Inspired by DN7's story "Mass Effect: The Unsung Hero"
A/N: Well, this came out later than I expected because my PC crashed.
Anyway, I was debating whether to use a FemShepard or a MaleShepard. After much contemplating, I'm
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…
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Still inconclusive… ah heck with it, since I want to include Kelly, I will have Male Shepard… I just gave you a huge indicator.
XXxxXX
Mass Crysis
Chapter 1
Disclaimer: I do not own Mass Effect or Crysis.
In a VTOL flying to Singapore…
The Ceph had spread across the globe, some of the Ceph attacks had been repelled successfully due to superb human tactics, but in other areas, the Ceph managed to gain a foothold. All of the armies of every nation fought to contain the Ceph so that they could buy more time for a biological agent to be weaponised and be used against the alien invaders.
Five VTOLs escorted by a couple of F-35s flew low and fast over the oceans, their destination was a Forward base at Singapore International Airport.
First Lieutenant Jake "Nomad" Dunn sat in the side seat of the lead VTOL, cradling his modified SCAR and Gauss Rifle. He took another check to make sure his sidearm, a M12 Nova pistol, was snug and tucked away in his holster. Dunn would have chosen a Hammer, but decided against it as we needed something for him that was suitable for stealth and had a high ammo capacity.
Across the hold, sat Sergeant Michael "Pyscho" Sykes, who was running through the check list to make sure his MK60 Mod 0 and JAW were green.
Both men wore the Nanosuit 2; in fact all operational Nanosuit users were wearing the Nanosuit 2s. Dunn remembered the process of switching suits; it was long and difficult simply because all the users had developed a symbiotic relationship with the N1s. So in order to curb symbiosis, the geniuses at CryNet Systems had injected every N1 user with Nanites which would ebb out the suit in wherever it had fused to and then take its place. In effect, the nanites would defuse the suit from the wounds of the user, and fill in. Another bonus of these nanites, were that they're semi-organic, self-repairing and self-replicating, and could enhance the host's mental and physical abilities but not to the same extent as wearing the suit itself (physical abilities). The nanites also halted ageing, it was an unseen side-effect, but one that was greatly welcomed by the Top Brass. In essence, symbiosis would be developed with the Nanites instead of the suit.
Once the nanites had taken over, removal of the suits would no longer be fatal. So the suits could be removed at any time at the user's discretion.
He had been a dead man walking for five years, and what's done is done. He's still a dead man walking, but he was no longer dependant on the suit. But his newfound freedom was of little comfort, but not only for him, but the entire ranks of Nanosuit users. Their families had moved on, all hope for settling down had evaporated.
Next was issuing the N2s, which had been dubbed N2 Delta Ops, because of its specialised scheme and additional armour plates similar to that of the Nanosuits utilised by some US Marines and C.E.L.L. Operatives.
N2 Delta Ops had shoulder pads and torso guards similar to the C.E.L.L Variant, and Vambraces and leggings similar to the US Marine Variant. However the suit did retain the iconic Nanosuit 2 Helmet and still much of the CryFibril or Nano Weave was still visible. The colour scheme was deep grey and light grey (i.e. Digital camo), with markings for identification.
Since Nomad and Pyscho were put together as a small hunter-killer unit, they were designated as Omircon Team, and so had a metallic grey stripe on the centre of their helmet, and another one the right arm, stretching from the shoulder plate to the gauntlet.
However, unofficially, Omicron Team was dubbed by other teams as Ying and Yang team. The reason was quite obvious; Nomad is the professional, obedient, emotionally detached, and dark/serious person of the team. Whereas Pyscho is the one who didn't always obey orders, sometimes emotional, questioning superiors, strong moral compass that dictates his actions and a generally light hearted than Nomad.
But the two personalities of the men never collided; they worked side by side, effectively.
The VTOLs touched down on the tarmac, the bay doors parted revealing Nomad an evening landscape with a decrepit Singapore. Unlike New York, the only lighting in the metropolitan area was from the burning husks that littered the streets and the slowly fading sun.
"Damn," muttered Pyscho.
Pyscho and Nomad jogged lightly out of the VTOL and onto the tarmac, they were quickly joined by squads of other Delta Force members, all of which were wearing N2 Delta Force suits with varying colour tags.
The Delta Operators then gathered around Colonel Hauser, a man who had greying hair, salt and pepper moustache and wielded respect and admiration, Michael and Jake had met Hauser before, he was part of the second Carrier Strike Group sent to the Lingshan Islands during the Lingshan incident. The Operatives instantly saluted the Colonel, who in turn, saluted them back.
"Gentlemen, good to have you on board," Hauser began, "we have received distress signals from civilians trapped all over the residential area. Raven and Hawk Team, I want you to search and rescue any civvies you find, kill any Ceph that get in your way."
"Yes sir," the squad leaders replied.
"Omicron Team," said Hauser as he turned to face Nomad and Pyscho, "you two have the most experience in dealing with the Ceph, so I'm throwing you in the thick of it. Our UAV drone had managed to spot some Ceph types we haven't seen since the Lingshan incident."
"What units sir?" asked Nomad.
"A Red Hunter and Alien scouts."
Pyscho gave a low whistle.
"I need you two to infiltrate the area, and radio in their position so we can call in a strike. Once those Red Hunters have been removed, the Calvary will move in."
Nomad remembered how devastating Scouts and Hunters were, especially when they caught their enemies off guard, which also meant it was very unwise to fight them in open areas. Of course when it came to the intense urban warzones, things are much different, there was just so much cover available, which made the Scouts and Hunters prey to well-coordinated ambushes. And so, the Ceph had to do an overhaul of their forces in order to fight more effectively in the urban environment.
But for a Red Hunter and Alien scouts to be deployed, it obviously meant that the surrounding areas of the units were razed to the ground.
"Alright gentlemen," concluded Hauser, "move out."
XXxxXX
Commercial District…
Burning cars and buildings lit the streets as the sun faded away. Pyscho and Nomad moved through the district as quickly and quietly as possible. They moved in a leap frog formation, only stopping when their suit needed to recharge so they could reengage cloak again.
Jake looked at the walls, covered in flyers. Each flyer was sending a message to a missing person, or looking for a missing person. The Operative knew that these gestures were fruitless. There were just so many missing, and most were probably dead. The Ceph doesn't take prisoners.
"Damn," muttered Pyscho. The ex-SAS soldier crouched behind some cover and picked up a flyer.
"What is it?"
"A little girl, four, now wait five years old," Pyscho sighed.
"Focus, grieving doesn't do anyone any good right now. We'll do more good by saving lives if we get this mission done."
"Just kids," Pyscho said with a tone of sadness before he released the flyer from his grip.
"War is war Pyscho," said Nomad pressing onwards. Pyscho followed closely behind.
"Yeah, let's hit these Ceph bastards where it hurts," said Michael trying to liven up the mood, slightly, "you think they have balls?"
"How the hell should I know if the Ceph have balls? And what kind of balls are we talking about?"
"The kind that hurts when you hit it," deadpanned Pyscho.
"Their tentacles maybe?"
"So, gentacles."
"Why are we even having this conversation?"
"Well, if you think about it, the Ceph kills our kids, and kids are like humanity's ba…" before Pyscho could finish, Nomad interrupted him.
"Don't finish what you're going to say… I get the idea already; I don't want to have nightmares. And you want to go an eye for an eye."
"Exactly, but in this case, balls for balls."
"Or balls for gentacles," added Nomad.
"And you said I was the psychotic one."
"You started it."
The two Operatives quickly ended their bickering and halted when they saw a Pinger, a devastator and a large concentration of grunts down at the end of the road in front of what was a shopping mall. The two quickly reverted back to their military precisions selves again.
"Should we call in a strike? Or take it out ourselves?" Pyscho asked.
Nomad thought about it for a bit.
"You got some C4 on you?"
"Enough to bring down three buildings," came the reply.
"Switch to power mode, and throw it onto the building to our north, north east, then detonate on my mark."
"The bank?"
"Yes."
Dunn selected the bank mainly because the building looked extremely week and would come down with the slightest tremor.
"You got it."
Nomad switched to his Gauss rifle and aimed at the devastator.
"Throw the charges," ordered the Lieutenant.
Pyscho threw the C4s with all his might. The explosives latched onto the base of the pillars supporting the building. It definitely got the Ceph patrol's attention. Nomad then pulled the trigger and started to pump round after round into the Devastator. The slugs tore through the armour and flesh, spewing blood from its wounds. The massive alien then stumbled and collapsed.
"Detonate."
The charges went off in a brilliant yellow-white explosion. The results were exactly like Nomad had predicted. A large portion of the building came crashing down onto the street below, rebar, metal, concrete and broken glass crushed the Patrol, it also got another fire going, with the money in the tellers as the fuel.
The Pinger however was still functional, but badly damaged. Pyscho shouldered his JAW and fired. The missile flew out of the launched leaving a plume of smoke in its wake and slammed into the Pinger's leg. The explosive force ripped off the leg, with no tripod to support its mass, the Pinger careened to its left and fell with a resonating thud, squashing anything beneath it, which were two unfortunate Ceph grunts unlucky enough to be conscious at the time. A sick wet sound emanated as bone tore through flesh.
Sykes finished off the machine by firing another missile straight into the Pinger's main body. The whole thing went up in flames, and anything unlucky enough to be near it was scorched and burnt as the missile detonated and the remains self-destruct.
The Ceph Grunts who weren't caught in the blast stayed behind cover. Finally when the dust had settled, they began to fight back. The Grunts came out of their cover and fired at Pyscho and Nomad. Ice projectiles sailed over the operatives and chipped away at their cover.
Nomad loaded a shell into his under barrel grenade launcher and fired into three Grunts hiding behind a cinder block. The grenade detonated two the cinder blocks' left, which resulted the bloody remains flying to the right. Dunn then aimed down his sights and picked off other Ceph units. The rifle coughed and sputtered out rounds because the sound was suppressed by the silencer.
Enemy fire forced Nomad to take cover once again. The threat tracer showed exactly where the Ceph soldier was on Dunn's HUD. The operative rose from cover, aimed at the said spot and fired. The Ceph that was firing on a second floor was struck in the head by a 4mm sabot SCAR round. The Grunt's head snapped back, blood and flesh splattered over the wall behind it.
Pyscho on the other hand was just thumping away at the alien positions with the MK60 Mod 0, anything caught in the open was promptly torn apart by the heavy calibre rounds. Some Grunts dropped like stones, others convulsed under the hail of fire before crumbling in a heap.
The ambush only lasted for three minutes.
"Let's move, our stunt would have caused some attention," stated Nomad in a neutral tone.
-Cloak engaged-
That synthetic voice always made Nomad's skin crawl a tiny bit, but at least it didn't scare the hell out of him like the first time.
This time, the Operatives decided to move from building to building, as it would give them a greater element of surprise and cover. They navigated their way through collapsed mezzanines, burning rooms and missing sections. And soon arrived at a Black Hawk helicopter which had crashed through the wall and onto the 5th floor, its fuselage were torn, the rotor blades were a mangled mess, and the bodies of the pilots were still strapped in their seats, slumped over the controls and covered in dried blood.
Nomad and Pyscho policed any ammunition and operational weapons and moved onto a balcony.
"Looks like we're jumping here," stated Nomad.
About forty metres from the two's position, was a restaurant roof top garden. Nomad guessed that it was a five star restaurant, considering its location, the elegant theme and the immaculate garden. Well, what use to be elegant and immaculate, the restaurant had missing sections, exposed rebar, bullet holes and burn marks.
-Maximum Power-
With Power mode set, the two Operatives leapt of the chasm of the streets below and landed onto the Roof top and rolled to soften the impact.
-Maximum Armour-
The operatives switched back to the Armour mode in order to recharge.
Nomad and Pyscho then made their way through the dining area and moved on into other buildings.
Dunn then accessed the local battlenet and listened in on the chatter.
"Raven here, we've found five civilians at a primary school, four of them are kids."
"Hawk here, we've found two kids and are extracting now."
"Arc-Three here, we've engaged and destroyed a Pinger and three gunships, and are now advancing to Shen Li financial tower."
"Copy that Arc-Three, be advised surrounding areas of Shen Li financial tower is crawling with anti-air."
"Baseplate, this is Super Five-Two, dropping off Chalk Three."
"Solid copy Five-Two."
"Iceman, this is AWACs, we've lazed the target for you, two klicks south of your position," alerted the operator.
"Copy that, Iceman coming in for gun run," said the pilot.
"This is the 2-1, objectives complete and awaiting orders."
"Solid copy 2-1, we have a new objective for you, advance to Sixth Avenue and link up with Chalk Three, they'll walk you in."
"Copy."
So far so good, Nomad thought.
The two operatives continued along for another three minutes until they felt a slight tremor. They continued in the general direction and felt the tremor grow in intensity. Nomad peered through a crack in a wall.
"Bingo," he muttered.
The Red-Hunter, a gigantic behemoth trimmed with red lights. Its quadruple legs crushed anything beneath it, its tentacles and weapons tore at every building in its path. And circling above are Alien scouts.
"Let's take a close look," suggested Pyscho.
…
"Oh man, that's a lot of Pingers," said Pyscho as his eye's scanned the area, "and a load of gunships."
Gunships flew ahead, covering a wider airspace than the Scouts. Walking the Red Hunter was at least a battalion of Ceph infantry and Pingers.
"Pyscho, laze the Hunter," said Nomad, "I'll call in the strike."
Jake activated his comm, "Baseplate, this is Omicron."
"Go ahead Omicron," said Hauser.
"We've got a visual on the Red Hunter. It appears that the Ceph are in a defensive formation."
"They're protecting something, laze their position."
"Copy."
Pyscho positioned himself at a window and laze the Hunter.
"Okay, we've got a bead on them, sending an airstrike now."
"Omicron, this is Arc-Three-One, Arc-Three is inbound," said the squadron leader of Arc-Three, "take cover."
"Copy that," replied Nomad, "target is danger close."
"Omicron, this is Iceman, rolling in for gun run."
Twelve F-35s swooped from the air in a wedge formation, all weapons blazing. The bombs mounted on their wings were dropped with great precision, most hit the Red Hunter.
Under such beating, the Red Hunter buckled, it was the fourth bomb that was dropped on it that punched through the behemoth's thick armour. The bombs that followed just ripped the whole thing apart, until all that remained were its mangled body and shredded limbs.
The air to air missiles blew the Ceph air units out of the sky while the GAU-12 guns tore apart the Ceph ground units.
After their initial attack run, the F-35s engaged their turbines and began to hover so that they could finish off the remaining Ceph combatants.
"Well that went well," stated Pyscho, "wished these guys were there to help me fight a Red Hunter during Lingshan."
The guns stopped firing, and the F-35s took off.
"That was a successful attack; we're bingo on ammo, heading back to base."
"Solid Copy," replied Nomad, "thanks for the assist."
"Anytime."
Pyscho took one last look at the scorched and blown up metropolitan block, most was the fault of the Ceph, amongst the ruins were the remains of Ceph soldiers and vehicles. The ex-SAS then switched to tactical mode and spotted a group of Ceph Grunts and a Devastator in the distance. Range was about 500m. Skyes and Nomad were about to open up, when they realised the Ceph had thirty prisoners, most of them were kids.
"Where are they taking them?"
A great tremor was soon felt, the earth that was littered with parts of the hunter, and scorched to ash, began to crack. Something began to rise… it was a Ceph Spaceship; it looked exactly like the one at Lingshan. The prisoners were than hauled into the main hangar of the ship, but it looked insulated, no ice.
Dunn flicked on his comm.
"Baseplate, we've got visual on Ceph taking human prisoners onto a ship, awaiting orders," said Nomad with a tone of urgency.
"Bring those kids back home safe and sound Omicron," replied Hauser without hesitation.
Nomad connected the dots that for some unknown reason, the Ceph wanted these people alive. Whether it be for some sick game or research, Jake didn't care, he'd been given an order.
-Maximum Power-
In an instant the two leapt from the building they were hiding in and hit the ground running. Charcoaled earth was kicked up in their wake as they charged forth to the Ceph ship. It obvious got the attention of the Grunts as they began to fire at the advancing soldiers.
Projectiles began to chip away at the ground around Nomad and Pyscho, some rounds had even managed to hit them, but it was nothing the suit couldn't handle.
The distance between the two and the ship began to close. But the prisoners had already been taken aboard, and the ship began to take off.
The Ship's hangar bay would have risen by ten metres by the time Nomad and Pyscho leapt into the air and grasped onto the ledge. With power mode on, they easily hauled themselves over the top, landing feet first.
The prisoners were then thrown into the holdings cells by the Ceph, who then turned to face their new threats.
Nomad shifted right, with no civilians in the way, Jake unleashed a barrage of fire which shredded a Grunt's chest and turn another's head into Swiss cheese.
-Maximum Armour-
"Pyscho, override the Ceph systems so we can get a VTOL to get these civvies out."
Pyscho quickly ran over to a console and placed his hand over it. His suit began to interface with the system which allowed Pyscho to severe connections to the point defence turrets. To protect himself, Michael pulled out his sidearm and fought back.
Their suits were taking damage, power was draining slowly, which forced them behind cover for it to reacharge.
"Okay, I've overridden the turrets, call in the VTOLs. Mainframe indicates that it will be seven minutes until take-off."
Nomad fired another burst, which felled another Grunt.
"Baseplate, this is Omicron, we're requesting three VTOLs for evac," said Jake into the comm, as he ejected the empty mag.
"Copy Omicron," said Hauser, "I'm peeling off Super-Five."
"Solid Copy."
"Omicron, this is Super-Five-One," said the leader of Super-5, "we're coming in to extract you guys, ETA five minutes."
"Copy."
Nomad slapped in a fresh clip into his rifle and returned fire at the Ceph. The 4mm Sabot rounds ripped through a Grunt's chest, splinter bone and shredding flesh, the alien managed to let out a blood curling cry before it crumbled into a heap.
Pyscho on the other hand managed to score a headshot, the small calibre round managed to do a fair bit of damaged as it tore of a huge chunk of a Grunt's tentacle.
The hangar was soon cleared of hostiles. Pyscho remained at the control to lock the doors, cutting off Ceph reinforcements and allowing Nomad to rescue the prisoners.
"Why would they have a holding cell in a hangar bay?"
"Maybe because it's a prisoner loading bay."
"Point."
With the prisoners freed, Dunn positioned them behind cover and so that they would be the first to leave when evac arrived. The operative could see the scared looks in the eyes of the children.
Nomad looked out into the darkened sky; he could see the VTOLs inbound with the suits enhanced vision. Jake made sure to stay on the battlenet to remain on top of situational awareness.
"AA fire, break left, break left," ordered Super-5-1, the voice crackled through the comm channel.
Dunn saw energy rounds streak through the night sky, with one striking a VTOL dead centre in the cockpit. The VTOL began to bank wildly, with a thick column of smoke spawning from it.
"Super-Five-Two is and is going down."
Nomad then heard another explosion go off in the distance, another voice began to speak.
"This is Arc-Three-One, enemy AA and air units have been neutralised. We'll cover you Super-Five."
"Thanks for the assist Arc-Three," said the VTOL pilot, "Omicron, we're docking right now, evac is here."
The two VTOLs entered the bay and opened their side doors so that the prisoners could quickly be loaded in.
"Nomad," said Pyscho, "the mainframe shows that on the other side of those doors, there's a lot of angry Ceph. And a few seconds after I disconnect, those turrets are going to comeback online."
Jake knew exactly what that meant, someone had to stay behind and buy enough time for the VTOLs to get to a safe distance, if they didn't, the Ceph soldiers and the defence turrets would chew up the VTOLs and this whole trip would be for nothing. He also had to make a quick decision because the longer he tarried; the closer this ship was to taking off.
"Pyscho, go with the evac," said Nomad stoically, I'll hold the Ceph off for you to get away."
"But I'm already interfaced with the system."
"It doesn't matter Pyscho," said Nomad, "you deserve to live."
"What about you?"
"Omicron, haul ass," said Super-5-1, "we can't wait much longer, you've got thirty seconds before we leave you."
"Pyscho, just go, that's an order."
"We don't leave men behind, it's not right."
"We're not men anymore," deadpanned Nomad, "we're dead men walking. Just go and save yourself, you have a family waiting for you."
Pyscho abdicated the console, and boarded Super-5-3.
"Godspeed Nomad," Pyscho paused for a moment, "Jake, it has been an honour."
"Best of luck to you your family Michael. I'm grateful to have served with you. Tell Laura I said hi."
"Will do… She waited for me."
"I'll see you on the other side."
"See you there, but not yet."
Farewells amongst soon to be dead men, we're never poetic. All the hardcore badass BS, just goes right out the window, when you're talking to a man who's about to sacrifice himself.
The VTOLs lifted and flew off into the night sky, with Arc-Three protecting them. In his final moments, Jake took the time to reflect. He didn't have a family, no one to go home to. His family had moved on without him, although they did send him emails, but it sounded like they didn't really need him. As for Sykes, his wife waited for him, and bore him a healthy boy; it was obvious that Pyscho's family needed him more than Nomad's family needing him. Then the deaths of Aztec and Jester struck, and only Prophet and Pyscho remained.
And just a few years ago, Prophet had to leave Raptor team, well what was left of it. Somehow, the three men knew that they were never going to see each other when Prophet left, there was a gut feeling that they would find him dead. The term "see you on the other side" was coined by Prophet, it had two meanings. Often during HALO jumps or any other form of insertion of the group separating, it was a sort of reassurance that the men would not die in battle (or any other event) and meet again afterwards (e.g. landings after a HALO jump, or linking up on the other side of the mountain). The other meaning was, if one of them was to die, the men would eventually meet again in the afterlife.
So when Prophet had said it, his tone and the way he said it, suggested that they were never going to see each other alive again.
Nomad's HUD showed that the VTOLs were now at a safe distance, and just in time too, the Ceph had managed to burn their way through the doors. Seeing as there was no more point in reaming at the console. A slow rumble shook through the ship. There was no doubt that the Ship had taken off.
Jake disconnected and lobbed a frag at the incoming Ceph.
The grenade exploded with thunderous force, throwing Grunts in every direction. Dunn dived for cover as projectiles splashed around him, he then returned fire. The cacophony of weapons discharge began to grow into a crescendo as more and more Ceph poured into the bay. Nomad just threw all of his explosives in their general direction and detonated them. Body parts were flung in every direction.
Dunn removed the silencer from his SCAR and began to fire again. The bark of the weapon resonated through the cacophony as spewed forth rounds at the Ceph ranks. Eventually the number of Ceph began to slack off, which made Nomad's task much easier as he finished off the rest of the Grunts.
He then doubled back to the console to obtain a layout of the ship. He wanted to get to the reactor core to disable the ship, but apparently the command bridge stood in his path. Oh well, I'm a dead man, make the best of it I suppose, Dunn thought.
He left the bay, and navigated his way through the maze of walkways, until eventually he reached a zero-g and extremely cold environment, with Naked Aliens, the Ceph's true form, floating everywhere. The whole place was of a light metallic blue, much like Lingshan. Jake found a stable place to be, and opened fire. The Naked Aliens didn't stand a chance against the barrage of fire, their dead bodies floated lifelessly; they didn't even get the chance to fight back.
The Operative pushed through more and more hordes of Ceph, but soon ran out of ammo for his SCAR and slung the weapon over his shoulder; he then switched to a Combat Knife and Pistol Combo. He decided to save his Gauss for later, when the situation really got ugly.
After much bloodshed and fighting, ammo for the pistol had run out, and so Nomad and to unsheathe another blade. He held both knives in a reverse grip and continued on, hacking his way through the thick vines of line tentacles that lined the ship.
…
Jake had finally reached the Command Bridge, he interfaced with a nearby console once again to override the doors and allow him passage. What surprised him was that the bridge had gravity, and there, standing in front of him were two Ceph Guardians and a Ceph CO, which looked powerful indeed. It or he looked like a more muscled up Guardian with cold trimmings.
Upon seeing him enter, the CO signalled the Guardians to attack. The two Ceph Spec Ops ejected their blades from their forearms and charged Nomad.
Dunn stood firm and waited. The first Guardian leapt into the air and slashed viciously at Nomad, the operative in turn dodged the attacks.
-Maximum Power-
Jake sidestepped to avoid another attack from the Guardian, he then gave a powerful sidekick into the Ceph's chest, sending it doubling end over end and into a console. The next guardian attacked from the side. Dunn ducked, and an opening presented itself, the operative moved around the Ceph and stabbed at its vulnerable exposed back. The alien froze and twitched slight as the two blades pieced the back of its neck. Nomad then retracted the blade and let the Ceph collapse in a heap.
The previous Guardian recovered from its initial shock and attempted to hack Dunn to pieces. The operative batted away both its arms, leaving its face and neck exposed. Using this opportunity, Nomad slashed at its neck, the alien stumbled back under shock and grasped its throat before falling.
"Impressive," said the Ceph leader.
"Wait, did you just speak in English?" said a stunned Nomad.
"Yes," the voice was deep and low, and somewhat artificial, "I am the Ship Master. You're fighting prowess have impressed, you burned your way through my crew and defeated my best fighters with ease."
"Okay."
Nomad still held his stance, legs a part shoulder width, knees bent and arms up at the ready.
"Let us fight with in melee."
"Well that's a first," said Nomad, who then lunged at his opponent.
The Ship Master feinted right, and Nomad just sailed past. Upon landing, Nomad swept the Ship Master's legs away from him; the alien fell, but quickly rolled away before Jake could stab him. But that was a mistake on the Ship Master's part, for during the time he rolled away, Nomad managed to drop his knives and unslung and aim his Gauss Rifle.
The Ship Master saw the weapon, but failed to react in time. Dunn pulled the trigger, and fired the last round in the mag. The 10mm round slammed into the Ship Master's abdomen. He grabbed at his wound as blood oozed out and stumbled back. Jake dropped the rifle and picked up his knives and charged the Ship Master. Nomad ripped off the armour plates, exposing the Ship Master's flesh, and slashed and hacked in quick successions, drawing up straight and deep wounds.
Dunn couldn't tell if the Ship Master was in shock because his face was obscured, but the operative didn't care as he delivered the killing blow. He grabbed the Ship Master's tentacles and yanked back his head, Jake then plunged the blade down the alien's throat and let the body drop as he pulled out the combat knife.
Nomad sheathed his combat knives and slung his Gauss Rifle over his back, and proceeded to a console. He placed his hand over it and began to interface with the mainframe. In an instant, he deducted from the recently collected data that the Ceph Spaceship was preparing a jump, but to where and how, he couldn't care less. All he wanted to do was to blow this ship up. Jake entered the commands to overload the reactor, and then disconnected.
He sprinted through the maze of hallways as he made his way to the escape pods. The countdown appeared on his HUD. 01:54 to reactor core detonation. 01:30 to jump. Along the way, he had to brush past floating dead bodies. But he made.
00:44 to reactor core detonation.
00:20 to jump.
Once again, the operative interfaced with the controls to open the hatch.
-00:30 to detonation -
-00:06 to jump-
Jake felt the ship accelerate, it was preparing the final stages of the jump.
-0:24 to detonation-
-00:00 jump initiated….. Jump successful-
Nomad jumped into a seat and then launched the pod. He noticed that he was in space, and Earth was a fleeting sight. Under normal circumstances, he would have been excited. Dunn entered the controls; the pod launched out of his port and away from the ship. But as he peered outside the viewport, space was warped, he was in the portal. A blinding light then washed over the pod, followed by a shockwave. The Ceph ship had exploded.
The debris tore through the pod's engines and breached the hull. The pod then spiralled out of control and fell back into "normal" space.
The whole world went black after that.
XXxxXX
Dunn regained consciousness, his body didn't hurt, his eyes weren't on fire, and his head didn't throb. He felt fine, but his current predicament was far from it. The pod was no longer functional.
Thanks suit, Nomad thought.
He looked out a viewport and saw the vast blackness of space, pinpointed with stars. He could see the still tumbling wreckages from the Ceph ship. Dunn glanced at his HUD's clock and could tell that he had only been out for about two minutes.
Jake cursed; he was stuck in the middle of nowhere, and hadn't got the slightest of clue in where to go. The pod was FUBARed and all he could do was activate a distress beacon, sit and wait.
Probably they'll find me in fifty years; Dunn pondered, well, my dead body and still functional suit. I wonder what our spaceships would look like then. Maybe skeletal and practical or sleek and beautiful like the ones in the movies.
The Operative sat in his seat and leaned back. He closed his eyes and began to reflect on his life once more. He wasn't like his older brothers and sisters. Yes, he grew up in a big family, two older brother and two older sisters. His relatives had dubbed him the black sheep of the family. It wasn't because he was behaved badly; in fact it was quite the opposite. Deemed as the "perfect" child in his school, he was the smartest, fastest and strongest person in his year by far. But he was humble and kept to himself. He was rarely spotted in the social scene. His friends were those who strived to greatness in the academic fields. Jake never had a girlfriend; he found such ideas for a teenager redundant. Dunn remembered the conversation he had with his older brother about relationships.
"Why not go into a relationship?" his brother, Jude rebutted, "you get to meet and get down with chicks!"
"Seems pointless," countered Jake, "nothing productive comes out of it at this age. You're just influenced by the media. TV shows make teens think it's cool to get into a relationship."
"You're just jealous that I've got more experience with girls."
"True, you would have more experience in dealing with AIDs."
"Hey, the girls I have been with are very reasonable."
"I dunno, being with a guy who's probably done it with your friends, your enemies, and thirty other girls… I wouldn't call that reasonable or sensible, just says you're a slut."
"That's sexist."
"How is it sexist? There is nothing sexist about calling a girl who wants to do it with every guy she meets, a slut."
"Well, it's sexist because a guy, who does it, a lot, is called a player. And a girl who does it, a lot, is called a slut, not a femplayer."
"Look, I couldn't care less for what the street terms are. But a guy who does it a lot, I call them giggalos or manslut. For a girl, it's promiscuous or slut."
"Well, the point is, going into a relationship offers comfort and a confidant…"
"That's what a friends and families are for," interrupted Jake, "but since you're an adult, it's your choice. However, I'm not too keen on getting a girlfriend right now."
"Hey, your sisters went into a relationship at your age."
"Wait, they're lesbians? Well aside from that, they got Cs."
"They're not lesbians. Besides they got As too."
"Don't count on that," interrupted Jake's oldest sister, Ellen, as she entered the room "there was this one time in college when your sister and I…"
"Please don't finish what you're going to say," Jake groaned, "I want to sleep well."
"Huh, I thought guys were turned on by that kind of stuff," said Ellen in a bright tone. Jude nodded.
"Hey, I don't know about you guys, but what you do in your free time, is up to you. Just don't tell me about those things. And also, its kinda weird, your my sister."
"Wow you have morals," smirked Ellen, "my little brother is grown up."
"Yeahup," sighed Jude, "grown up into the most ruthless, sophisticated person I have ever seen."
"What do you mean?" Ellen asked.
"You remember that marathon bike race Jake and I competed in last year?"
"The one that left you a cast on your arm and missing patches of skin, and Jake got first place, and set a new record?"
"Yes, well I didn't tell the full story to our parents. You see, what happened was, Jake and I were riding down the mountain, we were catching up to four guys in front of us, I hit a bump, lost control and fell off. Jake stopped and asked if I was okay, I said I was fine. He quickly treated my wounds and rode off to win the race."
Ellen turned to face Jake.
"You didn't stay back with Jude?"
"Dad said he wanted me to win no matter what, and I stayed back to patch Jude up."
"Sweetie, I'm sure Dad didn't mean it to that extent… Wait, but that means you could've been faster."
"I'll fix that up this year," stated Jake.
"Promise you won't leave Jude behind."
"Don't worry about it," interjected Jude, "Mum doesn't want me competing this year, she's afraid her Judey-pie will get hurt."
"It is mom, Jude," corrected Jake.
"Judey-pie?" laughed Ellen.
When Dunn looked back on his younger years, he realised how innocent his family was. They were all happy. His mother was proud of him, but always worried over him, his sister too. They feared that he was becoming detached, and had an unquenchable thirst for greatness. Jake's father was just happy that he was disciplined, obedient and got good grades in one of the most prestigious schools around. What more could a father ask for? Dunn then remembered the day he was invited to join the armed forces. His education and training were paid for, and he graduated from West-Point with honours. After that he became a Delta, and wouldn't see his family for months at a time.
Every time he came home in his Blue ASU, there would be a new scar. His mother would always notice, and so would his sisters. They would worry, Jake would claim that it was from training but they all knew better. One event that left him scared forever was during a firefight, he had to eliminate a sniper. He threw a frag into the window and killed the sniper. It was his CO's orders. Later, Dunn found out that he had also killed three kids with that frag. After that, he was very protective of children, but still wouldn't show it.
Then came that fateful day of the Lingshan incident, Nomad never saw his family again, he was constantly deployed in every theatre of battle and being bonded to a Nanosuit didn't help either. In fact, he never got a chance to check his personal email. But when he could remove the suit without it killing him, he found out that his parents had moved houses a long time ago, and learnt that he was an uncle. Jude had found a loving wife, and had a boy and a girl. While Ellen settled down and gave birth to one beautiful daughter, they had sent an email with their home address and pictures. His family had moved on. Dunn wrote a letter to his parents, he decided that it would be better than sending them an email. A letter was more formal in a sense, a somehow, Dunn felt that he wasn't going to see his family ever again.
The letter went:
To my dearest Mother, Father, Jude, Ellen and Ellie
I know that I haven't been home for over five years now, let alone contact you. Everything has been so busy that I don't even get a chance to relax, there's no time for relaxing here. I'm constantly deployed everywhere. And when I do get a chance to settle down, there's now phone, no internet. Good men are dropping like flies in this war.
There is a couple of things I've done, things that I'm not proud and wish I could take them back. But how do you bring children blown to bits, back from the dead? Yet there are things that I have done, that I know would have saved your lives.
But I don't want this letter to be all doom and gloom. It's nice to know you have moved to a nicer place. I have much to catch up on.
Jude congratulations on your marriage and two children. I'm also honoured that you asked me to be your best man, but when you sent me that email, I was at Lingshan, fighting.
Ellen, you have a wonderful family, I am very happy for you. I wish I could've been there at your wedding.
Ellie, guess I'll have to make it up to the family by showing up to your wedding, but I doubt it, with this war raging on. I don't think they'll let me go on leave.
Take care okay?
I love you all.
Yours Truly
1st Lieutenant Jake Dunn
…
Four days after he sent the letter, he was sent to Singapore, and now he was drifting dead in space. He made sure his distress beacon was activated and went to sleep. Help would probably never come, but there was a small ounce of hope.
XXxxXX
SSV Sydney…
Captain Anderson, or now known as Councillor Anderson, was humanity's representative on the council. He was a man who preferred to get straight to the point and direct, unlike most politicians who tend to beat around the bush. And it was because of this, he got things done.
The SSV Sydney was a gift from H.S.A. for his invitation to become a council member. The Cruiser became his personal ship.
Anderson stood at the Command Bridge, watching the overhead display. He was en route to the nearest relay node so that he could head back to Earth, when a blinding white light washed over the ship, followed by the sound of small debris crashing onto the Cruiser's hull.
"Report!" ordered Anderson.
"Unknown anomally," replied an Ensign, named Jason Wyatt his fingers danced across the console he worked at, getting more data on what just occurred, "report numerous debris, made from unknown metal alloy, calculations estimate that this is the remains of a ship. ETA to point of origin, fifteen minutes."
"Is it Reaper?"
"Negative sir, they do not match our records," the Ensign paused for a moment as he looked at his screen closer, "Sir, sensors have detected a distress beacon."
"What does it say?" asked Anderson.
"1st Lieutenant Jake Dunn, service number 00578-48433-JD."
"Run a scan on him Wyatt."
Jason typed it into the search box.
"Negative results sir, no match."
Anderson gave a small nod.
"Jackson, set a course to the distress beacon,"
"Copy sir," complied the Flight Lieutenant.
The Cruiser's engine rumbled as it changed heading.
Anderson then spoke into the ship's intercom.
"Miller, prep your team and get to a transport. I need you to move to this nav marker and retrieve a military personnel, approach with caution. But we need him alive."
"Copy sir," Miller replied.
Anderson watched from the viewport and charts as the small transport left with a platoon of Alliance soldiers to extract Dunn. The crew watched from Miller's helmet camera, some were tense, others were a tense perplexed.
The feed came through clearly, Miller and his men had their rifles at the ready. The footage showed that they had finally arrived at the source of the signal.
The doors parted and revealed a figure in some kind of suit with a muscle suit with armour plates to be precise. They all found themselves looking into a blood red visor.
"Well rescue came a bit early," said the voice cheerfully.
"Are you 1st Lieutenant Jake Dunn?"
The soldier nodded.
Miller and his team saluted Dunn.
"I'm Sergeant Major Andrew Miller. We're here to pull you out."
XXxxXX
Dunn was tense, but most of it disappeared when he discovered that his rescuers were human. However that raised a whole lot of questions. Why is there a human spaceship?
The moment he stepped into the bay of Sydney, the Lieutenant took a quick look around. Apparently many of the crew were looking at him.
Figures got the Nanosuit, he thought, covered in Ceph blood.
"This way Lieutenant," said Miller.
Nomad nodded, and followed.
The hallways Jake walked through were well lit, and general a bone smokey white colour. Many crewmen stepped aside and let the operative and his escorts through. The Lieutenant soon arrived at an office that resembled one usually reserved for high-ranking officials. Behind the glass desk sat a man, typing a way at a computer of sorts.
The man stood up and introduced himself.
"I am Councillor Anderson, formally Captain Anderson, Alliance Navy."
Jake snapped a crisp salute.
"Sir."
Anderson returned the salute.
"Leave us," ordered Anderson.
The Marines saluted him, and then left room, leaving Dunn and Anderson in the office.
"Helmet off."
Jake complied. He removed the helmet, the seal popped with a hiss
"Mind introducing yourself?"
Some information that Nomad held was classified, like his exact occupation for example.
"I am 1st Lieutenant Jake Dunn, of the United States Army, First Special Forces Operational Detachment-Delta, Airborne."
"United States?"
"Dunn, you do realise that humanity is now united under one banner."
"Sir?"
"Do you know what year it is?"
"2023."
Anderson gazed at the floor, rubbing his chin as he paced around the office.
"Sir, what year is it here?"
"2183," came the reply.
So, did I travel through time? Nomad asked himself.
"How did you end up out here Dunn?" Anderson asked.
Well, that information is not classified. Dunn thought.
"My partner and I were deployed in Singapore; we were given orders to infiltrate enemy territory and call in fire support on their defences to soften them up for an upcoming assault."
"Where is your partner now?"
"I ordered him to evacuate while I stayed behind, sir," replied Nomad in a sad yet content tone.
"Why did you do that?" asked Anderson with a tone of genuine sympathy.
"He had a family waiting for him."
"No, what I meant was, why did you stay behind?"
"My partner and I were given orders to rescue prisoners from a Ceph spaceship before they were taken off planet. I had to stay behind and buy the transports time so that they could get away without being shot down by the ship's defence systems."
"Who were you fighting? I don't remember humanity having spaceships."
"They're called the Ceph. They've been dormant on Earth for millions of years, sir, and then they were reawakened by the KPA."
"Korean People's Army?"
Jake nodded.
"After that, it caused us hell and I've been fighting them for the past five years. Didn't get to see my family, and they moved on without me."
"Well I'm sorry," Anderson said sympathetically.
"Um, sir. Not to be hasty, but I'm pretty sure I haven't travelled through time."
"I gathered as much. I think you jumped realities."
"I think so too. After all, you're not aware of the Human-Ceph War."
"How's the war going then?"
"We're using their own bio-weapons against them, helps level the playing field."
"How'd that work?"
"Our scientists found a way to reverse engineer the Ceph spores to attack Ceph instead of humans."
Anderson sat back in his chair and thought for a bit.
"Your story is farfetched, I probably wouldn't have believed it if I hadn't found you out here."
"I know sir, I don't believe it myself."
"Well, back to the main thing, how'd you end up out here?"
"Once my partner got away safely, the Ceph ship had taken off with me still on board. So I decided to blow it up. I overloaded the reactor core while the ship was making a jump. And that's how I ended up here."
"That explains the debris," Anderson muttered, "how about the suit you're wearing?"
"It is a nano muscle suit. Model two. Designed to enhance the user, but at a cost." Nomad hoped in saying that, it would ward off anyone seeking to use the suit.
"That is?"
"Symbiosis, removal of the suit and death will occur."
"Have they found a way to go around that?"
"Yes sir, but it only helps users like me who haven't sustained serious injuries."
"Okay then. So what are you going to do here?"
"Help out, sir. I have nothing else to do."
"Glad you said so," smiled Anderson, "now follow me, if you're going to help out, we need to make a few changes."
"Yes sir."
Anderson walked towards the door.
"First up, identity, followed by situational awareness."
Nomad nodded.
"I'd love to see what your suit can do, but there are too many eyes."
"Protocol dictates that I'm not allowed to share my suit to unknowns, sir. Besides, I'm still taking in the fact that I can't go home. I don't know anyone here."
"By the book huh? Not to worry, I'd do the same in your position."
XXxxXX
Dunn decided to get some shut eye while Anderson did his thing. An hour or so later, the Councillor returned.
"Hey Dunn, you awake?"
Nomad quickly woke from his nap.
"Yes sir?"
"I have an Omni tool here for you, I've got your ID and a few credits wired into your account."
"Thank you sir."
"You're an Alliance soldier, Delta Force to be exact."
"Delta exists here sir?"
"No, well use too. But obviously your training is different to N7."
"N7 sir?"
"They're Humanity's best of the best. Tier Ones."
"I see."
"Get something to eat, and read through the information on your Omni tool. I need to be elsewhere."
"Okay, thank you very much sir."
"Anytime."
…
Cafeteria…
Nomad quickly learnt how to use the Omni tool, and being able to interface with technology via the suit, made it all the more easier. The operative read his file; it was similar to his back home, only slightly different.
1st Lieutenant Jake Dunn
D.O.B: 2155 CE
Place of Birth: Classified
Gender: Male
Status: Active
Biotics: None
Operational history: Classified
Additional information:
Well trained to handle any situation.
Tier One Operative. Serving in the First Special Forces Operational Detachment-Delta (DeltaOps)
Jake then switched to other articles and read through the history of humanity here, and committed it to memory as he chowed down on some pasta. He moved onto other articles involving alien species, from their anatomy to their culture, after that, he read Alliance regulations and citadel policies. He needed to have basic knowledge of this place if he was going to avoid attracting attention.
"Interesting," he muttered as he read through the events that occurred through recent years, Systems Alliance rather than United Nations, N7s as the overall Elite Special Forces, Tier One to be exact, and Cerberus would be like C.E.L.L. yes, he had run into C.E.L.L. operatives a few times during his tour of duty. They're well trained, but too trigger happy.
His attention was caught by numerous video logs and articles on Commander John Shepard, a hero of the Alliance and saviour of the galaxy.
I wonder if they're over exaggerating this guy, either way, I'd like to meet him.
Once again, Dunn began to reminisce, he was stuck here in this universe, and there was no going back. This was practically an unwanted fresh start.
A few hours later, Anderson appeared again.
"I need to run a few errands planet side on Earth, then we'll return to the Citadel were I can assign you. For now, get yourself fitted out. Make sure you talk to Samson, he won't ask much questions and he keeps his mouth shut. Get a kinetic barrier generator and upgrade your weapons. And head to the medical clinic to get a translator impant and a quick check up, if you want to that is."
"Very well sir."
…
With Anderson ground side, Dunn decided to look around the ship. First off, the armoury.
"Hello LT," saluted Chief Gunnery Samson as Jake entered, "how may I help you sir?"
"I was wondering if you could outfit me with a kinetic barrier."
"Sure thing sir, but what happened to yours?"
Nomad quickly came up with a lie.
"It got fragged, Chief."
Samson gave a slight nod and pursed his lips before walking over to a cabinet. He entered in a passcode, the cabinet opened and he retrieved a kinetic barrier generator and a power cell.
"Okay sir, please turn around."
The LT complied. Samson then attached the kinetic barrier and power cell onto the armour.
The suit detected the new upgrade and began integrating it into the system. Another bar appeared on the HUD, showing the current status of the Kinetic Barrier, which was currently at 100%.
"Done, anything else sir?"
"Yes, I was hoping to see if you could pep these three weapons," said Nomad as he handed over the SCAR, Gauss Rifle and the Nova pistol.
"Hmm, bullet firing weapons and a Gauss rifle, haven't seen these for quite some time, I'll finish upgrading these for you by tomorrow night, sir."
"Thanks Chief."
"No problem sir."
XXxxXX
While Jake awaited the return of Anderson, he spent much of his time looking down on Earth, watching the sun rise and sunset over the horizon.
Beautiful.
The remainder was reading through the articles on his codex and tending to basic human needs. He also took the time to stop by the medical bay to get a translator implant so that he could communicate with aliens he would inevitably meet.
Dunn headed back to the armoury to retrieve his newly upgraded weapons. He entered the door and walked over to Samson's work station.
"Hello sir," Samson saluted.
Nomad returned it.
"You're weapons, although the tech is somewhat old, do pack a nasty punch. And with the tweaks and upgrades I gave them, they'll punch harder. The parts on these weapons are interchangeable so you can fire a different array of ammunition. Your Gauss Rifle now has the nasties punch of all, three hundred per cent more effective, when you're testing this baby out; don't shoot it at a view port. Also, I've made the 10mm slugs that the rifle fires, three hundred rounds to be exact, I've put them all in this bag. As for the other rounds, I've placed them in these ammo crates."
"Well, thank you very much Chief."
"Not a problem sir."
Dunn took his weapons and ammo and then made his way to the firing range to test out these weapons.
He started off with a simple simulation with his pistol, and gradually increased the difficulty. He also set the new high scores, which got the attention of some off-duty personnel. They stood around the range and watched as Nomad unleashed accurate fire into the targets.
Once completing all the levels, Jake looked at his total score.
I still got it, he smiled.
Nomad's suit managed to pick up whispering in the crowd, most were in awe of the skills that had been presented, others wanted to pit him against their best marksman. But he didn't linger around, he packed his gear and left.
XXxxXX
Anderson had returned to the SSV Sydney.
He took Dunn aside to have a quick chat.
"Dunn, I'm sure you've heard of Commander Shepard."
"Yes sir."
"We'll I'm assigning you to him, he'll need all the help he can get. From what I've seen, he could use more soldiers."
"Doesn't he have enough soldiers under his chain of command sir?"
"He has formidable fighters, but few soldiers."
"I understand sir," Nomad nodded, "when do I meet him?"
"End of the week. You might want to get yourself some ceremonial cloths and fatigues in the sowing bay, wearing that suit of yours would cause suspicion."
Sowing bay? Wow, never thought I'd come across a military ship with a tailor shop aboard.
"Of course sir, would it be alright if I get a Blue ASU and Combat Uniform I wore back home?"
"That'll be fine; just don't put anything on it that says you're from elsewhere."
"Okay sir."
Anderson then left for the Command Bridge for the jump back to the citadel, while Dunn left to get his cloths made.
Nomad combined the designs of the Uniforms back home, with some of the elements seen in this universe, in this way he would something of his own, yet wouldn't stand out. His Combat Uniform with a grey to white digital pattern camouflage would be worn underneath the Nanosuit (the nanites from the suit would still be able to access his body without problem) or with knee length black combat boots and his Service Uniform would be worn at formal events. He also made sure that the US Army Special Operations Command patch and his rank insignia was also on both uniforms. But he had to change a few elements of the patch to avoid suspicion. He changed the bayonet to a Combat Knife colour of the blade from black, to grey, and trimmed the extremities of the spade grey. Beneath are Lain words scrolled out; "Componere. Pugna initur. Exstaret." Translated as, Adapt, Engage, Survive.
The new patch was very different to the previous version; it was then used by Anderson to further fabricate the existence of Delta Force. The Councillor hoped that one day in the near future, Delta Force would become a real military branch.
Dunn smiled at the fact that Anderson had so many contacts and the vast know how of getting around.
XXxxXX
Citadel…
Jake stood at the bridge in his Combat Uniform next to Anderson.
And there it was, the Citadel in all its glory. Dunn marvelled at its size, but remembered to hide his surprise; after all, he's a Delta and had to maintain his cover.
Many of the female staff sent Nomad numerous glances. He had black hair, strong rugged features, serious eyes and pale skin. By most standards, he was considered handsome. When Anderson saw him without the suit, he told the Lieutenant that he needed a tan. Dunn just simply smiled at that.
Sydney soon docked at the Citadel, were the entire crew left for some shore leave.
"This way," said Anderson to Dunn as they walked off the ramp, "I've sent a message to Shepard. He'll be meeting you shortly. He's tending to some business right now."
"Very well sir."
Nomad followed Anderson, pulling a very large suitcase behind him and hauling a kitbag and Garment bag over his shoulder. Packing the Nanosuit was the toughest, but in the end he managed. The Councillor lead Dunn through the great expanses of the Citadel to the Human Embassy where the Lieutenant would wait. Along the way, he did receive a couple of glances, but not too much.
XXxxXX
SSV Normandy, Citadel…
Shepard, Joker and Ashley walked off the ramp, well for Joker he was in a wheel chair. The three moved off alongside with the rest of the crew who had been granted shore leave for three days. As much as Shepard appreciated the gesture, he really wanted to get back to work and find a way to stop the Reapers. However something important was going, important enough for Anderson to pull Shepard and his crew back to the Citadel. He also told Shepard to bring only two human personnel that he trusted, to come along.
Obviously something was amiss, a need to know.
The Trio navigated their way to the Human Embassy, it was "night" time on the Citadel, and not many were out and about.
"So Anderson told you, that we're going to meet him at the Human Embassy to pick up a Delta Operator?" asked Ashley, "and what's a Delta Operator?"
"That's what Anderson said, though I'm not too sure what a Delta Operator is, but Anderson said that they're Tier One soldiers."
"So basically an equivalent of an N7?" asked Joker.
"Yeah."
"I don't know why we need to recruit this guy," sighed Ashley.
"He's Alenko's replacement," answered Shepard.
Alenko had died on Virmire, and they were a man down, so naturally, they decided to recruit someone of a military background.
"Well, let's get this done and over with."
They arrived at the Embassy, Shepard spotted two men, one was Anderson and the other who was dressed quite differently was obviously the Delta Operator. The Delta soldier was six foot tall, extremely well built, serious eyes, black hair and strong features which Ashley found to be attractive.
"Sir!" The Operator snapped a crisp salute, "1st Lieutenant Jake Dunn, callsign Nomad."
"Nice to meet you Lieutenant," Shepard said as he returned the salute. Ashley and Joker obviously followed suit, "I'm Commander John Sheppard."
"I'm Flight Lieutenant Jeff Moreau, but call me Joker."
"Willco sir," answered Dunn.
"And I'm Gunnery Chief Ashley Madeline Williams."
The three were obviously thinking the same thing, Dunn is very disciplined. The type of calibre of a soldier that Shepard rarely dealt with normally those under his command talked to him eye to eye, as equals.
…
Shepard, a tall, well-built man with tanned skin, strong features and a shaved head, Dunn could tell by the way Shepard act that he was a man who believed in doing the right thing and to get the job done, much like Pyscho.
"Commander Shepard," began Anderson, "the Lieutenant here will help you out on your missions. I have no doubt that he will be a valuable addition to your team."
"Well, welcome to the team, LT."
"Thank you sir."
"What do you preferred being called?"
"Well sir, during combat, my teammates and I will call each other by our callsigns, when we're not in combat or off-duty, I don't mind."
"Fair enough. Anyway, you look under dressed, better put on some combat gear."
"Sure thing sir, are we expecting a firefight?"
"You never know."
"Councilor Anderson, may I use…"
"Sure thing Dunn."
…
Nomad then left to go to the private change rooms to put on his Nanosuit two. He remember the three people that he met, Shepard wore a black armour suit, with N7 on it and a red strip. While Ashley wore a white and red themed suit of body armour. And Joker wore simple fatigues and a cap.
Being back in the suit made Dunn feel less naked and vulnerable, but it did give him a sense that he going back to becoming a dead man walking.
…
"Why isn't Dunn operating with his squad? Why is he assigned to us?" asked Shepard to Anderson.
"Command wants to see how Delta's work with outside members."
"Somehow I feel like you're not telling me the whole story."
"It's on a strictly need to know basis, when the time is right, he'll tell you. But don't force him."
"Okay then. I'd like to know more about him."
"He's skilled in all aspects of warfare, trained for counter-terrorism, direct action and intervention operations. He's part of a versatile group, much like us N7s, but they're more obedient and disciplined."
"But why are you assigning him to us now? We're put on shore leave."
"Dunn hasn't been on shore leave for over five years, besides, this will help you get acquainted. He'll watch your back on the battlefield."
"Five years," commented Joker, "that's a helluva long time."
The conversation was going to continue on but then Nomad returned.
They all marvelled at the complexity and the fearsomeness of the suit he was wearing. It caused Ashley to raise an eyebrow and Joker to give a low whistle.
"Nice gear sir, where can I get one?" asked Ashley.
"Classified," answered Nomad.
Well he's disciplined, Ashley thought.
Williams's eyes scrolled along Nomad, and took in the sight of the suit again. She spotted the two skeletal like rifles slung on his back and a helmet with a blood red visor and a silver stripe tucked under his arm.
"Do you think you might be a bit over packed LT?" asked Joker referring to Jake's Garment Bag, kitbag, and large pulley suitcase.
"They're gear I need sir."
"Alright then."
"Okay, are we good to go?" asked Shepard.
Nomad nodded.
"Dunn, before you go," called Anderson, "I need a private word with you."
"We'll put your stuff in the railcar," Ashley said.
Jake walked over to Anderson.
"Dunn, you and I both know that how you got here," whispered Anderson, "is a one way trip. Start a new life here; we both know there's no going back. I've assigned you to Shepard because I want you to keep an eye out for him, you only answer to me and Shepard, is that clear."
"Crystal sir."
"Good, now if for any reason, you and Shepard are separated, you will do whatever it takes to get back to him. If he's dead, you go to me, if Shepard's alive; you go to him, unless I say so. And me only."
"I know sir. Thank you, for everything," Jake said sincerely.
Anderson gave a light nod.
"Keep Shepard safe, I don't have too much faith in his team of mercenaries."
"Of course sir. I also have to ask, why didn't you run test and all that on me?"
"Cerberus, if they found out who you are, we're going to have a whole lot more trouble on our hands."
"Of course."
"You better get going, Shepard will be waiting."
Dunn nodded, and jogged over to the railcar where the other three were waiting.
"What do you have in there LT?" asked Ashley.
"Ammo, weapon components, some clothes and more ammo," replied Jake.
…
The ride in the railcar to Normandy was agonizingly as an awkward silence settled over them; Ashley then decided to break it of course.
"So LT, how do you become a Delta?"
"You need to be male, twenty one years or older, achieve a high score in the ASVAB, be within the rank of E-Four to E-Eight, and if you've served with other special forces groups."
"Well there goes my chance," sighed Ashley, "how long have you been serving in Delta?"
"Seven years."
"And you haven't been on leave for the past five years?" asked Shepard.
"Yes sir."
"Well, after we drop off your stuff, we'll head over to a bar."
"Excuse me sir?"
"You sound like you need a drink, or two. When was the last time you had one?"
"Eight years ago I think."
"You know you don't have to be so formal, calling me Shepard will be fine."
"Sure thing sir. But it's kind of drilled into me."
"I'm guessing your work environment is very strict and big on the chain of command and all?" asked Joker.
"Yes sir."
The railcar began to slowdown, and came to a halt. The four quickly got out, and walked up the ramp to the Normandy.
"Nice bird you have sir," Nomad complimented.
"Thanks Dunn."
Jake took the time to take in more of the sights and memories the maps before he boarded the ship.
The inside of the ship is similar to Sydney, but it was not as brightly lit.
Shepard led Jake through the hallways and onto the crew deck.
"This will be your quarters," stated John, "mine will be opposite to yours; Ashley's will be right next to you."
"Got it."
"Dump your stuff, and we'll head down to a bar."
..
Back on the railcar again, Nomad looked out the window and watched the night time landscape of the citadel. The great expanses of each arm contained the wards, living and working space of so many. But half his mind wandered elsewhere, back home. He wondered how Michael was going, how the war was going for that matter.
"Nomad," started Ashley, "do you have any family at home?"
"No Chief, my family moved on without me. I haven't seen them for over five years."
DAMMIT! Thought Ashley, that's damn awkward.
"Oh, sorry about that LT," Ashley apologised.
"That's fine."
"So, what's so special about that suit of yours? And please don't say classified."
"Well it enhances the users physical and mental capabilities, protects them from biological agents and weapons fire, capable of healing the user, and can self-repair."
Ashley gave a loud whistle.
"How do I know you're not BS-ing us?"
"Do I look like that kind of person Chief?"
"It's Williams."
"Right Williams, do I look like that kind of person?"
"Yes," Ashley replied jokingly.
"Laugh it up Ash," intervened Shepard, "you don't want Dunn here getting upset do you?"
"I take it you and your crew aren't big on formalities sir," stated Dunn.
"Exactly, that's why we're going for a drink together."
The railcar came to a halt outside Zakera Ward's.
"Okay, here we are, we'll use an elevator from here," said Shepard.
The four quickly entered the elevator, Shepard entered a few keys, and the thing began to rise.
"Ah, we're headed to the Dark Star Lounge, nice place, unlike Chora's Den."
"What's Chora's Den?" asked Nomad.
"A nasty place with strippers," replied Joker as he felt a chill run down his spine.
"Real pretty," added Ashley sarcastically.
Nomad then turned to Shepard.
"Pardon me sir, but why are we getting a drink? I don't mean to be rude but I barely know you people."
Shepard smiled.
"Smart man, well in truth, I want to see how you operate in a civilian environment. We'll go to Chora's Den tomorrow."
"Oh man," groaned Ashley.
"Serious?" complained Joker.
"Joker you get to stay back on the Normandy."
"Yes!"
The elevator soon came to a stop, the doors opened with a chime.
"This way," beckoned Shepard.
XXxxXX
The dual doors opened, revealing a lounge, which looked like some of the 21st century clubs he had been to during his deployment, except this one had aliens.
The lounge was dimly lit by purple and blue lights, which were further accented by the white panel, curved walls and droning music.
Patrons of all species were dancing, talking or getting drinks.
The four then sat down at a table, Shepard sat next to Dunn.
"Alright Dunn, tell me what you see by just looking at these people."
Nomad started with the Turian bartender, he observed how the Turian served drinks, and the way he moved.
"The Turian bartender, he seems like the reckless type, he'll pour his customers potent drinks if they ask for it. He's also confident and here's a lot."
"Okay, how about the Asari dancing with the Bartarian."
"Just your average patron, she's unarmed and wears modest clothing. The Bartarian on the other hand is armed, and weary, possibly C-sec or criminal."
Shepard had to agree with the analysis.
"You're good Dunn."
"Nice LT," complimented Ash, "now, what can you tell about Shepard."
"Well, I've read articles on the Commander, and judging on the past hour. Shepard is a non-nonsense soldier, ruthless and gets the job done. But strongly cares for those under his command."
Shepard nodded in agreement. So far, he liked Dunn; no doubt he would be very helpful in any situation.
"That concludes my evaluation of you today Dunn, would you like a drink?"
"No thanks sir, but do they serve meals here?"
"LT, I don't think eating here is the best of ideas, we'll go to some of the other restaurants around the wards."
XXxxXX
A/N: Alenko is dead….. Died on Virmire. R.I.P. ='( It would be easier that way.
Characters I will be focusing on:
Nomad
Garrus
Shepard
Ashley
Joker
Kelly
Miranda
If you're wondering, Kelly will be an important element in the character development of Nomad. And no, there won't be a Nomad/Kelly pairing. I'm going with more traditional themes, like other Xovers. Nomad/Ashley.
Shepard/Kelly
They make a nice couple.
…
The reason why I chose a Male Shepard, it was because he sounds like the no-nonsense, ruthless, and professional. So it would be easier for me to portrait a "darker" side of him.
Whereas Female Shepard (though as awesome as she is =D) is still professional, but doesn't seem as ruthless or no-nonsense. She sounds like the more joker type. E.g. The bar scene, and the bomb scene. She sounds more carefree than Male Shepard.
…
The voice actor who plays David Anderson also plays Sgt Foley in MW2.
So anyone notice something here?
1st Lieutenant Jake Dunn = Cpl Dunn
David Anderson = Sgt Foley
…
Anderson: Ramirez!... I mean uh, Shepard! Save the galaxy!