Amiyashi: I do not own Mass Effect. The glory belongs to Bioware. I also don't own the song. That's a Hammerfall song.
Italics thoughts or past events, unknown person
Bold Lyrics, exaggeration
***
The Upper Hand
Chapter 1
The Reapers
"Our end is near. We must not let this Shepard end us. We must do something about it...."
A being walked through the empty halls of the Citadel, his eyes darting around. He entered the Human Embassy, which was mercifully empty. It headed to the Ambassador's desk, sifting through the files in the Ambassador's computer until he found it. The list of human Spectre candidates lay in front of him. He skimmed the page feeling disgusted. How dare those pathetic Humans try to enter the Spectres? The ignorant race wasn't ready.
The being finally stopped when he saw the name John Shepard. He accessed the file, reading over the bio briefly. Shepard was raised in space with his sister. They ran with gangs, and joined the military at 18. Shepard saved Elysium from an assault of raiders, and was given a star of Terra. The being popped a disk in, deleting the file of John Shepard and replaced it with a different one. It took its disk back before exiting the Office.
Nothing stood in the way now. The fool Shepard won't be able to stop them.
The reapers shall come again.
***
"Angels of mercy
Our journey must proceed
With hearts all filled with chivalry
The life blood that we need
Heeding the Call
One and for all
Never surrender with glory we fall
Brothers unite
Let's stand up and fight
Fulfilling the fate
We are Heeding the Call"
The lyrics rolled off Cali's tongue. She was absorbed into the music, never mind that the only ones listening to the song her band was playing were the Bartenders and a few random patrons, some were human, most were of other races. She didn't care. The ancient song still consumed her soul and burst out in expression. It didn't matter that the song didn't relate to her. But it did relate to her dearest brother. She opened her eyes, preparing to burst in song again.
"Heeding the Call
One and for all
Never surrender
With glory we fall
Brothers unite
Lets stand up and fight
Fulfilling the fate
We are Heeding the Call!"
The tune ended, and mild applause had filled the little bar. Cali Shepard put her guitar back in its case, not even bothering to say goodbye to the crowd. The other races hated human songs, and the humans didn't appreciate the old songs, only enjoying the noise it made and the discomfort it brought to the other races. She hoisted her guitar onto her shoulder, as she exited the stage, entering the back with a small frown on her face. Her bassist, Alex, looked at her strangely "Is something the matter, Cali?" he asked in his gentle baritone voice, which seemed to wrap her in a security blanket. Not this time though.
The woman let out a depressed sigh, as she leaned against the wall. "For one thing, no one appreciates the old songs anymore, and the only one who does is shipping out tomorrow for Eden Prime. He didn't even hear the song! " Cali pouted angrily, to which Alex patted her on the head, a small smile on his face.
"I'm sure if John heard the song, he would be rather happy." Alex replied, comforting the girl as their drummer, Sasha, headed in, her black and purple bangs getting in the way of her sight, though it never seemed to bother her.
"Isn't John the one who keeps telling us to replay all our songs until the crack of dawn?" Sasha asked, her drawn-on eyebrow raised. The other two nodded, to which Sasha burst out laughing. "Well, at least he'll only be gone for a few weeks, tops, I mean, how hard can it be? Eden Prime is one of our calmest colonies! He'll be back before you know he's gone!"
"Actually, I'm not going anywhere." A voice came from behind the three; they all turned around, to look at John Shepard, an alliance military soldier, one of their best, who was smiling rather grimly. "Last minute call. They aren't sending me out." Cali leaped up and hugged her brother, grinning happily.
"That means you get to stay and listen to our songs again, big brother!!!" the girl cheered happily, to which John shook his head.
"Yes and no, Cali. I will be able to stay, but you won't be playing your songs. Do you remember back when we were both in active service?" John calmed the girl down, as she nodded in response. "Do you remember Akuze?" he spoke in a quiet voice. Again, the girl nodded, shivering.
"How could I forget? The Thresher Maws...I left after that. I can't deal with it." Cali mumbled sadly. The other two band members had left at this point. They always knew that Cali's past was a sore spot, and Akuze was the worst of the bruises.
"Well, never the less, you were also given special honours from that mission. The Alliance needs you back, it seems. You were selected to be the Commanding Officer on the Eden Prime Mission. Suit up, sis; you're going to be on the Normandy. I'll take care of the band, you just go." John whispered, holding his sister tightly in a hug that clearly said 'I'll see you again real soon'
***
Cali stood awkwardly on the Normandy's main deck. She was standing right next to the Executive Officer as the ship was launched by a Mass Relay, a strange artefact left by the Protheans before they vanished. She looked at the much older man, before asking cautiously "Um...Why are we heading to Eden Prime on the most advanced ship there is with a full crew?" She kept her voice to a whisper, as Pressley silenced her with a small shush, which kept her mouth shut. She let out a sigh, before heading off to the cockpit, deciding a view would be better. The pilot had just finished listing off a bunch of things to a Turian on board.
"Fifteen hundred is good. Your captain will be pleased." The Turian stated, before exiting the cockpit, glancing at Cali as he passed her. She blinked twice, before looking at the pilot, Joker.
"I hate that guy." He grumbled, to which another human laughed.
"Nihlus gave you a compliment...So you hate him?" the human asked, an eyebrow rose.
"You remember to zip up your jumpsuit after going to the bathroom, that's good. I just jumped us halfway across the galaxy and hit a target the size of a pinhead, so that's incredible. Besides, Spectres are trouble. I don't like having them on board. Call me paranoid."
"You're paranoid. The council helped fund this project, they have a right to send someone to keep an eye on their investment."
"Well, that is the official story, but only an idiot believes the official story."
"You expect the worst?" Cali cautioned, deciding to pitch into the conversation, to which Joker, the pilot, shrugged
"Eh, my feelings are an occupational hazard. We don't go anywhere unless there is a reason, so what are we doing?" Cali was about to guess when the communicator cracked alive.
"Joker! Status report!" came the voice of Captain Anderson, a decorated officer from the Alliance. Joker rolled his eyes, before replying .
"We just cleared the Mass Relay, Captain. All systems engaged, and everything looks solid."
"Good, Find a Comm bouy and link us to the network. I want mission reports relayed to Alliance Brass before we reach Eden Prime."
"Aye Aye, Captain. Best brace yourself, sir; I think Nihlus is headed your way." Joker replied, a small smirk on his face, which was knocked off when Anderson replied
"He's already here, Lieutenant. Tell Shepard to meet me in the Comm room for a debriefing."
"I'm on my way..."Cali mumbled as she left, hearing Joker and Alenko's last bit of conversation.
"Is it just me, or does the captain always sound pissed?"
"Hah, only when he's talking to you, Joker."
***
Cali headed to the Comm Room, passing by the doctor and a corporal conversing. Finally, the male, known as Jenkins, called over to Cali. She pondered, before shrugging and heading over.
"What do you think, Shepard? Do you think we'll be on Eden Prime long? I really want some real action."
"I hope you're joking, Jenkins. Your real action usually leads to me patching up half the crew in the sick bay!" the Doctor grumbled
"You should calm down, corporal. A good soldier stays calm even when in battle." Cali replied.
"Ah...Sorry, but I'm really excited, I've never been on a mission with a Spectre on board."
Cali sighed, before replying "Keep your head down, and everything will work out."
Jenkins rolled his eyes, "Easy for you to say. The Shepard Siblings are practically legends. You and your brother really proved yourselves. You with Akuze, and your brother with the Blitz! Everyone knows what you can do!"
Cali shook her head, smiling slightly "I left the Alliance after Akuze, remember?"
"But you came back. And the alliance recognized your potential, which is why they brought you on this mission, right? Well this is my big chance; I need to show the brass what I can do!" Jenkins grinned, as Cali sighed.
"Lots of good soldiers die playing hero, I know that from experience. Again, keep your nose down and you'll do fine."
"Hey, I won't screw this up!" Jenkins replied as he raised his hands up like he was defending himself. Cali sighed, before leaving into the Comm. room. She entered the circular area with a small frown on her face, as she saw the Turian Spectre was already there.
"Ah, Commander Shepard, I was hoping you would get here first, it would give us a chance to talk." Nihlus greeted
"Talk? About what?" Cali cautioned, as the Spectre began to pace.
"I'm interested in the world we're heading to, Eden Prime. I've heard it's quite beautiful"
"It is beyond beautiful, but beauty isn't its only feature. Eden prime is a symbol of our race, shows how far we came. Eden Prime is proof that we can both establish colonies across the galaxy and protect them." Cali replied, momentarily stunning Nihlus.
"Indeed...but how safe is it really?" The Turian was now facing away from Cali, who raised her eyebrow.
"Um..."
"Your people are still newcomers, Shepard. The galaxy can be a very dangerous place. Is the Alliance truly ready for this?" He asked, now advancing on her with daggers in his eyes. Cali couldn't reply, but at that moment, Captain Anderson arrived.
"We think so. I think it's about time that we tell the commander what's really going on."
"This mission is far more than a simple shakedown run." Nihlus added, now backing away. Cali sighed, before looking at the Turian.
"Well that is something that the crew can sense." Cali responded, to which no one argued. The three could already tell the crew suspected something, especially with Nihlus on board.
"We're making a covert pick up on Eden Prime. That's why we need the Stealth Systems operational." Anderson said.
"Covert explains why you didn't tell the crew. What are we picking up?" she asked calmly, despite standing beside one of the most decorated men in the Alliance.
Anderson turned his body, towards Nihlus and away from Cali. "A research team in Eden Prime unearthed some kind of beacon during an excavation. It was Prothean."
"I'm guessing this is a big thing, since most of our technology relies on that of the Protheans. When people found the Mars Cache, our technology massively improved in just a decade." Cali voiced her thoughts. Anderson had a small smile on his face.
"Eden prime doesn't have the facilities to handle something like this. We need to bring the beacon back to the Citadel for proper study"
"Obviously, this goes beyond just human Interests, Shepard. This discovery could affect every species in Citadel space." Nihlus added.
"If we share the discovery with the Citadel, we'd improve relations. There's a political angle to this...which could explain why Nihlus is here." She thought out loud. "Plus, humanity probably doesn't have enough to study these things. Salarians are far more equipped to study this than humans are."
"Actually, the beacon isn't the only reason I'm here, Shepard. " This sentence surprised Cali and filled her with a sense of dread.
"Nihlus is here to see you in action. He's here to evaluate you." Anderson added, his eyes now on Cali.
"E-Evaluate me? For what?" she asked cautiously. Should've known...I keep bumping into him every turn.
"The Alliance has been pushing for this for a long time. Humanity wants a larger say in the role of shaping interstellar policy and the citadel Council. The spectres represent the Council's power and authority. If they accept a human into their ranks, then that shows how far Humanity has come." Anderson pushed on.
"Not many could have survived what happened on Akuze. You showed a remarkable will to live, a useful trait." Nihlus added
"I left the Alliance after that. I suffered PTSD for three months. Isn't there better candidates?" she asked, looking between Nihlus and Captain Anderson.
"You surprised me, Shepard. Anyone else would've died on that mission. That's why I put your name forward." Nihlus ignored her comment. Cali let out a small sigh.
"Just tell me what I have to do, Sir." She asked.
"I'll need to see your skill for myself, Shepard. Eden Prime is just the first of several missions together." For some odd reason, when Cali heard this, she felt dread even worse than before. She didn't even hear what Anderson said next, only snapping out of it when she heard the intercom
"Captain! We got a problem!" Joker's voice rang out through the Comm. room. "Transmission from Eden Prime. You'd better see this sir!"
"Put it up on screen" Anderson ordered. With that, the screen came to life, gunfire being heard and seen. The recorder was pushed down by a woman, who barked "Get down!" before she resumed firing. As the carnage unfolded before them, Cali clutched her fists, feeling a dark sense of Foreboding.
"We are under attack, taking heavy casualties!" a man began reporting "We cant- Gack! We need Evac! They came out of nowhere. We nee-" The man was dragged off, as the camera rotated to see two more soldiers fighting, a strange ship, and more gunfire. Then...static.
"Everything cuts out after that, no comm. traffic at all...just goes dead, sir."
"Rewind it, Joker, and freeze it at thirty eight point five." Anderson told. Cali wondered how he could tell. It froze at the ship, which Cali just stared at. "Status report!" he added, Cali still staring at the ship.
"Seventeen minutes out, sir, no other ships in the area." Joker reported. Anderson sighed, turning around.
"Take us in, Joker, fast and quiet... This mission just got a lot more complicated."
"A small strike team can move quickly without being noticed. We'd have a better chance of getting the beacon." Nihlus remarked.
"Grab your gear and meet us in the cargo hold. Tell Alenko and Jenkins to suit up, Commander, you're going in." Anderson left. As Nihlus prepared, Cali grabbed his arm, which caused him to look at her strangely.
"Nihlus...be careful during the mission, never let your guard down, not even for a single second." She warned, before leaving, the sense of dread still there. Nihlus just watched her leave with a strange look on his face.
###
Shepard began to splash her face, standing in front of the sink. It was about five minutes before they would reach Eden Prime, and she couldn't shake the feeling of fear and dread. About four minutes ago, she broke into a cold sweat.
Just like back in Akuze. The entire mission she felt this way, but she ignored it. She dismissed it as pre-mission excitement.
Now what will happen?