//------------------------------// // Jailbreak // Story: Mass Effect: Element of Kindness // by CommanderApplejack //------------------------------// Chapter 87 Jailbreak Stealth 96% Best to keep a low profile, there aren't exactly many unicorns that can be blamed for breaking into here in the galaxy right now. Shining proceeded to the entrance of the facility, the building looked worn down as he approached. A set of locked sliding doors was the first thing in his way, luckily the door's power box was located close by. Gritting his teeth Shining lit up his horn and with good old telekinesis managed to rip off the front panel by snapping the rusted bolts. Seriously, they really should have seen this security flaw… Guess I shouldn’t complain about it though. A program on his omni-tool guided him through the quick process that was rerouting the power, opening the door for him. Entering through the passageway, Shining carefully moved into the prison complex. The concrete on the ground was cracked up badly in places, water leaked from pipes running across the ceiling, and just a generally foul smell hung in the air. A section of the walkway had even deteriorated so badly that it had completely collapsed, a bridge that had been set up there had retracted itself due to a faulty cable down below. Wow, this craphole serves as a prison?... I don’t think many who enter here ever get out alive… A growl sounded from the passageway down below where the faulty wire was located, echoes of paws striking the ground rapidly made him stand ready with his M-76. From around the corner of the ramp that led down below a varren came scuttling towards him , a growl escaping its maw as it spotted the pony aiming his weapon. “Buck!” Shining cursed as the beast jumped at him, he didn’t want to fire his rifle and alert the entire facility so he lowered it and dodged the varren. In a fluid motion, he activated the omni-blade he had installed in the armor section of his right hoof and stabbed towards the varren’s neck. Shining might still be new to the firearms but a Solar Guard should be an expert in the use of any blade, definitely its captain. Leaving the varren in a puddle of its own blood, Shining fixed the cable so he could proceed further into the facility. A couple more varren stood in his way as he continued to move deeper in and avoided more obstacles. After a while, Shining found an entrance to what looked like living quarters. Guess the guards get to be comfortable while the prisoners rot in damp cells... “They wanted to slam an asteroid into the mass relay” Shining froze completely, even holding his breath to avoid compromising his position. “Can they even do that?” Shining swiveled his ears in the direction of the voice, finding that it was coming from outside. “What difference does it make? We caught her.” Wait, slam an asteroid into the mass relay?! Knowing that he was still safe, the thing that that batarian had just said suddenly made his stomach lurch. Were the humans here really trying to destroy the relay and cut off the system from the rest of the galaxy? And why would they want to? Did this have to do with the thing they had found on the reapers? The main reason he’d said yes to the operation wasn’t really the gear he’d acquire for the guard, not that the help wasn’t wanted, but that he’d read the reports on the battle of the Citadel… They terrified the captain. The death, destruction, and indoctrination along with the spikes that’d mutated victim into a twisted form to be turned against their former friends and colleagues twisted Shining’s stomach into knots. It was the vilest of evil in his eyes. Shining’s head hurt just thinking about it as he decided to better focus on getting the scientist out of there and get clarification from her. The sections he was going through now were much better maintained than the previous ones. Batarians were standing guard in places as well now so he had to be extra careful as he looked for a way to where doctor Kenson was being held. Sneaking through the shadows while keeping the amount of noise he made to an absolute minimum. I really want to know how captain Darkwing does this stealth thing so well with his nightguard. A couple of near encounters later and Shining found a way into the belly of the facility, passing rows of cells with corpses covered by tarps. Further down the hallway, more talking batarians could be heard as he listened in on the tail end of their conversation. “If she doesn't talk, kill her.” a pair of batarians were looking into an interrogation cell through a one-way window. Shining readied his rifle as he saw doctor Kenson strapped down onto a half upright table of sorts, a device shooting a narrow blue flame hanging mere inches from her face. Not on my watch! Compressing the trigger of the rifle, it's roar filled the hallway. The weapon strained against the captain's telekinesis who struggled, and mostly able, to keep the monster firing in the correct direction. The fight didn't last for more than a couple of seconds as the two batarians were neutralized in seconds. Not that Shining cared to look as he was already running towards the entrance of the interrogation room. The door opened up to a surprised batarian who was in the process of checking up on the sound he'd heard coming from outside… he ended on the floor with Shining's Omni blade buried in his chest. “Who are you?” the doctor asked, alarmed at the pony's appearance, while the captain disabled the device hanging in front of Kenson's face. “Captain Armor, Solar Guard. I'm here to get you out and investigate the status of your operation in this system on Admiral Hackett’s request.” Shining explained as he released the doctor. “My quick burst of fire will have alerted the batarians, it won't be long until they figure out you're gone.” The doctor nodded in understanding. “Good to know Hackett got my message. Get me to a console so I can hack it and spread confusion in their ranks.” Alarms started blaring as someone had the right mind of locking down the prison until the source of the gunfire could be uncovered. Shining cursed as he levitated the dead batarian’s assault rifle into the doctor’s hands before charging out into the hallway. Unfortunately, a guard that Shining had previously missed stood in that very hallway to investigate the source of the alarm. Both of them were surprised to see each other but neither wasted any time bringing up their weapons. Shining could see his shield rapidly lower as they exchanged fire, only the high rate of fire from his own rifle stopped the batarian from taking them down. Damnit! You should have just jumped back into cover, stupid idiot. “All clear! Move!” Shining shouted as various doors closed themself as a security measure, forcing them to find another way out of the facility. “Follow me, I passed a shuttle bay further up in the facility!” Passing numerous hallways the two of them found their way into a large open area with lifts that lead deeper into and up out of the prison. A couple of guards stood in the way but were quickly eliminated. “There, a console! Do your magic, doctor” “Keep my back secure, captain. This’ll take me a bit,” Kenson said, furiously typing commands into the console. Shining nodded and headed back into the open area, starting to prepare his shield spell. Pushing magic into his horn, he arranged it appropriately so if he needed it he could create one of his near invulnerable shields on a moment’s notice. Resting the rifle on one of the barricades in the room, Shining took a deep breath and waited…