Disclaimer: I do not own Mass Effect or anything else referenced here. Those are the sole property of their writers/companies (Bioware/EA and such). I do not claim ownership of anything but my OC and original concepts.
List of track(s) used:
[1] – Recommended Track (looped): Mass Effect 3 - Prothean Beacon (part of the YT link: /watch?v=ZoSTjl7-R3w).
[2] – Recommended Track: Mystique by Sybrid Music / Epic Hybrid Action Rock Orchestral Music (part of the YT link: /watch?v=KvFHnCq5uAw).
Chapter 13: The Darkness and The Daybreak
Caleston Rift. Aysur System. Mid 2176 CE.
After all the excitement at the start of this year, the factions of the Terminus calmed down a bit, which meant conflicts went from happening all the time to just most of it. After all, they were still reeling from the Massacre at Elysium and… also from the rise of a certain Darth. After being edited and released, that hallway scene bombed on the extranet, reaching top searches in the galaxy within a few hours. And Ad Astra got more calls asking to sell the Warp Blades than when Star Wars had been released by Retro Media/Old But Gold.
The Alliance, on the other hand, had begun a massive counter-attack campaign against all the pirates/slavers operating in the Traverse, though they were still looking for the backers of the raid as well as its place of origin, due to the fact that someone had killed its leader before he could say a word. Well, there was no rush there, especially when considering some of our plans. They would be informed about Torfan at the most appropriate time…
As for me, I had sneaked away and was walking on the streets of a colony set up on Arvuna, which was one of 44 moons of the gas giant Dranen. Together with me were a few squads of Hell's Angels, since I wasn't here for tourism, but for business.
For the capital city of this colony, Asa gave me the impression of a very small city. This situation was due to the fact that the colony's population, which didn't even reach a million, was spread out amongst several well-shielded human settlements and the fact that 90% of this moon's surface was just oceans and ice. This also meant it was quite cold, given its 1º C average temperature. Thankfully, my suit kept me from experiencing that.
This place made me remember a random bit of information revealed in ME3. And one that probably just flew over many players' heads. It was the fact that, during the Reaper War, the cuttlefish had to ignore this colony, concentrating their efforts on the neighboring Star System – this being evidence that they couldn't be everywhere at once. It was missed by most of the fanbase, including the fanfic writers, when they would confidently describe the Reaper armada as having millions, if not billions, of ships. If that was the case, then why couldn't they spare two or three Reaper Destroyers to attack this place?
This fact was one of the reasons why I would always assume that the Reapers' numbers were much less than the fans had theorized (since the developers never gave us any hard numbers). Thousands and tens of thousands, sure. But millions? Billions? No way. There's no indication of such ever being the case anywhere. Nazara's claim of "we will darken the sky of every world" was pure bullshit, no more than self aggrandizing on his part, as most of his claims eventually ended up being.
Regardless, that was a subject to think about another time, since we had a mission here. After having informed the colony of our arrival and about our intent to have a chat, we'd landed with no issues, while the small fleet we'd brought along stayed in orbit. It wasn't a big one, so as not to draw any unwarranted attention from any factions of the Terminus who might be interested in our movements.
Considering that Gaia was linked with me and she was surfing the local extranet network, it didn't take long for us to find the central governmental building of this colony. However, right as we reached its front entrance, a courageous guard decided to stop us.
"S-Sir, I must ask you to relinquish your weapons before going inside…", the guy stuttered while looking at the heavily armored mercenaries in front of him.
Oh, that's definitely not going to happen, Gaia snorted in my mind. Half the time we go somewhere, we end up getting shot at – 100% of the time.
"I'll relinquish one bullet…", I pulled out my hand cannon, now barely recognizable from the one Mordin gifted me, and aimed at him. "Where do you want it?".
This stalemate lasted for a few seconds. However, we were interrupted by the beeping of his Omni-tool, informing us of an incoming call. After the call connected and before things escalated further, a voice spoke through it, almost shouting at them: "Stand down! Their arrival has already been cleared beforehand. Let these gentlemen through.".
With that resolved, all of us holstered our weapons, locking them in their magnetic clamps, and entered the building. After walking through a few corridors, we quickly found ourselves inside of a neat little cabinet, something not very common in the Terminus, and before Dick Ackerman, the Prime Minister of this colony. I left most of my men outside, to guard us.
"Sorry about that, Commander.", he apologized while reaching for a firm handshake, which I took without hesitation. "Things have been very hectic lately, what with all the conflicts going on in the Terminus. We're all on edge. Please, take a seat.".
"I know. You've got the Terminus and its wars on one side and the Citadel Council on another.", I replied as we both sat down. "Actually, this is partly why I'm here. The second reason, in fact.".
"You… wish to offer us your protection services? Perhaps, some sort of 'mutual defense pact'?", he tried to guess it, raising an eyebrow. "I know Hell's Angels can even take on a planet with more than 200 times our population. And it would be much better than being annexed by the likes of the Blood Pack. But I don't understand. In the grand scheme of things of the galaxy, we're considered insignificant.".
"Not necessarily. For both points. It's a different kind of deal that I offer. We are looking for long-term allies, not subjected people. And your System is filled with potential wealth, just waiting to be tapped…", I showed him a datapad. "The information is all here. You can take your time reading it.".
With that said, I passed the device over to him. Despite having doubts, he still grabbed the datapad and began taking a look at its content.
"The Daybreak Accords… This looks like it was drafted for more than just our little colony. And it must have been carefully thought out.", he muttered, glancing at me. "After all, I can see it's not been made in a rush…".
I merely nodded in response, pulling up my Omni-tool to do some reading of my own. After a few minutes, he put it down on his table.
"So, what do you think about it?", I asked, calculating how to deal with his response.
"Frankly, forgive me for the pun, but it's almost like actually making a deal with The Devil.", the Prime Minister spoke honestly, with a humorous tone.
"That's great then, because those usually involve miraculous returns that couldn't be gained any other way.", I joked back, in reply to his pun.
"Don't misunderstand me, Commander, I meant it in a good way…", the politician clarified his comment. "Still, you can't deny that parts of it could ruffle some feathers, even being almost unacceptable for a few folk. This would create dependence on your forces, even if the colonies are still nominally independent. Above all, we came here, on the edge of the Traverse and close to the Terminus, to stay away from Council space's… obsession with controlling everything and everyone...".
"You're talking about the part about us becoming your oficial army, right?", I inclined myself forward a little. "We wouldn't just be protecting your colony from the criminal elements of the region or even merely keeping trade routes safe, but also training a local defense force. After Elysium, I'm sure you see the need for something like that, more so since this is a human colony. Besides that, we could, for instance, get rid of your 'Grow Zero' problem. You could say we have… some experience dealing with terrorist groups.".
That last part caused an annoyed twitch on his eye. Those guys were some loonies who didn't want the colony's population to grow. If we did nothing, they would eventually blow up a few helium-3 refueling stations of Alformus, a gas giant of this System.
"Indeed. The training of a 'professional local militia', who is tied with the civil government, is itself a great boon.", he said, but then turned serious. "Still, you can't deny some people would worry about the fact we have no real say in your PMC, thinking we were becoming just like those Terminus worlds who are ruled by warlords…".
"Something you must keep in mind is that we have no interest in a military coup or dictatorship.", I stated confidently. "We have every intention of keeping, encouraging and protecting civil representation in all of our associated colonies. After all, who's going to deal with all the paperwork if not you?".
"You're talking about those clauses regarding Ad Astra and VersaLife investing credits and technology into our colony's development, am I correct?", the Prime Minister inquired, but I could tell it was more for confirmation.
"Exactly.", I replied to him, nodding subtly. "If you're suspicious of their motives, then don't worry. They only desire to reap a bit of profit out of this deal. Hell's Angels, on the other hand, would only 'take over' in the case of a declared state of martial law. However, even then, we would seek to work together with you.".
"Yeah, about that… I was wondering why these Accords had a clause about an existential threat to the galaxy…", he paused, gathering his words, then continued: "Like, what would even qualify the definition present in that clause?".
At his question, I also paused, inclining myself backwards in the chair and looking around at the few advisors and bodyguards present in the room. "For now, this is something on a need-to-know basis.", was all the hint I gave him.
"Commander, you don't need to worry about them…", the Minister said confidently while gesturing dismissively. "I trust these men to keep a secret, even with their lives.". Subsequently, they all nodded.
He's likely to be telling us the truth. Gaia informed me. From what I'd extracted from the local network, those men have been with him for a long time and seem reliable.
"Very well. Here's the basic information.", I tossed him another datapad, this one being the handy-dandy one with the succinct information on the cuttlefish. Afterwards, we watched with amused looks as his expression kept getting worse the more he read on, stopping on a mix of scared and pale. He then passed it to the others, who also began reading.
You expected this, didn't you? He's positively scared out of his mind! Gaia laughed in my mind. Still, that never gets old, does it?
"Prime Minister, before you ask anything, let's just say that I'm not just the leader of one of the most successful PMCs in the Terminus…", I spoke before he could even try to deny our ever growing trove of evidence for the Reapers' existence, "But also a high ranking member of an organization meant to fight against this threat. We want to link your resources with ours and prepare for the coming war.".
What 'high ranking member'!? Gaia teased me. You're practically the mastermind of the entire thing! Or, as Loki would say, the secret BOSS at the end of the game.
You expect me to reveal that bit of intel to every Tom, Dick and Harry we meet? I shot back to her in my mind. This, my dear, is called being hidden in plain sight!
"Wait! All of those colonies who respond to Hell's Angels…?", the prime Minister muttered. He was beginning to realize that it wasn't just out of gratitude for their obtained freedom or due to the security we provided that so many had joined us.
"Their true leadership knows what's at stake. Some more than others.", I confirmed his suspicions. "Of course, you wouldn't be the first to sign The Daybreak Accords, Mr. Ackerman, if you're still wondering… But it's not just a path to survival that we're offering. After looking at the Accords, what is your conclusion?".
"The benefits are evident. I can picture a lot of prosperity… That is if you can deliver all of this.", he remarked, now with an expression more hesitant than scared. "Still, this is a very big decision to make. We must have some time to think.".
"Yet time is a commodity you do not have much of…", I looked at him and then at the others in the cabinet, who had just finished reading the second datapad. "Let me guess: you think yourselves safe because this place is considered insignificant?". They all looked ashamed at being exposed.
Gaia, did you manage to make contact with the miners? I asked in my mind, ignoring them for a second.
Nope! It's the same as before we set out. They aren't responding to anything… Gaia said.
"Minister, gather those loyal and trustworthy, then follow me.", I suddenly got up and motioned for them to follow. "I'll break your illusion of safety today!".
In the same Star System. A few minutes later.
Despite still having some misgivings, the Prime Minister and his trustworthy entourage had decided to board the Commander's ship. If Hell's Angels had any ill will towards them, it's not like his colonial "army" could do anything about it. So, they decided to give the benefit of the doubt to the legendary merc and see what surprise awaited them…
[1]
Their destination was a mining facility set up on a metallic asteroid of the sparse Nahata Belt. This particular asteroid was called Mehavid, with a high nickel and iron content in the form of kamacite, and the rights to mine it belonged to T-GES Mineral Works, who sold off their products primarily to his little colony. It was a healthy business relationship.
Along the way, rather than the rowdy and raucous environment one would expect from a mercenary group, their ride was mostly quiet – almost eerily so. Probably chatting through private comms, the Minister thought. After all, he could see the mercs gesturing to each other, playing some Omni-tool games and chuckling from time to time. Still, it didn't stop being unnerving. And the things the Commander told them previously only made it worse.
Oh yes, the Commander hadn't left them completely in the dark. He told them a few things, such as that the piece of rock they were visiting had a glowing green orb with mind control abilities. Yet this, which the Minister already thought was something straight out of a sci-fi or fantasy story, was only part of the whole matter. The rest of what he told them was that, despite what the "giant space cuttlefish" might want everyone to believe, they also had a beginning. And he, Dick Ackerman, the Prime Minister of a small little colony out in the Traverse, was *allegedly* going to get into contact with something related to that. To be fair with himself, he wasn't particularly excited about it.
Suddenly, the silence was broken by the sounds of the docking procedure. They had finally arrived at the facility. The Commander led the way forward and, following him, were a few squadrons of Hell's Angels veterans with many drones – the eezo kind, not the noisy rotor-propelled ones. His group was amongst all of that. It didn't take long for them to notice that the ambience was all kinds of wrong. They had tried to hail the facility, but no one was receiving them or even responding to comms.
One of the Hell's Angels merc, a quarian by the silhouette, had to hack the entrance's door so they could finally get inside. However, after doing so, all they found was an empty, dark and quiet place. As expected, there was something definitely wrong here! Ackerman and his man moved even more carefully, trying to piece together what had happened.
There was no sign of a pirate/slaver raid, combat or any kind of struggle. Moreover, it also didn't seem like anyone had left the place in a rush. Luckily, after walking so far, there was no case of a monster appearing out of nowhere and jumping at them, like entertainment media had drilled into their minds. Further inside, they finally met the miners – or, at least, part of them. Until they had arrived, those guys had downcast and hopeless expressions, regardless of the species, human or asari. Then, one of them began approaching…
"Is that…? Commander, thank god you arrived! Any more and we might not have made it.", cried out the guy. The Minister didn't recognize him, as he wasn't the usual lad who visited his colony, but was probably what counted for the leader of these people. "I'm from the head office. We did as you requested, isolating that… orb so it couldn't take over our minds. But some didn't believe what you said about it being a 'dangerous artifact from an ancient civilization'... They said you were just trying to lower its price!".
He paused for a bit, some shame showing within the fear. "They thought it was a Prothean artifact and tried to study it, to sell. When I found out, it was already too late. Because we wouldn't be tricked, they quickly took over the facility and activated the lockdown, so we wouldn't escape or call for help. I guess that thing was hoping we'd starve…".
"Greed, the reason behind the downfall of many.", the Commander admonished with a small shake of his head. "You should count yourselves lucky that we are here to save your people, but don't expect us to pay anything for the artifact anymore.".
"But… but this wasn't the deal we agreed on!", the spooked guy found some courage from who knows where and exclaimed.
"I am altering the deal…", but the Commander declared firmly, pointing his finger straight to the guy's face. "Pray I don't alter it any further!".
Yup! The Commander of Hell's Angels doesn't mess around. Lad, you should be plenty happy you don't have to pay to fix whatever's going on here, thought the Minister in amusement, although he couldn't put a finger on why he felt that scene lacked a dark cape.
Afterwards, the Commander turned around and began gesturing to his men, likely issuing orders. When that was done, they all saluted him and separated into groups, moving to the main entrance of the mining facility, where that very same quarian from before fiddled with his Omni-tool for a bit, probably slapping some Omni-gel in there.
"All of you… stay here. Don't leave this place.", the Commander ordered the miners, who all nodded sheepishly. "Wait for us to come back. We won't take long…". He then turned around and spoke to him: "Prime Minister. Your group is coming with me. Stick close.". Despite still being somewhat lost on what was going on, they knew better than to argue with the heavily armed people who actually seemed to know what they were doing.
Not much time after those words were spoken, the lockdown was lifted and the metal door opened. The mercenaries marched onwards soon after, shortly followed by him, his group and the Commander. Their advance through the corridors was very fast. No barrier, either electronic or physical, was a problem. Following them were those drones, but more than a few didn't seem to be equipped with accelerators. This mystery was solved rather quickly…
Along the way, their group met a lot of people that were simply biotically "stuck" in a standing position. And mostly in aggressive stances, by the looks of things. Shortly after, one of those drones would come closer, sedate the miner before the biotic stasis wore off and a Hell's Angels merc would tie them up neatly. They were careful in not hurting the people and, it seemed, in preventing them from hurting themselves. Still, in some cases, they would simply give a more old-school kind of restraint to the possessed person: a cozy percussive nap.
After passing over more than half of the place, they reached a very spacious room, a large chamber that had been designed to hold metals. Right in the middle of it, there was what appeared to be a standoff. On one side, there was a hooded petite figure, standing above some "neutralized" miners, who laid peacefully on the ground, surrounded by makeshift explosives; on the other, there was a very creepy guy, who was protecting a glowing green orb and holding what looked like a big device used in explosive mining.
Without hesitation, the Commander approached that petitte figure and, after tapping on her shoulder twice, her silhouette shimmered for a bit, then vanished from the room. Within his group, who was now watching the show from a distance, he wasn't the only one who blinked in disbelief. Since when did Hell's Angels have someone with cloaking tech like the ones from spy vids? However, the Minister's question was abruptly interrupted…
"Turn back!", the possessed guy suddenly spoke, his voice filled with a harsh tone, as he held the grenade in his hands. "The darkness cannot be breached!".
That, without a doubt, looked like a demonic possession from one of those B-rated horror vids of ye olden times. This musing was all the Prime Minister could muster to comfort him from that scene, the cold he was feeling and that annoying noise in the back of his mind.
"Yes, yes. Otherwise, those broken machines would come for you, right?", asked the Commander while crossing his arms, in an unconcerned pose, and receiving a strong reaction from the guy. "Yeah, I know who you are, what you've done and why your kind hides, Leviathan. Or should I say… the Creators of The Intelligence?".
The Prime Minister and his retinue widened their eyes at the accusation. Digging into their recent memory, they had received information about this "Intelligence". It was the controller of those Reapers, the synth-organic machines who allegedly execute those Cycles of Extinction, yet there was no information about where it lurked.
"You cannot know about this!", It exclaimed. "The knowledge was sealed.".
"Yet I do anyway. Deal with it!", the Commander replied casually, while waving his hand around. "But this is irrelevant. I have a deal for you. And believe me when I say you'll want to hear it. Just… for fuck's sake, stop trying to control our minds! It won't work on us and there isn't enough time to take control of our audience.".
The glowing orb started calming down a lot. The Minister felt the cold feeling go away and the noise stop all of a sudden. He then realized that, while most people would steer away from something demonic like that, the legendary merc was trying to make a deal with it!
"Speak your offer!", It demanded. "We shall hear it and judge its worthiness, but only because you know things that shouldn't be known.".
Fuck, it was actually working! He exclaimed internally.
"Release these 'thralls', leave the fragment for us to study and pass to us all of your knowledge on those broken machines.", he offered the demon. "In return, we'll give you the finest scum from the Terminus to enthrall, do our very best not to let 'the darkness be breached', help you with what you need, such as eezo or experiments. And, finally, clean up your mess. Yes, we'll win the war once and for all!".
"There is no war. Only the harvest.", It declared. "The Cycle cannot be broken.".
"Not with that attitude, it won't.", the Commander actually responded to the demon with a quip. "Just think about it. You stand to lose nothing even if we fail. But, if we win, there won't be any need to hide anymore…".
"With this fragment, you will be able to breach the darkness.", It stated. "If this Cycle fails, then, in your desperation, you will breach it!".
"No, because it doesn't make sense, both from a logical and an emotional point of view.", he retorted, shaking his head. "If we are losing, then revealing your survival won't change anything, while hiding your existence would give the next Cycle better chances at revenge.".
There was a small pause. For what they, the audience of extras, imagined was probably some lovecraftian horror somewhere far away, It seemed to be moved. Still, the legendary merc wasn't done showing his hand yet. With the carrot now given, he decided to show a little stick.
"This is our offer. If you don't accept it, we might just lead those broken machines to where you're hiding and 'breach the darkness' anyway…", the Commander made a not-so-veiled threat while also uncrossing his arms. "Then you'll have to deal with the consequences of your mistakes; of your hubris; of your… failure!".
For the first time, the possessed guy clearly showed an expression of irritation, or perhaps mild anger, before going back to his usual look. It took longer for the answer to arrive this time around.
"Very well.", It eventually accepted the bargain. "We shall aid you in this Cycle as long as you hold your end of the deal and do not allow the darkness to be breached. But know that we will remember this.".
"And we'll always remember that you started this mess in the first place and did nothing for over a billion years.", the Commander had the last line.
[1]
With that done, the possessed guy was finally released, promptly falling to the ground like a marionette that had its strings cut. A few Hell's Angels mercs approached the orb; one to check up on the possessed guy and the rest to set up some sort of containment shield around the thing, which wasn't glowing anymore. It seemed they came prepared to take it away.
"Do you see it now? In your own backyard, there was a mind-control artifact and its controllers were the ones who inadvertently created the cuttlefish.", The Commander got closer to them and asked, not mincing words in the least. "It could have easily been exposed to you, or your loved ones, who would then become thralls for who knows how many years… So, tell me honestly, do you still feel safe?".
Mr. Dick Ackerman and his entire entourage, who now had pale faces due to the revelation that the spiel about the "Reapers" was very likely to be real, could only respond by shaking their heads instinctively.
"Commander, are you really… going to make a deal with… that thing?", the Prime Minister, who was the first to recover, couldn't believe his own question. "It possessed-, took over the minds of the people here and was even prepared to blow them up!".
"The enemy of my enemy is… a potentially useful ally, wouldn't you say?", he asked, but didn't appear to be expecting an answer. "Don't worry. Our organization has been dealing with things like this for many years now. The fragment here will be sent to a very secure location to be analyzed, especially its 'indoctrination' ability, so that we may perfect our countermeasures against the cuttlefish's version…".
"Wait a moment, are we… on a list now?", asked the politician worriedly.
"Take a wild guess, Prime Minister.", was his only answer, then he gestured to the folk once affected by the demon. "If you're joining us, helping these people recover from what happened here would be a good start. We'll run some medical checks before leaving them in your hands though.".
The Prime Minister paused. After all that he'd seen, rather than be counted as a coward, he had decided to declare his allegiance by accepting the job without any fuss. Coming back to the entrance, they were met with the somewhat enthusiastic cheers of the miners, whose expressions were much more relaxed now, not appearing scared of their own shadows anymore. Still, the mercs weren't very fazed by that. Perhaps they were used to it by now. If helping people was a common occurrence to Hell's Angels, then maybe it wasn't such a bad idea to join them, the Minister concluded, reflecting the inner thoughts of his retinue...
From that moment forth, we started using the Aysur System as a foothold to expand to the Balor System, which was quite rich in resources and was a gateway to the other parts of the Caleston Rift. If the Systems Alliance, the Traverse and even the Terminus considered Aysur to be politically insignificant despite its potential wealth, then we'd happily take it for ourselves. And that move would give us access to Bres, a dwarf planet rich in lithium of the neighboring Star System, Balor – where this cluster's Mass Relay was.
The Prime Minister had no idea, but that small planet would be used, in the future, to make "Synthdiamond Heat Sinks", a key ingredient in the fabrication of the military-grade heat sinks used in computing, high-end thermal "clips" and starship weapons. This future would now be brought forth by many years, to ours and the galaxy's benefit.
Earth, planetside. Late 2176 CE.
On a sunny day, many pedestrians walked the streets, while shuttles flew busily over a city that was quite prosperous. Despite the many lingering marks of industry induced ecological damage of years past, nature seemed to be healing, as could be seen by the presence of many parks dotting the landscape. It was, without a doubt, a clean, rapidly developing and futuristic looking human metropolitan city. And there were also two krogan there.
"Why do the humans keep staring at us everywhere we go? And how can this be more unerving than facing the Maw in the Rite of Passage?", questioned Vorn, a quirky krogan botanist – which was even rarer than a normal krogan scientist.
"Can't really blame 'em.", said Nakmor Kesh, the ru'shan of the best grandpa krogan in the entire galaxy. "Twenty years ago, humans didn't even know aliens existed in the first place. Now, two are casually walking among them.".
"Makes sense…", he mumbled absentmindedly before realization finally hit him like a giant brick. From space. In free fall. "Wait, what!? It's not even been two decades since humans had their First Contact? Then, how come they seem to be everywhere these days?".
"I have absolutely no idea. Maybe it has to do with their drive?", she suggested. "But why do they… almost want to run away from this planet? It looks quite nice. Well, everything is when compared to the pile of rubble that's our home.".
"Yeah, I've got to admit, it looks nicer than I'd anticipated. Still, they say we krogan spread too fast. Ha, but we got nothing on the humans!", he quipped. "Come, let's go! Wait, where are we going again?".
[Here's the destination as well as the shortest route to reach it], her Omni-tool chimed all of a sudden due to the arrival of a very helpful message, one given by a very far away being. It was her "personal" Digital Sentience, one that was connected directly to her comms with an old QB, but no more than that. She couldn't help but reminisce about her grandpa's reaction to it. He said gruffly: "You wanna hook that thing up to my comm, sure, but that's where it stops. Putting an AI in your head is just begging for trouble!". Ever since he went off to cause trouble for the Blood Pack, she'd started to miss the old man's antics.
"Just… follow me, Vorn. And try not to get lost.", she replied briefly.
They followed the directions given and, not much time later, arrived in front of the entrance of an office. It was their destination and a very elegant place. It was also the Headquarters of the Andromeda Initiative.
As they began entering it, Kesh lost herself in thoughts about the future.
She was remembering what that otherworldly human and his team, which they were a part of now, had said about it. What baffled him about the Initiative was why they hadn't taken a page from the quarians and tried to build the Nexus as a sort of giant Liveship, where they could grow enough food to comfortably sustain the crews of the Arks. At least for a while. Or even simply utilized the already present farmland on it to plant stuff instead of looking for barely habitable planets to settle.
This way, while it was important for colonization attempts to begin immediately upon arrival in Andromeda, it wasn't a "Oh no, we're all gonna starve in 2 weeks!" situation, like it was going to be if they did nothing about it. Kesh had to agree with the sentiment – and she wondered why "future her" didn't say a thing about it. After all, the quarians were a big part of the Initiative and they had been using Liveships as mobile colonies ever since the Geth kicked them off Rannoch, for well over several hundred years!
"Sir, it's not possible to circumvent the proper recruitment waitlists.", an annoyed sounding voice, coming from a receptionist, suddenly broke her from those thoughts.
It seemed Vorn had been trying to speak to someone higher in the food-chain. "Look, just let us show what we can do and you'll see. We'll make it to this… wait-list!".
But, before he could continue with the pestering, a voice interrupted them in a demanding tone: "Excuse me. Is there a problem here?".
It was a woman with a portly appearance and gruff demeanor. Moreover, she was showing some hints of powerful biotics. Kesh immediately recognized the human and also thought she was quite well built, for a human. That one was the head of the Initiative's security detail, Luna Shanks, and the personal bodyguard of the Initiative founder, Jien Garson, who happened to be accompanying the biotic.
"Calm down, Luna. I believe there's no ill intent here.", Jien Garson said. "It's only been a while since we've begun the Initiative. Didn't think a krogan would show up. I mean so fast. I'm intrigued as to why you're here…".
"Name's Kesh, Clan Nakmor, hailing from the Kraddack Wastes of Tuchanka.", she replied, introducing herself. "I saw the promo vids. You guys are looking to explore another galaxy. We've figured there's much more future there for the krogan than in this galaxy, at least as things are right now, so we want in!".
The billionaire raised an eyebrow and inquired: "And what do you believe you can bring to the Initiative?".
"Ever since I was young, I always made ample time to read and consider myself very good at engineering and civil construction.", Kesh boasted. "You give me a chance to prove my skills and I'll bet you'll make me your fixer-in-chief very quickly.".
"She's also fascinated by destruction. First time Kesh got her hands on a toolkit, she took apart a power generator with the blunt side and enjoyed the fireworks that followed.", Vorn dropped a bucket of water on Kesh's boasting. "I'm a botanist, by the way. You'll probably want guys like me when settling alien worlds.".
While he stared innocently, Kesh gave him a glare that promised murder.
"Interesting… Luna, escort our krogan friends here to my office.", the billionaire ordered her bodyguard. "I'll be meeting them in a few minutes.".
After that, the head of security, which was surprisingly quite agreeable to talk to, led them both to that office, where they sat on comfortable chairs and waited. During this time, Kesh was focusing on what their "true objectives" would be going forward…
Their mission was to quietly infiltrate and, eventually, completely take over the Andromeda Initiative. At first, a few of their people would join here and there, such as them right now. Then, some economic and "heavy lifting" support would be given to it. As that otherworldly human said, their corporation could publically commit a bunch of credits to the Initiative as a PR stunt, write it off on their taxes as a charitable donation and launder credits to their operations in the bargain.
Finally, by using technology from the Shadow Broker and… Steve, they would help in the development and miniaturization of the ODSY (out-galaxy distributed static sync) drive core. It was a piece of tech designed to minimize static build-up and transfer the remaining charge to specially designed capacitors used to power a ship's systems, thereby reducing power requirements and lowering heat generation. Basically, they would solve the problem of all ships needing to stop on planets after a while to discharge. With that, they'd probably get themselves into the "inner circle" of the Initiative and the final part of the plan: dealing with the so-called "Benefactor", by making sure he/she/it wasn't a threat anymore.
Yet this isn't all the extent of her mission. No, they would also hunt for the actual talents of the thing, such as Veetra, and hire them. This was something Kesh would do regardless, as was trying to get the support of billionaires like Jien Garson, getting her to know what was at stake from the start – and without fear of being silenced for it. However, one big change would need to be made: holding off the launch of the Initiative; only doing it if the war against the Reapers became, by some miracle, completely unwinnable.
Later that day, they spoke with Jien Garson, in a much more serious interview, and were recruited into the Andromeda Initiative after showing off their skills.
[Well, it seems we've made it in…], a message appeared on her Omni-tool's display right after they'd left the Headquarters.
"That's right!", she muttered quietly, but nonetheless excitedly, to her DS companion. "You and I, we're going to accomplish a lot of great things together, Andromeda!".
Akuze, planetside. Early 2177 CE.
Corporal Toombs was in a bad mood. His unit had been sent to some godforsaken planet on the outskirts of Alliance space. Their mission was to find out why the colonial pioneer team had abruptly dropped contact a day ago, not responding to any communications ever since. The mission was supposed to be just that: investigate it, hopefully figure out what happened and report back. The Corporal was betting it was slavers. It usually was.
[2]
They were dropped off on this alien planet by squeezing inside of a few M35 Makos, a new Infantry Fighting Vehicle (IFV) designed "on the side" by Ad Astra and sold to the Alliance a few years back, supplementing the M29 Grizzly. Toombs and the other 49 marines of his unit quickly arrived at the outpost, where they found an intact, but vacant, settlement. What they had also found were that the comms were busted, there was some weird blood all over the place, the colony's structures had been melted with acid and a few gunshot marks could be found in a few places.
Despite being bewildered, the Alliance marines didn't forget their mission. They gathered a few samples of that blood and searched their database, but analysis wasn't helpful, as it came back negative. It wasn't something the Alliance had ever come across. Still, the lack of anything threatening made the marines drop their guard, because they had decided to set up camp there for the night. As it became evidently clear very fast, staying anymore in that place was a bad move. A very, very bad one.
It started with the ground trembling and rocks zipping everywhere haphazardly. Toombs imagined that a massive army was marching towards them, while hoping it was just some small earthquake or other seismic activity common on this planet. A few marines said they had seen the earth moving, but were dismissed by the others. Then, a weird blue tentacle popped out of the ground. This should've been the sign that things were wrong. However, they just stood watching how it'd react – maybe even thinking of poking it with a stick.
Finally, a gigantic monstrosity broke out of the ground, followed by a cloud of dust. Toombs was scared shitless, as was the rest of his unit. They'd never seen something like this in all their time with the Alliance. In his eyes, it looked like the unholy union of a giant sandworm with that pit thing from Star Wars. While the marines were still shocked, trying to process what the fuck just happened, and some who had fallen to the ground were recovering, that monster's movements began making their instincts scream "evade".
However, before it could attack them, the blue "tongue" of that thing exploded in a shower of alien blood and gore, shortly followed by a BANG!, one of the loudest shots the Corporal had ever heard of in his life rang out from a distance.
"Run towards elevated ground!", yelled a gravelly voice in their comms, shortly followed by another BANG!, a closer one, which hit one of the blade arms of that monster, tearing a big chunk of it. Most of the marines didn't have the time to board the Makos, or to wonder how their comms had been "hacked", before running the fuck away from there!
"Those who can, get inside the Makos and floor it!", was their second instruction over the comms. "Stagger formation, in a zig-zag pattern. Thresher Maws spit balls of acid and teeth projectiles. Don't get hit or stop moving, ever. Makos take potshots at its head, but just to draw attention. Ground teams, spread out and don't shoot or they'll focus on you.".
A series of orders were quickly shouted at them, which they followed to the letter for sheer virtue of being the only guidance they had in all the chaos. That and the fact another two of those massive monstrosities appeared out of dust clouds soon after they started running, and definitely as pissed off as the first one. Those turned towards the marines, aiming, but the Makos successfully drew their attention. Not far away, there was a large hill and, from their savior's direction, an even bigger one, almost like a small mountain.
At that moment, they finally saw it.
From the direction of the prior shots, a flying heavily armored dark figure appeared holding a large sniper rifle. On his suit's back, there was a pattern of an Angel's wings, the telltale sign of a Hell's Angels merc. Then BANG!, another shot rang out, this one much closer – and louder than the other ones. Despite the knockback that would tear a normal human arm apart, the figure only staggered a little. With that, the first mons-, Thresher Maw, as he called it, lost a big chunk of its head. The marines, who had been running for their lives, couldn't help but stop momentarily, not sure if they should join in the fight or simply watch that Angel of War rain down pain on those monsters. And Corporal Toombs was just like them, too awestruck to look away.
"Get a move on!", they all snapped back to reality. "There are some big rocks up there. Get to cover and assist with long range, suppressive fire!". He shouted, while flying through the air in a zig-zag pattern, the monster's acid and projectiles barely missing his suit of armor.
Toombs ran faster than when his drill instructor came snooping around. And the sounds of gunfire behind them never stopped. In fact, they only got louder – as if another army had joined the battle. When the marines finally climbed up the hill and turned around to look, they saw the figure flying together with a swarm of drones, in a beautifully synchronized choreography of pure destructive firepower. It was an aerial show of hypervelocity slugs, rockets and missiles racing to impact the first Thresher, who was close to getting finished off. Surely enough, with a final sniper rifle shot, its head was pierced through, brain matter splattering everywhere.
The marines themselves picked up the slack and began shooting at another Thresher, one that had been harassed by the Makos all the while. It saw what happened to the first one and wisened up, returning underground and moving towards their elevated hiding location. The Makos and the Alliance ground teams then promptly switched targets to the third one, who was also being harrassed by the flying drones. Seeing that move and using himself as bait, the dark figure finally landed on the ground, dodging the third Thresher's attacks with a mix of quick thruster action/short lateral biotic charges, and waiting for the second one to get closer.
When it was almost upon him, he suddenly charged backwards biotically, following it up by flying back into the skies. Against its intent, the second Thresher only ate the slugs of that mean-looking sniper rifle, with the weapon's kickback only widening the distance between the two of them. Nonetheless, it still tried to slice at the flying figure with one of its blades, only to have its entire left blade arm being blown away by a succession of loud gunshots. The dark figure just shot and shot, and shot again until his weapons simply overheated. He then landed and threw it to a nearby drone, who picked it up immediately.
The wounded Thresher must've thought its revenge opportunity had finally come, because it swung the right blade down. The figure then took something from his belt and ignited it, which turned out to be a purple lightsaber! What!?, Toombs exclaimed in his mind. He was distracted, since the third Thresher was on its last legs against their unit, the Makos and the drone swarm. But what really took his attention away was what happened next…
While the giant blade was coming down upon him, the figure, who Tooms was suspecting really was that legendary merc, pushed it aside with a torrent of biotic power and, following the momentum of the move, forced it to dig deep into the ground. Once again flaring up his thrusters, he rapidly flew towards the Thresher, as if to climb it by flying along its right arm. Along the way, he was quickly slashing his glowing weapon and turning the blade arm into many small pieces.
When he finally got close to its head, blue torrents of biotic energy swirled around him as he changed biotically, almost vanishing, towards the blue parts, staggering the beast back a little. Shortly after, he concentrated all that biotic power into a downwards slash, shoving that lightsaber deep inside the Thresher's brain, then taking it out, stuffing something there and flying away.
A few seconds later, with a big explosion of meat, brain matter and carapace, the second Thresher was finally killed. The third one, who never got any respite to dig underground, followed in its footsteps shortly after.
[2]
When the dust settled, the marines came down from the hill as the Makos joined them and saw one of the most memorable scenes of their lives. In the middle of the main battlefield, stood that bulky dark figure, casually sitting in a makeshift throne made out of drones, on the corpse of the Thresher Maw he'd finished off. For the first time, he spoke to them not to shout orders, but to casually introduce himself.
"I'm the Commander of Hell's Angels.", the legendary mercenary declared, while his big-ass sniper rifle was moved to the side. It still appeared to be cooling down. "Figured you folks needed some help. We came as fast as we could.".
Same place. One hour later.
Walking through the settlement, I saw the marines getting busy. Pretty much all of them made it out alive, but some still got splashed a bit with acid. The resulting wounds were not pretty to look at. And, even though soldiers couldn't really stand "mercs", many of them either saluted or nodded to me. Couldn't really blame 'em when most mercenary outfits out there were no different from pirates/raiders. At least they didn't ask about our little "intrusion" into their comms.
As soon as the hunt was finished, my guys swiftly arrived at the settlement. Together with them came the rescued colonists, who we'd protected from the initial attack of the Maws and taken away from this Nest. Also, we'd hidden a few vessels to load the remains of the Thresher Maws, one of which I left for the Alliance to play with. But the real big "catch" this time were the Cerberus' "scientists" we'd managed to capture due to this trap…
"S-si-, Commander Samael!", Corporal Toombs dragged me away from my musings, then clumsily pulled off a gesture that could almost be considered a salute. "I'd like to thank you personally for saving us! If you hadn't arrived when you did, we'd probably be goners. But, if you don't mind me asking, how come you were here?".
"Oh, that. Let's just say that it was for some close friends who had been hounded by Cerberus, so I decided to send it a message…", I was talking about Samara and, more specifically, Jenny. "The Shadow Broker's intel we'd bought said they were planning something on this planet. Therefore, we decided to come here quietly, lay in wait and ruin their day. That intel was worth every credit!".
"Those sick scientists you caught, right?", the Corporal asked, his voice filled with spite. "I think the one leading them was a so-called 'Dr. Wayne'... Bastards, all of them!".
Since our infiltration of Cerberus hadn't reached "critical mass" yet, we'd hatched a plan to uno-reverse card the trap they planned to set up here, thereby catching them all in one fell swoop. In order for this to work, however, I had to let most of the original events play out normally – the keyword being "most". We let the Alliance send a colonization team to this region, which was very close to a Thresher Maw Nest, while sneakily arriving with enough time to prevent a tragedy from happening. Therefore, before the pioneer team got hurt, we rushed in, drew the Maws' attention and took the colonists away. Immediately after, we dispersed all over Azuke to capture the Cerberus personnel before they could escape. These marines' luck in arriving when they did was rather rotten.
When handling any mission, I would always try to be genre-savvy about it. For instance, I kept in mind those moments in entertainment media when the bad guy or one of its goons was about to be captured by the good guys, who then simply proceeded to act like idiots, stopping to chat and/or something else, inevitably giving the villain enough time to commit suicide, or be killed off remotely, usually with poison. Yeah, I saw enough of this trope to get fed up with it.
So, before we'd arrived here, I gathered up everyone to say: "Cerberus operatives all have cyanide capsules in their molars. Therefore, when you guys go capture them, don't give 'em time to commit suicide. I don't care how you personally do it. Biotic barrier followed by a sedative. Getting closer by pretending to be a damsel-in-distress, then knocking them out. Breaking all their teeth in. Sleeping gas. Whatever. What matters is this: no losing the element of surprise; no stopping to talk; no BS asking for surrender; and no unnecessary one-liners. Got it?". And it worked wonderfully! Save for a few goons, who couldn't take a few hypervelocity shots, and one commando, who fought back suicidally, we got them all – especially the mad scientists.
"Yeah. My hunt led me to the settlement. We fought off the Threshers and evacuated the colonists, then went looking for the 'masterminds' behind it.", I narrated it to him, so it'd be passed down to the Alliance and, through it, to TIM. "Those… scientists were hidden rather well, but not enough. Apparently, Cerberus had sabotaged the colony's comms a day ago, so no message could get out. We tried to send warnings in the meantime, but you saw how well that turned out. I guess they really wanted to guarantee your deaths by Thresher Maw…".
After the last part, his expression got really ugly. The thought of being used as a live test subject for mad "experiments", or merely as a sacrificial lamb, had a way of doing that. I figured the future prospects of those Cerberus "scientists" did not look good.
"Anyway, thanks for all your help, Commander! If it wasn't for you, we'd all be dead. We'll make those terrorist bastards pay someday, I swear!", he saluted me and walked away.
Looking at the two Thresher Maw corpses being loaded up, I couldn't help but think about how much of a harebrained plot all of this was.
From my memory, it we hadn't stopped it like we did, Cerberus would be using a similar "technique" six years later, luring Admiral Kahoku's marine team to their deaths in a Thresher Nest on Edolus. Their stated objective was to study the creatures. Even with all of the knowledge stored in my memory implant, I still didn't consider myself a scientist; however, to me, this plan still sounded like completely and utter pseudo-science, at its best.
If you really want to "study" something like a Thresher Maw, then kill one, take its remains and do science on that. Test the acid's effect on many things or even try to synthesize your own. Any tests on organics can be done with cloned tissue, corpses or even "death row" criminals. If you want to ascertain its combat abilities, then send your own private army to fight them in a controllable environment. And, of course, inform them about it. After all, you want to learn about the creatures, not kill your dudes. Or, heck, just visit Tuchanka and watch a few Rites of Passage of the locals. These ideas are more in line with what we'd do.
But what did Cerberus do? They had planned on tricking innocent colonists and Alliance marines into dying by Thresher Maw! The creatures wouldn't even be killed afterwards, so no remains to study, just a bunch of melted, dead people. What the fuck can you really learn with that? Those weren't the acts of a "pro-human" organization that sought to advance humanity's "ascension". No, they were acts of Mustache Twirling Villains, from Saturday Morning Cartoons, who also happened to be mad scientists. Plus, even if their entire idea of scientific research and/or methodology was just sending people to die, then why couldn't they send some random alien mercs instead? Wouldn't even have to pay them at the end of the day! For a "pro-human" organization, they tended to hurt humans an awful lot.
In the recesses of my mind, I still remembered some stories I'd read trying to justify it, one of which was that Cerberus used this "experiment" to create "toxic bullets" for the Alliance. But one has to wonder how injecting Thresher Maw acid on a human's body fits into all this. After all, it already easily melts things, including armor, so all you need to do is to find a way to safely store it on a projectile. On the other hand, if you weaken it to the point that it can't melt a human being anymore, then you've just made the acid worthless as a weapon!
Thinking on it, maybe I should take some time to write down how dumb all of this was and upload it to the Project Heracles' OSD. Well, at least as the icing on the cake to all the bad stuff Cerberus managed to do even after our "interference".
I had a feeling it'd come in handy in the future…
[Alien & Aliens]
Asari Vid Reviews
Think about this scenario for a moment: you've gotten a ship and are just enthusiastically exploring the galaxy, looking for a place to settle/colonize and/or visit; then, when you think everything is going well, you find yourself getting into contact with this ancient monster race that's been living in the same galaxy as you for eons, who wants nothing but to kill you, while you were just living life blissfully unaware of it. As you might've gathered by now, this work is a very dark and broody take on aliens by humans (at least the aliens aren't invading Earth in this fictional Universe, for now…).
Before watching this vid, I used to think that the rachni were scary, but they got nothing on these "xenomorphs". I mean, they even have acid for blood! Seriously, humans can think of some very disturbing stuff. And don't get me started on the face-huggers. Yuck! Then the sequel comes in. If a xenomorph is already scary, how do you make it scarier? Make it plural! Of course, because Ripley needed that. Yet, despite all I've said, you know what's crazy? Just like much of human entertainment media, the biggest antagonistic force is still composed by corporate suits!
Ah, just leaving something here that a turian friend commented. For supposedly futuristic weapons, the ones in the vid aren't all that powerful compared to modern eezo ones, but the sound they make was pretty cool and very recognizable. And I agree with him.
I'm not sure who the target audience would be today, but I guess the turians and krogan would like this vid, so I'm recommending it to them.
[SpaceBalls]
Krogan Vid Reviews
You gotta watch the entire Star Wars Saga before this. Yeah, all six vids. While those were cool, if not a little too much "dance-y" with the sword fights, this one is just hilarious. Like, I know it's a parody and all, but in this vid the characters are just out there, playing with laser swords like it's their dicks. Almost laughed my hump at that scene. And the villain, I guess he's a parody of Dart Vader, has a helmet that's like an elcor toilet (no offense to the elcor, some of my best friends are elcor).
But funny stuff ain't all it's about. There's some pretty big lessons here too, like "evil will always triumph because good is dumb". Now THAT is something they should teach in schools, ya know. This vid is old even compared to the rest of the catalog (I mean I wasn't even alive when this was made), but it's still so relevant today, what with all the product placement and stuff.
Had a good laugh/10.
[Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance]
Salarian Game Reviews
To be quite honest, I was interested in this game because of its title: Revengeance. It's… not a word in the Galactic Dictionary, to begin with. So, I decided to play it to find out what it's actually about. And what a rollercoaster it was! You play as this human cyborg ninja who is protecting some human leader. Quite simple plot, I'd say. But it doesn't take long for things to become wild…
The first mission is basically a tutorial. Here's how you move; this is how to cut things; that button there blocks attacks. Good, you're learning. Now go kill that Giant Robot that's firing lasers at you from its mouth! By the way, that's the tutorial boss. Yeah, I certainly did not expect that. I also didn't expect to learn so many weird things. For one, I feel like I'm prepared for when a Giant Walker suddenly appears and starts firing lasers at me. And I've learned that violence isn't the solution. It's the question. And the answer is yes. Always.
Jokes aside, there are so many crazy things in this game, like the quote "Memes, the DNA of the soul!". I choked on that one, by the way. You might not believe it, but the humans actually managed to make the extranet into a plot point. As for the actual plot… I can only say that it's as if Delsae Orthysa drank 10 Tupari in one go and then invited you to cut stuff with an asari sword in her backyard. Basically, it's about an absurd anime version of some old human nation. And just imagine my surprise when I found out that there's a whole franchise of crazy behind it. I searched for it, yet nothing in the old human archives was able to adequately explain its plot to me. I found that to be impossible. Perhaps the archives are incomplete?
After the last boss, I can't get this image out of my mind: imagine one of the Councilors, or all of them even, ripping their upper clothes off, showing off their nanomachine-enhanced muscles and then proceeding to beat the crap out of you with their fits, by repeatedly punching you, while "Standing here, I realize…" blasts in the background at max volume.
This game gets, without a shred of a doubt, a recommendation from me for the simple fact that it has something many other games lack today: actually being fun and memorable. And this is coming from a salarian! Seriously, it's amazing how this game does very little to talk about its villains, especially the final one, until the last minutes, yet makes every single one of them memorable, revealing things about them in depth just through their awesome soundtrack!
There's one thing I can't help but wonder though. How come the bosses still manage to talk even after exploding?
[Hellsing Ultimate Original & Abridged]
Salarian Anime Reviews
What the heck did I just watch? To me, the "Abridged" meant some kind of shortened or remastered version, so I started there, but nothing could've prepared me for what I would watch. Borrowing from the anime itself, in a short summary: it's a mountain of over-the-top violence, swearing, sexual innuendo and unnecessary screaming. And I loved every single second of it! Even the fact that I was lost on all ze references didn't detract from my enjoyment of this show, though I would like to know what a "JoJo" is and how that scene is a reference to it… No offense meant for any other race, but as a salarian one quote in particular resonated with me: "Don't weep for the stupid. You'll be crying all day".
As for the plot, it's about this eldritch monster, who is the baddest of all these mythical creatures called vampires, hunting other monsters who lurk the dark. And the humans of that world have no idea about these beings' existence, because their fights happen in the shadows. Until the last parts come in, but saying more would be spoilers!
Not sure if this is accurate, or even appropriate to say, but human religion is kinda… scary, wacky and all over the place. Going from this show alone, I mean. Also, you know what? After watching the "original" version, I think the Abridged version is actually better. It's a matter of perspective, really.
After finishing it, I thought these "nazis" from the show were kinda over the top, but then I heard about some human terrorist organization on the news recently, what they were trying to do, and started wondering if I'm actually living in a crazy story like this one.
Anyway, this is an amazing anime that took me by the horns! I did *not* expect the finale to even delve into quantum mechanics!
Krogan Anime Reviews
After watching this anime, I've learned about yet another creature the humans have come up with that's probably fun to have a scrap with: vampires. Immortal, super strong, fast and durable beings who love to drink blood. Glad humans ain't like that in real life though. They ain't, right? If they are, I already know the solution. LANDMINES! LANDMINES? Yeah, LANDMINES!
Oh, and the main character was awesome. Hey, got that annoying guy (usually a salarian) always asking questions about every little thing? Well, here's the answer he would give: Fuck you, that's how. I really like this guy! And that Alucard entrance at the last battle. It was made perfect by that song. The name's "Ready to Die" btw, by some human named Andrew WK.
Just like Alucard said, some people claim the extranet makes you violent, but it's taking my extranet that really makes me violent. My warlord knows it. That's why I had left Tuchanka before. And C-Sec knows it better than most (hehe).
Now that we're talking 'bout those boring guys, C-Sec Girl. Never thought I would ever resonate with a human female, but here we are, 'cause of the whole blood rage thing of course. And I dunno about female varren (bitches), but krogan females really do love cannons, I can tell ya that, hehehe!
You're wondering if you should watch this show, right? Do you want to know how good this is? I actually got the boys to start watching these human "anime" because of it, that's how good it is! I liked it almost as much as my love for guns, by which I mean my erection (that's what I'm calling it from now on, yeah). Just don't bother with the "original" version.
And I already know what I'm doing after this review.
Imma go out… for a walk.
Author's Notes: Things are moving forward, wouldn't you say? It's been 7 years ever since the MC arrived in the Mass Effect Universe. Also, I'm getting close to the end of what I had written some months ago, meaning future Chapters will need to be written from scratch. Before I start my notes here, let me say this: guys, go read your PMs, especially scyfly and Spacemonkey777. I've responded to some of your reviews, more so the part about the Leviathan of Dis (go read the previous author's notes). That said, let's get on with it…
Firstly, I've decided to make some changes to Shepard's epithet. The Alliance publicly went with the "Lioness of Elysium", which I'm starting to believe is just fanon, but those who saw the aftermath of the defense prefer to call Shepard as the "Butcher of Elysium". Basically, we get to use both at the same time, yay!
According to the ME3 multiplayer (which, to be fair, I have never played), the Leviathans began using their "Awakened" Collectors to seed most of the galaxy with the enthrallment spheres, including nearly every major planet. This, many people believe, was done so that they could reconquer the galaxy as soon as the Reapers were removed, as they promised Shepard they would.
Therefore, considering that those might become villains, I came up with this "within arms reach" kind of deal. After all, the MC knows where to find them (they would take over the miners' minds for a decade) and planned to stop it while getting some advantage in the process – but also staying away from the bastards. We saw three of them on the DLC, but perhaps there are more hidden in that planet or somewhere else, so it's best not to antagonize the Cthulhu v1.0. Still, there will be no "spreading around mind-control spheres everywhere" in this joint, yo!
Regarding the Andromeda Initiative, of course the MC had to "deal" with the "mastermind" of the whole thing! Otherwise, his own plans might've been compromised. By the way, you wouldn't believe who the "Benefactor" really was! And neither will I tell you the answer, because Bioware sure as shit didn't. If they had, I would've written another Chapter à la Lair of the Shadow Broker. Regardless, in the background, the MC will definately "remove" this hidden danger, which could be by either assassination or recruitment, and then take control of the Initiative, taking it farther than it'd originally ever go while also preventing the crazy mess that was the journey to the Andromeda Galaxy.
Seriously, with just a quick glance at the wiki, you can see that Mass Effect: Andromeda was a veritable pile of screwups in more ways than one. You've got a rushed departure, the scattering of the Arks, an inside job in the form of a plague, mutiny, the creation of a splinter group of "exiles" who seem to want to recreate their very own Terminus Systems (not the freedom part; the criminal one), yet those splinter groups actually managed to settle planets whereas the main group didn't, etc. And those are just to name a few.
Now that I think about it, considering all of the disasters, I wonder if Cerberus had a hand in some of the Initiative. Maybe TIM held a prayer for its success or something? I'm jsut joking. It doesn't make sense for Cerberus to actually be behind it just because some of their mad scientists showed up there. That's just headcanon/fanfiction that's never been confirmed.
Regarding Michael Lang and the assassinations. You guys had good points all around. In the end, I'd decided to let it happen. This has to do with my plans going forward and the MC's desire to keep the butterfly effects to a minimum regarding Cerberus. Stopping what would happen in Azuke is fine, as that would only remove a few mad scientists that would get hunted down by Toombs anyway. Also, hurt Cerberus' image a bit, especially within the Alliance, but not to the point of causing it to declare a holy crusade against TIM. And the guy can still pull his "iT wAs a rOgUE CeLL" card, like he always does.
Also, some misunderstood my question, thinking the MC would personally go there to stop it,. Nope, he would have one of his Shadow Ops guys go there, look for a someone carrying a "camera", one big enough to hide a Locust, and do the following: 1) throw a quickly dispersing smoke bomb just as Lang began shotting (the wiki states it took one burst to pop the kinetic barriers); 2) put him on a biotic stasis, move closer, knock him out (physically or with sedatives); and 3) escape by using the crowd, but leave a "CERBERUS" message somewhere visible (could even be in the guy's body). That's how it'd go down if the MC had decided to mess with that particular timeline event.
There's a topic about my grammar that I'm planning on making in the future, to get some feedback, see what's working and what isn't, and so on. Something that's really bugging me until now is the best way to do quotation marks + commas/points. Hopefully, I'll be able to explain why I write the way I do and, hopefully, find a way to make it work for y'all (even thought only 3 reviewers complained until now). Just keep in mind that this is coming from someone who isn't from the USA and whose native language isn't english. That's right, I've never been to America and English isn't my first language either! Who thought of that? By the way, when the First Act ends, there will be an Intermission Chapter to wrap a lot of things up.
…
Questions for my readers:
1) If you were the MC, how would you deal with the whole thermal "clips" situation? Would you still sell them? If so, how would you "improve" them (aka get rid of the dumb)?
2) What name would you personally give to The Daybreak Accords? This was a small idea I took from the fanfic "Mass Intelligence: Close Call", by BJHanssen. He used the name Omega Accords there, but I don't feel like that name fits in this story.
3) What do you think of this new format with the "Music Track Recommendation" at the start rather than in the middle of the story? Is it better this way?
…
When is the next Chapter coming? When it's ready!
And I'm going to be very busy next weekend…
So, here's a little joke to lift your spirits.
Cerberus couldn't run a hot dog stand without it killing almost all of its employees. And they'll accidentally unleash a swarm of hellhounds on an innocent settlement in the process of trying…
"Dr. Betruger, why did you release hellhounds from your hot dog stand?"
"They're dogs! They're hot! I thought that's what you wanted!"
But, to be fair, they'll have both the technology and the ability to perfectly rebuild the hot dog stand to exactly how it looked before the hellhound incident.
No. Not merely rebuild it, but expand and improve it! No mere hot dog stand now, but a food truck, with fold-out seating, built-in condiment counter and excellent gas mileage.
And their reason for possessing this one single demonstrated competence will never be adequately explained.