Chapter 4.2 – NORMANDY: Getting Started - Part 2
I woke up at 0600 in the morning by the sleeper pod's internal alarm, together with the rest of the first shift. But at the time I had managed to crawl out of that goddamned tin-can, the others had already cleared the floor, leaving it up to me to follow them to prepare for my first day in the Marine Corps. You're in the Army now... oh-ohoh, you're in the Army now... At least Ash had left me with exact instructions so I wouldn't get lost.
The pod was quite comfortable actually, but sleeping inside it was nonetheless ...weird. Not only do you basically sleep while standing, no, it even has its own, mass effect-regulated gravity – which negates the usual artificial Earth-like gravity on-board and replaces it with its own. Only half as strong... and projected in an angle which makes it seem like you're sleeping while laying. The fact that I felt like in a glass coffin didn't make falling asleep any easier. Still, exhaustion took it's toll fast enough and I woke up feeling rested.
Next step was a visit on the Crew Deck... the mysterious deck from out of nowhere. Ash had told me that my expectations had been partially right – there weren't many points of interest, but nonetheless many important sections for the ship's smooth running. The crew quarters for example, or the crew's mess hall, or simple things like storage rooms for the … well, "food". Or the laundry room, and a room with gear for physical training, in short, everything you would expect from an actual navy ship with a live crew.
Kinda sad that BioWare didn't take the time to properly reproduce this, I thought while grabbing spare clothing and a towel from my own locker in the changing room. Not that you would spend much time here.
Then I spent the whole shower time theorizing whether BioWare has copied the 'real' NORMANDY into their game without or they have truly created the NORMANDY with the crew deck, but didn't implemented it in their game because of reasons.
I ended up slightly burning my hand on the water boiler.
And this is why I always drink my coffee before I shower, I sarcastically thought while pressing my hand against the cool metal plating of the shower room wall.
I enter the officer's mess at 0727. It's almost empty; the shift's officers are long gone to take their positions or go asleep. Only two persons are sitting at the table – a silver-haired Dr. Chakwas and a violet-clad Tali'Zorah vas Normandy.
No, I correct myself, at this point it's still 'nar Rayya.'.
Kinda creepy, being able to look two years in the future.
Wow. Only realized it now?
They sat opposite of each other and looked like they were in a discussion, but the doc notices me and raises her head, causing Tali to turn around and seeing me approaching at her side.
"Ah, Good Morning, Raven", says the doc, greeting me with a polite nod of her head. "Some coffee?"
"Yeah, thanks", I say, gratefully accepting the still steaming cup while sitting down next to her.
I sniff, then smile. "Wait, is that real coffee? Like, actual bean coffee? Not that machine swill?"
Chakwas laughs, a pleasant thing to hear at this early hour. "I am a Navy doctor for almost forty years now. I always keep a private stash of earthly coffee with me. And not even the Commander knows, where."
Smiling, I take a deep swing, closing my eyes to let the taste take effect. Yeah, definitely better than the Navy brew, I decide.
I open my eyes to find Tali looking at me.
"Good Morning to you, too, Tali. I hope you have settled in quite well?"
I hardly, hardly manage to suppress my grin this time. Talis features once again show the seemingly universal signs of fluster. Somehow the grin ends as a gentle smile. You better get used to that. It will only get worse with Liara aboard.
"Um, y-yes. Everyone is nice to me, and this ship is amazing! The drive core in particular, it is twice the size of a normal frigate core! And everything is so neat, the propulsion in particular is so well thought out. A TBX-83 coupling system, can you imagine? The newest system it seems, I've only ever worked at a 76 and that was a mess, but the new 83 works so efficient..."
She continued her tech-blurb for a while while steadily increasing the amount of tech-vocabulary used. I was... overwhelmed. I simply let it happen and drank my coffee while trying to look as if I knew what she was talking about. I fought with myself if I should interrupt her... and finally did it.
"I appreciate that you're telling me all this, Tali, " I said as gently as possible," but I hardly understand anything."
She stopped and I'm quite sure had quite a confused look on her face.
"Not every human is as versed in ship engines as Adams, my dear", said Chakwas with a smile.
"I barely know how to use my omni-tool." I admitted.
Tali was not really shocked. At least her body language said something else. Then again, quarian body language is probably different from human.
"I-I'm sorry. I thought... well, I thought it would be common knowledge aboard a human ship. Every quarian child knows how an engine works …. ah, not that you humans are dumb, but... oh, keelah." she groaned and looked down as if she wanted to be anywhere but here.
"You don't need to excuse yourself. It's just that a human ship works different from a quarian one. Doctor Chakwas here, for example, has almost no knowledge about the technical aspects of a ship - if I'm not telling anything stupid now, that is."
"Well, I do know how to use my own medical devices." she answered dryly. I nodded a bit sheepishly. Ouch. "But I know what you are trying to say. Everyone aboard a human ship is a specialist. The physician is only responsible for medical issues, the helmsman flies and so on. I assume that every quarian can attend to every engine on a quarian ship?"
"That's right." Tali said, looking interested. "Everyone has to contribute to his ship, and everyone has to be able to for example, repair the engines in case of an emergency."
I nodded supporting. "The Migrant Fleet cannot afford to specialize its personnel like for example the Alliance Navy can. You lack the resources to do so. But unlike other races, your ships are your home – which means that you never have to worry about recruitment and have to keep your ships running anyway. The result: Everybody knows how to maintain a ship."
I looked at both of them and raised my hands in defeat. "Okay, I'm stepping down of the soap box now. Just ignore me. Must be the coffee."
Note to self: Shut up sometimes. I took another swig.
"Very insightful." said Chawas. I was grateful that there was only a very slight trace of sarcasm. I looked up to meet her gaze with my usual tired-sarcastic look I had reserved for such occasions.
But Tali looked genuinely interested, maybe even impressed. I was so glad that she isn't used to the nuances of human language - for now.
"Why do you know so much about quarians?"
"I've been reading a lot about the different races. Most extranet sources describe your people as beggars, thieves and so on. And they blame you for the geth. Well, I got fed up with that shit and looked for reliable sources. How quarians live aboard the Flotilla. How your society works. Stuff like that." I shrugged. "I learned the hard way that few things are like they seem or like people say they are, and I want to know as much as possible before judging. Luckily I found some good works about your people, for example one called 'The quarian race in today's age' written by a salarian called Ferson Sinus. A great work. Unfortunately, barely anyone read it."
"That's … strange", she says, first looking angry at the 'thieves and beggars' and then getting more and more confused. "I... sorry, but, well... from what I heard, I assumed that humans wouldn't be that.. understanding."
"They call us brash and aggressive" I nodded. "And maybe they're partially right. And maybe a lot of humans are unwilling to understand what is going on in the galaxy." Especially Terra Firma and those Cerberus traitors. "But given my... history, I had no choice but to try and see more than what meets the eye."
"Your history?"
I sigh. "You have no idea what the Isolationists are, have you?"
"Well... no.", she admitted. "I only saw that every other human was shocked... why?"
I stared into my cup, looking into my mirror image on the black surface.
"It is not easy to explain to an alien... well, maybe it is for a quarian. Think of the Migrant Fleet. From what I know, your people don't care much about the galaxy except when you go on your Pilgrimage."
She nodded.
"Now assume that you would never had the chance to go on your pilgrimage. Furthermore, assume that your leaders told you that you were alone in the galaxy. That there was no one else in the void. Then add a massive xenophobia and that said leaders try to brainwash you into thinking just like them."
My tone became bitter as I continued to stare down into my cup. "Then assume you found it out when you turned adult. Assume that your parents lied to you because in their arrogance, they wanted to take your liberty to decide on your own away from you. Because they thought their way was the only right one. And then assume that you decided to do your Pilgrimage on your own. No. Matter. What."
"Keelah." The shock was evident.
"I'm sorry." I sighed, raising my gaze again and giving Tali a tired look. I felt dirty to lie like that. But I had no choice. "Those things are now long past, and I like to think that I'm holding up better than my parents could ever hope for in their idiocy." I shifted uncomfortably in my seat. "If it's alright with you, I'd like to talk about something else."
The intercom cracked on the ceiling, and an unknown voice spoke: "Miss Zorah, please come down to Engineering, we are ready to run the test on the Tantalus."
Tali was on her feets in a second. "I'll be right there, Chief." She made a nervous gesture with her hand. "I'm sorry, Raven, I have to go – n-not that you think I don't like to talk to you, but-"
"It's alright", I say and even manage a smile despite everything. "It's not like we're not going to have time to talk on our journey. Come find me whenever you like. "
"T-Thank you. See you later!" And with that, she was gone.
"See ya, Tali" I shouted after her but she probably didn't even hear me anymore.
Interesting that I seem to have the upper hand in our talks, I thought while reflecting. Must be her shyness at the beginning of the game. Let's see where this goes.
"You know that you don't have to talk about your past if you don't want to.",Chakwas said softly and gently. Only now did I notice that she had kept herself out in the past few minutes. "The aliens might not know much about it, but the humans aboard know enough not to bother you about it."
"It's fine, Ma'am." I answer before emptying my cup. It failed to wash the bad taste away. "I'm mostly over it. Except for if I ever meet my father again. Then one of us will die."
A few minutes later I had eaten my breakfast – consisting of fruit, cereals and milk and making up for that catastrophe from the evening before – and was talking with the Dr. about the upcoming surgery.
We went through the list of mods. I had read it and, at first, had no words for it. It sounded like straight from a sci-fi novel – then I remembered myself that I now was inside one. I didn't understand much of what the mods would do, exactly, but I did understand what effects they would have.
For example, "minor adjustments" at my lungs would improve the rate at which they would filter oxygen from the air I breathed. An implant near my liver would enhance my blood to transport said oxygen easier to where it would be needed, even improving the rate with which it was reproduced when I lost some or was scabbing to close open wounds. A modified immune system which, combined with modern age vaccination and stuff would almost eliminate the risk of sickness. Even a freaking reflex booster to reduce the reaction time.
The mods, in short the 'Class-B Alliance Infantry Upgrade Package', were no Warhammer 40.000 mods for Space Marines, mind you. No toxic bite, no three-meter-tall killing machine body engineering, nothing like that. The muscle enhancers would enhance my strength, as an example, but I still would have to work for it.
"They are increasing the rate at which the calories you take to you is transformed into muscle mass, nothing more." said Chakwas, slightly grinning at my slightly disappointed look. "You will still have to work out to increase your strength. But it will be much, much easier than before."
All things considered, that was a good summary and a fitting description. I'll still have to work for my place in the squad. But thanks to the modifications, it wouldn't be a completely helpless attempt anymore.
"The whole operation should take roughly four, maybe five hours plus another hour for your eyes." Chakwas said as we both raised from the table.
"But your body will need its time to adjust. I will keep you sedated for an additional twelve hours and recommend that, if anything, the Commander puts you on light duty for an additional two or three days. Don't underestimate what's coming, it's very difficult for your body to adept." she warned me. "And draining. Remember to stick your diet plan and only eat from the supplies marked with a violet bar."
"I will. It can't be worse then what the Alliance seems to usually feed to their people anyway."
"There's many a twixt between cup and lip", Chakwas answered with the ghost of a smile on her lips. Somehow that didn't really raise my morale – once I translated the meaning. Damned proverbs! "I will call you over the intercom when we can begin. It won't be earlier then 1630. Until then, enjoy your day."
I thanked her and turned around, walking to the stairs down to the CIC while the doctor went into the opposite direction towards her medbay.
Do I have to be concerned when a doc says that I should enjoy the day before surgery? I mused, feeling not very comfortable in my skin while saluting XO Pressley on my way to the briefing room.
No, no. Dr. Chakwas managed to keep Garrus alive after a direct hit with a missile and Kaidan after he got his ass handed to him by Dr. Eva Coré aka. EDI's body. She won't have any problems with a routine surgery.
Hopefully. Please.
My clock shows 8 hours and 48 minutes right now. The communications room's doors close behind me and I walk down to the circle of seats. No one else is here.
I step into the middle of said circle and then take a random seat, enjoying the calm. My gaze falls upon the communicator at the head side and I can't but have to scowl at it. So that's where Shepard will learn a whole new dimension of patience. Unless she decides to let Joker pull the plug. Then it starts to be hilarious.
"Commander, is this some kind of game to you to hang up on us?" "You get it." Aaaaand we're out."
I grin at the memory, then hear a soft hiss. I look to the left and see the Commander enter the room as on cue. She seems surprised to see me, though.
"Already here, Raven?"
I smile at her. "Yes. Don't have anything else to do and didn't want to stand in everyone's way. And", the smile dropping to sarcasm while I wave dismissively with my hand, "I felt like I had to fulfill my daily fare of stereotype. Deutsche Pünktlichkeit and so on."
Shepard snorts and rolls her eyes, but a smile plays on her lips.
"Thank your ancestors. Being punctual is always a good thing when you're military."
She leans her back on the chair opposite of me. Arms crossed, she gives me a curious glance.
"To be honest, I'm a bit surprised that you don't seem to have any problems to fit in here, really."
"Yeah, I still can't believe what just happened." I say, giving her a kinda humorous look. "I mean, yesterday I woke up thinking: 'Another day on the search for a decent passage to Omega'".
I spread my arms, making a gesture that can easily be translated as 'WTF?'.
"And today, not even 24 hour later I am sitting in the com-center of the best damned frigate humanity has, serving in the freakin' Alliance Marine Corps under the legendary Lioness of Elysium who just happens to be our first SPECTRE and am on the hunt for another legendary SPECTRE, partially thanks to me sitting in a bar."
I lean back, answering her amused look with a tired grin of my own. "Admit it, it sounds like the script for a really bad movie, eh, vid. Or my personal free ticket for the asylum." And that's only the short version, my dear.
She laughs. "Try my side. Two days ago I was just Captain Anderson's XO on a shakedown run."
She sighs, gazing into empty air. "Then everything went to hell."
Trust me, it will only get worse from here on.
"I heard what happened on Eden Prime", I say, carefully not to upset Shepard. "But from what I understand, you had no chance to get either Jenkins or Kryik out of there alive."
"Still, it... sucks to loose people like that." She shakes her head.
A minute passes with neither of us saying a word.
"I have no idea if I really fit in that well," I break the silence by changing the topic back. "I'm afraid I will have problems with, well... shutting up when I'm not needed."
Shepard raises her eyebrow.
"Um, I mean, there won't be any problems with me not following your orders" I add quickly. "It's more that, frankly spoken, I don't give a damn about protocol and the chain of command and will voice my opinion when I have one... I hope that's not a problem."
"Ah." She smiles. "Don't worry too much. We all here know that you're only wearing this uniform because Udina made you do it. In fact, I hope that you speak up from time to time. I prefer it when my subordinates aren't just mechs obeying their orders without question."
She is Paragon. "Thank you, Shepard. And, yeah, thank you again for offering me this chance. I will not fuck up if I can help it."
She continues to smile, but it now has a certain sad note. "Thank you again for being here. Just don't try to be the big hero, alright? Jenkins wanted to be one. Now he's six feet deep."
It hits a little bit too close home, but I know that the Commander is right. She's the one with a decade of military experience, not me. My answer consists of lax but respectful salute. "Aye-aye, Ma'am."
She opens her mouth, but in that same moment the lock opens and Ash and Kaidan descend down the stairs, Tali and Garrus in tow. Shepard closes it again, nods in my direction and moves over to stand in her usual spot – usual for me at least.
A minute later the lock opens again to reveal Wrex seemingly even more gruffy and in a bad mood than the day before. Either he slept leaning against 'his' crates, didn't sleep at all or didn't have his coffee in the morning. Most likely a combination of all three, I decide after a minute of thought.
"Alright, thank you all for being here", Shepard said while everyone took his seat.
"I want to make this quick. We all know by now what is at stake; Saren must be stopped at all costs. The only question is how we do it."
She stepped a few steps forward, activated her omnitool and projected three pictures in the middle of our cycle. I recognized them but kept my mouth shut.
"We have three possible locations intel suggests we should pay a visit," Shepard continued. "First of all, Feros."
She clicked on her tool, and the other two images vanished while the picture of Feros stretched out to filled the vacant place in the air, complete with the basic codex data.
"Feros is one of the younger human colonies," Shepard said "privately funded by the ExoGeni Corporation and built upon the ruins of a prothean megacity. Still in the 'pioneer' stage. 300 population. And it went dark two days ago, reportedly to Geth activity."
She made a gesture and zoomed in. I immediately recognized the picture, it was the one from the mission screen in Mass Effect 1. The ancient prothean skyscrapers tearing through the clouded sky. Only difference – no fire. As of now.
I glanced at the picture, subconsciously biting at my thumb nail: A colony of zombies, both mind-controlled human ones and plant ones. I'm definitely not looking forward to battling the Thorian – and I hope that Shepard will spare Shiala.
"Intel says we have no idea what is going on, but High Command is already talking to ExoGeni about sending a team of marines. Might be possible that we won't even have to get ourselves there, but if they keep blocking the Alliance' requests, we will go there with SPECTRE authorization. They can't argue with that."
I hope they need us to get there, I thought with a bit of worry. Where else can we get the Cipher from?
The Commander, oblivious to my thoughts, asked if anyone had a question. No one came, so she gestured again and Feros shrunk back while the other two panels reappeared.
"Then there is Noveria."
Another click, and we had the opportunity to study the frozen hellhole in all it's ugliness.
Of all main planets in Mass Effect 1, I dislike Noveria the most. First, the cold that can definitely freeze your ballz of if you're not careful. Second, the space port with the corrupt chairmen and grey and cold building style. Third, the damned Rachni with their acid. Fourth... it's the place where Liara's mother will die.
I suddenly had a bad taste in my mouth.
"Noveria is a backwater planet, but a high-classed one. That's the place where big corporations go when they need to do something illegal or controversial" Shepard said and it was impossible to overhear her disdain.
"I have no idea what we have to expect there. We only know that, according to Captain Anderson, we have confirmed sightings of Geth units near this planet. The logical conclusion is that Saren either wants some kind of experimental gear or classified research. Given that Noveria is infamous for its hotlabs..." she trailed off.
"You can bet that if there's one place where shit hits the fan, its that one, Shepard." Wrex growled, eyeing the holographic image with even more narrowed eyes. "Was there only one time. Cleaning up some shit from a failed experiment. Heh. On Noveria, you're as likely to get stabbed in your back as on Omega. Just that they don't actually stab you. They have... other methods."
We all felt a lot less comfortable at this moment.
"Regardless," said Shepard, stroking her chin, "we won't go there at the moment anyway. Noveria is outside Citadel space. They have agreed to allow SPECTREs planetside but... well, let's just say that they still have to prove that they're serious about it."
She gestured again and Noveria disappeared.
"Third and last, the Artemis Tau Cluster."
The third picture appeared, but is was barely more than a shaded random planet with a white question mark on it.
"We know that Matriarch Benezia's daughter, Dr. Liara T'Soni, is supposed to be on one of the planets in Artemis Tau," Shepard continued. "Unfortunately, we don't know where exactly. All we know is that she's supposed to be an expert on the protheans and an archaeologist. Our best bet is to look at the planets in the Cluster with an excavation site. The Alliance Intelligence Service is looking into this and it shouldn't take too long to get results, there are only a few planets there which have prothean ruins – and every single one is either under Alliance or asari control. "
She tapped her omnitool another time, and the projection flared and vanished. Then she looked up, directing her glance to everyone of us.
"We are currently heading towards Artemis Tau. Two reasons. First, Saren or the geth haven't been sighted in the territory yet, so chances are they too don't know where to find Liara."
"But Feros is as far as we know under attack right now, and nobody knows what kind of hell they are trying to raise on Noveria, Ma'am." Kaidan interrupted her.
Shepard merely nodded. "True. But if Saren is already at Feros, the odds are that we will arrive too late to stop him no matter what. And Noveria's security is supposed to be good enough to at least notice when Geth are arriving – and so far, we don't have any reports from there. If we find Liara first, however, we might be able to get her without having to worry about the Geth. If she knows something and is safely aboard, Saren looses valuable intel without any chance of getting it back."
Her tone changed slightly to a more passionate one.
"Second: I will not allow anyone to get kidnapped by that backstabbing scum."
Hah, can't argue with that, I thought. Apparently, neither could anyone else, so we all stayed silent and nodded.
"Any more questions?"
Silence.
"Alright, that's all for now. Just one more thing."
Shepard looked in everyone's eyes. Her gaze was steady, her voice wielding a power that forced you to listen.
"We're supposed to arrive in at the Artemis Tau in a week. But I'll say it plain: In our current state, we can't hope to defeat Saren. When we hit the dirt, we are only – at a max! - seven people against a whole army of Geth. Some of us don't even have sufficient military-standard training." Her gaze wandered to Tali, who shifted a bit uncomfortably and me, who looked right back a Shepard and gave have a serious nod.
"Except for me and Alenko, no one here is Alliance SpecOps." She continued. "All seven of us come from different background, different worlds. I know that there is some tension between you and that there might be more coming. But we can't waste any time with fighting each other, not with so much at stake."
I may be wrong, but didn't her gaze briefly drift to Ash in this moment?
"If we want to have any chance in stopping Saren before it's to late, we need to work as a team! A unit! So I'll do whatever I have to make sure that you all can work together and, more importantly, trust each other on the field. We will practice with each other, daily. Whenever we can go planetside, we will, even if it is only to use it as a shooting range. If we can't hit the dirt, we'll practice in the cargo bay. We will do this every day, multiple times if we have to – until I feel we are all meshed up and ready to bring the fight to Saren."
She stepped out of the circle and overlooked us all.
"This is your last chance to get out. It is very possible that not all of us are getting out of this alive. I don't care if you're ordered on this mission; I don't care if you gave your word and now have doubts about this. I will neither lead any one of you into probable death if he isn't sure about this - nor will I call anyone a coward who wants out."
A short silence followed where we all collected our thoughts. A silence Wrex was the first to break.
"Hah. You don't scare me, Shepard." He rumbled. Then flashed a toothy grin. "I dealt with worse before. And I'm still alive."
"Likewise, Commander." Garrus said.
"I will stay too, Shepard." came Tali's voice from my left.
"And I haven't dealt with the bureaucratic crap only to chicken out before it even starts, Ma'am." I added.
A simple "Thank you." was the answer we got, but was there more to say?
"If you have any questions or thoughts about all of this, talk to me. I'll check up with everyone as soon as I can. Williams, take Raven with you and get him inside his new armor. Check if its okay and adjust or improvise where necessary. Garrus, I would like to speak with you in CIC. Everyone else to his usual post. Dismissed."
We raised from our seats and went out, some talking to each other, some silent and keeping to themselves. I was the last one. Before I left, I took a look over my shoulder.
There Shepard stood in the middle of the now empty cycle of chairs. She kept her head low and stared at the ground while bracing her hand on her hips.
She's either thinking of a shower, or is wondering if we are able to do this, I thought and turned around, leaving the communications room. Don't worry too much, Shep. Hunting Saren and Geth is peanuts. Fighting Collectors and Reapers will be fun. And, I smiled, for the record: I can't wait to see your face when we find Legion.
"This armor and I, we're definitely not going to be friends anytime soon."
"It's all just a matter of practice", said Ash, looking up from her workbench to cast me a somewhat amused glance. "Some need more time then other. Be glad it's only light armor."
"It's not the weight. This goddamned rubber neckpiece rubbish is choking me!"
"What a choice of words" she murmured before she grabbed the helmet she was working on and walked over to me. "If it's too snug, we just have to change it. But if it's not fitting enough, it won't help you in vacuum. Or anywhere else."
She was right, of course. The whole reason the armor was that tight was that as an Alliance marine, I had to be able to fight even in space. I only have to think of the final chase after Saren to see the truth behind the statement. Not to mention all those hazardous planets we're going to walk and fight on.
But still.
"Here you are, try it on now." She put the helmet in my gloved hands and stepped back.
I sighed and obliged.
As soon as the helmet connected with the rest of my armor, the pressure seals activated and a display appeared before my left eye.
"Systems are all green." I said. My voice got distorted by the armor's speaker system.
"Okay," Ashley nodded before taking a look at her omnitool. "Looks good from here. Air reserve, heating systems, heatsinks... everything alright?"
She looked up to see me nervously tugging at the helmet, shifting my head from one side to another.
"Uh, yeah, mostly." I answered. "I just hate wearing helmets. Especially when they're completely closed."
She stepped in front of me, a concerned look twisting her features.
"You're claustrophobic?"
"Kind of. It's no problem when it's just the helmet, but as soon as my neck is sealed off, too... I have the feeling as if I'm about to break it."
I had enough, pressed the hidden button to unseal the helmet and almost tore it from my head, taking a deep breath.
"Mhm." Ashley bit her lower lip. "What kind of headgear would you prefer?"
I pretended to think about it.
"When I was with the gangs, we usually wore balaclavas to conceal our faces and sometimes glasses to conceal our eyes." I finally said. "On one occasion I even wore a 20th century style gas mask. Other than that, some armor plating and a low-grade shield. "
"That's all?" She sounded genuinely surprised.
"Our plan was usually to get in and get out either without anyone noticing or too fast for them to respond with heavier weapons. Plus, we were one of the very few gangs with access to shields. Granted, they were the cheap ones, but still. And, I have to admit that there were only very few times where I actually used my gun." I knew that I was walking on thin ice now, so I stayed as vague as possible.
"I thought that the gangs in the big cities back on Earth are constantly fighting each other" said Ash, both interested and maybe a bit suspicious.
"Well, I was worth too much to risk in a firefight." I answered, giving her a sad smile.
"Why?"
"For example, I was one of very few people who was able to write and read."
She stared at me.
"Aye. Most of the kids in the shadier districts of the mega-cities are legasthenics. You can maybe imagine what a negative impact that has for the command structure. I was usually attached to units to keep the chain of command up and running... at least that's what we called it. A military woman like you would probably laugh about what we called an 'operation'" I snorted, causing her to grin briefly.
"To put the icing on the cake, I am bilingual. Also, I know how to operate the old pre-mass effect computers you occasionally still find in the poorer districts on Earth."
In our days, those vastly overpowered Windows/Linux/Mac/whatever would be the wet dream of every true nerd. But of course, in a time where we use VI's and basically have a supercomputer on our wrists, those 50 years old PCs are considered outdated, ancient even.
My little statement made the impact I had intended – spicing up the faked background story with some details. I had to do it, otherwise people would get suspicious. The trick is to find the balance between being vague and giving information without committing myself to it.
I knew why I had dedicated half my preparation time to working out my disguise. Art from Mass Vexations had almost failed on the simple question where he was from. From North America, he had said. Former USA, he had said.
Unfortunately, the former United States of America still existed, now as a union with Canada and Mexico - the United North American States. The result: Kaidan got suspicious. Only pure luck (and the author's intervention, or the lack of) kept Art in the game, so to speak... and all of that because he didn't took five minutes or one day to properly do his research
Proper planning prevents piss-poor performance, I thought.
Half an hour later I finally finish the last adjustments to my Onyx armor while Ash takes a look at the balaclava and the rest of my gear.
"Why didn't you wear this back on the Citadel?" she asks, examining the black fabric.
"I was a bit nervous 'bout C-SEC." I answer. Also Tali would have most likely not trusted me if I had concealed my face when speaking to her. Heh. Kinda ironic.
"Mhm." She turns the mask one last time and hands it back to me. "Well, you can wear it in the field if you ask me. It's not exactly Alliance protocol, but I don't think the Commander will object."
She twists her mouth. "But that's just... fabric. That won't help you a bit in hazardous environment. I put some thinking into it and I think we can issue you a steel helmet, without a chin part. That shouldn't be a problem and still offer you enough protection."
Worst case, I still can fight without any helmet. Like my last in-game Shepard did. Because his hair felt so nice in fresh air.
Yeah.
But I have to agreed with Ash: In real life, a helmet is a must-have. Even with barriers. Call me old-fashioned, but I do feel better knowing that I won't have my arguably most vulnerable body part completely without protection when the barrier drops. Which will happen. Often. I'm the FNG for a reason.
"But you need some kind of a breather mask." she continues. "And something to protect your eyes in case of poisonous gas or something." She crosses her arms in front of her.
"Well, I've got a nice robust pair of glasses here." I say, raising my 'ski goggles', "and you can't tell me that there aren't any breather masks on a starship."
"Yeah," she admits, "and the ME fields will help you keeping gas and everything away from you."
I had learned that the breather masks used by Shepard's team on numerous occasions projected an mass effect field around the wearer's head to keep a certain atmosphere, temperature and pressure around it. Which again solved numerous plotholes. Like, why the hell those wearing them were allowed on the Migrant Fleet. By far not as safe as a real breather helmet, but at least some minimal protection.
"But that all won't help against you a bit against toxics in case they come in contact with your skin."
"Any problem with your armor?"
I turn around and see Garrus approaching from the general direction of the elevator. He sounds interested.
"Yeah, a bit", I answer. "Have you any idea on how I can make this thing here" I hand him my balaclava, which he carefully takes into his talons, "proof enough so I can wear it in hazardous environment?"
He takes a close look a it. "Why don't you just use a breather helmet?"
I explain him my problem, and that I had worn a balaclava in the gangs, too. I then proceed to put said balaclava on, complete with ski goggles and a breather mask Ash handed me in the meantime (all the while casting suspicious looks at Garrus, as I noticed) and asks him how I looked like.
"Odd." is his professional comment with a slight flare of his mandibles – the turian equivalent of a grin, I'd say. "But yeah, I think I may have something for you... Give me a minute."
He walks over to 'his' Mako and starts searching the boxes with the spare parts.
Both Ashley and I watch him work without saying a word. Partially because we both are interested in what he is going to do, but partially also because Ash radiates a certain aura of distrust towards our turian squadmate.
I think I will have to talk about it with her one day if Shepard doesn't beat me to it, I think. But not now. Enjoy the peace while it lasts. I am glad enough that Ash isn't bitchy at me. I fully expected her to order me around or treat me like I was inferior – I mean, I impose as a former gangster/ mobster/criminal. But she seems to be genuinely nice to me. Maybe she's just glad that Shepard didn't only recruit aliens.
Or I am the Mass Effect womanizer, I thought and gave myself some sarcastic nods. Yeah. Me. A womanizer. Absolutely.
Hm. Speaking of aliens, I have neither talked much to Garrus or Wrex since coming aboard. Also not to Kaidan, come to think of it. But hey, we've just started and still have at least some weeks together... enough time to get used to each other. Don't overdo it, 'Raven', I say to myself. One step at a time. Or I'll have to convince Wrex that Joker's more tasty despite his brittle bones.
Has anybody any idea on how long we're going to 'play' Mass Effect 1 anyway?
"Here you are," Garrus says a minute later, showing me a small,white box roughly the size of a pill dose with blue markings all over it. "That's Rastrop, a modified omnigel from Palavan. It mostly works just like original Omnigel, but with a small difference." He cracks the case open and shows me the content, a black, creme-like substance.
"What's that good for?"
"Omnigel gets hard and rigid when it's applied, absolutely inflexible. Good if you want to fix a tank, but bad if you want to fix say combat clothing or light armor if you are a scout. Or if you just want to make sure a bandage stays clean no matter what until a wounded can get treatment."
Understandable. If you would use omni-gel to fixate a bandage, in order to treat the wound underneath it a doctor would have to remove it with a blowtorch. Or worse.
"Rastrop stays flexible while still making the item it is applied to tougher and proof against almost everything – even vacuum." Garrus adds, again flaring his mandibles at my surprise."Trust me, I can even modify your glasses or your breather mask to your bala..."
"Clava. Balaclava."
"... so that no air can leak out. If you allow me, I'll treat all of your items with Rastrop and your problem is solved. Mostly."
I nod supporting and impressed, but Ash surprises me by speaking up. She tries, she really does, but it is impossible to overhear her suppressed disdain.
"How much time is this supposed to take?"
Garrus either is oblivious, or pretends to be.
"If I start right now, it'll take … I'd say, six to ten hours. I need to be very throughout, or the Rastrop might fail in a critical moment. And then it has to cure for at least another day."
"Can I help you?" I asked.
"Sure, but you need to be very careful. Let me show you how it's done, first."
"You can use my working station if you want." Ash says, looking at Garrus. Noticeably flat. "I'll go and have lunch. See you later."
She turns around and leaves without even as much looking back. From the corner of my eye, I see Garrus looking at me. I shake my head and make a little gesture towards the station. He nods curtly and steps beside me, both of us bending over the table and looking down at the tools laying around. Only when we hear the elevator close, he speaks up.
"Chief Williams doesn't really seem to like me, huh?"
"I dunno." I answer, despite the opposite being being true. "I wouldn't say its you personal, but rather that you're turian."
"She's a racist?"
"Good question." I raise my head to look at him. "I wouldn't say she's a racist. I'd rather say she... You know who her grandfather was, yeah?"
"I was right next to her when you saluted her, yes."
"Right." Uh, that's kinda embarrassing. "Yeah, General Williams still is the only human who ever had to surrender to aliens. Something the Alliance brass suckers haven't forgotten, even today."
"That's ridiculous." Garrus looked appalled. "A turian general in the same position would have done the exact right thing by surrendering. Protect your subordinates – that's every superiors primary duty."
"I hear ya. I read Ash's file - commendations everywhere, and still her every request to actually advance in her career gets denied. All because her grandfather surrendered to a superior force after doing whatever he could and to do his fucking job - saving the lives of those under his command." I couldn't keep the agitation out of my voice. "And those Alliance rats reward him with a dishonorable discharge."
His head-shaking was more then enough of an answer. I took a deep breath to calm down.
"Hm. I see where she could get her ... resentments from..." he says slowly.
I better keep quiet about her personal opinions, I think. Not my job to heat things up.
"What about you?"
"Hm?"
"Do you hate turians?"
What? "Why should I?"
"You're human, too... and Earthborns are the most xenophobe." He shrugs. "That's at least what they say in C-SEC."
I shake my head. "Maybe, but I'm definitely not." I give him a lopsided grin. "If you had ever been with an Earth gang, you couldn't believe that aliens can be worse."
"That bad?"
"You have no idea." Closing my eyes, I urge myself to be cautious. Keep you big mouth shut, dammit!
"And you? Any resentments towards humanity?" I ask him with mock seriousness.
"Hah. Trust me, I've seen some very bad humans while I was C-SEC... but your whole race? No."
"So it's true what I heard?" I ask, switching the topic. "You left C-SEC for this?"
"Yeah. Think I can do better work here. No politics, no bureacratics and no red tape to slow us down."
I grin broadly. "So you think being with a SPECTRE and on a mission with suicidal odds is the better than being a Citadel cop?" Oh please, say it, say it...
"Yeah, I'd say so." Leaning forward and placing both the dose and the balaclava on the table, he gives me an amused look.
"Fighting a rogue SPECTRE with countless lives at stake and no regulations to get in the way? I'd say that beats C-SEC."
Yes!
We spent the rest of the day treating my headgear with Rastrop. It was exhausting and tedious work. Every single fiber had to be treated with care, or else … I rather don't think about it. Garrus took it upon himself to work at the fabric of my balaclava while I puttered around at the less difficult glasses and breather mask. At some point, we got ourselves some some folding chairs – mine decidedly more comfortable than Garrus' – and sat down in front of the table like some hobby modelers.
In all those hours, Ash never came down back to her station. Kaidan, who briefly passed by at roughly 1400 told us that she instead spent the day working out in the gym on the crew deck – whether or not she wanted to avoid further contact with Garrus was left to my imagination.
While we applied layer after layer of the wondrous black fluid, we chatted with each other. Mostly about some gossip - I had picked up enough of that BS on my stay on the Citadel to be able to talk about it. Of course, Garrus with his C-SEC ties had seen much of it on his own or had heard the uncut-version. Unable to compete with that advantage, I mostly listened and offered sarcastic or interested comments – depending on the actual topic.
Both of us avoided talking about really important things. I didn't want to bother him by asking about family or past – not before Shepard does, anyway – and he, thankfully, avoided the topic of my origin. His sharp wit – and the few sarcastic remarks he dropped every once in a while – once again reminded me just how dangerous Garrus could be if he ever gets suspicious about my true background. The less I talk about it, the better.
Still, it was nice to just sitting down and chat with him. He may not be as cool yet as later when he becomes Archangel – whenever I looked at his face, I missed his scars – but the potential is definitely there.
Then, at 1655 Chakwas called me over the intercom. Wishing everyone a good night and leaving my gear to dry, I entered first the elevator and then the medbay where the doctor had already prepared everything. Of course I had to change into some kind of hospital gown, a strange feeling after spending hours in an armor.
Almost reluctantly I grabbed my glasses, took them from my nose and put them aside. It was difficult to see Chakwas even from two meters away – but hopefully that will be over tomorrow morning.
She explained the whole procedure to me one last time, then, after I had given her my o.k., gave me a good dose of her anesthesia. It worked extremely well. Only one minute later I was fast asleep, all tension gone from my body, and the last thing I saw was the bright operation light.
A/N: Hello once again, folks! Yeah, I definitely am a master of my schedule – or rather, the lack of one. Well, I said "at least in the mid of August", and that's what I did. Sorry that we didn't really made progress here – but I felt that it was necessary to add another rather 'calm' chapter before the storm to focus on char development. Trust me, there will be enough action coming up. For example, in the next chapter. I promise.
Before I say anything else, I want to make one thing clear about Art from mass Vexations: I don't want to dish out a diss against Mass Vexations or its author HerrWozzeck. I. Don't. Mass Vexations is one of the best ME fictions I've ever read and to a big part responsible that I'm writing ME Raven. However, I have to say that the Self-insert OC Art is ... well, sometimes not really smart about the things he does, to put it that way. That's what I'm referring to, nothing else.
(edit) I am well aware that Art may have been written that way deliberately - in fact, that's what I'm assuming, thus this clarification.
So, do I actually have anything else to say? I tried to write these little squad interactions as good as possible, but I know that I'm definitely not the best writer out there. So, if I have made a mistake – for example, writing a char in a way you think he wouldn't act in RL – don't hesitate to let me know. I want to keep the quality high, and if I have to re-write a few thousand words because I f*cked it up, then so be it.
Other than that? I promised you guys at least 2 chapters in August. To be honest, I'm not sure anymore that I can keep that promise – but then I'll just do two in September. As you're reading this I'm already writing at CH5 UNC: Uncharted Territory.
OK. I hope that you guys had fun nonetheless (please fav, follow and/or leave a review if you did) and I'll see you for Chapter 5!
edit: Last update 07.09.2015 - fixed grammatic issues.