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AN: Check one, check two...hello? Is this thing working? Hello? Hello! He-oh look that, it is working. No need to worry about that little thing from a minute ago everyone, just some technical details over here that are the result of a small irritating bug (a bug by the name of Deadpool, don't ask), but you don't want to hear me gripe about that, or how my plans for a certain bit of pest control (hint, hint), no, you all want to see what happens next in this story for the First Avenger's adventure in the Mass Effect universe. We'll be seeing first encounters galore this time around, hence the title of the chapter, and this will also be the point where things really start to get kicked off for the main adventure, so sit back enjoy, and if you need me after the disclaimer, I'll just be preparing a few traps, repellents, and various other extermination tools, that just happen to make really big explosions and are geared toward dealing with a certain mercenary that came out of Weapon X.
I do not own anything from any of either of the MARVEL or Mass Effect franchises or any other franchise mentioned in this story.
Chapter 2: Encounters
As they were traveling to the Cerberus facility where Steve would meet with the Illusive Man, Miranda and Jacob took the time to ask the captain a few questions to make sure that he was still himself in body and mind. Jacob had tried to insist that there was really no need to carry out the tests, but Miranda felt that it was best for them to be sure that Captain America was still himself in every aspect, so Jacob had to concede and ask Steve the questions that would test how strong Steve was psychologically. The questions mainly referred to Steve's personal history, such as notable points on his service record from World War II and his time leading the Howling Commandos, but they did not stop there, as they eventually asked him about more recent matters, or at least, what Steve would consider to be more recent. These questions inquired about things that Steve remembered from his time in the Twenty First Century, which the two Cerberus operatives explained had become better known as the Age of Marvels, and it really highlighted a few matters such as the moment that Steve met and joined the Avengers, his encounters with some of the other heroes of that time, and some of the major events that took place during the time, like the Civil War and the Phoenix Five Incident. In all honesty, talking about some of those points in history ended up bringing back some memories that Captain America was not too fond of, but he still did his best to answer the questions as honestly as he could without letting his feelings on the events show. When they finally finished, Steve saw that they still had a reasonable amount of time and asked that they give him an update on the more recent events in history.
Miranda happily handed Steve a data pad to look over that contained everything about galactic history that Steve would need to know, and after looking over a few different sections, Steve could honestly say that he was rather shocked at what he discovered. In the year 2148, humanity had discovered ancient, alien ruins on Mars that led them to expand further out into the galaxy, and eventually become part of a larger galactic community, which was often referred to as Citadel Space, but it was not until after an event known as the First Contact War. It was mostly thanks to aid from the Kree and the Shi'ar Empire that humanity was able to survive the conflict, but from that point on though, it seemed that everything had become like something that would be considered science fiction even in the Twenty First Century. One would think that with such a mindset, Steve would find something that he could laugh about a little, but what he found instead just made him quite upset. It seemed that the larger galaxy had more problems than Earth ever had during the Twenty First Century, whether it be the use of the genophage to stop the Krogan Rebellions, the fact that the Quarians were not allowed an embassy on the Citadel simply because they had created the Geth, or even how they had handled the threat of the Rachni. The worst of it though seemed to be in how the Citadel races and a good number of other races seemed to regard humanity, who had brought all their individual governments together to form the Systems Alliance after the discovery on Mars, as it seemed that many races in the galaxy regarded humanity as nothing more than bullies or children trying to reach further than they should.
At least that was the case until he read about what had happened three years ago, in the year of 2183. This particular moment in history caught Steve's eye because it seemed to highlight the efforts of Commander John Shepard and his becoming the first human member of the Citadel Spectres, a special tasks group that handled a lot of the hard, and sometimes dirty work of the Citadel Council. Reading about the Spectres quickly made Steve think of a larger, intergalactic version of SHIELD, but that was something he only noted in passing, as he was more focused on the story of Shepard's first mission as a Spectre. Everything from how Shepard was constantly pursuing the rogue Spectre agent, Saren, to his encounter and subsequent releasing of the last Rachni queen, the incident on Virmire where Shepard was forced to leave one of his squad members behind in order to destroy a dangerous facility of Saren's, right up to the final battle that nearly destroyed the Citadel. In all honesty, if what he had read here was any indication, Steve could see a bit of the reason why Jacob had compared him to Shepard, but the thing that really caught his attention was the information about a race of sentient machines known as the Reapers.
To say he was disturbed by what he read about all that had been discovered by Shepard and his team in regard to the race of massive, mechanical beings would be to put it mildly, as Steve could hardly believe that such beings could exist for the sole purpose of wiping out all intelligent life in the galaxy every fifty thousand years, and yet, the evidence was there, plain as day, and not just because of how Saren's ship was actually a Reaper itself. As a result, Steve had to breathe a small sigh of relief when he read about how Shepard had managed to destroy the Reaper known as Sovereign, which lead to humanity receiving a seat on the Citadel Council. When he read about how the Normandy and Shepard had been destroyed a month later, Steve had to say a small, silent prayer for the loss of someone who was clearly such a good man.
When he had finished reading the material Miranda had provided, his first question was on whether or not it was entirely accurate, as Jacob had told him that Cerberus was considered to be a pro-human splinter group by the Alliance. The lovely Cerberus operative easily replied that Steve could check the information against another source at some point later on if he wanted to, to which Steve nodded before settling back in his seat to spend the rest of the trip in relative silence. He did not have to wait long though, as they finally arrived at their destination just minutes after he had finished his review of the information. Once they were off the shuttle and in what would be considered a lounge area, Miranda gestured to an open door and said, "The Illusive Man is waiting for you in the room just over there, Captain."
Steve just nodded in reply to Miranda's short statement as the woman moved off to the side to do some work on a computer while Jacob just walked over to one of the windows to stare off into space for a while, figuratively and literally, leaving Steve to make his way to the room where he was to meet with Cerberus's leader. A short walk and a small flight of stairs later saw Steve entering a dimly lit, empty room with a circular platform in the center of it. Confused at this sight, Steve slowly entered the room until he was standing on top of the platform, which suddenly came online with a small hum as soon as he was in the middle of it. A second later, a holographic cylinder rose up around him, while what appeared to be a scanner ran over his body, until the room suddenly seemed to fade into the background as is surroundings changed to another, barely lit room that had a large window or screen of some type that was displaying a very close-up image of a star on it. Sitting in front of the image, smoking a cigarette, was a man with grey hair, steel-blue eyes that Steve could swear were likely prosthetic, given their appearance, and dressed in a black suit.
"Steven Rogers, the mighty Captain America," the man greeted in mostly suppressed awe.
"The Illusive Man, I presume," Steve asked as he crossed his arms, getting a nod from the man in reply. "I was under the impression that we would be meeting in person."
"A necessary precaution," the Illusive Man stated. "Not unusual for people who know what I know, as I'm sure you know from time spent with one Nick Fury of SHIELD."
"Fury may have been the greatest skeptic I've ever known, and willing to go to extreme lengths to defend the world, but I knew I could trust him. You, I'm not so sure about, even if you did bring me back to full health," Steve quickly retorted.
"Fair enough, but you need to put your personal feelings aside for the moment. Humanity is up against the greatest threat of our bleak existence since the likes of Thanos, the Skrull, Ultron, and the Phoenix Force," the Illusive Man then revealed.
"You mean these Reapers that I've heard about," Steve asked.
"Correct."
"What exactly are they doing that made you decide to bring me back after you failed in bringing back Commander Shepard?"
The Illusive Man tensed a little at the reminder of how they had failed to save Shepard, but he quickly brushed it off as he stood up and approached the holographic image of the legendary captain that he was seeing from his end of the conversation and explained the situation to Steve. "We're at war," the Illusive Man revealed. "No one wants to admit, but humanity is under attack. Much has happened while you've been sleeping, Captain, as I'm sure you're already aware, but most recently, entire human colonies have been disappearing. We believe it's someone working with the Reapers, just as Saren and the Geth aided Sovereign. You've seen similar things to this and bested all of it, and that's just one reason we chose you as Shepard's replacement."
Steve was not sure how to feel about being called a replacement, but he knew that nothing the Illusive Man said about him made him feel flattered. He managed to shake it off though and get back to the matter at hand by inquiring a bit further into the topic at hand. "Why is your organization involved in this?"
"We're committed to the advancement and preservation of humanity, Captain," the Illusive Man easily replied. "If the Reapers are targeting us, trying to wipe us out, Cerberus will stop them, but if we wait for politicians or the Alliance to act, no more human colonies will be left."
"From what I've read, the Reaper known as Sovereign had tried to harvest all life in the galaxy, so why would the Reapers only target a few human colonies," Steve pointed out.
"Hundreds of thousands of colonists have vanished. I'd say that fits the definition of harvesting," the Illusive Man lightly snarled. "Nobody's paying attention because its random, and the attacks occur in remote locations. I don't know why they've suddenly targeted humanity, but maybe Shepard got their attention when he killed one of them."
In all honesty, that did make some form of sense to Steve, considering that he had read that the Reapers were supposed to be nearly unstoppable, and considering what he read about what it took to defeat Sovereign, he would believe such a thing. "If this is a threat against humanity, then you should alert the Alliance. Have them mobilize their forces or request that they send out the Avengers," Steve advised.
The Illusive Man had to give a dry chuckle in response to this before he said, "The Alliance suffered substantial losses fighting Sovereign. They're rebuilding, still stretched too thin to waste resources verifying the Reaper threat. Blaming the abductions on mercs and pirates is easier, and move convenient for them. As for the Avengers, they haven't been around since the end of the Age of Marvels. In fact, aside from you, there's really only one other Avenger who's even still alive today, fighting the good fight. They're ancient history, the stuff you find in museums, and even if we requested the aid of the X-Men, it would be no different than asking for help from the Alliance."
"Why's that," Steve asked.
"Because you'll be pleased to hear that Charles Xavier's dream for peace between humans and mutants was finally realized, and as a result, all teams of mutant heroes were brought together as one large team of X-Men to serve as peace-keepers and soldiers in the Alliance. Both options are only if a mutant wishes to do so, but no one is trying to lock up or force a mutant to register anymore. You could say that the X-Men followed yours and Stark's lead when you started your Avengers World Initiative."
Steve was happy to hear that Professor X's dream for mutant kind was finally realized, but it was also disheartening that Charles was unable to see it be achieved. The only thing that was more disheartening was the fact that the Avengers did not exist anymore, as Steve was sure that the team's descendants or any of the younger heroes from the Age of Marvels would try to carry on the legacy for a while, at least. He cast these sad feelings aside for the moment, deciding to feel depressed about it later when there was not some important matter to attend to, and then brought his attention back to his enigmatic host. "You could've trained an entire army, or even revived the Avengers for what you spent trying to bring back Shepard and then bringing me back," Steve told the Illusive Man, though he had a strong hunch that the Cerberus leader would have a counterargument for that point too.
"You and Shepard are both unique, each in your own ways," the Illusive Man pointed out, proving Cap's suspicions true. "Not just in abilities or what you've experienced, but in what you both have come to represent. Shepard stood for humanity in a key moment, and you've fought for what you believe in at every turn, no matter what stood in your way or who opposed you. You're more than a soldier, Rogers, more than a hero even; you're a symbol and the same goes for Shepard. I don't know if the Reapers understand fear, but Shepard killed one of them, and you've defeated the likes of Thanos, a titan with near-godlike powers, and the Phoenix Force, a cosmic entity that holds the power of destruction and rebirth. They have to respect things like that."
Steve would not deny the man had a point in that regard, even if it were not for the fact that he did not defeat Thanos or the Phoenix Force on his own, and it could also be argued that he technically did not defeat the Phoenix, but such facts were not important in this case, so there was really only one thing he could say at that point. "If what you're telling me is true, and the Reapers are behind all of this, I would consider helping you, but like I said before, I can't say for certain that I can trust you."
"I'd be disappointed if you accepted any of this without seeing it for yourself," the Illusive Man smirked, almost in a way like he had just won an important game. "I have a shuttle ready to take you to Freedom's Progress, the latest colony to be abducted. Miranda and Jacob will brief you."
Now the captain had a bit of a problem. "Miranda killed Wilson in cold blood, and Jacob's just a gun for hire. Do you really expect me to trust people like that so easily," Steve demanded.
Once again, the Illusive Man had something to say in favor of his decision, and explained, "Wilson was one of my best agents, but he was a traitor. Miranda did exactly what I would've expected of her, and she saved your life in more ways than one. Jacob's a soldier, one of the best. He never fully trusted me, but he's always been honest about it. You'll be just fine with them for now."
Seeing that he was not going to win any argument he had with the man, Steve just gave a quiet sigh and moved on to a more important question, asking, "What do you think we'll find on Freedom's Progress?"
"If I knew that, I wouldn't need to send you," the Illusive Man replied. "Find any clues you can. Who's abducting the colonies, and do they have any connection to the Reapers? I brought you back, Captain Rogers, but it's up to you to do the rest."
With that, the Illusive Man closed the connection, and the holographic barrier around Steve sank back into the floor, just as he turned to leave the room and meet back up with Jacob and Miranda so that they could head out on their new mission.
Miranda was not entirely sure how long she had been filing her reports on the computer, but it was clearly long enough for Captain America's meeting with the Illusive Man to have completed, as the minute she paused to take a small break, she looked up to see the star spangled hero coming through the door. She was already well aware of the mission to Freedom's Progress, as was Jacob, so she told Steve as politely as she could that there was no need for him to tell them any of the details he had been told already, and then turned back to her computer so she could file a few more reports before their departure, and before she would move to help Jacob with one other matter as well in regards to the captain.
"Before we go anywhere, we should get you situated with some new armor and weapons," Jacob told Steve. "Don't get me wrong, the shield is incredible, but you can't use it for everything."
"And what's wrong with my uniform that makes it so I suddenly can't wear it into battle," Steve inquired in an indignant tone.
"Aside from the fact that its seriously outdated with the colors alone," Miranda asked, rhetorically. "It won't be able to keep you safe from a lot of modern day weapons and environments, so unless any part of it can help you to survive in a place with no breathable atmosphere, or just no atmosphere at all, I'd suggest you let Jacob outfit you with some armor."
Jacob threw Miranda a small look for her rudeness before he turned back to Steve and said, "Don't sweat it, Cap. We've had a custom set of armor made just for you, right down to the stars and stripes. We just need to check to make sure it fits properly. We should also get you outfitted with an omni-tool as well, since you'll need one if you want to hack an electronically locked door or keep up with your credits."
Steve just nodded in understanding as Jacob led him over to a small locker that was on the other side of the room, and watched as the man opened it up to reveal a set of armor that was almost exactly like his current suit, save for the fact that he could tell that it was more armored than his suit, given the slight amount of shine it gave off in a certain light, and the belt was a dark brown that was clearly more suited for carrying the weapons of this century. Jacob then went on to explain that the weapons harness was designed to allow him to carry his shield on his back without getting in the way of the weapons he would carry there, a fact that Steve was very grateful for, and also added that it was also equipped with shields that acted as added protection from enemy fire. After a few minutes of trial and error, they were happy to see that Captain America's new armor fit him perfectly, which left only the weapons that he would be carrying. Steve insisted that he would be better off with just a pistol, but Jacob argued that it would be better to carry more than one weapon in case he found himself in a situation where he ran out of ammo and thermal clips for the particular gun, so he ended up taking an M-8 Avenger assault rifle and an M-23 Katana shotgun in addition to the M-3 Predator Pistol he had already been carrying since he woke up on the Lazarus Project station.
As Jacob was double checking everything about Steve's armor and weapons just to be sure everything was in perfect order, Miranda decided to speak up once again, and said, "The Illusive Man seems very impressed with you, Rogers. I'm eager to see if you can live up to his expectations."
Steve had to narrow his eyes a little in irritation at the woman's attitude, but managed to keep a cool head as he asked, "I hope that won't make it hard for you to follow orders, Miss Lawson."
"I know who I report to," Miranda lightly snapped. "As long as you don't do anything to betray Cerberus, I'll follow your orders."
Steve was more than ready to start chewing her out once again, but decided that it was not worth it, so instead he figured he would try a different approach with Miranda by at least trying to get to know her a little. He figured that if he established some kind of sign that there was not any bad blood between them at the moment, it might make her a little easier to deal with. "I never did get a chance to thank you for what you did for me, so thanks," Steve said, not noticing how Jacob quirked an eyebrow at him from where he was working on the assault rifle Steve would use.
"I just hope it was worth it. A lot of people lost their lives on that station," Miranda replied as she finally turned from her computer to face Steve.
"That won't be a problem for the mission will it, Miranda? We're going to need to work together if we're going to get anything done, after all," Steve reminded her.
"I have the utmost respect for your abilities, Captain. It's your motivations that concern me," Miranda revealed. "I believe in what Cerberus stands for, but only time will tell if you'll be an asset or a liability to our cause."
"Fair enough," Steve shrugged in reply as he accepted his rifle from Jacob at last with a nod. "But can you tell me anymore about the Lazarus Project? You were in charge of it after all."
"I wasn't in charge, the Illusive Man was," Miranda quickly clarified. "If I was running the show, I would've done a few things differently."
"Such as," Steve prompted.
"Well to start, I would've implanted you with some kind of control chip, but the Illusive Man wouldn't allow it. He was afraid it might affect your personality, alter your character somehow. He wouldn't let us do anything that might limit your potential in any way," Miranda revealed, and there was no possible way that anyone could have missed the slight sneer she had when she mentioned how the Illusive Man did not want her to do something that could compromise who Steve was.
"Considering what I fought for, I'm actually glad to hear that I wasn't brought back with a leash like that on me," Steve remarked.
"Maybe, but the Illusive Man is taking an incredible risk with you, Rogers, probably an even greater one than he would have taken with Commander Shepard," Miranda pointed out.
Steve could tell that the subject was getting a little too touchy for Miranda, so he elected to change tactics and asked, "Why don't you tell me a little about yourself, Miranda?"
"Worried about my qualifications," Miranda asked as her lips turned up in a small smirk. "I can crush a mech with my biotics or shoot its head off at a hundred yards. Take your pick."
"I was actually hoping to learn something about you as a person, not what's on your resume," Steve clarified.
"I'm not looking for a friend, Captain. Stay focused on the mission," Miranda scoffed.
Jacob quickly put a hand on Steve's shoulder before the super soldier could say anything in reply, and from the look that the black man was giving him, Steve could tell that Jacob was giving him a silent message to just drop it for now. Figuring that since Jacob obviously knew Miranda better than he did, Steve nodded in response and holstered the last of his new weapons onto his belt before sliding his shield onto his back and grabbing his helmet as he headed towards the airlock that would lead them back to the shuttle. Just as he reached the door, he looked back to the two one last time and said, "Well if you two don't have anything more to say or do here, we'd best get moving. We've got a mission to carry out."
The two both nodded in response to this and immediately went over to the weapons locker to retrieve their own equipment before joining the captain in boarding the shuttle, each clearly sending a silent message to one and other about how they could all tell that this mission was going to be very interesting to say the least, and not just because of what the assignment was.
After a few hours of flying through Space, the three's shuttle was finally getting close to their destination, Miranda decided that they might as well see if their mission leader had any last minute questions before they landed or early commands to give. "We should be there shortly, Captain," Miranda informed Steve, getting his attention. "The Illusive Man has put us under your command, so do you have any orders?"
Admittedly, Steve knew that Miranda meant to ask if there was anything he wanted to know before they landed, but he was a little annoyed with how she did not actually voice that part of her question aloud. Then again, there was no real reason to be upset by such a thing, so he simply buried any annoyance he felt towards the woman and decided to get down to business. "Is there anything either of you can tell me about this colony?"
"Freedom's Progress is just your typical settlement in the Terminus," Miranda stated. "They had a small military force for protection supplemented by mechs and security drones. Average in almost every way, really. Completely unremarkable until the disappearance."
"And any thoughts on what we might find there," Steve asked.
"Unless something changes, a bunch of empty buildings and a hell of a giant mystery," Jacob replied, clearly stating in his tone that he was hoping that wouldn't be the case but he was not feeling very optimistic on the matter.
Steve nodded in understanding of that, as he knew what it was like to hate when things got repetitive with that kind of matter, and he then moved on to ask a bit more about whatever past investigations they might have made. "What did you find at the other colonies?"
"Nothing," Jacob replied in shame. "No signs of attack, no corpses, not even a trace of unusual genetic material to give us a clue. They just disappeared…and we've got no target to go after."
"So what makes you think we'll find anything new when we investigate this colony," Steve inquired.
"At other colonies, official investigators got there first," Jacob revealed. "Sometimes even looters or salvage teams as well. We're hoping to be the first ones there this time."
"Which means we'll have an easier time finding clues before anyone else disturbs the scene," Steve finished. Seeing both of his companions nod in affirmative served as all the prompting that Steve needed to move on to his first actual order. "Our first priority is to look for survivors."
"That's unlikely, Captain," Miranda argued. "No one was left at the other colonies. They were completely deserted."
"But it would be nice to find somebody. Anything's better than another ghost town," Jacob pointed out.
"And it would also mean that there would be a potential witness who could tell us what had happened," Steve added on to the point. "They might be a little traumatized depending on what had happened, but a traumatized witness is better than no witness at all." He then paused for a minute, seeing that they were about to land, and then decided to ask one last thing. "Are you two sure you'll be okay taking orders from an old fossil like me?"
"We didn't bring you back to second guess you, Cap. If the Illusive Man says you're in charge, you're in charge," Jacob stated as simply as possible, and a small glance in Miranda's direction quickly told Steve that she felt the same way, though he could see that it was with a bit more reluctance on the matter. Still, the fact that they were more than willing to follow his lead, whether it be begrudgingly or otherwise, was good enough for the World War II veteran and former Avenger, so Steve simply nodded in acceptance of that and stood up to climb out of the shuttle when it finally reached the surface.
For the most part, Freedom's Progress seemed to be covered in the darkness of night, assuming the colony experienced any daylight at all, aside from the few areas that were brightly lit up by powerful lights along the walls of the structures that were settled upon it, and the holographic lock of the nearby door, and the surface that the team stood on was a bit reminiscent of the ground on Earth's moon. Thankfully, there was a breathable atmosphere, so they did not really need helmets or oxygen masks, but Steve still wore his anyways, partially because he would have felt strange without it on, and also because the helmet's visor and oxygen mask could be retracted into the helmet when they were not needed. After taking a final glance at their immediate surroundings, Steve moved his shield to his left arm, and then signaled for Jacob and Miranda to move towards the nearby building with him.
A simple tap on the holographic image that opened the door admitted the team to the inside, where the lights flickered on and revealed what appeared to be an empty living space, where they could see some dinner plates and silverware lying on the table, giving them the impression that whoever was living there had simply got up and left in the middle of a meal. Deciding that it was not really all that important to think about at the moment, Steve simply led the group through the rest of the small building and out the opposite door to what appeared to be a massive courtyard, which seemed just as empty as the building they had just left. Aside from being as empty as the landing zone and the building they had just came out of, there was one thing about the large area that quickly grabbed everyone's attention.
"Strange…no bodies, no structural damage…no signs of battle," Miranda studied aloud for everyone, a point that was very clear, as none of them could see even the slightest hint of something that would indicate a typical attack, even on a remote colony like this one. Making a note of that for their report later, the team moved on to the large gate before them, but upon opening it, Steve picked up on a sign of an enemy preparing to fire on them, and immediately tossed his shield at the source of the attempted attack. The metal disk quickly sailed through the air, and sliced through a mech that was on the other side of a large chasm between their path and a building on the other side before it bounced off the wall and slashed through another one just as it fired off a few of shots that either missed everyone in the group or were simply shrugged off by their personal shields. Steve then used the specialized magnets in the arms of his armor to help him ensure that his trusty shield returned to his arm, and found himself smiling in satisfaction when the vibranium disk latched back onto his arm with a clunk.
"The defense systems were disabled at the other colonies," Miranda muttered aloud, but before she could continue her thought, she was immediately joining the two men in the group in ducking for cover as they came under fire from another group of mechs that were firing on them from the raised platform to their right. Seeing a FENRIS racing towards them, Miranda immediately reacted on instinct and threw out a biotic Slam that crushed the machine in an instant, leaving the LOKI mechs for Steve and Jacob to take down with a few quick shots from their respective weapons.
"It seems like we don't have a lot of luck with those mechs, do we," Steve lightly joked after holstering his pistol. It was mostly to ease the tension that the two were probably experiencing at this point, but a part of him did admit that it was because he was missing the jokes and quips that some heroes would throw out in instants like this right at the moment, particularly those of Spider-Man's as he always seemed to have a way to lighten the mood a little with his usually calm, and cheerful attitude.
Jacob had to smirk in response to Cap's humor, while Miranda just gave an unnoticeable smirk before the former commented, "Those mechs shouldn't have been hostile. They should've recognized us as human."
"Someone must've reprogrammed them to attack on sight; we're not alone here," Miranda reasoned. Such reasoning did make sense as the group continued to move forward onto the platform the machines had been firing from and the building it connected to, but none of them expected to encounter their fellow visitors the minute they stepped into the building.
"Stop right there," a man in a small squadron shouted as he and his comrades raised their assault rifles at the three, prompting Miranda and Jacob to raise their own weapons in response while Steve brought his shield in front of him in a manner that showed he was ready to either attack or defend at a moment's notice. Upon looking over the people standing opposite of them, Steve was quickly able to recognize them as members of the Quarian race from their elaborate survival suits and heavily tinted helmets, having seen an image of a typical Quarian in the files he had read during the trip to his meeting with the Illusive Man.
It seemed that they were going to fall into a fire fight with the Quarians when a female member of the group suddenly rushed forward to stand between the groups. "Prazza, you said you'd let me handle this," the woman stated, and from her voice, Steve could tell that she was likely very young. Probably just about the same age that he figured Spider-Man was when he first met the young web-swinger.
"I'm not taking any chances with Cerberus operatives," Prazza retorted.
"Put those weapons down," the woman shouted, clearly showing that she was likely in command before she turned back to Steve's group and then indicated the super soldier when she spoke to them. "You, with the shield, who are you?"
Steve quickly waved for Miranda and Jacob to lower their weapons, hoping that doing so would show that they were not here to cause trouble, and then addressed the young woman in a voice that was gentle and calming, yet also powerful and commanding; the kind of voice that he would often use when giving a speech to his friends or when meeting someone in the middle of a mission. "My name is Steve Rogers, better known to the people of Earth and a few different alien races as Captain America."
"Captain America? Of the Avengers," the woman asked.
"Yes," Steve nodded. "You've heard of me?"
"Only a few stories I heard from an old friend on the Alliance ship I served aboard three years ago," the woman admitted. "I always thought that Shepard and Joker were pulling my leg on some things in those stories though."
Having caught a number of the clues in what the woman said, immediately led Steve to gain an idea of who this particular Quarian was, and he immediately asked, "I take it that you're the same Quarian who served under Commander Shepard when he was hunting Saren three years ago?"
"Yes. My name is Tali'Zorah Vas Neema," the woman revealed.
"It's a pleasure to meet you. I've read quite a bit about your contributions to Shepard and the Normandy during that mission. You seem like quite the skilled young lady from what I've read," Steve complimented with a smile as he held out a hand for Tali to shake.
"Oh…well, thank you," Tail said in a slightly bashful tone as she accepted the handshake. "But how are you alive, and what're you doing here, if you don't mind my asking."
At this point, Steve's face hardened into an all-business expression and he explained, "The group you know as Cerberus reversed the negative effects of the Super Soldier Serum and restored me to life, and in return, they've asked me to investigate these attacks on human colonies."
"You'll pardon us for not taking you at your word, Cerberus," Prazza snarled. "Especially if you expect us to really believe that you are 'Captain America.' Many of the galaxy's races know that such people are merely things that the Kree and Shi'ar say in order to help humans look better."
"I assure you, I'm real, and a great deal of those stories are more than likely true," Steve assured Prazza.
"More to the point, we're well within our rights to investigate attacks on a human colony. I'd like to know what the Quarians are doing here," Miranda added on in retort.
Though she did not like the Cerberus woman's attitude or tone, Tali would not deny that she had a point, so she threw another look at Prazza and his squad and said, "Weapons down, Prazza. Whatever's going on here, I don't think we need another fight." When Prazza's team finally holstered their weapons, Tali turned back to Steve's group and explained, "One of our people was here on Pilgrimage. His name was Veetor, and we came to find him."
"What exactly is this 'Pilgrimage' thing," Steve asked, quickly getting a look from Tali that he could only assume was one that silently asked if he was being serious. "I've only been awake in this century for a few hours or so, now, so I'm not entirely up to speed on everything in the modern…galaxy," Steve explained in response.
"The Pilgrimage is a rite of passage among our people, which proves that we are ready for adulthood and are willing to give ourselves for the greater good, in simplest of terms. It asks that we leave our birth ships and then return to a new ship in the fleet when we find something of value to the Quarians," Tali explained.
"If that is the case, then it seems a little strange that a Quarian would come to a remote, human colony for a Pilgrimage," Steve commented.
"Quarians can choose where they go on Pilgrimage, Captain, and Veetor liked the idea of helping a small settlement. He was always…nervous in crowds," Tali elaborated.
"She means that he was unstable," Prazza corrected. "Combine that with damage to his suit's CO2 scrubbers, and an infection from an open air exposure, and he's likely delirious."
Tali paused in her conversation with the captain to throw Prazza a look for his comment, and then turned back to Steve so she could continue. "When he saw us landing, he hid in a warehouse on the far side of town. We suspect that he reprogrammed the mechs to attack anything that moved."
Steve nodded in understanding of this and then thought about this new information for a minute before he finally said, "If that is the case, then Veetor might be the only one who can tell us what happened here, so we should work together to find him."
"Good idea," Tali nodded in agreement. "You'll need two teams to get past the drones anyway."
"Now we're working for Cerberus," Prazza demanded, indignantly.
"No Prazza, you're working for me. If you can't follow orders, go wait on the ship," Tali snapped at the man, and Prazza found that he could nothing more than grumble and rejoin his fellow soldiers in checking over their weapons. Satisfied that Prazza's attitude had been dealt with for the moment, Tali looked back to Captain America and said, "Head for the warehouse through the center of the colony. We'll circle around the far side and draw off some of the drones to clear you a path."
Steve nodded in response and then said, "Make sure you stay in radio contact at all times."
If Quarians had eyebrows under their helmets, then Steve was sure that Tali would be raising one of hers in confusion at that point, as she soon asked, "You're not concerned about how my people don't like Cerberus, or why?"
"In all honesty, I am a little curious, but right now, it doesn't matter," Steve stated. "Like you said, our teams need to work together if we're going to get to Veetor, so until that's done, anything that's happened in the past doesn't matter."
Tali stared at Steve in surprise for a minute, having felt like she was talking to Shepard just then when she heard his response, but she quickly shook herself out of it and nodded in understanding to his words. "Good luck then, Captain America. See you on the far side," Tali said as she turned to lead her team out to the path that they would be taking.
Though Tali was fully on board with helping Captain America, Prazza was still not so eager, a feeling that was clearly shared by the rest of the squad just from looking at them. Tali could not really blame them though, as Cerberus had certainly earned the Quarian people's ire, but as the captain had just pointed out, now was not the time to get swept up in petty grudges over something that had happened a long time ago, especially if they wanted to reach Veetor with everyone still alive. This was a fact that Prazza did not seem to recognize though, much to Tali's irritation. "You cannot seriously expect Cerberus bosh'tets to keep their word," Prazza argued. "I don't care what that man says; there is no way he is who he claims to be, and even if he is, we still can't let them reach Veetor before we do."
"As much as I'd hate to admit this, Prazza, the Cerberus woman was right," Tali groaned in response. "This is a human colony, so they do have a right to find out what happened to the people here. If Veetor can help them discover the answer, then we should at least let them meet with him for a moment before taking him back to the Flotilla for treatment."
"No! If we let Cerberus reach Veetor first, they will kill him or worse, just like they have killed our people before! I won't let that happen," Prazza insisted, and he would have run off at that point, had Tali not grabbed him by the arm and flipped him over her shoulder with ease.
"I won't explain myself or ask you to listen again, Prazza," Tali nearly shouted. "Now, follow orders, or go back to the ship. Your choice."
Prazza said nothing as he stood up again and dusted himself off, and then threw Tali what she knew was a very agitated glare before brushing past her and continuing on ahead with his squad following right behind him. Tali stared at the departing Quarians for a few minutes before she finally released a breath she did not realize she was holding and moaned, "Keelah, how did you do this kind of thing almost every day, Shepard?"
Thinking of her old commander made Tali think back to when she had been speaking with Captain America, and in all honesty, Tali was not sure why she felt as though the super soldier was like Shepard in that moment, but one thing was certain, if her feelings were right, and Steve Rogers really was anything like Commander Shepard, then she was rather confident she could count on him when it mattered most. At least, for the most part.
Steve was not sure how effective Tali's troops were at keeping the drones busy, but given how few he, Jacob, and Miranda encountered as they made their way through the colony to the warehouse Tali had mentioned, he had to guess that it was rather effective. One could even argue that they rarely ever had to fire off more than a few shots at a time for the majority of their trip, and Jacob and Miranda were honestly surprised at how little need there was for their biotic powers in the situation. It all seemed to be going smoothly, but after all his years of experience with various different and strange situations one thing that Captain America knew for certain was that things always ended up skyrocketing downhill just when you thought that the worst had passed.
This time ended up proving to be no different, as just seconds after they finished dealing with the most recent squad of drones in their path, the three received a call through their radios from Tali. "Rogers, Prazza and his squad have rushed on ahead. I told them to wait but they wouldn't listen," the young Quarian cried out in a near panic. "They want to find Veetor and take him away before you get here."
"We should've expected this," Miranda said in a superior sounding tone that did not really fit the statement.
Jacob just ignored Miranda's smart remark and quickly said, "We can still catch them if we hurry though."
"Agreed," Steve nodded. "Tali, do what you can for now to make sure that your people don't end up rushing into something that's over their heads until we get there."
"Understood," Tali replied.
With that dealt with, the three quickly hastened their pace, determined to catch up with the mistrustful Quarian before it was too late, only pausing for a moment to destroy whatever random mechs was unfortunate enough to move into their path. They did not stop moving until they had reached a large, locked door, through which they soon heard sounds of gunshots and explosions from the other side. "Tali, what's happening," Steve demanded in concern.
"We're inside the loading docks, but Veetor reprogrammed a heavy mech that's tearing Prazza's squad apart," Tali responded.
"They did want to get to Veetor first," Miranda commented.
"Not the time, Miranda," Steve immediately snapped before he turned his attention back to his comm. "Tali, we're on the other side of the door right now. Is there any way you can get someone to open it so we can provide assistance?"
"Not a problem," Tali said. "Get your squad into cover and I'll open the loading bay doors in just a minute."
"You heard the woman. Move," Steve shouted to the two Cerberus operatives, and they both immediately ducked to a position where they would be safe from any enemy fire until they caught enough of a break to race to better cover. They did not need to wait long, as the minute the gates were open, the three were immediately greeted with the sight of a large mech that Miranda and Jacob identified as an YMIR mech, which was focusing all of its attention and weapons fire on the Quarians that were shooting at it. Needless to say, unless they had managed to find safety somewhere, the Quarian troops never stood a chance against the massive machine and its fire power.
"That mech's got heavy-armor plating," Jacob observed aloud for the three once they had managed to get to cover behind a number of nearby crates.
"Shit, this is gonna be one tough son of a bitch to take down," Miranda cursed.
"Language," Steve reprimanded as he started analyzing the battlefield.
"…Did you really just say that," Jacob asked incredulously.
"I know, I know. It just slipped out," Steve shrugged before ducking back behind the crate he had taken cover behind so that he could address the two directly, and when a further glance allowed him to see Tali at the place she had taken cover in, he immediately formed a quick plan that he felt was guaranteed to work. "Tali, you're skilled at hacking right?"
"Yes," Tali replied from where she was.
"Then see what you can do about any shields that thing has on it. Miranda, Jacob, give her some cover fire while hitting it with whatever biotics you can throw that will be effective against it."
"And what about you," Miranda asked.
"I'm going to get in close and hit it head on the minute I have an opening," Steve replied.
"What? That's crazy," Tali cried out. "Do you have a death wish or something? That bosh'tet will tear through you the minute it sees you!"
"Don't worry about me; I'll be fine. Now prepare to move on my signal," Steve reassured Tali, and Jacob and Miranda immediately felt any and all arguments that they had die in their throats before they could be given life. Giving only a nod in reply, the two then readied their biotics with their usual hue of a blue glow, while Tali hesitantly brought up her omni-tool, giving Steve the silent signal that they were each ready whenever he was. "In three…two…one…GO, GO, GO!"
No one needed to hear anymore than that, as a second later, Miranda and Jacob had burst out from behind cover and hit the YMIR with a pair of Biotic Warps while firing their SMG and shotgun, respectively, giving Tali the chance to quickly hack into the mech from her omni-tool, causing its shield to go down in nearly in an instant. When one of the large mech's guns suddenly went dead, courtesy of the Quarian hacker, Steve immediately charged in with his shield forward to block unfriendly fire from its remaining gun, until he was nearly right next to it, at which point he tossed the shield right into the mech's head, causing it to stumble around, blindly. Steve then slid under the mech's feet, and spun around as he readied his assault rifle, and once he was in position, he immediately opened fire on the large machine, finishing it off in an instant. Just before the YMIR blew, he used the magnets in the arms of his suit to summon his shield back to him, and raised it up to block the fire and force of the explosion, which only knocked him back a few feet.
Seeing that the mech was taken down in such an amazing fashion had caused Tali and the other surviving Quarians to fall completely silent in shock and awe. The sight of one man just charging in to take on an YMIR mech like that was usually cause to think that the man in question was suicidal, and yet he had not only survived, but he had actually taken it out with a few swift, simple moves. Sure the machine had been weakened by Tali, Miranda, and Jacob, but the fact that Captain America had just charged in and done what he did so effortlessly was still amazing to say the least. When she finally managed to regain her voice, Tali found there was only one thing that she could say in response. "Keelah."
"You can say that again," Jacob agreed as he holstered his shotgun, with Miranda only giving a small nod of impression as she did the same with her SMG.
They were all brought out of their awe-struck state when Steve finally walked over to them with his weapon placed back on his back, looked to Tali, and asked, "Did any of your people make it through that alive?"
"What…Oh, yes. There's a few that are still alive, but they will need some help treating their injuries and with checking their suits for any breaches before they do anything else," Tali nodded when she finally came back to her sense. "You go on ahead and see Veetor. I'll get everyone together to see who's still in one piece and able to help whoever's just wounded."
Steve nodded in reply and then looked to Miranda and Jacob as he nodded towards the door, signaling them to follow him. When they came into the warehouse, they found a lone Quarian sitting in a room that was only lit by the glow of the dark orange monitors, muttering some strange things to himself as he typed on the holographic keyboard in front of him. "Monsters coming back…mechs will protect…safe from swarms…have to hide…no monsters, no swarms…no, no, no, no, no," the Quarian muttered, clearly frightened if his tone was anything to go by.
"Veetor," Steve called out in an attempt to get the Quarian's attention.
"No Veetor…not here…swarms can't find…monsters coming; have to hide," Veetor continued to mutter, indicating that he did not seem to hear the captain.
Looking to Jacob, Steve did not need to say anything before the dark skinned man brought up his omni-tool and used it to shut down the monitors in front of Veetor, prompting him to finally stop typing and turn around to see that he was not alone in the room now. When Veetor stood up, Steve could see that his suit was a bit more simple in comparison to Tali's, and sported a dark grey and silver color with red lines crisscrossing over it, while the mask on his helmet was a deep indigo. "You're human," Veetor gasped. "Where did you hide? How come they didn't find you?"
"Who didn't find us," Miranda asked.
"The…the monsters…the swarms…they took everyone," Veetor explained.
"Slow down, son," Steve calmly told Veetor. "We just arrived here a short while ago after hearing that this colony was attacked. We're trying to find out what happened here."
"You don't know…you didn't see, but I see everything," Veetor said, and he then tapped a few keys on the keyboard he was working at, which caused the monitors to start displaying what everyone could only assume was some old video footage. In the video, everyone could see strange looking aliens moving large pods while something seemed to buzz around area and in front of the cameras. When the video paused to display the faint image of a strange creature that Steve could only describe as being somewhat bug-like, Miranda could not help but gasp in honest surprise.
"My god…I think that's a Collector," Miranda whispered.
"Is that some kind of alien that I didn't read about in the files I was given," Steve asked.
Jacob nodded in reply and explained, "They're a species from somewhere beyond the Omega 4 Relay. Only a few people have ever seen one in person."
"They usually work through intermediaries, like slavers or hired mercenaries," Miranda then added on. "If they're involved with the Reapers somehow, it could explain what happened to the colonies."
"How so," Steve asked.
"The Collectors have advanced technology, so they could have a weapon that disables an entire settlement at once," Jacob reasoned.
"The seeker swarms," Veetor stuttered in fear as the video continued playing to show a colonist being stung by one of the bugs that were flying around the area before they suddenly froze like a statue. "No one can hide…the seekers find you…freeze you…then the monsters take you away."
"What else can you tell us about these seeker swarms," Steve asked Veetor.
"It's how they find you. Seeker clouds…machines like tiny insects. They go everywhere, they find you, and then they sting you…freeze you."
"Sounds like miniature probes maybe," Miranda theorized. "Find victims and then immobilize them with a stasis field or nerve toxin."
"And is there anything more that you two know about the Collectors," Steve asked his two companions.
"Not really. Nobody knows much to be honest," Jacob informed Steve. "They're so rare a lot of people don't even believe they exist."
"More importantly, why are they abducting human colonists," Miranda asked. "What're they after?"
"Maybe the Illusive Man has an answer," Jacob suggested.
Steve nodded in acceptance of this and looked back to Veetor and asked, "Why didn't the Collectors take you?"
"Swarms didn't find me. Monsters didn't know I was here," Veetor explained.
"The Collectors aren't known for being careless," Miranda stated. "Maybe his envirosuit kept him from showing up on their sensors, or they were using technology specifically designed to detect humans. Only human colonies have been hit."
"So what happened next," Steve prompted Veetor.
"The monsters took the people onto the ship, and then they left. The ship flew away, but they'll be back for me. No one escapes," Veetor said, fearfully.
Seeing as that was likely all that they would get from Veetor, Steve just placed a calming hand on the Quarian's shoulder and smiled as he said, "Thanks. We appreciate what you've told us. You were a big help."
"Wait," Veetor suddenly said as he brought up his omni-tool. "I studied them…the monsters and the swarms. I recorded them on my omni-tool. Lots of readings. Electromagnetic, dark energy…"
"We need to get this data to the Illusive Man. Grab the Quarian and call the shuttle to come pick us up," Miranda said, seeming as though she had suddenly forgotten who was in charge for a moment.
Steve was about to call Miranda out on that when the door suddenly opened and Tali walked in at a hurried pace, indicating that she had heard what was just said. "What? Veetor is injured. He needs treatment, not an interrogation," Tali snapped at the Cerberus operative.
"We won't hurt him," Jacob reassured Tali. "We just need to see if he knows anything else, and he'll be returned to you unharmed."
"Besides, your people tried to betray us once already," Miranda pointed out. "If we give him to you, we'll never get the intel we need."
"Prazza was an idiot, and he and his men paid for it," Tali argued. "You're welcome to take Veetor's omni-tool data, but please, just let me take him!"
Miranda and Jacob both seemed like they were about to say something else in response when Steve suddenly raised an arm to silence them both and calmly said, "In all honesty, I'd prefer to do that anyway. After all, Veetor did say that everything he found out was recorded on his omni-tool, plus he's obviously traumatized by the whole experience. I'm afraid that my current teammates just forgot about that for a moment. You can take him home with you as soon as we transfer the data from his omni-tool over to one of ours."
Tali nodded in appreciation for that, and a few keystrokes on her omni-tool, she was able to help Veetor transfer the data on his omni-tool over to each of the three members of Captain America's team. "Thanks Captain. I'm glad you're the one giving orders," Tali nodded once again.
"Not a problem, Miss Tali," Steve replied. "You know, I could probably use someone like you on my team, if you're interested, and not just because you were part of the Normandy crew either."
"I'm flattered, Captain, but I've got responsibilities and a mission of my own to take care of. Sorry, but I couldn't walk away from that even if you were Commander Shepard," Tali apologized.
Steve nodded in acceptance of this and then allowed Tali to take Veetor back to her ship as Jacob signaled their own transport. Even though the woman was not able to join him, Steve had a strong feeling that this was not the last time he would see Tali. Still, such thoughts did nothing to distract him from the menacing sight that was still displaying on the monitors.
A few hours later saw Captain America facing another conversation with the Illusive Man, something that the patriotic hero was not sure he wanted to have, but he knew that he would still need to report in to the leader of Cerberus regardless, so he managed to suck it up and face the man as they spoke via the same communications device he had used before. "Good work on Freedom's Progress, Captain," the enigmatic leader said once the line had been opened. "The Quarians forwarded their findings from Veetor's debriefing. No new data, but a surprising olive branch, given our history. You and I have different methods, but I can't argue with your results."
"Perhaps you should consider trying to work things out a little more peacefully in the future," Steve suggested, though it did not really sound like much of a suggestion.
The Illusive Man only chuckled as he said, "Diplomacy is great when it works, but it is difficult when everyone already perceives you as a threat. More importantly, you confirmed the Collectors are behind the abductions."
"Why do I get the feeling you already knew that," Steve asked, rhetorically, as the man's statement just felt too much like something he would hear when talking to Nick Fury after finding out the SHIELD director already knew about something before he did.
"I had my suspicions, but I needed proof," the Illusive Man revealed. "The Collectors are enigmatic at best, and they periodically travel through the Terminus Systems, looking to gather seemingly unimportant items or specimens, usually in exchange for their technology. When their transactions are complete, they disappear as quickly as they arrive; back beyond the unmapped Omega 4 Relay. Until now, we've had no evidence of direct aggression from the Collectors."
"Why is the Omega 4 Relay unmapped," Steve asked in honest curiosity.
"Because the only thing we know about it, is that no ship passing through it has ever returned. Our best guess is that the relay reacts differently to Collector vessels, allowing them safe passage. If they can manipulate relays, that's just further evidence of a connection with the Reapers."
"Do you have any theories on why they would shift their focus onto humans," Steve went on to inquire.
"If they're agents for the Reapers, it could be any number of reasons," the Illusive Man solemnly replied. "Obviously humanity played a huge role in Sovereign's destruction, so that might have been enough to draw their attention. What really concerns me is why they bother abducting the colonists. Once the humans are paralyzed, why not just kill them?"
"Perhaps the Collectors are getting something out all of this," Steve suggested.
"Yes, that would make sense," the Illusive Man nodded. "The Collectors aren't very forthcoming about their motives in their various dealings. Generally, they seek out species with genetic mutations or abnormalities. They pay slavers and merc groups exorbitant sums to obtain these specimens, and then they leave, but they've never targeted a single species before, and the previous sample sizes were in the dozens, not the tens of thousands."
"What makes you so sure the Reapers are involved though," Steve asked, as he could tell that the man was hiding something back from him.
"The patterns are there, buried in the data," the Illusive Man answered. "The Council and the Alliance want to believe the Reaper threat died with Sovereign, but I know better. I won't wait until the Reapers are on the march. We need to take the fight to them."
"If that is the case, then I'm going to need an army or a really good team. Probably something that could stand on par with the Avengers even," Steve pointed out.
Once again, the Illusive Man showed that he had anticipated the captain saying such a thing when he revealed, "I've already compiled a list of soldiers, scientists, and mercenaries. You'll get dossiers on the best of them. Finding them and convincing them to work with you could be challenging, but you're a natural leader. I'll continue to track the Collectors, and when they make their next appearance, I'll notify you and your team, so be ready."
"And you're sure that we can't ask the Citadel Council for help," Steve inquired.
"If you think you can convince them, by all means," the Illusive Man offered, though his tone suggested that he was not very hopeful on receiving that help. "Just remember, things are far different now than they were in the Age of Marvels."
"Does that list include anyone who helped Shepard stop Saren and the Geth," Steve asked.
"I'm afraid not, Captain," the Illusive Man shook his head in the negative. "That was three years ago, and most of them have moved on, or their alliegances have changed. The Turian, Garrus Vakarian disappeared a few months after Shepard was declared dead, and even we haven't been able to locate him. The Krogan, Urdnot Wrex returned to Tuchanka, and he hasn't gone off-world in years. He's trying to unite the Krogan clans. Then there's the matter of Liara T'Soni, the Asari. She's on Illium, and has been reported to be working for the Shadow Broker, so she can't be trusted on the team. That doesn't mean that you won't eventually have to contact her for one reason or another, but I'd still recommend caution when you meet with her. She might not hold you in high regards."
Steve was able to understand the point that the Illusive Man was making, but the information he received on Liara was rather surprising to him. It really did not make sense as to why the Asari member of the Normandy team would have a problem with him when they had never actually met, so why would the Illusive Man imply that she more than likely would? He could easily assume that if each of the members of the old Normandy crew knew the circumstances around his return, they would more than likely not be too fond of him, depending on how close they were to Shepard, but from what he had heard, it seemed that Liara would probably have a much greater problem than the others.
It was not something that Steve thought really mattered at the moment, so he shrugged it off and said, "Alright then. I'll leave you to worry about the Collectors; I'll handle the matter of my team."
"Good," the Illusive Man said as he took a drag from a cigarette. "Two things before you go: first, head to Omega and find Mordin Solus. He's a brilliant Salarian scientist, and our intelligence suggests he may know how to counter the Collector's seeker swarms. Second, I've found a pilot that I think you might like. He's one of the best; someone you can trust."
The Illusive Man then cut the connection there, just in time for someone behind Steve to call out, "Hey Captain, it's an honor to meet you, and a seriously good feeling to see that Cerberus wasn't yanking my chain when they said that you were back."
Turning around, Steve was quickly greeted with the sight of a man with a scruffy beard, and wearing a grey and white Cerberus uniform like the one that Wilson had been wearing along with a black and white ball cap with an SR2 on the front of it. He seemed friendly enough, almost giving off a feeling like a mix between Tony Stark and Peter Parker, so Steve smiled and said, "The pleasure's mine, Mister…"
"Moreau, Jeff Moreau," the man said with a lazy salute. "But everyone calls me Joker."
"As in the Normandy pilot," Steve asked in surprise, since this would make the second Normandy crew member that he had met in just one day.
"The one and only," Joker answered with pride.
"Well, glad to see that a good man like you is going to be working with me," Steve nodded as he exchanged a handshake with Joker before following the pilot up out of the room to an observation deck, only slightly noticing the limp that Joker had when he walked as they went. "So tell me why you're with Cerberus? From what I've heard, I figured that you were a loyal member of the Alliance."
Joker's face fell a little before he said, "It all fell apart without Shepard, Cap. Everything he stirred up, the Council just wanted it gone. The team was broken up, records sealed, and I was grounded. The Alliance took away the one thing that mattered to me, so hell yeah I joined Cerberus."
"Do you really trust the Illusive Man," Steve asked.
"Well I don't trust anyone who makes more than I do," Joker shrugged in admittance. "But they aren't all bad. Brought you back, let me fly, and then there's this."
When Joker nodded towards the window, Steve looked out just in time to see the lights in a large hangar come on to reveal a massive, white, black, and gold ship with the Cerberus logo on either side of the front, and from what he could see of the vessel, it looked a lot like the pictures he had seen of the Normandy, only bigger. In all honesty, even from the outside, the ship looked like a form of state-of-the-art technology that would have made Tony Stark and every other genius that Steve knew drool had they seen it. Most importantly though, seeing the ship before him just seemed to give Steve a good feeling of excitement and courage that he could not begin to describe beyond relating it to how some people felt after seeing the SHIELD Helicarrier for the first time.
"They only told me about it last night, and I don't know about you, Cap, but for me, this feels a lot like coming home," Joker said. "Still, I am excited for having you acting as commander of this ship, so I can start complaining on how Shepard was a better CO than you are."
Steve's smile only widened in good humor at the pilot's joke, until he finally asked, "So, does this beauty of a ship have a name yet?"
"No, but I can only think of one name that would suit it, to be honest," Joker shrugged.
Steve nodded and then looked back at the magnificent vessel and said, "Agreed. It only seems fair seeing as this is the ship that will help us to avenge your old one, so we might as well honor it by having it bear the namesake."
AN: Well, that's a wrap on that. So yeah, not a lot of changes here beyond the obvious, but hey, I like to think that I gave Cap a chance to show off his awesomeness to Tali and some of her people, so that has to count for something, right? Speaking of which, we've now gotten Cap acquainted with two of the Normandy's most recognized faces, those being Tali and Joker, he's met the Illusive Man, and now he's pretty much ready to take on the Mass Effect galaxy.
Now, I know that a lot of you are wondering who Cap's getting paired up with, so to relieve any further doubts or concerns on the matter, I will go ahead and tell you that yes, Captain America is going to be paired up with Miranda Lawson. I know that does not seem likely given how I had portrayed Miranda in this chapter, but let's face it, the woman did not really seem all that friendly or approachable at the beginning of all this craziness, so I hope you'll excuse me if I made it seem like that was not possible at this time. It will happen, but it's just going to build up over time, start off small with just being friendship and that type of thing.
Also, Cap's new armor is basically a Mass Effect version of his Age of Ultron costume, so don't worry about thinking that its been changed or anything. All that's really been done is that Cap's been fully outfitted and equipped for handling work in the Mass Effect timeline.
In all honesty though, I feel like this chapter was actually a bit longer than I had expected it to be, but that may be mostly due to the fact that I wanted to go into detail on so much stuff this time around, and there were so many different conversations taking place between characters. Then again, the various conversations that are had are kind of a thing in the Mass Effect series, seeing as how those go can also affect how things go for you in the game. Also, I don't really remember all the specific powers and abilities that each character had in Mass Effect, especially in the case of biotics, so if I seem to give every biotic the ability to do everything that biotics can do, that's why. I will try to prioritize certain abilities they use over others though, namely those that they can use in the games, but I make no promises on the matter.
Now, I had the Illusive Man tell Cap what had happened to certain members of the Normandy SR1's team because I honestly thought it would be a good idea for Steve to know that there was a chance he could ask the team for help if he needed it from them, but at the same time, he shouldn't count on some of them being able to provide anything of great value. That little bit on Liara in particular will become a bit more clear later on down the line, but I doubt I really need to tell you much about that if you know the Mass Effect series.
So, with that said, next chapter's going to be when we get to recruiting for Cap's new team, and I think you might be a bit surprised by who we'll meet next time. I won't say more than that, and you also won't be getting any further clues from the preview other than what is said after I say, Onto the Preview!...
The Normandy SR2 is ready for action, and after the captain receives a brief tour of the ship's layout, along with an introduction to some of its important members, it finds itself headed for its first destination. The place that many consider to be the evil twin of the Citadel: Omega. After a meeting with Aria, Captain America leads Miranda and Jacob into the mercenary gathering to take down the vigilante known as Archangel, but just what surprises will the patriotic Avenger discover when he finally comes face to face with the vigilante himself? Find out next time.
Please read and review, and I should go, fellow true believers!
Okay, so how're those Deadpool-specific weapons systems coming along? I want to be able to wipe that nutcase off the face of the planet and the galaxy if he so much as shows his face here again, or in the author's notes of this story.
