Chapter 1 - Not So Secret Origins

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Security clearance level: Watchtower

Transcript of final meeting of the Spectre Candidate Selection committee

Location: SSV Olympus, geosynchronous Earth orbit over New York City.

Date: 07-15-2183, 5:20pm EST

Attending:
Admiral Steven Hackett, Fifth Fleet
Ambassador Donnel Udina, Citadel Embassy
Director Amanda Waller, Department of Metahuman Affairs
Captain David Anderson, SSV Normandy SR-1

Udina: Now that we're all ready, should we review?

Hackett: That's a waste of time. There's really only one candidate to consider.

Waller: We're here to determine if there is a solid reason not to select him.

Anderson: Lieutenant Commander Jonathan Achilles Kent.

Udina: The Council wants a representative for humanity and you want to send them someone who isn't human?

Hackett: Your prejudice is showing, Udina. You know damn well that Kent's DNA is almost completely human.

Anderson: The Admiral's right. Just because he's a Meta doesn't mean he isn't human. He was born on Earth, after all.

Udina: He's still part-alien.

Waller: I know our second contact with alien life did not go nearly as well as the first. But then, the first Superman was raised on Earth, even if he was born elsewhere. Besides, there aren't any other Kryptonians left.

Hackett: Yes, they technically represent humanity's first alien contact, but no one considers them aliens. They're Earthlings. And Kent's mother is completely human.

Udina: Yes, but we must consider the family he was born into...

Anderson: He was raised among the greatest of humanity's protectors. Conner Kent has more than lived up to the first Superman's legacy.

Udina: Need I remind you that he is a clone of humanity's greatest villain.

Waller: Conner Kent has the DNA of both Lex Luthor and Clark Kent. Don't try to make him into something he isn't, Ambassador.

Hackett: Conner Kent is his own man. He's more than proven his worth as the bearer of Superman's crest. And his son proved himself during the Blitz.

Udina: Of course. We can't question Kent's courage.

Anderson: He's the only reason Elysium is still standing. Hell, he's the only reason any of us are here!

Udina: If we're going to consider this course of action, why not a more powerful Meta? Captain Atom, for example?

Waller: Almost all Meta follow the Justice League Compact. They all stay planetside.

Anderson: And Captain Atom hasn't been part of the military in nearly a century.

Hackett: We can't send a more powerful Meta. It took years, decades even, before we accepted Metas as part of humanity. And the other races want us to wait centuries before they will treat us as equals.

Anderson: Kent's powers put him on par with biotics.

Waller: Well, perhaps not simply on par. He can do more than almost any biotic we can find on record anywhere.

Hackett: The other races may publicly question why we didn't send our heaviest hitter but privately they'll be relieved. At our current rate of expansion they're scared we'll try to establish a galactic empire. Better to send someone that only outclasses them on an individual basis than a planetary one.

Udina: I will concede that point. There are degrees of power, however. So I will put the question again. Why not another Meta? There are always Metas popping up in the colonies.

Waller: We've known for a long time that humanity will eventually evolve into Metas. The ones we see now are outliers. And they all join the League. The ones that don't aren't worth mentioning. Criminals, at best.

Anderson: Except for Kent. He joined the Systems Alliance. He's an N7. One of our best.

Udina: A choice his mother was ecstatic about, I'm sure.

Waller: Cassandra Sandsmark is an Amazon by adoption, not birth. She has always favored the integration of Metas and humans.

Anderson: She was the one that convinced Atlantis and Themyscira to join the UEG.

Udina: What will the rest of the galaxy think when it learns that Kent was raised in a chauvinist military culture?

Waller: Since when was Kent a Krogan?

Udina: Hilarious.

Anderson: Oh, lighten up, Udina. The galaxy at large barely understands humanity as it is. Do you really think they'll be concerned about the reputation of the Amazons? Besides, how does that make him different than any other military brat from a service family?

Udina: The difference is what he was taught.

Hackett: Which is none. The Systems Alliance military uses Amazon techniques and doctrines. Kent came to us with a thorough understanding of small unit strategy and tactics and unparalleled melee combat skills.

Anderson: He broke all the records at N School. We don't have a better soldier.

Waller: And unless more Metas follow his example, it's likely we never will.

Hackett: Kent's career has been a test run to see if a Meta can integrate completely with human society without the League. It's worked out marvelously.

Udina: He is still a member of the Justice League. And the League itself should be brought in line with the Systems Alliance charter.

Hackett: That's beyond the purview of this committee. Besides, that issue was decided at the founding of the Alliance and the UEG.

Waller: The Justice League was granted sovereignty to put them outside the reach of politics. Their extra-territorial powers only extend to the policing of Meta-crimes.

Udina: Yes I am aware-

Waller: In return, the Compact prohibits Metahuman interference in human affairs barring disasters, threats to humanity, or where their aid is requested in internal affairs.

Udina: I know that-

Waller: That way we don't have Metas being used as weapons of mass destruction in our internal conflicts. Kent is step toward unification and ultimately bringing the League under the Systems Alliance umbrella.

Anderson: Kent has fulfilled his duty to both the League and the Alliance for years without problems.

Waller: Exactly. Instead of the League lending us one of their members to help resolve a crisis, the Alliance is lending them a soldier to aid them.

Hackett: And we've made use of his League status on more than one occasion. Kent has become our go-to troubleshooter.

Anderson: Kent's record speaks for itself. He always gets the job done: The Skyllian Blitz, the siege of Torfan, the Doom Plot, The Gates of Tartarus. Kent has been instrumental in each of these. He saved a colony then goes and tops it by saving an entire planet. Then he saves the entire human race!

Udina: None of the aliens will believe the last two. Most of them don't even believe in Superman.

Anderson: Kent will make them believe. We need someone who can serve as a symbol of humanity to the galaxy at large. Who better than the next Superman?

Udina: You know he doesn't have the power for that!

Waller: I sincerely hope you are playing Devil's advocate, Ambassador. First you don't want him because he's a Meta. Now you don't want him because he isn't Meta enough?

Udina: We all know that a lot of humanity sees him as a disappointment. The son of the two most powerful people in the galaxy and he has the strength of neither.

Anderson: That's not true! Kent can't help what he is. And the public loves him. 'Savior of Elysium. Hero of the Blitz. Conqueror of Cronos. The hero with the heart of steel.'

Waller: Whatever public opinion might have been before, his accomplishments have changed all that. Now the everyman looks up to him precisely because he isn't that powerful. And he still stands tall next to his father.

Udina: Are we sure we want to lose Kent to the Council?

Hackett: All we have on the Spectres suggests that won't be the case. The Council rarely gives them specific assignments. And they routinely undergo missions from their home governments. Which is why most Spectres are funded by their own governments instead of the Council.

Waller: He would be our Spectre as well as the Council's.

Anderson: And even if that wasn't the case, Kent himself would never allow it. He's taken two oaths to defend humanity. He won't break either of them for anything. The Gates of Tartarus proved that.

Udina: This will still be a great deal of authority to give one individual. N7, Leaguer, now Spectre. We will only be increasing his fame.

Anderson: Are you afraid this will go to his head?

Udina: No. I am afraid of what will happen when we increase Kent's visibility and importance even further.

Waller: His enemies.

Udina: Exactly. He isn't invulnerable. We make him into the symbol of humanity and any one of his long list of enemies will be tempted to strike at him.

Waller: There's no doubt about that. However, Kent has always been a target. That hasn't stopped him. And the Blitz put him on the map with the other species.

Hackett: He's already famous and rightfully so. He's already a lightning rod for criminals, mundane and Meta alike. But he also has the League's support. And ours as well. We're not throwing him to the wolves.

Anderson: Even if we did, it's the wolves that should be worried. The son of Superman and Wonder Woman? Trained by the Batman, the Amazons, and the Alliance?

Waller: I know we've been ganging up on the Ambassador a little-

Udina: A coincidence, certainly.

Waller: -but he's raised several valid points. We've skirted around one of them already. While Kent can get the job done, he can be quite ruthless.

Udina: What will that say to the rest of the galaxy?

Anderson: That humanity isn't afraid to get its knuckles bloody. And don't start with that Butcher of Torfan shit. Just a bunch of Batarian propaganda. He racked up a far higher body count during the Blitz and hardly anyone mentions that.

Waller: Because the Blitz was a defensive action. Torfan was an offensive. And collapsing the tunnels to starve the defenders? That's not something Superman would do.

Hackett: But it is something a leader would do. His orders prevented a lot of casualties. And he achieved all his objectives. We can't ask for anything more from our commanders.

Udina: It's still something the Council and the other races will latch on to.

Anderson: And this is where Kent's transparency helps us. His entire career is available for public review. Besides, Spectres have been known to do far worse in the name of galactic peace.

Waller: You may be letting your own experience color your judgement, Captain. But, considering the Council accepted Saren's actions, perhaps you are right. They may see it as proof that he'll do what it takes to get the job done. But you have to remember, that Kent's appointment will shape the perception of humanity in the galaxy at large.

Udina: Exactly my point. We need to consider this from all angles, gentlemen. And Lady. Kent is an unorthodox choice. Is that the kind of person we want protecting the galaxy?

Anderson: It's the only one who can. Kent represents all of humanity in a way no one else could.

Hackett: The first human spectre will be a symbol to the galaxy. Kent's already an icon.

Waller: But a contentious one. Kent is a flashpoint for all the issues that humanity is currently struggling with. Giving him a greater profile may just be putting more fuel on the fire.

Hackett: Those issues will play themselves out with or without him. Yes, he is a lightning rod but the direction he represents is an ideal one. Full integration of both worlds. He's earned all the accolades we've given him while still staying true to the ideals of the League.

Waller: The best of human nobility with just enough teeth to keep from being a pushover.

Anderson: Exactly. It's time that the Alliance lived up to its charter and held all sentients to be equivalent. Human, Meta or not. Kent is far and away the best choice to be a Spectre. He's both trustworthy and capable. Far more than any other candidate we have.

Udina: For the record I agree with all of you. Oh, don't look at me like that, Anderson. It's my job to look at everything from all angles to ensure what's best for humanity. I think Kent would make an excellent choice.

Hackett: So then we're all agreed? Kent is our choice?

Anderson: Yes.

Waller: Yes.

Udina: I'll make the call.

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In 2020 Necron, Lex Luthor and Ra's al-Ghul set off a chain of events that threatened all of reality. The villains called it a Reckoning. The heroes called it a Crisis. Humanity called it the Apocalypse.

For the first time, humanity fought alongside its protectors. Millions perished in the conflict, hero and villain alike. In the end the original Justice League: Superman, Wonder Woman, Batman, Aquaman, and the Flash, sacrificed themselves to seal the dimensional breaches opened by the villains.

Reality was saved.

But where the Metahumans once numbered in the thousands now there were barely a hundred. With the destruction of almost all the villains and the sealing of most dimensional travel that had plagued humanity, most of the heroes chose to retire and help rebuild. Humanity entered a golden age of peace and prosperity.

In the year 2148, explorers on Pluto discovered the remains of an ancient space faring civilization. In the decades that followed, these mysterious artifacts revealed startling new technologies enabling faster than light travel. The basis for this incredible technology was a force that controlled the very fabric of space and time.

They called it the greatest scientific discovery in human history.

The civilizations of the galaxy call it Mass Effect.