Chapter 44: Inner Machinations
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Serpent Nebula, Widow, Citadel, Normandy, Med Bay.
April 5th, 2185. 9:44 pm. EST
Tela Vasir stood silently, watching Jordan Sower's partially-peaceful sleeping expression as constant beeping from a nearby monitor continued to annoy her. Here he was, the Avatar of Synthesis, her best friend and closest ally… the first person she could actually almost imagine a not-so-bleak future with, asleep with no sign of waking up. To say she was worried was an understatement.
It'd been many, many hours since she and Shepard had returned to the Normandy with Jordan's unconscious form, the two of them not trusting leaving such a valuable target in a normal hospital. She hadn't heard many things when Jordan had been stuck on the other side of that damned door, and neither had Shepard. Once they returned and got Jordan to the med bay, they'd heard from the crew that some pretty unsettling stuff was discussed and discovered thanks to the helmet cams. Soon thereafter, the two of them watched the missing footage, from his point of view, and discovered what exactly happened to Jordan when they were separated.
The Catalyst, who took a projected human child form, revealed that it'd been doing this kind of thing with Avatars for several Reaper Extinction cycles, and claimed the multiverse theory was not only true, but that there was a way to access other realities. Then, Jordan had agreed with the absurdity, and claimed to be from another reality, which made things only more confusing.
Then came the real twist: Jordan, along with the other avatars, were artificial constructs. Artificially created humans designed and built for their own singular purposes, all while believing they were from another reality. Even worse, it was revealed and shown that Jordan and Cynthia's originals were dead, and the two of them right now were actually clones of the original constructs. Not even the originals…
Beyond that, and a few other confusing statements, such as the repeated allusion to the mass effect, they'd all learned a lot, and learned that not even Jordan knew most of it. To say every single one of the crew members were shocked and in awe was an understatement. Brian, specifically, had immediately sealed himself within the starboard lounge with Kasumi sneaking in after him to try and comfort him. Many others were uncomfortable, too, and had gone off on their own after seeing that Jordan was back and still alive.
They all needed to digest what they'd learned. And if Jordan… when Jordan wakes up, Tela and Shepard were sure they'd learned a lot more, considering that some kind of memory was forced into his head by the catalyst, which they obviously had no way of seeing.
Tela was shocked from her thoughts by a hand on her shoulder. She'd been in here for hours, simply watching Jordan and praying to the goddess that he'd wake up soon.
"Ela…" Her sister whispered reassuringly, "It's going to be ok…"
Tela turned around and wrapped an arm around her sister, a frown on her face, yet no tears. She was strong, she knew Jordan wasn't doomed or anything of the sort. She whispered back, "Hia…"
Hialus gave her a soft smile, "I'm sorry, Ela."
She shook her head, "Don't be, it's not your fault." She told her, "It's that damned AI… no offense, EDI." She said in anger, before swiftly adding that after remembering the resident AI.
"No offense taken, Spectre Vasir." She replied with zero emotion, "I, too, harbor a great dislike for the artificial intelligence that had done this to Jordan."
Another thing: EDI had been watching everything, obviously, but Tela had noticed some changes with the AI. Over the course of the last few days, she'd noticed far more emotion from the so-called cold AI, which was a stark contrast to now. Once the meeting with the Catalyst began, the other crew had noticed and mentioned that EDI had become quieter and more distant than she normally was. They'd also noticed her processing had increased substantially, as if attempting to think about and ponder what she'd learned. Her responses, especially after Jordan returned, had become slightly delayed, and more neutral than expected from her.
It didn't take an artificial intelligence expert to figure out that, somehow, she was being affected by what happened to Jordan, and that she was unhappy about it.
Her last statement almost seemed too neutral and without emotion, as if she were so angry that she couldn't express it. But, that was something to worry about on another day.
Spectre Vasir sighed, looking at Jordan's form once again. The blood on his face from before was wiped clean. "I'm…" She had a problem with expressing herself. Luckily, her sister knew her better than anyone.
"You're worried about him, aren't you?"
"Of course, I am, how could I not be?"
"The big bad Spectre is worried, huh?" She teased.
"Shut up." She said with no real fire, lightly bumping Hialus with her fist, "I… I just wish there was something I could do."
"Well, he's stuck in whatever coma he's in right now. Not much any of us can do but wait."
Tela remembered something out of the blue, giving her pause. She thought it over for a moment, before looking at her sister, "Hia… what about a meld?"
Hialus jerked her head back toward Tela, a frown on her face, "A meld?" She asked, hoping she didn't mean what she did.
Tela nodded, "I remember some experts on Thessia had been able to wake coma patients by melding with them. Couldn't we…" She trailed off, before seeing the frown on Hialus' face.
Shaking her head, she told her sister the truth. No use sugar-coating it, "Ela, first of all, that was Asari-to-Asari melding in those cases. Our nervous systems are far different from everyone else's, even though we look almost human, we aren't that close. Secondly, those cases were all several weeks or months into those comas, none of them were in the waking hours or days of whatever put them into it. Their minds are fragile, and not settled so soon after whatever incident caused them." She told her.
Tela shook her head, "That just means they haven't tried under different circumstances." She tried to reason.
Hialus sighed, "They've tried with other species before, but it's never guaranteed. Only about forty percent of cases with melding with coma patients have succeeded outside of Asari patients." She told her, "And as for immediate attempts, those chances have dropped to less than twenty percent. And that's even discounting the unique circumstances with Jordan."
"Unique?"
"His coma is different. On the surface, there's no brain activity. However, deeper down with more synthetic components, there's a plethora of activity, and it's not good activity either. It's almost as if whatever happened to him has caused a part of his brain to war against itself. If it weren't for his increased healing rate AND the medigel we're slowly dripping into his system, it's likely we'd have a brain hemorrhage on our hands, which is never good."
Tela slightly paled at that, "That bad?"
Hialus nodded gravely, "He looks fine, but he's actually in real bad shape."
"Then let me try to wake him up." She said, "Listen, what happens to those failed attempts at waking people up, huh? What the worst-case scenario?"
Sighing, Hialus shook her head before answering, "Most of the time, nothing changes, but the Asari attempting the procedure becomes exhausted at the attempt."
She was cut off, "Then that's fine. I'll take a nap if it doesn't work. It's worth a shot, at least!"
"No!" Hialus countered, cutting her sister off, too, "You didn't let me finish! That happened most of the time, but sometimes one or two other things happen. The first is that further damage is done to the patient, making the situation worse. The second thing, which happens more often than the first, is that some damage is done to the doctor doing the meld. In fact, on one or two occasions, both of them become locked into a coma."
Tela paled lightly at the scenarios, but noted that those were uncommon occurrences. Her face regained color as she nodded with determination. Hialus didn't like the look on her sister's face as she spoke, "Still, I want to try."
She turned around, only to have Hialus grab her wrist, "Sister… I beg of you; I can't lose you a second time." She said quietly, "So much can and has gone wrong with these types of things… Why can't you just wait?"
"Hia…" She replied softly, turning back to her sister, "I might not be a doctor, but I'm not stupid. Sooner or later, his body is going to begin rejecting the medigel… and what's going to happen then?"
"He's got at least a week before that even starts…"
"Hia."
"Tela, please. I know you care about the guy, and honestly, I think you're both pretty good for each other, but…" She shook her head, "Please, don't…"
Tela turned fully back to her sister and stepped forward, wrapping her sister in an embrace. She latched on tightly back, holding onto her sister tightly as they hugged, "I'll be fine. Nothing's ever taken me down, and nothing will. Give me a chance…"
Hialus looked up at her sister with a teary-eyed smile, "I… okay…" She finally said, "But I have two conditions if I'm going to approve of this."
"Anything."
"Most of the complications start an hour into the meld, so I'm allowed to break the meld at the one-hour mark." She stated. "And second, the moment you feel your head start to hurt, when you know that you're hurting yourself, I want you to stop."
Tela looked at her sister's serious expression and nodded, smiling lightly at her, "I promise."
"Thank you."
"Love you, Hia."
"Love you too, Ela…" Hialus broke the embrace and took a deep breath. She was still against this, but knew that once her sister set her mind to something, there's no turning her away. It'd be better to agree and allow conditions while also watching her, than the chance that Tela attempts it anyway in the middle of the night with no one watching her. She wiped the tears from her eyes and stepped a single step back, "Now go, and get your man back…"
Tela chuckled and wiped her own eyes. She wasn't crying, too. She wasn't. "Don't tell me what to do, Hia."
After taking a moment to compose herself, Tela took a few deep breaths and stood up, climbing slowly and carefully onto Jordan's bed. Straddling him lightly, she brought both of her blue hands up to Jordan's face, gently touching his head as she forced her heart rate to decrease. She would have blushed at the position if it were any other time or any other circumstance, but now wasn't the time.
She smiled lightly and locked eyes with Jordan's closed eyelids. She opened her mouth and whispered the two words engrained into her soul.
"Embrace Eternity."
Her eyes became black like the night sky, and she felt her body and mind connect with Jordan's, consciousness rapidly fleeing from her current position. Hands still rooted to Jordan's face, her body slowly slumped onto Jordan's completely.
This wasn't a normal meld, as far as Tela could tell. She didn't have much experience with the technique, that much was true, but she knew enough. There was no gentle coexistence between two nervous systems. She didn't feel like herself and Jordan were united as one being for the moment. Instead, odd sensations and peculiar feelings crawled within her nerves as foreign flashes assaulted her eyes, even though nothing of the sort was happening with their physical bodies.
At once, she and the vague world around her shifted. Darkness consumed all, before hazy thoughts and images flowed around her senses like the wind. Finally, the connection occurred, and a memory played. It was almost like watching a film, seeing something on a screen. Herself, actually, it would seem, from a third-person point of view.
The image was wrong, though. It was distorted and fuzzy, looking more like an ancient render than a film or memory. The clearness wasn't there, and the resolution was low. She wished to both watch yet look away. Feelings of fear, betrayal, anger, and sadness whirled around her, all seemingly foreign yet natural. Her own or Jordan's? She was unsure.
In the end, she could only focus on the only thing that existed. The memory.
She watched the back of an armored human walk forward, looking down at the wooden floor. Bloodied, blue footsteps marred the hardwood. It was obviously asari blood.
The camera panned forward, rapidly following the trail of blood to its current conclusion. It revealed a pair of blue and black combat boots, limping away from the man who was obviously in pursuit. Laughter is heard, people are happy and enjoying a night at possibly a restaurant. It reveals an Asari, just as predicted, limping forward with a hunch, obviously in pain. Ominous music was playing.
She heard her name being called by Liara's voice. "Vasir." Liara named, "It's over."
It reveals the same man from earlier, now revealed to be Commander Shepard, approaching with weapons drawn and Liara by his side. The Camera shows her stop, cutting to her face, who seems to be making a decision. She turned around, approaching a young human woman, who was enjoying the evening with everyone else. "Hey, hey you!" Her voice called out to the human. "Come here." She demanded, before biotically charging to her side.
"What's your name?" She asked, a weapon drawn and her left arm around the woman's throat. The woman is shocked, terror visible on her face.
Everyone else screams and flees the scene. She has her weapon raised toward Shepard and Liara. No doubt or remorse is visible within her own eyes.
"M-Mariana." The woman finally answers.
"Mariana, you wanna live, don't you?" She asked her quietly. Loud enough for everyone to hear, but certainly not yelling. "Tell those people you want to live." She said simply.
Shepard looks pissed, his weapon aimed at Vasir, but unable to do anything. She'd taken a hostage.
"Please." Mariana begged.
"Vasir, you don't need to do this." Shepard tried to reason with her.
"All you had to do was walk away." She said, moving the gun to Mariana's head, "Now it gets ugly." She threatened.
"Please, I have a son." The woman begs, tears trailing down her face.
"A son?" She asked, curiously, "I hope he gets to see you again. I heard losing a parent is just horrific for children." She says simply, without remorse. Mariana is still crying. "Scars left for life."
"I'm going to end you, Vasir." Liara threatens.
"It's okay, Liara." Shepard reassures her. "We'll handle it. The usual way."
"You want Mariana's little boy to grow up without a mommy, Shepard?" She taunted. "Thermal clips on the ground, now." She demanded. "Power cells, too."
"Is that it?" Shepard asked.
"What?" She asked back, shocked.
"Vasir, I sacrificed hundreds of human lives to save the Destiny Ascension. I unleashed the Rachni on the Galaxy. So for your sake, I hope your escape plan doesn't hinge on me hesitating to shoot a damn hostage."
"You're bluffing." She responded immediately, making the fatal mistake of focusing on Shepard. She moved her weapon away from the hostage and aimed it at the two of them, before the camera focused the background.
A biotically levitating table was lifted into the air. "Now Liara." Shepard called out. On demand, the table was thrown through the air, hitting her and leaving the hostage alone. She was sent flying and flailing into a nearby fountain.
Mariana was on the floor, recovering, while Shepard stood protectively in front of her, aiming a weapon at the water she'd landed in. She rose biotically from the fountain with a cry and charged away, creating distance from Shepard. She raised her weapon and prepared for a dual to the death.
A series of clips and images assault her mind, watching a third-person perspective of Shepard killing and defeating her.
"Ahh…" She cried out in pain, falling to her knees and crawling toward a wall. "Damn it. Damn it."
Liara approaches her, taking something from her, and walking away as Shepard approached the two of them. "Sekkat's personal datapad." Liara said, "This has what we need to find the Shadow Broker." Liara claimed.
"You're dead." She called, falling back against the wall with her own blood smeared on the white metal. "The Shadow Broker has been in power for decades. He's stronger than anything you've ever faced." She told Shepard.
Shepard replied, "Is that why you sold out the Council, to work for him?"
"You think I betrayed the Council?" She asked incredulously, "Like Saren? Go to hell! The Broker's given me damn good intel over the years." She tried to justify, "Intel that saved lives and kept the Citadel safe. So, if the Broker needs a few people to disappear, I'll pay that price without hesitation." She knew, though, that the lack of hesitation was present for more than just the value of the intel.
Shepard replied, "Spectres don't blow up buildings filled with innocent people."
"Sure we don't." She replied sarcastically, "We get our hands dirty so the Council doesn't have to. The Councilors may complain about our methods to soothe their consciences, but they never look too closely. Besides, you're with Cerberus." She pointed out, "You have any idea what your terrorist friends have done?"
"I know who they are and what they've done. It doesn't matter." Shepard replied easily, kneeling down to her level.
"I think it does." She shot back, "You want to judge me? Look in the mirror. Kidnapping kids for biotic death camps!" She said, "And you're with them. Don't you dare judge me!" She demanded, slowly slowing down and going quiet. She groaned in pain, wincing, "Don't… you…" She lost all strength and slumped fully over, her head falling to the side as life left her eyes.
She was dead.
Shepard, without a word, stood up and walked away.
Tela Vasir slumped over and caught herself with both hands planted on the soft earth beneath her. Her eyes were filled with warm light as she looked at the spot beneath her and her surroundings. Soft, green grass blew in the wind; she felt a light breeze flow around her, moving the grass and cooling her off. She looked up at a blue-turning-purple and orange sky, clouds dotting the horizon as an orange ball disappeared beneath the treetops of a faraway forest.
She looked around herself. She saw she was on a small hill, with a metal fence in front of her, and wooden posts connecting the wire. Behind her stood an old house, simple in scope, but far different than the average homes where she'd come from. She could hear wind chimes close by, and the occasional bird chirping as they flew around. She was underneath the canopy of two trees, with a few others scattered around the yard.
Over to her left was a paved and tiled area in the yard, with a stone fireplace aflame, and a familiar human sitting down in a wood-looking chair close by. Jordan sat there in jeans and a white shirt, a periodic table on it. He frowned as he stared into the flames, most of his face obscured by the flame and his hair.
Tela got up steadily, feeling odd. Was this a memory she was in? A projection? She wasn't sure, Jordan was full of surprises, that was for sure. This could be a unique situation exclusive to Jordan, thanks to his synthetic nature and the nature of his perfectly recorded memories. Or, rather, perfectly recorded implanted memories.
Slowly, she made her way over to him, no longer wearing her own pants and tank-top. Rather, she was wearing her armor. The very same armor she'd seen the memory-version of herself wearing when she'd battled Shepard and lost. She couldn't see Jordan's eyes, but could tell by his posture that he was aware of her presence. Using a second, smaller, chair on the opposing side of the small fire, Vasir took a seat.
The two were quiet for a moment, before Jordan Sower finally spoke. "You know…" He began, "I remember growing up here on this farm." He pointed toward the fields beyond the fence to their side and behind her, "The animals we had would mostly be in the fields, but we had to rotate them around every so often to keep the pastures green. We've lost quite a few over the years, but it was good while it lasted." He then pointed to the distance, pointing out a distance house and bright red barn, "That's where my mom grew up, where my grandfather lived. We'd go over there every week in the summer to swim in his pool, and occasionally help in the fields with his corn and potatoes… He was like a second father to me…" He trailed off.
After a moment of silence, he looked up, making eye contact with Tela and making her gasp. His eyes were a soft, light brown, and his scar on his face was gone. No glowing circuitry existed on any of his skin, and also, he looked a year or two younger.
"Jordan…" She whispered, a pain of sympathy in her chest made itself known.
Jordan's frown grew, his eyes watering slightly, but he didn't shed a tear. He then nodded his head at the house behind him, "Grew up in that house." He stated, "Me and my younger brothers… both parents were busy with work for most of my early life, but retired early. Had a few dogs, the last one named Rocky. He was a Boxer breed, and he'd sleep on the couch or our beds. Whenever my dad got up to use the bathroom or eat, Rocky would jump up on his warm spot and take a nap. We'd all laugh and laugh…"
Tela wanted to say something but didn't. She stood up, though, and sat right next to Jordan. His chair more like a small bench than a chair as she sat beside him.
Full tears now welled in Jordan's eyes, "Over there by the old shelter, I cut my finger cutting wood on a saw. Left this scar right here..." He showed her, "Wasn't too serious, but I stayed away from saws for a while, and this burn mark right here was burning myself on the oven inside. I was younger and impatient when we were making cinnamon rolls, and burned my wrist…" The tears now finally fell as he looked up and over at Tela.
"All of those memories… my family… this house…" He said quietly, "It's all… it's all fake…" He finally admitted, choking up a bit at admitting it. "A lie to produce a person..." Tela wrapped an arm around Jordan, pulling him in closer as he began to break down.
They sat there for a few minutes, her comforting him. The sun in the distance, which was obviously Sol, hadn't moved an inch, still halfway hidden beyond the distant tree line. She thought back to the foreign memory she'd seen pertaining to her taking a hostage and dying to Shepard. Was that another implanted memory by the Catalyst?
After a few more minutes, Jordan finally calmed down and looked over to Tela, "Thanks…" he said quietly.
She smiled at him and nodded, "So…" She trailed off, "You should probably wake up, already." She stated bluntly.
Jordan cringed a bit but shook his head, "I… I don't know…" He said, shaking his head again.
"Why not?"
"I… I just… I don't know…"
They were both silent once more.
Jordan spoke again, "Tela…" He said looking off into the distance of the memory, "Can I ask you a question?"
She wanted to give a cheeky 'you just did, but sure', but knew this probably wasn't the time. "Sure," Vasir said softly.
"What about me interests you?" He finally asked, "What makes me special in your eyes?"
Tela frowned at the question, but considered it for a moment, "You're not a bad teammate on the missions, and can hold you own." She said after a minute, getting Jordan's attention, "You're a pretty great drinking buddy, and you don't really judge me as most people would. Most people look at me as the unbreakable, intimidating Asari Spectre, and you look more at Vasir the Asari, rather than Vasir the Spectre."
"Well, of course," Jordan said, probably wanting to say more, before she cut him off.
"And you're not too bad looking, as far as humans go. I mean sure, you're not a Krogan…" She trailed off, teasing him and actually getting him to chuckle at it, "And your sense of humor ain't broke, either, so that's working in your favor. You've got determination and a drive about you that's infectious, and you genuinely care about others, including me…"
"Tela…"
"No, I want you to shut up for a minute." She stopped him, looking him dead in the eyes, "I looked back and saw the conversation you had with the Catalyst. The whole crew did." She told him, making him flinch and sweat a bit, "It… that thing told you that you're, what, an artificial construct? That it had imprinted your memories and thoughts into whatever fucking vessel it designed, all for its own gain and amusement? Am I right?"
He nodded sadly, "Yeah, I don't…" He looked down at his open hands, "I don't even know who I am. People say we're defined by our memories, yes? Well, what am I without those?"
"You're Jordan Fucking Sower, badass extraordinaire, messiah of the Geth, savior of the second-most important Spectre in the Galaxy, and, most of all, you're you."
Jordan chuckled, "I don't recall saving Jondum Bau…" He joked.
She bumped him with her shoulder, "Ass." She remarked lightheartedly with a smile, "But think about it for a moment, will you? You're a smart guy, and I'm far from stupid… Am I right, did you do all of those things?"
"Well, yeah, but-."
"I'm gonna stop you right there. You did all of those things. You went to the Geth and made them better with your Synthesis crap, right?" Jordan nodded, "And, you defeated the Shadow Broker and saved both me and my sister from his schemes, didn't you?" He, once again, nodded, "On the Citadel, you worked to clear out those 'Marauder' things and tried to save the ambassadors, huh?" He nodded again, "Of course, didn't you also use the Broker to warn a couple of people with Liara?" Jordan looked at her, a bit shocked that she knew about that, but nodded.
"Tela, I did, but I don't see how…"
She clamped a hand on his mouth, cutting off his denial, "Now, you're basically saying that you can't define yourself by your memories cause they're not yours, right?" He nodded slowly, "Well, what about everything you did after that abomination created you, huh? Everything you did, all the people you helped, was that the Catalyst that did that?"
She took her hand off of his mouth and silently demanded that he answer. He looked her in the eyes and replied, "No, that was me."
"Then focus on that. Your memories may be altered, or implanted, or whatever the hell it did to you, but those don't mean everything. Look at yourself and all the impossible things you did!" She wrapped him in a hug, "I bet, without you, I'd never have seen my sister ever again." The images she'd been assaulted with when she entered his mind flashed within her own, but pushed it aside. She'd ask about it after he was in a better state-of-mind.
"But, what about everything else?"
"You want to know my opinion?" He nodded, "Alright, well be warned. I'm not a therapist, so I don't know all that shit that I should be saying, here. Anyway, take your memories, which you say define you, and hold onto them. Treasure them, but see them for what they are. Use them, because you can't ever really be rid of them, but know they don't mean everything." She took a moment to look him in the eyes again, "I know it's hard, that you're afraid of things messing with your mind, I remember our talk back then… but work through it. If the past was the only thing that mattered, then we wouldn't have a future to work towards. Because if you think that the future doesn't matter, then the Catalyst and Reapers have already won."
Jordan was silent for a moment, and she didn't pressure him to reply. They simply sat there, enjoying one another's company and enjoying the atmosphere of the memory. After a few more moments, he spoke again.
"You know, everything kinda makes sense now, looking back." He remarked, standing up from the wooden bench and stretching for a moment. He turned back and held a hand out to Tela, who took it, and he brought her to her feet. "I'm still scared, I'll admit. This… all of this has changed everything, err, almost everything for me, and I'll probably never be exactly the same, but… I think I can work through this. I might need a bit of help, though…"
Vasir smiled and nodded, patting him on the shoulder with a wide smile before pulling him in for another hug, holding and wrapping him up tightly. "And I will be there for you, all the way. That's what friends are for, right?" She asked, pulling back to look at him in the eyes. She had mischief and glee in her eyes, but he could also see the soft kindness deep within as well.
Jordan frowned for a moment, "Tela, I… I have something I need to talk to you about first, before we… before we get any closer… Something I haven't really told anyone. Only the other Avatars, the Catalyst, and Liara, partially, know…"
"Is this about the memory I saw?" Tela asked.
"What memory?"
"When I first connected to you with this meld, I was assaulted by a memory of some sort. I…" She was no longer as confident as she'd been, "I saw myself take a woman hostage, before being killed by Shepard."
Jordan froze, but took a deep breath and sighed, "Of course you saw that…" He shook his head, "Well, I'm done hiding shit. Take a seat, I'll sit across from you. We have a lot to discuss before I try to wake up."
Tela nodded slowly and sat down back in the wooden chair. He sat opposite of her, with the small fire between them. "So, trying to figure out where to start?"
Jordan chuckled, "No, I know where to start… It's just…" He stopped for a moment, "I think I'm almost ready to wake up, now that I've calmed down thanks to you, and I think-… no, I know that I need to tell Shepard and the others about all of this too. So, I'll give you a quick crash course through this, and go further into detail with everyone. Is that fine?"
She shrugged, "Works for me, as long as I understand what the hell that memory was, then that'll be okay for now."
"OK, so, Tela Vasir, my story starts with a game I call: Mass Effect."
He began with his memories of his favorite game trilogy, explaining that a series of games existed in his memories called Mass Effect 1, 2, and 3, and that countless books, comics, films, and other things existed for the franchise. He began with the story of Commander Shepard, the first game describing his mission against the Spectre, Saren. He explained the game allowed you to design your own version of Shepard.
Male or female. Earthborn, Colonist, or Spacefaring. Hero, Sole Survivor, or Renegade. Biotically inclined or not. Technologically inclined or not. The chosen classes and abilities. Even the first name.
You played as your version of Shepard, and made decisions through the game that impacted the course of events and scenarios. He described the choices with the Rachni Queen, when to save Liara, saving or killing the colonists on Feros, and which teammate to save on Vermire. Then, the final events of the game: defeating Saren, the choice to break him from indoctrination, the choice to save or leave the Council, and the decision on who'd be the human Councilor.
He explained the original events of the first game, and the changes that he'd both made and had nothing to do with, like saving both Kaiden and Ashley, or Udina's untimely death.
"Damn…" Tela said, at a loss for words after hearing about this 'Mass Effect 1'.
Jordan nodded, "Yeah… it's crazy to think about isn't it?"
She nodded back, "Yeah, that's one way of putting it. So, when I saw me taking a hostage…?" Vasir trailed off, but Jordan knew what she was asking.
Sighing, Jordan replied, "In the events of Mass Effect 2, which started with Shepard's death at the Collector and his resurrection with Cerberus, there was a DLC called Lair of the Shadow Broker." He admitted, "It was the first time the player is introduced to Spectre Tela Vasir."
"What… what happened?" She finally asked, "What did I do?"
"You… Well, it started with an assassination attempt on Liara T'Soni on Illium while she was in her apartment. Shepard was supposed to meet with her, and comes across the crime scene, where you were already 'investigating'." He explained, "You were friendly with Shepard, and smiled, working with him to figure out where Liara was, since she was missing, too. Eventually, you both discovered a file that directed you to a location where Liara had gone to in order to get Shadow Broker files decrypted."
Tela's eyes widened as she started to piece things together. She whispered, "Spectres don't blow up buildings filled with innocent people…"
Jordan nodded sadly, "You'd notified Shadow Broker forces, and they blew the building sky-high. You separated from Shepard and both entered the building. In an office higher up in the ruined building, you confront Shepard and Liara, admitting to working with the Broker, before stealing the datapad and fleeing the building."
"Eventually, I'm chased down and injured, where I take a hostage?" She said, already knowing the answer to her own question.
"Yeah, and you… you were defeated." He told her simply, looking away in shame.
Tela looked down at her open hands and clenched them. She'd always feared she'd go down in one of the Broker's missions, finally biting off more than she could metaphorically chew. She bared her teeth at the thought of her original future. "Tell me…" She said in a low, dangerous tone, getting Jordan's attention again, but not making eye contact with him, "Tell me he gets that fucker." She all but demanded.
Jordan chuckled, "Yeah, he got him. After the fight, they head to Hagalaz and kill the Broker. Liara assumes control of the Shadow Broker empire, which is a great boon for the Reaper War."
She finally let out a light smile, "That's good… still, to think… that was my destiny, huh? To die unheroically, never to see my sister again…"
"Well, that didn't happen though, did it?" Jordan asked, "It was something that I changed, and I couldn't be happier that I did."
Chuckling, she looked up, gratefulness in her eyes, "Thanks." She said genuinely. "What about the rest of Mass Effect 2 and what about 3?" She asked.
"Well, technically, we're probably about three-quarters of the way done with the second game." He admitted, "Once we get the IFF installed, we can destroy the Collector Base beyond Omega-4, ending the second game."
"And the third?"
"That's a bit trickier. The events of Mass Effect 2 seem fairly set. The Collectors could act differently from the game, but we're so close to finishing them off, it shouldn't make that big of a deal. The third game, though… that takes place six months to a year later, right at the start of the Reaper War."
She lazer-focused on him, "Tell me about the Reaper War." She said, "I need to know how it goes down."
"That's the problem, it might be completely different from last time. The balance of power in this galaxy is far different than what it was in the games."
"I don't care. Just… just tell me how it originally was supposed to go down."
"Alright." He said after a moment, "It opens with the Reaper invasion of Earth."
"Earth?" She breathed out, "I thought you said the war starts at the beginning."
"It does." He admits, "The Reapers destroy Arcturus Station, race to Sol, and take Earth within hours."
"What…"
The sky fades from existence around them for a moment, before showing fiery and debris in the sky. Massive pieces of metal fall from the sky, ablaze during reentry. Sad music begins playing on a human instrument, the piano.
"Are those…?"
"Those are what remains of the fleets that were guarding Earth."
"Dear goddess…" She breathed out, horrified. "Lost in a single day?"
He nodded, "Millions dead in minutes." He told her, before making a holographic image of another planet appear between them. There were large portions of it black or orange, as if part of the planet was aflame. "See this? That's Palavan."
She could feel bile in her throat. The two largest military superpowers of the Galaxy, overrun in the opening moments of the war? This wasn't a war, this was a slaughter. "No…"
Jordan sighed, nodding sadly, "I'll tell everyone the details later, but by the end of the war, the Galaxy had likely lost more than half of its inhabitants. Silently, before Earth, the Reapers took Khar'shan. Most of the upper-government had been indoctrinated by the Leviathan of Dis, so it was a quick and silent conquest. With the head of the Batarian government taken, most of Batarian society collapsed, and all order was lost. The Reapers converted the masses into troops dubbed 'Cannibals.'" An image of a Cannibal appeared, "Using these and some husks, the Reapers then stormed Earth and Palavan, making more Husks and Marauders."
"By the goddess… I mean, I'm no fan of the Batarians, but still…"
"I know. From there, they started invading many other systems, mostly on the outer rim of the galaxy, and the Terminus Systems. In this war, Cerberus and TIM became indoctrinated too, making things much, much worse for everyone. Eventually, the Reapers press on Thessia, and take the planet, too." He sadly admitted, "Eventually, Shepard unites the galaxy and brings the fight back to Earth, where they utilize a weapon dubbed the Crucible to end the war, once and for all."
She was horrified by the news of the war, but was stunned by the idea that a single weapon could end the war. "The Crucible?"
"The plans were originally discovered in the Mars Prothean Archives. It's a device built and planned over the course of dozens and dozens of cycles, which is completed here." Jordan explained, "There, at the conclusion of the game, Shepard is given one, final choice."
"Destruction, Control, Synthesis, and Oblivion?"
"Just like the four Avatars, yes." Jordan says, "And the Catalyst is the one giving him those choices."
The two of them became silent as they looked at one another, pondering what they've discussed. Tela could see worry in Jordan's eyes, and this wasn't just worrying for the future and the Reaper War… No, he was also worried about something else, and Tela knew what was bothering him: How was she going to react to this truth? What did she think about him, now? She decided it was time to answer the unspoken question.
She stood up and approached Jordan, who looked at her with confusion. She reached down and pulled him up, bringing him to his feet. He looked stunned for a moment, before she brought him in for another hug.
"Thank you." She said quietly into his ear.
"For what?" He asked.
"For telling me the truth, and for helping us all. I know this knowledge must have burdened you, knowing all of this while trying to figure out what to do. Sure, you had the Geth to help you, but hiding from Shepard, myself, and the crew. I'm sure it was hard." He latched on, back, and hugged her tightly as she continued, "I don't hate or judge you for any of this. If anyone is to blame, it's the Catalyst. It was the thing that gave you that knowledge, it was the one that created the Reapers, which are responsible for everything, and it was the one that is to blame for all of this. It's not your fault, if that's what you think."
"What about Shepard?" He asked quietly, "What about the others? I need to tell them all, too."
"Fuck them if they hate you. They'd be wrong, but Shepard isn't stupid, and neither is his crew. They'll understand, and I'll be there to help you out if you need me."
Jordan nodded, pulling back a bit and smiling, "Thanks, Tela."
"No problem." She said, before looking around, "Now, if you're done moping around like a loser, I think it's about time you woke up. Next time we meld, we're doing it right."
"Next time?"
"Yeah, next time. I've decided that I don't care about my reputation or confusion or any of that shit anymore. I like you, you like me, right?" She asked, to which he nodded, "Then that makes me your… what do humans call it again, girlfriend? Partner? Mate?"
Jordan coughed at the last one, sputtering in shock, "Th-the first one works..."
"Good." She said with a grin, "Now, wake the fuck up, or I'll get Tali up there to help me kick your ass. I'm sure she wouldn't mind helping me."
"Yes, Ma'am!"
She gently and slowly let go of his nervous system, fading from his mind and ending the meld.
Serpent Nebula, Widow, Citadel, Normandy, Med Bay.
April 5th, 2185. 10:31 pm. EST
Jordan slowly opened his glowing green eyes, before noticing the position that he was in. Tela Vasir's own, beautiful eyes stared right back into his as she straddled his body. Her legs on either side of him and her hands resting firmly yet no uncomfortably on his head. He managed to smile lightly and opened his mouth to speak, only for him to be cut on in an unusual way.
Tela dived her head down and connected her mouth to his, sealing his lips once more in a kiss. It wasn't anything wild or particularly erotic, but it filled Jordan and Tela both with an unnatural warmth. He couldn't help the stupid grin on his face as she finally leaned back and ended the kiss.
"I've been waiting to do that." She said with a grin of her own.
Suddenly, they both heard a squeal of excitement from the side, prompting the two of them to look over and see who it was.
With a shit-eating grin, Hialus Vasir stood squealing in excitement with her hands over her mouth, equal amounts of excitement were shining in both of her blue eyes. "It's about damn time, you two!" She finally said.
"Yeah, yeah." Tela said with a roll of her eyes, "Don't you have a superior to notify, now that your patient is awake?"
Hialus pouted, "No fair, you can't use my job against me."
"Tick, tack, as the humans say." Tela shot back.
"Tick, Tock." Jordan corrected her under his breath, which caused Tela to lightly smack him in the stomach, causing no real damage.
"Fine, but no funny business while I'm gone. I don't wanna miss anything!" With that, the younger sister dashed out of the room to find Chakwas and tell her the news.
Tela turned back to Jordan, "You know she'll only be gone for two minutes, tops."
He chuckled, "She's just excited for you."
"And you." She shot back, "For some goddess-forsaken reason, she seems to have some sort of investment in the two of us."
"Looking back at it, I'd agree."
After a few seconds of silence, Tela spoke, "Look, Jordan, about what happened with the Catalyst, and Mass Effect…" She trailed off.
Jordan smiled warmly at her, and shrugged, "Thanks, but I'm better, now that I had someone knock some sense into me and talk it out with me."
"If you ever want to talk about it-."
"Yea, yeah, I can talk to you about it."
"Hell no, you can drink with me, then talk about it. I don't know how much more of that I can handle sober." She joked.
"Wow... So supportive..." He said sarcastically with a roll of his eyes.
She smiled back, "You're welcome, by the way."
"Now I won't thank you."
"Alright, listen here, Avatar. I'm in charge, here. I outrank you. So, if you want any sort of special privilege with me, you'll do what I want, and I want you to thank me."
"Wow." He said with a roll of his eyes, again, "Already resorting to blackmail, eh? What have I gotten myself into?" He asked rhetorically.
"The best damn thing in your life." She said with a smirk, getting the two of them to immediately start laughing. After another moment, they both stopped and she asked, "What about, you know…" She trailed off again.
Jordan sighed, right as the door slid open and revealed Hialus and Chakwas. He replied as they approached, "I'll call Shepard and get everyone together in the Comm Room. Probably invite your sister, the doc, and Joker, too."
Tela raised a false eyebrow at the idea. She didn't distrust her sister, but should she know the truth about all of this. As far as she'd been told, her sister was never even mentioned or alluded to in the games. She wasn't sure, but decided to trust Jordan's judgment.
Serpent Nebula, Widow, Citadel, Normandy, Comm Room.
April 5th, 2185. 11:11 pm. EST
After getting a clean bill of health from the Doctor and her Asari assistant, Jordan called Shepard with his omni-tool and they met in his cabin on the top floor. There, Jordan said he was ready to tell him everything, but thought the ground team and the people Shepard trusted should know the truth, too. When asked what kind of things he'd be talking about, Jordan responded with: "It will change the Galaxy, and change the war with the Reapers."
Seeing the seriousness on his face, Shepard immediately called for a meeting in the Comm room, and invited Joker and Chakwas to the briefing as well. Jordan asked about Hialus joining, and reluctantly accepted after Jordan made it clear that this affected Tela as well, and she should have a chance to listen in. Convincing him to allow their temporary prisoner, Cynthia, to attend was a bit trickier, but he got him to agree eventually in the end.
Now, after sending out the calls and requests, everyone was gathered around the table in the Comm Room, as Jordan requested.
Tali, Garrus, Ashley, Liara, Grunt, Zaeed, Brian, Jack, Miranda, Jacob, Thane, Samara, Kasumi, and Mordin were all standing around, ready for whatever was going to happen after the fiasco that was this morning. Shepard stood at the head of one end of the table, while Jordan and Tela stood at the other. Standing in the room as well, was Joker, Chakwas, and Hialus, which surprised many of the crew members with their appearance for this 'briefing'. Hell, he'd even managed to convince Shepard to allow Cynthia to be present as well, but she was still bound in a chair, not that she was resisting or anything.
Once everyone was there, Jordan looked up at the ceiling and spoke aloud, "EDI, please lock the door, turn off all recording and listening devices, and cut-off external communications." He requested.
To many's surprise, she listened, "Of course, Jordan. The room is sealed and isolated."
Jordan had, of course, talked to Shepard beforehand about doing this, explaining to his boss that what he was going to share and discuss could not leave the room or be told to anyone else. A few people voiced their displeasure, but seeing as how Shepard was not alarmed or against this, they eventually calmed down.
"Alright, everyone." Shepard began, "Today, as many of you were aware, Jordan, Tela, and myself went on a mission on the Citadel to confront a being called 'The Catalyst', which is responsible for both the Reapers and the Avatars, like Jordan, Cynthia, and Brian." He told them, "As you've likely seen, things didn't go the way we planned, but some uncomfortable truths pertaining to the three of them came to light that even they weren't completely aware of."
Brian nodded, a deep frown on his face, "Yes, it was… disturbing to say the least." He looked over to Jordan, wondering what exactly he was going to say or do. He didn't have any time to confront them other Avatar since he'd woken up after the mission, so he was unsure what would be transpiring, but feared what could be happening.
Jack interrupted, "That's good and all, boy scout, but why are we here? We all saw that shit, sad as it was."
Joker commented too, "Yeah, Commander. Not that I'm complaining about being added to your little pow-wow, but what am I doing in here, too?"
Shepard nodded, "I understand, but Jordan has agreed to discuss several things we all, including myself, have been wondering about and didn't understand bout the meeting. He also specifically requested that anyone that I fully trusted should be present, too. Which is why you and Doctor Chakwas are here. Isn't that right, Sower?"
Jordan nodded, "That's right, Commander. Now, everything's been disabled, because this is all top-secret information that cannot be leaked beyond this room. Understand?"
Everyone nodded in agreement to some capacity.
"Good, then I'll start with a quick recap of what the Catalyst said." Jordan began, "Myself and the other three Avatars are all creations of the Catalyst, designed to finish the cycle of extinction and harvests by the Reapers under set conditions set by the Catalyst. We were implanted with false memories of a life we never had, set before we 'woke up' on the Citadel." He told them, before eyeing Brian and Cynthia for a moment. Cynthia looked shocked, but Brian could see where he was going with this.
"That's what you know. What you don't know, is that those 'lives' we thought we had, were set for the late 20th century and early 21st century on Earth, far before any of this." He said, motioned around the room, surprising many of them, "Our memories painted us as normal people. I was a college student studying biology." He pointed to Cynthia, "Her original told me she was a teacher, right?"
Cynthia nodded sadly, "Y-yeah, I taught high-school science in Canada… Or, at least, that's what I thought…"
"That's quite shocking and confusing." Miranda commented, "But how exactly is this important?"
"Well, those memories made it feel like we were from another reality, and pulled her by the Catalyst." Jordan said, "Which you may be able to connect with what the Catalyst was saying. While we might not be from that reality, at least some form or version of our memories and knowledge is from that world or Earth." He said, "That might not seem extremely important, and may even sound convoluted and nonsensical, but there was a reason the Catalyst did that."
"Sower…" Brian said slowly with a glare, "Don't…"
Jordan shook his head, "Sorry, Brian." He said, "But, it's time for them to know the truth. No more lies, no more secrets." He turned back to the rest of them, all watching their interaction closely. Cynthia seemed to pick up on the direction Jordan was going, and was neither for nor against the idea.
"A-are you…?"
He nodded, looking across the room and making eye-contact with everyone, "It all connects to something that existed in that reality, that doesn't exist here." He began ominously.
"And what is that?" Shepard asked, curious as to where Jordan was going with this.
He laid his hands down on the table and connected himself and his memories to the holographic display. After just a half-second, a floating image of a box appeared before them. It was grey, but showed an image of Commander Shepard in his N7 armor on the front. The bottom corner had a small box with "Mature 17+" and a giant "M" on it. In big, bold letters were the words "MASS EFFECT TRILOGY", with three small images beneath it, each showing Shepard in a different pose. Beneath each one had a title. Mass Effect, Mass Effect 2, and Mass Effect 3. The words 'BioWare' and the letters 'EA' were along the bottom, too.
The room was quiet as most of them stared at it in confusion. Brian and Cynthia were in shock, as was Tela. Shepard, in particular, appeared stunned.
"I'm going to talk about a series of games, titled: Mass Effect!"
A/N:
Hype for Mass Effect: Legendary Edition!
Chapter 50 on the site, ladies and gentlemen! Upon reaching this monumental stage, I've begun going back and editing previous chapters, removing or condensing no-longer-needed A/Ns. Also, I think you might know what's coming next chapter. I know many of you, myself included, have been waiting for this moment, so… you'll finally get to see the reveal and truth of Mass Effect in the next chapter. It will be more than just a quick gloss-over next time, so look forward to that. And, so… Next time:
Chapter 45: The Mass Effect
Let me know what you think, and/or if you're feeling up for it. Also, again:
As I said above, I have another set of polls on my profile. If you would be so kind, please go to my profile and open the poll. Each 'option' is actually a link to my Strawpoll, and there are two polls. You are not required to be logged in for these polls, and can vote anonymously over there, though it may be difficult on the Mobile site.
I'm asking: Would you be interested in a Discord? and: Who would you want/ feel would be the best LI for Cynthia Wake, if she got one?
FINAL IMPORTANT NOTE: If enough interest is there for a Discord, I'll create one by the next upload and try to post a link in my poll as an extra question and/or write the link info in the next chapter's A/N.
Hope you enjoyed this, and that you're excited about what is next to come. There may be a bit of a delay before the next chapter, as I have been extra swamped with work recently, and have had less time to write. (Most of this was written before my workload doubled.)
Anyways... Leave a review or DM or whatever if you feel up for it.
Thanks again!
-swrWriter.
