AN: Also, you might notice that book one seems to be going by quickly, or will notice. The issue is that Mass Effect 1 had a lot of just roaming on the Nomad (scenes I'll be keeping to a minimal) and not as much for the actual plot events. Don't get me wrong, I still love the game, but the story pacing will improve once we get to the time period of Mass Effect 2 when more stuff starts going on. Just wanted to give that heads up.
AN2: As for the statistics I'm listing from the First Contact war I got those off the Wiki directly. Lots of stuff I didn't know before researching for this chapter (didn't expect to come across the Illusive Man's real name accidentally for one XD)
The Final Olympian
Chapter 3
-Percy-
Stepping up to the Armory weapon tables, Percy started prepping his gear and putting on his armor for the coming mission. His hands moved on auto pilot; the motions having been long ago hammered into his muscle memory. As he prepared the few guns he used, his mind went back to before he was frozen, before the gods were lost.
He'd been more than a little caught off guard when he'd received the summons, telling him he had to come to Olympus for an urgent matter. Since the war with Gaea had ended there hadn't been anything 'urgent' that occurred so he was more than a little worried as he returned to Olympus. If there was a new issue forming, he'd thought that it was at least a good sign that the gods were seemingly acknowledging it rather than sticking their heads in the sand. He hadn't been prepared for the gods to tell them that they were fading. The wars had killed too many demigods on either side too rapidly, drained too much magic. The gods didn't expect to last more than a year and if they went it would affect the demigods as well.
He had raged at them when he learned they'd already given up, that they had no plans to even try to do anything to stop this. That was when they'd overpowered him, saying that they could only ensure one demigod survived to prevent the memory of the Olympian Empire from fading. He'd been forced into a pod made by Hephaestus himself, the chamber filled with water as well as Element Zero, the gods having searched earth and the starts for something to sustain the more esoteric needs his body had. And it had worked.
Percy could no longer command the seas. He couldn't conjure a storm or shake the earth. Biotics now thrummed in his mind rather than ichor rushing through his veins. He could feel the power of the esoteric element, the procedure having made him as strong a biotic as he'd been a demigod. It had sustained his body and kept him strong.
Then he'd woken up, his pod unsealed as he gasped air for the first time in centuries, learned of aliens killing humans, and used the first contact war as a convenient outlet to vent his rage at the long dead gods.
He was roused form his thoughts by the sound of everyone else clearing out of the hangar but himself, Sheppard, and Wrex. "Alright Jackson, get into the Mako." Sheppard nodded to the tank, Wrex already climbing abord "We're about to airdrop in." nodding, he climbed in, fastening every strap he could. Airdropping to the planet's surface in a tank, even a tank with thrusters to 'jump' sounded distinctly unpleasant.
Moments later, as the Mako plunged downward to the planet's surface, Percy was able to confirm that theory.
-Tali-
Walking through the ship, Tali eventually spotted the duo she'd been searching for "Williams, Garrus, could I have a word with you?" Tali's synthesized voice echoed in the galley as the duo looked over, Tali noting the uncomfortable expression that Williams had been wearing.
"Tali'Zorah right?" Garrus nodded to her, eyes flitting with more than a little confusion to Williams for some reason, "Sure, what did you need?"
"I wished for you to tell me more of Perseus Jackson." Tali took a seat, noting Williams grow interested and Garrus shudder, "You two seemed to know the most about him besides the Doctor."
"I'd hope so." Williams chuckled, "My family told me stories of Jackson when I was a kid. How much do you know of the first contact war?"
"Just that it was the Humans against the Turians and was the first time Humans met life from other planets." Tali admitted, human history not being a field she'd ever really bothered to look into before.
"Well, it was not exactly a fun revelation for Earth, or at least that's how my grandpa put it." Williams scoffed, "We'd only recently discovered the Mass Relays and were activating everyone we could in the name of exploration. We got to Relay 314, the one that the council had forbidden use of due to the Rachni Wars. Except we had no damn way of knowing that, now did we? The Turians were apparently already aware of Earth and our exploration but when they saw us going to that relay, instead of hailing us to give a warning, they opened fire and destroyed every ship but one that managed to escape. The survivor warned the Alliance who sent a retaliatory force who destroyed the Turians who'd attacked us which was seen as the start of the war." The woman's tone was bitter at that, which Tali could understand if what Williams was saying was correct. Humans had a reputation for having been the aggressors.
"She's not technically incorrect." Garrus said awkwardly, "To the Turians it was a simple matter of policing a species due to Galactic Law. The Turian Meritocracy still refers to itself, not even calling what happened a war, just 'the Relay 314 incident'." Williams didn't seem too pleased to hear that.
"But Jackson was one of the ones who enlisted to fight for his species." Williams picked back up, "And was…" she trailed off for a moment as if thinking "I believe my grandfather called it 'terrifyingly efficient'. His kill count was higher than any other soldier in the conflict from either side. From the records I found there were six hundred and twenty-three humans who died in the conflict. The entirety of the Alliance apart from Jackson ended up killing roughly the same amount of Turians. Jackson's kill count was confirmed at four hundred and sixty-seven for the entire duration of the three-month war."
"By the Ancestors." Tali felt her legs get weak at the terror of someone like that. Then again, from what she heard Commander Sheppard did something similar in something called the Skyllian Blitz.
"There's a reason my people use him like a horror story." Garrus grunted, "We've met dangerous foes before. Hell, there have been Krogan warlords that have needed entire units to take down before. But we'd never met someone who got that kind of a kill count in that short of a time period. Especially not using Biotics far more advanced than a human should have been capable of."
"He also took out the Turian General who had occupied Shanxi." Williams picked back up, "General Desolas Arterius had been in charge of Shanxi and was searching the area for…something. Jackson took a strike force and went down there, carving a path to the General's location and fought him one on one before killing the bastard. The fact that General Arterius was planning to make an army of Turian Super soldiers to take over the Galaxy was part of why the Citadel Council had been as willing as they were to not blanketly side with the Turians once they intervened to stop the conflict."
"Once he vanished, Palaven thought he was gone for good." Garrus wrapped up the story, "But with his presence here there's no way that the council won't find out, meaning the rest of the Turian Meritocracy will as well. I'm honestly not sure how they'll respond given how long it's been since the war and the lingering tensions."
"Why ask all this Tali?" Williams looked at her curious.
"He said he wanted to hire me to help design and build a ship for him." Tali admitted "I was curious about who I'd be working for if I agreed."
"He plans to head back out after this is all over." Williams sums up with a sigh "Still, what I've said is just stories I got told by my Grandfather who actually met him. You want to know more? I'd suggest speaking with the Doctor, she was part of Jackson's actual unit back during the war and knows him better than anyone else on this ship."
"Thank you both." Tali nodded as she got up, "I'll…um…let you get back to it?" as she left, she made a mental note to ask why they were so uncomfortable when she arrived at another point. They'd helped her so she could at least try to see if she could help them in return.
-Percy-
"Never…again." Percy grit his teeth as he was finally freed from the Mako, Wrex looking much the same "Sheppard. As of right now you're forbidden from ever driving again."
"Oh, come on, it wasn't that bad." The Commander rolled his eyes as Percy got his feet back under him.
"Sheppard, I thought being dropped from a moving starship was the worst feeling I'd have in that damn thing. But no, your driving somehow trumped it. No more driving privileges for you, license revoked, gone! No more!"
"Seconded!" Wrex grunted, prepping his shotgun as they started moving on foot, the terrain no longer allowing their tank to pass through.
"Bunch of babies." Sheppard rolled his eyes but relented, "Still, we're getting close to the dig site, and we don't have the Mako's armor anymore so be on watch for anymore Geth."
"ROGER!"
