"All my bags are packed,
I'm ready to go.
I'm standin' here outside your door;
I hate to wake you up to say goodbye.
But the dawn is breakin', it's early morn.
The taxi's waitin',
He's blowin' his horn;
Already I'm so lonesome I could die.
So kiss me and smile for me,
Tell me that you'll wait for me;
Hold me like you'll never let me go…
'Cause I'm leavin' on a jet plane,
Don't know when I'll be back again;
Oh babe, I hate to go…"
'Leaving On A Jet Plane', Peter, Paul and Mary, 1967
STARS Office, Human Embassy, Embassy District, Upper Ring, Presidium, Citadel, Widow System, Serpent Nebula, July 22, 2183
Author's Notes: Props to DeathZealot and SarahTaylorTam for figuring out just who Abigail Rosalyn Jacobson is. As for what I'm about to do?
Just read and see.
SaraRyder
#AngelIllyeria
Ash, come by the STARS Office w/ Liara and Newt.
SaraRyder
#AngelIllyeria
We got her a surprise.
Sergeant First Class Ashley Madeline Williams looked at the Chirp with dread. It's today, she thought to herself as her heart broke at the Chirps from Doc Ryder, guessing that Skipper and Doc would throw a little going-away party for Rebecca 'Newt' Jorden. Doctor Liara Delphoria E'shora of House T'soni had rented a Citadel Public Transit Authority X3M Contragravity Public Transportation Vehicle to go from the Hespith District of the Lower Presidium Ring to the Regency District of the Upper Presidium Ring, having a CitPL to where she could use both the Public and Common Airlanes for travel and pilot the vehicle herself as oppose to someone without a Citadel Pilot's License, who was forced to use common access points through the CPTA lots that only got one so close to their destination, sometimes as far as a few kilometers away. Liara could physically fly them to the District and Block in question, and a part of Ash wished they had taken a CitLift to the Upper Ring, walking the distance to spend more time with the little girl. Newt still didn't know the whole truth of it all; didn't know that Ash tried to adopt her but couldn't. Oh, Newt knew that the SSV Normandy would be leaving later that day from the Citadel, and she also knew that children weren't allowed on warships. But the connect of Ashley being gone and Newt not allowed to go hadn't dawned on the little girl as to what would happen to her.
Let her be happy for just a few more moments, Ash told herself, doing her best to hold it together as Liara landed the X3M vehicle in the Embassy District's CPTA Lot, the automated system latching onto the aircar electromagnetically and landing it in an available slot as Asari Protheantologist, Colonial Soldier, and Human child exited the skycraft through the opened gullwing doors as Newt immediately went to take Ash and Liara's hands. Newt knew that they were going to the STARS Office where the Lion of Elysium and the Angel of Illyeria were, excited at being able to spend time with even more heroes. The Solider knew that this was just as much for Newt as it was for her; Skipper was like that, and bless her heart. If they were going to have to say goodbye, then no doubt Captain Jane Shepard was going to make sure that it was a good one for the both of them. Liara was on the other side of Newt as the little girl babbled happily as they walked towards the Embassy Tower where the Embassies of something like thirty-five species existed in Council Space, everything from the practically-ruling-the-galaxy Asari down to the barely-off-their-worlds species like the chastised Thark or the cute-looking teddy bear-like Mogwai.
The three of them entered into the busy lobby of the Embassy Tower, checking into the 'Human' Embassy desk for their appointment, the Systems Alliance Sailor working the desk affirming the appointment and giving Ash and Liara access to the turbolift that would bring them to the appropriate level, access being controlled so tightly to prevent espionage and assassination. Newt was still talking as they entered he conveyance that would bring the three of them to the level where the Human Embassy, the Volus Embassy, and the Elcor Embassy were held together, the level guarded by Systems Alliance Marines armed with Hahne-Keder's' M500 Storm Shotguns and armored in Aldrin Labs' Onyx Medium Interceptor Armor. They went through the initial checkpoint under the gaze of a Marine E-5 whose eyes darted from Ash, to Liara, then to Newt before giving them the okay to pass, his expression never changing. They were all still holding hands as they walked down the hallway that lead to the several offices that were a part of the Human Embassy; the Ambassador's Office, the Chamberlain's Office, the Diplomats' Office, the Diplomatic Security Services Department (which as Ash understood it, was where Sara's father, Captain Alec Ryder, worked for many years as a fucking spy for the Alliance), the Migration, Refugees, and Population Bureau, and finally the STARS Office. Ash led Liara and Newt to the door that had an embossed brass placard on its door marked 'STARS' with the inscription 'RADM Anderson, D., Commanding' underneath. The Soldier took a deep breath, willing herself to be brave for what would undoubtedly come next no matter what as she scanned her Aldrin Labs' Bluewire OmniTool over the access panel for acceptance as the door disengaged and opened to admit them in.
Williams walked into the STARS Office, what appeared to be a fairly large sized room with ten members hailing from the Global Bureau of Investigations, the Office of Naval Intelligence, and the Systems Alliance Marshal Services to work the intel and logistics portion of the effort that was the Normandy's mission, the men and women behind the scenes that plugged the daily grind to make sure the Frigate and her crew got what they need, every day heroes that would never get a minute of spotlight for their efforts save from their Commanding Officer. Speaking of, Ash saw Rear Admiral (Lower Half) David Anderson in the main room just to the front of his door, talking to a female Navy Yeoman who was handing him a datapad before saluting him and going back to her desk. The Black Fox looked over and spied the three of them standing their, his dark face breaking open into a smile as he waved them over.
"Ah, Yeoman? Could you get Doctor T'soni some Ushala tea and Newt some juice?" Petty Officer (Second Class) Tricia Keller nodded before heading towards a small room that was obviously the Office's galley. "Sergeant Williams? If I could see you in my office alone for just a moment?"
Oh God, this is it…
Williams followed Anderson into his office, feeling numb with a growing ball of cold dread crawling through her guts as she entered the office marked with his name, seeing the Skipper's office right next to it. She walked into an office that was already collecting Naval memorabilia as the the N7 waited for the door to his office to slide shut before handing the very datapad that the Yeoman had handed to him just a minute prior.
"Read it, Ash." Anderson smiled at her and Ash felt her heart breaking as her eyes went to the datapad at hand, seeing the text of the holographic image displayed on the OLED screen, unable to help herself.
SYSTEMS ALLIANCE CHILD ADOPTION SERVICES
SUBJECT: Jorden, Rebecca Carrie (b. 07 May 2175, Joughlin, Benning)
ACTION: Request for Adoption
PETITIONER: Williams, Ashley Madeline (b. 14 Apr 2158, Nova Roma, Sirona)
STATUS: Approved [Daily, E.G., Approval Authority]
The contents of this approval are as follows…
Ash's mind went blank for a moment as her eyes went back to the important bits.
Approved.
"Oh my God…" Her eyes went wide. Her mouth dropped open. She damn near dropped the datapad, too. APPROVED! I GOT APPROVED! "But… how?" Ash looked up to the Admiral, feeling her hand shaking a little, the emotions that had been pent up, the fear and pain that she knew would come were being slowly swept away as the realization that they wouldn't be needed were coming to her. "I sent a request when we arrived on the Cit! And I got denied!"
"That's not surprising. The SACAS wouldn't let a single person adopt a child if there wasn't another person who would petition for granted custody in case the worst should happen." Anderson replied, leaning back on his desk with a smile. "Which is why Jannie and Sara went and pulled a big favor and pushed the datawork through the system with a few magic words like Council Agent and molecular reduction."
"Skipper and Doc did this?" Oh God, the tears were coming but Ash didn't care. Of course Skipper and Doc had known that Ash would do something like this, and knew her chances would likely peg at exactly zero percent. So they had done the legwork and whatever else was needed to get the adoption approved before the Normandy went thrusters-up. Oh God, I owe them so fucking big… she had to wipe at her tears, her vision so blurred she could barely see the man standing in front of her as she laughed and cried at the same time. Newt… I'm going to be your Mom… the thought just exploded within her as she couldn't wait to tell Rebecca and Liara the news. Wait… "But… we're shipping out later today! Where's Newt going? I doubt Captain Shepard is going to approve of a minor on a warship."
"Well, why don't you turn around and find out?" Anderson's dark eyes looked at something behind him, a broad smile on his face. "You really think that those two left the job half-finished?" Ash frowned as she turned around to see the office door opening up to admit three women, Ash knowing every single one of them; Jane Catherine Shepard, Sara Elaine Ryder, and Abigail Rosalyn Jacobson. Her eyes went wide as she realized exactly what the SPECTREs had done; done for her, done for Newt. Ash couldn't adopt a child because she was an unmarried woman, and the only exception was to have another person agree to the adoption in case something happened to the petitioner. Such an exception was hard to come by for the Child Adoption Services to approve; it couldn't just be anyone. And dammit if one or both SPECTREs hadn't done their homework. They had gone to someone that the SACAS would approve of; a related member. They had gone to her family.
They had gone to her sister.
"Abby! Oh my God…" Ash knew the dam was going break within her, but she didn't care as she saw Jane and Sara practically beaming as Williams practically tackled her three-year younger sister in a hug, lifting her up as Abigail Rosalyn Jacobson (nee Williams) squawked at the act, telling Ash put me down, brute! while the older Williams sister was too busy laughing and crying. She eventually put Abby down as she held her sister in a way that she hadn't in years, holding her so tight so as to transfer just how happy she felt, the stress and the worry of the future leaking away as she practically bawled into her sisters' shoulder, grateful words spilling out between her sobs of joy and relief. Abby lived on Elysium with her husband Rick and their two kids, Patrick and Michael, Ash's nephews. They could have clearly adopted Newt but somehow the Lion and the Angel had finagled a way where Ash could instead, and obviously had gone to Abby to be the secondary, to host Newt while Williams was deployed on the Normandy. And Abby had agreed, coming to the Cit. She had no idea how long she held her sister as she cried, Abby holding her just as tightly as she comforted her older sister.
"Abby, thank you." Ash finally said, pulling away after an eternity of joyful sobs as she wiped away some of the tears, some still spilling out. "I… this means so much to me…"
"I know, Blockhead." Abby replied, using her pet nickname for her older sister with a smile, making Ash snort with a smile. "Ashley, you've been there for me my entire life, since the day I was born. Every laugh, every tear, every smile, every day. When Dad passed away, you lied about your age and joined the Army so we could have a roof over our heads and medical care, and that day broke my heart. I missed you, missed having my big sister around, though I know why you did it." Abby's eyes were just as moist as Ash's. "Mom was so heartbroken to see you go, that you made that choice. But you did it out of love and honor, you did it for us. How do you pay someone back for such a selfless cause?
"By returning the favor." Abigail replied with a smile, touching her forehead to her sisters'. God, Ash wanted to bawl again.
"So while you're out there looking out for us all, Lone Wolf," the younger Williams sister said, her brown eyes looking into Ash's, "I would be utterly grateful to look after your daughter for you. My ever oh so honorable blockhead of a sister." Abby's smile was priceless, practically going from ear-to-ear. "I'm proud of you, Ashley. And you know Dad is, too."
"Yeah." Abby was right; Dad would be saying the same exact thing, feeling the same exact way. "God, they sprung this on me, I must look like a wreck." Lord only knew what kind of loops and hoops Skipper and Doc had to jump through to get the paperwork finalized at bureaucratic lightspeed, but they had done it. Approval for both herself and Abby, getting her sister on the Cit in such a short period of time? God, I owe them so fucking big… one look at Jane and Sara's beaming faces, and Ash knew that they knew what this meant to her. One didn't need to think long or hard on what the worth of the word family meant to the Lion and the Angel, two women who had practically bent over backwards for the other on who knew how many occasions. Hell, there was a movie about it! Chances were, they saw this in the same light as Ash did; what were they really if they weren't willing to push forth that extra effort into something so obviously precious, the life and welfare of a child? They had pulled Rebecca Jorden from the very depths of hell that was Feros, but they weren't going to let her be pushed along by some bureaucratic wind and end up somewhere possibly sub-standard or where the little girl might not be comfortable. Newt had attached herself to Ash, and Ash had attached herself right back. Shepard and Ryder had bent the rules for the sake of a child, making sure she went where she needed to be; in the arms of someone who would love her and take care of her. Not only had they done this for Ash, but they had gotten someone else that Ash would trust too; her sister. "Thank you. All of you." God, she was still wiping at tears, but she didn't mind. There was absolutely nothing to be ashamed of.
"It was worth it, Army." Doc replied, folding her muscular arms across her chest, smiling all the while. "Now why don't you take a step outside and tell your daughter the good news?"
Sergeant First Class Ashley Williams stepped out of the office of Admiral David Anderson… and into a miniature family reunion. Her hands flew to her mouth as she realized that her sister Abigail wasn't the only one who had come, but everyone. Her mother, Elizabeth Williams, was there. Lynn was too, her belly really starting to show with her being six months along, her and her brother-in-law Derrik Thompson standing together. There was Abby's husband Rick with their two boys, Patrick being a four-year old Human tornado while Michael gazed at everything in wonder, only eighteen months old. Sarah was holding onto Michael, the little boy in his aunt's arms as the youngest of the Williams clan talked to Rebecca 'Newt' Jorden, answering whatever question Newt had asked as, surprisingly enough, her Mom was talking to Doctor Liara T'soni, the Protheantologist looking over as the Asari smiled at her, and Ash knew that Liara knew; probably figured it out on her own. She went over to the Doctor and handed her the datapad first, the Asari's eyes going to the contents contained on the OLED screen before her head went up and her sapphire eyes looked right at Ash, her cerulean lips going into an immediate smile at the sight of the approval. Liara had known of Williams' attempt to adopt Newt.
"Ready for the bombshell?" Ash asked, the Asarikin looking amused at the question.
"If that means what I think it means, then yes." The Doctor replied as Ash first gave her mother a quick hug, Mom returning it with a whispered proud of you to her, her family already knowing what was happening. That's why they were all here; to support Ash when she needed them as well as welcoming the newest member of their family. Ash had taken family leave for the birth of both of her nephews, and had already planned on taking more when Lynn gave birth to her own son, Charles. Rebecca wasn't just being adopted by Ashley; they were all adopting her.
Her wish had come true; Newt was going to have a good family exactly as Ash had. The very same family, in fact.
"Hey, Newt?" Ash took a knee as the young girl looked at her with a smile. "Can you come here, kiddo? There's something I want to tell you." The little conversations in the STARS Office ceased as the eight-year old moved towards Ash, and the Soldier knew that everyone else had known what was going to happen, that something special was about to occur.
"What is it, Ashley?"
"I…" God, I never told her what I was trying to do, I didn't want her to know I had failed, "when I first met you, I remember seeing this brave little girl in a bad situation looking up at me." Ash began, the words just tumbling out. "All I could remember was seeing blue eyes that were looking for help, for someone to help them through. And you had picked me." Newt nodded, her face a little sorrowful at the memory, but she obviously remembered. "I promised you I would get you out of there, and I did, at the cost of myself. In that, I have no regrets." Williams knew that there was no way in hell they would have ever escaped that Colonial Command Center, but she had gotten just one person out; a child. Newt would have been consumed like the others, but she had denied the Thorian that right. She didn't regret that at all. Not one Goddamn bit, not for one Goddamn moment. "I got a second chance, just like you did. And… and I want to make the most of it. When we got to the Citadel, I put in a request to adopt you." The little girl's eyes shot wide open with that revelation, and Ash could see her lower lip trembling a little. For what emotion, Ash couldn't say for sure. "I couldn't just leave it to fate on what would happen to you, just to let you go through the system to land upon some family God knows where on the hopes they would be a good one. I figured… I had earned the right to be the first in that line, to be the person who would take you in as my own, to have you as my daughter. I… couldn't just walk away, Newt. I wanted to know you would be happy and raised right, that you got the best chances. And the only way I knew that I could be sure of that was… was if it was me that was doing those things." God, the tears wanted to come back, but Ash help firm, looking into Rebecca's blue eyes. "Newt? I got approved.
"I want to be your mother."
The eight year old just looked at her with amazement for a brief moment before Ashley was tackled hard enough by the little girl that it actually made her fall backwards.
"OhmyGodohmyGodohmyGodthankyouthankyouthankyou!" Newt cried and blubbered as her small arms encircled around Ash, holding onto her tightly as she laughed and cried, Ashley holding onto her just as fiercely. It felt like her heart was going to explode, and she was completely okay with it. She held onto the little girl, and saw her family looking at them, all smiles. They had come here for the both of them, for this important day; important for Ash, important for Newt. Rebecca was practically bawling in her arms, clutching onto her tightly just like Ash had been moments ago with her sister Abby for much the same reason. She sat up, cradling the child in her arms, and knew that this day would forever remain precious to her, the day she truly became a mother, an act of love that would forever change her. "But… you're shipping out soon. Where am I going?" The little girl asked, looking up at Ash.
"Well, let me introduce you to the rest of your family." The look on Rebecca Jorden-Williams face was priceless and beautiful.
SSV Normandy, EAS Common Docks, Kithoi Enders, Citadel, Widow System, Serpent Nebula, July 22, 2183
As was Navy tradition, a cast-away was an event in which family and friends were invited to see the departure of a vessel, a tradition going back to at least the Age of Sails during the Elizabethan Era, but perhaps even further than that. It was to be the departure of the SSV Normandy, a week-long Liberty at its end as crew members gathered in front of the deployment ramp of the Normandy-Class Stealth Frigate, the ninety-plus souls that represented the very tip of the spear of Humanity… even if they weren't all completely Human. Those who happened to have friends or family on the Cit were spending the last minutes together, and Captain Jane Catherine Shepard (SAN, N7, OST) smiled at the sight at some of it. There was Sergeant Ashley Williams and the entirety of the Williams clan giving each other hugs as they all said goodbye to both the Colonial Soldier and the Asari Protheantologist at her side. Jannie had been a bit surprised to see that the rest of Ash's family had been a little more accepting of the Maiden than Ash had initially been, but the Williams family lived on Elysium, which was practically half non-Human, so probably had more experience than Ash had. Petty Officer Sara Ryder was saying goodbyes to her many friends on the Cit, Senior Emergency Care Technician Shayla Talis and Barber-Surgeon Alixa Trevalis both giving the Navy Corpsman hugs as Lady Eloa'Varis vas Thessia awaited her turn, flanked by the scary-looking Quarian females in DuraFrame ExoSkeleton suits. The redhead got a good chuckle to see Seaman Monica Negulesco come with a Human man that took Jannie a moment to recognize that it was the same guy from Lollipops from like six days prior! Somehow, their little Hospital Corpsman had snaggled a male fashion model for a shoreside husband! Not bad kid, not bad at all, Shepard thought to herself as she saw Detective Garrus Vakarian giving a female Turian in C-SEC armor a touching of the fringes, the female having the exact same clan paint as the RRU Sniper. Ah, that was Officer Solona Vakarian, Jannie knowing of her from Sara. Agent Zevin Raeka was being escorted by about five Salarian males (possibly her brothers, or dear God a harem), while Urdnot Wrex was being berated expertly by a young Asari Maiden whom called him Grandfather (wai… what?!). Both female Quarian Pilgrims were chatting up a couple others of their kind, likely Pilgrims themselves, Jannie seeing the different colors and designs of the Quarian EnviroSuit on the half-dozen Quarians that were huddled together. And she was pretty damn certain that Private Nathanial 'Ballsack' Balsach had been dropped off by a female Turian.
Wait… could it have been the same one he had…? Jannie tried to forget the sight of a dextro-allergic reaction to a particular portion of the male anatomy… and failed. Either Ballsack was hanging out with the same Turian lass or he was 'going fringe'. Hopefully, he learned his lesson from last time.
"We needed this." Commander Mark Vanderloo said as he approached the N7 from where he had been standing inside the vessel, getting any last minute updates. "We've all suffered some hits, but I think everyone's gotten some relief and closure. Sam especially." Jannie nodded, knowing that out of everyone, Federal Marshal Samantha Collins was the one she was worried about most. Having lost her husband Nihlus Kryik on Eden Prime, and then with what happened on Feros? Jannie didn't want to say it out loud, but she knew that people had committed suicide for a lot less trauma than that. She knew of the incident in which Doc Nugee and Corporal Jeanette Vasquez had pulled Sam from a bar when she had been so shit-faced drunk that she had practically been blacked-out on her stool when the Corpsman and the Marine escorted her back to the Normandy, Doc making sure the Marshal didn't get alcohol poisoning or drown in her own vomit. It was still a work in progress with Collins, but at the least she hadn't drank after that night, no longer drowning her grief and sorrows with way too much booze. That was a good start.
"They're going to need it, Mark. We're going to be doing it again." Shepard replied, knowing that she was going to be leading them right back into the proverbial fight. The next one might be just like Feros or the ACV Horizon. God forbid there was something actually worse. "We need more allies, we need more ships in the black at our side or doing what we're doing. Sooner or later something's going to break; someone's spirit, something on the ship, who knows what? We're going full-court press here with no backup and no relief. I'm hard pressed to think of a time when so much relied upon so few. Even the FCW wasn't like this, I think."
"We'll find a way to make it work, to make some believers who see things as we do, Jane." Mark reassured her, giving her a friendly hand on her shoulder. "We've got some allies now, and the Battle of LaGrange Point Two is a good sell to bring more into the fold. Right now, we look like we're tough, but if we convince Parliament to let loose some patrols into our command, or perhaps someone else wants a piece of the action, we can be that much more effective."
"Yeah. Here's hoping." Jannie watched as Marshal Samantha Collins came up the deployment ramp, standing next to her SPECTRE sister as the Marshal calmly folded her arms and looked over the gathering Normandiers and those who were to see them off. Sam didn't say anything, but a look at her Turian-marked face showed that the sight meant something to her. She's trying to heal, Shepard realized with a smile, seeing Collins' blue eyes looking over the crew members of the Normandy, something obviously having been decided in her mind. "You good, Marse?"
"I'll be good." The Marshal replied, and while it was an exaggeration, it was only just. "We got new faces?"
"Fairly typical on a Navy cruise, some mid-deployment additions and replacements." Shepard replied with a nod. "The big one is an ONI Agent who's going to help collate information and intelligence for us, making sure we're getting everything timely, both transmit and receive. Something I think you'd be familiar with." That had Sam nod, the Marshal having been the tip of the spear herself for several years as a Level Two Council Agent hunting criminals who had escaped Alliance or Council justice by fleeing jurisdictions.
Collins and her team of cops (plus one Level Three Turian SPECTRE) had gone out into the black to hunt down trash and filth like slavers and crime lords, the kind of assholes that thought themselves too powerful and too slick to be caught. Sam had a unique gift in being about to 'read' Relay data and match it to a ship with some work and translation, and being able to discover its route anywhere in the galaxy. It had its flaws, but as Jannie understood it, once Sam locked onto whatever code or recognition her Autistic mind designated for a particular vessel, she could literally chase it beyond Relays forgoing the need of 'calling' a port or destination for a vessel registration (in which, dear God, half of the Harbormasters were corrupt as shit on even Council-friendly ports). Jannie had chased ships before, but a lot of it was guesswork and trying to out-think some scumbag while trying to keep their vessel in ones' sensors, and then practically guessing which direction they went when a vessel engaged a Mass Relay and translated. Guess wrong, and one would pretty much have to discharge for an hour or several, and either translate towards another destination, or go back to the original system if there wasn't a connection to whatever option 'B' was. Sam superseded that by being able to get in touch with a Relay, 'seeing' the ship access and mutating polyfractural logorhythm that Relays logged with every use and being able to translate it to discover a ships' potential destination. Oh, Jannie didn't doubt there was a great deal more to it than that (Sam described some of it to her, and no surprise it was a bunch of deductive reasoning with facts and clues, damn good cop work out of a damn good cop), but the fact that someone could read Relay data was startling.
The N7 knew why Sam had been made a SPECTRE; she was the only sapient in the entire galaxy that could.
"We also got you a Yeoman." Mark added, a quirky tone to his answer of Sam's question. "A Frigate Captain generates a good deal of paperwork, but we're practically unique in that we might actually supersede an Admiral or a Fleet if in need. LaGrange Two was really just a taste of what might be expected out of us, and you practically spent all day doing datawork, Jane. You need someone that can take care of the day-to-day affairs and manage the ships' personnel and information systems while you run the ship or are on the ground. God knows your ENbox populates with a horrid amount of ENmails every day."
"I get a Navy secretary. That's a first." Jane snarked, passing Sam a wry smile, the Marshal snorting in return. "Should I slap the Equal Opportunity card down and ask for a male personal assistant? Lord knows all those Admirals have cute little flouncy Yeoman's seeing to their every needs. Can my eye candy come with an XY chromosome?" Collins was trying to choke back on her laughter.
"Pretty certain this one's a natural female." Vanderloo replied dryly. "BuPers dropped us a Petty Officer First Class Hope Lilum that just completed her 'C' School for Flag Writer. Seems up to snuff."
"No N's?" The redhead asked quietly, looking to her Executive Officer, who merely shook his head. "Goddamn it." Both her and Poppa Bear had requested for one of the NCT Units to join the Normandy for obvious reasons, but SASOCOM and the Admiralty Board was being stingy. Jannie knew from a few of her friends on the Teams that several of the N-Combat Teams had been sent to Eden Prime for 'clean up' after the Normandy's actions and her own drive towards the Prothean Beacon, clearing out Geth units and the many Husks that littered the area around Constant. A few more had been sent to Therum for the same reason, finding more Geth that hadn't been destroyed by either Sara's team of defenders or Jannie's squad. Some of the last 'available' units had been sent to the Horizon to clear out the ship fully along with Marines, and it seemed that the Systems Alliance Special Forces were designated deck-moppers after Humanity's First SPECTRE did all the hard work.
Oh, Jannie got it; the N's and the Marines were generally the Navy's fist on ground actions, vessel insertions, and anything else that required short-range actions or something that couldn't be answered with naval fire or a missile. But just one ten-man NCT on the Normandy meant that Jannie could have two combat teams, able to action in on whatever threat or move to another objective if one presented itself. She wouldn't have had to split up her team on the Horizon or on Feros if she had two teams. Lord only knew how things would have changed with the additions, but it certainly wouldn't have felt as if Shepard was trying to scrap the bottom of the barrel for leadership or effective teams if she had a larger, more well-rounded crew.
Ash was use to leading Army Ops, though she did have some solid leadership skills, if more oriented towards Army-related actions. Sam had led a team of cops; not exactly the same thing. Wrex had mentioned once or twice being a clan leader of a krannt, but there was something in the way he said it that said that something bad had happened that make the Krogan big game hunter hesitant in taking a leadership role. Jannie knew the signs of someone who had been in charge of a disaster in which many were killed and the guilt making one hesitant on taking that chance again. Same thing with Zevin Raeka, brilliant and absolutely lethal, but there was something that made her pause despite being a highly-skilled, highly-intelligent warrior. Shepard remember what the Thorian had said through Sara, how Raeka had turned her back on her own family for reasons that the N7 respected. The Salarian Not-Dalatrass probably feared turning into her mother. That Jannie got.
Her only real contemporaries were Sara Ryder and Garrus Vakarian, strangely enough.
Sara was an interesting choice; Navy Corpsmen didn't take leadership roles except in medical fields or efforts, generally. Yet as a potential, she actually had a good deal of experience that extended beyond the Systems Alliance Military. Jannie knew that Sara had on several occasions help lead rescue and recovery operations as a CitEMS Paramedic during a few incidences whenever some asshole hacked an aircar and got into a high-speed chase with C-SEC. Those always ended in an apocalyptic disaster, and a crashing aircar was a very scary thing. Those calls got everyone into the resulting disaster where burning Hydrogen Slush fuel and Eezo contamination along with hundreds if not thousands of casualties were the norm. She had also been in charge of several projects during her time as the Presidium Academy of Education, in charge of five other brilliant sapients to complete whatever project they were tasked with. What made it more impressive was that Sara, the only Human to have ever gone to the Academy, had to pretty much browbeat everyone into actually accepting her as the Project Lead if they wanted to succeed 'lest they all get the same grade as the lowest-scoring member.
Then there was Therum; both incidences. On June Sixth, at the same time Jannie was leading 1st Lieutenant Kaidan Alenko and Sergeant Ashley Williams through the fields of Constant, Ryder was leading an evacuation of Dig Site Alpha where everything went wrong but her. Some asshole with the Oxford Team decided to loot the Serrice Team's stuff for finds, and Sara had stopped them with zero casualties or fatalities despite the Project Head blatantly ignoring her. She had also dredged up Turians to aid her when the Oxford Team was nowhere to be found, having Hasti Reservists lead the Serrice Team to the evacuation point, and then conducting a full-and-thorough personnel and item search of the Oxford Team, commanding Turians and Humans in a way that Jannie fully admitted was brilliant and logical. On June Fifteenth, when the Geth attacked the Dig Site, Sara had pulled out everyone, alerted her Auntie of the attack (and it was the only alert that made it past the Geth!), evacuated the entirety of the civilians from the Dig Site, and protected their retreat in a bottleneck with twelve people that brought down seven hundred Geth. The only loss that they had taken, Private Mikael 'Blowjob' Holodansk, was technically on Jannie, as she was in command of the rescue mission. Therum still represented the biggest 'win' that they had against the Geth with the fewest losses while completely denying the Geth any kind of positive; denial of objective and severe limitation of civilian losses (zero, actually) while in charge of a multi-species effort cobbled together on the spot. Her Sara had been in charge of that, and Jannie couldn't have been more proud.
Garrus Vakarian was almost nearly a shoe-in; he was really the only other Special Forces warrior that the Normandy had. Another Academy Alumni, Garrus had gone into the Hierarchy's most elite combat unit; the Blackwatch Elite Forces Unit. For a species that looked at war as almost a religion, the Blackwatch were fringe-and-cowl above the normal Hasti units that the Hierarchy flooded the enemy with whenever they wanted something dead as quickly and as messily as possible to reiterate while the Turian Military was to be appropriately feared. The Blackwatch was a tactical insertion unit that deployed behind enemy lines and into enemy holdings, delivering painfully precision assault and attacks upon strategic targets and persons, taking out vital structures, munitions, or leadership in acts that could only be described as viciously brutal. He was a veteran of several actions generally involving anti-Hierarchy actions, mostly terrorists and separatists, though he was most definitely a Relay 314 Vet as well. Include the fact that he had risen to the most prestigious Law Enforcement agency in the galaxy, the Special Crimes Unit of the Citadel Security Services, as well as the famed tactical response unit, the Rapid Response Unit, it was a wonder why Vakarian wasn't a SPECTRE himself.
He was the epitome of what Turians claimed to be; duty over self, of law and order, the quiet professional that helped those under him as well as those above him. He was military, law enforcement, leadership, and intelligence skills all rolled into one, and even Jannie had to admit that for as little that she actually liked the Turian race, Garrus Vakarian was an exemplary model of what a Palavenian could do and achieve. The fact that he worked well under a Human with no qualms or noticeable dissent pushed him above-and-beyond even his own martial race. Jannie had known Garrus for years in an off-hand manner, and despite that their first meeting had really gotten off on the wrong foot, the N7 seeing Sara cradled in the Turians' talons, hurt and crying, she had eventually calmed down enough and given the Detective the benefit of the doubt on Sara's word. And Garrus hadn't disappointed her.
She highly suspected that that particular feeling was likely mutual. Perhaps she should talk to him in a more one-on-one manner and see what his thoughts were on their mission and what insights he had.
Their ship out time was coming soon as Jannie watched her crew getting in their last hugs and kisses (so to speak), smiling as she watched Ashley Williams practically toss Newt into the air before giving her a big hug, the rest of the Williams clan joining in on giving the Colonial Soldier a proper farewell. She could hear Ash singing the lyrics to 'Leavin' on a Jet Plane', the sight actually making her tear up a little as the N7 watched brand-new mother and daughter making the most of the precious little time they had left. It look like Raeka was saying goodbye to the males that had brought her here (and Jannie was right, they were her brothers by the way they held one another, too platonic to be lovers) while Garrus and Solona harped at one another, brother and sister getting into some playful sibling rivalry as she looked to Sara, seeing Professor Irissa T'vara getting the last kiss (so to speak)…
…and saw the Asari Matriarch get down on one knee in front of the Human female.
"Oh my God…" Jannie felt floored at the sight as her jaw practically dropped at the sight, shocked at what she was seeing. "Mark? Sara…"
"I see." The XO replied, Shepard watching as the Professor produced from somewhere in her robes a small box that easily fit in the palm of her blue hand, holding it outward towards Sara, the apparatus opened to reveal what was inside. "I didn't know Asari did it that way."
"They don't." Collins answered, obviously having spied what Jannie was seeing. The redhead felt her heart almost stop at the sight, seeing what would undoubtedly be one of the most important day's in Sara's life. Jannie quickly queued up her OmniTool and recorded the scene just in time to watch Sara practically pounce the Matriarch with a loud enough 'yes!' that practically everyone on the docks heard and looked over to see the Navy Corpsman holding the Professor tenderly, sobbing and laughing. Scottie is going to kill her for missing out on this, Jannie thought as she recorded it for him, knowing that Sara's twin brother would have wanted to be here for this moment. She watched as Corpsman and Professor held each other on the docks, watched as Irissa took one of Sara's hands and slipped something onto her finger. I… I can't actually believe this is happening, the N7 felt the goofy smile that she had on her face, seeing Sara beaming so beautifully, snuggling the Matriarch one last time before they finally parted, Sara wiping at tears as she headed towards the deployment ramp as the crew members of the SSV Normandy began to board the vessel, seeing friends and family waving. Sara gave one last look to Irissa, Shayla, Alixa, and Eloa, waving back at them as she turned and practically bolted up the ramp and right towards her Auntie, her face glowing as blue eyes and a big smile presented themselves on her face as Sara practically bounced on her toes.
"Auntie!
"I'm getting married!"
FINE: ARC IX: Being Human
Author's Note: Dear reader, I gave you the option of selecting what you wanted to see next in 'Of Lions And Angels' as a Christmas present for my fans and readers. From mid-October to mid-November of 2018, I gave you five teaser options of crafted ideas that I had plots made up of in which you got to choose where the story would go next for the month of December '18. For the month of December, you get your wish for Mass Effectmas.
I've been teasing you for half a year with the upcoming ARC. What Sara and Garrus are afraid to speak up about, have never mentioned. Not even Shepard knows what this pertains about, Sara keeping it out of fear for her Auntie's life. For months, I've crafted the concept of a mission that is on par with the 'Revan House of Horrors' from Where The Law Stands Tall, where Organic Technology brings to life a concept of a 2183 version of the Frankenstein's Monster. Concepts from the final chapter of the Peacemaker Series, Duplicity Itself, the partially written story called Citadel Blues that was one of the original concepts for 'Of Lions and Angels', and the thought behind a loyalty mission has led me to create this ARC.
You, dear reader, have elected a path of pain and horror.
Let me introduce you to a fear you never knew you needed, to a terror hidden in the stars, where life itself is in the grasp of a madman who wishes to become a God.
Welcome, dear reader, to…
ARC X: THE RED HARVEST
Captain's Quarters, SSV Normandy, Orbiting Trebin, Antaeus System, Hades Gamma Nebula, July 25, 2183
There was an electronic knock on the door, and Captain Jane Catherine Shepard (SAN, N7, OST) saw who had knocked on her cabin door through the viewer of her personal terminal, and gave admittance. The door to her cabin slid open to let in two people, Petty Officer (Second Class) Sara Elaine Ryder and Detective Garrus Kaaldor Vakarian. Jannie saw the both of them march in, their faces stern and grim as Sara held a datapad in her hand. This was most unusual.
"Auntie, I'd like to request a SPECTRE mission for a Level Three Infraction."
Shepard was shocked, to say the least.
Sara's voice was… cold, hard, bitter. This wasn't the girl she had helped half-raised in a sisterly manner, spending time with the Ryders' on the Cit whenever her mother was on deployment or other reasons for the Admiral to advance her career. This wasn't the young woman who shyly admitted to her 'Auntie' that she wanted to be a Emergency Medical Technician on the Citadel when there were none. This wasn't the friend that sent a plethora of vids and pics of her accomplishments, sent Chirps and EN-mails to keep connected, whose face showed enthusiasm whenever Jannie got to see her again. This wasn't the blushing tweenager who had asked about boys. This… was different; she was different. Even Garrus looked different as well, his mandibles practically griding against his jaw, his fringe having curled slightly upward; a sign of anger and hostility for a Turian. A Level Three Infraction was a violation of the Treaty of Farixen and the Citadel Conventions, signed by every race. Regardless of species or location of the galaxy, whether a part of the Citadel Council or not, all Level Three Infractions were dealt with… severely. The leeway given to Council Agents to deal with such discrepancies were wide, vast, and seen to without impunity. Jannie could authorize a kinetic strike on a building filled with innocent people and the Council of Law would pat her on the back.
Despite the monstrous act, there was a very solid reason for allowing such things; crimes against natural order.
"The violation?" The Captain asked, Jannie going professional. She had a good idea what this might be about. The Red Harvest.
"Illegal cloning and genetic bio-modifications." The Special Crimes Detective replied, his flanged voice harsh, almost spitting out the words. Those were certainly Level Three Infractions. Cloning of organs were allowed in authorized clinics, but only certain organs and limbs. Bio-modifications was a super no-no, the altering of the genetic structure of a sapients' DNA. Some ideas were allowed; germ-line cures to genetic diseases and maladies, genetic therapy for certain ailments. All that were allowed were recognized and voted upon by the Chamber of Governance and Council of Law, and were well defined. Jannie strongly doubted Garrus was confused by the rules and what he was describing. "Likely, multiple Level One and Two Infractions will be involved as well, tangent with the Level Three Infractions."
"The Red Harvest?" The N7 asked lightly, seeing both Human and Turian nod.
"We found him, Auntie. In the Herschel System of the Kepler Verge." The Navy Corpsman replied, her tone almost bitter. "Garrus picked up a possible transaction report that will be occurring there in three days' time. We can make it not only to stop the transaction taking place, but finally get rid of that piece of filth… forever." Ryder handed her the datapad, and Jannie looked at the top part of the information. What she saw surprised her, honestly.
"A Salarian?"
"A two-hundred and forty-eight year old Salarian." Vakarian corrected her, and Shepard felt her jaw drop. No one lived near that long save for Asari or Krogan. For a Salarian? That was six times their natural lifespan. Genetic bio-modification, indeed.
"And you want me to authorize this? To go after this…" Jesus, Jannie was looking at some of the reported crimes. Now she got why Sara had been so scared to tell anyone about the Red Harvest. The shit she was reading didn't even make it into bad books or movies. A few of the violations… filled her with dread. Someone's actually fucking doing this, Shepard realized, her soul shivering at the sight of multiple Sixth Day Crimes, what the Systems Alliance called such violations; Crimes against God and Creation. Now she understood the fear and the drive to stop it once and for all. "Holy fuck, this is true?" Jannie read the last bit of the report. Now she knew how Sara had gotten involved, seeking a geneticist out of love. It had all gone wrong, and it had cost her dearly.
Oh Sara, I'm so fucking sorry…
"Yes." The Petty Officer replied, her voice bitter. Now Jannie knew why, she knew the truth. The horrible, horrible truth.
"XO?" The N7 tapped on her personal terminal to establish a link between her cabin and the bridge, opening up a personal channel. "Expedite refueling and resupplying operations and plot us a course for the Kepler Verge in the Attican Traverse, target system Herschel. And pull me up anything we can find out about the…" Jannie rechecked the datapad in her hand, "Alexandria Station." The name and tag indicated that it was a space-oriented outpost or station. The name tickled her memory, but Jane couldn't recall why at the moment. "I want to be there yesterday." There was no disguising her tone. This wasn't about being a SPECTRE, or a Level Three Infraction. This monster had hurt Sara in the worst way imaginable, and Jannie was going to rip his fucking head off with her bare hands. Then she was going to glass his corpse just to make sure it was a job well done. It was going to be necessary if the report was accurate.
Someone had taken a page out of ancient Human literature and recreated Frankensteins' monster… and hadn't stopped there.
"We're going after him?" Sara asked, the bitter tone sliding away, a sound of both fear and hope in her voice. God, kiddo, you really bore this burden for years? Jannie couldn't believe it. She hadn't faced anything this monstrous before. Likely, this was only half of the story; what Sara and Garrus had discovered on their own. Lord only knew what they hadn't found. Shepard had a pretty good idea what they were going to discover just that… and probably so much worse.
"I'm going to reduce this cocksucker down to the sub-atomic level." The SPECTRE growled, seeing what had been done to her Sara. Jannie remembered the fear she felt when Sara went missing for ten days, Scottie's panic when he called her. For over a week, the two of them had to wait for word they never knew would come or not, not known Sara's location or even if she were alive. Scottie, a sixteen-year old young man, had been in the verge of tears every day, sick with worry about his twin sister. Jannie had wanted to tear ass and find Sara, but she didn't even know which direction to start. A part of Sara's Skybulance crew, Senior Chief Emergency Care Technician Shayla Talis and Barber-Surgeon Alixa Trevalis, had both been involved as well, worried as hell about their 'little Sara', and wroth as hell that C-SEC wouldn't give any of them any answers. Sara had returned in the talon of Detective Garrus Vakarian in a stolen transport, sick and injured. The sixteen-year old had nightmares every night for months, Scottie had told her, but Sara had never uttered a word as to how or why, calling it only 'the Red Harvest'. Oh God, now Jannie knew too, what had happened. And she wanted to rip that bastard Salarian's heart out.
His days were numbered, and now the Lion of Elysium knew his fucking name.
Doctor Vorhen Nisuses Ben Vares Tol Ingree Saelon.
Author's Note: Welcome to the Red Harvest. I've mentioned it multiple times through the story, and now you're going to find out that evil truly does walk. Using the only other person in the Mass Effect Universe about as sick as Cerberus, I took a mission from the first game and crammed it full of steroids and evil. Garrus' loyalty mission just got upgraded… big time.
You're not going to want to miss out.
I've mentioned the Thark before back in MASTER OF PUPPETS, I, when Garrus recalls the last Unmapped Relay opening prior to Relay 314; the Thark opening the Relay and trading with the Kavorans, trading Mass Effect tech for slaves and wealth. The Kavorans were bombed back to their planet and their Relay locked, while the Thark had the entirety of their Fleets decimated and pretty much locked down on their planet.
I mention another minor species; the Mogwai. This would be Gizmo from Gremlins, a cute teddy bear-like creature that hates light, perpetuates with water, and shouldn't eat after midnight. Not all aliens have to be big and humanoid.
The Embassies have their own building. And the C-SEC Executor's Office isn't right around the corner (that was just… stupid). C-SEC has their own Headquarters and buildings. One can find Executor Venari Pallin in the C-SEC Academy Building in the Vigilalus District of the Upper Presidium Ring, on the opposite end of the Embassy District.
The Adoption Approval Authority signature is Elizabeth 'E.G.' Daily, and a bit of an inside joke for Mass Effect. Elizabeth Daily has an extensive voice acting career in movies, television shows, and video games (not to mention a singing career), and was the original voice for Ashley Williams before they got Kimberly Brooks. I guess that Kim Brooks was better at sounding romantic than the woman who played Tommy Pickle in Rugrats and Buttercupin The Powerpuff Girls.
I mentioned that Abigail Rosalyn Jacobson being (very technically) a canon character; the second-oldest Williams girl, Abby. Adopting a child (in America) is generally a very righteous pain in the ass, and I remember the hoops my brother and sister-in-law went through just to adopt their nephew and niece (and they were bloodkin, not random children).
Did anyone spot Maya Brooks?
I explain the lack of N's as something that might likely happen; clean-up detail where a more thorough effort is needed instead of the Normandy crew merely lancing through a particular location for ops-denial instead of an actual victory. A small tactical team is not for breaking enemy lines, but for an objective; move in, secure/deny, move out.
Yes, I totally stole a scene from the movie Armageddon. At least it was a good one.
As for the other four choices from the poll, here's what you missed/could have had; four semi-canon to original mission:
1) Imagine… Dragons? What's that all about?
ARC Imagine Dragons: A colony under attack by the worst of beasts in which the crew of the Normandy responds to the colony of Caleston as the town of New Haven is under attack by the 'dragon' of the Mass Effect Universe; the Thresher Maw. (Changed from Edolus, and no longer a Cerberus trap)
2) Oh no, an asteroid is on the loose! Off to the rescue!
ARC Bring Down The Sky: Turian separatists have taken over an asteroid to drive it into the colonial capital of Illyeria, Elysium in revenge of their defeat on Elysium and the Blitz, as well as Shepard's execution of Elanos Haliat as the Normandy rushes to save a colony with a population of over eight million. (No longer Terra Nova, and no longer Batarians)
3) You haven't even mentioned CERBERUS yet! Giddy-up, little doggies!
ARC Of Hell's Fury: A Human supremacy group has quietly been kidnapping Asari children in an effort to implant Eezo nodes into biotically-capable Human beings with mostly-positive results as they twist science and the values of life at any cost to 'protect' Humanity in their name; CERBERUS. (Original Mission, and probably my 'weakest' effort in terms of plot trying to come up with something original.)
4) A side trip to Omega? WITAF?
ARC In The Season Of Wither: Batarian Hegemony Trade Minister and former Batarian Ambassador Eluam Jath'Amon, suspected orchestrator of all Batarian slaver actions and failed coup conspirator of the Council, is currently in the Freeport of Omega, away from the protection of the Hegemony and in a location that Citadel Law holds no sway as Shepard calls upon her allies for an N-level mission; a sanctioned assassination of the right hand of the Batarian Hegemon. (Original Mission including the guy Jacob stopped from killing the Council.)