Mass Effect: "All Along the Watchtower"

Chapter One - First Impressions

Joker liked small ships. Lately he'd been stuck behind the controls of big freighters and heavy military birds. While it was nice having such a lot of buttons to mess with, the flying itself was slow, boring and easy. All his training had taken place on little scouters, shuttles and that one fighter. That beautiful fighter. His new ship was bigger than those, but still light, maneuverable and fast. It promised a lot of fun.

It was a frigate, and a slim-line one at that. It didn't look like much, indeed it was hardly the Alliance's pride and joy, but it was small enough. Just two floors, a tidy crew and one pilot. Having to crane his head a little, Joker glanced at the empty seat opposite him. This cockpit had been designed for two, but luckily the Captain recognized his helmsman's talents. A co-pilot would only get in his way, and everyone on board knew it.

A man's voice came through the ship's surprisingly cheap speakers. "Hello? Hello, Shiloh?"

"Good morning," Joker confirmed, flicking a switch. "This is SSV Shiloh, nice and early for ya. Requesting landing co-ordinates."

It was hard to make out the voice, but after an audible click on the other end of the line, some of the static noise faded. "Very good, Shiloh. Sending you an approach vector now."

Joker remained silent until he had received a series of numbers and translated them into a course. "On our way," he told the voice, then switched off his transmitter.

The best thing about small ships was the viewscreen. Having been trained in shuttles, Joker was used to having a good view of space in front of him. But the Alliance, always with safety in mind, liked their cockpits protected by a meter of metal. It made sense; the flickering readouts directly in front of Joker did a better job of helping him fly than simple reinforced glass. But it was nice to have a view, and he had missed that.

This frigate was an odd mix. There was a foot-high strip of a window lining the walls, level with his knees. Through it he could see clouds rushing past and little hints of blue sky. It was a nice view, but he wondered what the catch was. According to the information he had, the little world, hidden in a remote corner of the Exodus Cluster, was terrestrial and had a breathable atmosphere. From the sky, he guessed it was very Earth-like, too. The Alliance government was keeping the colony to itself for the time being for some research. As he pondered the situation, he pursed his lips and sucked through his teeth.

Lieutenant Alenko chose this moment to enter the cockpit, giving Joker an amused look as he passed him. Moving with precision and care he lowered himself into the co-pilot's chair. When he was comfortably seated, he let out a relieved sigh.

"What's our ETA, Joker?" he asked, making the order sound very casual.

"About fifteen minutes," Joker replied, looking over. A thick, metal beam separated them, so that he could only see Kaidan's head above the mouth.

Though Shiloh had only been up off the ground a few days, Kaidan had already made the defunct co-pilot's seat his own. Whenever he had time to himself, he would sit there and make small-talk with the pilot. Joker found the guy interesting, to say the least. They had very little in common, or at least nothing that made it into conversation, but the strange events of their first meeting had made such an impression that some kind of friendship was inevitable. In any case, Joker preferred Kaidan's conversation to those of the other jackass biotic super-soldiers onboard.

After the silence had become embarrassing, Joker broke it by voicing his thoughts. "Hey Alenko, why does this thing have to be called the Shiloh? It's ridiculous. My aunt's kid had a puppy named Shiloh."

Kaidan looked over, expressionless, perhaps lost in his thoughts again. "It was a battle, in the American Civil War. The frigates are named after…"

"Yeah, I know that. I grew up around ships, genius. But why Shiloh? It's embarrassing when we dock. Why not, like, Gettysburg?"

Kaidan shook his head a little, smiling to himself. "Well, I guess the Alliance is keeping that battle for a more high-profile ship. Must have picked this name so that we don't make an impression. So nobody remembers us."

"There were a lot of battles in that war," Joker countered. "I know a few things about history too, pal. How about the SSV Bull Run? How good does that sound?"

Lifting his head and his eyebrows, Kaidan made eye-contact and smiled beneath the metal beam. "Bull Run?" he repeated, incredulous.

"I got an even better one," Joker grinned. "SSV Chicamauga! You have to admit, it'd be fun, flying around in the Chicamauga. Rolls off the tongue."

Kaidan laughed a little, under his breath. "Well, I think those were both Confederate victories. The southern hospitality of the time is probably not the kind of image the Alliance wants to project."

Joker snorted silently, unsure how to react. Was Alenko trying to one-up his history knowledge, or just playing along with the joke? Kaidan was not an easy man to understand.

Kaidan stood and turned immediately, and Joker was glad of the distraction. A moment later, he recognized the captain's approaching footsteps.

"Lieutenant," Captain Bryant said calmly, "I don't think Moreau will be needing a co-pilot. Get your suit on. I'll want you, Brady and Sang out of the hatch the moment we dock."

They exchanged salutes and Kaidan gave a quick "Yes, sir". Walking ahead of his commanding officer in order to save time, he strode quickly through a little corridor and into the bridge. The largest room onboard, it housed the circular Combat Information Center with the little galaxy map in hologram form in the middle. Surrounding this base of operations were walls lined with all the diagnostic and navigational consoles that could be crammed in, and a chair for each. The captain liked to turn these chairs around when he addressed the crew, so that his seated subordinates would be beneath him as he spoke.

Through the left-hand door, Kaidan found his locker and pulled-out his thinly-armored hardsuit. Putting it on was like slipping into a wetsuit, but after thirty-four ground missions, he had gotten used to it.

When he made it to the exit hatch, he found Chief Sang and Private Brady waiting, helmeted and speculating about the mission. He said 'hello' and nodded sincerely, but they simply fell silent. Ignoring the snub, he passed between them and stood in front of them. He knew that Sang resented his being selected as squad leader, seeing as he had more experience and was only of slightly lower rank, but he had no idea what Brady's problem might be.

As long as they followed orders, it didn't matter. Kaidan had other things on his mind.

Bryant had told them little about the world they were about to walk on. Aside from the name of the colony, the soldiers didn't even know where they were. Wynn's Cross was some sort of experimental government research base on a terrestrial moon nobody was supposed to know about. They weren't doing anything illegal up there, but it was very hush-hush. They had lit a distress beacon after two of the senior staff had been killed, but Kaidan knew it was more than coincidence that Shiloh happened to be in the neighborhood on its first run.

Every major military force in the galaxy used teams of biotic soldiers, usually as shock troopers. Those with the ability to craft shields and projectiles from dark energy were ideally suited for the front lines of an assault. But human biotics were still rare and humanity was still finding its feet in the matter. Only now, with the new generation of L3 implants, were effective, stable soldiers being produced.

The asari commandos could afford to rely heavily on biotic ability. They were just too advanced for the Alliance to learn from. Salarian biotics were so rare that they were only sparingly used in battle. The turians, though, were different. Their biotic soldiers were numbered in a range comparable with those of the Alliance, and with similar innate abilities. The Hierarchy grouped these individuals into specialist teams known as Cabals.

Having made a strong impression on humanity in the First Contact War, the turian military was under constant observation by the Fleet Admirals. At the moment, a great deal of prototype technology seemed to be cropping up, based on modified turian designs. New ship drives, weapons and command structures were being experimented with back on Arcturus, all aping the turian models. But someone high up wanted to try a human Cabal, too.

And so it was that three biotic marines stood ready to leave an unimpressive, unmemorable frigate and set foot on a world that officially didn't exist. Kaidan didn't like being used like a lab rat, and just being forced to publicly acknowledge his biotic abilities made him uncomfortable, but orders were orders.

A familiar voice crackled through his headset. "Hey Alenko. Testing your receiver. You hear me?"

"I hear you, Joker."

"Fantastic. Good luck out there, and remember…"

Kaidan involuntarily looked across to his microphone, waiting for the pilot to speak again.

"…whatever happens…"

After a dramatic pause, Joker finally finished his sentence. "… just remember, death begins with you."

Kaidan furrowed his brow and smiled. Joker was not an easy man to understand. "Thanks," he said. "That's really comforting."

"That's what you get for breaking my legs."

"Okay, great. Death begins with me."

"It sure does," Joker confirmed.

The voice cut out just in time for Captain Bryant's to replace it. "Alenko," he barked, "this is your first mission in charge, so set a precedent."

"Will do, sir. Are we really here to investigate a murder?"

Bryant paused before answering him. "Not investigate, no. Just bring her in. That's non-negotiable, even if she has the perfect alibi."

"Sir?"

"The killer's name is Ka'hyra Velotto. Dangerous. The turians have been after her for a long time. She's a powerful biotic, a veteran of the War…"

"Yes, sir." Kaidan knew the name. The alien fugitive had become quite famous in recent months since news vid cameras had seen her at the Citadel and linked her with another murder. One of her own kind, though.

"We tracked her here just before this murder took place. The Admirals figured this would be the best opportunity to try out their new magic squad. So be quick about making nice with the colonists, then get out there and find her. Understood?"

Kaidan replied in the affirmative just as the hatch opened, folding down into a corrugated ramp. The three soldiers were surprised by what they saw. Instead of the jagged mountains, dust and fierce winds they were accustomed to, the colony was built on what appeared to be a grassy field. A bright blue sky, clearer than any Kaidan had seen on Earth, hung quietly above a vista of trees, round hills and a collection of clean, white buildings.

"Huh!" Sang's voice rose up behind Kaidan, who was inclined to agree.

With a quick look at each of his men, Kaidan descended and found a middle-aged man in a lab coat waiting for them. The guns clinging to his back battered his shoulders as he jogged over to meet him at the ramp.

"Good morning," said Kaidan. "I'm Second Lieutenant Alenko." He held out a hand, which the scientist shook firmly.

"Serviceman Medina," he replied. "Welcome to Wynn's Cross. Thanks for coming so quickly."

"It was just good luck on your part," Kaidan lied, wincing a little. "We were in the area. We've been briefed on the situation."

Medina nodded, scratching the back of his neck. He looked a little overweight, and stood at a slight angle. Despite his rank, he clearly was no soldier. "The killer was a turian. One of our juniors saw it happen. A really skinny turian, he said. But he disappeared into the forest at the edge of our facility and we couldn't find him afterward."

"No ships have left the planet, serviceman. Our suspect is still planetside. Are there any clues as to this turian's location?"

The scientist beckoned with his hand as he walked off towards the treeline. When they began to hear the crunching sound of dried leaves beneath their feet, Medina stopped the group.

"This message," he said, sweeping the leaves away from a wide, flat tree stump.

Kaidan peered down to see a message, carved in poorly-drawn, slanted English lettering.

From the tower falls the shadow.

The strange message was written twice, the second carving a mirror image of the first, written upside down and underneath. The marines stared at it for a long time.

"The two F's at the beginning…" said Medina. "They look like an arrow. I'm not sure what he wants, but it certainly seems like he wants us to go to him."

Kaidan nodded at the stump.