Biotic Magic: The Prothean Legacy
1: The Illusive Magician
"We've learned not to question your competency, but we do have reason to question your rationale. On what basis did you fund millions of credits into this…archaeological expedition?" the man in the holo-viewer asked. The Illusive Man only knew him as a sponsor from sector 2814. Compared to some of the other sources of Cerberus' income this one was relatively minor. That the Illusive Man had to answer to him at all was a formality.
The Illusive Man didn't flinch as he sat in his chair. This man was still an asset to Cerberus' funding and rebuking his short sightedness would not help the situation. "I have ample reason to believe that there was at one point a Prothean beacon on Earth."
"Different from the one on Mars?"
Obviously. "We know the Protheans seeded many worlds with their beacons. Both Earth and Mars could've been chosen. My sources on Earth believe they've found the remains of what was once such a beacon."
"What do you mean 'remains'? I was under the impression that the beacons were indestructible," the man argued.
"Nothing is indestructible," the Illusive Man countered. "If the Protheans had made them indestructible, they wouldn't have needed more than one. Unlike the one on Mars, the one on Earth didn't last against the throws of time."
"How is it possible that there was a beacon on Earth all this time and we didn't know it?"
"Actually, by all accounts we did…but we were a younger race then. The remains of the beacon…Prothean technology is far more adaptive than we realized. It fused with the geology of a cave in Britain—it's been transmuted into solid crystal. Because of this, some humans in that era and thousands of years after its initial discovery were granted limited biotics."
"What do you mean biotics? Surely we would have noticed humans born with such capabilities without the use of implants," the sponsor snapped, irritated.
"They wouldn't have been known as biotics then. In the exploration of the cave a man was found to be completely encased in crystal. Given the time frame of the cave's creation and discovery as well as references to such a man trapped in a cave my people at the dig site have dubbed the crystal-encased man 'Merlin.' I'm inclined to believe that that name is more than a nickname."
"You mean he could actually be the legendary warlock imprisoned by Morgana le Fay?"
"The very same."
"This is no time for jokes, Illusive Man! You can't be serious that you found Merlin—the Merlin?"
"I am always serious," the Illusive Man glared at the sponsor.
"Of-of course you are," the man flinched. "I want to see the body."
"That's impossible for the time being, I'm afraid. Operative Lawson is confident that Project Emrys can work."
"Project Emrys?"
"Emrys means 'immortal' in old Earth Welsh. Project Emrys is nothing less than the resurrection of the man hailed as the most powerful warlock of all time."
"I'm having difficulty thinking that you're serious. What if your little gambit fails? What if the man you found is not Merlin? What if he wasn't really a magician—biotic—as you say? Besides that, you're talking about a man born in the Medieval Dark Ages and thrusting him into galactic war with enemies even we don't understand."
"I like to think I understand the Reapers quite well. I'm still following Commander Shepard's movements. Her fight against Saren Arterius is uncovering a lot of things about the Reapers and what needs to be done about them. I know this will work."
"On your head be it, then," the sponsor disconnected. The Illusive Man took a deep breath then pushed a button on his Omni-tool.
"Kai Leng," he ordered into the device. "Remove sponsor 2814. His insecurity and lack of intelligence will drag us down."
"Understood."
Miranda Lawson hovered over the technicians chipping away at centuries old crystal like a hawk. They were getting close to fully uncovering the body and Miranda needed Merlin's corpse intact…so that she could revive it. It was not the way she'd expected these past few weeks to go. They had completely freed his legs and his right arm.
One woman broke through the crystal with the drill but thankfully stopped in time before the drill could grind through Merlin's left hand. Miranda examined the head where another, more experienced woman was gently slicing away the crystal surrounding Merlin's cranium with a more passive scalpel. The final man was removing the last large chunk from Merlin's chest and putting it in the disposal bin. Unfortunately, the crystal had fused to his clothing. Those sections were easier to free but it left Merlin's body a bit…exposed. Miranda moved the blanket covering his legs up to his chest.
"Concerned? He's not going to get cold, Ms. Lawson," the familiar voice made her jump. It was the Illusive Man paging her Omni-tool.
Miranda wasted no more time. "We'll have completely exhumed the body by this afternoon at the latest."
"Good. How soon can you get him breathing again?"
"It's difficult to estimate, I've never done this on a human trial before. Our trials on those Varren yielded interesting results on whether organisms could be fully revived from death but humans and Varren are two different things," Miranda reported.
"I trust you to do this, Ms. Lawson. Now, whatever power he has already it probably won't be enough to stop the Reapers without a little help. I want him outfitted with a full set of biotic implants and amplifiers. You'll be training him as an Adept once you implant the necessary knowledge to survive in this era in his mind. Make no mistake he's a weapon to save the galaxy, not a person."
"Understood," Miranda acknowledged and the Illusive Man disconnected.
"It seems a bit unfair, doesn't it? I mean—he's human and if legend is accurate then this was a horrible death full of loneliness and pain," the youngest tech, the one who had nearly drilled through Merlin's hand said.
"He's already died once, he should be grateful for this second chance," Miranda snapped and the woman got back to work.
Once Merlin was freed from the crystal, he was hooked up to every kind of monitoring device available and subjected to countless surgeries to augment his biotics—which were tested and confirmed to be quite strong, stronger than most other operatives in Cerberus and most Alliance personnel. After the augmentations were completed, Merlin was injected with countless chemicals and blood transfusions to start his heart as well as a powerful electric shock to jumpstart brain function.
The Illusive Man ordered a risky electro-shock procedure done to erase any lingering memories.
That was the first time Miranda saw Merlin in pain.
The Illusive Man didn't want a control chip placed in his brain—the memories and knowledge Merlin was about to receive was more than enough to keep him loyal in his eyes. He did order Miranda to install a kill switch at the base of his skull that could stun Merlin temporarily.
Merlin had to be restrained for the information upload. As ten languages, fourteen styles of hand to hand combat and the advanced knowledge on the use and maintenance of about twenty different kinds of pistols was implanted into Merlin's brain, he struggled with the thick leather straps holding him down and his heart rate escalated to dangerous levels.
That was the first time he opened his eyes. Miranda was shocked to see that they were a piercing gold. He looked her right in the eye for a full minute before passing out again as the information concerning the use of Omni-tools was being uploaded to his head. Miranda stayed at his side for days as he learned about the galaxy, ships, and other races, Cerberus, the Citadel, the Alliance and the Reapers. Information about Commander Alexander Shepard and the Normandy was also included as well as data on the ongoing investigation of the rogue Spectre Saren.
When the download was complete, Miranda removed the plugs on his head and released the restraints. Merlin had long since been fitted with a Cerberus uniform and his new armor and weapons had already been prepared for him. Miranda took the time to really look at him. He had raven black hair, was entirely too skinny and when Miranda checked his eyes for a response in his pupils, he found his eyes were permanently gold.
Miranda stood up and stretched. Then she called the Illusive Man.
"What do you have to report?" he asked.
"He's almost ready to wake up but I don't want to rush it; his mind is still processing the vast amount of information we gave him. It will be healthiest for him to wake up on his own," Miranda reported.
"I'd prefer him to be up sooner rather than later but I'll trust your judgment. Report back when he wakes up."
"Understood," Miranda disconnected and went to get some food. Merlin needed all the rest he could get.
When he woke up, his world was going to be so different. Not that he would remember the difference.
A castle stood over head in the middle of the day. As he walked he could see some people waving to him but he couldn't make out their faces—they were just shadowy blurs. He couldn't remember their names or hear what they were saying.
A dragon in a cave…what an odd place for a dragon to be. The dragon stood tall and proud despite being chained.
The castle appeared again. This time there were hundreds of people. He watched as one was killed in front of the others. He remembered fear.
The sky above the castle grew dark. Horrible creatures with grey and blue skin started attacking the shadowy people. He raised his hand and one closest to him exploded. Suddenly he couldn't move—something was holding him back. The castle vanished for a moment as he saw a woman with dark hair wearing black and white looking down at him…and then the castle was back. He still couldn't move and his clothes had changed. He'd been in some sort of robe before but now he was in an armor made of materials he'd never seen and yet always known. The castle was breaking down around him and the people were vanishing.
Suddenly he was in a large room he didn't recognize. There were two thrones. The smaller one was occupied by a shadow but the larger one had a person made of light sitting in it. The two extend their hands to him. He reached for them, a strange longing forming in his chest to see them again. But he couldn't remember who they were or where he was. Suddenly they were gone and the castle was gone and information that was not his flooded his mind, replacing every thought. He watched it all become his. Guns, biotics, the galaxy, the Reapers, Omni-tools, other species—all this information seeded itself in his mind. None of these memories were his if they could even be called that.
Suddenly he was in a different, metal room. He recognized that it was some kind of infirmary. The lights were dimmed but the equipment was still working. Something shifted to his right; he spun and fell off the bed. Someone got up and came around to look at him. It was the woman from his dream. He couldn't remember much about the dream except her.
"Are you alright?" she asked.
He didn't answer; he just stared up at her.
"Don't worry, the first few minutes can be disorienting. Let me help you," she extended a hand to him. He hesitantly took it and she pulled him to his feet and made him sit back on the bed he'd fallen from.
"My name is Miranda," she said.
"I…don't have a name," he replied.
"That's to be expected. Your name is Merlin," she informed him.
"Where am I?" he asked.
"You should be able to answer that."
"Cerberus base four-oh-six, level twenty-two located in orbit around…" Merlin stopped and thought for a moment. The information was there but he couldn't get to it.
"It'll take a few days before the information sets in," Miranda left his side and returned with a trap of food. "You need to eat."
Merlin accepted the tray and started picking at the food on it. He didn't feel like eating but suddenly he found that he was ravenously hungry and started eating very quickly until the plate was empty. Miranda's Omni-tool beeped. She answered it. A small screen showing a man with vivid blue eyes appeared. Merlin knew that he was called the Illusive Man.
"He's awake then?" he asked.
"I was just about to report in," Miranda replied.
"It doesn't matter. What does matter is that I've underestimated the backbone of one of Cerberus' sponsors. Your location has been compromised, Miranda. Get him to Illium, he'll be easier to hide there," the Illusive Man ordered.
"I'll report in when I get there."
"Get moving," the Illusive Man disconnected. Miranda motioned for Merlin to follow her out of the room and down the hall to a weapon's locker. There he was given a pistol and a sub machine gun as well as an Omni-tool of his own.
"Miranda, this is Wilson, the security drones aren't responding to shut-down commands. I've quarantined them down on level twenty-four but that won't last long," a voice chimed on the intercom.
"Get off the station, Wilson, we'll find our own way off."
"Will do."
"Come on," Miranda started running towards the elevator. Merlin saw it start to open and pulled Miranda back around the corner just in time because the elevator had five mechs in it.
"Damn," Miranda whispered after looking. Merlin drew his pistol and glanced around the corner. The mechs were moving towards them. Merlin leapt out from behind cover and fired several biotic shots as well as five bullets down at the mechs. In seconds they were all destroyed.
"That was amazing," Miranda complimented as they moved towards the elevator. Once inside, Miranda hotwired the box to not stop until they got to level four—the shuttle deck. That level was clear but there were no shuttles left. Everyone else had evacuated with them.
"Wilson, there aren't any shuttles left!" she signaled.
"I'm sorry but a squadron of heavy mechs were on their way up the service elevator, we couldn't stay. We're still near the station, all you have to do is get out."
Merlin saw Miranda freeze and then spotted the suits of armor. "Over here," he said and started putting the armor on. Miranda followed suit and once she had checked his hard seals they ran for the air lock and blew themselves into space just as the heavy mechs made it onto the deck. Merlin kept a tight hold on Miranda as they floated out into the vacuum. Wilson's shuttle came to get them.
Once they were inside, Miranda removed Merlin's helmet.
"How did you two survive?" Wilson wondered, pulling them to their feet.
"It was all Merlin's doing," Miranda put her hand on his shoulder.
"They were just drones," Merlin said and moved to the next compartment to sit next to a bunch of other evacuees. He leaned back and forced himself to relax. The adrenalin left his system and he felt very tired. Miranda sat next to him as he fell asleep.
The castle again. It was burning this time and the shadowy-people were either running or fighting each other. Two dragons flew across the sky, breathing fire at the invading shadows. Merlin watched the light-person do battle with another shadow not too far away from him. Everyone was shouting but Merlin couldn't make out the words.
"I want to know exactly how he found out!" the Illusive Man's voice shouted. Merlin stirred and opened his eyes. Miranda and Wilson were standing facing the hologram of the Illusive Man.
"Why would he attack us in the first place?"
"The sponsor of two-eight-one-four was notified by someone on the station. Unfortunately, not even I could trace who it was. The matter has been dealt with on this end. Find the mole who told him and who set off the mechs. There's too much at stake in this galaxy for us to be distracted by internal conflicts. Commander Shepard is closing in on Saren—more than that, he's becoming a symbol to this galaxy. The first human Spectre is an accomplishment we can't afford to lose!" the Illusive Man walked out of the holo-viewer and the channel disengaged.
Merlin sat up slowly, drawing Miranda's attention.
"I'm sorry, that was a bit much to subject you to so soon," she says and checks his vitals. "You don't seem to have been adversely affected though."
"I'm fine," Merlin stood up. The space suit from yesterday had been removed.
"I just need to do some cognition tests," Miranda told him and then started asking him questions about what he knew or remembered. Merlin told her everything but the half remembered dream about the castle and the light-person sitting on the throne. She didn't need to know that.
Merlin glanced at Wilson who was looking at him with suspicious eyes. It didn't seem important.
"Where are we now?" Merlin asked.
"On a Cerberus ship heading toward Illium. We have a safe house there," she replied. "Alright," Miranda gave him a reassuring smile and guided him to a different room full of weapons and armor pieces. Merlin instinctively knew how they all worked.
"Choose your load out," she ordered.
"Why?"
"Humour me."
Merlin chose the M358-Talon and the M12-Locust as his weapons, modifying both for greater accuracy and ammo capacity. As an Adept he was only given basic armor and the pieces he picked came from Kassa Fabrications but the shield capacity had been expanded to rely heavily on his biotics. Miranda seemed perplexed that he didn't choose the Cerberus armor. He put the armor on and Miranda fastened his weapons to his back and waist. He refused the helmet.
"It's fine like this," he said.
"If you say so," she put the helmet down and the two walked to the shooting range. "I want to test your accuracy further. I know yesterday was one hell of a test but it's not conclusive to anything."
Merlin drew his pistol and aimed down the range at the targets. He opened fire, easily hitting the targets in the center of the chest and head. When he ran out of bullets, Miranda brought the targets up for him to see.
"Well, the knowledge on how to use these has imprinted well," Miranda commented after observing the level of accuracy in the bullet holes.
"What happened to me?" Merlin demanded.
"What do you mean?"
"How am I here? What did you do? Why don't I have any memories past waking up on that station? Who am I really?" he elaborated.
"You were created to be a weapon to save the galaxy. A dangerous game is unfolding out there and the galaxy needs your power. I created you. You have no memories because there are none in the first place. You are no one, Merlin. Everything you are you owe to Cerberus."
Merlin felt she might be lying but something about her words rang true even though he knew it shouldn't. What he knew about himself corresponded with the answers he was given. And yet it felt wrong.
This is what happens when you're a Merlin fan who gets bullied by her little brother into playing Mass Effect 2 and 3 enough to start actually liking it…and then having a dream where both fandoms collide. My mind is weird.