Chapter 2: Progress to Freedom

On the way to the Colony I read about the tech that would later help the Ryder Pathfinder. Already I manage to have the Multi drones from ME3. I program my Tool to automatically set the Tech armor to turn on from the start. I also manage to include the Fortification to turn on after the Tech Armor fails. Jacob is checking his equipment, while Miranda is looking over the Map.

I just thought of something. "What rank am I?" They both looked up and then at each other. Miranda clears her throat. "A few months after your death you were posthumously given the rank of Captain. Though the Quarians have asked you to be given the rank of Admiral. This has been shot down for the most part."

I nodded, "Are you two okay with taking orders from me?" They nod with Jacob speaking up next. "We both know the importance of the Mission. We'll follow your orders to the letter." We hear an alarm go off, I look to Miranda, "Show me a map of the Colony." She puts up a display.

I was looking for the place where Veetor would be. I found it quite easily, mostly because I saw the Heavy mech next to it. "Will land here on top of this building. Jacob and I will hit the YMIR Mech with the heavy weapons. Lawson you are going to hit it as many times with an overload while you get to cover. Jacob will bank left while I head forward. Remember to keep your heads down."

They nodded, and we felt the shuttle enter the atmosphere. I pull off the Grenade Launcher and dial a Disruption ammo while Jacob loads up an Inferno ammo. The shuttle stops suddenly and the door opens. I auto-locked onto the Mech. And began to fire with everything I had in the Launcher. Each shot hit on the mark.

The electricity is arcing around its body, I rushed forward ducking behind some cover. Miranda is flanking the mech. Jacob is hitting it with his launcher he puts away in favor of his rifle. I put away my launcher and begin to bring about as many drones I can.

They swarm the mech, I pull my rifle and start to fire. But by then it was over, it fell over and died. I began to walk to the door that leads to the Veetor. But a group of alliance marines came in. Miranda and Jacob raised their weapons. I raised my hands then heard a 'familiar voice.' "Captain Shepard, Back from the dead it seems."

A Quarian woman steps from behind the men. She's not wearing a helmet. I step forward, "Tali?" She nods, "It's been a while. Is there a reason that you're alive and working for Cerberus?" I sighed, "I was dead Tali, been dead for two years. Barely awake for two days, Cerberus put me together to put a stop to the colonies disappearing."

She turned to the Squad, "Secure the area, make sure nobody sneaks up on us." I turned to my squad. "Salvage the Data Core from the mech." We began to move to where Veetor was. The door opened and it was dark beside the orange screens. And right in front of them is Veetor. "Gotta hide, they'll find me. I see them, they don't see him."

I raised my hand a disabled the screens. He looked around in shock then he turned around. "Commander you're here?" I turned to Tali, she shrugged, "Promotion. Veetor you were supposed to return to New Rannoch months ago. Then the colony goes off line, what happened?"

He looks at us, then to the screens. "You didn't see, But I saw." The screens came online and this time showed me what I needed. It showed the Collectors putting people into pods while some others were put onto spikes. "Dragon's Teeth? Thought that was Geth Tech?" I shook my head, "It appears Reaper. Tali I need that data, Would you object to me taking his Omni-Tool?" She nods and takes it from him. She turned to me, "It's good to see Shepard, Tell me you'll leave Cerberus after you're done."

"I don't plan on staying till the end of this mission." She hands the Tool to me. I held her hand a bit longer than necessary. We walked out and my team entered the shuttle. A few hours later I was in front of TIM again. "Well Captain, I wasn't sure about how you handled the mission but it was done quickly and efficiently. As expected, Now that we know the Collectors are involved, you'll need a team and ship."

"I know that my old team is busy. Do you have a number of recruits?" He nodded and I got a dossier on those that'll join. "I assume the ship I'm using is similar to the Normandy?" An Image appears on the screen next to him. "I also acquired a pilot that I believe you'll find fitting." The screen goes and I turn. "Hey Commander, I mean Captain. Heh Been a long time." I smiled, "Are you still infected? Remember I can't have you infecting my crew."

He laughed, And we began to head to the ship. "I can't believe you're back, Captain. I mean, I saw you get spaced." I shrugged, "It's a surprise for me too. I'm just glad that I am back. And now I got the best pilot in the Universe back with me."

"In the universe huh? I can get behind that." He smiled as we stopped in front of a row of windows. Lights came on and we saw her, SR-2 Normandy. Slick and ready for command. I grimace, "We need to change the paint. And the Cerby Symbol." He nods, "We can do that when we get out of here."

We walked into the ship waiting for me was Miranda, "Captain, Welcome to the Normandy. On this mission I'll be your XO, Jacob will be Chief of Security. Our first stop should be looking for the Salarian Doctor: Mordin Solus." I shaked my head, "We'll head to the Citadel. I need to get my Spectre Status. Though I won't get paid by them, I can still use the status."

A voice came through on the Comms, "The Vigilante known as Archangel is currently facing a combined force of the main gangs on the Omega Station and Doctor Solus is dealing with a life-threatening plague." So not like the Game… I nod, "Joker take us out." "Ay ay Captain." I turned around to see a blue hologram.

"Greeting Captain Shepard, I am EDI, The Normandy's AI Program." I nod, "Glad to have you, Did The Illusive Man send what I wanted." "Yes they are in the Cargo Hold now. Please take the elevator down to the bottom floor." I head down there. About a dozen large crates full of the Mechs. I begin to move them out and take them apart.

"EDI, Please notify me when we make port." "Of course Shepard." As I put together New Mechs, I go over what happened in the last 48+ hours. I died and was brought back as Shepard. I fought my way through Station of overrun mechs. Kill a man, Kill a bunch of mechs. Met Tali saved Veetor.

Shepard didn't romanced anybody. But he did the Loyalty Missions, Garrus was hardened, Tali got the Geth Data and was urged to look for a better way. Wrex got his armor and was convinced on Virmire. Ashley and Kadian survived because Shepard decided not to allow them to go with Captain Kirrahi. It resulted in his death.

Manage to save Terra Nova, and during the battle to stop the Bombs. On Virmire he spared Rana. He killed Fist though.. Though that wasn't as important. Now with Knowledge of what's going to happen, I can actually work my imagination into reality. I created several beefed up Mech LOKIs and turned most of the FENRIS Mech into Big Dog bots. They look like Mabari's from Dragon age.

Though the LOKIs are bigger, I'm not going to send them off to die and explode. "EDI? Can you have some spare crewmen bring down about 10 full sets of armors? I would very much like to get this ready before we dock." She chimed on my Tool. "Of course, Shepard. We will be docking within 2 hours."

A few minutes later they came down. Kenneth and Gaberilla came in, pushing a Cart full of armor. I got up and wiped my hands. They saluted, I saluted back. "I'm guessing you two are my engineers?" They nodded, and Kenneth spoke up.

"It's a Right Honor to be meeting you Captain. If you need anything else from us please don't be afraid to ask." Gab speaks up. "What he says, Though I got to ask Shepard what's with the Mechs?" I smiled, "Start putting the armor onto them. They are our back up in the field. What kind of helmets did you guys get?"

Ken started to fish out some of them. I place the ones that have a screen instead of an actual helmet to the side. The Blood dragon armor was put on the first bot. I then changed its designation to Warden. Next is the Cerberus Assault armor. Named Tank.

The inferno armor was called Dante. Kestrel was named Kestrel. Same for Terminus. Cerberus Engineer armor was dubbed Ajax. The Reckoner Knight armor is now Paladin. The rest was named after the Cerberus Nightmare, Shade and Spirit armor. With EDI's help we got them a program to follow orders.

Though not to just rush in and get killed. Now the Dogbots will have to get new names. I got about 12 of them. I'll think of something later. Though the first one will be called Barkspawn.. Botspawn? Oh Cousland. I look over to the Kodiaks, Both are able to hold a full team.

I turn to Ken and Gab, "Hey, do we have more of these armors?" Gab thinks about it for a minute. "All Cerberus owned armors, about three sets. Terminus armor we only had the one, though the Schematics are within the system. The Dragon and Knight armor are available anywhere you can buy it."

Ken chuckles, "Yeah we thought it would be fun to have them. Then the Eggheads began to fiddle with 'em." I think about it, "EDI Tell Jacob to have the Cerberus Assault Armor as his official armor and Miranda can choose between the Ghost armors." "Of course Shepard. We will be docking within 15 minutes." I nod to Ken and Gab, "I need you to get them standard weapons and load the Mech Squad onto one of the shuttles."

They nod and I head up to the Captain's Cabin. After a shower, I put on armor and weapons. I went down to the command deck and saw my yeoman. She turned and smiled. "Hello Shepard, I'm Kelly Chambers, I'll be you Yeoman." I nodded, "Hello Kelly, How's the crew doing so far?"

She smiled, "Excited, nervous and scared. They all know this might be a one way trip. So they're all worried that they might not come back. But knowing you, tells them there is a chance of them coming back." I nodded and we can hear the docking clamps attach themselves to the Normandy.

"I better get going, We'll talk again when we get back." She nodded, and I headed to the Airlock. Miranda and Jacob were waiting for me, along with Cousland. The door began to cycle through decontamination, it ended after a minute and we headed out and immediately the smell was there.

And of course the Salarian was there. "H-hey you must be new here I can always tell. I-" Then the Batarian came to me. "Oh hey Mogra, I was just." He pointed back where they came, "Beat it." The Salarian saluted, "Of course, whatever she wants." He runs off.

Moggra looks to me, "Aria wants to know what brings a dead Spectre to Omega." I nod, "I'll head there right away. I'm guessing it's going to be right outside of this particular airlock?" He nods, and moves aside. We move and we see Zaeed kicking his latest bounty.

Miranda speaks up, "Shepard that is Zaeed Massani. He is one of the potential recruits." I walked up to him. "Zaeed Massani? I'd like to recruit you for a mission." He kicks the poor sod again. "Ah Shepard, I wonder when you'll show up."

He turns to me, "Did your Illusive Man tell you what I like in exchange for this mission?" I shake my head, "I like to clear out the Zoria Mining Facility of the Blue Suns." I nodded, "We can do that after we get more people on our team" The Batarian got up and ran for the club. Zaeed shot him from the hip.

"Now that is cleared up, I better deliver this thing before it stinks." I nodded, "Meet us at the Afterlife when you're done." I head to the Club and notice just how big Omega is. Miranda scoffs, "Omega, what a pisshole, everytime I come here I feel like I need about eight showers and a level 2 decontamination." I moved on to the club. Surprisingly the Elcor stopped us, "With annoyance: Please head to the back of the line. Afterlife is for those who can afford us."

"My name is Captain Shapard. I was told to head to Aria." He looks at his eye piece. "Reluctance: You may enter, please behave." I walk in and head to the other side. The Batarian group eyed me with a grimace. I continued walking. The moment the door opened I felt the music. Lucky the headset I was wearing deafen most of it.

I head up to Aria's Booth. A batarian stops me, "Hold on up, Scanning for weapons." I shrugged, "You don't have to look hard, I'm carrying an arsenal." Aria speaks up, "Can be too careful with dead Spectres." She turns to us. "I'm Aria T'loak, CEO of Omega. Or if you are feeling old Fashioned, Queen of Omega. There is only one rule on Omega, Don't Fuck With Me."

"That seems simple enough, I need information on the vigilante known as Archangel. As well as a Salarian Professor: Mordin Solus." She nods and waves to her couch. I go to sit, "Mordin is currently in a quarantine zone. While Archangel is currently fighting off three of the Major Gangs on the Station."

I nod and gesture for her to continue, "You have the Blue Suns, Yellow Eclipse, and the Blood Pack. At the moment they are in a Stalemate with Archangel. Last I heard he was with two others. You can probably get 'hired' by the recruiting station down in the club."

I nodded, "What can you tell me about Archangel?" She shrugged slightly, "Turian, sniper, and has a habit of pissing off the whole station. Though he stayed away from my operations." I looked at the others and they nodded. "I'll be back." She smirked, "We'll see."

When I got down to the club Zaeed was at the bar. He turns to me, "Ready to kill some bastards?" I smirked, and we headed out of the club. "EDI, can you find Archangels hideout?" "Unfortunately the hideout has jammers placed to 'cloak' its location. However I do see a convergence of a large number of the members of the Three Gangs. As well as a number of lesser gangs and mercenaries." I thought for a moment, "Can you get me a schematic of the building using cameras and old maps?"

There was a brief pause, "Have compiled the data, Showing you now." I look at the building plans, similar to the game, there are several underground warehouses that make up the bottom level. "EDI have the Shuttle of newly armored mech meet us at the straightforward warehouse in the middle. Also send the other shuttle to us."

"Of course Shepard." I turn to the others, "Archangel is in need of reinforcements. We're going to come out of nowhere and support him and anybody that needs it." Miranda nods, "The shuttle should be here in a moment or two."

The Kodiak appears a moment later. We board it and I see that several of the Upgraded FENRIS mechs were on board. Better name them now. I pointed left to right. "Cadash, Howe, Trevelyan, and Stark. Everyone, Cousland is your Alpha." They gave a robotic woof sound. The shuttle was taking winding through the underspires of Omega. Soon we approached the main Warehouse.

We got out and I saw the New Mechs waiting. Each of them has Standard weapons. As well as the Heavy Weapons. "Alright everyone, let's move out and get up there. Warden, Paladin, and Terminus. You'll head to the right side of these warehouses and close them. While the Ghost team will head to the left side and close that door. Both of your teams are to close the doors and disable them."

They nodded and they ran to their destinations. "Everyone else, we're heading up and it's about to get Hot. Tank, Ajax, Dante and Kestrel will hold the bottom floor. The hounds will join you as well." We turned and began to run forwards.

Once everyone was out of the middle Warehouse I closed the door and disabled the lock. "EDI can you warn Archangel of our coming to help?" "Message sent." We ran up the stairs and burst into the bottom floor. "Get into positions now!" I ran up to the top floor, and saw him, his armor had dents and scratches. "Archangel?" He raises a finger, and fires at an unsuspecting guard on the other side of the bridge.

He gets up and goes to sit on the side of the couch. And takes off his helmet. "Been a while, Shepard." I smiled, "Garrus you bastard, how have you been?" He chuckled, "I've been better, though I wasn't expecting a full squad to come to my rescue. Are you men ready for the assault?"

I shrugged, "Most of the Squad are Mechs, Repurposed and upgraded. As well as giving them new armors. And actual good combat programs" He nods, and walks to the back room. I follow and see the last remaining member of his team. A Batarian, "Hey Javian, are you ready to get out of here?" He coughs, "As soon as I throw my last grenade." I look at him and his legs are torn to shreds.

"Miranda, Stabilize him, Zaeed, get your sniper out and defend with Garrus. Jacob you're going to lay suppression fire on anybody that's coming over the Bridge." "Shepard the Teams you sent are heading up to you." I smiled.

"Have the Ghost Team come up here to snipe the enemy. While the Warden's team will support the lower floor." Garrus gets up and heads to the opening. "Well now, You've come prepared haven't you. They must be freaking out now." I pull my rifle out, "Let's get this show on the road."