Hello again, everyone, and welcome back to my MechWarrior/BattleTech - Mass Effect crossover.
Thank you for your wonderful support. I deeply appreciate it.
I also apologize for not posting this chapter earlier. Life was kinda busy, and I was getting some things done. Fortunately, I'm back on my game and I'll see if I can publish new chapters every two days. This is also the final story arc for the Citadel sub story arc.
As always, leave a review and enjoy!
Disclaimer: I do not own the MechWarrior/BattleTech or Mass Effect franchises. They are the respective properties and trademarks of BioWare, Electronic Arts, FASA Corporation, FASA Interactive, Catalyst Game Labs, WizKids, Piranha Games Inc., etc. Any material original to the franchises belongs to their respective developers and publishers. Any material not original to the franchises is of my own invention. I do not own any music listed in each chapter. Any music listed belongs to it's original composers and/or artists.
Citadel
Apartment Penthouse
October 6th, 2186
Shepard had to admit, today was a pretty good day, and a relaxing one too. Never thought I'd beat everyone in the Armax Arsenal Arena, he thought to himself. I somehow even managed to beat Aria, of all people. Guess that's what it takes to outdo them.
Walking back into his apartment, he was surprised to smell someone cooking up a storm. Inside, he could see people moving things around, while also making sure everything was nice and tidy. Walking into the kitchen, he found, of all people, Hanse Davion, only he was wearing an apron over some work clothes. "Cooking the food for everyone again?" Shepard asked him.
"Yep," Hanse nodded. "There was no one else that was available, so I decided to do the cooking myself."
"Anyone helping you out?"
"I've got a cookbook here that I'm following, and Liara's chimed in with some advice every now and then." He motioned to a nearby piano, where Liara was sitting, playing a tune. "She took piano lessons from my wife, Melisssa. Beautifully done."
"I can imagine," Shepard noted. Leaning against the counter, he said, "Kinda takes one back to when we first met at your estate's guest house, doesn't it?"
"That it does," Hanse agreed. "I cooked y'all's breakfast over there, and now I'm cooking up a storm here. In fact, I'm almost done with the cooking." Changing the subject, he said, "I hear that you had fun at the Armax Arsenal Arena, yes?"
"That we did."
"Good to hear. Kinda reminds me of the Martial Olympiad that the Star League used to do before the Amaris Coup. That's where some of their best fighters came from, that and the Gunslinger Program. Some really amazing people that we could use in the war against the Reapers. Unless someone invents a time-travel machine, but that's an impossibility as far as we know."
"True." With that, Shepard decided to change the topic. "So, how's Quintus doing?"
"Quite fine," Hanse replied. "He's training his protégé for when it's time for him to step down, which is coming steadily closer as the years move along." Looking at Shepard, he said, "I'm just glad that my son, Victor, is doing quite well in that regard. I've looked at the field reports of large units he's worked with; all of them had successful military operations, and the men deeply respect him.
"What really has me happy is how he handled some of the political situations that cropped up recently. That mission to the Archives, for instance, had the Council up in arms over what they felt was a violation of standard procedure. Victor, however, talked them down and got them to calm down."
"Damn. Now that's what I call smooth talking."
"Definitely. That's what it takes to replace me, I figure. Besides, I'm planning on resigning my position when the war's over. I'm too old now, and it's about time for my son to step up and take my place. He's shown that he's more than ready to handle the burdens of rulership. Plus, your idealism seems to have rubbed off on him."
"I tend to have that effect on people. I just do what I do best."
"Indeed." With that, Hanse finished putting some seasoning on some meat that Shepard didn't recognize, before slipping it into the oven. "It'll take about an hour for that to finish, just in time to start the party too." Taking the apron off for the time being, he said, "Besides, these old bones need a rest." Walking over to a couch, he sat down and smiled. "Might even take a siesta too."
"Same here," Shepard agreed. Noting the time, which was around 1:30 PM, he decided to nod off as well. It felt like only a couple seconds before a beeping sound from the oven woke the two up.
"I got it," Hanse replied, walking over to the oven and getting his apron on again. "Oh, yeah. Now this is well done." Using a pair of hot mitts, he pulled the pan out of the oven and set it down on the stove. The meat, as he expected, was well cooked and fully ready to go. "There we are," he smiled. "Well, Shepard. If you want to start the part, you're more than happy to do so."
"Then let's go," Shepard nodded.
As he walked along to the card game room, he spotted Glyph flying over. Other than the addition of a holographic bow-tie, Glyph was it's usual cyan-blue self. "What sort of party are you hoping to have tonight, Commander?" it asked. "I could set things up for quiet conversation, or would you prefer a more energetic meeting?"
"Let's go for relaxed right now," Shepard decided. "No need to burn ourselves out before the end of the party."
"Certainly, Commander. I'll ensure that music remains at an appropriate volume and arrange for some refreshments."
"No need for that," Hanse called out. "I've got them all ready to go!"
"Then let's get a-rolling," Shepard decided.
. . .
It wasn't long before the guests for the party arrived, with Garrus, Nyreen, Celicia, Iavalia, Nihlus and Vorenus walking through the door, along with Wrex, Edward, Victor, EDI, Legion, Mason, Fahad, Ryana, Javik, Jack, Joker, Kasumi, Vega and, surprisingly, Miranda. "Come on in," Shepard beamed. "Thanks for coming."
"Thanks for the invite," Cortez smiled as he shook Shepard's hand.
"Thank you," Miranda added.
"I thought you were too busy to come," Shepard remarked.
"I needed a break as well," Miranda explained. "Just because I'm the 'perfect' woman, doesn't mean that I'm a machine. I need rest as well."
"OK," Shepard replied. "No offense meant."
"None taken," Miranda smiled as she walked inside.
"Happy to be here, Shepard," Kasumi winked before disappearing.
Shepard shook his head at Kasumi's antics. I remember when I helped her get Kenji's graybox. Nearly became obsessed over it, but she came in handy when we saved the Hanar's defenses from being destroyed by a computer virus. Either way, she was a valuable addition to the team, and one hell of an assassin. With that, he decided to mingle with the guests at the party.
Walking past the small living room, Shepard overheard Jack and Vega talking. "Nice ink," Jack remarked, "but you've got a long way to go to catch up to me."
"Nah," Vega countered. "I got this when I lost my squad a few years ago." Pulling his shirt off, he turned around and said, "I also got these new tattoo's." While the others were occupied, Shepard got a good look as well. Apparently, Vega had the symbol of the N7's tattooed on his back, but the most noteworthy one was the symbol of the Federated Suns. It was even done in the proper colors as well.
"Damn!" Jack whistled. "And I thought my tattoos were special. That one, heh… that one takes the cake. Where'd you get that one?"
"Got it when we became members of Mason's Cavaliers," James explained. "It was a mercenary outfit that we worked for while we were in the Inner Sphere. We had to take that occupation to prevent ComStar and the other Great Houses from finding out that we had aliens with us."
"Wait, you mean those crazy phone company jackasses you mentioned last time?"
"Yep. It worked out for a while, but ComStar eventually found out and abducted Liara. When Shepard found out, he went on a roaring rampage and not only rescued Liara, but also fucked over the Hilton Head HPG Complex. It was thanks to his intel that we invaded ComStar's sole star system when we had enough WarShips and drove them to extinction."
"Now that's what I call fun," Jack smiled. "Sounds like I rubbed off on Shepard a little."
"You should've seen him," Kaidan, who was nearby, added. "Shepard was cool and calm, but underneath, there was a raging inferno. Learned a good lesson from that: hell hath no fury like a husband rescuing his wife from danger."
"Word," Jack agreed.
"So," Vega remarked, returning to the conversation they had earlier, "what's the story behind that tattoo? And… how far down does it go?"
"Tactful as always," Cortez deadpanned.
"What?" Vega asked. "Just wondering. I like tattoos!"
"That's alright," Jack smiled. "Besides, I've got stories for you."
"Same here," Vega countered. Spotting Shepard, he said, "Hey, Shepard! What's up?"
"Not much," Shepard replied. "Just wandering around, seeing how everyone's been doing. You mentioned something about stories?"
"Yeah," Vega remarked. "Tell her about that one time you punted a Hoplite like it was a soccer ball."
"That happened?" Jack asked, surprised.
"Yep," Shepard nodded. "It happened shortly after the Fourth Succession War. We were conducting an insurgent suppression contract for the Federated Suns on this world. Don't remember the name, but we were tangling with some of the insurgents that had their hands on 'Mechs. I was busy taking out this Panther when this tiny little Hoplite came up and started firing at me."
"What happened next?"
"Well, I was disgruntled enough that I fired at the Hoplite. When it dodged, I got angry enough that I lashed out with the foot actuators of my 'Mech, since my weapons were running hot. Next thing I know, everyone's watching as this Hoplite just tumbles ass over teakettle while flying across the terrain. It came to a stop around two hundred meters from my 'Mech before I blasted it apart."
At that, Jack let out a long minute of nearly hysterical laughter, while Vega and Kaidan smiled, having seen the incident. Calming down, Jack said, "Now that… that was funny! How'd you do that, though?"
"To be honest, I didn't know at the time," Shepard shrugged. "It wasn't until Fahad did a check on the Marauder II that we found out why. It turned out, Blackwell Industries, who had just refurbished the 'Mech, found out that Mason had overpaid them, so they decided to install Triple-Strength Myomer into the 'Mech's actuators. When I kicked that Hoplite, the myomers were within a certain heat range, which dramatically boosted their efficiency. Correct, Fahad?"
"Right," Fahad, who was in the kitchen, replied.
"Damn," Jack snickered. "I'd pay money to see that." As she continued talking with the others, Shepard walked over to the kitchen, in order to see what Fahad was up to. Fahad, it turned out, wasn't the only one here, as Garrus, Tali, Liara and Traynor were in here as well. "I can't get over the size of this apartment," Traynor was saying. "The electrical bill alone would've paid off my college intuition."
"Or funded the war," Liara added.
"Or helped me pay off some of the insurance for my Rifleman II," Garrus added. "I absolutely love that thing. Even the Powered Suits like the ATLAS don't compare to it."
"Or helped me out with this suit," Tali added. "Before I installed a climate control system in this suit, it got quite hot." Looking at Shepard, she asked, "Hey, Shepard. Got a question for you."
"Oh?" Shepard asked.
"How hot could it get inside of a 'Mech's interior?"
"That's easy," Shepard replied. "It got really hot. Fahad?"
"Oh, it got bloody hot," Fahad replied. "You see, I was a MechWarrior before I became a 'Mech Bay Technician. Only left the life because of some ear damage that I got. Anyways, I once stuck a thermometer inside of a 'Mech just for shits and giggles. It got up to around 50 degrees Celsius at one point in there, and it got hotter. It was enough to where the faceplate of my Neurohelmet was fogging up. My breath was actually cooler than the interior of the cockpit."
"Keelah, that's hot," Tali whistled.
"That it is," Fahad remarked. "That's why I'm really glad that we got the cooling suits out of LosTech status and back into main production. You could wear one of those and you'd be nice and cool, even on the hottest planet. Wouldn't you agree, Shepard?"
"I do," Shepard added. Spotting another small group, he said, "Excuse me." With that, he walked over to where Joker, Miranda, Hanse, Victor and a few others were at.
He was about to head over to where they were at when he heard the door chime. Walking over to the door, he spotted a familiar face. "Jacob," he remarked, recognizing the former Cerberus operative. "Welcome."
"Thanks, Shepard," Jacob added. "Sorry I came late. Had some business to take care of."
"No problem," Shepard replied. "I was just about to see how Joker and the others were doing. Want to come along?"
"Alright." With that, they walked over to where Joker was.
Apparently, Joker was giving the group his personal reasons on why Cerberus was going to lose in the end. "You know why Cerberus is going to lose?" he asked. When no answer came, he said, "Demographics. You recruit a guy who's twenty and got no life, he'll work his ass off for the cause. But do you see any old people in Cerberus? Any families? No. There's no future in a terrorist group."
"That's a very good point," Hanse noted.
Jacob soon added in his own piece. "And sure, they pay, but you ever bring up vacation time? There was a brick wall."
"That reminds me," Miranda noted. "I heard that you're going to be a father. Congratulations."
"Yeah, thanks," Jacob shrugged. "Be lying if I said I wasn't scared." Looking at Hanse, he asked, "Any advice?"
"Be there for your kids when they need you, and show them strong, but gentle, affection," Hanse replied. "I've had kids before, so I'm in the best position possible to give you advice. Besides, my son turned out alright, thanks to myself and my wife, Melissa."
"Easy for you to say," Jacob remarked. "I heard you're the leader of some kind of super-advanced nation-state. That true?"
"Every bit."
"Damn. Never thought I'd hear of that."
"Either way, you'll do great," Miranda reassured Jacob. "You're a protector. That'll go a long way."
"Alright," Jacob conceded. Turning towards Joker, he asked, "So how about you, Joker. How would you turn Cerberus around?"
"I'd make Cerberus popular," Joker replied. "Big propaganda campaign, like I was running for President. Fundraising diners, shaking hands, kissing babes…"
"I think the phrase is kissing babies," Miranda corrected.
"I know what I said," Joker countered. "You know, I miss the days when Cerberus was laughably incompetent. You know, when you two ran things."
"Excuse me?" Miranda asked. "The only thing I was in charge of was the Lazarus Project, which, you will note, was very successful."
"I take it that was the project to bring Shepard back from the 'dead', yes?" Hanse asked.
"Yep," Miranda replied. "I ran that program, and it worked."
Joker, at that moment, chimed in, while making a mocking imitation of a Cerberus manager. "'Hey, Commander, this is Cerberus. We were studying some Rachni, and they got loose and killed all our guys. Can you take care of that? It's one system over from where we hooked some guy up to the Geth… who then got loose and killed some of our guys.'"
"They did rack up quite a body count," Shepard admitted. "And, at least back then, it was their own bodies."
"We knew some cells were bad," Jacob agreed, "but the Alliance and Council weren't doing anything, and we were doing good work."
Just then, Kasumi appeared out of nowhere, lying on the floor and doing what looked like sit-ups. "And crunches," she added. "Lots and lots of crunches." A moment later, she disappeared.
"Hey! Not OK, Kasumi!" Shepard growled. "Sorry about that, Hanse."
"That's alright," Hanse shrugged. "I've dealt with similar people before." Just as he said this, he grabbed something invisible near his right thigh and said, "Knock it off, lady." Once Kasumi backed off, he said, "So, you were saying, you two?"
"But we did bring Shepard back," Miranda continued.
"And after taking down the Collectors, I cut ties with Cerberus," Shepard added. "… got loose, and started killing their guys."
"Jeff," EDI added. "Do you remember that I am also a Cerberus project?"
"Aw, crap," Joker frowned, realizing that he'd stepped into a large pile of crap, figuratively speaking. Shepard smiled, before leaving to check in with some of the others.
. . .
It went on like this for much of the party, with Shepard deciding to keep the music relaxed until near the end of the party. At that point, he had the music switched to something more exciting, but that wasn't all. Walking along into the living room, he said, "You guys been wondering what we've been doing for the past thirty years, where we ended up that is?"
"Sure," Jacob remarked. "I was kinda curious how you found Hanse and a few of the others."
"I would appreciate the exchange of data," Legion, who was now in the room, added.
"Alright," Shepard nodded. "Settle down, everyone. You're about to get the viewing experience of a lifetime." Getting a video player ready, he said, "We invited a renown filmmaker from the Federated Commonwealth to do a video on us, given that we might never come home, and that the secret would come out sooner or later. When we managed to get home, they decided to release it here to help improve morale for the troops." A moment later, the video began playing, just as Shepard say down with the others.
The video intro showed a ship leaving it's dock before heading for parts unknown, with a date header indicating that this happened in the year 2107. Other video clips showed hundreds of thousands of people watching the event, while a mission control monitored the progress of the ship. Moments later, a man inside of the ship was shown toggling a switch, with the ship disappearing in a flash of light moments later.
Shepard smiled upon seeing the intro. The filmmaker, a man by the name of Edward Howards, was renown for the quality of his films, with most being praised for their intricate plots, fleshed out characters and widespread use of practical effects. If one saw fire, then chances were that fire was real.
Shepard, however, had chosen Edward Howards for one reason when Mason commissioned the creation of the biopic film: Edward Howards was unbiased. The man had a penchant for telling a story the way it happened, with the man saying that, "All biopic films need to be honest. Let history be the storyteller and the audience the judges."
For the next two hours, the team watched the film, which showed much of Shepard's life, from when he started out on Earth, to when he had become a member of the Alliance. He shed a quiet tear when he saw his mission at Virmire. I'll always miss Ashley, he said to himself. She was one of the best people that a soldier could've worked with.
They continued watching for four hours, while refreshments and dinner were served for the party during breaks. The one part everyone was really focused on was the one that depicted when Shepard and his team were in the universe that Hanse and Victor had come from. Even Legion watched with rapt interest, as the film depicted many parts of Shepard's life as a MechWarrior.
As the video played, Shepard looked at the team that was gathered. I couldn't have asked for a better team, he thought to himself as he kept watching. I am truly lucky to have gotten to know these people. Here's to excellent times, and to an eventually victory.
(Author's Q&A)
edboy4926: Thank you.
SulliMike23: That they can. It's well known that you need a really long break after a military campaign. If you don't get one, PTSD can come in and really cause problems.
Reikson: Yes, he has.
Violet Toyger: Thank you.
Tohoufanatic: Thank you for the feedback. I appreciate it.
galacticarmor2 Alt: I see. I might consider that.