The drive core's whine eased as we dropped out of FTL now it could rest after the long journey. As the relay vanished behind us, a brief glimpse of a red-brown planet with a heart splashed on the face brushed past the cameras. The shuttle scooted away from the busy relay, my attention turning to the pin point of light ahead of us. My shoulders shuddered, jaw tightening as an Alliance dreadnaught drifted past. A yellowish planet floated away, spectacular rings gleaming in the faded light. The shuttle pushed on, deeper still into the system. Beside me, Sassy finished typing something into the shuttle computers. He leaned back, glancing down to the mech curled up beside me on the floor. In the back, Marruns cleaned his assault rifle, ignoring the pair of us beyond idle interest. My head shook, heavy as we neared our destination.
"Gideon, calculate the re-entry requirements," Sassy said. A frown formed, concern bubbling in my chest.
"Uh… sure," I said, reaching for the flight computers. Sassy tutted, the pistol clicking in his hand. My hands froze.
"By hand," he said. My eyes bulged.
"But those calculations take ages!" I cried.
"Then I suggest you start," he smiled, reloading the pistol with purpose. My heart sank. With a sigh, my hand grabbed my datapad, digging through the formulas to calculate re-entry. Angle of attack, weight of the shuttle, heating considerations, accuracy required and deceleration. So by going by these numbers then the re-entry corridor would be…
"Initial corridor should be 10 degrees, when we hit the Karman line, we should be closer to 32 degrees with an angle of attack of 18 degrees," I said. Sassy glanced at the computers before him.
"Is he correct, Kala?" he asked. Kala lifted her head, the light flashing.
"He is within the acceptable range," Kala said. Sassy glanced down.
"But is he correct?" Sassy asked. Kala beeped, turning up towards me.
"Well… no but he is well within the acceptable error margins-" she said, cutting short when my yelp rang out in the shuttle, a loud pop dying away. My hand rubbed my thigh, the sting clamping my teeth together. My narrowed eyes watered as they met Sassy's. Marruns let out a sharp laugh.
"Try again," Sassy said, reloading. Dammit, Sassy! My head buckled down, double checking my working and calculations. Sassy waited, watching as a rocky, brown planet drifted by.
"Ok, Initial corridor 7 degrees, Karman line 35 degrees and angle of attack of 20 degrees," I said. Sassy turned down to Kala.
"He is within acceptable range," she said. Sassy's brow rose. Kala beeped under his stare, shuffling back further towards me. "The re-entry corridor and Karman line are correct," Sassy shot me again. My teeth grit against the rising yelp.
"Recalculate it again. And be quick, we are almost at Earth," he grinned.
"I hate you," I muttered, looking over my angle of attack calculations. Sassy chuckled. After a minute, my eyes lifted. "21 degrees," Sassy glanced to Kala. The mech nodded. Sassy smiled before turning to the controls. My hand rubbed my thigh again, grumbling under my breath.
"These are important skills for any pilot, Gideon. You may not have power and have to crunch the numbers to stop you burning up in the atmosphere for an emergency landing," Sassy said.
Sassy ignored the grumble that surfaced from me, watching the systems as we entered Earth's atmosphere, stray orbital debris smashing into the shuttle's kinetic barriers. The flames stained the shuttle, the sting from the bullets easing. Clouds surrounded us, masking our view of the sights below as Sassy guided the shuttle through the traffic surrounding us. Within seconds, my resolve hardened. The towering skyscrapers of Vancouver punched high into the sky, water weaving in rivers towards the sea. The sun sparkled above us through the patchy cloud, casting shadows over the expansive city. Metal and pale concrete glittered when the sun pierced the cloud, blinding me as Sassy dipped the shuttle away from the bustle of the main city and towards the Alliance HQ. Of course, getting close was a no go in a shuttle, security and all that. It forced us to deviate wide around the building, towards a less populated section of the city where the closest shuttle docking bay was. The towering shuttle bay widened at the base like a funnel, securing its footing on the ground below. The shuttle dipped inside a hole, Marruns clicking his guns into place as Sassy touched the shuttle onto the landing pad. During shutdown, Marruns popped the door free, jumping down onto the pad to 'greet' the waiting dock owners for 'payment'. Time to let Marruns throw his Spectre status around a little.
Getting the shuttle parked without paying wasn't my greatest worry. With the shuttle shut down, it gave me time to throw on my armour while Sassy checked the weapons. Walking around Vancouver while brandishing weapons may not be legal, but with Spectre status, could we? My head shook, securing the chest plate on as Kala sat by my heel. Shepard was my concern. With him here, would he even be willing to see us, would the Alliance let us see him? My muscles trembled as the gauntlet snapped on. No, be positive. He promised to help, he had to help! There was no other way to bring mum back! My eyes drifted over the cryo-pod, stomach wrenching. Just a little longer... just a little longer. It couldn't hurt to take equipment just in case something happened… we had to see Shepard. We had nothing else to go on. A belt for infiltration snapped on my waist, just in case we had to sneak inside.
"And we are go," Marruns said, clicking his mandibles. "Dock workers have waived the parking fees, or at least passing them onto the Starquake. So, where to?"
"Alliance HQ," Sassy said, snapping the Widow to my back and a Paladin on my hip. Mum's Paladin. My mouth opened to complain, but Sassy waved his Predator in my face, silencing me. "With luck, Shepard isn't in lockdown,"
"This is Shepard, he's always on lockdown," Marruns grumbled. "I saw a sky car park opposite the building, there's one on this deck on the other side,"
"Good. Let's move," Sassy said. My jaw tightened, missions time.
"Keep mum safe, Kala," I said, stepping out with mech in tow. Kala beeped in my ear, the shuttle clicking with a snap as the interior locks secured it.
We traversed over the deck, weaving around an array of shuttles of sizes and shape, but my eyes trained ahead, on the sky cars squealing in the distance. The taxi door popped open as Sassy input the destination. Sassy and Marruns took the front seats, leaving me in the rear with Kala. My eyes trailed through the window, towards the puffy clouds threatening rain, to the sun burning through the grey to warm the ground below. It reminded me of Kinlochleven, only less rainy. My teeth clamped down on my tongue as emotion swelled in my chest, burning my heart. My eyes snapped to a building, to the brief glimpse of people sitting at chairs in offices. Nothing out of the ordinary, nothing at all. Through the peaks of skyscrapers, the Alliance HQ flitted through the gaps. The car turned down a main street, packed 10 layers thick in traffic. The Alliance building drew closer, the towering metal and glass building a beacon of hope - or of crushed despair. My hands clutched together into fists.
Upon touchdown, the aliens jumped out, assessing the area as Kala bounced onto the ground. The building was... taller than it looked. My eyes drifted up, doubt filling me as it danced above me. Shepard was in there... somewhere. Marruns strode off first, jolting me into action as it took 3 running steps to catch up. The trees and grass surrounding the building went by ignored, a greater threat upon the horizon; military bureaucracy. The glass doors parted without complaint, opening us into the spacious entrance hall. 2 floors high, the dark grey walls darkened the atmosphere against the brilliant metal floor. A circular reception desk sat in the middle of the room, manned by 5 people. The room was sparse of life otherwise, people in Alliance uniforms moving about their duties. Our entrance – the sight of a salarian, turian, human boy and FENRIS mech – rose a few brows though as we approached the desk. The blonde female scanned us as we stopped before her.
"Good afternoon, gentlemen. How may I be of service?" she asked. Marruns raised his chin.
"Spectre Marruns Bellum, I am here to make an enquiry with Commander John Shepard," he said. The woman blinked once, lips compressing.
"With all due respect, Spectre, that isn't possible," she said.
"Oh? Is Shepard elsewhere?" he asked. A few eyes trailed over towards us. The woman shuffled, but straightened her back.
"I may not disclose that information," she said. Sassy snorted.
"Then bring us someone who can," he said. The woman's lips pressed tighter together.
"I am afraid I am unable to do so. Is there anything else you wish to enquire on?" she asked.
"Gag order," Sassy sighed. "Typical," My eyes flew up, bulging. Gag order? "Ma'am, we are on a Spectre mission, you know this, yes?" The human shuffled, glancing to Marruns.
"I am. Nonetheless, I cannot do anything," she said.
"Summon an admiral," Marruns snapped. The woman jumped. Marruns growled, eyes snapping to Sassy. "If Shepard was turian we wouldn't be having this fucking problem,"
"Well he human, therefore we are dealing with the Alliance," Sassy scowled. "We demand to see an admiral, ma'am,"
"But-" she said.
"Please," I pleaded. She turned her gaze towards me. "We gotta see Shepard, my mum's life depends on it! Please! He promised he'd help me if I needed it, he promised me!" The woman's eyebrows upturned, glancing to the salarian and turian at my back. She sighed.
"I shall summon an admiral for you to speak with," she conceded.
Marruns snorted as he turned away from the desk, Sassy nodding as he took my shoulder and steered me away from the desk. Kala looked between us, confused. Marruns leaned on the back of a series of chairs near the entrance, Sassy pacing in a lazy circle. My arms wrapped around me, waiting. As a uniformed person walked into the room, my eyes scanned the stripes on their shoulders. Commander, Gunnery Chief. No admirals. Minutes, then half an hour ticked by, agitating the turian even further. His armoured talon tapped on the plate of his upper arm, impatience setting in. Just as he was about to blow a casket for being held for so long, an admiral entered the room. A dark skinned man with hair on the brink of greying, he approached the reception desk. After a quick nod of her head, his brown eyes swung towards us. He straightened his back, striding towards us. Marruns pushed himself off the chairs, mandibles pinned to his cheeks.
"It rude to keep a Spectre waiting," he growled. The admiral frowned.
"I apologise, Spectre, but we had to do our checks. I am Admiral Anderson, you wish to speak with Commander Shepard?" he said.
"We do. He is here, isn't he?" Marruns asked. Anderson cupped his hands behind his back.
"He is, however it will not be possible for you to see him," Anderson said. My heart sank.
"Well I am ordering it. And before you ask, no, it has nothing to do with the damn relay incident. I read the reports," Marruns growled.
I see. Despite this, we must say no. Shepard is under arrest for that incident and is to remain out of galactic politics until we have found a resolution. War with the batarians at this stage will only weaken us both,"
"Please, Admiral, we gotta see him," I said. Anderson's eyes drifted down, noticing me. "Shepard promised me he would help me if I needed it. I need it, my mum needs it! Dammit, my mum was in the Alliance, doesn't that count for anything?" I asked. Anderson's head tipped to the side.
"Who is your mother?" he asked.
"Endellion Shaik," I said. Anderson's brows shot up.
"Shaik? She served with Shepard on the original Normandy if I remember right. I think she went missing before officially joining however. Isn't she now on some Council run program?"
"She is b-but she needs help a-and I don't know who else to turn to. Shepard is the only person in the galaxy who can help her just now," I said. "Please,"
"Son, as much as I would like to help you, the board has ordered to keep Shepard as he is. Since this is a Spectre mission, I will put it before them, but they will try to delay it for as long as they can. It may take a few weeks," he said.
"A few weeks!? We don't have that long!" I cried.
"I'm sorry, son, but that is all we can," he said, turning to the aliens around me. "That is the best I can do, Spectre, you must pressure the Council if you want to see Shepard," My eyes dropped, hands clenched into fists.
"I see, well, we'll do just that," Sassy said. "Marruns, Gideon," he nodded his head towards the door.
The pair turned and walked, Kala nudged me to make me move, eyes refusing to lift from the ground. Why was nothing ever simple? Why did no one want to help me, ever? My eyes lifted, scanning the corners. Shepard on lockdown, weeks to even get to talk to him. Dammit, we didn't have weeks, the Reapers could be here in a few weeks for all we knew! My teeth nibbled on my lower lip until blood leaked free. As my gaze turned to follow Sassy and Marruns, they caught something. A vent, a large vent. My heart thundered as my feet crossed the threshold. An idea formed, my gaze drifted over Kala, my mind flickered as mum's laughter echoed like a phantom in my mind. My eyebrows snapped down.
"I'm going for a walk," I muttered, feet trudging towards some grass and trees. Marruns snorted, but Sassy followed me with his eyes as the pair paused. Kala trotted by my heel, her emoticon concerned.
"We tried, Gideon," she said. A scan of the skyscraper revealed little in the way of entrances to the vents.
"We've not even tried," I said through gritted teeth. Kala paused mid-step, leaping after me a second later. "Scan the building, look for any way into the vents," Kala bleeped.
"We are not doing another Constellation, Gideon," she scolded.
"This time, we don't have an AI to worry about," I said. Kala's light blinked. "Please, Kala," Kala turned her head to assess the building before grumbling.
"Why do I do these things for you?" she rumbled. A smile lifted my lips.
"Because you care," I said. Kala moaned before sitting down next to a bench, the light blinking in a steady rhythm. The wet bench seeped cold through the under armour, soaking my rear end, but my eyes stayed on the building as the AI burned through whatever security lay between her and finding what information she needed. A map blinked on my visor.
"There is a ground based entrance to the vent near the back, but you must get past a security gate to get into it. There is CCTV and trip lasers everywhere, I disable the receivers for a time," she said. A grin spread on my lips.
"Thanks, Kala. Hide in a bush, I'll be back soon," I said, standing. Kala whined, torn between stopping me and helping me as my vision tunnelled on the rear of the building. Sassy and Marruns lost me to the trees and bushes. My legs burst into a sprint to keep them out of sight.
As promised, a 3m high security gate greeted me, a door into the building and several ventilation shafts expelling air onto ground level. The CCTV camera light blinked, but Kala's visor highlighted it as 'green', meaning she had fooled the footage to replay the last few minutes over and over again while ticking up the timer. She waited until everything was secure behind the gate and in the surrounding area before popping the lock on the solid metal wall. It slid open just enough to let me squeeze in before closing again. More green dots lit up the visor as Kala highlighted one shaft in particular. It was down for maintenance so there would be no fans to worry about. My stomach twisted as my hands coaxed the metal cover off, slipping inside the crawl space. It took another minute to pull the cover back on.
Inside the metal tube, every sound amplified. Even a light step sounded like an earthquake. My hands dipping into the belts, pulling out mass effect wall climbers. Indira loved using these things. A silent prayer of thanks to my brain flew for picking up the infiltration belt before leaving the shuttle. Two strapped onto my knees, the other two secured themselves on the palms of my hands. The blue glow said go time. A hand raised, the mass effect field finding the wall and hovered itself over the surface, 'locking' into place. My other hand rose, securing the second hand hold. Then a knee, then the other. Within seconds, the small 'suction cups' eased me up the vent, Kala dealing with any silent alarms as we went. No one suspected her presence, she hid in the noise of the data channels. The only main problem was my stamina. Climbing up a near vertical ascent took more effort than I though. Kala diverted me down the horizontal channel. It gave me a chance to catch my breath before continuing up the rest of the tower. All 50 floors of it. The careful scurry bypassed me around some intense security network room, but a long climb awaited me after turning down one junction. My eyes squeezed shut as my hand raised to begin the climb.
Kala tracked me the entire time, watching for any hidden security between me and getting inside. It seemed the Alliance were too lax in their guarding, although Kala assured me their computerised and sensor security was much tighter. A reliance on technology was the reason she got me in. It was still up to me to get there without giving us away, Kala could only keep the cameras and trip wires off my case. At floor 36, my arms demanded a break. Dammit, my muscles had a long way to go before they got anywhere near ready for something like this again. After a brief pause in a horizontal tunnel, my climb resumed. It took about 20 minutes, but we hit the 53rd floor. Time to go see Shepard... once Kala navigated me to the room he was in. The vent to his room was small; the larger one only acted as an artery, but the vent was still big enough. Just. Another pair of mass effect suction cups snapped to my toes as the vent flattened me onto my belly. A slow shuffle began. Inching forward, a pair of voices echoed up from the room beyond.
"...is not changing, Shepard. The batarians want blood. It has been a month since the relay destruction and they are still pushing for war," a woman said.
"I did my duty," Shepard grumbled. "Let the politicians deal with it. The more I kick up, the less likely it'll be I'll get out of here before the Reapers arrive," My head reached the vent, spying a brown haired female branding Rear Admiral marks standing near the door.
"We know, but we still have found no evidence for these Reapers, Shepard. You did what you had to... like a Spectre," she said with a sour snap. Shepard snorted as he strode away, eyes to the floor the ceiling windows staring out over the city below. "I will give you an update on the situation when it changes. Now stop complaining so much and get comfortable. You still have a trial to attend,"
"I know," Shepard growled. "Rear Admiral," he saluted, watching the female march out the room with a click to her heels.
He shook his head, folding his arms as he stared towards the water in the distance. A countdown flared on my visor. Seconds to wait until the woman was far enough away she wouldn't know what was happening. A few more seconds... the timer ticked zero, Kala gave me the green. My fingers grabbed the fanned plates of the face, lifting the metal cover off. Shepard's head snapped to the sound, raising himself on his toes. When my head poked out of the vent, his tense expression slackened, eyes widening.
"Gideon?!" he gaped.
"Shepard, I need help," I said, hushing my desperation as my arms pulled me out the vent, cover still in hand to minimise noise.
"How did you get in here-" he started.
"Shepard, I need help, please, you gotta help! T-They wouldn't let me see you b-but I don't know who else to turn to!" I said, conscious of time before someone noticed something off with the camera feeds. Kala could only get me so much time. Shepard shook his head, dislodging the shock.
"Gideon, stop. Why are you here, where is your mother?" he asked, eyes turning to the window to scan the ground for any sign of red. My heart wrenched, every muscle trembling.
"N... Nyryntha got her," I said. Shepard wheeled around, jaw slackened. "She... She died," Shepard stared, dumbfounded, as the words sunk in. His eyes squeezed shut, fists forming at his side. After a moment, he sucked in a breath, releasing his fists one finger at a time.
"Gideon, I'm so sorry," he murmured. My head shook hard.
"That's why I'm here! You came back from the dead, right?" I asked. Shepard's expression emptied. "You gotta help me, Shepard, I-I don't know who else to go to!"
"Gideon, I... Oh God. Gideon, I came back to life under extreme circumstance and it cost billions of credits. I... I don't think I can get the same done for your mum," he said, measuring each word. My heart sank.
"B-But... why not?" I asked.
"To put it bluntly, Cerberus," he said. My heart fluttered. "Cerberus brought me back, that's why I was working with them for a time. I don't see Cerberus bringing your mum back though. After the whole incident with your mum at the Cerberus base… yeah, there is no way they would fork up the money for it,"
"But... B-but what do I do then?" I asked, a quiver trembling my voice. Shepard rested his hands on his knees, swinging his jaw from side to side. His eyebrows upturned, fighting for words to say to a heartbroken kid.
"I don't think there is anything you can do," he said. The flicker of hope burning in my chest fluttered, weakening. "I'm sorry, Gid. Trust me, if there was something I could do then I would do it but... but I can't bring back the dead," My eyes dropped, lip trembling. Nothing... all this for nothing? I came all this way for nothing… even Shepard wouldn't… couldn't help me. Emotion swelled, choking my throat. Was life this fruitless?
"Gideon! Get out of there!" Kala squeaked in my ear. Her voice jolted me awake, eyes flying around the room.
"W-What's wrong? Is security coming?" I asked. Shepard frowned.
"No, worse. Much, much worse!" she said. My eyes landed on the windows, a shadow dropping over the room.
"Shepard, we've got- What are you doing here?!" Anderson's voice sounded behind me. He vanished from existence, my focus fixated to the shadow dropping over the city. A ground shuddering crash sounded the arrival of Nyryntha.
The Timeline and Galaxy Map have been updated for this chapter. Please see profile for link to archive.
A/N: Huge apologies for the delay. My will to read/write has stagnated over the past month or so. Also Mass Effect: Andromeda happened... and also Red Hearts has me pretty busy. I may change the release schedule to 'Release when ready' rather than on a Saturday, but that depends on what you guys want. Once again, sorry for the delay!