Well, it's been a while. Eh, what can I say? Life got busy. But here's the next chapter, a bit later than I'd like. As I'm sure you're about to find out, our human friends from Mass Effect are a little...different from what we're used to. I won't ruin it for you, but let's just say that SolForce is not the Systems Alliance, and the SIC is definitely not Cerberus. Even if Blue Section did poach most of their best personnel. As I'm sure you'll discover, biotics have been replaced with psions in this universe, since SolForce doesn't have any cores large enough to 'accidentally' create biotics like they did in canon.
Some other stuff you might be interested in though. I've been planning out my next Codex entries, and I've come to the realization that there are way too many topics to cover before the plot takes another twist and I have to focus them on 'current' events. So I've put another poll on my profile, and you can vote on which ones you'd like to see in the near future. Don't see what you want on there? Just send it over as a PM or a Review. As usual, I try to respond to everything I receive.
"And now the Council are just accepting them! I can't believe this."
"Ashley, I understand the whole Zuul situation is irritating, but you really should calm down."
Lieutenant Jacob Taylor, formerly of SIC Blue Section, smirked quietly to himself as he worked his way through another set of exercises. Though he didn't really approve of the surveillance bugs Miranda had insisted on planting throughout the Trade Section Q-Ship they'd been assigned to, he did have to admit that the results were at least educational. He'd learned five new swear words in the last half hour alone.
"Calm down? The Council is rolling out the freaking red carpet for a race of mind raping monsters. What is there to be calm about?"
"I'm sure the Council were adequately informed of any possible risks. They aren't total idiots. Besides, the Prester Zuul aren't like the ones we fought in the Zuul War."
"Because now that they've found Jesus, they're sweet and cuddly? Bullshit. Kaiden, this isn't some cartoon where you can redeem people with the power of love and positive thinking. They're monsters that break people's minds for fun. This is just another trick, I'm sure of it."
"I'm sure if they were really hiding something, the Liir wouldn't have accepted them."
"Why, because those genocidal tuna-eaters have been so trustworthy and infallible thus far? They wiped out the Batarians, but at the same time they welcome the Zuul with open arms! The Rippers are worse than those four-eyed bastards ever were."
"Apples and oranges, Ashley. Those were two completely different situations. It's not like the Liir didn't help us out in the Zuul War. They practically led the charge most of the time. If the Liir say that the Prester Zuul are on the level, then I trust them. Have some faith."
"A religious joke? Cute. But you're just taking their side because you trained on Jump Zero. I swear, you Liir-Touched are such bleeding-hearts."
One of Jacob's eyebrows rose. Lieutenant Alenko had been on Jump Zero? He felt a brief stab of irritation toward Miranda for keeping that information from him, but quickly let it go. Information control was her specialty. If he'd needed to know, she'd have told him.
"It's called optimism. You should try it some time. I don't need to have trained with a Liir to have some faith in the basic intelligence and decency of other people, alien or not."
"Yeah. Go ask Solomon Blasky and everyone else on Nova Maria how well having faith in the decency of aliens worked out for them. Don't get me wrong, I'm not some crazed human supremacist or anything, but even you have to see that giving those psychos free reign based just on the word of some underwater hippies is a bad idea."
"And you can ask the billions that died in the Hiver/Tarka War how well judging a whole species on the actions of one group works. Look Ashley, we've been working together for how many years now? I'm your friend. I'm not asking you to calm down because I'm worried about your blood pressure."
Jacob stopped in the middle of his most recent set of sit-ups, focusing his full attention on the small room's glowing terminal. He suspected that he already knew what Lieutenant Alenko was alluding to, but he had to be sure.
"You mean those two Blue Section operatives we picked up? I know they're both psions like you, but neither of them had any Empathic talent listed on their files."
Sighing, the former Blue Section operative rose to his feet and began wiping himself off with a towel. Truthfully, neither of them had any real skill with Empathy, but the fact that their new Black Section teammates didn't trust them was certainly food for thought. He wasn't sure if he should be disappointed or impressed by their paranoia. Besides, a small part of his mind reminded him, it's not like you and Miranda are being fully honest about your mission either.
"That doesn't mean they don't have it. There's a reason they call the Blue Section TFC the 'Illusive Man'. The guy rations information like you wouldn't believe."
"I did think that putting two more psions on this team seemed a little strange. It's not like we were lacking for psychic firepower. So you think those Blue Section spooks are up to something? "
The corners of Jacob's mouth lifted slightly. They worked for Black Section and they were calling him a spook? They were the ones who spent all their time chasing ghost stories and space monsters around the ass end of nowhere. Lieutenant Alenko was about to continue when the proximity sensor Miranda had rigged in the hallway outside their small bunkroom began to flash. With a wave of his omnitool, he banished the surveillance feed and assumed a casual posture.
Miranda Lawson swept into their room with her usual air of dignity and professionalism, calmly pressing the lock icon as soon as the door slid shut behind her. With an aside glance that made her eyes glow imperceptibly, she activated the sound-absorbing privacy bubble she'd set up in as soon as they arrived. When the small light on the device turned green, indicating that it was active, her calm smile turned to a furious snarl and she shouted in frustration.
"Agh! That…idiot!"
"Wait, who's an idiot?" Jacob asked, pulling on a shirt and turning to face her.
"Shepard! That utter ass!" she swore, beginning to pace up and down the narrow room. "'I'll take it under advisement.' That idiotic Black Section spook!"
"I'm pretty sure I missed something here," Jacob remarked, trying to keep the smirk off his face as he remembered Alenko's earlier insult. "Start at the beginning."
"Our illustrious commander refuses to see reason," she growled, her face dark. "I explained that I have more operational experience in Council space, that I've been coordinating multiple agents against the Shadow Broker for years, but what do I get? The commander put me in an advisory role. Advisory!"
"What's so bad about that? Sounds like Shepard wants your advice."
"Because I should be leading the team, not stuffed into a corner and consulted for trivia!" Miranda snapped angrily. "This was my operation, and I'm not going to let some jarhead in power armor screw it up by stomping around looking for imaginary space monsters!"
"Look, I'm not crazy about getting transferred to Black Section either," Jacob stated in a firm tone. "But they're going after Leviathan, Miranda. I can't think of anything that's more important than that."
"I know Leviathan is important," she agreed. "This could be the biggest threat we've faced since the Zuul. The Council can wave their hands and call us liars, but we know the truth. Which is why I can't be sidelined like this."
Jacob arched an eyebrow inquisitively, inviting her to continue.
"I can do this. I know all the players, all the pieces, I've planned every operation," she explained. "But this Commander Shepard just drops out of the sky with a mandate straight from the Director, and suddenly I have nothing. It's Black Section's operation, and the Commander…is not what I was expecting."
"What were you expecting?"
"Anything else. Shepard's file is Legate's eyes only. Complete blackout. Not even background or tactical information. From that, I was expecting an analyst, an operative, or maybe a strategist. I got a grunt."
"Um, hi?" Jacob remarked, waving. "Remember me? Full tour in the VacForces as a combat psion? I'm a grunt, Miranda."
"I didn't mean it like that," she said with a dismissive wave. "I've been checking around. Apparently, Shepard leads every ground mission personally. Every single one! Did you know there's even an old Hiver War assault rifle hanging on the commander's wall?"
"Really? Didn't know Shepard went for antiques. Nice taste though, it was a good gun."
"The commander apparently thinks so," Miranda stated snippily. "It has a name. It's called 'Shannon'."
"So Shepard likes guns," said Jacob in a dismissive tone. "I knew a merc once who named his Zipper Jessie, and that guy was one of the toughest and smartest bastards I ever met. We've all got weird habits."
"I don't," she replied with finality.
"Stalking your kid sister isn't weird?"
"…I'm just looking out for her. We've both been in this business long enough to know you can't take the SIC's promises at face value."
"I hear that," Jacob agreed. "So how is Oriana doing?"
"She's fine. They've put her in an accelerated learning program," Miranda explained, her tone flat and face expressionless. "At this rate, she'll be headed to university in a year or two."
"She sounds like she's doing well then." They sat in silence for a moment, before Jacob decided to throw caution to the winds and just ask. "Are you ever going to tell her?"
"Tell her what?" she snapped, her foul mood returning. "She's happy the way she is."
"She'd be happier if she knew she had a sister."
"No. I'm not opening that can of worms," said Miranda angrily. "The less she knows about me, Father, the SIC, and the…enhancements, the better off she'll be."
"Don't you think-"
"The topic is closed," she returned in a tone that would allow no argument. He could feel the anger radiating off of her as she glared at him. Considering Miranda normally had some of the strongest mental shields of anyone he had even met, the fact that he could sense her emotions without trying meant that he had pushed too far. He backed down.
"So…" he began, changing the subject. "Did you tell our new commander about your unique qualifications?"
"Yes. I was planning on keeping them to myself, but Shepard's refusal to see reason forced my hand. For all the good it did. The idiot didn't even seem to care. Almost wish Father had been in the room. Watching all his expensive research and modifications get dismissed like that would have probably given him a heart attack. Assuming the bastard has a heart, anyway."
"Well, at least the commander didn't have a problem with it," remarked Jacob optimistically. "Not everyone in SolForce is a fan of genetic modifications. I've heard some nasty stories about first-gen colonists catching flack for their enviro-mods when they try to sign up."
"Which is of course why they have Father in a cushy research lab under 'house arrest'," Miranda scoffed. "He's even got his own STAFF. Ugh. This whole business is so disgustingly two-faced."
"No arguments there," he agreed. "If it weren't for all the people we've saved, I'd never have lasted this long trying to play spy. Shepard seems on the level though. You know, for Black Section."
"That's not a good thing." Seeing Jacob's quizzical expression, she sighed and continued. "Look. All this 'honesty' means that either the Commander really is stupid enough to fully disclose the details of a classified intelligence mission, or is so good at hiding the truth that no one on this ship can pick out what's really going on."
"So you're saying that Shepard's either recklessly naive or an evil genius?" he joked, his tone indicating his disbelief. "I don't buy it, Miranda. The commander's seen too much action to be naïve, and doesn't seem the type for an evil genius label. Didn't you just get done calling Shepard a 'grunt?'"
"Action where?" she asked accusingly, her eyes taking on the focused expression they always did when she started in on a particularly tricky problem. "All of Shepard's files are classified, remember? You don't do that for just an ordinary operative. And I know what I said. I have an eidetic memory. But it's possible that I only saw what the commander wanted me to see."
"So you think all this is an act?"
"Maybe. It's easy to fake a gung-ho attitude. But someone like that would know better than to insist on leading all ground missions personally. Even the dumbest grunt knows how to delegate."
"Still here, Miranda…"
"The commander could be a thrill-seeker," she reasoned, completely ignoring Jacob's protests as she began thinking out loud. He sighed and let her continue. He actually thought it was a good habit for her. Even if the words weren't really for his benefit, having her confide in someone else even peripherally was a big step from where she was when they first met. "But I doubt a battle-junkie would have gotten this far up the ranks, or get put on a mission this sensitive."
"Maybe Shepard is just a control freak," he put in, slightly emphasizing the last two words with a wry smile. A little teasing was good for her social development too, in his humble opinion.
"No, I thought of that already," she replied, so deep in her own thoughts she completely missed his subtle dig. "The commander didn't show any signs of OCD or anxiety when we spoke. And again, I doubt someone that unstable would be on this kind of mission. Are Shepard's missions really so classified they need a full Commander on hand at all times? What the hell could they even be investigating that's this sensitive?"
"Which brings us back to the original question," Jacob said, wearily resigning himself to his role as sounding board. "Just who the heck is Commander Shepard, really?"