Collector Base
We jumped from the Normandy's airlock, and took our first steps on the Collector base. The same feelings assailed me from when I was running around the Collector ship – a sense of deep, teeth-on-edge alien wrongness.
The base looked like some nightmarish beehive, with things that looked like glass panels and incredibly sophisticated technology fused with walls that looked like they were made from packed mud. It was a H.R. Giger hell of a place, and one I would enjoy slaughtering my way through.
I ran over in my mind everything we knew about the Collectors. They employed efficient weapons based on unknown technology, but nothing we couldn't handle. They had scions and praetorians with fiendish biotic abilities, and those would be a little harder to take out. And of course their hordes of husks. The Collectors had abducted entire colonies. I didn't want to think about the number of husks they could create.
Garrus was leading his team away and I gave him a respectful nod of the head. We had asari justicars and drell assassins and renegade geth but it would be the former C-Sec officer who would command, and I trusted that he would be up to the task. The bulk of my specialists would be going with him, the better to create their diversion. Escorting Tali through her dangerous journey in the vents would be me, Grunt, and Jack.
She saw my worried look as I watched Garrus's team disappear and grabbed my hand.
"Hey. They'll be fine," I said. "Leatherface will see them through. Let's just make sure Tali survives."
She flashed her teeth. "Killing countless Collectors on some suicide mission...awesome idea for a first date. You really know how to please a girl."
The idea was so ridiculous I had to laugh. "Most people watch a vid and get some dinner on their dates."
"We're not like most people, are we?" she said. I had to agree.
Grunt was looking at Jack and me with some confusion. "I don't understand," he rumbled.
"Settle down cutie, the grown-ups are talking," needled Jack. "We'll let you tag along, but don't destroy the mood alright? Just shoot at anything that moves."
"That I can do," Grunt said.
We moved out, nerves on the edge, senses straining to catch the first hint of the enemy. Deeper and deeper into the base we went, until the bulging sacs in the ceiling and the melted candlewax look of the walls and the floor began to seem normal.
"I'm inside the ventilation shaft, Jack," said Tali, loud and clear over my headset communicator. "It's hot in here, but clear as far as I can tell."
"Good luck," I replied. Then I radioed Garrus. "This is Eagle One. Come in, Eagle Two."
I thought I heard a sigh, then the communicator crackled again. I'd insisted on being called 'One' to Garrus's 'Two'. "This is Eagle Two," he said.
"Are you in position?"
"In position. Meet you on the other side of those doors."
Ok, things were going smoothly so far. About ten seconds in, but smooth nonetheless. Then a yell from Jack shattered that record.
"They've seen us!"
A group of Collector Drones were moving into position, and firing at us. Time to go to work. Since Jack and Grunt had the noisy rampage of certain death thing covered, I figured it was time to go sniper. I wasn't as good a sniper as say, Garrus or Thane or even Legion, but I could get in a headshot or two.
The tactic proved to be satisfyingly effective as he Collector Drones, their attention taken up by the best damn tag-team since chocolate and peanut butter, turned out to be sitting ducks for my crosshairs.
Jack and Grunt were quickly becoming a lethal combination. Jack provided the biotic wrath and sheer destructive power. Grunt backed that up with his Fortification technique that made him damn near invulnerable, his regenerative abilities and his Claymore shotgun that tended to blow large, messy holes in whatever he pointed it at.
They covered each other, always went for different targets, and left nothing standing. They were twin forces of nature and it was pure poetry in motion. Beethoven and da Vinci and Shakespeare had nothing on the art that those two created.
"I'm stuck!" cried Tali suddenly. "Something's blocking the pipe. Looks like some kind of gate!"
I looked around and saw a large heat exchange valve on the far side of the room. "Hang on Tali, I'll get it open."
"Hurry, it's getting hotter in here."
I left Jack and Grunt to their play and raced over to the valve. After gunning down a drone that sneaked up on me, I pulled the lever and the gate opened with a hiss.
"The gate's open. Moving forward!"
We encountered heavier and heavier resistance, with more drones flying in for each one we killed. I had just blown a hole in a drone head when the one behind him suddenly leapt into the air and arched its back as though it was suffering a seizure. It glowed and crackled with a strange yellow energy, and then it spoke directly to us.
"ASSUMING DIRECT CONTROL. I WILL DIRECT THIS FIGHT PERSONALLY."
"Concentrate fire on that bastard!" I yelled. Something weird was going on.
Jack and Grunt did as I ordered, but it became apparent that the transformed drone had erected a biotic barrier for extra protection.
"WE ARE HARBINGER. DIRECT INTERVENTION IS NECESSARY."
"Shut the fuck up!" yelled Jack, sending a shockwave of biotic energy at it. It sent the other drones flying, but crashed with little impact against the one calling itself Harbinger.
"Who's Harbinger?" Grunt asked me.
"Remember the fight on Horizon? I've seen this trick before, back on the Citadel with Saren. Harbinger's a Reaper. He's possessing the Collectors."
"So that son of a bitch is a Reaper? Let's teach it how to feel pain," snarled Jack.
God, I love that girl.
We poured our fire into the transformed drone, and blasted it to pieces. We were a little shocked when the same thing happened again.
"THIS FORM IS IRRELEVANT."
I made a snap decision. "It'll just keep going round and round in one big circle jerk! You two, kill the rest of the group while I distract it!"
As I tried to break through Harbinger's barrier, Jack and Grunt slaughtered the rest of the drones. Then they helped me tear apart the remaining Harbinger-possessed drone. Finally there was blessed silence.
"Okay, let's write that down in the Shepard doctrine. The next time we see Mister Brain Invader, that's how we deal with him."
"Shepard? I'm stuck again. Could you release the next valve?" Tali called.
"Oh, yeah..."
I hit the next valve and Tali moved on again.
"Eagle One, this is Eagle Two. We're encountering heavy fire. Hope you'll get those gates open on time," Garrus radioed in.
"Roger that. Let's move!"
We hurried on, fighting more and more Collectors. Honestly, if it was anyone other than Jack and Grunt beside me, I'm not so sure we would have made it. But we had fought side by side for so long, we shared an understanding that was almost telepathic.
I would take a bullet in the throat for Jack, and I couldn't look weak in front of Grunt. The two of them spurred me on to perform almost superhuman feats of agility, precision and endurance. And there was the fact that our skills complemented each other's so perfectly. The Collectors kept coming in waves but we beat them back again and again.
"Should be near the end now, there's one last gate blocking my way!" Tali reported.
"Hang in there, darling, I've got a ton of ugly between me and that switch."
"Hurry Jack! Keelah se'lai," Tali said to me.
I switched weapons to assault rifle, intending to blast my way through the mass of drones. But there were too many, and I'd used up my last grenade.
"Jack," I said, taking cover behind a wall. "Can you fire off one last shockwave for me? Tali's trapped in there."
Jack was doubled over, hands on her knees, panting heavily. She had been fighting and fighting, hardly catching a breath between targets. She lost herself completely in the heat of battle, running on pure adrenaline, mind blank of everything except death. But that kind of intensity took its toll and she was close to burnout.
She looked up at me, sweat pouring off her face.
"Just tell me...where to aim."
"Right there," I said, pointing.
"For you," she gasped, and an arc of blue biotic energy surged like a freight train straight through the mass of drones. They were sent flying.
"Fuck yeah! Grunt, CHARGE!"
The two of us leapt out from behind cover and barrelled straight towards the heat exchange valve, trusting in our shields to save our lives. There were two drones directly in front of the switch and they raised their weapons when they saw me coming at them. Without hesitation I hit the floor baseball style and avoided their fire while shooting at them from the waist up. They collapsed, I slammed into the wall and hit the switch a second later.
"That's it! I'm accessing the gate controls now!" yelled Tali in my ear. The huge, smooth gates shuddered and began to creak open.
"We should go, Shepard!" roared Grunt, punching a drone so hard I swear its skull turned inside out.
"Where's Jack? JACK!" I screamed. But there was no sign of my convict. "I'm going back for her!"
I took off without a second glance. I ran, dodged gunfire mostly by sheer luck, and shot drones whenever I had a clear shot. I headed towards the wall I was previously hiding behind and found Jack out cold on the floor, blood all over her face. She had pushed herself too far to summon up the last shockwave I had asked for and knocked herself out.
Heart hammering in my throat, I put two fingers on her neck and almost collapsed with relief to feel a pulse. She was alive. But unless I did something, all three of us would wind up dead.
I slung Jack over my shoulders in a fireman's carry and dialled up my shields to their maximum strength and range. They would burn out after a few seconds, but those seconds were all I needed. I had to get to the gates.
I burst out running like my life depended on it, zipping around the drones. Terror lent me strength and I weaved my way through the mass of black, praying I would make it.
Grunt saved us, that big beautiful ugly bastard. Without any regard to his personal safety he took a running leap and landed literally in the middle of a crowd of drones. At such close range, his shotgun decimated their ranks with each blast. It was enough of a distraction for me to reach the gates. I set Jack down on the floor and covered her with my own body, shooting from my own prone position in a desperate attempt to help Grunt.
"We're in position, we need this door open NOW!" I bellowed into my headset.
"Something's wrong, the door's stuck!" said Tali desperately, only inches away from me on the other side of the door, but a world away.
"Come on Tali, you can do it. I know you can do it. Get this door open," I said with a calm that belied the situation I was in. Grunt was being pushed perilously close to the edge of the platform and I could see more and more drones flying in. Jack was still unconscious.
"Got it!" she screamed, and the door slid open. I dragged Jack through it, made sure she was behind cover and went back for Grunt.
"Let's go, Grunt!" I screamed, firing continuously in the crowd of drones that surrounded him. Mercifully he heard my order and began doubling back to the now open door.
"Fall back!" ordered Garrus. His team had arrived right on time and were backing us up. "Lay down suppressing fire, don't let anyone through that door!"
Grunt and I made it, but it wasn't over yet. The big lizard shoved me out of the way and stood in the open doorway, roaring defiance at the Collectors outside and shielding the rest of us from their fire. Then I heard the unmistakeable sound of a rocket being fired.
"GRUNT!"
But before it could reach him, Tali worked her magic and the door slid shut. The rocket slammed into the closed doors, making them shake, but at least we were safe. For the time being.
"You all right?" I said to Grunt. He was bleeding from a dozen places and his armour was pitted and singed, but the fire in his eyes had not dampened one bit.
"Never better," he said, grinning his crocodilian grin.
"Good. Nice work Tali, I knew you wouldn't let me down. You too Garrus," I said wearily. The adrenaline rush was beginning to wear off. I went over to Jack's side, but she had woken up and was looking confusedly around at her new surroundings.
"Where the fuck am I?" she asked.
"We made it. We're past the first gate. Couldn't have done it without you," I said, then bent down and gave her a long, deep kiss before giving her a chance to reply.
"Hell of a first date, Jack," she said dazedly when I broke the kiss.
"The night's still young. The fun's not over," I said.
"Commander," cut in Miranda urgently. "I think you need to see this."
We had arrived at the central chamber that EDI had pointed out to us not too long ago. We speculated that it would be where the Collectors were holding our crew and any surviving colonists. We turned out to be right.
There was a woman suspended in what appeared to be a containment pod, similar to the ones used by the Collectors on Horizon and witnessed by Joker during the Normandy hijack. It reminded me of fantastically ancient, prehistoric insects that were preserved in amber back on Earth, or Egyptian mummies in their sarcophaguses. Instead of some decaying corpse however, they were clearly the colonists who had been abducted during the last Collector attack. She was floating in some kind of greenish liquid and appeared to be unconscious.
"There's more over here!" cried Mordin. I looked where he was pointing and my heart leapt when I saw the faces of my crew. The Collectors had stashed them all in one spot.
There was a hiss of escaping steam, and to my horror the colonist's skin literally began melting off her body. Her eyes snapped open, and her mouth opened in a silent scream of terror. I couldn't hear anything, but it was clear what was happening.
"She's still alive! Get these people out NOW!"
I hammered away at the pod with the butt of my assault rifle, but the poor woman was disintegrating before my eyes. She hammered on the pod window with bloody fists, leaving slick trails of crimson all over the inside of the pod. There was a great gurgle, and what was once a young colonist disappeared down the bottom of the pod.
"Save the crew! Save the crew, goddamnit!"
Everyone was following my lead, trying to get the pods open, releasing the Normandy crewmen trapped inside. I saw Thane shatter the pod that held Kelly Chambers and help her out of it. Then I saw the pod containing Dr Chakwas.
"Karin! Karin, hang in there!" I yelled.
I slammed the butt of my rifle again and again into the pod, while Garrus dug his long fingers around the edge of the window and pulled with all his might. Finally, mercifully, the pod sprang open and Dr Chakwas collapsed into my waiting arms.
She appeared to be breathing, none the worse for wear. I loved the doctor like family, as Dr Chakwas had been for the rest of the Normandy crew. She had abandoned everything because she believed in me and my cause. If she had died, I would have never been able to forgive myself.
"Karin, are you alright?" I asked urgently.
Dr Chakwas blinked, and looked up at me.
"John?" she said dazedly. "You...you came for us."
I reached for her hand and held it tight.
"I'd never abandon you or any of the crew. Never." I pulled her close and she sobbed, shaking with relief. I felt like doing the same.
"Thank god you got here in time," stammered Kelly. She had lost the look of wide-eyed optimism and her voice was low, quick, and full of fear, nothing like the Kelly I knew. "A few more seconds...I don't even want to think about it."
"The colonists, they were processed," said Dr Chakwas quietly. "Those swarms of little robots...they melted down their bodies and pumped the liquid through these tubes."
Miles and miles of tubes criss-crossed the central chamber. They looked ominous and no one had a clue what they were used for.
"Whatever they're doing, it ends tonight," I swore.
"We've done well so far," said Miranda. "Let's hope we can finish the job."
I tapped my headset. "Joker? Can you get a fix on our position?"
"Roger that, Commander," replied the Helmsman almost immediately. A good sign. "All those tubes lead into a main control room just above you. The route is blocked by a security door, but there's another chamber that runs parallel to the one you're in."
"I cannot recommend that," cut in EDI. "Thermal emissions suggest that the chamber is overrun with seeker swarms. Dr Solus's countermeasures cannot protect you against so many at once."
"Conventional weapons are going to be useless," I muttered. "They'll tear us apart."
"Perhaps not," said Samara. "I might be able to generate a biotic field to keep them at bay. I won't be able to protect all of us, but I could get a small team through if they stay close."
"I could do it too," said Miranda. "In theory, any biotic could maintain this field. Shepard, who do you want to pick for the job?"
I looked at Jack, and she stared back at me.
"I want to do this," she said suddenly.
"You're not strong enough," I said.
"Don't you dare tell me what I can or can't do, you fucker. I'm doing this. And I'll kill you if you say no."
"I don't care if you kill me, I don't want you to get hurt!"
"We all hurt, Jack. But at least I get to choose why this time," she said to me.
I knew I was beaten.
"Jack and I will take a small team through the seeker swarms. Thanks for the suggestion Samara, but I want you with the other team to provide firepower for the diversion. Garrus will lead the second team as usual."
"No problem, Shepard, but could we use different code names other than Eagle One and Two?" asked Garrus.
"No."
"Very well. We'll keep the Collectors busy while you slip in through the back."
"What about us, John?" asked Dr Chakwas. "The crew and I are in no shape to fight."
"Commander?" said Joker. "We have enough systems back online to do a pick up, but we need to land back from your position."
"We can't afford to go back, John! Not now!" cried Miranda, ignoring the dirty looks the crew was giving her. "The mission comes first."
"We're not leaving them here, they'll never make it without help. I'll send someone to escort you and the crew, Karin."
"Thank you," said Dr Chakwas, pointedly ignoring Miranda.
"Dr Solus? Kasumi? Could you two help the crew back to the ship?" I asked.
"Mondai nai," said Kasumi, tipping me a wink. Mordin tapped his omni-tool.
"Joker? Need location of landing zone. Will meet you there shortly," he said.
I nodded. "We've all got our assignments. Let's move out."
"Moving out!" yelled Jack. "Stay close if you want to live."
We were going to be fighting in cramped, close quarters. We had no access to Jack's biotic might, as she would be busy maintaining the shield. Bearing that in mind, I sent Grunt with the other team, where Garrus would appreciate his strength in fighting the Collectors.
As much as I wanted to bring Samara along to provide biotic support for Jack, I knew she could do much more as part of Garrus's team. In the end I decided to bring Thane and Legion.
Despite not being a machine, Thane was actually more laconic than Legion. Both were crack shots and used to fighting their way out of tight corners. I hoped that would be enough to protect Jack as she navigated her way through the seeker swarms.
Jack's biotic field manifested itself as a large dome that surrounded us. It moved along as Jack did. Outside the dome however, bashing furiously against the barrier of energy, were millions of seeker swarm robots. It was clear to see that without the field, we would be covered in the bastard things in seconds.
"Garru...ere. Te...n...ositi...waiti...urther contact," came the message over my headset. The seeker swarms were apparently interfering with our radio communication.
"You ready for this?" I asked Jack.
"Let's go," she said grimly. We had gone no further than a few paces when...
"ASSUMING DIRECT CONTROL."
"Not him again! How many fucking times do we have to kill you?" screamed Jack at the possessed Collector drone. She dove for cover behind a pillar and we scrambled to keep up. "I can't fight back like this!"
It was all Jack could do to maintain the field, we would have to find some way to bring down Harbinger without leaving the protective bubble. I knew there was a reason I brought my best snipers.
"Go for the headshot, lads. Kill Harbinger last," I ordered Thane and Legion.
Crack. Crack. Crack. Crack.
Every breath, a shot. And every shot, a kill. Collector drones were dropping like flies, preventing Harbinger from possessing any new fresh bodies. Then the three of us picked him apart together.
"All clear! Ready to move out, Jack?"
"Hell yeah," she said, with renewed enthusiasm.
We rushed forward, deeper into the Collector base. Suddenly Legion spotted something we hadn't in the nick of time.
"Detecting hostiles, 57.8 meters at a 98 degree angle from this platform's current location," it warned. "Hostiles appear to be mutated husks known as Abominations. Suggestion: Targeting said Abominations will cause it to explode violently, thus potential for havoc within enemy ranks."
"Legion, my friend," I said, lining up the sights on my sniper rifle. "I couldn't have put it better myself."
"LEAVE THE DEAD WHERE THEY FALL. ONLY SHEPARD IS RELEVANT TO OUR INTERESTS. BRING HIM ALIVE."
"Not gonna happen, you son of a bitch!"
Legion was exploding Abominations with a beautiful thoroughness, always targeting the ones that would cause maximum damage to its fellows once exploded. One did so in close proximity to Harbinger and both of them blew up.
"Nice shot!"
Legion turned its big lightbulb of a face towards me, as if unsure how to respond.
"For god's sake, that was a compliment. Now let's move!" I yelled.
We hurried onward. Jack was visibly straining to maintain the field now, walking almost bent double, sweat pouring off every inch of her body. But she gritted her teeth and carried on, and there was little I could do but to follow her lead.
"Oh dear. Scions," noted Thane, in the tone of voice one would use to describe something as inconsequential as a glass of spilt milk. There were a pair, with a ton of husks backing them up.
"Commander, I believe this would be the perfect opportunity to test the weapon I took off the battlefield at Horizon," said Thane.
"What weapon?"
"The Collector beam rifle," the assassin said, bringing it to bear. "I believe it will work well against Collector armour."
"Give it a shot."
Thane stood stock still for a moment, calibrating distance, angles, wind resistance for all I knew. Then he lifted the rifle and fired.
The scion didn't just go down. It caught fire and blew up. I jumped for joy at the sight. Mercilessly Thane turned the beam onto the other scion, and then the horde of husks. They flamed and died one after the other.
The beam rifle finally ran out of juice and Thane tossed it aside. "Served its purpose," he pronounced.
"You did too Thane, that was fucking marvellous!"
A hint of a smile creased Thane's green features as he unlimbered his regular sniper rifle once more.
We hurried down the ramp leading to the control room door.
"Trying to...hold on," gasped Jack. "I can see the entrance...we need to get there soon!"
"Hang on Jack, please hang on," I pleaded, running by her side, my mind a whirl. All I could think about was getting Jack to safety. She staggered on, arms stretched out in front of her like she was trying to hold back a tidal wave.
"Hold on, we're almost there!" I said.
"We need to vacate this area immediately, Shepard-Commander."
"Just a few more steps!"
We made it to the doors, and Jack spun on her heel to face the army of Collector drones that were running towards us. With a gargantuan effort she summoned a hammer blow of energy and let it crash outwards, turning her defensive field offensive. The shockwave decimated the ranks of the drones.
"AAARRRGGGHH!" she screamed, letting all her rage loose in one biotic bolt.
The doors slammed shut behind us, and we were safe. Jack stumbled up to me and I wrapped her up in my arms. She clung to me and brought my lips down to meet hers. She tasted of blood and sweat and I had never tasted anything sweeter.