Chapter Text
The Beacon
Taking a deep breath as she drew closer to the Prothean device, Treeya extended her hand and saw…everything.
FLASH!!!
“You all right, Doc? Dixie called out.
“Dr. Treeya?” Reynolds shouted, rushing up to where the asari scientist stood in stunned silence.
Slowly recovering, Treeya took a deep breath before telling the three people with her what she saw. “I saw the Protheans. They fought the Reapers here. Those that weren’t killed…they were turned into Collectors.”
“It would appear that the Reapers had repurposed the Protheans into Collectors.” Edi surmised.
“And the Illusive Man’s wanting to do the same thing to us.” Doris gasped, “Just like what happened to Jackson.”
“No.” Edi shook her head. “Not completely. Yes, the Illusive Man used much of the same genetic engineering techniques that the Reapers used, and yes, he did use Reaper cybernetic tech. But…there is another technology and another form of genetic engineering.”
“Borg?” Doris questioned, “You think they’re talkin’ about some sorta cyborg?”
“That would be a logical deduction.” Edi responded as they heard the sound of movement on the other side of the door.
“Shepard.” Doris exclaimed, “She’s here. We gotta get out—Now!”
Before Treeya could utter a reply, they heard a shout coming from the other side.
“Dr. Treeya! Whaley! This is Commander Shepard. If you come out now, I promise that you will not be harmed.”
“She’s lyin’ through her teeth.” Doris hissed as Reynolds led them to a hidden passageway.
“I’m losing patience!” Shepard snarled. “You’ve got to the count of five to open the door. If you don’t open it, we’re gonna blow it open and come in shooting.”
“One!”
“You girls go!” Reynolds whispered, “I’ll hold them off. Buy you enough time to get away.”
“Two!”
“But the Sergeant tol’ ya to…” Dixie protested only to be silenced by a winsome smile.
“Three!”
“I know what he told me.” Reynolds replied, the sad grin still on his face. “But I’ve got a feeling he’s not going to be able to put me on report. And…since none of you are Alliance…that means I have to use my own discretion. We all go…none of us will make it. If I stay, I can hold them off just long enough for you to get out.”
“Four!”
Tears rolling down her face, Doris took a couple of metallic globes from her carry bag. “Take these and toss ‘em at the bitch and my ex-friends.”
“What are they?”
“Just a li’l something I cooked up in my spare moments.” Doris smiled as she kissed the marine on his cheek.
“Doris!” Edi urged, pointing to the exit, “We have to go.”
“Take care, Sugar.” Doris said as she blew Reynolds one final kiss before disappearing into the passageway with the others.
Taking a deep breath, Reynolds took cover behind the sturdiest and most easily defended spot he could find as he prepared to toss the two spheres in his hand, quietly waiting for the final count.
“Five!”
As the door blew open, the Alliance marine tossed the two spheres, his lips turning up in a grin as two turrets appeared and began firing. Firing with his own rifle, Reynolds shouted taunts at his opponents, “Bet you assholes didn’t see that coming!”
“Some of Dixie’s toys.” Markham growled as he and the rest of the Cerberus commandos quickly took cover.
“Barrett!” Shepard called out in a low tone, motioning for the heavy weapons specialist to join her. “I’m going to need a precise grenade blast from you. You’ve got to take out those turrets without trashing what’s inside the room. Think you can do it?”
“They’re already dinged from all the shooting.” Jason clinically noted. “An EMP grenade should do the trick. The area of effect shouldn’t extend more than a couple of meters in radius. If I target the impact at the door’s threshold, that should be far enough to avoid damaging anything electronic inside.”
“We’re not going anywhere as long as those turrets are still up.” Leng noted with a wince as his suit’s medigel began its healing work on his wounded arm.
Markham, the rupture to his suit from the vicious firefight in the atrium patched up, said with a growl, “I can’t get a good line of sight on the son of a bitch.”
“Right.” Shepard decided, “Fire that grenade on my mark, Barrett. The rest of you…cover me. I’m going to take that bastard down myself. Ready, Barrett?”
“Whenever you are, Boss!”
“Now!”
The turrets now silenced by the grenade, Shepard dashed into the chamber. Charging heedlessly at the man defending the barricade, the redheaded woman laid down a continuous fire, ignoring the rounds impacting her armor, a few piercing the armor to reach flesh. Her omniblade out, Shepard, now more demon than human, slashed, easily countering her opponents effort to parry, following up with a riposte that pierced the hapless marine, killing him instantly.
“You okay, Boss?” Barrett called out as he and Markham rushed up to their leader.
“I’ll be fine.” Shepard replied through gasps. “A couple of his shots got through the armor, but the medigel’s doing its thing. Secure the room and search for a second exit.” Wincing from pain, the clone snarled, “I want Whaley and Treeya.”
The Landing Pad
“That poor boy.” Doris sobbed as the pair observed the Cerberus shuttle sitting on the pad, its pilot waiting in the front compartment. “Just like I figured. Hawthorne. I don’t wanna have to kill him if we can avoid it.” The young engineer moaned softly as she considered her options. “Deep down he’s a good man. He’s just tied up with bad people right now—just like we were. Maybe one day before it’s too late he can figure that out.”
“We should be able to sneak up on the shuttle if we approach through the right rear blindside.” Edi proposed. “That should allow us to enter and quickly overpower Crewman Hawthorne before he can sound the alarm. He can then be safely left on the edge of the pad.”
“All right.” Dixie decided with a nod of her head, “Let’s do it. Doc?” Turning her head to the asari scientist on her other side, the human engineer advised, “You just stay low. We’ll call you when it’s safe.”
Nodding her head in agreement, Treeya whispered, “Good luck.”
“Let’s go and steal us a shuttle, Edi.”
As the pair managed to successfully sneak on to the shuttle without being detected, they could hear Hawthorne’s voice speaking on the comm.
“No Ma’am. Nothing at all. There’s been nothing but dead air since shortly after the colony was attacked. Understood. The shuttle will be ready to dust off when you get here.”
Striking quickly, Edi lunged forward before the pilot could react, quickly knocking him unconscious. “I shall carry Crewman Hawthorne to those pallets over there, while you signal Dr. Treeya that it is safe.”
Doing as she was instructed, Doris moved to the side entrance and waving her arm, called out, "Coast is clear, Doc! Hurry up before Shepard gets here.”
As soon as the asari scientist had entered the shuttle, Doris, already seated at the copilot’s chair, called back. “Better grab yourself a seat and buckle up. I got a feelin’ we’re gonna be in for a rocky ride.”
Exiting the bunker just as the shuttle was taking off, Shepard at once spotted a groggy Hawthorne just now emerging from unconsciousness. “Barrett!” The clone ordered, “Take down that shuttle!”
“Yes, Ma’am!” The heavy weapons specialist replied as he readied his rocket launcher. “Kiss your southern fried ass goodbye, Dixie.” Barrett grinned as he sighted in on his target and fired three missiles quickly in succession.
“Surface to air missile inbound.” Edi reported in an emotionless tone. “Taking evasive action.”
“Launching chaff and starburst.” Doris replied as she pressed a button, activating the shuttle’s ECM.
Watching, Shepard swore an oath as first one, then two, missiles were drawn off by a combination of Edi’s skillful piloting and the ECM.
“One missile left, Ma’am.” Markham noted as the missile exploded near its target.
“I think we damaged it.” Barrett grinned briefly, only to have his cheer cut short by Kai Leng’s caustic remark.
“The damage wasn’t nearly enough. They’re out of range now.”
“Shepard to Normandy.” The commander barked angrily into her comm, “The Cerberus shuttle leaving planet’s surface is hostile. I repeat shuttle is hostile. Pursue and destroy. Do not try to disable it. I want that shuttle out of my sky.”
“Understood, Commander.” The Cerberus frigate responded, “Moving to engage.”
“Shit!” Doris scowled as the shuttle’s IFF beacon flashed, “They’re pursuing. Can you get us to the relay in time.”
“Perhaps.” Edi replied as she piloted the tiny craft through a series of twists and turns, juking, pitching, and yawing in a frantic effort to evade the weapons fire from the fast frigate. “Relay in ten seconds.”
“They’ll just follow us.” Doris glumly pointed out as a shot from the Normandy lightly grazed the shuttle, causing it to tremble before Edi once again gained control.
“I can program in a random set of coordinates that will be erased after our jump.” Edi replied, “However, I cannot state for certain where we will come out.”
“Anything’s better than here!” Dr/ Treeya screamed as another shot from the Normandy grazed the shuttle.
“Not like we got much of a choice.” Doris echoed, “Do it.”
“Coordinates set.” Edi reported, “Jumping in three…two…one…”
At the very moment the shuttle was shot out by the relay, a blast from the Normandy’s cannons hit, damaging the engines. Smoke billowing from the rear, Doris quickly disengaged her harness as she grabbed an extinguisher. Moving rapidly to put out the fire, the young engineer shook her head at the mess. “Well…we’re gonna be coastin’ from now on until someone picks us up.”
“That could be a while.” Dr. Treeya declared with a frown. “How much food and water do we have?”
“Not nearly enough.” Doris sighed, “Edi? Do you know where we are?”
“We are in an uncharted system.” The mobile AI responded, “There are no records of visitations here.”
“So…we’re stuck.” Doris glumly remarked as she began to inventory the shuttle’s meager supplies.
“Doris…Dr. Treeya…I think you might want to see this.” Edi remarked as she drew the two women’s attention to the pilot’s window where a swirling mass had suddenly appeared.
“Is that what I think it is?” Doris exclaimed in a hushed tone of voice.
“A wormhole. Yes.” Edi confirmed, “And we are being drawn towards it.”
“Is there any way to escape it?” Dr. Treeya asked as the stellar anomaly grew larger in the window.
“I am afraid not.” Edi replied before clinically noting, “Curious. This wormhole appears to be stable. If so, then this is an incredibly rare phenomenon.”
“That means we might be able to come back once we get everything fixed.” Doris optimistically remarked as the maw of the wormhole grew ever larger.
“Provided we survive the crossing.” Edi pointed out, “And provided the wormhole on the other end is also stable. It is theoretically possible. However, there have been no known successful cases of ships traversing through wormholes in the entirety of known galactic history.”
As their tiny craft was slowly swallowed up by the stellar anomaly, Doris sighed, “Well, Sugar. There’s a first time for everything. Cross your fingers, cause like it or not, we’re goin’ in.”