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Commander Shepard, The Greatest to Ever Live
- Thread starter Samael61
- Start date
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- Tags
- mass effect shepard
ME2 Chapter 17 - Rescue, Revenge, Reconciliation
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Samael61
Know what you're doing yet?
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- Apr 6, 2025
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Hello there,
If you enjoy my stories you can read advanced chapters in my patreon page
Her Eternal Excellency, a Genshin Impact and ASOIAF crossover, Raiden Ei Reborn as Argella Durrandon, is 15 chapters ahead
DCU:Blacklist, a Raymond Reddington inspired OC SI using his knowledge for his own advantage, as well as the rest of the world, is 15 chapters ahead,
Geek's Guide to Thriving in a Low End Fantasy World, a Robert Baratheon OC SI in an AU, is 15 chapters ahead,
Commander Shepard, The Greatest to Ever Live, a Mass Effect story where Shepard is greater than ever, is 15 chapters ahead,
Loki: The God of Magic , an OC-SI into Loki who is not aware of the MCU, is 4 chapters ahead.
By supporting me, you can read advanced and special chapters, as well as vote on how you want the fanfiction to proceed.
Note: Apple store payments will be refunded, because of the company's 75 day hold policy.
—
Illium
Miranda's father, or rather genetic donor, Henry Lawson, was a certified dirtbag. Not only did he create Miranda and her genetic twin for his perfect dynasty, but he was also knee-deep in crime.
Shepard would bring down Henry Lawson, but for now, there were more important matters.
The location of Miranda's sister was discovered by their father.
Miranda had made arrangements to have her sister and her adopted family moved out of Illium with the help of someone named Niket, but mercs were swarming the area, and they had just opened fire on the taxi he was using.
"Since you are not firing, I trust you know who I am." Miranda asked the leader of the mercs. The man had a cocky look on his face, so assured of his chances.
"Yeah. They said you'd be in the car. You're the bitch that kidnapped our boss' little girl." Going by what the merc claimed, Henry Lawson was acting like a father trying to find his long-lost daughter.
"Did they tell you I was going to be in that car too?" Shepard glared at the merc, who quivered in his boots.
"Oh, fuck."
"Take your men and get the fuck out of here, or I am going to declare war on Eclipse as a whole."
The mercenary captain weighed his options, looking around wildly before running away. Seeing their commander gone, the rest of the mercs did not hang around.
—
Without facing any resistance, Shepard, Samara, and Miranda moved quickly to find Orianna and her family, coming across Niket in the process, who was working with Captain Enyala, the leader of the mercs in here.
"This should be fun." The asari captain pointed her shotgun at the team before a condensed biotic energy tore through her head, leaving nothing but a bleeding stump.
"M-Miri." Niket was surprised to see Miranda here and was terrified that she had brought Commander Shepard as backup.
It did not get any worse than that.
"Niket. You sold me out." Miranda pointed her SMG at Niket, both sad and furious at the betrayal.
With the death of their captain at the hands of Shepard, the mercs ran away, seeing no victory to be had here, and he lowered his weapon. "How do you want to handle this, Miranda?"
"Why, Niket? You were my friend. You helped me get away from my father." Miranda, who preferred to keep her emotions bottled up, looked truly vulnerable now.
"Yes! Because you wanted to leave. That was your choice. But if I'd known you'd stolen a baby—" He was right about the angle Henry had chosen, and it explained why Niket had betrayed Miranda.
"I didn't steal her. I rescued her," she insisted, fully aware of the dark reality concealed behind Henry Lawson's public persona.
"From a life of wealth and happiness? You weren't saving her. You were getting back at your father."
The following heated conversation was on how and why Niket had sold Miranda out and what to do with Orianna now that Niket knew everything.
Miranda wanted to kill Niket to tie any loose ends, but seeing how miserable she was, Shepard stopped her.
"Listen, Henry is going to die, and if you don't stay away from Orianna, so will you. Seeing as you helped Miranda before, I am letting you go this time." Shepard only offered to spare Niket because Miranda could not handle the situation with a clear head and might do something regrettable.
"Thank you, I swear you won't hear from me again."
—
"I can't believe Niket sold me out. I didn't even see it coming." Miranda lamented while they were on the elevator. Samara had chosen to stand aside, preferring to let Shepard handle the issue.
"Betrayal never comes from the enemy." Shepard responded, but it did not seem to help Miranda.
"I let it get personal and screwed up."
"Miranda, that is life. It has its ups and downs, twists and turns. There will be loyal friends, just as there will be traitors, and it will hurt, but that doesn't mean you are not allowed to make mistakes. What you can do is to learn and move forward." His words got through this time, and Miranda took a deep breath to calm down.
"You should have let me kill him."
Shepard shook his head. "You would have regretted it."
"You are right. And my father knew it. He used that against me. It's always been like this. My father gave me anything I ever wanted, but there was always a hook, an angle for his long-term plan. I threw away everything he ever gave me when I ran. Except Niket. Weakness on my part." Trust was not a weakness but an endeavor in finding the correct people to confide in.
Just because the glass broke once does not mean you have to stop drinking water.
"Safety must not come at the price of cowering in fear."
"It's okay, Shepard. My father hurt me, but he didn't break me. As much as he tried to turn me into what he wanted… I'm my own person." The whole situation had left an acrid taste in Miranda's mouth, but she would not let her past control her.
"Good. Any other old friends we might have to worry about?"
"No. I cut ties with everyone else. Anyone I'm close to now works for Cerberus… or you. My father's powerful, but he won't cross you or the Illusive Man." Miranda may not agree with some of Shepard's methods, but his results could not be argued against.
—
"Go talk to her." Shepard ordered Miranda, who watched her sister with a forlorn look. She, with the help of Cerberus, had prepared a new life for the family, away from Illium and Henry Lawson.
"But…" Miranda hesitated, unwilling to disturb her sister's life, while in reality, she was just afraid of how it would go.
"No buts. Orianna deserves to know she has a sister watching out for her. Now go."
"Yes, thank you."
—
The conversation between the siblings had apparently gone well, and Miranda even learned a thing or two about Orianna while Shepard was busy returning a medallion to an asari who had lost a memento from her mate.
Oriana had even sent him a message, apparently having found his address from an information broker—Shepard hoped it was Liara; otherwise, there was going to be a purge across the galaxy—thanking him for his help and leaving a note telling Miranda to not go through Shepard's messages.
—
Ismar Frontier
Faia
Zorya
From the very first moment Zaeed uttered Vido Santiago's name, Shepard knew it was personal.
"Tapping into Blue Suns communications. Stay tight and look out for ambushes." That was not a simple thing to do unless you were an AI or very experienced with the enemy encryptions.
This was definitely more than just a contract to Zaeed.
"Squad Bravo, a shuttle landed near your location. Check it out." The Blue Suns commander ordered with a voice that sounded like the result of a very dry throat.
"Here we go. Keep close."
Corpses were found ahead, and they definitely didn't look like soldiers or mercs. "Shot in the back and left to rot. That's definitely Vido's style. Let's push ahead."
With mechs, flamethrowers, and rocket launchers, the Blue Suns did not pull their punches.
Not that it meant much against laser weapons.
"This is Commander Santiago. If any of you retreat while the intruders are alive, I'll kill you myself. Now get the hell back out there." So that voice belonged to Vido.
"Vido. Sounds like he hasn't changed." Zaeed looked to be getting angrier with each step towards the refinery, and before things escalated out of control, Shepard decided to have a talk with his teammate while Kasumi handled the bridge.
"How personal is this?"
"When we started the Blue Suns, I knew Vigo was a sadistic little bastard. The Suns only got meaner after he staged his little coup twenty years ago. So, yeah, really personal." Shepard did not really delve into the histories of mercenary groups, more concerned about ensuring they did not have a future, but learning Zaeed was a founder of the Blue Suns was an eye-opener.
Shepard walked up to Zaeed, looking him dead in the eyes. "Next time, don't keep vital information from me, Zaeed." It was one thing to have a personal life; it was another to keep information that may affect a mission.
"Understood." Zaeed conceded.
"One other thing. This is a fuel refinery, meaning you'll let me handle this. After that, you can do whatever you want to Vido; I don't really care." Laser weapons plus highly flammable fuel meant that there wouldn't be a refinery left if Zaeed was allowed to run amok.
"If it's you, fine."
—
"Zaeed Massani, you finally tracked me down." Vido greeted them at the catwalk on the entrance, looking down at the team while his men took position.
Santiago was quick to scurry back upon seeing who Zaeed had brought with him. "Fucking hell. Shepard?! What the hell are you doing here?"
The situation had just turned into a disaster.
"Helping him get revenge." That had the mercs looking to the exit, because this was a battle they could not win.
There was enough fear among the Blue Suns that this situation could be resolved without a shootout in a refinery. "Hey, dumbasses, here is an offer for you. Hand Santiago over, release the prisoners, and leave the refinery, and I'll let you go in one piece. Otherwise, I am going to barbecue you, and there is more than enough fuel for everyone." Shepard threatened the mercs.
Without even weighing the offer, the Blue Suns mercenaries raised their weapons, not at the enemy, but at their commander.
"Don't you fucking even think…" Vido spat at his men, raising his gun in case of betrayal, but was too late. One of the mercs behind him slammed the stock of his rifle to Vido's face, sending him down the catwalk, right in front of Shepard and his team.
"Smart choice. Gather your men, leave all the valuables behind, and scram."
"Yeah, okay." Vido might be stupid enough to think about fighting Shepard, but they were not. The mercs ran away, preferring their lives over their paychecks, calling everyone in the refinery to leave as well.
Shepard nodded to Zaeed, and the veteran mercenary holstered his weapon. "All yours."
"No, wait, mercy!" Vido begged, but Zaeed advanced on him, ready to tear Santiago apart.
—
"Vicious." Thane commented from the side while Zaeed kept beating Vido within an inch of his life.
"Zaeed survived having half his face blown off; I think he deserves a little bit of revenge." The mercs had loaded into the gunships used to take the refinery in the first place and abandoned the planet.
Halfway through, after most of his teeth were knocked out and he was screaming too much to speak, Vido ceased his futile cries, gurgling on his blood and convulsing on the ground.
Zaeed stomped on Vido's head, putting an end to the Commander of the Blue Suns.
"Burn in hell." The grizzly merc spat on Vido's corpse.
"Satisfied?" Shepard knew the answer was going to be a resounding no.
"No. But at least I am done with him."
Shepard shrugged. If Zaeed had closed this chapter of his life, then good for him. "Good enough. All focused and ready now?"
"Yeah, yeah, boss, just tell me what needs to die."
"Commander Shepard?! You rescued us?" Workers came running, most likely to abandon the refinery as well, though it was forgotten in an effort to get an autograph from Shepard.
"Just helping a friend finish his contract; you guys are welcome."
—
Nubian Expanse
Dakka System
Prague
Shepard regularly conversed with his teammates to know the people he was fighting with.
His conversations with Jack so far showed that she was violent, not because of her power, but because she had been tortured, experimented on, and mistreated at a Cerberus facility. Her prospects after escaping Pragia were not stellar either, having drifted from one place to another, among criminals, cultists, and whatnot.
She had no one to care about except herself, and so, saw no reason not to do whatever she wanted, including an impressive list of felonies that had landed her in the Purgatory.
But now, she had discovered the location of the base where she had been kept and wanted to blow it to kingdom come.
Believing it would help soothe her scars, Shepard took Normandy to Pragia.
Twisted by time and perception, Jack's memories of the base did not always match the facts. The other children in the base—the ones she had been forced to fight in gladiator arenas, whom she had thought ignored her while Jack was banging on the glass—did not even know she was here, as it was a one-way glass.
Though, it wasn't a ghost base, as mercs on a scavenging mission had gathered in the abandoned secret site, led by Aresh Agdashloo, another child kidnapped and experimented on by Cerberus on Pragia.
He too had been haunted by the memories of his time in captivity, though his reason for returning to the base was not to destroy it. Aresh desperately wanted to see that their suffering and all the dead children were not for nothing, that the search for the perfect human biotic actually succeeded.
It was a twisted way to cope with the scars Pragia left on him, to ensure that something good came out of it.
Jack could have shot Aresh and even considered it strongly, but Shepard made her reconsider.
Aresh was stuck in the past; Jack had the chance to move forward.
—
His volatile teammate spared Aresh and blew up the base, though it wasn't the end of it.
She and Miranda had gotten into a rather heated argument that quickly turned violent, and had Joker not informed him, there definitely would be blood.
Shepard found the girls with their biotics clashing and slammed a stasis on both, overpowering two of the strongest human biotics in an instant.
Surveying the damage done to the room, Shepard turned to the frozen girls.
"I am going to let you go now." He said, and released the stasis, dropping Jack and Miranda to the ground.
Just in time, Garrus handed him the item he asked for, and after the turian left, Shepard rummaged through Miranda's desk. "Here."
"My toothbrush?" Miranda took the toothbrush, wondering what Shepard wanted them to do, while miffed that he had gone through her personal belongings like that.
"Both your toothbrushes." Shepard said, handing Jack her toothbrush too.
"What the hell? Are you a dentist now?" The volatile biotic scowled, still angry.
Shepard took a step forward, and both girls froze up. "No, but you two seem to forget that we are teammates, and any disagreement that you cannot solve yourselves will be brought to me, your friend and commander. We are fighting for the survival of the whole galaxy; your spat cannot throw it into jeopardy by tearing my ship apart." He warned, watching both girls for any sign of refusal.
Miranda nodded, agreeing in her mind that their fight was unseemly, regardless of who started it. "I understand, Shepard."
Shepard turned to Jack, who kept quiet. "And you?"
"Yeah, yeah, whatever you say, boyscout." She gave in too.
"Great, now go and scrub the toilets. It will be some quality bonding time for both of you." He ordered, shocking both that they would be punished with cleaning the toilets.
"What?! I am not doing this shit." Jack looked ready to start a fight again, but Shepard just raised an eyebrow, daring her to do so.
"That wasn't a question."
"Fuck. Fine." Jack growled, leaving the office while swearing under her breath.
Sighing, Miranda followed Jack to the toilets, knowing better than to argue with Shepard while under his command. "Very well, you are the commander."
—
In the next chapter:
"Shepard Commander, we wish to negotiate." An obviously synthetic and baritone voice called out as geth units stood arrayed across the room, weapons drawn but not firing.
Curious about the next chapter? Please consider supporting me in Patreon.
If you enjoy my stories you can read advanced chapters in my patreon page
Her Eternal Excellency, a Genshin Impact and ASOIAF crossover, Raiden Ei Reborn as Argella Durrandon, is 15 chapters ahead
DCU:Blacklist, a Raymond Reddington inspired OC SI using his knowledge for his own advantage, as well as the rest of the world, is 15 chapters ahead,
Geek's Guide to Thriving in a Low End Fantasy World, a Robert Baratheon OC SI in an AU, is 15 chapters ahead,
Commander Shepard, The Greatest to Ever Live, a Mass Effect story where Shepard is greater than ever, is 15 chapters ahead,
Loki: The God of Magic , an OC-SI into Loki who is not aware of the MCU, is 4 chapters ahead.
By supporting me, you can read advanced and special chapters, as well as vote on how you want the fanfiction to proceed.
Note: Apple store payments will be refunded, because of the company's 75 day hold policy.
—
Illium
Miranda's father, or rather genetic donor, Henry Lawson, was a certified dirtbag. Not only did he create Miranda and her genetic twin for his perfect dynasty, but he was also knee-deep in crime.
Shepard would bring down Henry Lawson, but for now, there were more important matters.
The location of Miranda's sister was discovered by their father.
Miranda had made arrangements to have her sister and her adopted family moved out of Illium with the help of someone named Niket, but mercs were swarming the area, and they had just opened fire on the taxi he was using.
"Since you are not firing, I trust you know who I am." Miranda asked the leader of the mercs. The man had a cocky look on his face, so assured of his chances.
"Yeah. They said you'd be in the car. You're the bitch that kidnapped our boss' little girl." Going by what the merc claimed, Henry Lawson was acting like a father trying to find his long-lost daughter.
"Did they tell you I was going to be in that car too?" Shepard glared at the merc, who quivered in his boots.
"Oh, fuck."
"Take your men and get the fuck out of here, or I am going to declare war on Eclipse as a whole."
The mercenary captain weighed his options, looking around wildly before running away. Seeing their commander gone, the rest of the mercs did not hang around.
—
Without facing any resistance, Shepard, Samara, and Miranda moved quickly to find Orianna and her family, coming across Niket in the process, who was working with Captain Enyala, the leader of the mercs in here.
"This should be fun." The asari captain pointed her shotgun at the team before a condensed biotic energy tore through her head, leaving nothing but a bleeding stump.
"M-Miri." Niket was surprised to see Miranda here and was terrified that she had brought Commander Shepard as backup.
It did not get any worse than that.
"Niket. You sold me out." Miranda pointed her SMG at Niket, both sad and furious at the betrayal.
With the death of their captain at the hands of Shepard, the mercs ran away, seeing no victory to be had here, and he lowered his weapon. "How do you want to handle this, Miranda?"
"Why, Niket? You were my friend. You helped me get away from my father." Miranda, who preferred to keep her emotions bottled up, looked truly vulnerable now.
"Yes! Because you wanted to leave. That was your choice. But if I'd known you'd stolen a baby—" He was right about the angle Henry had chosen, and it explained why Niket had betrayed Miranda.
"I didn't steal her. I rescued her," she insisted, fully aware of the dark reality concealed behind Henry Lawson's public persona.
"From a life of wealth and happiness? You weren't saving her. You were getting back at your father."
The following heated conversation was on how and why Niket had sold Miranda out and what to do with Orianna now that Niket knew everything.
Miranda wanted to kill Niket to tie any loose ends, but seeing how miserable she was, Shepard stopped her.
"Listen, Henry is going to die, and if you don't stay away from Orianna, so will you. Seeing as you helped Miranda before, I am letting you go this time." Shepard only offered to spare Niket because Miranda could not handle the situation with a clear head and might do something regrettable.
"Thank you, I swear you won't hear from me again."
—
"I can't believe Niket sold me out. I didn't even see it coming." Miranda lamented while they were on the elevator. Samara had chosen to stand aside, preferring to let Shepard handle the issue.
"Betrayal never comes from the enemy." Shepard responded, but it did not seem to help Miranda.
"I let it get personal and screwed up."
"Miranda, that is life. It has its ups and downs, twists and turns. There will be loyal friends, just as there will be traitors, and it will hurt, but that doesn't mean you are not allowed to make mistakes. What you can do is to learn and move forward." His words got through this time, and Miranda took a deep breath to calm down.
"You should have let me kill him."
Shepard shook his head. "You would have regretted it."
"You are right. And my father knew it. He used that against me. It's always been like this. My father gave me anything I ever wanted, but there was always a hook, an angle for his long-term plan. I threw away everything he ever gave me when I ran. Except Niket. Weakness on my part." Trust was not a weakness but an endeavor in finding the correct people to confide in.
Just because the glass broke once does not mean you have to stop drinking water.
"Safety must not come at the price of cowering in fear."
"It's okay, Shepard. My father hurt me, but he didn't break me. As much as he tried to turn me into what he wanted… I'm my own person." The whole situation had left an acrid taste in Miranda's mouth, but she would not let her past control her.
"Good. Any other old friends we might have to worry about?"
"No. I cut ties with everyone else. Anyone I'm close to now works for Cerberus… or you. My father's powerful, but he won't cross you or the Illusive Man." Miranda may not agree with some of Shepard's methods, but his results could not be argued against.
—
"Go talk to her." Shepard ordered Miranda, who watched her sister with a forlorn look. She, with the help of Cerberus, had prepared a new life for the family, away from Illium and Henry Lawson.
"But…" Miranda hesitated, unwilling to disturb her sister's life, while in reality, she was just afraid of how it would go.
"No buts. Orianna deserves to know she has a sister watching out for her. Now go."
"Yes, thank you."
—
The conversation between the siblings had apparently gone well, and Miranda even learned a thing or two about Orianna while Shepard was busy returning a medallion to an asari who had lost a memento from her mate.
Oriana had even sent him a message, apparently having found his address from an information broker—Shepard hoped it was Liara; otherwise, there was going to be a purge across the galaxy—thanking him for his help and leaving a note telling Miranda to not go through Shepard's messages.
—
Ismar Frontier
Faia
Zorya
From the very first moment Zaeed uttered Vido Santiago's name, Shepard knew it was personal.
"Tapping into Blue Suns communications. Stay tight and look out for ambushes." That was not a simple thing to do unless you were an AI or very experienced with the enemy encryptions.
This was definitely more than just a contract to Zaeed.
"Squad Bravo, a shuttle landed near your location. Check it out." The Blue Suns commander ordered with a voice that sounded like the result of a very dry throat.
"Here we go. Keep close."
Corpses were found ahead, and they definitely didn't look like soldiers or mercs. "Shot in the back and left to rot. That's definitely Vido's style. Let's push ahead."
With mechs, flamethrowers, and rocket launchers, the Blue Suns did not pull their punches.
Not that it meant much against laser weapons.
"This is Commander Santiago. If any of you retreat while the intruders are alive, I'll kill you myself. Now get the hell back out there." So that voice belonged to Vido.
"Vido. Sounds like he hasn't changed." Zaeed looked to be getting angrier with each step towards the refinery, and before things escalated out of control, Shepard decided to have a talk with his teammate while Kasumi handled the bridge.
"How personal is this?"
"When we started the Blue Suns, I knew Vigo was a sadistic little bastard. The Suns only got meaner after he staged his little coup twenty years ago. So, yeah, really personal." Shepard did not really delve into the histories of mercenary groups, more concerned about ensuring they did not have a future, but learning Zaeed was a founder of the Blue Suns was an eye-opener.
Shepard walked up to Zaeed, looking him dead in the eyes. "Next time, don't keep vital information from me, Zaeed." It was one thing to have a personal life; it was another to keep information that may affect a mission.
"Understood." Zaeed conceded.
"One other thing. This is a fuel refinery, meaning you'll let me handle this. After that, you can do whatever you want to Vido; I don't really care." Laser weapons plus highly flammable fuel meant that there wouldn't be a refinery left if Zaeed was allowed to run amok.
"If it's you, fine."
—
"Zaeed Massani, you finally tracked me down." Vido greeted them at the catwalk on the entrance, looking down at the team while his men took position.
Santiago was quick to scurry back upon seeing who Zaeed had brought with him. "Fucking hell. Shepard?! What the hell are you doing here?"
The situation had just turned into a disaster.
"Helping him get revenge." That had the mercs looking to the exit, because this was a battle they could not win.
There was enough fear among the Blue Suns that this situation could be resolved without a shootout in a refinery. "Hey, dumbasses, here is an offer for you. Hand Santiago over, release the prisoners, and leave the refinery, and I'll let you go in one piece. Otherwise, I am going to barbecue you, and there is more than enough fuel for everyone." Shepard threatened the mercs.
Without even weighing the offer, the Blue Suns mercenaries raised their weapons, not at the enemy, but at their commander.
"Don't you fucking even think…" Vido spat at his men, raising his gun in case of betrayal, but was too late. One of the mercs behind him slammed the stock of his rifle to Vido's face, sending him down the catwalk, right in front of Shepard and his team.
"Smart choice. Gather your men, leave all the valuables behind, and scram."
"Yeah, okay." Vido might be stupid enough to think about fighting Shepard, but they were not. The mercs ran away, preferring their lives over their paychecks, calling everyone in the refinery to leave as well.
Shepard nodded to Zaeed, and the veteran mercenary holstered his weapon. "All yours."
"No, wait, mercy!" Vido begged, but Zaeed advanced on him, ready to tear Santiago apart.
—
"Vicious." Thane commented from the side while Zaeed kept beating Vido within an inch of his life.
"Zaeed survived having half his face blown off; I think he deserves a little bit of revenge." The mercs had loaded into the gunships used to take the refinery in the first place and abandoned the planet.
Halfway through, after most of his teeth were knocked out and he was screaming too much to speak, Vido ceased his futile cries, gurgling on his blood and convulsing on the ground.
Zaeed stomped on Vido's head, putting an end to the Commander of the Blue Suns.
"Burn in hell." The grizzly merc spat on Vido's corpse.
"Satisfied?" Shepard knew the answer was going to be a resounding no.
"No. But at least I am done with him."
Shepard shrugged. If Zaeed had closed this chapter of his life, then good for him. "Good enough. All focused and ready now?"
"Yeah, yeah, boss, just tell me what needs to die."
"Commander Shepard?! You rescued us?" Workers came running, most likely to abandon the refinery as well, though it was forgotten in an effort to get an autograph from Shepard.
"Just helping a friend finish his contract; you guys are welcome."
—
Nubian Expanse
Dakka System
Prague
Shepard regularly conversed with his teammates to know the people he was fighting with.
His conversations with Jack so far showed that she was violent, not because of her power, but because she had been tortured, experimented on, and mistreated at a Cerberus facility. Her prospects after escaping Pragia were not stellar either, having drifted from one place to another, among criminals, cultists, and whatnot.
She had no one to care about except herself, and so, saw no reason not to do whatever she wanted, including an impressive list of felonies that had landed her in the Purgatory.
But now, she had discovered the location of the base where she had been kept and wanted to blow it to kingdom come.
Believing it would help soothe her scars, Shepard took Normandy to Pragia.
Twisted by time and perception, Jack's memories of the base did not always match the facts. The other children in the base—the ones she had been forced to fight in gladiator arenas, whom she had thought ignored her while Jack was banging on the glass—did not even know she was here, as it was a one-way glass.
Though, it wasn't a ghost base, as mercs on a scavenging mission had gathered in the abandoned secret site, led by Aresh Agdashloo, another child kidnapped and experimented on by Cerberus on Pragia.
He too had been haunted by the memories of his time in captivity, though his reason for returning to the base was not to destroy it. Aresh desperately wanted to see that their suffering and all the dead children were not for nothing, that the search for the perfect human biotic actually succeeded.
It was a twisted way to cope with the scars Pragia left on him, to ensure that something good came out of it.
Jack could have shot Aresh and even considered it strongly, but Shepard made her reconsider.
Aresh was stuck in the past; Jack had the chance to move forward.
—
His volatile teammate spared Aresh and blew up the base, though it wasn't the end of it.
She and Miranda had gotten into a rather heated argument that quickly turned violent, and had Joker not informed him, there definitely would be blood.
Shepard found the girls with their biotics clashing and slammed a stasis on both, overpowering two of the strongest human biotics in an instant.
Surveying the damage done to the room, Shepard turned to the frozen girls.
"I am going to let you go now." He said, and released the stasis, dropping Jack and Miranda to the ground.
Just in time, Garrus handed him the item he asked for, and after the turian left, Shepard rummaged through Miranda's desk. "Here."
"My toothbrush?" Miranda took the toothbrush, wondering what Shepard wanted them to do, while miffed that he had gone through her personal belongings like that.
"Both your toothbrushes." Shepard said, handing Jack her toothbrush too.
"What the hell? Are you a dentist now?" The volatile biotic scowled, still angry.
Shepard took a step forward, and both girls froze up. "No, but you two seem to forget that we are teammates, and any disagreement that you cannot solve yourselves will be brought to me, your friend and commander. We are fighting for the survival of the whole galaxy; your spat cannot throw it into jeopardy by tearing my ship apart." He warned, watching both girls for any sign of refusal.
Miranda nodded, agreeing in her mind that their fight was unseemly, regardless of who started it. "I understand, Shepard."
Shepard turned to Jack, who kept quiet. "And you?"
"Yeah, yeah, whatever you say, boyscout." She gave in too.
"Great, now go and scrub the toilets. It will be some quality bonding time for both of you." He ordered, shocking both that they would be punished with cleaning the toilets.
"What?! I am not doing this shit." Jack looked ready to start a fight again, but Shepard just raised an eyebrow, daring her to do so.
"That wasn't a question."
"Fuck. Fine." Jack growled, leaving the office while swearing under her breath.
Sighing, Miranda followed Jack to the toilets, knowing better than to argue with Shepard while under his command. "Very well, you are the commander."
—
In the next chapter:
"Shepard Commander, we wish to negotiate." An obviously synthetic and baritone voice called out as geth units stood arrayed across the room, weapons drawn but not firing.
Curious about the next chapter? Please consider supporting me in Patreon.
ME2 Chapter 18 - It's Treason, Then
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Samael61
Know what you're doing yet?
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Hello there,
If you enjoy my stories you can read advanced chapters in my patreon page
Her Eternal Excellency, a Genshin Impact and ASOIAF crossover, Raiden Ei Reborn as Argella Durrandon, is 15 chapters ahead
DCU:Blacklist, a Raymond Reddington inspired OC SI using his knowledge for his own advantage, as well as the rest of the world, is 15 chapters ahead,
Geek's Guide to Thriving in a Low End Fantasy World, a Robert Baratheon OC SI in an AU, is 15 chapters ahead,
Commander Shepard, The Greatest to Ever Live, a Mass Effect story where Shepard is greater than ever, is 15 chapters ahead,
Loki: The God of Magic , an OC-SI into Loki who is not aware of the MCU, is 5 chapters ahead.
By supporting me, you can read advanced and special chapters, as well as vote on how you want the fanfiction to proceed.
Note: Apple store payments will be refunded, because of the company's 75 day hold policy.
—
Valhallan Threshold
Raheel-Leyya
The Migrant Fleet
With over fifty thousand ships, the Migrant Fleet was technically the largest fleet in the galaxy, though most were civilian ships and old ones at that.
The pilgrimage, where they sent young quarians to bring back something of worth to the fleet, had been created due to the need to sustain their current way of life, as they were not able to settle on any planet.
Now, they were accusing Tali of treason.
"This is Tali'Zorah vas Neema nar Rayya requesting permission to dock with the Rayya." Tali hailed the traffic control of the Migrant Fleet, pacing around the cockpit, restless.
"Our system has your ship flagged as Cerberus. Verify." The traffic controller requested, and Tali gave a verbal code.
"After time adrift among open stars, along tides of light and shoals of dust, I will return to where I began."
"Permission granted. Welcome home, Tali'Zorah."
"We'd like a security and quarantine team to meet us. Our ship is not clean."
"Understood. Approach exterior docking cradle 17."
—
No matter the species, the decontamination process was the same but longer in the case of quarians.
Passing the checkpoint, they saw the quarian security team waiting for them, saluting their captain, who came to greet Shepard.
"Captain Shepard, it is a pleasure to meet you. I only wish it could have been under pleasant circumstances." The captain held out his hand for the human who had saved a lot of quarians from the Hegemony while it still existed.
Shepard shook the offered hand. "I'd say accusing my crew member of treason is more than just unpleasant. What are the charges?"
"They are charging Tali with bringing active geth into the Fleet as part of a secret project."
Tali stepped forward, enraged at the accusation. "That's insane. I never brought active geth aboard. I only sent parts and pieces."
"Sounds like someone screwed up, and they are looking for a scapegoat." And as the leader of the team that sent geth material, Tali was the one they were blaming.
"I can't comment on that. The trial requires that I be officially neutral, but I'm here if you need to talk." The captain offered.
Shepard turned to Tali, who looked more unsettled than before. "Who was running this secret project?"
"My father."
That was not good at all.
—
"Tali'Zorah vas Normandy. I am glad you came. I could only delay them so long." An older quarian woman was waiting at the entrance to the Conclave.
"Auntie Raan." Tali's mood brightened upon seeing the woman, and she went to hug her.
"Shepard vas Normandy, this is Admiral Shala'Raan vas Tonbay. She's a friend of my father's." Tali introduced the quarian, and Shepard nodded. If Tali called her aunty, then she was cool for him.
Confused at the way her auntie addressed her, Tali knew this would only get worse. "Wait. Raan, you called me vas Normandy."
"I'm afraid I did, Tali. The Admiralty Board moved to have you tried under that name, given your departure from the Neema."
—
"This conclave is brought to order. Blessed are the ancestors who kept us alive, sustained us, and enabled us to reach this session. Keelah se'lai." Shala'Raan, who had to be neutral during a trial as a member of the Admiralty Board, would not be voting on the decision of the Conclave.
"The accused, Tali'Zorah vas Normandy, has come with her captain to defend herself against the charge of treason." Raan spoke as a formality, since everyone knew what the charges were.
"Objection. A human has no business at a hearing involving such sensitive military matters." One of the admirals objected, and Shepard rolled his eyes inside the helmet.
Here he went.
"What exactly are you going to do about it, admiral?" He asked with crossed arms.
Unable to give an answer, the admiral just groaned like an idiot. "Uhhhhh….."
"I thought so," he said, and one of the admirals coughed very pointedly.
"Shepard, as Normandy, your crew member Tali'Zorah stands accused of treason. Will you speak for her?" Raan asked, once again, for protocol.
"That is why I am here."
"Tali, you are accused of bringing active geth to the Migrant Fleet. What say you?" She laid out the charge, and it was Shepard's time to shine.
He had never lost a battle before, and this trial was just a battlefield of words and evidence.
"And why would she do that? For Tali to commit treason, she would either have to hate all of you, or the geth must have offered her material gains. Is there any proof the Admiralty Board could present for either case?" You had to be brain dead to believe someone with Tali's reputation would work with the geth, but then again, this trial was a sham.
"We have a research ship lost to the geth, one where Tali's father was working." Admiral Gerrel spoke, shocking Tali.
"What are you talking about?"
"As far as we can tell, Tali, the geth have killed everyone on the Alarei, your father included." Gerrel actually seemed sad, and Shepard guessed he and Rael might have been friends, rather than just colleagues.
"That in no way, shape, or form proves that Tali is responsible. For all we know, it was the fault of the researchers. Right now, this Conclave's priority should be to take Alarei back and destroy the geth to prevent any danger to the Migrant Fleet. The Normandy stands ready to offer assistance." Once the ship was secure, they could find out what had really happened.
"Thank you. Our strike teams have attempted to retake the ship, so far without success."
"The safest course of action would be to simply destroy the ship. But if you are looking for a break from the trial…." Koris, whom Shepard was quickly disliking, opened his mouth again.
"I'm looking for my father, you bosh'tet." Tali shouted at the admiral, who just turned his head away.
"You intend to take the Alarei from the geth? With Commander Shepard here, we can consider this matter closed. This trial will resume upon your return." Raan declared, and the Conclave was given a break for now.
—
"Thank you for agreeing to take back the Alarei, Shepard. The admirals sound sure that my father is already dead, but… I don't know. We won't know anything until we get there." Shepard took Tali's hand to help her calm down.
"How are you holding up? I swear, politicians are the same everywhere, no matter what they call themselves."
"I knew this would be bad, but I guess you're never really prepared to be charged with treason."
"And my father… I don't know. He could still be alive. They don't know for certain that he is dead. I just don't know, Shepard. And I need to find out."
—
A shuttle was prepared for Shepard, Tali, and Garrus, but he wanted to speak to the admirals before leaving.
To put the fear of Shepard into their hearts, of course.
—
The Alarei
Boarding the research vessel, the team came across the body of a quarian in the airlock. There was nothing they could do for him, so Shepard pressed forward, Tali and Garrus following.
"Shepard-Commander, we wish to negotiate." An obviously synthetic and baritone voice called out as geth units stood arrayed across the room, weapons drawn but not firing.
They were all confused, but Garrus was the one who articulated it. "Uhh, what?"
"Are you the geth that took over this ship?" Shepard asked for confirmation while switching his pistols to microwave mode.
"Correct."
"Huh, the first time one of you clankers decided to speak to me." Intrigued at the idea of speaking to the geth, Shepard decided to see if they were actually willing to negotiate.
"Alright, lower your weapons and we'll talk." He demanded, and the geth units, communicating at the speed of light, did so at once.
"Agreed."
Not to be a spoilsport, Shepard lowered his weapons too, while Tali followed his lead with an outraged hiss. Garrus was just chuckling inside his helmet.
"What do you wish to negotiate about?"
"Safe passage to geth space." That was a reasonable request and probably the only thing the synthetics could want.
However, they were negotiating, and the geth had to offer something back. "In return for?"
"The remaining crew of the vessel Alarei will be returned, unharmed." A holo screen popped up, showing several quarians locked up in a room with geth watching over them.
"Hmmm. You didn't kill them." They had no way of knowing Shepard would come to Alarei, so the geth should have had no reason to spare the crew, at least the ones that were alive.
"Rael'Zorah, father to Tali'Zorah, Shepard-Commander's teammate and now known romantic interest according to extranet outlets. Ceasing his life signs had a high probability of drawing your attention to the geth as a whole."
Garrus, suitably convinced that the geth were serious, discreetly activated his omni-tool so everyone aboard the Normandy could watch this.
"How many of the crew are alive?" The quarians were unlikely to surrender without a fight, and Shepard had to know the details before agreeing to anything.
"Fifty-nine out of the eighty-seven original crew complement, including Rael'Zorah." Tali's breath hitched at the sight of her father on the holoscreen.
"Alright, here is how it will go down. I'll bring shuttles to take the crew to the fleet, and you'll be allowed to take the Alarei after I wipe its databases clear of everything related to the Migrant Fleet." There was no other option to allow the geth safe passage since he wouldn't be letting them on the Normandy, and seeing as the Alarei was already compromised, it would be the best vessel to sacrifice to save the crew.
"Agreed."
—
"You are actually negotiating with them?" Tali's emotions were all over the place. Angry that Shepard would agree to let the geth go, relieved that her father was alive, and furious that it was his attempts to develop a weapon against the geth that had created this mess.
In the end, it boiled down to a single question. "Do you want your father alive or not?"
"Yes, but…"
"Then no buts."
"Fine." She wouldn't trust the geth, but Shepard must know what he was doing.
"The boogeyman of the galaxy for centuries, and they spared the crew of the Alarei because you actually scared the synthetics that were incapable of feeling fear." Garrus had streamed the entire conversation to the Normandy.
One of these days, he would make a holovid out of Shepard's antics.
—
The Conclave
"Have you lost your mind?!" Admiral Gerrel screamed at Shepard's face.
It looked like he was the one who lost his mind after the Alarei entered FTL and left the fleet; otherwise, Shepard would have turned him to a paste on the ship's bulkhead.
"I am not one of your crew members, admiral; watch your tone." Shepard glared at the quarian admiral, who took a step back on his podium.
The Conclave as a whole was like a buzzing beehive, too angry at what Shepard had done but unable to do anything more than grumble.
"Negotiating with the geth? The synthetics that forced us out of our worlds?" Even Raan, who was a moderate compared to the others, could not help the feeling of outrage in her heart.
Looking at Tali, who wasn't happy about everything either but didn't make an issue because she had her father back.
Love interest or not, the entire quarian race had to hear this. "Because you were morons, that is why."
Garrus activated his omni-tool again.
The Conclave rose up in objection, but Shepard slammed his fist on the podium, hands glowing with biotics, and the rows of quarians sat down again, silent.
"You are insulting us now?" Admiral Koris was happier than a krogan in war, but the insult had caught him off guard.
"Yes, because you, or at least your ancestors, deserve it. When the geth stopped being VI and became sophonts, you tried to kill them, and they fought back. Had you simply treated them as equals, then the quarians would have been the strongest species in the galaxy. But no, your ancestors feared losing control over their creations, and of course, the Citadel's ban on AI played a part in it, but the thing is, the reason you are vagrants among the stars is because your ancestors were too fucking illogical." Shepard ranted. Someone had to be very frank with the quarians that the geth weren't the sole reason they were treated as pariahs across the entire galaxy.
His speech stunned the Conclave, as none before, not even one of their own, much less an alien, had spoken to the Migrant Fleet as a whole in this manner.
Raan, who did not have an answer, was desperate to control the situation before it spiraled out of control. "How can you say that?"
"How can I say that? They just negotiated with me. Do you know why? Because they knew death was a certainty if they fought me. Those are not the actions of some faulty, murderous synthetics hellbent on eradicating organic life. Now, I am not saying they are blameless; I am sure they killed innocents too, but it was the quarians who started it." With that, chaos erupted in the Conclave.
For fuck's sake, humanity had made movies about this kind of AI uprising centuries ago, even before they had the tech to make proper AIs.
"The geth opened their eyes, and your first action was to teach them violence. They just became more apt at it than the quarians."
Had the quarians embraced their creations, the galaxy would be fearing them.
—
The accusation against Tali had been dropped once Rael'Zorah spoke about his experiments on the geth.
Which did not go well with the Conclave, but Rael'Zorah was too valuable to banish and had been demoted by the unanimous vote of the Admiralty Board.
Tali wasn't happy with her father either, hugging him first once he was cleared before screaming his ears off and starting to cry.
Wrapping his arm around Rael'Zorah's neck, Shepard gave him a light squeeze. "Her father or not, if she cries because of you again, I'll feed you to a krogan."
Tali's father just nodded.
—
"Shepard was Normandy. You have been a true friend of the Migrant Fleet, your words notwithstanding, and we thank you for your assistance." Raan, who was doing the closing speech after a rather long break, knew it was for the best to not cause friction with Shepard by making an issue out of his words.
"You're welcome. Before I go, I have one last thing for you." Grunt was pushing a hoverboard with the quarian tablet they had taken from Hock's vault and stopped as several quarians approached it, touching perhaps the only thing they had from Rannoch.
"We recovered this from the vault of a crime lord along with several other relics. It's not Rannoch, but I am sure it would feel nice to have a solid piece of your history here with you."
"I—I don't know what to say, Commander." Raan looked at the tablet with a longing for the quarian homeworld, the same as most of the Conclave.
"Then don't say anything. I should go now." Shepard turned around, waving a hand in farewell.
Tali, after scolding her father more, returned to the Normandy so they could set sail.
—
In the next chapter:
"Oh shit." Elias, who was struggling in the chair he was strapped to, stopped at seeing who entered, his threats dying on his tongue.
Shepard had a look as if he had chewed a whole lemon. "Elias Kelham."
Not good.
"C-Commander Shepard. Did I do something wrong?" For fuck's sake, what could he have done for it to piss Shepard off?
Curious about the next chapter? Please consider supporting me in Patreon.
If you enjoy my stories you can read advanced chapters in my patreon page
Her Eternal Excellency, a Genshin Impact and ASOIAF crossover, Raiden Ei Reborn as Argella Durrandon, is 15 chapters ahead
DCU:Blacklist, a Raymond Reddington inspired OC SI using his knowledge for his own advantage, as well as the rest of the world, is 15 chapters ahead,
Geek's Guide to Thriving in a Low End Fantasy World, a Robert Baratheon OC SI in an AU, is 15 chapters ahead,
Commander Shepard, The Greatest to Ever Live, a Mass Effect story where Shepard is greater than ever, is 15 chapters ahead,
Loki: The God of Magic , an OC-SI into Loki who is not aware of the MCU, is 5 chapters ahead.
By supporting me, you can read advanced and special chapters, as well as vote on how you want the fanfiction to proceed.
Note: Apple store payments will be refunded, because of the company's 75 day hold policy.
—
Valhallan Threshold
Raheel-Leyya
The Migrant Fleet
With over fifty thousand ships, the Migrant Fleet was technically the largest fleet in the galaxy, though most were civilian ships and old ones at that.
The pilgrimage, where they sent young quarians to bring back something of worth to the fleet, had been created due to the need to sustain their current way of life, as they were not able to settle on any planet.
Now, they were accusing Tali of treason.
"This is Tali'Zorah vas Neema nar Rayya requesting permission to dock with the Rayya." Tali hailed the traffic control of the Migrant Fleet, pacing around the cockpit, restless.
"Our system has your ship flagged as Cerberus. Verify." The traffic controller requested, and Tali gave a verbal code.
"After time adrift among open stars, along tides of light and shoals of dust, I will return to where I began."
"Permission granted. Welcome home, Tali'Zorah."
"We'd like a security and quarantine team to meet us. Our ship is not clean."
"Understood. Approach exterior docking cradle 17."
—
No matter the species, the decontamination process was the same but longer in the case of quarians.
Passing the checkpoint, they saw the quarian security team waiting for them, saluting their captain, who came to greet Shepard.
"Captain Shepard, it is a pleasure to meet you. I only wish it could have been under pleasant circumstances." The captain held out his hand for the human who had saved a lot of quarians from the Hegemony while it still existed.
Shepard shook the offered hand. "I'd say accusing my crew member of treason is more than just unpleasant. What are the charges?"
"They are charging Tali with bringing active geth into the Fleet as part of a secret project."
Tali stepped forward, enraged at the accusation. "That's insane. I never brought active geth aboard. I only sent parts and pieces."
"Sounds like someone screwed up, and they are looking for a scapegoat." And as the leader of the team that sent geth material, Tali was the one they were blaming.
"I can't comment on that. The trial requires that I be officially neutral, but I'm here if you need to talk." The captain offered.
Shepard turned to Tali, who looked more unsettled than before. "Who was running this secret project?"
"My father."
That was not good at all.
—
"Tali'Zorah vas Normandy. I am glad you came. I could only delay them so long." An older quarian woman was waiting at the entrance to the Conclave.
"Auntie Raan." Tali's mood brightened upon seeing the woman, and she went to hug her.
"Shepard vas Normandy, this is Admiral Shala'Raan vas Tonbay. She's a friend of my father's." Tali introduced the quarian, and Shepard nodded. If Tali called her aunty, then she was cool for him.
Confused at the way her auntie addressed her, Tali knew this would only get worse. "Wait. Raan, you called me vas Normandy."
"I'm afraid I did, Tali. The Admiralty Board moved to have you tried under that name, given your departure from the Neema."
—
"This conclave is brought to order. Blessed are the ancestors who kept us alive, sustained us, and enabled us to reach this session. Keelah se'lai." Shala'Raan, who had to be neutral during a trial as a member of the Admiralty Board, would not be voting on the decision of the Conclave.
"The accused, Tali'Zorah vas Normandy, has come with her captain to defend herself against the charge of treason." Raan spoke as a formality, since everyone knew what the charges were.
"Objection. A human has no business at a hearing involving such sensitive military matters." One of the admirals objected, and Shepard rolled his eyes inside the helmet.
Here he went.
"What exactly are you going to do about it, admiral?" He asked with crossed arms.
Unable to give an answer, the admiral just groaned like an idiot. "Uhhhhh….."
"I thought so," he said, and one of the admirals coughed very pointedly.
"Shepard, as Normandy, your crew member Tali'Zorah stands accused of treason. Will you speak for her?" Raan asked, once again, for protocol.
"That is why I am here."
"Tali, you are accused of bringing active geth to the Migrant Fleet. What say you?" She laid out the charge, and it was Shepard's time to shine.
He had never lost a battle before, and this trial was just a battlefield of words and evidence.
"And why would she do that? For Tali to commit treason, she would either have to hate all of you, or the geth must have offered her material gains. Is there any proof the Admiralty Board could present for either case?" You had to be brain dead to believe someone with Tali's reputation would work with the geth, but then again, this trial was a sham.
"We have a research ship lost to the geth, one where Tali's father was working." Admiral Gerrel spoke, shocking Tali.
"What are you talking about?"
"As far as we can tell, Tali, the geth have killed everyone on the Alarei, your father included." Gerrel actually seemed sad, and Shepard guessed he and Rael might have been friends, rather than just colleagues.
"That in no way, shape, or form proves that Tali is responsible. For all we know, it was the fault of the researchers. Right now, this Conclave's priority should be to take Alarei back and destroy the geth to prevent any danger to the Migrant Fleet. The Normandy stands ready to offer assistance." Once the ship was secure, they could find out what had really happened.
"Thank you. Our strike teams have attempted to retake the ship, so far without success."
"The safest course of action would be to simply destroy the ship. But if you are looking for a break from the trial…." Koris, whom Shepard was quickly disliking, opened his mouth again.
"I'm looking for my father, you bosh'tet." Tali shouted at the admiral, who just turned his head away.
"You intend to take the Alarei from the geth? With Commander Shepard here, we can consider this matter closed. This trial will resume upon your return." Raan declared, and the Conclave was given a break for now.
—
"Thank you for agreeing to take back the Alarei, Shepard. The admirals sound sure that my father is already dead, but… I don't know. We won't know anything until we get there." Shepard took Tali's hand to help her calm down.
"How are you holding up? I swear, politicians are the same everywhere, no matter what they call themselves."
"I knew this would be bad, but I guess you're never really prepared to be charged with treason."
"And my father… I don't know. He could still be alive. They don't know for certain that he is dead. I just don't know, Shepard. And I need to find out."
—
A shuttle was prepared for Shepard, Tali, and Garrus, but he wanted to speak to the admirals before leaving.
To put the fear of Shepard into their hearts, of course.
—
The Alarei
Boarding the research vessel, the team came across the body of a quarian in the airlock. There was nothing they could do for him, so Shepard pressed forward, Tali and Garrus following.
"Shepard-Commander, we wish to negotiate." An obviously synthetic and baritone voice called out as geth units stood arrayed across the room, weapons drawn but not firing.
They were all confused, but Garrus was the one who articulated it. "Uhh, what?"
"Are you the geth that took over this ship?" Shepard asked for confirmation while switching his pistols to microwave mode.
"Correct."
"Huh, the first time one of you clankers decided to speak to me." Intrigued at the idea of speaking to the geth, Shepard decided to see if they were actually willing to negotiate.
"Alright, lower your weapons and we'll talk." He demanded, and the geth units, communicating at the speed of light, did so at once.
"Agreed."
Not to be a spoilsport, Shepard lowered his weapons too, while Tali followed his lead with an outraged hiss. Garrus was just chuckling inside his helmet.
"What do you wish to negotiate about?"
"Safe passage to geth space." That was a reasonable request and probably the only thing the synthetics could want.
However, they were negotiating, and the geth had to offer something back. "In return for?"
"The remaining crew of the vessel Alarei will be returned, unharmed." A holo screen popped up, showing several quarians locked up in a room with geth watching over them.
"Hmmm. You didn't kill them." They had no way of knowing Shepard would come to Alarei, so the geth should have had no reason to spare the crew, at least the ones that were alive.
"Rael'Zorah, father to Tali'Zorah, Shepard-Commander's teammate and now known romantic interest according to extranet outlets. Ceasing his life signs had a high probability of drawing your attention to the geth as a whole."
Garrus, suitably convinced that the geth were serious, discreetly activated his omni-tool so everyone aboard the Normandy could watch this.
"How many of the crew are alive?" The quarians were unlikely to surrender without a fight, and Shepard had to know the details before agreeing to anything.
"Fifty-nine out of the eighty-seven original crew complement, including Rael'Zorah." Tali's breath hitched at the sight of her father on the holoscreen.
"Alright, here is how it will go down. I'll bring shuttles to take the crew to the fleet, and you'll be allowed to take the Alarei after I wipe its databases clear of everything related to the Migrant Fleet." There was no other option to allow the geth safe passage since he wouldn't be letting them on the Normandy, and seeing as the Alarei was already compromised, it would be the best vessel to sacrifice to save the crew.
"Agreed."
—
"You are actually negotiating with them?" Tali's emotions were all over the place. Angry that Shepard would agree to let the geth go, relieved that her father was alive, and furious that it was his attempts to develop a weapon against the geth that had created this mess.
In the end, it boiled down to a single question. "Do you want your father alive or not?"
"Yes, but…"
"Then no buts."
"Fine." She wouldn't trust the geth, but Shepard must know what he was doing.
"The boogeyman of the galaxy for centuries, and they spared the crew of the Alarei because you actually scared the synthetics that were incapable of feeling fear." Garrus had streamed the entire conversation to the Normandy.
One of these days, he would make a holovid out of Shepard's antics.
—
The Conclave
"Have you lost your mind?!" Admiral Gerrel screamed at Shepard's face.
It looked like he was the one who lost his mind after the Alarei entered FTL and left the fleet; otherwise, Shepard would have turned him to a paste on the ship's bulkhead.
"I am not one of your crew members, admiral; watch your tone." Shepard glared at the quarian admiral, who took a step back on his podium.
The Conclave as a whole was like a buzzing beehive, too angry at what Shepard had done but unable to do anything more than grumble.
"Negotiating with the geth? The synthetics that forced us out of our worlds?" Even Raan, who was a moderate compared to the others, could not help the feeling of outrage in her heart.
Looking at Tali, who wasn't happy about everything either but didn't make an issue because she had her father back.
Love interest or not, the entire quarian race had to hear this. "Because you were morons, that is why."
Garrus activated his omni-tool again.
The Conclave rose up in objection, but Shepard slammed his fist on the podium, hands glowing with biotics, and the rows of quarians sat down again, silent.
"You are insulting us now?" Admiral Koris was happier than a krogan in war, but the insult had caught him off guard.
"Yes, because you, or at least your ancestors, deserve it. When the geth stopped being VI and became sophonts, you tried to kill them, and they fought back. Had you simply treated them as equals, then the quarians would have been the strongest species in the galaxy. But no, your ancestors feared losing control over their creations, and of course, the Citadel's ban on AI played a part in it, but the thing is, the reason you are vagrants among the stars is because your ancestors were too fucking illogical." Shepard ranted. Someone had to be very frank with the quarians that the geth weren't the sole reason they were treated as pariahs across the entire galaxy.
His speech stunned the Conclave, as none before, not even one of their own, much less an alien, had spoken to the Migrant Fleet as a whole in this manner.
Raan, who did not have an answer, was desperate to control the situation before it spiraled out of control. "How can you say that?"
"How can I say that? They just negotiated with me. Do you know why? Because they knew death was a certainty if they fought me. Those are not the actions of some faulty, murderous synthetics hellbent on eradicating organic life. Now, I am not saying they are blameless; I am sure they killed innocents too, but it was the quarians who started it." With that, chaos erupted in the Conclave.
For fuck's sake, humanity had made movies about this kind of AI uprising centuries ago, even before they had the tech to make proper AIs.
"The geth opened their eyes, and your first action was to teach them violence. They just became more apt at it than the quarians."
Had the quarians embraced their creations, the galaxy would be fearing them.
—
The accusation against Tali had been dropped once Rael'Zorah spoke about his experiments on the geth.
Which did not go well with the Conclave, but Rael'Zorah was too valuable to banish and had been demoted by the unanimous vote of the Admiralty Board.
Tali wasn't happy with her father either, hugging him first once he was cleared before screaming his ears off and starting to cry.
Wrapping his arm around Rael'Zorah's neck, Shepard gave him a light squeeze. "Her father or not, if she cries because of you again, I'll feed you to a krogan."
Tali's father just nodded.
—
"Shepard was Normandy. You have been a true friend of the Migrant Fleet, your words notwithstanding, and we thank you for your assistance." Raan, who was doing the closing speech after a rather long break, knew it was for the best to not cause friction with Shepard by making an issue out of his words.
"You're welcome. Before I go, I have one last thing for you." Grunt was pushing a hoverboard with the quarian tablet they had taken from Hock's vault and stopped as several quarians approached it, touching perhaps the only thing they had from Rannoch.
"We recovered this from the vault of a crime lord along with several other relics. It's not Rannoch, but I am sure it would feel nice to have a solid piece of your history here with you."
"I—I don't know what to say, Commander." Raan looked at the tablet with a longing for the quarian homeworld, the same as most of the Conclave.
"Then don't say anything. I should go now." Shepard turned around, waving a hand in farewell.
Tali, after scolding her father more, returned to the Normandy so they could set sail.
—
In the next chapter:
"Oh shit." Elias, who was struggling in the chair he was strapped to, stopped at seeing who entered, his threats dying on his tongue.
Shepard had a look as if he had chewed a whole lemon. "Elias Kelham."
Not good.
"C-Commander Shepard. Did I do something wrong?" For fuck's sake, what could he have done for it to piss Shepard off?
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