A/N: Sorry I haven't uploaded at the same pace before, my dad decided to remodel his house as a present for my mom, so I've been busy. I also work in a grocery store, so it's been a little hectic, and because of that I've had no free time =[. Hopefully I'll be back at my regular pace in about a weeks time, after Christmas
Buzz Aldrin
May 21, 2178
-Chase, you should wake up, our ship arrived on the citadel-
Five more minutes
-I wouldn't advise that, the Admiral's waiting for us-
UUhhh, but Admiral spook and her pet sucks, five more minutes
-Her pet?-
Udina, I want to him to go on a walk, and fall in a hole
-Ha! But you still have to deal with the crook, now let's go, they're waiting for us-
For what?
-Torfan-
Damn, that's happening already? Has it been two years?
-Yes, but the Admiral won't have you on the front lines, based on every other mission she's sent you on. And they're still waiting, I don't have any information on what you're doing though-
Fine
I get up from my hammock that I erected in the corner of engineering, and make my way off the frigate and towards the Alliance Sector of the Citadel, which fortunately is pretty close. I walk in the Admiral's office, snapped a quick salute while the Admiral was speaking, and then stood, waiting for her to finish her vid call. I look to her left, and see the Councilor sitting, looking anxious.
Got anything?
-Nothing, the rat's very paranoid-
Nice touch
"Commander, excellent work on your last assignment, your intel proved to be invaluable, again. Any chance I can get you to transfer to Intel permanently?" The Admiral addressed me
"No Ma'am, I'll have to pass, I miss SpecOps a little too much, Intel just doesn't cut it" I claimed, "But what is the purpose of this meeting, I doubt you wanted a meeting for a debrief" I said, pointing out the obvious
"Yes, I'm not surprised you were able to surmise that. It's interesting, you were placed here because of Elysium, and now it's come full circle" She said with a small smirk
"I'm sorry?" I asked, playing dumb
"We finally got'em, the pirates that attacked Elysium. It's a moon, called Torfan, a major pirate anchor. We're going to hit it, and soon, which is why we're having this meeting." She claimed, with Udina standing up to speak.
"Commander, I have unprecedented news for you. Based on your Achievements and abilities, I plan on recommending you to the Council to join the Spectres" he claimed, with a devilish grin on his face.
-Well, that was unexpected-
"Nah, I'm good" I deadpanned, getting an angry and confused look from Udina, and a smirk from the Admiral.
"Excuse me? This an opportunity of a life time, and you will never have it again. You don't have a choice."
"But I do, we both know that you plan on trying to get me in before Torfan, because the Council will not like this attack, especially so close to the Terminus. So, I figure, maybe 4-6 years after Torfan, they'll let Humanity have another go at it, assuming we don't do something else to piss them off again. Also, I have no intention on being the first Human Spectre, I don't like the spot light. And F.Y.I.," I said, leaning in closer, "don't try and pressure me into this Udina, I will kill you-" I coughed to interrupt myself, "Sorry, I will kill your career"
"Are you threatening me?!" he questioned, with a large dose of entitlement
"What? No!" I paused, "It's a promise" I said, turning toward the Admiral, who seems amused by the frustrated rat. "What exactly is my mission on Torfan, I highly doubt you'll give me back early, so they can just put me on the frontlines"
"I told you he'd say that" the Admiral addressed Udina, "No I'm not Jarrett. Your mission is simple, we're going to drop you in the middle of the chaotic battle, into there 'headquarters', if you can call it that. Your mission is to kill anything that's not a slave, and upload this V.I. program to their computer system. This is a three-fold attack, crippling their leadership, breaking up lines of communication, and gaining valuable intel."
"Understood, what's the timeline?" I asked
"The attack is in five days, you'll be on the carrier Einstein, it leaves it three days. You have two days of leave, I'll have them send the necessary information, dismissed" she ordered, talk about a mouthful, I make my way out of her office and towards my apartment for two days of uninterrupted peace.
Is Shepard in contact range?
-No, she's on assignment for the next two days, surprisingly highly classified. Would you like me to hack into the Alliance database?-
Not necessary, I'll leave a message for her, I have two days of being a couch potato, I'm going to enjoy this
-You don't want to be a Spectre?-
I'm not opposed to it, but Shepard needs to be the first Spectre, and I really don't want the spot light, she can deal with it
-You are so lazy, what would you do without this job?-
Hey, when I'm not at work I'm not lazy, and I don't know what I'd do without this job, I've only had one other before this anyways
-Really? You never talk about your life before Mindor, what did you do?-
I worked at a grocery store for a couple of years, talk about something else
-Fine-
How's that V.I. program you've been working on for Mordin?
-Issues, I'm still getting a 3% fail rate when its running the drones-
Have you tried changing the drones? Right now you have them as jack of all trades, why don't you specialize them?
-Wow, that's actually a good idea-
Why does everyone think I'm an idiot? Every time I have a good idea, you guys say that
-It just surprises us every time you do-
Im'a just, I'm just going to take a nap, Ooohhh look, chocolate
Two days later
"The Einstein, it's been awhile" I said aloud.
-When was the last time you saw it?-
About 8 years ago, when it dropped Shepard and myself off
-It's been six months since the last time you saw her-
Yeah, well, they've had me busy here in intel. Everyone else there was an off the rack Marine recruit that's straight out of boot camp, they threw them a little training, and they think they're hot shit. Alright, now point me to a spot with little boot traffic and is quiet.
-The ship is outfitted with a spec ops wing, there's very little foot traffic there-
It's hammock time!
-You've got to stop saying that-
Nope
I make my way through the ship, Cortana lighting up the way through with the built-in heads up display. I walk into the wing, see a small gym, shooting range, and training area, along with a bathroom and small lounge area in the far wall. Bingo. I go and set up my hammock, and lay in it to test it out.
-You're not going to take another nap again, right?-
I don't have any duty's on this ship, so yes =].
I doze off after covering myself head to toe, thinking of what I'm going to encounter on Torfan. I know Shepard's a war hero, so I don't have to worry about her being the 'Butcher of Torfan', so that's nice. I later wake up to loud sounds, slip off my blanket just enough for my eyes to peek out. And I spy some marines at the shooting range, in a little too good of a mood based on their accuracy.
"You're in a good mood for someone who can barely hit a target!" A familiar voice said, getting the Marines attention. "If you plan on being down there, you better shape up! And fix your stance."
Cortana, did you know?
-I did when she got aboard, but nothing before then. Remember? You wouldn't let me-
I slowly get out of my hammock, not making a sound, and grabbed my rifle while Shep was drilling her marines. I set up my rifle, engaging the suppresser on it. I lined up a quick eight shots, one for each of the marines' targets.
Cortana, engage SAM, disengage when I finish the eight.
-Understood show off, siphoning power off your leg-
Time seemed to slow slightly, not nearly as much as Elysium, but a little. My rifle shot off, feeling no recoil, I moved to the next seven targets, finishing them all off before anyone could turn around, and time came back to normal.
-SAM disengaged, leg power at 98 percent-
The Marines finally turned around, quite mad, but seeing the red stripe on my hoodie made them hold their tongues.
"Commander?" Shep asked, barely breaking her 'Shepard' routine in front of her subordinates. "So, the Demon returns" she said with a grin
"You know just how to push my buttons Lieutenant" I responded, getting odd looks and whispers from the Marines. Ever since Elysium, I'm either worshipped or feared, like a zoo animal. It's annoying.
"Back to the range" she ordered, and they snapped too, and she nodded me towards the lounge. I walk over, and plop down on the couch. "What are you doing on here? I thought you're still with Intel" she stated
"I am, Intel wants me on Torfan, while you and your boys are on the frontlines I'll be taking down their command center, making it easier for you" I claimed
"That's it?" she asked, fishing for info, not wanting to ask.
"Well, a special set of rules of engagement, and to obviously gather intel. It's been a few weeks since I've seen you, anything new?" I asked
"Not really, what about you?" she asked
"Nothing much, they wanted to make me a Spectre, but I turned that down. Also, I ate your chocolate." I deadpanned
"What?"
"I was hungry, and I was on back to back assignments, and I didn't go shopping. I'll pay you back" I said with a quick wink.
"Not that smartass, you turned down being a Spectre?" she questioned
"Look, I appreciated the offer, but you know I hate spot lights. I mean, I'd be the second human Spectre, but not the first"
"Does it matter?" she asked
"Who was the second man on the moon?" I asked, and she quickly caught on to my point
"Whatever, do you think they'll offer you it again?"
I just shrugged. "I don't know, maybe they'll offer it to you next," I said, getting a 'Really?' look from her, "but there's no way that happening anytime soon, especially once the find out what we're about to do"
"Yeah, you said something about your ROE, what is it?"
"Anything that's not a slave doesn't get to breath" I said looking away, "Be careful when you're out there. Me and you don't exactly have a good history with Batarians"
"I will" she said, sliding her hand to mine, out of sight from the others. "I want you to be careful, I've seen you in combat, you get incredible tunnel vision, it'd make a Krogan nervous"
"I know, and I will. You should be grateful, you don't have to deal with politicians a lot, turns out intel and politics are pretty intertwined."
-Chase, update from Mordin, project Hermes was a success, our plant in Cerberus is in-
Thank you
"That doesn't surprise me, where's your sniper?" She asked me, I just realized that she hasn't seen me in combat for a while.
"I don't really snipe much anymore, I stay mid to close range, just a rifle, shotgun, and a pistol." I said, "I told you, being in the back is boring"
"I almost forgot" she said, laying her head against the couch, looking a little down
"What?" I asked
"It's just that we get to be stationed on the same ship for a couple of days, and we probably won't get to spend any time alone"
"I knew it" I said, "you just use me for my body", and that earned me a hard punch into the arm. "Sorry" I said, looking over at the Marines who just moved over to the gym, "You're pretty good with being in charge of a large group"
"I guess, all part of the job" she commented
"Not if you're me, they tend to stick me in small groups, or usually just by myself"
"Well, quit being so good at your job, and they might" she deadpanned with a grin, and she suddenly got up and started looking over my armor, "Something's different"
"Very astute of you" I chimed, walking over to it, "I'll show you, go over to the sparring mat", and I put on my armor, and glided over to Shepard, who's got a suspicious look. I reach my hand up to clear my visor, so she can see me. "Okay, go ahead and throw a warp at me, strongest one too"
"What?!"
"Come on, do it, and don't hold back" I said, taunting her with my hands. She started to glow purple, and threw a warp at me, and just as it reached my armor, it disappeared as it went over me, and small, thin purple streaks started glowing throughout my armor.
-Bio nodes at 43% capacity-
I walk over to the dividing wall between the shooting range and gym, getting confused looks from the Marines.
Charge right glove
-Done-
I punch the wall, releasing the stored energy from Biotic nodes throughout my armor, and two placed in my leg, putting a massive dent in the solid metal wall.
"What do you think?" I asked, Sheps mouth on the floor
"You can use biotics?"
"No" I claimed, "I can trap the energy through the use of eezo nodes, don't know how they work, but I can harness them and release it, multiplying my physical attacks massively. Pretty cool, huh?"
"Yeah, a little, and you wonder why they call you the 'Demon of the Alliance'?" she said
"What? They say that?"
"Yes" she said laughing.
-Did you not know that?-
No!
"I'm really tired of these nick names" I said, shaking my head.
"Commander Jarrett, you're needed in debriefing room one" someone said over the intercom
"I'll be on my way in a few minutes" I said, and it shut off. "Well kid, I'll see you later" I pointed over at my hammock, "If anyone goes in it, they will regret it" I said looking at the marines, I think one might have shit himself.
"Cool it Chase, these guys don't know better, you're scaring them, you big teddy bear" Shep quipped with a grin.
"Fine, but that includes you!"
"Oh really?" she asked, "oh, pray tell, how will I regret it?"
"I'm not gonna dignify that with a response!" I said, walking out the door.
-You lost-
Well it wouldn't hurt to help, you know I tend to lose to Shep, she knows me too well
-That's cheating-
I walk out the debriefing room, not happy at all.
-That plan sucks-
I concur, but we'll have to make the best of it
"Commander, you like your assignment?" I look over and see Shepard
"Not really, you next?" I asked
"Yeah, they want to go over my role down there, what's wrong with your plan, why don't you like it?" she asked
"It sucks, I have to halo jump, out of a shuttle, into a heavily reinforced and guarded complex, wipe everyone one out, and go deal with everyone inside" I said
"Isn't that what you expected?" she asked
"Yes, but I have to halo jump from low orbit, and the base has a quick reaction force, so when I get inside the compound, they have back up coming. On top of their air support"
"That does suck" she deadpanned
"Yeah, I have to go plan, meet in the mess for dinner?" I asked
"It's a date" she said, walking into the debriefing room.
"Shepard" I said, getting her to turn around in the door way, "It was Buzz Aldrin"