Mass Effect: Reaper Dreams

Death's Sweet Embrace

"In the fight for freedom there is no defeat, you either achieve it or you die trying. In both cases you're as free as one can be."

Nazim D.

May, 3rd, 2188

Dr. Gavin Archer

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Gavin stared at the console. His living hand was steady. He was at peace. All preparations had been made. The plan was ready. With the help of Miranda Lawson, he had completed the work two days ago, but Petrovsky wanted to stand on ceremony. The machine hummed, but the organic buzzing that had plagued him for long had been absent for days.

His voice came over the base's loudspeaker. "Today marks the first anniversary of humanity's greatest achievement, the defeat of the Reapers. One year later, we stand at the brink of an even greater victory, a victory over nature itself. Immortality is within our grasp, and we shall seize it. Dr. Archer, are you ready?"

Gavin looked at Miranda. She nodded. The Cerberus security team closed ranks. All twenty armor clad commandos aimed their heavy weapons in the direction of the body of Commander Josslyn Shepard. Despite his optimism, Petrovsky remained cautious. He wanted Shepard intact. Nicholas, on the other hand, was prepared to destroy Shepard and dissect the remains should anything go amiss.

Gavin's hand hovered over the haptic controls. He was grateful that Nicholas wasn't present. As the time had passed, she became more and more reluctant to enter the lab. She was jumpy around Shepard. It seemed to be a kind of instinct that kept her at a distance. Nicholas feared her, even in the helpless state the Commander was in.

Chief Cargill, the new head of base security, spoke up. "Talk us through this one more time, Dr. Archer. I want all three of my squads to know exactly what to do."

Gavin pointed to the console. "This is a reverse engineered Geth platform I built out of the remains of an old prime unit. I've recoded it so I can use it to access the Geth programs currently occupying the synthetic interface in Shepard's mind. It should be able overrun the Geth and allow us direct access to Shepard. Without the Geth blocking us, we will be able to interface with her so we can retrieve the data the Reapers implanted into her."

"Will Shepard, I mean... this thing, will it know?" asked Cargill.

Gavin nodded. "We may even be able to talk to her."

Despite the cold temperature in the lab, Gavin notice a trickle of sweat on Miranda's brow. She was terrified. All her hopes rested on the plan they had concocted. Gavin felt a rush of shame. What he had to do was necessary, but he feared it would destroy Lawson's will to go on. She would see it as a betrayal of the worst kind, and yet it was the only way to save her. If Nicholas was happy, then Lawson would be safe... at least for now. The rest was up to Petrovsky.

Gavin touched the control on his Omni-tool. "Initiating purge sequence."

A flick of his finger was all it took. Shepard's body began to twitch as the Geth unit blocking her inputs came under viral attack. It was overwhelmed and removed within a matter of seconds. He forced the programs into storage using the prime's redundant bit spindles.

"The Geth has been removed," he said.

Petrovsky's voice crackled overhead. "Excellent work Dr. Archer. Now, bring Shepard out of stasis."

Miranda protested. "She's not ready. The pain alone could kill her."

Gavin shook his head sadly. "I'm sorry, Lawson. I've done all I can, but it's time. I'm purging the sleepers from her bloodstream and bringing her body temperature up, now..."