Author's Note: Mass Effect is owned by Bioware.
This chapter is a continuing improvement of other chapters, I can't promise that the next installment will be soon. Read and Review.
LAST CHAPTER
Ryan and his companions have taken over Nassana's organization but are hard-pressed at containing the unexpected situation brought upon by unexpected news.
Executor Pallin is making plans in restructuring C-Sec.
Nyreen and her companions are stuck in the middle of a power grab in Omega brought upon by a miracle drug.
The most important question most readers are now wondering is… if this drug existed in the "canon timeline", why wasn't it ever mentioned?
Chapter Seven: Divergent Paths
January 24, 2173 – 9:10 AM
Omega - Afterlife
Aria stared in anger and amazement as the two dozen mercenaries who were attempting to take over Omega laid waste to her guards in a matter of seconds with their biotic attacks. Aria glared at Tarak who just smirked at her before unleashing a Dark Sphere towards her. Aria knew that at her elevated position, his attack couldn't possibly reach her but was shocked when it kept on going that she was barely able to avoid it when one of her guards pushed her away and took the brunt of the attack, killing him instantly as it exploded.
Realizing that if she didn't do something soon, her men would all die, Aria activated the emergency broadcast on her omni-tool and called out to her guards, "Regroup at the second floor now!"
One by one, her guards abandoned the ground floor and retreated to the second floor. Several of the guards were killed as they made their attempt to flee to the second floor. Seeing that she could do nothing for the moment, Aria left her podium and made her way down to regroup with her men.
000
Nyreen and her companions on the other hand, had remained under cover and avoided drawing the attention of the attackers. Nyreen had just finished sending a message to Janus that the Blue Suns and Blood Pack were using the drugs.
"So what should we do now?" Eshin asked, as he kept an eye on the carnage below.
"We should attempt to retreat for the moment." Marcus answered.
"No, if we leave now, there's no telling what might happen to Omega." Nyreen pointed out, "If Aria falls tonight then Eclipse might be next."
"Damn it…" Marcus cursed softly, "I hate it when you're right. We can't do much on our own though and Aria and her men are falling like flies."
"He's right. I estimate that over 60% of Aria's men currently located here have fallen already." Eshin pointed, "Although I assume that reinforcements will be coming soon."
"There's no use arguing about it then, we'll have to join up with Aria if we want to survive the night." Nyreen told them, as she turned around to move towards Aria she felt a hand on her shoulder.
"Wait… before we do that, I think we should contact Jaroth and tell him about this situation." Eshin said when Nyreen looked back at him, "It would be logical to assume that he would be interested by this attack."
"You think?" Marcus asked dubiously, "He just said that he wouldn't come and bail us out if we got in trouble."
"That's right… but this situation warrants his attention…" Nyreen answered slowly before activating her omni-tool and calling up Jaroth.
"Nyreen? Aren't you supposed to be in Afterlife now? Don't tell me you got in trouble with Aria? If you need help getting out, you'll just ha-" Jaroth began to say when Nyreen interrupted him.
"Jaroth, I need you to grab all available Eclipse mercenaries and head over to Afterlife now." Nyreen ordered.
"What do you mean? Is something happening over there?" Jaroth asked curiously.
"The Blue Suns and Blood Pack have formed an alliance and are fighting against Aria and her men right now AND they are WINNING!" Nyreen answered harshly.
"I see…" Jaroth answered slowly before nodding his head, "I understand, we'll be right there. Hold out until then."
"Alright, we'll try to hold out for as long as we can. Please hurry!" Nyreen answered before cancelling the call.
"Well?" Marcus asked.
"They're on their way here now." Nyreen answered.
"Good, let's go." Marcus said, relieved that they would have reinforcements soon.
Nyreen led her companions towards the stairs where Aria and her men regrouped.
000
Aria assembled her remaining men into positions that would give them cover from those bastards.
"Alright, you guys stay here and fire on anyone that comes up those stairs." Aria ordered, as two of her men took up their position.
"Has anyone heard from the Patriarch?" Aria asked.
"Yes ma'am." One of her men answered, "I just received word, that the other entrance is being attacked as well by a combined group of Blue Suns and Blood Pack. The Patriarch is trying to rally the guards there but they are suffering heavy casualties."
"Damn it… where did these crazy bastards get their powers?" Aria asked in frustration.
"They got it from the Citadel." Nyreen answered calmly, as she approached Aria.
"Who the hell are you?" Aria asked in surprise, "What do you mean the Citadel?"
"My name is Nyreen and my companions are Marcus and Eshin. We're Eclipse mercenaries and we're here to help." Nyreen answered, "I'll explain later about the Citadel after we get through this."
"I see…" Aria mused as she eyed her new allies critically, "Although I doubt your outfits are suitable for this kind of situation."
"True, but that doesn't mean we aren't willing to get our hands dirty." Marcus answered, "Still we're going to need more firepower than what we brought with us."
"No worries, I know everything there is about Afterlife." Aria answered smugly, as she made her way to a cabinet where drinks were usually placed.
The others stared in surprise when the top of the cabinet flipped itself to reveal several assorted firearms attached at the bottom.
"Nice…" Marcus said appreciatively, as he picked up the Equalizer V Sniper Rifle.
"Are you any good with that?" Aria asked.
"They don't call me 'Deadshot' for my looks." Marcus answered teasingly.
"I see, so you're the infamous 'Deadshot', I hope you live up to your name then." Aria complimented him before looking at the other two who had both grabbed Thunder V Assault Rifles.
"Are you two…" Aria began to ask when she was interrupted by gunfire from her men overlooking the stairs, "Damn… looks like their pushing it."
"We can't stay up here forever." Nyreen pointed out.
"I know… more of these bastards might arrive soon and we can't afford that to happen." Aria answered in frustration, "Any ideas?"
"We could try to surround them. The entire second floor offers us an elevated position where we can use it to our advantage." Eshin answered.
"I'll also go to the third floor podium where I can take out stragglers." Marcus offered.
"Alright, so we have a plan so…" Aria started to say when her omni-tool alerted her to an incoming call, which she patched through quickly to show the Patriarch.
"Aria… It pains me to say this, but we need your help over here. We are slowly being overrun and we can't hold it much longer. These people have monstrous biotic powers. Please… help us." The Patriarch pleaded when the call was suddenly cut.
Nyreen and the others stared at Aria's impassive face.
"I'm going to help out the Patriarch." Aria suddenly told them, "Can you guys take care of things here?"
"Of course, just leave it to me." Marcus boasted, "I'll make sure you get to your Krogan."
"He's not my Krogan." Aria retorted before glancing at her men, "I'm going to need covering fire so I can bail out the Patriarch, so form up around the railings and when I give the signal let these assholes have it."
Aria's men just nodded as several of her men took up positions around railings.
"I'll see you all in awhile, don't destroy my club." Aria told them before walking towards the balcony.
Just as she was about to jump over the balcony, Aria became aware of a person behind her. Aria turned around slowly and saw the Turian mercenary following her.
"What do you want?" Aria asked.
"I'm going with you. You're going to need support." Nyreen answered, "Besides it going to take a biotic to take out another biotic."
Aria was about decline her offer when there was a commotion from below.
"Aria?! How's it going up there?" Tarak asked loudly from below, "We both know you can't stay there forever. Once my reinforcements arrive, you're dead!"
"Bastard!" Aria muttered softly before turning around to Nyreen, "Fine, just don't slow me down."
"I wouldn't dream of it." Nyreen muttered softly as she stood beside Aria before glancing at Marcus.
With a nod from her head, Marcus cautiously climbed up third floor podium.
"Where is he going?" Aria asked questioningly.
"He's just living up to his name." Nyreen answered with a smirk.
A few seconds later, there was a loud bang coming from the podium and a large decorative statue hanging from the roof suddenly dropped to the ground floor. There was complete silence for the next few second until a shout was heard from down below, "TARAK'S BEEN KILLED!"
Aria could only stare in stupefied amazement at Nyreen, who just smiled at her before running at the balcony and jumping down, her biotic aura clearly visible.
Aria quickly shook her head and followed suit, her own biotic aura glowing fiercely as her men emerged from their cover and began firing at the mercenaries.
January 24, 2173 – 9:10 PM
Citadel – Citadel Heights Apartment #5
Once Ryan had informed Nihlus about the situation brewing in Omega, Ryan made his way back to his terminal and accessed Nassana's personal account to find out more about the situation.
"Why would Nassana have a batch of these drugs… she doesn't have the clout or the power to get her hands on these things… The answers should be in here" Ryan thought to himself, as he accessed Nassana's business account.
Ryan began to read quietly the various messages he found in Nassana's business account, he was astounded by the sheer amount of correspondence she had going on with several prominent businessmen as well as politicians.
"These are definitely excellent blackmail material…" Ryan mused to himself before finding a message coming from New Dawn Pharmaceuticals.
"I found it!" Ryan thought to himself as he opened the message and read it quickly.
000
Dear Ms. Dantius,
We are thankful for your continued patronage and support in our ongoing research. As such we would like to offer a business proposal for you. We are in need of a large storage area to house several crates of experimental drugs, which are still in need of actual testing, due to the lack of storage facilities. Of course, we are prepared to pay ten million credits for a week's stay, if you are willing to let us house the drugs at your place. We have sealed the crates and unsealing the crates will result in the termination of our relation as well as actions against you and your organization.
In regards to the drugs themselves, I will state this however. These drugs will surely change the world of Biotics but be warned these drugs are untested and therefore should not be used at all. We just don't know what side-effects might happen.
We hope for your support in our request and will await your decision.
Matthew James Cooper
Director of New Dawn Pharmaceuticals
000
Ryan leaned back against his chair and stared up at the ceiling after reading the message, "So that's how she got these drugs…" Ryan muttered softly, "And it was dated four weeks ago and since the seals were still in place, we can assume that Nassana didn't perform her own testing of the drugs. What a relief, that means that the Blue Suns are probably just holding the drugs for Nassana since she could have run out of space herself."
Realizing that the situation at Omega might not be so grim after all, Ryan stood up and made his way to the kitchen to get a chocolate drink for himself, feeling good about the situation.
While Ryan was in the kitchen, he heard a commotion coming from his make-shift office, "RYAN! Where are you?! We have a crisis on our hands!"
"What is it?" Ryan called out from the kitchen, a few seconds later Janus and Shani came into the room.
"I just got word from my sister about the situation in Omega. The Blue Suns and the Blood Pack are making their move against Aria. It gets worse, they are using the drugs and it's given them biotic powers that far surpass those of L3 Biotics!" Janus told him.
"What?! I thought…" Ryan started to say when Shani interrupted him, "I have worse news, I've been trying to contact Dahlia for some time now but she's not answering my calls."
When Ryan heard Shani's news, he felt a shiver as he realized the possible implications of what that might mean.
"We need to go check up on them." Ryan told them, "Nassana is the key to this situation. I should…"
"No, I'll take Wrex and the others with me to find out what's happening with those two. You should stay here in case something else happens." Janus interrupted, "You're not trained for a combat situation, which might be the case with Nassana."
"Fine, I'll stay here and contact Nihlus that the situation has changed and that we need to move now if we want to get there soon." Ryan said dejectedly, "Keep me posted on the situation."
"I will." Janus said before leaving the room to find the others.
"What are you going to do now?" Shani asked.
"I'm going to contact Nihlus and then we're going to find out exactly what happened to make the Blue Suns try out those drugs." Ryan answered.
Ryan activated the Terminal in the Kitchen and made a call to Nihlus.
"Ryan? What's happening now?" Nihlus asked worriedly.
"The Blue Suns and the Blood Pack are using the drugs. If we want to contain the situation, I suggest we get moving tonight." Ryan explained.
"Damn… Alright, I understand." Nihlus answered heavily, "I'll finish up my business here but we're going to need another ship to get to Omega, Ryan."
"A ship… Where am I going to get a ship at this time?" Ryan asked in exasperation.
Shani who was listening to the conversation, offered them a suggestion, "Why don't you use Nassana's private ship?"
"She has her own ship?" Ryan asked in surprise, "That might work… but we're going to need a crew."
"I'll handle the crew and clearance from the Citadel. What's the name of the ship?" Nihlus asked.
"The Eternal Wanderer." Shani answered.
"That's a weird name for her ship." Ryan commented, "So can you handle it from here?"
"Of course, I'll see you guys in an hour and a half. That should give us some time to better prepare ourselves. Don't be late." Nihlus told them before cancelling the call.
"That was fun… now comes the hard part." Ryan muttered to himself as stood up and motioned for Shani to take a seat.
"What's next?" Shani asked, as she sat down on the chair.
"I need you to hack into Nassana's home terminal and see if she sent a message to anyone tonight." Ryan told her.
"That's going to be very difficult but not impossible since we have Nassana's connection and Spectre authorization." Shani answered smugly.
"Wait… since when did we get Spectre authorization?" Ryan asked in surprise.
"What? Didn't I tell you? Well shortly after we met Nihlus, I asked if he could give me limited access to the Citadel network in order to get a better handle on Nassana's operation. What he did instead was give me authorization as a Spectre informant." Shani explained, "This gives us access to all sorts of information that we can use that are normally blocked from the public."
Ryan could only stare in amazement at Shani before uttering a single phrase that aptly described Shani at the moment, "You are amazing."
"I know." Shani answered cheekily, as she easily gained access to Nassana's personal terminal at her home.
"Let's see now…" Shani mumbled softy, as she began a search for recent messages in Nassana's terminal, "I think… yes… I found it."
"Great work. Let me see it." Ryan said as he leaned forward beside her to look at what Shani had found, completely unaware as to how close he was to Shani.
"Just as I thought…" Ryan said in consternation, "Nassana told the Blue Suns that the drugs she had stashed with them actually worked."
"What does that mean?" Shani asked, "What difference would that have made?"
Ryan turned his head to look at Shani and found himself close enough to breathe on her faceplate, Ryan quickly pulled away in embarrassment while Shani stood up from the chair and stood right in front of him.
"Uhm…" Ryan started to say, "You see… If I hadn't used the pill on Nassana, then she wouldn't have known that the drugs actually work and then she wouldn't have told the Blue Suns."
"I see… so are you saying this is your fault then?" Shani asked.
"Precisely, this is entirely my fault." Ryan answered dejectedly.
"You're wrong!" Shani exclaimed vehemently, "You couldn't have known what would have happened. So don't blame yourself."
"But I…" Ryan started to say.
"No buts, Mister." Shani interrupted angrily, "Stop blaming yourself and do something about the situation."
Ryan stared at Shani for a few minutes before shaking his head, "Fine… let's get to work then, this situation needs to be resolved as fast as possible."
"That was a close one…" Shani thought to herself, as she watched Ryan sit down on the chair and went to work.
January 24, 2173 – 9:20 PM
Omega – Afterlife
As soon as Nyreen had jumped over the railings, she used an Overload on one of the Blue Suns below her, his shield shattering just as Nyreen landed on top of him. Nyreen then pointed the muzzle of her Thunder V Assault Rifle point blank at the mercenary's face before firing at him. Once that was done, Nyreen realized that shad landed near an overturned table, which she quickly used as cover since the other mercenaries began to fire at her once they had recovered from the shock of losing Tarak and her surprising entrance.
Hefting her Thunder V Assault Rifle over the side of the table, Nyreen fired blindly at her attackers as she waited for her biotics to recover. She realized the error of her action when the table she was using as cover suddenly slammed into her. Dazed from the blow, Nyreen could only stare as one of the Blue Suns started to approach her and grabbed her own rifle and placed it point blank at her face.
"This is for my brother, bitch!" The Blue Sun mercenary screamed, as she started to press the trigger.
Suddenly a volley of mass effect rounds was fired at the Blue Sun, the sheer amount of rounds shattering her shield in seconds. Then a crack was heard, and the Blue Sun mercenary fell to the ground, a bullet hole in between her eyes.
Once she recovered, Nyreen grabbed her Assault Rifle and glanced at the third floor podium, where she could see Marcus cheekily giving her a thumbs up. Shaking her head in amusement over Marcus' antics, Nyreen suddenly realized that no one was firing at her anymore. She turned around and smiled grimly as she witnessed the carnage the Queen of Omega herself was capable of.
000
The moment Aria herself jumped over the railings, the attackers were doomed. Angered at the loss of her men and the unprovoked attack these people had committed against her, only served to fuel her rage and power as she unleashed a devastating Flare that effectively burned several of the mercenaries into a crisp. Not finished with them just yet, Aria lashed one of the mercenaries who were farther away and pulled him towards her, her Thunder V Assault Rifle already firing at the Blue Sun before landing at her feet, dead.
The mercenaries who were ecstatic a few moments ago could only stare in shock and fear as they were decimated by Aria and her companions. One by one, they all fell to Aria's rampage as Nyreen and the others looked on in awe.
000
Once that was finished, Aria motioned for the others to follow her when the door she was heading towards opened up to reveal the Patriarch entering the room alongside him was Grizz and the rest of her men as well as a few others.
"Humph, I see you survived." The Patriarch said, "Although that is to be expected."
"As have you, although I see you couldn't do it on your own." Aria pointed out, "Grizz… what kept you?"
"Sorry miss. We were ambushed by Blue Suns and Blood Pack on our way here but we managed to take them out with unexpected help from this group." Grizz explained, motioning to the Talons mercenary group.
"I see…" Aria said in contemplation as she approached the Talons, "What exactly do you want in exchange for your help?"
One of the Talons approached Aria and introduced himself, "The name is Derius and I'm the leader of the Talons."
Derius looked at Aria, maintaining eye contact as he proceeded to answer her question, "As for what we want from you…"
Derius looked over at the rest of Aria's men who had just joined them before glancing at the three Eclipse Mercenaries and nodding his head. Derius then looked back at Aria and answered smugly, "We don't want anything from you. We're already being paid handsomely to help out."
Aria was shocked at what had just happened as she stuttered in her response, "What? Who… What do you mean you're paid to help out? Paid by whom?"
Derius jerked his finger towards the Eclipse mercenaries, "We were hired to keep an eye out for that Turian over there, Nyreen Kandros."
"Me?" Nyreen asked in surprise as everyone turned to stare at her, "Who is it?"
"I don't really know… he called himself "Storm" and paid us to protect you and to give you a message." Derius explained, "He paid us handsomely as well."
"What do you mean handsomely?" Marcus asked curiously, "Like how much exactly?"
Derius just smiled before answering, "Fifty million credits."
Everyone was amazed at the amount of credits Derius was being paid to protect Nyreen.
Dazed by the sudden revelation, Nyreen asked "So what was the message?"
"Janus and the others are heading there in an hour and a half. Stay alive till then." Derius quoted.
Eshin turned to stare at Nyreen before pointing out the obvious, "It looks like your brother has powerful friends…"
"You think?" Marcus asked in amazement.
Aria stared at the Eclipse mercenaries as she quietly contemplated as to what had transpired tonight before approaching them.
"You know, when you three first arrived here, I already knew you were Eclipse. Then when the fighting started, I expected you to flee from this place… but you surprised me." Aria told them, "Now this situation with the Blue Suns and the Blood Pack has sparked my interest. Then here comes the Talons under orders to protect you and to be paid with an obscene amount of money? You three interest me greatly."
"We aim to please." Marcus answered easily, as the main doors of Afterlife suddenly opened.
Immediately, everyone pointed their weapons at the new arrival, almost sixty Eclipse mercenaries.
"Holy shit… I think that's everyone in the entire organization in Omega." Marcus hastily whispered to Nyreen, who just nodded.
"Hold your fire people." Jaroth proclaimed loudly as he made his way forward while the rest of the Eclipse started spread around the room, "We're here to rescue one of our own."
"As you can see, Jaroth. You're people are with us and everything is under control." Aria pointed out, as she motioned to the three Eclipse mercenaries with them.
"I can see that." Jaroth said after he noticed them, "Nyreen, Marcus, and Eshin. I'm glad to see that you three are safe. You three are a testament to the strength of Eclipse."
"Something is wrong…" Eshin muttered softly so that Marcus and Nyreen were the only ones that heard him, as he readied his rifle, Marcus and Nyreen seeing what he was doing, also did the same.
"As such, Nyreen, I would like to ask for your help in ensuring that Eclipse will be in a seat of power as of tonight." Jaroth proclaimed, "Bring Aria to me! As for the rest of you, we have you outnumbered and outgunned."
His proclamation shocked everyone and everyone looked on in apprehension as they awaited Nyreen's answer to Jaroth's demand.
January 24, 2173 – 9:30 PM
Citadel – Nassana's Apartment
Janus and the others burst into Nassana's apartment with their weapons ready. Just then they heard a voice calling out to them, "I'm in the living room. Dahlia here really needs to see you."
Janus led the way to the living room as the others warily followed him inside while Shadow opted to stay in the hallway and out of sight.
In the living room, Janus could see that Dahlia was slumped on the floor. Her entire body was covered in bruises and blood was flowing from several cuts on her face and body. Standing beside her was Nassana with an evil grin on her face.
"I see that Sven and that human sent out the dogs to find out what happened to my sister. As you can see for yourself, she's not in any condition to see you." Nassana gloated, "I'll be happy to take any message you have to her when she wakes up. Although you could tell her yourself since you won't be leaving this place alive."
Janus wondered just what the hell happened here.
Seeing the confused expression on Janus face, Nassan began to explain, "You see, Janus. I can call you Janus right? The drug that bastard gave me DID permanently erase any biotic power I had, but its side effect… more than makes up for the loss of biotic. It gave me super strength, speed and endurance."
"It took only minutes to subdue my dear sister." Nassana boasted, "Sadly, she wouldn't give up the information as to where Svena and that human are hiding about. No matter, I have you to tell me."
"That won't happen." Janus answered firmly as he aimed his Assault Rifle at Nassana's head.
"Oh… you're going to kill me?" Nassana scoffed, "You need me alive if you want my organization to continue working smoothly."
Janus suddenly smiled causing Nassana to doubt herself a little bit, "Why are you smiling?"
"It's nothing… I just find it amusing that you think the reason you're alive is because we need you for your organization." Janus explained, "The actual reason was to find out what side effects those pills might have."
Nassana slowly realized what Janus was trying to say, "Wait…" Nassana started to say just before Janus put three bullets into her head.
"Good riddance." Wrex said, as he holstered his shotgun and left the room.
Aleena went to check up on Dahlia while Janus activated his omni-tool and made his report to Ryan.
"I got the information…" Janus told him.
"I see. Get back here when you're finished. We have a lot more to do before we leave tonight." Ryan informed him.
"Alright… I'll see you soon." Janus answered before cancelling the call.
Janus approached Aleena and asked, "So what's her status?"
"She's been worked over thoroughly. Whatever that drug did to Nassana, Dahlia ultimately paid the price. She'll live though but we'll need to drop her off at a hospital." Aleen explained.
"I'll see what I can do." Janus told her.
"Alright, I'll stay here and clean up. You should get going. You know that this is only the beginning…" Aleena pointed out.
"I know…" Janus somberly answered before leaving Aleena to do her job.
January 24, 2173 – 9:40 PM
Omega – Afterlife
"Are you crazy, Jaroth?" Nyreen asked in outrage, "Are you seriously trying to pick a fight with Aria after what just happened? Well here's my answer! I will NOT betray the very person I have fought with."
"I see… I knew that you couldn't understand, Nyreen." Jaroth pointed out, "You never did. You never had the brains to see the bigger picture… to see…"
A loud bang could be heard echoing around the room, everyone looked on in surprise to see Jaroth tumble to the ground, a bullet hole in his head.
"What an ass." Marcus muttered as he lowered his rifle.
"What did you do?" Nyreen asked in horror, as the rest of the Eclipse mercenaries were undecided on what to do, "Quick, we need to take over the situation before things get out of hand."
Seizing the opportunity, Aria stepped forward and proclaimed loudly, "Eclipse mercenaries, you all came here expecting to fight your enemies and save your fellow companion. Correct?"
Several of the Eclipse mercenaries nodded their head and voiced their agreement.
"And NONE of you had any idea on what was going through Jaroth's head when he tried to have me killed." Aria continued.
Majority of the Eclipse mercenary nodded their head and voiced their agreement.
"I do not wish to see pointless blood spilled tonight. As such, I'm telling you all right now. Stand down, Eclipse! Stand down now! For tomorrow, we will bring the fight to the Blue Suns!" Aria proclaimed loudly.
This time everyone in the room voiced their approval to her plan. Realizing that the situation would not escalate any further, Nyreen breathed a sigh of relief. Nyreen glanced at Aria who just smirked at her, "As the Queen of Omega, I hereby instate Nyreen Kandros as the new leader of Eclipse."
Nyreen could only stare in shock as every single Eclipse mercenary cheered at her elevation to leader. Aria walked towards her and muttered softly, "Lead them well, Nyreen. I'll be seeing you soon."
With that, Aria and the rest of her men left the lobby leaving Nyreen to face her responsibility of leading the Eclipse.
Realizing that they wanted a speech, "Everyone… I can't tell you what will happen in the future… but this I promise you. This is a new age for the Eclipse. We will not be associated ANY LONGER by our past. Instead we will forge ahead into a brand new future. For now though, we have a war to finish. The Blue Suns will finally see our strength and conviction as we kick them out of Omega!" Nyreen proclaimed loudly to her companions.
The entire group cheered at Nyreen's speech and promised future.
January 24, 2173 – 10:30 PM
Citadel – Eternal Wanderer
Ryan stood at the bridge of the Eternal Wanderer and stared in awe at the way the ship was structured. Deck 1 is the Captain's Cabin, which Ryan assumed as where Nassana would stay at. Deck 2 is where the bridge, alongside the communication room was situated. Deck 3 housed the crew quarters as well as the infirmary, a conference room and the XO's Office. Deck 4 was where the mess hall was found as well as a recreational room and Main Battery Room. Deck 5 is where the armory, storage area, and hangar are located at. Surprisingly, Nassana had an M35 Mako vehicle. Ryan wondered where she got such a thing. Deck 6 is where Engineering was based in as well as the Ship Core Reactor. Overall, Eternal Wanderer was a nice ship although Ryan wished he could change the name.
Nihlus approached him from behind, "Ryan, everything's ready for takeoff. You should leave now if you wish to make your trip to Earth soon."
"I see… well good luck then, Nihlus. Make sure they come back alive." Ryan asked him.
"I will but I doubt they need someone to watch over them all the time." Nihlus pointed out.
"Well good luck…" Ryan said before making his way to the hangar, where the rest of his companions were waiting.
"Ryan… I wish you luck on your business on Earth. We'll see you soon." Janus told him, as they shook each other's hand.
"I will. You also… make sure those drugs are taken care of." Ryan said before looking at Wrex, "Wrex, take care of these guys for me, alright?"
"You got it, kid." Wrex answered, "I'll make sure no one gets their asses handed to them. You take care of yourself as well."
"I will…" Ryan answered before glancing at Shani, "Come on… let's go."
Ryan and Shani walked to the elevator while the rest of them went inside the ship. Shortly after, the Eternal Wanderer left the Citadel and made its way to Omega.
January 24, 2173 – ?
Unknown
A man groggily woke up and slowly realized that he was bound securely to an examining table… the second thing he noticed was that he was completely naked underneath the sheet… just then he saw someone who looked like a doctor approach him…
"Well well, so you're Mason Murphree… weird last name but still, I see you're awake now. I must say you've shown an astonishing resilience on the drugs we've been using on you…" The doctor stated, "Although I'm glad to say that the results from your tests are quite remarkable. You'll do well in furthering the cause of humanity."
While the doctor was doing his monologue, the man struggled hard to break free from his bonds while paying partial attention to what the man was saying. When he realized that they intended to actually experiment on him, the man panicked and started to struggle even harder.
The doctor noticed that the patient was getting agitated and sighed heavily as he retrieved a needle from his pocket, "Please Mr. Murphree… relax…"
The man struggled even harder when he saw the needle but could not escape as he felt the needle break through his skin and gradually lost consciousness…
The same man, although older, woke up suddenly and realized that he was sweating profusely. The man was starting to feel restless, so he made his way to the window and stared out into open space.
"Not that dream again…" Mason muttered softly to himself.
Mason contemplated about his situation as the ship he was on, made its way through the vastness of space towards Omega.
Author's Note: Not sure if this is an actual improvement since I generally skimmed over the fight scenes, maybe when I get better, I'll write fight scenes since ME is more on Biotics and Firefights instead of melee combat where I'm good at. Also this chapter marks the introduction of "Unsc .a.i ctn15569 Sherman" OC, Mason Murphree. Hope the intro works out for him so… hope you guys will comment, I'm going to post a character intro later… not sure yet when. For now, here's the usual.
Notable Original Characters of Mass Effect:
Ryan Tan (Human) [Command]
Shani (Quarian)
Chelsea McGee (Human) [Garnet]
Januarius "Janus" Kandros (Turian) [Havoc]
Sven Markelius (Human)
Shadow (Turian) [Ghost]
Kyle Ruark (Human)
Brett Ruark (Human)
William Ruark (Human)
Marcus "Deadshot" Arnel (Human)
Eshin Adus (Salarian)
Jayrus Viryn (Turian)
Canon Characters of Mass Effect:
Urdnot Wrex (Krogan) [Wrath]
Garrus Vakarian (Turian) [Archangel]
Nyreen Kandros (Turian)
Aleena (Asari) [Artemis]
Executor Venari Pallin (Turian)
Nihlus Kryik (Turian)
Dahlia Dantius (Asari)