Chapter 4
"Oh come on!" I exclaim "That's the third ship I've designed that you've said no to!"I look forlornly at the holographic ship designer as Harvey deletes my latest attempt to specify a ship for us. Pinching the bridge of his nose Harvey sighs in frustration before addressing me.
"That's because you keep choosing ships that are the size of freighters, and as such would require a crew! Now, considering that we're on the run from Cerberus and we don't have a crew to hand, don't you think it would be better to choose a ship that can be piloted and maintained by one man?" Looking away from the holographic interface I focus on Harvey with a rebuttal
"Fine, I get your point. But I don't have much of a clue what sort of ship we should be getting or even what I would be capable of flying. I mean other than that shuttle I don't have a lot of experience with spaceships, and to be honest that experience had far too much trial and error for my liking. Anyway, let's not forget that you fucked off when it came to flying the incomprehensible death-trap!" Harvey's features soften after my outburst and he responds
"Just let me have five minutes and I can find a ship that will be more than suitable for us", with a theatrical gesture I step out the way of the terminal. My omni-tool lights up and Harvey regards me for a moment before mentioning "You didn't need to get out the way Chris, it's not like I need to walk to the terminal to interact with it. Lest we forget, I'm not corporeal" he demonstrates by waving his arm back and forth through the shop counter.
"I haven't forgotten that" I say "I've just put it in the pile of all those other unanswered questions you owe me, speaking of, when are we going to play twenty questions? I'm thinking after escaping that facility and sending them on a wild goose chase with the Nav card, we should be in a position where you can throw me a few bones here", staring intently at the holographic ship designer Harvey shakes his head wordlessly before responding.
"Not yet Chris, but we're very close now. All we've got left to do is get off this planet in our brand new ship" before I can argue my point any further he steps back to reveal a holographic representation of his ship design. Holding off on my interrogation I step forward to get a closer look at Harvey's proposed design. It looks like a bigger version of the Hammerhead tank from ME2, but without the dual hover jets on the sides. In anticipation of my comparison to the Hammerhead Harvey explains the vehicles design. "It's a Raptor class infantry assault shuttle. They're used extensively throughout the turian hierarchy's military forces. My guess is that the Hammerhead hover tank is based on its design. Considering the Normandy was created with an amalgam of human and turian innovation, it's not too much of a stretch to believe that the Hammerhead was designed with the same thoughts in mind." Looking proudly at the holographic representation rotating slowly above the terminal Harvey continues. "Being larger than the Hammerhead means that there are three sections to the ship, the first is the cockpit. This is based at the front of the ship where there are seats for two pilots, but it can easily be flown by one individual. The second section in the middle of the spacecraft is where the infantry would be seated if this was a standard Raptor shuttle, and much like the Kodiak shuttle it's also where you board this ship. The final section at the back of the ship would normally be a storage bay for extra munitions. However I have taken the liberty of creating a space specifically for you." Turning to smile at me Harvey enlarges the 3D schematic and indicates the back of the ship. "There's a bed, storage containers for food, clothing or whatever else takes your fancy, there is also an automatic medical mech in case of emergencies. We are probably going to spending a lot of time on this transport so I have also made the addition of an extranet terminal in your quarters". I respond to Harvey without breaking my eyes away from his impressive design.
"Dude, this is awesome" without giving me a chance to continue praising him Harvey ploughs ahead.
"Oh that's not even the best bit! I've added various technologies and innovations into its schematics to give us several advantages. The Raptor class shuttle is naturally quick and manoeuvrable so it didn't require much improvement but I still added a slightly more powerful engine just to be on the safe side. Like the Hammerhead it is armed with only a single cannon, but it has a high rate of fire as well as a missile guidance system, meaning that regardless of how shit a shot you are then it should probably hit something" Harvey doesn't even acknowledge my response of a middle finger to that remark as he continues, "Unlike the Hammerhead this shuttle does have a kinetic barrier, but that doesn't mean we're gonna want to get into any fights. We can hold our own in a fight but this ship isn't designed to attack head on. Now the aspect that I'm most proud of is the stealth systems, something we're going to need a lot if Cerberus keeps looking for us". Looking somewhat dubiously at me Harvey mentions "This will require a fair bit of explanation here so tell me if you don't want to know all the ins and outs".
"No no, I'm interested in hearing how this works" I encourage.
"Well, you know that detecting ships in space is all about seeing their heat emissions right?" I nod my head "Well the Normandy gets around that by storing its heat for a certain time period. We can't do that with a ship this size or we would cook within minutes. What I've done instead is introduce a cooling system along the hull of the ship. Pipes filled with liquid nitrogen run along the ships outer hull and maintain a constant cold temperature to camouflage our heat signature to the heat, or lack thereof, in space. The danger is that we can't keep it up too long or we will freeze to death after a few hours. Most ships wouldn't be able to do this due to their size but we are the perfect mix between small enough for out heat signature to be hidden by such a crude system and large enough to implement it."
"That's pretty cool" I admit, "but won't they be able to spot us with radar or something like that?" I query. Giving me a sly grin Harvey answers.
"Funny you should ask, but another addition to the Raptors design I've made is the light absorbing paint all over the hull." Noticing my confusion Harvey goes into more detail "ships don't use radar with sound waves anymore. They use lasers in something called ladar, same premise as radar but with lasers bouncing off targets to reveal their position. The light absorbing paint will effectively make us invisible to their short range sensors. Added to which, this specialist paint makes the ship look pretty cool".
"Ok Harvey, enough" I interrupt "I don't know much about ships but you seem to know a fuck ton so I'm gonna trust that you know what you're talking about. What's our next step?" smiling at my acceptance of his ship design Harvey explains
"You just need to talk to the store owner and get this ship made, oh and you need to give it a name". After a few moments I switch the Hologram from showing the schematic to showing what the finished product will look like. It really does look just like a larger version of the Hammerhead, only without the hover jets and completely painted black. A smile creeps across my face as I think of a name, in the registration section of the interface I type in the designation Blackbird. This gains a smile from Harvey
"Calling a Raptor class shuttle Blackbird? Fitting" comments the store owner once I've entered the information and shown him the schematic.
It takes a lot longer for the ship dealer to assemble Harvey's schematics than it was with Prazza's freighter. I guess that all the extras added onto the Raptor must make it much more complex to build than the Kowloon was. It was also a LOT more expensive too, costing around 24 million of my stolen credits. It was going to be one hell of a ship but considering my original 54 million credits has dwindled down to roughly 20 million in less than a day, I'm gonna need to cut back on my spending. While waiting for the ships construction I look across the road to what seems to be a cafe of some sort. Realising that all I've had since I've woken up is a glass of brandy I quickly wander over and order the biggest burger they have. Sitting and contentedly eating what can only be described as a behemoth of burgers I can't help but realise how insane this all is. I'm in a fictional universe, being hunted by terrorists and my only company is another me and despite all of this going on around me I can't help but enjoy this awesome burger.
"Hey buddy" I say getting the attention of the volus that served me, "I just want to let you know that this is amazing" I compliment before taking another bite
"Why thank you earth clan" he wheezes, "I take great pride in my thresher steak burgers" without waiting for my reply he hurries on to serve another customer. Thresher steak burger? As in Thresher Maw? I stare at my meal with new eyes as I picture where the hunk of meat came from. After a few moment's hesitation I shrug and take another bite. What the hell, in for a penny in for a pound.
I sit in the cafe finishing my meal before heading back towards the ship dealers after noticing Harvey tapping his wristwatch. As I enter the shop the salarian dealer has me swipe the device with my omni-tool to finalise the payment and the ship is officially mine. He then gives me directions to the hanger that I am to collect my new possession in. At first I'm concerned that I'm going to get lost or forget the directions I've been given but then Harvey creates his blue objective line for me to follow. Stepping out of the store I follow the blue indicator down the street. After a few minutes travel I decide to question my companion again.
"So what are you?" I ask Harvey as we walk side by side down a fairly empty street. Taken aback by my sudden question he opens his mouth to respond but I butt in before he has the opportunity to form an answer "and I don't want to hear you say later or anything like that. We have time to talk about this while we're walking".
"Well now's not the best of times-" he begins
"No! You don't get to say that!" I state angrily "You owe me answers and at the very least you can give me some broad strokes here. Christ mate give me-"
"I DON'T KNOW" screams Harvey interrupting me.
"What?" I respond nonplussed
"I don't know what I am" Harvey whispers "We can get into details later but you came into this universe around a year ago. Whatever caused that to happen caused me to happen." I simply stare at him and he continues tiredly "My best guess is that whatever brought you over here caused you so much mental trauma that it splintered your mind, and made me". I'm just standing in the street looking at my feet in confusion before looking up at Harvey again.
"But...But you said I hadn't gone crazy. That was the first fucking thing you said to me!"
"I know what I said!" Harvey responds angrily "But I had to get us out of that place and I don't think my opening line would work if it was hey your doo-fucking-lally and I'm an aspect of your shattered mind, follow me!" Looking me in the eyes he continues "I'm sorry Chris but think about how I feel. I haven't a clue what I am and the only way I can interact with anything outside your head is with your omni-tool". Feeling a little ashamed for lashing out at my companion I apologise
"Sorry mate, this whole situation is so hard on me that I never stopped to think about how you were coping with it." Gaining a smile from my apparent subconscious we continue walking towards the direction of the hanger and I begin talking again "This is so fucking weird man. I mean, this is impossible and yet here we are" after a few seconds of consideration I question Harvey again "So what was that you were saying about the omni-tool before?"
"You're really not gonna give up with these questions are you?" Harvey wearily sighs
"Well I'm a little invested in finding out the answers" I respond
"Ok, fair enough. Again, we can go into the details later but the omni-tool grafted to your arm isn't just for shits and giggles. It's linked directly to your neural pathways, Cerberus implanted it as a way of studying your brain. Unlucky for them, it serves as something of a two way street so I can access the omni-tool and any technological systems within range." Gaining a rather smug look he continues "I've gotten pretty good at it too"
"That you have" I compliment, "we would never have gotten out of that facility if it wasn't for you. I know I've given you a hard time since I've woken up but I appreciate the help" I say giving Harvey a warm smile
"Hey no problem, besides technically it's my skin I'm saving too" smiling at that we walk contentedly along for a while longer before something else occurs to me.
"Wait a second, how come you're walking? How can I see you if you're my subconscious or whatever you are up there?" I ask confusedly
"Well that's an easy one." Harvey begins "I simply alter your awareness a little. I'm not really walking along, I just thought it would be more comforting to you if you could see who you were talking to"
"Well thanks, but it's not really necessary. Now I know what you are you don't have to do that." I remark
"Oh, never mind then" and with that Harvey disappears.
"Oh shit, you haven't gone again have you?" I worriedly ask
"No Chris, don't panic. I've just stopped altering your perceptions to show a representation of myself" Harvey's voice sounds in my head, much to my relief. We walk for a couple more blocks before Harvey mentions that we are almost at the hanger and we enter a much more crowded area.
"So" I begin "Once we've got this ship, what's our next step?" I ask. However after receiving some confused glances from passers I regret asking the question quite so loudly.
"You can just think it in your head Chris, it might be best not to advertise that you're a nutter" Harvey remarks before beginning to answer my question "Well, Omega has a good reputation for ensuring nobody finds you. I'm thinking If we head there first we can make a plan from there" Harvey answers. Before I can form a response we turn a corner and I'm faced with the image of someone I really don't want to see. Miranda Lawson, she's dressed much as she is in ME2 with just as stern an expression on her face as she walks towards us.
"Shit" Harvey exclaims. "They weren't supposed to be looking for us for another few hours"
"Don't worry, maybe she not here looking for us", I say with confidence I don't feel. After a few moments of holding my breath with fear I lock eyes with her. Her eyebrows shoot up in alarm and she raises her gun "or maybe she is"
"Hold it right there!" she shouts at me
"Run!"Harvey shouts in my head. The objective marker switches from blue to red and immediately changes direction. Without thinking I sprint in the newly outlined direction indicated by Harvey.
"What the hell are we doing?" I think at Harvey as I sprint down crowded streets "We need that ship if we're getting off this planet!" After waiting a few seconds and receiving no answer from Harvey I immediately panic. What If he's gone again? "Harvey? You there?" I ask
"Busy" is all I receive in response from my constant companion. At least he's still there, looking behind me I can see Miranda sprinting after me with her pistol raised at me. She wouldn't fire in a crowded street would she? My answer is given when I hear several sharp cracks as her weapon is fired. After seeing several people around me fall I notice darts protruding from them. I can at least take solace in the fact that she isn't trying to kill me. I follow Harvey's trail down several alleyways that force me to climb fences and jump over bins, for a moment I maintain a vain hope that this will slow Lawson down. That is until she displays just how perfect she is with the use of impeccable free running and gymnastics to avoid the obstacles much more skilfully than I did.
"Shit" I mutter as I observe her skill. As I turn the next corner I see that the only avenue I have left is a balcony with a drop of thousands of storeys. Staring at my hopeless escape route I repeat myself "Shit".
"Put your hands in the air 117!" My pursuer demands as she catches up to me
"Oh come on!" I angrily shout as I raise my arms "why the fuck do you people even want me!" I demand in between pants "I'm just a boring guy from the country, seriously Miranda can't you just fuck off?" The genetically tailored woman stares at me with surprise and confusion before demanding
"How do you know my name?" Her eyes bore into mine as she repeats herself "How do you know my name?" with every enunciation she jabs her gun in my direction.
"CHRIS! JUMP NOW!" Harvey suddenly screams in my head. With only a moments hesitation I decide to trust him and dive off the edge of the balcony. As my dive carries me over the edge of the drop I can hear Miranda's firearm discharging behind me, but what I'm more afraid of is the gut wrenching abyss spreading out below me. My stomach sinks as I realise my trust in Harvey was completely misplaced and all I can think to do is angrily mutter
"Harvey you dick"
A/N- Sorry to leave you on a literal cliffhanger but, well I wanted a cliffhanger. Just wanted to say thanks again to everyone for the favouriting and story alerts, and a special thank you for the reviews from coop97 and Triggs. Really made my day getting some feedback from you guys so thanks again. Hope you enjoyed and as always thanks for reading
