The Bureau of Multiverse Affairs

Chapter 21 In the Lair of the Intelligence

As the curved doors shut behind Shepard the sounds of battle were cut off, leaving the team in a tense silence. The room they were in was very different to the one he had used before. Originally, the entrance to the Citadel Tower had been a small foyer which led to a lift that could fit about 4 or 5 people. Now the walls had been removed, leaving a large featureless space, filled with cables thicker than tree trunks.

Ahead of the team was a wide cargo lift, with a mesh guard rail running around its edge. Craning his neck, Shepard could see the cables stretching into the darkened upper levels of the tower, distant and strangely sinister.

"What's happened to this place?" said Garrus.
"It's been cannibalised," replied Tali, "The Intelligence has stripped out the tower's interior and repurposed it."
"And let me guess," said Xena, casually wiping blood off her sword before pointing at the lift, "That thing over there is our only way up?"
"Looks like it," said Shepard.

"And doubtlessly the Intelligence has more traps waiting for us," remarked Sherlock.
"There has to be another way up," said Benton, "A stairway, or a ladder?"
Shepard laughed.
"The tower is over a mile and a half tall Sergeant. Even if there was a stairway, we'd never manage to climb it. No, we'll have to use the lift. Tali, you manage the controls. Everyone else give her covering fire when the time comes."
"Yes Commander," the team replied.

They made their way over to the lift, each footstep echoing loudly around the vast space. The waist-high gate at the front of the lift's car was not locked, and the team boarded without trouble. What surprised Tali however, was that the lift's controls were not a digital display, as was standard issue across Citadel space. Instead, there was a crank handle which she surmised linked to a simple electrical system that operated a set of motors on top of the lift.

"It's extremely basic technology," she told the others, "I don't think it's been used for centuries."
"Why would the Intelligence use something like this?" said Sarah. "It has access to some of the most advanced machines in existence. Why use something so simple?"
"Perhaps because it's so simple," Sherlock replied, "A system like this cannot be hacked, and is easy to operate and maintain."

"We can debate the merits of old designs later," said Lestrade, shutting the lift's gate as the last of the team boarded, "Right now we have a multiverse to save."
"Everyone take up defensive positions," Shepard ordered, "When you see the enemy, don't spare the ammo, we can't afford to be held up."

The lift was wide open on all sides, save for the roof, giving the team almost no cover. Still, they knelt around the edge of the car, weapons drawn in expectation.
"Ready?" Shepard asked Tali as he crouched down beside her.
"Ready," the Quarian replied.

She turned the crank handle and the lift car jerked upward, the space around them echoing with the sound of its motors. Before long they began to pick up speed and the large cables began to rush past. The air became cool, but the team members took little notice. As the controls were a dead man's handle, Tali had to leave her hand on the crank to keep the lift moving, while the other held her shotgun.

"How long until we reach the top floor?" Benton asked.
"10 more minutes," Tali replied, checking her omni tool, "This lift is much slower than the ones that used to be here."
The lift passed a thick cluster of cables and for a brief moment, Shepard saw a movement of blue lights. He raised his gun, but the lights were already far below them by the time he brought it to bear.
"There's Husks in here," he said.

"Where?" said Watson, peering into the darkness.
"I saw one just now," Shepard replied.
"What are they doing?" said Gabrielle.
"Waiting," replied Xena.
"For what?"
"The right moment to attack."

Yet as the lift finally reached the upper floors and Tali began to slow it, no attack came. There were a few more flashes of blue, but none came close or stayed long. The whole situation made Shepard even more uneasy. The Intelligence must know they were inside its main base, why would it let them get so far without even trying to ambush them?

He was still pondering this when the lift came to a stop before a series of featureless walkways, surrounded by more thick cables. Lestrade went to open the gate when the flash of a laser struck the mesh. It would have hit her as well, had Sherlock not dragged her back.

"CONTACT!" Shepard yelled.
Aiming down his sights, he saw the silver bodies of cybermen advance from the shadows of the cables, armed with stumpy laser weapons. He fired a series of quick bursts, cutting down two before throwing himself to the floor as lasers buzzed overhead, crackling as they struck the lift or far walls.

Reacting fast, Benton pulled a grenade from his webbing and tossed it at the Cybermen. It landed close to a pair and exploded, sending red-hot shrapnel slicing through their mechanical bodies. The machine men screeched and collapsed in sparking heaps.
"Move out!" Shepard ordered, quickly getting to his feet, "We're too exposed here!"

As if answering his words, more lasers struck the lift, causing the whole car to shake.
Gunning down another Cyberman, Shepard kicked open the lift's gate and yelled at the team to go faster as they hurried past. Benton was the last one off, just managing to leap onto the walkway before the lift suddenly plummeted into the depths of the tower with a screech of tortured metal.

"You alright?" Shepard asked.
"Yeah, yeah," the Sergeant replied, still breathing hard, "Just glad to be on solid ground."
A laser crashed against a cable just above their heads, sending them scrambling for cover.
Shepard glanced around. The hundreds of heavy cables snaking around the walkways gave their enemies plenty of hiding places.

"Everyone stick close to me!" he yelled, "And keep your eyes open!"
A silver shape moved close by and Shepard fired a single mass effect round, blowing the Cyberman's head apart.
More laser blasts cracked through the cables. Guessing where they were coming from, Benton and Shepard pulled grenades from their belts and threw them into the maze of cables. A series of explosions rang out, followed by a heavy clatter of metal against metal and the walkway became silent.

"Clear!" Shepard yelled, stepping out from cover, assault rifle still raised.
The other team members slowly removed themselves from behind the cables and took stock of their situation. At least 10 Cybermen lay dead, cut down by their bullets and grenades. A few cables had been damaged by stray shots, but none of it appeared to be serious.
"Alright, move," Shepard ordered, gesturing down the walkway, "And stay alert."

Forming up behind the commander, the team headed into the forest of cables, eyes searching for another ambush. The walkway had a few narrow offshoots, but all of them were dead ends with control panels or monitoring stations. While they could not work out what they did, Tali was able to see that the Intelligence was drawing an astronomical amount of power through the cables.

"It's more than twice what the Citadel would normally need," she explained, "Even with its mass effect drives in use."
"Shouldn't that overload the systems?" said Garrus.
"I doubt it," Tali replied, "The Reapers built this place to last."
Moving on, the team climbed a staircase that followed the curved outer wall of the tower. Shepard made sure to keep Tali, Garrus and himself in front as they ascended, since their kinetic barriers would allow them to survive an ambush lying in wait.

Once or twice they encountered a lone Cyberman who would fire lasers indiscriminately down the stairs the moment they appeared, but these were quickly dispatched by a few mass effect rounds.
"Why are they doing this?" said Garrus, "Surely it would be more effective to have a defensive position with several people holding it?"
"They know they can't stop us," said Booker, glancing down at the latest kill, "So they're just setting up delaying actions."

"Then we'd better not let them keep us," said Xena, swiftly striding up the stairs.
"Goddamnit," breathed Amanda, by now very out of breath.
The team climbed on, taking out a handful of Cybermen before arriving at a semi-circular walkway. It was deserted and had only a single door in the middle, with a red holographic display showing that it was locked.

"Tali, would you do the honours?" asked Shepard, waving a hand at the door.
"As always," she replied, slightly breathless from the climb.
As the Quarian opened up her omni tool the rest of the team took a breather, resting against the metal walls or sitting on the floor. Staying on his feet, Shepard keyed his radio.
"Shepard to Coupee," he said, "Do you read me?"

"I read you!" the corporal yelled in reply, the sounds of gunfire cutting through his audio. "We're under heavy attack but holding. What about you?"
"We're near the top of the tower, but still no serious contact with the enemy."
"Understood, I'll keep you posted."
There was a slight sound of grating metal and the door Tali had been working on opened. At once the team leapt to their feet.
"Garrus, Tali, take point with me," Shepard ordered, "Benton, cover our rear."

Acknowledging the order, the team formed up along the walkway. Shepard positioned himself beside the door frame with Garrus and Tali before peaking around. Beyond he saw a short corridor which opened into a large room, filled with rows of waist-high tables. Glass tanks of viscous liquid were suspended from the ceiling, green and foreboding. Each of the tables had a rectangular light shade over it, all of which were currently switched off.

"What is it?" the Doctor asked, hugging the wall close to Tali.
"Dunno," Shepard replied, "Could be a lab' or something."
"Is there anyone in there?" asked Garrus.
"I can't see anyone," Shepard replied, "But the lights are off."
He switched on his tactical torch.
"I'll go first. Garrus, you and Tali follow me and find a light switch."
"Got it," the Turian replied.

Taking a deep breath, Shepard stepped around the doorway, shining his torch around. The room was even bigger than he had originally thought, with large machines against the walls, currently shrouded in darkness. Sweeping the beam of his torch across the closest table, Shepard saw test tubes and other scientific equipment. Behind him came slow deliberate footsteps as the others crept into the room as well.

"Remember, keep your eyes peeled," stated Inspector Lestrade, "I don't want those robots getting the drop on us."
Shepard focused his attention on a large object in the centre of the room. It was a T-shape sheet of metal, about 3 metres tall and 2 across, and sat at a steep angle. Around it ran a metal ring, with dozens of small wires attached to it.

"Shepard," came Tali's voice, almost making him jump, "I think I found the controls for the lights."
"Put 'em on then," he replied.
There was a faint click and brightness filled the space, causing the team to look around them in astonishment.

The room was indeed a laboratory, with banks of computers lining the walls and scientific devices on workbenches. Looking up, the team members saw at least three large tanks, filled with sickly green liquid. Shepard however, was still fixed on the angled sheet of T-shaped metal in the centre of the room.
"What is that?" said Benton, who was looking at the object as well.
"It's an examination table," said the Doctor.
"Yeah," said Elizabeth, "But what were they examining?"

Keeping his weapon raised, Shepard carefully edged toward the table and looked around at its opposite side. He let out a sound of shock and surprise.
Strapped to the metal was Dexter, the engineer from the Flying Legion. He was still wearing his tan uniform, covered in burn marks from the battle, while wires had been attached to his arms, legs and face. On top of his head was a metal bowl, with several wires plugged into it, which in turn linked to the metal ring around the edge of the table.

"What is it?" said Xena, looking worried.
"It's Dexter, Sullivan's mechanic!" Shepard exclaimed.
The rest of the team hurried around to join the commander, amazed.
"Dexter?" said Sarah, "But I thought he was killed when the Intelligence attacked the Flying Legion's base."
It must have taken him prisoner," said Lestrade.
A low groan escaped from Dexter's lips.
"He's alive!" Gabrielle gasped.
"Hurry!" said Benton, "We need to get him off this thing!"

Shepard was about to say they should check Dexter was not in danger before doing anything, but before he could speak, Xena had already hacked away most of the wires. Benton and Sarah clambered up and undid the straps around his wrists while Sherlock and Booker took care of the ones around his waist and ankles. Once free, Dexter flopped forward, but was saved from hitting the floor by Watson.

"Who has a first aid pack?" he asked.
"Here," said Amanda, handing him a pouch from her belt.
Thanking her, Watson took out a medical scanner and quickly ran it over Dexter's body.
"He's very weak," he remarked while checking the readings. "Looks like the Intelligence was only giving him just enough food and water to stay alive."
Dexter groaned again.
"Wa... wa..."

"Don't try to talk young man," Watson said, carefully taking a syringe from the pouch.
Gently he pushed the needle into the engineer's arm and depressed the plunger.
"Emergency revival hypo," he explained, "Doctor Chakwas showed me how to use them the other day. A remarkable piece of medical equipment."

He withdrew the now empty needle from Dexter's arm and the man's eyes flickered open. He blinked hard, once then twice, before a puzzled expression came over his face.
"Shepard?" he said in a whispery voice, "Is... is that you...?"
"It's me Dexter," the commander replied, kneeling beside him, "We breached the Intelligence's tower."
"Damn, I'm impressed."

Dexter pushed himself into a sitting position, clutching his head.
"Careful my good man," said Watson, "Your body has suffered a great deal of stress."
"I... I know, but thanks," Dexter replied.
"Here, take this," said Benton, handing him a water canteen.
"Thanks," said Dexter, downing almost half the contents in one go.
"How did you get here?" asked Lestrade, "The last we heard your base was getting blown to pieces."

Dexter blinked again.
"It's... it's a bit of a blur," he replied after a moment, "I had just transmitted the coordinates for Moriarty's base when an explosion hit me. I must have been knocked out, because the next thing I knew, I was being dragged out of the rubble by these bug things."
"Collectors," Xena hissed.
"What?" said Dexter, looking confused.
"They're creatures that work for the Intelligence," said Shepard, "They attacked us as well when we travelled to Columbia."

"Yeah, I suppose they must have been," said Dexter, " But like I said, they dragged me out of the rubble and through a portal to here. I've not been anywhere else."
"What did the Intelligence want with you?" asked Lestrade.
"The Intelligence..." Dexter began before a look of realisation came across his face, "Yeah, I remember now, it told me that was its name."
His expression suddenly changed to one of horror.
"Shepard, you have to stop it! Now!"

"Don't worry," the commander replied, "We know the Intelligence's plan."
"No, no you don't. It's not looking to control the multiverse. It wants to invade reality!"
"Invade reality?" said Shepard, "I don't understand."
"The Intelligence realised it couldn't use the multiverse to manipulate people's minds," Dexter explained, barely able to suppress his panic. "It's just not possible. Too many minds, too many ideas. Instead, it wants to use the Citadel to harness the power of all the different universes and open a portal to reality and invade with an army of Reapers."

Shepard's blood felt as if it had just turned to ice. He knew full well the power of the Reapers, and had seen the destruction they could inflict. If they broke through to reality then there was no telling how many people would be killed.
"We have to move," he said, snatching up his rifle.
"Wait," Dexter said, "The Intelligence is in this big chamber, just upstairs, but the power plant and computer for its portal is on the floor above that. They're set to work automatically, so you'll have to destroy them."

"Looks like we're splitting up then," said Shepard.
He quickly looked over his team.
"Benton, take the Doctor, Sarah, Amanda, Xena and Gabrielle up to the power plant and destroy the machinery."
He took a pouch from his combat belt and handed it to the sergeant.
"Explosives," he explained simply, "Same stuff you used to take down the siphon in Columbia."

"Got it," Benton replied, slipping the pouch into his webbing.
"The rest of you," Shepard said, turning to the other members of his team, "With me."
"What about Dexter?" said Sarah.
"Don't worry about me," he replied, "I'll be fine here."
"All the same, take this," said Shepard, drawing a spare mass effect pistol from his belt and handing it to the engineer. We've got allies on the ground floor, but the elevator's been taken out."
"Got it," Dexter replied.

He pointed to a pair of exits on each side of the room.
"The left-hand door should take you up to the power plant, the right goes to the Intelligence itself."
"Thanks," said Shepard, "By the way, take this, you'll need it to stay in contact with us."
He handed Dexter a small radio which the engineer quickly tucked into his ear.
"Thanks," he replied, "When this is all over you're gonna have to show me how you make these things."

"That's done by much smarter people than myself," Shepard replied with a laugh. "Captain Sullivan's out there fighting the Reapers if you want to make contact."
"Joe's alive?"
"He's the only reason we've managed to get this far."

Dexter cracked a smile.
"I knew he'd come through."
"We should get moving," Xena said, "We don't know when the Intelligence will launch its plan after all."
"Right," Shepard replied, "Everyone move out, and good luck."
He shook hands with Benton and the two teams separated, heading for their respective doors.

•

With a screech of metal, the dock doors split open, and a wave of grey and blue creatures poured through the gap with inhuman screams.
"OPEN FIRE!" shouted Dyer.
The expedition let loose a storm of bullets from their machine guns and self-loading rifles. Within seconds they had cut down dozens of Husks, but more forced their way through the doors, sprinting at the aircraft with single-minded determination.

"DON'T LET THEM GET CLOSE!" Dyer yelled, forcing a fresh magazine into his rifle.
"WE CAN'T HOLD 'EM!" one of the men shouted.
"JUST DO AS YOU'RE ORDERED DANFORTH!" Dyer countered, the rifle kicking painfully against his shoulder with each shot.
Two of the monstrous creatures dropped to the floor, only for three more to take their place.

•

In the void above the Citadel, Captain Sullivan wheeled his aeroplane around, skilfully dodging a Reaper's legs before pressing a button on his control panel. There was a mechanical clicking somewhere behind him as a magnetic mine was released from the Warhawk's underside and hurtled toward the Reaper. A flash, followed by a sharp explosion told him it had struck home.

"NOW!" he yelled into his radio, "THE SHIELDS ARE DOWN! ATTACK!"
Old Ones began swarming around the Reaper, firing bolts of energy until its hull began to glow and split apart.
"NICE ONE!" Sullivan yelled.
He put the Warhawk into a steep turn, searching for another target, when his radio crackled into life.

"Captain," came a wonderfully familiar voice, "Captain, can you hear me?"
"Dex?" Sullivan said in utter disbelief, "Dex is that you?"
"It's me Captain," the engineer replied, "Shepard and his team just freed me."
Sullivan struggled to focus on flying his plane as emotions flooded his body. He had thought his best friend had been lost, and suddenly he had him back.
"What happened to you?" he asked.

"Questions will have to wait Captain," Dexter replied, "Right now I have to warn you, the Intelligence is going to try and open a portal for those Reaper ships. You and your people have to stop them from getting through."
"What are they trying to do?"
"They want to attack reality itself."

A red laser streaked past the Warhawk's port wing, forcing Sullivan to roll the plane wildly.
"We'll do everything we can," he replied, "What's Shepard up to?"
"His team is heading upstairs to confront the Intelligence," said Dexter.
"What about you?"
"I'm fine, don't worry, just concentrate on those Reapers."
"Understood, you stay safe alright."
Dexter laughed.
"I should tell you the same thing."
"You know me, I never take my own advice."

Grinning, Sullivan turned his plane into a wide arc around the mess of battling Reapers and Old Ones. In the distance he saw the Normandy streak past a Reaper that had just been blown in half.
"Joker? Sullivan said into his radio, "Did you hear that?"
"Yeah," the Normandy's pilot replied, "Always nice to have more work laid on us in the middle of things."
"Well it is what we're paid to do."

"I don't think we're being paid for anything at the moment!"
A sound like a foghorn echoed through the void and Sullivan saw the Citadel, now spread open like a great flower, begin to glow a deep blue.
"Joker?" he said, "Are you seeing this?"
"I see it, EDI's just carrying out a scan."

"Power usage on the Citadel has just increased by 200 percent," the AI stated a few seconds later.
"What does that mean?" asked Sullivan, sensing that he already knew the answer.
"The Citadel's mass effect relay is being powered up," EDI stated, worry seeping into her normally monotone voice. "The Intelligence must be about to open its portal to reality."