“Shepard. Shepard! Wake up!”
She opened her eyes. Normal ceiling above her. Head rolled left. Well, if nothing else, at least it wasn't space or planetary re-entry. Shepard groaned and sat up, looking around for the source of the voice and finding no one.
“Thank god you're up. Listen, you're not supposed to even be awake yet, but a traitor on the station set all the security mechs to kill everyone in an attempt to keep you from waking up. And that's not the bad news. First, get a pistol and armor from the cabinet.”
Jane's body felt like it had been asleep for months if not years, but the feeling faded rapidly as she found the cabinet in question and geared up. The voice over the com system continued as she put ont eh armor.
“Security mechs are a problem, but they're not too rugged. The bigger problem is that she is on the station. You need to hurry.”
“Who is this 'she' I'm supposed to know simply from the pronoun?” Shepard couldn't help but interject as she double-checked the fittings on the armor and linked it to her omni-tool. “Also, this pistol's broken.”
“The pistol's not broken, it uses thermal clips which aren't currently loaded into it. You eject them out when they're at heat capacity instead of doing any venting, increasing rate of fire. Unfortunately, you're in a medbay, so there's not much need to store thermal clips for use there.”
The voice ignored Shepard's muttered, “And yet there's apparently need for armor and a pistol to be stored here?”
“As for who I'm talking about... Dr. Testarossa is on the station and heading straight for your location. She's killing anything in her path, mech or human. Get moving before she catches up to you.”
Shepard recalled the last time she saw Testarossa and winced. Yeah, it was definitely time to hustle. Just outside the medbay, she found a discarded cylinder on the ground, which the voice helpfully identified as a thermal clip as she expected. She made good time forward, mowing through the security mechs and mentally agreeing on the durability of the things.
Passing through a burst of flame didn't feel near as bad as if should have, even with armor and shields helping. She glanced back, thinking she saw someone watching from the balcony she had left, but no one was visible.
“Dammit, the mechs are moving on my location. Keep along this path and meet up with Jacob. He's trustworthy and will help you get to the shuttles. I'll meet up with you there.” Gunfire was heard. “Oh, and sensors report that Testarossa is nearly to you. Run.”
Jane moved quickly through the corridors and up a set of stairs. Someone was on the other side of a window screaming as a larger mech became visible stomping out of the smoke, before a rocket slammed them into the glass. It gazed at her then started to turn. The turn never finished as a golden energy swept across it several times and the entire mech crumbled to the ground in pieces. Behind it stood an armored form with what seemed to be robes or a cape that, in combination with the golden energy scythe blade on the staff being held, made the being look like the Grim Reaper from humanity's past. A red eyed, blonde haired personification of Death.
“Liara was nothing. That city was nothing. Do you know who I was? I was Death.” Jane blinked away the memory and swallowed as she met Testarossa's gaze. When the woman began making her way through the debris towards her with a smile, Shepard got moving.
She stopped a few steps past the door and started working to seal it, ignoring the gunfire going on directly in front of her. She worked harder, paying no mind to her shields decreasing and failing. The shot that came close enough that she felt the breeze of its passage, however, got her attention. Jane growled at the distraction, coalescing biotic energy around her arm as she thrust it out and closed her fist.
The energy surged forward, past a human male firing on mechs across the way, and split around to form a bit of a biotic sphere. The sphere then compressed, shredding everything within whether mechs, floors, walls, or doors. The energy faded away, leaving a shredded balcony area and ruined doors. With the fading energy, the barely audible tune in the back of her mind also faded, only really becoming noticeable to her with its absence. Shepard stared at her arm in disbelief.
“You're not a biotic.”
She moved her gaze to the man, working her mouth in an effect to come up with a reply while letting her arm drop. “Apparently, there were some side effects?”
He glanced over at the opposite balcony, then back to her. “Those are some side effects. I'm Jacob Taylor. Miranda told me she was directing you this way and to meet up with you.”
“Before we get going, could you seal this door tight?” Shepard pointed at the door she came through.
“Sure I can, but why?” Jacob pulled up his omni-tool and in short order the door was sealed closed.
“Testarossa's was approaching on the other side. I doubt that will hold her too much, but the extra time could be useful.”
“We need to go this way. Cut through service tunnels and a control room or two and come out at the shuttle bay.” He nodded and turned to the other door they could approach. Jacob unlocked the door as a golden blade of energy speared through the other door and slowly started carving through it.
Shepard brought her pistol up, and once a gap was left in the wake of the blade, she fired several shots through the hole. The blade withdrew and she followed Jacob through the opposite door. A glance back showed amused red eyes staring through the gap before the door closed. She turned to find Jacob talking to someone over coms.
He turned to her after ending the conversation, taking a moment to seal the door behind them. “Another survivor. He's directly along our path, so we can pick him up on the way. This way.”
They found the head med tech, Wilson, who was back on his feet with a medigel application. The reveal that it was a Cerberus facility had Jane verbally wondering if this incident counted towards the organization's track record of things going crazy, killing everyone, and taking over the base. Wilson was unamused. They continued forward, clearing the shuttle bay area.
“C'mon, through here.” Wilson moved up to the door to the shuttle, unlocking and opening it as fast as possible. Jacob and Shepard moved up beside him. As the door opened, he continued, “We're nearly to the-”
Whatever he was going to say was cut off with a scream as a golden blade briefly jutted from his torso, Wilson collapsing forward and to the side once the blade was removed. Jacob dove forward, turning as he came back up with pistol in hand. Miranda, standing on the other side of the door, shifted to the side and raised her pistol as well. Shepard spun around, inadvertently placing herself between the downed Wilson and his attacker. She hid her fear as she found Testarossa at the other end of her pistol.
Testarossa smiled. “Could you move aside? I only have two more humans on the station to kill.”
Behind Shepard, Jacob and Miranda moved to the shuttle and began prepping it for take off, one keeping an eye and a pistol on the situation. Shepard tilted her head. “What, I don't count?”
A throaty chuckle answered her. “I'd never kill you, sister.”
Jane narrowed her eyes. “I'm not your sister. I've never been your sister.”
Testarossa reached past the gun with her free hand and traced a finger along Jane's cheek. “That may have been true at one time, but perhaps some time you should ask Miranda about what exactly Project Rebirth does, given that she used it on you instead of their original plan.”
She glanced down at the still form of Wilson, past to the shuttle holding Miranda and Jacob, then finally back to Shepard. “Well, it looks like I won't get a full sweep for a second time. Until next time, sister!”
Jane could only stare as Testarossa turned and strode away, vanishing in a flicker of golden light. Miranda's voice reminded her of the situation, and she boarded the shuttle.