...
Sorry for the chapter re-upload. The website decided to freak out on me and remove this chapter. Nothing has changed, so if you already read the chapter you don't need to re-read it.
…
"If people sat outside and looked at the stars each night, I'll bet they'd live a lot differently."
(Bill Watterson)
…
MFV Neema, May 1st, 10:09 AM, 2184
…
After a day of waiting, we eventually made the jump back home to the Klenot system. I had been shuttled over from the Nerox to meet with the Admirals aboard the Neema. They really wanted to know where we had been for the last month, and why we had brought so many people with us. I had already written up a draft report to hand them, making sure no one involved in the Spatial Distortion Device project would mention it if asked. They didn't need to know about it.
I sat in one of the old conference room chairs, moving back and forth and listening to it creak. It reminded me of the old 50's style office chair my father had in his office back home. It was all metal, sure, but oddly enough the arm rests were made of a worn down wood that I had never seen before. For all I knew, it could have originated from Rannoch.
After several minutes of waiting, Admirals Gerrel, Raan, Zorah, and Koris arrived, though Admiral Zadie was nowhere to be seen. They all paused for a moment to look at me, though I wasn't sure what they were hoping to see. I was wearing a full envirosuit due to not having completed decontamination yet. They then took their seats without a word, an uncomfortable silence filling the room until one of them finally spoke.
"Captain Michaels, we were so relieved when we heard you and your team had returned." Raan began, her hands folded on top of the table.
"Well, I can't exactly agree that we all made it back." I corrected rather somberly, looking down at my boots for a second before looking back to Raan. "But I do appreciate the gesture."
"We're sorry for your loss, Captain." Koris said in a warm voice as I focused exclusively on him. "I assure you, we'll make sure that Dr. Windham's memory is honored. His Gravity Drive technology was instrumental to the survival of our people, and we will never forget what he did for us."
"I'm sure he'd be happy to hear that. Thank you." I finished, suppressing the urge to tear up. "So… have you read my report?"
"We have, and I must say it's miraculous that you not only managed to escape from this space station, but also rescue 68 people of various races on top of that." Gerrel remarked, opening up said report on his omni-tool and looking over it. "Asari, krogan, turian, salarian, batarian, and even a volus. Some might call this the single biggest act of interspecies cooperation ever recorded."
"I think everyone just desperately wanted off of that station." I downplayed, not wanting to get into the big details. "I'm hoping we'll be able to get these people back to their friends and family."
"We're currently trying to get in contact with the Alliance regarding the movement of these individuals." Rael said in an exhausted voice, looking at the report as well. "We're not equipped to handle this many refugees. They need to be decontaminated, fed, and have background checks performed. You aren't making our lives any easier, doctor. Bringing these people here wasn't the wisest course of action."
"Well, excuse me for saving the lives of 68 people!" I burst out, standing up in anger. "What would you have had me do? Leave them on that station to die? Get off your fucking high horse and try giving a shit about someone other than yourself for once!"
"Doctor, you are completely out of-" Rael began to shoot back, before Raan quickly stood up.
"Silence Rael!" She cut off in a tone I had never heard from her before. "Captain Michaels is right! Don't assume just because they aren't quarian that they are of any less value!"
Rael actually shrunk slightly into his chair, something else I had never seen before. This had gotten very serious incredibly fast.
"You… you're right." He admitted with sincerity, taking a deep breath. "I apologize, Captain."
I nodded to him in acknowledgment as both Raan and I sat back down.
"Captain… what would you suggest we do in the meantime while we await a response from the Systems Alliance?" Gerrel inquired, actually surprising me.
"Well, why don't we offer these people work? Jobs here on Reach?" I suggested as the idea came surging into my head. "Some of these people… Cerberus could come looking for them again. If we offer to protect them from Cerberus, we'll have a whole new pool of people that'll work for the Fleet with their own unique sets of skills."
They all took pause to my suggestion, which I had obviously expected. It was quite the radical idea when you thought about it. It took the quarians a lot of time to adjust to just seven of us, but offering over fifty people the same opportunity? It would be quite the move.
Even though I barely knew these people from the Barn, we went through enough with them that I wanted them to be safe. I knew a lot of them died trying to escape from the section four holding cells, and I felt like we at least owed them the option after the hell Cerberus put them through.
Which made their response rather surprising in retrospect.
"We will… consider your suggestion." Raan replied, shocking me with how positive it sounded.
"Thank you, Admirals." I said, nodding my head in a respectful manner.
"Is there anything you wish to ask us, Captain?" Koris inquired, causing my mind to shift back to home, and my wife.
"Yes… are my wife and the others alright?" I asked, putting my folded hands back on the table as I suddenly became nervous.
"I haven't visited them recently, though last time I did they were still very upset." Raan answered as I nodded my head in confirmation.
"When's the earliest me and my team members can return home?" I pushed further, wanting more than anything to see Mara's face again.
"Well, seeing as how you live on the planet's surface, I see no reason why you can't leave immediately." Gerrel replied, making my heart jump with joy. "Though, if any of you wish to board our vessels, you will need to go through a full decontamination first."
"Thank you so much Admirals." I thanked again as the meeting ended.
We could go home.
…
Serenity Valley, May 1st, 5:29 PM, 2184
…
The mood inside the shuttle was very somber. We made it home, but one of us still didn't make it. Jack was a damn good man, and we were determined to give him a proper burial. He was wrapped in sheets, and had also been placed inside a body bag per quarian decon regulations. Just looking at him by this point nearly brought me to tears.
We landed outside of our homestead with a gentle thump, the engines shutting off and leaving us with few more moments of silence. We knew that Mara and Richard were here at this hour, and they had certainly heard us.
Without any plan or idea of what we would say, we simply opened the doors and began a slow walk towards home. Dan had this hollow, deadened look in his eyes, and had barely talked at all. Sira was near constantly on the verge of tears, and had to continuously wipe them away with a handkerchief. Dimitri had volunteered to carry Jack. He looked tired and defeated, the worst I had ever seen him. Seeing everyone like this… I had no idea how the others would react.
About halfway down the pathway, Mara, Richard and Powell all ran out to meet us. Their faces shifted from happy, to confused, and finished at worried in a span of ten whole seconds.
"Oh my god…" Mara exclaimed, covering her mouth as the gears began clicking into place. "What happened?"
I stared at her for a few seconds before I looked down at the ground, trying to think of something to say. I failed. Instead, I began to feel tightness behind my eyes as my emotions took over, and I began to sob. I tried to cover my own face to stop it, but it just wouldn't work.
"It's OK, Sean. It's OK." Mara insisted, walking over and giving me a long hug. I accepted it fully, squeezing her back tightly.
She held her arms around me for what felt like hours, as some of us broke down in tears, or simply stood there at a loss for words.
There was nothing we could say. Nothing to explain what had happened.
…
Serenity Valley, May 1st, 7:43 PM, 2184
…
Two hours after landing, we had finished digging Jack's grave. Six feet deep in a beautiful spot where Jack used to come and look over the valley below. We'd have to make a proper headstone for him at a later point, we simply didn't have the time to build him something appropriate. Powell had been happy to help me and Dimitri dig, helping us accomplish this gruesome task much faster.
All of us were here, except for Dan. None of us knew where he had gone off to, and since neither one of us had gotten a replacement omni-tool yet, I had no way to contact him. Running out of sunlight, we decided to bury Jack without him.
Dimitri gently placed Jack into the bottom of the grave we had dug before climbing back out and standing with the rest of us. With the exception of Dan, everyone was here. Lenlo, Kirva, and Biss had learned of our return shortly after the others, and we now in a similar mood to us.
All of us just stood there for the longest time, looking down at the grave without a word. I still have no idea how long we did just that.
"Is there anything anyone would like to say?" Dimitri asked in a low tone, the lowest I had ever heard from him.
There was silence for a few more moments before Powell spoke up.
"Jack was a fantastic man, the brightest mind of his generation and a shining example of what one person can offer the people of the galaxy." He said out loud though his platform's booming speakers, creating a small echo through the valley. "His loss is nothing short of a tragedy, and the effects of his passing will be felt for many years."
I nodded silently to his kind words, giving Mara a quick, gentle hug.
With that, Dimitri, Powell and I began to shovel the dirt back into the grave while everyone else walked back home. None of us said a word until the grave was filled in, where we all wished each other a good night. An hour later, it was just me left here. The sun had gone down, leaving me shrouded in darkness.
I continued to stare down at the covered grave, my mind still trying to cope with all that had happened. Not knowing what to do, I reluctantly did something I never expected to do again. I slowly performed the sign of the cross, touching my hand from my forehead, chest, left shoulder and right shoulder. I was actually quite surprised by how fluid the gesture was in my muscle memory. I hadn't done it since I moved out of my parent's house, and I had to admit it felt very odd. It was almost relaxing in a way.
Even as an atheist, I couldn't deny my upbringing. I was raised Catholic, and in many ways I always would be Catholic. They had rooted enough of that old world religion in me that I would always doubt my conceptions of the world. I remember disliking my parents for the longest time, thinking they were dumb for believing in "the man in the sky" when they were such smart people.
I laid my old thoughts to rest, not wanting myself to get worked up again. I kneeled down on the ground in front of the grave, placing my hand on the bare dirt and lowering my head.
"I'm going to miss you, Jack." I said, pushing my palm harder into the dirt.
With that, I stood back up, examining the dirt in my hand before letting it fall back into the ground.
While walking back to the homestead, I noticed through one of the windows that the lights in Jack's compartment were on. I decided to investigate, climbing up the tall flight of stairs to find that his door was unlocked.
Inside, I found Dan sitting in the back of his living room, staring blankly at the chessboard on the table in front of him. He didn't flinch, twitch or acknowledge my arrival in any way, he just stared at the handmade pieces in front of him, expressionless.
It was no secret whatsoever that the two of them had been engaging in a very drawn-out game of chess over the last few months. This had been a regular occurrence between them since Aldrin. In the past, Jack had won twice against Dan, who had been determined to beat him. This was their third game.
Without saying a word, I slowly walked over and sat down across from him, focusing on Jack's pieces. I had only played chess a few times, but I knew the rules well enough to know what standing these two had been in. That's when I noticed something, a rare little move.
"Rook to Knight 6." I announced, moving the pieces out of the way with a small smile. "Checkmate."
Dan's face shifted slightly before he let out a small huff of amusement through his nose.
"Even in d-death, that old son of a bitch still beats me." He remarked through a few chuckles. He then began silently tearing up for the first time since his death, much in the same manner he had back on the Citadel. "Goddamn it, why him? Why did it have to be him?"
"I don't know, none of this is fair." I replied, shaking my head as I tucked my legs up to my chest. "The universe just keeps taking away the people that we care about... one by one."
Dan sat there with the tears in his eyes for a few moments before pulling his head back up and looking harder at me.
"I'm not going to let this happen again, Sean." He said with a very sudden, aggressive tone to his voice as he stood up and looked down at me. "I'm telling you now, I'll never rest until these Cerberus bastards have been wiped from the face of the galaxy. Next time we run into them, I'm killing every single one of them, and nothing you do is going to stop me. All of them deserves to die, and they deserve no mercy."
All I did in response to his proclamation was look away from him and nod gently. He then walked off without another word, leaving Jack quarters and leaving me by myself.
I couldn't blame Dan for wanting to kill Cerberus members, to be honest.
I wanted revenge too.
…
CASTLE Base, May 17th, 11:21 AM, 2184
…
"Alright… try it now!" I yelled, backing away from the experimental emitter that Jack and Sira had been working on before our abduction. Sira switched it on, producing a bluish field of energy that slowly dissipated from the visible spectrum.
Since I had begun working with Sira to complete his work here in Hanger 5, I had learned exactly what the two of them had been doing. Jack had invented what he called Modulating Energy Shields, or the MES System for short. It involved using a high-density projection field supported by our old electron emitters to create a completely solid "wall" of energy.
Unlike kinetic barriers, which were the standard of protection around the galaxy and only blocked objects moving at high speeds, these energy shields would stop anything. The energy field acted like a solid wall, and blocks everything from mass accelerator rounds, lasers, and according to Jack's old notes, even our own plasma weaponry.
The other benefit was that it would be significantly stronger than kinetic barriers. As long as the field has a steady supply of power, it could theoretically maintain itself until the power runs out. With kinetic barriers, they can only take so much before the emitters overheat and fail due to stress.
We learned that the hard way over Eden Prime.
Once this prototype was functional, Rael's team would begin fabricating an MES System for Cairo Station. Once it was properly tested there, it would then be added to the Liveships, then it would begin spreading to the rest of the ships in the Migrant Fleet, much like the Reach System had years ago.
"I think it's working this time!" Sira remarked with an uplifted tone to her voice as I rushed back up the platform to look at the current readings. "Thermal is showing a steady field, hovering between 28 and 32 degrees Celsius."
"And the thickness?" I asked, looking down at the device from our platform.
"One centimeter thick." She answered with a smile, walking away from her console and standing next to me. "How do you want to test the strength?"
I simply looked down at the lone marine inside of the hanger, cracking my own smile.
"Hold on one minute." I replied, cupping my hands over my mouth for better amplification. "Marine! Get over here!"
"What's wrong, sir?" He asked, running into the hanger and stopping at the base of the platform.
"Listen, I need you to help us with a little test here." I began to explain, running down the platform and meeting him at the bottom. I then led him over to a good spot where there was no chance he'd hit any of the equipment. "What I need you to do is fire into this energy shield once I order you to do so. I want you to fire until you've overheated."
"Where is it, sir?" He asked, not knowing it had been activated.
I simply walked over to the perimeter of the field and banged on it with the side of my fist, causing the field to flare up slightly before returning to normal. Unlike before, it was now perfectly safe to touch. I could feel the heat that Sira had mentioned, it felt similar to the hood of an old car on a hot summer day.
"Oh, I see." The marine corrected as I smiled. "I'll await your command, Captain."
"I won't be long." I reassured, jogging back up the platform stairs to where Sira was. "Out of curiosity, did that impact have any noticeable effect on field strength?"
"No, it barely registered on the instruments, and had zero effect on shield integrity." She answered before resetting the scanner and beginning the next test recording. "Ready to go."
"Alright marine, fire!" I shouted down to him, gesturing towards the field with my arm as if I was leading a cavalry charge.
He unloaded on the field as ordered, causing the field to flare up as each round made contact. This went on for about eight seconds until his gun seized up.
"Alright… anything?" I asked once more, looking down at the field as it began to shimmer away again.
"There was a minor power draw, only 12 watts, but other than that nothing at all appears to have changed. It would seem we've finally done it." Sira remarked with a smile, before tears filled her eyes. "Jack would have been so happy knowing we had finished his old project."
"Hey, it's alright." I reassured, giving her a pat on the shoulder. "Listen, I'll get into contact with the Admirals later about Cairo Station. For now, can you compile the results while I go check on Dan and Dimitri in Hanger 3?"
"Sure thing." She agreed, sucking up her tears and recomposing herself. "See you later."
She then shut off the field, causing a small gust of warm air to radiate out before dissipating into the cool northern air.
Once outside of the hanger, I saw it had begun to snow again. While at first this seemed weird to me as someone who originated from Maryland and was used to hot temperatures this time of the year, I had eventually gotten used to it.
Reach had an odd orbit around the system's star. Unlike Earth, where the seasons only lasted for a few months, here on Reach they lasted for almost a whole Earth year. This was due in most part to the planet's larger size. The other fact to remember was that depending on the location, the seasons tended to be either more or less extreme.
Serenity Valley and Camp Dolor were located further up north in what was now known as Kámen Range, a series of loosely connected valleys and mountains that all formed from glacial activity. It was classified as a subarctic climate, though it had longer warm seasons than most earth-based ones. To put it in layman's terms, we were basically in "Super Canada", as Lydia had so happily stated before, but with more of an "Alps" twist.
I buttoned up my old surplus jacket to keep the warmth in as I walked, walking past a group of crates containing material for Rael's research team in CASTLE Base. It was one of the few things around I wasn't authorized to access, and I had to admit I was curious. I suspected his team was working on Geth countermeasures, weapons and such. I dismissed that kind of research as a waste of time.
Inside Hanger 3, it was readily apparent what Dan and Dimitri had been spending the last few weeks working on.
The "Dragoon" mech, as Dan had decided to call it, was in pretty good form so far. It had reached its full height by this point in the construction process, though it still lacked arms and all the missile pods were empty. It was imposing, standing a full four stories high and barely fitting in the hanger. It had been painted with a dark grey base, then adorned with simple red streaks that lined parts of the legs and cockpit. On the right leg, Dan had gotten the Wolf's Dragoons logo from Battletech painted on.
We were both nerds to the highest degree.
I had helped out a bit on the project while working out the kinks with the MES System. The biggest one involved scaling up the old Plasma Gun designs Mara and I had worked on into a full blown Plasma Cannon. The industrial laser that had originally been mounted in the hull was inefficient for combat purposes and sucked up way too much power. Now with a plasma cannon, it was capable of obliterating just about anything in addition to its other weapons.
Dan and Dimitri were over on the other side of the hanger, helping with the construction of one of the mech's arms. It currently sported two 155mm mass effect cannons, a bit bigger than the one in the original design, but easier to acquire and mount. They were the same kind of cannons normally mounted on the M35 Mako, the Alliance's primary infantry fighting vehicle.
"Hey guys, how's it hanging?" I asked as I approached, nabbing the attention of them and the engineers assisting them. Dimitri called a break before focusing on me.
"Were you the cause of gunfire heard a few minutes ago?" Dimitri asked, jumping down from a platform to ground level.
"Yeah, we were testing the MES System with some basic rifle fire." I explained, scratching the back of my neck. "It finally works. We figured out the emitter problem."
"That's good. I'm sure Jack w-would be proud of us "kids" solving the issue." Dan smiled, putting his tools back in his carpenter jeans. "We've almost finished m-mounting the Mark IV MN in the mech. It should be ready for mo…mobility tests by the end of the w-week."
"Sound good. Have there been any power deficiencies with the Mark IV?" I asked, leaning against the giant mech arm.
"We had to tweak reactor output slightly to keep heat down, but other than that, it has worked very well." Dimitri reported as I nodded my head. I then remembered something I hadn't through about in years.
"Remember our MechWarrior 2 days, Dan?" I replied with a smile, causing Dan to get that shine in his eye.
"The death of the incompetent is the death of a feeble prodigy and a testament to our glorious method." Dan quoted verbatim from MechWarrior 2: Mercenaries.
"Kill the meat, save the metal." I quoted from the same game, clasping hands with Dan as we both squeezed and bumped into each other in a friendly manner. "Death to clanners."
We both looked over at Dimitri, who stood there with a confused look on his face.
"You two worry me sometimes." He reacted, shaking his head as we both let out amused huffs.
My omni-tool began beeping as I received a call. Looking at the ID, I saw it was Mara.
"Hey hun, what's up?" I asked, turning away from Dan and Dimitri as I focused exclusively on her.
"Listen, I've been going through all this data you've archived down here in Sublevel 12, and I've found something I think you should take a look at." She said in a rushed tone, pegging my curiosity.
"Alright, meet me in my office. I'll be over it a bit." I finished, closing the call and looking back to Dan and Dimitri. "Sorry guys, I've got to cut the banter short."
"It's alright, we will see you later." Dimitri accepted as I ran across the hanger and back out into the cold.
The snow had picked up very fast since I was last out here, turning into a full blown blizzard. I ran as fast as I could through it to the massive blast door that led to the innards of CASTLE Base. I flashed my ID to the nearest guard in his nice, warm Gen IV power armor and urged them to hurry up.
Once inside, it wasn't far to my office, which was on the same floor as the blast door, and didn't require any extra security measures. I found Mara sitting in one of the chairs in front of my desk. She stood up as soon as she saw me, and a worried look was clearly seen on her face.
Mara had entered the 17th week of her pregnancy, and was now well into her second trimester. She was no longer as lethargic as she had been before, and her bouts of morning sickness had stopped. She hadn't reached the point where she needed to wear maternity clothes yet, but that time was approaching very fast.
"So, what did you find down there?" I asked while hanging up my jacket.
"I really don't know yet, but it is big." She answered with emphasis on big, walking over to my computer and uploading her files to it.
Once the files were there, she turned on the projectors in my ceiling, creating the image of some odd looking device. It looked like a giant orb attached to a superstructure of some kind. I was very confused by it.
"I don't get it." I replied truthfully, not able to wrap my head around what I was looking at.
"Look at the size of it." She urged, pointing down at the indicators.
Whatever this thing was, it was 10 kilometers long, a little over six miles in length.
"It's massive." I blurted out in utter disbelief. "Whatever this thing is, it's certainly not a paperweight."
"I'm going to keep digging through the data to see what I can find, but I thought I'd just let you know what we have here." She finished, turning off the holograms and leaving my room a little darker.
"You think it's something we should be worried about?" I asked as she walked closer to me.
"I have no idea." She answered, leaning towards me and giving me a kiss on the cheek. "I'll let you know when I find out more."
"Alright, sounds good." I agreed, giving her a quick hug before she left to go back down to Sublevel 12.
My mind tried to come up with ideas as to what I had just looked at. A ship, station, or some kind of device, over 6 miles in length. Whatever it was, I hope it wasn't something that should have stayed hidden.
Last thing I needed was another doomsday weapon of some sort. SMACs were already scary enough.
…
A/N:Decided to take things a little slower this time around, focusing more on the impact Jack's death had on the team and making it a point to show that they are really one big family. Remember, a good friend is something you never take for granted. True friends are few and far between, so keep yours close.
I'm sure most of you will be able to guess what Mara found down in the archives. If you don't, then I won't spoil it for you. All you need to know is that it's important, and will show up again later in the story. I have big plans for the events of the later games, and I hope everyone will enjoy them.
Once again, for anyone curious, I'm basing the Dragoon mech off of the Archer mechs from the MechWarrior games, and my specific visual inspiration came from Shimmering-Sword's Archer redesign on deviantART. Shimmering-Sword is an incredible artist, and his stuff is all incredible.
I'd love to read any reviews, I'm always up for suggestions or constructive criticism! Stay tuned!