Story [Mass Effect] Purgatory: Cats and Mice (ME2 Semi-AU; Shepard, Jack; Action)

Title: Purgatory: Cats and Mice
Author: CherryLightsaber
Timeframe: Mass Effect 2
Characters: Victor Shepard, Warden Kuril, Jacob Taylor, Miranda Lawson, Garrus Vakarian, Grunt, Mordin Solus, Jack
Genre: Semi-AU, Action
Summary: Victor Shepard released Jack from imprisonment, but now Purgatory's Warden Kuril is on the hunt. A spin on Jack's recruitment mission from Mass Effect 2.

When I played through Jack's recruitment a few times, I thought that Kuril's standing on the high ground while taking potshots at escaped prisoners made him seem a bit incompetent. So for this fic, I'm having him actively hunt Jack down, forcing Shepard to take a different route towards keeping Kuril away from Jack--Infiltrator style.

I do not own Mass Effect. EA and BioWare do.

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[b]Part 1[/b]

A feral roar and an exploding mech heralded the beginning of Jack?s rampage through the prison ship [i]Purgatory[/i]. The sound of crunching metal soon followed, rocking the observation room above the cryo chamber. A dozen alarms added to the cacophony assaulting Victor Shepard?s ears.

The dossier didn?t lie: Jack was a biotic powerhouse and potentially a useful addition to the [i]Normandy[/i] crew. Finding her, however, came first.

?Shepard,? Jacob Taylor said. ?We need to get Jack out of here. Do you have any orders??

?Just a second.? Following the trail of destruction seemed the obvious route; Warden Kuril had locked down nearly every door in the cell block, probably trying to trap Jack?and Victor himself?in a specific room for easy capture. But only Blue Suns mercs and escaped prisoners lay that way. The time spent killing them subtracted from the time spent hunting Jack down, the time spent making sure the Suns wouldn?t get to her first. They had captured her once already. Who?s to say they didn?t have the ability to do it again?

Victor stepped toward the console he had just used to unlock every cell in the block and tapped a few of the keys. He couldn?t get full access to the [i]Purgatory[/i]?s security systems normally, but a fix from his omni-tool took care of that problem.

Miranda Lawson approached his side. ?We don?t have time to waste. The longer we wait, the more time the Blue Suns have to recapture Jack.?

He turned back to his squad. ?I?m going to stay up here and make sure the Suns don?t reach her. The three of you can head into the main prison area and create a diversion. I?m expecting them to realize that I?m not with you, but looking for me will be hard when they have three armed enemies raining hell on them. When everything?s done, I?ll give you the word to rendezvous at the docking bay.?

Garrus Vakarian nodded. ?Understood, Shepard.?

Victor punched a command into the console; the door leading to Jack?s holding area slid open. ?Go.? Garrus, Miranda, and Jacob headed down the corridor. He kicked the corpse of the technician he had gunned down out of the way and set the toppled chair on its feet. With the ghost of an anticipatory smirk, Victor sat down and got to work.

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Kuril, Warden of the [i]Purgatory[/i], hooked the last pieces of equipment to his armor. Mass effect field suppressors, gas grenades, tranquilizer rounds?the turian liked to be prepared. But for this particular hunt, he [i]had[/i] to be prepared. His quarry was the most powerful known human biotic, and out of all the Blue Suns on the prison ship, only Kuril could capture her. He slid his machine gun off its slot on his back. A push of a button configured its sliding parts into the weapon?s firing mode. He cast a glance at the similarly preparing guards behind him. They had little experience against biotics, but they served a useful purpose as fodder nonetheless.

The warden looked at the turian tech specialist Aeneus. ?Do you have a fix on Jack?s location??

Aeneus entered a few more commands into his omni-tool. He looked up at Kuril and nodded. ?She?s gotten into the observation corridors. Movement seems random? no. Scratch that.? A holographic map of the cell block appeared above his hand. ?Take a look