Ch. 1 – A(nother) New Beginning
SNAP
Shepard winced at the painfully loud sound. Turning around, she saw Kaiden, who wore a scowl on his face just as she, lift his foot, looking at the dry twig he crushed underneath it.
Shaking her head tiredly, the Commander motioned the biotic to continue, and moved forward herself. The distant sound of gunfire echoed among the trees they stalked through, keeping her nerves tense in anticipation.
The two were lucky, since the background noise camouflaged Alenko's mistake. As they neared the edge of the forest, the cracks of mass accelerators suddenly increased in volume, the staccato of noise coming from just ahead of them.
Holding a fist up, the N7 sank to a knee, the Lieutenant doing the same off to her left, his pistol at the ready. Her rifle, meanwhile, was already folding itself on her armor's backplate, as she plucked a sniper rifle from the small of her back.
"Sounds like more of those Geth Drones." the man growled, tightening the grip on his weapon.
"Yeah." Shepard nodded. After a moment, she jerked her head in the direction of a small hill, which the road they were following went over.
"They're coming from there." Just as her eye peered through the scope of her weapon, a trio of said Drones emerged from behind the hill, chasing a woman in white Alliance armor. The instant Shepard spotted the machines, her scope's reticle was over one of them, and the next, she pulled the trigger.
In a shower of sparks, the drone fell to the ground in pieces. Another collapsed onto Eden Prime's soil after Alenko filled it with lead from his pistol.
The third was shot to bits by the woman herself, when she leaned out from behind the boulder she took a cover.
Walking over to the soldier, the N7 stowed her sniper back in its place, and had her assault rifle in hand.
"Thank you for the save, ma'am." the white-armored woman gave Shepard a crisp salute, which Jane replied to with a wave.
"At ease, soldier. You got a name?"
"Gunnery Chief Ashley Williams, Eden Prime garrison."
"Well then, Gunnery Chief. Where's your unit?" Shepard asked, motioning Kaiden to scan for hostiles.
"The 212th, all KIA, ma'am. I'm the last one." at that information, Jane paused for a moment. Another survivor. She knew the pain of losing one's comrades, especially after Akuze. That one Thresher Maw still appeared in her nightmares on some worse nights.
"Sorry for your loss, Chief… One question, do you know where a Prothean Beacon might be located?"
"Oh, that thing? Yeah, the dig site's down that way. Over the hill and some 200 meters from there."
"Then let's get going, shall we?"
[]
#SYSTEMS INITIALIZED . . .
#EXTERNAL TAMPERING WITH PILOT POD DETECTED
#POWER SOURCE CHECK . . .
BATTERY 1: ||||||||||||||||||| 70% CHARGE
BATTERY 2: |||||||||||||| 53% CHARGE
BATTERY 3: ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||| 92% CHARGE
#POWER SUFFICIENT FOR 74 HOURS:
LOGGING FRESH BATTERIES FOR NEXT RESSUPLY
#MAINFRAME SYSTEM BOOT INITIATED . . . SYSTEM BOOT COMPLETE
#OCULAR SYSTEMS . . . RESTORED
#PILOT STASIS POD DEFROSTING: . . . COMPLETE
#ENGAGING ENEMY INFRANTRY . . .
PROTOCOL 3: PROTECT THE PILOT
[]
As they neared the excavation site, Shepard spotted the numerous Geth scouring the area. The force was sizable, though mostly made up of Troopers, with some Snipers intermixed between them. It could be a problem
Setting the automatic weapon on her back and unfolding her precision rifle, she trained the reticle on one of the synthetics.
Her enclosed helmet kept her words silent, so she talked openly into the team comms.
"Williams, Kaiden, move to the left. Open fire on my shot. I'll pick off the Snipers."
"Got it." with nary a sound, the two sneaked off, keeping low and staying hidden thanks foliage surrounding the area. After giving them ample time to get into position, Jane curled her finger around the trigger in one, smooth motion.
BANG
The shot rang out, echoing the large pit that was the dig site. A Geth Sniper fell to the ground, twitching and bleeding white hydraulic fluid.
Both Kaiden and Ashley popped out from their cover, killing more Geth with biotics and liberal dosage of fire respectively. Then, a low rumble sounded form the center of the area, where most of the platforms were located. A loud, booming voice sounded, revibrating through the air.
"Flame core activated."
[]
He blinked.
His sight was blurry, though was quickly adjusting.
His senses told him he was moving, though he did not know why.
Then he noticed the movement in front of him. It looked like a shaky view from a first-person camera, dashing left and right, clearly in combat.
Why that was his first thought, he had no clue.
His hand went up to his face, trying to wipe away the blurriness in his eyes, only to find the hard, metal surface of a helmet.
Why was it there? It made no sense. Just then he noticed the blinking lights, buttons and panels all around him. Even more confusing. As he continued observing, two voices sounded in his head.
^Hey, Adam, you're awake! Sleep well?
^Warning, excessive shield damage.
^Yes, yes, we know. Keep going, you're doing great. Those robots are definitely quite the challenge for you.
^I detect sarcasm.
As the two voices bickered, one softer, feminine, the other stoic and deep, sounding clearly male. Then slowly, it all came back to him. This was his Titan. The two voices: his only friends. The ones alive, that is. And they were currently in combat.
^There we go! Brain activity spiked, so I think you remember now?
Grunting in response, he reached out with his mind, and initiated the neural link again. A kind of cold/warm tremor ran down his metal spine, as he connected to his Titan once more. The stillness of his joins faded away, as he took control, dashing toward the little black-grey figurines of enemy infantry.
This was one of the better awakenings he had yet.
[]
Shepard watched, slack-jawed, as the alien mech, which was a good 10 meters tall, tore through the ranks of Geth, not bothered by the scarce return fore in the slightest. Add to that the fact the robot clearly had weapon but had not used them yet, and the slaughter the machine was committing was even more worrying.
Soon, the decimation of the synthetics was complete, and the hulking robot stopped, back turned towards Jane and the other two. For all he tactical and strategic expertise, the N7 was at loss at to what would be the best course of action.
Approach?
If the machine is hostile, they'd be dead within seconds.
Hide and wait?
They had objectives to fulfill.
Ultimately, Shepard rounded the boulder she was using as cover, and slowly walked closer to the tall, imposing machine. When she was within 20 meters, she stopped, waiting with her rifle squeezed tightly in her hands, the plastic creaking in her steely grip.
Only now did the Commander take a moment to look the mech over: it was utilitarian, yet pleasing to the eye, in an odd, simplistic way. Access panels and markings were dotting the metal chassis, which was covered in rounded, yet blocky armor. The whole was painted dark green, with lighter, grey sections and muted, blue details.
Before she could complete the observations, the machine turned around, its metal foot hitting the ground with a rather loud thud. Reflexively, Jane moved back, waiting for the other to make another move. One of the large, four-digit hands went up to the robot's 'face', which was adorned by a single, glowing blue eye.
Around it, three flaps moved, making it look like the machine was 'squinting' at her. A mere moment after that, accompanied by a hiss and small puffs of steam, the front part of the mech's torso opened, like a door or hatch, separating into two halves.
Out stepped a heavily-armored person, their heavy metal boots clanging against the mech's hand, as it lowered them halfway, at which point they jumped off. The figure looked to be human, with the five-digit hands and the shape of its helmet. Male, by the looks of it, and wearing an odd armor set. It was like nothing Jane had seen before, yet it felt… familiar. The Commander could clearly see two differing designs intermixed with each other: one comprised of dull, grey and heavy armor plates, all a bit blocky and clearly utilitarian. It was supplemented with a scant few rounded, grey-orange pieces, covering the knees, elbows and lower legs.
The man had no weapons in hand, and only a pistol in a holster on his stomach, and many pouches, casings and sheaths scattered on his person. On the chest rig, on his belt, under the arms and on his collars. Most, oddly, were empty, ultimately leaving the man with only the aforementioned pistol, and a knife. It was placed below the pistol, attached at an angle.
Shepard, keeping her rifle at the ready, spoke first.
"Would you mind telling me who are you?"
The person before her froze. Staring where their eyes would be, the N7 waited for an answer. Her eyes wandered once again, taking in different little details of the man's appearance. The helmet, with a triangular, grey visor, stared at her for some time, as if the man struggled to speak. She now noticed the tattered, blue scarf loosely tied below the helmet. It was clearly old, its color muted by time.
Only now, however, did Shepard notice just how tall the man was. He reached well over two meters, forcing Jane to look up just to see his face. It caused the slightest hint of worry to pass through the Commander's mind, but she pushed it down, trusting her skills.
Then, twitching as if in a cough, the man answered. His voice, though… The best word would be glitched. It stuttered and repeated some parts, like broken record. It was also warped slightly, sounding filtered and like a patchy radio message.
"Spe-e-c-cial U-un-unit n-n-num-umber Al-pha Ze-zer-ero S-sev-even."
"Oh… Okay. Got a name?"
"C-cla-assified."
"A callsign, then?"
"Sev-even."
"Well then, Seven. Could you please explain to me where you got that mech from?"
The man waved the question off, asking one himself. "N-no. I ha-ave a ques-estion for you: what-at year is it, why d-does your rifle look weird, and what is an N7?"
"Erm…" Shepard stammered for a moment, her mind working overtime to think up a reason for the man to ask such things. There were none that made sense, so she decided to appease him, while also telling Kaiden and Ashley to stay in cover and keep the man across from her in their crosshairs.
"Well, the year is 2183, at least according to the Earth calendar. My rifle… It's a standard issue, Alliance-made assault rifle."
"Mind if I take a look?" Seven asked, tilting his head slightly.
"Oh… Erm… I- Sure?" the Commander answered, folding the weapon and holding it out for the man to take, much to his surprise. He grabbed the now-compacted assault rifle, looking it over like a child taking in a new toy. Now it was Shepard's turn to be surprised, however, as he unfolded the weapon and disassembled it mere seconds later. Not looking up from the mass accelerator, he spoke. "You can continue, I'm listening."
Jane's eyes were glued to his hands, as he deftly reassembled her rifle and took it apart again.
"It's a miniaturized mass accelerator, using mass effect fields. Using those, it shoots out sand grain-sized metal pellets at around at around Mach 4, depending on the weapon."
"Hmm. Very interesting." he mumbled to himself, handing back Shepard's rifle. "Now, what is an N7? A super-soldier? Cyborg? Commando? You're one, right?"
"Yes, I am one. Except I'm not superhuman or anything. We just get specialist training. And some of us get biotic implants. But we're not super-soldiers. Where'd you get that from?"
"Ah, forget it. Old habits." Seven replied, shrugging. He turned around to face the 10 meter behemoth of metal he stepped out of a mere minute before. Shepard spoke into her comm, telling Kaiden and Ashley to come out of cover, but keep their guns handy. Unbeknownst to her, Seven, along with his two 'companions', were listening in, and having a conversation of their own.
^I say we go along with them. Call it a hunch, but I think the best chance we've got to not be neck-deep in trouble is with this Shepard woman.
^Becoming acquaintances with 'Commander Shepard' would prove a useful source of intelligence considering our current circumstances. Alternatively, neutralization of her and her allies is possible.
^Hey, no murder 'till we tell you to, big guy.
^Acknowledged.
^Oh, and Adam, should I tell them their comms are compromised or you? Or do you want to tell them yourself?
He replied with an acknowledgement, agreeing to take up conversations for now.
^I guess we'll tell them later, huh? Okay, go ahead and do the talking.
Turning back around, he saw that two more soldiers had joined this 'Commander Shepard'. Avei, the UNSC AI stuck in his head, and the owner of the female voice that was chattering in there as well, had told him of the portable devices the three had on them. Set up for wireless communication, they were easy prey for the Smart AI, whose sole purpose was cyberwarfare and system infiltration. Thanks to her, Seven now had the basic information on the trio before him, he now knew their account balance, blood type, recent programs used, and such. Avei even compiled a short list of the functions of these 'Omnitools' for him.
And damn was it long.
Well, it would be a lecture for another time, as the N7 walked closer. Jane Margareth Shepard, he now knew, was amongst the best of humanity, and, reportedly, one of the best COs to serve under.
Lucky him.
So, he decided to answer the Commander's question he had previously left unanswered.
"Oh, and my mech? It's a Titan."
[]
As they neared the tram station that would hopefully get them all to the beacon, Jane's mind was still chewing over the information that Seven had dropped on them all like a bomb.
"So you're telling me that this robot right here can level a city basically by itself? Or destroy a small army?"
"Pretty much."
The conversation played on loop in her head, even as they came over the top of a small hill that had, until now, concealed the building that was their target. The area was also swarming with Geth and Husks, causing her to look back at the group behind her. Kaiden, Ashley, and Seven in the middle. Even further back, was this 'Titan', as their newfound squadmate called it. Shepard was still unsure if allowing the man to come with them was a good idea, but she had her orders. Back on the Normandy, after Nihlus had left her and Anderson in the CIC, the grizzled Alliance captain had given her a secondary objective: find the big robot, as it was described, that was dug up along with the beacon and secure it for transport.
She looked the machine over once again, and turned back towards their target. They were lucky to not be noticed by any of the Geth yet, and as such had the advantage of a surprise attack. Shepard motioned Ashley and Kaiden to come closer, as she knelt by a cluster convenient waist-height boulders, unfolding her sniper. She twitched as she felt a light tap on her shoulder, noticing that Seven had come to her along with the two Alliance soldiers.
He still did not have any weapons, but kept looking regardless. Jane shrugged, and peered through her rifle's scope. As she started estimating the enemy numbers, she heard the low tones of Seven's voice through her comm.
"Hostile count around 30 Geth Troopers and 17 different humanoid units." he rattled off, hands curling around a non-existent weapon's grip.
"They're called Husks. Shielded, but barely. Takes one more shot from assault rifles or pistols, that's all. Primarily melee, so avoid getting close." Shepard replied, still behind the optics of her weapon.
"Acknowledged." The answer was quiet, causing Jane to look to the side and at the man. She did it just in time to see a blue glow form in his hands, ultimately shaping into a bullpup rifle, with a scope attached on top. Shepard stared for full ten seconds, idly noting that both Kaiden and Ashley were too, their eyes open so wide they threatened to fall out. Just as she wanted to ask what in hell did they just witness, she watched as more glowing blue shapes appeared, this time on the heavy-looking plating of Seven's armor, before forming into different objects. Other weapons, if Jane had to guess. After another couple seconds of intense staring, she was taken out of her stupor by Seven himself speaking again.
"I suggest you stay behind and provide cover fire, Commander. Cray's weapon systems are still rebooting, so I'll take care of this myself."
Before he could hear a reply, he vaulted over the rocky cover, thruster of his armor flaring, and sprinted forward, plucking grenades from their ports, most replaced by the time he was throwing the ones in his hand. The rifle in his hands, a M392 DMR. One of the many products of Misriah Armories, and his favorite weapons he got to use on Reach. This one he had tinkered with for a long time, and had modified to fit his preference. A more powerful optic, heavier barrel, and modifications that would've gotten a UNSC marine a serious dressing-down from their quartermaster. That set of adjustments he did on Hoxxes, however, so it did not matter now.
Running at a speed that was full sprint for humans was only a moderately fast jog for a Spartan II in their MJOLNIR armor, so he was able to line up a shot on the move, and let some lead loose, right after throwing three grenades.
They were not the usual fragmentation grenades, but larger, boomerang-shaped objects, sparking with energy. He remembered one of the dwarves down on Hoxxes call them 'zappers'. He did not know the official name, so he went with that. With a quiet whine of power, the three flew in wide arcs, thrown far by his immense strength. Soon, each hit their mark, smacking into Husks and Geth, bouncing off and continuing on to the ones closest. In but a moments, all Husks and some synthetics were stripped of their shields, and the Troopers were felt frozen in place, twitching.
Right in that moment, his rounds embedded themselves in the gray heads of the transformed humans, each shot snapping their head back in a shower of sickly green gore and destroyed cybernetics. The 15 round magazine of the DMR was spent, leaving two Husks standing, which began to shamble towards the quickly approaching Seven. Rather than reload, he threw the rifle onto his back plate, where it was arranged and mag-locked in place. Just as the two living corpses got within arm's length of him, on got hit in its head by an armored fist, popping it like a grape. The second was grabbed by the throat, and got a Data Knife jammed in its eye socket. Seven continued running, all the while keeping the struggling Husk in hand, giving Avei a chancy to try and glean any information from it.
As he threw the now limp corpse away, his shields were peppered by fire from the Geth Troopers. His right hand went down, grasping the grip of the weapon on his thigh, while he accelerated up to his top speed of around 70 kilometers per hour, allowed by all his systems working toghether: the servos of his legs strained and the MJOLNIR worked its magic, aided by the jump kit and thrusters on his back. In the next moment, he was on them Troopers, shoulder-checking one, leaving it a sparking heap of broken parts. He continued on, throwing out more zappers to thin the enemy numbers, at least for a moment.
After ramming another three Troopers and making them into scrap, he opened fire with the Alternator in his hand, and took out his melee weapon. The pickaxe's edge glistened as it swirled and hacked the Geth to pieces. He worked his way through the group of enemies, leaving behind a trail of hole-ridden, crumpled, crushed and dismembered synthetic bodies, bullet casings and the smell of cordite.
Occasionally, he heard the characteristic report of the Commander's precision rifle, and a Geth would drop, its flashlight-like eye fizzling out, the main CPU gutted by the metal pellet. Oddly, Shepard seemed to pick off enemies furthest away from him. It was of no matter, however, as he soon brought his pick down on the last hostile. The platform sparked as he ripped the weapon free, and announced the all-clear over comms.
Turning to the hill he had run down from mere minutes before, he watched, expecting the three soldiers and his Titan to emerge from behind it any moment.
Instead, Avei spoke up in his ear.
^We may have a small problem now…
Before the AI could finish its sentence, his ears were assaulted by a very angry scream.
"WHY DID YOU NOT TELL US YOU HAD AN AI WITH YOU?!"
[]
"By to jego kurwa mać szlag trafił!" Seven swore, running again, this time up the hill Shepard and her team were behind. As he bee-lined it towards his Titan's signal. While he did that, Avei continued her rudely interrupted sentence.
^So yeah, it turns out AIs are outlawed by this entity known as the 'Citadel Council'. Some kind of government, resides within a place called the Citadel… Oh.
"What do you mean 'oh'?" Seven growled, now passing the rock he left Shepard behind.
^We've got aliens here. A lot of them, too.
The revelation caused him to pause, even as he saw the N7 and her companions, all brandishing weapons, and two of them surrounded by blue flames.
^Three species make up the Citadel Council, and there are a couple of minor races, with Humanity considered one of them. Relations are peaceful, surprisingly, so you can calm down.
As he approached Shepard, his mind settled back into the calm and calculating machine of war he was made into. Keeping his hands away from weapons and visible to the woman, he walked closer, even as the rifles, previously aimed at his Titan, as if they would do anything, were trained on his head.
"You have twenty seconds to explain why the fuck do you have an AI plugged into a 10-meter murder machine."
Seven extended his hands in a placating gesture, doing his best to appear non-threatening. "He's a Titan, specifically an upscaled version of a Vanguard chassis. Made by the Frontier Militia using some resources 'acquired' from and IMC research facility. It was made larger to fit me while I'm in armor." he said, tapping a finger on the breastplate of his MJOLNIR.
"He has an AI core that is standard for the SRS Marauder Corps, and bases his existence upon three main protocols: link with Pilot, uphold the mission and protect the Pilot. Because of that, Vanguard-class Titans are loyal to their Pilot, unit and the Militia."
As he finished speaking, Seven kept his eyes on the figure of Commander Shepard, waiting for the woman's response. Her enclosed helmet, with its opaque, black faceplate, didn't allow him to see the woman's face, yet from serving with many Spartans, ODSTs and Pilots, he could glean a lot from just a person's body language. Now, he was seeing the N7 tense posture relax ever-so-slightly, meaning his message had gotten through.
"Just so you know, I also have another AI plugged into the back of my head." he added, just as Avei activated a projector, attached to his armor, and her avatar appeared in a flurry of violet pixels.
"Hello!" said AI waved in greeting, a cheerful note in her voice.
"That's her."
"The name's Avei, just so you know." she said, a small smirk gracing her slightly translucent face. The avatar, unlike Cortana, whom he had the chance to meet on Reach, had clothes on it. Hiking boots, jeans, and a worn, military-style jacket.
The moment the projector activated, the three people before Seven tightened their grip on their weapons, and brought them up, the three muzzles pointed directly at Avei's violet avatar.
"Hey, calm down. I'm just a hologram, can't do shit to you." She responded, raising her hands. Seven deactivated the projector, causing the hologram to flicker and shut down. He walked, slowly, to his Titan, who had been kneeling off to the side for the whole time.
"Stop." he did not falter, his steps even as he neared the metal form of his companion. Patting one of the machine's limbs, he sent a query via the link between his implants and Cray.
^Status?
^Weapons systems reboot complete. Defensive measures online. Unit fully combat capable.
^Acknowledged. Open main hatch.
Again, Shepard watched as small puffs of steam escaped from around the horizontal split below the Vanguard's 'eye', which then widened, allowing the Titan's Pilot to slip into the snug seat. But before he did that, however, Seven turned to the Commander, tilting his head.
"I know that you don't like AI. A lot. But, these two have been with me for years. And I will not let them be deleted like some useless program. And I think you've got more important things to do than arrest me for it. Avei's been snooping around this 'extranet' thing, and she's pretty certain N7's don't get deployed for no reason. So, want my help?"
Grumbling to herself for a moment, Shepard lowered her rifle, which was the cue for the other two to do so as well. With a sigh, her shoulders dropped, and the woman shook her head tiredly.
"Fine. But no funny business, got it?"
A toothy grin split Seven's face underneath his helmet, one that none saw.
"But of course." He yanked himself inside the cockpit, and slipped into the seat. A shudder ran down his replacement spine, only to dissipate, leaving a feeling of power as control of his Titan was transferred to him. Connections were established between the mech and his MJOLNIR, which was itself linked to his implants. The hatch closed, sealing in the safety of the cockpit.
As his mind became one with the hulking machine of war, he changed the Titan's loadout, using his hammerspace storage to rearm it on the spot. As he did so, Cray's deep voice resonated throughout the cockpit, as if the Titan wanted to reassure its Pilot.
"Control transferred to Pilot. Welcome back."
[]
Silently stepping off a tram car, a lone Turian looked around the area. Brandishing an assault rifle, he stalked closer to one of the building's entrances, peeing outside, wary of hostiles. The last transmission from Shepard informed him that the Geth were what was attacking this colony. His mandibles clicked in impatience. No contacts. The rooftops were clear, with no synthetics in sight, anywhere. He decided that it was safe enough, and turned on the communications suite of his armor.
"Shepard, come in. This is Nihlus. I have found a train line and made it to the spaceport. I believe the beacon is located here. I will be waiting for you near- Saren? Why are yo-"
"The Council sent me here. And I am now removing an obstacle." The bare-faced Turian said, his tone devoid of emotion, as he aimed a pistol right into the other Spectre's face. With a single trigger pull, Nihlus' head was blown open, spraying cobalt-blue blood on the nearby wall.
Or rather that's what would've happened, had Nihlus not been a Spectre. His reflexes were just barely fats enough for the younger Spectre to jerk his head backwards and to the side, making the single round shatter and disperse on his shields, breaking them, but sparing his head from the metal shrapnel. It would no difference, however, as Geth Platforms stormed into the building, opening fire on Nihlus, joining Saren. Metal shards peppered Nihlus' body, shattering into razor-sharp pieces, cutting into his body. Almost immediately, one hit his armor's comms module, shutting down the connection he had been using to contact Shepard.
After a second, he collapsed, his face mangled by the projectiles. The fire stopped, and Saren waved the Geth off, himself striding off to the Beacon.
Thus, confident that he erased any evidence of him being on Eden Prime in the first place, he left. He didn't notice a single human, hunched behind supply crates, whimpering to himself.
[]
Heavy thuds echoed around him, as he maneuvered his bulky frame out of the tram. They were in a moderately-sized hall, which meant he had to crouch very low to not tear down the ceiling. The moment they stepped off the tram's platform, Shepard moved forward, finding a corpse. Avei told him it was a Turian, and provided other reference photos from the extranet.
He decided to disembark, and dropped down from Cray's cockpit, and came up to the woman, who was now holding a hand to where her ear would be underneath the helmet, and was most likely talking to someone. The UNSC Smart AI in his head took the liberty of cracking the encryption of the N7's communications, and allowed him to listen in.
"I'll mark the spot for retrieval. He said the Beacon was close, we'll try to find it." A pause. "Acknowledged. Shepard out." turning, the woman noticed him looking at the corpse splayed on the ground before them.
"So, who is this? This Nihlus guy that was on the comms?"
"Yes." Shepard answered, taking out her rifle. "We have to move now. Our objective is nearby."
"Then I'll go ahead and find a way to get my buddy out of this building." Seven said, flicking a Pulse Blade into the floor and walking back to his Titan. He jumped, and propelled by his MJONIR's thruster's and jump kit, flew right into Cray's grasp, who grabbed him and put into the cockpit. The Pulse Blade's ping blossomed out in his vision, allowing him to see a cargo door large enough to let him squeeze the 10 meter Vanguard through.
It also let him see the outline of a man cowering behind a stack of supply crates laying off to the side.
"Shepard, I've got a contact on scanners, looks like a civ. Threat low to none, he's off to your 8 o'clock."
The woman turned there immediately, motioning both her companions to do the same.
"I'm gonna talk to him, try to not scare him into doing something stupid."
"I'll go ahead and try to get out of the building then."
"Roger. We're gonna go forward too, once we're done with this guy. The Beacon is our priority, so try to look for it. Cath up to us once you manage to get out, or wait for us down the street. Better make sure you don't scare the civ."
"Received." Thus, Seven stomped off, and began the arduous task of trying to crawl with a Titan. After a good minute, he did it, and ran ahead. He made his way through the empty settlement, now with the XO16A1 chaingun clasped in the large metal hands of his Titan. The area was clear of hostiles, with some bullet-ridden Geth platforms cluttering the street he was walking down.
They were painfully few, however.
Strangely, there were next to no human bodies. A few of Eden Prime's garrison lay dead on the sidewalks, their wound cauterized from Geth's weaponry, but far too little for the amount of fighting that had taken place in the area. It was very odd.
But, he was not one to solve mysteries. Six had always been better at that. Or Cooper. Avei too.
Now, though, he had a job to do. Shepard and her two-man team were making their way to him, checking their angles, wary of an ambush. Deciding that they probably did not have time for this, he aimed one of Cray's many smaller arms, which held his Acolyte pods, a Laser Shot, Energy Siphon, Incendiary Traps, and what he wanted to use now: a Sonar Lock launcher. Basically a Titan-sized Pulse Blade, it granted one lock on targets for the Tracker Rockets the Acolyte pods could fire. Like a Pulse Blade, it revealed any moving being's location, even through walls, which was precisely what he was using it for now.
"The area's clear, you can move safely." Seven called out over the comms, himself turning his Titan around, walking along the rubble-covered street. As they passed the blown-apart buildings, his mind went back to the few years he had spent with the Marauder Corps. Sweeping a settlement with infantry support was a common necessity, even if the SRS Pilots had better uses. Now, as back then, his pace was slow, to allow foot soldiers to keep up with the massive Titan. The XO16A2 chaingun in Cray's hands was kept pointed forwards, ready to snap to any target in the blink of an eye. The alleyway they were walking down began opening up to a plaza of sort, so he stopped, letting Shepard's team catch up.
Now, one of Cray's top-mounted cameras had gotten an angle over the building they stood next to, which he used to survey the area.
"Sizable force of enemy infantry. Looks to be normal troops, with some designated marksmen."
"Copy. Can you deal with them? We'll pick off some, but at that range, only my sniper is effective."
"I can. It just depends if you're worried about collateral damage." Seven deadpanned.
For a second, Shepard didn't respond, and was beaten by Ashley.
"Yeah, it would be better if you didn't blow up my fucking hometown." she growled, anger seeping through her voice.
"No explosives then, got it. I presume the Beacon is the big, ominous, green-glowing obelisk?"
"Yes, that would fit the description."
"Okay, so don't shoot that either." Seven replied cheerfully, already issuing changes to Cray's armament. The chaingun in the Titan's hands, a reliable and well-rounded weapon, could now be replaced by something more fitting for the task at hand. So, it was dissolved, and in its place a large, rotary cannon was materialized. Cray gripped it, and checked the ammunition box, which was now just a device linked to the Spartan's hammerspace, meaning the Titan's Predator Cannon now had effectively infinite ammunition. Sure, it could run out, but with a couple dozen thousand rounds stored in there, and the materials to make more, it would take a long while. The Laser Shot and Energy Siphon were spooled up to readiness, and unfolded from Cray's chassis, aimed forward, ready to fire.
Thus, he was now prepared for mass extermination of hostile infantry.
[]
Shepard was impatient.
She, Kaiden and Ashley were huddling behind piles of rubble, an towering over them was Seven's Titan. She just watched it swap weapons, the same way as the man himself did before. Now, it… or would it be him? It held a rotary cannon, which began to spin, whining loudly, as the mech aimed it forward. With a whoosh of thrusters, the giant robot surged forward, sliding out from behind the corner of a building, out onto the plaza, and was instantly peppered with shot from the Geth Troopers.
Seven decided to retaliate. The Laser Shot fired, vaporizing a torso of a platform, completely bypassing its shields. The Energy Siphon followed, the bright blue beam hitting a cluster of Geth, shutting them all down and feeding the energy back into the Titan's systems. Then, Cray's deep voice could be heard all over the plaza, followed by the roar of a rotary cannon.
"Smart Core online."
BRRRRRRRTTT
Even with her helmet's noise-cancelling on, Shepard could hear her teeth rattle and body shake from the sound. Moving forward, she surrounded herself with a biotic barrier, and steadied her rifle. The reticle of her scope stopped dead-center of a Geth Trooper's torso, and she pulled the trigger.
BANG
The powerful shot went unheard amongst the roar of gunfire, so she decided to keep in position and sent another round through another platform.
Then another.
And another.
When she shifted to find another target, there were none. Opening the comm, she asked Seven. "You destroyed them all already?"
"Yeah, I sure did. All hostiles eliminated." the man responded, his Titan and him speaking toghether. The Predator Cannon in Cray's hands spun to a halt, the barrels smoking from the sustained fire. Seven disembarked, landing next to Shepard, who had now come out of cover, and kicking up a small cloud of dust from the ground. Jane looked at him for a moment, then turned to the Beacon.
"Well, I it seems the objective's achieved." she spoke, sparing the armored man beside her a glance. "I'll call for pickup, you keep our backs safe."
"You might want to belay that." he interrupted. "Cray's sensors picked up traces of heightened background radiation. Ones that fit warheads."
The N7 stiffened at the news. "Nukes? Here? Why the hell would Geth nuke a human colony?"
"You think I know?" he shrugged.
"Here are the locations of all the warheads I've detected." Avei spoke up. "I suggest you take care of the ones close by, Shepard, while Seven gets the ones further away."
Jane grit her teeth. It rubbed her the wrong way to listen to an AI, but what it was saying made sense. So, she relented.
"Yeah, makes sense." Taking out her assault rifle, she turned to go to the nearest waypoint on the map. Ashley and Kaiden follow, with the woman growling to herself.
"Goddamned Geth try and nuke the colony. Damnit…"
Seven, with a thought, told Cray to go with them, while he ran in the opposite direction, making a bee-line to one of the charges. The jump kit's flames burned bright as he made his way through the settlement. Jumping from wall to wall, vaulting over rooftops, he was in place in a mere minute. While he was running, he edited his loadout somewhat. The DMR would normally be ill-suited for such close combat, but for a person with the reflexes and aim of a Spartan? Not so much.
But, as he vaulted over an AC unit, and took in the small alley that the Geth had placed the charge in, he unholstered the Smart Pistol, and flung two zappers at them. The small boomerangs flew through the air in arcs, leaving a trail of shining blue behind them. Any barriers the synthetics might have had were overloaded, making the machines vulnerable.
It was now that Seven fired. The Smart Pistol had decided that, similar to a Stalker robot, these would take three shots each. All 18 lock-on icons were present on his HUD when he pulled the trigger, and the weapon kicked in his hand, firing in full-auto. Each bullet pivoted as it left the barrel, guided to its target by the pistol's systems and its own. After two Geth fell to the ground, sparking, the other four finally overcame the stupor induced in them by the zappers, and began to aim their weapons at the Spartan. They did not get to fire them, however, as the Smart Pistol was still firing, filling their torsos with small, 9,89 mm slugs. Any other synthetic in the alley could not respond in time, as their flashlight heads were perforated by rounds fired from the DMR the Spartan now held in hand. He flung a Pulse Blade at one of the walls, and turned to the warhead planted in the center of the small space. It was as inconspicuous as it could be, a non-descript black-grey box. A single holo-display was on it's top, now shining with some words in an alphabet he did not understand.
^Any idea as to what this means?
^Yeah, I got you.
Right after the AI's 'words' the letters, one by one, changed to familiar english. The orange-tinted screen was simply displaying a list of setting for the timer of the bomb. Seven did not think twice, as he did not have the time to, and jammed his Data Knife into the charge's insides. After a mere 5 seconds, the device shut off, and he decided to grab it. Extending a hand, he focused on the object in front of him, and it dissipated, taken into his hammerspace. He would deconstruct it for its base materials later, maybe use them to make Fat Boy rounds for his PGL.
Now, it was onto the next one.
[]
"Juggernaut!"
The yell, though loud, was barely audible through the roar of gunfire, and had only reached the others thanks to the comms in their helmets. Before they could act, however, a orange-white beam of energy lashed out from behind them, and hit the Geth center-mass, vaporizing it instantly.
"Target down."
Shepard ducked back down behind a stack of crates, and waited for her rifle to cool. She was now very glad Seven had lent them his Titan, as they would have been bogged down by the amount of Geth present for a good hour, which they did not have. Thanks to Seven's second AI, they now knew of the timers set in the five warheads spread around the spaceport they had found the Beacon in.
Shepard's group had hacked one, and was trying to make it to the second. And, though she didn't really believe it, Seven had disarmed two by now and was nearing the third. Thus, only theirs remained, and, ever-so-slowly, they were closing in on it. The Titan behind their backs, providing covering fire was an immense advantage, as it's rotary cannon mowed down any synthetic that found itself out in the open. The machine also took out targets of priority that she, Ashley and Kaiden pointed out. As she popped out of cover and began hosing down a Trooper trying to get to a pile of rubble, a transmission came in to her comm.
"Shepard, we're done with the third charge. Seven will be coming in from your 12 o'clock, behind the hostiles. Get ready to fire on them once he comes in."
"Got it." Jane grunted, throwing a Lift into a particularly well-positioned Geth. The machine floated upwards, held aloft by the mass effect field. Cray picked up on it almost immediately, and the synthetic was shelled by the 14,5 mm rounds of the Predator Cannon. She didn't even bother looking as it died, already firing on another target. Then, lines of blue began bouncing around from Geth to Geth, shutting down their shields and overloading their systems. The three of them took this advantage in stride, filling the synthetics with mass accelerator rounds. Over dozen hostiles fell in mere seconds, many dropped by Seven with his DMR from behind. When it was said and done, he did not bother coming down from the rooftop he had picked as his perch, and turned to the last waypoint marking the fifth warhead.
He was already ripping his Data Knife free of the charge's insides when Ashley rounded the corner of the closest building, and saw him upload the bomb to his hammerspace. The woman raised her rifle on instinct, shouting at Seven.
"What the hell are you doing?!"
He merely sheathed the knife in his hand, and turned to look at the newly arrived Shepard and Kaiden. With loud footfalls signaling Cray was nearby too.
He was about to answer, when an unbelievably loud roar/shriek pierced the air. Even though Avei muted the sound almost immediately, it still rung through his skull, and his sensitive ears felt like they would be ripped apart. The pain was nothing new to the Spartan, however, and he pushed through it and willed himself to look around. The three humans that stood near him were recoiling in pain, covering their ears. He looked to the side, where the sound seemed to be coming from.
A ship, looking to be two kilometers long, was hovering mere hundreds of meters away. A ruby-red 'eye' was on its hull, as if looking down upon them. It made for a fearsome sight, though the effect was dulled for the Spartan, who now realized the squid-looking craft was only around 900 meters longer than a Halcyon -class cruiser, and smaller than a
The thunderous sound stopped, as the ship began to ascend. It soon gained enough altitude to pass the cloud cover, disappearing from view.
"What in God's name was that?" whispered Ashley.
"Looks like a capital ship. Weird that it's smaller than a
"Storing it for later. The materials are very useful, especially the heavy metals. They can be used to repair my armor and prosthetics. And the warhead itself I can repurpose into smaller, less polluting charges." he replied, walking closer to the Commander. When he approached, Avei spoke over the team's comms she had plugged herself, Cray and Seven into.
"That was the last one, Shepard. You can go ahead and secure your objective."
Though Adam did not see the woman's face, he could see he relax a fraction, visibly relieved that the mission was coming to an end. They all quickly made their way back to the Beacon's location, which Seven did sitting on to of Cray's chassis. He relished the odd calmness it gave him, with the steady footfalls of his Titan sending tremors throughout its entire metal body. The swaying that was so characteristic the giant mech's gait, while annoying or dizzying to some, was a very soothing feeling to him.
But the walk was short, and soon they all stood before the Beacon, taking in its odd curves as it glistened in the light of the fire-lit skies of Eden Prime. The area was quiet now, devoid of life, bar the three Alliance personnel and a lone Pilot with his Titan. Shepard, opening her comms, began to hail the Normandy to pick them and their objective up. Once done with that, she stood in place, the glass-like faceplate of her helmet staring forward, unmoving.
With a heavy thud, Seven landed near her, looking at the Commander. "Something on your mind, Shepard?"
"One could say so." She shrugged, looking back at Kaiden and Ashley milling around the Beacon.
"Hm." He grunted in response, staying silent for a moment. Then, Seven reached up to his helmet, and, twisting it slightly, took the headwear off. Taking a deep breath, he scanned the horizon, without the helmet's instruments in the way. When he looked back to Shepard, he found the woman staring. Her head was tilted to the side, undoubtedly scanning his face. It was odd for him, but not unexpected, since it was the first time in years someone had fully seen his face.
Jane was, in fact, looking at the man, specifically his face. It was the first time he had taken off his helmet, so she stared for quite some time. He had dark brown hair, bordering on black. His eyes, a steely blue with yellowish lines spots, were young, and yet tired at the same time. Scars marred most of his face, with a large burn-like mark on his right temple. From it, many uneven lines, likely made by shrapnel, made their way across his skin. One went up to his forehead and into the hairline, another horizontal one was under his eye and stopped at the bridge of his nose. Many more, some smaller, and a couple of similar ones went down his right cheek, rough and looking more like claw marks rather than shrapnel wounds. Under his left eye, a group of small cuts had left their mark too, and marred his other cheek.
"You know, I was told that you are my secondary objective." She said quietly, turning to look at the mech towering over them both. "Specifically your mech. Told me to get it ready for pickup by a different ship later. The brass didn't know there would be a man inside." she chuckled at the last sentence, looking back to Seven, who was towering over her just as much as his Titan.
He let out a chuckle himself, spreading his arms. "Well, here I am."
Shepard did not get to answer, however, as a panicked shout reached her ears.
"What is it doing?!"
She whipped around, and saw Kaiden being lifted into the air by a strange, greenish glow. Ashley, though further away, was getting pulled upward as well. The field of energy, which seemed to originate from the Prothean relic, pulsed with power quicker and quicker, as if charging up or something. Shepard ran forward, readying herself to tackle Kaiden out of the way, and shouted back to Seven, who's heavy footsteps she heard right behind her.
"Get Ashley away from the Beacon!" the N7 pointed to the white-armored Gunnery Chief, while she continued running to Kaiden. She heard Seven move away from her, making a bee-line to Ashley. Loud clangs also signaled that Seven's Titan was closing in as well. Soon, she reached the man, who was stuck mid-air, held still and unable to free himself.
She jumped, wrapping her arms around the Lieutenant and shoving him away from the Beacon, using a biotic Throw to add to her push. The Beacon seemed to switch targets, and grabbed her instead, hoisting her up and splaying her in the air. She faintly heard Ashley shout something and felt something tug her by the shoulder. Her vision started going hazy, and she began seeming some things. But, as she was turned around, she could see Seven, now with his helmet on again, pull a rope that was attached to her armor. It was getting nowhere, however, and the rope looked like it would snap under the strain.
The man noticed it too, and, detaching the Grapple, jumped up, jump jets blazing, and closed in on Shepard. One of his arms grabbed her by the shoulder, and he heaved the smaller human away. The Beacon, though, was still intent on taking somebody, and now that somebody was Seven.
Though he weighed almost half a ton, he was held in the air without issue by the Prothean device.
^Pilot, I am unable to reach you.
^Adam, this thing's trying to do something to your head!
Just as Avei 'spoke' those words, he felt something touch his mind. It felt very familiar, and it was not a pleasant familiarity. He writhed, trying to escape, but it did nothing. As his consciousness began to slip away, he felt Avei send more and more panicked messages his way.
^Adam! Stay with me, please! Just stay awake, we'll get through this! Please, please, please, just don't let it knock you out!
He understood, and tried, but he couldn't, and the Beacon began to overpower his mind. Soon, images, memories began to flood his brain, causing more and more pain with each one. Though a Spartan, he still had limits on the amount of pain he could stand, and was just barely clinging on to consciousness. Then, the Beacon blew in a shower of sparks and a cloud of smoke, sending pieces of it everywhere. A lot of them smashed into his MJOLNIR's shields, and nearly broke them. He was flung backwards, alarms buzzing in his ears warning him of imminent shield depletion. Then, he hit the ground, and it all went black.
[]
"So you're telling me, that this robot had a man inside?" asked Anderson.
"Yes sir. He-" Shepard motioned with her head to the unconscious body lying on one of the medical tables. "-said it's a 'Titan'. Told me he's its Pilot, one of the better ones, in fact. Doesn't make sense, since I've never seen a mech like that, but that's what he stated."
"That is interesting indeed." the dark-skinned man turned away from her, and looked to the only other person in the room. "Anything, doctor?"
"Nothing, Captain." Chakwas answered. "This armor of his is repelling any scans I try to take. Like it's alive." the older woman mused. Just then, Shepard's omnitool buzzed. The redhead brought the device up, and read the single message on display.
He will wake up soon. There is something wrong with him, but I do not know what. Does anyone else know about me and Cray?
Shepard frowned slightly. Another problem. The fact that a mysterious super-soldier had just wound up on the Normandy was one thing, but him having not one, but two AIs with him? It was bad, and Jane was still pondering whether she should tell anyone, and if so, then who? After some time, which she spent tuning out the conversation unfolding between Anderson and Chakwas, she decided to tell at least the Captain and the ship's Chief Medical Officer. They, at least, should know who, and what, is on the ship. So, she spoke.
"Captain, there are some other things about him that I believe you should know." Shepard began, which caused the two older Alliance officers to turn to her.
"He does not know of mass effect technology. He was confused about our weapons, and was using normal, chemical propellant firearms." She said.
"Yes, you are right, that is quite odd. Anything else?"
"Yes. He has two AIs with him."
That gave Anderson and Chakwas pause. In all of Citadel space, human territory included, AI creation was banned, and very much a taboo topic. Though, there were still some that tried. All of them had been apprehended very soon after news of their works got out, or had fled to the Terminus. Now, Anderson had two AI onboard, and would most likely need to notify High Command of it.
"AIs, Shepard? Are you certain?" the man asked.
"As much as I can be, sir. I talked to both of them. One is in that giant mech we've got down in the hold. The other, from what I can tell, is with him, or in his armor." Jane said, pointing to Seven, lying limp on a cot.
"Are they a danger of any kind?" Anderson questioned again.
"Not that I can tell. The big robot had saved me and my team from harm, and the two of them had detected the nukes the Geth had set up on Eden Prime. If not for them, we would've been smoked by those warheads. The fact that they seem to be compliant is a good sign, I'd wager." as she spoke, Shepard's omnitool buzzed again. Another message from Avei.
He is waking up now. Stay calm.
"I just got a message from the AI in his armor that he's waking up." Shepard stated, closing her omni. "She said to stay calm."
"That will not be necessary." A tired voice spoke. Though unknown to Chakwas or Anderson, the redhead immediately recognized it as Seven's. And, true enough, he was no sitting on the cot that they had laid him on. It took both Shepard's and Kaiden's combined biotics to do so, but they managed. Now, Seven's helmeted head was going back and forth between the dark-skinned captain of the Normandy and the aging doctor.
Then, he got up and made to the medbay's door. He was stopped by the surprisingly stern voice of Chakwas.
"You're not going anywhere until I get a scan of you, dear." the doctor stated, causing even the Spartan to stop and turn. With a sigh, he lowered his head.
"Why are medical officers the same everywhere?" he asked no one in particular.
[]
Author's note:
So, as you can see, I am not yet dead.
Had a bit of a shitty first month of school, started some additional lessons, and forgot to write for a good week. But, I am back, and will be working to improve the story. This chapter was shit from the start, since I didn't have any idea for the story back then, and it was cobbled toghether from three, four different attempts. So yeah, not great.
Now, the story will stop making sense for a small bit, but I'll try and edit the remaining chapters as fast as I can. This one took much longer, since I had to start from scratch.
Thanks for Invictus602 for giving me the figurative kick to get me started on fixing this stuff. You were right. It was a bit shit.
Last thing. The statistics for the story got fucked for some odd reason, and I have no clue if anyone has been reading after September 15th. Not good, I tell you.
Still, have a nice day and
Rock & Stone!