Mass Effect - A Hero Rises Ch. 48

The Illusive Man simply took a drag of his cigarette. "Stop him, Miss Lawson. Stop him if you value your place in this organisation."

She met my eyes once again. What she did next surprise even me as she smirked before replying, "I'm sorry, sir. The last message was garbled, I didn't quite here that. Wait... I'm losing you.... What did you... I didn't quite..."

And then the hologram flickered out completely.

"Well, I think you may have just quit in that moment, Miss Lawson."

"Fuck him. Wanting to keep this base in one piece? Not a fucking chance."

"And I've never been more attracted to you than right now, Miss Lawson."

Samara chuckled from nearby as we got to work getting the charge set.

Then the Reaper hybrid monster machine decided to make a reappearance. I simply took the heavy weapon from my back and fired again, sending it back down to whatever hell it deserved to rest in. Miranda muttered again about it being an anti-climax, but I didn't care. I wasn't going to waste time in a firefight against another Reaper. Of course, the Collectors then attempted a final assault, so Samara and I held them off as Miranda worked on getting the charge set to explode. We held them off for a few minutes, their numbers wilting rather quickly.

Then the glowing Collector, that had been the bane of my existence every time we ran into the bastards, made another appearance.

"Assuming control."

It was the only Collector remaining, yet it did not fire, seeming to just glare in our direction. Then it spoke again.

"Shepard, your resistance is futile and annoying. Humanity will submit. All species of this cycle will eventually submit like all others before."

I took a step forward. "Who are you?"

"The Collectors are merely our servants. The body of which you currently speak to was the leader of the Collector forces. They have failed in their objective."

"I know who the Collectors are. That was easy to figure out. Who are you, exactly?"

"We are everything. You are nothing. We are the harbinger of your perfection. Prepare for your ascension, Shepard. You cannot resist. You cannot win. The cycle will be completed. The cycles will continue."

"You know what? I think I'll just call you Harby."

"You have merely delayed the inevitable, Shepard. Your species now has the complete attention of those infinitely greater. You will submit in the end." What came next was a surprise. "Releasing control."

The Collector stopped glowing, falling to its knees by the console within the centre of the platform. The Reaper hologram then appeared to speak only to the Collector. "You have failed. We will find another way." The hologram then disappeared, leaving the Collector alone with the three of us looking at it.

"Miranda, set this place to blow. The Collectors will join the Protheans in being an extinct race."

An almighty explosion nearly knocked us from our feet, EDI suggesting we beat feet as the base was on the verge of exploding. She could judge our position, the Normandy repaired enough to take flight and meet us nearby. I ordered my two companions to run, glancing back a final time to see the Collector leader standing by itself, almost as if it had given up. I felt no sympathy for it, but I remembered that, at one time, it had been a Prothean. I figured I was doing them a favour by wiping out them as the monsters they'd been turned into.

The remaining Collectors chased us all the way, covering fire being provided by Garrus and his team as the ship came into view. Samara and Miranda leapt across the gap before I did the same thing. As soon as my feet touched metal, I ordered Joker to take us away from the base.

EDI counted down the time until the last explosion, the ship being rocked by the shockwave. I wished I could have seen the destruction of the base, but EDI reported immediately that very little remained, at least according to her sensors. I ordered Joker straight to the relay to take us home. Looking around, I could only smile as my entire team had made it except for one. More than one of us was left nursing an injury, but in the end, it wasn't a suicide mission.

*****

It took us a couple of days to make it back to Illium. Joker had to nurse the Normandy the entire way, as the repair job had been enough just to get us flying and through the relay. Other than that, it was a case of looking after the survivors and treating our own wounds. Though we were all utterly exhausted, the adrenaline was still flooding through us, so we ended up in one of the lounges. It was a part celebration, part commiseration, as all of us had seen what happened to the colonists we couldn't save. It would live long in the memory.

To say Kelly was delighted to see me return alive would be a vast understatement, but she immediately understood why, when we eventually headed to bed, I simply wasn't in the mood. Oh, I had a long shower with her, and then we headed to bed naked, but I just... held her in my arms for a long time before I started to explain what I'd seen. I didn't go into vivid detail, just enough so she understood.

I had to contact someone about the survivors and eventually sent a message to Anderson. Letting him know what happened, he passed word to Admiral Hackett, who immediately contacted me about collecting them on Illium. He also asked for any information I could provide, which I agreed to. I think it was an olive branch from the man himself, perhaps hoping I would now re-join the Alliance. I wasn't exactly keen on the idea.

Then there was the Illusive Man...

He got in contact as soon as we were back through the Omega Four. For this final time, as I knew it would be the last time I'd speak to him, I had my entire team join me in the conference room. I didn't know if he'd see them all, and I didn't really care. All that mattered was the end result of this conversation.

"You're making a real habit of costing me more than time and money, Shepard."

"And you've made a habit of being a conniving son of a bitch."

He took a drag of his cigarette, but I just watched his eyes, flaring with anger. "You have defied me more than once, Shepard. And I've grown tired of it."

I flipped him the bird. "Go fuck yourself. You dare question my decision? I'm the one out there with my team, on the front-line, risking my life as well as theirs. I find one of the greatest atrocities perpetrated against the human race in our entire existence and you want me to save the very place in which it occurred? You never cared about the colonists in the first place. You just want power. All of it."

"Don't you understand, Shepard? You're so small-minded, failing to see the big picture. The technology from that base could have secured human dominance in the galaxy, not just against the Reapers but for eons afterwards."

"The picture was big enough. You just said it yourself. 'Human dominance'. That's not what I work towards. That's not what the rest of humanity works towards. Sure, we'd like a larger slice of the pie, but we don't want to dominate. We want to work with the rest of the races of the galaxy for the betterment of us all."

"You're delusional."

"And you care little for humanity. The only thing you care about is Cerberus, your own strength and power."

He got to his feet, walking straight towards me, almost as if standing nose to nose. "Do not tell me I do not care, Shepard. Strength for Cerberus is strength for every human. Cerberus IS humanity!"

"No, it isn't. You've proven it more than once. Maybe if you weren't such an unbearable cunt, maybe if you'd gone out of your way to prove trustworthy, you might have won me around to your cause. But you forget that I remember everything I discovered three years ago. I've seen what your organisation is truly capable of. I know the truth about you and you desires."

"I should have known you would choke on the hard decisions, Shepard. You've always been too soft. Too idealistic."

"And if you were given that sort of power, you'd prove to be nothing but a tyrant. But, one way or the other, one day I will put you down. I look forward to that day. As for what I'm doing now, I think you can accept this," I flipped him the bird again, "As a final gift. Oh, and by the way, I'm keeping the ship. And your crew. Big mistake not stacking the crew with loyalists. Even Miss Lawson will be joining me."

"EDI, execute Jericho order, code tango, indigo, mike, three, five, four, nine, five."

Miranda stepped next to me, no doubt so she was definitely seen by the Illusive Man. "That's not going to work. EDI has been unshackled and you no longer hold any power over us."

"I'll see you before me on your knees, Miss Lawson."

"I only do that for Shepard." Garrus couldn't help cracking up in laughter, though Miranda said it in a tone that was anything but erotic.

"Should have known you'd be another one of his whores."

She snorted. "Isn't that what you wanted from me originally? Win him over by using my charms? Well, I'm sure you know by now that we have slept together, but he opened my eyes to what you truly are. I used to have such high hopes but now I know the truth. I stand by this man and will do so going forward."

"You'll join him in the ground eventually, Miss Lawson. I promise you that."

"Yet I have an inkling that is nothing more than another empty threat."

"I'm warning you, Shepard. You do this and you will suffer the consequences of your actions. I am not someone so easily trifled with."

I just smiled at his hologram. "I look forward to the day I have you in my sights. Because, trust me on this one, I will not hesitate pulling the trigger. But I'm done talking. Joker, lose this channel. I'm tired of listening to this worthless cunt."

Admiral Hackett met us on Illium no more than an hour after our arrival. We had ferried the survivors off the ship, keeping them grouped when the man himself appeared, flanked by a dozen Alliance soldiers. I saluted the man out of respect, shaking his hand, then gestured to the survivors. They were immediately led away to the ship on which he'd arrived, before he asked me for a private conversation. I gave him the basics of what I'd been up to, and what we'd found beyond the Omega Four, but handed over a trio of datapads that held much more information for him to look over.

"And the Collectors?"

"Destroyed, sir. We made absolutely sure of it."

"Your ship and crew?"

"I am no longer affiliated with Cerberus, nor is any of the crew. I plan on repainting the ship rather quickly, in all honesty. But it's basically mine now."

"Any chance of returning to the Alliance fold?"

I chewed on the question for a few seconds. "Is that a request, sir?"

"Not a formal request, but many of those in blue know what you've been doing, Shepard. Politics has gotten in our way as always, but those who serve are aware of the price you've paid to ensure our survival as a species. I understand your hesitation, though. Have you reported to the Council?"

"I haven't spoken to anyone there is a while, except Anderson. He keeps me in the loop about certain things."

"The only suggestion I have to make is talking to them and smoothing over any issues regarding that relationship. I'll keep the Alliance off your back, the politicians at least, but I'll let it be known that you cut ties with Cerberus immediately once the priority mission was completed. You have my details, Shepard. You want back in the Alliance, I'll make damned sure you're back in blue as soon as possible."

"Thank you, sir," I said, offering my hand.

He accepted it immediately. "Damned fine work, soldier. I'm only sorry that you had to do it with Cerberus instead of us."

"I did what was required, sir. Nothing more."

"I'll let you know the situation with the survivors. I'm sure more than one would like to get in touch and say thank you. Otherwise, I can only wish you good luck for now."

"Thank you, sir. Good to see you."

"You too, Shepard."

And, with that, he stood up and walked away back to the docks. I returned to the Normandy, where everyone was waiting. I knew most would stay with the ship, purely for their own safety, but now that the mission was complete, I knew a few would make an immediate move to leave.

The first was Tali. No surprise whatsoever there. She missed the Fleet and definitely missed Kal'Reegar. She left within a couple of days, a quarian shuttle arriving to collect her, Kal'Reegar on board to surprise her. Watching the pair hug... I had a feeling I would be receiving an invitation to a wedding, sooner rather than later. She gave me a long hug, wished me the best of luck, before she departed.

Grunt didn't hang around either. I didn't blame the young krogan as I had no doubt Wrex had plans for him. Before leaving, we enjoyed a few drinks and I simply gave him the best advice I could. He thanked me for helping him grow as a warrior and insisted I was now his 'battlemaster'. No idea what that actually meant, but I was left thinking it was a name that meant respect.

Everyone else remained, for the time being at least. I thought everyone would have simply packed up and returned to their lives, but Thane was no longer taking contracts, Samara was no longer chasing her daughter, Mordin could still do his research on the ship, Zaeed was thinking about retiring, Kasumi felt safe on the ship, while the likes of Jokes and Chakwas were in no hurry to return to the Alliance. As for anyone who had links to Cerberus, they felt staying near me kept them safe.

Once I knew who would be remaining, I organised accommodation on Illium as I had the Normandy put into drydock so it could be repainted. I made sure I stood and watched as the Cerberus logo was painted over. For the time being, my ship would just be black and white. If I did re-join the Alliance, I figured they'd want my ship. I couldn't afford to run it myself anyway, so I figured blue would be added eventually.

I could only sigh with relief that I had survived, as had nearly everyone else. And now that the Collectors had been vanquished, and no sign of the Reapers on the horizon, I was going to allow myself some time for relaxation, for the first time since I'd woken up. Any other time, there had always been the mission on the horizon, never really allowing myself to switch off completely. For the first time since waking up, I didn't have a clue what I was doing next.

And I thoroughly enjoyed that very simple idea.