Disclaimer: I dont own the Mass Effect franchise and unfortunately could do nothing about the ending (lol overused joke I know)
Hey guys, this fic is a sequal to my two-shot Taking a Chance, which established the timeline and set up my main pairing Shepard and Liara. But this isn't a love story its the forming of a new storyline and a potential fix to the ending, but you'll have to wait and see. I actually liked the ending, sure it was a bit disappointing and it did kind of make you think what was the point but it didnt make me enjoy playing Mass Effect any less.
Anyway I've got the rant out of the way, this is an idea that suddenly came to me during the Leviathan campaign. The basic idea is something that might not have been done before (at least I'm hoping :) You'll know what the idea is if you read the fic or remember the ending from taking a chance. I consider this the second of a string of fics which had begun with Taking a Chance. Right now I'm planning to cover events in the middle and beyond Mass Effect 3. You'll have to read to find out what that means :)
Project Phoenix: Turning Point
Chapter 1: Evolution
What was once green had become barren. The sounds of battle filled the sky and the grown had been stained with blood and bodies. All of the bodies had the same kind of armour wrapped around them, black and white armour with helmets bearing four red eyes. They were all human though those whose armour had broken revealed bodies that people couldn't call human anymore, their flesh had been decorated with tubes and blue microchips. A single man fell to his knees, his silver armour covered in dents and blood. His gold, dome shaped helmet had been cracked open, revealing his inhuman appearance. While once he had brown eyes they were now shining blue like nearly every other person in his organisation. His skin had a near grey tone to it and very dark rings coated his eyelids. But more importantly, despite the extensive modification to his body he still held a look of complete panic.
"Why? Why?" he asked.
He stared at the other human, one who wore armour that was in much better shape than his own. A pair of blue energy whips hung off of his arms and the light of the sun reflected off of his blood stained silver armour. The blood only half blocked the symbol identical to the one on the other man's chest and his dead compatriots.
"We're on your side," the man said.
The bloodstained man raised his hand and wrapped the biotic coils around the man's head.
"NO!" the man screamed.
He threw his hand up, tearing off the victim's head. A few seconds passed before blood sprayed out of the body's neck, coating the murderer in red. He lowered his hands, casually picking a rifle off of the ground.
"I'm no ones ally now," he said.
The moment we were warned of has finally come. There is a cycle that has taken place perhaps since the very first creatures evolved. Every Fifty thousand years machines known as Reapers awaken from stasis within dark space and enter the galaxy and begin killing and harvesting the advanced species of the galaxy, leaving primitive ones unaware until their time comes. Our cycle had begun and though we knew they were coming we are still fighting a war with only one hope of victory, a weapon that we have no idea of its effects. The one who warned us, Commander Shepard fights this losing battle on his front, gathering resources for a final attack on Earth, whilst the N7's the best of the galactic species fight Reaper forces on every battlefront.
Commanding devastating power, the greatest power the Reapers possess is not their weapons or their drive but the effect dubbed indoctrination. They are capable of converting individuals into their way of thinking, making them believe they can be appeased or even worshipping them as gods bringing about Utopia. This is the ability people most fear and the very reason why they believe victory is impossible to achieve. Yet some wonder, whether the universe is really on the Reapers side or if for the sake of survival, the universe will react?
SSV-Arizona-22:00 Galactic standard time
"A theory that a colleague of mine suggested was that the charisma and skill of Commander Shepard was a result of evolution, a reaction of the universe to the Reapers existence. Though I should note my colleague has a strong…attachment to Shepard I cant help but agree with her point, that while people can adapt to survive, entire species can change in reaction to the world around them, such as the earliest stages of humanity. I can't help but wonder whether we as a species is capable of evolving in response to the Reapers?"
Rachel Cunningham shut off her recorder, having finished her daily research for the day. The colony born prodigy had doctorates in several fields, having attended colleges since she was fifteen. Though not a biotic she had taught classes on technological development to students of the Grissom academy and had even gotten a degree on biotics and the applications of element zero from the academy. At twenty-one years old however she wasn't a woman often taken seriously. She was also a 'catch' in most men's eyes, her blonde curly hair and attractive frame was something most people saw on the cover of a magazine. Wearing a doctor's uniform only won her a small amount of respect.
Now with the outbreak of the Reaper war she was assigned to ships like the Arizona to research weapons discovered in the field. But in a time when everyone had to utilise their skills, Rachel worked heavily with ground teams, offering engineering support and therapy to the younger members of the crew. That gave her plenty of things to do and Rachel was in no way athletic, she exhausted easily. Her work schedule meant she had to sleep at 22:00 with only five hours of rest until she'd carry on her next duties.
But just as Rachel was about to climb onto bed, her doorbell rang. Sighing in annoyance, Rachel walked over to the door. When she opened it she came face to face with a very nervous teenager, a dark haired girl in a red uniform. She was one of the biotic support soldiers, though in Rachel's honest opinion she didn't think she was suited for a role like that.
"Rodriguez, what do you need?" Rachel asked.
"I'm sorry to disturb you doc, I was just wondering if we could have a talk in private for a bit?" the girl asked.
"Sure, my doors always opened," Rachel put on her best smile as she motioned for Rodriguez to enter. "Have a seat, what's on your mind?"
"Well, you know how my class and I got onto the field don't you?" she asked.
"Commander Shepard recommended that you be deployed as a support unit," Rachel said.
"That's only part of the story, Grissom Academy was attacked by Cerberus. One minute everything was normal and then the next we hear these guys talking on the loud speaker, they gave us a warning, to surrender peacefully or be taken by force, some of our instructors told us to run, we did as we were told and for a while everything was okay. But then they came in, Cerberus assault troopers, Phantoms and those armoured troopers, the Dragoons," Rodriguez explained.
"I think I see where this is going," Rachel muttered.
"After the initial attack, the Cerberus forces managed to break in, they shot our instructors dead and tried to take us in. I fell behind; well actually a Dragoon pulled me out of the group. He had his whips wrapped around my neck, he was this close to choking me to death until instructor Jack arrived," Rodriguez said.
"It was the first time you were faced with the possibility of death, it's all right for you to be frightened by that," Rachel said.
"It's more than that ma'am, my instructor Jack and David Archer, their lives were ruined by Cerberus, David's different but I can still see the hatred in Jack's eyes, even when we're around Cerberus defectors."
"And a majority of the defectors are Cerberus Phoenix project Dragoon troopers."
"Yes, so everyday I'm looking at the man that tried to kill me, sure the armour may be a different colour but everyday it feels as if I'm looking at that person that had me at his mercy," Rodriguez took a deep breath to fight back her tears.
"What your feeling now is all right Rodriguez, that's why we have these sessions, so that you can vent your feelings in a safe place and not the battlefield," Rachel explained.
"Thank you for this ma'am."
"It's no problem, stay safe out there."
When Rodriguez left Rachel reached into her refrigerator, pulling out an instant coffee can. If it was going to be an all night shift she at least wanted the energy to get through it. She poured the liquid down her throat and began working at her terminal. As well as updating Rodriguez's psych profile she familiarised herself with the other key members of the N7 team. Jack, AKA Subject Zero and her class provided biotic support to N7 squad 010:
Squad Leader Ray Burnside
Service Record: Ten years
Most notable tour: Torfan
Class: N7 Paladin
Squad Colour: Silver
Squad Tech Expert Alexis 'Double A' Aims
Service Record: Five years
Most notable tour: Eden Prime
Class: N7 Demolisher
Squad Colour: Orange
Squad arms expert Gary Tiggins
Service Record: Ten years
Most notable tour: Torfan
Class: N7 Destroyer
Squad Colour: Black
Squad Biotic specialist Jennifer Takenada
Service Record: Fifteen years
Notable postings: Ascension project Grissom Academy, Ferris Fields, Normandy retrofit labs
Class: N7 Fury
Squad Colour: Black
Double A was the most notable squad member; she interacted the most with other crewmen and had a grander experience with Geth and Reapers. Jennifer also had experience with the Collectors, having been present when they attacked Ferris fields and though she didn't have as much experience in combat she was a powerful offensive biotic. The other two had both served together since the start of their careers. LA born Ray was a good squad leader and a patient man, Gary was patient too though in different ways. Both were like brothers even though Gary had noticeable Spanish ancestry.
"Doctor, the captain wishes to see us for a meeting," Alexis said over the radio.
Rachel sighed as she got off her chair and finished her coffee. As she walked to the briefing room she ran into the crewmember she was most fascinated by.
"Doctor," Jack said.
"Jack, how has training been?" Rachel asked.
"Pussies are getting better, but they'll always be pussies."
"Don't be too hard on them, a few months ago all they had to worry about was grades, now lives or on the line," Rachel explained.
"They had to worry about getting laid too, then again that's their worry now as well," Jack grinned.
"Well that's a matter for when they have shore leave," Rachel blushed slightly.
"Come on Doctor, who have you been eying up, Double A isn't that much older than you and despite how often they hang out I'm sure Gary and Ray aren't gay," Jack explained.
"That's really not appropriate," Rachel said.
"The hell with that, just pick a guy and screw em!"
Jack and Rachel walked into the briefing room and upon entering they saw someone who made Jack glare in anger. He was a brown haired man in a black formal Cerberus uniform; he stood with his back to them before turning to reveal his handsome features and stoic expression. Around him were the members of the N7 squad and the captain. Gary and Ray were both in standard issue alliance fatigues; Gary's black hair was cut in a standard military style. Ray had shaved his hair to the point where he actually looked bald. Jennifer was in her squad armour, minus her helmet and sword. Her mixed Japanese and American heritage was subtle, at least that was what Rachel thought so. Alexis was wearing a white and red jumpsuit outfit, usually worn by female special operatives. Her red hair was long enough just to touch her shoulders.
"Who the fuck is he?" Jack asked, pointing at the apparent Cerberus defector.
"Calm down Jack," the captain said.
Captain Shaw was a calm and collected man. He was a veteran from the first contact war and had apparently come out of retirement since the Citadel attack three years ago. The man stood next to the Cerberus officer, giving him a look of complete confidence.
"Good of you all to finally join us, this is Commander Gallows, James Gallows, he'll be leading this briefing from here on our," Shaw explained.
"Thank you captain, yes I am from Cerberus, but certain actions they took drove me to the Alliance, I've been a deep cover operative for ten years," the man said as he turned to the squad. "Back when Cerberus was using black ops in the Alliance as a cover, Hackett and several others had me placed within the organisation so that I could keep track of their actions. As they evolved into what they are now today my responsibility within Cerberus and as an operative grew larger," he explained.
"Fascinating now why the fuck are you here?" Jack asked.
"I'm here to tell you where Cerberus is indoctrinating it's soldiers," that comment alone was enough to make Jack hush.
"So it is true, the troopers are indoctrinated?" Ray asked.
"It's a very subtle form of indoctrination, they still have cognitive function but they essentially have absolute loyalty to Cerberus, which I believe is a cover for a Reaper infiltration. As you know Cerberus has performed terrorist acts they wouldn't have carried out several years ago, I believe that is because with the Reapers finally in our galaxy, the Illusive man's own indoctrination has finally taken hold."
"Wait, the Illusive man is indoctrinated?" Gary asked.
"It would make sense," Rachel muttered.
"At this point it's a theory, but right now I do know that whether the Illusive man is being manipulated or is acting of his own accord, either way he is dangerous and should be stopped as soon as possible. Part of my work in Cerberus took me to the planet we're heading to now, Virmire," Gallows explained.
"Virmire, that's where Saren built his Krogan production facility," Jen pointed out.
"About two years ago, Cerberus repurposed the destroyed facility for Project Phoenix, which was the earliest stage of Project Lazarus. The basic principle of Project Phoenix was to one, test out technology that would be used for Lazarus and two: build an army that would face the Collectors if Shepard had failed. Most of the Cerberus defectors are Phoenix Vanguards and Adepts as you know, but the…subjects zero of the project was something else altogether," Gallows sighed as Jack shot him a look.
"Subjects, there were more than two first subjects?" Rachel asked.
"Subject Cinis: the physical reconstruction test and Subject Orior: the mental and cognitive reconstruction test, both had received extensive damage that was in need of repair, similar damage to what Commander Shepard had endured."
"So they were both to be bought back from the dead and if that failed then project Lazarus was a failure itself," Rachel said.
"Yes, I can't speak for Subject Cinis but Subject Orior's cognitive repair was a success, his memory however wasn't. He could still talk, read, eat, fight and understand most of the concepts of his field but all of his memories including his previous personality where effectively gone. Though he was deemed a failure they kept him at the facility to test weapons and run combat scenarios, before I left Cerberus a few months ago the scientists there had started experimenting with a Reaper artefact, something the Illusive man had apparently found before he had actually formed Cerberus. That's what first caught my suspicion, I believe that the Illusive man was indoctrinated in his youth and that he's now carrying out a command given to him by the Reapers," Gallows explained.
"He's a fucking sleeper agent," Jack said.
"Exactly, upon the Illusive man's instructions, the project had been switched from training soldiers, to implanting them. For weeks they implanted hundreds of soldiers that weren't already in the field until eventually they had an army of 'modified' troops. That was when I left and sought aid from my Alliance contacts, I've been in protective custody for a few months but I still had spy programs running in the Virmire database. About a week ago I finally managed to extract something from their research files," Gallows paused as he turned to the main view screen.
Everyone was silent as they waited for Gallows to finish the briefing.
"One test they carried out was on Subject Orior, it was a test to see if cognitive function could be retained when under a Reapers hold. They locked him in the same room as the artefact and exposed it to energy surges that triggered its activation. He spent a month in that cell and he never showed even one sign of Indoctrination!"
For those whom understood the Reaper's power the news came as an immediate shock. Even Jack gasped at the implications.
"What you're saying is fucking impossible, a ship full of people were indoctrinated once and they spent just two weeks at the most there," she explained.
"It didn't make sense to me either, but then I was contacted by a few friends I had made at the project. They were Cerberus loyalists but they had heard of the experiments with Reaper tech, one of them managed to get inside the base and watch the implantation of at least five men, and only one of those men completely and utterly rejected the implants, even when they were inside his body," Gallows explained.
"Evolution," Rachel gasped.
"I don't know whether he had evolved to fight against indoctrination, or whether the loss of his memory somehow resulted in his mind being immune to it," Gallows said.
"So that's why we're going to Virmire?" Jack asked.
"Yes, to save someone who could potentially be immune to the Reapers most devastating weapon," Shaw said.
"And I thought my impossible missions ended with Shepard," Jack muttered.
Virmire-Militia Defensive line-23:00 galactic standard time
N7 Squad-496 and former Cerberus Subject Cinis research team
They were outnumbered and tired. But Korvac wasn't one to give up a fight. The Batarian mercenary turned soldier fired his Mattock rifle, the bullets from the Cerberus side bouncing off his bladed armour. He ejected a thermal clip and fired several spikes from his Omni-tool. The spikes stuck into a Centurion's head, sending him slamming into the ground. While Korvac and his squad held a firm defensive line, the Cerberus forces had them on the run. The line had been pushed to within a few kilometres of the militia camp.
The militia consisted of Cerberus defectors and whatever resources the council could send. Korvac's team was one of those resources. He led a former Krogan Shaman called Cauis Grand, the biotic giant was laying waist to Cerberus forces in his way. The third member of the team was Rolus but no Vas or Nar, after all according to Quarian law the exiled couldn't serve on ships. Rolus wore brown and black plates on his suit and fired single shots from his Widow rifle. The marksman ducked back under cover, waiting for another shot to present itself. His support was the fourth member, Asari adept and spotter Carina.
"Cerberus rampart mechs, approaching from the right," Carina said.
She had a purple tinge to her skin and wore a simple black commando outfit. The Rampart mechs ran across the dirt, ducking underneath tree branches and brandishing their omni-blades. Rolus poked out of cover and blew a mech's head off with his rifle. Cauis threw his hands up, lifting several Assault troopers into the air. Carina then threw a shockwave, resulting in an explosion that threw the troopers back. Again Rolus fired his rifle, blowing a mech's head off.
"GET UNDER COVER NOW!" Korvac yelled at the defectors.
The Alliance commander in charge of the op had sent his squad to retrieve these defectors and their supposed escort. The escort however had run out of the jungle to pursue another squadron. Korvac drew his Kischock harpoon rifle and fired a charged spike through the cockpit of an Atlas mech. Rolus then threw an EMP grenade, temporarily shutting down the second mech. The remaining Rampart mechs and Cerberus troopers grew closer and closer to the team. Korvac looked at his remaining thermal, enough only for one more wave. Cauis was out of ammo completely and Carina only had her pistol left.
"We need to fall back, the defensive line is lost," Rolus said.
"We are not retreating," Cauis growled.
"This is suicide, lets just fall back after this wave," Carina said.
"Focus on the humans trying to kill us," Korvac said.
Korvac widened his eyes slightly as he felt a red laser run across his shoulder. A Nemesis trooper sat in the bushes, aiming straight at Korvac's head. Suddenly, the woman was pulled further into the bush. With a flash of blue she was sent flying out of the bush, landing at the feet of her squad mates. A man in grey, blood coated armour charged into the Cerberus forces, the impact of his charge throwing two men back. Biotic energy gathered in his hands as he formed a pair of light blue coils. Slamming the coils against the ground, the man generated a shockwave that knocked three men back. Korvac ran out of cover, firing shots at the downed foes.
The new arrival pulled a Cerberus harrier off of his back and fired fully automatic bursts, ripping apart the rampart mechs and remaining Cerberus troopers. Korvac and his squad walked out of cover, keeping their eyes and ears alert for more troops. The silence signified the end of the wave and the safety of the squad. Korvac focused his eyes on the Phoenix Vanguard, the man dubbed Orior. It was apparently a term from a dead human dialect and a simple alias, considered the man was without memory of his life before Virmire. But Korvac didn't care for such things; he wasn't a xenophobe though he had no great respect for humans.
"We need to leave," Orior said.
Though Korvac trusted the vanguard's judgement enough to follow his advice. He signalled to his squad mates and they began guiding the Cerberus defectors through the bush. The militia had set up camp in the middle of the jungle, with this defensive line gone there would be nothing left to stop Cerberus from reaching the camp. Orior had been one of the first of the 'untouched' Cerberus members to defy the project director and had spent the past few months securing resources and finding others that shared his dislike of Cerberus's new path Within the first few months of the conflict, they had built a small encampment, with a lab where the stasis pod of Subject Cinis had been put.
"Those reinforcements had better hurry," Korvac growled.
Council Space-'Operation Phoenix second reinforcement party'-23:00 galactic standard time
War Assets
Sixty third-scout flotilla
Marine detachment: fifth frontier division
N7 Squadrons 078, 054, 095
SR2 Normandy
Shepard stood on the portside observation deck, looking at the sixty-third scout flotilla. The reunion with Mikhailov had been as he expected, professional with only the mission being discussed. Mikhailov had allowed the fifth frontier division to go in his ships, but delivery of the N7 squads was up to Shepard. They had taken residence in the cargo bay/armoury, although Liara's half sister Yuel often spent time with her. Shepard thought of Liara and something she had said, that his existence could have been the universe reacting to the presence of the Reapers. He didn't know why but it made him think of everything that had happened over the years, how his fate had changed. Of all the people in the galaxy, he was the one that rediscovered the Reapers and had spent the better part of three years fighting them.
'I keep thinking this'll end badly Liara, but then I hear of this one person, this one man like me whose suddenly become so important and it makes me hope,' he thought of the mission, the mission to recover the one person whom was apparently completely immune to Reaper Indoctrination, right down to the implants that had destroyed Saren and now controlled every Cerberus trooper under the Illusive man's command.
"It's hard to believe isn't it?" Liara asked as she walked into the room.
Shepard turned to his lover and smiled. But Liara didn't smile back, this recent mission had spoilt her happiness. They had finally admitted their feelings for one another, only for something like this to happen.
"We've spent so long thinking that the one thing we can't overcome without death is indoctrination. Dr Cunningham sent me the report, I cant help but feel sorry for those two subjects, especially Subject Orior," she sighed.
"He gets his life back, but not his memories, and then he's probably told that he's just the test subject, to see if the brain can be repaired. It makes me think how lucky I was, or whether it was all just fate. Whether I was destined to get my memories back and he wasn't," Shepard explained.
"Shepard," Liara whispered as she ran touched Shepard's cheek.
He turned, kissing her softly on the lips. The contact lasted merely a second, but it was still enough to make Liara smile again.
"We're going back to Virmire, but this time I'm not going to leave anyone behind," he said.
"Shepard promise me, if it's a choice between me and him, promise me that you'll put the mission, the galaxy first," Liara said.
"What would the galaxy be like without Liara T'Soni to guide it?"
"The galaxy doesn't need me Shepard, it needs you and him."
"But I need you Liara, I cant do anything without you," he said, touching her cheek affectionately.
Liara turned away from Shepard, lowering her head as she walked out. Shepard looked back at the fleet and sighed.
"Commander, Admiral Mikhailov is waiting on the comm." Traynor said over the radio.
Shepard sighed again before putting on his disciplined and focused expression, the one he wore whenever he spoke or fought on behalf of the galaxy. 'This time,' he swore 'no one gets left behind'.
Next Chapter 2: First wave
Hope everyone enjoyed the start of the fic. It'll feature quite a few characters both ones that have been seen and haven't been seen in Mass Effect 3. I'll use a lot of OC's as well, N7 Squadron 078 has appeared in my fic N7 Endurance which takes place in its own continuity. I wrote and designed the OC's with the Mass Effect Muliplayer in mind, so their armour looks like their class from the game. As I wrote dialogue I also imagined backgrond and even voice actors:
Orior
Concept: Originally called Omega, I chose Orior as a codename for him because of its closest english translation from Latin.
Bio: The Immune Phoenix trooper, previous memories and personality affectively gone. His priority is survival, recovery of his memories, the destruction of Cerberus and the preservation of subject Cinis.
Class/Style: Phoenix Vanguard
Voice Actor: Roger Craig Smith (Chris Redfield from Resident Evil 5 onwards, Ezio from Assassin's Creed 2, Brotherhood and Revelations, Siegfried from Soul Calibur 4-5)
Korvac
Concept: While Batarians are considered the douchebags of the galaxy, Korvac's a more likable douchebag. I felt the thing that was missing from the series that would have been especially interesting for the Colonist or butcher Shepard's would have been the addition of a Batarian squadmate.
Bio: The 'worst criminal in Batarian history' disliked by his people because he worked with Alliance authorities against Slaver operations
Class/Style: Batarian Soldier
Voice Actor: Keith Silverstein (Zasalemel from the Soul Calibur series, Coyote Stark from Bleach, Full Frontal from Mobile Suit Gundam Unicorn)
Double A
Concept: I was thinking of a tough, independent and take charge female character, a fighter and not someone to be protected and though there are plenty of characters like that Alexis is more of a focus. She also physically resembles the default build for a female Shepard.
Bio: A young marine in comparison to her squadmates. She was inspired by Shepard's story and left her street gang to become a marine. She survived Eden Prime.
Voice Actress: Tara Platt (Temari from the Naruto series, Marida Cruz from Mobile Suit Gundam Unicorn, Anna Williams from Tekken Bloodline Vengeance)
Next time we see Double A and her squad in action along with Jack and Orior