Mass Effect II Through the Fire and the Flames

by Tutor Veritatis

Shepard's past as a 10th St. Red comes back with a vengence after receiving a message from a storage facility where he buried his past. He will face the demons and mistakes of his past, with the love and support of Tali, and overcome his greatest mistake.

2. Baptism of Fire

Mass Effect II – Through the Fire and the Flames

Chapter 2 – Baptism of Fire

Rain; Sheets of water pouring from the sky, speed-driven wind casting the water into the visor of his helmet as he kept the throttle fully open, trying to run away. But there was nowhere to run, nowhere to go. Everything was lost. The machine beneath his body, long, sleek, beautiful roared with power as the system shifted to second stage. Despite the power at his fingertips, the speed he could attain with the mere flick of a switch was not enough to outrun the dark shadows of his dreams.

One shadow, matching pace, rode alongside; the darkest of all shadows; ahead, a great structure towered over the landscape, dominating the skyline with its size. Pulling hard left, the two began their ascent into the great structure. Rising higher with every turn, the road beneath leveled out at the top. Before the two riders, a great chasm; a flick of a switch, that's all it took to begin powering the final stage. The machine whirred and hissed, expanding.

An alarm sounded, the system was ready, but he could not activate it. Hesitating, too long, and both fell into the great darkness. The alarm continued, a beast shrieking to be released. A great explosion lit the darkness, piercing light as the alarm continued.

"JEREMY" Shepard bolted upright, startling Tali who had been trying to wake him. Breath coming in short gasps as his heart rate slowed, Shepard swung his legs out of bed, face buried in his hands as the nightmare receded into the confines of his subconscious. A gentle hand pressed against his back, moving up and began to massage his neck. The three fingers kneading the muscles, Shepard let out a breath as the last strands of the nightmare finally withdrew.

Reaching up, he took one of Tali's hands, kissed it, and held it to his face. Her other hand slid across his chest and she pulled herself to embrace him backwards. The shape of her body fit perfectly to his, a warm comfort which banished the dread cloud left over from the dark shadows. Already knowing, but needing Shepard to speak about it, Tali asked "was it about the Reds?"

Shepard nodded, sucking in a breath he spoke "it was when I left…no, when I ran away". Moving closer, Tali turned his face to look him in the eye. Leaning forward, their lips met and held; Tali ran her hands through Shepard's hair and Shepard held Tali close at the small of her back and between her shoulders. Both stayed locked in their embrace for an interminable span before separating.

Looking into his eyes again, Tali saw the strength and fortitude she had first fallen in love with in what seemed an eternity ago. Without moving from the embrace, Tali said, in barely a whisper and trying to say everything at once, "I love you". Shepard smiled, kissed Tali again, broke their embrace and stood.

"I'll get some breakfast. Any preference?" Shepard asked. Shaking her head, Tali said "just my regular rations". Rolling his eyes, Shepard said "you realize, as the CO's girlfriend, you do get some extra privilege" A small laugh, and Tali gave him a lascivious quirk of her eyebrow accompanied with a smirk "I get all of the…privileges I could want" she said, devouring him from head to toe with her eyes. Grinning, Shepard left the cabin, grabbing a pair of pants from his drawer and pulled them on in the elevator. Getting off at Deck 3, Shepard found most of his combat team already eating.

Sitting at both tables of the mess, the collection of both human and alien members were talking animatedly, and Shepard only caught snippets of conversations. Garrus, Zaeed and Thane discussing sniper rifles "…the Mantis has power, but the Viper and Incisor can take out shields quick…". Samara and Jack discussing biotics "…concentrating the power into a core before release will allow greater control…". Kasumi and Miranda discussing clothing "…I know this one boutique on the Citadel you'll love…". Jacob was absent, either in the small gym in the hanger or on duty, along with Grunt and Mordin, both of whom usually took the meals alone.

Approaching the galley, Gardner was stirring a pot of something, but it smelled good enough. Looking up, Gardner noticed Shepard, smiled broadly "morning Commander, what can I get ya'? Gardner asked. "Just the usual, again" Shepard replied, "and Tali's morning ration as well". The grin on Gardner's face widened, "aye sir". Gardner opened a cabinet, grabbed a bowl, two ration packs and dispenser of milk. Along with these, from a second cabinet, Gardner took two food tubes. Placing both on a tray, Shepard took it and began to walk away, "Commander" Gardner called.

Turning, Shepard noticed Gardner no longer had that grin on his face; in fact the man was entirely serious. "Permission to speak freely" Gardner asked, "granted" Shepard replied. Gardner seemed to gather himself, let out a breath and said "I just wanted to say, seeing you and Miss Zorah together…it makes me glad I signed on in the first place". Gardner's eyes cast over with a memory briefly and then continued "after I lost…everything it seemed at the time, I didn't know what was left to live for. Before I joined Cerberus, I had nothing. Then I joined this crew and together the Collectors were defeated. And now you and Miss Zorah are together…it reminds me of my own wife when we dated".

Again, Gardner's eyes cast over briefly with a memory "Seeing you two together, reminds me of what I had. As a man who had everything taken from him, let me just say this: keep her safe and keep yourself alive, for both your sakes. Without her, life means nothing; you'll just be empty once the Reapers are defeated. And don't get killed, because without you she'll have nothing to live for either". Gardner nodded, and Shepard reciprocated with a simple "I will".

Getting back into the elevator, Shepard thought about what Gardner had told him. His friends, his love for Tali, and everyone who willingly fought for and with him against the Reapers and Collectors, they were the ones who gave him strength to continue on. It was for them Shepard fought; to fight for the galaxy, there were simply too many people, too many nameless faces. But Tali, beautiful, kind Tali, all of his friends who stood with him, that's what he fought for: their future.

In his mind, Shepard saw himself an old man, Tali, without her mask, standing together in a home somewhere. Garrus, his best friend, drinking at a bar together, two war buddies enjoying the others company without having to speak of the battles they had fought together.

Coming out of his daydream, Shepard stepped off the elevator on Deck 1, stepping through the door and moving to the living area, setting the tray down on the coffee table. Tali, now in her suit again and sitting in the chair opposite the couch, took one of the tubes, and inserted a feed tube. Shepard, likewise on the couch, opened one ration pack, and dumped the corn flakes into the bowl. Opening the second, he squeezed out the honey and drizzled it over the flakes.

Honey pack empty, Shepard grabbed the dispenser and poured a generous portion of the milk onto his cereal, leaving the rest to drink. Before he could start, Tali said "you promised to tell me more about your time with the Reds this morning". Nodding, Shepard took a bite of cereal to delay and gather his thoughts together.

"The next event would be when I was fifteen, sixteen within a month. At that time, before I turned sixteen, I became a full member of the Reds after four years of studying". Tilting her head to the right, Tali said "studying? I thought it was a gang, not a learning group".

Shepard smirked, "it might seem strange to hear, but the Reds valued knowledge and education, to gain the ability of informed reason without bias. All of the members were taught a wide range of subjects, and each focused on one specific subject as their primary responsibility". Tali, tapping her voice 'box', "So each member specialized in one subject but had a modest knowledge of the others subjects".

Shepard nodded with a smile, "exactly. No one subject was important over another, and all intertwined into the others. History, writing, literature, all important and all interrelated; above all else, honoring knowledge, and those who taught it, and want it could grant was the most important to understand overall". Tali nodded again, amazed at the similarities with the philosophy of Shepard's old gang and her own people, holding similar beliefs. "So after you completed your education, what happened?". A smile grew on Shepard's face, remembering the day his education was complete, "that was the day I first wore the full colors of a 10th Street Red".

Los Angeles, California

United North American States

June 3, 2170

Lounging in the living area, Jeremy lay on a couch with a book in hand-not a reader, but a real book with paper. At first, when he began to live with the Reds, such things as books were unknown, as he had only heard of them before but never seen one. The gang had an entire library, really just a couple of storage closets re-purposed and finished with fabric shelves and moisture reduction materials. The subjects were mostly history and literature, but during meals, the gang would discuss and debate about subjects of interest.

That was how Jeremy was taught for the last four years: reading, discussing and debating. That which he didn't learn from books, he learned from the gang, one of the big subjects he learned was caring for and maintaining the bikes. Every part of the bikes, moving and non-moving, he learned to identify and care for properly. The physical parts of the machines were the easiest parts to learn, but Billy and Sebastian also taught him the control systems and electronic aspects of the bikes as well.

There were a lot of numbers and math equations which went into those parts, and he really didn't understand it all. About a month ago, images, ideas for designs and numbers ran through his head. He couldn't stop thinking about it until he began to sketch and write out everything he could before it disappeared. Billy had found him around midnight, finished, but when Billy saw the work he had done, Billy said nothing, just rolled up all of the work Jeremy had done and taken it away somewhere.

Yesterday, Isabella had told him just to do as he wished both yesterday and today. When he awoke this morning, the entire gang was gone, with nothing but a note from Billy which stated simply "stay here until we get back; do whatever you want, but stay home". So Jeremy had done just that; he'd washed, eaten breakfast, watched TV, read, watched more TV, and now was reading again.

He felt anxious, and annoyed and bored. That was the worst part, boredom; time seemed to stretch interminably. Seconds became hours it seemed, and there was little to fill the time until the gang returned from whatever it was they were doing. "Probably having' fun without me" he thought bitterly.

The last month the whole gang had been acting weird, talking secretly in whispers, stopping whenever he came near or entering a room, anyone inside would just stop talking and give him a side-glance. Those looks and whispers had started around the time he'd done his sketches, Jeremy remembered. "Don't see why they need to get so worked up about some drawings" didn't matter much he was still bored to death.

Closing his eyes, Jeremy tried to recall, for what seemed to him to be the hundredth, thousandth, millionth time what he had done on those sheets of paper which caused Billy to react the way he did. All he could remember was how many sheets he used in total: ten regular sheets, and two larger ones. Beyond that, nothing about what he had written and sketched.

A shriek of metal and groaning gears, straining under weight and age, accompanied with the rumble and roar of the motorcycles; Jeremy shot up from where he'd been laying and saw the gang riding in. As always, Billy led atop the Iron Chopper with the rest of the gang following in an arrowhead formation. Jeremy once asked Billy about the name, but the only answer Billy gave him was "it's personal to the rider; you'll understand when you have your own".

To Billy's right was Isabella, riding Steel Charger, a beautiful motorcycle among the twelve others. Deep crimson with blue highlights, Isabella rode it not sitting but laying full body along the frame. Billy gestured to the rear seat on his bike, "Get on" he called. The tone of his voice told Jeremy no argument or questions just do as he was told. Climbing onto the seat, Billy passed him the spare goggles and helmet. Grabbing Billy around the waist, Jeremy wondered what was happening now.

The gang spun their bikes around in unison, rear tires smoking and followed Billy out through the still open warehouse doors into the obscured sunlight. The gang rode in formation, twisting and turning down abandoned streets and boulevards, remnants what the city once was. The old city soon fell behind them as the gang entered the new part of the city, where only the richest could live. Billy and the rest of the gang told him, on several occasions, the people who lived in the great skyscrapers had forgotten what it meant to live in such a place as Los Angeles.

The city had been beautiful, at one time, but once people began to leave and live further and further away, they forgot about…everything. The history and the events which created the city and the importance of remembering those times; the gang periodically rode into the new city, to the irritation of the police and some of the people, who labeled them as a public nuisnace. Others, however, saw the gang as criminals, and the rest called them rebels, outlaws and outcasts to be purged.

Every time the gang rode into the city, there was little time to wait for authorities to try and chase them down, but the authorities never succeeded. Out of the corner of his eye, Jeremy saw flashing red and blue, and police aerial and ground vehicles appeared. Billy raised his right hand, made a fist, released and set his hand back on the throttle. It was a game for the Reds to race against the police, a game which the police always lost.

This was the first time Jeremy had ever been, though, and the way the others had talked, it sounded fun. Now that he was in it, he wasn't so sure anymore. From Billy's console, and the consoles of the other bikes, music began to play out of multiple speakers. It was fast, loud, and set perfectly to the setting of a fast chase between the gang and a society they chose to live outside of.

Roaring down the long old road which the new Los Angeles was built on, the 10th Street Reds rode atop their horses of steel, outrunning their pursuers. Another hand signal from Billy and the gang prepared for their getaway. Jeremy watched as Billy thumbed a control on his right handlebar, below the throttle. The motorcycle vibrated as hidden systems came to life. The rear of the bike expanded, a large nozzle extended from the back and what looked to be small wings extended from the sides.

The bike soon began to vibrate again; Jeremy could feel the power building within the core of the motorcycle. Looking to the others, Jeremy saw all of the bikes had transformed, lengthened by similar hidden parts. All of them seemed to glow as well; looking down, Jeremy saw similar L.E.D's across Billy's bike. Status Lights, Jeremy realized, but for what?

The answer to that came as the console of Billy's bike began to scream with a klaxon alarm, and Billy activated one final switch. From the exposed nozzles of the motorcycles, fire burst forth and the motorcycles flew down the road, leaving the pursuing police literally in the dust stirred up by the explosion of power. The screaming of the wind in his ears and the power of the motorcycle thrilled and terrified him, and Jeremy held onto Billy as hard as possible. Billy was not just calm about the speed of his motorcycle, but was exhilarated beyond comprehension. After an interminable amount of time, the acceleration began to slow, eventually returning to normal speed.

The gang rode outside of the city into the desert wastelands beyond. The heat was visible to the naked eye, rising in vaporous waves similar to gas. In the distance a large stone pillar dominated the horizon, a great obelisk reaching towards the sky. From a distance it seemed small and near, but the gang drew no closer to the obelisk as time passed. The sun reached the four o'clock position in the sky, and still the gang had drawn no closer to the obelisk but it had grown larger.

Much larger, towering over the landscape growing larger but never closer as the gang rode on. The sun continued on its path toward the sun-baked horizon; finally, the base of the mighty obelisk was seen, still a distance away but the sheer size of it was spectacular to behold.

Arriving at the base of the obelisk, the gang powered down their motorcycles and dismounted. Billy got off, unbuckled his helmet and goggles, stowing them away in a compartment as Jeremy did the same. With a jerk of his head, Billy indicated Jeremy to follow him. Walking behind him, Jeremy noticed the rest of the gang; they all walked in the same arrowhead formation as when they rode.

Up the slope of the base of the obelisk, Jeremy and the gang climbed until reaching a cave hidden behind a fissure in the rock wall. The gang slipped inside the small cut marring the seamless rock, inside was dark, nearly an impenetrable blackness. From the darkness, Jeremy could hear…something, the crackle of electronics coming to life and what sounded like a guitar being tuned, a rustling of cloth and the chink of metal of metal.

The guitar sounded again, stopped, once more and…a roar of sound assaulted his ears, and Jeremy clapped his hands over them but he kept his eyes open. Before him the cave was no longer dark but lit with pillars of fire reaching towards the ceiling. Arrayed around the periphery stood the members of the gang, garbed in outfits of black cloth and metal, not flimsy tin but wrought iron and shaped with sharp edges, skull designs, spikes and some with claws; near the back of the cave stood two figures, one wearing a heavier metal outfit with a wolf skull helmet, complete with a hairy mane.

Atop a stone dais stood another figure, garbed in what looked to be the heaviest outfit of all: a full chest plate with a wolf head design, spiked greaves and taloned gauntlets, ending in a helmet wrought in the shape of a black bear skull. The figure atop the dais, Billy, the damn showoff, Jeremy thought, ran his talon fingers across the strings of the guitar once again then flew into a fast solo, his fingers dancing across the strings perfectly. In time with the guitar, the fire-pillars oscillated with the speed and tone of the guitar, flaring on high notes and shrinking on the low.

The solo came to an end, and the fire-pillars returned to a steady burn. "Jeremy Shepard, step forward", Billy called out, his voice reverberating off the cave ceiling and walls. A single step, and Billy "remove the trappings of your old life" Billy called, a gauntleted hand indicating the clothes Jeremy wore, a shirt, cargo pants and tennis shoes.

Looking back at Billy, Jeremy hesitated; with a single hand gesture, Billy commanded him once again. Jeremy Stripped, right down to his underpants and socks. Stepping forward, heart pounding, Jeremy approached the dais. Closer and closer Jeremy came until he was half a dozen feet away, where Billy held up a hand to tell him to stop. Looking down, Jeremy stood atop an engraving in the floor, in the shape of a fanged beast. Billy strummed his guitar once more and the eyes of the beast glowed fiery red, then yellow and finally to white whereupon flames shot out of the floor encircling Jeremy.

Standing perfectly still, out of fear or something else, he was unsure. The flames roared around his body, and the beast face seemed to come alive as the fire roared around him. The fire retreated into the engraving of the beast, and Jeremy stood in the center unmoving, "Open the chest before and take its contents as your prize" Billy intoned. A wooden chest stood before the steps of the dais, black wood sculpted into a seamless whole and wrought iron forged to perfectly form its contours.

Stepping forward, Jeremy ran a hand over the top, unable to find a single break or flaw in the wood. Touching the lock, shaped in the same visage as the floor engraving of a fanged beast, Jeremy pressed the face of the beast in, opening the lock and revealing the interior. At first, he thought it was empty, but saw the content was the same black as the wood.

Removing the pants, Jeremy pulled those on, removed the black shirt and tucked that into his pants. The black boots came next, reaching up to his lower calf. After lacing those up, Jeremy removed the last item in the chest: a jacket, with a big red ten on the back. Putting one arm through, Jeremy slipped the other in and hitched the jacket onto the shoulders. It fit very well, snug but not uncomfortable.

"Now play" Billy said, throwing Jeremy the guitar; he caught it mid-air, set it against his body and rested his fingers upon it. Jeremy ran his fingers across the strings once, twice, then…a single note, then two, four. It was not fast, but the rocks and cavern shook with the power and the pillars of fire reached higher, to the heights of the cavern ceiling. The song, without words, spoke of honor and courage against tremendous adversity.

The notes reverberated throughout the cavern and echoed within the souls of the assembled members who stood in silent vigil as before their eyes their newest member played a song of courage against all odds, honor in life as well as in death, and remembrance of all who had gone before them.

The song ended, and Jeremy looked up at Billy, dressed in his ceremonial outfit. Raising a fist, Jeremy placed it over his heart and bowed at the waist. A shuffle and soft grating of metal, and the other members placed their gauntleted fists over their own hearts and bowed as well. Isabella, for Jeremy knew it was Isabella who stood below Billy atop the dais, placed her own fist over her heart and bowed. "Welcome, brother Jeremy" Billy intoned in finality.

Raising his eyes, Shepard gazed through the visor obscuring Tali's face. Her expression, though unreadable on her face, was betrayed in her posture: the rigid set of her shoulders, the stiff set of her back and tight clenching of her hands balled into fists. Shepard understood; the gang had put him in danger, he saw that now. Reaching over, he laid a hand over hers.

Eventually, Tali released the tension of her body, took one of his hands into hers and held it. "I can't believe they would willingly put you into such danger, all just to join them" her voice betrayed her anger at what had happened to him. "It took me a few years, well into my career in the Alliance to realize just how foolish it really was. Hindsight and all that. At the time I just wanted to be one of them and it did turn out fine in the end" he said this last part with a finality in his tone, pushing the fact that he did come out unscathed. Tali nodded, letting the matter stay in the past where it belonged with the rest of his story.

"So what did the gang do after you joined them fully?" Tali asked, her tone brighter if a little forced. "We went home, had a party to celebrate, and that went on all night until everyone just fell asleep where ever they happened to be". A big smirk crossed Shepard's face, "Sebastian and one of the others fell asleep in each others' arms. Those two had the most, and were still asleep by the time the rest of us woke up. It was so funny and we laughed so hard it woke the two of them up". He laughed at the memory, the mirth rising as he recalled "when those two woke up and saw how they were, they freaked out so hard it just got worse for the rest of us. We laughed until we couldn't stand on our feet".

Tali gave a small laugh, not really getting the joke, but laughing with Shepard because it was such a good memory. "They all sound like incredible people" she said; a grin spread across Shepard's face "that wasn't the end of my trial, however". The humor Tali had within her died at those words, replaced with a cold anger towards what Shepard's gang had made him do to join them. "What else did they ask for you to do?" she asked. Eyes cast back into the past, Shepard said "my first ride".

Los Angeles, California

Untied North American States

June 4, 2170

A night of revelry and loud celebrations at the warehouse had left Jeremy in a mood of euphoria that morning. But that vanished when Billy had told him the next part of his initiation, the final test. The drawings and designs Jeremy had done over a month ago, Billy said, were given to a guy identified only as 'Tyr', a mechanic of some kind who owned a shop where he made custom motorcycles and parts.

The way the members of the gang talked about him, this 'Tyr' sounded closer to his namesake than just being a nickname. Around ten that morning, the gang rode out once again, twisting and turning down the street of the city until arriving at a rundown building, with a sign reading "Tyr's forge". Stepping off the bike, Billy threw his arm around Jeremy. Though he had grown dramatically over the past four years, Billy still stood a full shoulder and head taller than him.

Entering the garage from a side entrance, Jeremy noticed it was quiet in the garage. He had been expecting a cacophony of noise one would hear in the forges of the fabled Norse Gods, especially with the way the gang talked about this guy he expected to hear a mighty hammer forging upon a great anvil. Instead, the place was quiet as death. Moving deeper inside, even the work area was barren of any signs of work. "Tyr! We're here to get your latest work" Billy called out.

From the back of the shop, in what was once an office for garage staff, an extraordinarily tall man stepped out. Billy was tall, but this man towered over him. Jeremy thought, even if Billy put him on his shoulders they would only reach below the man's chin, which was covered in a massive beard tied into multiple braids. Everything about the man, Tyr, was massive: his arms were corded muscles, hands akin to hammers, and his chest broad and powerful. His eyes, a deep black, looked down upon them from his thick-set head.

"William, son of David, who is it shall receive this work of Tyr?" he asked, his voice deep and reverberating, carrying to all four corners of the garage. Billy, dropping his arm from around Jeremy, placed his fist to his heart. The rest of the members followed with the same salute, and Jeremy did likewise, not really understanding what it meant. Billy hadn't told him much yesterday, and this wasn't something he had studied for the past four years. "Jeremy Shepard, son of John, is the one who seeks your work" Billy said, stepping to his right and gesturing with his left hand at Jeremy, as his right was still positioned over his heart.

Tyr gaze shifted to Jeremy, a movement not merely of his massive head but seemingly his entire body moved to regard him. Stroking his beard with one hand, Tyr asked "you have passed the Trial of the Fire Beast and you now bear the colors of your clan, your final test is the Trial of Spirits where you shall ride into the desert and summon your spirit animal" Tyr intoned.

From his belt, Tyr drew a forgers' hammer with a long handle, engraved with beasts and monsters. Taking the hammer around the neck, Tyr tapped the concrete floor three times. A rumble and a quake, the floor split beneath their feet as hidden mechanisms drew the entryway apart. A staircase into a hidden chamber beneath the dilapidated garage, Tyr descended first followed by Billy and Jeremy with the gang following behind.

The chamber beneath the garage was a well of black, impenetrable and unyielding. The outline of Tyr could barely be seen as he raised the hammer in both hands "In the name of Odin, Father of all Gods, AWAKEN!" Tyr brought the hammer down, a quake resonating through the ground. Fiery light sprang from the edges of the chamber, racing around the perimeter, tracing intricate designs in the walls depicting battles, the faces of the gods and beasts of old, long forgotten times. The fire met in the center of the back wall, ran down onto the ground and raced forward, encircling a magnificent motorcycle.

The front was dominated by a wheel and drive assembly extending forward from the main body; the body of the machine, clad in plates of onyx black accented in crimson, sat atop a powerful hydrogen engine of eight cylinders, which ended in flared exhaust pipes. The seat, a pliable foam material, ended in a forward console stretching to the rear of the front tire. Extending from the exhaust and affixed to the body were two manifolds with openings at either end.

Jeremy didn't know what those were for, nor did he care as he took in the sight of the awesome machine before him. Unbidden, as if they were not under his control, his legs carried him to the motorcycle. Walking a circle around it, Jeremy took in the beauty of the machine: power and elegance forged into a seamless whole in perfect harmony with one another. "Mount your steed Jeremy, son of John" Tyr intoned.

Raising his eyes from the motorcycle, Jeremy caught the eyes of the other members, his brothers and sisters; some gave him thumbs up, others nodding in agreement. At the front, just behind the massive Tyr, were Billy and Isabella; her head rested on his shoulder, his hand around her waist. A single gesture from each of them: a nod from Billy, his back straight and heels together, and a smile from Isabella, whose eyes glistened with tears held back.

Jeremy swung his leg over the seat, which contoured to his body perfectly. Reaching forward, he took the controls in his hands. At his touch, the machine came to life: the console lit, the engine thrummed as the system came alive, groaning in what he thought was the anticipated release of power. Beneath the floor, mechanisms turned a pedestal atop which Jeremy and the bike rested and set them facing the back wall. A seam appeared in the center and the wall split open revealing a tunnel.

Reaching into his jacket pocket, Jeremy took out a pair of goggles, the same ones Billy let him use the day they met. Fixing the goggles to his face, Jeremy twisted the throttle. The engine roared with life, a bestial sound which sang of power and grace. Along the length of the body, a green strip circled from front to back, indicating readiness of all systems.

Twisting the throttle once again, Jeremy kicked the foot release and the back wheel spun. Jeremy sped through the tunnel, which inclined up towards the surface. A door opened to the sky and Jeremy flew out of the hole, landing on the pavement easily. The speed driven wind blew his hair back from his face, fluttered the sleeves of his jacket. Turning east, Jeremy sped away towards the city limits.

Buildings shrank and space between the structures grew as he rode; soon the city fell behind him and the open desert lay ahead. A long straight road lay ahead, and Jeremy felt his motorcycle beneath his body. The vibrations caused by the engine, the feel of the wind as it caressed the body: the whole machine begged for release.

Moving his left hand over a control on affixed to the handle, Jeremy thumbed a switch which began the second stage release sequence. The system powered up, the engine and exhaust roared with the buildup of power; on instinct, without needing to see the power buildup display on the console before him, Jeremy deactivated the system locks.

The green strip turned yellow a microsecond after the motorcycle accelerated; out of the corner of his eye, Jeremy read the speed around two-hundred. The road before him sped past as if dragged out from beneath him, rocks and the landscape flew by him in a blur. The vibrations of the machine were greater now, the beast hidden within crying out for more, needing to be unleashed and fly free.

On the right handle, Jeremy thumbed one last switch. The process would build into a critical mass until released, but the release had to come at the right moment or else it would either not be powerful enough, sending the bike into a cascading system failure, or too powerful at which point the machine would go out of his control and crash. The final stage built up power, the vibrations increased, and the yellow light began to be replaced with red. The console screamed a warning siren, alerting to the approaching critical mass point.

Jeremy ignored all of these, instead feeling the motorcycle as it built towards the final moment. Without thought, just an instinct, Jeremy activated the final release control. A roar of fire, a scream of power, and Jeremy flew. In the moment, Jeremy felt everything: the motorcycle beneath him, the vibrations ceased, the wind as he moved within it, and he sensed rather than saw a great fiery creature. Its body of flames as it raced along with him, its presence powerful and strong yet peaceful.

The moment of clarity passed, and the motorcycle returned to the yellow stage. Twisting the controls, Jeremy spun the bike to a ninety-degree angle, at which an automatic system engaged deceleration jets, slowing the bike until it stopped. Smoke from the tires enveloped Jeremy and the bike, dust kicked up from the road blew around him creating a swirling beige cloud of grit which flew up his nose.

Finally, the bike came to a dead stop, which Jeremy followed with a loud sneeze. Turning left, Jeremy glimpsed the tall spires of the city through the vaporous tendrils of heat emanating from the old pavement of the road. He had traveled at least one-hundred miles within the span of minutes, seconds perhaps.

The console crackled with static, and Billy's voice came over the radio. "Jeremy, you there? Are you alright?" Engaging the two-way communication, Jeremy said "I'm alright" cheering broke over the radio, clearly the gang having been waiting to hear from him since leaving. Billy came back on "That's great Jem, how was it?", Jeremy couldn't respond except with a laugh which broke out of him in a rush of delayed adrenaline and euphoria "It was incredible! Absolutely Amazing! I FELT ALIVE!" he yelled to the world.

Jumping off the bike, Jeremy did a jig, shouted to the sky his exultation until the high wore off. Straddling the seat again, Jeremy said "I'm on my way back, see ya in a few" and switched off the radio. Kicking the release control, Jeremy took the handles in his hands once again, spun around toward the city and released the brake locking the front wheel.

A smile gracing his mouth as the rendition of the memory ended, Shepard saw Tali was tense once again, hearing of the danger he went through to join the gang. "Once I rejoined the others, they gave me a custom helmet to wear and we rode together in formation down Mulholland drive, a rich area of the city. Billy insisted I take his left flank, a place of honor for succeeding in my trials, and we rode up the long street celebrating by flaring up our exhaust pipes", a slight tilt of her head indicated she hadn't understood that last part "flaring the exhaust pipe is what happens when excess fuel escapes into the exhaust and burns off with the heat, creating a flare".

Tali settled as the tension in her shoulders gone as she let go of her complaint, she said "I know talking about this isn't easy, and thank you for telling me, but why reveal it now? Has something happened?".

Lacing his fingers together, a habit as he organized his thoughts into a coherent line "as I said last night, I received a message; it was from a secure storage facility where I hid all of my possessions before leaving for the Alliance. The Reds did a lot of jobs on the side, sort of on the gray side of legality but nothing outright deadly or dangerous, and we got paid, sometimes very well by satisfied clients. When I left, I hacked the account Billy had under a false name and transferred everything into my own. Then I rented a storage room on a long-term rental, locked away everything, and became an Alliance Marine". Sitting straight and locking his eyes on Tali Shepard said "the rental is up, and I want to…" he trailed off, not knowing what to say.

Standing, Tali sat next to him on the couch and took one of his hands in her own, "you want to come to terms with your past". He nodded unable to speak as he remembered his old life; what Tali said next brought Shepard out of his musings "I'll help you in any way I possibly can". Squeezing her hand, Shepard said in a whisper "Thank You". Squaring his shoulders, Shepard called "Joker", and the pilot's voice came over the intercom "morning Commander, Tali, what can I do for you this fair day?"

Looking at Tali with a raised eyebrow, Shepard asked "Joker, are you spying on us?", "no, never, not me Commander; I would never spy on you" Joker replied in mock gave a low chuckle and Shepard just shook his head, "Joker, set a course for Sol, destination Earth". "Missin' the ol' clump of dirt you grew up on Commander?" Joker asked in his normal tone of mock seriousness. "Unfinished business" Shepard replied; "destination set, ETA thirty-six hours" came the pilot's reply.

Hidden on the dark side of a moon in the Krogan DMZ sector, the Normandy SR-2 came alive and sped toward the distinctive blue star of the Mass Relay. Upon approach, the bolt of element zero lightning engulfed the ship within a mass-less envelope, allowing the Normandy to accelerate at incalculable speed out of the sector. Within the ship, Shepard wondered if he should be elated to return or dread at what the past still held for him.

Author's Note:

A longer chapter than my previous, but necessary; I admit, writing the scene of his first trial was exciting, as I listened to my own metal. And then when writing the scene with Shepard on his first ride, I listened to the very song this piece claims its namesake.

Again, all rights of foundational content belong to Bioware, and any additional content, people, places and objects are mostly my own creations inspired by multiple sources.

Finally, read, review, comment if you wish but only constructive critiques and thought out criticism. No foul language, unless used in a positive context, and no trashing, I write this for personal enjoyment and I post it to entertain others because I enjoy it.

Arrivederci,

Tutor Verum