The wrong approach

Disclaimer

Starcraft is the property of Blizzard entertainment.

Mass effect is the property of Bioware.

Any elements used in this story are used only in order to create a story for no monetary gain nor do I claim any ownership over them, beyond the names and characters unique to this story.

SSV Normandy - In transit to Feros

Jane

Life in the Normandy was a strange experience all things considered.

Time abort this vessel was filled with many oddities that one may overlook if they weren't part of them to begin with.

One such person was Jane Shepard.

Her time in this vessel had begun just as she had expected of an alliance vessel. Missions were given, protocols were followed and duties were fulfilled in time and form.

All was well and good in this regard as the human elements of the crew behaved as she expected…

All save for one.

"Good morning Jane" the voice of a certain person got the attention of the navigator as she was going through some star charts.

The CIC had entered into its night shift about an hour before the person in question had decided to come and in all honesty Jane saw this intrusion as an interruption in what had originally been a good time for her.

Who was this person you may ask?

Well it was none other than the commanding officer of this vessel.

Her brother.

Jane groaned quietly at the memory of the fact but made it so only the most acute of hearings could listen to her despair.

But fate wasn't kind to her that day.

"Is it displeasure I'm hearing, navigator Shepard?" John asked as he was most likely saying this to her with a grin on his face "I thought that they taught you to show some respect to your superiors in the naval academy".

Jane formed a venomous grin in her face as she was forced to look up from her star maps and began to turn towards the asshole.

"Well maybe it'll be so when I have a superior officer above me instead of a-" Jane was midway through her outburst when she completely turned and saw that her brother was offering her a branch of peace in the shape of her favorite thing in the universe.

Coffee.

"What was that, navigator Shepard?" Asked John as he was giving her that exact grin she was expecting.

…

"Nothing…" Jane tried to reach for the offer cup but just as she was about to reach it her brother retracted his hand a little while giving her an expecting look "Nothing, sir".

She finally was allowed to grab the holy container and bask in the glory of its content.

Jane had to admit, even if she hated her brother's guts he still knew how to brew a cup like no other. But she would never admit to this as he would most certainly relish the opportunity to brag about this to all those in this vessel.

Speaking of which.

"How come your people haven't caused any more trouble, hmm?" Jane asked the point question as she took another sip from her cup "I thought they would riot at the sight of the batarian being given more freedom than other prisoners".

The voyage from the Asgard system to their current destination had been a relatively long one after being held back a couple of days in that system due in great part to the vessel's newest addition and some other concerns that popped up during transit.

But her comment about the creature seemed to insult the commander in some manner.

"You mean Ekrork…" John asked as he crossed his arms "I thought I had made myself clear with…".

"Yeah, yeah. You say he is a great addition to the crew. I call your bull-" Jane realized that she was walking on thin ice as she looked at her brother and saw a displeased look "I mean. Even if my path has not crossed with him I still hear things from the other staff in the lower decks".

John sighed and rubbed the back of his neck.

"Is not that I don't trust you or the crew, Jane. It's just…" he seemed as if he wanted to say something more but cut himself midway.

To see John who always held a strong opinion of his beliefs and convictions in this doubt filled state left her somewhat worried.

"Yes?" She asked with some concern in her voice.

"..." John sighed as he reclined against the nav display in the CIC while looking at some of his crewmates working the night shift in the vessel "I would just like to have an ally on this… just to deceive myself into thinking I made the right choice".

…

She hadn't considered it that way.

"I…" she muttered the single words but did not know what to say.

This all was rendered null when one of her subordinates approached the duo.

"Sorry ma'am I wanted to inform you that-" one of her subordinates approached Jane and the commander as she held a tablet in her hands but stopped just a few steps away to salute as she realized that the commanding officer of this vessel was present "Sorry, sir".

"At ease" Shepard commanded officer Waaberi to stop her salute "Did you have something to report?".

"Yes. We sent a request to the world of Feros to link with their long distance communication array in order for us to report to the alliance of our active presence near the cluster" the communication's officer began to explain to her what Jane had instructed for her to do just a couple of minutes ago.

"Has there been any reply?" Jane asked as she took another sip from her cup.

"That's just it ma'am. There hasn't been a reply… of any kind" Waaberi extended the tablet she was holding and showed all the communication traffic that had emerged from the system' buoys in the last couple of days "There was a sudden loss of all information coming from the system the same day we diverted to the Asgard system".

This couldn't be good.

Loss of communication from such a well transited travel lane could mean either of two things: It could be due to an ongoing raid that was occuring thanks to the hands of pirate gangs that worked under some petty warlord from beyond citadel space or a sudden strike from the batarian holdouts on the other side of the traverse that remained after the bastards had 'recolonized' those systems from the way of the terminus systems.

But maybe it could be due to something far worse.

And John seemed to be more inclined towards this being the case judging by his reaction.

"..." John's mind began to turn as he planned what was to be done "Let's leave a warning buoy behind and try to warn the alliance brass as soon as we can. Tell them that there may be another siege in our space".

The officer nodded and departed.

"Jane" he called to her next "As soon as we get in the system I want you to put the Normandy in stealth mode and scout for any hidden geth fleets before we land on Feros".

The navigator nodded as the commander departed and turned to her star maps once more to calculate current planetary positions in respect with their arrival vector, but felt a little nervous at the commander's orders.

She could perfectly ascertain any hostile fleet in the system just with this vessel's instruments but they would most certainly be screwed if a big enough armada remained there.

Jane now just hoped that the words of her pilot had not been pure bragging in this instance.

Because he would surely need to make this vessel dance if they wanted to survive.

Kaidan

Keeping an eye on the kid was a rather tedious ordeal.

Thankfully, his turn was over and now the responsibility fell on the next person on schedule.

Shepard had asked for three particular individuals to keep an eye on their batarian resident whenever it was that he had to complete some sort of task like cleaning the rifles, fixing something on the vessel or moving heavy equipment.

They were now in the cargo bay near the mako as Ekrork had been ordered to move some instruments towards the tank in order to make some last minute calibrations at the behest of their commander and a certain turian.

Speaking of which.

"Move it a little bit higher. No, higher…" Garrus spoke as he was inside the turret mount and was instructing the batarian to raise the cannon with a crane "Now it needs to get a little bit lower".

The crane moved a little bit more "Is that right?" Ekrork asked in a weary tone.

"Hmm… not bad. But it could certainly be better" Garrus replied as he began to modify the configuration of the turret while the batarian let out a sigh of relief.

Kaidan was more than content watching as the two of them continued with their task of undoing all of officer Dubyanski's work.

"Those idiots surely don't know when to stop" replied the grizzled technician as he stood next to Kaidan while looking at the pair of aliens working on the vehicle "But I have to admit that they are quite persistent".

Kaidan chuckled at the old man's disapproval at the persistence of Garrus and his little helper.

"It is either that or have them roam free all day… I wouldn't like for them to plot a mutiny only because of boredom" Kaidan joked as he continued to look at the pair while standing next to the elevator.

But this just managed to get an uncomfortable chuckle from the officer as he reclined against the wall as it would seem that some of the crew were still unfamiliar with having aliens serve on a human vessel.

This was not a surprise as most personnel on this vessel had a story of only working on ships that held entirely human crews so most of them were rather concerned about working with non-humans on this mission.

It had gone to the point where nearly all of the human crew except engineering recluded themselves on the upper decks of the ship while the rest had begun to congregate solely on the lower decks.

That being the case he had to admit that mingling with those that called the cargo bay their living area had become quite difficult for him in recent days due to a certain person.

A person that he was acutely aware of had been picking glances at him every now and then.

"Is Williams mad at you or something?" Asked the officer as he leaned in to whisper this to Kaidan.

"I'm… not sure" replied the lieutenant as he turned to look at Williams who quickly turned to stare at other inhabitants of the ship as if they were now more interesting for some reason "She has kept to herself these days".

Rumors had begun to sprawl on what had truly occurred between the two of them as Ashely had remained quite far from Kaidan and this bugged them to no end.

Maybe she was right and he should have been reported to the alliance.

Dubyanski patted him on the shoulder and entered the elevator to return to the CIC and overlook the work of his subordinates.

And just like that Kaidan had lost his last excuse for being in the cargo bay in the first place.

He had only come to leave Ekrork with Garrus but had remained besides next to Dubyanski in order to look at what the duo intended to do.

Kaidan was about to turn and press the button but felt as something apporached him on the left.

-Kaidan Alenko- a bodiless voice called to him, and as he turned Kaidan was met with the floating orb that was named Dot if he remembered correctly -The Wayfarer has asked for your presence-.

Kaidan turned to look at the person in question and found that the Protoss wasn't looking at him.

"Me?" He looked at the floating orb with some distrust before he pointed a finger at himself "Are you sure?".

-Affirmative- replied the yellow alter ego of the machine -He requires some aid in regards to a certain matter-.

Kaidan remained silent for a minute and then approached the protoss slowly.

Kaidan only saw that Xiltar and remained still for some time and was completely immobile even as he was behind him.

"Hello, Xiltar. Did you need help with something?" Kaidan asked finally as the protoss continued to remain still.

(Yes… just a moment) the alien finally did something and moved his good arm slightly (There).

Kaidan finally looked beyond the protoss' back and saw what he had been working on.

"Xiltar… what is that?" Kaidan asked looked at the device that now rested atop the table and was perplexed by what he now saw.

If Kaidan had to describe this thing it would be a mixture between a triangular knife that had no edge and some sort of device that had only a short handle to operate while the place where the blade of the knife would be was hollow as it opened into an opening that followed it upwards.

Kaidan also saw that there was a small curve atop the place where the handle was supposed to be and the space looked big enough to hold a certain object partially.

He really wasn't sure what he was looking at.

What was it?

(A new weapon) Xiltar replied as if he had read his… (It is almost finished but there is still a small thing I need help with) he continued as he moved slightly to the side and allowed Kaidan to approach the small device .

Kaidan looked perplexed by the question and just continued to observe the strange device for another moment.

"What do you need?" He finally asked.

Xiltar did not reply but instead extended his hand and held up a small teal crystal.

(I need to place this inside the device but I must also hold the armature down while Dot attunes the blade… I cannot do that alone) the protoss motioned his head towards his wounded arm.

…

Kaidan did not want to participate in this.

He could be meddling with technology far beyond his understanding and there could be a risk that he could either be hurt or die due to a malfunction of this thing.

But on the other hand…

Kaidan looked straight in the glowing eyes of this alien and remembered that regardless of how he felt on this he still owed him a debt for saving his life.

His code of honor pushed him to help the alien while his survival instinct told him to pay the debt before he asked something even more dangerous of him.

"Okay… what do you want me to do?" Kaidan asked.

Xiltar nodded and pressed the face of the device. As he did this, the device began to emit white markings in the edge of the hole and a small compartment in a diamond shape opened on the same spot where Xiltar had pressed it.

(I understand that your biotics can move matter while you remain far from it. Can you lift the device and hold it in place?) Xiltar asked as he turned to look at Kaidan.

The lieutenant nodded and turned to the object on the table while taking some steps back. After a moment he focused like he had done countless times before and began to direct a mass effect field over the object.

He began to lift the surprisingly heavy object and after it began to hover slightly above the table he held it in place like Xiltar had requested.

(Perfect) Xiltar said as he turned his head and nodded towards Dot.

-As you command- the machine moved into the curve he had seen before and as the object cradled the sphere it did not add more mass for some reason.

The runes in the edge of the opening began to shine in particular orders until a white light began to emanate from the diamond shaped hole in its middle.

After a solid minute of this light growing stronger and stronger, Xiltar moved his armored hand into the opening and began to carefully lower the teal crystal into place.

Kaidan did not know if it was Xiltar having a nervous tick or if it was the crystal somehow but the human could see that the protoss was struggling to get the crystal inside the opening but after some more time it had been placed in the right spot…

And that's when an odd thing happened.

The mass effect field was ripped apart and Kaidan wasn't holding the object in place anymore.

It began to shake slightly and after another moment it began to float towards the extender hand of Xiltar.

The protoss reached for the handle and after some more shaking it ignited a blade of fire but this time it was… different.

Instead of the narrow blade like before, this new device had a more prominent edge that curved upwards like some sort of sable.

Kaida was impressed.

(As am I) Xiltar replied in a satisfied tone before he extinguished the blade (I thank you for your great aid, friend Alenko. I honestly hope that you are able to work out whatever is troubling your mind in turn).

This… was something he did not expect to hear from Xiltar.

He sounded genuinely happy for some reason.

He was aware that most people in the cargo bay were looking in their direction as this whole spectacle had taken place while some saw with some amount of wonder the construction of such an eldritch looking tool.

All of this from an alien that was supposed to be from another dimension and being quite aptly the definition of an alien intelligence since he did not seem to care about the same principles like the rest of them. Principles such as money, entertainment or even politics.

But these few words, they spoke of kindness.

"You're welcome… and thanks" Kaidan replied with a content grin that must have meant nothing to the protoss as he seemed troubled now for some reason "Something on your mind?".

(Several thoughts in parallel as is the curse of a protoss) he replied with some nervousness this time (There are many things concerning me at the moment but you can most certainly help me with another one at the moment…).

Kaidan cursed himself at that moment as his instincts told him that it was a bad idea to listen to him this time.

He just nodded without giving a clear answer and waited to listen to the aliens request

(Is there a way for me to accompany our group to our next destination… or will the commander still confine me to this vessel?) Xiltar asked with some concern in his words.

Kaidan had been told by the Commander that, due to his injuries, Xiltar was to remain within this vessel until he had recovered the use of his arm.

But the Lieutenant suspected that he most likely wanted a loyal pair of eyes keeping tabs on the batarian while they deployed to their next destination.

Even if the Commander's assessment about the benefits of his addition to the ground team as an auxiliary held any water, there would still be a long period of time before any of the people in said team even dared to accept such a weird and dumb thing to happen.

So Xiltar would remain behind as an impromptu babysitter.

(Is that… true?) He asked in a sad tone for some…

Oh fuck.

"Xiltar that isn't-" Kaidan cut himself off as an alert from his omnitool informed him that somebody wished to get to him.

It was the Commander… he had just called for all of the team.

All while stating that Xiltar was to remain with Ekrork.

(So it is true) said Xiltar as he managed to take a peek at the content of the message, much to Kaidan's dismay.

The rest of the team was already moving towards the elevator and Kaidan would be left behind if he was to remain here with Xiltar.

He unceremoniously left the alien and joined the rest of the ground team in the elevator.

The trip towards the upper decks was a silent one and Kaidan excused himself from the rest as he said that he had to go to his usual spot in order to grab something.

"Lt… what happened down there?" Came the voice of gunny Williams who had tapped him on the shoulder before asking him this.

"I helped him with something and then thought the wrong thing… I think" he tried to get something positive about the massive fuck up that he had caused by cracking that joke.

"Not the best move, Lt…" Ashley seemed quite disappointed as he looked back at her "The Commander has a lot on his plate right now… this won't end well".

No, it wouldn't.

Xiltar

He was not happy.

Displeased would be putting too lightly how vexed and angry he was feeling at that moment.

Being confined to this vessel without much to do on his part was beginning to get on his nerves… as the terrans seemed to put it.

He etched the back of his head and scratched his malformed and short nerve cords in a nervous pattern that he was all too accustomed to.

His instructors had provided some meditative stances and rites to help with this kind of turmoil but the presence of the itch on the back of his head was not something that they could ever help with.

It only occurred when something terribly wrong was bound to happen in the coming future.

It was either that or he was extremely nervous about being left behind.

Damned be his fate and the Commander's decision in all of this.

This was one of the only moments in his life that he had no direction or way to know what the future held for him and the silence of his only guide on this realm was something that filled him with even more dread.

He turned to look at one of the creatures that had been left behind with him and Xiltar tried to rein in his nervousness.

Ekrork had been given another task by Garrus before he left and was now cleaning some marks that had been left on the tank and as he had nothing else to do but this it was a good task for the kid all things considered.

Xiltar dragged a container from under his small workspace and sat on it so he could at least be comfortable while he 'watched over him'.

The container almost wished to buckle but the material held him well enough for his current predicament.

He looked towards where Wrex would have been and only glanced at Ekrork every so often as the batarian continued to work and watched over his thoughts so no duplicitous actions could even manifest in the future.

Surprisingly this wasn't what welcomed him in his mind once Xiltar saw what Ekrork was thinking about.

It was about a time where he still had a home.

He simply thought of a few good moments he had with his comparatively small family on an outing they had in the wilds some time or another.

It was simple… but all too important to Ekrork.

This was a pleasant memory of a life that he would never get back… an all too familiar feeling.

Was this why he had sympathized with the kid?

They were both similar in that regard?

Marooned amongst aliens while being unable to return home?

Maybe.

Xiltar averted his gaze from the figure of the working alien and reclined forward in contemplation as he closed his eyes and tried to conjure a memory that would calm his nerves.

Maybe something similar would work.

Maybe… there was one.

It was an old memory of Arakyr that still managed to put his soul at ease.

The seas of his home flowed in front of him as he and other protoss stood at the rocky edge of the cliff from which they were overlooking the endless azure of this world's life origin.

And then they all jumped.

A dangerous and foolish action he could recognize now but one that he would have done all the same had he the chance to experience what welcomed him down there once again.

As the young protoss opened his eyes a vista of ethereal beauty and vivid imagery won his hearts over as the wonders of that perfect world were now presented to them.

The stone hued skin of his kin contrasted perfectly with the vibrant greenery of kelp and seaweed that clung to the rocks around them and created small forests in which this world's first inhabitants took refuge and made life flourish even more in its splendor.

Colorful beings swam in groups around them while curiously approaching what from their perspective must have looked like moving stones.

It was all a display of grandeur and beauty.

The fondest memory of his home.

A place that he would never see again save for his dreams.

He almost wished that this was all a dream in the first place and that the end war had been nothing but a nightmare conjured by his mind after a long night inside the archives as a newly appointed judge.

…

It had been a while since he had thought of the responsibilities he owed to his people.

Be it as either elder, judge, warrior or as plainly as a single protoss.

As an elder he was now meant to lead them in their day to day life and in theory he was also in charge of seeing to his people's spiritual needs. As a judge he was to be the instrument of the elders' will and final arbitrator of the judgment passed for his people. As a warrior his duties were far more simple: fight. And as a protoss keeping the namesake of his people as one of the first creatures to journey through the heavens in good standing.

Huh.

All matters that aligned with his alliance to Nebula.

Oddly fitting.

Xiltar finally turned towards the only other being in the cargo bay that wasn't either made of flesh or was truly understood by him.

Dot.

The small machine still held a purpose far beyond his current understanding but it remained as a symbol of the covenant he had made with the mysterious being who watched over him.

Xiltar extended his hand and the orb understood the command all too well.

Heh.

At least he could still command something and yet… he couldn't shake this feeling of unease.

Something still felt wrong.

Afterword

Well folks, I'm back.

I took quite a break in order to set some things up on this side of the web and I am quite happy with how things are going on right now.

You may have come across some type of stories that are left mid way through due to things that happened to those authors. Well, I can tell you that I don't plan on being one of those.

I have enjoyed this hobby of mine far too much to leave it now.

Now onto the answers

Guest - Good to hear that you gave this wack story a try, hope you enjoy the plot going forward and know that your opinion relating to this story is more than welcomed.

Guest 2 (electric boogaloo) - U rite. :)

Nah. In all seriousness, I know that there are some major spelling and grammar mistakes in this story because I am not a native speaker and I fell compelled to say that this big idiot that is the author will eventually go back and hunt these fuckers down… They won't be safe from ma' wrath.

If you can point some out for me I would be more than happy to go back and correct them, M8.

Guest the third - Dumb jokes for dumb fics ma' pep.