Chapter 10: Belac Rebow
"Belac,Belac wake up!"
Belac was dazed and had a splitting headache but that only meant that he was still alive. "Argh...Shepard?"
"Yeah." Shepard replied dryly. "Looks like they took us alive, I can't guess why they want me, but what about you?"
"I was investigating a group calling themselves the batarian rebellion in the Attican traverse." Belac said
"You think they found out who you are?" Shepard asked
"Could be. You killed one of their higher ups a two years ago."
"Balak?" Shepard muttered
"That's him." Balac stared at Shepard. The human had a kind of aura around him,like head seen every thing in the galaxy,he was intimidating. Even though Balac was well aware of his reputation,even though he was assigned to capture him, he knew he could trust him.
"Got some thing on you're mind?" Shepard asked the staring turian.
"Shepard you were a hero ad an icon, not just for humanity but for all races in the galaxy."
"I never asked to be." Shepard grunted
"No you didn't but you were in the right place at the right time."
"You have a point right?" Shepard questioned,annoyed at the turian.
"Why did you betray the Council?"
"I never betrayed them!" Shepard shouted
"Then why did you join Cerberus and rewrite the geth?"
Shepard angrily sighed at the question. "Balac you would agree that when I hunted Saren all the proof I gathered, the information the salarian STG operatives provided wasn't enough for the council to send me to Ilos correct?"
Knowing that the council really did screw up the Saren situation gave Shepard a nod and listened attentively.
"We are both spectres', we swore an oath to protect the galaxy and the council endangered the galaxy when they refused to help me with Saren even after all the proof I gave them."
Belac Rebew had always played by the rules and never resolved a situation with brute force, he listened to the man infront of him. Shepard was his opposite, he would save as many as he could but would put down any in his way. Shepard was right, the council did endanger the galaxy, had they listened to Shepard the battle for the Citadel could have ended with fewer casualties.
"The way I understand it is that you could of held the Systems Alliance fleet back to concentrate on Sovereign." Belac added "Why did you save them if you feel that way?"
"If I didn't humanity would have been as letting the council die in order to put ourselves on the council." Shepard answered " then the galaxy would have been to divided to fight the reapers."
"The Reapers are a myth and sovereign was a geth ship!" Belac said agitatedly "You don't expect me to..."
"No matter how charismatic you are the geth don't talk to organics they kill them!" Shepard interrupted playing off the turians disbelief. "You've seen the STG reports on indoctrination, You've seen sovereign's weapons did those look like they came from the geth!" Shepard's eyes were like daggers, piercing through the turian. "You see the batarian flag ship right?" Shepard said looking outside his window at the Reaper. "If that was a geth ship and the geth being against organics like you say then why would batarians have one?"
Belac looked away from Shepard. He now understood why so many admired him even willing to die for him. He was starting to believe. "Ok say I believe you, why did you join Cerberus and rewrite the geth like you said in your trial?"
"Cerberus was the only group investigating the missing colonies so I used their resources to help stop it. The geth do have different factions, the ones I helped want to help me fight the reapers, so the stronger they are the more ready we will be when they finally come." Shepard replied
"So you're time with Cerberus, the geth and escaping from you're trial and going into the terminus systems had nothing to do with the council and you wanting revenge?"
"No it never did, but they need to be ready when the reapers come."
"The council have you all wrong Shepard." Belac said "I've never met any one like you, Shepard."
That might be a good thing, you might live longer and not find yourself in a situation like this." Shepard said giving a small laugh
"I've got to say Shepard there is a lot more to you than just what I've read."
"Do you believe every thing you read?" Shepard asked looking out of the window again. "Some times I wonder if I'm the hero people in the news say I am or the blood thirsty renegade mercs and politicians say I am."
"If you have so much doubt why do you still do it?"
"Because I'm the only on who can... the council would have no one to keep them on their toes. Shepard replied giving Belac a halfhearted laugh.
" believe me they have enough trouble with Raina and her I'm the best at what I do attitude." Belac chuckled
"What do you know about her" Shepard asked "I've never seen a biotic like her."
"She is a bit of a mystery." Belac sighed " All I know is that she has been a spectre since she was one hundred and twelve and that there is no record of her before she was ninety."
"So you've worked with her before?" Shepard asked
"Yeah, last time we were told to bring in a batarian arms dealer selling weapons to a krogen clan."
"How did that go?"
"Raina killed every one in the building and crushed the dealers throat. He lived but he couldn't talk." Belac said as if he'd told this story many times before. "Shes reckless, violent and the most powerful biotic I've ever known."
"She's that powerful?" Shepard asked
"I've seen her pull a fighter out of the sky and launch a pack of charging krogen into orbit."
"Interesting" Shepard thought to himself " You got any family Belac?"
"No I'm an orphan like you." Belac answered "But when you're a turian that's no excuse not to do what you have to do and you are expected to do your best."
"Even more so for a turian orphan I'm guessing?"
"Yes, because of it I got through the ranks slowly but then I got a break." Belac said
"What was that?"
"I was assigned to a team that went to an uncharted planet in the verge to shut down a batarian weapons facillity that was making and selling illegal weapons tech."
"So batarians were scum even when they had an embassy." Shepard thought to him self.
"The mission was simple, go in, bring in the man in charge, round up civilians and destroy the base."
"Nothing is ever that easy." Shepard muttered
"We got ambushed and my commanding officer was killed and I had to lead the rest of my team out of harms way and wait until reinforcements arrived." Belac sighed " no one else died and the next thing I know the council wanted me to be a spectre." Belac proclaimed proudly "That was forty years ago."
"That long?" Shepard asked
"Yeah and capturing you was going to be my last mission before I retired but...it looks like I wont get a chance."
"We'll get out of this I promise." Shepard assured
Belac didn't answer but the look he had on his face looked unsure of whether or not to believe Shepard or not. "I hope so Shepard." Belac muttered "I've been meaning to ask you some thing?"
"Ask" Shepard replied
"Do you have a first name because I only ever hear you referred to as Shepard or commander?"
"Commander Skcih Shepard of the Systems Alliance navy." Shepard mumbled
"seriously?"
"Yep, when I was growing up on Earth I didn't know my first name, all I knew was my last name and the kids I ran with called me Skcih."
Belac laughed"So when you enlisted you gave them a silly name like skeet,scoot...how do you pronounce it?"
"Skcih is pronounced like scitch, but every one calls me Shepard because as you so kindly pointed out Skcih is silly, so to avoid the hysterical laughter I introduce my self as Shepard."
Belac and Shepard share a laugh, both knowing in the back of their minds this might be their last.
End
AN/ This chapter was going to be part of chapter 11 but I felt like this should be a chapter by itself . A little back story for my original characters get put in along with Shepard's first name.
So this means thirteen chapters in stead of twelve like I planned. Next chapter we see the leader of the batarian rebellion and why they have a reaper.
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