Mass Effect: Intertwining Fates

Prologue - The Normandy

Commander Jane Shepard, XO of the new Alliance frigate, the Normandy. The title was still fresh for her, when she received this new posting she never expected that someone like Captain David Anderson would appoint her as his XO, it felt like a dream come true. Ever since she was younger, she dreamed of exploring the deep reaches of space, which made things all the better for her as she was a Spacer kid, born and raised aboard stations across Alliance space, both her parents were Alliance officers, and they were constantly moving from posting to posting. As she looked out the starboard window down at Earth, she thought back to what had lead her to this position, to be wearing N7 armour, the be chosen to become one of the best the Alliance military had to offer. Jane had single handedly won the Alliance a great victory on Elysium, rallying the civilians into defending their colony as a coalition of pirates and slavers invaded, intending to wipe out the human colony. Jane managed to repel the constant pushes of their attacks and keep them contained, after hours of brutal fighting, Alliance reinforcements showed up, they took charge and forced the invaders to break rank and retreat, securing a major victory for the Alliance and making Jane a Hero, her admission into the N7 program came soon after.

"Commander?"

Jane immediately reached up to her ear and activated the com. "Yes, I'm here."

"Captain Anderson here. We are about to get underway, our first destination will be Eden Prime."

"Understood, sir." Jane replied.

"Head up to the cockpit and keep an eye on the proceedings, Nihlus is already up there."

"Wouldn't you rather be up there, sir?" Jane asked.

"I've already seen what this ship can do, besides I have to report to Admiral Hackett of the Fifth Fleet."

"Understood sir, I'll be sure to give you a report as soon as I am able." Jane said.

"Understood, Commander. Anderson out."

Jane switched off the comms and left the starboard viewing window, she walked up the steps to the first deck and emerged into the CIC. She was quite fascinated by the layout, as the Normandy was co-developed by the Turian's, they had put some of their interior designs into the ship, to view the Galaxy Map, the user had to stand on a large podium, overlooking the entire CIC and what the Turians would consider is looking down upon your subordinates. She tore her eyes away and continued to make her way up to the bridge, she accidentally bumped into a young and eager Corporal, they just shook it off and saluted the Commander as she continued along her way. She now entered the bridge and saw they were already underway, it was strange, everything was so quiet it didn't feel as they they were moving at all, let alone feel the sudden thrust from their acceleration.

"The board is green." She heard the pilot say. She hadn't gotten the chance to read his file yet, but many of the crew referred to him as Joker, she didn't know why but made a mental note to find out why later. "Approach run has begun."

Jane saw through the windows as the Normandy grew ever closer to the Mass Relay, a large mass transit device left for them by the extinct race known as the Protheans. Admittedly she didn't know much about them, only that they left so much to discover in the galaxy, like the ruins on Mars, without learning the Protheans secrets to intergalactic travel, humanity would not have advanced this far into the galactic community.

"Hitting the relay in 3... 2... 1..."

Jane braced herself for what would be a sudden acceleration, she watched as the Mass Relay linked up with them preparing to hurtle them thousands of light years in an instant, but when the jump came, she didn't feel a thing, they were flying smoothly through the air. She couldn't believe it, the Normandy was nothing short of an engineering feat, not to mention it had a stealth ability, able to hide its heat emissions for hours, making them practically invisible to scanners, unfortunately they were still visible to the naked eye. Now was a good a time as any to check in with the pilot. "What's our status?"

"Oh, Commander I didn't hear you come in." Joker said, his hands playing across the holographic interface that controlled much of the Normandy. "Thrusters... check. Navigation... Check. Internal sink emissions engaged. All systems online. Drift... just under 1500 K."

"1500 is good." Came the voice from beside Jane, she looked to the Turian, Nihlus, that was standing just above Joker, observing the Normandy's jump. "Your Captain will be pleased." Without another word, Nihlus turned and left the cockpit.

Joker and Shepard both watched as he left, with an annoyed grunt, Joker turned back to his controls and muttered loudly. "I hate that guy."

"Nihlus gave you a compliment." Came a voice to Joker's right, it belong to Kaiden Alenko, a surprising addition to the Normandy's crew. Like Jane, Kaiden was a biotic, and a strong one at that, retrofitted with the highly controversial L2 implants. "So, you hate him?" He finished with a slight grin on his face.

"You remember to zip up your jumpsuit on the way out of the bathroom? That's good." Joker replied, both joking and making light of the situation. "I just jumped us halfway across the galaxy and hit the target the size of a pinhead. So that's incredible."

Jane couldn't help as her lips curled into a humoured smile. "I guess that's why they call him Joker." She thought to herself.

"Besides, Spectres are trouble." Joker followed up. "I don't like having him onboard, call me paranoid."

"You're paranoid." Kaiden replied, quite humoured by Joker's paranoia. "The council help fund this project. They have a right to send someone to keep an eye on their investment."

"Yeah." Joker scoffed. "That is the official story. But only an idiot believes the official story."

Jane had to admit, Joker did make something of a point, Spectres were the best of the best in the Galactic community, they were above the law and answered to no one but the council themselves. The Citadel Council were the head in the galactic community, always deciding what was in the people best interests, the council consisted of an Asari, a Turian and a Salarian, many of the other races had been fighting to get a representative on the council, especially humanity. "They don't just send Spectre's on shakedown runs." She thought out loud.

"So there's more going on than the captains letting on." Joker said, paying a quick 'I told you so' glance to Kaiden.

Kaiden didn't have time to answer before the cockpits comms activated and Captain Anderson's voice came through. "Joker! Status report."

"Just cleared the Mass Relay, Captain." Joker replied over the comms. "Stealth systems engaged. Everything looks solid."

"Good." Came Anderson's reply. "Find us a comm buoy and link us into the network. I want mission report relayed back to Alliance brass before we reach Eden Prime."

"Aye aye, Captain." Joker said. "Better brace yourself, sir. I think Nihlus is headed your way."

"He is already here, Lieutenant." Anderson replied, his tone much different than his usual cheery one. "Tell Commander Shepard to meet me in the comm room for a debriefing." The comms shut off after that.

Joker turned to look up at Jane. "You get that, Commander?"

Jane had picked up on Anderson's tone and didn't like the sound of it. "He sounds angry." She said, thinking out loud again. "Something must have gone wrong with the mission."

Joker scoffed again. "The captain always sounds like that whenever he is talking to me."

"I can't possibly imagine why." Kaiden couldn't help but mutter under his breath.

Jane couldn't help as another humoured smile spread across her face, deciding not to tempt fate, she turned and left the cockpit, making her way to the comm room. She walked through the CIC, making for the comm room when she overheard a snippet of conversation, from the same Corporal she had accidentally bumped into and the Normandy's doctor.

"I grew up on Eden Prime, doc." The corporal said. "It's not the sort of place Spectre's visit. There's something Nihlus isn't telling us about this mission."

Deciding to lay his mind as rest, she approached him and spoke. "Something on your mind, Corporal?"

"What do you think, Commander?" The corporal asked. "We won't be staying on Eden Prime too long, will we? I'm itching for some real action."

"I sincerely hope you're kidding, Corporal." Doctor Chakwas said in a cold tone. "Your 'real action' usually ends with me patching up crew members in the infirmary."

"You need to calm down, Corporal." Jane said. "A good soldier stays cool, even under fire."

"I'm sorry, Commander." The young corporal apologised. "But all this waiting is killing me, I've never been on a mission like this before. Not one with a Spectre on board!"

"Just treat this like any other assignment and everything will work out fine." Jane said. She liked that he was committed, but his over eagerness was something she would need to keep an eye on.

"Easy for you to say." The corporal replied. "You proved yourself in the Blitz, everybody knows what you can do. This is my big chance, I need to prove to the brass just what I can do."

"You're young, Corporal." Jane said, this corporal reminded her of her days in N7 training. Young guns, like Jenkins, were often the first to leave or get out down, thinking they could take on the world, but in the end their stupidity let them down. "You have a long career ahead of you, don't do something stupid to mess it up."

"Don't worry, ma'am. I won't screw this up." The corporal replied.

Jane just nodded, she didn't really have anymore to add. "The captain is waiting for me." She said as she gave the comm room door behind them a nod.

"Goodbye Commander." Doctor Chakwas said respectfully as the two parted, letting Jane continue on her way.

Jane slipped passed the two and entered the comm room, she walked down the short ramp into the large circular room, just at the end of it stood Nihlus, all Line and looking at a screen showing the scenery of Eden Prime. She stepped into the centre of the room and cleared her throat.

Nihlus turned to face Jane. "Commander Shepard. I was hoping you would get here first, it would give us a chance to talk." Nihlus began.

Jane nervously looked around the room, Anderson was nowhere in sight, she was sure he would be here. "The Captain said he would meet me here." She said, a little suspicion in her voice.

"He's on his way." Nihlus said simply. He then began to pace, but kept his attention on Shepard. "I want to know more about this world we are going to, Eden Prime. I've heard it's quite beautiful."

"They say its a paradise." Jane said simply. "But I've never been there, so I can't really say."

"Yes, a paradise." Nihlus said "Serene. Tranquil. Safe. Eden Prime has become something of a symbol for your people, hasn't it?"

Jane was slowly warming up to Nihlus, he seemingly appreciated humans advancement in the galactic community.

"Proof that humanity can not only establish colonies across the galaxy, but also protect them." Nihlus continued on. "But how safe is it really?"

Alarms began ringing in Janes head, it almost sounded like a threat, and at the same time it also confirmed her suspicions all along, there was something else at play here. "Do you know something?" She asked as she stepped closer to the pacing Turian.

Nihlus stopped pacing and looked down at Jane "You people are still newcomers to the galaxy, Shepard." He said simply. "The galaxy can be a very dangerous place." He paused and took this opportunity to cold his arms. "Is the Alliance truly ready for this?"

Jane was about to answer when from nowhere, Captain Anderson appeared at her side. "I think it's time we told the Commander what's really going on."

"This mission is far more than a simple shakedown run." Nihlus said, now adopting a business like attitude.

Jane turned her attention to Anderson. "I figured there was something you weren't telling us." She said in a neutral tone.

"We're making a covert pick-up on Eden Prime." Anderson began. "That is why we needed the stealth systems operational."

"There must be a reason you didn't tell me about this, sir." Jane replied, feeling left out of the loop.

"This comes down from the top, Commander." Anderson said. "Information strictly on a need-to-know basis." The captain left Shepard side and stood forward, now standing beside Nihlus. "A research team on Eden Prime unearthed some kind of beacon during an excavation. It was Prothean."

"I thought the Prothean's disappeared 50,000 years ago." Jane said, thinking out loud as she frequently did.

"Their legacy still remains." Nihlus began. "The Citadel, the Mass Relays, our ship drives. It's all based on Prothean technology."

"This is big, Shepard. The last time humanity made a discovery like this, it jumped our technology forward two hundred years." Anderson said, trying to stress his words so that the weight of the situation would be better understood. "But Eden Prime doesn't have the facilities to handle something like this. We need to bring the beacon back to the Citadel for proper study."

"Obviously this goes above mere human interests, Commander." Nihlus interjected. "This discovery could affect every race in Council space."

Jane almost felt as though Nihlus' words were a bit contradictory, humanity had discovered the beacon, so why was it being passed on to the rest? "Why don't we keep to beacon for ourselves?" She couldn't help but ask.

"You humans don't exactly have the best reputation." Nihlus said bluntly. "Some species see you as selfish. Too unpredictable. Too independent. Even dangerous."

"Sharing that beacon will improve relations with the council." Anderson began, taking over for Nihlus. "Plus, we need their scientific expertise. They know more about the Prothean's than we do."

"The beacon is not the only reason I'm here, Shepard." Nihlus said, stepping forward.

Jane felt a little confused by this new statement, she looked to Anderson for an explanation. "What does that mean?"

"Nihlus was also sent here to see you in action, Commander." Anderson said. "He is here to evaluate you."

"I guess that explains why I bump into him every time I turn around." Jane thought out loud. The thought was true though, ever since she had received her posting aboard the Normandy, she always felt as though she were being constantly watched, when she looked around, she always noticed Nihlus close by, watching her, evaluating her. "But what is he evaluating me for exactly?"

"The Alliance has been pushing for this for a long time." Anderson began. "Humanity wants more say in shaping interstellar policy. We want more say with the Citadel Council. The Spectre's represent the councils power and authority, if they accept a human into their ranks, it shows how far the Alliance has come."

"You held off an enemy assault in the Blitz single-handed." Nihlus said in praise of Janes previous efforts. "You showed not only courage, but incredible skill. That's why I put your name forward as a candidate for the Spectres."

Jane felt a great sense of accomplishment flow through her, Anderson was right, it would show the Council just his far humanity has come, and she was the one getting chosen for this prestigious honour. But something else Nihlus said didn't make all that much sense to her, he had put her name forward? She thought it would have come from a superior officer in the Alliance parliament, not a turian. Ever since the first contact war, some Turians and humans alike held a fierce grudge toward the other, the rest seemed to get along quite harmoniously. "Why would a Turian want a human in the Spectres? No offence, mind."

"None taken." Nihlus said. "Not all Turians resent humanity. Some of us see the potential of your species. We see what you have to offer the rest of the galaxy, and the Spectres. We are an elite group, it is rare to find an individual with the skills we seek. I don't care that you're human, Shepard, I only care that you can do the job."

Jane turned her attention away from Nihlus, receiving praise from a turian Spectre was a double whammy for her. "I assume this is good for the Alliance?" She asked Anderson.

"Earth needs this, Shepard." Anderson replied. "We're counting on you."

"I need to see your skills for myself, Commander." Nihlus said. "Eden Prime will be the first of several missions together."

"You'll be in charge of the ground team." Anderson began. "Secure the beacon and get it onto the who ASAP. Nihlus will accompany you to observe the mission."

Jane nodding in understanding. "Just give the word, Captain. My team and I will be ready to go."

"Good." Anderson said. "We should be getting close to Eden..."

"Captain!" Jokers voice came over the PA. "We've got a problem."

"What's wrong Joker!" Anderson replied.

"Transmission from Eden Prime, sir. You better see this." Joker said.

"Bring it up on screen." Anderson said as all three turned to look at the screen behind them that had began to play the transmission.

A video log began to play, it became apparent that it was being recorded from an omni-tool. What they saw was unnerving, a heavy firefight was taking place, many Alliance soldiers were bunkered down in defensible positions and returning fire at an unknown enemy. A soldier in white armour leapt from cover over to the one recording "Get down!" She ordered as she pushed them into the dirt, immediately turning her Assault Rifle back to the enemy and firing once more. More explosions and gun fire could be heard.

The video panned to another soldier and they began to explain the situation. "We are under heavy fire and tking heavy casualties, repeat heavy casualties!" They said in a panicked voice. "We can't..." Another explosion cut across and the soldier grunted in pain, but that wasn't the worst of it, the transmission was becoming unstable. "... need evac... We need..." The soldier stopped speaking as the camera panned once more, capturing the shocked looks of some of the other soldiers, the camera now faced just what they had all been looking at. What appeared to be a large storm was coming down on the colony, only it didn't seem natural, something began to emerge from the storm, a large red tentacle of sorts, soon followed by many more, whatever it was, it was very large.

The transmission the faded into static. "The transmission cuts out after that." Joker said over the PA. "No comm traffic at all. Just goes dead. There's nothing."

"Reverse and hold at 38.5" Anderson quickly said.

The transmission then rewound and paused at the point Anderson had asked for, the large silhouette jutted out of the storm, it was large whatever it was, larger than anything Jane had ever seen. She could hear as Nihlus's mandible clicked nervously, she too was nervous at what was to come.

"Status report." Anderson asked, ending the growing silent tension.

"17 minutes out, Captain." Joker said. "No other Alliance ships in the area."

"Take us in Joker." Anderson ordered. "Fast and quiet. This mission just got a lot more complicated."

"A small strike team can move quickly, without drawing attention." Nihlus said. "It's our best chance to secure the beacon."

Anderson nodded and turned to Shepard. "Grab your gear and meet us in the cargo hold."

Jane nodded and looked back to the screen with the image still on it. Anderson was right, this mission had just become a lot more complicated.