Arcturus Station
Shepard stood at the large hatch that made up the port side of the shuttle as is it slid open, revealing the two white and gold armoured figures waiting outside in the small VIP shuttle dock. The majority of the Arcturus shipyard was a zero gravity environment with only visitor areas and the crew habitation level being fitted with mass effect generated gravity. The commander had to quell the instinct to draw his own weapon as the two troopers snapped their rifles up and trained them on him. He understood tactically it would be suicide, the two Cerberus fighters where in full armour, equipped with personal shielding and wielding Mattock rifles. Against that Shepard was wearing dress blues with, in his opinion, a badly underpowered pistol hanging out of a trouser pocket. Shepard realised he was outnumbered, outgunned and under-equipped and yet he still could feel the urge to just ignore all that and attack. It was a stupid, suicidal impulse and yet it hung there suspended in his mind like the apple on the tree.
"Delta?" The Cerberus trooper's voice had a strange electronic sound to it. Shepard nodded his head slightly and the two troopers relaxed, lowering their rifles. "We need to secure your contact's body, where is it?"
Shepard pointed a thumb over his shoulder at the starboard hatchway that led to the cockpit, "Co-pilot's chair," he informed them.
The two Cerberus troopers shared a nod and the one who hadn't spoken stepped into the shuttle, moving to the port side cockpit hatch. The other bent down to pick up a large kit-bag before tossing it to Shepard, who rocked back a step as he caught it. "Armour for you, put it on," the trooper ordered.
Shepard gripped the kit-bag with both hands, "Right."
The silent trooper entered the cockpit, and discovered three bodies scattered around the room. An uniformed alliance pilot sprawled in the left chair and next to him, in the co-pilot's chair, another body slumped. The third, an Alliance prison guard in badly fitted armour, was standing with his back against the aft bulkhead with pistols in both hands, aiming one at each hatchway. Lieutenant James Vega fired the pistol trained on the port hatch at the Cerberus trooper's head and the trooper stumbled back out of the cockpit as his shielding deflected the round.
As soon as he heard Vega shoot, Shepard threw the heavy kit-bag at the trooper still standing outside the shuttle. The combination of speed and mass hitting his chest was enough to stagger the trooper and, for a second or two, trap his rifle against his chest. That bought Shepard enough time to draw his own weapon and as the trooper from the cockpit stumbled back, step forward and fire twice into Vega's target from a range of less than an inch. At such proximity the magnetic fields created when firing a modern mass accelerator weapon disrupted a hard-suit's sensors. This disruption often resulted in a hard-suit failing to activate the mass effect nodes that 'shielded' an individual from incoming fire, such as the two rounds that the commander sent punching through the weaker neck armour of the Cerberus trooper.
The Cerberus soldier didn't react as Shepard had anticipated there was no futile grasping of the neck wounds in an effort to stem the bleeding. Instead the trooper tried raising his rifle to fire at the silhouette of James Vega as the lieutenant followed the trooper out of the cockpit. Shepard stomped on the back of the fatally injured trooper's knee then used his free hand to grab the unbalanced trooper's shoulder and pull him down to the deck.
James Vega saw Shepard take down the trooper he had shot and scanned for another target. The lieutenant had discarded one of his pistols in the cockpit and now held the remaining weapon in the approved two-handed grip. Vega saw the remaining trooper outside disentangle himself from the kit-bag Shepard had thrown at him and started shooting before the trooper could take aim. The lieutenant fired in a steady, methodical rhythm to maintain his accuracy whilst he took a couple of steps to interpose himself between the Cerberus soldier and the defenceless Shepard who was now wrestling with the injured trooper on the shuttle's deck.
The blood jetted out of the injured man's neck like a fountainhead, drenching Shepard's uniform. Even dying the soldier fought on, discarding his rifle and trying to draw the combat knife affixed to his chest. Shepard grasped the wrist trying to draw the knife, needing to use all his enhanced strength to prevent it from being unsheathed then needed to use his gun arm to ward off punches from the trooper's other arm. The trooper bucked and twisted his legs in an attempt to dislodge the commander, one of his knees landed a glancing blow on Shepard's rib cage and the commander bit out a curse. The blood flow lessened and the trooper's struggles weakened, Shepard took a chance and stopped blocking the trooper's attacks. Instantly the trooper landed a couple of punches on Shepard but the trooper's strength was finally ebbing away and the blows failed to dislodge him. The commander moved his pistol under the trooper's chin, got the correct angle, fired and the Cerberus trooper died as the bullet ripped through his brain. Shepard sent another, just to be sure.
Vega's duel with the remaining Cerberus trooper was not going well. The marine lieutenant had succeeded in getting a couple of rounds past the trooper's shields, inflicting only minor wounds, whilst the trooper's armour prevented the shots Vega aimed at more vital areas from causing immediately lethal damage. In response the trooper's rifle fire was swiftly starting to tax the lieutenant's own defences, who couldn't retreat into cover without exposing the un-armoured Shepard behind him. It was almost a relief when Vega heard the steady bark of a Mattock rifle firing behind him. The real relief came when the Cerberus trooper's head snapped back as the faster moving rifle rounds punched through his helmet. Vega advanced to the trooper's fallen body, keeping his weapon trained, whilst his eyes swept the small shuttle dock for additional threats. He used his foot to ease the trooper's rifle away from the corpse then, satisfied there was no further danger, the lieutenant holstered his sidearm and scooped up the rifle before turning back towards the shuttle in time to see Shepard stand. Vega whistled, "What the hell happened to you, commander?"
The first human Spectre was a mess, his dress blues had been soaked by the trooper's blood during their struggle and more flecks of blood spotted his face. The trooper's final punches had also split the skin at the commander's cheek and left heavy bruising around one eye. Any part of his uniform that hadn't caught the arterial spray during the fight had instead been daubed when Shepard had stretched for the rifle he now held or coated when he had rolled to clear Vegas from his line of fire. Shepard grimaced, "You should see the other guy, James" he told the marine.
Vega deliberately looked at the dead trooper in the shuttle's cargo section, then back at Shepard. "I can see the other guy, Shepard. You still look worse."
"He's dead James. He took two through his neck and another two in the head, the only thing that's holding his skull together must be his helmet. In what possible way can I look worse than that?" Shepard saw Vega open his mouth to retort and hurried on, "Shut up lieutenant, and give me a hand with that kit-bag instead."
The lieutenant rested his salvaged rifle against his shoulder and huffed as he picked up the kit-bag Shepard had thrown earlier then handed it over to the commander. Shepard placed the bag down at his feet, opened it and started pulling out pieces of armour, a shoulder pauldron with a red in white stripe, a vambrace with the same paint scheme and a chest piece with 'N7' in white and next to a small blue triangle. "Dear Papá Noel," James said in a child-like voice, "when I grow up I want to be a Spectre. Because when Spectres kill people, the malo drop nice new shiny sets of armour for them to wear, just in their size and everything." The lieutenant switched back to his regular voice and continued, "Whereas us regular grunts just get bullet holed, badly fitting, gear they have to strip off of the dead guy's body."
Shepard gave the lieutenant a flat look whilst he finished emptying the bag, "Are you finished James or do you want to give me a hand getting this lot on?" he asked.
Vega smiled, "I'll help you commander. Not because I like you or anything, but just so next time you can be the bullet stopper instead of me."
The Spectre and the marine worked swiftly, Shepard unbuttoning and discarding his dress tunic then inserting the in-ear com-pieces, before pulling on the ballistic material under armour. Meanwhile Vega inspected and arranged the ceramic pieces that comprised the outer layers. Finally as Shepard started attaching the ceramic carapace to the inner layer, Vega checked the charge level of the suit's power cell. Satisfied the marine stepped back, thumped Shepard's shoulder twice to indicate everything checked out, then realised there was an extra piece left on the deck. Vega swore and drew Shepard's attention to the offending item.
It was an omni-tool. Shepard sighed and started to dismount the carapace protecting his right arm. "Guess it's been a while since you last did this, James?" he asked.
"Come on," Vega protested, "who in their right mind wears two omni-tools? It's redundant, mad and kinda pointless." Shepard finished loosening the outer armour on his right arm and Vega fitted the extra omni-tool into place before resuming speaking as he helped Shepard tighten his armour. "I mean you only have two hands and you need one to use the interface. So even if, god forbid, you lose one arm how are you going to access the other one? Use your toes maybe?"
"There's talk the Alliance is developing a method of creating advanced capability blades for omni-tools, for mêlée use." Shepard informed the lieutenant, "A person with an omni-tool blade on each arm could have a real advantage."
"Please," Vega snorted, "the Alliance is in the middle of the most expensive upgrade for the fleet since its formation and you're telling me their going to spend millions just to develop a new knife." The lieutenant tapped his finger off the knife scabbard on Shepard's torso, "There's a very old joke about two of the pre-Alliance space agencies and a pencil. I happen to believe the Alliance is too organised to perpetuate an old myth."
Shepard gave a non-committal grunt and started up the new omni-tool, there was a pending message stored on the device. He opened it and a hologram of Miranda Lawson sprang up. The hangar, Lieutenant Vega, everything else faded into an abstract background mosaic. Like a man lost in the desert then offered a drink of water, all of Shepard's awareness was transfixed onto the image in front of him. Miranda looked exhausted, her face drawn whilst her hair hung lifelessly but it was the eyes that tore at him. Those incredible blue eyes he knew so well, in which he had seen furious, murderous rage, tears and love where absent. He recognised the eyes looking out at him now and hated them. They where the eyes that had stared back at him from hospital mirrors after Akuze, the same eyes in his mother's face in the days after she had learned of the death of his father, her ex-husband, and his newly born half-sister on Elysium during the Skyllian Blitz. They where the eyes of the walking dead, those who had lost something so precious that they needed to shut out everything else and even though it was a recorded, holographic message Shepard desperately wanted to reach out to her.
"Hello Shepard," the holograph gave a wan smile, "I wish that we could talk directly, but we both know this isn't the time." Even her voice sounded tired and dulled, "Kai Leng has most likely tried threats to force your cooperation, but I know you. Threats won't make you turn away from the Alliance and the Council," Miranda's voice took on a note of hurt, "and despite everything we've done together you'll never willingly join Cerberus. I know you have your reasons and I understand them, but I wish. I wish that you and I meant more…" Her voice trailed off into silence, before returning, "I know you, Jean. If you are hearing this it means you're hoping to disrupt Leng's mission, to prevent him from stealing the Normandy somehow. Be careful, please. Leng is vicious and completely ruthless, don't try reasoning or dissuading him because you'll die if you do and I don't…" Her voice trailed off again and Shepard realised he was blinking back tears. "Please Jean, Cerberus needs EDI." Miranda's voice suddenly became animated and urgent. "The information we need is here, in the Collector's station. But it's protected, by indoctrination and Reaper codes, we can't access it. But EDI could, she's immune to indoctrination and she has Reaper cyber-warfare modules. EDI is the only one who can do this. So please Jean help me, we can stop the Reapers but we're running out of time." Miranda's voice softened into a whisper, "We know they are coming. There's an atmosphere on the base, a tension. It feels like the Reapers could arrive any day now, and every day they don't ratchets that tension even higher." Miranda gave a small shake of her head - as if to clear it, "Shepard, I love you. I don't know why you left me behind with the others on Omega before going into Batarian space, but please trust me now. We have to do this it is the only way to save everyone." The message ended and the hologram disappeared, once again stored in the omni-tool's cache memory.
"We better get moving commander," Vega told the motionless Shepard, "we still have to get to the Normandy before this Kai Leng cabronazo does."
"Right," Shepard's voice was rough, he tried again. "You're right. We had better get moving." Shepard un-slung the rifle from his back and gathered himself, "I'll take point, we move fast. We find any friendly casualties you give them a single application of medi-gel and we move on. The faster we get to the Normandy the sooner the cavalry arrives, clear?"
Vega shook his head, "Uh-huh commander, I'm on point. I don't know who the Princess is but she's clearly done a number on your head. You're not all here; can I trust you to cover my back at least?"
The lawyer was just too perceptive, Shepard thought, but Vega was right though. That image of Miranda worried him she had always taken pride in her appearance. Just what had happened to change her from the vibrant woman he remembered, into the exhausted, rambling person in the message? Was she in danger? How could she still trust Cerberus? Should he still trust her? Too many questions where roiling in his mind, at least he could get one answered. "Princess?" he enquired.
Vega shrugged, "Yeah Princess, as in Princess Leia, from Star Wars right?" Shepard gave him a blank look, "The old classic movie? You must have seen it right? Tell me you didn't get a whole - 'Help me Obi-Wan Kenobi. You're my only hope' - kinda vibe from that message?"
Shepard shook his head, "Miri has never been some damsel in distress waiting for a rescue. She is smart and confident and bloody lethal in a fight. I would feel sorry for anyone who tried to lock her up in a tower somewhere." But if they succeeded, then they had better find somewhere else to be when he came looking for her, the commander added in his mind.
"So 'Miri' and 'I love you' huh, sounds like there's something there commander?" Vega smirked at Shepard's glared response. "Alright I get it, a gentleman doesn't talk right?"
"James, I know as a lawyer you where taught to investigate, to pry out information," the commander stated. "But right now, you need to be a marine, not a lawyer. Focus on the here and now. You want to be the man on point, fine. Lead off lieutenant."
"Aye, aye sir," the marine replied.