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Among the Stars by KennethRose
 Games » Mass Effect Rated: T, English, Romance & Adventure, Shepard, Joker, Words: 73k+, Favs: 333, Follows: 330, Published: Nov 28, 2012 Updated: Jun 2563Chapter 6
I had an idea, and the moment it popped into my head I was out of bed like a rocket, leaving a groaning, half-awake Shepard in my wake. I'd only had time to grab my pants on the way out, so I ended up running onto the CIC shirtless and shoeless. Add to that the fact that everybody knew I was staying in Shepard's room and that I was running to Mordin I doubt there was a single clean thought in the immediate vicinity, but I really couldn't care less. Mordin looked up from his research bench where he was studying one of the insectoid creatures from the seeker swarms, and raised an eyebrow.
"Elevated alertness, lack of attire… hmmm, birth control needed?"
"An ark," I blurted out, "how small could you make an ark?"
Mordin frowned at me. "Ark… human term – based off Christian bible. Collection of all species to preserve life after great flood."
"Yes yes," I said, irritated, "but what if rather than whole creatures I wanted an 'ark' that contained samples of every 'DNA' in the galaxy?"
"Including plants?"
"Yes," I affirmed, "everything. As comprehensive as possible."
The way I saw it, in the game the Synthesis ending was the most preferable. Peace between synthetics and organics, the Reapers helping us rebuild, surpassing mortality, instant transfer of information, and the improvement of the universe through the knowledge of those that came before us. If the Crucible took Shepard's DNA and managed to do all that, then what could it do with samples of every unique DNA structure? "The DNA will also have to be kept alive… so perhaps a stem cell from each organism?" I suggested, and Mordin hummed for several moments before nodding thoughtfully.
"Possible. Huge undertaking, likely very expensive." Yeah… I had money to burn. "One cell per major variation," he rambled, "Asari reproduced with many different species… many variations, comprehensive you say? Hmm… very complex, life support system as well as control to prevent replication – but alive? Will need specialized equipment. Vessel?"
"Small," I repeated dryly, and the hyperactive Salarian nodded.
"Hmmm… must wonder why you would require such a thing. Possible contingency against Reaper success? Dangerous…" he sighed, "other races could use DNA for malicious purposes."
I rolled my eyes; all I'd wanted was a ballpark hypothesis. Mordin saw my expression and clicked his tongue. "Irritated… very curious, suggests time is of the essence. Would guess… fifty billion cells. End to end one thousand two hundred and fifty kilometers long." I damn near coughed, but the good Professor was not at all done with his maniacally complex and mind-boggling without-a-calculator calculations. "But unrealistic," he mused, "separate compartments to prevent contamination – very important with dextro and amino-based cells – zero point zero zero one two five meters cubed. Minimum."
I frowned, and then quickly ran the numbers through my head and got one thousand two hundred and fifty cubic centimeters – so a vessel with the same volume as a two liter milk bottle probably. It'd be clunky, and a pain in the ass to carry, but it was my best bet for the time being. "Thanks Professor," I offered as I walked out of the room and leaned against the wall in the small space between the lab and the CIC, and within moments I was drafting a letter to my personal project division at ERCS; the best of the best. I hadn't gotten much sleep last night because of the terror I'd seen in Erin's face at the thought of dying, so I'd had ample time to think about the problem.
So my orders to my team was to get live stem cell samples from every single living organism in the galaxy; a monumental undertaking, but I had the feeling they could do it. By contacting botanical and zoological factions in leading biological companies we could likely get all the material we needed within a few months, and from that point on it was just a matter of devising an appropriate transport medium that could withstand pretty much everything. I'd told them to brainstorm ideas on how to get the size of the Ark Mark II down (so shoot me if I thought it was kind of a cool name) and keep the cells alive, and then left them to it. I wasn't a biologist.
The door hissed open beside me and Miranda Lawson froze when she saw me half-naked leaning against the hull. She seemed quite conflicted as I looked her over, but she finally opened her mouth to spout her usual Cerberus bull-
"Thank you." I almost choked on my own spit. My surprise must have shown because she frowned and looked down at her shoes. "You were right about Ori… my sister. Niket told my father about her." I nodded, still rather speechless, and she sighed. "I know I've been a bitch, but you and Commander Shepard are breaking so many rules it's not funny."
"We're-"
"Private contractors," she finished dryly, "I know, but it doesn't mean it doesn't annoy me."
"You have to be quite heavily invested in someone to do them the honour of telling them you're annoyed with them," I quoted wittily, and I got a raised eyebrow in return. "Look, you're not the only one annoyed. I'm annoyed about your blind faith in Cerberus." She crossed her arms, immediately taking the defensive, and I held my hands up disarmingly. "If you think you can manage it then talk to Jack sometime and ask what Cerberus did to her. If that doesn't convince you that Cerberus is wrong then take a look at the classified mission reports that Jack reads."
Miranda sighed, "She seems to attribute the rogue experiments to Cerberus."
Ummm… "Maybe because they are attributed to Cerberus?"
She looked at me haughtily. "Cerberus would never partake in such vulgar experiments."
Now I raised an eyebrow and crossed my arms. "Do you know the ratio of sanctioned to rogue experiments within Cerberus?" She frowned, not knowing what I was getting at, and I completed my thought. "Two to one. Half. That means that every second experiment within Cerberus goes rogue." She looked surprised, and I'm sure I did too. "You didn't know? Do some reading. It's also rather funny how only experiments that don't work go rogue. The ones that come with success are beautified and then archived. I could get you some of the unedited transcripts to sanctioned operations if you'd like." ERCS kept some blackmail material against Synthetic Insights and Binary Helix. The latter especially had some very nasty contracts with Cerberus that had come to fruition.
Now Miranda looked troubled, and I liked that a lot. "I would quite like to see those reports."
"Well Jack was going to get them anyways so I'll forward you a copy as well, and I would appreciate it if the Illusive Man didn't discover just who gave them to you – I'd rather live a little bit longer." She looked at me, confused, and I stared back at her deadpan. "Please don't tell me you think your boss would let me live after exposing him for being a manipulative, cruel, evil monster."
She looked dubious, and I almost face-palmed at her naivety. Good Lord she was brainwashed and blinded by those lovely, idyllic ideals that the Illusive Man had spouted off to her. Yes, Jack Harper was one very charismatic man – so much so that he'd fooled a woman whose genetics were perfect. Apparently her mind wasn't completely synchronized with that perfection. I waved my hand in a 'whatever' motion before heading back out onto the CIC, once more garnering stares, and then hopped into the elevator before punching the button for the Captain's Quarters. I made sure to knock just in case Shepard was getting dressed, and when I was bade entry I rocked on in to see her reading a report at her desk; fully dressed. She looked me appreciatively over, getting a pair of red cheeks from me, and sent me a small smirk before returning her attention to her work as I finished getting dressed.
"You didn't go anywhere dressed like that, did you?"
"Just the CIC," I replied flippantly, and she snorted before falling silent once more. I wondered what she'd do when she heard that I actually had done that. When I checked my messaging account I grinned. One Gillian nar Idenna had replied to my message, and seemed very, very interested in coming aboard. I'd told her all about how Erin, Garrus, Kasumi, Jack, and I were very much anti-Cerberus, and how we were planning a coup of sorts in the ship, and after hearing my plan on how to get her aboard without any Cerberus operative being any the wiser… well, she liked the idea. A lot.
I quickly ran a complete erase on the message to make it unsalvageable and then sat back on the couch, propped my feet on the table, and proceeded to get my new daily work on ERCS done and dusted. There were several funding requests, two of which I denied because they were a little too immoral; some talk about pay rises that I agreed to through the use of shares that the employees would hold in the company, and which they would have to sell back upon leaving; an expansion request for Novaria which got a green light; and finally a shareholder's meeting scheduled for four o'clock that afternoon. EDI agreed to represent my interests by impersonating my one million fake shareholders, and I was set after an hour of work.
Erin followed me down to breakfast where she promptly snapped her head around to look at me when the rumours about me showing up half-naked in the CIC got a little loud, before blushing and looking away when I winked at her. An hour later and I was pulling us out of the next relay and heading into Illium. The docking authorities were all very co-operative, no doubt because of Liara's influence, and my ERCS contacts were reporting that they were all in position to transfer all the gear I'd ordered, as well as begin the retro-fitting of the new upgrades. The moment we docked I opened the airlock and immediately ten engineers walked in – much to the shock of the entire crew – whereupon I greeted them and led the small procession to the Main Battery where they would oversee the fitting of the Thanix canon from the inside.
Miranda met me outside of the Battery looking mightily annoyed, but was headed off by Erin who told her that my actions were supported by her authority. The raven-haired operative looked very offended at essentially being told that I was above her rank on the ship, but managed to still her tongue and walk off with a taught yet civil nod. So while the Cerberus crew were left floundering and my ERCS guys and gals were working on making my ship as close in power to Sovereign as possible, I headed on out with Garrus and Erin. All of us were dressed casually despite the fact that we had pistols magnetised to our thighs and shield generators under our hoodies – yes, Garrus has a hoodie too – and gained a surprised look from the asari that greeted us and pointed us in the direction of Liara's new office.
The trading floor was no different in regards the reception we received and I whistled to myself while Shepard went and talked to the Rachni-affiliated asari. I had to admit that when she went all black-eyed she looked kinda freaky – no offence to them, but I'd rather have green eyes staring into mine during sex than black.
But that was just me I think.
So Garrus threw around some crude jokes, one of which made me snort rather ineloquently, and then Erin came back and we were off again. Garrus must have caught me looking at her butt swaying enticingly side-to-side, because half-way to Liara's office he whispered a, "What would she say if she knew you were staring?"
Erin, as quick as ever, had turned around and informed him, "I'd say that I'm flattered, and that you, Vakarian, should keep your eyes firmly ahead while my boyfriend enjoys the benefits of being just that."
I'd been blushing up a storm at having been caught out, Garrus had snapped his head to look at something in the distance looking kinda scared, and Erin looked a mixture between pleased and embarrassed. When we walked up the stairs to Liara's office my eyes were glued to her butt, and before she could catch me out again I fell in step with her and leaned down to her ear. "You have a simply magnificent behind."
I think Liara's secretary thought that a living tomato had arrived for a moment, and I hid my smirk as best I could to try and present that lovely 'I'm awesome' façade. Erin glowered at me over her shoulder, but I could see that excitement in her eyes. Deep down she loved it. When we walked into the room, being bidden entry by Nyxeris, Liara was right in the middle of that memorable call where we suddenly see she isn't quite the innocent asari we left behind in Mass Effect 1. Erin looked surprised, and I cleared my throat before Liara could make the 'flay alive' comment. Her head snapped around in surprise, and when she saw all three of us standing there she immediately ended the call and walked over to embrace Erin. "Shepard," she managed with a wide grin, but she wasn't fooling anybody – she was nervous as hell about what we thought of her seeing her make threats.
She turned to me, looking surprised, and I grinned cheekily before stepping forwards and pulling her into a firm hug. "Good to see you again Liara," I said, and then pulled back before giving her a cursory once-over. She stammered, probably wondering just why my ribcage wasn't dust after the embrace, and I just smiled genially before making room for Garrus. I'd never really liked her in the games, not that I hated her, but she just seemed a little… artificial for my liking. Hell, even EDI had more character. In my opinion at least.
Garrus shook her hand with his mandibles flickering in happiness. "Liara, good to see that you're well."
"Erm…" she squeezed out before a forced smile was pushed onto her face, "yes, it is good to see you all as well." She turned to me, genuinely confused. "I must confess, however, that I am surprised that James is here."
And there was what pissed me off about her; that slight superiority complex that she hid behind that gentle exterior. Erin's face twitched in annoyance, and I was flattered that she was getting irritated because of the way I was being treated. I, however, was a big boy and so had no problem in speaking my mind for myself. "I am right here you know."
She looked at me with a raised eyebrow that drew my ire further. "I don't understand."
"Well rather than talking like I'm not in the room you could've just asked me whatever's on your mind."
I saw the small flickering of a smirk twitch at the asari's lips, and watched out of my peripheral vision as Erin's knuckles turned white against her side. I reached up and squeezed her shoulder before stepping forwards, eliciting a more visible smirk this time from the asari, and then in a sudden movement I pulled my pistol and aimed it right at her head. Her reaction was almost immediate, and I found myself encased in her stasis field a second later.
Oh but I wasn't done. I'd been charging my Omni-tool for the past two hours in preparation for this moment, and with a huge crackle the white barrier surrounding me shattered; allowing me to move once more. In less than a second I was behind her and had a gun to her temple, and judging by the way Erin's eyes were glittering with restrained laughter and approval Liara was rather wide-eyed and shocked. I lowered the gun after I'd felt I'd made my point, and holstered it before walking back to beside Shepard, my own smirk on my face. "Despite the fact that we were once teammates," I finished, "I won't hesitate to put you in your place. You don't have the right to think yourself superior to me."
Yeah, that felt so damn good. It was a total renegade action, and Garrus looked at me with a raised eyebrow – clearly not having expected such daring from me. Liara still looked shell-shocked that she'd been beaten by a mere human, let alone one she considered a cripple. Erin crossed her arms looking smug herself, and leaned slightly back on her right foot – the Shepard Stance™. "We were wondering if you would help us look for an assassin and a Justicar."
"Thane Krios and Samara respectively," I added, and Shepard stifled yet another smirk at my knowledge of the 'future'.
Liara had finally gotten over her shock, and now had her own arms folded as she tried to suppress her irritation at me showing her up. "I am afraid that I have no information on either of those people."
Oh you sore loser. "Then your contact Officer Dara," thank you intelligence division at ERCS, "in shipping wouldn't be any help for Justicar Samara, now would she? Having been assigned to track her?" I saw Liara's jaw clench, and continued on as if I totally wasn't aware that I was pissing her off. "And that Thane Krios arrived three days ago to begin his assassination of Nassana Dantius. Your informant Seryna wouldn't know a thing about this though… right?"
She was mixed parts angry and gobsmacked, though I tried to move in on the latter emotion – I don't think I had enough Eezo stored to take care of another biotic attack from her. "Well if you knew all that then why did you even come here?" she asked sharply, thinly veiled anger threatening to break through.
"To see an old friend," Erin replied near-icily, "and to see if you wanted to join us, or if we could offer you any assistance. I see now that perhaps I was mistaken in thinking of you as somebody who could return that favour."
Liara's cold expression almost vaporized on the spot, and she scrambled to salvage the situation. "I apologise, Shepard… I have been under a lot of stress lately."
"That doesn't give you the right to treat my boyfriend like he's a worthless, insignificant cripple."
Liara's jaw slackened as her eyes darted between the two of us, and I really, really tried not to smirk. I don't think I managed though, because despite my mental commands I could feel my lips curving upwards. Erin was too irritated to smile, and Liara stammered once more before taking in a deep breath and turning to me. "I apologize, James." I searched her eyes for sincerity, and found it almost overwhelming. The tightness in her brow and the small twitch of her jaw that made her cheekbones more defined for a moment, however, suggested that she was simply a very, very good actor. But if she could act civil, then so could I – as I said, I didn't hate her, she just irritated me.
"Apology accepted," I smiled slightly back.
Erin looked across at me with her eyes narrowed slightly in question, and I gave a small shrug and a jerk of my head. She seemed to get the message that I'd tell her later, and turned back to Liara. "Well since Joker seems to already know where we're going we'll drop by again later."
Liara nodded, but I had one last bombshell to drop before leaving. Nonchalantly, as if it didn't matter much at all, I waved my hand goodbye over my shoulder with a parting, "Oh, and you secretary Nyxeris just so happens to be a Shadow Broker agent codenamed 'The Watcher'. Caio!"
I could see her reflection in the door a moment before it hissed open and we walked out, and I would forever cherish the memory. "Smart-ass," I heard my girlfriend mutter beside me, and stifled my grin as I waved at Nyxeris, who smiled confusedly back completely unaware that Liara was about to go nuclear on her ass. I led my two companions down to the transport hub and pointed Erin to the police station, and she nodded to me with a small smile as she once again took the lead. She would always be the leader on missions, and I wasn't about to jeopardize that image by strolling on ahead of her.
Our talk with the police chief there was wonderfully un-bureaucratic and frank, and it was a breath of fresh air to meet somebody in law enforcement that didn't have a six foot pole stuck somewhere rather unpleasant, and who agreed with our views on red tape. We were granted access to the active operation scene, and headed into it with our Katana out – as we'd all had them strapped to our backs underneath our hoodies. It was slightly risky going into the situation without armour, but since I already knew where Morinth would be we'd only have to go as far as Samara was. We silently darted from cover to cover until we were a mere meter away from the first group of mercenaries, and within three seconds they were all dead.
Shields didn't pick up objects like great big, long blades apparently.
The second group didn't fare much better, only they were lured into an ambush by Garrus after which Shepard and I had come from above like harbingers of death – too melodramatic? Perhaps, but it felt pretty badass. And then we came to the door, which hissed open at our approach. Shepard dodged to the side with wide eyes as an Eclipse Merc slammed into the wall right beside where she'd been standing, and glowered at my amused expression. Yes, Erin, I knew that was going to happen. "Nice reflexes," I smirked, and her glower deepened as she reached over and punched me in the arm.
Our attention snapped back – pun intended – to the Justicar when we all heard her victim's neck crack under her foot, and she looked back at us with unnerving calm. "My name is Samara, a servant of the Justicar Code. My quarrel is with these Eclipse sisters, but I see three well-armed people before me." She walked right up to Erin, as if knowing instinctively that she was in charge, and stared her unwaveringly in the eye. "Are we friend, or foe?"
Erin gave a small smile and crossed her arms. "Friends… My name is Commander Shepard, and I came here to ask if you would join my crew; I need the best in my mission against the Collectors."
I saw Samara's eyes sweep over the bloody, crystal katana we all held in our hands, pointed unthreateningly at the ground, and her eyes met mine for a moment. I couldn't help but shiver; it was as if she was seeing right into my soul and judging me. I didn't break eye-contact though, I made sure of that, I could have sworn that a smile twitched at her lips before she returned her attention to Erin. "I am afraid that I cannot help you on your mission. I am in-"
"Persuit of a fugitive," I finished, and her eyes turned to look at me, surprised.
"Yes. I am curious as to how you know this."
I shrugged and continued, ignoring her curiosity. "Morinth the Ardat-Yakshi, also your daughter, is aboard the AML Demeter headed to Omega." Thank you meditation and hours of concentration to remember that name!
The infinite calm in her eyes disappeared quite quickly, and they narrowed as she stared at me. "Nobody should know of that information." I shrugged again, not offering any explanation, and her eyes narrowed for a moment before she nodded and turned to Erin. "Very well. If your information turns out to be accurate then I will pledge myself to your mission against the Collectors."
Erin nodded and smiled again. "Excellent. Would you like to accompany us to our ship? I'll need to get into some proper armour for my next mission."
Samara nodded genially and then gave me another searching look before falling in-behind us three. I'd already told Erin about what she'd face during the mission to get Thane, so there really wasn't much to talk about. I caught a raised eyebrow from Samara when she saw the usually-serious Shepard giggle and squeeze in with me in the back-seat, and smiled slightly back at her as I wrapped an arm around my girlfriend's shoulders. God, even just thinking of her as my girlfriend made me feel giddy with happiness. Samara smiled slightly back and seemed to relax a little, and Garrus, who was sitting on my other side, was looking a little embarrassed with how doting Erin and I were being with each other.
When we arrived at the docking bay Erin and I stopped being quite so affectionate, and Samara seemed to understand that we hadn't gone officially public with our relationship yet. I got an understanding nod from her and smiled thankfully back, and knew that sometime soon she was going to want to have a little chat with me about just how I knew so much. I wasn't really looking forward to that conversation.
Shepard decided on taking Garrus and Jack with her on the mission to get the Assassin as I'd begged off this time around; preferring to get some more practice before heading into combat again. I pecked Shepard good-luck on the cheek, just brushing the edge of her lips, and she had sent me a leg-melting smile before squeezing my hand and heading off to go and get changed into her armour. When the door had hissed shut I was left standing alone with Samara, and after a moment my dreamy reverie was broken by a calmly spoken, "You care deeply for the Commander, and she cherishes you as well."
I turned around and leaned against the door, a giddy smile still on my face from the slight touch mine and Erin's lips had shared, and nodded unashamedly. "I do, and she does. We are dating currently."
"You are also sleeping together." I stared at her, a little gobsmacked, and she explained her reasoning concisely and serenely. "You both automatically knew which position was the most comfortable for you during our journey to the Normandy, and when we stepped into the elevator you begun reaching to press the button to the top floor, but stopped yourself."
"Ah…" man I felt like an idiot, "a bit of a giveaway that…"
"Yes," she agreed, "it was quite revealing."
I felt the awkward silence seep in-between us, though I had the feeling that she felt quite calm and un-awkward, and I eventually got so edgy that I just had to push our conversation along. "Sooooo… you're probably wondering just how I know all the stuff I do."
She looked to me, her pale blue eyes staring unnervingly into mine, and nodded. "It was a concern of mine."
"I own Elanus Risk Control Services, and we have a substantial intelligence division – one that is probably close to the Shadow Broker in strength. The difference between us and him is that we don't sell our information off to the highest bidder."
I was making sure to manage my micro-expressions to keep my half-truth looking like the full truth, and after several seconds she nodded before turning to stare out into the void. "That relieves my fears that I was so easily found out," she told me quietly.
I debated whether or not to reveal more information, but knew that we'd be heading to Omega next anyways on the way to Halstrom to recruit Tali… so really there'd be no harm done. "Your daughter Morinth is a predator," I said as I calmly took a seat behind her, "and so it truly wouldn't surprise me if, when we arrive on Omega, she has already taken a victim's life." I saw her jaw clench, even if her expression didn't alter in the slightest, and sighed as I decided to do another stupid thing. "I would request that you use me as bait rather than Shepard to lure Morinth in."
This got the Justicar's attention, and she stared at me with raised eyebrows. "I feel the need to inquire why."
"Two reasons," I explained as I looked out the huge window. "Firstly, I wish to see whether I am able to resist her allure as such a thing could very well be necessary in the coming war."
She nodded her assent to that statement after a moment's thinking, "Very well, I understand your reasoning. The second reason?"
I looked her dead in the eyes this time, and didn't have to lie to mean it. "I don't want Erin facing her."
This time the small smile on her lips wasn't stifled, and she looked out at the stars with a nod. "With such short lifespans your species must adapt to find love fast… and your loyalty is inspiring."
Oh if only she knew that with my plan of action we'd all be immortal, but that was beside the point. I shrugged and looked her reflection's eyes. "I am falling in love with her. I am sure you yourself know what protective feelings such emotion brings."
I saw a flash of pain flicker across her face, and her reply was halting. "My… experiences with love, unfortunately, have brought me only pain."
"So your love for Falare and Rila is only painful?"
Her head snapped around to look at me, but I was genuinely curious, and she obviously saw that… but now she was suspicious again. "The names of those in the monastery are not kept on record anywhere."
"Who said we accessed records?" I asked her simply, "We have people everywhere, Samara, and while before I owned the company it was sometimes used for malicious purposes… now we're on the straight and narrow. I mention your daughters, Samara, because of something a very, very wise man once said: 'Anger, fear, aggression. The dark side are they. Once you start down the dark path, forever will it dominate your destiny'." She didn't need to know that it was Yoda, she looked confused enough already. I sat forward and put my elbows on my knees to leave my hands free for gesturing. "Despite your Code, Samara, anger bubbles in you for what Morinth has done. And your other daughters, the ones who have isolated themselves for the safety of others… you fear that they will become the monster that Morinth has."
The flicker in her eyes, though almost imperceptible, was enough for me to gather that I'd hit the nail dead on the head. "What is your point young one?"
I was a little insulted by that, and I had the feeling that that was why she'd said it. "Considering your unfounded and irrational reactions, Samara, I'd think that right about now I'm being wiser than you are." I saw her eyes narrow a fraction, but despite the threat of a highly trained and un-loyal-to-Shepard Justicar I wasn't going to back down; she needed to hear this. "Your daughters will always be different from Morinth; they showed that the day they took the offer of isolated sanctuary and your wayward daughter didn't. I have absolute faith that if they came back into society they wouldn't cause a single problem. Hell, even if they took a lover I doubt they'd cause any problems. They know what they are, they know what the penalties for using their abilities are… they don't need a building to force them to keep to theirCode."
Samara looked like I'd just walloped her one around the face with a big, fat, slimy tuna. Gobsmacked for her was a slightly open mouth and wide eyes, but GOD it felt good! I sat forwards further, looking imploringly to her. "In this coming war, Samara, things are going to become very, very bad. Worse than I think any of us can fathom." The reason for that was because I was going to keep as close as I could to the original timeline as possible so that I still had an idea of what the future would bring. "When the Reapers come, not if but when, everybody is going to be in danger. I cannot afford, and the galaxy cannot afford, having its top fighters distracted by thoughts of loved ones, or grief for those that have died close to them. It's because of this that I'm trying to get you to see reason with your Rila and Falere."
Still digesting the bombshell of logic I'd previously delivered she looked at me, even more confused. "I do not understand."
"Using my contacts and resources," I explained, "I am building a top-secret sanctuary deep underground on a planet that will remain nameless for the time being. Once we have a confirmed Reaper presence I will activate Ghost Protocol," because let's just admit it, doesn't it sound awesome?
"Ghost protocol?" Samara questioned me as she carefully sat down opposite me, and I nodded.
"Right. That means that whoever is with us and are heavy-hitters in the war will be offered sanctuary for their family and friends at this compound of ours – though they will be thoroughly vetted before being put on the transports just to make sure that the facility is not compromised. That way they can rest easy knowing that their loved ones are taken care of and are safe. And despite your unease about letting your daughters leave the Monastery I would urge you to let them go to the sanctuary. The compound itself will be 'black'; completely blocked from all communication saves several Asari matriarchs in our employ that will ferry messages backwards and forth through mind-melds."
Samara looked slightly awed, something that I was under no doubts happened very rarely. "I see… and it will also be a safeguard should the Reapers win." I nodded and she looked at me, now clear-eyed and trusting. "The facility must be huge."
I grinned. "You have no idea."
It had to be big to house the hundreds, possibly thousands of people that would be living there; capable of withstanding hundreds of years living hidden underground; had to be completely self-sustaining in regards food, water, for both amino and dextro-based lifeforms. The plans had been passed to me by one of the courier matriarchs when Erin had been showing Samara the CIC, and they were amazing… and already being put into action. The complex would be housed on Grosalgen; a planet made up of ice and rock, and whose core was stone-cold, an important feature because if it was heated then there was the possibility that the ice would move… and that just wouldn't be good at all.
And it was five hundred kilometres underground that the facility would be built. A hollow would be constructed; five thousand meters deep and with a radius of twenty kilometres. Within that a huge space a dome made of two meter thick KC3 would be erected, a metal that was more awesome than Adamantium, where the plates would be eventually fused together by passing a Mass Effect field through it which would solidify it into its final state: KX9. KX9 was pretty much indestructible, and was a 'dead' metal, meaning nothing could really get through it, the big thing there being communications and scans. There were other metals just as strong, some with more diverse properties too, but there were two reasons the designers had chosen KC3. One, it was cheap to manufacture – which was good considering I was going to be spending billions on the settlement itself, and two, it just so happened to have the same density as ice when it was changed into KX9.
Yeah, all the Reapers were going to see was a big chunk of ice, i.e. nothing considering the planet was ice.
While the protections were incredible the draft designs for the colony itself were just mind-boggling. The architects, who had done an incredible job in getting even the base plans down in under twenty four hours, had come up with a tier system. All in all there would be five of them.
The bottom level, dubbed the Working Floor, would cover the entire bottom floor of the dome, and would serve as the visible base, as beneath it would house all of the technology to keep the self-sustaining eco-system alive. Half of the 'base' tier would be used as farmland while the other half would be taken up by the accommodations. Nearly two hundred meters above the first tier, and latched onto the wall of the dome a wee way around so that it didn't overshadow the base tier, was the 'living' tier, which would be dominated by areas for the inhabitants to mingle and enjoy themselves. Gardens, libraries, gyms, pools, the eating hall, and even such liberties as a theatre and a dance club and bar.
The third tier, another two hundred meters above and a few kilometres around from the two tiers below so as not to hang over them, would hold the 'working' facilities. The school, preschool, and daycare would all be built there, as well as the University, technological institute, and hospital.
The final tier would hold the 'government' of the colony… though there was a platform right at the very top of the dome that had been in the plans, proposed by a rather daredevil Salarian on the project who liked the idea of base-jumping. I wholeheartedly approved.
Just as I had employed my lovely little thief on a whim, I too had an idea to propose to the woman in front of me. "Before I go and train for a while, as well as make some reservations for my date with Erin tonight, I was wondering if you would be able to give me your thoughts on a matter to do with this sanctuary?"
She looked interested at me asking for advice where I had previously seemed like the one with all the answers, and nodded. "I will answer if I am able."
"The records and messages left behind by previous cycles suggest that the Reapers took hundreds of years to fully wipe out all the life they wanted to destroy before retreating, and if that is the case then the sanctuary will be more than that and will have to become a colony with all that entails. A year, perhaps, I could see this refuge surviving before authority would need to be more strictly established."
"You are referring to a government and law enforcement?" she asked, and I nodded.
"Yes, but the problem is that I have no idea who I would put in such positions. I would need the law enforcement to be insusceptible to coercion or corruption, and the same would be needed for the government." I looked at her and smiled, "And the one group in the galaxy who I could see upholding that? The Order."
Her eyebrows rose. "We will be needed during the war to uphold our duties," she informed me, and I stared at her as I cocked my head to the side.
"Will you? It will be chaos, and I have the feeling that if you spoke to your superiors about it all they would agree that it could be a good safeguard." I could tell I had her intense interest once more, and so I endeavoured to explain my reasoning. "If the Reapers do win then The Order will be wiped out, of that there is no doubt. By having Justicars in the sanctuary it would make sure that the teachings of The Order would live on, and that the Code would survive… and the fact that Asari live for hundreds of years and so can therefore live out the isolation is also a boon."
Now she looked contemplative as she mused over my proposal. "Your idea has… merit, Mister White, but I cannot speak for a single other Justicar, let alone the entire Order. Do you wish me to pass your suggestion on to them?"
"Only if it is imparted with the utmost secrecy," I told her, and I was deadly serious. Asari couriers were the method of communication on this project, everybody was vetted by matriarch, and plans were only put down on paper which would be well and truly atomized once it was no longer needed. "Word of mouth with complete electronic isolation if at all possible. All of our galaxy's races arguably depend on this succeeding."
She nodded her understanding, and I smiled before standing and holding out my hand. She stared at it curiously, and I chuckled before helping her manouver her hand into mine before shaking it. "It's called a hand-shake; it's a human tradition that means that an agreement has been reached… usually. It can also be used as a greeting, or when meeting somebody for the first time." I really couldn't help what I did next, and stared at her seriously before motioning that she should stand.
My next lesson was epic.
Five hours later when Erin finally returned to the ship with Kasumi and Garrus in tow Samara and I were waiting for her. I was trying so, so, so hard not to giggle I must have looked constipated. I felt my diaphragm spasm when Samara stepped forward and held out her hand to Shepard, but pointed slightly upwards, and Erin looked at me suspiciously before doing the natural thing and giving the 'bro' handshake; you know the one – the one Shepard gave Grunt or Anderson in the game.
Only Samara wasn't done. Leaning into Shepard she hugged her slightly with her free hand; their clasped ones pressed in-between them for a moment, before stepping back, releasing the shake, flinging her arms out wide with her hands pointed slightly downwards, and then with as deep a tone as she could manage and dead-serious face, said, "Whud up!"
Dead, impenetrable silence as well as gaping jaws, at least until I snorted, and then proceeded to collapse to the floor howling with laughter. I saw through my tears that Shepard was still staring at the Justicar with complete and utter shock, and then Kasumi grinned, stepped forwards, crossed her arms in a very gangsta-like fashion, nodded, and said, "Sup sista!"
Oh god I think I cracked a rib.
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