Hello again, everyone, and welcome back to my Mass Effect - MechWarrior/BattleTech crossover. Thank you all for your wonderful support last chapter. I greatly appreciate it and the feedback that I've received.
Either way, thank you for your support, and I hope to continue receiving that support in future chapters.
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Disclaimer: I do not own the Mass Effect or MechWarrior/BattleTech franchises. They are the respective properties and trademarks of Electronic Arts, BioWare, FASA Corporation, FASA Interactive, Catalyst Game Labs, Piranha Games Inc., etc. Any material original to the franchises belongs to it's 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.
Helm IV
Helm Field Library
November 19th, 3019
For the most part, the one thing that took the longest to do was to reformat the Helm Memory Core so that, once it was back at NAIS, they'd be able to study the information inside without decrypting it. That was a job that would take six hours, and that was if all went well. In addition, Ronald had decided that it would also be smart to copy the Memory Core so that, if they couldn't get it out quickly, they could smuggle it out as commercial cargo. Thanks to the setup and programming of the work station, copying the Memory Core's contents onto spare Memory Cores wouldn't take long, though it added another thirty minutes onto the procedure.
As such, much of their time was spent recovering any technology that could fit onto the Normandy and leave enough room for the memory core. It was also the first time that Shepard got his first look at some of the equipment that the Star League's Royal Regiments got to use. Walking towards the Normandy's cargo hold, he heard the sound of the Heavy Transport B1 driving towards him. Turning around, he watched as it drove into the cargo hold before stopping. Like clockwork, the people inside got out, and began to load up crates that were stuffed with Star League era technology.
Looking inside one of the crates, he pulled out what looked like a rifle. The first thing that he noticed was how heavy it was. Wow, he thought, Grunt could use this thing as a barbell if he wanted to. "What's this?" he asked.
"I know what it is," one of the technicians replied. "My dad owned one of those things, so I know it quite well. That, Shepard, is the Mauser 960 Assault System. It's a pulse laser rifle that the SLDF used as their standard long arm."
That had Shepard cocking an eyebrow. "Interesting. Why's it so heavy?"
"My dad also told me that too. Turns out, it has a Compact Grenade Launcher and retractable Vibroblade installed. That, and a fully equipped survival kit. Overall, that thing weighs around ten kilograms when all of that is installed."
Shepard whistled at that as he carefully put the Mauser 960 in his hands back into the crate. Heavy, but understandably so, he thought. Still, if we had weapons like these, the kinetic barriers the Reaper's ground forces use would be absolutely useless. Already, his mind was conjuring up images of Systems Alliance soldiers cutting down Reaper ground forces with pulse laser weaponry.
"Oh! Oh!" one of the other technicians shouted. "I've got the juiciest find here yet, aside from the Memory Core!" Using a flatbed trolley, he wheeled out a large cargo crate before opening it up.
Peering inside, Shepard found himself looking at what appeared to be a very large computer of some kind. "What is that thing?" he asked, curious. "I've never seen that before."
"That, Shepard, is a Tacticon B-2000 Battle Computer," the technician in question replied. "It's one of the most advanced computer systems you can find in the Inner Sphere. If one of these is installed in a Cyclops BattleMech, you can command an entire brigade of BattleMechs and Combat Vehicles across the surface of an entire planet! Now that, in my opinion, is some state-of-the-art computer hardware, aside from what you've got, that is."
"Sounds pretty nice."
"It sure it. It's LosTech, though, so finds like these are extremely rare. That being said, now that we've found what I think is a fully functional B-2000, we can take it to NAIS to find out how to make these again. They'll really come in handy."
"I'll bet," Shepard agreed.
For the next six hours, the team slowly loaded up the Normandy's cargo hold. Due to the limited amount of cargo space that they had, the technician team was having to be picky with what they wanted to bring along. BattleMechs were, for obvious reasons, out of the question due to how much room they would take up inside of the Normandy. Anything else that could fit, though, was carefully selected and brought aboard.
Eventually, after the last piece of cargo that could be brought aboard was securely stowed away, Shepard heard a whistle from one of the technicians. "Shepard!" he shouted. "Memory Core's been fully reformatted and we've got a copy ready to go. We're working on getting it detached and transported to the Normandy without wiping the data."
"Copy," Shepard replied. "Be careful with it! We don't want to lose the information onboard the Memory Core, otherwise this mission is done!"
"We'll be as careful as possible," came the reply. "We didn't come here to screw up now."
Another fifteen minutes passed, with the air thick with tension as Shepard waited. Just as he was about to enter the Normandy, he spotted the technicians coming out with a flatbed trolley. Resting on it, and some thick padding, was the Memory Core. "Got it safely detached and ready for transport," Arnold informed Shepard. "Getting the Memory Core ready for transport was easy. That workstation in there was top-notch."
"We've got a padded cargo crate ready for it," Shepard replied. "Once it's in there, nothing aside from a crash landing will damage the Memory Core. If our luck continues to hold out, then we'll have nothing to worry about."
"Agreed," Arnold nodded. "Of course, I'd knock on wood, but I don't have any to knock on. Oh well. We'll just have to hope for the best and prepare for the worst." With that, they carefully wheeled the Memory Core into the cargo hold.
As they did so, Ronald came up to them. "Shepard, I'll have two of my agents smuggle the copy of the Memory Core out as commercial cargo. That way, if we lose the original Memory Core, the mission won't be a failure."
"Good thinking," Shepard agreed. "I didn't think of that at all. Thanks for catching that error in my judgment."
"You're welcome. It's the smart thing to do." With that, the Heavy Transport B1 was rolled out of the Normandy, with two of the MIIO agents getting inside as they loaded the spare Memory Core onboard. Another pair of technicians came along, though a few soldiers and technicians went inside of the Star League cache once again. A few minutes later, they came back with a similarly sized vehicle of some kind.
"What's that?" Shepard asked.
"Mobile HQ," Arnold told him. "They're extremely rare finds in the Inner Sphere. Most have had their equipment stripped out due to it's value, so getting one of those to New Avalon will be quite splendid. Now let's load up the Memory Core. I want to safely secured."
"You don't have to tell me twice."
Heading for the crate in question, Shepard wheeled it over, before whistling to the others. As soon as they were right by him, they knew what he was planning. With the care that a mother had for an infant, they gently lifted the Memory Core up, before lowering it into the padded cargo container. It was quite heavy, with all eight people straining as they loaded the most valuable resource in the Inner Sphere into the crate. Once it was inside, they carefully sealed the cargo crate and secured it in the cargo hold. At around the same time, the Mobile HQ was fully secured.
"Whew!" Arnold whistled as he wiped his sweat drenched forehead with a handkerchief. "I'm glad that is over. Now we get it to New Avalon, which is another two months away for us."
"Agreed," Shepard nodded. "The first stage of this operation is complete. Now we're at the last mile, and that's always the hardest part of any mission. Is the Helm Field Library sealed up again?"
"Yep. We closed up shop. To anyone that goes there, it'll be like nothing took place there. Only we will know that we got inside and got the Memory Core. Say, I wonder what faces the ComStar personnel will have when they eventually find out what happened. I think that'll be quite hilarious."
"Maybe. Let's hope they don't find out for a long while yet." Once the cargo hold doors were closed, and the airtight seals in place, Shepard said, "Joker, get us out of here as quietly as you got us in. The Memory Core is onboard and secured."
"Aye aye, Commander," Joker replied., "Good to know that all's well so far." With that, the ship shuddered slightly as the Normandy lifted off from the surface of the planet, it's anti-proton thrusters activating once they were high enough in the air. Flying low, the ship eventually pitched upwards once EDI informed Joker that they were clear of any potential sightseers.
As the world of Helm slowly shrank in the distance, Shepard looked towards the planet one more time. So far, all is going well, he thought to himself. My only hope is that things continue to go well from here on out. I'm not going to bank on that, though, until we're at New Avalon and the Memory Core is safely at NAIS.
. . .
Once more, it was another two month trip to New Avalon, with the JumpShip they were on doubling back towards New Avalon. Again, the crew was in a state of relaxed alertness, though it was clear that the exhilaration of having recovered the Memory Core was present. The technicians from NAIS were more than eager to get to work once they had the Memory Core back at NAIS.
Throughout the trip, though, Shepard was worried that ComStar, or one of the Great Houses, would notice the JumpShip and it's unusual passengers. He had a couple sleepless nights from that, though he quickly got over that sleeplessness. Still, between playing chess games with Traynor, and talking with Dr. Chakwas, he still had that worry nestled inside of his mind.
Fortunately, he need not have worried, as before long, they were back in the Federated Suns. As soon as they came out of the next Jump, Shepard smiled when he noticed the system they were in. We made it, he sighed mentally. We made it back home, and not one of the Great Houses noticed anything out of place. I'll take that any day of the week.
"We've arrived at New Avalon," the JumpShip Captain informed them. "Thank you for flying MIIO Transport Ltd. We hope you had a pleasant journey, and we are thrilled to have been of service." Everyone laughed at the joke, with Joker actually chuckling slightly.
"Hah, reminds me of some of the courier trips I did," Joker beamed. "Good to see that humor isn't dead here. I'd be bored out of my mind if it was."
"Well, it's still around, just not how you'd expect it," Shepard nodded. "Time to get to New Avalon."
"Roger that," Joker nodded. "Gravity reengaged. Activating IES system." Within moments of those systems being reactivated, Shepard felt the ship shudder slightly as they detached from the JumpShip.
Once they were a sufficient distance away, they turned towards the planet and rocketed forwards. For a few seconds, the hum of the Tantalus Drive Core increased as the ship warped space and time to travel faster than light. Then they exited FTL flight, with the surface of New Avalon present for all of them to see.
Flying closer to the planet, Joker smoothly brought the Normandy down on a flight path that steered them clear of any areas that someone might spot them at. As he got lower to the ground, he flew towards the Lycomb-Davion Introtech Plant that the Normandy had been retrofitted at. It wasn't long before it came into view, with the plant's buildings and DropPads visible for all to see.
It was clear that they had arrived during winter, as any deciduous trees in the area were devoid of any leaves, while the ground was covered in a thick layer of snow. Well, New Avalon's seasonal calendar does closely match Earth's, Shepard thought to himself. It's late for New Years Day, but I know one thing: we've got the best present of all.
That was when Joker picked up a comm signal. "SSV Normandy, this is Delta One. We have visual on your ship. Foxtrot Actual is on station."
That code phrase sent shivers up Shepard's spine. That means either Hanse or Quintus is on station, or even both of those men. Either way, he knew that the First Lord, or the Intelligence Minister, knew the Normandy had returned to New Avalon.
"Roger that," Joker replied. "Requesting permission to land. Over."
"Granted. You are cleared to land." Nodding, Joker smoothly piloted the Normandy to a patch of forest large enough for the ship to land at. A few seconds later, they landed on the ground, with the Normandy's engines powering down. "And we're down," he announced. "Smoothest. Mission. Ever."
"That we can agree on," Shepard nodded. Taking the elevator down to the cargo hold, he entered it to find cargo handlers and technicians quickly, but professionally, unloading the various crates that had been neatly stored inside of the hold to a DropShip that was nearby.
The crate with the Memory Core inside was being handled with great care. Around fifteen cargo handlers were carefully moving the padded crate over to the DropShip, before it was carefully stowed away and secured. As they did so, a soldier came up to Shepard. "Sir, the Intelligence Minister is requesting that you meet him at NAIS. We've been ordered to escort you there."
"Got it," Shepard nodded. "How long will the trip take?"
"Around eight hours, given the distance we have to travel. We'll arrive at 1600 hours, local time."
"Then we'd better get a move on once the cargo's onboard." It was around fifteen minutes of fast, but organized, cargo transfer before they were ready to head out for NAIS. Once they were, Shepard and his team quickly got onboard, before the DropShip sealed itself up, and took to the air in a manner that would make any airliner envious.
. . .
True to form, it took them eight hours to complete the flight from the Lycomb-Davion plant to NAIS, with the DropShip landing at the facility in record time. Getting out, Shepard helped the technicians get the Memory Core onto a flatbed trolley, before they began to wheel it into the campus' Computer Center, the Memory Core's new home. The interior of the Computer Center was lined with computers, keyboards, memory storage devices and tables that had partially disassembled computers, likely LosTech that was being studied.
In addition to the computer technicians that were inside the computer center, Shepard could see Quintus and, much to his surprise, Hanse, talking to each other. Spotting the Memory Core's, Hanse stopped his conversation before turning to Shepard. "Shepard, it seems as though you have a New Year's present for me."
"That we do," Shepard nodded. "I present to you the Helm Memory Core, fully intact and ready for access. We also recovered some LosTech from the Star League cache that was inside the place."
Once the Memory Core was upright, Hanse walked over to it. While his facial expression was neutral, Shepard could tell that he was gazing in awe at some of the most advanced technology in the Inner Sphere. Running a hand over it, the First Prince turned to one of the technicians and said, "Is it ready to be accessed?"
"Got it plugged in and ready," the technician replied. "Let's see if the information's intact." Plugging a workstation into the Memory Core, he typed in a few commands and waited for a few seconds.
A moment later, he let out a sigh of relief. "Shepard, you are probably the best courier we've had yet," the man said to the Commander. "The information's intact and ready for study." Stepping back and activating the wall-sized monitor, he said, "Look at all of this! This is all of the technology and scientific knowledge that the Star League had before it's collapse, or at least most of it. Still…" He trailed off, in awe of the lost knowledge that had just been recovered for the Federated Suns to enjoy.
"I agree," Hanse nodded. Turning to Shepard, he said, "Shepard, you've just done something that neither I, nor the Federated Suns, can ever fully repay. You've given us the keys to a new golden age. For that, you have my thanks."
"That's not necessary," Shepard replied. "I'm just happy that we helped restore Humanity to it's former glory. That enough is alone for me."
"I insist," Hanse beamed. "You have my thanks, Shepard. If you want to find employment in the AFFS, know that there will always be a place for you there. You've proven your worth as a Commander." In a softer tone, he said, "And as a friend."
"Thank you, sir," Shepard nodded. "For now, I think I'll take up life as a mercenary for the time being. Still, I appreciate the offer, and I think I'll eventually take you up on it. For now, though, a much needed break from a strictly military life is in order. It'll be something of a vacation, to put it that way."
"And you definitely need one at that," Hanse agreed. After a moment, he said, "When you're ready, come by Mount Davion when you have time, and we'll discuss mercenary groups that will work best for you. After all, a good soldier shouldn't be wasted on a merc company of ill repute."
"Very true," Shepard agreed. "Very true."
. . .
The very next day, Shepard and the others were in Hanse's office once more. Most were sitting down on the couches and sofas inside of the room, though a few were standing upright. Right now, they had taken care of breakfast, and were about to get down to the order of business today.
Looking towards Garrus, he spotted Nyreen and her two baby children. One of them was with Garrus, while the other infant was in her arms. A deep purring sound came from Nyreen as she rocked her child back and forth with the tender love only a mother could provide. Garrus was also making a similar sound, and it too was clear that he deeply loved the children that he and Nyreen had in their arms.
Hearing a sound behind them, they looked to see Quintus walking inside. "My apologies for my tardiness," he said to Hanse. "I had some matters to take care of."
"That's alright," Hanse replied. "If you have business to do, it's best to get it out of the way."
That was when Quintus spotted Garrus and Nyreen, along with their kids. Smiling, he said, "Well, I heard you had children, but I was so busy that I didn't have the time to come see them. Mind if I do so?"
"Not at all," Nyreen replied.
Walking over, Quintus gently took Celicia from her arms before sitting down in a nearby chair. For a minute or so, he quietly held Celicia in his arms. To Shepard, it was a bit of an odd image, seeing the Intelligence Minister of the Federated Suns holding an infant Turian in his arms. It wasn't an unwelcome one, though, as Celicia was in the safest arms imaginable, aside from Nyreen and Garrus'. In addition, Quintus had a bit of a fatherly air about him, which further added to what he was doing.
Handing Celicia back to Nyreen, Quintus asked, "That's your daughter?"
"Yes," Nyreen purred, her facial plates and mandibles contorted into the Turian equivalent of a happy smile. "Garrus is holding our son, Nihlus."
"She's beautiful. I have reason to believe that she'll grow up to be a beautiful woman, at least by your species standards. No offense meant."
"None taken," Nyreen replied. "Turians do have differing ideals when it comes to beauty. Still, I agree with you: she'll grow up to be an beautiful Turian, both in the mind and in the body."
Looking at Hanse, Shepard was about to ask if he'd been around Garrus' children. As if anticipating the question, he said, "I have seen their kids before, Shepard. To think that I'll be a father one day…" He trailed off as he said this, an indecipherable expression on his face. Moments later, that expression became a business-like one as he said, "Now let's get down to the business that is facing us today."
"Agreed," Shepard nodded. "We've got a few choices when it comes to employment. We could become full serving members of the Armed Forces of the Federated Suns, or we could become mercenaries. The former is a viable choice, but there are some problems with it."
"Your non-human crew members," Hanse guessed.
"Correct, sir. While many of my crew are experienced with the burden of command, I'm not certain how soldiers in the AFFS would react to taking orders from non-humans. I'm also worried that having Garrus, Wrex and the others in the AFFS will cause every Great House to attempt to abduct them. I don't want to know what they'd do to Celicia and Nihlus if they found out about them either."
"Anyone that tries to kidnap my children will die before that happens," Nyreen growled, her biotics flaring as her maternal instincts came to the fore.
"I agree," Garrus replied, his paternal instincts flaring up as well. "If they hurt Celicia or Nihlus, they'll find out what happens when you harm a Turian father's family."
"That we can agree on," Wrex nodded. "However, we're only a small group against military forces that have been doing that kind of thing for centuries. We'd hold out for some time, then we'd be overwhelmed and captured."
"A good point," Quintus nodded. Taking a sip from a glass of water, he said, "That's why I think that it'll be better for you all to become mercenaries. A mercenary company would be the last place anyone would think to look for aliens. In addition, you'd still be able to exercise your skill sets and learn new ones."
"Speaking of which," Shepard added. "Did you manage to train Garrus as a MechWarrior?"
"We did," Quintus nodded. "While we were busy retrofitting the Normandy, NAIS made a breakthrough in neurohelmet research. Thanks to some help from EDI, we were able to quickly determine how to manufacture neurohelmets; we even figured out how to improve upon the technology thanks to her."
"They did a neural scan of my brain too, and made some adjustments for my biochemistry," Garrus informed Shepard. "Turns out, there was nothing that prevented me from becoming a MechWarrior. As such, Ardan Sortek decided to teach me once my Neurohelmet had been built and ready."
"I recommended Quintus," Hanse nodded, a slight smile on his face, "but he told me that Sortek was more experienced as a MechWarrior. Asking him was the right thing to do; he was relishing the chance to teach a Turian how to be a MechWarrior."
"It wasn't easy," Garrus admitted. "We really had to work at it. I'm amazed that I performed so well in the training 'Mechs, though, for a first timer. I guess I had beginner's luck in spades."
"That you did," Hanse agreed. "It takes time to train good MechWarriors, and only experience can shape them into the best. There were a few… incidents, though."
"Like what?" Shepard asked.
"Well, we were teaching Garrus how to use a BattleMech that had Jump Jets," Hanse beamed, a mirthful grin forming on his face. "When we let him try it on his own, he accidentally engaged said Jump Jets while he was still in the 'Mech Bay. The end result was that his Griffin was stuck in the ceiling, legs swinging to and fro, while everyone else was running around trying to get the damn thing out of the ceiling. Sortek was standing there, facepalming himself. Funniest sight ever."
He, and the others, promptly let loose with a roar of laughter. Garrus scowled for a moment, before deciding that there wasn't any harm in laughing at himself. Once the laughter had quieted down, he said, "Well, it wasn't my fault that the 'Mech was in Jump Jet mode. Some addled 'Mech Bay technician left it like that. Some days, I'm wondering if I was pranked."
"Maybe you just don't want to admit that you made an honest mistake," Hanse laughed. Clearing his throat, he said, "Anyways, we got the kinks worked out in the end, though the repair team's boss was a little red-faced from what had happened. Still, I'm proud to say that we made a good MechWarrior out of Garrus."
"Really?" Shepard asked. "That's good to hear." Turning towards Garrus, he asked, "What was your favorite 'Mech?"
"The Rifleman," Garrus replied, "hands down. Yes, it's a little hot, but Turians can take a little heat; we're from a hot planet after all. Plus, I like the role that it plays: long range support and AA defense. Fits my fighting style perfectly, though I did ask for adjustments to be made in the rear armor plating. A little too thin there for my liking."
"It's a problem that's plagued the RFL-3N series for some time," Quintus nodded. "That along with heat dissipation and ammunition consumption. Still, Garrus knows how to moderate his use of ammo. He lasted the longest out of all the pilots that trained in the damn thing. Certainly managed his heat quite well."
"Thank you, sir," Garrus nodded. "What about you, Shepard?"
Shepard grinned. "Got you there too. I got training there while waiting for the Normandy to be outfitted. In this case, though, I had the privilege of being trained by his majesty here."
"I got training in BattleMechs too," Wrex added. "It was better than just sitting around, being bored and getting fat. What about you, Nyreen?"
"No," Nyreen replied. "I'm more comfortable in the infantry. Plus, I've also got kids to tend to, and I wouldn't want it any other way." She nuzzled Celicia as she said this, with the infant Turian cooing in appreciation.
"So, with all that being said, it seems as though being a mercenary is the better way to go," Hanse noted. "So, with that in mind, we'll need to find a good merc unit for you all to hook up with."
"Why not the Wolf Dragoons?" Garrus asked. "I've heard that they're really good at what they do. Plus they've got Natasha Kerensky, and boy is she an excellent MechWarrior. Half of the stuff she's done is the stuff of legends."
"Not an option," Vega, who had been silent until now, cut in. "The Wolf Dragoons are actually spies working for the Clans. If they found out that they had aliens in their ranks, the Clans would see that as a threat and immediately invade. Then everyone would lose."
"Why not the Kell Hounds?" Wrex asked. "They've got good people, and they're not working for the Clans."
"They won't be available for some time," Quintus added. "They suffered a major hit, and Morgan Kell isn't in the best mental state, if the rumors are true."
"Why not Mason's Cavaliers?" Shepard asked. "They're openly recruiting, as far as I know, and they're quickly making a name for themselves. They'll need good MechWarriors, and we've been trained by the best of the best."
"That's a viable option there," Hanse agreed. "The old crew stuck around with Commander Mason when Nikolai was killed, and he's got some experience under his belt. There's also some more good news there."
"And that would be?"
"His DropShip is currently in-system right now, and they'll be arriving at the planet to restock in another day. I'll call them up and discuss an nondisclosure agreement with them. I've also met some of his people before too. I think Garrus will get along with Fahad, their chief technician, quite well."
"That's our best bet then," Shepard nodded. "I'll leave that up to you. You're better at business then I am, and we'll get ready."
"What about Nyreen?" Garrus asked. "I can't just leave her here."
"I can come along," Nyreen replied. "Plus, I've gotten some materials that we need for homeschooling. Besides, no one else can teach them what it means to be a good Turian, and you need someone to get sense into that head of yours when you need it."
"What about food and accommodations?"
"We'll make it work, my love," Nyreen reassured Garrus. "We don't have to worry about food for our kids. According to Mordin, the genes that allow us to eat levo-based foods are present inside of our children, and they're active. We'll be fine."
Garrus looked as though he was about to argue, then he finally sighed and said, "I'm just worried for our kids. I… I don't want them to get hurt. I -"
Before Garrus could finish, Nyreen wrapped her arms around his waist and kissed him, her tongue wrapping around his for a few seconds. Pulling back, she said, "I'm worried too, Garrus, but I'm certain that, as long as you and I are around, nothing bad will happen to them. OK?"
After a few seconds, Garrus said, "OK. If that's how we'll have it, then it's alright. Besides, I could never leave you by yourself."
"Then it's settled," Hanse nodded. "Like Shepard said, I'll handle any business matters on that part. The rest of you can get your Cooling Vests or what have you, and your Neurohelmets."
"Before you go," Quintus said to Shepard. "I also want to give you a present." Pulling out a crate, he opened it to reveal what looked like a suit that had a number of cooling tubes woven into it, along with a Neurohelmet inside.
"Is that -?"
"Yes," Quintus nodded. "That is an SLDF Cooling Suit, complete with a matching Neurohelmet. We have plenty of these at NAIS, courtesy of your successful mission, so it won't matter much if you lose this set. I also felt that you needed a reward for your successful mission, so this is part of it."
"And the other part?"
"A BattleMech of your choosing, Shepard." Handing Shepard a small pink slip, he said, "If there's a BattleMech that you want, name it. I'll have it ready to go for when you need it."
Shepard took a moment to think about what 'Mech he wanted. The Battlemaster is a good choice, though I prefer something that's faster and more nimble. As he thought, he remembered the 'Mech that he'd chosen when Vega had him playing Classic BattleTech. A moment later, he said, "There are a lot of good 'Mechs, but none of them are quite as iconic as the Marauder. I think I'll take a MAD-3R."
"A standard Marauder," Quintus observed. "An excellent choice, Shepard. I'll arrange for one to be made ready for you. Either way, Shepard, thank you for recovering the Helm Memory Core for us. Your actions, while they won't be public for some time, will be forever recorded in the annals of history."
With that, everyone began to get ready for tomorrow, or the day after tomorrow. Welcome to my new life, Shepard thought to himself. Things are about to get good, and if we make it out, we'll show Harbinger and the Reapers why it's always a bad idea to fuck with Humanity.