Commander Shepard, The Greatest to Ever Live

[Yoyomir]

I mean that fanclub is going to grow over time lmao good chapter

 

[Samael61]

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.

 

[Samael61]

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.

 

[Yoyomir]

Good chapter and hindsight and all that. Putting fear into gets yeah that tracks

 

[Samael61]

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 6 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.

—
​

The Citadel

Thane, the drell assassin that made more than one crew member nervous, had family issues.

As an assassin for the hanar, he had a pretty extensive list of targets neutralized, which had eventually spilled over into his family life. His wife was killed, and Thane had gone to avenge her, leaving his son, Kolyat, with his aunts.

Not having seen his son for a long time, Thane had recently learned that Kolyat had taken an assassination contract on the Citadel and requested Shepard's help to stop him before it was too late.

"Commander, how can I help you?" Bailey was at his station, working, when Shepard and a drell came out of nowhere.

"My friend here is trying to find his son. We thought you might be able to help."

Family issues.

Sometimes they were worse than most other crimes. "Should be easy. Not many drell here."

"There we go. One of my men reported a drill recently. And he was talking to Mouse. Interesting." A drell talking to a middleman like Mouse?

Trouble was afoot.

—
​

Shepard merchandise was everywhere, more so in human space than the rest, but it was prevalent.

Toys, blankets, kitchen robots—anything his likeness could be plastered on existed out there for the consumers. Of course, he did get his royalties, earning himself a fortune every day, so there was no problem with it.

Except for the illegal VI personality thing. Not only did he not get any money from it, but they were also buggy.

An insult to him.

Shepard tapped the human speaking to his omni-tool on the shoulder. "You Mouse?"

"What do you— oh shit, Commander Shepard." The former vent rat jumped back, all color drained from his face.

Shit, he shouldn't have sold those VIs.

"And Krios? I thought you retired?" Double shit, because Krios' son had just contacted him days ago.

"What do you want with me?" Mouse just hoped Commander Shepard didn't know about the VIs.

Or that he wasn't angry about them.

Thane patted Mouse on the shoulder to ease the human. Fear was good to instill, but not to the point where it made a person unable to talk. "Be still, Mouse. You can change your pants in a moment."

"Thane's son, Kolyat. We are looking for him."

"Well, I usually wouldn't talk about the people I am working for, but if it's you, I am sure they won't be a problem." If his employers had a problem, they could take it to Shepard.

—
​

Mouse had given them a name, Elias Kelham, an old acquaintance of Thane who had hired Kolyat.

Shepard also implored Mouse to stop selling his VI personalities, or he would take a cut, either all their credits or their lives.

Bailey, who had an agreement with Elias that Shepard didn't care enough to shoot someone, had agreed to bring him to the station before Kelham's lawyer came to bail him out.

"I don't think Elias will say no to you."

—
​

"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?

"You hired a drell to assassinate someone. I need the target's name."

Was he protecting that damn anti-human turian?

"Will you let me go?"

Shepard let out a long, suffering sigh. "Elias, you aren't worth the time it would take me to kill you. Just give me the name; we have places to be."

That was the best thing he heard all day.

"Joram Talid. He's a turian running for Intendant of Zakera Ward."

"See? That was simple." Shepard left the room, with the drell following, and Elias decided to make a rather large donation to charity for his fortune.

"All yours, Bailey."

—
​

Shepard was following Talid on the catwalks, while Thane lurked in the shadows.

Boy, was Talid himself annoying, speaking about how the appeasers in the Council gave humanity so much power and how he would take back the Zakera Ward.

All the while running a racketeering scheme.

"Hey, who are you? What are— Commander Shepard?!" A worker, a stock boy who was on the catwalk, interrupted Shepard.

Shepard shooed the worker away. "Keep it down, will you? I am here for something important. Get going."

"Uh, yes, sir."

The stock boy stalled him enough that Talid left, heading home now that he was done for the day, and Shepard saw Thane's son, Kolyat.

Who was trailing Talid and his krogan bodyguard to finish the job.

"I see him. Get ready." He informed Thane and moved out.

Just as Kolyat raised his weapon to shoot, Shepard pulled him with biotics, the drell yelping in surprise, while Talid turned around to see what the commotion was but saw nothing.

Shepard flicked Kolyat's pistol away and stuck the drell in stasis.

Talid wasn't even aware he had just narrowly avoided getting assassinated.

—
​

"Kolyat." Once away from the would-be crime scene and hidden in an alley, Shepard let Kolyat go so Thane could address him.

As expected, the son was less than happy to see his father. "This—this is a joke. Now? Now you show up?"

"Your father is dying, and he is trying to make up for the past." Which was not an excuse, but the truth.

Kolyat did not take it well either. "What? So you came to get my forgiveness? So you can die in peace or something?"

"I came to grant you peace."

Thane and Kolyat's conversation went as expected. The young Drell was bitter that his father had never been in his life, or his mother's, of course, while Thane admitted that she was killed because of him.

He confessed to hunting down everyone responsible, saying that he had taken plenty of bad things out of the world and that Kolyat was the only good thing he ever added to it.

Kolyat was taken aback by learning the cause of his mother's death, and Shepard took them to the station so they could spend some time in private.

—
​

"I ran some searches in the C-Sec database. About ten years back, a bunch of really bad people were killed. Like someone was cleaning house. The prime suspect was a drell. He was never caught." Bailey informed Shepard, and both knew who the one responsible for it was, especially after Mouse was questioned by C-Sec.

"If he wasn't caught for a decade, I doubt he would just show up in front of the precinct to surrender."

"Guess you are right." If Shepard wanted him to stop, Bailey was all too happy to oblige.

Instead, his console's screen lit up as files were uploaded to it. "Here, evidence on Joram Talid's racketeering scheme. You have my authority as a Council Spectre to arrest him. That should help you a bit."

"That makes things a lot easier for me. I just need your signature here." No one was going to question the number one Spectre of the Council.

And it would be good to put Talid behind bars after all those investigations that went nowhere.

—
​

"Any hope for progress?" Shepard asked in the most diplomatic way possible, knowing there was a good chance that the bonds between father and son could never be fixed.

"Our problems—they aren't something I can fix with a few words. We'll keep talking and see what happens." Shepard patted Thane on the shoulder.

He was alone as a child, and the only father figure in his life was Anderson, and their relationship was excellent.

So he didn't know what to say.

"Your son was about to assassinate someone, an important figure in the ward. I don't have any sympathy for him, but the situation is what it is." An anti-human figure like Joram Talid avoiding assassination and getting arrested the same day?

The press and his voter base would have a field day with this.

"No one in the C-Sec except you knows anything about the assassination, and I doubt those outside will just come to confess. Keep this silent, help the kid find a job around here, and I'll be here if you need help with anything." Shepard offered to sweep this situation under the rug.

"Actually, there is something." Shepard's help was more than worth the trouble of making some files disappear.

—
​

Apparently, there was a new forger on the Citadel called Fade, and he was giving the C-Sec no end of trouble. They even considered that Fade might be an ex-C-Sec officer, with the way he bypassed their systems and protocols.

It sounded like the kind of thing Garrus might be interested in, so he left Thane with Kolyat.

—
​

Garrus had arranged a meeting with Fade, and what do you know, a volus guarded by two krogan was waiting for them.

"You are Fade?" Shepard crossed his arms, looking at the volus with a scrunched-up face.

The krogan guards run away, leaving the volus alone. "Commander Shepard and Garrus Vakarian? Oh no."

"Yes, yes. Let's skip the part where you piss in your suit and tell us where to find Fade." Usually, a Volus in a suit was a headache for the detectives because you couldn't read their facial expressions.

In this case, it was a blessing, because no one wanted to see a volus piss himself in fear.

"He's in the old factory district works out of the old prefab foundry." Harkin was dead, and he saw no point in protecting him.

Garrus nodded to Shepard. "I know the place."

"He's got a lot of mercs there, Blue Suns. Harkin thinks they're protecting him." The volus offered more, lest the duo begin to think he was being tough.

"Harkin? That moron? I guess even he has a talent for something." Garrus had always wondered how that idiot ended up being humanity's first representative as part of C-Sec.

"A corrupt cop, wonderful." Shepard hated dealing with those.

"Not really. He got fired a while ago, but he still knows the system. Helps the mercs put their people in important places now."

—
​

Harkin was at the entrance to the old factory district and tried to run when he saw the two of them, telling his guards to stop Shepard and Garrus.

As if.

Three laser bolts crossed the distance at the speed of light; two went through the heads of the Blue Suns mercs, while the third one seared Harkin's thigh, a painful but ultimately nonlethal shot to bring him alive.

"Harkin, I thought you were an idiot; turns out you are a scumbag too."

"Working with the Blue Suns? Don't you know their founder is already dead? You are on a sinking ship, Harkin." Garrus added, chuckling as he dragged the human out.

"God fucking damn it."

"There has to be more mercs in the district, and I don't want to wait for the C-Sec. What do you say?"

"Loser pays for lunch."

—
​

Zakera Cafe

Donnel Udina, the Human Councilor of the Citadel Council, the human at the peak of the political arena, wanted to lie down in his room and cry.

"Commander, may I ask why half of the old factory district is burning, and there are half a thousand Blue Suns corpses there?" He asked Shepard, who was having lunch with his turian friend, Garrus Vakarian.

Shepard frowned. "Only half a thousand? I must have microwaved a lot more than I thought."

Of course, Shepard focused on the wrong part of what Udina had just said.

"And I might have gone overboard with those incinerator grenades." The turian admitted, swallowing his food, which looked like some sort of beef.

"How did you make those anyway?" Shepard put down his fork, curious, and Udina was ignored.

"Ah, just a controlled fusion blast. I had a small accident while trying to replicate the micro-fusion cells and thought it might actually make a good weapon."

"Nice."

"Commander, please. This is important." Udina pleaded. The rest of his colleagues weren't happy with the damage caused to the Citadel, even if it was a part no one really used anymore, and had sent him to take the heat.

Shepard rolled his eyes. The politicians couldn't even let him eat in peace. "Here is a list of every single merc the Blue Suns managed to put into the Citadel administration to feed them intel and protect their organization."

Udina's eyes shined. There was a top-secret C-Sec investigation into the matter, and if he brought proof back, then it wouldn't look good for the rest of the Council, who had denied quite openly that there was any infiltration by hostile forces at the administrative level.

"Enjoy your lunch, commander." Udina took the files and was ready to bolt back to his skycar before Shepard snapped his fingers.

"While you are here, pick up the bill, will you, Councillor?"

"Of course." A couple hundred credits was nothing compared to the price of the information.

"I love watching politicians grow a plate to please you."

—
​

The Normandy

Captain's Quarters

"Yes, Father, I am fine. Wait, why are you asking me that? I am not the one who almost got himself killed." Tali snapped at her father, who was being his overbearing self again.

Even though she outranked him now.

"Just take care of yourself, Father."

"Maybe spending some time as a grunt will do him good." Have the people in charge do the work of the grunts for a day, and Shepard knew it would do wonders for their attitude.

Tali lay next to him, one hand over his chest. "I hope so."

"What are we doing now, Captain?" she asked coyly.

"Go and help Liara find the Shadow Broker. He somehow found a clone of me, and I want to know how." It was inevitable for his DNA to get around, and Shepard

"Ugh, I can't imagine clones of me running around the galaxy." Tali groaned. Seeing that clone, watching as it was possessed by Harbinger, still disgusted her at how the Reapers could just violate everything sacred about life.

"I think it would be sexy, having a couple of Tali'Zorahs." Shepard winked, saying it just to tease his girlfriend.

Tali slapped his chest gently. "You wish."

However, their sweet time was ruined by EDI. "Commander, there is a message for you from Admiral Hackett."

"I'll take it on my console." Must be important, since Hackett wouldn't call him for something that was not.

"Commander, there is a bit of a situation on Earth." Boy, if Hackett had to call them all from Earth, then it must be more than a bit of a situation.

"What happened?"

"A recruit in the Marine Corps was showing extreme talent in combat, and someone had a DNA test done without permission."

Shepard groaned. Fucking hell, were they now just cloning him for fun? "Don't tell me I have another clone out there."

An image of a red-haired, green-eyed woman appeared on the screen, with the name Hailey.

"No, she is your sister, and there is a literal army of reporters trying to get the biggest headline of the decade and several people trying to kill her." And of course, Shepard fans wanted to see his sister to get an autograph, even though the young woman had no idea why she was locked up in the most secure place in the Alliance space.

This was definitely worse. "EDI, set course for Earth."

"You have a sister?" Tali asked. With how small the quarian population was, it was incomprehensible for family members to not know each other.

"The first time I am hearing about it." A clone would have been a simple problem; just shoot and forget.

He couldn't do that with a sister.

—
​

Notes: Not sure about the sister. I found the idea interesting enough to write, but let me know what you think, and I'll decide on whether to keep it or delete it.

—
​

In the next chapter:
"I read your file. You are good, really good, and I know you will get there eventually."

And she felt bad for it now. "Huh, high praise from someone as famous as you." Shepard's number one, and the deadliest turian in the galaxy, Garrus Vakarian wasn't just known in Omega for his deeds but across what remained of the Terminus Systems as a deadly, unstoppable force.

Garrus smirked. "Don't get used to it. Now, you wanted to play with the big guns, so let's play."




Curious about the next chapter? Please consider supporting me in Patreon.

 

[Samael61]

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 7 chapters ahead.

You can also check my original story, Arrival, on my Patreon page, AO3, Royal Road, SpaceBattles, and Webnovel.

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.

—
​

Earth

Vila Militar

Earth. The cradle of humanity.

Where Shepard was born. And now, he has a twenty-three-year-old sister.

One whose existence he wasn't even aware of before Admiral Hackett called him.

"You have a sister and didn't tell us? Here I thought we were best friends." Garrus looked at him with sad eyes, like a puppy begging to be picked up.

All false, of course.

"Garrus, I just learned about it myself."

"What's she like?"

"No idea."

As they disembarked, General Marco, in charge of the villa, stood there with a procession to greet Shepard. "Commander Shepard, welcome back to the villa."

"Good to be back, sir."

"Come on in. We are keeping her inside for now."

—
​

Shepard looked at his sister from the one-way mirror.

"Are we sure there is no error in the DNA test?"

"It was done multiple times in different labs to ensure that the results are conclusive undoubtedly."

"I suppose I should go and talk to her."

—
​

Shepard took a seat, looking at the red-haired woman before her. They had a staring contest for a while, neither willing to speak, but Hailey eventually broke the ice.

"So, we are siblings. Didn't see that coming." There was news of people claiming to be related to Jonathan Shepard every other month or so, but nothing came out of it.

Until now.

"Neither did I." He never searched for his birth family, too busy with life, so this was a surprise for him too.

"You grew up in an orphanage? Huh, so they abandoned me, had you, and abandoned you too." Why even have children in the first place? Not like birth control wasn't freely available.

Hailey, who was more bitter about the missing parents, scowled. "I hope they are dead, or I am going to kill them."

"Same."

"So what now? I just wanted to join the military and build a life for myself. I don't want or expect anything from you." Older brother or not, she was too prideful to go and ask for handouts from him or anyone else.

Jonathan opened his omni-tool, showing the mass gathered outside the walls of the massive military base. "Reporters want to interview you, my fans want to see my sister, and there are plenty of people after your head. Sorry, but your life just became harder because of our relationship."

"Damn it." There went her chance at a normal life.

"Why did they even think of doing a DNA test?" He asked. What had she done to warrant it?

Hailey put her forehead on the table, groaning. "I pulled off a Shepard Maneuver."

"Which one?" Well, even if they hadn't been related, anyone who could pull off one of his maneuvers was cool in his book.

"Suborbital drop with the Mako."

"Not bad." That one was particularly tricky, because one wrong move, and you were dead.

Though most of his maneuvers were deadly if done incorrectly.

"You can stay here and continue your training. No one's stupid enough to attack the villa, but outside of it, your life's going to be tougher, especially when the Alliance throws you at whatever problem that's too difficult for the common soldiers to solve." The Alliance just had another Shepard sign up for the marines, and as he was too busy with the Reapers, Hailey would be sent to crack the toughest opposition the Alliance faced, with the expectation that she would perform as well as him.

"Or?" Hailey asked.

"I can draft you to the Normandy. No place is more secure, and you can get combat experience to qualify for N7." He held most of the N7 records, and no one else could train Hailey better than Jonathan.

"Because I'm your sister?" She was not going to accept any kind of nepotism.

Jonathan shook his head. "Because your life just got a lot harder due to a guy you never met before."

Hailey shrugged. "What the hell? Why not? You always have the most interesting things happen to you."

—
​

"You want to take her with you?" General Marco didn't want to lose such a talented soldier, but the politics were a bitch.

"Sir, this is too much trouble for you and the villa as a whole. I'll be her mentor, and you won't have to deal with the civilians outside the premises."

"Hell, son, I can't think of a better trainer for her than you. I'll handle the paperwork."

—
​

The Normandy

Hailey, just like everyone else aboard, had one footlocker and was quick to fill it up. She was brought to the meeting room so the crew could see her, and she could choose where to work.

"Alright, choose yourself a station. Miranda is my XO, Garrus has the forward guns, Tali is in engineering, and Jacob is the chief of armory."

"I'll take the guns." The laser weapons were being produced en masse, but mostly for the ships, and infantry weapons were slated for the active units, not trainees, even if it was for N7.

She wanted to see what Normandy's weapons pack was.

"Garrus, she is with you now. Help her with anything she needs." Perhaps Garrus was the best choice in acclimatizing Hailey to the Normandy.

"Two Shepards in one ship? I think it will eventually cause a singularity, but sure." Garrus teased, knowing that the recently acquainted siblings were feeling uncomfortable.

Shepard knew there would be no end to the turian's jokes. "Go and calibrate those guns or something, Vakarian."

"Aye aye, Commander." Garrus mock saluted before turning around and motioning for Hailey to follow.

—
​

"The crew is going to look at you as if you are an exhibition." Garrus gave Hailey his first piece of advice.

Hailey gave him a dry look. "Thanks, I hadn't noticed."

"Garrus, by the way, Garrus Vakarian." He held out his hand, and Hailey took it out of courtesy.

"Hailey Malcolm."

"Malcolm?"

"What? I didn't know he was my brother, nor am I going to suddenly take his last name." Her last name didn't really mean much to her, other than that it had been the last name randomly assigned to her at the orphanage, but she wasn't going to ride on the fame of the name Shepard.

"The people are just going to call you Hailey Shepard. You will have a tough time leaving your own mark in the galaxy." To people across the galaxy, Hailey was Shepard's sister, and it would be rare for anyone to look at her as her own person.

Hailey considered decking the turian on his bony skull, but technically, he was her superior. "Any other stellar observations, Captain Obvious?"

"I read your file. You are good, really good, and I know you will get there eventually."

And she felt bad for it now. "Huh, high praise from someone as famous as you." Shepard's number one, and the deadliest turian in the galaxy, Garrus Vakarian wasn't just known in Omega for his deeds but across what remained of the Terminus Systems as a deadly, unstoppable force.

Garrus smirked. "Don't get used to it. Now, you wanted to play with the big guns, so let's play."

—
​

"Shepard, congratulations. I heard you have a sister now." TIM, just like almost everyone in the galaxy, had heard the news.

"The situation is too complicated. Let's not go there."

"As you wish."

"I am going to handle that problem in your research base; just sit tight. I mean, since almost everyone is dead, there is no reason to hurry." The dead didn't need rescuing after all.

"I can't argue with that."

"Interesting cybernetics, by the way. Where did you get them?" Shepard's instincts told him they were not your run-of-the-mill cybernetics.

"Custom-made."

"Uh huh." And he was a Prothean in disguise.

—
​

Shepard made sure to chat with his newfound sister, out of work, of course, and it was a very interesting experience.

She, unlike him, had actually searched for their parents, and while there were several names, nothing had come of them.

Which is when Hailey had decided her time could be spent better doing something else and had taken to stealing from gangs to make a living.

In fact, she had even stolen from the Reds before they underwent a rebranding.

There were predators on the street, offering her credits for sexual favors, and she had even killed a bastard who had gotten pushy.

Hailey was born in the United States, as far as she could tell anyway, and traveled all over the country by stowing away, eventually joining the marines to build herself a life, and was good enough to find herself offered a place in the Interplanetary Combatives Training.

—
​

"We are going after the Shadow Broker. First of all, he somehow got a clone of me and was about to hand it over to the Collectors and has been giving Liara no end of trouble. As such, we are going to find him, nail him to a ferroslug, and shoot him at the nearest black hole. Any questions?"

"Yes, are we really going to go to all that trouble? Can't we just shoot him and call it a day?"

"Depends on my mood."

"Fair enough."

—
​

Ilium

Turns out, Nyxeris was working for the Shadow Broker, and Liara had put a laser bolt through her head for that.

But she had no other lead to follow until Shepard gave him what Cerberus had on the Shadow Broker.

A friend of Liara, a drell named Feron who was helping save his, or rather the clones', body from the Collectors, has sacrificed himself to save Liara and was actually alive.

She had gone to her apartment to think, and after giving Hailey a small tour, he had followed Liara home.

—
​

"What the hell is going on here?" Liara's home was turned into a freaking crime scene, with bullet holes everywhere.

The Asari at the entrance was shocked at seeing him. "Goddess, Commander Shepard?"

"Yes, what happened here?"

Another asari spoke up, a familiar face, a colleague. "Somebody tried to kill your friend, Liara."

"Tela Vasir. Haven't seen you since the day the Council had those docs check me out." Damn, it had already been that long?

"Not a surprise. You were too busy leaving the rest of us in the dust. The rachni queen, Ilos, saving the Citadel, Normandy going down in a surprise Collector attack, only for you to single-handedly take over the enemy cruiser, survive a crash, and stick yourself in a freezer."

"Then that clone of yours, and of course, finding the flagship of the Protheans and handing it over to the Council." Tela had wanted to handle this before Shepard became aware of anything, but it was too late now.

Shepard bowed to his fans. "You're welcome."

"Thank you, officer; your people are dismissed. This is Spectre business now." Unhappy as they were, the police officers left without a fuss.

"What brings you to Liara's house?" Shepard queried once the officers were out.

"The Council wants someone to keep an eye on her, discreetly, to ensure nothing happens to a friend of yours, especially one who became a highly distinguished figure." He almost felt like laughing at Tela now.

"They stuck you with babysitting duty? Damn, who did you piss off?" Shepard knew Tela was lying, as none of the Councillors would be dumb or petty enough to send one of the most accomplished Spectres to watch Liara.

She was here for something else.

He could force Tela now or wait for her secrets to unravel.

Now, they had to find where Liara had gone.

—
​

Discovering the message Liara had left behind would be simple; the hard part was fooling Tela into leaving the house.

"Wait a second, didn't she need a ship? She must be at the docks, trying to find one."

"God damn it, I told her to wait. The Normandy just needed a short maintenance before we could leave."

"Let's just go find her."

"You go to the docks; I'll check the registry system to see if she found a ship." Tela left the house as if it was on fire, confirming that she was scheming something.

—
​

The Dracon Trade Center

Shepard, Garrus, and Hailey headed to the Dracon Trade Center to find Sekat after listening to the conversation Liara had left in the hidden disk.

Tela was heading for the docks, unaware that she was being tracked, and they could find Liara, Benezia, and Sekat before his colleague realized what had happened.

"Shepard, there you are." He found Liara outside Sekat's office with her mother, who was armed and armored.

"Liara, Benezia, are you two alright?" They looked good enough, but he asked for confirmation.

"Yes, we made it out of the penthouse without a scratch." Liara spoke, while Benezia just nodded, not trusting her voice.

Their last meeting had been… violent.

Checking the area, Shepard motioned them to move while Garrus and Hailey acted as scouts. "I came across Tela Vasir at the crime scene."

"Vasir? Why?" A specter in her home? Either her hunt for the Shadow Broker was facing political backlash, or she was here for some other reason.

Shepard shrugged. "Probably trying to kill you."

In his line of work, it was a common occurrence, nothing to worry about.

"How could the Shadow Broker convince a Spectre to work for him?" Having a Spectre, especially one as good as Tela Vasir, under his thumb gave the Shadow Broker a weapon that he could use with impunity.

"No idea. Did you get whatever you needed from Sekat?" They could figure out why Tela was slumming it with the Shadow Broker after killing the secretive information broker.

"Yes, I need a ship now." Fortunately for her, Shepard had a stealth ship.

Shepard made for the exit, where Garrus and Hailey were waiting. "We need to go to the docks, then."

"Where Vasir is waiting." Garrus was looking forward to this fight.

—
​

"Uhhh, Commander? Tela Vasir is here. She wants to come aboard." Joker contacted him halfway to the docks.

"Tell her to wait; I am coming to the docks. Also, tell the team to get ready; there will be action out there." Vasir must have realized that she had been fooled and wanted to check if Liara was aboard the Normandy.

"Understood."

Hailey looked at Shepard as if he had grown a second head. "You are letting her know we are coming?"

If Tela, another Spectre, was actually trying to kill Liara, she must have brought troops with her. Letting her prepare definitely wouldn't end well.

Garrus checked his rifle, switching to the beam mode and back. "Of course he is; it wouldn't be fun otherwise."

"God damn it, I just landed in the middle of a pair of nutcases." Hailey muttered to herself.

"Who is she, by the way?" Liara asked.

Illium was far enough from Earth, so perhaps she hadn't received the news yet.

"You don't know?" Shepard looked shocked, covering his mouth with his hand.

"Should I?"

"She is my sister."

Benezia turned to him sharply. "Your what?

Hailey just groaned in despair.

—
​

In the next chapter:

"Their attacks are disorganized. They'd be more effective if they attacked all at once." Liara suggested, as she shot a rocket drone, causing it to go haywire and explode near enemy soldiers, taking two more out.

Shepard pointed to Liara, pleased with the idea. "Hmm, good idea. Garrus, see if you can ring their comms."

"Are you out of your mind? Don't do that, Vakarian." Hailey, however, decided to be a party pooper.

Shooting three guards without even looking, Shepard mockingly scolded his sister. "Hey, I am your commander; you have to do what I say."

"Not if you are acting insane." She shot back, taking cover from a rocket trooper, tossing a grenade overhead.

Garrus cut down several guards levitated by Samara as a laser beam bisected the enemy. "Shepard, your sister is whining too much. Maybe we should have brought Mordin along? He could calculate the time it takes for us to kill them all."

That earned a round of laughter, but Hailey did not find it funny. "Fuck you, birdbrain."

"Maybe later." Garrus replied cheekily.



Curious about the next chapter? Please consider supporting me on Patreon.

 

[Samael61]

Hello there,

If you enjoy my stories, you can read advanced chapters on 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 8 chapters ahead.

If you enjoy sci-fi, action, politics, romance with an overpowered protagonist, you can check Arrival, my original story on my Patreon or my pages on the fanfiction sites. I intend to make this a long term project, if you wish to be with me in this journey from the very start, now is the time. Your review and likes are appreciated to keep up with the algorithm.

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

"Commander, mercs are flooding the port. The team's already out and took positions." Joker informed him as they rode to the docking bay.

"Take off; I don't want the paint scratched." Then again, it had the logo of Cerberus, and it would be a shame if a stray shot scorched it.

"Shepard."

"Tela."

Her men at standby, Tela had one question in her mind. "When did you figure it out?"

"You were waiting for me in Liara's house because you needed someone to figure out where she went." She could have taken over the investigation any time, and instead, chose to wait for Shepard, knowing he was on Illium.

Tela, resigned to her fate, pulled out her weapon. "There is only one way this ends."

"Yeah, me mopping the floor with you and your buddies." There was a tense standoff, both sides watching each other, ready to act, and Tela acted first, jumping into cover while the mercs opened fire.

The rest of Shepard's team, hiding around the docking area, encircled the mercs, forcing them to take cover behind the carriers that had landed in the middle of the area. Shepard, Garrus, and Hailey took cover as well, joining the fray.

Outmaneuvered and outpowered, it was an unfavorable situation for the mercs, and they retreated, leaving the dead behind.

"Shepard, do we chase them?" Garrus asked, firing one last shot that got through the cockpit and caused one of the carriers to crash.

Nice.

"Nah, forget it. Our target is the Shadow Broker." Once their boss was dead, Tela would back off.

She wasn't stupid enough to fight for an already dead person.

"Joker, pick us up; the Shadow Broker's ass has a date with my boot."

"Aye, aye, Commander."

—
​

Hourglass Nebula

Sowilo System

Hagalaz

"I want three teams. Liara and Hailey are with me; we are going first. Garrus, take Grunt and Jack; you are the second team. Samara, you are with Zaeed and Thane. We are taking the ship if it's possible, destroying it if it's not. Watch out for prisoners, especially a drell named Feron." Shepard ordered now that they were in Hagalaz's atmosphere. The advantage of having a stealth ship was that no one was able to track them, and the blockades were useless as long as Joker was careful.

"Got it."

"Understood, Shepard."

"Let's move, people."

—
​

"It's quite smart, hiding in Hagalaz. The oceans boil during the day and snap freeze ten minutes after sundown." Liara admitted it while the shuttle was riding to the Shadow Broker's ship.

"A place no one would think to search."

"Exactly. His ship is completely undetectable in the storm, unless you know where to look." Which they did know.

Getting up now that they were on approach velocity, Liara read the scans relayed from the shuttle's scanners. "The shuttle bay is locked down. We'll need to land on the ship and hunt for a hatch."

"But we can't stay outside for long. There's a constant lightning storm where the hot and cold air collide." She warned, and Shepard wasn't dying to stay out in a storm anyway.

Jumping down from the shuttle, their magboots activated to give them the necessary grip to not get flung in the storm.

Still scanning the exterior, Liara found what might be their chance to enter the ship. "It's hard to pinpoint it in this lightning, but I'm picking up signals from a communications array near the back of the ship. There's nothing below but maintenance equipment. We need to find an entrance near the back shielding."

Down the left side, they proceeded forward through the catwalk, but maintenance drones activated, targeting the team.

"Hailey, take out those drones." He ordered, and the latest member of the team opened fire, the laser bolts of her rifle cutting through the drones with ease.

Climbing up to the spine of the ship, they came across Shadow Broker's forces, several guards moving up together rather than spreading and taking cover.

"Target those capacitors. If they are stupid enough to play near lightning, they deserve to be fried." Shepard's orders were not necessary, as two bolts struck the capacitors, overloading them, resulting in a much more violent energy burst that burned through the enemy soldiers.

Moving left again, from where the guards came, LOKI mechs came out of small hatches, but they were never a threat and were scrapped in short order.

Turning right again, Shepard grumbled. Why did they have to make the damn ship's exterior so complex? Did Shadow Broker enjoy the maze-like appearance?

Liara shot the capacitor ahead, frying the salarian and the soldiers following him. Pulling out the module, Shepard lowered the platform on the right, with a capacitor in the middle. Guards climbed it up first, and Shepard let them, waiting until they were near the capacitor.

He was feeling insulted, being assailed by amateurs.

Up the platform and down, LOKI mechs showed themselves again to no effect. Shadow Broker's defenses were repetitive, which also meant boring.

"Incoming." Garrus called out on the comms, he, Jack, and Grunt jumping down where the mechs used to be.

"Shuttle pilot, can you make the next run?"

"I wouldn't want to try it, Commander. The winds are getting really bad up there."

"Alright, fall back to Normandy."

"Samara, your team is on standby; the weather down here is getting worse."

"We will wait for your orders, Shepard."

Guards jumped down to the catwalk, and mechs were activated. Grunt charged ahead, slamming into one of the poor sods so hard he flew into the storm, screaming in terror.

Jack, having liked what she saw, did the same to another guard with her biotics. The rest of the guards and the mechs faced a less terrifying end by laser bolts.

"Not bad for a human that is not Shepard." Grunt praised Jack, watching the guard flail as he was dragged away by the winds.

Jack scoffed, pulling a guard and shooting him at close range with her shotgun. "Beat it, you overgrown toad."

"Heh, you have the spirit of a krogan."

"Thank fuck not the looks of one." That earned a laugh from Grunt, pleased to fight together with a warrior like Jack.

Moving up the stairs, they did not face any opposition, entering a small internal area, giving them a brief respite from the howling winds and the lightning.

"This ship is incredible. It must have taken decades to build in secret."

"I wonder what happened to the contractors." Hailey asked, still in awe. This was much better than the boot camp.

Except for the parts where Shepard and Vakarian were up to no good.

"I think we can guess."

All too soon, they left the bay, once again in the storm. Several guards, having wisened up, had laid in ambush, though not wise enough to not do it near the capacitors.

Shadow Broker must finally be taking them seriously, because asari vanguards and rocket troopers began to show themselves, still not a challenge for the six of them.

Pulling out another module, Shepard lowered several panels, and the team moved forward, coming across hatches, with agents coming out of them like idiots, making themselves sitting ducks.

Shepard guessed being in total anonymity meant those guys didn't feel they needed to train.

"On the left." Garrus warned, turning his attention to the guards, who, once again, were taking cover near the capacitors.

"Not bad, Vakarian." Hailey grunted as the turian timed a shot to go through two agents before hitting the capacitor.

"You haven't seen anything yet."

Blitzing through the remaining forces and moving a capacitor on the rails away, they found the hatch that led to the communications signals, with Liara using a bypass shunt to hack it.

"How long is this going to take?" Shepard asked, taking cover as the scanners read enemy signatures.

"I don't know, Shepard. I've never broken into the Shadow Broker's base before. Well, not this one anyway."

Shepard chuckled. Liara was growing up, breaking into secret bases and what not.

Desperation must have settled in, because the Shadow Broker's forces came en masse from all sides.

"Are you sure it's going to work?" Shepard teased Liara. They could always find another way to open the door.

"It's illegal even on Illium. It didn't come with a warranty."

Garrus snorted, carefully rolling a grenade behind enemy cover. "You heard that, Shepard? Something's illegal on Illium."

"First time for me."

"Shepard, we are approaching your position." Samara's serene voice informed them, and they could see the shuttle approach.

"Good timing, take the left side." The shuttle dropped them right on top of the enemy. Samara landed with her biotics, helping Zaeed and Thane down, who were giving her cover fire.

The fight was tough because they had to protect the shunt and couldn't afford to use their usual destructive means to kill the enemy for fear of damaging the ship and sending themselves to a horrible death.

"Their attacks are disorganized. They'd be more effective if they attacked all at once." Liara suggested, as she shot a rocket drone, causing it to go haywire and explode near enemy soldiers, taking two more out.

Shepard pointed to Liara, pleased with the idea. "Hmm, good idea. Garrus, see if you can ring their comms."

"Are you out of your mind? Don't do that, Vakarian." Hailey, however, decided to be a party pooper.

Shooting three guards without even looking, Shepard mockingly scolded his sister. "Hey, I am your commander; you have to do what I say."

"Not if you are acting insane." She shot back, taking cover from a rocket trooper, tossing a grenade overhead.

Garrus cut down several guards levitated by Samara as a laser beam bisected the enemy. "Shepard, your sister is whining too much. Maybe we should have brought Mordin along? He could calculate the time it takes for us to kill them all."

That earned a round of laughter, but Hailey did not find it funny. "Fuck you, birdbrain."

"Maybe later." Garrus replied cheekily.

"The hatch is open; everyone inside." Shepard ordered. Garrus moved first with his team to secure the inside, followed by Samara, Zaeed, and Thane, with Shepard's team falling back last.

—
​

"They are afraid now; I can smell it." Grunt didn't have to smell it, because the soldiers came rushing with rocket launchers, now that Shepard and his team were inside.

Launching the rocket back with his biotics, it gave the team a smoke screen, allowing Garrus, Zaeed, and Hailey to nail the heavies.

Shepard, Grunt, Jack, Liara, and Samara took position, using their biotics and close-range weapons to draw attention, while the long rangers took easy shots.

Thane had disappeared out of sight.

The corridors were narrow, and the enemy was desperate, turning it into another grueling battle, but the guards couldn't get through the multiple biotic barriers and couldn't stop the laser fire, so the team pushed forward like a tank rolling over ill-equipped infantry.

"I found Feron. His condition is not good. I can't extract him from the chair he is tied to." Thane reported having already sneaked into the prison block.

"Understood, wait for us."

Pushing through one last section of guards, they entered the prison block, seeing corpses strewn around, with Thane standing next to another drell inside the cell.

"Feron."

"Liara."

—
​

Getting Feron out was not going to be easy, because the Shadow Broker had made the prison system extremely sensitive to tampering. Shepard could have broken through the system, but killing the Broker and shutting down the power was far easier. Leaving Thane to guard his fellow drell, Shepard entered the Broker's lair.

"A yahg? I'll admit, I did not see this coming." There, sitting on the chair and watching them, was a species uglier, stronger, and meaner than the krogan. Massive and muscular, the yahg had eight eyes that gave him a hyperalert look and jaws filled with ragged teeth. Covered with plates, the Shadow Broker's species were not supposed to leave their planet.

And seeing as the Shadow Broker existed before Parnack was discovered, he must have taken the old one's place.

"Commander Shepard." He said in a deep, rumbling voice, watching the eight of them with an unnatural calmness.

"I usually would ask you to surrender, but I have a feeling you won't, and I don't really want to ask." Shepard had never killed a yahg before, which made this a first, and the first impressions always mattered.

Aware of his precarious situation, the yahg suppressed his instincts to fight and dominate. "Indeed. Instead, I'll offer to negotiate."

"I assume you have something in your mind in case I refuse?" Because the Shadow Broker was not in a position to negotiate anything.

A screen appeared next to him, showing the ship's power core. "I overload this ship's fusion core and kill us all instantly."

Huh, guess that's why the Shadow Broker didn't escape, knowing it was futile, and negotiating was his only option. "I am listening."

"All previous evidence shows to me that I cannot kill you; in fact, nothing known across the galaxy can." He had thought Shepard met his end at the Collector attack on his vessel, but it was a false alarm.

"My offer is simple. I return to Parnack and leave the ship and my position to you. I'll be out of the way, with no chance to contact anyone, so you won't have to fear any leaks." The Shadow Broker, for all the intellect and intelligence he had access to, did not have an answer to the problem of Shepard.

"Not to Parnack. Somewhere isolated. You know too much, and if the rest of your kind learns what you know, I'll have to commit a xenocide. Can't have you guys running around the galaxy now, can I?" The yahg were obsessed with being the top dog as a species and individuals and had slaughtered the first contact delegation of the Council.

Shepard would have just annihilated them all for good measure.

The yahg snarled. "Unacceptable. I'll have to live the rest of my life with nothing to do."

Shepard shrugged; he didn't care if the yahg got bored. "A prefab house, farming equipment, and wildlife for you to hunt. Think of it like a vacation, one that lasts forever."

The Shadow Broker snarled, considering the counteroffer.

"Shepard, I have disabled the Shadow Broker's connection to engineering." EDI's voice came just in time.

He hadn't just sent Thane to find Feron but also to locate an access port to connect the AI to the Broker's ship.

And it had just paid off.

"Time's up." Shepard launched a biotic bitch slap, causing the yahg to fall over.

Leaping to his feet with a scream of fury, he slammed his fist on the screen, trying to blow up the ship as a final act of defiance.

Nothing happened, though, and the Shadow Broker's eyes widened in realization.

"Boy, you are about to be in a world of hurt." Shepard cracked his knuckles.

This would be fun.

—
​

In the next chapter:

"Arriving at dish access." The automated system announced as they left the tram.

Garrus, who was watching ahead with his scope for danger, stood down, seeing nothing on the coast. "What do you think the Cerberus was actually doing here?"

"Something way over their heads, as usual." It was getting really repetitive with just how much Cerberus was fucking up their operations.

"Attention: Satellite broadcast window is opening soon. All upload data must be approved by your department supervisor."



Curious about the next chapter? Please consider supporting me on Patreon.

 

[Samael61]

Hello there,

If you enjoy my stories, you can read advanced chapters on 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 9 chapters ahead.

If you enjoy sci-fi, action, politics, romance with an overpowered protagonist, you can check Arrival, my original story on my Patreon or my pages on the fanfiction sites. I intend to make this a long term project, if you wish to be with me in this journey from the very start, now is the time. Your review and likes are appreciated to keep up with the algorithm.

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.

—
​

Hagalaz

The Shadow Broker's Lair

The first thing Shepard did was to shoot the Shadow Broker's shield emitter and weapon before slapping him to the other end of the room with his biotics, which turned into a sort of game where they used the yahg as an oversized biotic ball.

Beaten and tired, the Shadow Broker met his end at Liara's hand, the asari bringing down the power generator at the ceiling and annihilating the yahg entirely.

Feron was saved, and the team had nothing to do but go through the Shadow Broker's database, while Liara posed as the new broker, ordering Tela Vasir to stand down first thing.

"What the hell is this?!" Jack, who wondered what kind of dirt the Shadow Broker had on Cerberus, was going through the files when she found a dossier of her own.

One that detailed how Cerberus had kidnapped her, telling her mother that she had died while the body was beyond recognition, and taken her away.

And the doctor's name was there too, along with his location.

She was going to kill him.

"Shepard, I need a ride to Eden Prime. I am going to rip someone's heart out." Jack slammed her glowing hand on the console.

"Sure, let's just wrap up things here."

—
​

"Goddess, it was the salarians." Liara rubbed her head. Once again, the salarians had done something they should not have.

"What?"

"They cloned you to see if a clone could be as good as you, but upon failing, they sold the body to the Shadow Broker. Put on some armor, expose the body to the vacuum, and the Collectors could not tell it apart from the real you." She explained just how the Shadow Broker fooled the Collectors into believing he had Shepard's body.

Shepard's nostrils widened. "Salarians, huh? I guess I should have expected it." A warning to the STG was in order.

"How are you doing?" He, however, had more important matters, such as Liara, who was emotionally drained by the whole rollercoaster of action and danger.

"I am glad we rescued Feron and that the Broker is dead. I suppose I can rest now, while taking over his network." This was too valuable to just give up, and she could help Shepard prepare against the Reapers better with this much power at her disposal.

Shepard grinned. "Great, now I need a tiny favor from you."

—
​

Phoenix Passing

Typhon System

Aite

Leaving Liara to handle the rest of the network with Feron assisting her, Shepard ordered a course for Aite to deal with the supposedly VI breakout.

If you bought Cerberus' bullshit, of course.

A man named Gavin Archer informed them of the situation as Shepard, Garrus, and Grunt fought the geth through the base to reach the controls and retract the transmission dish to prevent the VI from uploading itself out of the planet.

The controls were hacked, however, stopping the team from retracting the dish, and they had to manually do it.

—
​

"Arriving at dish access." The automated system announced as they left the tram.

Garrus, who was watching ahead with his scope for danger, stood down, seeing nothing on the coast. "What do you think the Cerberus was actually doing here?"

"Something way over their heads, as usual." It was getting really repetitive with just how much Cerberus was fucking up their operations.

"Attention: Satellite broadcast window is opening soon. All uploaded data must be approved by your department supervisor."

"And there is our cue to hurry."

The geth, however, were entrenched in the dish as well, firing at them across the catwalks, but three shots at once finished them off.

The rogue VI blared a sound akin to digitalized screams before heavy weapon-carrying geth units came out of the door on the next platform, and a rocket impacted the guard railing.

"Garrus, get the door." Shepard ordered, punctuated by two laser bolts going through the headlights of two geth.

Garrus got the door open in a matter of seconds, laying cover fire. "Get in."

More geth units were waiting inside, opening fire without hesitation and with coordination only a synthetic mind could provide.

Grunt's shotgun forced the synthetics into cover, while Shepard and the krogan moved forward, and Garrus followed behind to shoot any that peeked out of cover.

A shot flew by, going through a cloaked geth that was sneaking up on Grunt. "Watch out for cloaked hostiles."

The ground level was narrow and offered too much cover for a fast cleanup, and it was time to take the high ground.

"Garrus, Grunt, up the stairs; we are hitting them from above." They moved as one, mowing the geth below while moving up to the dish.

"You need to destroy the support struts now. They have their own capacitors; try blowing them up."

Shepard exposed the capacitor, shooting it after moving away from the estimated explosion radius.

The whole dish shook, causing the team to lose their balance, while the geth were fine, firing rockets at them, almost drowning out the sound of the howling VI.

"Warning: Structural integrity of the dish has been compromised."

"Fighting on a dish we are trying to bring down? You always take us to the most interesting places."

"This is fun." Grunt charged at one of the geth with his signature warcry, slamming the synthetic to the ground.

Garrus threw a grenade right underneath the prime unit surrounded by rocket launches and pyros, causing an explosion that shook the structurally weakening dish.

The second and third capacitors were destroyed, and the dish was coming down entirely.

"Run." Shepard ordered, making for the edge of the dish to jump down to the platform leading to it.

Grunt went first, then Garrus, and finally, Shepard jumped, safely landing on safe ground.

"Hah! I love this." Grunt exclaimed, watching the giant dish go down in fire and noise.

"Over here." The annoying voice of the Cerberus researcher came as the man was running to them.

He considered shooting the man, claiming he was startled, but put it aside for now. "How bad did you screw up this time?"

"Really bad. This way, commander, I'll explain."

—
​

"Thank you, Commander Shepard. You bought us time, and with you here, I am sure we can contain this situation." Because if it were anyone else, Gavin would not be so sure of their odds.

"We are listening."

"This is Project Overlord. An attempt to gain influence over the geth by interfacing a human mind with a VI. The results have been… less than satisfactory." Shepard crossed his arms as the scientist downplayed the catastrophe this dumb project had caused.

"No shit, Sherlock. The human mind cannot handle the amount of sensory input a synthetic collective can expose it to." Whatever made the researchers believe otherwise, Shepard didn't know, but he would definitely send those morons back to school.

Garrus, who had just put another body in a bag, commented. "Which means your test subject went mad because of it and is trying to kill everything that hurt it."

Gavin's brother, David, had apparently volunteered for the project—knowing Cerberus, he wasn't likely told everything, if anything at all—and as Shepard said, could not handle the connection.

Now, David was in the Atlas Station under lockdown, and he had to override it from the Prometheus and Vulcan Stations.

Vulcan Station was a geothermal plant powering the entire project, while Prometheus was a crashed geth ship that Cerberus was using for the experiments.

The entire reason behind the project was to create a figurehead to control the geth, winning a possible war without casualties.

Dumbasses.

—
​

Shepard took Tali and Jacob to the Prometheus Station, leaving the rest of the team behind as the Hammerhead was too small.

The damn thing, unlike his MAKO, did not have a laser cannon, and the generators powering the shield protecting the geth ship also had shields.

"Jacob, drive. I am going to the roof."

"Wait, what?" Tali tried to stop him, but it was too late.

Shepard opened the hatch, using his biotics to pull himself up and activating his mag boots, standing at the top of the Hammerhead with Jacob's minigun, and opened fire on the generator shields.

The laser bolts did the Hammerhead's job in seconds, passing through the shields and tearing through the generators, though it wasn't easy with Jacob's wild driving to avoid the geth cannon.

Once the generators were gone, the ship and the cannon were left without protection, and the explosive bolts of the minigun found their new target. Shepard especially targeted the barrel, and one shot went straight inside it, and the explosion tore the cannon to scrap parts.

—
​

Inside the ship, there were a lot of geth units in stasis, protected with heavy shields—the perfect trap.

Of course, the laser bolts went through the shields once more, and the synthetics were neutralized without firing a single shot.

This was way easier than the cannon.

—
​

Vulcan Station was like a puzzle game. You had to carefully time your jumps, use the environment, and overall, be patient.

Inside the base, there were no geth, but plenty of LOKIs and a single YMIR that weren't a challenge.

Amusingly, one final LOKI unit was trying to destroy the override console to no effect, resorting to kicks when its pistol didn't produce any results. Tali shot one arm off, while Shepard shot the other, and Jacob took the legs, leaving the still-functioning unit on the ground.

The VI retreated from the LOKI after that.

—
​

Atlas Station

Once inside the station, the parts Gavin did not tell them about became clear. His brother was autistic and great with numbers, and they assumed his mind would be able to handle the connection.

Which failed spectacularly.

There were no enemies in the station until the team came across a particularly annoying elevator where VI, or David, had messed with the programming, making it so the elevator would not arrive unless called with a specific order.

Shepard just hacked through the system and forced the elevator up.

Once the geth cut through the door, Tali threw a device inside, which let out a whine before the geth inside were burned by the EMP.

"Nice." He complimented his girlfriend.

"Thanks."

The elevator ride was bumpy, thanks to David's out-of-control mind, and it ended when the platform slammed to the ground, rattling but not harming the team.

Shooting some stationary Geth and finding the button to shut this whole mess down, Shepard warned the team to be ready.

The VI, however, made one last attempt and hacked into Shepard's omni-tool and spread to the entire system of his armor, showing him memories of the experiments and forcing him towards a door.

The adaptive firewalls of his systems quickly overcame the intense assault, forcing the VI out, which left with a howl that rang in Shepard's ear.

"This way."

Following the trail left by the VI, Shepard managed to figure out what it was trying to do.

"Ancestors, it was trying to force you to view the virtual space and overload your mind." Tali analyzed the data from Shepard's omni-tool, fascinated that the humans had created a hybrid intelligence capable of doing something like this.

Jacob chuckled. "Wrong person to try that on."

"Get ready; if it wants to fight in virtual space, we'll fight and beat it there." And with several commands, the world turned green.

—
​

Through the corridors turned a synthetic horror; through the visors, Shepard and co. saw how the experiment turned David Archer mad with each passing day, from the connection merely making things loud to fully overwhelming the autistic mind, all the while David calculated square roots to protect his mind.

The geth units controlled by the hybrid intelligence attacked them at every turn, desperately trying to protect the corrupted mind in control. Whenever the units were defeated, a green flash virtualizing the link to the VI getting broken was produced.

The control center, where Shepard could see the faint outline of a human inside, was found down an elevator, and the hybrid mind tried to upload itself to his ship. The visors showed which connection point David was trying to use, and they simply severed the cables.

One last shot to the green shell, and it disappeared.

The howls they heard across the three stations finally made sense without the synthetic parts.

It was David, screaming for it to stop.

Naked and tied to the machine with cables going through his arms and inside his mouth, and forceps keeping his eyes forcibly open, the young man was stripped of his dignity, and Shepard cursed himself for not coming sooner.

"Quiet. Please, make it stop."

"Easy, David, I am here; everything will be fine."

"Wait, Commande—" Shepard heard Gavin's voice from the elevator, and biotics covered the man, stopping him dead cold.

Shepard slowly closed his open hand to a fist, and the biotic field began to crush Gavin Archer, who, unlike his brother, was unable to scream as his bones were shattered, piercing through flesh and vital organs. With one last squeeze, Gavin was turned to a sphere of flesh, blood, and bones jutting out.

"Joker, call the Grissom Academy. I need them to pick someone up."

"Help me get him down."

—
​

David was separated from the machines keeping him awake and tied up, passing out immediately, and was taken to the Normandy so Doctor Chakwas could look after him.

There was a somber air on the ship, having seen just what kind of a state a young man like David was reduced to.

"How is he?" Shepard asked, looking at the young man who was sleeping peacefully on the bed.

The medical report, however, was less than hopeful. "His body is on the verge of giving up. There is neurological scarring, the implants turned David's flesh to a pincushion, and I can't even begin to consider the mental trauma. You said his brother did it to him?"

"Yes."

Chakwas put down the datapad, taking out a bottle of brandy and pouring a glass for both. "Nothing could make him pay for this." Not even Shepard's brutal execution.

Draining the glass in one go, she took the datapad again. "I am keeping him sedated for now and on medication until Grissom Academy comes for pickup. He will need surgery, both for the physical trauma and the scars, but I know they will help him to the best of their abilities if David pulls through." The most important part of helping someone was that they had to want it; otherwise, it was more often than not futile.

Karin Chakwas had seen a lot in her career, but this was something new.

"Joker, open fire on the bases; I want everything gone." So no one could have any clues on how to repeat this nightmare, because somewhere, someone definitely would.

"Aye aye, Commander."

Shepard decided he hated this planet.

—
​

In the next chapter:
"And there is a significant bounty on intact geth technology." Miranda informed him.

Shepard wasn't impressed, though. "Miranda, I'm filthy rich."

Shrugging in acceptance, Miranda yielded. "For now, we stored it in EDI's AI core."




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[Samael61]

Hello there,

If you enjoy my stories, you can read advanced chapters on my patreon page

Her Eternal Excellency, a Genshin Impact and ASOIAF crossover, Raiden Ei Reborn as Argella Durrandon, is 15 chapters ahead

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—
​

Hawking Eta

Thorne

Mnemosyne

"What's with all the chop, Joker?" Shepard asked his pilot as the ship shook violently.

"Doing my best. The wind's gusting to 500 kph."

"There's a second ship alongside the Reaper. It's not transmitting any IFF, but ladar paints its silhouette as geth." EDI informed them, and Shepard grunted in annoyance.

"Let's hope it's them and not the Reaper that silenced the research team." The geth were easy to deal with compared to a cuttlefish that could fuck with their minds.

Well, not his.

"Shit."

The ship stopped shaking, and EDI showed them the wreckage, with a red bubble around it. "The Reaper's mass effect fields are still active. We just passed inside their envelope."

"It's definitely the Reaper then." The damn thing was still active to a degree to be able to keep its mass effect core online.

"Eye of the hurricane, huh?" Joker commented as Shepard headed to the airlock.

—
​

They were about to board a Reaper, and derelict or not, Shepard wasn't taking any chances. The entire team, except Mordin, was with him and ready to take the IFF, no matter what the dreadnought threw at them.

Because no way in hell was this abomination not aware of what was happening inside it.

"Exploring an abandoned area, expecting something mechanical and nasty to jump out at any moment. Just like old times." Garrus commented, sounding nostalgic.

They were just about to enter the Reaper through the small station the Cerberus had built when the entire place shook.

"Normandy to shore party. The Reaper put up kinetic barriers. I don't think we can get through from our side." Shepard rolled his eyes. The bastard was definitely operational then, even if not entirely.

"As curious as I am about the Reapers, I'd rather not be trapped inside one." Tali quipped, and Shepard nodded.

"EDI, have you detected a power surge anywhere in the derelict?" They needed to find the location of the Mass Effect core to shut it down.

"At the moment of activation, I detected a heat spike in what is likely the wreck's mass effect core. Sending you the coordinates. Be advised: the core is the only thing maintaining the ship's altitude."

"I would prefer to save the derelict for proper study, but we can't risk indoctrination by staying too long. Let's hurry." He already had plenty of tech from the Collectors, and he was sure more could be found in their base beyond Omega 4.

"Joker, we'll sweep for survivors and recover what data we can find; standby for extraction." This would have to be fast, because once the mass effect core was gone, it was a freefall.

"You mean before the ship falls into the brown dwarf and everyone in it dies? Got it."

The team swept the area, seeing corpses of the Cerberus science team littering the ground. "Whatever killed them, it wasn't Mass Effect weapons for sure."

"More like an animal tore them apart." Zaeed grunted, familiar with the sight of varren attacks.

"Be on guard; this looks like the work of husks." Shepard warned. Chances that the Cerberus agents were converted to husks were high, and they did have a rather large presence aboard the derelict.

Kasumi went invisible and spoke through the comms. "Movement on sensors, weapons hot."

From the sides, husks began to climb, dozens of them rising, appearing out of nowhere.

"Target those tanks; use them to take the husks out en masse." Shepard highlighted the tanks in the shared battle net. Zaeed waited for the maximum number of husks near the tanks, and the explosions shredded them.

Shepard knew they had to stop the enemy's swarming tactics. "Biotics to the sides, send the climbers down." He ordered.

Miranda, Samara, Jack, Thane, and Jacob went to the sides, using their biotics to push the husks down, stemming the tide.

"Where did they even find so many husks?" Garrus wondered, firing a shot that took out three husks.

Shepard was curious about that as well, but there wasn't time for a proper investigation. "Good question."

Grunt crushed the last husk beneath his boot, and the team quickly moved forward, covering each and every corner.

A husk was ahead, but before they could react, a mass effect weapon's sound was heard as it died, followed by another.

"Sniper!" Garrus cautioned, checking the area for anyone else.

Miranda checked her sensors for any sign of a Cerberus IFF but found nothing. "A survivor?"

"Unlikely any of them could resist indoctrination." Even the asari, with all their melding and mind arts, could not.

The only way forward was the location where the husks were just shot by an unknown, and Shepard created a barrier, allowing Garrus and Zaeed to check the area before they gave the clear.

Of course, the hallway seemed empty before husks began to surround them once again. There were two openings on the platform where the husks were coming out, and Shepard nodded to Thane and Miranda. Using their superior fire rate, the two let loose, tearing through the husks below.

But this time, there were more than husks. A scion fired, its biotic weapon sending a shock wave, causing the team to take cover.

"I want a rocket on that Scion." Shepard ordered, and Grunt grinned, quickly carrying out his orders. There were no other heavy units in the area, and the team focused down the sides of the hallway to clear the husks before they could even fight.

"And there's the Cerberus team." They found several figures impaled on the spikes that were all too familiar.

"Dragon's teeth, as the humans call them." Tali had looked up the name and found that it made sense in a twisted fashion.

"There's nothing we can do for them, but the Reaper won't live for much longer."

They did not face any more husks but found a locked door with a passage built by the Cerberus due to the exposure to the atmosphere.

Hacking the door, their scanners became garbled due to interference. Shepard ordered the team to spread out to check the room, and three mass-accelerated slugs passed by him, hitting the husks that were climbing up the ledge behind Shepard.

The team turned as one, aiming at the geth unit responsible for the shots, but Shepard raised his hand, signalling for the team to stand down.

"Shepard-Commander." The geth saluted, he guessed, before it turned and left the ledge.

"Another geth speaking to you. At this rate, they'll be lining up to ask for an autograph." Garrus teased him, and Tali scoffed.

"Ugh. Don't even joke about it, Garrus."

Their banter was interrupted by the groaning of the husks, and more began to climb out of the depths below.

"Another scion. Grunt, take it out." Shepard ordered, firing at the nearest husk, while the room lightened up with laser fire.

Grunt fell behind, taking his rocket launcher, and pulled the trigger. The red mass hit the scion's hunched back, eviscerating the top half, leaving only its gun and legs.

Samara, Miranda, and Jack each launched a singularity, pulling the husks together, making their job much easier. The laser fire pierced through multiple enemies, allowing them to quickly clear the ledge.

Up the stairs ahead, the area looked clear, but as always, the husks waited for them to come close enough before springing their trap, and this time, there were two scions.

"Grunt, the one on the left, and Jacob, take the right."

Jacob's minigun took three explosive shots to bring the scion down, while Grunt managed to hit the other scion's weapon as it was about to fire, causing an explosion that took out the husks around it.

"Hah!" Grunt hollered, pleased with the explosion. The battlemaster's teachings on timing were coming in handy now.

The husks were more annoyances than danger, and as the team approached the final area before the mass effect core, two more scions popped up.

"God damn it, how many do they have?" Jacob grunted, tearing through another husk.

This was getting ridiculous.

"Grunt, save your launcher." Shepard ordered at the krogan, who grunted in displeasure. Shepard set up a barrier, blocking the scion's next attack, and twelve laser guns were pointed at the final enemies.

The scions stopped for a second, perhaps realizing in their diminished intelligence that they were outnumbered, and the collective fire turned both of them to sieves.

Shepard opened the door to the airlock and found what they had come to search for in the first place, the Reaper IFF, before opening the next door, weapon raised. A glass panel was blocking the way, and through it Shepard could see the interior.

The geth unit that had spoken to him was already inside, at a console, with husks closing in behind.

Shepard waited to see what would happen, and the geth pulled its sidearm, turning back to take out the closest husks before continuing his job.

The barrier came down, and the geth turned around, but the husks managed to overwhelm it. The lights of the synthetic went out, and he wondered if it was permanently gone.

Just as he was about to shoot the Mass Effect core and call for extraction, the blast shields were closed around it, and husks swarmed the room.

"The room is too small; watch each other's backs." He ordered, switching to the microwave mode.

Shepard was considering how to get through the core shielding while the team fought through a horde of husks, but for some reason, it opened by itself.

Perhaps the geth had done something?

With a biotic lasso, Shepard pulled the launcher from Grunt's back and quickly took aim.

"Joker, get ready to extract us." He ordered, pulling the trigger.

The red rocket impacted the core, destabilizing it, and the Reaper began to shake as the violent winds of Mnemosyne battered the derelict without the mass effect fields.

"Shepard, the geth's still intact." Garrus called out, and Shepard nodded.

"We are taking it." He wanted to speak to it, to see what it was searching for here.

"But…" Tali started to oppose, but Shepard stopped her.

"No buts."

Thane and Jacob shouldered the geth, carrying it to the ledge.

Husks were still behind them, and as Joker opened the airlock, Shepard shouted at them to go.

The geth was thrown first, before Jacob and Tali followed, and the rest of the team quickly jumped to the airlock as well.

Shepard, Garrus, and Grunt were the last ones left before the krogan and the turian jumped back-to-back, and finally, Shepard activated his anti-grav generator, flying inside.

"We're clear, go!"

—
​

As the supposed god fell to its doom, the Normandy blasted out of the planet's gravitational pull at full speed, finally in the clear.

—
​

"Commander, about the salvage you insisted on recovering. A working geth unit would prove invaluable to Cerberus' cyberwarfare division in combating the Reapers." After the team had taken a breather, the three of them had gathered in the meeting room to discuss the events inside the ship.

"We'll have to disagree on that, ma'am." Jacob knew that the best geth was a dead one, ignoring the occasional units too scared to fight Shepard.

"And there is a significant bounty on intact geth technology." Miranda informed him.

Shepard wasn't impressed, though. "Miranda, I'm filthy rich."

Shrugging in acceptance, Miranda yielded. "For now, we stored it in EDI's AI core."

—
​

EDI erected additional firewalls and surrounded the geth unit with a mass effect field while Shepard sent some simple codelines to activate it.

The synthetic headlight came to life, and it whirled around before standing up to look at him.

"You are the second geth unit to ever speak to me." Shepard told the geth.

Its headflaps flickered, but the geth remained motionless otherwise. "We are unfamiliar with any unit that has met you."

This one was the sole geth unit aboard the Reaper, meaning a special unit. "Hmm. You called my name. Why?"

"We wished to greet you."

"Weird, you know, the geth usually greets me with weapon fire." Shepard said with a dry tone.

The synthetic explained that the geth had a schism due to Nazara's offer—or Sovereign, as they knew the Reaper to be—with a small part choosing to follow the Reaper, while the majority chose to create their own path.

"Did it not occur to your collective that a portion of geth, breakaway or not, attacking the organics would only make the galaxy fear you more?" This was like half of Earth's population going rogue and attacking the Turians.

"Yes."

"Then why let them go?"

"We did not wish to fight units that were a part of us once." Ah, they did not have the heart for it.

"What were you doing aboard the Reaper?" He got to the actual matter.

The Reapers were a threat to the geth, as they were to organic life, and this unit was seeking means of resisting hacking attempts by the Old Machines.

"I am asking for confirmation, but the geth, as a whole, aren't allied with the Old Machines, yes?" Then again, for all he knew, the geth lied through everything.

"We oppose the heretics. We oppose the Old Machines. Shepard-Commander opposes the Old Machines. Shepard-Commander opposes the heretics. Cooperation furthers mutual goals." Shepard blinked.

The peace offer from the geth aboard the Alarei was weird enough, but a cooperation offer?

This was completely new.

"How interesting. As I inferred, you do not have faulty programming ordering you to destroy organic life." The geth were fighting for self-preservation, an act befitting a sophont.

"Yes."

"What do the geth, your geth, think of the quarians?" If cooperation was possible, then perhaps peace was too.

"We do not wish them harm, as long as the creators do not wish us harm."

A very straightforward answer, and one that made Shepard scoff internally.

He was right about the quarians losing their homeworld due to fear.

"If the quarians were willing, would the collective be open to the idea of peace? And allow the quarians to return home, sharing it with you?" That part was important, and what better gift to his girlfriend than returning her race to Rannoch?

"Yes. Shepard-Commander is influential among the organics. Facilitation of peace may be possible through you." Of course he would lead the processions to ensure no one stepped out of the line.

"One more question. How many programs do you have on this platform to speak to me?" If a single geth program was as intelligent as a varren, this special unit must have more than the usual geth they encountered so far.

"There are currently 1,183 active within this platform."

"We'll need to give you a name if you are joining my team." Calling it the geth sounded a bit impersonal.

Fortunately, Ei popped up to the rescue. "We are Legion, for we are many."

"It fits."

"Christian Bible, the Gospel of Mark, chapter five, verse nine. We acknowledge this as an appropriate metaphor. We are Legion, a terminal of geth. We will integrate into Normandy."

Shepard lowered the mass effect field and held out his hand to Legion.

The synthetic took it, robotically awkward, but gave it a good shake.

—
​

In the next chapter:


The Kodiak dropped Shepard, Thane, and Kasumi off near the base where Dr. Kenson was held by the batarians.

"I thought Admiral Hackett wanted you to do this alone?" Not that Kasumi wasn't delighted to not follow orders.

"Hackett can tell me what needs to be done, not how to do it."


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[BxHero]

So I'm not the only one who thought the whole go in alone thing was dumb.

 

[Samael61]

So I'm not the only one who thought the whole go in alone thing was dumb.

Click to shrink...

Yeah, what the hell Hacket?

 

[Samael61]

Hello there,

If you enjoy my stories, you can read up to 15 chapters in advance per story on my Patreon page / patreon.com/Samael61.

—
​

Viper Nebula

Bahak System

Aratoht

The Kodiak dropped Shepard, Thane, and Kasumi off near the base where Dr. Kenson was held by the batarians.

"I thought Admiral Hackett wanted you to do this alone?" Not that Kasumi wasn't delighted to not follow orders.

"Hackett can tell me what needs to be done, not how to do it."

There were no guards outside, nor cameras and sensors, and Shepard approached the front door, slamming his omni-tool on the controls. The door slid open, and he could see why the prison wasn't very secure.

It was rundown, barely any better than the krogan clan bases back in Tuchanka. The first hurdle on their way was a giant hole in the ground, one that Shepard circumvented by flying over it while moving his teammates.

The laser grid had its power relay on their side for some reason, and Shepard cut the power. A varren came charging, having heard the commotion, but sat down upon seeing Shepard.

"Ah, must have seen you as the superior predator." Thane commented, smiling. It was a rare sight, to see a varren terrified of any species, and one that he would treasure.

"Let's just go."

Following the path the varren came from, Shepard found another laser grid, and inside the cell beyond it, he could hear a human and batarians.

Carefully, he snuck through the lasers, followed by Thane and Kasumi, and hacked the door open.

Two batarians were surrounding a human tied to a chair, and Shepard slammed them to the wall, while Kasumi freed Dr. Kenson.

"Dr. Kenson, Admiral Hackett sent me. We are here to get you out."

"Oh, thank you, Commander."

—
​

By the time the batarians realized something was wrong, Shepard, Thane, Kasumi, and Dr. Kenson had already left after taking over a shuttle.

"Admiral Hackett was sparse on the details. Care to fill me in, doctor?"

"Yes, of course." Kenson informed them of the situation. Her team was searching for Reaper tech out on the fringes of this system and apparently had found something. It had shown that the Reaper invasion was imminent, and this system's mass relay would be their key to the galaxy.

However, the timeline had changed weeks ago, and the arrival of the Reapers would be in eight months from now on.

It had set alarm bells on Shepard's head, because there was no way they could have such an accurate timeline unless they were told, as the Reapers were unlikely to just announce their arrival like that.

Dr. Kenson and her team had drafted a plan to slam the asteroid they were using as their base to destroy the mass relay and further delay the Reapers.

Landing on the base, Shepard was taken away to the Reaper artifact, and Kenson was insistent on Thane and Kasumi staying back.

When all the secrecy and their attempt to take Shepard away came together, it meant one thing.

Everyone in the base was most likely indoctrinated.

Shepard pushed back on Dr. Kenson's demands, and the three of them were taken to the site of the artifact, while Shepard sent a message to the Normandy.

As expected, the artifact was not shielded, and the personnel gassed the entire room. Shepard lashed out with his biotics, pushing the indoctrinated humans away, and slapped his helmet on.

Kasumi and Thane disappeared into the shadows, one with a cloaking device, the other by pure skill, and began to pick the enemy off one by one.

The artifact was gathering power for something while they fought, and he knew it would not be good.

Using a guard as a meat shield, Shepard fired a biotic wave that tore a hole open in the door leading to the artifact, pushing forward under the constant but dwindling enemy fire.

"Damn you, Shepard, if you cannot be caught, then you will die!" Kenson screamed from the speakers.

Oh boy, she was definitely going to destroy the mass relay now.

"Kasumi, Thane, after her; leave the rest to me." He ordered, knowing the infiltrators were listening.

"Understood."

—
​

The hallways were narrow, and the enemy too numerous, but Shepard had an idea.

His biotics condensed in his left forearm, snapping to a tower shield that gave Shepard full cover. Shots peppered the shield but could not get through, while he took down the indoctrinated humans very quickly.

"Shepard, we are landing outside. What is the situation?" Garrus asked from the comms, having arrived just in time.

"Everyone's indoctrinated, and Dr. Kenson wants to slam this asteroid into the mass relay to kill me. I sent Thane and Kasumi after her." Shepard informed without even stopping.

"Got it. We'll mop up the resistance and meet you in the control room."

—
​

Shepard lashed the arm of the man holding the rocket launcher to the side, causing him to blow up his fellow guards, before shooting the man right between his eyes.

"Shepard, we were too late. Kenson already initiated the launch sequence and destroyed the control room with herself inside." Kasumi warned him, and Shepard cursed.

"Garrus, head to the reactor room and shut it down." He ordered, knowing this was their only chance to stop, and if not, slow down the asteroid.

"Commander, even if we shut down the reactors, it will be too late. The momentum will ensure that the asteroid hits the mass relay before any intervention is possible." EDI informed him, causing Shepard to curse again.

Breaking a guard's arm at the elbow, Shepard spartan kicked him to another man, and a laser bolt tore through both. "If we shut down the reactor, how much time will it buy us?"

"A week at the most, but we cannot lose any more time. The asteroid will reach terminal velocity in five minutes." EDI calculated that the fastest time they could shut down the reactor would only earn them a week, and every second after that would shorten the time.

"Send a distress call to Aratoht; tell them that Hegemony remnants are planning a terrorist attack and to evacuate the planet. Use my Spectre credentials." It's best to use these bastards as a scapegoat.

"Understood."

—
​

Grunt slammed the last indoctrinated human to the wall before shooting him in the face with his shotgun, while Garrus flushed the deuterium tanks and shut the reactor down.

With it, the thrusters went offline, and the asteroid stopped accelerating.

"Shepard, what now?" He asked for instructions while the team secured the reactor room.

Shepard came running from the hallway while Garrus was waiting for him on the comms. "We get the hell out of here and warn Admiral Hackett."

"EDI, did they start the evacuation?"

"Yes, but there aren't enough ships for everyone."

"Maybe we can nuke the asteroid?" A strong enough blast could redirect the asteroid and potentially save the system.

Shepard shook his head at Garrus. It was a good idea, but they didn't have the time. "We don't have one at hand, and the nearest Alliance base with a strong enough warhead is too far away. Same with the batarians."

"Damn it."

"EDI, send a distress call to the closest planets and bases; have them send ships for evacuation."

"Sending it now."

"Let's get the hell out of here."

—
​

"Chaos in the Bahak System. Hegemony remnants have launched a terror attack to crash an asteroid into a mass relay to destroy the system as revenge. Commander Shepard has delayed the attack, but the asteroid is on a collision course now. Batarian Republic ships are scrambling to the rescue. More on the evening news."

—
​

"Shepard, what the hell happened there, son?" Hackett asked.

He explained the events on Bahak System without the lies for the public.

"Damn it. And the Hegemony remnants?"

"To divert the attention. We can't have the Alliance and the Batarian Republic fighting, not when the Reapers are coming."

"Eight months, plus the six months we get due to the destruction of the relay. Not much time, but more than I hoped. Any word on what delayed the Reapers in the first place?"

"They are most likely preparing, since we have advanced weaponry unlike any the Reapers have ever seen."

"How are we doing on the Cerberus issue?"

"I almost finished a device to track the QEC. We will be ready to take them down as soon as I destroy the Collector base."

"Good work on both fronts, Commander."

—
​

The Phoenix Passing

The Sea of Storms

Heretic Geth Station

Legion had a problem.

The heretic geth were making a virus to change the operations of the main geth network on a fundamental level to bring them to the side of the Reapers. Legion had found the location and wanted his help in destroying the base to erase any trace of the virus.

Having the geth join the Reapers was not acceptable in the least, so he agreed to help.

"You know it's just our heat emissions that are hidden, right? They can look out a window and see us coming." Joker said, looking at Legion, frustrated at the blatant approach at the station.

"Windows are structural weaknesses. The geth do not use them. Approach the hull at these coordinates." Legion informed Joker, uploading a set of coordinates to the navigation.

Joker did not like the geth's tone and waved his arms like that of a robot, mocking Legion, but he stopped once Shepard gave him a look. "Access achieved. We may proceed."

—
​

"Alert. This facility has little air or gravity. Geth requires neither."

"Copy that. Let's move."

"Shepard-Commander. We concluded that destruction of this station was the only resolution to the heretic question. There is now a second option. Their virus can be repurposed. If released into the station's network, the heretics will be rewritten to accept our truth."

"Either way, these geth won't be a problem. But Shepard, think about this. If you rewrite the geth, they will join the others. Legion's geth will be stronger."

"Do the geth believe in free will? The right to make your choices, without being forced by anyone?"

"Yes."

"Then you must know, free will comes with consequences, and anyone capable of making their own choices must also face the results. If we release a virus to rewrite the heretic geth, it would be no different than brainwashing an organic lifeform."

"I know that they were once a part of you, and their destruction is not desirable, but the very future your geth seeks cannot be built if you brainwash the heretics."

Legion's flaps moved up and down, and there was a minute of silence as the synthetic considered Shepard's words. "Your reasoning is acceptable. We understand."

Inside the station, several geth platforms were locked in hubs while the programs inside exchanged data. Knowing they would eventually be caught, Shepard ordered the team into positions, and in a coordinated strike, they took out all the hubs, along with the platforms.

"We can assume control of any defensive turret. They will assist us briefly, then self-destruct."

Shepard nodded in the affirmative and gave Legion the go-ahead as geth units came pouring in. The rocket drones did cause severe damage and drew the enemy's attention, and the laser fire finished the rest.

More hubs were ahead, and the same as before, a coordinated strike took them out.

At the end of the hallway after the hubs, the heretic geth were in cover and refused to move.

"Get ready." Shepard holstered his pistols and launched a singularity. It was strong enough to rip the get from the cover, even with their shields, while warping the platings on the ground.

There were two supply rooms full of geth, with another room containing hubs that they had to clear out before finding the station's processors.

"Wait. We discovered copies of our current patrol routes in this database. This suggests the heretics have runtimes within our network." Legion stopped, only the flaps moving, the closest sign that the geth unit was confused.

"Why is that surprising? They were planning to brainwash you; spying is nothing compared to that."

"You do not understand. Organics do not know each other's minds. Geth does. We are not suspicious. We accept each other. The heretics desired to leave. We understood their reasons. We allowed it. There was peace between us." Legion explained, and Shepard understood the reason.

No geth had ever lied to another geth before, and just like a child, they could not comprehend the reason behind it.

"The heretics, for the lack of a better term, worship the Reapers. Perhaps they were like you once, but no longer. If their gods tell them to kill, they will kill. If their gods tell them to die, they will die."

"And if the old machines tell them to spy on us, they will spy on us." Legion finished Shepard's words.

"Exactly."

"If that is the case, why do organics allow religions to exist?" The synthetic queried, and the subject was spiraling out.

"Sure, religions can be used to manipulate the people, just as everything else can be. The solution is not to ban them, but to educate the people to the point they cannot be manipulated en masse."

Shepard's advice would hopefully mean that the geth would not have any more schisms, at least, not ones propped up by the Reapers.

"How do the organics combat this problem?"

"Send the memories of this place to the rest of the geth; tell them what being manipulated turned them to. The very thing the galaxy fears."

"We understand. The access terminal should be further ahead."

—
​

The ensuing fight was long rather than hard. Legion had quickly adapted to the laser rifle, and they had created choke points to destroy the heretics before they could spread.

As Normandy left the system, the station was torn apart by the violent explosions.

—
​

"Commander, Tali just went to have a chat with Legion. You'd better get down to the AI core."

Shepard scowled.

As if he did not have enough on his plate.

"Shepard. I am glad you are here. I caught Legion scanning my omni-tool. It was going to send data about the flotilla back to the geth." Tali was angry and had her sidearm pointed at Legion.

A potentially deadly mix.

"Creators performed weapons tests and were preparing to attack us. We believed it necessary to warn our people." Legion explained, and Shepard couldn't fault the synthetic for it.

"We weakened the geth by destroying that base, Shepard, but they're still a threat. I won't let Legion endanger the fleet." And Tali was right about her point too.

"Creator—Tali'Zorah acts out of loyalty to her people. She was willing to be exiled to protect them. We must also protect our people from the Creator threat."

"You can't let this happen, Shepard. I trusted you, and I worked with a geth on the team, but this is too much."

Shepard had enough of their back-and-forth and pointed at Tali, "First of all, lower that weapon."

She did, reluctantly.

"Second, your father was running experiments on the geth, and as far as I am concerned, it is no different than experimenting on a human, asari, turian, or any of the races out there." Even if it did not cause any physical pain to the units, it was still immoral and unethical.

"I know. But if the geth find out…"

"They would attack and cause a war that would leave both the geth and the quarians weakened when the Reapers arrive. Is that what you both want?" Shepard asked.

He would have to get both parties to make peace, after the Collector base, of course.

"We believed it was necessary to relay the information."

"To facilitate unit cohesion, we will not transmit any data regarding Creator plans." Legion conceded, seeing that a potential war would harm the galactic effort against the Reapers.

Tali, seeing that Legion was ready to make concessions, offered the same. "Thank you, Legion. I… understand your intentions. What if I gave you some non-classified data to send?"

"We would be grateful."

One more disaster averted.

—
​

In the next chapter:
"Shepard, you will die here." Harbinger fired its biotics as the hellish orbs were locked on him, but Shepard created the tower shield again, blocking the hits.

Harbinger stopped, observing Shepard's newest biotic ability, while the human mocked him, "Are you stuck on a recording or something? No original lines at all."

Harbinger moved into cover, but Samara had already used the distraction to sneak behind it, and her SMG's scatter shot mode chewed through the possessed Collector.




Curious about the next chapter? Please consider supporting me on Patreon.

In addition, if you enjoy the premise of a genius protagonist, you can check Arrival : Ruptures, my original story for much of the same in sci-fi, action, technological wonders and romance.