Mass Effect: Project Janus (a Post ME3 Story - AU/Canon Crossover)

by: Seracen

DISCLAIMER:I don't own Mass Effect, its characters, the universe, or content. The Mass Effect IP is owned and created by Bioware, produced by Microsoft Game Studios (ME1) and EA (ME2/3). All the ideas are presented here under Fair Use, and are strictly for non-profit fun. HOWEVER, I do claim rights to this particular story!

Author's Note:

As ever, I would like to express my heartfelt thanks to Bioware, who have engaged my imagination and held my admiration for over a decade. I would also like to thank the Bioware Forums, and those who read my work and engaged in constructive discourse! Special thanks to my beta reader Jackie Almasy, and my fellow fans!

Now, onto some housekeeping: this story combined an Alternate Universe (AU) with what is more often considered the standard "canon." The key differences in the AU are: 1) Shepard saved Nihlus, and 2) Shepard recorded Vigil on Ilos. These two events manage to change the entire history of the AU…which I explain in the story later…

Dana Shepard (female Engineer) – Canon Universe – Mostly Paragon until reaching the Crucible, then the timeline changes, and my story takes over.

Derrin Shepard (male Adept) – Alternate Universe – Cerberus allied with the Council. Saren managed to survive in ME1. A lot of allies have died.

The original idea for this story came after nearly 6 months of brainstorming and conceptualization, while I was still working on my previous Mass Effect story (Paladins of Typhon). My beta reader (and sis) loved Thane, and wanted me to create a story where her Femshep could finally be together with her "Thaney Pie." The obvious track was creating another Lazarus Project, but I always felt that this was a bit of a cop-out, and sort of undermined a lot of the tension and drama I might otherwise develop in the story.

Then I played the Citadel DLC, and wondered how cool it would be if I could have Bro Shep face off against Fem Shep. From that, I created this crossover you'll read here. By the time I got to writing this story, it was already fully realized, which is why I banged it out in just over month. I don't know how long it'll take for me to post, considering editing and such, but I hope the ride is enjoyable regardless!

IMPORTANT: the majority of this story is going to be rated Teen. This isn't to say I'm skimping on the drama or action. I just don't get explicit with the gore or language, as I did in "Paladins." A few chapters might get a bit raunchy or intense, but should NOT go into a Mature rating. Either way, there will be fair warning ahead of time.

ALSO NOTE: The perspective of the primary Shepard (Derrin vs Dana) is denoted in chapter headings. Chapters without such notations will feature both, and often shift POV.

Chapter 1 - Dana

Her world was awash in light. Where was she? They always said there would be a light. All Shepard knew was what her senses were telling her. While she could see nothing, her body felt weary and leaden. Shepard's cracked flesh was awash in agony, and only the ache in her lungs kept her from screaming.

"Well then," grunted Dana Shepard, "not dead yet, unless the afterlife has a sick sense of humor."

Slowly, she heard a dull whine, like white noise, and her vision cleared. The light faded, and Shepard shook her head. She could feel her heartbeat, an insistent throbbing that beat in rhythm with the pain coursing through her body.

A voice jarred her from reverie, "WAKE UP!"

Shepard groaned, slowly getting to her feet. She forced each raspy breath from her protesting lungs, feeding on the pain, taking solace in the sensation as proof that she was alive. Dana tried to remember where she was, where she had been. Shepard had left behind a circular control room, in front of a control terminal. Joker had said something to her, but her mind could barely make out the words through the haze of pain. Then she had found herself…here…

Dana surveyed the room, which seemed some kind of reactor, larger than she had ever seen. A column of white light rose through the middle of the room, rising from deep within the depths of the Citadel. Alien machinery flanked either side of the great beam, emanating heat, which contrasted against the chill rising from the cold metal floor. Only mass effect fields separated the reactor core from the vastness of space. Countless explosions cocooned in the distance beyond the crucible, deceptively small.

Below her perch, Dana could see Earth burning. All around her, the galaxy's space fleets warred with the Reapers. The implacable metal behemoths screeched as they laid waste to entire civilizations. So many had fought and died to get the Crucible here, to the Citadel. This Catalyst was supposed to have stopped the bloodshed. Instead, Shepard stood, alone and broken, watching silently as her friends and allies were being slaughtered.

"What...where am I?"

"The Citadel...it's my home."

Shepard looked down to notice a small, ghostly figure, in the shape of a human boy. Dana shook her head, unsure of what he was seeing, "Who are you?"

The ghost answered, "I am the Catalyst."

"I...thought the Citadel was the Catalyst."

"No," answered the child, "the Citadel is part of me."

Dana was about to reply, when she heard the floor shift behind her. The elevated platform behind them lowered. The ghost cocked his head to the side, as if unsure what to make of the phenomenon.

"That isn't your doing?" asked Shepard.

"No…"

Dana turned, drawing her gun with nerveless fingers. She'd come up alone, leaving behind a wounded friend (and a dead enemy, so it couldn't be the Illusive Man). As Shepard raised her gun, she hoped it was Admiral Anderson.

"Hah," grunted Shepard, "not with MY luck of late."