AU. Among those that newly revived Commander John Shepard has been recruiting for his team to bring to the battle against the Collectors is a man named Jason Sterling. The story follows his experiences with the team and their fight for the lost.
Commander Shepard - Spacer/War Hero/Infiltrator
Note: I do not own Mass Effect or Bioware, and I greatly anticipate ME3.
Chapter One
"Damn it!" Jason growled as he dove for cover, generating a cloud of dust along with him. Long past running out of thermal clips for his M-3 Predator heavy pistol, he roared as he raised his arms and flung them forward to initiate a series of explosive biotic impacts in front of him, throwing several of his assailants into the air for lying in its path.
It had been late in the afternoon when the surprise attack had occurred, though it was hard to tell with Omega's unchanging ominous atmosphere from the absence of any nearby suns. I fucking hate Omega. His presence on the mined-out husk of an asteroid was intended to be brief and discreet while he undertook some jobs for whatever mercenary group that hired him.
Temporarily exposed while he moved out from his cover, he winced as his left hand automatically shot up to apply pressure on the injury; a merc's shot had grazed his right arm, tearing through skin, muscle, and nerves. He looked down at his ripped, bloodied clothing consisting of the remains of a black tank top and faded jeans. Growling, he grimaced when he pressed more on his wounded arm, which bled profusely as dark red lines trailed down along his right arm. A bit underdressed for a gunfight. He reprimanded himself in his head for his lack of foresight, which his mentor had always advised him to have.
Looking over from behind a crate that was currently providing him protection, he saw a merc starting to rise. Jason swiftly got up on his feet and lunged forward; his biotics engulfed him in the customary electric blue glow and crashed him into his target. Upon collision, the merc was sent flying into the metal column behind him, instantaneously knocking him out.
He ran up to the battered merc as he ignored the severe pain from his injured arm that was a consequence for using his biotics even though he was hurt, and he snapped the unconscious man's neck for good measure, finding the sound sickening as it reached his ears. He took notice of the yellow armor the man was in; an outline of a sun with a large 'E' was emblazoned on the chest plate. Why in the hell did Eclipse ever pick yellow as their color? As his vision began to blur, he remembered why he went up to the Eclipse merc's body in the first place. Medi-gel, medi-gel, medi... There you are. Taking the bright red box from the merc's person, he scooped a handful of the transparent salve to rub onto his wound.
The bleeding instantly began to cease and the pain dulled as the medi-gel achieved its purpose. Clenching his jaw tightly, he took in several more shots from the mercs, hurriedly patting out the fire that had originated from the incendiary ammo the opposition had started to use. Feeling exceptionally crossed, he focused on his biotics once more which resulted to an Eclipse heavy hurling into a trooper, picking up a few of the dropped thermal clips to reload his heavy pistol with. Those damn incendiary shots hurt, he thought as he promptly applied the last of the medi-gel onto his burn wounds that were quite visible through his shredded, recently burned clothing as well as pinch off the singed ends of his unkempt dark brown hair and untamed beard.
After hearing a break in the fire, Jason began to weave from cover to cover at the same time as he delivered accurate shots onto his marks until finally, there was no one left against him. Sadly, his victory was short-lived once he became aware of the sudden appearance of batarian and turian mercenaries closing in on him with their weapons drawn.
"Aria wants to see you." One of the batarians stated brusquely, seizing the heavy pistol from his hands; Jason recognized him as Moklan, one of Aria's various hired guards.
"What does she want with me?" He asked before he was sandwiched between another two of Aria's mercenaries, a turian and a batarian equally armored as Moklan in terms of style and strength, as they forced him to go along with them. Seeing as that he was outnumbered and weaponless, he was left no other choice but to comply given that he wasn't wearing his armor and shields that would be valuable in protecting him from the gunfire that would most likely come from the heavily armed mercs if he attempted an escape.
"You'll find out once we've brought you to her." Moklan replied while he headed the group of mercs that enclosed him in the middle forward.
It took less than a couple of minutes to approach the entrance to the Afterlife Nightclub where an elcor bouncer kept order in the line for the club. Once the batarian usher took notice of Moklan leading the group, he allowed them entrance to Afterlife, inciting the irritation of a human in line. "Come on, let me in. Aria is expecting me. Ugh."
Jason barely heard the elcor bouncer's monotone response as his captors urged him forward. "Annoyed: If she were expecting you, you would already be inside."
He hadn't even been on Omega long enough to cause any trouble. What does Aria want? Although unwritten, he had easily caught on to the only rule of lawless Omega: don't fuck with Aria.
Being it was his first time inside Afterlife, he took note of his surroundings, looking over the heads of the mercs whom encircled him. Past the long hallway that had screens on each side displaying flames, they entered through some doors with a sign that displayed the club's name. The loud music pulsated throughout his body as he was moved onward. Above the large circular opening in the center of the floor, there were asari dancers performing on a large ring suspended from the ceiling that encircled a large purple holographic cylinder showing clips of asari dancing that extended all the way to the ceiling. The outer edge of the floor contained booths in which most of the regulars of the club seemed to spend their time. Aria T'Loak's mercenaries, however, were not taking him to a booth; they were leading him towards the back.
Passing by a turian bodyguard, they went up a few stairs to what Jason supposed was Aria's private lounge; it sported a balcony that provided a complete view of the floor below it. He noticed he wasn't Aria's only visitor; there were three others, but he couldn't catch a glimpse of them from how one was sitting down with Omega's de facto ruler while the two others were in the back of the lounge, all hidden from his view.
"Jason Sterling," Aria stood up from her seat while she motioned to her guards to release him. "You work for the Shadow Broker, don't you?" Along with her accusation, she narrowed the distance between them, and without warning, she wrapped her blue hand around his neck, slowly tightening her hold. She examined the individual in front of her, apparently searching for something that would incriminate him like she had with the other spies she had found of the Shadow Broker's.
Jason flexed his neck muscles, making it tougher for Aria's grip to increase, as he stared back into the emotionless eyes of the asari. He then proceeded to respond back with such a relaxed tone that it was as if Aria's hand was not around his neck at all. "I used to."
"Aria," A firm voice stated from behind the asari ruler of Omega. "I can take him off your hands." From his peripheral vision, he determined the one who had spoken as a man with a buzz cut in heavy armor, standing with his arms crossed beside Aria.
There was a long silence in the lounge in spite of the booming music playing throughout Afterlife along with the commotion of the club's patrons in the level below; releasing her grip, Aria, losing interest in him, indifferently waved her hand to signal her consent for Jason to be taken away.
Watching Aria return to her seat from earlier, he turned his head towards the man who had addressed her. He slightly furrowed his eyebrows upon recognizing the well-known hero equipped in N7 Armor of dark grey with maroon patterned on it. "Commander Shepard? I thought you died."
The man gave a responsive smile. "I got better." Scratching the back of his neck, Shepard said softly. "Can we go talk somewhere?"
Commander Shepard: back from the dead. His interest definitely piqued; Jason gestured for them to leave Aria's presence first. Knowing the commander and his companions would follow, he led them out of the nightclub. He stopped once he saw there was a fitting distance between them and Afterlife. "What exactly does the Hero of the Citadel want from me?"
"Entire colonies have been vanishing. So far, we've found out that the Collectors have been behind these sudden disappearances." Jason watched as Shepard explained; the man continued to give him direct eye-contact as he divulged the truth, not that Jason was even questioning what the commander was saying. "And I'm assembling a team to go after them; the best of the best. I want you to join us."
Jason thought while he ran his fingers through his currently grimy dark brown hair; the offer seemed much more decent than anything he would find on his own. Well, I have nowhere else to be. "Anything that gets me off this god-forsaken rock."
Shepard nodded before holding his hand out. "I'll take that as a yes. Welcome to the crew, Jason."
Ready to return the gesture and shake the commander's hand, Jason pulled away in the last second after realizing his entire person was presently covered in blood and filth. "Er, I doubt you want my blood on you so, uh, anywhere I can go to clean up?"
Shepard turned to one of his squad mates, a dark-skinned man with a serious face wearing a black bodysuit that had an insignia placed on the chest that Jason knew he had seen somewhere before. "Mind showing him to the Normandy, Jacob?"
As Jacob was about answer, a raven-haired beauty dressed in a form fitting black and white catsuit bearing a symbol similar to the one on Jacob's suit stepped forward to speak; Jason noted her Australian accent. An Earthborn, maybe? "Shepard, we've finished recruiting Garrus, Professor Solus, and now Mr. Sterling. Needless to say, we have no other business here on Omega." Her tone was cool and professional with a hint of distaste at the end when she had spoken the word Omega.
Cerberus… Recalling that he had seen the pro-human group's logo several times when he worked for the Shadow Broker, Jason asked, "You're working for Cerberus now?"
"I'm working with them. I have no other choice; the Council refuses to listen and I can't stand by and wait for their politics when colonies are disappearing." The commander explained before pointing towards the docking bay. "The Normandy is docked there. Miranda's right. We don't have anything else to attend to here."
Entering the Communications Room, which was situated between the Armory and Research Lab on the second deck of the Normandy SR-2, Jason noticed that he wasn't the first to arrive. The ship's stern-faced XO stood as she intently studied a datapad by the large rectangular conference table that was in the middle of the room. He took position on the opposite side of the table and rested against the wall, closing his eyes as he managed his thoughts.
I'm on the Normandy SR-2 under the control of Commander Shepard; he's working along with Cerberus to put a stop to the vanishing act the Collectors are pulling on human colonies. He believed that summed up what he had learned so far. Ugh. He slightly wrinkled his nose when he took in his odor. I need to shower ASAP. I smell like Omega.
"Garrus, Mordin, Jason," Opening his eyes to the sound of his name being said, he found Shepard standing in front of the conference table. The man had changed out of his armor and into a crewman's uniform with the Cerberus emblem on the sleeve. Jacob, a salarian, and a turian also had joined them. "How do you like the Normandy?"
The injured turian spoke with a distinctive flanging effect in his voice, "It's quite big, Shepard. It almost seems like you're trying to make up for something." Jason studied the various degrees of damage on the blue turian ceramic-tiled heavy armor, including a chunk of the armor's collar that seemed to have been blasted off; a quarter of his face on the right side had been badly damaged as well, replaced by a bandage/artificial graft from what he could detect.
Shepard smiled and shook his head at his friend's joke, "Not at all, Garrus." He then addressed the salarian busy with adjusting his omni-tool. "Mordin, we need you to take a look at Collector samples we found on Freedom's Progress. We need a countermeasure for the seeker swarms."
"Will need lab to study samples in." The salarian replied quickly with a terse nod of his head; his face had several scars and one of his horns appeared to have been cut off. Must be the Professor Solus Miranda had mentioned, he thought.
Jacob waved for the salarian doctor to follow, "If you would come with me, Professor. The lab is on the starboard side of the ship and if you find anything lacking, you can place an acquisition order." Mordin walked beside him while they discussed more about the Normandy's lab; the door secured itself closed after they exited the room.
"Well, Shepard, I'll be in the Main Battery." The turian stated before he excused himself, leaving the commander with the silent XO and the latest addition to the crew.
"I must say," Shepard started as he took in Jason's shredded clothing and dirt/blood smeared face. "You look like shit."
Shrugging, he gave a faint smile. "I've seen worse. Does the Normandy have any spare clothing?"
Miranda set down the datapad she had been reading so thoroughly to address him. "There are some additional crewman uniforms held in the medical bay. Doctor Chakwas would be more than helpful with the treatment of your injuries."
"I agree with Miranda's suggestion. Get your wounds checked and yourself cleaned up. With that settled, I'll be in my cabin if anyone needs me. We've got another long day tomorrow." The commander smiled amiably at his XO and the newest squadmate before strolling out of the room to mark the end of the briefing.
A second or two later, Jason started to leave when Miranda spoke to him once again, causing him to stop so he could hear what she had to say. "Mr. Sterling, the Illusive Man would like to talk to you. Please return here after visiting the Med-Bay and the showers."
"Gotcha." He responded with light enthusiasm; finding that he had nothing else to say to the woman, he proceeded to leave the Communications Room.
Reaching the elevator in the Combat Information Center, he used his omni-tool to activate it and instructed it to take him down a level. He contemplated back to a year ago as he waited to be brought to his destination, scratching at an itch his beard was giving him. How long have I been on the run? It's been a year, right? He knew he had been on Omega for about a week. His disagreement with his boss had left him no choice but to leave and go into hiding since he had knowledge of plans and miscellaneous others that the infamous Shadow Broker preferred to keep confidential; though he had answered directly to the broker, he was still the far opposite of indispensible.
Oh. Jason found himself staring the floor with the doors of the elevator having already opened for him, awaiting his exit. Veering left, he walked along the path that led him to the medical bay. He noticed the mess hall was behind the elevator; it was basically empty with the exception of a balding man absorbed in cleaning the kitchen.
Hearing the door unlock, the doctor spun her chair around to view her visitor. She immediately stood up and urged him to one of the beds. "Sit," she ordered as she went to obtain a unit of medi-gel from her desk in case it was needed.
Jason watched the older woman use her omni-tool to scan his body, checking for any abnormalities. Satisfied, she turned her attention to him.
"You're honestly quite healthy. I'm assuming you fought without your armor and got hit with several incendiary shots. Goodness." Doctor Chakwas shook her head and handed her patient the medi-gel while examining the results of his scan. "At least you're a biotic, judging from the L5n implants."
Turning back to him, she said resolutely in her English accent. "The laceration on your right arm is a bit severe since the slug had torn through muscle as well as nerves, but the blood has clotted nicely since you put medi-gel on it immediately. It'll heal on its own, but… it might hurt like hell depending on your pain tolerance. The medi-gel I gave you is if you can't handle it; I'm certain you can, but it's there for you just in case. Oh, and I'll give you an extra crewman uniform, dear."
"May I have a - " He stopped when he noticed the razor included on top of the clothes he was handed along with other necessary shower necessities; he gave her his thanks.
"Men's restroom is on the port side of the ship…" The doctor stopped to allow her patient to give her his name.
"Jason Sterling. You can call me Jason."
"Jason. I'm Doctor Chakwas and welcome to the Normandy," She smiled warmly as she said his name.
"Thanks again, doc." Watching the doctor return to her desk, he moved out of the Med-Bay and towards the restroom. The doctor reminded him of someone he knew minus the accent.
The mess hall was now completely empty as he passed it; the cook probably left to get some rest which Jason lacked at the moment. The lights were clearly much dimmer than before and he became conscious of how late it was in Galactic Standard Time once he checked his omni-tool.
He set his newly attained belongings into one of the sinks and stripped bare before entering the shower. The water was warm and comforting, not what he had been used to for the past year of laying low. As he washed himself, he felt the marks from the incendiary shots he had recently received mostly on the base of his left stomach. The bullet graze on his right arm was fine although the warm water caused it to sting since the anesthetic effect of the medi-gel he applied on it earlier was wearing off.
Jason turned the water off after he finished ridding himself from the distinct 'I've just been to Omega' feeling. He barely recognized himself once he stood in front of the mirror; the stranger was a bit darker from working minimum wage out in some colony as a farmhand a month ago on a planet that was graced with binary suns, leaner from days without food, and stronger from having to always fight off assailants single-handedly. He frowned at how scruffy he had gotten as he reached for the razor. I look like a hermit. He ran his fingers through his thick, long hair that reached down to his eyes; he didn't notice until now since his hair was had usually been held back by the mixture of sweat, grime, and the occasional blood that covered him. Time for a haircut and shave.
Miranda, exhausted from spending the entire day along with Shepard and Jacob as they sought out to expand the team for their mission, struggled to stay awake as her eyelids grew heavier. To distract herself from the temptation to sleep, she started mull over the details of Jason Sterling's dossier the Illusive Man had sent her as a last minute addition to give to the commander. It was clear as to why he was needed on the team; he had been high in the ranks among the Shadow Broker's operatives, working from orders straight from the notorious information broker himself. The Illusive Man most likely desired the secrets Sterling had obtained from all the years he had worked under the Shadow Broker.
She yawned as sleep started to slowly overcome her. Checking the time on her omni-tool, her irritation started to become visible on her face in the form of furrowed eyebrows; it was late and she wanted to sleep.
The door disengaged itself to allow his entry into the Communications Room. Jason couldn't stop himself as a low chuckle escaped once he saw the XO sleeping soundly on the floor. Running his fingers through his recently trimmed hair, he contemplated on what his next course of action would be.
He cleared his throat before he softly said, "Ms. Lawson?" He watched in amusement when she looked at him through heavy eyelids then realized where she was, compelling her to promptly stand up.
"Mr. Sterling," Miranda acknowledged him, a little uncomfortable that he had found her snoozing on the floor. A faint blush became evident on her face as it contrasted against her fair skin.
While she gathered her thoughts, she regarded his fresh appearance. He held himself casually in his crisp crewman's uniform, though she took notice that he opted not to wear the shirt bearing Cerberus' insignia considering that he wore a plain black shirt in its place. His coffee-colored hair was cropped shorter on the sides contrasting with hair on the crown of his head which was long enough for it to give the impression of being tousled and his beard was now nonexistent. He possessed golden-brown skin uncommon for someone who had been wandering space; it caused his deep grey-blue eyes to stand out even more. Catching herself staring for an extended moment at the eyes of the man in front of her, she focused on the matter at hand whilst she chastised herself mentally for becoming distracted.
"EDI, commence linking us to the Illusive Man." Jason heard the XO direct a holographic floating blue sphere that instantaneously appeared as soon as it was referred to at a terminal placed beside him.
A synthetic voice responded, "Opening communications, Ms. Lawson."
He stared with a cocked eyebrow at the conference table retracting into the floor. With a nod from the XO, he stepped forward towards the middle of where the table had been; an orange holographic screen encircled him as the room darkened while he was scanned.
He found himself standing in front of the leader of Cerberus via hologram; the room he was in was relatively empty other than the lone seat the Illusive Man was in and the wall behind him was entirely a window which provided an awe-inspiring view of a dying star as its red-orange core slowly erupted and fused together with its turquoise-blue surface. The impeccably dressed man, who sported close-cropped sliver-grey hair and unique patterns on his 'steely blue' eyes which appeared to be prosthetic, inhaled deeply from his cigarette prior to puffing smoke, "Jason Sterling."
The older gentleman paused, observing the holographic form of the Shadow Broker's former right hand man. The corners of his mouth quirked up into a subtle grin brought about from deliberating the prospects of gaining Jason's loyalty for Cerberus.
"I'd like to officially welcome you onto the mission. Under Shepard's leadership, I'm sure our coinciding goals will be accomplished." He continued after another drag from his cigarette, tapping the excess ash into his seat's built-in ashtray. "I understand you have adroitly been eluding the Shadow Broker for the past year; regrettably, it won't be long until he finds you once word gets out of Shepard's return. And I'm here to offer you protection."
Jason stretched languidly, thinking over the Illusive Man's overture. The bastard's obviously after the intelligence I have. He stared straight into the pro-human radical's eyes, which looked ironically inhuman. "Tell you what. I'll give you a trial period of my services. One mission. If I like how Cerberus operates, I'll work under you."
"Those terms are acceptable." The Illusive Man responded with a more visible grin. "I'll have Miranda brief you once I find a suitable task for you. If you need anything, feel free to discuss it with Miranda. Cerberus looks out for their own."
With that last statement from Cerberus' head, the meeting was adjourned.
Please review! I'd like some thoughts about this ff. I have a bit of a writer's block at the moment so ideas for what you think will happen would be great.
I'm doing my best to make this a well-written fanfic due to my love for the ME series.