Finding a way: Mass effect 3

Mars - part 1

"Yes, ma'am."

"Liara, lead the way."

She took them to the upper level and down a hallway toward the controls for the tramway. They hugged the walls on either side as they approached the doorway at the end of the hall. Two commandos flanked the door on the far side. Aubrey signaled for him to take the one on the left while she took the other. Their shots rang out in unison taking both guards through their helmets, dropping them to the floor.

He moved up and hacked the door while the others covered him. The room beyond was clear. Shepard moved to access a control panel while Liara attempted to access security feeds to see what Cerberus was up to.

"I can't access the live feeds, but..." she mumbled to herself, bringing up an older recording of a woman that had entered the room earlier.

"Who's that?" he asked.

"Dr. Eva Core," Liara answered. "She arrived about a week ago."

"Pedway is locked out, so no access to the tram from here," Aubrey said, looking up from her terminal.

"We can access the roof instead and find a way around from there," Liara replied, leading them out of the room and around the corner. They secured their helmets again before stepping out on the roof of the building. The wind had picked up out there and a garbled message from James came over the comms.

"Comman...dust stor...incom..."

"Wonderful," she said sarcastically, looking to the horizon and the wall of dust being propelled toward them. It wasn't a huge storm, but would likely be enough to impair visibility and garble communications potentially for several days.

They picked up the pace and crossed to the airlock on the adjacent building that accessed the tram. It was wide open.

"This shouldn't be open," Liara stated, as they cautiously moved through the door. The power was off in the room they entered, a small dining hall according to her, so they turned on the flashlights on their weapons....and saw the bodies.

"Jesus," he cursed, "they vented the atmosphere with the people in here."

"A cruel, but effective way to take out a large group," Liara commented.

Aubrey was staring at the blue lips and sightless eyes of the nearest victim, her face a mix of sorrow and seething anger. Noise from the adjacent room caused them all to refocus and duck into cover, dousing their lights. Through the glass separating the two rooms they were able to see several Cerberus troops sweeping the area.

"What are our orders?" one asked.

"There's an Alliance force in here somewhere. Our orders are to neutralize them," the other replied.

"I'll get the glass out of the way. You two be ready to take them out," Aubrey whispered to them, commando-crawling across the floor until she was beneath the windows. She carefully reached up and stuck a small charge to the glass, arming it. She ducked down and brought up her omni-tool interface. She briefly met both their eyes to confirm they were ready before hitting the detonate button, covering her head as shattered glass rained down on her.

He broke cover and warped one of the troops, following it up with several bullets at the second, while Liara dealt with the third one.

"Nicely done," Shepard said, vaulting through the broken window. They moved to the small security station in the far corner where the bodies of three Alliance marines were slumped in their chairs. He moved to the environmental controls and re-pressurized the room. Liara was able to access a recording of what had happened and they watched on the monitor as Dr. Core moved into frame and mercilessly executed the men.

"You were right, Kaidan," Aubrey said, removing her helmet, "they had inside help. Good read."

"My conclusion wasn't entirely correct," he admitted, trying to convey some kind of apology with the words for thinking that it had been her.

She smiled sadly, saying, "You thought I had somehow given them access."

He shrugged slightly and looked away, not able to meet her gaze.

"I know my words won't convince you, so I'll save my breath. You were always stubborn," she said, smiling gently at him.

That smile, he thought, God, how I've missed that smile.

He grinned back, "Me stubborn? You're the one who the term 'stubborn as fuck' was invented for, remember?" She smiled wider. "A descriptor, which I might add, is becoming rapidly inadequate for you these days."

"Well," she said taking a step toward him that made his pulse quicken, "let me know if you come up with something better then."

For one brief moment, it felt like it used to - the two of them on a mission, flirting despite the danger.

"I got it!" Liara's cry of excitement broke the spell, drawing both their gazes. "The tram controls are through there." She gestured to the door she had hacked.

"Good work," Aubrey nodded at her. "Let's go."

After clearing the squad of commandos out of that room, they attempted to access the tram controls, but were locked out and unable to bypass or override the system.

"You think Cerberus will send a tram over if we ask really nicely?" he joked.

"Oh sure," Aubrey joked back, "They may even bring snacks."

Liara shook her head in disbelief at their banter, but couldn't hide the ghost of a smile on her lips.

"What if..." he started, an idea forming in his mind.

"What is it?" Shepard asked, turning instantly serious.

"If we found a short-range communications device – helmet to helmet – we could use it to convince the Cerberus forces we're on their side and the Alliance had been taken out. They won't send a tram for us, but they'd probably send a tram to extract their people."

"Good idea, Kaidan. Let's see what we can find."

They moved to start checking the bodies and it wasn't long before he found one that had what they were looking for.

"Over here," he called, moving to lift the helmet to access the device. "Holy shit," he said once he had, pulling back at the sight of the man's face. His eyes were opaque and lines of black and blue cybernetics crisscrossed it. "He looks like a husk."

"Yeah, Cerberus definitely did something to him," Aubrey said, kneeling down and retrieving the device.

"Like what they did to you?" he asked.

"How the hell can you compare me to that?!" she asked incredulously.

"Aubrey, I don't know who or what you are since Cerberus rebuilt you. The Illusive Man could be controlling you somehow or you could be a sleeper agent primed to turn on us when he gives the word."

The words came out of him in a rush before he had a chance to think. Pain flashed across her eyes and she reeled back almost as if she had been physically struck. She swallowed hard once and then a mask of cold indifference came over her features as she replied, "You're right Kaidan. I'm just the Illusive Man's monster." It was like someone kicked him in the gut and he instantly regretted the words as she turned away and brought the comm to her face, speaking before he could say anything more.

"This is Delta team reporting. Anyone copy?"

"Where the hell have you been?" the response came.

"Cleaning up. Alliance hostiles have been neutralized. We're awaiting extraction."

"Echo team is on route. Hold your position."

"Copy that," she said, ending the transmission and dropping the comm device.

"You think they bought it?" Liara asked.

"We'll know soon enough. Flanking positions," she ordered, pointing to crates on either side of the tram's arrival bay. "Liara take the right and Kaidan left."

"Where will you be?" he asked.

Her voice was ice, "Front and center as the welcoming committee."