ME3 Andromeda Series: Chap 27

MASS EFFECT 3: ANDROMEDA SERIES
CHAPTER 27

"Magnetic locks in place…welcome back to the Citadel," Joker announced over the ship's PA system as he mentally went through the list for the standard docking procedure.  

"Don't get comfortable, Joker.  This is only a short stop," Shepard spoke towards the Normandy's cockpit as he made his way briskly from the elevator to the door.

The cocky young pilot strained his head around the seat to see his approaching commander. "What no shore leave?" He smiled.

Noticing that he was being followed, Shepard paused outside the ship's cleaning room and pivoted around to see Garrus Vakarian approaching him.  The Turian's eyes were dark, his arms straight down along his sides, his fists clenched.   The Commander hadn't seen his comrade like this since his days on Omega.  It was clear that the Turian needed to address an urgent matter but he remained silent so Shepard figured he would have to be the first.  "Something on your mind, Garrus?"

"Commander, I-" Garrus hesitated as he turned his head to the side and gripped his fists tighter. "I apologize, Shepard,  I…."

"Is there something bothering you, Garrus?" Shepard pressed on, clearly aggravated about how long it was taking. "Damn…I haven't seen you this closed up since you joined my team when we were going against Saren."

Garrus glanced over his friend's shoulder to see Joker still looming over at them with interest.  However, the pilot took notice that he was caught and raised his hands up, surrendering, before he turned back around.  "Don't think for one minute that I don't want to blast those Reapers back to dark space, Shepard,  but I need your help with something."

"Garrus, I don't have all day," Shepard groaned.

"I need to get to Sanctuary as soon as possible. It's important." Garrus spoke quickly.

Seeing the fear in the Turian's eyes, Shepard's demeanor changed. "Is it your family? Did they go there?"  His voice softened up.

"No…they made it off Palaven," Garrus sighed and began to pace the short width it was between the hallway's side and from where Shepard stood.  "She went to Sanctuary…I told her not to… my gut told me something was very wrong with that place…"

"She?" Shepard blinked as he interrupted him.  "Who's she-" He stopped and looked again over at his friend and put two and two together.  Growling, he whirled around to open the cleaning room's door.  "Garrus, look.  I can't keep saving her ass…don't make me talk about the needs of the many."

"Shepard, I understand, but her family was on Eden Prime….I think Cerberus deterred them there.  I got a message from that bastard assassin, Kai Leng… they have her."

"Then she's dead, Garrus.  Cerberus doesn't have any use for her. She's just a civilian. I hate to say it."

"But Shepard-" Garrus pleaded.

"Garrus, we'll discuss this later. I need to get to Miranda." The Commander raised his voice.

"Oh, yes, don't keep her waiting," Ashley spoke up behind them.  The dark haired human Spectre was leaning up against the Normandy's main bridge console in her tight blue uniform that really flattered her very attractive form.  Her arms were crossed as her brown eyes stared at the two, mainly at the Commander.

"Ash…we have already discussed this." Shepard emphasized his point with his hand. "Miranda and I are not together."

"That's not what I have heard. You really think Cerberus is the only who keeps tabs on you?" Ashley shook her head as she stood straight up.  "Garrus has been with us a lot longer than she has; I trust his loyalty, maybe not at first, but now I do.  Miranda, I don't trust."

"She's split from Cerberus, Ash.  She's hiding from them.  Why wouldn't I trust her?"

"I'm on Garrus with this one, Commander.  I have heard rumors about that colony…those people are in danger. I can't believe you would turn your back on a friend…" She shook her head sadly. "You're not the man I use to know…"

"People change, Ash.  You did…you said it yourself. When I met you, you were a xenophobe."

"I honor my grandfather for his role during the First Contact War…but I still know where my loyalties lie."

Feeling a bit out of place,  Garrus slowly backed up some to distant himself from the two.  "I don't think I really need to be part of this discussion…"

"Why not? This is getting good," Joker excitedly argued as he looked back over his seat to indulge in the heated topic.  

"We'll discuss it when I return," Shepard stormed off to exit the ship to go to his previous determined destination.

"Yes, sir," Ashley mockingly saluted as she went the opposite direction towards the ship's elevator.

"Where are you going?" Garrus called out to her.

"To see Vega...he told me he had just the thing to take my mind off stuff."

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"Excuse me…pardon me," Garrus navigated around the crowds in the Holding Bay.  Liara was trying her best to keep up with the fast paced Turian, but somehow, she didn't have nearly the luck and bumped into a pair of Salarians.  

"Hey hey watch it!" One of the glossy eyed aliens snapped at her.

"Sorry.." Liara leaned up on her tippy toes to see Garrus making a sharp turn towards the Batarian Camp and slowed her pace since she knew where he was stopping at.  "Goddess."

Once inside the encampment, Garrus didn't bother on the pleasantries as he began to scan the area over and over with his eyes and then stepped in closer to examine each room carefully while a group of confused Batarians looked on.   Aggravated, Garrus moved out of the designated area to survey the crowds nearby and then made his way back into the camp site.   Liara followed his eye movements as she began to follow suit.  Gingerly laying her hand on his arm, she stopped him briefly, "Garrus…I'm sorry…"

Defeated, Garrus dropped his hands to his sides and tightened his mandible. "I was hoping my intuition was wrong…and that maybe the sick bastard was lying."  Releasing a surprise loud growl,  Garrus knocked over a crate, spilling its contents of medigel packs all over the ground.  

A couple of the Batarians stood up alert to what appeared to be an unwelcomed highly confrontational guest. The priest placed his arm in front to block their path and then stepped closer to the Asari and Turian.  "Is something the matter?"

"No…sorry…," Embarrassed, Liara knelt down and began to pick up the packs to place them into the crate.  

The priest blinked his eyes at Garrus and a flicker of hope could be seen in them. "You…" He reached out and placed his hand on the Turian's shoulder. "You are the one that sought the help of my brother, Sh'sk.  We have not heard from him in many days."

"I'm afraid I have some bad news…" Garrus sighed hard, feeling a lump form in his throat.  The words didn't want to come…even he didn't want to believe their sour note.  "I have reason to believe that Andromeda and Sh'sk got into trouble and were sent to Sanctuary instead of coming back here."

"Sanctuary?" The priest tilted his head as he tried to place the name.

"The human place that everyone was going to.  Heard you had to have some serious creds to go there." One of the nearby Batarians grunted a response.

"I heard a volus say it was a scheme to rob people," Another one chimed in.

"It's worse than that…somehow Cerberus is involved.  They may have your friend and Andromeda."

"The human girl?" The first same Batarian asked.  "She…she was different."

"Yeah…not like most humans," The second one added.

"We may not be able to go there ourselves…do you have any ships left in the Hegemony to send?" Liara asked out as she saw the trouble in Garrus' face.

"No…Balak sent the last of the ships to help out with the Crucible." The priest shook his head.  "There's still hope for my people to get past this darkness."

"Liara…let's go…" Garrus slowly walked away, his expression dark once again.  He could only imagine what horrors were befalling Andromeda currently.  If only he was more careful…

"Garrus, wait!" Liara called out to her friend, but lost him in the crowd. "Are you really giving up so easily?!"

Grabbing her arm gently, the priest motioned for her to stay still while he went into his unit to grab an item.  Seconds later he came out with a small scroll.  "Take this."

"What is it?" Liara delicately unrolled the scroll.  Her thumbs gently rubbed the paper, feeling how old it was.  

"It is one of the Pillars of Strength that Shepard was able to recover for me from Khar 'Shaan.  It's all we have left for our way of life.  It will help guide you through the darkness. We must all stay strong to overcome."

"This appears to be an old dialect of your language," Liara observed as her blue eyes skimmed some of the wording. "I will be able to decode it further aboard the Normandy. Thank you."

"I have seen what has happened to my brothers and sisters on Khar 'Shaan.  I pray for Sh'sk's safety…if that place is what your friend speaks of…"

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Dreadful, eerie screams nearby filled Sh'sk's ears as he slowly started to come to in his glassed imprisonment.  Becoming more alert, he struck the glass casing hard with his fist, but it didn't give way.  Quickly examining his surroundings, he noticed that the glass casing around him was just long and wide enough to fit his form and a low hum could be heard underneath.  

Seeing a pair of human technicians staring up at him with data pads,  Sh'sk banged on the glass harder but the two didn't really seem to take notice or care.  One nodded his head to the other and the two walked across to look at another specimen.  Following them with his eyes, he glanced across the room to see another row of the same cases.   In them were Jenna, Conrad, a few unknown humans and the male Turian that lived across from them.  The children were nowhere to be seen.  All of them appeared to be disoriented; probably under the same sedative that he was given.  

Looking over to his right, he saw more cases lined along side of his but he was having trouble seeing who was next to him.  Suddenly a husk shot up in the neighboring case, pressing its horrific cybernetic face against the glass.  Its blue hollow eyes staring at him with animalistic intent.  Gasping sharply, Sh'sk desperately began to scramble in his pod, kicking the sides with his feet.  He didn't know what these people plan to do to him, but it wasn't to end up like that!

The two technicians seem to take notice of Sh'sk's reaction and walked back over.  They watched on as if he was nothing more than a pyjak in a cage.  "What the hell are you doing to these people?! Get me out of here!" Sh'sk demanded as he banged on the glass harder with his fists.  He could feel the muscles in his arms tiring, but he wasn't going to stop. This was about life or death!  He looked over to see some of the skin begin to fall off the Turian revealing glowing blue lights.  "Fuck!" Sh'sk screamed, knowing that his situation was dire, striking the glass harder and harder…

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Liara was shocked at the timing they had as she and Garrus caught up with the Commander just outside Normandy's docking port.  "Garrus, you are getting your request after all." Shepard was the first to speak up as he slowed his pace to allow the two to catch up.

"Oh?" Garrus' voice hopefully perked up as he and Liara joined him in the elevator.

"Miranda stated there was something definitely going on with Sanctuary.  It has to do with her father…I think we should check into it."

"Her father? " Liara inquired.  "Why would he build a place like Sanctuary?"

"He worked with Cerberus before…why wouldn't he now?" Garrus answered first.

"Well if he's working with the Illusive Man…then he's my enemy…I kill my enemies."

"Well, there's no lie about that Commander," Garrus chuckled.

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A soft groan came from Andromeda as she started to come to.  She found herself in a large white room on a medical examination table.  Becoming alert to new her surroundings, she sat up quickly and began to desperately tear away any syringes that were stuck in her arms, but to her surprise, there were none.  In fact, she was still fully clothed.  Panting, she held her head to slow down her breathing.  "I see that you finally decided to join us, Andromeda," The Illusive Man spoke out.  He was next to the door with a medic and Kai Leng at his sides.  His bright blue eyes glowed with excitement as he stood there with a victorious smirk on his face.

Reacting to his voice, Andromeda jumped off the table and shot out her arm in one swift motion to launch a singularity attack.  Kai Leng, predicting what her first action would be, moved quickly and twisted her wrist downwards in a painful position.  "Not so fast."

Screaming out from the pain, Andromeda slumped down and began to claw at his fingers with her free hand.  The Illusive Man watched, feeling not threatened at all.  "Andromeda, I'm surprised at you.  Is this the gratitude I get for saving your life?" He motioned Kai Leng to release his vice. Giving her a weary look, Kai Leng complied with the request but moved his hand over to the sheath of his katana sword just in case.

Seeing the assassin stepping back, Andromeda straightened back up and rubbed her bruising wrist.  "Is that a sick joke?" She spat.

"I assure you that I'm not joking." The Illusive Man walked over to a monitor on the wall and turned it on.  The image cleared up instantly to reveal a normal image of the Sanctuary propaganda that was being displayed all along the extranet.  "Kai Leng tells me that you have improved your biotics since we last spoke."

"Where are my friends? What have you done to them?!" Andromeda hissed through her teeth, ignoring whatever conversation he was trying to direct them to.

"Your friends are still alive if that is your concern." The Illusive Man replied nonchalantly as he continued to study the monitor in front of him.  "You should be proud…they are helping the war effort. "

"How so?" Andromeda narrowed her eyes.

"I can't give away all my secrets…how we will win that way?" The Illusive Man turned the monitor off to address her.

"I know what you wanted to do last time…you wanted to turn me into a damn Reaper!" Andromeda clenched her fists as she glanced quickly over to Kai Leng.  She fought the natural urge to gather dark energy in response to the pure rage that was flowing inside of her, but she had to time her attack just right or it would be blocked again by him.  

"I have moved past that…I have found a way to control the Reapers. Sanctuary and Mr. Lawson's work was crucial to this development.  Shepard is wasting his time trying to destroy them, when he cannot see what the larger picture is."

"What work is that?"

"Classified." The Illusive Man lit his favorite brand cigarette and took a few puffs from it.  

"If you said you have moved past turning me into a Reaper than what use am I to you now?"

Staring at her silently, he inhaled some from the cigarette.  "I always get back what belongs to me.  I don't like having loose ends.  Besides, I have a more special project for you."

"And that is?"

"Is what we like to call a 'phantom.'"  A cybernetically enhanced soldier enlaced with Reaper Tech that we managed to salvage from the Omega 4 Relay.  Your biotics will make you a deadly foe against my enemies.  I have come too far to lose this war now." The Illusive snuffed out his cigarette on the counter nearby.

"Oh, I see.  What you have now is not working for you so need a replacement." Andromeda stared directly at Kai Leng as she spoke, letting him that she was intentionally taking a shot at him.  "I'd rather die than work for you," She laughed.

"That can be arranged…" Kai Leng fumed under his breath.  

The Illusive Man took note of his reaction and held up his hand.  He was quite impressed that she got under Kai Leng's skin.  But then again lately, Leng was beaten by Anderson at Grissom Academy and Shepard did stop his assassination attempt on the Salarian Council member.  "I'm sure the Turian would disapprove of your death or perhaps the Batarian companion you were with on Horizon."

"Garrus would kill me instead of allowing me remain as a Reaper monster." Andromeda growled. "I know him."

"Are you so sure? Do you really think he would be able to pull the trigger against you?" The Illusive Man nodded his head at Leng.

Stepping towards her, Kai Leng grinned, "You are no match for me…so don't even try it." He noticed Andromeda taking a step back to get away from him…fear was clearly on her face. He loved it. "Too bad about what will happen to your friends….but don't worry your Turian lover will have the same fate soon enough. I had the pleasure of fighting him on Thessia…he was slow."

Catching Kai Leng off guard, Andromeda quickly gathered up dark energy and raised her fist. However, this time, she used the energy to deliver a hard blow to his face.  The force knocked Kai Leng down, blood trickled out from the corner of his mouth.  He gaped up at her in pure shock.  "You will never hurt him…" Andromeda panted from where she stood as she felt her body's energy rapidly decreasing.  

Jumping up quickly, Leng unsheathed a smaller blade from his belt and moved to strike at her neck.  However, an unknown force grabbed Leng and shoved him away.  Suddenly Andromeda felt pricks inside her brain, jabbing at her nerve endings.  Silent garbled whispers spoke to her.  Her body felt lifeless as she tried to move it.  She screamed out as she felt the voices speaking louder inside her brain, echoing throughout.  Frightfully, she looked up at the Illusive Man who stared down at her silently.  "What…what is going on…." She cried out.

"Sir!" The medic rushed over to grab her boss' arm.  "You are not ready to use the implants!"

"I can feel their power…" The Illusive Man chuckled as he looked down at his bare hands.  The smile left his face as he looked back over at Andromeda.  "Prep her for the procedure doctor.  I want it complete in ninety-six hours. "

"Yes, sir…" The medic hurried over to lift Andromeda off the floor.

"Sir!" Another Cerberus assistant rushed in with a data pad. "Intercepted message."

Taking the data pad,  the Illusive Man skimmed over the message and then handed the pad to Kai Leng who retook his position next to his boss.  "So Miranda finally decided to come out of hiding."

"It will please me if I was the one who disposed of her." Kai Leng spoke up, not giving time for the order to come in.

"I know it would, Leng.  Given the history you two had.  Get to Sanctuary to deal with her."

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Breathing fast, Andromeda stared up at the robotic device above her.  She closed her eyes tightly as she saw the machine's arm lowering closer towards her body .  A gentle hum rang in her ears as the sound flooded the room she was in.  Her naked body was cold, and chill bumps were coming up all over her skin.  "Testing nerve conduction sites." A woman technician spoke over the room's intercom system.  Suddenly she felt rapidly shooting pain throughout her body. It was the worst thing she ever experienced.  Opening her eyes, she screamed out and felt her body convulsing at the relentless feeling.  

“The batarian specimen is fully sedated, Mr. Lawson.” The technician observed the vitals on her datapad as she stood beside him. “Should I wait until the last human has completed her metamorphosis or begin prep?”

“We will have our first cannibal…” Henry’s eyes twinkled with delight as he stared upon Sh’sk’s unconscious form in the containment chamber. “I want prep immediately.”

“Yes, sir.”

Suddenly, an explosion rocked the outside perimeter of the facility and alarms blared with red alert lights flashing. “Status report!” Lawson chomped at the bit. He was too close now for everything to go to hell!

“Reaper forces are attacking the facility!” The technician looked at the monitor display in terror.

“Initiate the lockdown protocols!”

“But, sir…some of our workers are outside! All have not been accounted for.”

“Damnit, Jennifer!” Henry shoved the young woman to the side and typed in the command prompt.

“Lockdown initiated.” The facility’s computer announced over the intercom. “Please report to all designated checkpoints for check-in.”

Henry moved to the next terminal and began to type furiously at the controls. “I need to upload this data.” He snapped his head back at Jennifer who was looking at him with the same frightened look. “Arrange my shuttle!” His eyes looked at Sh’sk again. “I may have to package you up, my friend.”