…
"Intelligence is not a privilege, it's a gift, and you use it for the good of mankind."
(Dr. Otto Octavius)
…
MFV Normandy, January 17th, 4:59 AM, 2185
…
I let out a long groan, hands covering my face as I slowly pulled them down. I stopped where the tips of my middle fingers caught the bottom of my eyelids, exposing the skin to the air briefly before letting go. I looked down and stared blankly into my empty coffee cup, shaking my head as I leaned back in my seat.
I had two bruises on my side, which ached slightly whenever I moved. Despite the kinetic barriers and armor plating on my suit, taking a fall still hurt a surprising amount. The kinetic barriers were only programmed to deflect high-velocity impacts, and the armor did nothing in the cushion department.
I'd have to remember that when making another custom suit later.
"You seem to be in good spirits." Lydia deadpanned, appearing above the mess hall table with her arms crossed. "Did you check with Karin yet?"
"Are you kidding? Don't you remember what I did to my arm at Pasadena back in 2018? How does this even compare?" I shot back, pulling up my shirt so she could see the black and purple spots. "Besides, it's not like a couple of bruises are going to kill me."
"While they might not, they could compromise your long-term skin health." She pressed as I leaned my head back and shook my head.
"You worry way too much about me." I snarked, smiling up at her before my face shifted to a frown once more. "So… either one of them do anything unusual while I was asleep?"
"Not if you consider listening to heavy metal unusual." She shook her head, letting her arms hang down at her side. "Okeer slept for two hours before waking back up again, and Jack sleeps in one-hour intervals, staying up for five or ten minutes before slipping back into sleep."
"I guess Krogans don't need much sleep." I commented, deliberately avoiding the part about Jack.
"So it would seem." She nodded, noticing my face. "Be careful around that woman. I saw what almost happened yesterday, and I don't think it'll be the last time something similar occurs again."
"Baby steps, Lydia. Baby steps." I reassured, getting out of my chair with a groan, stretching my arms above my head with two resounding pops. "Got anything new for me?"
"Yes. Your wife sent you a video message two hours ago." She answered with a smile. "It's something special."
"Oh really?" I questioned, smiling before another thought suddenly crossed my mind. "Wait, how would you know its special if its unopened?"
"I…um…" She uncharacteristically stammered, looking off to the sides before rubbing the back of her neck.
"Have you been looking at my e-mail?" I quickly accused, suddenly feeling very violated as she pursed her lips. "You have, haven't you?"
"Well… I read everyone's e-mail, if that makes you feel any better." She admitted, head lilted downwards as she forced a smile onto her face.
"That's even worse!" I replied in a detested tone, feeling more disappointed than anything else as I shook my head. "Geez, you're even more of a sneak than you were before. Trying to give the NSA a run for its money?"
"It's not all fun and games, trust me." She dejected, putting on her own annoyed look as she put her hands on her hips. "Do you have any idea how much porn our Alliance crew watch? It's even worse now that they have their own private bunks."
I suddenly grinned from ear to ear, barely managing to stifle my laughter as I looked down at the table out of second-hand embarrassment.
"I'm serious! I could do a whole study on it if I was depraved enough!" She continued, still looking very unamused as I let myself chuckle. "Ensign Banks is the worst. He has terabytes of some ungodly Asari stuff, and he just keeps downloading more and more of it!"
"Heh… maybe you should save yourself the trouble and not snoop through people's personal files." I joked, refusing to sympathize with her. "I can't think of a better solution."
"That's easy for you to say. There's not a whole lot to do inside of the ship's mainframe, especially when you've memorized all the possible grid layouts for Minesweeper." She rebuked, giving me a steely glare that failed to make me feel at all intimidated.
Her comment ticked a spot in the back of my head, making me remember something I had forgotten about.
"Hey, tell you what…" I started, plucking the small hidden data OSD out of my watch. "On here I've got all the files from Rael's omni-tool, both encrypted and non-encrypted. I haven't had time to go through them, so If you agree to quit examining the masturbatory habits of our crew, I'll let you take a crack at them."
"You'd let me access the personal files of a former Migrant Fleet admiral?" She questioned with some skepticism, looking both surprised and worried at the same time.
"I'd caution you to go slowly, and take the time to look over every bit of code. Make sure nothing hidden is missed." I further pushed, plugging the OSD into my omni-tool. "We have a deal?"
"Sure. I'll pass anything interesting along to you." She agreed, my omni-tool flashing for a moment as she ripped copies of the files for herself. "Thanks."
"No problem." I finished, standing up to get myself another cup of coffee.
With the warm cup in hand, I sat back down at the table and reopened my omni-tool, quickly downloading the video message Lydia had mentioned as she sat cross-legged above the table, scrolling manually through all the files I had given her.
Once the video had finished downloading, I opened it, immediately seeing my wife and child sitting in front of the camera. Their faces immediately made me smile.
"Hey Sean, I'm making this now because something you'll love just happened." She began with a huge smile, before looking down at Elle. "Who's coming home tomorrow, Elle?"
She stared up at Mara for a few moments, before smiling and saying "Dada!" in an excited voice, waving her arms up and down as Mara's smile grew even bigger than before.
"Her first words, honey." She said, pressing her lips together as she bounced Elle up and down gently. "Dan said you'd be back soon, so hopefully you can hear it in person… love you, honey."
She looked back down at Elle before cutting the video, leaving me with a trembling jaw that I attempted to hide with my hand.
Her first word. It was mind-blowing.
Lydia paused for a moment, giving me a side glance before smiling and focusing back on the files.
"Dada." I repeated, lowering my hand as I took in a sharp breath. "Just like me with my father… that's beyond adorable."
"That's the first thing you said too?" Lydia questioned out loud, turning to face me while still sitting cross legged.
"Yep." I quickly nodded, forcing my emotions back down my throat. "My parents used to have audio of me saying it on this old 90's recorder. The audio quality was terrible, but the content of the recording itself was more than enough to make up for that downside."
I immediately replayed that very clip in my head, hearing it in the exact same voice as all those years ago.
"Dada, you're ma best frwend an I wuv you." I heard repeatedly in my adolescent voice, bringing more memories of my parents bubbling back to the surface.
"Are you OK, Sean?" Lydia asked in a softer tone, now looking worried.
"Yeah, just remembering home." I nodded, looking back at her as she put on a thin smile. "Despite how many times I said I wouldn't go back, I think I will one day."
"A lot will have to change before that becomes possible." She nodded, before quickly turning her head towards the door to Engineering and disappearing.
Jack came through the door, looking very restless and annoyed before locking eyes with me. She glared for a second before breaking contact and walking over to the kitchen. She opened the cabinets, quickly looking for something as I leaned to the side to watch.
She finally found the disposable plastic cups, pouring herself a cup of water and downing it in one long gulp.
"What are you looking at?" She asked, lifting the cup into the air with her biotics before clenching her hand into a fist, crushing it into a tiny ball.
"Nothing… just didn't expect to see anyone else around here this early in the morning." I deadpanned, calmly taking another sip of coffee as Jack somehow managed to look more ticked off. "Looking for anything in particular?"
She grimaced, maintaining her scowl for a few seconds before looking back at the cabinets.
"Anything here that doesn't have to be prepared?" She asked, crossing her arms with her back to me.
"Well, let's see…" I began, getting out of my chair and walking over. "Down here we have our MREs, but those are mostly for emergencies. Up there we have energy bars, cereal, and some chocolate if I remember correctly."
She pondered her options silently, looking between the two spots and occasionally me before quickly opening the bottom cabinet and pulling out an MRE. After slamming it shut, she then went for the top, violently grabbing a chocolate bar then walking off back towards Engineering without another word.
"You're welcome." I said out loud as the door closed, shaking my head as I looked up at the camera in the corner. Lydia re-appeared above the table a few seconds later, looking embarrassed.
"I'm so sorry about that, I stopped paying attention to the cameras for just a moment to focus on one of those files." She quickly apologized as I rolled my eyes.
"Don't sweat it, you're fine." I reassured, keeping my gaze glued on the door. "Still, be more careful. That could have turned out a lot less smooth if she saw you and started asking questions."
"Understood. I'm going to focus on this for a while. Call me if you need anything." She finished, fading back away as I picked my coffee back up and downed it.
Another interesting start to a day.
…
MFV Normandy, January 17th, 11:09 AM, 2185
…
I watched the space outside of the ship quietly from behind Joker's seat, anticipating the temporary break from our mission this stop would afford us. As the stars streaked by, I took another moment to really appreciate how cool it was seeing all of this in person. Traveling around the galaxy with a great crew in a ship I thoroughly knew inside and out.
Nothing could beat it.
"So… am I the only one worried about the woman currently nestled in the bowels of the ship?" Joker quipped out loud, breaking the silence and my concentration.
"Nope." I quickly replied in a deadpan, shaking my head side to side. "Why?"
"I guess I just don't understand the purpose of having a psycho onboard who could easily kill all of us." He continued, looking back at me and putting one of his hands in the air. "She could crush me just by looking at me wrong."
"I don't think that's how biotics work, but I'll take your complaint into consideration." I said, rolling my eyes as I crossed my arms. "How much longer?"
"Well, we should be there pretty soon, in the next three or four minutes." He answered, pausing briefly before going on. "Still not sure why we're heading back so soon."
"Well, let's just say I don't enjoy the thought of having a Cerberus agent aboard my ship during a possible combat engagement." I explained in detail, leaning against his chair.
"Why? You've already got the ice queen. Why not add to the mix?" He said, trying to be funny.
"You know what I mean." I deflected, walking closer to the window and looking back at the distorted space outside. "Besides, there's a few things I need to do before we fully commit to Fehl Prime."
"It must be important if we're coming all the way back for it." He finished, his console beeping as the ship shuddered slightly and we re-entered normal space.
Reach was visible in the distance, still bathed in the blue glow of the nebula. Seeing it brought another smile to my face.
I sat down at the navigation console, watching it grow closer and closer for a few minutes before Shepard walked in, wearing something hadn't expected. A hoodie. I couldn't help but smile.
"You seem to be in a good mood." Shepard observed, putting his hands in his pockets as he walked closer.
"I'm always in a good mood when I'm close to home." I replied, folding my hands and putting them behind my head.
"Yeah, how long are we planning on staying again?" Joker quipped, looking over his shoulder at the two of us. "I prefer to fly, not sit in a port all day."
"Seven hours." I answered quickly, looking over at him. "After I'm finished on the ground, I'm going to use the time to try and rally some emergency support from the Admirals. I doubt I'll get much, but it's worth a shot."
"Any support is better than no support." Shepard nodded with an approving tone, looking out the cockpit window with me. "Besides, if we're going to beat the Reapers, we'll all need to work with one another."
"Glass half full." I finished with a smile, shaking my head as I watched the clouds float through the planet's atmosphere.
I'd be lying if I didn't admit I was worried about how the next seven hours could go.
…
Serenity Valley, January 17th, 11:36 AM, 2185
…
I stepped out of the shuttle with a smile, seeing the faces of my friends. Mara, Dan, Dimitri, Richard, and Sira had all taken the time to meet me here and give me updates on everything, all except Powell. He I would be talking to last in a more… private location.
"Nice to see everyone could make it!" I greeted with a smile and outstretched arms, walking to Mara and Elle and giving both a hug. "I heard you've got something to say to me, spud."
"Dada!" She yelled out excitedly, bringing a grin so large to my face that I could feel the muscles reaching their limit.
"Don't let the face fool you, she tried opening the dishwasher and nearly broke one of our plates." Mara said with a stern look on her face, picking up Elle and gazing into her eyes for a moment. "It's a shame you can't say longer than a few hours."
"Trust me, I'll make it up to you as soon as the colony is safe." I nodded, looking over to Dan who was watching patiently with his hands in his pockets. "So… what do you have for me?"
"I'm glad you a-asked." He immediately answered with a smile, looking up at Dimitri and nodding towards me.
"Dan and I have finished modifications, though it was not easy." He stepped forward, nodding with a big grin. "Explorer is ready to move one Dragoon mech."
"Fantastic!" I replied with enthusiasm, putting my hands on my hips before shifting my face. "I don't suppose you or Dan were able to rally any fleet support?"
"Unfortunately, no." He shook his head, putting on a disappointed expression. "I believe Mal could be convinced, but only if you are the one to approach him."
"Well, that's kind of what I expected. If I can gain just a small amount of support, it would probably benefit." I wrapped up, crossing my arms and looking back to Dan. "You briefed Lenlo and the other two on the situation?"
"They've all agreed to help, and are r-ready to move out at a moment's no…notice." He confirmed, bringing the smile back to my face.
"Are you sure you want to be involved in this? The Admirals are libel to throw a fit once they find out about it." I asked one more time, holding my hands together behind my back.
"We both agree it has been far too long since we have gotten hands dirty." Dimitri replied, rolling his neck around and letting out several sharp cracks as he pushed his fist into his left hand. "We are ready."
I smiled, giving each of them a silent nod before focusing on Sira.
"The shields are fully installed?" I asked as she straightened her posture, looking very alert.
"The newest model of the MES is fully operational, and should allow you to shrug off anything bigger than a dreadnought-class mass accelerator." She laid out, keeping her hands at her side. "I also had the reactor retooled to better manage the power distribution between the ship's weapons, engines, and shields."
"Good job. With any luck, it should give us an edge against whatever weapons they use." I said with a smile, giving her a nod before finally focusing on Richard. "So… how's the lab disassembly going?"
"Slow. We encountered some difficulty with the larger equipment due to it being built into the lab itself, but I've got Mineko handling the transfer and Hans organizing both the physical and digital notes." He answered slowly, taking a moment to wipe off his artificial eye before continuing. "I believe we can use the nanomachines from the project to accelerate the immune-boosting implants."
"Make sure you sign off on everything before you start doing any major testing." I added, pointing at him as looked at the greenhouses. "Is he here?"
"He's waiting patiently for you as we speak." He nodded, folding his arms together with a smile.
"Sounds good. Dan, Dimi, get the ship ready and brief the crew one what we'll be facing. Sira, Richard, keep the house in order until we get back." I ordered, watching them give me various acknowledgements and walk off leaving just me, Mara, and Elle. "You two are going to come with me."
"Why? What does Powell have to tell you that's so important?" She questioned, following behind me as I began making my way towards the greenhouses.
"Well, I have a small confession to make…" I started, thinking back to a few months ago as I stopped to look at her. "Remember when I told you about what happened in Rael's lab?"
"Go on." She urged, giving me a cautious nod as I pursed my lips.
"Well, the part about the Geth being destroyed was only half-true." I admitted, getting closer to her. "We had all the Geth programs in the lab uploaded into the spare space on Powell's storage chip, and when he went to Haestrom with Biss, he returned the programs to the Collective."
"Wait, hold on a minute." She stopped, shaking her head as she suddenly looked much less pleased. "Are you telling me they had access to the network inside of our labs?"
"No!" I quickly corrected, holding up my finger. "Powell convinced them not to out of concern for both their safety and ours."
"Hm… fine." She reluctantly acknowledged, shaking her head disapprovingly as we continued our walk to the greenhouses.
After reaching them, I opened the door only to be hit with a wave of hot, humid air. Powell could be seen very clearly in the middle of the greenhouse, watering a row of tomato plants with a hose. He looked at us as we closed the door, quickly spraying more water at the last plant before making his way over to us.
"Dr. Michaels." He greeted, offering a handshake which I quickly accepted. "I've heard you and Shepard already recruited a few interesting individuals onto the team."
"That's an immense oversimplification." I nodded, smiling as he shook Mara's hand.
"So… now that we can talk with privacy, what would you like to know?" He questioned, crossing his arms as he towered over us.
"How did the mission go on your end?" I began, looking into his single eye as the aperture narrowed and widened.
"I successfully contacted a Geth patrol near the base camp Biss and his team had established." He explained, nodding slightly as he adjusted his footing. "The programs inside of my platform were quickly transferred as I began open dialogue with the units."
"And what did you guys talk about?" I inquired further, glancing at a perplexed Mara for a moment before looking back at him.
"The main pressing focus of the Collective at this given time concerns the construction of their massive platform-housing structure, but they also have problems with occasional skirmishes with heretic Geth programs." He went on in great detail, beginning to lose me slightly. "They are also worried about the growing threat the Creators are posing to them. They don't know much, but are very much aware of the increased tensions in the Fleet."
"And how would they know that when we've been isolated in the system?" I asked, catching on his last statement the most.
"The Geth monitor all outside communications they have access to, and piece together intelligence in a matter of moments." He clarified, narrowing his eye's aperture on me. "Returning the programs from Rael's lab has also had an enormous effect on their consensus."
"What kind of effect?" Mara said in an inquisitive tone, head tilted to the side as she suddenly looked very worried.
"They reached the conclusion that their isolationist strategy is no longer working to their favor. The world outside of Geth-controlled space is moving too fast for them to effectively plan any long-term offensive or defensive strategies, and the decision didn't come without a serious pause in their processes." He replied in very vague terms, leaving me mildly worried. "With my input, they decided that a new strategy was needed. Diplomacy."
"Diplomacy?" I repeated, taking a few steps closer to him. "What, are you saying they've made you some kind of ambassador?"
"Quite the opposite, actually." He shook his head, stepping to the side and emitting an electronic tone that made me wince slightly.
From the other end of the greenhouse, another figure appeared from the shadow of the pump room. I could already tell from the single glowing eye what it was. A Geth.
As it walked towards us, I began spotting details that separated it from others I had seen. It was much slimmer, shorter and less armored than Powell's platform, and looked to be draped in red cloth styled in a similar fashion to that of the Quarian environmental suit. It also had what looked to be a large antenna sticking off of its back, something I had never seen before on a Geth.
"Doctors, I'd like to introduce you to Pistis." He introduced as it walked over, looking at us with an eye very much like Powell's.
"Greetings. We are Pistis, a partition of the Geth Collective." It said, giving a somewhat exaggerated nod. "We find it most fortuitous to make your acquaintance."
"So… you're an actual Geth, huh?" I remarked slowly in minor shock, looking the platform up and down as I tugged at my goatee. "Tell me, what do you know about me and my work?"
"Only what you and Doctor-Karpyshyn have told us." It answered bluntly, bobbing slightly. "We predict there exist a 89.31% chance our arrival was unexpected."
"That's one way of putting it." I said, giving Powell a side glance before turning to face him all the way. "So… what made you think this was a good idea?"
"Sir?" He quipped in confusion, tilting his head to the side.
"Powell, I'm all for peace and everything, but what the FUCK made you think bringing an active Geth platform into one of the most militarized, hostile zones in the galaxy approached anything near the realm of reason!?" I suddenly yelled at him, walking up and getting in his "face" as well as I could given the height difference between us.
"Sir, I-" He tried to get in before I raised my hand.
"Don't you "sir" me! Don't you realize the situation you've created here?!" I shouted, feeling my face warm up as grabbed the ends of his chest plate. "Do you realize what'll happen to us if anyone saw this right now? We'd be shot on sight!"
"Doctor, might we provide input on the problem?" Pistis interrupted, taking a step forward. "It is not our intention to stay on Reach. We suggest joining the crew of the Normandy."
Its suggestion genuinely confused me, leaving me in thought for several seconds as I let go of Powell and walked towards Pistis.
"You want to join the team?" I questioned, finding it hard to believe what I had heard as it narrowed its aperture on me.
"While Doctor-Karpyshyn and AI-Powell were first to make peaceful contact with Geth, Shepard-Commander was first to kill one of the Old Machines." It explained, unmoving as it tracked my eyes. "Geth believe cooperation with Shepard-Commander and Doctor-Michaels will increase likelihood of success against Old Machines in future."
"Hm… I see what you mean." I nodded, unable to deny its blunt logic. "How do I know we can trust you?"
"Geth cannot lie. We seek an end to conflict with one another, and wish to defy the Old Machines." It shot back in what sounded like a matter-of-factly tone, leaving me mildly impressed. "Geth forge their own path. We will not allow the Old Machines to corrupt us."
"Well, then I suppose we have a deal." I said, holding out my hand for a handshake. It stared at my hand for two seconds before quickly grasping it and shaking vigorously.
"We anticipate the exchange of data." It finished, nodding as I felt another headache coming on.
I turned back around to face Powell, who had taken a few steps back from me while I was talking to Pistis.
"Um, sorry Powell." I apologized, pursing my lips in minor embarrassment.
"It's OK, you're right about how rash my decision was." He nodded, looking at Mara who smiled back. Elle stirred in her arms, looking happily at Powell with outstretched arms. "I will compile all the data I gathered on Haestrom and present it to you before you leave."
"I'd appreciate that." I finished, looking back at Pistis who stared at me in silence.
"Well, I have a meeting with Admiral Mal soon. In the meantime, I want you to stay here until I return with Commander Shepard." I said, crossing my arms as it nodded.
"Understood." It agreed, getting me to crack a small smile.
Things just kept getting more and more complicated, but part of me hoped something good would come from this and my meeting with Mal.
…
Tabanca Station, January 17th, 12:49 PM, 2185
…
I strolled into the Command Center of the second ODP under construction above Reach, moving much faster than normal. While the gun wasn't yet finished, the station had been pressurized and equipment was being moved in. The Command Center had already been finished, and was half shrouded in darkness due to most of the monitors being switched off, leaving it with a foreboding atmosphere.
At the top of the Command Center I could see Mal waiting patiently for me. He closed his omni-tool the moment he spotted me, raising one of his hands into the air to signal me.
"It's good to see you, Mal." I greeted as I got within speaking distance, stopping with seven feet between us. "With all the activity going on around me, it's good knowing I have someone on the Admiralty I can trust to talk to."
"Happy to be here for you." He replied in a neutral tone, crossing his arms as he walked towards the edge of the platform and looked out over the Command Center. "So… I heard you need my help."
"If at all possible." I added, walking over and standing next to him. "We've got intel that leads us to believe that an attack on the colony of Fehl Prime in imminent. We've got Alliance support coming in, but I'm not sure if it'll be enough."
"You really want my help..." He nodded without looking at me, taking in a deep breath through his mask. "Sean, you friend Dan already brought this up to the Admiralty, and it was denied. There's nothing I can do to reverse their decision unless there's verified proof that this attack will happen."
"Really? So that's it then?" I shot back in an exacerbated tone, looking at him with equal parts confusion and disappointment. "There's got to be more you can do than this."
"It's not that simple." He shook his head, turning to face me. "I'd love nothing more than to hop on the Idenna and come help you, but I can't just abandon my duties as an Admiral to go to a remote human colony where an attack might take place."
I stared at him for several second as he turned back to face the Command Center, feeling a strong sense of disappointment flow over me.
"Fine." I begrudgingly replied, turning away from him. "I'll tell you one thing before I go. My crew and a few of my colleagues will be taking the Explorer out to Rosetta to reinforce the colony. Is that going to be a problem?"
"It's your ship, Captain." He said, taking a few steps towards me as I turned back around to face him. "While I can already tell you the other Admirals will be less-than-thrilled with your decision, you will hear no protests from me."
"Thanks Mal." I smiled, giving him a firm handshake.
"Just do me a favor and try not to get yourselves killed out there." He finished, turning as we both parted ways.
There would be hell to pay on my end once we returned, but at this point I didn't care. Dan, Dimitri, and the rest of my crew were growing weary of the Admiralty's complacency. If they weren't going to act, we sure as hell would.
…
A/N: Well, it may not be much, but it's finally here after over a month. This was a really hard one to write, and I had to re-write over 70% of it to try and make all the information work. There'll be much more in the next chapter to work with, so look forward to seeing it soon.
I commissioned yet another piece for my story, this time of one of the ships, the Phantom-class frigates. It was drawn by the talented VincentiusMatthew on deviantART, and should give you guys a much better idea of what it looks like. Visit his user page to find the piece, and make sure to check out his other stuff too!
I'd love to read any reviews, I'm always up for suggestions or constructive criticism. Stay tuned!