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Requested By :

Espacole and Spork

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"Shepard." Jack Harper nodded in greeting as the holo display solidified and normalized into the woman's uniformed appearance. And then, to his smile, added a second, to which he cocked his head and paid a simple nod. "And Miss Tali'Zorah. A pleasure."

"Sure." The masked woman said, "If you say so."

"Tali…"

"I'm not shooting him, Shepard. Give me credit."

"As amusing as it would be to see your… Partner? Try and gun me down with holographic flechettes, I'm afraid I reached out for business." Jack smiled, taking a long drink from his glass to allow the women a chance to step in, if they so chose. When he set it aside and they hadn't, he went on, "As you know, the Omega-4 Relay is, as far as we're concerned, unmapped. Untraversed. We don't know where it leads, but what we do know is that the Collector vessel traverses it regularly."

"Our theory," he continued, "is that the Collector vessel has some unique way of interfacing with the Relay. More precised coordinates, a… Computer system, something of the like. I have dedicated a not inconsiderable amount of resources to finding out the whats, whys and hows of it all. Aside from your reconstruction, Shepard, this has been the single largest investment point under Cerberus' purview."

"Well," he chuckled, "aside from your personal army, Shepard."

"It's not my personal-"

"Don't be ashamed, Shepard." Jack cut her off, smiling, "It's a visionary motion. And one I am happy to pour resources into. You should know, I have already begun construction consolidation for the venture."

"Where?"

"Nowhere specific." He frowned, "I'm merely collating resources, credits, manpower- Preparing as best I'm able. Once the Collectors are dealt with, I will be able to focus administrative resources to properly managing this. And you will be able to focus on it as well."

"Uh huh." Tali's head rolled to give her partner what he assumed was a meaningful look that he, without all the 'experience' gathered knowing her, couldn't understand. When she turned back to him, she sighed and asked, "Then what is this about?"

"What I started out talking about." He nodded, "The Collectors. One of my teams located a derelict Reaper corpse, and has been studying it closely for-"

"You let them board it?!"

"I did, yes." He nodded, holding up a hand for peace and pause and, when they gave it, explaining simply, "I dispatched six teams, working two hour cycle-shifts on a weekly mental review. Any instability, even the tiniest anxiety or bad dreams, and I pulled the entire team. I made it clear this was not a penalty, or a punishment, and that pay continued along with remote-work on other programmes, to prevent deceptions. I also had a detachment of Cerberus Assault Troops on standby an hour away, in case of problems. Every single measure I, Miss Lawson, or several specialist advisors on the project could come up with was enacted."

"You were careful. Good." Shepard nodded, and he was willing to take as much of a compliment as he was liable to get from her. "So?"

"My team has gone out of contact." He answered, frowning, "Only for two cycles, which is less than is a standard concern. But…"

"But the Reapers are involved." Shepard murmured, "Indoctrination?"

"I suspect pirates." He answered, "It's located close to Batarian space."

"How close?"

"Close enough." He answered, "In the border regions, heavily contested, but rarely patrolled by official Alliance navy or Hegemony forces. Instead, mercenaries conduct this business for them. Miy forces are technically on the payment profile of a nearby mining conglomerate we… Well, that's hardly relevant. What is relevant is that my Assault Units went silent, and no communiques have come out since. Running theory is-"

"Jammers." Shepard murmured, "Batarian slavers deploy them to block comms. If they hit your AUs…"

"Then they'd have hit the research post." He nodded, "And boarded the Reaper. That kind of salvage? They'd stay. Work it. And without my protocols…"

"Fuck me."

"Now, Shepard." He smiled, unable to resist the urge to prod at her. "In front of your partner? Why, it's almost like you want her to shoot me."

"Joker…"

The line died suddenly, and he knew the pilot had cut it. Laughing, he shook his head and turned his chair, watching the sun's fires arc and bend artfully. Leaning back, he took a long sip of his drink and frowned. All was going well, and so of course, fate saw fit to hurl a slavery raid, of all things, right into his path. And now he had a team of expert scientists to replace. Irreplaceable minds and skillsets. Hopefully, most had survived and been enslaved - he could use his contacts in Hegemony space to buy them and exfiltrate them. But some would have died in the boarding action. Errant fire, errant explosions, decompressions - the usual.

A damn shame…

While he watched the sun, he keyed up a program and listened as the android, Polendina, spoke, "But he's not evil. Just… Misunderstood. And lonely."

Normally, he would have dismissed audio like this - claims like these - out of hand. Religiosity didn't equate to anything good, historically. And when it did, it didn't equate to anything scientific. And that was all his ends cared for. But for a machine to believe so ardently…

He turned and held up his empty glass, "Refill."

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"These are slavers." Shepard said, armored up and leaning on the wide, ovular table in the briefing room. Her team were around her, armored and ready as they came into the system under stealth. She gave each a look and frowned, resting her hand on top of her helmet. "Batarian slavers are vicious, brutal, and will only show enough quarter to fill their holds. Kill or be killed. Hit hard and fast. Are we clear?"

They all nodded, and she straightened, "Then if we're all ready, I have plans laid out to-"

"Ah." Mordin's hand went up and he frowned, "Concern."

"Yes, Doctor?"

"Reviewed my orders." He said, pursing his lips. "Conflict assured. But…"

"But?"

"Will not kill." He said quietly, "Rather, will not move to a place to kill."

"You afraid of a little blood, Doctor?" Grunt rumbled, standing beside Nikos who gave him a look. He ignored it and snarled, "Finally got your fill, eh?"

"You could say that." He nodded, turning to Shepard whose fury had quickly died out into… Confusion. "Apologies. Will not do this. Happily deploy to rear. Medical service. Support. Will not seek to kill. At least, not sentient beings."

"But the Collectors?"

"Will kill them." He nodded, "And others, if pushed. But…"

"You won't go out, purposefully, to take lives." Nikos answered, filling in the words the Salarian himself seemed unsure of. Turning from him to her Krogan companion, she said, "He's demonstrated strength in killing. In more ways than one. What is bolder than going into a warzone without the intent to fight, but to help?"

"Hmph."

"He's not…" Shepard sighed, shaking her head, and opened her mouth to argue until she felt a soft hand on her shoulder. She turned and met Tali's gaze, and saw the little smile and nod. The clear message. So she sighed and turned back and nodded, "Fine. Solus, with Vakarian and, uh, Polendina. I'm revising you three into a fast response medical unit. In case there are survivors among the, uh, the science team."

"Thank you, Commander."

"Mhm." She nodded, already running through the unit-compositions and changes she'd need to make. "Joker, ETA?"

"Thirty, Ma'am."

"Alright." She sighed, "Nikos, you and Grunt will be with me and… Legion. Strike One, right at the outpost's main docking bay."

"Legion, Ma'am?"

"We need our sturdiest fighters." She frowned, meeting Nikos' gaze and letting out a long, shaky breath. "Best place to learn some trust is in a combat zone, isn't it?"

And, well, if it tried anything she could shoot it because she'd have her gun on hand.

"By your word, Commander." Nikos nodded, turning to the machine at the farthest point in the room from Shepard herself. "Legion?"

"We will operate under Shepard, Commander's orders without complaint." Legion nodded, flicking Penny a look and turning to the rest of them, "We are… Combat ready."

For a long second, everything was quiet…

Then, quietly, Penny murmured, "Yes!"

Shepard had to try hard not to snort. Zaeed… Didn't even bother to try, clutching the side of his jaw and laughing outright.

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She ran the rag through the grooves of her spear-form carefully, slowly, using a nail to dig it into the nooks and crannies carefully while the sounds of the rest of the team prepping throughout the shuttle-bay echoed, forgotten, around her. When she was done, she flicked her hand and it shifted through spear and rifle forms smoothly, fluidly. Better than they had after she'd gotten back from Tuchanka. Setting it aside, she picked up one of her knee-protectors and got to work on it, too, smiling a bit as she worked. It had been a while, since she simply sat down in her quarters and meticulously, calmly cleaned each and every crack…

Once her knee-protector was done, she reached for the spot on the bench where she always kept her-

Her fingers brushed over empty cloth and she turned, looking at the empty spot. Akuou's spot… Her eyes burned a bit and, slowly, she withdrew her hand.

"Nikos." She flinched, turning as the Commander joined her, looking at the empty spot before turning to her and frowning. "I… Didn't mean to-"

"I'm fine." She sighed, turning and picking up a piece of her shin-plate and frowning. "You just… Caught me while I was thinking."

"Mhm." Shepard nodded, laying a hand on her shoulder and turning Pyrrha back to her. "About… Your Akuou, right? The shield?"

"Y-Yes." She nodded, avoiding her gaze, "I-I know it's stupid, but-"

"It's not." The Commander cut her off, making Pyrrha flinch again, turning back to her with a spark of… Confusion in the back of her mind. The Commander took her hand away, laid it on the empty spot, and sighed. "Tali's people, the Quarians? They… Have a tradition, regarding their suits. It's complicated, but in essence, when two people become partners they… Connect hoses between their suits. To normalize their immune systems."

"That sounds…" Pyrrha blinked, confused but… Curious, too. "Dangerous?"

"It is. Sometimes, people can even… Not important." Shepard sighed, shaking her head, "What is, is that they keep the hose. Even years later, it's something… Precious. Something they'll sanitize for sharing with their children. Something they'll be cremated with, if they don't pass it down."

"It sounds like a wonderful tradition, Commander."

"Yeah, it…" She sighed and turned, holding her leg at an almost award angle to let her get at the back of her thigh and opening a small compartment on her thigh and drawing out a little silver clasp. Like the kind you'd use on a valve. She held it up and said, "For a week, once she and I were… Serious, I stayed in my armor. 'My suit'. Ran cleaning programs, the like, but just…"

"You wanted your own environment." Pyrrha put together, eyes widening a bit and a small smile pulling across her lips. Then she flicked the little, worn clasp a look and realized, "That's the-"

"Tali cried when I explained why I'd stayed suited so long." Shepard murmured, sounding… Bemused, and wistful and happy all at once. "We did it, though. She was… Sick for three days. But she was never happier than after, because… She can go maskless around me, in my quarters, and only catch a cold. From a Human, that's…"

"A lot." Pyrrha guessed, looking past her at the Quarian across the room, arguing with Grunt about something on his Omni-Tool. When she turned back to the Commander, she asked, "Why are you… Telling me about this?"

"After what I did-"

"Commander, I don't want to hear about-"

"Please." Shepard said, voice… Pleading, and eyes just as begging from behind her visor. "Let me talk."

"You could just order me to, you know." She chuckled.

"I don't want to." She said, turning to look over Pyrrha's disassembled armor and letting her eyes linger on Milo where it rested at the top of the table. "I… If you tell me to fuck off right now, I will. I'm just- I'm trying to- I'm not good at this, Nikos. I don't know how to-"

"Be human?"

"I… I'm not a soldier, Nikos." She sighed, voice breathy as she turned, leaning against the table and letting her head droop. "Everyone calls me one, b-but I'm not."

"I mean…" Pyrrha joined her, if only so she could meet the woman's eyes when she turned to her. "I am not, either."

"Yeah but… Everything I am is bad, Nikos. You- You're a hero. You've made that clear in your bearing, in your being, in your- Your everything." She sighed, flicked her a look, then turned away and sighed again, more shakily. "I'm an assassin. A spy. A-A saboteur. I sneak in, wheedle my way past people, past security, and I murder. That's what I was until Anderson found me."

"Anderson?" Pyrrha blinked, "The… Human Councilor?"

"Mhm." She sighed, "I was N6 then. Specialized, but… He uplifted me to N7. To… To the great 'Commander Shepard'."

"Hero of the Citadel." Pyrrha nodded, watching the woman's shoulders tighten at the words. And watching, across the room, the Quarian turn and eye them. Quietly, Pyrrha asked, "Is your, um, partner listening to us?"

"What?" Shepard straightened and turned to the side, and then sighed and shook her head. Chuckling, she turned back to Pyrrha and said. "No. But she's watching me. She can- Quarians can read people. Without faces, at least whole faces, it's hard to do expression. You get good at reading body language. And Quarian partners are… Invasive."

"In a loving way?"

"Very." She nodded, waving the Quarian off and chuckling when Tali nodded and turned back to her argument with Grunt. "My point is… I get it. I understand caring about a 'thing' as more than a thing. Your shield was special to you, right?"

"In my culture, our weapons are… Extensions of ourselves." She nodded, flicking Shepard a look to see if she was paying attention - or even cared. And then when those hard eyes held hers, she paused, for a moment. Surprised by the… Intent and interest, there. Chuckling, she went on, "We… Design them ourselves, if we can, or get sometime trusted to do it. Making them, too. And they have names."

"Names?"

"Mhm." She nodded, laying a hand on the sword, "Milo. And… Akuou was my shield."

"I thought those were just the model names." Shepard murmured, a touch of realization coming to her voice. "God, Nikos, I had no idea."

"Yeah." She sighed, "Only Penny did…"

"Are you…" Shepard cleared her throat, unsure, and sighed tiredly, "Are you, uh, it's not my place, after- Are you alright?"

"No." She sighed, shrugging. "But… I will cope."

"You don't need to." Shepard suggested quietly, "I can pull you from the op. No problems. Reshuffled the teams once, no reason I can't-"

"No!" Shepard blinked and even Zaeed, nearby, turned to raise an eyebrow. She waved them both off and laughed. "Shepard, I am… I am fine. I am upset, grieving, yes. But I am a Huntress, too. I am ready to fight, to do my duty. Regardless of my heart's aches. I… Have been for some time."

"I… See."

"Before you." She rushed to say, "I… I was taken away. Rescued. But…"

"You lost people."

"Mhm." She nodded, "And I can't go home. Ever again. I may not have known my team, my friends, long, but…"

"They were yours." Shepard nodded, understanding laced into every inch of her voice. "What were… If it's any of my business, I mean. What where their names? What were they like?"

"My team were Jaune Arc, Nora Valkyrie and Lie Ren." She smiled, letting out a long breath. "Nora was… Always running around, like she had sugar for blood and caffeine in her head. Ren was her partner, and he was… The opposite. Serene calm, always. Aside from when he was cooking."

"He was a chef?"

"Nora's chef, yes." She chuckled, "He could spin pancakes on a skillet and keep Nora out of the chocolate chips at the same time. Sometimes without looking."

"They sound charming."

"They were…" She sighed, "They were."

"And what about-"

"Commander, we are on final approach." EDI spoke, voice echoing over the bay's audio-speakers so everyone could hear, too. "Four ships are in close orbit. All inactive, and all matching known Batarian models circa ten years ago."

"Standard Batarian method, Commander." Joker chipped in, "Ten year old models that 'got mothballed' and 'went missing' end up out here, slavin' away. Havin' a ball."

"Got it." Shepard said, turning and raising her voice, "Bravo, Charlie, Delta- Into the Kodiak in three. Recheck your seals, be damn sure you're ready for exo. Once Alpha breaches through primary, you'll be expected to be at your breach-points and make entry into the Reaper and the facility itself. Move slow, check for resistance - and don't be afraid to pull back if it's too heavy. You're exploratory, support, not primary assault. How copy?"

"Clear." The voices rang across the room and Shepard turned back to her.

"I enjoyed our talk." Shepard said, "It was… Nice. To be able to talk, like this, I mean."

"It was." Pyrrha nodded, smiling. For once, it felt like… Things were the way they should have been, if they'd never had their issues. Finally, she laid a hand on Shepard's shoulder and said, "I'll tell you about Jaune later. Over dinner, perhaps."

"My, Nikos." Shepard chuckled, "My partner hasn't even left yet."

"O-Oh, I-" She blinked, flushed, and stammered, "N-No, I meant, um."

"Relax, Nikos." Shepard chuckled, turning to leave and offering a parting, "You're too easy to fuck with."

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Next arc is the Reaper IFF and for those that may be wondering 'Isn't Legion's absence going to gut a lot of the story of te Reaper IFF mission?' Yes. It did.

I've been studying. By which I mean playing Dead Space. To write the coming chapters.

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Wynn'tr :

Lol. Lmao.

Master Ayaka :

She has to touch things in canon. However, what is never explained is HOW LONG after touching a thing she can manipulate it. We know she touches it nightly, up until a bit before that, in training. The power up, where she has to focus and burn Aura real fast, is to move metal she has NEVER touched. Ever. That ability is the difference.

Dr Killinger :

Don't worry, I'm sure the drama between the two races is wholly solved, lmao.

Kishinokurobi :

A lot of these implications are going to come up later. The GoD, the implications of him - the characters, and me too, we just don't have the space for it right now. But as I showed with TIM, there are people paying attention. People who are curious. Wrex, too.

You're correct. There's a lot of intentionally implied nuance here, and a touch of very human hypocrisy. It's just a matter of scale. Because sure, the people who wouldn't pull that lever are cowards - but if you pulled it and my sister was the one tied to the other track? I wouldn't care. Pyrrha, and others, just realized that Mordin is a man standing on a mountain of corpses. And that is… A thing.

This is, alas, another thing to be deal with later. When the Genophage Arc of ME3 comes into play.

Glrasshopper :

It runs on ME tech, thanks to GoD. The 'magic' is that the internals work in spite of how some of the science, necessarily being different from Remnant to ME tech, works in spite of the differences.

Fullmetal :

To an earlier chapter review - Killing Shepard didn't exactly work last time. Someone sneaking into the resistance, so to speak, could feed the Reapers intel far more valuable than just killing one woman who they've already killed and failed at.

As for GoD worship…

Yeah, Pyrrha doesn't do much. She prays in times of great need. Penny is the one who does more routine thinking, and will talk about him, as shown with Samara. More concrete ideas regarding him and how it works would… Kinda go against his nature, you know? He's intentionally a kinda loose deity. BUILDING a temple, for instance, is kind of difficult to cogitate regarding a god of destruction, ya know?

Regardless, more of that will be touched in the interim from ME2 to 3. I'm saving it for that, along with a couple things, to connect the two 'Eras' so to speak.

Also, as stated in the review right above yours, a lot was just to make it work. Her shield WAS meant to be more durable, though. In the 'can take several direct, repeated blows from a Biotic Krogan Warlord's maul in quick succession before breaking' way. Like, in lore, literal tanks would fail to do that.

Glad you like the story! Hope I answered well.