Commodore Jonathan Shepard

"I can't believe the Alliance skimped out on us," Vega grunted as he, along with Shepard and Garrus, pushed the Prefab wall into place. While not voicing it, Shepard had similar complaints. Standard issue Alliance Navy Prefabricated Structures required assembly by the crew of the vessel, but automated prefabs were not unheard of. And it had been expected that the Normandy would've been given state of the gear and equipment. Evidently not.

"What Vega? Marine training prepared you for being homeless but not hard work?" Garrus mocked.

"Least I got training, rent a cop," the marine retorted.

"Wall first, then banter," Shepard told the two, before applying more force to the piece of metal. The other two followed suit, pushing the panel further and further until it sat at a ninety-degree angle. Then they heard a click as the panel locked into place. They stepped back from the panel and looked at the last one sitting on the ground.

"Break?" Garrus asked.

"Break," Shepard affirmed. The three males stepped away from the first prefab, taking a glance over at the second which had half of Raven team and two of the Geth Platforms assembling it. "Catch jefe," Vega told Shepard, tossing a canteen at him. The Commodore caught it one-handed and popped the cap off, taking a swig of the cold water.

For N2 training he'd spent six days in the Sahara Desert with his squad and nothing else. Despite the seeming temperate climate around him, the sun beat down just as hard as it did during those six days. "Resting already?" Ashley mocked. Unlike Shepard, Garrus, or Vega she was in full armor, save for her helmet. A N7 Valkyrie sat at rest within her hands. Despite not being N7 herself, her SPECTRE status had authorized her to make use of any weapon in Council Space. Walking with her Seiala held her Disciple in one hand. On her hip was her huntress blade, mag locked onto her armor, the blade gleaming in the light.

"We'd be done sooner if you ladies wouldn't mind getting dirty and pitching in," Garrus jested.

"I'd rather stay back and watch the gun show," Ashley snapped back, "And I think Ms. Huntress would agree with me." The alien woman stifled a laugh, particularly at Garrus who had removed his armor due to the heat. "Even Turians have limits," he had told Shepard when his friend laid eyes on his bare flesh, or a rather his bare carapace, for the first time.

"Careful Ashley, keep talking like that and Miranda might drop you. She's already jealous of one woman," Vega laughed, looking at his superior. News of Liara's pregnancy had spread rapidly in the eighteen hours she had told him. Ensign Vers, the technician who had overheard Michel and Liara discussing the health of the baby, was currently sterilization the septic tanks for the violation of privacy.

Shepard looked the man dead in the eyes, but his scars nor eyes brightened. Vega laughed harder, soon followed by Garrus and Ashley. Seiala still managed to be professional, but the sides of her mouth had tilted upwards.

"Someone wants to talk," Garrus said, ceasing his laughter. Shepard followed the turian's gaze and saw the king approaching, flanked by Sers Trant and Blout. "Williams, take over for me," Shepard told his fellow SPECTRE. "Sir," she half-heartedly saluted, mag locking her weapon to her back. Shepard grabbed his discarded shirt and clothed himself fully.

"Good morning, Your Grace," Shepard said, giving a slight nod. He wouldn't bow before the man, too many men and women had died so that he wouldn't have to, but he did show him the respect he deserved as a leader of a nation, as a despotic as it was.

Ser Trant looked as if he was about to speak but the King's booming voice-acted first, "A fine morning. A messenger has just arrived with my maesters report on your printing press…. thing,"

"And?"

"And? You undersold it, plain and simple!" Laughter mixed with words seemingly every time he spoke, "In his words, you could've demanded a castle and a lordship for these plans,"

"Some horses and provisions are good for now," Shepard told the man, waiting for his real reason for coming.

"Walk with me," the king told him before turning to the knights, "And you two. Stay here, I won't be long,"

"Your Grace…." Ser Blout attempted to protest.

"Obey your king," Robert interrupted, in a much more aggressive tone. Shepard walked in stride with the king until they had left the camp and entered the woods. Shepard noticed the king looking around them, seemingly to seek out those who would spy on them. Shepard had done the same on their walk there. They were alone.

The King gave a sigh of relief. "Thank the gods," he said, "None of my wife's ears or Little Finger's eyes. Not even one of Varys's birds,"

"What are you on about?" Shepard asked.

Robert laughed, "You wouldn't get it," he told Shepard, patting his shoulder, "Now tell me, how is it you came to be in my lands?"

"We were transporting an artifact of unknown origin," Shepard told him, "Everything seemed normal until we reached the relay…."

"Relay?" Robert asked. Shepard mentally kicked himself. He was going to have to think like a monkey whilst talking with the king.

"A Mass Effect Relay. The science behind how it works is beyond the understanding of anyone on this planet, suffice to say it makes our ships really fast,"

"Ah. Continue,"

"We reached the relay and we went fast. Then the artifact, what we call the Stone Disc, turned on. It released an energy we are still trying to understand and created a wormhole. The simplest way to explain it is a door that when stepped through takes you very far away from where you went through. This combined with how we went fast apparently tore a rift in space and time, taking us from our dimension and throwing us into yours. By impossible chance, we arrived in orbit of your planet and became trapped in its gravity. It was all Joker, my pilot, could do to keep the Normandy together. And you can guess the rest,"

"And what proof do you have to support this claim?" he asked Shepard.

"None you would be able to understand," Shepard answered. The king laughed again. "You have no idea how refreshing it is to be told the truth," he said, "I would like to invite you to court, maybe convince you to share more of your magic. At the very least, it would be nice to have someone to talk to,"

Shepard was about to respond when he saw movement. It was slight, barely noticeable even with his augmentations. But it was there. He sprinted after what he saw, his Carnifex entering his hand. He lifted it up to where a man's shoulder would be and pulled the trigger.

The round whizzed by the child's head and he stumbled over in fear. Shepard stood over him, his face glowing red. The child looked up with fear in his eyes but didn't utter a sound. He looked about eleven or twelve, mud and dirt-stained his skin and clothes. He wore no shoes and his hair was a tangled mess. "Who are you?" Shepard asked in a low voice. The child still didn't speak. He holstered his gun and threw the child against a tree. "Gods, even out here I cannot escape them," Robert said.

"Don't make me ask twice," Shepard told the boy. The boy's pants became stained and the smell of piss entered Shepard's nostrils.

"He won't answer," Robert said, "He's a mute, one of Varys's birds." Shepard looked at the child again before dropping him. "You are coming with us. Try to run and I will eat your soul, do you understand me?" He had the look of a demon, might as well use it. Robert seemed to have the intelligence to know that it was an empty threat, though was a little disturbed by Shepard's scars.

The three started back for the camp. "How did you get those scars?" Robert asked.

"I died," Shepard answered.

Author's Note

Howdy yall, hope everyone is doing well. Two chapters that are technically one this week, sorry about that. I'm stuck in the TV show mindset of scenes instead of a book's mindset of chapters, trying to correct that. Anyway, I have a quick question for you all. It is only now clicking that Daenarys is going to have to factor into the story at some point, and I have a few ideas for her. However I can't decide, so I'd like some help.

Idea 1 - Scott Ryder and company end up in Essos around the same time Danny goes to Astapor.

Idea 2 - After securing Meereen Dany discovers that one of the various artifacts in the Pyramid is a Stargate, and she meets SG-1 a little after the death of Anubis.

Idea 3 - Legate Braynard was pulled through some Daedric rift brought into being by the Dovakhiin Beowulf and arrived in a strange place that reminds him of Hammerfell.

Idea 4 - Axehand was heading west in the name of his King, Hiccup Horrendous Haddock the Third King of the Wilderwest and (an obscene amount of titles later) when a storm took his fleet of fifty ships. They now find themselves limping into the port of the self-proclaimed dragon queen. What happens?

And if any of these sound stupid, I am open to suggestions for what I should do. Or maybe I should just have her get her face smashed in by Robert's Warhammer. Anyway, enough of that stuff. Hope everyone has an amazing rest of their day and is staying safe. Comments, criticisms, and concerns are always welcome. Thanks for reading!