Mass Effect 4-Chapter One

Mass Effect 4-Chapter One
K.C. Green

Shepard watched the stars passing by as she lay on her soft bed. It seemed strange to have time to just sit and stare up at them. Everything had changed. She sensed her crew’s uneasiness, but those closest to her had accepted that it was her and not a clone. They spent a few days on Earth-her crew helping rebuild and visiting family, while she was at an Alliance base being run through vigorous tests-tests that showed her biotic abilities were now off the charts. Many were concerned, but Hackett pushed for her to be released and in the end they found her fit for duty. Hackett assigned her to investigate the ship on the edge of the known universe, and along the way fight any remaining Cerberus resistance groups.

Someone was at her door. She got up and put on a black satin robe as it opened and Kaidan walked in. “Shepard, I…um…can we talk?”
“Yes, come in,” she said as she sat down and crossed her legs.
He sat in the nearest chair next to her.
“I know I said I would drop this, but after all we’ve been through, after all that’s happened…when I was on Earth, and I saw my life flash before my eyes; all I could think of was you. I felt regret for not telling you, at least one last time that; I love you.”
“Kaidan…I…I can’t. Not after Thane. I still…I need time,” Shepard said her robe falling off one shoulder as she uncrossed her legs, then bent forward rubbing her brow.
“I’m sorry Kaidan.” Shepard said as she stood with her back to him. The satin robe the only thing between them.
“Would you need time if I were James?”
“What!” She said turning around quickly her red hair falling over her bare shoulder as she did.
“Nevermind, I should get back to it.” He left before she could respond, but once he was gone she hung her head.
“You never trusted me,” she whispered reminding herself why she could never go back to him though at times she felt conflicted in her decision. She went to her terminal and opened the letter. She had read it so many times she could recite it, but she read it again as if for the first time.

“You miss him,” the voice gave her chills. She turned suddenly, grabbing the hidden gun from under her desk, and pointing it directly at the personage who resembled Liara.
“You!” she said slowly lowering her weapon.
“I told you I would come to you, but the time was not right until now,” the voice was not Liara’s. It was strong and it seemed to pierce into Shepard’s soul. Shepard could not help but wonder what this being in front of her really looked like. It was disconcerting to have someone she knew was not Liara, but who looked exactly like her in her quarters.
“By now you’ve noticed your biotic abilities are enhanced,” the being continued.
“You did this?”
“It is my gift to you. You are now invincible in your universe.”
“Invincible,” she said shrugging her shoulders.
“You do not believe me?”
“Let’s just say I’ll believe it when I see it.”
“You may not believe many things Shepard. That does not mean they are not truth.” The being moved slightly the thin transparent material of her gown swaying and the glow of the aquarium silhouetting her body.
“What if I told you there are more universes than you could count? Some we are unable to travel to, but others we easily can pass through. Think of it like a neural network. You have a universe at the center with many branches going out. Some connections are strong. Others are weak. Your universe has a strong connection to mine. It is easily accessible from my universe. Because of this the laws of your universe are easy for me to manipulate. I can transport anywhere I wish to go, and share power from my universe with those whom are worthy. You have power far beyond those of a mere mortal now. That is why you will rule this universe and all those here will follow you.”
“They didn’t follow me before-I doubt they’d start now,” Shepard said putting her gun back into the secret holster under her desk.
“You may be surprised how those around you will respond, so many will be willing to follow you now that you have brought peace to an entire universe; a peace that I beg of you to bring to mine.”
“How can I bring peace to your universe? It was by luck that I made it this far,” Shepard said as she got up and moved past the being who resembled Liara. She brushed the soft transparent material as she moved by her. She went to the chair she had been sitting in moments ago, but she only stood by it.
“Do you really believe that? That it was luck that brought down Sovereign? That it was luck that defeated a Collector? That it was luck that saved an entire universe? No, Shepard, you have something that no other person in this universe or mine has. You are the one we’ve been waiting for, and you are the only one who can stand against the Trayzor.”
“The Trayzor?” Shepard asked folding her arms.

“There was a time of peace among my people. Our knowledge had given us the ability to travel through the veil and into the branches of other universes. We began to explore, but we did not realize the danger before it was too late. We became arrogant. We attempted to travel to an uncharted universe. It was a mistake. The ship passed through the veil to an infected universe, and in their retreat they brought with them the Orax.”
The being turned her back on Shepard and faced the aquarium. Her voice softer.
“They had been nothing but a myth to my people passed to us from some other universe. If one had told me we’d be facing them when I was younger I would have mocked them for speaking such nonsense. How things have changed.” She paused. “The truth is at times the very thing we thought not possible.” She turned back to face Shepard.

“The ship successfully closed the veil and sealed it before more Orax got in, but it was too late. It would only take one Orax to destroy our universe, but the ship returned with possibly fifty. We are uncertain of the numbers. With so many in our universe the Orax easily destroyed the entire ship, and went to the nearest planet. The planet Morasho was beautiful and lush. A peaceful planet thriving with life, but in mere hours the entire planet was destroyed, and blown to dust by its own inhabitants. Much like your Reapers the Orax indoctrinate, but these indoctrinated creatures do not lose their intelligence. They are cunning- unlike the husks that you faced. Some work in groups to overwhelm you like a pack of wild dogs after prey. Others do not need groups to destroy you-it only takes a couple to delete all life in vast cities. All life lost in mere hours.”

The personage in front of Shepard had never made any sign of emotion until this moment. Her voice quivered, her eyes glistened. Shepard sat in the chair now. She felt something cold come over her. A type of realization-one that she hoped would not be the case.

“The once peaceful creatures of our planets were indoctrinated by the force of evil itself. We call these forever changed creatures after the last of the four planets that was attacked by the Orax; the planet Trayzor. It was here as the planet was slipping into doom that something happened. I sense it was an error. No matter, it saved our universe from immediate destruction, and gave us time. I saw it happen. A blinding light that encompassed every Orax, and in seconds they were transported, to where or when I do not know, but they were gone. Without the Orax we were able to flee to safety, but unlike the other planets Trazor was not destroyed by its inhabitants…it became a living enemy.”

“What are you saying?” Shepard said putting her elbows on her knees and leaning forward.
“The planet is conscious. The planet is a weapon. Defeating the Trazor is just one step in this battle-a battle we’ve been losing, and had no hope of winning until now. We have been waiting to find one capable, one who could overcome the Trayzor, and take back the lost planet. It is you Shepard. I cannot convey the loss on my home world of Trayzor, but if anyone could understand it is you. Please I beg of you, help us. I think you know why you must. It is only a matter of time…now sleep.”

Shepard woke slumped over in the chair in a cold sweat and gasping for air. Had it all been a nightmare?
“Commander,” Traynor’s voice came over the com.
“Yeah,” Shepard responded as she rubbed her forehead in frustration. She got up and took the satin robe off, and began walking to the shower.
“Admiral Hackett is on vid com.”
“I’m on my way,” Shepard said. As she stepped into the stream of water letting the cool droplets hit her face. She felt a cold feeling in the pit of her stomach-a cold feeling she had felt when she first learned that the Reapers were the real threat. She knew that this was not an easily dismissed nightmare, and she knew what she was not being told.
“Damn.”

~
“Admiral Hackett here, we have reports of Cerberus activity in Argos Rho. It seems that they are continuing their study of Reaper technology. I don’t think they’ve given up on the hope of controlling an army of Reapers yet. There is also a report that they are holding some new kind of weapon. We need to know if this is true. Head to the Phoenix system, we need to wipe out any further Cerberus activity.”
“I’ll get on it.”
“Good Commander. Hackett out.”

~

Shepard walked through the ship with a sense of purpose. She had decided to meet her new crew members before they went to the Cerberus base. She went to engineering where she found a man with a swimmers build and blue skin bent over working on some loose wiring. He had not seen her. His dark blue almost black hair was in his face.
“Commander, what bring you down to these parts,” Donnelly asked.
“Bam!”
The new engineer hit his head hard on the kiosk above him then quickly stood and saluted.
“Engineer Andrew Gray at your service,” he said nervously.
“Gray? You seem kind of blue,” Shepard said with a smile.
“Oh um…yes, my parents were both asari, and well…it’s rare but they can form a male body instead of a female one, and…it is undesirable, there are only one hundred or so of us to have ever existed, but…,” he gave a kind of laugh but then straightened.
“Blue looks good on you Gray,” Shepard said with a silky voice.
“Thank you ma’am. I mean Commander, sir, ma’am.”
“Nothing formal here Andrew. Just getting to know my crew,” Shepard said as she stood across from him. He ran his hand through his hair his dark blue eyes sparkling in the light.
“He always like this,” Shepard asked Gabby.
“Nope, just when you’re around Commander,” she responded with a sly smile.
“Hard to relax around a legend…begging your pardon Commander.”
“I’m just like everyone else. Why don’t you tell me about your last assignment,” she said as he starred into her green eyes.
“Yeah…um last mission. I was educated at tech academy and from there served on the SSV Diego for a few years. Later I was promoted to chief engineer.”
“He’s being modest,” Donnelly suddenly said.
“Yeah, he was the first to redesign the FBA couplings and make a more efficient core drive. They brought him on board because we may encounter things in deep space that require someone of his expertise,” Gabby added.
“Hey…I’m standing right here,” Donnelly said to her.
“Sorry, but the man is good.”
“Being modest huh,” Shepard said. Andrew obviously embarrassed again brushed his hair out of his face. Shepard noticed his large bicep muscles as he did this.
“Well we’re glad to have you aboard.” Andrews again saluted Shepard as she left. She only shook her head at him. After the door closed behind her she could hear Gabby scolding him.
“Why, didn’t you just relax and try being yourself?”
“Are you kidding! She’s the girl of my dreams. I never even thought I’d get to meet her let alone try to talk to her.”
Shepard smiled, and then went to the elevator. She went down to the lower deck.
“Hey Lola,” James said with a big smile as she stepped out of the elevator. “I’m loving the new recruit.”
“I bet you are,” Shepard said shaking her head at him.
A short blond girl with thick red welding glasses popped out from behind the shuttle shutting off the blow torch she had been holding. She was in a tight black uniform typical for working on machinery, but it was very tight and showed off her hourglass figure. She had been Cortez’s replacement when he had opted to stay on Earth. During their shore leave he had connected with someone and transferred so he could help rebuild Earth. Shepard had been happy for him. It was the first good news in a long time. As Shepard approached the young woman she took the welders glasses off to reveal two large blue eyes. She propped her welding glasses on her head.
“Lieutenant Alex Fielding,” the young woman saluted while still holding the blow torch.
“At ease lieutenant. I’m just here to meet my new crewman,” Shepard said leaning against the work bench she stood next to.
“I take it Alex is short for something,” Shepard continued.
“Yes, Alexis, but really everyone calls me Alex.”
“What did you do before joining the Normandy?”
“Well after tech school I joined the SSV Trident, but was soon promoted to training shuttle pilots back on Earth. When the Reapers hit I was reassigned to shuttling VIPs and war assets, and I kept them alive. After the Reapers retreated I was part of the rebuilding crew until I was assigned to the Normandy.”
“Sounds like you’re good at what you do,” Shepard began before she was cut off by James.
“She sure is,” James said with a grin. “They even gave her a medal.”
“James isn’t there something you could be working on?” Shepard said with a smile directed towards him.
“Yeah…but this is more fun.”
Shepard gave him a look, “Fine.” He went back to messing with some parts that were on his work bench, but every now and then would steal a glimpse over at Shepard and Alex.
“Look Commander I just like to fly shuttles, and well…rebuild shuttle engines so I can get them to go faster. That’s me in a nutshell.”
“Well happy to have you on board lieutenant. Let me know if Vega over there bothers you.”
“Will do ma’am,” she said but she gave a wink to James as he turned around.
“Don’t worry commander. I’ll be good.”
“Somehow that doesn’t reassure me,” Shepard said as she got onto the elevator. It was time to suit up and hit Cerberus head on.

~

“I’ve never seen a full male asari before…I almost thought they were a myth,” Liara said as the shuttle began to maneuver down to the planet’s surface.
“I thought I was outcast by my kind for being full asari,” she said shaking her head.
“I can’t imagine what you’ve been through.”
“Yeah…it really wasn’t all that bad. My parents knew what I’d be up against and took precautions to make sure I had as normal of a childhood as possible. I’m really no different from any other guy,” he said with a smile across his handsome face. He pushed his dark blue hair out of his eyes.
“Except you can actually breed with other species, and give them asari traits.” Shepard turned to Liara.
“I thought asari were only mono-gender.”
“It is our dirty little secret I suppose. We are mostly mono-gender except when two asari come together and form a full male bodied asari. It is very rare since male asari reproduce more like your species Shepard, while still being able to meld with his partner.”
“What do you mean?”
“I mean asari with male bodies are dangerous because they can actually produce mix-breed offspring with asari capabilities. They disrupt our breeding process and can create super creatures. Most are not allowed to reproduce.”
“Um…I’m right here,” Andrew said obviously embarrassed.
“Sorry lieutenant. I’ve just never thought I’d meet a full male asari before.”
“Okay let’s cut the chit chat,” Shepard said to Andrew’s relief.
“We’ve got a job to do. This is a perfect mission for you Gray. Cerberus is dying out and this should be an easy mission. Perfect for you to get your feet wet.”
“Nailed it,” Alex said as she put them right at Cerberus’s front doorstep. The shuttle door opened and Shepard jumped out gun in hand.

The planet was tropical and lush. They entered Cerberus from the south side and easily gained access into the underground bunker. It seemed deserted.
“Is it abandoned?” Liara questioned.
“It could be a trap. Keep your guard up,” Shepard said as they went up a flight of white stairs. Through a large pane of glass Shepard could see many computer terminals with many vacant chairs. There had been no commotion or fight here. The team came to another door and opened it. There was another desk and terminal off to the left and beyond that a long white paneled passageway that lead to another door. Shepard checked the terminal.
“All personnel are to report to a room in the back of the facility,” Shepard said to her team. “Move out.”
They went down the long corridor until they came to the door. Shepard began to open it with her omni-tool.
“Hold on, someone put an added encryption on this door.”
“I have a bad feeling about this,” Liara said. Andrew held up the large gun he carried ready to shoot whatever they were up against.
“Ah, here we go.”
As the panel slid away instead of blasting whatever was in front of them they all lowered their weapons.
“By the goddess,” Liara said as they looked around the room in shock.
“Are you sure this is a get your feet wet kind of mission commander,” Andrew said looking around as they all three slowly entered the room.
Blood dripped from the walls. Mangled body parts, bloodied and torn lab coats were strewn around the room. Blood splatter was across every terminal and smeared across the first part of the glass observation window. The second part of the observation window was broken and on one of the large sharp fragments was a scientist’s bloody body skewered right through the middle.
“What the hell happened here,” Andrew said as they slowly continued to walk straight ahead into the room.
“What the,” Andrew said as he turned to face something that had moved.
“Is he,” Liara said in astonishment. The fingers of the skewered scientist moved slightly.
“I think he’s still alive.” Liara went closer but then took a step back as the man opened his eyes.

“Not…possible…I…didn’t think…they…not from…here…you must…you must stop,” but then his body went limp and slid slightly down onto the shard of glass further.
“You’d think these people would stop following Cerberus after so many casualties,” Andrew said.
“I don’t think they know about most of them,” Liara responded.
“Most are recruited by Cerberus and told whatever will get them on board, and never hear anything bad enough to persuade them to leave until it’s too late.”
“There’s always an explanation with Cerberus,” said Shepard.
“Whatever we’re dealing with I don’t think it’s sentient,” said Liara as they went up a set of stairs heading towards another door.
“What was your first clue,” Andrew said in his own joking sort of way.
Shepard began opening the door and as the panel slid away they came to another long corridor, but this had long streaks of blood along it and six lifeless bodies. Two were Cerberus troops, but the rest were scientists.
“Looks like they tried to send in some reinforcements, but it wasn’t enough,” Andrew said as he was looking down at a Cerberus soldier’s body that was missing its right arm. Shepard saw it on the other side of the hall with a pool of blood around it.
“It looks like whatever did this ripped his arm from his body,” Liara said turning away in disgust.
“In full armor too,” Shepard added.
“Shepard,” Andrew said as he handed her a computer pad with an open message.
“Cerberus issued some sort of statement saying that anyone who preserved the Zanitas project they would be compensated three times the initial signing amount.”
“Zanitas project?” Liara looked at Andrew and then at Shepard.
“Come on. We need to hurry. I need one of these bastards alive so I can get some questions answered,” Shepard said as she moved to the end of the hall and began to open the next door.
It opened to a large dining commons. Bodies were strewn around the room, but more spread out and the area was far less bloody. Screams and gun fire came from somewhere across from them.

“Alright, be prepared. We don’t know what we’re up against,” Shepard said as they moved past thrown over tables and chairs. They went over a small ramp until the screams became louder. At the far end of the dinning commons they opened another door. The screams and gunfire were almost deafening once they entered the long corridor. They were in a something that resembled a tube with a clear glass like covering above them and on either side of them. Through this they could see into the large lab were lifeless broken and ripped apart bodies were thrown across the lab equipment and work benches. Broken beakers dripped chemicals and mixed with the blood. Ahead of them was a white door that was the entrance into the lab. It obstructed their view of what was ahead of them.

Suddenly they saw a Cerberus troop thrown across the room. He was missing a leg and blood was raining down onto the lab equipment below him. He landed hard on a work bench with a stand of beakers that broke and splashed toxic chemicals around him. He quivered and then went still.
“By the goddess,” Liara said as they caught a glimpse of a thin blackish gray leg that had many knife like spikes jetting out from it, but then it was gone.
Shepard turned and looked at her team her green eyes bright and piercing as she made eye contact.
“We can do this. Liara you’re the strongest most capable asari I know. Andrew, I’ve read your files. I know that you have biotic abilities far superior than any Alliance test we’ve thrown at you. We’ll take this thing down, and I’ll buy you both a drink after,” Shepard moved to the door. They could hear the agonizing moans and screams, sporadic gunfire, something breaking and the sound of little shards landing around the lab, but all they could see was the large white door in front of them. Shepard used her omni-tool and the door panel opened.

Shepard felt it sense them as soon as the door opened, but it didn’t bother with them at first as it was too busy with its latest victim. There was a group of about fifty remaining Cerberus troops and four Mechs. The creature stood on piles of bodies. It must have gone through hundreds of Cerberus soldiers. The group that remained surrounded a small lab room with half the wall paneling broken. Inside Shepard could see three scientists working frantically on a few terminals. With its enormously muscular two front legs it pulled the Cerberus troop in half like it was playing with dough.

The creature had a long face the way a medieval doctor’s mask looked. High above its long snout were two large eyes that resembled an insect’s compound eye structure; however, each eye had hundreds of panels on the surface and inside each panel was another independently moving eye. Nothing could escape its sight. Shepard knew it had seen them, though it seemed to be toying with the Cerberus soldiers. It had a long black body with a scorpion like tail, which it suddenly used to smash into the middle of the group of Cerberus troops impaling one on the end of its stinger. It brought its tail up with the man still struggling, and held him up for the others to see. Then its folded black wings raised and opened up. It menacingly thrust its wings against the air in a highly calculated movement. A strong wind knocked over the nearest Mech, and all the Cerberus troops to the ground; simultaneously, it sent out a purple stream of electricity that blew apart another portion of the lab wall taking out one of the scientist inside.
“It almost seems like it is acting out revenge,” Liara said to Shepard over the noise of continued gun fire.
Suddenly the creature raised its long snout and aiming it spewed out a dark red liquid that first melted into the flesh and armor of the troops, but then caught fire. The worst hit became engulfed in flames.
“What is it?” Andrew asked.
Shepard looked at the creature. Now understanding more of what the personage from behind the veil had meant. Knowing that the feeling she had before was confirmed.
“Trayzor.”