Erika Olhouser

Mass Effect OC/Private RP

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April 11, 2201 - Into the Great Wide Open

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Fifty-seven percent.

Kaidan stared at the datapad, letting that number settle into his brain. Slightly better than fifty-fifty, but not much. Not so low that he’d be crazy to try it; not so high that he’d be crazy not to. Like Olhouser said, he’d never be a functioning biotic again, not without the transplant—but if the transplant failed, he could end up being a non-functioning biotic with a permanently and thoroughly damaged brain.

“Yeah,” he said, his voice quiet. He did have more than one decision to make.

Removal of the L2 had its own significant risks—hell, that’s why they hadn’t done it when he was admitted. After thirty years, it was part of his brain, despite his brain not really wanting it. Removing it was a frighteningly complex prospect. 

Part of him was excited at the idea of a new implant, a proven one, one that didn’t have the issues associated with the L2. Another part was mourning the abilities his L2 had given him; there was no question that it had had its benefits in combat, something the new implant would not likely allow. Would he still be able to reave? Or perform the other biotic tasks he’d trained so hard to do?

And still another part of him was scared. This wasn’t a small decision. He had lived his life up to this point very aware of his luck regarding the L2. He found it difficult to sit here, now, contemplating how much brain damage was an acceptable risk.

“I’m gonna head back to my room,” he murmured. “Can I keep this?” He pushed to his feet, his movements slow and awkward, and tucked the datapad under his bad arm. “Look, uh, Dr. Olhouser, I…” He paused. “Thanks. For coming here. It was, uh, nice to see you. Can I call you?” His brows twitched as he realized how that sounded. “When I’m out, I mean.” That wasn’t much better. “To talk about…” He lifted his left shoulder, indicating the datapad.

[erikaolhouser]

Erika offered a sympathetic smile. The man had a lot on his mind. He did well to even remember she was there, had visited. That he seemed to fumble at politeness did not surprise in the least. 

She picked up the datapad and keyed open the interface. A few finger pecks later, she had appended her contact details to the exhaustive list.

"If you have any questions, don't hesitate to contact me. I keep eccentric hours, so don't worry about the time." 

She did not add that she hoped to hear from him. The general had enough to think about, and he'd had specifically asked her not to sell him on the product.

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April 11, 2201 - Into the Great Wide Open

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Olhouser wanted an eyewitness account for her research, something she’d been denied by the Alliance. Though she didn’t ask him outright, his brain wasn’t so fuzzy that he missed she’d implied a request.

Twenty years ago, Kaidan would have smiled and nodded, promising her what she needed. Not because she had a pretty face, but because he would have innately believed her to be on the side of the good guys. Even though he’d lived through Conatix’s screw-ups and BAaT, he’d never been betrayed, personally. That was before Udina’s attempted coup of the Citadel, a coup he’d almost aided; and his years as a Spectre had taught him that his attempts to hold tight to his integrity were rare. Most people valued the goal as more important than the means…particularly corporations driven by the need for credits.

Kaidan’s eyes flicked to Olhouser, then back to the datapad. He didn’t trust her. She seemed nice. Kind. A bit awkward, but then, so was he. But…that didn’t mean she was trustworthy. Corporations could almost be religions. Hell, cults.

He blew out a breath. “I’ll see what I can do,” he said.

With the Alliance keeping him out of the loop to recover, it wasn’t likely he’d be able to get any information anyway.

He shifted in his seat and his finger brushed across the link to the doc’s therapy plan, accidentally. The information he wasn’t ready to read popped up and he found himself skimming it.

His lips thinned. “How good are the chances with this?” he said, nodding at the data. “Don’t sell me, Doc. Every other ‘therapy regimen’ I’ve seen involves a high risk of brain—further brain damage. Or complete incapacitation, disability…hell, insanity showed up a few times as a possibility, too.”

[erikaolhouser]

Erika offered a genuine smile. "If this was a sale, Feltet would send someone more polished."

A salesman or woman, someone perfectly dressed and coiffed, personality oozing from carefully reduced pores, a glossy new datapad for the client to keep, only a small section of which would contain the pitch and the terms and the contract. There would be wine and nibbles (they probably called them something other than nibbles) and a view. Not too distracting, but definitely distracting.

Erika knew how to make a pitch, in theory. She knew how to do a lot of things in theory. She also understood that her exotic looks--a canvas of smooth brown skin, dark brown eyes and hair, well sculpted features and a shapely frame, make a good sales tool. Unfortunately for the executives at Feltet, her poise ended the moment she left the laboratory.  

The best that could be said about her was that she came across as earnest. Earnest did not sell medical solutions. Views and nibbles and free gifts did. 

Leaning forward, dark hair spilling over her shoulder, Erika tapped at the datapad, tagging key phrases until she had a list of bare facts.

"This is the no nonsense version," she said quietly. "I'll walk you through it."

And she did, from the risk of surgery to what could be expected from three possible outcomes: failure (not terminal), a successful transplant and the most optimal, successful integration. Risks were stated as bare facts. At the end, she showed him a small chart that she had compiled along the way, something like a cost-benefit analysis. 

"I've seen the scans of your brain. I rate the success of successful transplant at 57%. Successful integration is significantly higher, if you assume transplant." She looked at the general, her brown eyes warm and kind. "As you are now, you will never function as a biotic again. In addition, your condition might continue to deteriorate, particularly if the faulty implant is not removed. You have more than one decision to make, General."

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April 11, 2201 - Into the Great Wide Open

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Kaidan eyed the data Olhouser had pointed out. Though he didn’t profess to be an expert in biotics, not on the level of the doctor seated beside him, he understood more than just the basics. And what he was looking at was nothing he’d ever seen before.

At the doc’s description of what it had felt like to go up against one of those creatures, Kaidan shook his head. “Not quite like that,” he said. “It was…” 

He grimaced, remembering what he’d thought at the time, that it had been like the pulse from the creature’s gun had been trying to learn his biotics in order to sneak past them. But was that real? Or just something his messed-up brain pieced together after the fact?

Sighing, he continued. “It fired its gun at me, but I’d strengthened my barrier. It couldn’t get through. The beam from the cannon just kept going, though, and it was like…it was like it was trying to match my biotics. The frequency or…I don’t know.” He paused, frowning unevenly. “Maybe the L2 confused it?” 

He turned back to the datapad. “Whatever it was trying, it didn’t rip away my barrier or get through it. I expanded my barrier, pushing against the cannon fire, and detonated it near the thing. Killed it.” He gave her a rueful glance. “Guess the L2 was good for something, huh.”

[erikaolhouser]

Erika frowned at the datapad. "Your barrier would have had a different quality to the ones emitted by anyone wearing a ZB34 amp. Mine too." A wry smile cornered her mouth briefly. "Though what I can produce barely qualifies. Maybe that's why it was so easy to rip away."

A slender finger traced the plastic rim hiding the edge of her left ear. Erika did not have a combat specialized implant, nor did she use an amp unless she was testing. 

The data she had gathered indicated excessive 'leakage' among the wearers of the ZB34 amps, leading her to conclude their barriers had been absorbed. 

"If I'd been able to monitor your amp, I might have learned more," she mused.

Looking up, she studied the man next to her, noted the worry and tension etched across features that would normally have a warmer, more open appearance, and decided not to admonish him for carrying an L2 well past its expiry date. She wouldn't be telling him anything he did not already know.

Huffing out a short, resigned sigh, she said, "I asked after the testimony of the three surviving members of Team B. I have their telemetry, but an eyewitness account of what happened would help me interpret some of the data. The Alliance refused my request." She pressed her lips together. "Perhaps..."

Would it be rude to ask after the data? 

She shrugged. "It would help," she finished somewhat lamely.

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April 11, 2201 - Into the Great Wide Open

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Dr. Olhouser thought the attack on Paravin was more than an ambush. Kaidan’s brow furrowed as she continued, trying to follow her train of thought. Not that it was convoluted, it was just…difficult to let his brain pick up the pieces she was leaving, because he didn’t like the picture they made.

Creatures built specifically to take out biotic soldiers, deployed in an area known for Biotics Division training exercises. And no terrorist group had laid claim to the attack, not that he knew; nor had an alien government indicated it was an act of war. The ambush had served no purpose, other than to be an ambush. To pit the enemy’s forces against Biotics Division. 

Shit. It had been a test. Not of the Z trainees, but those things.

Kaidan reached forward with his good hand to grab the datapad and brought it back to his lap. After a few minutes of concentration and effort, he managed to move his left arm under the datapad in order to brace it so he could operate it with his right hand. The pad stayed put for all of thirty seconds before it shifted and almost fell. 

He caught it with his right hand and scowled, resisting the urge to toss it against the wall. Resisting the instinct to use biotics to do it.

He blew out a breath and glared at the datapad, then tried again. No matter how he concentrated, he couldn’t get his left hand to grip the datapad with any strength; the slightest pressure from his right hand sent it skidding across his lap toward the floor. 

“I need a table,” he muttered. Mouth set in a thin line, he handed the datapad to Olhouser with his right hand, then pushed himself up before grabbing his cane. “Let’s move over there,” he suggested, inclining his head toward a table not too far away.

He began shuffling toward it, trying to relearn his body’s new rhythm of movement.

[erikaolhouser]

They were going to examine the data now. Okay. Erika had supposed the general might prefer she... 

Oh, hell, she didn't know. Reading people and their intent had never been one of her strengths, she didn't spend enough time socializing. Now she was left standing by the window, pad dangling from her fingers again, while Alenko hobbled across the room like an old man. 

Unexpected sympathy plucked at her--not that she wasn't a compassionate being. She had seen him armed and armoured, though, a force, a presence even in the confines of the shuttle. Now he could barely walk. It had to...Erika suddenly understood his irascible attitude. Or thought she did.

Clutching the datapad in her hand, Erika followed behind, simultaneously trying to make her presence solicitous and unobtrusive. If  he needed a hand, she would be there, but she wouldn't offer her assistance unless he asked for it. Men--soldiers of both sexes--could be such proud people. Her thoughts ranged back over the report she had prepared, her hypotheses and conclusions. By the time they were seated at the table, she had the pad activated and the relevant data tagged and sorted into a list for him to scroll through.

She pulled out a chair, waited for the general to settle into it, then slid the pad in front of him. A slender finger tapped the first item on the list. "Look at this," she said. "These are the readings from when biotic fields were dis--" Pressing her lips together, she shook her head. "Not disintegrated, destroyed. Ripped away." She looked up at him. "Did it happen to you? It did to me, twice...three times, I think. I never felt anything like it."

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April 11, 2201 - Into the Great Wide Open

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He wasn’t expecting her to squeeze his arm. It was an odd gesture, out of place. They weren’t friends; they weren’t really even colleagues. They were two strangers who had happened to survive when so many others hadn’t.

Kaidan had thought about the events on Paravin a lot. As his mind cleared but physical activity was out of the question, he’d had little to do but think. He’d submitted his report to Hackett, who’d personally come to receive it and wish him well, but he’d heard little about any developments in the investigation. On the one hand, he knew obsessing about it wasn’t healthy, and there wasn’t anything he could do about it, even if they did discover who was behind it. It would be up to someone else, now.

God, that stung. 

“All right,” he said in response to her insinuation that it was time for her to leave. “Listen, uh…” He hesitated. “If you hear anything, about what happened…would you pass it along? I mean, you might hear different news, or rumours, or…I don’t know, something. I’m…not hearing much, and I’d like to know. You know?”

[erikaolhouser]

Were they deliberately keeping news from the general or did the Alliance Navy truly have no facts regarding the attack on Paravin?

Brows drawing low and together, Erika considered the man for a moment, then nodded, the gesture subtle--an agreement with herself rather than acknowledgement of his quest for news.

"I think the attack was more than an ambush. Data suggests those creatures were designed to defend against and neutralize biotic targets. The pulses and the..." A hand waved outward from the tangle of fingers in front of her. "The way they seemed able to suck a field out of existence." 

"Disrupting a biotic field is one thing, this was different. The energy was absorbed rather than allowed to disintegrate, discharge or reintegrate." 

Absorbed was the wrong word. It had been ripped away. A light shudder moved across Erika's shoulders and she narrowed them in protest. 

"I, ah, haven't heard anything official, General. This is all conjecture based on my own observations and analysis of available data. The telemetry from the amps is particularly interesting." She angled her chin toward the window sill. "I put it on the data pad for you." Perhaps that would entice him to pick it up. 

"Most of what I just told you was in my report to the navy. I was, hm, debriefed"--that would be the correct military term, she supposed--"shortly before being released from hospital myself." She raised a hand. "I was only here overnight. Observation."

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April 11, 2201 - Into the Great Wide Open

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Kaidan eyed the datapad dangling from Olhouser’s fingertips but made no move to take it from her. All right, that was a lie. His fingers twitched. Part of him wanted to snatch the information from her and pore over it, internalizing the hope she offered. A new implant? One specifically intended as a replacement for the L2?

Tightening his fingers on the chair’s armrest, he turned his attention to the window once more until he could tamp down the urge to grab the datapad. 

“I’m not in a big hurry to trust another corporation, Doc.” He found her eyes again, one shoulder lifting in a wordless apology. “In my experience, corporations cut corners. People become numbers. Ruined lives are little more than ticks on a page. Conatix screwed up, and how many people paid the price? Hell, look at me. I’m one of the lucky ones. I had a career, an amazing career, but I still ended up as useless as…”

He trailed off, the words leaving a sour taste in his mouth. He hated feeling this way; bitter, pessimistic, like the galaxy had grown a bit dim. He knew he was lucky. He’d lived with that for years, the knowledge that yeah, there were a lot of L2s out there in much worse shape. He’d had a good career. He’d had a good life, and it wasn’t done yet. He knew all that, and he knew he should be grateful. 

But, dammit, he was allowed to mourn.

He swallowed, forcing those thoughts aside. “How are you doing?” he asked. The change in subject was obvious, but he didn’t want to talk about his implant. “It was rough down there. You okay?”

[erikaolhouser]

He didn't trust her. Okay, he didn't trust Feltet. On the one hand, Erika understood why. Just because she spent twenty out of twenty four hours in a sterile environment--most days--didn't mean she didn't know what else went on in the galaxy. Pirate corporations, biological terrorists, dehumanization, unsanctioned experiments and so on. The list was as long as the imagination. 

Erika felt lucky to have been recruited by an organization whose mission statement and core ideals she came to believe in and trust, however. Of course, to say as much would make her sound like a parrot, or worse. She was a fellow, after all. A senior researcher. She had been with the same company for almost twenty years. 

She would leave the datapad and trust General Alenko's itchy fingers to pick it up after she had gone.

Before Erika could excuse herself, Alenko surprised her, however. 

"Ah..." It took her a moment to switch mental gears, remember how to respond to polite inquiry. "I'm fine. Thank you for asking." The answer sounded pat, even to her own ears, but she had none other to give. She was fine. Healthy, at least. 

She saw an opening and before she could censor herself, said, "We were lucky to get out of there." Did he take the loss of personnel personally? Erika couldn't tell. From what she knew, he probably did. She couldn't bring herself to parlay the observation into a plea for him to reconsider the data on the pad dangling from her fingers, however. Even for her, it seemed too mercenary. 

Laying the pad on the window sill, Erika turned, fidgeted, and then reached out to squeeze the man's arm. She did not think his need to hold her hand in the field stemmed entirely from fear. 

"I'm glad to see you are recovering." She meant it. "I'll leave you be, then."

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April 11, 2201 - Into the Great Wide Open

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Kaidan turned his head, slightly, at the sound of a throat being cleared. He noted the dark hair and the lack of a white coat, and pieced together who his latest visitor was. He looked back at the window as Dr. Olhouser started speaking, not in the mood to be congenial.

He didn’t want to turn her away, though. Fact was, she had come to visit him, something she wasn’t required to do. And he owed her a thanks. 

“I’ve been better,” Kaidan said, his voice more gruff than usual. He paused, realizing how brusque he sounded, and sighed. “Sorry, doc, not in a great mental space right now. Don’t take it personally.”

He shrugged, his right shoulder lifting, his left twitching. “Docs are saying I’ll recover most of my mobility. Eventually. Probably. Look…” He hesitated, his chin dipping. “Thanks. For helping. It’s fuzzy, but I remember…” How she’d held his hand, how she’d promised he would be okay. He shook his head. “You were there, and that was good. So…thanks.”

[erikaolhouser]

General Alenko was depressed. Erika recognised the clinical signs as well as the apparent emotional stress. At a chemical level, the doctor understood depression. As a human being, one devoted to finding answers to questions, she did not. Not really. Science had advanced to the point where most questions had good answers, if not definitive ones, and many medical issues could be solved--if caught early. Some could be prevented entirely.

She assumed his depressed state had to do with the fact he had a defunct implant and that his biotic abilities were essentially non-functional. To an extent, Erika could understand this. She had only a wisp of talent, yet she'd feel awkward and less without it. She had become used to pens answering the call of outstretched fingers and the soft bubble of protection in more dangerous climes. 

Perhaps her appearance was well timed. She had the answer to his, ah, mental space issues. Or so she believed.

Ignoring his gratitude--the solicitation of which had not been the purpose of her visit--Erika pulled the datapad from under her arm and waved it in front of the general.

"I have a suggested course of therapy here concerning your implant, General. I would encourage you to look at it. As you know, Feltet corporation has been developing and implementing advanced implants and amps for decades. One in particular is suited to your, er, condition. It was designed specifically as a replacement for the L2." 

She let the pad droop from her fingers and waited for him to either take it, or shoo her away. 

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April 11, 2201 - Into the Great Wide Open

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((Two weeks later))

Kaidan sat in the patients’ lounge, staring out the window. A fuzzy bathrobe in Alliance blue covered him from shoulders to calves, a gift from his mom. She’d already paid him a visit today, and he knew she’d be back tomorrow, and the next day, every day until he was released, and then some. She fussed over him, and he felt bad about that—he should be the one doting on her, not the other way around. But Citra Alenko was still spry, even pushing one hundred. He couldn’t say the same for her son.

His aging L2 implant had shorted on the battlefield. He’d known from the beginning it was a risk. Really, the only surprise was that it had taken thirty-some-odd years to go. There were no old L2s, after all.

It had caused a significant bit of brain damage, symptoms manifesting much like a stroke, and though the doctors assured him he’d regain most of his physical functionality, it would never be quite what it was. Long-term, he was looking at permanent weakness on his left side, though to what extent they couldn’t say. He’d probably be able to walk, eventually, without a cane, as long as he stuck with his physio.

His biotic abilities were another matter entirely.

They wanted him to keep the biotics offline indefinitely. His implant was still present—it had been too risky to try to remove it—and active. There was a good chance using his biotics would trigger another short, and God knew what would happen then. The docs were still talking about options and courses of action, with official-sounding, impressive words that all basically meant the same thing.

His career was over.

Sighing, he watched a shuttle swoop down from the clouds, and tried not to think of much of anything.

[erikaolhouser]

The mission to Paravin had been a disaster and a success, the former casting a pall over the latter, but not able to completely dim the lustre. The data retrieved from every amp, even those that failed (because their wearers were terminated--the terms felt both clinical and crass, but were easier to read, say, than offline and dead), had proven that the units did exactly what they were designed to do: clarify and maximize output by thirty-five percent. A significant achievement. 

Conditions had tested the amps beyond the bounds of simulated battle and they had performed beautifully. The board was pleased.

Had Erika not limped from the site, the shadow of death clinging to her with the smoke and haze of gunfire, she might have been more than pleased. She had put years into the project. But though the figures excited, after a fashion, and the glow of achievement beckoned, distantly, she found it hard to accept the cost. 

No, she had not planned the ambush--not the official story, but she had been there, she had seen those things--still, she felt responsible. It did no good to suggest soldiers might have visited the testing site for another purpose, encountered the same mercenary troop. Another team had not visited, hers had. The men and women wearing her amps. And whoever had met them there had known a biotic team would be arriving.

Guilt did not prompt her to visit the hospital, though the feeling of it--an oily roll of her stomach--accompanied her up the lift from the lobby to the patient lounge. Erika had used her contacts at the hospital to get information on General Alenko's condition. He had been cleared for visitors the day before. She imagined she would not be the most welcome visitor, but hoped the information she carried might explain her presence. And...she wanted to see him.

He wasn't her patient, not even in an unofficial capacity, but she had seen the fear of death in his eyes, felt it in the grip of his hand. Both haunted her, though she couldn't exactly explain why. She hoped a visit with the convalescent patient would erase those images. 

Pausing at the door of the lounge, Erika cleared her throat in a brisk manner--a well practiced gesture--and stepped into the room. 

"Good afternoon, General." She offered the man a subdued smile while her professional gaze darted from point to point: eyes, pupil dilation--not quite even, skin condition and pallor, the opposite corners of his mouth, jaw, hands, posture, attitude. He looked well, but not well. Brows crooking together, she asked, "I hope you don't mind me visiting." A hand gestured the door. "I can come another time if..." Belatedly, she remembered to ask, "How do you feel?"

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April 11, 2201 - Into the Great Wide Open

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The doc was no slouch in the brains department, he’d give her that. Or looks, either; something he’d noted absently on their first meeting. Getting to know her hadn’t been part of the mission statement, so he’d pushed that observation aside. Now, he stared up at her, trying to focus, trying to stay with her, without enough energy to appreciate the view.

A deep breath escaped him as she announced the creature was running away. He didn’t ask why; he couldn’t pull his thoughts together enough to form hypotheses, let alone voice them. The dizziness had settled into a sort of gentle rocking motion, something that could lull him to sleep, and his vision was going hazy, items too bright and too fuzzy. Strangely, the increased light didn’t hurt. 

A second face appeared behind Erika’s shoulder, one Kaidan hadn’t seen in years but even bathed in blue light, one recognized instantly. “Hey, Shepard,” he said. His lips tried to curve into a welcoming smile, but only half his mouth obeyed. “Bit late for the party.”

Another thing he didn’t question, that Shepard would be here now. It made sense to his muddled thoughts; they’d been best friends, trusted comrades, even if they hadn’t been more. Shepard had always had his back. 

“Not ready t’die,” Kaidan said, his eyes drooping. “Got stuff t’do. Got…stuff…”

He forced his eyes open again, his hand gripping the doctor’s. His gaze found hers and he held it, trying to use it as an anchor against the urge to let go, to sleep. It was a fight he couldn’t win, though, and somewhere deep inside, he knew that. 

Consciousness slipped away against his will.

[erikaolhouser]

The general was hallucinating--not a good sign.

Moving her head to the side, to whatever he had focused his gaze on, Erika said, "You're not going to die." 

Her voice trembled more than she would like and she had no idea if her expression confirmed her bold statement. Wisps of hair had escaped the long, dark braid down her back and clung to her cheeks. She swiped at them impatiently, and grimaced at the grime coating her fingertips. Maybe her mask of soot and dirt would hide the fact she was not entirely confident she could keep Alenko alive.

The brain could be a tricky thing. Sometimes it worked in a predictable manner, most of the time it did not. Add a biotic implant and amplifier and, well, calculating the odds became a fool's game. This was her field of expertise, though. She had studied the effect of Element Zero on the human brain for nearly twenty years. Losing a celebrated war hero, now, was not an option. 

Reaching for her tool belt, Erika snatched an all in one injection device and dialed the correct formula and dosage. She touched the tip to the general's neck and activated the injection. "You're not going anywhere yet, General. Stuff to do, remember?"

The shot might not rouse the man, but it should, at the very least, keep him from slipping too far.

She curled her fingers around his neck, feeling for a pulse. Her omnitool could measure it well enough, but feeling the slow but steady beat beneath her fingers was more satisfying.

"Dr. Olhouser? General Alenko?"

Tapping her ear, Erika answered, "Here. Ah, sending our coordinates." 

A few moments later, a dark figure emerged from the smoke wreathing through the wreckage. A second and third quickly followed. Fully armoured soldiers, long barreled weapons pointing the way. Erika tensed until she recognised the familiar Alliance logo, then she waved them over and began relaying instructions for the careful transfer of her patient.

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April 11, 2201 - Into the Great Wide Open

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He’d known, even before Olhouser began relaying the casualties, that it had been bad. Team A had been wiped out. There were three survivors on Team B, but God knew what sort of shape they were in. Half-formed questions buzzed in his head, but his thoughts were too fuzzy to really nail them down, other than: Who? Why?

What?

A buzzing from the doctor’s omnitool pulled him out of the daze he’d drifted into. It was getting harder and harder to focus. It felt like he was slipping sideways and right now the only thing keeping him from falling was Olhouser’s fingers threaded through his.

“Wha’s tha?” Dammit, speaking was getting harder, too. It had sounded like an alarm—just as Olhouser confirmed he couldn’t use his biotics, too.

Shit.

“Gimme my gun,” Kaidan said, trying to push himself up.

[erikaolhouser]

Gently, firmly, Erika pushed the general back down. "Don't move, General."  She assumed a stern expression, one she used to convey instructions that must be followed. "If there is any shooting to be done, I'll be doing it."

Jesus, holy mother of...

When had she last handled a pistol? Other than managing to whack it on the side of a crate without accidentally firing it. Should she move away from Alenko? Draw the creature's fire? No, she wasn't a goddamned hero. And if she let go of the general's hand, he sure as hell wouldn't lie still. 

Thoughts filling with curses normally reserved for the darkest days (this counted, holy hell this counted), Erika devised a plan. Fingers flew over holographic keys as she looked for what she needed. A sigh of relief as she found it pulled her shoulders down. Gripping the pistol more tightly, she leaned away from Alenko and aimed into the smoke. Took a breath, adjusted her aim slightly to the left and fired.

The shock traveled back up her arm. Erika rolled backwards, coming to rest against the general's hip. Her aim had been true, though. She'd hit power junction box. Sparks jumped and fizzed through the smoke. Jubilation bubbled as the creature moved off, the ping of the alarm fading. Then it turned and began moving back--directly toward them. 

Damn, it must have figured out the ruse and the trajectory. It had some intelligence, then. It wasn't just a pair of cannons on a horribly mutated body. 

Something whined and swooped overhead, an engine rumble. The creature turned again. Gun fire rattled from the direction of the extraction point and the creature froze. Then it moved off in the opposite direction. 

"It's leaving. It's...it's running away," Erika said.

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April 11, 2201 - Into the Great Wide Open

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“Spiked,” he said, then realized she might not know what he meant. He sought the right words to explain it, the technical words, but they escaped him. “Been getting high outputs over the past few years sometimes. ‘Specially when reaching.”

Reaching, grabbing, like he’d done against the thing that had cornered him. Had he reached too far?

“Got cornered by one o’ the things. Pushed my barrier at it, ‘n detonated it. Killed it. Blacked out.” His eyes drooped. “Think I…think I…”

He struggled to remember what he’d been about to say. Forcing his eyes open, he stared at Dr. Olhouser. A hand reached up, the movement awkward and ungainly, to grab her arm.

“No quitting. No quitting,” he said. Words he’d lived by, after. “Don’t lemme quit, Doc.”

[erikaolhouser]

"I won't let you quit," Erika said. 

As if fifteen years ago was yesterday, Erika remembered how to deal with a wounded soldier. She hadn't known at the beginning of the war and she hadn't had to be so oddly intimate with a veritable stranger since, but she instantly recognised two things: General Alenko was on the verge of slipping into shock and he was afraid. 

She slipped her arm through his grasp until she found his gloved hand. There, she folded her fingers around his in a strong grip. The display from her omnitool bathed their hands and half his face in an eerily warm orange glow. 

"Right here," she said. Tapping her ear, she attempted to send a message out. "Dr. Olhouser speaking. I found General Alenko. He is disabled." Meaning she would advise (strongly) against him moving. Answering his earlier question, she relayed the numbers of casualties. Her voice shook--she ignored the tremble. Then she turned her attention back to Alenko. "Do not, under any circumstances, try to use your implant." It had either ceased to function or had shorted. Any use might only add to the damage.

The fact that he was conscious was an encouraging sign. 

Her wrist buzzed--the proximity alarm. Biting her lips together, Erika cut the sound and watched as the large dot veered closer and closer.

[jumpzerobiotic-blog]

April 11, 2201 - Into the Great Wide Open

[jumpzerobiotic-blog]

Somebody whispered his name. Kaidan blinked his eyes open and forced himself to focus on the form hovering over him. The features didn’t want to coalesce into something recognizable. His eyes didn’t work right, his limbs didn’t work right, pain pounded through his head, and he just wanted to slip into darkness.

Suck it up, Alenko. No quitting.

Blinking again, then squinting, Kaidan made out Dr. Olhouser’s features. “M’here,” he said. “Anyone else make it?”

He shifted, trying to rise to a sitting position, then fell back with a groan as the pain in his head intensified. He hadn’t wanted to acknowledge it, but something was really wrong. This wasn’t a normal reaction to a biotics expenditure.

“M’in bad shape, Doc,” he said, leaning his head back.

[erikaolhouser]

The general appeared to be having difficulty speaking or enunciating. Erika quickly scanned his armour for breaches and found none. Debris clung here and there and a few scratches marred the dark surface, but there were obvious fractures. No clumps of gore. She'd like to roll him over, but needed to ascertain the nature of his injury first. 

Without answering his first question, she addressed the fact he was, indeed, in bad shape. "I need to get your helmet off, General." Without waiting for permission, she looked for the release, found it, and carefully eased the head gear away. 

No blood, no immediate sign of trauma. The left side of his face displayed visible slackness, however. The corner of his mouth drooped and there should have been more tension around his eye. The brow had lost it's quirk.

Activating her omnitool, Erika waved it across his forehead. "Scanning," she murmured. "Did you take a blow to the head, General? Neck? Back?" She let the diagnostic tool hover over the right side of his head and frowned at the readout. No obvious trauma to the cranium, but there was something off about the numbers. It looked as if he'd had a stroke, which should be impossible. Alliance soldiers were meticulously screened for clots. 

[jumpzerobiotic-blog]

April 11, 2201 - Into the Great Wide Open

[jumpzerobiotic-blog]

Kaidan’s eyes were open, his hands moving, before his brain caught up and realized that he was awake. He scrambled back, away from the smoking ruin of the creature that had attacked him. His arms and legs were slow to respond, particularly on his left side, and pain ricocheted through his skull. A migraine, a bad one. Only to be expected, after that.

Reaching a desk, Kaidan grabbed at the edge to pull himself up. He made it to his feet, only to dragged down again by dizziness. He closed his eyes, concentrating on breathing, trying to focus past the pain and the spinning of the room.

One clear fact remained: they couldn’t stay here. He might have killed the troops that had crowded the entrance, and that thing, but there would be more. Olhouser had said there were more teams. They had to get to the extraction point.

“Hakim.”

His voice was low, slurred. His mouth didn’t want to work quite right. Gritting his teeth, Kaidan forced himself to his feet once again and looked around the office, ignoring the dizziness. He spotted the Lieutenant’s motionless body behind the next desk over and he staggered to his side. Falling to his knees beside the other man, Kaidan tugged him onto his back—only to be met with a glassy gaze.

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[erikaolhouser]

After a second filled with dead air, someone answered her.

"This is Comms Officer Gert. Data received. Say again: Large signatures have cannons?"

Erika drew in a breath and blew it out slowly. Another scream bubbled in her throat, but she swallowed it, the sensation something like pushing a lump of lead down her windpipe. Then she repeated her observations as calmly as possible. 

Another buzz tickled her ear and a quiet, blurred voice identifying itself as General Alenko reported in. He needed assistance.

Erika questioned the comms officer. "Did you hear that?"

"What, Doctor?"

"General Alenko." 

"No, atmospheric interference is playing havoc with the comms."

And something else, Erika suspected. 

"He needs assistance. I'm going to try and move to his position."

"Negative, Doctor. Stay where you are."

"But that thing is right there. The extraction zone is..." Appropriate military term? "Compromised."

"Acknowledged. We will send updated coordinates soon. Stay in cover."

During the exchange, Erika had expanded the telemetry feed. No data from Team A. None. Two rows of dull amber pulses. The connection between data and reality hit her slowly, a tide of emotion that sucked at her heels for a breath or two before nearly knocking her over. Those designations were people. ZB34-003, Clemens, was dead. She'd touched him just a short while ago.

Team B showed three good signals. She couldn't communicate with them, though. The general. She should move to assist him. She might be the only person who could.

Taking another deep breath, Erika continued with her original plan--minus the attempt to disable the thing guarding the extraction zone. She ducked around behind the stacked crates, followed them to the edge and peered around. Smoke obscured the rows of offices and habitats...and the creature she wanted to avoid, which meant it would hide her too. She didn't have the general's position, but she knew which direction he'd gone. He'd been with Team A. She'd follow the amber dots. A trail of death.

Reaching the edge of an office unit, Erika battled with herself, with reality, with sense. She wasn't a military doctor. She wasn't trained for this. But if someone required her help, she felt bound to respond. People were more than streams of data. In the lab, she could get lost in the digits. Out here, with the acrid taste of smoke stinging her tongue, she had to act rather than react. 

She pushed herself forward into the smoke and crept to the edge of a wall. Her foot nudged something. Looking down, Erika saw...Oh, God, it was a foot. She crouched down beside it and traced the leg upward. She'd found the general. 

"General Alenko!" she whispered urgently. She tapped the side of his helmet. "General?"

[jumpzerobiotic-blog]

April 11, 2201 - Into the Great Wide Open

[jumpzerobiotic-blog]

Holloway’s charge jolted the thing enough to release its captive. Battacharya, Kaidan released, recognizing her armor. She fell to the ground and lay there, motionless. He fired another burst of ammo at the target, unsurprised to see it have little impact, just like the last rounds.

“You bastard!” Holloway shouted, fist reaching back to slam into the creature. 

The thing looked down at the commander, its shoulder-mounted guns following its gaze. Before Holloway’s biotically fuelled punch could connect, the cannons fired. Kaidan expected her to be blown backwards, her barrier taking the brunt of the force. Instead, the cannons’ fire tore right through the commander as though she were no more substantial than tissue paper.

Holloway crumpled backwards. Kaidan swallowed the anger and the curses that rose to his lips. Not the time. Not the place. With an effort, he controlled his breathing. Focused. If they were going to make it off this rock, he couldn’t lose his head. 

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[erikaolhouser]

Erika poked her nose out first. A tingle touched the tip, her barrier or the shield, a stir of air, and she flinched and gasped, the harsh intake of breath echoing off the crate beside her. Swallowing, she pulled the pistol  up beside her cheek and crawled further forward. She saw nothing; no moving shadows, no looming monstrosities that matched no known records in the small database scrolling across her display.

Flipping back to the map, Erika filtered the data again and saw a large heat signature hovering at the other end of the tunnel. It would never fit between the crates. Depending on how fast it moved, she might have a chance to duck back around, pop up behind it. Not to attack. She doubted the pistol gripped in her right hand would have much effect against such a large foe...unless she aimed for a weak point.

"I need more data," she whispered. 

After tagging the signature with a proximity alert, she dragged a finger across the display and expanded the feed from the amps. A disturbing number of dull amber pulses indicated no telemetry. Not wanting to acknowledge what that meant, Erika minimized the display and tested her meagre biotics. A small barrier flickered into place, bolstering her shield.

She pushed up and crept away from the crates, aiming to circle back behind. Something rebounded off the stacked crates causing them to creak and groan. Erika ducked down. Her wrist pinged. Glancing down, she noted the proximity alarm flashing.

"What the..."

The huge thing was advancing quickly. 

How was she supposed to stay where she was with a huge crab/spider thing with shoulder mounted cannons charging up behind her? Stifling a whimper, Erika stood up and ran, aiming to get behind the stacked crates. She'd be damned if she'd let it chase her back into a hole.

A charge rippled through the air, anticipation and energy, and a pulse slammed into her back. Erika screamed. Idly, one corner of her mind hoped no one heard her. Less idly she hoped someone came to rescue her. Then she noticed her barrier had been destroyed again. No, not destroyed, consumed. Like the creature behind her had absorbed the field. A soft whine indicated her shield recharging. A prickle crept across the back of her neck. Erika threw herself to the left just as a pulse whipped past her, catching her legs and spinning her sideways. She crumpled into a heap behind the crates, pulled her knees up and prepared to die.

The alarm fell silent. The creature hadn't followed her.

Unfolding herself to peer at the display took more courage than Erika might have imagined. She expected the creature to roll into view and kill her. Her shield hummed into being and she listened to the thunder of her pulse. The signal remained stationary.

It was looking for her. How long would it wait before moving?

Erika reached for the eezo swimming through her being and began constructing what she guessed would be her last barrier. A vague ache spread across the back of her head and biotic hunger twisted her belly into a knot. She hadn't expended this much energy since the war and she wasn't trained for it. 

As soon as the blue aura flickered into being, the signal moved. The alarm pulsed and whined. 

"Oh my God."

Erika released the energy, a tendril of fatalistic regret worming down her spine. If she was wrong...

The signal paused. 

It could sense biotic energy and track it. Every time she'd erected a barrier, it ripped it away. Sucking in a deep breath, Erika stood and crept further behind the crates. The creature didn't move. She couldn't summon anymore eezo to test her theory. Jesus, she didn't want to test her theory. She could share it, though.

Thumbing her ear piece, she whispered urgently. "I don't know if anyone can hear me." She kept speaking anyway. "The large creatures, the ones with the cannons, they sense biotic signatures. Element Zero. They seem able to absorb it. Biotic attacks are likely to have no effect." She tapped her omnitool. "Broadcasting maps of current positions of all persons in a half kilometre radius. I will keep sending updates as long as I can."

[jumpzerobiotic-blog]

April 11, 2201 - Into the Great Wide Open

[jumpzerobiotic-blog]

The doctor’s voice crackled over the comm, giving him a sitrep. Team A was under attack by humanoids and other; Team B had scattered. Kaidan didn’t let himself think too much about biotic signatures from things that were larger than humans. What mattered was getting these kids out of there.

“Team B, rendezvous at extraction zone,” Kaidan ordered. 

Silence greeted his command. He gritted his teeth for a moment, ignoring the slow burn of a headache brewing between his temples. He didn’t have time for it.

“Team A, Commander Holloway and I are inbound.” Looking at the Commander, he indicated the direction they were to go in, and started forward. 

The lack of radio contact made his shoulders bunch under his armor. According to Olhouser’s intel, the members of both teams were moving, so the silence wasn’t a result of no one being there to answer. Which indicated some sort of masking or insulating tech had been employed. Kaidan supposed it could be part and parcel of a base of smugglers; scramblers were popular to keep such places undetectable from orbit. But it made no sense for such an operation to be here. Paravin was well known as an Alliance training ground, and it wasn’t like the twilight band was so large that an illegal base wouldn’t be discovered during exercises.

It made no sense. 

Unless this wasn’t an accident. Then…shit, that started pulling pieces together.

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[erikaolhouser]

Holloway and Alenko (it felt vaguely insolent to think of the general as simply Alenko) suspected an ambush. The implications cascaded quickly through Erika's thoughts, gathering rising panic and pulling her pulse into spikes that mimicked the telemetry floating in the dust over her wrist. 

There was no point telling herself this wasn't supposed to happen. She'd weathered enough disasters in the lab to know that unlikely wasn't the same as impossible. Still, it took her a moment to collect her wits. Quietly, she took the general's advice--not that anyone's well-being rode on her ability to remain calm. Not on Paravin.

She could be more than a hindrance to the ground team, however. With the data streams flowing into and out of her omnitool, she could give directions. Team B weren't answering the comms, but she could pinpoint their position using the feed from the amps. 

"General, I am broadcasting a message in your direction." Alenko wouldn't have time to stop and check one of his mailboxes for the  data and Erika did not have direct access to his tool. "It's a screen capture pinpointing Team B's positions. The larger, cooler signatures--" 

A soft curse interrupted her. He'd seen them, then, whatever they were. He said something else, sounded like 'Holloway' and then a short burst of static cut him off. The fuzz and pop stopped as abruptly as it began and silence filled Erika's ears.

"Hello?"

She tapped the receiver and heard only a dull thunk. Then, with another hiss, the ship answered. 

"Dr. Olhouser?"

"I've lost communication with the ground teams, the commander and the general," she reported.

Silence answered her, then a loud pop. Erika winced and tugged on her earlobe. A disembodied voice answered her. "Stay where you are."

She fully intended to. 

A quick glance at the telemetry feed did little to settle her nerves. Erika had hoped the streams of data might give the illusion of something approaching normalcy. Her gaze kept flicking away from her wrist, however, plucked here and there by every rustle and pop of gunfire. A shadow loomed out of the smoke obscuring all positions forward and Erika hunkered down behind the wall. A pulse of energy hit the other side of the barricade and the shock of it knocked her back. Erika rolled down a short slope and fetched up against a stack of crates. Another pulse rolled toward her. She didn't have time to scream. It dissipated across her shield and ripped away her barrier. Erika felt it go. Shakily, she tried to summon another, but large biotic gestures had never been her strength. 

Quickly realising the futility of her action, Erika let off summoning motes of eezo together and rolled to the left, aiming for a dark space between the stacked crates. The pistol caught on the edge of one before clattering in after her, the sound of it smacking against hardened ceramic drilling through her. On hands and knees she crawled to the end of the tunnel and poked her head out.

[jumpzerobiotic-blog]

April 11, 2201 - Into the Great Wide Open

[jumpzerobiotic-blog]

Was it just him, or did Dr. Olhouser sound remarkably like EDI?

Before he could explore that tangent thoroughly, the doctor announced that “ZB34-006” had erected a barrier. Kaidan glanced at Holloway. 

“Wozowski, report in,” the commander ordered.

“Wozowski here.” 

“You erected a barrier, Lieutenant. Why?”

“I, uh…” 

“A rabbit scared him, ma’am.” Kaidan detected the faintest hint of laughter in Battacharya’s voice.

Wozowski coughed. “It was a big rabbit…thing, ma’am.” 

Holloway’s head dropped and she shook it from side to side. “Right. Carry on. Make sure the rabbits don’t take you by surprise again.”

“No, ma’am, I won’t—shit!” 

“Wozowski?” Silence greeted the commander’s bark. “Wozowski!”

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[erikaolhouser]

While verbal command and confirmation bounced through the ether, points of light flashed and pulsed across Erika's display. Seven of the subjects were using their amps in four different ways. So far, all units behaved within normal parameters.

The rapid staccato of gunfire broke through the urgent hiss of comm traffic. One of the feeds spiked and flat-lined, the abrupt change of status marked by a scream. Erika swallowed as she expanded that feed and scrolled back and forth looking for cause and effect. The chaotic noise of the comms made it hard to concentrate and the urgency of the commander and general's voices suggested the randomness of events did not coincide with the simulation they had planned. 

Accepting the pistol with a vague nod, Erika continued to poke and swipe at the holographic display. She minimised the telemetry and expanded environmental scanning. Two taps filtered the data until only heat signatures glowed against the blank darkness. Simultaneously, she radioed the ship.

"Dr. Olhouser calling in. Ground team under fire, attempting retreat to extraction point. Requesting immediate back up." It had been fifteen years since she'd operated in a war zone, but some things were not easy to forget. When lives were at stake, keep it brief and to the point.

Hiss tickled her eardrum, then: "Where are General Alenko and Commander Holloway." 

"They have moved forward to assist."

"Stay where you are, Doctor."

"Acknowledged."

Erika changed channels. "General? There are four groups. Teams A and B. B is scattered." Telemetry indicated one of the amps was no longer in use. "Team A is being engaged by eight figures. Humanoid." She frowned at the readings. "There is something else. Not humanoid. Larger, cooler. It might be underground, wait..." Tap, tap. "I'm reading biotic signatures, not human."

A finger dragged the telemetry feed up and over the hot point map. All functioning amps were operating perfectly. If not for rapid flicker in her throat and the tightness in her gut, Erika would smile at what looked like a successful test. The screams echoing over the comms ripped away her usual composure, however.

Tightening her grip on the pistol, Erika looked up, briefly, and waited for her eyes to make the change between data and reality. She was alone. They had given her a pistol and left her alone. A shudder hitched and bunched her shoulders as she strengthened her light barrier.

[jumpzerobiotic-blog]

April 11, 2201 - Into the Great Wide Open

[jumpzerobiotic-blog]

Kaidan kept an eye on Dr. Olhouser as she fiddled with Clemens’s amp. Not that he didn’t trust her; he knew that Felt-Up (dammit, I know that’s not the name) and the doctor had a lot riding on this exercise. And if it was successful, their amps could mean a new stage of understanding and using human biotics.

He understood all that, sure. But the motivations and actions of large corporations made Kaidan uneasy. Hell, look at Noveria. The organizations there were so focused on taking that next step, and then another one, and another, that they didn’t stop to examine the morality of what they were doing. A lot of folks would argue that morals didn’t play into research and development. Into advancement. Kaidan didn’t agree. Without the lens of morality, you ended up with groups like Cerberus. The Illusive Man. People doing whatever it took to achieve their goals, without a thought to the cost. 

Dr. Olhouser finished her work on Clemens and the soldier seemed less tense, which Kaidan took as a good sign. He caught the lieutenant’s eye.

“Everything good, Clemens?” 

The junior officer straightened. “Yes, sir! Ready for action, sir.”

Kaidan nodded. “Glad to hear it.” 

“Okay, people, this is it,” Commander Holloway announced. “Keep your eyes open and stay sharp. Remember the objectives. Go, go, go!”

The shuttle door popped open and the biotics filed out, onto the field. They all took cover immediately, hunkering down until the shuttle lifted away. Kaidan surveyed the field from behind the half-wall he’d ducked behind, looking for anything out of place. He saw nothing. He heard nothing. The little research establishment, made up of about a half dozen modular offices and apartments, was like a ghost town. 

“We start with a perimeter sweep. Three teams.” Holloway said, her voice crackling over the comm. “Clemens, Battacharya and Wozowski to the east. The rest of you to the west. General Alenko, Dr. Olhouser and myself will hold this position. Stay in radio contact. Understood?”

Heads nodded and bodies shifted, breaking into their groups and moving off.. Though Kaidan wanted to accompany one of the sweep teams, he knew that wasn’t the best role for him—or for them. The trainees needed to work on their own rather than look to him. 

Kaidan glanced at the doctor beside him. “You can read the data from here?”

[erikaolhouser]

Someone had spoken to her, the general judging by the deeper buzz tickling her ear. With effort, Erika extracted her thoughts from streams of data and glanced at the man crouched beside her. 

She could see nothing through the all but opaque helmet visor. She had observed him earlier, however. Fine lines edging out from behind the frames of dark glasses indicated frequent laughter, the deeper furrows recalled worry and pain. The crease between his brows suggested he suffered headaches--frequent headaches, which hardly surprised considering the age of his implant.

Erika had a note in her diary to speak to the general regarding the L2. Enquire why he had not opted for an upgrade. The procedure had advanced exponentially over the last fifteen years.

But he had not asked about that. He had asked about...

"Yes. I could obtain reliable telemetry from orbit if necessary." But... "I could not gauge all the variables from that distance. Or perform adjustments."

A soft vibration at her wrist pulled Erika's attention back to her display. One of the amps had been activated. "ZB34-006 has erected a barrier," she reported.