"SHEPARD!" Williams shouted as she rushed to her side.
By the time I got to my feet, I saw now that both soldiers were huddled over Shepard, obviously concerned over her well-being.
"She has a pulse," Kaidan said, taking his fingers off her neck.
"Hey, don't worry guys, I'm fine too," I groaned, which found myself a glare from Williams, which I promptly ignored. "Alenko, she's probably only unconscious." I winced as I felt a sharp pain in my stomach. "See if you can radio the Normandy to...have the med bay ready for her though...just in case."
He hovered over her for a few more seconds before looking up. "Right."
"Who died and put you in charge?" the chief suddenly interjected.
"Just trying to help," I replied back, returning her gaze.
I then noticed Kaidan also eyeballing me as he talked to the SR-1 over his headpiece.
What? What did I say?
He looked at me for a couple more seconds before turning to the Chief.
"Hey Williams, he had the right idea," Kaidan said getting off the radio. "Joker found a spot to land but it's a ways off. We're going to have to carry her to the ship. Grab her other arm." He lifted Shepard on his shoulder. Ashley made a move to do the same.
"Wait!" They both looked up. "What if we get ambushed on the way?" I stammered. "Wouldn't one of you two be better equipped to cover whoever carries the Commander back to the ship?"
Ashley looked at me grudgingly. "...don't drop her."
"Yeah, of course," I said smiling back, hefting Shepard's left arm over my shoulder.
Sweet.
The walk back was silent and relatively peaceful. Which was a quite welcome surprise. Progress however was slow, as Ashley regularly made hand motions to halt, scouting ahead for any drones that might have been patrolling our area.
As we hiked further up the hill, I revisited what had gone down at the spaceport.
As much as I hated to admit it, I was useless back there. Since I had only killed two Geth, though it was a personal best, I could be sure that my skill with a gun wouldn't get me any special recommendations from the squad. While carrying Shepard at least got me to the Normandy, I still had to figure out a way to get ON to the Normandy. And looking at my skills, I obviously had no intrinsic talent for tech either. My failure in disarming the bomb proved that. So neither were quite going to help my case well-
Huh, speaking of tech...
My eyes lit up as the faint orange glow of an omni-tool appeared around my right hand.
"What are you doing?" Kaidan said as he glanced over to me, puzzled.
"Oh, uh, wasn't sure if it was working or not. Just, uh, wanted to check."
Uh...Omni-tool power down?
It faded away.
Well...that's ballin' as shit.
I turned my attention back to the task at hand.
So...mental note on progress. I have armor. I have a gun. I have an omni-tool. What I don't have is a story to get me onto the Normandy. I don't think just carrying Shepard back will get me on the ship with Kaidan and Williams.
And then I mulled the thought over for a second...
Wait...why was Williams even invited onto the Normandy in the first place?
She was just some random soldier Shepard and Kaidan ran into on the way there. And the same went for Garrus, Wrex, and Tali for that matter. I guess one reason Williams was recruited was because she was part of the Alliance. The rest of them though were all just random aliens you kind of just ran into during the game. Total strangers you afterwards just let onto the ship and join your crew.
Well at least they could all handle themselves in a fight...
That was clear enough. I didn't have Tali's smarts, Garrus' skill with a rifle, or Wrex's form of panache going for me. So again, I revisited my own scenario.
Did I actually have any skills of my own that I could market? It definitely didn't seem like I woke up with any special talents. No noticeable skills with a gun, no Biotics, no nothing. I did get the Prothean vision along with Shepard but...
...Yeah. I really don't want to relive that experience in any way, shape or form.
All I had besides that was again, my armor, my predator and apparently an omni-tool.
Well...those and...
As the thought suddenly gripped me, I dissected it thoroughly in my head.
Hm...yeah...that...that might actually work...
And then the grin spread across my face. If the story didn't get me into the Normandy as one of the crew, it would at least intrigue them enough to take me along with them.
Score.
After what seemed like hours of carrying her, Shepard was now beginning to get heavy.
I looked out across the large valley to our left. It extended as far as my eyes could reach, but any picturesque view of this scene was obscured by the large columns of smoke rising from the lowland. Giant towers black with char burned along the valley's ridge. The planet itself had grown darker still, with smog still yet choking the sky. Actually observing the horizon for the first time...it looked like the planet itself was dying.
"There it is."
I turned my ahead away from the bleak landscape and back to the path ahead. Past a small group of trees was, yes, the Normandy, docked in the clearing, surrounded by what seemed to be the walls of a quarry. I could only see its back, but the sight was still incredible, the scale of the ship itself tremendous.
A large ramp slowly lowered from the Normandy as we got closer.
Sweet.
Then, who could only be Captain Anderson, followed by a retinue of guards, walked out from it to greet us. Williams who had taken point the entire trek decided to fall behind us with their appearance. And once we reached them, Kaidan freed his arm to give a salute to Anderson, who had stopped at the end of the ramp. Following the action, I struggled to support Shepard's limp body on my own.
"How bad is it?" he questioned, looking down at Shepard's head. It was dangling unceremoniously several inches above the ground. I struggled to get her upright until Anderson's wing-men helped pick her up.
"She's still breathing, but best get Doctor Chakwas to have a look," Kaidan said as he watched them lay her on a stretcher and carry her back into the Normandy.
"Already planned too," Anderson replied. Then, clearly disturbed, he continued "What the hell happened down here?"
He glanced toward me quickly and then did a double take. He stared at me long and hard before moving his eyes over my shoulder. "I thought this was Jenkins." he said, returning to look at Alenko. "What-"
"Hey Captain?" I overheard from Anderson's headpiece. "Are we gonna take off anytime soon? Because I reallllllly don't think this is the best place to sit down and have a nice chat."
That voice. Could it...oh it has to. Oh man. Classic Joker.
"No, you're right. Start her up. We're leaving now." He ushered us inside the cargo bay as the thrusters of the Normandy begun to thrum. Once the ramp locked into place behind us, the entire ship seemed to lurch forward. I then felt a slight sense of vertigo as the Normandy propulsed itself away from the ground, and as I also assumed, left the planet's surface. Still following him across the cargo bay, Anderson stopped short of the elevator and turned back around to face our group.
"I need a rundown of what exactly happened on that planet lieutenant."
"It was bad Captain. Once we made landing, we only got a short distance before we were ambushed. Jenkins-"
I wouldn't have thought that we'd be debriefed in the garage...
As the story went on, I took stock of my surroundings. Behind my left was the Mako, the BTR tank of tomorrow, sort of also resembling a large, futuristic range rover at the same time. Unlike the conventional range rover, it had a pretty sizable mass accelerator cannon attached on its top. I looked on in wonder as I imagined all the amazing adventures that we would have in it.
I swear, everything so far has been pretty freakin' sweet...
"-called Saren-"
I looked back in time to see Anderson's shock when Kaidan dropped Saren's name. But who cares about that.
Deciding to turn to the right now, I could see the team's lockers, work bench, and the containers that would soon become Wrex's space. The area still felt like a weird place to stop and have a conversation however. You'd think they do this in the conference room or something. Then I looked back to Anderson and noticed for the first time that there were still two marines standing behind him, eyeing me. Suspiciously.
Oh. Now that makes sense...you wouldn't want to invite complete strangers onto your secret warship, would you? You're screening us first. Clever.
Which meant that just because I was on the Normandy didn't mean I was completely out of the woods yet.
Just my luck. Welp. Here we go~
I rehearsed my lines a couple more times before Kaidan wrapped up his story. "- and then we arrived here at the LZ."
Anderson glanced at me peripherally before turning to Williams. "So...you're the last of the 212?"
"Yes sir," she said somberly.
"I saw the destruction from up here. I can't imagine what it was like on the ground." He paused. "I'm sorry for your loss Ms..."
"Miss Gunnery Chief Ashley Williams Sir!"
I noticed the beginnings of a small smirk take in the corner of his lips. "Well Chief Williams, if Alliance Command approves it...how would you feel about being transferred to the crew of the Normandy? We could use someone of your expertise."
She was clearly awestruck by the offer.
"I..It'd be an honor sir!"
"Good, then Private Fredricks will give you a tour of the ship while we get the request processed. I'd like a mission report later from you too."
"Of course sir!"
The Chief saluted and then followed Fredricks into the elevator, with the door shutting quickly behind them. Then the man turned in my direction next. And looking up to him, I just now realized how much the man towered over me. In fact, the man must have been around 6'5 or something. And in addition to his already intimidating figure, I now found that the Captain was staring at my face with an incredibly intense look. I already felt myself shrinking back into the armor I was wearing.
"And you're...the Alliance investigator they found?"
Oh. Right. Go time.
"Oh, Alenko must've misspoke. I'm not with the Alliance...Captain. Just a free-lance investigator hired to take care of a small smuggling problem." I took a breath before I gave them the rest of the spiel. "And I just want to say thanks for allowing me on your vessel. Really needed a ride out of there...so if there's anything I could do for you, just let me know. I'd be glad to help! Whether it be helping around the ship or giving a detailed account of the turian that killed-"
"Are you sure Saren was his name?" Anderson abruptly interjected, face now very grave.
"Uh...yeah, it was definitely him." Then to really sell it, I decided to add, "I'd recognize that Turian Spectre anywhere."
"You know of him?" Anderson looked surprised.
"What? Of course I do! How could I not?!" I turned to Kaidan feigning a look of surprise. "The youngest Turian to be inducted into the Spectres? The guy who single-handedly wiped out the Grim Skulls? One of the most out-spoken alien critics of the Systems Alliance and huMANITY ITSELF!?...Yeah I've heard of him."
And my mom said that video games would never help me in life...
...although all of that information did just come from a book.
Whatever.
"A lot of that isn't widely known information," Anderson replied sternly.
"When you have the job I do, you tend to end up getting dirt on a lot of people, regardless of whether you want it or not." He arched an eyebrow at me. "I'm positive it was him. Mean looking bastard, silver skin, blue cybernetic eyes, a giant hunk of metal for a-" I took a moment to think.
Which side?!
"— left arm...?" Anderson closed his eyes in frustration at hearing this. "I can't see why one of the council's most trusted Spectres would lead a massacre like this though," I thought out loud next. "Especially with such a strange ally as the Geth."
Anderson opened his eyes again. "And you're sure Saren and the Geth were working together?"
"If they weren't, they didn't give a rat's ass when he walked into a group of them and started ordering them around."
"Captain, the other colonist we found with him reported the same thing."
Anderson brought a hand to his face. "The Council is not going to like hearing this...If this is true, they're going to want evidence."
This was my ticket in.
Anderson now turned to the other marine behind him. "Emerson. Open a channel with Ambassador Udina. I'll need to speak with him in a moment."
Emerson nodded and entered the elevator that had just returned to the garage.
I saw my chance and took it. "Hey, that guy killed a lot of good folks down there. If testifying as a witness could help, I'd be glad to. It's the least I can do for you since you guys practically saved my life," I said, just as I had rehearsed.
"I appreciate that Mister...Shield was it?" he asked again.
"Uh yup, glad to help!"
Anderson stared at me, bizarrely I admit, for a good amount of time before he turned to Kaidan and spoke. "This entire situation stinks to high heaven...it certainly won't help our case when they hear that the beacon was destroyed..."
"Hey, if it makes you feel any better, I'm sure that would have happened regardless of whether or not you picked it up," I prattled.
He looked back to me. "When you and Shepard were attacked by the beacon, did anything out of the ordinary happen? Alenko said it had you both in some kind of energy field for quite a while. And that both of you were apparently caught in some kind of trance?"
"I can't remember exactly what happened," I lied. "I...You should ask Shepard about that when she wakes up. She'll probably be able to tell you more than me. She was a lot closer to it."
Anderson sighed and motioned for us to follow him into the elevator that had just come back down.
After he pushed the button for the next floor, he turned around to face us again. "Alenko, I'm leaving it up to you for where...our guest will be staying while he's on board." His eyes met mine. I felt his eyes peer into my soul. Like he could see right through me. "Please, make yourself at home while you're on the Normandy." He then paused for a second, and I almost felt like he was waiting for me to say something. "...Just be mindful of what you touch." Turning his back to both of us as the elevator opened again, he finished with an "If you'll excuse me, I need to file a report on this."
As Anderson walked away briskly, Kaidan sighed, taking that as his queue to give me a tour.
"So uh...I guess let me show you where our bunks are."
We turned around the corner of the elevator and entered the dining hall. Or cafeteria. It basically just consisted of a long table smack dab between two bulkheads. Past that were some lockers and the console Kaidan usually stood by all game. The bunk room itself wasn't much further away, just past all this stuff and at the end of hallway where the sleeping pods used to be. Entering the dark room, we found a couple crew members already catching some snooze in the beds.
"If you need anything, I'll be at the station over there writing my mission brief," he whispered, pointing pointed back towards the dining area. "I guess you should try to catch some rest before we dock too. But if you got injured or need a quick checkup though, the med bay is over there." He motioned to Chakwas' office. "...nice meeting you," he didn't forget to add before turning around.
He only took a couple of steps before I stopped him for just one more important question.
"Before you go...could you point me to the bathroom?"
I struggled for a looooong time before I finally figured out how to unlatch the bottom portion of my armor. And I let out a sigh of relief after I finished the task. Standing there in front of the urinal, I already began to think of my next move.
If I remember right, Shepard's going to wake up in like twelve to fifteen hours. So I have a bunch of time to kill. If I reveal that I received the same vision as Shepard when she wakes up, that would definitely score me some brownie points for sure. Although, if I had to relive the vision again after getting the Prothean Cipher or every time Liara wants to meld or if we touch another beacon...actually no, I don't think I could handle it.
The mere thought of the experience at the spaceport chilled me to the bone. I firmly decided against it.
I'm not going to mention it if they don't ask. And now that that's decided, I'm still only with the Normandy gang until Saren's trial receives a verdict. I have from here until then to come up with a plan to ingratiate myself with the crew...
I sighed as I finished up at the latrine and waddled over to the sink, continuing my train of thought.
...am I still sticking with this elaborate back story?
With what I was claiming, I could expect extreme back lash if it didn't work out as planned. But...
It's the only option where I can use the sole ace up my sleeve no questions asked.
After splashing some water on my face, I lazily looked up to the mirror to look at myself. I then froze upon seeing the face staring back.
...that's new.
While strange, it was a face I was familiar with. Kind of.
It was angular, possessing a jawline that could chisel granite. Black hair covered its head, kept short and parted to the side. Dark brown eyes stared back at me, sitting below thick eyebrows slanted down, giving the owner a constant look of disappointment. An aquiline nose was placed between the eyes, with the rest of the face plagued by an immense amount of stubble.
This is the Shepard I'm familiar with.
Though the face also looked fatigued. The eyes staring back at me were sunken in with bags under them, looking like they hadn't rested in ages. The creases lining it told me that this was someone probably just entering their 30's too. Tall, Dark and Handsome Mark Meer had seen better days. But the face I looked at could definitely be one of a gruff PI. One to fit my story.
Well well well...isn't this just cliché after cliché...
"So," I began to recap in my head.
I have no memory of my name or personal information, and only woke up with memories of what I had done over my past week. While I can picture the faces of loved ones, I just can't remember their names. And B, along with apparently losing my memories, I have also apparently taken on the appearance of Shepard...My Shepard.
Though I noticed it was not quite a carbon copy of the "Commander" I knew. His hair was much darker than what I had made it in game. 'Shepard' was paler than I had remembered too.
Might be the light. Might be due to the switch from 2nd gen console graphics to real life...
Whatever the reason, I decided I had stared at my face long enough, and turned off the faucet.
I let out a long yawn after exiting the bathroom, having spent another good chunk of time re-latching my armor's lower straps. Some shut-eye couldn't hurt I thought as I walked back toward the bunk room. But there was just one more thing I needed to do...
Omni-tool...
It didn't appear.
Omni-tool...Activate!
Nothing.
I waved my hand around a couple of times before it finally showed up.
I thought you responded to thought.
It flickered.
Hmmmmm, well then...Omni-tool...search "Commander Shepard" on the extranet.
Nothing happened. And so I ended up fiddling around with it in bed for a while before just settling for the alarm function. Which still took an inordinate amount of time to do too.
Eleven hours...that should give me more than enough time to get acquainted with the crew before Shepard woke up in the medbay.
I yawned again as my eyes got heavier and heavier.
Well...the war zone I survived today has certainly been draining hasn't it body...
As I curled up into the inviting warmth of the bed, it grew harder and harder to worry about my current situation.
Memory loss. New identity. Different galaxy?...I can sort it all out tomorrow. In fact...there might not even be a tomorrow. I might even wake up from this!
I closed my eyes and readily drifted asleep.
And then my retinas' were immediately burned by a searing white light.
MY EYESSS, OH GOD, CAN I NOT GET JUST ONE SECOND OF PEACE?!
Blinking hard, I tried to find where the light had emanated from. But once my eyes adjusted, all I saw was darkness. I pondered for a second if I had gone blind before I saw my arm in front of me. Which told me that everything was just really...dark. There was no other way to describe it. It was like someone had just thrown me out the air lock. I immediately wondered if it had something to do with the Prothean vision. But I really hope it didn't.
Huh...speaking of airlocks and Protheans...Javik...I cannot wait to meet YOUR Prothean ass...
I dwelled on the fact that I could have just spent the next few years of my life looking for him back on Eden Prime before I was distracted by something coming into focus out of the abyss.
A blue-tinted square had just slowly flickered into existence before me.
It quickly grew larger and larger, the images on its surface became sharper and sharper.
Is that really a...
I took a second to register what was in front of me.
Skill Rank (0-7)
Pistol - 0
Shotguns - 0
Assault Rifles - 0
Sniper Rifles - 0
Adrenaline Rush - 0
First Aid - 0
Electronics - 0
Decryption - 0
Fitness - 0
Combat Mastery - 0
Persuasion - 0
*Locked*
Available Points: 3
Three things crossed my mind.
1:
Is this for real?...Because this is stupid.
2:
And what does each of these ranks go to? Is that...seven? What the hell does that mean? And if I only get three of these per mission...this will take forever to max.
3:
...And this really is a fucking video game. Jesus Christ. I'm really insane aren't I?
4:
...OH SHIT, DOES THIS MEAN I CAN'T SLEEP?! NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO-
Author's Notes:
Alrighty, sooooo I had this whole concept for the story that our hero would "get more skilled" over the course of his travels with Shepard. It was kinda derailed by the restrictions of converting word documents to FF's story format. A beautiful data table when I copied and pasted it, all the skills and their bonus abilities turned into a jumbled mess when I opened the file. The spacing and imaginary margins I created unfortunately did not stay either. I really wanted to include this plot point though which is why you have this sad, chintzy string of words before you. As our story progresses, you'll get updates on his progress with it, and hopefully you'll be able to see these changes within the narrative too. But is it really what Shield thinks it is? Only time will tell-
In the Next Chapter: Joker's Two-Cents, Shepard Awakens, and Hello Council!
Tune in Next Time for 'Mass Effective : A Hero Made'!