Chapter 13:
Truth Be Told
Author's Note: In a lot of your reviews, you told me that you expected a much bigger reaction from Shelia, but truth be told, I didn't want to have the same thing happen two chapters in a row. Yes. Patrick's secret will be revealed in this chapter, but only to a special two. Any guesses on who they might be? I've been dropping hints now to reveal their identities so maybe you'll get them right… or maybe not. Anyway please read and review.
Disclaimer: I do not own Mass Effect… yet.
Black, cold darkness… that was all Patrick could see. His whole body felt numb and as he tried to open his eyes, he felt as though there was a heavy weight being pressed onto his face. His long, spider-like fingers were pressed against a giant slab of metal and the air smelled faintly of morphine and the distant rusty-scent of dried blood. For a moment, Patrick forgot about where he was and all that had happened. For a moment, Patrick thought he was sleeping on his bed back in the real world and the adventures he had had were nothing more than a fantastic dream. A dream (or nightmare on some days) that hadn't ended yet. As he heard the ping of a bell and a door sliding open, Patrick realized he was in the Normandy's medical bay.
Patrick's eyes still wouldn't obey him, but as he struggled to move around, he realized he was regaining feeling in his arms and managed to push himself up, blindly fumbling for the edge of the bed. It was then that two strong, warm arms pushed him back down, his head resting on a damp towel that he hadn't noticed before. Patrick felt the tip of a syringe press against his sensitive skin before breaking the skin, injecting something (probably more medication) into the young Serviceman. Patrick struggled with discomfort and the pair of strong hands kept him still, their voice low and gruff, "Stop moving, Hamilton. This will help you in the long run."
Patrick's mind tried to recognize the voice, but when he was on the verge of grasping it, sleep dragged him back into her warm arms.
A door opened and Patrick opened his eyes rather quickly, for a moment confused as to where he was before his memories returned: Feros, the colonists, the Thorian, Shelia. His body was bruised and his muscles had an odd jelly-like feeling to them yet he found he could move and he pushed himself off the bed, his feet touching the floor and giving his head a light weight feeling. It was just his head though. Everything thing felt different as though he had been put into a new body while he slept. Nothing was familiar and Patrick had to think hard just to move his hand. He had gotten a head injury, though. Perhaps this was merely a side effect. Patrick knew that Doctor Chakwas could have him up and ready for more fights in no time.
"You certainly recover fast," Patrick jumped at a voice and then beat himself over the head for not remembering the sound of the door opening. He had completely forgotten that he wasn't alone. He turned around to where Tali was leaning against the medical bay wall, her stance casual and by her earlier comment, Patrick could almost see her smiling through her mask. She pushed up from the wall and slowly made her way towards him, Patrick's eyes never leaving her. "The doctor was certain that you would be unconscious for the next several hours. She'll be happy to know that she was wrong."
"I feel good," Patrick said with a small smile, not mentioning how he felt like he was possessing the wrong body, "Better than I have felt in a long time actually." Patrick then looked around and the two of them sat in a comfortable silence. While most people loathed silence, Patrick was a solitude creature at heart and with his knowledge of Quarians (how they rarely left the Flotilla except for when they embarked on their Pilgrimage), he suspected that Tali felt comfortable in the silence as well. Patrick turned to Tali and was wondering what she was looking at. The helmet could be a real bother sometimes although he suspected she hated it more than he did. "So how long have I been out?"
"Twenty-five hours although you woke up about two hours ago when Kaidan was watching you. However, he said you passed out almost immediately," Tali answered and as though she sensed Patrick's confusion at her words (sometimes he felt like she knew him better than he knew himself), explained, her voice calm and soothing and Patrick wondered yet again what was hiding behind her mask, "We all were taking shifts with you since the Doctor was to busy dealing with Wrex to fully stand watch over you. Your body was fine, physically at least. We were just waiting for your mind to wake up."
"What happened to Wrex?" Patrick asked. What had happened while he had been unconscious? Had Shepard and the others already went to Virmire? Did Wrex betray Shepard or did the two just get in a usual warrior brawl that was common for Krogans? And if they did go to Virmire then what happened to either Kaidan or Ashley. Tali had mentioned that Kaidan had been watching him two hours ago when he woke up (he had no recollection of doing such a thing) so did that mean that Ashley, one of his best friends on the Normandy, was… dead? Before he completely freaked out, Patrick decided to give Tali a chance to explain.
"Wrex asked Shepard to help him retrieve his family's armor," Tali explained and Patrick exhaled in relief. Of course, Shepard must have gone on Wrex's infamous side quest. "There had been a firefight in the place where Wrex's armor had been kept and he took a couple bad hits. He's fine though. Shepard just told him to take an easy and perhaps not to threaten anyone for a little bit." Tali paused and Patrick could almost see her smiling, "Wrex has found a loophole though. While he may not be moving his shoulder as much which makes it impossible to give the crew any obscene gestures, he and Chief Williams had a pretty fiery chat about the best type of weapon. I swear I thought the Chief was going to shoot him, but Garrus managed to break up the fight."
Patrick laughed and Tali joined him, her light giggle in perfect harmony with his deep chuckle yet she sobered up, an aura of anxiety surrounding her. Tali may know him better than anyone on the crew, but Patrick could say the same thing. He may not be able to see her eyes (the window into her soul), but he was good at reading body language and could tell that something was troubling her. He took a step closer, shortening the distance between them until they were a little less than seven inches apart before asking, his voice worried, "Are you alright, Tali?"
"I'm…" Tali was cut off as the medical bay door slid open once again, this time revealing Kaidan and Liara, talking together in hushed tones until they realized that Patrick and Tali had noticed their arrival. They all stood there in a silence (uncomfortable compared to the calm silence Patrick and Tali had shared moments before) until Liara took a step closer to the human and the Quarian, her expression slightly anxious as she asked,
"How are you feeling, Serviceman?"
"I'm fine. Thank you, Liara," Patrick responded with a tiny nod, slightly annoyed at the beautiful Asari for stopping Tali from saying whatever she wanted to say. The Serviceman then turned to Kaidan and gave the lieutenant a respectful nod, remembering what Tali told him, "Tali said you sat with me while I was unconscious. Thank you, Lieutenant."
"Anytime, Serviceman," Kaidan returned Patrick's nod before turning his attention onto Tali, "Tali, would you mind giving us a minute alone with Hamilton? We have something we need to discuss." Patrick's eyes narrowed slightly at this. Why did they need to discuss? What couldn't be discussed in front of Tali?
"Of course, Lieutenant Alenko," Tali said politely, turning to Patrick as she left, "I'll talk to you later, Serviceman."
As she left, Liara turned to Patrick and asked, "Are you sure you are alright, Serviceman?"
"I'm fine," Patrick reassured the Asari while Kaidan added,
"You don't feel strange?" Kaidan pressed and Patrick stared at him evenly, wondering if he was referring to the odd feeling he was getting. Like he didn't belong in his own body… but what would the lieutenant know about that? Patrick shook his head and Kaidan nodded, "Okay. Well, there is something I want to talk to you about. It's… something I've been thinking about for quite some time now. I would appreciate if we kept this between the three of us and not mention it to the Commander or Tali."
"Okay shoot," Patrick said calmly, but on the inside he was trembling with nerves. They know… they know…
"I have done some research on Eden Prime for the Alliance to help them get a complete list of the deceased in case there are any bodies that have yet to be found. To do this, Captain Anderson asked me to look at a complete list of everyone who was legally registered to be on Eden Prime. Chief Williams's name was on the list," Kaidan paused and Patrick knew what he was going to say before he did, "However, yours was not." Kaidan took a couple steps closer to Patrick and the Serviceman was surprised when his instinct made him back away from the approaching lieutenant. "So there are two options: either you were on Eden Prime illegally or you lied about living there at all. You may have been just in the wrong place at the wrong time. Like you fell from the sky…"
"I have nothing to hide," Patrick snapped firmly, surprised his voice was so calm. He felt as though he was about to pass out…
"Then there is one thing I would like to ask of you," Kaidan continued, "When we met Shelia on Feros, she gave you the Cipher. You saw a glimpse of her mind and she also saw a glimpse into yours and whatever she saw bothered her." Patrick already knew where Kaidan was going with everything and was not surprised when the lieutenant added, "Any Asari can join their mind with someone of their choosing. Shelia wasn't the only one. That's why I asked Liara if she would meld minds with you. After all," Kaidan stared Patrick straight in the eye, "You have nothing to hide, right?"
"Of course not," Patrick whispered, his tone hoarse as though he was struggling to breathe which he was. He just didn't think Kaidan or Liara noticed. "Connect our minds, Liara."
Liara nodded and took a step closer to Patrick, placing her hands on his neck, "I want you to do the same thing Shelia asked of you. Close your eyes… clear your mind… open yourself to the universe… embrace eternity!" Liara's eyes glowed black and memories flashed by Patrick as though he was watching a film: his father and his mother's joy when Lily came home from the hospital, Joseph and Holden picking on him, his mother's death, his father's anti-social behavior, finding Mass Effect at a store with Commander Shepard on the cover, playing the game, eventually be transported into the game, receiving the Prothean vision. Patrick felt as though he had been flung backwards and fell roughly against the medical bay bed while Liara stumbled into Kaidan's open arms, mumbling, "Impossible. It is… it is completely impossible, but it is true." Liara locked eyes with Patrick, "Not even we, Asari, can lie through our memories. Strange as it is, you are telling the truth." Liara stared at Patrick, "It is amazing. No one, not even the Asari who have been around for centuries, have seen something like this. You are truly unique, Serviceman." Patrick was actually shocked by Liara's reaction. If she was taking it so calmly… would everyone else?
"What is it? What did you see?" Kaidan demanded and Liara turned to look at the lieutenant, Patrick noticing that her eyes kept darting back to him. She doesn't trust me anymore, he realized.
"Patrick is not from Eden Prime, like you suspected Lieutenant Alenko. He is not from our world," Liara's eyes locked once more with Patrick's and he knew that no matter what he said, she would tell Kaidan the truth, "He is not even from our dimension."
"What does that mean?" Kaidan demanded again before rounding on Patrick, "Who are you?"
Patrick took a deep breath, "You better sit down, Lieutenant. This isn't something you hear everyday." Nobody moved so Patrick sighed and began to explain everything, "My name is Patrick Hamilton. I did not lie about that even though everything else has been a lie. I was born on Earth, that again wasn't a lie, but I was born on Earth during the year 1987 in a state known as New Jersey. In my world, your whole universe is, but a game, a digital game that I played with you and everyone being nothing, but pixels on a screen. Then some how I journeyed here into the Mass Effect dimension (A/N: title… hehe… okay back to the story) during the Eden Prime attack. I enlisted myself into Shepard's crew and here I am now."
"Impossible!" Kaidan practically shouted in Patrick's face, "You're lying."
"He is not lying, Lieutenant Alenko," Liara rested a calm hand on Kaidan's shoulder, "I have seen his memories. He is telling the truth. In his world… in his dimension… we do not exist. We are nothing more then pixels on a screen."
"How can you be so calm about this?" Kaidan asked her, his tone calmer then before, "You are okay with knowing that you don't really exist? That you aren't real? That none of this is real?" Kaidan slammed a fist into the wall.
"I am calm about this because I see the truth and I know that it is the truth so instead of wasting time and energy shouting about it, I have chosen to accept it," Liara said calmly, "I cannot change it regardless of my feelings."
"So none of this matters?" Kaidan whispered, "All these people… every member of Shepard's crew. It doesn't matter if we live or die. Someone will just reset the game. There is no point to life."
"No," Patrick rounded on Kaidan, his tone furious, "Whatever you may be in my dimension, you are real in yours and you have got to beat Saren and the Reapers. Shepard can't do it alone."
"Again he speaks the truth," Liara sided with Patrick, "Lieutenant Alenko, if you saw Commander Shepard or Chief Williams in trouble would you let them die?" Kaidan stared at her and shook his head slowly, "Of course not because even if we are not real, we are still friends and we cannot let each other down."
Kaidan nodded slowly, "So, Hamilton, what's keeping me from telling Shepard about this?"
Patrick shrugged, "You can if you want, but I think you might need me in the future. You think Fist was bad? Or the Thorian? Nothing is compared to the horrors that have yet to come. I know what happens at the end of all of this. I know things that Saren doesn't know, that not even Commander Shepard know. Face it, you need me."
"What happens in the future, Hamilton?" Kaidan asked, but Patrick shook his head,
"If I tell you, it risks a chance of things changing. Therefore putting the fate of the galaxy at risk since we would be journeying into the unknown," Patrick answered, "By merely confronting me about all this, something might have changed, but there is something I will tell you because I would want someone to tell me." Patrick walked close to Kaidan and rested a calm hand on the lieutenant, he wasn't sure if his next words would be a mistake or not, but he had a feeling that Alenko should know about Virmire… about the bomb… and about the call that Shepard would have to make that would change the course of the game… no not game… everyone's lives forever. It was a secret that could shake Kaidan's courage, but Patrick had a feeling that the lieutenant who was perhaps one of the bravest men he knew, would be able to cope with the secret.
"Lieutenant, on a planet known as Virmire, either you or Chief Williams has a chance of dying."
The lieutenant stared at Patrick as though not comprehending and Patrick thought he was on the verge of saying something and then… Kaidan blacked out, leaving Patrick and Liara to try and catch him, both of them struggling under his weight. Liara wasn't the strongest member of the crew and while he felt fine, Patrick's injuries did prevent him from using all of his strength. Patrick heaved Kaidan on the medical bay bed and stared at him.
Well that could have gone better… then again… it could have probably gone worse.
Author's Note: Okay I know this was like my shortest chapter of all time, but I promise you the next one will be really, really long. This one was mainly short because I didn't want to start Noveria just yet so I basically just made the chapter all about Kaidan and Liara finding out Patrick's secret. I didn't even plan to have Tali in there so that was a nice little bonus. Oh and about the opening few paragraphs when Patrick regains consciousness before blacking out again do have a purpose. Just not yet and they probably won't come into play for awhile, but keep them in your mind!