Mass Effect: The Unsung Hero

Chapter 9: First Time For Everything


A/N:

-OK guys before you start throwing what ever is within your reach at me for not updating sooner I can explain!

- Chapter one has bee redone! I will be going back and redoing the other chapters in a similar manner, correcting mistakes, adding information, etc etc, and posting new ones on rotating basis.

-If you haven't yet, please vote on the poll on my profile! I want to know if you guys think John and Mitchell should save the Council. There is only a 5 vote difference between the leaders! Make sure your voice is heard!


Crew Deck

Normandy SR-1

Thankfully when John told me and Dr. T'Soni to get up to the comm room, it gave me a good excuse to go to my quarters so I could change out of the lower section of my armor and into more appropriate attire. I'll have to apologize for not waking her up right away after the debrief.

After I had exited Dr. T'Soni's quarters, I gave John a heads up. "Hey John, I'll be right up. I'm going to change into my uniform quick. I don't want you propelling me back down the stairs again."

"Damn... That was good practice! Alright, just hurry up. Your the one with the Prothean Beacon burned into his head." Dr. T'Soni had just stepped out of her quarters when John finished. "Dr. T'Soni, if you'll follow me I'll show you the way to the comm room."

"Of course, thank you Commander Shepard." she replied.


Comm Room

Normandy SR-1

By the time I had gotten changed and up the stairs and into the comm room every one was already seated. Tali, Ash, and Kaiden were on the left hand side while Dr. T'Soni, Garrus, and Wrex were on the right. John was leaning against the comm console with his arms crossed.

"Well, now that everyone is here let's get started." John said. I decided, rather than take a seat and uneven the seating arrangement I decided to lean against the console with John. Dr. T'Soni also happened to be right next to the end that John left open. When I leaned back, I looked over to Dr. T'Soni, Garrus, and Wrex and gave them all a brief nod. Garrus and Wrex nodded in return, whereas Dr. T'Soni smiled and averted her eyes away from me. Huh... I hope earlier wasn't that awkward for her...

John had shifted a little bit from the console and turned to me. "Well Ryan, where should we begin? I got all the introductions taken care of." John had asked.

"Well, why not start at the beginning? With me?" I responded.

"You sure you want to do that now?" John asked with a raised eyebrow

"Might as well." I said shrugging my shoulders.

"Alright..." John sighed. He pulled out a small device and set it on the console and activated it. "OK everyone, what you are about to hear is classified Code 5 in Alliance Military Intelligence. I have just activated a bug scrambler to be sure that no one who shouldn't hear this does." John's little statement caused everyone to react in someway: Kaiden and Ash's eyes went wide with shock; Tali's eyes were hard to tell with her visor in the way; Garrus's mandibles seemed to fall off, while Dr. T'Soni seemed to suddenly snap to attention; Wrex was the only one who looked disinterested though.

John let everyone grasp the gravity of the situation before he continued. Damn... Didn't think I was worth this much to the Alliance... "As you all know, Lieutenant Commander Ryan Mitchell here is in possession of a very unique armor system. What you don't know is that we came across him shortly after the Normandy left its space dock floating in space between Jupiter and Sol's asteroid belt."

Before John could continue Garrus interrupted, "What, was he rescued from an escape pod?"

"Not quite Garrus, now if everyone would let me finish before you ask any questions... We were en route to the Charon relay when Joker got a massive burst of radiation. Microwave, Alpha, Beta, Gamma and even some Tachyon radiation waves were mixed in. When it dissipated, there was a single life sign. Kaiden and myself went to investigate and we found Ryan here in his armor barely alive. We brought him on board and were able to get him out the armor. When we did, he was wearing dog tags that indicated that he was born in the year 1990 and was a Master Sergeant in the United States Air Force. Unfortunately we have yet to find any historical trace of him, and Ryan here has lost all memory prior to being woken up in the Med bay." John paused for effect here, giving everyone a chance to let all the information sink in before he continued.

"While the Normandy was on it's way to Eden Prime, we were able to get him somewhat up to speed on current events as well as get him a translator implant. At that point, Ryan was able to reactivate his armor so we could get preliminary data on how it worked. By the time we arrived at Eden Prime, he had demonstrated beyond a doubt that he was mission capable. As Kaiden, Ash, Ryan, and myself remember, once we had pushed the Geth back, we were able to recover the Prothean Beacon that Saren was after. In a freak accident, Ryan interfaced with the beacon, getting a vision of sorts after which the beacon overloaded and blew up. When we got Ryan back onto the Normandy, we were able to determine roughly how the suit functions." At that, John activated his omni-tool, which in turn brought up an image of what I could only assume to be a Nanocell on the screen behind behind me.

"The Nanosuit, as we are calling it, releases these synthetic Nanocells that harness the natural energy produced by the body as well as the surrounding environment and feed it into micro capacitors throughout the suit which it self is a bio-synthetic material that gives its wearer enhanced speed, strength, endurance, and the ability to cloak. The Nanocells themselves are also able to repair the suit, heal Ryan of any injuries he might incur, and lets him interface with any technology he touches directly via neural input."

As John went over the rough details of the suit and myself, I was watching everyone's reactions and I swear if Tali could have she would have started examining the suit and myself right away. Wrex looked like he was interested when John mentioned the enhanced speed and strength, but lost it after that. Garrus was a little harder to read, since Turian's have few facial features beyond their mandibles, although his were no longer hanging down. Dr. T'Soni on the other hand was looking at me the entire time, as if I was some sort of puzzle to be solved. Kaiden and Ash were the only ones who knew mostly everything before hand, and didn't have much of a reaction.

"Alright so before we continue with this debrief, does any one have any questions pertaining specifically to Ryan here?" John finished up.

Tali of course was the first to speak up, "Yes! I do! I would like to be able to examine the Nanosuit and Nanocells in depth if at all possible! If my idea is correct, then the Nanocells could be reprogrammed to serve as an artificial immune system for my people!"

Figuring John had the spot light long enough I answered, "Of course Tali. Dr. Chakwas has a number of blood samples from me that contain a fair percentage of Nanocells. Once you get an understanding of the technology I'd like your help in modifying the armor with some shield tech and some other ideas I've come up with." Not letting anyone else get a word in I pushed on. "As we all saw on Therum, I am far from invincible. While I can heal rather quickly, if I get a serious enough wound I will be effectively neutralized until the Nanocells in my body get a chance to heal me."

Garrus was next to ask, "So whats the extent of your ability to interface with tech? Could you hack a Geth for example?"

"Honestly Garrus, I do not know. All I know I can do right now is basic stuff like this," I mentally activated my omni-tool, which cast my left arm in its blue glow.

"Ok, so you were able to change the..." Garrus started to say, but as soon as he opened his mouth I focused on changing the display from its current blue to red, and then back again. I kept switching it back forth until the glow became purple before shutting it off. "...Never mind..." Garrus remarked.

Surprisingly Wrex spoke up, "So if you armor enhances your current abilities, do you know what your limits were before you got the suit? Also, if you ever figure out a way, I'd like to get a version of that suit that would fit me. At the very least an injection of those Nanocells"

I had to think about how to answer Wrex's question for a bit, eventually I said, "Honestly, I don't know what my current physical limitations are Wrex. While I was knocked out from that bullet wound, I had a dream of sorts that I think was one of my memories. It didn't tell me much, but it gave me an idea. As far as getting you a suit that would fit you... We'll see, I'm sure everyone here is interested in getting one, but we don't know if the technology can even be duplicated or for that manner compatible with alien DNA"

Everyone looked at me like I was crazy but then looked to John, "Alright so no more questions, let's get down to buisness. Dr. T'Soni, could you tell us why your mother might be working with Saren?" Damn John... Way to ease her into questioning...

"Unfortunately I do not. Benezia and I have not spoken for several years. We parted on bad terms as you humans would say."

"Ok then, do you know why Saren would send Geth after you? Do you know anything about the Conduit?" John continued.

"No, my field of focus is the extinction of the Protheans. I have never found any evidence pertaining to a Conduit." Dr. T'Soni shifted a little uncomfortably in her seat.

I had to ask the obvious question before John continued, "What did you find?"

She seemed to smile when I asked, "Well, its hard to say really. The Protheans created so much, but 50,000 years ago they suddenly vanished and left little to no traces of themselves behind. However I did manage to find evidence of cultures that predated the Protheans. After 50 years worth of research, I think that the galaxy follows a cycle. One civilization rises up on the ashes of the one before it, only to be cast down in their prime by some unknown entity."

"Wait... how old are you?" Ash butted in, almost rudely.

"I must admit I'm only 106, and its for that reason that my theories don't get the credit they deserve." Dr. T'Soni answered, almost as if she was ashamed.

"Damn... I hope I look that good when I get that old."

"Well Ash, if you think about it I'm technically 193 years old, and as you put it, I'm built like a Greek God. I'd also bet you 500 credits that Wrex is older than the rest of us put together and he just looks like a bad ass." I said, putting things into perspective for Ash. "Anyway, I digress back to what Dr. T'Soni said earlier; I'm pretty sure that I know who wiped out the Protheans. The Reapers." I answered.

"I don't know anything about Reapers, but I have an idea. Commander Shepard said that you received a vision from the beacon? If you would permit me, I can join our minds together in an effort to clarify the vision." Dr. T'Soni offered, and when I looked into her eyes I swear I saw something flash when she finished.

I looked over at John, who simply nodded. I saw Ash raise an eyebrow while glaring at Dr. T'Soni and Kaiden had the biggest smirk imaginable on his face.

"Alright... What do you need me to do?" I asked as I stood up and faced her.

"Just relax Commander, focus your thoughts on the vision..." As she spoke, she stood up and got closer to me. I couldn't help but look into her blue eyes, like my vision was drawn there. "... Embrace Eternity!"


Inner recesses of Mitchell's mind

As soon as Dr. T'Soni said "Embrace Eternity", I saw her eyes turn as black as night. Then it felt as if my mind was being pulled somewhere deeper. The next thing I knew, I was standing in a dark room by myself.

Relax Commander... Allow your mind to wander...Wait a second...

Well this is new... I'm assuming that's you Dr. T'Soni...

Yes it is... You don't have to be so proper, after all you did save my life...

Ok Do-... Liara... I swear I could have heard a small giggle.

I have to admit... Your mind is quite intriguing... Even though this is my first meld, from what I heard from other Asari, a meld is not normally like this...

It may have something to do with the Nanocells... I hate to be rude with this being your first meld, and I understand that Asari don't take melds lightly, but lets get going.

Yes of course... Can you focus on the vision?

I have been... Let me try something else... As I focused my thoughts, Liara suddenly appeared in front of me. Well... Atleast you aren't a disembodied voice any more...

Yes that was quite disconcerting for a while there... It would seem that your Nanocells have provided you with some form of a mental barrier as your mind was not open to my attempts of accessing your memories until now and yet it is still blocked.

So let me get this straight... If another Asari were to try and meld with me against my will, they wouldn't be able to completely?

Yes... Although it would be highly unlikely for an Asari to do such a thing...

Ok... So give me a second here... I focused as much as I could on Liara and her presence that I felt in my mind. As I stood there, she tilted her head at my and raised what looks like her eyebrow. Then suddenly, something that looked like a vid screen popped up and started showing something...

OH SHIT! I yelled... thought... whatever it was I was doing to communicate with Liara. What was showing was the first moments from when I woke up in the Normandy's med bay from my point of view. Liara must have realized as much, as she turned a shade of purple when I managed to turn off the display only after it showed my realization that I was naked when I first woke up.

Well... It would seem that your body is an excellent example of the male human form...

Glad you approve... I said, feeling my face burn red from embarrassment at which the image of Liara smiled.. Now then how about we get what we came here for. I'm sure the others are getting a little impatient. I focused on the moments before the beacon picked me up, and as expected they showed up on the screen I had created. Unlike before though, the vision was slowed down and I was able to make more sense of it. I could see some sort of monster coming from someplace far away, which was followed by pain and death. I looked to Liara and saw that she was transfixed by the vision. Her face turned to a look of pure horror when the final images of a ship, shaped like the one John, Ash, Kaiden and I saw on Eden Prime, came up.

Liara... LIARA! I yelled at her, hoping to snap her out of whatever state she was in.

I'm sorry Commander... I never thought that I would ever encounter a Prothean artifact such as this vision you have. Unfortunately, the beacon must have been damaged because the vision is incomplete. It does however confirm your theory about the Reapers. The beacon's message was a warning about the invasion.

Alright that is good to hear. Also, you don't have to call me Commander either; Ryan or Mitchell is fine. Now... How do we get out of this?

It's just a simple matter of me releasing the meld... I must say again that this has been quiet an experience...

Yeah... It has been... Not to sound like an idiot here but I kinda hope we... um what I mean to say is that... uh... Goddamnit why am I stumbling so much!

Liara smiled at me and lightly grabbed my arm Me too Com-... Ryan


Comm Room

Normandy SR-1

As soon as Liara broke off the meld, it felt as if a part of me was missing now and I didn't like it... It felt... wrong... I caught myself from falling over in time to grab Liara who was starting to fall her self. Apparently the act of mind melding takes a lot of energy from both parties, unless my Nanocells were to blame of course. As I set her back into her seat, I notice that her skin was a lighter shade of blue than before.

"How long did we take?" I asked out loud when I was got a reassuring nod from Liara that she would be ok.

"Only about a minute," I heard John reply, "Why? What happened?"

I turned around to face him and saw that everyone was on the edge of their seats waiting for news of what Liara and I experienced. I looked to Liara, and saw that she was still recovering. Damn...

"Basically, once Liara initiated the meld, I had to lower some mental barriers I didn't know I had to let her into my memories. Then I had to actually find the memory of the vision. It seemed like it took at least 15 minutes. We found that the vision was incomplete but was a warning of the Reaper invasion. Other than that it didn't reveal anything else. Liara should probably head to see Chakwas as soon as possible."

John looked like he deflated a little bit with that information, but he kept going. "Ok, we need to head to back to the Citadel so we can resupply and gather more information. The Omni-plant also needs to be brought online so we can improvise some new upgrades. If the Geth start wide spread use of the same rounds that hit you Ryan, we need to be ready. Crew dismissed." I looked over to Liara and saw that her skin had went back to its normal blue color. I hope these damn Nanocells didn't mess her up...

Joker's voice then came over the PA as everyone stood up to leave, "Mission report has been sent Commander's, want me to patch you through to the Council?"

"Wait... Mission report? I never filled one out..." I questioned John.

"Since there are two Spectres working the same mission, the senior one is the only one that has to file a report." John replied.

"What? How are you the senior one here? We were inducted at the same time!"

"Who has a higher rank?" John retorted.

"Whose literally older?" John and I were staring at each other. Although I was several inches taller than him, he definitely exuded an air of confidence and intimidation which I attempted to return. Unfortunately, both of us smirked at the same time at which point we both started laughing.

"Patch the Council in Joker" John said after we were able to collect ourselves.

A few seconds later and the holographic forms of the Councilors showed up behind the console John and I leaned on earlier.

"We've received your report, Commander's. I understand Dr. T'Soni is on the Normandy." The Asari Councilor started which the Turian Councilor followed up with,

"I assume you're taking the necessary security precautions?"

John looked at me, Figures, since I was the one who melded with her AND took a bullet for her, "There is no need for any precautions. Liara has sworn that she has had no contact with Matriarch Benezia or Saren for that matter. Look at the evidence as well Councilor, the Geth were trying to kill her. If I had not shielded her from a Geth sniper, they would have succeeded.." I answered.

"Benezia would never allow Saren to kill her daughter." The Asari Councilor retorted.

The Salarian Councilor added "Maybe Benezia had no knowledge of Sarens actions toward Dr. T'Soni"

Naturally, the Turian Councilor took the opposite approach "Or maybe we don't know her. We never expected she could become a traitor."

I was about ready to sucker punch the hologram of the Turain Councilor. How could one person be such a militant pessimist about everything that exists?

"At least the mission was a success." The Salarian Councilor replied, which calmed my nerves a little bit. I thought this was supposed to be a report, not an investigation...

"Apart from the utter destruction of a major Prothean ruin! Was that really necessary Shepard and Mitchell?" questioned the Turian Councilor. Somebody is going to have to hold me back if we ever get into an argument in person from beating this guy's face in...

John chose to answer that, seeing how I was ready to kill something, "If you read the report, you'd know that it wasn't our doing that caused the seismic event that made the dig site into a lava pit. Even if we were the cause, the Geth were all over the site. We were lucky we got out with minimal casualties."

"Of course. The mission must always take priority." The Salarian Councilor replied.

"Good luck, Commanders. Remember, we're all counting on you." The Asari Councilor reminded us.

Right... Good thing its not the first time for me apparently...


A/N:

-As always, any and all reviews, suggestions, ideas, praise etc etc are welcome!

- DONT FORGET TO VOTE ON THE POLL! SHOULD THE COUNCIL LIVE OR DIE?

-Please keep in mind that Chapter 2 will be updated before Chapter 10 is posted. So if your getting anxious for a new chapter, go back and check out the rewritten chapters!