Recap: "Yea okay we'll send him to Chakwas." Kaidan said just knowing Shepard was going to wake up with a heart-attack when he saw he was in Chakwas med-bay. He silently apologized to Shepard as he watched the Normandy pass by over them.
Now
Shepard was having a pretty good dream, or more like reliving a good memory. He was back on Mindoir with his mom who was reading to him while they were both laying in a hammock, with the sun setting which illuminated the sky with red, orange, blue and yellow when he was 8 years old. Shepard was at peace. A peace he had not truly appreciated until... he lost his mom. He then remembered everything that happened: his home in flames, his mother dying, the training with Zaeed, creating Isaac, fighting the slavers, saving Elysium, meeting Liselle and training with Aria, surviving Akuze, finding the slavers' main base, the Battle of Torfan, Eden Prime, the Citadel, becoming the first human spectre, meeting the crew of the Normandy, and his modifications. As Shepard continued to remember, the silhouette of childhood peace changed. It morphed from its beautiful sunset covering a tranquil forest near a field to something else. Shepard was now back to his current age, clad in his Colossus X armor with his Master HMW weapons and he was now in a forest with incredibly tall trees reaching up to a now clear night sky with the stars shining brightly.
"What is this? Where am I?" Shepard said out loud looking around. He froze when he heard a very familiar voice behind him.
"You don't know? This is your inner world, Johnny." the voice said. A voice he had not heard for 18 years. He slowly turned around and saw her.
"M-M-Mom?!" Shepard choked out seeing her, tears forming in his eyes. There she was, Hannah Shepard. Long red hair, blue eyes, slightly tanned skin in civilian clothing. (Think of a slightly older fem shep with long hair.)
"Hey John-" was as far as she got before she was engulfed in hug. She hugged him back immediately.
"I missed you, so very much." John said tearfully.
"So did I son." Hannah said with equal emotion. They stayed like that for a few minutes until they broke apart.
"Mom, you said we were in where?" John asked calming down and drying his eyes. Hannah looked at him for minute before she answered him.
"This is your inner world." She said as she gestured to everything around them.
"My inner world?" John asked confused.
"Yes, very few can go into their inner world. I doubt even an asari matriarch could without centuries of mental training." Hannah explained.
"Then how am I in here then?" Shepard asked trying to figure it out. Hannah just smiled at him.
"You always were a strange child. Perhaps this was one of your many oddities." She replied still smiling.
"Does any of it have meaning, you know the trees, the sky, the ground?" John asked.
"Well, the night sky represents the heights you have yet to achieve. The trees represent hopes you have lifted, the heights you have achieved. As for the entire place. What do you think it is?" Hannah told him. John looked around for moment then realized where he was.
"This is the forest I trained in." John said quietly.
"Yes. Do you realize it now? Your inner world reflects who you are and what you feel is safe. This place is the reflection of home." Hannah said. John chuckled while rubbing the back of his head, but then he turned serious.
"Mom, I found out something about myself and I need to know if you-" John started saying before she finished for him.
"If I knew about your genetic tailoring?" She said to which he nodded.
"Yes, I was the one who did it." She said shocking John.
"So those extra genomes and that structure surrounding my DNA? You put them there?" John asked gritting his teeth.
"The genomes, yes. That structure was not my doing though. I honestly don't know what it was or its purpose. It seems to be dormant though. It was unlike anything I had ever seen." Hannah said.
"Why, why did you do it?" John asked her his hands curling into fists.
"You have to understand that you were not a normal birth. You were created in a lab with my DNA mixed with someone else's, the man who told me to create you." Hannah explained shocking him.
"Why did he need me to be created?" John asked.
"Because you were suppose to be the first of a new breed of humans. A super race that could outwit a salarian, overpower an asari matriarch in biotics, heal faster and outfight any krogan, and to adapt to any situation." Hannah explained with a sad face. John stood there for a moment.
"Then why haven't I seen anymore like me?" He asked calming down.
"Because I defected, for you. To save you, my son." Hannah said making John look at her again. John then sighed and looked down at his feet.
"I have created several great things in my life as a scientist, some good, some horrible, but you are the best one I ever made. Both as a scientist and as a mother. Your story may not have such a happy beginning, but that doesn't make you who you are. It is the rest of your journey, who you choose to be." Hannah said seeing his expression. That was when John saw all the choices he made, not because of his genetic tailoring, but because of who he was as a person. He then smiled knowing things will be fine
"Don't worry, I'll come to terms with it. I'm your son after all." John said with a small smile. Hannah had tears of joy in her eyes now. She quickly wiped them away. She then turned serious.
"Son, you have to listen to me. This mission of yours is pushing you towards something big. I don't know what it is, but I know it is something that could affect the galaxy as we know it. Please be safe and happy." Hannah said as she walked up and hugged him.
"You got it mom, don't worry." John said as he hugged back. The world then started to fade away, to which John noticed.
"Mom, what's going on?" he asked.
"It would appear that your time is up here for now." Hannah said as she let go and stepped back.
"Was all of this real?" John asked thinking it was a dream. Hannah didn't say anything, instead she smiled and gave him a wink.
"Tell me who are you now?" she said to him. He thought before answering.
"I am John Shepard, I am the Juggernaut, I AM the Ghost of the Terminus." He spoke reaffirming who he was. Then John's vision fade to black.
During that Time
The whole squad and an asari had brought in Shepard who had passed out from exhaustion with Wrex carrying him over his shoulder. They had made their way over to the med-bay where Chakwas was. Chakwas had been having a restful day when the ground team had come in carrying an unconscious Shepard.
"Whoa! What happened?" she asked to no one in particular.
"He just passed out from exhaustion." Kaidan answered. Wrex then put him on the nearest bed easily for a krogan. Chakwas immediately started scanning Shepard for any internal injuries with everyone watching. After a minute she stopped scanning.
"Your right Kaidan, he's exhausted from overusing his biotics." Chakwas told them. Everyone let out an audible sigh except Kaidan. Chakwas then asked, "What was he doing that could've caused his biotics to get like this?" Everyone thought about what could have done such a thing until Garrus thought of something.
"What about that move of his? What did he call it? Power Strike?" Garrus said. Chakwas rose an eyebrow at that.
"Power Strike?" she asked.
"Yes it's a biotic move he used several times during the mission." Tali spoke up thinking Garrus had the right idea. Wrex then joined in.
"Yea, it was a pretty destructive move too. Never seen anything like it." He spoke.
"I'd like to know how someone who doesn't have a lot of things such as experimental tech, be able to use much less create an attack like that." Ashley said a little suspicious of how Shepard could make such a destructive attack before any of the other races could even think of one.
"As would I." Liara said agreeing with Ashley. Liara was curious about the human who was lying unconscious in front of everyone. She also noticed that he seemed to be smiling out of genuine happiness like he was having a good dream. She then thought of his arms felt when he had picked her up and carried her out when she had stumbled in the mine. They were firm, but were also gentle. She couldn't help but blush when she realized where her thoughts started going after that. That was when Shepard started to wake up.
"*YAWN* What a nice nap." Shepard said with is eyes closed as he stretched. He then opened his eyes and started to look around. Then he got a panicked look and started looking around until Chakwas entered his vision. He then did something that freaked out all the non-humans in the room.
"AAAAHHH! I DIED AND WENT TO HELL!" Shepard exclaimed. Wrex couldn't believe how Shepard was acting. Tali was startled by how Shepard reacted to where he was. Garrus thought that maybe Shepard was hallucinating. Liara was wondering why he thought the med-bay was Hell. Kaidan and Ashley were smiling at Shepard's childish reaction. Chakwas then pulled out a needle and injected its contents into Shepard.
"Ouch!" Shepard said until he realized something. Chakwas saw the look on his face.
"Yes, if you feel pain, you know that you are alive. Also, don't you compare my med-bay to hell ever again." Chakwas stated.
"Well, it's still my personal hell. I never liked medical places ever since I was a kid." Shepard said as he got up. He then looked at his squad and gave them a hard stare.
"Which one of you said it would be a good idea to put me in here?" Shepard said in an even tone making his team nervous. Kaidan squealed, knowing if he got blamed, Shepard would work him to death.
"It was the girls." He said pointing at Tali, Ashley and Liara. Garrus and Wrex quickly nodded their heads in agreement knowing what Shepard could do. The girls then did their best to glare at the men who ratted them out. Shepard then looked at the girls. His stare then let up and softened.
"Okay, I'll let this slide just this once since it was the first time. However, don't send me here unless I am bleeding profusely. Okay?" Shepard said in a warmer tone than earlier looking at everyone. They all nodded to him.
"Alright then, everyone get into more comfortable clothing and we'll meet up in the comm room in... 2 hours." Shepard said thinking over how long it might take him to make a report. He then started to leave until Chakwas called his name.
"Shepard, I would like to know what exactly caused you to pass out." she said getting everyone to look at her, then to Shepard.
"I overused my biotics during the mission." Shepard said.
"From what everyone said, it sounded like you only used them a few times." Chakwas said.
"OH! You mean my Power Strike?" Shepard asked realizing what she was talking about. Chakwas nodded before she sat down in her chair.
"Yes, I want you to explain it to me. Especially its drawbacks." she said trying to see if it could harm Shepard in anyway.
"I don't know.." Shepard said sounding as if he really shouldn't. Then his squad spoke up.
"C'mon Shepard I haven't seen a technique like before, and I've lived for hundreds of years." Wrex said.
"Yes and my race is natural biotic race, and I never heard of a technique like that before." Liara added.
"The Alliance had made no word of that too." Ashley said with Kaidan nodding.
"Nor the Turian Hierarchy." Garrus added. Tali just stood there looking at Shepard curiously. Seeing all of their expecting faces he sighed as he decided to explain it.
"Okay I'll tell you about it. The concept for the Power Strike came to me after Akuze. I had used a Singularity mixed with a Warp to create a biotic explosion inside a Thresher Maw's mouth. The explosion had wrecked the armor inside its mouth pretty badly and scared it off. Afterwards, I had thought of using a technique that could deal as much damage, but at a faster pace." Shepard explained stating the beginning of the Power Strike's creation.
"But wait, you didn't show any sort of ability like it during the battle of Torfan." Kaidan said having been there and seeing earlier footage.
"Yes and the Justicar you saved made no mention of it either." Liara adding into the conversation. Yes, when Samara gave her report, the matriarchs decided to let the asari people know who had caused such a ruckus in the galaxy as well as saved their loved ones. Liara had heard about Ghost and on the way into the Normandy she found out Shepard was Ghost. She was shocked when she saw that the man before her was someone who did such things.
"Yes well, I didn't start on it until after Torfan. You see I was to preoccupied with the slavers and having to be in the employ of Aria T'Loak." Shepard explained getting nods from the 2. He then continued on.
"After that nasty business on Torfan, I decided that I needed something to preoccupy my new free time. So I started researching biotics to see if the technique exists. Obviously it didn't. So I dove into research of recorded biotic abilities, theories and notes. I looked into the Asari, Asari Justicars, Valkyries, Human Adepts, Human Sentinels, Human Vanguards, Volus Adepts, Mercenary Sentinel, and Protectors, Drell Adepts and Vanguards, Batarian Slashers, Enforcers and Brawlers, Turian Cabals and Sentinels, hell even Krogan Shamans, Warlords and Battlemasters. Each and every one of their abilities, I studied. Well except for a few. The asari keep a few of the strong ones closely guarded." Shepard explained.
"Wait a minute, how did you find that stuff anyway? No one could find all of that on the extranet." Tali said noticing that most of the stuff he had described would've been classified. Shepard looked thoughtful at that.
"Well the human's was on the extranet, at least the abilities were. The Drell were also, as well as the Volus since there aren't too many of them. The krogan abilities, I had to collect information from various sources. The batarians were from captured pirates and slavers. For the Asari and Turians, well I had to do a combination of outside sources as well as hacking to get the info." Shepard admitted. Liara and Garrus were looking right at him with shocked stares. Someone had hacked into secure military secrets of their governments. Shepard saw their looks and decided to ease their fears.
"Don't worry, I was just after the information on biotics, the moves and the way they are applied, okay. Anything else, I ignored." Shepard said with his hands up in a placating gesture. That seemed to calm them down a little. Then Ashley spoke up.
"So what, do you have the whole galaxy's biotic arsenal at your fingertips now?" she said looking a little suspicious of Shepard.
"I have the knowledge, but not the ability." Shepard answered.
"What do you mean?" Wrex asked wondering why Shepard couldn't do it.
"Well even though my biotics are above normal, my L3 implants have limits. Besides, biotics seem to have different effects when it comes to species. So even though I can use a wider range of abilities there are some things I just can't do, at least not with my current implants." Shepard explained. Everyone nodded in understanding.
"So how did it all culminate into the Power Strike?" Garrus asked.
"The idea came to me after seeing the biotic orbs of the volus. So I thought, Why not make a hand held version? Unfortunately, when I accomplished this it didn't have the amount of damage I was going for. So I decided to look back at my research of all the powers and see if I could combine them with it. I tried to see what Flare and Reave would be able to do, but sadly I never was able to find out what they were." Shepard said.
"Even if you found out, you wouldn't be able to do it, Asari Matriarchs, Justicars and high-ranking commandos are ever taught them. Even then it takes decades to master." Liara explained. Shepard looked at her.
"I'm guessing your mother told you that huh?" he stated. She nodded her head. Shepard then said, "Well I won't ask you to explain them to me, I'm just not ready for it." Shepard said. He had feeling that was all Benezia told her about when she said it was for high-ranking asari.
"Shepard go on." Chakwas said in a stern motherly tone. Shepard sighed.
"What I did come across was an asari technique called Biotic Sphere. I couldn't manage to fully replicate it, but I could make one the size of a soccer ball." Shepard said as he demonstrated it. In his hand was a sphere of biotic energy. He then continued on.
"I would then place the biotic orb inside the sphere," Shepard said as a biotic orb manifested inside the sphere. Everyone was now staring at intently, analyzing it.
"And then I would place a continuous Warp in between the sphere and the orb." Shepard said as biotic energy began to manifest and circulate in the sphere making it glow white.
"In doing so it creates a continuous biotic explosion inside the sphere." Shepard said as the energy began to pulsate. Everyone was stepping back thinking it was going to explode until Shepard smirked.
"Now the biotic explosion acts as a Warp, while maintain focus on the orb and sphere." Shepard explained as the sphere started radiate blue energy.
"Then all I need to do is direct the attack at a target." Shepard said as the light began to dissipate until the Power Strike faded out of existence. Everyone was staring at him dumbfounded as he had explained his move. Ashley and Garrus only understood the power it had which put them in awe of it. Tali and Kaidan knew the mechanics behind biotics and knew to do all of that took a lot of concentration. Liara and Wrex were in awe at the simplicity of it. Here was a human who was only 2 decades, going on 3, who created such a powerful technique, when none of the other races who had biotics for centuries and they didn't think of it. Wrex had a new respect for Shepard who showed his cunning in new ways of fighting. Tali and Kaidan had more admiration for his ability to keep finding new ways to surprise people. Ashley had a new respect for Shepard for the same reasons as Wrex. Liara and Garrus were now more at ease that Shepard had created a technique like this, and didn't flaunt it over others.
"And the drawbacks, Shepard?" Chakwas asked with a raised eyebrow. Shepard turned to her and spoke.
"The drawbacks are if I overuse it, I pass out from exhaustion. It puts a real strain on my implants making it 4 times a day. That's the limit, after that its lights out." Shepard said until Tali spoke up.
"Wait, but you used it only 3 times on the mission. Why did you pass out?" she asked. Shepard looked at her.
"Like I said, using each one puts a strain on it. When I used that Biotic Repulse immediately after the third one, it took more energy out of me than expected. Couple that with the sprint out of those ruins and having to carry someone while sprinting, it might as well have been for times." Shepard explained, making the squad look at Liara who blushed in embarrassment.
"Sorry, Shepard." she said quietly.
"Huh? Oh I'm not blaming you Liara, I was just in to much of a hurry to set you down until we were safe." Shepard said not really blaming her. Liara gave him a grateful smile in return.
"Shepard, I don't want you using that move more than twice understand?" Chakwas said sternly. Shepard scoffed.
"Chakwas, your such a mother hen." Shepard said in response.
"Only because you and Joker act like children." She defended herself. Shepard blew a raspberry at her for that comment.
"My point exactly." Chakwas said pointing at him. Shepard then put his hands up placating her.
"Okay, okay. Joker's the sickly kid who makes jokes and I'm the reckless kid who finds trouble." Shepard admitted. Chakwas nodded at that. Shepard then looked at everyone else's amused faces.
"Meeting in the Comm Room in 2 hours. I need to eat and make a report." Shepard said as he walked out of the med-bay towards his room with everyone going back toward their stations. As Shepard got into his room, he got out of his armor and into his more comfortable fatigues.
"Hey Isaac you awake?" Shepard asked.
"I never sleep, also I would prefer that you follow Chakwas' advice." Isaac said having worried about Shepard when he passed out. Shepard nodded.
"I'll try to, besides something tells me with my genetic modifications, I wouldn't be able to do the Power Strike. If I were able to, I wouldn't be able to use it as many times or survive the strain for that matter." Shepard thought aloud.
"I have to admit using the power strike on that barrier was unnecessary." Isaac said his tone showing some annoyance at Shepard's carelessness. Shepard couldn't help but rub the back of his head and chuckle nervously.
"Fair enough." Shepard conceded. Then his amused expression turned serious.
"Hey, Isaac?"
"Yea Shepard?" Isaac said noticing that Shepard's expression.
"Do you believe in the afterlife?" Shepard asked.
"Why do you ask?" Isaac asked back.
"Its nothing, never mind." Shepard said looking towards the computer in the room. Isaac was silent for a few moments before he spoke up.
"I believe that there are things happen that simply don't make sense logically." Isaac said. Shepard was silent for awhile.
"Do you think Lis might be pregnant?" Isaac asked thinking Shepard could use a change of topic.
"I'm not sure. Its possible, but I don't know. We'll find out after this mission is done." Shepard said. Then he continued on, "Isaac if it's not too much trouble..."
"Write your report since I was with you through the whole thing? Sure, I could use something to do, besides I'm way faster." Isaac said finishing for him while bragging a little. Shepard smiled at him.
"Thanks." he said.
"No problem, transfer me over to your computer over there and I'll have it all written up in 30 minutes." Isaac said. Shepard walked over to the computer and began transferring Isaac over.
"Be sure it's in first person, and don't mention the power strike." Shepard said.
"The less they know about you, the better huh? Okay, gotcha." Isaac said as he was transferred over. After that Shepard walked out of his room and toward the mess to find something to eat.
2 Hours Later
After gorging on whatever food he could find he then made is way up to the Comm Room. He waited for everyone to file in. Liara came in first.
"Hello, Shepard." Liara said in greeting. Then Tali came in.
"Hey Shepard." Tali said hoping Shepard was better. Then Garrus walked in followed by Kaidan.
"Shepard." They greeted at the same time. Then came Ashley and Wrex who simply sat down. That was when Joker spoke over the intercom.
"Too close, Shepard! Ten more seconds and we would've been swimming in molten sulfur. The Normandy isn't equipped to land in exploding volcanoes. They tend to fry our sensors and melt our hull. Just for future reference." Joker said. Shepard rolled his eyes and chuckled.
"Okay Joker, I'll try to find a better extraction zone next time we need to get out of a volcano." Shepard said smirking.
"Please do." Joker retorted. Everyone couldn't believe how the 2 acted with each other.
"We almost died out there and your pilot is making jokes?" Liara said surprised.
"Joker pulled our asses out of that. I think he's earned the right to a few bad jokes." Shepard said knowing Joker was listening in.
"Hey, I heard that." Joker replied. Shepard just laughed softly.
"I see. It must be a human thing. I don't have a lot of experience dealing with your species, Shepard." Liara said.
"Just so you know, every human is different. There are few humans who are exactly alike, and fewer that are in the same place." Shepard told her thinking it might be best she'd know. Liara nodded in understanding.
"But I am grateful to you. You saved my life back there, and not just from the volcano. Those geth would have killed me, or dragged me off to Saren." Liara continued on.
"What did Saren want with you? Do you know something about the Conduit?" Kaidan asked.
"Only that it was somehow connected to the prothean extinction. That is my real area of expertise. I have spent the last fifty years trying to figure out what happened to them." Liara replied.
"How old are you exactly?" Shepard said curious about her age. He knew she was in her early maiden years but that was it. He than noticed Liara blushed, embarrassed.
"I hate to say this but I'm only a hundred and six." she said. Ah that is young for an asari.
"Damn, I hope I look that good when I'm your age." Ashley stated. Liara then looked at her.
"A century may seem like a long time to a short-lived species like yours, but among the asari I'm barely considered more than a child." Liara explained.
"Basically it's like 16-year old is to humans, Ashley." Shepard continued for Liara, dumbing it down. Liara nodded in agreement.
"That's why my research hasn't gotten the attention it deserves. Because of my youth, other asari scholars tend to... dismiss my theories on what happened to the protheans." Liara said looking down.
"Shows what they know." Shepard said getting up. He then continued on, "I've got my own theory about why the protheans vanished." Liara looked at him a little disbelieving.
"With all due respect, Shepard, I have heard every theory out there. The problem is finding evidence to support them. The protheans left remarkably little behind." Liara said.
"Almost too little." Shepard rebuffed.
"Yes, it is almost as if someone did not want the mystery solved. It's like someone came along after the protheans were gone and cleansed the galaxy of clues." Liara continued nodding. She then added, "But here is the incredible part. According to my findings, the protheans were not the first galactic civilization to mysteriously vanish. This cycle began long before them." she finished.
"What cycle? What are you talking about?" Shepard asked curious.
"The galaxy is built on a cycle of extinction. Each time a great civilization rises up, it is suddenly and violently cast down. Only ruins survive." Liara explained. Shepard was getting a bad feeling from this.
"The protheans rose up from a single world until their empire had spanned the entire galaxy. Yet even they climbed to the top on the remains of those who came before. Their greatest achievements- the mass relays and the citadel- are based on the technology of those who came before them. Then like all the other forgotten civilizations throughout galactic history, the protheans disappeared." Liara said. Shepard now knew who wiped the protheans out.
"I have dedicated my life to figuring out why." Liara said.
"They were wiped out by a race of sentient machines. The Reapers." Shepard said causing Liara to look bewildered.
"The-the reapers? But I have never heard of- How do you know this? What evidence do you have?" Liara fired off her questions.
"There was a damaged prothean beacon on Eden Prime. It burned a vision into my brain. Still trying to sort out what it means." Shepard explained watching her reaction.
"Visions? Yes, that makes sense. The beacons were designed to transmit information directly into the mind of the user. Finding one is extremely rare." Liara said understanding now.
"No wonder the geth attacked Eden Prime. The chance to acquire a beacon, even a badly damaged one, is worth almost any the risk." Liara said trying to figure things out before she continued, "But the beacons were programmed to interact with prothean physiology. Whatever information you received would have been confused, unclear." She then looked at Shepard in a new light.
"I am amazed you were able to make sense of it at all. A lesser mind would have been utterly destroyed by the process. You must be remarkably strong-willed, Shepard." Liara said.
"Okay, this isn't helping us find Saren or the Conduit." Ashley interrupted. If Shepard was facing her, he would've seen her jealousy.
"Ashley, be patient." Shepard said in firm tone. Ash quieted down fast.
"Of course you are right. I'm sorry. My scientific curiosity got the better of me. Unfortunately, I do not have any information that could help you find the conduit, or Saren." Liara said a little saddened.
"Hmm. I don't know why Saren wanted you out of the picture, but I think it would be best if we bring you along." Shepard said thinking she could help.
"Thank you, Shepard. Saren might come after me again. I cannot think of anywhere safer than here on your ship, and my knowledge of the protheans might be useful later." Liara said as she got up.
"And her biotics will come in handy when the fighting starts." Wrex said adding his two cents in.
"Good to have you on the team Liara." Shepard said.
"Thank you, Shepard. I'm very gratef- whoa. I am afraid I am feeling a bit light-headed." Liara said putting her hand to her head.
"When was the last time you ate? Or slept? Dr. Chakwas should take a look at you." Kaidan noticing her fatigued state.
"It is probably just mental exhaustion, coupled with the shock of discovering the protheans' true fate. I need some time to process all this." Liara said trying to keep her impressions up. She then thought of it, "Still it could not hurt to be examined by a medical professional. It will give me a chance to think things over. Are we finished here, Shepard?" Liara asked.
"Yea, go see the doctor. We'll talk later. Everyone else, dismissed." Shepard said. Everyone filed out as Joker talked over the intercom.
"Mission reports are filed, Shepard. You want me to patch you through to the Council?" Joker asked. Shepard sighed mentally preparing himself for the irritation he was about to receive.
"Yeah, patch them through Joker." Shepard said after a few seconds.
"Setting up the link now, Shepard. Good luck." Joker said.
"I might need it." Shepard muttered. He then turned around to see the holograms of the Council.
"We've received your report, Ghost. I understand Dr. T'soni is on the Normandy." Tevos began.
"I assume you're taking the necessary security precautions?" Sparatus said, with some light hostility.
"As much as I feel is needed. She wants to help us. I'll let her do that as long as she doesn't become detrimental." Shepard said thinking this might keep them of his back. He quietly watched their reactions. Tevos held a small, almost unnoticeable smile. Valern looked as if he was studying Shepard's every move. Sparatus' irritated look relaxed slightly at his answer.
"Besides, I don't think she has any reason to fight against us since the geth were trying to kill her." Shepard added to cement his argument. Tevos looked a little shocked at that.
"Benezia would never allow Saren to kill her daughter." Tevos said.
"Maybe, she doesn't know." Valern stated.
"Or maybe we don't know her. We never expected she could become a traitor." Sparatus stated his outlook.
"At least the mission was a success." Valern stated.
"Apart from the destruction of a major prothean ruin. Was that necessary Shepard?" Sparatus asked trying to grill him.
Shepard didn't answer as he looked deep in thought with arms crossed, with his thumbnail in his mouth. The Councilors noticed this.
"Is there something on your mind, Ghost?" Valern asked wondering what was on his mind.
"Maybe, it's something else." Shepard finally said. The Councilors looked confused at him.
"What do you mean?" Sparatus asked.
"Look, you yourself said you knew Saren for many years correct?" Shepard asked Sparatus who nodded. Shepard then turned to Tevos.
"And the way you talk about Benezia means you've known her for some time, yes?" Shepard asked Tevos.
"Yes, for decades, almost a century now." She said.
"What are you getting at Ghost?" Valern asked now curious.
"What did Benezia specialize in? What did she talk about when it came to politics?" Shepard asked Tevos again, ignoring Valern.
"She mostly talked about working with the other races." Tevos said. "What are you looking for Shepard?" she asked.
"Doesn't it seem strange?" Shepard asked all of them now.
"What?" Sparatus asked annoyed.
"I can understand why Saren would attack a human colony. But if Benezia was always talking about cooperation for the last few decades, why join with Saren. And speaking of Saren, why would he suddenly turn against all the other races. Humanity is a given, but his own people?" Shepard said.
"What do you think is going on Ghost?" Valern asked now noticing what was Ghost might be thinking.
"I'm thinking that maybe, just maybe, Saren and Benezia aren't the true enemy. Maybe there is someone, or something controlling them." Shepard said. The Council looked at him silently until Tevos spoke.
"What makes you think that?" she asked.
"You both were shocked about their recent activities because it was so out of character for them, especially with Benezia. No one makes a sudden change without some kind of interference." Shepard explained.
"How do you think that they could be under 'mind-control'?" Sparatus asked with his talons doing quotes.
"Because when I was hunting down the slavers back in the late 70's I noticed a pattern that the Batarian Hegemony was truly behind the attack on Elysium. It involved messages, recordings and records of large stockpiles of resources being moved around. The Hegemony had subtly nudged several merc and pirate bands, until they directly let the slaver bands in on it to. As for the mind control, the slavers used mind-control chip implants on slaves. I'm thinking it might be something similar with Saren and Benezia." Shepard explained. The Council could understand why Shepard would think this.
"Then if it is true, and that they are under some type of mind-control, then save them if you can and find out who did this. If not then you are to proceed with your original mission." Sparatus said. Shepard nodded with a determined look.
"Good luck, Ghost. Remember, We are all counting on you." Tevos said.
"Wait, did you guys get anymore leads while I was on the mission?" Shepard asked thinking he might need more info.
"Unfortunately no new information has come up. When it does, we will personally forward it to you." Valern said as their holograms winked out. Shepard was a little disappointed now. Great, he was going to have to find a way to kill some time before the next Council mission came in.
Whew! Read and Review please! Hope things in this one where okay!
JUST MODIFICATIONS OKAY! NOTHING NEW, IT'S STILL IN THE WORKS!