Having said all that, rest assured that I have not abandoned my original Early Bird fiction, and have begun work anew on a chapter following Harper and his cohorts as they engage Krogan forces on the ground and meet up with Petrovsky. This is meant to provide a glimpse into the distant future of the Early Bird AU, and will likely be updated sporadically. Anyways, I hope you all enjoy and if you feel like it please favorite and or leave a review.
Saren hated the rain nearly as much as he hated tbe cold. Of course, being a Turian he was accustomed to a warmer climate with mild rainfall, as was the case in most populated areaa of the homeworld Palaven. He idly wondered if the only reason his 'benefactor' had decided to bring him to such an awful place as the planet Charybdis was to kick him out of his comfort zone.
"It certainly would not be surprising from the Butcher of Dromedes." He thought with a grimace, sure that the human he'd been told to meet at the dreary Alliance world delighted in the opportunity to see a Turian shiver and clamp their mandibles closed tightly. In the distance he watched as a heavy frigate came in for a landing at the space port.
"I imagine that is her ship." He pondered marveling at how the 700 meter long space craft had seemlessly transitioned through the atmosphere in a feat demonstrating mastery of Element Zero technology still decades beyond the Hierarchy. Having gone through the most hellish training his military designed in centuries of existence and been inducted into the ranks of the elite Blackwatch operatives, Saren liked to think nothing could disturb him. However, the last few days had proven unsettling to say the very least, as he'd suddenly been reassigned from his unit and shipped off to a far away human colony. His superiors had been very reticent when he inquired about the reason for his reassignment, telling him that he was going to participate in a program to build more cordial relations with the Council species. His reaction to this at first had been elation at being offered such a unique chance at further proving himself to the meritocracy. This feeling was short lived as they elaborated and revealed the full terms of his involvement in the project. He was essentially going to spend two years as a plaything for a Council Spectre, doing anything they ordered and treating them with the same respect as a superior in the Hierarchy.
"And not just ANY spectre, but probably the second most infamous operative in all of Citadel Space, and one well known for strong feelings about the growing involvement of Turians with the Galaxy." He glumly ruminated as a pair of helmeted figures in black and red armor deftly stepped off a nearby escalator and began to approach. One paused to grab the other, turning them towards them and emphatically pounding their chest before releasing their partner and staring at Saren, the four bright red reticles on their polarized mask giving the impression of a predatory Arachas. The partner seemed rather bemused by their attitude, playfully punching them on the shoulder before turning towards Saren and removing their helmet, revealing a pair of fierce green eyes on a soft, if weathered face, retaining a gentle beauty even in spite of the faint scars and telltale signs of cosmetic surgery. Blonde hair was tied into a bun and pearly white teeth were exposed as she sneered addressing Saren.
"So, you are the great and powerful Arterius brother Citadel Defense so fervently insisted be drafted into the coalition forces? I have to say I'm not so impressed, you birds average what, 2 meters in height for males? You are barely 1.9, and I can't take your government's word that whatever passes for Biotics among you plate faces will make up for the diminished physicality. Oh well, both your body and mind will be put to the test soon enough I suppose." She sighed and fixed him with a critical gaze before taking a bag from her escort and beggining to search through it. "Just one second, don't be so hasty as your kind is wont to do."
"This is her. Hannah FRACKING Shepard. The Butcher of Dromedes, attack skila of the Council. My new employer. S'kak." Saren was somewhat annoyed by her blatant racism, but had become accustomed to the various forms of prejudice directed by each Citadel race towards Turians. He suspected that she'd intentionally come across as bigoted as possible to get a reaction and gauge his discipline. It was not likely going to be the case that she'd waste time during missions admonishing him for his species' various supposed failings.
"Yes and of course Asari, Humans, and Salarians ALWAYS do things perfectly and without mistake." He desperately wanted to retort, instead keeping his mouth firmly shut as the human woman found what she was searching for and stepped towards him before suddenly grabbing his left arm and inspecting it with what he assumed was a look of consternation.
"Okay that bulky piece of crap linked into your armor can hardly be called a real Omnitool. What is it, fully haptic suspended gel interface? No Neural implant or AI compatibility huh? Well lucky for you I expected this and had a proper augment custom made to fit and adapt to Turian physiology." She said presenting him with a small silver cylinder with a strap of some kind of synthetic fiber and what appeared to be an eyepiece. He looked at it skeptically, unfamiliar with the alien technology and uncomfortable with transitioning from his trusted equipment. She noticed this and scoffed harshly.
"Yeah, I know its not tech thats been 'Hierarchy approved' or whatever your hangup is, but you have been given to me to command and outfit as I see fit, and I won't let you compromise any operations by relying on archaic technology. Now take off that piece of junk and put on these before I give up and call the council to let them know the Turian they wanted me to work with was just as set in their ways as stereotypes suggest." He quickly complied, keying in the disconnection code into his omnitool before putting on the eyepiece and awkwardly sliding on the strap with the cylinder. It hung loosely ftom his wrist, and he noticed it lacked any visible fasteners to tighten it securely to his arm. Shepard looked at him expectantly before strangely covering her face with her many fingered hand.
"Christ, you don't even know how smartfabrics work? Hold the button down on the cylinder until your eyepiece stsrts to glow around the edges, then hold the strap close to your wrist, folding it over so its not slack and hanging." He did as she instructed and gasped as the black cloth like material of the strap seemed to vibrate and the folds dissappear as the strap merged into a single band tied securely, and comfortably, around his arm. She noticed him gawking at this technological marvel and chuckled as he waved his arm out in front him, familiarizing himself with the AR controls through his eyepiece.
"It's a far cry from something you constantly have to fidget with manually, welcome to uh, the last three or four hundred years of modern consumer electronics. 'Course this is hardly civilian tech, I made sure to install all kinds of great mods into it that should work well with your skillset. If you had an implant we could set you up with some Foci and maybe an AI storage unit but-" Saren had had enough of her condescending demeanor and suddenly interrupted her
"You are not going to stuff a bunch of computerized xenotech in my head, not if you want me to willingly join you on whatver mission you have planned. I accept this equipment with gratitude, but don't think I don't have a choice in the matter of working with you or not." He interjected harshly, gazing down at the shorter human "And she called ME short, she's a head shorter than me!" He briefly thought. She seemed somewhat taken aback by this, and the briefest smile played across her lips before puckering up in a sign of disapproval.
"Well well well, HE DOES SPEAK!. And here I was fearing Id been sent some milksop conformist with no real qualities besides being able to use space magic. Yes you are right in that you have a choice, you could give up and leave never to be bothered by me or likely any other Spectre again. You would lose face as an aspiring member of the military and possibly never rise above Blackwatch commander in rank, or even work past that and become a renown general in the Hierarchy like your brother. But if you do it will be further evidence that your species is far to insular, traditionalist, and narrow minded to contribute significantly to the greater galaxy. You would live and die for the Hierarchy and be remembered well by it's citizens, but for the trillions of citizens in the rest of the galaxy it would amount to well…" she gave a sly look over to her escort as he removed his helmet revealing a man with dark skin who finished in a deep voice:
"Jack-diddley-S'kak" she smiled at him and fixed Saren with an intensely critical gaze. He felt as though some kind of apex predator were surveiling him for weakness, and adjusted his posture to maintain what he felt was an air of cool confidence and indifference to her intimidating presence. She correspondingly drew herself up to her full height before continuing
"I am however, supposed to encourage your cooperation in this foolish endeavor so I will not force any procedures on you however much they might enhance your field performance. As backwards as your culture may be, its still well outside my powers as a spectre to mandate that you violate spiritual and personal beliefs, hence why I gave you a simple eyepiece linked Omnitool to bring you up to an acceptable standard of equipment. Of course, I will be needing those back if you choose not to join me, and I won't be to dissapointed as it was Council funding that payed for it rather than myself." She grinmed widely amd then muttered under his breathe, clearly audible to his Turian hearing "They really want this to work."
Saren was somewhat stunned by her forwardness and blatant disregard for his species civilization and customs, though his indignation turned to frustrstion as an implication formed in his mind.
"You're saying theres some kind of big push for me to help you on missions? Why? Can"t any Turian be requisitioned by Spectre agents for operations as part of the new treaty with the Citadel? Why is it so important that you get me as an asset?" He was confounded as she briefly stsrted before breaking out into a predatory wide grin, flashing her perfect white teeth as joy pooled in her emerald eyes, infuriating him with the taunting look of someone that knows something he doesn"t. The dark skinned man behind her broke into a grin of his own and chuckled as he shook his head and turned away.
"Ok, wow, honestly did not realize how uninformed you were. Hierarchy must have taken our overtures for subtlety a little bit too literally and left me to catch you up." She paused and chuckled before covering her face with her hands in a gesture found strange and adding to his frustration. He was becoming incensed at being treated like some fresh out of boot camp fledgeling, instead of the seasoned Blackwatch commando he was.
"Spare me your condescension human! I have done as my government instructed and reported to you for duty, now tell me what this mission is all about before I walk away and am better for being rid of you!" He angrily gritted out from between his teeth, tired of the blatant disrespect and mockery he was being subjected to by a glorified assassin.
This seemed to sober her somewhat as her expression became dead serious and she straightened up to look him directly in the eyes
"You are not just going with me on a mission Bird brain, you're going to be evaluated for Spectrehood."