ENIGMA
CHAPTER SEVEN:
JOKES, LAUGHTER AND A STUTTERY QUARIAN
Author's Notes:
I don't know if you know this, but I just learned that Robin Sachs, the voice actor for Zaeed Massani, has just passed away in his home on Friday, at age 62. Tribute to him.
Keelah Se'lai.
Just thought you should know that. Now, back to the story!
June 16, 2183
1626 hours.
Cockpit, Normandy-Class Stealth Frigate SSV Normandy SR-1, Docked with the Citadel.
Eden Prime War.
Lieutenant Commander Marcus Lee Shepard, Flight Lieutenant Jeff "Joker" Moreau, Ex-Detective Sergeant Garrus Vakarian, Battlemaster Urdnot Wrex, Machinist Tali'Zorah nar Rayya.
As soon as Tali exited the decontamination chamber, she was simply amazed the ship she had walked into. During Shepard's speech, she had simply examined the ship, detail by detail, and was impressed by how advanced the ship was. It was apparently a joint human-turian design, and they certainly didn't mess around in making sure it was fully equipped. It was obvious this deck was the CIC, as the cockpit was to the left of the airlock, while the right had a flight deck that descended into a seperate area with a galaxy map, briefing room and stairs going to the second deck.
She, however, had heard all of Shepard's speech, and was impressed by the human's ability to make such motivational speeches. It was like the man was born to be what he was, and at times it felt like he was a natural speaker; always knowing what words to use to motivate people. When Shepard's speech ended, she felt the ship disconnect from the Citadel docks and lift off, speeding towards the Widow Relay as they began their journey and left the colossal Citadel behind.
"That was one hell of a speech, Shepard. Really got my blood pumping." Garrus announced, seemingly flexing his turian muscles as he spoke. Wrex nodded in agreement at the turian's statement, but kept his firm glare on him. Tali shook her head at the mortal enemies, before noticing Marcus signalling them to move into the cockpit. Tali did so without question, while Garrus and Wrex hesitated for a moment before following.
Seeing everyone inside, Marcus motioned towards the pilot of the ship, who was looking at them with wide eyes. "This is our pilot. His real name is Flight Lieutenant Jeff Moreau, but the crew call him Joker. Be wise to call him that, you have no idea how much it suits him." Garrus chuckled while Wrex shrugged. Tali did nothing.
"Come on commander, this ship isn't a zoo! And a turian and krogan on the ship is a hull breach waiting to happen. The quarian though? Damn, never imagined you'd bring one of them. What's next? Blasto the Hanar Spectre? An asari commando? Or maybe, just maybe, you'll somehow recruit a geth! I'm getting overoptimistic aren't I?" Marcus shook his head at Joker's antics while smiling.
"Joker, these are my latest squad members" Marcus proceeded to introduce each and everyone of them, while Joker shook each of their hands.
"So, what's our first destination, commander?" Joker asked, looking at the commander, "You are the ship's new commanding officer now." Marcus nodded while remembering his options. Feros. Therum. Noveria. He ran through the options in his mind, trying to find the most logical first route. After a few more minutes, he finally turned to Joker.
"Set a course for the Artemis Tau Cluster, Knossos System. Inform me once you're in system and set a course for Therum. We have an asari to rescue. Meanwhile, I've got to assign you three your quarters and working areas. Follow me." The last bit was obviously directed at his three newest squad additions, and they immediately followed him down the flight deck and towards the door on the left leading to the crew deck. By this time they had already passed through the Widow Relay and were already well on their way to Therum.
It wasn't long before they emerged onto the crew deck and Marcus showed them their assigned sleeper pods; Garrus apparently got Marcus' old sleeper pod, while Wrex got a overly large one at the back and Tali one just across from Garrus. After leaving their pods, they headed for the mess hall, passing Kaidan on the way as he worked at a control panel next to the leftside lockers. Marcus then immediately stopped at the mess hall table, turning to face them.
"So...where do you wish to work?" He asked them, and all of them entered pensive thought, including Tali after shock at the suggestion. Its obvious where I want to be. Where I'M best at. She waited for Garrus and Wrex first though.
"I calibrate guns, but since the Normandy's gun controls are unaccessible I think I'll settle with a vehicle to work on. You do have one right?" Garrus asked Marcus, who simply smirked. "Have one? We only have a Mako that takes up a quarter of the cargo bay. So, what about you Wrex?"
"I shoot things, that's it. A corner will do." Wrex barely got out; most of his words gumbled by a grunting sound. Marcus simply nodded before turning to Tali. "As a engineer, I'd figure engineering would be the best place to put you Tali." Tali looked at him and smiled. Of course he'd point that out. Engineers work in engine rooms. "Yes sir." She muttered, but it was loud enough for Marcus to hear it at least.
"Deck three it is then. Follow me." They all nodded without answering, following their commander into the elevator as it began its boring descent. Even elevators on the Rayya and Huzzi are faster than this. Those thoughts were thrown away as the door finally opened, introducing them to a dark cargo bay with a armoury to the left where Ashley, unarmored and wearing a grey alliance casual shirt and pants, was working, a Mako to the right and an Alliance requisitions officer.
"I think I'll take this corner right here." Wrex stated, heading over to a crate only 2 meters to the left of the armoury, the large krogan leaning on the wall and equipping his Solokov, before getting out a fine white cloth, brown with grime, and began rubbing his shotgun as if to clean it. Marcus nodded before moving over to the Mako, motioning for Garrus to take his spot at the terminal.
"Wow...this Mako is really behind in performance. Alot of things to upgrade. I think I'll be hooked for the next couple of days. Thank you commander, I'm glad you let me work on this team." Garrus said hurriedly, before getting straight to work on the terminal, his three fingered talons dancing across the interface. Marcus simply smiled, heading straight for a door at the back, Tali in tow. Must be taking me to engineering-
She never finished as she watched herself emerge into the Normandy's engine room, and she swore she felt her jaw drop to the bottom of her mask. Right before her was possibly the largest drive core she had ever seen. It glowed, spun and pulsed with blue energy, its light ever abundant. It was a marvel of technology, something that completely outclassed any ship in the Migrant Fleet. This ship truly is state-of-the-art.
"What is-" She never finished her question as another voice answered for her, creeping up to meet her and Shepard.
"The Tantalus Drive Core, an impressive piece of tech, the commander will tell you that, but judging by your posture, you already think that." Tali turned to look at the man, who was wearing full alliance uniform, her translators translating the words on his nametag as 'Chief Engineer'.
"Chief Engineer Adams, this is Tali'Zorah nar Rayya, she's an engineer and a recent addition to our crew. Tali, this is Chief Engineer Gregory Adams, he will be your commanding officer while you working down here. He answers to you, and don't follow my orders when I work in here, as I'm a idiot when it comes to engineering." Tali lightly laughed at that and Adams chuckled, before turning back to Tali.
"So, Miss Zorah, welcome to the Normandy. I'll introduce you to the engineering crew and then find you a terminal. Oh, and the commander probably hasn't told you yet, but you need to put your belongings in the lockers next to the Armoury." Adams looked at Marcus expectingly, and he sheepishly smiled, scratching the back of his neck.
"Oh right, forgot about that. I'll show you your locker. Lucky for you, you get one right next to me! Oh what an honor it is to be placed next to your idiotic commander!" Marcus remarked sarcastically, beforel leading Tali out of engineering, with Adams eagerly awaiting their return. After being shown her locker, followed by Garrus and Wrex, Marcus had returned with her to engineering and waited for Adams to introduce her to the engineering staff and assign her a spot, before approaching her.
"So Tali, you getting along well with the other crewmembers?" Tali almost jumped when Marcus spoke up to her, clearly not realizing he had approached her. Turning around she nodded, "Yes, surprisingly. I expected many of them to be hostile towards me, but none of them did at all; well, two of them did but Adams defended me immediately! To work on a ship like this!? Its so advanced! Its like a dream come true for me!" Tali finished with an energy he hadn't seen in her before, and to him he found it pretty cute.
"Glad to see you're getting the heart of it. I can't wait to see what you can do in combat." Tali immediately froze at that, seemingly looking for an excuse to drop the subject. Finding none, she sighed and turned back to him, "I...kinda don't have...well, C-Sec confiscated all my weapons so I'm...kinda useless right now except for on the ship," Marcus nodded with understanding, but before he could speak, Tali beat him to it, "I've got enough credits from Han, that's my father's friend, to buy myself another Katana shotgun."
Marcus laughed loudly, "A katana? No Tali, we can't have you buying those! You need better weapons that. Let me place an order with the requisitions officer for something better, like my Armageddon model. I'll also place an order for a new pistol, or an omni-tool if you like. I've seen yours, and your Blue Wire model probably does need replacement." Tali widened her eyes at his suggestion, not wanting to be a waste of resources.
"No no no! You don't need to waste so many credits on someone like me! I'll live with..." Marcus raised a hand before she could finish, causing her to stop.
"Tali...the Alliance AND Council are funding this mission. We'll have plenty of credits to spend, and I need to make sure my team is in tip top shape. You can't go off fighting Saren and the geth with a katana. Or a Blue Wire. You need state of the art tech, and that's what you'll be getting. Don't be so selfless." He smiled warmly at her, which made her feel warm inside. Oh Keelah, not again. Ancestors be blessed for these masks. If he saw my face right now...I dread to think what would happen.
"You're right, Shepard. I'm sorry, but its a natural part of being quarian. If we don't stop thinking about others people could get hurt, maybe even killed. That's why we are so selfless. I will try not to be in the future." Marcus widened his eyes and shook his head, confusing the quarian, who cocked her head in confusion.
"No no no! Don't do that! Doing that would destroy who you are. I like people who are selfless. It means they are not willing to put their own life ahead of others. Willing to sacrifice their lives for others. I know you won't have to do that, I sure hope you won't, but it makes you strong. Don't ever change who you are Tali, no matter who asks you to." The entire time he held an arm on her shoulder, her body seeming to flinch at his touch. Stop. Over. Exaggerating! He's just touching your shoulder! Its not like he's gripping your...
"Egh!" She left out, causing Marcus to real back in confusion.
"What? Did I say something wrong? Did I insult you somehow?" Marcus asked in rapidfire, conscious of the fact that he may have offended the quarian.
"What? No! No its not like that! Its...Its...nothing! Nothing at all! Its not like I was imagining you gripping my...my...um...omni-tool! That's right!" She returned in even worse rapidfire, almost tripping over her words. An awkward silence followed before Marcus broke the silence, smiling before moving to lean against a nearby console.
"So...apart from that awkward turn of events, I'd like to learn more about the Flotilla." Tali sighed and laughed, before shaking her head, "You don't want to listen to me. I just blabber on and on and on. You'll get bored to death. I'm not very interesting to talk with." It was half-true. Only Shala and Kal had really listened to her talk, and if Prazza could be counted as someone to have a constructive conversation with then she'd be damned. She didn't really know what to think of Peta. Like Kal she had grown up with him and become an engineer with him while Kal joined the marines.
Peta creeped her out though. It was obvious he had been making moves on her, even going as far to ask her out to 'dinner', which to quarians was eating rations in the other person's quarters, before going out on pilgrimage which to no regret, she rejected. It was no lie that Peta was alittle bit creepy. Everytime she talked with the quarian his eyes always fell towards her breasts or at times, her butt or even her hips, which made her roll her eyes. Of course, that was just how men were, but Peta was different. She could almost feel like he was unsuiting her with his mind. It put chills down her spine.
She wanted nothing to do with Peta, but he wanted everything to do with her. If it hadn't been for Shala's timely arrival, Peta probably would have said something like 'I love you' or 'I want to bond with you' to which it was traditional to immediately accept. Not doing so would be considered sacrilege and frowned upon, but not punished.
"Not very interesting? I wouldn't say that. Besides, your voice is...relaxing. I can feel tired and your voice would be probably make me feel calmer. Its...amazing. I could go as far to say 'its sexy', but I won't do that as for one, you wouldn't like it, and two, its not very professional. So I'll stick with amazing and calming." Tali practically froze to the spot upon his compliment, having no idea what to say. Did he just call my accent relaxing? Keelah, change of subject, like, right now! Do something you stupid girl before you do something you regret.
"Well...what do you want to know?" She asked, sighing mentally.
"Anything. I want to get to know my crew so how about...life on the Flotilla? What's it like living in a fleet of ships as nomads?" Marcus asked, still leaning against the console in full body armor as he leaned in closely to listen.
This human is...unusual. He's nice, charming...dashing. Handsome, brave, strong, respectful...sexy. No! No! How do I keep ending up here? Dashing? Handsome and then I come up with sexy? Stop thinking these things you silly girl! Smiling, she began to tell her story.
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June 16, 2183
1740 hours.
Captain's Quarters, Normandy-Class Stealth Frigate SSV Normandy SR-1, In FTL inbound for the Artemis Tau Cluster.
Eden Prime War.
Lieutenant Commander Marcus Lee Shepard
Sighing as he hit the door opening mechanism, he watched the doors slide to open up into what once was Anderson's quarters; now his. The room was simple in design, with a single king-sized double bed at the back, with a single desk to the right of it, accompanied by a sink and a mirror. A shower cubicle existed next to the bed while a single table sat in the middle, a blue light illuminating the room. A closet also sat infront of the shower cubicle, with sliding doors and an electronic locking mechanism.
He had shared a hour long conversation with Tali about the migrant fleet, after which she asked if she could begin her duties, to which he allowed, retreating to his quarters only after making small chat with Wrex, Ashley and Garrus. He even had a short talk with Kaidan and a passing Doctor Chakwas before finally retiring to his quarters, deciding to get a look at the place he'd be sleeping in for the rest of his journey, and probably the rest of his career.
Placing his duffel bag on his table, he began removing his armor piece by piece, finishing with his helmet as he placed it in the closet, grabbing a single T-shirt and pants, ignoring the alliance formal wear that was in there. He rather wouldn't be walking around with 'I run this shit' written all over his uniform. It didn't suit his personality.
He finally emptied his duffel bag, which mostly contained simple stuff; his armageddon shotgun, his diamond back assault rifle, his newly acquired punisher sniper rifle with Jenkins scratched into the outer casing by himself, his raikou pistol which had proved handy, his L3 implant painreducers, three packets of personal first aid medi-gel, three of his favourite war novels and a few other personal possessions which he quickly placed around the room.
Feeling drained, Marcus immediately collapsed into his bed, surprised to find it extremely comfortable. More comfortable then those damn sleeper pods, that's for sure. I feel sorry for the others, having to live with those things while the captain gets all these...luxuries. He then imagined if things were different and he was a quarian captain. From what Tali told me, I'd be like the rest of the crew; small quarters. That's good, it lets the crew know that the captain is there equal. Here I feel like I'm being a braggart over rank.
He tried to find sleep, but sleep didn't find him. He tossed and turned, he messed with the temperture turning it from cold to hot, and he tried to read himself to sleep. Nothing worked. Finally giving up on sleep, he strode towards the door and exited into the mess hall, deciding to catch dinner while it was ready. It was only now that he realized no kitchen facilities were present, and only a bench next to the table which served rations was the source of food.
Fantastic. Food rations, the disgrace of food. This'll be yummy. Letting his mental sarcasm drift away, he grabbed two nutrient bars and sat down at the table with two other officers, forcing himself to eat the disgusting bars of food. Tastes and looks like the shit they give you at prison. I would know because I spent two days at one of them after Eden Prime. What a hellhole. After swallowing a large chunk of the bar, he heard footsteps approach before he saw Pressly sit down opposite him.
He then realized that Pressly wasn't eating anything but staring at him with a stern look. "Commander, could I speak with you about something?" The navigator finally asked, confirming Marcus' thoughts. Happy to find something to do that didn't involve the consumption of food that tasted like chicken poo, he smiled and looked at Pressly, throwing both nutrient bars into the nearby bin.
"Yes Pressly? What can I do for you?"
"Actually, its what you can tell me. Why are aliens on the ship? A krogan? A turian? A quarian!? What are you thinking bringing them onboard an advanced alliance ship, not excluding the fact that they have access to our systems! This isn't a zoo, you can't just let non-humans wonder aboard whenever they please! Get them off the ship!" Pressly demanded, slamming his fist into the table for emphasis.
"Excuse me Pressly? Did I hear you right? Do you have trouble with my choice of crew? Or is it because they aren't human?" Marcus snapped. Pressly flinched at Marcus' harsh retort, but he was having none of this second guessing on HIS ship. He would have none of it. Any thought of racism in his opinion would die or be tossed overboard.
"Yes. I have concerns..." Pressly began.
"You don't trust me to make the right decisions? Is that it?" Marcus asked.
"No! I question your choice of crew! You can't let a turian or krogan wander around the ship! And letting a quarian have access to classified military engineering equipment? What if she steals it? You know what quarians are like! She could be sending parts to her fleet right now for all we know!" Pressly shouted, letting his racism get ahold over him.
"Thief this, thief that. She's going to steal this, she's going to steal that. Pressly, you listen VERY closely, cause I'm not going to repeat myself," Marcus stated with a venom in his voice he thought he'd never utter, leaning closer to the navigator.
"I'm sick and tired of racism. We had enough of it back on Earth, and we don't need it being brought to the galaxy! We are here to work together! Tali wants to work with us and she's the most selfless person on this ship that I've met so far! Wrex won't be a problem and Garrus is completely trustworthy! If I so much as hear that you've been harassing any of them I will have you removed from my ship. You either get with the program or leave, understood? But I will not let racism compromise this mission." Pressly eyed Marcus with fear as he felt the venom disappear from his voice as he leaned back into his seat.
"Yes-Yes, sorry commander. I'll-I'll return to my station." Pressly immediately leapt up and left the room, not even bothering to look behind him or stop. Marcus just shook his head before reaching over and grabbing a can of beer. That's it! I thought I'd forgotten something! I've got to get some more dextro rations. We had some while Nihlus was here but there won't be enough for Tali AND Garrus to share. Also need to look at purchasing more weapons.
Uncapping his beer and taking a sip, he moved towards the elevator and hit the descend button, waiting for it to arrive at the cargo deck. It wasn't long before the elevator finally came to a stop, the door sliding open to allow Marcus to walk out and approach the officer, who's name he still didn't know.
"Hello Commander, what can I do for you?" The officer briskly saluted Marcus as he stopped, Marcus returning the salute before returning to his casual pose.
"Yes, I'd like to purchase some weapons. First off, I need a name." Marcus stated and the officer lifted his head in realization as he smiled and shook his head.
"Yes! Sorry about that sir, my name is Petty Officer Second Class Frederick D. Johnson. You can just call me Fred sir, or Officer Johnson. The others do." Marcus nodded, smiling at the man's similiar situation to the one he shared on the Citadel with Tali, he immediately returned to the present and looked at the man.
"Yes. Fred it is. Now, I'd like to purchase some high-grade weaponry. Mostly shotguns and omni-tools." Fred nodded, bringing up what looked like a military extranet exchange site on his terminal, then turning to look at his commander, waiting for his order.
"Would you be interested in HMWSG Shotgun sir? Latest, state-of-the-art weaponry sir. Available only to Spectres for about a year. You get a discount on the overall pricing. You can get a basic, advanced or master model, but I strongly suggest Master if you're going for heavy firepower." Marcus seemed interested. Only for Spectres for a short time? Spectre weapons are guaranteed to be good.
"I'm interested. What's the price?"
"Ten thousand credits. And that's with the 60% discount." Fred answered and Marcus gaped his mouth open and almost half-heartedly chuckled, nodding as he did.
"I'll take it. Also, what kind of omni-tools do you sell? Any that don't involve those terrible Blue Wires?" Marcus asked, Fred searching through his vast category of available stock. Finally finding what he wanted, he looked up to answer.
"Yes we do sir. We have Logic Arrest, Nexus, Polaris, Savant, Chameleon, Cipher and lucky for you, the latest in omni-tool technology with Spectre only HMOT omni-tools, with basic, advanced and master models. Which would you like sir?"
"Purchase six of the HMOT Master models, I want everyone on my squad equipped. Also place an order for that HMWSG Master Shotgun as well." With a final salute, he turned back to the elevator and entered it, hitting button to begin its ascent. It wasn't long before he was back on the crew deck and he decided to take a hot shower.
Boy do I need it.
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June 16, 2183 (Translated Khelish Time)
1744 hours.
Engineering, Normandy-Class Stealth Frigate SSV Normandy SR-1, In FTL inbound for the Artemis Tau Cluster.
Machinist Tali'Zorah nar Rayya, Chief Engineer Gregory Adams.
It had only been a few minutes since Shepard had left, and she felt better already. Adams had been very impressed by her engineering skills, and the first task he had given her was repairing a combustion manifold. He almost choked when she reported back to him in under a minute, and she had been doing minute tasks ever since. Adams had been so impressed by talents that he went as far as to say, 'you're amazing! You know more about the Normandy than half my staff do! Give you a month and you'll no more about this ship then even I do! Excellent work, I think you're more than ready to start dealing with heavy tasks, don't you think?'
She smiled at the thought and at her chance to work with her fellow crew; they may not be quarians, but they were just as social and were very kind towards her. Sighing in excitement, she finished writing up her email to her father, quickly reading over it.
To: Admiral Rael'Zorah vas Huzzi
From: Pilgrim Tali'Zorah nar Rayya
Subject: My pilgrimage
Father! You won't believe where I find myself! When me and Keenah began my pilgrimage, we disabled a geth's memory core and discovered the geth are planning to invade Council space! After a long time of searching and Keenah's...unfortunate sacrifice, I managed to warn the Council and now I'm serving on the most advanced human warship in existence! This is so exciting!
I definitely won't fail you father, I plan to make you proud. And tell Shala I'm safe and she can stop worrying, you know what she's like.
Keelah Se'lai.
From: Your daughter, Tali.
To: Rael'Zorah vas Huzzi
Smiling, she hit the send button on her omni-tool before heading back into her work; upgrading the dampeners for the engine core. Before she could start running the numbers however, Adams' voice sounded behind her.
"Since your new to the crew, I'm giving you a half an hour shift break. Be back down here by 1814, on the dot, Tali. Take a rest, you definitely earned it." She turned to Adams to reject, but he held a hand out before she could.
"No buts. I know you love your job, but even quarians have to take breaks, am I right? And don't lecture me about fleet survival because let's face it; quarians would die of exhaustion before their ship blew up in their face." If he had been talking to her father, he would have punched the engineer, but Tali simply giggled.
"I suppose your right, Adams. I mean sir!" Tali immediately tried to mimick the human 'hand to the forehead' gesture, which was apparently what humans called a 'salute' and was a way of recognizing a higher ranking officer. Adams shook his head, causing Tali to drop her hand.
"Enough of this sir stuff. I'm too old for that. Its just Adams to you, Greg to family. You're obvious not family, no offense, so you can call me Adams or if you insist, Engineer Adams at least." Tali nodded and shook Adams' hand before leaving the room and moving to step in the elevator. She didn't get very far when Wrex's voice sounded behind her.
"So the suitted worm has finally come out from her hole." Tali spun her heel to face the krogan, who appeared to be content with standing in the corner. He had abandoned this and started approaching the quarian machinist.
"Insults will get you no where krogan, leave me alone." She prepared to move back to the elevator, but Wrex suddenly stopped, a grin creasing his features.
"Fiesty are we? Ha! You're just like all women! Looking for a fight they can't win! Intimidating me won't work kiddo, so why don't you quit? And use my name!" Wrex shouted, Tali hearing what she thought must have been comedy in his voice. Maybe he's not as glum as I thought he was.
"You didn't use mine, you called me a worm. I don't take threats easily." Tali's training immediately kicked in, with Kal's training on how to negoitate with krogan sparking into life. She remembered his words easily.
"Now comes the krogan. You probably won't see many of them where you're going ma'am, but its a good idea to make sure you don't seem weak. Show them your strength, intimidate them and put on a show of force. Krogan like strength, they love honor. If they see you as being strong, fierce and resourceful, they'll see you as someone to be respected and leave you alone. Now don't question me on this, cause I've dealt enough with the bosh'tets to know what they're like."
Tali focused her best glare on the krogan, even though he couldn't see it, and she tried to look as strong as possible, but she felt her legs on the verge of shaking. He decides I'm weak and I become varren meat. That shotgun will blow me into a pulp. After what seemed like a century, the krogan burst out into laughter.
"I like this one! I barely know you and I already like you! You have spunk kiddo! Say what, you seem like the shotgun kind, why don't I make you a warrior with some training?" Wrex's tone seemed playful and serious at the same time. Is this krogan a new breed or something? Or has he spent too much time around humans? She slowly nodded and watched as Wrex unhatched his solokov. Waiting for the shot to impact, she simply felt it drop into her arms.
"Try it on the turian." Wrex motioned his head towards Garrus, who, oblivious to the events happening behind him, continued working on his terminal. Tali widened her eyes at the idea.
"You want me to kill Garrus? But he's on the same side!" Tali whispered to the krogan, who shook his head. Before he could explain though, Garrus' voice popped up from infront of them.
"You do realize I can hear you two right? We turians have hearing like shatha." They watched as Garrus approached them, a grin planted firmly on his mandibles. Tali rolled her eyes while Wrex grumbled and took his shotgun from Tali's arms, motioning for her to follow him down the cargo bay. Surprisingly, Garrus tagged along.
"A krogan giving a quarian combat training? I have to see this." Garrus said from behind her back, but she ignored the turian and just followed Wrex until they were at the end of the bay, just at the Mako's front. Wrex once again thrusted his solokov into the quarian's arms and pointed towards a smudge of paint on the door.
"Shoot it." Wrex ordered.
"That's a piece of paint Wrex. That's a shotgun, not a marksman rifle." Garrus stated a matter-of-factly. She snorted, but then realized, as a sniping professional, Garrus of all people would be an expert in that sector and held her mouth against any retorts.
"You think I don't realize that stupid turian? I'm telling her to shoot it! I want to know how good her aim is! Now shoot the damn thing!" Tali nodded and carefully aimed the heavy shotgun at the piece of paint, angling it perfectly. Ancestors bless you Kal, I'm about to impress a krogan. With a wide smile on her face, she squeezed the trigger and felt the hot metal slug exit the barrel and hit the paint dead center, leaving a large dent in the door.
"Hey! That's Alliance property, you aliens can't just go around shooting it up!" Tali turned to see Chief Williams looking at them as if they had killed her family, her glare full of venom as it looked over them. Wrex simply huffed.
"Stop your whining human, its a barely noticable dent. I heard your a soldier, I don't think so though." Wrex immediately approached Ashley attempting to kick her, but the marine swiftly dodged it and punched Wrex square across the face. It was now that Garrus moved in and lunged a punch, but Ashley simply grabbed it. Without hesitation, Garrus kneed her in the chest and then threw her over his back, allowing him to move ontop of her.
"Get off me dino! GET OFF ME!" Garrus did as asked, and got up, offering a three-fingered talon to help her up, but found it arrogantly ignored out of pride and the female got back up and returned to her posting. Garrus looked smug as he muttered, "Hey, I can't help being turian. War runs in my blood." Before Tali could return to her training, the pilot's voice rang out.
"Attention, ladies and gentlemen! Commander Lancelot has called for a knights of the round table in the debriefing room, immediately! I repeat, immediately! We are a day out from Knossos, Joker out." Tali looked confused at the comm, while Garrus and Wrex mirrored her expression. They turned to ask Ashley, as it seemed to be a human thing, but she was already gone, elevator door closing behind her.
"I guess we're waiting. Although I can't wait to find out what the commander has planned for us. Lancelot? Knights of the round table?" Tali asked, causing Wrex and Garrus to laugh. A krogan and turian laughing at the same thing? I did not just hear that. As if reading her thoughts, Garrus cleared his throat and stopped laughing, with Wrex giving off a exaggerated grunt as he brushed past Garrus towards the elevator, while Garrus simply followed behind him, followed by the spunky quarian.
A stuttery quarian, a comedic krogan and a friendly turian. Now I've seen everything.
...
"But you hadn't had you? You hadn't seen everything!" Jason shouting, barely keeping in his amusement as everyone laughed. Tali laughed at the memories as well, finding them emotionally crippling but funny at the same time.
"I soon regretted thinking that." Tali stated, before continuing her story.
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June 16, 2183
1750 hours.
Debriefing Room, Normandy-Class Stealth Frigate SSV Normandy SR-1, in FTL inbound for Artemis Tau Cluster.
Eden Prime War.
Lieutenant Commander Marcus Lee Shepard, Gunnery Chief Ashley Williams, Staff Lieutenant Kaidan Alenko, Battlemaster Urdnot Wrex, Marksman Garrus Vakarian, Machinist Tali'Zorah nar Rayya.
The room was relatively silent except for the sounds of Kaidan and Ashley chatting and Marcus sat inbetween them listening in. He sat on the left side of the room in the second last chair, while Kaidan sat to his left and Ashley to his right. They chatted back and forth about casual things and inbetween it all, about the upcoming mission. Marcus simply listened in, not contributing to the growing conversation.
It wasn't long before the rest of the team began moving inside, taking positions on the other side. Wrex sat awkwardly in the chair closest to the door, while Tali sat on the one closest to the viewscreen while Garrus sat next to her. Marcus immediately stood up and approached the center of the room, causing all conversation in the room to cease as eyes laid on him.
"As you all know, we are heading to the Knossos system to pick up someone who could be valuable in tracking down Saren. The information we have is sketchy at best, but its confirmed that the asari we are looking for, Liara T'Soni, is the daughter of Saren's second-in-command, Matriarch Benezia. We believe the geth are moving in to either protect her...or capture her. Either, she may know something about Saren's whereabouts and operations."
"Whoever she is commander, I doubt she can be trusted. Benezia has probably got her on a leash." Ashley stated coldly, Kaidan giving her a glare while Marcus simply shrugged her accusation off, continuing, "That's something we can't confirm until we get her onboard. Our mission is to land on Therum and extract her quickly before the geth get to her. If they do, then we'll kill them before they can leave."
"Destroy them. We destroy them. Geth aren't alive, so they can't be killed." Tali pointed, Marcus conceding to her point with a nod before turning back to the group.
"I'm going in with a full team, which means all of you are coming with me. We'll drop down in the Mako and clear up any ground forces first. We can't risk dropping directly inside the mission zone, so we'll be dropping two klicks north of it and proceed from there. We'll mop them up and then get T'Soni out of there. By no means are we to kill her until she can be confirmed as hostile. If she isn't, we'll extract her to the Normandy and see what she knows. I want this to be quick and clean. This'll be our first real deployment together so I hope you're all ready to accept my command."
Everyone nodded, with Ashley laying back in her seat while everyone else entered talk about the mission.
"Any questions?" Marcus asked, stirring everyone from their second round of conversations. Noone raised their hands until Wrex seemingly yelled out.
"Do we know what kind if enemy we are facing?" Marcus nodded, but turned to Tali for her to explain. She didn't seem to notice until he said her name, causing her to look at him. "Yes?" she asked, and he immediately explained Wrex's question. Without even answering Marcus, she turned to Wrex and began her explanation.
"They're geth. They spare no mercy, take no pain and don't understand emotion. They do not care about their fellow platforms, they do not care about anything except killing you. They slaughtered my people in droves during the morning war and never got tired. They are logical, emotionless, cold machines. They do not hesitate in pulling the trigger. They do not need rest, and they work with cold effiency no organic can match. They are the ultimate killing machine Wrex, and some of them can easily match the strength of a krogan. So Wrex, you ask what enemy we face? We face an enemy unlike anything you've faced before."
"Well said Tali. I fought those things on Eden Prime, and as Tali said, they're unrelenting. Don't underestimate them whatever you do. That goes for all of you. With the Mako they should be easy, but once we go on foot, keep your eyes peeled and guard up. I'd rather keep you guys alive. I've already lost one under my command lest then a few days ago, I refuse to lose anymore." Marcus looked at the ground as he finished, but slowly shook away his melancholy and turned back to the group.
"Any more questions?" He asked, but this time noone answered. "Very well. Meet me in the cargo hold at 1200 hours tomorrow anyone has further questions, I'll be in my quarters. Crew dismissed." Everyone nodded and left, Kaidan and Ashley stopping to salute him before leaving. Marcus immediately followed behind them, stepping down the right stairs and towards his cabin.
Once inside he sat behind his desk and began working out how to take care of T'Soni. I don't want to kill her, but if she leaves me no choice...But Marcus had always found another way, another option to solve problems. But he wasn't perfect either, and there would come a time where he'd finally have to admit defeat.
After attempting multiple ways of dealing with the asari, he finally gave up and retreated to his bed, falling face first into its soft blankets. It wasn't long before he found himself drifting to sleep, and even less when he woke up again, a single knock on the door. Could use the bell. "Enter" he said half-sleepily, dragging himself from the covers and moving to sit on the edge of the mattress.
The door slid open to reveal Ashley, who quickly entered his cabin and stood at attention as the door closed behind her. "Chief Williams sir, requesting permission to speak my mind sir." Ashley stated formally, her stare at the wall unwavering as she waited for her commander to put her at ease. All she got was a chuckle, and she forced herself to look at the source which was, surprisingly, Shepard himself.
"Let's get some things straight. One, refer to yourself as Williams or Ashley, don't pull rank on me. Two, stop with 'sir', its just Shepard to everyone. Three, don't ever ask permission to speak. Just do it, I'm not superior to you and I sure as hell am not going to abuse my authority. That's an order. Now, speak your mind." Marcus simply stood up from his bed and sat on his desk, arms crossed as he looked across the room at the gunnery chief.
"Um...okay sir...I mean Shepard." Marcus motioned for her to take a seat, but she insisted on standing and spoke, "I have concerns about the alien crew." She noticed Marcus roll his eyes at her, which made her angry without a doubt. Let's me speak and then treats my opinion like shit?
"I've been over this with Pressly already..." Marcus didn't get to finish as Ashley immediately cut back in.
"Aliens though! You're letting a turian, the bastards who murdered good soldiers on Shanxi, have access to our weapons! You're letting a krogan onboard the ship and you're letting a quarian, a beggar and a thief, gain access to engineering! What's next, we welcome T'Soni onboard and tell her she can give us medical examinations!?"
"STAND DOWN AND SIT DOWN!" Marcus boomed, causing Ashley to jump almost a full meter. Gone was the kind hearted commander she had come to get to know and standing before her was a soldier-to-the-bone, heart of a drill instructor, commander who had earned his way through the ranks. She had almost forgotten that he hadn't become a commander by flirting with his superiors; he had killed, destroyed and impressed his way through the command chain.
Ashley did as she was told, sitting down on a seat nearby. Marcus leapt off the desk and leaned down near her, his voice ice cold, sending chills down her spine. "You listen to me carefully Williams, cause I won't repeat myself. Tali is not a thief, she is the kindest person I've ever met. Wrex may seem brutish, but he is nicer than even he is letting in on. And Garrus cannot be blamed for a war that happened when he was just a child! Thirty years ago! I don't care what you say, this whole first contact war business is personal! What the hell happened to you during the war that made you hate turians so much!?"
Ashley simply gulped down hard and opened her mouth to speak, but she found nothing to say. Finally, she compiled her words and spoke, "My grandfather...his name was General Williams...he served on Shanxi during the war. He was the one who surrendered to the turians and ended the war. The first human to surrender to an alien force, he could never live it down, he was basically disgraced. War ran in the Williams' blood, and he had been the first to surrender to aliens! He was...kicked out of the military with 'honorable' discharge and our entire family...blacklisted."
"What do you mean 'blacklisted'?" Marcus asked, his cold tone dying down and becoming gradually softer as he spoke, his poisonous expression becoming kinder and more empathetic.
"They...basically labelled us as 'to be watched over'. Long story short we...a soldier under the family name of 'Williams' couldn't ever raise above the rank of Warrant Officer and always get the crappy assignments. That's why I'm still a Gunnery Chief and probably will be for as long as I serve. That's why I was assigned to Eden Prime. But I don't care, I'm an Alliance soldier, I have to serve, its part of our family. I quit now and I dishonor the family name as much as my grandfather did."
"That's not fair. You shouldn't be blacklisted for something that was morally correct. If your grandfather hadn't surrendered, Garrus would be have a knife at my throat and Tali and Wrex wouldn't be here. Just...talk to them, get to know them. I have, and they're friendlier than they look. Just give them a chance. Try out Tali first, I think you'll like her. You never know, you might become best friends." Marcus said, winking at the gunnery chief.
Ashley laughed, "I don't know about best friends Shepard, but I'll give it a try. And...I'm sorry for my outburst, it wasn't in my place to question -" She didn't get to finish as Marcus raised a hand and stopped her.
"Don't talk about 'your place.' We're all equals here Ashley, I just got irritated by the amount of racism on this ship. I've always hated racism and I can't stand it. I hope you understand." Ashley nodded, snapping a salute before turning to leave. Just as the door opened and Marcus was returning to his bed, Ashley stopped and turned.
"Shepard?" She asked.
"Yeah?" Marcus answered.
"Thank you for sorting me out. I really needed that." She said, smiling warmly.
"Anytime time...can I call you Ash?" He asked, smiling back.
"Sorry sir...I reserve that for boyfriends only." Ashley said, winking. Maybe he's interested?
"Ashley it is then." Marcus stated, losing his smile.
"Oh?" Ashley answered, slightly disappointed.
"Sorry Ashley, you're just not my type, that's all. No offense intended. Besides...the last time I let love get in the way of duty...I paid dearly for it. Romance has no place on the battlefield." Marcus seemed melancholic right now, like a destroyed wreck. He suddenly shook his head and continued towards his bed.
"Goodnight, Williams." The door slid shut and Ashley was left staring at the closed door.
Paid dearly for it? Maybe he's right. Romance really doesn't have a place on the battlefield. Without a second thought, Ashley retreated to her sleeping pod, her shift now over. It was time to get some sleep before Therum the next morning.
{Loading...Rewind}
June 16, 2183
1746 hours.
8 Klicks South of Nova Yekaterinburg, Prothean Dig Site, Therum.
Eden Prime War, Battle of Therum.
Prothean Researcher Liara T'Soni
"No no no! Its too soon Nishara!" Liara cried out, her hands dancing over the terminal as she desperately tried to recover as much information as she could. All this knowledge, so much learned about the Protheans...she couldn't lose it to army of geth! What were geth doing on Therum anyway? What made even less sense, what were they doing outside of the Veil at all? None of it made sense. But she didn't care. She needed this information.
After a period of sporadic gunfire, Nishara responded, "Stop stalling! We have to leave now before these geth overwhelm our position!" the gunfire from Nishara's assault rifle continued, her fellow asari desperately trying to hold off the machine horde, but her efforts were dwindling and she would soon tire. But geth didn't tire, and long after she was exhausted, they would keep pushing and would eventually slaughter her and the scientist she swore to protect.
Liara simply ignored Nishara's words as she continued to type into her terminal, making sure all the data was properly streamed onto the prepared OSD. Just a few more files! She watched as the final upload began, and let a cry of victory when the terminal beeped, announcing it as finished and she yanked out the OSD.
"Miss T'Soni! We have to leave n-" Nishara's voice was suddenly cut off as a final bout of fire was heard, and that to went silent. Liara frowned as she hid the OSD in her pocket and she turned to her right to see what was wrong. She immediately found it when Nishara's body went flying into the ruin, her neck twisted at an odd angle. By the look of her eyes unfocusedness, she was dead. Nishara's body simply collapsed into the area below as a large, towering krogan marched onto the platform, two crimson red geth platforms holding odd looking rocket launchers and two milky white platforms with pulse rifles flanking his rear.
"There she is! Saren wants her alive!" The krogan roared, charging forward as the geth acknowledged his command, and charged straight for the asari. But they had made a fatal mistake, one that should have been obvious from the get go; she was an asari. She flared in biotic energy as she picked up one of the rocket wielding geth and threw it into the battlemaster, 2 tonnes of solid geth slamming into the krogan and causing him to collapse onto the ground. The geth cared little, and continued to chase the asari as she leapt off the platform and onto the rocky cavern floor below.
She landed with a thud, letting out a grunt as she looked up to see if her pursuers were keeping up. Big mistake. She turned just in time to see the two geth slam down next to her, pieces of rock and dirt shooting up in all directions as the landing didn't even slow them down. Without thinking, she let out a singularity that caught the second rocket trooper and its white trooper companion, sending them hurling in the air. Without hesitation, she began running towards the ruins. I know about Prothean tech more than anyone. Maybe if I can trigger a security mechanism...well, the geth will get a nasty surprise.
She continued running as she heard the mechanical clicking of more geth behind her, a louder and more demanding announcing the approach a geth juggernaut. She watched as two bright orange fireballs raced past her, slamming into the ruins nearby, barely making a dent.
"Capture her you stupid machines, don't kill her!" The krogan roared once again, but Liara didn't stop to get a good look at him. She was completely unarmed out without Nishara to assist her, she had no chance against a krogan warrior leading an army of geth. She would be dead before she could even fire a shot. It wasn't long before she finally reached the ruins and began playing with the elevator controls, desperately trying to gain control of them. But she did, and just in the nick of time as the krogan and his geth arrived as the elevator began its rapid ascent.
She didn't get very far however as the elevator stopped on the floor just above the one she escaped, and she saw geth drones rapidly approaching. Goddess, what do I do? Then she noticed the doorways. Liara, how could you miss that! Those a shield doors! Forcefields! The geth will never break through those! Making up for lost time, she raced forward, unleashing a tech grenade on the approaching recon drones, destroying two of them in the remotely activated blast.
Finally reaching the shield door control panel, she began reading through the numerous functions. Finding the one she wanted, she hit it, causing a bright blue barrier to immediately appear infront of her, shielding her from the hostile geth drones. Some drones smashed into the barrier upon activation and exploded, while most stopped just in time and looked at her through those white optics, watching her every move.
Liara smiled at her victory and prepared a second distress call, fearing the first one may not have made it. This time she sent it to Therum's capital city, Nova Yekaterinburg, hoping upon anything that they would send at least a turian marine detachment to help her. Yet again, the turians would have no idea how to fight geth. Oh what are you going to do Liara? Contact the Migrant Fleet and ask them nicely to bombard the place? Not only would the Council throw a tantrum at 'trespassing council property' but I don't think I'd be 'saved' if I ended up caught in the bombardment. Besides...what do the quarians owe to some random asari researcher? I was part of the species that condemned them.
Before she could continue her musings, she immediately felt like her arms were being tugged by unknown strings. A look of shock on her face, she was lifted from the ground and her arms and legs spread wide before a glowing sphere of energy surrounded her, encasing her in a impenetrable barrier of energy. It was handy, but there was one unintended side effect; she was trapped with noway of getting out. Then she heard the prothean voice speak, but she couldn't make out the words as it was in ancient prothean.
When I activated the barrier, I must have triggered an automated defense system. They must have confused me as a trespasser! But if that's happening, then what about...She never finished the thought as she watched the geth drones explode.
"What the hell is happening! What has the asari bitch done!" She smiled smugly as she watched what looked like prothean defense turrets deploy and begin unleashing pulsing beams of energy upon the unprepared geth forces, some getting vaporized while others exploded from the sheer heat of the beams.
I can't get out, but those turrets will surely keep them out.
All she had to do now was wait for her rescue. Time would only tell if her distress call was heeded.
"So this is how you met Liara T'Soni? First Shepard saves Ashley, then saves Tali and now he saves this asari? Does he have a thing for saving women?"
- Carter Dielheart
"I don't know, you'd have to ask him yourself." (chuckles)
- Interrogation Subject 001
"Jokes, laughter and a stuttering quarian?"
- Carter Dielheart
"That's what Joker dubbed that meeting. He preferred to think that first meeting was simply jokes, laughter and a quarian who couldn't even compose her own words. I don't know if the man had a crystal ball to show for it, but even before anyone else, it was Joker who figured out Tali had a thing for our righteous commander."
- Interrogation Subject 001
"So what happened next?"
- Carter Dielheart
"You've asked your questions, now I get to ask one in return. Where the hell is Tali and Garrus?"
- Interrogation Subject 001
"At some museum on Earth. They're teaching the kids there about Shepard. We've got agents keeping tabs on them."
- Carter Dielheart
"Why? Why is learning about Shepard so important to you?"
- Interrogation Subject 001
"You've asked your question, so now its my turn again. What happened next?"
- Carter Dielheart
"She was like...yeah...Garrus? How's it going?"
- Interrogation Subject 001
"Oh fuck. We're losing him again. Induce the anesthetic. We'll start again tomorrow."
- Carter Dielheart.
Author's Notes:
I have a few things to ask and some mass effect news you guys might be interested in.
Marcus Shepard is a Zionist Jew. Are you guys okay with this? I'm trying to put as much of myself into Shepard as possible, as it is MY Shepard, but I'm curious as to what you think of this. Do you like it? Do you hate the very idea of it? Obviously its too far into the story to really change now, but I'm just curious to what you think. Post in your review.
Now some Mass Effect news. I don't know whether its a rumor, or its actually confirmed, but apparently its been announced that Bioware are 'currently developing two hundred and sixty seperate pieces of DLC that will suit everyone's specified tastes.' What are your thoughts on this? From my standpoint, I can smell a 'Extended Cut Pt2' on the horizon and I think these DLC's might be tailored to 'romance closure.' If so, I'm stoked for a conclusion to the Tali romance (which is by far one of the most unrewarding romances in ME3, aside from the evacuation, goodbye and memorial scenes in extended cut). I hope they're rectifying that and with some hope, will bring back the ability to recruit all ME2 squadmates, produce better romance scenes (and romance archs in general) and finally get rid of that fucking stockphoto (Is it THAT hard to model Tali's face after Liz/Ash Sroka?)
More news also announces that Wrex is coming back to voice act for the new DLC, along with Seth Green who played Joker, so that sounds pretty interesting.
Now for the BAD news. Mass Effect 4 details below.
Bioware has made an official statement saying, 'Calling it Mass Effect 4 would make it sound like we are continuing on from Mass Effect 3. Which is not at all what we're doing.' So that confirms that it WON'T be based after the events of ME3. This bit saddens me the most, and I think you'll see why. They go on to say...
'It won't be based before the series either, you won't see any orginal characters and yadayadayada.'
NO ORIGINAL CHARACTERS!?
No...No...it can't be! I think this 'Planet of the Apes' reference suits the situation well:
"They blew it up! THEY BLEW IT ALL UP! DAMN YOU! YOU BLEW IT ALL UP!"
No more Tali love? No more Garrus batman awesomeness? No more of Joker's sarcastic remarks and EDI's sad attempts at humor? No...no more Ken or Gabby? No more of Javik's trolling? No more...I'm sorry, I can't do this. Bioware...what the fuck have you done. I hoped for at least a cameo, but we don't even get that? FUCK!
Shaking off the terrible news, Mass Effect 4 (information is not confirmed) will be named 'Mass Effect: Ion.'
Thanks for reading, I think I shall return to Mass Effect 3 How It Could Have Happened Now. I'm...I need time to...absorb this information...its...too much.
