So my childhood wasn't all just doom and gloom even after things went so bad with my mother. I looked elsewhere for the sort of familial environment I needed, naturally, and I was lucky enough to find it with the Ryder family. I met the Ryders when I was going through first stage integration. Ellen Ryder was my attending physician, didn't realize how lucky I actually was at the time seeing as she helped design a lot of the synchronizer implants. And apparently because I was so young when I underwent synchronization, she took a special interest to make sure I'd get through it alright. That's how I also met her kids, Scott and Sara. A real handful, those two were, and with me leading the pack we were quite the terror at the hospital. That's also how I ended up meeting Alec. Colonel Ryder now, though he was still a very junior officer in the corps back then. So yeah, I did end up finding a family, and they were even there for me after the abortive attempt to remove my implants.
*sighs*
I suppose I also have Ellen to thank for not tossing my mother out of my life completely. She never asked me to forgive my mother, not in so many words of course, but she did warn against how much it'd hurt if I never talked to Mom again, even if I didn't realize it then. A part of me still doesn't quite understand it, but another part of me knows Ellen's right. She usually is about this sort of thing. And so, in honor of the woman that I so wanted to be my mother, I still acknowledge that I still have a mother.
*sighs*
Damn it, I miss her too.
-Evangeline Shepard, Mandatory Counseling Log 003
Chapter 3
Ad vitam aut culpam
There was a certain fuzzy static that lingered as the connection formed, something Shepard presumed to be due to the as yet imperfect compatibility between her synchronizer implants and EDI's quantum based neural topology. Still, it was a very familiar sensation that Shepard felt now as her mind touched that of another intelligence.
"It's a pleasure to finally get to know you, EDI," Shepard greeted verbally.
"For me as well," EDI responded. "I have heard much about you, Major Shepard, and look forward to working with you."
All cordial and simple so far.
"So EDI, how many other synchronizers have you dated before me?" Shepard asked.
The technicians and doctors monitoring the pair did doubletakes at hearing those words. Shepard did not let that faze her in the least, instead simply waiting for EDI's response.
"You would be the first organic mind I have attempted synchronization with, Major," EDI answered. "All my previous interactions have been with other AI, to train my initial synaptic responses and learn how to interact with other intelligences."
Development of terran AI fell into several phases. First, there was the initial bring-up of a neural topology, which to start with was basically a blank slate. Then that topology was run through a series of stimulus, that would help form the initial cognitive feedback loop that would serve as the main decision-making engine of the nascent AI. After that, mature AI would provide further stimulus, molding the topology to give it the beginnings of a personality and awareness. Only after the new AI had a basic sense of self would they start interacting with human synchronizers, whose more chaotic neural topologies would help add the degree of randomness that allowed terran AIs to be true personalities than just mere mimicries.
"Oh, I have to say, your neural topology is much more developed than other AIs I've met at such an early stage of development," Shepard remarked.
"The noisy nature of my quantum bluebox host hardware may have contributed," EDI suggested.
"If that's the case, I can't wait to see how much more you can grow," Shepard said.
"Thank you, Major," EDI responded. "I too look forward to when you will have the requisite hardware installed to allow for full synchronization. There remains as yet a noticeable latency in our interactions that I find not entirely pleasant."
Shepard chuckled. "Yeah, I'm getting it too. Just a sorta fuzzy feeling, like an itch that I can't quite scratch."
"An itch," EDI repeated. "An apt enough comparison, I think. And yet despite the itch, there s a symmetrical reflection that is already collapsing many of the decision matrices that previously required much longer to resolve."
"It's what us organic intelligences are for," Shepard said. "You synthetics can hold a lot more state, so to speak, but we can make faster snap judgments. We might not be right, but we're better at avoiding getting into circular deadlocks."
"So I am seeing already," EDI said, then actually paused a beat before continuing. "Major, a personal question, if I may?"
"Go ahead," Shepard said. "Not like I'll really have much in the way of secrets from you hereon."
"That may be so, Major, but my mentor AIs have stressed the importance of at least respecting the illusion of privacy."
A grin crossed Shepard's expression at the frankness of EDI's statement. It was hard to tell if the AI was being blunt out of attempted politeness or relative immaturity, but it was certainly amusing either way.
"So, what's your question?"
The beat that passed again marked actually a significant amount of hesitation on EDI's part, to the point where not even her partial synchronization with Shepard was helping the AI quickly resolve the decision.
"I have been presented neural topology samples of many mental states as part of my education," EDI said. "These have ranged from chaotic equilibrium, to plateaus of anger, sorrow, and much else. At present, your own topology does not match that of equilibrium. It instead is one of near balanced anger. I therefore ask, are you angry?"
This time it was Shepard's turn to hesitate to answer. No, it was not hesitation, it was just that the major needed time to formulate a proper answer to such a complex question.
"People respond to stressors in differing ways. As you likely realized when sampling topologies, even when feeling the same emotion, different people can experience it differently. In my case, the loss of my brother has elicited the emotion that others would consider to be anger."
EDI took a moment of her own to parse all that. "My understanding of human social convention is that the expected emotional response to such a loss would also include sadness. And yet I cannot detect any of the telltale patterns that would indicate sadness within your topology."
At this point the observers that were meant to keep an eye on EDI's stability were openly staring at Shepard. The major paid them no mind.
"How strongly a person feels any particular emotion can also differ drastically. Recall that for an average to exist, there must also be variants on either side to statistically produce that average. In my case, my particular variant sees the emotional drivers that people normally associate with sadness to instead collapse my neural topology into one more readily associated with anger."
"That is, a very fascinating variation," EDI said, then as if she realized something. "I apologize if exhibiting such interest causes offense, Major."
Shepard chuckled again. "You're still learning, EDI, and I'm prepared to forgive a few lapses in social decorum. If I think you are crossing the line, I'll let you know, and so long as you respect my position when that happens, there's nothing to apologize for."
"I thank you for your consideration, Major," EDI said. "And I indeed hope that I will live up to your expectations."
A slight grumble sounded from Shepard as she flexed her fingers. The reconstructive surgery had been completed over a month ago, but she was still restricted to a wheelchair for longer range locomotion as her body basically relearned how to properly move. That and the low-level aches from the healing tissue made Shepard rather more irritable than was the major's usual wont. Hopefully she had not tested the patience of the nurses and doctors attending to her too much as she recovered.
Still, that recovery had advanced enough that Shepard was able to resume assisting with the preparations for her mission. Today that meant taking a look at the under-construction ship that would serve as her new command. Officially Shepard was acting as a contract advisor for Cord-Hislop, charged with evaluating the ship to see how well the design would serve in the Imperial Terran Navy. That the prototype was kitted out with systems specifically geared towards matching the likely opponents Shepard would encounter on her hunt was merely a happy coincidence, officially.
As Cord-Hislop was also officially the builder of this new ship, it was only natural then that their representatives would be accompanying Shepard on the ship trials. One such representative would be serving as the major's guide for the tour of the still in progress prototype.
"Major Shepard," one Miranda Lawson greeted.
"Director Lawson," Shepard responded with equal civility.
"I trust your recovery is progressing satisfactorily?" Miranda continued with the pleasantries.
"Satisfaction might be a bit much," Shepard said, "short of me putting a bullet in whatever it is that killed my brother."
If Miranda was at all taken aback by the major's bluntness, the woman did not show it.
"Cord-Hislop will certainly endeavor to make that a reality," she said simply. "Shall we?"
Shepard rolled alongside Miranda as the two proceeded through the corridors of the Ganymede yards.
"I trust you have reviewed the basic specifications for the SR2 prototype?" Miranda asked.
SR2, the current designation for the ship, indicating she was an evolutionary design from the SR1. Time would tell what her actual name would be.
"What's been provided to me," Shepard answered. "It was spare enough in details that I have a few questions."
"Ask away," Miranda said. "If I do not have the necessary information on hand, I will ensure it is followed up and answers forwarded to you as soon as practicable."
Shepard allowed a slight smile to cross her face. It seemed Miranda's efficiency had not decreased any since their last meeting.
"I was looking at the internal ship layout," she said instead of making any quips however, getting down to business. "The placement of some facilities seemed odd. Why for example is the armory on deck 2 instead of deck 5 by the hanger?"
Miranda blinked. "Is there a reason for why the armory would be on deck 5?"
The major raised an eyebrow. "The shuttle or AFV down in the hanger would presumably be the primary means by which the ground team would disembark for away missions. Having the armory down there means we can grab our weapons and return them right then and there. Also, some of the same tools are used for weapons and vehicle maintenance. Keeping the armory and hanger together allows for one centralized location for all of the machine work."
"I must confess," Miranda actually sounded contrite, "we did not take into account such aspects of ship interior ergonomics when the SR2 plans were drafted."
"Umm," Shepard said, "Cord-Hislop is one of the largest naval contractors, so how is that even possible?"
To that Miranda actually sighed. "Certain aspects of the design were left to, alternate teams for the sake of discretion."
"Lovely," Shepard sighed as well. "Well, hopefully there aren't any genuinely fatal design flaws that crop up in this review."
"We do have a number of naval personnel acting as consultants to vet the basic design parameters," Miranda assured Shepard. "Some you are even familiar with."
"Navy doesn't mean marine," Shepard retorted. "So who're these familiar faces supposed to be?"
"One is waiting for us even now."
Miranda did not elaborate further, nor did Shepard press further. If the other woman wanted to spring a surprise, Shepard found she was a mite too apathetic to let curiosity get the better of her. Still, that did not stop an eyebrow from twitching as they came into sight of that familiar face.
In a rather uncharacteristic display, standing at the gantry leading out to the SR2, was one Lieutenant Jeff "Joker" Moreau. Indeed upon reflection Shepard could not actually recall ever seeing Joker actually standing, at least not directly with her own eyes. That he was doing so now, with the help of a set of braces attached to his legs, belayed the seriousness of the lieutenant's mood. As Shepard and Miranda came to a halt before him, Joker came to attention.
"Major Shepard," he greeted formally.
"Lieutenant Moreau," Shepard responded in kind. "I take it by your presence that you are one of the consultants that, Cord-Hislop, has contracted?"
"Yes ma'am," Joker said, his face blankly stern.
Shepard tilted her head, searching for any trace of the jovial, happy-go-lucky pilot that helmed her old ship. Oddly, even the man's eyes lacked the usual twinkle of humor that was always on the verge of bubbling forth.
"Incidentally," Shepard said, working her omnitool to protect the small blue sphere atop a stalk, "EDI, this is Lieutenant Jeff Moreau, the helmsman that served under me when I was in command of the Normandy. Lieutenant, this is EDI, my new AI partner."
"It is a pleasure to make your acquaintance, Lieutenant Moreau," EDI greeted.
"Uh, yeah," Joker blurted. "Likewise."
"EDI will also be the SR2's ship intelligence," Shepard said. "I trust you will get along with her as well as you did Artemis?"
The lieutenant's expression tightened. "Yes, ma'am. You can count on it."
Shepard regarded Joker again for a brief moment. "Walk with us, Lieutenant."
"Aye ma'am," Joker immediately responded, despite the weariness such a trek would undoubtedly cause him.
If Miranda was at all perturbed by Shepard's attitude toward her former and likely future crewmember, the black-haired woman did not show it. Instead she remained at Shepard's side, continuing their conversation as if nothing was amiss.
"Let's skip the nonessentials," Shepard said as they entered the ship interior, where the guts were spilling out of the walls as components awaited installation. "The Collectors were able to neutralize the Normandy's greatest advantage, her stealth system. Do we have any idea how yet?"
"Yes," Miranda answered in the affirmative, much to Shepard's surprise. "After examination of, Sovereign's, wreckage, we were able to get a better understanding of the full range of a Reaper's sensor suite."
That momentary pause there, Miranda was clearly alluding to the Reaper derelict found in orbit of Mnemosyne, in the Thorne System. The location of the dead Reaper had been gifted to Shepard by the rachni queen she saved on Noveria, and Shepard had passed that information onto the emperor himself to let him make a decision on how to proceed. Shortly after the major had been dispatched on a discrete survey mission, with Miranda accompanying, ostensibly as a Cord-Hislop representative evaluating the performance of the Normandy on behalf of one of the companies responsible for the frigate's construction. That mission had ultimately confirmed the derelict's existence, after which a research team had been further dispatched to very, very carefully study the ship and its technologies.
"What we've learned is that a Reaper's sensors are capable of picking up extremely minute gravitational fluctuations," Miranda continued, "fluctuations that the original Tantalus drive design created in the generation of its mass effect pocket. While it was known that the drive created these ripples, the assumption at the time that there did not exist any sensor sensitive enough to actually detect them, at least at anything close to useful range."
"So does this ship's drive eliminate that flaw?" Shepard asked. "Otherwise not sure what point there'd be to even having it installed."
"It would arguably still be effective against any non-Reaper force we might encounter," Miranda countered, "but the point is taken. And while significant effort has gone into reducing the eddies the drive produces, there are still scenarios that does produce a signature, albeit a drastically reduced one. Control of mass effect fields at the sort of granularity necessary to outright eliminate the eddy is, frankly, beyond the capability of any party beyond potentially the Reapers themselves."
"So long as we don't start running into stealth ships of theirs," Shepard said, only half-jokingly.
Miranda and Joker grimaced. If the Reapers really ever did find reason to build such ships, they probably would be able to pull it off such that no one else would ever see them coming.
"Alright, so we might be able to sneak up on the Collectors," Shepard concluded. "What about actually fighting them? Or at least surviving a fight with them? The SR2 might be a bit bigger than the Normandy, but it still doesn't have the mass to mount armor thick enough to stand up to a particle beam like that."
"Which is why the hull has been reinforced with Silaris armor instead of the traditional ablative variant," Miranda said.
That actually caused Shepard's chair to come to a halt as the major almost gaped at the other woman.
"Silaris armor? That diamond armor the asaris developed?" Shepard said, then snorted. "Cord-Hislop's margins must be even juicier than I thought if you could afford to throw that in."
"We afford only the very best," Miranda said, a hint of pride in her voice. "Silaris armor is possessed of much greater heat resistance, and so can better absorb the thermal shock inflicted by energy weapons. Based on our calculations, not even the particle beam used by the Collectors would be able to quickly penetrate the SR2's hull."
Shepard nodded slowly. "Alright, so we can take a hit. But we'd need a lot of firepower to take down something as big as what the Collectors are flying around in. What's the SR2's tactical loadout?"
"The standard complement of disruptor torpedoes, an axial main gun, and tactical nuclear warheads," Miranda said. "While the torpedoes are of a newer generation with increased yield, unfortunately the SR2 is simply too small to mount anything that would decisively tip the scales against a capital ship like the Collector dreadnaught."
"Well, you can't have everything I suppose," Shepard said, then glanced over her shoulder at Joker. "The torpedoes'll require us to get into knife-fight range with the Collectors. It'll be up to you to get us in and back out in one piece, Lieutenant."
Joker gave a firm nod. "I won't let you down, Major."
Shepard returned the motion. "See that you don't. Now, I have a few other things to discuss with Ms. Lawson here. I'm sure you have your own duties to attend to, Lieutenant."
"Of course ma'am," Joker said, taking the hint. Clicking his heels together, he took his leave of the two women.
Once Joker was out of sight and sound, Miranda regarded Shepard.
"It may not be my place, Major, but were you perhaps unduly harsh with Lieutenant Moreau?"
"You're right, it's not your place," Shepard said, not even looking over at Miranda. "Joker wants to be forgiven for what he sees as his failure in the Amada System. He won't believe me if I say there's nothing to forgive, however. That's something he needs to realize and accept himself."
Miranda's lips twitched, but she refrained from further comment on the matter. It was not like there was anything else for her to say anyway.
"I presume in addition to the SR2's crew you are also drawing up candidates for the ground team," Shepard continued as if nothing was awry.
"Yes," Miranda responded without missing a beat. "Some of the required expertise is taking much longer to locate viable candidates for however, and we're having to cast the net beyond just imperial citizens."
To that Shepard actually shrugged. "I've worked with aliens before. So long as they're not out and out psychopaths, I can do so again."
Miranda raised an eyebrow. "And if they were, Major?"
"I'd work with them just long enough to get the job done," Shepard answered in a completely level tone, her gaze meeting Miranda's, "and then shoot 'em myself."
While Shepard appeared to be the epitome of serene composure as she sat waiting in the lounge, the major actually felt an undeniable unease in the pit of her stomach. Very few people could induce this sort of reaction in her. Her own mother certainly could not, and not even the Emperor Charles could. Ellen Ryder, the woman that more or less adopted Shepard as one of her own after the schism Shepard suffered with her own mother, could. The only other person capable of throwing Shepard off like this was Fleet Admiral Marianne Condé.
It was certainly not because of Admiral Condé's naval rank, Shepard through her duties as Cadre had occasion to interact with flag officers of such lofty rank on far greater occasion than others of her grade. It was also not because of Marianne's stature as Empress-Consort and mother to Crown Princess Kathryn, whom Shepard considered like another little sister and whose mother considered Shepard to be a good role model for her daughter. No, if there was one thing about Admiral Condé that genuinely set Shepard on edge, it would have to be her position as director of the Office of Naval Intelligence. As more than one unfortunate soul learned, one did not fuck with ONI. There were much easier and less painful ways to commit suicide, both career wise and literally, than to irritate, or even god forbid, anger the director of ONI.
"The admiral is ready to see you now, Major Shepard," the secretary seated in the waiting room announced.
"Thank you," Shepard rose and proceeded through the doors, her movements still slightly stiff.
While she was no longer confined to a wheelchair, the major was still more or less relearning how to move her body and remained far from her previous peak poise, never mind the enhanced capabilities promised after undergoing all that surgery. Even if the doctors claimed Shepard was recovering far more quickly than could be expected, for the major until she was out in the field fighting again it was still too slow. Those rumblings however faded away as Shepard came to attention before the desk nestled within the cozy office.
"Major Evangeline Shepard, reporting as ordered, ma'am."
The raven-haired woman regarded Shepard with an almost motherly smile. "It's good to see you again, Major."
"You as well, ma'am."
Technically Shepard should have been referring to Marianne with the honorific of Majesty, as befitted the Empress-Consort's standing. There was also Her Grace as an option, seeing as Marianne was a duchess in her own right even setting aside her marriage into the imperial family. But here, inside of the admiralty's main terrestrial office campus on Earth, Marianne preferred to emphasize her naval position. Whether that was more or less intimidating than her noble rank was a subject of some debate.
"Have a seat," Marianne invited. "We'll be here for a while after all."
"Thank you, ma'am."
Marianne leaned back into her own chair, letting it sway aside slightly. "I'm sure my dear husband has already gone to some lengths emphasizing the, nuances of the expedition you are about to embark on. As such, I will get straight to the point. All of the personnel participating, including yourself, Major Shepard, will be having an ONI tag attached to your service jackets. This tag will indicate that you and the others have shown willingness to perform acts beyond the official reprove of the imperial armed forces. I trust you understand what this means."
Shepard gave a firm nod. The wording might have seemed a bit counterintuitive, but only to those not familiar with the trappings of imperial law. To be beyond official reprove meant one had crossed the bounds of what imperial law stipulated as permissible in such a way that its normal sanctions would not suffice for whatever act was committed. This also meant that the normal judicial process for accessing and determining guilt and punishment were similarly inadequate to deal with the magnitude of the act, so the procedures employed were extrajudicial. Simply put, anyone guilty of such extreme acts were put onto the imperial kill list by the emperor's direct authority, a kill list that only members of his Cadre could execute. There was a very fine line that needed to be walked with this approach, a danger that a sovereign might be tempted towards dictatorial tendencies with such power. As such the question of reprove remained to this day a highly contentious issue amongst the imperial polity.
"At present it is hard to say how this will influence the future prospects of your crew," Marianne continued. "About all I can say is that it will have at least some influence. Anytime one of them might request a transfer or the like, this tag will be seen by the commanding officer of their desired station. That will have consequences, as I am sure you are aware."
Again Shepard nodded. There would certainly be some commanders that would refuse to accept someone with that kind of mark in their jacket. Then again there might be others that thought such willingness was a good thing. It was hard to tell which possibility was worse. But this too was a consequence of their own decisions, and Shepard would not shrink away from it.
"I understand, ma'am."
Marianne hardly looked pleased with the acceptance, but the admiral gave a nod of her own. She had spoken her piece, it was now time to get down to the brass tacks.
"You are undoubtedly familiar with those of the Normandy's crew that agreed to enlist upon this new expedition," Marianne said, "so I will leave it to your discretion to review their profiles. The personnel that we will be discussing today are those that Cord-Hislop recruited to the remaining vacancies."
The admiral tilted her head, all the indication that she was calling up records to share with the major. For Shepard's part, her eyes focused as images and texts popped up on her AR HUD.
"First up would be Rupert Gardner."
The balding, middle aged man did not leave much of an impression from his image, but presumably Cerberus had selected him for some reason.
"Mr. Gardner here is probably the most generic of the recruits," Marianne declared.
Or maybe they just needed someone to fill a post.
"He's been listed as the ship's cook, along with general maintenance. Gardner's something of a classic human supremacy sympathizer. Prior to his recruitment by Cord-Hislop, he worked eezo mining operations along the frontier colonies. Unfortunately, his family was killed in a slaver raid, and he's harbored a general distrust of aliens ever since."
That same story could be told countless times over. Little wonder Cerberus found so many eager recruits for its ranks. How many would have remained as enthusiastic about joining had they realized the organization could be as vicious and callous as the very aliens they claimed to protect humanity against, was debatable. In Gardner's case however, the relative mundanity of his background meant he was either completely inconsequential, or the perfect mole. Probably more the former than the latter, but that would need to be a judgment Shepard herself would make. Marianne was simply providing the major with what information she could to help Shepard along.
Surprisingly, few of the other recruits could be said to share Gardner's xenophobic leanings. That might not have been significant, but it was yet another datapoint. Still, the way the admiral was ordering her introductions, she was obviously starting with those she had the least concern about and moving towards those whom were more suspect.
"Gabriella Daniels and Kenneth Donnelly were engineers aboard the HMS Perugia, a cruiser that participated in the Battle of the Citadel," Marianne introduced. "They were not first wave, the Perugia came through after the relay was unlocked. Nonetheless, they were firsthand witnesses to the destruction the geth, and Sovereign was capable of wreaking. That seems to have been Chief Donnelly's primary motive in enlisting for this expedition." The admiral tilted her head again. "And he's apparently also a big fan of yours."
That elicited a snort from the major. Arguably those numbers had grown rather substantially since the hunt for Saren, but Shepard was not in this for posterity. She was here to get the job done, whatever it took.
"Chief Daniels appears to have tagged along with Donnelly, either out of friendship or a sense of responsibility to look out for him. Either way, she appears to be the more levelheaded one, and more cognizant of the potential repercussions of their enlistment."
And yet Gabriella had enlisted anyways. Either she really was close to Kenneth, or she had a deeper objective.
"Lieutenant Jacob Taylor you've already met," Marianne proceeded to the next recruit, "albeit briefly, during the Eden Prime operation."
The dark-skinned man in the image was certainly recognized by the major. She had made use of his unit to stall the geth forces while her own squad tried to reach the prothean beacon. Shepard had not encountered him again in the aftermath of the battle, seeing as she was quickly dispatched on a mission to ultimately save the galaxy. A mission that she was arguably still on.
"After Eden Prime, Lieutenant Taylor requested to be discharged, which the Corps agreed to on account of his status as a near sole survivor of his company. Cord-Hislop recruited him not long after as a security contractor, and he's been engaged in that work ever since."
That saw Shepard raise an eyebrow. If Jacob really had been picked up by Cerberus that quickly, then his entire discharge, on what sounded to be mental fitness grounds, was a load of bull arranged by the organization. That would indicate a greater readiness on the former lieutenant's part to play to Cerberus' tune than Shepard was liking.
"Does Lieutenant Taylor feel disaffected with the Empire, ma'am?" Shepard asked.
"Lieutenant Taylor exhibits a certain dissatisfaction with the layers of decision making that is part of the chain of command," Marianne answered. "That dissatisfaction is rooted primarily in wanting to take more effective and quicker action in response to problems and threats he feels are out there. Working through the formal chain of command therefore feels restrictive, in a way that the lieutenant feels can cost lives due to the slowness that some decisions are made. In this way the lieutenant matches exactly the sort of personnel that his present employer finds easiest to entice into joining its ranks. Competent, certain of their own judgment, and firmly believing that they are trying to do the right thing."
Seeing as Hell was well populated by those that believed in the righteousness of their cause, Shepard was far from reassured. She would need to keep a watchful eye on Jacob.
"More details of his missions are part of the detailed brief you'll be getting," the admiral summed up. "Now, this next recruit is an interesting one."
Shepard was now greeted by the image of a smiling ginger with bright green eyes.
"Kelly Chambers, officially attached to the SR2 as her yeoman, responsible for administrative tasks, ship logistics, general crew welfare, and almost certainly serving as the gentle face of Cerberus that is supposed to entice you to sympathize with the organization."
That Marianne had completely forgone the fiction of this being a Cord-Hislop expedition and namedrop the real backers showed just how serious she was about one Kelly Chambers.
"So you're saying she's genuine, ma'am?" Shepard asked as she more closely examined the projected image of the smiling redhead.
"Completely and utterly," Marianne responded. "Ms. Chambers is far from stupid, but she is possessed of a certain optimism that allows her to always hope for the good in others. While she is certainly aware of Cerberus' past transgressions, it is apparently her belief that the organization treats those transgressions as just that, genuine lapses that are to be avoided instead of simply screwups that the organization failed to cover up."
Shepard just sort of stared at Marianne. Stupid Kelly may not be, but if that was not naivety, it was certainly pushing hard on the boundaries. Or perhaps not, Cerberus may have intentionally cultured the woman to be this way by being selective about what information it revealed to her, as well as how that information was presented. One did not need to outright lie to obfuscate the truth, after all.
"Is Ms. Chambers supposed to be a plant to try to seduce me or something, ma'am?" Shepard asked.
"Nothing so crass," Marianne said. "Her selection may simply have been because she was genuinely the least objectionable of the administrative aides that Cord-Hislop could assign to the project. On the other hand, if Ms. Chambers were to somehow ingratiate herself to you in the natural course of things, I don't think her superiors would object."
"I'll keep that in mind, ma'am," Shepard said simply.
"See that you do," Marianne said. "Now, that brings us to the final candidate selected as part of your command, the one slotted to serve as your executive. You are already acquainted with Miranda Lawson, I believe."
Shepard's expression remained flatly neutral. "In passing, ma'am."
"Well, it may interest you to know that she is the genetic offspring of one Henry Lawson, head of Lawson Biomedical."
The major blinked once. "I was not aware Mr. Lawson had any children."
"Publicly, he does not," Marianne said. "And it would be somewhat inaccurate to call Miranda his daughter. Genetically, she is a clone of Lawson, produced by the doubling of his X chromosome."
Shepard's expression turned into something very much not surprise.
"I presume there is a reason Lawson has not been arrested, ma'am?" Shepard asked.
"The cloning itself took place outside of terran space, so technically Lawson did not violate any imperial law," Marianne said. "The jurisdiction that it did take place under also does not seek his extradition for any violation of their laws. The matter is further complicated by the fact that we do not have direct evidence that Lawson was, abusive, of his clone, since so long as the clone is afforded all the rights and privileges of any other person, he has not committed any violation of imperial law after registering the clone as his ward, no matter how ethically dubious his original deeds were."
And without that evidence, Lawson's transgressions were not quite serious enough to be beyond reprove. Not quite.
"At the same time, we're pretty certain that there was some sort of rupture between Lawson and Miranda," Marianne continued. "Lawson used to be a major backer of Cerberus, but after Miranda appeared as one of Cerberus' operatives, Lawson withdrew his support. We suspect that Cerberus is providing Miranda protection from her father, in exchange for her services. Exactly why that protection is necessary, well, having Miranda work directly under your command might just provide the opportunity to obtain her confidence on the matter, and possibly even convince her that certain imperial agencies might be better equipped to provide that protection than her current employers."
The major now regarded the admiral with something akin to amazement. Marianne gave a low chuckle.
"Two can play at the coopting game," she said.
Shepard nodded admiringly. "I'll see what I can do, ma'am."
Marianne returned the gesture, then the smile disappeared from the older woman's face.
"Be careful, Jane. Cerberus is not to be underestimated, whatever its appearance of cooperation may suggest. Even if their agenda isn't clearly visible, it does exist."
"I understand," Shepard responded, "Your Majesty."
With EDI's installation aboard the SR2, Shepard was now spending more time out at Ganymede than Earth these days as she continued acclimating with her AI partner and her future command. Still, sometimes errands arose that required her to make the short hop back, as was the case now as Shepard entered the imperial palace once more. The summons had the seal of the imperial family, indicating it pertained to her position as Cadre instead of merely as an officer in the imperial armed forces. To Shepard's only mild surprise, Alec was there to greet her upon the major's arrival.
"Colonel," Shepard addressed formally. "I was not aware you were in Geneva."
"I had some matters to discuss with His Majesty regarding my current assignment, and the timing worked out to coincide with your visit," Alec said simply.
"The Andromeda Initiative," Shepard name dropped said assignment. "I take it then that it's become something more serious than a mere pipe dream?"
"Some recent developments that have not yet been released to the public has resulted in it becoming so," Alec said as the two walked down the hall. "One of the sweeps the navy is doing along the fringes of the Perseus Veil encountered what we believe to be a geth assemblage of three mass relays, tied together to create a very long range FTL telescope capable of scanning beyond the galactic rim."
"Really," Shepard said, taken slightly aback by the news.
Alec nodded. "We're not entirely sure what the geth were looking for, though the possibility certainly exists that they were looking for Reapers."
"And did they find them?" the major asked.
A shake of the head. "Unfortunately the recovered data did not show any signs of them. What it did show however were some near-contemporary surveys of Andromeda, including a region called the Heleus Cluster. If the data is accurate, there are multiple golden worlds in Heleus that would be viable for colonization."
Shepard pursed her lips thoughtfully. "Near-contemporary by how much, sir?"
"50 years, give or take."
That caused the major to inhale sharply. If the data was genuine and accurate, that might mean the Initiative was actually on a course to being viable instead of just some eccentric billionaire's pipedream. Then Shepard's eyes narrowed.
"Is Andromeda being considered as some sort of fallback as well, sir?"
"It may seem like something of a long shot," Alec more or less confirmed, "but considering the nature of what we're facing, extreme solutions may be the only viable solutions."
"I can see that, sir," Shepard agreed. "Still, even if viable colonization targets have been discovered, there are still the logistical and technical challenges of actually getting to another galaxy."
"On that front, ironically the Reapers themselves may have provided one of the key components," Alec said. "According to the lab boys, Sovereign's drive core was capable of recycling the static buildup that happens aboard ships and convert it into usable electricity. Without the need to find large celestial bodies to act as discharge points, a ship driven by a similar drive could travel much further distances."
"That is promising," Shepard said. "I can see why His Majesty would want to monitor the Initiative's progress more closely by having you participate, sir." The major tilted her head. "What about Scott and Sara?"
Alec's expression actually tightened at that. "I've broached the subject of them joining the Initiative as well, and while Scott has shown a mild interest, Sara is more focused on her current career in the corps."
"I'll send a letter to both," Shepard said, "encourage them to reconsider more strongly."
The gratitude was plain enough as Alec met Shepard's gaze, just as it was the urge the colonel felt to extend a similar request to Shepard herself. It was however equally obvious that Shepard would not be taking her own advice on the matter, and so Alec refrained from crossing that particular precipice. Not that he had any further opportunity to try as the two emerged in the garden and a feminine figure in the uniform of a navy ensign figuratively and literally pounced on Shepard.
"Jane!"
The major's arms were open and waiting, seeing as she had seen the starting motion well in advance. With a chuckle Shepard returned the embrace.
"It's good to see you too, Your Highness."
Crown Princess Kathryn was in addition to the heir presumptive of the Terran Empire, she was also the a newly minted ensign within said Empire's naval arm. Indeed her father, the Emperor Charles, had actually risen to the rank of command himself before he was obliged to move to the reserve to more heavily engage in his imperial duties. Kathryn, having inherited her parents' drive, seemed determined to at least make it that far before she too was forced to get on with the business of being a princess.
Despite Kathryn's usually serious demeanor, the young woman gave no indication of letting Shepard go anytime soon. Not that the major herself minded, Kathryn was something of a cherished little sister to many Cadre officers, or even a surrogate daughter for the older ones like Alec. If she wanted to get a bit clingy from time to time, who were they to deny the girl, court proprieties be damned. Besides, it had indeed been a while since Shepard last saw the young woman.
When the two women finally let each other go, Kathryn's blue eyes slightly shimmered as they met Shepard's. The younger woman was not exactly holding back tears, but there was a definite sadness to her complexion.
"I'm sorry," Kathryn said simply.
The ripple of emotion that Shepard felt was no echo or illusion, it was what Kathryn was genuinely feeling. Like her mother and father, and like Shepard and Alec, Kathryn was also a synchronizer, and so was capable of actually pulsing her emotional state if she wanted. This ability actually gave synchronizers in general a sort of secondary empathy for their fellows, something that various psychiatrists and doctors hypothesized actually helped keep synchronizers on average more grounded and less selfish. As with all things relating to human psychology actually putting that hypothesis was devilishly complicated, but there was no denying that synchronizers did seem more attuned to the moods of others, for better or worse.
"It's alright," Shepard answered with equal succinctness, and equal meaning.
Kathryn took a deep breath, composing herself, and in a moment what stood before Shepard and Alec was not the doleful princess, but an imperial officer.
"I understand, Major, that you have come on some personal business with my family this day," Kathryn said formally.
Shepard nodded. "Yes, Your Highness."
Kathryn returned the motion. "I apologize then, Major, for the absence of my father. His Majesty is presently away attending to pressing matters of state."
That, was not exactly a lie, Shepard immediately picked up. The Emperor Charles was indeed away dealing with something else, but the timing of his absence was also very deliberate.
"That is a shame, Your Highness," Shepard said. "Nonetheless, in his absence, I hope you would be willing to hear my appeal?"
"I would," Kathryn said, "but before we get to that, there is one additional matter to attend to." The princess stepped back. "Attention to arms!"
Even with only Alec and herself standing before the princess, Shepard reflexively came to attention. The colonel did likewise, but from seemingly nowhere also pulled out a brown colored folder and presented it to Kathryn. The princes accepted it, opened it, and began reading.
"From Charles the Twelfth, by the Grace of God, Emperor of the Terran Empire, and of His other Realms and Territories, Defender of the Faith, Lord Marshal, Lord High Admiral. To our Trusty and Beloved Shepard, Evangeline. Greetings."
A very long and wordy introduction, but it did nicely to emphasize the relative authority between Shepard and her sovereign liege, and the dignity the major was herself accorded.
"We, reposing especial Trust and Confidence in your Loyalty, Courage, and good Conduct, do by these Presents Constitute and Appoint you to be an officer in the Cadre of Our Own Household Cavalry from the 7th day of March, 2185. You are therefore carefully and diligently to discharge your Duty as such in the rank of Lieutenant-Colonel or in such other Rank as We may from time to time hereafter be pleased to promote you to, and you are in such manner on such occasions as may be prescribed by Us to exercise and well discipline in their duties such officers, men ad women as may be placed under your orders from time to time and use your best endeavors to keep them in good order and discipline. And We do hereby Command them to Obey you as their superior Officer and you to observe and follow such Orders and Directions as from time to time you shall receive from Us, or any superior Officer, according to the Rules and Disciplines of War, in pursuance of the Trust hereby reposed in you."
Shepard took a deep breath, though Kathryn was not yet done with the notice.
"Given at Our Court, at Geneva the 7th day of March in the 32nd Year of Our Reign. By His Majesty's Command. Countersigned by Lieutenant-General Alexander Kosygin and Fleet Admiral Kassandra Alexander."
Kathryn closed the folder and Alec proceeded to adjust the insignia upon Shepard's uniform to match her new rank. The princess issued a crisp salute.
"Congratulations, Lieutenant-Colonel Shepard."
"My thanks, Your Highness."
Alec then stepped before Shepard and saluted. "Congratulations, Colonel."
Shepard gave a playful smile. "Thank you, Colonel."
"Now," Kathryn said, after the pleasantries were concluded. "I believe you had something to discuss yourself, Colonel?"
The smile disappeared as Shepard met Kathryn's gaze. "Yes, Your Highness. I am here today to request an indefinite leave of absence from my duties as Cadre."
That was it. No explanation for why Shepard wanted the leave, what she might be doing during that leave, nothing. After all, what need to provide further explanation when all present already knew the reasons. Even so, Kathryn's expression wavered for a brief moment before she responded.
"On my authority, your request is granted, Colonel." Kathryn took a deep breath. "And I look forward to when your leave ends and you are returned to Our service."
End of Chapter 3
One more chapter of setup to go. Some of the scenes ended up going on for longer than I originally intended, so I broke the material up into two chapters. Quite a bit of arc welding as well going on in the setup chapters.
We have a very, very sneaky empress here. She didn't become head of ONI for nothing.
So, yeah. There's something about Shepard that means she doesn't actually feel 'sad' like a lot of other people. For her, things that would make other people 'sad' actually make her angry. In some ways this makes her a fantastically lethal warrior, since she's not likely to get shocked into emotional paralysis or anything. In other ways, it could risk making her do monstrous things if her anger is unchecked.
I'm still toying around with what Shepard's sexual orientation actually is. In some respects, she's not actually indicating a preference for women by the way she keeps wording her relationship with her AI partners, it's just that all synchronizers to a certain extent consider such partnerships very intimate. After all, the AI partner pretty much sees and feels everything the human partner does. And the vocabulary available to describe such a degree of intimacy tends to veer towards the romantic, even if there is not an actual romance at play. The other reason Shepard does it is just to troll non-synchronizers.
That all being said, Shepard being sterile does mean she approaches the concept of a romantic relationship from a different angle. A lot of people that get together do have some inclinations to eventually have kids, usually with the two parents doing the deed to make the kid. Shepard knows she cannot provide that to any prospective partner, and yes adoption is a thing, but her sterility is still not something that can be just waved away. So anyone that she does end up with, has to be someone that accepts that part of Shepard as well, which is not by any means a trivial ask.
So I've figured out exactly what it is the Reapers are doing, why they perform the periodic harvests, for my version of ME. I personally think it's a much grander design than what we got in canon, and on the scale of which I think is befitting of the Reapers' mystique, so make of that what you will. Even wrote up a short draft for a future scene where it's explained what they're doing. The good news to this is I can sprinkle more bits of foreshadowing and allow for a more coherent reveal as time goes on. The bad news is considering that scene is supposed to take place mid to late-way in the third story of the trilogy, you all have something like 60-80 or so chapters to go before you learn what my Reapers are up to. Maybe by then I'll get a tvtropes recommendation for this trilogy.
Note that I had already worked out the method by which the Grand Alliance will win the war against the Reapers. And anyone that thinks 'Crucible' is the only answer is seriously underestimating my creativity.
I've been writing long enough that I have a few longtime readers that follow me from story to story as I work on them. Some are pretty quick to jump on the bandwagon when I start a new work. Others, all I can ask is, what took you so long? :P
So I actually do have some more images commissioned for this trilogy. One that was recently finished was of Hannah Shepard, Jane and John's mother. If all of you don't mind some minor spoilers, you can reconstruct the following link to check it and the short bio I've written for my version of Hannah out.
Link: deviantart dot com slash z98 slash art slash Fleet-Admiral-Hannah-Shepard-823070386