Alright so I've taken a break from my homework to complete this chapter. My longest one to date though it could easily be turned into two or three chapters. I haven't touched my Noveria chapter since my last update so I might not be able to complete it before the weekend is over :(
A bun-less Ashley makes an appearance in this chapter. I got to be honest and say ME3 Ashley hairstyle is better than ME 1 & 2 hairstyle. Just sayin.
Anyways I hope you enjoy this chapter. See you on the other side!
The Headaches
April 2, 2183
SSV Normandy - Commander Alonso - 1100 hours
I couldn't take it anymore. Who were these people? I was appalled as Shepard and I went from planet to planet, encountering a Thresher Maw, husks and human soldiers. Admiral Kahoku, had been tortured by a rogue alliance cell known as Cerberus. He died a long and painful death. We informed Admiral Hackett about Kahoku's fate and in return, some info about Cerberus. According to Hackett, Cerberus was an alliance cell that had recently gone rogue and become a pro-human terrorist organization. It had a well-known reputation with torturing humans in order to advance human's best "interest." Cerberus just went up to the number two spot of my "things to kill" list. Saren obviously being number 1.
I needed something to do, something to get my mind off of Cerberus. I went down to engineering to talk to either Garrus or Tali. I have only spoken to them in passing during their breaks. I wanted to get to know them. This mission with Saren required us to get to know each other.
I didn't see Garrus anywhere so I turned the corner and I bumped into the quarian. We both stumbled and fell to the ground.
"Commander! Sorry I didn't see you there."
I got up and brushed myself off and extended my hand to offer Tali some assistance.
"I wasn't paying attention to where I was going. My apologies."
"Is there something you need?" she asked curiously.
"I need someone to talk to. Do you have a minute?"
"Of course."
I waved her over to follow me. We traveled up the elevator and walked into my room. As Tali, entered she started fidgeting with her hands, showing signs of shyness and discomfort.
"Please," I offered her a chair, "have a seat."
Tali sat down on the chair I offered and spoke up. "Is something wrong? Am I in trouble?" her voiced sounded worried. I smiled to give her some comfort.
"Not at all. I simply wanted to talk. We haven't really done that since you've been on board this ship. It's one of my many responsibilities to get to know everyone on this ship. To offer any assistance, if you will." I shifted in my chair to get more comfortable, "With that being said, how are you holding up? Any problems with the crew?"
Tali seemed to relax a bit, which brought a smile to my face. Tali had a teenager's free spirit which was always nice to have around a ship such as the Normandy. Her nervous voice had quickly disappeared as well, "I hope not. Everyone has been really good to me, especially Chief Adams. He was impressed by how much I knew about ships. It comes with being a quarian I guess."
I tilted my head and asked quizzically, "How so?"
"After we were forced out of Rannoch, our home planet, we were confined to our ships. They are our most valuable resource. They are constantly being repaired, modified and refitted so that they are able to run properly."
"So is that why your people venture on pilgrimages? To find parts for your ships?" I asked.
"Yes but there's more to it than that. We can only return to the flotilla once we've found something of value. Whatever we find, we present it to the captain of the ship we wish to join."
Interesting. "Can a captain reject the gift?"
"It is very rare that that happens, most captains accept the gift in order to increase the size of their crew. However, if someone presents a substandard gift, it doesn't please captains as it doesn't leave a good impression."
"I see. So what do you hope to find?"
"I'm not sure yet. My father is on the admiralty board so there is an incredibly high expectation for me. Hopefully there will be something that I can learn while I'm here."
"Well if there is anything you need, don't hesitate to ask. I'd be happy to help."
"Thank you commander. That means a lot to hear you say that."
I put up my hands, "My friends call me Charlie or Chuck."
Tali straightened in her chair, "Friends?" She paused to reflect. If it wasn't for her visor, I would suspect she was smiling. "Thank you Comm-Chuck."
Tali stood up from her chair. "I really must get back to work. I-I appreciate the talk we had. See you around?" she asked.
"Of course Tali. I'll see you later."
SSV Normandy - Alonso's Quarters - Commander Alonso - 2000 hours
After a few hours with talking to some of the crew up in the CIC, I decided it was time to hang out in my room and relax. I took a quick nap after dinner which was something I needed after my discovery of Cerberus. I went to take a brisk shower. After shaving, I looked myself in the mirror and was disappointed of the sight. I wasn't happy with the lack of exercise I've had within the last few days. The last mission we went on was the Therum mission. A mission that I wasn't even a part of, though I was happy I did. Garrus had told me earlier on how Shepard was a terrible driver.
"We kept bouncing all over this thing." He said, giving a tap at the mako with his talon.
I laughed, "Yeah, Jane has always been a terrible driver, even back in basic. We were running simulations - testing out different terrain - she managed to flip the mako several times trying to climb a steep mountain!"
Garrus shook his head in disappointment. "How embarrassing!"
"Exactly! Of course she would deny it if you'd ask her but our instructors and I are eye-witnesses. I was the better driver between the two of us. I must have embarrassed her so bad, she doesn't even let me drive!"
The elevator came down and out came Shepard.
"Speak of the devil!" I said with a smirk. "Don't say a word. She'll kill us both."
"Heh are you kidding? I'm not saying a word."
"I better get going before she starts putting two and two together. I'll talk to you later Garrus."
"Yeah I better begin my recalibrations on the mako before Jane decides to take it out again."
I changed into a black, sleeveless shirt and some shorts and hit the gym. The ladies on the ship clearly stared at me as I walked towards the gym. A smile was placed across my face as I passed a couple of women who giggled as I walked passed them. As the door opened I was greeted by Ashley and Amanda, who were both on the treadmill.
"Ashley? Is that you? Wow! You look really different with a pony tail!" I said in amazement.
"T-thanks Charlie, you don't look too bad yourself." She said, looking at my abdomen.
Both women looked at me with admiration on how fit I was. Amanda quickly looked away while Ashley stared a little longer than I would've liked, not that it was a bad thing.
"Is that shirt really necessary Commander? I could see your abs through that tight shirt you're wearing." Ashley stated. Her cheeks instantly turned a bright shade of pink.
I looked down at myself and gave a slow spin, "What this? It's a lot better than that sports bra you're wearing. I gotta say Ash, you look hot." I said, giving the chief a wink.
Ashley's face turned an even brighter red. Not sure if she was blushing or just ticked off by my insubordination. Hopefully it was the former.
I then went over to the punching bag. I pictured Saren's face on it and went to work, taking all my frustration on the defenseless punching bag. It felt good as it never fought back. As I began to work a sweat, my shirt started began getting uncomfortable so I ripped it off.
By that time, Ashley and Amanda had moved onto the bench press. Amanda was spotting the gunnery chief but was having a difficult time. It was now her time to stare.
As I moved around the punching bag, dodging out of the way from its trajectory, I noticed Amanda staring at me. "Yes?" I asked, pausing my assault.
She didn't say anything. She looked as if she was in a trance.
"Amanda?" I asked again, with a bit more concern.
"Hmm? Oh, was I staring? My apologies."
I couldn't help but shake my head. "You might want to help the chief out," I said, "I'm not sure how much longer she can hold that barbell." I continued.
Looking confused, the engineer looked down, only to find Ashley choking out. She panicked and grabbed the barbell from the chief's hands and put it back where it belonged. Ashley began coughing I walked over to the two women, only to be halted by Ashley.
"Dont you dare come closer!" She said, still coughing. "You're unbelievable you know that?" She asked.
"I know, I have that affect on woman." I smirked.
Ashley rolled her eyes while Amanda simply just stared at my upper body.
"Amanda, you know that it's really rude to stare."
"S-sorry!" The young engineer said.
I chuckled a bit. I have them right where I want them. "If the two of you would like, you can follow me to my quarters. It's much more -what's the word -" I gave a long pause. I knew what I was going to say. I was just making them wait for it. I gave the most seductive voice I could muster, "private."
Amanda looked like she was going to jump me, accepting the offer.
"In your dreams commander." Ashley responded.
"Oh well, can't blame me for trying. It's getting late anyways. I'll see you two ladies later."
I grabbed my things and headed out the door. The punching bag was pretty much all I came for. I needed a distraction. Having Ashley and Amanda there, was an unexpected bonus.
April 4, 2183
SSV Normandy - Alonso' Quarters - Commander Alonso - 0800 hours
I woke up with a thumping headache. One of my many small side effects from my biotic abilities. I rolled over and grabbed a pill that Chawkwas gave me. I better take it easy today. Today was the worst day for a headache. We arrived at Feros, we gathered intel that Saren's geth had been searching for something. A small colony had been attacked and were taking casualties.
Jane recommended that I stayed on the ship but I told her that a small headache wasn't going to keep me from performing. I lied. It hurt like hell but still, Shepard doesn't need to know.
Knowing that my biotics were intertwined with my headaches, I kept my powers to a minimum. I wasn't entirely useless. I saved Shepard's ass quite a few times while in the Exo Geni Tower. And from a pack of Krogans no less.
"You're welcome!" I said to her as we moved to clear the next room. It was filled with geth. Looked like the geth had set up a central HQ. I had no choice but to use my biotics as Shepard, Tali, and Garrus moved up.
"I could use a little help here Charlie!" Jane yelled my earpiece via inter-comm.
I threw a massive singularity that sent even a geth destroyer off the ground. Garrus and Shepard blasted them to smithereens as Tali hacked one of the geth platforms, sending it to attack it's fellow geth...brethren?
I hacked into one of the terminals that the geth had established and I discovered that the geth had set up small bases around the Skyllian Verge. I'll tell Jane about this once we are done with this mission. I reminded myself.
Once we destroyed the latches, sending the geth dropship to its impending doom, we headed back to the colony. The colonists were in danger from a species called The Thorian. It had the ability to control minds. Certainly Saren was after this power. That son of a bitch could control the masses if he got his hands on it.
"What happened to the colonists?" I asked as they started attacking us. The majority of the colonists have become mindless zombies.
"It's too late for them now," Garrus announced, "We have to confront the Thorian."
Garrus was right. We couldn't save them. At least the ones who have turned.
The Thorian lived under the colony's very nose. Literally. We walked down the dungeon and we seemed to walk forever.
"Alright," said Garrus, "We just got to find this creature and find out w-what that-"
What in the world is that!
"That doesn't look like any plant life form I've ever seen. This could be a problem" Said Jane.
"You think?" I said under my breath. Not silent enough though. Jane whipped her head around and glared at me. I gave an innocent smile back at her.
"Whatever this is, it must be stopped!" Tali interrupted.
An asari came out of the thing's mouth. Or at least I think was the mouth. Disgusting. This asari looked different. She had green skin rather than the usual blue or violet.
"Invaders! You're very step is a transgression. A thousand feelers would considered you as meat bu-"
"Oh yeah?" I said. I began to flare my biotics. "Well eat this!" I gathered everything I had and threw her in the endless pit behind her.
The rest of the squad turned to look at me. Jane was especially unhappy about it. She crossed her arms and shifted to one side.
"What? We can either sit here and listen to her yap or do something about this thing." I said waving my hand at The Thorian.
As soon as I finished talking, four creatures from before came from the hallway around the corner. Tali and I took out our shotguns and took them down easily. Then another asari came out from the thorian. She was really strong. Adding the creatures and the close quarters to the mix, the fight would prove to be difficult.
"Those nodes! They look like they support the thorian" Tali stated.
"Charlie and Tali, take them out! Garrus and I will watch your guy's back." Jane instructed.
Right before the last node was destroyed, I my headache started getting worse. My biotics were suddenly getting weaker too.
As the last node broke, The Thorian fell just like the first asari. An almost silent thud was heard as the Thorian reached the bottom.
One last asari, came forth but it wasn't like the others we have encountered in the dungeon. Her skin was a normal blue but her facial tattoo's were the same as the rest. I then realized that the others were clones of this one.
"I'm free! Thank you for saving me. My name Shiala." She said. "I ser- I served Matriarch Benezia." She corrected herself.
She told us how Saren was able to manipulate her master, Benezia. She told us how Saren had a ship he called Sovereign. A ship that can manipulate the will of its followers, making mindless servants that would, in turn, follow Saren. Saren needed the Thorian for the secrets it contained.
"Wait, so if there was an alliance between Saren and the Thorian, then why were the geth trying to destroy it?" I asked.
"Saren knows you are in pursuit. After it was no longer useful, he ordered his geth to search and destroy the Thorian so you cannot gain the Cipher."
"What's the cipher? And why was Saren after it?" Jane interrupted.
"The beacon that was discovered on Eden Prime gave you and Saren visions. The visions are however, unclear. They were designed for a prothean mind. The cipher will help fix that. The cipher helps one think like a prothean. Help understand the language and culture."
Wanting to get on with it, I interrupted. "Jane and I need that cipher. We must stop Saren."
"You saved my life so I am forever grateful. I can transfer the memories onto yours as I did with Saren."
"Shouldn't you say call your girlfriend before she enters your mind Shepard?" I said teasingly to Shepard.
"That's not how it works!" she yelled.
"Oh, so you two have already done it?" It was more of a statement than an actual question.
"Ye-No!" Shepard blushed in response. Oh Shepard, you are too easy.
Jane followed by letting out a frustrating sigh. "Charlie I suggest you shut up before one week of reports turns into a whole month!"
"Shutting up ma'am."
Shepard sighed once more as she returned her attention to Shiala. "Charlie you're up first."
Damn it! I stepped forward while Shepard moved to the side.
"Try to relax commander. Slow deep breaths. Let go of your physical shell. Open yourself to the universe commander," Shiala's eyes turned black in an instant, "Embrace Eternity!"
The meld began. I saw the same images I saw from the beacon. The only difference was the end of the memories. I saw the same ship that Jane, Alenko, Ash and I saw on Eden Prime. Then the meld ended.
"Are you alright commander?" Tali asked nervously.
"I don't know. I don't think it worked. I don't feel any different. My head is hurting but it's been hurting since I woke up this morning." I looked towards Jane, "Your turn Shepard."
Shepard inched closer to the asari and Shiala repeated the same words to her and the meld began. Jane stood perfectly still as she received the cipher. She stood like that even after the meld stopped.
"Jane?" It was now my turn to be nervous. I hope she's ok.
"I'm fine. The images are still unclear to me."
"I have given you the cipher. The ancestral memories of the protheans are inside of you now. It will take time to process the information."
"Hmm well I guess we should head back to the Normandy, have Chawkwas take a look at the both of you." Stated Garrus.
"With you're permission, I would like to stay and help the survivors. I have played a part in their suffering and I would like to make it up to them."
"They would need all the help they could get. Not many survived though." Shiala frowned as I told her about Zhu's Hope's fate. "Still, they would be happy to hear that you wish to help." I said.
The five of us walked out of the dungeon and we said our farewells. I hope that the colonists are able to grow once more. I will be praying for them.
Back on the ship, we went into the comms room for a debriefing.
As the squad sat down, I looked over at Jane, who looked as if she was about to puke.
Liara had come to the same conclusion. "Commander, you look...pale. Are you suffering the effects of the cipher?"
"I feel like throwing up." Jane grunted.
Strange, I don't feel like that.
"Maybe I can help you. I am an expert on the protheans. If I join my consciousness with yours, maybe we can make sense of it." Liara offered.
"Fine it's worth a shot." Jane and Liara stood up and walked to the center of the room. Both walking unsteadily towards one another. I could tell both of the felt uncomfortable as everyone in the room watched them. Both of their cheeks blushed. Alright you lovebirds let's get it over with shall we? I thought.
Liara shook her head and cleared her throat. "Relax commander, Embrace Eternity!"
When the meld ended, Liara stumbled back a few steps, nearly falling to the metal floor of the Normandy.
"Whoa, incredible! All this time, I never even dreamed-"Uh oh is she going to start babbling again? I enjoy talking to her and all but now is not the time. I want to go to bed!
Alenko shared my feelings. "Did you see anything doctor?"
"The images on Eden Prime were badly damaged. A lot of the message is missing." Tell me something I don't know. As if she could read my mind, Shepard looked at me with a glare. Perhaps my slumped body language gave it away.
"Saren must have the other half of the informations. Perhaps he found another beacon. If we can find the rest of the vison, maybe we can piece it together and figure out what this all means-s" Liara touched her forehead and let out a moan. Seeing her in such a state, Jane ended the meeting. I was the first one out. I was nearly passing out halfway through Liara's ramble.
As I approached my quarters Jane yelled my name. "Charlie!"
Can't a guy just pass out in peace?
I let out a sigh and responded in an slurred manner, "Yes commander?"
Shepard stomped her way towards me and came to a halt just inches in front of my face. "Don't ever do that again. Show some damned respect next time!"
"Look I would be more than happy to receive a pep talk from you but right now I would really appreciated if I could just crash on my bed in peace so if you will excuse me." I turned towards my door but before I could enter she grabbed a firm hold of my hand.
"Excuse me?" she said.
"You heard me. I want to go to bed."
"No-no-no-no-no. Not until I get an apology." She said.
"For what?"
"For disrespecting my girlfri- my friend!" she corrected herself. I wanted to say something witty but I was too tired to even press on the situation.
"Ugh fine! I'm sorry" I forced my hand free of Jane's grip. "Happy? Can I go now?"
"Not even the slightest. I want a real apology."
"A real apology? What does that even mean? I said I'm sorry. Isn't that good enough?" I asked.
Jane didn't respond. She just stood there cupping her ear with her hand.
I let out another defeating sigh. "I'm sorry for disrespecting your girlfriend. It won't happen again"
Jane brought out a smile. Feeling satisfied, she said, "As you were, commander" and she preceded to walk towards the mess hall.
"I hate you." I said under my breath.
"Love you too little bro!" She said, waving me goodbye.
I rolled my eyes at her and walked into my room.
Finally some peace and quiet!
I flopped towards the bed and looked for my blasto pillow I had recently purchased from one of the markets on the citadel. Feeling contempt, I passed out.
The next morning...
My headache had subsided as I woke up. I walked into the mess hall for breakfast in my N7 sweatpants. Tali, Ashley, Amanda, Kaidan, and Shepard were sitting at the table having breakfast.
There was a groan from Ashley as soon as she saw me. "Oh brother not this again. Really Charlie? Put a shirt on!"
I couldn't help but laugh at the gunnery chief. "What? No," I soon began talking in a high pitched voice, "Oh commander, you are so handsome! I could stare at those muscles aallll day. Take me to bed already!" I got a mixture of rolling of the eyes and shaking of the head from everyone at the table before I went over to grab myself a tray.
I made my way to the table to sit next to Shepard. As I took my seat, I sneaked a wink towards Ash and Amanda, being rewarded with blushed cheeks.
"Did you sleep alright?" Jane asked.
"I did, how about you? Did you tell Liara that you cheated on her?" I began nudging Shepard's ribs.
Jane ignored my question and drew his attention to Tali. "Still have a crush on him?"
Tali stiffened as everyone was looking at her.
"What? When did I say that? Did I say that aloud? Oh Keelah. I mean-he's just so...We're friends!"
My cheeks soon began to burn. I nervously laughed and began scratching a non-existant itch on my shoulder.
Ashley took my vulnerability as a signal to pounce. "Oh so you go all flirty with me and Amanda here, but you all nervous when Tali is involved?"
"No! Tali is a good friend of mine. We trust each other..." I looked at a nervous Tali and asked, "Right?"
"R-right!"
"Uh huh." Jane and Ashley said in unison.
"Speaking of our quarian," I drew my attention towards our CO. "I found some information concerning some geth working out in the Skyllian Verge. According to the logs, the geth seemed to be working independantly; It looks like they are setting up bases for something big. I was wondering if you wanted to take a look."
Jane nodded in an instant, saying, "We can do that. I'll set a course once I'm done eating."
Armstrong Cluster - SSV Normandy - Cargo Hold - Commander Shepard - 1700 hours
We have destroyed Geth bases located in Casbin, Antibaar, Rayingri, and Maji. Tali had reported that there was one base left located on the planet of Sulcrum and apparently, it their main base of operations. I had taken Tali, and Charlie with me on the previous planets. The two showed that they worked well together. I wanted Ashley and Wrex to join us when we began our assault of Sulcrum.
"Do you smell something?" Charlie asked to nobody in particular. "Wrex did you forget to put deoderant on?" Everyone but Wrex laughed.
"Well, the planet, much like the rest in this system, are extremely hot." Tali interjected.
"Well," Charlie took out his brand new 'Death Mask' he recently purchased on the Citadel, "I'm glad I upgraded." He connected the oxygen tubes to his helmet and strapped it on. I couldn't help but stare at the mask's glowing red eyes. There was a robotic sound when he breathed which startled me. He looked at me with this red eyes and said to me. "Jane...I am your father."
I rolled my eyes in response. His old 20 century jokes from film vids were still annoying.
"Nothing?" His robotic voice startled me again. "Come on! Ashley, you get it right?"
"Yeah I get it commander. Not funny." The gunnery chief responded.
"Ugh! You guys have no sense of humor. I'm practically a Jedi you know! I can move stuff on my own free will. I can-"
"Can we focus on the mission?" My eyes narrowing my a deadly glare.
"Fine!" He pouted, crossing his arms across his chest as we made our way to the geth stronghold.
"Two Colossi, one kilometer ahead." Tali announced as she waved her hands on the holographic vid feed.
"I see them. Wrex?"
"Don't have to tell me twice Shepard." Wrex roared as he pointed the mako's cannon at the two colossi. Within seconds, one of them fell, shortly followed by the other. "Ha! Bring it on!"
I made a slow approach towards the base, taking out a few rocket troopers bunkered behind a barrier with the mako's machine gun. "Let's move!" I ordered everyone out of the mako.
"Let's head inside. Wrex, Ashley, you take point."
Steadyly we made our way inside.
"Sensors are jammed Jane." Tali announced once more as she looked at her omni-tool. I could hear a chuckle coming from Charlie.
"Don't Charlie. One reference to sci-fi movies is enough for today."
"Awww"
I was beginning to get irritated. "Let's just kill clear this base and call it a night." Everyone nodded as we opened the second door to the main room. We were immediately taking plasma fire from geth platforms. Our squad were split apart as everyone dove to cover.
"Tali take care oof the hoppers! Ash, help me with the destroyer. Wrex, deal with the troopers. Charlie try and take out the snipers up on the second level."
From the corner of my eyes I saw Charlie move up the stairs, sneaking up towards the geth snipers. I heard them screech as they were destroyed.
"Geth Prime!" Charlie yelled as he saw one coming out from a room.
"Tali overload it's shields!"
The geth giants studdered as it was hit by an electric field. Once Wrex and I blasted the rest of it's shields, and Charlie immediately hit it with a singularity followed by a warp. It burned to a million pieces and I leaned back on a crate and breathed a sigh of relief. Charlie jumped over the railing and flared his biotics before he touched the ground.
"Tali." He simply said as he huddled near the door where the geth prime came out of. She nodded and hugged the wall opposite of him. Wrex and I followed suit.
"Clear." Wrex announced as we cleared the room. There were computers and data servers present. Tali went up to the computers and data mined them with her omni-tool.
"Keelah."
"What?" I asked.
"These geth weren't the same as the geth we've fought before. They were...independant some how." She left the computer and turned to face me. "Shepard..." Her hands twiddled nervously. "If you allow it, I would like a copy for me to take back to the migrant fleet. This information could help my people better understand the geth."
"Would this be able to help your pilgrimage?" Charlie asked
"Yes very much so."
Charlie nudged me on the elbow, telling me to help her. I nodded to our quarian tech. "Make a copy Tali."
"T-Thank you Shepard... Charlie. You don't know how much this means to me."
The two of us nodded in unison.
"You're welcome. I'm glad we could help. Now let's head back to the Normandy and call it a night."
Blasto pillow FTW!
By the way. Bioware! Where is my blasto pillow? I WANT! lol
I wonder if Jane has one too. What would Liara's reaction be? Hmm something to think about.
On another note, not exactly the ME3 hairstyle for Ashley but I thought it was "gym appropriate."
Let me know what you guys thought about the chapter.
I would like to thank my reviewers for the kind words. I appreciate it.
Anyways I hope you guys enjoy the rest of your weekend!
Til next time
