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"Ask for help." Sail practically demanded.
"Insist. It's not that bad, I've dealt with a leg that was worse than this." Stonewire protested.
"I agree, but back then you had the use of both hands. We're not alone, let me see if they have a skilled engineer."
She was right and he knew it, but he just didn't like the idea of anyone other than another Glitch looking at his insides, even if it was just his wrist. He had an anesthetic spray that he was currently looking for on his shuttle that would help numb his arm. It would allow him to work without discomfort, but like Sail said, without the use of both hands it would take him awhile to find and fix the problem with a higher chance of error.
"Reluctant. Fine, but until then I'm setting up." He stated as he pulled a spray can from one of his crates.
"You don't find it even a bit off putting that we're one elevator ride away from an artificial intelligence, with a body no less?" A relatively young ginger man with a goatee named Kenneth Donnelly asked with a light Scottish accent.
"You do remember that Normandy has its own AI or maybe the psychopath that now lives right below us?" A female with short dark red hair of about the same age named Gabriella Daniels reminded.
"Aye, but she's got that punker-girl charm about her, and the robot might start mucking with our work!"
"Jack could probably do more damage than anyone here." Gabby said, scolding her coworker. " Shepard seems to trust it, the least we can do is trust her. Besides, think about what we could learn. We've dealt with Geth before, but it has a more human resemblance. We don't even know who built it."
"You've seen it?" Kenneth asked sounding more interested than concerned.
"You haven't?"
"Only heard the crew talk about it. Saw the shuttle, but never got a look at it myself."
"I saw it unpacking some equipment a few hours after its arrival. Looked like it was also fixing up the shuttle."
"Engineers Donnelly and Daniels, may I speak with you?" A voice they thought was EDI asked.
They turned to the holoprojector expecting to see EDI's familiar round blue hologram only to be greeted by a translucent head missing most of its features.
"Going with a new look EDI? A bit intimidating, don't ya think, with all the red?" Donnelly questioned.
"I don't think this is EDI." Daniels corrected. "Almost forgot there was a third AI." She recalled.
"Correct, my name is Sail. I have a proposition for either of you." Sail offered.
"This should be interesting. An AI asking for help." The male engineer said with a smirk.
"As long as it doesn't put us at any unnecessary risk, I'm sure we could handle it." Daniels stated while elbowing her coworker.
"It's much simpler than that. Stonewire, 'one elevator ride away', is conducting some self repairs and could use an extra pair of hands. Would either of you be willing? It's pretty simple engineering and shouldn't take too long." Sail explained, putting emphasis on the words the male human used before, letting them know she heard that part of the conversation.
EDI didn't seem to mind letting Sail roam under surveillance, but that didn't stop her curiosity from wondering what others thought of her and Stone.
The only one that seemed to notice was the female as she tried to avoid eye contact with the hologram, unlike the male who only seemed to hear the words "repair."
"You're asking us, the two best engineers on the Normandy, if we would like to help repair an AI we've never seen before that, if my colleague is to be believed, is built differently than any mech we've seen?" Kenneth asked sarcastically.
"What he's trying to say is that we would be glad to help." Gabriella clarified, trying to save face.
"Uh, yeah, what she said."
"Well, Stonewire only requires one of you, and as Daniels seems to be more straight to the point, I think Stone would appreciate that. You don't need to bring anything, but I would recommend haste as he's probably already gotten started." Sail explained sounding a bit annoyed at the end before disconnecting, leaving no room for argument.
Kenneth immediately deflated. "Well, guess that means you should get going. Wouldn't want to miss the chance, would you?" He asked sounding despondent as he returned to work. "Don't worry about me, just going to make sure we keep flyin' straight."
"Don't be like that. I'll make sure to tell you all the details." Gabriella promised, trying to cheer him up just a little.
That seemed to get his attention as he turned around with a glint of hope in his eyes as he pointed at her."Every detail?" He asked hopefully.
"Everything I see, but you heard what she said, need to get down there before it doesn't need my help."
"Well don't keep 'em waiting, go!" Kenneth resounded as he shooed her away with a stupid grin on his face.
With that, Gabriella hurried to the elevator and called it to her floor, only taking a glance at the window near the elevator that looked down on the hangar. She could see the AI down below setting one crate on top another, making a makeshift table.
When she heard the elevator door open she was surprised to see Shepard.
Well, only sort of. For the most part Daniels was used to her superiors not bothering to chat with their subordinates, but from what she knew about Shepard she had a feeling she would. To which Shepard proved her right by coming down to greet them on the day the Commander boarded the Normandy.
What currently surprised her was the serious expression the Commander had on her face. Only time she's seen a look before was on the Commander of the SSV Perugia, the vessel she served on before, when they were protecting the council during the attack on the Citadel.
The Commander took notice of Daniels and her features softened, if only a little. "Engineer Daniels." Shepard greeted.
"Commander." Daniels replied.
She stepped onto the elevator next to Shepard and went to press the cargo hold button, only to notice it was already selected. There was no real reason for the Commander to head down there. Except for maybe the AI.
"Going down?" Shepard asked as the doors closed.
"Well-" Gabriella started, she then went on to explain what Sail invited her to do. That seemed to catch the Commanders attention.
"Mind If I keep you company?" Shepard asked with a disarming smile.
Stonewire set up like he said he was going to, he had two crates stacked to make a stable table, he removed his armor to work less restricted. The human who was suppose to be helping him was taking their time.
He had already applied the anesthetic to his right arm and opened it up. The nanites were working slower around the numb area so they wouldn't impede his work. He opened it up, exposing the wiring underneath.
He wasn't wrong when he assumed that the wires overheated, as he could already see some of them melted together and others were just a complete mess.
Using a single hand to go through the wiring was working, but sometimes he would hit a wire and cause-
"Frustration! Damnit!" Stonewire shouted as sparks flew from some exposed wires.
"You really should wait." Sail knowingly stated through his manipulator.
He had his wrist manipulator set up so he could look at it while he worked, mostly just so Sail could keep him company since he removed his armor. He was starting to regret that decision.
"Argue. If I keep waiting I'll never get this done." Stonewire defended weakly.
"Just try not to blow your arm off." Sail teased, referring to his other works.
"Knowing. Yeah, I get it."
In all honesty he was just trying to keep busy. He didn't really want to get started on other projects while his arm could still act up, so he needed to do that first, but he didn't really like relying on anyone he didn't know for something so personal.
As he was about to delve back into his arm he heard the elevator door open. He looked up to see both Shepard and another female human inside. Both stepped off and were heading in his direction.
Stonewire reached over to his manipulator and sent Sail a message.
"Any idea?"
"Not a clue." Sail quickly replied through text.
Sail already told him who the second female was when she requested them. A gifted engineer to put it simply with little tidbits, like how she was at the "Battle of the Citadel."
He didn't like the idea of being out of the loop, but with everything going on he was really getting tired of it all. He didn't spend over a hundred years trying to understanding his own universe just to get thrown into a new one, but here he was. He liked it better when he knew a large portion of things. Now he just felt like he was stumbling in the dark with only the codex to shed light, but his assassin side of things was used to working with little info.
What did that say about him?
"Um, hello? You asked for help?"
Stonewire was shaken from his thoughts as he looked up to the human across him. She's a redhead like Shepard, but with much softer features. Same build too just from seeing them next to each other.
"Greet. Hello." Stonewire simply welcomed while gesturing to the seat he setup opposite of him.
The human took the seat and almost seemed to lock onto his open arm. Shepard stood nearby, strangely quiet, but he wouldn't let it bother him.
What was she planning?
"Hmm," Stonewire could tell the engineer was holding back a lot of questions, not surprising for any respectable engineer. "What's the problem? Just from a glance it looks like some overheating."
"Explain. Pretty basic hardware failure, thermal stress occurred and this arm's inner workings are a little older than my other." He explain.
It wasn't too recent, but he did damage his left arm pretty badly on a mission. So he had to find a Glitch willing to help him access his half of the blueprints for replacement parts. It was the exact copy of his right, but it still had a newer feel if anything else.
He instantly dreaded the thought of something like that happening here. If he became exceedingly damaged no engineer would be able to replicate his parts, at least not completely. He was starting to tolerate the idea of letting someone at least know a little about his inner workings. For the most part the most advance part about a Glitch is their programming, but that's not to say that their mechanics aren't as complicated.
"Convey. The heat damaged this here,-" He started pointing out some of the wiring, cleaner than before. "-here and here. Instruct. I already removed the insulating coating, but now-"
"You need to solder the wires back together, got it." The human finished for him, now eyeing his tools. "Those would probably help." She said, pointing out the correct tools.
Stonewire expected that. Surprisingly his tools were somewhat compatible with the mechanics of this world and unless taken apart couldn't be distinguished from theirs, so he didn't really need to change. Not to say that he didn't shop on Omega to get some tools designed for mess effect technology.
Stonewire picked up two soldering tools and handed them to her.
"Clarify. Try not to damage the wiring further, This task requires both hands and I would like to keep mine intact."
Stonewire was impressed.
The girl asked lots of questions, less than a few he was comfortable with, but he answered to the best of his ability as there was some stuff about his creation that he didn't even know.
But even with all the questions she almost seemed to take to his mechanics like a hylotl to water. Work hasn't been this smooth for him in awhile.
A bit surprising, fixing a Glitch isn't the hardest task, building one on the other hand was a entirely different problem. Still, there was more damage than Stonewire thought there would be, but they were going through it pretty fast.
"You know I've got to ask. How was it that you managed to only damage this part? Seems kind of odd for overheating to only affect one part." Gabriella questioned.
"Simplify. This arm is older than most other parts of me." He answered.
"How many parts have you had replaced?" Shepard suddenly asked. That was the first time she's spoke since she started watching them.
Well, watching them wouldn't be the word. It was more like she was studying him. He could tell because it was the kind of thing the Infernal Recruiters did, pulling every detail in hoping to see a crack in the façade if one was present, couldn't have any "Sick" amongst the flames. He wasn't putting up any front, but it still put him on edge.
So he just tried to ignore it and answer the question.
How many? Well each part could last up to eighty years before degradation started to show, excluding his plating. Though his plating has been damaged he did manage to avoid needing to replace it completely, which would be like trying to replace skin.
He has about the same amount of human vital organs, but there are a few he doesn't use much. So that leaves about five organs in constant use, one of which being the brain, which he can't replace. Then there's his normal parts. He couldn't forget that he also pushed these parts to their limits, breaking them down faster. Just to simplify it he would include parts that needed to be fixed that the nanites couldn't repair properly.
"Indifferent. Including repairs, that would be around one-hundred and seventeen over the past two-hundred years." Stonewire answered honestly.
There was no real point in lying, he's a robot, repairs are needed as much as any other race that might need surgery.
"Huh, what kind of work would you be doing to need that many repairs? I'm pretty sure even Geth need less maintenance." The engineer said, seeming surprised by the number.
"Yeah, what kind of work?" Shepard asked suspiciously.
"Equivocate. I was put through a lot of strain." He wasn't lying.
Shepard was confused. He just used "equivocate" meaning to "avoid an issue." So he was withholding information from her and that's one thing the Commander wouldn't stand for. So instead of treating him like an AI, she would try to treat him as a person.
"Don't fuck with me." Shepard said sternly as she crossed her arms. "You're hiding something, I don't know whether or not it will affect the mission, but if we can't trust each other it will only make things more difficult." She needed to take care of this problem now.
There was a pause as the assassin looked to his armor. "Hesitant. But what if the truth only complicates things further?" Stonewire questioned.
"Hiding it will only put your mind towards other things, I need everyone at one hundred percent, anything less pushes this mission towards failure."
Stonewire listen to her words. She was right, he couldn't keep this up. Honestly maybe his assassin side just wanted to keep secrets, but this wasn't an assassination. He needed to keep his head on straight.
He looked down to his arm, the wiring was clean and he was starting to feel again. So he started putting the plating back and allowed the nineties to reconnect it.
So... The truth.
"Sincere. To understand the truth I'll need to explain everything. Inquiry. Are you sure?" He asked.
"Daniels, I think you should return to your post." Shepard politely suggested, seeing that the repairs were done.
"Understood commander." Gabriella said with a salute, to which Shepard returned before taking her spot.
Stonewire looked down to his manipulator. "I'm right here." was the message on the screen. Those three words somehow made him feel more at ease.
"Define. 'Glitch', a word with two meanings. Convey. Glitch were created to simulate the rise and fall of civilization, who created us, we don't know, but something went wrong. Describe. Some of those civilizations got stuck in a loop, they couldn't develop any further into cultural refinement. Detail. The place we got stuck in was what the humans would call the 'medieval ages.'" He added, noticing Shepard look towards his armor with a slight look of realization.
Good, it was making sense so far, but he wasn't done.
"Recall. Sail told you of my 'sickness.' Irked. That was the second glitch, it awakened some of my kind."
"You became true AI." Shepard stated.
"Rectify. No, my kind are born true AI." He quickly corrected. "Bitter. Our 'creators' programmed 'blind spots' that stopped us from seeing ahead of our programmed stage, so we couldn't see past the stone castles and agrarian villages, some broke free of this coding. Recollect. But it didn't just wake us up, it also made use yearn for more, to reach for the stars."
Shepard felt like she wasn't going to like this story. Things like people suddenly going against the grain usually didn't end well, but she still wanted to know where this was going.
"What happened?" The words left her mouth before she could stop them.
Stonewire could hear the worry in her voice.
"Recall. I awoke on my tenth year since assembly, but so did some older models. Recall. I lived in a large kingdom, known as Infernoctis. Explain. The kingdom had a... theme, if you will, of fire. Bitter. The king was a psychopath, smart, but a psychopath. Disgusted. We heard of other kingdoms with the sickness, we never thought it would hit ours, but when it did the king ordered the sick to be cleansed in fire." As soon as those words were spoken Shepard's eyebrows raised at the insinuation.
"Wait, wouldn't it take some serious heat to burn through you?" The Commander questioned, unsure of what he was implying.
"Agreed. Correct, it would. Explain. The kingdom was known for its craft in heat based weapons that could cut through even the strongest of minerals. Honest. With that came liquids that, when lit, could burn through our plating like cheap tin."
Shepard watched as his visor went completely red. "Hateful. They broke the loop and they burned for it." He hated the king, but the sick... None of it would have happened if they didn't awaken.
"How did you survive?" Shepard asked.
"Sorrow. The king made a show of what would happen to those afflicted, those that broke the loop, I was... I... I needed to..." He just couldn't.
The image of his own kind, tied to metal poles, melting as the heat burned through them. He couldn't tell the difference between the metal screeching and the cries of pain as the their speaker boxes began to liquefy. The plating would break up as oil began to leak out from between the seams. He could never forget the smell of the oil in the air, he swore the skies were darkened for months with smog.
Sail could see him, arms on top of the crate, closed fist, shaking. She wanted to reach out, she wanted to comfort her creator, her father. what could she do?
She processed that thought faster than any she had before, but Shepard beat her to it.
Shepard reached out and put her hand on top of his, the shaking immediately stopped.
"Stone?" She asked, worry filled her voice.
His head snapped up to face hers, with the two familiar blue lights from his visor.
"Frightened. I wanted to live." It took a few seconds, but he managed to calm down.
He couldn't believe that it still messed with him this much, guess that was the down side of a robotic memory.
He only now seemed to notice Shepard's hand. "Reassured. I'm better now Shepard. Grateful. Thank you."
Shepard pulled away, but still looked worried. "Are you sure?"
"Certain. Yes, I'm fine, but if you don't mind, I'd like to skip over a few things. Troubled. I guess I'm not over it yet."
No kidding, Shepard seen soldiers break on the field before, a simple interaction could bring them back to reality be it violent or gentle, but to have reactions like that would mean an even deeper trauma. If anything she could tell it seemed like he just wanted to bury it.
"Yeah, no problem." Shepard assured.
Just one word: Frightened. That's all it took for Shepard to see more than just a machine. It would still take time for her to get used to an AI that didn't want her dead, but she at the very least knew that he was more than that.
He didn't want to talk about his past anymore, he'd rather just skip over it completely. She didn't need to know about his whole life story, just the important bits. So what's next?
"Convey. Twenty years passed before I managed to find a downed ship, repair it and leave the planet."
"Twenty years? That still leaves a lot of space." Shepard questioned. "How did you manage to stay undetected this whole time?"
Well, it was going to happen one way or another, so why not now.
"Honest. I didn't remain undetectable. Explain. At the time I was lost, I didn't know where to go or what to do, but three years later I found an outpost. Rehash. Well, more of a city really. Describe. It's what many of the races called home and used as a resting place when there was no work, they didn't want to go home or maybe they worked there themselves. Recount. That is where I found a job as a bounty hunter." He explained.
Shepard was enthralled in the story, but something wasn't adding up.
"Wait, that doesn't make any sense, the only place like that is the Citadel. Have you been there before?" She asked, hoping for clarification.
"Honest. I've never been to the Citadel. Forthright. Matter-of-fact I've only been in this galaxy for about a week and a half." And the truth was out, honestly she was right about it being a bit distracting, and now that he's said it, he feels like a weight was lifted off his shoulders.
Shepard on the other hand felt like she just had a bomb drop into her lap and it hasn't gone off yet.
"What?" Honestly, she didn't know what else to say.
"Request. Please wait a moment." Stonewire stood up and walked into his shuttle.
Less than a minute later he came back cradling a rifle in his arm. Shepard immediately noticed that the rifle slick design could in no way collapse like her weapons, but that wasn't exactly proof of coming from another galaxy.
Then he pulled a small metal cylindrical object about the size of a thermal clip. "Blunt. This is a plasma rifle. Describe. This is the one I used to cover you on the bridge, it's equipped with an adjustable twelve times scope, Being stuck center-mass could rupture organs, and if that doesn't kill, the super-heated plasma would burn through just about anything."
With that he slammed the cylinder into an opening on the side of the rifle, which closed right after, and spun the rifle into a ready position against his shoulder, aiming right at his armor.
"Wait-" The last thing she needed was him firing his weapon on her ship, but she was completely ignored as a loud crack sounded through the hangar as a red thin light flashed from the barrel of the rifle almost instantly into his armor. The sound was notably less intense than she expected it to be.
That's not to say that it wasn't fucking loud!
Shepard stood up only to see Stone set the rifle down on the makeshift table after removing the cylinder.
"Hey, commander, I hope I'm not interrupting, but why is the robot firing its weapon on my ship?" The pilot, Joker, asked over the ship speakers sounding every bit annoyed.
"It's okay, Joker!" Shepard shouted, trying to stop the slight ringing in her ears before addressing the AI.
"Refrain from doing that again." Shepard practically ordered.
"Apologetic. Sorry commander, I would have used a smaller firearm, but I thought it better for you to see something from before." He explained as he picked the the chest piece of his armor up and placed it in front of her.
Shepard what she saw was a fire red, liquid like substance sticking to it, she could feel the heat radiating from it, but she watched as it slowly turned to vapor, leaving behind a ash like burn mark. Stonewire took out a rag and simply wiped off the residue. He then tossed Shepard the cylinder.
Stonewire knew his armor could take it. It took an Atomic Furnace just to refine the stuff his armor was made of, so naturally it had high heat resistance. It was one of the reasons he used the same super-heated plasma rifle that he used on the bridge. It also helped that the battery he used was almost out, so the charge was much, much lower.
"Explain. That is the ammo for the rifle and many of my other firearms. Describe. It acts as a catalyst or a battery as it's useless and harmless without a weapon to allow it to charge. Simplify. There is a capacity inside of the catalyst that is overcharged to create the plasma before a magnetic field inside the weapon pushes the plasma through like a bullet, at least that's how it works for this rifle. Detail. My rifle uses more plasma so it has less shots while a plasma pistol would have more shots as it charges less." He had no trouble talking about his equipment. If anything he enjoyed it.
"Okay, say I believe you. That you came from another galaxy. How?" Shepard couldn't really say that she didn't believe him. How could she not, when all the evidence kept stacking up. But she needed to remain skeptical.
"Precise. Not another galaxy, Shepard, another universe. Sincere. I just finished a job on a small desert planet, after we decided to change scenery. Exact. We ended up jumping right in the middle of a battle and a large one at that. Unfavorable. We managed to avoid damage, but then we were targeted by a Dreadnought.
"Hypothesis. We took out its engine, but something happened inside, my guess is that the reactor took a hit, debris from the explosion tore through our ship and damaged the jump drive. Conclusion. And that is how we ended up here, I told Cerberus that my ship is out of commission, but that wasn't the completely truth. Honest. My ship is well hidden at the moment, in fact I was hoping that at some point I might be able to finish repairs or even find proper fuel as our ships are completely different." There it was, he laid everything out.
"You said that you came from a different universe, but wouldn't it make more sense to say that you did just come to another galaxy across dark space?" It made more sense to her and it even sounded more logical.
"I can help with that." Sail piped up.
Shepard was kind of surprised by Sail suddenly speaking up, not realizing she was there the whole time.
Two blue hologram star maps appeared above Stonewire's manipulator, both looked identical to each other.
"A lot of my systems were damaged including my Star Map, so after bringing up the backups I triangulated our position. It said we were in the Milky Way galaxy, but there were oddities." One of the holograms started blinking yellow. "This one is one we visited a long time ago, where Stone's first bounty mission took him." Suddenly both maps zoomed in on one system, Shepard recognized them, the Sol system, home of... wait, something was missing "The most notable difference I found was-"
"Where's Earth?" Shepard couldn't see it on the one they said was theirs. "Different universe, right? Does that mean you don't have humans?" There had to be a rational explanation. They already told her how they came from a different universe so it wouldn't be far fetched for them to be different.
"Explanation. No, humans were once the most prevalent race in the galaxies, still kind of are, but to a lesser extent." Stonewire tried to explain. It wasn't her world, but to hear that couldn't be easy.
"What happened?" Shepard seemed to demand. Stonewire wasn't too sure, but did her scars just glow?
"Delicate. Our Earth was destroyed over two hundred years ago, I wasn't there for it, but the monster that did it was shortly killed a year after. Empathy. Many humans survi-"
"How could something destroy a whole planet?!" She seemed more dumbfounded, if not also sick to her stomach.
"Deadpan. It happened in another universe and ended a long time ago, Shepard, I understand, but it's over and done, you have other things to worry about." He could understand the sentiment, but she had a mission.
She looked pissed, but after a few seconds and a deep breath, she released a sigh and calmed down. "Okay, so you came from another universe. Care to explain what happened with your armor when fighting Jack." All she wanted to do now was get past that bombshell, maybe she could ask more questions later.
"Excited. Oh, I think it would be better to show you." With that Stonewire quickly picked up his armor and, faster than Shepard thought possible, threw it all on in under thirty seconds, excluding the helmet.
"Thrilled. I only found this out today and Sail explained it to me. Aware. You're a biotic, correct?" He patted his chest with both hands. "Instigate. Hit me with your best shot."
"Are you sure about that?" She was curious, but curiosity wouldn't be worth injuring a crew member, but all she got was a nod.
Well, Zaeed did say something about practice.
With that Shepard pulled back both her arms and allowed her biotic energy to flow freely throughout her body. Usually she only needed to conduct it with her hands or manipulate it around her for a barrier, but now she needed to allow it to consume her and time it right.
She forced herself forward, charging at Stonewire. She allowed the momentum to carry her as she thrusted her arms forward to push him, but something happened as she made contact.
No, even before she started moving. She could feel her energy being pulled from her.
She only noticed it when she collided with Stonewire, sending him back only a few feet. The force only made him have to brace himself from falling, but it should have been enough force to send him to the ground.
"The material that you call eezo or Element Zero is similar to a material from our galaxy. It's known as Ferozium, a material that has some of the same characteristics as eezo, but has one core difference. Eezo seems to almost pulse with dark energy when subjected to an electrical current. Ferozium, even without an electrical current, seems to absorb raw dark energy, which is something biotics seem to be able to produce a lot of." Sail quickly explained.
"Though we don't have any with us Stone has built staffs that could do almost exactly what biotics can do, only to a lesser extent and not on it's own." As she kept explaining the energy from Stonewire's armor started to fade. "It appears that Refined Ferozium can't hold onto this energy, as it seems to leak off. While it does absorb a large amount of energy, it doesn't stop the full brunt of an attack."
Stonewire stepped over to his manipulator and started running scans on his armor. It was useful as a defence against biotics, but he was wondering if he could do anything with the built up energy.
"Still, that sounds extremely useful." Shepard admitted.
A biotic barrier helped against other biotics for the most part, but something like Stonewire's armor for someone without biotic abilities could really make a difference. Hell, from what Garrus said he saw Stone take a few hits directly, being barely moved. Stonewire might have won if they weren't there to recruit her.
Still, now that she knew where he came from, she had one more question.
"So what's the plan?" She asked.
Stonewire looked up from his manipulator and tilted his head to the side.
"Confused. Shouldn't I be the one asking that, Commander?" He asked, not really getting the question.
"No, what I meant is, are you trying to get home somehow? I doubt Cerberus could help in any way." She rephrased.
"Admit. Getting here was nothing but luck, realistically creating another jump like that could send me anywhere. Foreboding. Or worse it could just explode. Irritated. Just like a lot of things I build." He informed, saying the last part more to himself.
"So, you've got no problem with the idea of never returning home."
"Uncertain. I'm fine where I am, it's not like anyone is looking for me." He wasn't really sure on how he felt now about not returning and it's not like he was allergic to making allies, but he just didn't really think anyone would look for him. Would they?
Not that it would matter, they wouldn't find him and would presume him to be dead.
Shepard was started to understand how his prefix worked. A single-word statement of emotion or intent that always gave him away no matter what, but there's one prefix she has never heard.
"How come you never lie?" She question. She's never heard him use the word once. It would have given him away, but she wanted to hear it from him.
"Quote. 'If you tell a lie, you'll have to remember that lie for your whole life.' Sincere. I've been told that my kind are horrible liars, but before that my father said it many times and in a way it stuck with me. Ambitious. I guess I wanted to be just like him, so I swore to never lie." Stone's shoulders dropped at the thought of home.
Shepard felt a pit in her stomach. "Are you a lot like him?" She wasn't sure why she asked. Maybe it was because she lost her own parents.
Stone could hear the regret in her voice and immediately knew what she was referring to.
"Assure. Oh, no my father wasn't an awoken. Confess. In fact, he was alive when I left, though, I'm sure he's joined mother by now. Regret. I kind of wish I could have been there at the end for him."
"Was he an assassin too?" She wouldn't be surprised.
"Amused. Creators no, my father never liked the idea of stabbing someone in the back. Recall. As for his profession, he was a blacksmith. Reminisce. I remember days when he wouldn't leave the forge for hours, just working a weapon to the point of perfection."
"Man, you really did live in the middle ages huh." Shepard said with a chuckle.
"Honest. It had its perks, it was simple. Dread. At least for awhile."
She could understand that. One minute you're living a peaceful life when someone comes along and kicks down the wall that kept you safe.
Shepard released a sigh of relief. "Got to admit. I didn't think this conversation was going to go as well as it did. Don't get me wrong, I'm still trying to understand it all."
"Understanding. It's a lot to take in, even I'm still trying to understand all... this." He said, gesturing to his surroundings.
"Yeah, I guess it would be pretty crazy." She couldn't help but chuckled again.
Maybe it was because he's an AI, but maybe their universes aren't so different. Just from the bits she could pick up it seemed like plasma weapons and some kind of world destroying monster are the only differences, the ones she knows at the moment at least. Still, ending up in a different universe doesn't sound like a common occurrence.
"Inquire. So now what?" Stonewire Suddenly asked. "Conjecture. You humans have always been an unpredictable variable, but I'm guessing this isn't something that's going to remain between us."
"To be completely honest, I'm not sure anyone would believe you, even if I told them." She explained.
Stonewire agreed. There was only one way to quicken the process.
"Inquire. What is our next mission?"
"We're heading towards Daratar. Aria gave me the location as payment for helping her out. Apparently the Eclipse have a smuggling depot there. We're going to have another briefing but, basically we're going to raid it. Why?"
Stonewire picked up his rifle and locked it to his back. "Confident. Why tell, when I can show."
Honestly, he didn't mind this out come as much as he thought he would. It was about time he shows this universe what he's got in store.
0o0o0o0o0o0
God, this took too long
First, me and my Beta, Val the Chronicler, Spent way too long trying to understand how Starbound weapons work "FOR TWO GOD DAMN HOURS!" as Val put it. Like I stated before, Starbound's lore isn't as fleshed out as Mass Effect, so a lot of it's just me making shit up.
Second, this is just a long chapter which I hope makes up for the time even though it's dialogue heavy.
Until next time!