N7 Rejects 004: Assembly

Chapter 1 – Love and the outlines

[Year: 2186]
[Location: Communications Room, The Defiant, Skepsis System]

The operatives aboard the Systems Alliance's frigate ship Defiant had gathered in the comms room, all quietly watching the recorded transmission that had been sent to every available Alliance base of operations.

The blue flickering full-body hologram of Admiral Steven Hackett had recapped the latest Reaper movements and outlined the future 'N7 Operations'.

Scott had zoned out with a ridiculous grin on his face before refocusing on Hackett's last words; "These critical and extremely dangerous operations in each region will be priority. Each squad will be given the full details by their commander. I thank each and every one of you for your efforts. Together, we stand a chance. Good luck. Hackett out."

The hologram vanished with a blip and the various teams split off to discuss what they had just heard.

Scott stood between Rebecca and Tessia and wrapped his arms around their shoulders as if posing for a photograph; "Ohh yeeeeeah!"

Releasing them and then striding forward, he turned back towards them; "After all this time, all these trails, we finally made it! N7 baby!"

Rebecca glanced to the floor; "Well, technically, you and I are still at the N3 rank."

"Uh-uuuuhhh," retorted Scott shaking his head, "Hackett said so."

Tessia was enjoying Scott's excitement, but also felt that he likely didn't pay full attention to the wide-spread briefing and was in need of an explanation; "It's a temporary, unofficial, in name-only set of operations due to the galaxy-wide war against an almost unstoppable enemy."

Scott's brow furrowed; "Hey, if 'The Beard' says I'm N7, I'm N7."

Tullius stepped in, crossing his arms; "How else would you explain the likes of vorcha, krogan and even the odd volus, with little to no training or experience, instantly becoming the highest grade in your system's special forces? Tessia and I aren't even part of your military hierarchy and yet have now also been named N7."

Scott placed an index finger from each hand into his ears; "I'm not listening, la-la-la-laaaa!"

Although a shared dream between the two humans, Rebecca took one of Scott's hands and looked into his eyes as he turned; "Hackett said this himself, you just got yourself too giddy to listen to everything. It's alright though, in a way, it still all means something. We deserve this, we've come a long way…"

Scott returned her gaze and, while lost in her green eyes for a couple of fleeting seconds, he understood everything.

There was hope, concern, annoyance, happiness, sadness, and a hint of something that he hadn't truly felt since his childhood days when he loudly screamed out his goals in the Arcturus Station library.

Trying to achieve the true rank of N7 seemed almost meaningless now when the entire galaxy was working together against such an immense threat. The responsibilities, importance, and recognition were now to be shared between everyone who would desire to make a difference. People were fighting, helping, dying…

He was still 'someone' that could make things better, he didn't have to prove himself, he just had to do the best that he could in the time that he had.

Scott nodded and then smiled; "Close enough, right?"

"Yeah," smiled Rebecca.

.***

[Location: Messroom, The Defiant, Kypladon System, Silean Nebula]

"No," stated a dungaree-clad Rebecca waving a metal fork at Scott, "it's not a good idea at all."

Scott was sat across from his teammate in the otherwise empty cafeteria of the Defiant, swallowing the last of a substance that he once described as 'a food not entirely unlike mash potato' from the plate on his tray.

He pouted, sticking his bottom lip out and pulling at the strings of his black hoodie; "But she is so hot and I've never done it with an asari before. I hear it's amazing."

"One," started Rebecca putting the fork down, "although I consider her a friend, she's not exactly the most stable person to form a relationship with, it's probably quite dangerous."

"I'm not after a relationship, I just wanna do that sexy mind-meldy thing with her."

"Two, you're a pleasure-obsessed jerk," Rebecca inserted into her Dodson-like dialogue after hearing that, "and three, the entire galaxy is at war, it's not wise to complicate things with your own teammates… I should know."

Scott's eyes widened in realisation and Rebecca suddenly wished that she hadn't added those last few words in the heat of the moment. She was normally exceptional at hiding her own feelings, but this particular exchange let her mask slip.

Her mind raced, he was bound to start asking questions, should she confess the true feelings that she had been holding onto for so many years, or should she heed her own advice and deflect the statement in some way?

She could see it in his eyes, he knew her feelings about him now, and there was little way she could get out of this without revealing everything.

The man stood up and pointed at her with a gasp; "You fancy Tess too!"

Rebecca had to slam both of her hands on the table to steady herself as her sudden surprise at his denseness almost made her fall off her chair; "I do not!"

"I know asari aren't technically either female or male, but I didn't think 'bout you going after her as well," considered Scott seriously, staring off into space, "I should have know when you agreed about how attractive she was when we first met her."

Rebecca turned a bright shade of red as a particular image entered her mind; "I, I don't fancy Tess!"

Scott then jumped to the only other 'obvious' conclusion, hands clenched together in concern; "Tu- Tullius?! But humans can't get with turians!"

This time Rebecca's forehead hit the table surface as another image popped into her head; "Bah-lala-de-gah!"

"The truth has broken Becky's brain," commented Scott, "she must have fallen for him after hearing him talk so much, all girls melt when hearing the voice of a turian."

There was a pause in their 'comic routine' as something completely different entered Rebecca's mind. She didn't really want to use it as a distraction from her secret, but it would highlight the point she was originally making.

"Connor," muttered the young woman as she slowly raised her head.

Scott was suddenly quiet.

"I spoke with Takako this morning," said Rebecca dejectedly, recalling her video-call to the Rio de Janeiro base on Earth, "she's… getting worse… she's really changed."

"Bex…"

Rebecca laughed at the tears abruptly welling up in her eyes; "This is so silly. We're at war, and I just, I just don't want any of us to die. Why… why can't…"

"Takako is alive because of Connor," replied Scott, walking around to put a hand on her shoulder as she sat rubbing her eyes, "Conn saw a chance to save her and made his decision. If he knew it was gonna lead to his death, he still would have done it, he followed his heart. Yeah, love or simple attraction can make things complicated or hurtful on the field, but sometimes, especially with what's happening right now, it can be a comfort and make you stronger."

Rebecca's wiped away her tears and a surge of confidence sprung up inside her at his surprising words; "Scott, I need to tell you something…"

"Hmm?" pondered Scott looking down to her.

"I…"

The doors to the cafeteria opened and Tessia walked in, wearing her full combat gear; "Hey guys!"

The asari's entrance instantly quelled Rebecca's plan, but the following doubt and paranoia in her mind caused her to actually feel glad that she was interrupted.

Scott's warm hand left his fellow human's shoulder as he ran it through his own short blond hair and flashed a smile; "Hey there, how you doing?"

Tessia bounced over to them with a quick jog and a hop like an excited child; "Come on, get suited up and come to the hanger, we have a super important mission!"

"Sure thing blue," smiled Scott.

"Great!" cheered Tessia with enthusiasm for the assignment, "See you there!"

As the asari skipped off, Scott began to slowly walk after her, but then paused and turned back around on the spot as he remembered something; "Wait, Bex, what were you gonna say?"

The young woman stood up from her chair, her hands in the pockets of her dungarees to nervously fondle some loose washers, screws and bolts; "Ah, nothing, it doesn't matter."

"Narh, come on," attempted Scott curiously.

"I'll tell you after the mission," said Rebecca, knowing in her own mind that she was unlikely to do so and hoping that it would be a forgotten topic by the time they got back.

Scott, believing that it was completely in connection with her worry over the possible deaths of her teammates, simply gave her the thumbs up and added; "No worries, we'll all be fine, let's go."

.***

The two humans were now in their combat armour, sans helmets, while they listened to Tullius outline the current mission.

The turian's voice echoed around the hanger; "I've been briefed by commander Whitehall personally. This mission is of utmost importance and will undoubtedly be extremely dangerous…"

During this introduction, Scott sat on a nearby crate and gained Rebecca's attention with a cough. She quietly watched as he nodded to her and then to Tullius before waggling his eyebrows and sticking his tongue out suggestively in reference to their earlier conversation.

Rebecca simply replied with an unimpressed glare and a subtly raised middle finger, much to Scott's amusement.

"Lawton," said Tullius in a plain tone.

Scott froze for a second and then looked over to his squad leader; "Err, um, yes?"

The human suddenly felt like he was back in school, getting caught out by the teacher during the beginnings of a prank.

"Problem?" asked the leader, not hinting to any type of emotion.

"N-No sir, just, um, admiring your voice."

Tessia giggled while Rebecca simply cringed for Scott's sake.

"Well then," replied the turian, "you'll be happy to know that if we require to split-up during the mission, you'll be with me and hearing my voice a lot more often."

Tessia held her hand up to confirm her understanding; "To balance the biotic and technical abilities across the two groups, right?"

"That," answered Tullius, "and the fact that Lawton is a pain in the ass and needs his hand holding."

"Oooo, you got told off," teased Rebecca, amused at Tullius' reply.

The turian shot her a look that spent a shiver down her spine.

The young woman glanced back down to the floor; "Sorry, I don't normally blurt things out like that."

"I know…" sighed the team leader glancing to Scott, the prime suspect for a bad influence in the group, "anyway, moving on."

As Tullius raised his arm to tap a command on his omni-tool, the three others activated their own tools, knowing that they would be receiving a mission statement.

The data burst contained small profiles and images of an Alliance Team none of them recognized, along with various maps, coordinates, and interface information.

"They're commonly known as the Retrieval Squad," explained Tullius, "two soldiers and two engineers that excel in recovering enemy data and artefacts."

"Whaaaattt?" frowned Scott, "They can't be that good, they haven't even got one infiltrator on their team."

Rebecca had already speed-read ahead after expanding the squad's mission history; "Seems they don't need one. The two soldiers are at the top of their field and use brute force to get what they want while receiving tactical and tech support from the other two."

"They have reclaimed many stolen assets," added Tullius, "and appropriated new weapon systems that have been added to our arsenal for the war cause. Just recently they even discovered intel suggesting that the collectors weren't completely destroyed and will soon be making a return from dark space."

"Whoa, the collectors," responded Tessia, clearly eager in the knowledge that one day she could possibly face off against such a 'mythical' enemy.

"We… found out…" Scott paused for a second trying to remember any recent achievements, "about project Phoenix!"

"And blew up the base," added Tessia.

"And blew up the base," repeated Scott proudly.

"You weren't supposed to blow up the base," grumbled Tullius.

"Ahh, details," said Scott closing his eyes and waving his hand to dismiss the comment.

"If I may proceed with the briefing?" the turian asked, looking to each of his three teammates.

"Proceed," said Scott with a put-on royal voice, as if granting his leader permission to carry on.

Rebecca cringed again at Scott's insolence, but it seemed as though Tullius allowed it.

"Retrieval Squad were sent on a mission to planet Cyone to investigate reports of a strange alien artefact," Tullius informed, "apparently they found it, but they also discovered a heavy amount of geth activity in the area. Command then lost contact with the team... Our mission is to investigate what happened and, if possible, bring back the squad and the artefact. Any questions?"

"So…" started Scott with a smirk, "we're going in, to retrieve the Retrieval Squad?"

"Yes," replied Tullius plainly, ignoring the human's amusement.

"Isn't Cyone an asari planet?" asked Rebecca.

"Oh! Really?!" exclaimed Scott quickly looking through data on his omni-tool.

Tessia answered this one and added her own question; "Yes, and the task forces are quite proud of their ability to constantly repel invading forces. How did all these geth get past them?"

Tullius remembered reading up on various other reports concerning the planet; "From what I can gather, they have had their hands full defending various key locations scattered far away from our drop zone."

Scott shrugged; "Ahh, it'd be too easy if we had help from the locals anyway."

"I wouldn't mind some ease for a change," sighed Rebecca.

Tessia rotated her right wrist and then clenched her fist; "I'd enjoy a challenge."

"Feh," chuckled Scott, "it'll be a walk in the park, we're N7, we're pro."

"Hi guys," called out a figure now stood next to Scott.

"Yaaarrrhhh!" cried out Scott in surprise, falling off the crate he was sat on, "How'd you sneak up on me?"

"So pro," teased Tessia who then waved to the figure, "hi Kevin."

Kevin, one of the drop-shuttle pilots, waved back to Tessia and then helped Scott up off the ground; "Looks like I'm with you guys again. It's an extraction mission right?"

"Yes," replied Tullius, "we'll be relying on you for one of your well-known quick evacs once we have secured the objective."

The pilot held a thumb up against his chest; "I'll do my best sir, don't you worry, I'll get you out of there when the time comes."

"Good to hear," said Tullius closing his omni-tool, "let's get to it then."

.***