Me: Whassup peeps? It's another installment of the hit series, DELTA EFFECT!
Delta: Oh dear god…
Me: Shut up. So last time we left off, Shepard was reinstated as a Spectre, Delta told off the volus and C-Sec officer that were being racist and got the office fired.
Delta: It was strangely satisfying.
Me: I agree.
Delta: Still want to stab him in the gut though…
Me: I know there are just a few things I can't stand in this world. Racist bigots who hate others just because they're different are one.
Delta: What's the other thing?
Me: The Dutch.
Delta: …So anyway, Lets continue with (looks at list) 'Getting Grunt'. Alliteration fan?
Me: Its entertaining.
Delta: right, well then lets let the mission commence.
Me: Along with hopefully more Boondocks references and cameos
Disclaimer: I do not own Halo, Mass Effect or Boondocks. I just play with the parts of their respected universes. Why? Cuz its hella fun.
Changing Worlds
"Why?"
"What do you mean why? To get Okeer you idiotic little-"
"Shut it down, both of you" Shepard snaps at Miranda and I. We shut up instantly and my question goes unanswered. I trudge along and continue wondering why Miranda would threaten my video games for no reason. Obviously she misunderstood my question as 'Why (do I have to come along?)' instead of 'Why (the hell would you almost break my console, I didn't do anything)' seriously that girl needs to-OH SHIT.
I duck under cover when I go around the corner as rifle fire hits my position. Shepard and Miranda duck in beside me as Kasumi and Jacob go to the next piece of cover.
"Watch where you're walking next time Specialist." Ooh, rank, Shepards not in a good mood right now… and so early too, guess she's getting tired of Miranda and my fights. I nod at Shepard and polarize my visor before activating my cloak and energy daggers. I quickly run alongside the line of fire for the mercs. I start at the back, stabbing one in the side (a shallow cut, but it bleeds a bit) and kick him so he lands against the wall behind. My cloak fades and two turn to me before I stab them straight through the eyes, and force them to the ground by their heads. The final one is turning and about to get a bead on me before he's suddenly punched in the back of the head and shot as he falls to the ground.
"Thanks for that Kasumi." I say to the reappearing ninja/thief/gossip.
"You're welcome Deruta" Kasumi says, smiling at her nickname for me. Ever since she found out I use Spanish and Italian phrases she's started using Japanese. My translators not very good with it though, so I don't always get fully correct translations. Oh well.
"Oh shit, oh shit, its not gonna stop, it's…son of a bitch" Oh yeah, pussy dude.
Shepard walks over to the injured merc and looks at him.
"Doesn't look that bad commander." Yeah, I kinda aimed for it to look worse than it is.
"He doesn't need to know that."
"I knew you weren't berserkers. Not at range. You're mercs. Or Alliance. I'm not, I'm not telling you anything." Are you sure about that?
"I've got a nice application of Medi-gel ready, but if you'd prefer I just keep walking…" The merc looks indecisive. But he caves after a second or two. He starts spilling the beans and I blank out, scanning the area. I know this place is built to withstand ships, not commandoes , the krogans are cloned and uncontrollable by Jedore because Okeer says they failed and so they fight any and all, and the only real help we get is from that one krogan that talks to Shepard.
"If you start limping now, yo might find a nice shady spot before you bleed out." Shepard says, as the merc starts limping with muttered curses.
"You scared him good" I comment.
"I thought it'd be nice touch." Shepard goes down the only clear path to the base, us following and shooting down the people that threaten us. I stay back and rely on my sniper, scoring headshots aplenty and itching to use my blades. We get deeper inside the area, noticing it get slightly more damp as we push in. Goddamn 17 yr old mind, anyway eventually we get to a metal cul-de-sac where a yellow armored Krogan is standing, shooting a shotgun almost ineffectively against the mercs on top of the balconies. I snipe a few, Jacob gets some with his pistol and Kasumi, Miranda and Shepard lay down automatic fire and take down the last ones. The Krogan turns and steps to Shepard sniffing her neck. Jacob and Miranda point their guns at him and I release a blade. Shepard raises her hands and we all stow our weapons, as the Krogan backs away and groans slightly before speaking.
"For seven night cycles I have only felt the need to kill. But something in you invokes the need to speak."
"Seven days. He's full grown and only a week old?" Jacob asks.
"Yeah man, even if they are Krogan they're not very intimidating as babies."
"So they must grow them full size and ready fro combat. Not much different from regular mercs otherwise." Shepard says.
"Aside from the Krogan part" guess who?
"I do not know about that but when I was flushed from 'Glass Mother' I was not perfect."
Hah, perfect. Why does everyone strive for that? It's an unattainable goal to be perfect, no one can be flawless, and even if the ones that exist are hidden they're still there and the person, specimen, thing is rendered imperfect, despite the superficial tests. Miranda's dad tried to make a perfect daughter, he got a super-skilled, smart, sexy woman who rebelled and took the one he tried to use as her replacement. Now we're stuck with an incredibly overbearing Cerberus Officer with deep emotional distress and severe self esteem problems, which are hidden rather well. Then we get Grunt who is supposed to be a-BOOM- WTF WAS THAT?
"You fleshy things are slow when there are big things in your way." Oh he's done talking. Wait…
"(smack) You zoned out again didn't you!"
"You don't sound very questioning Miranda." I rub the back of my helmet as I coolly meet the glare of aforementioned woman. I walk away and stand beside Shepard to try and not encourage her as she seems to act more immature with me. Maybe it's the fact that I'm like, half her age she feels its necessary to get through her message. Eh, I dunno, All I know now is that Shepard's going down the hill into the base, some mercs yell and run and are surprised by us cutting them down with gunfire, then a Krogan turns the corner and is held back a bit by our combined fire but My sniper round through his head armor puts him down for good. We progress along the inner hull of the crashed ship at a good pace, walking on the platforms and support beams that remain intact over the sudden chasm beneath us. I take cover behind a crate as my shields drop dangerously low and try to catch my breath while reloading a thermal clip. My shields are a bout to reload again before my cover suddenly explodes from an RPG shot. I see a krogan a few feet in front of me and he shoots me with his shotgun as I stumble. My shields flicker out with a spark and I'm left staring at a Krogan uncomfortably close with a shotgun leveled at my poorly armored chest. I jerk myself to the right as his shot goes off, feeling several rounds puncture my left armor and hit my side and arm. My right arm blade extends and slices through the Krogan's shotgun before starting to tear at its head. It staggers back, helmet armor weakened but still intact from the slashes and I stand where I am, close to the platforms edge. Before I can move though, the Krogan charges me and my blade comes up on instinct, the charge driving the Krogans forehead full on into my blade, skewering its brains but also leaving me with 150+ lbs of dead weight and Newton's second law.
"Shit…" I say, and for a split second everything freezes. Shepard, Jacob, and Kasumi yell out my name as I fall over and Miranda looks confused over what feeling to indulge in. I watch her face turn to slight horror as the Krogans body starts dragging me down. I fall back and see everyone rush to where I fell, even as I turn to see several small beams coming up to me. I hit one and black out.
I wake up in a med bay with lights blinding me as I open my eyes. I shut them just as quickly and groan, lifting my head and bringing a hand to it.
"Oh thank god! I mean, welcome back to the land of the living Captain." A synthesized voice says. Wait, Captain? I'm only a specialist, and that doesn't sound like EDI…
"Verona, what happened?" Oh crap, its Spartan me again. Oh, no, no, no, no! I can't get a headache like last time in the middle of a mission!
"You blacked out. You were cringing in pain after I burned the extra files into your mind. You even stole some data I had on the Spartan project."
"How did we get out? Last thing I remember before the pain was the Covies chasing us with an EMP pulse fired."
"That would be Indigo team. They came in and destroyed them. I don't know how exactly but at one point my radars painted the silhouette of a Chinese dragon."
"What?"
"The Covenant diverted their attention to them and left a few squads to ensure you were dead. A UNSC pelican with some marines managed to hold them off while the marines loaded you in."
"Tell Holland to give them a medal then."
"He's already done that."
"What about Reach?"
"…" I lowered my head and shook it, fighting the tears. Reach was my home. Now she's gone. I was the first Spartan to be made back on Reach after the S-II project and now I would be the last. My thoughts and memories of training turned to images and schematics, videos of myself and diagrams of my body in several stages of change. Then suddenly a chemical solution appeared, and measurements for a very large dose of it. It was titled D-612 and instructions on where to inject and how much.
"Verona…" I turned to look at my AI.
"One of the files taken during the download to your wetware included details on how you were augmented. You were special Delta, made to be like the Spartans-II's, with a chemical solution personalized to your own genetic structure. They put a lot of focus into the individual this time, especially after what one Spartan did."
"One Spartan? I haven't heard of a single Spartan making a giant change."
"It was the last Spartan-II, Master Chief John-117, He destroyed a Halo, one of the Covenants holy artifacts and superweapon, capable of wiping out all nearby intelligent life."
"When did that happen Verona? Chief just left Reach and Noble team have yet to-" I stop as Verona looks saddened by what I said.
"Verona…" She looks shyly away.
"Verona." I say this more firmly and she looks at me, afraid of something.
"…How long have I been out?"
"5 months… Since then, Reach has fallen, all members of Noble team are either dead or MIA, The Chief destroyed a Halo and is headed here, to Cairo for a ceremony and the Covenant have grown even fiercer in their attacks."
I stay silent and stare ahead. Noble team is dead or gone, the Covenant are fighting harder and all I've done is nap while being taken to Earth. On top of that, Master Chief, the most well respected Spartan is coming here too, for destroying a covie super-weapon. I lay back down, feeling useless and tired even after sleeping for 5 months.
"Delta?"
"I'm going to sleep for a little while Verona. Wake me up if I'm wanted…" I close my eyes and feel weakness wash over me. Pain and suffering from past injuries of broken bones, shot and burnt muscles, concussions, falls, and the smell of dead-
Krogan. I open my eyes and blearily look around. I'm held down by the armored arm of a Krogan, in the base of some ships hull. My left arm is extremely warm and feels wet and weak. I look over to it, noticing my shields are still down and my left arm is leaking blood from the holes left in the armor and flesh. I lift my arm and feel it lift slightly before falling back to the ground, nearly limp. I slap some medi-gel on it quickly, thankful I didn't choose to rely on Shepard for the source. I can decipher my dream later, for now I'll just be thankful it was just that, a dream, and not some death vision. I push the dead Krogan arm off me, noticing that the support beams higher up seem dented or the smaller ones broken, and I remember flipping the Krogan beneath me. Thank god for instincts saving my life. I stand up, feeling the flesh of my left arm knitting back together and fixing itself, the blood flow slowing and feeling returning to my arm. I look up and around, seeing the platform I fell from and trying to find a way up. I look to my left and find a rusted service shaft, I look up it and see that its almost a straight shot up, but its cluttered with debris. I move to climb it, slower than normal because of my messed up arm and because I don't want Tetris. Or is it tetanus? I don't know, ever since that TFS Dragonball episode, I've gotten confused between the two whenever I'm bored.
I make my way up the shaft, eventually reaching the top and finding myself close to another shaft entrance I walk past before I hear a faint sound. I listen harder to try and hear it again and I soon recognize it as automatic fire. That means fighting, and fighting means either mercs and Krogan or more likely Shepard! I hurry down the shaft, running as silently as possible. When I reach the exit I step out and follow the sounds of gunfire until I come to a room that seems familiar. I recognize it as the room before the stairs to Okeer's main lab after the gunfire stops. I open the door and start up the steps as I hear a deep voice start talking.
"Shepard, good that you've stopped playing with these fools."
"Shut up Okeer. I'm not in the mood to deal with your attitude, especially since your damn Krogan rejects just cost me one of my men."
"Hm. I thought he was considered a boy by human standards still. It was a shame though, I did like him, he showed strength admirable in one so young. A shame but now we must negotiate my passage and my prototypes."
"We came here for you Okeer, nothing else"
"Ah but passage of my prototype is non-negotiable. He is everything I've worked for while here. He is my ultimate achievement. He must survive."
"What do you know about the collectors Okeer?"
"I gave them some of my rejects in exchange for their technology for my research"
Shepard snarls at Okeer but turns when the door opens fully and I step in. Everyone's faces show surprise and relief… except Okeer's I think he's either indifferent or just hard to read because of that Krogan stoic thing. No, most likely indifferent. Jacob pulls me into a bro hug and Kasumi hugs me fully when he lets go. Miranda stays still but she seems…relaxed actually. Guess my supposed death dispelled the irritation she had. Now should I build it back or leave it like that? Shepard looks grateful and relieved, letting Kasumi express both their worries at once, ergo, the hug.
"So, can we get out of here? Shepard? I'd like to get my arm looked at by Chakwas…"
"Alright then, we'll-"
"I've traced the source of the krogan release, Okeer of course. I'm calling a blank slate on this project, we're gonna clean up and start from scratch somewhere else." Jedore's voice comes over the comms. As we all groan. Some gas starts hissing out of the pipes overhead, likely poisonous, and Okeer turns back and hurriedly types at his console.
"Weak, she would ruin my prototype with a valve. Shepard, you must go and stop her. I will stay here, and…do what I must." Shepard leads us down the ramp to the large area containing the other tanks with Krogan in them and Jedore, guarded by Blue suns mercs and a YMIR mech.
"Ok, Kasumi, you're with me, we're going after that mech. Jacob, you and Miranda cover Delta, and Delta, you stay back. Snipe if you can but don't get into the thick of battle."
"Yes, Commander!" we all say. I add a groan at the end of my affirmative and settle in a corner behind some cover, pulling out my sniper. I get a few headshots off the bat on the weaker armored mercs while Shepard and the others find cover. I see Shepard use disruptor rounds and Kasumi launch an overload on the YMIR while Jacob and Miranda frie at any krogan or merc who gets close. I keep on sniping, occasionally calling for thermal clips, which Jacob tosses me as our enemies drop em. Things go well but then I see more mercs flood in and Jedore's releasing several krogan at once. Crap we need something to-
"GET DOWN" I look over to Shepard as she yells this but instead of seeing her charging the Cain I notice an armorless, shieldless, headless YMIR mech. And when mechs are headless they're power cells…go…critical…
"CAZZO!" Jacob and Miranda run to my cover and Jacob reaches it first so I pull Miranda in just as the Mech stops shining and blows. Once done I sit up, try to make sense out of the slight ring in my ears and walks around the former battlefield. Some of the mercs are still alive, like Jedore and a couple Legionaries, so we shoot them, I spay a krogan crawling towards his gun and I walk over, unsheathing my blade. Once beside him, I kick it over and stab into his head. Over by the YMIR's blast mark the tubes are destroyed, and one held a krogan still, but he's so far dead its funny, like the other mangled, incinerated assortment of corpses there. Jedore stands up and stares in shock at the wreckage, and me being the only visible one to her. She raises her rocket launcher and points it at me before Shepard knocks her back down with a right hook and shoots her.
"-Shepard, Okeers life signs are no longer being read. I've gained access and flushed the room but I advise you to hurry-" Shit, Okeer, thanks EDI. Shepard waves us along as she runs to the stairs and hurries up, everyone else not far behind. When we get in the room Okeers dead body instantly grabs our eyes but his console starts playing a message. Shepard goes over to listen to it while I hack a nearby computer for some of Okeer's useful data to present to Mordin.
"This is the shore party to the Normandy, come down, we have a package to pick up. And he's a big one." YAY, we got Grunt! Ooh, I hope the Commander will let me be there when he wakes up.
So Chakwas looked at my arm and patched it up. I won't be holding a gun for a while but my blades will work fine in self-defense. Meanwhile, I need to find Mordin soon and see what he makes of the chemical compound I saw in my dream. I step out of the med bay and see Shepard walking over with Miranda, the latter looking mildly displeased.
"Hey Shepard, what's going on?" I ask.
"I'm about to go wake up the Krogan. You okay for any combat?"
"Yeah! Lets go!" With that we step into the elevator and I try to contain my excitement. We're going to wake up Grunt, I think as we walk over to the cargo port, and the pod inside. Then he'll attack Shepard on instinct and she'll offer him a choice to join, then force him down. My smile fades as I think, but Shepard was alone and the only variable when he attacked-Shepard starts to open the pod-and if Grunt simply attacked on his animal instinct-The pod opens and Grunt pops out coughing up the nutrient liquid it was filled with- then that same instinct usually chooses to attack the strongest-Grunt looks around at all three of us as we take a step back. Mine is a smite less than the others- and the strongest are usually considered mal-OH GOD!
Grunt charges and grabs me, picking up and slamming me into the cargo ports wall. Seriously, I'm studying to be a fucking animal scientist why did I not think of the details of animal instinct earlier? That's all that Grunt goes off of!
"Human. Male. Before I kill you I need a name. Okeer imprinted many things but nothing makes a connection. Prottoype, Legacy, Grunt. Grunt. It has no meaning. It will do nicely. I am Grunt, fight me to determine who is the strongest."
My response "Oh dear god, WTF is it, 'Krogan Charge Delta Day? I swear to god, the next Krogan to charge me will get my blades shoved so far up his ass his tongue'll cook!"
Grunt rears back in slight shock at my words but recovers and leans back in "Oh by the way, I'm Delta, and that's Shepard" I point to Shepard with my left hand, the only one Grunt can see, and he glances at her while she's pointing a gun at his head with incendiary rounds equipped.
"Hi, let go of Delta, before I shoot your head off." Grunt turns back to me and I smile at him.
"See, we're a strong group and have extremely dangerous foes and we only recruit Super Lethal class soldiers to fight alongside us. You're on of our recruits, and we hope you have the quad, but if you try to hurt me now none of us will know because you'll be put down faster than a plague-ridden pyjak."
"…" Grunt looks back and forth as Shepard's finger starts to squeeze the trigger of her gun. Grunt seems confused slightly and starts to sniff the air while he looks between Shepard and I. I raise my eyebrow before he turns to me. "You seem like a strong group."
"Shepards the leader bud, defer to her, if anyone."
Grunt turns to Shepard "I will join you then. But if you don't have strong enemies for me to fight, I will kill you and everyone else. Starting with the easiest." He turns to me, indicating his opinion of my strength.
"Sorry to burst your bubble Grunt, but you come to me first, you will die. And if you don't, it'll be a helluva lot easier for everyone else to kill ya." I look down as I say this and Grunt follows my sight. He smiles and laughs at the 8-inch blade of focused, superheated plasma poised to pierce his armor and gut him.
"Offer one hand and arm the other. You are smart and strong. You have my strength at your command Shepard." Grunt lets me down and turns to Shepard smiling, ignoring the disappearing frown of anger on her face. She nods and waves me over to her and Miranda. Miranda walks ahead of us and enters the elevator while I follow Shepard towards the engine room. She stops and turns to me suddenly and starts to look me over while folding her arms.
"Are you okay?"
"Yeah, I'm good Shepard." I smile at her, rolling my shoulders. "A little sore around my shoulders and chest but it'll fade. What about you, you seemed more tense than normal during a fight."
"I didn't like what Grunt was doing. It looked like he was going to kill you before we even talked."
"It worked out well at least. We got a new Krogan crewmember."
"That we did. Alright then, I'll see you later Delta." I turn and walk away as Shepard goes down to talk to Jack. I turn back and step into Grunt's room turning to him.
"Human."
"Names Delta, Grunt." I say as we look at each other.
"It doesn't matter to me, only Shepard has my respect. You are little more than noise."
"I thought so, Shepard scared you huh?"
Grunt turns to me, his eyes suddenly cold and frightening. I don't back down but he steps closer. "I am not afraid of your mother." He seethes, shoving his taloned finger close to my face.
I open my mouth to retort but then I catch myself "…Mother?"
Grunt leans back slightly. "Is she not your…"
"No, Shepard's not my mom. Why would you think that?" I'm not disgusted by the idea, it'd be pretty badass actually, but still, Shepard as my mom…what made him think of that?
"I smelled…something. The tank, it imprinted many things, even differences of scent. She smells like a mother, not exactly but that's what the imprint says. The smells and the imprint are contradictory and… confusing."
"Confusing? How?"
"It smells recent, like a newborn was brought in, but you are well past newborn infancy. And her unique smells are not apparent in you."
…I don't even know what that means. Wait-"What makes you think she'd be my mother at all?"
"When I came out I recognized her maternal scents. Then they flared when I threatened you, and kept climbing while we spoke."
Come to think of it, Shepard uses normal rounds in the game, but Shepard just had incendiaries ready to fire. Hehe… fire. Maybe she has become protective of me, but it can't be by much, I have shown myself capable of battle. "Well, it doesn't matter. That's certainly odd but it's still a small thing, since it hasn't changed Shepard. I'll see you later Grunt, we should kick ass together sometime, it'll be fun." I walk out of the room and head up to the CIC deck on the elevator. After 5 minutes, I get out, wave hi to Kelly and walk over to Mordin's lab.
"Ah Delta, good timing, needed work, just finished analyzing data you sent. Thanks for the package, contained useful project ideas. Now what do you need?"
"I need info on this chemical compound Mordin." I sent Mordin the compound and associated data I got from my mind. He looks at it as it reaches his terminal and rears back in slight shock.
"Amazing! Extremely intricate. Highly specialized. Specifically indivualized. Delta, need immediate DNA sample."
"Wha-?" I feel a needle jab my hand as I ask and I yelp in surprise. Mordin just ignores me and puts the blood he stole into his scanner... Why am I reminded of that Honey Badger video? Mordin studies all he wants, he doesn't give a shit. Ooh that's nasty, he just stole that kids blood. Does he care? No, he just puts the sample on his scanner, he doesn't give a shiit. Hehe, Randall, you odd sounding narrator you...
"Delta, here, must see." Mordin pulls me out of my parodying of a parody and over to the terminal. "See, compound specialized, supposed to use additional compounds to compose a serum for injection into body. Serum will cause extremely large amounts of genetic and physical augmentations, including enhanced eyesight, muscles, a carbide ceramic ossification effect and a very interesting enhancement, and occipital capillary reversal, and a shielded electronic transduction bioelectrical nerve gene."
"…Da Fuq?"
"This serum, once injected, will ensure better eyesight, increased muscle strength and stamina, a 300% increase in reflexes, memory, intelligence and supposedly creativity. Finally, the Carbide Ossification strengthens your skeleton and make your bones virtually indestructible."
"ohhh…."
"The most interesting part of the serum is its specialization, it is customized to your genetic makeup, incompatible with all others, perfectly fine for you."
It's my own special super soldier serum! I'll be ten times more kickass and deadly with this. Let's get it in! "Mordin, can you synthesize it?"
"Already done, completed while speaking."
I stick my arm out, sleeve rolled up. "Put it in Mordin, this is one shot I gotta have!"
"Not that simple, must rest after procedure, adjust to changes. Come, Medbay perfect for use." Mordin walks out, excited at the prospect of this working and after 5 minutes in the elevator we're on the crew deck and are going into the med bay. I jump onto a bed while Mordin discusses what we're doing with Chakwas who just waves him off after a few sentences. Serum gets loaded into the injector arms and they are prepared to give me my augmentations. Mordin types a complex sequence and then one sticks in.
"Mordin, I feel…slee…py…" My eyes close quickly and I feel darkness enclosing me.
"Simple precaution, beginning main injections now." I feel the needles pierce my skin and the darkness rears back slightly before moving in again at a much slower rate the serum fills me and it feels cool and invigorating at first. Then…
"(Hack)" PAIN, SEARING PAIN, MY BONES AND ARMS FEEL LIKE THEYRE BEING STRETCHED TO BREAKING, AAAGGGGHHHH!
and finally, sweet, sweet, blessed darkness comes in to ensure my sleep.
"…And what led you to believe this was okay to do without my knowledge?" Miranda…
"Didn't seem necessary. Procedure was new, but far from experimental. Specialized, in fact. For him." Mordin, that, salarian, scientist, stronzo…
"I don't care, Delta is unconscious from your procedure and obviously in pain from the readings. Not surprising actually, these are extremely intensive genetic modifications."
"Fascinating yes? Augmented muscle mass, increased eyesight, near unbreakable bones, highly increased reflexes and intelligence. Modifications severe, but compound specialized for 100% efficiency and 0% lethality. For Delta."
"I don't care, it's dangerous, obviously painful, its original development is unknown to any of us, and he's been out for 8 hours, we are lucky Shepard hasn't found out about him."
"Yes, almost forgot about Shepard, considered irrelevant at the time, she has developed new ties with Delta…"
"Even Kelly agrees, we think somehow her Maternal instinct was triggered. And considering that if Shepard found out about this, she might-"
"Might what Ms. Lawson?" Shepard's mad…
"Commander! I-"
"What happened?"
"From what I've heard, Solus brought Delta down here and injected him with a chemical serum that Delta brought to him. Delta seems to have gotten something else processed and he brought it to Solus. The serum increased his muscle mass dramatically, but he's only slightly larger and only a few quarters of an inch taller. He's also supposed to have much better reflexes and eyesight, along with an extremely strong skeletal structure."
"Mordin, why was I not alerted?"
"It was exciting Shepard. Serum specialized to make drastic improvements to body, little superficial change, extreme performance and physical enhancement. Most interesting was its specialization, created for only one with the same DNA as Delta, extremely difficult, almost near impossible to do. Still analyzing, incredibly complex, lost track of time. Seeker countermeasures prepared however."
Wait, the countermeasures are ready? Does that mean we're going to Horizon? Crap, I'd better get up.
"Commander, there's a dip in the REM readings. He's awake."
"Thanks Doctor." I sit up and open my eyes, closing them in pain as I'm blinded by the LED lights of the med-bay.
"Increased eyesight, one moment." Mordin says this as he does something on his omni tool and, aah, much better.
"What the hell, Mordin, I can barely see." Shepard yells.
"What are you talking about Shepard? I can see fine."
"What? Delta, how many fingers am I holding up?" Miranda says. I turn to her and see plainly 4 fingers.
"4" I respond.
"Wow, I can't even see two…" says Shepard. "What else do you see?"
"I see Hadley stumbling around like he's drunk. And Garrus came out of hiding to see what's going on. BTW, Hey Kasumi."
"Deruta, what's going on? I can barely see in here and I use the darkness all the time."
"Testing Delta's new eyesight. Extreme improvement, likely almost complete night vision and increased ocular concentration."
"I'm gonna take that as I can see in the dark, and see farther…"
"Correct, also intelligence seems to have increased as well, making connections easier." Mordin turns the lights back up slowly. "Eyes should have adjusted by now, to be used in regular levels of illumination."
I don't feel pain as the lights on deck go back to their original settings and Garrus walks over to the door. He steps through and looks at us all as Mordin steps over and begins taking measurements and samples from me while I'm staring back at Garrus. Our eyes connect for a second and he steps back out shaking his head and walking back to his post. I smirk and lower my head slightly before feeling something hard and fast slap my forehead. I rear back in pain slightly and sweep the room in a second and find Mordin had barely moved and everyone else was too far.
"Delta, are you okay? Why'd you slap yourself like that?" Shepard steps forward slightly, brow slightly creased in worry.
"Yeah, but that facepalm hurt…" I just gave myself a headache from a too-hard facepalm. .
"Similar to eyesight, increased muscle mass and reflexes occurred while unconscious, must learn to adjust consciously to changes."
"Soooo, im gonna be in rehab?"
"Seems like it… We're going to Horizon, to try and stop the collectors from taking the colonists there right now. Miranda, you'll have to stay back and help him, as XO. I'll take someone else with me."
"Will do commander."
"Delta, I need to prepare for this mission. We'll talk later about whats happened."
"Of course commander." Damn she sounds kinda like my mother. Oh yeah… Shepard walks out of the med-bay and into the elevator. Miranda, Mordin and I step out of the bay as well, Mordin heads up with Shepard back to his lab and I step towards them before Miranda grabs my arm to stop me. I still step forward a bit before I realize she wanted me to stop. I look back to her and she motions for me to follow as she walks into her office. I follow her, inwardly groaning. I guess before rehab I need to talk with Ms Lawson… Greeatt.
Me: So, another chapter pushed out. I think I'm doing well here.
Delta: Yeah, just perfect. now i'll be scolded by Miranda and you made Shepard into my mom.
Me: No, she's just slightly more protective of you than the other crew members. I always thought she saw her crew as kind of like extended family, and the ground team was just closer...
Delta: It's not so bad, her being protective of me... but if she starts fussing over my armor designs and every little detail, I'm firing you as my mental recorder/interpretator.
Me: and who are yo going to get that can do as good a job as me?
Delta: Me.
Me: yeah, see, Me
Delta: No i mean Me.
Me: Yeah, Me.
Delta: NO i mean Me, as in I!
Me: I? I's nowhere near as good as Me.
Delta: No way, I'm just as good at this job as Me!
Me: I thought we were talking about I and Me, not I'm. I'm is not even part of this industry anymore.
Delta: I...I...I lost track...
Me: Oh really now? wow man, you have got to get the names right before you consider firing me.
Delta: THAT'S WHO I WAS GOING TO HIRE!
Me: Then why fire me, if you're going to hire me. Dumbass. Peace out everyone!
Delta: RRRGGHH (#Q&*(&)$%