Sarah stepped out of the Normandy, and saw Ashley and Kasumi standing there. "I take it you're feeling the effect of the final battle too, Kas?"
"Yeah. Figured you'd need some more help this time 'round so I picked up some extra backup."
Ashley said, "Shepard."
"Williams." the Commander said, looking around, "How are you doing, Kasumi?"
"Pretty well. Ready to kick Hock's ass whenever you are. Then we've got a suicide mission to do."
"Suicide mission!" Ashley said, "I was not informed that there was going to be a suicide mission."
"Don't worry. We won't be losing anyone."
"That's what you said last time, Shep." Kasumi said.
"This time I'm not going to fuck it up."
"So, you're actually going to catch her?"
"I'm going to make so that I don't have to."
"How? Just blow up the Omega 4 like you did the Alpha?"
"Wait, what?" Ashley said.
"Easy, Kas. She isn't being influenced by that last effort like we have been." Sarah said, as Mordin and Thane stepped off the Normandy, apparently discussing the best ways to kill krogan.
"So, lose any squadmates yet, Shepard?" Ashley asked.
"Not yet."
"Well, what are we waiting for, let's get this party started."
"First have to deal with politicians. Might assassinate Udina, that way that fucker can't sell us out to Cerberus." Shepard said, looking around.
"What?" Ashley said.
"Udina is going to sell us out to Cerberus so they can board the Citadel, and almost kill the Council."
"More magical bullshit knowledge, Shepard?"
"Actually," Miranda said as she exited the Normandy, "as Dark Energy weapons do create space-time distortions, it is entirely possible that one so powerful that it released all of the power of the mass relay network could create a distortion large enough to enable a form of time travel."
"Wouldn't that create paradoxes that destroy the universe?" Ashley asked.
"Well, time travel is an unexplored science, so we don't know what would happen. We haven't exactly had the means of doing so until now. Or, about a year from now." Miranda said, looking around.
"What's wrong, Miranda?" Sarah asked.
"It appears the Illusive Man did not appreciate your killing Leng."
"Why?"
"He's here in person. With an escort." Miranda said pointing at a grey haired man with a pair of dark glasses completely hiding his eyes. Behind him were four soldiers.
She walked over to him, and asked, "What the fuck are you doing here, Jack?"
"I don't know what you're talking about, miss. You must have me mixed up with someone else."
"Don't try to fool me, I know you're the Illusive Man, the head of Cerberus."
"Cerberus? Isn't that the pro-human terrorist group who killed an Alliance Admiral a couple of years back?"
"Oh cut the act. I know who you are. And, if you aren't the Illusive Man, why do you hide your eyes and have an armed escort?"
"I fought those damn turians in the First Contact War. They captured me and cut out my eyes. I use these glasses to hide what they did to me."
"Oh really? Why do I get the idea that you're lying? Oh, maybe the fact that you stink of cigarette smoke, hide your eyes, have short grey hair, an asshole suit, an armed escort, and the fact that if your eyes really were torn out, you could have gotten replacements for a small fee. And trust me, I know that you could, Jack. Because my father lost his eyes in it. Alliance replaced them for free."
"Your father, Commander, was an N7 marine. I was just a ground soldier, no special training. They didn't need me after I lost my eyes."
"Quit the crap. I know Alliance protocol better than anyone. They do what it takes to keep soldiers fighting, especially after events like what happened to you according to your story. So, just cut the lie, and tell me the truth, why are you here, Jack?"
He sighed, and said, "Fine. I'm here because you killed one of my best agents. I want you to return his corpse that way he can be restored as you were."
"That can't be done. It was too severely damaged."
"You were too severely damaged according to most."
"Well, when we killed him we happened to shoot him out the airlock. We don't know where it is."
"You mean his corpse is somewhere between Illium and the Citadel? And you have no idea where?"
"Yes."
"You really are a pain in the ass, Shepard. I should have left you dead."
"Probably, seeing as I'm going to destroy Cerberus."
"Are you really stupid enough to say that to my face?"
"Not stupid. Because, whether or not you want to admit it, you need my help. If you try to stab me in the back, they'll quit working for you."
"So, you think that just because you saved Miranda's sister that she is more loyal to you than to Cerberus? We've kept her safe from her father for years."
"He just couldn't care less." Shepard replied.
"What do you mean?"
"He has other ventures that are proving more profitable than cloning daughters. So, he quit even trying until recently he was flat-out told where Oriana was."
"What makes you say that?"
"Oh, not much. Just some data I found at one of your facilities. You really should keep that stuff more secure."
"What facilities have you been breaking into this time?"
"Can't tell you. That information is classified."
"Do I have to have my guards extract the information from you forcefully, Shepard?" TIM asked, as his guards pulled out their assault rifles.
"Put your weapons away, soldiers." Shepard said, "I am quite capable of killing all four of you before any of you can fire a single round."
They put away their weapons, while TIM said, "Pathetic. Shepard isn't as skilled as you think. Miranda, restrain Shepard."
"She won't do that."
"Oh, you still think you've turned her so she's more loyal to you than Cerberus? Pathetic." TIM said, "Do as you're told, Miranda."
"No." the Operative replied.
"What did you say? I gave you a direct order, Operative Lawson."
"I know. I have decided not to follow it."
TIM shook his head, and said, "You're better than even I anticipated, Shepard. But, I need to know what facilities need an improvement in their defenses."
"There isn't a chance in hell I'm going to tell you." Shepard replied, glaring at TIM.
TIM shook his head, and said, "Shepard, this is a serious breach of security. I need to be able to handle this problem."
"Listen, I don't have time for this, TIM. Your resources are useful, so I'll let you leave here fine. Instead of calling the thirty or so C-sec agents around here."
TIM stood up, and said, "How about I make you a deal, you tell me where you managed to get this information, and I'll leave all aspects of your mission in your hands."
"One more requirement, TIM." Shepard said, "You give me the Normandy, and put all of her crew under my command over Cerberus, and I'll tell you where I got my info."
He was silent for a moment, then asked, "Are you serious?"
"Yes."
"You want me to give you my second in command, some of my best people, and the most valuable ship in my fleet? Have you lost your mind, Shepard?"
"No. I just happen to want insurance that my people will be safe from you, and any repercussions that could come from having worked with Cerberus."
TIM looked at Shepard, and said, "If I agree to this, you will tell me what facilities you have access to?"
"Yes."
"Fair enough. In two days time all of the paperwork will be handled. Then, I expect that information."
"I'll send it to you when I'm certain that the necessary changes have been made." Shepard replied, walking through the doorway into the main part of Zakera Ward. When she stepped through the scanners, the turian C-sec agent said,
"Sorry, Commander. But the scanners seem to think you're, uhm, dead."
"I was. I got better." She replied.
"I'll pass you on through, but you'll need to talk to Captain Bailey to get full access to the Citadel again."
"Thanks, Officer." she said, stepping through.
Inside, Captain Bailey said, "Commander Shepard. What is your business here on the Citadel?"
"I'm here to see the Council."
"Well, before I can reactivate your files, you'll need to go to the treasury- spending a year dead is a popular tax evasion tactic- then you'll have to register at C-sec HQ so that you've got permission to carry your firearms with you." he said, but added as she looked at him, boredom clear in her eyes and her arms crossed, "Or I could just push this button here and you can get back to doing what you need to."
"Is that legal?" Ashley asked.
"Technically no, but Shepard's a Spectre, so the Council will look the other way." Bailey said.
"Thanks for the help, Captain." Sarah said, as she walked out of the C-sec precinct.
"What are your orders, Shepard?"
"Ashley, you'll go with Garrus and get food supplies. Kas, you'll go and prepare for the Hock job."
"Aye-aye, Shep." Kasumi said, "Could I take some backup?"
"I guess you can take Jacob. Unless..." Shepard said, her voice trailing off.
"Relax, Shep. Way over it."
"Alright, do what you've got to do." the Commander said, walking over to the rapid transit terminal. As she stepped into the skycar that approached a moment later.
-=0=-
Sarah and Miranda stepped out of the skycar, and walked into Anderson's office. He said, "Shepard, it's good to see you're alive and well. Who's your companion?"
"This is Miranda Lawson, the woman responsible for my return." Sarah replied.
"A pleasure to meet you, Ms. Lawson." Anderson said, shaking her hand.
"It's an honor to meet you, Councilor." Miranda said.
"You don't need to be so formal with me. Any friend of Shepard is a friend of mine. Anyways, we should get this meeting started." he said.
"Yeah." Sarah said, looking at the projectors that the Council appeared from.
Tevos said, "Anderson, what is it?"
"Shepard's here."
"Ah, Commander, " Valern said, "we have heard some rather troubling rumors regarding your return."
"Quit beating around the bush, Valern." Sparatus said, "Shepard, is it true that you are working with Cerberus, a known enemy of the Council?"
"I'm not working with Cerberus, sir." She replied, "I am using their resources to handle the Collector threat, since you seem to have your heads shoved so far up your own asses that you won't handle the situation."
"Are you going to say that the Collectors are working for the reapers like you said Saren was?"
"They are. But, before you lose your shit, you should just shut up and listen." She growled.
Miranda placed a hand on her shoulder and said, "Easy, Sarah."
The Commander nodded, and turned to the Council, "The reapers are coming. When they arrive, batarian space will be the first to fall. Following that, they will move on earth, and take it. Then, we'll begin construction of a device that we believe will destroy the reapers. It will fire, and destroy the relay network. But, the enormous amount of dark energy it releases will create massive space-time distortions, which will send people back in time. I was the first to come back from the future. But I was not the last."
"Sarah, what are you doing?" Miranda asked.
"Telling the Council the truth." she replied, "That which we know as Collectors are actually the protheans, genetically modified by the reapers to serve their purposes. Their current objective is to harvest enough of humanity to create a human reaper. To replace Sovereign as the precursor to their arrival. To serve as the one that will bring them into our galaxy. I will take a team through the Omega 4 relay, and we will destroy the Collector homeworld, a space station nearly as large as the Citadel itself. Then, we will travel to the Omega 4's twin, and return to civilized space. Afterwords, the Alpha relay will have to be destroyed to prevent the reapers from entering the galaxy."
Sparatus said, "Shepard, you're skilled, but you've clearly lost your mind."
She slammed a fist into a wall, and said, "No I haven't! You are just too afraid to accept the truth! The reapers are coming! This station is a relay into dark space! Sovereign was not an isolated incident! The reapers are coming, and when they arrive, if we don't prepare, our civilization will fall. You have to prepare for their arrival! They are less than a year out!"
"No they are not, because they do not exist, Shepard." Tevos said, "You have lost your mind. You just need to wake from this false reality you have been lost in. A reality filled with monsters that do not exist."
She shouted, "You're just hiding from the truth! Don't you see that this peace is merely the calm before the storm breaks?"
"There is no coming storm, Shepard. Merely the stress of your time as a Spectre, and then your unexpected return has led you to believe things which aren't real."
"They're real." Miranda said, "And I can tell you for certain that she did travel back in time, because I was dead. I died on the Omega 4 mission. And, now I'm alive again."
"Ah, another insane woman. Do you have any credible witnesses to the reaper theory, Anderson?"
Shepard shook her head, and asked, "How many fucking people have to tell you of the danger that's coming for you to listen?"
"Just one more." a turian said as he entered the office.
"Executor? What are you doing here?"
"Backing Shepard up. She's not crazy. The reapers are real, and the firing of the Crucible sent her back in time. Just like it sent me back just a few hours ago."
"Are you serious, Executor?" Sparatus asked.
"You know me, Councilor. I don't tell jokes."
"And besides," Jondum Bau said as he too entered, "If you do not believe the Executor, I too back up what Shepard has said."
"As do I." Sha'ira said.
In walked Traynor, and she said, "Shepard's telling the truth."
"Traynor? What the hell are you doing on the Citadel?"
"I get time off from the lab occasionally, Commander. And, this meeting had been on the news last time. So, I made sure I was here when I got sent back."
"Yeah, Lola. What'd you think? Joker'd pop back in, and we wouldn't? We were all on the Normandy." Vega said.
"I thought I told you not to call me that." Shepard replied.
"Sorry, Shepard." he replied.
"But that is beside the point," Samara said as she walked in, "The reapers are a credible threat, Councilors."
"Justicar, you too support this nonsense?" Tevos said.
"Yes." she replied.
"And, even if you don't believe Samara," Aethyta said, "You better fucking believe me when I say Shepard's right."
"Aethyta..." Tevos said.
Anderson then said, "Can some of you leave, this is getting really crowded in here."
Several left, only to be replaced by others. All saying the same thing. "The reapers are real."
When the horde of people finally left, Shepard said, "So sure I'm crazy now?"
"No, it appears not. But, why would we not be influenced by this device?"
"Well..." Shepard said, looking for the right words, "It doesn't affect the dead."
"But, Ms. Lawson said she was dead well before that."
"That is a bit of a mystery still." the Commander replied. "Before Miri came back, I received a message from an unknown sender that said they had given me a gift, and that they would speak to me after the human reaper was no more. Shortly afterwards, Miri was back."
"Do you have any idea of what it was?" Valern asked.
"Something that doesn't like the reapers."
"Well, obviously. Otherwise it wouldn't try to help an enemy of the reapers."
"I don't know anything beyond that."
"Really? Nothing else?" Anderson asked.
"I've got nothing else. If I find more info, I'll let you know."
"Hopefully soon." Tevos said.
"The Suicide Mission through the Omega 4 is still a couple of weeks out. Then, hopefully I'll get some answers." Shepard replied.
"Good luck, Shepard." Sparatus said.
"Thank you sir, but you need to get the galaxy preparing for the reapers arrival."
The Council nodded, and ended the communication. Anderson said, "How are you doing?"
"Good. I feel like we've got a chance to win this on our terms this time. Or, if not, just reboot."
"What about the device that sent you back? Should we construct it?"
"Yes, as a way to back out of this if everything goes to hell."
"Where are the blueprints?"
"The archives on Mars."
"We'll find the blueprints."
"Good." Sarah said, looking at the presidium, as a group of volus jumped onto an elcor, and started trying to drag it down. Meanwhile, a turian C-sec agent along with a human stepped forward and started trying to pull the volus off their victim. Then, they took down the human, while the turian drew his pistol, and fired three rounds into a nearby tree. The volus turned, and fled.
As the turian helped his partner up, Anderson said, "Your Spectre status was renewed when we Ashley confirmed that you were still alive, Sarah."
"Thanks." she said, looking as the turian started walking after the volus.
"That happens frequently. The elcor owes the volus money, but can't pay them. So, frequently they come here to try and force the credits out of him."
"Why doesn't C-sec do something about it?"
"They've tried. These volus just gang up on any agents that try to arrest them."
"Maybe I'll try to take care of them while I'm here."
"What about gathering the rest of your team?"
"Several members of my team are going to have issues here that are going to need to be handled. So, I figured we'd use this as a chance to rest and recover after Horizon and the other recruitment ops."
"Was it that tough?"
"Horizon was hard before. Then when that Leviathan showed up..."
"Williams did mention that. What are these Leviathans?"
"They say that they're the creators of the reapers, but something about them always felt wrong. I never felt like they were telling me everything. That they were holding something back."
"What?"
"I don't know." Sarah said, shaking her head, "It's just that when I talked to them, they always seemed on edge. Like they were trying to hide something, but wouldn't, or couldn't completely keep it secret. I know the leader of the reapers said that the Leviathans created him, but never said that he created the reapers, or the Leviathans made them for his use. All they said regarding the reapers was that Harbinger, the first reaper made from an organic race, was made from their essence, in their image. It may be nothing, but I don't trust them."
"It would make sense. They tried to kill you on Horizon."
"They were angry then. Angry because you didn't destroy the reapers." Miranda said.
"Not that I didn't destroy the reapers. That I didn't end the cycle. But, I couldn't. The cost was too great."
"What was the cost?"
"I was given three options." Sarah said, shaking, "Destroy all synthetic life in the galaxy, take control of the reapers, or..."
"Or what?" Miranda asked.
"Synthesis. Rewrite the DNA of the entire galaxy so they were bio-synthetic."
"What did you do?"
"I destroyed the panels that would have let me take control of the reapers. It sent out a wave of white energy, and I was back on Feros, in the thorian's lair." Sarah replied, shaking. "Sorry, I just don't like thinking about it. Life back then was..."
"It was miserable?" Anderson asked.
"That's an understatement." she replied. "Hell, I charged a reaper on foot, trying to get where I needed to be to finish the mission."
"You charged a reaper on foot?" Miranda asked.
"Yes." Sarah said, looking out onto the presidium. "I felt like I should have died before then. That the reapers should have killed me when they first hit earth. That I should have died on Tuchanka instead of Mordin. That I should have lost my life on Rannoch, instead of Legion. That instead of Thane, I should have died stopping Leng. I just felt like every time one of my squad died, it should have been me instead."
"How many did you lose, after the mission?" Miranda asked.
"Just those three. But, I still failed last time. We lost the war, because I wasn't able to get the Council's aid. Part of me just wants to build the Crucible and go back before the reapers arrive this time so we can really prepare for their arrival."
Anderson laughed, and said, "That would be nice. But, why give up so soon? We've got time to prepare. The Council may not have believed you regarding the reapers, but they do now. At least give this a chance."
"I will. I just hope I don't regret it." Sarah said, staring at the Conduit.
"What about that? Does it have any use in your plans?"
"What if..." Shepard said, trailing off.
"What are you thinking, Sarah?" Miranda asked, wrapping an arm around her shoulder.
"What would happen if we destroy the Conduit? I know that when I destroyed the alpha relay it destroyed an entire solar system. Would the Conduit release enough energy to destroy the Citadel?"
"Maybe. We'd have to test it on the Ilos Conduit." Anderson said, "But why would you want to destroy the Citadel?"
"You don't want to know." Sarah replied.
"Alright." He replied, "But you should probably get going before Udina shows up. He still is mad with you over stealing the Normandy and supporting me as Councilor."
Just then, Udina stepped in, and said, "Shepard. I should have known you would be here."
"And I should have known you'd still be a pain in the ass, Udina." Sarah replied, glaring at him.
"Just as you are, Shepard. Anderson, did you meet with the Council without me?"
"Yes. I'm Councilor, not you Udina. I can handle meeting with the Council without you."
"Councilor do you know what the words political shit storm mean?"
"A fictional weather phenomenon." Shepard said, "Besides, the meeting went fine. The Council's preparing for the Reapers' arrival. Beyond that, I was just seeing Anderson again. I'll talk to you guys later."
He nodded, and walked over to his terminal. After walking out of Anderson's office, Sarah said, "That went well."
"Yes." Miranda said, "Much better than last time."
"Well, last time I didn't have a bunch of people being sent back in time to help."
"True. And I wasn't exactly happy to be here instead of out recruiting specialists." Miranda said, stepping into the skycar Shepard had called.
"Why do you think I waited until later this time?" she asked.
"Really? You waited to handle this just to not irritate me?"
"Yeah." Sarah said, quickly getting the car into traffic.
"Where are we going?"
"We've got some rogue volus to hunt down. Sounds fun, right?"
"Uhm..." Miranda said.
"I'm joking." Sarah said, "We're heading to the Dark Star Lounge. An old friend of mine wants to meet me there."
"Who? Tali's on Haestrom, Wrex is on Tuchanka, T'Soni is dead, and the rest of the team hasn't been picked up yet."
"Not someone from the SR1. Someone from before that."
"Uhm, who?"
"He's another N7. Same rank as me. The only reason he wasn't on the Normandy was because the Alliance was running low on N7s at the time, and could only send one per ship."
"That still isn't enough info for me to be able to know who it is. "
"His name is William Veras."
"Wasn't he given an honorable discharge a few days after you were made a Spectre? Something about his hands getting unstable."
"He faked it. He wanted out of the N7 program."
"Why?"
"He didn't like that all his missions were assassinations. He wanted to work on more missions that weren't almost entirely blacked out."
"Well, he shouldn't have become an N7 then."
"He did it because that was just after the N7 Revolt."
"What was the N7 Revolt?"
"You really don't know what the N7 Revolt was? It was when ninety-five percent of all N7's went rogue and started trying to use their skills to destroy the Alliance from behind the scenes."
"When was this?"
"The year before I was approved for N7 training. If it hadn't happened, I'd have another year as an N7 under my belt. "
"So, why did the N7's go rogue?"
"Simple reason. They were tired of not being able to have a personal life because they were constantly being called in to do the Alliance's dirty work. In fact, the man who started it, did so because he was called into a mission during his wedding ceremony."
"It comes with the job." Miranda said.
"I know that." Sarah replied, landing the vehicle, "But he thought that since he specifically requested leave, which he was given, there was no chance of being called into work until it was over. " as they stepped into the club, and were instantly greeted by the loud music. Looking around, Sarah saw William sitting at the bar, holding a silver drink in one of his calloused hands.
When she sat down beside him, he said, "Shepard. Heard you were dead."
"It's like our instructors told us, N7's don't die, they just go MIA."
"True." he said, taking a swig from his mug, spilling some of it on his tattered shirt. "I didn't really think you'd come when I asked to talk to you. You haven't spoken to anyone else from our class since we graduated if you weren't on a mission with 'em."
"I've been busy." she replied.
"I guess so. What were you doing the last two years that you had to disappear, make everyone think you were dead?"
"I actually was. I got lucky, and was brought back. But, there were a lot of strings attached."
"I take it your companion is one of those?" William asked, looking at Miranda.
"Well, it started out that way. Now I look at it as a perk of the job."
He laughed, the creases on his face stretching with the motion. "So, you seduced the woman who was supposed to just keep an eye on you. Classic Shepard."
"Wasn't originally my plan to get so close to her. Just happened, when helping her out with a little issue. Before I just thought she was an ice cold bitch with an interesting history."
"You thought I was an ice cold bitch?" Miranda asked, with an eyebrow raised.
"You did do a great Ice Queen. I mean, all that talk of how you weren't looking to make a friend."
"Well, at the time I had a little matter like the entire fate of humanity on my mind, and was wondering if I'd somehow messed up the Lazarus Project because you were acting very strangely. I'd thought for sure you'd have run the first chance you got."
"I was tempted to."
"Why'd you think that Shepard would run the first chance she got? Who do you work for? Henry Lawson? Doctor Richard Johnson? Admiral Morison? Cerberus?" William demanded, suddenly on edge, hand reaching for his pistol.
Sarah said, "You can trust her. She works for Cerberus, but she isn't like the rest of them."
"What do you mean? They're a bunch of xenophobic murderers! You remember what they did to Kahoku! What they did to Toombs."
"Yes, I do. Miranda wasn't involved in it. The Illusive Man kept all of that secret from her, because he knew she wouldn't accept it."
"Why do you trust her so much? Just because the two of you are fucking?"
"You know me, William. I wouldn't sleep with someone I don't trust with my life."
"What did she do to earn your trust, Shepard?"
"She earned it when she risked her life to save her sister. She earned it by bringing me back to life. She earned it by being there when I needed someone to remind me that I really was me. That I wasn't just some advanced VI that thought I was Commander Shepard. She earned it when she risked her career to keep her word to a friend. And, she earned it earned it every time she was out on the field, and risked her life to save mine."
He nodded, and said, "I suppose that you aren't just being blinded by her ass."
"You know me. I don't let stupid things like emotions get in the way of the job at hand."
"Right. So, was that why when you thought you'd lost me, you were willing to go in and fight a reaper on foot?" Miranda asked.
"What's the story, Shepard?" William asked, laughing, "What happened that would make you think you lost your girlfriend for good."
"It's a really long story. None of which you would believe."
"Try me."
"Are you really sure that you want to hear this? It's a long story, and would make you realize things aren't as simple as they appear. And I'm counting the reapers into that simplicity."
"Shepard, I can handle anything you can throw at me."
"Alright, if you insist I'll give you the cliffnotes version." Sarah said.
A few minutes later, William said, "You were right. That is pretty hard to believe. If anyone else had said it, I wouldn't believe it. But, with you, this shit seems fairly normal. After that shit on Edean 834, you've been in nothing but crazy missions."
"What happened on Edean 834?" Miranda asked.
"You mean Shepard didn't tell you?" William asked, looking somewhat surprised, "You sure you actually love her like your story said you do?"
"I don't mention that mission to anyone. You know that, Will."
"I don't get why you don't like it. What you did there was fucking awesome." he replied.
''We lost half our unit."
"What happened?" Miranda asked.
"On a yet-to-be-named planet, given the placeholder name Edean 834, we had a mission to recover what was believed to be prothean technology. Upon arrival, we were immediately attacked by creatures later codenamed behemoths." William said, looking Shepard in the eye.
"It was a group of three. The first one took out the Captain in command of our unit, so Shepard had to take over. She immediately jumped at one and pulled herself onto its back. From there, she stabbed an omni-blade into its brain. As it collapsed, she jumped onto another, and shot its head clean off with her shotgun. We got the other one, and kept moving. As we went around one corner, there was another behemoth. It took a swipe at us, but it was injured. We finally got a good, clean look at the insides of one of them and it wasn't organic.
"It looked like they had once been organic, but the organic material had been taken out, and left synthetic material in its place to make so that they could still work. We killed it, and saw that it had been caught on a spike in the ground. Shepard here blew it up, thinking it might be a trap. And, it turned out she was right. When the thing blew up, another one of those things showed up, and charged.
"Now, this is where Shepard starts acting really crazy. She ducks beneath the swipe of the beast, pulls out her monomolecular blade, and stabs that thing right in the heart. It stumbles for a moment, then tries to kick her with its hind legs. She dodges this attack too, and pulls out her pistol, and without even looking, puts six rounds right into its skull. After that, we make it to the dig site, and what we find is not like any tech we've ever seen before. It's this massive sphere, and from it drops this small creature.
"It turns to us, and sends us all flying into nearby walls. When I came to, Shepard had already charged the damn thing, and was attacking the thing. She hits it right in its face, and it collapses backwards, only to spring right back into shape when she moved to hit it again. Each hit, it collapsed, and popped back into shape.
"She kept beating on it, and then, was sent flying back by its biotics. I opened fire, but my shots didn't do shit. It ignores me, and goes after our vanguard, the only biotic in our unit. It approaches him, while he's backing away. I turn to check on Shepard, and she's not breathing. I do what I can to get her back on her feet, when I was sent flying in another direction. I hit the wall, and was out cold. When I came to, the thing was gone, and Shepard was planting explosives on the device. The rest of us went back, and the Alliance quarantined the entire planet."
"So, there were dragon's teeth on that planet. What were they turning into husks?"
"Elcor." Shepard said. "It was planned to be an elcor colony, but things went dark after they found the sphere. The elcor asked us for help, since at the time they were in the middle of a dispute with the turians, and their own military doesn't exactly handle spec ops like that."
"Then why not ask the asari?" Miranda asked.
"The asari had sided with the turians regarding it. So, they came to us, the only remaining option."
"How did the thing get taken care of?"
"You'll have to ask Shepard." William replied.
"Well..." Shepard said, looking at the wall.
"What?"
"I don't remember anything other than waking up, everyone else was out cold, and the thing was gone. All I really remember is that my eyes were kinda tingling."
"Oh come on, you're still going to be saying that bs? I thought that was just the story in the official reports."
"Sometimes it's the truth."
William sighed, and said, "Anyways, we should get to business. We've had enough storytelling for now."
"Yeah." Shepard replied, "What's the situation? Why'd you contact me?"
"I was contacted by a member of our team on Edean. The vanguard, who you saved from that thing. He said he'd remembered some details about it, and needed to talk to us. Both of us. I of course told him he was crazy. Everyone knew you were dead. Or, thought you were anyways. But, he insisted you were back, and that if he didn't talk to us both, that some great cataclysm would happen. I asked if he was talking about the reapers, but he said worse. He wouldn't give me details, but he said it would be the end of the ones responsible for our survival on Edean. It didn't make any sense to me. I honestly think he's just crazy."
"Before all this shit with the Crucible, and Miri's mind somehow being restored, I would have thought the same. Where does he want to meet us?"
"Back on Edean. At the location of the device you destroyed."
"Why?"
"He wouldn't say. I don't think we should do it. He was always a bit, you know, off after the incident."
"It was a rough mission. He had it worst of all. I don't know about you, Will, but I'll go and see him. Just after we finish the mission through the Omega 4. What about you, Will? You ready to get back to doing what you do best?"
"My hands shake too damn much. I can't shoot straight."
"I wasn't asking about your sex life." she replied.
"Oh very funny, Shepard." he replied, "You know that I can't fire a gun accurately anymore."
"I know that you made up the condition so you could leave the Alliance military. I know you, Will, you always hated the assassinations. And, when we graduated from Rio, that was almost all of your missions."
"I didn't make it up." he replied.
"Before you noticed me, you were holding that drink just fine. Then, your hands started to shake. And, when you were suspicious of Miranda, you reached for a pistol. Why would you do that if you couldn't shoot straight? You're faking it. I understand faking it with the Alliance, but why fake it with me?"
William sighed, shaking his head, his brown beard shaking slightly, "Because, if I work with you, the Alliance will realize I lied to them. That could get me executed."
"We're working with state of the art technology. Bringing back the dead. So, I'll just say that the tech that revived me could be repurposed to fix you."
He said, "Determined to get some more help on the Normandy? I thought that last time you didn't come to me for help."
"I didn't. I was arrogant. I thought that with a minimalist team I could get the job done, just like I did with Saren. Now, I realize that I'm going to need all the help I can get, and your skill set would be a valuable addition to the team."
"Then I'll help you. But, you better make sure that the Alliance doesn't come after me."
"Don't worry, they won't. I take care of my team."
"You better." he said, "So, how about I buy you two a round?"
"Sounds good, Will." she replied, "We'll have some Sur Kesh raspberry wine."
"Who's the Ice Queen to make you go for fancy shit like that?"
"The genetically engineered daughter of Henry Lawson."
He spat out his ale, and said, "Are you serious?"
"Yes. But, don't worry. She and her father don't get along."
"That's not what I was talking about! I spent some time as a private eye after leaving the Alliance, and was hired to look into him for illegal cloning experiments. I could never find any proof, but I knew he was guilty."
"My father always covered his tracks. The equipment, scientists, and other personnel required to create me were acquired through a network of shell corporations so labyrinthine that it would take decades to get through it." Miranda said, looking at Will. "And, before you ask, no I will not help you. I just like to forget my father exists."
"I wasn't going to ask. It just feels good to know that I was right." William said, while he got the bartender's attention.
-=0=-
A/N: Sorry for the wait. Had trouble getting inspired to write this. Anyways, here's the next chapter of Crucible Effect. Thanks for reading and please review/follow/favorite.