(A/N): EA, I swear to god, get this right for us. I know you're capable of producing good material, and I'm willing to ignore the inevitable microtransactions since I usually just blaze through the singleplayer in games like these. In the mean time, I very much like what I see (I tap dat scaly ass of Vetra's). At least it's good to know the definite release date for the game, even if I can't help but get the lingering feeling of a half-baked game, but at the same time I can't help but expect Battlefield 1 quality from these guys.

Chapter 4: Unstoppable

Fortunately, Nazara is taking his sweet time finding the Conduit while Shepard and the rest of us go treasure hunting and pirate stomping. Considering how long we took on such outrageous activities like these, I'm surprised the Harvesters didn't come rolling in right under our noses. While I do feel guilty that I wasted such precious time following around these not half-bad kids around on these adventures, I can't help but ponder the Harvesters' actual competence if they can't beat us to the punch in a timely manner.


Feb 15, 2183

13 hrs/38 min/26 sec

Agebinium, Amazon System, Voyager Cluster

"There is no way a probe managed to dig its way a kilometer underground," Fredrick said as Tali and Garrus got out of the Mako.

"Keelah, commander. How you managed to turn a smooth path here into a motion sickness-inducing nightmare is beyond me," Tali said, almost keeling over and puking in her helmet.

"Maybe you should take Müller's advice and have him order those replacement parts," Garrus said shortly after. "Anyways, this isn't suspicious at all," he added sarcastically.

"Looks like scavengers got to it. Perhaps they don't mind if ask for it back,"

"Vehicle is fine as is, guys. Besides, this doesn't change anything. We still got a nuke down there. Check your corners and watch your back," Shepard ordered as she opened the door. The group followed her in, watching the door close behind them. Instinctively, Fredrick drew his rifle out and glanced around, looking through the walls for hostiles. As they entered the main body of the entrance, the layout of the chamber was strewn with boulders, crates, and lights. He glanced around, sharply looking, yet found no sign of hostiles.

"Spirits, its empty. There's no one here," Garrus said, eyeing Fredrick with exasperation.

Fredrick gave an annoyed look back saying, "That's what scares me. Is the Normandy equipped with drones to use to defuse this thing instead?"

The group came to the back of the main area, where the door to the left was locked and the door downward was waiting to be opened. "I'm with Fredrick on this one. The fact we're being lured down to the deepest part is off. Signal says the probe is just down there." The four entered the door on the left and approached the probe they saw on the floor.

The mine shook as explosive charges went off behind them. "Uggh, fuuuuuuuuuuuck. What a rookie-error," Fredrick said, disappointed in his own capabilities.

A projection of a Human pirate showed up before them saying, "Shepard! At last!"

"You have me at a disadvantage," Linda said as she crossed her arms.

"You don't remember me? Ahahahaha!" the pirate continued to taunt. Boy, Fredrick was going to enjoy killing him. "No matter, I remember you. I never forget anyone I fought. My name is Elanos Heliat. I doubt you know it." Right, he's that one. There were so many adversaries that Fredrick had encountered that he barely understood how he kept tabs on all their names. "Who do you think runs the Terminus? Huh, Shepard? Thousands of pirates, slavers, criminals of every stripe?"

Linda was clearly as annoyed as he was. "You assume I give a damn, that's cute."

"The one who leads, the one who seizes the most ships, pillages the most colonies. Three years ago, I was the strongest." At this point, Fredrick lost interest, walked over to the probe and knelt by it. Ignoring the tennis game of diatribes and boasting behind it, he felt the surface of the metallic body before him for maintenance panels. Retrieving his particle knife, he started to pry the thing apart, taking panel after panel off, looking for a specific piece. Eventually, he found a programming interface after prying off the sixth panel before reaching out and connecting.

Haliat's words faded away as he entered the missile. "Hehehe, I'd li…"


It'd been so long since his mind had interfaced, but he knew it was for his own benefit. Doing so still put physical strain on his body and he didn't want to risk whatever potential risks he'd face if he really could put himself into a coma, meaning he had to act fast. He felt his tendrils reach out around him, feeling the pitch-blackness like he was blind, searching the system for any way to shut the nuclear bomb off.

Telecommunication. Well, if Haliat would to remotely detonate this thing, he'd do so remotely when they walked down here in the first place. Shutting this off would be beneficial.

Location module. Not useful, moving on.

Sensors. It's probably what Haliat used to see them coming in. Again, not useful.

Trigger. Used under the circumstances a set of parameters is met, causing the nuclear detonation in the first place. Problem solved, system sabotaged. Mission accomplished, exiting system.


13 hrs/38 min/26 sec

One again feeling the familiar sense of untreatable, crippling pain, Fredrick fell backward from his kneeling position onto the floor, narrowly catching himself just as Haliat ended his call with Linda. The others came rushing to his aid as they heard him grunting in pain. He couldn't hear the words come out of their mouths and his vision glittered like poor connection to an old television.

As he slowly rose to his feet, Linda's words finally came through. "Can you hear me?" she spelled out slowly. "What the actual fuck happened?" she asked again.

"Fried the nuke, Shepard. We're good to go," he reported.

"Okay, the fact we're not going to die is good. But even if you're an ass, you're still part of this team, and I can't make sure if everyone is still alive if I don't even know what happened to you," Linda growled.

Finally recovering, Fredrick answered, "My body got ahold of some Harvester software at some point, a virus or something of the likes. It allows me to mentally interface with UIs and such, but it puts heavy strain on my nervous system from remaining completely inactive for the brief duration that I am in a system, resulting in a system reboot. Think of it like when your parents tell you not to play with the light switches."

"Well thanks for scaring us you bosh'tet! Any idea how we get out of here?" Tali asked as the group walked back up the tunnel to see the main body of the mine blocked off by rubble, before turning their gaze to the other door, now unlocked.

"So, who was Haliat anyways?" Fredrick asked as the group walked through and found an elevator.

"He orchestrated the Skyllian Blitz, the pirate offensive Shepard held off against," Garrus answered.

"Really?" Fredrick asked with disbelief. "For the man who thought of that attack, he doesn't come across as being very smart." The fight shortly afterwards was barely noticeable as well.


Feb 16, 2183

07 hrs/24 min/37 sec

SSV Normandy, en route to the Gemini Sigma

While it was mostly Shepard who walked around the ship seeing to the needs of the crew, he would still maintain the habit of doing similarly. He still needed to have a strong grasp of the team's mental health both on and off of the ship. For now, Liara was alone and Kaidan was of the whole team the one individual he least knew anything about. Everyone else he was currently working with had either met him before, or someone they knew personally had met him and subsequently had indirect experience.

Fredrick and Wrex were currently talking about Wrex's last job and first encounter with Saren. "Like I said, I wouldn't have known who he was until you Shepard brought him up. I must say you trained him well, a week later I saw the C-Sec report that every mercenary besides me had died on that ship, all with direct headshots and plasma burns."

"I don't know whether to feel proud or ashamed of him right now, my friend. What gave away his actual intentions?" Fredrick acknowledged.

"At some point, an Asari matriarch came onboard, wearing all black. The two had talked something about a Prothean artifact before walking deeper into the ship. Curious as I was, I followed them into the storage area, but kept out of sight, used only my hearing to listen in on his conversation with his superior. It sounded like the two were talking over the intercom, but looking over security footage later, I found out they were just standing there, looking into the now empty storage unit. We were parked on the edge of the Attican at the time, so I got off that tub and made for the next system in less than five hours," Wrex described.

"Shit, I keep looking out for him, but hope is a hard thing to come by these days. Anyways, I've got a few others to check on. Take care, Wrex," Fredrick said, walking over to Ashley.

"How far back do you two go?" Williams asked as he walked up to her.

"One hundred and fifteen cycles, why?" Fredrick asked in return.

"Nothing. I just find it strange you trust these guys," Ashley said. Fredrick was really annoyed with Ashley's incessant complaints about the "alien" teammates. He was aware that others onboard did also have their prejudices against aliens, such as Pressley, but no one was nearly as vocal as Ashley about it. He wanted to inquire if maybe it had to do with her family legacy, but he decided to hold that off.

As he walked over to Garrus and the Mako, he noticed that the Turian was already engaged with Linda in conversation. Linda had been coming down to talk with Garrus during travel between systems with the greatest frequency and the most times compared to that of the other crew members. The two shared their stories, concerns, future hopes, and were generally friendly with each other. He thought back to how Liara and Kaidan would occasionally give each other a hostile glance when Linda was nearby. The two biotics were competing for their commander's emotions when both had already lost to a Turian who wasn't even remotely aware of the barely-existing love triangle. Additionally, he found it strange how the post-war conflict between their respective races hadn't interrupted this connection. He was almost entertained as he watched their hormones fire.

After Linda wrapped up her conversation, she walked over to him to talk. "Hey Müller, how's the state of the crew?"

"All good so far. Everyone occasionally butts heads, but that's to be expected. Things are a bit rough out here, any idea when we'll get ahold of better armor? Because picking pieces off of dead mercenaries won't work forever," Fredrick answered.

"We'll be heading back to the Citadel and buy some new equipment then during shore leave. After that, we'll be heading out to the Earth's Moon to deal with a malfunctioning AI, go to Feros, and perhaps investigate the Armstrong Nebula. Maybe they market will have something half decent once we get back," Linda said as she crossed her arms. "Hopefully, you don't mind if I ask some personal questions?"

Fredrick put down his datapad and said, "Sure, ahead." She probably didn't want to know anything too secret.

"So, why 'the Wolf' of all nicknames? Couldn't have gone with anything more subtle?" Linda said, raising an eyebrow.

"Oh, just a codename when I was still getting started. All the other races only had a faint idea of Earth ecology at the time and it just stuck as some term that was most related to the term, 'ruthless.' It wasn't really my decision," he answered, expecting something more complex.

"Well, I also heard you were genetically copied off one of the colonists on Khonsu. What lead to that?" Linda asked further. No doubt she hadn't invested too much time considering Khonsu history before bringing him aboard.

Shifting his stance, he answered, "In 2023, the miners had dug up several artifacts from some race older than the Protheans. The details are still sketchy, but interacting with the pillars that were found caused some energy pulse that closed the wormhole connecting the Sol System to the Ra System. After the wormhole close, everyone was panicking. Our stream of resources had been cut off, and while we had the means of terraforming, we would all run out of air before the process finished. The colonist managers presented the idea of using the tech we dug up to give workers respiratory implants to continue working in the harsh environment without having to use extra oxygen cells. Naturally, some of the workers felt violated and riots ensued, along with people beating each other to death. In the wake of the riots, the higher ups of Delta Station used cloning to artificially inject additional workers into the field without using forced births or some similar changes that would've only resulted in more clashing from the others. I was made using a genetically wiped egg cell, a splice of Dr. Andrew Müller's DNA, and nanites we found within the artifacts."

Still recovering from the bundle of information from the question, Shepard asked, "I noticed you use the nanites as both your equipment and that shield you pull up occasionally in combat, how do those work?"

Fredrick allowed his left forearm to become coated in the tiny machines to display them, saying, "We found these in the previously mentioned artifacts. They easily integrate with organic tissue, and allowed us to achieve leaps and bounds in nanotechnology, biology, as well as other fields. They allow us to construct and repair on the molecular level, alter DNA and repair cells, and allow us to further alter our synthetic parts and capabilities. The nanites also serve as an additional layer to my immune system, and I can share them to repair damaged tissue in others."

"I can't help but wonder what it's like on Khonsu. I heard the Terrans have done pretty well for themselves, especially considering life on Earth."

"We've done our best to minimize inequality on Khonsu, figuring that this would be our home for the long run. I wouldn't know the finer details about the politics; I'm just a soldier and a doctor, and I don't feel like listening to all the talking. Seeing that this would be the only life-supporting planet for possibly light years, we established laws early on ensuring a balance between industrial infrastructure and the now widespread ecosystem we managed to bring along before we were cut off from Earth. With confirmed knowledge about the Harvesters, we've begun enforcing mandatory service after high school, just to have some level of preparedness."

"Sounds nice. Not to sound naïve or anything, but I don't understand the negative vibe around Augs in general. I could maybe understand between Augs and Normal Humans, but is there something I missed that made the connection for other races," Linda prompted.

"Actually, that's a mix of themes that caused this association. For starters, the Geth have established Synthetic life as being bad in general. Then, there was the aftermath of our First Contact War with the Batarians, and the general outcome. After two weeks in, we found their homeworld and we showed no mercy when that day came. Finally, because our technology isn't Prothean-based, the rate at which our technology improved was leaps and bounds compared to everyone else, and everyone got an idea by how far when the Earth finally joined. Over a millennium ago Humans had believed the Earth was the center of the universe while Turians and Asari had long been space-faring races. When we finally became exposed to what this galaxy had to offer, we had accomplished more in the time span of two decades than everyone else had combined. Naturally, that's bound to wet a few pants."

"Shit, I hadn't realized the roots went that deep. I gotta go, the brass wants me to collect a data module from a downed satellite pretty soon, so I'll be taking a team out soon," Linda said, eyes wide with intrigue.

"Have a nice day, Shepard," he saluted. The made his way over to Garrus' station before prompting, "Good to see the two of you are friends, Garrus. I didn't think it would be possible in a post-314 Relay world."

Garrus gave him a rather surprised look before saying, "Erm, thanks. It's strange to hear someone use First Contact and 314 Relay interchangeably."

Fredrick nodded with understanding before responding, "I do have the downside of being on both sides of this conflict, and that I understand both sides of the argument. Given how nobody seems to be able to see past this, I can't help but admire the friendship you carry with the commander."

"Oh! Well, Linda told me we'll have to work together if we are going to stop Saren and the Reapers. With the exception of maybe Batarians, she doesn't seem to hold any racial grudges and… well, we're just friends," Garrus stuttered, as he scratched the back of his neck.

"Linda. He called her Linda, not Shepard," Fredrick thought, taking note of the interaction. "I see. Take care, Garrus."


Feb 18, 2183

15 hrs/43 min/56 sec

Zakera Wards, Citadel Station

Fredrick looked over his newly decorated pistol. He found a shop on the Citadel that provided paint jobs for weapons and he instantly took up on the opportunity. While his pistol didn't see nearly as much action as his rifle, he still thought it would look better with a white and red camo pattern, mimicking his armor pattern. Additionally, he added a laser sight attachment on the underside of the barrel for occasional use. "Yes, it's a very well done job. How much will this be total?"

The man at the counter pulled out his omnitool and calculated the total. "The complete service will be three hundred credits. The management kit will be an additional one hundred and fifty credits if you want it."

Tapping his omnitool, Fredrick simply paid up front before saying, "The simple service will do. This is a weapon, not a toy, so some wear and tear isn't bad." It was now shore leave. Everyone else was off doing their own thing, shopping, or running some errands like Linda was. He thought of going down to Chora's Den and getting himself something to drink. While taking care of a bunch of kids was somewhat stressful, he was getting used to having to patch people constantly on a daily basis. Regardless, it was satisfying to have the promise of some actual progress in revealing the Harvesters.

He passed by the corridor he'd met the others in, remembering the absolute the mess from the few weeks prior. Eventually, he came to the entrance of the bar, still intact with its neon sign after Shepard had supposedly torn the place up to find Tali. As he entered, he saw Linda, Garrus, Kaidan, and some other unidentified Turian facing a single Human. From where he stood, he could hear the threats the man was making, but didn't understand due to the lack of context. Walking up behind, he asked, "What the hell is going on here?"

The man turned around getting a good long look at Fredrick. "Well well well, Shepard! You've got an attack dog! What's he gonna do? Hump my leg?" the puny man mocked.

"You're treading on thin ice, kid. Why don't you tell me why you are here before you move along?" Fredrick threatened. To be honest, he was itching to use his newly painted pistol.

"Name's Finch, Aug. I used to run with Shepard in the 10th Street Reds. I was just asking her for a favor for some help for a friend of mine," the puny man said, jabbing a finger in Fredrick's direction.

"You're confusing 'blackmailing' with 'negotiating,' Finch. Back off, that man isn't worth your trouble," Linda said menacingly.

"Oho! Using threats for authority? That's sweet, but I have a better proposition. You shut the hell up and get out of my sight, or in twenty seconds, you're getting a beam of accelerated particles right between those pretty eyes of yours," Fredrick threatened.

"Wait, what?" Linda said with shock.

"Oh, the big tin man thinks he's scary! Think again, Aug!" Finch taunted. Holy hell, this man is stupid.

Fifteen seconds.

"You think you can bully the little Human, huh? I've seen the vids of the riots! I've seen what you bastards are like!" Finch ranted. Fredrick continued to stand statically, making no movement towards his side arm, feigning the impression he wasn't going to devote to his word.

Ten seconds.

"Finch, do you even have any idea who the hell this guy is?" Linda butted in.

"Shut it, Shepard! This tin can doesn't know what he's messing with!" Finch cut her off.

Five seconds.

"Yeah! Try to shoot me! The Tenth Street Reds will-!"

Like a western gunslinger and much faster than humanly possible, his hand snapped to his newly decorated pistol, aimed within the blink of an eye, and shot dead center of Finch's forehead, sending the criminal falling onto his back like a ragdoll. "Fucking you asshole," Fredrick laughed. After Finch fell onto the floor motionless, all the patrons of the bar stopped all activity and stared at the white and maroon madman.

Linda, Garrus, and Kaidan were all bewildered at Fredrick's blatant disregard of Finch's life, proper criminal treatment, and subtlety. Linda, being the first to recover from the shock, swiftly walked forward, and yanked on Fredrick's arm, leading the Aug out of the bar muttering, "I'd like to have a word with you, Müller," like she was an angry mother preparing to talk down a disobedient child.

As the four reached the outside of the bar, Fredrick turned to Linda saying, "Okay, Shepard. No need to act so-."

His response was cut short when Linda angrily, but futilely slugged Fredrick across the head with a balled fist. While she still wore her armor, her hand still hurt from the combined resistance of Fredrick's hardened body structure, his medium Terran armor, and heavy barriers. "What the hell was that all about?"

"Was I supposed to act otherwise?" he asked calmly.

"You didn't have to shoot him!" Shepard exclaimed, still gritting her teeth with pain. "You do realize not every encounter has to end up with someone dead, right?"

"Says what law or fundamental rule? He was a criminal and was deserving of nothing short of what he got." Fredrick genuinely lacked any doubt that his course of action was the right one.

"What the commander is only trying to say is that you just can't just go around killing people!" Kaidan said in her defense.

"Because?" Fredrick asked back, shifting his stance and crossing his arms.

"Look, I appreciate you getting rid of that problem, it's just I need you to learn when not to kill people without second though. Just because people see you as a killing machine doesn't mean you have to act like one," Linda fumed, bodychecking Fredrick as she walked by him.

Wrex walked up to the group as they began to leave the bar, watching as Linda angrily lead the pack. "What happened?"

Garrus said, "Someone from Linda's past tried to blackmail her, and Fredrick simply gunned him down. Don't tell her I said this, but I would've shot him."

Wrex had known Fredrick the longest out of all the Normandy crew, so he simply shrugged before saying, "Makes sense. Out of all likeliness, the little Pyjack deserved it."