Mass Effect: Through His Eyes
Chapter 1 – A Proposition… (Part 1)
At the Citadel, located in the Serpent Nebula, an Alliance marine leaned against an overlook while looking into
the great void of space in the Wards. Normally, C-Sec would be patrolling the streets of the wards and insuring
everyone was obeying the laws, but with the presence of a Human soldier, no one wanted to upset the
"peace"; especially with this Human soldier. Right out of tech school on Earth, he enlisted himself to the
System's Alliance. He never exactly planned to be a soldier, but he saw the benefits of being one: leaving the
back-water rock he called home, being in the center of the galactic government his species has found a place
in, more so gaining an embassy, but most of all seeing beyond the big, blue sky, meeting the many sentient
aliens of the Milky Way, and finding his place in the great scheme of this life. He is an Alliance soldier and
technician. His name is-
"Lt. Argent Hooper!"
Argent turned around to see his commanding officer, and captain of the SSV-Nemian,
Captain Hercule Achilles. Captain Achilles was well known in the Alliance. He was part of the fleet that fought
against the Turians, and the reclaiming of Shanxi, during the First Contact War (or the Relay 314 Incident to
Citadel races) As a result; Captain Achilles has had a strong distaste for aliens, more so with the Turians. His
left eyes was scarred and damaged as a result. He could only see through his right eye now. The captain raised a brow at the Lt. and asked,
"Hooper, why do you insist on wearing your helmet all the time? I understand the glare from the nebula is quite bright, but still."
Hooper didn't enjoy people starring at his face for so long. It always made him nervous, especially with aliens.
Despite all the exotic looking species around him, the other aliens saw Humans like an eye-sour, and the big
bad bully of the galaxy, due to Humanity's aggressive and ambitious nature. One of the aliens known as a
Salarian walked by early and murmured, "Watch it, a plane face." Hooper didn't react then; even if he did they
wouldn't notice. It made him uncomfortable sometimes, because even as a Human he still felt isolated from his
own species. He does not have any hate for aliens; he was only a baby during the First Contact War. He prefers
to hate someone for who they are and what they do, not for WHAT they are. At times, this way of thinking puts
him at odds with his captain and crewmates. Still, he is wary of aliens at times, especially with the Asari. To
him, they were a race that can be too curious of other life forms. Qurians he found interesting, however. They
were the most apt in technological manufacturing and designing. Sure, they lost control of the Geth, but no one
could perceive what would happen. The council could have used the Quarian's knowledge of the Geth to fight
back and control the Geth; instead they were punished to wonder the stars for life. Personally to Hooper, a
judgment based off hot heads instead of cool minds. Also, he liked their suits, because they were well designed
and looked stylish. But that was then, this is now. And right now, his captain was talking to him.
The Lt. straightened up and replied, "Sir! I prefer to stay in uniform while on duty, Sir"
That was a full-blown lie; he'd rather be in a T-shirt and jeans than be in that over-heated suit. He just didn't like people starring at him, Human or alien.
The captain replied, "If that's what you wish, I have no objections. As for why I'm here, your shore leave has been ended early due to an urgent assignment." "Who issued the assignment, sir? Admiral Hacket?" Hooper asked. Captain Achilles straightened his collar and cleared his throat before saying, " I can't say right now. Know that we have an important assignment. I will update your omni-tool for the rendezvous point. Meet me there at 1300 hours. Dismissed!" Hooper saluted to his captain,"Yes sir!" As his captain walked away through the crowd, Hooper couldn't help but feel uneasy.
The Location was in the Human Embassy lounge, so far the largest one next to the Asari and Turian lounges in
the Presidium. Some species believed Humans were getting special treatment; another stigma to the
reputation of Humans. Hooper didn't quite agree with the idea himself, but not for the same reasons. He
believes that after the First Contact War, the Council found a new guard dog to replace the Turian fleet.
'There's a reason for almost everything.' he thought to himself concerning the matter.
Hooper however was more concerned with the matter at hand. Usually the captain discusses a mission on the ship and with his crew; yet Hooper was addressed by his captain personally, and being told to meet in a location only through omni-tool transaction. Something was happening,
'Heh, there's always something, though.' Hooper thought to himself.
Hooper entered through the sealed doors, and inside were Captain Achilles, Ambassador Udina, and – "Cap-Captain Anderson!" Hooper shouted out as he witnessed the most famous and decorated Alliance soldier in existence today. Hooper immediately straightened up and saluted to the legendary warrior. To him, Captain Anderson was like an icon to the Alliance itself. He was also the former captain to Commander Shepard, rumored to be the FIRST Human Spectre. To be in his presence was Awe-inspiring.
Captain Anderson raised his hand and said,
"At-ease, Lieutenant."
Slowly Hooper relaxed and approached his superiors. Udina examined Hooper and said,
"I've read your file, Lieutenant; You've served for the Alliance for 5 years now, and have achieved much during your career. You were able to negotiate a hostage situation, and psychiatric treatment for the hostage taker too. It also read that you used your drone to hack and disable the defenses of a pirate ship, while fighting off the pirates themselves, with two Turian commandos who were held captive for ramsom, until support arrived. Finally it says that you and your team were responsible for stopping a Batarian extremist group from disabling life support on one of our colonies six months back, and were able to capture their leader, with no casualties; at the expense of pre-fab unit, that is…"
' It wasn't my fault that Batarian nut-job shot the main line to the Pre-fab's gas storage tank! At least the civilians got out in time.' Hooper cringed and sighed at that last remark.
Udina wasn't Hooper's favorite politician; one part for the fact that he was a politician, the other was because of his attitude to bad news; even the smallest mistake made that man feel like his groin was ripped off by a wild varren.
Hooper said to the ambassador,
"I did my job sir, and to the best of my abilities. I apologize for any inconveniences I've made for you or my superiors."
He'd rather be on good terms with both good and bad people. Conflict was the last thing Hooper wanted; he had enough of it in his own life as it was. The ambassador rolled his eyes and said,
"I'm glad you have the decency to apologize, Lieutenant, but we are wasting time as it is."
Captain Anderson glared at Udina and shook his head. He then turned his attention to Hooper. He said,
"What Udina is trying to say is we have a mission for you concerning… Technical issues."
Captain Achilles walked up to Hooper and said bluntly,
"We've discovered a vessel crashed on the planet Acier, in the solar system Hephaestus of the Hades Gamma Cluster. The downed ship… Is of Geth design."
As soon as those words were uttered, Hooper's eyes widened at this shocking information,
'A Geth ship? What does that mean?' He thought to himself. He then asked,
"Has a search team been sent yet?"
Anderson answered,
"Actually, your crew will not only be recon, but retrieval as well. We want you to find any working Geth technology and bring it to a secure location for study."
Now Hooper was suspicious, and was force to ask, "Why hasn't this been reported to the Council… Or is the Council aware yet, sir?"
Captain Anderson was silent, but Udina interjected, "The Council, as you know, is against AIs or even AI
technology. Since the Recent return of the Geth, disturbances have been floating around. If we were to gain
this technology, we would not only have and advantage against the Geth, but also have a greater foot hold in
Citadel space." Captain Achilles then said, "Hooper, with this we could be able to fight against the Geth, and
gain a greater respect with the other races. If you succeed, I will decide to make you my official second-in-
command of the Nemean. If you decline, we will find someone else to do it."
'Second-in-command? Me?' Hooper thought to himself. If he accepted, he could one day become captain himself, and rise in the ranks. He could even push for a longer shore leave if he wanted to.
'Sweet!' He thought. Then again, this is GETH they're talking about; Hooper knew as much as the next Human of what they are. AI's who rebelled against the Quarians three centuries ago, and to this day attack any organic that enter the Peruses Veil. There was no telling what kind of risk there may be with this mission. Then again, there was that time…
"Before you decide, consider this; there was a classified report in your file. You are the only crewmember of your ship to have ever studied Geth technology yourself. We'd hate to report this, considering your extensive understanding of them." Udina interrupted. This made Hooper tense; no one knew about THAT. The only reason why is that Hooper didn't know what he was studying until it was too late. The only person who knew at all at the time was-
Hooper turned to Captain Achilles, and saw him frown and with his eyes to the ground.
"Captain!"
Hooper exclaimed to his officer, with a tone of disbelief and anger. Achilles looked to Hooper and said,
"I'm sorry Lieutenant, but you were the only one capable of remotely understanding the technology of the Geth at this time. When Udina told me of the mission, I had no choice. I'm sorry."
Hooper felt betrayed, and clenched his fist tightly. Anderson then yelled at Udina,
"That's too far! It is true that Captain Achilles did mention your knowledge of the Geth, but that information will remain classified. We still need you for this Hooper. The choice is yours nevertheless. Will you accept this task?"
Udina sneered at Anderson, but then looked to Hooper for his reply.
Hooper was still trying to absorb everything that just happened. On one hand he could be risking his life for a mission that could help Humanity in the long run; on the other hand he could decline, but risk his secret being leaked to the brass, and worse the Council. It was like his back was to the wall, while holding his pistol with the last thermal clip to his foe. Hooper finally walked forward to Captain Anderson, looked to both Udina and Achilles, and then asked, "When do we start?"