Chapter 2:
Eden Prime
Author's Note: Please read and review.
"Get up!"
Patrick stirred as someone nudged him, a loud annoying alarm sounding around them. If Patrick hadn't known better he would have said that the noise was gunshots.
Probably Lily, he thought to himself. After all no other girl would be attempting to wake him up.
"Get up!" The voice repeated.
"Five more minutes," Patrick mumbled, trying to hide from a brilliant light that seemed to come out of no where. Another thought entered his mind. When had he gone to sleep? The last thing he remembered was fighting with William.
"You don't have five more minutes," The voice shouted over the roar of the sound, echoing around them. "It's either get up now or never get up again!" This time when the voice shoved him, they did it with more force, making Patrick's ice blue eyes flutter open
"What the hell is your problem…" Patrick's voice trailed off as his newly opened eyes adjusted to his scenery. He was outside on some beaten path, the scent of smoke overpowering everything. Patrick glanced around him, realizing that he could see the smoke, floating in between the trees. That sent another thought in Patrick's mind. Trees! Where the hell was he?
He glanced towards the figure that had wakened him up, but she wasn't paying attention to him. She had a pistol in her hand and was firing at some unknown enemy, her pink-and-white armor glowing from the dark red sky. The girl glanced at him and then shouted; firing off more shots, "Don't just sit there! Get down behind a crate!"
Patrick obeyed, crawling behind a metal crate as the girl kept shooting. He heard someone running from behind him and turned to see a man running towards the enemies that Patrick had yet to see, firing rapidly. Patrick stared at him, his heart practically bursting out of his chest when the man was gunned down, falling to the ground.
Shit! His scream was silent as the man had a fit on the ground before he became still, dark blue eyes staring sightlessly ahead.
"Shit!" Patrick turned to girl who was under heavy fire. Not knowing what else to do, Patrick crawled towards the dead man, took his pistol and stood up, ready to fire at whoever was attacking them. He was not prepared for the sight he saw.
The girl was firing at three tall, machine things that were holding rifles and showing that they knew how to use them. Patrick stared at them and they seemed to notice another person had entered the fight for they turned their large, flashlight heads towards him, raising their rifles. Fortunately that one distraction was all the girl needed for she killed all three of them with just two well aimed shots. They fell to the ground and the girl jogged over to Patrick.
"Thanks kid," She muttered, reloading her pistol. "You distracted them long enough for me to take them down."
Patrick stared at her before stuttering, "Anytime."
The girl nodded, still staring at him. "Who are you? Are you reinforcements? Did the Alliance send you?"
Her words were completely lost on Patrick. Alliance? Reinforcements? "No. Why? Do I look like a soldier?"
Patrick gestured to the black t-shirt and plaid sweats he wore around his house. His house. Once more the same thoughts echoed in his head. How the hell did he even get here?
The girl shook her head, "I guess not. I'm Gunnery Chief Ashley Williams of the 212. I guess you're a farmer?"
Patrick stared at her, her words still not making sense to his ears. Ashley Williams? From Mass Effect? Was the girl giving him a false name? Patrick stared around him, recognizing the pink-and-white armor the girl was wearing from Ashley William's armor from the game. What the hell was going on?
"Your name's Ashley Williams?" Patrick asked his voice rough.
Ashley nodded, "You probably heard of my grandfather, General Williams."
Patrick nodded his head spinning. He had no doubt that the girl in front of him was Ashley Williams, but he didn't know why he was even crouched in front of her. Were they in the game? Patrick's head spun more just thinking about it.
Suddenly it dawned on Patrick, "Oh I get it. I'm dreaming."
"What?" Ashley asked, "Does this look like a dream?"
"I don't have to listen to you," Patrick laughed, glad that his brief panic attack was over, "You're just a figment of my imagination."
"What the hell are you talking about?" Ashley asked again in a way that Patrick's subconscious could never pull off.
"Wait a minute," Patrick whispered, "I'm not dreaming."
Ashley shook her head, "You okay? You didn't hit your head or anything?"
"But I don't understand," Patrick whispered, "Where are Shepard and the others?"
"Shepard?" Ashley asked, sounding just as confused as Patrick felt, "There is no Shepard stationed on Eden Prime."
"Eden Prime?" Patrick whispered. This was before Ashley met up with Shepard and Kaidan or the rest of the Normandy. Patrick froze. Were they even in existence? Had he interfered with something big?
"Yes Eden Prime," Ashley said, standing up, "Those synthetics must have come for the beacon."
Beacon? The Prothean Beacon? "Do you have any idea what we're fighting?"
"I think they're geth," Ashley answered, "Now come on. We have to make sure the beacon is still secure."
"Right," Patrick breathed, still not understanding what the hell was going, but decided that it would be better to stick with an armed soldier than wander around on his own.
"One moment," Ashley stopped him, placing a hand on his chest, "What's your name kid?"
"Patrick Hamilton," He answered, wondering if he should have lied. After all, would Ashley know if there was a Hamilton on Eden Prime? She had known that there was no Shepard.
But Ashley just nodded and began to lead the way, "Follow me. Maybe on the way there we can find you some armor."
Without another word, Ashley began sprinting away, leaving Patrick to run after her, wheezing.
Shit, I'm out of shape, He thought to himself, clutching his side as he ran. As a Hamilton living under William's roof, Patrick had been subjected to many army training courses throughout the years. When he was younger, he wasn't as strong as Holden or as comfortable around guns as Joseph, but he was fast. He was a star on the track team, breaking two school records for the 400 and 800, but that had been a little less than two years ago.
The last time Patrick had probably run had been during his first semester at Harvard before dropping out. That had been seven months ago and Patrick was feeling his lack of exercise in his burning thighs. Although… it wasn't as bad as it should have been. Some part of Patrick's legs remembered racing on the track and they soon adjusted to his fast pace. They weren't completely ready for the run, but at least he was able to keep Ashley in sight.
Ashley stopped behind a crate and Patrick crouched beside her, placing the dead man's gun against his thigh. With all the training he went through as a kid, he knew how to use a gun, but he wasn't sure if he was ready to kill anything. Synthetic or not.
Ashley glanced at him and nodded, "You're fast for a farmer. Most can't even run a quarter mile without passing out."
"Thanks," Patrick mumbled quietly, still trying to catch his breath and Ashley continued,
"You should enlist with the Alliance or something when we get out of here." Ashley paused. "If we get out of here."
"We will get out of here," Patrick promised. After all that's what happened in the game. Ashley shrugged and Patrick added, "Don't be such a pessimist."
Ashley glanced at him and he knew exactly what she would say, "A pessimist is when an optimist calls a realist." (A/N. I had to put that line in here. It was my favorite throughout the game.)
Patrick was about to add something else, but Ashley held up her hand, "Quiet. I think I hear something."
The two of them peered over the edge of the crate, their guns poised to shoot. Two assault drones appeared, two geth dragging a prisoner to a purple object.
"Dragon's teeth," Patrick whispered, remembering the geth technology that turned humans into mindless husks.
"What was that?" Ashley inquired, but her comment made the two geth glance at them. The lead one in purple armor raised his hands and the two assault drones headed towards them. "Shit! Shit! Shit!"
Ashley whipped out her pistol before Patrick could even move a finger and shot the two drones down before sheathing her pistol, taking out her assault rifle. The two of them- a soldier and a teen from another world- crept towards them and Patrick knew what was going to happen before it did.
The lead geth waved a hand over the human who had been thrown a top one of the purple objects and Patrick's legs tensed to run just as a large spike impaled itself through the human, blood falling down like scarlet raindrops.
Patrick couldn't help himself. He bent over and got sick.
Seeing an ally die in a game was one thing. Seeing it in real life was quite another. Patrick had not been expecting the blood that dripped down the spike or the crunching sound of bones being broken.
"Shit, kid," Ashley snapped although her voice was gentle. Patrick was a little surprised. He always imagined Ashley Williams as a headstrong member of the crew. Then again he had always been playing Shepard when they communicated before. Ashley dragged him behind a rock wall before leaning over a firing a couple shots.
But her gun was not the only one being fired.
Patrick wiped his mouth as two Alliance soldiers raced towards them, assisting Ashley in taking out the geth.
"Shepard," Patrick breathed.
Ashley turned around and even through her helmet; Patrick could see the gratitude in her amber eyes. She walked towards Shepard and Kaidan and Patrick followed, hearing his ally say, "Thank God, you showed up when you did sir. I'm Gunnery Chief Ashley Williams of the 212 and this is Patrick Hamilton, a farmer for Eden Prime. Are you the reinforcements the Alliance sent?"
Shepard nodded, "Commander John Shepard of the Normandy. This is Lieutenant Kaidan Alenko Are you two okay?"
Patrick blinked in surprise at Shepard's voice. It sounded just like it did in the game. Patrick had been expecting it to sound different, but no. It held the same calmness as usual.
"Minor scrapes and burns," Ashley answered with a shrug, "Nothing serious."
Shepard turned to Patrick and the younger man whispered, "I'm fine."
Shepard nodded, "Any idea what we're up against, Chief?"
Ashley shared a glance with Patrick, "We think they're geth."
"Geth?" Patrick jumped at Kaidan's voice. He had forgotten Kaidan was there. "Why would they be here now? They haven't been seen outside the Veil in nearly 300 years."
"I think it has to do with the beacon," Ashley explained.
"It's the only explanation," Patrick added, "The geth didn't come until we found it."
Shepard nodded, "Where is it now?"
"At the dig site," Ashley answered, "Not far at all."
Shepard nodded again, "Okay. I think you should join us, Chief. You too, Hamilton. It's always useful to have a couple more hands."
Kaidan lifted his hand to speak, "First I think we need to find Hamilton some armor. He'll be no use to us if he doesn't have shields."
"There might be some in those crates over there," Ashley explained, tilting her nod to a pile of broken crates by the impaled human, "That's where most marines kept their belongings."
Kaidan nodded, "Come with me, Hamilton."
Patrick obeyed and followed Kaidan who pulled the top off one of the crates. The lieutenant peered in and grabbed a set of armor.
"Scorpion," He explained, "Light armor. Should work well for you."
Kaidan threw the armor to Patrick who stumbled backwards slightly, "Are you mad, Lieutenant? This armor is heavy as hell."
"It's lighter than mine," Kaidan said, leaving Patrick no choice, but to slip into the armor. Kaidan touched the younger man's shoulder and added, "You're a farmer, not a soldier. Fight only when you have to. We don't want anyone else dying."
Patrick nodded and the two of them followed Shepard and Ashley who were already heading towards the dig site. After walking for a couple seconds, Ashley raised her hand and whispered, "Geth."
The four of them took out their weapons and slowly moved forward. Sure enough five geth emerged from behind a wall and began to open fire on the small squad of humans.
Patrick fired off a couple shots, missing nearly all of his targets, but was a perfect distraction for the others who took down the geth.
"Damn I suck," Patrick murmured to himself, reloading his weapon. Why was shooting in a game so much easier than actually hitting something in real life?
"Stick with us and you'll get the hang of it," Kaidan laughed, "Enemies always follow the Commander, right sir?"
Shepard looked back and smirked, "Right."
You don't know the half of it yet, Patrick thought to himself, knowing that Shepard's problems had just begun.
The four humans continued towards the dig site and they stopped at the spot where the beacon should have been.
Ashley shook her head, "The beacon was right there. It must have been moved."
"By our side or the geth?" Kaidan asked.
"Hard to tell," Ashley signed and Patrick bent down to touch the metal ground, memories coming back.
Two doctors telling Shepard that the beacon had been moved to the spaceport.
"It's at the spaceport," Patrick said, remembering the people Shepard had met up at camp during the game.
"How do you know?" Ashley asked.
"I remember now," Patrick lied, his mind practically just filling his mouth with toxic lies, "Right before I passed out, right before you found me Chief, I had been helping the excavation team move the beacon to the spaceport. I had then gone back to see if any of the marines needed help."
Shepard nodded, "To the spaceport then?"
"I'll lead us," Ashley offered and the four humans began moving once more.
The four of them approached the camp and Ashley sighed, "Looks like they hit the camp pretty hard."
"Good place for an ambush," Kaidan added, "Keep your eyes open."
Kaidan suddenly stopped, nodding up ahead, "Look. It's more of those spike things."
Patrick's eyes widened as he recalled what happened next in the game.
"Husks," He whispered, "Everyone take cover!"
"What the hell are you-" Ashley began just as the spikes began to move.
"Oh my god, they're still alive," Kaidan exclaimed as one of husks began twitching as it was brought down.
"What did the geth do to them?" Ashley whispered loudly and everyone took out their guns, firing at the approaching husks.
The husks roared, but were easily brought down by the three humans. Patrick had yet to bring anything down.
"What were those things?" Ashley asked, walking over to one of the dead husks.
"Husks," Patrick explained, "The Reap- the geth use the dragon's teeth to turn humans into mindless zombies."
Patrick bit his lip as he almost mentioned the Reapers. While telling Shepard would give humanity a slight advantage in the war yet to come, he knew it was too soon. Shepard hadn't even received the Prothean vision yet.
"How do you know these things, farmer?" Ashley asked.
"I studied the Protheans a little before I came here," Patrick lied again. "To study alien backgrounds and all."
Ashley nodded as though she didn't full believe him.
Shepard, who had remained silent, spoke, "We better start heading towards the spaceport. Chief, lead the way."
The four of them continued along the unmarked path just as a gunshot rang out. Patrick froze: Nihlus.
Everyone moved forward faster now, but a sight in the sky made everyone look up. A ship was gliding across the horizon. It wasn't an Alliance ship nor was it a geth ship. It was Sovereign, a Reaper ship.
"What the hell is that thing?" Ashley shouted.
"It's a ship, just look at the size of it!" Kaidan added and Patrick bit his tongue not to explain what he knew.
All in good time, he promised himself.
"Look more husks and geth," Ashley suddenly shouted and Patrick watched as three husks and two geth slowly began moving towards them.
"Why is nothing ever easy?" Kaidan sighed, arming himself.
All four of them separated: Patrick sticking with Kaidan while Shepard headed in the opposite direction with Ashley. Gunshots were fired everywhere and Patrick fired at a geth shock trooper, watching with glee as it went down.
"I got one," Patrick exclaimed excitedly to Kaidan who was aiming at an approaching husk.
"Great job. Now don't get cocky, kid," Kaidan praised, taking down the husk.
With the combined efforts of the Alliance soldiers and the newly confident Patrick, the enemy forces went down in no time.
Kaidan glanced at Patrick and praised again, "Well done. I told you that you would get used to it. We'll make an Alliance soldier out of you yet, Hamilton."
Patrick grinned. Kaidan's words meant more than the lieutenant knew. If Patrick was really stuck in this Mass Effect universe, he could think of no way better then spending it under the command of John Shepard.
Shepard and Ashley jogged towards them, the Chief grinning at Patrick, her assault rifle back on her back, "I saw you take down a shock trooper, Hamilton. Not bad for a farmer."
"Thanks," Patrick grinned.
Kaidan glanced towards the spaceport, "That where the beacon is?"
Patrick shrugged, lying once more, "That's where it should be."
But Patrick knew it wouldn't be there. It would be farther away and they would have to fight a lot more geth before they would be safe on the Normandy. If Patrick even made it that far.