From: Admiral Hackett
Commander Shepard,
Great work on Asteroid X57. You saved a lot of civilian lives and struck a blow against those who would see our race eradicated.
I understand your concussion left blank spaces in the mission report. We're investigating anomalies on Terra Nova that should answer our questions.
Visit the Citadel, but keep it short. The Council wants you on Noveria to neutralize the possible geth presence.
We placed an undercover agent there some months ago for other reasons. They contacted us yesterday to report suspicious activity. Matriarch Benezia arrived at Port Hanshan with a squadron of asari commandos and a shipment of machinery, setting up base a few klicks away at Peak 15. Shortly after, official and Alliance-secured communications with Port Hanshan went quiet.
Use whatever resources and force necessary to take the Matriarch into custody.
Jeff Moreau and Kaidan Alenko sat in the cockpit. They had set a course for the Citadel, where Tali could receive cutting-edge treatment.
"Hey, Staff Lieutenant," Jeff said in a low voice. "Does the Commander look different to you?"
Kaidan sighed. "He refuses to be examined by Doctor Chakwas. She thinks those batarians broke his nose and chin."
"I think they broke his pride while they were at it."
"We should mind our own business, Joker."
They're fooled, thus far. Kal-El employed his enhanced senses to monitor the SSV Normandy's crew between studying Alliance files.
He sat in Shepard's austere quarters in front of a holo-screen which displayed footage of the Commander, Lieutenant Kaidan Alenko, and Gunnery Chief Ashley Williams on planet Eden Prime. They took cover behind a boulder on a grassy stretch, from where they exchanged fire with geth. Several husks lay dead on the ground, but more ran toward the trio. Some of the mutated humans were impaled on spikes in the background; at times, the spikes lowered to set the subjects free.
The team went on foot across countryside mounds to a tram station. A ship launched from the valleys beyond. Its chrome body was in roughly the form of a hominid skull. Translucent material plated the eyes and grin. Long tentacles, attached to the underside, straightened and shot energy from their ends. Then it was gone. Only a piece of my main adversary. Kal decided to study those frames of footage later, and continued watching.
The squad stood on a flat loading platform. Kal wished he could see their expressions.
Shepard approached an ancient beacon, experienced visions of genocide.
The man floated in front of a stone pillar, eyes glowing, arms outstretched to the sides. Fiery energy connected him with the artifact. Ashley lay on the ground close by.
Suspect: Saren Arterius, a turian. Spectre, or secret agent, for the Citadel Council. Tali'Zorah Nar Rayya provided evidence to implement him in Eden Prime atrocities. Council sanctioned Shepard to hunt down and stop Saren.
First lead is Matriarch Benezia, mother of the archaeologist Liara T'Soni.
And as for Commander John Shepard himself. . . let's see. Born and raised in the colony of Mindoir. Witnessed batarian slavers slaughter family at age sixteen. Joined Alliance at age nineteen. Went on to save hundreds of civilians against slavers on Elysium.
Kal soon left his new quarters to wander the Normandy. The Codex said the ship's construction was a Council-ordered cooperation between human and turian, meant to relieve some tension left after the First Contact War. He wondered how much of their hard feelings carried to the design. It was too gloomy and plain for him.
The crew somehow kept up a bit of morale, despite their metal trappings and strange missions.
Kal ended up in the mess area of the quarters deck, where a turian passed by. "Have a few minutes, Garrus?"
Ashley and Wrex were in the area, as well. He beckoned them over. The three exchanged glances and moved closer.
"I was ready for a long break from the Citadel," Garrus said. "Think I'll stay on board while we're docked and install upgrades on our rifles. Promise you'll take Wrex and I on the next mission. Our trigger fingers are twitching."
"We need to cover the subject of missions." Kal walked around the lounge table and claimed a seat in the middle. He motioned for the others to join him.
Ashley was the first to move, taking a seat directly across from him.
Garrus sat off to her side.
"I'll pass," Wrex said. "Those chairs hurt my tail bone. What's the news, Shepard?"
Kal set his hands flat on the smooth surface. "We can trust our instincts to help us survive in life-or-death situations. Sometimes the two options are kill or be killed. I accept that war, once started, will include bloodshed."
His subordinates seemed confused, but he continued steadily.
"Take a deep breath, because what I'm going to say is radical. I want the three of you to find gentler means of victory when possible. Use the environment. Or exploit a physical weakness in your enemy."
Garrus groaned in skepticism. "Sounds like a slippery way of doing things."
Wrex stepped closer and pounded the tabletop. "I blast anyone who tries to blast me. That's all there is to it."
"I respect the moral fiber." Ashley's tonality was careful. "But too much empathy while on the battlefield gets you killed."
Kal nodded. "I accept the responsibility of setting an example. Maybe you'll come around if you see the philosophy applied. Dismissed."
The woman and krogan traveled together toward the stairs.
Wrex groaned. "He's softer than I thought."
"Something traumatized him on that asteroid," she said.
"You are cleared for Dock 422," a female voice announced. "An emergency transport is ready to lift your injured to the nearest hospital."
Kal kept a straight face as he stood beside Jeff and took in the majestic sight of the Citadel. Over fifty-thousand years had passed since he'd been here; granted, he'd spent most that time in stasis.
Crew members pushed Liara and Tali's stretchers from the airlock into the docking bay, and handed them off to medics.
First Kal strolled the Presidium and soaked in panoramic views. Entirely different races dominated the Citadel now. But structures along the curved inner arms were largely the same, albeit rearranged in places. Species of trees and bushes were familiar. He once walked those same bridges and stairs, idled with friends atop those balconies.
He stepped down to a veranda above a lawn, where the crystal waters of a pond reflected nebula light.
It was right around here that I earned the nickname Monkey. A bunch of kids walked close and jokingly argued which one of them was going to put me in a cage and take me home as a pet. I told them they'd have to catch me first. I climbed down to the lawn, threw some dirt at them, then climbed up a tree.
A family dined a level above him, sharing their opinions on alien cuisine. C-Sec officers on break chatted up an asari shop attendant, exchanging wit and chuckles. A salarian reporter interviewed an elcor about its role in a theatrical play scheduled for tomorrow. Everyone here seemed content to happy, caught in the present or excited for the near future.
Loneliness wracked his insides. He had been too human to be a true Prothean. Now the reverse was somehow true. I need company. Let's see how our young scientist fares.
Kal stood at Liara's bedside in the hospital.
A nurse brought him a report of her condition, explaining that Liara had suffered head trauma and internal bleeding from shrapnel. Surgery was finished in the time taken for him to travel there. Doctors expected a full recovery, but that was another week away.
Liara studied Kal with sparkling eyes as the nurse spoke. He became nervous that she would notice too many details distinguishing him from Shepard. He forced himself to smile and return her gaze.
The nurse handed him a datapad to fill out. He did so, confirming the Alliance would cover certain expenses, and handed it back. "Thank you. I'll leave you two alone to talk."
"Feel ready for more work next week?" Kal asked.
"The incident helped put my life into perspective. I am happy the geth trapped me on Therum. How else would we have met?"
"You know how to put a positive spin on pain and fear."
"Well, archaeologists learn to view the past through unique lenses. But my mind's on the future, as well. I want to continue as a part of your life. Even after we defeat Saren." Liara reached over and grasped his hand. "Take care in apprehending my mother, Shepard. Benezia has become a dangerous woman."
The man gave her hand a quick squeeze, and nodded. "She's our link to Saren right now. I promise to bring her in alive."
Liara's adorable, I'll admit. I want a woman, though. Someone with emotional fortitude and worldly experience.
He visited Tali across the hall. Tanks pumped gaseous antibiotics into a transparent case where she lay. In place of her normal outfit was a bulky suit. She wore a new helmet, tinted visor hiding her features. He preferred to see her face, if ever, when she was well again. Monitors attached to the wall showed low heart and brain activity. A doctor approached, told him mostly the obvious, and handed him datapad.
The doctor was an old human male who looked ready to weep. "What do you think of handing her back to the quarian flotilla?"
"The flotilla lives in borderline poverty. Your team has all the expertise and supplies needed. I know her condition is demanding, but persevere with her."
Depressed by the hospital, Kal spoke his best wishes to Tali and left.
He took a rapid transit to a bar called Chora's Den, where he suspected some of his crew drank.
Ashley and Kaidan sat at a round table. Kal passed a krogan bouncer, who nodded to him. In a corner, an asari dancer writhed on a turian's lap. Other dancers entertained the room at large from raised platforms at the center.
"Did you visit Tali?" Kaidan asked.
"Sleeping." Kal sat beside the Staff Lieutenant. "Doctor said her enviro-suit sealed itself at breech points. I gave them permission to pump her full of immuno-boosters and risk surgery."
Ash stifled a burp. "It was either take a chance or learn about her death from infection. Quarians are fragile as wine glasses."
"Anyone who overheard you is going to think we're snobs." Kaidan shook his head.
"I'll stop being snobbish." She polished off her drink and licked her lips. "Shepard. I need to ask a question, or I'll lose hours of sleep tonight."
An asari waitress walked to their table, hips swaying. Kal welcomed the diversion and pointed to a nice-looking drink on the menu. His two friends gave him weird looks after the waitress left. He realized that Shepard must have usually ordered a different alcoholic drink. Or had Shepard been a non-alcoholic person? Records only covered so much.
"What's the harm in trying something new?"
They shrugged and sent their attention elsewhere. But after a minute of silence, Ashley spoke again. "Where did your new philosophy come from? The whole matter of killing."
"This is the wrong location. I'll be happy to answer later, somewhere else."
"You're worried that spelling out your thoughts will make you seem weak in this rough crowd. Am I right?" The woman lightly kicked him under the table.
Kal felt exposed. "My mentor taught me that a civilization's integrity is measured by its ability to preserve and nurture life." His drink arrived, and he used the excuse to begin a conversation about liquor.
The Normandy entered the exosphere of Noveria. Kal strode into the cockpit, followed by Ashley and navigator Charles Pressly.
"Requesting clearance to dock, traffic control." Jeff massaged his forehead as he looked over his shoulder. "I've tried to hail them a dozen times. The blizzard might be screwing the signal, or their comm could be damaged."
"More likely they're ignoring us," Ashley muttered.
An alarm sounded on the pilot console. Screens showed the positions of orbital defense satellites and their predicted beam and missile trajectories. Jeff's hands sped over graphical interfaces.
Many satellites fired in unison. The ship dodged attacks as they came, anticipated and avoided others fractions of a second prior, always on the brink of atomization.
"Come as close to Peak 15 as you can," Kal ordered. "Prepare to drop the Mako on my signal."
"Aye, sir. I'll get you down there safely." There was doubt in Jeff's voice.
"I must object." Pressly leaned forward so he could look Kal in the face. "We can return with reinforcements. This is the epicenter of stock-trading for hundreds of light-years around. Their defenses must be even worse on the surface."
Kal kept his mouth shut and his eyes pointed ahead at the main screen.
The Normandy began to experience minor turbulence as it raced into the atmosphere. Both Ash and Pressly grabbed Kal's either arm to keep steady. Explosions pushed away and replaced rolling wintry clouds.
Kal turned to Ashley. "I want you and Alenko to run recon at the port. We'll pressure the opposition at both ends."
"You're sure that's. . ." She trailed off, straightened her back, and gave an exaggerated nod. "Yes, sir, commander."
Pressly scratched his bald head and muttered, clearly bothered.
"The ground-to-air guns are joining the celebration." Jeff kept at the controls with constant vigor.
Kal exited, speed-walking down the corridor. He was almost to the stairs at the back of CIC when Pressly jogged up beside him.
"Am I going to have to report you for negligence?" The navigator's was voice hushed, but frantic. "This place is a strategical death trap for us."
"We're the best of the best." Ashley had sneaked up on Pressly. "Meaning we're the military's crazy stuntmen."
"Thanks, Williams," Kal said. They reached the bottom of the stairs. "We'll sit and talk later, XO. Back up to your station."
The other man sighed. "Aye, sir."
Kal and Ashley entered the elevator together and stood side by side. The door slid shut.
"You're daring today," she said. "Be warned, though. I think everyone on board wants to turn you in for a psych-eval."
"You included?"
"I'm worried. We've only known each other for a week, but I understand what everyone means when they say you're a different person."
He wondered how much longer the facade could possibly hold. Another day or two, realistically. He might well need to disappear after this mission and assume a new identity in the military. But how?
The door opened. Garrus, Wrex, and Kaidan waited in the garage, armed and suited.
"Make me proud again, Ash." And he made for the Mako.