Mass Effect II: Reckoning

[Tysyacha]

Shepard, Liara, WALL-E, Kallic and the geth soldier, now known officially as Rogue, promptly left the Citadel Tower and headed for the Lower Wards, where C-Sec housed its prisoners in the basement of its Academy. Inmates such as these, which the group was all but enthusiastic about visiting, were either waiting to be transferred to another, more permanent prison or were on the brink of release. Mostly, they were the former. Housed in consecutive cells in a gleaming white corridor, the prisoners gawked as the squad went by. Was this to be their chance at redemption, or another false alarm?

 

"Shepard?" asked Liara tentatively. "I don't quite feel safe down here."

 

"Relax," the Admiral gently told the anxious asari biotic. "This isn't maximum security, and besides, have you noticed how many official C-Sec personnel are wandering around? If we run into trouble, we'll have plenty of backup." Liara nodded, although her blue eyes still contained a trace of doubt.

 

Suddenly, the squad heard a loud, brusque voice. "All right, you thresher maw larvae! Line up! It's time to get out of your cells. Someone wants to see you." A buzzer sounded, and the prisoners' cell doors slid open. Uh-oh! Not to worry, however, for each inmate stood in front of his or her cell door, stiff at attention, saluting the Admiral and her companions as they passed. Truly, this was going to be an interesting part of the mission, but did C-Sec have to present the future crew members of the NORMANDY via cattle call?

[Cyborg Ninja]

Rogue was right behind Liara as they walked down the halls. He watched all the prisoners staring at them, him in particular.

 

"Hey one eye what are you looking at?" a prisoner said and then the rest laughed. He felt like he was back in training when the geth use to laugh at him. He proved them wrong however he became on of the best and with CHAOS he was even better. He was not about to let some criminal punk push him around.Rogue walked right up to the man and lifted him by the throat.

 

"You got something to say to me"

 

"N N No" the prisoner responed gasping for air and cowering in fear.

 

Rogue threw the prisoner back into a wall and continued to follow the group. He could not understand why she would want criminals on her team, then again he was considered the enemy. For now though Shepard trusted him but we felt the rest of the crew didn't. He then looked at Liara and decided to try to gain her favor as well. With

 

"Dr. Liara, I think I have something you might want." He pulled out a small metallic orb he had taken from the geth sniper. "It's our shielding technology, I figured you might want it."

[Master_Archon]

Kallic walked behind Admiral Shepard, closely surveying the prisoners lined up in neat orderly form; some of them would be future crew members aboard the SSV Normandy, or Normandy VI as the Admiral dubbed it. None of them looked to be the best of choices, but the Admiral needed a crew, and this was what she was getting, Kallic would just have to make sure each one was at least semi-capable.

 

"None of them look too good," Kallic commented, standing with his hands behind his back in a military fashion, though, in his mind he was not too happy...or completely stable. Kallic snapped out of his hesitation as he heard and saw the Geth throw a prisoner into a wall, Kallic felt like stopping the Geth, but he restrained himself from doing so, seeing as the Geth wasn't going to kill the man.

 

"I-I don't know which ones would be best Admiral, they all look so...rough," Kallic continued, trying to advice the Admiral as best he could. Kallic looked up and down the line at the prisoners, they were all the same...except one. This one prisoner was quite tame looking, or at least to his eyes, the prisoner seemed capable enough, and a bit reserved compared to the others, in fact, the prisoner was quite the opposite of what he had said about the prisoners only just a few seconds ago. Kallic approached the prisoner and stood in front of the said prisoner.

 

"You, state your name, purpose for being in prison, and reason for wanting to join our crew, besides the obvious 'get-out-of-jail-if-I-survive' bit, that is," Kallic stated in a rather neutral tone, as not to cause any unwanted behavior out of the prisoner.

 

((B.T.W: The prisoner Kallic is talking to is your prisoner character Tysy, just thought I'd let you know.))

[Tysyacha]

The prisoner, her head almost completely shaved in a military-style buzz cut (even Shepard herself had more hair) stood at attention, saluted, and answered Kallic:

 

"Lux Ixlee, sir. I was finally caught and brought to a previous prison to serve an eight-to-twenty-year sentence at hard labor, being part of a gang in the Terminus Systems called the Risa de Muerte--'Smile of Death'. I originally got started with them after I offed my two landlords, who were exploiting me and my family in the slums. As for why I want to join your crew, I've got one word for you: redemption. I've been a thug all my life, and I want to do something good for humanity and this galaxy before I do die." Lux relaxed a bit, seeing that the soldiers would not harm her, but all the same she did not expect any one of them to believe her. After all, she was a multiple murderer, although for Lux, it had all been in her line of work.

 

"Tell me, Ixlee," said Shepard after surveying the wiry, hard-bitten woman a little. "Do you know that you could very possibly die before your redemption comes?" The prisoner nodded, not one trace of fear or self-pity in her eyes.

 

"Do you have any special talents or abilities?" asked Liara tentatively, taking her eyes off of the geth shielding prototype, but only with difficulty. "Any skills that would assist us in a combat situation, or even in the event of ship failure?" Dr. T'soni knew it was always helpful to have another scientist or engineer aboard, and she hoped this 'Lux Ixlee' might be able to help her.

 

Lux nodded gravely. "It's called Overclock. I got it from sampling one too many performance-enhancing drugs at my previous prison. I can throw myself at will into a berserker frenzy, firing bullets or punches with equal speed. I have to be careful, though, because if I leave myself in my Overclock state for too long, I might die." After pausing for full effect, Lux saluted again.

 

Then she noticed the tall synthetic among the members of the group. There was a human female, an asari, a salarian, a robot and--a geth? "Hey, what's with the geth?" Lux said anxiously, her body and left eye developing a slight nervous tic. "Do you want me to shoot it for you, ma'am?" Shepard shook her head, and the prisoner stood down, waiting for the synthetic to respond.

 

"The geth's with us, and his name is Rogue. He's not like all the others, being separated from his neural network. "If you'll follow behind me and Liara, Ixlee, you can have the honor of helping us choose more recruits from the inmates here." Lux smiled slightly, and her eyes beamed. She had always been a very tough cookie, but that didn't mean she was spared victimization and bullying by bigger, older, and stronger prisoners. Besides, she was a 'new fish', at least here. Helping the soldiers pick 'fresh meat' was a dream come true!

[Master_Archon]

As the group kept moving down the line of prisoners, Kallic noticed the Geth lagging behind a bit.

 

"Hurry up cyclops, we have prisoners to question," Kallic said as he slowed down so that he would be walking next to the Geth. Kallic suddenly got a very stern and severe look on his face as he spoke to the Geth in a low tone, "I don't like you Geth, how you tracked down Shepard, your irrelevant story of redeeming your people, it all makes little sense, and seems all too suspicious to me. Just realize this 'Rogue', I'm watching you, and I'll be looking for any signs of danger from you, so watch how you tread synthetic, because I'm no easy opponent in a fight," Kallic menaced, and then his regular demeanor returned and he sped up so that he would be walking up near Admiral Shepard.

******

Bastion - Defined as: A projection from a fortification, arranged to give a wider firing range; Or, any fortified place; strong defense or bulwark: often used figuratively.

 

Bastion Kahne - Defined as: A moron, lover of women, and lover of games: most pertaining to women. Svelte, comely, handsome, lovely, cultured, flamboyant, smug, smooth, ignoramus: most of these pertaining to his attitude, and regular appearance. Platinum blonde hair: shoulder length, braided up into hair knot, most commonly seen in asian culture; bright captivating eyes: pale blue in appearance; lightly tanned skin: silky, soft, but scarred in various places; Asian and French in decent: famed trait is seductive smile. In short, a sleeze.

 

Bastion stood near the end of the line, nonchalant and uncaring for the 'red carpet' treatment the soldiers who had come to recruit them were receiving. As the group of soldiers approached he began to smile, maybe the whole thing wasn't such a bad deal after all, because what Bastion saw made him quite happy, women. As they passed him he let out a wolf whistle, "well now, who do we have here? Three beautiful gems: a ruby, a sapphire, and an emerald. My, my, I am impressed, I always heard the Navy was full of brusque but feminine men, and butt ugly women, but I have been proven wrong yet again, because before me are some definite beauties," he chided in his silky voice.

 

"And how are you lovely ladies this fine day?" He asked in the most sincere way he could, which was quite sincere sounding (since he'd had lots of practice in the past with women before, asking the same thing). Bastion looked from one woman to the next, examining each one in...fine detail. First and foremost was what appeared to be the commanding officer, a human, red headed, the 'ruby', as he'd called her; she was quite different than most women he dealt with...perfect. next was an Asari, she was quite young looking, her face showed it, but that didn't take away from her inherent beauty. She was the 'sapphire' he mentioned. She seemed quite the timid one, but yet again, quite perfect. And then there was Lux! Well that was a new one.

 

"Lux, I didn't see you behind that cute face of yours, how'd you get picked?" Bastion asked, wasting no time examining her either. She was a different one, a bit slim and supple, and she looked a bit toughened from her hard life, but that didn't stop her from having any femininity of her own, and Bastion's comment of a 'cute face' was not necessarily a condescension; she was the 'emerald'.

 

Bastion knew Lux from prison life, and he'd even heard of her and the Risa de Muerte group she'd worked under when he'd been in the Terminus Systems as a Pirate Merc, even had some confrontations with them, though none that he remembered ever seeing Lux in. He had "examined" her before, but when he was around women, regardless of how many times he'd seen them, well, let's just say he never wasted any time.

 

"So Lux, you think you can get me aboard the beautiful soldier's ship? You know you owe me for that cafeteria incident, and I know you know I'm no fool when it comes to ships, I'm a seasoned spacer after all, pirates always are. I'm no fool in combat either. So what do you say babe, put in a good word for me?" He asked, shining his famous seductive smile, showing off his beautiful pearly white teeth (something quite rare for pirates, even those with the tech or ability to have good teeth).

[Cyborg Ninja]

The female prisoner already asked if she could shoot Rogue. He was getting tired of the insults and regretted trying to join, he should have killed Shepard back in that fire fight. He began thinking of other things when he started to fall behind. Kallic approached him and then did what alomst everyone else had done, openly attack him.Rogue was taken back when Kallic confronted him like that, as if he knew of his goal. Not only had this sad excuse for a soldier confronted him but he actually though he could stop him, Rogue was about to school the officer. He walked right up to Kallic and faced him causing the others to go ahead.

 

"Thank you for the advice Kallic, I appreciate it," Rogue responded then lowered his voice. "Now you listen to me, you think you're high and mighty don't you judging me because of who I am. Let me tell you something just because I'm synthetic doesn't make your people better than mine. I am going to redeem my people for what we've been force to do, I grow tired of this fighting, of this slaughter of all kind. So if you want to live in your little world where you judge people than lets judge. Your people made far better slaves than they did officers anyway." Rogue then raised his voice, "I'll be looking forward to working beside you Kallic."

 

Rogue then walked ahead moving behind Shepard. He watched as they approached a male prisoner. He was unsure of what he was doing, then again most organics were confusing. Rogue was unsure of what the man was doing, perhaps trying to mate with them but that was none of his concern. He did however listen back in when the man mentioned he was pirate. Taking so much abuse for one day he looked at the man.

 

"I've been threatened, insulted, and shot at by about everyone here except Wall-e, though I bet he's probably thought about it. Is there any insults you want to crack, perhaps throw a punch at me, or maybe point a pistol to my head and ask if you can pull the trigger. Really I've been attacked by everyone let's hear what you got before you realize I'm on the crew, I insist. Hey I'll start you off... I've got one eye"

 

Rogue had actually gotten mad without realizing. He was actually caring a little bit. He was spending too much time with organics.

[Tysyacha]

"Hey, hey, hey, hold up!" barked Yery Shepard, again positioning herself slightly between the golden-haired Wonderboy (as she had immediately dubbed him) and Rogue, the geth. "Nobody's going to shoot anybody, at least not on my watch. Got that?" After Liara and Wall-E nodded meekly (the others not-so-meekly, but still nodding), Admiral Shepard turned to the female prisoner. "Ixlee? What do you think of taking this inmate along? He seems awfully charming. Suave. A little too suave, if you ask me." She had met men of his type before. "Chad", whom Kallic had mentioned earlier, had been one of them. That's why she'd broken it off--hurt him before he hurts you. Of course, Shepard wondered if men like Chad could be hurt...

 

"I do owe him for saving my face in a rather brutal food fight in the prison cafeteria," answered Lux. In response to the others' curious glances, she continued, "We didn't just throw food. We threw silverware, too, and several inmates got eye injuries. That's why I can't see too well in my left one, but I'll do okay. A corrective shielding visor on my battle helmet always does me good." Lux squared her shoulders. "He can come with us, Admiral. So say I."

 

"And the rest of you?" asked Shepard. She was curious as to what the others thought. Of course, she suspected that he and Rogue probably wouldn't get along well, but part of being a team was learning to do that. Not everyone was born good at cooperation, but, well, that was just something the new crew would have to do if the mission to destroy the Reapers would succeed.

 

Liara turned to her immediate superior. "I think he might be a zhigol'," she said softly, her voice being barely a whisper. That was an asari slang term for a man who made his living giving women physical pleasure. "He has the rugged looks of a pirate, but the manners of a cultivated male prostitute."

 

Hearing this (her sense of hearing was extra-keen to compensate for her near-blindness in her left eye), Lux whooped with laughter. "You got that right! Say, how did you come to serve with Admiral Shepard, anyway?"

 

"We'll have time for stories later," Yery answered. "Right now, we'd better move on down this cell block before the C-Sec guards get too impatient." She addressed the remaining members of the crew--Kallic, Rogue, and WALL-E. "What do you say? Shall we take our golden-haired prodigy along with us?"

[Master_Archon]

"I've been threatened, insulted, and shot at by about everyone here except Wall-e, though I bet he's probably thought about it. Is there any insults you want to crack, perhaps throw a punch at me, or maybe point a pistol to my head and ask if you can pull the trigger. Really I've been attacked by everyone let's hear what you got before you realize I'm on the crew, I insist. Hey I'll start you off... I've got one eye" a Geth said, rather upset for little known reason other than that he just was.

 

"Hey, hey, hey, hold up!" barked the 'Ruby', who positioned herself slightly between Bastion and the Geth. "Nobody's going to shoot anybody, at least not on my watch. Got that?"

 

Everyone one complied to that, except Bastion, who only grinned at the rather comical events taking place that he had no relevant position in. "I say ol' pal, rather upset are we? Well, no problems there, I can understand feeling like an outsider, feeling like you're left out. Tell you what my synthetic friend, I will offer you my loyalty as a fellow outsider, and I hope you accept my offer to be my ship mate - if I'm accepted onto the crew, that is - or matey as we pirates call them, though you folks may understand the word, friend better," Bastion said, bowing honorably to the Geth, and then straightening up and putting his hand on the Geth's shoulder.

 

"I'll tell you pal, I've worked with my fair share of scum and slimeballs in my life: Batarians, slavers, pirates, mercenaries, bounty hunters, crime bosses, warlords, and other unsavory sorts, so to say I've got something against you for being a Geth, or synthetic would be a lie, so I'll tell ya, I've got nothing demeaning or cruel, or verbally abusive to say my friend. And as for the one eye, I've got nothing against that either, seeing as I've worked with plenty of one eyed fellows, it's nothing new to me," Bastion told the Geth, reassuring him that he (Bastion) was on the Geth's side, and willing to work with him, even to the point of being his, 'matey', as he'd called him.

 

Bastion turned back to the others at hand, looking from one to another with a toothy grin on his face.

 

"Certainly optimistic, isn't he," Kallic stated, rather than asked. "Admiral, if you have nothing against taking him on board, than far be it from me to deny him from becoming apart of the crew," Kallic told Shepard, looking rather scornfully at the pirate for being so friendly towards the Geth. "But I need to ask you, pirate, what is your reason for being in prison, your name, and reason for wanting to join?" Kallic asked, raising an eyebrow.

 

"My reason for being in prison is that I was found for smuggling contraband, and for piracy, go figure. My name is Bastion Kahne; begins with 'K', and has an 'h' in between the 'a' and the 'n'. My reason for wanting to join the crew, well, besides the obvious, is tha I desire nothing more than to be free, but what prisoner doesn't? Well, I value my freedom at a higher price than most people, I'm a pirate after all, feedom is what I love, above all else," Bastion told Kallic in a very honest manner, his grin was gone, replaced with a placid, and truly sincere look.

 

Bastion smiled affably at the remaining crew members who were to say whether he came aboard, or stayed in prison, he was already back to normal after being questioned by Kallic.

[Cyborg Ninja]

"I say ol' pal, rather upset are we? Well, no problems there, I can understand feeling like an outsider, feeling like you're left out. Tell you what my synthetic friend, I will offer you my loyalty as a fellow outsider, and I hope you accept my offer to be my ship mate - if I'm accepted onto the crew, that is - or matey as we pirates call them, though you folks may understand the word, friend better," Bastion said, bowing honorably to the Geth, and then straightening up and putting his hand on the Geth's shoulder.

 

Rogue was completely taken back by the man's response. He switched back to his character and prepared to answer.

 

I'll tell you pal, I've worked with my fair share of scum and slimeballs in my life: Batarians, slavers, pirates, mercenaries, bounty hunters, crime bosses, warlords, and other unsavory sorts, so to say I've got something against you for being a Geth, or synthetic would be a lie, so I'll tell ya, I've got nothing demeaning or cruel, or verbally abusive to say my friend. And as for the one eye, I've got nothing against that either, seeing as I've worked with plenty of one eyed fellows, it's nothing new to me,"

 

Just like Shepard did when she did wrong, Rogue did twenty push-ups.

 

"Shepard I'd like to appologize for my actions, and I think you should bring him along. Not only that I'd like to be paired up with him if we ever split into groups. I appologize for my actions friend is there any chance you can forgive me?"

[Tysyacha]

Shepard smiled. "Looks like we've found a new ally," she commented. "Kahne, welcome to the newest crew of the NORMANDY VI." She was pleased with the way things were going--more than pleased. So far, both Lux Ixlee and Bastion Kahne, the two prisoners, had been cooperative and eager to go on what was, more than likely, a kamikaze mission. She couldn't believe her luck.

 

As for Liara T'soni, she had returned to examining the shield prototype that Rogue had offered to her. "This is incredible!", she mused, turning the artifact around in her delicate blue hands to view it from all possible angles. "Would you mind if I try to replicate this within our armored bodysuits on the ship? That way if we run into any hostile geth, which I'm sure we will, then we'll have better defenses." She carefully listened to a mechanical response from Rogue, which seemed to have a pitch and tone that indicated he agreed. Satisfied, Liara slipped the shield into a compartment of her utility belt.

 

Suddenly the group was interrupted by another one of the guards from C-Sec. "Excuse me," she said, "but the natives are getting restless. It's almost time for lunch. Are you done selecting possible crew members, or can I take these monkeys down to the cafeteria for their daily dose of petroleum-based fodder?" She didn't seem to think much of the prisoners, which was natural, but there was a hard edge to her voice that suggested her aversion to them ran deeper than the simple fact that they had committed a crime. Shepard wondered what had brought her to this section of the C-Sec Academy...

 

"Just a few more minutes," Shepard replied, "and we should be done." She was glad to move away from the guard and further on down the cell block.

[Cyborg Ninja]

Rogue had grown tired of being where they were, grant it he made another ally which was good but at the same time he had to watch out for Kallic. He looked at Liara when she began speaking to him about the geth shielding technology. She was quite interested in it however he was not, he considered it a little out of date.

 

"Would you mind if I try to replicate this within our armored bodysuits on the ship? That way if we run into any hostile geth, which I'm sure we will, then we'll have better defenses."

 

"By all means Dr. Liara I insist you do and it would be an honor to work with you on it. That is if you'll allow me to assist you on it"

 

They had continued walking down the hall when they were stopped by a guard but only for a moment. Shepard seemed happy when the guard had left, but perhaps it was because they were almost done in here. Rogue began looking at her from head to toe. From what he could see she had a well built body. Her face was calming which was suprising for a soldier and she had a very soothing voice to match. He shook whatever that image was and kept walking. His mind began to wonder again now remembering when she oiled and polished him. He remembered how warm and calming her touch was against his metal exterior.

 

"Gah, damn organic thoughts," Rogue said accidentally, hoping no one heard that or no one saw he was right behind Shepard when he said that. He quickly moved away from Shepard and moved next to Bastion. Bastion looked like the type of guy that would know what Rogue was doing; that is if he had heard what Rogue had said.

[Master_Archon]

Bastion had heard what the Geth had said, and seen what he was doing, it was interesting that a creature that had little emotional processes would even emulate such reactions and thoughts, this new friend of his was a definite odd ball, but then again, being a woman obsessed pirate mercenary/outlaw meant Bastion was no different.

 

"My friend, you are one strange fella, but that's not to say I don't have sympathy for ya, so here's what I'm gonna do, I'm gonna give you some advice, now you take it, and consider it, and most of all, take your time, and think about it," Bastion told the Geth, grinning at him.

 

"You take things slow, and evaluate every situation, you're taking things too quickly; the fastest way to get what you want, is to wait for it...but, that's not always the case, as you can tell from me, but that's another story, just keep your thoughts in your head, and be polite, and you'll get what you want, trust me," Bastion told the Geth with a wink. All-in-all Bastion was telling the Geth how he should take the situation at hand, and deal with it, whether the Geth got that hint was entirely up to the synthetic's intuition and relative common sense. Bastion looked the Geth up and down and then smiled, "boy, you are certainly different, but that's not the point. So, tell me, you got a name, or do you want me calling you 'Sparky' the entire mission?"

******

Kallic approached the Admiral and spoke to her in a low tone, "Shepard, I don't mean to impose, but, don't you think we're done here, I mean, we've pretty much run out of walkway and the prisoner line is already being herded to the cafeteria. I believe we've found all the crew we're going to find for now Admiral, with all respect, might I suggest we get going, like maybe to the ship to get all of the crew briefed, that is, if we have nowhere else to go, do we?"

[Tysyacha]

"Agreed," replied Shepard, and she motioned for the group to follow her and leave the holding-cell section of the C-Sec Academy. Once she and her new fellow squadmates had reached the Citadel Station Docking Bay (which took a very short time indeed), the Admiral boarded the NORMANDY VI and prepared to brief the crew. Not only were the others she had most recently collected a vital part of this mission, but so were returning veterans such as Joker, the NORMANDY's pilot, and Doctor Chakwas, the skilled and loyal medic aboard the Systems Alliance's most well-known and celebrated vessel.

 

She made her way toward the pilot's intercom as Rogue, WALL-E, and the others settled into their places for takeoff. "All right, crew," she said without a trace of deception or omission, "this is your Admiral speaking. We have all been assigned by the Citadel Council, and our human ally Captain Anderson, to locate and destroy a synthetic threat known only as 'the Reapers'. Most people still believe that these machines are a myth, possibly one that the hostile geth invented, but we all know that's not true. The Reapers are xenocidal machines that exterminate all organic life in the galaxy every 50,000 years. Why? We can only guess, but our main theory is that the Reapers are possibly searching for organic life that won't push itself to the brink of extinction in that short of a biological time frame. That said, we may not come back alive. I need all of your help and assistance, all you've got, in order to combat this possible eradicator of our very galaxy. Are you up to the challenge? I picked you because not only do I think you are, but I know you are. Shepard out." She clicked the comlink to the 'off' position and waited.

 

"Nice speech, Shepard," smiled Liara, and she gave the Admiral a hug.

 

"Thanks. I know that pretty speeches aren't going to get us off the ground very fast, however. Do you have any idea where to start looking for the Reapers?" Shepard furrowed an eyebrow. "I don't think they'll come blasting onto Earth like the geth did, with trumpets heralding the end of the world."

 

"I don't, either. The Reapers are highly advanced AI's, and that means they probably wouldn't make any stupid human--er, organic--mistakes. The only lead I've uncovered so far, in the two months before we were officially assigned this mission, was the discovery of another type of Prothean artifact besides the beacons we have previously encountered. Let's brief everyone."

 

Once Kallic, Shepard, WALL-E, Rogue, Bastion, and Lux were all seated in the Comm Room aboard the NORMANDY, Liara stood up and began her omni-tool presentation. She displayed something through it, holographically, which appeared to be a tall, thin metal rod sticking up into the air. Kind of like a lightning rod--or a Prothean beacon, Shepard mused, smiling to herself.

 

"This," began Liara, "is not a Prothean beacon--not like the ones we've seen before on our previous mission when we found out about the Reapers. This is a much more delicate and rare artifact, which makes it that much more valuable. It's called a znamya, plural znam'yi, which is Prothean for 'standard' or 'large flag.' The thing about these flags is--they're not flags. They're recording devices, and unlike the Prothean Cipher, which only could be transmitted to Admiral Shepard's mind, I believe all species who encounter a znamya and be safely imprinted with its message." Liara pressed a button, and the tall, thin rod grew a bit taller, unfurling a long, electrical mesh screen. Images flashed on the ribbon of glowing particles, and the whole crew gasped in astonishment. The screen showed the Protheans' annihilation, or at least a portion of it, and the full "faces" of the Reapers!

 

"Where did you find this?" asked Shepard, digging her fingernails into the leather of her executive seat. "Did you download it off a computer at one of the Citadel Station consoles?" Liara nodded. "Show us more, please, Liara."

 

Dr. T'soni's omni-tool clicked off. "That's all there was of the download, because it's a very high-bandwidth communication. It almost completely overloaded my omni-tool! My guess is if we find these flags, then we find the Reapers. The difference between the znamya and the beacon is that unlike the beacon, the flags are fragile, and also unlike the beacon, the znam'yi will be even more difficult to find. Their images are clearer and sharper. Shepard, you could barely discern what was going on in your visions. Now, it's crystal-clear what the Reapers are, what they're doing, and what they look like." Liara sat down in another of the seats, waiting for comment.

 

"So it's just going to be like our old childhood game of 'capture the flag'?" Liara nodded, and the rest of the crew involuntarily found themselves cracking up. "Where are we going to find these znam'yi, anyway?"

 

The asari beamed. "My research shows that one of them may be located on a damaged world that will bring us full circle when we return to it: Eden Prime."

[Cyborg Ninja]

"You take things slow, and evaluate every situation, you're taking things too quickly; the fastest way to get what you want, is to wait for it...but, that's not always the case, as you can tell from me, but that's another story, just keep your thoughts in your head, and be polite, and you'll get what you want, trust me,"

 

It had taken a minute for Rouge to realize what Bastion was talking about. There was no way a synthetic could express feelings, espically for a human organic. The again he was different from other Geth, he had been told he had a personallity to him and it was true. He was trying to kill Shepard not like her but for some reason she seemed different like she wasn't a cold blooded killer as he pictured. He was interupted from his day dreaming by Bastion.

 

"boy, you are certainly different, but that's not the point. So, tell me, you got a name, or do you want me calling you 'Sparky' the entire mission?"

 

"You can call me Rogue, I thank you for your advice Bastion."

 

The crew had finally made it back to the ship. He took a seat and listened in as Shepard gave a long speech. That speech was then followed by a presentation from Dr. Liara. They were looking for a Prothean structure, it somehow would lead them to the Reapers. He then heard Shepard mention some game called capture the flag and everyone began laughing. Rogue was unsure why they were all laughing, perhaps it was a training game organics played. Rogue remembered "playing" exterminate the organic when he started out but it probably wasn't the same game. He then heard of their destination, Eden Prime. He had came all the way here from Eden Prime and now he was heading back there.

 

"umm Shepard I have a question for you. if we know about this beacon the geth probably do as well, would you like me to send them a message stating the beacon is else where?"

[Tysyacha]

Shepard winked. "Excellent idea, Rogue," she said. "If it turns out that there are hostile geth, humanoids, aliens, or hostile anything on any planet, shoot first and ask questions later. That does not mean, however, that you should continue firing if your opponent surrenders. Renegade soldiers do that, and I daresay that was how some of my more ruthless squadmates in my days as Commander survived. We should hold ourselves to a standard that values life, even an opponent's life, more than that. Any questions?"

 

Lux Ixlee, the female C-Sec prisoner, raised her hand. "Is that why you didn't let me shoot the geth?" She was trying for a few more laughs, but no one thought her funny. Liara and WALL-E were even staring at her, goggle-eyed.

 

"Drop and give me twenty," hissed Shepard between gritted teeth. "No, make it fifty. You are a prisoner after all, and that little 'joke' of yours just cost you some serious points with me. Also, apologize to Rogue after you're done."

 

Lux immediately dropped to the floor and began doing frantic push-ups, unsure how she could have screwed up this early in the mission, when it hadn't even truly started yet! As for the rest of the crew, they didn't seem to have much to say, so Shepard turned on the viewscreen for a panorama of deep space. It calmed her, to say the least, and it brought back a few memories of home. She'd been raised on starships most of her life, so the thought of empty blackness and a few billion stars didn't scare her a bit.

 

"Uh, sorry, Commander," mumbled Lux when she finally stood up. "Uh--I mean, Admiral." Shepard put her hands on her hips and jerked her head toward Rogue. "Uh--yeah, I'm sorry for how I acted toward you, Rogue."

 

"Quite an impressive performance," mused the Admiral coolly. "I'd give it a D-. Next time, please leave out the 'uh's', and try to sound sincere." She squared her shoulders and informed the rest of the slightly snickering crew, "We should land on Eden Prime within the hour. Be prepared for anything, all right?"

[Cyborg Ninja]

It felt nice to get noticed for doing something right... too bad that moment was short lived. The female prisoner made another remark about him but was met with a punishment this time. Instead of the the normal twenty push-ups Shepard made it fifty. Rogue watched and enjoyed what the prisoner had to do. When she was done Shepard forced her to appologize to him which was nice of Shepard.

 

"Uh--yeah, I'm sorry for how I acted toward you, Rogue."

 

"and I'm sorry the admiral is so generous in her punishments," Rogue responded coldy.

 

On the thought of Shepard again she had not only saved him but stuck up for him. Rogue decided it was time to do something kind back

 

"Shepard I noticed your skills back in the fire fight. That rifle you had seemed to slow you down a bit. We do have an hour and within that time I could modify that rifle of yours to shoot faster and mroe powerful shots. Its the least I can do for you."

 

As Rogue waited for an answer he contacted his brothers and sent them a message

 

"000101010101010101000001111101010101010101010101" translated to "Prothean articfact located near Parag, send troops for extraction now"

[Tysyacha]

"That would be absolutely fabulous," replied Shepard. "I may have missed you during my little 'Blitz' in the Citadel Tower because of my rifle, but when hostile entities come our way, I don't want my shot to be off." She unsheathed her Teravolt VI pistol from the weapon pack that she always carried slung across her back and handed it over to the geth. Rogue gave a nod of acknowledgment and headed toward the machine lab.

 

Even more quickly than she had expected (or had she just been dozing off?), the Admiral heard Joker speaking through the NORMANDY intercom: "We should touch down on Eden Prime very soon. I'm picking up some strange readings, though: thick clouds of smog and pollution in the atmosphere, most likely industrial. Hmm...Seems like this planet isn't quite the paradise it used to be, even before Saren and the geth he commandeered landed."

 

"Liara?" asked Shepard, beckoning to her first mate. "Have you heard about anything strange going on in regards to Eden Prime?" The asari shook her head. "If it was being used for recently-discovered natural resources, the Citadel computer consoles should have mentioned something about it. Every holonews channel prides itself on being up-to-the-second, so if something that could impact Citadel Space economics was happening...I don't like it."

 

"Neither do I," said Liara, and then she jerked her head toward the left. Lux Ixlee was approaching the both of them, and she took a step backward. Being a diplomat, she normally would not have been so hesitant and so eager to get away from anyone, but this prisoner was an entirely different matter.

 

"Admiral?" asked Lux. "I--wanted to personally apologize to you, more fully than I did last time, for my rude remarks. I've always been quick to shoot off at the mouth, which is more like an automatic revolver than a slowly-firing cannon. I've been thinking about what I said at the prison compared to what I've said now, and I'm sure not doing a good job of redeeming myself, am I?"

 

"It's okay, Lux," replied Shepard, patting the tall prisoner on the shoulder lightly, "but if I were you, the next time Rogue needs oiling or polishing after a skirmish, I'd make it up to him." She smiled. "Dismissed, Ixlee. Thank you."

[HigherPower]

"Why would anyone anyone be interested in this godforsaken rock?" Snake asked to Garrus "The geth tore the fertile land to pieces during the attack in the whole ordeal with the reapers."

 

"Well apperently, ExoGeni and other companies see something in this planet so to them, staking a claim on this planet is like... how would you say it...?" Garrus replied back.

 

"Christmas?"

 

"Yes... between you and me Dave, I think whoever gets full rights to this planet is going to send their company straight to hell."

 

"Yup..." said Snake as he sat down and pulled out a pack of cigarrettes. He stuck one in his mouth and offered one to Garrus.

 

"I hear those are bad for your health..."

 

"Build ups of flem in the throat, tar in your lungs followed by a bad cough" Snake said as he lit up the one in his mouth. "My favourite brand." He finished his cigarrette and put it out. "Why don't you recommend me to the spectres?" Snake asked as he got back on his feet.

 

"Because I don't think you're good enough." Garrus replied.

 

"Sneaking into a base the size of a city, single handedly destroying a battle tank that can nuke a planet and you don't think that's good enough?" boasted Snake.

 

"Okay, I think you're good enough, but I don't know that you're good enough. We've only been together for some small time missions. Lets just finish this one, okay?"

 

"Pfft, I'd make a great spectre."

 

"Says you. Let's get back the spaceport, we're done here."

[Tysyacha]

Aboard the NORMANDY VI, Joker smoothly adjusted the autopilot controls to facilitate a safe arrival at the Eden Prime spaceport. He had no illusions about what this planet held--he'd seen and heard of dozens of marines dying here in the first Sarenite geth attack, and who knew what hazards were lurking in the industrial fog at present? For now, however, the pilot settled for telling the Admiral and her crew they had landed.

 

"Roger that. Thank you, Joker. We'll see you later, and please have Executive Officer Pressly stand guard and commandeer the ship while we're gone. Something's wrong around here on Eden Prime, as you've rightly guessed, and we're going to find out what it is." The pilot saluted, and Shepard and her squadmates exited the ship: the Admiral first, then Liara, then Kallic and Rogue, and the prisoners, Lux Ixlee and Bastion Kahne, bringing up the rear. WALL-E, the dutiful waste disposal droid, was taking care of the remnants of the crew's rations packaging after the light lunch they'd had onboard.

 

"Say, Admiral?" asked Lux. "My old gang, the Risa de Muerte, used to take luxurious tropical vacations here when the planet was still beautiful. If any of them are still hanging around, though for what reason I can't possibly guess, let me take care of them. I'm not on their side anymore. Not since I betrayed them and ratted out one of our ringleaders to the authorities."

 

Shepard halted, causing the rest of the squad to bump up abruptly behind her. "Really?" She turned and lowered her voice. "I appreciate that, Ixlee. Though I must wonder--why did you turn against them? I can't imagine any seasoned henchwoman such as yourself doing such a dastardly deed." Noticing that her crewmates were staring at her in surprise, Shepard mumbled, "Sorry. Didn't mean to give you a head-on collision with my rump."

 

Liara giggled, and Shepard turned fifteen shades of red. Holy geth! I'm always embarrassing myself at the most inopportune moments. She cleared her throat and straightened up, marching toward the VI receptionist kiosk (that hadn't been there before!) at the entrance to the Eden Prime port. She looked and sounded like Avina, though her expression this time was a bit disapproving. "My name is Ona," she said, "your VI liaison. Might I suggest a thorough decontamination for the front two of you, with plenty of hot water and potent cleansing lather?" Apparently, Liara and Shepard had been sweating over the course of their journey to Eden Prime...

 

"I'll handle that," Shepard snapped, and this time Liara "blushed" as much as an asari could. "I mean--we'll handle that. For now, though, I'm a Spectre. Could you tell me what's going on on this dump of a planet?"

 

"I'm sorry; I am not privy to such information. For now, could you please have someone less odiferous address me? My organic life-form sensors are overloading." Was that a touch of disdain in this synthetic 'Ona's' voice?

 

"I'll overload you," mumbled Shepard, who turned to Rogue. "Your honor."

[HigherPower]

"Well I'll be damned..." Garrus said to himself as Snake and him were looking at the view screens inside the spaceport.

 

"What for?" asked Snake.

 

"That ship is the Normandy. I used to serve on that ship with Commander Shepard."

 

"Ah, the one who put an end to the whole Reaper crisis?"

 

"Yes... Why don't we pay them a little visit?"

 

Garrus and Snake followed the hallways and waited for them beyond the door of the reception room. Snake lit a cigarrette, but Garrus snatched it from his hands and threw it in a waste basket. "Not in front of my friend."

 

"Geez, one smoke wouldn't hurt."

[Master_Archon]

After landing on Eden Prime, the crew of the 'Normandy' left the ship and entered the reception area of the port. They were proceeding quickly, and were only halted when Lux spoke to the Admiral about her old gang, and the Admiral herself stopped so abruptly as to cause everyone to bump into and clog up behind her.

 

"Sorry. Didn't mean to give you a head-on collision with my rump." Admiral Shepard said, causing the Asari, Liara to blush, well, whatever came close to blushing for an Asari.

 

"I don't mind bumping into your rump Ms. Shepard," Bastion said with a seductive smile, as he slowly reached his hand out, only to have it crushed in a vice grip by Kallic.

 

"I wouldn't recommend that, Mr. Kahne," Kallic told the prisoner, who rubbed his hurting hand in response.

 

"I'm sorry; I am not privy to such information. For now, could you please have someone less odoriferous address me? My organic life-form sensors are overloading." Came the rather snood remark from a nearby VI that the Admiral was talking to.

 

"I'll overload you," mumbled Shepard, who turned to Rogue. "Your honor."

 

"Um, Shepard, if you don't mind, I think my skills would be best suited here," Kallic addressed the Admiral respectfully, stepping up next to Shepard with his Omnitool active, which was different in appearance and capabilities, compared to most Omnitools; for example, his Omnitool was blue with florescent hints of violet, which would remind most of Avina's coloring scheme.

 

"I can easily...'question' the VI and get answers far faster and with less retort, Kallic informed Shepard, waiting to see if she agreed.

[Cyborg Ninja]

Rogue quickly moved to the machine lab and began fixing up Shepard's assault rifle. It took him a matter of thirty minutes to make it shoot faster and much more accurately. He still had another thirty minutes to kill so he created a shielding device similar to his own but was different in its own way. This device could be attached to any sort of armor and would sense when the armor's shielding as down; at that point this shielding type would go off.

 

"Shepard will be proud of this," said a voice in his head that sounded like him.

 

"She's nothing more than a human, get over it," said another voice in his head.

 

Up until now he realized CHAOS had not spoken in a long time, he must have fused with the program somehow giving him this ability of feeling.

 

"However," the second voice continued, "we need shepard alive for now so I agree in giving it to her."

 

After finishing with the battle in his head he returned back to the group at the right time. They exited the ship and were stopped by the human prisoner. After another short walk they approached an VI, perhaps for information. The VI would not speak or could not speak to organics, Rogue couldn't tell.

 

"I'll overload you," mumbled Shepard, who turned to Rogue. "Your honor."

 

"Um, Shepard, if you don't mind, I think my skills would be best suited here,I can easily...'question' the VI and get answers far fast and with less retort." replied Kallic.

 

"This VI is not the best out there Shepard, I can get you whatever information you want, without upsetting th VI like our friend Kallic plans to do." Rogue placed a hand on her shoulder and put the device on her back very gently. "I can do this Shepard, just tell me exactly what you want and I can get it for you."

[Tysyacha]

Shepard knew that she wanted to give both Rogue and Kallic a chance to show off their skills--Kallic's with diplomacy, and Rogue's with VI technology. So, she turned to both of them and requested, "Ask 'Ona' if she knows anything about any Prothean artifacts or technology that might be down on the surface of Eden Prime. If it seems to you like she's lying, then open up her console, but discreetly, and see if there's any data that might help us. I am a Spectre, after all, and espionage has become one of my biggest specialties." She waited to see what Rogue and Kallic would do, and what Ona'd say.

[Cyborg Ninja]

"Ask 'Ona' if she knows anything about any Prothean artifacts or technology that might be down on the surface of Eden Prime.

 

Rogue was quick to make a move and faced the VI that stood infront of him. He began to speak to the VI through binary code; to organics it would sound like he was making weird chirping like noises.

 

"0101010101111101010101010101010101010101010101011100010101010101010101010101000101010101010101010100000111010101010100111000010101010101010101" (Translation)

 

"My name is unit 343117 aka Rogue, and I am allying myself with these organics. We seek a certain Prothean artifact and require your help. Would you know if any Prothean artifact or perhaps technology that would be present here on Eden Prime?"

 

Rogue flicked a small device in his head that allowed him to detect vocal patterns. He set it to the VI setting waiting for her response. If she was lying to him, he would know.

[Tysyacha]

"Prothean artifacts?" responded Ona, her mechanical voice containing more than a twinge of doubt. "Let me search my informational database and see what I can find." After a few moments of processing, the VI blinked her eyes and turned her electronic body towards Admiral Shepard. "I am sorry, ma'am, but the only Prothean artifacts of which I have ever heard upon Eden Prime was one beacon, which was subsequently destroyed in the first Sarenite geth attack. Perhaps I can be of more help presenting a directory to the offices of the many industries here on Eden Prime, or fine restaurants if you are interested in dining." She paused. "Though I suggest you wash beforehand."

 

Shepard leaned in close to Rogue. "Is she lying?" the Admiral whispered anxiously.