A/N: Italics indicate internal thought.
Bold indicates Shepard Reaper speech
Bold Italics indicate Reaper internal speech
Also for Shepard's energy blades, think of a cross between an omni-blade and a StarCraft Psionic Blade
Please comment and review
This is my first attempt at a story, so I am open to constructive criticism. Also If anyone has suggestions for the story feel free to give them.
In response to reviews
Kyle77776: I'm not sure I'd be able to handle two stories at once. In regards to what you're asking, I am planning to incorporate something like that into the story but a bit further down the line.
The Guard Dogs of Hell
Location: Unregistered Vessel
Date: 18th February, 2181
Time: 1600 CST
John was leaning against a bulkhead, staring out of the window opposite him, watching the blue light give way to a view of stars as they exited yet another Mass Relay.
Joker was sitting in a nearby chair, his frustration getting more obvious as he tapped his foot with increasing frequency. As the ship approached another Relay and their view was once again enveloped by a blue light, Joker stood up. "Why has it taken us so many jumps? It feels like we're going in circles," he remarked impatiently.
"We are," Kaidan said from behind them, he was standing in the cockpit nearby, right behind Miranda who was sitting in the pilot's chair, "we double back on our path several time to throw off anybody following us." Joker raised an eye brow before asking, "But didn't we leave in a ship belonging to the Consort?"
"This ship isn't registered Jeff," John cut in turning to his friend. He turned his attention to Kaidan, "And the Cerberus fleet has probably only survived this long by taking every precaution to protect the secret of its location, right?"
"Yes," Miranda said, joining in the conversation, "the number of people who have actually left the fleets location is incredibly small. This is actually going to be the first time a ship had travelled to the fleet's location in a few years."
Shepard looked between the two of them, "So explain this to me," he said, "You two are slaves of one of the most prestigious and public figures in Citadel space, and you know the location of one of the Citadel's biggest enemies," from his tone it was clear that he expected an answer.
Kaidan and Miranda looked at each other momentarily before Miranda responded, "as far as anyone else in Cerberus knows, we are undercover agents gaining information. The truth is before all of that Sha'ira found us, she told us of her goal, and suggested we join Cerberus to make it a reality,"
John narrowed his eyes, "And you choose to follow her just on her word?" he asked.
Both Kaidan and Miranda looked away slightly uncomfortable, "we believe in her goal of making a better galaxy," Miranda said plainly. Shepard wasn't convinced, "It's more than that though," he concluded, "there's a personal reason you are so loyal to her."
Kaidan took a deep breath before answering, "she saved me from being snatched up by the Hierarchies biotic training program. She also helped me contact my parents,"
Miranda's hands were trembling slightly, as she recalled some bad memories, "she found me when I was running from something terrible. She saved me and helped me protect something very dear to me."
Shepard flinched slightly at how hostile he may have sounded, "I'm sorry if I seemed...She went out of her way to help me too."
"It's okay you didn't know," Kaidan said before his gaze was drawn back to the window, "anyway it looks like we're almost there." Joker and John looked out the window to see the ship enter a large asteroid field. Shepard's interest was piqued as he saw the asteroids gleam slightly.
"These are metal ore asteroids," he stated. "Yeah, which is why that is able to remain undetected," Kaiden responded pointing out of the window, John followed the line and his eyes widened slightly at what he saw.
He had never seen one in this state before, without its rotating rings, it was hard to recognise it from a distance, but there was no denying it. It was an inactive mass relay.
"Entering proximity of Tartarus relay. Activating scanners," Miranda announced. A painstaking thirty minutes passed. "No other signals detected. We're all clear to enter,"
John turned to Kaidan with a confused expression, "I thought that we needed to give relays a few moments to activate before we can use them? And isn't activating a relay going to attract the attention of the Council,"
"In most circumstances you'd be right," Kaidan said, he then frowned slightly, "but that is one of the boss's incredible breakthroughs. He was able to develop a programme which would activate the relay for only a second. Don't ask me how he did that, no one has any idea," he quickly added noticing their shocked expressions, "but it essentially allows us to use this relay without anybody else knowing."
And just as Kaidan had explained, as the ship approached the Relay, a small blue light appeared, and the rings began to move slightly. Neither of the two Mindoirians had a chance to be surprised by this as a bolt of energy struck their ship, and they were flung light years away in a streak of light. In their wake the light of the Relay instantly died down, and the rings return to being stationary.
000
Location: Cerberus Flotilla
Time: 1700 CST
There was a tiny flicker of light from the systems inactive relay, as the small ship entered the system, after which the Relay, like its counterpart returned to its dead state. The ship then entered the nebula.
John immediately stepped up to the window, so he could get a better view. He saw the large imposing forms of dozens of ships, ranging from frigates to full sized dreadnoughts. And beyond those, he could see thousands of flickering lights, each indicating the presence of other ships. John was momentarily stunned.
"I never expected this many ships," he muttered.
"Yeah," Kaidan chuckled, "the Council really likes to downplay how large we actually are."
"I don't get it," Joker almost shouted, "if you have all these ships? Why don't you just take the fight to those bastards?"
"This may look like an impressive number of ships to you," Miranda responded, seemingly irritated by his ignorance, "but we still don't have nearly enough ships to fight the Council in a drawn-out conflict."
John hadn't torn his gaze from the window, his eyes narrowed slightly, "I was also expecting these ships to be wrecks, barely holding together…. But these are high quality warships…. And newly constructed," He observed.
"That's thanks to them," Kaidan said, while pointing out the window.
Just then a massive structure entered their view. It was colossal, the size, easily exceeding any of the ships, and John could see why. The structure was almost two kilometres in length, from the front it had a segmented arc shape, and within the empty space Shepard glimpsed another warship under construction.
"Mobile dry docks…" Shepard said fascinated.
"Indeed," Miranda remarked, "with them we are able to construct an entire ship in open space," her face took a slightly grim expression, "They were personally designed by the Illusive man."
"How did you find resources to construct all this stuff? And completely hidden as well?" John asked curiously.
Kaidan fidgeted uncomfortably, "we have the location of several unknown systems rich in resources, even a couple of garden worlds, that the council don't know anything about. We mine our resources from there."
"Should I hazard a guess and assume that your boss gave you the locations of those systems," John asked suspiciously. Their silence was all the answer he needed.
"So essentially… All of Cerberus's strength is from one person," Shepard mumbled under his breath.
I have to be careful of this man, sounds like it could be incredibly dangerous, Shepard thought as their small ship made their way to large skyscraper like space station.
000
Location: Cerberus Flotilla Headquarters, Chronos Station.
Time: 1720 CST
The small ships docked at the station and the four passengers walked down a ramp into a small, and completely deserted docking bay.
Joker scratched the back of its head slightly, "Okay… I was expecting an armed escort, you know, making sure we weren't Citadel spies or something," voicing his thoughts out loud.
"And you're right to expect something like that," Miranda responded, "standard Cerberus procedure is that you are immediately detained for several weeks, while a thorough background check is run on you to ensure there is no chance that you might betray us to the Citadel,"
"Then why is it different for us?" John asked suspiciously.
Kaidan crossed his arms and looked away nervously. Miranda pursed her lips while considering what to say, eventually she looked at him, "Shepard I promise you, I was not the one to inform him about you, but somehow he is aware of what you've done and what you're capable of. As a result, you have gained his personal interest. He actually wants to speak with you immediately,"
"Damn Shep. We just got here and you're already getting in good with the boss," Jeff joked while elbowing Shepard lightly. John's eyes only narrowed in response to what Miranda had said.
If Miranda didn't tell this Illusive man about me…. then how the hell did he find out?
John was brought out of his thoughts as the four of them approached a small elevator, "Kaidan, watch over Moreau while I take Shepard to see the Illusive man," said Miranda.
John turned to his friend, "you gonna be okay Jeff?" He asked, he was still extremely suspicious about this place and all the people here. He was particularly afraid of the Joker being used as leverage against him.
Jeff's response was to give his typical grin, "I'll be fine John, you go meet the new boss," he said, giving a thumbs up.
"You don't need to worry about anything Shepard. At the moment the Illusive man is the only one who knows you're here," Kaidan added.
John took a deep breath to calm himself down, before he followed Miranda into the elevator. The two them stood in silence as they ascended. "So, is there anything you can really tell me about your boss?" he asked, partially with sarcasm.
Although her composure remained flawless, John could tell asking that had made her nervous. "I will say this. You've never met anyone like him, so don't assume you have," she responded plainly.
What the hell does that mean? he wondered.
John didn't have much time to think about Miranda's words as the elevator suddenly opened. He was finally offered a view of the mysterious mastermind behind Cerberus. The Illusive man was currently sitting in his chair facing towards them. At first glance, Shepard didn't think the man was much of in terms of appearance, he looked to be in his sixties with greying hair, and was currently enjoying a drink. Of course, Shepard had learned from his experiences never to judge something based on appearance. Hell, look at him, no one would consider that he was responsible for several dozen deaths.
However, once the old man looked him directly in the eye, John couldn't help but flinch. The moment he felt the gaze of those lifeless orbs fall upon him, a terrible feeling of cold flooded his body.
What…. What the hell is this…. Why the hell does…? He couldn't even formulate thoughts to what was happening.
John quickly regained his composure, although he had no doubt that the man had seen it. The Illusive man proceeded to study every inch of Shepard with his eyes in complete silence.
"Welcome Jonathan Shepard. I'm glad to see you agreed to come." The man's voice was almost as bad as his stare. It was cold and rasping, like the life behind the voice and died a long time ago, but it kept going on.
The man looked past him to Miranda, "Well done for bringing him here Miss Lawson," he congratulated. John looked over his shoulder at Miranda, "How important are you to this group?"
The Illusive man answered Shepard before Miranda could, "Miss Lawson has been working undercover at the Citadel for several years, providing vital information on the Citadel's upper echelon."
Shepard crossed his arms over his chest, "I was told you granted me private audience. Should I be flattered?" Shepard questioned, trying to keep all emotion out of his voice.
If the man was offended by Shepard's apparent lack of respect, he didn't show it, "I don't think you give yourself enough credit young man. I believe with what you have to offer, you would be invaluable in the coming war," he responded.
Shepard grimaced slightly, "what I have to offer?" He asked. Although John already had a pretty good idea of what this man was referring to, he was just praying to whatever deity existed in this galaxy, that he was wrong.
A small smile graced the Illusive man's lips, and the aura of coldness the man was giving off, suddenly exploded in intensity. Shepard thought he would actually drown in oppressive waves of the man's frigid ambience. For the first time in what felt like months, John actually felt fear.
"Please do not waste my time with pointless questions Shepard. You know exactly what I mean. The Illusive man activated his holographic display and pressed a few buttons. Several screens appeared, each replaying an event.
Shepard looked at them his eyes widening slightly in horror. He saw the fight where his powers first awakened. The time he had drained the life out of those rapists. The fight where he had fought over a dozen enemies at once. Even his massacre through Dantius's apartment.
"This power you wield is quite fascinating, with some additional training you could become an unstoppable warrior. You could become the spearhead of our counter-attack against the Xeno slavers," the Illusive man explained. He leant back in his chair slightly and the icy atmosphere he was projecting rescinded slightly before he continued, "but of course, one man, no matter how powerful, is not an army. That is why I believe you can offer us more than your immense strength. You can also offer us your mind."
The Illusive man brought up a still image of Shepard wearing his exo suit, "quite a feat of engineering I must say. The Asari and Salarians have been toiling for centuries to create something like this. Yet you accomplished it using supplies from a junkyard," he said, a fair deal of admiration in his voice.
John let out a sigh before looking at the ground, "don't get too excited, that armour only worked for me because of this," he held up his right arm and activated his power, causing several bolts of red lightning to dance across his forearm. Miranda took a step back in slight shock at seeing Shepard's power so close for the first time. What was strange though was the Illusive man's reaction. John thought he might have imagined it but for a split second he thought he saw the older man view his power with a look of insatiable hunger, unfortunately, it vanished before Shepard could confirm if he was seeing things or not. Pushing the thought out of his mind Shepard continued, "and anyway I kept blowing every component in the suit with my power, it's useless in a drawn-out fight."
The smile didn't leave the Illusive man's lips, "understandable, but I feel confident that with the scientific resources that Cerberus can provide, you will find solutions to these issues," he said.
This man's been giving me a bad feeling ever since I got here. Is working with this guy really the best way to achieve the goal of liberating humanity? I really don't think were fighting the same war.
What does it matter if his vision is different than ours? We will use him to achieve our desires… And if he would stand in the way of our rise…. Then we will crush him as we will crush anyone else who would stand in our way.
Shepard put all of his focus into not showing any reaction to the voice's words, if he hadn't, he might have seen the Illusive man raise an eyebrow as if in response to his inaudible exchange.
Sha'ira told me I was supposed to work with these people, but show them a better path towards our goal.
John looked back at the Illusive man, and boldly took a step towards him, "I'm gonna make this very clear for you. I am here because I want to liberate humanity from the forces that enslave it, but I will do it my way. So, any weapons or technology I make will only be deployed as I see fit. Any missions I partake in will be ones where I've been given all the relevant information and I will carry them out as I choose. I was told I have the potential to save this galaxy, but I am the one who will decide how I will do that."
The Illusive man didn't show any signs outrage or annoyance. In fact, the expression didn't seem to change at all from his seemingly eternal neutral one. "Very well," he said, "Miranda will take you to your new quarters. Tomorrow she will show you the laboratories, we can begin your work, she will also be assisting you with developing your abilities."
The Illusive man gestured with his right hand as the blue holographic avatar of EDI appeared, "EDI will also be assisting you in your endeavours with us,"
The hologram turned to Shepard, a smile forming on her virtual face, "I am more than happy to assist you in anyway Shepard," she said.
John blinked at the avatar for a few moments before turning back to his enigmatic host, "You created a genuine AI," he stated, partially stunned.
"There is no need for concern. I assure you, you will find her help invaluable," the older man responded, with a small amount of pride in his voice.
Shepard kept his gaze fixed on the Illusive man for a few more moments, before he turned around and walked back into the elevator. Miranda turned to follow him before suddenly, "one moment Miranda, I would like a private word with you," the leader of Cerberus called out to her. Shepard looked over his shoulder at her, his expression clearly asking if she was okay with that, she merely nodded her head in response.
As the elevator began to descend, Miranda walked back to stand a few feet in front of the Illusive man's chair. He took a long drag from his cigarette before speaking, "we both know why you're really here Miranda. We both know your loyalties truly lie with her," his tone wasn't accusing, it was more one of stating a simple fact, however Miranda still flinched slightly from the straightforwardness of the statement. She recomposed herself before responding, "my loyalties lie with those who want to make this galaxy a better place for everyone," she stated through gritted teeth.
He actually gave a small chuckle at that remark, "and she believes she can manipulate him into following her path," he asked rhetorically. Miranda narrowed her eyes at that, "we are not going to force him down any path, we are simply going to remind him that other paths exist for him to choose."
"And you believe he will choose your path. Do you really think he will choose that after everything he has seen? Do you think you will choose that when he sees what horrors these people are truly capable of? You think he will believe they deserve to be spared?" He asked amusement evident in his voice.
Miranda looked down at the ground for a moment, "maybe he won't," she said looking him in the eye, "but I can hope he chooses a better way."
The Illusive man's eyes narrowed dangerously at that, Miranda took several steps backwards at the sheer aura of hostility the man was now giving off. The man gritted his teeth, "hope is when the universe is feeling its cruellest."
000
Location: Cerberus Flotilla Headquarters, Chronos Station.
Date: 19th February, 2181
Time: 0900 CST
John stood in the middle of one of Cerberus' R&D workshops. Unlike back on the Citadel, where he had been forced to work in a cramped, poorly maintained basement, this room was full of some of the most advanced technology the Galaxy had ever heard of… and even some that he was fairly certain it hadn't.
John was positioned in front of a large table in the middle of the room, a fully detailed, three-dimensional, holographic image of the exo-suit he had used during his gladiator fights was displayed from it.
John cracked his knuckles as he looked around all of the technology he had at his disposal, "let's get started."
000
Location: Cerberus Flotilla Headquarters, Chronos Station.
Date: 3rd March, 2181
Time: 1300 CST
Shepard was hunched over the workbench, working on a foot shaped structure. At the current time, the device simply looked like the framework, with no armour plating whatsoever. Shepard's focus was currently on attaching what looked like, several miniature thruster engines to the back of the leg.
John activated his omni-tool, "the theorised leg servos within the final suit, would enable the user to survive drops from great heights without any injury. However, the addition of thrusters, would enable the user to carry out high altitude drops. Thrusters would not allow flight, but they would enable the user to slow their descent to safe impact speeds."
Shepard frowned, "unfortunately being able to use the thrusters, ultimately depends on the suit being able to generate more energy than our current designs are capable of."
000
Location: Cerberus Flotilla Headquarters, Chronos Station.
Date: 17th March, 2181
Time: 1200 CST
John was now standing in what looked like a testing room, a large open space, with several monitoring devices positioned in the corners.
In a neighbouring room, sitting at a large console was Miranda, looking at Shepard through a large observation window. Joker and Kaidan leaning against the back wall behind her.
"All right Shepard we're ready to proceed," Miranda spoke into the microphone, while pressing a few buttons on the holographic keyboard.
Jeff turned his head slightly, to look at Kaidan, "I know you told me a bit about Shepard's freaky abilities… are they really this crazy? He asked unconvinced.
"Just wait and see Moreau, he's been training hard with them for the past few weeks," the man responded.
Shepard's eyes suddenly began to glow a familiar red, and lightning of the same colour surged around his body. Some bolts even flicking off and hitting the walls of the room.
Miranda turned her attention to the monitors, "I've seen this several times over the past few weeks, but I still can't grasp how much energy he actually generates," she said under her breath, in a slightly shocked tone.
She once again spoke into the microphone, "all right Shepard we have seen how you use this energy to augment your physical abilities. In addition, we have also seen how it can be used to power devices. Today we are going to study when you manipulate this energy into stable spheres that release the energy upon your mental command. Now focus on trying to manipulate energy into a mealie weapon."
Shepard nodded and then brought up his right arm to his face. He began to focus and energy surged around his right forearm beginning to intensify. The signs of strain became clearly visible on his face, and a small bead of sweat ran down his forehead as the red energy began to condense around the back of his forearm. Seeing this Shepard tried to concentrate even harder, unfortunately the energy made no further change and eventually he let his right arm drop to his side limply and bent over, clutching his knees panting heavily.
I need to figure this out…. I need to get stronger
000
Location: Cerberus Flotilla Headquarters, Chronos Station.
Date: 20th March, 2181
Time: 1200 CST
John stood holding two cables, which connected to a device that he had been working on for the past few weeks.
An ARC Battery.
Unlike the flimsy prototype he had constructed back at the salvage yard, this one looked to be of much better quality.
His time at Cerberus was currently dived between his projects like this, improving his powers, or learning about how things really happened in the first Contact War. From sources other than the propaganda vid's he had watched at school.
Miranda stood nearby watching several monitors, "ready to begin," she stated.
Energy surged around Shepard, it travelled down the cables and the ARC battery began to light up.
Miranda checked the readings, "measuring against what we've detected to be the maximum energy you can generate… The battery is currently holding 10%... No signs of structural failure…. all readings are still green."
Hearing this Shepard increased the energy he was generating, the glow of the battery intensified.
"Now reaching… 25%... all signs still normal…. Shepard be careful, we don't want to increase the energy too fast," Miranda said, slightly alarmed.
Shepard paused for a second, letting Miranda's words sink in for a minute, "we didn't build this thing for safety Lawson," he replied before increasing the energy to it maximum. The red energy surged along the cables, the lights in the room began to flicker, and the glow of the battery intensified. Miranda's alarmed expression only grew as she backed up slightly.
With a final yell of exertion from Shepard, the lights in the room went out.
After a few seconds, power was restored to the room and the lights came back on. Miranda lowered her arms, as she realised that the danger had passed her shocked expression turned into a scowl, "what were you thinking you idiot? You could have blown a hole in the station," she yelled.
John however wasn't paying attention to her; his gaze was fixed on something else. Miranda turned to see what he was looking at, and a small smile graced her lips.
The ARC battery was illuminated with a red colour. She quickly brought the monitoring screens back up, "energy readings are stable…. no signs of structural failure of the device…. we did it," she whispered. She walked over to the table and gently picked up the device, marvelling slightly as she looked it over.
"Yeah, we did, we created a portable battery that is capable of an insane amount of energy…. and of course, it's only something I can use," John said the last part with a great deal of annoyance. Miranda turned to look at him, "John this is just the first step towards…." she tried to say but he cut her off, "the first step towards what Miranda?" He asked, frustrated, "Even if these batteries could help us provide the power, we need for the designs we've got…. We can't just rely on me to charge all of them"
"I know we can't," Miranda stated calmly, "like I said this is only the first step. As you've learned, Cerberus has a lot of theoretical designs that could provide us an incredible advantage against the forces of the Citadel, but they require a way to power them successfully. We don't need a battery Shepard. We need a generator."
John gave 'tsk' before turning round to look at her, "well that's a great goal to reach for Lawson, but in case you've forgotten, I am apparently the only person who can generate this kind of energy," Miranda's response was merely to look at him with a smug expression, "why do you think I spent all that time observing you?"
Miranda activated her omni-tool, bringing up several screens. One showing the blood cells in one of his arteries, the other showing his muscle cells, and a third showing his bone structure. All three of the images had one thing in common, they all showed each individual cell generating the red energy,"
Shepard was momentarily mesmerised at the site. All this time I've been practicing with his power…. I never realised how deep it actually went.
"As you can see the energy you generate is channelled into every cell of your body, be it skin, muscle or bone. I've spent the last few weeks studying its around-the-clock and I still have no theories about the source of the energy, but I have observed something else," as Miranda explained she zoomed in to an individual blood cell before continuing, "as you channel the energy into your cells, it amplifies the energy. I believe that we can create a synthetic replica of this reaction and incorporate it into the battery."
John's gaze switched a few times between Miranda and the images on the screens, "you really think this is possible…. I mean if we pull this off, it could be…. this isn't gonna be an easy task," he tried to form a sentence.
"Then it's probably best that we get started right away," Miranda stated confidently.
000
Location: Cerberus Flotilla Headquarters, Chronos Station.
Date: 10th April, 2181
Time: 0300 CST
John was standing in the middle of the testing chamber, he brought his right arm up and concentrated. The red energy surged around his forearm, as he strained the energy began to solidify again. Eventually it formed into a red blade, starting at his forearm and extending over his knuckles by fifteen inches.
I finally got it stable…. But it requires so much focus just to keep active, he thought, all the while straining to keep the energy stable.
"All right Shepard, you've stabilised the energy. Now it's time to test it out," Miranda spoke looking through the observation window.
Shepard stepped in front of a large slab of metal, approximately the same size as he was. He brought his arm up and delivered a slash into the large chunk of metal.
The blade cut cleanly into the slab, the millimeters of metal surrounding the cut warped from the heat generated. Unfortunately, Shepard could immediately feel the increase in force he had to apply to keep the blade active, and in the end, he was only able to cut ten inches into the slab before he gave out and the blade vanished.
Shepard held his knees as he panted heavily.
Still not strong enough…. Not nearly strong enough.
"You are improving John," Miranda's voice called out to him, "you have to remember this isn't something instinctual like before, you're going to need to practice with this."
John could only grit his teeth in response.
000
Location: Cerberus Flotilla Headquarters, Chronos Station.
Date: 23rd April, 2181
Time: 1200 CST
Shepard was sat at the work bench staring intensely at an ARC battery, both hands were clenched around his head as his fingers trembled slightly.
"RAAAAAAGH," with a yell Shepard stood up, sending the chair flying backward. He brought his fist down onto the battery, crushing it to smithereens and buckling the desk.
"Well you showed that desk whose boss," a slightly amused voice called out from behind him. "We've tried everything Miranda. We've tried every combination, every permitation of every known element. And we're nowhere. Nowhere near recreating the reaction," John ranted in frustration.
Miranda wasn't fazed by his outburst, "there is something Sha'ira told me 'if you limit yourself by what is, you will never see what could be," she quoted.
"How is that suppose to help us with this?" John asked irritably.
"You're still looking at this through too narrow a scope John," Miranda said simply before turning on her heels and beginning to walk away.
"Miranda," he called after her, "why are you so eager to see me completing this? Why can't you do this?"
Miranda looked over her shoulder at him, "because I'm trying to remind you of something," she said. "What?" he asked impatiently, "that you have more to offer the Galaxy as a builder, than as a fighter," with that Miranda left the laboratoty.
Shepard looked back down at crushed desk, only what is?... too narrow a scope?... What the hell does she mean.
I've tried everything… every option that exi- Shepard's thoughts ground to a halt.
Everything that exists, his eyes widened in realisation, just like the energy in my body has never been seen before, the answer to our problem must be something that doesn't exist… yet.
John quickly ran over to nearby terminal, "to amplify the energy photons…. that must mean the atom has….. proven has specific number of neutrons," he began muttering as he created a 3D model of an atom.
Once he was finished, he took a step back, "EDI," he called out, and the avatar of the AI appeared on a nearby terminal, "how may I help you Shepard?" she asked, "run this atom blueprint through the ARC reactor simulation," he said eagerly. "You are aware that this is a non-existent…." The AI tried to explain, "just do it," he cut off.
It only took a nanosecond for EDI to carry out the simulation, but it felt like hours to Shepard, "simulation complete…. the test is positive… This element would work in the creation of ARC reactors…. However, it is impossible to synthesise."
Shepard only grinned in response, "we've got a particle accelerator in this place, right?"
000
Shepard put a pair of tinted goggles on. He was standing in the centre of a particle accelerator, where he was placing a small metal disc, about 5 millimeters in diameter, in a frame. He walked over to a section of the accelerator which possessed viewing windows, revealing a small prism inside.
"What's all this?" Kaidan called out, as he and Miranda approached John.
Shepard responded with a massive grin on his face, "I think this could be the answer we were looking for," he paused for a second, looking past them, "Jeff not with you?" he asked.
"He's using his time to take extra lessons…. You know they're already calling him a prodigy when it comes to flying a starship," Miranda responded, a mild amount of surprise in her voice.
"Trust me I'm as surprised as you are," Shepard turned his attention back to the accelerator, "EDI, start it up," with that the machine hummed in to life.
Through the window a small blue beam became visible, and began to increase in intensity. After a few seconds of waiting, the prism caused the blue beam of energy to be redirected directly towards the centre, where it hit the piece of metal John had set up.
The small disc began to glow as the beam continued to bombard it. Eventually a huge light exploded out of it, illuminating the entire room and causing all three occupants to shield their eyes. Reacting quickly Shepard shut down the accelerator.
Shepard rapidly made his way towards the centre of the experiment, Miranda and Kaidan trailing behind him. Grabbing a pair of pliers, John picked up the small disc which had now gained an aethereal-like blue glow. He couldn't prevent a massive smile from forming on his face.
EDI's avatar popped up, "congratulations Jonathan. You have successfully created a new element."
"Well, let's not celebrate just yet," John shot back. He took the small disc over to a prototype ARC generator that he and Miranda had been designing for the past few weeks. He slotted the newly created element into the centre of the circle, and took a step back as the casing closed over it.
Suddenly the generator began to glow, which spread around the entire ring until the device was radiating a wonderful blue light.
Miranda quickly brought up to her omni- tool to analyse the new device, her gobsmacked expression only increased as she saw the readings, "the amount of energy this thing is giving off…. It's incredible. Imagine all the designs we could power with this…. Imagine what upscale models could do for our ships…."
John gave a small chuckle as he turned to face them with a genuine smile on its face, "actually… I've got a few ideas I want to try."
000
Location: Cerberus Flotilla Headquarters, Chronos Station.
Date: 16th May, 2181
Time: 1400
John was sat down at his workbench, installing something into the fingertips of some kind of metallic gauntlet, when Kaidan walked into the room.
"You're wanted to see me John," the biotic called out.
Shepard quickly put down his tools and spun towards his visitor, "yeah, I got something I think you're going to love," John quickly walked over to a nearby shelf, picked up one of the boxes and brought it to the ground. He opened the case and presented Kaidan with a gleaming katana like blade.
Kaidan looked at it quizzically, "is this one of the new monomolecular blades?" he asked as he gripped the hilt of the sword.
Shepard only smiled in response, "sort of, I know you've been practising with them and have shown to be really proficient, so I modified this one myself especially for you. Try activating your biotics."
Kaidan looked at John confused, before shrugging. Kaidan's hand began to glow blue, and his eyes widened in amazement, as his energy was absorbed into the hilt, travelled through several veins across the blade, and caused the very edge of the blade to glow blue as well.
Kaidan was completely stunned. Seeing his confusion, John decided to explain, "I designed the blade so that it could channel and store your biotic energy inside it. With this you can let out powerful biotic waves by swinging the sword. It's activated by a button on the hilt."
"I don't know what to say," Kaidan responded completely stunned.
"Well you could answer a question for me," Shepard asked sheepishly, his expression then turned more serious, "Kaidan… in the months we've gotten to know each other… All the training you've been helping me with…. are we friends?"
Kaidan looked down at the ground as silence passed between the two men, "at first I was only doing all of this because Sha'ira instructed me to," John looked down disappointed at that, Kaidan looked up again with a grin, "but after seeing everything you've done these last few months… I can definitely say… I would like to be friends," Kaidan said sticking his hand out.
John smiled in response as he shook Kaidan's hand.
000
Location: Cerberus Flotilla Headquarters, Chronos Station.
Date: 20th May, 2181
Time: 1800
John stood still, in front of him several LOKI mechs activated and began to raise their pistols.
Red energy began to surge around Shepard's forearms, mirrored by the red glow his irises began to give off. Then two energy blades formed on his arms, both glowing red.
As the LOKI mechs began to take aim, John leapt forward, too fast for their optics to register. As he landed, he swung his right blade outward, bisecting a mech on his right, a swing from his left arm decapitated another. He performed a downwards diagonal slash with his right arm, carving through a mechs chest, then plunged his left hand forward, stabbing through the head of the forth mech. With another swing of his left arm, he destroyed another mech.
Shepard's eyes turned towards the mech directly in front of him, while another of the machines took position behind him and aimed its pistol at the back of his head. Reacting quickly, John crouched down and did a 360-degree spin, slicing through both of them at the waist. Just as Shepard was about to make himself ready for the next opponent, he heard the sound of servos behind him. He looked over his shoulder to see that one of the mech's was still functioning, even without its legs, and was attempting to crawl towards him. He put an end to that by kerb stomping its' head into the ground.
Shepard deactivated the blade on his right hand and punched the nearest mech, caving in its chest plate and sending it to the ground twitching. He re-activated his blade again and sliced through another mech coming from his right. He threw both of his arms forward, plunging his blade into two other mechs, reducing them to scrap.
Three mechs opened fire on the human, but their shots were simply absorbed by a red barrier. John ran forward and swung his arms outward in an X motion, slicing through all three of them. Only one of the machines remained. Shepard pulled back his right arm and deactivate the blade on his left, suddenly the blade on his right arm began to change shape, and energy shifted into the form of a massive five clawed hand, swinging forward, he shredded the last mech into pieces.
John took a moment to look around at the scrap, that was all that remained of the combat mechs, "not bad," he said, praising himself.
000
Location: Cerberus Flotilla Headquarters, Chronos Station.
Date: 30th May, 2181
Time: 1200
Miranda stepped into the workshop, and immediately looked around with a confused expression on her face, realising that almost all the lights and been turned off. Her attention was drawn to strange noises coming from the far side.
Shepard's been down here for several days straight… What the devil has he been working on?
Through the darkness she could make out the shape of several robotic arms moving around a figure, that she assumed was Shepard, although she could barely see him, obscured by shadows.
"Shepard?" She called out to him.
The arms began to move away, clearly finished with their task. The clank of metallic boots against the ground echoed across the room, as the figure turned around to face Miranda. Her eyes widened in shock and the tablet she was holding smashed against the ground as it fell from her grasp.
000
the Illusive man sat in his chair looking out at the view of the star that the massive wall window in his office provided him.
He took a long drag from his cigarette, "so you've finished," he asked.
Behind him, hidden in the shadows, a pair of red glowing eyes looked at him.
"Yes," came a menacing voice, altered to sound more machinelike, "I believe I have also gained clarity on what the next step of the mission should be."
The Illusive man lifted his head in curiosity slightly, "and what would that be?" He asked his mysterious visitor.
"The people of this galaxy will need a dramatic example to shake them out of apathy. I cannot do that as Jonathan Shepard. I cannot do that as a mere human. As a human I can be ignored and destroyed. If I have an identity, I can be targeted…. and so can those close to me. Nobody can know who I am. You, Kaidan, EDI and Miranda are the only ones who will know. But for this monumental task I will have to become a symbol. As a symbol I will be incorruptible, indestructible, everlasting."
"I see the logic behind such a course of action, but when you meet the admirals in a moment, they are not going to be happy that they do not know who you are. They are suspicious enough of the secrets I keep," the older man responded.
"The new weaponry and technology I offer will hopefully be enough to placate them. Regarding that, you should focus all your resources into increasing the production of the new weapons and the new ships. No more wasting good men on suicide bombings."
"The bombings while crude, are central to reminding the galaxy that Cerberus is still active. Without them people will begin to believe that we have lost our will to fight."
"Let them believe that. Let them believe we are beaten. Let them gain a false sense of security. When our forces are amassed, we will strike at them with such power, that they will wonder why they ever thought of us as weak. And I believe the admirals will agree with me on that front."
A small frown formed on the older man's face, "is there anything else you wish to tell me about?"
"Yes, have you reviewed my newest ship design,"
"I will admit it is truly a testament to your intellect. Construction has already begun,"
"Excellent. In addition, if this is to work most effectively, I am going to need to establish the identity of Jonathan Shepard as well. I will need your connections within the Alliance to manage this."
"Very well, for now what are you going to do?"
The figure of Shepard turned away, "something long overdue."
000
Location: Shepard Farmstead, Mindoir.
Date: 31st May, 2181
Time: 1300
John slowly made his way along a dirt path. When he had arrived at the spaceport, it had been encouraging to see that a large amount of the colony had successfully been rebuilt and that life seemed to have returned to normal.
However, that mood quickly darkened, as he saw how many buildings had very makeshift repairs, obviously from the lack of resources available. He had even witnessed several buildings that still remained the bombed-out hovels that they had been reduced to in the slaver attack. He seethed with rage as he saw, several families squatting in the wreckage or even on the streets.
As he walked along the path to his family's farm, he walked by several other farms. Farms that had been abandoned as there was nobody to maintain them anymore, the inhabitants likely serving as a slave to some xeno on the other side of the galaxy, or buried in the very ground they once tended. He had known some of the people who had lived in those farms, he had called them friends.
As he walked over the hill, he finally saw it.
He stood there frozen, his breath caught in his throat, tears of happiness beginning to form in his eyes as he saw his home.
After so long. After enduring so much. He was finally home.
He saw two figures tending the fields, in front of his house. They both turned to look at him, their eyes widened and they dropped the farming tools they were carrying. It felt like an eternity past before they suddenly started running towards him. John couldn't control himself any more. He ran towards them, almost failing to suppress his inhuman speed.
The three of them met, John embraced his brother Hector, and his sister Jenny. Tears streaming down both of their faces as they grasped him with all of their strength, fearing he would be torn away from them in a second time.
000
John sat on the couch in the living room, Hector and Jenny finally pried themselves away from their older brother, but merely so their younger siblings could have a chance to embrace the brother they hadn't seen in almost a year.
Arthur and Molly Shepard were currently clinging to either side of John like a pair of koalas, crying their eyes out. John had an arm cradled around each of his siblings, trying to make up for the months he had been gone for them.
Three pairs of rapid footsteps came towards them, and the last three members of the Shepard family entered. Hannah Shepard's eyes immediately began to tear up, she brought her hands up to her mouth, unable to express how she felt with words. Abigail Shepard immediately ran forward, John quickly squeezed himself out of the embrace of the other two of his siblings, and engulfed her much smaller form in a massive embrace.
"I missed you, I missed you so much big brother," the thirteen-year-old said between her tears.
"I missed you to Abbey, I missed all of you," he confessed.
Shepard looked over his youngest sister's shoulder, and saw his father James Shepard. John was slightly concerned at his father's expression, he could tell that he was happy to see his son alive, but it was obvious there was some underlying concerns that he wanted to address.
John stood up again and walk towards father, whatever concerns his father currently had he still pulled his long-lost son into an embrace, "I am happy beyond words to see you alive Jonathan," John quickly returned the embrace, "I'm so happy to see all of you again as well."
The Shepard patriarch turned to his wife, "Hannah can you please take the rest of them outside I need to speak to Jonathan in privates," he said.
Hannah's expression turned grim, but she nodded and quickly escorted the other Shepard children out of the house.
James turned his attention back to his eldest son. John inwardly groaned at the look his father was giving him. He knew that look.
It was disappointment.
Of course he's disappointed…. there's no way he hasn't found out about what happened… I threw away everything he taught me, Shepard voiced in his head.
James took a deep breath, "I won't beat around the bush Jonathan. Your recent actions have me and your mother very concerned. No contact with you for months. Then we get a message from Elizabeth about what you've been doing."
John looked down at the ground in shame, "dad, I'm not gonna pretend that I'm the same person you raised. After everything I've seen, I'm not sure I can ever be that person again," John said regretfully.
John looked his father in the eye, "and that's why I'm afraid I can't stay here, I honestly can say that I'm a good person at the moment. I want to earn the forgiveness of everyone I've hurt, especially Liz. So I'm enlisting in the Alliance."
His father's eyes widened in shock, "you're planning to enlist?" The older Shepard frowned, "That is out of the question John. Elizabeth told me about what happened to you, you started fighting for a good purpose originally, but you became addicted to the violence, to that warped idea of gaining revenge on them…. And even after you finally realised what you had become, when you've finally come back home, when you can put all the horrible things you did behind you….. You're telling me you want to fight again," The man's volume increased as he spoke.
"It's not just about what I did dad," John replied, matching his father in volume, "all the horrible things I saw done to humans while I was on the Citadel. They didn't deserve any of it. I can't just stand by anymore. I needed to do something to stop this."
James only became more agitated by his son's answer, "so your saying you want to go and fight slavers. Do you think that that sounds noble? Did you think killing those gladiators was a heroic act John? Is this how you plan to make up for what you've done?" The man was yelling now.
This old fool…. He would demand that you follow his path…. That we obey him….. Slice this useless old man's throat and be done with it, Shepard internally shuddered at what the voice and asked him to do.
"I know you and mom taught me that I should always try and find alternatives to fighting, but do you understand what it's really like out there? Thousands of families are torn apart every day. Thousands of innocent humans die in Turian weapon factories or worse. We can try every other option, but in the end, strength is the only thing they respond to. You told me that if I had the strength to spare I should use it to fight for those who can't fight for themselves. And as horrible as the things I did in the pit were, they taught me something. They taught me that I have a lot of strength, so I'm gonna use it to save as many people from slavery as I can," John yelled back.
James clenched his fists, "your sister…. She went behind both your mother's and my back to join this foolish 're-forged sword' program. By the time we had found out we couldn't do anything to stop her. I didn't want any of you to join the military. I didn't want any of you to experience what that kind of life did to you. I didn't want you to become heartless killers," he said slowly, he looked back at his son, "I may have already lost Elizabeth to this, I will not lose you, not after we just got you back. You will not enlist in the Alliance. I FORBID IT!" he shouted.
John clenched his teeth at that remark, "you forbid me?" he whispered, "YOU FORBID ME?" he yelled, "I have spent months, where everybody forbid me from doing things. I'm forbidden to look them in the eye. I forbidden from entering the same room as my master. As soon as I got my freedom, I decided nobody else would decide my fate, that includes you father," he got right up into his dad's face, "and are you really trying to take a moral high ground with this? I learned about what you really did on Torfan."
His father's eyes immediately widened and he backed away slowly, but John continued, "all those Batarian casualties you were responsible for…. How many of them were actually soldiers?" He asked rhetorically, his father was trembling now, "yeah I know the truth. You killed hundreds of Batarian slaves, women, children, people who are just as much victims of the Hegemony as I was. But the Alliance swept all that info under the rug and paraded it around as your great victory."
"Tell me dad, is that why you really came to Mindoir? To try and hide away from what you did?" John asked, rhetorically.
His father was still trembling as he looked down at his feet, "The reason…. the reason I didn't want any of you to enlist…..was because…. was because I didn't want you to become like me," James whispered.
John turned away from his father, "whatever your reasoning for not wanting us to be in the military is irrelevant now. I am going to enlist in the Alliance, but if you are going to use your influence to prevent me from doing so, then let me tell you this. I found out about other ways to fight, after all 'hell always needs guard dogs' right,"
His father's breath caught in his throat, quickly realising what he was talking about. James looked back down at the ground with a resigned expression on his face. With his back still turned John said, "I'm glad we understand each other dad. I won't make the same mistakes as I did before, I'll make sure to keep in contact with the family. Goodbye." With that he walked out the door.
James Shepard was still staring at the ground so that he barely noticed someone else approach him. He lifted his head and saw his wife Hannah. The woman had tears streaming down her face. She held her head in her hands and fell to her knees. James quickly kneeled down and wrapped his arms around her.
"We failed him James…We failed to prevent him going down this path, just like she said we would fail," she sobbed.
"We tried our best love, we tried everything we could," James responded, struggling to hold his own composure.
"So, it's coming true isn't? Everything she said will happen, is going to happen now, isn't it? My boy. My precious boy. I can't bear the thought of him becoming that." The woman said as she completely broke down.
"We can only heed advice now Hannah. All we can do is hope."