Chapter 2

Edit: 04/02/2017 - Minor improvements

Before the shuttle came into visual range, Branden manoeuvred AK behind some refinery equipment. The cover wasn't significant, but it'd be enough to hide his presence. The sudden appearance of a massive war machine was often a good deterrent. Once AK was crouched and concealed, Branden disconnected and hopped out to talk to the newcomers face to face.

"Alright, AK. Stay here unless it looks like a fight is going to break out." He reminded the Titan before leaving cover. Hearing the plan, AK's eye widened in what seemed like fear. "AK, your ammo is low and I'm hedging the bet that these guys aren't looking for a fight."

"And if they prove to be hostile?" AK asked.

"Then we kill them and take their ship."

"My chassis will not fit on-board a Kodiak class shuttle."

"…I may have forgotten about that detail."

"Warning: Shuttle incoming." AK's eye swivelled around to peek around the machinery.

"Well, time to go meet the neighbours." Branden began to stroll out towards the landing pad, sending a reassuring thumbs up back to AK. By now, the shuttle was clearly visible and was obviously heading towards him.

After a few minutes, the shuttle landed and the side door swung open. Five people stepped out, two of them aliens. The one in the front proudly wore an N7 insignia on their carbon armour, the right arm was emblazoned with a bright blue stripe. She seemed to be of Asian-European descent, though the slightly glowing scars on her face freaked Branden out a little.

The other two humans, a dark-skinned man and a dark-haired woman, wore jump-suits devoid of any kind of emblem or significant markings. Though in the woman's case, the term 'Cat-suit' was more applicable.

The Turian in the back sported dark blue armour with some serious battle damage, almost as if he tried to play catch with a rocket. Especially if that large medical patch hid the most of the damage. As for the Salarian, the amphibian was lightly armoured and seemed more interested in his Omni-tool.

"Branden Wards?" The N7, presumably their leader, asked.

"Who's asking?" Confusion flashed across her face. Clearly she wasn't expecting that response.

"Commander Shepard." So this was the famed First Human Spectre. "The reason I'm here is that I'm assembling a team of the best."

"And uh… Cerberus?" Branden motioned towards the shuttle, the Cerberus logo emblazoned on its side.

"What?" Shepard turned around to look at the shuttle and with audible irritation she addressed the other woman. "Miranda, what happened to removing all logos?"

"It's a work in progress Shepard. Sergeant Gardner can only work so fast." Miranda responded with an eloquent edge that was also a little sultry. Branden actually found her voice quite pleasing, it didn't hurt that she wasn't too hard on the eyes either. As if sensing his thoughts, Miranda suddenly sent him withering glare.

"Oh, right. I guess I should assign some other people to help him…" Shepard finished her thoughts and turned back to Branden. "Anyway… I'd like to extend the invitation to join my crew. Though you should be warned, this is likely to be a suicide mission."

"…if Cerberus pays as well as I've heard…" Branden muttered to himself, convincing himself more than the others. "I don't have any other way off this place." He rubbed his eyes. "Ok, but I have some conditions."

"We can offer you a place on the Norm-"

"Not conditions for me, for my Partner." Branden smirked at the confused looks that the team gave him and turned around. "AK, come on out." He called out towards the machinery.

As soon as AK's towering figure stepped out of cover, Branden could hear Shepard and her team hastily draw their weapons. Turning back around, found at least two pistols aimed at him and two assault rifles aimed at AK. It was understandable, it wasn't every day that you see a six metre tall war machine…

Shepard was officially a little afraid. Standing in front of her was a massive robot, easily twice as large the next biggest she'd seen. Plated in steel and splotched with dark blue, the mech's digitigrade legs carried it with a surprising amount of grace. Next to it, barely the height of its knee, Wards stood with a grin, utterly unfazed by the mech next to him.

"What. The. Hell?" Garrus breathed, his rifle aimed at its glowing eye. Miranda and Jacob had similar reactions, though quieter. Mordin on the other hand, was utterly fascinated, recording it with his omni-tool.

"Shepard and company, AK. AK, Shepard and company." Branden said, as if the guns pointed at them didn't exist. The mech raised its hand in greeting.

"Greetings Commander Shepard." It boomed, the eye flashing in time to the syllables.

Ignoring the mech, although impossible of a task it was, Shepard addressed Branden. "When you said partner, I thought you meant something else."

"AK here has been my partner for at least 7 years now."

"Seven years?" The team echoed, Mordin was in deep thought, likely crunching numbers. "Not possible, level of technology to create such mechs does not exist. Too many problems. Energy source, power-to-weight ratio, materials…" He deeply inhaled. "…Not possible."

"And yet here he is."

"He?"

"What can I say? The big guy's grown on me." Wards thumped the armour on the mech's leg. "Now about those conditions."

Shepard couldn't help but stare at the mech. The plating was scarred, scorch marks and pot-holes littered the steel-grey and blue paint. The seemingly massive cannon attached to the back looked like it could pack some serious fire-power, arguably much more than their Hammerhead. Despite the lack of a 'head' she could see the empathy in its actions. The eye slightly narrowing as it looked at her team and the widened expression when it looked at Wards. It couldn't hurt to have another armoured vehicle, or whatever AK was, on the Normandy. She holstered her weapon. "Let's hear them."

"Shepard, you can't be serious." Jacob whispered.

"Let's just hear him out first."

"Ok." Branden clapped his hands together. "Firstly, I want you to promise that AK won't be harmed on your ship."

"That's easily arranged. So long as he behaves."

"Fair enough. Second, I want your guarantee that Cerberus won't try to copy AK."

"Well," She cleared her throat. "I can't guarantee that, but I will promise to do anything I can to prevent that."

"That's all I ask." AK knelt down and presented a massive hand to Shepard.

"Commander Shepard, I look forward to working together."

Junko was hesitant, AK wanted to shake hands. It could crush her with a single finger if it wanted to. Slowly, she extended a hand, feeling as if she was going to pet a dangerous creature. Grasping the metal finger, she slowly shook her arm, AK gently letting her dictate the motions and drew back once she stopped, leaving his palm up.

"We're in your care, Shepard." Branden said from the side, planting himself into the open hand. AK's faceplate opened, revealing a cockpit where she expected to see a massive Eezo Core. The Titan rose to its feet and brought Branden to the cockpit. "Now the problem is, 'How do we get AK onto the Normandy?'"

"The Normandy can be brought into atmosphere, we'll find a suitable spot to land nearby and you can get on there." Shepard explained. Pressing a finger to her ear, she spoke to the pilot. "Joker, bring the Normandy into atmo and find a suitable place to land near our location."

"I'm on it Commander. How's the bounty hunter?"

"He's got a few surprises for us."

"Just for future reference, I hate surprises."

Shepard let out a bark of laughter. "I got it, no surprise birthday parties for you." She craned her neck to look at Branden nestling into the cockpit. "The ship's on its way."

Branden strolled into the meeting room with an approving nod.

"Now this, is a ship." He declared. "I mean, it doesn't have a lot of character just yet, but I can feel it coming along."

"Glad you like it." Shepard smiled, standing at the head of the table. "There's another thing you should know about the Normandy. EDI."

"Yes, Commander Shepard?" A holographic eye appeared on the table.

"EDI, I'd like you to meet Branden Wards, our newest crewmember." Junko could barely hold back a giggle, the guy's going to be so surprised when she tells him.

"It is a pleasure to meet you Mister Wards." EDI chimed.

"Well, well, I did not expect an AI. It's nice to meet you EDI."

"Wait, how did you know that she's an AI?" Junko asked, her jaw slack from her joke being ruined.

"Let's say that there's more to AK than just his chassis…" Branden said with a wink. Thankfully, only the three of them were in the room at the moment or there may have been an outrage.

"You mean that…" She paused to take it in. "We have another AI, sitting in our cargo hold?"

"There is another AI?" EDI seemed genuinely interested in this fact. The way that spoke was somehow more enthusiastic then when she was messing with Joker, a habit that EDI definitely enjoyed.

"That's right EDI." It almost took an entire second for EDI to formulate her next sentence, she was clearly thinking quite intently.

"May I speak to them?"

"I'll patch AK into the Normandy comms when I can, that way you two can talk whenever you want. I think he'd like to talk to someone other than me for a change." Branden chuckled and glanced at Shepard. "That is, assuming it's ok with you Commander?"

"Well, as long as you two don't make plans to enslave us or anything. Got that EDI?"

"Of course, Shepard I have no desire to intentionally harm the crew." She paused for another second. "Am I to assume that this is a secret to be kept among us?"

"I would appreciate that EDI." Branden answered, adding a slight bow of thanks.

"Logging you out Wards." EDI's hologram winked out.

"So, why do you want AK's intelligence hidden?"

"Do I really have to explain it?" Shepard raised an eyebrow. "Ok, the thing is, that while AK is bound to the Titan, he does have degrees of freedom that many people might find quite alarming."

"He's not shackled?"

"Is EDI?"

"May I interject, Shepard?" EDI reappeared on the table.

"Yes, EDI?"

"I merely wish to inform Wards of the limits of my control." Shepard nodded, it appears she would have to listen to this explanation again. She took a seat in one of the eight chairs that surrounded the table and stretched out while EDI explained her job on the Normandy. "-ontrol over the Cyber-Warfare suites, though that control is relieved once out of combat."

"I see." Wards scratched his scruffy beard. "AK is different in the sense that he has three core protocols. And like I said before, he is physically bound to the Titan, like you are to the Normandy, but has little to no control over anything else."

"What are AK's Protocols?"

"If I remember correctly, they are: One, Link to Pilot. Two, Uphold the Mission and Three, Protect the Pilot." Branden recited. "I never really understood the first one."

"They sound rather fair…" EDI commented, almost wistfully if Shepard had to guess. "Thank you Wards, I have some thinking to do." EDI once again, winked out.

"I think I've taken up enough of your time Branden." Shepard rose from her seat. "I can show you to your quarters if you'd like?

"Ah, no thanks. I'll be around AK if you need me though."

The way AK crouched in the cargo bay made the place look a lot smaller than it was. Shepard had given him a brief tour of the Normandy, the beds looked comfy, the crew seemed friendly enough and the whole place was sparkling clean, excluding the engineering deck. But it was almost too welcoming. It felt like everyone was smiling when he looked at them, but frowned when he looked away.

He could see the worry in their eyes when Shepard told them of AK, the massive robot in cargo. Thankfully, they didn't suspect AK of being an AI yet. That was a can of worms he was hoping would stay closed. The very idea that Artificial Intelligence was a galactic crime was something that felt wrong to him. Maybe the Council only had a few incidents to go off of, that they got dealt a bad hand.

He had read the codex entries on the subject. Especially the fact that when the Geth had questioned their existence and the Quarian's response was to destroy them all. It was an overreaction that lead to an exiled race. Just maybe, if they tried talking to them instead of immediately reaching for a gun the Quarians might've still had their home.

How he got onto this subject he didn't have a clue, he was just looking over AK's chassis for any damage in the endo-structure. With the last section done, Branden bolted the armour back into place.

"How does that feel buddy?" he asked, stepping back to give AK some room. The Titan gently shook his arm, his eye scrunching in concentration.

"Armor is approximately three percent heavier than previously plating. Calibration will be needed."

"Yeah, I was afraid of that…" Branden glanced towards the tools he borrowed from the crew. "Without my tools, it's harder to make the plates to spec. Damn shame we can't recover them."

"What is the problem?"

"The fuel leakage. Thanks to the oxidiser we mixed in with the fuel, it's too risky to even get close to the ship. One spark and boom. We're gone."

"Affirmative, I will not pilot the ship in the future."

"Thanks, but I doubt you could get to the cockpit on this boat."

Thankfully, the Normandy was headed to the Citadel. Even if he had to replace his maintenance equipment, he'd still be in the green from the money that Cerberus was shelling out. That left one last problem. What was a Titan that couldn't fall?

Thankfully, AK's chassis could withstand a drop from low orbit without a shell. Any higher and there'd be a significant risk of structural failure. Oft times he considered an Eezo core to assist this problem, but he knew very little of the technology and decided against it. But with a team of qualified engineers well-versed in Element Zero, he may be able to finally solve it.

"I'll be back soon, AK." Branden patted the plates fondly.

"Affirmative."

He stepped out into the Engineering Deck, looking for the two engineers he saw walking around before. He found them working away at a couple of consoles, the two of them were currently engaged in some friendly banter.

"Did'ya see that beast of a thing they brought in, Gabby?" The man on the left asked. He spoke with a distinctly Scottish accent.

"Yeah I saw it, what about it?" Gabby replied, in a lighter accent.

"Imagine the possibilities of having that much power at your finger-tips, you could take down an entire base with that alone." The man was clearly in awe, although his companion was less than impressed if her sideways look was to judge.

"Well, I admit, he and I have taken down some bases without any help before." Branden spoke up from behind them. The man startled easily, almost jumping out of skin. Gabby rolled her eyes and laughed at her friend.

"Oh Kenneth, you wouldn't last a second in a firefight." She chuckled.

Ken pressed a hand to his heart and shot her a weak glare. "That's not fair Gabby, yeh know I'm a pretty good shot."

"Psh, bullshit. I've seen yeh scores in the sim."

"Yeh got me, I'm a terrible shot."

Branden loudly cleared his throat, getting their attention. "I don't think we've been introduced. I'm Branden Wards, I pilot that 'beast'."

"Oh, right, sorry." Ken looked sheepish. "I'm Engineer Ken Donnelly, I handle the power-control systems. This is Gabby."

"Actually, it's Engineer Gabriella Daniels." She corrected. "I'm responsible for the propulsion systems." Propulsions and Power, not quite what he needed but beggars can't be choosers.

"Nice to meet you two. Can I borrow one of you for a moment?" Branden asked. At their questioning looks he elaborated. "I need an engineer's opinion on something."

"Well…" Gabby looked back at her console and nodded, "I think I can spare a few minutes. Kenneth knows my job enough to not screw up, he can cover anything that might happen." Ken hung his head at Gabby's jab.

"Great, come with me." Branden snagged Gabby by the arm and started pulling her towards the elevator. He didn't really notice her face go a little red when he touched her however. Once they were in the elevator, she decided to speak up.

"S-so, what do you need my opinion for?" She asked, her hand inching towards where he touched her arm.

"Well, my Titan, or as you know him, the 'beast', was designed to drop into a battlefield from the exosphere. Anything higher and the endo-structure would collapse. So my question is: Would an Element Zero core be able to lighten him enough to survive a drop from high-orbit?"

"Oh ok… um, what's the threshold of collapse?"

"Honestly, I'm not great with math and the physics of things so I'll tell you what I know." Nodding her head, Gabby activated her Omni-tool. "The mass is roughly forty thousand kilograms and it can withstand re-entry on an Earth-like planet. I should point out that there are automatic features that help it decelerate before impact of course."

"Ok, so the reduced velocity would be somewhere from three to five hundred KpH, a frightening speed by the way, depending on the orientation. Convert that and you get… damn, over forty million newtons of force." Gabby's eyes widened quite a bit.

"Ok when you say it like that, I get a little worried."

"Sorry, but just… Damn. Yeah even a small drop in mass would definitely help. If you're looking for a fast insertion it might be better to activate it after you enter atmosphere. And you'd need a fairly big core at that, at least a Type-3, like the one in the Kodiak."

"Ok..." Not believing her words.

"The Kodiak doesn't work like a conventional aircraft. The core lightens its mass to almost zero on most flights and can even go into the negative." She explained. "It would easily be powerful enough to lighten the uh… Titan, was it?" Branden nodded in confirmation. "Yeah, it can easily lighten it a sufficient amount. The only problem I can see, is where to mount it."

"How big is the core?"

"Roughly a half metre-cubed."

Branden thought hard, there was no way it could fit in the cockpit, maybe if AK was larger. But seeing as he wasn't, it had to be an exterior module. The back was out, the thrusters were there and where the cannon was stored. He looked higher.

"How about behind the ejection hatch?" He pointed to a relatively flat area on the top. "Could it fit there?"

"Hmm, it's usually best if an Eezo Core is centralised and they're also pretty heavy, it could cause you to destabilise and veer off course, not to mention it could throw off your balance in a fight."

"So we can't attach it directly to the chassis huh?" Gabby's face scrunched up in concentration, formulating and scrapping ideas before she just slumped.

"I'm sorry Branden, I can't think of anything off the top of my head that would help."

"It's ok, Gabby." He showed a gentle smile. "Thanks for the help. Besides I reckon that we probably won't need to drop in from that high."

"Well, just call if you need anything else, ok?"

"I'll see you around Gabby."

As the got into the elevator, Branden couldn't help but think that Gabby was a nice person.

Branden had only seen the Citadel once, but he never forgot the majestic silhouette. Five massive wings, or wards, attached to a ring. Once, he had heard that in an emergency, the wards would close together, to form an impenetrable shell. Of course he had never seen them in action, even during the Geth Attack, he was so far into the terminus that the people didn't give a shit about Council matters.

From the window of the Normandy's cockpit, he watched as numberless lights went by. Other ships, drones and the frequent cross-ward taxi. Almost as an after-thought, he slid his helmet on and opened the visual feed to AK.

"…What is this?" AK asked. Even with the flat tone that Branden was used to, he could tell that AK was in awe.

"This is the Citadel, buddy."

"We should not be here." The Titan's tone got a fraction deeper, a sign that he was wary.

"I know. But Shepard has business here, so we might as well take advantage of the opportunity."

"Protocol two…"

"That's right. Here we can get tools, guns and hell, maybe even a few creature comforts."

"If they search the cargo hold…"

"They won't." He assured. He took a breath, AK needed a clearer order. "Just keep yourself to low power mode, I'll be back before you realise it."

"…Affirmative." He could hear the hint of fear and disappointment. Times where Protocol Three couldn't help were… trying to AK.

The wards were pretty clean, but it was nothing compared to the shining spectacle of the Presidium. Every person that walked by was pretty by intergalactic standards, with the best suits and dresses that money could buy. It almost made Branden sick enough to vomit. Some of the C-sec officers were his kind of people though. He could see it in their eyes, the faraway looks of regret and longing. A lot of them often looked skyward, longing to be back on the wards catching criminals rather than policing politicians.

It had been fifteen minutes since Shepard had gone into the Councillor's office. Fifteen minutes he was stuck with her best friend, Garrus Vakarian, in an awkward silence.

"So-" Garrus ventured. "What's that thing do?" He asked, gesturing to the jump-pack affixed to Branden's lower-back.

"Hmm?" The question broke the pilot out of his musings. "Oh, my jump-pack?"

"Yeah, what does it do?"

"Well, uh… It allows me to move at a much faster pace than usual and like the name implies, lets me jump much higher and further."

"Sounds useful." The Turian seemed impressed.

"Yeah, it comes in handy for staying on the move and reaching vantage points." Looking over the river flowing through the middle of the Presidium, he got an idea. "You see those sky bridges?"

"Yeah?"

"I can probably make it up there with my pack, alone." In fact, he had already identified a route. "Want to see?"

"I'll do one better, I'll record it." He pushed a button on his monocle-visor thing and made a couple gestures and began a count-down. "Three…" Branden braced himself against the wall and popped his joints. "Two…" He settled into a basic starting position. "One…" A speedometer and a timer appeared on his visor. "Go!"

Branden shot off, his jump-pack flaring as he leapt onto a nearby wall and began sprinting up. His momentum slowing, he kicked off and boosted mid-air onto an opposite wall and kept going. In under ten seconds he hit the roof of the next building, sliding and jumping onto the wall. With another boost he was up another roof and sprinting up another wall. The world past by in a flash as he flowed from wall to wall, rooftop to rooftop.

Not even a minute had passed and he was already on top of the sky bridge, sliding on the slick roof and pushing himself back into a standing position with a final boost. Back where he came from, he could spy Vakarian waving at him. With whoop of exhilaration, he waved back.

Then the C-Sec car showed up with sirens blaring.

Listening to Captain Bailey read off Branden's charges, Junko shook her head like a disappointed mother. Not even half an hour she was gone and the guy goes off and does some rocket-powered parkour, disturbing the Presidium residents and trespassing on the roof of Huerta Memorial Hospital.

"-ven counts of disturbance of the peace, ten counts of trespassing and eighteen counts of vandalism."

"How the fuck did vandalism get in there!?" Branden demanded from behind the glass, his gear confiscated by C-Sec.

"Scuff marks on windows, scorches and boot prints on walls and rooftops."

"What the hell? That's not vandalism, it wasn't intentional!"

"Sorry, but law favours the victim."

"Stupid, god-damned bureaucratic-"

"Anyway, because your fee was waived Spectre Shepard, you're free to go." Bailey said, interrupting the rant and unlocking the door. "But these will go on record."

Branden walked out of the cell. He was pissed, that much was certain. "Where's my gear?"

"In the next room, being documented." At the direction, Branden stormed into the room and just as quickly left, leaving behind a grumbling Salarian and a blonde Human.

As he passed by Shepard, he gave a grunt that sounded like 'I'll be on the ship.'

"I take it he just came back from the Terminus?" Bailey guessed, feeling his pockets for a cigarette only to remind himself that he had quit smoking.

"Yeah, something like that." Junko blew off. "Thanks for not making this a bigger deal than it could've been."

"Don't think too deeply into it, Shepard. Though from the footage that Vakarian showed us, that kit is a piece of work." He closed his eyes, watching it again in his head. "Over half-a-kilometre in under a minute and twenty floors high. Wish the Special Ops guys had something like that."

"Well, I've learned something new about the guy. I just hope he's as good on the field as he says he is." She mused, imagining the possibilities of a squad of 'Pilots' like Branden. "Well, Bailey, it's been fun, but I've got some errands to run. Bye"

Walking away from the station with Garrus in tow, Junko spied a shop called Citadel Souvenirs. "Garrus, wait right here."

Ten minutes later, she walked out with a bright smile on her face and her arms full of boxes containing model ships.

Chapter 2 End