章 170: Chapter 168

Arriving at Aite, an earthlike world that had a variety of habitable land ranging from deserts to jungles and even a tundra landscape. Orbiting the planet was a Geth fleet numbering 4,000 ships alongside a few Cerberus vessels which numbered less than 100 ships.

"Omni, what's going on within the Geth network?" asked Axel curious as to why the Geth were working with Cerberus all of a sudden.

"From what I have been able to gather, there was some type of outside entity not Reaper in Origin that has managed to influence the Geth into serving them. At first the influence was just small and not powerful, but after some time, it learned from the experience and has managed to gain control over a large portion of the Geth. My guess is a very powerful VI that could potentially be on par with what we have." explained Omni.

"A VI capable of subverting the Geth? That's concerning. We need to neutralize this threat before it spreads further." He turned to his tactical display, adjusting the fleet's position before engaging. Once the fleet was readjusted, he issue the order, "All ships engage the enemy fleet"

In the next second, the Ascendency fleet opened fire on the Geth fleet, followed by the Geth fleet returning fire. Incoming Geth fighters were intercepted by Ascendency fighters which practically outnumbered them 100 to 1.

The Geth fleet tried to fight a traditional battle where two fleets lined up against each other and the two sides fought until one side won or the other retreated. But fighting a traditional battle against the Ascendency fleet was not something that the Geth could win.

As the battle progressed, a transmission from the planet was picked up, "Sir," a communications officer interrupted, "we're picking up a transmission from the planet's surface. It's... unusual."

"Put it through," Axel commanded.

A garbled voice crackled over the speakers, repeating a sequence of numbers. "Square root of 906.01 equals... 30.1. Square root of 906.01 equals... 30.1."

Axel's eyes narrowed as he listened to the repeating message. "Omni, analyze that transmission. What can you tell me about its origin and purpose?"

"The transmission appears to be coming from a facility on the planet's surface," Omni replied. "Its repetitive nature suggests it may be some kind of distress signal or coded message. The mathematical equation could be significant."

"A coded message in plain sight," Axel mused. "Clever. It might be related to whatever's controlling the Geth. Send the ODSTs and a team of Spartans to the surface. I want that facility secured and investigated."

Relaying his orders, the ODSTs and Spartans had moved to their Orbital Drop Pods. Once inside and ready to go, the Drop Pods launched from the ship heading through the hole that the Ascendency fleet had punched through the Geth fleet.

Minutes later, the strike team touched down amidst a jungle clearing, the sounds of their insertion masked by the falling debris from the battle. As they approached the facility, they encountered sporadic resistance from Geth units and Cerberus troops.

After getting rid of all obstacles in their path, the strike team arrived at the entrance of the facility. It was on lockdown due to their arrival, so the strike team leader used the team's assigned AI to override the facilities lockdown protocol.

Shortly after, the doors to the facility opened and the team proceeded inside. The strike team moved cautiously through the dimly lit corridors of the facility, their weapons at the ready. They encountered signs of a hasty evacuation, overturned furniture, scattered datapads, and the occasional bloodstain.

"Sir, we're picking up multiple heat signatures ahead," one of the ODSTs reported over the comm. "Looks like a mix of Geth and organics."

"Proceed with caution," ordered the team leader. "We need answers more than we need bodies. Capture, if possible, but don't take unnecessary risks."

As they rounded a corner, they came face to face with a group of Cerberus troops guarding a sealed door. The firefight was brief, ending with the Cerberus soldiers either dead or incapacitated.

One of the ODSTs moved to check the door while the others secured the area. As the door slid open, they were met with an unexpected sight. A large chamber filled with servers and holographic displays dominated the room. In the center, slumped in a chair and connected to various cables and tubes, was a young man.

His eyes were open but unfocused, staring blankly ahead. The man's lips moved constantly, muttering the same phrase over and over: "Square root of 906.01 equals... 30.1."

One of the Spartans approached cautiously, signaling for a medic. "Sir, we've found something... unusual. There's a man here, hooked up to some kind of machine. He seems to be the source of the transmission that was picked up earlier." Informed the Spartan.

As the medic began to assess the young man's condition, one of the Spartans accessed a nearby terminal. "Sir, I'm accessing the facility's logs. It appears this is some kind of VI research center. The subject's name is David Archer. He's... he's been integrated into the facility's systems somehow."

The team leader relayed the information back to Axel. Sir, we've found the source of the transmission. It's a human, connected to the facility's systems. He appears to be controlling or at least influencing the Geth somehow."

Axel's voice came through crisp and clear. "A Human, hooked up to the facilities systems" he restated angrily as the video from the Spartans Helmets had popped up in front of him.

What he saw was something that no human should ever have to experience.

The young man, David Archer, was a pitiful sight, his body looked like a skeleton, eyes vacant, with numerous tubes and wires protruding from his skull and spine.

"This is unconscionable," Axel growled. "Get him out of there immediately. Have our medical team standing by to receive him once he's extracted."

As the strike team worked carefully to disconnect David from the machinery, Axel turned his attention back to the space battle above. The Geth fleet was in disarray, their coordinated efforts crumbling without David's influence.

"All ships, press the advantage," Axel commanded. "Disable as many Geth vessels as possible. We may be able to restore them once we've severed this connection."

Within minutes, the remaining Geth ships were either destroyed or drifting powerless in space. The Cerberus vessels had already fled, using the Geth ships as cover to save themselves. But they didn't make it far as awaiting them at the Mass Relay was another fleet of Ascendency ships which didn't waste any time in destroying the Cerberus ships.

Back in the facility, the team had successfully extracted David and were preparing for emergency evac. As they made their way out, they downloaded as much data as possible from the computers, hoping to learn everything that happened within the facility.

The strike team moved swiftly through the facility, carrying the frail form of David Archer on a stretcher. This was no normal stretcher as it hovered a few feet off the ground only requiring a person to guide the stretcher to where they wanted it to go.

Outside, a transport ship with more medical staff was already waiting, while more soldiers had moved to secure the facility. Once David was onboard, the transport ships lifted off in a hurry and transported him back to the Ascendency fleet.

While Cerberus was on Axel's list for organizations that needed to be destroyed and taken down during this war, now they just became a secondary target priority after the Reapers. This was not the first time that they had encountered something like this either.

A few years ago, a facility was raided by Spartans which contained biotic children that were experimented on by Cerberus. Subject Zero, also known as Jack was the central focus of this project as they were trying to find a way to enhance biotics. The facility was raided, and all the children were rescued and transported back to Atlas station where they underwent a rehabilitation program.

Jack, the focus of the project was a wild case who had gone through the trauma of feeling alone for years. The AIA had managed to use this, by providing Jack with a sense of belonging and purpose within the Ascendency. They had slowly worked to gain her trust, offering her opportunities to channel her immense biotic abilities in constructive ways.

Over time, Jack had become one of the Ascendency's most formidable biotic operatives, often working alongside Spartan teams on high-risk missions. Her experiences had made her particularly effective in operations against Cerberus, as she intimately understood their methods and cruelty.

As the transport ship carrying David Archer docked with Axel's flagship, medical teams rushed to receive the fragile patient.

"I want a full report on his condition as soon as possible," Axel ordered the chief medical officer. "And I want to know everything about what Cerberus was doing to him."

While the medical team worked frantically to stabilize David, Axel turned his attention to the data retrieved from the facility. He pored over the files, his anger growing with each revelation.

"Project Overlord," he muttered, disgust evident in his voice. "They were trying to create a hybrid VI/human interface to control the Geth. And they used this young man as their guinea pig."

As he delved deeper into the files, Axel came across mentions of other Cerberus projects, including the one involving Subject Zero. The connections were becoming clearer, painting a disturbing picture of Cerberus's true nature and goals.

Hours passed as David underwent emergency treatment. Finally, the chief medical officer approached Axel with an update that David had survived the treatment, and they were already coming up with a plan for rehabilitation. They would need a very detailed plan considering what David went through, and they didn't know how deeply the VI connection had affected him.