Lazarus Project: Mass Effect 2 (Shenko)

Chapter 52

Milky Way/Serpent Nebula/Widow System/Citadel

Earth year: 2185 CE --– September

Kaidan was seated at a table outside Apollo's Cafe looking over the menu while he waited for Tanner and Mason. Catching movement on the stairs, he looked up to see his squad searching the tables for him. He raised his hand in greeting and watched them make their way over to him.

"Commander."  Tanner greeted, settling into a chair to his left.

"Lieutenant." Kaidan replied. "Running a bit late."

"Yeah well you can blame Zima for that sir." Tanner grunted.

"What did I do now?"

Tanner rolled her eyes as she picked up a menu, saying nothing.

"Oh. Right. You mean getting us lost."

Kaidan smirked. "You got lost?"

Mason ducked his head behind his menu. "Yeah. I forgot Apollo's was on the Presidium sir."

"Yeah." Tanner grinned, signalling the waitress. "He was convinced it was on Zakera Ward. You know, that place that serves ramen?"

"I know the place." Kaidan agreed, handing his menu to the waitress. "But you're here now, so it's all good."

"So we're going to be checking out a colony?" Mason asked.

Kaidan nodded. "Anderson wants us to do a sweep of the colony based on what I saw on Horizon."

"What are we looking for?" Tanner interjected, sipping at her Asari Honey Mead.

"I'm assuming Anderson hopes we'll find evidence of the bugs I saw. The extranet has already given them a name. They're calling them Seeker Swarms."

"Seeker Swarms?" Mason echoed. "Why?"

"Maybe because they behave like swarms. You know, like birds and bugs?" Tanner drawled. "But the Seeker part implies they're programmed to target something specific."

"Well if human colonies are disappearing that would mean they're programmed to target humans." Mason said, taking a healthy gulp of his Mount Milgrom whiskey.

"That's not a comforting thought... if it's true. But it might explain why none of our Alliance ships have reported in. If any of them encountered the Collectors and were intercepted, there'd be no defence against them."

"It's definitely chilling." Kaidan agreed. "But Anderson assured me none of the ships Hackett sent out are expected to report in for several more weeks. Let's not start jumping to conclusions."

"So what do these things look like Commander?" Tanner asked, digging into her dinner of Asari Bluegrass Salad and steak sandwich.

"They were strange. Bipedal and looking a lot like a cross between a turian and a krogan. By that I mean that their upper bodies were broader than the rest of them. They had angular heads, much like an ant. Some of them had wings."

"Sounds creepy." Mason muttered digging into an unnamed asari entree. It was filled with unrecognizable ingredients, but Mason was clearly enjoying it.

"It was." Kaidan agreed digging into his steak. He'd already finished his salad and fries, opting for something simpler than Tanner's Bluegrass version. "They also didn't speak." He added, taking a sip of his TM88. It was whiskey and Kaidan's favourite brand.

"What do you mean?" Mason queried, stifling a burp.

"They just sort of made these weird clicking, burring sounds. Reminded me of some of the insects on earth and how they communicate by rubbing their legs together. I did hear something speaking, but it didn't sound natural. More like a projected voice coming from somewhere else. Maybe being broadcast through one of the Collectors. Whoever it was, it sounded arrogant."

"That's messed." Tanner muttered, upending her glass.

"So what was it saying?" Mason pressed, his eyes filled with curiosity.

"I couldn't make out much. I was a little preoccupied trying to break that second stasis field that had me trapped."

"Right. Yeah, okay." Mason mumbled, looking forlorn.

"But, it sounded like it was saying something about preparing the colonists for ascension and that they were our saviours or something along those lines."

"Saviours? Ascension?" Mason looked stricken. "Yeah. That's not creepy at all."

"Why didn't you mention this before sir?" Tanner asked, pushing away her empty plate.

Kaidan grimaced and met her gaze. "Right. Yeah." Tanner muttered, her face flushing. "Sorry. Forgot about that uh... other, big thing that happened."

"What big thing?" Mason quipped mid-gulp.

Tanner levelled a withering stare at Zima willing him to not say it out loud.

"Oh! You mean the Shepard thing."

"Yeah Zima." Tanner sighed, blowing out the breath she'd been holding. "The Shepard thing."

Kaidan shifted uncomfortably while he waited for them to finish. The Shepard thing. Yeah, he supposed it was accurate enough, but it was also the last thing he wanted to think about right now. "Anyway," Kaidan said, clearing his throat. "That's where we're going. After that, we're going to  Omega."

"Omega?!" Zima sputtered, choking on the mouthful of whiskey he'd just swallowed. "You mean we're going to the most violent, dangerous, merc-infested outpost outside Council space? Run by that asari pirate queen?"

Kaidan stifled a grin, even as Zima's excitement chased away his melancholy. "Yeah Zima. That's the one."

"What are we going there for?"

"Zima, for crying out loud! We're still on leave here. You wanna know so bad, read the damn mission brief." Tanner grumbled.

Mason faced Tanner, coming back to himself in a heartbeat. "Right, yeah. Sorry Commander. Just excited I guess and you're right Tanner, less shop talk, more drinks."

"Here, here." Kaidan agreed signalling the waitress for refills.

Milky Way/Hourglass Nebula/Sowilo System

Exhausted, Callie fell into her bed aboard the Normandy, still dressed in her BDU's. As her head hit the pillow, she lost consciousness and drifted into a sea of stars and dark, empty space. As she drifted deeper the stars gave way to thick, black clouds, violent bursts of lightening and howling winds.

Callie tossed and turned, moaning in her sleep as she struggled to fight clear of the disturbing images. But extreme fatigue held her tight even as her struggles gave way to a sunny summer day.

The storm gave way to the bright blue expanse of a sunny day, studded with wisps of lazy clouds drifting slowly across the sky. She looked down and saw she was in full armour, a pistol in her hand.

A buzzing sound filled her ears and she looked up in alarm to see a large black cloud undulating across the sky, descending toward her with focused  intent. She watched in horror as the cloud engulfed a group of humans a short distance away, freezing them where they stood.

No! She cried, but her feet refused to move. Paralyzed, she watched the swarm move off, only to be replaced by large, winged creatures who took the frozen people away, loading them into narrow, confining pods. Fear coursed through her as she watched, recognizing the creatures as Collectors, yet helpless to stop what was happening.

The Collectors took no notice of her as they passed her on their way to their ship. As the last pod drifted close, Callie's heart froze in her chest, her eyes were riveted to the sight of Kaidan's fear-filled eyes staring back at her from within the pod.

With a groan, Callie fought her way free of the nightmare. Her skin was damp with sweat even as goose-flesh rose on her skin. Her cabin swam into focus as consciousness returned and she shook off the disturbing images and headed for the shower.

Feeling refreshed, she changed into clean BDU's and added some colour to her face before checking her private terminal for messages. There was nothing new to read and with a sigh of relief and a strong resolve not to pick apart the dream she'd just had, she headed for the CIC.