Ever have that feeling that something is going to explode in your face without prior warning? Yeah... Having that feeling right now.
A pack was slung over Shepard's right shoulder, her hand continually zipping and unzipping the pack as her other hand lightly taps her lower abdomen. There she stands with her weird quirks, dressed in her Alliance blues and standing at the end of the military dock. "Beautiful ship", she says aloud as she takes in the view. It was a small cruiser-class ship. From the shape and size of it, she figured it was probably used for infiltration and recon. The peculiar shape of the bow and hull must have been used for quick, tactical maneuvers; any other ship attempting spins or turns this ship could pull, would have been undoubtedly pelted with space dust, ruining their shields or jamming their engines and in chaotic situations; both. Two fuel depots jut out of the top of the ship. Easy target, she thinks. A closer look reveals concealed javelin missile launchers buried in the bottom side of the hull. Four mass effect pulse jets stand from far behind the cruiser; they would be a boon for quick relay and jumps and pulse acceleration. The ship, as she read from its report, was Council-Alliance funded. It would receive free fuel from any Alliance or Council controlled depot without question. In addition, it could land in any port or dock and receive full hospitality; they could stay as long as they saw fit, and the port would accommodate them. The only requirement that they didn't cover was food or weapons; one of which was expected to have already been owned by the Alliance spec ops teams, elite Council operatives or in this case- N7 operatives. Food supplies could be bought at a discounted price from the Citadel; other than those issues, everything else was usually handed to the crew of a cruiser like this... of the Normandy.
"Commander Shepard", a familiar voice says.
She turns on her heel and gives a non-wavering salute, "Captain Anderson. Good to see you, sir."
Anderson shakes his head incredulously, "Shepard this isn't a military assignment. It's an N7 operation. No need for rank formality", he says, shaking Shepard's hand. He gestures for Shepard to follow along as he turns and heads for the docking tube, "How's little Anderson Shepard treating you?"
"We don't even know if it's a boy, sir, and I think it might be in our best interest to not call it that; people will think it's yours."
"I figured you were going to name it after me; I did get you into the N7 after all", he jokes. "But in all honesty, I apologize for calling you out here. It was important, and you're the best damn tactician that has served under me."
"What does my tactical capability have to do with this operation? Isn't it just a shakedown run?" She asks as they enter the airlock.
"Decontamination in progress..." The Normandy's VI announces nonchalantly. A bar of white light comes appears out of the far end of the wall and slowly approaches as the docking tube door closes.
"It's classified now. I'll tell you more later; right now we're heading to Earth to pick up some of the crew members."
The bar of light dissipates as the airlock door opens with a hiss, revealing the dimly blue lit cockpit, "Decontamination complete. Logged: Commanding Officer is on the deck. XO Pressly stands relieved".
"Combatants?" She asks as they walk past the pilot who had rotated his seat to introduce himself dramatically but was disregarded as the duo didn't even look in his direction.
"Two of them. I'll forward the dossiers to you; you can look over them when you have the time. I'm also giving you the Normandy's blueprints so you won't get lost", he says as they both pass through the CIC nodding in acknowledgment of the crew member's salutes, opening the door to the staircase and descending down it.
Shepard's neon green holographic omni-tool appears around her forearm as she gives the command to do such through neural implants, "That'd be embarrassing, sir."
They proceeded to tour around the ship, memorizing every curve, edge, and corner it came with. They made a stop by the sick lab and introduced themselves to the doctor there.
"Captain. Commander. It's an honor", the gray-haired woman says, shaking their hands firmly.
"Likewise; Shepard, this is Doctor Karin Gayle Chakwas, she's the Normandy's head medical personnel-"
"And only medical personnel, I might add", she interjects, eliciting an apologetic smile from Anderson. Shepard didn't understand why he wasn't scolding her or lecturing her for interrupting him. If it was Shepard in that position, she would have told her upfront that she needs to address her military-style. She disagreed with the way Anderson handled Chakwas, but kept it to herself.
"Right. Sorry to leave you understaffed."
"It's alright. If you've seen my service record, you'd know that I'm quite capable on my own."
"That you are. If you'll excuse us, we need to continue our 'tour'". The two turn once again.
"Of course, Captain. And Commander. Feel free to come to me for any health concerns you have. My door is always open." Anderson must have told her about the pregnancy.
"Will do, but I don't expect to have any complications within the next twenty-four hours", she says as they walk from the sick lab.
"Captain Anderson?" A voice over the intercom brings itself to their attention, "Uh- a Turian 'guest' is here asking for you. Do I let him in or do I tip the ship while he's in the airlock?"
"Let him in, Joker, I'm expecting him."
"Yes sir. Final preparations for take-off are set- should we go?"
"Take us to Earth." Anderson commands before turning to Shepard, "I have to see to our guest. Your locker is right behind you, I suggest you stow your stuff away and go through those dossiers. By the time you're done, we'll probably be landing on Earth."
"Yes sir." She salutes as the captain turns and briskly walks away. She opens her locker. The door slides away and reveals a roomy space for her luggage. She kneels to the ground and unzips her pack. First comes out her pistol, Faith, as her mother called it. She secured it onto the latch in the back of the locker before continuing to unpack. A light N7 Onyx armor that is neatly folded is next, and after that is a device that is built into an under suit, its wires and electronic veins show visibly on the surface. When activated by neural command, it would instantly produce a one-way kinetic, holographic armor that sends out a tech pulse when it has taken enough damage. Tech armor, the creators call it. She doubts she will need it on a shakedown run, but one thing the Alliance has taught her over and over is that you must always be prepared. She stows it and the rest of her pack; a few other sets of Alliance blues, transmitter (with a translator application stored in it) which she quickly stuck in her ear, pre-natal vitamins, a toothbrush... and her blood-stained scissors. She quickly tossed in her scissors into the back before cramming her empty pack in as well.
She shuts her locker and stalks over to the table. She pulls out the chair, sits down, brings up her neon green omni-tool and opens the blueprints. She saw herself in the middle of the ship; the mess. She saw the sick lab, the captain's quarters, the sleeper pod hall, the CIC, the comm. room, cockpit, across from the elevator, in-between the staircases stood the sparring room/ bathroom, down the elevator stood the drive core, and the armory. Big ship, she thinks as she now opens the dossiers.
A picture of a thirty-or-so-looking man pops up. He is tall, muscular, and healthy. His face is extremely defined. His jaw is wide; his cheekbones compliment his kind mahogany eyes.
Kaidan Alenko
Kaidan Alenko has a continually successful tour of duty as well as a long list of accolades, medals, awards, ribbons, merits and recommendations.
Kaidan is a Sentinel, an L2. He experiences frequent migraines that leave him exhausted. Offered a L3 implants but he continually refuses, saying that "Power comes at a price."
He is very committed to just about anything he puts his mind to. He is Intelligent, inspired, confident and loyal. He's very open and social, which can be a bad thing in the Alliance military, though the recruits and squad mates seem to look up to him as an ideal warrior.
He, like so many others, favors certain types of attacks. They are as follows:
Reave.
Overload.
Neural shock.
Warp field.
Weapon training:
Pistol (Expert)
Preferred armor:
Light-medium.
End of dossier
She instantly respects the man. Not a lot of people are willing to sacrifice comfort for power. She never really liked social people though, especially when they're "open" like Kaidan apparently is. She felt like those kinds of people always tried to befriend her; they'd send her cards, messages, and the occasional birthday gift, all of to which she never replied back in any way other than to return the gift. She didn't want a friend and she didn't need one. Maybe Kaidan would keep to himself during this mission. Hopefully. Don't need any more cards in the mail, she thinks as she opens the next dossier.
A picture of a boy who couldn't have been more than twenty-three popped up. He is short, thin, and smiles goofily at her through the picture. His childish blue eyes probably haven't even seen a girl naked. She could only imagine what he'll think when he takes his first life...
Richard Jenkins
Richard is new to the battlefield and as such, has no military experience apart from boot camp. The Alliance wouldn't generally send a boy like this on an N7 assignment, but his parents, Mark and Olivia Jenkins who are eccentric millionaires, requested that he come along. Needless to say, that request came along with a "donation" to the Alliance military.
He is reckless, idealistic, naive, immature and corruptible.
He is trained in assault rifles and assault rifles only. He is not experienced so we ask that you take care of him should an emergency take place.
Preferred armor:
Light.
End of dossier
Shepard buries her face in her hands and groans. She was already dreading meeting up with him. The boy would undoubtedly ask her questions nonstop. She just hopes this mission will not last long.
She feels the sudden feeling of falling throughout her form. They had just jumped through a Mass Relay and were probably going to arrive anytime. She made her way to the cockpit, jogging upstairs quickly as they start to descend into Earth's atmosphere.
"Hey you must be Shepard!" The pilot nearly screams.
"Commander Shepard, pilot." She reminds him.
"Well I just wanted to say that-"
"Just land us. I want to finish this as quickly as possible."
"Geez, who pissed in your coffee?"
"Excuse me?"
"That's enough out of both of you. The crew should be waiting at the dock. Take us in." Anderson says.
"Oh do go on", chimes an unfamiliar voice. Shepard looks to her right and sees a dark red Turian with emerald eyes and white clan paint. "I was getting so entertained... Let me introduce myself. My name is Nihlus Kryik, special tactics and reconnaissance."
"A Spectre?" She asks. She turns her attention back to Anderson, "I don't like being kept in the dark, sir."
"We're heading to Eden Prime, commander. I can tell you more soon."
"A Spectre on a shakedown run to a backwater colony?" This was turning out to be something bigger than she imagined. A Spectre, an N7 operative, one recommended Alliance solider, a Human-Council funded ship and the famous Captain Anderson all brought together into one assignment? This was more than a shakedown run. She knew it.
"Are you questioning the Captain?"
"No sir."
"The Arcturus Prime relay is in range. Initiating transmission sequence."
Shepard walks briskly from the comm room, clad in her N7 Onyx. Jenkins brushes by her, "Commander".
"We are connected. Calculating transit mass and destination."
She passes by Pressly who nods to her.
"The relay is hot. Acquiring approach vector."
To the cockpit she walks.
"All stations secured for transit."
She stands by Nihlus as the beautiful blue majesty that was the Mass Relay swiftly grew closer and closer.
"The board is green. Approach run has begun."
A tendril of blue energy shoots out and envelops the Normandy instantly simulating the feeling of falling.
"Hitting the relay... 3... 2... 1..."
And just as quickly as they had approached, were shot into another star cluster at speeds unimaginable to the most imaginative poet. A speed that still baffles the brightest scholars even to this very day. A speed that even surpasses light itself.
The falling feeling disappear as the stars that raced by the windows start to slow down.
"Thrusters... check. Navigation... check. Internal heat emissions sink engaged. All systems online. Drift... just under 1500 K."
"1500 is good. Your captain will be pleased", Nihlus says as he turns on his heel and leaves.
"...I hate that guy", says the pilot when he believes the Spectre is out of earshot.
Kaidan, who has been sitting in the co-pilot seat speaks, "Nihlus gave you a compliment... So you hate him?" He asks.
Shepard stood there, masking herself in an uninterested, indifferent expression as they continued.
"You remember to zip up your jumpsuit on the way out of the bathroom? That's good. I just jumped us halfway across the galaxy and hit a target the size of a pinhead. So that's incredible! Besides, Spectres are trouble. I don't like having them on board. Call me paranoid."
"You're paranoid. The Council helped find this project. They have a right to send someone to keep an eye on their investment."
"Yeah, that is the official story. But only an idiot believes the official story."
"You're over thinking this. And it's apparent you haven't studied the Turian hierarchy; they don't give compliments out easily. You have to earn it", says Shepard.
"Not everyone's superior like you, Shepard", he mocks.
Kaidan stays silent as the tension between Joker and Shepard rises at a quickening pace. She grabs the back of his chair and whips him around to face her, "I don't think you understand the chain of command, pilot", she growls.
"Geez don't bite me."
The Commander's face turned red as she is about to whip this idiot into line. Who the hell taught this pilot subordination? Whoever they are, they ought to be disappointed.
"Joker! Status report."
"Just cleared the Mass Relay, captain", he says as he ignores the person who can make his life a living hell. "Stealth systems engaged. Everything looks solid."
"Good. Tell Shepard to meet me in the comm room for a debriefing."
"Get that, Shepard?" He smirks.
She stays there, looming above him before she catches Kaidan staring at her. She makes eye contact with him a split second before he snaps his head back torward the monitor.
She give Joker one last glare before turning and heading for the comm room.
Joker spins his seat back towards his own monitor, "..Jesus", he breathes.
The short trek to the comm room proved to be more difficult between Pressly's complaining and Jenkin's annoying questions; one of which was if he was a part of an N7 mission, did that make him an N7 operative. Shepard had to slowly explain to him that the answer is no and then she had to back it up when he would ask if she was sure. It was like babysitting a kid.
She continues to the comm room with her hand on her stomach, God, please don't end up like that, she thinks loudly, hoping her growing child would understand.
"You wanted to see me, captain?" She asks as she walks in on the two men.
"Yes. It's about time I tell you what's really happening, Commander. As you known, this is far more than a simple shakedown run. On Eden Prime, our colonists have discovered a Prothean beacon"
"Prothean? I guess we're here to bring it to the Citadel Council? That'd explain why we have an agent here." Says Shepard.
"Actually, Commander", the Spectre draws closer, "that's only half of it. I'm here to test your capabilities. Captain Anderson and I have recommended you for Spectre candidacy."
"You both put my name forward? Why me?" She asks, "There's got to be someone who's stronger than me out there."
Anderson nods his head, "Undoubtedly. But I have yet to see anyone beat you in tactics. Spectres are more than just strength."
"It'll be enlightening to see you in action, Shepard. The word of what you did on Elysium reached Palaven."
"Captain Anderson! Sir you're going to want to see this!" Says Joker over the intercom. The screen in the back of the room lights up, static covers it completely before it breaks and reveals Eden Prime. People scream in anger, fear, retaliation or in desperation. Shepard couldn't tell which. A man talks desperately to the screen, demanding evac as gunfire roars in the background. A woman clad in heavy Phoenix armor comes tackles him from behind, "Get down!" She screams as a carnage soars through the through the air and through the exact place they were just moments ago. The woman grabs the screen and brings it to her face, "WE NEED EVAC NOW!"
The feed cuts out.
All three of them stand there in shock. Anderson comes to the realization and turns to Shepard, "Get Kaidan and Jenkins suited up. We need to be there now!" He commands, "Move, solider, move!"
Pre-notes:
How did I do this all in one day? I'm sorry. I lied. I said that this would wait, but after I got five reviews and three followers all in the same hour of uploading there was no way I could not update. It was amazing. Thank you so much. It means a lot.
As you can see, I've changed very few things around in this chapter. I have a lot more plans I'm going to follow up on in the future. I really love the feedback I'm getting. It's so awesome! I wish you guys had actual accounts, that way I could thank you over PM!
So thank you once again. Review. Follow. Like my page on Facebook (Mass Effect by Celestiallight) so you can see my inspiration and concept art I leave around there.
P.s. For those of you who were wondering, Shepard was inseminated clinically so she could have a baby. I have big plans for that baby-AHAHAHAHAHAohyes.
Goodnight, you guys!
Love,
CelestialLight1117