I don't own Mass Effect
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Mgl1206;Thinking it through, humanity as a whole should be far more advanced than they were at the start of Mass Effect I due to just how long Priestesses live. Also i wonder if theres other psychological changes present among priestesses due to how long they lived and intermingled with humanity. Also also, disappointed you didnt point out the hypocrisy of the turians imposing a law on Humanity/Priestesses that they had no idea even existed. Kinda disappointed you didn't give the turians a tongue lashing in general. Also id be more interested in a chapter that explored the interactions between Humans and Priestessss in general and also Humans and other species in general. Since this mostly focused on Priestesses.I dont think Damascus steel is all that unknown to us. I heard that the main mystery was actually how they discovered how to make it as early as they did. But thats just something i heard somewhere and im not sure on. Also it should be clarified that while ancient societies were more advanced than we give them credit for, they were in no way somehow better than what we have today.
Viper; sorry I thought I addressed that better. While humans and Priestesses were breaking a law that they didn't know existed. To the turians, they were still breaking a law, and they had no idea if they were hostile and wouldn't go on to invade Citadel space. The turians are military to the core, fight over flight if you will. They had two options, assume the newcomers were peaceful or assume that they weren't. Since the turians have dealt with krogan warlords, batarian slavers, the possible invasion of either the geth or terminus, they would lean towards the new race possibly being hostile. From there, it was a bad decision leading to a bad decision. It was a bad but understandable decision to take control of the Relay, it was a bad decision to try and take the planet. It was a bad decision to put forces on the ground and a bad decision to open fire on civilians (though to turians there is no such thing as a non-combatant) but didn't fire on obvious non-threates such as children. I wanted to put that the turians were wrong while giving an understandable reason why they made those choices. Like a military commander making a reasonable but mistaken choice. Like someone shooting at someone they thought was going for a gun but wasn't. Humanity is more advanced, less because their advancing quicker (which did happen) and more because less is being lost to the sands of time if you will. I remember an article about a substance that hardened like concrete but was far more environmentally friendly that dated back towards the aztecs if not earlier. The overall physicogical of the Priestess is to make the years they are given count and they mourn similar to humans. AKA great loss but with enough time they recover and in time find new friends or new partners. But it is a loss they have to get used to and as a result older Priestess can become more 'distant' than their younger sisters. I will hopefully write a bit more on the interspecies interactions. The worst is their relation to the asari, the only race they are on worst terms are the batarians. Then there is the turians which while bad is nowhere near as bad as it was in me1 as the invasion didn't last nearly as long, take as mearly casualtyies and General Williams didn't have to surrender to stop open bombing/shelling of the planet. The races they get on best with are the quarians who often work on human/Priestess worlds and salarians. Then there are the elcor/hanar followed by the volus. As for damascus steel, the example that I'm thinking of is probably exaggerated but it was of swords that were extremely tough, extremely hard, sharp but could bend like a fencing rapier (aka to a fucking crazy degree) despite being thicker. To make a sword is an art just as much as a science. Too hard then it becomes to brittle, someone literally broke a sword by slapping it on the cheek of a Scottish warrior. Same with bows, Welsh archers used wooden bows of such high poundage that only be matched by compound bows. Though you are right in that the ancient societies are more advanced than we give them credit for and I could be miss remembering facts. Either way a society that had the ability to make damascus steel or something just as good throughout its history should have alloys that we can only dream of now.
Story Start
"What about Shepard?" asked a disembodied voice
"Which one?" came another voice out of nowhere "Both could make a good candent for a Spectre
"The eldest." came the answer
"She knows what war is, she lost her whole family on Shanix and if it wasn't for her, who knows how many people from Elysium would be living as slaves right now. I'm not saying she isn't qualified. We both know she is and wish the Alliance had more like her, but the first Spectre will represent every single human and Priestess out there, for better or for worse. We don't need a good choice, we need the best choice."
"She's the only choice. After her family died she was taken in and raised by the woman who had taken her to safety, along with the daughter she already had. She even decided to take their last name when she was old enough to do so. She embodies everything there is between a human and a Priestess. Despite our different biology and life spans, humans and Priestess aren't two different species... we're one. She's also risen through the ranks quickly, and completed her N7 training far faster than anyone else ever has. Priestess or human, the only one that's come close to beating her N7 time is her sister."
"That's part of the problem, her age. The asari will not be happy with a Priestess as young as her joining the Spectres."
"As far as I'm concerned the asari can go and mind their business for once. They bring it up at every opportunity, ao much so that even Udina's starting to get tired of how often they seem to find a reason to talk about it. There is a reason the ambassador to the Human and Priestess Alliance has always been human. A Priestess would have either ended up snapping someone's neck or having a brain aneurysm after a few years on the job...ten at most. At least by that time a human would be close to retiring if not already. Hopefully, a successful Spectre Priestess that's less than forty will finally shut them up."
"We both know that's not going to happen. Should Shepard fail however, big or small it will give them everything they need to keep pushing the issue and we both know they'll go looking for anything that could count as a failure. I wouldn't put it past them to cause one either."
"We don't coddle our children, human or Priestess but we don't send them off to war either. Priestesses as young as Shepard being in a combat field or seeing as much fighting as she has in her life is rare, but not unheard of. She's well above the minimum age that a Priestess can serve, and she's also passed all additional requirements and tests that young Priestess have to go through if they wish to enter a combat role. Tests that she has passed with flying colors. She's a diamond in the rough, and putting her on the shelf for ten years or so to make the asari happier will only insult everything she's achieved so far. Also, while they might raise a huff about Shepard becoming a Spectre, there are plenty of Elcipse out there far younger than she is."
"...fine I'll make the call."
Somewhere in the galaxy a terminal turned on, and on it was the picture of a young Priestess, her shoulders were strong and her eyes showed a fierceness that burned as hot as fire. On her forehead was a symbol that resembled a double-sided P, a mark that symbolised the wearer was a Priestess. A tattoo that became common after the introduction of asari, much like the false eyebrows that most Priestesses had chosen to wear for millennia to help distinguish their eye ridges. Which, while more noticeable than the average asari still lacked the hair that made them so noticeable on humans.
"Wakey wakey Commander." said a voice waking her up came a voice over the intercom
In a small room, a Priestess runs her hands over her face and scalp
"You better have a good reason for waking me Joker, otherwise weakened bones or not I'm going give you a slap your mother will feel." warned the Priestess
Jeff Moreau, aka 'Joker' was the pilot of the latest ship she was serving on. He had a rare genetic disease that would have made his bones as brittle and as fragile as glass. Thankfully his condition was picked up early on in the womb during a routine checkup by an attending leader Priestess. Allowing them to fix the problem through gene therapy and other treatments...mostly. Instead of his bones being brittle as glass, they were just weaker than they should be. Being tacked by a 200 pound football player would look like he was hit by car going the same speed. He'd live, but he would probably break a rib or two. He preferred to address her by her rank rather than Priestess or her last name.
She'd feel sorry for him if it wasn't for a few reasons. One, he didn't seem that bothered by his condition himself. Saying how much worse it could have been, that while he'd never play rugby but at least his bones didn't break everytime he had to rush to the bathroom for a piss. Or that he didn't have to spend half his childhood in a grav-chair or crutches recovering from yet another broken bone. But the main reason was...Joker was a bit of an ass. An okay guy sure, but an ass. According to rumours, his favourite pickup line was 'Hey there gorgeous, how about you come over to my place and break my pelvis on some Egyptian sheets?'
"Hey you know I bruise easily." protested Joker
"Joker." warned the Priestess. It was a few hours before she was scheduled to wake up and get ready, this had better be good.
"The Captain wants you up early." replied Joker in his 'okay okay take it easy' voice. Joker could be annoying but he also knew how far not to push it
"Why?"
"We've lost contact with the ships on Eden Prime, no communications at all on the ground either. It could be nothing, a busted comm array. You know how often techs say something needs replacing but no one actually does something, but it could also mean..."
"Pirates." said the Priestess, immediately getting to her feet. Eden Prime was going to be a shakedown run to put their new ship to the test. However, Eden Prime was also closer than some would like to the Terminus Systems or more importantly, batarian slavers who were always looking for more...merchandise to sell. The number of ships patrolling that system should have been able to stop any small-time raid. Especially when you add in the three planetary guns that could each take out a frigate in a few hits. If Eden Prime was being attacked, it was with a big enough force to make sure no warnings got out. Not a rush in and then rush out before reinforcements arrived. There could very well be a second Skyllian Blitz going on right now on Eden Prime.
"The Captain's not sure. We're the closest ship, a few heavy cruisers are being prepped right now just incase but we need a report before they send a fleet in. It wouldn't make good press if an armada appeared over Eden Prime screaming pirate when it was just a blown fuse."
"If Eden Prime is under attack every second counts." said the Priestess as she got dressed
"Which is why Anderson told me to push the engines as hard as I can, and why we'll be arriving hours before we were due. This was going to be a shakedown run to make sure everything runs fine, instead I'm redlining the engine like a kid that just hotwired his first car. If it makes you feel better I'm pretty sure nearby ships are diverting their course just incase. Best case scenario they aren't needed and it takes an extra day to get to where they were headed."
"How long till we get there?" every moment counted, she could either gear up now or see Captain Anderson to get a better understanding of the situation.
"Even with me pushing the engines as hard as they can, it's still going to take us nearly an hour to get there. That's if nothing breaks or burns out in the meantime though." said Joker being honest "The Captain wants to see you in the comm room as soon as you can."
That was more than enough time to come back and arm herself. Stepping out of her room, more a walk-in closet than anything she entered the CIC. Unlike the Captain's quarters, which was on the main deck and significantly larger, hers was on the first deck. This was done for a few reasons. One so that if there was surprise attack, whether from a ship or infiltration, it was less likely both the Captain and their CO would be taken out at the same time barring something that took most of the crew out as well. Another reason was that the CO would always be close at hand if needed. Take control of the situation if the Captain wasn't present, hand it over when they arrived or immediately provide support as necessary. A final reason was that it also acted as a lifeboat. Her entire room could be ejected from the ship itself like an overly large escape pod and was able to carry most of the staff on the CIC deck if needed. The med bay below her feet also had that same feature while the captain's Quarters didn't...a coup or a mutiny would be far too easy if you could eject your Captain while they slept unaware though doing the same to the CO would be a nice start. As for everyone else, there were enough escape pods to go around.
As her feet entered the CIC however she felt herself wishing she was on a cruiser, preferably a heavy if not a deadnought. Not only did they have more kick than this stealth frigate, but they also came equipped with drop pods. Something that was either inspired by the Priestess's ability to drop from aeroplanes during the world war. Slowing their descent a few hundred metres from the ground using their gifts and allowing them to land safely (if they pulled it off) on the ground below. Or a video game involving a human super soldier fighting aliens while being helped by a Priestess who somehow had the ability to meld with computers in order to scan their systems. Either way, it was a risky procedure, but if boots were needed on the ground immediately, there was no faster option to put elite forces down than with a drop pod, though a mako drop certainly came close. Idly, she wondered if the escape pods could be repurposed.
She gave a quick look side to side to see if Captain Anderson was nearby, he wasn't. Maybe he was already in the Comms room? Unfortunately, it turned out he wasn't, the only one there was the turian Spectre Nihuls. She didn't hate turians, despite what had happened to her parents, perhaps it was because she knew how many her mother had killed before she died? That said, she didn't particularly like them either. She'd work with them, but she preferred to have someone she knew watching her back.
"Ahhh Shepard how nice of you to join me." greeted Nihlus, however she wasn't in the mood
"Where's Anderson?" She was here to see Anderson. She didn't see Anderson. To make things worse, everyone on Eden Prime might very well be getting a control chip shoved into their heads at this very moment.
"He'll be here shortly. I wanted to talk to you first."
"About what?" she asked bluntly. She didn't have time to waste on whatever this was.
"Originally I wanted to have a chat with you, get to know you and ask a few questions. Unfortunately, it looks like we won't have time for that." Before Nihlus could say anymore Anderson came through the door behind her.
"Shepard." greeted Anderson
"Captain mind if I ask what the fuck is going on?" asked the Priestess with a bit more crass than she probably should have
"We were going to tell you, unfortunately, what might or might not be happening has accelerated our plans. Plans that have to do with you, the Alliance and Spectre Nihlus." answered Anderson
"I get the last two, you don't have a Spectre along when you're doing a shakedown. I figured either our real mission was to drop him off somewhere on the way to or from Eden Prime using our stealth drives, or that he was just using the Normandy as a glorified taxi but what does that have to do with me."
"You're right in that we're dropping off Nihilus but you'll be going with him."
"Sir, Eden Prime might need all the help it can get. Even if there are ships nearby it will be hours before anyone else will be in a position to help."
"Eden Primes is where we are going." clarified Nihlus
"And what does that mean?"
"Since we don't have time I'll be short. On Eden Prime some researchers recently discovered a Prothean beacon, I'm here to secure it and evaluate you as a possible Spectre." said Nihlus
"A Prothean beacon? Sir, there is no chance this doesn't have something to do with Eden Prime falling silent, something's happening. Also me...a Spectre?"
"I've just finished talking with command and they're inclined to agree. It might be too early to say, but they've already sending three cruisers just in case but they'll still be hours away by the time we arrive. If nothings wrong, they'll be on standby until we head to the Citadel carrying the Beacon. If something has gone wrong, we go in and grab the Beacon while they provide cover and assistance as soon as they get there."
"I don't like the idea of abandoning those who need help Captain."
"I know you don't but those are your orders. The powers that be aren't happy that that we're not doing what they want at the drop of a hat, providing a beacon will not only give us a lot of goodwill amongst the three Council races but show all the Council races that we can play nice despite what some claim. Also, whoever is attacking Eden Prime...if it is being attacked, is likely after the Beacon, not the colony. If you retrieve the Beacon, the attackers might very well disengage and come after us. Then, when they arrive, the cruisers will drop their marines as they engage their own targets." ordered Anderson
"Your Captain's right. Prothean Beacons are incredibly rare not to mention valuable. If something has happened, we need to find and secure it as quickly as possible. Once we have the Beacon off planet, they'll have no reason to stick around and even if they do the incoming cruisers will take care of them." said Nihlus before adding." There's something else to consider as well. Handing an intact beacon over will also help with some concerns that the other races have regarding the Alliance."
By concerns, Shepard knew Nihlus was talking about the fleet and military strength of the Alliance. Certain laws, such as limiting functioning or operational deadnoughts, were written with a singular species in mind while allowing joint fleets (such as the Citadel Fleet) to have more. The Alliance involved two species, so technically they could have twice as many dreadnoughts as the standard Citadel specie.
There was also the fact that Priestesses were still technically asari and unless the asari went out of their way to say that they weren't, Priestesses could take advantage of a number of laws made by the asari Republics regarding both being a Council race and about distant asari colonies that were written to reduce the number of asari colonies that wished to cut ties with the Republics.
These laws couldn't be changed quickly or easily and doing so would open the Asari Republics to all sorts of problems due to their more independent or outlining members only staying within the Republic collective due to those same laws. Laws that included allowing colonies to have more armed forces or defences then was typically allowed as long as they were justifiable. This meant there wasn't much they could do lest they lose the support of 25% of the Repubics who lived on the outer edges of asari space. Because if those laws were changed to spite the Priestesses, smaller colonies that needed the extra protection against pirates could be next, should they disagree with the wrong Thessian Matriach on the wrong topic.
All this meant that the Alliance was able to take advantage of a number of fine print and legal loopholes that the Citadel Council had only ever intended themselves or their races to benefit from, such as the Citadel fleet. On paper giving excess of ships or personal to a universal armed force was a good idea, you didn't have to worry about the cost of maintaing them as the cost was spread out to each race but in the event of an emergency you could still call on their aid.
In practice, however, it was quite different. At the end of the day the Citadel Fleet was controlled by the Citadel Council. A asari, turian and salarian made the calls on where they went and what they did. Which meant that the interests of those particular races had far greater impact on what the fleet did than other race. You could devote all the ships, credits or resources you had to the fleet but if you ever needed the fleet to fight back a pirate raid you would still need the green light of two of three to deploy the fleet in large numbers.Considering how hard the Council could be to deal with at the best of times, by the time the fleets were actually mobalized, the pirates would be long gone. That wasn't to say that the Citadel Fleet didn't limit pirate activity or help protect Citadel Space which they did, their mere presence would cause pirate activity to drop but if it came between providing better protection to a colony that had the interest of a Council race or a colony of one of the 'lesser' races than the former was almost always chosen.
The Alliance however had a much larger fleet than the average Council species with none of the red tape that stopped the Citadel Fleet from coming to their aid, this had caused a number of problems, though most of those from those came from the asari making a fuss about how it cause problems with not only the other races but the Terminous and had pushed that the excess should go to the Citadel Fleet on more than one occasion. That said, having a significantly larger fleet than most did alarm some of the other species so the asari weren't completely bull shitting for once. Providing a Beacon would go a long way to alleviate those concerns, at least Shepard hoped they would.
"What about me joining the Spectres? No offense to our guest here but I've heard some nasty things about them."
"Don't believe everything you hear. Yes while it is up to each and every Spectre to decide how they complete a mission and some of them take things too far, most Spectres do far more good than harm. Spectre's wouldn't be exist if that wasn't the case." responded Nihlius
"I trust you Shepard. The bad eggs in the Spectres didn't go bad just because they became one, it just helped bring it out of them. It's also what the Alliance needs, you will be our first Spectre. There are a lot of people out there saying that saying we're not ready to influence galatic society. You becoming a Spetcre will help prove them wrong.
"He's right, at least partially. Some people need something to keep them in line, others don't. From what I can tell from your file, you're the latter. That said, some jobs change a person, and not for the better. Being a Spectre is one of them. You'll have to deal with a lot of stressful decisions and choices on your own. You won't be able to pass it up the chain of command.Sometimes, a Spectre has to or is made to retire after seeing or doing too much. The key is getting out before it either breaks you, you go rouge, or it burns you out. Asari like you might be able to live for a thousand years but that just means the stress can build up for longer and your more likley to break mentally rather physically from injury or age. Don't let what could have been a long career come to a quick end because you pushed yourself too hard for too long. While admirable, that trait of yours can also be a flaw. I know a few asari Spectres that break up the stress by taking up less stressful jobs or going on leave for year or two every decade. Being a Spectre means jobs of all kinds. Not just going gunfight to gunfight or taking out warlord after warlord like some of your crew thinks we do. There's picking up things of value, guarding, and protection details as well."
"I know my limits, I know how far I can push myself. I'll take your advice but you should remember that I'm a Priestess, not an asari." advised Shepard
"I know the branch that originated on Earth and those from Thessia don't get along. But asside from coming from two different planets is there really that much difference between the two groups?" asked Nihlus
"Priestess isn't just the name of our species. It's also a title. From what I know of turian society, each turian is expected to serve in some matter, right?" asked Shepard
"Yes?"
"Now what about a turian who did nothing but live in his parents house until he was fifty or joined a violent gang. Would you like to be compared with them?" asked Shepard
"I get your point, but not all asari are like that."
"I know, but more than enough are. Especialy..." started Shepard
"Captain we've got an incoming transmission, one way." said Joker
"Send it here!" ordered Anderson
Immediately a nearby screen turned on, showing a firefight in progress.
"Can an...I repeat can anyone hear me! Damn it! Tali anything else you can do?" asked a woman in pink armour
"I'm doing my best, but I don't know if the signal is even getting beyond the atmosphere." came another voice. One that looked like it belonged to a young quarian. Likely on her pilgrimage though more than a few quarians had started to settle down and live permanently on Alliance worlds. Either way, she was probably wishing she or her parents chose a different planet to go to.
"This is Ashly Williams of ..." continued the woman in pink armour before a nearby explosion cut her out. "Screw it! If you can hear this Eden Prime is under attack by the geth! All ships were taken out almost instantly by some kind of super dreadnaught, and the planetary guns never fired. If anyone is picking up this message, send reinforments immediately! I don't know how much longer we can hold out!"
"Chief we need to pull back! There is no way we can hold this position and they're just going to come at us harder now." said another voice in the background.
"DAMMIT!!! Alright, carry what you can. Tali, make sure that the beacon's broadcasting as long as possible. Loop the recording and give it every chance that it will get picked up and send the recording that we got while you're at it."
"The message ends after that Captain." said Joker as the video stopped "There's a second file though, looks like a compressed video recording."
"Play it too Joker. If they sent it along with the distress call, it must be important." said Anderson
Another video appeared, this one seemed to be a recording from a ships viewing deck, giving them a good view of the planet below, a heavy cruser and frigate floating above it while a young woman started speaking.
"Hey mum, it's been my first week as an ensign on the ASV Littlehorn and things are going great. Nothing exciting yet. Apparently we mostly spend our time patrolling this system or keeping watch over planets that have colonies on them, and the most action we see is from smugglers trying to bring in something illicit. Something I'm sure you'll happy about, you probably get enough stress worrying about Jacob without having to worry about me as well. We might be joining a pirate patrol next month for a bit though. Mainly to keep everyone sharp and...hold on what's that?"
Outside, a large ship suddenly appeared from nowhere. For all intents and purposes, it looked like a giant space lobster, and the ensigns voice goes from cheerful to curious with more than a touch of worry in her tone.
"We weren't expecting..." before the ensign could finish speaking two 'legs' pointed towards the heavy cruiser and a thick, red beam fired from both, destroying the ship instantly. As the ensign gasped, a third leg pointed towards the other frigate.
"I'm compressing and sending this message out on all frequencies. Eden Prime is under attack! Mum, dad, Jacob if you get this I lo-"
The last thing the camera picked up was a red, blinding light that flooded everything out. After that...everything went dark.
"That thing just took out three ships like it was nothing." said Anderson in shock "Computer, rewind to when it took out the ASV Hainburg and freeze. Joker, pass this message up to Command. We're going to need every ship in the region as soon as possible, and they need to know what we're up against. We'll go in stealth drives active and collect intel while we drop a ground team to pick up an important package."
"I knew there was something fishy about having a Spectre onboard. Why do I always have to right?" moaned Joker
"Not the time Joker." admonished Anderson as everyone one in the comms room examined the frozen picture of the strange ship at the exact moment when it took out the cruiser. Two red beams forever tearing through its hull.
"Understood Captain. But just so you know I've had to use the emission sinks to deal with all the extra heat we've generated. We probably only have a couple hours of stealth left."
"Understood Joker, keep me informed."
"The ship doesn't look like a geth design though. Similar yes, but the more I look at it, the more differences I see. Also, those weapons, I've never seen or heard of anything that powerful." noted Nihlus "Not even the Hierachy's biggest guns come close."
"A new design, perhaps? Something that the geth have been working on?" questioned Anderson
"Perhaps, but I hate to think what the geth could with just a handful of ships or weapons like that." said a concerned Nihuls
"What do you think Shepard?" asked Anderson
"..."
"Shepard?" asked Anderson, noticing Shepard hadn't yet said anything. Turning around he saw Shepard was frozen.
She had never seen it before, not with her eyes at least, but somehow instinctively she knew exactly what it was.
"Sir...I think..I think... that's a Reaper ship." said Shepard with uncertainty. When the words passed her lips however, she knew she was right.
"You're sure?" asked Anderson
"As sure as I can be." replied Shepard
"Reapers?" asked Nihlus "The boogeyman of the Alliance?"
"I know the Reapers might sound far-fetched, but people have been trying to disprove that they ever existed long before we met the Council. The fact that they never succeeded should tell you all you need to know."
"But if the Reapers existed, why haven't we seen them before? After thousands of years of space exploration, we should have noticed something if they really existed." asked Nihlus
"Maybe they weren't looking in the right places." remarked Anderson "According to what we know about the Reapers they were a synthetic race just like the geth. They could inhabit planets or have bases in places that not even the krogan or the rachni would be comfortable in. If anyone was going to find evidence of the Reapers, it was going to be the geth. But at the moment, it doesn't really matter if they somehow found a derelict Reaper ship and repaired it or they have a new ship and weapon designs. Either way, we are dealing with an extremely powerful ship with the likelihood of there being a lot more out there. I'm going to write a report and organise a ground team. I suggest the both of you gear up. Once we get planet side, we'll be doing a quick drop before doing what scans we can at a safe distance."
Leaving the comms room Shepard headed back to her quarters. While there wasn't much room the wall space was used to hold her own personal weapons a few additional ones and her armour. Putting on the medium class armour, a made froma dark black metsl with red highlights and N7 proudly displayed she turned to the weapons.
In front of her was a wide selection, one that even included a number of melee options. Typing in a command the see-through but incredibly resilient cover slide open.
The most prominently displayed weapon was a katana, her mother's infact, which was retrieved from Shanix some time ago. While she wasn't yet at her mother's proficiency, nor would she be for at least a century. She was still incredibly deadly, as many batarians on Elysium found out to their detriment. For a moment, she thought about grabbing it, but in the end, she decided against it. The geth were mechanical in nature, she needed something better suited to going through armour. While the katana could do that, she had weapons far more suitable for that purpose.
In the end, she picked out two medium-throwing axes. More like hatchets, really. The edge was especially hardened to help it cleave through heavy armour, and the large spike on the back should be able to penetrate deep enough to hit something vital. Also, unlike her mother's blade, they were ultimately replacable if they were damaged.
Sliding the axes into two loops on either side of her hips she moved on to her next weapon choice, guns. There were three types in front of her, first were old-fashioned ballistics, ones that used actual bullets. Of which she only had a single rifle and a pistol.It might seem outdated, but with modern chemicals and technology, they had a lot more kick than their 21st century counterparts. However, due to logistic issues, they were mostly used for hunting, not anything military. That said, they did have some advantages over their modern counterparts. First off, their range was a lot less than modern guns. Less chance of hitting or killing someone you didn't see or penetrating something you didn't want to. They also were a lot louder. A 45 caliber was an excellent way to get someone's attention and get someone to shut up. Also, with the right ammo, you had makeshift flare. Either way, it was a great way to let your friends know you were in trouble if comms were down.
Then there were the typical Citadel-type weapons. Logistics might not be a problem but they lacked a certain kick that she liked and many in the Alliance considered them to be underpowered. That said as long as you had an ammo block you had close to infinite ammo. As long as you didn't overheat the weapon that was. Having infinite ammo was good. Overheating was just as bad as running out of ammo though, and a trained soldier could reload a lot faster than most guns could cool. If you could manage your heat then you had an advantage, if however you had to keep up a constant rate of fire it was only a matter of time till the weapon overheated and you were overwhelmed.
Then there were the Alliance NEGs short for needle guns. So called because the majority of them fired a needle or nail-like projectile. Due to their shape most clips held dozens if not hundreds of rounds. Unlike most other species, which abandoned their previous weapon designs when they discovered Prothean ones. Reverse engineering them and then attempting to improve the Prothean weapon designs they were able to recover. Humans and Priestesses however took the weapons apart, learned how they worked, and then applied that knowledge to their own weapons.
For a long time before the Mars Archive, there was research on coilguns and railguns. Anything that would be the future of warfare. Unfortunately, for the most part, that research ended in weapons that were far too big, too heavy, ran out of power quickly or had no definable advantage over the standard balisitic weapons of the time. Learning how the ancient Prothean weapons worked however changed that. The results of that knowledge might not have been as powerful as the room-sized weapons they had previously made, but they were infinitely more trasportable. They didn't run out of power and, most importantly, they were much more effective than the ballistic weapons currently available at that time. They also didn't overheat, unlike their Citadel conterparts. Exactly why she didn't have the technical knowledge to explain, asside from knowing that they used different tech than the Citadel varients. But one reason she could understand was that the faster something went, the more heat it generated to get it up to that speed. A historic bullet was a walk, a NEG round was a jog and a Citadel shard was a full-out run, each creating significantly more heat than the last. Citadel weapon designers had attempted to mimic the results and utilize the unique technology of the NEGs but failed. Without a way to deal with the increased heat, all they got was weapons that overheated far too quickly. The only successful weapon that came out from that venture was a large, black anti-material sniper that could only fire a single round before overheating.
In the end, she went with an NEG-Sheriff, a heavy semi-automatic pistol. An NEG-Raptor, an assault rifle that was great at medium or long distances and could fire full auto, a three-round burst but performed best on semi-auto. She then grabbed a small ammo bag and clipped it to her lower back before placing an Avenger rifle on her left shoulder and a Predator pistol on her left hip.
She had no intention of using either of the Citadel variant but Alliance made weapons or all that extra ammo. The clips she carried on her front would be more than enough for this mission. But they weren't for her. While she might not be able to stop and help, she could still render some assistance. Handing over ammo or a spare gun wouldn't slow her down, but it would certainly help whoever she was handing it to. Leaving her room, she headed to the cargo bay. To get there, she had two options. One take the stairs and travel down an extremely slow elevator or take the ladder. The turians were confused when the human and Priestess half of the design team kept insisting that one or more ladder be included in the design. For most other species, ladders or small cramped spaces were just there for maintenance or emergencies, not regular travel. However, the fact is that ever since it was made a legal requirement to have a ladder or staircase in a building with more than one floor, it had prevented numerous deaths. When space travel became more common, no one saw a reason to make the same law in regards to ships and access to escape pods.
By making use of the ladder common, it also made it easier to abandon ship as they had already gotten used to using it and if the lights failed that would make all the difference. Also, half could take the while the others took the stairs cutting down the evacuation time.
But as a Priestess there was also another bonus. As the door to the ladder opened, both to stop someone falling and breaking their neck and to prevent complete decompression in case of a hull breach, she entered battlestance, and her eyes went black. Reaching out with her mind, she checked the decks below were clear. When she was sure no one was in the ladder tube, she stepped forward...
and fell.
Over half a metre above the bottom deck she activated her biotics, decreased her mass and performed a small biotic lift over her own body to arrest her speed. Allowing her to touch the bottom with barely a sound, like she had just reached the bottom of a staircase and not fallen three decks.
What she just did while frowned upon, wasn't technically against regulations...as long as you were a biotic and made sure that the ladder was clear. That said, if you broke your legs or hit or nearly hit someone on the way down, it was made clear that you were never to do such a thing again if you expected to stay onboard. In bigger ships however, where there was a much greater distance to fall it was outright banned, but most ships that size had a platform every few floors. Exiting the ladder tube she entered the cargo bay. Standing near to each other in a group was Nihlus, Captain Anderson and two others, Kaiden and Jenkins who she assumed were going to be part of her team.
She looked at Kaiden first, he was a good all round combatant. His weapon skills were good, not necessarily higher than average but good. Where he really shone, though, was in tech and biotics. In regards to tech, he far outshone her. He could do things with an omni-tool in minutes that would take her hours if ever and he was just as good as she was at using the gift of biotics. Perhaps even better in some areas, becoming a combat class Priestess at her age had come with some drawback. Her tech knowledge was less than usual for Priestesses her age for one. She could use an omni-tool as well as the next person but if it came down to hacking even the simplest door, she'd have more luck if you gave her a crowbar or a can opener. She'd probably get it done sooner, too. As for biotics, she could use them, of course, but she preferred the simpler and more instinctive moves and the ones that were combat oriented. Such as pull and its various variants or something where she could channel her gift through a weapon. More complicated moves such as stasis or singularities took too much of her concentration for her to use properly in combat.
If she remembered Kaiden's file correctly he had a biotic assistant 4, military grade. A newer version of the one in her own head that she still needed much to her own chargin. Unlike what most people thought biotic assistants, called biotic amps by most of the other species, didn't increase biotic potential. The weakest biotic wouldn't become the strongest or even average biotic if they were given the best assistant or amp. What they did do, however, is make it easier to regulate the flow of biotic energy. It took years of dedicated training to use biotics easily without an assistant, while a Priestess might have the time to spread that training over a decade or two, most humans didn't. It was worse for the military, it took a lot of time to get someone combat ready, even if they were reasonably fit at the time they enlisted. Adding years onto that was out of the question. The use of an amp/assistant, however, cut that time down from years to months. A much more acceptable amount of time to most.
In essence, an amp was nothing more than an extremely high-tech training wheel and it was a sore spot for Shepard that she still needed one. Most Priestesses of her rank had theirs taken out decades ago. She could use her biotics if it it was ever disabled but it would require far more of her concentration, enough to be a liability in a firefight. It would be like trying to juggle with one hand while trying to pull off a headshot.
In time though she wouldn't need it at all and as soon as she was sure it wouldn't impact her combat prowess..she was taking it out. Despite her dislike of the device it was probably one of the few things she could admit the asari had trumped them in.
When it had come to making it easier for biotics to use their gift there had mainly been two choices. One different training, everyone was different and while someone might struggle to learn one thing a certain way they might excel in another. The other possibility was gear or weapons specially made to allow and even encourage the flow of eezo. It was almost inconceivable that the asari's laziness had given birth to something that was so useful to most of the galaxy. Then again laziness as well other things had also led to many inventions on Earth as well so she really couldn't say anything against it.
That wasn't to say that they didn't have their own version of the amp before they met their long-lost sisters but it was a lot more basic by comparison and most chose not to have something plugged into their brains if they didn't need it.
But when the the Alliance joined galatic society and it was realised how common their usage was and the advantages it gave, the Alliance bought the rights to an older version of one of the many biotic amps there. Then redesign ed from the ground up for human physiology exclusively, then making a version that worked for Priestess. Since the first prototype, there had been a number of advances over time, an assistant wasn't needed for a biotic to join the military but unless they could pass the needed tests then they usually entired the service as a standard trooper and not a biotic specialist . He was equipped with a NEG Tempest and Sidestar, a submachine gun and light pistol respectively. Offering less damage then her own side arm and rifle but both had a much higher rate of fire and good accuracy at range.
She then focused on Jenkins, who while too green for her tastes he had good weapon scores and from what she overheard from the last few days he also grew up on Eden Prime, likely the reason why Anderson picked him. He was carrying a NEG B-Raider, a small light machine gun and was one of the weapons that fired small metal balls instead of the standard needle like round. They didn't dish out nearly the same amount of damage per round as her rifle did nor had the penetrating power behind each shot, but the large box like cartridge below could hold thousands of rounds or more. Someone carrying a cartridge or two could spend nearly a whole day constantly holding down the trigger and still not run out of ammo. His other weapon was a NEG-Charger, a five barreled shotgun. Instead of firing multiple needles down a single barrel, most Alliance designed shotguns fired a single needle down multiple barrels causing a lot of damage at close ranges. Jenkins could use the shotgun to tear apart enemies that were close while using the machine gun to suppress those at a greater distance. It was a good choice of weapons, and it impressed her slightly.
"We're approaching the first drop off point." said Anderon loundly
"First drop off?" asked Shepard. She wasn't aware there would be two teams
"I'm going in first on my own." said Nihlus, checking his weapons
"Since when?" asked Shepard. Wasn't he supposed to be evaluating her?
"Since now. The beacon is the priority, two teams are more likely to find it sooner than one and one of its locations could be the space point. That and I want to have a closer look at that ship."
That was just great. The mission had barely even started, and already she could tell things were going to go more tits up than they already had.