Betrayal - Part 7

She passed through the questioning with relative ease - answering everything to the best she could. She had been interviewed by two Alliance officers. One seemed relatively nice, and the other seemed to accused her of working with Cerberus. She wasn't going to fall for the good cop, bad cop routine so paid it no attention and carried on regardless.
There as a knock at the door. One of the officers - the "bad cop" - went to answer it. There were several hushed whispers which were slightly out of her earshot as the interview continued.
"So after you returned home from hospital," the "good cop" said, "You returned home and found these?"
Keating nodded, pushing back tears, "... Yes I did."
The "bad cop" exited the room to be replaced by a man who walked in with blue Alliance uniform. He had dark skin, and was nearly bald.
"I'm Captain David Anderson," he said, "I'm overseeing this operation."
Keating nodded as a greeting.
"We've just got word that the Alliance biotic training programme you were part of was just attacked by Cerberus forces. There was a similar event in the Vancouver police station. Cerberus is after you, Detective. I don't know why. But as far as I'm aware, an enemy of Cerberus is a friend of ours."
Keating put her head in her hands, "Did they... kill anyone?"
"I don't know. We have reports coming in as we speak. They're in control of the police station but we've deployed a strike team. Is there anything you can tell us about Cerberus? I read your file. They put you in hospital yesterday."
"I've told you all I know already. About the building, about them trying to kill me, everything."
"You told us that your partner works for Cerberus. What is his name?"
"... Brian Richards," she told him, "His name is Brian Richards."
"Sir," said the "good cop, "To build a skyscraper in the city you need a planning permission from the Alliance. If we track the permit we can actually know where the building is."
"Get it done, Harrison. We need the information as soon as possible. We don't know what Cerberus is up to, but it's not going to be good."
"So is that it?" Keating asked, "Can I go home?"
Captain Anderson shook his head, "I'm afraid not. Cerberus are trying to locate you, Detective. We have no idea whether they know you're with us yet or not - but it won't be long until they come for you. We need you with us."
"But I can't fight. I can barely stagger someone with my biotics. I just want to go home."
"You can't go home. My guess is that they have already tried. That would have been the first place they looked for you."
"... So I'm just going to stay here?"
"We need your help. Richards could be involved in some way. It's his building. It's likely he will be there. You can talk him down."
"... I just said I never wanted to see him again. I doubt I can do anything."
"You're the best hope we've got, Detective. We need you on this mission."

She sat in the centre of the training area. To her left there appeared to be a large boxing ring, where a man was stood, and to her right a shooting range. There were several other things dotted around - obstacles like foam walls and replica vehicles. She saw an Alliance fighter and a Mako, perfectly copied out of plastic
"You're going to be trained in firearms and hand-to-hand combat," Anderson explained, "It would be against policy to put a civilian into a combat zone without any preparation. Well, it's against protocol to allow civilians into battle anyway, but we're going to break it this once."
"I don't think I can do anything to help you," Keating sighed, "I really don't. Can I have something to eat? I'm hungry."
"We'll get a sandwich from the mess hall for you whilst you train. The first thing you do is train in hand-to-hand combat in the boxing ring."

At the end of the training - almost a day of gruelling tasks which had pushed Keating to her very limit - she was approached by Anderson. The Captain activated his Omni-tool, activating a holographic vid which seemed to be playing an article from the Alliance News Network.
"Alliance teams have managed to take back the police station in Vancouver and the biotic training programme. However, many people are left unaccounted for. We believe Cerberus has taken them hostage, but the Alliance has not yet received any requests or ransoms for their release."
"... Shit," Sophia said, "So Cerberus has hostages?"
Anderson nodded, "We believe so. Our best hope is that we can just get there as fast as possible. We've found the building and we're assembling an infiltration team to get in. We need you to be part of it, Detective. From your training, you have the highest firearm accuracy out of any recruit I have ever seen in. We sure could use you in the Alliance after this is all finished."
"If I make it out," Keating sighed glumly, "It isn't every day I get sent into a bloody building full of terrorists."
"Which reminds me, we have a Bio-Amp for you. The records from the training programme show that you have Asari-level control but lack the damage necessary for some of the more powerful attacks. This amp will amplify the electrical signals from your brain so your biotics will have a greater effect, a longer duration and most importantly - more damage. These are military issue - model L5x. Not available to the general public."
"Amps? I don't use them."
"Now that explains your lack of damage. We need another biotic in the infiltration team - we only have one so far and he's barely adequate. There aren't enough biotics to waste and you have potential. You will need a small operation where the chip is implanted at the base of your neck. As long as you keep the area clean there will be no problems. The operation has a one hundred percent success rate."
"I'm not sure. What kind of results would I get? Is it worth it?"
Anderson nodded, "In the long term, yes. At your training level you will only be able to make some of the weaker attacks - slam, pull, throw, maybe the occasional shockwave. Powers like singularity and warp will need more training, but you will eventually be able to manage them."
She sighed and paused for a moment, thinking about whether or not to have the implant. Did she really want a hole in her neck full of technology? Yes, it would have made her biotics useful, for once, but it still sounded like a pretty big operation, despite the hundred percent success rate.
Sophia had never been a good Detective, nor very good at biotics. But by the sound of it, she could become a good soldier - and the Bio-Amps would increase her biotic damage. She wasn't sure how much Alliance soldiers were paid, but it must have been around thirty thousand credits for every mission they went on. More than she'd get paid in a year as a Detective, which she was no good at anyway.
"What kind of damage increase will I expect?" she asked, curious about the statistics.
"Up to a hundred percent damage increase, forty percent for duration."
"I'll do it. Then is that it? We can go?"
"We have to get you equipped with your armour and weapons. But yes, after the operation you're free to go with the infiltration team. There's no recovery time for the procedure so you'll be ready to go as soon as it's done."
She nodded, "Alright."

Keating sat in the back of the shuttle with the rest of the infiltration team. Unlike the rest of the squad, she had no tactical cloak. Tactical cloak or "cloaking" was a device which rendered its user nearly invisible to the naked eye. She had no idea why she hadn't been given one, but she presumed it must have served some purpose.
In her arms, she carried a standard issue M-8 Avenger assault rifle with an extended barrel for the rounds to move faster, and an upgraded cooling system so she could fire more shots before she had to reload. In a holster located on her belt she had an M-3 Predator pistol - also standard issue - and it had similar modifications applied to it.
She gently probed the back of her neck curiously, feeling a slight bump beneath the skin where the chip was housed. She had barely noticed the operation had taken place - something she was quite thankful of. She had been given some anti-bacterial gel that she had to apply daily - and that was it.
"So we'll land on the roof and abseil down. Expect heavy resistance from the moment we set foot on to the building. We're not sure what state it's in - there might be construction undergoing. Our intel suggests that the builders and construction workers know nothing about what they're actually doing or who they're doing it for - thanks to Brian Richards, who Sophia here has experience with. Her job will be to apprehend Richards whilst the rest of us clear the building. We'll scan the building on approach and get a lock on to Richards' position."
"So I'll go in first?" Sophia questioned the squad leader, whose name she had not been told, "After you've located him?"
The squad leader nodded, "Yes. If you manage to talk him down, hopefully the rest of the building will stop fighting. We get in, capture everyone we can, and get out again. Job done."
"And what if things turn into a shit storm, sir?" asked one of the infiltration team, "It's Cerberus. The last time we took this kind of action against them they led us into an ambush."
"We'll hit them fast and we'll hit them hard. Helmets and shield generators on. ETA to the drop zone is less than a minute."
Keating reached over to the other side of the shuttle to collect the breather helmet that she had been issued with. She put it over her head and clicked it into place so it fastened to the rest of her armour - and twisted it to lock the seal. The effect from the helmet was almost like air conditioning - it provided clean, fresh oxygen despite the tension like electricity in the air around her.
She heard several high pitched noises - automatically delivered to her ears by some high quality speakers inside the helmet. It allowed her to hear sounds clearer than if she had been wearing no helmet at all, which was an odd sensation. She activated her shield generator along with the other members of the team - hearing a similar noise as it began working.
Keating felt the shuttle lurch slightly as it began its descent. The engine's rhythmic, electronic whining got higher in pitch as it hovered slightly above a metre away from the roof of the building, door already opening.
Gunshots were audible. Heavy weapons, possibly some kind of semi-automatic rifle, sent rounds thudding into the shields of the shuttle. Blue ripples spread from the impact point as the kinetic barrier stopped the shots in their tracks.
Keating swung herself out of the vessel. Her shield was already flickering as rounds struck. She saw several armed soldiers - wearing white armour and helmets - advancing towards the shuttle. They were staying in cover; there were metal containers dotted around the landing area which they used for protection.
The infiltration team used a similar tactic, running for cover. She followed the team, sliding behind a metal container.
"Flank them!" she heard a Cerberus trooper say. Immediately she began to see several of the armoured soldiers moving around the side of the containers.
She opened fire with her rifle, steadying it with her shoulder. There were several small flashes as they took down the first soldier's shields, and hit him in the chest with several rounds. Blood splashed across the front of his armour and he dropped.
"Nice one, Keating," said one of the infiltration team.
She switched targets to the second flanking soldier and began stripping his shields. However, before she fully completed the task there was a whump from the side of her. The top half of the soldier's body was completely ripped apart. Keating flinched, shocked by the sudden removal of the Cerberus trooper's body from the waist up.
"Keating!" yelled the squad leader, "Take out the container!"
She moved back so she was fully protected behind the metal along with the rest of the team. They had sustained no losses, and no casualties, but were pinned down by gunfire from the Cerberus soldiers - who were using the container ahead of the team to their advantage.
"I... Can I throw that much weight?"
The sound of gunfire was nearly deafening - especially considering the amplification from her helmet.
"Just bloody throw the container back!" came the response.
Sophia felt the energy build up in her arms, which began writhing with a blue biotic glow. She pushed her arm forward, and the metal container which the Cerberus soldiers were using suddenly became airborne and flew backwards. She heard several grunts of pain and several crushing noises before the container dropped off the edge of the building.
There was several more gunshots from the infiltration team. Then nothing.
"Rooftop secure," came the acknowledgement from the team leader.

Betrayal - Part 6

She didn't ring the Alliance Defence Council directly - that would be a complete waste of time. Instead, she rang the military division. She wasn't going to wait for the Defence Council to finish their bullshit before seeing her.
Keating spoke to the Alliance, pushing back tears all the way through the conversation.
"... I've found plans for a building," she said, "It belongs to Cerberus. I think you might want to see it..."
"We'll send some people over. What's your address?" was the reply.
At least the Alliance military knew how to get things done.

A military Kodiak shuttle landed outside her apartment ten minutes later. It bore the Alliance colours - blue, black and white. She wiped the tears from her cheeks and answered the door.
They had sent two uniformed officers. Each had a holster around their waist and looked very serious. They were a welcome change to the nonsense of the Defence Council.
"Are you Detective Sophia Keating?" the lead officer asked.
She nodded, "I am. Come in.""
Keating felt completely broken and she kept blinking away tears, but she was determined to hand over the documents to the Alliance. Hopefully they would be able to take Cerberus down once and for all.
She handed the papers over to the officer who had spoken, "... Here you go. I'm not a hundred percent sure what these plans mean but they are for a building made for Cerberus."
Both officers looked over the papers. It took them several moments and neither of them spoke, just the slightest grunt as they passed over a few pages concerning the building's basement.
"What is it?" she asked curiously.
"There appears to be some rocket tubing inside the basement. Detective, if you would kindly come with us..."
"Why? What's wrong?"
"We will be handling sensitive information. Something that could potentially threaten the Alliance security. We need you to sign some documents and report for debriefing."
"Will I be gone long? It's nearly five."
"I don't believe so. You should be back before nine o'clock. Now if you would accompany us back to the shuttle..."

Betrayal - Part 5

But... that wasn't possible. Brian couldn't work for Cerberus - he didn't want her dead. They loved each other... it made no sense.
Unless, of course, Cerberus was only using Brian's company to make the building - but that wouldn't explain why Brian would work for an illegal organisation.
Her heart felt heavy in her chest and her throat was tight. She felt like she was going to cry.
Then she heard the door open.
She exited Brian's office, taking the papers with her. When she reached the living room, she looked across and into the hallway, seeing Brian taking off his shoes.
"Sorry, babe, I had to work late," he told her, "We were just building the roof. It's nearly completed, now. It'll only be about another two weeks or so."
"... Brian," she started.
"What's wrong? Are you alright?" he asked, moving into the living room and towards her.
She backed away slightly, "... No. I'm not alright."
"What's happened?"
"I had a crash in the skycar. I went to see the Alliance Defence Council about Cerberus, and when I left... they sent a gunship after me. I had a crash... that's the reason why I wasn't here last night."
"Well, I wasn't here either. I was working on the building. Are you ok?"
"... No, I'm not ok. I came home and tried to find you and found this in your study."
She showed him the paper, pointing out the Cerberus logo, "... You work for Cerberus."
Brian sighed, "I knew you'd find out at some point. I'm not in the division trying to kill you, however. That's different."
"... So could you help me?"
He shook his head, "I'm not allowed."
"... But I love you."
"And I love you too. But Cerberus is bigger than love. It's fighting for humanity. For a better tomorrow. I can't betray them."
"... But you can betray me?"
"Sophia, look-"
"Get out!" she shouted at him, "Get out and never come back!"
"Soph-"
"I mean it! Go!"
He moved closer but she pushed him away. She began to cry but still turned him around and pushed him out of the apartment.
"Bastard!" she hissed, "I don't want to see you again!"
She closed the door, and activated her Omni-tool. She had to tell the Alliance.

Betrayal - Part 4

Keating opened her eyes, slowly. There was a harsh white light above her which was nearly blinding, forcing her to close her eyes every few seconds before they adjusted.
She started to look around - the room had a white panelled ceiling and a window which looked across the Vancouver skyline.
She was in a hospital. She sat up, realising that she had full use of her arms. She could feel a dull throbbing every time she moved her left arm, but it was fine. That's all that mattered.
A door to her left hissed open and a doctor walked in, wearing a white coat. The doctor was female, looked to be in her thirties, and had ginger hair.
"I'm Doctor Stevenson," she said, "You're lucky to be alive, Detective. A crash at above two hundred kilometers per hour in a skycar. Nine times out of ten it'd mean instant death for anyone who was inside. Your friend wasn't so lucky, though."
"Henry..." she managed to say. Her jaw was aching and judging by the symptoms - blurred vision, headache, barely responsive limbs - she had been given some kind of drug, "... Henry wasn't killed in the crash."
"Is it true what I've been told?" the Doctor asked, "That it was Cerberus?"
Keating nodded, "... I need to go... And see the Alliance."
"Not until you're back on your feet. Your arm was damaged quite badly, so we had to put metal plates in before we fixed it up. Your ribs were also damaged by the impact and we had to rebuild them. Other than that, cuts, scrapes, bruises. Nothing major. However, I was told by someone - a crime scene investigator kind of person - that if you hadn't braced yourself before the crash happened, you wouldn't have survived."
"... It's supposed to be the other way around."
"I know that. You're the only person I've met who has survived a crash like that."
"I want to go home..." Sophia sighed.
"Oh, yes, about that. We notified your boyfriend and he's on his way to see you. Someone came around from... I can't remember what he said, something to do with the Alliance military. Apparently they'll be providing an around the clock security team for you."
"... I'm not in the mood for the bloody Alliance. I just want to go home, get under a blanket and cry..."
"That isn't possible at the minute I'm afraid. Now I just have to take your blood pressure."
The doctor activated her Omni-tool and a blue beam of light scanned Keating's arm, before deactivating.
"One forty over ninety," she said, "That's rather on the high side. You might want to keep stress free when you're recovering so you don't develop hypertension."
"... I can try," Keating answered, "I'll get Brian to look after me."
"We just want to keep you in overnight, to make sure there's been no complications with the surgery. We'll give you an x-ray, a CT scan and an MRI scan and then we'll see how you look."
Keating nodded, "Okay."

The next day came slower than she'd have liked, but it seemed that she was fine. Her arm still hurt, and she was on pain killers for it, but other than that she was back to normal.
She took a taxi back to her apartment. Brian didn't yet know what had happened to her, so he would be worrying.
Keating walked up the stairs to their apartment, which was luckily only one flight in her injured state. She opened the door with a push of the hologram, both metal panels sliding apart with a hiss, and a small beep of recognition from the locking mechanism.
She stepped into their apartment, wanting nothing more than to cuddle up with Brian and forget about the whole crash. The Alliance would send people to protect her, and everything would be fine.
"Brian?" she called out, after noticing that he wasn't in the living room. It was odd, considering that there was a football game on - and Brian had watched every match since the start of the season.
She could see the kitchen from the hallway, and had checked that on her way. He wasn't there, either.
Sophia decided to check his study. When he wasn't in the living room he was in there designing his building.
She crossed through the living room and entered Brian's study through a door at the back.
He wasn't there, either. She turned to walk out, when a document on his desk caught her eye. She spun back around and lifted up the paper, and began to read.
It appeared to be to do with the building designs - the company seemed to be wanting better reinforced armour for the structure. However, the organisation's logo was the thing that caught her eye.
She had seen it before. The orange diamond.
It was on the side of the gunship.
It had been engraved on the bullet.
Cerberus.
Cerberus had commissioned the building.

Betrayal - Part 3

The next thing Keating remembered was waking up inside her ruined skycar. There was a ringing noise behind her ears and she could feel pain from cuts due to the broken glass on her face. She grimaced and rubbed her forehead. She had a pounding headache and she was fairly sure she had cracked a few ribs, if not broken them. Neither could she feel her left arm.
Her hands came away covered in blood. She reached for her radio - and realised it had smashed into pieces.
Sophia cursed and groaned in pain. All she could see out of the cockpit was fire, and the same went for the back window.
She tried to open the skycar's cockpit to be able to get out, but it was stuck. There was only the sound of metallic grinding.
Keating drew her M-8 Avenger pistol and used it like a club to smash the remaining shards of glass on the edges of the cockpit window and tried pulling herself out. However, even before her head had escaped from the skycar, her muscles gave way and she fell back into her seat.
Instead, she shot the lock. Normally when, in the enclosed space of the skycar, the sound of the gunshot would have been nearly deafening, there was only a muffled sound as her ears still rang with a high pitched noise. She holstered her gun.
She pushed as hard as she could against the cockpit to try and get the skycar open. Fire started dripping like liquid from the exterior of the vehicle down on to the passenger's seat - on to Henry's body.
She positioned her feet so they were perpendicular to the locking mechanism, then lashed out with all her remaining strength. The cockpit opened and she rolled out on to the ground, feeling several sharp pains in her back as shards of metal and glass cut through her damaged light armour. Her hearing was beginning to return to normality.
Keating crawled using her remaining arm and her legs to try and get a better view of the crash scene. She didn't get very far, but she noticed the gunship, alike to the skycar, was on fire. She wasn't even sure where the crash had happened, only that it had been a matter of metres away from a wide river.
The door of the gunship opened, and an armoured figure stumbled out.
"My, my," the figure said, in a distinctly female voice, "That was quite a crash. You're lucky to survive, Detective. However, I think your luck is about to run out..."
The armoured woman had a shotgun pointed at her.
"... Please..." Keating groaned, "... Why?"
"We can't have you trying to get the Alliance to make our organisation an outlaw. Isn't it obvious? I have direct orders from the Illusive Man to take you out. You've notified the Alliance of our presence and we don't need you anymore. Goodbye, Detective Keating."
Keating threw herself forward as the shotgun fired. She struck the Cerberus operative with her wounded arm, hissing in pain as pain shot up her shoulder. The shotgun blast went wide, and the woman stumbled and fell.
Now she had the advantage. She used her knees to pin the woman's legs down and used her right hand to throw the shotgun away. She then drew her pistol, pointing it point blank into her helmet.
"... Whatever your name is... I'm arresting you for firing upon a police officer and for conspiracy to commit murder, espionage, and everything else Cerberus does. You... fuck this..."
The woman started struggling. Keating moved accordingly to keep pinning her down, but the woman's arm still managed to get free.
A fist hit Keating's cheek and she was thrown off, and accidently bit her own tongue in the process. When Keating recovered, the woman had drawn a sword, and was advancing towards her.
Keating scrambled away, grabbing her gun in the process and pointing it in the woman's direction.
"Stop," she ordered, "For god's sake just stop..."
The Cerberus operative stopped moving. There was the quiet sound of sirens in the distance, probably ambulances coming in response to the crash.
The woman took off her helmet, revealing a face surrounded by long blonde hair which had shaped itself into the curve of the helmet.
"... I said stop!" Keating said, her hand shaking.
"You won't shoot me," said the woman, "The gun is missing a thermal clip. You can't fire."
Keating looked down at her gun quickly, and then cursed.
The sirens were getting closer.
She threw her gun away, and switched to using her biotics. Her arms began glowing with blue energy. The Cerberus operative slowed her pace.
Sophia pushed with her biotics, causing the sword to spin out of the woman's hand, but failed to do anything else other than making her stagger. It was the strongest shockwave she could manage.
The woman growled and launched herself at Keating. She threw another shockwave, but all it did was manage to slow her down, so they collided once again.
When the sirens drew near, the woman looked up. An ambulance skycar and a police shuttle were coming.
The woman climbed off Keating, hitting her in the temple in the process. Keating's vision faded to black once again, and the last thing she saw was the Cerberus operative jumping into the river and vanishing from view.

Betrayal - Part 2

Sophia and Henry went to the Alliance Defence Council - it was the only thing they could do when it came to Cerberus.
However, there was a three hour wait for being able to see them. They had told the receptionist it was urgent. All they had got as a reply was, "Yes, I'm sure it is. Now sit down."
So they waited for three hours. During most of that time, Keating was practicing her biotics - lifting a polystyrene cup off the coffee table the Alliance had been so kind to place in the middle of the waiting room, before moving it back down.
Henry was amazed at this, but Keating was more glad about the fact that no one gave her any funny looks - the people who were coming to see the Alliance were actually better educated than most of the world's population when it came to biotics, so didn't assume she was some kind of mind reader.
When their turn came, Keating breathed a sigh of relief and stood up, muscles hurting from being sat down for too long. She followed the person who had been sent to collect her and Henry. The journey to the Alliance Defence Council took around a minute of walking through corridors full of politicians and military commanders. Stepping into the heart of the Alliance was the only time you saw them actually doing something since, in comparison to the rest of the galaxy, the Alliance just was sitting there doing nothing. Even some humans thought that it was pointless.
The guide stopped walking at a door with a green, rotating, holographic circle in the centre.
"They will see you now," the guide said, raising her arm in a gesture for them to enter.
Keating pushed the hologram and the door hissed open. They both stepped inside as the guide went back to the waiting room. The room they found themselves in was fairly large with a curved window at the rear. In front of the glass, there was a long desk with the six Alliance Defence Council members sat at it.
"Welcome Detective Keating and Sergeant Gardner," said Gerald Hodgson - the head of the council, "The receptionist told us that your appointment was urgent. Why is this?"
"I'm just going to get to the point. We've found evidence to suggest it was Cerberus who killed al Aladin."
"That's impossible. We have Cerberus banned under Alliance law. There is no way they could have even entered the Sol System without us knowing," said another of the council.
"Nevertheless, it was them. We analysed the bullet - yes, bullet - that he had been killed with. It bore the Cerberus logo, almost like they wanted to be found."
"Why would they do this?" asked Hodgson, frowning, "It makes no sense."
"Aladin was the one responsible for their organisation being banned. Without him they could get themselves in a position of power."
"But they've convicted themselves of murder. They must know that we would never allow it."
"I do. They must have something planned. I can't investigate it myself because, let's face it, it's by far out of my jurisdiction. This is why I came to tell you. Because I figured that you would be able to do something about Cerberus."
"We can't confront them directly because we have no idea they're even in the system. We will keep a look out for them, however. Good work Detective."

As she suspected, the Defence Council refused to help. She and Henry went back to the skycar to go back to the police station.
Keating drove. She generally didn't drive skycars since she found the controls rather unstable. However, recently she had got used to the sense of being weightless you got when you decided to fly down. For the past few days she had driven the skycar around, much to Henry's distaste.
"We spent all that time waiting for them to talk to us," growled Henry, "And then they do nothing. Absolutely nothing."
"I know, Henry. It's bad. But we've done all we can do."
The skycar crossed on to the motorway. Despite roads not being used since the 2050s, skycars still followed the lanes. It was an easy organisational structure, with holographic barriers separating the two directions. It only required fabricators and hologram generators to be built into the existing roads to project the lane dividers.
"Bloody Cer-"
There was a chatter of gunfire from behind them as rounds tore through the unprotected shell of the skycar, shredding Henry's seat and putting holes in his chest. Blood splashed on to the cockpit window and Keating shrieked as Henry slumped forward.
"Henry!" she cried, pushing the controls to make the skycar go into a barrel role to avoid another burst of fire. She looked in her mirrors, seeing a A-61 Mantis Gunship join the motorway behind her, with the machine guns still spinning.
Horns flared out from the skycars and shuttles around her as a rocket screamed from the wing of the gunship and flew towards her.
Her skycar had no weapons. None at all. Neither could she rely on speed, since the gunship, in almost every way, outclassed her small skycar.
Instinctively, she flicked a switch and blue lights began flashing on her skycar. The other drivers moved out of her way.
She twisted the wheel quickly. The skycar roared as it twisted over itself, causing the missile to go by as she made it go upside down and turned it back around as she moved beneath the raised motorway. The rocket hit one of the pillars and her skycar shook as the concrete crumbled.
The gunship still followed her. She turned and looked out of her window as the Mantis drew level. It bore the orange Cerberus logo.
However, that was the least of her worries as a small door on its tail opened and a figure was visible from within, who appeared to be holding a large weapon.
Before she could wrench the wheel, more rounds tore up her skycar. There was an explosion from behind Keating as one of the engines took damage and set on fire.
She pulled the wheel towards her to increase her altitude over the city. She left a trail of black smoke behind her.
Keating scrambled for her radio, "Alpha 1- Fuck! This is Keating there's a gunship after me I need backup!"
Another rocket flew at her. She steered the skycar so it narrowly avoided a building, causing the missile to crash into that instead. More gunshots ripped apart her vehicle and there was a second explosion as the remaining engine was destroyed.
She began to fall.
Keating started screaming as the gunship flew level with her and the glass of the cockpit shattered from more rounds from the figure with the weapon. The skycar hit the corner of a block of flats as it descended, ricocheting off the concrete. She and the gunship collided, throwing her forward. Blood from Henry's corpse splashed into her face and she couldn't help but squealing. She blinked the blood out of her eyes, then saw the ground rushing up to meet her.
She had just enough time to brace for the impact.

Monsters - Part 5

"So you realised it was Cerberus who killed the man on the Defence Council?" Mia questioned, "Why would they do that? To kill a human, I mean. And especially with a bullet. I don't know anyone who uses bullets anymore."
"That was something... that had us stumped," Keating said, "But then we... realised... they would have wanted to send a... symbol. And that they killed him... in an attempt to make their organisation... legal again. Take out the... person who is fighting them the... most, and the argument to make it banned will... disappear."
"Right. So when are we going to get on about your boyfriend?"

When Thomson and Emi reached the CIC, all the systems were turned off.
"They have just shut down," said Revenge from the corner, "I am detecting signs of their signals inside the ship network."
"Can you fight them?" Thomson asked.
Revenge shook his metal head, "I am afraid not."
The hologram that was usually above the table which made up the majority of the CIC flared into life. Whereas normally it would show statistics about the ship, there was nothing but blue.
Two white eyes came on to the screen.
"As you are aware..." said a dark, almost synthetic voice, "We have taken your... your friend. Unless you bring the Quarian to us within twenty four of the time measurements you call hours, he will die. Followed by the rest of you. We are watching."
"Oh shit," said Thomson, feeling Emi cower behind him.
"Please disperse from this network," said Revenge, "Otherwise you will die."
"You have no chance against us, Reaper," said the voice, "You tried to wipe us out once, and you failed. Now we will destroy you. Your power is limited in that body. We will have the Quarian. We will learn. And then you will die.
Ploba, twenty four hours. Exchange the Quarian for your friend."
The CIC went dead, before lighting up as normal with the holographic view of the ship.

Stealth awoke with a pounding headache. He hadn't even realised he had been knocked unconscious or fallen asleep. He was in what appeared to be a small chamber which had a polygonal shaped room, almost like the inside of a bee's hive. There was a door in one of the corners which appeared to lead to another room.
"This is not real," said a voice, "We have induced you into a dream-like state which we can control. However, we have linked your neurological pathway into the network. If you die here, you will die in reality."
Then there was only silence.
Stealth drew his sword.