Disclaimer: The Mass Effect universe is the property of Bioware/Electronic Arts. No infringement of these copyrights is intended as this is a not for profit fan fiction work.
Rewrite Notes: Still inspired by the Beyonce song "Save the Hero," from the album I am…Sasha Fierce.
Author's Notes: Ithil meril - moon blade or warp blade. Greek…Google translator, its probably not that correct. If you know Greek feel free to help out.
Revision History: 12/05/2017; 6/6/2018
Part 1: Chapter 9::7 Days Post-Awakening: MSV Menrva
While the Eagle Nebula was claimed by the League of the Terminus, the system within which the Nebula's relay stations and main fuel depot were located, the Imir System, was neutral territory along with the single garden world of the system Korlus. Unfortunately for the planet itself, centuries of unregulated industrial growth, most of it related to the planets main source of commerce which was stripping and recycling decommissioned starships, rendered it a garden world by name only. The surface was now one large toxic junkyard, littered with skeletal starship remains deemed too unprofitable to recycle and with an atmosphere so polluted that only krogan could go outside without wearing protective garments and using a rebreather apparatus. The population of the planet was a diverse mixture of the Terminus System races, with batarians, krogans, asari and turians dominating. Very few humans lived and worked on the planet, which meant that any new human faces would stand out in the crowd. Combine that with the fact that slavery was legal on Korlus - one of the reasons it tenaciously held to its independent status - and Shepard was very pleased that Jacob had received the Anoydine Armor he had requisitioned after their earlier discussion.
Jack initially snarled at the idea of wearing any armor, but Amanda had suspected the woman might and had come well prepared for the possibility. One graphic video later, showing the effects of Korlus' acid rain on the unprotected skin of some very unfortunate batarian slave, and the convict was easily persuaded that she did not want to ruin her body art by exposing it to the planets heavily polluted atmosphere. It probably wouldn't prove deadly or even permanently disfiguring, but the exposure would definitely be painful. Korlus was certainly not a garden world any longer. All four members of the ground team had their first fitting and customization meeting in the Armory two days ago, and Shepard had recently received news that Jacob expected to finish up with the armor in time for them to have their final fitting this afternoon. The MSV Menrva's paint job was finished as well, the engineers had tested and signed off on the final section of paint just last night. The asari shuttle in the shuttle bay had been thoroughly stripped and refurbished with the latest armoring, electronics and weaponry. In short, they were ready to take the Menrva out on her first official mission, and see if they could recruit the second name TIM had supplied, Warlord Okeer.
Shepard had never been to Korlus, something she had never been particularly despondent over considering the fact it was considered to the junkyard of the Terminus. Right now though, as she worked up the mission parameters, she wished she had been on a mission there at least once. It would be helpful to not have to rely on Cerberus intelligence regarding the planetary defenses they needed to slip past as well as Okeer's own defenses and the defenses of the mercenary group he was currently associated with, Ragar Kolo. Cerberus intelligence had already let them down once in that they hadn't warned them that they had bounties on them what were worth more than Cerberus had been willing to pay for Jack. Amanda hadn't been exactly inclined to think much of any department named Cerberus Intelligence before the Purgatory mission…and she had been proven correct. Unfortunately being right came with the downside that they were the only intelligence source currently available to her. Life just really sucked like that sometimes, Shepard reflected with bitter amusement as she considered the problem.
She needed insurance, an edge, she was about to lead what was essentially a civilian team into a combat mission where they would be facing superior numbers of primarily batarians and krogan that would be only too pleased to take them alive and sell them into slavery if they failed. Which reminded her, Amanda thought grimly, to make provisions for a worst-case scenario. She made a quick note on her omni-tool and sent off a message to Dr. Chakwas, hopefully they had the necessary drug on board already. That task completed, she concentrated on the next possible problem: that there was no guarantee that Warlord Okeer would even be willing to talk to them instead of leaving them to his mercenary confederates. There were way too many ifs to this mission for her to feel comfortable with it…especially as she had a team where two of the members were intent on competing with one another to find out who was the best biotic. Currently, she planned on splitting the team into two groups of two, Miranda and Jacob and she and Jack. If the former convict needed someone to compete with she could provide that, and hopefully shape it to her advantage. She already knew that Jack was a bit wary of the range of biotic abilities she displayed during their escape from the prison ship Purgatory. She couldn't see any reason not to build on that reputation with the tattooed woman if it gave her a bit of credit with the former Cerberus captive. For one, it might earn her more information about Jack's background with the supremacist group, fill in blanks that would let her understand the prickly woman better.
In the meantime, however, thought Shepard, she still needed that edge. Splitting up Miranda and Jack was just insurance that she would still have two biotics at the end of the mission instead of them getting each other killed. Maybe there was something in the Cipher that would be of use to her? Shepard pondered the possibility as well as the difficulties and hazards that came with such a search. First how would she find it? That question had an easy answer; with any luck, she could find it in the same way she had stumbled on Elder Instructor Lindariel's memories. Focus on what she needed to know and hope there was something matching in the Cipher whole enough that she could recall it as a full memory. Second, if she lost herself in a prothean memory again how would she 'wake' herself up from it and keep what was going on hidden from the ship's monitoring devices and the AI monitoring them? That was the a more difficult question, and she wasn't exactly sure of the answer. Before, it had only taken seeing Liara's picture to break her out of it. Amanda considered that for a moment, maybe all she needed was to scatter some items around the room that when noticed would well…remind her of herself?
She glanced around the mostly bare room, the issue was of course she didn't exactly have many personal mementos at the moment. Maybe she could make some however, just a few pictures would probably do the trick and would be simple enough to create with the micro-fabricator built into her omni-tool. A few Extranet searches later and she was rewarded with a picture of her parents, Robert and Fiona Shepard, and his grandmother Alexandria. A few more searches and she had another four pictures. One from Mindoir of the grasslands where she had grown up and the other three from Earth, the Acropolis of Athens Greece lit up at dusk, the Sanhurst Military Preparatory Academy where she had gone to school after moving to Earth to live with her grandmother Alexandria after Mindoir, and one of the winding Hudson River in upper New York State where her grandmother's estate was located.
Amanda glanced around the room once again after the pictures were all placed, the framed picture of her parents on the nightstand beside the bed, her grandmother's picture on her desk, and the landscape pictures on the walls. Besides hopefully serving their hidden practical use, the pictures also made the room look less bare and un-lived in. She didn't know if that were good or bad, for one it felt as if she were settling in and accepting working with Cerberus when that definitely wasn't the case. Shepard shrugged, irritated at that thought. The pictures didn't need to mean anything other than she didn't want to stare at bare grey metal walls anymore, and to serve the purpose for which she had put them up there in the first place. Speaking of which, she sat down on the couch, thought about what sort of biotic skill might be useful in protecting both herself and her team mates from defeat. She needed something that would allow her to stand toe to toe with a biotic batarian or even a krogan. To her frustration, nothing happened, no memory took over her mind, no prothean usurped her awareness.
Realizing what she was thinking Amanda barked out a single harsh sounding laugh, then groaned and buried her face in her hands, most people would probably not want some memory imprint from some long dead person to take over their bodies. She snorted, then again, most people had not woken up from being dead in the middle of someone's attempt to kill them for a second time. Or spent the last seven days distracting themselves from thinking too much about things they couldn't do anything about while stuck on an enemy ship where her every move was observed and recorded for some behavioral psychologist to go over and figure out how to manipulate her into working for Cerberus. Her jaw clenched as she thought about the likelihood of being under observation even now in her own quarters and then her nerves tingled as a dark energy field protectively formed around her body in response to her thoughts.
Enough! Amanda lifted her head from her hands, and dropped the biotic field. Whether it was true or not dwelling on it, worrying about it, was for the moment a useless activity that would only add to her stress while doing nothing to help the situation. She squared her back, then consciously relaxed her shoulders, closed her eyes and focused on one of the controlled breathing/meditative exercise she had first learned from Madame LeCroix, in her childhood, expanded upon in her training under Mistress Leonora, and then taught again during her initial N training. This one was specifically meant for clearing the mind and focusing one's thoughts when under stressful conditions. Perhaps once the militaries of Earth had scoffed at such 'new age' concepts, but then medical science had come out that backed the ancient practices of controlled breathing, revealing the biological feedback circuit that allowed it to regulate the brains emotional control center among other things, including lowering one's blood pressure. After that, the newly formed Alliance military had decided that training their personnel, especially their special forces personnel likely to be engaged in high stress missions, to control their emotional responses and stress levels was as important as conditioning their bodies. Amanda didn't try and stop her thoughts, only focused on her breaths, letting her mind calm, re-engaging her focus on the things she could control at the moment instead of expending energy and time on those she couldn't control at the moment. At the moment, Shepard opened her eyes as she reminded herself, only at the moment.
She was having to do this more and more though, and though she had an appointment with Dr. Chakwas later today to discuss her issues with helmets and claustrophobia she wouldn't bring this up with the doctor. Not on this ship, not when she would bet that the medbay and the doctor's medical records were both being monitored and examined for information. Shepard shook her head, reminding herself to focus on the things she could do now…and hopefully one of those was finding something in the Cipher. Ok, another tactic then, the special forces marine thought with focusing exhale of breath, what biotic abilities had she seen or read about that would give her such an edge? She frowned in thought, what was that asari close combat martial art? The one that combined defensive barriers with biotically enhanced strikes? She had seen videos of it being performed by asari commandos and been very impressed by what could be accomplished by it, and also very concerned by the possibility of dealing with some ex-commando merc who knew the technique while on some mission out in the Terminus. Susano, she finally recalled, the fighting technique was called susano or unyielding frame.
Maybe with something more specific to focus on she might have better luck, thought Shepard as she concentrated on what she recalled of the technique. Besides a normal biotic barrier, practitioners of the martial art were able to create thicker barrier sections almost like tech armor that were able to mitigate close quarter combat damage. Defensively, enemy strikes were blocked by the barrier armor, while offensively the barriers were discharged with biotic strikes and blows that were capable of shattering armor…deep within Amanda's temporal lobe memories within the Cipher triggered.
Thalion ducked underneath the blow, his biotics flowing through his body and assisting his movements, letting his student's staff pass harmlessly over him. Turning and spinning he brought up his short staff in a graceful arc, and in a sweeping move neatly caught his student behind the back of the knees. Branwen's legs buckled and the younger man fell back upon his rear.
He took a step back, "That would have been a deadly move with an ithil meril. You need to be more mindful of the flow of combat, and of the placement and likely actions of your opponent or opponents. As soon as I began my spin, you should have foreseen my action and moved to block my staff or withdrawn from range of my attack and then decided whether there was an opening to attack or prepared to defend yourself." He watched as the young man rolled to his feet. "Your dedication to mastering your biotics and your studies into tactics are admirable Branwen. To become a master of battle however, you must take the time spar as often as possible with your fellow students. There is no other way to teach your mind and body how to sense and anticipate the flow of combat other than to engage in it. Seek to balance your training better between your studies and your sparring.
Branwen rose, clasp his long-fingered hands before him and bowed, "I will heed your wisdom, Dragahîr."
Thalion inclined his head in approval, "Let us repeat each of our attacks and blocks from your attempted strike. This time be prepared to counter."
The younger man nodded, "Yes, Dragahîr," he acknowledged and then moved back a few paces his dark eyes intent and determined.
Thalion was pleased to see it, Branwen was a promising student. He believed the younger man would be ready to advance from Dragasen, Apprentice or Student, to Dragaran, Journeyman, in another year or so if Branwen applied himself as diligently to his combat practice as he already did to his biotic and scholarly studies.
As soon as Thalion was ready, Branwen swung his staff; once again the older prothean ducked underneath it and spun. Only this time instead of being unprepared for the counter-attack the younger man lifted his arm in a defensive block. There was a blue shimmer as he formed a focused mass effect field around his defensively raised arm. Even as he pulled his strike in preparation for being knocked back, Thalion was pleased at his student's response. Withdrawing would have been easier and simpler, but Branwen had chosen to shield instead, an offensive defense and a difficult one to master as well. If the attacker was not prepared for it, a biotic shield gave the defender a very good opportunity for a follow-up attack. The shield was a combination of a focused and hardened barrier and a timed biotic push pulse. It took a great deal of skill and practice to master both of the biotic skills involved as well as the correct timing of the biotic push pulse.
Thalion's short staff struck the biotic shield and was forcefully repulsed back towards him; this was why a shield frequently gave the defender an opportunity to attack. Expecting it, Thalion simply took two steps backward, controlling his retreat and keeping his guard up, instead of letting it knock him off his feet or off balance. "Very good," he praised Branwen as the younger male straightened, "with a full-strength pulse you might have still had an opening to exploit on a counter-attack."
The younger man was the last of today's students to spar with him; it was time to move on to other lessons. "Branwen, Mirima please get out the practice balls," he motioned toward the proper container at the end of the room which held the weighted and padded balls. "The rest of you form a line in the middle of the room," he instructed. He turned towards the two students he had asked to get out the practice balls and held up his hands. Mirima noticed and instead of tossing the ball in her hands to one of the other students she threw it to him.
Thalion caught it and then waited until each of the students had a ball as well and Branwen and Mirima joined them in the center of the hall. "This exercise is familiar to all of you," he started by saying. "Use your biotics to lift," he looked over at the ball and with a slight gesture of his hand formed a mass effect field around it that lightened its mass and lifted it into the air. "Then throw the practice ball," a sweep of his hand sent the ball flying toward the far wall. Immediately he reached out and formed another field, "Then use pull to bring it back to you before it reaches the far wall," he suited actions to words and the ball came back towards him. He leaned forward raising his arm and formed a focused biotic barrier around it, "Shield," he watched the ball closely as it came towards him and then with perfect timing as it impacted the shield pushed against it in a pulse. "Repulse it back toward the wall in front of you," he said as soon as he was done. He reached out his hand and, "pull," he suited words to actions and then, "evade stepping out of the way of the ball," he smoothly stepped back allowing the ball to pass by him this time. Again he reached out with his biotics, "Pull again," he brought up his arm and formed another shield, "this time shield and pulse only enough to stop the balls momentum," a slight push and when the ball impacted against the shield it bounced back about two feet and dropped to the floor. He looked at his students, "Then begin the cycle again as soon as you are ready."
He stood back and watched as his students began the exercise, watching them closely and noting where they needed more training. He noticed some of the less experienced student's balls were bouncing off the walls instead of being pulled back before they reached it. That wasn't surprising, the most difficult part of this exercise was the constant concentration needed to form so many different types of mass effect fields within seconds of one another. He noted who they were and simply continued watching for now, after several decades of teaching he knew that most would improve with further practice. A few might need further training in maintaining their battle focus. There were three or four who, though they were competent warriors, would be never move beyond their current initiate status of Dragasen. He could already tell they simply didn't have the discipline and focus necessary to obtain the proficiency in combat, biotics and tactics required to become Dragaran of the Order of Varnor, much less obtain the rank of Dragahîr. For their own sake, it was best that they come to that realization now, instead of after they wasted decades of both their lives and his.
He frowned as he noticed that some of the students were forming noticeable mass effect fields. The balls were light and not moving fast. At most he should see a slight ripple in the air and the bluish white glow as they shielded, and not the display of biotic energy that a few of them were making. "Halt," he called out firmly, and waited as the students either caught the balls or let them drop to the floor and then turned to face him. "As you are already aware, creating mass effect fields takes energy from you. Always create the least field necessary to achieve the effect you desire. During a battle you never know what may happen, how long you may need to fight or what may occur that will cause you to need to create one last mass effect field to save your life or the life of another. Always be mindful of conserving your energy, both biotic and of the body, you may have vital need of them later."
"Yes, Dragahîr," they raggedly chorused when it became clear he had finished speaking. Those to whom his speech was especially addressed looked embarrassed; they were aware of what had prompted it.
That one principle had saved his life more than once. Most citizens who lived on the core worlds of the Empire were unaware of how dangerous and lawless it could be on the fringes of Edhel space. There were always those who chose to walk an honorless path. Such people naturally gravitated to such places and took up criminal activities such as piracy and smuggling illegal goods and substances. There were even those who had fallen so far into dishonor and evil that they would trade in the lives of their fellow Edhilr. He still remembered his first encounter with slavery. He had been very young, only thirty-seven, and the idea that there were Edhil who were so completely without honor that they would sell and trade other Edhilr as if they were merely things had been almost more than he could take in.
He glanced up at the timepiece hung on the wall and motioned with his hand, "Continue with your practice," he instructed them. They had about forty more hanté in this training session. When the training session was over, the students quickly dispersed to their respective bathing halls to clean up before leaving for either their homes or the dormitories provided for off-world students.
On the way out of the Order's training facility, Thalion stopped by the statues of the god Thalion and his twin sister the goddess Callionel, the Protectors of the Empire which stood on either side of entry hall. Unlike the seated statues of the Inusannon which were popular in the public gardens, these statues depicted Edhil in their prime. They stood tall and proud in their armor, with their ithil meril, or moon swords, held upright in their gauntleted hands. The blades of the twin's weapons, made from the cold light of the home world's moons, were stylistically represented with artificially grown crystals that were lit with a chill greenish-white light.
Thalion had been named after the God, and in many ways, he found it fitting that he had joined the Order of Varnor, the Order of the Protectors of the Empire, and eventually proven himself worthy of the title Dragahîr, or Battlemaster. He bowed low to each and then proceeded out of the hall, if he tarried any longer his wife, Adanessa, would have to wait dinner on him and he had promised his daughter Alassiel that he would help her with her schoolwork tonight.
The next instance when Thalion looked up he was no longer walking through the middle of the Vendun Educational Complex but standing in the middle of a room. Someone's sleeping room, he realized, noticing the sleeping platform. Where was he and how had he arrived here, thought the battlemaster as his eyes narrowed with wary anger. Examining the room, his gaze was drawn to a picture on the wall, an ancient ruin upon a hilltop at dusk lit by floodlights. It seemed strangely familiar to him and he stepped closer to examine it. It was the Parthenon at the summit of the Acropolis of Athens Greece; Temple Of Athena Nike, Goddess Of Victory in War and Wisdom.
Amanda's mind snapped back to her own identity, leaving her staring at the picture's familiar architecture as she struggled to comprehend all of the information she had just discovered from the Cipher. She had certainly found what she needed and more, Amanda mused in wonderment, and not just of a new biotic technique, but also about prothean culture and their religious beliefs. She thought of the swords she had seen in the hands of the statues, the way the blades were lit with an inner greenish light…and then registered something she should have realized before now. Her biotics were indigo, blue and white, while prothean biotics were dark green, green and white. None of the races had green biotics in this cycle. Was it just something unique to protheans, or was it something unusual in their biotic amps that made the color of the mass effect fields different?
Shepard pondered the question for a moment, but no reason for such a difference came to mind and she shelved the oddity for the moment. The biotic skill Thalion and Branwen had been practicing had been intermediate level training in Thelrhaw, or the resolute body. Which seemed surprisingly very like what she recalled of Susano, Shepard frowned, even the names when you translated them meant about the same thing. She shook her head, how strange that two species so far apart in time would develop almost the exact same biotic martial arts style. Maybe it was just that you could only combine biotics with close combat fighting in so many ways.
Going back to what she had just learned though, that training class in Thelrhaw had been for the upper end of beginner's level training for the skill, and the training itself was only open to skilled biotics. Honestly, Shepard knew she would not have met the qualifications for the class before her death, she had just not made perfecting her biotics that much of a priority in her life. The only reason she was able to do so now was because the Cipher was allowing her to cheat, bypassing the normal learning process to simply gain the skill without decades of training, and what Miranda had done to her biotics made her powerful enough to perform them. Though she normally didn't like cheaters, she wasn't really in any position to refuse to use her ill-gotten skills. Were they really ill gotten though? Shepard scrunched up her face, the situation defied reality. In any case, she would be stupid not to use these skills and certainly had already used them and wasn't going to quit using them so…
Thalion's skill level far surpassed that of his students, which meant that, just as she had hoped, she now had something she could use against another biotic as well as a surprise for a charging krogan. Hopefully it would be enough to tip the scales of any encounter in her favor. In the meantime, she had the time to practice some of the skills she had learned from Thalion's memories…the Dragahîr, the Battlemaster of an Order of Protectors of the Empire. So, he was rather like a knight, Amanda smiled, bemused at the idea, but charmed by it as well.
She shook her head, practice. She focused, forming the correct barrier field for the exercise, and moved into the first stance which was simply a basic defensive stance. Then shifting forward, she brought up her forearm in a block, forming a defensive shield around it…
Forty minutes later, Amanda paused once again by the picture of the Parthenon, staring at it, recalling her youth when she had felt this severed and adrift once before.
Σβήστε τον νεοαφιχθέντα Athena, αξεπέραστο στην σοφία, προσεύχομαι για σας.
(Clear-eyed Athena, unrivaled in wisdom, I pray to you.)
Σε καιρό πολέμου δεν έχετε ίση σε τακτικές ή της στρατηγικής.
(In time of war you have no equal in tactics or in strategy;)
Στην εποχή της ειρήνης είστε Βασιλεύς Βασιλευόντων και κατανόηση.
(In time of peace you are the mistress of reason and understanding.)
Σύμβουλος των τοπικών αρχόντων, προστάτης της clever ήρωες και τολμηρή χλιαρή τυχοδιώκτες, υπερασπιστή του στοχαστή.
(Advisor of rulers, patron of clever heroes and bold-hearted adventurers, defender of the thinker;)
Η θεά σε ποιον ισχυρό βραχίονα και ένα αιχμηρό ξίφος δεν είναι τίποτα χωρίς την αίσθηση να χειριστεί τους καθώς και την διορατικότητα να γνωρίζουν πότε λόγια αξίζουν περισσότερο από όπλα.
(Goddess to whom a strong arm and a sharp sword are nothing without the sense to wield them well, and the insight to know when words are worth more than weapons.)
Αθηνά, δώσε μου ένα υγιές μυαλό και σταθερή ιδιοσυγκρασία,
(Athena, grant me a sound mind and steady temper,)
να με ευλογεί με καλή κρίση, να μου δείξεις τη μακροχρόνια άποψη.
(bless me with good judgment, show me the long view.)
Amanda quietly spoke the blessing which her grandmother, Alexandria Athene Shepard, had taught her as a teenager, and which her grandmother had learned from her mother, Calista Athene Mitsotakis. She could definitely use some of the Goddess's wisdom, judgment and long view right now. Though these days she would call herself more of a deist than anything else; still, when she thought of the Creator of the Universe, that being had Athene's form. She still remembered…Amanda snorted…ok, she remembered really well now, her father telling her what her middle name meant and why she had been given it. Her father's side of the family came from a long line of dedicated followers of Athene or Athena. It was tradition to name any daughter born with light-colored, or glaukopis, eyes after the Goddess; for the child was believed to be touched by Athena herself, claimed, even before birth, as one of her followers.
Directly after the attack on Mindoir, after deciding that she was no longer going to be a dancer or singer, but a soldier so she could protect others from losing their own parents, teachers and friends…she had fervently embraced the idea of following that part of her Greek heritage. She had gone with her grandmother to Athens to meet her father's realities, the Mitsotakis and Kanellis families of Crete and Rhodes. She had learned more of her father's family history and more about the wise warrior goddess that stood between civilization and any who would seek to destroy it. With where she had been mentally at the time, after witnessing the batarian slavers destroy her family and the entire colony, that had spoken to her on so many levels. The Kanellis lands on the island of Rhodes encompassed a grotto high up on a hill which bore ancient gnarled olive trees and looked out over the sea. Within the grotto's shelter was an ancient statue of Athene. Dressed as a warrior, the goddess was clad in armor and carried her spear and shield. Her owl was carved nearby, resting on a stone tree branch. She had made a habit of going up there every day to visit it the entire time she was on the island, and near the end of her time there she made her decision. Accompanied by a gathering of her female relatives, many of whom also bore the middle name of Athene - Amanda had never seen so many silver eyed women in her live before - she had knelt before the statue, swore herself to the ideals of the Goddess and been anointed with olive oil; becoming the latest in a very long matriarchal line of followers to serve the ancient goddess.
A chime from near the doorway draw her attention away from the picture of the Parthenon. It was EDI, they had agreed to this after Shepard had snapped at the AI over simply activating the console and 'showing up' as it were without notice or invitation. This was now the AI's equivalent of requesting admittance at her doorway. A compromise reached after Shepard had apologized for her display of temper and then explained what had triggered it. She waved her omni-tool, activating the console and waited until the holographic blue globe appeared, "Yes EDI?"
"Miranda, Jacob and Jack have all indicated that they are free at the moment should you wish to conduct a biotic training class," the AI informed her.
One dark brow rose, interesting and hopefully promising of something other than another spat between the two women, "Very well, please tell them I'll be down in a moment EDI, and thank you for the message."
"You are welcome Shepard, EDI out," the blue globe disappeared and Shepard turned away from the picture to head toward the door.