AN: I'm really glad people are picking up that Sam's a Pre-Heresy Marine, as I felt I wasn't
dropping enough foreshadowing on that subject.
AN2: I discuss a medical phenomena that may or may not actually happen in real life. I know something like this happens, but I don't know if it happens the way I describe it. Also, I don't know if it's more accurately described as a 'parasitic' or 'vanishing' twin. I go with the latter, as there's no distinct 'second person', but people with more medical knowledge than I, please comment.
Illium
Sam gave a hearty, maniacal laugh as he wove his heavily modified Caestus Assault Ram, which he had christened The Deliverer of Damnation, through heavy traffic at high speed, as Liara screamed.
"I think I know how you know Shepard! You were his driving instructor, weren't you!?" Liara managed to collect herself enough to yell.
"...Actually, I was." Sam replied honestly. In his experience, the best way to trick someone expecting you to lie was to tell the truth.
"Nice try, but I wasn't born yesterday! There's no way you would have admitted to it if it were true!" Liara exclaimed, grabbing onto her seat as if her life depended on it.
Case in point.
Sam juked out of the primary traffic lanes, and set course for the Relay.
Unknown Location
A giant strode through the halls with a purpose, the automatic doors barely opening in time to let him pass, until he reached his destination.
The massive room was lit solely by the massive red star outside the main viewport. The red glow was joined by the giant's own eyes, and reflected off his coal-black skin.
"I take it you have news?" The other figure in the room asked, back turned to the giant.
"I have discovered the reason behind the… 'error' in the monitoring equipment." The Giant replied, in a heavily accented voice.
"I take it from your urgency that it was not mere mechanical failure."
"No. I believe that Commander Shepard is a Perpetual."
The figure froze.
"That is… unexpected. Good for us, at the moment, but unexpected."
"I also have a theory as to how he... acquired this trait."
"Go on."
"He bears the Gene-Seed of an Astartes. However, He has not undergone any surgical modification. All of his implants appear to be...natural. He also lacks the Black Carapace, Omophagea, Betcher's Gland and, quite distressingly, the Progenoid glands. That, and he does not have a fused ribcage."
"Would they not have shown up during the Alliance's medical checkups?"
"His extra lung, stomach, kidney, and heart were dismissed as an odd occurrence of a 'vanishing twin'.This phenomena is when a twin dies early in a pregnancy, and their remains are absorbed by the remaining child."
The other figure sighed. "I know what a vanishing twin is, I do not need you to explain it to me. After all, I believe I am more versed in the medical sciences than you. But I digress. So, they assumed that the organs, as they were not 'full size', were absorbed by him as an embryo, while the rest of the 'twin' was more thoroughly absorbed."
"Correct. The other organs were either small enough to avoid comment or notice, or assumed to be nothing more than remnant tissues of the 'twin'."
"The question is, where did he get Astartes DNA from? You are the only one I am aware of."
"I am afraid that I am at a loss myself. Whoever Shepard's...benefactor is, he is skilled at avoiding notice."
Some time later, Hagalaz
After entering stable orbit, and locating the Shadow Broker's vessel, Sam turned to Liara and Garrus.
" I am about to employ a maneuver I learned from a former enemy. I will require your participation." He stated.
"Who was he?" Liara asked, fishing for a lead on the Giant.
"Warboss Hedtrasha." Sam honestly replied, smug in the satisfaction that that would tell her nothing.
She frowned as she arrived at the same conclusion.
"So, what do we need to do?" Garrus asked.
"Shout 'Waaagh!' once we start moving."
Garrus looked at the Giant dubiously.
"Seriously? That's it?"
Sam nodded.
"Completely serious. That's it. Well, apart from strapping in."
"Okay...If you insist…" Garrus responded in confusion.
Once the two aliens were fastened in their seats, Sam pointed his ship at the planet…
And opened the throttle to full.
"WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGH!"
"Waaaaaaaagh!"
"AAAAAAAAAAAIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!"
"NO, NO, NO! 'WAAAAGH!' BACK OF THE THROAT!"
The Shadow Broker's mercenaries were completely caught off guard when a small vessel came in like a meteor, and rammed into the Shadow Broker's ship hard enough to knock it off course, as well as launching all of the troops patrolling the exterior clear off the deck.
Groaning, Liara applied medigel to herself.
On the plus side, the massive, hydraulic, heavy-duty restraints kept her in place throughout that 'maneuver', so she wasn't splattered against the wall.
On the minus side, the massive, hydraulic, heavy-duty restraints kept her in place throughout that 'maneuver', so she was left absorbing quite a bit of recoil from the impact.
Dealing with bruising, whiplash, and maybe a few fractures was in her future, but for now, setting up a doctor's appointment could wait until she was done with the Shadow Broker. To her surprise, Garrus was looking rather uninjured. Garrus gave her a bewildered look, and shrugged.
She glared at the Giant, who, despite his face being completely concealed, radiated smugness. He was also completely unruffled, as if this glorified boarding torpedo was a luxury yacht that had just seamlessly, gently docked with a cruise liner.
"And that is why it was important to yell Waagh."
AN3: A bit short, but that last line was just too good a stopping point to pass up. Also, sorry about the long wait. Has it really been two and a half years since my last update? Unfortunately work has been busy lately, and when it hasn't, I'm so out of practice my half finished chapters look alien to me. But, I figured I might as well publish SOMETHING. This tiny chapter has been sitting half-finished since 2018. If it ends up sucking, it's not like another year of staring blankly at it would suddenly fix it. That being said, be sure to let me know of any problems, and I'll see what I can do to fix them.
AN4: Caestus Assault Ram- a small vessel used by Astartes Chapter for boarding actions. By 'small' I mean small- 17 by 6 ½ by 12 ½ meters(length-height-width). For reference, that's only slightly larger than a Mass Effect KODIAK. (12.3 by 5 by 7 ½). Comes with a Magna-Melta (for melting their way into the hull) and grenade launchers (for clearing up the landing zone before departure) However, it also can have grav-plating for in-atmosphere use and missile launchers. (Which Sam sprung for). Normally NOT for use long-range or long-term, but Sam has made some modifications to it over the years. Still, not exactly a luxury cruise liner.