresses are skilled, Nurana, but this one can only be felled by one from my Order." "Then¡­what is my team supposed to do?" "Don''t worry, I''m not about to use your team as bait for some monster." The Justicar said with a smile. "The five of you, along with one other agent I will introduce you to soon, will ambush the Sith and lure it away from the general public following my directions. Once it is tired and disoriented, you will lead it to an arena my associate has prepared to prevent it from escaping and I will kill it." Reassured her team wasn''t about to be used as fodder for whatever creature the Justicar was hunting, the leader relaxed. "And when will your associate be joining us, we will need to move soon if we don''t want to lose your target." "Oh, she just arrived. Why don''t you come introduce yourself Tela?" If any of the huntresses doubted this was a serious matter for some reason, the sight of an annoyed Spectre joining them put those thoughts to rest. "You still need to tell me how you always seem to know when someone is nearby, Keayla." Tela Vasir said as she joined the group. "Tech? Biotics? Whatever it is would be really useful for my own investigations." The Justicar, Keayla, simply smiled. "It''s a skill, but one available to only a chosen few. And not one I can teach." "Tch, fine. It was worth a shot." The Spectre scowled. "We ready to move then? Your target just stopped for a bit." "Yes. It''s time for us to rid the Galaxy of one of its greatest threats. Let us go, under the Light of the Goddess." -o- Someone was following her. It wasn''t a feeling Revan was unused to for several reasons, and most times she would have made note of it, judged the threat to herself, and then act or ignore the ones following her based on the result. And from what she could initially tell, they were not immediate threats. Normally she would keep her pursuer in the back of her mind and continue on, but she would be an utter fool to ignore a suspicious presence when she had predicted a conflict only earlier today. Revan reached for the Force and felt the same whispers of danger she had noticed earlier, but the lightning was missing. And now there was something else brushing against the edges of her future sight, an unknown she didn''t have time to meditate on right now. Did that mean that she would be restricted from using her lightning somehow? Was the lightning specifically tied to Garrus and Tali for some reason? Had something changed? What could that unknown feeling be? Revan had no idea and was once again frustrated with the vagueness of future visions. For now, there was nothing she could do but wait and see. With that in mind, Revan continued with her task of getting ready to leave Illium with very little to make note of. The ''padwork was completed, filed, and approved in short order and no unexpected surprises. By the end of the day Revan and everyone going back to the Quarians would be free to go on their way. And since the danger Revan sensed hadn''t weakened at all, that meant her pursuers were planning on making their move before then. In fact they were probably going to make a move soon. Another two watchers had joined the first while Revan was taking care of her errand and now they had her roughly surrounded. She really doubted they would do that without some kind of goal in¨C The Force screamed as three slightly staggered shots rang out. Revan''s lightsabers were out and ignited in a flash and she managed to disintegrate two of them before they hit her, but she was surprised when the third didn''t come from one of the three watchers but from the same street level she was on. A fourth agent! Revan staggered a bit as the round slammed into her back but thanks to her personal shields and armor she was unharmed. Revan turned to face her closest assailant. A fully armored Asari stood there with a heavy pistol still pointed at the Sith. The gun barked three more times, but now that Revan was aware of her attacker she easily blocked the shots and moved to capture the Asari. Someone had set this up specifically for her. She wanted to know who. But before she could get close the last watcher fired a rocket at her while the two snipers continued to target her. Revan had to pause to not only deflect the gunshots but also so she could focus on redirecting the more explosive threat. A clawed hand reached out and the Sith Empress seized the rocket in a telepathic grip before throwing her arm to the side. Tiny motors on the body of the projectile tried and failed to redirect it back on its intended course as the rocket collided with a parked skycar nearby. Revan twirled her red saber once again to block a fifth sniper round and looked back towards her target. The armored Asari had long since fled while the streets exploded into chaos. Pedestrians panicked at the sudden gunfire and explosions and most of them were doing their best to run away from Revan. Either because they realized she was the one being attacked or at the sight of her lightsabers Revan couldn''t tell. Either way they were doing a wonderful job of hiding Revan''s attacker among them. Or they should have been. Spotting a single Asari out of the hundreds fleeing should have been an impossible task. Even a novice assassin would have known to use the crowd to hide them as they ran or used the chaos to duck down an alley unseen. Yet there she was, clearly visible waving her handgun around before ducking around a corner once she was sure Revan had seen her do so. These attackers couldn''t have raised a bigger sign yelling ''trap!'' if they rented one of the billboards and advertised it there. Unfortunately if Revan wanted answers, she was going to have to spring it. Still, no reason to be reckless about it. Revan put a finger to her ear and activated her comm unit, having long adjusted the technology in her mask to be compatible with this universe''s methods of communication¡­only to quickly discover everything was being blocked by a jamming signal. The only device she could call was the upgraded module she had built for Legion. ¡­the one she hadn''t installed because his frame needed to be repaired or replaced on Rannoch and she decided it would be easier to add it then. "Fine then." Revan muttered under her breath. "You want me by myself? Let''s see how prepared you are for that." -o- As Revan quickly found out, far more prepared than most people. Whoever was calling the shots for this ambush knew how to fight Force users. Revan had dismissed the snipers being specifically prepared for her because slug weaponry was so common compared to her own Galaxy. No energy or particle weapons meant nothing to reflect and theoretically no way for Revan to touch them. But it was the traps they had set up along the assassin''s path that tipped the Sith Empress off. Every single one of them were indirect or area of effect attacks Revan could only dodge or block with a Force Barrier. Explosions, flamethrowers, sonic weaponry. All of it designed or hidden to be as hard for Revan to tell where the flashes of danger were coming from until the last moment. If she didn''t know better she would have assumed it was the work of a Mandalorian. The chase was almost over though. The Asari assassin had stopped running and was waiting for Revan to catch up just ahead. The three other assassins had also rejoined their teammate or were at least spread out in the vicinity. They even added two friends to their number, though one was oddly¡­small¡­in the Force. It was weird to describe. There was no one else in the area though. It seemed whatever this group was, they didn''t want normal civilians around for the final confrontation. She briefly considered acting as if she was tired or injured during her pursuit but discarded the idea. On a personal level she never really liked acting to be at a disadvantage and on a more practical level this group wasn''t likely to underestimate her on perceived injuries anyway. Though there was a chance they might come full circle and think she was hiding any fatigue or injuries by acting unaffected by the various traps they laid out. Brushing that thought aside Revan strode into the park that had been chosen as her ambusher''s battleground. Lots of open space, long sightlines for the snipers, and very little cover that would be more than an inconvenience to even a basic weapon. And in the middle of the park stood the armored Asari assassin and the oddly small Force presence, another Asari. Though that one was outfitted very similarly to what Samara wore. Another Justicar? Neither side said anything as Revan stalked over the open ground, unignited sabers in her hand but ready to bust to life at the slightest sign, until the three of them were separated by only a few feet. After all the effort to lure her here Revan was fully expecting one of them to be at least a little talkative, and she wasn''t disappointed. Once she got close enough the Justicar spoke up, "I think that''s far enough Sith. I''m afraid this will be the site of your death, but as a final mercy I will give you the opportunity to reflect on your sins and beg the Goddess for mercy." Revan was getting flashbacks to some of the more fanatical Jedi she dealt with from time to time. "And what sins would those be, Asari? I''ve acted against no one but the Collectors and if you are an agent of theirs¡­you are late to act." "Do not try to hide it. The very title Sith reveals your crimes against the Light of the Goddess. You are the corruption waiting in the dark and unknown places. And it is the sacred duty of my Order to see you destroyed." Revan tilted her head curiously. "You would judge me purely by a name? I''ve encountered other species who have tales referencing the Sith, yet none of them have decided to hunt me down because of it." A bit of a lie considering the only people in a position to do so were members of either Cerberus or the Normandy''s crew. For all Revan knew there were fanatical orders from other races bent on hunting her down after she named herself Sith Empress of both the Geth and Quarians. Even if she hadn''t made any moves to broadcast that the news had surely leaked by now. But the Asari shook her head. "Wordplay won''t save you. Unlike the other more ignorant races, our order was blessed by the direct teachings of a Saint. A being sent by the Goddess herself to enlighten us of the teachings of the noble Pius Dea. And through the teachings they passed down we know there can be no reconciliation with the monsters of the Sith. You clearly have no intention of repenting so I will not waste time. Sith Revan, you have been judged by the Justicars and the Jedi Order of Athame''s Blades. The sentence is death. May the Goddess be merciful on your wretched soul." The fanatic finished, reaching behind her back. A bright blue blade ignited with an intimately familiar snap-hiss, and then Revan was locked in a five-on-one battle for her life. Mass Effect: Knight of the Old Republic - Chapter 45 Revan didn¡¯t wait for her opponents to make the first move. The second the enemy Justicar drew her lightsaber ¨C and wasn¡¯t that a surprise ¨C Revan blurred into motion. Outnumbered and semi-surrounded as she was, being aggressive was the only way to prevent herself from being slowly picked apart. But she didn¡¯t charge the Justicar, no that would be too predictable. Instead she focused on the third biggest threat, the asari with what looked like a heavy repeating blaster of some kind, since the biggest threat was the Justicar and the second biggest was the sniper the group didn¡¯t seem to realize Revan knew about. Revan thrust her red blade forward expecting to impale the asari, only for the blue near-human to jerk to the side unnaturally. Revan narrowed her eyes as she changed her thrust to a slash that bisected the heavy weapon and glanced at the Justicar. That had been a Force technique, not the biotics Revan had grown used to seeing. It seemed her enemy was not just spouting nonsense when she claimed to be a Jedi. The other enemies recovered from Revan¡¯s sudden move and opened fire. Revan would have loved to finish off her downed opponent but she needed to split her focus between deflecting the incoming gunfire, keeping a metaphorical eye on the sniper, and a more literal eye on the Justicar. She simply couldn¡¯t risk a lucky shot wounding her this early in the fight to completely eliminate a disarmed opponent. Red and blue sabers twirled as Revan fended off the gunfire ¨C slugthrowers, naturally. It would be too convenient otherwise ¨C and moved to engage another assassin. Even if she hadn¡¯t killed the first asari, she had removed her as a major threat. Now Revan needed to cut down the enemy numbers or stop them from freely shooting at her. In the back of her mind, Revan was slightly impressed by the discipline of her attackers. Despite an angry dual-saber wielding Sith bearing down on her, Revan¡¯s current target didn¡¯t panic or try to run. Even when her shots were almost effortlessly deflected. The instant Revan was close enough, a saber rose and fell. The Force shrieked a warning, but it was late. The sound and scent of sizzling flesh filled the air. The Sith turned her head to look at the suddenly much closer Justicar, given that the asari had practically teleported even to Revan¡¯s senses. ¡°You could have defended your subordinate, but you chose to attack me instead. How callous of a self-proclaimed Jedi.¡± ¡°I took advantage of an opening in order to remove the stain of the Sith from the Galaxy.¡± The Justicar retorted. ¡°Letiya should be honored to have given me the opportunity.¡± Revan snorted as the now headless asari slumped to the ground and focused on increasing the reinforcement allowing her so single handedly block the Justicar¡¯s double handed strike despite her arms being crossed across her chest. ¡°Justifying someone else¡¯s suffering as an honor as long as it serves your purposes? Perhaps I was wrong, you¡¯d fit in with some of the Jedi I knew.¡± Further conversation was interrupted by the remaining assassins repositioning and doing their best to avenge their fallen companion. Sith and Justicar separated as an orb of dark energy erupted where they had been standing, the Singularity too slow to do more than briefly hinder the Force wielders. At least it only briefly hindered them until both the Justicar and a member of her entourage glowed blue with biotic auras and fired something resembling a Shockwave directly at the false-black hole. The resulting explosion caught Revan mostly unprepared and sent the Sith flying across the park grounds they were fighting in, but thanks to her personal shields, armor, and using the Force to cushion her fall, she was practically uninjured. Though it seemed she had lost a lightsaber in the process, only the red blade remained in her hand. ¡°Keep pressuring her, huntresses! Without her second blade, she will be on the defensive. Encircle her and whittle her down!¡± ¡°You overestimate yourselves.¡± Revan immediately refuted the Justicar¡¯s words. Instead of hunching down and guarding herself, the Sith became even more aggressive. Lightning surged from her fingertips towards the Jedi pretender while she charged another asari. The sudden appearance of electric tendrils forced the Justicar to root herself in place and defend with her lightsaber and stunned the remaining huntresses for only a moment, but in that moment Revan crossed the distance between her and her target and swung her red blade once. The three remaining huntresses cried out at the death of another one of their members and recklessly opened fire on the Sith, not caring if they risked overheating their weapons as long as they could either wound or kill Revan. The Sith Empress was finally forced to back off as she used her remaining lightsaber to block as much of the incoming fire as possible while keeping an eye on the integrity of her shields for the shots that slipped through. Predictably thanks to the wild firing of the huntresses, two of their guns vented their heatsinks at the same time greatly reducing the pressure Revan was under with the final one being easily defended against until she too overheated her weapon. But just because the huntresses had lost their cool, the Justicar had not. Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. Before Revan could move to eliminate another target she was intercepted by a lightning quick slash that tried to cleave her in half. Rather than meet it head on, Revan angled her blade and stepped to the side allowing the Justicar¡¯s blade to pass by harmlessly before she riposted with a stab of her own. Block, stab, slash, sidestep, counterattack, jump, Force Push, block, slash. The two Force Wielders fell into a complex and deadly dance. Blue and red blades clashed and spun, quickly creating a zone none of the other Asari could interfere with once they had replaced their heatsinks ¨C not without risking hitting the Justicar with a stray shot. Revan¡¯s opponent obviously knew that. Now that her team of assassins had reloaded, she was trying to disengage once more so the Asari could open fire again. Something Revan was not inclined to allow. Theoretically, Revan should be at a disadvantage in a close quarters fight with her heavier armor and after fighting multiple opponents, but reality often laughed at theoreticals. While Revan was not a Mandalorion, she spent nearly as much time in her armor as one. She had grown used to the added weight years ago and still managed to maintain the speed necessary to duel much more experienced Jedi than this knockoff. The other aspect was Revan was simply a better fighter than the Justicar. Even with her focus split between the lightsaber duel and watching the huntresses for signs of a biotic strike or to simply start firing again, Revan still had the Justicar on the defensive. ¡°Was this the best you could do? An ambush followed by this poor display of skill?¡± Revan taunted as she landed a punch on the Justicar¡¯s cheek. Dark purple blood spurted from both a gash caused by Revan¡¯s gauntlet and from a split lip. ¡°For the first self-proclaimed Jedi I¡¯ve encountered in this galaxy you¡¯ve been a massive disappointment.¡± One of the remaining huntresses opened fire and prevented the Sith from finishing off her opponent, but Revan was not concerned. She had the Justicar¡¯s measure. And it fell far short of the opponents she was used to facing. ¡°Your arrogance will be you undoing, Sith!¡± The Justicar spat, literally, as she recovered. ¡°Your ignorance will be yours.¡± Revan replied. The sound of a lightsaber igniting was almost lost under the sounds of the remaining Asari¡¯s gunfire, but the gasp of pain and surprise followed by one of the guns falling silent was attention grabbing enough to get their attention. Revan could feel the shock and dismay from the others as they watched one of their companions slump over dead, stabbed from behind by the Empress¡¯s seemingly discarded lightsaber floating behind her held in an unseen hand. And the Sith was not about to allow the distraction to pass unpunished. She gestured with her free hand and the floating blue blade shot towards one huntress like an arrow while her red blade was turned into a disk of bloody light as she threw it at the other. The Justicar tried to interfere, trying to deflect the projectiles using her own Force powers, but caught off guard and with her attention split between the two different blades¡­ she failed to deflect either enough to prevent Revan from landing a fatal blow. Yet, instead of frustration or anger at the failure, Revan felt elation radiating off the justicar. ¡°I told you your arrogance would be your undoing! Tela, NOW!¡± Ah, the sniper. Revan had been wondering if they were going to merely observe the whole time. Instead they simply had orders to not make a move until Revan showed vulnerability, like if it seemed she was completely disarmed. *snap-hiss!* Which is why it was a good thing Revan was never foolish enough to completely disarm herself as her third lightsaber ignited and blocked the incredibly heavy round the sniper had fired. While the yellow blade was rarely used beyond the rare instances the Sith had allowed Shepard to borrow it for sparring sessions, it was no less effective than Revan¡¯s personal blades. Neither was the small hold-out blaster she pulled into her off hand and fired three shots back towards the source of the sniper shot, though the odds of those killing the sniper¡­ Revan pushed the thought from her mind and returned the blaster to its holster even as her red and blue lightsabers returned to circle protectively around her. ¡°I believe I said your ignorance would be yours.¡± She calmly told the Justicar. ¡°Now then, it is time to end this.¡± -o- Tela Vasir cursed as she stumbled down the hallway of the building she had been using as a sniper nest, her nearly dislocated shoulder sending shooting pains down her arm. Normally she would never use something like the M-98 Widow, preferring guns that didn¡¯t try to rip her arm off when she fired them, but Keayla had insisted on her using the highest power rifle she could get her hands on. Tela had thought the Justicar was being overcautious. The Widow was meant to take down Krogans and armored vehicles, not single lightly armored fighters! But that was before the Spectre had seen exactly what kind of monster the Justicar had been after. Five Huntresses, a Council Spectre, and a Justicar¡­ That should have been more than enough to kill anyone caught alone and unsupported. Whatever the hells this Sith was had torn through them instead. Tela swallowed nervously and glanced down at the remains of her sniper scope, where the thin metal casing had warped and deformed from catching one of the blasts her target had snapped off after pulling another of those bullshit swords from her ass. The Spectre didn¡¯t know what gun she used or how a handgun managed to be even remotely accurate enough at the range it had been fired, but she did know one thing. If Tela had been just a few inches to the side - that bolt would have caught her in the forehead instead of her scope. Monster. That thing was a monster. And to make things worse all Tela could do without a working rifle was follow the instructions Keayla had given her and watch the Justicar fight for her life through the several cameras they had set up before the confrontation. Keayla T''raosir was a blur speed and grace, fending off two magically floating swords even as she fought the Sith. Vasir was one of the most physically fit Asari in the galaxy, her job demanded her to be, but compared to the Justicar she would have been as slow and clumsy as an Elcor. But it wasn¡¯t helping. All those feats of near supernatural skill and athleticism, her biotic might, and even the other powers Keayla had briefly shown off meant nothing as the Justicar was forced firmly on the defensive. The Sith seemed to know exactly what Keayla was going to do before she even did it. Feints, slashes, stabs, and even unarmed strikes were countered. Pieces of scenery were somehow ripped up and thrown at the Monster but were stopped or redirected before they got close. And biotics seemed to splash over some sort of unseen dome or shield. Keayla was tiring. And the Monster seemed to just march indomitably forward. The yellow blade was returned to wherever it had been hidden and the red and blue ones were back in the Sith¡¯s hands. At this point, all Keayla could do was fend off the inevitable. The glowing blades continued to clash long enough for Tela to reach the skycar they had stashed for her to leave the scene in and the Spectre considered disobeying the Justicar¡¯s orders to just ram the whole thing into the Monster. But just as she started the vehicle, she knew that she would be too late. Keayla made a mistake¡­ and the Sith had removed her right hand for it, the one that had been holding her lightsaber. Tela could only watch as the two seemed to talk to one another, but the cameras hadn¡¯t been wired for sound and Keayla¡¯s comm wasn¡¯t connecting. Whatever conversation the two had, it wasn¡¯t very long. Or at least Keayla didn¡¯t intend to drag it out. She made one desperate gesture for her fallen blade¡­ ¡­and was stabbed through the heart when the Sith closed the distance faster than the lightsaber could return to her remaining hand. Tela let out a few more curses at that and pulled out the special communicator Keayla had stored in the Skycar. A final contingency if she was killed and the Sith survived. She waited until it connected and said one word. ¡°Knightfall.¡± ¡°...understood. Proceed to these coordinates, there will be someone to debrief you. Were you able to recover Knight T''raosir¡¯s weapon?¡± Knight? No, that wasn¡¯t important right now. But Tela did remember Keayla giving the Huntresses orders to retreat with her lightsaber if she was killed before they were. ¡°No, I was on overwatch. No one else survived.¡± ¡°No one!? I see¡­this is a bigger threat than we expected. Head to those coordinates, Sprectre. May the Force and the Goddess be with you.¡± Mass Effect: Knight of the Old Republic - Chapter 46 The first thing Revan did after she confirmed there were no more surprises waiting for her was leave the area and try calling the Normandy crew. Yes, her assailants had called her out specifically. But that didn¡¯t mean there weren¡¯t other teams tasked with killing Revan¡¯s allies just in case the attack on her failed. It took several tries to get out from under the jamming effect - whatever the Asari used must have been really high end - but once she was, her comms were assaulted by a flood of messages from various contacts. Most of them were attempts to contact her with little extra information attached, but the last one was a message from Shepard. Apparently Revan wasn¡¯t the only one having issues with assassins today. Shepard¡¯s friend Liara had been attacked by mercenaries hired by the Shadow Broker. The Asari had been investigating the Broker¡¯s identity and location and either got too close or was being used as a message, but either way Shepard had decided leaving the planet quickly was the best way to deal with the small army after them. She had mentioned that if anyone wanted to come along she would hold the ship for half an hour, but Revan was nowhere near the docks. It looked like she would be separating from the Normandy crew without a formal farewell. Unfortunate, but they would see each other when Shepard dropped off Tali¡¯Zorah. The Sith Empress simply didn¡¯t have time to run off on a mission to protect a single information broker right now. She had two previously hostile races to integrate into a single empire and now a hidden Jedi sect to hunt down which were going to be headaches on their own. Putting those off would only make them worse too, especially the Jedi sect. As much as it would entertain her to dump a video of an Asari dressed up like a Justicar trying to assassinate a head of state with a kill team¡­not many people would care at the moment. Sith Empress of the Quarians and Geth sounded impressive, but in reality Revan had very little power associated with the title right now. The various politicians in the galaxy were definitely cautious about the remerging of the two races after three hundred years of conflict, but beyond that single accomplishment Revan herself was an unknown. The Geth would follow her with little effort thanks to their nature, the promises she made, and the updates they received from Legion but the Quarians had very little trust in her. The only thing keeping them from splitting off and remaining independent was the fact Revan was offering them the single thing their entire race desired - the return of their homeworld. Revan could bring the assassination attempt to light - simply dump it on the extranet and let the fire spread from there - but all it would accomplish is cause the Asari Republic to disavow the Jedi as someone using the Justicar uniform as a false flag and make the Quarians nervous. She needed to actually spend some time ruling them before the thought of their Empress coming under attack sparked the desire for retribution that would make further assassination attempts a risk for those attempting them rather than a passing event for the rest of the galaxy. No time like the present then. ¡°Legion, are you still at the warehouse?¡± ¡°Yes, Revan-Empress.¡± ¡°Good. The transport ship should be there momentarily. As soon as it is, start loading the cargo and prepare to leave. Keep an eye out for potential enemies. It seems we¡¯ve run out our welcome on Illium.¡± ¡°Understood. Are we returning without Creator Tali¡¯Zorah?¡± ¡°Unless Shepard is waiting for us in orbit we will probably have to.¡° Revan replied. ¡°But if the Shadow Broker is after their friend they might stay radio silent until they can hide her or pay him off.¡± Liara was essentially evicted from the planet without enough time to retrieve the databases she had built up. Without those she would be starting from scratch if she was going to attempt searching for the Shadow Broker again. Enough credits or a favor owed from a famous figure like Shepard should be plenty to get the mysterious information broker to back off. Provided Liara agreed to some conditions, of course. -o- ¡°There¡¯s Hagalaz. The oceans boil during the day, then snap-freeze ten minutes after sundown.¡± Liara commented as they watched the planet grow closer on the monitor. The entire planet was a series of seemingly never ending storms that raged across the surface, throwing lightning strikes miles long. Shepard frowned as the turbulence grew worse. ¡°The Shadow Broker lives in this?¡± ¡°His ship follows the sunset. Completely undetectable in the storm, unless you know where to look.¡± ¡°How do we get inside?¡± ¡°The shuttlebay is locked down. We¡¯ll need to land on the ship and look for a hatch.¡± Liara explained. ¡°But we can¡¯t stay outside for long. There¡¯s a constant lightning storm where the hot and cold air collide.¡± ¡°Then we¡¯ll move quickly.¡± Shepard said shortly and began checking over her gear. ¡°...Shepard¡­I-¡± If you stumble upon this tale on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. ¡°Don¡¯t Liara.¡± Shepard interrupted. ¡°You were the one that wanted to stay focused on the mission. Get in, get Feron, get out. Kill anything in the way.¡± The Spectre wasn¡¯t exactly thrilled with her friend at the moment. She had hoped the last meeting with Liara had been an outlier, but the Asari Scientist had truly changed over the past two years. The sincere, slightly naive young maiden had been completely buried under the cold information broker facade she now wore, and it had killed a lot of Shepard¡¯s hopes that the two of them could salvage what was left of their budding relationship from two years ago. Liara was absolutely right that two years of grieving didn¡¯t just vanish, but when someone¡¯s personality changed so much that you barely recognized them¡­did you really know them at all? Shepard had known Revan for slightly less time than she had Liara on their hunt for Saren, but the Commander knew that the Sith despised innocents getting caught in the crossfire of organizations. For all she disagreed with Revan¡¯s ¡®big picture¡¯ approach to most problems, Shepard knew the Sith would take steps to make sure the damage was as light as possible even if it made things more difficult for her. Liara had recently written off teams of Shadow Broker Agents killing their way through the city as a good distraction. Maybe it had been a deflection from how she really felt, maybe it had been a slip of the tongue, it could have even been an act she was used to keeping up¡­whatever it actually was, Shepard decided to listen to Liara¡¯s advice and focus on the mission. Personal feelings could be soothed later¡­or reevaluated if it came to that. It wouldn¡¯t be the first time Shepard had lost friends over some poor word choices after time and trauma changed them or her. ¡°...of course¡­most of the exterior machinery will be maintenance equipment. Our best bet will be to find an entrance by the more protected areas - likely towards the back shielding¡­¡± Shepard finished her equipment check and did her best to settle in and listen to Liara¡¯s brief despite the shuttle¡¯s shaking. But part of her couldn¡¯t help thinking that they were supposed to be celebrating a successful mission right about now, not jumping into another one on short notice. Hopefully the team members they needed to leave behind made it off Illium without too much trouble. No one had been able to reach Revan during the rush back to the Normandy which worried the Commander. The Sith had been simply finalizing some details for the trip back to the Migrant Fleet. There shouldn¡¯t have been a reason for her to ignore all attempts to reach her. Shepard gave herself a mental shake. She could worry about her fellow squad leader later. Right now she needed to keep her mind focused on what she could affect right now. -o- Riossha Raus was close to a mental breakdown. It had been a completely normal day on Illium yet in the last three hours half of Nos Astra seemed determined to tear the capital city apart in some kind of shadow war. Normally Riossha would have written the whole thing off as the various corporations jockeying for a better negotiating position and let the various contract enforcement branches take a chunk of credits out of the offenders but then she had heard who exactly was involved. Commander Shepard - the possibly disgraced, possibly not Council Spectre that had been rumored dead only to come back just as suddenly. Even if Riossha had managed to get the human in custody there was no way she would dare to actually level charges. That was a good way to end up dead since the Council really didn¡¯t like anyone else touching their Spectres without their permission or very strong evidence that the Spectre in question had gone rogue. And as far as she knew Shepard had nothing like that announced. Liara T¡¯Soni - on the surface a middling tier information broker that was shifting careers after a rather spotty record with archeology. Swapping careers was not an uncommon act for Maidens after getting in over their heads, though Riossha would have expected the Maiden to choose something more physical like dancing or mercenary work after failing an intellectual field. But Liara was also a T¡¯Soni. Her mother might have pissed a lot of people off with her support of Arterius, but Benenzia had been one of the most powerful Matriarchs in the galaxy and had a lot of friends, even after her death. Even more blackmail too. If she had given that to Liara maybe it made more sense for the girl to play at being a broker. And then there was the Shadow Broker - one of the most untouchable forces in the galaxy simply because of the service they provided. Everyone wanted information and secrets that belonged to their opponents after all. And as long as you could cough up the credits, the Shadow Broker would deliver. The problem with that was you often found out a previously trusted subordinate just so happened to be an Agent of theirs at the worst possible moment. Riossha¡¯s secretary had suppressed the notifications to security forces about a small army shooting Nos Astra up until it spread to every vid-cast show on the planet. Riossha could certainly blame the Broker, but even if everyone believed the damage was not her fault she would still be held responsible simply because the Broker was too valuable to lose access to. If that was all it would have been a massive headache, but something that could be eventually suppressed or spun into something that no one would care about in a few years. But then Riossha was handed a report that a Justcar had been found dead in a park along with a team of Huntresses with no sign of their enemy and now Riossha had to very seriously consider that her planet might become the frontline to an actual war between the Asari Republic and the Shadow Broker. Shepard was known to have picked up a Justicar for her team somehow and Liara had been seen fleeing with the Spectre on the other side of the city so it would take a very large bribe to spin either of them being the killer, which meant the only realistic party Riossha could pin the blame on when the Republic inevitably called to demand why one of their most venerated agents was killed on what should have been a safe world was the Shadow Broker¡¯s forces. It was something that was almost guaranteed to end in either Riossha¡¯s dismissal or death but there was nothing she could do. The best she could hope for was that the Broker and the Republic could come to a backroom deal soon that would leave the bigger players satisfied and she provide a scapegoat for the Justicar that would let her keep her life and cushy position at the same time. In fact Riossha had an idea. All she needed to do was find the camera footage from the area around the Justicar and selectively pull a few individuals that looked dangerous enough to have a chance at ambushing a Justicar and replace the actual assailants with them. With some luck she could push the blame on to a few small mercenary teams and not the Shadow Broker¡¯s agents! She quickly wrote up the new orders and sent them off to a few agents she hoped she could trust, praying to the Goddess she wasn¡¯t just giving another infiltrator more ammunition to get her removed. -o- ¡°It¡¯s gotten pretty crowded lately.¡± Rosu''Caedor vas Saezorn commented casually as his group waited in line at the cafeteria. Quarian ships tended to be crowded at the best of times, but with so many returning to the Fleet the problem had only gotten worse. Rosu could barely walk through the halls at times because of how many people were trying to pass by! ¡°Not surprising. The Admirals called back everyone they could to resettle Rannoch.¡± Rine''Molun replied. ¡°Not all of them had ships of their own so they¡¯re getting packed anywhere that has room. I hear even the Liveships are running out of space.¡± ¡°Can you blame them? We¡¯re going back to Rannoch! I¡¯d have dropped everything too.¡± Ken''Sorrel exclaimed. ¡°We really lucked out the Empress was so generous. No more war, new tech to examine, and our home back. She really saved us.¡± ¡°Are you joking? She¡¯s exploiting us with our own planet!¡± Huli''Lumor shot back. ¡°I don¡¯t trust her either. Shows up out of nowhere and accuses the Admirals of all that nonsense. If she didn¡¯t have some leash on the Geth we should have just shot down her shuttle and taken Rannoch back ourselves.¡± ¡°You mean the very clearly documented and proven manipulation of Tali¡¯Zorah¡¯s trial to forward their political agendas?¡± Rosu quirked his head. ¡°I don¡¯t like some alien deciding they are in charge any more than you, but except for Shala¡¯Raan the Admirals pretty obviously stabbed Tali in the back.¡± ¡°But the Empress straightened them out.¡± Ken insisted. ¡°She¡¯s clearly a good person.¡± Huli snorted. ¡°Yeah right¡­¡± ¡°BUT,¡± Rosu continued before the two could keep arguing. ¡°I have to admit Empress Revan has been holding up her end of the deal pretty well so far. Those Geth ships have been providing a lot of material we were pretty desperate for. Even with all the people coming back I think the ships are running more smoothly than they have in decades.¡± ¡°...do you think they¡¯ll keep them around when we get to Rannoch?¡± Rine asked the group softly. ¡°We¡¯ll have a planet again. We won¡¯t need them.¡± The group was silent for a bit as they realized despite any misgivings, life for every Quarian was going to change in a way unprecedented for over three hundred years. ¡°We¡¯ll still need them.¡± Huli eventually said. ¡°Revan said those Reaper things were on the way, right? We¡¯ll need the Heavy Fleet at the least for that. Plus vessels for shipping and transport. The Migrant Fleet might not be around after this, but our ships won¡¯t just disappear.¡± ¡°They¡¯ll be better than ever.¡± Ken added, ever the optimist. ¡°With a proper dock we can even do some refits. Maybe even build new ships! I got a look at the designs for something called a Harrower¡­¡± Mass Effect: Knight of the Old Republic - Chapter 47 It was a beautiful sight, Revan decided, as she watched the majority of the Migrant Fleet slowly drift past a gas giant. Little probes occasionally shot down towards the planet or back towards the fleet, busy harvesting the He3 needed for the bigger ships¡¯ reactors. It was calming. Especially since the Quarians had the process refined to an artform. A coordinated dance of vessels all buzzing around to keep the fleet as a whole supplied in the shortest time possible. She couldn¡¯t watch much longer though, there were still several things she needed to do today. Such as dealing with the meeting that was about to start. Several holobanks lit up right on time and the forms of the Quarian Admirals flickered into view. Revan was briefly reminded of the disappointing meeting with the Citadel Council and her brief lesson on politics with Shepard and Anderson. Though that was mostly just because they were all using holotanks and not because there was a deliberate snub on any of their parts. Unlike what happened at the Human Councilor¡¯s office, there was simply too much to do to justify all of them traveling to one ship just for a face to face meeting. There were hundreds of ships to coordinate, updates and ready reports from various sub leaders to shift through, and dozens of other tasks to deal with. Each. It wasn¡¯t everyday that two previously warring species prepared to combine into one entity afterall. So Revan could forgive the Admirals wanting to make sure everything about today went as smoothly as possible rather than play political games. She actually respected them for it. Especially since her ego wasn¡¯t so fragile she needed the constant assurances to how great she was for allowing this to happen or some such like Malak had degenerated to after his betrayal. ¡°Are we ready to begin then?¡± The Empress questioned once the connection between them all stabilized. Mostly rhetorical at this point. Too many things were already in motion to simply stop now. ¡°The Heavy Fleet is standing by. We¡¯re ready for FTL as soon as we get the word.¡± Han¡¯Gerrel confirmed. ¡°We¡¯ve sent a message to all vessels to cease resupply efforts and return to their ships.¡± Zaal¡¯Koris said. ¡°Once that is complete the Civilian Fleet will be ready as well.¡± ¡°Special Projects are secured and waiting on our¡­escorts¡­to arrive.¡± Daro¡¯Xen added, still upset at being forced to acknowledge the Geth would not be subordinated to the Quarians again and would be operating as equals. Which, oddly enough, made her group the hardest to control. Revan had thought the Heavy Fleet full of Quarians itching for a fight would be the ones she needed to keep an eye on, instead it was the scientists who just couldn¡¯t seem to understand no really meant ¡®no¡¯ when it came to trying to enslave the Geth. ¡°Good, then we are just waiting for the Geth fleet to link up with ours. Admiral Raan, what¡¯s the timeline look like?¡± ¡°Forward elements of the Scout Fleet are on their way back after confirming the escort fleet. We should link up with them within an hour and then we will be ready to make the jump to Rannoch.¡± Shala¡¯Raan reported. Revan nodded, everything was on schedule then. Something of a novelty when it came to fleets with the numbers they were dealing with but once again, the Quarians had honed this aspect of space travel to a fine art. ¡°Excellent, then shall we end this now? I¡¯m sure there are still matters that each of you need to address before we go to hyper- to FTL.¡± she corrected herself. ¡°Actually, Revan, we had some concerns we wanted to raise and figured this would be the best time.¡± Shala¡¯Raan spoke up. Revan¡¯s hand paused over the disconnect button but she had no issue turning to meet the admiral¡¯s own visor. ¡°Concerns, Admiral?¡± ¡°Yes, specifically about the orders to abandon some of our older ships.¡± Raan clarified. ¡°It¡¯s not that we don¡¯t understand the desire to phase out the more damaged ships, especially since we would be able to relocate the crews to Rannoch and not overstrain the support systems of other ships, but¡­¡± She trailed off, apparently having trouble coming up with how to phrase the next part. ¡°But we don¡¯t trust you.¡± Han¡¯Gerrel stated bluntly after it was clear Shala¡¯Raan wasn¡¯t going to find a polite way to say things. ¡°You or your Geth. And without those ships we won¡¯t be able to evacuate everyone if this is some elaborate trap. We would be forced to leave some behind for you to do who knows what with.¡± ¡°Ehem, not that we are expecting some sort of treachery at this point.¡± Zaal¡¯Koris jumped in, in a pacifying voice. It actually amused Revan how quick the Admiral spoke up to shield his companion from any anger his blunt statement could have generated. ¡°But we need to keep the safety of the Fleet in mind and several of the ships you have listed for priority dismantling are too important to simply abandon for little reason.¡± This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it. ¡°I understand your hesitation, Admirals. But the reality is that that isn¡¯t your call to make anymore.¡± Revan reminded them. ¡°And we all have too much to do to repeat this dance of you all saying you cannot trust me and me telling you to do so anyway.¡± ¡°We are aware, which is why we wanted this cleared up now rather than let suspicions fester.¡± Shala¡¯Raan played peacekeeper once again. ¡°Very well, what questions did you have specifically?¡± ¡°Why the sudden demand to have these ships decommissioned?¡± Han¡¯Gerrel demanded. ¡°Even with the space on Rannoch to live there is no reason to phase this many ships all at once.¡± Simple enough. ¡°We need the metal to finish building the fleet that will replace them.¡± Revan replied. ¡°The Geth were able to supply nearly all of the material needed for the frames and armor without issue but the interior plating is harder to come by since the Geth do not require compartments to be airtight in their own designs.¡± ¡°New ships?¡± Daro¡¯Xen quirked her head. ¡°I wasn¡¯t aware that we would be commissioning new vessels, though I suppose with the Geth¡¯s infrastructure it would be hard to accomplish. I don¡¯t see why this is so important then, yes some ships in the fleet are¡­less functional¡­than we would like, but anything you replace them with will not be too much of an overall improvement based on designs available for purchase.¡± The scientist paused. ¡°¡­unless you are converting Geth designs to be usable for an organic crew, I suppose. In which case I would be happy to lend my expertise in correcting any flaws-¡± ¡°We aren¡¯t using Geth designs.¡± Revan cut her off. ¡°Modifying those for efficient organic use would take years. The Geth, and Quarians once the initial settlement efforts are completed, will be working to build the designs that I have provided. As for why you haven¡¯t heard about this¡­I believe we had a meeting scheduled two days from now to discuss shipbuilding. It would have been covered there, but the files are already available for you to look at.¡± Daro¡¯Xen immediately pulled up her omnitool and presumably began digging through the files Revan had shared. The others glanced at the files but after a moment dismissed them to look over later. ¡°That¡­is another thing we were hoping you would clear up.¡± Zaal¡¯Koris said hesitantly. ¡°All these designs, they are completely different from anything I¡¯ve ever seen. You talked about technology being given to the Geth, the same Geth who are more advanced than most races in the galaxy. Which really begs the question¡­who are you? Who are your backers? Because this is beyond you being the face of some splinter group.¡± Revan had wondered when they would get around to asking something like that, though she was a little disappointed it hadn¡¯t happened after they arrived at Rannoch. It would have made for fewer distractions. ¡°I don¡¯t mind answering but is there a particular reason you feel this can¡¯t wait?¡± ¡°Is it unreasonable for us to be curious about our new leader?¡± Shala¡¯Raan said innocently, though she didn¡¯t fool Revan for an instant. It seemed the admirals had picked up her distaste for most of the using Tali¡¯Zorah¡¯s trial as a means to advance various plots and upending Revan¡¯s plan at the same time and were using Shala¡¯Raan as a mouthpiece since Revan had a better impression of her overall. ¡°I suppose not. What do you want to know?¡± ¡°Where do you come from? We know you aren¡¯t human or asari.¡± ¡°Very well, this is a bit of a long story but at l suppose you deserve to hear it. In a galaxy far, far away there is a planet named Dantooine¡­¡± -o- ¡°We might have an issue.¡± Councilor Valern said as the rest of the councilors settled into the meeting room. ¡°Another vague rumor about our favorite Empress that deserves our full attention despite doing nothing countless other leaders are doing and hundreds of more pressing matters to discuss?¡± Anderson sniped but went largely ignored. All of them knew he was due to be replaced in a few weeks and most of them were not even bothering to pretend to respect each other at this point. ¡°Councilors, please, let¡¯s at least try to keep things civil.¡± Tevos pleaded. ¡°Valern, what issue do you have to bring up?¡± ¡°As it so happens, it does have to do with Revan.¡± Spartacus groaned. ¡°What, did she manage to convince the Batarians to join her empire? Are we going to have to seriously consider war with the Terminus Systems now?¡± ¡°Thankfully not, but we may have to consider a war between them and the Asari Republic instead. They would be mostly justified as well.¡± The other three councilors perked up at the unexpected news. ¡°Excuse me?!¡± Tevos practically shrieked in an uncharacteristic break in composure. ¡°What Goddess damned reason could the Republic have for trying to start a war?¡± ¡°The attempted assassination of their head of state by a Justicar and a team of Huntresses.¡± Valern replied, pulling up a file from his omnitool. The Council watched several camera feeds cut together that showed the masked form of the Sith Empress walking down a city street before she was ambushed. From there it showed her pursuing her attackers, snippets of various traps being set off from security cameras, and a significant amount of collateral damage being done before the Sith headed towards a park area and confronted the Justicar and her team. The quality was abysmal, but clear enough to show the Justicar¡¯s side was the same that had initiated the hostilities¡­ ¡­it also showed them getting annihilated by a single combatant. ¡°This is just some of what the STG teams in the area managed to piece together.¡± Valern continued. ¡°More instances are being uploaded to the extranet every hour as more people go digging for details. Unfortunately the only footage we¡¯ve retrieved of the main fight has been incidental background shots from cameras that just happened to be pointed in the right direction. Anything directly pointed at the park has been blocked or disabled but they were able to determine all of the Justicar¡¯s team was killed except for possibly one. Which may be a blessing in disguise for us.¡± Sparatus leaned forward on his podium. ¡°This is on Illium, correct? Why is this even being broadcast, the governor should have put a lid on everything until we could work out a response.¡± ¡°The initial broadcast was made from the governor¡¯s office.¡± Valern said helplessly. Tevos seemed to snap back to attention. ¡°What possessed her to do that? Anything involving the death of a Justicar, especially one involving a major public figure should have been fully investigated before any action was taken!¡± ¡°It seems she was using this incident to distract from a major gun fight that was ravaging other parts of the city. A full conflict between Jane Shepard and her crew, Liara T¡¯Soni, and the Shadow Broker¡¯s forces. We¡¯ve also held back Revan¡¯s status from the public until we had more information and could avoid causing another Geth panic. Governor Raus didn¡¯t know who she was attempting to use as a distraction.¡± ¡°Damn, if a Spectre was implicated in causing the death of a Justicar, that could have kicked off its own war. Is there a chance we can wash our hands of this by disavowing Shepard as a Spectre?¡± ¡°Now hold on a minute!¡± Anderson objected explosively at the Turian Councilor. ¡°I have yet to see any evidence Shepard was even involved with this other Justicar. I won¡¯t let her take the fall for us just because it would be convenient!¡± ¡°It wouldn¡¯t work anyway.¡± Tevos sighed as she cradled her head. ¡°Revan wasn¡¯t seen leaving with the Normandy so it would be easy to say there was no affiliation. It also doesn¡¯t help that there was another Spectre involved with this mess, so if that ever comes to light we will lose all credibility.¡± Valern nodded. ¡°Yes, Spectre Vasir. She submitted a report about being involved in some capacity. Thankfully she was not captured on recording just yet but we can¡¯t risk it coming out later. Disavowing Shepard without solid proof is not possible either.¡± ¡°I think the obvious thing to do is figure out why an Asari Justicar decided to launch a full assassination attempt on what should be to the wider galaxy a completely random person.¡± Anderson said drolly. ¡°Rather than just trying to figure out how to blame someone else for our problems.¡± The other three councilors exchanged glances but ultimately agreed. The clock on controlling the narrative of what happened in Nos Astra was ticking. And if they wanted to be the ones to come out ahead, they needed a more complete picture on what happened. Especially if they wanted to avoid the newest warlord in the galaxy using this as leverage to make demands of her own. Mass Effect: Knight of the Old Republic - Chapter 48 ¡°I have the updates on the fleet construction you asked for, Empress Revan.¡± Reesa''Hurah announced as she entered the office, crossing the room and handing the Sith a datapad. ¡°Good, any surprises I should know about?¡± ¡°It¡¯s in the summary, but several engine components are going to be delayed due to manufacturing errors that were discovered. It turns out that the waldos the Geth used for their own ships were just barely within tolerance. But trying to run them continuously like that weakened some of the structures, made some of those tolerances slip, and it wasn¡¯t caught until later in the QA process. We¡¯re going to have to scrap most of the parts we already made, rebuild the waldos properly, and remake the necessary parts.¡± Revan sighed inaudibly. That was a delay they didn¡¯t need but there wasn¡¯t much she could do about it now. ¡°How is that affecting the fleet?¡± ¡°Luckily we caught the faulty parts before they were installed on much, but most of the escort classes are going to be missing engines until the issue is fixed. By the end of the week we will only have five Harrowers fully operational, ten Centurions, and thirty Terminus-class destroyers. Not to mention we are still bleeding operational warships as we decommission and break them for materials. Admiral Han¡¯Gerrel in particular was concerned about how many ships we have going to the breakers and how few replacements we have.¡± ¡°Remind him that the new ships we are building are worth any three of a similar class he already has. That should calm him down.¡± ¡°Yes, but I think his concern is more about the displaced crews.¡± Reesa offered. ¡°A lot of them are going a little stir crazy being locked planetside.¡± ¡°The appeal of the Homeworld is already wearing off, hmm?¡± ¡°N-no, not at all!¡± Revan merely glanced at her secretary. One of the benefits to dealing with a race that used full bodysuits was that she barely needed to use the Force to convey her disbelief in that statement. Her body language was plenty. ¡°Okay, maybe a little. It¡¯s not that we are ungrateful, but several of our more active members have grown¡­bored. And thanks to the Geth automating most of the work planetside, there isn¡¯t much they can do to distract themselves.¡± Revan nodded and made a note to see what could be done there without compromising their timeline more than it already was before checking a holo for the time. She still had a few minutes to spare but if possible she wanted to wrap this up. ¡°Is there anything else I should know about?¡± ¡°No, Empress. Everything else is in the report. Other than that, your ship is ready to leave for Omega once you¡¯re on board.¡± ¡°Then let¡¯s not keep them waiting.¡± -o- Very little had changed on Omega as far as Revan was concerned since the last time she was here. It was still a hive of scum and villainy barely kept from total violence out of fear of messing with the ¡®Queen of Omega¡¯s operations. And those that ignored that fact were quick to either find themselves with some rather ruinous debts or simply disappeared¡­if they were lucky. It was also the kind of place she would rather not make many investments in because if Aria was ever deposed, the resulting chaos would almost certainly see those investments ruined or stolen. Unfortunately, the asteroid station was also the largest supplier of Element Zero in the Terminus Systems and her Empire needed that. Eezo was simply too integrated into most modern designs and without a stable supply, a great amount of her already stressed industrial base would simply shut down. And while Revan knew she could eventually replace some of that dependency with technology from her home galaxy, that would be a labor taking years to complete at minimum and be fairly worthless if the logistics to feed those technologies wasn¡¯t in place. Did you know this text is from a different site? Read the official version to support the creator. Which wasn¡¯t to say she hadn¡¯t already tasked the Geth with gathering certain materials when possible. The Sith sighed and refocused on her meditation. Aria was already late for their meeting and Revan knew it was deliberate. Unlike Shepard, who despite her fame - was a mere soldier and commander of a single ship, Revan was something of a peer. Which naturally meant she couldn¡¯t just walk on up to the ruler of Omega. No, that would be far too easy. Instead Aria needed to put on a show of making Revan wait. And Revan was inclined to let her. After all, all she lost was a bit of time to let Aria approach their meeting when she felt comfortable. But after another fifteen minutes and no sign of Aria asking her to join her for an audience Revan is forced to assume they¡¯ve skipped past the pleasantries and moved straight to the part where Aria tries to see exactly how far Revan would allow herself to be pushed around. Forty five minutes should be enough to show respect but not deference. And if it wasn¡¯t¡­well Revan wasn¡¯t exactly desperate for Aria¡¯s help specifically. The Sith smoothly rose from her meditative position and made her way out to the dance floor of Afterlife and then made a direct line for the observation booth Aria used as her ¡®throne room¡¯. A Batarian guard attempted to get in her way, but a wave of her hand had him pinned helplessly against the wall as she walked up the stairs and into Aria¡¯s space. ¡°I didn¡¯t invite you up here. If you know what¡¯s good for you, I¡¯d leave before I decide to learn who you are.¡± Revan had to give the Asari one thing. She certainly had the aloof and disinterested act down pat. She also didn¡¯t believe for a second that Aria hadn¡¯t been watching her the entire time. ¡°Let¡¯s move past the games, shall we? You may enjoy them but my time is more valuable than that.¡± ¡°That¡¯s not the attitude of someone coming to ask for a favor, Revan.¡±The Asari Pirate Queen dropped the pretense of not knowing her guest. ¡°Because I¡¯m not asking for a favor.¡± The Sith Empress replied. ¡°This is simply a business transaction. ¡°You say that, but what you¡¯re asking goes beyond just business. Sixty percent of Omega¡¯s Eezo export? Even if you can afford it, that''s going to upset people. Especially the nosey ones out in Citadel space that think they have a say in what goes on here. I don¡¯t know if you¡¯re worth the effort.¡± ¡°I would think that would be a decision for Omega¡¯s mining companies to determine.¡± Aria¡¯s smile was a vicious little thing. ¡°Maybe Shepard didn¡¯t tell you before she ran off to blow up an entire star system. Omega doesn¡¯t have a titled ruler because it doesn¡¯t need one and there is only one rule to follow. Don¡¯t fuck with Aria. The reason for that is simple. I. AM. Omega. So, convince me why I should put up with some old ladies¡¯ whining for some backwater warlord.¡± Revan didn¡¯t bristle at the frankly mild insult. Instead she leaned forward and prepared herself for a probably very annoying conversation where the both of them tried to wring everything possible out of the other without giving up too much. ¡°I¡¯m sure I can give you some incentives¡­¡± In the end they didn¡¯t come to an agreement. At least not a long term one. Aria eventually sold Revan a good amount of Eezo that would satisfy her needs for a few months, but had absolutely refused to commit to anything like a long term contract. Which was especially frustrating for the Sith because she did not have the time to come and personally negotiate a sale every time her empire needed to buy Eezo. Maybe next time she came, it would be on one of the almost completed Harrowers. She always found stubborn leaders much more flexible when a dreadnought was nearby. Even Omega¡¯s large collection of mercenary ships would be cautious of picking a fight with an Imperial battlegroup. Especially if they didn¡¯t have a unified command structure. Revan brushed those thoughts away and stood to leave, but paused when Aria had one more thing to say. ¡°Before you go, you should know there has been a group of Asari poking around looking for you. Weird religious types. Normally I wouldn¡¯t say anything, but they¡¯ve been annoying me. Thought you would like to know.¡± Religious Asari looking for Revan specifically? It didn¡¯t take a leap in logic to guess they were connected to the knock-off Jedi Order she had encountered on Illium. ¡°I see. Thank you for the information.¡± Aria smirked. ¡°It¡¯s no trouble. Either you take care of them for me or they take care of you. No matter what, they won¡¯t be my problem any longer. -o- Despite her desire to know more about a Force Sect that had somehow managed to make its way to this galaxy, Revan had no intention of searching them out just because Aria had dangled some information in front of her nose. In fact she had been fully intent on just leaving Omega immediately to return to Rannoch. Yes, she would need to deal with the Pius Dea and whatever issue they had with her eventually, but that could wait. There were simply too many bigger plans in motion to dedicate time to hunting down a single Force sect. Not with an entire Fleet to modernize and update, several planets to fortify, and a war with the Batarians to plan. Because time was ticking down until the Reapers arrived. And the galaxy was not ready. It had been a bitter relief when Shepard had sent her a message about what had happened at the Alpha Relay. The Reapers had indoctrinated an entire research team tasked with looking at different artifacts from both the Sovereign Incident as well as a few others discovered elsewhere, and had used them to reconfigure the Mass Effect relay to retrieve them from darkspace in a similar way the Citadel was supposed to be used. Revan didn¡¯t know the full story - Shepard¡¯s message was woefully brief besides the facts - but it had resulted in the Commander crashing an asteroid into the Relay which, weakened by the slapdash modifications made by the indoctrinated scientists, went critical and destroyed the system along with a batarian colony of about 300,000 citizens. Shepard finished the message saying that she was heading back to Alliance space to surrender for trial regarding the incident. A move Revan understood given Shepard¡¯s personality but couldn¡¯t help but be frustrated with on a strategic scale. The Reapers had just shown they could still use the Relay Network to return at any point and were only stopped by what was essentially a large amount of luck. And Revan¡¯s biggest ally in driving the need to prepare for the Reapers outside her own powerbase had just been taken off the board. And there was nothing stopping the Reapers from making the same modifications to another Relay somewhere anyone not indoctrinated would notice. So yes, Revan considered anything not an immediate threat as something that would have to wait until her fleet was ready at the least. And why she was incredibly annoyed when a man in a Cerberus uniform stepped out of a corridor and prevented her from getting back to her ship. ¡°Excuse me, Miss Revan, but the Illusive Man has a message for you¡­¡± ¡°I¡¯m not interested.¡± She quickly refused, trying to sidestep the man only for him to move to continue blocking her path. ¡°Oh, but I insist.¡± The man continued as several more humans in rather bulky armor suddenly surrounded them, guns trained on the Sith. ¡°It would be in your best interest.¡± Revan looked at the armed soldiers and then back to the man. There was a slight current of warning in the Force, she best not underestimate them. ¡°Fine, you have my attention.¡± Mass Effect: Knight of the Old Republic - Chapter 49 While Revan waited for the Cerberus agent to get on with his proposal she took a moment to analyze the troopers surrounding her. They concerned her because the armor they wore was a big departure from what she had seen the organization use previously. Cerberus, like the Systems Alliance, had tended to use close-fitting hardsuits that focused on protecting the wearer from combat damage and while they had equipment to survive hostile environments, it was clearly not the suit¡¯s primary function. These new troopers did not wear those. Instead they had much bulkier systems clearly meant to allow the trooper to operate in hostile environments for much longer and take much more punishment without additional support from an established facility or base. That told Revan that Cerberus at the very least had squads that were prepared to deploy into enemy territory for long periods of time without support. And unless this was an elite team, which she somewhat doubted considering the mass produced look of much of the equipment, Cerberus was planning on expanding their operations in the near future. This team might not even be here specifically for her. It was just a meeting of convenience. ¡°The Illusive Man was impressed, you know?¡± The only Cerberus agent not wearing the new armor said. ¡°It¡¯s true we gave you a lot of room because we wanted a cooperative relationship, but you managed to surprise all of us with the career change. Lone merc to Empress? And in only a few short months? Definitely impressive.¡± ¡°I¡¯m glad you were entertained.¡± Revan said shortly. ¡°But I¡¯d rather hear this message so I can return to my rather busy schedule.¡± ¡°I¡¯m sure. But that¡¯s fine, we¡¯re all busy people. Especially with the Reapers on the way.¡± ¡°Mhmm.¡± ¡°The Illusive Man is doing his best to make sure humanity is prepared for them, of course, pouring billions into making sure we have the weapons to fight them.¡± The operative made a gesture to the troopers surrounding her before reaching down to his belt and removing a metallic cylinder with a cable attached to one end. ¡°But we both know your own tech would be much more useful. Simply reverse engineering the devices we¡¯ve seen with the help of scavenged Reaper-tech has been a waste of time we can¡¯t afford anymore.¡± Revan watched with disbelief as the orange proto-saber hissed to life. The engineer in her was impressed that Cerberus¡¯s scientists had managed to recreate a primitive form of her own weapons from merely observing a working model, but the rest of her was too busy reeling from the admission that they were using Reaper technology. A thought chilled her to the bone as she looked at the faceless troopers surrounding her. ¡°You¡¯ve been using Reaper-tech¡­in all your equipment?¡± ¡°Not all of it.¡± The operative denied with a negligent shrug. ¡°But we¡¯ve learned enough to use what we have safely.¡± ¡°Fools!¡± Revan hissed. ¡°There is no way to use Reaper-tech safely, the core of its design is to open up anyone exposed to manipulation by its masters!¡± ¡°We have quite a few experts willing to prove you wrong. So about the Illusive Man¡¯s offer, both of our groups want to stop the Reapers. We have the knowledge of their technology you can¡¯t get and you have the weapons and industrial base to use it. Help supply Cerberus with the weapons it needs to prepare and we¡¯ll share everything our researchers learned along with the materials.¡± The Sith Empress didn¡¯t even need to think about the offer. ¡°If you are willingly using this technology the entirety of your organization is possibly Indoctrinated. There will be no cooperation between us if that is your plan.¡± The man smiled. ¡°You know, I was hoping you¡¯d say that. Take her.¡± He ordered, but Revan had been expecting something like that if their conversation turned sour. A short, omni-directional Force Push was enough to disrupt the balance of the Cerberus troopers long enough for Revan to draw her own sabers and attack. Three troopers died before they recovered as Revan rushed to break the encirclement, their thicker armor not able to slow the Sith from cutting them down. But an issue occurred when she slashed at the operative with the proto-saber. The author''s narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. That he was able to recover fast enough to use his own saber to block one of her blades was not the issue. Nor was the fact Cerberus was able to find a crystal capable of withstanding the stress of meeting her lightsaber without shattering. Both those were expected and taken into account. The issue was that when Revan moved to bring her second blade down and bisect the Cerberus operative it was blocked by a handheld translucent blue shield like Revan had never seen before. ¡°Those powers of yours are more troublesome than I thought.¡± The agent sneered as the two of them fought to overpower the other. ¡°But it seems they aren¡¯t absolute.¡± The Force cried out a warning and Revan threw herself out of the way as the rest of the troopers recovered their footing and opened fire. Her lightsabers spun rapidly to vaporize the majority of the incoming gunfire while her shields and armor dealt with the rest. The Empress looked back to the lead operative only to find him making his way back to the alleyway, intent on escape. In one motion, Revan threw one of her lightsabers - impaling one of the troopers - and sent a torrent of Force Lightning after the man. Only for the man¡¯s shield to spring to life again and completely block the attack. ¡°Don¡¯t be so impatient, Revan.¡± The man taunted her as she was forced to cut off her assault and return to defending herself. ¡°It¡¯s not time for your legend to end just yet. Cerberus still has a role for you to play. Once that is complete then I will kill you.¡± With those parting words, the Lead Agent fled. The remaining troopers didn¡¯t stand a chance against the undivided attention of a full Sith Lady and were quickly killed soon after, but it was too late to chase after the one that got away. ¡°How arrogant.¡± Revan muttered to no one in particular as she returned her sabers to her belt. The agent obviously never expected her to accept the Illusive Man¡¯s proposal. And going by how quickly he retreated, this wasn¡¯t even an assassination attempt. This entire situation was just a way for Cerberus to test their new technology against her. Technology the Empress was going to be forced to respond to. The proto-saber and that shield were interesting but with only a single example Revan wasn¡¯t going to worry about unless more Cerberus agents started using them. The real issue was going to be the troopers¡¯ new armor. The new design would greatly reduce the effectiveness of most of the galaxy¡¯s preferred weapons and even Revan¡¯s blasters would struggle against so much armor. But the biggest concern was the inclusion of Reaper-tech. Cerberus had just declared themselves an enemy Revan couldn¡¯t ignore. Just when she was about to launch a war against the Batarian Hegemony. Not a situation she was prepared for. It might be time to reach out to some of Shepard¡¯s human contacts for help. While the Sith doubted they would assist her with the Batarians, she hoped at least some of them would be willing to put pressure on Cerberus until she could free up some of her forces to handle both problems. Revan sighed as she made her way back to her ship. Noble as it might have been to allow herself to be judged for her actions regarding the Alpha Relay, Shepard was certainly not making things easy. Hopefully the Alliance courts would make their ruling soon so Revan could contact the Spectre and acquire her help with the human terrorist organization. Force knew the last thing she needed was more distractions. -o- When Revan returned to Rannoch, she immediately called a meeting with her admirals to inform them of the new developments. And while the news that their Eezo supply problem was handled in the short term was a relief, the new development with Cerberus left everyone with concerns about future plans. ¡°Our biggest worries are going to be raiding and sabotage.¡± Han¡¯Gerrel muttered as he looked at a digital map of the galaxy. ¡°We don¡¯t have enough new ships to stop Cerberus from hitting us from behind while we engage with the Hegemony and our older ones simply are too outdated to be a threat in small numbers.¡± ¡°What about Geth ships? We have been breaking them down at a rapid pace, but there are still enough for a decent size fleet. They should be able to act as escorts, surely?¡± Zaal¡¯Koris suggested, only for the newly promoted Admiral Tali¡¯Zorah to shake her head in disagreement. ¡°Against any other opponent definitely. But if Cerberus is using Reaper-tech we can¡¯t be sure the Geth will be safe from virus attacks.¡± ¡°What about the Cerberus AI you were working with on the Normandy?¡± Daro¡¯Xen asked. ¡°Would it be able to tell us more about Cerberus¡¯s E-warfare capabilities and how to defeat them?¡± ¡°No, EDI gave us everything she had, but was very clear that Cerberus held some things back before Commander Shepard took the Normandy for her mission. Probably programs they hadn¡¯t cracked yet not to mention any raw Reaper code they managed to scrounge up.¡± ¡°No defense is guaranteed to work, and Geth frames are much easier to replace than organic bodies.¡± Han¡¯Gerrel pointed out. ¡°I say use them while we can and replace them as the new ships leave the docks.¡± ¡°No, Admiral Gerrel. We won¡¯t be using the Geth on their own unless there is no choice.¡± Revan put her foot down. ¡°Their old systems are too interconnected to risk a Reaper virus infecting them. Without the newer defenses, the entire Geth collective could be open for attack or they would be forced to isolate every ship while it is deployed. The former is unacceptable and the latter limits their ability to function too much. ¡°We¡¯ll continue with our projected timeline and the ships we have regardless of Cerberus¡¯s potential interference. If they launch an attack against our forces we¡¯ll leverage what we can with the Systems Alliance to put pressure on them. I doubt the rest of Citadel space will be very happy with a rogue organization with the capabilities they¡¯ve revealed and will probably demand at least a task group to put pressure on their operations. From there we can¨C¡± Revan was interrupted by an alarm going off and several demands for her attention popping up on her Omnitool. A quick glance confirmed that every person in the room was experiencing the same thing and considering this was a scheduled meeting and only high priority messages should be sent through until it was over? Something very bad just occurred. Revan skimmed the first message that popped up. One of the spy ships they had monitoring Batarian space had just reported the planet they were observing had been attacked by an unknown force coming through the local system Mass Relay. A second message from a different ship reported the same thing. And the same from a third. And a fourth. More and more ships were sending back messages about unknown forces showing up and attacking out of nowhere. It was impossible. ¡°Empress Revan¡­these reports¡­¡± Admiral Shala¡¯Raan said hesitantly, unwilling to say what Revan already knew but unable to keep silent thanks to her role as leader of the Scout Fleet. It was her job to inform the rest of them about incoming threats, after all. But Revan knew there was no point denying reality. There was simply no other known force capable of an attack of this scale. ¡°It seems we are going to have to completely scrap our plans.¡± The Sith Empress said gravely. ¡°Cancel all deployments and ready every ship we have. And send a message to every species we can. We are out of time.¡± ¡°The Reapers are here.¡± Mass Effect: Knight of the Old Republic - Chapter 50 ¡°The newest reports, Empress.¡± One of the countless secretaries that had been shuffling in and out of the tactical room said, holding out a datapad for Revan to take. The Sith accepted it without looking away from the galaxy map before pointing at a highlighted section, letting the secretary rush back out of the room to handle the hundreds of other tasks that needed doing now that time was almost up. ¡°There, that asteroid belt. A group of pirates are operating out of a hollowed out asteroid. Take Battlegroup Twelve and deliver an ultimatum, they either submit or die.¡± ¡°Deploying BG12.¡± The Geth platform standing nearby confirmed. ¡°Estimated arrival time: 37 hours.¡± ¡°Have the other available groups begin sweeps around every known Mass Relay in our territory. Inform me of any unexpected arrivals before taking action, especially the ones here, here, here and here.¡± She said pointing at several nodes representing the primary method for galactic travel around the ¡®west¡¯ region of the map. ¡°Inform the planets nearby that they have been annexed into the Sith Empire due to a galaxy wide threat and they can either comply or be brought into compliance.¡± ¡°Revan¡­is that a good idea?¡± Admiral Tali¡¯Zorah asked quietly. ¡°Several of those Relays are close to Citadel Space.¡± ¡°We need to secure our borders before the Reapers spread too much. I doubt we will be able to completely prevent them from infiltrating via the Relay Network, but we can at least slow them down using the Relays as chokepoints. Besides,¡± She mused. ¡°It might convince the Asari Republic to spread out their fleet rather than cluster it all up like it has been.¡± Tali¡¯Zorah tilted her head in confusion. ¡°Why would the Republic move their fleet? Council space is policed by the Turian navy. Even if they felt threatened by our ships the Council would have them investigate first.¡± ¡°Normally yes, but even the Council won¡¯t be able to reassure the Matriarchs immediately after one of their worlds is claimed by the Empire.¡± ¡°That would put us at war with all of Council Space! Unless¡­¡± ¡°Unless it was one of the ¡®independent colonies¡¯ in the Terminix Systems. And after the precedent set by the Council regarding the human colonies when the Collectors were harvesting them, the Council can posture all they want but cannot actually do anything without showing blatant favoritism for the Asari. So the Republic will have to move to protect their interests. If we¡¯re lucky the Salarians will do the same, but considering the distance I doubt they will.¡± Revan felt more than saw Tali¡¯Zorah¡¯s discomfort with the plan, but there wasn¡¯t another choice. They needed the resources on Talrania if they wanted to scale up production of large scale shields. Rannoch and the handful of reclaimed quarian planets had one but those had been one off productions. But most planets the Empire claimed barely had a Theatre Shield that could cover a city. To truly spread the technology fast enough to make a difference they needed to increase the amount of resources they had available and expand the production facilities to make them. And Revan no longer had the time to politely sit down and negotiate with established governments that would slow everything down to preserve their power base or to drag out every advantage they could from the crisis. ¡°...this doesn¡¯t feel right. A single Reaper was enough to tear through the human¡¯s Fifth Fleet. If we spread the other fleets out¡­every engagement will be a massacre.¡± Revan nodded stoically. ¡°Yes, but it will buy us time.¡± Time they desperately needed. And every Reaper ship delayed fighting on a Council world was a ship not being sent against her Empire. Giving them time to build more Harrowers, cruisers, destroyers, shields, and even evacuation ships. Revan sighed and turned her attention to the datapad she was handed. The group she was waiting on was ready to depart in an hour. From there her flagship Invincible and two other Harrowers would depart to Talrania and either convince the locals to quietly integrate into the Empire or round them up for relocation. ¡°We¡¯re using the rest of the galaxy to slow the Reapers down. It feels wrong¡­¡± The young admiral muttered. ¡°Because it is wrong.¡± Revan agreed, but she had never shied away from doing the ¡®wrong¡¯ thing if it meant protecting the galaxy. ¡°But we don¡¯t have another choice. We tried to warn the galaxy the Reapers were here but as far as I can tell they either ignored the warning or are trying to confirm for themselves. I can either waste the little time we have remaining trying to get politicians to listen or we can prepare.¡± Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences. ¡°Shepard could have found a way.¡± ¡°Perhaps, but until the Systems Alliance lets her out of the hole they stuffed her in she isn¡¯t around to try. So we will work with what we have.¡± -o- Talrania was a beautiful world. Large oceans covered the majority of the surface while the rest was covered in sweeping flatlands filled with plantlife. The moderate temperature ensured that most species could easily thrive without specialized coverings. And even a basic sensor sweep was enough to tell the planet was minerally rich as well. All fitting things for a colony planet. Afterall, why pick a desolate dustball when you could choose to settle on a rich garden world? The Asari certainly hadn¡¯t seen a reason to pass up such a lovely world and had quickly claimed it, creating a colony with a population of over one billion despite being located in the Terminus Systems. And while most planets in the Terminus would live in constant fear of being raided by pirates and other groups looking to take advantage of such a rich planet - Talrania merely had a small PDF and the threat of the Asari Republic behind them keeping them mostly unmolested. Which meant when three Harrowers and a handful of smaller escorts dropped out of Hyperspace nearly on top of the planet, there was nothing the locals could do beyond signal their complete surrender and provide a location where Revan would address their leaders. A great many armchair generals across the extranet would no doubt decry them for the immediate surrender when they found out, but Revan often found that most governments would fold when the were under the cannons of several dreadnoughts with only a handful of ships that would barely scratch the shields if they managed to avoid getting blasted out of the sky by a ship ten times its size. It was just as effective a tactic here as it was in her home galaxy. Of course just because the locals were compliant in the face of overwhelming military power, they were not happy about it. Revan could feel the anger and fear of the leaders she was supposed to meet long before she stepped off the shuttle ¨C along with three Force signatures that had a much tighter control of their emotions than average, though they varied in skill. One in particular was only noticeable because it would calm down only to spike in fear again in a constant cycle. Hm, Revan would need to keep an eye on those three. If her suspicions were correct¡­ She pushed those distractions to the back of her mind as she arrived at the meeting room. The local leaders were brought in one at a time, introductions were made. And then once everyone had settled Revan gave them a brief speech about what options they could expect being annexed by the Empire. They could either cooperate, leave, or - should they try anything - be rounded up, imprisoned, and deported to a nearby planet. One considerably less hospitable than Talrania. After that she allowed her audience a few questions. One of the Matriarchs was the first to speak up. ¡°What exactly do you expect of us? You can¡¯t possibly expect this aggression to go unanswered. The Republic at least will respond.¡± ¡°In general I expect nothing from the people here.¡± Revan replied. ¡°I have little use for slaves and unwilling servants. As long as your people steer clear of the mining operations we will be conducting they can continue as they have. Of course we will hire on those that want to work to lessen the impact on their livelihood should they wish to.¡± There was a surge of indignation and outrage from the gathered crowd. ¡°Mining operations?!¡± The Matriarch sputtered. ¡°You threaten our world, risk war with not just the Republic but all of Citadel Space, all because you want to destroy its beauty for the parts that will be useful to you?!¡± ¡°Yes.¡± Revan replied with brutal honesty. What the Matriarch was trying to do was not something Revan hadn¡¯t encountered before. Point out the actions the Empire had done that would threaten the local¡¯s home and way of life in a way that sounded like outrage rather than defiance and use those emotions to help establish a resistance group later on. Back home in the Skyriver Galaxy, Revan had needed to balance providing enough incentives that the majority of the population was, if not content, at least ambivalent about the Empire¡¯s occupation and threats that if too much of a disturbance was raised the local garrison would crack down on the disruptive elements. But again, she didn¡¯t have the time or subordinates with the proper training to do so here. So she went with honesty. Let them all know exactly how utterly fucked they all were that this was necessary. She made a gesture towards one of her escorts and waited as the holoprojector showed what used to be a dark green planet, now with massive fires visible from space covering large portions of the surface. ¡°This is Erszbat, a Batarian colony world that three days ago was attacked by an omnicidal group known as the Reapers. They¡¯ve since spread to most if not all of Batarian space and are in the process of wiping out every living thing on those planets as well. We cannot confirm without revealing the spy ships we have in system, but I can confidently say the Hegemony will be completely destroyed within a few weeks at most. ¡°Not only that, the Reapers are using infiltrators to spread misinformation to keep the rest of the galaxy from realizing the threat until the rest of their forces are retrieved from Deep Space.¡± ¡°You¡¯re saying the Reapers did that? The same one that crazy human that blew up a star system was warning about?¡± Revan pushed down the annoyance that despite the vast amount of evidence Shepard had given to the Council, they hadn¡¯t hesitated to brand her a lunatic to the wider galaxy. ¡°The same. Which is why it is crucial that the materials here can be mined and processed without the forces I leave behind worrying about sabotage from disgruntled locals. We have enough problems on our hands.¡± The Asari were slowly coming around but Revan could still feel many doubted she was telling the truth or even that if she was, things couldn¡¯t be that bad. Several of them were no doubt waiting until they could slip away to try and prove the holo Revan showed them was faked, or just declare it fake because they didn¡¯t want it to be true. She would have to ensure more information regarding the situation in Batarian space was uploaded to the local extranet which would help undercut malicious actors trying to spread seeds of rebellion. Interestingly, Revan could sense the three Force signatures she had noticed earlier beginning to withdraw. The least skilled ¨C and if Revan had to guess either youngest or least trained ¨C broadcasting fear and¡­betrayal?...before they managed to close their mental shields enough Revan could no longer casually sense them. It seemed someone was not pleased about something. A change in plans, perhaps? She would need to track them down later if possible. ¡°If this is true,¡± The matriarch spoke again, dragging Revan¡¯s attention back to the immediate surroundings. ¡°Then are we to lose our homes, our planet, just to fuel your war machine?¡± ¡°No, I have entire mining fleets stripping asteroid belts to fuel my war machine.¡± Revan replied. ¡°The materials mined here will be crucial to creating a type of planetary shield system that will prevent the Reapers from simply swarming past any orbital defenses and landing directly in a civilian sector.¡± ¡°A Kinetic Barrier that covers an entire planet? Preposterous, no one has the technology to create something like that!¡± ¡°The Empire does.¡± Revan said easily. ¡°And while I don¡¯t need to prove it to you, in the name of future cooperation let me show you what Talrania has to gain by working with us.¡± The next three hours were spent answering questions and explaining the broad strokes of what would be expected of the new Imperial world but by the end of it the locals seemed pacified for now. Mass Effect: Knight of the Old Republic - Chapter 51 Revan left what few Asari leaders that didn¡¯t rush off to not so subtly try and contact their patrons back in Citadel Space about the annexation of Talrania to the growing corps of administrators she and the rest of the Empire would rely on to ensure the growing web of planets would function without her needing to constantly manage every action. She should have simply taken the shuttle back to her flagship and left to handle the hundreds of new problems that were no doubt waiting for her attention, but the possibility of drawing out three Force users was too tempting to pass up. Yes, they were probably members of the Pius Dea offshoot that somehow established itself here, but Revan had clearly surprised them with her arrival. This was likely the best chance she had to make contact before another assassination attempt, which, knowing her luck would be in the middle of a Reaper invasion. So on the off chance she could lure out some of their members and either convince them to put aside whatever issue they had with her until after the Reapers were dealt with or learn more about their order and where they were located should she need to deal with them, Revan wandered down one of the more desolate areas while broadcasting her presence in the Force. They might suspect a trap, but most Jedi had a tendency to leap anyway if given a tempting enough target. And with most of her presence veiled, maybe the youngest would¨C ¡°Hold it right there, Sith!¡± ¨Cconfront her anyway after overestimating their abilities. Revan smiled beneath her visor at the confirmation that younglings in any galaxy were the same and turned to face her ¡®attacker¡¯. A young Asari in an outfit similar to the Jedi she fought on Illium though in a different color stood in the hallway, an un-ignited lightsaber in her hand. ¡°Is there something I can help you with, youngling?¡± ¡°You! You were the one that killed Keayla!¡± ¡°Keayla? The name of the other Jedi I encountered I assume. Did you know each other?¡± ¡°She was the one that brought me to the Order! The one that helped me whenever I had a question or my master was busy! And you murdered her!¡± Revan calmly slid the hilt of her own saber into her right hand but didn¡¯t ignite it just yet. ¡°Murdered? An interesting accusation considering the only reason I fought her was because she led a team of Huntresses in an assassination attempt on me.¡± The young Asari¡¯s Force presence darkened at Revan¡¯s bored tone. It was actually quite sad. If Revan actually wanted all it would take was a few more pushes to make this Padawan, and she was sure she was a Padawan from how undisciplined the girl was, to ¡®fall¡¯ to the Dark Side. luckily for the girl, Revan still had little desire for an apprentice at the moment. Less for an unstable Dark Side user drunk on their own perceived power running about. ¡°Shut up! Keayla didn¡¯t deserve to die. Not by some Sith monster.¡± The child snapped as she ignited her lightsaber, the blue beam pointed at Revan¡¯s chest. Revan causally ignited her own red one. ¡°And you think you can succeed where she failed?¡± ¡°I won¡¯t let you just poison this galaxy unopposed!¡± The Padawan cried as she leapt forward. Blue clashed against red in a storm of slashes and cuts as the youngling tried to overwhelm Revan¡¯s casual defense with a complex dance of flourishes and acrobatics. The girl wasn¡¯t bad, Revan judged. She couldn¡¯t really speak to the Padawan¡¯s style. It was simply too different for Revan to compare it to the lightsaber forms she was familiar with, but her opponent was able to use her aggressive style without opening herself up too much. But not bad didn¡¯t mean Revan couldn¡¯t deal with her. She caught her opponent¡¯s saber on her own and guided the girl¡¯s momentum so she would overshoot her, before mercilessly stepping on the Asari girl¡¯s boot and pinning it in place. Off balance and without a way to catch herself from falling Revan felt the girl¡¯s panic in the Force as she made another desperate cut to make Revan back off. The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. The Sith easily redirected the blow leaving the girl wide open for a repost. Instead of bisecting the girl, instead Revan punched out and hit the Padawan with a Force Push from the hand still holding her own lightsaber. The young Asari was launched off her feet where she slid across the floor for a few feet. A frantic check with her free hand confirmed that she hadn¡¯t actually been cut and Revan felt the panic and fear turn to anger as she glared at the Sith. ¡°You should focus more on your footwork.¡± Revan commented. ¡°Losing your balance with a style like yours is almost guaranteed to kill you.¡± ¡°Is this some kind of game to you!?¡± ¡°If you want to take sincere criticism as a game, then yes I suppose so.¡± The Padawan took a breath and ¨C mostly ¨C reined in her emotions, rising to her feet and reigniting her lightsaber. Revan noticed she was taking a much more defensive stance. Well if she wanted Revan to be the aggressive one¡­ The Sith Empress marched forward and swung her saber in tight, controlled movements. Ironically just like the young Padawan, she preferred a much more active fighting style to implacably moving forward and crushing her opponents. But fighting using her normal style without immediately ending the fight would be much harder. Her opponent was a child after all. But even using a slightly unfamiliar style, the difference in experience was too much. Revan hammered at the Padawan¡¯s defenses and soon enough the girl was more focused on stopping the next attack then she was on dodging or trying to attack. Her entire focus was on withstanding the next blow rather than deflecting. She was letting Revan set the entire pace of the fight, whether hoping the Sith would simply tire first or because that was all she could do anymore was up in the air. ¡°Don¡¯t lock your arms.¡± Revan critiqued, feinting to the right before sweeping her blade up and around giving the girl a tap on the opposite shoulder. ¡°It leaves you unable to react quickly.¡± The girl yelped as the red saber kissed her skin, leaving a slight burn. Considering what a lightsaber could really do it was nothing but the Padawan clearly realized Revan could have killed her right then and there. Her emotional control unraveled and she sent a desperate Force Push at Revan to keep her away. But it was so unfocused that even Revan¡¯s passive defenses were enough to break the ¡®attack¡¯. This had gone on long enough. Revan stepped forward and swung her saber once. She ignored the slight gasp from the girl as the red blade effortlessly cut through her target. The Sith waved a hand and a Force Push dumped the padawan at the feet of the two new arrivals, three impacts clattering on the stone floor. ¡°She has talent. But her discipline could use some work.¡± Revan commented, deactivating her saber and allowing the blade to sink into the hilt. ¡°The next time she runs after an opponent so far out of her league, they might not be content to just cut through her lightsaber¡¯s emitter.¡± ¡°Showing mercy won¡¯t prevent us from doing what the code demands of us,¡± The older of the two said placidly, ¡°but you have my personal thanks for sparing Jinany. She has much room to grow.¡± Revan sighed. ¡°Yes, you Jedi and your unbreakable codes. Or perhaps just you Asari. I¡¯ve dealt with your kind many times before. However¨C¡± ¡°You may have bested a Knight and my Padawan, Sith, but this is Master Enes Daliza. You¡¯re no match for her.¡± The younger one interrupted. ¡°Control yourself, Myell. Don¡¯t allow your worry for Jinany to cloud your judgment. Remember, this Sith did not kill her so she could lure us here. She is, at the least, arrogant enough to assume she can fight us both.¡± Is it really arrogance if she could fight off several masters all at once, Revan mused silently. She had done so several times in the past. Not that this particular Jedi would know. ¡°That said, there is no harm in listening for now. Especially after she made such an effort to draw us to her when we were going to leave since we had no way to get close with a trio of Dreadnought class ships in orbit.¡± The Master said even as she stepped around the fallen Padawan and subtly reached for her own saber. ¡°Well, Master Enes Daliza,¡± Revan began. ¡°I am known as Darth Revan, Empress of the Sith Empire, and I have a warning for you and your order and an offer.¡± ¡°Very well, the warning?¡± ¡°The Indoctrination effect Reaper technology has is Force based. Without proper shielding, Force-sensitives are much more vulnerable than other organics. If I were you I¡¯d keep the young and those with weaker mental barriers away from it as much as possible. Though with the Reapers'' arrival I am not sure how realistic that option actually is.¡± ¡°As for the offer, the Reapers are omnicidal machines that will not stop scouring the galaxy until their ¡®cycle¡¯ is complete. I¡¯d like to work together ¨C or at the very least agree to a truce until the Reapers are stopped.¡± There was a spell of silence as the Jedi considered her answer and Revan started to feel a bit of hope this Jedi sect would actually be reasonable. The older Asari¡¯s next words crushed that feeling. ¡°Myell, take Jinany back to the ship and contact the Council. They need to know about the threat to our sisters.¡± ¡°What will you do, Master?¡± ¡°I will remain here to remove the Sith. Even if the Reapers are here and as dangerous as she says, the Code remains clear. We cannot allow the Sith to establish themselves and spread.¡± She said as she drew her lightsaber. ¡°We would save the galaxy from one threat only to lose it to the one we let fester.¡± ¡°But Master¨C!¡± ¡°Go! I will join you later.¡± Revan watched as the Knight reluctantly pulled the youngling to her feet and helped her stagger back the way they came, but made no effort to stop them. There wasn¡¯t much point in giving a warning and then preventing the messenger from spreading the message. She did wonder about their code, though. Samara had been just as zealously devoted to the Justicar code and only some quick talking from Shepard had stopped them from fighting. Revan now wished she had at least talked to the Justicar when she had the chance. It might have given her some insight on how to approach this encounter more favorably. ¡°I¡¯m surprised a proclaimed ¡®Master¡¯ would be so unbending. Do the Jedi of this galaxy not focus on fostering peace and cooperation then?¡± Revan asked, calling her second lightsaber to her hand but leaving them both inactive. ¡°You took my warning seriously so you at least have some idea how much of a threat the Reapers are. Would cooperating with me truly be so impossible?¡± ¡°We could have possibly worked together,¡± Enes acknowledged. ¡°But not after what you¡¯ve done.¡± ¡°I was unaware I''d done anything unforgivable.¡± ¡°I wasn¡¯t talking about a specific action, but what you have created. That Empire of yours, what happens after the Reapers?¡± ¡°How do you mean?¡± Revan deflected, to be honest she hadn¡¯t really considered ¡®after¡¯ all that much. She was far too busy trying to hold two races that had been at war with each other for three centuries by force of will and scrambling to prepare for the aforementioned omnicidal race of starships to make too many solid plans. ¡°It¡¯s fairly simple, from our point of view at least. Should we survive the Reapers, you will be protected behind a military only the major Citadel races have a chance of defeating. You are already protected by one actually.¡± She said, looking up to where one of the Harrowers could be seen hovering over the city. ¡°Eventually you will draw other Force-sensitives to you and will likely teach them, twisting them to your will. In order to prevent you from creating a never ending stream of Sith Acolytes you must be slain. And I know you will rarely allow yourself to be this vulnerable in the future I have seen.¡± Revan nearly growled. An image of a brown-haired Jedi flashing through her mind. A sister in all but blood who turned on her because of a future vision of ¡®what if¡¯. Fine. If that was the path they wanted to choose¡­ ¡°Then there is no point in talking any longer.¡± ***Snap-hiss*** Three lightsabers ignited at the same time and the fight was on. Mass Effect: Knight of the Old Republic - Chapter 52 Revan tilted her head to the side to avoid the blue saber being thrust at her face. Nearly the same second the beam of contained plasma missed, her left saber beat it away with a small circular motion while her right slashed diagonally upward. Enes recovered quickly by side stepping out of the way of the first strike and parrying the follow up. An aura of biotic energy formed around the Jedi. The Force screamed a warning and Revan jumped up, somersaulting over the Asari as a massive Shockwave lashed out where she had just been. If the Sith Lady had been less of a duelist, the following stab might have caught her midair, but Revan felt the attack coming and deflected it with a swipe of her sabers. The moment her feet touched the floor she launched herself back at the Asari. The air shrieked as the three lightsabers clashed over and over. A complicated dance that only went faster as the two opponents learned more about the other and began trying new things to gain an advantage. Slash, parry, stab, block, jump to avoid some biotic technique, slash, slash again, parry, counterattack. Revan could definitely say this Asari Jedi was better than the one she killed on Illium. And the thought of killing such a capable fighter when the Reapers were practically right around the corner was such a waste that the Empress definitely considered trying to convince the Jedi to surrender, or failing that, knock her out so Revan could make a better effort later. Whether or not that was a realistic goal was another matter however. Another shockwave from the Asari shattered the floor around them as Revan once again jumped out of the way. She barely had time to twist and throw out a hand to deflect a few floor shards Enes had telekinetically grabbed and threw after her. More shards floated around the Asari Jedi and Revan decided to make the Master regret trying to challenge her in a battle of Force Powers. Force Lightning erupted from her fingertips and quickly disintegrated the rock shield Enes moved in front of her, but Revan wasn¡¯t done. She focused on the scene in front of her and while the Jedi was powerful and skilled enough that Revan couldn¡¯t directly target and throw her without considerable effort on the Sith¡¯s side, that didn¡¯t stop Revan from tearing out a section of wall and throwing that at the Asari. Enes handled it in stride, however. Before the chunk of masonry could even threaten the Jedi, a biotic shockwave followed by a series of Force Pushes reduced the wall to rubble long before it came close to crushing the Jedi. Only a small handful of debris even came close and that was easily deflected by a combination of biotic and Force powers followed by the occasional lightsaber swing. Power and control, Revan mused in her head. A rare, and annoying, combination in her foes. And as much as she would like to let the duel play out, Revan couldn¡¯t spend a large amount of time playing around. The noise alone would draw attention and even if the local leaders had agreed to follow her, the general populace would likely side with the Jedi based on the Justicar uniform alone. This needed to be brought to a close. Revan briefly closed her eyes and for the first time during the fight, actively empowered and immersed herself in the Force. Enes was instantly on guard as light and shadow seemed to bend oddly around the Sith, completely focused on Revan as the Sith ran towards her. The Sith Empress feinted low and lunged forward with a Force-empowered leap that Enes barely managed to throw herself out of the way of, her sleeve smoking where Revan¡¯s blade almost scorched her arm. The Jedi Master¡¯s eyes widened at the near miss and she tried to fall back and get some distance. Revan replied by hurling her blue saber after the fleeing Asari, forcing her to make a slightly desperate parry. Revan prepared to rush the opening in her opponent¡¯s guard, but a flash of warning caused her to dive to the side instead. A shard of jagged rock passed through the area she just was heading straight for Enes. Even panicked the Jedi had managed to set a trap for the Empress that likely would have caught most Force adepts, Jedi or Sith, off guard. Especially when Enes turned the shard of rock into a makeshift grenade by exploding it with a biotic technique Revan didn¡¯t immediately recognise, but in her enhanced state Revan simply raised a hand and erected a Force Barrier the shards of stone bounced harmlessly off of before charging forward again. Her lone saber chopped down. Enes raised her own as best she could but her injured arm buckled under the force of the attack. Red clashed and slid against blue as Revan drove her saber down, intent on disarming her opponent. Literally if she needed to. At the last moment Enes threw a desperate Force Push at Revan, which she simply anchored herself and allowed to pass around her, but was actually a clever way to propel the Jedi master away from Revan¡¯s saber before it cut her. Very clever actually, Revan noted. In her experience very few Force users would hit themselves with their own technique to avoid an attack. And most of those were Malak¡¯s Sith Acolytes too stupid to properly control their powers. A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation. But clever only got you so far. Especially when you ended up disorientating yourself without affecting your opponent. Revan¡¯s blue lightsaber ignited and lifted itself off the floor once she had it in a mental grip and speared towards the prone Jedi. Enes screamed as the blade burned a hole through her leg, but Revan wasn¡¯t about to discount the Jedi even then. She pulled on the Force and sent a surge of energy at the fallen Asari whose screams redoubled as the lightsaber was ripped from her leg and sent tumbling over the broken ground. Revan quickly recalled the blade and made sure to grab Enes¡¯ from where it had fallen and clipped both to her belt. Striding forward with only her red saber in hand, Revan addressed the Jedi, ¡°You fought well. Especially for someone that is not purely dedicated to a martial path.¡± ¡°D-don¡¯t mock me Sith.¡± Enes ground out past the pain. ¡°I failed and you bested me, just kill me already.¡± ¡°Kill you? Now why would I do that when I can finally have a conversation with your order that you cannot end by simply attacking me anymore?¡± ¡°So i-it¡¯s to be torture then? Do your worst. I will not betray my sisters.¡± Revan withheld a sigh. It seemed even these knock-off Jedi didn¡¯t believe a Sith could have a conversation without the threat of pain or violence. Ironic because she had turned far more people to her side through words then she ever did through threats. If Enes had paid attention to how Revan secured the Geth and Quarians she would have understood that. ¡°I don¡¯t need you to betray them. Soon enough, if they are smart, they will come to me.¡± Enes¡¯ face darkened. ¡°I¡¯m to be bait?¡± This time Revan did sigh. Jedi could be so self-important. ¡°The Galaxy is at war for its very survival. I would hope your order would recognize that eventually they will need to at least cooperate or be destroyed one by one.¡± ¡°We would never work with a Sith!¡± ¡°So you would rather condemn everyone else to die then?¡± Enes fell silent. ¡°We don¡¯t have to fight,¡± Revan said, letting the Force carry the sincerity of her words. ¡°I don¡¯t even need you to do more than be an observer to our true enemy. Come with me and see the horrors the Reapers have for all life they come across and honestly report it to your order. I¡¯ll even swear no harm will come to you and you will be free to investigate as you wish.¡± ¡°...I-¡± Revan almost had her, she could feel it. Most Jedi simply wanted to do their duty to protect. Giving them an opportunity to do so in a harmless way was an easy sacrifice for the Sith Empress and more often than not it allowed her to gently coax them towards her stance. So it was doubly irritating when Revan¡¯s senses screamed for her to get back as an empty aircar crashed in front of her accompanied by the roar of a dropship¡¯s engines. It exploded and Revan was forced further back from the downed Jedi Master. It seemed the Knight and Padawan had decided to come back against Enes¡¯ orders. In hindsight Revan should have expected that, but she would have to beat herself up over the mistake some other time. The pale faced Padawan ¨C Jinany if Revan remembered correctly ¨C was behind the controls but Revan ignored her in favor of focusing on the knight and whatever the hells she was doing. The Force surged in response to the Asari reaching her hands out and pulling. The walls around Revan rumbled and cracked, giving the Sith Empress barely a moment''s notice before they collapsed on top of her. Rocks and debris bounced off the Force Barrier she threw up, but more and more poured down until the Sith had been buried completely. The Sith fully expected some sort of followup as sweat dripped down her forehead from the strain of holding several tons of rock from crushing her, but nothing came. And a Jedi with time to prepare was a dangerous, unpredictable thing. So Revan drew even deeper on the Force even as the first hints of burnout started to affect her and pushed the tons of rock away like it was made of styrofoam. And the second she didn¡¯t need to focus on not getting hit by the debris, Revan scanned the area for any sign of the Jedi new arrivals. Only to find that all three Force presences she could feel were above her and fleeing in the opposite direction. The younger Asari had taken the wounded master and fled. How surprisingly tactical of them. Revan activated her helmet¡¯s comms, ¡°Harrower-01, this is Empress Revan. I need¨C¡± ¡°Oh Keelah, Empress you have incredible timing. We were just about to contact you.¡± The comms operator interrupted frantically. ¡°It all happened too fast¡­what do we do?!¡± ¡°...¡± Revan looked silently at the rapidly disappearing shuttle. In moments it would disappear among the normal sky traffic in the city or simply land and she would lose track of the three Jedi entirely. But it sounded like she might have more urgent issues for now. Very well. Enes Daliza and the two others could escape and bring the warning Revan initially gave to the rest of the Order. Revan would deal with them later if need be. ¡°Calm down and tell me what happened.¡± She instructed the hysteric quarian. ¡°Sorry, sorry, of course¡­we just received word from the Scout Fleet that the Reapers have moved beyond Batarian Space ¨C invasion groups were seen heading towards Palavan, Illium, Earth, and several other major planets!¡± So the invasion was beginning in earnest then. ¡°Send a shuttle to my location and prepare the fleet for departure. It seems we are done here.¡± -o- Jane Sheperd looked out her window down at the London skyline and did her best to quell the knot of frustration that had been building in her chest for the past few months. She had thought ¨C and at some level still did ¨C that turning herself over to the Systems Alliance after the debacle at the Alpha Relay was the right thing to do. That she needed to be accountable for her actions in destroying a Batarian colony along with a whole damned solar system even if it was necessary to stop the Reapers from strolling in through the Galaxy¡¯s back door. But as she wasted her time being grounded and shuffled from meeting to meeting only to reiterate things she had already discussed to oblivion and back¡­she was getting tired of it all. Motion on a nearby building caught her eye and she idly watched a young boy run around a rooftop garden playing with a model ship. Was this what Revan felt when working with her? Feeling frustrated because despite there being a clear goal in front of them that even an idiot should be able to see, she was held back by the people surrounding her focusing on the wrong things? She hoped not. Especially because the Sith¡¯s lessons on politics and meditation were a large reason Shepard hadn¡¯t begun climbing the walls after certain meetings. And as the months dragged on the former Commander found herself missing the blonde elf more and more. The occasional talks they had, the debates around their respective leadership styles, Revan teaching her how to use that ridiculously cool laser sword¡­ She closed her eyes and shoved away from the window just as the door behind her opened. A quick look showed it was Lieutenant James Vega, an Alliance marine that had been Shepard¡¯s guard/watcher since her arrest. He was a good guy, if a little too enthusiastic with the protein powder. ¡°Commander.¡± James said, snapping a salute at her. Shepard smiled. ¡°You aren¡¯t supposed to call me that anymore, James.¡± Not that it had ever stopped him before. ¡°Not supposed to salute you either¡­¡± The burly marine replied, completing their little greeting ritual before getting serious. ¡°We¡¯ve got to go. The defense committee wants to see you.¡± ¡°Sounds important.¡± Shepard mused and began following after the Lieutenant. Maybe this meeting would actually get something done¡­ Mass Effect: Knight of the Old Republic - Chapter 53 Mass Effect: Knight of the Old Republic - Chapter 53 The command bridge of Revan¡¯s flagship was in chaos. Both Quarians and Geth could be seen rushing from one side of the room to the other, passing datapads or messages, or frantically tapping away at the terminals in front of them. But in the middle of that chaos, a robed figure stood stoically in front of a holo-tank listening as Admiral Raan finished her report of the fleet movements. ¡°...and we¡¯ve pulled back the last of the Recon Fleet using the Relays like you commanded. They are currently enroute to reinforce various system patrol groups until we can figure out where the Reapers are going to attack from. Though I have to ask, why not just use the hyperdrives?¡± The Dark Lady of the Sith clasped her hands behind her back as she cooly addressed the admiral. ¡°Remember that this is likely going to be a long war, Admiral. The Reapers built the Relays. They likely have a way to gather information through them as well. Letting them know we have a way of bypassing the Relays this early would only have them swarm us immediately. Until they make a move towards us I am perfectly happy to let them assume we are reliant on the Relay Network for long distance travel like everyone else. Besides, the Hyperdrives installed in most of our refits are nearly a third slower than using the Mass Relays.¡± Shala¡¯Raan sighed. ¡°I suppose you are right. I just get excited thinking about how we can cut right through unexplored space without worrying about where the nearest Relay is.¡± Revan understood the feeling, having a tool that could make some of the most basic issues a leader faced was incredibly tempting to abuse. For Shala¡¯Raan it was the freedom of movement the Hyperdrive offered while for Revan it had been the Star Forge¡¯s ability to make logistics a joke. But the Empress also had experienced the result of what happened when your enemies discovered the existence of a tool like that. For her it had been after her capture by the Jedi and the mindwipe. The Star Forge was such a threat that the Council decided to use her to find the station once it had fallen into Malak¡¯s hands instead of killing her and then rallying entire fleets to destroy it even though they eventually failed. ¡­or technically succeeded once Bastila had betrayed her and forced her out of the Galaxy leaving the Star Forge in the Jedi¡¯s hands. Revan shoved those thoughts from her mind. While the Hyperdrive engine wasn¡¯t nearly as pivotal as an automated shipyard, the Empress was still wary of announcing her advantage to the galaxy and making her empire the main focus of the Reapers. Not with how few fortified worlds she had or the handful of ships she had that weren¡¯t being torn apart for materials or hastily upgraded to her standards or wouldn¡¯t be completely disabled from a successful virus attack. ¡°I understand the temptation, but let''s keep our best hands hidden for now.¡± ¡°Yes, Empress. That concludes my report. Do you have additional orders?¡± Revan thought for a moment. The Reapers¡¯ arrival had forced her to completely abandon most of her mid-term plans. Many of the shorter-term ones ¨C like annexing the planets in her corner of the galaxy into her Empire ¨C were still unchanged if accelerated, but those wouldn¡¯t turn back the invasion. They needed allies. Allies that could provide actual assistance rather than resources like her deal with Omega did. The Asari Republic was likely out for obvious reasons. Even if the Jedi Order hidden among them wasn¡¯t out for her head, she had just stolen one of their colonies and had no intention of giving it back. The resources the shielding systems needed were just too precious right now. Maybe she would gift them a planetary shield for their homeworld when she had the ability to spare one, but for now the Republic would be at least slightly hostile towards her. The Salarians were a possibility but while they had warships, everything Revan was told and could dig up about them was that they were middling at best compared to the other Council races. Top of the line technology-wise, however, the race of amphibians focused on stealth and sabotage. Having small teams infiltrate unnoticed and using their technology to cripple their enemies without them knowing they were there. Their ships simply weren¡¯t designed to trade blows with an enemy. It was possible, probable even, that the Salarians had simply hidden their best warships but they would be too small in number to make much of a difference when outnumbered by a Reaper battlegroup. This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there. That issue extended to the smaller races as well. No matter how advanced their ships were, they simply didn¡¯t have the numbers to offer. And with the Batarians practically annihilated that left the Systems Alliance and the Turians as the only militaries with the numbers needed. ¡°What is the situation like in Turian space?¡± Despite having a better relationship with the Systems Alliance, they were simply too far away at the moment. Practically on the exact opposite side of the galaxy, honestly. ¡°From what little we know, bad.¡± Shala¡¯Raan replied. ¡°Unlike the other Council Races, the Turians usually have their fleets patrolling all over the galaxy. Apparently there was only a small defense fleet at Palavan itself that was quickly overrun. We don¡¯t know much more than that.¡± Revan hummed as she considered things. ¡°Cancel the orders for the Recon fleet. Have them and any other messenger ships we have start heading to last known positions of any human or turian patrols or fleets and see if you can convince them to begin gathering up at our southern border. If they refuse, give them the coordinates and move on.¡± ¡°And what will your battlegroup be doing?¡± ¡°I think three Harrowers and twelve escorts will be enough as a scouting force. We will head for Palavan and either liberate the planet or at least attempt to evacuate the Turian leadership. If they are still alive anyway.¡± -o- ¡°Keelah, the whole planet¡­how could anything do that so quickly?¡± Palavan was burning. It shouldn¡¯t have come as a surprise considering what was reported to have happened to the Batarians. But hearing a report that planets were being scoured of intelligent life and seeing it in person could just not be equated. Nearly all of the bridge crew stared out of the main viewscreen, frozen in horror at the fires that covered nearly eighty percent of the visible surface. For such things to be visible from space¡­ It was a clear sign of just how much power the Reapers could bring to bear. Even Revan wasn¡¯t fully immune to the sight. She had seen devastated planets before, ones long dead for one reason or another. She had even seen devastated ones as the result of her own orders or on the orders of Malak once he had seized control of the Empire. But even she had never seen such total destruction. Under her orders, specific regions of a planet - usually military or infrastructure in nature - would be bombarded until they were no longer capable of being a threat. But in the end it would all be things that could be eventually rebuilt. Malak, drowning in his sadistic urges, preferred to wipe all traces of civilization off the map and simply leave the handful of survivors to struggle among the ruins, The Reapers had physically landed on the planet and did their best to scour every last turian from the surface in a horribly methodical way that it chilled the Sith Empress to her core. But they could not afford to simply watch the destruction forever. They were not the only ones here. ¡°Scanners, I need a report on all ships in system. What are we facing here?¡± The Force laced command jolted the young quarian officer out of his stupor and back onto his console. It would have been more efficient to simply have a Geth man the equipment, but tensions between the two races had still not relaxed to the point that her quarian staff would allow their ships to be piloted by a non-organic if it wasn¡¯t necessary. Revan rather agreed with them if not for the same reasons. ¡°We¡¯re seeing three dozen capital sized ships and a few hundred smaller escorts, ma¡¯am.¡± The Sensor Operator reported back. ¡°One Capital and five escorts have broken off towards us on an intercept vector.¡± Arrogant. Or at least that¡¯s what Revan would have assumed if this had been anything else. What little video they had of a single Reaper fighting the human¡¯s Fifth Fleet nearly three years ago proved a single ship could deal with the equivalent numbers of Revan¡¯s battlegroup and the escorts were likely to ensure fewer of them could escape. It was time to see how the weapons Revan had used to nearly conquer the Skyriver Galaxy compared to the machines that had destroyed theirs countless times before. ¡°Tell all ships to prepare for battle and raise deflector shields.¡± She ordered. ¡°Have our escorts accelerate and spread out, and have all Harrowers launch two waves of fighters and set up a defensive screen. Prep bombers for launch after we see how our weapons compare. And get firing solutions for all Ion Cannons on those ships! I want every ship targeted on the first volley once they are in range. We only have one chance to surprise them, let¡¯s make it count.¡± The rush of orders snapped the rest of the crew out of their daze as they began scurrying to carry them out and slowly the rest of the battlegroup followed suit. Revan could only lament that she was unable to perform Battle Meditation. Either the Light or Dark version would have eliminated any hesitation. It was an old complaint, but one she was resigned to. The technique required a uniquely flexible mindset that was simply anathema to Revan¡¯s own and there was nothing she was willing to do to change that. She would just need to rely on some of her old tricks instead. While the Sith was barely proficient with divination or future sight, she was almost unparalleled in her old galaxy at Far Sight. Sinking her perspective into the Force it allowed her to view the entire battlefield in detail that most strategists would offer their dominant hand for. Every move both sides made observed in real time and from multiple viewpoints when Revan was completely focused. That sort of information dominance meant it was almost impossible for a force led by her to be outmaneuvered unless her opponent could perfectly coordinate their own forces such as Bastila had with Battle Meditation and even then it took significant effort. So the group of eye drones the Reapers had sent ahead of them trying to flank Revan¡¯s battlegroup were swiftly discovered and countered by sending her own interceptors after them. But before the smaller ships could engage each other, the main force entered firing range. The Empress calmly gave the order to open fire and watched as the brilliant bolts of blue energy slammed into the enemy ships. Cheers went up at the sight of them actually affecting the Reapers, what lights were visible on their hulls flickering wildly, but Revan quickly ordered them to fire the turbolasers. Just as she suspected, the Ion Cannons could disable some of the Reapers¡¯ systems, but their techno-organic nature meant core systems were at least partially unaffected. The weapons systems worked at least, Revan noted, as they quickly ¨C if inaccurately ¨C returned fire. The Reapers had no doubt been expecting to easily absorb the first few shots from the Imperial Battlegroup on their shields and fire once they were in optimal position to damage or destroy as many ships as possible. They had paid for the assumption and were slowly getting picked off one by one. More cheers went up at what was probably the first Space victory against the Reapers since the invasion started and this time Revan allowed them a small celebration, knowing this would likely be the last time victory was so easy. The Reapers had allowed themselves to wander fat and happy directly under her guns and were surprised by a weapon they hadn¡¯t seen deployed against them yet. But now the element of surprise was gone and they would no doubt adapt. ¡°Empress! Five Capital ships headed our way! Fifteen more escorts accompanying them!¡± ¡°Reform formation and have the fleet focus on recharging shields.¡± Revan said calmly. ¡°We surprised them the first time. Now it¡¯s time to see if we can beat them in a fair fight.¡± Mass Effect: Knight of the Old Republic - Chapter 54 ¡°The last of the Interceptor wings has successfully returned to the hangar, ma¡¯am.¡± A quarian reported while Revan focused on the tactical holo. ¡°Status?¡± ¡°Three fighters destroyed and eight with minor damages. Replacements have already been rotated in so the wings will be at full strength for the next deployment.¡± That was good news. The galaxy as a whole had very little information about the Reapers¡¯ tools besides the Husks that had been widely deployed before the main arrival and the handful of reports made about Sovereign¡¯s capabilities before it was destroyed. Something Revan and her Admirals had been worried about was that the murderous machines would have small scale fighters that vastly out-performed anything they could produce. And while the Eye-droids did have the advantage in speed and maneuverability thanks to the lack of a pilot, it wasn¡¯t so great that it couldn¡¯t be overcome thanks to the greater durability the ray-shield systems offered Revan¡¯s own Interceptors and the non-kinetic based weaponry. In fact even a standard SA fighter would theoretically be capable of destroying an Eye-droid one-on-one as long as its weapons were upgraded. A crucial factor since as the war dragged on both ships and experienced pilots would become harder to come by, where the Reaper forces would remain at the same level or improve. That the existing designs could compete should Revan manage to supply them with the weapons they needed meant that many more pilots would return after a fight and that she could rely on them as more than blaster-fodder to preserve her own forces. The bigger issue was the medium to large scale ships. Revan wasn¡¯t immediately sure if the local Turian fleet had been crushed by superior numbers or simply because the Reapers out-classed them so much ¨C perhaps a combination of both ¨C but by debris alone it seemed for every Reaper they had destroyed, the Turians lost three to four ships of their own. Completely unsustainable. Drowning your enemies in your own blood only worked if you outnumbered them. Which they did not. Now it was time to see how the Reapers fared against ships not built following the design path they left behind fared against them. ¡°Enemies passing maximum effective range in ten seconds, Empress! Orders?¡± ¡°Launch sixty percent of our fighters, thirty of our bombers. I want them enveloping the enemy¡¯s flanks. Have the main battleline ready to split in wing formation four with the Flag as the centerpoint on my command.¡± Once again, the bridge crew rushed to carry out their orders as Revan spread her awareness out into the Force. Twenty ships vs her own fifteen¡­not to mention the enemy reinforcements already in-system and an unknown amount more on the other side of the planet¡­ This was not a battle she could afford to get pinned down in. She nodded minutely to herself and confirmed her opening strategy. ¡°Enter formation.¡± At her order her escorts split off into four groups of three, spreading out diagonally in all directions while the two other Harrowers formed up in a line with Revan¡¯s ship in the middle. From there every ship began slowly advancing while angling slightly away from the incoming Reaper group, creating a gradually expanding cone with escort class ships at the edges and the larger, slower Harrowers acting as a hammer. ¡°Ion cannons, focus on the capital ships. Once those are disabled, destroyers, focus on picking off their escorts. I want bomber groups targeting their main weapons, fighter groups ¨C guide them in. All other guns ¨C fire at will.¡± Space erupted in a frenzy of lights as red turbolasers and blue ion cannons fired, as starfighters accelerated out into the void and dogfights broke out against the Reapers¡¯ starfighters. Revan could feel the deck below her vibrate slightly as the Harrower unleashed its considerable armament against the enemy. Then came the most excruciating part of a battle for a commander. Trusting others to do what was needed. Revan had given her orders. It was up for the ship captains to carry them out. Not only would attempting to micromanage them be detrimental, it would likely blind her to the reaction from the Reaper group. She was under no illusion that this battle would be as overwhelmingly one-sided as the first one. Instead she expanded her vision and began looking for traps set by the enemy forces and how she could counter them. ¡°Have fighter group six break off, they are being led into an ambush.¡± The Sith Empress ordered as she moved her viewpoint throughout the battlefield. ¡°And bomber group three redirected to Reaper Capital Ship 04. Its hull has a breach on its starboard side ¨C I want proton torpedoes in that hole before it recovers its kinetic barrier. Hunter groups, there is a squadron of Eye-droids targeting the aft of Escort 07 ¨C I want them destroyed¡­¡± Revan continued barking out orders even as reports about ship statuses flooded in before her. So far the combination of kinetic barriers and particle shields had prevented any major hits from the Reapers¡¯ main armaments while ray shields were only slightly effective, but the constant strain of trying to deflect the main beam weapon even the destroyer class Reapers used were causing some of the shield generators to come dangerously close to overheating or straight out failing in some cases. This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience. Two escorts had been targeted by multiple Reapers at once and had taken glancing hits that burned holes in their duralloy metal hulls. Minor damage from what she could see, but proof that even Imperial ship designs were able to be destroyed by the genocidal spaceships. It was not all bad news though. A particularly clever Captain of one of her escort class ships had taken to rolling his ship to spread the attack over a larger area, allowing different generators to take some of the strain even if it meant fewer guns available to face the enemy. By coordinating with the two other escort ships in his group, they had been able to focus fire on one Reaper after the other. Destroying two of the enemy escorts and even one of the Capital class ships with a lucky shot to the core. And that was something else Revan quickly noticed. While the Reapers¡¯ kinetic barriers made missile and ballistic attacks almost futile, they did not perform nearly as well against the heavy turbolasers or proton torpedoes Revan¡¯s ships used. Make no mistake, the techno-organic hulls were incredibly durable and took several direct hits to damage significantly. But the Harrowers alone had over thirty turbolasers, not counting the rest of their armament. Even the Capital class Reapers were quickly getting chewed to pieces. Revan frowned as another two Reapers were destroyed. Even with the damage her fleet was accumulating¡­this seemed too easy. She focused her Far Sight on the rest of the system. More of the Reapers were breaking off from Palaven and vectoring towards her fleet, but they were taking very wide paths for it ¨C almost like they were trying to encircle her. Ah, that was the trap. The Sith took a moment to look more closely at the remaining ships the battlegroup was engaged with to confirm her thoughts. The remaining Reapers were starting to ignore the increasingly damaged escort ships and were accelerating into the heart of her formation without attempting to finish them off ¨C directly towards the Harrowers. ¡°Order all ships to reverse course and recall all starships.¡± The communications officer paused and looked back at her and then towards the ship¡¯s captain. ¡°A-are you sure...Empress?¡± he added belatedly. Revan pushed aside the desire to snap at him to follow orders. It was understandable. From their point of view their side was winning decisively even if it wasn¡¯t bloodless. Even if they couldn¡¯t fight every Reaper in the system, they could still destroy this group with little risk before the other enemies could get close. There was no reason to run away. ¡°Do it now.¡± Revan¡¯s order gave no room for objection. But once the orders were delivered she allowed her voice to soften a little and explain. ¡°The Reapers are preparing to ram our center directly. They no longer care if we destroy every ship here as long as they disable the Harrowers.¡± ¡°Permission to speak?¡± The Ship Captain asked to which Revan nodded. ¡°Only Harrower-03 has shield generators in the yellow. If we simply rotate the Harrowers to lower incoming fire even if all remaining Reapers managed to score direct hits with their main weapon, we should be able to shrug it off and maneuver away before their reinforcements got close.¡± ¡°Even if the Reaper lands on the ship?¡± Revan¡¯s question made the crew twitch. Understandable, since avoiding collisions in space was simply common sense. But the Reapers didn¡¯t share that belief, there was no reason for the ¡®leg¡¯ segments to open as wide as they did otherwise and now that the Sith was looking for it, she could see a few Turian wrecks that looked like they had been physically torn apart rather than from an explosion. ¡°This is just the first battle,¡± Revan reminded them all. ¡°We¡¯ve proven we can defeat the Reapers in a straight fight, we¡¯ve shown with certain advantages we can demolish them. What we cannot do is throw away our lives by forgetting the bigger picture.¡± There was some grumbling among the crew that hardened into determination as they reminded themselves that the galaxy was now at war. Some clearly didn¡¯t agree with Revan to retreat while they had the advantage, but all of them leaped back into their tasks with new focus. Nodding to herself, Revan gave the final orders to engage the backup FTL drives and jump out of system to every ship where they would rendezvous before heading back to Imperial space. There was no need to show off the hyperdrives to the Reapers just yet. That would be a trump card for another time. It was just the first battle, afterall, and they had already won where it mattered. -o- Shepard fired her shotgun at the last Husk remaining and took a bit of pleasure in how it exploded before looking around herself and frowning. They might have won this battle, but they had already lost where it mattered. Palaven and its moons were still burning. And neither her nor the Normandy could do anything about that. But they still needed the new Primarch out of here if there was going to be any chance of getting the Council to actually put effort into saving themselves and the rest of the damned galaxy. And as much as the Commander didn¡¯t like it or them right now, she needed to put those frustrations aside and build alliances if they were going to gather the resources to build the Prothean superweapon Liara had found in the Mars facility. ¡°Area¡¯s clear, Shepard. Come on, the general is just up ahead.¡± Garrus called as he jogged back up to her and James. It had been a welcome surprise to run into him on Mavae, but Shepard wasn¡¯t going to turn down a friendly face. Even if she was a little jealous Garrus had managed to keep the blaster rifle Revan had gifted the Normandy Specialists while her own were snagged by Alliance R&D and she was back to using unmodded, mass-produced crap until she could source better weapons. ¡°Let¡¯s give him a moment to get sorted out.¡± Shepard suggested, seeing General Victus organizing the remaining defenders after they had repelled the latest assault. ¡°James, any news from the Normandy about those issues earlier? Or about the mystery fleet that appeared on the other side of the planet?¡± ¡°Nada, Commander. Not sure if there¡¯s a problem or the Normandy just isn¡¯t talking right now.¡± The Alliance marine replied. ¡°Damn. Okay, let me know if that changes.¡± The Normandy breaking down was just about the last thing they needed right now, but it had fled Earth while halfway through renovations. There was no telling what could break when pushed as hard as the Normandy had the last few days. But that fleet was also a concern. Fifteen ships of unknown design appearing out of FTL on the other side of Palaven smack dab in the middle of a Reaper invasion. And the only reason they knew about them were a handful of surviving satellites relaying the information back to the Turian central command post. With the Turian fleet getting torn apart in space already, there simply hadn¡¯t been the resources or time to send a ship around to establish communications, so Shepard had no idea who they were or what they were doing here. Part of her hoped it was some client Race of the Turians coming to assist ¨C she didn¡¯t exactly know every model of ship in the galaxy ¨C since if Palaven was retaken that would make convincing the Turians to spare a few fleets to assist Earth much easier. The rest of her simply hoped those ships wouldn¡¯t bring more problems. ¡°Alright looks like he¡¯s done. Let¡¯s go get our Primarch and then get out of here.¡± She said, seeing Victus making his way over to their group. ¡°Commander Shepard of the Normandy,¡± the General started once he was within speaking distance. ¡°I know who you are, and I can¡¯t wait to find out what brings you out here.¡± Taking a half second to wonder if that was a good thing or a bad thing and ultimately choosing to just ignore it, Shepard got straight to the point. ¡°General, you¡¯re needed off planet. I¡¯ve come to get you.¡± The general gave her an almost dismissive glare before shifting to look out towards the destroyed outpost. ¡°It will take something beyond important for me to leave my men, or my turian brothers and sisters, in their fight.¡± He responded. ¡°General¨C¡± Garrus started before he was interrupted. ¡°Vakarian ¨C there you are, where did you go?¡± Garrus chuckled. ¡°Heavy Reaper unit on the right flank. I believe your exact words were ¡®get that thing the hell off my men.¡¯¡± ¡°Appreciate it.¡± Victus snorted. ¡°Now what¡¯s so important?¡± ¡°Fedorean was killed ¨C you¡¯re the new Primarch.¡± Victus¡¯s mandibles opened in what Shepard assumed was ¡®complete shock¡¯. She seized the opening to try and convince the man to leave even though every cell in his body was likely screaming at him to stay on Menae to directly fight the Reapers. ¡°You¡¯re needed immediately to chair a summit and represent your people in the fight against the Reapers.¡± She said softly, knowing from personal experience how hard what she was asking him to do was. Victus barely seemed to hear her as he slowly walked forward, eyes locked on Palaven, as he just¡­watched the planet burn. ¡°I am primarch of Palaven?¡± he murmured. ¡°Negotiating for the Turian hierarchy?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± Shepard replied simply. The new Primarch looked back at her and despite the alien biology, Shepard saw that this had shaken Victus more than the invasion itself. ¡°I¡¯ve spent my whole life in the military. I¡¯m no diplomat¡­I hate diplomats!¡± ¡°War is your resume Primarch,¡± Shepard said, reinforcing the title. ¡°At a time like this we need leaders that have gone through that hell. And honestly? Uniting these races may take as much strength as facing the Reapers.¡± Shepard pointed all around them, ¡°See this devastation, Primarch? Double that for Earth. I need an alliance. I need the turian fleet.¡± Victus gave her a long stare that quickly hardened into resolve. ¡°Give me some time to say goodbye to my men.¡± he said, to which Shepard simply nodded. ¡°Without him down here, there''s a good chance we lose this moon.¡± Garrus said quietly as the General walked away. ¡°Without him up there,¡± Shepard replied just as quietly, ¡°There¡¯s a good chance we lose everything.¡± ¡°Spirits,¡± Garrus exhaled. ¡°You think you can win this thing, Shepard?¡± The Commander smiled a bit, even if the mantle of responsibility she carried felt just a bit heavier. ¡°Yeah, I don¡¯t know, Garrus. But I¡¯m sure as hell going to give it my best shot.¡± Mass Effect: Knight of the Old Republic - Chapter 55 ¡°You okay, Commander?¡± Joker asked as Shepard slouched near the entrance to the cockpit and just took a moment to stare out the viewports into space. ¡°Just fine, Joker. Just need a moment where I¡¯m not trying to ape a politician with the vast amount of experience I don¡¯t have.¡± Shepard smiled at the pilot. ¡°And besides that, today was just¡­a lot.¡± ¡°I know what you mean. Fighting through an entire battlefield to find one person? Mysterious space fleets coming out of nowhere? And that¡¯s not even mentioning the Reapers¡­I know we dealt with stuff like that all the time in the old days, but we usually spaced it out at least a little.¡± ¡°Looks like we¡¯re not that lucky this time around.¡± Shepard smirked a bit. ¡°At least EDI got a new toy out of everything.¡± Joker side eyed the Cerberus made robotic infiltrator body they had picked up in the Mars facility that their resident AI had taken over and started puppeting, now sitting in the co-pilot¡¯s chair. ¡°Yeah, thanks for not telling me about that by the way. I just about crapped my pants when she walked in.¡± That made Shepard raise an eyebrow in turn. ¡°You seriously didn¡¯t know she was going to do that?¡± ¡°Okay, let me put it this way: if I knew EDI was going to install herself into a sexy robot body, do you honestly think I¡¯d be able to keep quiet about it?¡± Joker held his hands up like he was framing a picture. ¡°Look at that! I would¡¯ve baked a cake!¡± ¡°I am right here, Jeff.¡± EDI responded drily without taking her new eyes off the panel in front of her. ¡°Yes you are, EDI. Yes you are.¡± Shepard snorted at the back and forth between the two of them before getting serious again. ¡°Either of you manage to dig anything up about the fleet that appeared at Palaven?¡± ¡°Not much, Shepard. Very few of the sensors in the system were in a position to get a detailed look, but we can confirm that the design of the vessels does not match with any known race registered by the Citadel.¡± ¡°So we know nothing about them?¡± Damn it, was it actually a first contact situation? That would be an absolute nightmare. Especially with a group that could put up an even fight with a Reaper detachment. A new species wouldn¡¯t know about the dangers of Reapertech and Indoctrination and even more critically, might not believe it if they were told. That could lead to another Race becoming pawns of the Reapers and being able to launch surprise attacks deep into Citadel space because all defense fleets would be on guard against Reaper ships, not the newcomers¡­ ¡°Ah, not exactly.¡± Joker interjected. ¡°What do you mean? I thought you just said the Council has no record of them?¡± ¡°That is correct, Commander. The Council has no records of them.¡± EDI said smoothly. ¡±However, there is one ship that shares several design elements in Cerberus¡¯s databases. A wreck that was discovered on Lorek a year ago.¡± Shepard made the connection. ¡°Wait, are you saying Revan¡­?¡± She trailed off. Joker nodded. ¡°Looks like our Dark Overlady has been pretty busy. Too bad we don¡¯t have her number anymore. It¡¯d be really useful to have those ships on speed dial.¡± Right, the Normandy¡¯s systems had been scrubbed when the Alliance had refitted her. And Shepard¡¯s own contact list had been deleted when she gave herself up after the Alpha Relay incident. Shepard would have to check with Liara later to see if any of her contacts had Revan or Tali¡¯s contact information. Or failing that anyone close enough to them to pass a message because Joker was right, they needed every ship they could get their hands on if they were going to push the Reapers off Earth. ¡°Well hopefully we can get in contact with her soon. She did promise to help with the Reapers.¡± Shepard commented. ¡°Did we manage to see how they compared in battle?¡± ¡°Only partially.¡± EDI reported. ¡°We are missing most of the final engagement but it seems that in a direct confrontation the new ships we observed can match a Reaper without being destroyed.¡± The Commander perked up. ¡°Revan can beat them then?¡± ¡°In small scale engagements with equal numbers at least.¡± EDI temporized. ¡°Too bad the Reapers don¡¯t fight fair.¡± Joker added. ¡°There was some really impressive flying over there, almost like their captains could see what the Reapers were going to do before they did it, and they still ended up needing to limp away because the Reapers sent more ships after them.¡± Shepard still ended up smiling. ¡°Yes, but Revan¡¯s fleet proved we can fight the Reaper¡¯s toe to toe. It¡¯ll be bloody, but now we have a plan B if the Prothean superweapon turns out to be a dud.¡± It would be an incredibly bloody and long fight, but if they could build enough ships like those to avoid getting simply overrun by the Reapers then the galaxy could eventually win. Or at least she hoped so. She simply had no idea how hard it was to produce ships like the ones they had seen but it was another thread of hope when they only had one other before. This tale has been unlawfully lifted without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon. ¡®No point in speculating right now.¡¯ She thought to herself as she turned to leave. ¡®I have enough to worry about trying to convince the Krogans to help us out.¡¯ -o- ¡°Commander, I found something suspicious. Do you have a minute?¡± The voice Specialist Samantha Traynor stopped her on the way to the elevator. Shepard paused at the call, since it was pretty rare for the Specialist to initiate a conversation. They would talk every now and then thanks to the Commander¡¯s habit of trying to make time to speak with every member of her crew, but it was obvious Traynor despite her rank was more comfortable with lab work and a more civilian environment. Something Shepard had no issue respecting since Liara and Tali had started off the same way and Shepard was even making allowances for the Journalist tagging along with the Normandy, but Traynor was simply taking longer to adjust to living on a ship than any of them that made it obvious she was uncomfortable on the Normandy. ¡°Sure, what do you got?¡± ¡°I found something while scanning Alliance channels. Grissom Academy is requesting help. The Reaper invasion front will hit them soon.¡± An Academy had access to Alliance channels? That was a bit surprising. ¡°I know the place. We needed to send a young man there after an¡­incident.¡± That was probably the most polite way she could describe the Project Overlord fiasco. ¡°But I thought it would have closed down already once the Reapers were confirmed.¡± Traynor shrugged. ¡°Some of their work has Alliance support. It may be why they stayed.¡± And explain why they had access to military channels. Fine. ¡°Alright, and what¡¯s suspicious about them?¡± ¡°I first noticed them because of a distress signal sent by the academy that was answered by a turian evac transport. So normally I¡¯d say we don¡¯t need to do anything. But something sounded off in the turian signal. I had EDI run an analysis.¡± Traynor pulled up a bunch of charts and infographs on her terminal that meant absolutely nothing to Shepard. ¡°It¡¯s fake.¡± Traynor already had Shepard¡¯s attention. Now she had her interest. ¡°Fake?¡± ¡°EDI thinks it¡¯s Cerberus. She said the faked turian signal was similar to one that lured you to a Collector ship¡­?¡± The Specialist trailed off, looking at Shepard with curiosity. Unfortunately the Commander wasn¡¯t in the mood to explain. ¡°Long story.¡± Traynor got the hint. ¡°In any event, whoever faked the signal wants us to think Grissom Academy¡¯s being evacuated. But I believe they are still in danger.¡± Shepard was impressed. Between the chaos of the war and Cerberus¡¯s own skill at hiding their tracks, she bet no one else had picked up on this. ¡°Good catch.¡± ¡°If this really is Cerberus, hopefully this operation is worth investigating.¡± The Specialist continued as if Shepard hadn¡¯t spoken. ¡°It could be simple disinformation¡­¡± ¡°Traynor.¡± Shepard interrupted. ¡°Good catch.¡± She emphasized, which got her an uncertain smile from the darker skinned woman. ¡°Thank you, Commander!¡± Now Shepard just had to decide if a detour was worth it when they desperately needed to get to Tuchanka yesterday. The Spectre and Commander said no, that anything that delayed getting support for the war was a lower priority and would have to wait. The human side told both those sides to fuck off. Jane Shepard wasn¡¯t about to allow Cerberus to get their hands on a bunch of kids for whatever twisted purpose they had in mind. Tuchanka would have to wait for now. ¡°EDI, I have a course change¡­¡± -o- ¡°This is the last of the damage reports?¡± Revan asked rhetorically as another datapad was handed to her. ¡°Yes, ma¡¯am.¡± Her secretary responded. ¡°All ships reported in.¡± The Sith Empress dismissed him with a wave of her hand and began scanning the reports. They were¡­better than she expected, but worse than she hoped. Besides the Harrowers, nearly every ship had blown at least one shield generator and several escorts had hull damage from where the Reaper¡¯s powerful main weapons had broken through. None of them had been damaged to the point that they couldn¡¯t move under their own power but at least two were going to have to return to a docking station for repairs and another three needed new components before they could afford to get into another major confrontation. So five ships ¡®mission killed¡¯ in exchange for the near complete destruction of a Reaper battlegroup roughly the same size. In theory it was a resounding victory ¨C and it was ¨C but Revan reminded herself it wasn¡¯t enough. She had ¡®lost¡¯ five ships at the end of a battle where they had surprised the Reapers with technology they were not prepared for, had Revan¡¯s Farsight countering most of their tactics, and had not even engaged every Reaper in the system. Yes, she had won the battle. But the moment the Reapers decided to attack her forces with overwhelming numbers was the moment the only strategy she had left was to run. Revan needed more hulls. More importantly, she needed hulls that could handle the stresses a large turbolaser battery put on a ship and wouldn¡¯t take months trying to refit everything. Her Geth and Quarian subjects were working tirelessly to produce as many warships as they could, but reinforcing the ramshackle Quarian fleet or redesigning Geth ships for organic habitation were almost as much work as simply breaking them down and building Imperial ships instead. She needed something already tough enough that she could simply slap a few weapons on, was built for organics, and wasn¡¯t in use by a faction that would demand things from the Empire Revan wasn¡¯t willing to give. Unfortunately that meant many of the wrecks that populated planets like Korlus were unusable for her purposes. Oh, the metal was absolutely useful and now that Revan remembered the garbage planet the Normandy had visited in an attempt to recruit a krogan warlord she was absolutely going to send several transport ships to salvage everything they could, but it remained simply another source of resources, not a solution to her problems. Although, Krogan¡­ Revan was forced to put those thoughts on hold as the holo-tank in the middle of the room began indicating a call coming through. Seconds later the ghostly blue hologram of Admiral Han Gerrel appeared. ¡°Admiral, is there a problem?¡± ¡°Greetings Empress Revan. I¡¯m sorry to say there is.¡± Gerrel said solemnly. ¡°Reapers?¡± ¡°I would almost prefer that. We¡¯ve seen an uptick of pirate attacks in the Terminus Systems. We¡¯ve been able to repel any that approach our territory for now but it seems only a matter of time before they attack a world we¡¯ve claimed without a defense force in place.¡± Revan frowned. ¡°I left several Geth fleets under your control. Are you saying they aren¡¯t enough to deter a few pirates?¡± Gerrel rolled his shoulders uncomfortably. ¡°Under normal circumstances, absolutely. But I believe the pirates are being backed by Cerberus. I have enough ships to protect our interests, but not enough to rout them out without leaving gaps in our defense.¡± Cerberus again. That human supremacist group was quickly becoming a thorn in her side. ¡°I see, then I suppose you have a plan to deal with them?¡± ¡°Of a sort. Your battlegroup would make a great deterrent against the pirates and would be free to hunt down the slower groups. A Harrower and a few escorts split up over our trade lanes would make entire systems much safer.¡± Revan could see where the Admiral was coming from. Unfortunately that was assuming her battlegroup was at full strength, which it was not. It also assumed that Revan could split her group up at the moment. The Empress could spare one or two ships at maximum. Unlike the Normandy, her Harrower couldn¡¯t slip in and out of systems unnoticed. And after the victory she earned at Palaven she had no doubt the Reapers would jump at the opportunity to destroy her if she gave an opening. Which meant escorts. Especially if she was going to secure the hulls she needed should she find them. She couldn¡¯t afford to split her group up further and still pursue her goals. ¡°I understand your concern, Admiral. Unfortunately I simply cannot spare the ships. At most I can direct the damaged ships I have to a world with the capabilities to repair them and you can use them as stand ins for the defense fleet to patrol as you see fit.¡± ¡°Empress¡­that would leave hundreds of smaller ships vulnerable to these pirates!¡± Gerrel objected. ¡°I understand.¡± Revan said evenly. ¡°But it is a sacrifice we will need to make if we are going to stand a chance against the Reapers when they turn their full attention to us.¡± And it wasn¡¯t like Revan wanted to let pirates run freely around the Terminus Systems. ¡°I cannot spare more ships right now, but I have an idea that will give us a boost in the number of ships we can field. Tell me, do you know anything about the demilitarized Krogan fleet?¡± ¡°The Krogans? Not much, unfortunately. At the end of the Rebellions no one trusted them with a war ship so the weapons and drives were removed but beyond that I have no idea¡­wait, you think¡­?¡± ¡°That the hulls might still be around? Yes.¡± Revan had no issue confirming his suspicion. ¡°No other species but the Elcor are large enough to comfortably use the hulls and from what I understand they do not like space.¡± ¡°Hrm, that would solve our hull shortage. If you can get them to move, that is. Weapons we can refit anywhere, but we would need to install the drive cores wherever they are now. Likely Tuchanka. And the Krogans won¡¯t like it if they catch you trying to simply take them.¡± Revan clasped her hands behind her back. ¡°Let me worry about the Krogans, Admiral. You focus on curtailing the pirates as best you can. And if you can find proof of Cerberus¡¯s involvement, inform me immediately.¡± ¡°Yes Ma¡¯am.¡± The Admiral nodded one final time and the holo-tank winked off. Mass Effect: Knight of the Old Republic - Chapter 56 "Mass Effect transition completed, Empress! We''ve arrived at the Aralakh System!" "Enemy presence confirmed! Reaper signatures detected around the first, fourth, and sixth planets! They are moving towards us!" "Numbers?" "One capital ship per group! Fourteen destroyers in the first group, twenty in the second, and only eight in the third!" "They weren''t expecting anyone to come to this system." Revan decided after hearing the numbers of enemies they faced. Oh, it was certainly overkill for anything that would normally pass through the Aralakh System. But for all the destructive power a Reaper ship had, they were simply too small when it came to the size of a planet. Unless the Reapers received reinforcements it would take months, possibly years, before they could completely scour one world completely with all the forces they had in-system and they clearly weren''t even doing that. Of course that might not be a concern for the giant droids. Time meant something very different for things that operated on cycles thousands of years long. "They still outnumber us four to one." Her tactical officer cautioned from his station. A reasonable point considering they were down to seven escorts after Palaven even if the Harrowers were mostly untouched. "No, they''ll outnumber us two to one in one battle, and are outmatched in the second." Revan countered as she used the Force to observe the system. Not all of the Reapers were moving to intercept her battlegroup, some continued to linger around the planets they were located at when they translated into the system. No doubt considering whatever task they were occupied as more important than hunting down the ships that had appeared. "Set an intercept course for the group near the sixth planet. We''ll destroy them before they can link up with the rest of their forces. Harrowers lead the charge and Ion cannons dispersed between all enemy vessels." -o- Revan didn''t have much to say about the first battle in the Aralakh System. The Reapers still didn''t have time to come up with a counter to her ship''s Ion cannons so once again they were forced to fight partially disabled and were quickly picked off by the sheer amount of firepower Revan''s battlegroup could bring to bear when faced with similar numbers. But that didn''t mean the Reapers hadn''t learned from the battle. The ships that had broken off from the first and fourth planets had met up, but instead of forming one group and moving to confront Revan''s own ships they had split into three subgroups. Theoretically Revan''s battlegroup would be able to easily crush any individual group with minimal damage, but practically her forces couldn''t afford to engage any one of them without quickly being surrounded by the remaining two. It was the perfect tactic to counter what Revan had displayed so far. "We could perform a microjump to FTL that would put us right on top of one of the groups." One of her officers suggested. "If we deploy all our spacefighter wings we should be able to destroy the Reaper ships before the other two get in range. Then it would be another battle between numerically similar groups, even if we would have a disadvantaged deployment." "We''d have to use the Hyperdrives. Conventional FTL isn''t accurate enough for that." Another argued. "And we were ordered not to reveal those yet." "Technology not used is technology that is wasted! We have the perfect opportunity to give another blow to the boshtets!" "And doing so would have every Reaper hunt us down until we were destroyed." Revan quickly reminded him. Fear and arrogance after the last battle were clouding some of her officer''s judgment, and Revan couldn''t exactly blame them too harshly for it. They had seen the homeworld of the Turians destroyed by the same forces they had fought three times now and beaten with minimal to moderate difficulty. It was understandable that they wanted to keep pressing the attack and end the Reapers before they could do more damage. So Revan needed to keep a firm hold on her more aggressive captains until they were ready to actually go on the offensive and unfortunately that simply wasn''t going to happen in Aralakh. "We are here for one, maybe two, reasons. To retrieve the hulls of the Krogan''s navy and bring them back for refitting." Along with potentially convincing the Krogans to ally with the Empire since they would make incredible shocktroopers, but that was a secondary goal. "We don''t even need to deal with the Reapers until we are ready to attempt making a move on the hulls." "With all due respect, Empress." One of the more stubborn officers spoke up. "If that is the case and we are not going to engage the Reaper forces¡­is there anything left for us to do in-system or should we just return to Rannoch to gather crews to help move the hulls?" Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings. "We still need to negotiate for the hulls from the Krogan." Revan replied, allowing a bit of amusement to seep into her voice. "...we do?" "The Geth agree with Officer Moris, Revan-Empress." One of the Geth units joined the conversation. "If asset retrieval is priority, there is no need to discuss with the Krogan. They do not have the ability to stop us from doing so while dealing with the Old Machines." "And it''s precisely because of that, that it is crucial that we ask before taking action." Revan replied. "Just like the Quarians, the Krogan have been continuously exploited while being largely marginalized by the Council. While we probably could simply take everything once we deal with the Reapers in the system, it would hardly be a good start to an alliance." With that little insight explained most - if not all - of the officers suddenly became much more understanding about Revan''s approach. Even if the galaxy was under attack by omnicidal murder machines, that did not mean that the exploitation and slights from the Council races had magically been forgotten. "Set a course past Tuchanka. I will head to the surface via a shuttle." "And the fleet?" "As long as the Reapers don''t attempt to make a move, keep allowing them to pursue you. Don''t get drawn into standing fights and keep mobile. I will call when it''s time to extract from the planet." And with that settled, Revan turned on her heel and began marching towards the nearest shuttle bay. All that remained was to identify who had any authority on the ruined landscape of Tuchanka and if they would even be open to negotiations or if Revan would have to organize a¡­sudden transfer of power¡­ to meet her goals. -o- Shepard moved as quickly as she could down the hall without making a sound, Liara and Garrus right on her tail. They didn''t have a whole lot of time considering Cerberus had beaten them here, but they also didn''t have enough people to fight through the entirety of Grissom Academy while trying to reach the area the remaining students were hiding out in. Thankfully, most of the Academy was actually empty due the the Reaper arrival so they didn''t have to figure out how to sneak hundreds of people around a Cerberus cruiser, but trying to find twenty or so that had trained to be biotic artillery of all fucking things and keep them safe, was still going to be difficult. Director Sanders had painted a fairly grim picture overall about the students'' chances which was already an understatement considering her squad had found the older woman trapped in a server room about to be executed by the Cerberus squad the moment they broke through the door. "Reiley Bellarmine, drop the barrier, now!" Shepard momentarily froze at the sound of a Cerberus soldier barking orders before automatically ducking into cover before peeking out to assess the situation. A single older teenager was protecting himself behind a domed biotic barrier as two Cerberus troopers were staring down at him from behind raised weapons. "Nobody''s going to hurt you. The file says we need you alive." The second trooper said in a failed attempt at being comforting. "But your sister? She''s optional. You give us trouble, we''ll find her." If Shepard wasn''t already convinced that Cerberus was more out for itself than for humanity that would have done it. Hard to convince people you are the ''good guys'' when your partially-indoctrinated cyborg shocktroopers were going around threatening teenagers to come with them or they were going to hurt your family. She gave a quick signal to her squadmates and did a silent three-count before she and Liara ducked out of cover and hit both troopers with a Biotic Pull. The Troopers barely had time to shout in surprise before Garrus put two blaster bolts in their heads and silenced them. Shepard turned to the now very pale teenager and gently stepped between him and the bodies. He might have seen worse by now, but there was no reason to rub it in his face. "There may be more nearby." She said in a firm voice, drawing his attention even more. "I want you to play dead for a bit and then get to Kahlee Sanders in security. Do you understand?" "O-okay, but my sister Seanne is out here somewhere, too¡­" "Don''t worry, we''ll find her." Shepard promised, wishing she could spend more time making sure the kid would be okay. But the area was mostly secure and he had a clear shot back to safety. Shepard couldn''t be sure the others could wait even that long. Something that was unfortunately proven true when barely two minutes after they had left Reiley and moved forward Shepard saw a young woman getting gunned down from behind by another group of Troopers. And they didn''t seem to care much that they were shooting at children. "Watch the headshots! Orders are to take them alive!" "Check the file. Who was it?" Shepard didn''t even have to order her squad to open fire before the Cerberus thugs were shot to pieces by Liara''s SMG, Garrus'' blaster rifle, and her own shotgun. Their bodies had barely hit the floor before the Spectre rushed to the fallen student, medigel in hand¡­but it was too late. "Shepard, contact!" She turned to see another squad of Troopers turn the corner even as one snapped a shot off at a target around a corner she couldn''t see. Likely at another student. Well at least now she had a target for the feelings burning in her chest. "Liara, Singularity!" "On it!" The Asari Scientist put a glowing mass of biotic energy just beyond the doorway they were facing and almost immediately played hell with the Cerberus squad''s positions. The two that had stacked up against the doorframe had been yanked backwards and were now flailing helplessly and another had dropped his rifle to desperately hang onto the back of a row of chairs that were bolted to the floor. The rest ranked high enough to actually have kinetic shields that let them ignore the biotic attack as the mass effect field and kinetic barrier interfered with one another. Not that the shields were a major issue for her or her squad. Garrus''s gifted rifle shared the same property Geth plasma weapons did in mostly ignoring shields while burning through the field at an incredible rate. Neither Shepard or Liara had anything similar - and unless they ran into Revan while she was in a giving mood, wouldn''t anytime soon - but Spectre and the Shadow Broker could still afford to get their hands on some very impressive weapon mods. The Cerberus hardsuits certainly protected them longer than anything the Alliance typically fielded. But longer wasn''t enough to turn the tables. Cerberus soldiers put down, Shepard moved up along with her squad to check on whatever the squad had initially shot at. Sure enough there was another student - another young girl even - huddled in a corner holding her side. "Stay back! I''ll¡­I''ll¡­" She gasped as Shepard ran up to her. "Hey, it''s alright. My name is Commander Shepard." She said to the girl. "We aren''t going to let them hurt you. "Goddess, she''s bleeding badly! Shepard, we need to help her fast!" Liara exclaimed. "I''ve got some medigel." Garrus said as he moved closer with an injector. "Here, let me¡­" The girl started squirming as the heavily armed Turian started approaching so Shepard gently moved her face so they were eye to eye. "Hey, we''re here to help." She repeated. "Can you tell me your name?" "S-Seanne. Seanne Bellemine." Shepard forced a smile. "Well, Seanne. I''m glad we found you so quickly. We just sent your brother to go meet up with Director Sanders at security. Once we get you patched up you can go see him. You think you can do that?" "O-oh¡­yeah¡­I think I can. I just need to rest a minute." Seanne''s eyes darted towards the hallway Shepard''s team had just passed through. "Sally was right behind me¡­is she¡­?" The smile slipped off Shepard''s face even as Garrus finished patching the girl up. "Sorry, Cerberus got her before we could do anything." "....Damn¡­" Seanne hissed under her breath, fighting back tears. "...Promise me you''ll make them pay for this, will you?" "Damn right we will." Mass Effect: Knight of the Old Republic - Chapter 57 Revan gripped the edge of her seat tightly as the shuttle did its best to toss her across the interior of her shuttle as it cut its way through Tuchanka¡¯s atmosphere. Unfortunately for her, the best method of landing on the planet while avoiding detection by the Reapers chasing her battlegroup was to use a storm as cover. It made the ride down decidedly unpleasant. Especially since she had to use one of the smaller shuttles to reduce the chance of discovery as much as she could. But once she was through the cloud cover it was only a short flight towards Urdnot territory where she hoped she could negotiate for what she was here for. If possible she didn¡¯t want to remain on this planet very long. The desert landscapes, crumbling stone ruins, and persistent feeling of death in the Force reminded her uncomfortably closely of Korriban, the old Sith homeworld and part of the reason she had preferred to remain on the Normandy the last time she had been on this planet. The lack of hostile Force Ghosts was a definite improvement though. As her shuttle set down on an empty landing pad, Revan slowly let her awareness seep out into the Force to gauge the general feel of the populace. She had no intention of starting a fight with the krogan, but when a planet was going through an invasion sometimes the stress made any outsider look like a valid target. Even a Sith Lady with two heavily armed Geth following behind her. ¡°Hey, human! You just going to walk away without paying the docking fee?¡± A krogan in red armor shouted and stomped towards the small group. Revan noticed several similarly dressed krogan were watching from different corners with smirks on their faces. A shakedown backed up by a group of thugs. She didn¡¯t have time for this. ¡°I don¡¯t need to pay the docking fee.¡± She waved a hand while pressing on the krogan¡¯s mind with the Force. To her slight surprise there was a fair bit of resistance. Enough that her command was only partially effective. ¡°You don¡¯t need to pay the docking fee,¡± the krogan parroted back blankly before shaking his head and pressing forward anyway. ¡°But you¡¯re using our pad. I think that deserves a few credits tossed our way.¡± Revan was forced to stop as the large alien stepped directly in front of her. She glanced up slightly so her visor was even with the krogan¡¯s eyes and raised an open hand. ¡°I am the leader of the battlegroup currently fighting the Reapers in the system and I need to speak to the leader here immediately. Move or I will move you.¡± she said calmly but clearly so the whole landing pad heard her. ¡°Heh, big words little human.¡± the krogan sneered. ¡°But look around, you¡¯re outnumbered and we aren¡¯t scared of your robo¨C ghk!¡± The krogan¡¯s hands shot to its throat as Revan slightly clenched her fingers, ignoring the shouts of surprise and shuffling of the other red armored krogan. ¡°It¡¯s not my Geth that you need to be scared of. And I¡¯m not a human.¡± ¡°Well whatever you are, you''ve made your point.¡± Another krogan, this one in a light grayish armor, said as he approached. ¡°Let the whelp go and get moving.¡± He nodded his head towards an armored hatch that led further into the settlement. ¡°No fighting in there, though, or we¡¯ll throw you at the Husks.¡± Revan allowed the krogan in her grip to fall gasping to the floor and turned to the new arrival. ¡°I need to speak to your leaders.¡± she repeated. ¡°Do I look like I care? I just guard the door.¡± the gray krogan huffed. ¡°You¡¯ll need to find them yourself inside.¡± Somehow Revan knew that was going to be the answer. She always seemed to need to do these things personally when visiting new planets¡­ -o- ¡°So you¡¯re the one making a mess in my territory.¡± A large, scarred krogan growled out as Revan was finally able to meet with the Urdnot clan leader after being led to a private room. It seemed this was going to be a private conversation. ¡°I¡¯d say I¡¯m the one cleaning it up.¡± She returned evenly. It was hardly her fault that some of the krogan had tried to steal the Geth accompanying her, or that the one mechanic had taken offense to her explaining how to properly bypass an electrical fault instead of just soldering on some wire and a resistor over a broken path, or any of the smaller incidents that she found herself dealing with while trying to get this meeting. The supply master seemed happy with her however. Or at least with the fact she was able to unload a large truck full of supplies in seconds without the need to use heavy machinery. ¡°Heh, you got quad at least. Urdnot Wrex, I¡¯m the one in charge of this dump. I heard you wanted to speak with me.¡± The krogan ¨C Wrex ¨C introduced himself while giving a dismissive wave at the ruins around them. ¡°Darth Revan, empress of the Sith Empire.¡± she returned. ¡°Revan, hm? That sounds familiar¡­ Ah! You were part of Shepard¡¯s crew, weren¡¯t you?¡± The Sith nodded. ¡°For a little while. We dealt with the Collectors together.¡± ¡°Heh, heh, well if you were one of Shepard¡¯s then I take it back, I¡¯m surprised you didn¡¯t cause a bigger mess.¡± Wrex laughed. ¡°So what do you want?¡± Revan suppressed a laugh of her own. Empress of an Empire? That wasn¡¯t very impressive. But the fact she was shipmates with Commander Shepard for a while? It was almost expected chaos followed her. ¡°I want the hulls in the system and everything you can offer against the Reapers.¡± She said, figuring Wrex was the type to appreciate blunt honesty.If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. ¡°Hmph, not much then. What are you offering?¡± Against the Reaper invasion? Anything and everything as long as it didn¡¯t weaken Revan¡¯s forces. Credits, weapons, armor, shields, hell even a planet if the krogan really wanted one, she was ready to offer it all. Even a high ranking membership in the Empire if Wrex was interested. And to Revan¡¯s amused frustration she had found one of the rarest beings in the galaxy in Wrex. A blunt, honest ruler that cared more for the beings he ruled than personal power. ¡°You can have the hulls for whatever supplies you can give us, not like we can stop you from just taking them. But if you want to use the krogan as your own personal army there is only one price I can accept.¡± Wrex said seriously. ¡°And that is?¡± ¡°A cure.¡± He said passionately and Revan didn¡¯t even need to guess the cure to what. The Genophage. The sterility plague that made it so that only a handful of krogan females were even capable of reproducing¡­and then reducing the chances that the eggs were even viable to a one in a thousand. It wasn¡¯t a big surprise that a cure was Wrex¡¯s main demand. Drive off the Reapers, save the galaxy, and return everything to status quo and the krogan would be in the exact same position they had been in for centuries¡­slowly dying out as despair and rage drove them to extremes in search for a cure on their own or down a path of violence because they did not care for the future. It was also the one thing Revan could not promise. Not honestly. A problem when dealing with an honest or idealistic leader. For all the engineering knowledge she possessed, biology was never her area of focus. And even if it had, there was a difference between engineering a better plant and modifying the genome of a sentient race without messing up horrifically. The Geth and Quarians would be little help either. The Geth for obvious reasons and the Quarians because they preferred cybernetic solutions. And both were already fully dedicated to solving the Quarian¡¯s poor immune system that had been a problem for a few hundred years as well. They didn¡¯t have a cure to the Genophage to offer. Even an attempt would be decades in the future. She could offer anyway, but she had a feeling Wrex was fed up with empty promises and would only react negatively. ¡°...I can have three carriers worth of supplies here within a few days for the hulls.¡± She offered instead. ¡°We can work out the specific breakdown of cargo at a later time.¡± ¡°Hrmph, that¡¯s not even close to how much those hulls are worth.¡± Wrex grumbled, though Revan could sense he at least respected that she didn¡¯t make any false promises. ¡°I¡¯ll need more than that if you want them all.¡± Revan tilted her head and motioned at the ruins around them. ¡°Those are already generous terms considering the Reapers and to put it bluntly your people aren¡¯t exactly in a position to deny me if I wanted to just take them.¡± ¡°Heh, you¡¯ve definitely got quad. Not many have the guts to say they would rob me anymore, but you¡¯re right. I couldn¡¯t stop you.¡± Wrex admitted. ¡°But understand something, Revan. My people have been used by the Council since the Rachni Wars. We don¡¯t need some pyjak swooping in and claiming they can solve all our problems, but what we do need are allies.¡± He gave Revan¡¯s Geth a look. ¡°And from what I can see, you aren¡¯t afraid to poke the Council in the eye.¡± So a counteroffer after he rejected joining the Empire outright? Revan didn¡¯t take long to consider it. Accepting would mean that she accomplished both goals she came for, both gaining the krogan as ground forces ¨C though admittedly in a more limited fashion than she preferred ¨C and acquiring the additional hulls needed for a defense force. It would probably mean alienating the Salarians, especially if Wrex was pushing for a cure to the Genophage and expected Revan to back him up politically, but the Salarians and Asari tended to move in lockstep. With the Asari Jedi knockoffs influencing things in the background it was already likely the Salarians would be hostile to her Empire at worst and dismissive or obstructive at best. ¡°I think an alliance is possible. Shall we discuss the deal?¡± -o- ¡°Contact! Left high! Garrus keep their heads down!¡± ¡°On it! Three more coming up the right side though!¡± ¡°Liara, singularity! Block them off!¡± Shepard bit down on a curse as she piloted the hijacked Atlas mech against the Cerberus troopers flooding the shuttle bay. Gunfire pinging off the mech¡¯s armor as she did her best to draw their attention away from the students trying to escape behind them. ¡°Jack, hurry it up! Get those student¡¯s on the shuttle!¡± ¡°Hold your horses, Shepard, we¡¯re almost done! Rodriguez, firm up those barriers! Next two, let¡¯s move!¡± Finding Jack working as a biotics instructor for the Academy had been a surprise, a welcome one considering they were fighting off a battalion with a single squad and a handful of students, but a surprise nonetheless. And in another situation Shepard would have enjoyed teasing Jack about how she had managed to go from hedonistic pleasure seeker to mother hen in just a few months but right now she was more interested in getting their asses moving! Cerberus had figured out where they were going and their cruiser was swinging back around to block their escape. The window they had to escape and join up with the Normandy was shrinking fast. A pair of troopers ducked around cover and started shooting up the biotic barrier Jack and a pair of students were covering the catwalk to the shuttlebay with. Shepard cursed again and turned the mech to face them but already knew they would duck back behind cover before she could line up the shot. But before they could both of them were surrounded in a blue aura that pinned them in place for just the few seconds Shepard needed before her mech¡¯s MAC gun reduced the two troopers to a red mist. The Spectre took a second to shoot a glance at Jack, who was still maintaining the barrier and had still managed to assist. She had finesse to match her ridiculous biotic potential now. That was three biotic techniques at once and even modifying a Stasis on the fly. It seemed the Normandy¡¯s favorite convict had been taking a certain Sith¡¯s lessons on control seriously even after they had split up. Jack had already been one of the strongest biotics Shepard had even heard about. Now, she was turning into a real monster. She shook her head and focused on the new group of Cerberus troopers that just arrived. One of the last rockets her mech had left wiped out the whole squad but Shepard didn¡¯t celebrate. Just behind them another Atlas mech was making its way down the hall taking potshots at her and her own squad. Shepard immediately focused on that and returned fire but her Atlas was already badly damaged from all the earlier fighting. It didn¡¯t take long for the enemy mech to score a hit that disabled her main weapon. ¡°Kahlee, we¡¯re out of time. What¡¯s your status?¡± ¡°Shuttles are unlocked and the students are loading up.¡± The director of the Ascension Project radioed back. ¡°The Normandy¡¯s pulled the Cerberus cruiser out of position too, we need to leave now!¡± ¡°Got it. Garrus, Liara, you heard her! Move it!¡± Shepard snapped as she clambered out of the damaged mech, but not before setting its internals to overload as one final present for Cerberus. ¡°Jack, get your kids moving. Our ride is leaving!¡± ¡°Way ahead of you, Shepard! Rodriguez, move your ass!¡± It was a bit of a scramble, but in less than a minute everyone they had managed to keep free of Cerberus was loaded and the shuttle jettisoned out of the hangar. A quick message to Joker to let him know not to shoot them out of the sky later and Shepard finally breathed a sigh of relief. One mission completed. She could wait until they were back on the Normandy to begin thinking about the next. -o- ¡°Hey Shepard. Making the rounds?¡± Garrus asked as the Commander walked into the main battery room. ¡°Yeah, figured it¡¯d be good to keep an eye on everyone. A bunch of kids running around the Normandy sounds like a recipe for disaster, you know?¡± ¡°Why are you here then?¡± Shepard scoffed. ¡°Please, I had to check up on the biggest kid here! Who knows what you¡¯d do to the Normandy¡¯s guns if I left you unsupervised.¡± ¡°Heh, sorry Shepard, I don¡¯t have a mirror for you in here. You¡¯ll have to look elsewhere if you want to check up on yourself.¡± Both of them laughed at the light ribbing before falling into a comfortable silence. Shepard slightly relished in it, being able to just exist for a moment after so much action demanded is such a short time. But the galaxy wouldn¡¯t wait forever. ¡°We¡¯re going to be changing course for the Citadel.¡± She mentioned after a minute. ¡°Not Tuchanka?¡± There was no judgment in her friend¡¯s voice. Just a desire to know if the plan was changing. And it certainly was. ¡°We need to drop Sanders and the students off somewhere safe and we don¡¯t have another ship that can make that kinda distance. Sounds like Jack is going to stick with them too.¡± ¡°Hrm, that¡¯s a surprise. I would have thought she¡¯d demand to be on the front lines.¡± Garrus mused. ¡°But I suppose it¡¯s nice that she¡¯s downgraded from ¡®dangerous lunatic¡¯ to just ¡®mildly insane¡¯.¡± ¡°Yeah, it¡¯s a bit weird to see her so attached. But I think it''s a good change.¡± Shepard nodded. ¡°And I¡¯m sure she¡¯ll be right in the thick of it one way or another once she gets her student¡¯s settled. ¡°Aside from that, I¡¯ve gotten some messages from a few contacts on the Citadel that might give us an edge with getting the krogan on board. No details obviously, but the sources are solid.¡± Garrus hummed as he fiddled with the readout of whatever calibration scan he was currently running. ¡°Leads are good. You¡¯ll have to fill me in later.¡± ¡°I will.¡± Shepard promised. ¡°But for now I should go. Rounds to finish and all that.¡± ¡°Alright, Shepard. Later.¡± Garrus repeated as she headed out the door. Mass Effect: Knight of the Old Republic - Chapter 58 ¡°Revan! You¡¯re apparently good with machines, how''d you like to do me a couple of favors while you¡¯re waiting around for your ships to get back?¡± Apparently knocking wasn¡¯t something that Wrex bothered with as he barged into the room Revan had temporarily claimed as a meditation chamber. She shouldn¡¯t be surprised. Shepard wasn¡¯t known for knocking much either and Wrex had been one of her crew members. ¡°Generally people only ask for one favor at a time.¡± Revan pointed out. ¡°Heh, generally people aren¡¯t Clan Leader. I don¡¯t have the time to sit around being polite. Too much shit to do.¡± Wrex huffed. ¡°The main water purification plant for this trash heap just stopped working and I need someone to fix it. I¡¯d have one of my engineers look at it but they¡¯re all busy with more important things right now.¡± ¡°More important than your water supply?¡± ¡°Water¡¯s not much good if the Reapers can land an airdrop in the middle of your camp. Besides, they¡¯d get around to it eventually. We have enough stored that even if they take their time only a few might die because of the radiation levels!¡± It was slightly depressing that Wrex considered having enough stored water that only a few might die if the source wasn¡¯t fixed a point of pride rather than a major failure in his infrastructure. But then again the Krogan didn¡¯t have any delusions about his capital if he was calling it a ¡®trash heap¡¯. It was also nothing that Revan hadn¡¯t done before and a better use of her time than waiting around for when her shuttle could join back up with her orbital fleet. ¡°I can fix it for you. Do you already have the replacement parts ready or do I need to investigate that too?¡± ¡°No idea. I was coming here to ask about the second favor when I remembered Shepard saying you were a good mechanic. You¡¯ll have to ask one of the engineers about that.¡± ¡°...fine. And your second favor?¡± ¡°I need a ride. You might not be able to help us with a cure, but I¡¯ve gotten word that the Salarians have something that can help. Something that belongs to the Krogan.¡± Wrex said darkly. ¡°The Turains have called a meeting in the Pranas system. Apparently their new Primarch is desperate enough to beg the Krogan to come help kick the Reapers out of their system. The Salarians got wind of it and are demanding a spot at the negotiation table as one of the leading council races.¡± Ah, so that was his angle. ¡°And you want to show off to both of them that while everyone knows you are desperate for a cure to the Genophage, you have other options now. And you want to show that off.¡± ¡°Heh, that sounds like something a politician would think of. I just want to hitch a ride on a proper warship so those Salarian bastards don¡¯t get any funny ideas.¡± Wrex laughed Revan¡¯s comment off. And without seriously examining him with the Force, she honestly couldn¡¯t say if he was being serious or not. But Revan wasn¡¯t interested in picking apart every statement the Krogan Clan Leader made at the moment and just decided to ignore him for now. ¡°Fine, I have no issues bringing you along. Just make sure you¡¯re ready to depart once my ships are in range. I don¡¯t want to risk the Reaper elements in space catching up with my fleet so I can¡¯t wait around if you aren¡¯t ready.¡± Wrex just smirked. ¡°Well in that case, excuse me, your majesty. I better go make sure my toothbrush is packed and ready to go.¡± Revan just rolled her eyes behind her mask and got up to find the mechanic Wrex mentioned. It was better than subjecting herself to the Krogan¡¯s humor. -o- Shepard frowned as she watched Councilor Udina¡¯s back retreat out the door. Ever since she found out how much the man had undercut both her and Anderson she couldn¡¯t bring herself to trust him. The fact that she overheard him pushing Ashley for an answer for something when she was still confined to a hospital bed just made that feeling even stronger, even if there were perfectly reasonable explanations for it. But that could keep for now. She was here for a reason after all. ¡°Hey, Ash. Good to see you¡¯re up.¡± The Commander said as she slipped onto a nearby stool. ¡°I overheard Udina on the way in. Still haven¡¯t made up your mind?¡± Ashley¡¯s face was basically one bruise after another, but she still managed to smile a bit before wincing and forcing herself into a neutral expression. ¡°About being a Spectre? Not yet. Don¡¯t get me wrong, it¡¯s an honor. But¡­I don¡¯t know. I need to think about it some more.¡± ¡°Well, while you¡¯re thinking it over, maybe you can use this to unwind a bit.¡± Shepard said as she pulled out a book of poems and handed it over. ¡°Figured you¡¯d have some down time.¡± ¡°You have no idea,¡± Ashley breathed. ¡°I¡¯ve been practically climbing the walls for a while now. By the way, what happened on Mars? After I went down I mean.¡± Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere. ¡°Not much, honestly. We captured the android Cerberus used to try and steal the data and got it back to the Normandy. Good thing too. Liara found the blueprints for some kind of Prothean superweapon, something that might be capable of ending the Reapers for good.¡± Ashley pushed herself up, eyes wide at the news. ¡°You mean it? We really have a shot at winning?¡± Shepard smiled back. ¡°Yeah, maybe¡­. Maybe two shots depending on how things play out.¡± ¡°Two shots?¡± ¡°Yeah, it¡¯s unconfirmed for now but we think a crewmember that helped with the Collector issue fought the Reapers at Palaven with a new fleet design and ¨C actually, I¡¯m getting ahead of myself. Let me tell you about Palaven first. It¡¯s where we ran into Garrus again. Can you believe they made him some kind of bigshot over there?¡± ¡°Seriously? Garrus? Mr. Hates-Bureaucratic-Red-Tape, that Garrus?¡± Shepard nodded and gave Ash the rundown of their mission to find the Turian Primarch, making sure to keep things high-level and upbeat as possible to avoid stressing the injured Lieutenant-Commander out too much. Both of them knew Shepard was doing it, but neither really wanted to dwell on too many details right now. If Ash wanted the whole story she could ask when she was released. So after a quick overview of what happened on Menae before they got back to the Normandy, Shepard got around to describing the unnamed fleet that had jumped in and took the Reapers head on and came out on top in a battle with equal numbers. She did have to slightly burst the optimist bubble by admitting they didn¡¯t know for certain that the fleet belonged to Revan. They only had some strong circumstantial evidence they couldn¡¯t even confirm because no one had the Sith¡¯s contact information anymore and every quarian in the galaxy seemed to have vanished at some point. ¡°Damn, I was out for just a little bit and the whole galaxy went crazy.¡± Ash muttered as she settled into a more comfortable position. Shepard could see that it didn¡¯t do much. With how crucial stretching medical supplies was going to be in the future painkillers were being withheld unless absolutely needed. ¡°Wish I could get out there sooner.¡± ¡°Take all the time you need. The fight¡¯s not going anywhere.¡± Shepard replied. ¡°We¡¯ll need you at your best, too.¡± ¡°Yeah¡­anyway, what¡¯s next for you? Hunting down another lost Prothean world? Storming a fortress? Or are you going to take it easy and just drive off another invasion force by yourself?¡± Shepard grimaced. ¡°I have to wrangle a few politicians. Not looking forward to that.¡± ¡°Seriously? They have you on babysitting duty? How¡¯d you get stuck with that?¡± The Turian Primarch¡¯s condition for sending aid to Earth was that he needed help from the Krogan to push the Reapers of Palaven. We were going to head to Tuchanka for negotiations, but we caught wind of a Cerberus attack on Grissom Academy and diverted there to stop it. Between stopping the attack and transporting the students here to the Citadel we took too long and Victus needed to start coordinating over the extranet. The Salarians found out and now their Dalatress is demanding to be included in the talks.¡± ¡°Damn, sounds like politicians though. And Cerberus attacked a school? Fuck. I¡¯m glad you aren¡¯t working with them anymore. Where do you come in though?¡± Shepard was glad that Ash had finally let go of the idea she was somehow okay with Cerberus. The Spectre wasn¡¯t entirely sure why the marine had a change of heart after their ¡®conversation¡¯ on Horizon and Ash refused to give a clear explanation on Mars, but she figured out Revan was somehow involved. She knew the Sith had spoken to Ash on Horizon but none of the details. If it meant Ash eventually pulled the stick out of her ass and was determined to help her out though? She could overlook that particular gift horse¡¯s mouth. She had other things to worry about than wondering why an old friend decided to not be a bitch. ¡°No one can agree on a neutral location. The Turians don¡¯t have a ship they can spare that isn¡¯t better off fighting or helping evacuations. The Krogan only have a few second-hand transports and aren¡¯t trusted by the Salarians to not fly into a rage if things don¡¯t go their way. And the Salarians aren¡¯t trusted by the Krogan to not poison them or have them ¡®disappeared¡¯ by the STG. It¡¯s one big mess.¡± Shepard explained. ¡°So Victus requested the Normandy to host the talks.¡± ¡°So those are the kind of missions a Spectre has to deal with when they aren¡¯t hunting down a rogue? Hell, if that¡¯s what I have to look forward to, I might just turn it down.¡± Shepard smirked playfully. ¡°I wouldn¡¯t worry about that. Even if you accept you¡¯d still be the FNG. While I¡¯m schmoozing with politicians and eating tiny snacks, you¡¯ll probably be off on some random planet digging in the dirt.¡± Ash returned the smile as best she could. ¡°Yeah, but I¡¯d be far away from the politicians. None of them would ever go where they could risk getting their shoes dirty.¡± -o- Revan grimaced as her boot sunk deep into a mix of muddy soil and¡­something¡­dripping from a damaged pipe as she made her way to the water purifier. That was always a joy to encounter when trekking through ruined industrial areas. But even more unpleasant than the mystery gunk she was walking through was the feeling of something stalking her through the ruined halls of the abandoned krogan facility. It was probably varren or some other animal looking for a meal, but Revan wasn¡¯t about to let her guard down. Not when Reapers had enough pawns on the planet that Wrex was more worried about an attack than his water supply. ¡°Pay attention to the surroundings. We are not alone.¡± Two green lights appeared on her HUD as the two Geth accompanying her pinged their acknowledgement. These two unfortunately had older chassis without a proper vocalizer but that didn¡¯t stop them from being capable assistants and combatants. Both Geth units raised their blaster rifles a little higher and began to scan the area around them as they continued to their destination ¨C a control terminal tucked away inside what any other race would consider a bunker that opened relatively easily with the code Wrex gave her and a bit of persuasion via the Force when the gears mechanically locked up. It seemed the Krogan hadn¡¯t been down this way for maintenance in quite some time. Something very evident when Revan opened up the machine¡¯s internals and found out that most of it looked like it was held together with rust and spite rather than whatever the original materials had been. It spoke to how incredibly robust the Krogan had designed the machine only failed when the coupling holding some of the logic boards had eroded away entirely and had taken the components with it. Nothing a liberal amount of omnigel couldn¡¯t rectify along with a general scouring and rewiring on Revan¡¯s part. With the worst of the rusted areas rerouted and replaced the water purifier should be able to continue running for another few years with no problems until the omnigel degraded and needed to be replaced again. ¡­this specific part of it at least. Throughout the whole job Revan never let her guard down as she waited for whatever had been observing her to make a move. But nothing happened. Eventually she couldn¡¯t justify lingering in the terminal room anymore and moved to lea¨C the Force screamed a warning as a large shadow rushed the doorway just as Revan was about to step out. Her lightsaber ignited and hissed as it bisected the creature leaping towards her. Revan sidestepped the mess as three more shadows rushed through the opening. One was nearly instantly dropped by her Geth guards and the second was injured as they swapped targets. The third, whether by coincidence or plan, used the second as cover and made it through the door unharmed¡­until Revan removed its head with a casual swing of her saber. Immediate threats dealt with Revan waited for something else to come through the door as her guards finished off the remaining creature that she now recognized as varren. But nothing came. ¡°...drag the bodies out and secure the door. We¡¯re returning to the Krogan encampment immediately.¡± She eventually ordered. Those varren hadn¡¯t acted naturally. They had waited until Revan was in the best place for them to ambush her without making a sound or visually identifying her. Something had ordered them to attack and the feeling of being observed was still there but she couldn¡¯t sense where exactly. Revan didn¡¯t know if it was specifically targeted at her or if the observer was just very territorial. Either way she did not have time to deal with it. She had a short window before her fleet would be passing overhead. She couldn¡¯t afford to get stuck on Tuchanka chasing down a presence at the moment. Once the door was secured again, she and her guards immediately headed back the way they came. Unseen by any of them several insectoid forms slowly crawled out out of the shadows before heading the opposite direction as the Sith. From even farther away, four glowing eyes dimmed slightly as the last bit of data about the short encounter was transmitted out. The reaction speed, accuracy, quickness and of its target had been unexpected for something not expecting a combat scenario. More observation would be needed, more data acquired, if the Anomaly was to be removed if it could not be hunted down conventionally. It was acceptable. The Anomaly would be allowed its continued existence for now. Until the time it was demanded to cease. Mass Effect: Knight of the Old Republic - Chapter 59 ¡°Mass effect transition successful, Commander.¡± Joker announced as the blue energy envelope bled away into the familiar black void of space. ¡°Welcome to the Pranas system - middle of nowhere Space. Scans are showing we have some lovely attractions like a handful of micrometeoroids, some gas clouds, and a bunch of ships registered belonging to some Salarian, Krogan, and Turrian politicians glaring at each other just outside weapon ranges. Honestly I¡¯d say that last bit was the start of a bad joke, all we need is the punchline.¡± ¡°Yeah?¡± Shepard hummed as her eyes roamed over the source of her future headache. ¡°What would that be?¡± ¡°I dunno, maybe something like ¡®what do you do when a meeting between a Dalatrass, a Battlemaster, and a Primarch doesn¡¯t explode? Send in a Spectre¡¯.¡± ¡°I do not believe that would be considered funny, Jeff.¡± EDI commented, getting a shrug from the Normandy pilot. ¡°Everyone¡¯s a critic.¡± ¡°Well let¡¯s hope that no one else shares your humor, Joker.¡± Shepard chastised. ¡°The last thing we need is a Krogan-Salarian war with everything else going on. That said,¡± She took a deep breath as she prepared to spend a few hours babysitting more politicians. ¡°Send the signal to the two groups we are ready to receive them on the Normandy. They can jump in-system now.¡± Shepard had already not been looking forward to this assignment when she got word that the Salarians had stuck their fingers into the Turian-Krogan negotiations, but she knew it was going to be a headache and a half when the Dalatrass had refused to be present in person until the Normandy was ready to host her. Something about kidnapping or assassination concerns. As a burgeoning politician against her will, Shepard knew that was a pretty big insult to the Krogan and was probably an indication of how cooperative the Salarians were going to be overall. And then the Krogan surprised everyone by first off, not flying into a rage, but then even copying the Dalatrass¡¯s behaviour citing the same concerns. An unusual move for them to say the least. It might have been for the best though. Even if the groups involved were constantly sniping and insulting the others, the leaders - the ones that actually were going to make decisions in the end - were out of the way until the actual meeting. Hopefully that would mean Shepard could remind everyone there was a galactic invasion going on at the moment and that they needed to work together if they didn¡¯t want to go the way of the Protheans. ¡°Signal sent, ships are squawking, we should be seeing the Dalatrass¡¯s ship right¡­about¡­now.¡± Joker narrated as a luxury frigate class ship dropped out of FTL a relatively short distance from the Normandy and after a minute or two detached a shuttle heading right for the Normandy¡¯s hangar. ¡°The Krogans are right behind them and ¨C Holy shit!¡± Shepard couldn¡¯t even reprimand the pilot as a massive 800 meter dreadnought dropped into realspace because she had the same damn reaction. Where the hell did that thing come from?! ¡°EDI!¡± She practically demanded. ¡°IFF shows as the Krogan diplomat transport vessel.¡± The AI responded immediately. ¡°Energy readings show no active scans or weapons we can detect. Ship profile also matches the ones we encountered at Palaven.¡± ¡°Then I really hope we¡¯re right that they¡¯re Revan¡¯s friends.¡± Joker muttered as his hands twitched over the Normandy¡¯s controls, ready to maneuver in any direction at the first sign of hostilities. ¡°New transmission, Krogan transport vessel is sending out a shuttle. They are requesting landing sequence codes.¡± Shepard took a deep breath and made a judgement call. The dreadnought hadn¡¯t been hostile so far, and she couldn¡¯t exactly abandon the Salarian Dalatrass in the middle of space without a very good reason. ¡°Send the info. I¡¯m gonna go meet the shuttles once they land. Hopefully I can calm everyone down and ask who thought it was a good idea to come to a diplomatic meeting in that,¡± she jabbed a finger towards the massive warship, ¡°monster.¡± ¡°Jealous, Commander?¡± ¡°Yes!¡± She loved her ship, but that thing looked like the Normandy could park inside it! -o- ¡°Heh, heh, heh. I wish I could have seen the looks on their faces.¡± Wrex chuckled again as the shuttle prepared to enter the Normandy¡¯s hangar bay. ¡°Prissy, know-it-all amphibians. I bet they got a good scare. Too bad I couldn¡¯t convince you to bring the other ships. I bet I could have made a few of them drop dead from, ah, what do you call it¡­ a heart attack! Could have made them drop from a heart attack.¡± ¡°Yes, hilarious.¡± Revan said dryly. ¡°Especially because I could have sworn you told them we were coming. So there was no reason for them to be surprised by our arrival, unless of course someone forgot to provide the specifications of our ship for some reason.¡± If Revan was expecting Wrex to be at all apologetic for surprising several diplomatic craft with a Harrower, she was clearly going to be disappointed. ¡°Hah! They¡¯ve got the STG don¡¯t they? If they expected a Krogan to grab a ride on anything other than the biggest, baddest ship he could find they don¡¯t know us as well as they think. It¡¯s not my fault the sneaky bastards missed your group and didn¡¯t ask what we consider a ¡®diplomatic transport¡¯.¡± Considering how many stories of Krogan that settled for hitching rides on second-hand rust buckets to get to their destinations for various reasons Revan overheard from her Quarian crew, she knew that was a bold-faced lie. Somehow she doubted Wrex would care all that much if she did decide to call him out though, so she decided to just let it lie. ¡°Is that so¡­How unfortunate for them.¡± She mused as she felt the shuttle dock and began powering down. ¡°Though I suppose the fun is over now. Ready to face the consequences of your actions, ¡®Mister Diplomat¡¯?¡± The Sith took a great deal of enjoyment watching Wrex¡¯s face contort in disgust. ¡°No need to insult me.¡± He grumbled. ¡°Yeah, let¡¯s get this over with.¡± Revan, Wrex, and a bodyguard Geth unit exited the shuttle into the hangar bay. Unsurprisingly, there was a greeting party right outside to meet them headed by a serious looking Commander Shepard¡­at least until she saw exactly who just walked out onto her ship. ¡°Wrex?¡± ¡°Shepard!¡± The Commander made a few angry abortive movements at both the Krogan and the direction of Revan¡¯s ship. ¡°Wrex!¡± She growled. ¡°Shepard.¡± Wrex shrugged nonchalantly, apparently unbothered by the chaos he caused. ¡°...Wreeeex.¡± Shepard groaned as she dragged a hand down her face which was about when Revan decided enough was enough and stepped around the massive Krogan. ¡°Are you two done now? Or are you going to keep repeating each other¡¯s names?¡±The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. ¡°Revan?!¡± The Sith sighed. Apparently they weren¡¯t quite done yet. ¡°Yes, hello Jane. It¡¯s good to see you agai¨C what?¡± She cut off when several people gave her some odd looks, including the Commander. ¡°Nothing, it¡¯s just that not a whole lot of people call me that. Feels weird actually.¡± ¡°Mhmm.¡± ¡°Right, anyway, we¡¯ve got the Primarch and the Dalatrass waiting in the conference room so we don¡¯t have a lot of time to talk. I need to know, that ship you came in on ¨C is it the only one showing up here? And does that one have any problems or new races I need to worry about?¡± Revan noted that Shepard not only knew about the Harrower, but also that there were more like it. And considering most of the Empire¡¯s fleet was busy in the Terminus Systems there was really only one place they could have seen her ships. And considering the Turian Primarch was on the Normandy it didn¡¯t take a genius to figure the Normandy had been at Palaven. Good, if the Council races had independently sourced recordings of her fleet in action that would save time in future negotiations. Less of a chance of pundits saying her reported capabilities were falsified or inflated. But to answer the Spectre¡¯s question, ¡°The rest of my battlegroup is returning for repairs, so only one ship for now. As for the crew, besides the Quarian and Geth we do have a handful of other races but none that should be unfamiliar to you.¡± ¡°...well at least now we know where they came from. Geth¡­seriously?¡± Shepard muttered under her breath, then louder, ¡°Alright Wrex, follow me. The Primarch is waiting and the sooner we finish, the sooner we can get back to saving the galaxy. We¡¯re going to have to catch up later though, it seems like you have a few stories I need to catch up on.¡± The group simply followed behind the Commander and since the Normandy was not an especially large ship, it was only a short time before Shepard, Wrex, and Revan entered the conference room where the Primarch and Dalatrass were waiting. Revan¡¯s bodyguard unit was forced to wait outside. While the rest of the room was settling in, Revan took a moment to inspect the two leaders she had not encountered yet. The Turian Primarch Adrien Victus was clearly not a career politician as the Sith Empress could easily read the impatience and frustration on his face despite not being extremely familiar with turian facial expressions or body language. In some ways he reminded her of her old Mandalorian companion Canderous Ordo. Both Vicus and Ordo were far more at home on a battlefield than in a Stateroom, but while Ordo had eventually gone on to lead his people as Mandalore under her reign ¨C and did an incredibly competent job of it ¨C it seemed that Victus was struggling to adapt to his new role. Probably because the position had simply fallen to him rather than him deciding to take the responsibility himself. Victus would probably adapt in time, but Revan made a note to see if she could push for some agreements between her Empire and the Turians while he was thinking more like a general than a politician. Dalatrass Linron on the other hand was his exact opposite and a consummate politician given how easily she inserted herself into a discussion that the salarians honestly had no stake in at the moment. Given Revan knew about Wrex¡¯s demand they would have likely been involved later on, but the initial meeting was simply a summit to secure krogan warriors to help assist the evacuation of Palaven and its moons and free up enough of their navy to send a relief force to Earth. The Salarians had no reason to stick their fingers into this summit, yet here their leader was, attempting to prevent the krogans from gaining any sort of political foothold with another race. ¡°The krogan is in no position to make demands!¡± The Dalatrass snapped when Wrex did not immediately pledge to send the members of his allied clans to relieve the turians. ¡°The krogan has a name: Urdnot Wrex.¡± Wrex growled back. ¡°And I¡¯m not just some junkyard varren you unleash whenever you¡¯re in trouble.¡± ¡°Besides, I¡¯ve got my own problems. Reaper scouts have arrived on Tuchanka. So why should I care if a few turians go extinct?¡± He shrugged and shifted his glare to the Primarch. ¡°Trying to drag out negotiations will get you nowhere, Wrex. I have no time for it.¡± Victus said impatiently as his eyes flicked between Wrex and Revan. ¡°And it seems you found someone that can help with your Reaper problem for a bit. Just tell us what you want.¡± For the moment Revan just returned his look and said nothing. This was still the negotiation between the krogan and turians. For the moment. ¡°I¡¯ll tell you what I need¡­¡± Wrex said, leaning over the table and fixing the Primarch, Dalatrass, and Shepard with a hard look. ¡°A cure for the genophage.¡± ¡°Absolutely not! The Genophage is nonnegotiable!¡± The Dalatrass immediately protested, making Revan smile slightly under her mask. Since she was the first one to speak, now this was an open negotiation. ¡°On what grounds, Dalatrass?¡± The Sith asked. ¡°Considering the situation I¡¯d think very few things are ¡®nonnegotiable¡¯.¡± The salarian shot her a look. ¡°Because my people uplifted the krogan. We know them best.¡± ¡°You mean you used us!¡± Wrex interrupted. ¡°To fight a war you couldn¡¯t win! It wasn¡¯t the salarians or the asari, or even the turians that stopped the rachni! It was krogan blood that turned the tide!¡± ¡°And after that you became almost just as big a threat as they were!¡± The Dalatrass fired back. ¡°The krogan expanded with no regard for any other race, seized technology and resources as they pleased, and when that wasn¡¯t enough they targeted already populated worlds and colonies either to satisfy their lust for battle or to keep expanding.¡± She looked at the others around the table before settling on Wrex. ¡°The Genophage was the only way to keep your¡­¡¯urges¡¯ in check. And I¡¯ll not see one galactic threat defeated just for another to immediately take their place.¡± Revan didn¡¯t even need her Force abilities to sense the rage pouring off Wrex at the moment. Neither did anyone else. So before an act of violence brought the meeting to an abrupt end, Victus spoke up. ¡°Dalatrass, you may not like him, but Wrex has a point. Insulting him won¡¯t change that.¡± ¡°I won¡¯t apologise for speaking the truth!¡± The Dalatrass brushed aside the light reprimand. ¡°We uplifted the krogan to do one thing, wage war. It¡¯s all they know because it¡¯s all we wanted them to know.¡± ¡°It sounds like your people should have done a better job thinking things through.¡± Shepard said coldly. ¡°Was it really a surprise the krogan revolted?¡± Ah, Revan remembered that the Commander had seen the lengths krogans had put themselves through in an attempt to cure the Genophage themselves the last time she was on Tuchanka. Part of her felt a brief moment of pity for the Dalatrass. She was used to arguing numbers and future consequences with other politicians, not talking to a warrior and a soldier that needed results now being moderated by a bleeding heart that would not stand for people suffering if she could do something about it. Revan herself was probably the closest to who the Dalatrass normally worked with, but the Empress also wanted the krogan for her own goals. The salarian leader had completely misread her audience and was unintentionally uniting them with her rhetoric. ¡°That¡¯s precisely my point, Commander. We made a rash decision. We turned to the krogan in desperation. It¡¯s the same mistake you¡¯re about to make today.¡± The Dalatrass said. ¡°No good can come from curing the Genophage.¡± ¡°I disagree.¡± Revan spoke up. ¡°It would give the krogan a rallying cause to center themselves around. Currently they have no culture to speak of because most of them have no reason to consider their future. With the cooperation of their leaders we could guide their emergent culture to something that would integrate better with galactic civilization than when they were first uplifted. Wrex has already proved it possible on Tuchanka and with the war going on few would find the support to speak against him if he brings back a cure.¡± ¡°And what happens when the war is over?¡± The Dalatrass demanded. ¡°They will break any peace we establish, and what then? Will you, some Terminus Warlord, risk yourself to undo the damage done? I rather doubt it.¡± ¡°If it comes to that then we find a new way to keep the peace.¡± Shepard argued. ¡°And they¡¯ll break that too!¡± ¡°Enough!¡± Victus finally exploded. ¡°This is all theoretical. It would take years to formulate a cure. There¡¯s no time.¡± ¡°My information says otherwise.¡± Wrex said to the surprise of everyone. ¡°A salarian scientist, Maelon, grew a conscience. He was on my planet testing a cure on our females.¡± Wrex narrated as he moved to the head of the table and began uploading something to the holoprojector. ¡°I remember. His methods were barbaric.¡± Shepard confirmed. ¡°What you didn¡¯t know is that other females survived his experiments.¡± Wrex continued as a recording from some sort of facial cam ¨C controlled by a salarian based on the shadow on the floor ¨C showed a holding area with several female krogan standing in isolated cells, unhappy but very clearly alive. ¡°So the Dalatrass here sent in a team to clean the whole mess ¨C and to take them prisoner.¡± Revan could feel the Dalatrass panic at the footage. ¡°Where did you get this? It-it could be a fabrication!¡± ¡°Don¡¯t insult me!¡± Wrex shouted, pointing angrily at the salarian. ¡°Those are my people! They¡¯re immune to the genophage, and you are going to give them back!¡± ¡°Dalatrass, is this true?¡± Victus demanded and Revan decided to tip the scales just a bit. With everyone focused on the other side of the room, she raised her hand slightly and made a small mnemonic gesture while reaching out to the Dalatrass¡¯s mind. There was no time for anything impressive, but a small compulsion to tell the truth¡­ ¡°The females are being kept at one of the STG bases on Sur¡¯Kesh.¡± She said tonelessly before looking shocked that she even spoke at all. ¡°Then we know where we¡¯re going.¡± Shepard grinned triumphantly. A gesture Wrex returned. ¡°Let¡¯s get the females!¡± ¡°You¡¯re not setting foot on Sur¡¯Kesh!¡± The Dalatrass protested. ¡°I will not allow it! The Primarch may be willing to overlook the damage the krogan will do, but how will curing the genophage benefit my people?¡± ¡°How long do you think you¡¯ll last alone against the Reapers?¡± Shepard asked, clearly at the end of her patience. ¡°Because if you don¡¯t help, that¡¯s how it¡¯ll end up!¡± ¡°And I¡¯ll be the last friendly turian you¡¯ll ever see.¡± Victus added darkly. ¡°You can¡¯t be serious, Commander. The consequences of this¨C¡± ¡°Will be nothing compared to what happens if the Reapers win!¡± Shepard interrupted. ¡°This¡­this is ridiculous. You would have me destroy any chance of peace after the Reapers, for nothing! We either bow to your demands or you turn your backs on us!¡± ¡°Then how about I offer you something tangible in return?¡± Revan offered an olive branch. ¡°Sur¡¯Kesh is one of the most technologically advanced planets in the galaxy. The components they produce are crucial for defending against the Reapers. In return for the krogan females the Sith Empire will provide it with a planetary shield. One capable of preventing the Reapers from landing on the surface without disabling or destroying it first.¡± Knowing everyone here would not simply accept her words at face value, Revan took over the holoprojector and showed several examples of the working shields her people had already deployed. Including a battle against a small pirate group that failed to bring the shield down even after ramming into it and being cleaned up by the defense force later and the technical details of the device. The Dalatrass scoffed. ¡°And how long would it take to procure one? Even if you have such technology, it must be new if no one has heard of it before now. And I¡¯m sure you will not relinquish one before your own worlds are secure.¡± Revan turned to stare impassively at the salarian. ¡°I happen to have a functional shield generator on my ship. All it needs is a large enough power supply.¡± Victus at least was looking at the demonstration with clear desire in his eyes. Not surprising considering the state of his planet. ¡°These shields¡­would it be possible¨C¡± ¡°I¡¯m sorry, but it would be useless to deploy one on Palaven unless you could remove the Reapers from the surface first. But I would be willing to negotiate accepting refugees to a world already covered by a shield later.¡± Revan interrupted. The Primarch obviously wasn¡¯t pleased by the rejection but nodded his head and turned to the Dalatrass. ¡°Your answer?¡± He demanded. ¡°If the shield works like she says it does and is installed, I would¡­accept the deal.¡± The Dalatrass said reluctantly. ¡°But it will take time to¨C¡± ¡°No, it happens now.¡± Victus objected. ¡°As Council Spectre, Shepard can oversee the exchange.¡± The female salarian stared hatefully at him before nodding. ¡°Fine, but I will not allow that Dreadnought anywhere close to Sur¡¯kesh. That is nonnegotiable.¡± It was Revan¡¯s turn to scowl but she nodded in return. ¡°I¡¯ll have the components moved to the Normandy.¡± ¡°We¡¯re agreed, then. Let¡¯s get moving.¡± Shepard declared, bringing the meeting to a close and moving towards the exit, followed by Wrex and Victus. As Revan moved to follow them, the Dalatrass decided to get the last word in. ¡°I won¡¯t forget this, Commander! A bully has few friends when he needs them most!¡± Mass Effect: Knight of the Old Republic - Chapter 60 Moving the planetary shield components ended up being a little more difficult than just sending a message to the Harrower¡¯s captain. Mostly due to the limited space on the Normandy. The difference between a frigate and a Star Destroyer wasn¡¯t exactly small. And that was even considering that Revan was only transferring over the shield generator and projector, the power source would still need to be sourced on Sur¡¯Kesh. In the end it just wasn¡¯t even physically possible to fit most of the machinery on the Normandy even if they fully dedicated all hangar space and ditched the extra equipment and shuttles already on board. And since the Dalatrass remained adamant that the Harrower remained out of Sur¡¯Kesh¡¯s orbit, they were forced to split the generator¡¯s parts between several of the diplomats¡¯ ships before heading towards the Relay. Revan had no illusions that the Salarians wouldn¡¯t use the chance to scan everything in their possession to attempt reverse-engineering the whole system later, but she also wasn¡¯t worried. She made sure the most important parts were transported by the Normandy and would be extremely difficult to study once the shield generator was assembled. There was also one other trick preventing the amphibians from stealing the system for themselves. The Sith pushed those thoughts from her mind for the moment, though, simply enjoying the sudden peace of just being another passenger on the ship instead of Empress for a little while. It was just unfortunate that she had to relax in the ship¡¯s new lounge area rather than her old quarters, but from what she understood those had been repurposed into a media room for a warfront reporter Shepard picked up somewhere. And speaking of the Commander¡­ ¡°I didn¡¯t take you for a whiskey kinda girl.¡± Shepard commented as she joined Revan at the bar. ¡°No?¡± ¡°Yeah, you seem like a red wine type.¡± Shepard continued. ¡°Sitting up on some kind of throne, sipping on a glass as some politician grovels before you.¡± ¡°That sounds rather specific. I take it you had some fantasies while dealing with the more political side of things?¡± Revan chuckled, taking another sip of her drink. Shepard grumbled under her breath for a bit and snagged a bottle of alcohol and glass for herself. Only after she poured herself a drink and took a sip did she respond, ¡°Maybe once or twice.¡± she admitted. ¡°I¡¯m a little jealous that you can just say something and it¡¯ll get done. I lost count of how many meetings I had to sit through just going over previous meetings. I started daydreaming about what everyone was doing once the ground team split up just to stay even slightly sane.¡± The Empress could only laugh again. Say something and it¡¯ll get done? If only. As the Empire expanded throughout the Terminus Systems, more and more of Revan¡¯s time and attention was spent integrating new planets and making sure the ones she already controlled actually listened to her orders. The Geth and Quarians listened with few issues, but the assorted other races on various planets had little reason beyond self interest to follow orders. And before the Reapers¡¯ arrival plenty of them had been willing to drag their feet to get the benefits Revan was spreading throughout the fledgling empire without putting in much effort on their side. That had somewhat changed recently, with the Reapers attacking all over the galaxy, but it was still annoying to deal with when planets Revan knew were underproducing demanded more protection anyway. The two of them sat in companionable silence for a bit, but Revan could feel Shepard¡¯s curiosity brimming in her emotions. And sure enough, before they had even finished their drinks, Shepard started asking questions. ¡°So, planetary shields. How does that work?¡± The Sith smiled slightly. ¡°Technically, it''s a system of multiple shields working together. One system stops physical objects past a certain size or speed very similar to your existing kinetic shields, and the other stops high energy projectiles. Those are shaped through a focusing lens and used to cover a planet.¡± ¡°And you just happened to be carrying one with you?¡± Shepard asked skeptically. ¡°Of course not.¡± Revan shook her head. ¡°But my ship was carrying a theatre shield designed to do the same thing on a smaller scale. You can increase the size of the shield to cover a whole planet with enough power, but eventually parts will start burning out even if the shield isn¡¯t being strained. I expect the one going to Sur¡¯Kesh to last a bit more than a year at most unless the Salarians start poking at it.¡± Forcing them to negotiate for more parts from the Empire if they wanted to keep their fancy new shield working, Revan didn¡¯t say. ¡°A year, huh.¡± Shepard mused. ¡°The Dalatrass will probably be pissed with that, but if she¡¯s still around to complain by then it means we¡¯re doing something right. But it sounds like things can still get through the shield?¡± ¡°Small enough objects moving below certain speeds.¡± Revan agreed, draining the last of her drink. ¡°Shuttles and landing craft would have no difficulty, but those are a lot easier to defend against than a full sized Reaper landing in the middle of one of your cities or bombarding it from orbit.¡± Stolen novel; please report. ¡°Any chance you can spare a few more?¡± ¡°Not for several months at the least.¡± Revan said bluntly. Even with fully automated factories courtesy of the Geth, the components needed for the shield systems were complex and took time and care to manufacture. And that was assuming the factories had the material they needed. There was already a list of where each newly completed generator was supposed to be sent that would only grow longer and more complicated as more planets demanded one for themselves and existing ones were damaged or destroyed by the Reapers. Revan was only willing to give one up because it was an incredible political move. The Krogan and Turian leaders couldn¡¯t forget Revan¡¯s involvement in securing their goals and the Salarian leader was pacified after getting pushed into a corner. Not to mention it allowed the Empire to reveal the existence of the shield system through more neutral parties than whatever spies were reporting back or the Asari Republic after she had stolen one of their unofficial colony worlds. ¡°Damn, too bad.¡± Shepard muttered, ignorant of Revan¡¯s thoughts. ¡°I¡¯d love to know we could stop the Reapers from just dropping on civilian sectors. It might help with the refugee situation on the Citadel.¡± The Commander finished off her own beverage and stood up. ¡°I wish we had more time to catch up, but we should go. The ship¡¯s almost at Sur¡¯Kesh and I want this to go as quick and smooth as possible. Land, get the Krogan females, plug in the shield system, get out. Easy.¡± Revan shot the other woman a dirty look. ¡°You realize now that you¡¯ve said that, this will be anything but?¡± ¡°Nah, I¡¯m trying for a double bluff this time. The Universe knows I¡¯m calling it out, so this will be a milk run just to spite me.¡± ¡°That¡¯s not how that works.¡± The Sith deadpanned. Shepard shrugged. ¡°Couldn¡¯t hurt to try.¡± -o- ¡°Commander, Salarian ground control says we don¡¯t have clearance to land.¡± Shepard very carefully did not turn towards the space elf Empress currently glaring a hole in the back of her head. This was not her fault! ¡°Tell them the Dalatrass authorized this herself.¡±She ordered Lieutenant Cortez and patiently waited for the shuttle pilot to get a response. Unfortunately¡­and predictably¡­ Wrex wasn¡¯t in the patient sort of mood. ¡°I knew they would never keep their word!¡± He snarled, already moving towards the shuttle door. ¡°Let¡¯s see them try to stop a krogan airdrop.¡± The Spectre looked over her shoulder in alarm just in time to see Wrex slam his fist into the door control. The only person in a position to stop him, Revan, just shrugged her shoulders and stepped aside to allow the angry Krogan a clear path out of the shuttle. ¡°Wrex!¡± Too late. Wrex had already jumped out of the kodiak. And while that normally would only be a minor concern, normally the shuttle wasn¡¯t hovering nearly a hundred feet in the air over a heavily guarded STG site! Already Shepard could see some salarians rushing to confront Wrex and it was probably down to luck that no one had opened fire yet. ¡°Dammit. Cortez, get us lower. I need to get down there now!¡± The last thing they needed was the Chief of Clan Urdnot being killed on the Salarian homeworld. ¡°On it, Commander!¡± Cortez lowered the kodiak to a much more reasonable twenty feet and Shepard wasted no time jumping out, followed by the rest of her team. Thankfully, the situation on the ground had only gotten slightly worse in the few seconds she took her eyes off of Wrex. Only two Salarians were groaning on the ground as another dozen surrounded them in a semi-circle pointing a variety of weapons their way. Now she just had to think of a way to deal with this without starting another war¡­ ¡°Stand down! Hold your fire!¡± Thankfully before anything unfortunate happened on either side, a Salarian in black armour - which stood out a bit from the normal soldiers¡¯ white, so Shepard assumed he was either important or in charge - ran out between the two groups and even shoved some of the soldiers¡¯ weapons down so they weren¡¯t pointed at Shepard¡¯s group. ¡°Commander Shepard, please control your colleague. We only found out about this transfer a few moments ago!¡± The newcomer pleaded. So they did know about the transfer! Shepard was relieved this was a case of slow mail instead of the Dalatrass screwing them over. And since she was effectively here to oversee the transfer of a civilian, a firefight was the last thing she wanted. ¡°I¡¯d love to avoid a diplomatic incident.¡± She called back. ¡°But as you can see, tensions are a bit high and you have something incredibly valuable to my friend Wrex here.¡± ¡°Something worth dying over.¡± Wrex growled, glaring at the Salarians. ¡°As would we, Commander.¡± The Salarian placated. ¡°This matter can be resolved, but this is a highly secure facility. As a Council Spectre, you and your team are free to move as you please, but I must insist your companions remain under guard.¡± The black armored Salarian gestured at both Wrex and Revan as he said that. Considering both of them were considered Heads of State, it made sense the Dalatrass didn¡¯t want either poking around a secret facility if she could help it. The bad news was Wrex didn¡¯t look like he was in an accommodating mood. ¡°Wrex and I can stay here while you finish the transfer, Shepard.¡± Revan offered. ¡°While you are doing that I can answer any questions these people have about the installation steps for the planetary shield. I¡¯ll only release the full manual after the transfer is complete.¡± The Sith turned to look at Wrex. ¡°If that¡¯s fine with you?¡± Wrex gave everyone a final glare but relented. ¡°Fine. But anything goes wrong and all bets are off.¡± Shepard gave the masked Sith a nod of thanks for the timely save before she followed Salarian deeper into the base. ¡°Again apologies for the rough welcome.¡± He said. ¡°I¡¯m Padok Wiks, and I appreciate your understanding, Commander. With war on everyone¡¯s minds, our people are on edge.¡± Shepard opened her mouth to respond, but was cut off by a shout from up ahead where a massive horned creature was being moved in a containment shield. One she unfortunately recognized. ¡°I¡¯d hoped to never see one of those again.¡± Liara muttered from behind them, and Shepard had to agree. Standing almost three times as tall as a Krogan and looking about three times as brutal, the Yahg were theoretically an extremely primitive race that had been quarantined from the wider galaxy when they had killed and eaten the first contact party sent to their homeworld. Primitive didn¡¯t mean stupid though, as one of the previous Shadow Brokers had found out when he had abducted one as a pet. The Yahg had learned everything he could from his then-owner before killing and replacing them as the new Broker until Shepard and her group had found out when helping Liara hunt down the Shadow Broker for her own needs. That had been one of the most intense and dangerous fights against a single opponent in her life, and the only reason it wasn¡¯t number one was because Shepard had faced a Thresher Maw on foot. Seeing another one up close wasn¡¯t making her feel particularly excited. ¡°As you can see, this base contains sensitive information.¡± Padok Wilks continued, ignoring Liara¡¯s comment. ¡°The work we do is highly confidential.¡± ¡°And what kind of work is that?¡± Shepard asked, trying to push the biological killing machine out of her mind. ¡°Evolutionary trials, morphological simulations, exogenetic assessments.¡± Wiks listed off. Shepard¡­understood some of those words. ¡°Nothing is ever simple with Salarians, is it?¡± ¡°Science has always been our best defence.¡± Padok Wiks smiled. ¡°The research we do here has kept Sur¡¯Kesh safe for millenia.¡± ¡°Does that involve studying lost krogan?¡± Shepard jumped on the opportunity to discuss the actual reason she was here. As much as she believed the Dalatrass wouldn¡¯t try and pull something that risked hostilities with the Turians, Krogan, AND the Sith Empire¡­that didn¡¯t mean she enjoyed sitting on that particular political bomb longer than she needed to. The sooner they were off this planet and everyone had what they wanted, the better. ¡°The females were in poor health when we found them on Tuchanka.¡± Wiks sidestepped, not actually answering if they were studying Krogan besides the ones they were here for. ¡°They were brought here to stabilize their condition.¡± ¡°I¡¯d still like to see them.¡± ¡°Of course. I¡¯ll need to clear you for the lower levels. Please, follow me.¡± Mass Effect: Knight of the Old Republic - Chapter 61 While they waited for Shepard to finish retrieving the missing krogan females, Wrex and Revan had very little to do besides finding ways to keep themselves occupied. Revan was busy fielding the dozens of questions a Salarian technician was assaulting her with about the shield system being delivered elsewhere, and mostly just deflecting them by pointing out relevant sections of the installation and maintenance manual some of her quarian engineers had insisted on. Wrex, on the other hand, was taking the time they spent waiting as an opportunity to terrorize the guards surrounding them. While she was glad Wrex was finding something to keep himself occupied, she really did wish he chose something other than listing off the different parts of a Salarian he was planning on eating if they tried to pull something. It had been amusing seeing the agents around them twitch and shuffle uncomfortably at first, but now it was just starting to get distracting. Especially when she was starting to feel uneasy and noticed several whispered conversations happening around them. Listening in was somewhat of a challenge, though. Directional microphones only did so much around loud Krogan. A worried looking technician power-walking towards one of the officers drew the Sith¡¯s attention and she did her best to listen in. ¡°Another incursion?¡± ¡°Air defenses report unidentified craft skirting our inbound approach vectors.¡± ¡°It¡¯s like someone¡¯s testing our defenses.¡± ¡°Seems that way, sir.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t like it. Not with¨C¡± The rest of the conversation was lost under Wrex¡¯s booming laugh as he finally got one of the STG agents to react and unfortunately the two she was listening in on had moved before he was done. It was confirmation that something was going on though. An attack? The Reapers hadn¡¯t been sighted in this system yet, but there was nothing stopping them from having Indoctrinated agents infiltrate ahead of their main forces and destabilize important locations. An important STG base would certainly be a valuable target. It could also be the Asari Jedi. If a few of them happened to be on Sur¡¯Kesh or nearby enough to get there before the Normandy did, Revan could see them risking an attack to try and assassinate her now that she was away from her flagship. Or perhaps a betrayal? The Dalatrass certainly wasn¡¯t pleased about getting pressured into releasing the Krogan females. If she decided destroying any chance of a Genophage cure was important enough, Revan could easily see the Salarian ordering an attack on her own planet. It was unlikely though, since the only way the Dalatrass wouldn¡¯t be immediately implicated was if the attack was done by a different species and capable of overcoming an STG base. Not something easy to arrange in the short time between the agreement and their arrival. There was also the possibility that it was simply coincidence and nothing would come from the disturbance. Revan huffed a laugh and stood. She wasn¡¯t that lucky. Ignoring her STG minder, the Sith moved to the edge of the balcony overlooking the valley the base was settled in and focused on another conversation happening nearby. ¡°¨Coutbound comm traffic twenty minutes ago from inside the base.¡± One Salarian was saying. ¡°A burst transmission, fully encoded, with no identity signature.¡± ¡°No signature? That''s against protocol.¡± ¡°I know. Someone¡¯s passing a message.¡± The soldier said gravely. ¡°I¡¯ve got a bad feeling about this.¡± Inside the base was it? Suddenly the betrayal option was looking a lot more plausible than Revan would have expected. Shepard was already heading down into the lower levels so there was no point contacting her. At this point the best thing would be to collect the females and evacuate the base as quickly as possible. After that¨C Revan¡¯s train of thought was derailed as a klaxon started blaring throughout the base. ¡°Alert! Threat condition two has been declared. Scramble readiness teams.¡± This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it Suddenly there were soldiers running all over and even a few VTOL aircraft taking off from the base. It was an impressive response time, even if the STG agents had already been suspicious from earlier activity. The Sith felt Wrex step up behind her, ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡± ¡°Someone¡¯s been probing the base''s defenses.¡± She replied. ¡°I overheard it from some of the soldiers. And I think we are going to find out who in just a moment.¡± She pointed at several dots that had appeared on the skyline. Enemy aircraft. And a lot of them. Wrex snarled angrily as several ships simply blew by the STG fighters, using their numbers to slip through easily while a few lagged behind to engage the defenders. Soon enough the entire base was being swarmed by shuttles dropping off squads of soldiers. Human soldiers. In fairly recognizable armor. ¡°Wrex, call Shepard and let her know our timetable just got accelerated.¡± Revan ordered, focusing all her attention on one of the incoming shuttle pilots. There was a sort of haze around his mind, similar to the Asari she had met when Shepard had gone to recruit Okeer, yet different. Less subtle. But more than enough to prevent the Sith from influencing his mind without more effort and focus than she could afford at the moment. She didn¡¯t need to though, a sharp tug using the Force and the pilot¡¯s neck suddenly snapped, allowing the dropship to nosedive into the valley below. One group down dozens to go. And unfortunately, it looked like she wasn¡¯t going to have time to focus on repeating her last trick. Too many Cerberus soldiers had landed at the base and Revan couldn¡¯t afford to stand still focusing on the pilots without risking one of them hitting her with a high explosive. ¡°We have a problem.¡± Wrex growled as he stalked back over to the Sith. ¡°Only one of the females survived. We need to get her out of here before Cerberus or one of the Salarian bastards manages to kill her.¡± And if she died, so did the hopes of a Genophage cure. ¡°Then we need to leave.¡± Revan decided. ¡°How long until Shepard is done in the lower levels?¡± ¡°They already have the female moving through the quarantine procedure.¡± Wrex said. ¡°But the elevator was trapped ¨C a bomb. They¡¯re leaving through an emergency exit and won¡¯t be able to meet up with us.¡± A bomb in a secure base. Either Cerberus had some of the best infiltrators around to sneak that in before their attack or it was another sign they had been betrayed. Though the question by who remained. A deniable attack by the Daltrass or an Indoctrinated agent of the Reapers? ¡°The quarantine cells open at the landing pad.¡± Revan remembered from a conversation with one of their minders about the yahg being moved down into the base. ¡°We¡¯ll meet them there.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll get the shuttle. And do my best to make life miserable for Cerberus!¡± Revan nodded and ignited one of her sabers. ¡°I¡¯ll help clear the base then, draw as many of their soldiers away as possible.¡± -o- ¡°Contact! More Cerberus just up ahead!¡± Garrus barked before opening up with his blaster rifle. Two Cerberus troops fell over with smoking holes in their armor before the others made it behind cover and returned fire. Shepard dove behind a metal support beam. ¡°Liara, singularity!¡± ¡°On it!¡± The sphere of biotic power dragged the remaining soldiers from behind their own cover before Shepard detonated the whole thing with a Shockwave. One explosion later and the squad was wiped out and her own team was moving on. This was the third squad they had run into and honestly the only reason Shepard and her team were able to cut through them so quickly is that the base¡¯s layout and defenses basically forced Cerberus¡¯s dropships to drop off one squad at a time. In areas with almost no cover too. The resulting shooting gallery was a godsend for now, but eventually enough squads would establish themselves that they would begin to converge and overrun the defenders. Shepard needed to get the Krogan female to safety before that happened, hopefully without getting the rest of them killed in the process since it seemed Cerberus somehow managed to sneak in a goddamned army. Thankfully she didn¡¯t need to worry about all that entirely by herself. Wrex was going to meet them at the landing bay and Revan was apparently going to distract Cerberus. All Shepard and her team needed to focus on was getting the female there. She made a promise the krogan would make it back to Tuchanka. She intended to see it through. ¡°Everyone good?¡± She called out, getting two positive responses. ¡°Then let''s keep moving.¡± Liara consulted a map on her omnitool. ¡°There''s a route to the next level through the labs. You should have access to enter those too. It will definitely save us time getting back to the containment unit.¡± ¡°We better hurry too.¡± Garrus added. ¡°The female isn¡¯t going to last long against this much firepower.¡± ¡°Mordin will let us know if there''s any trouble.¡± Shepard said confidently. And wasn¡¯t that a surprise. A nice one to be sure, but it had been a bit of a shock to realise the insider agent that had leaked the existence of the females in the first place was an old crewmember and the one scientist with the best chance of creating a cure. Shepard would love to hear the story of how he managed to pull that one off when they weren¡¯t in the middle of a massive terrorist attack. The Spectre quickly found the entrance to the labs and after a quick check confirmed she actually did have clearance to enter, let her team through the connecting rooms. Most were empty save for some discarded equipment, but two had contained some living creatures in them. The first were several Varren that the Salarians had been trying to experiment on, something about chemical markers to make them easily controllable. They were also considered a failure and marked to be terminated since the treatment was going to kill them in a few days so Shepard had no qualms about releasing them just as a Cerberus squad passed by the cages. It was the other cages she had no intention of going near. Not one but two Yahg specimens were staring hatefully at the three of them from behind the forcefield. And considering the one she saw earlier and the empty active cage next to them meant there was a potential third somewhere on the base. A third that was potentially loose and wreaking havoc on both the Salarians and Cerberus. ¡°Species 732 authorised for covert uplift.¡± Garrus read from the nearby terminal. ¡°Apparently they are ideal candidates to expand Salarian influence with full deniability. They called it a minimal risk.¡± ¡°Obviously they never had to fight a Yahg face-to-face.¡± Liara grumbled. ¡°It looks like a third one might be missing. A few STG might be learning what that¡¯s like right now.¡± Shepard pointed out. ¡°As long as we don¡¯t run into it, that¡¯s fine by me. And if they decide to push forward with that project I know a few contacts that would be plenty happy to receive a tip from a concerned source about the Salarians breaking Citadel Law.¡± Shepard hid a smile at that. It was still a bit weird to see the sheltered archeologist turned Shadow Broker casually threaten things like that, but at the same time Liara had really grown into the role. That smile died a swift death when the team opened the door out of the labs and found a Cerberus squad waiting for them. That wasn¡¯t the concerning part, though. No, that was because the previously missing Yahg made its appearance by tearing around a corner and ripping a soldier in half before grabbing a second and shoving him halfway through the wall and roaring out a challenge. The remaining two reflexively opened fire, but the soldier getting shoved through the wall must have ruptured some sort of gas pipe because a jet of fire suddenly filled the hallway, incinerating the remaining soldiers and blocking the Yahg from continuing forward. Whatever that gas was burned hot enough that the massive alien decided to run back the way it came. Gone just as quickly as it arrived. ¡°...well, that happened.¡± Shepard muttered, trying to process the explosion of violence before attempting to inject a little levity into their situation. ¡°Careful. There goes the next Shadow Broker.¡± ¡°Yeah, could¡¯ve sworn he was muttering ¡®T¡¯Soni¡¯ the whole time.¡± Garrus added in, getting a full body shiver from their third. ¡°Not funny.¡± ¡°It¡¯s a little funny.¡± The Turian disagreed. Liara narrowed her eyes at him. ¡°I¡¯ll send Tali your extranet search history.¡± ¡°Huh? I¡­wha-...why?¡± Garrus stuttered and as much as Shepard wanted to burst out laughing at the poor guy¡¯s dumbstruck face, they were on the clock right now. ¡°Alright, as fun as this is¡­let¡¯s get moving. Mordin is waiting on us.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t think I don¡¯t have something on you, Shepard!¡± Liara threatened as she followed after the Commander.