Percy Jackson, The Original N7

by GearTrail

Commander Kate Shepard, commanding officer of the Normandy, was resurrected by Cerberus after the Normandy SR 1 was destroyed in a surprise attack by the Collectors. But even with her new mission, she couldn't forget her own, one that was passed down to her as a legacy of one of the greatest heroes Earth had, the long lost demigod Percy Jackson.

2. Freedom's Progress

Disclaimer: I do not own Mass Effect or Percy Jackson. That honor belongs to Bioware and Rick Riordan

Note: For those who do not know

Miranda's Powers: Overload, Warp

Jacob's Powers: Incendiary Ammo, Pull

Chapter 2: Freedom's Progress.

Shepard found herself watching from afar as a group of soldiers along with civilians were running through a corridor being chased by shadows, oddly enough each shadow had what appeared to be 4 glowing eyes. She tried to yell but her voice went silent. The shadows had fired upon the retreating group, injuring a few of the soldiers. Suddenly the entire area was shaking as they reached an exit that was closing fast. In the civilians hands were spherical objects that kept glowing, weighing them down. Once they reached the exit, the soldier dug in defensive positions as they rallied the civs to evacuate. One by one the civilians had left, but the shadows grew closer and closer. One of the soldiers, wearing a familiar ring on his left ring finger while also wearing a bronze watch, contemplated the situation and ordered "Jason, get everyone out of here. I'll hold them off."

The one named Jason looked up, shocked "Percy no. You've got a daughter on the way, we're coming out of this together." he tried to reason with the soldier turning towards the shadows. "They're about to take off and we're running out of time. You have to blow the artifacts up as soon as the ship leaves. Otherwise they'll come back and cause more chaos. The gods won't be around to help us next time. Now go!" Percy argued back

Jason, with tears in his eyes, nodded as he leapt out the exit. When he looked up he saw Percy kiss his ring before looking back "Promise me that you will look after them" Percy asked, to which Jason nodded. At that point the exit had closed, leaving Percy stranded on the enemy ship. Percy then pulled out a pen and hit the bronze watch, turning it into a shield. He then uncapped his pen which then turned into a 3 foot blade. "Alright then you alien bastards. COME AND GET IT!" he yelled as he charged towards the shadows.

Suddenly the vision changed, as a hologram of Reaper similar to Sovereign arrived shouting "SHEPARD!"

"Shepard wake up" she heard. Waking up from her nap, she looked across and saw Miranda and Jacob looking concerned "Sorry, visions from the Prothean beacon on Eden Prime still haunt me" she lied. Her visions relating to the past were only told to specific people in Alliance High Command. As was her family mission. In no way shape or form would she let Cerberus in on it until she completed it.

Thankfully they accepted the reasoning and leaned back. "We should be there shortly. The Illusive Man put us under your command. What are your orders, Shepard?" Miranda asked. No doubt wanting to prove something to TIM, Shepard thought to herself before asking "What makes this different from the other colonies?"

Jacob replied "We're hoping to be the first to arrive here. Other colonies that have been hit have either been checked by the Alliance or raided by pirates."

Shepard nodded before stating "Then our first order of business is to search for survivors. Or find" Before Shepard could complete her statement Miranda interjected "That's highly unlikely. No one was left at the other colonies. They were completely deserted."

"Here's hoping we find something other than a ghost town. That would be refreshing" Jacob wished.

"As I was saying before being rudely cut off, we also need to find any evidence of a battle, struggles, or even security footage so that we can at least confirm who is really behind the attacks" Shepard finished her point glaring at the offending party. Both Miranda and Jacob were stunned at their commanding officer's tone as they straightened themselves. Shepard's leadership had always been intriguing for Cerberus. For a human to command loyalty from a krogan and a turian at the same time was impressive, and now they got to see it first hand.

Once the shuttle landed and the doors opened, Shepard activated her Tech Armor as she pulled out her M-4 Shuriken pistol, a submachine gun with a three round burst, as did Miranda while Jacob pulled out the M-23 Katana. All three members came equipped with the Predator pistol as a sidearm. The three moved throughout a deserted compound, finding no signs of life, structural damage, or signs of battle in the residential buildings. Shepard however kept her cool as the three kept going, opening the gates allowing them to go deeper into the colony. Suddenly mechs were heard getting activated as the party saw two LOKI mechs going online

"Hear that? Sounds like FENRIS Mechs!" Jacob warned as the three got to cover. Miranda commented though "Strange. Security systems were disabled at the other colonies." "Then someone must have activated them. Focus on the mechs for now" Shepard ordered. Coordinating with both Jacob and Miranda, the three used their biotics on the mechs on the balcony across from them. Suddenly more mechs appeared from a residential area adjacent to their location, this time 2 FENRIS dog mechs accompanied them, charging at the party. Shepard wasted no time, casting throw on one before unloading on it as it recovered, while ordering Miranda to overload the LOKI mech systems and Jacob to pull the 2nd dog mech for it to be ripped apart.

After the mechs were taken down, the three renewed their investigation with a new purpose, to find out who activated and reprogrammed the mechs. After taking down a LOKI mech and a FENRIS dog mech, they walked into another residential building, this one though had a squad of quarian soldiers huddled together. The quarians immediately drew their weapons on the intruders, with Shepard pulling her pistol up in retaliation "Stop right there!" one of the quarians ordered.

"Prazza, you said you'd let me handle this!" a familiar voice said as a female quarian wearing an environmental suit with a golden neckpiece and a purple hood over her helmet. The quarian marched in between the two groups before turning to look at Shepard and her eyes, visible underneath her helmet, widened. "Shepard, is that you?" she asked in disbelief.

Shepard, recognizing the quarian as her old friend Tali'Zorah nar Raaya, lowered her pistol and instructed her companions to do the same. However the quarian named Prazza kept his assault rifle trained on Shepard. "I'm not taking any chances with Cerberus!" he declared

"PUT THOSE WEAPONS DOWN!" Tali ordered, with limited success as Prazza was the only quarian still aiming at Shepard. Tali turned to her former commander and asked "Shepard, is it really you?"

Knowing that she had to convince Tali that she's real, Sheapard inquired "Did the geth data I gave you turn out to be useful? Were you able to complete your Pilgrimage?" referring to the data they extracted from geth servers in the Armstrong Nebula on their hunt for Saren.

"Yes it did." Tali answered before turning to Prazza. "Prazza this really is Commander Shepard. Now put your weapon down" she insisted.

Confused, Prazza placed his assault rifle on his back and asked "Why is your old commander working for Cerberus?"

"I don't know. Maybe we should ask" Tali offered as she turned to Shepard. Understanding her position, Shepard answered, "I nearly died, Tali. Cerberus spent two years rebuilding me. And during that time human colonies have gone missing. They asked me to investigate."

"A likely story. No organization would spend so much resources on one soldier." Prazza arrogantly rebutted. Tali though countered "You haven't seen Shepard in action Prazza, it was money well spent" Shepard smiled at the compliments Tali was giving her. It felt good to see an old face, even if it was covered. It made her wonder what happened with the others.

Tali then made an offer to appease both parties "Perhaps we can work together. We're looking for a quarian who came here for his Pilgrimage named Veetor."

Jacob asked, "Isn't that a bit strange? A quarian visiting a remote human colony?"

Tali attempted to explain, "Quarians can choose where to go on Pilgrimage. Veetor liked the idea of small settlements. He was always nervous in crowds."

Shepard's memories of her talks with Tali about her race kicked in and finished off what she meant, before Prazza could interject "meaning he's unstable. Combined with damage to CO2 scrubbers and an infection from open air exposure, he's likely delirious. Plus it would explain why the mechs have been activated. Whatever happened to the colony, he might know a thing or two about it. We should work together to find him"

Tali nodded in agreement, stating, "Good idea, you need two teams to get past the drones anyway. He hid in a warehouse on the far side of town when we last saw him. He might still be there."

Prazza stared at his superior in disgust "And now we're working for Cerberus!" he said with hatred laced in his words.

Tali though didn't flinch before pulling rank "No Prazza, you're working for me. If you don't like it, you could go back to the ship!" she instructed, forcing Prazza to back off.

Shepard smirked at the bold young woman now in charge of her own team. However she had a job to do. She and Tali set up a commlink between them to coordinate their squads together. Now back on course with reinforcements, the three exited the building, spotting drones flying ahead of them.

"Be careful Shepard, there's a squad of drones just up ahead." Tali warned over the commlink.

"Thanks for the warning, we'll take care of them" Jacob replied as they entered another deserted building, taking down the mechs that greeted them. After rummaging for credits, they headed outside where Assault and Rocket drones attempted to ambush them. With Shepard and Miranda using Overload on them combined with rapid fire, the drones were taken down. However that's when Tali chimed in with bad news.

"Shepard, Prazza and his squad went off on their own! I told him to wait but he didn't listen. He's planning to take Veetor before you get there" Tali alerted.

Shepard scowled at the news, frustrated with the quarian's hasty behavior. Did he not understand the risks? Or did the thought that Cerberus getting to Veetor proved too much? Either way, it was clear that there was tension between Cerberus and the Migrant Fleet but regardless she had a job to do.

"We should've expected this," Miranda said disdainfully as she reloaded her submachine gun. "Doesn't matter, we can still catch up to them" Jacob advised. With a new sense of urgency, the three sprinted through the empty buildings, encountering more security drones.

With two sets of Overload and enough firepower, the drones fell silent before exploding. "Hurry Shepard, we're inside the loading docks" Tali stated. Suddenly the tone in her voice changed as panic set in "Veetor reprogrammed the heavy mech! It's tearing Prazza's squad apart" she yelled.

"Well they did want to get to Veetor first" Miranda sarcastically noted "Can it! Head to cover. We'll have to take that thing down" Shepard ordered. She directed Miranda and Jacob on opposite sides of the loading bay doors.

Once the two were in cover, Shepard signaled Tali, who then hacked the doors to open. The three walked past the doors and were greeted with the sight of quarians fleeing from a YMIR mech. One of the quarians tripped while running but before she could muster the strength to stand up, the heavy mech killed her stepping on her back. It then focused on Prazza and launched a rocket at him, the rocket exploding near him sending him flying. It then used its gatling gun to mow down what remained of Prazza's squad Seeing the casualties and feeling exposed, Tali ran inside an empty building with Prazza in tow as the mech then focused its attention on the three humans.

"That mech has heavy armor plating. Those quarians never stood a chance." Jacob noted as he hid behind a crate. Miranda nodded and exclaimed "This will be a tough son of a bitch to take down"

"I'll draw its fire. Miranda, Jacob, head into the building behind it when I have its attention. Once in cover, use Overload on it to take out its shields." Shepard strategized as she pulled herself out of cover forcing the mech to follow her. She then hid behind a set of white crates allowing the crates to absorb the suppressive fire while Jacob and Miranda followed Shepard's instructions, running towards the building with the number 95 plastered at its front. When the gatling gun stopped, Shepard drew herself out of cover and fired her submachine gun at the mech, weakening its shields a bit before heading back to cover just as it fired a rocket at her.

Once in position, Miranda used Overload on the mech stripping it of its shielding. Seeing the mech's shields deactivate, Shepard used Warp to cause significant damage to its armor before slipping out of cover and running towards the building Miranda and Jacob were in as the mech had gotten too close. She felt the heavy fire pierce her tech armor just as she slid into cover. Once behind cover she waited for the mech to get closer to the building before coordinating with Miranda, sending two biotic blasts at the mech stripping it of its armor protection. For the final act, the three opened fire on the mech, which fell on its knees and exploded.

Taking a deep breath, she rummaged through the area for credits and resources. After that she scanned a damaged YMIR mech, finding information that could prove useful for research. She then set her sights on the building with 79 on its front, surmising that Veetor was inside. The three entered the building only to be greeted by a paranoid quarian sitting in front of a wall of display screens "Monsters coming back. Mechs will protect. Safe from swarms. Have to hide. No monsters. No swarms, no no no no no." Veetor mumbled to himself as he typed on a holographic keyboard

Shepard lowered her weapon as she approached the scared quarian as she called out his name "Veetor?" she asked

"No Veetor. Not here. Swarms can't find. Monsters coming. Have to hide" Veetor kept mumbling, fear evident in his tone.

"No one is going to hurt you Veetor" Shepard persuaded, taking the soft approach as she could see the kid was traumatized by whatever he saw. "I don't think he can hear you Commander," Jacob stated.

Shepard took in what Jacob said and activated her omni-tool and synced the display screens to the omni-tool's frequency. She then turned off all the screens, making Veetor step back in shock. He stood up and turned to Shepard confused and still delirious. "You're human. Where did you hide? How come they didn't find you?" he asked.

"Who didn't find us?" Miranda coldly asked, wanting to interrogate the quarian as she couldn't trust him. After all he did reprogram the mechs which killed several of his own people.

"The monsters… the swarms. They took everyone" Veetor responded, still panicking.

Shepard then explained to the poor kid, "We weren't here during the attack. We just got here."

Veetor's eyes dimmed as he stated "Then you don't know, you didn't see. But I see everything." He then turned the screens on and played a recording from the security cameras. Shepard watched as it showed humanoid aliens carrying bodies of humans and loading them onto coffin-like pods before transporting them off screen. The aliens seemed familiar to Shepard for some reason. She had seen these creatures before but where? Miranda gasped as she recognized the aliens in question "My god. I think that's a Collector!" she exclaimed.

'Collectors? But why?' Shepard thought to herself before asking "I thought the Collectors kept to themselves?"

"They usually work through intermediaries, like slavers or traders. If they're working for the Reapers, then that explains the missing human colonies." Miranda explained. "The Collectors have advanced technology. They may also have a weapon that neutralizes an entire settlement at once" Jacob reasoned.

"The seeker swarms," Veetor answered, still spooked by what he saw. "No one can hide from find you, freeze you. Then the monsters take you away."

Wanting to know more about the Collectors, she asked her two comrades. Their information however was limited as they were considered to be myths. As such Shepard could only theorize that they worked for the Reapers, but still lacked any true motive. She then asked about the swarms, and through Veetor's panicked speech, they deduced that the swarms were mechanical and either carried a nerve toxin in their stings or they had the ability to place a target in a stasis field. Finally Shepard asked "Why did they leave you alone Veetor?" confused as to how a race so thorough ignored the quarian.

"Swarms didn't find me. Monsters didn't know I was here." he replied.

"That doesn't sound right. The Collectors aren't known for being careless. Maybe his environmental suit kept him off their sensors" Jacob speculated. Miranda countered with her own theory "Or maybe they were using technology specifically designed to target humans. Only human colonies were hit"

Once she had all the evidence she needed she then questioned Veetor "What happened after the swarms came?"

"The monsters then took the people to their ship, then they left. They flew away. But they'll be back for me. No one escapes!" Veetor answered. The fear in his voice was clear to Shepard. He was traumatized and needed to get back to the flotilla for treatment.

"Thanks for everything, Veetor. You've been a great help" she said, knowing how hard it was for him to relive what just happened.

"I studied them, the monsters, the swarms. I recorded them with my omni-tool. Lots of readings. Electro-magnetic. Dark energy" Veetor offered as his omni-tool flared.

"We need to get this data to the Illusive Man. Grab the quarian and call the shuttle to come pick us up." Miranda ordered.

At that point Tali entered the complex, angry with what Miranda had insinuated "WHAT! Veetor is injured. He needs treatment. Not an interrogation" she noted glaring at Miranda. Miranda stayed her course though as she glared right back

Sensing the tension, Jacob placated to Tali "We won't hurt him. We just need to know if he has anything else. We'll return him unharmed"

Miranda however, didn't trust Tali as she stated "Your people tried to betray us already. If we give him to you, we won't get the crucial intel we need."

Tali sighed as she then offered "Prazza was an idiot. He and his men paid for it. You're welcome to take his omni-tool data, but please, just let me take him."

Shepard was on Tali's side here. What Veetor needed was therapy to recover from his PTSD, not to be grilled by Cerberus. But she didn't want to leave an old friend "You don't have to take Veetor and go. We could work together, just like old times" she said, wanting someone familiar to join her before heading back.

"I really want to, believe me. But I have an important mission coming up. One I can't abandon even for you. When this is over and I'm still alive, then we'll see what happens" Tali declined politely. She was glad that her old commander was back and would have gladly joined her, not Cerberus, on her mission. But her people were first.

"That sounds dangerous. Where are you headed?" Shepard asked, genuinely concerned. Tali smiled behind her helmet, now confirming that this was the real Shepard. She always looked out for her crew no matter what. "I can't tell you exactly. But it's in the middle of geth space. That should let you know" Tali hinted, not able to give out classified information with Cerberus agents near her.

Shepard nodded before turning to Miranda "Veetor's traumatized. He needs medical help. Tali will forward the omni-tool data." She asserted. "Understood, Commander" Miranda relented, at least the data was secured.

"Thanks Shepard. Glad to see you're still giving the orders." Tali said before taking Veetor away.

Shepard stared at the screen, specifically at one of the Collectors. 'Could they have been the aliens that attacked Earth all those years ago? If so then no wonder we were able to unite our nations so quickly. Especially with all the problems in the 21st century. But if that was the case why did they show up on Earth to begin with? What connection did they have to those artifacts? And what about Jackson? Did he survive the encounter but ended up as a husk? Or could it be that he somehow escaped but is trapped in a stasis pod like this one for the past century? The ring my mother gave me is still glowing as it senses its partner's life force no matter how far the distance, so that rules out his death. Think about that later. For now, the missing human colonies are first and the Collectors have a debt to pay in blood,' she thought to herself as she returned to the shuttle.

Cronos Station

The Illusive Man waited for Shepard to return after receiving a gift from the quarians. He was pleasantly surprised that the quarians forwarded a copy of the omni-tool data exposing the Collectors as the main culprit behind the missing colonies while also showing the methods they used. As soon as he got a notification from Miranda that they were on their way back, he ordered a team to capture a seeker from Freedom's Progress in order to find a counteragent to them.

Suddenly a hologram of Shepard appeared in front of him still clad in her N7 armor. "Shepard, good work on Freedom's Progress. The quarians forwarded their findings from Veetor's debriefing. No new data, but it's a surprising olive branch given our history" he praised.

Shepard however was having none of it and decided to take a jab. "Ever thought of playing nice once in a while instead of forcing others to help?" she challenged.

TIM frowned at the notice as he explained "It's difficult to be buddies when everyone sees you as a terrorist organization. Diplomacy works every now, but not if everyone perceives you as a threat. Regardless, the data confirmed our suspicions. The Collectors were behind the abductions"

"Why do I get the feeling you already suspected them?" she asked, suspicious of TIM's position.

"I already suspected them but needed proof. The Collectors are enigmatic at best. They periodically travel throughout the Terminus Systems, looking for seemingly unimportant items or specimens. Usually in exchange for technology. Once their transactions are complete, they disappear back beyond the unmapped Omega-4 Relay."

"Unmapped?" Shepard asked, genuinely curious.

"Yes, no one outside the Collectors have made it back after using that particular mass relay. No one knows where or what it leads to. Our best guess is that the relay reacts differently to Collectors vessels, allowing them safe passage. If that is the case, that they have the ability to manipulate relays, then it's further evidence that the Collectors are working for the Reapers." he answered, not satisfied with the limited intelligence on the Omega-4 relay.

"What are the Collectors getting out of these deals?" Shepard inquired.

"The Collectors arent forthcoming about their motives", TIM replied snarkily before explaining "Generally they seek out species with rare genetic mutations or abnormalities. They pay slavers and mercs vast sums of credits to obtain said species, and then they leave. But they've never targeted a single species before. And their sample sizes usually ranged in the dozens, not tens of thousands."

Shepard thought back to her vision and factored in TIM's explanation of rare genetic mutations. 'If that's the case then it explains why demigods would be targeted. But the Collectors wouldn't have attacked Earth even if we hadn't achieved spaceflight just to study the demigods. Those artifacts had to force them to act.' she theorized to herself. She then shook it off and asked TIM one last question "You're holding back on me. How do you know the Reapers are involved?"

"The patterns are there hidden in the data" TIM cooly replied. He then placed a cigarette in his mouth and took a deep breath, removing the cigarette out then blowing smoke in Shepard's direction as he stated "The Council and the Alliance want to believe that the Reaper threat was thwarted with Sovereign's demise, but you and I know better. I won't wait until the Reapers are on the march. We need to take the fight to them."

Shepard agreed with that notion but also knew she couldn't do it alone "If we're going to do this we need an army, or a really good team" she declared crossing her hands behind her back as she stood to attention,

Holograms appeared in front of the Illusive Man as he settled with Shepard "I've already compiled a list of soldiers, scientists, and mercenaries. You'll get the dossiers on the best of them. Finding them and convincing them to join you could be challenging, but you're a natural leader. I'll continue to track the Collectors' movements. When they make an appearance. I'll notify you and your team. Be ready " he offered

"Let's make one thing straight right now. I was a Spectre. That still has to mean something to the Council if they hear me out. I also had my own team back then, some of them were non-human, and if any of them are willing to join me, I will let them in. I'll be recruiting the people you offered, but make no mistake. This won't be an only human team, I will accept the best no matter the species, you got that?" Shepard asserted, not wanting to become a Cerberus puppet by any means.

TIM to his credit didn't look insulted in the least "If they're willing to join you by all means. Though quite a few of them have moved on these past 2 years. You're welcome to try and find them. As for your stance on working with aliens, you'll be happy to know that my first recommendation is a salarian. Dr. Mordin Solus. He's stationed on Omega right now and with his help, we can find a countermeasure that can aid us against the Collectors' seeker swarms."

Not wanting to argue any further she nodded and asked "Anything else?"

"I found a pilot you might like. I hear he's one of the best" TIM ended before disconnecting the call.

Cerberus facility near Freedom's Progress.

Shepard heard someone coming up behind her gingerly and turned around, pleasantly surprised to find her old pilot Jeff "Joker" Moreau. "Commander just like old times huh" he said as he did his best to stand tall and salute his former commanding officer.

"I can't believe it's really you Joker." Shepard remarked still in disbelief that her old pilot was still alive but also wearing Cerberus colors. The two walked through the facility with Joker leading her to a hanger bay

"Look who's talking. Last time I say you got spaced" Joker retorted, still feeling guilty over the part he played in Shepard's death.

"I got lucky with a few strings attached. How'd you get here?" she questioned.

Joker's expression soured as he recounted "It all fell apart without you Commander. Everything you stirred up, the Council just wanted it gone. The team was broken up, records sealed and I was grounded. The Alliance took away the one thing that mattered to me. Hell yeah I joined Cerberus."

"You trust The Illusive Man that much?" Shepard asked, disgusted at the way her crew was treated.

"Well I don't trust anyone who makes more than me. But they're not all bad. Saved your life. Let me fly" Joker reasoned before pointing outside at the hanger bay. Shepard's eyes turned to where he pointed and stared in amazement. Lights turned on to reveal a sleek starship that reminded her of the original SSV Normandy. Turning back to Joker with a smile she declared "Well I guess we need to name her."

Another chapter complete. Though what seems to be the connection between Shepard and Percy? Does the ring that Shepard wears on her ring finger mean anything? And if so why would a soldier from what seemed to be over a century ago have what seemed to be the same copy?

Next time, Shepard will meet the crew of her new ship before heading to Omega for recruiting the mercenary, the gun-for-hire, and the scientist.