I'm in my cabin alone with my new pet space hamster Jack found in her room. I just finished getting off a video call with Liara. With his permission, I explained to her to the best of my ability what ********* is. She didn't believe me at first. The mind melds we did somehow allow her to know I'm telling the truth. It was a tough pill to swallow. I confided in her. I'm still so fucking angry at him for letting me die. On the other hand, I feel so bad for him. Kelly informed me how rough he had it growing up and the news Dr. Chakwas told me about his history made me understand why he wanted to leave so badly. We asked ********* what happen with his life afterwards. ********* didn't go too much into detail. Only that he was pissed and wanted to leave. He did it once in an accident then came back. It's how he learned about other universes. ********* believed that since he was still aging and how his perceptions changed growing up, he owed it to himself to live the full experience before moving on in order to gain a complete picture on life and that waiting was one of the biggest mistakes he ever made.

Liara's advice did little to get rid of this burning clenching rage inside my chest. She pointed out that nearly everyone had something happen to them outside of their control and have to live with the consequences. Tali not being able to live on her species home world due to the geth rebellion. Wrex unable to have kids due to the genophage. Jack's kidnapping and subsequent events, Miranda's "father" as well as Joker's bone condition. She explained it to me like physical therapy after an accident. If someone flew into my skycar and was left injured, while it wasn't my fault, it is still my responsibility to recover. She even claimed I was lucky. At that moment, it enraged me. Liara explained that I didn't feel any pain or any pain I remember and only lost two years of my life. A short time for asari. There are humans stuck in comas who have lost decades. Perhaps I did have it easy. I know I should be grateful for my second chance; I feel robbed.

********* appears to be happy and maybe he is, but he also carries sadness within him. Knowing what I know now, it makes sense. Why he's so different and his difficulties using modern technology. He grew up with antiques! It's kinda funny watching him try to use basic omni tool functions. A toddler can pull up the screwdriver function. My favorite is when the illusive man begged me for ********* to leave his station alone. Behind the old bastard was a bunch of furniture ********* moved in. He found him taking a nap after apparently sunbathing.

Juvenile pranks aside, the more I think of it, I believe my anger is misplaced. Kaiden must have felt the same when he yelled to high heaven about my apparent betrayal. My heart broke when Ashely cried. I became a hero to the alliance and humans everywhere, only to wind up working with Cerberus. Hopefully time will heal everyone's wounds. I should forgive them. ********* says "you should do it as soon as you can because you don't want that bad energy to become congested." Someone should really have him explain all this.

"Hey Shepard, you wanted to see me" his voice is right next to my ear.

"JESUS CHRIST!" this better not become a thing.

"Hehe. I love doing that. Why did you want to see me?" He plops on my bed.

"Please don't scare me like that" My heart beat is still fast.

"I promise. Why was I called up?" ********* adjusts his position. Sitting crossed legged and holding my good pillow.

"Well, there is a colony where the security mechs have gone rogue. They are attacking anyone they see. Thankfully most of the citizens were able to evacuate. I wanted to see how you do in combat.. no holding back" I may end up regretting those words. ********* face turns sour.

"What's with that look? I thought you'd be excited."

"You'll see why I hold back" I don't feel concerned. Shouldn't I be concerned?

"Did you know this mission would occur?" ********* fully explained the game mechanics to me and there is a surprisingly amount of wiggle room. I'm not a zealot, but I played some growing up. This game our universe is based off sounds very complicated. ********* doesn't want to give out too many details in case it prevents important events that should occur in the third game. We're near the end of the second. He said we completed most of the missions.

"This one doesn't sound familiar. Back in the original Normandy you did this a few times. We went on missions that were not in the game at all. I liked those ones. It was a nice break from practically knowing what will happen. I don't want to get caught. How will the council react to me?"

"EDI will jam communications so you won't have to worry. So, if things are like a videogame and we run into a boss, would you?" He's intentionally giving me an unresponsive look.

"Would I what?" He asks.

"Would you handle it for us?" I hope that isn't too much to ask.

"Shepard, I like you guys, but I won't have people become dependent on me again. You're capable enough to do it without me" he said.

"Please?"

"Urgh. You will get ONE pass. If you want an easy win, just say the word."

"YES! Thank you.

The colony we arrived at is a real-life portrait of the pacific northwest and ominously quiet. The rural background and farming based economy producing something questionable Aria asked me to protect. This mission is an opportunity to boost my reputation with her in case I need her assistance in the future, while the main reason I accepted is because I want to see what exactly ********* is capable of. Right now, he's leaning backwards with his hands behind his head. ********* only brought a small pistol with him. With us is Tali for her hacking abilities. Maybe she can find out what caused the mechs to go haywire. I also brought Mordin. He spends too much time in his lab. The former STG officer's depression has me concerned. When he isn't tinkering in the lab or playing loud music to distract himself, he drinks. Mordin asked me if he should try talking to *********. I don't believe a five-minute conversation will be the answer. Truthfully, I don't know why he's s burden with guilt. He didn't invent the genophage. That happened hundreds of years ago. Mordin was ordered to modify it to maintain krogan population levels. I wonder if the recent krogan enlightenment further dug into him. Alot of people are questioning if krogan really are violent brutes or they were only like that because they didn't have anything else to do. ********* swears up and down it wasn't his plan and that it just happened. Regardless, things are changing and will continue to change.

The hammerhead lands gently in a patch of knee high grass. ********* awakes from his meditation/catnap and pops out. He holds his hand out for Tali to grab, she takes it and carefully climbs down. Mordin is too busy doing something on his omnitool to realize we landed.

"Ok here is the deal. I'll take all the mech on the right side of the colony and leave the rest for you guys to handle" he said.

"You said earlier if you died, you would leave those other places behind. You're not going to leave us, will you?" She sweetly asks.

"Not now. Don't worry this is me showing off. I hope you guys enjoy the show" he withdrawals his firearm and sprints towards the colony. ********* always prefers scanning the area just in case. Too get a count and determine the path will allow him to stealthily dispose of enemies in a timely manner. He's never this reckless. It's hard for us to match his speed. A dozen mechs spot him and are quickly eliminated with precise headshots.

Note one. He is extremely accurate with a firearm and quickly dispatches opponents.

Reinforcements arrive. A myriad of different colored mechs descend on our location. ********* throws his pistol into a green one that lodges deeply within. He uses what I assume is super strength to punch and kick clean through multiple mechs, ripping the last one's head off before moving onto the sniper on an outlook tower which goes bye bye when ********* flies up and crushes it single handedly.

Note two. Super strength and flight.

A barrage of green orbs coming from *********'s palm explodes a trio of red mechs. The others are crushed by an unknown force.

Note three. Telekinesis and something like biotics.

********* demonstrates many other abilities. Super speed. Spontaneous explosions, freezing, opening portals to who knows where, creating giant blades from his forearms, he can do basically whatever he wants.

Note four. Nigh omnipotent.

"Alright show is over. Hope you're happy. This bores me" he said.

"Wow I didn't know what to expect but this uh… what's the word? This feels…" Shepard is searching for the correct description.

"It feels like the stakes are gone?" ********* said.

"Yes exactly" I snaps my fingers.

"There are still stakes. Don't let this fool you. I'm done you guys do some self-improvement. I'll wait."

Mordin comments "most other sentients would be delighted to have an array of abilities to easily defeat hostiles and you appear rather displeased."

"That's because I was. Limits make things exhilarating. Imagine being so strong you can defeat anyone with a single punch. Well life gets boring pretty quick. Same principle. I hold back so there will be a challenge. The general rule is to limit myself to the standards of others. Guns here so I can use it. Magic spells in one universe, you can guess what I do. Now you guys get to have your fun. I'm not interfering."

"While everyone here wants your help, you held up your end of the bargain. Any ideas why the robots attacked the farmers?" Shepard asks anyone.

"In my experience the common theme is sabotage from a competitor. Find out who gains the most from this alien marijuana looking plant removed the galactic market. I'm going to go sunbathe. Have fun guys" he takes off Thane's oversized coat. Revealing an envious triathlon body. A wave of his hand creates a beach umbrella and lounge. I guess someone has earned a vacation.

Mordin and I get kneel down to examine a mech. One of the few that has not been obliterated by *********. The different colors are probably mechs for different tasks. I'm not too familiar with them as the alliance makes the recruits do the chores. Tali should be able to hack in and discover... "Tali we need you" I shout.

"Right. Sorry" she snaps herself out of her trance. The quarian catches up and examines the mech. She does her coding stuff I barely understand. One of the few thinks ********* can't do. He claims while he had computers growing up, he never needed to code. Not surprising. It's a rare profession these days. Virtual interfaces can write code with some limits to prevent accidental awakenings.

"Shepard there is a note in the code for you" she said. She shows me her screen, forgetting to translate it into English or as ********* puts it, American. He doesn't actually hate British people. He's not a bigot. It's his way to make fun of those people he tasseled with. I read the note.

"Congratulations. You passed my test. Now bring me back some of my crop. Aria" I massage my temples. If ********* didn't do most of the work, I would have been pissed.

I yell "HEY *********! Shore leave is over. We're heading back to the ship."

"REALLY? SO SOON? YOU GUYS HEAD BACK. THE SUN FEELS SOOOOO GOOD. I'LL TELEPORT BACK WHEN I'M DONE."

I liked the old ********* better. I wasn't so envious back then. "Joker, would it be possible to hover the ship so that it blocks ********* sunlight?"

"On it sir. EDI calculated where we need to be to prevent ********* getting a sun burn. We'll come get you and park there." he said.

An hour has passed. My omnitool gets a notification. It's from *********.

"The sun feels dimmer, yet I see no clouds. Did you do something?"

Left read.