Hello again, everyone, and welcome back to my Halo - MechWarrior/BattleTech - Mass Effect multicrossover. I've been thinking over the past few days of splitting this story up into two separate ones in order to make it easier for people to follow and read. The first story will start from the beginning and end at the conclusion of the Halo 3 story arc, while the second one will continue from there up to the current chapter. Let me know in the reviews below if that's a good idea or not.
Also, to those of you who read the latest chapter of Halo: Terminator, I included in it a tribute to Sean Connery. It's a reference to a scene from the film 'The Hunt For Red October', which I think is one of Sean Connery's best films. May he rest in peace. The world will not be the same with him gone.
As always, leave a review and enjoy!
Disclaimer: I do not own the Halo, MechWarrior/BattleTech or Mass Effect franchises. They are the respective properties and trademarks of Microsoft Game Studios, 343 Industries, Bungie, Electronic Arts, BioWare, FASA Corporation, FASA Interactive, Catalyst Game Labs and Piranha Games Inc. Any material original to the franchises belongs to their respective developers and publishers. Any material not original to the franchises is of my own invention. I do not own any music listed in each chapter. Any music listed belongs to it's original composers and/or artists.
BattleTech OST – 'Mech Bay Cantata
SLS/HDF Normandy
Docking Bay Delta-2
January 20th, 3081
Walking back into the enclosed docking bay for the Normandy, Shepard looked around to see what was going on today. From what he could tell, all that was happening was a routine maintenance check that was currently ongoing for the Normandy, as the corvette was still using experimental technology. As a result, there were only a few maintenance crews on each of the Inner Sphere's shipyards that were allowed to work on the corvette, given that it was using highly classified technology, and held highly sensitive information as well. Today, from the looks of things, the maintenance crew was performing maintenance on the experimental CAVSS that the ship made use of.
As he walked inside, he watched as Captain Anderson approached him. "Good to see that you're combat ready," the older man told him. 'I take it you have our orders, Shepard?"
"Correct," Shepard replied. "I assume they sent them to you as well, yes?"
"That's correct. We were originally going to be assigned to the 20th Naval Fleet as part of their Scout Flotilla. However, thanks to recent events, the First Lord has decided that we're needed in order to hunt down Tarak and bring him and Sovereign to justice for their crimes. Given what happened at that colony, I can see why the Coordinator is so disgruntled; his people had their noses bloodied, and he wants revenge."
"I agree. That bastard Tarak needs to be put down, but only if he forces my hand." After a moment, Shepard asked, "I thought we were going to be getting some more people onboard the ship."
"That's correct," Anderson replied. "Dr. Liara T'Soni is currently on her way from Kentares IV to Olympus Station. She'll be arriving… right now." As soon as he said this, Shepard heard someone walking over to their position. Turning around, that was when he caught sight of Liara.
By Asari standards, Liara was quite a beautiful woman, with sky blue colored skin, dark blue eyes as well as a figure that would've had many an Asari or Terran woman turning green with envy. Her face was bare of any facial paint, though Shepard had heard that some Asari living in the Inner Sphere used the colors of the Great Houses they lived in as inspiration for their own. Currently, Liara was wearing a white dress that had silver trimming on the skirt, while she was wearing black colored high heels. Still, the moment he saw her eyes, Shepard realized that Liara was more than capable of defending herself, even if she was not a member of the FedCom Defense Force, or the Star League Defense Force for that matter. As she approached, Anderson said, "Dr. T'Soni, welcome aboard the SLS/HDF Normandy."
"The pleasure is all mine," Liara replied, her musical voice echoing in the hallway leading to the loading tube for the ship. "The Star League and the Federated Commonwealth felt that my expertise was needed for this mission. Given the importance of what's going on, I felt that I simply couldn't refuse."
"Indeed," Anderson nodded. Clearing his throat, he said, "Shepard, this is Dr. Liara T'Soni, one of the NAIS' finest archaeologists. Liara, this is Lieutenant Commander John Shepard, the XO of the ship that I command."
"Good to meet you," Shepard nodded, shaking Liara's hand.
"It's good to meet you too as well," Liara replied. "I heard about what happened, as well as what was implanted in your mind. What you saw, Shepard, what you've seen, would've destroyed a lesser mind, or driven it insane."
"I guess my family's made of sterner stuff," Shepard remarked.
"Indeed," Liara nodded. "I also know you want to know if I can defend myself. The answer is yes, Shepard. While I'm technically a civilian, my mother, Matriarch Benezia, ensured that I would get the best training available in the Star League, given that she's one of the few Matriarchs that approve of the Star League, though not all of it's actions. As such, I know how to use weaponry and armor in order to protect myself."
"Glad to hear it," Shepard nodded.
"Shepard," Anderson added, "let's not be inhospitable to our guest."
"I know," Shepard nodded. "Come on inside. I'll show you around the ship."
"That would be nice," Liara beamed as they walked inside of the ship. After going through decontamination, they entered the interior of the ship. It was clear at this point that Liara was impressed. "I must admit, Shepard, when the Star League builds a ship, they do it very well."
"Indeed," Shepard remarked as he and the others walked down towards the CIC. "The Normandy is an advanced prototype, cutting edge technology. If you want to know where the Star League's funding is going in terms of technology, the Normandy is the place for it. I assume that…"
"I've been cleared on knowing it's classified details," Liara interrupted. "Yes, Shepard. The First Lord felt that it was necessary, given that I would be serving on this ship for quite some time. I heard that there were a lot of Forerunner inspired technologies that went into the design and manufacturing of this ship. To think that there is a species far more advanced than the Star League and the Citadel Council. It's mind boggling. I wonder what it will be like, examining a Forerunner structure. I wonder what their culture was like, their customs, their way of life."
"I know what you mean," Shepard nodded. "Over 22 years of scientific study and we've only begun to scratch the surface of what they were capable of, as well as their society. It would be much easier if we had an actual Forerunner that was still alive to tell us what their people was like."
"That would make things much easier," Liara admitted.
"Indeed," Shepard nodded. "Come on, I'll give you a tour of the ship if you like." For the next few minutes, Shepard showed Liara the interior of the Normandy, from it's impressive CIC, to the crew quarters, kitchen and medical bay, down to the Engineering Deck, where the Advanced Compact K-F Drive and AEZC was stored at. In that regard, it was the first time that Shepard had seen what a Compact K-F Drive actually looked like. On the outside, it seemed like a massive version of a cargo container, only he could see coolant lines that led to the WarShip's coolant reserves, as well as massive power cables that fed power into the actual drive. When an engineer opened up a maintenance hatch, he'd gotten a good look at the internals of the K-F Drive, from a small portion of the actual Coil Housing, to some of the other components inside. It was humbling to see how far Humanity had come from massive, WarShip sized JumpShips, to a K-F Drive that could comfortably fit inside of a DropShip, with room to spare.
As they left the Engineering Deck, Liara said, "I must admit, Shepard, the Normandy is a fine ship to serve on. If I'd been told a species had developed such an advanced form of FTL flight, I might've laughed. It's something else entirely to see a ship with such a drive installed."
"I know," Shepard replied. "Whenever I think of that, I always wonder how the leaders from Terra's past, such as Winston Churchill or Abraham Lincoln would've reacted upon seeing the Inner Sphere in all of it's glory." Hearing his Omni-Tool chime, Shepard looked down to see a message saying, "Report to Briefing Room Immediately." Looking up, he said, "I have to go now. Duty calls. I hope you enjoyed the tour of the ship."
"I did," Liara replied. "I think I will like working here. Have a pleasant day, Shepard."
"You too," Shepard nodded. With that, Liara went to get her office set up on the Crew Deck, while Shepard went to the grav-lift in order to get to the CIC Deck, where the Briefing/COM Room was located at. Getting to that deck, he walked through the doors on either side of the elevator shaft and entered the room in question. Looking around, Shepard found that Anderson was inside, as well as Saren, who was just finishing up an earlier COM text message from the SLIC. "Commander Shepard reporting for duty."
"At ease," Anderson replied. "I'm calling this briefing in order to determine what our next order of business should be, now that we have our mission." Walking over to the holo-table, he pulled up a holographic image of the Inner Sphere, as well as the Interuniversal Wormhole. "Given what we know about Tarak and Sovereign, it's safe to say that Tarak is looking for the Conduit, which he believes will allow him to bring back the Reapers."
"Any idea as to what the Conduit is," Shepard asked.
"No," Saren, who closed the COM link to the SLIC, replied. "We don't have sufficient intelligence to determine what the Conduit is yet. Given it's name, our current guess is that it's some form of FTL travel device, possibly a Mass Relay, that connects to Dark Space, where the Reapers are located at. What we do know, however, is that Tarak is scouring the majority of the galaxy, looking for it. As a result, we've ordered the SLIC Agent aboard Sovereign to continue sending back updates on Tarak's current whereabouts and objectives. Given the amount of leads that we have, however, it's imperative that we organize them in order to better achieve them, something that Anderson pointed out."
"Agreed," Anderson nodded. "With that in mind, I talked with Admiral Hood in order to best determine how we should tackle these objectives. Given what we know, we've decided to split up each priority target between our forces in order to achieve them in a timely manner. We'll handle things on our side of the Interuniversal Wormhole, such as hunting down Tarak and Sovereign in order to stop them from bringing back the Reapers, while the UNSC and Covenant work on stopping the Storm Covenant from doing any more damage on their end of things. Given that the UNSC has a better idea of what they're going up against than the Star League does, they'll be able to better handle their side of things, and vice versa."
"Agreed," Shepard nodded. That's a smart tactical decision, he thought. By allowing the UNSC to handle the Storm Covenant on their end of things, they'll effectively reduce the workload that we'll have on our end of things. "Anything else I should know?"
"Yes," Anderson nodded. "Urdnot Wrex has volunteered to come aboard the Normandy. His brother, Wreav, has agreed, albeit reluctantly, to resume leadership of Clan Urdnot, while Wrex comes aboard to help in our mission. Given how much experience Wrex has accrued over the centuries, it will be a welcome experience having him come aboard. Given that he's a 'MechWarrior, it's been decided that Star Commander Wolverine will be sent through the wormhole and to the UNSC, where he'll assist Sierra-117."
"I thought Shepard was coming aboard the Normandy," Shepard asked.
"That was the plan,"Anderson remarked, "but plans change on a regular basis, Shepard. During our talks, we decided that since Chief is more familiar with tackling the Storm Covenant and Forerunner technology, it would be better if he remained where he was at for the time being. Beyond that, our mission remains unchanged: stop Tarak at any costs, and eliminate the Reaper known as Sovereign."
"Good plan," Shepard nodded.
"I'm happy you agree," Anderson beamed. "That's why I've decided what our first mission will be." Using the controls for the holo-table, he said, "We're going to be heading to a colony that the SLIC just informed Saren of: Feros. According to the SLIC, the colony of Feros stopped sending out HPG COM signals a few hours ago. Given what we know about Tarak, the Storm Covenant, as well as the Geth that have allied themselves with the Reapers, it's likely that Tarak has just visited that planet looking for something. The COM blackout is an indicator that the colony has come under attack and they might need assistance."
"Anything I should know about," Shepard asked.
"Feros is host to a colony called 'Zhu's Hope,'" Saren added. "They're a mining colony that usually mines the asteroid belt surrounding Feros' home star, but recently a corporation called ExoGeni came and set up operations on the planet."
When Shepard heard that, he frowned slightly. From what he could recall, ExoGeni was a corporation that had it's fingers in a lot of pies, from manufacturing and research, to archaeology expeditions. While the company was profitable, it had recently come under investigation due to allegations of corporate misdemeanors, malfeasance, as well as general accusations of corruption. Interstellar Expeditions was the primary complaint in the latter regard, as the company had accused ExoGeni of bribing it's higher ranking officials, as well as attempting to perform corporate espionage. Whistleblowers in the company also reported that ExoGeni was performing unethical experiments on unwitting colonists under the premise of 'scientific research.' As a result, the corporation was under a lot of financial and legal pressure, with court cases that were ongoing as lawyers and investigators tried to find out what the truth was and what was really happening at ExoGeni. "I thought ExoGeni was under investigation," he remarked.
"They still are," Saren replied. "However, their license to continue business hasn't been revoked yet, which can only happen if irrefutable evidence of corporate corruption and unethical business practices has been presented to the courts. The SLIC is also investigating them, since it's believed that they might have violated part of the Ares Conventions, since corporations do fall underneath those conventions. The fact that the colony has gone dark also puts some suspicion on ExoGeni."
"Indeed," Anderson nodded. "While that is concerning, it's not our primary objective. Still, I have the feeling that somehow, the two are interconnected with each other, how they are is unclear."
"Either way, we have our orders," Saren stated. "We're to head to Feros and investigate the COM blackout. Should we discover that Tarak did indeed visit the colony, we're to investigate the Reaper presence on Feros and neutralize it by any means necessary. This will also be a good time to investigate ExoGeni's activities on the planet, but that is to be considered a secondary objective. Once we've determined the extent of Sovereign's activities on the planet, and neutralized them, we will head to Knossos, where we believe Interstellar Expeditions Agent Spears is located at. We've also got word that Commander Mason of Mason's Cavaliers has volunteered to assist us on the Knossos mission."
"I've heard about him," Shepard remarked, a slight smile on his face. "I heard that he held of ComStar forces that attempted to capture an unidentified Star League Memory Core until their DropShip Captain, Ryanna, recovered it, after which they made their escape."
"That's right," Saren nodded. "I've also heard about Commander Mason. I also know that he participated in invading High Charity during the ending days of the Interuniversal War, as well as during the invasion of the Forerunner's Lesser Ark. His Lance was particularly involved with neutralizing any Flood that managed to escape High Charity."
"I see," Shepard remarked. "It'll be good having someone that well trained coming along on any missions we have." A moment later, he asked, "Does the SLIC know about Noveria, if I may ask?"
"Yes," Saren nodded. "Noveria is a corporate owned world, the only one that exists in the Inner Sphere. It's an arctic planet, with the planet being perpetually locked into a year long winter that covers the entire surface. Given it's status, a large number of the corporations in the Inner Sphere come there in order to conduct research under relaxed corporate restrictions, which does encourage some level of corruption. Fortunately, Noveria's Security Corps has kept that corruption down to a manageable level, but don't expect a friendly welcome there. Most corporations don't like it when the Star League comes 'snooping around' in their business.
"As for why we'll be heading there after rescuing Spears, it's because the SLIC has been investigating a corporation there for months: Binary Helix. They're a genetics engineering corporation that specializes in enhancing crop yields, as well as advanced genetic engineering for various food animals that are exported throughout the Inner Sphere. Recently, however, they've been acting suspiciously, and there's a chance that Tarak's people might be involved."
"I see," Shepard remarked. "If they've clammed up and are acting funny, then it's likely that Tarak has gotten his grimy claws onto that company. Any advice on what to do there?"
"The corporations there won't want to harm you in any way," Anderson replied. "They don't want to soil their reputation by assaulting or hampering a Star League investigation into any potential criminals and terrorists. Still, I would make sure your armor is in good condition before you head there. A number of corporations there are conducting active research into Forerunner technology, some of which is weaponry that can punch through infantry armor. Either way, keep your eyes open; I trust those people as far as I can throw them, which isn't very far at all.
"Either way, that's the plan for the near future: retrieve the remaining recruits for the ship and then head to Feros and investigate what is happening there. We'll need all the luck we can get."
"Indeed," Saren nodded. "May the Spirits guide us all, and may they grant us good fortune." With that, Anderson saluted Shepard, which was one of his ways of dismissing people. Nodding in agreement, Shepard also saluted, before heading out of the room.
As he walked out, he noticed that Garrus was walking into the hallway connecting the Briefing room with the Armory and Science/Tech Lab. Spotting Shepard, the young Turian said, "Shepard, I didn't expect to see you here."
"Me neither," Shepard replied. "What's going on?"
"I was just about to head to the armory and get my weaponry ready to go," Garrus replied. "I always do that before we head out on a mission."
"Is that all you think about," Shepard teased Garrus. "I've heard that you've developed a soft spot for Nyreen." He said this as he knew that Garrus and Nyreen, a female Turian that was a member of the SLDF's Biotic Infantry Corps, had started to develop an intimate relationship with each other. More than once, Shepard had walked by Garrus' dormitory room at New Elysium V, only to hear happy purrs and passionate moans emanating from the room. During those times, he tended to blush, though he smiled when that happened, as he knew what was going on between the two.
When Garrus heard that, the tips of his head crest, as well as the rear of his mandibles, turned a deep blue color, the Turian equivalent of a Terran blushing. "You-you actually heard that?" When Shepard nodded, he said, "You mind if you keep this between you and me?' When Shepard shook his head, Garrus relaxed before he and Shepard walked into the Science/Tech Lab, which was vacnat for the moment. Once the door was closed, he said, "Nyreen and I are thinking about becoming mates with each other. We've been courting each other for the past year and… well…"
"Well, what," Shepard asked.
"Well… to be honest… I love her. I love the feel of her skin on my own, as well the appearance of her body, but what I really love is her personality, who she is as a person. She's kind, gentle, but very firm, and she kicks ass. She's as good of a marital arts specialist as I am; I've got reach, but she has flexibility… and her biotics. She's a good person, Shepard, and I can't think of any moment that I don't want to spend with her." Again, he flushed dark blue in anticipation of Shepard's response.
If he was expecting admonishment or a negative appraisal, he was mistaken. "That's… that's wonderful, Garrus," Shepard beamed, a smile on his face as he realized what Garrus was thinking of doing. "I think she would be an excellent person for you to be around. Have you talked to Castis about it?"
"Yes," Garrus nodded. "He was the first person I went to for advice when I began to feel odd around Nyreen, like my heart was fluttering but in a good way. He said that he felt the same way when he met my mother, saying that it was love that I was feeling. When I asked what I should do, he said I should get to know her better, and if she was the one I wanted to be with for the rest of my life, then that meant the Spirits wanted us to be together with each other. Given how much I love her… I think that's really what's happening: I've found my spirit mate."
"Then that's good," Shepard nodded. He knew of the religion that most Turians worshiped, and had learned enough that he knew it was very important to their species. "If Nyreen is the person that you want to be with for the rest of your life, and since it's clear that she's reciprocating those same feelings, then you have nothing to worry about. Just remember one thing: women don't want someone that has flashy toys, or is popular or is cool, they want someone that is honest and that loves them for who they are as people, not for the texture of their skin or the color of their eyes or hair."
"That's… good advice," Garrus nodded, a relieved expression on his face. "Thank you, Shepard. I guess I needed to hear that from someone."
"Anytime," Shepard nodded. "I also think you came here for more than that."
"That's true," Garrus nodded, "though I'll let you tell us what's going on once the time is right. Either way, Shepard… thank you." With that, both men clasped each other's forearms before leaving, with Shepard heading to the crew quarters.
Just as he entered the Crew Deck, he spotted Chakwas coming out. "I was just about to see you, doctor," Shepard remarked.
"That's good," Chakwas nodded. "Most soldiers tend to avoid me for some reason, but not you Commander." With that, she held up her Omni-Tool and began to scan Shepard's head. Taking that as his cue, he held as still as he could for her until she was done. "Good," she beamed. "Looks like whatever the Prothean Artifact did has left no lasting damage, as far as I can tell. From here on out, a weekly checkup is all that's required, Shepard. Should nothing come up during the next four weeks, then we can stop with the checkups."
"Thanks, doc," Shepard replied. "I appreciate it."
"Indeed," Chakwas remarked. "I hope you have a good day, Commander."
"You too," Shepard nodded. With that, he headed back up to the CIC Deck in order to talk to the pilot, Joker.
When he arrived, Joker was still at the Pilot seat, though he wasn't at the controls. Instead, he was resting his feet on the divider between the Pilot and Co-Pilot seats in the cockpit, a data pad in his hand as he looked over the current maintenance log, as well as the performance of the ship. Apparently, the hallway leading to the cockpit acted like a sound amplifier, as he turned around well before Shepard came into view. "Well, well, well. I didn't know I was going to be getting a visit from the brass. What can I do for you, Commander?"
"Just getting to know the crew better, Joker," Shepard replied.
"Well, in my case, let me tell you something," Joker replied. "I'm the best damn pilot you could ever ask for in the entire Inner Sphere. I didn't allow people to baby me due to my illness, I worked my ass off to get to where I am today. You won't find a better pilot, Commander."
When he said that, Shepard noticed that Joker sounded disgruntled, as though that simple statement had hit a nerve. "I'm sorry," Shepard replied. "I didn't mean to make you upset. I also didn't know that you were sick either."
"You mean… you didn't know," Joker remarked. "Ah crap." Clearing his throat, he said, "OK, two things, Shepard. First, I'm sorry I came off as angry or indignant; given how people tend to react when they learn that I've got a genetic illness, it's a habit that's formed over time. Second, I have what's called Vrolik's Syndrome; it's a genetic disorder that affects one in one billion people in the Inner Sphere. What happened is that my bones didn't form correctly and, as a result, they're effectively brittle. As a result, when I was born, I was immediately nanotechnologically and genetically augmented in order to survive my first year; even now, I have to get checkups to make sure the nanotechnology is working properly, though once I'm off of active duty, I intend to get NanoGene Edited so that the disease goes away. It's only thanks to that nanotech and gene editing that I can walk around normally. Before that, if I stepped wrong… CRACK! It's very dramatic when that happens."
"I can imagine," Shepard remarked. "It must've been quite painful as well."
"It certainly is when it happens," Joker remarked. "You won't have to worry, though. The nanotechnology inside my body does a perfect job of preventing that from happening."
"I see," Shepard remarked. "You also said you were an excellent pilot. What was it like a Sahkara Academy?"
"Very stressful, but very rewarding," Joker replied, a smile on his face. "When I was there, I literally worked my ass off. I knew that the universe, or Multiverse for that matter, wasn't going to hand me what I wanted on a silver platter; I was going to have to work at it. It's also how I got my nickname as Joker, as I was so hard at improving myself that I never really smiled. Still, it worked out, as by the end of my time at the academy, I was better than the instructors, and they knew it; they all got their asses kicked by the kid with the creaky legs. One guess who was smiling at Graduation Day." Even Shepard had to admit, that was both funny and interesting to learn, even as he and Joker laughed at that remark.
. . .
The next few hours were spent making sure the ship was ready to go before heading to Tuchanka, which was where the other crew members had gathered in order to make it easier for Anderson and the others to pick them up. As soon as the Normandy came out of Hyperspace, Shepard looked out the view port in the cockpit to see the vista that was below them, and was well rewarded by what he saw. Before what the media called the 'Krogan Restoration', Tuchanka was a literal atomic wasteland, reminiscent of an ancient, but still popular, video game franchise that was started during the early 21st century. Now, more than 50% of the planet had been made fully habitable once again, with large patches of green on each of Tuchanka's continents, as well as crystal blue oceans that gleamed in Aralak's light. Clan Wolverine had a strong presence here, as Shepard could see a number of Clan and Star League WarShips that were in orbit around the planet. He also spotted a Shipyard that was connected to a space elevator, directly over Tuchanka's equator, direct evidence of Clan Wolverine's joint ownership of Tuchanka with the Star League and the Krogan Clans.
Wow, Shepard thought as he looked down at the planet. Look how far Tuchanka's come since it's earlier state. It's a good way of showing that the Star League can do a lot of good when people allow it to. From what he could recall, this amount of progress was not just because of the Star League, it was also because the ancestors of the current Krogan Clans had, in their wisdom, built underground vaults that were designed to hold genetic samples of all the lifeforms that were present on Tuchanka before it's nuclear war, effectively ensuring that their world could be rebuilt if said war happened, which it did.
A few seconds later, after emerging from Element Zero FTL flight, they flew over to the Shipyard in question, before receiving instructions from Tuchanka Space Traffic Control to head to Docking Bay Gamma-5. Once docked, Shepard, along with Anderson and Saren, gathered at the airlock door leading into the ship. Moments later, the door opened up, revealing Urdnot Wrex.
Shepard had to admit it, Wrex was the very definition of a Krogan 'MechWarrior. He was currently wearing the Krogan pattern variant of the M50 Colossus armor that the Inner Sphere developed, with this armor being a dark, metallic red color, with accents of black and white, the colors of Clan Urdnot. Underneath the plating was his body suit, which not only allowed Wrex to survive in hostile environments, it also incidentally emphasized his powerful muscular, with muscles like liquid metal underneath the nanoweave body suit. The skin on his face had a number of scars, including a long, jagged one that traveled down the right side of his face, narrowly missing his eyes in the process. His headplate, which was a maroon red, also matched his armor to a degree. The most eye catching part of Wrex's face was the use of white, black and red facial paint that was painted in geometric, sharp angles across his face. From what Shepard could recall, that was not a tradition that was present with the Krogan, though it could be that Wrex had introduced that custom much in the same way the Turians had with their society: as a means of telling who was who in societies that had similar facial appearances. In his arms was his helmet, which Shepard knew in 'MechWarriors also acted as their Neurohelmet. When he looked into Wrex's eyes, Shepard could see centuries of experience, as well as sorrow that had recently healed, along with a large amount of what he realized was hope. As soon as Wrex was visible, Anderson said, "Welcome aboard the Normandy, Wrex."
"Thank you," Wrex replied, his voice rumbling as he came aboard the ship. "When I heard about what happened from my friends in the SLIC, I immediately volunteered for this mission. If what they say about these Reapers is true, then I want to make sure that the last thing they hear are the Krogan sending them to their doom."
"I wouldn't miss it for the Inner Sphere," Anderson nodded, shaking Wrex's hand.
Spotting Saren, Wrex walked over to the Turian, examining him for a moment. Then he said, "Saren, it's been a long time since I saw you. Last time I saw you was when you were working for the Council."
"I remember that alright," Saren remarked. "As well as when you headbutted me. The doctor told me to rest for a good two weeks so that my brain could recover. Still, good to see that we've moved on from the past."
"It is," Wrex nodded. "My wife, Urdnot Bakara, even told me as much. 'Why let old wounds fester when you can work towards healing them.' Given that the wife is always right, I agree with her."
"Good to hear that you're doing well," Saren beamed. "Anyone else back there with you?"
"Yep," Wrex nodded. "Come on out, Geth." With that, Shepard watched as a Geth Platform walked over into the ship. Like most Geth, this one was using a jet black Combat Chassis, which was shaped like a bipedal version of the famous Dragons of Fuchida IVb. Shepard, however, noticed a few differences with this platform. The first was that the Geth Platform had a pair of artificial wings, which Shepard noticed had what he realized were anti-gravity repulsors, no doubt an experimental technology developed by the Geth. In addition, it's tail had a sharp, nanocomposite blade at the end, making it a deadly weapon in a fight.
As soon as it was inside, the Geth Platform looked at Anderson and actually bowed. "Anderson-Captain, Saren-Agent, Shepard-Commander, the Geth welcome you," it said to them. To Shepard's surprise, the platform spoke using an actual mouth, complete with metallic teeth and a Myomer tongue.
"Welcome aboard the Normandy," Anderson nodded. "What's your designation?"
"There are 1135 programs in this platform," the Geth replied. "This platform is designated 'Legion', in reference to a common military division used during ancient Terra's Roman Empire. We are using an experimental Combat Chassis developed by the Geth, inspired by the apex predators of Fuchida IVb."
"Why is that," Anderson asked.
"We found their chassis to be efficient," Legion replied, getting up from it's bow a moment later.
"I see," Anderson remarked. "Feel free to explore the ship if you want. You can also upload yourself into the NI Core onboard the ship. We're currently waiting for the AI that's been assigned to this ship to reach full maturity."
"We are grateful for your hospitality." With that, the Geth platform walked off into the ship, exploring every bit of it using it's ocular sensors.
"That was… quite interesting," Saren remarked.
"Indeed," Anderson remarked. "Looks like the Geth are taking inspiration from biology for their Chassis'. Either way, all of our recruits are onboard. Joker, prepare to disembark for Feros. We're going to save some colonists."
"Agreed," Joker replied. As he went about the proper procedures, there was one thing everyone onboard the ship knew: the war for the galaxy had just begun. Now it would be determined not just by armies, but by the people in them.
