I am back for Mass Effect! I do hope I have made this first Chapter good enough to read...
Again.
Here. We. Go.
Rayvyn Shepard had seen many things in her way around the galaxy. Reapers, Geth, Husks, you name it. She had even been "reborn" by Cerberus. But she had never seen, heard, even thought about one human to defy such a thing as time.
Jack thought it was bullshit from the start, and she was all too happy to let her disbelief be known to everyone That was step one of giving Shepard a very sharp headache. "There is no way, Shepard. Absolutely no damn way! He would be what, one hundred and eighty-nine by now. They can go blow that smoke up someone else's ass." She grumbled a little. It truly did not seem feasible to the Psychotic Biotic, and normally, she wasn't bothered by the things Shepard called her in to talk about.
But this day in particular was something that rubbed her the wrong way.
"There has to be something on this guy. I mean, why would he hide for so long...? If he is what he says he is." Garrus stated, rather alarmed. The Turian was in a reasonable state of disbelief himself, as he had not heard of this either. "Honestly, Shepard. How is it that one human has made it to that age, and not aged since their early thirties, but he's saying he is almost two hundred? Please." The tone Garrus had was step two of making that headache even worse. Lovely.
That was when she decided that was enough. She slapped her hand against the table and gave them a glower. "Would both of you can it? There has to be a way to prove it..." Shepard rose her voice, rubbing her head.
The Turian nodded quietly, crossing his arms to lean on the holo-table as Jack threw her hands up slightly, brown eyes wide as she spoke. "Look. You know Cheerleader is gonna have a shit-fit about this and go crying to The Illusive Man." Jack put in her two cents. It was just at that moment that the Cerberus woman stepped in, much to the annoyance of the Psychotic Biotic. "Oh, look. Speak of the bitch, and she comes..." Jack chimed.
The woman ignored Jack with a passing look of annoyance, before focusing on Shepard.
"The Illusive Man wishes to speak with you, Commander." And like that, she turned on her heel, sauntering right back out of the communications room. Shepard sighed, nodding at the two in the room to leave before letting the table sink back into the floor. Rolling her neck out of habit, the Commander was soon stepping into small cylinder of light that gave her a direct line to the man that paid for her to be brought back.
"Shepard. I hear you have caught wind of a very interesting figure on Omega…" The Illusive Man stated in his usual nonchalant tone. It was that very tone that made her writhe with hate for the owner. She hated working with the Pro-Human group. More like Human-Centric Terrorists…
With a scoff, Shepard crossed her arms while staring at the man, even if it was just a Holographic. "Good to know you already figured out. He wasn't on your dossier?" She didn't believe it for a second. "You didn't find out about him earlier?"
TIM took a long drag from his cigarette. "In all honesty, even on the off chance you don't believe me, I had no knowledge of this man... You forget, I don't have every answer for humans..." He said, flicking the ashes off in his little ash tray that was by the chair. "If I were you, I would speak to Aria, she may have some information on this man. If he really is who he says he is, he could be a very valuable in your team." He said as he stood up and approached the Holo-Shepard, looking at her.
It honestly made her want to just shoot him. Just one round and it would be over. But she would even begrudgingly admit, she needed to use Cerberus right now. They brought her back to life, gave her a means to do something about the Reapers. Something to do when the Council would do nothing. "Sounds to me like you are ordering me to look into this strange thing…" She had the feeling that TIM was using her to prod this guy's brain.
"Alright..." She gave a sigh. "But only because I want to know as much as you and everyone else does." And with that she turned away from the table and then she placed her hand on her head and then she gave a sigh. This was almost more trouble for her than she bothered to even want to deal with. But if it meant that she would have another person on her side during this whole hunt, then she would take it.
Omega
Shepard had taken Miranda and Zaeed with her as they disembarked for Omega, and they weren't that armed and armored since they were just going to come for one thing and then leave, but with Zaeed being Zaeed, he always came armed and armored. Miranda was in her usual catsuit, which undoubtedly turned some heads, but as soon as they caught sight of the Symbol, they looked away in disgust. It was a universal sign that nobody liked Cerberus. Shepard refused to wear anything that had the Cerberus logo on it, opting to wear a remade version of her N7 Hoodie, with her pistol on her hip and her biotic barrier ready to be brought up.
They were not here to even try and look for a fight, and she had known that she had to be prepared. She and Zaeed were never two to not be ready. But either way things went, they were here, hoping to speak with Aria T'Loak about the man they were so curious about.
But it didn't come without some complaints from the Old Man. "This is really some stupid shit, Shepard." He started. "No goddamn human has lived to even be a hundred and fifty." Zaeed droned. Of course, the Veteran Merc didn't have a clue what was going on, but even he knew it was some Grade A bullshit.
Shepard face palmed. "You think I don't know that, you old Coot? We're here to get answers, alright?" Hopefully. She was still having some ver
"Yeah. Right." Zaeed grunted as he grinned, running his hand over his head as they came up to the doors of the infamous club. If he hadn't been older than most, he would have sworn on everything he owned that he saw a small child, around four or five years old. He pushed it back, shaking his head at the now burned in memory of hazel green eyes.
The trio went on inside Afterlife, making their way through the dancing bodies Aria still sitting as she watched the infamous Commander make her way up to sit with the Asari. "What can I do for you...? Oh, and make it quick. I have a lot of things that need to be taken care of."
Shepard gave a small smile before she took a seat, leaning back to look at the Queen of Omega. "There's a human here I'm wanting to know about. I think you know who I mean..." Shepard began. "Claimed he was immortal."
Aria rose a painted brow, a slight darkening of her face going unnoticed due to the darkness of the box. "I see. I know who you are talking about. I, however, lost track of him, though." Aria said after a few moments of thinking over who Shepard mentioned. She knew him fondly, and a small, playful grin popping up on her face as she looked to the Commander. "Maybe talk to the Patriarch. He is much more knowledgeable about the guy, even if I know him personally."
Shepard smirked. Unlike anyone else besides Aria herself, she managed to catch the faintest of blushes on the Asari's face. It seemed that she indeed knew him more than professionally, but then again, that wasn't her business on whether or not Aria and this guy hooked up in the past. "Thanks. I should go..." She stood up, making her way back to the stairs.
"By the way..." The Queen spoke up, making Shepard pause before she turned around to look at her. "Other than when he tries to kill someone... He's the best human to ever grace my station. It's best to stay on his good side." Aria warned with her trademark grin before motioning for Shepard to go ahead and do what she was planning to do.
Miranda had her arms crossed, her dark, perfectly arched brow raised in suspicion. "You still think this is possible?" She asked, having heard of what this was all about. Even with her genetic modifications, she would probably make it to the age of a hundred and twenty, maybe a little older, but from what she understood, this man was nearing Two hundred.
Shepard just shrugged. "Damned if we do, Damned if we don't... Let's go see Patriarch." She said as they made their way down to the lower level of Afterlife, where the Krogan they'd been directed to.
At the sound of a door opening, there was a deep, rumbling chuckle from The Patriarch, who had come to like the born again human after she had saved his hide. "Commander Shepard... Here for more war stories?" The old Krogan asked, standing up to greet Rayvyn. For a Krogan like himself, he was still familiar with the human need to shake hands.
Shaking her head, she shook the Krogan's hand. "No. As much as I like hearing them, I am here for different reasons... I'm looking for a human, the one who hasn't aged." Shepard smiled, taking a seat across the table from the Patriarch.
The old Krogan sighed in disappointment at the turn down of his stories, but then he gave a grin. "Oh yes, I know who you mean." The Patriarch said as he took to walking back and forth. "You want Dezzo, huh? I'll tell you a little about him, well… What I know at least. Before Aria stepped her little blue ass on this rock, just after the war in fact, he showed up. He was always that kind of guy who was to himself, never showed the mercenaries what he really could do. Always kept tabs for me, and he ended up only ever killing two people who repeatedly came to bug him. Dezzo is the only other person other than Aria to straight up head butt a Krogan and earn the right to boast about it."
Shepard sheepishly rubbed her neck at the mention of humanoids head butting a krogan. She gave a cough, earning a small chuckle from both Zaeed and the Patriarch. "Yeah, I did that." And boy, it hurt like a bitch.
"And, like Aria and Dezzo, you've got a Quad on you. Anyway, Dezzo saw that Aria had beat me down and needless to say, they got into it pretty bad... Anyone who tried to get into the fight to stop them ended up flying across Afterlife and on top of sky cars… Then some other human like Dezzo showed up and tried to interject before things went too far… And it ended messily..." The Patriarch grinned slyly. "Hehe... Let's say Aria couldn't walk right for a couple of days. On Omega, don't fuck with any one of them... Aria mainly, since she became the Public Face." He remarked.
Shepard flushed at the mention of Aria not able to walk. Anyone who wasn't an idiot or a virgin would know something had happened between the two parties that had fought over Omega. "That's nice." She gave a scratch of the head, turning her head back up to him. "So. Where can I find this Dezzo guy?"
The door opened, but nobody stood there, only the ambiance of the lower bar's music and patrons within before there was the sound of a tactical cloak fizzling out. The beings inside turned to face the man who emerged before the majority of them, save for Shepard and Co. He was tall, around 6'3, with black, wavy hair brushed back and out of his face, his face held a five o'clock shadow and he was quite nicely built, skin a light tan color as if he had been out in the sun for just the right amount of time. He wore a black outfit consisting of an old-style pair of combat boots, cargo pants, and a button-down shirt that had silver accents along its black sleeves. "Commander Rayvyn Shepard. Such a pleasure to finally meet you." He said in his calm, deep voice.
In short, the man looked good, and fit the whole Tall, Dark, Mysterious motif really well.
She blinked, surprised at the fact the man knew exactly who she was without ever meeting the man before now. It was then that she put two and two together to see that this was the man they were here for, and boy she wasn't expecting him to look as young as he did. "Dezzo?"
With a nod and a grin, the man crossed his arms over his chest as he glanced over at Zaeed and Miranda, tilting his head to the side before his attention was returned to Shepard. "Des, Dezzo, Desmend... Whatever you like to call me, it's whatever." He said as he noted the Patriarch getting up and leaving the area "Your 'death', if that's what you call it, is sorely exaggerated it seems."
Shepard gave a roll of her eyes at his statement, a scoff escaping her. "It was the Collectors. We are beginning to think that they are working with…-"
"The Reapers... I know... Seems like they succeeded on pissing you off instead of killing you..." Dezzo said, smiling. "You can rest easy in me knowing the Truth that there are Reapers. I am not so easy to just blow off that experience…"
Shepard liked this guy already. "Well... I guess you know why I am here?" If he knew this much about what was happening and he
Dezzo's face never changed from it's neutral facade as he cracked his knuckles. "You know it. I've got a grudge match waiting with the Collectors..." The man said, his eyes though, told Shepard everything. It was much, much more than a simple grudge match, it seemed to her that it was personal. She just hoped to herself that he would not let the personal feelings get in the way of actually doing this mission. She would not stand for that, nor would she accept him going Rambo.
"Alright. Just meet us on the Normandy after you get everything..." Rayvyn said, extending her hand, which Dezzo gently shook with his larger hand.
Miranda hadn't stopped staring as she had seem the supposed 'immortal' stepped out. She honestly found the man surprisingly handsome, but her professionalism wouldn't allow it. "There are some things we really should con-"
"They can wait, Cerberus..." Dezzo spat the name Cerberus as if it were a venom. It honestly took the group by surprise. "When I'm on the ship, you can talk your pretty lips off all you want to me… But for now, I have things I need to do. I'll be at the airlock in an hour."
Zaeed chuckled at his simple statements, earning a glare from a very flustered Miranda. She did not like being interrupted like that.
After a long, awkward few seconds of hearing nothing but the background chatter, the commander finally spoke up. "Well, we'll be waiting on the ship." Shepard gave a slight smile.
Dezzo nodded as he stepped back from the table, a soft light showing as his tactical cloaking over took him and then, he faded from the room. A scoff then escaped Miranda as she looked to Shepard, a scowl upon her face. "Charming..." She said with slight disgust at the way she was just recently treated.
"Cheer up. At least he didn't shoot you."
SO! This is a Re-Revision of this Chapter… Boy my writing sucked back in the day. Still does. But Dauntless, I shall continue!
It has been a very long time since I have actually gotten around to working on stories, and honestly, when I got to typing, I just couldn't stop, so then... This is the ending results. I have a lot to actually, between this, and my Call of Duty stories.
So, Enjoy the revisions, I hope to continue this all the way to the End of ME3.