Wonder. Inspiration. Awe.
Sentiments that should be occupying my every thought. My mind should be filled with a sense of wonder that I was walking upon a place that was the subject of so many dreams, so many wishes, and so many plots of science fiction. I should be inspired by the implications of where I currently was, what I was currently doing. My mind should be locked in a state of reverence, experiencing awe that billions of people had once wished to tread upon the soil I was walking on now.
I was freaking walking on the fucking moon. Of Earth. Earth's moon Luna. Armstrong. Aldrin. Buzz Lightyear. I was walking amongst the same rocks that Humanity's paragons had walked so many years before me. And did I actually appreciate any of these grandiose realizations/observations that one should in this given scenario?
No.
What I only felt was fear. A paralyzing fear. A palpable dread that coursed through every drop of blood and every bone in my body.
And was it due to the fact that with every half-trot and leap I drifted a foot into the air? Was it due to the haphazard way Shepard had strafed the bunker turrets in the Mako, maneuvering around six missiles at a time? Was it due to her order to split up and hit each bunker simultaneously to shut down the rogue VI and rescue the researchers that might still be alive and held hostage by the dozens of drones now active in the underground fortifications and the aforementioned change in the game's script and world building?!
No. Well...maybe a little of the latter.
We eclectic eight had made landing about fifteen minutes ago. Through craters and canyons, with rocket fire and kinetic barriers, by the scrapes of our necks were we able to park right in between the three Alliance compounds on Luna. Smack dab in the middle of a rogue AI's rampage.
When we were getting out of the rust bucket, Shepard had barked her orders. Three teams. Three simultaneous attacks. The destruction of the AI's three data cores. It wouldn't be able to process all our assaults at once. Or so it was assumed. Shepard, Tali, and Ashley. Wrex and Garrus. Kaidan, Liara and I. At least one biotic and techie per team. Easy job. Or at least it should be. Our only enemies were remote controlled drones.
And that's what was feeding my fear.
Every time this mission came around: no matter the career, the team make-up, the difficulty, the ability rotation, what buttons I pressed. I died. Shepard always died. Whether I took the cautious hide behind cover and return fire tactic. Run across the room to shut down the AI without shooting back at the turrets way. Luring them and killing them one by one in the narrow column connecting the main room with the entrance strategy. One missile drone would always get lucky and get a one shot KO on him/her.
A critical mission failure would pop up at LEAST once in one of the three compounds. Those mobile levitating missile dispensers always got a death. Deadliest mission in ME by far. Besides the final run on the Citadel with those...three Geth missile turrets.
I'm starting to see a pattern here.
But in any case, that's why as I walked towards our designated compound, even with two biotics at my side, still terrified of what was about to go down.
Would Shepard die like every single one of her predecessors did? Or would I be the one to die this time? Or would I get someone else killed in my place because of my ineptitude? Would our team of two, Garrus and Wrex, get obliterated by the robot onslaught without enough support?
I didn't know. And I was scared that I was about to find out.
I found the walk to our designated bunker fairly short. I could hear a soft crunch with every step I took on the gravelly grey landscape beneath my feet. The circular cement bunker in front of me was little to look at, but the view above it was definitely incredible. A dark expanse filled with millions of stars. Half of Earth engulfed by the void. The small part of our planet I could see was beautiful. A glimpse of bright azure with a tip of green barely visible, with the rest of the view covered by wisps of white. It looked like it could be a part of South America. Maybe Argentina.
I realized I had stopped walking forward, and I looked back down to find Kaidan motioning to me. Trying to get me to continue onward, into the bunker. I gulped once before following him and Liara down.
The "waiting room" we entered was filled with an assortment of potted plants, lockers, and crates. Around a tall shelf in the middle of the room was a console for the door leading to the next. I decided to let Kaidan handle it, instead choosing to dig through one of the open lockers to my left. As soon as I found something of interest, Shepard's voice picked up over the radio.
"Alright, we just entered the processing center for our compound. We haven't come across any Alliance personnel yet. Alive or dead."
"Same here Commander," Kaidan replied.
"We-"
"Nothing's here. We're going ahead Shepard," Wrex interrupted Garrus.
"Alright. We're going to continue combing the room to see if we can find anything useful. If you're able to locate the VI's cores, do not try to shut it down remotely. I repeat, do not disable them remotely. It will infect your omni-tool and any other system you have in your suits."
"How are we supposed to shut em' off then?" Wrex replied grumpily over the radio.
"With our guns. Stand-by though until each group has reached theirs and we'll shut them down all at the same time. If the VI becomes aware we're here it WILL deploy defenses that could jeopardize this mission."
"Roger Commander," Kaidan replied while fiddling through another locker beside me. He looked up from where he was sifting when a KCHUNK sounded in the room.
"...what the hell did one of you just do?" Shepard started angrily, scolding us like children. And it was largely in response to the appearance of a giant yellow circle now covering (what I assumed to be) all our doors.
Looks like the AI knows-Oh my god this is EDI! We're about to disable EDI!...hm. I hope she doesn't hold a grudge for what's going to go down. Although she didn't seem to mind in the next game so I guess it's not a biggie. But on the other hand, it couldn't hurt to-
"Uh...my bad." I could hear Garrus utter over the radio.
"The damn Turian must have tripped something while opening our door." Wrex clarified for us.
"Another door behind the one we opened suddenly gained a double key encryption. I'm guessing all yours did too," Garrus added.
"Dammit," Shepard muttered.
"No problem. I think I can get through this," Kaidan responded, now examining the lock on our door.
"So can I," Tali sounded over the radio.
"Great. And I want to repeat - Wait until everyone has found their bunker's core. Report back when you locate them."
"Aye-aye," Kaidan replied back.
"Copy that," Garrus radioed.
"...Guess we can expect it to know we're here now," Kaidan said while fiddling with the lock. "So much for the element of surprise."
Here we go...
I trembled a little bit when he unlocked that first door. And then some more when he started going to town on the second one behind it in the following hallway. I decided to speak up over the radio lest my silence got someone killed.
"Hey, uh, just a heads-up. Alliance compounds usually have a large assortment of drones for defense. A lot of them shoot rockets. Just so whoever gets to the next room first isn't in for any nasty surprises."
"Thanks for the heads-up," Ashley responded over the radio. I couldn't tell if she was being sarcastic or not.
But Shepard radioed not moments later, "Shield was right! Weapons free as soon as you get the main chamber!" I could hear turret fire and an explosion over the comm before she cut transmission.
"By the goddess," Liara muttered behind me.
"I'm sure she's fine," craning my neck back to assure her.
"I'm not so sure..."
ME NEITHER I almost said back.
"Almost there-" Kaidan spoke before the door suddenly slid open on its own.
Before either of us could react, Liara had already trapped the drone hovering in front of us with a stasis field. And it was red. A rocket drone.
SHIT.
"READY," I probably shouted louder than necessary. Liara then replied with an "OK," and released it. Kaidan laid down an overload which dropped its shield and simultaenously caused it to drop out of the air. I started filling it with lead as soon as it began to fall. It burst into teeny balls of flame before even hitting the ground. Then Kaidan made a hand motion immediately after, and a shimmering blue light now enveloped the marine. I assumed he had just put up a barrier.
"I'm taking a look. Get ready to get to cover on my signal!"
I made a move to stop him but he leapt into the chamber of death before I could. He quickly came back into our view not a moment later, giving a hand motion to go somewhere behind him. Liara began moving to where he had just pointed.
Here we GO-
I followed her out and was immediately tackled by Kaidan to the floor. Beacoup de bullets rained over where we had just been standing. I think I might have shouted "oh shit" as we hit it too.
Either that or I screamed like a little girl. Hard to remember. The door to safety shut behind us and another yellow circle appeared over it. Just like that, the AI had just trapped us in the room. We crawled as fast as we could around the column's corner to where Liara was now crouched. And there we were, trapped on the left side of that giant column you saw as soon as you entered those generic bunker rooms in ME. With the column to our backs, we had crates covering both our flanks and a glass wall to our front. The dark tint of earthy soil behind the glass pane conveyed to me that we were definitely somewhere underneath the surface of the moon. That revelation was as dope as shit.
Simultaneously, it hit me that if any of these drones flanked either side of our position, we'd basically be fish in a barrel.
"This is really bad," I said looking to Kaidan.
"Just be smart and ready to move. If we can funnel them one by one into our sights, we'll be fine," he replied calmly. An assault drone then whirled into view and a subsequent explosion shattered it into a million pieces. Shrapnel was sent everywhere at a million miles per hours, some flying across my helmet's visor and bouncing off my kinetic barrier. A blue bar suddenly appeared in my HUD and went down by a third.
Nice to know I have this now HELMET.
Then my mind wandered back to the drone that had just been obliterated. "What the hell just happened," I sputtered.
"Proximity mine," Kaidan told me getting up. "Time to move. Make for that cover over there!"
Liara sent a singularity into the corridor space between our column and the one Kaidan had just pointed to. She then made a dash across it. I manned up and followed. I spotted three drones hovering in the center of the room as I passed the space. Two white, one red. Before Kaidan could follow us, a rocket launched past the gap I had just sprinted through and exploded. The explosion was deafening.
JESUS CHRIST-
A black plume of smoke erupted from the glass wall, blocking our view of the Lieutenant. I could only guess if Kaidan was remotely alright. Or alive.
"KAIDAN!"
Nothing.
"Liara! Can you clear that!?" I shouted in her direction now, while pointing my gun at the vantage point.
"I'll try!" she shouted back, the black smoke instantly becoming peppered blue with her biotics.
A rocket drone emerged from the smoke just as it began to part.
AHHHHHHHHHHDRENALINE RUSH-
I was already firing my gun before the familiar tone of sepia and sudden focus kicked in. It seemed to just hover there now, pacified, while I emptied an entire magazine into it. As the heat sink ejected, I took a knee to crouch. Once I heard the next clip feed into gun's chamber, I resumed firing. My trigger finger froze where it was as a rocket began to slowly propel itself from the drone's muzzle.
Fuck.
I shut my eyes.
...
...
...
I peeked one of my eyes open. The missile had a violet hue around it. Then it suddenly returned to whence it came. The drone exploded in a fashionable manner. A giant ball of fire. Bright colors of orange, yellow, and red. All in glorious slow-mo to boot. My vision returned to normal right after the display ended, the effects of the ability literally wearing off just seconds after the performance.
"...Liara-" I begun to say spinning around. But I found that she was already moving around the corner.
Shit.
I decided to tail her. When I turned around the column's corner, I found she was already halfway toward the door leading to the next room. Liara was a lot quicker than I would have thought. Although I admit I didn't really have the faintest clue of how fast Asari were in the first place. I begun to sprint after her. And I found that Liara's reflexes were pretty quick too. One second she was running ahead of me and then the next she was gone. I decided to follow suit, breaking into a nose dive for cover behind the same crate. And not a moment too soon apparently as our position was immediately peppered by machine gun fire.
Oh god. Oh god oh god oh god. Don't float over us. Please don't float over us. Please-
We were pinned for a good while until the machines' relentless assault suddenly stopped. My curiosity got the best of me and I leaned out from cover to see why. I found the four white drones in the center of the room just floating there. Then a sudden bright flash of light caused me to shield my eyes. I blinked twice, readjusting them just in time to see all the drones begin plummeting to the ground.
Overload. Kaidan must be fine then. Alright.
The drones had only been hovering about four feet in the air though, and all of them landed safely on their tripods.
Pphhhh-
But now that the automatons had lost their vantage point, the affair became a rather standard firefight. Liara and I popped up regularly to hit them with gunfire and Kaidan added additional support somewhere from the room's side. Though shit was still intense. Every time my shields got hit, my heart fluttered a bit and my head got a little woozy. Can't imagine what the whole affair did to my blood pressure and health. But I had to hand it to me, actually contributing something to the team was a really satisfying feeling. I wasn't sneaking around the battlefield this time, or hiding behind cover, taking a potshot every now and then to maintain appearances. I was in the thick of it, really letting the damn machines have it.
The one thing that I found myself really liking during the whole shit-storm was that my helmet had air conditioning. Cool air venting in, a breeze gently hitting my face. It was really handy in keeping the sweat on my forehead from becoming a problem. Problems like dripping across my face or fogging up my visor. Those would have been fairly bad. I had to hand it to the future, they really thought of everything. My main complaint for the situation was my helmet's microcomputers. I don't know why, but for some weird reason, only after the battle was halfway over did my helmet think it would be a good time to start displaying everything it could on my HUD.
And I didn't remember messing with it before the mission, so I drew the conclusion that my HUD apparently synced itself with my weapon on its own accord. Mid-way through the fight, my helmet set aside a teal square in its bottom left corner, displaying the amount of shots I had left before my gun overheated. Which was useful, albeit weird. And along with keeping track of my magazine (or the best it could anyway, since my gun wasn't a typical fire arm), it still kept track of my kinetic barriers and some cool numbers that I guessed represented your heart beat and other stuff that I also decided to ignore. Definitely needed to bring my helmet on future missions.
After about seven minutes of this back and forth, Kaidan ended up being the one to destroy the last drone, sending a warp at it and shearing it apart with his mind. It blew up with a blue haze shimmering around its debris.
"Well. That wasn't too hard," he said cockily walking out from where we had originally left him.
"Uhhhh, debatable." I huffed back. Or tried. I was breathing a little too heavy to really reply.
"Think you can get pass this door Lieutenant?" Liara asked him, getting up from where she was kneeling.
"Definitely. Just give me a sec."
True to his word, only thirty seconds passed before the door let out a hiss and opened. I brought up the rear as we started down the compound's final hallway, continuing until we came across a fork in our path. One left and one right.
"Which door should we take?" Liara asked.
Which seat SHOULD we take?
The lyrics from Rebecca Black's Friday went as they suddenly popped into my mind. As soon as they did, I started batting them back down to whatever dark recess they came from.
Why is this even-
"Left?" I blurted while trying to get the song out of my head.
-Friday. Gotta get down on Fridaaaay-Stop it. We got a mission brain. Stop it.
I hated when that happens.
Stupid songs pop into your head and...Hm.
It suddenly hit me that neither of the doors we chose would matter as both rooms contained EDI's consciousness. And having two rooms of memory banks would probably put a dent in Shepard's plan of destroying them all at once.
Probably should have told her that before we all split up.
In any case, Kaidan decided to take my suggestion and walked towards the room on our left. And I guessed we'd just deal with the dilemma once it came.
BANG.
As soon as Kaidan had gotten the door to the room open, the sound of a gunshot rang out in the hallway. The sound caused me to wince, and for a moment, his shields flared blue. Liara and I drew our guns but by the time we did, Kaidan was already lifting his assailant up into the air. We quickly noticed he was Human.
"WOAH! Stop! I'm sorry! I thought you were the VI!" the old man in a lab coat sputtered, dropping his gun. As it clattered on the floor, I could see that it was a really nice model. Or brand new anyway. It had a really nice sheen to it.
"Please, he was just trying to protect us!" a woman exclaimed popping out from behind a work bench too. About six other researchers did the same.
WOAH. What the-Where did...Who the hell are all these people?!
"Sorry," Kaidan replied sheepishly, letting the man down carefully.
"Are you here with the Alliance?" a man on the right side of the room asked in a German accent.
"Yes we are. We're here to make sure you're safe and to shut down the VI," the Lieutenant replied.
"Thank the maker," a blonde woman muttered.
"It's data cores are in the room across from us!" a young-looking Indian man shouted next to the German dude.
"Thanks," Kaidan said turning toward the only door left unopened, located at the opposite end of the long corridor we were standing in. "Stay put, help will be here shortly."
"I'm so glad you all came here when you did," the old man who had shot Kaidan added, bent over in exhaustion. "When we hid in this room and locked the door, that Thing decided to start recycling our air. It wanted to suffocate us since it couldn't reach us."
"We only realized it when we started gagging," someone added from the back.
My mind was going a mile a minute while the two parties conversed.
They're not Alliance soldiers. Just scientists. But I thought this was supposed to be an Alliance training course. Wasn't it?
"We've had to resort to using the oxygen tanks from our g-suits for air. We we were just about to run out," the old scientist continued.
"If there's anything we can do to thank you..." the blonde woman behind him said nearly in tears.
What are they doing here? Were they...messing with the AI? GASP. Are they the reason it went as rogue as Saren?!
"Hey Dr. Wegner! Why don't you give them the Cobra model!" another researcher said from the back of the room. I couldn't quite see him from where I was standing.
"But it's not-" the old man started before pausing. Then he bent down and picked up the pistol he dropped. Looking at it longingly for a second and then back up to Kaidan, he walked over and handed it to him. "Technically, it's still in testing. But it functions perfectly! Please! You can make greater use of it than we."
At first he held out his hands in refusal, saying things like "Oh no, I couldn't." But he eventually gave in after some resistance and accepted the token.
"Its modeled after a unique Asari weapon design. It operates by firing shaved submunitions that allow it to impact kinetic barriers on a microscale. It-"
"It's amazing! The kick-back's a little strong but its worth!" a dude with messy red hair shouted excitedly from the back. He was obviously passionate about his work.
Hm. I guess these guys are weapon developers. But then what the hell...
"I...can't thank you enough," Kaidan thanked them again.
"It's the least we can do for your efforts here," Dr. Wegner replied.
"What are you all doing here?" I finally asked after waiting impatiently for an exposition that never came.
"Oh. We're the research and development department of Hahne-Kedar on Luna!" the red-head exclaimed.
"Shadow works," the Indian clarified.
Hahne-Kedar? Shadow works?
"Shadow works?" Kaidan asked astonished. He was obviously impressed by the term.
"Yeah, although don't tell our bosses we were the one who gave that to you. They'd probably be upset with us giving out freebies," he joked.
"Your secrets safe with me," Kaidan replied with a grin.
Hahne Kedar supplies weapons to the Alliance. And these are researchers for them...so...
"Hey, and we still need to field test our newest armor line!" another researcher outburst.
"SR-2, SR-3, what are your current statuses?" Shepard's voice rang in my ear.
"Excuse me for a moment," Kaidan said turning away and walking out of the room to respond. He left Liara and I to deal with the scientists ourselves.
"Pat, we can't-" a girl with black disheveled hair started before she was cut off.
"Hey, we gave them the cobra. And we can give this to them too! It's the least we could do since they saved our LIVES," the 'Patrick' replied.
"No, Mr. Magroyn's right," Dr. Wegner agreed now walking towards a large metal cylinder. He pressed a couple buttons on his omni-tool and it slowly slid open to reveal its contents. Inside was a set of armor painted with grey camo. Along the chest-piece's lower torso were red underlays and tubing, and higher up, extremely asymmetric shoulder plates covered it's upper portion. Looking at it, I found its form both impressive and horrific at the same time. "We call it, the Janissary line."
"Wow," I managed to mouth as he took it off its perch.
"We were planning on submitting the design to the Council. For use as a high-end armor model for Asari Spectres."
"And now one HUMAN!" the one named Pat Magroyn added excitedly. He took the armor from the Doctor's hands and started walking towards me. "But we still need to field test it. Please, take it!"
He shoved the armor set into my arms. And as he did, Liara gave me a worried look.
"We couldn't possibly take this from you as well," she told them. "You're too generous."
"No, we insist. Who better to test it than Alliance marines regularly facing danger!"
I turned toward Liara with my best puppy dog eyes. "Well. It would be rude to refuse. And I don't know about Kaidan but I'm pret-ty sure Shepard would approve of helping test this for them," I lied. She didn't know Shepard well enough to disagree. And I REALLY needed new armor. My current one was a little lacking in the protection department. Back on Therum I noticed Ashley's kinetic barriers could take like ten shots before going down. Mine could only take four. Shitty shield. And after Therum, it had shoddily repaired holes. I almost thought I'd die getting out of the Mako. In comparison to this experimental prototype apparently designed for Spectres that I was getting for FREE, I'm sure there was no contest.
I didn't fail to realize the bizarreness of the scenario though. People working in something called the 'Shadow Works' were obviously up to no good.
These guys just happened to have top of the line prototype weapons lying around? Weapons that they're also willing to just give away for free? Convenient. A little TOO convenient...wait. Could...is all this here...for me? Were these scientists here just so I could get this armor? The universe obviously doesn't exactly revolve around Me but-
"-and the shields emit from crystal pleated matrices that make its barriers much more hardened. More than that Aldrin trash you're wearing anyway...I hope it protects you as well as you protected us," the Indian guy finished beaming behind Pat.
At the same time my inner monologue and the researchers were going on and on, Team Normandy was updating us with their statuses. It was almost sensory overload. Garrus finished his report on his team's status over the radio right around the same time the scientist had just finished speaking.
"Alright, get ready to shut down the VI," the radio relayed to me from Shepard.
I found the words to say "Thank you," before finding that Liara had already left my side too. Both of my squad mates were currently in the room across from us.
Oh crap.
"I gotta get moving! Thanks again!"
I sprinted to where they were and sealed the door behind me. Quickly examining the room, I saw that four of EDI's data cores lined its walls.
"Where were you?" Kaidan asked me upon entering. Then he saw what I was holding. "And what's that?"
"One..." Shepard started.
"No time!" I replied dropping the armor on the ground. I liked to have both hands on my pistol, as I felt more professional that way. That and I could barely handle the recoil with two hands let alone one. I shut my eyes when I heard the new chunk of armor strike the metal floor.
Ugh. I hope I didn't just scratch it...
"Two..."
Kaidan opened his mouth to say something but realized he didn't have the time, turning his attention back to his target..
"Three!"
We each lit up a machine and fried them all around the same time. The one we ignored immediately conjured a hex shield and started leaking some kind of green gas into the room.
"Uh..." I uttered pointing a finger at it.
"Shut it down!" Kaidan quickly shouted open firing on the thing. A couple seconds later and pop, bang, boom. It was destroyed. The lights sputtered a bit and then came back on. The fumes the machine was emitting ceased as well.
"Shepard, our end's down," Kaidan said, pressing the earpiece on his...helmet.
"Same here," Wrex's voice boomed on the radio.
"...Shepard?"
Silence.
"Shepard?!"
"...Sorry, some drones dropped out of the ventilation ducts but we're fine. I'm shutting the facility's VI down now. All squads will meet back on the surface. Alliance will be here soon to pick up the survivors."
"Roger," Kaidan replied. As we turned around to leave the room, a burst of white noise screeched in my helmet.
"AGH!" Kaidan shouted as he bent over in pain.
"Are you alright?!" Liara asked him alarmed.
"Ugh...yeah...just give me a moment."
The screech must have set off a migraine. Poor guy.
"Must have been Shepard shutting down the AI," I said rubbing the sides of my helmet where my ears would normally be. The noise was pretty unpleasant for me too.
As Kaidan recovered, I picked my new armor back off the ground. Didn't have any scuffs like I had feared thank god. And with that out of the way, we all ended up exiting EDI's servos room together. Ignoring the following static on our radios, we relayed the news to the HKSW researchers back across the hallway. After expressing some more of their appreciation for saving them, we left the group there and made our final trek out of the moon base, meeting up with the other two fire teams back on the surface of Luna.
And as we all convened at the Mako, Shepard called for our ride. "Joker. We're ready for pick-up."
While Tali, Wrex, and Garrus' faces were obscured by their helmets' dark visors, I could at least see Shepard and Ashley's.
I could clearly see that they were grim.
*click*
On Shepard's order, he disconnected her from the call.
Her conversation with the Admiral wasn't pretty. The whole boondoggle was just another reason why fooling around with artificial intelligence was a reallyyyyyyy bad idea. He knew the thing was technically a VI but the principle was still the same. Create robots and they rebel against you. It was pretty much the plot of every old vid concerning them. And apparently the rest of the galaxy at large agreed with the sentiment too.
I mean, when will they learn that creating AIs only lead to one thing? First comes the self-awareness. That classic question of "Who Am I?" Then comes the autonomy. Questions like "Who are you and why do I have to do what you say?" Then came the robot overlords who wanted to wipe out all organic life-
He frowned at his lame attempt to distract himself.
A lot of people had died. For no reason. Every guard and officer in the Alliance training compound was killed. Several of the researchers for Aldrin Labs were too. Only the guys from Hahne-Kedar came out relatively unscathed. That 'program' killed thirty-five people for absolutely no reason. None. One corrupted line of code and thirty-five ended up dead.
...How does one wake up one day and find out that it'll be your last? I mean...you wake up, go to work, put on your lab coat, start typing away at your computer, and then find your VI assistant suddenly saying "I'm sorry Dave, I'm afraid I can't do that," and go 'exterminate all humans' on your ass.
He hated VIs. A lot of eggheads argue that ships should be VI-remote controlled, removes the need for risking the life of a Human pilot. But they're just not the same. A VI would never be able to match a Human pilots sense of intuition. Their pure raw talent. As soon as you try replacing everything with robots and VI, you start to replace everything that makes one Human. It wasn't lost on Joker that the Quarians probably experienced this first hand. But he didn't exactly have pity for the aliens, since they were the whole reason they were even out here in the first place. A week ago, and just a week ago, all they were supposed to do was go on a shakedown run to Eden Prime. Pick up an old alien artifact, call it a day.
Then the Geth attacked out of nowhere. The planet was razed to the ground. And they found out Saren was set on destroying Humanity. And now here they were trying to beat the maniac in a race to find a Prothean doomsday device that could wipe out all life as they knew it.
He sighed.
He always knew that Spectres were trouble. And sudden memories of their own Spectre passenger started to come flooding back.
Nihlus.
He cringed upon remembering the name. The first memory that returned was when he attempted to alert Captain that the Turian was coming his way, right before they entered Prime's Orbit. As an innocent joke of course. And then being told that the Spectre was already there. Now that had been plenty awkward.
Joker frowned as the memory ended.
And the guy was killed by killer robots too...Or was it Saren who did him in?
Joker didn't remember. But he knew for a fact that the robots had been responsible for what had happened to Rick. Killed in an ambush and left for dead. And he knew it wasn't the Commander's fault he died down on the planet that day but...he still resented her for the nonchalance she had in regards to his death.
Did Shepard ever make any mention of his passing? No. Any word of sympathy? No.
She had apparently just left him where he fell, dead on the ground...
Joker nearly jumped out of his seat when he realized someone was standing there right beside him. Recovering from his shock and a bruised tail bone, he looked up to see who his surprise visitor was.
Speak of the devil.
It was Shepard. He buried his thoughts and put on a smile, deciding to ask to what he owed the pleasure. Only with a heap of scathing sarcasm of course.
"So, come here too often?"
"Watch it," the red head replied half-joking, half-I'll kick your handicapped ass if you don't.
He decided to generate another sass effect field regardless. "I know it's hard not to stare," he said angling his face so she had a better view. "But if you have to, take a holo. It'll last longer."
Shepard ignored him. "Just get me the intercom."
"What for?" he asked genuinely curious.
"Don't have me court martial you for insubordination. Just do it."
"Alright, alright, sheesh. Turning on the comm."
He clicked a few buttons and a green square blinked on in the top right corner of his interface. He motioned to his console. She leaned over him and with a deep breath, began to speak.
"Crew, this is your Commander speaking. In light of recent events, the Normandy will be needing to dock at the Citadel. While we're there, new equipment, supplies, and personnel will be brought aboard the ship. This will take time, so until everything is sorted out, I've made the decision to issue shore leave for-"
The bridge, command deck, and Joker was sure that the rest of the ship broke out in cheer too. The sound from the CIC alone shook the hull. In fact, he was sure their raving could be heard all the way from Earth. And then, Joker pondered the decision as she went on with her announcement.
It took about a week to prepare the Normandy for its shakedown run and it's been about another since we've started the mission. Shore leave doesn't come by often and having one so soon...it's just a-
"-couple days until everything is brought aboard and accounted for. Until then, enjoy the time you have."
The bridge crew clapped for her as she walked back down the way she came. Joker had to hand it to her.
People might call Shepard a 'Hard-ass'. And 'Intimidating'. And 'Ruthless'. All true. BUT...she's a good Commander. She knows when people need to let off steam.
He certainly wasn't complaining to get some extra time for shore leave. Joker leaned back in his chair. Or tried. The standard model seats for Alliance warships were insufferably uncomfortable, didn't really have any accommodating features. But as he said, he didn't mind that right now. He was about to kick back and relax for the next few days...as soon as they got to the Citadel.
A smirk came across his face.
...Haha, like hell I am.
Instead, he started to focus on where he was going to get drinks. Given how Alliance marines were drawn to bars like moths are drawn to light, a lot of the usual hangouts would be less than desirable to go to. He would have to thoroughly research which places to drink were nearest to the dock, their ratings, their prices, how often they were frequented, which times were best to avoid getting bumped into and breaking a hip, places where he could-
"Hey Joker! Gladstone, I and the rest of the bridge are planning on going to Flux for drinks sometime. You in?"
Joker stroked his beard, weighing the pros and cons of-
"Eh sure. If I don't have anything better to do," he replied halfheartedly.
"Right," Rosey said rolling her eyes and turning back to her console.
Joker turned to stare back out into the vast expanse before him. And then started drumming his fingers on the metal surface below his haptic interface.
Ba da ba ba na ba da bA-tsh tsh sh tsh datsh tshhhh-Hanging in space with the jazz triooo...And now come on with dat base- boo boo boom boo boom.
He loaded the star chart Pressly had just sent to his omni-tool and shot the Normandy into FTL travel.
Scat scat scat, scattily scat-
Codex Entry:
Alliance Death Notifications
Intercept 18:37/ Secure Comm Buoy #4673 / Encrypted / #2217 - DA - 216
Sender: Captain David Anderson, Citadel Station
Lieutenant Alenko,
It is to my understanding that you asked Shepard for the responsibility of notifying Corporal Jenkins' family of his death on Eden Prime. I know you two were close but that just makes doing these types of things that much harder. I also know this is your first time writing one of these as well. I've found over my time that the Alliance's standard template for notices are impersonal and do the deceased's family a disservice. So I just wanted to lend some advice for how I've usually come to do them:
The number one thing to remember is that even if his family are made of veteran soldiers, don't treat them as such. They don't need grisly details of his death or that he died on the front lines. What they should know is that he did so in the service of Humanity and in the defense of the planet he was born on. Include personal anecdotes you had of Rick and the time you spent with him, be honest with how you feel with his passing, let them know you care just as much as they do. Most important of all though, don't include that you were there at the time of his death.
I fear one of the reasons you asked to do this Lieutenant is that you feel guilty for what happened to him. That you hold yourself accountable for not being able to prevent his passing. Don't. His death hurt us all but it was no less your fault than mine for sending him with you on that shore party. He was a good soldier and knew the dangers of war. If you have to blame anyone for his death, blame the Geth. Or better yet, blame Saren. I hope your current search has turned up some results leading to his current whereabouts. His crimes have gone unanswered long enough, and its high time he's reaped his rewards.
The Corporal was a good man, and we're all lesser for his loss. Alenko, I wish you the best of luck in your efforts and in bringing those responsible for his death to justice.
We'll talk later.
Sincerely,
Captain David Anderson
Military Liaison to the Human Embassy
Citadel Station, Presidium, Shalkot Suite
PS- I've attached the Corporal's case file to this message. I hope it can help.
File: Service Number 7723-ND-4586 (Inactive)
Corporal Richard Leroy Jenkins was born in the year 2159 CE in the Capital of Eden Prime, Constant. Enlisted in the Alliance Marine Corps 2179 CE. Began career education at the Recruit Training Depot in Constant, Eden Prime. Was certified proficient with the standard-issue M7 Lancer assault rifle and light to standard-weight combat hardsuits upon graduation 2180 CE. Assigned rank Private 2nd Class 2180 CE. Completed certification in zero-gravity combat situations aboard the Rakesh Sharma Orbital Platform on Earth's geosynchronous orbit 2180 CE. Completed Hostile Environment Assault Training at Fort Gunning on Europa, Jupiter's moon 2180 CE.
Assigned to the 97th Marine Division of the Alliance Fifth Fleet 2180 CE. Assigned rank Private 1st Class 2181 CE. Served with distinction on Agebinium during Incident 373-F 2181 CE. Assigned rank Corporal 2182 CE. Upon the request of one Admiral Stephen Hackett, assigned to the crew of the SSV Normandy 2183 CE. Military Vocational Code is A1. KIA on Eden Prime during [redacted] 2183 CE.
Captain Anderson is a rejected Alliance Spectre candidate. Recently assigned as an assistant to the Human Ambassador Donnel Udina on the Citadel. Currently using his personal computer for effects. Until he receives an encrypted console for use, the Broker wants you to continue monitoring his incoming and outgoing messages for any information of import. Report any findings you get to me at the end of the next galactic cycle. Operative Majoris out.
Author's Notes:
So a fun new thing I think I'm going to start doing is codex entries! With some of the changes Shield is finding in deh ME Universe, we'll probably find that some of them can only be clarified outside of the current narrative. And what better way to learn about these things than through insights into the activities of one of the most omniscient beings in the Galaxy! Expect their quantity, quality, and topics to vary. Also, I'm kinda now regretting separating the internal thoughts of our POVs from the regular narratives. Hard to discern what should be third-person or first-person. But I'm in too deep to stop doing it now. ANYWAYS-
In other news, expect weekly updates. Shit's hard yo. I love writing this adventure almost as much as reading it (proof reading the same thing over and over though does kinda wear on ya) but school does take away large chunks of my life. So I'll try to get these out as soon as I write em.
And no, I won't apologize for all the alliteration. You know you love it.
In the Next Chapter: Shore Leave!? Time to Party Hardy! Tall tales, Sightseeing and...wait...side missions? Ewwwww.
Tune in next time on Mass Effective: A Hero Made!