Mass Effect - A Hero Rises Ch. 51

Book 3, Chapter 2 - Ancient Plans

*****

Cerberus was on Mars. We learned that within five minutes when we found them executing Alliance soldiers. I wasted no time charging forward, shotgun blasting, killing most of them myself, Vega and Ashley barely getting off a shot themselves. And Cerberus had arrived in force, or so it seemed. Approaching the entrance to the facility, there were more troops milling around, supposedly on guard, but we managed to sneak up on a couple of them, then simply laid waste. I'll admit, it felt good to kill Cerberus people once again. I'd put up with co-operating with them for long enough. Now I could let the blood flow once again.

Making it to the entrance, we needed to ride an elevator down into the facility. That allowed us to take off our helmets for a moment. I glanced at Vega, sharing a nod, before Ashley asked, "What are Cerberus doing on Mars, sir?"

"I don't know, Ash. But I understand the suspicion."

"I know you're not with them anymore. It's just... You know..."

"I know. But I had no problem killing them just then. This is obviously a rescue mission now. If Cerberus is here, they're here for Liara and more than likely whatever she's looking for. Always knew the Illusive Man would interfere."

"Guess we should find Liara then," Vega stated, injecting a little humour in his tone, no doubt to diffuse any possible tension building. Ashley met my eyes and nodded grimly.

"Can we talk later, sir?"

"Shepard. Just like the old days, Ash. And yes, we can talk later. Whatever's on your mind, clear the air if necessary. It's been a long time."

"That it has."

We didn't have to search for Liara, as she ended up coming towards us, being pursued by more Cerberus troops in ducts above our head. We heard them chasing her, and assumed it was shoot to kill, as we heard gunfire as well. I watched her kill a pair of them with ease as she gracefully dropped to our level, turning and using her biotics before putting a pair of bullets in each. Stepping out of cover, I was unable to stop my chuckle. "Damn, T'Soni, that was cold."

She turned, concerned in one moment, relief and a smile in the next. "Shepard!" I found myself wrapped in the arms of a grateful and affectionate asari. "Good to see you," she whispered, "Goddess, I've already heard about Earth..."

"Thanks, but we knew this was going to happen." I paused before asking, "Liara, why are you on Mars? What brought you here?"

"Why are you here?"

"Hackett sent me as we escaped Earth. Told me to find you. Didn't tell me much more than that. I'm figuring I grab you, grab the plans, then we head to the Citadel and try our luck."

She led us to a nearby window, pointing towards the other end of the facility. "Your archives, Shepard. Your researchers didn't discover everything. Obviously, much of what is discovered here is secretive, not wanting it to fall into the wrong hands. What was called a 'small cache' was... Well, a white lie, let's call it."

"I know anyone who did get sent here had to sign a NDA," I stated, "And the vetting process is something else entirely. So what have you discovered?"

"Plans for a device, hidden deep within the data."

"A device? What sort of device?"

"That I'm not sure about, Shepard. What we need to do is grab the data and leave. Cerberus is obviously here, but the Reapers appear to have bypassed Mars for Earth... I'm sorry, Shepard."

"We're only the first, Liara. And if they've attacked Earth in force, then they'll soon spread across the galaxy."

Joker then came in over the radio, stating a storm was incoming and we'd better get a move on. Now that we had Liara, I figured working with a small team wasn't a bad idea in the facility, so I ordered Vega to head back towards the shuttle for a quick extraction if necessary. He wasn't particularly happy about being left out of the fight, but I didn't want to be stuck on Mars. Cerberus was already here, the Reapers would now doubt have an interest eventually.

And, of course, they knew we were there by now, so sent troops forward to deal with the three of us. But I was already pissed off about everything, Ashley hated Cerberus with a passion, and Liara certainly hadn't appreciated being chased across the facility. Armed with a shotgun and my biotics, I cut a swathe through their numbers, leaving numerous troops left battered and bloodied on the ground.

Making our way out of the maintenance bay, we entered what looked like a reception area. Alliance personnel had been shot, a few executed where they had been sitting. Ashley and I shared a glance. "Shepard, when we have time, I'll have to show you a biotic move," Liara stated as she took a seat, glancing over the cameras across the facility, "Your charge is something else, but I have something you can immediately after that which will just cause havoc. Might not even need your shotgun half the time." Then she paused and I heard her mutter something. Leaning down beside her, she pointed at one of the screens. "I know her. Doctor Eva Core. She arrived a few weeks back."

"How well do you know her?"

Liara shrugged. "Not a lot. I've been so busy..."

I immediately grabbed her shoulder, giving it a squeeze. "Don't even think about blaming yourself about it. We don't know if she's involved, but if she's still alive... Those are live pictures?" She nodded. "Well, if she's still alive, then I guess we do have questions for her. Maybe she's just really good at avoiding Cerberus patrols?"

Ashley snorted behind me, which made Liara and I both chuckle. Pissed off as we were, we definitely needed a reason to crack a grin, at least.

Moving on, we had to head outside, making sure out helmets were secure and our magnetic boots were switched on, as the wind was now howling, and having to make our way across the roof to the next building. Coming to what should have been a closed airlock, the fact it was open was a bad sign. And it was soon obvious that the air had been vented, immediately asphyxiating everyone inside the cafeteria. Liara was now upset in addition to angry, while Ashley practically growled what she was going to do to the next Cerberus troops were ran into.

The poor bastards we did run into never knew what hit them. Liara practically threw them across the room with her biotics while every bullet fired by Ashley was a headshot. I charged here and there, but the pair left me with little to do. Finding power, we closed the door and turned on the lights to reveal the scene. I couldn't help sigh while Liara recognised more than one face. There was little we could do except walk away. Unfortunately, the three of us knew they would not be the last.

We continued to fight our way through the facility, the narrow confines turning many corridors into shooting galleries, perfect me to simply charge and shoot, while Liara could get her singularities firing, dragging troops out of cover, leaving them as easy pickings for Ashley and myself. Liara stated we were now passing through the labs, and our progress was brought to a halt by a turret that was bound to turn us into mincemeat.

"Okay, who's bright fucking idea was this?" I muttered. Liara couldn't help chuckle at my tone. "Right, I'll draw its attention. Liara and Ash, once it's got me targets, make your move and get it turned off."

"On your go, Shepard," Ashley stated, noticing her fiddle with the shield pack at her hip. Liara merely met my eyes, a hard grimace.

It worked, but my shields failed and I was lucky not to lose a limb. But the turret missed the movement of my colleagues, moving one way or the other. Stuck behind cover, I had to wait for the all-clear from Ashley before I could stand up, noticing Liara already at a console hard at work. Checking shields, armour and weapons, I joined the pair in an office, thankful for the moment of silence, left wondering how many Cerberus troops we'd already killed.

"Where the fuck has he got these numbers?" I wondered.

"Did you ever..." Ash started to ask. I glanced her way and gestured. "Did you ever work beside his own people?"

"Apart from Miranda, Jacob, and the few people on the ship, no. What Miranda told me must ring true. Each cell separate, no idea of what goes on otherwise."

"Do you believe her?"

I heard the tone. She'd only ever met Miranda the once. I doubt she knew I'd slept with her, and I wasn't going to broach that subject. "Miranda left Cerberus, Ash. The Illusive Man would now be scouring the galaxy for her. And I'll be honest. I don't think she ever outright lied to me, because I don't think she knew everything she thought."

Liara ignored our conversation, interrupting us to let us know what the situation was. We needed to get a tram, which was currently locked down, so it needed an override. Having fought Cerberus all the way through the facility so far, there was no doubt more laid on the other side and we needed a tram sent over. So I ordered Ash to search bodies for a short-wave transmitter so we could contact them.

Ashley was gone no more than a couple of minutes before hearing a cry of surprise. I headed towards her voice with shotgun already in hand, to find her hunched over the body of a Cerberus trooper. Taking a knee beside her, I immediately noticed what caused such a shock.

"That could've been you, Shepard," Ashley stated softly, "For all I knew, that's what Cerberus has done to you."

"You mean when we met on Horizon?"

"You were dead, Shepard. We all thought you were dead. Then you return like nothing has changed. And now this?" The trooper looked sort of like a husk. "Whatever that is, it's definitely not human. I thought Cerberus was meant to represent us?"

"I think we both know that's bullshit."

"I know. It's just... It's Cerberus, Shepard! And they had you for god knows how long. And with everything..." She trailed off and sighed. "Guess I still need some time to compute everything."

"Bahak?" I wondered, "I mean, if anything was going to make you question me..."

She met my eyes and looked guilty, but nodded. "Bahak. It's... It's a big thing, Shepard. I'm still processing it."

"I know, Ash. Live with it every day." I rested a hand on her shoulder, earning a small grin. "Take as much time as you need. I'll still be here when you want to talk."

"And there you go, being all understanding and stuff."

"A lot of shit has gone down since I was spaced, Ash. And to be honest, we've barely talked since."

"Guess we need to, right?"

I nodded. "Right." Grabbing the receiver inside the helmet, I could hear a crackle that suggested the line was still open. "Hello. This is Delta Team. Do I have a copy?"

"Copy, Delta Team. Where the hell have you been? Never mind, what's your status?"

"We're at the tram station, waiting for extraction. All hostiles terminated."

"Roger that. Echo Team will ride over and secure the station."

Clicking off the link, I couldn't help chuckle to myself. "Idiots," I muttered.

We laid waste to the few troops sent over, and boarded the tram, weapon still in hand. But Cerberus was not completely stupid, and they'd set charges on the tracks in the event of someone retaliating. We only made it halfway across before our tram was halted, a tram sent in the opposite direction. Lambs to the slaughter, as we slaughtered them once the tram was alongside. Okay, so maybe not completely stupid but most of the way there...

Boarding the tram, now riddled with bullet holes, and I knew they'd be ready for us. We managed to get off the tram without being killed, but the next few minutes were not easy. I managed the occasional charge but the firepower being returned left us wondering how the hell we survived once it was all over. Cerberus troops lay dead everywhere, the station was in ruins, and the blood pooled on the ground. The three of us needed to check ourselves over, shields, armour and weapons. Ashley needed medi-gel on a wound, Liara simply looked exhausted. "I haven't had to do this in months," she muttered, "Guess I got a little lazy."

"How do you think I feel?" I retorted, "I'm going to sleep like a log once we're done here."

That was it, as far as Cerberus troops, Liara leading the way to the archives themselves. They were rather impressive and nothing like the 'small cache' we'd always been told. Or maybe they'd continued digging since that first discovery. I didn't know, nor did Liara. But it didn't really matter. What we needed was that data.

Ordering Ashley to sweep the perimeter, I followed Liara to a nearby terminal, hoping she could just download the data. Before she could get started, there was a voice. A voice I remembered rather well. A voice that just annoyed me.

Swinging around, shotgun raised, I knew he wouldn't have been in the archives. It had been months since our last communication. He didn't look any different. Still liked to smoke. I could feel his eyes look me up and down as I stored my shotgun. No point keeping it in hand when he was just a hologram.

"Shepard," the Illusive Man stated.

"Illusive Man," I growled in return, "The fuck are you up to now?"

He gestured with the cigarette in his hand. "Fascinating race, the Protheans. They left all of this for us to discover, yet we've done nothing but squander it. The Alliance has known above the archives for thirty years, and what have they done with it?"

"Cut the sermon and just tell me what you want."

His eyes moved away from me to the archives behind me. "What I've always wanted, Shepard."

"Can you stop talking in code and just speak plainly for once in your life. Remember, I'm no longer working alongside you so don't have to put up with your bullshit."

"The data in these artefacts holds the key to solving the Reaper threat."

"You mean like thinking that saving the Collector base was a good idea?"

"Once again, Shepard, you are proving your lack of critical thinking. Where you consider destruction, I consider control. To control, dominate and harness the Reapers power. Imagine how strong humanity would be if we controlled them."

I couldn't help chuckle at the mere thought. "Fuck me sideways. I always thought you had delusions of grandeur, but you have gone far off the fucking deep end. Control the Reapers? Are you out of your fucking mind?"

"I didn't ask you to understand..."

"Look... Tim, yeah, I'm going to call you that from now on... Anyway, there is no way on god's green earth I am going to ever ascertain the thought of you controlling the Reapers. And even if such a thing was possible, I would definitely, categorically, one hundred percent confirm I would not allow that to happen."

"This isn't your fight anymore, Shepard. You can't defeat the Reapers, even with the Prothean data."

There was something in his tone that suggested I was out of the loop. Not surprising, considering I'd been cooped up for six months. I shared a glance with Liara. "I've not even started yet," I stated vehemently.

"Granted, you'd do better than most, Shepard, but this time, the odds just aren't in your favour." He took another drag of his cigarette, and what he said next chilled me to the core. "More importantly, I don't want the Reapers destroyed."

"What?" I asked, completely deadpan.

"We can dominate them, use their power, harness their very essence to bring humanity to the apex of evolution."

"I take back that you've gone off the deep end. You are clinically fucking insane."

"I didn't and don't expect you to understand, Shepard."

I flipped him the bird. "Go fuck yourself, Tim."

He took a final drag of his cigarette. "Don't interfere with my plans, Shepard. I won't warn you again."

Before I could retort, Liara made a strangled cry that caused me to turn around, not noticing the Illusive Man fade away. Stating the data was being deleted, she was busy working away as I took the shotgun from my back and looked around. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw something moving fast. Almost inhumanly fast.

Rifle fire grabbed my attention as Doctor Core sprinted past my eye line. I tried to charge in her direction, but she moved so fast, by the time I arrived in a blink of an eye, she was already passed me and gone.

That set off a chase through the archives and eventually out onto the rooftop, where the storm was now virtually on top of the facility. We had a few minutes at most before leaving would be impossible, and I didn't plan on being stuck on Mars for any longer than we needed. Doing whatever I could, the doctor simply remained out of range, even if I switched between charging and sprinting. Having not used my biotics so often in a long time, exhaustion soon swept over my body.

Ending up on the very top of the facility, I watched helplessly as the doctor boarded a Cerberus shuttle. "Can anybody read me?" I yelled over the comm, "She has the data!"

Over the howling wind, I heard the crunch before turning to see our shuttle slam into the side of the Cerberus shuttle, sending both of them hurtling in my direction. I leapt out of the way, feeling one of the shuttles fly over my head, before there was the sound of a few small explosions and a final crunch. Somehow, Vega managed to survive, hearing him kick open the cockpit door, dragging my sorry arse up as Ashley and Liara appeared.

Ashley immediately moved towards the Cerberus shuttle as I called in Joker to bring in the Normandy. That's when the doctor appeared through the flames, and proved she was anything but human. Definitely an advanced AI, the sort of thing you would have once watched in science fiction films. Ashley immediately went on the offensive, opening fire, which did nothing to what looked like some sort of alloy body.

The AI moved fast, catching Ashley by the helmet and swinging her around. Without hesitation, she slammed her head more than once into the shuttle before flinging Ashley away with ease, watching as her body crumpled to the ground. The AI then thought charging at me was a good idea. I charged back, slamming into it, before unloading a shotgun blast into the centre of its chest.

It joined Ashley on the ground.

Moving to her side, I checked for signs of life. She had a pulse and was breathing, so that was a relief, carefully removing her helmet. She was unconscious and a feel of the back of her head brought my hands back bloody. "Vega, grab whatever the fuck that thing is," I ordered, Joker calling in thirty seconds later, sighing with relief when the Normandy came into view.

Gently picking up Ashley, Liara looked as exhausted as I felt as we made our way to the hangar bay, now hanging open as the ship manoeuvred into position. Stepping on board, I knew the chances of seeing the facility again were practically zero. The Reapers would no doubt arrive and destroy it.

Ordering Joker to take us immediately to the Citadel, I carried Ashley up to the med-bay, Vega alongside, walking through to dump the AI into the core as I placed Ashley down. I couldn't help feel a little guilty, this time Liara placing a comforting hand on my shoulder. "She needs a doctor, Shepard."

"Can you help her?"

"I can do the basics, Shepard, but she's got serious cranial trauma." I looked down at my bloodied hands. "Exactly. I can keep her stable until we get to the Citadel."

"Already ordered Joker there."

"Good. Then I'll do what I can here."

"Vega?" I asked.

"Don't worry about me, sir. You do what you need to do."

"Who do we even have on board?" I paused a moment. "Kelly?"

"Yes, Shepard?"

"Meet me upstairs in my cabin. We need to discuss everything."

"I'll head up now, Shepard."

Once the comm cut, I looked at Liara. "Do what you can for Ashley then make sure you get some rest, or at least a little food and drink. Vega, good bloody job on taking out the shuttle. Crazy, but it worked. Take a load off while we get to the Citadel. I'll worry about organising everything once we hit the Citadel. I don't know about you but I'm worn out."