Staring absently at the tiles between his feet, Kaidan sat in silence on a hard bench in the men's locker room, wearing only the breastplate and greaves of a "modified" gray Hahne-Kedar Scorpion armor set. No headache! It was going on a year now since the war ended and his L2 biotic-implant stopped flaring up on him, but after suffering them chronically for decades, Kaidan still paused at around the same time every day in anticipation of his daily migraine. Old habits die hard, he supposed. Of course, that wasn't to say Kaidan didn't appreciate a pain-free head. Right now, though, what he appreciated most was the opportunity to just… sit, and take in a moment of peace and quiet in the midst of everything going on around him. But not for long – the task ahead of him required his full attention and commitment.
He looked over at a set of Scorpion arm braces at his side, and the datapad he was given by some Alliance researchers he'd been working with. Kaidan reached for the braces and strapped them on tightly. As for the datapad, well, everything on it was already ingrained into his head – literally.
In short, nanodes: microscopic nodes between neurons coordinating the human nervous-system in Harmony with any external device capable of handling such a connection. In fact, these "nodes" themselves were tiny devices. Where they originated remains a mystery, but many scientists were coming to an agreement on how these nanodes were dispersed: the Crucible – in combination with the Citadel – manipulated dark-energy to transport these self-replicating miniature machines through mass-effect fields, with help from the mass-relay system to make the spread galaxy-wide. Some argue that these same mass-effect fields were used to implant these devices within all organic life-forms, while others believed they were small enough for topical application to have worked effectively, and others yet supposed that they simply permeated the air and were inhaled by all, but researchers ultimately lent most credence to the first two explanations.
Over the past three months, Kaidan had been working with the Alliance – researchers, scientists, and fitness trainers – on a routine basis as part of some very hyped-up new project, which focused on investigating humanity's new conditions of life brought about by the Crucible. Such research and study was of crucial importance in the aftermath of the Reaper War, they felt. When the Crucible fired, it was expected to target and wipe out the Reaper fleet. Instead, it simply seemed to pacify them, while all organics were tattooed with some sort of glowing-green imprint resembling computer circuitry patterns – and no one understood how or why. It would later be learned that the chain-reaction from the Crucible had freed the Reapers from the root of their aggression: a hostile overlord calling itself "the Catalyst," compromising their autonomy to direct them into systematic harvesting cycles. In liberating the Reapers, the conflict effectively ended.
In the following year to come, the civilizations of the galactic community committed not only to rebuilding, but to understanding these new changes to their world (some civilizations more than others, however, in the latter). In this ongoing rebuild-and-research period, the galactic community's most valuable allies were … the Reapers, as well as the geth, and any synthetic intelligence that could make sense of this new, computer-like "upgrade" to organic life (and could find organics willing to accept their help). For the Alliance in particular, EDI – an AI who proved a valuable asset to them during the war – was the most important name on everyone's lips. With her help, the R&D Department uncovered and developed numerous new post-Crucible capabilities of man. And, due to most of the galaxy's initial slowness to trust the Reapers, the geth, or any other synthetic in the mold of AI, humanity quickly got ahead of others in this field – the quarians and salarians their only real competition.
Scientists and researchers in the Alliance labs called these newfound organic talents "biotechnical harmonics," or "Harmonics" for short, and that name stuck ever since (though different galactic species had their own respective names for it). Soon enough, the Alliance set up a program dedicated to training these talents in their personnel and called upon everyone willing and able to enroll. Major Alenko volunteered, becoming their most high-profile recruit.
For him, this whole experience called back to an earlier time. As a child, it was discovered that he had biotic power, and after representatives from Conatix Industries showed up at his door one day, he soon found himself at the Alliance's Gagarin Station (a.k.a. "Jump Zero") to train his powers. However, Kaidan's involvement in this initiative was a big deal. As a war hero and the second human Spectre, Kaidan helped this movement gain some support. Among members of the project itself, he was treated like a celebrity pro-athlete, a far cry from some lowly teenager learning biotics under an abusive turian instructor at BATT (Biotic Acclimation and Temperance Training … or "Brain Camp" as its young recruits called it).
Over the past three months, Kaidan was required to do some freehand-exercises and go jogging shortly after waking at 8 AM every day. His diet was regulated by a nutritionist on a set weekly schedule. Vitamin B and Omega-3 fatty acids in particular were now more important components to human nutrition. He also spent his Monday-, Wednesday-, and Friday-afternoons lifting weights and performing other strength-building exercises at his local gym with a personal trainer. After his daily exercise, Kaidan reported to the Alliance R&D lab for Harmonics training – a gym rat and a guinea pig both, he often joked of himself. Physically, however, he was perhaps in the best shape of his life.
At the labs, Kaidan learned various new "tricks" he could now perform in-sync with external devices (most commonly his omnitool), all of it incredible beyond words. Whatever Kaidan had on his omnitool was now accessible to him through a mental connection. This allowed him to open a program or document on his device and interact with it by mere thought, all of it done within a fraction of a second. Additionally, data saved onto the omnitool could also be "saved" into his own memory, with perfect or near-perfect recollection. With a supporting device, any human could now also access extranet channels at will and utilize it to mentally acquire the time, date, calendar, world-clock, calculators, rapid short-range communication, and many other things that made life much more convenient. And these were just the basics of a rapidly-developing science. Countless other possibilities existed – some known to him, some known to only few others, and some yet unknown to all.
As he was told over and over again by the specialists he worked with, Kaidan was truly the perfect candidate for this, due to his tech- and biotic-expertise. Harmonics were like a synthesis of the two; it required the fine brain control he learned as a biotic, while his extensive knowledge of electronics made him very adaptive to this nexus that bridged the worlds of nature and technology. But what he was learning here made conventional technology and biotics just seem downright… ordinary; this was ground-breaking, revolutionary stuff.
In truth, three months still felt like too short a time to train in something very new to the whole galaxy, and before being tested on it, no less, but Kaidan supposed the brains in the research labs were more qualified to make that judgment than he was. Somehow, it seemed as though the whole galaxy was now moving more quickly than it used to, as if the forces of time itself had started losing momentum against them. One would have thought that all the carnage and destruction of the past war would have broken the collective spirit of this space-faring community, even in the event of a victory. Yet hope and optimism for the future was very much alive throughout the cosmos.
Such sudden, sweeping change to their world was not without controversy, however, but active use of the new mental faculties everyone gained was controllable and entirely optional. As a result, there were groups of people within every galactic race that chose to live "off the grid" and shun this change. Over time, this effect had worn off within plants and non-sapient animals that lacked the cognitive processes to utilize it, leading some to believe that sustained inactivity could similarly remove it from humans or other sapient organics, but no such phenomenon had been witnessed yet. There was, however, radiation treatment developed to permanently deactivate these nanodes and effectively "undo" this post-Crucible effect entirely for those that wished it totally gone. Study was continuing to see if the effect or something like it could also be reapplied after being lost.
Now, Kaidan was expected to demonstrate a mastery of his Harmonic power. After a few minutes of silent reflection, Kaidan finally donned his Scorpion breather-helmet and boots, then got up and walked out of the locker-room, making way for the combat arena down the hall. He'd heard of this place before, an Alliance facility in Rio with state-of-the-art combat simulators for training N7 recruits, and the arena contained a massive one much like those he'd seen at Pinnacle Station. It had recently been retrofitted, however, for the purposes of this test.
Kaidan didn't know much about what this test would entail, other than the fact that he would be expected to perform some things he had learned, and – as he found out just recently – to perform some things he hadn't been previously trained to do. To "improvise, using his learned skills" they said. That part worried him, more than a little. He'd heard of some accidents that took place in the labs thus far while training these abilities. Though AI assistants often anticipated potential "bugs" and took preemptive measures to prevent them, these accidents still happened from time to time, which resulted in things like injuries and temporary loss of normal bodily control. Kaidan couldn't help but wonder if perhaps worse accidents had taken place that the Alliance hadn't disclosed – permanent injuries, even deaths? His own training had gone smoothly so far, he just hoped it wasn't about to end in disaster.
As if that was not enough, there would also be a lot of eyes on him in the moments to come, as well. With humanity leading the charge in Harmonics development, ranking Alliance officials were hoping for a successful showing here to move forward into a new phase of Harmonics development… whatever that was. On top of that, the (acting) Galactic Council sent a few representatives, watching to determine whether others should adopt humanity's approach to Harmonics themselves, or maintain their relatively conservative stance on it and focus their attention on other matters. No pressure, huh?
Outside the arena entrance stood one of the Alliance specialists he'd been working with over the past few months, Miranda Lawson.
"Major," she said as he approached, "everything's set up inside the arena. Are you ready?"
Kaidan chuckled a bit. "I don't really have much choice. But yeah, I'm ready."
Miranda managed a smile, though Kaidan could see right through it. She was concerned. Was it concern for him, or concern over the results of his performance (which she – as project manager – would no doubt have to report to her superiors on behalf of their whole research team)? Kaidan decided he preferred the former explanation.
"Good luck in there," she said as Kaidan headed through the entryway to the arena.
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As he walked inside, Kaidan quickly made a note of his surroundings before the examination began, estimating the size of the arena at about three stories high and perhaps half a football field in length. There were two levels: an uneven terrain making up the bottom level, and a top level divided into four large platforms. There was a staircase on the far end leading up to level two, as well as a ladder on his end, and a ramp on both sides. Just moments later, the lights dimmed, and the simulator generated the images on the ground floor of a dark, rocky environment like a cavern or a mine.
Next, Kaidan heard a familiar voice over the arena's speaker system: "Welcome to the CyberMarine Entry Examination, Major Alenko."
"… EDI?"
"Yes," she replied. "I am here to instruct and assist you in this test, Kaidan."
"Good to hear your voice," said Kaidan, a bit relieved to have her company. "I'm glad you've got my back in this."
"Agreed. I would hate to lose a friend to the extreme-temperature examination."
"What? Oh… not funny, EDI!"
"Please proceed to platform-one on level-two of the arena, and then your examination will begin."
Kaidan nodded, turning around and climbing up the nearby ladder up to the second floor. Once atop, he noted the very different environment there – a warehouse, much like the ones he'd fought through while serving under Shepard on the first Normandy. He could picture a shootout taking place in this warehouse against hostile holographic enemies. Hell, he kind of hoped he'd get a chance to whip out his Paladin and cut loose a bit.
"Shall we proceed?" asked EDI.
"Ready when you are."
"Your first task is to demonstrate Harmony with your omnitool."
Easy, he thought. At will, Kaidan had established a nexus between himself and his device, now allowing him to manipulate the device mentally and draw in its capabilities as his own.
"Good. Now, demonstrate Harmony with the devices in your armor suit."
Kaidan wasn't aware his armor was equipped with any tech, but he located them by pulsing his Harmonic energy, in a way little different than he was already used to doing with his biotics on occasion. This energy wave returned him the exact location of several machines within his armor suit, all of which were now readily accessible to him: a sonar device, a battery with no electrical charge, auxiliary kinetic-barriers in his gauntlets, power-conduits in his greaves, and a targeting-VI within his boots. Though it was a really strange setup on paper, Kaidan figured he'd find out the purposes of this outfit soon enough. He then proceeded to establish Harmony with all of these devices, only to receive the message ["malicious code!"] from the first one he connected with.
"Dammit!" he exclaimed.
"Please explain what you did wrongly and why," EDI instructed him.
Kaidan sighed. "… I should have done a security-scan to ensure the safety of the devices. Because, malicious codes planted in devices or communication servers can compromise the users involved."
"Correct," said EDI. "Please retry this step."
Off to a great start, he thought. A little irked, Kaidan ran a security-scan on the devices in his armor through a program on his omnitool.
"Still unsafe," Kaidan reported. "All of them."
"Yes," said EDI. "Now, please re-evaluate."
Kaidan checked it again. It was as he expected. "They're safe now, establishing connection…" In a moment, Kaidan integrated these seven devices into a network with himself and his omnitool altogether.
"Good," said EDI. "This concludes the Harmony section of your examination."
"Question," said Kaidan, "how many connections can the human brain handle at once?"
"Unknown. No limit has been discovered, but it is unlikely that no limit exists."
"Yeah," said Kaidan. "I wouldn't think so. Anyway…"
"Now," said EDI, "please download both the incoming file and the omnitool application to your handheld device. You are not required to run a security scan on them – they are both safe." Kaidan allowed the incoming downloads. "Please access the file you have been sent."
Kaidan complied. "It's a video, of … Blasto the Jellyfish, episode seven from the third season."
"Yes," said EDI. "Please forward to 13:52 and play the next ten seconds of the clip. Tell me what you find."
Kaidan complied. "It's… a scene, showing Blasto engaging a geth pyro in melee combat. 'Enkindle this!'"
"Perfect," she said. "Now, access the application I have sent you."
Kaidan found it and brought it up. It was an arcade game. "… Pinball?"
"Yes. Please play one ball."
"Um, sure…." As instructed, Kaidan had a go at it, hitting all the controls with his mind. His eyes didn't see it, his hands didn't execute the actions, but he still "felt" the experience the same way as if he played it physically. If he had to describe it, it was as if it was all going on in the back of his head. This was the difference between virtual-space (a.k.a. "cyberspace") and real-space. Virtual-space was a dimension within all computer devices and intelligent machines, where time was so slow that it didn't even register. What happened in virtual-space took place within the microseconds that passed in real-space (what organics all perceived as "reality"), though the events that took place in virtual-space could also have a profound effect on real-space.
"State the time elapsed between the beginning and end of your game."
Kaidan checked his omnitool. Starting time was 15:02:27839523 (rounded) and end time was 15:02:27839524.
"It was: .000001 second."
"Good. This concludes the Omnitool Control section. Now, please determine nearby extranet connectivity."
Kaidan checked it out through his omnitool's signal-receptors. "I don't sense any extranet connection available," he replied.
"That is correct," she responded. "It has temporarily been disabled for the purpose of this section. Now, please reevaluate."
"Available," said Kaidan. "Signals are strong."
"Good. Please access the extranet and provide exact time and date."
"Sunday, February 19, 2187. 14:55 and 46-odd seconds," Kaidan answered immediately.
"Compute the following: √[84+((6! + 3)/(7 * (2^3))] – round to the nearest hundredth."
"That's 9.84."
"Now, please convert 49 liters to gallons, to the nearest hundredth."
"12.94 gallons."
"Please state the exact direction you are facing."
"317° northwest."
"In which direction is Barra Life Medical Center located, relative to our location?"
… He wasn't sure how to answer that. Then it hit him: extranet maps would have the answer. After a quick search, he replied: "The local hospital is south-east of our position."
"Well done. This concludes the Extranet Access section. Please proceed to platform-two."
All platforms were connected to adjacent ones by walkways that bridged them together. Kaidan located the walkway to platform-two, and there, he found little else but a narrow corridor with a row of four cameras mounted to a wall – no simulator environment.
"For your next task, please Overload the wall-camera," said EDI, highlighting the camera closest to him with a flashing red triangle. "You will not need to run a security-scan on any of these cameras."
Kaidan channeled a more overpowering version of the Harmonic nexus signals he used to establish Harmony with other devices, which blew out the camera, but this was a trickier thing to do than it appeared. Overload – as a Harmonic ability – required the fine brain control comparable to more difficult biotic powers like Lift or Reave (both of which he could perform, however). Furthermore, there were countless applications on the market that protected machines from precisely these kinds of hostile signals – Harmonic or otherwise. For that reason, this was a task that was more prudent to leave to an omnitool, more times than not.
"Now," said EDI, highlighting the next camera in the row, "employ the Explode ability on the following camera."
Similar, but this ability required first establishing a Harmonic connection to the target device, and then employing the same mechanics of Overload from within to set it off like a bomb. Kaidan established Harmony with the camera and then blew it out from the inside, resulting in a satisfying explosion. Unless hacking a device with a self-destruct mechanism in place, omnitools were not capable of such a thing.
"Good," said EDI, highlighting the next camera. "Now, please retry this action."
Kaidan tried to access the camera, but it was protected by encryption that blocked his signals. However, this encryption was weak enough for him to decrypt with ease and then access the camera freely. Upon entry, Kaidan overwhelmed it internally with Harmonic power again, causing the camera to critically malfunction.
"Excellent," said EDI, highlighting the fourth and final camera. "Now, establish Harmony with the fourth camera and utilize this connection to access the facility's surveillance system. You do not need to run a security-scan on the system before entry."
Through his connection to the camera, Kaidan could trace his way back to the heart of the network while automatically bypassing any firewalls along the way. Within the network, Kaidan discovered seven different cameras around the facility.
"Please access camera-six and report its content."
"I see a storage room," he responded, "with a stack of cargo crates and two light mechs protecting them."
"Take a recording of the following event and store the content into a server I have provided you access to via omnitool. You do not need to run a security-scan on the server."
Kaidan activated the camera's record feature and watched as a one of the LOKI mechs turned hostile against its ally, killing it and then destroying one box of cargo with its SMG. This event now "stuck" to him. Next, he accessed the server EDI mentioned and composed a new data-entry that conveyed the scene he witnessed as new information within the server, accessible to any connected parties.
"Done," said he.
"Perfect," EDI replied. "Now, I am sending over the same recording to your omnitool. Please access it manually. You do not need to run a security-scan on the file download." Kaidan complied, allowing the download and manually dialing in the video-player on his omnitool to watch it visually, and the very scene he had witnessed of a rogue LOKI mech shooting its ally and a cargo crate played in front of his eyes as an audio file.
"Huh," Kaidan remarked in amazement. "I had no idea that was possible. Although, I get how it is, but … I recorded that!"
"Indeed," said EDI. "This concludes the Overload, Override, Explode, Vizion, and Mind's Eyes sections."
"So, uh, can organics be 'hacked' as well? Or Overloaded? Exploded?"
"It is possible, though indirectly. If you acquire a malicious code planted within a communications server like the one I connected you to, your nervous system may be compromised. Apart from that, the human brain remains organic; the only other form of 'hacking' possible is through classic Reaper-indoctrination signals, and there are both omnitool and computer applications that can shield the brain from these effects."
"Well, that's good, I guess…"
"As for Overload and Explode," she said, "no; their effects are minimized against organic material and are only truly effective within electronics. Anything else, Major Alenko?"
"Nope," he replied, "I was just curious."
"Very well." One moment later, the lights went out, leaving the whole arena pitch-black. "Please proceed to platform-three, located directly across from your current location," she instructed him. "Use Night Vision to navigate through the darkness."
Night Vision was an omnitool application that used the lens of the user's eyes and actively enhanced their eyesight with fusion technology of infrared light visibility and thermal imaging, allowing the user to see in the dark with great clarity. Kaidan found the walkway connecting platform-two to platform-three. Once he crossed over to the appropriate platform, he announced his progress.
"I'm there, EDI."
"Good. This concludes the Night Vision section. Please deactivate the application." Kaidan disconnected himself from the program and found that the lights had come back on in the arena. In the new platform he found himself on, there was no detailed environment being produced by the simulator, just a wide-open space enclosed by four large vents on each wall of the room. "The rest of your examination will predominantly involve untrained skills and situations. You will be required to adapt these abilities on the fly and improvise given the skills you have learned. In some situations, you will be asked to do this while engaged in combat."
"Alright," he said. "Bring it on, then." A few moments later, the vents he had just noticed started blowing cool air.
"You are about to be subjected to extreme cold. Warning: open exposure to these temperatures can lead to serious injury or death. Your task in this section is to preemptively protect yourself from these hazardous conditions."
"Wait, really?" Kaidan asked in dismay. "I thought you were only joking about that."
"Hint:" said EDI, "you can negate the effects of extreme cold with sufficiently strong kinetic barriers."
That hint reminded him of the auxiliary-shielding mechanism in his gauntlets. He activated it, which in turn erected an additional, robust layer of shields around him. Its hold on him, however, was awfully tight. Afterwards, Kaidan could hear the vents blowing air into the room much more intensely, though he couldn't feel any noticeable difference in the temperature. Meanwhile, Kaidan attempted walking a few steps forward, but the cumbersome barriers around him slowed his movement to a crawl.
After about a minute had passed, the vents suddenly shut off. To Kaidan, it felt slightly chillier than before, but nothing he would call extreme. "How cold is it out there?" he queried.
"It is 70 degrees below zero."
"Hooh … how do simple kinetic barriers protect against that?"
"These are no simple shields, Kaidan; they are specifically designed to counteract the effects of hot and cold weather. In extreme cold, it reads your body-temperature and traps the heat your body releases within its sphere. In extreme heat, it actively wards off hot air from the outside. However, this function sacrifices the user's movement speed in exchange for the required protection. Research is continuing to make these shields less physically restrictive."
"No kidding," said Kaidan. "And how long can it last?"
"The temperature inside the shield drops about three degrees per hour until it reaches equilibrium with the outside temperature," EDI replied. "We will not test for extreme heat, since it would be a redundant exercise. Unless you have more questions, this concludes the Thermal Shielding examination."
"Nope," said Kaidan. "I'm ready for the next part."
The vents came back on. "Restoring room-temperature in platform three; please wait. The rest of your examination will take place under simulated combat. Are you ready, Kaidan?"
"Totally!" Kaidan replied cockily. "I've been itching for some real action."
"I'm sure you will find the following exercises plenty enjoyable, Major."
It took a couple minutes before the temperature finally returned to safe levels, at which point Kaidan dropped the barrier, allowing him to move freely again. In anticipation of the imminent battle, Kaidan equipped his M-8 Avenger assault-rifle – a simple weapon, but an effective one for suppressing incoming hordes of enemies. If he needed more of a punch, however, his M-77 Paladin sidearm could deliver that and more.
"Please head down to the ground level." Kaidan followed the staircase just behind him down to the ground floor. When he got there, he saw something vaguely familiar out in the distance.
– Centurion! Unbelievable. They were now using Cerberus enemies for their simulators. When these simulators were first used by the Alliance, they used turian mercenary enemies. After humanity started making more of an effort to maintain peaceful relations with the turians, they used batarian raiders. After Eden Prime, they used geth. And during the war, they started using Reaper forces. Now Cerberus was the big-bad that Alliance soldiers were trained to shoot at. Granted, Cerberus and the Alliance were never friends to begin with, but … to think of how far they had fallen…
"GET DOWN!" yelled the holographic ringleader, throwing a grenade that created a smoke-screen. Holographic smoke? No, it was real smoke, but coming from a built-in apparatus on the floor. Clever coordination.
"Use one of your learned talents to negate the effects of the smoke-screen," EDI instructed.
It took him a moment, but then Kaidan figured it out: Night Vision. It would theoretically work the same against smoke as it does in darkness, he figured. Kaidan brought the program online and it worked wonderfully; he could make out the enemies' positions through the fog and dispatched them accordingly. It was… utterly satisfying. Centurions and their damned smoke-screens had annoyed the piss out of him during the war.
"Now, make use of your breastplate device to alert yourself to the presence of flanking hostiles."
What EDI was referring to was the sonar. Kaidan activated it, and it started to emit vibrations at a frequency higher than what was audible to him. Those echoes returned feedback that alerted him to his surroundings. In the back of his mind, a map of his ten-foot radius was formed as a mental image. Then he detected something approaching him from behind. Kaidan turned with his rifle aiming firmly ahead – adversary! He opened fire on the incoming assault-trooper and eliminated it swiftly.
"Perfect," said EDI. "This concludes the Perception section."
"Hold on a minute," said Kaidan, "this sonar will return the same signals for hostiles as it will for allies or innocent bystanders, won't it? It's not like the sound waves can tell the difference."
"Your device can distinguish allies from other moving objects if it is programmed to identify them differently ahead of time," EDI answered. "Otherwise, yes, all other movements show up identically on the radar."
Advancing forward to locate other hostiles, Kaidan was caught in a wide-open space when the enemies appeared before him, but they froze in place rather than ambush him.
"Use the stimulator-conduits in your greaves to bolster your running speed and quickly close the gap between your position and the nearest ledge. Then, slide into cover." Once linked with these stims, he started running and felt a noticeable "kick" behind his stride. The ledge took him by surprise and he nearly collided with it upon executing his slide. While it wasn't pretty, he ultimately did what he was asked to perform, more or less. Kaidan crouched behind this ledge, and the holographic enemies were reanimated, prompting him to resume combat. In less than thirty seconds, all of the enemies had fallen.
"Acceptable," said EDI. "This concludes your Sprint and Slide evaluation."
"All of your devices have been taxed over the course of this examination. Please recharge them, and we will conclude this test shortly." Earlier, Kaidan had noted a battery-like device in his breastplate, which seemed like the most appropriate thing for this task. At that time, it lacked any electrical charge, but now he was reading about 15,000 V from it.
"I don't get it," said Kaidan. "How did this battery get charged? It didn't have any juice when we started."
"While in Harmony, it collects static-electricity accumulated by the user over time," EDI explained. Kaidan rerouted that power from the battery to his omnitool and his armor's built-in devices, significantly increasing their charges. "Excellent. This concludes the Recharge section of your examination."
Then, about five feet away from him, the image of a Cerberus Phantom appeared.
"SHIT!" he yelled, instinctively pulling out his M-77 and firing at it rabidly with trembling hands. Though the image was actually frozen in place, his heart raced at the mere sight of it and he wouldn't stop firing until EDI removed the image completely.
"Are you alright, Major?"
With weighted breaths, Kaidan tried to regain his composure. "Oh god," he finally responded. "Just- just the sight of that thing…"
"I understand," she said. "I will produce a different image." One moment later, an image of a krogan Blood Pack mercenary appeared, armed with a shotgun in hand and obviously hostile. Nothing to scoff at, but still far less frightening to him, which was a testament to the kind of enemy those Cerberus Phantoms truly were (thankfully, they were no more, with Cerberus now defunct). For a veteran, Kaidan had come out of the war relatively sane, but there were still a few particular things that triggered PTSD-like responses out of him from his experiences. Those damned Phantoms were perhaps at the top of the list.
"You are at a tactical disadvantage against the krogan mercenary," said EDI. "His powerful melee attacks and shotgun make him formidable in close-range combat. However, you can negate the enemy's advantages by taking cover. To ensure the enemy doesn't get a clear shot at you in the process, execute a backflip and land behind the ledge four feet behind your position."
"… wait, what?"
"Hint:" said EDI, "utilize the device equipped in your boots." His boots were equipped with targeting-VI tech, which had struck him as a particularly bizarre combination when he noticed it at the beginning of the test, and even now, he still didn't get why – what use does VI-assisted aim have for armor? Kaidan shrugged and explored the device as EDI advised. Upon probing the VI, Kaidan quickly determined that it served the primary purpose of mapping out a trajectory along which something would be fired. If this thing were latched onto an assault-rifle, that "something" would be a bullet homed in on some target. Here, however, it was attached to his boots…
"So…" Kaidan uttered incredulously, "… am I supposed to let this thing launch me backwards or something?"
"I'm sorry, Kaidan," EDI responded. "I cannot provide any further hints for this exercise."
Kaidan scrunched his lips over, baffled. While his idea seemed a bit crazy, crazy was kind of par-for-the-course with things these days. Stumped, he ultimately decided to humor his wild plan. Kaidan mapped out a trajectory starting at the ground beneath him, arcing up over the ledge behind, and ending behind it. This was good and fine, but there also had to be some force of energy behind him powering such a leap. Biotics, hypothetically, could do the job. If his inklings were accurate, his biotics would be guided along the path he had just mapped out, successfully executing a backflip as this task called for. If he was wrong, though, the outcome could range anywhere between a sprained ankle to a snapped neck.
… Kaidan couldn't believe he was actually about to do this…
Instantly, his biotics hurled him up into the air, backwards and down hard on his feet. Stunned a bit by the landing, Kaidan fell over clumsily on his back, but he had nonetheless managed to clear the ledge as instructed. He scrambled back onto his feet and crouched down behind the ledge, peering over the top with his sidearm equipped. EDI then removed the image of the krogan mercenary.
Kaidan stood up and dusted off his thighs. "… Wow," he finally remarked.
"Acceptable," EDI stated. "Now, terminate all hostiles on both levels of the arena, employing the talents you've demonstrated thus far as appropriate, and this will conclude your examination."
His heart leapt up at the promise of an end. It's over, he thought… well, almost. Shooting down some holograms was child's play compared to the combat Kaidan was used to. With a renewed sense of vigor, Kaidan dashed forward – his trusty Paladin pistol in hand – determined to gun down all remaining Cerberus goon squads in his path.
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Crouching behind a large cargo crate (or so it appeared in the simulator), Kaidan deliberated as a pair of Guardians closed in on him and a Combat Engineer followed along – all three taking shots in his general direction. He peered around the corner and saw the Engineer halt, reaching for the folded sentry-turret mounted on his back.
Too easy, he thought. Getting out of cover, Kaidan loosed a biotic shockwave at the guardian-troopers; their shields absorbed the impact, but its force staggered them and halted their pursuit, buying Kaidan a couple of seconds. With that, he proceeded to override the engineer's commands of the turret, took control, and targeted his enemies. Just as both of the shield-toting troopers in front of him recovered, Kaidan mowed them down from behind with the turret's conventional gun, and then employed Explode to destroy the turret and take the engineer down with it in one fell swoop.
A couple seconds later, Kaidan heard the low hum of the generators around the arena as the simulator powered down. The glow of the virtual environment around him dimmed, and the images slowly vanished in favor of the arena's more mundane natural appearance. EDI's voice sounded over the speakers accompanied by the jingle of victorious-sounding music.
"This concludes your examination. Your final examination score: 92%. Congratulations, Major Alenko. You are now a certified Sentinel-class member of the Alliance military's new elite organization: Alliance CyberMarine Corps. Please report outside to specialist Lawson for further instruction."
Kaidan looked around and couldn't help but grin. The atmosphere, it felt like he just made the winning score in the SuperBowl or World Cup or something. "That's… that's awesome!" he finally said. "Thanks for all your help, EDI."
"I am always happy to assist," said EDI just before logging out of the system.
Looking around the arena's dull white and cubic layout, it was hard to believe that what just happened… happened. All the trials in Harmonic mastery, even under combat situations, finally over! What the Alliance was doing in Harmonics training was ground-breaking stuff, and now he was the first marine to become recognized for mastering it… well, more or less. He had no idea what significance this moment held for the future, but for now, he was content to just bask in a champion's euphoria.
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Miranda's head turned promptly as she heard Kaidan stepping out of the simulator entryway.
"Major! I'm glad to see you made it out in one piece," she said, smiling. She'd ask him how the test went, but the look on his face seemed to say everything.
"Nailed it!" Kaidan said proudly. "92% score. I just made a dumb mistake in the beginning and could have done a couple things better, but other than that…"
Miranda beamed. "That's wonderful," she said. "I- … we've both invested a lot into this project. It's good to see things turn out well."
"I hear ya," Kaidan responded empathetically. "It feels good to do something meaningful, and see your work pay off."
"Exactly," she concurred, as the two of them stood in silence for a few moments. "Anyway… I'm sure the rest of the team will want to hear the good news. Congrats, Kaidan. I'm very excited for what's ahead!"
"Thanks," he responded, looking on as she walked out of the facility. Miranda was a special woman: smart, strong, and very beautiful. And from what Kaidan had seen of her in the lab, she was very driven and results-oriented as well. Her approval wasn't easy to come by, so making her happy was almost as impressive as his performance in the arena.
It was always nice to see her smile.
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"A most impressive performance," said one Alliance official in a spectator's booth overlooking the arena. Nearby over QEC, a turian and salarian representative of the (acting) Galactic Council was standing by.
"I understand that Major Kaidan Alenko, our Spectre agent, has passed your examination," said the salarian rep.
"Yes," said a female official in the room. "He was able to perform everything asked of him, even in combat situations. This program is still in its infancy, but given time, the CyberMarines may become as prestigious as N7."
"That is high praise indeed," said the turian representative. "Send us any relevant data, and I'll inform the councilors of this development. I imagine it will also get things moving with this joint-interest mission your Admiral Hackett proposed to them. Out."