The Cryonic Man
Chapter 8: Prejudices and Confessions Part 2
A bit of foreword
This is my first story so please no flames.
I do not claim ownership to the rights to Mass Effect or its characters (sadly only Bioware and EA can claim that).
I do however claim ownership of the characters I create
A reviewer asked me why I haven't done a chapter about John for a while. Simple answer, I now understand why most OC stories have the characters be inherently Ubermensch (I think I'm using that correctly). It's because writing an emotional story about a regular guy is not as fun as writing an overpowered self-insert story, not that I'm going to start doing that. I guess I enjoy writing action scenes so much and I know how to advance the plot with subtle divergences here and there, but after writing 12 chapters, I find myself running out of ideas as to where to go with all of this.
I find myself with a thousand and one ideas of how to diverge the story of Mass Effect 3 but very little for Mass Effect 2. Stuff like (spoiler warning) why Cerberus never used the cloning facilities they used to create another Shepard after using it once? So as such I'm scrapping doing chapters on most of the loyalty missions and just focusing on the 3 most important in my mind, a chapter to introduce Legion which might focus on John a bit more and an argument he has with Lia, and then the finale to finish this story of with a bang hopefully.
On that note, let's get started
"AHHHHHHHHHH," John screamed, jumping out of his bed before noticing something was off.
He was back in his apartment, in New York, back in the 21st century.
"What a strange dream," said John, "I dreamt I was in the future, and on this ship, the Normandy. And there was aliens, and robots, and AIs, and the Citadel, Illium. And…Lia."
John momentarily stopped pacing and talking to himself.
"But, was it a dream? No, it couldn't have been, I remember everything. It was so real, I remember working in the engine room with Kenneth and Gabby, I remember the the Council, I remember the restaurant, the pain of being shot in the chest, Lia confessed to being me. It can't be a dream, it just can't have," said John.
He lifted up his shirt and looked at himself in the mirror, but try as he might he didn't find any marks, no evidence that what had happened had been real.
"No, no, no, no," yelled John, banging his head against the wall as tears poked at his eyes, "No, it had to be real, it can't have been fake. Lia, I needed to tell her, I needed…I needed…"
He couldn't even finish his sentence, unable to accept that this was reality, that where he was now was real and everything he had gone through was a figment of his imagination. He decided to head out of his apartment and find something that proved this wasn't real.
He ran out of his apartment, not even looking up and kept running through the streets before finally stopping to take a breath, leaning against a stop sign. As he caught his breath he noticed something was odd once more. He heard no noise, no traffic, cars, bikes, or people. He fully looked around and realized, there was no one, not a single soul around.
"Where is everyone," John wondered aloud. The shops around the district were filled with light and yet they had no employees or customers. The cars along the street moved along the roadways, but without people driving them.
He grabbed a bike that was nearby and pedaled to the one place he thought to seek out. A singular Starbucks on a block filled with many, where he knew his friend Zevran worked. Yet, when he reached it, the lights were on and the doors were unlocked, but there was no one inside. John then took a closer look and headed inside. He saw something odd, cups lining up and a machine dispensing coffee and yet had no operator. To the right, on a counter, was hundreds of cups filled with coffee yet no costumers to drink them.
"What the hell is going on," John said and then exclaimed, "That's it, that's how this isn't real. Back in New York, machines operating on their own, no people. This absolutely must be a dream, I just have to wake up."
He then closed his eyes and concentrated as hard as he possibly could, and then opened his eyes. He was disappointed as he saw the sights of the coffee shop still around.
"Okay, I'll just try harder," said John, and tried again, and again, and again. It didn't work, nothing worked.
He then grabbed one of the cups of coffee and threw it at his face, only to yell loudly in pain.
"Still hot, still hot, still hot, still hot," he yelled over and over, and then ran to the bathroom and splashed some cold water on his face and washed off the coffee which lucky for him wasn't hot enough to cause any severe burns.
Once everything was situated, he took some time to look in the bathroom mirror.
"Why can't I wake up," he wondered.
3 days later
"How's the patient nurse," the asari doctor said, walking into the room.
"Fine, aside from a small spike in blood pressure a few hours ago just fine. And how many times do I have to tell you, I'm not a nurse, just a doctor's assistant," said the salarian nurse, er "doctor's assistant".
"When your job description doesn't include changing bedpans you can call yourself whatever you want. Any visitors?" said the doctor.
"No, just those two humans who come by every day, however there was an ahem questionable character that tried to come in a few hours afterwards, but I had to turn her away," said the nurse.
"Why would you do that, visiting hours don't end for another few hours?" said the doctor.
"Well…there was concern that her relationship with the patient was suspect, so I didn't let her in," said the nurse.
The doctor looked up from her charts and narrowed her eyes at the nurse, "If it was that quarian girl that was here when the patient was first brought in, and you turned her away, I will have you reported."
The nurse looked up and exclaimed, "You can't do that!"
"If there is concern that your prejudices will get in the way of your duties, then yes I can. If the girl is still out there, you better let her in, do you understand me," the doctor said, with a look that made the nurse tremble in fear.
"Y-Yes sir, er ma'am, er doctor," said the nurse, quickly exiting the room.
Meanwhile, back in John's head
John felt like he was going insane, minutes felt like hours, hours felt like days. He had tried every technique he could to wake up, nothing worked.
Running all over New York was the only thing keeping him sane. Clouds covered the sky at every moment, no night or day, despite the clocks all over showing the passage of time. Currently, he was sitting on the bank of some creek, trying to figure out what he was going to do next. It had felt like days since he had first woken up in New York. He didn't need to sleep, eat, drink, or anything else, only exist. It frustrated him to no end, having nothing to do but skip rocks across the creek. God he was bored. He slumped down and laid his arms across his knees after a while and then just shook his head.
"What's the point anymore, it's been days, weeks, months, hell I don't know. I'll be stuck here forever, hell it feels like it's been forever since I got here," said John, "It's just hopeless."
Whilst wallowing in his sorrow, he didn't notice the clouds overhead starting to break up. It was only after he saw the creek begin to almost shine from the reflection of the sun did he finally look up and noticed the clouds gone and the sun fully shone brightly. He then heard a soft voice.
John
"Wha? Where is that coming from," said John.
The voice began growing louder, so much so that John almost recognized it.
John
'"Lia," John questioned to the sky.
I love you, you idiot
He could almost hear her sadness. He frantically looked around but couldn't see her.
"Lia, where are you," yelled John, before looking at the sun again, seeing a beam of light pointed at one of the skyscrapers in town. He began running towards it, hearing Lia's voice grow louder in his ears.
John
John finally reached the building, and he saw her. Standing atop the roof with her arms wrapped around herself, was Lia, singing into the wind.
Please come back to me
"I'm coming Lia, I'm almost there," John yelled, running inside and running for the staircase.
"I'm almost there, hang on" said John, almost reaching the top.
"Lia, Lia, I'm…here," said John bursting through the door to the roof, only finding that there was nothing there. His hopes raised and quickly dashed was almost too much for him, and he collapsed on the ground.
"I know she was here, I heard her, I saw her, she was here," said John becoming angry yet again.
He picked up a rock laying on one of the vents on the roof and chucking it as hard as he could before collapsing to the ground.
"I heard her voice, she had to have been here. Or maybe I'm just going mad. Wait that can't be true because I'm still sane enough to know it."
He sat there not knowing what to do yet again, before noticing something off again. He looked up to the sky and saw that not only was the sun gone, but now the sky was even darker. There was a wind whipping around him that was slowly getting stronger with time.
He heard a loud crash and saw the buildings around him beginning to collapse around him. He ran up to the edge of the roof and looked down, seeing nothing but an endless abyss below him. He quickly backed away from the edge, only to feel the ground below him start to shake. He then noticed that the parts of the building behind him were starting to fall into the abyss below. He ran away from the crumbling parts of the structure only to find there was nothing left but the edge of the roof.
"What do I do, What do I do, what the hell do I do," yelled John.
"Jump" was the only option he could think of
"Not like I have very many options," said John, and he got up on the edge of the roof.
"Okay, don't look down. You'll get scared if you look down, so don't look down," thought John over and over…before looking down, "At least my bowel function has returned, and at the worst possible time."
"Holy crap this is high. Well, now or never I guess," said John before closing his eyes, jumping off the roof and falling into the abyss below. He opened his eyes and saw the debris of the buildings around him. He looked downwards and saw nothing but darkness below, feeling it encroach all over him again.
Dark, everything around him was just dark. He didn't understand what was going on, but he could hear sounds all around. The sounds were getting louder too, building to some kind of crescendo. Then all of a sudden the sound stopped. He became confused, "What's going on?" he wondered.
He realized he was once again somewhere else, this time something far more alien. The light around him grew to reveal a desolate wasteland, some sort of ruin.
He tried to walk but his legs refused to move. He saw movement in the distance of what looked to be a young alien child. None of the archives he had glossed over accurately described what race this child was. He looked similar in build to an asari, but male and with a light bluish-green skin color. That couldn't be right, asari were a mono gendered race he thought before seeing what looked like a mob running after the child.
They were traditional looking asari but far from the ones he had known. These asari looked feral, savage even, and were carrying spears and chanting something he could not understand. The young asari-like boy ran into his arms and cried as he held him. From what little he could make out the boy was calling out something similar to, "Father, please help." Unknowingly John's hands raised up and fired off a large biotic pulse towards the mob. John felt control leave him once more as his body led the boy towards a large pillar-like structure. "There is where we will be safe," he felt his mouth say.
John felt himself starting to run toward the tower but the mob was once again upon them as they took the boy once more. John was forced to watch as the mob of asari killed the boy chanting something that sounded like the pureblood must die. Reluctantly John left the sounds of screaming behind him and ran into the tower. The door shut behind him and once more he felt his vision cut to black.
"AHHHHHHHHHHH," yelled John, siting up in his bed, "Owwwwww," clutching his chest.
"Wait, tubes covering me, marks from the heat of the bullets on my chest, a view of Illium out the window. I'm in the hospital, in the future, and I'm alive," said John, "And my chest is completely on fire."
"Well, nice to see you're back in the land of the living," said the doctor, "You gave everyone quite the scare."
"Yeah. Wait, how long was I out," asked John.
"About a total of 3 days," said the doctor, "Your body went through quite the shock, not to mention having to adjust to the new implant."
"3 days…wait IMPLANT," said John.
"Yes, we had to place a new type of medical implant in one of your lungs in order to keep them working. You also lost a significant amount of blood. You're lucky to have recovered as fast as you did. Now then, you have a few people here waiting to see you," said the doctor.
"Lad, you're alright," said Kenneth, pulling him into a hug, causing John to yelp.
"I may be alive Kenneth but I'm still hurting from the bullets in my chest, can you please let go of me," said John through gritted teeth.
Kenneth let go of him and apologized, but now before Gabby smacked him in the head.
"Nice to see you're alright too John," said Gabby.
"Thanks guys," said John, giving them a smile, "Hey where's Lia?"
Kenneth and Gabby both turned their gaze away from his eyes, "Uh lad, no one has seen Lia since you were sedated by those nurses."
"But…wait, I could have sworn I had heard her earlier, are you sure she's not here with you guys?"
"It probably was you just dreaming John, Lia hasn't been here in 3 days," said Gabby.
The doctor then coughed and said, "Well, there was a quarian girl in here earlier. About a few hours before you two showed up," referring to Kenneth and Gabby.
"Are you sure it wasn't just Miss Zorah," said Kenneth.
"No, I believe her name was Vael something," said the doctor.
"Do you know where she went?" said John.
"No, I'm sorry I can't be more help," said the doctor.
"Well I'm going to find her," said John, getting up and ripping the tubes out of the various parts of his body and getting up to leave.
"Lad, I'm not sure that's such a good idea," said Kenneth, "You should stay and recover some more."
John winced slightly after getting up from the bed, "I spent three days in a medically induced coma thanks to the ineptitude of some of the nurses here, I'm not staying here another goddamn minute."
He pulled on some of the clothes that were left at his bedside, wincing slightly, but determined and he quickly left the building.
Gabby sighed at John's complete stubbornness but let him go.
"Anything else we need to know doctor," said Gabby.
"Yes, there are some schematics I need to give to your ship's medical officer. Make sure you run diagnostics every other week, and there shouldn't be any problems," said the doctor.
Gabby and Kenneth left the hospital and found John passed out on the ground.
"God my chest hurts," said John, muffled by the ground.
"Are you going to head back inside now," said Gabby.
"I would rather stick my arm in a dry blender than go back in there," said John, struggling to stand up.
"At least go back to the ship so that Tali and Doctor Chakwas can calibrate your implant," said Gabby.
"When I find Lia, I'll go back," said John, before clutching his chest again, "On painful retrospection, ship first then find Lia."
Sometime Later
"And that about finishes that up," said Doctor Chakwas, finishing the calibrations with Tali, "I must say I've never seen equipment like this. I'm actually quite impressed."
"Yeah well when they invent a medi-gun I'll be a lot more impressed. Thanks Doc, and thank you Miss Zorah. My chest doesn't hurt as much anymore at least," said John, "Where's Shepard by the way?"
"He's off on a mission with Miranda and Jack," said Tali.
"So we should be expecting news reports of widespread destruction and mayhem, and expect Jack, Miranda, or both to be coming back in a bad mood," said John, "Have either of you seen Lia?"
"The ship just recently got back from a mission so maybe she's in engineering," said Doctor Chakwas.
"No, I've been the only one in engineering for the day so far," said Tali.
"She could be anywhere by now," said John.
"Well you better find her quickly because after Shepard is finished with his mission, we'll be leaving for The Migrant Fleet," said Doctor Chakwas, causing Tali's head to dip slightly.
"I think I have a few ideas where she might be, do you think you can stall Shepard if he gets back before I do," said John.
"You have until the end of the day," said Doctor Chakwas.
"I better get going then," said John as he rushed out the door, "Sorry about that Mr. Frog Man," he also said after accidently running into Thane.
Later
"Okay I've checked the aquarium, I've checked with the restaurant, and no luck. Aside from the arboretum, there's no other place I can think to check," said John, stepping out of the cab and walking inside.
The vines obscuring the ladder to Lia's special place looked like they had been moved recently but he wasn't sure if that was because he had been here days earlier or Lia had been here a bit more recently.
"I know the doctor said I shouldn't strain myself, but what the hell," said John, starting the long climb up the ladder.
When he reached the top he found what looked like a sleeping bag and several spent tubes of nutrient paste.
"So she has been here recently, but she's not here now," said John, "Meaning either she will be coming back here or she's been staying here while the ship's been away and now is back at the ship. I swear to god if I've been just walking around for nothing, I'm going to end up punching somebody. Not Lia of course, just somebody. Maybe the prick waiter from that restaurant, or maybe Miranda. Yeah Yeah, I shouldn't punch women but I swear to god she has it coming. And I really need to stop talking to myself."
John walked over to the edge of the small platform and sat there staring at the sunset. He had never seen the sunset on an alien planet before. Come to think of it he hadn't seen a sunset in over 100 years. The ship had a day/night cycle which seemed to be set for Earth time, the Illusive Man hadn't apparently counted on any aliens being a part of the crew but that was too complex to think about. He didn't get to fully enjoy the sunset the first day he was here due to the fact he had to deal with having a few holes made in his chest. Sometimes it was just nice to enjoy the natural beauty of it all. While introspecting John thought about the other dream he had had in the hospital.
"I haven't had that dream in years, never really understood it before now. Guess I still don't. Last time it stopped was when I started having those dreams about Lia," said John.
"You were what about me," said a voice from the ladder.
John turned toward the sound and saw Lia climbing up the ladder.
"Lia, I finally found you," said John, wrapping his arms around her.
"Well I stopped by the hospital today and they said you had checked out, rather forcefully I might add," said Lia disentangling herself from his arms, "I went by the ship and Doctor Chakwas said you had gone looking for me and I thought you would end up here eventually."
"So I did end up going in a circle for nothing? Damn it, I should have stayed at the ship," said John, smacking himself in the head.
Lia laughed a bit and said, "So you're alright now?"
"Yeah, aside from being part robot now I seem to be in perfect health. How about you," said John.
"Fine, I'm just fine," said Lia, awkwardly.
John and Lia refused to meet each other's eyes, causing the awkwardness level of the current situation to rise exponentially.
Eventually John decided to make the first move and said, "Umm…So how about this weather?"
"I wouldn't know, my suit is temperature controlled," said Lia.
"Right, did not know that," said John.
"I know what you're trying to do John," said Lia, "You want to talk about what I said before that nurse injected you with sedative."
"Yes, thank you I had no idea how to bring it up," said John.
"I understand if you don't feel the same way," said Lia, lowering her head.
"Why would say that," said John, placing his finger underneath her visor.
"I…just forget it," said Lia.
"No, why would you think that I would reject you when I feel exactly the same way," said John, giving her a smile.
Lia's head snapped up and said, "I'm sorry my audio receptors must be malfunctioning, I believe I just heard you say something crazy like…."
"Lia, I'm saying that I care for you the same way you do for me. Is there something wrong with that," said John.
"I definitely heard you wrong you must still be loopy from the hospital sedatives. We best be getting back to the ship," said Lia as she turned to leave before John grabbed her arm, "Let go John."
"Lia, what's wrong? I thought you would be happy," said John.
Lia stood there, locked in place by John's grip for several seconds before replying, "If you're just trying to spare my emotions and pride…"
"Is that what you think I'm doing," said John.
"Well I don't feel the same for you. Okay, let go now," said Lia in a matter of fact tone like she was stating her favorite color, "Just forget what you heard at the hospital."
John refused to let her go and said, "No…I care for you and I know you feel the same way. I don't know why you accept my confession when I've accepted yours. Now treat me like an adult and tell me why you're trying to pretend I'm not telling you what you want to hear."
"Fine, if you must know you must be insane for liking me. I mean look at me, I'm a damn suit rat, a freak unable to show you affection. You don't even know what my face looks like and you just expect me to believe you actually care. You're an idiot, a huge idiot, no you're just a…a complete bosh'tet," she replied breaking free of his grip.
She didn't move and continued in her diatribe, "I can't kiss you, I can't feel your skin on mine because I'm trapped in this damned suit and you don't deserve that. You deserve someone who can do those things so please let's just go."
"That's it," said John.
"What," Lia questioned. She had poured out her heart and soul and that was his response.
(Cue "I don't want to set the world on fire" by The Ink Spots)
"Do you really think I'm that shallow and self-centered? If anyone here is the bosh'tet it's you. I'm just a bike messenger from New York with a penchant for electronics and you're acting like the universe should hand itself to me on a silver platter. "I'm not good enough for you, I can't show affection to you whenever you want" that is the reason why you're acting this way. Look at you, even with the suit you're beautiful, gorgeous even. I don't care what you look like under it because I know the person underneath. And she's a beautiful, selfless, girl who can turn some eezo, pipes and some leftover circuit boards into a warp drive. If anything I'm the one who's not good enough for you, and you don't see me wallowing in self-pity," said John, wrapping his arms around her waist, "I don't care about not being able to touch you whenever I feel like. I don't care what you look like under your mask, you could have a Predator face or be a plant that's achieved consciousness, I don't know but it wouldn't matter because I love Lia'Vael nar Ulnay both inside and out. And you can continue to deny it all you like but I'll keep saying it until you believe it."
Lia didn't say anything for several moments before resting her head on his chest and replying, "Say it one more time, please."
"I love you Lia, and that's the truth," said John.
She replied with a murmured, "I love you too, my handsome bosh'tet."
"So pity party over," said John.
"Yeah," said Lia with a slight laugh, "Now are you absolutely sure…."
"Yes," he yelled, "I love you."
"Just making sure," said Lia with a hidden smile.
"I get the feeling you just wanted me to say it again didn't you," said John with a raised eyebrow.
"I get the feeling…you're on to something," said Lia.
"Well, we best get back to the ship before they leave," said John.
"Can't we stay like this for a little while longer," said Lia, returning the hug.
"Was Shepard back when you went by," said John.
"Yeah," said Lia.
"Then no," said John, "But if you want to continue this later we can."
"Hmm, I guess," said Lia reluctantly breaking up the hug.
"C'mon I'll race ya," said John running for the ladder.
"And here I thought you said you wanted me to treat you like an adult," Lia said with a sigh before running off to join him.
Sometime later
By the time Lia and John got back to the ship something was going on. Standing in the middle of the commissary was Shepard and Miranda having what sounded like an argument but couldn't tell due to the crowd which had formed.
"What do you even see in that buckethead," said Miranda.
"That "buckethead" you're referring to is my girlfriend," said Shepard.
He had just come back from a mission to save Miranda's sister, and she had taken the opportunity to "thank" him personally. Her attempts had failed however once again, and the argument that ensued had spilled over into the mess hall where they were currently standing.
"What does she have that I don't," said Miranda.
"A personality for one," said Shepard.
"How can you like that damn suit rat over me," said Miranda.
"What did you just say," said Shepard.
"At least you can have me whenever you want. She would probably be too busy coughing and sneezing to even give you a damn blow," said Miranda.
All of a sudden she felt a tap on her shoulder before turning around and seeing John's fist meet her face.
"Anything that happens from this point onwards doesn't matter, that was so unbelievably worth it," said John.
"How dare you punch me," said Miranda.
"How dare you insult Miss Zorah? How dare you think that you're inherently superior to everyone? Why did your father design a sex doll with a British accent and more breasts than brains? These are the questions," said John.
"You want to go frat boy," said Miranda.
"Anytime and anywhere, you test-tube grown slut," said John.
"Alright break it up," said Shepard getting between the two, "John head to engineering."
"But Shepard…," said John.
"Now," replied Shepard, leaving no room for interpretation.
"Come on Shepard, let Desmond tear the cheerleader a new one," said take a wild guess.
But John had left the room already and had taken Lia with him.
"We need to have a very frank discussion Miranda," said Shepard.
Sometime later
"I have no idea why I did that," thought John as he lay in bed, "But who cares?"
Everyone had congratulated him for laying out the XO of the Normandy, Jack even said that he had earned her respect for doing something she should have done long ago. Lia, Gabby, and Jacob had all given him a stern talking to, but he had expected as much
"So I now have an alien girlfriend, I punched Miranda in the face, and earned the respect and admiration of my fellow crew. This is definitely the best day of my entire life."
John turned off his lamp and was about to fall asleep before he heard a knock at the door. He got up to answer it and found Lia standing there wringing her hands in nervousness.
"Erm, I wanted to ask something. Umm, I know you only allowed it because I was drunk and had nowhere else to go the first time but I was wondering if…," said Lia, letting the subject hang in the air.
"You want to sleep with me," said John, eyebrow raised.
"Yes….I mean no, no, not in that way I just meant I would enjoy it if…," said Lia.
"Don't worry, I know sleep together doesn't always mean birds and bees are involved. Sure, if you feel alright about it but I must warn you that I do snore," said John.
"I can just turn off my audio receptors," said Lia.
"Alright then," said John, and he and Lia both got into his bed. Lia was above the covers and as far away from John as possible while still facing him, so John reached over wrapped his arms around her waist. The action earned him a slight meep from her, before she returned the embrace hesitantly.
"Hmm…feels a lot softer than last time," said John.
"I removed the armor plating of my suit," said Lia.
"Good to know, good night Lia," said John, before closing his eyes.
"Good night," said Lia.
The next morning was rough on everyone except for John and Lia. John had extracted himself from the nightly embrace and went out to the showers and let Lia sleep. On the way, he passed Miranda who gave him the stink eye which John returned in kind. As Miranda walked into the female showers, John got a fun idea, and pulled out his Omni-tool.
"Hey John, what're you doing," said Kasumi appearing right next to him.
"Morning Kasumi, just hacking into the water temperature control systems," said John.
"Isn't Miranda taking her shower right now," said Kasumi, unseen eyebrow raised.
"Is she now, didn't notice," said John.
"How did you accomplish that," said Kasumi.
"Well since I work in engineering and know most of the systems inside and out I can easily hack into anything on this ship so it was a simple matter of….," John was saying before he realized that Kasumi had disappeared before reappearing a second later carrying some very peculiar objects.
"Sorry had to take care of something, what were you saying," said Kasumi.
"Is that Miranda's catsuit," said John.
"Yep," said Kasumi.
"And her undergarments and towel," replied John.
"What of it," said Kasumi.
"I could just kiss you, you know that," John said in response.
"Even though you and Lia are now an item," said Kasumi.
"I'm not going to ask how you know that because I'm pretty sure you would kill me after telling me. Besides I'm sure she would understand, given the situation. By the way, would you tell some of the crew to meet me in the mess hall and tell them we're planning a surprise? Also would you tell them that the women's showers are temporarily out of order while I sort out this faulty temperature control problem," asked John.
"T'would be my honor and privilege Desmond-san," Kasumi, disappearing once more.
"Scratch what I said yesterday, this is the best day of my life," thought John, before turning the showers arctic cold and hearing the screams from inside.
Author's Note
1. Reviews are appreciated and any help anyone is willing to offer is very appreciated.
2. I'm having a few difficulties writing a new story summary to make it sound more enticing for people to read so if anyone has any ideas feel free to send me a PM
FINAL ANNOUNCEMENT
Remember that idea I had for Mass Effect: Conspiracies or whatever the hell I was going to call it, it's been a while since I've written so I don't remember. Well… I don't think I can do it. I'm working so hard to finish this story so I can start on the sequel that I don't have time to do it.
So here's what the basic plot outline would have been:
Kaidan launches an investigation into corruption in the council with the help of Anderson and Valern (The Salarian Councilor). While investigating, Kaidan comes across a Cerberus cell on the Citadel in a part of the ruins which has yet to be rebuilt as well as making the discovery that one of the councilors has been blackmailed to downplay the Reaper Threat as well as provide intel on an unknown space station built during the time of the Protheans. The Councilor was eventually revealed to be Tevos, who gave Cerberus what they wanted in exchange for her daughter's continued safety. Before Kaidan and Executor Palin can place Tevos under arrest she is shot and maimed by an unseen assassin who, after leading Kaidan on a chase, is revealed to be Sparatus who after coming into contact with a piece of Sovereign, had become indoctrinated, but still stubbornly holds onto the belief that the Reapers are just a myth. He reveals he shot Tevos for fear that she would admit that the Reapers were real in interrogation and that the Cerberus cell that Kaidan destroyed were a group of corrupt C-Sec officers that he used to strong-arm Tevos into being quiet about the Reapers. Regardless of their past grievances, Kaidan attempts to reach the Councilor and pleads with him to see what he has become but it is all for naught as the Councilor's sanity is too far gone after two years of indoctrination. Convinced that Kaidan means to upset the Galactic peace that he has worked so hard to achieve, in reality keeping the masses ignorant so the Reapers would invade into an unknowing and unprepared galaxy, Sparatus attempts to kill Kaidan, and after a climactic battle Sparatus almost falls off a nearby platform but is saved by Kaidan . After being pulled into custody but released by Valern and Anderson, he tells him the tale which Valern is forced to accept is true. Convinced that keeping people in the dark is no longer an option, Valern calls a press conference….
"My fellow races, I come to you as a bearer of bad news. As of right now, I Councilor of the Salarian people, am resigning from my position effective immediately. But before I leave I must confess a long held secret that has been kept from all of you. Two years ago, on this very day, the Citadel was attacked by former Spectre Saren Arterius and an army of geth. Had it not been for the actions of Humanity in general and the Alliance in particular, the Destiny Ascention as well as hundreds of lives would have been lost, including the lives of the Council itself. However, in our haste to maintain peace after the invasion, we ignored the warnings of the man who made the call to save us. In doing so, we soiled his legacy and allowed the public to be ignorant of the threat we will soon face. Commander Shepard warned us all that the Reapers were still out there, and the truth is…he was right. Sovereign was not a geth construct as we, The Council, had told the public, but a scout for the Reapers. There are others out there, some possibly stronger than Sovereign himself. I urge the people of this galaxy to prepare for the worst threat that this galaxy may ever face. However, as I have allowed the corruption of my colleagues to run rampant, and given the recent events that have occurred, I have no choice to resign from the Council effective immediately and can only hope my successor can do a far better job than I did."
"What happens now," said Kaidan to Valern, "What will you do?"
"I have a shuttle waiting for me right now. I'll be returning to Sur'Kesh to plead with the Dalatrasses (fun fact: there are actually hundreds of Dalatrasses for varying areas of Salarian space, the one from Mass Effect 3 is just the most powerful) to put research into the Reapers, maybe we can find some way to combat their weapons. We won't have a lot of data to work with but it's better we find something," said Valern.
"Any idea who your successor will be, or for any of the other councilors," asked Anderson.
"I know a Dalatrass named Esheel has been gunning for my position ever since I was elected so she will probably get it. We might not always see eye to eye but she is a good woman, willing to put Salarian interests aside for the galaxy as a whole. The lines of succession are clear for the Turian Hierarchy, next in line is a former general named Quentius. Never met him in person but I've heard he's a good man, actually speaks out against Turian actions against humanity and believes in Galactic harmony. Good person to have on your side in the struggles ahead, I would say. I don't know who Tevos replacement will be but I have a few ideas, there's a young upstart who's been making waves by the name of Irissa. I met her once during a visit to Thessia, she's not exactly someone you want as an enemy," said Valern.
"Well, I guess this is goodbye Councilor," said Kaidan, holding out his hand.
Valern took it, "It's just Valern now, but thank you all the same Kaidan. It's been a pleasure to work with you and you as well Captain Anderson. But before I leave, and before my resignation is finalized, I'd like you to have something. Kaidan, you sought out the truth in the most trying of times, and showed valor, courage, and wisdom in dealing with the circumstances surrounding the investigation. That's why it is mine and Anderson's belief that you have proven yourself worthy of joining the SPECTREs."
"I-I couldn't possibly," said Kaidan out of surprise.
"Go on, take the position. You deserve it Alenko," said Anderson.
"But after Horizon," Kaidan tried to say.
"Horizon was not your fault Kaidan, we should have listened to Shepard about the human colony attacks," said Valern, "Please don't let my last act as a Councilor go to waste."
"I-I accept sir," said Kaidan, saluting the Councilors.
"Good luck to you both," said Valern, heading off to the shuttle.
That was the planned conclusion to the story, if you want to take a crack at writing the full story I'll make it a "story challenge" like the authors who are better than me do.
I don't know how long the next chapter will take maybe a day, maybe more.
Next Chapter: Shepard Interlude 4: Tali's Trial and Shepard's Origins