Author's note: Hey guys! Sorry it took a while to get this chapter up. First I had to go get a part-time job, and then I had to fix the first chapter as it was written in a format that's not covered in the guidelines. If you haven't seen the updated chapter, please do so. Anyway, here's Chapter 2!
I do not own Mass Effect or Legend of Zelda.
Chapter 2: Complication
In the small sloped cockpit of a prototype stealth frigate, two men worked on orange holographic displays, while two armored figures stood behind them. One was clearly alien, given his three fingered hands, arched feet, and chitinous shell covering his face. The other was red haired woman with green eyes, staring ahead with a stern expression on her face. Both stood silently as the pilot and copilot ran diagnostics on the ship's first flight through a Mass Relay.
"Thrusters, check. Navigation, check. Internal emission sink engaged. All systems online. Drift…just under 1500 K." stated the pilot, identified by his position in the cockpit and his dark blue hat.
"1500 is good." The turian commented. "Your captain will be pleased."
With that, the heavily armored turian turned and walked across the small hallway linking the cockpit to the rest of the ship. Once he was out of earshot, the pilot finally commented on their guest.
"I hate that guy."
His copilot, a dark haired man, raised an eyebrow in confusion.
"Nihilus gave you a compliment," he said, "…so you hate him."
"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!" The pilot retorted. "Besides, Spectres are trouble. I don't like having them on board. Call me paranoid."
"You're paranoid. The Council funded this project; they have the right to send someone to keep an eye on their investment." The copilot explained.
"Yeah, that is the 'official' story," the pilot said sarcastically "…but only an idiot believes the official story."
At this the woman finally spoke.
"I agree. They don't send Spectres on shakedown runs." She said.
"So there's more going on here than the captain is letting on-" the pilot said just before the comm. unit went off.
"Joker! Status report." An authoritative voice commanded.
"Just cleared the Mass relay, Captain. Stealth system's engaged. Everything looks solid." Joker stated.
"Good. Find us a comm. buoy and link us into the network. I want mission reports relayed back to Alliance brass before we reach Eden Prime." The captain ordered.
"Aye aye, Captain. Better brace yourself, sir. I think Nihilus is headed your way. " The pilot warned.
"He's already here, Lieutenant." At that, the pilot shook his head slightly as the captain continued. "Tell Commander Shepard to meet me in the comm. room for a debriefing."
"You get that, Commander?" Joker asked.
The woman nodded once, a slightly concerned expression on her face.
"He sounds angry. Something must have gone wrong with the mission." She said before walking away.
"Pff. Captain always sounds like that when he's talking to me." Joker said.
The copilot rolled his eyes slightly.
"I can't possibly imagine why."
Halfway down the hallway, Commander Jane Shepard met a young looking officer with dirty blond hair and fiery blue eyes. A small smile came across her face as she addressed the officer.
"Hello, Link."
Xxxxxxxxxx
First Lieutenant Link saluted toward his commanding officer, and then moved aside as Shepard continued on to her destination. He then headed for the cockpit, wanting to talk to the others currently stationed there. On his approach, Joker turned around and saw him.
"Hey, there's my favorite lieutenant," He exclaimed before turning back to the console. "How are the medieval times treating you?"
Link sighed at the joke, while Staff Lieutenant Kaidan Alenko turned to Joker, slightly annoyed.
"Would you cut that out? It gets old after hearing it a dozen times." Kaidan said.
"Well, how many people do you see running around with an Omni-Sword in their hand?" Joker asked rhetorically.
"Lots of soldiers and mercenaries carry around a melee weapon." Kaidan stated.
"Yeah, knives or daggers, not an actual SWORD!" Joker emphasized before turning back to Link. "Face it, man. You're the only one crazy enough to swing a sword around like an actual knight!"
At this, Link turned on his omnitool and began typing in it. Shortly after, a male synthetic voice came out.
"And yet I'm still alive."
This text-to-voice program was one of few ways Link could actually communicate, due to his inability to speak. No one knew the reason behind it, as his records (despite the irregularities in relation to the average human) showed no defects. As far as Link could remember, he hadn't been able to utter a single intelligible word, no matter how hard his mother tried. The mere mention of his mother brought a sudden pang of sadness, but he suppressed it before the others noticed. His past was something he'd rather not have a discussion on.
"He has a point. It may be unusual, but he knows when and how to use an Omni-Sword. People don't become war heroes by simply rushing head on without some sort of plan or common sense." Kaidan explained.
"Nah, 'cause then they would be either zombies…or just plain idiots. Personally, I 'd go for the zombie theory." Joker added.
Intent on changing the subject, Link asked about the status of the ship.
"Everything's good. Drive core is stable, all systems are online. Smooth sailing from here…unless this isn't just some simple shakedown run." Joker said.
"Oh no. Don't start that again." Kaidan sighed.
"What? It's obvious something is up. Even the Commander knows it. If this is just some field test for the Normandy, why would there be a Council Spectre onboard?" Joker asked.
Link pondered that for a moment. It definitely seemed strange, especially since Spectres normally deal with issues that could devastate the entire galaxy. A simple shakedown run is hardly considered a potential galaxy-changing assignment, unless…
The console beeped, drawing everyone's attention away from the discussion. Joker tapped a few buttons, opening up a screen.
"It's an emergency transmission…from Eden Prime." Joker stated.
Kaidan and Link glanced at each other, slightly concerned, for a moment before looking back at the screen. A video was displayed, showing intense combat between local marines and an unknown force. As the video came to an end, the trio caught a glimpse of a massive object hovering above the planet's surface, its design a foreboding mystery.
"What the hell was that?" Kaidan asked, slightly in shock.
Rather than answer, Joker opened up a connection to the comm. room.
"Captain, we've got a problem," He exclaimed.
"What's wrong, Joker?" The captain asked.
"Transmission from Eden Prime, sir. You better see this." Joker said, with slight dread in his voice.
Link quickly turned around and headed back down to the cargo hold. He didn't need to have a Codex to know that the strange ship in the video was nothing but trouble. It gave off a malicious aura, inciting fear on those that stood against it. Whether or not it was the reason for the Turian Spectre's presence on the Normandy, one thing was for certain…
This mission just got a lot more complicated.
A/N: What do you think? Too much game dialogue? Too short of a chapter? Review and let me know what I need to fix.
P.S. If you had read my previous story, the Reaper that Link faces does have a name now. Go check it out if you're curious.
Thanks for reading!