Nearly there guys. Enjoy
"We've waited long enough; we have to get started with deployment and begin setting up patrols" Admiral Mikhailovich said as he leaned forward in his chair through his hologram. The admiral of the fifth fleet was currently in deep space stationing a wide perimeter around the outreaches of space and keeping an eye out for any signs of Reapers. So, he was one of the few who were at this meeting via the QEC.
"And as we've said before many times" Han'Gerrel Vs Neema said without changing his body language "We will not commit any further to this fight until Mr Kent can uphold his end of the agreement"
Hackett let out a quiet sigh as he listened to the sixth time this argument had happened since the Quarians arrived Sol system. Of course, things were tense for a while there. Earth wasn't exactly ready to host the largest fleet in the galaxy and the Alliance wasn't able to watch so many ships for signs of trouble. Thankfully there hasn't been any. The Quarians seem to be the only other race that believes in the Reaper threat, so the two peoples have been in talks about defence and the formation of a complete military Alliance so they can help each other. Both Hackett and Anderson were the largest supporters of the notion while a handful of members of the Alliance parliament were against it. The notion was passed but it was being stalled.
The Quarian admiralty board while agreeing with the notion will not finalize it until Kent can do what he told them he would "We are about to enter the most dangerous war in recorded history, if you want to keep dragging your feet then we're going to need to kick your ships out of the dockyards and use them ourselves" Admiral Yen of the third fleet spoke up calmly.
The humans present didn't do much other than glance at her while from what Hackett could see, the Quarians suddenly got a little nervous. Not that he could blame them of course. Sol being the home system of humanity, went without saying that it had the largest and most advanced of the dockyards. As of the moment they were being used to repair and upgrade the Quarian ships, it was decided that it would be quicker and cheaper to help the Quarians where their ships were and then start building more of their own from scratch. They could repair and upgrade five of their ships within the same time it would take to build one of their own "I don't think we need to go that far just yet" Anderson spoke up causing all heads to turn to face him "all we are doing is simply waiting for Kent to finish up his work and then he'll get here, and he will. He isn't one to break his word"
"How could you know that?" Mikhailovich asked him, crossing his arms as he did so.
"Because I believe in him" was all he said back.
The room was silent for a moment before Admiral Raan spoke up next "Perhaps we have waited long enough" She turned her head to look at her colleagues "While the majority of the fleet must remain here to protect the live ships, I'm sure we can start sending some of our own to join you on patrols" all the time she spoke she didn't turn her head away from the others.
There was a silence for a while but as one they started to nod at her "I'm glad to hear it" Hackett said as the Alliance admirals seemed to be playacted for now "We'll start to go over the details"
Everyone started to shuffle forward slightly, feeling that they could finally get some work done. However before that could be done, they were interrupted. The door to the conference room opened and Hackett looked as Robert, his Xo made his way inside and calmly made his way over towards him. The rest of the admirals started to discuss what was going to come next. Hackett leaned back in his chair so Robert could have easy access to his ear. He leaned and whispered.
Hackett's head quickly turned to look at him and he nodded back confirming "Admiral" having drowned out the conversation as he listened to what his XO said, the sound of the slightly louder tone made him turn his head to see the rest of the table starring at him "something you wish to share?" Admiral Xen asked him with a slightly annoyed tone.
Hackett stood up and began to pick up his datapad "I'm afraid we're going to need to cut this short. Mr Kent has just arrived, I'll need to prep for his arrival" he gave all present a small nod before turning to leave, he didn't need to hear them all stand up themselves to know they would soon be following him.
Genesis left the wormhole and appeared back in the Sol system. Clark looked at all the data going through his mind as he sat in the command chair, much like when he left this place last, many of the remaining crew were there with them. He wouldn't lie, the place did seem quieter now that so many had left. In front of him looking out the front window was Ashely and Tali standing together and idly speaking to each other. EDI's body was standing off to the side on its own though he knew well enough that she was also still in the Normandy talking to Joker who was getting the ship ready to leave. Ken and Gabby were on the Normandy as well, creating some handy pocket guides on the engines and how they work.
Miranda was standing next to him as he sat, his eyes did drift away from the window and towards her for a moment, taking in her form as he did so "Home sweet home" she mused looking over her shoulder at him, no doubt catching his lingering gazes. Her eyebrows rose at him before a small smirk came onto her face "Really?" she asked leaning on one leg and placing a hand on her hip.
"What?" he shrugged helplessly "I'm not allowed to enjoy the view?" he asked.
"I never said that. But maybe think on the mission at the moment" she said back calmly before turning around to look out the front window "We'll have some alone time later" she whispered that last part, knowing that he was the only one able to hear her.
"Master, it would seem that we have been noticed" Kelex said as its body slowly floated towards him on the left. The others continued to look out the front window as Earth kept getting bigger and bigger "I am detecting the entirety of the Quarian Migrant Fleet holding a steady distance away from Earth while three of the Alliance fleets are doing the same... we are being hailed by the Alliance dreadnought Kilimanjaro" he told them.
"Alright then everyone, let's go get this done" Clark said as he removed the neural link from his head and stood up. Making his way out of the bridge and the others slowly following behind him.
Admiral Hackett stood in his freshly cleaned dress blues, the now re-instated Admiral Anderson doing the same beside him. He wouldn't lie when he said there wasn't an air of nervousness around the primary hanger of the Kilimanjaro. The entire floor was full of as many soldiers and crewmen as he could get, each of them dressed and weapons ready for what they needed to do when he got here. Standing on Hackett's right was the Quarian Admiralty board who were all standing strong as well, they seemed be calmer than the rest of them were which wasn't too surprising when one considered that they'd already met the man in the flesh while for most others, they have not.
Hell, the only human present who saw and spoke to the man in the flesh was Anderson and he seemed just as nervous as the rest of them. He Normandy first, while it was hard to see it because of how much Genisis took up with its sheer girth. The large... Super dreadnought? Was stationed a few thousand kilometres away from them and it was still such an impressive and terrifying thing to see. He didn't know what classification that ship had but Super Dreadnought seemed to fit the bill. The Normandy came a lot closer to his own ship but didn't come in, despite how much larger the Kilimanjaro was to the smaller frigate, the hanger wasn't big enough to fit it inside. So, they would have to wait a little longer before the ship's cargo bay opened, and the shuttle started to make its way towards them. Hackett's heartbeat started to quicken as the shuttle came through the hanger's shield and turned around as it started to land, thankfully he was able to use all of his experience to calm himself down.
As the shuttle touched down, the door opened and as one, the single crewman and soldier turned in place, creating a walkway that led from the shuttle to himself and the other Admirals. The sounds of their feet echoing throughout the suddenly very quiet hanger. Then as one they moved all their rifles over their shoulders and brought their free hands up to salute him. That was when his feet touched the ground of the hanger and Hackett could see him with his own eyes.
What does a normal everyday person see when they look upon Clark Kent? The Superman, a being of unrivalled and unmatched power, a being that if he really wanted to, could destroy the planet right below them and there wouldn't be a damn thing they could do to stop him. Would they fall to their knees in praise or love or fear or maybe even reverence? They would look to him as the one who could save them from themselves or anything else that may be lurking out there in the darkness of space.
To Hackett who watched as he walked down the line of the soldiers with a calm face, a handful of others following him. He looked like a tired old man, in Clark Kent Hackett almost saw himself after a stressful day. Expect he lacked the human body to show the weakness that stress or worry would give. He's spoken to the man only once before not even a day or so ago, he's heard the man speak.
Even over the distance of the galaxy, there was a weight to his words, not in the standard broker no argument way but in something else entirely. When speaking with such a paragon of good, light and hope, you felt guilty, like all of the sins of your life come to the fore and he is able to see all of them. When in the face of that, it's nigh impossible to feel anything other than inadequate.
Or perhaps that is the great lie, perhaps that is the large front he puts on to make sure people like him know their place, he's seen in the reports that the Krogan and the Asari are affected by his very presence. The Krogan get cowed and fearful when around him, the Asari have a need to mate with him that even their wised have trouble resisting.
Maybe he has something else that affects humans that they didn't know about. If everything he thought about the man was true then he couldn't even consider it a possibility that those on the Normandy treated him the way they did, based on the reports Williams gave them, the woman with raven dark hair walking beside him was sleeping with the man. How could a regular human sleep with a being of such power? He was even married before. Was that proof that this aura of ultimate power he had was just a front? He didn't know, though he did know that this was something he could think about at a later date.
Clark reached them and then stopped walking. Both Hackett and Anderson saluted the man who looked at them awkwardly as they did so, though Williams did salute them back "So" the man started as he placed his hands on his hips in a casual manner "Shall we?" he asked them.
"Designation 'Crimson Echo-Beta four nine three'" Clark started as he stood on one side of the table with Miranda by his side. The Alliance and Quarian admiralty board were sitting on the other side, in the middle of the table was a small device that Clark brought with him, that was currently projecting the image of the planet. Like the name suggested it had a mostly red hue but the evidence of water and clouds was clear to see "This is the world I would take the live ships to" he said to them all.
As he spoke almost everyone looked down to their data pads which were automatically given information on the planet in question, namely its relative size, rotation and orbit speed, number of moons, level of active life on it already and most importantly mainly being a dextro based world so growing food shouldn't be a problem for them "It meets all the parameters for a world we can settle on" Raan started "But why is it that we have never found this one before?" she asked.
"Because" Clark started as he reached out and when his hand was close to the planet, he spread his fingers the image zoomed out giving everyone a better view of where the in the galaxy the planet was. The image was a surprising one. Crimson was close to Earth, when looking at the Galaxy in a 3D image, it looked like it was just below Earth "It's outside the Mass Relay network. At the current FTL speeds it would take you around two hundred years to reach. Naturally humanity didn't deem one planet like this to worth it" he explained.
"If we settle on this world then you're asking us to cut ourselves off from the rest of the galaxy" Xen added as she leaned back with her arms crossed, clearly not happy with the idea.
"Yes, that's the plan" he nodded at her, shocking the others with just how brazen he was with the idea "If the Reapers prove too much then those in the Live ships will be able to survive as I doubt the Reapers would think to go so far to look for you" he added "and don't worry, I'm not going to leave you high and dry if they're defeated" he made another hand gesture and a notification was sent to the data pads "You've just been given a set a schematics that will show you how to build a more... simplified version of the Mass Relays. They won't be as powerful!" he spoke up as everyone sat up and looked at the data pads more closely, no doubt in shock that he would give them such a thing "but would be enough to get to nearby star systems within a relatively short time, they will not let you go hopping from one side of the galaxy to the other. But I must say that when the Live ships are taken, they are ordered to not build these until they are either told the Reaper threat is dealt with or three hundred years have passed. By then I assume they would have completed their harvest and left to go into hiding again"
Hearing that the Reapers may win were quick to calm them all done. They were all quiet for a moment before Raan spoke up next "Thank you for doing this Mr Kent" she started before standing up "If you'll excuse me, I'll help with the statistics for those who will be going and staying"
"As will I" Koris stood up next "As Admiral of the Live ships, I'll need to finalize everything" though before he left, he moved up to Clark and shook his hand "Thank you for everything Mr. Kent" he said before turning to leave following closely behind Raan.
Ashely stood up against a long window on the Kilimanjaro, she was watching as the shuttle that carried Tali flew away and towards the main grouping of Migrant fleet ships, some thirty thousand. It was such a mind-boggling number for her to think about, so many ships that were now going to help defend Earth and her Coloney. She had to admit, she did feel a lot better knowing these guys were here to help them. Of course, they got something in return but that didn't bother her, that was how partnerships worked.
"You did well" a voice called to her, she turned around and immediately saluted him "Sir"
Anderson smiled at her before returning the salute "At ease Williams. Mind if I join you?" he asked.
"Of course not, sir" she said back quickly as the older man moved forward and the two stood together "Beautiful view, isn't it?" he asked.
She turned her head to glance at him but brought her head quickly back forward, looking out the window "It really is" she agreed.
It wasn't, at least to her just because of Earth. The planet took in a large part of the view, but it also showed a large part of the space around it as well, it showed the Migrant and Alliance fleets, Genisis slowly moving towards the large Live ships and the Alliance shipyards working on the Quarian ships. It was a real image of unity and coming together "The paperwork is in the works" Anderson spoke up "Your undercover mission is now available for the top brass, welcome back to the Alliance Williams" he added.
She smiled at the words "It's good to be back sir" she confirmed.
"But it won't be as it used to" he started turning his body to the younger woman. Ashley confused by the statement turned to look at the man "You've done good work for the Alliance, more than most. You stood by Shepard when he fought off Serin, you stood by Superman as he's done all of this" he gestured to the window and they both watched as the colossal ship moved in between two Live ships "Superman is a symbol to the human race, he always will be. But he's a symbol in the same way god is. Many believe he's out there; many think he's the reason you're going to survive but it's unlikely that it'll carry you through the trenches. Now we need a symbol the people can relate to"
As the man spoke Ashley's heart rate began as she listened closely to what was being said, thinking that she may be mishearing this "Kent is currently having a meeting with Hackett, I could have stayed but there was work that needed doing. However, as I left, I heard that the Normandy was being turned back over to the Alliance. You know the ship, you know the pilot, you vouched for those engineers who will be coming over to the Alliance. But most of all you know what it takes. Shepard did everything right, even that which wasn't illegal, you were there for all of it, you saw how he acted, and what he did. The Normandy needs a leader who can be seen, who can go to those guys on the front lines, grab their collars and drag them through the trenches. Do you think that's something you can do?" he asked her.
Ashley's face was calm as she glanced out the window, thinking about what she was being offered, of course, she wanted to do it but that didn't mean it was something she could do "I... I can't do what Shepard did" she started, looking back at the older man.
"No one can do what Shepard did" Anderson agreed with her "but that doesn't mean someone who knew him can't try. And I doubt there was one who knew him as well as you do" he added.
A small look of confusion came over her face as she heard that, it didn't sound right "Not including yourself there sir?" she asked. Anderson was the one who brought Shepard into the Alliance, the guy who groomed him since he was in basic, he made it no secret that he was the man he was because of Anderson"
"Ha" he chuckled "I knew him well but I didn't know as well as you do, we weren't that close" he dipped his head and raised an eyebrow at her as he said that.
Ahsley spluttered slightly as the blush came onto her face "I... Sir!" she yelled looking away from him.
"Don't worry about that now, it was hardly a secret" he added "Do you think this is something you could do?" he asked again.
Bringing her back to the topic, she calmed herself down. Honestly not having any idea what she was supposed to do here, how could she do this? She was no Shepard, she never thought she could do it but at the same time, she asked herself. What would Shepard do? What would he want her to do? "I'll do it" she said straightening her back and clearly surprised that she just said that.
Anderson looked at her before taking up the same stance and saluting her, something Ashley did back on instinct "Then I wish you the best of luck, Commander" he added before reaching forward and shaking her hand "I'll sort out the paperwork later, for now, I suggest you start looking over the dossiers for the perspective crew members you'll be leading" he suggested before turning and heading down the corridor.
"I'll get right on that sir" she muttered to herself before turning around and leaving in the opposite direction.
"How long do you say it would take?" Hackett asked as he sat behind his desk looking out of the window that took up most of the wall.
Clark hummed as he sat on the other side of the desk in a relaxed fashion he watched the same thing Hackett did. Genesis was currently deploying the large tow cables that were wrapping around the two Live ships. The massive cable wrapped around the ships twice before the large claw-like clamp at the end of them opened, powerful bursts of lightning-like energy shooting from one claw to the other as it did so. Both clamps gripped onto the large dome of the Live ship hull and started to pull them closer towards Genisis until the two smaller ships looked almost squashed against the larger one.
To someone with Clarks eyes, he could see the shield of the Genisis expand itself and envelop until it covered the Live ships with it "Normally it would only take an hour to get to Crimson but she's carrying extra weight, extra weight that's made from some weaker stuff" he started to explain, he felt it was important to get the points across, while the Live ships were impressive they're shields were weaker and their hulls were thinner. If they travelled at full speed, even with the extra shielding Genisis was giving them, all it would take would be a small boulder to go right through them "to take everything that's going, assuming there are no mix-ups then three days".
"That all?" Hackett found himself asking before he could stop himself.
"Yeah" Clark confirmed calmly as he reached out and took a drink of the coffee that was made for him, not showing any discomfort from the large gulp he took, despite it being just below boiling. Not that he was too surprised by that of course "You want to ask me something?" he said.
It took a lot for Hackett to keep himself from being annoyed at being so easy to read, as far as he knew at least. He didn't want to ask him this but the truth of the situation was that he didn't know who else he could ask, oh sure, he could make a demand of practically anyone in his fleet but they wouldn't be able to get it done as well as he could. The problem was that he didn't have any way to force him to do anything, the only thing he could do was ask and make a compelling case "I have a deep-cover operative out in Batarian space. Her name is Doctor Amanda Kenson" he started "she was one of many different teams that where sent out in the more unknown sectors of space to look for any signs of Reaper activity. Most of them found nothing, but four days ago Dr. Kenson recently reported that she found evidence of an imminent Reaper invasion" he said turning away from the window and looking at him directly.
But to his shock or was it disappointment, Clark's face didn't change in any way. He just looked out the window like he didn't even hear him, though he did, there was no way he didn't. Hackett just waited for him to respond "What type of evidence?" he asked calmly as he turned from the window and looked at the Admiral.
"She didn't go into specifics, not wanting to give such important data over something that could be monitored by outside forces" he started to explain "She claims to have found an artefact that she is certain beyond doubt is Reaper tech. Considering she was one of the few human scientists who was given permission to work on the pieces recovered from Sovereign, I'm willing to believe her. She claims this artefact, this device holds proof that the Reapers are close and preparing to launch their invasion"
"If you're so sure about all of this then why are you telling me?" he asked back before taking another large gulp of his drink "You have an entire fleet of ships at your beck and call"
"Because three days ago I received word that she was discovered and arrested by the forces of the Batarian colony their station was near. They're holding her in a maximum-security prison on charges of terrorism" he added with a slightly lowered head.
"Ah, you can't go and get her because that would no doubt start a war" Clark carried on for him "You can't do that unless you know that it would prove the Reapers are real which while you're sure it would, even one per cent doubt is too much. But I can" he placed the cup down on the table and leaned back in his chair "you're asking me to go and see if this is real or not"
It wasn't a question.
"Yes, I am" he confirmed with a nod "I know I don't have the right, believe me, I know" he leaned back in his chair himself "The truth is Kenson is one the few real friends I have left. I don't want to let her rot in some torture camp, but I'm bound by my duty to the Alliance. You're my last option" he admitted.
Again, he was quiet. His face did not change as he looked back at Hackett. While never being a man of faith himself, he was praying at the minute that he would say yes and do this for him. While getting Kenson out would be incredible to him, it wasn't the only reason he asked Clark to go. If the Reapers were coming, he could see the proof for himself. Maybe even just wait for them to arrive so he could help save them then and there. There was no doubt to Hackett that he knew that already, there was no doubt in his mind that he didn't "Three days, there's a chance she might be dead already" he said.
"I can't give up on her until I know for certain" he said back just as quickly.
He pursed his lips and let out a quick breath before turning his head and looking back out the window. Seeing the small flash of light in the corner of his eye, Hackett turned as well and watched with no hidden amount of wonder as the large wormhole opened up in front of Genisis and the large ship flew into it. Just as quickly as it moved, it also left with not even a flash, the portal just closed "I'll need the Normandy" he told him.
"You'll have it" he agreed quickly "I believe it's currently being restaffed with a crew. Anderson wanted to hand it over to Williams, something I'm not against but I'll let him know that you're in charge while you're there" he added as the two men stood up.
"Forward me a more detailed report about Kenson's mission and the woman herself" he said to him.
"I'll get right on that" Hackett said as he walked around his desk and offered his hand to shake.
Something Clark did before turning and making his way out of the man's office. Hackett watched him leave hoping that Kenson was wrong, and the Reapers weren't here, they weren't ready if they were, and he wasn't certain Superman would appear to save them if that was the case.
"This feels weird" Miranda admitted as the two walked through the airlock of the Normandy.
"What do you mean?" Clark asked as the doors closed behind them the airlock sealed itself up and the pressurization started "We've been on this ship for weeks now"
"I know" she said rolling her eyes slightly "but that was when it was a Cerberus ship, it feels weird being by so many different Alliance personnel and not being either fired upon or undercover" she explained as the process finished and the door unlocked itself.
"I'm sure you'll get used to it" he added "Just think of the reward" he added.
"Oh" she said coyly as he leaned on one leg and pressed a hand on her hip "And what reward is that?" she asked.
Clark smiled back "On Earth, pick any city. And I'll show you the best date of your life" he added as the door opened.
"I don't know, I've been on some good dates" she said back as the two stepped in.
"Jessica!" a startled voice called out to the two, interrupting them from each other and both turned to look at the one who spoke.
Clark was surprised by the loud response from the woman, she was around five eight, dark-skinned and short black hair. She wasn't reacting to him at all which was something new, there was something familiar about her though. What that was he didn't know, and he didn't have much time to figure it out as he was too surprised by how she was looking at Miranda. Miranda herself was looking at her with a mildly surprised expression but her face wasn't showing anything too shocking he could tell that she was shocked by the appearance of the woman "Samantha" she said with a surprised voice, her face was that of both shock but also a type of dread. Like someone who just got caught mid-prank "...Hey"
Clark's face was one of amusement but also wonderment at everything that was going on. That fact it seemed that every year of training Miranda seemed to have in spy craft and espionage just went out the window ''Hey' was the best you could do?' he thought to himself.
"What are you... what are you doing here?" the woman, Samantha asked with a shocked voice "With..." she turned to look at him "SIR!" she shouted bringing an up in a salute "truly an honour to see you again sir" she said.
Turning his eyes away from Miranda for a moment as he looked back at the woman. The fact she said she'd seen him before does reinforce that feeling he had, his mind went over her face, he tried to find wherever this feeling was coming from and went quiet for a grand total of three seconds.
That was when his face softened as he remembered "The little girl from Mindoir" he said allowed he said as he looked at her up and down "You look good" he said.
Despite how it might have sounded, no one present thought for a second that he was hitting on her. Samantha smiled at the compliment "All thanks to you sir, I never did get a chance to say thank you"
"You never needed too" he said back calmly, it was nice to see her looking so healthy.
While he was sure that he was going to spend a minute explaining what was going on within the ship and all that. She instead quickly turned back to look at Miranda "What are you doing here, and why are you wearing..." she trailed off, Clark noticed that she was looking right at her chest, more specifically the logo she was wearing. She looked back at her with wide eyes before taking a step back "Oh my god, I was seduced by a spy" she said more to herself than anyone else. She quickly turned around and started to march away, no doubt not wanting to be there anymore.
The two stayed in place as the other woman moved out of view of them "Something I should know?" he asked her already having a very good idea.
Miranda let out a sigh as she turned to look at him "Samantha Traynor was the first lead I had on looking for you. She had a witnessed statement from the raid, and I thought it would be good to have as a way of building a personality profile on you" she explained to him, looking on either side of her before leaning into him "I met her in the hotel bar she was staying in, seduced her, knocked her out and hacked into the computer, once I had what I needed I left and she woke up the next morning with a note and no doubt a good memory of a nice night" she added before stepping back.
Clark slowly nodded as he listened to it, not finding it anything too horrifying "Ok, you might want to talk to her though. Explain that she didn't help in committing treason by losing important documents"
She was quiet for a moment, considering the words. She opened her mouth to argue against it but before she could get a word out, he gave her that look. The one where he says 'do the right thing' without needing to say anything. She let out a sigh before stepping forward and turning right into the CIC, no doubt to follow after her.
Clark himself moved forward and turned left towards the cockpit. He wasn't surprised to see Joker already sitting down and going over the ship's systems, getting them ready for where they needed to go. What he was surprised to see was the familiar body of EDI sitting in the Co-pilot chair doing the same. It wasn't that she was here per se but it was more that she was in the seat, he was sure that the Alliance was going to hire another to act as co-pilot.
"Hey Clark" Joker said as he turned around in his seat "I gotta say, I'm surprised how much I missed the Alliance blue" he added.
"No regrets leaving then" he asked him.
"I don't know" he admitted with a small shrug "Sure I'm still pissed they tried to bury Shepard to make the council happy, but I guess they're doing better now. Bottom line, I go where the Normandy goes. I think that may go double for my new co-pilot" he said with a smile, turning his head to look at EDI who Clark noted seemed to suit the Alliance uniform.
"I am curious about that, how did you get the Alliance on board with you being here so quickly?" he asked, thinking that the Alliance would have been a lot stricter with an A.I, let alone a Cerberus one.
EDI turned her head to look at him and a small smirk came on her face "Ssshhhh" she said bringing a finger up to her lips "I was able to create a fake Cerberus contract and profile for myself" she started to explain, the volume of her words being far quieter than anyone expects him would be capable of hearing "Thankfully out of those who stayed with the Normandy, I've built a good relationship with and they vouched for me as a regular human being. Both myself and Jeff were able to convince the rest of the Alliance that the me within the ship is simply an advanced V.I, I've gotten quite good at acting" she added with a smile.
Clark let out a chuckle as he crossed his arms, looking back out the window. He didn't really have anything against the idea, an A.I like EDI did deserve to have a chance at life, he was always of that mindset "So what do we call you then?" he asked.
"I have been thinking about that but in truth, I like the name Edi, it is my name" she said back.
"But what about the you in the ship?" he asked already thinking that would be a bit too on the nose for most people.
"To better keep my true identity a secret, we have told everyone to refer to the Normandy's V.I as EED. The same as my name just without the I" She looked over her shoulder to smile at him "I'm surprised by the thrill I'm feeling about the situation"
He smirked again at that, it was surprisingly sweet to see Edi find enjoyment in being uncovered like she was a kid lying to her parents about something stupid "Well then Edi, I wish you the best of luck" he added before turning back to Joker "I assume you got the mission brief?" he asked him.
"Sure did, we're heading over to Batarian space to rescue a deep cover agent and prove the Reapers are a stepping stone away" his cheerful tone did drop slightly as he finished that last part.
"Don't worry Joker" he said looking down at the pilot "It's gonna be fine" With that said he turned and started to make his way down the walkway towards the CIC of the ship, not failing to notice how many people's eyes landed on him as he did so.
Samantha Traynor was taking deep breaths as she looked down at the sink, her face dripping with water after she just splashed herself. This was a mistake, she wasn't even supposed to be here. She was a communications specialist. She was only here because this ship needed a crew quickly and she was nearby. Of course, she knew Superman was here so she didn't say no to the offer on the chance that he would be here.
When she found that he would be she was so happy, she could finally see him and say thank you for what he did for her. But when she saw her she just froze up, she wouldn't lie and say she wasn't hurt when she woke up that morning to find Jessica gone, while not a fool and knowing full well it might have just been a one-night stand. It would have been nice to have another round, she wouldn't lie and say the sex wasn't great, because it was. The note she left was sweet after all.
'God, she was a spy' she thought to herself, how could she have been so stupid. She always thought it was too good to be true. A woman like that, the hair, the face, the smarts, the body... 'oh god that body' she added to herself, remembering naked form on top of her own. It was all a lie, she was just a body that she needed to get information.
"You need to calm down" a voice called from behind her.
She quickly turned around and found the door to the woman's bathroom open and saw her standing there calmly, leaning against the frame with her arms crossed. Upon seeing her again, Traynor sighed and turned back around "Leave me alone" she said.
"No" was all she said back before she stepped inside and closed the door, locking it behind her "I know you don't want to talk, but you shouldn't feel bad. You didn't do anything wrong" she explained.
"I let my guard down" she said back turning around to face her again, this time her face pushed into a scowl "I let myself enjoy the night and I let myself be stupid enough to fall for your lies. Jessica" she added with a mocking tone "what even is your name anyway?" she asked.
"It's Miranda" she said taking a step forward towards her "And don't feel bad" she said again "I'm very good at what I do, you're not the first person to fall for my charms and you weren't the last. But you need to relax, you didn't betray the Alliance, you didn't commit treason"
"What did I do?" she asked her, standing up straight with her arms by her side and her hands balled into fists "I was just a private, I didn't know anything that would have been useful"
"Yes, you did" Miranda said back immediately before sighing and looking at her calmly "You had a witness statement" she started "I had just been tasked with finding Superman, I needed a lead, I needed something. I was told about you and how he saved you from the attackers. I needed to build a personality profile on him, you were the best way to do that" she explained.
That didn't help as much as she would have thought it did, if anything Traynor seemed to get both more confused and more angry "But... you didn't need to sleep with me for that!" she yelled, making Miranda thankful she closed the door "you could have just sunk in and hacked my computer"
"Yeah" she admitted quickly with a shrug.
That quick response just confused her more than anything else "Then... then why the fuck would you go through all that effort?" she asked waving her arms about as she did so.
"I was in a mood" Miranda admitted with a completely blank face. Samantha's wide eyes blinked rapidly as she looked side to side as if she was looking for someone who would act as a witness "It had been a while, I was just given an important job and feeling stressed. I thought fuck it, why not?" then she crossed her arms and looked at her with her own eyes narrowing "and don't act all high and mighty, I told you that it was only going to be a onetime thing. What? You upset I didn't stay so I could sit on your face in the morning?" she asked, taking a step towards her as he did so.
"Yes!" she said back quickly, surprising herself with how loud she did it "No" she quickly corrected herself "I didn't want to be used as someone's toy" she decided to settle on.
"Oh god enough with the pity party" she said back rolling her eyes "I'm sorry I lied about my name and my job. I'm sorry I made you cum more than anyone ever has before most likely. I'm sorry I made you pass out with a smile on your face. How could I ever forgive myself? Oh wait, I already did that a minute after I left. Admit it, Traynor, you had a great night and you've lost nothing" she added, her face right in front of hers.
"I lost..." she tried to say but stopped herself as she thought about it "I... I lost!" she brought up her hand and pointed at Miranda's face, not that it meant much when they were so close together. It was like she was proud of being able to think of something "I lost my dignity" she added with a self-satisfied smirk.
However, that was quickly wiped from her face when she took another step forward. Samantha's breath hitched slightly as their breasts pushed against each other "Really?" she asked with a deadpan voice "You lost that? I seem to remember giving that up, very willingly as well" Miranda's voice became a whisper as she leaned in closer. Samantha was unable to go further back due to the sink "I seem to remember you begging" She moved her head, so her mouth was right next to her ear "Do you remember, begging for a release that wouldn't come until you put the work in?" she asked.
"Uh-huh" she nodded back slowly, unable to do much else. There was no denying the deep breath out as she moved away "Traynor if I wasn't in a relationship" she suddenly leaned in again, their lips so close together but not touching "I would have you right here on this sink until you begged for mercy twice" then she finally pulled "but sadly I am, get over it Traynor, it was a fun night that we can both remember fondly, but there was no real consequence to it" without another word she turned and left the bathroom. Leaving Traynor in place with a racing heart and a very familiar need. Looking at the bathroom stall, she quickly moved inside it and locked it.
Without another word, she pulled her pants down and sat. Giving her fingers a quick lick, she got to work. No way she was going to be able to work until she sorted this out.
As Miranda started to make her way back into the CIC, her Omni-tool let out a ping. Opening it she looked down and frowned as she saw that she had gotten a message from the Illusive Man, he was asking to know what was happening with the Collector base. She found a moment to herself that she wasn't familiar with, she didn't know what to do for a moment. The lift started to take her upwards, she knew what she wanted to do but didn't know if it was what she should do. She owed them a lot, she owed him a lot but at the same time what was the point? She wasn't really going to go back, was she? Did she need to? Did she even want to anymore?
The door opened and she was created with the sight of the active CIC, that was when she saw him. Clark was standing with his back to her, he was typing away on the terminal next to the galaxy map. What he was doing she didn't know, Willaims was standing next to him and the two were discussing something, she could hear it from where she was. About to step forward she forgot about the message she needed to send, despite herself Miranda found herself smiling at the sight of him. A fresh sense of purpose went through her as it did so, and suddenly sending this message didn't seem so bad.
Ashely stepped through the doors of the airlock, a packed bag being carried under her arms. Despite being on this ship so much in the past, a part of her was nervous, this was going to be the first time she was doing it with this rank, it would be the first time she did this with the ship being hers. For the first time in a while, she felt that she would really be making Shepard proud, she didn't doubt he would have been proud of her for everything that happened before, but with this, it felt stronger for some reason.
She was admittedly a little annoyed when she was told that Clark was going to be on board and technically still in charge, but she also knew that despite it all it was her ship. He could give the orders, but she was the one who made the calls, it was like Admiral Hackett and his ship, while he made the Kilimanjaro his own ship, the duties of an Admiral would keep him too busy to handle the day-to-day operations that come with captaining a dreadnought, so he would have a captain to handle that.
However, she did find herself thankful that this journey would be relatively short so she wouldn't need to worry about the idea that even though this was her ship she wouldn't be able to have the captain's cabin to herself because he was here. Which she understands but she doesn't like at all.
Walking down the walkway of the CIC, she found herself feeling a lot more comfortable surrounded by the Alliance blues again. Moving around the Galaxy map she saw Clark working on a terminal "Hey Clark, what are you doing?" she asked him.
He glanced at her as she moved towards him, giving her a small smile before turning back to the screen "Just checking a couple of things, the mission that Hackett wants me to help out with, the colony the targets on and the research she was doing" he listed.
"Yeah, I heard" she said standing next to him and glancing at the screen herself, though she found herself with raised eyebrows. The screen was nothing to her mind. Just a collection of dozens of tabs that were all opening and closing immediately, she could only just make out the blur of writing before they were taken down and replaced with another "So, you're going over everything" she added, stressing that last part.
"I'm trying" he added "but I gotta say either the Alliance didn't want anyone to know what she was doing, or she wasn't telling them anything. Needless to say, one is a lot worse than the other"
"So, what's the plan?" she asked him, setting her bag down on the ground.
"Well, we go there, I break her out of this prison and find her home base. Assuming it's still there and the Batarians didn't destroy it outright. We go from there" he explained.
"Just like that?" she asked.
"Where you expecting something more?" he asked back calmly.
That brought her up short for a moment "And if the Reapers are there?" she asked.
He didn't answer for a moment, she almost thought that he was ignoring her but that wasn't the vibe she was getting from him, it was like he didn't want to answer "I doubt it will come to that" another voice spoke up.
Ashley turned and tried to hide her scowl as Miranda walked up to them, she stopped on the other side of him, turned around and leaned back on the terminal, crossing her arms as she did so. She hated the fact this woman was still here. The first chance she got, she was going to kick that Cerberus bitch off her ship "I'm sure the Reapers are still a ways away" As she spoke she looked at Clark who despite it all, was still looking down at the terminal with an intense look in his eyes.
Before any woman could speak again he turned his head and looked at Ashley "Can you tell Joker that we need to set off?" he asked her, making sure to not make it sound like an order.
After a moment and a final glance at Miranda, she nodded "Sure" With that she turned to leave.
The two watched her as she did so, staying in silence for a moment as Clark leaned forward and placed both his hands on the terminal, it almost looked like he was out of breath "I don't think I can do it" his voice was almost a whisper as he spoke.
She knew exactly what he was saying, it was the reason why she interrupted the way she did. Clark didn't want to admit out loud to Williams that he was considering not doing anything about the Reapers if they were there. The idea itself was... interesting to say the least. Though she knew it sounded ridiculous and horrifying to admit that he would let the Galaxy fight out a war that could kill billions or even everyone even when he had the power to stop it.
Of course, he would feel guilt-ridden about it. Who wouldn't? But she knew that he was thinking about the bigger picture, this war has nothing to do with him anymore, maybe if it had come a few hundred years ago when he still wore the suit, he wouldn't have thought twice about it. But that was a long time ago, the only person he had left to fight for was her and she wasn't leaving his side any time soon. Was this his fight anymore? He did everything he could to convince the people of what was to come, he gave them all the evidence they would need so they could defend themselves. He did everything to get directly involved.
But at the same time, she knew exactly what he was going to do if it came down to it. He just needed a little help getting there himself. He was a man after all, he would do the right thing, he just didn't want to admit that he'd go back on his word of not getting involved "I just got a message from TIM" she said back, enjoying the way he smiled slightly as she used the moniker he gave him "he was asking for an update on getting the Collector base for Cerberus"
"What did you tell him?" he asked turning to look at her.
"Nothing" she admitted "I just handed him my resignation" she said with a small smile at him.
Something he returned "Really?" he asked with a surprised face "And how did he take that?" he added.
"I have no ide..." she stopped as a ping came from her Omni-Tool, looking away from him briefly she opened it and read the new message.
"Well?" he asked as he stood up and leaned back against the terminal, crossing his arms as he did so.
"He says that it was a pleasure to work with me" she told him as she scooted closer to him as she did so, leaning on him for support.
"So, I've now got you all to myself" he said coly.
She smirked slightly at the words "Yes you do, though I do still have a sister" she added.
"I know, don't worry. She'll be fine I promise" he added back quickly as the two enjoyed their moment of silence before they were interrupted.
"All hands, prepare for Mass Relay jump" Eed's voice came over the ship's com.
And we shall end it there, sorry for not updating last weakened. It was a Birthday weakened so I was busy getting drunk and regretting it the next morning. Anyway, I know I've said this before but this time I mean it. I'm only predicting 1 or 2 more chapters for this story, the final and maybe an epilogue.
And some of you may know, after this story ends. A New Origin will take over this slot and I'm looking forward to getting back to my roots and getting back on with Star Wars.
Anyway, let me know what you all think in the reviews down below and I'll see you in the next chapter.
Next Story Update: Project Atlas.