Hello there,
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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,
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—
"Commander Shepard once headbutted a Krogan into being a pacifist."
Exodus Cluster
Utopia System
2183
"The Arcturus Prime relay is in range. Initiating transmission sequence." Shepard heard from the intercom as he made his way to the cockpit.
"Commander." Corporal Jenkins called out as he walked past his superior.
"We are connected. Calculating transit mass and destination." The voice of the pilot continued to inform the crew of the process.
"The relay is hot. Acquiring approach vector"
"All stations secure for transit"
"The board is green. Approach run has began"
"Hitting the relay in 3… 2… 1…"
"Thrusters… check. Navigation… check. Internal emissions sink engaged. All systems online. Drift… just under 1500K" Joker said, all parameters were within the expected range, for him anyway.
"1500 is good. Your captain will be pleased." Nihlus praised the pilot in the lackluster way the Turians did. He turned around and left, heading to find the Captain.
"I hate that guy." Joker muttered behind the Turian.
"Nihlus gave you a compliment… so you hate him?" Lieutenant Kaidan Alenko asked, turning to face the helmsman, wondering what was up with him.
"You remember to zip up your jumpsuit on the way out of the bathroom? That's good. I just jumped us halfway across the galaxy and hit a target the size of a pinhead. So that's incredible. Besides, Spectres are trouble. I don't like having him on board. Call me paranoid." Joker complained. He didn't like having a Turian - or anybody else for that matter- watching over his shoulder.
"You are paranoid, and I hope the part about the Spectres doesn't include the commander." Kaidan said with a flat tone, earning an eye roll from Joker.
"Nah, Shepard's great, it's just Nihlus" Joker corrected, he was actually a fan of the Commander, Spectre or not.
"Done gossiping ladies?" The said Commander asked, irking both lieutenants as they didn't even notice Shepard approach.
"Sorry Commander." Joker said, knowing he most likely heard everything he and Alenko were discussing.
"It's fine, just keep it professional" Shepard knew while humans were warming up to other races, it was a slow progress.
"Aye, aye"
"Joker! Status report." Captain Anderson called out, snapping them out of their little conversation.
" Just cleared the mass relay, Captain. Stealth systems engaged. Everything looks solid"
"Good. Find a comm buoy and link us into the network. I want mission reports relayed back to Alliance brass before we reach Eden Prime"
"Aye aye Captain" Joker answered, looking like he was about to say something before thinking better of it and staying professional.
"Tell Commander Shepard to meet me in the comm room for a debriefing" Anderson said and the link was cut.
"You got that, Commander?"
"I am on my way"
"By the way, thanks for this mobility suit again, you have no idea how good it is to not worry about breaking a femur just to go and pee"
"Don't mention it" Shepard waved it off. Boys back at Shepard Technological Solutions had done a good job with the mobility suit. Rather than the bulky and slow ones at the market, the one Joker wore was sleek, and quite agile.
Shepard had gifted it to Joker after fighting both him and the original pilot, Crooks, in a space fighter simulator to decide who would have the position after General Invectus insisted on replacing Crooks with Joker, following the latter's hijacking of the Normandy.
He had crushed them both, but Joker lasted far longer than Crooks did, and his choice was clear.
"I'm telling you, I just saw him! He marched by like he was on a mission." Navigator Pressly complained, more at having a Turian on Normandy - a Council Spectre no less- than because of any problems with Nihlus.
"He's a Spectre, just as the Commander is going to be. They're always on a mission" Addams replied, dismissive of the navigator's worries, knowing the real reason beneath.
"And had it not been for Commander Shepard, I wouldn't trust this mission at all" Pressly said, no matter how much the relations with the Turians improved, he still did not forget Shanxi.
"Relax, Pressly. You are going to give yourself an ulcer. And you said it, we have Commander Shepard, everything will be fine." Just on cue, Commander Shepard approached, and Pressly cut the comm link.
"Congratulations on your promotion, Commander, though I am saddened you will be leaving the Alliance. You heading down to see the Captain?" Pressly saluted Shepard, suddenly silent about the matter with the Spectre.
"Sounds like you don't trust our Turian guest?" Shepard could guess why, since he had seen it happen a lot of times across the Alliance.
"Sorry, Commander. Just having a chat with Adams down in engineering. Didn't mean to cause any trouble. But you have to admit, there is more to this mission than just you becoming a Spectre. The whole crew feels it." Pressly apologized, for all his dislike of the Turians, the Navigator of the Normandy made sure to follow his orders regarding the other races.
"Yeah, something's going on, the Council's been bitching to the Alliance about keeping it quiet." Shepard confessed, more than one of his acquaintances had kept him informed that something big was brewing, but only the highest of the command knew what it was.
"Do you know what is going on then?" Pressly asked, curious to see if he could finally get some answers.
"Nope, I didn't really care enough to go snooping around, I already have enough flak from the civilian government for spacing pirates, no need to add more to it, but even if it is something bad, we will deal with it." Shepard shrugged. He could have learned what it was with a bit of work, but didn't think it was worth the trouble.
"Yes Commander" Pressly nodded, even if the truth still eluded him, with Shepard, it was fine.
"Alright people listen up, you are right that something is going on, and before you ask I don't know what, but we will be fine" Shepard, having sensed the unease of the crew long ago, finally decided to do something about it, since they were getting tenser by the minute.
"Yes sir!" The crew responded as one, stopping what they were doing to listen.
"Carry on" Shepard nodded, and headed to the comms room again to find Anderson, only to see their resident Turian there, with no sight of the Captain.
"Commander Shepard, I was hoping you'd get here first. It will give us a chance to talk, since we didn't have the opportunity when you last visited the Citadel" Nihlus, having been the first one to officially recommend Shepard as a Spectre, even though the Council was already planning to, naturally wanted to have a conversation with the human.
"Well, I am all ears" Shepard thought someone finally was going to let the big secret out.
"If it was years ago, I would ask you how safe you believed Eden Prime to be, but then you single handedly turned the galaxy upside down, so I am going to skip the small talk. Galaxy is a dangerous place, and even though your people are still newcomers, you alone have proven that humanity is ready. " Nihlus, on the other hand, seemed more interested in having a philosophical talk.
"Thanks Nihlus, now are you going to tell me what this mission is about?" Shepard crossed his arms, getting annoyed by the secrecy, which was never a good thing.
"I can help with that" Anderson finally decided to show himself, coming behind the two.
"Captain"
"We are making a covert pickup on Eden Prime. That's why we need the stealth systems operational" The aging Captain explained. He usually wouldn't keep things like this secret from Shepard, but both the Alliance and the Council have been giving him grief over the necessary secrecy.
"Must be something valuable if a Spectre and one of the Alliance's most decorated Captains are running a mission with me, aboard a highly experimental stealth ship. I can think of few things that would warrant this kind of attention from the Council, such as the Protheans." Shepard knew first hand how pissy the Council could get when it came to Prothean artifacts. Hell, all the trinkets and objects the Alliance acquired in the Terminus were taken to places to be studied by all the races.
"Observant as always, Commander. A research team on Eden Prime unearthed a Prothean Beacon. I don't need to tell you how valuable this could be, as last time humanity made a discovery like this, it jumped our technology two hundred years forward. Eden Prime doesn't have the facilities for it, and since the Council laws require all discoveries related to Protheans be shared, we are transporting the beacon to the Citadel" The Alliance knew the weight of this matter and how it could affect their relations with the Citadel for the better.
"After that, you will be inducted as a Spectre, with a special caveat." Nihlus joined in. It was unprecedented for a Spectre to still work for their government after joining the ranks, but the Alliance wouldn't budge on the matter.
"Yes, you will be a Spectre and take orders from the Council, but you are too good for the Alliance to just let you go like that. As such, you will be a Marine and a Spectre." Convincing the Council was hard, but it was well worth it.
"And take missions both from the Council and the Alliance." Nihlus finished. The Turian didn't care as long as the Commander got the job done.
Nihlus shook his head, as if confused for a second, scratching his face plate.
"You alright, Nihlus?" Shepard asked the Spectre, because this was a terrible time to get sick.
"Yes, just can't help but feel as if we had this conversation before." Nihlus muttered, unsure why he felt like this.
"Captain! We've got a problem" Joker's voice came from the intercom, worried.
"What's wrong, Joker?" Anderson knew it must be serious if it got the usually laidback Flight Lieutenant to be so concerned.
"Transmission from Eden Prime, sir. You better see this"
"Bring it up on screen" Anderson ordered, turning to watch the footage.
"Get down!" Alliance soldiers were firing on something, before a woman in white armor pushed the one recording the situation down, and opened fire on the enemy. The camera shook around, showing explosions and gunfire before an officer started requesting evac.
Alliance soldiers stopped firing, watching with their mouths open in shock, as a ship of impossible dimensions landed on the planet, like the hand of an eldritch god, red lightning crackling around the vessel.
A couple seconds later the transmission ended, with the pilot reporting there was nothing left.
"Reverse and hold at 38.5" Anderson ordered, inspecting the ship on the footage.
He didn't know what it was, but Anderson didn't like it one bit.
"Status report" He ordered, they needed to hurry up to save the beacon.
"Seventeen minutes out, Captain. No other Alliance ships in the area"
"Take us in fast and quiet Joker. This mission just got a lot more complicated" Captain Anderson ordered, face hard as a stone wall.
"A small strike team can move quickly without drawing attention. It's our best chance to secure the beacon" Nihlus suggested, their priority was the Prothean relic after all.
"Grab your gear and meet us in the cargo hold" Nihlus turned back without a word to go and get ready.
"Tell Alenko and Jenkins to suit up, Commander. You're going in" Anderson said to Shepard, who turned to look at the screen.
He didn't have a gun big enough to kill that thing.
—
Eden Prime
"Your team's the muscle in this operation, Commander. Go in heavy, head straight for the dig site, and do what you do best." Anderson ordered, all humour gone from his voice.
"What about survivors, Captain?" Kaidan asked, his priorities more on the side of saving lives.
"Helping survivors is a secondary objective. The beacon's your top priority." The Captain ordered, the mission was of paramount importance, and trying to save lives could mean they would be too late.
"Approaching drop point one." Joker informed them, as the ship slowed down.
"Nihlus? You're coming with us?" Jenkins asked if the Turian would be fighting with them. Commander Shepard was there, but more guns were always good in his opinion.
"I move faster on my own." Nihlus said, checking his weapon, before moving out as the cargo hold door opened.
"Nihlus will scout out ahead. He'll feed you status reports throughout the mission; otherwise, I want radio silence." Anderson continued to lay out the general operational plan.
"We've got this handled, Captain" Shepard assured. He was good enough to both save the colony, and the beacon.
"The mission's yours now, Shepard. Good luck"
"Approaching drop point two"
Shepard, followed by Corporal Jenkins and Lieutenant Alenko, disembarked to go and save Eden Prime.