Chapter 6: The Wait Is Over!
Heeeeeeyyy. Yeeeeeeeeaaaaaahhh. Sorry this one took so long- Wait. No. No, I shouldn't be sorry.
Why in the hell did it take so long for me to update a Mass Effect story?!
Ah well. I'm doing it now. On the bright side, I'd say my writing skills have greatly improved since this fic began. So at least the quality will go up as a result. And I have partners too. Hero of the Multiverse (formerly known as ShepardisaBOSS), BioshockerN7, Multiverser Kronos (formerly known as WildboycpX), and RealmOfEmptiness. These authors took up on my offer to make a large inter-connected web of fanfiction, and I am infinitely grateful to them. Check them up, if you get the chance.
Also, just a heads up: it appears we'll be having a brand new Multiverser in the ranks! I thought it'd never happen, I thought I'd be seen as a scum bag, and that you all would agree! But the impossible has happened!
A female Multiverser.
The author Crazy Cakes 23 has joined the team, with her character Alexis Verser. She'll be on her own set of adventures, and will be taking part in the most ambitious Multiverser undertaking to date, "The Multiverser: Hunt for the Amalgaverser." Then, the "Amalgaverse Effect" stories, and finally, "The Multiverser: Apocalypse."
Should be interesting, having her on the team.
Anyways, it's been some time and I have to play some more Mass Effect to help get into the groove, but at least I have some good little side missions to help me transition back into the story.
Here we go.
Third Person's POV:
"SHEPARD!" Wrex yelled, decked out in full Level X Krogan Rage armor. He and Garrus were currently waiting outside Shepard's room while he prepared for their latest mission.
Admiral Hackett had called a few hours ago, and made the Commander aware that an Alliance training grounds VI on Luna had apparently gone rogue. Their mission was to land on the moon, infiltrate each section of the Training Facility, and disable the VI. Deciding that brute force with decent technical would be best, Shepard chose Garrus and Wrex for this mission. They just had to get ready for the mission once they reached Earth's moon.
Which they did 45 minutes ago.
And Krogan don't like waiting, especially to fight.
And Garrus...well, he could handle the wait, even if it annoyed him, too. What he didn't like was that an agitated Krogan was battle-hungry right now, and he was a Turian that was standing right next to him.
As if in response to Garrus' fear of dismemberment, the door to Shepard's room 'swooshed' open. The Commander walked out, decked out in custom armor that consisted of an elaborate muscle suit made of what appeared to be carbon nano-tubes woven together. Added on were diamond strength armor plates at key sections on his arms, chest, legs, and back. The plates were gun-metal gray, and the 'muscles' were black. And...for some reason, Shepard decided to wear an N7-themed military shemagh scarf around the neck. He was holding a helmet at his side with details that connected it to the muscle suit, the biggest feature being the red visor.
"..."
"..."
"...Kept you waiting, huh?" Shepard smirked. (A/N: Yes...Yes, I just used that joke on them and you guys.)
"...Shepard. I think of you as a warrior worthy of my respect," Wrex calmly began. "That is the only thing that is currently keeping me from destroying you here and now."
Sighing in relief, Garrus said "Seriously, though, a word of advice: don't take so long next time, Shepard. I doubt anyone wants to clean up the remains of a Krogan's blood rage on a Turian."
"No promises," he answered. "So, you guys know what to do?"
"Head to the base, take down the VI, get out. Just hope that's all we have to deal with," the Turian sharpshooter hoped.
"Relax, Vakarian," Wrex said as they entered the elevator. As the doors shut, he asked "What's the worst that could happen?"
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
On that day, Wrex nearly felt the effects of a Multiverser's blood rage on a Krogan. It was only said Multiverser's self-restraint that kept him from nearly mauling his teammate.
Feeling uncomfortable with the blood red gaze aimed his way, Wrex and Garrus could only wonder what was wrong.
15 Minutes Later...
"THIS!" Shepard roared, the Grizzly barely dodging another volley of missiles. "THIS IS THE WORST THAT COULD HAPPEN, WREX!"
Evidently, the facility was much more armed with defenses than in the game. This was shown by the countless missile turrets that littered the area (something he'd make sure to talk about with Hackett and Anderson the first chance he got). While they barely damaged the tank, they were constantly forcing him off the road.
Suffice it to say, Shepard was currently not in a good mood.
"Could you please slow down, Shepard?!" Garrus yelled back, manning the main gun. "I'm trying to aim here!"
"Goddammit! I got this tank so that you guys'd shut up about my driving skills!" Shepard responded, slamming his foot on the break. "Now, thanks to Wrex's comment, the universe went back in time, added all these turrets, and allowed you to complain anyway!"
"How in the hell does that make any sense!?" said Krogan yelled.
"BECAUSE REASONS!" Shepard screamed in anger, slamming his fist onto the nearest red button by accident.
In response to the button, several panels opened up on the side of the Grizzly and began launching missiles into the air...missiles that quickly made short work of every turret in the area.
"..."
"..."
"...I actually forgot I requisitioned that function."
"Permission to speak, Shepard?" Garrus calmly asked, placing his talons in his lap.
"Granted."
"Shut the fuck up, sir."
Duncan's POV:
After 20 minutes of running and gunning, the three of us reached the last base on Luna. I fired the last shot into the last conduit keeping the HANNIBAL VI functioning. Before it shut down, it...she, was able to send off one last message.
01001000
01000101
01001100
01010000
In other words: HELP.
"I have to admit, Shepard," Garrus began, examining the wreckage of one of the other conduits, "that new suit of yours was very useful. Never seen anything like it. Where'd you get it?"
"Oh, I generously fund some well-off private companies. I asked if they could get together to make me something, and they did," I said, mostly evading the question. "Just got it after our last requisitions drop."
"I thought you military types weren't allowed custom armor like that while in active service," Wrex pointed out as he knelt before a weapons locker.
"Yeah, but I sometimes entertained the thought of going private. This was for that, or at the very least, just for bragging rights. Maybe an apocalypse event."
"Well, given the fact it just gave me, a Krogan, a run for my money...it'll work during an apocalypse."
Understatement of the century. Given all the suit's extra functions, I'm tempted to take on the Reapers with just this suit and none of my other abilities, or any of my powers as a Multiverser. But I like making sure, so I'll abuse every last cheating power I have.
"Well, whatever it is, you think you could hook us up?"
"Not really," I told him. "The companies don't know too much about non-human physiology...and you have NO IDEA how much this thing cost. It had to be tailored for me specifically."
"You specifically?" Garrus asked, pausing his examination. "Shepard...I hate to ask this...but does that new suit of yours break any Citadel Laws?" the law enforcer in him speaking up.
Ah, yes. The Citadel Laws concerning biological warfare, genetic tampering, etc.
Yeah. This thing definitely broke every last one of those laws. Not that I'm gonna tell them that right now, though.
"Not really. But do you have any idea how much it costs to tailor a suit with enhanced shields, cloaking, tactical assessment, and all those little goodies to fit all sizes, while still including all those functions? There's a reason one class only gets one specific ability."
"...Point taken," the Turian sniper relented.
"Anyways. You think you two can check for any weapon lockers we missed? Probably might find something good, or at least enough to sell for a pretty penny," I told my two teammates. "I just need to do a couple checks in the system before we leave."
"Sure thing, Shepard," Wrex answered. Pulling out one last shotgun from the locker he was looting and putting it in one of our duffle bags. He and Garrus left the room, leaving me alone.
"...Okay, we got a few minutes to ourselves now," I muttered. "Connect."
"/Acquiring connection/" a deep, computerized voice came from the suit. "/Connection established/"
Oh, and yes...AI laws, too. Breaks those laws, too.
"Upload spyware."
"/Integrating new parameters. Initializing/" The suit replied, flashing data across my visor. "/Upload complete/"
One last thing to do before I wipe any and all recordings of this.
01001001
00100000
01000001
01001101
Later, on the Normandy SR-1:
"Wrex."
"Shepard."
With our customary/respectful greeting out of the way, I made my way over to Garrus. He was in the middle of recalibrating the Grizzly after the pounding it took on Luna. Looking up from his work, he said "Shepard, the next time I'm about to say anything related to that 'Murphy's Law' you mentioned...do me a favor and stop me."
"Duly noted," I said, leaning against the tank. "So, how's the action around the Normandy treating you?"
"Pretty well, actually. I never saw this much action back in C-Sec, but it's definitely as interesting."
"Really? Any interesting stories?" Might as well get Garrus' mission out of the way. Sooner I do, the sooner I can help him close that chapter of his life.
"I remember this Salarian geneticist I was investigating," he began, gaining a disturbed look in his eyes.
He went on to talk bout said geneticist- one Dr. Saleon- was involved in the trade of body parts on the black market, mainly organs ranging from livers to Krogan testicles (ranging from 1/4 to 4/4). The sick bastard was using his own research assistants as living, breathing test tubes. The doctor would grow cloned organs in them, take them out, and pay them for their services. Of course, Saleon neglected to tell them what he was doing to them
Even worse, was when faulty cloned organs were left in some of the assistants. I pity those poor bastards...
"So...never caught him, I assume?" I asked, still leaning against the Grizzly.
"No," Garrus grumbled, turning back to the console to steady himself. "We had him in our sights when he was escaping. But he had hostages on board. They were already going to die, but we were ordered to let him go."
"You know...the right choice and the smart choice are rarely ever the same."
"How does that matter?"
"Can you really blame them for not wanting to kill innocents to kill a murderer? Yeah, it'd have been significantly more intelligent in the long run to shoot that ship down. But you still would've killed a lot of people to take him out. Not everyone can handle that kind of burden."
"...maybe," the Turian Detective grumbled. "But he still shouldn't have gotten away."
"Any idea where we could find him now?"
Garrus straightened up at that, and his head slowly turned to my direction. In his eyes, I saw what was inevitable. I saw the fire that burns for justice in him. I saw the cleansing flame that scorches evil.
I saw the man that would become Archangel.
"I was hoping you'd ask," Garrus replied, mandibles twitching in anticipation.
Third Person's POV:
The Normandy had just finished connecting it's docking tube to Saleon's ship. Standing in formation behind Shepard were Wrex, Ashley, Kaidan, and Garrus at his right. The former were prepared for possible combat. Garrus was prepared for assured extermination.
"The ship wasn't moving, or showing signs of life," Shepard pointed out. "So assume whatever Saleon is doing blew up in his face."
'Oh, there'll be things blowing up in his face if I have anything to say about it,' Garrus thought to himself, unaware that Shepard could hear his dark thoughts.
'...What to do with you?' the King of the Multiversers thought to himself.
The group fought their way (naturally) through the ship. Shepard's deduction was entirely correct: Saleon's experiments blew up in his face. Due to the fact the creatures were pretty identical to the Thorian Creepers they had yet to meet, it was likely that Saleon was contracted by ExoGeni- illegally- to experiment on Thorian Creepers in addition to their own scientists.
Again, the man known as Duncan Verser, in this life Duncan Shepard, debated with himself on what he should do for the future.
After killing the last of the Creeper hybrid experiments, the small group made their way to the front of the ship. The door on the right held their target, and he wasn't one to come quietly...or come at all, given how it goes in-game.
The door slip open, and an old Salarian greeted them.
"Thank you! Thank you for saving me from those...things!" the Salarian greeted, raising himself out of cover.
"That's him, Shepard," Garrus growled, shooting a menacing look at the Doctor. "That's Dr. Saleon."
"What?!" Saleon screeched in alarm. "My name is Heart! Dr. Heart! Please, just get me out of here!"
"You sure, Garrus?" Shepard asked, not taking his eyes off Saleon.
"Positive," the Turian confirmed. "There's no escape this time, 'Doc'. I'd harvest your organs, but we're in a bit of a hurry."
"You're crazy! He's crazy!" the Salarian shouted, fruitlessly trying to convince them of his innocence. "You can't let him do this to me!"
"...We should take him in," Shepard spoke, after pausing for a few seconds. "Drop him off with the military."
"What!?" Garrus said, turning to Shepard. "But we have him! We can't let him get away! Not again!"
"And don't the families he ruined deserve justice, too?" Shepard asked, eyes still locked on Saleon. "The system will never be perfect, but people need to believe in it at all if there's any chance of it getting better."
"Why bother?" Wrex asked up, keeping a shotgun trained on the Doctor. "He's a fucked up Salarian scientist, messing with things he has no business in. I say ice him."
"I might have to agree with him there, Skipper," Ashley added in. "Too many people died. We saw these things before, that means if he lives, the people responsible will bail him out so he can keep working."
Shepard almost seemed to falter at that.
"No! Shepard's right!" Kaidan spoke up, getting the others attention. "The system is broken. Always has been, probably always will be. But we can improve it if we set an example of what it's supposed to do."
"...He serves his time." Shepard concluded.
"I've-! You're right," Garrus relented, his assault rifle lowering. He turned back to Saleon. "You're a very lucky Salarian. You owe these people your life."
"Oh, thank you so, very, much!" Saleon seethed, pulling out a grenade from his pockets.
A lot can happen in a few seconds. A mad Salarian scientist can pull out a grenade filled with a deadly neurotoxin based on the Thorian Creepers. Garrus, Wrex, and Ashely can raise their rifles to kill. Kaidan can attempt to use biotics to stasis the Doctor.
For a Multiverser? All of these things happen very, very, slowly.
{You're actually debating on what to do here?} a harsh voice scolded. {If he lives, more people will likely die. Kill him now, and at least no more experiments.}
Oh, I should probably clear things up and say that time just slowed down and no one is dead yet.
{No!} a younger voice shouted. {Yeah, he's evil, and he killed people. No doubt about that. But just killing him isn't going to bring anyone any justice.}
'Oh, for fucks sake,' Duncan Verser sighed, one hand holding his face, and the other ghosting over his pistol. 'At least let me see you two while we figure this out.'
Two spectral figures shimmered into Shepard/Verser's sight. One was a young man in his late teens. He was of Asian descent, had short orange hair, auburn eyes, and wore a white long sleeve T-shirt with blue arms, jeans, and sneakers.
The other was a grown man, also of Asian descent. He, however, had tanned skin, silvery-white hair, and steel gray eyes. He wore a red shroud around his waist and on his arms, while his chest was covered by black armor, and had black pants with straps all over, and steel-tipped boots.
'Shirou,' Verser greeted the young man. 'Shirou,' he greeted the grown man, who scowled at the name. 'To what do I owe the pleasure of your advice?'
{Duncan. I know we have our differences- BIG ONES,} the younger Shirou began. {But you know this is wrong. You yourself just told Garrus people deserve justice. You can't seriously agree with...him?}
{I proposed nothing,} EMIYA retorted. {I simply stated facts. Ashley is correct. ExoGeni obviously contracted him. If you bring him in, they'll get him out. You haven't bothered going to Feros yet. If you had done that first and taken care of ExoGeni, I'd say go for the childish idea,} the Counter Guardian grunted, crossing his arms. {But you haven't. And here is the resulting issue.}
'And the fact that I have proxies in C-Sec and above?'
{Then you have something,} the Counter Guardian admitted. {Break the rules to enforce them. Great logic there.}
{It's better than just killing him,} Shirou growled, glaring at his counterpart.
{And yet, that's the usual way Verser's been doing things.}
'We can discuss my broken moral compass later,' Verser mentally grumbled before putting his 'Shepard Face' back on. 'For now...let's tackle the asshole.'
The two aspects of Shirou Emiya disappeared, returning to the confines of Duncan's mind, and time began to return to normal speed. As Shepard's team began to raise their weapons, the Commander leaped forward.
Tackling the Salarian, he smacked the grenade away before it was activated. Grabbing him by one horn, he slammed the Salarian's head into the floor, knocking him out.
"...Well...that's one way to do it." Wrex commented, lowering his shotgun. He may have been displeased he didn't get to shoot the Salarian madman...but just hearing the cartilage break when slammed against the floor made his day nonetheless. Ashely wouldn't admit it...but she too, found it amusing.
"So...it's over," Garrus muttered, staring at the unconscious Salarian in Shepard's grip. "After all the years...we finally got him."
"And now we can get him to the proper authorities," Kaidan smirked, glad that things ended moderately peacefully.
"I have to admit, I thought you were gonna shoot him too, Shepard," Garrus pointed out as the group walked back to the Normandy. Duncan decided to make it more amusing by literally dragging Saleon across the floor along the way. "He looked pretty ready to use that grenade."
"You can't control how others react, just how you will," Shepard stated, continuing to drag the Salarian Scientist. "And if you have a bad feeling when trying to arrest a crazed scientist that harvests organs...listen to it."
"...Touché," Garrus smirked.
Later...
It had been about a week since Garrus finally closed that chapter in his life. He was now much more focused, and seemed a bit more relaxed. It seemed like making sure Saleon got what was coming to him was a pretty potent catharsis for him, and managed to at least restore some of his respect for the law. Not enough to stop hating bureaucracy (then again, nearly everyone hates that, so there wasn't anything Duncan could do, there).
Meanwhile, Saleon was dropped off with the authorities (along with a proxy of Duncan's), who promised to keep a close eye on the mad doctor. After that, it was business as usual.
They had just gotten back from dealing with a false distress beacon (which turned out to be a Geth ambush), and everyone was going about their business. Which eventually led to Shepard talking with Wrex. "What do you want, Shepard?" the Krogan Battlemaster asked.
'Well, I got Garrus' mission out of the way. Might as well start up with Wrex's now,' the Multiverser thought. "I'm curious, Wrex: why did you decide to become a mercenary?"
"Lots of reasons," he answered half-assed.
"Such as?" Duncan pressed on.
Irritated by his leader's questioning, he responded "Such as...I needed to get out of my home system. I needed to eat. I needed to survive."
"Why not stay and help your people?"
"I already tried that," Wrex admitted. "That's why I had to leave." He went on to explain that after the Krogan Rebellions- an event after the Rachni War, in which the Krogan tried to overtake the galaxy- the Salarians and Turians managed to stop them by infecting them with a borderline war crime known as the Genophage. Originally invented as a means of controlling Krogan birth rates, it soon became what was currently sending them into their proverbial (and possibly literal) death throes.
After that, his father, Urdnot Jarrod (one of the few warlords to survive the Rebellions), wanted the Krogan to keep fighting: against the Turians, against the Salarians, even against each other...didn't matter who or what, he just wanted them to fight. Such an outdated and idiotic mindset would've been sure to mean the Krogan's eventual end.
Wrex, the leader of a separate tribe at the time, wanted to help his people move on from the past (in his own words, he wanted Jarrod to "shut the hell up"), in order to survive. Focus on rebuilding their numbers, at least for another generation. Obviously, everyone following Jarrod was against that idea. Thing is, though, other tribes began to join Wrex's cause.
Eventually, Jarrod called Wrex to the Hollows- the tombs of the Krogan- for a "Crush," a truce. It was a trap, however. Jarrod tried to kill his own son, and succeeded in killing those loyal to him. Before Wrex left, however, he made sure to kill Jarrod then and there. After that, he gave up on his people.
Duncan couldn't help but be reminded of a certain Counter Guardian, in a way. An idealist having given up on his hopes after something like that...
"So, that's it?" he asked. "There's nothing left tying you to the Krogan, or any family you have left?"
"...There is...one thing," Wrex hesitantly said. "Before I left, I swore to my father's father that I would reclaim my family's battle armor. It was taken after the war, due to the demilitarization the Council put us through. The armor eventually found its way into the talons of a scumbag named Tonn Actus. He's made millions collecting and selling artifacts taken from my people. He's got bases where he stores the artifacts," he went on, "and all of them are heavily guarded. I just don't know which one."
With a knowing smile, Duncan Shepard asked "Well what if I told you that I've got friends that have coincidentally been tracking the movements of this Tonn Actus? And what if I were to say that I just so happen to know where he is right now? Checking up on a particular armor set he 'acquired' from his contacts in the Hierarchy?"
The Battlemaster was stunned silent, just for a moment...then he gave a ferocious, toothy grin as a small fire lit up in his eyes. "I'd say: we're about to ruin his day."
Tuntau, two hours later...
That was putting it mildly. I mean, what do you call an unsanctioned military op with a 100% casualty rate of the enemy?
A slaughter.
What about when Commander Shepard does it?
Then it's a Wednesday.
Turian crime boss Tonn Actus let out one last yelp in terror as Wrex smashed his armored boot into the Turian's face. His satisfaction at killing the man that stole so much of his people's history was obvious, even without seeing his face behind his Krogan Rage Helmet.
"Got that all out of your system?" Shepard asked from behind the Krogan Battlemaster, voice distorted by his helmet.
He held up a single finger before taking out his shotgun, aiming it at the corpse.
*BLAM!*
*BLAM!*
*BLAM!*
Three more shotgun blasts from Wrex's shotgun answered him. "Now I do," Wrex responded.
"I have to admit this was a little...extreme, for taking back some traditional armor," Liara commented, taking off her own helmet.
"You're an archaeologist," Garrus reminded her. "Isn't finding old relics and such your job?"
"In the middle of a firefight?!" the Asari guffawed.
"They're Krogan relics."
"...I will give you that."
"Ugh, speak for yourself," came Tali's distorted voice. "At least you have somewhat of a purpose being here. There wasn't much tech to worry about, so all I'm doing is getting more reasons to bleach all the germs out of my suit. All this Turian blood is going to stain it, too," she complained, flicking off as much blue blood from her suit as possible.
"I'll buy you another one after this...if we don't already have spares."
"Yeah, I wish that the gear those Private Companies send Admiral Ahern weren't all random and often stuff we already have. There's like...twelve sets of Predator Armor in the Cargo Hold."
"I don't see the problem," Wrex grumbled, scraping Turian bone and grey matter off his boot.
"That's because we had enough Explosive rounds to outfit all your weapons," Shepard sighed, holding his helmeted face in his hand. "Of courseyou wouldn't complain!"
"And here I was defending you."
"And I feel...over stocked, whenever I help carry some of the extra gear we sell," Tali added in, hesitantly. "Some stores just can't afford to buy such high-level gear in bulk. Especially given that I'm a Quarian, so they assume I stole it all."
"Granted, we are looting the dead," Liara spoke up.
"They're criminals!" Shepard exclaimed, tiring of this line of conversation. "It was probably already stolen!"
"That...doesn't make this much better, if I'm to give my professional opinion," Garrus said, scratching his head.
Sighing in defeat, Shepard came to realize he wasn't going to get any headway in this. "Let's just grab the armor and get back to the Normandy," he muttered.
The five of them headed up to the second floor, locating the private storeroom of Actus' collection. "It's here," Wrex stated. "I can feel it."
"Alrighty then, let's open her up!"
Successfully breaking into the safe, the door slowly opened outwards, dramatically revealing the prize within. Hanging from the display stand, stood an ancient Krogan armor, made of a mix of leather and old metal. The metal was covered in rust spots, the leather was worn down...but it still held an aura of authority worthy of a Krogan Battlemaster.
"...This is it," Wrex muttered, his gaze lingering in nostalgia. Scoffing, he added "I can't believe my ancestors used to wear this piece of crap...but at least I've got it back."
"Glad we could help you get it back, Wrex," Shepard said. "Doesn't hurt that we got to shoot up scumbags along the way."
With a throaty chuckle, the Krogan said "You know, I may just be starting to like you, Shepard." Then his eyes widened in surprise at what was hanging from the wall behind the Commander. Following his gaze, everyone soon found...
"Goddess," Liara breathed. "Is that...?"
"Yep," Garrus muttered. Sure enough, hanging from a mantle on the wall, was a Krogan Battlemaster war hammer. "I heard that there were still some around, but..."
"I guess Actus really valued this relic," Tali said. "Keelah, that thing must weigh a ton."
Noticing the look in Wrex's eye, Shepard nudged him forward. The Krogan walked over to it, and with both hands, picked it up from its resting place. He twirled it around in his hands, testing the weight, before slowly turning back to the others. A large grin plastered his scarred face.
"...It's definitely you," Shepard said with a nod of approval.
It was official. Wrex had become even more of a danger to his enemies. And somewhere on Tuchunka, one Urdnot Wreav fought the urge to shiver in fear.
Later...
"So, we have the Krogan equivalent of Thor, now?" Joker asked. "If so, we need to get him a red cape and winged helmet to complete the image."
"...You do realize I'd actually do something like that, correct?" Shepard told the pilot, raising his eyebrow. "I got some friends who make custom armor who could hook me up, as you all have seen."
"...Wait, you're serious?"
"Yeah," the Commander confirmed, a sadistic grin on his face. "I'll be sure to write it as 'To Wrex, From Joker'."
"Yep. There's the catch," the sarcastic pilot replied with a deadpan, turning back to his dashboard. "Gonna have nightmares about him and that hammer, now. Thanks for that."
"No prob," Shepard said, turning to leave.
"Screw you," Joker said, still focused on piloting.
"Screw you...?" the Commander asked, halfway to the stairs.
"Sir."
"As you were."
Already on the second deck, Kaidan was currently writing up a report on recent events and trying to make both Garrus and Wrex's personal missions sound relevant enough that the higher-ups wouldn't start whining at me that I was wasting time.
'Good man,' Duncan thought to himself. 'I should try and reach out to that Rahna girl he told me about. The man deserves some happiness. That, and because I'm also Revan. So him and Carth having the same voice wins him some points, too.'
The Biotic Lieutenant Commander turned from his computer and gave a quick respectful nod to Shepard before returning to his task.
'...Just as big a stick up his ass, though,' he quickly added, entering his personal quarters. 'Gonna have to fix that, too.'
The door slid back into place, blocking out sound and anyone from possibly peeking in...and because the first thing Shepard did when he first got command of the Normandy was seek and destroy any and all surveillance bugs on the ship. The primary ones belonging to the Shadow Broker and Cerberus. The secondary ones being STG and Asari. And the rest were typical Alliance Brass, various political parties, and News Channels trying to get leverage or blackmail on Shepard.
"Idiots ain't learning shit about me anytime soon," the Commander mumbled to himself as he took a seat in front of his terminal. "Computer, bring up the NanoSuit 5.7's Specs."
The holographic laptop complied, showing a detailed blueprint of Shepard's newest set of armor, which if you weren't paying attention, was the latest iteration of the NanoSuit, developed by Hargreave-Rasch Bio-Chemical...a company from another dimension that Duncan Verser bought all the shares to.
"Okay, what've we added to it?" Shepard asked himself, scrolling through the data in front of him. "First things first: Deep Layer Protocols are still locked. Okay, Turian DNA adds an update to Armor Mode and Krogan DNA does the same, but also updates the suit's regenerative abilities. Salarian DNA adds a 0.75% in processing power-higher than I expected. Asari add...virtually nothing, save biotic protection. Even that mainly comes from Justicars like Samara. Quarian DNA has yet to be added. Not bothering with Batarian right now. Hmm, but what would Vorcha do? Oh, or Thresher Maw?" he asked himself. Before he could delve any deeper, his terminal rang, indicating an incoming call from Arcturus.
The Multiverser quickly answered the call, revealing the one and only Admiral Steven Hackett on his computer screen.
["Shepard? Hackett here,"] the grizzled Alliance Officer greeted. ["We've been getting reports of Geth activity in the Skillian Verge, specifically the Armstrong Cluster."]
"Base locations?" Shepard asked, raising an eyebrow.
["We've found four: Vamshi, Hong, Tereshkova, and Gagarin,"] the Admiral listed off. ["Your ship is the closest in the area, and given the nature of your mission, I figured you'd like to know."]
"Thanks, sir," Shepard smirked, leaning back into his chair. "I'll have Joker set a course, and we'll have it all done in a couple days."
["See that you do,"] he nodded. ["Hackett out."]
Shepard's POV:
Solcrum; A Couple Days Later...
The entire endeavor went very well (aside from a few complaints about the cold/Thresher Maw, or that encounter with a Geth dropship). The four outposts were reduced to scrap with the team's combined firepower, along with all the Geth within. We also picked up some stuff along the way, i.e. Prothean artifacts, Turian and Salarian platoon medallions, Asari scriptures, etc.
However, we all came to the conclusion that these weren't actual bases, just forward command posts. After tracking the signals left behind, we located the main signal coming from Solcrum. We made quick work of the guards, and descended into the base's interior to clear out what remained of the incursion.
*BLAM!*
...And that was the sound of the last Geth hopper of this incursion getting its synthetic brains splattered across the wall. "Scratch one!" Garrus called out in pride.
*BLAM!*
*BLAM!*
*BLAM!*
*BLAM!*
"Scratch four," Shepard smirked, twirling his pistol like an old western gunslinger as the last of the Geth Troopers fell to the ground. The Turian grumbled something about special enemies costing more as a way to assuage his bruised ego.
Shepard continued to not care.
"I'm surprised that the Geth built such a sizable operation outside of the Veil," Tali commented, collapsing her shotgun.
"The forces at Therum and Eden Prime weren't 'sizeable'?" Liara questioned, having holstered her pistol in front of a nearby terminal.
"I'm talking in one location over a long period of time," the Quarian elaborated, waling over to the Asari. "My people have had little doubt that the Geth have left the Veil before. But likely in smaller groups that would quickly return. To see an entire Geth Operation in one system is rather surprising...and terrifying," the mechanist finished before booting up the computer.
"Well, they were here for quite some time. So they must have a good amount of data in storage," Shepard theorized. "Best that we have our resident Quarian hack the Geth tech."
"On it," said Quarian spoke up, fingers already clicking the keys at an incredible speed. Geth software had a nasty habit of deleting itself at the first sign of being hacked. And unfortunately, talented Tali may be, that would still be the case here.
But not before one copying as much as possible and triggering a special video.
A hologram lit up in the middle of the room. It showed a Quarian woman, singing. The dialect was old. Very old, but the tone of the song indicated lamentation. 3/4's of the squad would be confused as to why the Geth would apparently keep such a thing as important.
Shepard knew exactly why.
"How much did we get?" the Commander asked, staring at the spot the hologram played before turning back off.
"50 gigabytes...and that wasn't even a fourth of what we could've gotten," the Quarian sighed in slight defeat.
"More than we expected, that's for damn sure," Garrus commented. "Think of how much we could learn with just 50 gigs?"
"It's still encrypted, you know?" Tali pointed out.
"Aaaaand the mood's broken," Garrus sighed, feigning annoyance. "You just had to ruin it, didn't you?"
"No...no, 50 gigs is a lot..." the mechanist trailed off, staring at the file on her omni-tool.
Well, it's not like I'm gonna tell her NO, in case you thought otherwise.
Later...
At that point, everyone returned to the ship safe and sound. Shepard had filed a report to the Alliance en route, letting them know the last of the Geth incursion was shut down. After that, it was business as usual.
Save for one little talk with a certain Quarian machinist Shepard planned on having today...that is, IF THIS DAMN ELEVATOR REACHES IT'S DESTINATION BEFORE THE REAPERS ARRIVE!
[You'd think that someone would've heard of an express elevator,] Ddraig wondered.
[I'd chalk that up to plain old stupidity,] EMIYA threw in. [Because the Asari found the Citadel as it was, they never bothered trying to make the elevators faster. An idiotic case of 'If it isn't broken, don't fix it.']
"Uhh… The Citadel was made by the Reapers, and the Protheans managed to mess with it to prevent the Reapers from just instantly getting here." Shepard pointed out to EMIYA. "Would that count as the thing being broken?"
[It counts as them still being idiots.]
"Touché."
[Plus, we're not on the Citadel. This is a Human ship.] The Dragon Spirit noted. [Does being part Turian instanty make elevators slow?]
[…]
"… Humans have REALLY technologically devolved with this, haven't they?"
The cursedly slow elevator finally made its stop on the lower deck. The door opened up, revealing Garrus fine-tuning the Grizzly, Wrex staring at his family armor (while also polishing his fancy new war hammer with a throaty chuckle), and Ashley walking towards him.
"Sir?" the Gunnery Chief spoke. "Could we have a moment?"
He took a quick glance around and nodded, gesturing for her to join him in the elevator. Ashley did so, and he closed the door. As soon as the door closed, Shepard hacked it to make sure no one could access it until the Spectre allowed it. "What's on your mind, chief?" He asked, having a good idea what this was about.
Taking a deep breath, Ashley said "I know things are different aboard the Normandy, but...I'm concerned about Vakarian and Wrex. With all due respect, sir, should they have full access to the ship?"
"They may not be part of the Alliance, but they're allies, Ashley," Shepard responded. "At least as far as Saren is concerned."
"I know, but this is the most advanced ship in the Alliance navy," she argued. "I just don't think they should have free reign to poke around vital systems like the engine, sensors, weapons..."
Already, Duncan had to fight the urge to slap her upside the head. It was long known by him that Ashley was rather mistrustful of aliens. Not exactly racist, however, as she's willing to be friendly with them, though she at least doesn't trust the Council races to remain as allies. To her credit, the Council did nearly doom the galaxy by impounding the Normandy. And they didn't really do anything to solve the disappearances in the Terminus Systems. To top it all off, they didn't even try to help the Alliance in the Crucible Project until they were given a good reason to.
So, on some level, she had a point. As Ashley so eloquently put it, humanity was the dog that the Council would sic on the proverbial bear to save their own ass. Those beliefs stemmed from her family's military service, and the oath to protect the Alliance and its interests.
While she had a good point, though, he knew he at least had to set her straight on the matter. "Look, I get what you're saying," I began, "but this is a multilateral mission. That means you at least need to learn to work with Wrex, Garrus, Liara and Tali."
"It won't be a problem, sir," she responded. "You say 'jump', I'll ask 'how high?' You ask me to kiss a Turian, I'll ask which cheek."
"Don't think that'll be an issue, Ash," The Commander chuckled (much to Ashley's embarrassment). Opening the door, he said "As you were, Chief."
"Sir."
As she walked away, Shepard thought back to an earlier discussion the two of us had. She had never gotten the chance to serve on such a high posting before, thanks to her family history. Her grandfather, General Williams, went down in infamy in the Alliance's history as the man who surrendered Shanxi to the Turians, in order to save his men. In response, he was demoted, and his family blacklisted in the Alliance. Which in turn meant she got a lot of flack and crap postings, just for being related to the only human to surrender to an invading alien force.
Punishing her for the actions of her family. Humanity at its finest, as EMIYA would agree. 'Mental note: work on that in the future.'
Exiting the elevator, Shepard went toward Engineering, where Tali was at the moment. After helping Adams, the Chief Engineer, with the drive core and its systems, the Quarian machinist was made a full member of the team working on the engine. Adams was especially grateful to have someone who was well versed with the inner workings of ships on his team.
Noticing his approach, Tali said "Shepard. I was hoping to talk with you about something."
"What's up?" Shepard asked, already knowing what she was going to ask.
"You know the data we took from that last Geth outpost? The information you uploaded to the Alliance? I was hoping for a copy of it."
"Okay."
"Those files could- Wait, what?" Duncan honestly nearly laughed at how surprised she was. "I, uh...I wasn't expecting you to say yes so readily."
"I don't see why not," He shrugged. "It'd definitely make a good gift for when you go back to the Migrant Fleet."
"I...thank you, Shepard," she said. "You have no idea how much this means to me. I just hope this doesn't get you in trouble with the Alliance if they find out."
A scoff was the Commander's response. "Please. I've done a lot of stuff that could get me in trouble, and I always get out of it. Besides, who's to know?"
"...So yeah, I gave her a copy," I finished. "Figured it could give the Quarians a better understanding of how the Geth are these days."
I was currently in the Comms. Room, delivering a report to Hackett and Anderson via a shared transmission. Both of whom were staring blankly at me, obviously trying to compute that I had basically admitted to sharing (technically) Alliance data with an outside individual.
You'd think they'd be used to that by now.
Pinching the bridge of his nose, Hackett said ["I'm just going to pretend I didn't hear that last part of the report, and congratulate you on clearing out the Geth incursion instead. A lot less headaches that way."]
"Probably a good idea," I nodded. "Now the only Geth we need to worry about are the ones in Saren's entourage. Speaking of which, I'm going to be heading to Feros in a few days. Heard that there was some Geth activity on the planet, so it'd be a good place to start looking for anything important."
["And you heard about this from your...'sources', correct?"]
"Anderson, this is a 100% secure channel," I pointed out. "Plus, there's not a single bug in this room. Or either of your rooms, for that matter."
["Dammit, Shepard, I told you to stop teleporting into my personal space like that!"] Anderson cried out. Leaning back, he tiredly muttered ["Stuff like this that makes me wish I never found out about what you really are."]
["On that we can agree,"] Hackett nodded. ["Still though...'Multiverser'...who the hell came up with a cheesy name like that, anyway?"]
"Don't look at me," I defended. "That name was already made by the time I became one."
So...yeah, both Anderson and Hackett know my true identity as Duncan Verser, a Multiverser-The King of the Multiversers. Told both of them after I became an N7 a while back. Afterwards, they drank two full bottles of scotch (each), trying to drown and wash away the 'bullshit' they were told. When they found out it was real, they took it much better than initially.
Though I still give them headaches over the stuff I do.
["That aside, remind me why you don't just take Saren out right now?"] Anderson asked honestly.
"A few reasons. One: under orders from my boss 'cause he's a dick. Two: we need the Council to understand the threat of the Reapers, and try and get them to prepare for when they return. And Three: this is about sending a message. To destroy Saren and Sovereign's plan right at the cusp of their victory… There might be a fourth one, but it's a work in progress."
["*sigh* I really wish you'd be more careful with who you piss off, Shepard,"] Anderson said. ["That pride and arrogance of yours is gonna come back and bite you in the ass one day. Especially since you've recently wound up on the Shadow Broker's shit list."]
"The day that arrives, you can say 'I told you so'," I replied.
["Let's hope it doesn't come to that,"] Hackett threw in. ["Still, good work out there, Shepard. And keep it up."] I nodded in response. ["Hackett out."] His image then disappeared, along with Anderson's.
{You know he's right,} Ddraig spoke up. {One of these days, you're going to get burned for pissing someone off too much. Hell, you already BARELY dodged a bullet with Michael for not telling him about the pheromone problem.}
'Oh please,' I waved off. 'What's the worst that could happen- NO WAIT, I DIDN'T MEAN TO SAY THAT!'
Too late, my boss said with pity.
The scream of anguished rage echoed throughout the ship, while Ddraig laughed his ass off at my slip of the tongue. And gave everyone a good reason to not bother me for a while.
Third Person's POV:
In a dark office, there sat a figure. Towering, alien, and absolutely terrifying. It wasn't simply the figure's appearance that made it the most terrifying, however.
It was what it could do, and what it had access to. And as the Shadow Broker, the being once known as Operative Kechlu could do quite a lot.
With a few buttons, scandalous political information could be leaked. Information on deals could be made known, with the right amount of credits. Give him fifteen minutes, and he could even start a war. Knowledge was power, and the Shadow Broker knew a great deal.
However, what he didn't know was how one Commander Duncan Shepard managed to figure out his past identity.
He had made sure that everything went smoothly on his rise to power. Almost no one knew that he had killed the Shadow Broker that came before him. Those that did, were dealt away with. He had hidden his identity very well, to the point where Kechlu no longer existed. Which made the fact that Shepard knew him all the more frustrating.
A call came in from one of his agents. "Report," he ordered.
["I'm sorry, sir,"] one of his agents responded. ["I don't know how he does it, but he's found the latest batch of bugs left in his quarters. We're still blind."]
Irritating. "Hold off on further attempts for now."
["Understood, sir."] The call went dead.
A large fist slammed on the Yahg's desk. Every attempt to get into his background. Every attempt to find a bit of his personal life. Every time he tried to find a weakness to exploit. Failure.
Growling, the Shadow Broker grumbled "He has to have something. A chink in the armor he has around himself and his life. Anything!"
And then his console flashed, indicating a priority message...but it was from someone he didn't know.
Growling at more security leaks, the Yahg opened the message chain. And then he went rather disturbingly quiet once he read it.
/A chink in Shepard's armor. [Media Content Attached]/
The Broker stared at the message that claimed to have what his own people couldn't find. He was both insulted and impressed. Putting that out of his mind, he clicked on the media file-
And was treated to a sight of Shepard looking rather...'affectionate' towards Tali'Zorah, when no one in his squad was looking.
If he had eyebrows like other species, he would've raised one.
Another message in the chain. /Xenophillia, and something of a desire for a relationship with Tali'Zorah nar Rayya./
"...Interesting..."
Another message soon followed. /Use this wisely...or he'll come for you very soon./
The other person on the call left, and unfortunately, he did it before he could be traced. A mystery for another time. For now...
He quickly typed his keyboard, and a series of screens opened before him. "Gentlemen. I have an assignment for you," he began, sending the recipients the file he was given. "The target is the Quarian in the picture, Tali'Zorah nar Rayya. She's currently serving on the Alliance ship Normandy.
["Orders?"] one screen asked.
"Leak Shepard's interest in her to members of Terra Firma."
FUCKING FINALLY! WE FINALLY FINISHED THIS DAMN CHAPTER!
Tell me about it! I cannot believe that it took this long to get another chapter out for the story. Seriously, nearly two years? You're slipping, dude.
Do not start with me.
But yeah. I dropped the ball off the Empire State building with this one. It should've been updated years ago. The fact it's taken me this long is infuriating. I mean, I'm glad that in that time I've evolved as a writer and have gained some rather steadfast friends here on FF, but that doesn't excuse forcing people who were looking forward to this to wait two years.
I await angry responses, but will continue to give zero fucks over Flames regarding the story itself. Unless you're telling me something that you think is a legitimate problem, I won't care.
Anyways, yeah. Stuff happened here. Voices in the main characters head. People that should've died are alive instead (really surprising given my track record and plans for the future), Wrex is now Krogan Thor, Tali knows more about the Geth, Anderson and Hackett have known about Shepard/Verser all along, and someone just tipped the Shadow Broker off to some personal information…
Expect… something a little different happening to Tali soon. I don't wanna spoil it, but I don't think ANYONE has EVER thought of doing what I'm gonna do to Tali. And no: I don't mean that in a sexual manner, despite being a proud Talimancer-DON'T YOU JUDGE ME!
The judgement's been passed.
I hate you, and everything you stand for.