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Breeder	By : Larania Category: +M through R > Mass Effect Views: 9434 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 1
Disclaimer: Mass Effect belongs to Bioware and EA, not me, and I make no money from this work of fanfiction.

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Breeder
Chapter Eighteen
Disclaimer: Mass Effect belongs to Bioware and EA Games. This is a work of fanfiction, and I make no money from this fan work at all.
Warnings: adult language, sexual situations, slash, dub/non-con, threesomes, gender bending and mpreg. If I have missed something, please inform me and I will add it.
Characters/pairings: Colonist/War Hero paragade ManShep/Kaidan, ManShep/Garrus and a little ManShep/Zaeed.
Summary: Mindoir's strategy for survival was one that was not well-known to the greater galactic community. Derek Shepard carried this legacy with him, dormant, through the Skyllian Blitz and through the battle with Sovereign. However, after his death at the hands of the Collectors and revival due to the machinations of Cerberus, he must cope with his body no longer being his own.
~*~*~*~*~*~
Shepard and his team ran through the first tunnel of the Collector base, dodging around parked cars and listening to the smooth, velvety voice of Frank Sinatra croon in the background.
He leaped over an old lime-green clunker, plastic sides chipped and cracked, getting into position to open the last valve so Legion could get through. Between him and the valve was a duck. Said duck quacked in pain before rising in the air, glowing cracks shining through its feathers. It announced:
"QUACK-QUACK QUACK-QUACK QUACK."
Fortunately, Ashley was able to drill the thing between the eyes with her sniper rifle and Derek finished it off with a shot from his Claymore, hitting it with a flaming peach. The splat was very satisfying.
Jane Shepard followed behind, using biotic throws to knock over more evil ducks. Derek grinned as his sister laughed, hitting the last valve and hearing Legion ask if he wanted fries with that.
They rushed to the far door, waiting for Legion to hack it, getting back-up from the rest of the specialists-
He backed his way through, after both Jane and Ashley slipped past and he covered their entrance. The door shut in front of him as he continued shooting the ducks as the squawked and flapped and fluttered.
That was when Derek realized that Legion had disappeared. He couldn't hear any of his other companions, beyond Jane and Ashley standing behind him. They panted in the sudden silence, Sinatra being cut off mid-note. The smell of the place was all too familiar; blood and piss and fear.
Derek closed his eyes, even though he could still perfectly see the door in front of him as he fought to keep his body still. He could guess, no, he knew what he would find behind him. He didn't want to see another poor soul he couldn't save. Those hideous, nightmarish pods.
But his crew was back there. They needed him.
"Skipper, you better have a look at this," Ashley called. She sounded sick. Derek turned despite himself. Then he gagged.
The closet pod held Garrus. The turian was fighting his way back towards consciousness, plates moving and twitching on his unscarred face. His blue eyes opened when Derek's fists thumped the transparent front hatch, going wide when he realized his predicament.
"Get them out of there!" he shouted, more of a squeak, and Jane and Ashley disappeared to leave him alone. Fighting to open the damn pods as Garrus screamed in pain and horror as the nano-bots swarmed over his body, eyes fixed on Shepard. "God, Garrus, no!" He scrambled at the hatch, beating at it as Garrus's skin dissolved, fingers melted before his eyes. There wasn't enough time for Garrus to call his name. Just a look of pure betrayal as his body was lost, the slurry of organic material flushing away.
Kaidan was next. The entire crew, specialists and Cerberus personnel all were in those hideous, wasp-paper pods and he couldn't get any of them out. He beat his fists, broke the butt of his Claymore as he scrambled from pod to pod. He emptied every thermal clip, exhausted his heavy weapon ammo. Nothing worked as he watched each and every one of his crew melt into a bloody mass, all of them screaming and staring and he couldn't save them.
That wasn't even the worst. Jane was gone, but his brothers, his little brothers were in the last three pods. Their voices were the loudest, high and childish in their terror as they begged for him. Cried out for big brother to get them out.
And he tried. Biotics, guns, nothing would crack the hatch. There were no seams, no weak points for him to attack as first James, then Michael squealed like dying rabbits before being silenced into nothing.
Shepard's fists were bloodied from where he had tried to tear, to rip and punch, his weapons shattered toys as he collapsed onto the honey-combed floor.
All that was left was Aaron. He was still so small Derek couldn't see him over the edge of the pod. He was wailing. Crying. Derek crawled to him, pressed up against the side. His hands left bloody streaks down the side of the translucent window of the alien coffin.
"It's... I'm here, baby boy. I'm here. You're... you're here, with me. I'll never leave you again. I promise. I'm here," he said, patting the pod the way he used to pat his brother's back. He swallowed, felt himself crying, but he couldn't look. Cleared his throat, voice cracking as he tried to sing Aaron's favorite lullaby.
"Fly me to the moon..."
~*~*~*~*~
Shepard woke with his face wet, a pool of tears under his right ear, snot over one lip. For one soul-crushing moment, he thought he was back there, in the Collector base. Then he recognized the armor locker, the fish tanks... but the image of his crew dying clung to his mind so fiercely he was convinced he had made it back. He was the only survivor. Everyone else was dead.
Despair choked him, before he felt warm breathing against his neck. Then he noticed the arm slung over his waist and went limp with relief. Kaidan was there. Alive. In his bed. That meant the rest of his crew was all right.
Just another dream, another nightmare. Nausea was already churning in his stomach. He picked up Kaidan's arm to ease out of the bed, knowing what would come next.
The moment he sat up he clapped one hand over his mouth, springing to his feet and leaping towards the bathroom. The door hissed open and shut and he hit his knees before the toilet, bowing over the rim and heaving bile and anything that remained of his dinner into the bowl. He coughed, took a deep breath and then repeated the process. He continued retching, dry heaves shaking his stomach as he struggled with the mental picture of-
He slammed a lid on the memory of the dream. Yet the beast inside squirmed and writhed, bucking against the top, and he groped for anything, anything else to think about.
"You're preggers."
It was enough to stop the heaves, though tears still streamed down his cheeks as wiped at the sore mess of his face. What the hell? I am not!
It was too easy to imagine Jane, sitting across from him, wearing her heart boxers and gray tank top, looking as worried as the time she had given him food poisoning. She'd sat with him as he had thrown up for most of the night. She always did have a way of pointing out things that worried him.
I can't be. I started bleeding the next week.
"More implantation bleeding, like last time."
Kaidan and I used condoms every fucking time! He didn't have to speak to her; she wasn't really there. But damn, even if it he was half asleep and dreaming, it was good to have her there. We're not idiots, we used them correctly. They never broke.
"You were begging for both Kaidan and Garrus bareback, remember?" She watched him get to his feet, heading towards the sink to splash water on his face.
I took a morning after pill as soon as I woke up. Not more than five hours after the first time. Derek put his face under the tap, getting a mouthful and spitting it out again. He grabbed for his toothbrush.
"You said it yourself. 'Nothing standard seems to work on me,'" she replied. Derek looked up to see her in the mirror. Always young, always sixteen, always on the edge of fury or laughter. "You drank poison that had some guy vomiting and pissing blood, then dead and the worst you got was unconscious. Not even a stomach ache afterwards. Your standard issue implant just didn't do its job. And you thought a generic morning after pill would work?"
Mordin said it would.
"You didn't ask Mordin if some random pill you found in a love hotel was enough to do the job." Her tone was scornful, even mocking.
Jane, I can't be pregnant.
"You've thrown up three nights running. You got dizzy looking down at Hermes Station. You're crying." Her arms were crossed, eyes narrowed. "You never cried even when you broke your leg climbing after me. The only time you ever cried was when Aaron died."
Stress. I woke up after being dead for two years. Suddenly I'm a biotic as well as going through the change and I'm working for Cerberus. And, oh yeah, I've got the weight of the fucking galaxy on my shoulders because I know exactly what the Reapers want to do to us. I think I've earned the right to a break down.
Jane snorted in disgust, then pointed at his middle.
Derek blinked, putting down his toothbrush. Looked down at himself. His belly, which had for years been a chiseled, solid washboard... was still defined, but softer. A small bulge, just a bit of padding, below his navel.
He swallowed, then went back to brushing his teeth. It's psychosomatic.
"Are you listening to yourself?" If he had wanted to distract himself from that nightmare, he had done one hell of a job. He finished brushing, then spat in the sink. His mental image of Jane was hopping up and down. "You would rather be out of your goddamn mind instead of admit that you might be pregnant? Why don't you just settle it? Go to Doctor Chakwas and ask for a pregnancy test. Get an answer instead of talking to yourself at 0300!"
"I can't be pregnant," Derek repeated as he glanced up into the mirror. Jane was gone. He unconsciously brushed his hand over the bulge; it felt warmer than the surrounding flesh. He shuddered, leaning against the wall and gulping air.
Going back to sleep was out of the question. He rinsed his mouth one more time before wiping his face with a towel. As he walked out of the bathroom he checked the clock; it was barely past 0300. Kaidan was still asleep, breathing deep and even. That was a relief. Kaidan deserved his rest.
Shepard dragged himself into his fatigues, scooped up a PDA with some reports off his desk and headed down to the crew deck.
They had intercepted an emergency transmission from one of Cerberus' bases, working on something called Project: Overlord. A strange experiment in forcing a human mind into the geth consciousness and attempting to harness their religious impulses, the whole mess had left a filthy taste in Derek's mouth. That anyone could use their own brother against his will... Derek shook his head to clear it. No wonder he was having nightmares. After what he had learned about how David was treated, Shepard had nearly beaten Dr. Archer's face into pulp.
He crossed into the med-bay, noting that David was asleep on one of the beds. The young man was resting well. David had been catatonic after they had first gotten him out of the interface, but he had been in no pain since, calm and peaceful. They were on their way to Grissom Academy, and he hoped they would be able to do something for the young man's fractured mind.
Derek left, walking back out towards the painfully empty crew deck. He missed the sounds of his specialists and ex-Cerberus crew talking.
Zaeed had been the first, taking his pay and leaving without a backward glance. Derek was fine with that. Kasumi had been the next, simply disappearing the next time they were on the Citadel, with a rose left on Derek's console in goodbye. Thane had been next, claiming to want to spend more time with his son. Derek had given his blessing and wished them well. Grunt had been dropped on Tuchanka with an order to be good and listen to Wrex, on pain of being ignored. The krogan youngster had been shocked, but promised to listen to his battlemaster. Samara had left soon after, asking to be left on Omega. Legion had gone their way after that, saying they were needed back in geth space.
Oddly, Jack was still on board.
When Derek had asked her, she had shrugged. "Three hots and a cot. And you aren't going to stab me in the back any time soon. Plus I get fap material watching you kiss your hottie biotic boy-toy." She leered at him. "Good fap material, too."
He been torn between making a joking offer for her to watch or retreating. Given that he had no idea how Kaidan felt about exhibitionism, he decided to retreat.
There was no one in the Port Side Lounge when he walked inside, wondering if a drink might help calm his nerves. He grabbed a random bottle, pouring something pink into a glass and picking it up... Then he put it down just as quickly. It smelled foul.
In his mind's eye, Jane was smirking, ticking off the list of early symptoms. Sensitivity to strong scents.
Derek closed his eyes, taking another slow, deep breath. Forced his panic back down. He couldn't be pregnant. He couldn't be. If he was, he would have to do something about it.
There was a jar of olives for martinis behind the counter, three quarters empty. He had been picking at it for the past week. He popped it open, grabbed a toothpick and started eating them as he sat down on a bench, scrolling through the reports on his datapad. Nothing useful, or new. Miranda had most things handled before they even crossed his desk. Putting the PDA down, he opened his omni-tool to check his email.
"Still no word from Garrus?" a sleepy voice rasped behind him, and Shepard turned around. Kaidan was there, one hand in his mussed black hair and eyelids heavy. "It's been two months."
"No." Derek sighed, deactivating his omni-tool. "I miss him."
"Me too," Kaidan said, though he sounded surprised by that. He sat on the bench next to Derek. "Are you okay?"
"I'm fine," Derek answered, automatically, eyes on his omni-tool. Kaidan scooted closer, reaching over to put his finger under Shepard's chin so to tilt his head up towards Kaidan.
"It's the third time I've woken up by myself. Tonight I actually heard you crying in your sleep." His hazel-gold eyes searched Derek's. "Talk to me. You listen to everyone pour out their life stories, their worries. Let me return the favor." He shifted his weight, sliding his leg up against Shepard's. Derek had to crane his neck around to look at him. "You never talk about how you feel about, well, anything. It took me and Garrus practically holding a gun on you to talk about Zaeed. You never said how you felt about the miscarriage. When the Shadow Broker brought it up... well. You cracked."
Derek winced. "I'm okay, Kaidan. Really."
"You sure about that?" he said, looking down at Derek's hands. They had clamped down on the datapad, hard enough to bend the casing. "Because that doesn't look okay to me."
"What do you want me to say, Kaidan?" Derek felt his frustration rise. "That I mourned? I let another Shepard down? That even though I knew I couldn't keep it, didn't want Zaeed's kid, suddenly I-" he clamped his lips together.
Kaidan blinked, then put his large hands over Derek's. "Go on?"
"Nothing more to it," Derek croaked. He felt like a vice was clamped down on his ribs.
Kaidan frowned, but ran his thumb over the back of Derek's hand. "You didn't want to have Zaeed's kid. But..?"
"Kaidan, this has got nothing to do with-"
The other man curled himself around Shepard, pulling Derek's back to his chest, putting his chin on Derek's shoulder. "You want to have a baby?" He kissed Derek's ear, put his hands over Derek's belly. "You want to have my baby?"
"What I want has nothing to do with it." God, it was hard to breath. "The Reapers are coming and it would be cruel to put an innocent in the middle of that."
"What we want isn't always rational. What do you want, Derek?" Kaidan's hands rubbed in slow circles around his navel.
"I can't have what I want, Kaidan." His head hung, breath coming in soft, panicked gulps. "I have the mission. Stop the Reapers. I can't have anything else. It will just get taken from me."
"Answer the question." Kaidan's arms tightened, and his voice rose. "Do you want to have my baby?"
Shepard doubled over. "Yes," he whispered, then made a muffled keen. "Yes."
Kaidan just held him, for several minutes, rocking Derek back and forth as he started to cry again. He couldn't stop himself as the hot rush made his face blotchy and raw, but... it felt good. He had said it. Kaidan wasn't running away like Shepard was some kind of freak.
"It's okay. It's okay," Kaidan said, over and over again. "I- I'm surprised, but damn." Kaidan kept rubbing Derek's belly and he tried to not imagine what it might look like in four, five, eight months. "The idea is a bit mind-blowing, you know."
"Stupid hormones." He couldn't stop crying. "Dammit. Why wouldn't you be surprised? Hell." Shepard took a long, sobbing breath. "I was. Shocked me, the first time it crossed my mind that... yes." He relaxed, putting his hands over Kaidan's. He tried to laugh. "You had just finished lifting Tonn Actus and taken out two snipers with an overload. I'm not sure if I said anything, but I know I thought it. 'I want to have that man's babies.' I was joking- and then I realized that I actually wasn't." His laughter was a hollow tap against the silence of the lounge. "You're... you're damn sexy when you're controlling a battlefield."
"Oh?" Kaidan's voice was warbling between amusement and shock. "I think I remember that. I thought you were teasing me, then you wouldn't talk to me the rest of the day. I didn't realize it had bothered you so much." He kissed Shepard's shoulder. "Commander Shepard wants to have my baby." His voice trembled. "Are you also saying you want me to... stick around long enough for a family?"
Derek froze, his fingers tightening on Kaidan's hands hard enough to make the bones creak. Kaidan didn't flinch.
"Don't. Please don't. You start talking about something I want, it will just get taken away from me." Derek looked away. "Hell. Just look at what happened with Garrus. I had a chance with both of you and-"
"He's going to come back." Kaidan curled around him. "He's going to come back, and we'll figure this mess out, and when we've kicked the Reapers back to hell we'll find some place to retire and work on making little Shepards." He kissed Derek's shoulder, shifting the other man in his lap. Derek went still when he felt a heavy, hard lump pressed against his ass. "God. You have any idea how hot that idea is?"
Derek arched against him, crooning in surprise when Kaidan ran his hands up to his nipples, giving them rough pull. "You're okay with this? Hell, when we started this, we were two guys." He whimpered when Kaidan drew one hand over his half-hard cock. "Not... a guy and whatever the hell I am."
"You're still Shepard." Kaidan laughed quietly. "And yeah, this is weird. But I think I would love you no matter what gender or sex you are." He nipped Shepard's ear. "And you want me. Biggest badass in the galaxy wants me to give him a child. Yeah, that makes me happy. Scares the hell out of me, but it makes me happy."
Derek tilted his head to the side, making a heartfelt sigh when Kaidan's lips found his, an ugly knot that had been plaguing him for so damn long loosened. He twisted around, straddled Kaidan's lap, and grabbed at shirt to yank over Kaidan's head. Kaidan squeezed Shepard's ass-
"Commander. Urgent message from Admiral Hackett," EDI said, popping into existence beside the view port.
Both men stopped, Kaidan's hands down Derek's pants. "How urgent?"
"He is requesting to speak with you alone, and is not using regular Alliance channels."
"Shit." Shepard got off Kaidan's lap, gaze lingering on Kaidan's naked chest. He licked his lips. "We'll continue this conversation later."
Derek straightened his rumpled fatigues, smiled weakly at Kaidan. "
~*~*~*~*~*~
"They want you to go on a covert mission in batarian space?" Kaidan asked, as he sat next to Derek on the shuttle that would drop both himself and David Archer at Grissom Academy. "Isn't that like asking a bull not to break things in a china shop?"
"Nice to see your respect for my skills," Derek answered, but his humor was subdued. He was distracted, rubbing at his belly. "I have a bad feeling about this." Kaidan was happy to see that the other man had recovered his equilibrium after his previous tears; Kaidan thought that admitting he had wanted something other than military life had helped.
The thought of Derek wanting his child had left him a little giddy, a lot scared, and very overwhelmed. He given up on the idea of ever starting a family. They just had to make it through the Reapers. That thought quickly sobered him, dragging his feet back to earth.
"Looks routine enough. Get in, get out, and get the evidence. I wish I could go with you." He sat back, twiddling his thumbs. Kaidan was still Alliance, and was told that he couldn't have official knowledge of this operation. That did not make him happy.
"Me, too." Derek's face stayed neutral, though his shoulders sagged. "Hackett said I could come get you after the mission was over." He shifted in his seat. "I'll leave for the Bahak system immediately after I've dropped you off. Hopefully this won't take more than a day or two." There was an edge of worry to his voice that made Kaidan look up, and inspect Derek's pale green eyes.
"Be careful."
~*~*~*~*~
Object Rho reminded Derek of the spiders he had seen once in a book on Earth zoology, when he was a boy. All large and spindly, smooth and chitinous, wisps of dark energy dancing along its twisted form. In the dim of the lab, its bright pinpricks of light stabbed at his eyes as a headache started around his amp port. Most frightening of all, it was completely unshielded.
"You have the Reaper artifact just sitting here, out in the open?” Shepard said, voice strained with anger and dread as he turned to Doctor Kenson in disbelief. She had told him they knew what they were doing, what they were dealing with. Were they that stupid, or..? Fuck.
"When we found it, it showed me a vision of the Reapers arrival," Doctor Kenson spoke softly, almost a sing-song. All lines on her face, even parts that were bruised and bloodied from her incarceration, were lifted in a gentle, rapturous smile. Shepard looked over his shoulder as his mind ran through scenarios. Obviously indoctrinated. Could he talk her around like he did with Saren? Hackett had made Kenson sound like a strong-willed woman. Perhaps..?
"Kenson," he said, backing towards the door. The headache was getting worse. "This is not good."
"Give it a moment, Shepard," she cooed. She hadn't even bothered to look at him as he shifted his weight. "It will give you the proof you need."
He looked back up at it, reaching for his pistol when the flickering tongues of dark energy struck him, licking up and down his spine and into his brain and he saw
-Reapers. Fleets of them. Hitting this relay and-
-a boy, staring at him with dull blue eyes-
Shepard dropped like a puppet with his strings cut, thoughts scattered, as Kenson trained her Predator pistol on his head.
"I can't let you stop it, Shepard," she said, fanatical, almost gleeful. "I can't let you stop the Arrival." Project soldiers filed in, seemingly from nowhere.
Shepard bowed his head, before whipping around and bending Kenson's wrist to disarm her. He grabbed for his Claymore, but was forced to duck into cover as Kenson limped away.
Fuck, double fuck, fuckity fuckity- The room had plenty of cover. He looked at the clumps of troops working their way towards his position, and Shepard made a choice.
He had been working with Jack and Samara, not to mention Miranda and Kaidan, in the past two months to strengthen his biotics. Since he had tried using his barrier as a boost for a blast on Illium, had gotten a few ideas.
He hadn't had time to field test them yet. But given how damn many were there- Shepard focused on the closest pyro, and charged him. The man was knocked back, winded and likely concussed, before Shepard grabbed all the energy of his barrier and forced it to explode as he punched the ground.
The pain in his head turned into words. Do not resist. Give yourself over, and be spared.
It took out the two closest guards as well as the pyro, but wiped out his barriers. Shepard rolled into cover, discarding his Claymore and the Arc Projector with a twinge. He needed to use this ability fast, and the weight would slow him down. When he could charge again, he did.
The new ability helped him flatten clumps of the guards as he finished off others with his pistol, but the troops never seemed to end. Wave after wave, they just kept coming.
"Shepard won't go down!"
Let them believe it, Shepard thought, reeling back from a flash-bang. Looking for an exit was a lost cause; they were both locked and bypassing the two doors would leave him exposed. He couldn't find a moment to breathe, much less use any of the consoles in the room. Adding to that, the headache was crawling up from his port and around his skull. His vision throbbed with the heat as a pyro snuck up on him, burning through his shields. Shepard reeled, beating at the flames, trying not to panic before slamming into the pyro, then breaking the man's neck.
Then they brought in the YMIR mech.
Your galaxy is in sight. Your final days are at hand. An unnatural feeling of dread iced his stomach.
Shepard dived back for the Arc Projector, clearing out a space around him as he aimed and fired it, shocking the remaining troops and taking out half of the mech's shields. He let his barrier absorb the mech's assault cannon fire, then ducked its missile as more troops were sent in.
The end of your species will come. Good to know that evil still enjoyed being chatty.
He growled, hitting the medigel, before firing another salvo with the Arc Projector before switching to his pistol to take out its armor. He then closed in, swallowing hard as he took more damage to his barriers. He was surrounded by the remaining troops, inching in closer and closer. He used another dose of medigel as his barriers wore away.
Struggle if you wish, your mind will be mine.
Then he charged, jumping across the room, turning and firing his pistol, aiming at the YMIR mech's eye sensor.
The head blew, the mech falling to its knees and dropping to the ground. Its internal reactor overloaded as Shepard dived for cover, the nearby troops all doing the same. Then it exploded, going off like a small nuke, complete with mushroom cloud.
The last of the troops were gone, bodies in tattered embers, along with a good chunk of the room. The Reaper artifact was untouched. Shepard scrambled for the doors, omni-tool out to bypass the lock.
You shall be the first to witness our arrival.
The pain reached out to grab the back of his skull before blackness took him.
The last thing he saw was Kenson, eyes glowing, and speaking with the voice of the Reaper artifact. Take him to the med bay and patch him up. We want Shepard alive.
~*~*~*~*~
"Wake up, Derek."
He was sitting under his favorite old paper bark tree, could smell rain in the humid air. Ashley was sitting on his lap, curled up, face pressed into his shoulder as he petted her hair.
"Jane?" he looked up, still petting the sleeping Ashley. "What-"
She was older. A grown woman; scars drew lines through her left brow and over her nose. She was wearing his Kestrel armor as she hefted her assault rifle and loomed over him. He blinked.
"You need to wake up." The sky roiled behind her, a Reaper shriek making the ground vibrate. "Get up and get out of here."
"Here?" he blinked, straining as he picked up Ashley. Somehow, she stayed asleep. The trees whipped in the wind, and Jane twisted around to start firing at the trees. Or rather, at the small shadow of a human boy that flitted through the trees.
"Wake up!"
~*~*~*~*~*~
"...looks like it's about nine weeks. Healthy. Huh. Looks like Shepard's-" a blond medic muttered to herself, pacing back and forth in through the Project's med-lab.
Derek felt like his eyes were creaking, like his entire body was weighed down with lead. He grunted, his stomach roiling with familiar nausea, and rolled off the med-table. He held it in, swallowing, getting his head up to scan the situation.
"No glitch! The sedatives aren't working!" the woman squeaked when Shepard glared at her. "Security!"
The two guards didn't have time as Shepard hit them both with a raw, angry biotic blast. They were knocked down, knocked out, and he scooped up a pistol off the body of one. The medic, on the other side, activated a containment field and crossed her arms. She sniffed, smug.
Derek grunted, bracing himself against a terminal as he threw up bile. That was a blessing, as after that one heave he was able to straighten and start searching for a way out. He rifled through everything, sent a shockwave at the glass- didn't work. He continued searching, heading back into the lab. His own readouts were on the holo-displays; he skimmed over them, pausing when he noticed a light blinking over his abdomen. He dismissed it as unimportant; he didn't have the time.
His eyes lit on the mech interface, set between the two holo readouts. "Shepard, step away from the terminal!" the medic screeched, as Shepard brought up the interface.
Driving the mech felt like driving the damn hammerhead, unnatural and ungainly, but he was able to cut down the medic and the other security mechs. Getting the fuse box to blow was easy enough as well, and then he was out.
He looked up, head swimming as he staggered to find his weapons and armor, trying to find the exit. His stomach rumbled and his throat burned as he swallowed, and not just from the bile. He didn't know how long he had been unconscious, but they hadn't bothered to keep him hydrated or fed.
There was a PDA that the medic had dropped. He paused, taking a deep breath as he picked it up.
"We've had to switch the type of sedative to a safer one when we ran a blood screen to see why the sedative wasn't working and had to keep increasing the dosage over the past two days. Needless to say, it caused a stir when the scan came back showing high levels of hCG. I did an ultrasound to confirm, and yes, it's looks like it's about nine weeks. Healthy. Huh. Looks like Shepard's-" The recording cut off, and Derek nearly dropped the data pad.
His hands shook as he brought up the ultrasound image. His breath caught, swallowed. It looked like... "Hello, little bean," Derek whispered, and glanced down at his belly. "Not much of a view, but, um," he trailed off, putting the PDA down. "Make yourself at home."
He braced himself against the wall as a moment of light-headedness passed over him; he needed to get out of there, and get some food, soon. "We need to get out of here." He was already talking to his stomach. Yes, this boded well for his future sanity. "And you better not complain."
He found an armor locker, one that had his weapons as well as his armor stowed inside. A lucky break; if it hadn't been his, he would have been in trouble.
Fighting his way to the living quarters was mostly a blur. He recalled bashing his way through at least four, six maybe, on his way to find the kitchen. When he did, he ransacked the place, finding a bottle of Tupari and a bag of sugar, some cereal and roasted soy beans. None of it was appealing, but he forced himself to drink the Tupari mixed with extra sugar for the energy boost and took the soy beans along with him, chewing handfuls as he went.
Not the best way to deal with two days of dehydration and fasting, but he would deal. He had to get out of there. His life, and the little bean's, depended on that. And damn if he was going to let another Shepard down.
To be continued.
Comments, questions and criticism welcome and encouraged.
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