Well that took longer than expected, sorry guys. I've got a part time job and I'm back in school studying A-Levels so there may be more delays in the future, so sorry :(. Nevertheless here we are.
Enjoy!
"Shepard I do not approve of your decision."
Commander Jane Shepard gazed at the Illusive Man blankly. It had been a wild day. After Hjalti froze Tela Vasir they had found another salarian mercenary who had surrendered to them rather meekly after he got a good look up the barrel of Hjalti's assault rifle-cannon. After that Hjati had to thaw Vasir out in order move load her onto the kodiak. When she tried to resist he promptly shot a ball of viridian energy at her which induced a "temporary paralysis" he explained to her bewildered team. The now terrified salarian immediately agreed to be put into custody and aid in convicting the rogue spectre when they presented her to the Council.
And still Shepard knew next to nothing about this stranger. He had crowbarred himself into her squad with little explanation, though she would accept all the help she could get so she had little cause to complain. His armour had shrugged of enough firepower to put down a fully armoured krogan battlemaster. His rifle, a "bolter" he called it, dished out more damage than any rifle had a right to and he had charged an enemy firing line with a sword! A massive, gorgeous and very dangerous looking sword but a sword nonetheless. Furthermore the tactic had worked and also displayed his immense physical strength when he crushed those two mercenaries, firstly with a shoulder bash and secondly with a chest kick. Then there was the flames, the lightning bolt, the paralysis and that strange but undeniably powerful language that had frozen TelaVasir and made the very air shatter. What amazed her most however was the sheer efficiency if Hjalti's counter-attack with the only collateral damage being a few bullet marks. And bloodstains. Unfortunately the Illusive Man had demanded her report in the comm room before she could ask any questions to Hjalti.
"Shepard are you even listening to me?"
"Yes" regretfully she thought as she was torn from her musing. "But even had we not found him I would've still had to go to the Citadel anyway and besides I'll get the chance to recruit Kasumi Goto when we get there."
"That may have been the case before your findings on Eden Prime" he replied dismissively much to Shepard's annoyance. "It needs to be brought to Cerberus that we may learn its abilities for its obvious that it was holding back on its full capabilities in the footage we've received."
And yet again Shepard had become infuriated at how the Illusive Man had gleaned information seemingly out of nowhere, she had not sent him any footage. "He needs to be brought to the Citadel and Tela Vasir needs to be brought to justice"
"How do you know if he isn't working with the Collectors or the Reapers?" Countered the Illusive Man. "How do we know he can be trusted?"
"You do not."
Shepard bolted around only have her blood turn cold at the emotionless visage of Hjalti's dreadful mask. How the hell did get in?
"However, in my own defence I did end the mercenary attack as well as subdue the fallen spectre and am currently aiding the commander in her mission." His mask made his voice sound distinctively ominous and there was something else too, something undoubtedly connected to that strange language he'd used, it felt like the rumbling of an angry volcano and contained just as much power. Shepard was reminded that, despite his efficiency in dispatching the mercenaries, he had fought with extreme brutality. And yet he spoke with a frightening calm "Though I will not submit myself to experimentation by one who has the makings of a deluded tyrant."
"My interests have always been for the greater good of my kind!" The Illusive Man retorted angrily, obviously not used to being talked to this way. "Cerberus and humanity are one and the same."
"No, I don't think they are." Hjalti replied flatly, much to the Illusive Man's ire. "I hacked into this vessels databanks and I did not like what I saw. Akuze, Noveria, Project Overlord. It is rather damning."
"EDI!?" Shepard exclaimed. "Why didn't you warn me that our systems have been hacked?"
"I had not detected the breach until after Hjati's statement." for the first time the AI sounded worried.
"You see my point Shepard?" The Illusive Man spoke vindictively "The only technology advanced enough to bypass EDI are the Reapers."
"You sound rather calm hearing that an agent of the your enemy's has infiltrated you most valuable asset." That threw curiosity into Shepard's alarm, who was cursing herself for being unarmed. "Though I can assure you I do not work for your foes and that you do not wish to make an enemy out of me."
"You are quite foolish to threaten one of the most powerful men in this galaxy." The Illusive Man smiled wickedly. "I advise you change your tone or else I might-"
"It is you who is foolish to threaten one of the powerful beings to walk the face of reality!" Hjalti snarled with all the force of a hurricane. "Do not dare to presume to have any control over me, I have watched entire worlds burn and have battled some of the worst monstrosities ever to drag themselves from the realm of mortal nightmares!" The Illusive Man stiffened and yet Hjalti persisted "I see the alterations you've made upon your body to extend your life, you are weak! A feeble old man clinging to some deluded prospect of power whilst cowering beneath the lie of nobility, fearing his own mortality."
The hologram vanished, The Illusive Man clearly having heard enough.
The Dragonborn stormed out of the comm room with a barely suppressed rage and yet... he felt oddly pleased with himself. The same feeling he got when he punched Nazeem in the face with a daedric armour gauntlet. The Dragonborn chuckled to himself, that pompous fop had to be rushed straight to the temple of Kynareth, much to the amusement of his wife along with everybody else in Whiterun. People who thought they had power over him infuriated him almost as much as the scions of Chaos did. They failed to understand that no amount of wealth, power or resources would subdue him. As such he delighted in showing that he, a child of Akatosh and true emperor of Mundus nonetheless, had the power over them. The exception to this rule were the Divines, mainly Akatosh for obvious reasons, and the Daedric Princes, mainly Azura for reasons that eluded him. This attitude often caused disputes with both The Dragon Riders, The Imperium of Man and it would undoubtedly cause disputes with a number of authoritive figures here.
Right now though he had to focus on the most immediate task of finding a place to take up residence on this ship a... frigate? Even eldar frigates dwarfed this thing, it would barely pass as a light escort craft in the Imperium. He took a left and found himself in the ship's armoury to the surprised look of one Jacob Tailor. The Dragonborn frowned. It would have made far more sense to situate the armoury within the hangar.
"Soooo..." Jacob spoke with a peculiar mixture of anxiety an awkwardness. "You looking for a place to store your weapons and armour?"
"I keep my armaments on my person at all times and my armour is the only form of attire I currently posses."
"Okay then." Jacob turned slowly away from the the astartes.
The Dragonborn groaned in annoyance and tore off his helm. "Just because I'm an astartes does not mean you cannot make conversation."
"Sorry." he replied quickly "I take it you get that a lot?"
"Not so much among my own kind." silently referring to both his own legion and the dragons of his homeworld. "With others the reactions are quite various."
"Such as?" Jacob was clearly afraid of what his answer might be.
"Well those think they can control me, mostly politicians, hate me as I refuse to answer to them. Then there are religious individuals who either see me as an angel sent by their gods or a monster from the depths of their various versions of hell." The Dragonborn explained. His eyes dimmed slightly as he thought and a thin line ebony scales began to form around his brow, part of the many mutations he had aquired over the years. It was actually possible to disern his mood simply through watching how the mutations behaved. "With most however, it is awe. It makes socializing rather difficult."
"Makes sense"
The Dragonborn turned as the salarian Mordin Solus entered much to Jacob's relief. The salarian however, seemed unfazed by his presence.
"Ah Hjalti, been searching for you, needed in med-bay for examination." Mordin spoke quicker than any tech-priest could chant binary. Unfortunately the prospect of a medical examination did not appeal to him at all. People had tried to find ways of harnessing his abilities through studying both his body and mind. Judging by what he had seen with the Illusive Man it was possible that someone would attempt something similar here. Medical examinations were standard protocol for almost every military organisation he had encountered however, as such he had decided to accompany the professor to the med-bay.
They left the armoury and and entered the combat information center. Dozens of men and women bearing Cerberus colours worked at cogitators surrounded a holographic panel projecting an image of Normandy SR-2. They all looked up as the salarian and the astartes entered the room. He was swiftly approached by a short (being a very relative term for The Dragonborn) woman with short strawberry blond hair armed with a welcoming smile that could put Angron at ease.
"Yeoman Kelly Chambers" she introduced herself brightly "a pleasure to have you aboard."
"My thanks, Yeoman." He gave her mind quick scan, resisting the urge to delve deeper so as not to invade her privacy. She was an incredibly happy individual with a driving curiosity to learn about others. He would have mistaken this for nosiness were it not for her kindness. She learned about others in order to better aid them.
"Come now Hjalti" said Mordin "time for proper introductions later." The Dragonborn shifted uncomfortably in his armour, regretting his decision to introduce himself with his nickname. Only those closest to him addressed him as "Hjalti" ever since Serana thought it a good idea to name him this after meeting the ghost of Old Hroldan. He sighed inwardly, it was better than his other name. Konahrik. He disliked using that name due to its origins and the fact that it was Dovahzhul for warlord, which was an uncomfortably true description of The Last Dragonborn. He only ever used that name when he really wanted people to know what kind of individual they were dealing with.
The med-bay was smaller than he expected, though this was likely because he was more used to the confines of his mighty Glorianis-class battle barge Aetherial Vengeance the mobile headquarters of the Dragonguard Legion. Doctor Karren Chackwas was an ageing woman with a kind yet commanding look, as if the med-bay was her own little plain of Oblivion.
"A pleasure to make you aquaintance" she spoke professionally "Now would you please remove your armour so that we may begin."
After a good quarter hour of reluctant machine-spirit, deactivating armour seals and removing ceramite plating with the aid of both Mordin and Chakwas, The Dragonborn sat on top of an operating table having removed the upper section of his power armour. Both the salarian and the human gazed in horror at his multitude of scars, surgical and combat, and the line of cable sockets running up his spine. At the same time they gazed in wonder at the intricate tattoos on his back. On his right shoulder they depicted Akatosh in his dragon form, with his wings outstretched reaching up to The Dragonborn's neck. In either claw held a sword and an hourglass and there was a long line of aedric text extending down his arm where it the sun rune of Aetherius on the back of his hand. On the left side was Azura her extended arms holding the moon and star meeting Akatosh's wings. Daedric glyphs snaked down his left arm until they reached the portal rune of Oblivion.
"Don't stare at them for too long you will go blind." They immediately averted their gaze. Chakwas began a few basic scans while Mordin examined the sockets, all the while shaking his head in disapproval. At that moment they were joined by Shepard.
"What's wrong Mordin?" She inquired worriedly.
"Fibrous material grafted under skin of torso" he spoke in a hushed tone "along with other implants, breaks Council laws on gene-moding, extensively.
"Laws that I was not even aware of." The Dragonborn retorted "Besides, I can assure you that I was far outside Council juristiction when I underwent the implantation."
"Shepard, scans show that, other than his implants and a few other anomalies, his anatomy is completely human."
"What kind of anomalies are we talking about here doc?"
"So far we've already seen his scales, eyes and teeth but his brain activity far exceeds that of yours from when you activated the prothean beacon."
"The psykers curse," he chimed in "it is how I was able to enter your mind and learn your language."
"Where exactly are you from Hjalti?" Shepard was beginning to get angry and more than a little fearful.
"You will not believe me." The Dragonborn was dreading this moment. This was always the worst part about being thrown onto another plain of reality.
"Try me." So be it.
"Very well, but I must warn you that where I come from the rules of physics as you understand them, time and space, are far more flexible." and then rather ominously "And fragile."
"Impossible." Shepard stared in disbelief, though it would explain a great many things about Hjalti.
"I assume this galaxy has a multiverse theory."
"Are you saying-!"
"Yes" he continued "Mundus, the plain of existance where I come from, we proved this theory to be true as well as the existance of the divine and magic, long before we even mastered space flight." To further reinforce his point he drew a soul gem resting on tripod and placed it on the table. Channelling some magicka into the gem he projected a diagram of Mundus.
Now it was EDI's turn to be perplexed. "This diagram shows objects such as multiple stars, planets and two small moons are in orbit around a central planet. This should not be possible."
"Already you have forgotten my warning." He then pointed to the central planet. "Nirn, my homeworld."
"And magic?" Shepard asked in disbelief.
"Mundus is seeped in the stuff." He conjured a magelight above his head to prove his point.
"And the divine?"
"Their rather fond of meddling in affairs on Nirn, sometimes directly." He shrugged. "Especially my own."
"And can we expect them to show up on out journeys with you onboard?"
"Depends if they find what we're doing to be interesting" before hitting her with the lance batteries "So it is a distinct possibilty."
"Will they help us or..." The Dragonborn realised he had gone to far by bringing the existance of gods crashing down on what appeared to be a secular society, now these people were fearing divine punishment. Part of him entertained the idea of letting them scurry around in terror but he decided to put their fears at rest.
"If they the gods that I know from my time in Mundus then you should rejoice for I am their chosen and they will aid us in the war against the Reapers." He spoke kindly, letting his Voice drip into his words, imbuing them with power so as to inspire confidence over fear.
"What are you Hjalti?" She said with barely disguised awe.
"I am Dovakiin, Dragonborn, son of Akatosh the father of Dragons, lord of time and king of the aedric gods." He spoke solemly, with the great burden of responsibility. "I am lord of the Mundusian Empire, Primarch of the Dragonguard astartes legion and I'd be honoured to call you shield-sister."
"Very well Dragonborn." She decided to accept who he was, who he said he was as he inclined his head in a respectful bow. His change in demeanor was so sudden it shocked her. From ominous and relentless warrior, to a kind and humble individual. The sort of person you'd want a emperor. "I'm honoured to have you as part of my team."
The Dragonborn looked up at Shepard and smiled warmly. That had gone far better than he'd anticipated. He was relieved they had not asked how he arrived on Eden Prime, that would have led to the topic of the Warp and its inhabitants.
"Please, call me Hjalti, for I posses neither empire or legion in this galaxy." he removed himself from the table and plucked a beaker from a nearby desk. He then drew his combat blade and punctured his wrist and filled the beaker with his blood. "Here you are doctor, and Shepard, I will compile a dossier on my abilities and background as well a few other topics you may find intetresting."
He donned his armour with surprising swiftness, grabbed his weapons and left. Deciding to take residance in the cargo hold beneath the engine room. It was somewhat secluded and allowed him to keep an eye on the prisoners where they were being held under guard.
"Hey, Hjalti" Shepard called "You do realize we're going to explain this to the Council."
"Fuck!"
Shepard collapsed into mirth at the first time she heard his use of profanity.