A Husk of a Man
The swirling representation of a star swirled behind the Illusive Man. A series of greens, reds, and blues bubbled and flowed, like a gaseous sea. It was dimmed so that the Illusive Man could physically look at it. It made him feel powerful, like he was king of the galaxy. He took a drag on his cigarette and looked over a data file that was forwarded to him by his Administrative Assistant Miranda Lawson. Lawson was the XO aboard the Normandy, a ship that Cerberus specially built for Commander Shepard, a pseudo-operative working for them. Shepard was the key element in stopping a race of aliens known as the Collectors. The Collectors have been abducting several human colonies out in the Attican Traverse.
Cerberus needed Shepard to stop these creatures.
The console beeped, signaling that there was someone waiting on the other end for holographic interface. The Illusive Man accepted the call and stood to adress the caller. The figure built up in gridded shape and then solidified in the shape of Commander Shepard. He stood with arms crossed, eyes locked on the Cerberus CEO.
"Commander Shepard! I'm glad to see you survived your last mission."
"You didn't think I'd just just lie down and die again, did you?"
The Illusive Man chuckled. He loved it when Shepard joked about his first death. "No, no of course not, Commander! How's the Normandy treating you?"
"Joker was complaining that EDI was 'allegedly' interfering with ship's life support. He's paranoid of the AI."
"Shepard, I can assure both you and your pilot that there is no harm that can come from that. EDI's been programmed by our best technicians. She's aboard the Normandy to serve both you and your crew. She's loyal to you."
He took a drag on his cigarette and flicked some ashes into a tray.
"But! To satisfy your thoughts, if EDI were ever to "go rogue" as Joker believes, she does have an auto-terminate command that can only be accessed by the CO or XO of the ship. However, I have no expectation that she will turn on you."
"So what did you call me here for, Illusive Man?"
"I have a job for you to do and I feel that it warrants enough merit to turn to you."
"Hit me."
"About fifteen hours ago, I recieved word of a distress signal that originated from a planet in the Eagle Nebula called Kirkigard, in a system called Algonquin. A large Cerberus mining city just went out of contact."
"Collectors?"
"Unlikely. We're still recieving signals from other settlements on Kirkigard but this one in particular scares me. This part of the planet is significantly rich in Eezo deposits. Not even a whisper is getting through. Terrorists, nerve bomb, the possibilities are massive, Shepard."
"So what do you want me to do about it?"
"First of all, I want you to go to the Citadel. There's a contact there I want you to meet. He has the codes that your ship will need to even get close to the city."
"Why is this city so important?"
"I'll level with you, Commander. This may be one of the first of its kind. Geologists on Kirkigard believed that the planet may actually produce Element Zero, perhaps the core has some percentage of it in the composition. Imagine the tactical advantage that it would produce! The geth could use it to make weapons, the batarians could research new technology, anything could happen!"
"Why the batarians? That sounds like a typical Cerberus approach." Shepard accused.
"You were at Torfan. Your parents died on Mindoir. Did the batarians seem willing to back down?"
Shepard froze for a second and thought. "What if it isn't the batarians?"
"Then it's someone else." the Illusive Man said simply.
Shepard's shoulder slumped and that's when he said, "Who's your contact?"
"He'll be in the Wards. He's a turian named Demies."
That made Shepard raise an eyebrow.
"That's a bit unlike Cerberus. Why would you form partnerships with aliens?"
The Illusive Man sat down and hooked one leg over the other. "Cerberus itself is dedicated to continued human existence, Shepard. This doesn't mean that we can't form alliances with other species. The ends always justify the means."
he took a drag of his cigarette and waited for an answer.
"Alright. I'll travel to the Citadel as soon as I can."
"Excellent, Commander. I'll forward the contact's co-ordinates momentarily. I'll speak to you soon. Good luck."
The Illusive Man keyed the Quantam Entanglement Communicator off. Soon, Shepard's form dissipated and the human went back to smoking his cigarette.
Commander Shepard stepped out of the Communications Room. Breathing in the ship's air, he considered his mission.
"Commander, I've just recieved the co-ordinates for the Illusive Man's contact on the citadel." EDI stated. "I will forward it to your private terminal for further inspection."
"Thank you EDI."
Shepard turned the corner and strolled through the Tech Lab. Professor Mordin Solus was busy typing away on a computer.
"Hmm? Oh, 'afternoon Shepard. Afraid too busy to talk. Perhaps another time?"
"That's OK, Mordin, I was just passing by."
"Very well. Must return to these figures" he inhaled deep. "Applying Einstein's String Theory to research is a daunting task.
The CIC was slightly less filled today. Shepard remembered that some of the crew were off-duty at this time and taking some well-deserved rest. Carrying out a suicide mission really takes it out of a person. Shepard strolled past Yeoman Chambers who, as usual, was at her console.
"Good afternoon Commander! No new messages have arrived for you as of this moment."
"Thanks Kelly." Shepard nodded and went up to the galaxy map. The Illusive Man had indeed forwarded both Kirkigard's location as well as Demies' location on the Citadel. He scolled over a few parsecs and selected the Widow system. According to the information, Demies was waiting for him at Flux in the C-sec ward.
"Joker, you get these co-ordinates?"
"Roger, Commander. I see we really are recalling the good ol' days. You want me to bring her into Dock 2 as well?"
"Just get us there fast."
"Aye-aye sir. Course plotted, hitting the Mass Relay in fifteen minutes."
Shepard nodded to himself and decided to head to the bridge to moniter their approach. He strolled down the row of console operators and came to the cockpit.
"Shepard, I assume you are inspecting our approach?" EDI asked.
The Commander shrugged. "Shake things up a little. Maybe I don't want to be a backseat driver."
"That's a good plan in my book, sir." Joker quipped with a smile on his face.
Shepard smiled and asked, "So, I hear that EDI's been tampering with Life Support?"
That set Joker off. "I'm telling you, one minute, we're maintaining a stable atmosphere of 101.3 kilopascals. I get up to take a piss, and I find out that air levels dropped by 3 kilopascals in five minutes! She's trying to asphyxiate us, Commander."
"Mr. Moreau presents an unfounded argument. Simple fluctuations are routine involvements of the ship's daily activities. There is a subroutine in the ship's maintinence processor that moniters a 24-hour compressor test to maintain atmosphere. It appears that when Mr. Moreau left to relieve himself, the routine initiated."
"Yeah, keep saying that! Commander, first chance we get, can we sell her at a quarian flea market? Maybe make some lucky schmuck's Pilgrimage?"
"EDI's on our side, Joker. Can't you see that, by now?"
"You see a helpful AI, I see Pac Man tilted 90 degrees. We have different perspectives!"
The AI interjected. "We will approach the Mass Relay in ten minutes, Commander. I reccomend you remain comfortable until then.
Shepard nodded. "Take us in, Lieutenant."
"Roger, Commander. Relay is hot, securing the Normandy for FTL flight."
The ship's accelerators subtly shifted position, silently sliding in the vacuum. As the massive Reaper device approached them, fine details appeared on the hull. Looking at the Relay, Shepard always found it oddly fascinating that the greatest gift in the entire galaxy was the product of the most destructive machine in the universe.
You exist because we allow it. You will die because we demand it.
Sovereign's words echoed in his skull. Shepard steeled himself, remembering that the Reapers were the enemy, and foe or not, they had to use everything they could get their hands on to survive.
"Hitting the acceleration stream in 3, 2, 1."
The Normandy was caught like a paper boat in a river. Soon, the Universe's rules were cast aside, and the ship was hurtled through space, once again on the job.