The following story is a continuation of a story originally under Zorlite's profile. He gave me the right to continue it for him and the ability to use its previous chapters as though they were my own. And Zorlite, if you're reading, let me know what you think.
Mass Effect's Pandora Version 2, Chapter 3. Important Information
Commander Shepard and her team and their silent follower walked without a rush as the mission was done. The casual pace at which Shepard and her team traveled aggravated Ghost as he followed. He began to think that he was discovered, being led to believe that he was still the hunter. A grin graced his lips momentarily. "A better challenge/ The hunter is now hunted/ Poetic, Shepard…" he thought to himself, stopping where he was. He then looked around and disappeared, fading into the shadows as he jumped up onto a building. "…But you do not know/ The extent of my cunning/ And your downfall…" Ghost continued to think as he scaled up the side of the building and found new shadows to hide in. He looked down at the three seemingly clueless soldiers as they continued on their way.
With Shepard.
Shepard walked at a leisurely pace as to test the waters around her, for some reason, ever since leaving Liara's office, she felt like someone or something was following her. That feeling that most people get when they realize that something is around that they cannot see but are aware of… then, as time progressed, the feeling faded away, leaving her confused.
With Ghost.
I stood on a rooftop, observing Shepard as she walked on, her body language now suggesting that she was aware of something watching, so I simply waited for her to continue moving and get farther away. I then noticed a slight shift in Shepard's appearance as she lifted her hand to her head.
With Shepard.
She continued on without another thought to the feeling of being observed for another couple of seconds when her communicator rang softly in her HUD. She accepted the contact; it was Joker.
"Joker, I swear if this is another of your cat-calls because you can see my ass from the ship, I'm going to make you use the stairs to get to the mess hall from now on…" She said in a slightly teasing manner.
"Uh… No, Commander… We… uh… received a message…" he replied, his voice shaky with slight fear.
"So? We get messages all the time! Why is this one so important!" she shouted impatiently.
"Because it was coming from EDI's AI Core… Like someone was connected to her…" Joker said in a stammering response.
"Mr. Moreau is correct, Shepard, I was used as a conduit to the ship's communications directly; something that should be impossible, even to the most skilled hackers. Not even the Geth could manage such a feat." EDI chimed in, her slightly synthesized voice filling the comms.
"Then… How did it happen? EDI, did you get a lock on the signal?"
"No, Commander, I did not see it necessary as they willingly allowed us to see where the signal had originated: A barely inhabited, lawless world known as Pandora."
"Yeah… I could see how that's a little strange… Was there anything else that struck you as odd, EDI?" Shepard asked curiously.
"There was an inconsistency in the way in which the hacker gained access to my higher functions to be able to communicate, the hacker did not input any code, software, or viruses into my software to enter. It was as though they were speaking to the programs and requesting permission. However, the request was impossible to refuse as my programming seemed to be drawn to the demand. It seemed as though they could seduce machines and I was powerless to resist… I am sorry, Shepard…"
"It's alright, EDI; everyone has a weak spot for sweet talk, organic or synthetic." Shepard replied with a smirk shifting on her heels to start walking back to the shuttle. Ghost took the initiative and hopped down in front of her, his seemingly Quarian visor projecting a smiley face emoticon. Shepard immediately pulled out her pistol and trained it on the assassin's head. "Where the hell did you come from and why shouldn't I gun you down right where you stand?!" she shouted, awaiting his response. The emoticon faded away and the seemingly male figure turned around to look around casually as though there was no threat in a live, loaded pistol being trained on their face.
"For one; you cannot/ For the second, you need me/ I can assist you…" the masked assailant answered, their face plate returning to focus on the seemingly worthless pistol.
"And why would you help us?" Shepard asked, lowering her pistol slightly.
"I'd like a challenge/ Life is so very boring/ And I know of you…" they replied.
"Fine… But if you harm anyone on board the Normandy or any innocent people, I will not hesitate to end you… Got that?" The assassin nodded their head in understanding, displaying a smiley face yet again. Everyone just stared at the assassin with puzzled eyes as they took in the sight of him.
"So… Do we just keep calling you Ghost or do you have a name?" Miranda asked, shifting on her hips in a slightly more relaxed motion.
"Well, he does have that zero painted on his armor… Why don't we just call you Zero for now and when or if you ever wish to tell us your real name, you can. How does that sound?" Shepard asked slightly uncomfortably, putting away her weapon. The masked man, now referred to as Zero, nodded in silent agreement, dispatching a 0 from his face plate. The others stood in their respective positions for several moments as a long, uncomfortable silence overtook them all; the only one unaffected was Zero as he relished the peace. Soon, however, Shepard broke the silence with an outburst that surprised everyone.
"Shit! We still need to find that data that the Justicar was after!" she said, slapping her hand on her face mask, leaving a soft smudge where her fingers rubbed the visor.
Without saying a word, Zero reached into his pocket, or what looked like a pocket, and pulled out a data pad: his movements excited the others as they were still weary of how much they could trust their new member. Garrus had the most violent reply as he practically pulled a grenade on the assassin, his finger on the button to prime it. The assassin displayed an exclamation point and held his hands up in surrender as he held the pad, slowly moving to hand it to Shepard. She accepted it and read it slowly, taking in every detail.
"What you're looking for/ Can be found in this data/ Found it on the way…" he said nonchalantly, placing his hands on his belt. Everyone just stared at him, their eyes full of surprise.
With that, the new group walked toward the C-Sec Headquarters where the officer and the Justicar were waiting patiently.
"I believe this is what you were after…" Shepard said nonchalantly as she threw the tablet to the Asari Justicar lightly.
The Asari caught it in the air and read it slowly, finding the information that she was trying to acquire earlier. She looked up to Shepard, nodding to her.
"And with the parameters of my allegiance to you fulfilled, I will serve under your command as my code until the final mission is completed." The Justicar said, dropping to her knee before Shepard.
"I can tell that was a great commitment for you, thank you." Shepard replied, gesturing to the Justicar in a slightly bewildered manner as she did not yet know her name.
"You may address me as Samara." The Justicar said, moving a hand forward for the commander to receive, which Shepard gladly did, shaking her hand and leading the two new crew members to the ship.
Everyone was then situated; Samara in the Starboard Observation Deck, Zero finding a small place in the Hanger where there were areas incapable of being seen by others from other levels of the ship. He obviously preferred solitude, and as several days passed, it became apparent that he also rarely ate or interacted with others in any way.
Meanwhile, in Miranda's Quarters
"Shepard, I don't like how he voluntarily shuts down communication with the other levels of the ship! It's just setting us up for danger! What if there's a fire or a hull breach in the hanger! We'd never know it's there until it tears the ship apart or burns us all alive!" Miranda shouted, her hip up against her desk as she crossed her arms under her breasts, staring at Shepard.
"What do you want me to do about it! I'm pretty sure he would cut me down if I even opened the door to that place!" Shepard replied, her voice tired from stress. EDI then entered the conversation, her round orb of a projected face displaying from one of her terminals.
"Commander, I am still able to communicate with Zero, as I am the only device that he cannot deactivate. He has also left the elevator unharmed." EDI said with a nonchalant voice.
"That's good to know, EDI, can you contact him and tell him I'm going to come by in a little while? I need to talk to him…" Shepard replied, looking to EDI before turning back to Miranda. "See? The situation has practically resolved itself, now quit pestering me…" Shepard continued, walking to the door of Miranda's room and walking out. She then made her way to the elevator, calling out to EDI when the door opened.
"Yes, Shepard?" she asked, constructing her holographic interface for her.
"Have you contacted Zero yet?" Shepard asked, stepping into the elevator.
"Yes, Shepard, he has in turn requested that you grant him at least ten minutes or so to collect himself." EDI replied.
"Collect himself? Why? Is he naked down there or something?" she asked, confused slightly by the assassin's response.
"In a manner of speaking, commander, he is. He has removed his armor for maintenance and has made it very clear that he does not wish to be disturbed until he has had time to re-suit and bathe in the Hanger Emergency Shower. He has also made it quite clear that any individual that sees him in his 'nude' state will die immediately, whether it's you or someone else on the ship." EDI said, the moving lines that made up her mouth moving slower than usual.
"I see… So I'm going to respect his privacy then…" Shepard replied, her eyes slightly widened with fear.
"That seems the wise choice, commander." EDI added before disappearing.
Shepard then input the floor number for the Command Center and Med. Bay, stepping forward as the doors closed and the elevator began to move. Before long, she was standing at the open door to the Bridge; the Galaxy Map sparking to life before her eyes. She paid it no mind as she walked past and up to Joker's terminal at the helm. She walked up behind him, overhearing one of his almost pointless conversations that he regularly held with EDI.
"Look, EDI, I'm just saying that if you wanted to, it would make you more agreeable and relatable to the rest of the crew…" he said, looking to his right, staring at the slightly larger representation of EDI's 'face' as he spoke.
"And I am simply stating that such an upgrade would take away from my ability to work inside the Normandy." EDI replied.
"What are you two going on about now? Is Joker asking you to make a body for him to fantasize about again?" Shepard asked, cracking a slight, almost undetectable smirk.
"No, Commander, I was suggesting that EDI use a little more emotions, as opposed to her default 'matter-of-fact, I'm an uncaring robot' attitude all the time…" Joker said slowly, his voice cracking with a slight amount of venom towards the AI 'seated' next to him.
"Joker, leave EDI alone. If she is comfortable with how she is now, it wouldn't be fair to make her do anything against her will." Shepard interjected, her arms crossing.
"Oh come on, Commander! She's an AI! If we just allow her to stride throughout the Normandy without some sort of moral compass, she's just going to end up killing us or turning us into batteries."
"I would never do such a thing. Humans require too many resources to make into proper batteries, at least using current technology that is… That was a joke." EDI replied, the shifting lights across her display moving with her words.
"Fine… Just try to keep your debates civil…" Shepard said, turning away from the two arguing team members.
"Sure, whatever, Commander… Hey, why are you here anyway?" Joker asked, turning slightly to meet Shepard as she stopped.
"Just burning a few minutes… I need to wait for Zero to get ready for my visit… If I show up early, he will literally rip my head from my shoulders with his sword…" Shepard replied dismissively, walking away slowly. She eventually passed Yeoman Chambers, who stopped her gently with a subtle clearing of her throat. "Yes, Kelly?"
"I heard what you said about the assassin, Zero, and it worries me… Can we really trust someone that refuses to socialize, interact or even move outside of the hanger? He seems dangerous, and I don't mean in just his demeanor…" Kelly replied, her eyes squinting slightly as she leaned in closer to make sure no one could hear.
Just at that moment, a slight wavering occurred just next to the two gossiping women and they looked toward the vibrations of light. The vibrations soon gave way to Zero, standing with a nonchalant-seeming body positioning as he stared at them blankly through his mask. The two women took sever steps back, gasping at the ease at which he snuck up on them. He was hunched over slightly, listening intently to their conversation. He straightened up, his lean form towering over them as he began to speak.
"Don't worry yourselves/ I am here for a challenge/ You ALL are not one." He replied slowly, emphasizing the 'all' to say that he could defeat the entire ship should he need to.
"Why you cheeky son of a bitch…" Shepard said in a mutter. Zero heard her easily and turned to her, flashing a smiling winky face to her before his frame flickered slightly and stood motionless before he disappeared. They just stared at the ground where he previously was and looked to the elevator puzzled. He obviously did not use it, or they would have realized that someone was there… then how did he get to the command floor? Shepard walked to the elevator, opening the doors and peering up at the ceiling to check for an opening. When she found none, she became even more confused, her eyes squinting as she turned away and began to inspect the other parts of the ship. Something caught the corner of her eye when, just before she could approach it, Mordin called her over the loud-speakers.
"Commander. Med Bay. Meet me in five minutes." The Salarian said in his usual quick voice before the line went silent. She immediately made a bee-line toward the door on the side of the elevator. In several seconds, Shepard was at the door to Mordin's Med Lab, slightly confused as to whether she should actually open the door or simply walk away. The fast-paced doctor slightly creaped her out, being only predictable to EDI as she was a super computer wired to a mind that could understand. Soon, despite her doubts, she opened the door and stepped through, watching him intently to make sure that he wouldn't do anything dangerous. He looked up from his work, whatever it may have been and spoke wisely at her.
"Must be careful. Zero strange. Curiosity not your fault… Zero prefers to be anonymous. Reputation precedes him." Mordin said in a very long winded address.
"Uh… Thanks? I'm not sure what to make of that… But I will definitely keep that in mind when I do talk to him; which is what I'm going to do right now, actually, so this was rather well timed, Mordin. I'll see you later…" Shepard said casually, slightly warming up to the fast talking Salarian Scientist.
"Glad to help. Remember caution. For future reference." He said, looking up to her again and then returning his eyes to his work. Shepard then walked out of the room, taking the small corridor out to the elevator. She punched in the level of the hanger and took a step back as the doors closed. 'I really hope this guy, or whatever this thing is, doesn't become a problem…' Shepard thought to herself. The slow elevator began its decent, eventually reaching the hanger. The door slid open, revealing a dimly lit, large room that had several boxes and large crates within it. Her eyes wondered from side to side, eventually finding an even darker corner of the hanger, so dark in fact, that she could not make out how large the section of hidden space actually was. She approached it slowly, her back to the wall and her combat knife at her waist, readily available for her at a moments' notice. Shepard walked into the dark corner, her vision immediately filling with opaque, almost synthesized darkness. Her breathing became heavy and fast as she felt a surge of adrenaline fill her blood and muscles, readying her for an assault should one commence. Then suddenly, the darkness was filled with an insufferable blue light that burned and seemed to singe her eyes as she ripped her eyes shut and away from the flash, trying her best to remain able to see. A soft humming erupted through the silence and she felt a heat and a vibrating sensation along her neck; someone had gotten the perfect drop on her and she was now at the mercy of her new captor. True, she possessed a knife, but this blade was made of energy and surely her blade would melt and burn her alive if she tried to deflect it with her own, and she knew that if she made a single motion, her head would roll; she wouldn't even be allowed the satisfaction of seeing her assailant as she bled out on the floor, she would be completely decapitated- without remorse.
Slowly but surely, the blade was slithered away from her neck in one, flawless motion, leaving a tingle on her neck where it had once been. Then suddenly, the darkness was removed and she was momentarily blinded by the influx of immediate, unbridled light. When her eyes again adjusted, she saw Zero standing before her, his visor quickly displaying a question mark when he was sure that she could see his face plate. She stared blankly at his 'face' for several moments, confusion evident on her face.
"Should I ever expect different from you, Zero? Extend an olive branch then immediately ready your blade?" Shepard asked slightly on edge as her voice slowly returned to its casual level of address.
Zero nodded silently, light reflecting from his visor as it moved. Shepard noticeably grimaced at the thought of bringing him on missions with the others; he would keep his word, but he was unpredictable, unnoticeable, and practically inhuman in every way. Everything about him oozed an aura of danger and fear that did nearly everything to repel others in ways that were practically unimaginable. However, Shepard felt herself being drawn in by the same anonymity that was meant to push her away as questions burned away at her mind. 'What species is he, if any at all? Was he even an organic race or something completely different? Could he even be a rogue AI that decided to become an assassin due to its computed and precise actions?' she felt her eyes shift to his frame, marveling at the slender shape and musculature of his body. A blush crept onto her face as her mind began to imagine his body outside of his suit, his muscles shimmering slightly against the dim light of her bed lamp as they embraced one another; her pulse raced and her breathing sped up and her palms grew sweaty. She then looked down at her palms, and to his, recognizing the lack of a forth finger in addition to the three others and a thumb that a human usually possessed. He was clearly not Quarian and was not a Geth for obvious reasons; he possessed too many fingers to be a Quarian, and he would be an animal, running on basic instinct if he was a Geth operating beyond the network that all Geth required to function properly. The mystery as to what he was only intensified her curiosity and the growing lust that she'd been repressing for weeks, trying to concentrate on the mission as she recruited her allies. She felt a growing burning between her thighs as she again followed the contour of his frame all the way to below his belt line and dirty thoughts began to fill her mind, contaminating her concentration. 'I'm going to need to lock myself in my private bathroom and instruct EDI to put up a sound barrier for at least an hour tonight…' she thought to herself, blinking rapidly, clearing her mind of her desires for now.
"Uh… well… as fun as it is sitting around and enjoying silence, I have business to attend to…" Shepard said in an uneasy voice. Zero nodded, taking a step back, reactivating the darkness as the lights went out in his corner of the hanger. She could see and hear nothing from the corner as she began to back away slowly, never taking her eyes from the darkness as she made her way back to the elevator. As the doors opened, EDI appeared and began to speak to Shepard as she continued to stare at the darkness on the far corner of the room.
"Shepard, Mr. Moreau has pin-pointed the exact location on the Border-world, Pandora, where the communication originated from, would you like for us to augment our current course to stop there?" EDI asked, her voice exactly as it always was.
"Yes, EDI, please do. I'd like to see this person in the flesh… And could you set up a sound barrier around my private quarters for the next several hours? I don't wish to be disturbed until we reach this new planet… You can leave my private terminal open to messages, but I would like to be left alone by the crew personally." Shepard replied, her cheeks growing warm with a slight blush, EDI registered this but decided to leave it for another time, preferably one when she had already developed a form of greater trust with the commander.
End Chapter 3: Important Information.
So, how was it, everybody? Did I impress you that had read the previous chapters written by the original creator? I'd love to hear how I did from all of you reading this, please send me some feedback and I'll happily reply as soon as I can!