(Author's note- start)
A few things before the chapter begins.
First off- biotics. I have done some research in how they are supposed to work, and I have tried to figure out how they would feel.
To summarize- biotics allow an entity to create a gravitational gradient, which they use to manipulate objects via mass-effect fields.
If you want to move something with biotics, you need to generate a force that is greater than the local gravitational acceleration.
In the previous chapter I mentioned '30x local gravity'. That was a measure of the acceleration being applied to John by the Justicars biotic abilities. It was either that or describe 330 m/s^2 of acceleration.
Second- the Eternity Bar
The eternity bar was owned and operated by Matriarch Aethyta. It was initially on Thessia (as per the story, she is considering moving to Illium), and in mass effect 2 it is available on Illium. I do wish to establish some form of continuity, to keep things recognizable to the readers.
Also- I apologize if the quality isn't that good. I was trained to write essays and reports, not stories. I have, however, been correcting very mistake I could find (or was told about), and I expect the quality of my chapters to get better as time goes on.
Now, a little recap on the plot so far:
Shanxi was invaded- and John was able to get a lift off by pretending to be a turian. After that, he ended up going to Palaven, then Omega (he was stuck there for 5 years due to Aria T'Loak getting pissed at him). When he managed to get off Omega, the only place he could afford to travel to was Thessia.
He managed to, within a day of arrival, piss of the Justicars. He has now bartered with a (somewhat drunk) Quarian for transport off Thessia, promising a comet in exchange, and now, our protagonist is in a shuttle heading up to the ship.
Enjoy!
Oh, and to be safe- the Rating has been raised to M... For Violence.
(Author's note- end)
Ch 3 BlackLight
John and Leti'Zorah flew to the orbiting Quarian ship in Leti'Zorah's shuttle.
"Why are't you drunk anymore?" John was honestly curious. "It has only been... What- fifteen minutes?"
"Cybernetics. So..." Leti'Zorah had burned through the liquor, and was now flying the shuttle to orbit.
"Destination locked." The on-board VI spoke. "Ready to take over for approach."
"Allowing VI control in 3. 2. 1. Control passed." She pressed a holographic control, and the holographic a changed to a countdown- countdown to rendezvous. "So, Aku... Do you have airtight armor? The ship is mostly a cleanroom, and you will need to be decontaminated before being allowed on-board."
John mentally face palmed. Of course he would need to be isolated somehow. "I have some armor- it's in my backpack."
"There is a clean room in the back. Get dressed- we will be docking with the Rayya in... half an hour."
John slipped out of the seat, and walked into the cargo compartment. The 'clean room' was the bay- a sterilizing field swept the bay when it sealed, to prevent contamination. He opened his backpack, and- surprise- there was only the notes on FTL in the bag, but he stuck his hand in anyway, then triggered his armor form.
The black armor seemed to crawl up his hand, then elbow, then shoulder, eventually flowing over his whole body, forming into an androgynous full-body suit of black armor.
He mentally sealed the suit, and re-enforced it into an even denser form than usual- no need taking risks. He needed armor that looked like armor, not just a combat form. After checking in the mirror, he walked into the decontamination room, and, after a moment to debate whether or not this would kill him, he turned on the field.
His skin BURNED where the field touched him, but he was unharmed- mostly. His fingers were gone.
"Crap..." He regenerated new ones, complete with armor, but his voice had attracted the attention of the Quarian.
"What? Is something wrong... Wow." She leaned against the door. "That... I was not expecting."
John knew what he looked like- he was looking at the mirror. Six-and-a-half feet of black armor, with organic lines, and no visible face- just a smooth, black curved helmet for the head. No sexually dimorphistic features stood out, but since this armor was formed off the Asari base, it was almost... Elegant. "I can't get you a version. My armor is rather... Specialized. Don't you need to be at the controls?"
"Not yet. The VI is taking us into range. When I am needed, I will know." She poked the shiny, black armor. "So... What model of armor is it?"
I may as well have some fun with this, he thought. "BlackLight armor, Mercer variant."
"... Never heard of it."
John mentally smiled. "I would not expect you to. It's rather unique now- I only knew of four versions in existence." He softened his voice. "The other ones were destroyed with their wearers."
"Well then, mind if I do a few checks? To see if it is fit to come onto the fleet?" Leti held up her omni-tool.
"Sure." John walked out of the sterilizing chamber, and placed his backpack near the door.
"Right. Lift your arms above your head- yes, like that. Now hold still." A thin panel of holographic light appeared, which expanded to at least 30 cm per side. She lifted the panel above his head, and brought it down over his body. "... Wow. That armor is... Keelah- is it alive? That armor is probably dense enough to shrug off a tank shell."
He bent and picked up his backpack again. "In a way, yes, it is alive. The inside interfaces with me directly, and allows the armor to repair damage from the inside out fairly quickly. The question is- is it safe enough for the fleet?"
"It... Should be. I will recommend a secondary scan, when we dock, just to make sure... But you should be safe enough."
John had to keep from laughing. The Mercer virus ate EVERYTHING that tried to infect it. As long as he didn't make any Evolved, or release a plague, he was technically sterile enough to work in any clean room- it was one of the few things Mercer drummed into his children, on threat of consumption, if you refused to follow the rules.
The VI spoke up. "Priority com contact from the Rayya- do you want it patched to your suit? We are holding position at 500 meters off the bow."
"Yes." She pressed a button on her omni-tool, and an image of another Quarian appeared, projected on the hologram.
Male Quarians usually wear that setup, John remembered.
"This is Rael'Zorah, contacting the Puddlejumper from the Rayya. Conformation code?"
"Many ways and paths may lead to the same location. I shall need but only one."
"Welcome back Leti! Why haven't you initiated docking?"
Leti tapped a few keys on her omni-tool. "This is why, Rael. We may have a way to get the water that we need, and I have a passenger."
"A Quarian?"
"No. I just sent you a picture of her in full armor."
"... Keelah..."
"Exactly. Set up a secured location for our guest- I need to speak to the captain as soon as we dock. Remember- our shuttle is not clean"
"Right Leti. Oh, and one more thing-"
"What?"
"I missed you, and so did Tali. Here she is now!"
"Hi mommy!"
The shuttle was docked, and the door was opening.
"ATTENTION!" The Quarian marines holstered their weapons, as Leti'Zorah walked out of the ship. "My guest is NOT, repeat NOT, to be harmed."
"That's comforting Ms. Zorah." John stepped out of the shuttle, and watched the marines stiffen. "I guess I should probably not make any sudden moves?"
"Aku, joking in front of twitchy marines is not a healthy course of action." Leti admonished, but John could hear the amusement in her voice. "Come on- we need to get you to the secondary scanner, and then get underway."
John followed Leti through the maze of passages on the Rayya, eventually coming to a room that was equivalent to a med bay.
"Is this the 'guest'?" Another Quarian came into the room, wearing a long, white jacket that looked like a cook's. "What is she?"
"Actually, I have no gender," John chuckled. "I am whatever gender I want to be."
"Right. Standard Asari statement." She began pressing buttons on one of the devices, and gestured at a platform. "Please stand on that so I can scan you."
John complied, and waited until the scan was underway before speaking again. "I am not Asari."
"I honestly doubt... That..." The doctor stopped talking for a moment, sealed the scanning chamber then: "Leti'Zorah, look at this."
Even through the mask, Leti'Zorah's eyes appeared to bug out of her skull. "I don't even..." Then she hurriedly pressed several buttons on her omni-tool. "Code black! Code black! We have a first-contact scenario!"
Several Quarian marines ran into the room, rifles at the ready.
"What about our deal?" John was somewhat worried- if they spaced him, it would a cold and unpleasant journey to the surface... At least, until he began to enter the atmosphere. Then it would be hot, and uncomfortable. "Our deal was-"
"I know what it was." Another Quarian walked up, - the captain. She was female, and had several stripes on her hood. "What's the situation?"
"Captain- this entity has both Levo and Dextro proteins in it's system." The doctor was typing furiously away at a terminal. "However, it does not seem to have any dangerous life-forms on the surface of it's armor at all. No bacteria, no viruses. Nothing. And the scans cannot penetrate the armor, so..."
"Armored up in the clean room aboard the shuttle, right?" The captain clapped. "Well- no sense in treating you like anything but a guest- after all, you are willing to get us a comet, yes?"
John nodded. "Yes. And, if you are patient, we may have more we can offer each-other. Please don't space me."
That made the captain laugh. "We won't space you. Marines! Put your weapons away. This... Aku, was it? Aku is a guest of the fleet, and should be treated as such."
The scan-chamber opened, and John stepped out. He noticed that all of the marines were watching him even more closely now- best to put them at ease, he thought, I don't like being outside without an atmosphere.
He walked over to the captain. "Captain, I apologize for the deception of my species- but I cannot tell you what species I am. In light of this, I request that we head to the Citadel with all due haste- I need to contact the human embassy as soon as possible."
The captain rubbed her chin. "Very well. And how do you intend to pay us?" She began to walk out of the room.
John followed her. "When we get to the Citadel, I will locate a resource-supplier. I have collected quite a few credits, and I will purchase the necessary materials for the fleet. If you had a list of resources needed, from most important to least important, I could collect them. When we dock to the Citadel."
The captain rounded a corner, followed by John, with Leti following close behind. "You mean when we land on the Citadel, right?" The captain's voice had a lit of amusement in it.
"... Yes."
The group turned another corner, and entered into a large room. Twenty Quarians were controlling various terminal stations inside it, and a marine snapped to attention. "Captain! Orders?"
The captain sat down on a chair, with sight vantages that allowed her to see everything. "Bridge crew, set course for the Citadel- tell the fleet we will have their water soon, and perhaps some more needed resources."
"Yes, captain. Pilot- set course for the relay. Navigator- begin relay handshake: destination, relay 01-3."
"Crew of the Rayya, this is the captain. We will be arriving at the Citadel in 5 hours. Requisitions will be collected within 2." She turned off the intercom. "Leti'Zorah, will you please escort Aku to your quarters? I will permit your family time off the duty roster for our... Guest."
Leti walked up behind John, and tapped him on the shoulder. "Follow me please."
The two of them walked through the ship for a while, neither speaking, until they came to a small door on the side of one of the hallways.
Leti knocked on the door, and it opened to reveal another Quarian- male, with red components in his armor.
"Who are you?" He sounded obstinate, and worried.
"Be nice, Rael!" She rubbed one of his shoulder pads. "This is Aku. She is-"
"I recommend the use of a male pronoun. It will make the next few days easier." John was trying hard not to laugh.
"He is the reason we are heading to the Citadel." She pulled Rael inside. "Come in- we can introduce you to our family!"
The quarters were very minimalistic- no significant furniture was visible. Most of the space was filled with computing equipment, or rations, and there was barely enough room for more than 3 people.
Rael and Leti pulled some collapsible chairs out, and set them up.
"Please- sit." Leti was being very polite.
"Thanks." John was honestly grateful- they were going out of their way to show hospitality, when they had very little. He didn't really sit down- balancing just enough weight on the fair to look as though he was sitting, as he doubted the small seat could support a 2000 kg mass resting on it.
Rael sat down, and looked at John. "Why do you need the help of our people to get to the Citadel?"
John shrugged. "The opportunity was there, and I took it. Also, my presence on Thessia would not be... Conductive... To the local population." He leaned in closer to the Quarians. "I managed to piss off a justicar."
The Quarians exchanged glances. "What did you do?"
"Ah... That would be telling." John balanced so he appeared to lean back in his chair. "Nothing that will effect your people though."
Rael intertwined his fingers. "What do you want with -"
A small Quarian child in a translucent ball rolled out of one of the doors, and bounced off the back of John's chair. She picked herself up, and maneuvered over to behind Leti.
"Ha!" John laughed. "Is this yours?"
"Yes." Leti'Zorah's voice sounded like she was smiling. "This is Tali. Say hi to the nice man Tali!"
"... Hi." She peeked out from behind the chair, bubble pressed up against it.
"Pleased to meet you, little one. My name is Aku." John thought that he REALLY needed to set up a better identity then that.
"How can you speak Khelish so well?" Leti picked up Tali's ball and cuddled it.
"I had good teachers." John mentally laughed at this- the Justicars knew how to speak it, and now, so did he. "Your mate does not look very happy to see me."
Rael had his arms crossed, sitting in the chair across from John. "You... Are not what you appear to be. I am suspicious."
"Of course I am not." John reached into his backpack. "But I can show you why I want to get to the Citadel." He took out his design notes, and handed them to Rael.
"... What am I looking at? Ship schematics?"
"For a new FTL method. Specifically, a version of it that does not rely on element zero." John was very smug. "It's my life's work."
"Why?" Leti was still holding Tali's ball, and the little one had begun to nap.
"Reliance on only one method of FTL travel is..." John trailed off, unsure of the word he needed. "Unsecure. Restricting. Imagine if the relays were destroyed? Galactic civilization would collapse."
Rael nodded. "I can understand that. But why not just make a better version of the mass effect engines?"
Leti picked up Tali, and left the room, carrying her bubble.
"There are diminishing returns. I would expect the maximum end of FTL using eezo is limited to maybe 20,000 times lightspeed." John pulled out a sketch book. "These ships could conceivably hit 100,000 times lightspeed, given proper calibration. Likely much faster, as there is no real limit defined by the known laws of physics for the drive."
Leti walked back in. "Tali is asleep Rael."
He looked at Leti, and nodded. "Good. She has had a long day." He turned back to John. "Have you tested it?"
John fidgeted in his seat. "Yes... Once. My prototype was destroyed, and I need to build another one."
Leti leaned forward, elbows on knees. "What happened?"
"It dug a hole through the planet I was testing it on..."
Rael began laughing.
"Let me guess..." Leti was trying not to laugh. "You had it in reverse, and didn't know, right?"
"... Yes..."
"Bwahahahahaha!" Rael fell off his chair, laughing.
"... Are you going to continue laughing?"
"Yes." Rael got up, still chuckling. "But I did something similar a few years ago. We upgraded the drive core of a ship, and we ended up putting it in backwards at first. Really embarrassing at the time, but amusing to remember."
"I still didn't like. That said.." John pulled out one of the many spare sketchbooks he had brought. Paperback, with over 300 pages, heat-pen built into the spine, ready for use. "I may as well give you a gift- hospitality is rare enough from what I have seen to risk it in any way."
Rael stopped laughing, and Leti's eyes grew wide at the sight of the book. "Paper... Real paper..."
"I know it isn't much, until I have time to collect the resources, but it should be useful." John wasn't sure why his hosts were just staring at it, as if it was some exotic gift. "... Did I do something wrong?"
"N-no." Leti picked up the sketchbook. "It's just... Rare. There are fewer books like this than ships in the flotilla..."
"Well then," John could not keep the smug tones out of his voice. "Make sure it is put to good use."
Rael looked at John, then back at the sketchbook. "It will be." He straightened. "Is there anything we can do for you?"
Leti held the sketchbook as though it was made of gold- or something the Quarians found equally valuable.
John looked around, taking in his surroundings. Everything seemed.. Patched. Repaired. From his memories (the memories of the people he had devoured), he knew that the Quarians were some of the smartest people in the galaxy, both in terms of how easily they learned to apply new technology, and how well they maintained it. Yet... "What happened to your homeworld?"
Leti sighed. "We created an AI by accident- the geth, and they forced us off our planets."
"Why not colonize a new world?"
"The Citadel Council ejected us from the Citadel, due to our creation of AI," Rael's voice was a snarl, "and if we colonize a planet that is 'suitable' for another race, we will be bombed off of it."
"Is the view against artificial intelligence really that negative?" John was unsettled- the council may not even let him get to the human embassy if they were that intolerant.
"Why wouldn't it be?" Leti shrugged. "As far as we know, artificial intelligences have never been a good thing- all attempts to create them have ended with disaster."
There was a knock on the door. Leti got up to open it, and there was the captain, flanked by several marines. She saluted.
"At ease, Leti'Zorah." The captain walked in, and began looking at the book describing the alcubierre drive. "This would be sufficient payment for the trip- assuming it was scanned into our computer system."
John shot to his feet- the speed startled all the Quarians in the room. "No."
"But think about the benefits to the flotilla!"
John picked up his work, and placed it back in the backpack. "I can't give it to you. Not yet, anyway."
The captain crossed her arms. "Why not?"
"Your culture is half of what I need." John relaxed, and slipped his backpack into place. "Your culture is clever, intelligent, and technologically advanced- but it has limited resources, and is... Inflexible." He began to pace, when a section of floor under his left foot gave a squeak, and distorted. "See what I mean? Everything is going to your ships, and they can only support your population for so long."
"So... What?" The captain was cross. "You charter passage on my ship, which you have yet to pay, and then you insult us?"
John face-palmed. "You will be paid, and hopefully, I will be able to give these designs to people who can use them. No insults were meant- I was merely making a point."
He sat back on the chair, which promptly collapsed under his weight. "Um... Sorry about that." He got back up off the floor, while the Quarians stared at the crumpled chair.
The captain's omni-tool began to beep. She answered it with a finger-tap. "Yes, officer? What is it?"
"Captain, ma'am... There is a ship following us."
A Batarian ship, The Master's Wrath, had been following the Quarian vessel since it left Thessia interdiction space. The master of the ship, Gerkek, had his clawed hands clasped as all four eyes stared at the ship on the tactical grid.
"Gunner!" He shouted. "Is the Quarian ship in range of our guns?"
A Batarian sitting at one of the control consoles spoke up. "They will need to drop out of FTL to access the relay- we are jamming relay handshakes. We will be within gun range when we drop out of FTL."
"Pilot! When do we drop out?"
Another Batarian, this one wearing some sort of helmet, checked a countdown near his controls. "30 seconds to intercept with relay."
"Right." Gerkek got out of his seat, and activated his omni-tool. "All boarding parties- prepare to launch! Retrieve as many slaves as possible- if you can, we take the ship! Blood Pack- eliminate all resistance!"
"The Quarian ship is dropping out of FTL!"
"Fire the immobilizer!"
"Batarians?"
"Yes captain. They are following us, and we are dropping out of FTL due to proximity to the relay- our handshakes are not being accepted."
The captain pressed a couple of buttons on her omni-tool, then spoke. "Attention- prepare to repel boarders. All non-combat personnel need to head to the safe room."
A thud reverberated through the ship.
"Captain!" The voice over the intercom almost sounded panicked. "The engines have been shut down by a wide-bore plasma pulse- all the primary thrusters have been disabled! Engineering teams are working to bring them back online now."
Leti ran into the room where Tali was sleeping, and then ran out of the room carrying Tali, still sleeping in her bubble. She ran out of the room where John, Rael, and the captain were staring at each other, and vanished from sight.
"Good policy." John nodded. "Protect the ones who cannot fight, and keep them together, so they can be easily defended."
"That means you too." Rael grabbed John's arm, and tried to pull him out the door.
John didn't budge an inch. "I am not a child, nor am I helpless."
The marines pointed their rifles at John, and the captain spoke directly to him. "You wish to help defend the Rayya?"
"Of course."
"Why?"
"It will be fun, and I don't want to fly this ship on my own. That would be boring."
"Fine." The captain gestured to one of the marines. "Give him your pistol-"
"No need." John held up his hands. "I am armed already."
The captain waved her hand dismissively. "Fine. But if you die, we get your belongings."
"Deal." John stretched- it was mentally relaxing before any fight. "Should I start hunting them when they try to board?"
The captain was already occupied by other tasks. "Yeah. Sure."
John turned to Rael. "Mind if I go have some fun with uninvited guests?"
Rael suddenly looked nervous."Um... Yeah. Sure."
John placed his hands on the floor, and tuned out everything, focusing on his sense of touch.
He felt everything on the ship. The voice of the captain, barking orders into her omni-tool. Rael's fidgeting while he held a pistol. The marines, so tense they almost vibrated. The almost stampede sound of people rushing to practiced locations. The sound of cannons firing away at some target he could not detect (the target was probably an approaching boarding pod or a ship). The steady flux of the drive core.
He felt/heard the docking pod latch on.
He felt the 'clang' of an airlock being forced open. The sound of boots- not suited feet, but boots. The voices of many non-Quarians, probably Batarian by the timbre, but he felt the hissing of vorcha, and the rumble of at least one krogan voice. All of it rumbled through the floor, and he felt all of it.
One level below them, aft- that's where the boarders were docked.
John stood up, the speed still surprising the captain. "Where do I need to go to access the deck below this one?"
"... Um..."
"Nevermind- I will find it myself." Suddenly, John momentarily glowed orange, then quickly faded back to black. He put down his backpack. "Good hunting, captain. Rael." He took off, running down the hall as fast as he could in that form, denting the floor with every step.
Rael looked at the captain, then at the dents in the floor where Aku had run off. He was going to 'hunt' the boarders? What did that even mean?
The captain stared at the ruined chair, which Aku had sat on, and the depressions in the floor that marked where he had run. "I think, Rael, that our guest may be more than it appears."
Rael swallowed. "Captain Raan... You may be right."
She pointed to two marines. "You two- pursue our 'guest' and see what he's going to do."
The Blood Pack was wary- they may have just gotten out of the boarding pod, but that was no excuse to be unprepared. A krogan stepped out of the boarding pod, followed by vorcha, then by several batarians. The vorcha were armed with flame throwers and pistols, while batarians were armed with electro-shock rifles (anti-synthetic weapons, able to incapacitate organic life-forms like a long-range taser).
They were all dwarfed by the krogan who was carrying a massive hammer, and a spike thrower (similar to a shotgun, but fires 10-cm spikes instead of mass-effect accelerated shot).
"FAN OUT AND DESTROY ALL RESISTANCE!" The krogan bellowed, vorcha scrambling to obey.
One of the Batarian leaned against a wall. "We want slaves, not scrapKKJ!"
A dark, armored hand had burst out of the wall, and grabbed his neck with no warning. It lifted the struggling Batarian off the ground, before retreating back into the hole it had made, bringing some of the batarian's body with it.
His head made a sickening sound as it was ripped off the body, and his body stopped twitching, and slid down the wall, leaving a bloody trail.
"CONTACT!" The krogan hefted his hammer. "We have contact!"
John was having so much fun! His hunting pulse had picked up a krogan, and now, he was homing in on it. Down the ladder (jump- it couldn't have taken his weight anyway). He jumped down the stairs, denting the metal paneling under his feet. And... There was a wall in the way. John stood there for a moment, as he considered his next options. Rip open the door? Nah, he thought, too much damage to the ship. His hosts might not like that...
He stopped moving, and listened.
The Quarian marines turned another corner, following the impact depressions of their guest. They found him, standing in front of the door that led to one of the emergency air locks, not moving at all.
"Sir- what are you doing here?"
"This."
He walked over to one of the walls, and thrust his hand into it up to the elbow. Then he yanked, and pulled a batarian- well, the head of one, out of the hole in the wall.
It was dripping, and twitching as Aku held it.
John dropped the head to the floor, and looked at one of the marines. "Open the door."
"Why should I-"
A flamethrower muzzle, complete with pilot light, popped out of the hole. John grabbed it, and pulled. The vorcha's arms came through the hole with the gun, and left the rest of the vorcha behind.
"If you don't open the door, I will need to continue to open this wall."
Another gun muzzle was poked through the hole- a pistol this time. John grabbed it, and crushed the alloys with his bare hand.
The marines looked at each other for a second, as John bent the wall back into position.
"That should prevent them from getting the drop on you."
A bang resonated with the ship, and a large dent appeared on the wall. This dent was on the opposite side of the door from John's hole.
"... Sure. I will open the door, as long as you promise not to punch any more holes in the ship" The marines jumped when there was another titanic BANG, and the wall
deformed again.
"Agreed. Just hurry!"
One of the marines opened a program on his omni-tool, and pressed a few symbols.
A hologram activated, and suddenly there was a green circle on the door.
John begins to poke the green circle with a finger, then stops. "I need a theme song for this." He activates his omni-tool, and activates a song on it.
The marines looked confused. "A theme song?"
John shrugged. "I like having fun with my prey. This one is called 'Indestructible', by a band called 'Disturbed'. It's a classic." He looked back at the marines. "One more thing... You may want to stand far back- I tend to make a bit of a mess."
After a moment of waiting, for the song to get to a dramatic point, he pushes the green circle.
Gro'og Gelack was annoyed. Something had killed two of his vorcha, and although he regarded them with the same displeasure that was usually reserved for scale-itch, they were decent cannon fodder.
And he had not even seen this enemy yet!
He growled and swung his war hammer again, deforming the wall even more. Three swings in, and he had not been able to penetrate the bulkhead, something that their enemy casually did.
There was a siren-like sound, then the sound of whirring blades, and the sounds of primitive electronic synthesized music came from from behind the door.
"You two," he pointed at a vorcha and a Batarian. "Check it out."
'Another mission, the powers have called me away'
The vorcha and Batarian trained their weapons on the door.
'Another time to carry the colors again'
The door opened, a black insect-like figure standing in the doorway, the music, if it could be called that, blaring from it's omni-tool.
'My motivation, and oath I've sworn to defend'
John extended his arm, and flipped the bird to the whole room full of vorcha, batarians, and one krogan.
Then he just stood there, hands at his sides. Relaxed. Waiting.
'To win the honor of coming back home again'
The entire room trained their weapons on him, and the krogan pulled out a nasty-looking weapon from his hip.
'No explanation will matter after we begin'
They opened fire- cracking his armor, and penetrating into John's form, but not doing any damage beyond that.
'Unlock the dark destroyer that's buried within'
They continued firing, alternating ranks to stop and cool down their weapons.
'My true vocation, and now my unfortunate friend,'
The krogan's weapon made a low-pitched ticking sound, and fired 10cm spikes into John's head and body at low velocity. They got lodged in his body, and John just let them there, still just standing in the door.
'You will discover a war you're unable to win!'
The batarians stopped firing, feeling something was wrong. The vorcha kept firing, wasting ammo.
'I'll have you know'
"Hold your fire!" The krogan roared, and he took out a war hammer, with a spiked and unpleasant-looking head.
'That I've become'
"This one's mine." The krogan swung his war-hammer at John's head.
'Indestuctible!'
John caught the war-hammer with one hand.
'Determination that is incorruptible'
The war-hammer shattered in John's hand, and he felt a surge of satisfaction seeing a horrified expression on the krogan.
'From the other side, a terror to behold'
John tossed the broken weapon away, krogan and all.
'Annihilation will be unavoidable'
He began to walk into the room, slowly, and calmly, while every single being except the krogan watched him
'Every broken enemy will know'
No-one moved, as John pulled out the 10cm spikes.
'That their opponent had to be invincible'
His armor re-sealed.
'Take a last look around while you're alive'
John cocked his arm, and threw the spikes into the heads of several vorcha around the room, each unerringly hitting dead-center in the vorcha's forehead.
'I'm an indestructible Master of War!'
John's armor re-sealed. He crouched, and ran at several batarians that had been smart enough to point their weapons at him. His hand penetrated their shields, armor, and bodies like a gunshot, his arms moving too fast for anyone in the room to see.
He grabbed a vorcha that was too close, and ripped it in half, feeding tendrils latching on and sucking the corpse into his body.
'Another reason, another cause for me to fight'
John began audibly laughing as he absorbed the vorcha- all it's memories were his, though, they tasted... Gamy.
'Another fuse uncovered, now for me to light'
A Batarian in the room shouted "FIRE EVERYING!"
'My dedication to all I've sworn to protect'
John leapt towards the krogan, who was firing along with everyone else.
'I carry out my orders without a regret'
The krogan fired a sight-cluster of the spikes right into John's head, as he was less than a meter from the krogan, arms outstretched, claws extending.
'My deceleration, embedded deep under my skin'
The tight cluster of spikes had enough momentum to pierce John's armor, and had been heated inside the weapon to a temperature that was high enough to boil water in less than a second.
John's head was ripped open, and he just kept moving.
'A permanent reminder of how it began'
John's headless body grabbed the krogan's spike thrower, and crushed it between both hands until it was a mere ball of metal.
'No hesitation when I am commanded to strike'
Tentacles writhed where John's head used to be, and, after a second of disconcerting movement, his smooth black helm had re-formed.
'You need to know that you're in for the fight of your life'
The krogan roared, and slashed at John's armor, scoring it slightly.
He was back-handed into a bulkhead so hard that his head-plate cracked.
'You will be shown'
With his right hand, John grabbed the krogan's shoulder, and lifted him up.
'How I've become'
With his left hand, he grabbed the edge of the head-plate.
'Indestructible!'
He pulled.
'Determination that is incorruptible'
The krogan fought as hard as he could, but he could not stop the slow, constant force John was exerting.
With a sticking crack, the krogan's head plate was ripped clean off.
'From the other side, a terror to behold'
John threw the cracked head-plate at a Batarian hard enough to bisect it, and plunged a hand into the krogan's exposed brain.
'Annihilation will be unavoidable'
The krogan began to shudder as thin black feeding tendrils extended from John's armor, and embedded themselves in the exposed flesh of the krogan.
'Every broken enemy will know'
The krogan was liquified inside his suit, and absorbed by John, who promptly backhanded an approaching vorcha.
'That their opponent had to be invincible'
Holding the krogan's spike thrower, now just a lump of metal, John threw it at the last Batarian in the room.
'Take a last look around while you're alive'
The chunk of metal slammed into the alien's helmet, and slammed the helmet against the wall, shattering the batarian's head.
'I'm an indestructible'
The remaining vorcha and batarians were cowering at this point, weapons barely being held in numb fingers.
'Master of war!'
John turned off the song. "Who wants to surrender?"
Every single person in the room, vorcha, batarians, and the two Quarian marines who had just walked in, dropped their weapons.
John facepalmed, and tried hard not to laugh. "You two-" he pointed at the marines, "pick up your weapons and collect the rest of the weapons from the boarders." He turned so that is was perfectly clear that he was talking to the attackers. "You all had better be perfect prisoners, or I will do to you what I did to them." He used his thumb to indicate the bloodstains on half of the room.
The marines began collecting the weapons and stockpiling them, as more Quarian marines, led by the captain, came through the door.
The captain surveyed the carnage, and spoke, enunciating her words very carefully. "This was the only successful boarding party, and you took it apart."
John picked up one of the dropped guns, and began to dismantle it, piece by piece. "Yes captain." He removed the mass effect accelerator and sheering mechanisms from the gun.
She walked up to him, and poked him in the chest. "How did you know they would come through here?"
John shrugged. "I didn't until they arrived."
"HOW?"
"I listened."
"To what?" The captain was pissed now- John could see it in her body language.
"To the ship." John picked up the empty krogan armor, and placed it in the same pile as the rest of the bodies. "You heard that my biology is different- and it is more unique than any krogan, Asari, Quarian, Batarian, or vorcha." He rummaged through the pockets of a body while he was talking. "So is it is so hard to believe that I could hear the intruders from a deck away?"
She sighed. "No more unbelievable than that..." She indicated a Batarian, who had been bisected by the krogan's head-plate. "However, you will need to remain contained until we reach the Citadel- with this much blood around, your suit has probably been contaminated."
John sat down, cross-legged, in the middle of the room. "You merely had to ask. However, I will require one thing."
The captain waved for the other marines to stand down. "What are they?"
"I want my satchel and books back."
"Done."
Several hours later, the Rayya was orbiting the Citadel, and John, Leti'Zorah, the captain, and a small honor guard were descending (or ascending, depending on your orientation) toward the station.
"Before we get there, I have a question." John was wedged between two marines, who were fingering their pistols. His backpack was digging into his spine. "The Rayya is a liveship, right? Why were you using it instead of a smaller ship?"
Leti thinks for a moment, then speaks. "That is the ship currently that requires the extra water. It is currently the fastest ship, and one of the best armed at this point, so the admiralty board decided to utilize it for the material retrieval."
The captain spoke up from her chair. "Aku, you will be accompanied by Leti'Zorah for your acquisition of payment on this matter. If you do not fulfill your bargain, your name will be blacklisted by the Migrant Fleet. Do you understand?"
John nodded. "Of course."
"Docking in 5 minutes!" The pilot was male, by voice, and rather twitchy according to inflection. "Captain, Citadel control has diverted us to Zakera ward. Our request to dock on the presidium levels has been denied."
"Understood." The captain sounded annoyed at the news.
The awkward silence lasted until the shuttle landed. John all but leapt from the shuttle, glad to be outside- or somewhere that felt large enough to take a devastator without touching the walls. He did, however, stop moving as soon as he had landed, as several dozen entities had rifles pointed at him.
C-Sec, he thought, primarily turian, and Asari, but with some Salarian in there to make it interesting. But why would they be hostile- I haven't done anything yet...
A blue-suited turian, with dark blue stripes on his shoulder, came forward, and spoke. "Unknown entity, please state your species and intent."
John stood up, slowly, fully aware that although the weapons would not harm him, they would harm the Quarians. He shifted his face underneath the mask to a human form, the form of Dr. Gardner (male, pale skin, blue-green eyes, with long red hair in a ponytail), and retracted his smooth facemask into his body. "Human. To meet with the human embassy, and procure resources in payment for services rendered by the Quarian flotilla."
The turian waved his left hand in a form of hand-signal, and the C-Sec personnel stood down. Then he walked over to John, and held out a hand. "Welcome to the Citadel. Don't start any trouble and we will be just fine, pinkskin."
John shook the offered clawed hand. "If there is trouble, I can assure you, that I will not have started it."
The turian hesitated, then started laughing. "A human with a sense of humor! I am officer Vakarian, head of the Zakara ward C-Sec."
"And I am know by many names," John could not keep the smile off his face. "The Quarians know me as Aku, and the humans probably know me as BlackLight, or HEPHESTUS." He let go of the turian hand, and Vakarian did the same.
Behind them, the Quarians were coming out of the shuttle, marines not threatening anyone, but alert to possible danger.
Leti'Zorah was looking rather disturbed- she had seen an Asari go into the suit, and a human come out.
The captain walked over to her, and tapped Leti on the shoulder. "The requisitions list is complete. I mailed it -"
"What?" Leti was almost hysterical. "What just happened?"
Then she noticed the Keepers.
John winced. "Oops.. She hadn't seen that trick yet."
Officer Vakarian looked at him curiously. "What trick?"
John pinched the bridge of his nose. "It doesn't matter." He rubbed his face- something was irritating him. "Can you help me with something?"
Vakarian checked his omni-tool, then nodded. "Sure."
"I need to find a vendor that sells resources, in bulk." John began to massage his temple as the irritating noise grew. It was subsonic, but multitudes of small metallic organisms -nano bots, he thought, he would recognize their taste anywhere- seemed to carry the signal. "And I need to talk to the human embassy representative."
The buzzing increased in pitch, and began to fluctuate.
John began to get a headache.
The turian looked at John. "There is a shop on the Presidium that sells bulk resources, and the taxi service should be able to bring you to the Human embassy."
"Thank you... " John had not felt the pain this place was causing him in ages. "Leti! Are you ready to go?"
Leti snapped out of her shock, and walked over to him. "Yes Aku. Captain Raan was just giving me the list. We might want to hurry..."
John rubbed his temples- that noise was really aggravating. "Why should we hurry?"
Leti stood closer to him, and whispered. "The Keepers are staring at you."
Vakarian huffed. "Damn suit rats."
Then he realized she was right- the keepers had stopped working, and were just watching the new arrival.
Deep within a hidden room in the Citadel, the Intelligence watched the passage of little beings, blissfully unaware of the harvest that would await them. It watched the relay traffic, confident that the species of this cycle were developing exactly the way they had intended. Still, it thought, looking at an internal count, there were not quite enough intelligent life-forms that could be harvested. It would be patient, and wait, and watch, and-
The Intelligence paused. Something had spooked the Keepers, the biological servants that the Repositories, known to many of the cycles as the Reapers, had repurposed into the ideal servants.
It brought the data being broadcast from the Keepers to the forefront of it's conscious mind. The entity glowed like a beacon, electromagnetic activity far greater than any other species in this cycle. It's whole body seemed to be a nerve cluster, and if that wasn't enough, none of the nanobots that were utilized in the subtle Indoctrination that the Intelligence utilized on the station were able to enter it's body.
Hmm... The Intelligence thought. This is new...
"Why. Won't. You. Sell. That. To. Me?" John was rather pissed off. The headache that WOULD NOT GO AWAY was aggravating, and this damned volus was refusing to sell him the supplies. "You clearly have it in stock, so why. Won't. You. Sell. To. Me?"
"Hhggkk... Earth-clan, we will not sell to Quarians." The volus was managing to look indignant- a feat impressive for a being that was, for all intense and purposes, a balloon filled with explosive gas locked in a pressure suit.
John grimaced, showing all of his teeth- they were pointy now. His constant pain was gritting on his nerves, and his physical form was slipping, changing to fit his mood. "I am not Quarian. Is this difficult for you to understand?"
"The council -hhhgggkkk- has recently increased the limitations on how much material the -hhhgggk- Migrant Fleet can purchase-"
"Fine. I will take it up with them!" John stalked off, toward the taxi stand- just more VI piloted aircars.
The volus, Ptiene Fore, had never been so disturbed by a potential customer, and he was glad when the being finally left his shop.
The keepers had stopped working, and were staring at the being, and only went back to work after the being had left their sight.
"Never -hggk- again."
"Aku..." Leti was still nervous, but was hiding it. "I don't think the council will-"
"Of course they won't change their policy." John typed in the destination (human embassy) on the taxi comm-pad. "However, I think that if I can get the Human Embassy to sign a piece of paper saying that I am a human, I can get the resources for my payment."
The taxi swooped down, and John and Lexi got in.
A couple minutes later, they were in the line outside the Human Embassy, and John had (thankfully, from his perspective) gotten his shape better under control, although the headache was still present.
And getting worse, he thought. Why is it getting worse?
"Please state your name." The man at the counter in front of the embassy had the name 'Udina' on his name tag. "If you have any questions, or complaints about a human, go to c-sec, and -"
"HUMAN" John had put subsonic rumbles into his voice that made Udina almost wet his pants as he stood up. "LOOK AT ME."
He did, shivering slightly, as the sound pulled on instincts to run, climb a tree, and get the HELL away from whatever made that noise. He looked up, and saw a human, dressed in very odd, almost organic black armor.
"Good. You will go into the embassy, and find the highest-ranking person there." John's headache had gotten worse since he had walked into the tower where all the embassy's were located. "And you will tell them that BlackLight is here."
Udina ran into the building.
His head popped out after a minute. "The ambassador wants to know if ZEUS is asking."
"ZEUS is dead. This is HEPHESTUS."
"Ah." Udena pulled his head back in, and it popped right back out again. "The ambassador will see you know."
Temporary Ambassador Hackett was annoyed. He was tempted to throw something at the keepers, but they never really reacted to that. Or anything. It was this damn job! He was, by rank, a captain, and had been assigned this post because he was the closet ship at the time. Those damn politicians...
But when Udina mentioned a human calling it's-self BlackLight, he had to check the older records for it.
Hackett started reading.
-beginning report-
Project BlackLight
Sponsor Company: Gentec
Purpose: created self-containing BioWeapon
Status: Failure
Casualty count: 6.4 million dead/missing
-first outbreak: 2008- 1.3 million (Manhattan)
-second outbreak: 2010- 0.8 million (New York)
-third outbreak: 2014- 2.5 million (Dubai)
-fourth outbreak: 2017- 1.6 million (Berlin)
-fifth outbreak: 2057- 0.2 million (Seattle)
Details of project: (CLASSIFIED)
Precursor Project: Project RedLight
Entities designated unique:
ZEUS : Alex Mercer, original source of the 1st and 2nd outbreaks. Abilities (CLASIFIED), presumed hiding.
addendum- during the first outbreak, a nuclear device was authorized to be used against ZEUS, and all infected within the Manhattan Red Zone. ZEUS hijacked the nuke with a helicopter and detonated it off-shore.
HELLER : Lt. James Heller. Source of 3rd, 4th, and 5th outbreaks. Abilities (CLASSIFIED), assumed dead- killed by ZEUS in Seattle Event.
APHRODITE : original identity unknown. Abilities unknown. Assumed female. Presumed hiding.
ARES : original identity unknown. Abilities unknown. Assumed male. Assumed dead- killed by Heller in Seattle Event.
HEPHESTUS : original identity unknown. Abilities unknown. Assumed male. Presumed hiding.
Note: due to limited data regarding all unique entities, any confirmations of BlackLight should be viewed with suspicion. However, all the entities listed are dangerous, and should be treated as such.
-end report-
Well.. Thought Hackett. That was not enlightening. "What's his name Udena? Is it ZEUS?"
After a moment, Udena stuck his greasy mug back around the door. "He calls himself HEPHESTUS. He has a Quarian with him- should I tell them to go away?"
Hackett waved to his guards (all human), and they took up battle-positions around the room. "Send them in"
The keeper turned as soon as he door opened, and John walked in, heedless of the four assault-rifles pointed at him.
The ambassador stood up, and held out a hand. "Welcome. I am Temporary Ambassador Hackett."
John shook it, and spoke tersely. "I am BlackLight. Now, I have a few requests of the human embassy-"
"First, you have a seat, then you will surrender." Hackett was not in a gaming mood, but kept smiling anyway.
"No." John smiled. "Nice try though. I would break the chair, and these clowns-" he nodded at one, "- could not even inconvenience me with their weapons." His headache was getting worse again. "You can, however, call me Dr. Gardner."
"The mass effect physicist who was counted amount the dead on Shanxi five years ago?" Hackett had memorized the list of dead.
"Yup. I was working on an FTL drive, and had a chance to escape by hiding amount the Turians."
Hackett raised an eyebrow.
"Oh. You have no idea what I can do. Right... All that need-to-know stuff. Anyway, I need a couple of things from the embassy."
Hackett made the stand-down gesture, and his guards lowered their weapons. "What do you want?"
"First, I want a piece of paper that verifies I am human- I need to conclude a business deal." John grimaced as the headache increased to another level of severity. "And I need you to get on the horn with whoever has the stones to begin opening peace and alliance proceedings with the Migrant Fleet.
"The Quarians?"
"Yes. I have developed a design for FTL-" he pulled out his notebook "that does not require eezo to function. Projected speed would be at 100,000 times lightspeed, if not higher. There are myriad other advantages that can be utilized with this engine."
"Such as?" Hackett was intrigued.
"A beam weapon- well, something that looks like it, able to have pin-point precision over millions of kilometers. Shields that can let your ships pass through stars while the FTL drive is active. Wormhole gates. Etc."
Now Hackett was skeptical- his body language was obvious, as was his tone of voice. "You are just going to give it to us?"
"Only if you utilize the Quarians- hi Leti! Glad you could join us."
Leti walked in, slowly.
"Hackett, this is Leti'Zorah."
"Nice to meet you Ms. Zorah." Hackett nodded at her, then turned back to John. "BlackLight, why do we need to ally with the... Quarians."
"Because, you shortsighted meatling- there is something horribly wrong here." John's headache had reached the point where he had lost his patience. His voice had developed subsonic rumbling, and his eyes had changed from round-pupils on blue-green eyes to cross-hatched slit-pupils on orange. "The relays- the Citadel- how quickly we grasped the principles of mass-effect driven FTL... Doesn't it seem too simple? Too easy? As if we were just handed the secrets of the universe on a platter?"
Hackett blinked. "What is your stake in this, BlackLight?"
"Your species- all of them- are my stake." John had to spit- metallic residue of millions of nanobots that we're trying to access his mind, destroyed by his 'immune system'. "We are reliant on the mass effect, and it's properties. This-" he dropped the book on Hackett's desk, scattering other papers, "- is how we can break that."
"Again, I will ask: Why the Quarians?" Hackett began thumbing through the book, impressed by the technical detail, but not understanding any of it. "Why can't we do this on our own?"
Leti had been silent throughout the while exchange, but now she spoke up. "Your species is not used to working with the mass effect technology. I saw his designs- they are orders of magnitude more complex than any mass effect reactor or drive."
"That, and they are near extinction." John could not make the noise, or the headache stop. "You know what my designation was?"
"You were HEPHESTUS. Where are the others?"
John could see no reason to lie to him. "Dead."
Hackett turned a page, and saw... Weapon designs- labeled 'Planet Penetrators', and other, more convoluted things. "I think we will be able to set something up."
Raising his hand, John spoke. "I need several tons of ice, and a number of other materials for the Migrant fleet." Several credit chits were extruded from the armor on his palm. "If you can send an agent to purchase them, this should suffice, and we can begin negotiations. Hopefully, somewhere else- this place hurts."
"HEPHESTUS... What do you mean 'this place hurts'?" Hackett looked worried. If this entity was who he said he was, he was at least 150 years old, and extremely dangerous.
"I am not sure." John began walking towards the door. "I don't want to be here though." He looked back at Hackett. "Do we have a deal?"
Hackett sighed. "I don't see how I can pass this up." He picked up the book, and grabbed a briefcase. "Udina! You are in charge until further notice." He activated his omni-tool. "All human military vessels, this is Captain Hackett. I am recalling my ship- we are going to escort a VIP back to Earth. Hackett out."
John cleared his thoat, and looked pointedly at Leti.
"Right..." He re-activated his tool. "XO Shepherd, we will be purchasing some resources for our potential allies. Contact the..." He looked at John.
"The Rayya." Leti began typing out details. "I will be needed for the delivery, and I need to talk to Captain Raan about this... Development." She sounded annoyed, but John's mind was being taxed by that damn noise that he had stopped caring.
"I will send you more data on what is needed when I get the list." He paused. "Hackett out."
"Great. Whatever. Do it." John just wanted the damn noise to stop. "If I don't get out of here soon, I am going to devastator this place."
Everyone stopped moving.
Hackett was the first to start moving again. "I have no idea what that even means, but I doubt it was good."
"Evil can be nice, and good can be nasty. Do not mistake my position on the issue, fleshling." John's headache climbed to new heights, his voice was developing a freaky reverb effect, and his hair was not staying a constant color anymore. "Right now though, I just want off this station.
"I will make arrangements. Hackett out." He walked out the door.
Leti walked over to John, and looked at the door. "Does he always say that?"
End of chapter 3
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Right. The more reviews I get, the quicker I will try to update.
Please feel free to PM me corrections- I am the only one reading this before you all get it- as well as suggestions for the parts of the story.
