-Chapter 6-
Once the Normandy SR9 was docked with the Citadel again, Harry began the process of releasing his physical body from the capsule. He no longer needed to control the Normandy with his mind and therefore didn't find relevance in staying in the capsule. One thing is for sure though, being dropped onto a metal grate while getting re-acquainted with your physical body isn't such a great feeling, but its a nice wake-up call and a reminder to Harry that he is now in his organic body. After groaning from the pain in his knees and shins, Harry dressed himself and headed back to the bridge to read the damage report he saved earlier.
His plan worked... more or less. However he didn't account for the sluggish nature of his ship and as a result, holes were punched into the Normandy SR9's armor but didn't penetrate, luckily. The damage report indicated that the incoming damage were kinetic blasts, blasts that were similar to the damage inflicted by rail-guns. Harry made a note of the type of damage inflicted to his ship. While it wasn't explosive damage, which was his ship's weakness, the armor's resistance to kinetic damage was still kinda low. The on-board tracking disruptor did the best it could do against the Narool's turrets, but some of those turrets were still able to track the Normandy SR9's movements. As a result, the armor was reduced to 87% effectiveness. Compared to the damage inflicted to the Narool however, this wasn't all that bad. The last time he saw the Narool, there were multiple fires spewing from the hull of the ship, and one of her engines went offline, crippling her mobility. The Narool did however safely dock with the Citadel and repair work would likely start. Speaking of which, Harry thought to himself, how am I going to repair my armor? I can't just have a chat with Scotty the Docking Manager and have the damage repaired. Besides, I doubt that isk-
His musings were cut short with an incoming call from Captain Ornaal. Harry put the call up on one of his monitors and began speaking with the Turian. "Ah, Captain. How are the repairs coming?"
"The Narool should be fully operational again in a few days. Fortunately the damage to the superstructure wasn't too extensive," gratefully replied Togris, but his eyebrow plates furrowed soon after, "You didn't tell me that your ship was capable of interfering with our Mass Effect Core, Harry."
Nodding his head from side to side, Harry confessed, "To be completely honest I didn't think Aura would go that far to protect the Normandy SR9, or that the energy neutralizers would affect your core."
"Well whatever that is, it disrupted our ship's systems due to lack of power." Grunted Togris.
"Really?... Interesting." Responded Harry, he was rather amused with the results.
"But thats not what I called you for. The council would like to speak with you about this recent event. If I were you, I wouldn't keep them waiting." reported the Turian.
"So I get a trophy or something?" questioned Harry.
His eyebrow plates deeply furrowed, "I wouldn't count on it." And with that, Togris ended the call.
Harry let out a heavy sigh, I just went out of my way to save these C-sec officials, and they still don't trust me... What am I to do with these people. Closing the damage report, Harry spoke aloud to Aura, "Alright Aura, lock up the ship again, but this time don't leave without me."
"Yes Pilot" responded Aura, "I'll use the drones to toy with the intruders."
Harry gave a stern look at one of the bridge's security cameras, "We don't need any blood shed Aura."
"As you wish. It would've be highly amusing though."
Harry had to ask directions from a VI called Avina in order to get to the Human Ambassador. From there, He was greeted by Ambassador Anderson. Anderson was a black middle-aged gentleman, probably in his 40's. He looked good in a suit and stood with authority and integrity, a trait found in commanding officers and fleet commanders back home. But he didn't have the look of a drill sergeant,and it seemed like everyone was on the same level as him in his mind.
"You caused quite a stir you know... coming here with that ship of yours caused political unrest, and made my job that much harder. I've also heard you were stuck with a rough crowd." Anderson relaxed and extended his hand, "How are you doing, son?"
Harry was taken a-back by the greeting. It seemed too personal for this tastes, but he wasn't rude and shook Anderson's hand. "I am alright, all things considered Ambassador." After releasing his grasp, he spoke, "And I apologize for the commotion that my arrival has stirred up."
Anderson shook his head, "Don't worry about it. It's nothing I can't handle. Although there are times that I wish that Shepard recommended Udina for the job."
"Who?" Harry questioned.
"Nevermind. You're here for the Council. They should be convening in a few minutes." Anderson extended his arm toward three objects along a wall. "You can reach them with these holo-terminals." Anderson spoke as he directed Harry to the holographic terminals in his office.
"I see. Ambassador, thanks for the warm welcome."
Anderson nodded his head, "Sure thing son." and with that he walked away.
After a few minutes, The terminals activated and the council shimmered into vision.
The blue woman in the middle spoke first, "Mr. Namarr, we would like to congratulate you on your successful effort in the re-capture mission."
"Although I appreciate you providing transport, I only took part because there were innocent people trapped on my ship. Those idiots are lucky we intervened before the Aura vented the drone bay." Grunted Harry.
"Yes, we have read the report sent in by Captain Ornaal." sneered the lizard to the right. "The report also had a casualty list, those that were lost when your ship attacked the Narool."
"Which is what concerns me." interrupted the Turian on the left, "While you were on-board the Narool your ship acted on it's own and engaged the Narool, using technologies we've never seen before to hamper our weapons, and disrupt our mass effect cores to leave vessels vulnerable to it's drones. Its also troubling that the drones can penetrate our shielding technology. The Narool was severely damaged before you seized control of your ship Mr. Namarr. How do you explain this!" The turian was obviously concerned and furious.
Harry found himself distracted at the lizard creature. Although the hologram was a bit fuzzy, the lizard was definitely interesting to look at. The lizard had a flat face with two prongs sticking upward from it's skull. They kinda resembled horns. Between the horns was a strip of orange flesh that stretched over from the front to the back of the skull. A flap on the front end of the strip vibrated as the being spoke, but the being had a large mouth and two large frog eyes on it's... face. Maybe the flap was used for breathing. Other than the V shaped face, the being was adorned with a colorful robe. Catching himself, Harry turned to the turian and said, "I'm sorry, could you repeat that?"
"Your highly advanced ship nearly destroyed the Narool!" yelled the Turian, now quite furious.
Keeping his calm, Harry responded, "It was part of the plan. The Narool opened fire onto the Normandy SR9 first to grab Aura's attention. Once she was focused on the Narool, I took a shuttle to the Normandy SR9 to rescue the C-sec officers and to regain control of my ship. Along the way there were complications and I was forced to jump... err, use a manual override to regain control." Harry caught himself, he didn't want to reveal the existence of the capsule in his ship. Harry continued, "And as I know it the Narool has undergone repairs when it safely docked with the citadel, while the Normandy SR9 sits unattended with damaged armor." He was still trying to figure out how to repair the holes punched into his ship.
"So your ship was damaged." spoke the lizard in a form of a statement.
Again with the lizard. "I'm sorry, but what are you? I'd rather not call you a lizard all the time." asked Harry.
The lizard almost looked insulted. "My race is known as the Salarians, Mr. Namarr." answered the Salarian Councilor. "Now can we please continue?"
"Ah yes,... my damaged ship." Harry took a moment to recollect his thoughts. "Although my ship hampered the Narool's turret's tracking ability, some of the ship's turrets were able to hit the Normandy SR9 while she was performing evasive maneuvers. My ship isn't very agile, as you can tell from Togris' report." resentfully responded Harry. "According to my damage report, the Normandy SR9's armor plating was reduced to 87% effectiveness before the Narool ceased fire."
"And thankfully you pulled your drones away from the Narool," spoke the blue woman, "Otherwise we would be looking at a longer casualty list."
The Turian councilor was still aggravated, "You still haven't told us how your drones penetrated the Narool's shields."
Harry pondered for a bit before answering. "I don't know exactly, but I do have a hunch. Also listed on my damage report was data on the type of incoming damage my ship was experiencing. The Narool's turrets dealt damage in the form of kinetic blasts, and if my hunch is correct your shielding technology is designed around absorbing kinetic damage. Rather than firing metal slugs, my drones generate and then eject heated plasma at rapid velocity toward their target. Your shields would be unfamiliar with this type of damage and as a result, could not absorb it."
"Plasma weaponry... interesting" thought the Salarian Councilor out loud.
"Theres something I would like to know though." Spoke the blue woman, "Who is Aura?"
Oh here we go again. "Aura is an Artificial Intelligence." Harry paused to see what kind of reaction he would get. The Councilors shifted uncomfortably but remained silent to let Harry finish. Even Councilor Anderson stopped what he was doing and watched him. Regardless, Harry continued, "An Artificial Intelligence built to help pilots in my universe to fly their ships. She doesn't have complete control of my ship unless I grant her that ability." Harry finished.
"We know that you are new here, but you should know that we ban AI research here and with good reason." Advised the blue woman.
"Yes, your Csec chief Tereesa gave me a quick rundown of what happened." acknowledged Harry.
"If Aura cannot control your ship on it's own... how did it actively engage the Narool while you were onboard the Narool?" the Turian Councilor questioned.
Harry paused for a bit before speaking. "Before I left my ship I gave Aura temporary control to prevent your people from entering my ship. And you know what happened afterward."
"This is just perfect." Grumbled the Turian Councilor.
"How can we be sure that your AI won't leave the Citadel again?" questioned the Salarian Councilor.
"For starters I wouldn't send people over to my ship." answered Harry, leering at the Salarian. "There are secrets on that ship that I would like to keep secret."
"Secrets that we may need to ensure our security Mr. Namarr." Coolly spoke the blue woman.
Harry was visibly frustrated and turned to face Ambassador Anderson. "Please tell me we still have magicians practicing their trade." A shrug and a nod of the head from side to side gave Harry the answer. Turning back to the holographic terminals, Harry continued, "Ok, long, long time ago, we had people who were called magicians. They were illusionists, and used that illusion to entertain their audience. They keep the tricks to themselves. You know why? It's because if they spilled the beans on how to do their tricks, pretty soon everyone does those tricks. The magician's illusion is lost, and their out of a job!"
"And why can't we learn from your 'tricks'?" questioned the blue woman further.
Harry pulled himself back, then responded softly, "My tricks are what keep me alive in my universe. Trust is hard to come by, and for the few that we trust, we have a backup plan in case they betray that trust. Without my 'tricks', this magician is a dead magician." He deliberately failed to mention that death was only a minor inconvenience to his kind.
"Its evident that you do not trust us Mr. Namarr." Spoke the Salarian Councilor.
You're damn right I don't!, Thought Harry. From behind, he heard Anderson speak. "I wouldn't blame him. You didn't exactly give him a warm welcome."
"A necessary precaution we had to take, Ambassador." sneered the Turian Councilor.
"This meeting is getting sidetracked." Spoke the blue woman. "Do you have anything else you can tell us about the recapture mission?" The question was directed towards Harry.
After some thought, Harry spoke, "No madam councilor, I do not."
"Since there is nothing else to discuss, This meeting is adjourned." Reported the blue woman, and the holographic images faded from existence.
Well, that went well. Harry thought. He turned to head back to his ship before stopping at the door and turning to Ambassador Anderson. "Ambassador. Thanks for letting me use those terminals, and backing me up."
Anderson just looked up from his console, "It's not a problem son. Take care of yourself."
"Likewise Ambassador." spoke Harry, returning the gesture before setting off.
As he entered the dronebay, Harry noticed that one of his drones was active. Alright... which idiot tried to... His thought was cut off after he noticed that the drone wasn't acting in hostility, but rather playfully. It was only then did he realize that he wasn't the only one in the drone bay. Petting the drone was a suited woman. Her body was covered from head to toe in her suit, granted it was a very colorful and beautiful suit, but still a suit never-the-less. There was a scarf that covered all of her helmet except for the front of her helmet. The front consisted of a window and a single light right where the mouth would be on her face. Sheets of metal curved around the window and bent toward the mouthpiece light. Also something of note, her legs were bent backward, and looked similar to those of canine legs. Other than that and the unique structure of her hands and feet consisting of 3 fingers and toes respectively, she too looked human. Noticing that she was not alone, she turned her gaze onto Harry, and he could feel her bright, piercing eyes watch him through the helmet.
"Eying me up?"
Harry averted his eyes and looked at the drone. The drone in turn turned to look at Harry. "Aura... Who is this?"
The dronebay's loudspeakers came alive. "She has failed to give a name, Pilot."
After a slight pause and having a confused look on his face, Harry spoke again,"Ok, why is she here?"
"I found her amusing to talk to." Aura simply answered, as the drone levitated a little higher and slightly rotated to the right.
Of course you would. Harry thought. "You didn't let her waltz through the front door did you?"
The suited woman spoke up, "Actually no, your AI wouldn't let me in."
Aura chimed in, "Her hacking attempts weren't that impressive, but they did tickle a bit."
The suited woman, now visibly embarrassed, eventually spoke, "I can explain."
About 30 minutes had passed and Harry is found pacing, occasionally looking up to the suited woman to speak. "So... you are a Quarian."
"I am." softly spoke the quarian.
Harry continued, "And your kind were the ones that created the synthetic race called the Geth."
The quarian looked down again, "It's not our proudest moment, but yes, we created the Geth."
"That explains your hacking abilities, but not your proposition." Harry questioned.
The Quarian let out a sigh and looked up at Harry. "Since the Geth drove us from our homeworld, we've been roaming the stars in our fleet of aging warships for 300 years. We've been able to maintain our ships over the centuries but sometimes we needed resources we just don't have." She paused for a bit before continuing. "Which is where you come in."
Harry stopped his pacing. "So you want me to ferry goods and commodities to your fleet to keep your fleet of rust-buckets running."
The quarian was genuinely insulted by Harry's remark. " Yes! So that what is left of our race isn't erased simply because of equipment failure! We have 17 million people on those 'rust-buckets'. Have a little sympathy!"
"How can I when you brought this onto yourselves." Harry cruelly spoke. After a moment of silence, Harry spoke in a softer tone, "Look, even if I wanted to help your people, I can't. My ship is crippled to the point where it now operates like an automobile. When she runs out of gas, everything shuts down."
The quarian chirped up, "Perhaps I can take a look at your problem, and come up with a solution."
Harry was very hesitant about the proposal. There was a strong possibility that letting just anyone into his ship would alter the current technological level these people had, if they took notes. Harry wanted to maintain an advanced technological edge to ensure his safety, but a repaired Capacitor Regeneration Unit was tempting to accept, especially since he's trapped here in an alternate universe. After giving some thought on the matter, he made his decision.
"I appreciate your offer ma'am. But since you've already tried to break into my ship I'm not sure if I could trust you."
The quarian, realizing that she wasn't going to get any data on the Normandy SR9, decided to try to persuade Harry through seduction. Before she could say another word though, Harry cut her off. "I'm going to have to ask you to leave." As he said that, four other light drones activated and hovered to the first drone, facing toward the quarian and warming up their mounted turrets. Harry continued, "And I don't think you want me to ask you again."
The quarian froze in place, assessing her situation. After a minute, the quarian turned and began to walk back to her shuttle. As Harry began to relax, the quarian quickly turned 180 degrees with a pistol drawn. Her intent was never fulfilled though, as Aura recognized the action as aggressive toward the pilot and acted upon it. Before the barrel of the pistol got close to pointing directly at Harry's cranium, one of the light drones fired at the quarian. The plasma instantly pierced her personal shielding technology, and vaporized her body. The pistol and what was left of the quarian's extended arm fell to the floor.
After recovering from the shock, Harry thought to himself, Bad call my dear. He then turned to the drone that fired and complemented Aura on her quick reaction time.
"It's a shame really." spoke Aura as she put the drones back to sleep, "I really did enjoy her company."
"Even when she tried to hack into the ship and kill me?" questioned Harry.
"The hacking attempt was fun to block. The attempted murder, on the other hand, was the last straw." Aura remarked, "I'm surprised you even flinched."
"Yeah, well, something tells me I won't wake up again if I die here." Harry truthfully answered.
After Noticing the scorch mark on the floor, Harry made a mental note to clean that up later. But for now he has two new projects, and they both involved tinkering and learning about the pistol as well as the orange holographic tool that flickered around the severed limb.
It wasn't long before Harry was able to get the holographic tool, known as an omni-tool, to work on his arm. After he figured out how to purge the tool and reset it to factory default settings, the tool became his new toy for him to experiment with and tinker to his personal tastes. Using the omni-tool he was able to access what was called the Extra-net, a network that seemed to span across several worlds. Using the Extra-net, he learned more about the new universe he was in. He learned about the several different species that are known, such as; which were intelligent enough to be considered "Council Races", and which weren't intelligent enough to reach that rank. He also learned about the different cultures each race had to offer, from Asari grace to Krogan brutality. Finally he also learned about each races' types of weaponry, defensive technologies, and strategies. The strategies would prove useful in case he ever had to fight again.
All the while, Harry periodically deployed probes to scan the solar system he was in for anything unusual. He also didn't waste any time to find employment, and began working as a bartender at a local bar on the Citadel. Since he was cut off from his usual form of income and wallet, Harry had to have some form of currency available in case he needed it. For the most part, he did good work. Although he did have to discourage a few humans from trying the "Tuchunka Tummy Tingling Sauce". He quickly found out what happened when someone that isn't Krogan drank the stuff, and preferred not to recreate it. Harry was starting to develop a good reputation with the local populace, and things were starting to look up.
Even after his probes found an Unstable Wormhole in the solar system.