Normandy SR-2, Geth Controlled Territory; 2185
The shuttle ride back to the Normandy was Uncharacteristically silent. Whereas normally there would have been some manner of conversation, whether about the mission, weaponry or other idle banter, the only presiding presence was tension.
Shepard, Garrus and Tali were all in shock from how the man across from them had single handedly decimated two platoons worth of Geth on his own.
Six was all too accustomed to it.
The stunned silence of his fellows had been a common sight during the early days of the war with the Covenant. And all too often, disgust.
Freak. Dangerous. Monster.
He had been called those things and more amongst troopers and marines.
Once more Max found himself remembering those years. The pain, the loss. Sacrifice, all too often in vain.
"Tell em to make it count"
Max felt anguish at the bleak memory of that night.
He recalled how he felt hope, seeing the super carrier be ripped apart by their efforts. In spite of Jorge's loss, he felt optimism, as he fell towards Reach. For a brief moment he allowed himself the naive thought of hope.
Then another came, and another. Again and again they appeared, and Reach's fate was set in stone.
Six was dragged away from his melancholic memories as he heard his new commander speak.
"So, that was quite the display down there." Shepard said with as much charm as she could muster, trying to break the icy silence that reigned amongst them.
She received no response.
Shepard spoke once more.
"In all my years, I've never seen anything like that. All you soldiers like that where you're from?"
"No." Was all Max could muster.
Every single word out of her mouth reminded the Spartan of how lost he was now. Stranded from whatever small semblance of belonging he may have once had. But now?
Max didn't even know what to think. All he knew, was that he was lost. And it distressed him greatly.
Some part of his being wished he had met his end on Reach. To be freed from his burdens, and join his fellows in the warm embrace of death and eternal rest.
As the shuttle gently rocked whilst it landed in the bay, the Spartan stood, eager for solitude.
One by one they all filtered out, with Shepard and Garrus making for the elevator. Max quickly strode over to the area of the bay with his equipment.
"Aren't you coming up?" Shepard asked curiously.
"If you'd permit me to ma'am, I'd prefer to stay here." He answered evenly.
"Fair enough."
Setting his weapons down and taking stock of ammo, he noticed that the Quarian had yet to join her comrades, standing a small distance behind him.
The memories of Reach that had invaded his thoughts left the Spartan even less tolerant for the presence of others, and all he wanted was to be left to himself, so with no small amount of patience Max faced her.
"May I help you with something?" He asked, failing to hide his irritated tone.
The woman avoided eye contact, opting to shift her hands together whilst staring at the floor.
"I, umm, I'm sorry for earlier, in the observatory. That was stupid of me, I was expecting Shepard, and I didn't know who you were. And I'd just like to say, well uhhh, thank you." The curious looking alien said, sincerity lacing her words.
Max quickly found his annoyance replaced by perplexity. He had never been formerly apologized to before, nor received thanks for his actions. These aliens were all strangely humanoid, especially these Quarians. It only served to further unsettle the soldier, to say the least
Not knowing the proper response, the Spartan did his utmost best to sound less bothered.
"You need not apologize. You should go with the commander."
Luminescent eyes looked up at the super solider, staring into his pitch black visor.
No more words were spoken, and she went into the elevator without further delay.
He felt a small measure of relief as they all left.
Max stood there for sometime, idly performing weapon maintenance, even past the line of pointlessness.
"Max, you need to stop. That barrel is as clean as it's gonna get." Kimbra spoke softly.
In response, he merely pulled out the data chip from his helm, and set it on the table.
Her holographic form appeared above said chip, giving him a scolding look.
"Do you think that I back down that easy?" The A.I. said, in a maddeningly relaxed tone.
"Do you have the slightest idea of what has happened? We are completely stranded. From the UNSC, ONI, Earth, everything we've ever known is absolutely gone, replaced by all this. And we have no way of getting back." The Spartan III spat ferociously, venom on his tone.
"Yes, and I hate it too. But all we can do is our best. And then would you require you to face reality, not avoid it." The A.I. replied unfazed by his burst of anger.
She was met with silence.
"Listen, do you know why I was created? Hmm? The sole purpose of my existence is to take care of you. To make sure that you stay safe and operate at the most efficient capacity. To be your guide and companion wherever you go." Kimbra declared, her voice softer and earnest.
Still, she was met with silence.
"I know that throughout your entire life you've known nothing but loss and conflict. I know every single piece of info ONI ever compiled on you. Pain, sacrifice and loss have followed you everywhere. But I want you to know that you have a friend in me. So please, don't shut me out."
'Were it so easy', Max exhaustedly thought to himself.
He had considered Noble team to be his friends. And they died, one by one in front of him whilst the world they fought for followed suit. And before them, beta company. His mismatched family, raised and trained together on Onyx. They too had fell, sent on a suicide mission to merely slow the inevitable. He had considered Cortana a friend, and she had perished before his and Johns eyes.
Friends? They were nothing but temporary, those who would be ripped away by the tragedies of life, leaving the Max to deal with the tides of loss alone.
But he would try, successfully or not.
Max relented, and with a small twist, removed his helmet.
"What would you have me do?"
The job of a pilot, in spite of its reputation as exciting and adventurous, was not always what it was cracked up to be.
"This is so boring it almost makes me miss flight school." Joker muttered under his breath as another empty hour passed by.
"That is most curious Mr. Moreau, considering that a short while ago you engaged two geth frigates above Haestrom." EDI spoke up from the corner terminal of the cockpit.
Before he could retort Shepard's voice made itself heard.
"I agree. Not enough action for you Joker? This mission just too slow for you?"
"Jeez you both are too serious. Of course I love my job, but it can sometimes get monotonous every now and then. Dogfights aside, of course. Plus it's good to have Tali back, just like old times ya know?" He said with his normal wise ass tone.
"What do ya think of the new guy?" She asked inquisitively.
"To be honest with you I thought the man was gonna die the second he jumped out the ship. But if he can do that and fight well, then I'd say it's almost too good to be true he just signed up with us. You should figure out more about him." Joker spoke wisely. He always had a good sense with things like this, and Shepard appreciated it.
"I'll probably do that." Shepard knew that it was gonna take a few days to get to Illium, and she figured she'd use the time to check up on everyone.
"See ya Commander, be careful he doesn't fling you across the shuttle bay like he did to Grunt."
"Yeah, yeah, I got it."
Despite her good mood due to Tali being on board, she still felt anxious about going down there. He had all proclaimed said he wasn't a social individual, his actions making it clear that he desired to be left alone.
But her curiosity far outweighed any apprehensions, for there were had far too many questions that needed to be answered.
Where was he from? How did he possess an A.I. Within his armor?
And she needed to make sure it was safe to have him on board. She had been too hasty in retrospect, but she could only attempt to make sure it was the right decision.
Stepping into the notoriously slow elevator, she pressed the last button and started descending.
Stepping out she immediately saw him, the one who called himself a number sitting idly whilst making minor taps on the small wrist device he carried.
He was still fully armored, which Shepard found odd.
As soon as he noticed her he stood straight and saluted.
"Commander."
"At ease Six. That's not necessary on this ship."
Dropping his hand, he spoke.
"Can I help you with something Commander?" He asked quickly.
"If you don't mind I'd like to talk some more." Shepard said, trying to disguise the small modicum of nervousness she held.
The man was a modern day Hercules, absolutely towering over her. She had to crook her neck back significantly just to look at his helm.
"What of?" He inquired neutrally.
"Well, in the observation deck you talked about 'where you come from' and your own humanity. What'd you mean by that?" She pressed.
"The means of my arrival on that planet were unprecedented. This... place is different. You're technology, weapons, history, it's all foreign."
"And how exactly is that possible?" Shepard continually pressed
"You're ships travel via what you call mass relays. The ships that I have traveled on, operate using Shaw-Fujikawa Translight Engines; known as slipspace drives. I am no physicist, so it's more complicated inner workings are unknown to me. All I do know is that it uses its power to create a wormhole, between normal space, and the realm known as slipspace which it enters. After a sufficient period of time, it exits, back into normal space at its destination." Six tried his best to explain, reciting what he was taught at Onyx.
Shepard said nothing, correctly assuming he had more to say.
"On rare occasions, due to the engines... volatile nature, freak accidents have occurred. Time skips have been documented, where a vessel having spent twenty days in slipspace, exited having been gone for thirty, somehow unbeknownst to it's crew. Other times, ships have been torn apart inside, or lost, never to return. I believe..." Max dreaded to finish the sentence, if only to not appear a madman to the woman in front of him.
"You believe what?" Shepard asked apprehensively.
The Spartan let out a large sigh.
"I believe... that my arrival is a case of the latter, and that I have not existed here in this world until now." He said slowly, unbefitting of his normal confident nature.
"So you're saying..." Shepard found herself able to speak of what he was implicating, whether due it's far fetched nature or sheer absurdity, she could not devise.
Then, a new voice made itself heard.
"What he was saying is that we aren't really from around these parts." A feminine voice said jokingly, seemingly from the very clearly masculine figure in front of her.
With a quizzical look on her face Shepard watched as the Spartan sighed once more, and reached behind his helm.
Arriving in his flat gauntlet was a small chip, which promptly glowed a shimmering cyan, and Kimbra's small figure appeared.
"Hello, my name is Kimbra. I'd shake your hand commander, but I'm afraid these are just holos." She said with a gleeful smile, shaking said holographic hands.
"Shepard... pleased to meet you, I suppose." Shepard replied with no small measure of surprise at what she saw.
"So, you're the A.I. I presume?" Shepard said, regaining her composure.
It was really turning out to be an odd day.
"Guilty as charged, yes. Don't you mind the stoic one, he's just ummm, acclimating himself still." She said whilst pointing behind herself, gesturing at the Spartan.
"Of course, it's no trouble. If you don't mind, I'd like you to interface with EDI, the ships onboard Artificial intelligence." She responded professionally. Shepard had to make sure this A.I. wasn't a threat to the crew.
Then, a fourth voice made itself heard.
"That is not necessary commander, we have engaged in length for some time now." EDI's voice graced the overhead speakers.
Shepard was quick to vocalize her thoughts.
"What? How? Why? I didn't approve that."
"Apologies Shepard, I did not intend to alarm you. I can assure you that neither individuals pose a threat to us. Together we have determined that their presence here is the result of a multi dimensional anomaly, generated by a rare mixture of circumstances nigh impossible to replicate." EDI informed at her usual steady pace.
Shepard processed what she heard for a moment, not having expected the barrage of surprises rained down upon her.
"Well, I suppose that tells me what I wanted to know." Shepard mouthed quietly. She could still only try to imagine what she had been told.
Shepard felt sympathy for the man. Whilst perhaps not in the literal sense, she more than understood what it felt like to be in his shoes
To open you're eyes, and be in a whole new world.
She would know, having been dead for two years.
"I suppose you're also eager for some of you're questions? I'd be more than willing to answer whichever that you have."
"Where are we headed as of now, Commander?" The Spartan asked professionally.
Shepard had met his type before, she had thought to herself. Came fresh out the womb in dress blues, a military man to the bone, she imagined.
"A planet called Illium, an Asari commerce world. We're going to attempt to recruit two new crew members there, but nothings guaranteed." She answered.
"Will that be all, Commander?" He asked in that stoic tone once more.
"Yeah, and Six, this isn't a military vessel, decorums not necessary." Shepard told the soldier. Being saluted and asked for basic permissions again had made her remember her days in the Alliance. It almost made her feel guilty, knowing those days were long gone.
He said nothing, merely giving a crisp salute and turning around.
"Welp, I should go." She muttered under her breath, chucking all the while.
Tali found herself experiencing a whirlwind of different emotions, the strongest being wonder.
If she had thought the first Normandy was a design of great technological strides, then this ship was an example of revolutionary ingenious at its finest. The engineer inside her was stunned by the gargantuan drive core, its sheer power output being more than capable of providing intense thrust, energy for weapon systems, and much more basic needs around the ship.
The quarian would've felt right at home, were it not a Cerberus vessel. Every time she reminded herself of that she felt a tinge of guilt. But she was with Shepard, not them, she told herself.
She was still regretful about how many marines died protecting her, finding herself wishing she could have done more. At least Reegar had gotten through it all, the stubborn soldier being tenaciously tough.
Then there was that... Human, if he could even be called that.
He had ran through an entire legion of Geth in the courtyard in moments, their trashed platforms scattered across the old stone as easily as they were assembled. Then with a cyan blade that looked like something out a nightmare, he carved right through the five inch steel door like it was wet paper.
At first she feared for her life when his black visor peered into her own purple, until Shepard ran up from the yard and allayed her worries.
"Hey, ya got time to talk?" The woman in her thoughts spoke behind her.
Sure enough Shepard was there as she turned around, a big smile on the redheads face.
"Of course. Hmm, we didn't get much time to talk on Haestrom, did we? I can't believe so many people died, all for data about stars blowing up. I hope... I just hope it may have been worth it." Tali spoke dejectedly, still out of sorts from the whole affair.
"I wish we'd got there sooner, could have saved more." Shepard said somberly. She was no stranger to Tali's words, empathetic to her teammates low spirits.
"It's ok Shepard, the important thing is you came."
"So, how's the new Normandy treating you? You get settled in properly?" Shepard asked hopefully, knowing what the answer would probably be.
"I think so. The ships somehow more advanced than even I would expect. And I like the quiet, but I miss the old faces here. Pressly, Engineer Adams, Liara, all of them." Tali noted with a tinge of nostalgia at thoughts of the old crew.
"Yeah, me too."
"Speaking of the crew, who is that down in the cargo bay?" Tali asked curiously.
"I doubt its his actual name, but he said 'I may call him Six'. We only picked him up a bit before we traveled to Haestrom. He's not from around here to say the least, But he's a damn good soldier from what I saw down there." Shepard answered in brief.
"Interesting, I'm sure you'll learn more about him. Anyways, I should get back to work, I still need to familiarize myself with the engineering systems down here." Tali said.
"Alright, catch ya later. It's good to have you back here Tali, ship wasn't the same without you." Shepard told her earnestly. She had missed the young woman, and was glad to have her onboard.
Kasumi was a thief, a snoop, and she made no attempts to hide it. Whilst the lithe Japanese woman considered herself above stealing from her own teammates, getting involved in their business, was something she certainly wasn't.
After all, she needed something to do on the long journeys between stations and planets, and the man Shepard had recruited seemed to be a prime candidate to learn more about. After all, half the fun she had with her skillset was using it mischievously. So she threw on her hood and silently left the room.
She subtly used the vents to reach the cargo bay, as to not raise his awareness with the sound of the elevator. Even from afar she could tell the man was a giant, his presence dominating the mostly vacant space. Activating her cloaking module she slowly inched closer through the bay, making virtually no sound. He appeared to be looking at the strange screen on the top of his wrist, idly taping away.
She couldn't see trough his visor whatsoever, the midnight black glass clearly being one way.
She stood almost right in front of him now, eyeing up his armor and other... assets
'Ohhh, the wonders of testosterone' The kleptomaniac thought to herself
Begrudgingly she turned her head away and towards a table, her eye immediately noticing some gleaming items and weapons. Slowly she crept towards them, noting how alien his equipment looked. She delicately picked up a strange silver object laden with intricate foreign runes, glowing the most faint hue of blue.
Before she could look any closer she felt her wrist enclosed in a death grip, fear suddenly taking hold of the woman as her cloaking turned off with a pathetic whirr.
Looking up to her side she saw the Spartan staring a hole right into her auburn eyes, only serving to further petrify her.
"Don't"
Hey y'all. Bit of a filler chapter, I know, please bear with me. I've got some cool shit in store for Illium though, think you'll like it.
Thanks for reading, and have a good one!