Author's Note: Welcome to chapter one. If you read the lengthy note at the end of the prologue you know that this story is only going to be updated periodically. So for stopping by today let me say thank you. I hope you enjoy the chapter.
But on to more pressing matters!
I told everyone reading that this story is up for grabs. If you're motivated enough to copy and paste or start a new one entirely go ahead and write out your own story. I think its a great idea and I'm hoping other people will too. And wouldn't you know it, but someone agreed and made their own Warhammer Fantasy/Mass Effect crossover!
Author: The Incredible Muffin
Story Title: Honor-Bound
Level of awesomeness: Off the flipping charts!
But don't just take my word for it. Head on over and check out The Incredible Muffin's story for yourself!
Author's Note #2: Skip this note if you don't want details on how the story is being written. This is merely here to satisfy curiosity.
I'm basing a lot of this story off the actual Warhammer Fantasy table top game. I will use ideas and characters from novels as well, but my goal was that any time I write out a battle scene, I'd try to add the level of tension and unpredictability the table top matches are known for. With just a roll of the dice a player can go from being utterly invincible to yelling 'stop exploding you cowards!' (*see Skaven artillery for reference)
For this one chapter I wanted to try a little more character development, but in the next I'm thinking I will write out the story in more of a timeline format, since things will get stale if every single chapter only covers one or two days of Shepard's adventures.
Warhammer Armies in chapter one: Skaven, Bretonnia
And just one more quick note. I'm not going to be providing information before hand about anything Shepard will be facing. I will list the armies above like I did here, but I want this story to be about Shepard discovering the new world along side the reader. There are going to be terms you may not fully understand but Shepard's not one to just avoid useful intelligence. You'll find out soon enough!
Well enough of my ramblings, enjoy the chapter!
Steel, Fire, Honor and Ruin
Chapter 1
making an exit... and entrance
/ooooooo\
Location: Collector Base,
somewhere in the galactic core
She went left.
Those would be the words engraved into her tombstone. Not something heroic, not something inspiring; just one simple phrase as a glaring reminder to the rest of the galaxy how someone's fate can be so easily cemented in failure.
She went left, while the rest of her team went right.
Not that it was her fault for going left. When you are being chased by several dozen collector drones intent on killing you, how fast you run matters just as much as where you're running too.
Of course in hindsight, the destination does seem to be fairly critical to the whole 'run to safety' plan...
/ooooooo\
Maria Shepard sat behind the small wall she was using as cover from the attacking collectors and quickly glanced at the countdown timer being displayed on her omni-tool.
...00:01:46...00:01:45...00:01:44...00:01:43...
As the seconds ticked by each one felt like a knife stabbed in her gut, like some kind of monster tearing away at her sanity. If she continued to watch the time pass Maria knew it would drive her into madness, and she couldn't afford to let herself break down entirely.
Inside the large chamber of the collector space station, Maria didn't have many options available to her. And it wasn't as if she hadn't tried to figure a way out of her predicament. The soldier in her had just already put the pieces together and accepted the truth first; now it was her civilian's half to accept it as well. In front of her, only feet away, was the edge to the massive central pit that spanned the length of nearly the entire station. Most likely hundreds of feet to the bottom and just as much to reach the top. Behind her... behind her was the other part of the no-win scenario.
Tearing her eyes away from the timer with a vice like grip on her locust submachine gun, Maria rose to her knees and turned to face her assailants. Shouldering the weapon, she fired in short controlled bursts and killed four collector drones before the survivors were able to concentrate their fire on her smaller profile. Their sheer numbers meant she couldn't stay exposed for long and Maria quickly felt the impact of several rounds strike her helmet and left shoulder.
Dropping back down, she didn't even spare a moment to check her suit and instead just replaced the spent thermal clip in her submachine gun with a new one. Without rising back up to her knees Maria held her phalanx heavy pistol over her head and fired blindly at the collectors.
Taking the time to check her suit for damage was unnecessary since her tech armor boosted her shields far above normal limits and even if it did fail, the remarkable design of the Cerberus bio-engineered collector armor that she currently wore allowed it minimal self-healing.
The radio inside her helmet came to life and the frantic voice of the Normandy's pilot filled her ears.
"What the hell Shepard, did you stop to take in the sights? Garrus and Miranda just made it aboard and the timer's counting down! We've got to go!"
Maria could practically visualize Joker at the helm of the ship, working the controls and readying it for the quick getaway they would need to outrun the explosion of the doomed collector station. For a fleeting moment a smile appeared, but another look at the timer and it was gone.
...00:01:15...00:01:14...00:01:13...00:01:12...
Seventy-two seconds – the rest of her life.
Maria gripped her locust tightly and rose to end the lives of three more advancing collectors, realizing entirely that she was just stalling. Dropping down quickly again she now answered his hail.
"Jok-er."
She stopped and it took a precious second for her to realize why the name she spoke was broken. Why it sounded hoarse and nearly unintelligible.
She was crying. Maria Shepard – Spectre, N7, War-hero – was crying. She didn't even remember starting to cry.
And with furious resolve taking over, she wouldn't allow the collectors this win. She wouldn't allow them to break her, not now, not ever, and certainly not at the very end. They could all go to hell and she would escort them there.
Dying the second time was a lot harder than the first...
Maria cleared her throat, and the woman who told Sovereign to take his smug attitude and shove it up his ass was heard again.
"This is Shepard. I hear you Joker. Negative on evac. Get the Normandy through the mass relay and get to safety."
"What, are you kidding?!" replied a reasonably stunned Joker. "Quit messing around and get your ass onboard! There's less than a minute until this place goes up in flames!"
"Shepard, what happened? Where are you?" the voice of Miranda Lawson, intelligent, focused. "EDI, get a fix on Shepard's location. We're going back to get her," and emotionally compromised thanks to Maria's successful attempts to befriend her.
"No, no you're not," Maria replied firmly with a shake of her head. "All of you are staying on the ship and getting out of this place now. There are too many collectors and not enough time. The mission isn't finished until you go back through that relay and warn the rest of the galaxy about the threat we've uncovered."
Compartmentalize, keep it together, you're still their commander until – "We knew this mission was going to be tough. There was a chance none of us were going to make it. But we did it anyways and if I have to be the one who stays to ensure the rest of you live, so be it. If it means we gain even the smallest chance of stopping the Reapers than it was worth it. So go, now."
A collector drone made it to Maria's cover and leaned over the edge pointing its rifle at her head. Maria moved faster, reaching up and grabbing the drone's head with both her hands. Pulling down, she yanked the drone over her wall and as it lay sprawled out on the ground in front of her, she shot it point blank in the face with her phalanx pistol. Giving it a kick, the body rolled across the ground before tumbling over the ledge and down into the chamber.
Strangely, in the back of Maria's mind, a voice barely heard.
…jump…
Raising her pistol to fire blindly over her cover again, she caught the tail end of an argument raging in her ear.
"The fuck I'm leaving her! Screw the mission, we have to save Shepard!" Joker, loyal to a fault.
"She's too far out. EDI, plot a better route through the station. There's still time!" Miranda, no longer cold and calculating.
All of it her influence and even though it made Maria happy that she had truly been their friend, that friendship was going to cost them their lives.
Another glance to her wrist.
...00:00:42...00:00:41...00:00:40...00:00:39...
Then her comm went silent so another voice could be heard.
"Shepard, its Garrus."
The collectors all began to close in, forcing Maria to rise over her cover and fight to have her last few seconds. She held her submachine gun tight to her shoulder, firing off deadly accurate bursts, and only ducked down for a moment to avoid the worst of their attacks.
His voice was uncharacteristically somber and Maria had to fight back the tears that threatened to return.
"Shepard, we've hit a dead end. Give the word and we'll launch a rescue, but tell us to go and we'll go... what do want us to do?"
The locust overheated and Maria didn't even have enough time to change the clip. She just reattached it to her belt and then quickly raised her arm. From it she condensed and then launched a powerful biotic blast that threw back the remaining drones in the chamber.
A small respite, giving Maria a chance to respond to her dear friend. She hesitated only a moment before giving the last command of her life.
"Garrus, I'm ordering you to leave. Get the Normandy back through the Omega-4 relay. Get the evidence we've collected back to the Citadel. Get the galaxy ready for the Reapers." Despite everything she managed to smile, "And order a round of beers for everyone back at the Citadel. My tabs still open at Flux, put it to good use."
A laugh forced out. "Understood, Commander. If you can, come down and join us. We'll keep a stool at the bar open for you... Good luck Maria."
The tears were back, she didn't even try to stop them this time. "Goodbye Garrus."
When the comm went dead Maria immediately reached up and unlocked the seals attaching it to her armor. She pulled it off and let it drop to the ground. At this point all it did was remind her about who she had just lost.
Her blond hair, cut just short enough to still cover her ears and forehead, waved freely in a slight breeze Maria had no idea was even blowing through the space station. After the long mission its cooling effect on her sweat covered brow was the best thing she had ever felt in her entire life. What a strange thing to think at the end.
…jump now…
The voice that Maria had just barely heard the first time now came back stronger, strange and rough, fully convincing her that she had gone slightly insane from the grief and stress. She ignored it and focused all her attention on the drones in the chamber with her that were finally getting back to their feet after her last biotic attack.
Maria raised her omni-tool and made one last glance to the countdown being displayed.
...00:00:11...00:00:10...00:00:09...00:00:08...
She had eight seconds left. And she couldn't even have this time to compose herself before the end. Because he decided to show up.
The glowing form of a drone flew down from the ceiling and landed behind her. The rest of the collectors had gotten to their feet with their rifles raised and advanced forward to surround her completely.
Her eyes were red and her face was streaked with tears, but honestly, Maria no longer cared as she turned to stare Harbinger right in his eyes.
Harbinger's voice was deep and penetrating. "Human, you've changed nothing."
Despite it all, Maria was proud to find out who she was at the end. With a shake of her head came a smile and then a laugh. She had won, and Harbinger's poor attempt to convince her otherwise proved it.
She had made a difference.
At that very moment the whole station shook, and a dull thunder could be heard that rapidly began to build in intensity.
…there is no time…jump…now…
All around Maria the drones began to click and shrill in panic, with even Harbinger taking his eyes off Shepard to look around the chamber as the walls and ceiling began to explode inward.
…jump…NOW…
As the ceiling began to come down around her, Maria made her choice. Mental breakdown or not, she and the voice agreed that being crushed wasn't the way to go out.
So with Harbinger distracted Maria broke into a full sprint. She ran forward, barreling into Harbinger's glowing form, and her momentum carried the two of them over the edge of the chasm. Maria kept her grip on Harbinger as the enhanced drone struggled to untangle himself from her, the two of them falling down into the chasm as the space station exploded around them. Falling head first Maria looked up, or down rather, as a swelling inferno rushed to meet them.
Squeezing her eyes shut and tightening her grip on the still struggling Harbinger, all Maria could do was hope the Normandy had made it to the relay before the flames engulfed her.
/ooooooo\
Location: Unknown
Shepard hit the ground. Hard. Harbinger was below her so the drone absorbed most of the impact but Maria still had the wind knocked out of her. Laying on top of the drone's limp body she gasped for air and quickly rolled off of it and onto the ground. She was trying to get ready for Harbinger's inevitable attack but it never came. When Maria finally got her bearings and her head stopped swimming she gave the drone a once over and found it black. The glow from its cybernetics had ceased and all four of its eyes were lifeless.
Harbinger was dead... but, wasn't she dead too? Maria clearly remembered a lot of fire rising up to meet her when she jumped off the ledge –
That's when her brain started recognizing the signals her other senses were telling it.
She was on her back. On solid ground... grass and mud by the feeling on her cheek. It was dark but some sunlight was still visible so either dusk or dawn. And wherever she was lying on the ground it was loud. No, very loud. She could hear shouting, screams, the sound of metal scrapping against metal and... roars? Like, animal roars, savage and primal.
And squeaking?
Raising her head off the ground Maria finally got a look at her surroundings, and all it did was make her head hurt more. Blinking didn't seem to clear things up much.
There were people. Lots of them, and they weren't happy. They were fighting other people. It was a battle. She was surrounded by people fighting other people and they were killing each other with... swords. Swords and spears. And there were some more people on horseback. Each one wearing a heavy set of metal plated armor with colorful tunics and banners. These ones were handling themselves a lot better than the people fighting on the ground. Those ones weren't wearing much armor, if any at all. Most didn't even have a shield.
Swords, spears, shields and horses.
And the squeaking... It was all around her, wait, some of it was coming from directly behind her.
Maria dropped her head back to the ground and looked up behind herself. What she saw deeply disturbed her while at the same time a small part of her brain went – aha! That explains the squeaking!
It was a rat. She may have been looking at it upside down but it was definitely a rat; a rat that was standing, standing, not five feet from her. The rat was big and human in its proportions. Had to be at least five and half feet tall, six if you counted its horns. Horns, which grew out from its head and curled back around like a ram's or a goat's. Its fur was brown, its eyes were red, it wore rags that had been crudely sown together to form a robe like tunic and in its left hand – paw, it held a wooden staff with another rats skull strapped to its top with pieces of leather and rope.
Maria could only stare at the creature as it seemed equally stunned to be staring back at her. Looking around herself at the battle being fought, Maria now could see that the humans weren't fighting other humans; they were fighting more of the rats! Rats that stood like people, some that were wearing heavy, black armor plating wielding large pikes with deadly skill, while others barely clothed threw themselves at their opponents and literally bite and clawed apart their foe.
It was some insane, impossible scenario where a human medieval army fought a rate equivalent.
And judging by the number of human corpses on the ground, the rats were winning...
/ooooooo\
Slowly while keeping her eyes on the nearest rat Maria Shepard got to her feet. As she did the rat began to speak in its own unique language of squeaks and chittering's as it pointed a long crooked finger to the battle being fought around the two of them.
Maria knew it was trying to communicate with her but her translator wasn't installed with rat-speak so she had no idea of its intentions. Her reluctance to do anything other than glance around to make sure the surrounding army's combatants never got to close caused the horned staff-holding rat to squeak louder and in a much angrier tone.
This time Maria figured she knew what the rat was asking. It wanted her to join in the battle and help the rats defeat the humans.
"Ten seconds after I'm dead for the second time and somebody already wants something from me," she muttered under her breath with a small shake of her head. But then she had to smile a little with a quizzical look back at the rat, "Wasn't expecting this though. If this is a Reaper trick, human sized rats aren't the direction I would have gone."
Maria's right hand was already slowly on its way to the heavy pistol on her hip when she noticed something strange about the horned rat standing in front of her. It was odd, but it seemed the air directly surrounding the rat was distorted. A lot like heat waves rising from the ground on a hot day, but these waves weren't blurring Maria's line-of-sight to the rat. If anything, the waves actually seemed to make things clearer.
All the while Maria was observing the rat, the rat was watching her back. When she refused to heed its commands for the second time, it took a tentative step back away from her as it squeaked out over its shoulder to the nearest rat soldiers.
Five rat soldiers rushed up to the staff-wielding one's side and raised their bloody halberds with both hands as they snarled at Maria with the sharp teeth of their snouts bared in anger. They were all glaring at her with red eyes behind black armored helms, the rest of the blacked steel armor covering their bodies scratched and dented, dripping with the red blood of the humans and even some of the black blood of their fellow rats.
Maria could have sworn the staff-wielding rat actually grinned as it squeaked out to its fellows and all five of the armored rats charged her.
They got halfway before Maria shot each one in the chest with her Carnifex pistol. The slugs from her heavy pistol tore through the rats armor plating and they all dropped dead, like a puppet with its strings cut.
Maria couldn't help smirking at the staff-wielding rat's terrified expression as she replaced the pistol back on her hip.
"Systems Alliance regulations state when encountering an unknown alien force, proceed with caution and assume hostility," she stated while taking a step towards the rat, who immediately took two more steps away from her. "So in this case, I think I'm going to have to side with my own kind here."
She rolled her shoulders as the orange holographic plates of her tech-armor appeared over her body, the sight of which caused the rat to quickly retreat even further as its horrified expression intensified.
Maria stared down the rat as her face hardened, taking another threatening step forward, "Stand down your forces and withdraw. If the best you have are swords, this fight is going to end entirely in my favor."
As far as she could see the only thing the staff-wielding rat carried as far as an actual weapon went was a small curved sword anchored at his hip. And since he was standing a good fifteen feet away from her, Maria was fairly confident in her ability to kill the rat if it dared to charge her like just like the others did.
So when those same rippled waves of air that surrounded the rat began to intensify and grow, Maria could only watch in suspicion. It didn't register to her something bad was going to happen until the red eyes of the rat turned bright green and the skull on its staff actually sparked with green electrical energy.
But when a wooden staff did start to spark, Maria correctly guess something was wrong.
"What the hell?!" her eyes widened in shock, as the rat raised one of its paws, fingers outstretched directly at Maria, as it chittered and squeaked wildly.
Lightning bolts, green lightning bolts, cracking and snapping in the air, shot out from the tips of the rat's fingers directly at Maria. She raised her forearms to protect her face an instant before the bolts of electricity struck her body. The force of the strange and impossible attack was so great that the lightning picked Maria up off her feet and carried her through the air until the energy dissipated, dropping her back to the ground on her back.
Her tech-armor was overwhelmed from the electrical assault and deactivated before Maria hit the ground. A bolt of the green energy shot passed her arms and grazed her cheek, burning the skin raw where it made contact. By the time Maria did hit the ground her collector armor was scorched and smoking wherever the lightning made direct contact, but luckily it still saved her from the deadly effects of the attack.
Maria was flat on her back again and before she had a chance to process what had just happened to her, two louds thumps on either side of her head forced Maria to open her eyes. What she saw was another rat, only bigger. Like freaking unfair big after what the little guy had just pulled off.
This creature was clearly feral compared to its smaller counter-part. The rat was over eleven feet tall and at least seven feet wide at the shoulders. Its arms were pure muscle, both as thick as tree trunks, and at the end of each arm was a four fingered paw armed with claws the size of swords. It wasn't wearing any armor at all, and only had a thin strip of cloth to cover its waist, but it clearly didn't require protection to fight. Dozens of arrows were in the creatures back and chest, followed by two swords in its side and what looked like the remains of a lance protruded from its stomach.
Whether any of these wounds were fatal, the giant rat didn't even acknowledge them, as it looked down at Maria and roared. She closed her eyes and turned her head as blood and saliva that coated its large teeth splattered her face and hair as its rancid breath washed over her. When the creature finished, Maria opened her eyes and squinted up at the figure towering over her.
"Oh boy…" she winced at the sight.
The giant rat raised one of its massive paws and swung a fist down at Maria's face. She rolled to the side barely avoiding the blow as the rat pounded the ground. The giant rat roared in anger as it changed its tactics and raised both its paws now, swinging them both down at her, over and over again.
All Maria could do was roll back and forth across the grass and mud as she tried to avoid being crushed by the massive paws.
The giant rat's two fists impacted the mud just inches from Maria's face when the ground around her body erupted, showering her in dirt. She looked up in shock to see thick vines and roots quickly swarm and entangle the giant rat's arms and torso. The roots continued to rise out of the ground and tangle themselves around the enraged creature as the giant rat roared and fought to free itself.
"Run! Quickly!" someone yelled out.
Maria didn't hesitate to make use of the distraction, quickly rolling away from the giant rat and getting to her feet. She looked past the struggling giant rat to see a woman holding a sword in her right hand and a wooden staff in her left. Even as the rest of the armies of rat and man fought around them, the woman was focusing all of her attention on the giant rat, and it became clear to Maria that the woman was the one controlling the vines.
Even at a distance Maria could tell the woman was absolutely beautiful. She wore a flowing white dress with a simple blue sash tied around her waist. Ugly stains of dirt and blood marred the dress's elegance, but the areas still pure only seemed to shine brighter. Her red hair was waist long and held back by a metal band at her forehead. Once again Maria noted the same shimmering in the air that had surrounded the horned rat also surrounded the woman who had saved her.
The woman looked away from her opponent and locked eyes with Maria. "Kill the creature! Hurry, while we still have time!" she shouted.
In one swift move, Maria had her locust submachine gun up and braced against her shoulder. In half a second she decided shooting the giant rat in the head was the only way to ensure its death, especially after seeing the punishment the creature had taken in stride during the battle.
She pressed the trigger just as the unmistakable sound of another gunshot echoed across the battlefield.
The bullet impacted Maria's armor just under her left breast and with a cry of pain and surprise she spun with the hit, sending the rounds from her locust into the air. Off to her left about equal distance from Maria and her new ally, was another rat the same size as the one that had earlier launched his green electricity at her. This rat however, was armored head to toe in bronze and steel welded together to form a full body suit and he was holding what looked like a flint-lock pistol in his right paw that was still smoking.
With a snarl at seeing Maria still standing the rat dropped his gun unceremoniously to the ground and pulled another from the belt on his waist. This time he instead aimed at the woman who was struggling to keep the giant rat tied down.
Maria instantly changed targets and unloaded a burst of fire directly into the chest of the armored rodent. The slugs from her submachine gun tore apart the primitive armor like it wasn't even there and the rat dropped dead to the ground riddled with holes.
But the damage was already done…
By merely switching targets it forced the other woman to release her hold over the vines entrapping the giant rat and attempt to defend herself. With another primal roar the giant rat ripped the roots apart with ease and it immediately charged the woman that had dared to stop it. With only a few steps taken it was already standing above her.
"Look out!" Maria shouted as she aimed her locust and tried to shoot the creature in the back. But at that same instant another group of four black armored rats decided to attack her as well.
Maria ducked the swipe of the lead rat's halberd and shot him point blank in the chest, just as the second and third rats lunged forward to stab her gut. Maria's tech-armor activated and materialized just in time for both sharpened blades to ricochet of her chest plate, but she was still pushed back from the force of the thrusts.
Hitting the ground on her back, Maria finally got her first taste of hand-to-hand combat with the rats and she had no choice to acknowledge that while they did look like rats, their strength didn't reflect the small rodents of Earth she was used to. These bastards weren't weak at all, that hit had hurt, even more so after she had just been shot.
Luckily, she had kept her grip on her locust and with a wave of her arm she held down the trigger and racked the four rats with gunfire, killing them all instantly.
Getting back to her knees, Maria swung around and took aim back at the giant rat…
…just in time to watch the savage beast literally tear the woman that had been her savior in half.
Maria watched on in horror as the giant rat took a large bite out of the lower half of the woman's body as it threw the rest of her carelessly away.
"Noooo!" she screamed in rage and grief and opened fire directly into the creature's large back.
The giant rat staggered from the impact, but simply dropped the rest of the dead woman and turned to charge at its forgotten opponent. As the giant rat came at her, Maria fired another burst into the rat's stomach. The small caliber rounds from her locust splintered and destroyed the remains of the lance that had been imbedded there, but the giant rat only seemed to grow angrier at the battering, even as rivers of black blood flowed from its wounds.
Maria stood up from the ground and fired off two more bursts from her submachine gun before the thermal clip popped out to vent the gathered heat, and still the giant rat came at her.
With a confidence gained from numerous combat missions for the Systems Alliance and more recently the Citadel Council, Maria held her ground as she replaced the locust back on her belt. Taking a single step back to change her stance she raised her left arm and fired a cryo-blast from the attached omni-tool. The suicide drone made up of super-cooled subatomic particles flew through the air and impacted the giant rat's left forearm, snap freezing it though instantly.
The creature didn't realize the danger it was in and just continued to charge with murderous intent. As it reached Maria and swung its right paw down at her, she simultaneously rolled away from the hit while tossing a weak biotic field at the frozen section of the rat's arm.
The combination of tech and biotic attacks resulted in the complete shattering of the frozen section of flesh with the remaining part of the arm just falling to the ground.
Having never experienced such a thing in its life the giant rat didn't continue to attack Maria and just stared dumbly at its now useless left arm lying on the ground. Maria didn't give the creature a second of rest as she completed the same combination of attacks on the giant rat's right arm. Only a second later that limb fell uselessly to the ground as well.
The giant rat looked back and forth between the two stubs of frozen flesh at its shoulders before staring back at Maria. With madness fully taking over the giant rat howled in rage and leapt at her snapping its jaws.
Maria powered up a warp in her right hand and launched it at the giant rat's head. The unstable field of dark energy hit its mark and the headless body of the giant rat fell to the ground only a step from her feet.
A furious assault of squeaking caused Maria to spin around as she saw the horned, staff-wielding rat standing several paces away, apparently shouting at her in anger. Its eyes and staff began to glow green and spark with energy as it prepared to assault her again with the green lighting.
But this time Maria knew what was coming. Just as the bolts of energy raced at her, Maria raised both her hands and constructed a biotic barrier in front of herself.
She dug her boots into the ground and pushed back with all her strength as she fought to hold the barrier up against the withering assault. The wall of biotic energy absorbed full bolts of the green electricity with a wave from the impact, while other bolts reflected off entirely, launched in all directions around her and scorching the ground around her feet.
Maria shut her eyes and struggled to maintain her barrier. After the long and grueling mission on board the collector station she had already fought off a literal army of the bugs, and while she was considered an exceptional soldier in her own right, everyone had their limits; even more so if they were a biotic. Her body was burning a tremendous amount of calories and stamina to allow her to wield dark energy as both a weapon and shield.
Now, after the rat's attack still continued, Maria's arms began to shake at the strain and she could feel the implant in the back of her neck beginning to overheat.
But apparently the rat was feeling the strain of launching his own attack as well. Suddenly the green lighting vanished just as Maria's barrier collapsed. Her arms fell limply at her side as she opened her eyes to see the horned rat leaning heavily against his staff and panting for breath.
Seconds ticked by as both Maria and the rat just stood staring at one another as they tried to regain their strength.
Maria's training was forefront in her mind and it was shouting at her to take advantage of her vulnerable opponent, so ignoring the pain in her arm, she reached for her heavy pistol and pointed it directly at the rat.
The rat's eyes went wide with fear the instant she pressed the trigger but with a loud bang and squeak the slug passed harmlessly through the empty air. Maria had to blink several times as it registered that her opponent had literally vanished without a trace, most likely using its strange and unknown powers to retreat while he still had a chance.
Breathing heavily with sweat, dirt, blood both black and red, covering her head to foot, Maria kept her carnifex in hand as she willed herself to recover faster. She was still surrounded by an army of the rats after all.
But as the sounds of the battle continued, directly around where she and the horned rat had fought, a crowd of both rat and man stood staring at her in equal parts amazement and terror.
Knowing the battle was now in a tipping point, and with Maria struggling just to stay standing, she raised her pistol and in just as many seconds shot another four of the rats dead that had been standing around her. Their bodies dropped to the ground as the carnifex's heatsink popped out, the nearest of the rats fighting over one another to flee the area around their dead comrades.
Using precious last amounts of her strength Maria managed to flare her biotics brightly out around her body as she made eye contact with as many of the rats around her that she could.
"Well… who's next?" she shouted out confidently. Guessing that they probably couldn't understand her, Maria flared her biotics a second time, the last bits of power leaving her shoulders like wisps of flame. The theatrics seemed to work as all the rats and some of the humans backed further away from her.
With a dangerous smile on her face Maria took a step toward the nearest rat…
… and in an instant the entire line broke as they all dropped their weapons and ran.
The remaining rats didn't even bother attacking any of the humans in their path as they pushed and shoved and climbed over one another to simply flee for their lives. What began as only a few dozen rats slowly grew as the terrified rodents spread their fear through the entire battle. In less than a minute, Maria was watching a literal tsunami of fur and armor run away in a panic.
While many of the human foot soldiers held their ground and only attacked if any of the retreating rats got too close, Maria could see over their heads the flowing and colorful banners of the horse-mounted Calvary form into lines and begin to run down the terrified rats.
When Maria had arrived in the middle of the battle it had looked like a defeat for the humans. Now, thanks in part to her efforts, it had become a resounding victory for them.
The surviving foot soldiers directly surrounding Maria, with their wooden shields and rusty swords, wearily eyed her as they kept a respectable distance. Maria didn't try to engage them in turn and instead focused on her own person.
Replacing the heavy pistol back on her hip, she immediately checked the part of her armor where she had been shot. The ammunition the rat used in his pistol hadn't managed to penetrate her armor but the slug was still imbedded in the hard outer tissue of the collector suit.
Wincing at the effort she dug her fingers into the tear and managed to work out the offending object. Holding it up between two fingers she examined the 'bullet', when in reality it just looked like a rock…
… but it was a glowing green rock that felt warm to the touch because nothing was obviously going to be simple in this place.
With a heavy sigh she just dropped the green rock to the ground and brought a hand up to massage her forehead in an attempt to stem the progress of a growing headache.
Her collector armor was beaten and burned, but its unique construction meant it could repair itself over time. She had used every ounce of her medi-gel back on the collector station, but luckily besides the burn on her left cheek she was relatively uninjured. Her locust submachine gun and carnifex heavy pistol had just proved to be some of the most valuable pieces of equipment she still had on her, but only four unused thermal clips remained tucked away in her belt. Rationing this ammo had just become a top priority.
Then there was the issue concerning where she was… first and foremost, this was obviously not the remains of a blown up collector space station orbiting a black hole. So that meant she had to be somewhere.
Or this could all be one big elaborate trick by the Reapers to make her give up some sort of vital information.
Or she could really be dead.
Or she could have survived the collector station exploding and this was just the near death hallucinations of a fatally wounded soldier suffocating in the vacuum of space.
Or she could really be dead and this was the afterlife.
Or she could have been sucked up by the black hole and transported to another dimension where humans fought rat people to the death using strange powers alongside swords and shields.
Or she could really be dead.
Or she could be –
Maria dropped to her knees as she dry heaved over the ground.
In the back of her mind was a voice telling her if she couldn't even throw-up that meant her body had already burned up everything left in her stomach and any further use of her biotic power would risk her body cannibalizing her muscles and organs for the needed calories… but that was just another concern in a rapidly growing list of concerns.
With the shock and adrenaline of the battle finally wearing off, Maria was being given a dangerous amount of time to think about her current predicament. And after everything she had just been through and endured, the stress had snapped her like a twig.
Maria had one hand on the ground supporting her as she covered her mouth with the other as she dry heaved again. Her body began to shake as the fear washed over her.
She stared at the ground as her situation became clear. She was screwed. Absolutely, royally, positively screwed. She was on an unknown world, surrounded by crazed unknown creatures, possessing powers beyond biotics, without any ally by her side, and all she had was her omni-tool and four rounds of ammunition. There was no way off this planet if its people hadn't even invented flight. Her omni-tool could send out a signal into space but only a ship in direct orbit would ever pick it up.
Maria wrapped her arms around herself as she began to sway back and forth.
This was it. She was going to die here. No more Systems Alliance, no more Citadel Council, no more Normandy, no more friends – friends that now faced the threat of the Reapers entirely alone without her watching their backs –
…jump…
Everything stopped.
…jump…NOW…
The words floated back into her mind, as Maria's heart continued to pound in her chest, but the words were there. She had heard them on the collector station, and she had followed their instruction because she literally had nothing left to lose. The words she thought she was imagining had told her to jump, and now she was here.
Maria shut her eyes and nearly sobbed in relief as a smile formed across her face. She had heard the words in her mind and they had told her to jump. And now she was here.
That couldn't be a coincidence, could it?
Commander Maria Shepard, Systems Alliance marine, N7 rated soldier, and Citadel Spectre, opened her eyes and with a deep breath got back to her feet.
Fuck coincidence.
She had heard the voice and it wanted her here. So that meant someone had wanted her here. And if that someone had brought her here then they could send her back; she would make them send her back.
"I can survive this," she said softly to herself. "I've survived worse, I will survive this."
Words she would live by until the truth became clear.
A man shouting grabbed her attention. Maria looked up to see a group of the mounted knights riding toward her through the encircling foot soldiers.
"Swords! Swords! Surround the daemon!"
Maria spun around expecting an attacker to pounce any second but no one was there. She was still standing in her little open space, arrayed at her feet the one giant rat corpse along with a larger number of human sized rat corpses. So what was the man yelling about?
About a dozen barded and colorfully bannered horses came galloping up to her as the equally armored and colorfully bannered knights steered their mounts to encircle her as the foot soldiers quickly formed up in the gaps…
And in an instant, Maria had well over two dozen lances and swords pointed directly at her.
/ooooooo\
Location: Unknown, but rapidly becoming hostile territory
Maria Shepard stood very still as the leader of the knights jumped down from his horse and pulled off his feathered helmet, thrusting it into the hands of the nearest foot soldier. The man then drew his sword and marched up to Maria and placed the length of steel at her neck.
He had to be in his late forties by Maria's best guess as his short black hair had begun to turn grey at the edges. He had a nasty scar running the entire length of the right side of his face from his mouth to his ear and at some point in his life he had broken his nose. She knew this because it had been poorly set back and was now crooked. His suit of armor was covered by a loose tunic of half blue and black, and in the center was what looked like a… Pegasus?
Well, why not. This place had human sized rats, what's a winged horse in the grand scheme of things…
While most of the other knights surrounding her had wildly different color schemes, their apparel all shared one general trait. They all had a Pegasus somewhere on their person, whether it be their tunics or banners, on their horses, or even painted on their shields. Apparently the flying horse must be important to this particular group in some way.
The man seemed to be studying her with a careful eye but he clearly didn't trust her one bit. In fact, Maria would wager he wanted to kill her at the first provocation. Which she wasn't going to give him.
With a slight accent Maria couldn't place, the man snarled, "Tell me your name fiend, and the god you serve. Answer swiftly and I promise to make your death quick."
… or maybe he would just kill her anyways.
Maria knew how she must have looked to everyone. For starters her collector armor wasn't really standard fair even in Citadel space. Add the brown skin with curved claws on her forearms and it looked pretty creepy on the best days. But right now she was covered in all manner of dirt and grime and it was so thick she doubted her hair was anywhere near its natural blonde.
Thank god she wasn't wearing the helmet.
She was careful to keep her voice placating. "My name in Maria Shepard. I'm a soldier from… well not from around here. I sort of dropped into this fight and decided to help out, and I would appreciate any aid you could offer me."
By the time she was done speaking Maria already knew something was wrong. Everyone surrounding her traded odd looks and the man holding the sword to her throat had a frown on his face that just deepened the longer she talked.
He pushed the blade of his sword against her neck. "Do you think tricks will save you? Do you think you can pacify me with strange words and a soft face? I will not be tempted by daemons of desire from the chaos gods. You fell to this world from the tear into chaos! Now tell me your name before I take your head!"
Maria's eyes went from the man's sword and back to his face. "I told you, my name in Maria Shepard and I –"
"Speak plainly daemon or die by my sword!" the man shouted in anger.
When he shouted Maria heard the man's accent clearer. Her translator took every language in Citadel space and ran the data before giving it back to her in a language she could understand. It was still a computer though and somethings just can't be broken into data entirely.
Things like accents. Maria could understand all languages in Citadel space but anyone speaking another language would have an accent and this would carry over slightly in the translation.
Maria now knew this man was speaking French, or as close as French as possible since this was an unknown world. And he couldn't understand her, because she was speaking the language she grew up with as an orphan back in the North American States of Earth.
And with this revelation, Maria now knew she was absolutely, royally, positively fucked…
Thanks to her time in the Alliance military, Maria could speak simple phrases in Asari, Turian, Salarian, Batarian and Volus. Hell, she even knew a few words in Krogan, Drell and Quarian because of three friends she had made on the Normandy SR1 and SR2. Drop her anywhere in the galaxy without a working translator and she would be just fine. Maria was practically gifted when it came to learning new languages.
But when you have an entire galaxy at your fingertips and everyone back home grows up with translation devices anyways, what's the point of learning one of those languages?
Something like French for instance…
"Ummmm…" Maria nervously bit her lip as she lightly bounced in place. This was probably the most ridiculous and dangerous situation she had ever found herself in. So she fell back on age old communication skills and decided to go primitive.
Carefully bringing up a hand to point directly at her own chest, she said two words.
"Maria Shepard."
The man with the sword cocked his head as he looked at her hand, "What did you say?"
"Maria Shepard," she repeated pointing at herself again.
The man pulled his sword back ever so slightly. "Maria…Shepard? Are you trying to tell me this is your name?" he asked skeptically.
Maria smiled and nodded quickly.
The man grunted and pushed the blade back against her neck, "Fine, Maria Shepard. What god of chaos do you serve? Or are you an agent of the Skaven, and you've merely had a falling out with your own kind?"
Maria looked around at the group and let out a breath of frustration. She looked back at the man holding the sword and shook her head 'no'. If things didn't start smoothing out quickly she was going to find herself in a fight with these people as well.
Her vigorous 'no' was not what the man wanted as his patience disappeared. Stepping forward he grabbed a fistful of Maria's hair in his armored gauntlet and violently pulled her head back as his sword now cut into her skin just enough to draw a trickle of blood.
Maria was shocked at how far this man was going to question her, and how far his men were willing to let things go without stepping in. Some of the foot soldiers watching her now had witnessed her fight the rat people. Why the hell weren't they speaking up in her defense?
The man leaned forward until his face was only an inch from her own. "I will get answers to my questions daemon," he growled out as he pulled on Maria's hair, forcing her head further back. "I will know why the Skaven press our boarders and why the beastmen of the forest assault our castles. You will tell me… even fiends have their breaking points."
Maria was now fully convinced that this man had snapped during the battle and she was moments away from deciding to kill him and fight her way free when more shouts and the thunder of galloping hooves approached their group.
To Maria's left the foot soldiers and the knights were forced to part ranks when another group of knights, eight in all, came up fast and stopped directly in front of her and the man with the sword at her neck.
"Baron Letard!" the lead knight shouted, his deep voice heard perfectly clear even from under his helm. "Lower you sword and unhand that woman at once!" He was the only knight in the group that was wearing the colors of yellow and red with the knights behind him wearing the black and blue of the others surrounding Maria. On the front of the knight's tunic covering his chest plate was a red dragon but stitched behind that dragon was a large golden chalice with a fleur-de-lys in its center.
Maria was able to let out a breath with at least one person now speaking on her behalf, but she was far from being in the clear. The man with the sword, who she now knew as Baron Letard, only pulled his face away from her own, while he kept a forceful grip on her hair and the sword remained where it was.
Baron Letard angrily glanced over at the lead knight, "The battle is over and you are in the sovereign lands of Parravon. This affair no longer concerns a knight of Bastonne."
Maria didn't understand what it was, but whatever Baron Letard had said must have been an insult as the lead knight's horse actually reared up at his words and many of the other knights and foot soldiers seemed wholly uncomfortable at the escalating situation.
"A Grail Knight of Bastonne, Baron!" the knight yelled out as he steadied his horse. Dismounting, the man towered over everyone present by at least a head. He pulled off his own helmet and placed it on his saddle before marching toward Baron Letard and Maria with purpose.
Maria was shocked to see the man's face after hearing him speak. On the strength of his voice alone she guessed him no older than Baron Letard but this knight's hair was grey and he was beginning to bald. The stubble of hair covering his face had also whitened. But other than those two features betraying his real age, he still looked like a man in the prime of his life.
He stopped advancing on Maria and Baron Letard while he was still feet away and stood tall and unflinching. He glared at the Baron.
"I witnessed this woman fall from the portal that Skaven grey seer conjured just as you did Baron." He wasn't yelling anymore but Maria could swear she still felt his words through her breast plate and pound her chest with every syllable. His mere presence was a force greater than the dozen knights surrounding him.
"She fell from the portal and fought not only the grey seer but the rat ogre as well," he continued looking over everyone present. "With her own power she slayed numerous Skaven warriors, including the warlock engineer. And she risked her life to help the Damsel Elise destroy the rat ogre."
"You're a fool Vincent," Baron Letard spat out in anger. "This fiend used Elise as bait and allowed her to be killed by that monster! She's a daemon sent to infiltrate our ranks and lead us all to the slaughter!"
"That's not true!" Maria cried out as she looked to the Grail Knight, Vincent, for help. "I tried to save that woman but some of those rats attacked me and I was forced to defend myself first!"
Baron Letard turned back to Maria, and shook her as he raised his sword. "Silence! You're and agent of chaos and you should be purged from this realm!"
"Hold! Your! Sword!" Each word from Vincent boomed out like a cannon with Baron Letard and many others actually flinching back from the strength of it. He took a single step forward, with his eyes still locked on the Baron.
Baron Letard actually pulled Maria forward, placing her slightly between himself and the Grail Knight.
"I would know your name maiden," Vincent loudly asked.
Maria was slightly worried about answering with Baron Letard becoming more and more unhinged but she gambled any hope of getting this Grail Knight on her side was worth the risk.
But she wasn't ready to place her faith in anyone entirely just yet and watched the Baron's sword for any hint of movement as she answered, "Maria Shepard."
"Tell me, Maria Shepard, what did you do after the rat ogre brutally murdered Damsel Elise?" Vincent then asked.
Maria would have laughed at the absurdity of the situation if her life wasn't hanging in the balance. Sure the new knight understood her name but that was simple. Now, in order to stave off her own execution, she had to explain to the Grail Knight what had happened in a language he had no hope of understanding.
Maria kept her own gaze firmly on the sword at her neck as she just went for broke, and explained, "When I saw what that creature did to that woman I felt nothing but despair. I have absolutely no idea what the hell is going on here and I was alone until that woman saved my life. She could have been a friend and ally, but now she's gone. So for revenge's sake, I killed that giant rat."
"Maria Shepard stayed and fought the rat ogre to take revenge for killing the one that saved her own life," Vincent explained out to the rest of the crowd. "That is the spirit of a knight of the realm and we should all pray to the Fey Enchantress to be bestowed with such courage and bravery."
Maria's jaw dropped upon hearing Vincent's words. He had shortened what she had said in an eloquent fashion but the point was made.
Maria tilted her head as much as she could in the Baron's grip and looked at the Grail Knight, "You can understand me?"
"Of course," Vincent answered her with the tiniest smile. He then looked to the Baron and narrowed his gaze, as his right hand came up and rested on the hilt of his own sword. "Release maiden Shepard, Baron Letard. She is no more a daemon of chaos than I am."
The air was tense as all the knights and foot soldiers waited to see what the Baron would do. For his part Baron Letard seemed entirely unwilling to continue the argument until it came to blows with the Grail Knight, but for whatever reason he still seemed unwilling to just allow Maria to go on her way.
Finally he shoved Maria away roughly and re-sheathed his sword.
Maria quickly opened up some more ground between her and the crazy Baron but the man then called out to his men.
"Seize and restrain Maria Shepard," he ordered firmly.
Two of the nearest knights jumped down from their horses and quickly grabbed Maria by her arms.
"Baron, explain yourself," Vincent demanded crossly.
Baron Letard drew himself up to his full height, which wasn't even close to match Vincent's, but held his head high. "This woman fell from a portal of chaos that was conjured by a Skaven grey seer. She speaks a language no one fully understands and possesses powers and weapons that make her one of the gravest threats to our realm. I will not risk the fate of our lands merely on the word of a single Grail Knight. She will be taken back to Castle Parravon where she will be judged by Duke Cassyon when he returns from his mission to Quenelles."
"Hey! I'm not a threat to you people, why can't you get this through your heads," Maria groaned out frustratingly as the two knights pulled her wrists behind her back and began tying them together with - in confusion Maria actually looked back to confirm that, yes - they were tying her wrists with rope.
Rope she could shred in two seconds flat with one pulse of concentrated biotic energy.
"Never mind, you guys do what you have to do. Can't be too careful, not with armies of rat people just milling about the country side." When the knights finished, Maria tested their work and frowned when she could still get plenty of slack between her wrists. She looked back behind at one of the knights and jerked her head while shaking her hands. "Guys, come on. I took down a giant rat. Through some square knots and clove hitches on these ropes or something, because this is just sloppy."
The two knights looked at one another in confusion having not understood a word of what she just said, but before she could try to explain further, someone grabbed her by the back of her armor's collar and lifted her into the air.
Maria then found herself sitting on a horse, across the front of the saddle with two strong arms on the reins keeping her in place. She looked to see who had literally just lifted her entire weight without a grunt of effort and she was only slightly surprised to see it was the Grail Knight, Vincent.
"I just prevented them from taking your head and now you complain about their restraints?" Vincent grumbled out as held steered his mount to join the rest of the soldiers' now marching back to their homes.
Even seated next to him, Vincent was still taller than her, and Maria looked at him in amazement. "You just dead lifted me onto a horse with one arm… I may not look it but I'm a lot heavier than everyone else my size."
Vincent just shrugged prompting Shepard to ask, "How old are you?"
"How old to you believe me to be?" the Grail Knight asked back.
"Sixty-two," she answered taking an honest guess.
Vincent smiled and shook his head, "I passed my eighty-ninth birthday last month."
Maria instantly knew the man wasn't joking and silently vowed to learn everything she could about this strange, new world when she had the first available opportunity. But intelligence gathering would have to wait until more important matters were cleared up first.
She looked out across the open grassland where only a few gently rolling hills surrounded the trail the army was taking. Based on how high the sun was now rising in the sky, she now knew she had arrived on this world at dawn.
Squinting up at the sky Maria asked, "How long before we reach Castle Parravon?"
"The town is only half-a-days march from our location," Vincent replied. He then frowned, "Baron Letard will attempt to get his men back as quickly as possible and won't allow them much rest; even after the battle. Our caravan will stretch thin as those too weak to keep up will begin to fall behind."
Maria nodded with a wince as her headache began to intensify. "Well count me as one of the weak ones. Fighting through the entire collector station for over an hour only to find myself dumped her and forced to further expend my biotic power means I'm looking at a moderate to severe case of biotic exhaustion."
Vincent frowned and looked down at her not understanding.
Maria just sighed, "Big and strange words, yeah I get it but I'm feeling a little overwhelmed here and I needed to level the playing field. Basically just keep me on the horse when I pass out in the next few minutes and make sure there's a feast waiting for me when we reach the town."