CHAPTER SIX

The Demetrius

Kara sat on the bunk in her quarters, staring at the rusted, oily wall across from her. Something was horribly wrong here. It had been from the start, but she only was now beginning to recognize it.

On the Citadel, the god child had given her three options: destroy, control, and synthesis, but the longer that Kara kept thinking about, the entire situation just seemed off. Why would the controller of the Reapers allow her to change the cycle that it had been created to propagate. It didn't make any sense.

The men and women onboard the Demetrius always had an eye on her whenever she entered a room, watching for a single step outside the line, always ready to put her down. It was really beginning to grate on Kara's nerves, especially considering the fact that she could take down everyone onboard without a problem. She let them be for the simple fact that it would be harder to pilot the ship all by her lonesome.

Wrapping the thin cot blanket around her shoulder, she pulled her knees up to her chest. Kara had a strong feeling that none of this was supposed to happen, at least according to the god-child's plan. There was something bigger at work here. Bigger than the Colonial's problems, bigger than the Reaper war.

Slowly, Kara nodded off into the realm of unconsciousness.

#

The universe spread out before her, galaxies twinkling like a trillion stars. Kara hung in the great void between galaxies, dark space, dressed simply in her N7 armor. It was peaceful here, quiet, far away from the Reapers, far away from the Colonial Fleet.

For the first time in what felt like forever, Kara Shepard felt calm, the stress of her life distant, holding no sway over her here. She simply watched as galaxies formed, grew, and then extinguished. Billions upon billions of years passed by, all in the blink of an eye.

Through it all, Kara watched, entranced by creation playing out before her very eyes. Somewhere in the back of her mind she realized for the first time how small all of her achievements had been. Insignificant compared to THIS!

A chorus of a trillion souls sand behind her and Kara turned. She found herself engulfed in pure light, cascading across her face, caressing her gently, lovingly. Kara vaguely noted that her armor had disappeared, leaving her as naked as the day that she had been born, but it didn't affect her. Never before in her entire life had something felt so right as this moment. As the light flowed over her, unknown feelings overwhelmed her and tears began to well in her eyes at the beauty of it all.

Peering through the light, Shepard found herself gazing into the face of all the souls that had lived before. The current races were the least represented. She recognized Protheans, but beyond that, there were countless others she had never even dreamed of before. They all gazed back at her, unflinching, smiling, encouraging.

Mordin, Thane, and Anderson stood at the front. Kara's heart swelled at the sight, Anderson giving her a sharp salute before cheekily giving her a thumbs up. Mordin held a bag of sea-shells, his familiar grin warming her soul. Thane stood with an attractive female drell, Irikah, their hands clasped lovingly together. Irikah mouthed a 'Thank you' to Kara.

"They stand for you, Shepard." A voice unlike any Kara had ever heard before spoke, seeming to ring from all the corners of the universe itself. The voice rang with the promise of untold power, but it also echoed with a softness that comforted her, healing all the hurts that had ever been inflicted upon her.

The slavers on Mindoir, watching her parents and younger sister slaughtered by Batarians. Helpless as her entire unit was slaughtered by Thresher Maws on Akuze. Killing Li's mother on Noveria, the guilt eating her away inside. Dying alone in the cold of space, then waking up, friendless and alone. Liara's rejection. Killing three-hundred-thousand to save the rest of the galaxy. Earth burning while she turned tail and ran. Mordin's death on Tuchanka. Thane murdered by Kai Leng. Thessia's hallowed cities crumbling. Her second death.

"Child." The voice spoke, an all of Kara's troubles just faded away. She felt truly human for the first time that she could remember. "You have been a victim of prophesy, of unrealistic expectations. You have done the best you could under all of the circumstances."

"But why did I fail?" Kara shouted out, tears streaming freely down her face. "Everyone was counting on me and I failed!"

"Child, you have achieved so much more than all of your previous lives." The voice quietly spoke, reassuring, a mother to a wounded child. "Your one problem is that you trusted the Catalyst. You expected the being that controlled the Reapers to be telling you the truth. True Synthesis would have left the entire galaxy as slaves to the Reapers. Control would have simply left you trapped inside their consciousness, only able to helplessly watch as they destroyed everything that you loved. Choosing to destroy the Reapers would have killed you, and they would have continued on unimpeded. The Crucible was not the way."

Kara let that process through her mind. "There was nothing I could have done?"

"No." The voice said apologetically. "Your destiny had already been written."

"So I'm always doomed to failure?" Kara asked dejectedly.

"Not anymore, Child." The voice was tender, encouraging. "This time you know what to do. You have all of the knowledge that you will need, you just have to push yourself forward. You may yet fail, but it will ultimately be up to you. This time you go as my chosen. You are my Champion for the light. You can succeed."

Kara found herself confused. Champion? "What do you mean?"

"The time has come for me to take back what is mine," the voice rose in power and Kara felt her knees give, dropping into a bow. The light pulsed majestically, and Kara found she had no problem with bowing to this being. "For to long has my enemy controlled the universe, all that I have created. It is time to finally take it back. You are my Champion. You will lead the fight, and you will have everything that I can offer to aid you."

There was a massive clanging, and Kara turned, surprise on her face. Standing before her was an army the likes of which she had never seen before. Beings so powerful that they looked like they could tear a Reaper in two with just their hands. They were so numerous that Kara couldn't even begin to number them. As one, they saluted, and the gesture had never before been so intimidating. Shaken, Kara saluted them back.

"The war will play out in your plane of existence. Many horrible, monstrous things will occur before it is over," the voice sounded angered and sad at that. "My armies will not come in the form you see before you, but they will be there nonetheless. Take comfort child. You will need it for what is to come."

"Kara."

Shepard froze at the sound of the feminine voice. Her heart swelled excitedly as she turned around, grunting as Liara launched herself at her, enveloping her in a breath taking hug.

Kara laughed as Liara peppered her face with kisses. "Li! What?"

Liara pulled back, her arms wrapped around Kara's shoulders. "I love you Kara. Remember that when times are tough. I'll always be with you."

Pulling Liara into a hug again, Kara clutched her as tightly to herself as possible. "I don't want this to end."

"We will be together again," Liara whispered into Kara's ear. "But there are things that must happen first. You need to prepare the galaxy for the Reapers."

Confused, Kara pulled back. "Prepare the galaxy for the Reapers? What are you talking about, Li?"

"In time, Kara," Liara smiled at her lover. "You'll understand."

#

Karl Agathon wasn't completely sure of what to make of this new Kara... Shepard, Thrace, whatever the hell her last name was. He had been one of Kara's closest friends before she died in the Viper explosion. They had gone through the Academy together, and it was Karl who was always carrying Kara home from the bars after she had had enough to kill five grown men. Her death had hit him hard, and it was only with Sharon's help that he was able to make it through.

But now she was back from the dead.

Sort of.

The whole situation confused him.

The Demetrius' loudspeakers crackled to life, distracting Karl from his thoughts.

"Board is green." Sharon's voice sounded tinny through the speakers, but hearing her still made him smile. "The clock is running. Commencing Jump Seventy-Eight in five, four, three, two, Jump!"

Karl could feel as the Demetrius folded in on itself, jumping faster than light closer to their destination. That also boggled his mind, the destination. He was leading the way to Earth, all on the words of Not-Kara.

The Demetrius unfolded mere moments after it jumped. Sharon's voice crackled over the speakers again. "Jump complete. Next jump in thirty minutes."

With a sigh, Karl rolled out of his bunk, running a hand through his hair. Sleep was shaping up to be impossible with all the thoughts running through his head. Pulling his duty uniform off the floor, he gave it a quick sniff, recoiling at the smell. The Demetrius might be a waste management ship, but obviously its builders never cared about crew hygiene. There was only one shower, and it was a toss up on whether water would come out or... other stuff.

Pulling on the uniform, Karl didn't bother to button it up. No one else on the crew bothered, and as the commanding officer he wasn't inclined to make them start now.

Stepping out of his quarters, Karl stretched, letting out a yawn as he made his way towards the bridge.

"No!" A voice echoed down the dirty halls, making Karl stop. He had never heard such a desperate, lonely sounding cry.

Standing in the hall, silence fell upon the cold metal corridor. Karl listened, waiting for anything, a sign of where the cry had come from.

"No..."

Karl had to strain to hear the whispered voice.

"No, Liara! Please... don't leave me."

It was coming from Kara's quarters. Karl hesitated outside the hatch, wondering what he should do. He had been friends with Kara Thrace, but this Kara had never actually known him.

"Please, Liara." Kara whimpered inside her quarters and Karl couldn't help but hurt in sympathy for the woman. "I can't go on without you."

Making up his mind, Karl opened the hatch, quietly stepping inside.

The room was dark, only lit by the light seeping in from the corridor. "Kara?"

There was a soft rustling, before suddenly Karl found himself lifted off the floor, his arms locking to his sides his head painfully held back, throat bared. The room was bathed in an ethereal blue and orange glow, and there was a searing heat at his neck.

"What are you doing, Agathon?" A voice coldly spoke from the darkness. Karl found that he couldn't see past the glowing light. "Here to kill me? Did Roslin order it? Adama? Or did you just want to do it for yourself?!" The searing heat pressed closer to Karl's neck and he began to furiously wish he wasn't trapped and immobile.

"WHAT?!" Karl wanted to fight against whatever was holding him, but all he could move was his head. "I heard you having a nightmare and I came to see if you were alright!" Karl closed his eyes, not wanting to witness his own final moments alive.

The room was silent for several tense moments and Karl's heart beat a mile a minute.

Suddenly he could move again and he dropped to the floor, the searing heat disappearing from his neck. Cracking open a single eye, Karl watched as the a glowing blade seemingly disappeared into Kara's arm. She was wreathed in a shimmering blue halo, but that too disappeared after a moment. He didn't know what to make of that.

Pushing himself up off the ground, Karl rubbed at his neck, wincing at the blisters.

Kara dropped onto her bunk, rolling over so her back faced Karl.

He stood there awkwardly for a moment before flipping the light on. Kara made no move to protest. He kept standing there, waiting for her to acknowledge him before finally thinking to himself. Frak it. She looks like she needs to talk. He promptly sat down in the only chair in the room. "So... what was that?"

"Me almost killing you," Kara said dangerously.

"Yeah. Thanks for not doing that. My wife likes me alive." Karl rubbed the back of his neck. "But come on. I can see that you need to get something off your chest."

"Why the fuck would I tell you?" Kara had a hint of anger in her voice, and it carried promises of pain if Karl continued his questioning.

"Because you need to talk to someone. Even I can see that! Come on, I promise that I won't tell anyone. Whatever it is, you need to talk about it before you go crazy." Karl smiled encouragingly, even though Kara couldn't see him.

The silence grew and Karl found himself twitching.

"Get the fuck out, Agathon." Kara said, the blue glow wreathing around her again. Karl jumped in surprise as the lightbulb exploded, leaving the room in darkness once again.

Karl scrambled out of the room as quickly as possible, securing the hatch before hurrying towards the bridge. An angry Kara Thrace was bad enough. A Kara with super-powers was something that he simply didn't want to deal with.

Walking onto the bridge, he found that it was pretty much empty. Only Sharon stood, waiting for the FTL drive to spin up again. The jumps had quickly gotten monotonous and the whole crew had to constantly take breaks to keep from being overwhelmed.

"Hey, are you alright?" Sharon asked, concerned. Karl realized that she had somehow moved to stand right in front of him without him noticing. "You look anxious."

Pulling his wife into a hug, Karl had to think about how he was going to respond. "We're flying bling here, Sharon. We're trusting the word of a woman who came back from the dead but claims to be someone else. It just worries me..." He finished lamely.

Laughing, Sharon stole a kiss, turning back to study the various monitors. "We'll find out if she's telling the truth tomorrow. Speculating won't do anyone any good." She flipped the intercom on.

"Board is green. The clock is running. Commencing Jump Seventy-Nine in 5, 4, 3, 2, Jump!"

The Demetrius folded in on itself as it jumped closer to Earth.

#

AUTHORS NOTE:

This is a fanfiction. The Extended Cut fixed the ending, but it still wasn't really what I wanted to see happen. It just made it bearable. This story is not canon, and it will not be going were any of you have predicted (so far).

Also, to Robo Reader 21: You're right about the omni-tools, but I'm taking liberties (read: too lazy to go back and fix that). On the matter of helmet mounted I cameras I point to two examples. Number 1- The helmet cam in Mass Effect 1, the footage of which is picked up by the Normandy. Number 2A- The gopro camera is small tech for 2012. Imagine what they will have in one-hundred-seventy-one years. Number 2B-The Land Warrior system, though cancelled, would only be logical for a military so advanced to have an extreme iteration of in the Mass Effect universe.

The only reason that I feel a lot of these things were excluded from the game of Mass Effect was because of the fact that it would have disrupted gameplay.