Spectre Bk 02 Ch 16

A/N - Australian / British standard English. There is a good chance of reading the following: lots of profanity, characters drinking, typos, and bad grammar at times.

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*****

Shepard knowingly leads his team into a trap. Do they all survive?

*****

My entire team was ready to go. Georgia had been working hard to make sure all the armour was in pristine condition, that the weapons were ready to be fired constantly, shield packs were strong and would hold against even the worst that the Collectors could throw against us. I stood near Joker in the cockpit. We could just about see the Collector ship in the distance.

"Status, EDI?" I asked.

"Very low emissions. Passive infrared temperatures suggest most systems are offline. Thrusters are cold."

"That thing's massive," Joker stated, "How the hell did the turians take it out?" I gave him a look that he would be able to interpret. He turned his eyes away from mine and muttered something under his breath. "I'll take you in, Commander."

Joker had the

Normandy

fly alongside the ship. It reminded me of the one that we'd seen on Horizon. "Ladar scans do not detect any hull breaches on the side facing us," EDI reported, "I detect no mass effect field distortions. It appears the drive core is offline."

He flew the ship in as close as possible though we would still need to take the shuttle to actually board the Collector vessel. Walking towards my team, they shuffled and stood a little taller when I approached them. We'd done well on Horizon though we'd since added more team members. Everyone brought their own particular skills. Some were brilliant with weapons. Others could use tech to their advantage. Then there were those gifted with biotics.

"Okay, I'm going to keep this simple. We're all heading in. EDI reports the ship is cold. Drive core offline. No sign of life. No sign of the turian ship that disabled the vessel, but that's neither here nor there. The primary objective of this mission is to discover how the Collector vessel passes through the Omega Four Relay. Secondary objectives include learning more about the Collectors and their technology."

The shuttle ride barely took a couple of minutes as the pilot found an entrance for us. I was the first to step off and the silence was a little unnerving. Almost a reminder of our arrival on Horizon as the only sounds upon our arrival there were a few machines and the wind through the trees. Until gunfire erupted anyway...

Once my team was off the shuttle and we were ready to move, I took point, and we started the long walk. Everyone was patched into ship communications so would hear whatever EDI had to tell me. I wanted my team informed of everything that was discovered. I sensed Grunt and Miranda at my back, no need to turn around the check as I knew that everyone was smart enough to figure out where to position themselves. Garrus and Amelie would be at the rear, covering us with their sniper rifles. Samara, Jack and Triss would be on our flanks, ready to bring down biotic fire if necessary. And the rest would be in the middle, ready to break ranks, find cover, and bring death upon the enemy.

EDI was busy searching the ship and found our objective. Deep in the bowels of the ship. But it was there that we could hardwire EDI into the Collector ship and gather as much information as we could. None of us was stupid though. It was that feeling that crept up the back of your neck like we were being watched.

It was a trap. I knew it. Miranda knew it. But if walking into this trap would give us the advantage that we needed, so be it. All that mattered was getting everyone back to the

Normandy

alive.

"Shepard. I have compared the ship's EM signature to known Collector profiles. It is the vessel you encountered on Horizon."

I came to a stop and looked at Miranda. "EDI, is it possible that the defence towers on Horizon damaged this vessel enough that a turian patrol could have knocked it out?" I had to ask.

"And the missing colonists might be here," Garrus stated through the radio linking all of us together.

EDI suggested that it might have been possible that the fire sustained on Horizon could have made it a target, but that it would have taken a vessel with tremendous firepower to have disabled the ship like it apparently was.

We moved ahead, the silence unnerving a few of those behind me. I didn't blame them for being a little tetchy. But we didn't hear sounds that had some of us pointing weapons into dark corners. Given the sheer size of the ship, it had me wondering where the Collectors were. We'd killed loads of the bastards on Horizon. Had the ship returned through the Omega Four before being disabled?

Finding containers similar to those that we'd seen on video on Freedom's Progress, and we'd walked by on Horizon. None of the containers contained a colonist. I assumed that the colonists had already been moved on. There was more than one comment about what the colonists must have been thinking and feeling when they were taken. It was horrible to think about.

Then we found our first pile of bodies. I felt my hand tighten on the grip of my rifle. When I met the eyes of Miranda, the fury in them had me nodding at her. This is exactly why I'd been brought back and why we were on the ship. It might be a trap, but now we were finding evidence of exactly what the Collectors were up to.

Near the pile of bodies was a Collector in a container. Mordin immediately stepped forward as he suggested they may have been performing experiments. Perhaps comparing Collectors to humans. As he'd suggested on Tuchanka, humans had tremendous genetic diversity. While Mordin was checking, I asked him to upload any information he had for EDI to check.

Within seconds, EDI had quite the bombshell to drop on us.

"A quad-strand genetic structure, identical to traces collected in ancient ruins. Only one race is known to have this structure. The Protheans."

"Holy shit..." I muttered.

"Liara will want to know about this," Tali suggested.

To my surprise, Miranda immediately agreed. "She would have been our resident Prothean expert if the Illusive Man had agreed to her recruitment," she stated.

"So... Did they wipe out only most of the Protheans? Are these actual Protheans or... Well, we've never really known what they actually look like. Have the Reapers indoctrinated them?" I asked.

"Shepard, what you are looking at is no longer Prothean. Their genes show distinct signs of extensive genetic rewrite. The Reapers have repurposed them to suit their needs."

"This is remarkable," Mordin added, "No one has had an opportunity to study a Collector in such detail before. We'll take samples back to the ship. Know thy enemy, Shepard."

EDI added that she was able to figure out where the Collector was from. A Prothean colony in the Styx Theta cluster. Then Mordin could really get into what was changed, showing his medical knowledge.

"Signs of extreme alteration. Three fewer chromosomes. Reduced heterochromatin structure. Elimination of superfluous 'junk' sequences," Mordin reported.

"I guess the Reapers have had over fifty thousand years to turn them into exactly what they wanted. We already know the Keepers are likely remnants of some previous species that the Reapers turned into their workers," I added.

It was one hell of a revelation. I think some of the team might even had a little sympathy for the Protheans. I knew that they'd fought tooth and nail to survive, but the Reapers had been relentless and remorseless. But they were now beyond salvation. They were now Collectors. They were agents of the Reapers. And they had declared war on humanity.

Entering a cavernous room that was filled with more pods. The good news is that EDI confirmed there were no signs of life within them. But Garrus and Amelie confirmed that many of the pods appeared to have people in them. I wasn't the only one to sigh as EDI reported in that when the ship lost power, the colonists inside the pod wouldn't have stood a chance.

We continued to explore, finding little bits of information. I had a feeling we were being funnelled towards the centre of the ship and that's where the Collectors were going to spring their trap. I told everyone to remain loose and report in absolutely anything that should garner our attention. Then Joker decided to drop the bombshell of all bombshells.

"You've got to hear this, Commander. On a hunch, I asked EDI to run an analysis on this ship."

"I compared the EM profile against data recorded by the original Normandy two years ago. They are an exact match,"

EDI explained.

"Something doesn't add up, Commander. Watch your back."

I stopped and approached Miranda. "He would know," I whispered, meeting her eyes. She nodded immediately. "That confirms everything. I reckon he's known since well before I woke up. But what's his game?"

"I don't know, Shepard."

"I'm aware that you're kept in the dark. But this doesn't just affect me now. This affects all of us."

"Let's just finish this and get the hell out of here, Shepard."

The ship was simply enormous. Miranda had called it reminiscent of an insect hive. I think we'd entered the centre of the ship and could only marvel at the sheer size. Not even dreadnoughts would come close to the size of this vessel. And the number of pods must have numbers in the billions. Even the non-humans could figure out the reason. The Collectors were thinking big. They would focus on the Terminus Systems before making their way towards Earth.

"I'm taking this to the Council," I stated, "This is not just a few colonies being abducted in the Terminus Systems. The Collectors are coming for us, and I'd bet every credit in my account that we're just the start. The Reapers can't get here yet so they task the Collectors with doing what they can't."

EDI informed me that a nearby platform would be the perfect place to link the two ships together. I heard more than one comment about the fact that they were very uneasy. Where were the Collectors? Where were the thousands and thousands of colonists that had been abducted? And when were the Collectors going to spring their trap?"

"Mordin. Miranda. Tali. All of you with me. Start looking through any data that you can find. Everyone else, fan out and keep watch. I have a feeling that shit is going to hit the fan sooner rather than later once we've linked up."

EDI got to work mining data, and for maybe thirty seconds, everything seemed to be running normally. Then... It wasn't. Tali reported an almost catastrophic power surge that was thankfully diverted away back on the

Normandy

. Then EDI confirmed what I already knew for everyone else.

"

Shepard, it was not a malfunction. This was a trap."

The platform we were on started to ascend, and a couple of others did the same with the rest of my team. EDI was doing her best to retain her connection to assist us, but she was busy fighting off whoever was interfering with us. It didn't take her long to fight off whoever it was, and as she continued to download information, she was able to assist us.

"We've got incoming!" I called as platforms started to move towards us in the distance. Octagonal shapes that seemed to float without any sort of engine. Definitely alien technology. And each platform was full of Collectors, waiting to fight.

The platforms could connect with each other. That would give us a way forward as EDI wasn't able to control those we were on. As soon as the platforms carrying the Collectors connected into place, we opened fire. The Collectors wilted quickly under such sustained firepower. I always enjoyed the thump of biotics and the detonations when those with biotic power were able to link up their attacks.

"Keep pushing but stick to cover and check your targets!" I yelled, "Don't be a fucking hero. We're getting off this fucking ship and getting out of here."

The Collectors pushed hard. Thankfully, my team was methodical in dealing with them. Tech attacks took down shields and caused havoc with weaponry. Biotic attacks rained down on them. And my shooting had always been exemplary. Rarely missed a target. Most of my shots were short bursts into a chest. That's always enough to put down an enemy. Headshots made you feel better about your ability but could not always be achieved when under heavy fire.

When the glowing Collector made its appearance, it once again seemed to have only eyes for me. I'd discussed it with others back on the ship and I just knew it was a way for the Reapers to get involved. The Illusive Man had suggested that the Reapers had taken particular interest in me. It explained the Collector attacks on humanity. And it explained their attack on the old

Normandy

.

Collector bodies littered the ground though I knew the ship was going to be full of the bastards. EDI was able to re-establish complete control and confirmed that she had the data that would help us get through the Omega Four relay. She also confirmed something else that I knew was going to have many doubting the man who had offered to recruit them. Not me.

The Illusive Man.

"

Shepard, I have found the turian distress call that served as the lure of this trap. The Collectors were the source. It is unusual. Turian emergency channels have secondary encryption. It is present but corrupted in the message. It is not possible that the Illusive Man would believe the distress call was genuine."

"You've confirmed what we already suspected, but what makes you so sure?"

"

I found the anomaly with Cerberus detection protocols. He wrote them."

Miranda met my eyes. To have it confirmed... She hadn't put in two years of work to bring me back only to have me killed like this. And I knew she wasn't exactly enamoured by the idea of our trip through the Omega Four being one way.

Then Joker told us that the Collector ship was powering up. I heard more than one groan as it was now going to be one hell of a fight to get out of there. EDI gave us a location to get to so the shuttle could extract us. Joker would move the

Normandy

into position for us to make a quick getaway as soon as the shuttle touched down in the hangar bay.

We didn't just fight Collectors. We fought many of their other monsters that tried to stop our escape. It was one hell of a slog. I could see that the constant use of their biotics was tiring out Jack and Triss, and even Samara admitted that she hadn't used her powers as constantly as she had been doing in decades. Grunt was having the time of his life. Garrus and Amelie didn't miss a single shot. Even Tali with her shotgun was allowing the enemy to get within range before she was blasting away. Our newest recruit, Aela, was proving that she could fight as hard as anyone.

In addition to the Collectors and their assorted monsters, it was when husks descended upon us that we figured out what might have happened to the colonists. Everyone was aware what a husk was. It was further evidence of Reaper influence with the Collectors. No one hesitated when it came to putting them down. If they managed to swarm just one of us, that would be it.

The Collectors were relentless. I'm sure it was a reminder of fighting actual Protheans when they were fighting the Reapers, doing all they could to stop us. I heard shields failing reported in more than once. With the fire we were taking, I knew we would take wounds. As long as we didn't lose anyone, wounds could heal. Chakwas would already have the med-bay prepared for casualties.

Jack took a hit in the arm that caused her to bleed heavily. Tali was worried about a suit breach, covering her with Leliana and Georgia while she could quickly check. Triss eventually exhausted herself and could barely summon a warp let alone anything more powerful. Her face glistened with sweat and she looked ready to pass out.

EDI was giving us the hurry up as I knew we were approaching the extraction point. The Collectors almost formed a wall in front of us. I put Triss in cover and gestured towards Samara, Jack and Miranda. Samara knew what I wanted, and formed a large ball of biotic energy just in front of the Collectors. Jack and Miranda flung a warp into the ball.

The explosion was enormous. I wasn't the only one to almost cheer and holler as Collectors were sent flying. I ordered everyone to move forward as I could see the shuttle waiting for us in the distance, helping Triss to her feet and helping her along. Garrus took her from me as I fired at a few Collectors who were desperately trying to stop us.

"Everyone on?" I shouted from the door.

"All accounted for, Shepard. Get in the shuttle!" Miranda shouted back.

"

Move it, Commander. The weapons are nearly online, and we don't want to lose another Normandy!"

The pilot flew the shuttle the short distance towards the ship and had it thump down on the floor. As soon as that happened, Joker tasked EDI with getting us the hell out of there. When she asked where, I yelled that I didn't fucking care, just as long as it was away from the Collector vessel. She told us to hang tight as she initiated the drive core and we were somewhere else within seconds.

I helped Triss to the med-bay with Samara helping Jack. Tali was assisted by Garrus. Georgia admitted to a wound at her hip, not wanting anyone to worry about her until we were back on the

Normandy

. Everyone else admitted to only exhaustion. Water and energy drinks were handed out as were energy bars. As they all took a seat in the mess, I paced before them.

"Fantastic job again, but you also heard EDI. You know the score now. We know the Collectors are aiming to take on humanity. But we also know that although we have a team, we have a ship, we have credits, the best armour and weapons, we are also..."

"We know you'll get us through this, Shepard," Miranda stated, "No matter what else happens, no matter what others might do to possibly hamper our chances, we know that you're the man who will lead us through hell and get us through to the other side."

I met each pair of eyes around the table and received a nod or a smile from each and every single one of them. "Are you going to speak with him?" Kelly asked as she joined us from upstairs.

"Not right now. EDI, have you sent him anything yet?"

"No, Shepard."

"Then he can wait a few hours. If I talk to him now..."

"I might have a few choice words as well," Miranda added.

"No... Don't get involved, Miranda. If he even starts to believe that you might be influenced by me, it will only get awkward for all of us. Let him believe that you don't know a thing right now."

Once again, she met my eyes. I knew she wanted to give her boss a piece of her mind. I didn't blame her as I'm sure it probably felt like a betrayal to her. After everyone was rehydrated and feeling somewhat normal, people started to return to their quarters. I checked up on those in the med-bay, Chakwas assuring me that no one would be out of action for more than a few hours. Medi-gel would work its usual wonders. She assured me that Tali was absolutely fine and that she did not have a suit breach.

Before heading to my cabin, I walked up to the cockpit and told Joker to take us to the Citadel as I wanted to speak to the Council in person and also discuss what we'd found with Anderson. I knew heading to Arcturus wasn't possible though I knew that Anderson would try and get Admiral Hackett on the line once he'd heard what I'd discovered.

"Your thoughts, Joker? I know EDI is listening."