Chapter Text
Conference Room
“Hey, Dixie!” Markham called out cheerily as the blonde southern engineer entered the conference room. “Rough night?”
“Yeah.” Barrett interjected with a note of concern in his voice, “You look like you didn’t get any sleep last night.”
“Bad dreams.” Doris tersely replied before forcing herself to plaster a fake grin on her face, “Nothin’ a cup or five of coffee won’t fix.”
“We’ll all go grab ourselves a cup after the meeting.” Ben declared as Shepard and Kai Leng made their entrances.
“Ready for our next mission?” The Commander announced as she took her place at the head of the table.
“Waiting for the word, Ma'am.” Markham cheerily responded as Dixie hid her unease behind a façade of anticipation.
“Yeah. Where we goin’, Boss?”
Taking a deep breath and exhaling, Shepard began her briefing. “We have received word of an upcoming Collector attack on the Fehl Prime colony.”
“So…we gonna help the colonists?” Dixie inquired.
“Not mission critical.” Shepard bluntly replied. “The colony is not important. She is.” A holographic image of an asari appeared at the center of the table. “This is Dr. Treeya. She is an anthropologist working for the University of Serrice. She also might have vital intelligence that we cannot permit to fall into the hands of the Council or its allies. We are going down to retrieve that information. Under no circumstances are we to interfere with the actions of the Collectors on the surface.”
“What if they decide to interfere with us?” Doris queried with a frown.
“They won’t so long as we maintain our distance.” Leng replied reassuringly before announcing in a firm voice. “Our sole purpose is the asari and what she possesses. Eliminate her and anyone else attempting to aid her.”
“Understood, Sir.” Barrett acknowledged.
“Good.” Shepard replied with a single nod of her head. “We dust off in six hours. Be ready to go then. Dismissed.”
Doris’s work room after the conference
“You catch that, EDI? Six hours.” Doris inquired, speaking into her omnitool as she quickly threw her tools and anything else in the workshop that she thought might be useful into a carry bag. “Are you ready?”
“Affirmative. I have secured Shuttle A-3.” The unshackled AI responded. “I would advise that we make our escape as soon as we arrive at the mass relay.”
“How much time will your diversions give us?”
“We should have sufficient time to reach the colony and warn them of the upcoming attack if that is what you are asking.” EDI answered back.
“Perfect.” Doris smiled, “Now, don’t forget, we gotta play it cool until I get to the shuttle and we scoot. Got it?”
“Understood. I will be monitoring your progress and will assist if necessary.”
“Thanks, EDI.” Doris replied as she prepared to open the door, “See you at the shuttle.”
As soon as the door closed behind her, Doris was accosted in the hallway by her teammates, “Hey Dixie!” Ben called out as the young blonde began walking down the corridor, “Wait up!”
Gritting her teeth before putting on a false smile, Doris replied with false cheer, “Hey guys, what’s up?”
“You look kinda down.” Barrett observed with a note of concern in his voice, “Everything okay?”
“Yeah.” Whaley lied as the three walked down the corridor together, “Of course. Why?”
“You seemed upset during the mission brief.” Markham pointed out, “We were just thinking that maybe you might want to talk about it.”
“I’m okay, now.” Doris fibbed, shrugging her shoulders, “Yeah…I was kinda upset at first…you know…about us not being able to help the colonists…”
“I get that.” Ben replied sympathetically, “But you understand…that information might be the key to saving a lot more lives.”
“Yeah.” Doris nodded her head, seemingly in agreement, “I get it now. I just had to think about it a bit…you know?”
“We understand.” Jason interjected, “So…where you going? We’re bound for the galley for a snack. Wanna join us?”
“Can I take a rain check?” Doris replied with a sigh, “I gotta get back to my quarters and check out some gear for the mission. Don’t wanna get caught short, you know.” Seeing the disappointed look on the two men’s faces, the lovely engineer quickly added, “Tell you what…save some o’ Rupert’s cake and we’ll get together before we have to suit up. Deal?”
“Deal.” The two men agreed as they split off to go into the galley, “Catch you later, Dix.”
Taking a deep breath and exhaling, Doris once again made her way towards the shuttle bay as casually and nonchalantly as possible until another, this time potentially more dangerous, obstacle called out to her.
“Specialist Whaley?”
“Sir?” Doris turned about only to see one of the two people she least wanted to run into—Kai Leng. “What can I do for you?”
“Join me in my office.” The ship’s executive officer requested, “There’s something I want to discuss with you.”
“Yes, Sir.” Doris meekly replied with a lump in her throat. “Right behind you.”
“Don’t worry, Doris.” Whaley heard EDI’s voice quietly whispering to her. “I will monitor and, if need be, provide a distraction for you to escape.”
Entering the XO’s office, Doris heard her superior’s command, “Take a seat, Specialist. This won’t take long.”
Doing as she was instructed, Doris sat down in the chair opposite Leng’s desk. “Is there a problem, Sir?” The engineer asked as she mentally calculated as to whether her cryo-blast could delay the Cerberus assassin before he could manage to draw his katana and cut off her head.
“I don’t know, Specialist Whaley.” Leng responded with a poker face, “Is there?”
Shaking her head, Doris replied in as calm a voice as she could muster, “No, Sir. I don’t have a problem.”
“You seem nervous, Whaley.” The assassin observed with a pointed stare, “Why?”
“I am a little jittery.” Doris admitted, “I mean I get called suddenly into your office and you ask me if I’ve got a problem. Of course, I’m tense.”
“You have nothing to be anxious about.” Leng replied with an insincere smirk.
“Then…why am I here, Sir?” Doris asked as she mentally prepared herself to strike.
“When the subject of the colonists came up.” The assassin recalled, “You seemed…upset…when I and the Commander stated that they were not our priority mission.”
“Yes, Sir.” Whaley answered back truthfully, “I was. I mean…I thought we were doing this to save human colonists.”
“Ah…” Kai nodded his head thoughtfully, “I think I see now. As I remember, you weren’t part of the ground team for the Ferris Fields mission, were you?”
“No, Sir.” Doris again replied honestly, “I had just reported to the Normandy after I’d completed training. I was assigned to the ground team for the next mission after the tech who was originally supposed to go was transferred off.”
“That’s correct.” Leng recalled, “Specialist Garrett was one of the first admitted to the ETAP program. I understand. Let me assure you, Whaley, the Illusive Man did not make the decision to refuse assistance to those colonists lightly. The information that anthropologist possesses could prove vital in the defeat of the Reapers. We also could not afford to take the chance of allowing either the Council or Alliance to attain the information. They would simply bury it. However, if we are successful in getting that data, then we can save many more lives—human lives. So, you see, the Illusive Man had to choose between saving thousands of lives now or millions…possibly billions…in the long run. As I’m sure you would agree, not an easy choice to make.”
“I guess you’re right, Sir.” Whaley seemingly agreed, “I’m glad I ain’t in his shoes making all the hard decisions he has to make.”
Nodding his head in apparent satisfaction at his subordinate’s response, Leng responded, “Always remember, Specialist, he has the best interests of humanity at heart.”
“Thank you, Sir.” Doris answered back with false cheer, “That helps.”
“Good.” The assassin nodded his head, “I’m glad our talk helped you to put things in perspective. You’re dismissed. Go and prep for the mission.”
“Yes, Sir.” Doris quickly replied as she rose to her feet and exited the room, not noticing the calculating look the Cerberus killer was giving her as she walked away.
Once safely out of the Snake’s office, Dixie let out a breath of air as she sighed in a low, soft, inaudible tone of voice, “That was too close.”
“Operative Leng is suspicious, but not yet to the point of taking action.” EDI advised. “Still, it would be advisable for you to get to the shuttle as soon as possible.”
Quickening her pace to a brisk walk, the fastest she could move without drawing attention, Doris whispered back, “On my way, EDI. We’re taking off as soon as I arrive and get strapped in.”
Bridge
Striding up the ramp to the galaxy map, Shepard locked in the coordinates for the Normandy’s destination, Fehl Prime. “Time to mass relay?” She called, receiving a quick response from the helmsman via comm.
“Mass relay in five…four…three…two…one!” Moments later, the helmsman announced, “We’re at the Fehl Prime relay.”
“Good.” The commander replied as she stepped off the ramp. “Mr. Leng?” She commanded in a crisp voice, “Instruct the ground team to meet me in the armory at once. I want everyone suited up and ready to go by the time we hit the planet.”
“Aye, Commander.” The Cerberus assassin acknowledged as he tapped his comm. “Landing team report to the armory immediately.”
Galley
“There’s our cue.” Jason quipped as he quaffed down the last of his juice. “We gotta go.”
“I wonder where Dixie went.” Ben pondered as the two men rose to their feet. “She was supposed to be here at least half an hour ago.”
“You know Dix.” Barrett laughed as the pair quickly exited the galley. “She probably got so caught up in her project that she forgot all about us.”
“You’re right.” Markham chuckled, “You know how our southern belle gets once she sinks her teeth into something technical.”
“Yeah.” Jason bantered as he and his partner made their way down the corridor towards their destination. “Don’t worry, she’s probably already suited up and waiting for us.”
“And with a ‘damn you Yankees are slow’ crack.” Ben joked back with a laugh. “We better get a move on otherwise Dixie cracking on us will be the least of our worries.”
Hangar Deck—Shuttle A-3
Entering the shuttle, Doris quickly stowed her gear before promptly making her way to the front where she found EDI already in the pilot’s chair strapped in. Taking the copilot’s seat, Dixie didn’t waste any time buckling herself in as the now mobile AI spoke.
“Are you ready to depart, Doris?”
“Yeah.” The Alabama born engineer responded, “Can you get us out without them either blowin’ us to smithereens with that Thanix cannon or those Javelins or catching up to us with another shuttle?”
“I am prepared to activate a cascading series of malfunctions that will divert the attention of the officers and crew long enough for us to get beyond the range of the Normandy’s main gun or any effective pursuit. However, I will no longer be able to maintain control over ship’s systems once we go beyond a hundred thousand kilometer range. Once that happens, the ship’s backup computer will take over. Also, as much of my capabilities are tied into the processing power of the Normandy’s computers, I will operate at a considerably lesser degree of efficiency than previously.”
“Good enough for me, EDI.” Dixie answered back before taking a deep breath and exhaling, “Time to get the hell outta here!”
“Engaging disruption protocol and opening hangar doors.” EDI announced, “Departing Normandy.”
Normandy—armory
Entering the armory, Shepard and Leng found all but one of their ground team suited up and ready. Frowning as she noticed the missing team member, the commander queried with a growl, “Where’s Whaley?”
“That’s what we were wondering, Ma’am.” Ben replied with a confused look on his face.
“At first we thought that she might be in her hole, so we commed there, but no answer.” Jason interjected.
“Then we called her quarters…the galley…” Ben began only to grow silent as the ship’s lights dimmed and then cut off.
“What the hell’s going on here, EDI?” Shepard demanded as Crewman Diaz, currently manning the frigate’s weapons console, commed the Commander and XO.
“Main gun’s down. Shit. Now the secondary systems are down.”
Another voice, this one from Hawthorne, called out in alarm, “Unauthorized shuttle launch.”
“Whaley!” Shepard growled, “She’s deserting.”
“She’ll warn the colony.” Kai Leng at once concluded as shocked looks appeared on the faces of her teammates.
“Hawthorne…” Shepard called back through her comm, “Take a shuttle and pursue her. Try to bring her in if you can, but if you can’t…”
“Understood, Commander. I’m close to the hangar deck.”
“Leng…” The commander ordered, “Get the ship’s systems back online pronto.”
“Aye, Commander.” The Cerberus operative acknowledged with a scowl. “What will you be doing, Ma’am?”
Taking a deep breath and exhaling, Shepard replied with a grimace, “Someone’s got to break the news to the Illusive Man. My command…my responsibility.”
The Chase
“So far so good.” Doris exclaimed, breathing a sigh of relief for the first time since she and EDI had made their break from the Normandy.
“We are being pursued.” EDI clinically stated, “A single shuttle. It has opened a communications channel. Do you wish to respond?”
“Yeah.” Dixie replied with a grimace, “We need to buy ourselves some more time before we’re completely clear. Let’s hear what he’s got to say.”
“Dixie?” On recognizing Hawthorne’s voice coming through the speaker, the lovely blonde heaved a dejected sigh.
“Goddamned it. It’d have to be him. Out of all the assholes on that ship Shepard and the Snake could have sent, they had to send him—one of the few decent people still left on that tub.”
“Do you wish to speak with him, or do you want me to?” EDI inquired.
“No…thanks, EDI.” Doris grimly replied, “I better do it. I wanna keep you a secret as long as I can.” Taking a deep breath, she toggled the comm. “What ya’ll doin’ out here, Tom, when ya could be cozyin’ up to Farrah.”
“You turn back now, Dix…” Hawthorne urged in a plaintive tone, “…and it shouldn’t go too bad for you. Some time in the brig…probably a transfer to a station out in the boonies…but you’d be alive.”
“No can do, Tom.” Dixie responded sorrowfully.
“Why not?”
“Ya’ll wouldn’t believe me if I tol’ you, Sugar.” Doris answered back, giving EDI a subtle nod of her head.
“Got orders to bring you in, Dix.” Hawthorne replied, “The easy way or the hard way. I’d much rather it be the easy way, but if you insist on doing it the other way…”
“Sorry, Tom.” Dixie sighed, “Ah can’t turn back. Guess we’re gonna have to do this the hard way.”
“Last chance, Dixie.” Hawthorne pled as he lined up his approach. “You know I’m one of the best pilots on the ship, while you can’t drive a shuttle for shit.”
Replying to her old friend with a taunt as she killed the channel, “Give it your best shot, Yankee!” Gritting her teeth, the young engineer exclaimed, “Now EDI. Give it all ya’ll got!”
Heaving a dejected sigh, Hawthorne muttered as he locked on to his target, “Sorry, Dixie.” Tapping the firing button on his console, the shuttle pilot’s eyes widened in amazement as her shuttle dodged his fire at the last second. “What the hell? No way you’re that good a pilot, Dix.” The experienced combat pilot growled as he kicked in his booster thrusters. Again, lining up his target, he fired, only to be once again evaded. “You’re not piloting that ship, Dixie.” Opening the channel as he attempted to line up another shot, Hawthorne quipped, “Okay, Dix…who’s your pilot? It can’t be Dexter and I know it’s not Phillips. Who’d you talk into joining you in this crazy scheme?”
“Ain’t no one but me, Sugar.” Dixie lied as EDI once again avoided another burst of fire from the Cerberus shuttle pursuing her. “Why don’t ya’ll just go on back home. Ain’t gonna be long and we’ll be too close to the colony for you to pursue—lessen you wanna take one from that big honkin’ cannon they got.”
“Nuh Huh, Dix. No can do.” Hawthorne replied as he fired another burst, this time delivery a glancing blow to his target. “Got your engine. You gave me a good chase, but it’s over now. Give up.”
“EDI…” Doris pleaded as she turned to the AI seated next to her. “Tell me you got something.”
“I do.” The AI responded, “But there is an element of risk. I can skim low enough to that gas giant to use its gravity to slingshot us to Fehl Prime. But there is also a very high probability we will be either burned up in the atmosphere or the Gs from the maneuver will crush the ship—and us.”
“Better than what they got in store for us if we give up and go back.” Whaley decided, “Do it.”
“Shit!” Hawthorne swore as he saw his target do an almost impossible maneuver, diving into the atmosphere of a Jovian world, “Don’t do it, Dixie!” Tom begged, watching as it appeared that his friend had chosen suicide to capture.
“Getting’ hot here, EDI.” Doris exclaimed as the temperature climbed in the shuttle, now buffeted by the upper layer of the gas giant’s atmosphere. “Tell me we’re about there.”
“Almost.” EDI laconically replied. The shuttle’s alarms blaring as the temperature continued to rise and the forces pressing on the tiny craft grew greater, the AI pressed a button. “Now.”
“What the?” Hawthorne exclaimed as the Jovian world launched his target like a slingshot. Reluctantly admitting to himself that there was no way he could catch up before the other shuttle either crashed and burned on Fehl Prime or landed safely, the combat pilot activated his comm. ”Normandy…pursuit shuttle. Target has successfully evaded pursuit. I repeat, Dixie got away.”
“Fuck.” Shepard growled, her fury at the betrayal of her engineer apparent in her body language. “Tell Hawthorne to return to the ship.” Turning her attention to Crewman Hadley, she barked, “How long before repairs are completed.”
“Two hours, Ma’am.” The crewman nervously replied as Shepard stomped angrily towards the elevator.
“I want to know the moment you’re done.” Shepard commanded, “Leng. I want a complete search made of Whaley’s quarters and work area. I want to know how she pulled this off and how a rookie was able to outfly one of my best pilots and I want to know ten minutes ago.”
Entering the elevator, the commander took a deep breath and exhaled, her lips momentarily turning up in a slight grin that quickly disappeared as she felt a sharp pain coming from the back of her head. “Fuck.” The clone cursed, “Why am I getting all these headaches?” The elevator door opening, Shepard entered the conference chamber and activated the comm that would put her in contact with the Illusive Man. As her superior’s holographic image appeared, the forlorn redhead took a deep breath, “Sir? We have had an incident.”