Normandy SR-2, Far Rim, 2185
Max peered into the eyes of the woman who thought herself invisible, her terrified expression making it abundantly clear this was a first for her. The Spartan scoffed at the faith she seemed to hold in herself. She had snuck around thinking herself unnoticed, when in reality his armors sensors detected her the moment she entered the hold.
Seeing she got the message he released the grip on her wrist and took the blade hilt from her frozen hand.
"Do you know what this is?" He asked sternly, holding it up.
She said nothing, giving a small shake of her head.
Max activated it, the plasma forming its shape, humming all the while.
"You could have lost your arm with this. I'd advise against sneaking around again, Ms..." The Spartan trailed off, not knowing her name.
"Oh, ummm, Kasumi Goto. The crews stealth operative. For the record I wasn't going to take anything, I was, well, just looking." She said, regaining some of her wits back.
"Hmph." Was all she got in return. He deactivated the blade and turned his attention away from the thief.
Feeling awkward, she attempted to change that.
"So, what'd you eat growing up big guy? Steroids?" She asked with a forced smile.
He looked towards her again, that black visor seemingly staring right through her. "I would imagine so."
There were many different things in the preparatory supplements and hormones they were given before the augmentations, steroids most certainly among them.
Now knowing what to say to that Kasumi switched topics.
"Well, what's your name?"
"You may call me Six, or Noble Six." He said repeating what he told Shepard
Not being able to endure any of the man's reserved demeanor she once again activated her cloaking and made for the elevator. But not before a word of parting.
"Next time Six, I'll be sure to be more quiet." She quipped with a chuckle, and disappeared as quick as she came.
He was alone once again.
Max found himself growing more and more perplexed about what to do with himself. Spartans we're not socially adept, nor skilled at killing things like time. That was, until he felt and heard his stomach rumble like an earthquake.
He did his best to ignore the slowly developing hunger pangs whilst reading whatever new info he could on his TACPAD, for a time. But the anxiety still remained. The realization of the depth of his seemingly impossible situation still didn't seem real. Everything he read didn't help to put his mind at ease, either.
"So, you just gonna let yourself starve or what?" He heard Kimbra say sternly in his helmet, more of a demand than a question.
Begrudgingly, he knew he had to eat. He had no MRES to speak of, and he knew that an empty stomach severely hindered performance in the field. The Spartan resolved to locate any find of food, and immediately return to the cargo bay thereafter. Lest he be pestered by supposed 'crewmates' like the hooded thief he dealt with moments earlier.
Once again he entered the sluggish excuse of an elevator and started ascending to the crew deck. Once the door opened, he was immediately greeted with an empty hall way, with both the crew quarters and life support doors closed shut on the left and right.
He quickly made for the mess hall, it being empty save for what he presumed to be the cook behind the counter. It seemed he was just cleaning the area. Quickly approaching, he was about to speak before he was beaten to it.
"Hey there! New guy right? You're even bigger than they said you are! I'd bet you're hungry as all hell, eh? You're a bit late for dinner, but I've got a quite a lot of leftovers here I can set up for ya. Got some fettuccine chicken alfredo, some calamari, and teriyaki chicken. Take you're pick and I'll get it ready for ya."
Max was taken aback by the mans friendliness, combined with the fact he knew little to nothing of the foods the chef mentioned.
"I'll have the first one." Was all he could really say, not knowing how react to the mans demeanor.
"Great choice, I"ll have it ready for ya soon. Names Gardener, nice to meet you." He said, out reaching his hand.
Max accepted it, giving a firm shake. With that he turned around and started to focus on the small mess hall around him. Seeing nothing else to do, Max went to the large table close by, slowly testing if one of its chairs could hold his weight. It groaned in irritation, but held. For a while he sat there in silence, content with waiting.
Until he heard a voice behind him, and it wasn't the chefs.
"Excuse me, could I have a moment of your time?"
Max turned to see an older woman in front of him, wearing doctors attire, and a soft look on her face. His answer was a nod.
"I'm Dr. Chakwas, the ships doctor. I like to run small checkups on all new crew members. It'll only take a short while. I just need you to stand up for a moment, please." She said, unfazed by his silence.
The Spartan quickly did so, eager to once again have his solitude. He deactivated his shields beforehand, so that she could actually do what she asked. Once in front of her the doctor summoned an orange device along her forearm, holding it parallel to him.
"Vitals are normal, blood pressure is healthy, bones are... my god, their..." She trailed off, looking at his helm in disbelief, and back at the strange orange device.
Chakwas was stunned into silence by the info in front of her.
Nearly all his bone mass was somehow replaced by carbide ceramic and titanium, the implications of how that came to be making her shudder. The cones and rods in his eyes were somehow enhanced by nearly fivefold. His muscle fibers were nigh impossibly dense to boot. From what she saw he possessed at least three times the strength a man of his size should possess, and all his organs were operating on a superhuman level, and slightly larger than normal as well. There was not a single hint of cybernetics either, giving her no logical explanation to how it was at all possible.
It at least answered the mystery of what happened in the medbay, she thought wearily.
Elevated testosterone levels, a nervous system that seemed nothing like normal, there was a myriad of other bodily anomalies she saw on her omni tool. It only furthered her bewilderment of the man in front of her, if he could even be called that.
"What in gods name was done to you?" She asked in shock. It wasn't common for the doctor with three decades of experience to be surprised. Yet there she stood, in amazement.
Max found himself amused by the doctors question, her staggered expression being rather humorous. It wasn't often Max smiled at such simplicities.
"Augmentations." Was his simple answer, a half lie, a half truth. More than that was done to him.
"Well, umm, you appear to be the perfect picture of health, all things considered. Enjoy your meal." She said in a rushed tone, and quickly retreated to the medbay across the way.
Soon after Gardner approached, a large, steaming hot plate of pasta in hand. He set it on the table in front of Max, along with a glass of water beside it.
"Bon Appetite! Hope it's to your liking. When you're done, just toss the plate in the sink over there." The chef pointed towards said sink, and soon disappeared from the kitchen thereafter.
Max sat there for a moment, stumped by the sudden quiet around him. The small vessel was completely devoid of the usual noises he had become accustomed to when aboard ships.
No vents hummed, the engine was as quiet as could be, and there was a distinct lack of shuffling crew members going about their tasks. There was no blaring of an officer giving orders on the intercom, nor the sense of danger that persistently gripped vessels of the UNSC during the war.
His thoughts drifted towards the past, remembering his time aboard one such ship, the UNSC Pacific
He was sixteen at the time, awaiting orders from his O.N.I. handlers once planet side. He was onboard the frigate due to the rushed evacuation of a colony he had been deployed on, having been ordered to find and eliminate a local insurrection cell. Before Max could fulfill his objective, the covenant rolled in in force, smashing through the worlds defenses with ease. He always suspected that they unwittingly finished his mission, a small twist of irony. He remembered going nearly insane with boredom on the warship, the cryo pods all filled with civilians from the hastily evacuated colony. Max never enjoyed being alone with his thoughts. The comforting sleep of a cryo pod, or the all encompassing shroud of war being much more acquainted with the soldier. The way his handlers treated him left the Spartan almost never with his brethren, only serving to further such sickening Isolation.
It almost reminded him of his current predicament. Almost.
"You can eat, Max. No ones around." Kimbra said knowingly, knowing what was stopping him.
Max slowly looked around the area, making sure he was truly alone. After seeing he was, Max took off his helmet with a twist, and delicately set it on the table.
Immediately his nose was bombarded by a pleasant smell, warm and inviting.
Its source was the meal right in front of him, to his surprise. Food never smelled like this, nor looked so appealing, Max remarked to himself. Picking up the small fork in his hand he gave the dish a light stab, bringing up noodles and chicken on its prongs, slowly taking a bite.
An explosion of flavor hit his taste buds, the creamy sauce, perfectly cooked chicken and pasta being miles ahead of anything he'd eaten before.
He quickly started wolfing down the large entreé, the amazing taste only serving to further his appetite.
Once he finished the dish Max looked at the empty plate, wondering why he'd never experienced such a meal before, combined with how causally the chef gave it to him. He would have asked why he was given such a luxury, but the area was empty except for the Spartan.
He sat there relaxed for quite some time, the food having seemingly helped alleviate his worries. For once he felt calm. Content to let his mind rest, if but for a moment.
And so the Spartan did.
Shepard was restless, unable to sleep. It was too common a trend as of late.
"Who's goddamn idea was it too install a window right above my bed after I was fucking spaced?" She angrily muttered to herself.
She quickly leapt out of bed, throwing on her N7 hoodie and pants. She'd go grab a snack and see who was up, she told herself. It was a habit she had developed since her resurrection. That particular thought still seemed too much to handle at times. She was a dead woman walking, fresh from the grave. And Shepard knew it well.
Before leaving the room she made for her desk, gazing longingly at the picture of a particular biotic.
Kaidan's words on Horizon stung, but made sense all the same. If she had watched him die, only to show up two years later working with monsters they themselves fought against, she'd be devastated as well.
She still loved the man with all she had, the thought of him sometimes being the only thing that pushed her forwards. He had been a needed beacon of sanity during the hunt for Saren, being a lethal sentinel in the field, to a kind, experienced man wise beyond his years outside of it. Once this was all over, she'd find him and set things right, she vowed to herself.
She entered the elevator and set it to the crew deck, intent on raiding the kitchen for another delectable taste of the chocolates Gardener kept hidden behind the kitchen pantry.
Stepping out, she heard a faint noise from the kitchen, fading as quick as it came.
Being curious, she fast walked into the mess hall, seeing the man she knew as Six, sitting down in a chair hilariously undersized for himself. An empty plate rested in front of the motionless man, yet he still had his helmet on.
"Can't sleep, eh?" Shepard asked as she passed by. She received no answer as she opened up the pantry, reaching in deep and returning with the hazel wrapped bars she sought.
As she unwrapped one she spoke again.
"I uh, understand why, ya know. I get it more than you'd think."
She sat down across from Six, putting her feet up on the table nonchalantly as she took a bite from the rich chocolate, followed by the slightest moan right after, the exquisite taste squeezing it out from her.
He still just stared down at the table, evidently uninterested in her words.
"So you allergic to talking, Six?" She asked through a mouthful, devouring the chocolate as if she were a child.
"No." Was all he whispered, unusual from what little speech she had heard from him.
She let out a small laugh. If any man had done what he'd done, she'd expect him to boast and bask the in glow of his accomplishment. And she wouldn't even blame him. Yet here he was alone, like an outcast.
"Soooo... whats it like to fall from space?" She asked slyly, laying on as much social swagger as she could. No other crew member had been so difficult to simply talk to, and it perplexed her.
"You know as well as I do." He stated matter of factly, his head raising to stare down hers.
That wiped the grin off her face.
Touché
The atmosphere changed. He lost his slouch and seemed to peer into his commanders eyes.
"Hmm, you read up one me, huh?" She asked slowly.
His answer was a nod.
"Well, I actually don't know. When I was spaced, my hard-suit got punctured. At best, I was conscious for a minute before I blacked out." She explained calmly.
"And then you were dead for two years, yes?" He asked with a note of curiosity, it sounded like.
She thought it odd how simply he asked such a personal question, but Shepard supposed it was fair.
"Thats right, yeah. Hard to think about sometimes. Doesn't seem real still, it felt just like yesterday almost."
Silence rested over the table, both soldiers taking in the gravity of such words.
But Six was curious, uncharacteristically so.
"So, it was as if you slept?" He asked tentatively.
Shepard knew what he was asking. She herself had put much thought into it for the past few weeks. No one had yet questioned her about it. Either due to its sensitive nature, or that they simply didn't want to know, or care.
She had never spoken of her thoughts on it, and it was more difficult than she'd anticipated. "It was more like a dream." She said unsteadily.
Six said nothing, letting her go on.
"I was floating I guess, without any direction, or sense of time. The stars are the only thing I remember seeing. It was so, so beautiful."
Her breath hitched, and she took a moment to collect herself.
Shepard looked at Six's visor, if for but a moment.
"But what I remember most was this." She took one more pause. Her eyes started to moisten, and her voice was shaky as she looked down at the table
"Every iota of responsibility I ever felt in my life, was gone. It was ecstasy. I knew I didn't have to worry about anything, ever again. I felt the weight of life just melt off of me. Like my soul was just free. It was so serene... I had finished my journey, and I was at rest."
She was trembling, yet had the greatest, happiest smile on her face as she glanced up at the ceiling.
"And just as I was headed in a real direction, I was torn away, and back in this mess of a life."
A few tears fell freely from her eyes, but she barely made a sound.
"And you know what that planets name was? The one I fell onto? Alchera. Its an Aborigine word, Six. It means Dream Time. Dream time..."
A few moments passed, and she wiped away the scarce tears with her sleeves.
Max found himself feeling touched by her words, but guilt accompanied such tenderness. He had not meant to illicit her tears. Max didn't know what to say. He never really did.
"I'm grateful though, that I get to live with the knowledge that that's what death is. And I get to look forward to that again." Shepard said steadily.
"Thank you, by the way. No ones asked me that at all, i- it felt good to let that out." She said with another great smile. Another nod was all she got.
She snorted. "At least you're a good listener, Six." She whispered with a chortle, and finished off the bar of chocolate.
That coaxed out a small chuckle from Six, and they sat there for a while longer, in comfortable silence. Shepard perused her omni tools apps and mail inbox, finding one unread message. It was from Chakwas, just over two hours ago. Curious, Shepard thought.
'Commander, I'd like to speak with you in the morning please, theres something I believe you should see. Though knowing Jokers knack for speed, we may already be at Illium by then. It concerns our mysterious addition to the crew. It is nothing immediately urgent, but I can't help but wish to share it with you.
-Karin
Shepard glanced over at Six, trying to figure what the doc learned of him she hadn't. She didn't see anything that seemed outwardly dangerous or otherwise noteworthy besides what she knew already. She closed the message, and made a mental note to see the doctor in the morning.
"Thanks for the company Six, I've gotta get to bed now. Chances are Joker and EDI will have us ahead of schedule tomorrow, so we'll be in the crescent nebula sooner rather than later. Get some shut eye here soon, you'll be on the shore party upon arrival." She stated crisply as she got up, the titan of a man instantly mirroring the action.
"Understood, ma'am."
Shepard sighed, shaking her head.
"Again Six, decorum isn't necessary here. We aren't a military vessel."
"Force of habit." Six said candidly.
With that Shepard left, and walked into the elevator. Max put his plate away in the sink, thinking about Shepards words. They were comfortingly beautiful, in an quaint sort of way. To live with such a grasp over life and death gave her wisdom, it seemed.
She had already sprinted through the finish line, yet still Shepard raced. It was admirable, Max thought. To have such will.
Max wondered if he'd do the same.
Shepard strode through the halls, doing her daily rounds throughout the ship, checking on the crew, and getting a sense of everyones thoughts. She was about to make her last stop to the shuttle bay, when she remembered Karins request of her.
Doing a one eighty turn she started walking towards the medbay, catching a lingering whiff of the delectable breakfast gardener had cooked up in the mess hall. That damn chef was too good sometimes, she thought to herself as she found herself wanting for seconds.
She walked into the medbay to see her old friend sitting down, hunched over a data pad, engrossed in whatever she saw.
"You wanted to see me doctor?" Shepard asked.
Stirred from her thoughts, Chakwas looked towards Shepard with a small smile.
She signaled Shepard to sit down next to her, once again looking at the pad in front of her. Shepard pulled up a chair and sat next to her, wondering what had the doctor so intrigued.
As Shepard was about to ask she was cut off by the intercom.
"Aaaaaand thats the fastest Far Rim to Crescent Nebula transit in galactic history, done by yours truly." Joker boasted over the speakers, sounding not at all unpleased with himself.
"We should be on Illium soon here, I'd say about an hour and a half or so, tops."
"Good work Joker, but try not so work the ship too hard, ok?" Shepard said sincerely. Having a speed freak pilot was nice, yet she didn't want the ship to fall apart, either.
"Yeah, yeah, I've got it. I'll let ya know when we're planet-side." And with that, it was silent again.
Chakwas let out a small laugh, "I told you, he has a knack for speed." She said grinning all the while.
"Yeah, well, its saved our rear end more than once. Any way, you wanted to show me something, right?" She said, changing the subject.
"Ah yes, I did. You see, last night, I did my typical check up, as I do with all new crew members, on... Six, I heard he said his name was? Its pretty standard, I just use my omni-tool and scan. its very simple. But what I saw last night was arguably the most surprising thing I've ever seen as a doctor." Chakwas said as she slid the pad over to Shepard.
"What exactly am I looking at, here?" The commander asked, confused. Aside from standard first aid training, she was a layman in the medical field.
On the pad was a white three dimensional body scan, of what she presumed to be who she knew as Six.
"Well, to begin, you see the bones? At first glance, they seem normal. But my omni tool found that nearly all normal bone mass has somehow been replaced by a titanium and ceramic carbide mixture. This makes them slightly heavier, but virtually impervious to all but the most forceful of trauma. And thats only the beginning, really. Whatever was done to him, makes Cerberus's enhancements to you look like child's play."
Shepard watched and listened in disbelief as Chakwas listed off and pointed towards all the different augmentations she had found. It went on and on, with one seemingly impossible anomaly after the other. The commander once more wished to know more about the mysterious solider she had brought on board.
"And finally, his nervous and neural system deviations are admittedly hard to comprehend, without a deeper analysis of it. But from what I can see here, his nervous and neural system have been directly improved by some kind of substance. According to what this entails, his reaction times and reflexes are enhanced by a factor of around three hundred percent, if the scan was accurate in its analysis. Fascinatingly, his brain possesses a slightly larger hippocampus and prefrontal cortex than normally possible, suggesting enhanced memory and intelligence." Chakwas rapidly said, the medical professional in her being almost elated.
"You know, this perfectly explains what I saw down on Haestrom. The speed at which he moved, reacted, everything. I just don't know how such a thing could be possible. I mean, I thought I had some neat bells and whistles. But I sure as hell can't just throw an entire krogan like a sack of potatoes!" Shepard exclaimed, with perhaps a tinge of envy.
"Well, that's all I've got for you Commander. I forwarded the data to your personal console, if you ever want to review its contents again. I appreciate you taking the time. I just felt that you had to know." Chakwas spoke softly like she usually did
"Well, I'd better go get ready and get the shore party in order. Thank you, Chakwas." Shepard said genuinely.
"It's always my pleasure, Commander. Be safe, will you?"
"I always am." Shepard voiced with a laugh, making for the door.
She quickly stepped into the elevator afterwards, going to the shuttle bay.
Once she stepped out, there he was. Standing over a work bench, organizing the ammo she thought primitive a mere short while ago. And still fully armored. Shepard was tempted to pry about what she learned just moments ago, but held back. She always did her best to give others space, and decided to adhere to that habit.
She walked a bit closer, and he turned to face his commander.
"I'd say suit up, but it seems you've already got that down. We'll be docked on Illium in about an hour, make sure you're ready by then." Shepard stated crisply.
A nod was her answer.
Turning away back to the elevator, she laughed, both in amusement and astonishment.
"Oh I've got a feeling you won't be so calm once you see Asari, big man." She muttered under her breath.
Howdy, hope ya enjoyed.
I spent waaaay too long on the sappy stuff, but I hope it at least succeeded in capturing a piece of Shepards story I thought was never really talked about in the games, given its significance.
Have a good one, and thanks for reading!