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,
Loki: The God of Magic , an OC-SI into Loki who is not aware of the MCU, is 8 chapters ahead,
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—
Normandy
En Route to Citadel
"Doctor? Doctor Chakwas? I think he's waking up." Shepard heard Ashley Williams' voice as he finally regained consciousness.
"You had us worried there, Shepard. How are you feeling?" Doctor Chakwas, a mature woman with slightly graying hair and the Normandy's Medical Officer, said. She was surprised to hear that Commander Shepard needed medical attention. Karin had read his medical history, which was empty since nothing could even hope to harm the legend.
For goodness' sake, the young man had gone on suicide missions and came back without a scratch.
"Annoyed. What the hell happened to me after the beacon, doctor?" The XO of Normandy asked, rubbing his head to dispel the headache.
"We don't know; you were out for fifteen hours, but you seem to be fine now, for the most part."
"It's my fault. I must have triggered some sort of security field when I approached it. You had to push me out of the way." Ashley wouldn't admit it out loud, but she, like the majority of the Systems Alliance, was a fan of the Commander, and had something happened to him because of her, Ashley would never forgive herself, and the citizens of the Alliance would tear her family apart.
"Williams, you are banned from going near glowing Prothean relics from now on." Shepard teased, getting up to stretch and then get a glass of water and a painkiller.
He didn't enjoy dreaming of organics being tortured, experimented on, and turned into slaves, and now he had a headache.
"Well, the beacon's in one piece, though it seems to be dormant; hopefully the researchers in charge will be able to find out what set it off." Chakwas commented that while it wasn't her field of expertise, the value of the relic did not escape her.
"Lieutenant, Corporal and I carried you aboard after you said you were going to take a nap." Ashley added.
"I appreciate it." Shepard nodded.
"Physically, you are fine. But I detected some unusual brain activity, abnormal beta waves. I also noticed an increase in your rapid eye movement, signs typically associated with intense dreaming." Chakwas continued her report on Shepard's health.
"I saw synthetics experimenting on anthropoids, Protheans most likely. It was a message, I think. I recognized some of the words, but the rest was corrupted." Shepard had done a fair bit of research on Protheans and knew most minds couldn't handle the info dump from a beacon.
It was considerably easier for him, of course.
"Hmmmm. I better add this to my report. It's definitely—Oh, Captain Anderson, Spectre Nihilus." Karin stopped whatever she was going to say upon seeing the Captain and their guest approach.
"How's our XO holding up, Doctor?" Anderson asked, examining his second in command.
"All the readings look normal. I'd say the Commander is going to be fine."
"Glad to hear it. Shepard, I need to speak with you—in private." Anderson said, which meant the others had to be out.
"Aye, aye, Captain. I'll be in the mess hall if you need me." Ashley saluted before leaving, while the doctor simply nodded before following the young marine.
"Sounds like that beacon hit you pretty hard, Commander. You sure you're okay?" Anderson asked as a courtesy, mostly, since he didn't believe Shepard could be taken down. At least, not by a Prothean beacon.
"Yeah, I am fine."
"Shepard, I owe you my life. I don't know what Saren is doing, or why, but if it weren't for you, I would be dead now. I don't know how to repay that debt, but if there is anything I can help with, let me know." Nihlus said. He was grateful for the rescue, and unlike some other Turians, Nihlus Kyrik would not let any prejudice get in the way.
"Don't mention it." Shepard waved him off.
"I have so many questions, Shepard. Starting with the laser rifle. Really? You made a handheld laser weapon and didn't think about informing me?" Anderson was more annoyed than pissed off, since he had no time to make an excuse to the brass.
"Wanted to surprise you, Captain." Shepard replied cheekily. In truth, he just wanted to test the rifle without someone butting in.
"One hell of a surprise, Commander. So much so, the entire Alliance navy is pressuring me into convincing you to help us mass produce it." Anderson had to file the after-action reports of Eden Prime, and unfortunately the rifle was too important to leave out.
"Yeah, no."
"Why is that?"
"Because, if the Alliance wants it, they are going to have to make it themselves, rather than wait to find it out from the Prothean relics."
To Shepard, it was a wonder the galaxy had come so far.
"I'll tell them I did my best. Now, we have the beacon, and you saved Nihlus, but Saren is not only working with Geth; he also managed to get away. Council's going to want answers." As his Captain, Anderson knew it was best not to push Shepard.
Because if he pushed back, the Alliance brass would regret it, so he changed the subject to
"I had bigger problems, Captain. He made it off while I was busy taking down the dropship. Also, if the Council wanted the beacon with minimal interference, I should have been informed at the beginning."
"I tried, Commander, but they wouldn't budge on this for some asinine reason they didn't bother to tell me."
"Council aside, that Turian, Saren. What was his problem?"
"Saren Arterius is the Council's top Spectre, Commander, or rather he was, and he dislikes humanity, to say the least." Anderson explained the basics about Saren but omitted his past with the Turian.
"Arterius? Any relation to Desolas Arterius?" Shepard asked, as General Desolas Arterius was the architect of the Invasion of Shanxi.
"Yes, Saren is his younger brother." Nihlus replied. He always knew Saren never forgot the death of his brother and still blamed the Alliance for it, at least to a degree.
"That explains it."
"Saren is dangerous, and if he has gone rogue, then that means trouble for the Alliance. We need to know what was so important about the beacon for him to do this. Did you see anything when you interacted with it? Any clue that might tell us what Saren was after?" Captain Anderson wanted to know what could possibly have tipped the scale for Saren to attack a human colony.
"I saw aliens, Protheans most likely, being slaughtered by synthetics and then experimented on and turned to slaves, husks of their former selves. The message was a warning, I think, but the beacon wasn't in good condition, and most of it was garbled. I think I managed to send it to some sort of stand-down mode, but that part is a bit hazy." Shepard explained what he had seen again. The beacon, as far as he could infer from the experience down on Eden Prime, operated similarly to Asari Melding, and with his prior experiences, Commander had assumed control over the relic to a degree.
"No matter how much I like to bring these claims to the Council, they won't believe it unless we literally drag a Prothean before them." Nihlus may believe Shepard, but he also knew the Council would not even take him seriously without undeniable proof.
"Then we won't. For now, we should focus on Saren."
"With Nihlus as a witness, the Council should revoke his status as a Spectre. Then, we can leave him to your tender mercies. We should be getting close to the Citadel. Head up to the bridge and tell Joker to bring us into the dock." Anderson said, and Shepard nodded, leaving the med-bay, while the Captain continued to talk with the Spectre.
Near the meeting table, Alenko, Jenkins, and Williams were standing together, examining his laser rifle.
"Commander." Alenko greeted, handing the rifle to his commander, and finally ridding himself of the responsibility. Who knew what Shepard would do if something happened to it?
"Good job, Alenko, not even a scratch."
"He didn't even let it go for a second, Commander, too afraid something would happen." Jenkins teased, earning a side-eye from the said lieutenant.
"Ha, ha."
"How are you holding up, Williams? Things were rough down there." Not for him, but then again, Shepard couldn't measure them based on his standards.
"I've seen friends die before. Comes with being a marine. But to see my whole unit wiped out…" Ashley didn't finish her sentence, the memory too painful, before continuing.
"And you never get used to seeing dead civilians. But things would have been a lot worse if you hadn't shown up." The Gunnery Chief said, a small smile appearing on her lips as she remembered watching Commander Shepard make the Geth sing and dance.
"So, Commander. Are we going to get laser rifles? Because that would increase our effectiveness by a lot." Alenko asked, his eyes glued to the weapon. If it had belonged to anyone other than Shepard, then the lieutenant might have taken it to the range for a test.
"If I get around to making more of it, sure." The rifle itself was simple to construct; the micro-fusion cell, not so much.
"Report." Shepard said, confusing the marines, before the rifle itself spoke up.
"Remaining fusion cell charge, 89%. Material integrity is 99.72%. Heat corrosion is negligible. Charge fire mode is responsible for 0.18% corrosion of the barrel." The rifle reported its current situation, running diagnostics with the onboard sensors.
"It can talk?" Jenkins asked, falling in love with the weapon every second. The other two were considering their sexuality as well.
"Yes, I coded a VI to monitor the rifle." Shepard said. He took the rifle and headed to the bridge, and after Joker's comment and a pleasant ride through the nebula, they saw the Destiny Ascension, which amazed the crew.
Besides Shepard, he had seen the ship before. He even went on a tour, and a private one later in Matriarch Lidanya's quarters.
"Why so touchy, Joker?" Ashley asked, hearing the Flight Lieutenants comment about the size.
"I am saying you need firepower too."
"Look at that monster. Its main gun could rip through the barriers on any ship in the Alliance navy."
"I meant the Commander. There isn't a single ship out there capable of the destruction Shepard causes on a regular day." Joker clarified. After all, Shepard was classified as a WMD.
"Good thing he's on our side, then." Alenko replied, and Shepard finally had enough.
"Enough kissing my ass."
—
Citadel
Docks
Shepard's arrival at the station was heard, so there was quite the crowd blocking the dock and stopping the crew from moving out. Anderson's attempts to disperse the crowd failed, and Shepard decided to spare him the trouble.
"Commander, that's not standard-issue armor, right?" Ashley asked, noticing how it was thicker than the usual armor.
Shepard grinned at the Gunner Chief before activating his omni-tool and typing something. A transparent glow covered Shepard, causing him to slowly float, before he used his biotics to propel himself forward, flying over the stunned crowd and heading to the embassy.
It took the C-Sec coming to disperse the crowd for anyone to finally make a move.
—
Human Embassy
Listening to Udina and the Council make lovey-dovey eyes at each other was disgusting.
Okay, maybe it wasn't exactly that, but hearing how pleasant the two sides were, Shepard would rather be anywhere but here.
"Captain Anderson. I see you brought your crew with you." Udina finally turned to the Normandy crew, having finished his business with the Council.
"Yes, since they were all on Eden Prime." Captain Anderson said, straightening himself.
"I have the mission reports, and since Commander Shepard was on the ground, I assume they are accurate."
"They are. Sounds like you and the Council are getting along now?"
"Yes, the last several years have been truly good for the relations between the Citadel and the Alliance."
"You are welcome." Shepard quipped. The Commander had scared the crap out of the ambassador when he came flying through the door, so Udina's short response wasn't surprising.
"Indeed. Saren's their top agent, and to learn he went rogue? They were not happy about it at all, but it is overshadowed by the fact that the Commander has a fully functioning, handheld energy weapon. Not to mention, their interest will be more intense when the fact that you can fly unassisted gets out ." Udina added, turning to Shepard, wondering what the Commander had to say.
"Well." Shepard activated his omni-tool and typed away. Several holo screens popped out, and he began a presentation.
—
After a small presentation on why Shepard felt it necessary to build a laser rifle and an anti-gravity generator, Udina took Anderson with him, telling the Commander and marines to meet them at the Citadel Tower.
"You know, Commander, as far as the politicians go, Udina was almost pleasant." Ashley commented as they left the embassy. She didn't like politicians, but Udina's attitude was unexpectedly nice.
"Udina knows I can have him changed with one phone call. He is smart enough not to get on my bad side." Shepard didn't like politics either but knew how to use it to his advantage.
"Right, since the DNC won the election with your endorsement." Jenkins commented, remembering how a single video from Commander Shepard had turned the elections upside down.
"Exactly."