Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Year: 2286
Location: Big Mountain

It seemed like a good idea at the time. Especially after one too many near-death experiences that led Ethan Sunderland, the Courier, to upgrade his Transportalponder.

He set his experiment up at X-84, the facility that manufactured his Transportalponder. There was the device itself in the testing room with a robot, a Mister Handy, as the test subject, and an alarm system. Not long after the Second Battle of Hoover Dam, the facility popped out of the ground like a mole rat during mating season.

The walls of the facility were adorned with pipes and vents, which had greatly rusted from centuries of disuse. Despite the place looking like every abandoned facility he had been to, it was well lit. It even had the occasional light bulb flickering in and out as well as those hexagonal patterns laid out on some random spot, typical for any facility at Big Mountain.

Looking through the thoroughly cleaned window to a small, sealed room, Ethan observed the Mister Handy using one of its claws to pick up the Transportalponder. As he pressed a button on the console, the Mister Handy squeezed the trigger at the prompt.

Through many calculations and tests made, he got the essential parts down. It should increase the device’s range, allowing him to teleport to Big Mountain from anyplace and anytime.

In theory, at least. Anything could go wrong, especially at Big Mountain.

A complete disaster would have been a vast understatement. Instead of the robot blinking out, sparks flew out of the device. Ethan looked on, his brown eyes wide in horror, as a miasma appeared in the room and expanded, stars from a distant world trailing in the deep black. He read about wormholes in science textbooks and what they could look like, and this was it.

In a swift motion, he switched on the testing room’s force fields to contain the wormhole as the alarms blared out.

“Oh, honestly!” the Mister Handy complained. The wormhole pulled it in along with the Transportalponder.

The rift ripped through the field like a hot knife through butter and tore everything around it. A piece of debris missed his head by mere inches.

“Oh shit!” he exclaimed. He held on to a desk drilled on the floor as much as he could, but the wormhole managed to drag him in. He slammed head-first into the now-flying furniture, and consciousness left him.

He woke up in an alleyway with a smell resembling Brahmin shit mixed with gunpowder and rotten flesh assaulting his nostrils. At first, he thought he was back in Freeside after all these years. Instead of a night sky as he looked up, he saw a rocky ceiling with buildings that stretched far, far above him. At least by the looks of it he wasn’t in the Sierra Madre nor somewhere in the caves in the Divine. He never was a fan of either of those places, anyway.

He stood up, kicking off whatever pieces of garbage clung to his brown boots. Dusting off his clothes and armor, Ethan took a thorough, good look at himself, placing his hands all over his face. Hands, arms, legs, feet… everything was left intact. He sighed, relieved that he was still himself, and he was still alive.

He checked his Pip-Boy 3000, still strapped on his left forearm. With a whir and a beep, Ethan’s olive, scarred face was bathed in its familiar green light. The Lone Wanderer told him an old friend of hers said he could drop a bomb on the Pip-Boy, and it would still work with hardly a scratch. Even submerging it in water wouldn’t short-circuit it. If he found a way back, he would tell her to add a trip through a wormhole to the list of things the Pip-Boy could withstand.

The Pip-Boy’s screen revealed nothing on the map. He would have to wait for the Pip-Boy’s GPS to adjust to whatever new coordinates it could get, much to his annoyance. According to its clock, he was out for only a couple of hours—unless he traveled through time, he thought with a wry laugh.

He looked up from his Pip-Boy and scanned his surroundings. “Wait, where is that Mister Handy and the Transportalponder?” he asked himself.

As if to answer his question, the Transportalponder was across from where he was, placed against the wall. He picked it up and inspected it. The plastic container that contained the energy cracked open while the vacuum tube at the front of the pistol-like device was burnt out from using enough power to create that wormhole. Without the unique materials to create the Transportalponder, he was stuck here.

He hoped the wormhole hadn’t annihilated everything in its path. That wouldn’t go well with his conscience if it sucked in everything in its vicinity.

“At least I could play with it,” he muttered before putting the broken device in his messenger bag.

He checked his surroundings and spotted a small security camera mounted on a wall. The sight of someone appearing in a dark, dank alley suddenly would surely be suspicious to whoever was watching.

He stepped out of the alleyway, only to be taken completely by surprise at what he saw. “What in the goddamned…” he muttered, dumbfounded, his mouth half-open.

The place looked much like a scene from a bad science-fiction movie or a superhero comic book, like La Fantoma. It was dull and brown, and it all seemed rather dirty, much like the alleyway before. At a casual glance, he noticed the dimly lit storefronts and aging neon signs reminding him of the Strip.

What was even stranger to him were the locals. Some of the others had these metallic plantings on their face, making them look like a weird cross between a bird, a raptor, like a dinosaur from the Pre-War books, and a futuristic trash can. He also noticed that few of the locals are small and skinny, but their heads were big with horns on top, and their eyes were big, beady, and black. To him, they looked too much like grayheads to his comfort. Some women looked human at first, much to his confusion, but the range of skin colors from blue to purple refuted that notion, and they possessed tentacle-like scalps in place of hair.

Ethan wandered aimlessly, as if in a daze, before gazing at the guns of a few guards by what appeared to be a nightclub, with a giant gorilla-like alien guarding the entrance. Compared to what the guards were carrying, they made his equipment seem outdated in comparison. Their suits of armor were sleek, their weapons looked either blocky or curvy. One gunman with a pair of mandibles on their face had an orange holographic light on their forearm. Were they weapons or gadgets, he wondered. But he couldn’t shake off the feeling of the way the alien guard glared at him, and he didn’t want to find out the hard way, so he kept moving.

As he passed by an alleyway, someone bumped into him. He turned around to see a hooded figure quickly shuffled by, muttering a quick apology before vanishing into the crowd.

Without warning, something grabbed him by the shoulder and dragged him to the alleyway. A thug preying on their next victim was taking him away so there wouldn’t be any witnesses, he thought. Obvious and predictable. This should be easy for him to fight off.

Swaying left and right, Ethan broke his would-be attacker’s hold. He reached over his shoulder and grabbed the attacker with the back of his shirt. In a quick motion, he slammed his enemy to the ground like a wrecking ball.

The attacker stumbled to his feet, giving Ethan a chance to glance at them. He was a four-eyed, well-built and masculine humanoid with a pig-like nose, pointy ears and fur-like brown skin. At least that alien had coveralls. Ethan whipped out his Bowie knife and lunged, giving the mugger a long gash across his chest. His attacker yelped and stumbled a few steps backward, clutching his chest in pain before muttering a string of words that Ethan couldn’t understand.

“Well, that’ll make having a conversation difficult,” Ethan remarked. He drew his auto. 45 pistol and took aim at his would-be attacker, his knife now in his left hand and underneath his right.

The four-eyed alien pulled out a strange looking pistol and aimed down its sights. It was boxy with what appeared to be two barrels stacked vertically on top of each other. It also had no hammer despite resembling a semi-automatic pistol. But all in all, it was a gun. It looked like Ethan was about to find out the hard way, he thought.

As the thug was about to squeeze the trigger with a wicked grin, showing his teeth to be all resembling needles, a dark blue projectile zipped past Ethan and landed on his chest. The impact was enough to send him flying backwards and knocking off his feet.

Ethan lowered his pistol and turned around. At the end of the alleyway he was dragged to, there was a blue-skinned feminine humanoid clad in purple, orange-rimed armor that molded into her body neck to foot. Her blue eyes, eyebrows that looked to be drawn in, and freckles across her cheeks made him think it strange to see such an alien look so… human. With a stern look on her face, she lowered her hand to her side.

“Are you alright?” the feminine alien asked.

Ethan blinked. Did she just speak in English? Not a hint of a strange accent in there. It was honest-to-God, perfectly good English.

“Yeah,” he answered. He looked at the thug, laying on the ground in the alleyway, then at the woman, then at the thug again, then at the woman again. “What was that you pulled off?” He pointed at the thug without looking at him. “Are you a psychic? Did you use telekinesis?”

The strange woman, confused, stared at him with a cocked brow. “I’m a biotic,” she answered after sighing. It was almost like she took pity on him. Almost. She opened her right hand, and it glowed a dark blue as she moved her fingers around, almost in rhythm. She closed each one, slowly, and her hand stopped glowing, like a flame on a candle flickering out. “I can do things you saw and create mass effect fields through electrical impulses in the brain. You… you didn’t know that?”

“No, I’m not from around here,” he replied. “How do these biotics work?”

“I pull that off because of my bio-amps, which synchronize my nervous system to make the biotics useful. My people, the asari, are naturally adept at biotics,” she answered. “Other species can develop biotics through exposure to element zero in the uterus and enhance them with implants.”

“Element zero? Like a chemical substance that has neutrons like neutronium?”

She tilted her head to her left slightly, even more incredulous than before. “You don’t know it’s a nickname for element zero, or eezo? They’re exotic material. They’re made by stars going supernova, releasing dark energy. Then they latched onto nearby asteroids. How do you not know this?” She glanced past him.

Ethan turned around to see what the woman was looking at. Behind him, the four-eyed thug was rolling on His back, clearly struggling to get on his feet. He raised his pistol and aimed it at the thug’s head. The thug looked back, His four eyes glaring daggers at him. He fired once, the shot landed right between the eyes, and the four-eyed alien slumped back, lying in a pool of his own blood.

The woman flinched. “Probably for the best,” she commented.

She watched Ethan reload his pistol with a fresh magazine—of which he had a couple on him—and holstered it at his hip. He approached the body, knelt by it, and began rummaging through its belongings. Digging through his pockets gave him a thin card with a single word in several unrecognizable languages. One of them read ‘credits,’ and he guessed it was a sum of currency.

She shook her head, her right hand on her hip. “You’re looting already? I think I’ll just—”

“Almost done.” Noticing something sticking out of the thug’s pointed left ear, Ethan yanked the thing off it, finding it to be an earpiece. It wouldn’t fit him, going by its shape, but it looked like it might be worth something.

After pocketing the earpiece, Ethan grabbed the pistol the thug dropped. Pressing a button near the grip, a magazine began to slide down, but he caught it. Inside the pistol’s magazine were cylinder-shaped blocks that were as thick and big as his thumb. He could find a better use for this than the four-eyed asshole. Especially if it could even the odds against anyone else.

Taking the pistol after putting the magazine back in, he stood up and turned to the feminine alien. “By the way, thanks for the help.”

“My pleasure,” she replied, a slight smile on her face. “I’ve been in a… similar situation when I arrived on Omega earlier. When I saw you attacked by that batarian, I had to step in.”

“Omega, huh?” Ethan curled his lips. “That’s the place we’re at, right?”

“Yes. It’s a space station that used to be a mining facility, built into an asteroid,” she answered. “Since you didn’t shoot me, maybe I can trust you a little. My name is Liara T’Soni. I’m looking for someone.”

“Yeah? Who?”

“A contact. I’m sorry, that’s all I could say on the matter, but it’s nothing illicit.”

Ethan’s eyes lit up. “Maybe that contact of yours could help me with something. As long as you’re being honest with what you said.”

Liara raised an eyebrow. “Oh? With what?”

Ethan paused. He wasn’t sure if he could show Liara the Transportalponder, but she had helped him so far. A little bit of mutual trust would go a long way. “A way to fix this thing,” he finally answered and pulled the broken device out of his bag.

Liara stepped forward, looking at the device in question. “What is that?” she asked. “I’ve never seen anything like it before.”

“It’s… it’s a long story,” Ethan replied as he put the Transportalponder back into his bag. Would she believe him if he told her what it was and how he got here, he wondered. But he had so many questions… “But I can’t help but ask, how are you speaking English?”

“When I studied archeology, I’ve also learned how to speak your common languages in case my translator malfunctioned. Other than that, I’ve spent my time as an archeologist among your kind for some time during expeditions,” she answered.

“My kind?” Confused, Ethan’s brow furrowed as he frowned. “Where?”

Liara tilted her head to her right. “…On other planets. Is something…?”

Ethan took a deep breath before continuing. “Look, this may sound crazy, but what year is it right now?”

Liara’s eyes narrowed, incredulously. “To your kind, it’s 2183. Why do you ask?”

Ethan quietly gasped, wide-eyed. His heart raced while his mind grasped around for anything in his thoughts. If Liara met other humans before and in other worlds, which would not be possible, knowing history, and the current year was 2183, not 2286, then he only could come to one conclusion in mind.

“Oh shit. I’m in an alternate universe,” he muttered.

“What did you say?”

Ethan shook his head and looked at the asari. “Nothing.”

“Oh… okay.” Liara paused. “You’re welcome to come along, but I can’t promise anything about this... device of yours.” The asari stepped out of the alleyway and into the crowded streets.

Ethan nodded as he followed closely behind Liara. “Thanks, but why are you so quick to help me?” he asked.

Liara looked over her shoulder. “A… good friend of mine went out of her way to help those in need, even when the galaxy is at stake,” she answered before continuing. “You need help, so I’ll do my best to do that.”

Ethan smirked. That was something he could relate to.

Chapter Text

Year: 2183
Location: Omega

“Do you have an omni-tool?” Liara asked as she and Ethan walked around in a marketplace brimming with activity. The dimly lit storefronts and neon signs resembled the places he had been to in the Mojave Wasteland, especially the Strip.

“What’s that?” Ethan asked. “Are you going to explain, or do I have to find out at one of these stores?”

“It’s…” Liara sighed before curling her lips in contemplation for a moment. “Yes, that would be better if I show you. And you need a translator if you don’t have one.”

“Yeah, good idea,” he agreed.

The two approached a kiosk.  A red-haired man wearing coveralls crouched down and tinkered with a pile of scrap metal on a bench, welding two flat surfaces together with a ring around it. The clerk’s mask covered his face with sparks and the welder’s intense light, not to mention the smell of metal and wire.

Ethan knocked on the table, and the man placed his tool on the floor and turned as he lifted his mask. He was pale with green, baggy eyes and a soul patch on his thin chin. He looked like he was in his early twenties.

“Hey there. How’s it going?”

“It’s been wonderful, really,” Ethan replied. At least this guy also understood what he was saying. “The sights are gorgeous, and the people here are friendly.” He shrugged while Liara rolled her eyes. “What’s not to like?”

The clerk paused for a moment. “Well, this is the shittiest place in the galaxy. First time on Omega?”

“Yeah, you could say that. I want to buy something.”

“What are you looking for?”

“A translator. And an, uh… an omni-tool.”

The clerk blinked. He raised his finger before speaking. “You don’t have them? You got here without them?”

Ethan realized if he told the truth, the clerk wouldn’t believe him. “I got mugged. Bastards took my stuff and gave me this nasty concussion.” He rubbed his forehead, pretending he had a headache. “I… forgot a few things.”

Liara turned to stare at Ethan. “A concussion? Are you sure about that?”

The clerk’s eyes went a little wide before he blinked. “Oh, uh, okay. Happens to everyone at this station. Except for that ‘amnesia caused by massive head trauma’ thing. But you look like you can handle yourself.”

“Nobody’s perfect, believe me.”

“Anyways, you can use the terminal to buy what you need. Security reasons. You can see ‘em everywhere at the Citadel nowadays.” The clerk tilted his head to an orange screen at Ethan’s right.

“What’s the Citadel?” Ethan asked.

The clerk pinched his nose. “You are an idiot.” He sighed, now realizing. “Oh, right. Concussion.”

“I’ve had worse. Mind giving me a refresher?”

“The Citadel is the capital of galactic civilization,” Liara explained. “They’re represented by my kind, the asari, the turian, the salarian, and, recently, your kind.”

“It’s like the opposite of this shithole,” the clerk replied.” I’m sure you can figure out the rest. It had its fair share of problems, sure. Pretty mundane, from what I hear.”

“So why can’t you just leave?” Ethan asked.

“I would love to, but travel costs are high,” the clerk answered. “Plus, I’m on a contract. Hopefully, it’ll expire before I die, or some asshole kills me. Omega’s a pretty dangerous place.”

“Yeah. I got the picture.” Ethan gazed at the terminal and tentatively touched the screen. After discovering it responded, he browsed the selection. He found a translator of high quality and an orange light that would fit over his forearm. “Hey, what’s up with that wristband? Is that an omni-tool?” He pointed at the picture of the object on the terminal.

The clerk turned away from the shelf. “Huh? Oh, yeah. That’s an omni-tool. They’re multipurpose handheld computers. Everyone has one these days.”

“So why would I need one?” Ethan had his Pip-Boy, so buying one of these things would be redundant to him.

“The omni-tool will also give you a kinetic barrier,” the clerk answered. “It’s weak, but it’s better than nothing. It won’t work against radiation and laser, temperature, slow-moving objects, like knives and sticks, and poison.”

“Like this pistol here?” Ethan showed the clerk his new pistol.

The clerk brought his hand up to his chin and investigated the gun. “That’s an M-3 Predator pistol. Heavy pistols like that pack a real punch against anyone with armor. They’re mass accelerators, so they use metallic slugs, not bullets. They’re accelerated by electromagnetic fields and enhanced by mass effect fields.”

“What are mass effect fields?” Ethan asked.

“They are fields used by element zero, which releases dark energy when exposed to an electrical current,” Liara answered. “It can increase or decrease the object’s mass, with a positive charge increasing mass while a negative charge decreasing mass. But when a ship is moving faster than light, they can create static electricity charges. If you don’t discharge that onto a planet’s surface or its magnetic field, depending on the size of a ship, it’ll go into the hull of a ship or a car instead and cause damage.”

“Fusing bulkheads, destroying electronics, you name it,” the clerk interjected.

“So it’ll fry everything inside,” Ethan replied.

The clerk shrugged. “Basically, yeah. Anyways, you can’t fire your gun like crazy. It’ll overheat. The new models use thermal clips instead, so you won’t have to wait for the gun to vent out the heat.”

“Maybe you two should’ve been teachers.” Ethan smirked at his own joke. The clerk let out a chuckle while Liara smiled, clearly amused. He turned to the terminal and picked up the items he wanted. His eyes widened in shock when the screen revealed they cost a total of about 7,500. He expected something like a rare weapon or a suit of power armor to be expensive, not something like this omni-tool.

“Allow me.” Liara stepped in and an orange light—her omni-tool—surrounded her left forearm. She tapped it with her right hand and the screen by the kiosk pinged.

“All right, here is your stuff.” The clerk handed Ethan an eyepiece and a small, plain bracelet. “One Logic Arrest omni-tool and a Rosetta translator. Enjoy.”

“Thanks,” Ethan said, looking at Liara. “Do I owe you anything?”

“It’s no problem,” Liara replied. “Helping me further with finding my contact would suffice.”

Ethan took the translator and the bracelet, fitting the translator over his eyes. When he turned it on, a holographic display appeared with shapes and lines flying. He looked at the bracelet now on his right wrist. Confused, he poked at random spots on the device, hoping it would respond to his prodding somehow.

“Button’s at the side. It’s easy to find,” the clerk reminded him, pointing at a small, square button that produced from said spot.

Ethan followed his instructions, and an orange light appeared that enveloped his right forearm. “Thanks.” His smile widened in elation as he messed around with the omni-tool, bringing up a paper-thin screen above the device. “Well, we better get going.” He turned it off.

“Okay, see ya. Try not to die,” the clerk called out.

Ethan and Liara sauntered out of the marketplace as he looked at the map in his Pip-Boy. He remembered passing by the nightclub earlier, making it a great place to gather some news from the locals.

“Any idea where your contact’s at?” he asked. “Maybe the nightclub I passed by before?”

“Yes, it’s called Afterlife,” Liara answered. “I shouldn’t keep him waiting.”

Ethan raised an eyebrow at Liara. “You mean we, right?” he asked, to which the asari replied with an exasperated sigh.

After going through the manual on how to use the omni-tool, Ethan browsed a strange network known as the Extranet, trying to learn as much as possible on his and Liara’s way to the nightclub, such as the giant, slouching elcors, with thick arms and vertical slits for a mouth, the avian-like turians, the blue-skinned, mono-gendered asari such as Liara T’Soni, the amphibian, grayhead-like salarian, and, of course, humans.

By the time he finished, much to Liara’s annoyance as they had to stop every ten feet so he could find and process all this new information, someone large bumped into him, nearly sending him off his feet.

“Watch where you’re going, human!”

Ethan looked before the lumbering alien stopped stumbling and turned around, revealing himself to be a large, reptilian creature with a crest on its head, tall as a super mutant. He resembled a gecko, but with the hump at the back of his head, and a… tortoise, perhaps. From what he could tell, this being was a krogan.

“What are you looking at?” he asked. He didn't speak in some alien language but in English. Ethan’s translator worked like a charm.

Liara took a sharp breath as she stepped back. “Goddess, as if an angry krogan isn’t bad enough, he’s possibly drunk, too,” she remarked. “We should be careful…”

The krogan frowned, his head tipping left and right. "Who the hell are you talking to like that, asari? I thought you would be as smart as you are pretty." He muttered something else quietly enough that Ethan's translator didn't catch. Whatever he said, Ethan assumed it wasn't polite.

“Somebody who met the welcoming party,” Ethan answered. “Is that how you treat newcomers?”

Liara watched nervously, her eyes darting around as the unamused creature frowned, leaning closer to Ethan. “This is Omega. You got a problem with that?” he asked threateningly. Ethan gagged at the krogan’s breath. Just what did he drink?!

“Yes, I do have a problem with—”

The krogan, without warning, grabbed onto Ethan’s collar and yanked him off his feet, bringing him eye to eye with him. “Mind finishing that sentence, human?” he growled.

“Let him go!” Liara gritted her teeth, her raised hands balling into fists as her body glowed a dark blue. The krogan ignored her, his reptilian gaze fixated on Ethan.

Ethan felt a gun pushing against his ribcage. Considering the krogan’s size, he did not want to test how tough he was with a single shot to the head with his pistol. With little time to waste, he pulled out his Bowie knife and struck at the edge of the plate.

In an instant, the smug look on the krogan’s face turned into a scared one, and he cowered slightly. He put his pistol down. “Hey, calm down, human! I just want to go home in peace!”

Ethan sighed, relieved. “Okay. Good. Now, why don’t you put me down and forget about this little incident?”

With no further resistance, the krogan did exactly that as Ethan pulled his Bowie knife out of his head plate and sheathed it. He narrowed his eyes and stared at the krogan’s head crest, which the krogan scoffed sheepishly in response. “Whatever,” he said before he paced and stumbled down the hallway.

“Are you okay?” Liara asked as he placed a hand on Ethan’s shoulder. “I didn’t think you could intimidate a krogan with a knife.”

“I’m fine.” Ethan smirked. “Not sure about that krogan, though. I’m pretty sure he’ll have one hell of a hangover tomorrow.”

Soon, they descended the stairs and entered the lower levels of Afterlife. It was filled with dark, colorful lights and loud, pulsating music. Looking around, he saw patrons of various species dance to the dark rhythms. Standing at the top of the bar was a pair of asari dancing in a seductive manner, reminding him very much of Gomorrah in the Strip.

“For the total reconstruction, the Citadel Council expects to spend approximately trillions of credits,” he heard someone from a flatscreen television across the counter blared out.

“The Citadel Council? Are they the ones that govern the galaxy?” Ethan asked Liara.

“It’s more of an executive committee composed of representatives from my kind, the turians, the salarians, and, two months ago, your species,” Liara answered. “They don’t run every part of the galaxy, though. Much of it remains unexplored. But right now, we have to focus on finding our contact.”

It didn’t take long for Ethan to spot who was most likely to be Liara’s contact among the bar’s patrons, sitting alone at the bar by the flat screen. Much to his surprise, it was the same hooded stranger who bumped into him earlier. Along with his hooded, sleeveless duster, the stranger was clad in layered, tan-green armor.

“Like that one over there?” Ethan asked, pointing at the hooded figure.

Liara looked at where Ethan was pointing. “I’m not sure. How can you tell that could be my contact?”

“They’re wearing a trench coat,” Ethan retorted. “Can’t be inconspicuously suspicious if you’re not wearing one.”

Liara pressed her lips together. “I see. If you’re certain…” She sauntered to the hooded stranger while Ethan followed and sat down on a stool next to him.

“You’re late,” said the hooded stranger.

“I apologize,” Liara replied before she turned to the hooded stranger. “Things got in the way.”

The stranger glanced at Ethan, who stood nearby with crossed arms in front of his chest. “Is he your bodyguard?”

“He’s…” she sighed. “It’s complicated. I helped him kill a batarian thug who was attacking him. He was hoping you have information on a way to fix some… device of his.” She looked more closely at the hooded figure. “Since you know my name, I take it you’re the contact?”

“Yes.”

“Oh, gee whiz,” Ethan commented sarcastically. “I never would have guessed.”

“You have something to tell me about—” Liara said.

The hooded man shook his head. “No, not here.” He scanned the bar before his dark eyes met hers. “Outside.”

Neither Ethan nor Liara could say another word when he stood up and walked out of the bar. He wondered why the hooded stranger ended the conversation so soon. “We should follow him,” Liara said to Ethan as she stood up and hurried out of the bar.

Ethan breathed in sharply, puffing his cheeks. “Okey dokey, then,” he said before catching up with the asari and the contact.

“It’s not safe, walking around asking questions on Omega—even if you’re from around here,” the hooded man said as he, Liara, and Ethan crossed a bridge in the less populated part of Omega. Ethan glanced at one of the windows, seeing the distant stars blinking in and out in space. A giant asteroid field circled the station. He saw ships of various shapes and sizes traveling all over the station. “The information you’re looking for wasn’t easy to find—not even for me.”

Ethan let out an annoyed scoff. “No shit this place isn’t safe. We can handle ourselves—”

He couldn’t say another word when the hooded man stopped in his tracks. He looked around before gesturing to the two before ducking into a nearby alleyway to his left.

Liara blinked in confusion before following the hooded man. Ethan scanned his surroundings before following the two into a twist of a circular hallway, the walls towering around him with dimming older lights. He didn’t see anything out of the ordinary, but he had a feeling the hooded was into something. 

“Are we being followed?” he asked.

“Yes,” the hooded man answered as he lowered his hood. His scaly skin had a warm set of orange and green, reminding Ethan of a Lakelurk. At least he didn’t try to kill him with a sonic shriek. From what he learned from the Extranet, this man was a drell, a reptilian species rescued from a dying homeworld by the hanar. “I’m Feron. Whatever you need, I can get information on it.”

“That includes the commander?” Liara asked.

Ethan raised an eyebrow. Who was she talking about, he wondered.

“Dead. Or very close to it. It’s hard to say. The body has been recovered, and in some kind of stasis pod,” Feron explained. “If not dead, then certainly not alive.” He shrugged. “I know you have come a long way. Sorry to be the bearer of bad news.”

Frowning and clearly not what Liara heard, she crossed her arms. “I need—I need to see, Feron,” she insisted. She looked away, her lip quivering slightly. “For myself.”

“You’re not the only one interested in finding Commander Shepard,” Feron replied. “I suggest you let the dead sleep.”

“Wait a minute,” Ethan interjected. “Who’s Commander Shepard?”

It was then he realized he wasted his breath as the two aliens gave him incredulous looks. “You…” Feron said uselessly.

“How do you not know who Shepard is?” Liara asked.

“You think you’d know her by her reputation, being human and all,” said Feron.

“It’s what I told Liara,” Ethan replied, glancing at the asari. “I’m not from around here.”

Feron grinned. “Aren’t we all?” 

Without warning, the sudden snaps and pops of gunfire forced Ethan to scramble behind the nearest wall, providing him with enough cover to not get shot. He should have seen this coming. It had ambush written all over it.

His new pistol now out, he tried to walk out, only for a hail of rounds stopping him, and he stumbled back. Something shattered like glass. Another round grazed the wall and hit his arm. He grunted in pain, his vision blurring for a moment.

A wave of pain washed over him. Through gritted teeth, he clutched his arm, blood leaking between his fingers like cracks forming in dried dirt. A moment later, the wound was stitched back together. The round, however small, did not dig far enough into his flesh to make his arm go limp. The bottlecaps he spent on the Monocyte Breeder and the Sub-Dermal Armor implants from Dr. Usanagi were well spent.

A blue blur surrounding his body confused him for a moment. Putting two and two together, and in connection to the glass-like substance that broke down earlier, he realized the omni-tool’s shields had recharged.

He peeked, hoping not to get shot again. Ahead was a large group of humans, turians, and the four-eyed batarians. They wore blue-and-white suits of armor, carrying guns like the guards at the nightclub. Some of them even wore helmets, concealing their faces.

Behind him was Feron behind a large crate as he fired his Predator pistol at his perpetrators, with Liara next to him. She stood up, frowning, and balled her hand into a fist. A dark-blue aura surrounded her as she unclenched her hand and raised it above her head in quick succession.

A yelp brought Ethan’s attention to a batarian that floated mid-air, his four eyes wide with terror, as a blue hue appeared underneath him and pushed him up to the ceiling. His allies opened fire on the asari as she extended her arm, and the batarian flew backward. She ducked back behind the crate, unscathed.

One armored shooter saw Ethan and turned toward a helmeted woman carrying a flamethrower with a large tank full of gas on her back. “Damn, we didn’t get him. Remember: no witnesses!”

Ethan sighed and raised his chin. Great. Another bunch of idiots to deal with.

The woman nodded and moved towards Ethan. Taking advantage of the tank’s exposure to gunfire, Ethan used his Pip-Boy, activating VATS—Vault-Tec Assisted Targeting System. Peeking from cover, he aimed down at the sight of his pistol. According to its calculations, he had a decent chance of hitting the tank. For every shot, the chances go up slightly.

Time slowed down around him. Adrenaline rushed through Ethan’s body as he fired three times at a rapid pace. Before the flamer realized what had happened, it was too late for her to react as the last shot hit the tank. The tank exploded in a fiery blast, engulfing her and two of the shooters nearby.

“Holy shit!” one shooter, another woman, barked. “Someone needs to take him out! Now!”

“On it,” said a turian with white tattoos on his face, and blue lights appeared on his chest and his head. He approached Ethan with a bulky shotgun.

Ethan drew his Bowie knife and waited. When the turian was around the corner, he threw him against the adjacent wall. A struggle ensued as he thrust his knife into the turian. The turian attempted to push the knife away from his neck and dropped his gun. Ethan dazed the turian with a head-butt and stabbed him in the neck, dropping him.

More gunshots went off behind him. He turned to the drell, who was shooting back at their attackers. “Hey!” Feron shouted. “Get over here unless you wanna get shot!”

Ethan nodded while wiping the dead turian’s blue blood off his knife. As he looked around for another weapon, he found a rifle attached to the turian’s back. He yanked it off and immediately, it adjusted its size in his hands. As he inspected it, he found it was blocky, its barrel triangular. He smirked, finding it convenient somehow. He dashed out and fired at another shooter, a batarian, in three-round bursts, taking out his shields, and sliding behind a crate.

Ethan stood up when his shields refreshed and activated VATS again, shooting down more of the attackers in his direction.

“Who are these guys?” he asked loudly over the sound of slugs banging against the crate. He popped out of cover and grabbed an attacker that ran up to them, tossed him, and slammed him onto the ground. Ethan pulled his knife out and cut the armored man’s throat, ending his life in an instant.

“Blue Suns. Mercenaries. Not the best kind of people to be around,” Feron answered before standing up and firing a few shots at one of said mercenaries. “And I’m pretty sure a firefight isn’t the time to ask questions.”

“We can play Q&A after this if you like,” Ethan retorted.

Feron ducked as a metal slug flew by, missing him by inches. “That’s a good idea,” he replied.

“At least we agreed on something.” Ethan put his knife away and continued firing at the shooters.

No matter how many they killed, more entered the fray. Liara summoned a ball of biotic energy and formed it into a sphere in her hands. In a second, she launched the ball at the group in question, pulling those nearby toward it and flew around the object like they were like a string attached to a ceiling. Ethan and Feron focused their fire on the floating shooters as Ethan used VATS whenever he could. He ducked as one of them flew above him. He continued firing, with Liara firing her pistol at another new attacker running in on the scene.

One of the turians entered the fray with a large, bulky rifle in hand. Liara leaned out of cover and pulled off a new trick. A blue barrier appeared on the turian, preventing him from moving.

Without warning, one shooter dropped dead with a bloody hole in his head. “Sniper! Look out!" one other shooter, a dark-haired man with dark skin cried out. Another shot pierced through his head.

Several of the attackers got shot down. Feron ran first, dashing away. Liara came next, tossing away another one of the Blue Suns with her powers, and grabbed Ethan’s arm, following the drell. None of them looked back as they ran.

“Which way?” Liara wondered.

“Somewhere safe, obviously,” Ethan answered. “Maybe I can find one on my Pip-Boy.”

Turning to another corner, the three came to a halt at the sight of three humans. Two hulking men in white armor, carrying smoothly shaped rifles, flanked a light-skinned woman with dark hair and a white uniform. Her fine, almost perfect facial features and well-endowed body made it hard for Ethan to tell if she was attractive or off-putting.

“Or maybe not,” Feron remarked.

“Relax, drell. We’re working toward the same goal: Finding Commander Shepard,” the woman stated.

“Shepard is dead,” Liara pointed out.

“That’s what they say,” the woman retorted, her hand on her hip. “But Shepard’s beaten the odds before.”

“Liara’s not kidding about this Shepard being special,” Ethan remarked as he stepped toward the woman. “So, who are you, anyway?”

The opposite three gave him confused looks. “I’m Miranda Lawson. Shepard’s a hero, a bloody icon. And yet you have never heard of her?”

Liara sighed. “I’ll explain to him. He has helped us so far.” She turned to Ethan. “Shepard is…” She curled her lips. “None of us would be here if she hadn’t stopped an invasion at the Citadel.”

“Oh.” Ethan nodded. “I’ve heard that she was killed in action not long ago. Terrible loss, if you ask me.”

“Yes, that sounds about right,” said Miranda. “This was... That was not what we expected.”

“What do you want?” Liara asked.

“I’m here to take you to someone who’s interested. He wants to meet with you. Work with us, and we might be able to resurrect Shepard.”

Feron glanced at Liara, frowning as he folded his arms. “What’s that supposed to mean?” Liara asked.

“Just come with me.” Miranda brushed strands of hair from her face. “And you can bring your friends, too. We’re not being choosy today.”

The woman and her bodyguards headed off. Liara followed along, with Feron hanging back slightly.

“I have a bad feeling about this,” the lizardman commented as Ethan caught up with him shortly after.

Ethan looked at Feron. “Well, let’s see here. I got myself into a gunfight with you, and now we’re working with a human supremacist group to find the corpse of a war hero I don’t even know about.” He couldn’t help but smile at his idea of a joke. “Of course you have a bad feeling about this!”

Chapter Text

Ethan sighed while he sat in the lobby, rubbing his temples together. While it was a large room, it was also empty and quiet except for him, Feron, and Liara. A logo of an elongated hexagon and two lines traced to the bottom were plastered on the walls.

“We shouldn’t have come here,” Feron complained, standing in front of them. “The two of us, least of all.”

As if being harassed by several engineers about his Transportalponder was bad enough, Ethan had to listen to Feron and Liara argue.

“What are you talking about?” he asked.

“Cerberus is a pro-human hate group,” Feron answered. “Never mind that Liara’s people sit on the Citadel Council; they don’t have any more for the asari than they do for the drell! I wouldn’t listen to a word they say!”

Ethan scoffed. “It’s so nice to know that we’ve fallen in with a bad crowd.”

Liara sat next to Ethan with her legs crossed. “Hate group or not, we have similar goals as Cerberus does,” she replied, her right hand glowing as she opened it, a bright orb flickering in her palm. “But I won’t be held without reason, either.”

“Shepard’s human, Liara!” Feron snapped. “First, human Spectres, then a seat on the Council. It’s all about them. I doubt they’d mourn her if she was a hanar or a krogan like the one they used for target practice back there.”

Feron glanced at Ethan as he took his pistol apart. The internal parts of the pistol looked rather strange to him. It resembled a cross between a recharger pistol and a ballistic gun, like his auto .45, along with a block of metal embedded in it, used for making ammunition. He assembled it back together in a matter of seconds.

Feron raised an eye ridge at Ethan’s repair skills. “Okay, that’s impressive,” the drell commented. “But that’s beside the point.”

The orb disappeared into Liara’s palm as she closed her hand. She turned and looked at Ethan. “You’ve been helpful with us and fought with us against the Blue Suns, but ever since we met, you’ve been acting strangely, especially with your ignorance of, well… everything. That gave me a lot of questions.”

Ethan glanced at the security cameras planted at each corner of the room “Are you sure that’s a good idea?” he asked before looking at Liara and Feron.

“He has a point,” Feron replied. “It’s probably better if he doesn’t answer, especially with Cerberus watching our every move.”

“There’s a popular saying among your kind: a little trust goes a long way,” said Liara.

A tense silence filled the air, and the three exchanged looks. Finally, Ethan ended it with a sigh. “Alright,” he replied. “Fire away.”

“Who are you?” Liara asked.

“Better I tell you my name once we’re out of Cerberus’ earshot,” Ethan answered. “But I think it’s safe to say that I'm a courier. Or I was, until I got shot in the head. Twice, at point-blank range.”

He pointed to a scar he bore next to his right eye. He was certain they would buy his story if he told them more about himself. Even if they did, it wouldn’t help him much. No one believed him about his time at Big Mountain, except for No-bark Noonan. No-bark believed in the craziest things, whether they happened to be real or just a figment of his imagination.

“How did you survive?” Liara asked.

“I got better. A local doctor patched me up.” Ethan let out a soft chuckle. “Benny should’ve used a bigger caliber.”

“Mm-hmm.” Feron nodded, unconvinced. “And that device that’s strapped to your arm?”

Ethan looked at his Pip-Boy before raising it. “This? Glad someone finally noticed. This is a Pip-Boy 3000. It came with a Geiger counter, radio, health monitor, data storage, clock, and calendar, and I can use the screen as a flashlight.” He shrugged. “It’s like your omni-tools.”

Liara tilted her head as Feron drew his head back. “Why do you need a Geiger counter?” the asari asked.

“There’s a lot of radiation on Earth after the Great War.”

Feron cocked a brow ridge. “Wait, what? I hear the slums of most of Earth’s cities are bad, but I’m surprised the Alliance has to deal with enough radiation to install a Geiger counter into that Pip-Boy of yours.”

“RobCo Industries made this thing,” Ethan replied. “But that happened in another universe. RobCo, the Pip-Boy... Here, they never existed.”

“That’s what you said earlier. But why did you…?” Liara muttered. “So if you’re from a parallel universe, then when did humanity first develop the nuclear bomb?”

“1945, near the end of World War II, when America developed and deployed two of them on Hiroshima and Nagasaki,” Ethan replied.

“Okay… what about the transistor?”

“You can get that in any tech, like robots and energy weapons. Even my Pip-Boy here,” he answered with a shrug. “Though we’re big on vacuum tubes.”

“Vacuum tubes?! What—?” The asari sputtered. “What do you mean by that?”

“You know. Electric circuits in tubes. Used on big, chunky computers,” Ethan answered. He raised his index finger before continuing. “Here’s a short history lesson for you. In 2077, there was a two-hour war between America and China.”

Liara gasped, her mouth agape and eyes wide, and glanced at Feron before looking back at Ethan. “There was a war between the United States of America and China in your universe? Goddess, so many people…” She sighed, calming her nerves. “When… When did that happen?”

“That was over two centuries ago,” Ethan told her. After a second of thought, he pulled his broken Transportalponder out of his backpack and showed it to Liara and Feron. He hoped it would help make them believe him. “Remember this thing, Liara? That thing brought me here.” There was a wry, satisfied smirk on his face. “It’s a Transportalponder, made in Big Mountain. It can transport me there to the Mojave and back. I tried to improve it, but anything can go wrong at that place.”

Liara and Feron glanced at each other. “Goddess…” She turned to Ethan before looking back at Feron. “Feron, do you think what he says is true, let alone possible?”

“I… I don’t know.” Feron shook his head weakly. “He’s making a large assumption about himself.”

“Aside from him being mentally unstable, it’s the only explanation I can come up with.” The asari looked at Ethan. “Do you know about the Protheans?”

“No,” Ethan answered.

Liara placed her fingers on her chin. “…Mass relays?”

Ethan shook his head after looking through the data on his Pip-Boy. “No references to the mass relays on my Pip-Boy, either.”

“So the data in your Pip-Boy proves it.” Liara raised a finger after looking at the Pip-Boy to be sure. “I don’t know what happened, but you’re not in your universe anymore.”

“That’s what I just said. Multiple times,” Ethan muttered, watching as the pair ignored him.

Feron sighed as he placed his hands on his hip. “I don’t know what to make of this…”

“I have an idea.” The asari sat up. “I told you before that I was an archeologist. Specifically, I studied the Protheans’ history and culture before I joined Shepard in her mission to stop Saren. Let me see if I could carbon date your outfit and this Pip-Boy of yours.”

“Yeah, sure. Go ahead while I stand around like furniture.” Ethan smirked wryly and rolled his eyes.

Liara scanned his clothes with her omni-tool. She lifted Ethan’s arm and studied his Pip-Boy for a moment. She entered a command, calculating the estimated age of his Pip-Boy.

Ethan looked over her shoulders to see her enter a series of algorithms and equations over an orange holographic screen. For once, he would like to find out how old his Pip-Boy was.

A perplexed expression appeared on the former archeologist’s face when the numbers appeared. “That can’t be right… Was your Pip-Boy made in 1970? It’s amazing that it still works today.”

Feron’s eyes narrowed as he frowned. “You still believe he comes from another universe? C’mon, you can’t be serious, Liara!”

The light disappeared as Liara turned off her omni-tool. “It was either that, he has amnesia, or he is mentally unstable.” The asari glared at the drell. “Think about it, Feron. He admitted ignorance about the relays and the Protheans. The Pip-Boy was made 213 years ago, which shouldn’t be possible here. He even asked how biotics works when I met him. With enough proof, if the Reapers exist, so does the multiverse.”

“The Reapers are one thing, Liara; we know they’re a threat.” Feron stepped forward and pointed accusingly at Liara. “You can’t prove it. Many people have tried it before, and it didn’t work. Besides, have you seen how humans make their movies? They sure love their ‘experiment gone wrong’ and transporter clichés if you ask me.”

Ethan frowned as he stood up. “Why don’t you—”

“Enough!” The asari had stepped in between the two men before they got too close, her body glowing for a moment. “This is unnecessary.” She sighed as Ethan and Feron stared at her, then at each other. “The whole thing would have been solved already if I joined my consciousness with Ethan’s. That way, I can look at his memories and prove that he came from an alternate universe.”

Ethan furrowed an eyebrow curiously. “That sounds like telepathy…”

“It’s a melding, a joining,” Liara explained. “As I connect my nervous system to yours, we can exchange thoughts and memories. Are you sure you want to do this?”

Ethan paused. On the one hand, it would make it clear to Liara and Feron that he wasn’t of this universe. He shivered when he realized Liara would look through his memories, including the traumatizing ones; they were memories, nothing more.

“I guess there’s no harm in doing it. Will it hurt? Have you done this before?”

“Only a tingling sensation by Shepard’s account.” Liara rubbed her chin, glancing aside. “Though she was the only one I melded with to decipher her vision of the Protheans. That’s all the experience I had.”

Ethan gave Liara a strange look as he lowered his shoulders. “Yeah. That’s good to know.” He sighed and closed his eyes. “Let’s get this over with.”

“Relax.” Liara approached him. “Embrace eternity!”

Her eyes turned black as Ethan jolted from the electrical impulses coursing through his body. Everything around him blurred and faded. Everything came fast to him before his senses. Images. Sounds. Nothing made sense.

His subconscious adapted, realizing the melding was harmless, and accepted it. His and Liara’s minds became one, their identities crashing together, splintering, and reforming.

One moment, he saw himself, his rifle ready, facing off a giant of a man with an unsettling and lifelike helmet with horns. Lanius. Monster of the East, Legate of Caesar's Legion. In a span of several shots, the tin tyrant tumbled down a hill, dead.

He saw himself approaching Ulysses, a man of dark skin with dreads wearing a sleeveless long coat, at an ICBM facility.

He found himself on the ground, tied up near Goodsprings long ago. Jessup and McMurphy stood behind Benny, a man in the checkered jacket. With a cocky grin, Benny pointed his golden-plated pistol and fired two rounds at his head.

The last thing he saw before coming back to reality was a missile landing in the middle of a ruined city. It created a giant mushroom cloud, its blast wave annihilating everything in its way.

Ethan blinked, finding himself back in the lobby. He was all right, but his head throbbed with pain as everything came back together.

“Goddess, that was… disturbing, intense.” Liara sat down on the bench. She looked tired, her eyelids slowly dropping.

“You okay?” Ethan asked. She was a stranger so far, but he had to be sure. He would blame his conscience for that.

“Yes, I’m fine. Sometimes a melding can be intense if the participant was strong-willed, like Shepard.” Liara looked up at him. “It’s a lot to explain.”

Ethan looked at Feron, who stood at the corner nearby. “Satisfied?”

Feron looked down at the floor, considering what happened, then at her. “Liara?”

She nodded wearily.

“Okay, I get it,” he grumbled. “Sorry, I’ve been antagonistic lately. It’s not like you waltzed in out of nowhere.”

“Regardless, we must get you used to the galaxy at large,” Liara remarked.

Relieved, Ethan sat on the bench behind him. But he had so many questions. “Who is Shepard, exactly? What makes her so unique? All I know is that she stopped the galaxy from certain doom.”

“Yes. That’s the gist of it,” said Liara. “She is—or was, I should say—a spacer, someone who lived their whole life in space. She was the only child in a military family and signed up to enlist in the Alliance when she was eighteen. She went on a mission on the planet Akuze where a thresher maw killed her entire squad. The Alliance reported her as the only survivor of the attack.”

“Reported? There was someone else?”

“Yes,” Liara nodded. It looked like she wasn’t fond of what she was about to say next. “Corporal Toombs. Cerberus took him in and experimented on him. She found him when she searched for the dead scientists, but they were responsible for the thresher maw attack. Toombs wanted to kill one of the remaining scientists, Dr. Wayne, but Shepard talked him out of it.”

Ethan’s eyes narrowed, suspicious. He remembered reading about the thresher maws on the Extranet. They were giant worms, borrowing from underground to attack their victims above. “If Cerberus was behind this thresher maw attack, then why did you have us turn to them in the first place?”

The asari glared at Ethan. “Right now, I don’t know who else I would turn to. The Alliance doesn’t have the resources after Shepard sacrificed much of the fleet to save the Council during the attack on the Citadel.”

“What happened at the Citadel?” Ethan asked, intrigued.

“A geth fleet, a race of synthetics built by the quarians, attacked the station with Sovereign, a Reaper, leading them. Before that, Shepard chased an elite soldier, a turian soldier named Saren, all over the galaxy. He led the invasion, but she put an end to his madness and saved the Citadel Council.” Her eyes watered with tears. “I was part of her ground team. And I saw her die in the Normandy…”

“Were you… close to her?” Ethan wasn’t quite sure if it was prudent of him to ask that.

Liara hesitated for a moment and shook her head. “No, we were friends. Just… friends.”

Ethan sharply inhaled and looked at Liara. “I know it’s hard for you to deal with losing a friend and all, but sooner or later, the only thing you can do is to accept her death, dust yourself off, and move on.”

Liara let out a sigh and looked up at Ethan. “And I assume you want to know about the Reapers?”

Ethan nodded. Now they were getting somewhere. “What can you tell me about them?”

The former archaeologist shrugged. “Unfortunately, we don’t know much about them. All we know is that they’re a race of sentient machines that arrive every 50,000 years to wipe out galactic civilization. They destroyed the Protheans the last time and created the mass relays eons ago.”

Their conversation ended abruptly when the two-part door to their right slid open as a green circle disappeared. Miranda walked through and looked at Liara. “Our leader wants to see you now.” She turned to Ethan. “And you as well.”

“Good to know,” Ethan responded with a wry smile. “Any idea why I had your leader’s attention?”

“He’s interested in that… Transportalponder of yours.” Miranda grimaced. “Such a ridiculous name…”

“Whaaaat?” Ethan had his mouth open in faux shock. “You have a problem with it? It’s a cool name. You’ll grow into it.”

Miranda expressed her annoyance with a sigh as she pinched the bridge of her nose. “Just come with me.”

Feron looked at the Cerberus agent and shook his head. “No thanks. I think I’ll stay.”

“That’s good because I’m not asking you.” Miranda turned and left the room, with Liara and Ethan following her.

Reaching their destination didn’t take long as they took a quick right down the hallway. Because the trip was short, Ethan didn’t have the time to ask Miranda questions. Maybe her boss could give some answers instead.

As they entered the dark room, he turned and found the door slid shut behind them. The room was small and featureless, save for a circle in the center. Liara and Ethan walked at a slow pace to the center. When they stepped into the circle, an orange, grid-like light emerged from the ground. They found themselves in another room with a window, showing a red giant star. In front of them was a man sitting on a chair with a cigarette dangling between his fingers, his back turned against them.

Ethan stepped out of the orange light surrounding him and Liara, only to find the man had disappeared. Stepping back into the circle, he saw the cigarette-smoking man again.

“Huh, kinda cool.” Ethan smacked his lips together and looked around. “Nice device they got here. Looks like quantum particles did the trick.”

“Simply put, but yes. This is a quantum entanglement communicator or QEC for short. Difficult to produce, but well worth the price,” the man said.

The man turned around, revealing to be pale and middle-aged, wearing a white-collared black suit. His combed hair was a light shade of gray, parting in the middle of his forehead. If he had been sixty, he would have looked forty. His glowing cybernetic eyes made Ethan’s guts churn. “But let us get into the formalities, shall we? You may call me the Illusive Man.” Smoke trailed into the air as he placed the cigarette between his lips.

“Elusive…?” Liara asked.

“Ill-lusive. Starts with an ‘I’ and two L’s,’” Ethan pointed out.

“He’s right, Dr. Liara T’Soni.” The Illusive Man placed his cigarette in the ashtray. “I often need to be hard to find as well.”

“What do you want?” Ethan demanded.

“Shepard is unique—one of the greatest examples of our species. A symbol of all humanity.” The Illusive Man placed his hand on his chin. “Dead or alive, we want Shepard back in human hands.”

“Yeah, sure. But isn’t this Systems Alliance also interested in finding Shepard’s body?”

The Illusive Man shook his head, frowning. “Cerberus and the Alliance are not on good terms. The Alliance condemned us as terrorists because they can’t accept our methods. They might as well toss Shepard aside, forgotten in a well-decorated grave.”

Liara folded her arms in front of her. “Why do you want Shepard if she’s dead?”

The Illusive Man sat up. “As an asari, I can’t expect you to understand our traditions. But our reasons are not important. What’s important is that the Shadow Broker wants Shepard, too—and sent those mercenaries to stop you. In some ways, the Shadow Broker is my opposite in the information-gathering business, always working from afar. But now, the Broker made a deal with the devil. Or, more precisely, devils.”

With a tap of a holographic interface floating beside him, three insectoid creatures with four golden eyes and flat, elongated heads appeared, with spider-like arms twitching at their sides. “The Collectors.”

Ethan looked at these creatures, a mix of confusion and curiosity etched on his face. “What are they?”

“Few know what the Collectors are or what they want.” The Illusive Man sat down and snapped his fingers together, like a god who controlled his world, and the images of the Collectors disappeared. “They make off with individual beings that have trivial distinctions. Volus middle siblings. Krogan with dyslexia. Elcor who sings well.” His voice trailed off as he turned and sat back down in his chair. “Perverse but harmless in the grand scheme of things, or so we thought. Their interest in Shepard is alarming. We would want Shepard’s remains in any event—but it’s vital that the Collectors not have them. Whatever their reasons, it can’t be any good. That’s why we need you.”

“Why should I trust you?” Ethan asked as he crossed his arms in front of his chest. “Feron said you don’t care much for anyone who’s not human.”

“And why me?” Liara turned away from the Illusive Man. “You have all these resources, and Miranda, too.”

“It’s difficult for me to contend directly with the Shadow Broker in the Terminus system. And while Miranda played her role…” The Illusive Man leaned forward, a stoic expression on his face. “Nothing beats having someone with a personal connection. You were very close with Commander Shepard. When I heard you were here, I knew I wanted you on my team.” He turned to Ethan. “As for you, Mr.…?”

“You can call him Courier,” Liara answered.

Ethan looked at Liara, incredulous. “Seriously?”

The asari looked back at him. “It’s what Feron said. They need something to refer to you, so a callsign would do.”

Ethan curled his lips as he rolled his eyes. It was a job he had, not a grandiose title, no matter what Ulysses told him. “All right,” he replied, turning his attention to the Illusive Man. “Just give me a cape and I’ll be a superhero.”

The Illusive Man grabbed another cigarette and smoked. One blow and a quarter of the cigarette turned to ash. With a tap, it fell into the ashtray. “It’s hard not to understand why you’re distrustful of us. You need to judge us not by our methods but by our goals. I’ve been informed about your encounter with our engineers. I heard it was quite a fuss.”

 “What about it?” Ethan asked hesitantly.

“I’ve learned about that device of yours, your ignorance of the current state of affairs…” The Illusive Man stood up and stepped forward and closer to them, his cigarette in his hand. “And how you came from a parallel Earth ravaged by nuclear warfare.” He scoffed with a half-smile. “’Who is Commander Shepard?’ How fortunate you are to have Dr. Liara T’Soni as your guide. The galaxy can be a harsh place for the ignorant.”

Ethan frowned, his shoulders tightening. This was what he feared. He said too much. “If you’re here to sell me on an idea, you’re not doing a good job at it.”

The Illusive Man smoked again. “Perhaps this would persuade you: Help us retrieve Shepard’s body, and we’ll compensate you. You’ll carry out whatever experiments you deem necessary. Or you can refuse, and we can go our separate ways. I doubt the Alliance would believe your story.”

It was a tempting offer, Ethan admitted, but could he trust this Illusive Man? Would he have a choice in the matter? Everything about the leader of Cerberus reminded him of Mr. House in the worst way possible. Maybe he should cut ties with Cerberus when the opportunity arises.

“Think about it. The offer stands.” The Illusive Man turned and sat back down on his chair. He faced the sun once more. “The drell, Feron, seems to have a lead on Shepard. I suspect he may prove useful for an alien.” He tilted his head to his right. “Can we count on you two?”

Ethan looked at the asari, who closed her eyes as she pondered, as if the weight of her options was too heavy for her. She sighed and opened her eyes. “No, but Shepard can.”

He scoffed. He had every reason not to trust the Illusive Man but couldn’t see any other option. “Fine. But I’m not doing this for you. Try not to die from cancer. I heard smoking is bad for you.”

The Illusive Man chuckled. “Good. That’s what I want to hear. Find Shepard and stop the Shadow Broker from selling her body to the Collectors. Miranda will tell you more on the way.”

With a tap of an interface by his chair, the grid-like light descended, causing the cigarette-smoking man to disappear, leaving Ethan and Liara alone in the room.

“I hope this is worth it,” Ethan remarked.

Liara let out a nervous sigh. “Me too.”

Chapter Text

Ethan sat, quiet and thoughtful, as the skycar they were in flew past the pillars in Omega. Feron and Miranda bickered about the details of their mission. Liara sat beside him, also lost in her thoughts. As he looked through the window, his thoughts turned back to his home universe. His heart ached when it occurred to him what it meant. He wouldn’t see his friends again for a long time.

To distract himself from these thoughts, he looked at a datapad, which had all the basics on Commander Shepard.

Following in her family's footsteps, Shepard joined the Alliance at the age of 18. On the planet Akuze, a thresher maw wiped out her whole squadron. Years later, she was assigned to the SSV Normandy. She wound up in a chase against Saren after an attack on Eden Prime. With evidence against the turian, Shepard became the first human Spectre, a top agent working for the Council. She saved a space station known as the Citadel from Sovereign.

Four weeks after the battle, something destroyed the Normandy. While many of her crew had escaped, others didn’t—including Shepard. The Council pinned it as an accident, but Cerberus placed the blame on the Collectors. The Collectors had a ship advanced enough to detect the Normandy’s advanced stealth drives and struck the spaceship down.

Cerberus expected their mission to take a dangerous turn, so they provided Ethan with state-of-the-art weaponry and armor. He took advantage of this to secure an M-76 Mattock assault rifle, his Predator pistol, the M-97 Viper sniper rifle, and the M-23 Katana shotgun on his person.

His new set of armor was plain with a dark shade of gray, having sleek paddings covering much of his body. An omni-tool had been implanted into the armor, saving him some time using it while his Pip-Boy fitted over the armor on his left arm. Compared to his old omni-tool, the armor gave him a much stronger kinetic barrier. He kept his messenger bag, along with the things he normally needed. Cerberus also provided him with a salve known as medi-gel.

Liara and Feron kept their previous equipment. Now that Ethan had become acquainted with this universe’s weaponry, he identified Liara’s heavy, almost triangular pistol as an M-5 Phalanx pistol. Her other weapon was the M-4 Shuriken submachine gun, its shape akin to the pistols back at the Mojave. Feron carried an M-29 Incisor sniper rifle, and an M-9 Tempest submachine gun, the letters VTX inscribed on its barrel.

The skycar landed at the docking bay, near the nightclub. Liara and Feron stepped out as the doors opened.

“Hello? They’re waiting for you,” Miranda called out. “Were you listening?”

Ethan turned and nodded. “Yeah. The Shadow Broker hired these Blue Suns mercenaries to stop us. We have to find Shepard’s body and take it back.”

“And we’ll compensate you,” Miranda finished.

“But where would her body be?” Liara turned towards the Cerberus agent.

“If the body had left Omega, I would know,” Miranda explained. “They haven’t made the final handoff to the Shadow Broker’s agent yet, which means we got a chance.”

“Neither Liara nor I are familiar with Omega,” Ethan pointed out. “Any place we could look?”

Miranda smirked as she sat back in the driver’s seat of the skycar. “Like the Illusive Man said—ask your drell friend. I’m sure he’ll have an idea or two.”

The door closed, and the skycar took off. The engines hummed loudly until they were out of earshot.

“Since we’re here, would you now tell us your name?” Liara asked.

“Ethan Sunderland,” Ethan answered. “Now that we’re more acquainted with each other…” He faced the drell. “Feron, how about you tell us where we should be going?”

Feron scoffed, pacing around. “You saw what happened the last time I tried to take you and Liara somewhere. What else could I give you?”

Liara frowned and glared at Feron. “Quite a lot, I should think. You work for the Shadow Broker. And they know it.”

“What?” Feron asked with a cocked brow.

Before Ethan could say anything or react, the asari stepped forward, her hands glowing, and decked him right in the face, sending him tumbling to the floor. When a few members of the crowd around them noticed, they moved on.

“You could have killed me!” the drell cried out.

The asari stepped toward Feron and pointed at him accusingly. “And those mercs could have killed us, Feron! You were the only person who knew I came to search for Shepard, but they found me anyway! Either they knew what you were up to, or you sold me out!”

Ethan turned and looked down at the drell. “Is this true, Feron?” he asked.

“No. I didn’t sell you out,” Feron answered, standing up. “I’ve been taking some odd assignments for the Shadow Broker. He pays for eyes and ears everywhere. He knew Shepard’s friends would be searching. I was simply supposed to lead you away. Money’s good, I don’t get my hands dirty, and no one gets hurt.”

“Not directly, anyway, with the mercs who tried to kill us. Wouldn’t want to lose sleep over it, right?” Ethan retorted.

“Nobody told me about them, either. I don’t know why the Broker sent them.” Feron paced away from Ethan and Liara, but they followed him anyway.  “Maybe… maybe it was insurance. Maybe he’s more nervous about getting to Shepard’s body than I thought.”

“He should be if he’s working with the Collectors,” Liara replied. “Did you know about that?”

Feron stopped and turned toward Liara. “Rumors—nothing solid. In this galaxy, the Collectors are as rare as violent hanar. But they’re still nasty customers.” He sighed and lifted his arms for a moment. “Listen, maybe you two would be better off without me.”

Ethan snorted and stepped forward. “What, and leave us at the Shadow Broker’s mercy? I’m not expecting him to give us free gifts. We need your help, Feron. You know more about him than either of us combined.”

“I watched from my escape pod as Shepard died.” Liara stepped in. “This is my chance to redeem myself. It can be your chance, too.”

The information broker puffed his cheeks and turned his back. “Okay, okay. You made your point. C’mon, we better get going. I know the perfect place to start.”

They stood at the front of the entrance to the nightclub, Afterlife. Music boomed in rhythm as the pink and purple lights shimmered behind the white letters. The elcor bodyguard was still there, keeping the crowd standing at the bottom of the stairs in a line. Two mercenaries hired by the club’s owner stood on the balcony.

Liara gasped. “This—this is where we started!”

“Weren’t you listening? I was supposed to lead you away,” Feron replied.

“So that’s where we start looking?” Ethan placed his hands on his hips. “They better not have any dancing corpses, or I’m gonna be upset.”

With how Feron bit his lip, the drell was keeping himself from laughing. “This is where Aria’s throne is, so yes. And if it satisfies you, then no, the club doesn’t have any undead dancers. That would be… awkward.”

“Queen of Omega, huh? Some palace,” Ethan remarked as they went up the steps.

“You joke, but those are my exact thoughts,” Liara replied.

“It won’t be easy meeting her,” said Feron. “Security’s tight, and that asari never lets anyone get close to her. Lucky for you, that won’t be a problem.” He approached the elcor and turned on his omni-tool. After a few moments and some sweeping and swiping on his end, the drell turned off his omni-tool.

“Grateful: Thank you for your business,” the elcor intoned. Ethan noticed that the elcor couldn’t efficiently express themselves to other species with the way they were built, so they used prefixes instead.

Ethan smiled wryly. “A man after my own heart.”

“Careful. I might fall for you,” said Feron.

The three entered a circular hallway, the walls covered with holographic images of fire. Now Ethan thought about it, Afterlife was an even more fitting name.

“Feron, mind if I ask you something?”

The drell turned to Ethan. “What is it?”

“You’re well-connected and in good relations with the Shadow Broker until now. How long have you worked for him?”

If his question struck a nerve with Feron, he did a good job of hiding it. “A couple of years. If you’ve forgotten already, I should know a thing or two about the best information broker in the galaxy. I also know a few of his operatives. They don’t talk much, but I know enough.”

“We’ll have to take his word for it.” Liara took a deep breath. “This is the closest I’ve come to finding Shepard. I'm not letting this chance slip by.”

The room they entered was large, colorful, and bright, filled with people dancing on many floors. At the center was a glowing cylinder, depicting an asari in little clothing dancing in a seductive manner. Techno beats of music filled the room, but it was loud for Ethan. He wasn’t used to that type of music.

A sharp catcall brought their attention to a pair of aliens sitting at a table next to them. One was a fat batarian. The other alien in a pressure suit was shorter than his batarian friend and just as plump. That shorter fellow was a volus, a species of merchants hailing from a high-gravity planet, hence the suit.

“Well, lookie what we have here,” the batarian called out. “Move it, volus. We’re gonna need some room for one more.” He grabbed Liara’s arm before a blue aura appeared around her. With a gasp and a shocked look on his face, he let go immediately.

It seemed like the batarians’ reputation with slavery and other detestable actions was pretty accurate, Ethan noticed.

The volus hopped down from his seat and approached Feron. “Is the girl for sale, trader?” the volus wondered. He wheezed through his flappy breathing mask. “The market’s overflowing with asari consorts since the attack on the Citadel. But my associate and I can always find a place for—”

Ethan stepped forward, glaring at the batarian and the volus with daggers in his eyes. “I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but on Earth, we don’t take kindly to slavery.”

Feron looked on and blinked, not sure what to make of this.

Liara frowned, not looking at Ethan. “I can handle myself,” she said.

“I know you can,” Ethan replied, looking at Liara with a smirk. “But I think it’ll be more fun to scare ‘em, teach them a lesson.”

Liara paused, curling her lips in contemplation before nodding at him. “Maybe you’re right.”

“Wh-what’s going on? What are you on about?” the batarian demanded, nervous. “Uh, look, it’s not slavery, it’s—”

Ethan leaned in with his on the table, his head lowered toward the batarian. “I don’t buy that.” His hand hovered over his holstered and folded pistol. “Do you know who you’re dealing with? This is Liara T’Soni!”

The volus gasped and wheezed, looking at Liara, then at his batarian friend, then back at Ethan. “Liara T’Soni?” He wheezed again. “She’s one of the people who saved the Citadel from the geth, right?!”

Liara’s demeanor didn’t change. “That’s correct. And I do not have the time nor the patience for people like you.”

“So why won’t you get out of here before she flays you with her mind?” Ethan demanded. “And if I see you harass anyone again—”

“We won’t, I promise!” the batarian exclaimed, bolting out of his seat. “You heard the human, volus. Let’s go!”

As the batarian and the volus scurried off out of Afterlife, a turian in blue armor with white paint on his face approached them in quick succession. “Huh. Looks like you did my job.”

“You can say that,” Ethan replied.

The turian guard beamed his eyes on Ethan. “Wait a minute… you’re that human Aria wanted.”

Ethan scoffed. “Everyone wants me for something. What for?”

“No idea. Aria sent me to find you.” The turian gestured to them. “C’mon. You don’t want to keep her waiting.”

The turian left while the three followed behind him. Liara stared at Ethan as they walked up the stairs, surprised. “Being granted an audience with Aria must be easier than I thought,” she commented.

“Indeed,” the drell agreed. “Let’s see what she wants. I hope she knows where the exchange is taking place.”

At the top of the stairs, there was a purple asari slouching down on a black couch. The surrounding guards watched their every move. Underneath her white jacket, she wore a black skinsuit, showing skin around her stomach. A string of tattoos traced across her face like eyebrows.

“Here he is, boss, like you asked.” The turian approached the purple asari.

“Good.” The asari sat up. “I think that’s all I need from you for now, Preitor. Go back to your post.” The turian guard, Preitor, nodded and walked down the stairs, past the batarian in brown, bulky armor.

“Your friends here are better looking than your usual company, Feron,” she remarked. “It isn’t often that the Shadow Broker sends his minions to me for help. Something big and juicy, I’ll bet. But…” She gestured to the batarian guard. “Anto, scan them for weapons.”

Anto, the batarian guard in brown armor, nodded and approached Ethan and the other two. “Stand still.” He activated his omni-tool and scanned them, which displayed holographic projections of a human, a drell, and an asari, skeletons and all.

Ethan rolled his eyes as he showed his pistol to the batarian. “FYI, I have a gun right here.”

“Perhaps,” the asari chuckled. “But it’s a standard procedure. Nobody gets close until they get scanned.”

“If I wanted you dead, I would’ve done so in the first place.” Ethan put away his pistol.

The asari smirked. “That’s what I thought.”

A beep sounded from the batarian’s omni-tool. “They’re clean. No funny business.”

Ethan nodded. Before he could do anything, Feron stepped forward.

“I’ll handle this. Just keep quiet,” the drell whispered to Ethan and turned to the purple asari. “Just checking on some merchandise, Aria—the body of Commander Shepard.” Liara shivered when Feron mentioned that. “I know the Blue Suns are set to deliver it to the Shadow Broker. We need to know where.”

“You don’t—?” Aria T’Loak scoffed. “I knew the Shadow Broker liked secrecy, but for his own man not to know what he’s up to.” She looked at Liara. “And you. I know you. You’re one of Shepard’s crew. Were you able to speak when she was alive?”

“You’re also interested in me,” Ethan stated. “Why?”

“One thing at a time.” Aria looked at Ethan. “But yes, I’m interested in you.” She approached him. “Do you know who I am?”

Ethan bit his lip before smiling, hoping to give out a good impression. “You’re Aria T’Loak, the Queen of Omega. Or boss or CEO, depending on the mood. Maybe I should bow before you.”

The ruler of Omega chuckled. “Guess you’re feeling middling today,” she replied. “I figured you know the one rule on Omega. ‘Don’t fuck with Aria.’ But this has been complicated by a few things.”

The other guard lifted his omni-tool and broadcast a surveillance video. In it, the alleyway was empty. A few minutes later, a flash of light overtook the screen, followed by the screen buzzing out for a few seconds before it went back to normal. This time, he saw himself lying against the wall for a few minutes before regaining consciousness. The broadcast disappeared as the guard lowered his omni-tool.

“I contacted my tech specialist to take a look. He told me the camera was disrupted by what he would call an abnormality. This means you're dangerous. This is…” Aria frowned and crossed her arms in front of her. “…rather sensitive information. And if there’s one thing I hate more than people fucking with me, it’s an anomaly appearing out of nowhere that could disrupt the balance of power.” She chuckled rather darkly. “But lucky for you, we may be able to come to an arrangement.”

“And that is?” Ethan asked, cautious.

“An arrangement that would benefit both sides,” Aria answered. “From the way you looked, I assumed someone left you for dead after a beating… or a robbery. I can offer you protection on the condition that you work with me for a year.”

“Our client offered me compensation for finding the Commander’s body.” Ethan had to be careful not to refer to Cerberus. Aliens, like Aria, wouldn’t take them well. “It’s quite a lot, but I can’t tell you about the big and juicy details.”

Aria raised her eye ridges. “A mercenary?” She leaned in. “Whatever they’re offering you, I can offer you more.”

“I can take care of myself, but we need the location for the exchange.”

“Or I could hand over the footage to whoever wanted you dead and get rid of the problem.”

“I have enemies, but it won’t help them when they’re… quite a way away from killing me.”

“I’m giving you a chance here,” Aria growled. “I’ve heard about you fending off the Blue Suns, and some of my men saw you making trouble, so you know your way around a dangerous situation. You can take my offer or be left at the mercy of Omega.”

“But the exchange—!” Feron exclaimed.

“The Shadow Broker is powerful, but this is my station,” Aria asserted. “I know about the transfer, but why is he so interested in Shepard?”

Feron stuttered, but Ethan spoke out. “That’s what we’re trying to find out.”

“Of course, you are,” Aria chuckled and shook her head. “If you want to find Shepard, you can tell me.”

Liara stepped forward. “Because the Shadow Broker is working with the Collectors! They’re the ones that want Shepard’s body!”

The ruler of Omega glared at Liara, her left eye twitching in anger. “The Collectors?! No one said anything about the Collectors!”

Ethan scoffed. “And here I thought you knew everything that happened on Omega. What would happen if people found out?”

The ruler of Omega clenched her teeth, and she sighed. “This complicates things in ways I don’t like. Tell you what: I don’t like it when certain people leave out certain details about exchanges on my station. I think I can help you. It’s at the lower levels of Omega—the old mining processing plant. The Blue Suns took your friend there.” She keyed a command on her omni-tool. “Here are the coordinates.”

A ping sounded from their omni-tools. Ethan transferred the information to his Pip-Boy. Much to his surprise, it worked. As he looked at the map tab, a marker was near the lower levels of Omega. He didn't expect his Pip-Boy to receive data from something as advanced as an omni-tool, but it did.

“Much obliged,” said Ethan, satisfied with the outcome.

The queen of Omega nodded. “Just go.” The three left, sauntering past the crowd as they left the bar.

“Are you sure making Aria angry like that was a good idea?” Feron asked. “You realize she’s ruthless, and you were pretty damn close to breaking that one rule.”

Liara, Feron, and Ethan rode in a cab to their destination with Ethan in the back seat. Liara sat to his right while Feron sat in the front seat, driving the cab.

“Mentioning the Collectors already made her angry, Feron. I happened to take advantage of that,” Ethan answered dismissively. “I know her type.”

Feron shook his head and turned back to drive the cab. Liara turned to Ethan, concerned. “Have you thought of any alternatives if fixing your device didn’t work?”

“Yeah. I’ll be trapped here.” Ethan relaxed and placed his hands behind his head. “All I need to do is gather the materials needed to fix my Transportalponder, do the experiments more carefully next time, and I’m all set. I know what I’m doing.”

“Do you?” Feron asked without looking Ethan in the eyes, his tone colder than usual. Ethan tried to speak up, find a witty retort, but no words came out of his mouth.

The three exited the cab as it landed on the dock large enough for a large ship to land on it, with Ethan following behind Feron and Liara. In front of them was the old mining facility. There weren't any Blue Suns outside, so they assumed the exchange was taking place inside the plant. Ethan looked at the plant, noticing a blue light glowing similarly to biotics.

“So that’s element zero?” he asked. “The glow’s a sure sign it’s radioactive.”

“Yep,” Feron spoke. “Omega has been built and rebuilt over this eezo-rich asteroid for generations. It also had some rich metals. Looks like the workers were in a hurry to abandon this place. Wouldn’t blame them.”

Liara looked at the plant nervously. “It’s strange to think Shepard’s inside.”

“We have nothing else to go on. This is the closest we got to finding Shepard.”

Liara nodded and took a deep breath. “You’re right. We can’t turn back now. How can we get inside undetected?”

Feron stepped forward. “We can sneak through the wastewater pipes. The main entrance is likely locked. If we try to break in through there, they’ll know we’re here.”

Ethan raised an eyebrow. “Is there no other way we can get inside?”

“The pipes are irradiated. No one in their right mind would guard them without getting sick, not even a turian with their metallic exoskeletons. If we go through there, we’ll have to move fast.”

“My Pip-Boy has a Geiger counter, remember?” Ethan showed his Pip-Boy.

Feron nodded. “Good. Sooner we get inside, the better. Let’s go.”

Ethan and Liara followed the drell. The three crouched down as they approached the entrance undetected and followed the pipes on the walls. They reached a catwalk to their right and noticed some of the pipes were fashioned into a set of stairs. Feron climbed on a series of pipes until he reached the top, where he pointed out Ethan and Liara. They followed.

They walked on until they noticed a pipe large enough for them to fit through. A yellow sign read: DANGER: HIGH AMOUNTS OF RADIATION FROM ELEMENT ZERO COMPONENTS. Do not enter unless you have adequate protection. TLD and a supplemental dosimeter are required for entry.

“That’s good to know,” Ethan quipped.

As they approached the large pipe, the Geiger counter on his Pip-Boy ticked. He pulled out a large, orange pill bottle labeled Rad-X out of his messenger bag, opened it, and poured out three small capsules. He handed two of them to Liara and Feron, who exchanged confused looks.

“Rad-X. It builds up resistance in your body against radiation. Here goes nothing.” Ethan tossed the pill to his mouth and swallowed it. He entered the pipe.

Liara looked at her pill and sighed. “Your world has made some strange inventions.” She swallowed hers as Feron did the same thing. The two entered the pipe, following Ethan.

Ethan’s Pip-Boy continued to tick. Outside the tube, Blue Suns mercenaries patrolled the factory. The trip was long, and they were lucky no one heard them. They exited the tube and found themselves in the plant’s control room. The room was small with a console nearby.

On the way, a female turian clad in Blue Suns armor passed by, a shotgun identical to Ethan’s own hanging on her back. She looked different, lacking the crest of horns found in male turians.

Hiding in the shadows, the female turian walked down the hall, her hand placed next to a turian’s version of an ear. Two more mercs followed behind, their faces hidden underneath helmets.

Liara raised her hands in front of her as she prepared her biotics. Feron stopped her, reminding her they didn’t want any attention. Liara nodded and watched the mercs pass by without incident.

The three made it to a window after they climbed on a catwalk. Through it, they got a good view of the hangar. It had many floors, supported by railings, with boxes and crates scattered about the platform. The other two nodded back. After a second or two, Feron found a doorway leading right there. He took a huge step over the catwalk. “Hope you can land quietly.”

The drell dropped down, landing silently despite wearing a full trench coat. Liara followed suit, her fall being a little clumsier. She landed close to a wall, and so she grabbed hold of it to steady herself.

The asari looked up at Ethan as he prepared to jump. With her hands raised, a blue glow surrounded Ethan, slowing his fall to the ground.

“You couldn’t pull that off on yourself?” Ethan whispered. Liara ignored him.

Right as they filed in, they hid behind the boxes. There, a huge group of Blue Suns mercs standing around a coffin-shaped box, weapons in hand. Ethan surmised that it must be where Shepard’s body was. It was too close to a Blue Suns vessel for Ethan’s comfort. Soon after they arrived, a strange ship flew and landed in the hangar.

They watched as a huge, horned man walked out of the ship. His red-and-gray armor was bulky like he was a walking tank. The weapon with a large barrel he carried supported that assumption. Everything about him was intimidating, even from their distance. Ethan thought it was unusual for a salarian of that size. They were usually more fragile than other species. The salarian carried a large gun as he walked towards the Blue Suns.

Feron tensed. His black eyes betrayed the slightest hint of fear as he breathed to settle his nerves. “Damn! I knew this wouldn’t be easy. That’s Tazzik!”

Ethan smirked. “Him?” He looked at the large salarian. “They sure grow him large in their neighborhood, don’t they?”

Feron shook his head, ignoring Ethan’s attempt at a joke. It wasn’t long before they heard a krogan below say, “They grow ‘em large in your neighborhood, don’t they?”

“And they grow them stupid in yours,” the salarian retorted.

Feron and Liara glared at Ethan, who smiled in response. The drell then turned his focus on the muscular salarian below. “This day just gets brighter all the time.”

“What’s the matter? Who is that?” Liara asked.

Feron looked at the salarian. “Taz is the Shadow Broker’s one and only hitman for the rare times he wants something, or someone, taken care of. The mercs are hired muscle. Taz—he calls for results. Results he usually gets.”

“That’s what they all say till they meet me,” Ethan asserted. He glanced at the crates near the ship and looked to his right to see an unmanned turret. “This could give out a nasty surprise. Liara, think you can use your biotics to toss these crates at them? You can take out large groups, given the size and weight of them.”

Liara squinted, looking at the crates. Some of them were filled with mining equipment and batteries. The other crates had processed element zero. When tossed at a high enough velocity, they can be deadly. After a second, she nodded. “Yes. I can handle the crates, but I do not like this.”

Feron nodded. “And I’ll handle the turret. It looks a little broken, but it’s easy to fix with some omni-gel.” He approached the turret in question. “I must say, Ethan, this is a dangerous business, disregarding a threat like Tazzik so casually.”

Liara also nodded. “That grenade launcher could cause a lot of damage if we don't move quickly.”

“Or he could hit those mercs or himself by accident,” Ethan replied.

“No. Put it down!” Tazzik ordered. The two mercs instantly pulled their hands away from the casket.

The three paused, not saying a word. After a few seconds, the mercs moved along. “That’s a fair point,” said Liara. “We need to move. I’ll handle the crates, Feron will shoot at the ship, and you can help me with the mercs. Unless you had something else in mind?”

Ethan positioned his Viper sniper rifle on the rails and looked through the scope, aiming at Tazzik. When he fired a shot at Tazzik, a blur surrounded his body, and the hitman was no worse for wear. His presence attracted the Blue Suns merc’s attention as he turned in their direction.

And Ethan thought that kind of luck only happened in Vegas.

“We got hostiles!” A female merc grabbed a Vindicator rifle.

Ethan went for another shot, but the amount of gunfire focused on him stopped him from doing so. He ducked behind the rail and switched to his Mattock. He popped back up and fired at the merc who shot him, taking a few seconds to kill the merc, no thanks to his shields.

“Now, Liara!” he shouted.

Liara stood up and turned to the crates at the side. She seized them with her biotics. Before they got up in the air, they exploded, scorching the floor and sending debris everywhere. Ethan ducked, stunned, avoiding a massive battery that traveled inches above his head.

When the explosions died out, they saw Tazzik with his grenade launcher smoking. The huge salarian hadn’t moved a muscle since the crates blew up. He looked at where Ethan and Liara were with an annoyed expression on his face.

“My turn.” Tazzik aimed his grenade launcher at where they were and fired several times.

“Get down!” Ethan pushed Liara out of the way and leaped aside as the grenades landed. The wave of explosions knocked them off their feet as Feron turned the turret toward the ship. The drell fired a few rounds, hitting the ship’s hull.  

Tazzik wasn’t deterred. He launched grenades at Feron as the Blue Suns shot at the drell's position. With a slight shift in his expression, Feron abandoned his post, leaping off the seat as a missile from a Blue Suns heavy’s weapon landed at the turret. He rolled away when the explosion knocked him off his feet. Feron fell behind cover, but the drell’s body shook as he looked over to Ethan and Liara.

Tazzik fired more grenades at Ethan, but Liara threw a biotic barrier around him and her. She turned to Feron as the drell stood up.

“Careful, Tazzik!” a turian shouted below. “You could’ve ruined that casket!”

“That platform wasn’t close to Shepard, you idiot!” Tazzik replied, irritated. “Now I remember why I work alone.”

“Feron, get over here!” Liara yelled.

The drell got up as he hobbled the rest of the way in a half-crouched position.

As his shields recharged, Ethan had a wave of dizziness hitting him like a bighorner kicking him in the head. Examining his own body to find metal shards sticking out of him forced him to realize he got hit by grenade shrapnel. He pulled a stimpak out of his messenger bag and stuck it on his right leg, and the metal fragments fell from his body as his wounds healed. He dragged Feron toward the nearest crate and administered some medi-gel on the drell. He then turned and fired at the mercs, taking them out one at a time.

He realized the Blue Suns outnumbered them even as he took out many of the mercenaries. A woman, completely covered in armor from head to toe and carrying an M-76 Revenant assault rifle, led them. As they avoided Tazzik’s line of fire, she got all her troops behind whatever sparse cover there was. She made sure the weakest mercs got the best positions. Liara placed her into a stasis field, but the damage was already done.

The mercenaries maintained suppressive fire above the platform, going back to cover almost as soon as the trio re-emerged. The veterans shot at them in three-round bursts from their Vindicators, their special ammo eating through the three’s shields at an alarming rate. A trio of mercs with missile launchers took cover and fired. Sections of the railing collapsed and rattled the floor. It was enough to knock them off their feet, sending the rain of shrapnel down on them.

Ethan was running low on stimpaks and medi-gel. With their combined fire and Liara’s biotics, they took down several mercs at that moment, with him claiming most of them.

“What do we do now?” a nervous Liara asked.

Ethan found himself facing a tough decision. He could stay there and hold his ground with Liara and Feron, fight the Blues Suns until they either retreated or were defeated, but he wasn’t sure they could hold them all off. If Tazzik and the others flee, they will take Shepard’s body with them.

“We have to get out of here,” Ethan answered. Retreating seemed like a good idea. But the way they came in had been cut off by the Blue Suns so that only left one option: his Stealth Boy. But he only had one.

With seconds to spare as the mercs closed in on them, he realized fighting back was futile. He wouldn’t have time to tell the others how to use the Stealth Boy. He could try to rescue Liara and Feron after he escaped, even though Tazzik would use them as bait. It would be the right thing to do after abandoning them.

Ethan took a slow breath and edged closer to Liara. “I’m sorry.” He strapped the Stealth Boy around his right arm and activated it, rendering him invisible. He leaped off the platform, rolling as he landed.

“Get the body on the ship! Now!” the salarian yelled at the soldiers.

Two of the mercs quickly took Shepard’s casket to Tazzik’s ship. Despite the damage caused by Feron, it was intact. For a moment, he considered going inside that ship but dismissed it as too risky. There could be sensors that wouldn’t be fooled, along with all sorts of security, and not enough space to go around in.

He scanned his surroundings and found another opening. He dashed into the dark and narrow hallways, finding them to be empty of Blue Suns mercs or anyone else in the vacancy. When he got out of the plant, Tazzik’s ship took off with Shepard’s body, and his companions, on board.

Liara was shocked when Ethan disappeared before her eyes. He told her that he was sorry, and by the look on his face and the tone of his voice, he probably meant it, but him outright abandoning them on the spot made her not so sure. However, if he escaped, then he might have the chance to get Shepard’s body.

A group of Blue Suns mercs burst through a door nearby, wielding Katana and Scimitar shotguns and even flamethrowers. Liara and Feron dropped their weapons and got their hands up. They would be shredded in seconds if they don’t comply.

One of the mercs grabbed Liara from behind to prevent her from using her biotics. Another kneed her in the stomach for good measure. A wave of nausea hit her as the wind knocked out of her. A batarian centurion grabbed Feron afterward, holding up the already weakened drell by the arms. The two were dragged downstairs before everyone else.

The mercs parted slightly as the huge frame of Tazzik walked through, looking pleased with himself in the smarmiest way possible. “Have to be honest, Feron, I’m disappointed in you. It seems the Shadow Broker made the right call in sending the Blue Suns after the both of you.”

The drell faced the hitman with defiance. “I won’t work with anyone who makes deals with the Collectors. And especially not ones where—”

One of the mercs elbowed Feron hard in the stomach.

Tazzik shook his head. “That’s how business works, Feron. We sell to the highest bidder, no matter who we buy or sell to.”

Feron looked at Tazzik once again and chuckled. “I think this is where you and I come to a distinct disagreement. I can’t work for him knowing what he’s going to do.” He chuckled bitterly. “I think you and I both know this would end with me leaving the Shadow Broker eventually, Tazzik.”

Tazzik nodded. “You were one of the best, Feron. But you know how we punish traitors.”

“And you tell me that like I don’t know what he does to them.” The drell gave the salarian an equally bitter smile. “There are risks that everyone must take, Taz. I took mine. I know the consequences.”

Liara turned to Feron. “Do you mean that—?”

“I’m saying it won’t be… pleasant.”

“You’re right,” said Tazzik. “It’ll be worse than what your asari friend will get. As for your human friend, I'm surprised he ran off, given his tenacity. Furthermore, he appeared on Omega with no known means of transportation. He had no form of identification, not even traces of DNA that matched with anyone, and he killed many Blue Suns mercenaries here alone.”

“What, you want to recruit him?” Feron stated. “Too bad that won’t happen.”

Liara shifted, struggling to move. “Help me understand why anyone would sell the remains of my friend. What could they offer you to be worth that?!”

Tazzik turned his attention to the asari. “It was nothing personal.”

“Shepard died looking for the Reapers. She killed one at the Citadel,” Liara retorted, her voice teeming with anger. “Are you even aware that the Collectors’ interest might be related to that? Do you know what they are going to do with her body once they have it?”

“And? What would you gain from it?”

“Closure, maybe. Do you know that Shepard is listed as MIA? Someone would come for her.”

“The Shadow Broker will tell the Alliance to list Shepard as KIA, and everybody will move on.” The large salarian turned his attention to two more mercs and nodded. Each got out a syringe and checked the dosage. Liara tensed at what they would do.

They struck the syringes at the side of Liara’s and Feron’s necks. Feron groaned as he fell to the ground, knocked out cold instantly from the potent dosage. Liara was next, feeling light-headed as her vision began to fade away.

“Put them on my ship. The Shadow Broker would be pleased to hear this,” Liara heard Tazzik speak before losing consciousness. “And find this human. He shouldn’t be far from here. I want him alive for questioning if possible. If he’s not… I’ll understand.”

Chapter Text

When Tazzik’s ship disappeared, Ethan turned off his Stealth Boy to conserve its power, certain no one saw him. As he approached the gray cab he and the others arrived in, he considered tampering with the controls to drive it more easily, but he dismissed it. It would be too dangerous, too impractical. Plus, he had no idea where Tazzik went with Liara and Feron. In an instant, another idea clicked in his head. If he couldn’t reach Cerberus on where they went, maybe he could interrogate one of Tazzik’s lackeys. Yes, he could do that.

He hid behind the skycar and turned his Stealth Boy back on. Five plain-colored skycars emerged from the opened main entrance, the Blue Suns’ insignia mounted on the roof like Old World taxi signs. The cars’ headlights shone on the vehicle. He feared they would overwhelm him, but only one of the cars turned to his location while the rest of the convoy sped off to the populated areas of the station. Ethan was ready to fight on his own.

The car landed a short distance away, and a female Blue Suns centurion walked out of it. Behind her was a male batarian with a flamethrower and a male turian with a Katana. A male trooper sat in the car, bored by the proceedings. The batarian was behind the others, obscuring the fuel tank so Ethan couldn’t shoot it.

“Why are we here alone again?” the turian asked.

“To find that human who was with the asari and the drell,” the batarian answered. “Tazzik ordered us to capture him. If not, we found an excuse to kill someone.”

“I don’t know,” the human trooper trailed off with uncertainty. “Not sure splitting up was a good idea.”

“Relax, Peter.” The female centurion tapped on her omni-tool and images of him appeared on-screen, collected from their helmets' cameras. “He has scars on his right eye and forehead and a device strapped to his left arm.”

“Anything else?” the turian asked again, almost like he was sarcastic.

“Just that he’s armed and dangerous, so it’s best to be careful.” The woman glanced at Ethan’s cab and gestured to the turian. “Intel told us the asari and the others arrived here in that car. Let’s see if they left anything behind.”

The turian nodded and headed over to the car. As he bent down by the trunk, Ethan struck. He grabbed the turian by the collar and slammed his head against the trunk. The Stealth Boy burned out, exposing him. His best chance of getting answers was with the centurion. He got out his knife and stabbed the turian’s throat, leaving him to bleed as he fell behind the car.

“Caius is down!” the centurion shouted. “Jath’Kar, get him!”

“I don’t want to go out to a fireball just yet! Peter, start the engine!” the batarian barked.

It looked like the batarian was going back to their vehicle. Ethan leaned out and aimed his Mattock at his fuel tank. He got set on fire as a long burst of flame reached the corner. He ducked and rolled to the side to extinguish the fire, but to no avail.

Through the pain, he remembered the clerk’s advice. Kinetic barriers were useless against radiation, temperature, slow-moving objects, and poison. That weakness that made his Bowie knife efficient worked against him. Lucky for him, his armor had a greater heat resistance. He wished he had this when he fought Cook-Cook.

“What’s the matter? Don’t you humans like the smell of napalm? Or is 3 AM too early in the morning for you?” The batarian sneered and continued his advance.

Ethan smiled as the fires were extinguished from his body, with burns forming around his body. He was surrounded, with the centurion getting him in her sights. He didn’t want to die. The batarian grinned, ready for a second burst. However, to his luck, the batarian slipped on the turian’s blood.

The centurion fired, but her three-round burst couldn’t get through his shields. Before she fired again, Ethan leaped at her with his knife. He pushed her rifle out of her hands with difficulty, but she grabbed his knife arm, and a struggle ensued.

The centurion tried to kick him in the crotch, but he moved away and pushed her against the car’s frame, his knife at her throat. Ethan anticipated that move, like many raiders he had fought before. Peter started the car, arriving at the scene. The batarian jumped inside as the vehicle went up in the air. Both of them were about to fire, only to stop when they saw their leader being held hostage.

“Tell me where Tazzik's ship is, and you’ll get her back alive!” Ethan asserted.

“Like you have done so before,” Jath’Kar deadpanned. “How do we know you’ll stop once you get what you want?”

Ethan scoffed and rolled his eyes, too used to the retort of guilt. “And what can you do? It’s not like you would open fire while your beloved officer is here. And if your ‘friends’ didn’t attack Liara, Feron, and me, I wouldn’t be here. Tell me the coordinates, or we can see how well that car fares as a funeral fire engine.”

Peter shuddered and looked up from his omni-tool while the batarian struggled with a response.

“That drell worked for the Shadow Broker! He knew they would give that coffin to the Collectors!” the centurion barked.

Ethan let out an exasperated sigh. “Good to know. Tell me something I don’t know, like where Tazzik’s going. Would that be so hard to ask?”

He looked at the car. The batarian waited for an answer while the driver went back to his omni-tool. He wondered whether the Blue Suns had any plan. He soon realized why the driver was using his omni-tool.

“You’re trying to distract me while you call for reinforcements.” he guessed. “You willing to gamble their lives just to take me out?”

Peter froze. “What makes you say that?”

Ethan shrugged. “The tension. I made it through ambushes like this before, and I can fight desperately better than you can at your best. Call them off and tell me the coordinates. You saw what happened to your turian friend here. Don’t let it happen to your officer.”

The young, inexperienced driver breathed at a rapid pace, panicking at the thought of his comrades dying. “Alingon! Tazzik went to Alingon in the Faryar system!”

The batarian turned to Peter with a furious look on his face. “What are you—?”

“Saving our lives. I’d rather not get us killed over this.”

“You better not lie to me.” Ethan glared at Peter as his knife pressed toward the centurion’s throat.

“I’m not lying! You can check for yourself!” Peter pleaded. “J-just let her go. I won’t call in reinforcements.”

The batarian frowned and looked at Ethan with chilling defiance. He raised his flamethrower at Ethan, ready to avenge his fallen ally. “Screw it! We’re killing him right here and now!”

“Jath’Kar! Do as he say!” the commander ordered, pausing on each word. “You sure you’ll follow through?”

Ethan nodded. He smiled, satisfied, as Jath’Kar lowered his weapon in defeat. “Bunch of pushovers,” he muttered under his breath as he released her when the skycar landed. They didn’t hear his remark. The commando stepped into her car and turned her attention to him, giving him a serious demeanor.

With that, the skycar flew away, leaving him alone. Ethan sighed as he unstrapped the now-useless Stealth Boy off his right forearm and sat next to the cab. The batarian’s flamethrower left behind a burnt, black mark on the cab’s hood.

He pulled a stimpak out of his backpack and applied it on his wrist, which it and the Monocyte Breeder implant healed the burn marks off his body at a steady pace. This would be the last stimpak he had on him.

Ethan rubbed his brows, feeling the strands of hair. He sighed again, relieved they weren’t burnt off. Now he had to see if Cerberus could rescue him.

He pressed his fingers against the headset. “Miranda? This is the Courier speaking. Are you out there? Anyone on this frequency?”

“Miranda Lawson here,” a voice spoke from his headset into his ear after a moment. “Status update.”

“It was a mess out here,” Ethan replied as he stood up. “Tazzik took Shepard’s body and captured Liara and Feron. Oh, and the Blue Suns gave me a warm welcome, but I managed to talk them out of killing me.”

“Brilliant. Just brilliant.” She sighed, irritated. “I saw him heading out to the Omega 2 relay.”

“To Alingon?” Ethan hoped the info he got was good.

There was silence on her end until Miranda spoke. “Yes. The relay leads to the Faryar system. I wanted to stop Tazzik, but the Illusive Man belayed that order. He wouldn't even let me track him down.”

“Belayed the order?” His brows narrowed as his voice almost became a growl. “Fine time for that. Why the hell would he do that?”

“He wants to know why the Collectors wanted the body in the first place,” Miranda explained. “But he's resourceful. You’ll get some backup for the mission.”

Ethan raised an eyebrow. “My backup? Who?”

“Daniel Lynch. He goes by his codename Lynch,” Miranda answered.

Ethan scoffed. “Of course. How soon can he get here?”

“I’m already here,” a man said, cutting into the frequency.

The wind howled as a large shadow had cast over Ethan. He looked up, seeing a large ship finding a place to land. Light gray and gold-lined, it was arrowed-shaped, with the tip splitting into three, the middle shorter. At the back, the four engines hummed loudly, showing off a bright, blue glow. The name ‘Cassino’ was marked in black letters, all capitalized, on the ship’s wings.

When it landed close to Ethan, the bottom of the ship opened, showing a man wearing a long black coat stepping down the hatch. He was in his early thirties of medium height and athletic build, having a goatee, short dark hair, and a crooked nose. His eyes were light brown, matching the color of his skin. His armor was the same color as his coat, having enough padding to provide flexibility with some protection.

He looked around, first at the burned cab and then at Ethan. “Not a body in sight.” He had a slight accent. German, perhaps.

“I take it you’re Lynch,” said Ethan before looking at the ship. “So, we’re going in that?”

Lynch turned to the ship. “It’s a frigate, made by the Alliance. Cerberus captured this ship weeks ago and retrofitted it. It doesn’t look like much, but it can perform recon and get into firefights efficiently. It's armed with the Javelin weapon system for close-quarter combat.”

“The Javelin? They’re torpedoes that use dark energy to magnify the space-time effects?”Ethan asked.

The agent nodded. “Huh.” Ethan furrowed his eyebrows. “Why didn’t you help us earlier?”

“Feron, the drell, refused any further assistance from Cerberus, including mine,” Lynch grumbled. “I wish I didn’t have to wait this out.” He approached Ethan. “But that’s not the only reason why I’m here. Care to explain why you haven’t retrieved the body?”

Ethan rolled his eyes and puffed his cheeks, recalling what happened in the last hour. “Long story short, we set out an ambush, but it didn’t work out. There were too many of Tazzik’s men and Blue Suns on us, so I had to retreat.”

“And you left T’Soni and the drell behind.” With that statement, the agent pinched the bridge of his nose.

Ethan placed his hands on his hip and shook his head. “It was either that or getting captured by Tazzik, and we both know how that one would turn out.”

“But you miscalculated him, and that has led your friends to be captured. Next time, do a better job of not underestimating your opponents. Otherwise, it will get you killed.”

There was no way he could argue with Lynch on that. He had been reckless. He didn’t heed a similar warning before, and that nearly got him killed. “I better not be paying for a skycar that got damaged.”

Lynch gazed at the skycar. “What happened?”

“I talked my way out of getting killed by the Blue Suns, and I found out where Tazzik’s going: Alingon, Faryar system.”

The agent chuckled. “Good. By the way, you won’t have to pay for the damage. The sooner we leave, the better.”

Ethan nodded and walked up the wide hatch with Lynch, closing when he reached the top. A backlash tried to push him back as the engines roared to life. The ship took over, accelerating at high speeds.

Taking a quick look, Ethan was in a hangar bay, with a small shuttle hanging below the ceiling at his left. To the right were two shelves stacked with dozens of weapons and a workbench lying nearby. He guessed the workbench was used for modifying weapons or perhaps creating things like in the Mojave wasteland. However, the gray, dull metals of the surrounding walls made the lighting low-key and harsh.

“Mind if I take some ammo and medi-gel?” Ethan asked. “I’m running low on both of those already.” He snapped his fingers, realizing that something had occurred to him. “Oh right—grenades. Forgot about them. Do you have some?”

“Yes, to both,” Lynch answered. “While you do that, I’ll be consulting the pilot and see if she can take us to Alingon. I’ll tell you more about our intel once you’re ready.”

The Cerberus agent walked past Ethan to the end of the hanger. A double-set door opened, and Lynch stepped inside the elevator. The door closed, leaving Ethan alone in the elevator of the supply area.

He grabbed several thermal clips, fitted them into his assault rifle, and replenished his medi-gel supply from a first-aid cabinet by the elevator. He grabbed some disk-shaped grenades and noticed a button at the side of each grenade, indicating that it activated the detonation process. Ethan replaced his old sniper rifle and pistol with an M-29 Incisor sniper rifle and a Phalanx. As he finished, a woman’s voice spoke through an intercom nearby.

“Initiating transmission sequence.”

He stepped into the elevator and pressed the interface at his right, the up-arrow flashing green. The elevator closed its doors and lifted upwards. He waited, impatiently tapping his foot as the elevator progressed slowly. Finally, the elevator opened, and Ethan stepped outside. The immediate surroundings of the deck were large and round, with the seats stacked to the wall. The left door led to the airlock while the right goes to the restrooms and the quarters. Ahead was a short, cramped hallway. People were working on each of the eight terminals, four on each side, the orange screens illuminating the deck.

As Ethan walked to the cockpit, he passed by a man and a woman sitting nearby, inspecting their weapons. The woman wore a suit of white armor. She carried a Shuriken submachine gun with a Phalanx hanging down at the right side of her hip. The man sitting next to her was larger than her, his black armor so bulky that he looked like a walking tank. His choice of weaponry, an M-76 Revenant light machine gun and an M-22 Eviscerator, supported that assumption.

At the other end of the deck was a gold-haired woman with a thin chin and large eyes in the pilot’s seat. The pilot punched in commands on the interface as Lynch looked at the image of the galaxy, crossing his arms behind him. He turned to see Ethan approaching him, nodding in acknowledgment.

“Calculating transit mass and destination,” the pilot said. The starship flew closer to a massive metallic object in question, which stood out among the stars. Its long arms stretched out in one direction, the giant rings revolving around a bright, blue core. That object was a mass relay, a transit device that transported ships throughout each section of the galaxy.

Ethan’s jaw dropped, in awe at the view. He couldn’t help but think of Captain Cosmos, a Pre-War show. Never in his life would he imagine going to space and finding the body of a war hero. On the bright side, Cerberus doesn’t treat their women like cattle, unlike Caesar’s Legion, but that gave him little comfort.

“Relay is hot. Acquiring approach vector. Board is green,” the pilot stated. “Hitting the relay in 3… 2… 1…”

As the frigate closed in on the relay, a bolt of electricity wrapped around the ship. Outside the ship, everything became a distortion of colors. The ship accelerated at faster-than-light speeds, leaving behind a blue trail as it warped off to its destination.

Liara’s eyes shot open, her head throbbing with a vicious headache as the drug wore off. Groaning, she sat up on her bed and looked around in a small, white cell. The lights reflected off the walls and floor, making it look clean and orderly. There was something wrong, tranquil like all color and emotion was drained here. Ahead of her was the door with a red light on the panel. Locked, no doubt, she assumed.

She looked down to find gold-painted restraints strapped to her wrists. As she raised her arms, she found the restraints had negated her biotic abilities. A wave of panic swept over her, and she struggled against her bonds. She strained her arms, trying to pry them off her in a futile effort. The asari stood up from her bed. Her legs trembled weakly as if she hadn’t used them in a long time.

She stood back up, using the bed’s smooth metallic frames as support. As she recollected her nerves, she wondered where she was and whether Tazzik had sold her friend’s body to the Collectors already. The cell was too large to be on Tazzik’s ship, so she was either at a station or at a facility. A window could help her show where she was, which this cell lacked.

“Incoming transmission,” a monotone male voice spoke out.

The voice brought her attention to a large video screen to her left. She approached it, taking it at a slow pace. Suddenly, the screen came to life, showing a large, green salarian in dark armor, surrounded by orange screens, each of them monitoring someone’s health.

“Huh. You’re awake.” Tazzik’s smirk was cold, all-knowing. “Good.”

“Obviously enough, but I doubt this would be good for me,” she retorted. “So where am I and where have you taken Feron and Shepard?”

“You're in a facility on Alingon. I doubt you can escape from here as this planet's crust cuts off any outside communications except for our channels,” Tazzik answered coldly. “As for Feron, we are…” He gazed at his left, his eyes squinting. “…talking more about why betraying the Shadow Broker is a bad idea. Don’t worry; the corpse is still here. Our buyer’s almost here, though it’s taking its sweet ass time.”

The high-pitched whine of a machine whirred to life through the speakers. A few seconds later, someone grunted in pain and then gasped for air. “I must say, Taz: I didn’t know you were into the kinky stuff,” a man gasped off-screen. “Were you like this with the others?” She immediately realized it was Feron speaking.

“Just like you forgot our discussion on Omega,” Tazzik shot back.

“Have you also forgotten that all drell have a perfect memory?” Feron responded. “I think I forgot my lesson as much as you forgot what happened between us one time—”

Tazzik flicked the switch nearby and pressed the button. The whirring intensified and, Liara could swear it, the lights flashed. Liara cringed and, following her instincts, looked away from the screen. It didn’t sound pleasant, with Feron screaming and the intensity of the whirring. When she looked back at the screen moments later, Tazzik was still there.

“Try testing my patience again, Feron. See what happens.” Tazzik frowned. “I can put you in a world of pain, tear you apart from the inside.” He narrowed his eyes and took a step to his left, away from the screen. “If I had a mind to it, I could tell the Collectors to ensure you never see the light of day ever again!”

Feron spat on the floor. It was obvious to her he was barely holding it together. “Is it your nerve or your patience that you're losing? It’s hard to tell.”

“Feron, don’t provoke him!” Liara cried.

Tazzik clenched his mouth, his left hand hovering over the button. After a moment of hesitation, he lowered his hand and took a deep breath to calm his nerves. “You should listen to the asari, Feron. But I have to attend to more important dealings.” He turned to look at the end of the screen. “In the meantime, try to make yourself at home.”

A chill ran down Liara’s spine. She would be right to be afraid of the implications of Tazzik’s statement being accurate. “So, you’ll do the same to me as you did with Feron?” she asked.

“Nothing like that.” The hitman’s reassurance comforted her. “Two of my men will be here soon. Computer, end communication.”

Tazzik’s image went blank, leaving the former archaeologist alone in her cell. Taking a step back, she sat back down on her bed. Liara can’t be vulnerable. She had to stay calm. If Ethan didn't come, she would have to find a way to escape and get Shepard’s body before they could take her to the Collectors. She brought her head to her hands, still held together by the restraints.

When the frigate jumped out of the mass relay and out of the red-blue light shift, Ethan noticed an asteroid field coming into view. “Thrusters are functional, internal emissions sink engaged, and all systems are online.” The pilot looked at the analysis at her interface. “Drift is just under 1700K.”

“1700? That’s good enough,” Lynch grinned. “Are we in the Faryar system?”

“At least we didn’t turn into salamanders,” Ethan joked. “I mean, how dumb could that be?”

The pilot chuckled as she checked the calculations on the terminal and nodded, answering Lynch’s question. Ethan turned his head to the pilot. “Making sure we didn’t miss by slowing down halfway there?”

“That’s the gist of it,” Lynch answered. “Not many people know that. Nice to know that you do.”

“Anything you can tell me about Alingon?” Ethan asked.

Lynch approached the galaxy map and tapped on the interface as the ship entered the asteroid field. The map showed a 3D image of a coral planet, covered in thick clouds. “Alingon means ‘deceptive’ in the salarian language. Years ago, their scouts’ probes malfunctioned soon as they entered the atmosphere. They later find that this planet has a high concentration of magnesia in its crust and core, interfering with scans and broadcasts. A perfect place to hide for someone like the Shadow Broker since they have the tech to work on that issue.”

“Great, just what we need,” Ethan snorted.

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw a navy-blue shape moving around in space. When he leaned in the window more closely, the blue spot was a police box, spinning around with no inertia. He blinked, and it was gone.

Ethan curled his lips, wondering if that was a hallucination. “Are we expecting any trouble?” he asked Lynch.

The Cerberus agent chuckled. “Aren’t we all?”

As he said that, alarms blared out as the lights surrounding the three turned red. The ship shook, and Ethan and Lynch lost their balance. Lynch fell, his face planted on the floor. Ethan regained his balance as he grabbed the steel wall to his left.

“Wow. Great timing, Lynch.” Ethan stood up. “What’s going on?”

The pilot tapped a command, bringing up an image of three t-shaped ships firing at them. They flew in unison, almost in an autonomous manner. Looking at the numbers the ship’s virtual intelligence gave her, her eyes widened. “No signs of any lifeforms inside! They must be sentries!”

Ethan frowned as he stared at the sentries. “What is this, the Sierra Madre? Does the Shadow Broker attack anyone who works for him or does he not like unannounced arrivals?”

“More on the latter.” Lynch stood up, unfazed. “At this rate, I doubt we can fly to the planet with the sentries on our tail. We need to take the Kodiak shuttle.” The ship shook again, less intensely this time.

“Shields are holding up!” The pilot continued to issue a series of commands on the interface. The ship turned upward, hoping to lose them. Ethan held on to a holding nearby, half-expecting to slide down but didn’t, thanks to the artificial gravity made by the mass effect fields below.

“Jennifer, can you hold them off?” Lynch asked. The pilot turned to him and nodded with a determined look. With that, Lynch turned and rushed towards the elevator, beckoning Ethan to come along. As Ethan caught up to him, Lynch turned to the two sitting nearby. “Alan, Christina, let’s move.”

The two armored troopers immediately stood up and grabbed their weapons. They followed behind him and Lynch as they entered the elevator. When the elevator started, Ethan stretched his neck while Lynch tapped his foot. Everything shook as the ship suffered more damage. He hoped the shields had held up this time. As the elevator descended, no one spoke until Ethan became curious.

“So, tell me about yourselves,” Ethan stated. “What’re your names?”

“Christina. Christina Rosaline,” the white-clad woman answered. “Lynch and I were Corsairs before joining Cerberus. You could say we operate outside the Alliance’s jurisdiction.” She shook her head. “We still have to jump through hoops and the Alliance isn’t doing much these days, not after the attack on the Citadel.”

The man in black armor turned his head to Ethan. “Alan Cain. Used to be the Gunnery Chief of Bravo Squad. I was the muscle of the team, but I didn’t want to see the Alliance going soft on the aliens, so I resigned. No way could I hold up after…” His voice trailed off. “Never mind. It doesn't matter.”

Ethan couldn’t help but notice a hint of anger in his voice, something other than the excuse for bigotry, but he didn’t want to dwell on it.

He turned to Lynch, his helmet encasing his head. He noticed Lynch had the same armament as his. The elevator opened, and the four stepped out and rushed towards the shuttle which descended from the ceiling. On the way, he put on a helmet matching his armor.

The door on the shuttle opened of its own accord, and a hatch landed on the floor. The four quickly stepped into the room, large enough to seat twelve people. In front of them was a window, large enough to cover most of the wall.

They waited for the atmosphere to equalize outside the shuttle. Everything shook as the shuttle’s engine hummed to life and the hooks released the shuttle. The hatch of the hangar opened, showing the spiraling planet as the ship avoided the sentries. The shuttle took off to the planet as one sentry crashed into an asteroid, creating a massive explosion that obliterated the asteroid.

Soon after, the shuttle entered the atmosphere, the massive clouds obscuring their vision. Ethan tapped his foot on the floor, ready to give the Shadow Broker some payback.

Chapter Text

The shuttle landed on the planet’s frozen, rocky surface near the mountains. To avoid detection by sensors, they landed two miles away from the Shadow Broker’s facility. Ethan and Lynch, along with Christina and Alan, stood in front of the hatch.

Ever since they entered Alingon’s atmosphere, Ethan was lighter, like he lost half of his weight. As he put his helmet on, the hatch opened, and the squad stepped outside. Since the atmosphere was thin with carbon dioxide, they had to wear helmets to breathe safely.

A cold wave swept over Ethan, and he shivered in response. His armor made him warm, like a coat, but it was still cold. Massive clouds covered the red sky, making everything darker. Since the gravity here was lower, Ethan wanted to jump and find out how high he could go, but that would make him look foolish.

He followed Lynch and the others, leaving the mountain range behind as the shuttle lifted off.

No one spoke as they walked by a series of mountains, which were formed from dry ice. Only silence greeted them, except for the wind groaning and the heavy breathing among the group as they climbed up the mountain. While it sent a shiver down Ethan’s spine, he guessed it was better than encountering something hostile. Thankfully, their armor protected their fingers from getting burned by the dry ice, since they were at very low temperatures.

As they reached the top, the squad spotted a large facility at the other side of the mountain. Upon seeing this, Lynch turned to Ethan and ordered, “Check for any signs of activity.”

Ethan nodded and pulled out his sniper rifle, the weapon forming in his hands. He lay on his stomach and looked through the scope. The rest crouched down, avoiding detection by the enemy, and watched him.

The facility was large, roughly oval, with square corners. A long-range sensor array stood on the flat roof, pointing toward the sky. At the side was a smaller building with sharper corners.

At this elevation, he saw several entrances to the central facility. Some led to hangars much like the ones at the abandoned factory but were all protected by dozens of security personnel. The few ventilation shafts were too small for them to fit through. What caught his eye was the sheer number of security cameras. Clusters of them hung at the corners, covering every approach.

He checked again and cursed under his breath. The only viable entrance was at the far side of the building, guarded by massive turrets, one at each side of the door. They were mounted on cylindrical bases, taller and wider than any human.

There were also three guards, male and turian, standing at their posts. Their armor was colored in a pattern of black and red. Despite the heavy security, this was a back door. The other side of the building had more turrets and guards.

“Yeah, there’s enemy movement, all right,” Ethan said and told Lynch of his findings.

The agent looked through his sniper rifle.

“So, what are our options here? Do we take out the guards here? Disable the cameras and sneak in?” Ethan hoped these options wouldn’t be disastrous like last time.

Lynch lowered his sniper rifle. “The Shadow Broker doesn’t hire idiots to guard his property. If they know we’re here, they’ll kill the prisoners and come here. These cameras are usually controlled by a VI, alerting the personnel of any disabled cameras.”

“Great. That doesn’t leave us a lot of options,” Ethan remarked, exasperated.

“Christina’s an engineer. She can deactivate weapons, shields, and other systems. Once we hit them, they can’t call for help.”

“What about the turrets?”

Christina spoke this time. “These turrets don’t have much support. The network receives alerts if they’re destroyed or taken offline. If we sabotage their weapons, the guards inside will be none the wiser.”

“Right,” Lynch agreed. “But we have to be quick. After 30 seconds, the turrets’ systems and the guards’ weapons will go back online. We need to get rid of the guards and be clear of the turrets by then. We can’t do it from here, so we’ll have to get closer.”

They climbed down the mountain, crouching and crawling to avoid being seen. The muted colors of their armor were now covered in mud. One of the turians almost saw them but became distracted by the repairs he did on the turret. Lynch signaled for a halt as they reached a large boulder at the bottom of the mountain, about 80 feet away from the entrance. They couldn’t get any closer without being seen.

“Once Christina launches the first mine, the VI will begin the countdown. It’ll send the timer to our suits,” Lynch told Ethanin a hushed voice. He turned to Christina and nodded. “Do it.”

Christina nodded back. She activated her omni-tool. After a few moments, she pointed it at the turrets and launched a disk-like object, landing next to the Shadow Broker’s lackeys. Before any of them could react, the disk detonated a green pulse. The blast caught them and lingered on their armor for a while, disabling their support system inside.

The HUD in Ethan’s helmet showed thirty seconds, popping up at the upper-left corner of his peripheral vision.

“Ambush! Take cover!” The turian technician ducked behind a pile of crates a few yards away from the turrets and readied his assault rifle. The others were still dazed by the blast but followed suit.

Leaning out again, Christina fired the second projectile, creating an orange pulse that engulfed the guards and the turrets and overheated their weapons. The others left cover and advanced on Lynch’s signal.

Twenty-five seconds left.

“Spirits! Hey Crino, why aren’t our weapons working? I thought thermal clips are immune to this stuff!” One of the turians hid behind one of the disabled turrets and ejected a thermal clip from his sniper rifle. Christina began suppressing fire from her submachine gun, making sure he stayed there. The last guard sprinted back towards the exit and dove for cover, but he got caught in the crossfire from Ethan and Lynch's assault rifles. It was a surprise his shields held out.

Twenty seconds remain.

“The thermal clips are first-gen models. The upgrades are due in a couple years,” Crino shouted at a quick pace from behind the crates. “I’ll make sure the turrets work again!” He moved back towards the turret. Lynch, Ethan, and Christina fired at him, draining his shields. Crino ducked down and shot back with a projectile of his own. It produced a blue flash, this time, removing their shields.

And that was the last thing the turian ever did. Alan moved further than anyone else, despite his bulky armor. He opened fire to the Shadow Broker’s engineer as he ducked down. The tech-savvy guard never got up.

“About time. I had enough of these damn light shows.” Ethan smiled and switched to his Eviscerator from his spent Mattock.

Ten seconds left. Time was running out, and they had to move fast to get behind the turrets.

One guard went down, drawing fire from the others. Another turian emerged from cover, his rifle at hand, and fired at Christina, but she was too far away to lose her shields from the tech mine earlier. As the guard’s shields recharged, he ran for the door, throwing a grenade at Alan beforehand.

Alan couldn’t leave the blast entirely, but his armor and shields meant that he didn’t need to. He rushed forward, discharging the rest of his Revenant’s clip at the armored turian. His shots coincided with Lynch’s Phalanx pistol, giving the unfortunate turian no chance to survive. His mangled body collapsed not far from the door as the grenade detonated. Alan got hurt, but he was on his feet.

Christina returned the favor to the turian sniper with the fire from her Phalanx, forcing him back to cover. The lone turian couldn’t fire another shot. Delaying them enough for turrets to cool down and lock on would do the job. Ethan turned around, circling the turian’s cover as he huddled down, firing from his Predator. The turian sniper was desperate, trying to survive and avoid gunfire.

Five seconds left. That time came with the boom of Ethan's Eviscerator, enhanced by his Pip-Boy’s VATS.

That turian twitched and lay dead. Ethan turned back on the spot, realizing he had to cover the final yard. Alan and Lynch were already there, and Cristina was about to enter the dead zone.

Three seconds. Two seconds.

He dashed, almost out of the turrets’ sensors. He slid at the last second, much like pre-War baseball players.

One second left.

He made it as the timer had reached zero. The two turrets whirred as their weapons came to life, but their re-activated sensors found nothing in range.

“That was close.” Ethan panted as he brought his head off the ground. He stood up and wiped the mud off his legs. “So, what’s next?” He was eager to see what awaited them inside.

“Christina, check that guard’s omni-tool over here. He should have plans for the building and the patrolling schedule of the guards in the area,” said Lynch. He pointed at the round-ridden body nearby.

“Yes, sir.” Christina holstered her gun and connected her omni-tool to the one on the turian’s arm.

Alan groaned in pain as the adrenaline from the fight wore off, with shrapnel sticking out at his side.

“Let me see that,” said Lynch. There was a rare show of emotion in his voice. He walked over to the black-clad trooper and applied medi-gel to his injuries. Ethan had never guessed that the stoic agent of a terrorist organization could also be a trained medic. He wondered what else he might see in this galaxy.

He jolted as everyone’s omni-tools beeped as the engineer extracted the relevant data. Ethan transferred the data to his Pip-Boy and looked at the map tab. The map wasn’t detailed, but it had the scale of the facility. As he looked at the arrangement of corridors and rooms, he wanted to ask something.

“Hey, what are the chances of not having any cameras inside?” Ethan smirked.

“None.” Lynch finished administering care to Alan and stood back up. “This facility’s spliced together with pre-made hubs, making it difficult to trace. They discard anything unnecessary to reinforce the rest of the facility. Typical Shadow Broker logic at work.”

“What about the cameras?” Ethan asked.

“The doors are opened through a console, like this one in front of us,” Lynch explained. “The internal console’s connected to the same VI as the cameras inside. Through it, we can hack into the network. Once we’re there, we’ll be able to loop the camera feed and find out where the body’s at.”

“Great, so now can we go in?” Ethan asked impatiently.

“Another thing.” Christina held a corpse’s shotgun in her hands. Ethan observed as she activated her omni-tool, which dissolved the weapon into gray gel and drained into the omni-tool. The process uncomfortably reminded him of plasma weapons and the way they reduced their victims to slag.

Christina noticed him raising an eyebrow through his visor. “That’s omni-gel. It’s used with omni-tools to help you hack and do repairs. We have plenty of it with us, but you’ll never know how much hacking we might need to do. This is the Shadow Broker, after all.”

She stood up, and Ethan noticed the turian’s omni-tool and assault rifle were gone from the body. He followed the Cerberus agents as they entered the compound.

The air inside the airlock had its pressure equalized. Ethan grew heavier like he gained weight back. He breathed in, basking in the fresh air inside. It was nice after taking his helmet off. Breathing artificial, filtered air inside his helmet wasn’t exactly thrilling for him.

They exited the airlock and stepped inside another room. The room was gray and empty, highlighted by harsh artificial lighting. As Christina applied omni-gel to the nearest console available, Alan looked around with a mixture of disappointment and respect.

“Huh. No medi-gel station or weapons locker here. Guy’s either smarter than pirates or just paranoid. When I served the Alliance, pirates and mercs never placed their supplies where they could use them in a fight.” Alan pointed at a bunch of red-and-white lockers at the end of the room, stacked side by side. “There. Usually, they place their weapons here and their medi-gel at the back. But these look like ordinary lockers.”

Ethan smirked. That seemed like what the Vipers and the Fiends would do in the Mojave. He was glad he found something common in this universe. “Want me to check?”

“Yeah, sure,” Alan shrugged.

Ethan approached the lockers and opened one, seeing the green light next to it. Inside, he found nothing, much to his disappointment.

“Find anything?” Alan asked.

“Nope.” Ethan closed the locker.

“We’re in.” Lynch had interrupted their convocation as Christina applied the omni-gel. “Not only the cameras can’t see us, but we also now have footage, and the results are… mixed. The body’s at the North Portal. Small-ship hangar. The guards inside are congregated here, with few patrolling corridors as a result. We shouldn’t have trouble until we get there.

“But the troops take constant shifts. With the comm center, Tazzik could alert them at a moment’s notice. With the exchange scheduled to take place shortly, we’ll have to split up and regroup at the North Portal. Alan and I will go to the comm center. I suggest you and Christina should rescue Dr. T’Soni.”

Ethan nodded. That made sense to him, but something important was left out. “What about Feron? Should we try to rescue him as well?”

“No, they’re kept separately, far from each other,” Lynch answered. “Dr. T’Soni was a close friend of Shepard. If we succeed at resurrecting the Commander, Dr. T’Soni being left behind would probably trigger survivor’s guilt. She’ll already have enough psychological problems to deal with.”

“The drell is just as important,” Christina interjected. “He has valuable information on the Shadow Broker, and we can’t let that go to waste. I’d consider that more important than how the Commander would feel about her friend going missing.”

Ethan considered his options. He wanted to outright skip the comm center and try to free them both, maybe even take on Tazzik again. He would survive whatever the Shadow Broker would throw at him, but the rest of the squad might not.

Alan looked at him with an understanding gaze, mixed with hard-edged determination. “Both of these aliens knew the risk. If we don’t get the job done, the Collectors, the Reapers… they will win. No matter how hard it is, sacrifices have to be made. That's what I learned in my service.”

The thought of getting Tazzik while he was alone was tempting, but Lynch was right—the price was too high. He recalled that if he hadn’t tried to kill Tazzik before, this wouldn’t have happened. “Okay.” He nodded. “We’ll go rescue Liara.”

The squad set off, leaving the locker room and into a large room filled with pillars supporting the base. So far, infiltration had gone to plan. Splitting off from Lynch and Alan, Ethan and Christina reached the short corridor that led to Liara’s cell. Ethan poked his head out. The two guards, who stood watch on the outside of the cell before, went inside the cell. One guard was a tall, bald, dark-skinned man, and the other a light-blue-skinned asari, her face covered in tattoos.

Ethan turned to Christina, who nodded. “We’re clear,” she said. They approached the door and positioned themselves at each end. “Do you know what you’re doing? Lynch has put me under your command, but I know what happened at the factory. We all got a report on it.”

Ethan almost cursed again. News spread too fast for his liking, but that was another aspect of this new reality. “Do you want everybody to die because you have second thoughts?”

She swallowed nervously. Certain of her cooperation now, he punched the panel next to him. Their weapons ready, the door opened, and they entered the small, white room.

The man and the asari turned around from their captive, surprised at Ethan’s and Christina’s arrival. “What the…?” the man exclaimed in surprise as they pointed their guns at their heads.

Capitalizing on the distraction, Liara struck the asari guard with the shackles on her wrist. The asari guard fell with a dull thud, knocked unconscious from the hit. The other guard readied his assault rifle, only for Ethan to stop him by pressing the barrel of his Mattock against his cheek.

He glared at Ethan, a dark expression as he scowled. “What do you want?”

“My face on the dollar bill, but that’s another story.” Ethan smiled. “So you’re a member of the staff? Top crew?”

“Something like that,” the guard answered. “What’s stopping me from setting off the alarm and calling in reinforcements?”

Ethan rolled his eyes. “Oh, I don’t know. Kill more of your men? Or you can surrender. Even the Shadow Broker would appreciate the gravity of this situation. You can die for the Shadow Broker for nothing, or you can live and set Liara free.”

The man bit his lower lip, cold sweat overtaking him. Seeing no other option, the man dropped his rifle on the floor. “Fucking psychopath. Guess I don’t have a choice here.” He raised his hands and went to his knees. “Rayla has the keycard. It’ll unlock her restraints.”

Satisfied with how it turned out, Ethan put his rifle away, sticking it on his back, and grabbed the keycard from the asari guard’s waist. He approached Liara and placed it in the slot on the restraints, which made a clicking sound. After he had pulled the card out, the constraint made a clunking noise as it landed on the floor.

Liara rubbed her wrists. “Thank you.”

Christina shook her head and issued a command on her omni-tool, and a red pulse engulfed the guard. It lingered long enough for him to pass out and slam into the ground.

Ethan reflexively jolted back as Liara gasped at the guard who was now lying on the floor.

“Neural shock. It attacks the nervous system.” Christina turned her omni-tool off. “He’s paralyzed, so it didn't hurt him… much. By the time they recover, we’ll be long gone. Assuming no one else picks them up.”

Ethan stared at the engineer, giving her an incredulous look. “Look at you. I assume Cerberus goes for the ‘take no prisoners’ approach. Going soft on me?”

Christina groaned and waved her arms, clearly annoyed at him. “Yes yes, we kill everyone wantonly.”

Liara looked at Christina and Ethan. “There are Cerberus agents with you, right? That means we can save Shepard’s body.” She paused and sighed, looking down. “Only for them to claim it.”

Ethan paused. He hadn’t considered the aftermath of his mission before now, focusing on staying alive and saving Liara and Feron. Now that Feron had to be left behind, it was worth thinking about the body’s fate.

Christina seemed to be insulted, but she recovered. “Feron was working for us.”

Both Liara and Ethan were taken aback by this revelation. “Is that how you found us on Omega so quickly?” Ethan asked.

“That seems far-fetched. Feron despised Cerberus,” Liara pointed out.

Christina frowned. “That didn’t stop the drell. The Illusive Man has the technology to resurrect her. He was willing to do it, even after everything Shepard has done to us. Even if someone helping us now is an alien.”

“Oh?” Liara’s voice became firm, with no traces of sympathy nor regret. “Your researchers wiped out her unit on Akuze, with her barely escaping alive. You experimented on species like the Rachni and the Thorian creepers and killed Admiral Kahoku when he tried to intervene. And you wonder why she disrupted your operations as much as she could.”

“Your own companies did illegal research on those same species to cut down labor costs when our scientists could have saved them from extinction!” Cristina retorted, her voice rising and falling. “The admiral sold human secrets to the same person we’re fighting now! Akuze wasn’t ever meant to…”

Suddenly, alarms blared out from the speakers.

“The hell?!” Christina asked, surprised.

Her omni-tool pinged, and Lynch’s voice rang across the room. “Christina! I see you freed Liara, but you need to move! The comm link had the prototype security upgrades against omni-gel use. Manual hacking failed to work, and the alarm was set off before we destroyed it. They didn’t realize we hacked into the cameras so get in before they reboot the system. Lynch out.”

“Let’s get going,” Ethan spoke as the Cerberus engineer stared out in disbelief.

Christina turned her attention back to the camera feed on her omni-tool, finding an optimal route. Liara, her weapons confiscated by Tazzik, picked up the Tempest submachine gun dropped by the asari guard and looked around for a pistol. With some reluctance, Ethan gave her the Phalanx pistol he took from the frigate’s armory as they exited the room.

The next few minutes were spent frantically moving, their eyes glued to the feed on the omni-tool screen. They either sped up when it was clear or slowed down to avoid being heard, ducking into the side rooms and changing routes if someone was moving towards them. A salarian guard couldn't be avoided, so the squad gunned him down in seconds.

The system rebooted when they were close to the North Portal. Their feed got cut off as the Shadow Broker’s troops made surprised yelps. As soon as they shot out the nearby cameras and hid behind the crates in the nearby storage room, the door opened.

Ethan readied his weapon but was flung backward by a male human biotic in the group.

Christina collapsed to the ground in pain; her attempt to disable their equipment was countered by the jet of green poison launched by the salarian engineer. Despite the pain, she rolled behind a large crate nearby to avoid further gunfire.

Alone for the moment, Liara launched a singularity and went for cover.

Ethan threw a grenade as he got up to make the most of it. The explosion killed the salarian and another guard from the group of five, but the rest survived by spreading out.

“Bastard took him down!” another salarian trooper exclaimed from behind a nearby pillar and used suppressive fire from his Avenger. The last two guards, a krogan carrying a brick-like shotgun and the biotic, moved to encircle their position.

Hurt from being thrown against the wall, Ethan switched to his Eviscerator shotgun. He wondered if he had time to use it before the biotic used another trick with his powers.

He didn’t have to worry. Christina overcame disorientation from the poison and shot another one of her projectiles. The biotic, who had been gathering energy for another attack, cursed as a dark green glow extinguished the blue light. He clutched his shotgun again and aimed it at Liara before falling dead to the floor from their combined fire.

The krogan advanced, his comrade’s demise buying him time. He fired back at the Cerberus engineer, the shotgun's blast tearing down her shields.

She ducked as Ethan and Liara fired back at the krogan, taking out his shields. Instead of firing again, he roared.

“Shit, he’s gonna charge! Get out of the way!” Christina barked.

The krogan charged forward at Ethan and Liara. Ethan dodged the giant lizard, but Liara stumbled.

“Huh, quick on your feet.” The krogan showed a jagged grin as he faced them with his shotgun. “Too bad that—”

Liara used her biotics to lift the krogan in the air. They opened fire, taking advantage of the creature's vulnerability. The lone salarian tried to support the krogan with suppressive fire, but shots to the helmet from Liara’s gun taught the salarian the virtues of staying down forever.

As the biotic lift ended, the krogan fell and stumbled back onto his feet. It seemed like their legendary toughness was true, matching that of the super mutants.

“Courier, watch out!”

Before he knew it, the krogan used the shotgun to fire a ball of hot plasma at his allies, which they had little time to dodge. As it exploded against the wall, the krogan dropped his gun and charged at Ethan, slamming him against the wall. The krogan growled at him, his breath wafting on Ethan’s face. He couldn’t breathe, with the krogan crushing his rib cage against the wall. Liara and Christina fired at the krogan, making him loosen his grip on Ethan.

Sensing a brief respite, Ethan pulled out his Bowie knife, struck it into the krogan’s brown head crest, and began pulling it on. With his last ounce of strength, the krogan threw Ethan down several feet and pulled the knife out. Orange blood flowed down his face. As Liara threw a biotic warp, the krogan fell on the floor, truly dead this time.

Ethan was thankful that, once again, he was lucky to be alive.

Liara walked to Ethan and helped him to his feet. “Thanks,” he said. His injuries were healing thanks to the Monocyte Breeder implant, but not fast enough. Wincing, he applied a dose of his medi-gel supply. He hoped they wouldn't have to encounter any more enemies here. He grabbed his knife from the krogan's hand. After cleaning it, he picked up the large M-6 Carnifex pistol carried by the biotic. If he was going to face more of these elite troops, he could at least use the same gun against them.

Their omni-tools rang again as they received a simple text message:

Near the alternate entrance to the North Portal. The way is clear now, but Alan got killed. Collector's presence verified by ship’s intel. Synchronizing attack on the terminal with your arrival. Lynch out.

“Goddess! Do you have the map ready? We need to move now!” The panic in Liara’s voice was palpable.

Ethan followed his gaze to Christina, who stared in shock at the omni-tool’s screen for a few seconds. “We can’t let his death go in vain…” With those words, they set off.

The corridors to North Portal had awakened a familiar feeling in him. He hadn’t felt this since his travels in the Mojave. It was a deep, almost subconscious sense of conflict and uncertainty, but he wanted to get in there as soon as possible and defeat Tazzik’s underlings and the Collectors) He was aware the Shadow Broker’s minions knew of their presence despite shooting down the cameras.

They made it to the wide door that parted at the touch of a console and were greeted by the moderately sized hangar. It was divided into the wide, clear landing zone and the cramped storage area, the walkways built around the walls.

The Shadow Broker’s troops were ready for them. Ethan noticed how the guards turned away and dashed to the side, into the open. Ahead, he made out with the light behind him at least a dozen guards, the casket’s position, and a large silhouette that could be the Collector near it. As the light disappeared, he noticed a red targeting beam near him. Turning around in shock, he spotted two snipers on the adjacent walkway. As he ducked, his shields were exhausted.

The door behind them opened, and a shotgun rang out a split second before the shot. The sniper missed, his aim thrown off. His colleague turned around to face the threat, and the asari guard nearby glowed blue. Lynch interrupted her with a jet of green poison and closed in for close quarters combat.

He wondered why no one else had shot him, but he got his answer. Christina moved to the storage area and fought the opposition amongst the stacks of crates. Meanwhile, Liara ran out deeper into the landing zone with no ready cover so no one would risk standing in the open. The Collector was the sole exception. Ethan took in its large, insectoid body of great height. The cracks on the chitinous body showcased what appeared to be molten lava inside.

The Collector went after Liara and the commander’s casket. If Ethan didn’t do something about it, she would be done for. It was also clear the Shadow Broker’s minions expected the creature to prevail without any help. However, he had built his career on beating impossible odds.

“Hey! No wonder you prawns don’t want the galaxy to know about you. You make feral ghouls look pretty, and that’s quite the accomplishment.” Ethan approached the landing zone and fired a few times from his Mattock at the Collector. “I’ll cover you, Liara! Go!”

Liara’s eyes widened in elation, not expecting Ethan to risk his life for her. She set that aside and nodded. In a quick motion, she used her biotics to lift the casket.

“INSOLENCE.” The Collector hadn’t flinched from his shots as sharp, blade-like appendages emerged from its wrists.

Ethan ducked, realizing what it meant. The creature launched an entire salvo of those blades. Most flew above him, but one glanced off his shoulder plate. The heat from the remaining lava had burned his skin. There was a distant rumble, but he didn’t pay attention to it.

Gritting his teeth, Ethan fired back through the pain and discharged the entire clip. Its barriers held on, not slowed down, as it advanced further towards him. As he reloaded, the Collector threw a biotic warp. Its subatomic forces pulled his body apart, his implants losing an uneven fight.

He threw a grenade as he swore, determining the Collector had moved far enough away from the casket to make this tactic viable. Ethan fought back the idea of the Collector brushing that off, but it was worse than he thought.

The abomination tossed aside the grenade with its powers, which exploded among the crates in the storage area.

“LIKE A SPARK TO THE FIRE.” The Collector threw another barrage of projectiles.

Ready this time, Ethan fell, still in shock at the Collector’s powers. He looked up to Lynch hacking the terminal while the others were busy taking the casket to a safe distance.

Once it was over, he ran and spotted a cabinet to the side of the wall. He slid behind it to avoid another biotic projectile.

“YOU CANNOT HIDE FROM YOUR DESTINY, HUMAN,” the Collector taunted and circled him, sure of its success.

Ethan switched to his shotgun, but he knew it wouldn’t be enough. He placed his last grenade on the floor and peeked out.

The Collector moved closer, now about several yards away.

He activated it and slid it out as far as he could. He heard the blast and charged out immediately. If that didn’t work, it would sign his death warrant.

The trick worked. The Collector shook; without its barrier, it showed new cracks caused by the grenade's fragments. Staggered, it raised its hands in front of its face, the biotic energy building up again.

Sparks erupted in a bright shower, followed by a jet of lava from the shattered limb. As he fired, the rock-solid surface of the creature’s body fell under the shotgun’s blasts. Without warning, the Collector charged forward, attempting to get him with its remaining claw.

Ethan ducked down at the side as it went for his neck, only to slash at nothing. As it turned toward him, he used VATS and discharged the rest of the clip at its knees.

The creature collapsed, leaving a viscous trail as it crawled forward. There was another rumbling sound.

Ethan put away the shotgun and whipped out the pistol he took. A machine gun burst out, downing his shields for a moment before recharging. It seemed like the Shadow Broker’s minions realized the Collector wasn’t so invulnerable after all.

Ethan pulled the trigger, and the Collector’s head exploded as it was about to say something. Its body followed suit with a strange mix of chitin and lava collapsed, leaving nothing but a slag mark on the floor.

Two more guards joined the original shooter, preventing him from his moment of triumph. He ducked, using two durable barrels as cover, and applied the rest of his medi-gel to his wounds. He needed help, but his allies were just as busy.

The rumbling sound intensified, and the hangar door opened, bringing in a cold breeze. The howling wind brought crushed ice, burning some of the Shadow Broker’s men. And with it came a large shadow.

Ethan jumped and got out of the way. Almost half of the storage area was blown apart by shots from the cannons. The screams of the wounded and dying were drowned out by the noise of the engines as the frigate entered the North Portal and landed.

The guards on the ground were either dead or incapacitated. Liara and Christina ran out from their cover, the engineer’s armor battered. Lynch emerged from the terminal side of the room and jumped down onto the floor. Ethan noticed his armor was covered in purple blood as he landed. The shooters on the sidewalk all got down, suppressed by the ship's machine guns.

As the Cerberus vessel hovered down and landed near the casket, Ethan’s spirits soared. They all made it within yards of the casket in seconds, eager to leave this wretched place. The ship’s hatch opened, and the ramp slid out. A wide door from the storage area opened with a clang. As Ethan turned around to face it, there was another flash of orange. The guns fell silent, cut off as his pistol overheated.

“So, Dr. T’Soni, Cerberus didn’t abandon you and your friend after all. Perhaps you can give my regards to your goddess!” Tazzik approached the ship. “Would you agree, Feron?” he spoke to the drell dragged behind him by two guards. There were four guards with him, including the human and the asari they spared earlier. Ethan cursed, wishing that they had killed them.

“Can it! You can’t use your grenade launcher close to the stasis casket. How much would you bet on your men’s marksmanship?” Lynch asked. They all edged closer to the casket and reloaded their weapons, but they hadn’t fired at Tazzik yet.

Tazzik gestured to the two guards near him, both wielding rocket launchers. “Not much. Think you could get away with it?”

They were almost next to the frigate now. Ethan thought the ship’s shields and hull would hold. However, he noticed the cracks and burn marks on the hull. He recalled the frigate had fought the sentries, which explained the heavy damage. The mercs might as well bring it down at any moment.

“The envoy’s dead, and it could be weeks before the Collectors send in another,” Tazzik continued. “You ruined more than what they could pay us for that corpse, but the footage can be overwritten. You can take that body, and the Shadow Broker would never know. All you have to do is give me Dr. T’Soni and the wayward human. You already lost a man. You want the rest of your crew killed as well?”

Ethan turned to Lynch. His face remained indecipherable, but it seemed he understood what was going on. Now he hoped the others did.

“So what’s it going to be?” Tazzik asked.

Ethan and Lynch exchanged looks, nodded, and fired at Tazzik. As the salarian ducked down and before any of the mercs could shoot back, Feron escaped the guard’s grip and dragged Tazzik to the ground. A struggle ensued between the two before Ethan and the others realized what had happened. He looked down at the ramp for Feron, but the drell was nowhere in sight.

“Feron!” Liara tried to step out…

…only for Lynch to grab her shoulder. Liara turned and glared at the field agent. “I’m sorry, but we have to go. There’s nothing we can do to help your friend.”

The asari closed her eyes as tears welled up and nodded weakly, now understanding what Lynch said. She joined the personnel in bringing the casket to the cargo hold.

Ethan remembered what he learned about Shepard, that she fell to an uncharted planet from space. From his knowledge of physics and anatomy, it was a miracle that her body was intact. The exposure to the vacuum of space and the impact of landing on a planet would have obliterated her body.

Just as the engines turned back on and the ramp had closed, gunshots from the machine gun rang out, and Christina collapsed to the floor. Her helmet cracked open as blood stained her head and armor.

Lynch was at her side, applying medi-gel. He didn’t say a word as he carried her to the medical bay. Ethan was shocked at this turn of events, even as the ship took off from the hangar. There weren’t as many turrets as possible to hit them on their way, so the vessel took off into space with no further difficulties. No doubt the mission was a success. But to Lynch, it didn’t feel like one.

Chapter Text

Lynch didn’t come out of the medical bay on the lower level until the ship was deep into space and close to the mass relay. When he did, his face bore grim news. “Christina’s in a coma right now. I can’t guarantee she’ll live.”

“Would she be able to recover?” Liara asked. The worry in her voice was obvious.

Lynch sighed, gathering his composure. His brows furrowing, he frowned slightly. “Not completely. I believe… I believe the analysis said if Christina survived, she would have brain damage from the gunshot wound.”

“Goddess. I’m sorry.” Liara stepped forward. “Whatever grievances and differences I have with her and Cerberus, I hope she can fully recover.”

The Cerberus operative was silent for a moment, and he cracked a small smile. Another surprising moment of emotion from him, Ethan noticed. “I… Thank you, Dr. T’Soni. I needed to hear that.” He turned his attention to an intercom nearby. “Jennifer, how long until we arrive at the Minuteman station? If I recall, Miranda had Project Lazarus there.”

“ETA six hours and three relay jumps to the Horsehead Nebula from the Crescent Nebula,” Jennifer answered through the intercom.

Well, that’ll take a while. “Why Lazarus?” Ethan asked.

“The name references a passage in Chapter 11 of the Gospel of John, “Lynch answered. “Shepard’s unique. It wasn’t what she accomplished; it was about what she represented: a savior not only of humanity but of the galaxy.”

“Yeah, I know. I read her dossier.”

“Then we are in agreement,” the agent said before stepping into the elevator.  “I’ll be on the bridge. You two should get some rest. You deserve it.”

The elevator closed. As Liara and Ethan waited for their turn, fatigue finally caught up with him and met him with a strong sense of dizziness. He hadn’t slept since they went out to Afterlife.

As they stepped inside the elevator when it opened, Ethan gazed at Liara. Despite her firmer stance, like a heavy weight had lifted off her shoulders, she still looked troubled. “It’s about Omega, isn’t it?” he asked.

Liara nodded as they left the elevator and took a right turn to the ship’s quarters. “And many other things.” It was almost like she scowled. “You didn’t listen to Feron when he warned you about Tazzik.”

Inside, there were 16 double beds, eight on each side. “I thought I had figured it out,” he finally replied, sighing. “If we saw this coming, maybe it would’ve turned out better. But on the bright side, we rescued you.”

“And retrieved Shepard’s body,” Liara replied. “I’m grateful for that and for helping us fight off the Blue Suns before we met Cerberus. But I won’t let you forget your mistake.”

With Liara’s help, he took the battered chest plate, the helmet, and the gauntlets off. He loosened the bolts on his Pip-Boy and the glove so he could take the piece of the armor on his left arm. Sitting on the bed, he pulled the leg plates off and put his Pip-Boy and the glove back on. Meanwhile, the former archaeologist stacked his armor and weaponry nearby.

Ethan crashed into the bottom bed and turned to look at Liara. He breathed in, basking in the comfort of the soft pillow and soft mattress. “And now we’re giving her body to Cerberus,” he said.

The asari let out an angry sigh. “I don’t think this is right. I don’t know much about human traditions, but… maybe they should let the dead rest. Maybe we should hand her body over to the Alliance.”

Ethan raised an eyebrow, lifting his head. “Why the sudden change of heart?”

Liara turned to Ethan, hesitant. “Shepard's gone and... and I think it's time for me to move on."

“Sure, but Cerberus got what they wanted. There’s nothing we can do,” Ethan replied.

Liara paused. She lowered her head and took a deep breath. “I...” she spoke. “I need a moment to myself and to clear my head.”

“Go ahead,” he said.

“Thank you.” She turned around and went to the door but stopped.

“For what?”

“For saving my life. If you hadn’t stopped that Collector, I don’t think I would’ve made it.”

Ethan smirked. “I’m pretty sure that’s part of my job.”

Liara said nothing as she left the room, the door closing behind her. Alone in the quarters, his Carnifex pistol holstered, and his knife sheathed. He always kept his weapons close to him, as he was used to the dangers of wandering the Mojave wasteland. As they said, old habits die hard.

He closed his eyes and drifted off into a dreamless sleep.

“Minuteman Station, are you there? Minuteman Station, this is the Cassino requesting permission to land. Do you copy?” Lynch spoke. Not long after they jumped from one relay to another, Jennifer created a connection from the bridge to a secret Cerberus base. She sat in the cockpit, waiting for an answer while Lynch stood by. She turned and gazed at the field agent and noticed that he seemed troubled like a dark cloud was hanging over him.

“Permission granted, Cassino. Welcome ‘board,” the receptionist on the line replied, a slight twang in her voice.  

“We’ve retrieved the Commander’s body and rescued Dr. Liara T’Soni, but we’ve taken some losses,” Lynch said. “Alan Cain was KIA and Christina Rosaline was critically injured in the fight. We’re unable to retrieve Alan’s body, but Christina needs medical treatment ASAP.”

“Noted. Dontcha worry, she’ll be all right.”

Lynch nodded, feeling relieved as the connection was closed. Not long after the frigate had landed in the hangar bay, he headed out from the bridge before Jennifer could show concern for him and Christina. He wanted to head out to the med bay and see Christina one more time. When he entered the elevator, he received a pinging noise from his omni-tool. Turning it on, he read over the message:

Hey, David. Just to let you know that Christina’s already in the infirmary. She’s in good hands now. Also, that asari left the ship with the body and is at the station at one of the labs.

—Jess

Lynch sighed as he put his omni-tool away. If only he didn’t lose track of time… He shook that feeling off and exited the elevator, having pressed the console.

“Hey, wake up. We’ve arrived at Minuteman Station.”

Ethan’s eyes opened. He groaned and sat up, greeting the sight of Lynch. It looked like he cleaned off the purple blood like it never happened in the first place. “Where's Liara?”

“Dr. T’Soni’s with Shepard at the station.” Lynch turned to Ethan’s weapons and armor, stacked by the bed. He grabbed the pieces of his armor and his Incisor sniper rifle. “Let me help you with this. It’s the least I could do for now.”

“Can I keep them?” Ethan smirked, pointing at the rest of his weapons and armor and his holstered Carnifex pistol.

“Except for the pistol, no,” Lynch answered, blunt as usual. “They’re Cerberus property.”

After placing the weapons and armor back in the armory, Ethan and Lynch made their way off the ship and out of the hangar. It looked a lot like the North Portal, but with white, like the base back at Omega. They continued onto the hallway. Once again, Cerberus’ insignia was plastered on the walls. Someone would think of the Illusive Man as having a huge ego.

“So where are we going?” Ethan asked.

“To the labs where the project will be carried out,” the agent answered.

“Can you tell me more about Project Lazarus? How does the process work?”

“The project’s what you expect: Resurrect the Commander, provide her with a crew and a ship, and task her on taking the Collectors out,” Lynch answered again. “If I understand correctly, the process involves experimental technology and organic reconstruction. But we want to make sure she is the same person before she died, both in personality and in appearance.”

“What about her body? Was it well-preserved in stasis?”

Lynch grinned. “Thankfully, yes. The gel layer in her armor had negated most of the impact.”

“Okay, but wouldn’t it be a better idea to test the project on animals first?” Ethan asked. “What about a backup or peer reviews? Anything like that?”

“We can do simulations instead of animal testing. But she’s the only test subject and the first human being to be brought back from the dead, so we have no idea if it will work. No doubt this is going to be time-consuming and expensive.”

“Of course,” Ethan responded.

He and Lynch took a quick turn to the right to Miranda and Liara looking through a window. From above, they watched men and women in white scrubs applying syringes to a charred-out corpse. Underneath the well-lit light, surrounded by orange monitors, autonomous arms from a machine applied tubes and needles to the body. The doctors seemed eager to carry out the project. From here, it was hard to determine Shepard’s gender, having been blown to hell and back. The two women turned, hearing them approach. Liara looked happy to see Ethan, with a soft smile on her lips.

“Hello, Lynch. I see you’ve brought him here,” said Miranda. “Good. Now we can get down to business.”

Lynch stepped forward. “Mind if I take my leave? I’ve heard Christina’s being taken to one of the med bays. I know I won’t be seeing her for a while, but I want to make sure she’s okay.”

“Of course,” Miranda answered, her voice showing a hint of sympathy to the agent.

Lynch nodded and turned his attention to Liara and Ethan. “It’s been a pleasure working with you. And you as well, Dr. T’Soni.” He offered a handshake to the asari. “I hope we can work together again one day.”

“I wish you luck,” Liara replied, shaking his hand.

With this, Lynch set out and walked away from the group, down the hallway, and took a left turn. Ethan wondered if he would ever see Lynch again, let alone his predicament. But he was certain the agent would recover and move on.

“So… what exactly is this ‘business’ you’re referring to?” Ethan asked, looking at Miranda.

“The means and the funds for the project to repair your… Transportalponder, should you accept the Illusive Man’s offer.” Miranda grimaced yet again in uttering the name of his teleportation device.

Ethan scoffed, remembering his earlier conversation with the Illusive Man “Right.” He gazed through the window. “So, what’ll happen next?”

Miranda shrugged and placed her arms in front of the window. “It’s up to you, but I’m confident you’ll make the right decision. I would also ask Liara that.” She tilted her head toward the asari.

Liara paused for a moment, considering her options. “I’ve put so much thought into getting Shepard back that I haven’t considered what I would do next. But that’s what I will do, Miranda. I’ve got another friend to help, but I’ve made a new enemy of the Shadow Broker.”

“I’m afraid we all have,” Miranda agreed, trailing off. “Whether you want revenge or to rescue the drell, I suggest you should become an information broker. That way, you can get back at the Shadow Broker at his own game and work your way to the top. Take out the competition. You’ll need every advantage you can get at the bastards.”

“I see. We’ll leave you with your work.” Liara gestured to Ethan. “Could we go somewhere private? I have something on my mind.”

Ethan nodded. As he followed her, he dug out a small platinum chip, the number 38 engraved on it. He played around with it, moving it between his fingers and tossing it like a coin. He couldn’t help but think about it. It was such a small thing, yet very dear to certain important people.

They made their way to a massive hallway with a window covering much of the wall to his right. He gazed at the void, far as his eyes could see.

Liara glanced at Ethan, frowning, as the door closed behind her. “What’s up?” Ethan asked.

“What’s that in your hand?”

He sighed as he pocketed the chip. “Something personal of mine,” he answered hesitantly. “A platinum poker chip. I was supposed to deliver it to a rich bastard so he could upgrade his army of robots.”

“I imagine it must’ve led you to some eventful adventures,” Liara remarked.

He let out a small smirk. “Yeah.” He couldn’t help but notice there was a sense of guilt coming from Liara. “What’s wrong?”

Liara pulled him into a rather gentle hug. Ethan flinched. He blushed slightly, feeling a warm sensation in his chest. He had to admit, it was nice of Liara to hug him. It had been too long since he had one.

Both Ethan and Liara said nothing, even as they parted.

“Promise me…” A sullen Liara fell silent, her eyes welling with tears.

Ethan blinked, confused. “Promise you what?”

Liara struggled to find the words. “Feron, Alan, and Christina gave their lives so Shepard could have hers back. No matter what you decide, promise me you won’t let anything jeopardize that,” she finished. “Can you do that?”

He froze. He wasn’t so sure what to make of this, let alone if he could follow that promise. But Miranda was right. He made new allies and enemies. He had to be cautious, something he should have heeded back in his world.

Even though Cerberus would bring Shepard back from the dead, blood would still be spilled, fighting would continue, and many lives would be lost. And it was all because, as an old storyteller once told him, war would never change.

And this was the start for him.

Chapter Text

Persons of Note

The Courier

Ethan Sunderland was a veteran of the trail, traveling all over the wasteland. One of his regular destinations was a thriving community in the harsh environment of the Divide known as Hopeville. Its success as a settlement brought the New California Republic’s attention and assigned him to deliver a package they salvaged from Navarro, as they made the connections to the technology found in the Divide. However, little did he and the NCR know the package was a detonator for the ICBMs buried underneath the town. The onslaught resulted in massive earthquakes and powerful storms, decimating the community of the Divide and turning it into a hell on Earth. He was not present when it happened.

Years later, he was one of six couriers hired by the Mojave Express to deliver a package to Mr. House, the ruler of New Vegas. His package was a platinum chip. He was intercepted by Benny, who then shot him in the head and left him dead in a shallow grave in Goodsprings. After being dug out by a robotic Securitron named Victor and nursed back to health by Doc Mitchell, a resident doctor, the Courier set out to find his assailant.

When he arrived in New Vegas, he discovered the truth behind the chip and why Mr. House wanted it. With the chip, Mr. House would upgrade the Securitrons and secure Hoover Dam for himself. The Courier put an end to his plan and assisted the NCR against Caesar’s Legion at the dam, securing their position in the Mojave.

Further adventures brought him to places such as the Sierra Madre, Zion Valley, Big Mountain, and the Divide, where he confronted Ulysses, the sole survivor of the calamity years ago. Sometime after the battle of Hoover Dam, he took it upon himself to watch over Big Mountain, keeping a close eye on the sciences and the goings-on of the facility while gradually reintroducing sciences both forgotten and new back into the wasteland as needed. However brief his role was, he traveled to Chicago in 2283. No one had seen him since the incident that occurred there.

Commander Shepard

Madison Shepard was a lieutenant commander of the Systems Alliance and an N7, the highest rank in Special Forces. Both of her parents were in the Alliance military, and her childhood was spent on ships and stations as they transferred from posting to posting, never staying in one location for more than a few years. At the age of eighteen, she followed in her parents’ footsteps and enlisted in the Alliance. One of her first missions was an expedition to investigate Akuze, a planet on the outskirts of Alliance space that suddenly dropped out of contact. While the settlement was intact, the thresher maws attacked at nightfall. Out of the fifty marines who died on Akuze, she was the only one who made it back to the landing zone alive.

Years later, Shepard was assigned to the SSV Normandy as its executive officer and David Anderson as her captain. During a routine mission with Nihlus Kryik, a turian Spectre, overseeing them, the Normandy received a distress call from Eden Prime. The geth, led by Saren Aterius, a veteran turian Spectre, attacked the colony to retrieve data from the Prothean beacon. Shepard and her squad stopped the geth but at the cost of Nihlus’ and Richard Jenkins’. For her efforts in exposing Saren’s involvement to the Citadel Council, she became the first human to join the Spectres. They gave her an assignment: hunt down Saren at any cost.

The trail led her to Virmire in the Terminus Systems, where she found Saren had been working for a Reaper called Sovereign, and its kind was coming to begin their harvest of the galaxy. When Sovereign and the geth attacked the Citadel station, she stopped Saren and saved the Destiny Ascension at the cost of much of the Alliance fleet.

Because of her actions, humanity was finally allowed a seat on the Council, but the fight was far from over. However, while on the lookout for any geth outposts, the Normandy was attacked. Over twenty crew members perished on that ship, including Shepard, who saved Joker the helmsman at the cost of her own life.

Governments and Organizations

New California Republic

The New California Republic was a democratic federation consisting of less than a million people. They emphasized beliefs found in Pre-War Earth including democracy, personal liberty, and the rule of law. They strived to bring the wasteland under their banner.

The NCR started in, where else, California as a small community of Vault 15 survivors known as Shady Sands. Over the years, due to trade routes with the other settlements, the town formed a government and expanded across the wasteland. They took holdings in parts of Nevada, Oregon, Baja California, and, by 2281, New Vegas. If it wasn’t for a wanderer from Vault 13 who rescued Aradesh’s daughter Tandi, then the NCR would have gone down a different path.

It modeled itself off the pre-War United States, including its three branches of government (legislative, executive, judicial) and their structures save for their Presidents serving indefinite terms. With a diverse population in part with its multiethnic origin in Vault 13, there was little to no discrimination, including sexism. However, like any other form of government, it can be prone to corruption, contradictory agendas running amok, and imperialistic policies.

In 2283, however, Shady Sands was destroyed in a nuclear explosion, decimating the fledgling nation. It was unknown how they would recover from this attack, if they could at all.

Caesar’s Legion

Forged from the conquest of 86 tribes, Caesar’s Legion was a society built on slavery, priding itself on its unity, strength, and merit. They strived to bring order to the wasteland and wipe out the New California Republic at any cost.

The Legion started as the Blackfoot tribe in Arizona. They captured Edward Sallow and Joshua Graham, a Follower of the Apocalypse and a Mormon missionary respectively. Seeing the tribe was at war with seven other tribes, Edward taught the tribe the art of warfare. His knowledge led the tribe to victory, and so he became Caesar, their leader, with Joshua as his right-hand man.

The Legion heavily built itself after the ancient Roman Empire, including speaking Latin and its method of assimilating tribes. Women were subjugated to breeding roles, nonhumans were looked down upon, and the use of modern technology and medicine was banned except in rare cases. After their defeat at Hoover Dam against the NCR, Caesar punished Joshua by burning him alive and throwing him down at the Grand Canyon. Its second defeat at the Dam and the death of Caesar himself splintered the Legion into numerous tribes.

Science and Technology

Big Mountain Transportalponder!

Given to the Courier by the Think Tank as a sign of gratitude, the Transportalponder was a handheld device capable of instantly transporting the user to and from Big Mountain. Like any other technology from the Big MT, the device was highly advanced compared to the rest of the wasteland.

Its design was very similar to that of a typical detonator, it had an electronic chip at the end, which was used to calculate and determine the destination. The chip itself was connected via black tubes to a concentration of lightning, somehow enclosed in a glass top. That lightning had powered the detonator, which could last for many years.

When activated, the Transportalponder beamed the user to their intended destination via quantum entanglement. However, it had its limitations. It cannot work indoors, in certain areas in the Mojave, and outside the Mojave, as it relied on the signal from a satellite that crashed at an abandoned drive-thru.

Pip-Boy

Short for Personal Information Processor, Pip-Boys were manufactured by RobCo Industries. Alongside the blue and yellow-rimmed Vault jumpsuits, Pip-Boys were the standard equipment provided to Vault residents and staff. Although these vault dwellers were like any other human being, many notable travelers in post-apocalyptic Earth were seen with these devices.

Many features were shared across multiple models, including a high-resolution screen, the ability to store large amounts of information and transfer data to and from holotapes, date tubes, and terminals. The 2000 and 3000 models were the most common in the wasteland. Most 2000 models were handheld, equipped with an elegant yet simple form of sonar and satellite to map out areas. Although its interface can be slow, the user can enter and edit text messages on the screen. The 3000 models were wearable on the forearm, equipped with a built-in radio and a Geiger counter, and its screen can be brightened and used as a flashlight.

All 3000 and certain 2000 models came with a unique program: The Vault-Tec Assisted Targeting System, or VATS for short. VATS can pinpoint a specific part of the target’s body, calculating the probability of hitting it with deadly and efficient force. Once activated, the wearer’s perception of time slowed as they lay on their target. The origins of this program had been lost to time.

The Multiverse

A term first coined by William James, known as the “Father of American psychology”, it was later used by scientists and theorists, the multiverse was a set of possible finite and infinite universes. Each universe has its own set of physics and the constants that describe them. Many cultures in many worlds such as the endless variations of the planet Earth explored the concept of a multiverse, not only in the scientific and religious context but also in works of science fiction and fantasy, as it was popularized by the Elric Saga author Michael Moorcock.

The foundation of how a universe functions varies. One universe could be cyclical, going through one Big Bang, Crunch, and Freeze after another. Another could be in multiple layers, like a micro-verse. Some even theorize that multiple multiverses could exist at the same time as an omniverse, or one universe could be a simulated one. A pair of universes could have been the same at one point before a division of events occurred, or they could be radically different from one another in their conception.

Multiverse travel was thought to be impossible. However, with sophisticated enough technology and the drive (or by sheer accident), it can be possible.