Old World, New Terra - 04

After a whole year of coordinated fighting between the Guardians of the Last City and the Citadel Forces resulted in an invasion-free planet. 'New Terra' as the second Earth was now called, was in the progress of being recolonized. Almost 99% of the surface was clear of hostile forces and people had slowly begun to relocate in and around the Last City.

Any trace of Taken had been the first to go, followed by all of the Cabal. There were still pockets of Fallen that would pop up every so often, however, as they are well practiced in surviving in conditions like that.

Relations between the Citadel Council and the Systems Alliance on behalf of the Last City had improved from the early tensions on account of the massive AI-controlled ship named The Redemption. Talks directly with Rasputin were required as they wanted his word that he would never leave the Sol System. There were many concerns that another Geth situation would be taking place, but Rasputin said that if humanity stays in the Sol System, then so will he and that he has no intentions to take things over.

In the end, what more could anyone do but attempt to destroy the ship? Many view it as a problem waiting to happen. But wanting to destroy a nearly indestructible object and actually destroying it are two different things. The Redemption can apparently detect anything approaching within the entire Sol System, including the satellites many tried to sneak close to the far side of the sun. They were all promptly destroyed.

The Last City had become a place filled with new life and now containing many different races of people. While some Awoken, Exo's, and Last City Humans left to find new frontiers, many other races found a place in the Last City. Huge gates were built into the walls as the surrounding area cleared of hostiles.

A large spaceport was created on the wall near the Tower, now stretching around to the East, with room to grow. It was now common to find the Council races along with their subraces living along with humanity and its different forms. The city was becoming a beacon for life and prosperity, creating a new culture of its own, one made on the foundations of celebrating life, growth, and creation.
Since the city was becoming something new, a call to build a hub for all living beings came forward and the destroyed lands from the Red War within the Last City made the perfect starting place. There was a massive area of destroyed grounds that had formed into a desolate field, and this area took up a large percentage of the surface area within the walls.

The Vanguard was the first to put their idea forward, and that was to make representations of every race or organization in the form of a tower. They suggested that each race should be welcome to build a tower within a certain size, as a representation of their race. These would be Embassies for different governments, but more than that, it would be an attempt to represent everyone equally. This would be a place of discovery, science, cultural development, political stability, and relations.

Many governments and people became excited at the idea of sharing or at least competing with others to showcase their architecture and style. Since it would be built in a place that had to be completely remade anyways, there were plenty of opportunities to tie in some sort of meaning with that.

Humans, as usual, wanted to name it something that represented the unity that the project would represent. Instead, it was casually named the Courtyard as people worked to construct a large park within the designated plots that would become the area in the center of the ring of towers. Until actual towers started going up, the whole site was called the Courtyard. A few months into the project and every council race was working to build a tower of their own.

Towers began to rise in the place now being called the Circle of Life which surrounded the Courtyard, it got the name from some human suggesting it as a joke, only for other races to enjoy the name as word spread. It was then too late after that as the original meaning was shifted to something different.

The Circle of Life meant a representation of everyone and how they interact together, how everyone leans on each other to survive to some degree. It represents the future.

Progress began as competitions between architects to design the best tower. Construction crews from many council races began to show up. It was easier for some races than others.

Each tower was supposed to be made in a way that represented the race that built it. There were height restrictions so everyone was on the same level and wasn't trying to outdo each other. Each plot of land was a rectangle, the short side facing the interior of the circle. As long as it was in that rectangle and went to the maximum height without going over, which was strictly enforced.

Not only that, but each design had to be approved by a litany of approval checks for both materials and structural stability. More than anything, these towers had to be built to last.

Humanity had four buildings for each of its respective members. One for the Systems Alliance Humans, one for the Humans in the Last City, one for the Exo, and one for the Awoken. In that order, they all started breaking ground around the Northern part of the circle.

The Systems Alliance building resembled their military council building. It had a broad front which was the tallest part and went to the 500m maximum height. The back of the building gradually rose then towards the center of the circle as it came to an arched point. It was a futuristic grey with black lines and a glowing blue Systems Alliance symbol on the top front. The building was sleek and fit the Systems Alliance aesthetic perfectly.

The next one was a square thing that was a similar design to one of the oldest buildings inside the Last City. This tower looked to be made from some type of concrete with a large grid of lines formed directly into the concrete with smaller windows indented behind the balcony. This could look like an office building or something in any old city, but it was a replica of a hospital that had saved many people's lives during the Red War. This replica had an entire floor dedicated to medical research and the rest was built with that same aesthetic. This tower represented the Humans of the Last City.

Next to that building was the Exo's Tower, and it was based on the Bray-Tech lab that had been found on Mars before the warp. It was a mixture of Brutalism with Futurism. The interior contained glowing white floors that didn't have edges, but rather almost like a quarter pipe, the glowing white floor rotated up into the walls. There were also breaks in the white where offices and other things showed up in colors like orange and purple. The building made it to the 500m standard height, but was not as large up top, coming to a more square top with different exterior colors. The letters EXO were stenciled up top in a sleek font.

The Awoken Tower was a replica of the front tower of the Dreaming City, with the two points going up 500 meters with an open circle between them, and strange light patterns moving around. The interior was made with large amounts of purple amethyst stone that looked like a gem that had endless reflecting depths. The rest was made up of white metals that were a slightly pearlescent white. It was easily one of the more beautiful Towers there as it represented the beauty that the Dreaming City once held, before Riven's curse.

The Asari wanted theirs right next to the Awoken as they wanted to make something similar to what you would find on Thessia. The base of their tower only had four points of contact to the ground in the corners of the foundation and came together to form a large curved pyramidal-shaped building with a central double tower going up to 500m as well. It was graceful and regal, every bit the example of Asari culture.

The Salarian Tower claimed the spot right next to the Asari one was something that had ascending tiered levels with open balconies including many trees and planters growing beautiful plants. They really wanted the aesthetic to be similar to architecture on Sur'Kesh, but the problem was that on Sur'Kesh they built their buildings in valleys and along the side of mountains, never really making free-standing towers. In the end, they had a tower that almost resembled an hourglass in shape but was made of many different levels and rose to the max height. The top wasn't as big as the bottom but it still billowed out a bit from the center. Each floor had wrapping balconies and even flowing water.

The Turian Tower, next to the Salarians could have been mistaken for a Capital Ship that was just parked on its rear, and that was the building. It looked like it was ready to fly away and join the fleet at any minute, giving it an aggressive yet disciplined look. This matched the architecture on Palaven and showcased the pride of the Turian Hierarchy.

The Volus wanted their tower to be grand like the Asari or Awoken Towers but went on the other side of the ring where the Hanar and Drell tower was next to the Elcor one. The Volus tower made a permanently sealed ammonia environment just like their home world, Irune. The look of their tower could be compared to one of their black and white suits. The building seemed to be made entirely of black glass and steel with looping lines of white metal that almost seemed draped on top of it. The white metal came down to create the airlock to enter the ammonia environment.

The Hanar had rescued the Drell from their dying homeworld a long time ago and ever since have lived together. With that in mind, they decided to work together to create a single tower that represents their camaraderie. They settled on a building that would be right at home on the Citadel. It had a bluish-white metal as the exterior with a curved aesthetic that had purple and orange backlighting. It was very elegant in its simplicity, and yet it still felt representative of both races.

The Elcor Tower was simple and had fewer floors than other buildings because each floor was nearly twice to three times as tall as any other Tower with grass as the flooring. There was an abundance of windows allowing for as much natural light as possible, and it was kept warm like the savanna climate areas the Elcor preferred. The tower was only 490 meters high as they said for once it would be nice to not be one of the largest things in a certain space. It had a very simple green exterior between the large windows on every floor.

Krogan didn't have an active government and pretty much ignored any request to join this place. The Vorcha were in the same boat on the government thing and had no one to ask to come build a tower nor would they even try to approach Human space.

Upon realizing that the Batarians on the hole were supportive of slavery and would actively support piracy fleets, they were told that they would not be allowed until they released slaves that they had held for years. The Batarians played dumb and denied any connection to slavers. So they were denied an option to make a tower and join the rest of the races.

When the people of the Last City found out about the Quarian situation they immediately offered to have them come and live on New Terra, as there were continents of space that could be colonized with relative ease. All you had to do was clear the ruins of old human cities. Much of the council was not okay with helping the Quarians but there was no way that the Last City and her Guardians would be okay with that.

Eventually, discussions between the Quarian Admirals and the leaders of the Last City had come to a close, but they had turned down the offer of asylum on account of the AI-controlled ship The Redemption. It was larger than the Citadel by many times and Quarians were already nervous about the Ghosts that the Guardians had, much less an old Golden Age War mind.

So while they still lived on ships, many Quarian youths began to make their Pilgrimage to the Last City to learn and live among the Humans. It was a distinctly more welcoming prospect than many other places, such as the Citadel or even Asari home worlds. The Quarians had been looked down upon with disdain everywhere, and those on their Pilgrimages were shocked to be offered respect and the opportunity to work and learn among the people of the city.

The one thing that humans everywhere could appreciate is hard work, and naturally, most Quarians had to be very hard-working to earn what they could to help their people. While they earned a worse reputation in many other parts of the Galaxy, many were welcomed into homes with open arms and were given back to the Migratory Fleet with knowledge and technology to help them sustain themselves in space.

That brought them all to the next species...the Geth. There was no debate even allowed for the Geth, but the people of the Vanguard still sent a delegation to speak with them. They were not turned around or shot at, in fact, they went straight to the old Quarian home world and spoke to the Geth. The response was rather positive all things considered, however, they still turned down the offer to build a tower in the Last City and said the time wasn't right to begin negotiations for whatever reason. The Delegation left in peace.

Commander John Shepard woke with a start, he felt like he had been drowning as he gasped for air. Sitting up he was in a white hospital room and his body felt like it had gone through a washing machine.

"Shepard?" A female voice with an Australian accent called over the loud-speakers.

Shepard looked around confused. "Shepard! Your awake...finally. You need to get up...your armor is in that locker across from you. Get dressed quickly!"

Shepard just grunted and hobbled over to the armor locker and slowly put it on.

"You have to move faster Shepard, the station is under attack!"

Finally getting his armor on he called out, "Uhh, I have no ammo...for this pistol!" He felt like something was missing...not from his armor but deep inside and he couldn't figure it out. But he just felt wrong.

"Shit, get down! Those barrels are going to blow!" The voice said right after the station shook with an explosion.

He made it past the barrels, found some ammo, and fought through a foggy mind to take out security mechs until he found someone taking cover from them.

"Oh wow, Commander Shepard...is that you?" The Cerberus soldier threw a Biotic Pull, lifting one of the mechs into the air. He headshot it, causing the mech to explode.

Shepard didn't waste any more time and got to cover. He threw a warp over the wall, detonating the Pull Field the Soldier was still holding. The explosion took out two more mechs and they combined fire to take down the last one.

"Commander, good to see you vertical."

"Good to be standing," Shepard said, "Got a name?"

"Jacob Taylor, Sir, it's an honor."

"Taylor, good to meet you...why am I on a Cerberus base?"

"Ah, so you noticed, well, you have kind of been dead sir, for nearly two years. Cerberus paid some crazy amount of money to fund entire fields of research just to bring you back." Jacob said while breathing fairly hard.

"...Why?"

"I better leave that to Miranda, we need to find her."

"The woman who has been leading me through this place?"

"I think so, we need to get to the shuttle bays, now."

"Lead on," Shepard said, still burning with questions.

They made it through some more parts of the station, taking down mechs while finding scenes of death and destruction. It was hard to watch, but both men were soldiers and knew how to block things out.

They finally came upon a human who was holding his chest in confusion as to the appearance of Shepard. He could tell immediately that Taylor was unsettled by his words and the Commander healed him anyways. Expect the worst, and hope for the best as they say.

Shepard asked a few questions after healing him, but nothing the guy said could really be disputed. He didn't have any way of proving him wrong, regardless of how he felt about it. He made the sketchy one lead the way, not quite keeping his gun on him, but still ready with mass effect bullets or a warp.

Shepard and Taylor walked up to a locked door where the man breached it with his Omnitool. The two doors slid apart revealing a beautiful woman whose perfect features immediately turned into a grimace. She raised her pistol and shot the man between the eyes.

"Shepard, glad you made it. It seems I found the organizer of this project's early end," As she gestured to the dead man.

"I had a bad feeling about him. Wasn't going to let him walk behind me," Shepard said.

"It seems your instincts are still intact," Miranda said.

"So, Cerberus brought me back to life?"

Miranda scowled at Jacob, "It seems Mr. Taylor couldn't keep his mouth shut."

"We need Shepard to work with us, we don't get that by lying to him."

Miranda nodded, but continued, "Yes, well, I have dedicated untold resources and the last two years of my life to bring you back. We need to make sure you survive. Come, let's board a shuttle. The Illusive Man is waiting to speak with you."

Grabbing one of the last shuttles, Jacob Taylor hopping in the pilot seat. Miranda began questioning Shepard and he answered in simple responses to pass the time.

Fireteam Starfall found themselves at Zavala's Perch as he had requested a meeting with them. They were met with a strange sight as there were three different Ghosts just floating around as if waiting for something.

"Ah, Guardians, I am glad you could make it."

"Zavala," Rico replied with a nod from Kessa as well.

"I have here an interesting request, it seems some of the dormant Ghosts we have, recently activated claiming that they would be finding their Guardians soon. I was hoping that your Fireteam may escort them to wherever they need to go, and when they find their Guardians...please either bring them here or at least begin to train them, and ensure their safety," Zavala said.

"New Guardians huh? Any idea if it will be only humans?" Kessa asked curiously.

"That I am unsure of, however, I know that a Ghost can sense when it will find its Guardian," Zavala said as he gestured to the three floating Ghosts.

"That's right! We will find our Guardians!" The left-most Ghost said in a young male voice.

"I do believe that it is time for us to acquire our other half," The middle one said with a smokey female voice.

The right Ghost just nodded in agreement.

"Well, do you know where we need to go first?" Rico asked the Ghosts, who then just looked at each other and nodded in agreement.

"We believe that we must go to the station of Omega," The female ghost said.

"Alrighty, Ghost, can you bring down our ship?" Rico asked Kira's Ghost, though the other three looked at each other as if they thought he might be talking to them.

"You got it, Rico! Pick-up is on the way! We just finished installing the Relay transmitter and external Mass Effect drive, we can easily get there by relay now," Ghost explained.

Before they could walk away Kessa spoke up, "So Zavala...any idea what to expect at Omega Station?"

"It's just called Omega. It is run by an Asari named Aria T'Loak, she is a very powerful biotic that allows mercenary groups to operate out of the station as long as they pay her tribute. She is ruthless and you would be able to take her down since she doesn't have the forces to resist Guardians. However, you are there for a different purpose...this Pirate Queen is of little concern at the moment. You have your quarry, ensure they meet their guardians," Zavala said with a nod.

Kessa nodded at the cryptic words, it seems that as long as they paid homage to the Pirate Queen they would be left alone. The Guardians and Ghosts all Transmatted onto the M3-D1 Valkyrie, the home of Fireteam Starfall.

Commander Shepard finally met with the man that seemed to have invested so much in him...The Illusive Man.

"Shepard," The smoke billowed from his backlight figure, the massive red star in the background illuminating the smoke, as the raspy voice spread through the chamber.

"I thought we were meeting in person."

"Of course, some precautions had to be made," Another cloud of smoke, "With the arrival of New Terra, our human colonies, mostly in the Terminus System have been going dark. All of the attention is back in the Sol System, leaving outer colonies defenseless and without backup."

"New Terra?" Shepard asked.

"Ah yes, Miranda will have to fill you in. However, right now I need you out at Freedom's Progress. The colony has just gone dark and we need to see what information we can acquire."

"Just went dark...and you are suspecting who for this?" Shepard asked.

"The Collectors, have been targeting humanity with the intent to capture. Attacking whole colonies, just like Freedom's Progress. They take all alive through unknown means and leave no trace behind, both physical and digital records somehow expunged. Your mission is to see what information you can acquire."

"And Cerberus...what do you want from this, what are you gaining from this? As far as I know, your organization hasn't done anything for anyone else."

"I understand your skepticism, it was expected, but we don't have time for that right now. Cerberus wants to stop the abductions and that is what we brought you back from the dead for. We need someone to stand up to this threat immediately."

Shepard nodded while maintaining eye contact. "Alright, but I will need a crew."

"Go to Freedom's Progress first, Miranda is combat trained with an extensive set of Biotics, and you have already fought with Mr. Taylor. But we are on the clock right now."

"You're right, I'm leaving now."

"And Shepard," The Illusive Man called before he left, "Good luck."

Shepard, Miranda, and Taylor had gone to meet Joker, who was now the pilot for the new Normandy SR2, which was fully crewed, stocked, and ready to leave immediately. He was also surprised to find that they had a fully functional AI and he immediately could see the benefits of having EDI on board.

They made it to Freedom's Progress only to find that all the Mechs had been hacked to attack humans instead of protect them, with no sign of any civilians at all. It was a ghost town.

The squad used different Biotic Fields to cause combination explosions. In conjunction with Miranda's tech ability to overload shields and the Commanders Vanguard Biotic abilities, they had no trouble clearing through the defenses. They finally encountered a Quarian Infiltration Team co-led by one Tali Zorah.

It was a brief reunion, but both groups decided to work together and take different paths to the Command Center of the base.

They found another Quarian staring at monitors in shock. They discovered that the attackers were indeed the Collectors, utilizing a swarm of large bug-like creatures to sting anyone with a paralyzing toxin. They loaded up the horrified humans into disturbingly organic-looking capsules and brought them onto their ship. All in under an hour.

Shepard let Tali and her crew take the shell-shocked Quarian on his pilgrimage back to the Migrant Fleet, even though Miranda wished to interrogate him further. He made the call to head back with a copy of the surveillance footage and a shuttle came to take them back to the Normandy.

Shepard then directed the ship to head to the Normandy SR-1's crash site. He found 20 dog tags and dropped a monument that Cerberus was kind enough to build in honor of those lost. He found the helmet that left his head as it had crashed onto the icy surface, shaking his head he started at the broken relic and wondered how he was still alive.

This deep emptiness was coursing through him, seeming to overwhelm all emotions. Maybe it was because he couldn't reach Liara, maybe it was because he should be dead. Either way, he felt broken and empty inside with no clue how to save humanity's many colonies, much less himself.

Arriving at the Citadel, Shepard acquired another fighting member of their crew, Kasumi Goto - a master thief. She could almost permanently stay invisible and had probably stolen the tech to do exactly that. She would be an asset for any stealth mission.

He had to save face in front of the council, regardless that his direct actions saved them they still were weary of the idea of Reapers being the actual perpetrators of the attack instead of Saren controlling the Geth. Councilor Anderson said it best though...he needed proof...hard data. Everything he had so far was of the Collectors or Geth. That did help his cause a bit, but without a direct link to the Reapers, he was pissing in the wind.

In the end, he had his Spectre status reinstated as long as he kept to the Terminus systems and left for Omega where the next few people of his crew would be waiting.

Looking to the right, Shepard made eye contact with Miranda, "That was easy." They had just been told to meet with Aria by a gruff Batarian. Jacob had stayed on the ship so it was just the two of them as they walked from the airlock.

Miranda raised her eyebrow, "I suppose you could say it is rather convenient. She probably has answers."

They looked on to see the first person on their recruitment list, Zaeed Massani. He was currently beating the shit out of a different Batarian at the end of the docking tunnel.

"Please help me!" The victim screamed at the duo.

Zaeed spoke up, "They're not gonna save you boyo."

The Batarian got up to run away in fear as Zaeed shot him in the back of the head.

"Right then, you must be Shepard. Has Cerberus briefed you on my price?"

"Yeah, it's not a problem."

"Good, let's get it out of the way and get to savin' the universe or whatever...That your ship?"

Shepard nodded.

"Good, I'll be back there in 2 hours," Zaeed said before walking off.

"We are here for a bit...I have two more to pick up on the way."

"No worries, I will see you on board. Let me know if you need to get some shooting in before you leave," He walked away and boarded the Normandy.

"Off to see Aria then, Shepard?" Miranda asked.

"Yeah, might as well... hopefully she has a lead on this Dr. Mordin Solus and this merc named Archangel."

They made it out of the docks and immediately were stopped by a large pillar that seemed to connect this whole section to the large burrowed-out asteroid. The word Afterlife was lit up with neon signs that glowed with pink and red fire.

"Hmm, Omega is a shithole. I don't think I will be able to scrub the filth off me fast enough," Miranda said with disgust.

Shepard snorted and before he could respond he was covered with a wave of bright white light. Ge felt like he was reborn in light, his emptiness was immediately illuminated and filled with a bond between Guardian and Ghost. The mental connection was only half of the confusion as the warmth inside him blossomed.

"So what are we doing here Rico? This place is seedy as shit," Kessa asked with frustration. They had been waiting outside this stupid club - not even able to dance on account of attracting too much attention. She and Kira had suffered for what felt like hours now.

"Relax Kess, Our little Light here has a feeling. We will find her Guardian soon," Rico said.

"I can feel it so well, it seems like I will have a Guardian soon. There will be no time for celebration," The Ghost's voice, while extremely delicate, seemed eager and ready to find their other half. When they first heard it, the voice was smokey and distant, but now it seemed like there was a digital lilt to it, one filled with excitement and curiosity.

That was when two people, one in black N7 Armor and the other in a skin-tight white spandex catsuit, walked towards the Afterlife entrance.

"I think...I think that's him!" The Ghost said and flew off before anyone could stop her. Immediately the Ghost scanned the armored man and he lit up like the early morning sun as if just transmatting or being revived.

The Light came off of him and when it disappeared he was standing there panting while his companion stepped back in shock.

"Shepard! What happened?" Miranda asked with shock.

"Guardian! You are my Guardian!" The Ghost exclaimed.

"Uhhhh...I am no parent," Shepard said as he stumbled in confusion, but couldn't deny the connection.

Someone laughed at the display and it drew the attention of the light show, they turned to see three fully armored figures with zero skin showing with similar-looking robots floating with them.

"You are a Guardian now, congratulations!" Kessa said from behind her helmet.

"Ahem...sorry what we mean to say is welcome. You are now a Guardian and that little thing there is your Ghost. She has chosen you and even though normally you are supposed to be dead... I guess the connection was still formed," Rico explained.

"So, what is your name, Guardian?" The Ghost asked nervously.

"Shepard...John Shepard."

"Ooh nice to meet you, John, do you have a name for me?" The ghost asked curiously.

"You want me to name you?"

"Of course...it's only proper, we aren't THE Guardian after all..." His ghost nodded to the Guardian who like normal...hasn't said anything from behind her expressionless helmet, covering any sight of her face.

Shepard was immediately confused but shrugged, "Uhh, what about..." His mind went back to his first love who had died in a Batarian slaver raid.

"Hmmm yeah, Aurora."

"Ooh, I like that! Thank you so much, John!" As soon as the Ghost's name was chosen she began to morph and changed shape a bit to a different undulating design with a purple eye.

"Great to meet you all, I am Aurora," The Ghost said with excitement.

"Hello Aurora, I am Kessa and this is Rico and the Guardian," Kessa said.

"Ahem, I am Ghost and this is my Guardian, each of us is a bonded pair, Adam has Kessa and Sam has Rico."

"Hey!" "That's right!" Adam and Sam said together as they appeared over their respective Guardian's shoulders.

"We are Fireteam Starfall, here to train you to use your Light and stuff," Kessa said with amusement.

"Okay, so what does this mean? What does being a Guardian mean? I am already a Spectre and I have a lot of work to do."

"Well it used to just mean protectors or Guardians of Humanity and the Light...but now I have a feeling that it will mean much more than that. Especially to us," Aurora said while looking at Shepard.

"What do you mean?" Shepard asked.

Before Aurora could answer, The Guardian's Ghost interjected, "Perhaps we should take this somewhere private? We wouldn't want to share all of our secrets with the whole of Omega...regardless of what has already gotten out."

"Right... I need to speak with Aria first, is that alright?" Shepard asked.

"That should be fine, but just be careful, if we have to step in this place will be destroyed," Ghost said.

"Wait, are you going to get into a fight?" Rico asked.

"There will probably be fighting, this is Omega after all," The beautiful Austrailian-accented woman said with a smirk.

"Oh hello, are you in sexual relations with my Guardian?" Aurora asked Miranda with interest, she had learned from Kessa that that is a common thing shared amongst Fireteams...

Kessa burst out laughing, Rico face-palmed, The Guardian seemed to be chuckling as well while looking away, while Miranda's face was red with a blush as she couldn't find the right words to reply.

"Aurora! No! You can't just ask that!" Shepard said hotly, Miranda was incredibly beautiful...but Liara was all that mattered to him.

"What? She is a part of your Fireteam, right? Is that not what Fireteams do at night?" Aurora kept turning Shephards' face red with embarrassment like it was her job.

"Uh...she's part of my crew, she's my XO on the Normandy, my ship. There are no relations between us outside of a professional situation," Shepard said as if explaining the obvious, the little ghost nodded intently.

"So before you go, we need to tell you the basics of your new powers...you have just become more or less a superhuman and that is not to be taken lightly," Rico said.

"Yeah, what do you think Rico? Titan right?" Kessa asked.

"Absolutely."

"Titan? I am a Vanguard..." Shepard said referring to his biotic classification.

"That is the classification for one of the types of 'Biotic Classes' akin to our subclasses, the name is just a coincidence," Ghost explained.

"Nah, you might have been, but you are a Guardian now. Try to channel your old Biotic power," Kessa said.

Purple Void Light came from his hands where a Biotic aura used to be. The energy density was many times that of a Biotic sphere. He looked down with shock on his face, "This isn't Biotics...it feels so different...stronger."

"You are probably the only being to ever wield Biotics and the Light, what is the difference?" Ghost asked.

"Hmm.. uh Biotics...it feels like a weak muscle that I almost don't have control over...This Light is it?" he asked as he looked up at the Guardians who nodded, "The Light feels warm and like it was everything I was missing," Shepard said.

He was referring to how he had felt just seconds before his Aurora had chosen him as a Guardian he had felt...well, dead inside would be the best term. He had been dead for 2 years and had been brought back through some insane science. He smiled, "To be honest...I feel alive again."

This brought smiles to the group, especially Kessa who was remembering her rebirth, which was not pleasant at all.

"Alright, I am going to speak to Aria to get intel on two people I need to recruit. Give me 20 minutes and we can figure out where to go," Shepard said, his mission was still the most important thing on his mind.

"Alright, we will wait here for you, if you need us for anything, have Aurora contact us," Rico said before turning away to the rest of his Fireteam. "I have a bunch of armor sets in the storage on the ship, let's go pick out weapons and armor for him!"

"Ooh, sounds fun!" Sam said and the rest of the Fireteam agreed.

Shepard was on his way out from the meeting with the aggressive Queen of the Afterlife. He had acquired leads on both Archangel and Dr. Solus.

He was also surprised to find that his Ghost could talk to him telepathically, which he found out during the meeting with Aria. They were on their way out when Aurora spoke to him again.

"John, I think we should go after Archangel after we meet back up with Fireteam Starfall. What do you think?" Aurora asked Shepard.

"Why do we need to see them? I don't need training on how to shoot a weapon," He said.

"Well, I believe they have a few things to upgrade your armor to Guardian level which is Light infused. It would be much stronger than your current armor, with shields and perhaps an actual weapon."

Shepard looked down at his standard M-8 Avenger Assault Rifle and said, "What is wrong with this?"

His Ghost scoffed, "Hmph! Wait till we get you a real weapon! Kessa promised that she had some awesome stuff!"

He shrugged and Miranda had to struggle to keep up with him as they saw the so-called Fireteam Starfall waiting for them by the Normandy's dock. Shepard's pace seemed to reflect the newfound vitality he held.

"Alright, Fireteam Starfall...I need the quick version of whatever story you are telling, one of the people we need to get is currently under attack," Shepard started.

"Hmm, well that is no problem, we have a set of armor for you here. It will be a little heavy as your Light isn't as strong as the armor, but it should do well until you can grow into it," Rico said.

"Sorry, what were your names again?" Shepard asked, "It turns out I was busy being reborn and not quite paying attention."

"Haha, no problem, I am Rico-77, and this is my Ghost, Sam," He pushed his hand forward, palm-up, and his little blue Ghost formed from light and said, "Hey there Shep, Aurora!" Nodding at both him and his Ghost.

"And I am Kessa, and with me as always is Adam," Kessa said while leaning on Rico's left side, she did the same motion he did, the gesture to bring forth her Ghost that had sharp lines and grey-white colors. "Good day," Was all he said before disappearing again.

Shepard then looked to the last Guardian who still hasn't said anything, but she too did the same palm-up movement to bring her Ghost. "And I am Ghost and this is the Guardian, good to meet you John and Aurora," Ghost said while the Guardian nodded.

"She doesn't speak? You don't have names?"

"No, she is a silent or nameless one. It happens to like 10-20% of Guardians. Aurora will tell you about it later," Rico began, "But for now can we go to an armory room or something?"

"Of course, right this way." Shepard led the small group of Guardians and Ghosts plus Miranda onto the ship.

As they were walking Kessa and Rico's helmets vanished into light and they looked around the ship with their own eyes. "This is nice! It is a little too big for us though," Kessa said as she looked over to Miranda.

She nearly gasped as she looked into the Awokens' glowing purple eyes. "You...are one of the Awoken," as she said this Shepard turned around and looked at her with surprise written on his face.

"Yup, just like The Guardian here, while Rico is an Exo."

Shepards curiosity got the better of him, "Why is she THE Guardian? Is that a title even though you are all Guardians? And why do you look like an Asari, is this having to do with New Terra?"

"She is the strongest of us and the Hero of the Last City. She has single-handedly saved us numerous times. We are lucky to be with her," Rico said sincerely, as Kessa nodded seriously before acquiring a smirk.

"She is gorgeous too, you should see her without the helmet," Kessa said while looking at Shepard. The Guardian had been looking away but immediately snapped her head at Kessa while reaching for her sword on her back.

'She has a fucking sword' Shepard thought.

"Sorry, sorry, sorry!" Kessa said before hiding behind Rico. It was then that they made it to the Armory, no attacks from The Guardian just yet.

There were a few weapons on the benches, but one bench was a chaotic mess as Taylor worked away at modding some weapons.

"Jacob, we are back," Miranda said.

"Ah, Miranda, Commander...and who are the spartans?"

"Taylor," Commander said, "This is Fireteam Starfall, they are apparently helping me with my newfound status as a...Guardian was it?"

Taylor's eyes widened, "Holy shit, the Guardians of the Last City?"

"You've heard of them?" Shepard asked.

"Who hasn't, when that second Earth showed up, that was all we could see on any channel for weeks. The Guardians are legendary though, seen some crazy footage."

Shepard raised an eyebrow at his statement, looking over to Miranda.

"I told you a lot has changed, there are two Earths now...it's a lot. We can go over it after we acquire our next squad members."

Shepard sighed but nodded, "Alright then, Rico-77 was it?"

"It is!"

"What do you have?"

"Well, this should do for now," Rico said as he walked to the center table. Sam then transmatted a full set of Titan Moonfang-X7 Armor. It was all black with the right arm and right leg both dyed red with a few other random red highlights. There were black swirls down the outside of the right leg. He was in awe as he noticed the red and black like the N7 Armor he was wearing, yet it was infinitely more majestic and awe-inspiring.

"This is incredible," Shepard said as he looked down at the armor set.

"We made it so you have good agility and defense and we will worry about an exotic armor piece after we figure out your Subclass. It is clear you are a void user though," Rico said.

"This is great, but it will have to wait, I don't have time to put this on right now...my next recruit is currently-" Before he could finish another couple of flashes of light as the armor on the table disappeared, his N7 Armor which went into his inventory and he was in his under armor suit.

"I got it!" Aurora said. "This is how Guardians change and clean and all that sort of stuff."

Shepard looked down to see the menacing black and red armor that appeared on his person. He felt powerful, the weight of the armor wasn't restrictive as his N7 gear was, but there was more to it than that. The armor enhanced him, and made him feel like both a wall and a wrecking ball, an immovable and unstoppable object simultaneously.

"Looks good! We acquired that from a Dungeon called Prophecy, I never actually wore it though. It is yours now, we even dyed it to match your color scheme!" Rico said proudly.

"Thank you very much, I feel like I am ready to explode with energy," Shepard said.

"Please don't do that, unless it stays in that armor," A voice over the loudspeakers said.

"Shut up Joker."

"Well, you aren't quite ready to fight yet, we have some weapons for you too," Kessa said.

"We each picked one or two weapons to give you for your inventory and different circumstances. I have two, one is exotic and the other is a light machine gun - cause every Titan needs an LMG," Rico said.

He then put a light machine gun on the table. "This is the Hammerhead, a Black Armory Machine Gun with Rampage, Surrounded, and High-Impact Reserves as its perks. It will always be a great workhorse of a gun for you." He then explained what the perks meant and then set down another weapon.

"This is an exotic, like all of us, you don't have enough Light to wield more than 1 at a time. So this is the Witherhoard. It is a grenade launcher that leaves a damaging rift behind or does a lot of direct damage if directly striking a single target. It uses special ammunition, which you can talk to Aurora about."

Shepard picked up the Hammerhead and looked down the sights, "These weapons are incredible. They look almost...fake."

"Hmph! I am up next and I have two for you as well," Kessa said. She pulled out the Monte Carlo "This is another exotic weapon, The Monte Carlo. If you kill something with a melee attack while it is equipped it generates ammo, if you deal damage to something with this weapon or with a melee attack, your melee attack ability will recharge faster."

"Melee attack ability? Recharge faster?" Shepard asked skeptically.

Rico interrupted, "Yes, we will show you some basics of channeling light, including discovering your super. I imagine that it will be fairly natural though, as you are a long-time soldier."

"Okay, how does it know if I hit something or if I damaged something to enact these effects?" He asked referring to the SMG.

"Well, it is a Gaurdian weapon, you will find they have powers beyond what a normal weapon would have. You have to channel your light through it to use it," Aurora interjected.

"The second thing I got you...is a bow!" Kessa said as she brought out her gifts. "The Whispering Slab. Every Guardian needs a bow."

Shepard raised an eyebrow, "A bow? Like a bow and arrow? You are joking, right?"

Kessa just looked at Rico and The Guardian and they both pulled out bows, "These aren't just sticks and stones...they are the real deal," Kessa said.

"Alright...well, thank you Kessa," Shepard said sincerely.

"We are up next!" Ghost said excitedly and began to describe the weapons the Guardian laid out for him.

"This is another weapon from the Prophecy Dungeon, called A Sudden Death. This is an amazing weapon that has what many Guardians call "God Tier Rolls" which essentially means it is set up with some of the strongest perks that are acquirable. It has Frenzy, Grave Robber, and Threat Detector, which makes it perfect for close-range combat."

The white shotgun was sleek with grey under panels and the three symbols for the perks were on the side near the trigger in glowing blue light. It had a simple and futuristic stock, but it was extremely beautiful. A work of art.

Kessa spoke up, "Everything we have given you is all well and good. This gun though...this gun is a fucking masterpiece that Guardians would die for. Treasure it."

"This...will be my main weapon. I can feel it," Shepard said with reverence.

"Good, it was hard-earned and it should serve you well," Ghost said.

Shepard looked at the Guardian and nodded. He received a single tilt forward of maybe a few degrees. It was subtle, but Shepard counted it as a win.

"The next one...This weapon was one of the prizes we won for the Iron Banner Tournament," Ghost said as the Guardian pulled out a simple-looking sword. It had a fairly ornate handle and the edge was just a glowing purple line. The Guardian handed it, handle first, over to Shepard.

He took it and held it carefully, his unease at holding a sword apparent. Ghost explained the sword, "This is Razor's Edge, a very powerful sword that is great for clearing weaker enemies on account of its traits. It has Wellspring, which increases your Light regeneration after using your ability, and chain reaction which will work well with your Void Light affinity. Every time you kill an enemy it will cause a void explosion further damaging nearby enemies. It can clear hordes of enemies at unbelievable speeds."

"This sword...causes explosions? And you are just handing it to me?"

That broke the reverent silence as they stared at the weapon, Kessa and Rico began laughing along with Sam and Ghost.

"We will have to teach you some basics so you aren't cutting off your limbs. Maybe don't take the bow or the sword for now," Rico said.

"Yeah, I am bringing the Witherhoard and A Sudden Death."

"And Hammerhead, we run three weapons. Primary, Secondary, and Heavy."

The Guardians nodded at that, approving of his choices.

"Alright, we have an Archangel to save and a doctor to extract. Let's go!" He stormed off, back into Omega to find a Blue Suns Recruitment Officer.