Chapter 4 is here. Now the change of scenery and mention of new characters will hopefully spice things up a little. I realize that this story is moving painfully slow, and I once again ask you for your patience. I'm still trying to make my writing more fluid. I've read a number of newer stories and I just beat Deus Ex and Fallout New Vegas Lonesome Road, and all of it was inspiring. I just love the slide shows at the end of the fallout games and their dlc. So stick with me and I'll try to make it worth your while. BTW, my profile actually has something in it now if any of you are interested, including one of the most badass pictures of Darth Vader I could find.
Shepard and his crew were relocated to an off site Alliance outpost that was located in the military district. His 'crew' wasn't entirely accurate. His crew now consisted of only Miranda, Jacob, Garrus, Grunt, Jack, Tali, Samara, Kasumi, Zaeed, Thane, Legion, Mordin and Joker. Chakwas, Donnely, Gabby, Gardner, Hawthorne, Kelly and the others have disappeared along with the Normandy. Alliance HQ was deemed unsafe for them to stay in as the attack was obviously directed at them, if the theft of their ship was any indication. The outpost was public, really more akin to a high end police station, but still remote enough that any suspicious activity would be easily spotted. However, this did nothing to calm Shepard and his crew.
"Why are we all just sitting here?" Asked an extremely livid Joker, who was the only one actually sitting down.
"High Command is having the HQ searched to make sure there aren't any more explosives placed through out the facility. After they get the all clear, forensics will conduct a thorough investigation to find any evidence that might tell us what the reason for this attack might be." Admiral Hackett responded much too calmly for Joker's taste.
"Evidence? What the hell, are you people blind? The Normandy is gone, obviously the explosions were a decoy so that they could steal her out of the 'most secure' (he made literal air quotes to accentuate his point) facility the Alliance has outside of the Citadel, and you idiots want to sit around on your asses trying to,"
"Joker!" Shepard cut in abruptly to stop his helmsman from saying something that could have got him court marshaled for insubordination even though he wasn't a part of the Alliance anymore, and because Joker was beginning to go blue in the face from not taking a breath.
Joker turned to him about to say something, but the look on Shepard's face turned his tongue to lead. He imagined it was a face he used when he needed to make a Krogan pee himself.
"Sorry Commander." His apology was only to show his respect for Shepard.
"Everyone is upset about this, but we need to believe that the Alliance is going to help us out, right?" He asked to his assembled team. The only nods of agreement came from Jacob, Samara, and Tali. All the others seemed to be skeptical, to say the least.
"You all need to know that the Alliance will do everything it can to find out just what the hell is going on." Hackett spoke out with a neutral voice and expression, but Shepard could guess that he was feeling the hostility from the mistrust.
"Do you really believe this shit Shepard? I mean, don't you find that an attempt on our lives and the Normandy being stolen after you've been called for a trial seem a little bit suspicious to you?" Asked the ever paranoid of authority Jack.
"What are you getting at Jack?" Asked Miranda, with a barely contained snicker at the convict's conspiracy theories.
"What i'm getting at, cheerleader, is that the first human specter blowing up a system full of Batarians can't be good fucking publicity for the Alliance. Hero of the Citadel or not."
"You don't seriously think that the Alliance would try to take out Shepard, do you?" Thane asked as much out of interest as trying to reassure her that the notion was far fetched.
She merely crossed her arms and leaned against the wall, which meant that she did indeed believe that it was a possibility.
"Our analysis of human government and history proves that such actions are not rare. We find Jack's theory to be 49% plausible." Legion's monotone voice explained. Jack just shrugged at the support.
Hackett was about to protest when his omni-tool beeped, indicating a message coming in.
"Hackett here, go ahead." He put the message on speaker so all could hear.
"Sir, we've finished cleaning the wreckage and found no other traps set throughout the base. However, we did find something that might interest you. Shall we bring it over?"
"Do that, and double time it soldier."
"Affirmative, we should be by within the hour. Over and out." The voice cut off but left everyone even more anxious and suspicious than before.
"Alright then. Until the forensics team gets down here with whatever they found, all of you can use this base as your barracks. I'll come find you when they arrive Shepard." Hackett finished and took his leave.
"Wait! We can't just stay here, you need to give us a ship so we can go after the Normandy." Joker said, standing up now carefully.
"No." Hackett replied over his shoulder.
"But, but why not?"
"Firstly, you don't know where the Normandy is, so you'll be flying blind. Second, your still grounded." With that he finally left, leaving Joker with his mouth open but devoid of words.
"You heard the man. Find somewhere to sleep and stay out of trouble. I'll contact all of you when the forensics team arrives." Shepard said as one by one everyone funneled out of the briefing room to find somewhere to put themselves. It was hard without the Normandy's engineering deck, life support rooms, gun batteries, and labs.
Shepard stripped out of his armor down to his red t-shirt and black track pants. It was odd being out of his armor outside of the Normandy. The gravity on the ship wasn't quite the same as the gravity planet side. On the ship the gravity was a little more intense, but spending so much time aboard the Normandy had dulled his notice to it. And when on places like the the Citadel, he was always in some kind of armor. Now he felt oddly light, stood a little taller, and seemed like he had to watch that he didn't overcompensate for something as simple as lifting his arm. Has he really be away from Earth that long? He had joined the Alliance about sixteen years ago, and spent the majority of the time since then aboard warships or on different planets with varying gravity in his constantly changing armor attire.
The scuffing of bare feet against smooth metal tore him away from his bleak memories to the beauty in front of him. The outpost was scarcely populated, so he and Miranda had taken the southwest quarters for themselves. Jacob gave the two a smirk, and Garrus spread his mandibles a little farther, which he guessed was the Turian equivalent. Zaeed was much less subtle when he pounded Shepard in the arm and gave Miranda a completely shameless look up and down. He hurried away when her biotics flared slightly.
Seeing Miranda outside of her uniform was a privilege very few people had the fortune to witness. Not just for her looks, but her personality as well. She has warmed up greatly to everyone since working with Shepard, but she still had trouble breaking down her professional attitude. With Shepard, it was a whole other story. Despite what she said about herself, Miranda was indeed funny when she put her mind too it. It seemed that she was too smart not to be, finding humor in things that others were too dimwitted or too careless to notice. Her charm was undeniable, able to break the ice of most situations, despite her nickname as the 'Ice Queen'. Also, she was very understanding person to talk to. It would be unbelievable to anyone who hadn't gotten to know her like he has. She seemed so much more human outside of her uniform, rather than the object of her father's ego that she used to describe herself as. And that body was just the icing on the cake. Right now she was wearing a tight pair of short shorts made of the same material as his track pants. She also wore a tight fitting white tank top that only came halfway down her torso, exposing her belly. Her hair was pulled into a ponytail to reveal her sharp and delicate features. And that accent.
"The bloody shower has no hot water. Even a Cerberus boot camp could afford basic amenities like that." She said annoyed as she dried the last of her hair.
"Were you expecting five seasons?" Shepard asked while still lying on the bed.
"Well, you could have done something a little more creative for your first time back on Earth since joining the Alliance." She smiled as she came to lay down on the same bed as he was. The bed wasn't big enough to fit two people perfectly, so she had to lay on top of him slightly. He couldn't complain.
"It just seems like no matter where we go, people can't help but try to kill us."
"After doing everything you have, I'm surprised there aren't more."
The both of them giggle in happy contemplation, disregarding the seriousness of how dangerous of a life they led. Both of their chests moved in unison with their laughter, Shepard able to feel her heart despite it being hidden behind all that cleavage. The feeling of her breasts against his chest aroused him despite his pathetic attempt at self restraint. He managed to console himself slightly, but the track pants were far too giving. She didn't look at his member, but the look in her eye told him that she was well aware of his arousal. She threw her arm around him and pulled herself tighter to him.
"So, you never did tell me about growing up on Earth. What was it like?" She asked nuzzling into his neck.
"Not much to tell."
"I know your lying. I've only been to Earth four times, and that was only for a few days during jobs for Cerberus. Its not like I know a lot about what life is like here."
Shepard sighed. His erection had also relaxed considerably.
"Well, I grew up in this city actually, Toronto. Many people think its special because it is home to one of the four main Alliance headquarters. The other three are in San Fransisco, London, and Beijing. But you go deep enough and its just like any other city."
"In what ways?"
"You can tell what the people of a city are really like when you look at the poor. The ones who face adversity and are constantly tested by the world show you the real characteristics of society."
She propped herself up on one elbow to look at him.
"And what did you see?"
"Greed, jealousy, corruption, anger and hatred, justified or not. Some people wouldn't falter in the face of overwhelming conflict. I knew some people who were selfless, kind, caring, tried everything they could to make things better for others." He paused for a moment, to consider if what he was about to say was fair or not. He decided it was.
"All they got in return was a knife in their back. Eventually people just stopped wanting to help each other. The rules became: When opportunity knocks, you make sure know one else hears it before you answer. I don't blame people for looking out for themselves, but it got to the point that a person would screw another over just to see that person's life go to hell."
"How did you survive?"
"Stubbornness." She didn't smile at the half joke.
"I joined up with a gang. That's what most people without family or friends did to get anywhere in life. Depending on the gang, you may have had constant protection, or someone trying to kill you every waking moment of your life."
"What gang did you join John?"
He paused when he was lost in memories that became like waking dreams to him now. Everything he did, had seen, them, her, him.
"What gang isn't important, their nothing but a bunch of xenophobic punks now. Just know that I met a lot of people in that gang who convinced me that joining the Alliance was a better life than staying there could ever give me. Besides, its worked out pretty good so far. I do have the sexiest woman ever 'made' in bed with me right now."
"You ass." She laughed at his joke.
"No, your ass." He grabbed her ass.
She was know completely on top of him, the two kissing passionately. Her love for french kissing hadn't waned in the slightest. He was almost done getting her shirt off and she had let her hand wander down towards his erection, which had now returned in full force, when the unthinkable happened.
"Commander, the forensics team has arrived. Get your team down to the briefing room. You'll wanna see this. Hackett out." His omni-tool went silent.
Sighing, he reluctantly got up and began dressing back into his kestrel armor, minus the helmet.
"I owe you a night, my dear." He said as he snapped the last piece on.
"And I expect interest." Miranda said as she zipped up the front of her black uniform, not bothering to activate the holographic tactical glasses. Shepard felt a pleasurable shiver run down his spine.
The entire squad and Joker made their way to the briefing upon Shepard's request. Thane had and Mordin had made it their first and Jack came in last, because being punctual would require her to show some form of easy cooperation. The atmosphere was even more intense than before, and everyone was looking at the officer in charge of the investigation expectantly.
"Our inspection yielded one definitive result, the attack was meant to cover the theft of the Normandy. No other bombs where found in the base, and the ones that detonated couldn't have caused any serious structural damage. That means that someone is definitely targeting you, though if it was just to steal your ship and kidnap some of your crew or something more, we don't know." The Asian officer said.
Joker through his hands up in the air with a tired look on his face.
"Well thanks for making sure that what we already thought about was true. Medals all around!" He said mockingly.
Shepard shot him another one of his patented Krogan pissing themselves looks.
"We also found this, sirs." The officer said to the Commander and Admiral. He produced a data pad from his brief case.
"What is so important about a data pad? That could have been dropped during the explosions, what with all the ships coming in and out of the hangar." Jacob asked.
"You don't understand sir. This data pad wasn't found during our initial search, but was left in the spot where one of the explosions detonated and found when we conducted a second search."
"Which means that someone snuck into a highly fortified military base filled to the brim with security and mechs, left that data pad, and got back out unnoticed. Nice." Kasumi said with admiration for a good job of stealthy infiltration. She received varied looks from everyone present.
"Quite skillful indeed." Commented Thane. He got the same treatment as the thief.
"So I think this whats on everybody's mind right now, well, except for our steal oriented friends here." Garrus said this and now he was shot looks from the thief and assassin.
"What is on that data pad?" He finished.
The office looked slightly embarrassed now.
"Well, its encoded and it has some kind of riddle that needs to be answered to unlock it."
"What does this riddle say?" Samara asked with interest.
The officer cleared his throat and opened the data pad.
"A pack of beasts. The Rat, Bear, Snake, Wolf, Vulture, Shark, Dove, Owl, and," He looked up from the data pad to show where the answer must go.
"Shepard Commander, hacking this deice should only take us approximately,"
"No need Legion." Shepard said cutting the Geth off. He took the data pad from the officer. Some where, deep in his subconscious, he hoped that his password would not work. He read over the riddle in silence once more, then keyed in his password.
Lion.
The data pad made the sound that signaled the lock down being lifted. The message that appeared next shook him to the core.
You done a lot for yourself John. Or is it Hero of the Citadel now, or Specter. All these years and you didn't keep in touch, are you avoiding us? We've missed you terribly, well some of us have. You must have a lot on your plate right now, what with these Reaper things on their way. And you must be so tired from fighting those Collectors. Not to mention that trial you have coming up. That is going to be quite the scandal, and my new friends are very interested in how that is going to turn out. Hope you don't mind us borrowing your ship for awhile. We'll keep it, and your crew, taken care of until then. Of course if you get restless and want to come say hi, you could try asking around. You remember the old neighborhood don't you? And by the way, welcome home from the Reds, the real Reds.
The weight of his armor may as well as tripled in weight. Struggling to lift the weight of his boot he moved towards Admiral Hackett, the eight steps feeling like eight miles. If he had been looking through Hackett's eyes, Shepard would have seen the reflection from his mirror on the Normandy barely a day earlier.
"I think I have some names to give to our attackers."
I hope that made things a little more juicy for all of you. I realize that very little actually happened, but keep with me and I promise to make it worth your time. Please review, even if you already did do it again and let me know how you like it so far. P.S, I don't care if the animal references seemed corny, I think they add mystery and suspense.