Authors note: Once again, I want to thank everyone for reviews, favs and alerts. Knowing that you are interested in this story is inspiring.
The crossover begins in this chapter. This one is a bit shorter than the previous, but it is more important. I know you have different expectations on how I deal with the first contact. I hope I will not disappoint you much in the way I handled things.
Also, a big thank you goes to Colonel-Mustard1990 for his beta reading.
Chapter 3: Stuck.
Location: Phoenix Massing, Typhon System, Planet Aite, Atlas Station, VI main chamber.
Shepard had seen many horrible things in her life. Batarians chipping human prisoners on Elysium. Civilians impaled on the Dragon teeth on Eden Prime and the monsters they were transformed into. Dr Saleon's experiments on his employees. Rabid Rachni on Noveria. Thorian creepers.
But when she looked upon the crucified David Archer all those things seemed to pale. This was not just terrible. It made her question the value of humanity. If a human being was willing to do something like this, to his own brother no less, then there was something entirely wrong with this universe.
For a moment Victoria questioned herself as to why she was fighting. Maybe the Reapers were right. Maybe she should just let them cleanse the Galaxy so that something like this would never happen again. She pushed those thoughts away. It was wrong to judge an entire race by the actions of one person. But then again, he was not alone. The techs and scientists of this facility didn't stop him. They helped him to create this abomination. And Shepard was sure the Illusive Man was the one to order it in the first place.
When Shepard and her team entered the Atlas station, they encountered little in terms of resistance, only three Geth platforms. David tried to stall them using different security measures. The last thing he did was hacking somehow through the Victoria's implants, putting her into some kind of virtual reality. Through the sheer force of will she managed to get a hold of her own body and navigate through the rest of the base alone, her team locked away from her.
Using the VR David was able to show her parts of his memories and finally reveal the truth about the Project Overlord. David didn't volunteer tor this. He was hooked up into Geth network by his brother because 'the Illusive Man demanded results'. Seeing this example of the Cerberus ruthlessness, Victoria once again started to feel tainted because of her association with them.
Shepard heard the doors to the chamber open and the sound of several people rushing in. The footsteps started to quiet down as her team caught the sight of the atrocity before them.
"Spirits…" Garrus muttered.
"My God," Came the whisper from Kasumi, quickly followed by the Jacobs 'The Fuck?' exclamation.
"Inhumane. Against even most basic ethics," Mordin said in disbelief.
"Well, this thing is now on top of my 'the most fucked up things I've seen' list," Zaeed grumbled.
Victoria turned to her team and then asked Mordin.
"Professor, can you…" She pointed at David. "Do something for him? Somehow get him out?"
The salarian blinked several times and then nodded, moving to David's prison.
"Yes. Yes. Will do everything I can," Mordin replied.
Shepard heard another set of footsteps. She turned to see Dr Archer rushing into the room.
"Commander, I'm begging you don't do anything rash," Archer shouted frantically.
"Rash? Rash? You think I can do something to him after what he has been through?" Victoria shouted back, anger boiling inside her.
"I-I know how this must look, but I never intended any harm to come to him," Archer implored. "You must believe me!"
"Did the Illusive Man authorize this?" Miranda hissed beside him.
Archer turned to her. "I had no choice! You know that the Illusive Man doesn't broker failure! The demands were incredible!"
"Do not tell me about the bloody demands!" Miranda shouted angrily, something out of character for normally self-controlled operative, very unusual, in fact, considering her otherwise somewhat ruthless nature. "I've brought a woman back from the dead! There is always a way! There is always a better solution!"
Miranda then turned to look at David once again.
"My God, Archer, he's your brother!" She muttered darkly.
"It's not like I planned this. It was an accident," Archer tried to justify himself.
"What, you mean he accidentally hooked himself up there? Bullshit," Jacob asked in cold rage.
"No, that's not…" Archer said. "I meant, seeing David communicate with the Geth… it all seemed harmless."
"Harmless?" Victoria asked. "Look at him, he'll never be the same again."
"The-the damage may not be permanent," Archer said feebly. "He might recover some semblance of his mind."
"Then Cerberus will never let him go," Shepard replied angrily. "He'll be a lab rat for the rest of his life if he stays here."
"But a well-cared for lab rat. At least he'd still be alive," Archer said.
Victoria finally snapped and grabbed Dr Archer by the collar.
"Well-cared for? Look at him," Shepard shouted in the Archer's face. "Is that what you call living?"
They all saw tears streaming down David's face.
"Square root of 906.01 equals…"
"30.1," Archer finished quietly. He closed his eyes and continued. "What I've done to David is unethical. If he dies, it is unforgivable. Let me take care of him. Please."
"No," Shepard replied sternly. "I've seen enough of your cruelty to know that he'll never be free from it here. I'm taking him away."
"No, leave him! He's too valuable!" Archer said. He drew a pistol and pointed it at Shepard, only to be clubbed in the face by Jacob's rifle.
"Don't try it, doc," Jacob warned him, jabbing his Vindicator at Archer's face.
Shepard crouched down to a fallen scientist. "You don't really care about David. He's only research material to you," Victoria said. She took out her Phalanx and jabbed it slightly into Archer's left eye. Archer flinched.
"You even think about coming after David, then as God is my witness, I'll find you," Shepard promised him. "And next time, I'll pull the damn trigger. Now leave, before I change my mind."
Roughly an hour later, they managed to unplug David, put him into the life supporting pod and transport him to Hermes station. The shuttle from the Normandy was sent to pick up David. Shepard told Joker to contact the Grissom Academy and arrange a meeting with their transport to transfer David.
Shepard turned to look at David's pod and was surprised to Miranda standing near, her expression thoughtful. Shepard slowly approached the pod.
"If you want to gloat Shepard, save it," Miranda spoke looking up at Victoria. "I know what was done here was wrong, but that doesn't mean the whole Cerberus is like this."
"I don't gloat, Miranda, give me some credit," Shepard replied and stayed silent for the moment before continuing. "I wanted to ask you one thing: Despite what Archer said, do you think the Illusive Man knew about this?"
Miranda sighed. "He'll probably deny it but yes, he most likely knew about everything. I told you already, he personally oversees all of the operations, demanding regular reports. If you try to hide something from him, he has agents within your staff that will report that."
"Yeah, and like you said: He's no saint," Shepard said.
Miranda chuckled. "I guess I begin to understand your distrust of Cerberus," Miranda added. "One thing is to read a report about this, and seeing it first hand is quite another."
"For your sake, Lawson, I just hope you'll never be forced to do something like this," Victoria told the operative.
Miranda looked at the sleeping David and muttered. "You and me both, Commander. You and me both."
Location: Phoenix Massing, Typhon System, Orbit of planet Aite, Normandy SR-2.
In the orbit, Joker sat in his usual place. He already received a positive answer from the Grissom academy, agreeing to send a transport to meet the Normandy in the Utopia system. Now he was sitting bored out of his mind, waiting for the shuttle to pick up this 'David' that Shepard had managed to salvage from the base.
Suddenly, EDI's avatar popped up.
"I have detected an anomaly on the Aite's surface, Mr. Moreau."
"Alright, what is it?" Joker replied. He still wasn't used to the AI's constant presence, but sometimes she indeed proved useful.
"There was an energy spike roughly two clicks south of Commander Shepard's position," EDI reported. "The energy signature is unlike anything I have ever encountered."
"You mean some unknown type of energy?" Joker asked.
"Not entirely correct," EDI replied "The event lasted for 1.03 seconds, and during that time the energy signature changed rapidly. Among detected types there were: dark energy, alpha, beta and gamma radiation, heat energy. Also radio waves of different frequencies and other."
"That's um, doesn't make any sense!" Joker told her, clearly puzzled.
"Exactly," EDI replied as if it made perfect sense to her. "By all current physical laws, such an event should never occur. This is why I brought it to your attention."
"It's probably just a sensor glitch," Joker stated. "Check the main array calibrations."
"The calibrations were performed 34 minutes ago by crewman Patel. No irregularities reported," EDI informed him.
"Well tell her to do it again. Jeez," Joker said, now clearly annoyed by the AI's persistence.
"Very well, Mr. Moreau. Logging you out," EDI replied and blinked out.
Location: Phoenix Massing, Typhon System, Planet Aite, waterfall near Atlas station.
Gallardi's conscience decided to return to him, and he felt like he was thrown into cool water. He instinctively opened his eyes and saw that he was indeed underwater. His storm trooper amphibious training kicked in and he reached for his rebreather, instead of trying to reach the surface. Many guardsmen drowned that way because of the weight of their equipment dragging them down. Then again, not all guardsmen were equipped with the rebreathers like storm troopers and grav-chute drop troopers were. Gallardi managed to get his rebreather on and then he exhaled to force the water out of the mask.
He looked around. The water was a little murky and there was also a sound of rushing, like he was close to the waterfall. Gallardi knew his weight was taking him to the bottom. He will have to lose some of his equipment in order to reach the surface. But before he started to take off parts of his armor, his feet touched something and Gallardi found himself already standing at the bottom. "Probably not very deep here." The thought crossed August's mind. He started to look closer and saw that he could actually walk out of the water without losing his equipment.
Gallardi started to move cautiously. When he made several steps towards the bank, his eyes caught something flashing in the on the bottom. August carefully reached to check it and found out that it was, in fact, his saber. He must have dropped it sometime during his fall. Awkwardly picking up the weapon and putting back into the scabbard, Gallardi continued his ascent. When he finally broke the water's surface, August almost lost his footing, suddenly feeling the full weight of his armor. Pushing himself forward, he managed to finally get on the solid ground. Feeling exhaustion overcome him, Gallardi slowly sagged to his knees, allowing himself several moments of respite. It took almost all of his willpower not to rip the rebreather off, because he didn't know if the air was breathable.
Gallardi looked around. The first thing he knew that he was definitely not on Carmalia. Most of the Carmalia's surface was covered with Hive cities. Around him now were plains and mountains covered in greenery. August looked behind him and saw a waterfall and the pond underneath it. He noticed some weird animals with four legs and a set of hands peacefully wandering in the distance and in the sky a huge creature flying in the distance. If not for a big belly, the creature might have looked like a wind serpent from Harakon that his people hunted from time to time.
"Where am I?" Gallardi thought. Remembering that the last thing he saw was the Warp portal, and a terrible thought crossed his mind. Maybe this was all a trick, some sorcery playing with his mind. August quickly shut his eyes and started to recite litanies against the predations of the Warp. He prayed to the Emperor to grant him the true sight so that August could see through deception and lies. Several moments later, he opened his eyes, but nothing changed. He was still on some unknown planet and he was still wet.
Another thought crossed his mind. What is he died, and this is where the souls of loyal Imperial servants went. If this was the case, Gallardi was a little disappointed. He always was a firm believer that the souls of the fallen went to the Emperor's side and stayed there, until He calls them one last time for a final battle against the forces of Chaos.
Gallardi's thoughts about the afterlife were interrupted by the sound of a thunderclap behind him, followed by a loud splash. He quickly turned around and saw ripples on the water's surface, as if something had fallen into the lake. August reached for his lasgun and took aim. The lasgun was a sturdy weapon, and water would only slightly reduce its accuracy until Gallardi manages to clean the outer lenses dry. August saw something moving in the water, and soon he saw as the head broke the water's surface. He immediately recognized the helmet of the eldar witch he met earlier. The alien looked around and then started to swim to the shore. Somehow, she managed to do it while still wearing her armor. Gallardi figured that it must have been much lighter than it looked. The eldar made her way out of the water with arrogant gracefulness befitting her kind. Her soaked tabard didn't seem to bother her much. The alien once again looked around and stopped her gaze upon Gallardi.
"Well, I can clearly tell now that this is not an afterlife since you're here, xenos," August spat, and started slightly lowering his weapon.
The eldar didn't answer him. Instead, she looked down and grabbed her empty sword sheath. Then she turned to the lake, extended her hand and the moment later her sword flew out of the water and straight into her hand. Gallardi immediately brought his weapon up again.
"I have no intention of fighting you, Mon-Keigh," The eldar replied, putting her sword into the scabbard.
"Yeah, and just how many people have heard those words before you stabbed them in the back?" August asked sarcastically.
"None," The witch replied evenly.
"I'm supposed to believe that?" Gallardi quizzed incredulously.
"Believe what you will, I care not," The alien replied and turned to look at the sight before her.
This planet reminded her of the last remaining gardens of Ulthwe. Maeteris looked at the beautiful landscape before her. While she traveled much in her life and seen many worlds, she could not recognize this one.
"Do you know where we are?" The Mon-Keigh asked behind her. He was filthy and wet, probably because he too landed in the lake.
"This is not an illusion or a warp trick, if that is what you are worried about," Maeteris told him. "We are in the physical reality."
She felt the human's agitation slightly subside.
"If you say so. But where exactly in reality?" He asked her reluctantly. "I know that this isn't Carmalia. Have we somehow traveled to another world?"
"I will try to find out. Do not be alarmed," Maeteris told the human. Of course, being a Mon-Keigh he did exactly the opposite. She felt that his rifle was once again pointed at her head.
"I told you not to… Ugh, why do I even bother?" Maeteris grunted. She sat down on her knees and started taking slow, deep breaths.
The Farseer raised her mental barriers, made her presence invisible in the warp and carefully let her spirit soar into the sky. She was almost overwhelmed by the sense of stillness around her. Most of the time the warp was a boiling cauldron of storms, fast currents and malicious entities that inhabited it. Now the warp was like a serene lake in the mountains with only barely visible ripples from occasional wind. Maeteris reinforced her barriers, looking for some sort of deception, but found only emptiness. She briefly thought about the beasts from beyond, the ones called tyranids by the Mon-Keigh, and how they created the shadow in the warp. However, she did not feel the oppressive presence of the Hive Mind here.
Maeteris focused on her task and soared high into the sky. When she reached the planet's high orbit, she started to examine the star system. As a seer, she studied many star charts in Ulthwe's archives, and soon she recognized this system except for one thing. The planet she was on should not be there.
The Farseer decided to return to her body, not willing to attract any unnecessary attention. While flying back to the planet's surface, she noticed a curious spaceship in the orbit. It had a sleek design, a far cry from the graceful eldar ships, but much more elegant than any Mon-Keigh vessels Maeteris ever encountered. At first she thought a vessel of those upstart tau. The system she was currently in was not far from the so-called Tau Empire. But when she got closer, she saw the crude Mon-Keigh script on the ship's hull.
NormandySR2. The word didn't make any sense to Maeteris, so it was probably some important Mon-Keigh's name or the name of the planet. She noted that the ship didn't bear any of the Imperium's markings; maybe this was one of those Mon-Keigh rogue traders. If so, she could come up with some sort of deal to secure a passage to a world with the entrance to the Webway. Wasting no more time, Maeteris returned to her body.
Location: Phoenix Massing, Typhon System, Orbit of planet Aite, Normandy SR-2.
"You need to tell the commander, Joker," Patel said from her sensor station. "It was not a sensor glitch the first time and certainly not the second."
"Crewman Patel is correct. The sensors operate at full capacity with no irregularities. Commander should be informed of this anomaly," EDI supplied from her perch.
"Alright, alright I get it. Stop ganging up on me!" Joker replied, surrendering to their persistence. He reached for his holographic screen and opened the comm. channel.
"Normandy to shore party. Come in Commander," Joker began.
"Shepard here. What have you got for me Joker?" came the Commanders reply.
"Commander we've got some weird readings down on the surface," Joker reported.
"Let me guess: 'Like off the damn charts'?" Shepard asked lightly.
"Better," Joker told her. "Something that should not happen in theory happened twice not far from your current position." He quickly brought her up to speed about the anomalies.
"Hm, alright. We are almost done down here. I'll take the Hammerhead to check it out," Shepard told them. "The shuttle with David and the rest of the ground team will take off soon, get ready for pick up."
"Copy that. Be careful out there Commander." Joker acknowledged and ended the transmission.
Location: Phoenix Massing, Typhon System, Planet Aite, waterfall near Atlas station.
The eldar had been still for several minutes now, her head lowered and resting on her chest as if she was sleeping in sitting position. Gallardi entertained the idea of shooting the alien several times while she was still tied up with whatever ritual she was performing. She was a xenos and therefore an enemy. However, she also helped to stop a demon from consuming Carmalia. August knew that the eldar witch did it for her own arcane reasons, not to save billions of human lives. Also without her psychic protection, Gallardi would have been fried to death just like the late Sarebas was. So August thought that he should allow her to peacefully walk away, out of respect for her as a fellow soldier, seeing as he owed her that much. Besides, if she could tell him where they were, without lying in the process, it would help Gallardi immensely.
August had already taken off his rebreather, the small auspex on his right hand informing him that the air was breathable. While his uniform was still wet, the ambient temperature was comfortable. No longer feeling the need to hold the eldar at gunpoint, Gallardi found a good rock for sitting on and started to take off his boots. The water inside was squelching with every step he took. August needed to clear them. Not because his legs felt uncomfortable (they no longer could by definition), but because he didn't know if this planet was a hostile territory and squelching footsteps would give him away.
When he managed to put his boots back on, Gallardi heard a muffled gasp and saw that the eldar began to stir. Gallardi stood up and carefully approached her.
"Well?" He asked the woman, who also stood up.
"There's something strange," The alien replied.
"What do you mean 'strange'? Can you eldar speak plainly just for one moment?" August asked her, getting annoyed already.
"I can't speak more plainly!" The eldar retorted. "I recognized the star system, except that this planet should not be here! You tell me if that is not strange."
Despite speaking the same language, Gallardi's head started to hurt from trying to follow the eldar's speech pattern.
The alien ignored his confusion and continued: "The star system, as I remember it, should only have three planets and one a… oh."
"'And one' what?" August asked her, feeling that she realized something important.
"There should be an asteroid belt," The alien replied. "Why haven't I considered it in the first place?"
"Considered what?" Gallardi was once again growing impatient.
"During our travel through the warp rift, we have somehow crossed the flow of time," The eldar replied mysteriously.
"Which means?" August queried.
"We are in the past," the eldar stated. "This planet must have been destroyed somehow during the course of history and its remains formed the asteroid belt."
Gallardi was silent for a moment. The destruction of planets was not a novelty. Several were destroyed during the Gothic Wars. Spontaneous time travel also wasn't an unheard of.
Warp travel was not an exact science. There were thousands of confirmed cases when ships managed to arrive a year before their departure, or a hundred years too late.
"Just how far in the past are we talking about?" August asked the witch.
"I cannot say for certain," the eldar replied. "I don't know when or how the planet was…will be destroyed." She paused, as if thinking about something and then continued. "In your fleeting Mon-Keigh years it will be twenty, maybe thirty thousand years at least."
"At least?" Gallardi almost shouted. Twenty thousand years back. It was a time before the creation of the Imperium.
"Yes, I would have said much more, but…" The eldar kept talking as if it was a trivial matter.
"You lie!" Gallardi shouted at the eldar woman. "This is all some sort of trick to mess with my head, right?"
"You asked me a question, I gave you an answer. If you don't…" The alien crossed her arms and shouted back. "You know what, Mon-Keigh? Fine, don't believe me. The truth will be revealed to you, whether you like it or not."
"I'll discover the truth. Without your help," August snapped back. "This is it, xenos. We part ways here. Because of your help with that mess on Carmalia, I'll leave you in peace."
"Ha, you speak like you can do me any harm," The witch mocked him.
Gallardi glared at her, but continued. "Make no mistake, the next time we meet, we'll meet as enemies."
That is fine with me, I…" The eldar began but sharply turned her head left. "A vehicle approaches."
Before August managed to ask her to elaborate, he too picked up a small whining sound. The sound grew louder. It reminded him of the Astartes' Landspeeder with its anti-gravity engines. "Could the Astartes have a presence on this planet?" Gallardi thought. His guesses were quickly dispelled when he finally saw the source of the sound.
It was an odd vehicle. The hovercraft was unlike anything used by the forces of the Imperium. It was also too angular to be something made by the eldar or even the tau. Gallardi briefly thought about taking cover, but by the way the craft was moving towards them August assumed they were already spotted. Therefore, it was better to stay mobile in case the vehicle's occupants prove to be hostile.
The hovercraft started to slow down and gradually stopped some hundred meters from both Gallardi and the eldar. A minute later the hatch on top of it opened and a humanoid figure clambered out and started slowly walking towards them. Another hatch opened and Gallardi immediately became alert, because the second person was definitely not human. The alien was barrel-chested and its legs were bent at a wrong angle. As the pair closed the distance, August could finally make out some details.
The leading figure was a human woman in black full-body armor with two yellow stripes running along the length of her torso. Her helmet revealed much of her face. She had a dark complexion like a native of Tallarn. The way she held herself told Gallardi that she was an experienced soldier. She also seemed completely unconcerned by the alien following her. It was a strange creature covered in scales with a split jaw, almost like some kind of tyranid. While to many people the alien might look as some sort of animal, Gallardi was not fooled. Its eyes were alert and betrayed its intelligence.
Gallardi was trying to make sense of what he was seeing. True, he read the Ordo Xenos' reports about human deserters serving alongside tau. Sarebas even mentioned that some of his more radical colleagues have xenos mercenaries in their retinue. However, seeing something like that with your own eyes was a disturbing thing, to say the least.
The woman stopped some ten meters from August and started to examine both him and the eldar.
Shepard personally hoped that the two anomalies were indeed just a freaky sensor glitch. It was a long day and she really wanted to rest. But Victoria has long time ago accepted that the universe was not that simple. And as Shepard looked upon the two 'anomalies', she had to accept it would always find a way to surprise her.
To say that two people she was looking at were odd would be an understatement. One was a very tall man, who was wearing a black armor on top of a navy blue uniform. While at first he could be considered a merc, who was not able to afford himself a full hardsuit, the way he held himself simply screamed military. He had an odd silver symbol on his helmet, a silver skull under a gate and wings on each side of the gate. On the left side of his chest a silver double headed eagle. He was carrying some sort of heavy weapon and (Victoria had to blink several times to make sure she was seeing it right) a saber was hanging near his left hip.
While the man was strange, his companion was just plain weird. She was wearing a set of ornate black and white armor with some sort of red gems and, more importantly, wings on her back. She was as tall as the man next to her, although more graceful and she wore a high helmet with red eye slits and some sort of rune depicting a crying eye. Victoria could not see any weapons except for a long sword.
Both of them looked like characters from some sci-fi vid. Since none of them were talking, Shepard decided to take a first step.
"Hello? I am Staff Commander Shepard of the Systems Alliance. Can you please identify yourselves?" She asked the two in her most formal tone.
When the woman spoke, she was not using Low Gothic, but Gallardi was surprised that he could actually understand her. While she had an accent, she spoke in Harkat – one of the Harakon's native dialects. The Low Gothic was a main language of the simple folk of the Imperium, there were myriads of planetary dialects only natives of those planets understood. The Harakoni regiments also used Harkat to relay orders when communications were compromised so that the enemy could not understand them and his time with them had left him fluent in the language.
This woman, Shepard was her name, called herself 'Staff Commander' which was undoubtedly some sort of military rank. She also said that there was part of some kind of 'System Alliance' of which Gallardi have never heard of. August decided not to mention that he was currently an agent of the Inquisition and decided to answer according to a military protocol.
"I am Captain August Gallardi of the Imperium of Man's most vaunted Imperial Guard," He replied, using a formal greeting for occasions of meeting the non-Imperial humans that were not immediately branded heretics.
The woman looked suddenly puzzled and then replied: "I'm afraid I am not familiar with such organizations as the 'Imperium of Man' and 'Imperial Guard'."
"Nor I'm familiar with this 'Systems Alliance' you mentioned," Gallardi replied and his mood soured. The eldar was probably telling the truth. The woman before him seemed genuinely confused about the Imperium. And you need to live under a rock on the most backwater planet in the galaxy not to hear about the Imperium.
August turned to look at eldar only to see her reaching out with her hand. Before he managed to dodge her, the witch touched his head. His vision immediately blurred and Gallardi felt as if something was scratching his brain. As fast as it began the feeling ended and August' vision returned to normal. He immediately brought up his weapon and pointed it at the eldar's head.
"What in the Emperor's name was that? What have you done witch?" He shouted at the alien.
"You Mon-Keigh and your billions of languages. I needed to know what you were talking about, so I took the knowledge from you," The eldar replied bitterly.
The idea of xeno reading his mind repulsed Gallardi. Emperor alone knows what else the witch saw there. He was not privy to the most secret information, but still…
As if reading his expression, the eldar replied: "I haven't taken for your military secrets and even if I did, I think you already know they are a little out of date."
Shepard approached them slowly raising her hands as she began to speak.
"Listen, I don't know what just happened or what are you two talking about." The woman said in diplomatic voice. Gallardi knew he must have slipped back to Low Gothic while talking to the eldar. "But, I'm sure we can sort it out without violence."
Gallardi looked at eldar. "This is your last warning eldar. Cross the line again and psyker or not, I will end you. Do you understand?"
"As if I need another reason to touch your primitive mind," The eldar replied, crossing her arms.
"Stupid xenos witch," August murmured lowering his weapon.
"Filthy Mon-Keigh," He heard the eldar murmur back.
"Good. See? No need for shooting," Shepard told them, visibly more relaxed. "Now, I have come here to investigate two energy spikes that happened in this area not so long ago. Did you have something to do with those?"
"They might have something to do with the way we got here," Gallardi replied. They probably picked up the warp disturbances from his and the eldar's arrival. "Although, I'm still not sure where 'here' is."
"Planet Aite. Typhon system," Shepard informed him. Seeing his confusion, she added. "The Phoenix Massing?"
"Those names mean nothing to me," Gallardi told her and sighed. "Maybe if we had a map of the Galaxy or at least a Segmentum map, I could pinpoint our location."
Shepard looked thoughtful. She looked at both eldar and Gallardi and spoke. "I have a map on my ship. If you wish I can take you on board so you can orient yourself."
The alien behind Shepard started making some strange noises. August was confused for a moment and then it hit him that the alien was actually speaking. The language of course didn't make sense to Gallardi, but he was surprised when Shepard turned slightly and replied.
"Yes Garrus, I am sure that these two wouldn't cause any trouble," She replied and turned back to both bewildered Gallardi and the eldar. "You really wouldn't, right?"
"Unless you mean harm, human, I am sure we can get along," The eldar replied in flawless Harkat. Somehow, Gallardi was not surprised that she managed to learn the language in two minutes.
Shepard gave the eldar a dubious look. Then she blinked and shook her head slightly. The woman then turned to Gallardi, waiting for his response.
"Your help is appreciated, Staff Commander," August replied, nodding slightly.
"Please, just Commander will be fine," Shepard replied with a slight smile. "Allow me to make arrangements for a shuttle to pick you up."
-o-O-o-
Location: Phoenix Massing, Typhon System, Orbit of planet Aite.
Several minutes later Gallardi, Shepard and the eldar were flying in the small shuttle. It was smaller than the Valkyrie and had enough space for 12 people. The shuttle looked flimsy in August's opinion: several autocannon rounds would probably rip it to shreds, unless it was made purely out of adamantium, which Gallardi doubted. Several minutes later they flew into some small hangar and the shuttle finally stopped. Shepard was first to exit. Gallardi followed. He looked around the hangar. It was small compared to the shuttle bay of the 'Unwavering Watcher' or any other Imperial warship for that matter. It was filled with crates, and the hovercraft he saw earlier was resting on a cradle.
The alien, 'Garrus' as Commander Shepard called it was also here along with two humans. One was a dark skinned man in black and white armor, another was an older man with scars across his face. His dark red armor looked like it has seen better days. All three were carrying assorted weapons in their hands, but held them at ease. Once again, August saw that the two humans were giving him a suspicious looks, but they were completely at ease with the xenos in their midst. This place felt more wrong by every passing minute.
Shepard turned and addressed Gallardi. "Sorry for the security measures, but this is a military warship so I hope you'll understand," Both Gallardi and the eldar nodded, and Commander gestured them to follow. "This way please. We will use the elevator to get to the combat deck where the Galaxy map is located."
They stepped into the elevator, the security detail following them. After several seconds the elevator's door opened revealing the Combat deck. A big holographic image of some kind of spaceship was above the elevation in the center of the main chamber. Several crewmen were working at their stations, all dressed in black and white fatigues. August was relieved to see that all of the crew so far was comprised of humans. The feeling was short lived however as Gallardi turned his head left and saw another alien, different from scaly one. This one looked as some sort of thin amphibian with huge eyes and horns. One of the horns was broken and the face of the alien had several scars so despite the fragile appearance, the alien might be able to stand up for itself.
Of other notable persons present was a redhead woman, who stood near the small stairs that led to the elevation. The woman was smiling warmly as if she was extremely happy to see the newcomers. The other person was also a woman, a brunette and an attractive one at that. She was wearing black and gold armor and had a hairstyle that would be more appropriate in the planetary governor's court than on the military warship. She was definitely suspicious of current guests, her hand resting on the butt of her pistol.
Shepard approached the small stairs, nodding her greeting to both women, and walked up on the elevation. The image of the ship quickly blinked out, only to be replaced by a very detailed map of the Galaxy. The Commander made several hand movements and the map focused on the part of the Galaxy. She turned back and gestured to the map for everyone to see.
"Those are our current coordinates," She told them, looking at Gallardi.
August took several steps to approach the map. He could not tell the name of the system but he was sure he was somewhere in the Ultima Segmentum not far from the Imperial border with the Tau Empire.
"Can you, um, zoom out?" Gallardi asked Shepard.
The woman reached out with her hand and the image returned to a full Galaxy view. August looked for Segmentum Solar and saw several systems that were painted blue and had a symbol of a planet under some kind of gate. He pointed at the symbol and asked. "Whose symbol is that?"
"That's the Systems Alliance official seal," Shepard replied dubiously.
Gallardi sighed. He turned to look at the Commander and asked: "Commander Shepard, I'm going to ask you a really weird question but I expect an honest answer. What year is it by human measurement?"
Shepard blinked several times but replied. "Um, it's year 2185."
Gallardi's blood ran cold. "2185? As in M3?" He asked quietly.
"I'm sorry, M3?" Shepard asked him, puzzled.
"Yes M3, third millennium?" August elaborated.
"Yeah, it is third millennium. Why?" The Commander confirmed. "Wait, you want to tell me you are not from this time? From what millennium are you?"
"M42." Gallardi replied, still shocked. He saw Shepard's eyes widen.
"M42? As in…?" Commander stopped, her surprise evident.
"Year 41 026 was the last time I checked the date," Gallardi replied, no longer looking at Shepard. "Year 2185. It is roughly twenty eight thousand years prior to the foundation of the Imperium of Man."
There was a general murmur around the room. The amphibious alien was tapping furiously at some sort of holographic device on its right hand. Some people looked surprised, others – skeptical. August ignored everything, suddenly feeling very tired. He walked to lean on the closest wall and sagged down.
"Forgive me if I sound skeptical but how is that possible," The brunette asked, her voice slightly accented.
"We went through some kind of warp rift and apparently took a wrong turn somewhere. You have to ask the eldar about the details," Gallardi told her.
"I'm sorry, what elder?" The woman asked.
"The eldar, ignorant Mon-Keigh, and that would be me," The witch replied instead of Gallardi. "I'm curious as to how come that you can't recognize the dominant race of the Galaxy?"
All eyes suddenly turned to look at the eldar. Shepard was first to speak: "I am sorry but I think I speak for everyone because we all assumed that you're human. In very ornate armor, true, but still. And I have never heard of the eldar," The murmur of agreements sounded around the room.
The temperature in the room dropped suddenly. The eldar's posture straightened and the air around her began to buzz.
"Are you… mocking me, Mon-Keigh? You traverse the stars and claim that you have never heard of my kin? Our Empire was created long before your kind fell out of a tree, and we shall rule the Galaxy for many millennia to come!" The witch's tone was one of quiet fury, a master speaking to an errant servant who dared toe the line.
Many of the humans took a step back, put off by the eldar's display. Only Shepard remained unfazed by it and crossed her arms. Gallardi had to give the woman credit; she must have seen much not to be scared by fancy tricks.
Gallardi stood up. "I hate to agree with the xenos, but she's right. Her kind should be the current rulers of the Galaxy," he told the Commander.
"I assure you it was not my intention to offend you. Maybe you can take off your helmet, if such a thing is possible, so we can determine what race you belong to and we can end this misunderstanding," The Commander stated flatly.
"I… you… very well," The alien stuttered but moved her hands to remove her helmet.
With the slight hiss the woman removed her helmet and August for the first time saw the face of the eldar. He had to give the alien her due: the woman could be considered very attractive if not for the sheer wrongness of her features. It was like looking at a mutant, only more disturbing: the mutant's was a misshapen and wrong, the eldar's face was almost arrogant in its perfection. She had a face tattoo the around her eyes: both eyes were framed in the same symbol she had on her helmet – the crying eye. It gave her face a slightly sad expression. The last major features were midnight black hair, which was slightly reflecting the light, and elongated ears.
"Hot damn," Gallardi heard the dark skinned soldier whisper.
"There is a race of space elves? This is amazing," the redheaded woman murmured beside August. He turned to look at both the soldier and the redhead, slightly puzzled. What was wrong with these people? One was actually checking the alien out. The other one stated that the existence of another alien race was an exciting prospect. He turned to look at Shepard and saw that the woman's expression was that of surprise and curiosity.
"Well? Do you recognize 'my race' now Mon-Keigh?" The eldar asked Shepard.
"Yes and no. You are an elf, right?" the Commander asked uncertainly.
"Maybe that is what you people have as a term for my kin, I don't know," The witch replied, her eyebrows furrowing. "And what do you mean 'yes and no'. Can any of you give me a plain answer?"
"Well there is this thing: my people have folklore, legends and fantasies about how the there was a mystical race of elves that could do magic, live for thousands years and other stuff," Shepard replied sounding slightly amused. "Most of the people of course considered this pure fiction, but seeing you here now…"
"I do not care for your fantasies, Mon-Keigh. I want to know of my people," The eldar had a firm edge to her voice, but there was a note of uncertainty in her words.
Shepard's amusement evaporated and she replied flatly. "No. I'm familiar with all major alien species in the Galaxy and I have never heard of the race called eldar," The woman raised her head and asked someone invisible. "EDI do you have any possible information on such a race?"
"I am afraid not, Commander. I have already made inquiries in Extranet and Cerberus databases," came the synthetic reply. "There are no references. There currently only two humanoid-like races in the know Galaxy: humans and asari."
"No! You're wrong!" The eldar shouted and rushed towards the Galaxy map. She waved her hands and zoomed on the map towards where the Eye of Terror should be. She found the system she was looking for, zoomed once again and shouted triumphantly. "There! This is a homeworld of the…"
The eldar voice ended abruptly as she looked upon the star system. Or lack of such in this case. The large sign was flashing under the image: "Warning: Stellar classification – neutron star. Navigation inadvisable."
"No… how can it be?" The eldar whispered. She made the search once again. And again. And again. The result was the same.
"This is where your world of origin is supposed to be?" Gallardi asked coming closer.
"Yes. It does not make sense," The alien replied quietly.
"Indeed it doesn't. We are in the past. Yet your kind does not exist here, but they exist in our time?" Gallardi asked.
"I have no answer. It should be…" The eldar began to speak but stopped abruptly. "The Crossroads Keeper."
"The daemon? What about it?" August queried.
"He is one of the most dangerous entities in the warp because he has the knowledge of the connection between material and ethereal dimensions. And apparently other material dimensions as well," The eldar told him.
"You'll have to elaborate a little," Gallardi told her. "You know I'm stupid human and all that."
He expected some arrogant remark from the xenos, but it would appear that the eldar was too distracted to bother, because she began patiently explaining.
"There are theories that our material realm is not the only one. That there are actually many other such realms. Some simply mirrors each other. Another might have differences," the witch spoke sadly. She gestured towards the image of a neutron star. "This might be one of such differences."
"How does the daemon factor into all this?" August asked her.
"This might be its parting gift before we banished it," the eldar replied, lowering her head. "It sent us not only in the past but also into another dimension."
"Dimension where humans coexist with xenos…" Gallardi muttered.
"And the Eldar where destroyed by some natural disaster before their ascendance," The alien finished, and then added. "Or worse: my kin might have never existed in the first place. Ha, the Harlequins would have loved the irony of it."
Although the eldar's theory was wild, it was still plausible. And it seems that she was not lying this time, for she indeed had nothing to gain from it. No one could say how the events in this Universe would turn out. The humanity might not prove to be strong enough to oppose the horrors of the Galaxy and vanish from existence in the next millennia. The Imperium will never be created. Even the…
August stopped himself before he finished that thought. That way lay damnation. The Emperor was eternal. Even if this dimension was not blessed with His existence, He was still back there, back home on Holy Terra. He still sat upon the Golden Throne. And Gallardi would always remain loyal and will carry His light in his heart.
"I don't suppose you know a way back?" August asked the eldar.
The witch turned to him and replied. "The only way would be probably looking for the Crossroads Keeper and making a deal with it. We both know that is not an option."
"So we're stuck here," Gallardi summarized.
The eldar snorted. "A crude expression, but an appropriate one. We are, as you put it, 'stuck'," She told August and wandered to the side and began staring at the wall.
Gallardi nodded and turned to look at Commander Shepard.
"Alright, I'll say that this was the most bizarre conversation I have ever heard," Shepard told him and Gallardi understood that his dialog with the eldar was made in Harkat and every one present heard it. Shepard continued. "I understand that you are far away from home with no means to get back. For what it's worth, I'm sorry."
Gallardi smiled slightly. "Your sentiments are welcome, Commander."
"So. What are you planning to do?" Shepard asked him.
Gallardi looked at the Galaxy map. Indeed, what should he do? He always followed orders and now he had none. He didn't have any idea what to do. The Imperial Guard doctrine stated: If in doubt – move forward. If you do not have any orders, continue with the main mission of the Guard. He looked at Shepard.
"My duty as Imperial Guardsman compels me to protect humanity's domains against the predations of the alien, the mutant and the heretic. Since there is no Imperial Cult that means there are no heretics. The Age of Strife hasn't begun – there are very few mutants." August stated, noticing a slight wince the Commander made at the mentioning of mutants. "That leaves the aliens. Tell me: are there any ongoing military conflicts between humanity and xenos?
Victoria quietly regarded the Captain. Hearing how he and the eldar got here was something suited for a patient of the asylum. Yet the way they spoke about it… All this talk about daemons and dimensional travel – they made it sound so real, as if they were discussing the latest news. Some part of Shepard's mind still rebelled against the insanity of it. However, she was resurrected not so long ago, and now she had an elf on board. How much weirder things can become?
Victoria decided not to give the Universe ideas. She returned her attention to the man before her and his question.
"Why do you want to know about such thing?" Shepard asked Gallardi.
Gallardi was silent for a moment. "If there is such a conflict, I'll try to offer my services as a… mercenary," The last word was spoken with venom. It seemed that the Imperial Guard had a very low opinion of mercs.
"It seems that the idea of being the mercenary doesn't bring you much joy," Victoria remarked.
"It doesn't," Gallardi replied flatly. "But I see no alternative."
"Why not enlist officially in the Alliance Military. They are always looking for good soldiers," Shepard offered. "I know a few people who can help."
The captain shook his head. "Enlisting will require swearing an oath of loyalty. My loyalty will always lie with the Emperor and Imperial Guard."
Victoria decided not to push the subject. She knew a conviction when she saw one. This man fought under the banners of his state for some time and will gladly die in its name, even if it no longer existed.
"So, back to my original question," Gallardi queried once again.
Shepard regarded him once again. He seemed like a capable warrior. Someone she could use in her mission. Victoria decided to try her luck.
"As a matter of fact, there is. Human colonies are being abducted by an alien race called the Collectors. Hundreds of thousands are already lost. My team and I are going to stop them. I can really use someone experienced and determined," Shepard told him.
Gallardi's head suddenly snapped in the direction of the eldar and the alien looked back. Both their expressions were those of confusion. Gallardi turned to Victoria and asked.
"These Collectors, do you have an image of them?"
Shepard brought up her omnitool and searched for Collectors images from Freedom's Progress. She showed them to Gallardi, who began to study the Collectors intently. She once again turned to look at the eldar, but she just shrugged and turned to stare at the wall once again.
"What? Do you know something about them?" Victoria asked hopefully. Any information on the Collectors would prove invaluable.
"No. I have never met such creatures," The captain stated, shaking his head. "They just reminded me of something similar we had."
Before Shepard asked him to elaborate, Gallardi raised his hand. "It's not relevant at the moment Commander. Tell me: if they already abducted so many, why was only one small ship was sent to stop them? I'm not questioning your competence, but surely a fleet would fare better?"
"The problem is that those colonies weren't part of the Systems Alliance. They're independent," Victoria explained. "The Alliance command and the politicians decided that it was easier to write off those attacks as the work of pirates and slavers. I act as an independent agent."
"You're an Alliance officer but you act independently?" Gallardi asked her, his expression puzzled.
"Yes, besides being an Alliance officer, I'm also a Council Spectre," Victoria told him and sensing his next question, continued. "The Spectres are agents of the Citadel Council which is the governing body that consists of some of the major species in the Galaxy, including humanity. As a Spectre, I can act outside of the Citadel and the Alliance laws and regulations to ensure peace in the Galaxy."
"I see," The captain replied, pinching the bridge of his nose. "Back to the Collectors. Do you know why they are abducting our people?"
"Here comes the worst part," Shepard thought. "At this moment we can only speculate, but we think they are somehow connected to another hostile alien race – the Reapers."
"And the Reapers are?" Gallardi asked curiously.
"They are the race of ancient sentient star ships that have been systematically destroying all sentient life in the Galaxy every fifty thousand years. The next cycle of destruction should have begun two years ago but we managed to postpone it for a while," Shepard told him and stiffened, waiting for his reply.
To her surprise, Gallardi have not started to ridicule her as most people would. Instead, his head turned once again to look at the eldar, who immediately turned back, her expression worried. The eldar stepped closer and began to speak.
"Do you have the image of these Reapers, Mon-Keigh?"
Shepard searched through her omni-tool once again and revealed the image of the Sovereign.
"There was only one Reaper, Sovereign," Victoria explained. "He was a vanguard of their fleet and wanted to use the Citadel station as a giant mass relay to bring the fleet of Reapers from the dark space."
Both Gallardi and the eldar were studying the image intently. The alien woman was first to speak.
"This is unlike any necron ship I have ever seen or encountered in the archives of the Craftworld," The eldar was shaking her head.
Gallardi looked up at Shepard. "What about foot soldiers? Did they use those?"
Victoria started to rummage once again through her omni-tool for pictures of the geth and the husks.
"These were the most commonly seen troopers," Shepard told them as she cycled through the series of pictures.
The eldar shook her head once again, visibly relaxing. "No, these are not necron."
The captain looked at her. "Are you sure, xenos? You said this is the past. The design might have evolved in time."
"Don't be foolish," The eldar replied, once again staring at the wall. "The necron designs have not changed for millions of years."
"Hm, whatever you say," The Captain shrugged.
"I'm sorry but who are the necron?" Shepard asked curiously.
"Back in our Universe we also had a race of xenos machines hell-bent on the destruction of sentient life," Gallardi told her. "But it seems your Reapers are not them, which is good. There are few things worse than the necron."
Victoria nodded and shut down her omni-tool.
"So. Now you know about my mission. It's a risky business. The chances of survival are… slim," Shepard told Gallardi. "What say you, Captain?"
Gallardi straightened out and answered. "It seems to me that your cause is just, Commander. I would be honored to offer my services."
"Well, that was easier than I thought it would be," Victoria smiled.
"I'm sorry Commander, I don't follow you," Gallardi asked her.
"I'm sorry, it's just the majority of people think I'm crazy to believe in the Reapers," Shepard explained. "But it seems you already had your own version of mass murdering machines. I guess nothing fazes you."
Gallardi looked at Garrus and Mordin. "Serving alongside aliens rankles me very much, Commander."
Shepard stiffened. "Is this going to be a problem? I understand that you might do things differently in the Imperium of Man, but I cannot have the integrity of my team compromised."
The Captain sighed. "In the Imperial Guard we are compelled to shoot xenos on sight, unless ordered otherwise. However, I understand that following that doctrine here will do more harm than good for my fellow humans. I guess… some semblance of non-violent coexistence should be possible," He finished reluctantly. "I don't have to like it, but if this is the way to serve Mankind, I will do my duty."
"I'm glad to hear that," Victoria said and extended her hand. "Welcome aboard, Captain Gallardi."
The man took her hand in the strong grip and shook it. "Proud to be of service, Staff Commander Shepard."
Victoria smiled slightly, released his hand and turned to address her second guest.
"What about you Miss… I am sorry, we were not introduced properly," Shepard asked the alien woman, who was still starring at the wall.
The eldar was silent for a moment.
"Maeteris," She spoke quietly. "I am Farseer Maeteris of the… once of the Craftworld Ulthwe."
The Farseer turned and looked into Victoria's eyes.
"It seems to me, human, that I have nowhere to go at the moment. I would like to have some time alone to reflect on the recent events," Maeteris stopped, as if weighing her words carefully. "If you can provide me with a sanctuary on your vessel I would be… grateful."
"Yes, she is definitely an elf," Victoria thought. Because seriously, who uses the word sanctuary nowadays. She turned to look at Gallardi for some tip, but he only shrugged slightly. Shepard turned back to the Farseer.
"Of course. We would be honored to have you as our guest," Victoria told the eldar, receiving a slight nod from the woman.
"Come, I will show you to your quarters," Shepard told both Gallardi and Maeteris and turned to address the rest of her crew.
"Alright people. We have a debriefing in forty minutes. Until then, dismissed."
A/N. I know. The way I dealt with the language barrier looks somewhat dumb, but didn't want to make it a major issue. So, there you have it.