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The Diomedian Chronicles: Contraverse is a Novel/Transcript which follows an alternate universe where every major plotpoint, every major event, every major decision that lead to what is now canon in the Diomedian Chronicles, didn't happen.
What if Gwen's plane wasn't shot down?
What if Scott Greer never joined The Alliance military?
What if Archaon Thrax never joined Cerberus?
What if Lorelei Mobious never joined SABRE?
ect...
This universe takes place in a time where the Reapers were at the point of invading the galaxy. Commander Sheppard died after the collectors attacked his ship and, since Archaon was a key part in the Lazarus Project, he was never resurrected. Therefore, the people on Earth, save for a handful, are unaware of the Reaper threat.
A series of gruesome murders happen near the Las Vegas Strip in the Mojave Desert. Detective Gwendolyn Diomedes is tasked to investigate this string of unusual murders -- perpetrated by an Asari in hiding.
Prologue[]
[Earth. The Mojave Desert. As the hot sun beats down and birds circle overhead, a crime scene has been cordoned off by police. The cordoned-off area is surrounded by a police car and truck, and a couple of other cars are parked nearby. As crime scene investigators photograph the scene and look at a body concealed under a black cover, a female reporter stands just outside the cordon taking her own photographs of the scene, of markers which have been placed around the scene, and of a tire track. She turns as she hears a car approaching and watches through her telephoto lens as the car draws nearer. It pulls up and the door opens. The reporter walks towards the car as a woman gets out. Long and slender, yet casually dressed. Short brown messy hair, ring piercing on the left side of her mouth, shaded glasses halfway down her nose, tomboy-ish looks.]
Reporter: [Shouts.] Detective Diomedes!
[The woman slams the car door closed and walks towards the crime scene. The reporter continues to approach her.]
Reporter: [Shouts.] Detective Diomedes!
[A uniformed police officer steps into her path, stopping her from getting any closer.]
Reporter: [Shouts.] C'mon, Gwen. I'm breaking this story with or without you.
[Ignoring her, the detective goes over to another uniformed officer guarding the opening in the cordon.]
Gwendolyn: [To the officer] What's she doin' here?
Reporter: [Shouts.] Is this victim related to the others?
[Still taking no notice of her, Gwen walks towards the covered body.]
Reporter: [Shouts.] If we have a serial killer on our hands, the people have a right to know.
[The police chief comes to meet Gwen, looking down at her as she inspects the corpse. For the entirety of this novel, this version of Gwen is quieter and less aggressive and confident than our Gwen. Although she does her job as well as she is able to, there is still a sense of futility and unfulfillment about her, as if she knows that she ought to be better than she is.]
Chief: The victim was most likely a white male.
[Gwendolyn looks at him. It’s Scott Greer, although less muscular and with more hair.]
Gwendolyn: "Most likely"?
Greer: No clothes, no I.D. Wasn't killed here.
[Gwen looks down at the covered body as, in "CSI" fashion, there's a brief flashback to the victim, in the passenger seat of a car, struggling with someone who’s in the driver's seat.]
Greer: Got tire tracks leading from the road.
[The two of them turn to look at the tracks.]
Greer: Based on size, tread wear and spread, we're probably talking an older model pick-up.
[Brief flashback: the killer dragging the body out of the car and dumping it onto the sand.]
Greer: We've got radiator fluid down here. [He points to a wet patch on the ground.] Looks like the vehicle has a leak.
[Brief flashback: the underside of the car where radiator fluid is dripping from a hole. The car drives away.]
[In the present, Gwen looks around the ground for a moment, then turns to the body and squats down beside it. The reporter continues photographing her as she pulls back the covering over the body and reveals it. The body is skeletal, the skin scorched by the desert's hot sun and the mouth is open as if the man died in horror or agony. His eyes rolled back completely into his head.]
Greer: Pretty much the same as the other seven.
Gwendolyn: Yeah, same level of decomposition.
Greer: Yeah.
[Brief flashback: the man struggling with his attacker in the car. The killer pushes him down onto the seat as he continues to struggle and scream. The killer holds him down and grabs his face. The victim’s eyes widen as we zoom inside the victim's chest as his heart beats frantically and then shrivels up as it slows down and then stops.]
[In the present, Gwen covers the body over again.]
Greer: I thought I'd seen everything.
Gwendolyn: [standing up] Yeah, well... Me too. One day we'll learn.
[She turns and walks away.]
Chapter One[]
[Las Vegas. The shriveled body has been brought to the police mortuary and is lying on a metal table. A woman with long blond hair, neatly tied in a ponytail, wearing a medical gown labeled "County Coroner" and a mask over her nose and mouth, is beginning an autopsy. She looks up as Gwen enters the room.]
Gwendolyn: Thomas Green, reported missing three days ago. Thirty-nine years old.
Coroner: You think this guy was thirty-nine?
Gwendolyn: Checked the dental records. It wasn't natural causes.
Coroner: No. Looks like some sort of rapid cellular breakdown.
Gwendolyn: The other victims had the same thing – that same bizarre ageing.
Coroner: I read the other autopsies. The cause was undetermined. All I know is we're not dealing with a contagion.
Gwendolyn: No chemical residue?
Coroner: Detective, you'll get a copy of my report.
[Gwen nods and turns as if to walk away, then starts talking again.]
Gwendolyn: Previous victims all had radioactive residue around their wounds.
Coroner: [pointedly] When I'm done… you'll get a copy of my report.
Gwendolyn: What did you say your name was again?
[The coroner takes her face mask off.]
Coroner: Dr. Mobious, Lorelei Mobious.
Gwendolyn: I've got eight bodies in three months and I don't like it when the lead coroner on my case gets replaced by somebody who looks like she just finished Med. school.
Lorelei: I guess I’m flattered. As far as protocol goes, I’ve been assigned this autopsy and if you have a problem with that, I’m sure there are other people you should be talking to about it.
Gwendolyn: [annoyed] I already did.
Lorelei: Maybe someone feels the need for some fresh eyes on the case.
Gwendolyn: [ironically] Then they should’ve just replaced me.
[Raising her eyebrows at Lorelei briefly, she turns to walk away.]
Lorelei: D'you have any leads?
Gwendolyn: Got a bunch of bodies being dumped in the desert and it looks like the life's been sucked out of ‘em.
Lorelei: You really think that's possible?
Gwendolyn: I don't know where you're from, but out here anything's possible.
[She opens the door and leaves the room. Lorelei puts her face mask back on. Gwen is walking down some stairs, talking into her cellphone.]
Gwendolyn: ... anyone treated with symptoms related to radiation poisoning. Go back a month. [She listens to the person on the other end of the phone.] No, it's not gonna come back to you, I promise...
Chapter Two[]
[Night time. Lucky Rollers Motel. In a cabin at the motel, a man called Laurel Foster is kneeling in front of the toilet and vomiting violently into the bowl. Loud music is coming through the walls from the cabin next door, the same kind of music you’d hear at Afterlife. Foster finishes throwing up and flushes the toilet. Wiping his mouth on a towel, he drags himself to his feet and stumbles back to the bed where the phone is off the hook. He was apparently in the middle of a call when he started to feel sick, and now he sits down on the side of the bed, picks up the handset and resumes his conversation. He looks terrible – he's covered in sweat, he is shivering, and the skin around his eyes is very red.]
Foster: [into phone] Hi. ... I don't know. ... I told you, they said it was a virus or something, probably food poisoning. You should see the place they've got me at. Not exactly Bellagio. Whole trip's been a useless waste of time too.
[Groaning, he puts his hand to his nose as he realizes that there's blood trickling from it.]
Foster: Oh. My nose is bleeding again.
[He gets a paper tissue and holds it to his nose.]
Foster: I'd better go. ... Yeah, I will. Love you too.
[Hanging up, he moves the phone to the bedside table and lies back on the bed, still shivering and holding the tissue to his nose. The electronic music continues to pound out from next door and Foster reaches back and punches the headboard several times, thumping it against the wall.]
Foster: [loudly] Turn it down, will ya?
[The music continues. Foster drags himself to his feet and stumbles around the bed, heading for the door.]
Foster: Son of a bitch.
[He goes outside, walks to the next door – Room 50 – and pounds loudly on the door several times. As he braces his hands against the door jambs, barely able to stand, we switch to a perspective inside the cabin as the inhabitant – with her back to us – goes to the door and opens it, looking out at Foster, who looks back blearily. From Foster's expression, there's something beautiful about the girl inside the cabin, who now rests her hand to her side as to invite him in. The woman’s hand is sparkling blue. She moans softly as Foster continues to stare at her in awe and slowly walks into the cabin.]
Chapter Three[]
[Day Time. LVMPD HQ. Gwen is sitting in her office which looks fairly Spartan apart from a poster of 2 women hugging in bikinis on the wall behind her. Gwen is looking at documents on the table, and she has a cut on her cheekbone just below her left eye which she didn't have the day before. Outside the office, Police Chief Scott Greer leads John Marachuk – Who, in this universe, looks clean and shaven and is wearing a suit and tie - along the corridor. In her office, Gwen continues looking at photographs of the various victims of the apparent serial killer. All of them are shriveled and skeletal. Greer reaches Gwen’s open office door, knocks on it and walks in without waiting to be invited.]
Greer: Detective Diomedes. This is Agent Marachuk, FBI.
Marachuk: Nice to meet you.
[He walks towards the desk, holding his hand out for Gwen to shake. Gwen ignores it.]
Greer: What the hell happened to your eye?
Gwendolyn: [ignoring his question.] This case moved jurisdiction?
Greer: Not yet.
Marachuk: I'm not at liberty to discuss our interests at this time, but I'd appreciate your co-operation.
[Gwen nods, then puts her photographs down and reclines in her chair.]
Gwendolyn: Well, I've got nothin'.
Marachuk: I'm surprised at that, Detective. The victims are turning up much more frequently. This is obviously a progression.
Greer: First few bodies were buried. We only found them because coyotes dragged one onto the 564.
[As he speaks, Gwen’s cellphone buzzes and shows that she has a text message. She picks it up to look at it.]
Greer: Now they're just being dumped out in the open for the vultures.
Marachuk: Is that more careless or more bold?
[Gwen finishes reading her text message and tosses her phone back down onto the desk.]
Gwendolyn: Somebody wanna tell me why the Coroner's report on the latest victim shows no signs of radioactive ... um ... [he gestures towards Marachuk.] ... what do you call it?
Marachuk: Isotopes. I assume because there weren't any found.
[Gwen stands up and takes her jacket from the back of her chair. She walks over to Marachuk and looks at him pointedly.]
Gwendolyn: Well, there were on the first seven.
[She starts to leave the room.]
Greer: Where are you goin'?
Gwendolyn: [without turning back.] Gotta go see a nurse about my eye...
[She walks away. Scott turns back to Marachuk and shrugs.]
Chapter Four[]
[Hospital. Gwen is talking with a nurse who hands her some papers from patients' charts.]
Nurse: Well, this guy was seen yesterday.
Gwendolyn: Where is he?
Nurse: Oh, he's an out-of-towner, at a motel. The chart should say.
Gwendolyn: And you just let him go?
Nurse: He was seen by a doctor. We get people in here with flu-like symptoms all the time.
Gwendolyn: All right. Well, what made it stand out?
Nurse: He's also having nosebleeds. Could have been unrelated; also common because of the dry air, but then you mentioned radiation poisoning ...
Gwendolyn: [starts to leave.] Thanks.
Nurse: Hey, look, if he really was exposed, it could be serious.
Gwendolyn: Don't worry, I'll track him down.
[She folds the notes to put in her pocket. The nurse smiles at her flirtatiously.]
Nurse: Um, d'you want me to take a look at that eye, Gwen?
Gwendolyn: No, no, I'm fine.
[She walks away.]
Nurse: [calling after her.] Uh, hey! Uh, are you gonna call me?
Gwendolyn: [over her shoulder as she keeps walking.] Yeah. Yeah, sure.
Chapter Five[]
[Lucky Rollers Motel’s Office. Gwen walks into the office and goes over to the manager's desk. She puts the hospital admission form down onto the desk and lays her police badge on top of it.]
Gwendolyn: Do you know this guy?
[The manager looks at the form which has a photocopy of Laurel Foster's driving license and photograph on it.]
Manager: He checked out yesterday. That a medical report?
Gwendolyn: [picking up the report and folding it quickly.] No...
Manager: If he had something, I've gotta know – have that room cleaned up properly, decontaminate, you know?
Gwendolyn: [uninterested.] Yeah, Yeah, Yeah, wash those sheets. In the meantime, let me look at your register.
[The manager hands over the register and Gwen starts to look through it.]
Chapter Six[]
[Night Time. Lucky Rollers Motel, Room 50. As Afterlife music plays loudly on the stereo, a tall, thin woman stands in front of a mirror. She has tendril like hair. The woman – as we suspected – is an Asari. She takes a make-up brush and paints white make-up around the slits on her head to pad out the skin around to obscure them, then picks up a wig with black hair and applies it over her head, then paints her hands so that they're flesh colored. She then puts on a T-shirt to cover the rest of her blue chest, puts human looking contact lenses into her eyes, adds a studded leather bracelet and black fingerless gloves, then puts on a long black coat before adding the finishing touch – a pair of dark sunshades. Her disguise complete, the now Gothic human-looking Asari heads for the door, walking past the shriveled body of Laurel Foster lying on the floor. She leaves the room and strolls off across the car park, walking past a pick-up truck and a silver metal motorhome, completely oblivious to the fact that Gwen is sitting in her car and watching the Asari stroll by.]
[Despite her rather unorthodox appearance, the Asari strolls down the crowded streets attracting little attention from the other people. She goes into a hotel casino and makes her way through the public area, then goes upstairs to a private room at the end of a long corridor to join a poker game. Six other players are sitting around the table, together with the dealer. As the game begins, two of the players are talking. Let’s call them Frank and Steve and they look like mobsters. As their conversation progresses, the other players do their best to pretend they're not listening, even though they're obviously curious – apart from the Asari which has now removed her sunglasses and stares ahead of herself all the time and seems to be in a world of her own.]
Steve: They were fighting; she tried to break it up. You know, it was an accident.
Frank: You couldn't find the finger?
Steve: We were up all night looking for it.
Frank: Yeah, but you found it?
Steve: Out on the lawn when the sun came up. We've got it in the fridge.
Frank: And where's the housekeeper?
Steve: She's at the hospital. She lost a ton of blood.
Frank: Really? Don't they need the finger?
Steve: Naah, it was too late to reattach it. She'll be all right.
[The game continues as they talk.]
Frank: What finger was it?
Steve: [raising his right hand and wiggling his little finger.] Pinkie.
Frank: [throwing in his cards.] And you've still got it?
Steve: What are you supposed to do with a finger? Besides, I thought maybe she'd still want it, you know?
[The Asari puts some more chips down. Another player throws his cards in.]
Frank: And what about the dogs?
Steve: Well, what about ‘em?
Frank: You've gotta get rid of ‘em, no?
Steve: What do you mean? I love those dogs!
[The dealer gestures to him.]
Steve: I know. I'll see her.
[He picks up four pink chips and lays them down. The Asari turns over her cards. Irritated, Steve throws in his own cards.]
Steve: Nice hand, huh? Got me again. It's almost like you can read minds...
Frank: Only yours.
[Steve gestures to the Asari which is still staring ahead.]
Steve: Look at this bitch. She won't even look me in the eye! You've been taking my money all night; you won't even look at me?
Frank: Whoa, whoa, leave it alone. She's a freakin' whacko.
[At the entrance to the room at the end of the corridor, Gwen has gained admission and is being patted down by a security guard. Having been cleared by the guard, she walks into the room. Steve and Frank look up at her, apparently recognizing her.]
Steve: Aren't you a bit out of your league here, little girl?
[Gwen takes a seat at the table opposite the Asari.]
Gwendolyn: [to Steve.] What are you, my mother?
[A waitress brings her some chips. She looks at the dealer.]
Gwendolyn: Go ahead. I'll ante.
[The dealer deals out the next hand of cards. Gwen looks at the Asari, which stares back at her, licking her lips flirtatiously. The game continues. Many hands are played, and the Asari keeps winning. Every now and then she and Gwen stare across the table at each other.]
[Later Gwen picks up her latest hand. She has the six of hearts and six of diamonds. The Asari throws in some chips and Gwen does likewise. The dealer lays down the six of spades, the seven of spades and the seven of hearts. Now, your humble writer knows absolutely nothing about poker, but assumes that this is a very good hand for Gwen. As she tries not to show anything on her face, the Asari puts in a large number of chips, then sits back in her chair and waits. Steve looks expectantly at Gwen, who throws in some chips herself. The dealer lays down the seven of diamonds. I'm assuming that this still looks good for Gwen. As she looks at her cards thoughtfully, the Asari puts in another large stack of chips.]
Dealer: Twenty-two thousand to call.
[Gwen and the Asari stare at each other. Steve shakes his head and looks at Gwen.]
Steve: [referring to the Asari.] She doesn't have it.
Frank: Shut up.
[Gwen looks at the Asari again, then tosses in her cards face down. The Asari reaches forward and starts collecting its chips. Steve shakes his head again, still looking at Gwen.]
Steve: She didn't have it. No way.
[The Asari briefly nods her head in acknowledgement to Gwen, then stands up.]
Steve: Wait. Where you goin'? You can't leave now! [To the others.] Look at this bitch!
[He stands up.]
Steve: [shouts.] Hey!
[He reaches out and takes the Asari’s wrist. Instantly the Asari spins towards him, slaps his hand away and, growling ferociously, uses her biotics to push him across the room where he crashes down onto a glass coffee table, shattering it. As Gwen leaps to her feet, the Asari jumps onto the table, runs across it and, heel kicking Gwen to the floor, runs for the corridor leading out of the room. A security guard steps into her way, but the Asari hurls a biotic ball his way that throws him aside before running down the corridor. The guard who frisked Gwen earlier is standing at the door. He pulls out a pistol and shoots the Asari three times as it runs towards him, but its biotic shield stops the bullets and she continues to run forward, shoving him out of the way as she passes. As the Asari yanks the door open and runs off, Gwen gets to her feet and runs down the corridor, stopping to pick up the pistol which the guard dropped before chasing off after the Asari.]
[The Asari runs down the hotel corridor, reaches a stairwell and starts to run down the stairs, often jumping down an entire flight at a time. Gwen chases down after her. Several floors down, the Asari leaves the stairwell and charges down a service corridor, shoving people out of her way as Gwen continues running after her. Seeing a trolley full of crockery, she grabs it and shoves it over to try and slow Gwen down before running off again. Gwen hesitates briefly, then skids around the debris and continues the chase. The Asari reaches a door leading to, what appears to be, one of the Casino’s lower rooftops and runs off, with Gwen still in hot pursuit, but than stops as she sees the edge. Gwen catches up, but stops as she sees the Asari runs relentlessly onwards and leaping straight over the edge, plunging downwards hundreds of feet before landing with a sickly thud on the ground.]
[Gwen runs forward to the edge of the roof and looks over at the motionless figure lying face down below pn the pavement. Some seconds later the Asari lifts her head and, groaning, slowly begins to push herself to her feet. Gwen stares down, frowning in disbelief as the Asari, leaving a large smear of blood on the ground, slowly straightens up with blood trickling from her nose. She turns and looks up at Gwen, who still can't believe what she's seeing. The Asari gazes up at her for a long moment, then slowly begins to stumble away. A few yards later the stumble turns into a trot and by the time the Asari reaches the end of the road, it's running at full pelt again. As she disappears into the darkness, Gwen turns away from the roof's edge, her face full of bewilderment.]
Gwendolyn: The hell... ?
Chapter Seven[]
[Lucky Roller Motel. The manager opens the door to Room 50 and stares in horror at the sight which greets him along with an overwhelming stench and the sound of flies flying around.]
Manager: Oh, jeez.
[He steps aside as Gwen walks in, shining a flashlight down at the body of Laurel Foster lying on the floor. She squats down and looks at his shriveled body.]
Manager: You don't think that's contagious, do you?
Gwendolyn: You said the guy next door checked out yesterday?
Manager: I never saw him. He used the TV.
[He reaches for the light switch, but Gwen stops him in his tracks.]
Gwendolyn: Don't touch anything.
Manager: [taking his hand away from the switch.] Sure.
[Gwen stands up and shines her flashlight around the room, looking at all the make-up and other items on the dressing table. Taking a look into the bathroom, she turns back to the bed, on which is a large bag. Putting the butt of her flashlight into her mouth, she unzips the bag and opens it. It's full of banknotes.]
Manager: [still standing in the doorway.] What is it?
Gwendolyn: [taking the flashlight out of her mouth.] This is a crime scene. Get lost.
[The manager walks away and Gwen closes the bag of money. Shortly afterwards, Gwen puts the bag into the boot of her car and closes the lid. She notices a small puddle on the ground of the parking bay next to hers and frowns, remembering the similar wet patch in the desert and the image of radiator fluid leaking from the underside of the car.]
[Just then three black SUVs drive into the car park and John Marachuk gets out of one of them and walks over to Gwen.]
Marachuk: Detective.
[Gwen nods to him and gestures towards Room 50.]
Gwendolyn: Got another body in there. I was just about to call it in.
Marachuk: I heard about what happened at the casino.
[Gwen frowns.]
Gwendolyn: You followin' me?
Marachuk: There's a satellite locator on your car. [a moment of silence rushes by.] If you don't mind, we'd like for you to come with us for a little drive.
Gwendolyn: Do I have a choice?
[John doesn't answer, but his face tells Gwen all that she needs to know. She nods.]
Gwendolyn: Right.
[Reluctantly, she walks to John’s car and gets in.]
[The sun is rising as they drive away from civilization and onto the empty desert of the mojave. The three SUVs drive towards a facility out in the middle of nowhere. Gwen is looking out the window, not recognizing her surroundings. When she sees the facility, she turns and looks quizzically at John.]
Marachuk: ... I lied, I’m not with the FBI...
Chapter Eight[]
[Later. John stands outside a closed door and looks through the window in the door at Gwen standing inside. He turns as he hears footsteps and sees Archaon Thrax, wearing a suit and tie, approaching him. He’s medium-long wavy hair replaced by a short, dapper haircut.]
Marachuk: She refuses sign the NDA...
Archaon: Well, we should tell her anyway.
Marachuk: We can't trust her, doctor...
Archaon: She might be able to help us. Let me at least try.
[John nods a little reluctantly and Archaon opens the door to the room and walks in, closing the door behind him. John stays outside, watching through the window.]
Archaon: Detective. I'm Doctor Archaon Thrax.
[He walks over to a table in the middle of the room and puts a computer tablet down on it.]
Archaon: I realize you have no way of grasping what's going on here. There's really only one thing you need to understand: if you fail to co-operate, I have the power to ruin your life.
Gwendolyn: Well, you obviously don't realize how little I have to lose.
Archaon: I know everything about you. You've never been married. The only thing you own is a car. You have two thousand, three hundred and sixty-three dollars in the bank and are thirteen thousand dollars in debt, not counting off-the-books gambling losses to a guy named “Mickey”. What else? You finally passed your detective exam after four retries and three failed attempts and now barely scrape by on quarterly performance reviews.
[Gwen smiles ruefully.]
Archaon: Am I getting this right?
[Gwen smiles at him sarcastically.]
Gwendolyn: I also like spearmint gum.
[Archaon takes a packet of gum out of his pocket and tosses it onto the table.]
Archaon: Have some.
Gwendolyn: I was joking.
Archaon: No, you weren't. [pause.] Do you understand the gravity of your situation now?
[Gwen nods reluctantly with a smurk. Archaon picks up his computer tablet and heads for the door. Behind him, Gwen walks to the table and sits down at it. Archaon stops at the door as Gwen takes out a piece of gum from the packet. Archaon turns around to face her.]
Archaon: You know, I once met another version of you.
[Gwen looks at him uncomprehendingly.]
Archaon: She was very different...
Gwendolyn: What?
Archaon: [coming closer to the table.] Nothing is what you think it is.
Gwendolyn: It really doesn't come as a surprise to me.
Archaon: Look ... [He puts his tablet onto the table again and sits down.] We're not bad guys here. We just wanna keep the planet safe.
Gwendolyn: I doubt that very much.
Archaon: I don't expect you'll believe me, but we’re at the verge of extinction. There are… space aliens… coming for us from beyond our galaxy. Previous civilizations called them “Reapers”.
Gwendolyn: [sarcastically.] Space aliens?
[She grins sardonically. Archaon tilts his chin down and just looks at her silently. Gwen's sarcastic complexion wanes, making place for concern.]
Chapter Nine[]
[AREA 51 (which is where we must assume that Gwen is.). Gwen is still in the interrogation room staring at Archaon, who is still sitting at the table.]
Gwendolyn: Are there more?
Archaon: Oh yeah – lots more. Fortunately they're in intergalactic space… For now… And don't know where Earth is.
[He stands up and walks towards the door, then turns back to Gwen who is still staring at the ground.]
Archaon: Detective?
[Gwen drags herself away from the table and follows Archaon who takes her to another area.]
Archaon: your murderer is an Asari – a blue-skinned, all-female race…
Gwendolyn: [interrupts.] I know what Asari are, Doc. I’ve seen all seasons of “Vaenia”.
Archaon: She’s an Ardat-Yakshi. A pureblood Asari that can overwhelm the nervous system of someone during mating, causing severe hemorrhaging in the brain. However, this one’s different. We don’t know how, but somehow she has the ability to suck someone’s life-force while mating. Not only that, but we have reason to believe that she’s indoctrinated by the reapers just like Saren was by the Reaper that attacked the Citadel. Suppose it all sounds like science fiction to you.
Gwendolyn: I'm not really a fan of Sci-fi, Doc.
[Later Gwen and Archaon are walking along a corridor.]
Archaon: Now, the one that you've encountered has obviously been doing a fairly good job of blending in.
Gwendolyn: By disguising herself as a human?
Archaon: Based on your description and the video surveillance from the casino, yes. Now… Let me tell you something more about the Reapers…
Chapter Ten[]
[Same corridor. Gwen leans against a wall, pulling herself together.]
Archaon: You OK?
[Shakily, Gwen nods.]
Gwendolyn: Are people ever gonna know the truth?
Archaon: Not my decision to make. Personally, I think people choose to live in their own happy little delusions. They don't really wanna know the truth.
[A woman walks along the corridor and passes them by. She smiles coyly at Archaon as she walks past him.]
Archaon: Ariel…
Alexis: Archaon…
[He watches her walk away. Gwen frowns as she remembers that she's seen her before, but doesn’t know where or why. As Archaon walks off in the opposite direction, Gwen follows, still staring back at Ariel Alexis in confusion.]
Gwendolyn: Uh, the other victims had radioactive residue on them.
Archaon: They all did. Once we got wind of it and our suspicions were confirmed, the whole thing was ultimately gonna be covered up, but you tracked down the target before that could happen.
Gwendolyn: Well, in serial cases you're supposed to look for any victims who got away.
Archaon: Which is how you found the motel and the man who reported radiation sickness. He was most likely exposed ‘cause he was in the room next door to the Asari. See, we didn't think to look for bystanders that could have been accidentally exposed to the proximity.
Gwendolyn: To the Asari?
Archaon: No, no. However, we do believe that the radioactive material in this case is being transferred from the target to the victims, but the source ... well, it's being shielded from our scanning capabilities.
Gwendolyn: So, what do you think it is?
Archaon: We believe she's building a device. We're not sure of its intended function, but we know that she was able to salvage certain parts from her shuttle before leaving and we could get to it.
Gwendolyn: Well, what about the rest?
Archaon: Well, she’s smart. Wouldn't take her long to learn the ins and outs of the way things work around here. We have reason to believe that she has already acquired some of the necessary materials, but she needs more. She also needs untraceable currency or we would have found her by now.
Gwendolyn: So she makes money playing poker. There's gotta be a better way than that.
Archaon: Guess she could rob a bank, but it's risky and it draws a lot of attention. No, the Asari love games – and with their racial abilities - they are very good at them.
[They have walked into a room where a group of people – some military and some in plain clothes – is sitting around a table. The man currently addressing the gathering is Radovan Bernn, wearing a suit and tie.]
Bernn: The following is a worst case scenario should the device be detonated.
Archaon: [annoyed to Gwen.] ‘Scuse me. Wait here.
Bernn: Now, based on the material that we suspect has already gone into the core, there's a very strong likelihood that...
Archaon: [interrupting as he walks into the meeting.] It's not a bomb!
Bernn: [ignoring him.] We need to be prepared for every possibility.
Archaon: What would be the point of overcooking half the United States?
Bernn: Revenge for Saren!
Archaon: Not her first choice. She wants to send up a flare signaling the location of Earth to the Reapers.
Bernn: [to the others.] ‘Scuse me.
[He walks over to Archaon, the other people start whispering among themselves.]
Bernn: [quietly.] Archaon, she would not need that kind of power to activate a communicator.
Archaon: [quietly.] She does if she wants to send a message to intergalactic space and be rescued within her lifetime.
Bernn: Well, that would require a massive boost.
Archaon: Yes, it would require more energy than she currently has.
Bernn: Not even a Mass Effect Generator would ...
Archaon: [interrupting.] I know.
Bernn: That kind of burst is uncontrollable ...
Archaon: I never said it wasn't dangerous. It could open up any number of anomalies ...
Bernn: Like the inter-dimensional rift?
Archaon: Will you stop bringing that up?! Why d'you have to constantly remind me, especially in front of other people?
Bernn: You are such a child!
Archaon: And yet I am still smarter than you!
[He turns and walks back towards Gwen, leaving Radovan open mouthed with indignation behind him.]
Archaon: [to Gwen.] Don't worry. Everything's under control.
[He beckons her through a doorway as Radovan goes back to the rest of the group.]
Chapter Eleven[]
[Outside the facility. Gwen and Archaon have gone outside and are standing near a car which is waiting to take Gwen away.]
Archaon: Thank you for your co-operation, Detective. If you can think of anything else... [he hands him a card.] ... Please call me at this number.
Gwendolyn: If she's not finished yet, why'd she stop hiding the bodies?
Archaon: Don't know. Over-confidence that she can't be caught?
[Gwen looks at the card for a moment, then decides to tell Archaon the whole story.]
Gwendolyn: She left money behind.
Archaon: How much?
Gwendolyn: [pondering.] A few thousand?
Archaon: [smiles.] Nothing to worry about, I’m sure.
Gwendolyn: So, that's it? You're just gonna let me go?
Archaon: [nods.] We know where to find you.
[Gwen turns and starts to walk towards the car.]
Archaon: Detective!
[Gwen stops and turns back as Archaon approaches her.]
Archaon: Remember when I told you I once met another version of you?
Gwendolyn: Yeah…
Archaon: [sighs.] I know you'll probably think this sounds ridiculous, but… A little while ago we accidentally opened a rift in space/time – went through to an alternate version of reality. It was very similar to ours in many ways… Met a team… much like the one I work with now, only… You were the leader. You were a hero… Risked your life… Countless times over…
Gwendolyn: [smiling bitterly.] Doesn't sound much like me, though.
Archaon: I don't think there's much difference between you… and that other Gwendolyn I met. It's amazing how one little incident can entirely alter the course of your life… Still, I like to believe you have the same strength of character. That's all I wanted to say.
[He turns and starts to walk away. Gwen calls after him.]
Gwendolyn: What do you want me to say?
Archaon: [over his shoulder.] For now... nothing.
Chapter Twelve[]
[AREA 51 facility, John is walking around what appears to be the main radar quarters. In the center of the room is a large, holographic representation of Earth with staff all around the hologrom working on computers showing images of the American states.]
Staff: [Over the intercom.] Roadblocks have been set in place, security on commercial airlines are on high alert. Visual air- and ground sweeps are underway.
[John passes Radovan who stops what he’s doing to follow him.]
Bernn: Sir, our scans are still coming back negative, but given the potential range and damage an explosive device—
[Archaon enters the room and interrupts Radovan.]
Archaon: How many times do I need to repeat myself?! It is not a bomb!
[Archaon walks over to a console.]
Bernn: You know, you have been wrong before…
Archaon: Not nearly as often as you!
Bernn: Oh really? Care to explain… --
Marachuk: [irritated.] Gentlemen! [calms down.] There has been an indoctrinated Asari out there for months… Somehow she has managed to acquire the potential capability to compromise the safety and security of this planet.
[Both Radovan and Archaon look embarrassed at John.]
Marachuk: So far... despite all the brainpower and technology at our disposal, some nobody-detective has come closer than either of you… Tell me, please, How that’s possible.
[When neither Radovan nor Archaon can answer, John walks to the exit in disappointment.]
Archaon: Alright, I think we need to… --
Marachuk: [interrupts] Doctor, I am not going to accept that all we can do is wait till she makes another mistake and reveals herself. Find her, now!
[Radovan and Archaon look worried at eachother.]
Marachuk: Before she unleashes whatever it is she has planned…
[John leaves the room.]
[Las Vegas Police HQ. Gwen has a box on the table of her office and is packing her personal belongings into it. After removing everything she wants from her desk, she unsticks the bikini girls poster from the wall, rolls it up and puts it into the box. Chief Greer comes to the door.]
Greer: What's going on?
[Gwen picks up the box, leaving her police badge and pistol lying on the table. She walks over to Greer and hands him the box. She pauses for a moment, then picks up the rolled-up poster from the box and, taking it with her while leaving all her other possessions with Greer, leaves the office without saying a word.]
[She exits the police station and walks to her car. Getting in, driving away from the city and out into the desert. A song is playing on the car stereo, the singer’s voice similar to Captain Bailey’s. On the passenger seat beside her is the large bag containing the Asari's cash. She looks across to it and smiles in satisfaction.]
[As he is still driving along, Gwen thinks back to recent events.]
- [Flashback of Gwen pulling back the covering over the last victim in the desert.]
- [Flashback to the Asari falling down the side of the hotel.]
- Archaon: [flashback.] She wants to send up a flare signaling the location of Earth to the rest of the Reapers.
- Bernn: [flashback.] But that would require a massive boost.
- Archaon: [flashback.] Yes, she would need more power than she already has.
- [Flashback to the skeletal corpse in the desert.]
- [Flashback to the tyre tracks near the corpse in the desert.]
- [Flashback to the puddle of radiator fluid in the desert.]
- [Flashback to Gwen opening the bag of money at the motel.]
- [Flashback to Gwen putting the money into the boot of her car, then seeing the puddle of radiator fluid on the ground nearby.]
- [Flashback to the image of the radiator fluid dripping from the underside of a vehicle.]
- [Flashback to the Asari leaving the motel while Gwen watches her from her car. The Asari walks past a pick-up truck, then past a silver motorhome.]
[In the present, Gwen slams on the brakes and throws the car into a handbrake, making a U-turn. She shoves the gearstick into Drive and starts to race back the way she just came.]
Epilogue[]
[AREA 51. Archaon is talking with John as they stand near a screen showing large red patches on a map. Radovan is sitting nearby working on a computer.]
Archaon: Recalibrating the scanners to look for similar isotopes at maximum sensitivity just shows us huge patches of radioactive desert.
Marachuk: From two-hundred year old nuclear testing.
Bernn: Yeah, we're talking hundreds of square miles.
Archaon: It's like a needle in a haystack.
Bernn: [standing up and walking over to the other two.] Or she could have abandoned whatever resources she had and just gone into hiding.
Archaon: [sarcastically.] Oh yes, she probably got a job as a Klingon translator at Star Trek: The Experience.
Marachuk: [sadly.] That shut down.
Bernn: [Equally sad.] Really? Damn, I wanted to see that.
[A security guard walks over to the group.]
Guard: Doctor Thrax, there's a call for you. Gwendolyn Diomedes.
[Archaon goes over to the nearby phone and picks it up.]
Archaon: Hello.
Gwendolyn: [Via telephone] I found her!
[Archaon turns and calls out to the others.]
Archaon: She thinks she's found her. [Into phone.] How?
[Gwen is talking into her cellphone in her car, parked near the silver motorhome trailer which is now out in the desert.]
Gwendolyn: I remembered the trailer from the motel. It's one of those old silver bullets. It's just a hunch – you said she needed more power so I drove along some of the more remote power lines into the city.
[Archaon turns and clicks his fingers at Radovan.]
Archaon: Radovan. She's gonna tap into the grid.
[Radovan sits down at a computer and starts to type. John hurries over to him.]
Marachuk: We should have Diomedes’ co-ordinates.
[Inside the motorhome, the Asari has built a large device at one end of the trailer and is typing on a small console nearby. It reaches across to another device and pulls a handle down a few clicks. Power begins to pulse through the equipment.]
[At Area 51, Archaon continues his phone conversation.]
Archaon: Listen to me. I know what I said, but do not engage, do you hear me?
[The phone line becomes full of static. He takes the phone away from his ear and stares at it in horror. In the desert, Gwen takes her own phone away from her ear and looks at the screen, which reads, "NO SERVICE".]
Gwendolyn: [irritated.] Oh crap.
[She looks across to the motorhome. Inside, unseen by Gwen, the Asari pulls down the handle a few more clicks. The energy levels rise on the equipment.]
[In the skies, two fighter jets have launched and are heading out into the desert. At Area 51, Radovan checks his screen.]
Radovan: E.T.A. to target, three minutes.
[In the motorhome, the Asari pulls the handle down a few more clicks. Again the energy levels rise.]
[Outside, Gwen drives slowly towards the motorhome and sees a thick cable leading from the trailer to a nearby electricity pylon. The Asari looks up as she hears the car's engine. She goes to the window, looks through the dirty glass and sees the car coming to a halt about a hundred yards away. Snarling, she goes to a large cupboard and opens the door, revealing a small arsenal of weapons inside. Gwen turns the car engine off, reaches over the glove box and opens it, taking out a M-3 Predator Pistol. She inserts a thermal clip into it, then gets out of the car and starts to walk cautiously towards the motorhome. As she gets closer, the Asari fires a single shot through one of the windows. Gwen stops and looks down at herself. There is a bullet hole in her chest just above her heart. She stares down at it for a moment, then turns and races back towards the car. She hurls herself over the bonnet and onto the ground on the other side as the Asari opens fire with repeated bursts of automatic gunfire. Gwen pops up from beside the car and fires into the motorhome until her weapon overheats and automatically ejects the thermal clip. The Asari continues firing back at her. Gwen crawls to the driver's door as the Asari kicks open the motorhome door and fires more automatic gunfire at the car with what appears to be a Bloodpack Punisher, the bullets punching through the vehicle. Gwen lies across the seats as she scrabbles in the glove compartment for another thermal clip. The Asari strolls out of the motorhome, an SMG in each hand, firing one towards the car. Gwen finally gets another thermal clip and reloads her pistol as bullets fly all around her and fragments of glass rain down on her. She wriggles back out of the car and jumps up, firing nine bullets straight into the Asari's chest. The bullets have no effect cause of the biotic shield and Gwen ducks down again as the Asari opens fire once more. The bullet wound in Gwen's chest starte to take effect and she sits down beside the car, gasping in pain. The Asari strolls around the car and looks down at Gwen who is trying in vain to aim her pistol at the Asari. Blood is now pouring from her chest wound. She manages to lift the pistol and pull the trigger, but again the bullets are stopped by a biotic shield.]
Gwendolyn: [grunting in pain.] That’s so unfair…
[Wearily she lowers the pistol to her lap. The Asari, realizing that Gwen is no longer a threat, drops her SMG’s to the ground and walks seductively to Gwen. Kneeling on top of her, she grabs Gwen’s face.]
Morinth: Find peace in the embrace of the Goddess.
Gwendolyn: [dryly] I’d rather not…
[Gwen raises her foot to the Asari’s stomach and heel-kicks her off. The Asari falls to the ground and, with flailing motions, corrects herself and stand up. She screeches at Gwen, but just then the Asari turns and looks up into the sky as she hears approaching fighter jets. The two fighter jets begin to swoop down towards the area. The Asari turns and races back into the motorhome, runs inside, grabs the handle and pulls it all the way down. The device at the end of the trailer begins to glow brightly, and an energy pulse surges out from the motorhome and swoops away in all directions.]
[At AREA 51. Monitors all over the room start beeping in an alarming rhythm.]
Staff: [Via intercom.] We have widespread power outages being reported across the state.
Bernn: We’re receiving new sensor data.
Archaon: I've got it. Massive sub-space event; ten times the power of an active relay and getting stronger. The scope increases the longer it stays active.
Marachuk: What is it?
Archaon: It's a transmission, coded in Asari. I'm working on it.
Fighter pilot: [via intercom.] Target has been acquired, sir.
Marachuk: [pushing his earpiece.] weapons free.
[In the desert, Gwen sits at the side of the car and watches helplessly as the jets swoop down. The Asari inside the motorhome turns and snarls as it hears the approaching jets. One of the jets launches a missile, which flies towards the motorhome. The Asari roars defiantly as the missile impacts the motorhome and it explodes. The jets soar overhead and Gwen cowers down behind the car which protects her from the fireball and debris on the other side. The jets turns and swoop over the area again to confirm the kill.]
[At AREA 51. Everyone in the room is dying from suspense.]
Fighter Pilot: Direct hit! Direct hit!.
[John, Archaon and Radovan sigh with relief as the rest of the staff in the room celebrate.]
Bernn: Transmission has ceased.
[John turns and nods appreciatively to the other personnel in the room. Archaon looks at his screen and his expression becomes serious again.]
Archaon: It contained the location of Earth…
Marachuk: Is there a chance it reached intergalactic space?
Archaon: No.
[His face does not look relieved, however, and Radovan turns to him with an equally unhappy expression.]
Bernn: Archaon, we've seen this energy signature before.
Archaon: I know. It looks like the device tore a small hole in the space/time continuum.
Marachuk: Do you think that was intended?
Archaon: No, couldn't be. Most of the energy meant to carry the Asari’s transmission went through the rift.
Marachuk: To where?
Bernn: Well, there's no way to know for sure.
Archaon: Other realities...
Marachuk: I'm sorry, but I only care about us right now.
Archaon: [stands up.] If Gwendolyn Diomedes hadn't found the Asari when she did, that transmission definitely would have made it through to the Reaper. She saved our asses.
Bernn: Yes. But that transmission would have been stronger in any other reality exposed to the rift.
[Archaon looks worryingly at John.]
Archaon: They could be in a lot of trouble right now…
[John and Archaon exchange worried looks.]
[Mojave Desert. As Bailey’s soundtrack continues, the debris of the motorhome is scattered around, burning fiercely. On the far side of the car, Gwen drags herself back into it, tugging on the seats to get closer to the glove compartment. She takes out a pack of cigarettes and a lighter. Positioning herself into the driver seat with obvious pain, she takes out a cigarettes and lights it up, taken a big inhale of smoke. Feeling painfully uncomfortable, she repositions herself slightly on the seat. As the last flicker of life was dissipating from her clouded eyes, she exhales her last, smoke filled breath.]