15th March 2186 (Earth Calendar)
21:10 zulu
On board SSV Normandy
Commander Katherine Shepard wasn't one for waiting around patiently when there was nothing she could do, so the fact it was taking so damn long to get any answers from Chakwas was starting to get on her nerves.
"Commander, the readings I'm getting from this person just don't make sense. Outwardly he's human, and even genetically he's similar to the norms, but there is quite a bit of excess information here."
"Damn it Doc, I'm a sniper not a geneticist."
"We share about 95% of DNA with a chimpanzee, he has that information, and the same information we do... he just has more."
"Meaning what? He's a biotic?"
"He has no scaring on the back of his neck that indicates an implant, and for the last time Commander, that isn't how Biotics work.
He does however have a high resistance to medication. I've been keeping him under until I could finish my work. The only people I've worked on that require more anaesthetic to keep down are yourself, Wrex and Grunt."
"And two of those are krogan, and Cerberus put god knows what into me when they rebuilt me.
And you're sure that this guy is free-range?"
"Whilst I doubt he'd appreciate being compared to eggs or a side of beef... yes.
He should be awake soon enough, I guess you have questions for him."
Shepard stalked out of the Medbay,
"Yeah.. as if finding a living Prothean wasn't enough for one day.."
15th March 2186 (Earth Calendar)
21:40 zulu
On board SSV Normandy
"Ok.. seeing as you haven't shot me, and don't have any intention to in the foreseeable future, I'll answer your questions. But can someone tell me what this is?"
The mess hall was the only real place to have this conversation, everyone needed to eat and this man wasn't technically a prisoner, and Shepard's instincts told her that this man would be more than a match for her currently very limited team. It was late and the only thing left in the mess was some yellow mush that claimed to be scrambled eggs. Most of the crew, it seemed, agreed with the Commander that facing Reapers was preferable to eating that vile creation that the some evil genius had concocted.
"Most people don't like what the Alliance try to pass off as Scrambled Eggs. It's..."
"Rubbery? Tasteless? You should try some of the food at the Academy. They way they prepare food you'd think that tasty food was what caused the last purge.. What I couldn't have given for a Nerf Burger."
"Uh-huh...
Do you have a name? Calling you 'mystery man' is a bit, ya know, awkward."
"I'm sorry... I'm Kiran Dulius."
"And the hooting thing?"
The 'hooting thing' had spent most of it's time chittering away with EDI, and was now plugged into a socket whilst the stranger at the table continued devouring the food in front of him. He'd actually finished off a plate already and was moving onto a second. It was fascinating to watch him wage war on the 'food'.
"My Astromech. He's called Beaker."
"Does that mean something?"
"Force knows, you'd have to ask an old friend of mine. I didn't name him, I just sort of... inherited him ten years ago. We've been flying together since."
"Ok... The force?"
"Its how Jedi get their power."
"Jedi?"
"Seriously?
Ok. The force is basically life itself. It's the energy that all living things produce; Jedi can manipulate that flow of energy to perform tasks. Some are healers able to cure the worst of diseases, some are historians who could recount heroic deeds and evil schemes from over a thousand years past, some are diplomats able to stop wars with a single sentence..."
"And you?"
"I am a warrior Commander. I have fought on or above a hundred planets in the last decade alone. I'm as good behind the stick of an X-Wing as I am with a lightsaber."
"If you're as good as you say..."
"I am."
Shepard sighed. He wasn't arrogant, that would be easy to deal with, it would be like dealing with another pain in the ass like Vega. The man in front of her spoke the words with a calm and quiet confidence that reminded her of Thane.
".. We need your help."
That was Liara, she'd hardly taken her eyes off Kiran, and for a moment Kate remembered the Asari's fascination with her during the Saren campaign. It had been endearing.. if a little creepy at times.
How much of that is professional interest and how much of that is personal. She was pretty hurt when I turned her down and I don't think she saw Feron that way. He must know things that she can only dream of. He's also not bad looking, if you're into that kind of thing.
"You're fighting, but you face impossible odds.
"That about sums it up. Will you help?"
"Jedi are sworn to defend life, even at the cost of our own.. and Rogues, well Impossible is our stock in trade."
"That wasn't a yes."
Kiran smiled, in between mouthful's of 'egg'.
Damn that guy must be really hungry.
"I will fight yo..."
"Commander we've got.. I don't know what."
"Could you be any less vague Joker?"
"There are serious fluctuations coming from the Medbay Commander. I am... unsure as to the cause."
Shepard could see something appearing in the medbay and there was a noise, unlike anything she'd heard before.
"What the fuck is it now?!"