Hell or High Water 2.1

Hell or High Water 2.1

…

Commissioned by Sivantic

Wordcount: 2500

…

“Rorschach, what am I looking at?” Shepard had her rifle at the ready and pointed at the nearest door as I worked. Many of the facility’s terminals were no longer powered, but I had an auxiliary power unit. The firewalls and security were easy to breach. Plenty of bodies with clearance to access information were scattered everywhere. “What are these things? Besides tough bastards who don’t know how to quit.”

The information came, I verified it with my own eyes, and saved the data.

“Rachni from a queen recovered in hibernation. Tests were being conducted to weaponize them.” I rejoined Shepard, Williams, and Wrex. All three were on high alert. The news surprised the two humans, but the Krogan let out a visceral snarl. “I’ve disabled the purge systems of the facility and cut off access to cargo and the shuttle bay.”

“Good! Now we can clean up the mess without worrying about the Rachni sweeping over the galaxy!” Wrex growled and eyes the large, insect creatures. Parts of his armor were singed by acidic blood and patched up by omni-gel. His beady eyes searched for foes and his nostrils flared to take in sights of life. A predator through and through. “Come on, Shepard, what are we waiting for? Saren’s probably after the Rachni!”

“Are there any signs of life besides Rachni in the facility, Rorschach?” I expected her question and forwarded the data. “Looks like there’s survivors… and some sections that are closed off without any surveillance data.”

“Blank spot, huh? That’s usually where the most important things are. I bet that’s where the Rachni Queen or whatever is.” Williams spoke calmly, but like Shepard her eyes were fixed on entry points. However, she also scanned the vents and any shadows. She was stiffer and more frightened. Her time on Eden Prime still weighed on her. Heavily. “So, we secure the civilians and head after the Rachni big shot or what?”

“I have half a mind to ask Joker to hit this place with an airstrike, but that’s not acceptable with civilians.” Shepard spoke calmly and gestured towards a door. The facility’s layout had been in her hands for a minute before she created a course for us to follow. “Williams and Wrex, you’re with me. Rorschach, you go ahead and verify targets for us, but leave us some grenades when you find some Omni-gel.”

“Got it, Shepard.” Wrex grunted his reply.

“Yes, Commander.” Williams nodded and affirmed the order.

I nodded and with a press of a button became invisible and moved forward.

My duty was to gather information, find threats, and be their eyes and ears.

There was no better duty for me, especially when there was so much evidence present to destroy the corporations on Noveria that let so many innocent people die.

…

Omni-gel, credits, and data were everywhere to be found in the burning facility. Once past patrols of Geth and Rachni, I took all that I could.

Shepard took most of the omni-gel and credits for the crew. But she made use of the fabricators I had on my Omni-tool. Drones, shock capacitors, and many forms of grenades were at my disposal. All were designed to end lives quickly and allowed me to escape most forms of detection. Weapons and armor that could be detected by the Citadel’s security systems were not on my person. I carried Omni-gel and schematics instead.

It was convenient, too convenient, so I made sure to not lose my edge by training more.

My body, however, couldn’t stand against the Geth and the Rachni.

The Geth had improved. Their armor was tougher, they moved more quickly, and the weapons they employed were more devastating. Rocket launchers, flame throwers, and shotguns were now common weapons in their arsenal. They employed their drones more aggressively and some had ordinance strapped to them, so they exploded more viciously. The AI race was rapidly becoming more attuned to war because of Saren’s actions.

The Rachni present were ferocious, natural killing machines. Their carapace allowed them to resist smaller calibers of small arms fire. Explosives and heavy ordnance were necessary to stop their charges, as they ignored the pain to reach their opponents, or came in large numbers. The small, green workers came in swarms. Though one shot killed them, they came by the dozens, and were quick on their feet. The Rachni Warriors moved in squads for ambushes, either using their spiked appendages as powerful spears, or spitting caustic acid at their foes while enduring damage.

Then, there were the Rachni with biotics, which led the lesser warriors and workers. They used Warp and Stasis against the Geth that they encountered. What most races attain through in-vitro exposure to Element zero, implants, and years of training come naturally to them. They work in concert, using biotics to hold opponents fast to surround them with their lesser workers, and support Warriors engagements with Warp from afar.

The Geth and Rachni clashed against one another within the facility, their battles left hallways broken and covered in blood and oil of insect and machine.

It was a unnecessary. A madman’s purpose brought them to war and harmed the people within. The corporation was tampering with the law, working to revive an old species, and they should be punished for playing god. But before Saren came, no one was dying. Saren was the cause of this violence.

The people here were workers and scientists.

Nothing more and nothing less.

And now they were dead because of a madman’s lust for power and revenge.

As I went through the bodies and corpses, ending the threat posed by the wounded and gathering samples of Geth weapons and schematics before turning them to Omni-gel, I put filed all I saw as another of Saren’s crimes.

Crimes that he will pay for no matter what.

…

Rift station stank of fear and hesitation.

The first could be forgiven.

The latter could not.

The odds were against them, but they could’ve done more. The cowards stood by and hid as violence unfolded. They left their colleagues behind to die, while they bunkered behind closed doors. I’d thought they had nothing, but they had supplies, weapons, and equipment. All of which they decided to point at a door to protect themselves, instead of trying to save their colleagues.

They disgusted me.

Shepard stopped me before I made my opinion on this clear.

I decided to join Wrex as Shepard and Williams spoke with the survivors.

“Kid.” The Krogan addressed me with a nod. He was applying Omni-gel to his armor where he could reach. He gestured to his back. “Are you going to stare and brood, or are you going to make yourself useful and keep me from dying?”

I moved to assist him with his armor, but I kept my eyes on the staff. Many were sending us furtive looks. The Asari named Alestia Iallis was suspicious. She was hiding her true self poorly. She was calmer than anyone else at the station. Her gaze upon myself and the rest of Shepard’s squad was predatory.

“You’re lucky you have that mask. You get to be sloppy when you’re staring at people.” Wrex whispered. His voice barely above the din of the working micro-fabricators. “But you can tell when someone’s dangerous. That’s a good skill to have.”

“That Asari knows something. I’m going to make her talk.” Asari were fearsome opponents. They had experience and biotics. Even without weapons, she could kill me, if I wasn’t careful. “I need a distraction.”

“Heh. Why do you think I had you spin up your Omnitool while you’re behind me? I might like being in the thick of the fight, but I don’t show my back to the enemy. Often.” Wrex’s words sharpened my senses. He was right. His armor was easy to patch up. He was giving me time. “Shepard will be pissed if you do something that messes with the station’s security. The people here are a bunch of cowards, but she’s not the type to punish someone for that.”

Like me.

But Wrex didn’t say that.

“I understand.” I moved forward with my plan and made what I needed. Biotic implants were still electronic in nature, but Asari had no need for them. I needed a strong continuous current of electricity to suppress an Asari’s biotics. There were many eyes on Rift Station. I needed to get her out of the way first. A taser will do for that. “I’ll keep it quiet.”

Wrex said nothing in response, but a nod came shortly after.

I waited for the Asari to stop looking his way before moving forward unseen.

This was work solely for me.

…

The Asari gave out a cry of pain as I awakened her with the activation of her cuffs. The electricity coursing through them into her body made it impossible for her to concentrate enough to use her abilities.

They also served as encouragement for her to speak about her employer.

“You lied to Shepard. That was a mistake.” I waved her Omnitool her way. Benezia had been one of the contacts. She had been sending constant reports to the Asari matriarch within the facility. “That means you’re now talking to me. Commando.”

The mask of a frightened Asari researcher melts away to reveal the woman’s true face. A soldier devoted completely to her cause.

“You’re going to get nothing out of me, human.” Her eyes were scanning the room. Her legs and limbs tensed against her bonds, even as a current ran through her. She was shuddering in pain with gritted teeth, but she still controlled her body. “I won’t—

I drove my hand into her mouth and her teeth.

“I hope you don’t.” The Normandy was too quiet and too clean. The chase after Saren took too long. All the good I could do kept running in my mind. I was stopping one criminal, but how many others was I letting go? That question kept running through my mind. I knew there were criminals, but I was doing nothing. Did that not make me a bystander? “You’d make this too easy.”

The Asari said nothing after grunting in pain. Blood dripped from her broken lip and she spat out a tooth. She glared at me, and a faint shimmer of purple appeared on her body, only to fade as I increased the voltage on her cuffs on my Omnitool. She grit desperately tried to stay silent, to intimidate me, but her body defied her. She shook and contorted in her bindings and her chair rattled against the metal floor of the supply closet.

“How many people did you let die when the Geth and Rachni attack? How many people died while you followed your orders, instead of acted like a decent, living being?” This Asari commando was attached to the facility. She spent months gathering data here and creating the plan of attack. She could’ve spared many lives, made the facility staff evacuate, but she didn’t. She unleashed the Rachni and invited the Geth to saturate the facility with violence. “You deserve to be left here and die slowly, but I’ll kill you, if you tell me what I want to know.”

I took hold of her head. The tendrils of her head were tough to the touch. However, I knew that they were fragile. I knew that they hurt.

I met the Asari Commando’s face with my own and wondered what she saw… before asking again.

“Where is Saren. What is he planning? Tell me. Now.”

For a second, I saw fear behind the rage and determination of the Asari’s eyes, but it faded away… unnaturally.

The Asari spat at my face and tried to bite off her tongue, even though she should’ve broken and cracked.

Strange.

Too strange to ignore.

What did Saren have at his disposal that made these people so loyal to him?

…

Shepard’s glare reminded me of Daniel as she pointed at the unconscious, Asari commando. I saved her life from her attempt to kill herself, by striking her unconscious while holding down her jaw. I had kept her from biting off her tongue, but the angle left bruises.

“This is not how we treat enemy combatants, Rorschach. We take them in by securing them, then we hand them off to specialized interrogators.” The scarred, red-haired woman’s emerald eyes bore down on me. “You’re not doing this again, or I’m kicking you off my ship. If you have a lead, you knock them out and capture. You don’t do this!”

“Fine, but this woman wouldn’t have talked to anyone.” I wiped the blood off my hands, until my skin shone beneath the light. I activated my stealth module and it functioned properly. “She was a zealot. A madwoman. Betraying Saren crossed her mind for a second… then she tried to kill herself.”

“Sounds like she just wanted to go out like a good soldier, instead of giving up info.” Williams spoke up with a frown and a shake of her head. Her glare was aggressive, but there was the slightest hint of fear behind her visor. She didn’t lack courage, so soon her glare intensified. “You messed up, kid. I bet our guys could’ve gotten her to talk.”

“Hah, as if. Commandos might dress like strippers, but they’re tough bastards. You’d have an easier time making a Krogan fresh from his trials to crack.” Wrex grunted before sniffing the air. He levelled his gaze towards me and Shepard. “The kid did well. I can smell the Asari’s fear. There’s plenty of it in the air. She was ready to talk like a maiden… but she didn’t. The kid’s right. Something’s going on. Maybe some behavior chip? Combat drug?”

Wrex mused and Williams glared at him, but Shepard’s thoughts shifted behind her visor.

“I see. I’ll have Chakwas check her for anything later, since the two of you think something’s off.” Shepard activated her Omnitool and brought up the data. The blank section of the facility was no longer empty. A laboratory with the Rachni queen at the center was now outlined within… along with multiple signatures of Geth and other Asari commandoes. “But before that, we need to make a plan of attack. Heading in there now looks like suicide… unless we get a few helping hands.”

“Woah, there… commander, you’re not about to imply what I think you’re implying are you?” Williams took note of Shepard’s words and too a step back. “Because it already sounds crazy and you haven’t even said anything.”

“…You’re either stupid or crazy. I hope it’s the latter, even if it’s not that much better.” His eyes locked onto me. “Good luck kid, I hope you don’t die.”

I met Shepard’s gaze as she crossed her arms. The fact she was smiling was obvious even with her helm obscuring her lips.

“You know how to make gas grenades, right? How about some pheromone grenades, Rorschach?”

I see.

Shepard wasn’t completely like Daniel.

She had a mind all her own, too.