Jump Chain Gothic - Mass Effect 2 - Spectre
Office. The Citadel.
"So have you given any thought to the Council's offer?" David Anderson asked me.
I'd visited the Admiral's office here on the Citadel a few times over the past few years. My first visit to his office, which he had due to being the military adviser to the human council member, had been shortly after I had recovered the last living Prothean, and I'd been back since then to hand over a few bits of Prothean tech to the Alliance.
Which was why I was here now, only this time I'd been handing over prototype models of my particle rifle to the Council rather than data disks. The blueprints and such had been sent to the quarians by Tali, and I had no doubt that Cerberus had gotten its greasy mitts on my date, but the council races now had working models as well as the data, so they'd be able to start producing their own versions of the particle rifle very quickly.
Shepard had decided to use the tech as an olive branch between us and the leaders of the galaxy in the hopes that we'd be able to work together despite Cerberus's involvement. I'd left it up to her as I didn't really need more money since Liara had paid us well for helping to take down the Shadow Broker.
We'd come to the Citadel shortly after setting Liara up as the new Shadow Broker for reasons Shepard hadn't shared, but I assumed it had to do with Thane's loyalty quest given that those two had gone off together. I'd used this free time to met with the Council so that I could give them the new weapon.
After it was all done I'd been surprised by an offer. The council had chosen me as a candidate to become a Spectre. Because of this offer I now had a lot more access to information about the Spectres than I had before.
For example I knew that The Special Tactics and Reconnaissance branch was founded in 693 CE, shortly before the Krogan Rebellions began, at a time when the Council was uneasy about the unchecked expansion of the krogan into Citadel space. The Spectres were chosen from the finest salarian Special Tasks Group operatives and asari huntresses, and were originally intended to function, at least partly in an observational capacity, as well as the Council's first line of defence.
When the krogan finally turned against the Citadel races, the Spectres were ready for them, they'd been using guerrilla tactics such as computer viruses and devastating sabotage to slow the krogan down before the turians joined the conflict. For years the activities of the Spectres were a Council secret, but their roles in that war were made public after the Krogan Rebellions were over.
All records of the Spectres are sealed and you could only be granted access to them with permission of the Council. It was not even clear how many Spectres there are, although Alliance intelligence estimates that there are fewer than a hundred. Each Spectre was hand-picked by the Council after proving that they are an individual of exceptional ability and self-reliance.
In theory Spectres could be chosen from any race, but in practice they were nearly always selected from the Council races. Having a Spectre chosen from their kind often raises a particular species' profile on the Citadel. Many alien races had been part of the Citadel for centuries without a Spectre being chosen from within their ranks.
Ambassador Anita Goyle and later her successor Donnel Udina had both been desperate to get a human into the Spectres, as this would would have been the first step toward humanity gaining a seat on the Council.
The first candidate had been David Anderson, the very man I was now sitting with, but his observer, Saren Arterius, sabotaged the evaluation, falsifying his report to make Anderson look responsible for casualties caused by Saren's own ruthless tactics during a mission. After Saren submitted his report, the Council refused Anderson entry into the Spectres.
Humanity's second candidate was of course Commander Shepard, whose outing of Saren as a renegade Spectre resulted in her induction into the Spectre ranks.
Another tidbit I'd learned was that in the last thousand years only two people had ever turned down an offer to become a Spectre, both of whom were asari matriarchs. Which made me wonder if they'd known something that I didn't.
Spectres had no command structure. They answered only to the Council, and in some cases the Council preferred not to know the exact details of how a Spectre accomplished their mission. Spectres acted in any way they saw fit, either with careful diplomacy or ruthless force, being officially above any law.
Some people, like Executor Pallin, saw Spectres as a potential risk because they are not constrained by the law, while others are in awe of them. In fiction, such as in the blasto movies which featured a hanar Spectre. Spectres are portrayed as super-agents always on some mission to save the galaxy. Which in Shepard's case at least was sort of the truth.
Candidates for the Spectres typically has to gain years of military or law enforcement experience before even being considered. The screening process involved background checks, psychological evaluations, and a period of field training under an experienced mentor. Because of the rigorous selection process, while Spectres might sometimes use unorthodox methods but they rarely go rogue. When it does happen, the only solution is to revoke their status, then send another Spectre after them. No one else would be up to the job.
Spectres had supralegal authority, as such they could arrest people and lock them away without trail or even execute a person. They were exempt from oversight.
"A lot" I said to the Admiral as he poured us both a drink "I'm not sure what to do".
Anderson passed me my drink before sitting down.
"In the short term I don't think it would change much" he said "A trainee Spectre is mentored by another Spectre, sometimes for years, and while the Council don't like it they restored the Commander's status so she's allowed to train you. I suspect the Council intended to place you with one of their more loyal agents, like Lt Williams who will be working with a salarain called Jondum Bau".
Ash was a bit of a racist so I could see that ending badly. Then again she might make it and become a damn fine Spectre.
"A Spectre called Tela Vasir actually volunteered to take you under her wing" Anderson informed me "But some information recently came to light that caused the Council to disown her. In fact they're sending Jondum Bau and Lt Williams after her".
Tela Vasir had been working for the old Shadow Broker. I'd suggested to Liara that it would be wise to expose the asari Spectre since we didn't want another rogue Spectre running around causing mayhem. We'd had enough of that with Saren.
"Why did the council even consider me?" I asked "After all I'm working with Cerberus".
Anderson sipped his drink before replying.
"Udina wanted another human Spectre badly after humanity joined the Council" the admiral told me "Someone he could control or at least have some influence over. The Council agreed that Shepard should have a successor, but the whole idea was mostly forgotten about when the first Normandy was destroyed. We all had bigger things to worry about, and it was considered wrong to replace the Commander, oh and you brought us a living Prothean, which took up most of the Council's attention for some time. But then he Commander came back to life and Udina decided that humanity needed a Spectre that the Alliance could order about".
Which wasn't really the point of a Spectre. They were suppose to be agents of the Council not assests for a single government to call upon when it needed dirty work doing.
"We started trying to find someone a while back" Anderson was now telling me "and the first place we looked was the crew of the Normandy. We needed someone experienced so we turned to the officers and worked our way done. Joker was out for obvious reasons".
His brittle bones of course.
"Kaiden Alenko died on Virmire, and then there was you" Anderson said next "You quit the navy, but that didn't mean you couldn't be a Spectre, and then there's Lt Williams. Despite what she might tell you its not her family name that held her back, she's a fine solider and good to the people under her command, but she can offend officers. She doesn't respect her superiors as much as she should".
Having been her superior officer I knew this to be true. Ash was somewhat of a control freak at times, and if you earned her respect she'd follow you into hell, but she didn't give her trust easily. Shepard had lost Ashely's respect and trust simply by being associated with Cerberus.
"Udnia supports Williams because she is military, and she's earned her officer rank" Anderson told me "But the other races they remember who brought the last living Prothean to them, and some of us do remember who commanded the Normandy during the Battle for the Citadel".
At least somebody did.
"A lot of Spectres are former STC or former asari commandos so the fact that you're no longer an officer in the navy isn't that big of a concern, for the other councillors at least. I don't think they like the idea of the next human Spectre also being Alliance military. Spectres are suppose to answer to the Council not to Alliance Admirals. It can led to divided loyalties".
Which could be dangerous.
"Humanity, or least the human on the Council, is officially backing Lt Williams, but there's really no reason why we can't have three human Spectres" Anderson said "In fact were looking for a few more people to become trainee Spectres, with the Reapers on their way I think we'll need them".
Anderson didn't say anything for a while, he seemed lost in thought about something, but soon he came back to reality.
"I called the Commander and Shepard has already agreed to take you on as a trainee if that's what you want" the Admiral let me know "A formality really since you've been working in the field with her for a while now, heck you were there on Eden Prime when this all started".
Yes I'd been a Shepard's side though some tough times, and I'd not only survived I'd helped. Perhaps me being a Spectre wasn't such a strange thing after all.
"As for Cerberus since Shepard agreed to turn herself over once the mission is complete, the Alliance isn't going to kick to much of a fuss about you gaining such an important post" Anderson assured me "at least not when you're sharing new tech. The brass knows we have more gain from you taking on the Collectors".
Anderson adjusted his uniform and shifted in his seat. Something was making him uncomfortable.
"Still Shepard is going going to throw herself under the bus for the rest of you, Joker, Chakwas, any other former Alliance people, she'll take full responsibility for everything" Anderson said.
So that was why she'd offered to take be taken in by the Alliance, she was going to sacrifice her own freedom and take all the blame for working with Cerberus so that none of the other former Alliance people would get charged with treason.
"You're not officially working for Cerberus" Anderson said "You're working for Shepard so once this is done Spectre or not they'll still be a place for you under my command. I'll need you when the Reapers arrive, you've seen some of what they can do. The Alliance isn't stupid they'll look the other way because we need you. Even Shepard will avoid any actual charges".
I'd given some thought to what I'd do for Mass Effect 3. So far neither Liara or I had found anything info on the Crucible, and we only knew for certain that the plans could be found on Mars. There was a certain temple on the asari home world that most likely had a complete set of blueprints for the device, but it was a government funded temple that was no doubt much more secure now than it would be doing a Reaper invasion. We couldn't just go there and start messing about with the temple, at this point in the time line I was sure that the asari would kill to keep it hidden.
Perhaps the best place for me would be back with the Alliance as a Spectre. Then I'd have access to Mars, and I could claim that the Cipher, gave me knowledge of the Crucible and the Catalyst. I might at least be able to shorten the war even if I couldn't stop the Reapers from invading.
"So Gothic" said Anderson "What do I tell the council?".
(Line Break)
Dark Star Lounge. The Citadel.
"Its nothing Gothic," Tali stated, with a voice that brokered no argument "Miranda is just being silly".
Miss Lawson chuckled,
"Tali. I know what I saw" she said.
I'd only just gotten to the bar so I'd missed the start of this conversation.
"Do tell Miranda" I requested.
Tali shot me a murderous glare, or at least I assumed she did, but I ignored it.
"Well, this was a few days ago" Miranda said "I went down into the shower rooms, and you wouldn't believe what I found her doing".
"Please Miranda" Tali pleaded "I'm begging you. Stop there".
"Oh, but I'm hardly done," the Cerberus operative said "So, like I was saying, I went to down to the showers, it was the middle of the night shift, and I was sure I could hear low humming sounds coming from inside a cubicle. I wanted to have a look, because I thought some machine had broken down but the cubicle was locked so I went to get one of the engineers, but as I was started to leave, the hums grew more intense, and I knew something was wrong, so I went to check. I activated my omni-tool, managed to override the lock, the door opened, and I find Tali sitting on the floor of the shower cubicle. Now guess what the humming sounds were".
I wasn't given a chance to guess.
"They weren't hums at all. What I heard were moans" Miranda told me. "So, just what was our devious and sneaky little quarian doing?"
I could guess.
"Her moans were the product of something very naughty, and she was obviously desperate for no one to find out. She was trying out her nerve-stim pro deluxe edition unit".
I knew what one was.
"Its a program quarians use to masturbate" Tali admitted, now refusing to be embarrassed "And Deluxe Edition is the expensive version. It has a remote control I was going to give you access so you could control it, you know for fun, but I got curious".
I just looked at her.
"Come on I'm horny" she was now saying "I have a muscular, well-toned, prime specimen of a mane...keelah ancestors help me!"
Tali clasped her hands over her vocalizer. And I looked down at myself. Well I was well-toned. Due my meta-vore perk and an active life style I kept my muscles looking good, plus I had a genetically engineered body as well wonderful medical care.
"So you caught Tali masturbating in the shower" I summarised "Even with the suit on that must have been funny".
Besides I was sure that many women on the Normandy were doing that in the shower. There were many handsome men on the ship for them to think about.
"Anyway enough humiliating of Tali" I said to the two women "I called the others here to share some news, and I think its worth celebrating".
That got their attention.
"What is it" Miranda asked.
I couldn't help smiling.
"Okay I'll tell you now. The council offered me status as a Spectre trainee" I told them "And I accepted. Shepard is officially training me, so assuming everything goes well once we're done with the Collectors I'll be made a Spectre".
Shepard and I already discussed this. She'd agreed with Anderson's plan to use our operations against the Collectors as Spectre training for me. Once the Collectors were stopped my training would be at an end and the Council would decide if I should become a Spectre or not.
"Oh so soon I could be dating a human Spectre" Tali said "My father is really going to hate you. He doesn't care much for non-quarains and I know he's never approved of Spectres".
Tali hadn't gotten past the whole teenage rebellion thing then.
"I'm surprised" commented Miranda "I don't mean to say that you don't deserve this, but you're working for Cerberus. Doesn't that make you a terrorist in their eyes".
That was apparently a human view point on the matter. The asari had and possibly the salarains had a different view on the matter.
"Either of you ever heard of Beelo Gurji?" I asked.
They both shook their heads.
"He was the very first Spectre" I told them "He was a salarian operative who was accused of using 30 civilians as bait to flush out his target. Instead of incarcerating him, the Council released him and offered him the chance to establish the Spectres, which he accepted. The Council has a very different opinion of what makes an agent that the Alliance does".
Miranda then ordered a bottle of something to celebrate with.
"I bet they're thinking that they'll be able to get more technology out of you directly if you work for them" the Cerberus operative mused "And I know the Illusive Man wanted to recruit you for more than just the Cipher. He must have seen the same potential in you that the council does now".
Perhaps he had.
"Well I'm going to get well and truly drunk" I decided.
Why not, this was worth celebrating.
(Like Break)
Apartment. The Citadel.
"Hey everyone, come on in!" I greeted.
It was time for the party to begin. This was the final night of the Normandy crew's shore leave, the issue with Thane's son having been dealt with as best it could be, and we were all determined to end it on a high note. I was still somewhat wasted from last night and I intended to keep the buzz going just in case this mission against the Collectors got me killed. Granted for me it would be a game over rather than actual death since the rules of Jump Chan would cause me to sent home rather than let me be killed.
Joker had originally suggested the idea of throwing a party somewhere private. The whole crew had loved the idea, and we had agreed to save it for the last night. I had an apartment here on the Citadel, which Liara had arranged for me back when I'd been uncovering Prothean data discs in the Terminus Systems.
I had used this apartment to access my cosmic warehouse a few times, but I preferred to use hotel rooms for that as my apartment was a place to relax and not worry about Jump Chain.
"Drinks are in the coolers at the bar. We have levo and dextro beer, wine, as well as some ryncol for those of us who can handle it" I announced.
Ryncol was an extremely potent liquor created by the krogan. Its exact composition was unknown to anyone who wasn't a krogon as it melted delicate equipment when tested, but it was clearly a very strong drink, given that it was created by and for the krogan. Humans could drink it, and being gene modded I could handle it better than most. Still it wasn't something you wanted straight up if you valued your liver and kidneys.
"Snacks are in the kitchen. Everyone, make yourselves at home" I continued by saying "But more importantly, have a good time! Cortana start the music!"
Cortana, who was playing the role of dumb VI, did as I wished and a play list Tali had put together, which contained songs of many different genres from different races, began playing. Like any crew on shore leave everyone headed for the bar as soon as they could to either grab a bottle of beer or to pour a glass of wine, the firsts of many I assumed. Meanwhile I headed for the kitchen table in order to sort out the snacks.
"What do you have?" Jacob asked me.
The sight of food had drawn the men to the table.
"Tortilla chips, nacho cheese, tiny sandwiches, tiny sausages, mini pizzas, some sort of dips, devilled eggs" I answered "You know party food. I've also got some dextro-acid stuff that I know nothing about"
Before Garrus could explain what turian food I'd put out Shepard called everyone to the living room.
"Everyone, come here for a minute!" she shouted. "Let's get a photo to remember this. Come over by the couch".
Soon Jacob, Grunt, Thane, Garrus, Mordin, Zeead, and I stood directly behind the couch, while Jack, Goto, Joker, Kelly Chambers, Miranda, Shepard and Samara took seats on the couch or on chairs. Once the photo had been taken we all went to find something to eat.
(Line Break)
The party was a success judging by how happy everyone was.
"Don't worry, we can always… *hiccup*… get another Normandy" Tali was saying We'll just call up… *hiccup*… Cerberus, and ask them to please build us the SR-3".
It was obvious to me that she was already drunk. Tali had gotten nervous about the party, so I'd suggested that she have a drink to take the edge off. She'd apparently had more than one.
"So have you two set the date of your bonding ceremony yet?" Garrus asked Tali and I.
Wait what.
"Its too early for that Garrus" Tali chided "Don't scare him off".
She then hiccuped some more.
"Have I ever told you how cute you are when you hiccup?" I asked the quarian.
Tali giggled
"Have I ever told you how cute you are?" she replied.
She tried to kiss me, but then she remembered she had her visor on which everyone else found amusing as it just led to her softly headbutting me.
"So, is this a Tali-Gothic love nest? I hope we aren't interrupting anything you two might've been… planning." Garrus asked with a sly grin.
I was grateful that Miranda wasn't within earshot, it must be strange for her given that Tali and I had become a romantic partnership. But she seemed to handle it well. Perhaps because she saw becoming part of my harem, which I hadn't really created yet, as a sort of business arrangement. For her it was an opportunity to gain something, for Tali it was as well, but I got the sense that she coming along for me more than for it could benefit her people.
"*hiccup*… Wouldn't you like to know, Garrus" Tali answered.
(Line Break)
Later in the evening I was sufficiently buzzed, and I found myself at the bar. Other people were here too, and sufficiently buzzed also. Tali was totally wasted, which was amusing us all.
"Tali was just about to act out the differences between the original Normandy and the SR-2" Garrus informed me.
Tali raised up her arms like wings, and began her impressions.
"First, the ventilation system. On the SR-1, it sounded like 'shhuuuuuum, shhuuuuuuummm'" she informed us "Of course, the SR-2 is much bigger, so they upgraded. Now it's more 'wuhwuhwuhwuhwuhwuuuuuh'".
Everyone started laughing.
"That's actually what it sounds like!" Jacob agreed.
"Now, if you move further up it's more of a 'tktuh-tktuh-tktuh-tktuh-tktuh'" Tali added.
"Of course, over by the med bay!" Miranda correctly guessed.
"So which one's better?" I asked.
"The SR-2 out performs the original, but we wouldn't have the SR-2 if it wasn't for the original Normandy" Shepard commented.
"It was a great ship!" Tali declared.
"To the Normandy!" Shepard toasted
She lifted her glass into the air.
"To the Normandy!" everyone toasted back.
(Line Break)
Apartment. The Citadel.
The next morning I was hung over, but everything was peaceful. People had either left at some point or had found somewhere to sleep. I was alone in the bedroom with Tali.
"I asked Miranda if I could have a little alone time with you so she's off sorting out supplies for the ship" the quarian told me "How she's not hung over I have no idea".
Miranda had way more gene enhancements than I did. I wouldn't be surprised to find out that she couldn't get drunk.
"I have something for you," Tali said, her voice was hesitant, but I could tell that she was determined "I can't exactly link suits with you seeing as you're not a quarian, but I can link with this".
That was when she held out the helmet she'd been holding. I accepted it with a slightly confused look. Then I became more confused as Tali attached a hose to the side of the helmet.
"Oh, right. Sorry," I said when I finally realised what Tali was doing.
She wanted to link suits with me, two quarians did this so that they would adapt to each other. It was something to do with how their immune systems worked. I didn't know the details and I had gene enchaned immune system and a healthy body so I didn't get ill as such I couldn't understand the importance of this act.
Still it meant something to Tali so I slipped the helmet on and secured it in place. It was certainly an unique experience. The helmets were built for comfort, this made sense considering the quarians had to wear them their entire lives, so it was a nice change from the helmet I normally wore when I went into battle.
"Hey I can do my Darth Vader impressions now" I joked.
Rather than reply to that Tali attached the end of the hose to her own helmet and pressed some buttons on her omni-tool. I then heard a soft hiss as the air began circulating between Tali's suit and my helmet.
"I know you were drunk when agreeing to this, but its still matters to me" Tali was now saying "Do you remember that part of last night?".
No I did not.
"So you don't remember that we all went out to get holo tattoos?" the quarian enquired.
Holo tattoos were small devices not actual tattoos, they went under the skin and projected a small hologram onto the skin, making it look like a tattoo. Only it could be switched off and it could sometimes be seen through clothing since they could glow. Like my L5 implants they were easy to maintain and no trouble as long as they were kept clean. In fact getting one inserted into the body took mere moments given how advanced cybernetics were in the galaxy. Still I'd have Chukkas take a quick look at the holo tattoo once I was back on the Normandy.
"Zeead ended up big facking tattoo of a dead collector" Tali informed me "I think he actually got that lasered on. Jack tried to get you to have a naked woman with a sword riding a thresher maw tattooed on your back, but you decided not to".
In this universe they had a thing called omni-tattoos, they were like normals tattoos only done with some sort of lasers and were applied using a specialised version of the omni-tool. They still hurt, but they were done in a fraction of the time that regular tattoos took to apply.
"Hold on Tali" was now saying as she lifted up the back of my shirt "Oh dear".
I had a bad feeling about this.
"You have a naked woman, who is riding a thresher maw while carrying a sword tattooed on you back" Tali informed me "I'm sorry Jack must have changed your mind when I wasn't looking".
Not that big of a deal. I could get it removed without scarring.
"What about the holo tattoo?" I asked.
"Its on your chest, and its the word 'Normandy' in dark blue, we all got that one" Tali informed me "Then I went a little crazy and got an omni-tattoo somewhere else".
That must have been risky, unless the tattoo parlour had come with a sterile room, which it might have done since it would have to cater to different races.
"It was Jack's idea" Tali was now saying "She told me that you'd find it hot".
I had to know.
"Where did you get tattooed and what does it say?" I asked.
I had a feeling that I already knew.
"Let's just say its a name and its somewhere down in the lower wards" Tali answered "You can look for it next time we're in your warehouse. You know give it a proper inspection. With your lips".
Due to the odd nature of the Cosmic Warehouse, Tali didn't have to worry about infections while within the warehouse.
"Sounds like a plan" I replied.
I then reached for the helmet I was still wearing.
"How long do I have to wear this thing?" I asked.
Tali didn't answer that question.
"Just let me enjoy this" she said.
I figured this could take a while.
"Wait did Jack convince you get a dead Collector tattoo as well?" Tali wondered.
I'd worry about that later.