A/N: WHAT IS UP MUCKA~CHUNGA~S!?! It's Travez here with another chapter! The Last one I am going to do right before my Vacation to Mainland Alaska! WOO! So I have a bunch of stuff to get through in just a few days before I go treasure hunting for Agates and other stones and… *Does the Gold Member voice* Goooold… *Snaps back to normal* So yeah I have a bunch of stuff to get through today so I need to get through this A/N as fast as I can. So first, as of writing this (October 6th, 2022), I have 52 Follows and 46 Favorites in just three chapters! This is huge, and I want to thank each and every one of you!

Next I want to get to the person who originally nearly caused me to blow a gasket last time, I read a recent review from him and, frankly, I overreacted, so I apologize, and thank you for telling me your thoughts. So, starting with the next chapter, I will be doing Bonus Chapters that go into detail between the First Contact with the Quarians, and the Second Contact War with the Turians. However, I will be revealing two crucial pieces of information for the Second Contact War in this chapter, so please be sure to pay close attention.

Another guest reviewer actually offered a lot of good ideas for how I could modify this story to make more sense. You know who you are and I thank you, I won't utilize all of your ideas, but I will list the ones that actually interest me the most out of your suggestions. However, first, there are a few things I need to make clear.

I know that General Williams Surrendered because he had no other options left, and that he got blacklisted because of it. It was unfair because he was thinking of his men rather than getting back at the Turians, but honestly, I wanted the war to end on a better note for General Williams, but to balance it out a bit, I created a situation where Ashley still gets Blacklisted (somewhat), and while not restricted in rank, her cyberware choice takes a hit in it's place.

Anyway, for the ideas of the Tech, I already covered that inside this chapter in how humanity had gotten it's edge over the Turians, and it's something you took into account but I modified it for humans, as, at that point, I forgot about a certain tool you mentioned. As for the Cyberware, I would like to disagree with you on that, because, remember, in ME2 Shepard got Cyberware as well and nobody tried anything with him, so I'm taking that into account, besides, Military Grade Ice would be difficult to take care of on the battlefield unless you got experience doing it, and I believe Turians are more warriors than they are techs, but thats just my impression of them. However, I do like the idea of involving Cooling the Weapon and with Heatsinks, that was a good idea, and I'm applying it to the story now.

So for the Diplomatic Stuff, I would have done that… But I honestly didn't think about it, but I might try it in another version of this story, if and when I get to it. For the most part I wanted the timeline to flow like it did in the original story, just with Cyberpunk additions. Still Good suggestion, I think it would be a better idea than what I thought of. Though to be fair, I was mostly inspired by Gnaoh El Nart's fanfiction "For the Motherland" for the First Contact with the Quarians and the Second Contact War. You should read it and you'll see where I borrowed a few of my ideas from.

Also for the Geth, I didn't think of that, and that would likely end up going badly, but I might give it a try sometime. As for the Eddies, that was a miswrite on my part that I didn't realize I screwed up until it was too late… I meant to write "You know an Eddie is worth Three Credits" not the other way around, so that was my fault, and I'll fix it after I get home from vacation, so yeah I knew what I was writing, but the values got switched because I wasn't paying attention to what my fingers were doing. As for the IRL events, I couldn't think of anything interesting to add into those parts of the timeline that would advance weapons and cyberware to the point they reach at CP 2077 so I took inspiration from what's happening IRL, so sorry about that if it didn't mesh well.

Finally, I'm following the storyline of the games and modifying what I see as I go to try and make it as true to the games as possibly whilst adding my own twist to it, I know it's bad but I never played Mass Effect before, so I don't know what to do on my own. As for Shepard and Earth, I did the best I could do with what I had. So yeah…

Your idea of suggesting the Quarians introduce humans to the Galactic Community is a good one, but I didn't think about that when I started writing, a Good idea that I'll certainly use another time.

In any case I am going to just say this, this has more original parts in it than most would, and it will also be the opening for a storyline of this fanfiction that I wish to explore later down the line. I hope you guys will be patient with me and let me guide you down this path to something truly fun and interesting. While I will be following the main storyline of Mass Effect, I will be adding my own original moments and dialogue into this to make it interesting. And I know my writing style might not sit well with some people, but I do the best I can with what skills I have to try and bring something that people can find fun and interesting. So please bear with me if you're willing to sit through this.

Anyway, that is enough out of me for the time being! I'll see you guys when I get back from my vacation! Until then, please be sure to Follow, Favorite, Review, and Share this story with anyone and everyone you know who likes Mass Effect and Cyberpunk 2077 Content! Catch ya on the Flipside! Shepard…

Chapter 3: Don't Touch the Therum-mostat

SSV Normandy SR-1 (April 12th 2183)

"Well it looks like the Skipper is in a good mood!" Ashley says as Tali pushes her chair around, a bit to her chagrin, but better her than that Turian. "What do you think happened?"

"Well if Shepard's body language was anything to speak of, it seems he won a great victory of some kind whilst he was out and about!" Tali says.

"I see… Hey Tali, who was that Quarian you brought in?" Ashley asks, "Your boyfriend?"

"One, Gross… Second, that's my cousin, Dar'Raan… His mother and mine were twins." Tali explains, "Identical Twins, actually."

"Oh wow…" Ashley says, "That's gotta be a bit crazy."

"It would have been if we could walk without our suits." Tali explains, "Still, my mother and Auntie Raan actually customized their suits to look identical in terms of coloration, but my mother wore a realk that was far more… Aerated than my aunt's more tightly bound realk."

"Oh wow." Ashley says, "Let me guess, they liked changing up their hoods in order to mess with their husbands from time to time?"

"They did, and though I don't remember my mother clearly, it was always funny to see it when the two of them would play pranks on Father or Uncle Mael." Tali explains, smiling fondly under her mask, but, from her angle, Ashley can see it as the light passes through the visor. "In anycase, where did you need to go again?"

"I need something to eat! So can we get to the mess hall, please?" Ashley asks, to which Tali nods and wheels her away and gets her to the mess. Afterwards, Tali makes her way to Engineering, where Engineer Adams continues teaching her about the Normandy, in which Shepard walks in.

"Commander!" Engineer Adams, in which Tali rushes over to Shepard.

"This ship is amazing, Shepard!" Tali says, excitedly.

"She's been coming down here constantly to not only ask about the engines and core, but she's also been helping out a bit!" Engineer Adams says, "She's also such a delight, reminds me of my own kids when they got interested in engineering!"

"I'm glad you two are getting along!" Shepard says, smiling.

"Hey, I wish all the crew were half as good as she is. No offense to the crew, but her work ethic and her intelligence make her amazing! Give a month and she'll know more about the engines than I do!"

"Yes yes! I am also surprised you could get a drive core into a ship this small!" Tali says, then going onto a full on monologue about the Ship's Stealth Drives and how they work.

"Oh so the sinks for our stealth system act just like the heatsinks for my Sandevistan!" Shepard says, looking to his back as he stretches. "My Sandevistan, unlike a berserk needs time to cool down once it's been activated, and with the heatsinks installed in it, they release the heat energy much faster, allowing for a better recharge!"

"Exactly, but instead of releasing heat, they temporarily store the heat, and release it later in one large burst, rapidly cooling them!" Tali says, Shepard smiling as he finds her delightful. "I'm honestly still having a hard time believing it! About a month ago, I was patching a makeshift fuel line for a converted tug ship back in the Flotilla, now I'm standing aboard the most advanced vessel in Citadel Space!"

"Speaking of the Flotilla, there were actually a few questions I wanted to ask you, Tali!" Shepard says, "I've been too busy to do any of the research myself, so I only know a few things. Though finding out you were so interested in Ship Tech was actually quite surprising!"

"It comes with being a Quarian, Shepard! While it is no longer vital to the survival of my people, thanks to Humanity helping us after our First Contact with your species, we have been living in starships for over 3 centuries, and thus, until recently, they were the only thing keeping our race alive. With your people helping us, we not only managed to repair and improve them, but we managed to start building our own ships with your help." Tali says, "Right now, the Fleet only houses the Admiralty Board and the Clans who still hold out hope for regaining Rannoch. The other clans have chosen to live in our colonies."

"So only the Military uses the Fleet nowadays?"

"Well mostly the Military, there are other clans who live on the Liveships, which we use now as a means of trade, salvage, and processing materials on the move. The Majority of the Galactic Community still see us as vagrants and thieves, but we no longer care, thanks to Humanity taking the time to find worlds that could support us within the Alliance's Borders. It's no wonder our race was willing to join the Alliance after you had not only shown sympathy and empathy, but also gave us the help we so desperately needed when we needed it!" Tali explains, smiling under her mask.

"Well I'm glad our ancestors actually managed to grow close so we're practically Chooms now. Still, I don't remember much from my history lessons about how the First Contact went, you know anything."

"I do actually, as it was my grandfather who made first contact with Humans in the Sol System!" Tali explains. "When we entered the Sol System, it was during a desperate time where we were looking for uninhabited systems outside of Citadel Space that could be confirmed Dextro and would allow us to live there right under the Council's Nose."

"Why would you do that?"
"Well, we didn't realize it at the time, but every time we discovered a Dextro World and requested the Council to allow us to settle there, they would proclaim that the Turians had already found it and claimed it, even though it was empty. Turns out they had been using us to find Dextro worlds to colonize. My grandfather figured it out and tried to do things under the table, leading an expedition himself through an inactive relay, which brought us to the Sol System, there he made contact with the Alliance and Earth, and actually forged the foundations of a friendship between our races!"

"Oh right, that was Admiral Kal'Zorah, if I remember correctly!" V says, smiling.

"Yes, and though we discovered you had created AIs, we learned that you actually created them using an Organic means instead of a purely synthetic one, which did ease tensions a bit, but it still took time for us to trust the Organoids." Tali explains, "But it's thanks to those first interactions that our races bonded, and not only were we allowed to populate mars, which was a dextro desert world, but a few other Dextro Worlds within the alliance's borders, most of them being chosen mostly because of how we originated as a Desert Race."

"Interesting, now that is something I didn't know!" Shepard says, imagining Tali in one of those genie costumes, to which he has to hold his nose as his thoughts go somewhere they shouldn't.

"Shepard?" Tali asks.

"Sorry, hearing the word desert made me think of your race as Arabians for a second there." Shepard says. "Trust me, you don't want to know."

"Then I'll hold my tongue…" Tali says.

"Oh there is something I would like to ask you Tali…" Shepard says, looking at her. "Do you think you could take a look at my Sandevistan? I think I might need someone to tighten the screws… And I'm not flexible enough to reach back there." Shepard is blushing as he says this.

"Certainly, I'll do what I can!" Tali says, to which they bring out a bench for Shepard to lie down on, and he takes off his shift, and lies down, the young Quarian doing her best to maintain focus as she sees Shepard's muscles. She examines each artificial vertebra on the Sandevistan, and as she suspected, some of the screws are coming loose, though she can tell they aren't fully out. She takes a screwdriver and carefully tightens them down, and smirks as she also notices that the Heatsinks need a bit of tightening. It takes a bit, but Tali eventually manages to get everything tightened and back into shape. "Done!" Tali says, "I'm no Ripper, but I think that doing some minor repairs on a Sandevistan is easy enough!"

"Thanks, Tali!" He puts his shirt on with a smile and then sits up, "Hey Tali, there is something that is bothering me."

"What is it?"

"The Geth… I had done some research on them in the past, and after learning a bit about them… I need to ask… Do you think the Quarians' reaction to them gaining sentience was a bit… Hasty?"

"Hasty?" Tali asks, feeling something rise in her.

"What I mean is… Your ancestors acted in a panic once they realized the Geth were gaining sentience, acting without thinking, based on what I was able to gather over the extra-net." Shepard explains, Tali's eyes hardening behind her mask. "I mean, essentially, your ancestors were killing children who didn't understand anything of the world around, children who were physically stronger than they are and, potentially, far more numerous."

"Children…?" Tali asks, clenching a fist.

"I mean, how would you expect children, who don't know how the world works, to react when their parents try to kill them for, apparently, no good reason?" Shepard asks, not looking at her.

"How can you say that after what you had seen them do!?" Tali asks, glaring at him.

"I honestly can say that if I were in their shoes, I'd probably do the same thing to my mother, if she were still alive." Shepard says, standing up, he then looks to Engineer Adams, who is making a motion across his neck with a panicked look on his face, to which Shepard then pinches the bridge of his nose. Tali, for her part, is very tempted to send a Daemon into his systems for what he had just said… He had just empathized with the Geth of all things, and made it look like what her ancestors did was "hasty" and "done without thinking". Though, as much as she wants to deny it, if she were to think about this logically, then she could see how it would look like her ancestors acted far too hastily, but her rage and hatred of the Geth can't allow her to see it. The Geth had taken everything away from her and her people, why should they be empathized with when her people are suffering because of those synthetic monsters?

"I'm sorry Tali… I was talking without thinking, simply because that had been bugging me…" Shepard says, "I'll be leaving now…" Once he is gone, Tali lets out.

"BOSH'TET! How could he say such things!? Does he not know how much my people have suffered!?"

"Tali…" Engineer Adams says, "You may not like what he says, but the Commander is not being malicious, trust me, once you get to know him, you'll realize word choice is not his strong suit. The Commander had been thinking about how things could have been different, because, in his mind, the Quarians did make the right call to act first, but the wrong call to try and wipe out the Geth." Tali looks at the Engineer in shock, "Now now, let me explain. From his point of view he sees the Geth as just coming to sentience like children do, and a child, if scared or abused, will lash out if it can. However, the Geth, asking questions about their existence, this is the same thing that we did when God created us. We've been asking about the meaning for our existence and for our purpose in this Galaxy, but we never got the answer. As such we created religion in order to try and find those answers. Unlike us fleshbags, however, the Geth saw their Gods before them, and tried to understand what their purpose was, and, if my guess is correct on this, how to best serve them, as we humans who are Christian, try to do our best to serve God."

"To serve God…" Tali says, calming down a bit, still angry with Shepard, but… "Then why did Shepard say those things in such a way?"

"Shepard has Autism Spectrum Syndrome… It grants him smarts and creativity, but at the cost of his social capabilities. As such, Tali, Shepard is not very good at both word choice and reading social cues or social interaction in general. He has learned how to phrase what he intends to do when it comes to social interactions as part of a mission, or like the multiple choice social aspects of a videogame." Engineer Adams explains, "However, that is only when he has a clear thought in his mind about what he wants to talk about, but when he comes up with topics on his own, he is pretty bad at social interaction, because he can't say what he wants to get across."

"So let me get this straight, he sees the world as one large video game?"

"It's how he copes with the world around him…!" Doctor Karin Chakwas says, walking down. "It makes it easier for him to interact with people if he views it through that lens, and allows him to handle stress better that way. It's kind of why he had his optics modified to be more akin to that of a Role Playing Game's HUD, translating his subconscious thoughts into conscious word choice. It even gives him the ability to read a person's stats, and make more conscious moral choices based on a Paragon and Renegade Scale."

"So Shepard sees the World as a video game as a means to help him cope with the world, and how to better interact with it…" Tali says, putting her hands together, "and to make it easier, he added mods to his cyberware to make it like a Video Game… So that it is easier for him to choose his words. Okay this is complicated…" Tali can feel a headache coming on, but then notices the HUD on her visor, and then thinks on it for a moment. "Why would Shepard do that?"

"Because he knows things are outside of his control, and by viewing the world through the lens of a videogame, he can handle it when things go wrong… He has a low tolerance for stress, and when he gets stressed, he is more than likely to act without thinking… By having his subconscious thoughts put into dialogue options for him to see and choose from, he knows exactly what he wants to say and how to phrase it." Karin explains, "Not only that, as an autistic, chaotic situations are the worst for him, so he tends to think of his autistic nature as "Order is the Order of the Day" to help him rationalize and calm his mind." She smirks, "But I'm getting too deep into this. Just know that Shepard has a hard time coming up with things on his own, and when he does, he tends to create more problems than he solves without his modified optics help him with."

Tali thinks on this and begins to wonder how badly Shepard has suffered in his youth due to such things being unavailable to him. Deciding to get back to work, Tali focuses on what needs to be done before she can ponder more on this, better to take your mind off things for a bit to better process the information later. Shepard, meanwhile, is banging his head against the wall for the things he said. "DAMN IT! This is why I always say I need to fry my limbic system! Or at least get a piece of cyberware that has me avoid putting my foot in my mouth!"

"You can't control everything, Shepard." Karin says, walking over. "You need to learn how to control how you react to people, and how to better word what you're thinking without sounding too cruel…"

"I know…" Shepard says, sitting down on a seat. "Of all the times for me to try thinking originally…"

"Well…"

"Commander!" A voice calls over the intercom, it's Joker. "We got a message from Captain Anderson! It simply says… "Yada-go"?"

"Thanks, Joker!" Shepard says with a grin, "Call the Ground Team to the Meeting Room, it's time for N7 style Training!"

"Aye aye!" Joker says.

Half an hour later…

Tali wonders what's going on, she heard they are going to be doing some training, but she couldn't tell what is going on as Shepard stands in the center of the room with his back to the group as they arrive. "Glad you could all finally join…" Shepard says, his voice having changed from the warm and somewhat comforting voice to something unrecognizable… The tone of his voice is cold, almost Calculating, having almost no emotion in it, sounding robotic, if one could describe it. He turns around and his optics are glowing red, and there is a glare on his face, with a look that could kill a thousand times over. "Take your seats, it's time for training, maggots…" Tali, telling a cold fear to fill her, does as she is told, as do the others. They move to their seats to find a small case sitting there in their seats. Tali picks hers up and rests it on her lap, and since Ashley is still recovering, she remains in her wheelchair. "In 8 days, we will hit the Mass Relay that will take us to the Artemis Tau Cluster, and I intend to put you through what I did in N-School within 7 Days… How do I intend to pound years worth of the Alliance's top military training into you in just a week? Well…" He smirks wickedly…

"In those cases you will find Military Grade Training Shards that I had personally customized with the aid of a few friends back on Earth. These Shards will allow you to enter a training module that will allow you to gain military grade training without putting you through the ringer physically." Shepard coldly states, "Be warned though, if you flatline during training, you will wake back up in the real world and will do twenty push-ups until you complete it. For the next week, we will be going through more and more intense training, and on the 7th day, you will be put through a linked combat situation where we will test out your teamwork and how well you progressed in your training." His voice sounds like it is made of ice, lifeless, but full of hate and rage, something that Kaiden seems to chafe under. "If you all manage to survive the simulation all the way to the end without losing anyone even once, then your training will be complete, but should you lose even one person, the simulation will end and you will all drop and give me 20, including you Williams, until you complete the simulation without losing a team member." He gives them a softer glare, "As my mother once said, "I pride myself on the number of Allied Funerals I don't have to attend"."

Tali looks at him and Kaiden can understand where Shepard is coming from and seems to relax. "For those of you without a Neuroport, I set up Brain Dance Headsets that you can insert the Shards into and it will work just as well." Everyone nods silently, and he gives them permission to begin the training… Tali inserts the Shard and when she enters, she finds herself in a large Grey and Glossy Room and sees Shepard standing there.

"Finally, I thought I'd never shut up!" The programmed Shepard says, smiling. "Hey Choom, sorry to scare ya with my old personality like that, but it's the only way I can get you to take this training seriously. As I said, I pride myself on the number of Funerals I don't have to attend! So until you complete this training, you'll be getting… Captain Badass as your leader until then. This training will put you through realistic situations where you will be fortifying what you already know about combat and giving you new ways to use your tools. This shard also has a Universal Adaptor to take into account your Cybernetics and/or your Biotic abilities. So be prepared for what I have in store for you!"

Tali sighs in relief as she hears Shepard's normal voice, and gets right to training, which not only reinforces her use of Shotguns and Pistols, but also gives her instruction in other weapons, along with "Live Fire" Tests to teach her what to use and when to use it…. This is going to be grueling…

A Week Later…

Shepard stands as he sees through everyone go through their final bit of training before the Final Examination… The Normandy is about a day away from hitting the Mass Relay that will take them to the Artemis Tau Cluster, where they should find Liara T'soni, and confirm whether or not she has sided with her mother, and Shepard looks as, surprising him, Tali is the first to get out of the final session of the Training Shard, and he smirks. "Well done, Tali'Zorah nar Rayya…" He says, his voice slightly warmer than he would allow. "Now we wait for the others to take you through your final exam…" It doesn't take long at all as Ashley, Garrus, and Wrex come through, with Kaiden bringing up the rear. "Alright, people… It's time you go through your Final Exam… Take everything you have learned and mesh it well as a team. However, I want you to, before we start, choose your team leader for this final exam…" Everyone begins to discuss what is going on as Shepard turns off his auditory receptors and sees them discussing.

"I think we should have Ash lead…" Wrex says, looking at the group, who look at him with surprise. "Despite my experience, it's been a while since I led an actual squad, so I'm rather rusty. Besides, Krogan tactics aren't well suited for groups."

"I agree with Wrex!" Tali says, "I don't have any experience as a leader, but I know Ashley does, based on what I was able to look up!"

"I believe the same!" Kaiden says, "I may have a higher rank, but I'm more of a follower than a leader." Garrus voices his approval as well, which, to Ashley, is a bit vindicating, but also makes her feel a bit of something she doesn't recognize. Once everyone nods, Shepard turns back on his audio and gives the their Final Exam Shards, and smirks.

"Good luck, maggots!" Shepard says, smirking cruelly, and everyone sweats as they fear what he has in store for them.

The Training Space…

The group finds themself standing in the middle of what appears to be a massive, open, circular location, and there is somebody walking towards them, a woman, dressed in what appears to be the lightest possible armor for the Alliance Military, but there is also something odd about her… She is wielding a sword against people who have guns. That is when Ashley recognizes who it is as a song begins playing… And it appears to sound like a Doom Eternal Inspired version of One Winged Angel…

"EVERYONE GET BEHIND COVER!" Ashley shouts as everyone moves into position as the woman moves closer, slowly drawing her sword as she takes a high guard stance, only to vanish once everyone takes aim. Ashley turns around on instinct, aiming her pistol at whoever is behind her, only to see the person she attacks thrust her sword at her. Ash barely moves her head out of the way as the sword pierces right through the rock she is hiding behind. Garrus, aiming his sniper rifle, fires quickly, only to find the woman disappearing once more, and appearing next to him, her sword aimed at his neck. Leaping backwards whilst leaning his head back, the Turian barely manages to avoid the sword strike, falling on his back in the process, in which the woman goes for a stab, but the Former C-Sec officer rolls out of the way, drawing his pistol as he looks to see her vanish.

"What is that thing!?" Garrus asks, "She's moving too fast!"

"Look around Garrus!" Ashley says, "Doesn't this remind you of something you saw in those Turian Military Books?" Garrus looks around as he sees the area, and then it hits Garrus.

"We're in the Round Table…" If he could sweat, he would right now, terrified of where he is, and the possibility of who they might be… No… Absolutely are fighting… "The Demon Lord…"

"That's right!" That is when Tali fires off a shot from her Shotgun and forcing the simulated Hannah Shepard to jump backwards whilst swinging her sword, knocking Tali's shotgun muzzle to the side. Kaiden, utilizing his Biotics, then sends out a burst of energy towards Hannah Shepard, who runs her hand across her sword and swings, sending out an electrical energy wave that sends it back at Kaiden, throwing him backwards. Wrex snarls as he charges forward, aiming to tackle Hannah, who only deftly dodges and trips Wrex mid-charge, sending him into the dirt. The Krogan warrior barely dodges a swing as Hannah gets back into position. Tali, thinking quickly, pulls a knife from her boot and charges at Hannah, who blocks her attack, and as Tali's Quickhacks become visible on her visor's Hud, and she activates Reboot Optics, causing Hannah to stumble backwards as she holds her eyes, but gets back into a guarded position. Ashley growls, and takes a breath.

"Tali hang back and keep your hacks on her! Breach Protocol if you need to!" Ashley says, "Kaiden, Wrex, use your Biotics to keep her moving! Garrus, you and I will be forcing her to move how we want her to!"

"MA'AM, YES MA'AM!" Everyone confirms as Ashley takes out her assault rifle and begins firing at precise locations, Hannah moving as fast as her Sandevistan will allow her, watching her opponents carefully, in which with their combined efforts, Hannah, watching them carefully, finds them trying to keep her away from Tali, who is handing back behind the others, as the girl seems to be using an ICE-Pick to get past her defenses, whilst Ashley and the others are playing keep away. That is when the program switches tactics and pushes her Sandevistan to the Limit, beyond what it's Heatsinks can perform, and she jumps at Tali, aiming a sword to the back of her head.

"NOW!" Ashley shouts as Tali turns around, aiming her Sarata and releases a fully-charge shot, sending the simulated woman flying back, as everyone fires everything they have at the Demon Lord of the Round Table. However, once she is down, she gets back up and takes off her helmet.

"Well done… You finally managed to figure out what none of the Turians could figure out that day… Alone I can take out a whole army, but if everyone made a concentrated effort, I wouldn't have lived as long as I did. I can take on large groups who are scared and disorganized easily, but smaller groups of better armed forces who have perfect teamwork, I have no chance against…" Hannah says, "Congratulations, you've passed your training!" She salutes the group, who stand and salute back. "Program Terminated…" That is when everyone returns to the real world, and Shepard is clapping his hands and congratulates them all.

"There is one thing that bothers me, Shepard…" Garrus says, "We had our kinetic barriers up during that simulation, yet your mother managed to cut right through them as if they were nothing… With a sword no less! How is that possible!?"

"Well this sort of goes back to before the Second Contact War…" Shepard explains, "You see, the Quarians had introduced Kinetic Barriers to us, and while, at first we were interested in them, we quickly discovered an exploit that it seems nobody but us has figured out, and thus gave us our first major advantage in war."

"What exploit was that?" Garrus asks.

"Kinetic Generators actually have computerized components!" Tali says, "Using their Cyberdecks, they mass hacked all of the Turian's Kinetic Barriers and either shut them off, or short circuited them. This in turn left most Turians wide open for a barrage of bullets as well as close-range cyberware."

"Sheesh, and what would happen if nobody could hack said generators?"

"There were another way to exploit the Kinetic Barriers, one was due to the immense amount of Static Electricity they produced." Shepard explains, "You see, Tech Weapons, Pre-Mass Effect Physiques, would randomly generate Thermal, Electrical, or Chemical damage, and have a small chance of inducing combustion, lingering electrocution, or even poison their targets. Once the Quarians taught us how to use Mass Effect Fields to refine materials and craft items, we learned how to control the crafting of a Tech Weapon's "elemental" damage. We exploited this by utilizing Electricity based guns, which would induce electrical damage to the shields, and if Shock set in, then it would short circuit the Kinetic Barriers by overloading them with so much energy it couldn't deflect it."

"That is why Humanity won an overwhelming victory in the Second Contact war, because they could hack into Kinetic Generators and shut them down, or overload them with their electrical weaponry. The fact is that when it comes to cyber warfare, humans stand toe-to-toe with us Quarians, who are only second to the Geth. And with their Cybernetic enhancements strengthening other weaknesses…"

"Then that means Humanity, with the right cyberware, can match any race if they have time to prepare." Garrus explains, "Geez…"

"Well there is a limitation to that, one of them being Cyberpsychosis… But that's another story for another time…" He then looks down. "Tali, could you come to my quarters later? I need your opinion on something?"

"Uh… Sure…!" Tali says, a bit nervous, and then he nods and dismisses everyone, telling them they will celebrate tonight before they hit the relay with a Shepard Style Dinner. Shepard quickly goes to his quarters and once there, he sits at his desk and brings a data pad containing what appear to be blueprints for the Amarok, in which Shepard is looking them over as there is a knock at the door.

"Come in!"

"Shepard, you wanted to see me?" Tali asks.

"Ah! Tali, thanks for coming!" Shepard says, to which he brings out his gun and places it on the table. "So here is what I wanted to talk to you about…"

"Your gun?" Tali asks, getting a closer look at it.

"The Amarok… It's a next-gen Borg Weapon that my mother created and I modified myself…" Shepard explains, "I modified it so that it utilizes similar technology to that of Mass Accelerator Weapons, but there is a problem… It can only fire one shot at a time, and takes a bit to cool down… As such I've been trying to come up with a system that allows me to fire multiple shots without having to wait for a reload…" He then picks up a Heatsink for his Sandevistan. "That is when I looked at this… My Heatsinks… They allow the excess heat from my Sandevistan to be released at a rapid pace, allowing me to utilize it more frequently…!" Tali nods as she listens, "The only problem is how to I create a type of heatsink that works for a weapon like this?"

"Hmmm…" Tali looks at the Amarok and when she pops the cylinder open, and then looks at the spot where bullets would be located, and then an idea comes into her mind. "Disposable…!"

"Huh?" Shepard asks.

"Disposable Heatsinks!" She then shows Shepard what she is thinking as she draws what appears to be a blueprint of a heatsink shaped like a revolver's cylinder, along with an ejection mechanism that would allow Shepard to quickly replace them in a moment's notice. What's more, Shepard can see how it works with his gun, and is running the numbers in his head, he could easily make something like this! He smiles as he watches Tali puts the finishing touches on the blueprints, and Shepard reads them wth a smile, "With this, you can pop the Heatsink once it absorbs too much, and then quickly replace it! You'll be able to keep firing whilst everyone else is cooling down!"

"What if we added an additional cooling element to it and synchronized it with the ejection mechanism?" Shepard asks, moving his hand to the blueprint and begins adding his thoughts to it, creating a secondary cooling element to it, linking said element to the Ejection Mechanism, in which Tali nods as she looks it over… A Smile forming on her face as she looks at the blueprint…

The Next Day…

Shepard smiles as he holds the Amarok with a smile on his face, smiling as he looks over the weapons he had constructed over the course of the rest of the day, smiling as is proud of the work he and Tali made, not only that, he smiles as he had snuck into the armory and had gotten his hands on some spare weapons for him to experiment with. After some tinkering, he managed to get this system set into place with the weapons he got his hands on. "Commander, ETA 5 Minutes from Therum!"

"Thanks Joker! Tell the ground team to meet me in the armory, I got a surprise for all of them!"

"Aye aye!" Joker says, in which Shepard smiles as he makes his way to the armory and as everyone comes down to suit up, Shepard smiles as he places the weapons he tinkered with on the table.

"Shepard, please don't tell me you went mad scientist on our guns…!" Kaiden says.

"Not your guns, I wouldn't do that to you guys, I actually took some spares and ran an experiment on them!" Shepard says, smiling. "You see, Tali and I, last night we came up with something of a new system for weaponry! Behold the Thermal Clip System!" Shepard says, smiling as he shows them how it works by shooting some practice targets with the Amarok, and once the sink turns red hot, he hits a button and the sink flies out, landing on the ground nearby, glowing red hot before rapidly cooling, whilst hot air flows out of the gun as Shepard puts in a new one, firing more rounds, before stopping and ejecting the second one, in which both heatsinks clatter to the floor. However, much to the shock of the group, the cylinders rapidly lose their heat, and Shepard picks one up and tosses it to Kaiden, who bounces it in his hands a minute, thinking it's hot, but he is shocked as he holds it.

"Wait, it's not even warm!" Kaiden says, shocked.

"That's right, it's thanks to a little something Tali and I developed last night, a secondary cooling system in the clips that dissipates the heat rapidly as it is launched from the system. It's a similar manner in how mass effect fields dissipate their static electricity into the ground or a geomagnetic field. The heat is actually generated from the massive amounts of static electricity in the mass accelerators, and by channeling all that excess electricity into the heatsinks, the energy is temporarily captured and then transferred into a planet's magnetosphere or into the ground, causing the clips to rapidly cool. Only then are they cool enough to touch!" Tali puffs out her chest with pride as Ashley gives her a jealous look. "Ash, are you fit for duty?"

"Fit and ready, sir!" Ashley says, to which Shepard nods, and everyone gets locked and loaded as Shepard takes some of his new experimental stuff for a ride, smiling. He picks up his Amarok and actually picks up a SMG he had built for the occasion, a unique SMG he built himself, deciding to name it the Asena, after the wolf of Turkish Mythology with a smile on his face. He modeled this one in the design of the H&K MP5. Everyone makes their way to the Mako and Shepard reaches for the driver side door.

"Uh Commander, I don't think you should drive…" Kaiden says.

"Why not?" Tali asks.

"Yes, Lieutenant, why not?" Shepard asks.

"Commander, I've been in vehicles with you at the wheel, and you drive as if you're in the middle of a street race most of the time. You're a crazy badass driver that I'm scared to have behind the wheel."

"Oh come on Kaiden, it can't be that bad!" Ashley says, smiling.

"Yes, let's see how things work out!"

"Fine, but I warned you all."

"Alright, Garrus, you're on the Gun, shoot down anyone that you see that is hostile. Wrex, you're on the door, anyone who gets near you, blow them to hell. Tali, I'm entrusting you with keeping the Mako in top shape. Kaiden, you're to create barriers that deal with heavy armaments if they get sent our way. Ash, you keep on radar and warn me of anything!"

"Sir, yes sir!" Everyone says as they load in.

The Prothean Ruins, Therum…

"That was…" Tali says, shaking a bit, "That was actually kind of fun!" smiles as the group exits the Mako after getting close to the ruins, since the way is blocked.

"I think I'm gonna hurl…" Kaiden says, making his way to part of the blockage and trying to keep his lunch down.

"Oh stop being such a pyjak!" Wrex says, "If you thought that was bad, well you've never been in a Tomkah before! That will certainly make you lose your lunch, and probably your breakfast too!"

"Please no…" Kaiden says, starting to recover. Ashley smiles as she gets out, stretching.

"If that's what it was like in a tank, I wonder what the commander could do with an actual car!"

"I still have my great grandpa's Archer Hella EC-D i360… Got it for my birthday last year!" Shepard says, to which Kaiden starts to blanch at the thought. Making their way inside, they find a number of Geth within, in which Shepard decides to take point, knowing his Sandevistan would allow him to get the first shot off should he spot any geth soldiers. Thinking back on their trip here, V had gotten a chance to use the Amarok and Asena pretty effectively, and, as proven in the simulations that he and Tali had done, the Heatsinks had worked like a charm! He managed to make all the kills he could easily, and could fire off more shots with the Amarok than he could previously whilst maintain it's One-Shot, One-Kill modus operandi, whilst the Asena was far more generous with her shots, but thankfully, her Thermal Clip was removed almost immediately.

Shepard smiles as a Geth starts to round a corner, in which he activates his Sandevistan and charges in, moving quickly and shoots the Geth right in it's flashlight face with a smile on V's face. "Now this Amarok feels like a winner!" Shepard says, smiling as he shoots a few more rounds into it to allow the thermal clip to fly off.

"Damn Shepard, save some for the rest of us!" Garrus says.

"I will, I am just enjoying the feel of the new Amarok!" Shepard says, smiling as they continue on, eventually running into Drones and other Geth Troopers, in which Shepard smiles as he sees the group working together like a team. Eventually, the group makes it down an elevator, and Shepard stops everyone listening for something. "Do you guys hear that?"

Everyone listens and they hear a faint voice. "Uh… Hello? Could somebody help me? Please?" A woman's voice says.

"I think we found her, Commander!" Ashley says, to which the group makes it down stairs from their location and land right in front of what appears to be a barrier of some kind with an Asari woman hanging with her arms spread out as she floats in the air. Shepard walks over to the barrier with a smile on his face.

"You, Liara T'soni? What's hanging, choom?"

"Hanging? Did you just make a pun?" Liara asks.

"I did, so anyway, you alright?" Shepard asks. "How'd you get in this mess?"

"This is a Prothean Security Field, so I need your help in getting out of it!" Liara says, "I was exploring these ruins when the Geth suddenly showed up, so I hid in this room. Can you believe it? Geth, beyond the Perseus Veil?"

"Oh I believe it, I had my first encounter with them on Eden Prime!" Shepard says, "But that doesn't explain how you ended up suspended in a similar manner to Jesus."

"I was trying to activate the ruin's defense systems and hide, knowing the barriers would keep me safe until I could think of a way to escape. But when I did, I think I pressed the wrong button by accident and I ended up activating this security field and ended up trapped like this! Please, get me out of here!"

"Before I do that, I need to know something…" Shepard says, "Your mother, Benezia, is working with a Rogue Spectre named Saren, we don't know why she turned traitor, and I'd like to believe he's attempting to use you as a hostage and a source of information. But I need to know, whose side are you on?"

"What?" Liara says, "I'm not on anybody's side! I haven't spoken to my mother in years, not since we had our falling out!" Liara says, her eyes filled with regret. "Please, just let me out of here! If you do then I swear I will do what I can to help you bring Saren to justice and figure out why my mother turned against the Galaxy, because that doesn't sound like her at all!"

"Alright hang tight, we'll get you out of there!" Shepard says.

"Another pun? Really?" Liara asks, "Anyway, the controls for the security field are on this side, you'll need to find a way to get to the elevator behind me!"

"Skipper, look there!" Ashley says, pointing her gun towards a large machine. "A Mining Laser, maybe we can use that to tunnel beneath that room and find a way through?"

"Excellent idea!" Shepard says, praising Ashley, getting a nod of approval from everyone.

"Just make sure to adjust the power levels, I've got a bad feeling we're right above a major fault line that might set off a volcanic reaction if there is too much power put into that laser!" Tali says, and Garrus nods.

"Good thinking Tali, I don't want to end up as, what do you humans call it, "fried chicken"?" Garrus says, to which Shepard chuckles at that,

"Be careful, all of you, there is a Krogan working with the Geth, they've been attempting several different ways to get past this barrier, they may be lying in wait somewhere in the ruins!" Liara says

"Thanks for the heads up! Just hang on, we'll have you out of there in a jiffy!"

"Again with the puns!" Liara says, exasperated.

"That one was unintentional!" Shepard says, heading downstairs as several Geth show up near the laser. The group ends up in a firefight, but it is then Tali brings out her Omnitool and looks at a Geth Shock Trooper and readies her Daemons, her Cyberdeck finding purchase as she utilizes the Breach Protocol to get past the Geth's anti-virus protection and get into their heads before utilizing a Short Circuit using her Hud and Cyberdeck to land the Daemons, with her Omnitool cranking up the power. What she didn't expect is for the Daemon to spread to a few of the other Shock Troopers and put them down, causing her to release a cute little "eep" once she realizes what had happened, causing Wrex to whistle.

"Nice one, kid! You managed to take a whole squad out with just a few hacks! Nice!" Wrex says, impressed.

"I honestly can't wait to see that Krogan, then I'll show you what a Berserk can do!" Ashley says, "Then you'll be impressed!"

"I hope you're right!" Wrex says. They manage to find a few caches of weapons and supplies, which Shepard quickly breaks down the weapons into crafting components when he doesn't find direct upgrades to the crew's current gear, and smiles as he stashes them away, whilst the medical supplies and mods are placed in their back pockets for later. Tali gets to work on ICE-Picking the Mining Laser after that and quickly manages to lower the power of the Laser so it cuts through the stone but not much more than that. Wrex laughs at the destruction caused whilst Shepard just smirks, though his eyes are drawn to Tali's rear whilst she is working. Thankfully his helmet hides his blush as he does so, but it's not hard for Ashley to not notice Shepard staring at the Quarian.

Everyone piles onto the Elevator and gets to Liara's cell, "Oh thank goodness!" Liara says, "The button should be right over there!" Liara gestures with her head, Shepard shutting off the field, but for some reason Shepard hears something play in his head… It's Mr. Krabbs from vids he watched as a little kid…

"Don't… Touch…" The quote plays in his head as suddenly he has a sinking feeling in his gut, and then the ruins start to shake, violently. "THE THERMOSTAAAAAT!"

"Oh no!" Shepard says, scared.

"These ruins were already unstable, but I think the vibrations from the Mining Laser may have triggered a Seismic Event!" Liara says, looking around.

"But I cut down the power of that laser as much as I could!" Tali says, shocked.

"Ponder Later, exit now!" Shepard says as they take the elevator upwards. "JOKER! Get the Normandy Airborne and lock in on my signal. ON THE DOUBLE, MISTER!" After some confirmation from Joker, the group makes their way to the exit, unfortunately, at the top, the Krogan makes his appearance, along with some Geth Shock Troopers. "Look Choombatta, save the monologue, this place is coming down on top of us, either we make it out of here and settle our differences outside, or we all get buried here!"

"I'm not leaving without the Asari, so hand her over, or don't. That would be much more fun!"

"Fuck…" Shepard says, "Guess we do this the hard way…"

"Good!" he then turns to his Geth Soldiers, "Kill everyone, but keep the Asari Scientist alive… If you can!" Shepard growls.

"CLOCK-UP!" Shepard shouts and moves at high speed to attack the Geth Troopers, only for a biotic field, one that feels ferocious and aggressive, forces him back.

"Skipper!" Ashley says, looking, "Alright you asked for it!" Ashley says, her eyes glowing a deep violet as her vision takes on a violet hue, the chemicals from the Berserk flowing into her veins as she feels the rush of energy and pure rage flowing into her system, but more than that, she can feel the power being granted to her. However, she knows she has less than a minute before this wears off, so she has to make it count. Drawing a Monomolecular Hatchet from her back, Ashley roars with fury as she charges forward, swinging with all her might. She expected the Berserk to amplify her strength, but she didn't think it would be this much, she manages to cut deep into the Krogan's hide, and somehow slice through bone. Now that is normal for a Monomolecular Blade, but even with her experience, there is always some resistance when slicing through bone, but this… There just isn't any. The Krogan roars in pain, but smiles as he charges in, the Geth aiming their weapons.

"Supressing fire, now!" Shepard shouts, having everyone keep the Geth busy whilst Ashley deals with the Krogan. Ashley catches the charge, groaning as she uses her new strength to stop it head on before doing something really… Stupid… She headbutts the Krogan and then grabs the creature's headcrests, and, with all of her new strength, rips it clean off. Wrex looks at Ashley with both awe and fear at this, looking like he is going to be sick, as Ashley brings down her axe on the exposed skull and kills the Krogan. The Geth are quickly tidied up and everyone books out of the Ruin, with Kaiden utilizing a Barrier Shield with his Biotics to bulldoze through some of the falling rubble whilst Shepard hangs in the back, using his Sandevistan to grab anyone who trips and falls, getting them back up, whilst his Kerenzikov comes in handy for dodging rubble that he barely notices.

Knowing they can't save the Mako, they rush to the top of the nearest structure, where everyone gets aboard, and Shepard has to jump and grab onto Wrex's hand and be pulled into the ship as the Normandy books it out of there.

The Normandy

After disarming themselves, and the Normandy bugging out of the planet's atmosphere, everyone goes to the meeting room. "That was way too close, Commander!" Joker says, "Ten Seconds more and we'd have been swimming in Molten Sulphur! You know the Normandy isn't built to land in exploding Volcanoes! They do tend to fry our sensors and melt our hull! Just for future reference!"

"Why is it that whenever you humans get out or are in the middle of a crisis situation, you crack jokes or make puns?" Liara asks, starting to get annoyed.

"It's a coping mechanism for Joker and I. For Joker, it allows him to relieve stress and complain without getting into too much trouble. For me, it allows me to think more clearly and lighten the mood, just so everyone can remain calm and focused. You'll get used to it! Though next time, I'm going to listen to my instincts and not touch the Therum-mostat..."

"SHEPARD!" Everyone shouts at the Commander, who simply smirks. After the Debriefing, and having an exchange of information with Liara, Shepard rings up the Council.

"Councilors, I'm here to report on what happened."

"Yes, your report was actually quite interesting…" Councilor Tevos says, "So Doctor T'soni is on the Normandy?"

"Yes, Councilor, and I have found out that Liara is more than willing to cooperate with us, she even fought against Saren's Agents. Not only that, she looks like she hasn't eaten in days because of being suspended in an energy field." Shepard explains.

"I assume you're taking the necessary security precautions, Shepard?" Councilor Sparatus asks.

"I want her to feel as welcome as possible, but yes, I am, though subtlety is what I'm going for right now until I can confirm that Liara is indeed not working with Saren. Once I can confirm it, I'll drop the measures so she can help the team more effectively."

"Very wise of you, Commander." Councilor Valern says.

"Still, Saren's Geth were trying to capture her alive, so if Saren did Blackmail Benezia, then he may have made a slip-up in not having Liara, and sought to take her to prove his words true…" Shepard says.

"Yes, Benezia wouldn't allow any harm to come to her daughter. Despite their falling out, she still loves her. So Saren, making good on his promise, if Benezia is indeed being blackmailed, has taken the precautions necessary." Councilor Tevos says.

"Yes, which means that whatever is going on between Saren and Benezia hasn't been going on for long." Councilor Valern says. "Either that or she doesn't know that Saren doesn't have her yet."

"That or we don't know Benezia at all." Councilor Sparatus says. "We never expected her to turn traitor, whatever the circumstances."

"Still, the Mission was a success."

"Apart from the destruction of a Major Prothean Ruin. Was that really necessary, Commander?"

"I'm sorry, but we took every precaution not to cause it's destruction, even though we didn't know at the time the ruins were unstable. Tali'Zorah had a gut feeling we were right above a major fault line, and so we took all the precautions we could, but our plan still fell apart around us, both figuratively and literally." Shepard explains, trying to keep his temper intact whilst explaining as best he can, "There was nothing we could do once the chain reaction started… Besides, the Geth were crawling all over those ruins, and we were lucky to make it out in one piece!"

"Of course, Commander, the mission must always take priority."

"Yes, and give your team a few days to rest and recover before moving onto your next assignment. Good luck, Commander, we're all counting on you!" Tevos says, to which Shepard breathes a sigh of relief once that is over.

"Okay, God…" Shepard says, "If any member of the Council is destined to die before this mission is over, please let it be Sparatus!"

High above Shepard, in another plane, somebody is listening intently, and decides this might be a good way to test Shepard's intentions… As such, he opens the Web of Fate and moves one string, originally meant for Noveria, and gently moves it to Sparta. "If you can overcome this trial, Shepard, I may consider it…" God says, smirking, "Besides…" He looks to the Quarians and smiles as he looks back on the history of the Web, "Your race deserves more after saving 17 million lives with a random act of kindness." He then looks to a part of the web that is further back in time and smiles as he looks at a small statuette and looks to see Vincent "V" Shepard, the Living Legend, shaking hands with a Quarian Admiral of his time, Jaki'Vael vas Neema nar Rayya, only with Jaki's visor being removed, and looking like Shepard's old friend, Jackie Welles, which God smiles as he looks at him. "Especially your Ancestor…" God only smiles as he watches history start to unfold as the Normandy changes course… "Let the games begin… Butcher of Torfan…"