ADVENA
FORSHER'S LATIN DICTIONARY, 2182 online edition, retrieved from exonet 4:31:11 ago
advena (noun)
/' .na/
Definitions: Outsider, Foreigner, Stranger, Alien.
PROLOGUE
Cronos Station, April 2185 (Six Months Before the Events of Mass Effect 2 as we know it)
"Your report, Miss Lawson."
Standing straight, Miranda closed her eyes for a moment to collect her thoughts. "We were six months from a viable subject in LAZARUS when the incident occurred. Despite Mr. Wilson's best efforts, we were able to contain the damage to Shepard. Her reconstructed CNS is still viable, but her body as a whole suffered...significant damage."
The Illusive Man sighed and took a long drag from his cigar, thinking for several moments. "How long will this delay us? I cannot emphasize how important Shepard is to our long-term plans."
"Ten months at the most..."
"No," replied Harper, cutting her off. "Ten months is too long. We just lost another colony in the Terminus systems a few hours ago. Both the colony population and elapsed time since the last attack were within 15% of our projections. If these attacks continue to track with our estimates, the Terminus systems will have lost 60% of their human population within eight months."
Miranda walked over to Harper and handed over a datapad. "We're out of good choices in LAZARUS. Wilson also scrambled the majority of our work, including the secure off-site backups. However, reconstruction of the work should proceed at a rapid pace, since we know what we're doing, plus we won't have Mr. Wilson sabotaging the project, leading us into blind alleys. My surviving project leads have estimated that Mr. Wilson cost us a conservative five months in dead ends."
Harper finished off his drink and handed the now-empty tumbler to the assistant standing behind his chair. "As much as much as I'd have liked to bring back Shepard exactly as she was; we're now faced with considerable time constraints, in addition to the accelerating pace of colony disappearances. Many of the operatives we've detailed for possible inclusion into Shepard's team are transient. If you would, Eva?"
The mobile platform for the Enhanced Versatile AI handed a fresh tumbler full of liquor to Harper before walking to the center of the room.
"Certainly, Mr. Harper. Cerberus intelligence has detected signs that the major gangs of Omega are starting preliminary talks over dealing with the vigilante known as the ARCH ANGEL together. We estimate a 80% chance of this occurring within the next five months. If this occurs, the death of ARCH ANGEL is 90% certain to follow within the next sixty to ninety days."
"Ms. Goto, Mr. Krios, and Mr. Massani are currently on contracts where their locations can be predicted with a high degree of accuracy and the costs of buying out their contracts are relatively low at this time. Delays past the seven month mark are likely to mean significant increases in projected outlays in order to nullify whatever contracts they may have picked up in the intervening interval."
"Thank you, Eva. What do we have that could replace LAZARUS and allow us to meet our scheduling constraints?"
Eva cocked her head to the side, as if deep in thought, before continuing. "We have several projects currently underway which meet the primary parameter specified for LAZARUS. They however, fail the secondary and tertiary parameters."
"Project EX MACHINA is largely complete and is actually an outgrowth of the LAZARUS project, intended to aid the reconstruction of Shepard's brain by estimating personality and memory parameters from proposed neuronical growth patterns. Unfortunately, we have suffered some exposure on this project, with an early version of EX MACHINA being stolen by sliders and passed on to illegal VI dealers on the Citadel. Estimated time to complete EX MACHINA and download it to a synthetic body similar to this combat unit, four months."
"Unfeasible," replied Harper. "There's already enough political and legal issues over President Huerta's mental state, that going full AI would embroil us in controversy for years."
"Much less the issue," Miranda added with a shake of her hair. "Of a sentient AI that thinks it's Commander Shepard. The Citadel Council would likely sanction it and order it destroyed at all costs."
"Continue," ordered Harper.
"Project BRAIN BUCKET is currently in the advanced prototyping stage, using the CNS of convicted criminals that have been flashwiped and implanted in JOTUN mechs. It would take five to six months to develop the 'Bucketing' process to a point where confidence in the preservation of Shepard's personality and memories are extremely high. Due to the need for life support and other functions, a larger and bulkier synthetic body than this combat unit would have to be developed."
"As amusing as the idea of Shepard walking through the Citadel in a 'mech body with weaponry for arms is, there are serious psychological issues involved with 'Bucketing'," stated Miranda. "Shepard is highly likely to develop self-injurious behavioral patterns within a few months, placing the entire project into jeopardy."
"I agree," concurred Harper. "However, continue your investigations into BUCKET; it might have some utility in the future to enable us to make further use of critically wounded ground personnel."
"Next."
"Regarding Project GEMINI, if the order is given, Shepard's CNS could be implanted into one of the several clones we have already processed to completion to act as spares for Project LAZARUS. As before, five to six months would be required to validate the process via using test subjects to verify that the "squeezing" does not induce instabilities and that the implanted CNS' aren't rejected by the clone bodies."
"This is probably our best chance," stated Miranda. "Despite the issues with it being an obvious clone and subjecting us to additional scrutiny. It could be sold with slight difficulty. However, it requires the consent of the Council, in order to have Shepard's SPECTRE biosignature on file updated to match the new body."
"I'm considering it," replied Harper, shaking his cigar to clear it of ash. "Next."
"Project ADVENA began development immediately after the First Contact War, as a way to infiltrate the newly discovered alien societies. Advena Level I-Alpha, which is currently operational, utilizes heavy surgical alterations to enable operatives to pass as Asari in light to moderate conditions of cover. Advena Level I-Victor, also operational, utilizes surgical reduction procedures to enable operatives to fit into Volus environmental suits."
At this, a slight smirk appeared on Harper's face. Some of Cerberus' most spectacular operations had utilized ADVENA operatives, for who would suspect a cowardly Volus of being Cerberus?
"I'm well aware of Level One, Eva. However, I believe Operative Lawson has yet to be briefed on Level Two proposals. Please continue."
"Level II proposals for the Alpha, Tango, and Sierra sub-projects have been put forth; but various technical and logistical difficulties have prevented steady development on all but the Alpha sub-project. For instance, our studies on cebereal structures indicated a 95% biopsychometric match for Alpha, 65% for Tango and 75% for Sierra. Accordingly, Tango and Sierra were moved to inactive status, as any agent created through those subprograms would be unreliable past a few months."
"Current development of Alpha is predicated heavily upon information recovered in the Codexio Atropos recovered from Thessia several years ago by Ms. Goto. Preliminary research on Ardat-Yakshi meldings support the statements made in Atropos. Shepard could be operational in forty days once approval is given. However, the ADVENA principals strongly discourage any action without consultation with Asari religious elements, particularly since the subject would be considered a Lamashtu-Yakshi by the Justicars."
"Other issues relate to being able to pass in Asari society beyond a base level of functionality. Due to their extreme lifespans, there are many subtle social cues which normal operatives would not be able to pick up on, and indeed led to the failure of the last ADVENA Level IA operative. We were unable to make headway on this issue until Shepard became available as an option."
Brushing her 'hair' to one side, Eva continued. "Cerberus sources indicate that before her death on Alchera, Commander Shepard substantiated a bond with Liara T'Soni. Medical journals are full of studies on the effects of Asari bonding, namely the metastasis of knowledge from one part of the bond to the other. In some extreme cases, bonded individuals may believe that they are the other individual."
Miranda strode forward and planted her hands on Harper's desk, disrupting the haptic displays floating in mid-air. "You can't seriously be considering this."
Harper sighed. "Miranda, LAZARUS was our most secure project, yet the Shadow Broker penetrated our security and suborned the lead principal easily. At this point, unorthodox methods that are not typical of Cerberus' stated goals have the best chance of success."
"It's a hell of a gamble."
"Precisely why I've chosen it. Issue orders for Shepard to be transferred from Lazarus Station. We're going operational with ADVENA."
Author's Notes:
Some of the projects listed by EVA correspond with ME Fanfics.
PROJECT BRAIN BUCKET:
Commander Shepard: Ymir Mech by SteamedBun on . (2010-2012; incomplete)
PROJECT ADVENA (Phase I-Alpha)
Of Sheep and Battle Chicken by LogicalPremise on (Completed fic) in reference to a throwaway OC created for that fic by LogicalPremise
PROJECT ADVENA (Phase II-Tango)
There's a ME fic written by a non-english writer in which they pop Shepard into a Turian Body. I can't find it at the moment, but will update when I do find it.
Dictionary:
Lamashtu-Yakshi (Survivor of the Night Winds, AU/OC)
Ardat-Yakshi (Demon of the Night Winds, Canon)
Kepesh-Yakshi: (Blade of the Night Winds, Canon)
