Mass Effect: The Complete Novels 4-Book Bundle (116 page)

In addition to the tight quarters there were other obstacles. They included the desiccated bodies of dead rats, a dust-encrusted maintenance bot that had to be pushed ahead of him until it could be shunted into a side shaft, and a fan that had to be stopped and dismantled before the party could proceed.

Now, as Hendel came upon an intersection, it was
time to check the map yet again. According to the schematic the time had come to make a left turn. Hendel made use of a small cylinder of spray paint to sketch a luminescent arrow onto the interior surface of the duct. Later, when the combat team came through, the directional markings would enable them to move quickly.

“We’re getting close,” Immo said, from further back. “Or that’s the way it looks on the schematic. I doubt the biotics went to the trouble to install sensors inside the ducts but you never know. Keep your eyes peeled.”

Hendel’s eyes
were
peeled and the last thing he needed was to have one of T’Loak’s functionaries telling him what to do. But he managed to conceal his annoyance by answering with a grunt instead of words.

Having completed the tight left-hand turn, Hendel passed a side duct through which air was flowing from a heavy-duty fan, and hit a straightaway that led to a spot where some light could be seen. From below? Hendel hoped so as he elbowed his way forward and tumbled into a spacious metal box where four ducts of various shapes and sizes had been married together many years before.

Once inside the junction box Hendel was forced to make room for Immo and Pa-dah. Then it was time to look down through some dirty grillwork onto the cavern floor some thirty meters below. And that’s where a couple dozen people could be seen, all gathered around a single individual, who was leading a group exercise. Hendel tried to identify Gillian and Nick but couldn’t do so with any certainty. But they
were there, he felt certain of it, and wished that the attack could take place immediately.

“Nice work,” Immo said, as he peered down through the grate. “We’ll go back, prep the team, and give these people a surprise they won’t forget.”

It was, Hendel decided, the one thing they could agree on.

The crematorium’s mass converter was located at the center of a bowl-shaped depression where it was surrounded by forty-eight fluted columns. Like so many things on the ancient space station, the exact origins of the facility were uncertain. Some said the crematorium had been a temple once, and Mott thought that was possible, given the beauty of the place. Not that it mattered so long as it could serve the purpose she had in mind. And that was to use the facility as a venue for the coming handover.

So as a salarian funeral procession entered the amphitheater-like space and followed a gently sloping ramp down toward the glowing mass converter, Mott took a seat in the top row of the curving bench-style seats and settled in to watch. And to figure out where each one of the Illusive Man’s assets should be placed. Other spectators were present as well, including beggars, food vendors, and the merely curious. A woman with a tray of religious medals approached Mott and the Cerberus agent waved her off.

The salarian death chant had a repetitive quality, and even though Mott couldn’t understand the language, the sadness inherent in the words didn’t require translation. Unfortunately, except for people like T’Loak, most of Omega’s residents couldn’t afford
to ship dead bodies off-station. And there wasn’t enough space for a cemetery. So most corpses were cremated. That included dozens of nameless victims who had fallen prey to the rampant crime on Omega. They were routinely taken to the morgue where they were held for two cycles. Then, if the bodies hadn’t been claimed, they were “processed.” A euphemism for an assembly-line-like process in which dozens of bodies were fed into the mass converter without so much as a cursory prayer.

But in this case it appeared that the salarian had probably died of natural causes and had enough money to pay for a more dignified departure. The coffin, which was borne on the shoulders of four males, was heavily embossed with hieroglyphics that looked a lot like circuitry. The pallbearers handled their burden with great dignity and made their way forward with a distinctive slide step.

What Mott liked about the site was the fact that it was fairly contained, the tightly spaced columns would make it impossible for a large number of adversaries to flood the amphitheater at once, and there were open lines of sight back and forth across the bowl-shaped interior. Plus, thanks to the fact that they would have to enter via the single entrance, the biotics could be channeled down the ramp.

Of course, that was when things would get interesting. The Cerberus operatives might be outnumbered and, with no Level 3 biotics of their own, vulnerable to “throws” and all the rest of it. So in order to level the playing field a bit, Mott planned to have a surprise ready. But would it work? Even with the advantages that the venue offered there were so many
variables that even the most carefully conceived plan could easily go awry.

As Mott laid her plans the mourners formed a semicircle in front of the converter. The pillar of iridescent light shimmered brightly as if eager to consume anything fed into its coruscating maw. Once inside, the object would be transformed into energy, thereby completing the age-old rhythm of creation, destruction, and rebirth.

There was a platform at the end of the ramp and directly in front of the converter. The coffin had been placed on it. And as the chant grew louder, the salarian in charge of the ceremony touched a button, and one end of the flat surface fell. That sent the beautifully decorated coffin sliding into the column of fire. It vanished in a momentary flash of light. The funeral was over—and as the mourners left Mott did as well.

Nearly a full cycle had elapsed since the scouting mission had been completed and the attack on the cavern was under way. Except that Hendel thought of an “attack” as an all-out assault on an enemy-held position rather than a long-drawn-out slither through a maze of interconnecting ducts. Adding to his sense of dissatisfaction was the fact that while he was the one who had discovered where the biotics were hiding, and led the scouting party the day before, Pa-dah had been named to lead the six-person aerial team. But some role was better than no role, especially since his participation meant he would be one of the first people to enter the biotic stronghold.

Having been given no other choice Hendel was forced to accept his position as the people in front of
him elbowed their way forward, air whispered past his ears, and his headlamp played across a pair of worn boot soles. The close quarters meant that none of the mercs could wear anything more than light armor—or carry any weapons other than light machine pistols. The exceptions being two of T’Loak’s biotics who were supposed to protect the rest of them from the Level 3s they expected to encounter inside the cavern. Would Gillian and Nick be among them? Quite possibly. And if Gillian was there which person would he encounter? The naive teenager he was sworn to protect? Or the killer she had become? Each was equally possible.

In spite of the long crawl the aerial team made good time thanks to the updated schematic that Pa-dah could reference and the directional arrows Hendel had spray-painted onto the ductwork. One after another they tumbled into the junction box, which was barely large enough to hold them. Then it was time for Pa-dah to give some last-minute instructions while two of the mercs prepared the drop lines. “Okay,” the batarian said, “we’ll do this the way we planned it. The objective is to hit the floor in one piece. Then we’ll engage the guards and draw them away from the entrance.

“That may be all we can accomplish. But if things go especially well I will try to find Kai Leng and take him prisoner. Meanwhile Hendel will attempt to open the gate from the inside. Are there any questions? No? Then let’s get going.”

A plasma torch was used to carve a hole into the center of the grate, and when the metal disk smacked onto the floor many meters below it sent a cloud of dust
into the air. A biotic looked up, saw the invaders sliding down the drop lines, and shouted a warning. A well-aimed burst from a merc cut him down. That was when the defenders began to fire upward—and used their biotic abilities as well.

As Hendel slid down the rope he saw a merc on line two ripped off the rope. She screamed as she fell toward the rock-hard surface below, hit with a sickening thud, and lay broken on the floor. A small cloud of dust marked her location.

But in spite of that most of the invaders were able to make it down untouched. That included Hendel, who saw two female biotics rushing toward him. He threw up his hands, willed a singularity into existence, and plucked the defenders off the ground. They were floating helplessly at that point, feet kicking, as he drew his pistol. One of the defenders was an asari. The other was human. Both wore armor without helmets. So Hendel put two rounds into each head. Their bodies went limp and he allowed them to fall.

Hendel was about to engage another biotic, the turian who seemed to be in charge, when a shockwave hit him from behind. The force of the blow threw him facedown. And when Hendel managed to roll over he found himself staring up at Nick Donahue and the business end of a large-caliber pistol. “Mr. Mitra!” Nick exclaimed. “What are you doing here? You killed Marisa!”

Fighting raged all around and Hendel was dimly aware of a ground-shaking
BOOM
as he propped himself up on his elbows. “Marisa? Was she your girlfriend?”

“Yes, damn you … We were going to get married.”

“I’m sorry,” Hendel said. “But you brought this on yourself. Remember what Kahlee and I taught you? Those who use their biotic powers to hurt people will pay. It’s just a matter of time.”

“You bastard,” Nick said through gritted teeth. “You rotten bastard. First you kill Marisa and then you have the balls to claim that it’s
my
fault. Good-bye, Mr. Mitra. You can preach to the people in hell.”

“Where is Gillian,” Hendel demanded. “Is she alive?”

He saw the spark, but didn’t live long enough to hear the report, or feel the projectile smash into his forehead. Nor did Hendel see one of T’Loak’s Level 3 adepts smash Nick to the ground. Their bodies lay two meters apart.

T’Loak was leaving very little to chance. Two guards, both stationed outside of the steel door, had been killed by snipers before they could give an alarm. Then a small army consisting of more than two hundred mercs had swept into the area, taken control of the adjacent shantytown, and sealed off the street that ran in front of the cavern. “No one goes in—and no one comes out.” That was the order T’Loak had given to Immo.

Then, after receiving a radio message from Pa-dah, T’Loak’s forces had blown the outer door. The dust was still swirling as a phalanx of mercs charged past a couple of vehicles into the tunnel beyond. Immo came next, followed by T’Loak, and the humans. Kahlee and Anderson were useless baggage insofar as the Pirate Queen was concerned. But she didn’t mind them coming along unless they got in the way. And who knew? If she was lucky one or both of the meddlesome pair would be killed during the fighting.
Her
goal was to find Kai Leng. So as T’Loak led the
way Kahlee and Anderson were right behind her with weapons at the ready.

The group was about halfway through the tunnel when another explosion was heard and the second gate collapsed inward. The mercs went in firing. One was hurled backward, his arms flailing, as a biotic threw him. Another shook spastically as a hail of projectiles chewed through his armor and pulped his vital organs.

T’Loak might have been hit as well but wasn’t. She was safe inside the biotic barrier that one of her Level 3 adepts had created to protect her. As a result the only thing on the asari’s mind as her entourage swept into the compound was the need to locate the man responsible for her daughter’s death. “Find Leng,” she ordered grimly, “and bring him to me.”

By prior agreement Kahlee and Anderson were determined to ignore T’Loak and go looking for Nick and Gillian. As T’Loak’s mercs passed through the second gate, and fanned out across the cavern’s floor, they followed behind. Kahlee saw a body, feared that it might be Gillian’s, and ran to check. But the moment that she knelt next to the bloodstained corpse she realized the woman was older. Kahlee was back on her feet when Anderson’s voice flooded her helmet. He was on a little-used frequency, which the two of them had chosen for personal communications. “Kahlee … Over here.”

The battle for control of the main floor was over by that time so T’Loak and her mercs were busy working their way up along the spiraling path. There were sporadic bursts of gunfire as the invaders paused to
deal with biotics who had taken cover in side caves. So the danger was minimal as Kahlee made her way over to the point where Anderson was standing with hands on knees. “It’s Hendel,” he said. “And Nick.”

Kahlee uttered an involuntary gasp as she looked at what remained of Hendel’s face. He’d been shot at point-blank range. A pistol was laying not far from Nick’s out-flung hand, and Anderson was in the process of removing a second weapon from one of the boy’s holsters, as Kahlee dropped to one knee. She felt for a pulse. “I think he’s alive. Nick? Can you hear me? It’s Kahlee Sanders.”

Anderson removed the canteen that was clipped to his belt and splashed some water onto the boy’s face. Nick’s eyelids fluttered and popped open. He stared upward for a moment, as if reluctant to believe what he was seeing, and blinked. “Miss Sanders? I should have known that if Mr. Mitra was here you would be too.”

“How do you feel?”

“Bad … Real bad. But it doesn’t matter. Mr. Mitra killed Marisa.”

Kahlee remembered what Hendel had told her, about seeing Nick with a girl, and guessed the rest. “So you shot him?”

“Yeah … I was angry.”

“I’m sorry to hear that Nick. Hendel was a fine man and he deserved better. Especially from a person he was trying to help.”

Nick looked like he might cry.