I don't own ME3 or anything, actually. I'm kind of broke. Also, when you get a chance, go read Task Force Hydra by iNf3ctioNZ, and Galaxy At War: N7 by iBayne. They're like this is going to be, but much better written.
I sat in Purgatory, slamming drinks with my back to the crowd. A massive Marine stood next to me, a small smile on his face. "What's your problem, pendejo?" I rolled my eyes.
"Aside from the fact everyone in my squad save one died on Benning, as well as the platoon I was with, and the whole galactic war going on, nothing. My life is fucking peachy. What do you want?" The man's eyebrow rose up and his face clouded.
"Your team died? What ID you with, 3rd? I heard they took a beating." I shook my head.
"I'm Eclipse. Seth Uthar, engineer. I shoot the plasma that makes people fall down. Who're you?" I turned on my stool, getting a better look at him, and dear God he was large.
"Name's James Vega, I'm one of Shepard's ground pounders." I couldn't keep my surprise off my face. "Yeah, I know. It's pretty cool. But that's not why I'm talkin' to you. You said everyone died?" I nodded. "And what did you do?"
"I picked up the biggest gun near me and kept fire on the Cerberus position until the shuttle got there. We were evacuating civilians. Only got one out, with a 96% casualty rate."
"Reports from Benning say it was a 98% rate. Still, that's too many people to lose like that." I shook my head.
"Nah, it's 96%. Some sort of VI error doing the final tally. Only other person who made it out was the asari in my squad. I think she's playing 'How Much Can My Liver Take?' while searching for a night ride, if you know what I mean." Vega chuckled at that. I was starting to like this guy.
"Well, if she's looking for that, I've got some free time….Nah. But, you seem like an alright guy. You said you held off Cerberus, when most would've bailed. You've heard about the N7 Spec Ops squads, right?" I muttered the affirmative.
"One of the guys on the shuttle tried to get me to talk to someone about enlisting. I didn't pay much attention. Too busy figuring out why everyone died."
"Well, now I'm talking to you about it. And I'm much larger than him, and you probably like me more than him. So come on, puto, go see if your asari friend wants to come with us and we'll get you back killing Cerberus and whoever else shows up. You ready?"
Say what you will about the chest thumping moto bullshit, but after a few drinks and a large man shouting at you? It works.
"YEAH! I'm in. But wouldn't I have to qualify for it?" I deflated slightly. "N7 means the best. I'm Eclipse. We throw mechs at problems." Vega shook his head.
"Doesn't matter! Shepard's walking up now, and he's a Spectre. I bet he'll approve it." If you've ever what it was like to shit your pants in awe and fear, this was it. Shepard walked up to Vega, smiling. A dark, powerfully built man with piercing grey eyes. He emitted a calming aura, the kind you couldn't feel unless you were near him. I felt my worries slowly sink to nothing.
"Vega, I knew I'd find you here. Who's your friend? Some soldier who's not gonna remember shore leave, but wake up with some tattoos and married to a quarian?" Vega laughed.
"Not this time, anyway. This is Uthar. He's Eclipse, and I'm thinking you can get him on the N7 squads. He faced down Cerberus alone after his squad died in the city fighting of Benning. Considering he's both Eclipse and an engineer, I think that says something." Shepard nodded slowly, considering.
"You say you did this alone? Did anyone else survive?" I nodded at the legend.
"An asari adept on my squad, Raiel, and a civilian. One other almost made it out but was shot before the shuttle got there. The asari kept the civvy safe in a barrier, so I was the only one who could provide cover." I pounded the rest of my drink at the memory of Danielson's face exploding.
"James, Sigma 12 never reported back from their last mission, correct?"
"Yeah, Loco, we lost contact with them about 12 hours after they landed. No updates, considered KIA, assumed KIA." Shepard's eyes narrowed the smallest bit at the unwelcome bad news.
"Alright, Uthar. If James vouches for you, I'm going to use my mystical Spectre powers-" At this, Shepard began to wave his hands like a ghost,"-and induct you into the N7 squads. Anyone you'd wish to bring with?"
"The asari. Raiel. She's a fantastic adept and surprisingly good with a gun."
"I'll make it so. Report to Dock 16 when you're ready. And you should probably tell the your friend she's heading back into combat. I think she's heading this way." I turned and saw he was correct, Raiel was stomping over with a devilish gleam, and possibly alcohol, in her eyes. "And she's either very annoyed or very happy to see you. I never could tell. However, I've gotta meet my girl. I owe her a dance." With that, he shook our hands and strolled over to the angry looking woman at a table by herself.
"SETHY!" I cringed, and James chuckled.
"I asked you never to call me that. Hell, I paid you not to call me that. What do you want?"
"Was that Shepard? And who is this? And what is N7? And why is your drink empty?" The barrage of questions stunned me, but thankfully, James stepped in.
"Yes, I'm James Vega, N7 is what he's joining up with and possibly you as well, and because he drained his drink." Raiel's eyes widened.
"You're joining the N7 teams? And you want to bring ME? Goddess, what is your problem? I thought you were smarter than this. Why would I want to go back into that shitstorm?" I stared at her.
"To avenge our team and help save the galaxy. As much as I'd like to sit here, drinking heavily, and believe me, I do, we need to help. Go with me now or go later, but promise you'll go." Raiel took a step back, actually shocked.
"You hated Danielson. And Gotak. Why the sudden need to help?"
"Because. The galaxy needs to survive. If it doesn't, guess what, we're all dead. So," I turned to James, "It's been a pleasure, fight well, and if you put any more drinks on my tab I'll kill you." I heard him mutter a quiet curse at his free drink train coming to an end, because he knew I'd caught on. Looking back to Raiel, I hugged her. "I'm going now. See you next time." I turned and left Purgatory, heading for the elevator.
The ride down to the docks always was worse alone.
The elevator chimed as I reached Dock 16. All my gear had been in my hotel, so I had it couriered down to meet me there. A street urchin held up a duffel bag filled with my things, with my name scrawled on the side. Cute. I tossed him 50 credits and patted his head. As I walked toward the door, an Alliance Marine appeared.
"This bay's for N7 Operatives only. Unless you have clearance, I'm going to have to ask you leave, Mister…." I stuck my hand out.
"Uthar. Seth Uthar. My clearance should be coming through from Cmdr. Shepard in a few minutes, if not now." The soldier's eyed ballooned in shock, and his omni-tool pinged. Sure enough, my clearance came through. The man stepped aside, apologizing. "It's no problem, I would've thrown my ass out the second I showed up." He chuckled.
"Wait till you see who else we've got in there. Best of luck, Mr. Uthar." He saluted and went back to his post, opening the door. Beyond that laid the airlock to the SSV Chicago, the ship it seemed I was shipping out on. As the doors slid open, I heard murmured conversations of many different races. As my eyes adjusted, I finally put species to the voices. Asari, batarians, turians, quarians, krogan….And those were just the ones I could see.
This was either going to be very interesting, or very bad. Or possibly both. I never did have the best luck.
Okay, I'm sorry I took so long to get this up, but, I'm lazy and kind of a drunk. First up, thanks to those who read and review, it helps to know people are actually reading this. Second, I made up the name Uthar on the spot, it's not a reference to Galaxy At War: N7's character Uthar, but hey, if it gets me readers, I'll pretend I did. Third, I genuinely have no idea what the characters in the squad will be, I'm still going through ideas(READ: beer) so it may be a bit. Fourth, if you've read my other stories, you know at some point Chicago's going to appear. That's because I love Chicago. Gonna be honest, the only reason I included Vega and Shep is because every time I wrote this before, it came out like a literary abortion. Bar fights, romance, all that shit, turns out? I can't write. Fights, yes, romance, no. So I hope you enjoy the final product. Here's hoping I update faster and don't run out of writer fuel. Enjoy!