…
"In eternity, where there is no time, nothing can grow. Nothing can become. Nothing changes. So Death created time to grow the things that it would kill... and you are reborn but into the same life that you've always been born into. I mean, how many times have we had this conversation, detectives? Well, who knows? When you can't remember your lives, you can't change your lives, and that is the terrible and the secret fate of all life. You're trapped... like a nightmare you keep waking up into."
(Rust Cohle)
…
CASTLE Base, December 12th, 12:30 PM, 2184
…
"939,259 psi and climbing." Johnathan announced from the nearby console as me, him, and Dimitri tested the stress limits of the new holding clamps for the Desant-class dropships. We elected to use a physical connection alongside the magnetic locks for redundancy sake, knowing a magnetic connection by itself was unreliable.
Normally, the clamps wouldn't run at such high levels considering it only took 903,223 psi to securely hold a single 70-ton mech. But, since these were built here and not somewhere else, we needed to know their full tolerances if they were going to be thrown into military situations.
I was thoroughly impressed with Johnathan's work so far. Looking at everything he's written up, he was incredibly skilled in engineering, especially when it came to large industrial equipment. He had custom-designed these clamps just for this project.
"Release the pressure the moment it breaks." I ordered, pacing back and forth as I watched the piston ahead of me for any changes. "How's it looking, Dimi?"
"Tolerances far better than originally anticipated, though I expect failure any second now." Dimitri mused, darting his eyes between the clamps and his datapad.
I watched closely as a deep groan vibrated through the air, culminating in the seals breaking, spraying hydraulic fluid all over the hangar floor.
"Боже!" Dimitri shouted from the scaffolding above, too distant for my translator to properly interpret before getting closer. "How high was pressure?"
"Approximately… 978,196 psi. Right within my projected tolerance range." Johnathan answered with a wide smile on his face, dimples immediately visible as he looked at me. "Should I send the results to the private server?"
"Yes, and hand me a hard copy at your earliest convenience." I replied, rolling up my sleeves so I could better cool off in the summer air. Not a moment too soon, either.
Admiral Gerrel walked into the hanger before the fluid had even finished dripping down from our test, walking with a stride that immediately cued me into the fact that he wanted to make this trip quick. He had ordered accelerated production on our dropships less than a week ago, and I had subsequently cost us many hours of sleep. Part of me wanted to yell at the man until I was blue in the face, but now wasn't a good time to cause trouble.
The political and military fallout over Rael's death was still very "up in the air" in terms of stability. There were a lot of strong opinions and emotions going around, and the circumstances behind it were not helping one bit. Many who had previously advocated for starting another war with the Geth hadn't even waited until the bodies were cold before using their deaths as a platform to voice their opinions. I found it deeply sickening.
On the other end, something else happened that I hadn't predicted. Significant numbers of ship captains who had voiced support for me and my team in the past wanted to use this event to further development on our defensive projects. Seeing how quickly things took a turn in Rael's lab gave them the impression that we were getting too complacent.
This had honestly surprised me at the time. With further support, we could silently slow down our military projects and keep the focus on our civil projects, the first being Biss's research mission to Haestrom which I had already gotten authorization to set up before this started. The timing of it couldn't have been any better either.
After modifying one of the old scout ships with a janky, but functional stealth system, I had Biss, Powell, two other researchers he had asked to come along, and a five-man marine detail sent away on the mission, one that had a flexible time schedule. The obvious objective was for Biss to either confirm or disprove his theories regarding Haestrom's star, but the second was for Powell to clandestinely contact the Geth and return the programs from Rael's lab to the Collective.
I knew with Powell there to explain everything that had happened, the team would be safe from any Geth interference during the duration of their mission. He might even be able to gleam more information about the Reapers from them in the process.
I shook my head as I forced my thoughts to the back of the queue. It was already bad enough that everyone else was picking the bones of Rael and his research team, I didn't want to let myself get worried about them too when there was nothing I could do about it.
"Captain, I see your tests are… proceeding as planned." Gerrel mused as the clamp let out another small groan.
"Slowly but surely." I reassured in a nonchalant tone, folding both of my hands behind my back. "Is there something I can help you with, sir?"
"Yes, as a matter of fact there is." He confirmed, looking over at the two rows of Dragoon mechs that were being worked on diligently by the base's volunteers. "Admiral Hackett is scheduled to visit in a few days for a meeting with the Conclave and Admiralty Board regarding problems with the Alliance's outer colonies."
"Problems, sir?" I questioned, knowing as usual there was more to what he was saying.
"From the few reports I've read, several human colonies in the Terminus have been going dark, their entire populations disappearing." He explained in further detail, crossing his arms. "While I don't see it as a problem worthy of our attention, Hackett has suggested it could be the work of Cerberus. Now we must hold a meeting to decide if joint action is necessary."
The annoyance in his voice was as clear as day. He could care less about innocent people going missing if they weren't his people. I bit the inside of my mouth, trying to suppress the urge to counter what he was saying.
"Regardless, I want you to make sure all the channels around the base keep quiet regarding what happened. We don't need the Alliance hearing about our security breach and sticking their noses further into our buissness." He ordered, pointing one of his fingers at me. "Is that understood, Captain?"
"Yes sir." I agreed without hesitation, keeping my back as straight as a plank.
"Good. I'll expect a full report on the Desant progress by tomorrow." He finished, letting his arms hang back to his side as he turned heel and walked away.
It was hard for me to contain my dislike for that man. Part of me felt he was only a few steps away from going something drastic like Rael had done, but another part suggested he had more common sense than that. Still, I believed that given enough time, he'd do something stupid that would endanger everyone.
Either way, I had a lot of work to do in a short amount of time. I mentally prepped myself for another night of no sleep.
…
Frisson, December 14th, 11:43 AM, 2184
…
I rolled up my sleeves again as hot, humid air blew through the fans around me. I had to keep reminding myself that it was December, unable to shake the feeling that all of this was wrong even as I was being given the run-down of Captain Meera'Bols vas Frisson's lovely, but hot greenhouses.
Frisson, like nearly all the settlements established on Reach during its initial colonization, was named after the ship the townsfolk originally lived and served on. Shortly after establishing their foothold here in these massive plains, they began construction on several dozen self-contained greenhouses where Quarian food could be grown safely without fear of outside contamination.
"Captain, what do you think of our facilities here?" Captain Meera inquired as I snapped my attention back to the tour at hand.
"They're very well built. Plenty of sunshine, good water irrigation, and a perfectly acceptable internal temperature." I critiqued, doing my best to point out things that I liked. "My best guess is that the cause of your troubles in domes 12, 13, and 15 can be pinned on the large number of phosphates contained in the soil."
"We checked the phosphate levels and they appeared normal for this particular genus of plant." She argued as I pursed my lips.
"Perhaps in the Liveships, yes, but the planet's gravity causes the roots to grow deeper into the ground, resulting in more phosphates being absorbed from the soil." I countered, showing her the quick analysis I had doctored up on my personal datapad. "Your phosphate levels must be lowered in order to get the best growth from these plants."
"Strange, I don't understand how we could have missed something like this." She pondered, placing her hand underneath the tip of her helmet in thought.
"I wouldn't worry about it; your settlement isn't the only one that's had this problem." I reassured, handing her a copy of the data I had compiled last month. "I'll have my team treat your soil and plant new samples that we've modified in our labs."
"Thank you, Captain." She thanked, offering me a handshake which I quickly accepted. "Should I call you if we experience any more problems?"
"Of course, though I doubt you'll have many more problems after this." I smiled behind my helmet, looking out the overhead windows into the sky.
I had come down to the eastern territories for two reasons. One was to have our botany team at CASTLE Base find out what was wrong with their crops, and the other was to build up more support for our civil projects in the northern regions.
My goal was to design a modern city that could be called the capital of Reach, but that would be a long shot even with full support in both the Conclave and Admiralty Board. If I was to get the support base needed for something of that magnitude, I'd need to work on smaller civil endeavors, things like dams, bridges, and possibly even roads to build confidence in the leaders of settlements such as Frisson.
It would be a long time until the city of Windham could realistically be conceived. It would be my ultimate tribute to Jack and the mentorship he shared with all of us.
Before I could continue my conversation with Meera, my omni-tool began beeping with an emergency tone from Miranda, something I wasn't expecting at all. I quickly excused myself, finding a quiet corner of the greenhouse before picking up.
"What's going on, Miri?" I asked, making sure to speak clearly so I could be heard properly through my facemask.
"We need you up here in the lab, there's been a major development with Shepard that we want to go over with you immediately." She laid out with no a no nonsense, neutral tone. "Also, there's something else I need to discuss with you in private afterwards."
"Understood, I'll be there as soon as I can." I agreed, ending the call as quickly as it began as the engine that was my brain began chugging once more.
If Miranda of all people had used our emergency team channel, that was proof-positive that something major had just happened. I sucked in the filtered air though my mask before bidding my goodbyes to Meera and the botanists before running back outside to my shuttle where Dan was waiting, sprawled out in the cockpit with the AC cranked all the way up to its highest setting.
"Wow, you're b-back early." He remarked, putting down his datapad as I hung my mask back on the wall. "What's happening?"
"Something big has happened upstairs with Shepard according to Miranda." I announced, strapping myself into the seat next to him. "We're going to visit the Cairo, my friend."
"Fun times. I c-can only imagine w-what happened if the ice qu… queen herself messaged you." He joked, revving up the engines as we slowly lifted off the ground. "Meeting go well?"
"Yes, it was the same problem the last three settlements have been dealing with." I replied, pulling my datapad back out. "I can't really blame them for not knowing, we had to do lab tests ourselves to find out this was an actual problem."
"You also f-forget that the gravity on Rannoch is slightly low… lower than it is here." He added, glancing over at me as we accelerated towards the sky.
"See, it's not just that. I've noticed a pattern here." I began to explain, going through pages of notes on my datapad until I came across a map. "By Earth standards, all the settlements that have experienced this problem lie in or around the Tropic of Cancer, about a 200-mile radius above and below. I don't know if I could chalk that up to coincidence or not."
"It could be the m-magnetic field is not as strong there d-during the summer season." He suggested as the sky tore away in front of us, giving way to the blue nebula that engulfed the Klenot system. "You know, the tilt of the p-poles?"
"Maybe, I don't know. I'd have to do more research." I finished, collapsing my datapad as we soared past the orbital drydocks, taking in the awe-inspiring view of the Fleet in low orbit around Reach before switching on the comm unit and pinging the Cairo. "Cairo Station, this is Captain Sean'Michaels vas Explorer requesting permission to land in one of your shuttle bays, over."
"Copy that, Captain." I quickly got back from what sounded like a new radio operator. "Shuttle Bay 2-Delta is available, I'll notify the crews that you're on your way."
"Roger that, Cairo. Captain Michaels, out." I finished, looking over at Dan who nodded as he took control once more. "Clean bill of health, it seems."
"Slow day." Dan remarked off hand as we pulled into the station, landing with a gentle thump.
We didn't waste any time making our way to the lab module, not even stopping fully to accept the salute of several Migrant Fleet Marines. Once in the airlock, I pulled my mask off once more and ran my fingers through my hair which was still stuck together from the sweating I had done not too long ago.
Back in the lab, I immediately saw Miranda, Richard, Hans, and Mineko all gathered around one of the operating tables. It didn't take a genius to figure out what it was they were focused on.
"Sean, there you are." Richard quickly greeted, walking away from the group to us. "You would not believe what's begun to happen."
My eyebrows shot up in the air the moment the puzzle pieces snapped together.
"He's alive?" I questioned with a heavy amount of skepticism, crossing my arms.
"Not in the conventional sense, but close enough." Hans said, tapping a pair of reading glasses against the palm of his free hand before looking back to Shepard's body on the table. "Basic brain activity has returned, though this doesn't mean he'll be up and walking soon."
I got closer, taking a better look at him. He was hooked up to an ungodly amount of equipment, still quite scarred but resembling a person. The implants Miranda had inserted into his body glowed a dull orange through his skin, and an artificial diaphragm kept air moving through his lungs in regular intervals.
"I can't believe you sons of bitches have done it." I exclaimed with a wide smile. "How much longer until he can realistically… function again?"
"We still have quite a way to go, sir." Mineko answered, clutching a clipboard tightly between her hands. "Though basic functions have been restored, it'll be at least a month before he can do anything without mechanical assistance."
I rubbed my forehead, still barely able to wrap my head around the feat that had been achieved this day. They had brought a man back from the dead.
"Sean, there is something else I do wish to speak to you about. In private." Miranda urged, eyes dead set on me.
"Alright." I agreed, walking to a deserted corner of the lab with her. "What's up?"
"Seeing as how Shepard is going to be up and walking around soon, I wanted to go over something else that I had been doing before the events on Minuteman Station." She started, standing very straight as I maintained my own posture. "You know about the colonies disappearing in the Terminus Systems?"
"I've heard various news stories, but all of it is just speculation." I replied, cocking one of my eyebrows as I wondered what she was getting at. "Why? Is there something that Cerberus knows that we don't?"
"Well, The Illusive Man was, and likely still is convinced that the Reapers are behind it in some way." She explained, pulling out a datapad. "One of my jobs was to assemble a team of highly-skilled individuals that Shepard would seek out and recruit to combat this threat."
"Interesting. Hopefully these were going to be voluntary?" I shot back in a mildly snide tone, as she shot me a quick glare and gripped her datapad harder.
"I decided on these fourteen possible individuals, some of which have worked with Shepard in the past." She displayed on her datapad with accompanying profiles she had reconstructed. "The idea was that a competent team of people without major ties to Cerberus would better "break in" Shepard to the organization."
"Because of his history with Cerberus in the past, I understand." I said, nodding as I scrolled through several of the names until I ran across two that really hit home.
Both me and Tali'Zorah were on this list, something I had honestly not expected. I focused harder on my profile wanting to read its full detail.
…
/ / Name / /
Sean L. Michaels
/ / History / /
Attended MIT, ScD.
Joined Alliance Task Force Cerebellum with Dr. Daniel Nemo.
Fled with other science personnel to quarian Migrant Fleet.
/ / Psychological Profile / /
Intuitive-Logical Extratim
/ / Combat Experience / /
Skilled in small-arm usage and mixed unit tactics. Observed to be pragmatic in combat situations.
/ / Cerberus Database / /
Doctor Michaels is a brilliant scientist, inventor, and diplomat if his interactions with the Quarians are any indication. He and his team are behind revolutionary technological breakthroughs such as the NM Reactor System, Gravity Drive, plasma manipulation, and more. Due to negative interactions in the past between Cerberus and Dr. Michaels, it is recommended that recruitment should focus solely on Reaper threat to appeal to altruistic mindset.
…
I narrowed my eyes for a moment as I read the last line, looking between it and Miranda.
"Cerberus actually planned on approaching me again after all the shit they put us through?" I questioned with a dumb smile, looking back at Miranda who sported her usual unamused expression. "Appeal to altruistic mindset?"
"That was then, this is now, is it not?" Miranda redirected, taking the datapad back before I could even protest. "Either way, I still believe that creating this team would be of great benefit to Shepard… also, he'll need a ship and a crew. Our shipbuilders on Minuteman were in the process of laying down a ship before being attacked."
"So, that's what that was… huh, I hadn't thought of that." I mused, looking down at the floor as I pondered the sudden problem in my head. "Well, we won't have the time to build one from scratch. If I play my cards right, I might be able to secure our second Phantom-class stealth frigate for him."
"That would be perfect. Its enhanced stealth capabilities would suit the Commander perfectly." She agreed, pulling out another list on her datapad. "The crew was originally going to be human in makeup, though now I believe any crew would have to be quarian."
"Not necessarily." I stopped, holding up one finger. "These are all Alliance personnel, correct?"
She nodded quickly without a word before I continued.
"Hackett is coming for another visit soon. What you can do is select a handful of these individuals to be transferred here to the new ship, and I'll get some of our best volunteers from the Fleet to create a joint human-quarian crew." I explained in further detail, poking her datapad for emphasis as I cocked one of my eyebrows into the air. "The best of both worlds, so to speak."
"Not a bad idea, considering quarians and their talent with engineering." She said, looking at her list one more time before freezing her eyes on me. "I'll select the candidates that I believe are the most qualified, then send them to your omni-tool."
I sighed, giving her a quick nod as our conversation ended. I knew for a fact that I had just set myself up for three more headaches, but at least I had a clear-cut objective to accomplish.
I needed to get the Commander a ship and a crew before he woke up. Hell, with all the bitching and complaining I did about my headaches, I could only imagine how bad his would feel when he came to.
…
Phantom-Class Frigate, December 24th, 9:17 AM, 2184
…
Admiral Hackett's visit to the Fleet on the 17th had been a short, but relatively productive one by my standards. While he was unable to secure any quarian support for colony defense in the Terminus due to our vacancy in the Admiralty Board, he succeeded in arranging several new trade routes between the Alliance and Flotilla in exchange for more technical data.
Once I had told him about Shepard's progress and our plan to set him up with a ship and a crew, he quickly agreed to gather up all the people Miranda had requested and have them brought here. The Admirals were not happy with our idea to set up who they still saw as a dead man with one of their most advanced warships, but in the end the benefits of the deal outweighed the negatives.
I had walked around the interior of the unnamed frigate slowly, examining each and every one of the little details as I waited to personally greet the human crew members who would be joining us here today. The ship's interior reminded me of a submarine in some regards. Certain areas were very tightly packed together and confined, while others resembled what one would normally see aboard a modern starship, with open space and even the rare window. I had a few creature comforts installed from the supplies Hackett had sent us as well, anticipating it would likely be needed for the journey.
The bare crew would consist of 36 people, 18 humans, 18 quarians. That wasn't our total capacity, but I wanted to leave plenty of breathing room for all the specialists that we planned to bring onto the crew.
The dossiers Miranda have shown me give me the impression that some of these individuals are more than a little… eccentric.
It didn't help that I was also on that list. For better or worse, I'd likely have to make a spot for myself on this ship. Miranda, despite her mannerisms and painfully supremacist attitude, had selected me to be part of this crew too. While I still had my reservations about traveling out-of-system, part of me also wanted to get out into the world again, see if there were other problems out there that I could solve.
Also, knowing these soldier-types, they were gonna need someone with a brain between their ears to figure out the more technical parts of a threat as complicated and illusive as the Reapers.
It would be hard not seeing my friends for extended periods of time, especially my wife and daughter, but there had to be at least one of us here. I planned on leaving Dimitri and Dan in charge of our military projects, and Mara in charge of everything else. All I had to do was clear it with the Admirals.
For the moment, stood in the hanger with my hands behind my back, quarian crew members standing in formation along with Miranda. I hand-picked the crew of men and women behind me, most of whom have worked at CASTLE Base before and displayed great skill in their respective fields. I selected them on two criteria, the first being said skill, and the second being their personal belief in the Reapers as a threat. They were perfect for this role.
As the two shuttles pulled into the ship, landing with gentle thumps, I clenched my hands slightly tighter. I had each of these people triple-screened by the Alliance, but I knew even the best tests couldn't weed out all Cerberus infiltrators. I trusted Miranda to an extent, but you never knew with these people.
It didn't take long for them to disembark from the shuttles, moving into a straight line without a single word being said on my part. I stood still for a moment, looking at each of their faces before breaking from my spot.
"Welcome aboard, crewmen." I greeted, hands still glued behind my back as I began walking to the left end of the line they had formed. "I know you've all been briefed regarding the assignment here, but for clarity sake, who here can tell me what we're going here?"
Several raised their hands in response. I picked a younger woman with brown hair who looked to be in her late twenties.
"Sir, we're here to fight the Reapers!" The woman said, nearly shouting as my eyebrows went up.
"Well, that is certainly one of our goals, crewman. What's your name?" I asked, walking directly to her.
"Sarah Patel, sir." She answered in a much calmer voice, standing at perfect attention.
"Well Sarah, beating the Reapers is just one of our overall goals." I explained, looking up and down the line again before focusing on her. "Until we can find out what they're doing, our primary objective is to show both the Alliance and the Admiralty Board the benefits of mixed crews. I want all of you, human and quarian, to get to know each other like brothers and sisters. Be examples of what our continued cooperation can become in the future. Any questions?"
"Sir, what about Commander Shepard?" One of the crewmen, this time a bald man in his thirties, asked. "When will he be joining us?"
In response to the question, I looked back at Miranda who immediately stepped forward.
"As outlined in your briefings, the voyage will not begin until Commander Shepard has finished recovering from his injuries." She answered in a cold, robotic tone that somehow even annoyed me slightly. "He will join us in a few weeks."
With her response, I looked back to the line of men and woman, seeing if there were any more questions. One more did raise their hand, a much older woman with graying hair. I already knew who she was from her dossier. She was Dr. Karin Chakwas, formerly stationed aboard the Normandy during Shepard's original mission.
From what Hackett had told me, she jumped ship from her job at the Mars Naval Medical Center the moment she was told she'd get to work with Shepard again.
"Yes, doctor?" I quickly accepted, pointing at her with one hand before quickly putting it behind my back again.
"Will we have access to the same kind of medical suite we had on the Normandy? At the time, it was considered state-of-the-art." She finished, causing my eyebrows to shoot up slightly.
"Trust me, my wife would kill me if we weren't using the best equipment available." I reassured, allowing myself to smile as several of the crewmen chuckled. "Regardless, we have plenty of time before the mission begins. If there's anything you need that isn't there, tell me and I'll make sure you get it the next day."
She gave me a simple, slow nod as the hanger once more filled with the ambient hum of the reactor.
"Right then, if there are no more questions, gather your personal items and get familiar with your stations." I ordered, allowing my hands to finally hang at my sides. "There's plenty of sleeping space, so hot bunking will not be an issue, and double check the labels on rations before opening them. Dismissed!"
With that, everyone dispersed, grabbing their duffel bags and moving on. Once everyone had left the hanger, I looked back at Miranda and cocked one of my eyebrows.
"Well, they seem to be an interesting lot." I commented, looking back at the elevator door before turning back to her. "I sure do hope they all get along."
"If there's anyone who won't get along, they'll come from your chosen crew, not mine." She rebuked with a sharp eyebrow raise, causing me to silently shake my head in denial.
"Regardless, I have to make sure the logistics of this are properly handled." I said, popping my neck on both sides before letting out a sigh. "From here on out, I want daily updates on his condition. The sooner he's up and about again, the sooner we can find out if the Reapers are behind what's been happening to our colonies in the Terminus."
She nodded once as we departed for the elevator.
All we had to do now was wait.
…
A/N: Sorry if the chapter took a while to come out, I got a new job that's been kicking my ass pretty good for a while now. It's not a bad job, but it takes some getting used to. Also, happy late 4th of July to all my American readers!
Things are happening pretty quickly now. We're on the fast track to beginning the events of Mass Effect 2 soon, and I can't wait to show the changes that'll be happening soon.
As always, I'd love to read any reviews, and I'm always up for suggestions or constructive criticism. Stay tuned!