Mass Effect: Hearts of Many through Time

Chapter 2: Travel through the Stars & New Lives

2160 SSV Einstein – In route to Mindoir

"RUN OR HE'LL CATCH US!" "I AM RUNNING! SPEED UP!" He couldn't believe it. Lieutenant Zabaleta was running after two children the crew have appropriately named 'Pain and Chaos' for one specific reason other than being fraternal twins: they always were together causing all kinds of hell. Today was no exception. Ever since Commander Hannah Shepard came aboard to fill in the executive officer positon, or XO for short, she was everything an officer should be and aspire to. Her children, however, were an entirely different and often horrific story, although no one seemed to mind as they brought a certain life to the ship. Both of the children were brilliant and would often be seen learning the different job sets by the crew, particularly with the marines stationed aboard the SSV Einstein. Though the children also kept everyone on their toes. As the crew found out, keeping 6 year olds with the mental capacity of a 15 year old individually aboard a military vessel for a couple of weeks, with no other children on board, left giant targets for Pain and Chaos to exploit. When asked why by some of the crew, John, also known by Pain replied with "Well a couple of reasons actually. For starters a crew should be alert for anything as a just in case measure if attacked by slavers or pirates or even the Batarian Hegemony seeing how they and the Alliance do not get along." Jane, or Chaos, followed up with, "Second, as 6 year olds we feel the need to express our lack of challenging task set by the adults in this fine vessel by physically challenging ourselves with tasked deemed too dangerous for normal children." John decided to finish up by simply saying "any questions?" One of the crew men who asked had a shocked and dumbfounded look on his face and asked "Wait…you mean you do these pranks because...YOU'RE BORED!" Pain and Chaos looked at each other, responded in unison with, "Yes", with Jane following up with "though we prefer the term 'challenges'."

So now here 1LT Zabaleta was chasing Pain and Chaos for their latest 'challenge'. One they had managed to pull off on his pride and something he worked hard on: his mustache. Zabaleta's normal facial hair consisted of a beard and full mustache which he kept well-trimmed and neat. "QUICKLY BEFORE HE CATCHES US!" he could hear John yelling, knowing that probably meant they had a plan to lose him. As he turned the corner they took him by surprise when he saw a biotically charged John launch his sister over Zabaleta, while John made a dashing slide underneath Zabaleta's open legs. As his mind tried to figure out which one to grab, his body collapsed on him with his back hitting the cold metal floor. "RUN KIDS! HE'S JUST ABOUT SPENT!" Zabaleta had his eyes closed from the initial shock of falling, so he never realized that Pain and Chaos had led him to the mess hall where almost the entire crew had started assembling to eat breakfast. As he stood up, the room got quiet and all eyes were on him. When they saw one of their platoon leaders without his normal look and instead had a, what would be called the mustache belonging to one of the least liked yet more famously known leaders in history on his upper lip, everyone was speechless. That is until someone who had mean giggling the entire time finally broke out laughing causing the other crewmen to finally start laughing and cheering for their brave lieutenant who lost a battle against Pain and Chaos. A few were taking pictures with their omnitools while others started shouting, "WHAT DID YOU DO TO YOURSELF?! I CAN'T BELIEVE THEY WENT AFTER THAT DAMN MUSTACHE! IT'S AN IMPROVEMENT!"

"ATTENTION!" With those words the laughter stopped immediately and all stood rigid while still trying to not laugh at the situation. Captain Hemenez had walked in flanked by Commander Shepard who caught on that something big had just happened judging by the looks of amusement on the crew's faces. Trying to figure out what it was she spotted 1LT Zabaleta from her peripheral vision looking lighter than usual. 'Maybe he finally shaved that damn thing off' she thought when she looked at him. All she could do was gasp and turn away while biting her lip to keep from losing her composure. This did not go unnoticed from the Captain who looked at his XO with a curious expression after examining the rest of the room. That's when he noticed one of his Lieutenants with a change to his normal facial hair style, "What. The hell. Is that Lieutenant?" Zabaleta was a different color of red already from embarrassment so luckily the Captain couldn't tell that he got even redder. He hoped. "IT'S A HITLER MUSTACHE SIR!" One of the crew men at the end of the mess hall shouted in response to his question. "I GOT THAT! What I want to know Zabaleta is why the fuck is it on your face?" The Captain was not one for pranks. "It was Pain and Chaos Sir." Zabaleta replied, however this caused an annoyed face to fall on the Captain, "Lieutenant, you are one of our finest platoon leaders on board. Make no mistake about that, but how in the hell did two children, 6 year old children get the best of you?" Hannah had her arms crossed and with her head in one of her hands at the mention of her children's nicknames. She never understood why they were called that. "Sir, they are surprisingly sneaky, and if I may add also cunning for 6 year olds. Also it hasn't just been me who have fallen victim to their *cough* shenanigans Sir."

"KIDS! GET YOUR ASSES OVER HERE! I KNOW YOU'RE WATCHING!" Hannah called out having already guessed that her children weren't far. "Hey mom", John and Jane said in unison while John eating a banana and Jane eating a bowl of oatmeal. "Kids why did you do this to the Lieutenant?" "He was asleep, so we shaved his face. Jane came up with the Hitler style though." "No I didn't. One of the crewmen did. I overheard someone saying what would it look like if Lieutenant Zabaleta did have one." At this one of the crew shouts "TOTALLY WORTH IT!" causing others to laugh at this. Though when receiving a stare from the Captain, the room once again fell silent. "Children, I understand you are feeling confined and need to let off some steam, however that does not excuse this kind of behavior", while pointing at 1LT Zabaleta. Hannah finally finished by asking her children "anything further to add you two?" Silence. More silence. "I REGRET NOTHING! / IT'S AN IMPROVEMENT!" echoed through the mess hall and as both shouted then ran from their mother. Everyone started laughing and cheering for Pain and Chaos causing Hannah to roll her eyes with a smile while the Captain just held a smile and said "Carry on everyone. Lieutenant, please get rid of that ridiculous thing before the morning brief." With a sigh Zabaleta just nodded and saluted saying "Yes sir" while thinking 'this is war kids. You messed with my mustache and beard.'

2160 Earth – Lawson Estate

Miranda was laying down with her head on her mother's lap. The piano was playing in the corner. Miranda shared her mother's love for the piano as well as the classical works by centuries old composers. What she loved most was times like this where it was just her and her mother. She thought her mother was the most beautiful woman in the world and countless people would attest to that. She hoped to grow up strong and kind and beautiful just like her. As she laid on her lap her mother's scent had seeped its way into her nose. A scent of vanilla, not over powering but enough to tell when in her presence. She loved her mother and wished to spend many more days like this with her.

It had been a few months since that day in the park with the twins. Miranda thought of that day fondly and truly wished to see them again. They were the first children her age that felt like she could understand them and they her. What's more is her thoughts of John, the brother. He had sparked something inside her. Something familiar yet unknown at the same time if that made any sense. She couldn't understand it but that day she felt relaxed and happy. The same she felt with her mother. Both safe and cared for. Miranda tried to think that it was just a strange encounter. Nothing to fret about. However the visions she had would flood her mind when she closed her eyes. After they got home that day, Miranda asked her mother if she could do research on the extranet. When her mother approved, she began looking at entries on past cultures and early societies, using the different landmarks in her vision or dreams to figure out what they were. What she found confused her. Finally hitting a brick wall she thought to ask her mother when time permitted.

Lillian was in the day room working on what looked like a scarf for a child when Miranda approached her. "Mother, I was wondering if I could ask you something?" Lillian looked at her daughter with an almost surprised expression. Even though she was a child Miranda thought like an adult. Showing a broad understanding that most adults didn't possess. When Miranda found a problem she went about her own way to find the answer. So when she asked for help it caught her mother off guard. "Yes dear. Of course you can ask me anything. What's on your mind?" Miranda looked at her mother and asked, "Is there such a thing as past lives? I've been looking up different entries and other related topics on the extranet and keep coming up with maybes. The closest thing I've found to it is the Hindu religion. Is it possible to be reborn though mom?" That question took Lillian by surprise in a completely different way. She hadn't expected a heavy question to come from her 6 year old daughter. But Lillian always believed in being honest with her. "Honestly dear, I do not know. I've never met someone who believes it is. Nor have I heard of someone saying so. Why do you ask Miri? What brought this on?"

Miranda looked at her mother as if comp templating on whether to tell her what she experienced at the park with John. Finally she made up mind and said, "Lately I've been having dreams. They're of me with someone else. I think we were married or something similar. The issue I'm having is that almost every time I'm dreaming, it's me with someone else in a different place. Do you know what it means mom?" Lillian looked down and thought for a moment before asking for more detailed information, "Who was this other person Miranda? Was it a boy or a girl? Also these places, are they all in one place or different altogether? Does it look like the same time?" That last question threw Miranda off a bit. She had never thought about them being different time periods, although when she thought about it again it made sense since you couldn't have a busy Rome in the same time as a busy New York City. "The other person is a boy. Or man really since he and I are adults in every time. That's the other thing is that they are different times. You kind of helped me realize that just now. The places are spread throughout…well everywhere. Rome. Medieval England. Florence, Italy. London, England. An army hospital based in Hawaii. Central Park, New York City, New York. In all of them it's me and him. And I don't even know who 'he' is. What does it all mean?"

Lillian listened to her daughter while picking out every key detail she could. 'Everything she is saying always has her daughter and a boy. Wait that isn't right. Her daughter and a man, not a boy. Meaning she herself is an adult in these dreams. Can they really be called that? Dreams? Or experiences?' That last thought intrigued Lillian more than she thought it would. "Miri, these dreams you are having, when did they start?" She suspected she knew the answer but just to be sure she decided to ask. Miranda looked to be thinking when the first vision or dream had actually happened. Then she remembered, like a light bulb going off in her. "The park! It was when we went to the park and met that family. The one's leaving to go to a colony somewhere. Mindoir I think it was." She thought so. Lillian was always curious about what happened that day when she saw her daughter flying through the air with her biotics intertwining with the boy's. John. That was his name. John Shepard to be exact. 'So THAT'S what it was! That was the reason why the two of them seemed sad when they departed. Because it wasn't the FIRST time they were together or separated! But how can that be? Lives aren't eternal and the closest thing there is to it are the Asari, and even then their lives aren't infinite. So what is it then?'

Before anymore could be said a voice that never really sat well with her came in from the doorway, "Miranda, come here for a moment." Henry Lawson stood at the door staring at his daughter, ignoring the questioning glare he was receiving from his wife. Once upon a time, Lillian had met a man so devoted to humanity and it's ascendance that his vision had captivated her as she had 'captivated him by her beauty' as he had told her. Sometimes she wondered if she ever imagined that altogether. At first things were wonderful and Henry was a smart, devoted man to his work, and at rare times caring towards her. However as time passed he grew less and less like the Henry who had somehow wooed her and more into a man possessed by his work. Into a man who started seeing all other things as objects to fuel his ambition. Even other people. Even her. Often he would talk about 'leaving his mark in history, so that mankind would not forget their family'. She sometimes questioned this, thinking to what ends he would go to ensure his legacy be attained. Today however, would be the day she would find out.

'What are you planning Henry?' Lillian thought as she knew that tone of voice he was using. One he reserved when trying to convince someone to do his bidding. 'He wouldn't use her?...Would he?' "Miranda darling, Daddy has a very important favor to ask you." She felt it. The same feeling she used to get when something was wrong. The kind that made your skin crawl, the hair on the back of your neck stand up, and the chill that ran down your spine. Lillian was no stranger to dangerous people and situations. And her instincts were telling her that, at this moment, she and her daughter were in very real danger. From the man she now once called her husband. "What do you need daddy?" 'Please no' Lillian thought as she heard her daughter ask and saw the same look she'd seen before. The one most men would use to try and manipulate someone. However that was now her daughter being manipulated. "Honey, Daddy needs you to help him with his work. It is very important. So much so that many people are depending on me. But I need your help to do it." Miranda looked at him and asked "What do you need help with daddy? I'll do anything if I can help." Henry smiled at his daughter thinking 'Good girl. You will help secure my legacy. No. My dynasty.' Lillian watched in horror as her husband was manipulating her daughter, HIS daughter into being used to help him pursue his goals. And he got her to SMILE at the idea! When he smiled at Miranda, Lillian looked down. She knew in her heart that her daughter was not safe in this house. Not anymore. She needed to leave. To take her daughter far away from here. "Thank you dearest. With your help we will do great things. No one will get hurt. So long as you help." Her eyes went wide at that Henry's last statement. She looked up slowly, hoping she had misheard that. But no. Lilian had heard correct. Henry was staring at her when he last spoke. "Thank you Miranda. I know you will not let me down", and with that Henry left Miranda with her mother. 'We're trapped…in our own home! By my husband!...damn it!' Lillian had almost broke down crying then and there. Only a single tear fell from her eye. But that tear did not go unnoticed. "Mommy, what's wrong? Why are you crying?" Lillian looked at her daughter who was staring at her. She kneeled on the floor and brought her daughter closer, embracing her in a tight hug. Almost inaudible but enough for Miranda to hear, Lillian whispered "I'm sorry Miranda."

2160 Mindoir – 2 ½ Weeks after Arrival

"John come on! You have to see what I found!" John was slowly getting up from being woken up by Jane. 'Wow he is not a morning person' Jane observed her brother getting out of bed or at least making an attempt at the concept. However he was doing a poor job of this. 'Hmm, must not have slept well. Again. These dreams keep getting to him. Like they're getting worse and more frequent' "Come ON John! Get up! I need to show you something." "Jane…why? Why do I have to get up?" At this John was trying his best to emanate an aura of a demon lord from being woken up. Jane was unaffected by this however. She was his sister after all. She lived to bug the crap out of him and he knew it. "It's a surprise now get up and get dressed. Oh and bring a rain coat. The weather report said it's supposed to rain in a few minutes, and I can already smell the rain coming. Now move it!" As she said that last part, she decided to throw a pillow at John for added measure. Just to be sure he was getting up. Jane raced downstairs as fast as she could into the kitchen to prepare snacks for the both of them, however her mind was on her brother's wellbeing, 'I wonder what he dreams about. Hmm dreams. Right. More like nightmares.' John had started having these nightmares a few weeks ago. Right around the time they first moved into their new home. Her brother was making his way into the kitchen when she spotted him in pair of black pants and a red shirt. 'Black and red. Surprise, surprise' Jane didn't understand his favorite color choices. She was more of a blue and white kind of person. Pure and vast she would say. The vast part had to be explained. Blue reminded her of the sky, so vast and magnificent. But when she asked about his color choice she got a response that was very 'John', "I like black because it's strong and noble 'HUH!' and red because it's the color of passion, the kind that inspires men to do the impossible 'IS HE FOR REAL?!'"

Jane thought her brother was very weird. But she wouldn't have him any other way. She loved her brother very much, so when he started having these nightmares it worried her. This was a first for him. He never did have nightmares before now. "What are you making Sis?" her brother breaking her thought process with an obvious question. All Jane did was look at him and pointed to the bread, jelly, and peanut butter, then followed with another look that said 'Seriously?' "Hahaha yeah dumb question. Sorry. Need any help?" She shook her head while packing up the rest of the food and putting it back in their respective places in the kitchen. "Alright let's go Bro!" They bolted out the door with lunch bags in hand. After several minutes of running, the house was getting further and further away, she heard John ask "So where are we going?" "It's just up ahead" This did nothing but raise an eyebrow from her brother who already had a look that was annoyance. "What's up ahead?" Jane stopped running, indicating they had arrived. What lay before them was a small water fall that fell out into a decent size pond. Certainly big enough for most adults to swim in comfortably. To their left was a wall of trees to keep prying eyes away while to their right was a dense brush with what looked like fruit growing out of it. Jane never did learn about the local fruit, only that it was edible by humans. "Come on there's one more thing." Jane led her brother towards the water fall earning another questioning look from him. What he couldn't see initially was a cave behind the water, a rather large cave, especially considering the size of the fall itself.

"Jane what is all this?" John asked as the made their way into the cave entrance. Further down there was light coming from one of the paths turning left. John couldn't quite figure out what his sister was planning. He knew his sister always had an inventive side to her much like himself, so when he saw what lay on the left path it surprised him but not as much as he thought it would. The path opened up further into an open cave system with more tunnels leading in different directions. Jane somehow already had a table with some chairs, a makeshift work bench with a couple of loose parts laid out on it, a futon 'Where the hell did she get that thing from?', as well as…a refrigerator?! He had to ask on that one. Obviously there was a story there. But not now. Right now, John just soaked in everything surrounding him. The smells, the lighting, the breeze indicating airways present in the rock façade. What stuck out most was the sound. Over the sound of the rushing water, John could hear the obvious sound of a generator. However he couldn't locate one.

"Sis how did you manage to do all this? And where did all this stuff come from? And please don't tell me you stole it, otherwise I'm telling mom." Jane's face said she was insulted at the accusation but he knew her and knew she liked to mess with people. He still was expecting some form of retaliation from Lieutenant Zabaleta for the incident with his beard and mustache. "First and foremost, I am not a thief brother of mine. I am an acquisition enthusiast 'what's with the fake and horrible English accent'. Secondly, what you see before you is my ingenious mind turning mundane materials into the stepping stones of our conquest!" 'First a horrible Queen Elizabeth, now an even worse Joseph Stalin. Please don't do Napoleon next' "And finally my dear brother, you shall address me as 'Commander' when in my presence in this fort of mine, Wee?!" John couldn't help but let out a heavy and obvious sigh as his sister finished up her monologue in a French fashion, or rather a monstrous French fashion. "Jane, you got to work on your acting skills. You still didn't answer how you managed to do all this." "UUUGGHHH fine. I managed to find a few broken items laying around and thought maybe I could fix them up and use them. Make them better than new. As for the cave, which I'm still working on naming, I stumbled on during one of my random outings. Neat right? I think I'll call it the Turtle. I like turtles." SMACK. He couldn't take it. He smacked his hand to his forehead by the silliness of his sister.

"Please don't call it the turtle. If not then at least add something to it. Like Turtle Back or Turtle Shell." "Hey I founded the Turtle so I will name it what I want." To add emphasis on the subject Jane couldn't help but stomp her feet. She was after all only 6 like him. "Hmm fine. So what do you plan on doing with it? Invite all your friends for a sleep over. I'm sure they'd love to spend the night. Maybe even play a game of pet the rat." She looked at him saying "Ha ha there are no rights here, I've checked." John simply pointed to the table which had a small baseball size rodent which looked like a rat, but then it scurried away at the sound of a high pitch squeal when Jane looked over to where her brother was pointing. He had to laugh at his sister's one fear. Out of all the things she could be afraid of, she saw as challenges. But when it came to rodents like that she flipped shit. Like ape shit. He never understood that though he wouldn't question it. He himself didn't like spiders. Generally the bigger ones, not the smaller ones. "It's not funny John! Those things can carry disease. And it's an ALIEN rat so who knows what it carries!" John simply raised his hands up saying he'll stop poking fun at her expense.

After a minute Jane's face got serious. He knew what was coming and had already prepared himself for it. His sister always could tell when something was wrong with him. They were twins after all. "So you had another one last night?" John simply looked down and started opening his lunch bag. "Yeah…they're getting more frequent. And worse." His sister was already eating her sandwich but continued to ask after each mouth full she swallowed "What was it this time? Was the same man there?" John looked at her before saying "Yeah, he was there. Same fancy suit. Same cold eyes. Same fake smile after it was done. And screaming. A girl's scream. One of betrayal. Last night though was something new. I finally got to look at the girl." At this news Jane perked her head up. All the other dreams before there was only the face of the man with cold eyes. Sometimes the crying of an older woman but never her face. So this was definitely new, "Come on! What did the new face look like?!" Jane was practically on the other side of the table from leaning over it waiting for a response. "It looked like that girl. The very pretty one. You remember? Back at the park? It was her. She looked like she was going through hell thought. She was sweating, her face was pale, well more so than when we met her. It looked like she hadn't slept in a while since she had dark rings under her eyes. What looked the most out of place were the needle marks though. There were quite a few, and none of them looked that old. I think she's in trouble Jane. But I don't know why I am dreaming about her."

Jane was looking at her brother with confusion. It's true that he and the other girl at the park had something pass through them when that white and blue light surrounded them, but she couldn't imagine what it was. When she asked her parents what they thought, they were just as confused as she was. Especially when John said he dreamed of different places on Earth, and it was always with a woman that was beyond beautiful. "I don't know John. But I do know that this is not healthy. It's starting to affect your sleep habits. You're barely eating. It's like the energy is being sucked out of you. You got to pull yourself together John. Even if you wanted to help, what can you do? That girl was on Earth. You're literally in a different part of the galaxy now." John looked down and a sad expression came over him. His sister was right. He knew this. But the part of him that wanted to do the right thing was trying to tell him to just go and try. However, again, what could he do? He was a child who, while rather intelligent despite his age along with his biotics, he couldn't just go and hope to help her…her?...'wait what was her name? Something with an M. Mary, no. Michelle, nope. Mira, doesn't sound like it. Miranda…Miranda. That was her name'. 'One day maybe' he thought. He had hoped that day would not be the last time he saw Miranda. But now he was dreaming about her. He didn't know why. Finally he looked at his sister and said, "You're right Jane. Of course you're right. I'll try to get better. But if the dreams continue, that might be difficult. Think you can keep me in shape?" He had a small smile on his face which seemed to relax his sister who walked over to the other side of the table, gave him a hug, and then punched him in the arm earning an "OWW" from him. "Of course I'll help dumb-dumb." They both laugh while John rubbed the spot Jane had just punched with quite a bit of force to 'How the hell can she hit like that?' They both started making their way to the cave entrance and John had to reiterate on one thing before leaving, "I'm still not calling this place the Turtle though." SMACK. "OWW. DAMN SIS!"

A/N: Alright so I decided to post the next chapter just because if I keep from writing this story I'm going to go nuts and end up with future plot points stuck in my head (already happening by the way). Anyway hoped you enjoyed. Of course please review if I can do better or you might want to see something added in the future.