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ME2 Chapter 4 - Back in Action
🕑 Added 2025-08-16 10:50:08 +0000 UTCFreedom’s Progress
“Shepard, there’s a squad of security drones up ahead.” Tali’s voice crackled over the comms.
“Thanks for the warning; we’ll take care of them.” Jacob acknowledged Tali’s warning, and just in time, assault drones flew overhead, disappearing behind the prefabs.
Moving to the prefab ahead, they faced a single LOKI, which fell apart due to the gunfire before it could even be fully activated. Through the exit door, the drones they had seen seconds ago took position to fire, but Shepard activated his omni-tool, hacking the IFF system of the drones, and they ceased fire.
Shepard pressed his earpiece. “Tali, I hacked three drones; watch out for their IFF. I am sending them after any synthetics on the way.”
“Understood.” There was silence for a few seconds before Tali spoke again. “Damn it. Shepard, Prazza, and his squad rushed on ahead. I told them to wait, but they wouldn’t listen. They want to find Veetor and take him away before you get there.”
“It's fine, they can’t outpace us, we’ll see you there.” They weren’t far away, and with the drones, Shepard and his team would proceed faster.
“We should have expected this.” Miranda scowled, as if Cerberus was trustworthy in the first place.
Jacob was more positive about their prospects. “Come on, with Shepard, we’ll find Veetor before them.”
More assault drones were waiting for them down the catwalk, but between the drones he hacked and three biotics, they were torn apart without an issue, and his drones flew ahead once more.
“Shepard, we’re almost inside the loading docks. There is a heavy mech heading towards Prazza and his squad.” Tali informed them, and Shepard just sighed.
Miranda spoke again. “They did want to get to Veetor first.” And if you asked Shepard, she really needed to chill the fuck out.
“Let me know when you are ready and I’ll open the doors.”
“Do it.”
The doors opened, and Shepard could see Prazza’s team running away while the YMIR was too busy with the drones he hacked, but with its shields and machine gun, the heavy mech shredded the drones and pointed its weapon at the Quarians.
Shepard launched himself right on top of the heavy mech with a biotic charge, holding onto its head with one arm before activating his omni-blade, stabbing the mech right through its eye, twisting the blade to deal as much damage as possible, and summersaulting away as the heavy mech fell and exploded right at his back.
Prazza and his squad were looking at him with unreadable gazes, owing to their helmets.
Raising the Quarians to the air with his biotics, Shepard pulled the trio towards himself and squeezed his fist, and his biotics did the same to the three idiots.
“Next time you three cross me, Tali or not, I’ll kill you myself, are we clear?”
“Yes.” Prazza grunted, and his teammates followed suit, nodding frantically.
“Great.” Shepard tossed them aside like rags.
Ignoring the Quarians, Shepard and his team moved to the security control room, opening the door to find Veetor mumbling to himself.
“Monsters are coming back. Mechs will protect. Safe from swarms. Have to hide. No monsters. No swarms. No-no-no-no.”
“Veetor?”
The injured Quarian kept mumbling, too lost in his own mind to respond to Shepard. “No, Veetor. Not here. Swarms can’t find. Monsters are coming. Have to hide.
Scanning the Quarian’s vitals, which included a fever and a spreading infection that must be adding to his delirious state, Shepard shut down the security system, and Veetor stopped, confused, before turning to Shepard.
Getting up from where he was sitting, Veetor approached Shepard. “You’re human. Where did you hide? How come they didn’t find you?”
“Do you mean the Collectors?” He asked to be sure.
Veetor shrugged, sounding confused and still scared. “I … don’t know. They were monsters. The swarms. They took everyone.”
“We just arrived at the colony to find answers; we weren’t hiding.”
“You don’t know. You didn’t see. But I see everything.” Veetor turned back to the console, pressing buttons and playing the security footage, with the Collectors gathering humans inside pods, just like the one he had slept in for two years, with the same swarms flying around.
“Looks like security footage. He must’ve pieced it together manually.” Miranda’s grasp of the obvious was on par with Kaidan’s.
“So it is the Collectors. But how did they neutralize the entire colony?” Jacob knew the enigmatic aliens had advanced tech but struggled to imagine anything that wouldn’t leave a single trace behind.
“The seeker swarms. No one can hide. The seekers find you. Freeze you. Then the monsters take you away.” Veetor explained, arranging the screens to show the bugs, the exact kind Shepard had destroyed by hundreds in the Collector cruiser.
Questioning Veetor about what else he had seen regarding the swarms and how he had evaded them in the first place, Shepard at least learned something new out of this investigation.
Veetor suddenly walked to Shepard and grabbed him by the arms. “You’re Shepard, right? You kill monsters. Will you kill them too?”
Shepard gently pried the Quarian’s arms off. “Oh yes, every single one, so you don’t have to worry.”
Having calmed down with Shepard’s assurance, Veetor nodded and activated his omni-tool, passing data to Shepard. “Here. I studied them. The monsters. The swarms. I recorded them with my omni-tool. Lots of readings. Electromagnetic. Dark energy. Maybe it can help you.”
The readings were detailed and might just come in handy. “Thank you, Veetor; you were very helpful.”
“We should get this data to the Illusive Man. Grab the Quarian and call the shuttle to come pick us up.” Miranda opened her mouth again, and Shepard wondered if her catsuit was too tight and blocking blood flow to her brain.
“Miranda, he is sick; I already have the data, and I faced the Collectors firsthand. Why do you think he might know more than this and keep it to himself?”
“I…”
“Yeah, look. Half the time you act intelligent, and the other half like a total idiot who doesn’t think before speaking. Make up your mind, or I am just going to send you back to the Illusive Man for someone more competent.” One more stupid comment, and he would boot her off the ship.
“I understand, Commander.” Miranda nodded, and Jacob seemed to be trying to contain his laughter, much to her irritation.
Tali finally arrived, having torn a new one to Prazza and his squad. “Shepard, there you are. How is he?”
“Running a fever and an infection. He had lots of data on the Collectors, and I already took it. It's best if you take him to the fleet for medical assistance.”
Tali nodded. She had enough of this colony and was happy to leave. “Thank you, and again, I am sorry about Prazza.”
Shepard shrugged, seeing no reason for her to apologize. “Don’t be; it’s not like there is a cure for stupidity.”
“Good luck out there. If I find anything that can help you, I’ll let you know.”
“Thanks, Tali.”
“We’re ready for pickup.” Jacob called the shuttle, and they left the colony.
—-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Shepard was standing inside the QEC scanner once again, to talk to the Illusive Man.
“Shepard, good work on Freedom’s Progress.” Tim took a drag from his cigarette before continuing. “With your previous engagement with the Collectors and the data the Quarians took from the Collectors, we at least know how they operate now. You and I might have different methods, but I can’t argue with your results.”
“Right, with the confirmation it is them, I am going to need a ship capable of going through the Omega 4 Relay and putting the Collectors down.” Intelligence on the Collectors was limited, and the Council mostly considered them rumors, not worthy of their attention.
The Illusive Man took another drag. “I have no doubt whatsoever that you can single-handedly do that, but I prepared these dossiers, consisting of some of the best soldiers, scientists, and mercenaries across the galaxy. Finding them and convincing them to work with you would be challenging, but you are Commander Jonathan Shepard. I’ll continue to track the Collectors. When they make their next appearance, I’ll notify you and your team, should you choose to recruit them.”
If the man that was evading the Alliance for years thought they were good, then he would at least take a look. “More hands can’t hurt; I’ll see about the dossiers.”
“Good. First, head to Omega and find Mordin Solus. He’s a brilliant Salarian scientist, and between you two, I am sure a solution for the swarms could be discovered quickly.” Without a way to defend themselves against the swarms, a meaningful assault on the Collectors was out of the question.
“And the other thing?”
“I found a pilot you might like. I hear he’s one of the best.”
The QEC shut down, and Shepard turned around to see a familiar face. “Hey Commander. Just like old times, huh?”
—----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
“I figured it was you the moment he said ‘one of the best.’”
“Thanks, Commander. But where were you, exactly? The Cerberus cronies wouldn’t tell me anything.” Joker knew Shepard wasn’t dead but didn’t know anything else.
Shepard explained the circumstances behind his survival and eventual cooperation with Cerberus.
Joker snorted. “Figures, even a cruiser wouldn’t be able to kill you.” He remembered sitting there in the pod, having broken his hand punching the glass, only to see the Collector cruiser explode, knowing Shepard could be the only one responsible for it.
“Yeah, how did you get here anyway?” It was smart on the Illusive Man’s side to bring Shepard’s old teammates together to create an environment where he would be comfortable.
“It all fell apart without you, Commander. Everything you stirred up, the Council just wanted it gone. The team was broken up, records sealed, and I was grounded. The Alliance took away the one thing that mattered to me. Hell yeah, I joined Cerberus.” Joker sounded bitter, and Shepard honestly couldn’t blame him.
“Don’t worry, as soon as I am back at Citadel, I am going to set them all straight.” However, he could, and would, blame the Council and the Alliance.
His pilot grinned, knowing it was going to be an epic showdown. “Let me know the exact date so I can bring popcorn and drinks.”
“Do you really trust the Illusive Man?” This was actually a stellar opportunity for him to infiltrate Cerberus and find the Illusive Man, after figuring out how to track the QEC, of course.
Joker snorted. “I don’t trust anyone who makes more than I do. But they aren’t all bad, or at least they are lucky. They found you, let me fly, and there’s this. They only told me last night.” The lights inside the hangar bay lit up one by one, and Shepard could finally see the inside.
Inside was a frigate, built exactly like the Normandy on the outside but larger and in Cerberus colors, with Normandy SR-2 painted on the hull.
“It’s good to be home, huh, Commander?” Joker was grateful for the chance to be in a pilot seat, and in a more advanced Normandy, no less.
“She looks perfect.” Now if only Cerberus didn’t want to advertise that he was working with them by painting their logo on the hull.
—----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The hangar doors slowly opened, and the void greeted Normandy once again. The engines lit up, pre-flight checks were done, and Shepard was ready to save the galaxy again as the ship entered FTL.
—-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Shepard inspected the ship, a genuine smile eventually making its way to his face.
“Welcome aboard the new Normandy, Commander.” Jacob gestured to the brand-new interiors, though they could use some lighting.
“Thanks, Jacob.”
“I’ve been looking over the dossiers. If you intend to recruit those people, I highly suggest starting with Mordin Solus, the Salarian professor on Omega. We’ll need his help to devise a countermeasure against the Seeker Swarms.” Shepard nodded.
Miranda seemed to be on her intelligent streak again.
“Exactly my thoughts.”
“Acquiring Professor Solus seems like the most logical place to start.”
Shepard looked at the intercom where the synthetic voice came from. “An AI? Interesting.”
Jacob and Miranda looked at each other before he asked what was on their mind. “How did you guess?”
“Simulated emotional inflections in a synthetic voice, and since I didn’t ask anything of the VI, there should have been no reason for that answer.” Knowing Cerberus and how unnecessarily dangerous they liked to play with these things, Shepard knew something would come out of this.
The AI’s avatar appeared behind him in a blink, and it looked like a blue holographic mushroom. “Indeed, Commander. I am the Normandy’s artificial intelligence. The crew like to refer to me as EDI.”
“And what is your purpose in this ship?” What made Cerberus feel the need for an AI?
“I operate electronic warfare and cyber warfare suites during combat. Beyond that, I cannot interface with the ship's systems. I observe and offer analysis and advice. Nothing more.” And just as she appeared, EDI disappeared once again.
He would deal with any problems that would surface later. “Is the crew ready?”
“Yes, they are at their stations, waiting for orders, and speaking of stations, Jacob and I should return to ours.”
“Final preparations for takeoff are complete, Commander. When you’re ready to go, just pick a destination from the galaxy map in the CIC and I’ll plot a course.” Joker’s voice came over the comms, and Shepard felt home once again.
“Commander, come find us if you have any questions.” Miranda nodded and left, while Jacob saluted, which Shepard returned, and stepped up to the CIC.
