Chapter 7: Subject 42

Disclaimer: Bioware owns Mass Effect, and therefore my soul.

MEMEMEME

It had been six months since Sam had exposed his secret. At the time, Shepard had been horrified by the idea of choosing between biotics and a normal life. He had only talked to Sam once since then; he had thanked her for setting him on a one way path, and that he would make the best of what he had. She had seemed to be heartbroken when he said good-bye, but had not followed him. That was good, because despite his facade, Shepard was still hurting from her betrayal, and he didn't know how he would react if she pressed the issue.

Instead of resorting to drugs to relieve stress, Shepard had found an outlet in biotics. He poured his entire being into training to be the best biotic he could possibly be. Sarona had not openly said it, but Shepard could sometimes see the surprise and approval in the asari's eyes whenever he mastered a certain exercise faster than she thought, or managed to remain standing after draining himself, and he pushed himself to see that look every week, and then to see that look everyday.

Most days, Shepard didn't bother with school. Oh he made sure he learned, but didn't bother himself about the grade. After getting an F on all his tests one week because other students accused him of reading their minds, he had given up. If he was going to be a biotic, then he was going to devout all his time to that end, and wouldn't waste time and energy on a lost cause.

Shepard's days were becoming cyclical: he would go to school to endure verbal torture from both students and teachers, go to Sarona's hut to practice biotics till it got dark, eat more food than a krogan, go to bed with a headache, and get up again in the morning on sore muscles. The cycle continued over and over with no reprieve, but he wouldn't have chosen a different life if he could. Sarona had started to open up to him, and had acted as a surrogate mother by helping him deal with his emotions. As a sparring partner, teacher, friend, and psychiatrist all in one.

As he walked back towards home, he was no longer welcome to ride the bus home, he saw the now familiar hover-car in the drive way. As he entered the house proper, however, he was surprised to see three occupants. The first two were his dad and tutor, however, the third was a man in a white lab coat who seemed far too excited.

The man rushed up to him and scanned him with an omni-tool. "fascination, truly fascinating." Shepard could tell that this man was only interested in him as a source of data, and that unnerved him, more than the strange patch on his shoulder that seemed so familiar.

"Kyler" Sarona walked up to him "this is Dr. Rex Tarin. He will be evaluating your biotics, and if you want, implanting you with your amp interface."

Shepard looked at the Doctor, then looked at the floor deep in thought.

Dr. Tarin spoke hurriedly, as if he just wanted Shepard to agree to everything so that he could study the biotic. "We, humanity I mean, have a new type of amp interface we want to test out. This one has been made specifically for you. It can not be given to any other person." The Doctor began to punctuate his words with hand motions as he continued speaking. "See it requires that the user have almost full control over their natural biotics, and this particular one is only compatible with your DNA. Also this interface..."

The Doctor continued to talk, but Shepard didn't pay attention. He had too much to think about without listening to his attempt at a sales-pitch. If I do this I will have fully committed myself to biotics. I will have to leave Mindoir, Dad, Sarona, Sam... Sam. The love of his life who had betrayed him because he was a biotic. She had stripped him of the chance to ever live life as a normal person again. She could, and had taken away everything he had, but she couldn't take away who he was. And he was a biotic.

John however, was obviously interested. "What exactly will his amp do? And please, speak plainly, I'm no scientist."

"Well like I said, this is a unique interface. Because Kyler is almost a natural biotic, his nervous system can take much more strain then any other human biotic. Because of this, his interface will be more powerful than others. Because he is already a powerful biotic without an amp, it is unnecessary to spend resources on actually amplifying Kyler's biotics. Rather the interface will use all its power to make activating and maintaining his biotics easier. Which brings me to another point. This interface, unlike others, isn't compatible with an external amp. This interface serves as its own amp. And because most dampening programs hack the amp and not the interface, this unique amp should serve to protect him quite well against cybernetic warfare."

John continued prodding. "So how will this amp, er interface be given to him?"

Dr Tatin began to seem nervous. "Uhh oh well you see... Um well it'll be... the-interface-will-be-grafted-like-any-other-interface-but-the-rest-is-classified-sorry." The Doctor spoke fast enough to make a salarian proud.

John seemed unconvinced, but continued to what he really wanted to know. "What will he do after you have given him the interface? The Alliance rep said he could stay here."

"Oh yes, of course, we would not dare to go back on our word. But he will have to stay with us for a week or two in order to make sure he is adapting alright and conduct tests."

I am a biotic. To deny it would be foolish and a betrayal to myself. John was about to press the issue, but Shepard interrupted him. "I'll do it."

Shepard looked at his father, but the older man looked away. Kyler was hurt is he ashamed of me, or sad that I may never see him again?

MEMEMEME
The Next Day

Shepard woke up from his nightmares. He kept dreaming of his mother going into labor, and a three headed dog. He didn't believe in fate, but if you dreamt something night-after-night it had to mean something, right?

He pushed away the fog of dreams, and stood up too quickly, the room spun around him as he headed for the stairs, and he would have fallen if his father hadn't caught him. John groaned as he tried to keep Kyler on his feet. "Woah, you OK Kyler?"

Shepard nodded "ya, I just stood up too fast." Shepard kept his gaze fixed on the ground, remembering how his father hadn't been able to look him in the eye when he had decided to get an amp.

As if he could read his mind, John tried to sooth his son. "Kyler, I know you think I am ashamed of you, but the truth is, I'm very proud of you. You've been making your own decisions for a while now, and I always knew it would eventually lead you away from home, no matter how hard it is for me, like all parents, to say good-bye to their children. But I want you to know that I love you, and I think that you should lead your life the way you want to."

It was one of the most tender moments Shepard had had with his father, and he buried his face in his fathers chest to hide his tears. Reminiscent of times that would soon only be memory. Shepard looked up at his father through watery eyes one last time, before smiling sadly and saying his good-byes.

Shepard looked ahead glumly, and headed into the familiar woods, towards Sarona's hut. She had been one of the few people Shepard had been able to entrust, and they had forged a close bond as mentor and pupil since Sam had betrayed him. She was one of the two people he trusted in this entire galaxy.

Shepard entered the clearing, and walked slowly up her porch. He heard Sarona talking to somebody on a comlink, but couldn't hear the other persons voice.

"No, call it off. Subject 42 will be just fine without being tempered, he will be yours, and you don't need to do a thing . Part 2 is just superfluous now. And it will only be a waste of resources."

The other person said something, but Shepard could tell Sarona was relieved by the answer she got in her stance, but her voice remained cold and almost hostile.

"Yes, I'll contact you when I have an update." Sarona looked anxious to terminate her call, but Shepard couldn't tell why.

Sarona guessed that The Man wouldn't hesitate to kill people if it benefited him, and she hadn't gotten to know him too well, so she was only left with speculations, but she couldn't imagine he would kill people just for the sake of killing them.

She turned around, and saw Shapard, looking at her kindly, but also with a hint of suspicion at her conversation. He really was her prodigy. "Sarona, I just wanted to say good-bye before I left. I might never see you again, and I wanted to thank you for being there for me."

He still didn't know what she had been doing all along, or how she had been the one to ruin his life. "Kyler... Kyler here take this." She handed him a datapad. "It's my farewell, and my sincere apologies. Please, only read it once you have left Mindoir. And as a gift." she took out a knife similar to a kerambit, signifying the end of his tutelage. "You have nothing more to learn from me. You have been my best pupil, and I can now embrace you as an equal. Mrak, eas so sond mai'it e a'ya." She spoke the traditional words to truly end his apprenticeship.

"May the sea embrace you too, sister." Shepard finally placed his hand on the blade, and took it from Sarona. "It has been an honor learning from you. Good-bye."

She placed her hand over Shepard's forehead, and gave him her blessing."May Athame guide your steps, and may your enemies corpses never feed the great mother shark."

MEMEMEME

Shepard looked back at the small small colony he was leaving behind. It was nearly noon by the time Shepard had made his way the small spaceport. He had thought about saying good-bye to Sam and some of the others, but he didn't want his last memories of his time on Mindoir to be one of pain. Despite the sad situation he was in, his father and Sarona had been very accepting, and had relieved some of the discomfort he had about leaving Mindoir.

Shepard had only ever seen pictures of other worlds, and before Sam had betrayed him, he had accepted that he would stay on Mindoir's surface until he died. But perhaps, I had already died in a way? And now I'm was being reborn; remade?After all those times in the clearing, Sarona's teachings about Siari, and all in one, was making a lot of sense to him right now. Part of him had died, and now his life was taking on a new form. Not quite reincarnation, but not quite a permanent death either.

Shepard would be the first to admit he was nervous about taking these first steps into a new world, but that had not held him back after Sam had betrayed him, and it sure as hell wouldn't hold him back now.

When he finally arrived, Doctor Tarin was already at the space port looking agitated, and ready to leave immediately. "Kyler, you ready to go yet?"

Shepard nodded silently, but he radiated determination. The Doctors indignant tone perturbed Shepard, but he figured that just had something to do with the Doc's excitement. After all, I am a one-of-a-kind specimen, and would be very interesting to study. A once in a lifetime chance. He thought wryly. There is no way I will willingly give up my body for their experiments. Just cause or no.

Shepard followed the Doctor into the Kodiak Shuttle, and took in his surroundings. The Kodiak was bare metal, save for some hard benches in the back, a pilot seat, and a small weapons rack. Out of curiosity, he began studying the weapons. He saw a couple avenger III assault rifle, a few stinger II pistol, and a Hurricane II assault shotgun. Not standard issue, but not to uncommon, he thought. The next weapon rack really unnerved him. It had a missile launcher and some yellow experimental weapon with a nuclear sign on it, but what really bothered him was that on their were also a few thunder assault rifles, and even a couple Armageddon shotguns. None of the Alliance scientists would need to carry that much firepower. Something in not right here.

As if to confirm his suspicions, the scientist next to him was becoming increasingly nervous. Shepard turned to him, and asked in the most uncaring way he could "What ship are we docking under?"

Dr. Tarin seemed to relax "This cruiser is the SSV Wenham."

"Hmph. Your ship is named after one of the last 'witches' to have been burned in Europe? I was under the distinct impression that all cruisers in the Alliance were named after cities on Earth." Shepard crossed his arms over his chest, and leaned back in his chair. Fixing a knowing glare on the scientist.

Dr. Tarin was really starting to shift uncomfortably now. He opened his mouth to lie, but just then the Wenham's magnetic locks attached to the shuttle, cutting the conversation short. The pilot, who had heard none of the conversation so far, got up and faced Shepard. "The captain of the ship is waiting for you on the bridge."

The pilot opened the door, but Shepard gestured for him to get out first. "On Mindoir, it is respectful for a younger person to allow all of his seniors to exit, before he does."

The pilot and scientist shrugged, and thanked Shepard for his show of respect. He smiled to himself of how well his plan had worked. As soon as their backs were turned, Shepard had swiped the Stinger II pistol from the weapons rack, and slipped it into his pocket. He hoped he wouldn't need it, but these people were posing as the Alliance, and he didn't want to be on their ship unprepared.

Finally they arrived at a large door. His two companions nodded, and gave him directions to get to the bridge. The directions brought him led him to a short Hispanic man. He had a military regulation buzz cut, but had a little stubble growing in. He turned to him and spoke coldly "Kyler Shepard. My name is Captain Matiness. I would give you a tour of the ship myself, but I'm afraid I cannot at the moment. Now we are fairly busy with Alliance business, so if you wouldn't mind heading down to the science lab to get your interface, it would be greatly... appreciated."

"Sure, but first I'd like you to tell me who your working for." The man seemed taken aback for a moment, but Shepard continued on despite his objections. "Cut the crap. This ship is not a registered Alliance vessels, you have non-standard items in your armory, and your crew is constantly wary of me. Somethings up."

It was probably stupid to lay all his cards on the table at once, but Shepard had never had dealt with a situation like this before. "Well well well, you are quite the observant one, aren't you? Yes, I work for a group called Cerberus, and they have a vested interest in you. Now please. Do us all a favor and try to contain yourself, or we may be forced to... restrain you." He made a motion to a couple of humans in the corner, who trained their rifles on Shepard.

Shepard had killed once before. He could do it again. He had to. Shepard glared at the captain, but did as he was told, placing his hands on the back of his head. One of the humans started patting him down. As soon as he began to get near the pocket with the pistol, Shepard elbowed the man in the gut. Activating his biotics, he threw a guard into the bulkhead, leaving a large dent. Shepard punched the man who had been searching him with a biotic punch that snapped his neck. In one fluid movement, Shepard spun around, drew his pistol, and leveled it on Matiness.

Matiness was smiling, and applauding Shepard. "My my, such a wonderful display of biotics. I can see why He would want to study you."

"Who?" Matiness kept smiling, but remained silent, Shepard kept his gun aimed, and took a step forward "Tell me who is trying to study me, or I'll blow you brains out."

Shepard was about to take another step forward, when Matiness held up his hand. "I'm afraid a can't tell you that." Shepard growled. "But- I can give you some advice."

Shepard thought about it. The captain was still smiling, so something must be up. Shepard nodded his head, signaling for him to proceed

He finally stopped smiling, and glared menacingly "For you own safety do not take one more step forward."

Shepard snorted. In his minds eye, he stepped forward and grabbed Matiness by the throat, pointing a gun at his head and threatening him again. Instead, Shepard heard a cackling noise, a second before he felt his muscles seize up as the electricity passed through his body. A smug looking captain looked down at his writhing form and tsked tsked him "I warned you. I told you you shouldn't... forward...listen to...ne...t..." Shepard couldn't hear the rest of his taunt, as a needle pierced his neck, and the world faded into darkness.

MEMEMEME
Two Weeks Later

Shepard couldn't open his eyes, but he could feel the leather restraints strapping him to the bed biting into his bandaged wrists and ankles. He had trouble feeling his body due to the sedatives he had no doubt been given, but the pain he did feel couldn't have been from the electricity. His entire body felt as if it had gone through a meat grinder: his bones felt as if they had holes in them, and his skin didn't feel any better. He tried to block out the pain, and when he did, he realized there were sirens going off, and he could see red light passing through his eyelids.

He heard the door whoosh open, and at least two people rushed in.

"How is he doing?"

He heard a man walk to his bedside and click something on a monitor near him. "He seems to be coming around. Showing slight awareness."

"Dammit we don't have time to deal with this now. I'll radio for help, in the mean time, give him fifty milligrams of-." The man never finished his sentence as the med bay door was blasted open by a small explosion. A human and batarian entered through the smoke, guns blazing. One of the scientists managed to get in a shot that glanced of the merc's shields before being executed.

He heard a somebody whistle. "Damn, I can't believe a human survived that. He looks like he decided to go a round with a lethranak. Is it normal for humans to bleed that much?" The voice was deep, and was obviously translated. It was unnerving that the voice sounded amused that there was apparently so much blood. What the hell is a lethranak anyway?And what does he mean about bandages on my body? The electricity wouldn't have made me bleed that much, if at all.

He heard another voice, this time more human. "Well let's grab him and go. I'll radio the boss to tell him we got 'em."

Shepard felt his body being lifted, and chucked over a shoulder in a fireman hold. "I don't know, can we just pull over for a sec and knock him one? I mean he might be conscious. We both saw what he did to those two guards on the security camera, and I I don't know about you, but I don't intend to try my luck. He annihilated them without using any weapons."

"Yeah? I thought you batarians were supposed to be brave, but you do live up to your species stupidity. Look at him. Even if he is conscious, there is no way he could fight looking like that. If you hit him, he'll probably die, and then the boss would toss you sorry ass out the next airlock. Not that I'd complain mind you. All you batarians reek."

The batarian growled, but said nothing about it. "Let's just get to the bridge. Boss is waiting."

After a few minutes, Shepard felt himself being dropped to the floor unceremoniously. "Watch it! He's worth a lot to us alive." A guttural voice said. "Jarrik, contact our employer."

Shepard managed to squint his eyes. The bright lights on the bridge hurt to look at, and everything was hazy and unfocused. Shepard looked down at himself, and would have yelled if he was able to. His entire body was bandaged, but all the bandages on his forearms, shins, hips, and neck were now thouroughly soaked in blood. A slight orange glow was visable under the bloodied bandages, but no light was eminating from under the clean bandages.

Looking up, Shepard was able to make out a scarred batarian, and a displeased human hologram. The human looked about middle aged, and had a cigarette twined in his fingers and glass of whiskey in his other hand. Even with the holograms poor quality, it was the blue, inhuman eyes that were the most apparent feature, and seemed to take everything in at once. "Ahh Tallid," the human took a long drag of his cigarette before continuing "I hope you called to return Subject 42 to my custody. He is quite valuable to me you see. But why you deemed it necessary to attack my ship is a mystery." The human seemed calm, but his voice had an edge that demanded you obey.

The batarian seemed unphased. "If he is so valuable, I'm sure we can come to an agreement. I want no less than five million. I keep all the other colonists."

"Come now, I'm sure you can make a better offer. Tallid, if you depart this ship now, and leave Subject 42 here, you can go ahead with you invasion. We wont interfere, but you must uphold your side of the bargain."

The batarian named Tallid shook his head. "No I don't think so, he's valuable to you, and five million credits is valuable to me."

The two argued for some time, neither willing to back down. Finally the human looked down at a datapad. "Fine. here's a new deal." He smiled as Cerberus operatives stormed the bridge, weapons raised "you give us the boy, and I let you live."

Tallid snarled and ordered his mercs to open fire. Shepard was able to open his eyes a little more, but still couldn't even sit up. Shepard watched as the batarians and humans shot at each other from behind what little cover there was. The batarians started retreating down the hallway, but one of them dragged Shepard with them.

Tallid turned to the batarian already dragging Shepard away from the fight. "Telandil, take the boy, and rendezvous at the shuttle." He took cover behind a fallen crate to let his shields regenerate, and radioed one of the human mercs. "Jacob, set those explosives and get the hell over here. Helmets on men, you don't want to be exposed in case we go into zee gee."

Shepard was hoisted in the air, and carried away from the battle. He heard an explosion a few seconds later, and the sound of boots on metal as the other mercs approached. Tallid and the rest of the men finally caught up, and piled into a small landing craft.

As the shuttle took off, one of the batarians came over and inspected Shepard. "Damn Tallid, this kids if rough shape, I'm surprised he survived. Would be a pity if he died. I bet Cerberus will pay more for a living test subject than a corpse."

Tallid just grunted. "He's conscious yeah? Sedate him, and throw him into cell 38 when we dock. Keep him separate from the other captives, and always maintain a dampening field near him at all times. I don't want any surprises."

Shepard felt the familiar sting of a needle in his neck. He knew it wasn't the proper time or place, but he was starting to worry about his liver after all this was over. His system was no doubt flooded with drugs he hadn't even heard of...

MEMEMEME

I feel good about most of this chapter, but to be honest, it's not how I planned it. Originlly he escaped to Mindoir, and crashed landed. In all honesty though, I like this better, just seems more original and dramatic. Remember to review so I can get the next chapter out faster, after all, when I get a good review I'll often go and write half the chapter immediately