Dead Space: New Genesis

For a moment, Isaac stalled, caught in a complete stupor. All around him, surrounding him on every side, at every angle, was a continuous sea of red. A blanket of crimson encapsulated his vision, and seemed to permeate every faculty Isaac could offer. Everything cast round about him has blanketed in an undulating ocean of velvet.

 

After what seemed to be an eternity of gazing at the surreal scene unfolding before him, Isaac snapped back.

 

Without even thinking for a second, Isaac clenched the switch in his hand, nearly smashing the button in its left side. Suddenly, the curtain of deep red gave way to bright, flashing light. It sparked in every corner, in every plane. All around him, the curtain fell and collapsed. It was like the universe itself was being reborn from a red nothingness. Light erupted like fireworks across an evening sky. Nearly deafened by the clamor surrounding him, Isaac retreated within the USG Falcon, the small vessel that provided him entrance into the red veil that even now, fell apart at the seams.

 

That's when he felt it.

 

Something was emanating from the black obelisk. A deep, low whispering in his head, like he had felt before, but this time, it felt different. It was coming from the Marker, yes, but it also seemed foreign, as if it was a separate entity within the marker itself. It was from within the marker, but not of it, almost as if it's source had been hidden away within. The voice whispered to Isaac in tongues only he understood. “Touch the stone. Take the stone. Touch the stone. Take the stone.” The familiar cries of “make us whole” where no longer Isaac's concern, as he had expunged the evil from him a little more than two years before, but these were new. These seemed to come from someone else, someone, or thing, trapped within the spires of the black marker that towerd before him, someone new. Isaac's will was strong, but he did not ignore the new voice. Something deep within him told him what was happening, that this was not the marker's usual malevolent trickery. His conscious failed to grasp it, but his subconscious, forever marked by the cursed influence of the marker, his blessing and his curse, knew exactly what to do. Time stood still as he entered yet another trance. “You know this” his subconscious told him. “You know what to do”. “but I don't know what to do”, Isaac said to himself, barely aware of his own actions. As he stared off into the collapsing sea of crimson, he was almost unaware of the fact that he was using the falcon's tethers to pull in the obelisk. Isaac fought himself in his mind. 'No, what are you doing... the marker, it's dying. I can't save it now... not after all it's done...”. “No... That's not what I'm doing.... I'm not saving it”, he reassured himself. “There's something else.... but what else?”

 

Isaac shook his head and awoke from his self-induced limbo. He rushed within the Falcon's cargo bay where the marker now resided. It was cracking, crumbling, tearing itself apart. Isaac had sealed his mind off from its swaying influence, but even now, he could hear it screaming, crying in its death throes. It was dying. All it's brothers were dying. Every tether that held it together, all the millions of minions it had stationed below, all the corrupted life that called back to it, seemed to be falling into magnificent shambles, but the voice that urged him to touch the stone called him still, unaffected by the chaos that shrouded it. He had not steeled himself against it, and once more, it took him. He walked forward, hand outstretched each step taken with utmost deliberation. His conscious mind screamed for control, but was only successful in taking charge of Isaac's voice. He activated his RIGlink simultaneously to Carver and Ellie, both cheering wildly. “ISAAC! ISAAC, YOU DID IT, YOU CRAZY BASTARD!!”. “Holy crap, Isaac, are you seeing this? Dude, you've gotta get you ass outta there! That whole thing's gonna take you down with it!”. Isaac continued to march toward the dying marker, shambling like one of the very abominations that called it parent. “ISAAC! GET OUT OF THERE! YOU CAN'T DIE ON ME TWICE! PLEASE!”, Ellie cried out in sheer desperation. Twice now, a brethren moon seemed to be collapsing on the love of her life, and she was lucky to see his face once more. She was by no means ready to see him go a second, and certainly final time. Carver survived a fall from orbit with him, but that didn't guarantee Clarke's luck, and he knew it. “ISAAC! Get outta there NOW! We don't know what saved us last time, but I'm pretty sure it's not coming back this time around! Fire that thing up and get out of there!”.

 

Closer and closer, Isaac shifted to the cracking twin spires. Upon making physical contact with its runed surface, he uttered but one word:

 

“Goodbye...”

 

“ISAAC, NO!”

 

A flash of light, a shockwave of unknown energy, a rush of unknown current, and the clamor of the world left Isaac. All was quiet. All was calm. There was nothingness. Nothing but a vast expanse of blankness. Isaac looked all around him, but saw, heard, or felt nothing. None of his senses picked up a single anomaly. It seemed as if he had transcended from any state of existence. He reached out with his hand and felt nothing. He looked where he had reached, and saw not even his own hand. He spoke, but heard himself not. Time too. Seemed to no longer apply to his being. Has he been here for days? No, this just happened, this just came to be... or did it? No. There was no telling. A second felt like centuries, years seemed like minutes. Whatever manner of time was passing by had not registered to Isaac in ay way. By all means, he was utterly inert. When would this curtain lift itself? When would he see another face or hear another voice? When would he reach out and feel Ellie's hand holding his? When would he see the result of his victory? Was he dead? Comatose? Consumed by the marker?

 

Isaac feared that he may never know

 

After what seemed to be either an eternity or a millisecond (the difference seemed indiscernible to Isaac), slowly, but surely, blotches of darkness appeared in Isaac's eyes. The sound of the Falcon's displays once again permeated his ears. He felt the cold floor on his face and under his palm. Almost no energy was left in him, and propping himself back up seemed almost herculean. Isaac shuffled his way to the Falcon's cockpit, his sight returning to him in full. Multiple displays along it's small corridors rang out with alarm, fervently displaying warnings concerning the ship's uncertain state, calibrating every circuit and servo as if the ship had just been activated for the first time, running diagnostics and the like.

 

Isaac fumbled his way into the helmsman's seat and looked out of the transparent steel windshield. Was he going to see Carver and Ellie? Their ship, the USM Vengeance? The remains of the brethren moons? Straining to make use of his still hindered sight, Isaac squinted into the horizon. Small dots of light came into view. Were they more ships? The millions of lights that adorned the cramped cities of earth? No. Stars. Just the stars. Maybe he was facing the wrong way. Maybe if he turned the ship around, he could see the result of his triumph. After checking the displays to see that nothing obstructed his axis, he cranked the ships wheel to he right. Warning sirens echoed around the vessel, telling a nonexistent crew to fasten all loose objects and hold tight to whatever was within their proximity

 

Nothing. Nothing still but more stars.

 

Confused by what he was seeing Isaac tapped into his RIGlink once more. “Ellie? Ellie, come in! Ellie!..... Carver, what's your status? Carver! CARVER!”. Still no answer. “Maybe if I transmit to the Vengeance...”. Hurriedly tapping into the Falcon's comm units, he vainly attempted communication with the EarthGov ship, but to no avail. Looking on the radar, he realized that not a single ship was in range. Not even the long range relays were of use, as he couldn't even connect to them. Isaac started to panic. There's no way he's this lost, no way he's so far from home that even the long range relays couldn't pick up his signal. Was he really out for that long? Remembering his state of limbo, he looked at the clock. No. It had only been over an hour! There's no way he could've gotten this far, not even in shockspace. The farthest he could've gone in an hour, even with shockdrives at full speed, would be approximately halfway to Andromeda. Were the comms busted? Isaac rushed into the comms room, searched every communications receiver, both long and short range, and found nothing wrong. An eerie sense of dread fell on Isaac. Where was he? The comms were just fine, and he could never have just flown so far away as to not be able to make contact with anyone. Making his way back to the cockpit, he thought of every situation in which a lack of communication could occur, but all fell to the power of elimination. Upon sitting back down in the helm, nothing short of pure dumbfoundedness overtook Isaac. He checked every frequency, but nothing replied to him....

 

Save for one.

 

Isaac couldn't recognize it. Whatever was transmitting this frequency was nowhere in the ship's registry. EarthGov, Unitologist fleet, United Mining Ops, CEC fleet, no one. Not a single party on that list shared a transmission signature with whatever was broadcasting this, but that didn't stop Isaac from hatching an idea to make contact. Driven by a desire to get back home, Isaac went back into the comms room. Having remembered which transceiver was receiving the transmission, Isaac opened it up and immediately went to work. Without reconfiguring it, the transceiver could not display any audio output of the incoming transmission, but Isaac had memorized the patterns in the signature, and altered several key components to put an executable cipher on the signature, making it possible for it to relay audio output. It took several minutes, but a few burned fingertips later, and Isaac emerged triumphant. Running full speed into the cockpit, he wondered who exactly these people were. Who would transmit a signal that can only be read or heard by reconfiguring the system? Was it some sort of secret society? A branch of EarthGov spec ops? Unitologist zealots who were evading EarthGov? Isaac readied himself for every possibility and loaded his Plasma Cutter has he took the transmission receiver in hand. “USG Falcon to unknown vessel, this is Isaac Clarke, Concordance Extraction Company, does anybody copy?" No answer. Two attempts later and Isaac is tempted to give up, when suddenly, a voice pops up from the receiver

 

“TRANSMITTING-ENGLISH*. USG Falcon, This is Tali'Zorah vas Normandy aboard the Rayya. What is your status, over.”

 

Isaac was once again taken by confusion. What kind of ship would be named the Rayya? A unitologist ship maybe? No, that name, what was it, Tali' Zorah? It didn't seem to match any cultural background he knew, but then again, he wasn't very well versed in fine culture. He slid the battery of his plasma cutter back and forth within the magwell while he thought of every possible situation. So many times has he cheated death, and he wasn't very keen on losing to it this time. The voice on the receiver interrupted his train of thought. “Isaac Clarke aboard the USG Falcon, This is Tali'Zorah aboard the Rayya, I say again, what is your status, over?”. Carefully planning his words Isaac replied: “Rayya, We are unaware of our location, and uncertain if we are trespassing. There is no other crew on board and there is hazardous material in the cargo bay.” “Understood. However, this vessel is clean and must remain completely uncontaminated. What is the status of your hazardous cargo?”. Suddenly, horrible thoughts rushed though Isaac's mind. What if they come into contact with the marker shards? What if they contract his madness? No. It's dead. It's gone. There's no way that the marker's influence can spread any further. The brethren moons were gone. Every marker was gone. Before running to the cargo bay, Isaac replied to the question with “Moderate radioactivity. Direct contact with substance is extremely hazardous, but indirect contact is possible". “We read you, Falcon, but we have little room or use for radioactive material. Your payload will have to be quarantined within your ship. How copy?”. “Solid copy, Rayya. Permission to dock”. “USG Falcon, Is your ship sterile?”. “No, the ship is not biologically clean.”. “Loud and clear, Falcon. Proceed to sterile docking cradle 18”. "Understood" Isaac replied.

 

Finding the marker's shambled remains in the cargo bay, Isaac returns to the cockpit, turning his ship in coordination with the radar to see who he was talking to. Looking out of the windshield once more Isaac was taken aback by the stupendous sight of an entire fleet of ships. Each of them seemingly designed around a massive wheel like structure. There must have been dozens, maybe hundreds of them, all sailing in the same direction, aimed at some unknown destination. Awestruck by their form, Isaac merely leaned back in his seat and took in the sight. He's seen the CEC's fleet on full display for photo ops and christenings, having been on several of them for such occasions., but even the corporations massive planetcrackers paled in comparison to these sleek, immense, almost alien seeming vessels, flowing through the ether of space like a massive pod of whales, majestic creatures Isaac had only seen in grainy vids and logs from centuries prior to his own existence. For the first time in what seemed like ages, a smile adorned his face, born from sheer, enthralling wonder. Soon enough however, he realized he had no idea which ship the Rayya was. He could spend days, maybe weeks just flying about this incredible fleet. His senses coming back to him, he re-initialized contact with the Rayya. “Rayya, This is Isaac Clarke aboard the USG Falcon. I am unfortunately unaware of which of these vessels is the Rayya. My ships's detection functions are not registering any of your vessels”. “.. Uhh, understood Falcon. The Rayya is the ship directly in front of your signature, largest ship in the fleet. Docking bays are amidships”.

 

“Tali, are you sure this is a good Idea?” Commander Shepard said as he paced back and forth behind his masked subordinate. “A random singularity pops up within earshot of the migrant fleet and the Normandy, some mid sized vessel slinks out of it before it closes, and we just say hello and offer him a cup of coffee?”. “Yes.” Tali replied. “ No mass relay was activated on his arrival. Whatever got him here had nothing to do with eezo or precision jumping. He's got something of his own making on that ship that lead him here, and whatever that is, the migrant fleet could make great use of it”. “So, we're just gonna use him? A guy with that kind of ingenuity ought to be treated with a little more respect, don't you think?” Shepard said. “Not very many outsiders are lauded as heroes around here save for you, Shepard. Whoever this man is, he deserves galaxy-wide credit for whatever he has invented. He may have created a way to bypass the relays, a way to go wherever you want without restriction. Whoever this “Isaac” is, he's about to get really famous. He's just going to get famous on the Migrant Fleet first. Heaven knows we could use whatever help he could offer”. “Well ,you know I've grown to respect the quarians, Tali...” Garrus said, twiddling the bolt of his Mantis rifle. “... But are you sure this guy does? He doesn't even have the fleet on his registry. Not to mention whatever radioactive material he has on board sure won't do anyone any favors should an accident occur, and on these cramped ships, I don't suppose there's much room for accidents”. “A lot of ships don't have us on their registry, but that says more about the builder than the owner. Besides, whatever waste he has, I'm sure it has something to do with whatever got him here. Just relax. We've been through worse than a small ship with one passenger, should anything get ugly.” An alarm sounded on the docking bay decks. “NOW DOCKING, CRADLE EIGHTEEN”.

 

 

Isaac looked at the cradle's identification. There were several odd markings, each of them in different kinds of characters. He didn't recognize a single one of them. It struck him as odd, seeing as how he's never seen any language that used these characters. Just what was he getting himself into? At least the words DOCKING CRADLE 18 were written in English. The docking symbol on the Falcon's status displays went green, and an automated voice notified the ship that boarding was now possible, instructing “All CEC personnel to line up in an orderly fashion at the airlock and await further instruction”. Isaac braced himself at the entrance, almost reluctant to open the first door into the airlock, but there was no turning back now. As the airlock door opened, multiple situations played out in Isaac's head. Was there a squad of unitologists waiting for him? Not possible. Not a single marker emblem on this, or any ship in the fleet. Still, as the door closed, he couldn't help but be nervous. Who were these people? Why hasn't he ever seen or heard of this fleet before? Surely anyone with this kind of maritime power would make headlines across the charted universe. It started to dawn on Isaac that maybe there's something else at play here, but what was it? A slew of nervous thoughts shot across Isaac's mind as he approached the second door. He activated the holo-panel on its center, an the locks surrounding it began to fall away. It cracked open, streams of white light pouring out from the fissure. Slowly, but surely, the metal doors retreated into the walls, and Isaac stepped out into the light.

 

Isaac's helmet activated and formed around his face, ethereal trails of blue light emanating from the eye slits. The room was empty. Not a single soul to greet him. This didn't help the feeling of uneasiness that he was already feeling. That was, until another door at the right end of the room opened. They opened swiftly, as if the usual bulkhead doors of a CEC ship were put in fast motion. “Surely against CEC safety protocol...” Isaac thought to himself.

 

Then, out of those doors, came a sight Isaac wasn't sure he was seeing correctly.

 

Three figures, humanoid in shape, walked into the room. Each of them were dressed in shades of blue, red, and violet, swirling patterns adorning the cloth. Their faces were veiled in similarly shaded masks, white eyes peering out from their opaque visors. Their figures were slim and lithe, their knees bent at an odd angle, and their necks seemed unduly long. Each of them had two toes on each foot, clothed by a form fitting boot. It was here that Isaac realized that not a single inch of skin was showing on any of these figures. The one in the center carried what seemed to be a rifle, while it's fellows carried similar arms on their backs. It seemed more feminine than the others, as its hips were much more defined, and the chest seemed “fuller”, per se, that its fellows. It dawned on Isaac that these things were by all means, no one he had met before. Were they even human? It had to be. It couldn't be. Isaac froze as the center figure greeted him in some odd dialect. Not a single reply came from Clarke as the leader attempted to communicate with him yet again. One of her subordinates approached Isaac, hand outstretched, holding a small device. It seemed that he was offering it to him. Unsure of himself, Isaac took it from the three fingered hand. The creature pointed at his wrist, making motions indicating that the device be strapped on. As Isaac did so, panels of bright orange light encapsulated his wrist.

 

A lexicon of languages appeared on one of its forearm panels, each of them a slew of different characters. Series of esoteric markings, lined row upon row, adorned Isaac's arm. At the bottom of the list Isaac caught the only word out of these symbols that he could make out; “English”. Tapping on the English option, the device, evidently named”Polaris” and manufactured by “Kassa Fabrications”, asked if he wanted to further configure it, resulting in one of the other subordinates tapping “skip” for him. Isaac had never heard of such a company as “Kassa Fabrication”, but the longer he looked at the device, and to the “people” patiently standing before him, it became more and more apparent that wherever he was, it was nowhere EarthGov or the CEC knew about. The female spoke up once again, this time (seemingly) in clear English. “Well, now that you can understand me,welcome aboard the Rayya, Mr Clarke. I'm Lieutenant Nezala'Verei”. “I uh....” Isaac stammered out. “... what are ... where.....”. He stretched out his hand towards her, making her recoil slightly. The others put hands on their holsters, but Isaac paid no heed. He was simply too fascinated, too awestruck by what he was seeing. He touched the leader's blue tinted visor, much to her confusion. “Uhh, sir?” she asked as Isaac continued to probe her suit "... what are you doing, exactly?”. Isaac simply continued to look at her, simply spellbound by her elegant form. He continued to touch the various parts of her suit, including the ornate hood that adorned her head, and the armor plating on her shoulders and forearms. Once his hands reached her hips however, the lieutenant had had enough. “Heh heh.... uhh, that's quite enough sir”, she said as she gingerly brushed Isaac's wandering hands away.

 

“I... you're not... human, are you?” Isaac said looking her directly into her quicksilver eyes. “Oh, of course not! You've never seen a Quarian before?”. Isaac momentarily stopped his probing utterly frozen by her response. “Wh-what... Quarian... I've never...“. “Heard of Quarians?” she piped up. “That's odd. Not even in news vids on earth?”. “Ma'am....” one of her subordinates spoke up. “I have a feeling wherever he popped out of wasn't council space”. “Okay, maybe the terminus systems?”. “That's not what I meant, ma'am.”. Isaac was dumbstruck once more by this “Quarians” suggestion. “W-what?! Popped out of? What did I pop out of? The hell are the terminus sys.... Wh- what council space, what are you guys talking about?”. “Hmm, I see. Come with us then, Mr Clarke”. “Hold on..” Isaac said, doing his best to regain his composure. 'Where are we? Andromeda? Crab? Milky Way, where?”. “Uh, Milky Way or course? It's literally impossible to go anywhere near those Galaxies, Mr Clarke”. “What? You guys don't have shockdrives?”. “Shock-what?” Nezala asked. “I've never heard of a “Shock-Drive”. Is that how you got here?”. “No ma'am. I'm not even sure how that happened yet.” Isaac answered. 'Well, in any case, Tali'Zorah will want to see you”. “Tali? Isn't she the one who I was speaking with earlier? Is she another one of you... uh, Quarians?”. “Yes and yes. Follow me, sir”.

 

“Tell me Mr. Clarke, do you know of any of the other races? Turian? Salarian? Asari? Drell?”. “N-no! I've never heard of any of those! Just how many races are on this fleet?” Isaac said, completely started by the implications of not just one, but multiple alien races. “Oh, just us Quarians here in the migrant fleet. All of us, as a matter of fact”. “All of you?” Isaac said with a hint of concern. This “Migrant Fleet” was certainly impressive, but an entire race floating amongst the stars? Surely there had to be major logistical problems, and trying to feed every hungry mouth on these vessels would surely be a problem, to say the least. Heaven knows it was when the CEC sent out a prospecting formation, and that was only a single light planetcracker plus a few scanning vessels and two or three escorts. This was the entirety of the CEC fleet times ten at least. “Yes, all of us, Mr Clarke. There are more than a few thousand outside of the Flotilla, living their own lives or on pilgrimage”. “Ah... anyways, what do i have to know about this “Tali”?”. “She's the daughter of one of the former admirals. Her and her captain have just returned for some sort of mission on their own accord.“. “Admirals, huh? Those are the guys in charge, I assume?”. “That's correct”, Nezala said as they walked about the corridors leading to the main plaza. “Now, when we enter the plaza, Tali and her captain should be waiting for you”. “Yes ma'am”. “Oh, and, promise me something, between the two of us...” Nezala said, arms folded. 'Yes ma'am?”. “Make sure you resist the urge to touch everyone's hips”, she said holding back a laugh. “Yyyyeah, got it....”, Isaac said sheepishly, as the doors to the plaza opened.

 

As Isaac stepped into the central plaza, he almost froze in his tracks again. Before him, multitudes of Quarians went about their daily business, mundane to them, but extraordinary in Isaac's eyes. Multiple levels going up and down, dozens of paths and walkways, each of them filled with denizens of this mysterious race. Yet again, this alien spectacle entranced Isaac, who was meandering amongst the crowded throng, He looked at every Quarian who passed him by, so intrigued by their presence alone. Meanwhile, the suited denizens of the Rayya took an odd fascination with Clarke as well, albeit not to the same degree that he took in them. As they went about their daily business, they couldn't help but notice the human, clad in some odd, fuzzy suit, teal light emanating from his mask and spine, wandering seemingly aimlessly around the plaza. Nearly dazed by curiosity and astonishment, Isaac didn't really pay much attention to where he was going, resulting in a collision with a young female Quarian, sending her to the floor

 

“Oh crap, I'm sorry! I wasn't paying attention, here, lemme help you up.” Isaac sputtered.

 

“Ugh, no, It's alright. I was in a hurry trying to mee- Oh! It's you”

 

“Me? Oh, are you Tali? That one I was speaking with on the Falcon?

 

“Yes, that would be me.” Tali said as she brushed herself off. “It's good to finally meet you, Mr. Clarke.”

 

“You too..... Man, this place is.. it's....

 

“Cramped? Overcrowded? If that's what you were going to say, I'd agree with you...”

 

“No, no, it's.... incredible... Tali, where I come from, humanity is alone in the universe. I never thought I'd talk to someone who wasn't human. You have to

understand, this is something out of a dream for me.”

 

“Where you come from”, huh? That's... interesting. Anyways, I'd like you to meet someone”.

 

As they made their way through the multitudes and into an elevator that would take them to the upper levels, Isaac stifled his curious eye long enough to start asking questions

 

“Who would that be? One of your admirals, I presume?”

 

“Oh no, they're for later. For now, I'd like you to meet My captain”

 

“I figured that the admirals would be the ship captains.”

 

“Oh no. I live away from the Flotilla most of the time.”

 

“Okay, so who is this captain of yours? Military?”

 

“Yes. Well, he used to be Alliance military, but after literally being killed, let's just say he's been discharged. A human military cell, Cerberus brought him back. I'm not so keen with their organization, or how they attacked us once, but Shepard is a good man. Me and him have been through... a lot together, to say the least. He's saved the galaxy once before, and I've been grateful to serve at his side. I remember how he saved my life when we first met... I don't know what I'd do without him...” Tali's voice started to get more and more light and affectionate, and Isaac could sense it.

 

“Uhhh, Tali? You alright? You were drifting off for a second... like I should talk...”

 

“Oh! Sorry. I just... we... Yeah, keep that little slip up between the two of us, alright?”

 

The elevator stopped at level 13, their destination. The two stepped out into the room, several other Quarians were present, all surrounding some sort of holographic display. Upon closer inspection, it seemed to be the falcon, still in the docking cradle. A feet feet off to the left was the first, and so far only other human on the ship.

 

“Found him, Shepard. He was sightseeing off in the main plaza.”

 

“Was he now? Name's Commander Shepard. Good to meet you, Isaac.”

 

“You too. Anyways, I'd like to.... Holy crap.....”

 

“Yes, Mr Clarke?” Tali asked curtly.

 

“What is he?” Isaac said, pointing at Garrus. “He looks like he's been through his fair share of trouble...”

 

“I can hear you, you know.” Garrus responded in his usual, facetious voice. “My fair share of fights, huh? That an insult, or a compliment?”

 

“I-I dunno... Both I guess? Wow...” Isaac said as he approached the Turian sniper, a hand outstretched.

 

“You're not touching me.”

 

“Wha-?”

 

“Nezala gave us a very detailed report of her little encounter with you. You're not touching me, buddy.”

 

“Oh... yeah.”

 

“Sure you're not gonna go for his hips, Mr Clarke?” Tali said, giggling.

 

“You're a riot, tali.” Shepard said. “Now, Mr Clarke, Nezala told us you were a little hazy coming out of the Falcon. Do you remember how you got here?”

 

“No. I have no clue. Last thing I remember, I touched the mark- oh no... the Marker...” Isaac paused. He remembered how the marker lay in pieces in the cargo bay, but it didn't make it any less dangerous. He remembered watching that video-log of Stross back at the sprawl, and how he contracted the same madness as Isaac by just touching a shard of the same red marker. The last thing he wanted was to spread that madness to an entire race. He had to do something fast.

 

 

“Is everything okay, Mr Clarke?” Shepard asked.

 

“No, no it's not okay. Was anyone sent to the Falcon? Anyone at all? Guards or quarantine crew or anything?

 

“No sir, but we were about to have a team of mechanics join you and Shepard's crew to examine your means of travel” said one of the Quarians at the holo-display.

 

“Don't send anyone in there. Not yet. I've gotta check something. Badly”

 

“Has it anything to do with that radioactive material you mentioned earlier?”

 

“It has everything to do with that.”

 

Isaac rushed back to the docking bay, Tali, Shepard and Garrus following suit. Dodging and weaving through the immense crowds, Isaac had but one thing on his mind. Get to the Falcon. Get to the falcon. He rushed by a Quarian holding several packages, knocking him over. No time to say sorry. Got to keep moving. Dropping a package full or computer software is much better than seeing symbols on the walls and visions of the dead. Got to keep moving. Soon enough, he found himself at docking cradle 18. Nezala and her companions were guarding the entrance.

 

 

“Ah, we were expecting you, Mr Clarke. You and the engineering team here?”

 

“No, just me, Tali, Shepard, and that one, uh...”

 

“Turian?”

 

“Yeah, the Turian guy.”

 

“You know, we're right behind you, I can hear everything you're saying”

 

“Let me in. Me only. It's urgent.”

 

“Why can't we come along, Mr Clarke?” asked Shepard, arms folded with a furrowed brow.

 

“Believe me. It's for your own good.” Said Isaac as he entered the falcon and Locked the door behind him.

 

Opening the cargo bay doors, Isaac once again saw what was left of the black marker. Shards and large pieces of it filled the hold nearly to its brim. He remembered the warm, trembling feeling he got when reading marker-scrawl, yet as he approached the marker's remains, he didn't feel it I the least. With a trembling hand he reluctantly reached for a shard. He held it in his hands, closed his eyes and tried to detect any signs of the energy that once resided in it, yet felt nothing. No ringing in his ears, no voices, no symbols. Nothing.

 

It was unbelievable. Twice now the marker threat seemed over. Twice now has he stood seemingly triumphant. Could it really be over? Wherever this was, could there be other markers? No. That was over. It had to be. The greatest marker of them all lay in ruins before his very eyes. A shard of it lay in Isaac's hand, no maddening signal radiating from it. It was over. It had to be over.

 

Isaac made his way back tot the airlock, but not before hearing chatter in the cockpit coming from the comms receiver. “Mr Clarke!. We know you're in there! What have you got in that ship? Answer now or we will enter by force!”

 

Hurriedly opening the airlock doors, he was immediately greeted by Shepard, Nezala, and all their respective compatriots, each of them with firearms out and pointed to the door. Isaac could do nothing but raise his arms in submission.

 

“You have seconds to tell us what you're hiding in there, Clarke.” Garrus said in a low, growling voice.

 

“Settle down, Garrus.” Shepard said as he motioned the team to lower their weapons, Nezala following suit. “Now, what was all that about? You mentioned a “Marker”. Just what is so important about it that you had to run away full speed through a crowd of Quarians to check on it?”

 

“Not to mention knocking over poor Veetor”, tali piped up. “He's now terrified of some “Hairy, blue eyed monster” that apparently knocked the wind out of him.”

 

“Okay, look...” Isaac said, worriedly stepping forward. “It should be safe now, but if you go to the cargo hold, Don't. Touch. Anything. I really can't stress that enough.“

 

“Right.” Tali said. “You said something about radioactivity before.”

 

“I was lying. It has nothing to do with radioactivity. It's mimetic. Any direct contact with the contents of that hold has extremely bad effects on the mind. There's no signal coming from them however, so I guarantee that indirect contact is safe” Isaac said, opening the second door of the airlock. He was lying when he said guarantee, but what else could he say to make sure he didn't get a bullet in his head? At this point he wasn't sure if he was saving himself, or digging his own grave.

 

“Why did you lie before?” Tali said as everyone climbed into the Falcon. “We hare no immune systems, Isaac. If there's anything virile on this ship, the results would be catastrophic!”

 

“I'm sorry I lied, but I had to be careful. There's a long, horrible story behind what's in that hold, and it's not something you wanna divulge to a large, and presumably armed fleet. I just panicked, okay? I didn't want people freaking out until they were all up to speed. You have to realize, there's no easy way to break something like this, especially if the only guys you can break it to are the ones rescuing you from deep space.”

 

“So, the hold is full of some sort of material that turns people's minds inside out... bit of a step-up from seizing a red sand shipment isn't it, Shepard?” Garrus said as they entered the ship.

 

“Excuse us!” a voiced chimed from the hall. “aren't we invited?”

 

“Oh, the engineering team!” Tali replied. “Isaac, you wouldn't mind giving them a tour of the Falcon, would you?”

 

“Long as they stay away from the hold, they're golden. What exactly are they expecting to find?”

 

“Oh, it's not just that, It's what we found only minutes ago!” one of them said excitedly, bringing up a holo-display with his omni-tool. “Mr Clarke, you said before to the lieutenant that you have no idea how you got here, but we just found out how! Well, partly, that is.”

 

Now more than ever Isaac needed answers, and those words sounded like music to his ears. “Alright, you have my attention.”

 

“About an hour before we established contact with you, some sort of singularity popped up near flotilla space” said the second member of the engineer team said as they entered the ship. We monitored it for a while, watching for anything that might come out. Come about thirty minute later, and some mid-sized ship slowly edges it's way out of it. The admiralty board wanted answers, as did the Normandy and her crew. Being a military ship, they wanted to know if there was any threat apparent. That's when Tali here decided she wanted to make contact.”

 

“So I came here through a wormhole?” Isaac said, checking the systems diagnostics aboard the Falcon. “What exactly does this insinuate?”

 

“Isn't it obvious?” the third and final member of the team replied. “The physicists aboard the Rayya saw the energy signatures coming from that singularity and saw that it was coming from a source from within the fissure! I'm no physicist, and I couldn't tell you the details if I tried, but our readings and their interpretations don't lie! Isaac, You're from another reality!”

 

Isaac just stood there for a moment, replaying those words in his head over and over. You're from another reality. You're not just several light years form home. You're from another reality. You will never see Ellie again. You're from another reality. You will never live a normal life again. You're from another reality. On and on, it repeated itself, as if Isaac simply couldn't comprehend it, yet he understood it perfectly. Bit by bit, it sunk in lie a blade to flesh, and the implications that this revelation insinuated shook Isaac to his core. He sat down in the helmsman's seat again, hands on the interface, all while remaining absolutely silent. Everything was silent for what felt like an eternity. Concerned about the now shaking man at the helm, a member of the engineering team spoke up, trying to wake Isaac from his seemingly catatonic state.

 

“Mr. Clarke, are you okay?”

 

“Rizea, I don't think it was a good idea to-”

 

“Shut up” Isaac said, still gripping the edge of the pilot's console. “Everyone just shut up.”

 

“Mr Clarke....” Shepard said, trying to see if he could get the trembling engineer to calm down.

 

“I SAID SHUT UP!” Isaac roared at the top of his lungs. Standing up from his seat, Isaac couldn't stand the sight of anyone near him, at least for the moment. “Everyone, just get the hell away from me. “

 

“Mr Clarke-”

 

“GO.”

 

As they stepped off the threshold of the Falcon, Shepard and his crew seemed at a loss as to what they should do next. Thanks to a loose-lipped quarian team, their first contact from another reality has locked himself up in his ship, fighting with his own mind, trying to wrap his head around the situation. Heaven knew just how long he was planning on staying sealed up in there.

 

“Well, that went well.” Garrus said as they exited the docking hall. “From another reality.... I have to admit, that kind of news would make my afternoon a lot more exciting.”

 

“Regardless, he's going to need some time to... recover from that little revelation. Keelah, I know I'd need some time after being told something like that.”. Tali said before turning to the engineering team. “I mean, If I were to, say, share some important, unseen technology that could prove invaluable to the fleet and perhaps the galaxy, something like that would definitely make me call for some time out...” she said, not without a hint of sarcastic venom in her voice.

 

“Oh, come on, we were excited!” Said the team leader, Rizea. “Someone just came out of a singularity that led to another plane! You think we wouldn't want to know what he has in store? He mentioned something called a “shockdrive” when Nezala told him it was “Impossible” to go to other galaxies! No one knows what a shockdrive is save for him, but the implications sound utterly groundbreaking! Going to other galaxies?! Think about it, Tali! There could be entire libraries worth of technical knowledge he has in store, and the entire galaxy could very well be all the better for it!”

 

“Indeed it would”. Said Shepard. “So why would you give life-altering new to the person who could give us that technology right before he does so?”

 

“Look, we just got a little excited, okay? I'm sorry, but, it was all I could think about....”

 

“And now, it's the only thing he's going to think about”, Garrus said, slumping against a corner. “So what's the plan, Shepard? See if we can coax our visitor out and give him a little pep talk, or let him sort things out?”

 

“Well, I think I know someone who's great with pep-talks.” Shepard said.

 

Back on the Normandy, yeoman Chambers was working as usual, sorting out the psyche profiles of the crew when Shepard and the team returned.

 

“So that ship had an occupant, I hear.” Kelly said as she typed away at her console. “Human too. Was he responsive at all?”

 

“Indeed he was....” Garrus quipped, heading back to the forward batteries.

 

“I assume that means he was hostile”

 

“Only when he's given life-changing news.” Shepard said. “I think he might need your help, Kelly.”

 

“Life-changing? Where was that wormhole coming from? How far could he possibly be from home?”

 

“An entire universe and/ or time period.”

 

“Oh my....”

 

“Needless to say, he's still very shaken up about it. Think you can help him out?”

 

“I'll do my best”

 

“Knew I could count on you, Kelly.”

 

 

All was quiet aboard the Falcon. The occasional noise from a scanning display or notification was the only thing breaking the deafening silence on board. Isaac could only sit and watch the cosmos drift past him, as hundreds of ships, great and small, followed each other in a great trail of steel and blue flame. To anyone else, it was a graceful sight that would leave one in a state of unequaled wonder. To Isaac, it was nothing more than an ineffective placebo for the despair in his heart. As time passed, he could only keep repeating the same terrible things in his head. You'll never see Ellie again. You'll never see earth again. You'll never have your life back. Isaac tried prying himself away from these thoughts, but the only thoughts that could replace them filled him with yet more rue. Why did this have to happen to him? Why did any of this have to happen? Why did he urge Nicole to go on the Ishimura? Yes, it was great when you were stationed there, but why did you try peddling it to her? Even if it was being decommissioned in a year. Still, why did any of this have to happen? If only he had known. If only he could have just chose to propose then and there. He never would have had to crawl through the bloody remains of a once great ship, searching for his loved one who had already died before he could save her. He wouldn't have been tortured by the government for the secrets given to him by a spire of maddening red. He never would have lost a part of his soul on that forsaken colony known as The Sprawl.

 

He never would have been this broken.

 

And of course, he never would be here, stranded in another universe forever.

 

 

Completely overtaken with hopelessness, Isaac put his hands to his head. What was he going to do? He had nothing and no one here. All he had to himself was this banged up prospecting vessel, the remains of the marker, the RIG on his back, and the plasma cutter that lay on the interface panel. He had nowhere to go. Should he stay with the quarians? For a second, he felt that may be the best option. Humanity has done him no good all his life, be it his mother sabotaging his future for a vested membership in a religion that would try to kill him later in life, or a government that interred him in a padded room, forcing him to create a monstrosity that took millions of lives as well as Isaac's sanity before crawling back to him asking for help. There was no guarantee that the quarians would be any better, but it was a start.

 

Just then, a voice crackled on the comm reciever.

 

“Isaac? Are you in there? If you hear me, could you unlock the doors? I 'd like to have a word with you.”

 

“Who is this? I really don't feel like talking to anyone right now...”

 

“Someone you haven't met yet. I hear you've had a rough day.”

 

“And I suppose you're here to help me with that?”

 

“You bet.”

 

After a minute or two of silence, Isaac yielded. “Fine, but I don't know what good it'll do.”

 

Shepard sat at the desk at his quarters, twiddling with some of the models in the display case that adorned it before checking the clock. Two hours. It had been two hours since Kelly left for the Falcon. Two hours of random, unneeded checks on the ships systems, browsing the extranet, feeding the fish, and of course, fiddling with toy ships. Right as Shepard stood up to put his armor back on, Joker's came up on the intercom.

 

“Commander, Yeoman Chambers is back.“

 

“Any say on whether she was successful or not?”

 

“What, with the depressed, hip-obsessed wonder? Hell if I know, she didn't tell me anything.”

 

“That'll be all, Joker.”

 

“aye-aye”

 

Kelly was already back at her station when the commander came in through the elevator doors.

 

“So, how'd it go?”

 

“Well, let's just say he's had his fair share of hard knocks. I can't really go over all the details in five minutes, but he's seen some really terrible things. As long as he's not embellishing anything, or, heck, even if he is, I'm surprised he can even articulate, let alone go over details like he does. In an hour and a half, he bared half his soul to me. I'm not sure if I want to see the rest, given what he's already told me”

 

Turns out that Isaac got a lot more receptive in the hour or so after Kelly took her leave. The airlock door was open, and a small crowd of a dozen or so quarian scientists, engineers, and even commoners were walking into the Falcon.

 

“Glad to see he's had a change of heart...” said Garrus.

 

“Let's just hope he extends that same hospitality to the same people who held him at gunpoint.” said Tali. “Speaking of that little incident, wasn't it all about something dangerous in the cargo hold? You'd think after bum-rushing into the ship to make sure it's safe, he's be a bit less wiling to let about a dozen people in the ship.”

 

“Apparently, he's either convinced it's safe, or he's made sure no one's getting in there.” said Garrus. “No way he's able to supervise a group that big on his own unless he's enlisted Nezala in helping him out in that regard. I remember c-sec had us rooks doing that kind of monotonous crap all the time. Nothing like the smell of a few dozen Elcor tourists...”

 

“Well let's see what kind of open house Mr Clarke is hosting. Maybe the Normandy can benefit from whatever tech he has on board“

 

“And that's when I get to tinker around with said tech, right?”

 

“Maybe he'll have snacks”

 

“Real cute, you two. Let's just head inside.”

 

Stepping foot into the ship, Shepard found Isaac giving a tutorial on the Falcon's controls and monitoring systems. It appeared that the vessel was primarily piloted by one man, with the optional assistance of a co-pilot. It was divided into two main sections, namely one for the mining equipment and operations (Which included the cargo bay), and the other for logistics, research/sample analysis, and crew's quarters. Each of part of the ship was monitored from the quarterdeck, which sat above and behind the cockpit. Before Isaac and his company could proceed to the quarterdeck however, Isaac realized there was some uninvited company on board.

 

“And this is the entrance to th-... wait, Nezala, how'd they get into the ship?”

 

“Well, you left the door open. “ said Garrus.

 

“You're saying we're not invited?” Shepard said folding his arms.

 

“Hmph. Alright, you're fine, I guess. Just stay with the group.” Isaac said begrudgingly. “Also, I'm gonna tell you the same thing I told everyone else. Stay away from the cargo bay at all times. I've already got the rest of Nezala's guards at the entrance.”

 

“Duly noted Mr Clarke. Carry on.”

 

“Yeah...”

 

Stepping into the quarterdeck, Isaac gave a quick overview of the various parts of the ship at the monitoring station. From there, one could see surveillance feeds from the crew's quarters, as well as the small mess hall, medbay, etc.. Oxygen levels and airtight integrity were also shown on status indicators under each holo-monitor. Eech of them was on and functional save for one.

 

“Which one is that?” one of the quarians asked, pointing to the empty, frame-like projector.

 

“That's the cargo bay. It's off for a reason.”

 

“Oh. What's in there? “ The young quarian asked. “I mean, if it's dangerous, I don't wanna-”

 

“I'll say again that's it's off limits for a reason, ma'am.” Isaac said, interrupting her.

 

“Oh.... okay.”

 

The captain's quarters was part of the quarterdeck, sectioned off from the monitoring station by a single door. It wasn't exactly the most lavish living quarters a ship could have, but the bottom line was that it gave the captain of the ship somewhere to lay their head come the end of his/her shift.

 

“So, yeah. Captain's quarters. Not much else to see here unless someone's especially tired.” Isaac said, putting a hand on the rough bed. It was sizable to some degree, but for the most part seemed to be a medium quality mattress slapped on top of an over-glorified cot that folded into the wall.

 

“Were you the captain, Mr Clarke?” asked another quarian.

 

“Huh? No, I just kind of commandeered it when things got really rough. It all happened a little bit before I got here. I'm not very comfortable with divulging the details, but let's just say, he and the crew were not present when I arrived on board. There were lives on the line, so I did what I could with what I had on hand, and the Falcon was just there. Let's just say that she came in handy with what would happen next.”

 

“And exactly what did happen next?”

 

Isaac paused. He already divulged more than he was comfortable with when he spoke with that Chambers character, and he hadn't even told her half the story. Now he was in front of a group of about fifteen people. He had to think of an alibi, and he needed it yesterday.

 

In his desperation, Isaac lied. “I dunno. I'm really hazy on the details. I think it was a couple minutes before the singularity opened.”

 

“Well, while this is all very interesting...” said one of the quarian scientists, leaning on the bulkhead. “... I assumed you had some unseen technology to show us.”

 

“Oh right. You guys are gonna love this. Follow me. We're heading to the engine room.”

 

The engine room was situated astern of the cargo bay, which was circumvented on either side by a corridor leading from the general logistics room on the port side, and the crew's quarters on the starboard side. The crew's quarters was situated astern from the monitoring station which it was separated from by a single wall/door. Cutting through the crews quarters, the group made its way through the long corridor to the engine room, coming across several doors on their way, including the Geological analysis lab, Mining Equipment/Mining Ops control, Cargo Logistics, and finally, Cargo bay, which, true to Isaac's word, was guarded by two of Nezala's men.

 

“Alright everyone, this is where the magic happens, at least the kind of magic you guys would be most interested in.” Isaac said as he introduced the group to the dark, dank, dirty mess of wire, piping, and turbines that was the engine room.

 

Most wouldn't consider such a greasy, sooty place to be a prime tour location, but to a dozen of so tech- savvy quarians, it was a smorgasbord of technological wonder. Suddenly, a flurry of questions erupted from the entire party, almost all at once as they dispersed to familiarize themselves with the alien equipment and gadgets. Nezala herself was almost tempted to join them. A trio of them huddled around the waypoint computers, asking what about the multiple coordinates that showed up on screen. Several more asked about which pipes supplied what compartments. Others rummaged around the storage compartments, examining the spare parts and apparatuses. Yet more were asking twenty questions about the odd, glowing machine that lay directly in front of the main engine.....

 

“Oh, that? Oh man, you're all gonna go bonkers over this. Everyone, Gather round!” Isaac said, resulting in the entire quarian party, Shepard and his team in tow, huddled around the odd, blue machine. Tali, completely overtaken by curiosity, shoved her way through to get a front row seat. Even among quarians she was gifted with anything artificial, and hanging back with Shepard and Garrus wasn't as exciting as getting a first look at technology from another reality.

 

“Now, Nezala tells me you guys can't really get that far from the galaxy...”

 

“Actually Mr Clarke...” Tali said, correcting Isaac. “No known ship can leave the galaxy. There are Mass relays which can take you to other relays across the galaxy via precision jump, but without their assistance, a ship can only go around the local systems on its own supply of fuel”

 

“Relays, huh...?” Isaac said as he turned back to the machine. “... Only able to take you to other relays, huh?”

 

“Yes. And once you've reached the other relay, you run on your own fuel from there. As such your range is limited to two or three adjacent systems, depending on distance. The relays don't require you to use any fuel, given the fact that they carry you by opening a pathway through space, a corridor to another relay”

 

“Well, that's interesting... because this little beauty is called a shockpoint drive.... and it does exactly that, only instead of having to link to another relay or whatever, all you have to do is set the coordinates, and you're there.”

 

The group's reaction was, predictable to say the least

 

There were only 17 people on board, Including Shepard and his team, but nonetheless, the clamor within the Falcon was deafening. Some were nearly screaming with excitement, others asking volleys of questions in an incoherent frenzy of inquiry. Shepard himself found it hard to ignore just how revolutionary this revelation was as he tried in vain to get his questions through to a fully surrounded Isaac. Tali begged to stay on board afterwords so she can look it over, maybe even cook up her own blueprints. It seemed that Garrus was the only one who remained silent, as he was more off-put by this sudden upheaval than he was fascinated by the new tech, though even he had to admit, the prospect of completely free travel was more than intriguing.

 

'Hey! Guys, settle down, one at a- HEY! EVERYONE SETTLE DOWN!” Isaac yelled, trying to instill some sense of order into the unruly crowd. “Look, I know this is very exciting for everyone-”

 

“Exciting?!” Tali exclaimed. “EXCITING?!! Isaac, this is INCREDIBLE! Do you have ANY Idea what you just revealed to us?! There's only so many relays that only go to so many locations, but now there's nowhere one can't go! The relays may span the galaxy, but one can only get so far from there! We can go anywhere thanks to you, Isaac! ANYWHERE!” As Tali continued to express her elation, other joined in, and soon the engine room once again rang with the sound of frantic and overjoyed voices.

 

Loud as the din in the engine room was however, things were about to get much, much louder.

 

The entire ship rocked as a shockwave toppled nearly everyone to the floor, accompanied by a deafening blast. Panic ensued as the Falcon rocked to and fro. An automated voice blared over the intercom:

 

“DOCKING COMPROMISED. ALL HANDS, CLEAR THE AIRLOCK”

 

“Great.” Isaac said with baited breath. We've lost our docking connection to the Rayya. We're floating in open space!”

 

Moments later, Shepard receives a transmission from Joker. “Commander, the fleet is under attack! Batarian slavers. Evidently they overheard talk about some human popping out of a wormhole. Said they want him and his ship, no other conditions.”

 

“Must have been them that fired that warning shot. Where'd they hit?

 

“Rayya's hull. Her shields kept her undamaged, but the batarians are packing serious heat.”

 

“Wait, what? How the hell did they hear about me? I haven't been here a day.and so far the only people who know about me are the qu-”

 

“Isaac, news gets around fast, Mr Clarke.” said one of the quarians, bracing herself onto some of the piping. “We did hold off on it for a while, but we eventually decided to let word get out of your arrival after we decided that we'd let visitors to the fleet hold audience with you after a day or two.”

 

“Well, evidently, these slavers were in the neighborhood.” Said Garrus while loading his Mantis. “We're in the Armstrong nebula right now, and there's are a few problems concerning pirates around here in recent months, even after the Skyllian Blitz . Shepard, what's the plan?”

 

Before Shepard could reply, Isaac decided that whoever these “batarians” were, they'd have to go through hell and back to even lay a finger on him, especially given how much he's already had to deal with. The Markers, the necromorphs, the Brethren Moons, A new universe, and now, a small flight of rogue aliens who want him and his ship? No. That's not happening, Isaac thought to himself. Not in a million years.

 

“I'll tell you what the plan is.” Isaac said, Loading his plasma cutter. “These “batarians” want my ship? They're gonna have to fight me for it. Everyone come with me. This may be a mining vessel, but it has some tricks up it's sleeve.”

 

“Isaac, no! This is suicide!” Tali exclaimed, “This ship is unarmed! How do you possibly plan on fighting an entire flight of slavers?”

 

“Just follow me to the cockpit. I noticed we're passing by an asteroid belt, just off the keel of the ship. Believe me when I say that's all we need.”

 

Isaac took the controls of the Falcon. Hands clenched tightly around the joysticks. “Alright, I need someone to head over to the mining ops room. There's working comms in there that we can use for direct communication.”

 

“I volunteer”said Nezara. “Just hold on though, I have a better idea than using rusty comms. You still have that Omni-tool my associate gave you?”

 

“Yeah, why?”

 

“Turn it on. I've already got mine connected with yours. When you need to speak to me, just use it.”

 

“Alright then.” Isaac said as the orange light cast itself around his wrist again, notifying synchronization with all nearby omni-tools. “Once you're in mining ops, contact me, and hold onto something. This is gonna get rough fast.”

 

“Clarke, you're not seriously planning on flying into that asteroid belt, are you?” Shepard asked, heavy pistol in hand as he and Garrus took charge of the remaining civilians.

 

“No. Even better. Just hang on...”

 

“Okay Isaac, I'm in mining ops. What's next?”

 

“Hang onto something. We're going in.”

 

Isaac jammed the throttle downwards, sending the ship accelerating towards the asteroid field. The quarian civilians held on to each other for dear life as the Falcon screamed towards the wandering chunks of rock and metal. Blips appeared in the ship;s radar. Five medium sized ships, seven smaller vessels escorting. These batarians were hot on Isaac's trail, but it didn't matter. Nothing could prepare them for what would happen next.

 

 

“Still with us, Nezala?”

 

“Yes, but I can tell you've put your foot on the gas. What's next?”

 

“You should be seeing a terminal in there at the front of the room in it's own enclosure. I've already hit the greenlight, so all you have to do is press “confirm” when I give you the signal.”

 

“What's it going to do?”

 

“You'll see”

 

Isaac took the Falcon closer and closer to the asteroids, adjusting the ship's pitch until it was level with the asteroids, screaming at over seven hundred miles an hour only a hundred or so meters above the belt

 

“Clarke, you're insane!” Garrus said as they edged closer to the asteroids. “Hit one of those, and we're all history! Not to mention the fighters on our tail!”

 

“I know what to do with the asteroids, don't you worry. The fighters might be a problem, but it's nothing we can't handle. This thing has several asteroid defense cannons, and one of them sits right behind the quarterdeck. Head back to the monitoring station. There should be a door next to the one that lead to the crew's quarters. Hit the manual override switch on the seat and see if you can hold them off.”

 

“Since when did you command my crew?” Shepard said while still holding on to the guard rails behind Isaac.

 

“Since I'm about to save our skins. Garrus, head to the ADS cannon.”

 

“If it helps...” said Garrus as he rushed towards the quarterdeck.

 

“Okay, ready, Nezala? This is where it gets hairy”

 

Nezala hovered over the interface of the mining ops console. In bold, red letters, it revealed the ship's proximity to the asteroids, as well as a holo-display of what seemed to be some sort of apparatus underneath the ship. Right underneath it, a flashing “EXECUTE” command appeared in white.

 

“Waiting on you signal Isaac! We're really close to those asteroids....”

 

“Alright...... NOW!”

 

Nezala pressed the flashing command button, making the whole ship vibrate as six arms extended out form the bottom of the ship to rest themselves at its sides. Immediately, they exuded beams of blue light that extended into the asteroids, which in turn seemed to be attracting towards the ship as the beams made contact.

 

“Isaac, that isn't really what I think it is....” Tali said

 

“Okay, Nezala, it should say “freeze operation” on the console. Hit it.”

 

As she did so, the asteroids that were seemingly climbing up the blue “rope” extending from the arm system froze in place. Seeing this on the notification panel, Isaac Pulled directly towards his foes. The enemy fighters had just come within range, and Garrus was doing his best to keep them at bay. Needless to say, Garrus' marksmanship shone bright as it ever did.

 

“Alright, that's two. Five more to go. How are we doing in the cockpit?” Garrus asked. “I see we've taken a little turn from the asteroids. Did we get hit earlier? I felt the ship shake for a bit.”

 

“Nope. Party's just getting started.”

 

The Falcon continued to speed right at the enemy, six strings of asteroids in tow. The slavers were now looking at a strange vessel towing asteroids at its sides, coming in fast. Very, very fast.

 

It didn't take much time for them to realize just what Isaac was doing, and the medium sized cruisers were starting to take evasive maneuvers, steering to the sides, trying to get out of range of the Falcon's new-found weaponry. Their situation was deteriorating fast, and they knew it. Garrus had already shot down nearly all of their fighters, as only one, burning fighter remained, trying to evade the ADS cannon's volleys. Whatever maneuvers they could take were too little too late, as Isaac and the Falcon sped at them much faster that their yaw could adjust. The Falcon's occupants huddled close to each other, looking at the batarian ships that even now seemed to be coming closer by the second.

 

“EVERYONE HOLD ON!” Isaac shouted as the notification monitor warned him of his proximity to the batarian vessels. It didn't matter. What happened next was something that would imprint itself into the minds of all on board forever.

 

Flying at almost a thousand miles an hour, no less than one hundred and twenty asteroids, towed in lines in excess of one hundred meters, smashed into the hulls of the five cruisers. One of the larger asteroids struck the cruiser farthest to starboard, ripping it in half instantly. Another cruiser was hit in the side, smashing its starboard hull and sending it careening into the cruiser just port of it, which had already lost both its engines to the asteroids. The last two cruisers suffered full on frontal collision, exacerbated tenfold by repeated impacts from several dozen asteroids, tearing them apart like cloth on a bed of razors.

 

Seven minutes later, five light cruisers and seven fighters floated in ruins near the migrant fleet. It had been no more than forty minutes since they fired the warning shot at the Rayya. Not a single survivor made it out of that flight to tell the tale.

 

 

The Falcon circled around back to the flotilla, asteroid cargo absent form the mechanical arms that began to fold back underneath the ship.. As it made its way back to the docking cradles, the occupants finally let go of their respective moors, be it a guard rail, wall piping, or even another quarian. Garrus made his way back to the cockpit, dazed after having shot down no less than seven batarian fighters. Nezala returned from mining ops. Still wondering what in high heaven she just helped Isaac just pull off.

 

“Okay... Okay, I think that's all of 'em..... Everyone all right” Isaac called out, as the battle weary party got back on their feet.

 

“Isaac... that was some of the craziest shit I've seen in years.” said Shepard as he caught his breath. “Has anyone ever told you you're completely insane?”.

 

“You don't need to tell me twice....”

 

“Well, don't blame us if we do.” said Garrus.

 

“Say, Isaac...” said Tali. “Have any of us seen your face yet?”

 

“Aside for that Chambers girl you guys sent over earlier, no.”

 

“Can we see it?”

 

“Huh? Yeah, sure. We're not aboard the Rayya anymore.”

 

The sectioned helmet hissed compressed air as it separated its fore and aft plates. Bit by bit, in a matter of seconds, Isaac's helmet disassembled itself. Plate latched under and over plate as it descended in a perfect symphony of clockwork, until finally, two halves retreated inside the console on Isaac's chest, as well as the top of his RIG's spine, revealing a haggard, unshaven man with dark circles under his eyes, and a tired, but triumphant smile on his face.

 

“Okay, I'm not going to lie, that was pretty cool.” Garrus said.

 

“Yeah, glad yo-OW!” Isaac yelped as a three-fingered hand slapped him clean across the face.

 

“Isaac Clarke, you are the craziest bosh'tet I have ever met, do you realize that?” Tali said, shoving her helmet-clad face into Isaac's.

 

“Look , it's not the fir-OOW!!!” Isaac yelled again as yet another three fingered hand struck his cheek. 'STOP THAT!”

 

“That was brilliant.... Absolutely brilliant. You and me. We're having words later. Aboard the Normandy.”

 

“Tali, isn't that my call?” Shepard asked.

 

“Thought it was a foregone conclusion, given our friend's penchant for..... Keelah, I don't even... Yeah. Isaac, we're definitely having more words later.”

 

 

Isaac checked all systems and functions on the notification panel. All systems nominal, shields at 80% integrity and climbing. Fuel at 67%. The Rayya was close by, and it had already cleared Isaac to dock. He looked around, looking over the rattled occupants of the Falcon. Shepard and company? Check. Nezala and her guards? Check. Now to count the rest of the quarians. Nine of them left.

 

That's when Isaac found that he only counted eight.

 

“Okay, we're one body short and we're about to re-dock with the Rayya. Anyone know who's missing?”

 

“I don't see Vaelen anywhere...” said one of the quarians as he looked around the room.

 

“She's not responding to my messages either” one of Nezala's men said, looking over his omni-tool.

 

“Oh, great. Let's head to the monitoring station. We can track down this “Vaelen” when we see what room she's wandered off to.” Isaac said, getting out of his seat.

 

“My bets are on the engine .room” Tali said. “We were all pretty impressed with what was in there.”

 

“Regardless, she's the only one not present, and we're about to dock and drop off. I'm probably not staying here much longer, and the last thing we all need is a scared quarian girl wondering why everyone is gone and the Flotilla is fading into the distance.”

 

Entering the monitoring station, Isaac Immediately scans the monitors for any sign of life. No one in med bay, or the crew's quarters in which it was situated. The engine room was surprisingly empty. Mining ops was desolate, as was logistics. Absolutely no one showed up on the monitors, not even when the cameras were switched to thermal detection mode.

 

That's when Isaac realized that one monitor was still shut off.....

 

“Oh no.”

 

Without another word, Isaac loaded his plasma cutter and bolted out of the quarterdeck, Shepard, Nezala, and the rest of the quarians following close.

 

“Isaac, don't hurt Vaelen!” said one of the quarians, trying to keep up with Isaac. “She's not-”

 

“Just follow me, we won't need to hurt her....” Isaac said, still running as fast as his legs could carry him. “.... unless...”

 

“Isaac, you're gonna have to tell us what's in that hold.” Shepard said. “Whatever Vaelen's getting into, you seem pretty keen on stopping her from laying hands on it.”

 

“You'll find out soon enough....”

 

Isaac cut through cargo logistics, leading him to large bulkhead door. The words “Cargo Bay” written on a lit display above it.

 

“What is this stuff?” Vaelen said as she examined the strange rocks in her hands. The black, runed stones tumbled between her fingers. Suddenly, a loud creaking noise exuded from the wall to her right, light trickling out of the expanding fissure that resulted from the doors opening. Nervous that she had been caught crawling around, she attempted to think up an alibi, when Isaac, mask reforming around his head, charged into the room at full speed, tackling her to the floor.

 

“Wha?! Wh-What's happening!? Why are y-”

 

“SHEPARD! GARRUS! HELP ME RESTRAIN HER!”

 

Pinning her arms behind her back, the trio carried her off to med bay, all the while the quarians watched in horror as one of their own was being carried out of the closing doors of the cargo bay, which locked itself behind them.

 

 

“Wh-What was that?!” Vaelen asked in terror as Isaac and Shepard carried her like a strung up varren. “Where are you taking me?!”

 

“I told you to stay out of there...”

 

“What was she touching, Isaac?” Tali asked in an elevated tone as they reached the med bay door. “If she's contagious, there's no telling if she'll be able to set foot on the Rayya again!”

 

“It's mental, and there's no way it can be transmitted unless you come in contact with the contents of that hold. She's not contagious, but, if it did to her what I've seen it do to others...” Isaac said as he strapped her onto an examining table, “I'm not sure if we can...”

 

It was at this point, in the middle of Isaac's sentence, that Vaelen started going hysterical. Every word Isaac uttered instilled the most primal fear within her, insomuch that she tried resisting against her restraints, but to no avail. She was utterly terrified. What does eh mean “mental”? He was asking tali about differences in human/quarian mental capacities, but Vaelen wasn't listening as much as she was hyperventilating in a panic. She didn't exactly hear a quarian physicist point out the locations of the brain Isaac should look out for as a scanning apparatus came down near her head, as she was too busy crying to herself out of pure fear.

 

Isaac eyed the monitor adjacent to the table, as the Quarian physicist pointed out what he should be looking for, given small details he divulged while Vaelen erupted into a hysterical fit. Isaac breathed a sigh of relief, as he shut off the monitor and retracted the scanning device.

 

“Alright... Vaelen it's alright, you're gonna be- Hey! Listen to me...” Isaac said as he tried to calm the panicking quarian down. “Hey! Look at me...” he said holding her behind the head, unstrapping one of her restraints, taking her hand in his, trying his best to get her breathing to slow down a little. 'You're fine, okay? It didn't do anything to you. You're perfectly fine, do you understand me?” Isaac said, his helmet disassembling so he cold look into Vaelen's fretful eyes, seeing if he could drain some of that fear away. “You're okay. You're just fine....”

 

“H-how do I know you're not lying this time?” Vealen sputtered, still trying her best to calm herself down, fearful thoughts still floating in her mind.

 

“If I was lying, you'd be acting very, very different right now. Do you hear any voices?”

 

“N-no, just yours...”

 

“Do you feel heat? Any kind of headache?”

 

“No, I... I feel fine....”

 

“Okay, good... good.” Isaac said as he released the remainder of Vaelen's restraints. “Sorry about all of that, but I had to make sure. Those stones used to be part of something very, very dangerous.. We had to make sure that you were alright.”

 

'Alright, Isaac.” Shepard said, approaching from the back of the room. “Enough hiding secrets. If this stuff is as dangerous. as you say it is, you can't keep us in the dark forever, especially with civilians involved. The fact that you let all these people in with that cargo on board....”

 

“Look, I tested it. It was safe as far as I could tell, so I let these guys in, seeing as how they had been standing around the door for about half an hour. I guessed that, hey, it should be safe. Let's let them in, but just keep the cargo bay under wraps just to make sure nobody gets too curious. Those shards are inert. I should know, but after everything that's happened to me because of them, I had to be cautious, so I set up Nezala's guards around it. The longer I think about it the more I regret ever letting anyone on board, even if the cargo is safe now.”

 

“Then why'd you have to tackle Vaelen like that?!” Tali asked asked. “If those black rocks are safe, why did you have to strap her down and scan her for mental defects? Just what does that stuff do?”

 

“It's along, sad, story....” said Isaac as he slumped into a nearby chair.

 

“Alright... I need everyone to clear out. Nezala, you and your team watch over everyone except for Shepard and his crew. They'll be staying. They seem to be the highest authorities here.....”

 

“What about us?” Rizea asked. “this sounds scientifically important! I mean, I'm no geologist bu-”

 

“Rizea, just go.” Tali said sternly. “i think you've said enough today.”

 

The door closed, and Shepard, Tali, and Garrus were the only ones in the room save for Isaac. An eerie silence fell on the room as the other's footsteps faded away. Isaac just sat there, collecting his thoughts, wondering what he should tell the three commandos that stood patiently in front of him.

 

 

Finally, after extremely heavy consideration, Isaac told his story.

 

He tells the all about his repair mission to the Ishimura, going over in excruciating detail the things he went through, from the Kellion exploding in the docking bay, to his encounters with Dr Kyne and his plan to stop the plague that had eradicated most of the ships' crew, and all of the planetside colony. He told them why he was there in the first place; to rescue his girlfriend, Nicole, whom he planned to propose to. He recalled his visions of her before finding out the truth; that she was dead before he ever got there. Everything he saw was a result of that red tower of maddening horror that instilled utter insanity into anyone within it's signal's reach. The Marker. He described how it worked, how it drove people to murder and suicide, then, reviving the dead into horrible, twisted abominations called necromorphs. Shepard described husks to Isaac, hoping this was similar enough. Isaac shook his head, stating just how dangerous these creatures were. Decapitation only enraged them. Shots hitting center mass did almost nothing to them. The only way to defeat them would have been to sever the creature's body to the point where ti was absolutely useless. Shepard and his crew started feeling uneasy, knowing the remains of a marker were on board, but there was more. Even after escaping Aegis VII, Isaac was touched by the marker, and he was given the knowledge of how to build or destroy one. He would be captured by the government, who tormented and tortured for that information, resulting in the construction of a new marker for what the government thought would be life saving research.. In the end, the marker only ended lives, as it started a new outbreak on the sprawl, killing millions and twisting Isaac's mind. He told them of his visions of Nicole, how he heard the marker's voice in his head, and how he finally overcame its influence, ending the voices and hallucinations forever.

 

“So, Isaac.... “ Tali spoke up. “Those stones in the cargo bay... are those the remains of a marker?”

 

“Not just any Marker.” Isaac replied. “That's the black marker. That's the one the government used to build all those copies, including the red one on Aegis VII. When a marker hits a planet, it'll convince the species in question to make more. When enough markers are made, convergence starts. All necromorphs and markers converge into something horrible. That's what the marker mean when it asks you to “make it whole”: when it all converges, when it's all made whole, it becomes the final stage of this whole thing. It becomes this massive creature, roughly the size of a moon. Once it's whole, it consumes all life on that planet. The worst part is, humanity wasn't the first to deal with this threat. Others tried defeating them, but none succeeded. Only one managed to stop it in its tracks. They were huge, multiple stories tall, and they were almost completely consumed by the new moon overhead. That is, until they built a machine that stopped it. They were only able to activate it halfway though, and even though it froze the planet, stopping convergence, it didn't kill the moon. Me and a few others set off to that planet.... we didn't know the details, but we knew that the markers could be stopped there. After losing almost everyone, we managed to activate the machine, but the moon ended up waking fully. We killed it, but not before it woke up its brothers.”

 

Isaac paused again. He wasn't sure what to say next. The more he spoke, he found himself delving into more recent memory. It was painful to remember. It hurt to think of Ellie or Carver. It hurt t think that his life is changed forever...

 

It hurt to think of home.

 

“Did you beat its brothers? Were you able to stop them?” Garrus asked.

 

“Yeah, we.. we beat them, but...

 

“Isaac, what is it?” Shepard asked. “Did something go wrong?”

 

“Yeah... something went very wrong.... and I'm pretty sure it's why I'm here.“

 

Isaac was interrupted by an incoming message from his omni-tool. It was Nezala, saying that the Rayya had sent out a shuttle and boarding drew and was requesting to board the Falcon.

 

“they seem a little concerned about us just floating here for almost two hours. 'Nezala said. Want me to let them in?”

 

“Yeah, go ahead.” Isaac said as he stood up. “I'm heading back to the cockpit.”

 

As they made their walk down the corridor to the cockpit, Shepard decided that now was his chance. “Isaac, Tali mentioned she wanted to talk to you aboard the Normandy. I think you and I could have ourselves a little talk too....”

 

“Shepard, I really don't feel much like talking.”

 

“Isaac, trust me. This could be worth your while. You told Chambers that you wanted a new start. We could give you that, Isaac.”

 

“I'll consider it I guess.” Isaac said as they reached the cockpit, now host to four more quarians.

 

“Is everything alright?” One of the newcomers asked. “You guys have been floating nearby for a while now. Any engine trouble?”

 

“Yeah, we're fine.” Isaac responded. “Engines are fine too. Just had a little talk with Shepard here, among other things”

 

“Ah, good to see you, commander.” said another boarding party member. “Tali!. You're here too?”

 

“Kal'reegar! Good to see you too! So you're part of the boarding team?” said Tali.

 

“Yes ma'am. I heard you and Shepard were on board, so I volunteered. I, uh, also heard of some incident involving a passenger and some sort of hazardous cargo. Does that imply said cargo is not locked and secure?”

 

“Oh that.” said Isaac. “Yeah, it's not hazardous anymore, but after the batarian attack, one of the occupants here got curious. Everyone was panicked, and we noticed she was gone during a headcount we took after the skirmish. She's alright, which means it's no longer dangerous. I even examined it. There's nothing openly hazardous aboard this vessel.”

 

“I-I can vouch for him.” a meek voice piped up from the dozen or so quarians within the cockpit area. It was Vaelen, now mostly recovered from her little experience with the marker shard, but still somewhat shaky. “I sneaked inside the cargo hold. There was some sort of rock or ore inside and I eyeballed it for a second or two when Isaac got to me. Turns out there's nothing wrong with it.”

 

“I can verify her health.” The physician said. “We scanned her for any mental anomalies, but nothing showed up. That's when Mr Clarke revealed that the substance was inert.”

 

“Kind of odd to scan someone after touching an inert object.” Kal'Reegar replied.

 

“With this stuff, you really have to make sure.” Tali spoke up. “Given what mister Clarke told us about it, it's really something you don't want to take chances with. That's why he had Nezala's men guarding it while the ship was being toured.”

 

“I see. What d you intend to do with this material, Mr Clarke?”

 

“This is a mining vessel. Half of mining ops is equipped with a smelting line. I'll destroy all of it. Yes, I'm sure about this. I've made up my mind, All that crap in the cargo bay is just a load of bad memories. You guys go ahead and get these guys back home. I'll be busy for a little while.”

 

 

The boarding shuttle needed to take three trips, given the number of passengers aboard. As each flight carried more and more quarians away, Isaac slumped himself against the corridor wall, eying the door to cargo logistics. The lit identification sign hanging above it, requesting proper authorization for entry. As the Shepard and his squad took their leave, Isaac finally found himself alone. Alone to his thoughts, his memories, and most importantly, alone to his work. Opening the cargo bay, he looked upon the broken remains of the enemy, it's maddening signal no longer radiating. It was over. It would never torment his soul again. Not anymore. All that remained was its husk.

 

In the course a few hours, Isaac made sure that not even that remained.

 

Meanwhile aboard the Normandy, Shepard and his entire team was gathered in the briefing room, wondering what to do about the visitor from another plane.

 

“Alright, I know what you're thinking, Shepard...” said Jacob. “But I'm not really sure this guy would make for a good investment. Five batarian cruisers in the space of several seconds is impressive, but he took way too high a risk. There were civilians and a presumably hazardous cargo on board, and literally charging headfirst into an enemy formation is...”

 

“AWESOME! That's what it is!” said Grunt, pounding his fists together. “Whoever this “Isaac” is, he's alright with me! Smashing asteroids into five other ships... genius!”

 

“Whatever the case, Shepard...” Miranda said, hands on her hips. “I'm wondering why you didn't seize some of that cargo while he was distracted. It sounds like something Cerberus could use. Something we could use against the reapers.”

 

“We obviously didn't give you enough details.” said Shepard. “It's not something to trifle with if it warrants tackling someone and strapping them onto a table for examination, even if the material in question is inert.”

 

“Shepard has a point, Miranda.” Garrus said. “He was pretty hellbent on making sure no one got their mitts on that stuff, and when someone did, things got ugly fast.”

 

“Anecdotal accounts, formidable.” Mordin said, hand under his chin. “Certainly not worth compromising the Normandy or the mission. Interested in this, “Isaac” However. Very eager to perform tests, yes.”

 

 

 

“Given his history, I don't think he'll take too kindly to being a lab rat.” Said Tali. “He's been interred in enough locked , padded cells to be a little wary of the word “test”. Especially when some clandestine power is involved.”

 

“What? Lock him up?! Never do such a thing! Never! Not a totalitarian! Not a Mad scientist! Well, actually, some would call me that yes, but would never imprison someone for testing! Inhumane! Absolutely abhorrent, not unlike what we saw on Tuchanka.”

 

“In any case, I suppose it would be a bit tricky to see if he'd consent to Cerberus examining him.” Miranda continued. “If his story is true and his mental health is in doubt....”

 

“His cognitive ability is fine, and he's able to hold conversation well as long as it's not about anything personal to him, given his circumstances.” said Shepard. “Chances are, if you've only just met him, you wouldn't be able to tell he was-”

 

“Nothing sort of a genius!” Grunt interrupted again. “Shepard, I know it's your call, but I'd really appreciate it if this “Isaac” came aboard. This alien sounds more krogan than some of the weaklings we dealt with during my rite. Kind of reminds me of you, actually.”

 

“Well whatever the case Grunt, it's his choice in the end.” Shepard replied. “The Falcon's  probably boarding with the Rayya again, so we'll come up to see Mr Clarke in a few hours.”

 

Isaac was exhausted. Seven hours. Seven hours straight of walking between the cargo bay and mining ops. Seven hours straight of carrying pieces of that black monstrosity using that clunky load bearing cart. Seven straight hours of pouring it into the smelter, watching it melt away into nothing. Soon, he found himself with one last piece. One last shard of the past to get rid of. One last bad memory to be rid of. He held it in his hand, looking over its runed surface. It didn't call to him. It didn't pierce his ears with it's ethereal cries. He looked deeply into it, as if to stare it down, get it to talk. It had to be bluffing. It had to be lying to him, deceiving him into thinking it was over.

 

“No..... it's over.” Isaac said to himself.

 

Closing his eyes, Isaac let go.

 

“Good riddance.”

 

Docking with the Rayya, Isaac stepped aboard to find himself immediately inundated with the questions of several dozen quarians, all of them having heard embellished eyewitness accounts from his former passengers.

 

“Mr Clarke, how did the Falcon snatch those asteroids? What were those arms coming out of the hull?”

 

“What did you have on board that was so dangerous?”

 

“Can that shockpoint drive really act like a relay?”

 

“Everyone, please! That's enough!” a voice called out from the clamor. Nezala cut her way through the crowd, making her way to the confused human standing at the Falcon's airlock. “Surprised to see you here, Mr Clarke. What brings you back aboard the Rayya?”

 

“Well, let's just say, I've dealt with my past. I'm doing my best to move on, and I think the best way to do that is to try to make a new future for myself. I am an engineer, and I see you guys are pretty hungry for tech. Especially the kind of tech I have on board.”

 

“Well, I can't say that's not a tempting offer, and the things you showed us on board that ship were pretty impressive. That being said though, it's not my call to make. We're pretty crowded around here. Not a lot of personal space, something I hear you humans have a tendency to value.”

 

“Oh believe me, I can do crowded. It's more or less all I've known.”

 

“Well, I guess we- wait a minute, someone's calling me” Nezala said, her omni-tool lighting up around her arm. “Oh! Shepard! Yes, he's actually on board the Rayya. Okay, I'll tell him.”

 

“Lemme guess, this “Shepard” wants to give me a “another chance” or some other crap. Tell him I already said no. I'm not a soldier, I'm not a mercenary, I don't have any real training unless it has to do with fixing or building some sort of hardware.”

 

“Well, your little encounter with the slavers probably convinced him of your talents.”

 

“Using a mining vessel's Asteroid Harvesting Apparatus to smack a couple of rocks into a few other ships is not a commando make, Nezala. Either way, I've had enough fighting. I really don't want to spend the rest of my life with a gun in my hands.”

 

“Okay.... Shepard...” Nezala said, reactivating her omni-tool. “I just gave him the heads up. He says no in advance... Yeah.... look, apparently, he just wants some peace. He told you his story. I haven't heard it, but I'm sure it's not anything pleasant.... well, you do have Tali. He could just give you guys some layouts for the tech. Okay. I'll tell him.”

 

“What does he want?”

 

“Just a talk. If you aren't joining up with him, he figures you can still help him out, namely with that shockpoint tech you showed us.”

 

“Well, guess what, he's in luck, I was about to invite some of your higher ups over to take a look at it, see if we can get the model blueprints out and maybe show them the ins and outs. Hell, maybe we'll even have a working shockdrive by next week.”

 

“Funny enough, Admiral Daro'Xen was actually on her way. Said she was very keen on meeting you.”

 

“An admiral, huh? Alright, I guess we're finally getting somewhere. Tell her I'll be in the Falcon. I've already cleared out anything that could cause trouble.”

 

“Well, I think you could use a little more than just me and my men. We've got at least thirty people in here. Maybe I should call in for more...”

 

“That won't be necessary.” I voice piped up from the end of the hall. 'I've already brought several of my men with me.”

 

“Admiral Xen!” Nezala exclaimed. “You're already here?”

 

“Yes, Nezala. I appreciate your help. This is quite a crowd we've got going.... Oh, and you must be Isaac Clarke! I am Admiral Daro'Xen vas Moreh. Pleasure to finally meet you, Mr Clarke.”

 

 

Shepard checked the clock. Two hours since he briefed his crew on Mr Clarke, and only twenty minutes since the troubled engineer declined the commander's offer. If Clarke didn't want to help Shepard then so be it, but that didn't mean he intended to leave empty handed. The tech Isaac showed them on board the Falcon was nothing short of revolutionary, and was certainly something that could help the galaxy in the event of a reaper invasion. Not to mention, the shockpoint drive certainly wasn't the only groundbreaking piece Isaac had on board. There was no telling just how many unseen wonders he had aboard the Falcon, and it was a definite possibility that those wonders could turn the tide in the upcoming battle. Shepard gave the word to his crew. Tali and Grunt were to accompany him on this mission, Tali for her technical prowess, allowing her to reverse engineer whatever Isaac hands over, and Grunt, on his own insistence.

 

"This human wants to go it alone, fine. But not before I get to see what kind of kit he has on board that ship." Grunt said, checking his M22. "If he can pull that kind of a stunt with asteroids, I can only imagine what he can do with a gun in his hands."

 

"He's already mentioned that he's not a soldier, Grunt." Shepard replied. "It's half the reason he said no in the first place. Either way, we need a better look at this "Shockdrive" he's got. This is exactly what we'll need if we want to stand a chance against the reapers. I have a feeling they might have the upper hand if they gain control of the relays. With this, we can avoid them indefinitely."

 

"This could be something the Migrant fleet could make extensive use of." Tali added. "We have the most formidable long range armament in the galaxy. The admiralty board tell me the only reason they didn't open fire on the slavers was to make sure civilian casualties wouldn't be sustained if they should fire back. If we were able to go anywhere freely at mass relay speeds, we could really do some damage."

 

"Duly noted. I'm sure Cerberus. Would also like a little piece of this action too, but to be perfectly honest, I think they can take a backseat for now. I'm not really sure if I can trust our blue eyed friend, and I'm sure handing this stuff over to him isn't the smartest idea, at least not until we've got all the details first."

 

Shepard and company set foot on the Rayya once more, this time finding themselves in the back of an immense crowd.

 

"This... does not bode well." Tali said, trying to look over the excited throng. They were trying to huddle around a massive screen in the main plaza where Tali's trial was held. 'What are they watching?"

 

"Looks like the Falcon's engine room again." Shepard pointed out. "It seems Admiral Xen is in there with our visored friend."

 

"Isn't she the one you said dissected her childhood toys?" Grunt asked.

 

"Yes." Tali responded. "Heaven knows just how much she's pestering Isaac for details. Looks like he wants to showcase this tech to the whole fleet."

 

"Looks to me like he's already gotten started." said Shepard. "He's already opened displaying the general blueprints on that holo-display."

 

"Ugh. wake me up when he gets to the weaponry." Grunt said.

 

"I'd say that's going to have to take a backseat to something that could possibly make the mass relays obsolete." Tali retorted.

 

"Bah..."

 

"Well, no use wasting time standing around. Let's see if we can grab a front row seat. I'm pretty sure whatever guard they have posted at the Falcon's door will make way for us."

 

As they approached the Falcon's airlock. Nezala's guards informed Shepard of his standing with Isaac. "He says you may enter, but he would like to express his disinterest in any future entanglements."

 

"Good enough for me. Let's see what Mr Clarke has in store."

 

 

“Next question please.” Isaac said, pointing to a quarian near the back of the engine room. “Ah, Admiral Xen. Go ahead.”

 

“Mr Clarke, you say this 'shockdrive' is capable of taking the ship to points out of the galaxy. As impressive as that sounds, you have to realize we can't just take your word for it. We're going to need some proof.”

 

“Yes, but isn't that exactly why we're all here? I'll get to the specs in just a minu-”

 

“I was thinking of something a little different. Perhaps a demonstration.”

 

“A demonstration? Now? Ma'am, we've got more than just you and me on board here!”

 

“Are you saying it's dangerous?”

 

“No, I'm saying it might freak out an audience of about thirty quarians. Given what everyone's told me about how limited space travel is around here...”

 

“If you ask me, I'd say you're trying to speak for the rest of us, Mr Clarke.” interrupted Daro'Xen. “I'd say we cast a little vote....”

 

“What's this about a vote?” Shepard asked as he and his squad entered the room.

 

“Well, Admiral Xen here thinks that we should... whoa... “ Isaac said as he turned to see Grunt enter the engine room. “What and who is that.”

 

“Watch your tongue, human.” Grunt replied. “I am the refinement of the Krogan bloodline, the epitome of the Krogan race. The name is Grunt. Urdnot Grunt. I expect you to familiarize yourself with it.”

 

“Are we done with the salutations, or can we see this 'shockdrive' in action?” Xen said with a hint of venom. “We're on the verge of setting a voyage that may forever change galactic travel, and here we are making awkward pleasantries. I insist we proceed with the demonstration, Mr Clarke.”

 

“Do I get to crush that one's head in later?' Grunt asked under his breath.

 

“If you say so...” said Isaac. “Alright, show of hands, who wants to stay on board for the shockdrive demonstration?”

 

It was almost unanimous. All quarian hands went up, some almost before Isaac finished his sentence. Others found their arms only extending just an inch or two above their hooded heads. All in all, there were only three hands not raised; Shepard's, Tali's and Grunt's.

 

“So, I assume you guys aren't coming?” said Isaac. “Last chance or you guys gotta head out the door.”

 

“This isn't our ship, Isaac.” Shepard replied. “If something goes wrong....”

 

“I assure you, it's perfectly safe.” said Isaac as he closed the shockdrive's venting panel.

 

“I just hope you know what you're doing, Isaac....” Tali said, joining her hand with the thirty-odd hands already in the air.

 

“Ugh, fine.” Grunt said raising his hand. “No sense just walking out. Nothing else to do anyways.”

 

“I guess there's not much choice is there.” Shepard said. “Count me in.”

 

“What about everyone watching aboard the Rayya?” asked Rizea. I'm sure they'll be a bit worried when the signal just immediately disappears.”

 

“Rizea, they're watching and hearing everything we're doing here. They should  know. Besides, there's a voyage recorder in logistics. I'll just remotely activate it from the cockpit. When we get back, everyone will be able to see the recording and we'll have about 15 minutes or so to set the livestream back up.”

 

The quarian orchestrating the stream activated his omni-tool, telling his partner on the Rayya to temporarily suspend the stream. A thumbs up signaled Isaac that everything was good to go. “Ready when you are Mr Clarke.”

 

“Alright then, everyone follow me to the cockpit. Let's get this show on the road.”

 

Reaching the cockpit, the thirty or so quarians plus Shepard's crew gazed out of the Falcon's worn, scratched windshield. An endless sea of stars met their gaze, flowing forever into the horizon. Little did the occupants realize just how many of those stars they were about to pass. Isaac proceeded with the undocking procedure, activating the ship's engines and shockdrive. A list of coordinates appeared on the notification panel, appearing as a massive lexicon of numbers and characters, each leading to another point in the universe. Some pointed to planet-cracking operations that the CEC had committed several vessels to, others still pointed to numerous waypoint stations and CEC checkpoints, places that certainly didn't exist in this reality. Isaac eyed the list over, wondering where he should take the Falcon and its curious passengers. He remembered his earlier days in the corporation, where he was part of the engineering team of the USG Greenwich, a prospecting vessel not unlike the Falcon. They had set out to a stray planet out side of the milky way, where the corporation suspected large quantities of silicon resided. He remembered looking back towards the galaxy, its many spindling, ephemeral blue arms encircling its beautiful, glowing center. That was it. This had to be the place. This is where the denizens of this reality would first see their own galaxy from the outside looking in.

 

“Alright everyone, coordinates set. Hang on tight.”

 

Isaac activated the command console, hitting the 'Execute' Command under “set current course' option. The ship vibrated for a second, then, faster than the eye can see, the Falcon flew into the distance, leaving a trail of blue sparks behind it.

 

“Alright everyone, take a good look around. Welcome to shockspace.” Isaac said, turning his seat around to face his audience. His helmet disassembled, revealing once more a tired, but triumphant face. “Any questions?”

 

Daro'Xen slowly walked towards the windshield, staring into the envelope of kaleidoscopic blue light. 'This... this looks just like relay travel...”

 

“Does it? I'd expected as much, they both work on similar principles. Both a shockdrive and a relay create a path of abridged space that a spacecraft can use to get across distances that could take centuries with FTL drives alone. Only difference you guys seemed to point out was how instantaneous it is. Going halfway across the galaxy takes about half an hour”

 

“Yes, yes....” Xen said as she placed her hand on the windshield. “This is... unbelievable... I... is this really happening?”

 

“Well... yeah. It's, uh... it's happening. I know it's new to you but, I'm pretty acclimated to trips like these. Speaking of which, we have about an hour until we have to de-shock, so get comfortable. Feel free to ask-”

 

“Isaac...” asked Shepard. “Where exactly are we heading?”

 

“Just a place I remembered from while back. Some strayed planetoid that we stripped for silicon. Back when I worked for a mining corporation. It's far enough away that you can see the whole galaxy too. I wonder if that little rock is still there... hey, is everyone okay?”

 

Half of the crowd seemed to be locked in a stupor, staring out into the constant stream of ghostly light flowing around the ship, looking out of the windshield and the few portholes that lined the interior. Others whispered to each other, wondering just what they should be thinking. They were on the first voyage to the space between galaxies, to the endless reaches of the universe. Galactic society had come a long way, mostly through the discovery of technology already laid out before it. Now it seemed it was happening all over again, only instead of being built by races extinct and unseen, one of its familiars was riding with them, sitting comfortably at the helm of the ship that even now carried them to a frontier unknown, a frontier that laid, for the moment, completely uncharted by any race. The thought was utterly baffling. The implications of what lay ahead, the endless possibilities that lay no more than an hour away, completely entranced everyone on board. Even Grunt, whose only primary concern was violence and warfare, seemed to be impressed as he looked out of a small porthole into the teal tunnel of compressed space. Shepard helped himself to the co-pilot's seat, looking into  the tunnel of glowing light that sped rapidly towards the ship. He wondered what his next move would be. What should he tell the council? The Illusive man? Just how many details should he divulge? The thoughts of cautious foresight gave way to astonishment and wonder as he looked deeper into the corridor that carried the Falcon ever closer to its destination.

 

Minutes turned into hours. Hours turned into days. Silence encapsulated the Falcon as they continued to venture forth into the unknown reaches that lay beyond the milky way. Silence that found itself interrupted by a faint, but shrill beeping coming from the notification panel. Isaac turned around, checking it for the message that he'd been waiting an hour to receive.

 

“Alright guys, we're just about there.” Isaac said. “De-shocking an sixty seconds. Everyone hold on, this part gets a little bumpy. Everyone ready?”

 

Any passengers who were sitting or squatting immediately stood up, grasping whatever was close. Some were part of the dozen or so that were on board when the slavers attacked and knew what to expect from their haggard host. Some cringed to the guard rails behind the helm, others backed up against the walls. Shepard strapped himself in the co-pilot's seat, as Tali and Grunt. Braced themselves with the guard rail, which already hosted at least thirteen others.

 

“Closing exit vector...” Isaac said as the Falcon began to rock to and fro, its engines laboring with the stress of exiting shockspace. “De-shocking in five, four, three, two, one....”

 

The ethereal blue light immediately gave way to a cold backdrop of darkness that was barely penetrated by sparse clusters of stars. A small, round, bare body of rock floated aimlessly in front of the ship, its cratered, barren surface reflected a faint hint of light.

 

“And here we are, SMP- 24S, I remember when we cracked this little rock open for silicon and magnesium... so weird to see it back here, y'know?”

 

“Isaac...” Tali called out while stepping into the helm. “Didn't you say something about us being able to see th-”

 

“Oh, right!” said Isaac, cutting Tali off mid sentence. “lemme turn the ship around...”

 

Isaac cocked the joystick to the left, and the ship slowly rotated, gradually letting in traces of white light in through the portholes. As the Falcon halted on its yaw, her passengers immediately ran up to her helm. The light's source greeted them and they were soon graced by a sight that would be burned into their memories for the rest of their lives.

 

Bright, white light poured into the Falcon from every opening. Her tenants shielded their eyes as it shone on their faces. They paused, not sure if they wanted to look at what was in front of them. Looking at one's own galaxy before one's very eyes was a very jarring thought to people who had been restricted to it only a day prior. Now, as they slowly let their hands away from their faces, they beheld it. A great, blue and white spiral of stars, circling about a bright center, whose radiance knew no equal. To some, it was the most beautiful thing they had ever seen, to others, it was terrifying to see one's home so far, far away, as there were no relays outside of the Milky way. Their only way to and from this little corner of deep space was on the steel horse they rode in on. Either way, a feeling of unequaled fascination swept the entire ship. It was a sight that was simply too haunting and too beautiful to ignore.

 

Tali slowly walked up in between Isaac and Shepard. Simply awestruck by what she was seeing, she couldn't help but break the silence. “Isaac... this... it's beautiful...” she said, almost shaking. “Shepard...”

 

“Yes Tali, I see it...” Shepard said almost under his breath. Even he was almost robbed of speech, completely overtaken with an otherworldly sense of astonishment. He took Tali's hand in his and looked to her as she returned his gaze. Their mutual grip tightened slightly as they looked back out into the cosmos. Isaac couldn't help but chortle a little to himself, recalling Tali's sentimentality back aboard the Rayya. A few others who were likewise enamored held hands as well, as the sight of their cosmic home caused their hearts to burn with utmost admiration that only reciprocated as the equally burning heart of a kindred soul touched theirs.

 

Even the most violent and surly of the crowd, a certain Krogan who even now felt his eyes widen, felt an overwhelming feeling of sheer amazement.

 

“Never in Okeer's tank was anything beautiful shown to me... I guess the word didn't really place much importance for either of us.... “

 

“What do you think, Grunt?” Shepard said, still staring out into the glowing mass of stars.

 

“It's... pretty...”

 

A brief pause ensued just before Grunt spoke up again.

 

“So yeah, do we get to see the weapons now?”

 

“The Falcon's a mining vessel, Grunt. “Shepard replied. “Unless you want to give the asteroid defense systems a go.”

 

“No, there's no need for that.” Isaac said standing up from his seat. “General logistics is conjoined with security. There's bound to be a few pulse rifles locked up, but its nothing I can't bypass with this security pass here.”

 

“Finally.” Grunt said, twiddling with his shotgun.

 

“You know what...” said Shepard. “I think I might be interested too. Admiral Xen, think you can help keep watch over everyone?”

 

“I'm not your errand girl, Shepard, but yes, I suppose I could keep everyone in check.”

 

“Thank you, Admiral.”

 

“Don't mention it. No seriously. Please don't.”

 

Once inside the security division of logistics, Isaac slid the security pass into the back-lit slot on the wall that lay adjacent to a series of lockers. Each of them opened, revealing several firearms. About three seeker rifles, and four pulse rifles lined the walls of the six lockers, several magazines for each respective arm lay next to it.

 

“Alright,so this tin can here is the SWS motorized pulse rifle.” said Isaac, taking one of the three-barreled rifles form the locker. “This one's the... let's see... yep, the A2 variant. Primary fire is a  three round burst, while secondary takes about half of the magazine to launch a grenade that emits a high frequency micropulse shockwave, resulting in hyper-compressing the immediate area, collapsing tissue and issuing serious amounts of thermal energy. You get hit with one of these, it's no joke. Primary rounds make kind of a 'mushroom-shaped' wound profile. That means, once it hits you, it shatters apart and tears everything in its way to shre- Hey! What are you doing?” Isaac exclaimed as Grunt took the liberty of relieving Isaac of the rifle.

 

“Don't mind if I do....”

 

"Yeah, I do mind actually! Look, there's no firing range on this ship, so don't try popping off rounds in here."

 

"What?! Why show us kit like this and then tell us there's no way we can use it?"

 

"What about the cargo bay?" Shepard asked. "Is it clear of that material, Isaac?"

 

"Yeah, it's safe, but I've got a better idea. Let's head planetside. Better than wasting gas Idling here. Oh and, uh, here." Isaac said as he handed Shepard a Seeker Rifle. "I see the scope on that rifle of yours. Figured you'd be fond of something like this."

 

The party made their way back to te helm, where the crowd of quarians continued to sight-see out of the ship's windows and portholes. Tali had taken the co-pilot's seat, chin resting in her palms as she stared off into the stars. Isaac sat back down in the driver's seat, checking all systems and running diagnostics.

 

"Okay everyone" he said clearing his throat. "Would anyone mind if we went planetside momentarily?"

 

"I don't see much reason to, but, on the other hand I don't see any reason not to..." Tali said leaving the co-pilot's seat. 'Why would we? didn't you say it was just a rock? I mean, unless we plan on bringing the Flotilla some much needed supplies, then you definitely have my support."

 

"Well, now that you mention it, that does't sound like a bad Idea... yeah... yeah, we'll do that, but The commander and Grunt wanted to test some of the weaponry we had in security."

 

Hearing Tali's idea, Isaac knew that there would be no one on board who would say no. True to Isaac's prediction, all quarian hands went up when asked if they were okay with going planetside. One incredibly easy consensus later, and Isaac was firing up the engine, turning the ship back around towards the small, cratered stray planet. Isaac activated the scanning module, looking for a good place not only to land, but to retrieve a fair share of resources for the Migrant Fleet. Within minutes, the Falcon had landed on the planet's surface, still facing the blue and white spiral of stars from whence it came.

 

"Alright, everything's green to go... scanners going crazy about silicon and whatnot. i remember this little rock being loaded... alright, Shepard, Grunt, let's head to the cargo bay. There's a couple spare parts and whatnot laying around. We can use those as targets."

 

"Well hey, don't forget me!" Tali said while approaching them. "I might want to give these a shot. Any pistols in security?"

 

"No, didn't see any, but I have this." Isaac said, handing over his plasma cutter. "It's normally used as mining equipment, cutting through asteroid metal and whatnot, but it makes a pretty nasty pistol.

 

"Mining equipment, huh..." Tali said facetiously as she looked over the scratched up, battered device. "Sounds devastating..."

 

"It kind of is, actually." Isaac retorted. "That thing shoots a stream of white hot plasma towards whatever you have it pointed at. That could be pure sheet metal, or the neck of someone unfortunate enough to be in the way. Whatever it is, that thing's gonna cut straight through it."

 

Entering the cargo hold, Isaac looked for anything that would not be missed. Busted re-entry plating, a dish for a transmission receiver that lay in shambles right next to it, empty crates. Isaac had rounded up a few bits and pieces when he heard grunt laughing to himself.

 

"Oh no... Shepard what did the bug guy find?"

 

"Oh, I'll tell you!" Grunt said excitedly. "Look at what it says on the manual... C99 Supercollider Contact... it's some sort of portable particle accelerator..."

 

"A portable WHAT?!" Tali said as she ran towards Grunt. "How..."

 

"Hey don't ask me anything, look at the manual. Seems like they use it to break rocks apart or something. Looking at all this, I think I'd be interested in some more of this "mining equipment"

 

 

"Well, if you're gonna use that mind handing me back the-"

 

"Here." Grunt said as he tossed the pulse rifle to Isaac. "I think I'll be holding on to this..."

 

"Let me see that manual..." Tali said as she grabbed the worn paperback book that lay next to the contact beam's crate.

 

"Everyone done ogling?" Isaac said as he gathered up what junk he could into a small robotic tote. "I've got our targets."

 

"Ready when you are, Isaac." Shepard replied.

 

"Great. Let's head out" Isaac said as he approached a small console that resided near the opposite wall. "I'm gonna open the bay doors. Everyone get clear."

 

As the cargo doors opened, lights on the ceiling lit and a low intensity alarm sounded. Faint traces of light seeped in from the opening. Grunt put his helmet back on, as did Shepard in anticipation of the ensuing vacuum. The air in the room vented to the ship's reservoirs as an automated voice notified the occupants of the hold of the incoming vacuum. There were several cages and automated claws on the ceiling. Isaac lowered a cage to Shepard's position.

 

"Alright everyone. There's our ride. Hop in."

 

"How are you getting down?" Tali asked.

 

"Nah. I've got my own way down. You guys don't have propulsion on your boots?"

 

Tali just stood there for a second, completely and utterly motionless. Shepard noticed this as he was about to ask Isaac just what he was implying, when he noticed Tali's stationary state.

 

"Uh, Tali?" he asked as he waved his hand in front of her face. "You oka-"

 

"Isaac, we're going to have words when we get back on the Normandy." Tali said as she entered the cage.

 

The metal enclosure lowered, Shepard and his teammates inside. As they set foot on the small planetoid, the trio was welcomed with an unsurprisingly low gravity. Taking controlled bounds, Shepard made his way to where a mechanical claw was lowering the "targets". Activating his omni-tool, he called Isaac, wondering what he meant by "propulsion" on his boots.

 

"Isaac, you said something about 'having your own ride down. I'm not gonna lie, what you're implying sounds a bit far fetched."

 

"It's not. Believe me." Isaac replied. "See if you can get those targets up."

 

"Whatever you say, 'sir'" Shepard quipped back at Isaac, who, so far, had been calling quite a few shots that weren't his to make. Shepard gave the cart to Tali and Grunt, giving them the go to set up the targets.

 

Looking out into the spectral arms of the Milky way once more, Shepard found himself entangled in awe once more. "wow..." he said under his breath. There it was Home to countless billions, who even now, must have been receiving the news of the first extregalacitc voyage. Suddenly, his thoughts were interrupted by sudden exclamation from his squad.

 

"Oh Keelah... Shepard, are you seeing this?!"

 

"Whoa... I want me some of those..."

 

Shepard turned around to see a personage floating in space. White flames shot out of its heels and toes, similar streams exuding from different points in its suit. Blue light radiated from its thrice tiered visor. It was Isaac, flying in the space above them with pulse rifle in hand. He dramatically increased his speed, zooming past them in seconds. He turned and circled around them, not hesitant to show off the rocket boots that propelled him at dizzying speeds above his befuddled company. At last, he touched down, landing with a fist hitting the ground.

 

"Whaddya think?" Isaac said smugly with his arms at his sides.

 

After what seemed like several minutes of silence, Grunt once again found himself breaking it."I think you're gonna have to build another pair of those."

 

"Yeah, fat chance." Isaac said, brushing himself off. 'Anyways, you guys wanted to take these on a test drive, so lets get started."

 

"Let's see what this thing can do..." Grunt said, pointing the contact beam at one of the few pieces of junk that lay several meters in front of them. "So, uh... how do I use it?"

 

"Didn't read the rest of the manual, I see. Here, there's a switch near the trigger that toggles both the safety and the laser sights... There. Alright, just hold the trigger until it's fully charged."

 

Grunt did as instructed, pointing the teal lasers towards their mark. A bright red coalescence of energy wavered at the beam's tip as Grunt held the trigger, causing the beam to shake violently in his hands. Though his helmet obscured his face, a grin that stretched from ear to ear formed as he chuckled to himself. He released the trigger, and a near deafening blast ensued as the energy from the beam shot forward almost instantaneously, hitting its mark with remarkable force, sending sparks or molten metal all around it. Whit hot metal seeped from the massive hole that now smoldered on the side of a steel crate. Laughing maniacally, Grunt let loose several more shots, taking the beam to the junk metal like pressured water takes to paper, only finding himself interrupted by the ammunition counter on the tool's side reading "0."

 

"It's out." Grunt said with a hint of disappointment. He handed it to Isaac, who laid the overheated beam on the ground, its heat sink still radiated intense heat, searing the ground it lay upon.

 

Tali aimed the well worn plasma cutter towards the smoldering pile of rubbish, activating its three lasers. Loaded and with the safety off, Tali unleashed three shots of molten plasma in rapid succession, slicing vertical holes on the defunct receiver dish, each of them glowing bright yellow before rapidly fading to black.

 

"Wow... this thing packs quite a punch." Tali said, eyeing the battered mining tool. "Any other tricks it has up its sleeve?"

 

"Click that button right below the magwell" Isaac replied.

 

As she did so, the large tip of the tool briskly rotated ninety degrees into a horizontal position. "interesting..." Tali said as she proceeded to slowly pick off any piece of metal still sticking out. As she did so, Shepard, examined the seeker rifle Isaac gave him, identified the safety, and switched it off. Looking down its sights, he aimed for anything Tali and grunt weren't currently pummeling, seeing as how Grunt got his hands back on the pulse rifle, and was actively having a field day with it, tearing into the junk pile with fully automatic fury, interrupted only by a single grenade shot, which blasted the entire assortment apart, sending metal fragments in all directions immediately surrounding it.

 

"Careful there, grunt." Isaac cautioned. "Like I said, getting hit with that will ruin your week."

 

"Yeah, whatever..." Grunt said, accidentally opening the rifle's hinge action, revealing the cylindrical magazine. "So, that's how you reload it! Got any spare mags?"

 

"Nope. Besides, we oughtta head back on board. As amazing as the view is, I'm sure our guests aren't very ecited knowing they're waiting for us o be done plinking."

 

"Very well." Shepard replied. "Let's head back to the Falcon. Everything packed up?"

 

"Nothing here but us and some molten trash." Isaac replied. "Let's put thees away and get back to the fleet." Isaac said as he gathered up the Contact beam.

 

As they walked back towards the ship, Isaac stopped momentarily, holding his head.

 

"Isaac, is something wrong?" Shepard asked as he heard Isaac grunt slightly form discomfort.

 

"No.. I'm fine... think I have a headache. Must have been Grunt going crazy with this thing right here..."

 

"Hey, I couldn't help myself!" Grunt said chucking.

 

"Yeah, whatever. Let's *ow*, head back inside".

 

Isaac flew back into the hold, taking the controls of the dirty metal cage that now housed Shepard and his squad. As the trio rode back into the hold, they noticed Isaac was still holding his head, gripping the metal plates of his helmet tightly. He closed the bay doors, allowing oxygen back into the bay, and in turn, allowing him, Shepard, and Grunt to remove their headgear. As soon as the last metal plate retracted into his RIG, Isaac put a hand to his forehead, rubbing his temple with his thumbs, cringing all the while.

 

"Isaac, are you gonna be alright?" Shepard asked. "You look like you're having some trouble there."

 

"Nah, I'm fine... Just head back to the helm, I'll catch up with you."

 

The quarians had, for the most part, settled from their state of inexorable astonishment, speaking Idly amongst themselves, wondering how they'd retell this story to their friends and families. Daro'Xen sat at the pilot's seat, legs crossed with the upper leg swaying back and forth, her head resting in her palm as she scrutinized the multiple panels and console displays. "Nice to see you've returned." she said while turning around as Shepard entered the room with his team in tow. "I notice our fatigued friend isn't with you. I'd like a word with him after we get back to the fleet. Maybe get a more 'in-depth' look at this 'shockpoint drive' of his. The fleet could really use this kind of versatility..."

 

"That's *ugh* gonna have to wait for a bit" Isaac said entering the room, still rubbing his head. "I'm gonna have to dig around for more spare parts if you're thinking of making one for the Rayya. I'm pretty sure we can get our hands on the resources, plus the blueprints for the model we've got on board is stored in logistics, but it's not something we can really *ow* do in twenty minutes, you know?"

 

 

"Mr Clarke, are you well?"

 

"Yeah... Just got a little loud out there. Anyways, I think it's time we headed back. My seat please."

 

"Of course."

 

Three hours had passed aboard the Rayya. The massive throng that had gathered for Isaac's seminar had dispersed considerably, most meandering or idling by in the surrounding vicinity. Others sat and spoke amongst each other, wondering when the Falcon would return, worried about the possibility of their loved ones never being seen again. Suddenly, any fear or doubt they had found itself washed away when the screen in the main plaza re-activated. Cheering ensued as a voice over the intercom announced the falcon's return. A quarian team handed over the Falcon's voyage recorder, together with it's own player, seeing as how quarian and CEC tech were incompatible for the time being. As the reassembling multitude watched the Falcon's intergalactic voyage in astonishment, Isaac collected his thoughts as the rest of the quarians made their way out of the airlock and into the Rayya. Xen lingered for a bit, curious about Isaac's behavior.

 

"Whatever migraine has been afflicting you seems quite severe, Mr Clarke." She said, leaning on the bulkhead. 'Are you sure you're going to be all right?"

 

"Yeah, I'm fine. It's subsided for the most part." Isaac replied. "Oh and by the way, tell those guards to only play our voyage. Nothing before it."

 

"I don't remember you being my superior, Mr Clarke..." Xen replied snidely. "Regardless, I'll make sure our little shockspace adventure is all we see."

 

"Good..."

 

Shepard and his crew stayed on board. Throughout the return journey, they've had to wait for Isaac's headache to subside, seeing as how he had asked repeatedly not to be spoken to. Now was Shepard's chance.

 

"Have you reconsidered our offer, Isaac?" Shepard asked. "We can really use someone like you. The entire galaxy would be all the better for it."

 

"You got that last part right. Only problem I see is being tied to people." Isaac responded. "I have the feeling you and whoever you work for just want dibs on me for the tech I've got on board. Meanwhile, I could be help a lot more people out on my own."

 

"First off, I don't 'work' for anyone." Shepard replied. "Second, I'm not trying to tie you down to us for tech. Something is actively threatening humanity in the terminus systems. Something that may pave the way an ever greater threat later on. Me and my team are independent of the Galaxy's central government and aren't restricted by any of its red tape, which is how we got this far. We've gained all the leads that they refuse to follow, which has lead us to this point. There's something out there that plans on wiping us out, Isaac. We need your help"

 

"You're not the first person who's asked for my help..."

 

Suddenly, screaming and panic erupted form the Plaza, loud enough to be heard from the Falcon's helm.

 

"What's going on in there?" Tali asked.

 

"I have a bad feeling I know what it is..." Isaac said worriedly. "They're watching something they shouldn't be."

 

Isaac's helmet reassembled itself as he bolted out to the airlock, Shepard and company in pursuit. "Isaac, what are they watching? What else is on that recorder?" Tali asked in a concerned tone.

 

"Dammit, why didn't I erase the previous recording...." Isaac muttered as he raced to the plaza doors. "I swear if I see that damn admiral again, I'm gonna wring her scrawny little...."

 

Isaac was cut off by the terror of a mortified crowd, all pointing in horror at the screen.

 

Isaac turned around to face the screen, and came face to face with torrents of wretched, horrible memory.

 

He watched as the Falcon sped towards a dark, foreboding body of tentacles and teeth. Its spindling arms cast round about the surface of a grey-blue sphere. It was Earth, actively being ravished by an indescribable monstrosity, its mouth agape and sucking in what looked to be a continuous stream of mottled red. The Falcon sped towards the horrific abomination, closing in on the massive orifice that even now, seemed to be sucking in all life before it. The vessel rocked vehemently as it entered the fissure, shaking as if it was coming apart at the seams. Isaac was unshaken, focusing on his ultimate goal. The Falcon was soon encapsulated in scarlet, tendrils of sinew and flesh whipping about within the whirlwind. I blue holographic screen appeared before Isaac, the word "RIGlink" written above it. A human female appeared on it, accompanied by a man who was clad in similar armor to Isaac. She alerted Isaac to the danger he was in, that this was now or never, and that he'd better be sure of what he's doing. She offered her own personal assistance only to have Isaac dismiss her, letting her know that he would always love her, asking her to never forget him, that she keep on living for him, and that this could very well be goodbye.

 

The footage cut, and facing the screen was a horrible, black, monolith. I twin spire of runes and glowing red...

 

It was then that the footage stopped altogether.

 

Atop the projection pulpit, stood Isaac, staring down Admiral Xen.

 

"Admiral... What the HELL did I tell you about that recorder..." Isaac growled, hands clenched into fists.

 

"Mr Clarke, we had to... I..."

 

"WHAT DID I TELL YOU?!?" He screamed at the top of his voice, falling into a complete rage. "I TOLD YOU NOT TO REWIND! I TOLD YOU EXPLICITLY NOT TO SHOW ANYTHING BEFORE OUR VOYAGE! ISN'T THAT EXACTLY WHAT I SAID?!"

 

For what may have been the first time in her life, Admiral Xen found herself genuinely, explicitly terrified of someone. Only seconds before, she was witnessing a recorded account of a horror that was consuming an entire world, and the man who survived it, maybe even stopped it, stood in an unquenchable rage before her. Fear overtaking her, she could only stammer an incohesive reply, trying to stave off the shaking, enraged man before her. Isaac decided that he had heard enough before grabbing her throat and hoisting her into the air. At least three dozen guards immediately trained their rifles on Isaac's head, fearing not only for the Admiral's life, but their own. If he's stopped an abomination of that capacity, how could they stand against him?

 

"You've overstepped your boundaries, admiral..." Isaac snarled under gritted teeth. "You have seconds to tell me what made you think that was a good idea."

 

"*Achh* Mr... *GACK* Clarke... P-please."

 

"Seconds..."

 

"Mr Clarke..." said one of the guards pointing his rifle at Isaac. "R-release admiral Xen, o-or we wi-"

 

"YOU SAW WHAT WAS ON THAT SCREEN!" Isaac screamed. "YOU SAW WHAT I'VE BEEN THROUGH! WHAT IN THE HELL DO YOU THINK JUSTIFIES PUTTING THAT ON A SCREEN IN FRONT OF THOUSANDS?! MAYBE MILLIONS?! WHAT THE HELL WERE YOU ALL THINKING?! TELL ME WHY YOU DIDN'T STOP IT YOURSELVES! TELL ME!"

 

The whole deck was silent. No one had a reply ready for Isaac. Not a single rebuttal that could debunk Isaac's claims. What they saw was something straight out of a nightmare, even before Isaac interrupted. By all rights, there was no excuse. The only thing that seemed to be putting Isaac in the wrong was the squirming, terrified quarian admiral whose throat was still locked in his grasp.

 

"Put her down, Isaac."

 

Admiral Shala'Raan stood behind him, three of her guards accompanying, each of them with their rifles trained on Isaac's head. "Put her down..."

 

Isaac complied, sending Xen down to the floor in a wheezing, gasping heap. "You know she deser-"

 

"It doesn't matter what she deserves, Isaac." Raan said in her usual, calm, soothing voice, untainted by any hint of anger or distress. "What matters is your temper. Throttling an admiral isn't something that's taken very lightly here..."

 

"Yeah, well guess what?" Isaac retorted. "I don't think I take THAT very lightly either." he said, pointing at the voyage recorder. "She may be an admiral, but that doesn't give her an excuse to dig into things like that, especially in front of at least a million people! They didn't need to see that, especially that last part. You guys wouldn't start showing me all your dirty laundry, let alone in public. It's not just the personal aspect either. The subject material of that recording is something any government would want to keep secret. Something that would be locked up forever, never to be viewed by anyone save for the highest authority, not every man, woman and child watching from several hundred ships!"

 

"I regret that Admiral Xen's actions have exposed more of your past than you're comfortable with, especially seeing how it involves such... graphic content. I also apologize in advance for any unwelcome questions regarding... whatever was on that recording. It certainly wasn't suitable for the audience in question. That being said, I'm afraid your enraged actions may result in your complete and irrevocable expulsion fr-"

 

"Now, Admiral Raan..." a voice spoke up from Isaac's right. "You seem to be punishing Mr Clarke for rash actions when you seem to be doing the same. You saw the first section of that record. I hope you're perfectly aware that the footage on that voyage recorder is the first time this galaxy has seen itself from the outside. This man can enkindle a new era of discovery with that battered mining ship, and there's a good chance it'll start with us! He's had no reason to distrust us until now, and I think it would be in our best interest to keep it that way. He can help us, Raan. He can help us out of this nomadic prison. Don't even get me started on how that "shockpoint drive" alone could help us retake our homeworld..."

 

"Admiral Gerrel, please..." Raan said, very well aware of the dangers of inciting Gerrel's vigor for talk of war with the geth. "I'm well aware that Mr Clarke can help us..."

 

"Then I say we pardon him!" Gerrel said with newfound ebullience. "Though he may have overcompensated to some degree, I say he was justified in his actions! Rewinding that recorder to explixit aterial of that magnitude without knowing what was on it in the first place is nigh inexcusable! If anyone here is in need of disciplinary action, it's admiral Xen!"

 

"What?!" the shaken admiral said, stumbling as she got up from her lowly position on the deck. "That's absurd! I never intended for this to happen! Come the end of the voyage recording, I had no idea we'd we greeted by such ghastly imagery! I just thought I'd find... something...."

 

"What the hell did you think you were going to find?" said Isaac as anger sparked anew within him. It seethed and simmered, only barely boiling over, barely contained. This careless, nosy, ambitious little shrew had just flashed his past in front of millions, and for what? to "find something"? Whatever it was, it definitely begged explanation.

 

"I was told that you mentioned something about the ship not being yours. I thought that sounded suspicious, so I wanted to-"

 

"Oh, you thought I was a crook?" Isaac said, cutting the nervous admiral off. "Think I'm some sort of thief?"

 

"Well, I-"

 

"Oh, shut the hell up! Even if that WAS the case, what's the purpose of showing everyone and their grandma, huh? Are you just trying to get dirt on me? Is that it? Just one, big smear job?!"

 

"I.. I didn't think anyone would believe me if I just found it privately. They'd want proof...

 

"Oh that's great, really! That's just awesome! So that's what you wanted to do! Just paint me as some sort of lowlife and ruin any chances I have at getting back on my feet!" Isaac could feel his face reddening. Not only was this sniveling little scumbag responsible for showcasing the horrors of his past, her main intention was to slander him in front of millions. Until now, he had only felt impersonal, unfettered anger. He had no personal distaste for the admiral. Now he felt hate. Genuine, burning, venomous hate.

 

"I admit, my intentions were a lot more insidious than I realized. I-I just didn't think I'd find-"

 

"What? What didn't you expect to find?!" Isaac said, raising his voice to near yelling. "OH you mean the dead bodies, maybe?! The ones that were still walking, in particular?!"

 

"That's enough, Mr Clarke!" Raan said, trying to ward off Isaac's mounting indignation. "I believe admiral Xen is now well aware of her folly. That said, I think we ought to immediately postpone any demonstrations or lectures that we had planned today. Mr Clarke, I think it best that you take leave for the time being, just until the dust has settled."

 

"Yeah... alright. I'll be on the Falcon if-"

 

"You sure about that?" called a familiar voice from within the crowd.

 

"Great..."

 

Shepard stepped out onto the pulpit. "I think you can afford a change of scenery."

 

"Maybe... Just what do you want, anyways? Something about giving me a 'new lease on life' or some BS? Look, I've had a long day, and you're just making it longer"

 

"Isaac..."

 

"Just stay out of my way, alright? Like I said, I'm not a soldier. I don't think I can really help out with... whatever the hell it is you're doing. I just want to try and get back on my feet."

 

"You don't understand-"

 

"Okay, first, the Admiral tries smearing me in front of this whole fleet, and digs up some of my darkest moments in the process, featuring it in front of said fleet, now you want to recruit me into some sort of paramilitary group so I can look like a jerk when I say 'no'? Sorry for being a jerk, but guess what? My answer is no. I've had a crap day. I'm tired. I want to go back to a home I don't even have anymore. I just got some of my most horrible secrets advertised in front of a new universe who might be judging me for them as we speak. Just leave me alone"

 

"Everyone, just leave me alone..."

 

Isaac walked off the pulpit, and the crowd divided itself as he walked past. Though their faces were veiled by opaque visors, their sliver eyes gleamed out from within the metal helmets. Some widened in fear as Isaac walked past. Others raised their brows in concern, while a few furrowed them in anger. Whatever expression lay in those many eyes, no matter how amazed or terrified, all were honed in on the tired, well worn man who was walking out the door.

 

Nezala stood by the airlock entrance. Here eyes too found themselves turning towards Isaac, brows upturned in worry. "Mr Clarke, are you alright? I saw what went on in there... you gonna be okay?"

 

"Yeah, I'll be fine." Isaac said with head hung low and sluggishness in his step. "I'm just... tired. Way too *agh* tired."

 

"You sure that's all? You look like you're in some sort of pain."

 

"Yeah, it's just a migraine acting up again. Like I said, it's been a really long day. I just *ow, crap* need some rest."

 

"Okay... Anything you'd like me to do for you in the meantime?"

 

"Think you can keep an eye on the door? I have a feeling there'll be some unwanted company trying to get twenty questions out of me."

 

"I see. Don't worry, no one's getting in while I'm here, Isaac."

 

"Thanks lieutenant."

 

"Any time."

 

The doors locked as Isaac activated their security protocols from the helm. He made his way to the captain's quarters, letting his helmet retract back into his RIG, the clanking of the metal and whirring of the servos feeling louder than an earthquake. The air was dank and stale, and the walls encrusted with a film of black soot. Such was the luxury of a CEC vessel. To others, such living conditions would seem deplorable at least, but to someone such as Isaac, who had spent nearly half of his life within the corridors of mining vessels such as the Falcon, this was home sweet home. Not bothering to take off the sixty pound suit on his shoulders, Isaac collapsed onto the musty, well worn mattress, dusty sheets hanging near its foot. Holding his throbbing head, Isaac found it hard to find sleep. He was tired. Dead tired. He hadn't had a hint of rest since waking up from his fall on Tau Volantis, meaning he had been awake for almost two days, at least. Even when this fatigued, this desperately exhausted, he found himself fighting a war with the pain in his temples, trying to let his eyelids close, trying to lull himself past the pulsing pain in his head and into that coveted realm of unconsciousness. There was no way to know just how long it took, but eventually, Isaac and sleep found each other.

 

The wind howled. The leafless trees creaked in protest to the gusts of dusty air that beat against them. Not even a single blade of grass could be found on the austere, grey, lifeless ground. Isaac looked all around him. Not a single soul in sight. A terrible bleakness resounded in this somber place. No one else to call to. Nowhere to go. The entire forest was fallow. Forever lifeless.

 

But within the cries of the wind, came a voice.

 

A voice that called Isaac's name.

 

It lead him out of the dead forest, onto a plain of crags, smoke, and smoldering stone. On one stone sat what seemed to be the only other person in this wretched place.

 

Isaac called out to the personage, but found no answer. Befuddled by its silence, he beckoned it once more, but yet again his call was met with silence. Stepping forward with utmost deliberation, he continued to call towards the personage. As he set out to meet the one who yet still sat silently upon a stone pillar, Isaac heard yet more voices behind him.

 

As he turned around to meet the origin of the utterance, a scream lodged itself within his throat, constricted by the same horror form which it was born. Symbols. Millions upon millions of symbols, lines and circles, each forming into the characters most foul, characters that inspired madness and dementia, slowly floated towards Isaac. He knew only one thing, one response to this delirium; run. Run as fast as you can.

 

He ran towards the personage, calling for its help. Closing in on it, he begged of it to help him, of any way to escape the madness made manifest. Putting a hand on its shoulder, it immediately turned its head toward him, its neck cracking as it spun father than possible.

 

It was Ellie.

 

Her eyes glowing white, her hair matted with blood. Upon facing Isaac, she uttered the words which most intsilled terror into his soul.

 

"Make"

 

"Us"

 

"Whole"

 

Nezala stood true to her word, as a throng of quarians stood outside the Falcon's door. A few dozen quarians wanted to see Isaac. A few to castigate him for his lashing out at one of their admirals. Many others concerned about him, about how his world ended up, wanting closure on the horrible spectacle that drilled itself into their memories. Some were deathly afraid of what they saw, and wanted peace of mind, wanting desperately to know if they were safe from the twisted abominations of torn flesh that shambled to and fro, claws waving and teeth gnashing, fretfully asking if the creatures had followed him.

 

They pressed on with their questions, only to be met with the same reply from Nezala. "He didn't tell me anything! He's just trying to get some rest! Everyone settle down!"

 

Suddenly, the holographics on the Falcons door went blue, followed immediately by them opening, Isaac rushing out of them.

 

"Mr Clarke! Isaac! Is something wrong?" Nezala asked as Isaac cut his way through the now excited crowd. Some tried pulling him over for questions, but all found themselves being thrust aside, as Isaac hurried out of the hall and into the plaza, Nezala in hot pursuit.

 

"Isaac, you have to tell me! What are you doing? Are you looking for someone?"

 

"Shepard...."

 

"What?"

 

"I'm looking for Shepard! Something's up. Something terrible. I need his help..."

 

"I dunno if he'll welcome you with open-"

 

"I know we're not on good terms, but this is urgent."

 

"How urgent?"

 

"More than you could ever know..."

 

Shepard racked his weapons back into their safe, each of them retracting into their compacted form. Removing his helmet as he walked towards the elevator, he couldn't help but feel somewhat disappointed. This Isaac character could have an untold wealth of technical knowledge to impart. He could single-handedly start a new age of space exploration with what little he had already shown. More importantly, he could possibly save trillions of lives during the upcoming fight with the reapers. They built the relays, and as such they likely had the power to use them as they saw fit, rendering them useless to everyone else. Entire races would remain stranded, helpless to the attacks. With the technology aboard that rusted mining ship, Isaac could facilitate means for the evacuation of the entire galaxy. Countless lives could be saved. The only problem now was trying to get him to see that, trying to convince him of how much the galaxy needed him. So far, Isaac's ears have only perceived a wandering mercenary desperate for a new crew member, no matter how tired, battered, lost, or otherwise fatigued he was. Shepard had jumped the gun, and he knew it. There was no telling how close the reapers were, and no telling how much time he had left to coax Isaac out of his shell.

 

Suddenly, He heard Joker's voice over the intercom.

 

"Hey commander, our choke-happy friend decided to pay us a visit! Think he's come crawling back?"

 

"I've got a feeling it's more than that. Let him in."

 

The airlock doors hadn't even fully opened by the time Isaac had bolted out of them and into the Normandy. racing past the galaxy map and almost into Shepard. He was nearly out of breath by the time he had found the words to say.

 

"Okay... alright..." he sputtered between pants. "Shepard... I know we're not exactly on the best terms but."

 

"You've decided to reconsider helping me?"

 

"I've reconsidered the possibility that I can't make it alone... especially with what's on the horizon."

 

"So, I see you're finally convinced of the collector threat."

 

"The what?"

 

"I haven't told you what was threatening humanity. Maybe I should've. Isaac, entire human colonies have been abducted by these things. We don't know what they want, but we do know they work behind a greater force. A force that could wipe out the whole galaxy. I've been trying to tell you this, Isaac. I know you're trying to rebuild your life, and there's no way I can ever understand just how you feel about it, but if we don't work together, you won't have a future to rebuild. None of us will."

 

"What force? Is it worse than what was on that screen?"

 

"I don't know what was on that recorder other than what else you told me on th-"

 

"Because it's come here."

 

Shepard froze for a moment. He's seen what a single reaper can do when Sovereign attacked the Citadel, and he could only imagine what their entire fleet was capable of. Each reaper was at least two kilometers long, armed with firepower that none could match. What he saw on that projector was something else entirely; a massive entity the size of a small planet, consuming all life in its path. No weapons, no shields, no servos, wires, or lights. Nothing but sinew and bone, flesh and blood, all manifest into a monstrosity whose only goal, whose only purpose, was to devour entire races in a sitting. The reapers were addressed as gods by the geth, esoteric in their ways, and unparalleled in sheer power. The demons Isaac faced were more than that. They unleashed madness and death by their own seed, the obelisks called markers, long before whatever unfortunate race would find itself at their mercy. They were not gods. They were not devils. They were beyond such notions. They had no motive, no great, underlying purpose that a pitiful mortal would try with all their heart to understand, like what the reapers claimed to have. They only strove for one dark, insidious goal: to be made whole. To converge all life for their own, blatant, unconcealed hunger. Their unending hunger for all that grew. Their hunger for all that breathed. Their hunger for all that spoke. Their hunger for all that lived. Isaac's sentence echoed in Shepard's head, flailing his mind with those terrible words

 

It's come here.

 

"Isaac... didn't you say that they were-"

 

"I thought so too, but it's still alive. I don't know how it keeps coming back, I don't know how it keeps following me, I don't know why It wants me so much, but it's here. There's no telling exactly where in the galaxy it is, but it's here. I can feel it. The signal's here... and it's calling to me." said Isaac as he slowly began slipping into a panic. It was over. It had to be. It was just a dream.... no. He felt it. He heard its wretched screams. He felt it burning in his head. Now he had heard it speaking to him. He hadn't heard that voice since the Terra nova, and he hadn't had it speak personally to him in years, but there was no mistaking it. Not even the most lucid, clear dream could possibly emulate the screams. Nothing else spoke with such an unearthly, terrible voice. It was here, and there was no denying it.

 

"Isaac, I'm going to need you to calm down. How do you know it's real? How do you know it really here?"

 

"It spoke to me. It said the some things it's been saying to me for years. I've already told you what it does to people, and how it speaks to you. How the noise stays in your head, even if you learn to stop listening to it. Sometimes it yells. I've heard it yell again."

 

"When? After Xen played that videolog? Is an image of the marker capable of sending the signal?" Shepard asked, as the surrounding crew began to bear worried faces. They had received word of mouth of what Isaac had told the commander previously, making leeway for several embellishments and rumors to spread and take hold, and what they were hearing didn't do much to lift their spirits.

 

"It was in a dream"

 

"Excuse me?"

 

"You heard me right. A dream. It speaks to you in visions, whether you're awake or sleeping, if it lets you do the latter at all."

 

"Mr Clarke, the credibility of your story is deteriorating fast..."

 

"Look I know it sounds sketchy, but you have to listen..."

 

"Isn't that kind of the gist of what I was saying when I asked for your help?"

 

"Alright, I get it, I've been kind of an ass to you concerning the threat you're facing, but you'll have to believe me!"

 

"Then you'll have to believe me too."

 

"Fine... but what is it about these 'collectors'? What threat to they pose?"

 

"I've been meaning to show you. Follow me."

 

Shepard guided Isaac to the tech lab, where Mordin was continuing his research, constantly searching through near endless waves of data, ceaselessly working, seemingly as if it were compulsive habit.

 

"Ah! New arrival. Pleasure to meet you, Mr Clarke. Doctor Mordin Solus, at your service." Mordin said, still focusing on his console. "Hear you have questions regarding collectors. Will do best to elucidate."

 

Isaac was about to ask the doctor to keep it concise, as the threat of the marker seemed to loom ever closer. That was before he actually looked at the quick-spoken scientist behind the console. His distress almost overshadowed by newfound curiosity, Isaac found himself wanting to know what manner of odd creature this "Mordin" was. "Are... what are.. nevermind. I can ask those questions later." Isaac said, remembering the dire nature of the situation. "Anyways, yeah, just give me the short version. There's no telling if we have hours or days here."

 

"Regarding Collectors? Not likely." Mordin replied, ignorant of the exact threat Isaac was addressing. "Collectors active threat, yes, but not bold enough to attack on day's notice, let alone hours. No, too risky even for them. Would risk wasting time and resources. Are planning something different. Bigger picture. Given what was seen on Horizon."

 

"That's not what I was.... whatever. Just give me a brief rundown."

 

Little did Isaac know just how good Mordin was with giving a "brief rundown". He almost struggled to keep up with him as he went over the encounter on Horizon, as well as the countermeasures used in order to not be affected by the seeker swarms. He gave an account of how they abducted half of the entire colony, leaving others frozen in some sort of stasis. He also gave a quick overview of how they could possibly be tied to the massive, sentient ships known as Reapers. Nigh unstoppable beings who purge the galaxy of life every several thousand years. Apparently, the collectors had always been around, but sightings were so rare that many thought them to be a myth. Not to mention, the relay that led to their homeworld was nothing short of a deathtrap, as no one who has ever jumped from it has ever returned, save for them. As daunting as this new threat seemed, Isaac figured that whatever they were, they took a backseat to the brethren moons. Either way, both threats had to be dealt with, and Isaac once again found himself at the forefront of a battle to save all life.

 

"Alright, so these guys are kidnapping us for some sort of unknown purpose. Just how many are we talking here. Any incidents like this since Horizon?"

 

"Not since, but many before" Mordin replied. 'Entire colonies. Many thousands of human colonists captured beforehand."

 

"Okay, well, what's our next step in taking them down?"

 

"Not my call. Shepard's operation. Should ask him."

 

Exiting the tech lab, Isaac soon realized that he had absolutely o knowledge of the Normandy's layout. Finding Shepard would be nothing short of a chore. That's when he spotted a familiar face as she began tending to her duties.

 

"Ah, Mr Clarke!" Kelly called from her console. "Nice to see you again!"

 

"You too, Ms Chambers." He replied. "Hey, do you know where Shepard's run off to? He brought me over to Mordin to brief me on the whole 'collectors' thing before taking off."

 

"Oh, he went to the briefing room. Illusive man needed him for an emergency brief."

 

"'Illusive man' huh? Didn't he say he worked for no one?"

 

"It's more of a partnership. The Illusive man spent several billion creds literally bringing Shepard back from the dead in what was called the Lazarus program."

 

"So, it's ind of a 'You owe me' deal?"

 

"Not precisely. It more of a 'help me deal with the menace that threatens humanity' kind of deal."

 

"I see. When's he coming out of the briefing room?"

 

"No way I can know. His talks with the Illusive man tend to vary in length."

 

Suddenly, the elevator door opened, and out came the man of the hour. "Alright everyone. We've just gotten word of a collector vessel stranded in deep space. Apparently a turian patrol managed to disable it. We've got to get in there and get whatever information we can concerning their operation with the reapers."

 

Isaac didn't like this. As dangerous as these "collectors" seemed to be, they didn't seem to hold a candle to what the markers were capable of. In any case, they needed to be dealt with, and they needed to be dealt with yesterday.

 

"Alright, so how long do we have to prepare? The Falcon's still docked at the Rayya."

 

"I'll give the fleet the word to keep it under lockdown". Shepard replied. "We have to hurry. There's no telling how  long the collectors are going to remain sitting ducks."

 

All was dark. No nearby star to give light. The unending nothingness of space seemed more evident than ever in this forsaken place. Not a single planet or planetoid floated nearby, as was the case for light years around. Suddenly, an azure light flickered in the distance, its brightness intensifying by the second. As it brilliance came to a crescendo, a sleek white vessel erupted out into the darkness. No other ship accompanied her. It was the Normandy, cruising through the lifeless ether of space, tracking down another vessel that hid in the shadows, disabled, weakened, and unaware of the Normandy's presence.

 

Unbeknownst to the Normandy's crew or man who commissioned her, this wasn't how it was meant to be.

 

Isaac watched out of the Normandy's cockpit, beholding the massive, asymmetrical vessel that floated in the firmament of space, powerless. Defenseless. Even in its crippled state, it was a sight to behold, and to fear. For Isaac, the sight of such a massive ship, though intimidating, was not all that new. The Ishimura was roughly the same size, as were her sister ships. Though the vessel massive and the occupants unacquainted with him, Isaac felt only a small shred of fear within him, for he knew that these were not going to be the most formidable foes he would face before the day was over. He heard the distant calls of the marker from the corners of deep space. He knew its presence without mistake or error. It was coming, and these collectors seemed to only serve as a distraction. They had to be dealt with, here and now, regardless of what his new superior had planned. Time was running short.

 

Shepard had chosen Isaac for this mission, as well as Miranda. Isaac had never met this woman before, but deep inside, he had the most deep seated caution of her. The very aura she emitted, her mannerism and cold look were all too reminiscent of all those who had wronged him in the past. She seemed ambitious. Calculating and manipulative. Every syllable she spoke seemed to ooze with a dark, frigid venom. As the trio set out within the Normandy's shuttle, Isaac could only be preoccupied with her, watching her every move, trying his best to be subtle. In Isaac's eyes, she was nothing short of a problem that he would certainly have to deal with later.

 

Isaac loaded his plasma cutter, having retrieved it from Tali while aboard the Falcon, aiming down its triad of laser sights as the trio boarded the seemingly derelict vessel. The walls, shiny and sleek, seemed to be coated in some sort of organic material, brown and crusty in appearance. It remanded him of the corruption, even if it didn't twitch, pulsate and spew bile as that disgusting sludge did. Penetrating deeper into the ship, he could hear Shepard conversing with someone on board the Normandy. She sounded precise and crisp in mannerism, and nearly mechanical in speech.

 

"Who're you talking to?" he asked as they began to examine what parts of the ship they could.

 

"That would be the ship's AI, EDI." Miranda replied. "She running diagnostics and compiling data on this ship as we speak."

 

"Ah... interesting."

 

"Let's focus on the mission at hand, if you don't mind." She replied coldly.

 

"Fine..."

 

A faint whisper echoed in Isaac's mind. The same, spectral mumbling that he had heard countless times before. It sounded for less than a second, barely enough to register with anyone else, but it was unmistakable to Isaac. Time was running out. Isaac knew disaster lay around the corner. He just didn't know exactly which corner it was lurking behind, and this uncertainty shook him...

 

... Especially when he spotted the pile of bodies to their right

 

"What the hell... were these guys from that 'Horizon' colony that Solus mentioned?"

 

"More than likely..." Shepard replied. "They were probably used for experiments, perhaps some sort of control group... then disposed of when the tests concluded."

 

"This is Horrible..."

 

"Wait, guys.. You see that?" Isaac pointed out. "Look... some have been moved.". He pointed to a trail of blood, leading away from the pile. It was till wet. "recently too... Shepard, I'm telling you, I've got a very, very bad feeling about this..."

 

"Relax, Isaac. They were probably moved for further testing."

 

"Don't you think they'd use some sort of transport rather than dragging them on the ground?"

 

"Maybe... let's just keep moving." Isaac had a point. This didn't seem like standard collector procedure. Whatever lay around the bend, Shepard knew it wouldn't be pretty, and deep inside, though he doubted the possibility of anything other than collectors, he prayed that those cryptic, insect like aliens would be all he'd have to deal with.

 

Soon, Shepard found himself eye to eye with something he wasn't expecting: a dead collector. It lay in some sort of pod, similar to the ones that contained the humans. Isaac stepped closer, wanting to take a look at his new foe. It was brown. Dark brown chitin covering its body, and four eyes, glazed over and creamy white, staring out of the sockets in its segmented head.

 

"So this is a collector..."

 

"Yes. Or at least it used to be" Shepard replied, connecting to the Normandy, speaking with that "EDI" character again. Isaac wasn't listening, curiosity overtaking his mind as he eyed the strange, alien cadaver. Its lifeless eyes looked out forever into the distance, and its arms tucked neatly by its sides, as if standing at attention. Suddenly, he heard EDI utter a phrase that caught his attention, as yet another name he never heard graced his ears.

 

"There's only one race that shares this genetic structure. The Protheans."

 

"The who?"

 

"Protheans." Shepard responded. "A race that the reapers wiped out.. or at least we thought."

 

"There is evidence of extreme genetic rewrite. Three fewer chromosomes. Reduced heterochromatin structure, elimination of superfluous "junk" sequences." EDI continued. Isaac still considered the necromorph scourge to be top priority, but if these "Reapers" could re-write genetic code and enslave the remnants of a race they had mostly wiped out, they certainly were a force to be reckoned with.

 

"The reapers didn't wipe out the protheans... they turned them into monsters and enslaved them" said Shepard.

 

"I know I'm not letting that happen to me. There's no way we're ending up like the protheans", said Miranda.

 

"There's worse out there you know..." said Isaac, staring off into the distance.

 

"Whatever the case, they work for the reapers now, and we've got to stop them." said Shepard. "Let's move out."

 

They continued to reach into the deeper recesses of the ship, coming across an entire passageway full of those glowing, orange pods.

 

"Holy hell... just how many of these are there? How many do you think are full?" Isaac said, eyeing the pods that hung from the ceiling and lined the walls.

 

"Too many." Shepard responded.

 

"I detect no signs of life in the pods, Shepard. The occupants must have died when the ship lost power.

 

"That's not good... Is there any way we can know just how many were occupied in the first place?" asked Isaac.

 

"Thousands." Miranda replied." They've kidnapped entire colonies. There's tens of thousands of corpses lining these walls..."

 

"Okay, that's REALLY not good. Whatever were looking for I advise we find it as quick as possible. I have a really bad feeling about this..."

 

"Settle down, Isaac. We don't know if... 'that' is actually here or not." Shepard said.

 

"We don't know if 'what' is here? Does it have anything to do with that voyage recording on the Falcon?" Miranda asked. She hadn't seen the recording, and what she heard seemed little more that mere conjecture, even fabrication. Even so, she was curious as to what Isaac was talking about.

 

"Nothing... Shepard can give you the details when we get back to the Normandy."

 

Suddenly, Shepard and company found themselves in a massive chasm, the center of the ship. Looking closer at the walls, they caught sight of something horrible: Pods. Millions of them. The entire ship's interior was covered in them, almost like an orange, shag carpet, encrusted in some dry, biological residue. The same brown, papery material that coated the rest of the ship. It was reminiscent of a wasp's next, brown and dry, almost lifeless.

 

"Please don't tell me these are all full..." Isaac said as they ventured further into the massive central chamber.

 

"No, but they could take all the humans in the Terminus and still have room for more." said Miranda worriedly. "They're going to target earth."

 

"Not if we stop them first." Shepard replied. "Let's keep moving."

 

"Look, over there." Miranda said pointing to a lit panel that lay in the middle of some hexagonal structure. "It looks like some sort of control panel."

 

"The only dead collector we've seen was in that research pod..." said Isaac. "We haven't seen any others. I don't like this..."

 

"EDI, I'm establishing a bridge between you and the collector ship. See if you can get anything useful from these databanks."

 

"Data mine in progress, Shepard."

 

Several moments passed by before they would find out exactly what was wrong. The ground rumbled, and the within seconds, a door had risen out of the deck, blocking their only way in or out. The display shut off with a violent flash, and the squad soon found itself trapped, locked within a honeycomb like wall.

 

"What the hell just happened?"

 

"Everything just went dark, Shepard, but we're back online."

 

"I've managed to redirect most of the override to non-critical systems. Shepard, this wasn't a malfunction. This is  a trap."

 

No sooner did EDI say this when the floor shifted, quaked, and trembled. The trio found themselves having trouble balancing as the hexagonal plate underfoot rose into the air, emitting a sort of odd, otherworldly wail, continuous, yet ebbing and flowing. It resounded in Isaac' eardrums as he found himself falling backwards onto the floor.

 

"We're gonna need some help, EDI."

 

"I've had trouble maintaining connection. There seemed to be someone else in the system, but for some reason they're now absent. I'm re-establishing connection, however, I need to finish the download before I can override any systems."

 

Shepard struggled to keep his footing as the floating section of floor stopped abruptly. "You'd better get it done fast, EDI."

 

In the distance, Shepard could see more sections, floating through the air and coming their way. The humming they emitted intensified as they drew near.

 

"Look out, we've got company!" Miranda called out as she loaded her weapon.

 

"You mean we 'had' company." said Isaac as he got back on his feet. "look..."

 

As the airborne platform conjoined with the one Shepard and company were standing on, the three were greeted by an unexpected, and very gruesome sight. Several collectors lay dead on the floor, sitting in pools of their own yellow blood. More than half were missing limbs, or even their heads. All of them were covered in deep lacerations, as if someone had come at them with a sword. Their torsos were gored, and pieces of their internals were hanging out. The entire platform was covered in collector viscera.

 

"I don't think the turians did this..." Isaac said, looking over the carcasses. "Shepard, we've got to get out of here. How long until EDI is finished downloading that data?"

 

"First off Isaac, you're not in charge." said Shepard sternly. "Second, we need everything we can get concerning the collectors. No one's ever been this up close and personal with them before, neither have they been this much of a threat until now. Look all around you Isaac. Those pods are going to be filed with millions of humans unless we do something about it."

 

"I have a feeling those pods are the very reason we should be high-tailing it."

 

"Just keep on your guard. Stay sharp and don't get left behind."

 

"Shepard, I've finished processing the information." EDI said over Shepard's comms. "I've found useful information on how to navigate the Omega 4 Relay. I've also found the turian distress call used to set this trap. The collectors were the source" she continued as the platform they were on rose again, and landed on another point in the ship. "It is unusual."

 

"What are you getting at?"

 

"Turian secondary channels are written with a secondary encryption. It is present in this message, but it is also corrupted. It is not possible that the Illusive man thought the distress call was genuine."

 

"How are you so sure?"

 

"I found the anomaly with Cerberus detection protocols. He wrote them."

 

"He knew it was a trap?!" Joker exclaimed. "Why would he send us into a trap?"

 

"That son of a bitch sent us right into collector hands!" Shepard said, newly enraged by the Illusive man's betrayal. He knew that his enigmatic ally was untrustworthy, to say the least, but not treacherous enough t send him directly into enemy hands.

 

"We can't jump to conclusions...' Miranda said. "The Illusive man wouldn't do this to us... he just wouldn't"

 

"Oh, and who are you, his little lackey?" said Isaac. "Whether he's genuinely treacherous, or he just sent us in here carelessly, he's sure as hell not setting a good first impression with me!"

 

"Uh, commander, we've got another problem." said joker over the comms. "We're detecting some sort of activity inside. Something's moving around in there... lots of things... I have a feeling you're gonna have to entertain company soon."

 

Isaac just froze, as if in another trance. He heard the whispering again, louder this time. He knew exactly what this "Joker" was talking about. He knew exactly what kind of "company" they'd be entertaining. Slowly, he raised his plasma cutter, gripping it tightly, his breathing slowing, becoming louder as he steeled himself. Shepard noticed Isaac's cautionary state, wary of whatever the engineer was thinking. All this time he had doubted any other presence save for the collectors, but with every passing second, his surety was wearing off. A cold sweat dropped down his brow. He had a feeling that if there was anything he should know concerning what was bound to happen next, he ought to ask the blue-visored man next to him.

 

"Isaac... I have a feeling you know what's about to happen...."

 

"I have a feeling we both know..."

 

"You've encountered it before. You've been hunted by them for years. You know how to deal with them. Is there anything we should know?"

 

"Several things." Isaac said, taking off the safety and turning on the targeting lasers. "Stay away from any vents or grates. Pods too. Don't go for the body. Don't go for the head. Go for the limbs. Rip them apart completely. Tear off their heads, and they'll swing blindly at you. Take off their legs, and they'll crawl towards you. Don't falter, don't hesitate. Stay alive, because if you die, you won't stay dead for long."

 

"Shepard, I don't think he's talking about collectors or husks." Miranda said, her eyes widening. "Isaac, what are you talking about?"

 

"You're about to find out..."

 

Suddenly, the walls shook and vibrated. Cracking sounds resonated throughout the ship's passageways. The whole vessel seemed to be tearing itself apart at the seams.

 

"What's happening? EDI, can you give us a reading on th-"

 

"Shepard..." Miranda said, her eyes widening in pure horror. "Look up..."

 

It was the pods. Every single one of them was shaking, several of them coming loose. All of them seemed to be opening. The ones furthest away seemed to be opening first, followed immediately by the ones succeeding them, making it seem as if the whole ceiling was falling in a great, terrible, gradual wave. As the lids cam off, Shepard could barely believe what he was seeing.

 

It was the colonists.

 

Thousands of them, shambling out of their cocoons, crawling all over the walls, clambering down the circular hull of the ship. Blood seemed to drizzle from the ceiling as they made their way down, as their disfigured, bleeding bodies shuffled themselves to the floor. Their faces were broken and twisted, brimming with new teeth spurring out from shattered jaws. Their arms were bent, massive blades carved out their bones stuck through. Others no longer had their legs, as their entire lower bodies were twisted into some horrific, mangled tail, which terminated in a sharp, devastating blade. Yet more didn't seem to have started out human at all, as their arms were now short, skin-stretched wings. Their heads were tucked under this canvas of human flesh, with a flashy proboscis extending therein.  Horrible, guttural gargling and roaring resounded through the ship as they began their hunt, looking for living flesh to rend and infect. Shepard and Miranda just stood there, almost frozen by this gruesome, unfathomable horror that even now unfolded before them. Isaac, having seen such vile spectacles too many times, was more accustomed to the sight than anyone should be, and as such, was the one to wake his companions from their horrified stupor.

 

"Shepard, weren't we heading for the door?!" He asked, nodding towards a passageway directly facing them.

 

"EDI, we need a way out of here, NOW!" Shepard shouted, as he began running for the hallway.

 

"System overrides are complete. I have control over many parts of the ship. Sending extract coordinates to your hardsuit computer".

 

All of a sudden, Isaac felt it again, ringing in his ears, screaming this time, calling his name in vile, unearthly tongues that only he understood. It was here. That's how the necromophs got here. That explained why thousands of dead bodies were clambering down the wall. It was here. The marker was here, or at least there was "a" marker here. It was awakening them, sending the signal that even now pounded throughout his head. He could ignore it. He knew how to steel himself for it, and he knew how to drown it out, how to bury it within the deepest recesses of his mind. He now knew what had to be done. There was a marker on this ship, and there was no way he was going to let its madness prevail against him. No way he was gong to let it delve its tentacles into the minds of trillions.

 

He wasn't going to lose anything else to it ever again.

 

"Not again..."

 

"What?"

 

"I'm not letting this happen again... Shepard, ask EDI if she detects any kind of odd energy signatures on the ship."

 

"Isaac, if you haven't noticed, we don't exactly have time to-"

 

"DO IT!" Isaac thundered. "There's a marker on this ship, I know it. There's no way in hell we're leaving it alone. I'm not letting another reality fall to it. We have to destroy it. I say again, Shepard, If it's on board this ship, we need to know."

 

It didn't take much to convince the commander further, as all the evidence he needed was crawling all over the ship. "EDI, you heard the man. Anything radiating energy on this ship?"

 

"There's something in its cargo hold that seems to be exuding some sort of signal. I've never seen a signature like this before, neither is there any like in in any archive."

 

"That's all we need to know. Where's the ship's drive core? We can overload it and destroy the entire vessel from there."

 

"Understood, Shepard. Sending coordinates to the engine room."

 

"Clarke, you're insane!" Miranda said as the three ran towards the engine room. "Did you not see what was coming out of tho-"

 

"I've seen it a million times." Isaac replied. "I have a feeling we're going to see mo-"

 

Just before Isaac could finish, he found himself cut off by the sight of about twelve pods in front of him, each of them bursting open. Out of the glowing capsules came the remains of the colonists, growling and roaring in that horrible, gurgled tone. Not stalling for so much as a second, Isaac opened fire, slicing the legs off one of them before proceeding to cut of its spindling, clawed arms. Miranda and Shepard following suit. One of the slashers ran full speed at Miranda, waving its sickle-like blades haphazardly as it rushed at the Cerberus operative. Panicked, she opened fire on the creature, hitting it center mass several times over. It didn't even flinch as she continued to dump metal shards into its torso, much to her dismay. It leaped at her, seemingly unaware of the rounds that penetrated its stomach. Before its blade could connect with Miranda's neck, a white, searing blast of plasma cut it and it's partner clean off, sending the disarmed necromorph to the ground, right on top of Miranda. It gargled and roared as it gnashed about with its only remaining weapon: its mouth. Biting furiously, its sharp, fragmented teeth came within millimeters of Miranda's jugular. She struggled to get it off her before a heavy, steel boot flew into the beasts's body, sending it to her left, rolling for a second or two before it came to. it roared for only a second before that same boot came cracking down onto its skull, smashing it over and over again util there was nothing left but fleshy pulp and shattered bone.

 

"What did I tell you?" Isaac scorned as he joined the commander in firing his weapon. "Go for the limbs. Don't even think about center mass. Tear them apart."

 

"Miranda picked her weapon back up. She glanced at the crushed remains of her fallen enemy before complying with Isaac's advice, taking the legs off of another slasher with her submachinegun before rending the arms from its shoulders, the body going limp instantly.

 

The group continued to advance through the ship, running into several stray necromorphs, tearing them apart with constant streams of plasma and white hot metal. They struggled to put down the creatures as they ran at them full speed, seemingly uncaring of the rounds that tore their bodies apart at the seams until they moved no more. Rounding a corner, Shepard barely avoided being hit by a bright, yellow stream of energy that few just to the right of him. That cam from no necromorph. Hearing a distinct buzzing, Shepard looked to his right to see a familiar foe: the collectors, each of them firing on something, be it his team or the hordes of necromorphs that tailed them.

 

"Everyone take cover!' Shepard called, sending his companions huddled against the multiple structures and pillars that dotted the ship's interior. Isaac faced rearward, taking out the few slasher's that had pursued the group before turning his attention to the strange, insect-like aliens that were actively opening fire on him. He took a split second to examine them before returning fire, beheading one of them. They were cornered. He saw two of them get butchered by a single slasher in quick succession before another tried in vain to put it down, emptying it's ammunition into the monster's torso before having its head lopped off. Another fell dead after Shepard loaded its body with steel. One more seemed to levitate, glowing yellow. It seemed as if it was cracking apart, as light poured in from new fissures in its skin. Shepard knew what it was. Their leader has come to possess one of his minions, and this time, even he, whoever he was, was very, very distraught.

 

"SHEPARD..." Spoke the creature as it regained its footing, still glowing bright with yellow light. "WHAT HAVE YOU DONE?!"

 

The creature shot a blast of unknown energy at Shepard, who only barely dodged it before it slammed into a nearby pillar. "WHAT HAVE YOU WROUGHT, SHEPARD?! THIS IS NEW DEVILRY. THIS IS NOT BY OUR HANDS. YOU ARE RESPONSIBLE IN SOME WAY. YOU KNOW YOU ARE!"

 

Shepard paid the creature no heed as he continued to whittle at its biotic barrier, Miranda dispatching its comrades with deadly accurate fire. Isaac continued to send streams of plasma into the enemy's dwindling ranks, completely unaware of what was behind him. A stray puker, gurgling and dripping its caustic fluid on the ground it walked on, tried to sneak up behind the engineer, charging up a concussive shot of immobilizing acid.

 

"Watch yourself, Isaac!" shouted Miranda as she began to glow with a strange, blue light that seemed to radiate from her very being. As the light intensified, a strange, oscillating sound emanated form her as well. She outstretched her hand, and the necromorph was immediately hoisted into the air, glowing with the same blue light that enveloped Miranda. It floated helplessly in the air as Miranda tore it to shreds with her SMG. It was a simple display of biotic power, a power that Isaac had never seen before. It bound him under a spell of wonder and curiosity, which almost overtook his sense of self preservation before he snapped out of his hypnotic state.

 

"Whoa! Miranda, what the hell was that?"

 

"Biotics. I'll explain when we're back on the Normandy."

 

Isaac felled the last enemy, a partially dismembered slasher before whispering to himself. "That's.. interesting... I got a few tricks up my sleeve too."

 

They continued their trek to the ship's engine room, stumbling across a group of Collectors fighting off a horde of necromorphs, and losing terribly. Once again, one of them rose into the air, possessed by the same entity as before. It blew away three slashers into pieces with biotic force before once again addressing Shepard.

 

"WHATEVER SCOURGE YOU HAVE RELEASED. IT SHALL NOT LAST. WE SHALL EMERGE VICTORIOUS AS WE ALWAYS HAVE. YOU WILL KNOW DEFEAT, SHEPARD. NO MATTER WHAT NEW PETS YOU MUSTER TO YOUR CALL." The creature shot another blast, nearly hitting Isaac in the head, impacting no less than a foot away from him. Isaac responded with several blasts of plasma, hitting it several times and breaking its protective barrier. Right before it got the chance to speak once more, a blindingly fast sweep of a tail cut it short. The creature disintegrated, falling apart into an ephemeral dust before its killer proceeded to slaughter its subordinates. It was a leaper, crawling along the walls and jumping to and fro, its fleshy tail swiping at whatever was unfortunate enough to get in its way. It jumped once more, covering a surprising amount of space in one bound, landing on the Commander.

 

"GET THIS DAMN THING OFF ME!" Shepard yelled as the abomination screeched an undulating wail in his face, trying to land a hit with its long teeth, woven from the remains of its jaw into long, serrated, blade-like shards of bone. It would never land a bite however, as Isaac grabbed it by the tail, pulling it off of Shepard, slamming it on the floor. He stepped on the creature's neck, applying as much pressure as his strength would let him. The bone cracked and gave as the surrounding flesh tore apart, and the leaper screeched out loudly before its head was reduced to pulp under Isaac's boot. Isaac flipped it by its tail, slamming onto the deck once more before cutting the tail off with his plasma cutter, and the flailing monster ceased to move.

 

As Isaac finished off the necromorph, several Collectors took the chance to train their weapons on him, as he was standing out on the open. that, however, didn't mean they had the advantage. Isaac readied his kinesis module, ripping the blade from the leaper's dismembered tail. Before one of the collectors could manage to fire on Isaac, it found itself impaled by a claw flying through it a break-neck speeds, pinning it to a wall, where it was finished off by a plasma shot form Isaac as he readied himself behind cover.

 

"And here you are acting like you forgot what biotics are..." said Miranda, firing another burst from her weapon.

 

"I still don't know what that is." replied Isaac. "That was just my kinesis module."

 

"Your what?"

 

"Here, watch this." Isaac said as another dismembered claw, previously separated from its parent by that possessed collector, found itself floating in the air, tethered to Isaac's outstretched arm by some ethereal, violet beam of energy, which enveloped both it and Isaac's hand. He pointed it at another collector before sending it straight through its head.

 

"That's a bit overkill..." Shepard commented as he finished off the last two collectors that stood in their way.

 

"It's pretty handy like that." Isaac said as he caught up with Shepard and Miranda, who were already making their way to the open door that lead to the engine room.

 

Finishing off whatever straggling collectors were left at the scene, the trio finally made it to the engine room. the ship's eezo core lay dead center, glowing bright blue, its surface glimmering like sunlight burning through an ocean.

 

EDI popped up through another display panel adjacent to the core. "Shepard, I have accessed multiple surveillance points throughout the ship. I've found something rather unusual in the cargo bay. It happens to be the source of the unusual energy signal we discussed earlier."

 

"That's it then." Isaac said, approaching the spherical holograph. "That's the Marker"

 

"Give us a live feed, EDI." said Shepard.

 

A holographic screen popped up, showing the collectors security feed. The cargo bay was caked in human and collector blood, Necromorphs shambled to and fro, their claws waving as they scanned the room for more prey. Some climbed into ventilation shafts, exploring the ship, looking for more ways to infiltrate the deepest recesses of the vessel. Open pods were everywhere, covered with the various sanguine fluids that the necromorphs expelled at their birth. At the bay's center, lay a massive, twin-spired monolith. It glowed a deep, dark red as a light mist accumulated at its base. Isaac could hardly believe what he was seeing. Not even a day ago was the threat seemingly over. Now, it was here. Right n front of his very eyes, taunting him with it's very existence, its sheer audacity to remain alive. His pupils shrunk. His breathing became louder. His brow furrowed. His bloodshot eyes widened. Just when the nightmare seemed over, the cruel winds of fate showed Isaac once more that it would never end.

 

No.

 

This could not continue.

 

He was going to end this. Whether it was today or tomorrow, whether this was the last remaining marker, or one of hundreds, this was going to end.

 

At that exact moment, Isaac vowed silently to himself: "This will end."

 

"No matter what cost it'll come to, no matter what else happens, this will end."

 

"Ask her if overloading this thing's engines will destroy it." Isaac said, still staring death into the holographic screen.

 

"We don't need to. This thing's core is large enough that there won't be anything left when it goes off." Shepard replied.

 

"Are we sure we want to do that?" said Miranda. "If we can salvage this 'Marker' for Cerberus research, there's a good chance we can learn something valu-"

 

"Excuse me?!" Isaac said, shifting his gaze at Miranda. 'What did you just say?". Isaac couldn't believe his ears, yet out of everyone he had met so far, he was least surprised that this "Miranda" Character would be saying something like this. This organization, this "Cerberus" seemed to be the exact kind of special interest group that would think themselves able to control something like this, only to have it explode in their face. Miranda seemed to embody everything about everyone who has ever done him wrong. She was a staunch upholder of some sort of secretive organization. She as ambitious, and blithe to even the most obvious danger. She was cold in mannerism and seemed not to care what cost this knew knowledge would reap.

 

"I said we should take it to-"

 

"Are you this stupid all the time, or is this a one time thing?" Isaac said scornfully. "That thing is responsible for everything that's happening on this ship. It's brothers are responsible for what was n that screen back on the Rayya."

 

"First of all, do NOT speak to me like that again, second, I never saw that transmission. And third, how do you know so damn much about it? Let alone enough to try and sacrifice what could potentially be a weapon we could use to stop the reapers?"

 

"I haven't told you his full story, Miranda." Said Shepard. "That thing will do us no good. We have to destroy it."

 

"Commander-"

 

"It's my call, Miranda. It has to go."

 

"Fine..."

 

"I have pulled back any and all security measures keeping the core secure, Shepard. You should be able to overload it from there."

 

"Copy that, EDI. Once it starts, how long do we have to get out of here?"

 

"I estimate the core to reach critical meltdown by approximately twelve minutes. I have already opened all doors on your extraction route. However, I'm detecting immense levels of activity within the ships ventilation system. I'd recommend staying away from any vents or grates. I am also detecting sizable groups of those former colonists, as well as several remaining collector squads and accompanying husks."

 

"Roger that EDI." said Shepard as the holo-diplay closed.

 

"Husks? The hell are those?" Isaac asked, reloading the smoking plasma battery in his weapon. "Something the collectors cobbled up?"

 

"No. The reapers did." Shepard replied. "Basically a dead body whose organs and fluids have been replaced by synthetic materials."

 

"They any challenge compared to the necromorphs?"

 

"If they swarm in big enough groups, yes. Let's just overload the core and get the hell out of here."

 

The core burst with rays of azure light as round after round pummeled into it. The protective casing fidgeted, lingering in the retracted position as EDI kept it open. Tendrils of cerulean light orbited the core as the trio continued to punish it, the rippling waves of light on its surface intensifying as more plasma and metal flew into it. Finally, the core was compromised as it shattered apart, blue flame exploding and immediately dwindling as electricity sparked within the empty shell.

 

"Alright, that's our cue. Let's move."

 

Running through the passageways, the group found itself beset by at least several dozen husks. The creatures charged immediately, moaning and screaming as they ran towards their living targets, who replied instantly with volleys of gunfire. Their blue, horribly altered bodies tore apart as shreds of metal and plasma flew through them. They weren't alone, however. A massive, floating construct sailed through the foul air, its four glowing eyes piercing the darkness of the vessel's interior. Electrical sparks erupted from its back, and a collection of what seemed to be the heads of what used to be humans brimmed under its ray-shaped head while long, seemingly bladed tentacles dangled from its underside.

 

"Praetorian!" Shepard called as he ducked behind a fallen pillar. "Everyone take cover!'

 

"He doesn't look like he'll go down easy..." said Isaac after dispatching several more husks. "What's the plan, Shepard? Fight, or flight?"

 

"From what I recall fighting one of these on Horizon, plus our limited time-frame, I'm temped to say flight..." replied Shepard, cursing under his breath as he did his best to keep the husks off him while the praetorian bore down on him with its particle beam.

 

"Hold, on. I think I can keep it still long enough for us to get a crack at it. Hold on..." Isaac said, reloading his cutter as he moved from pillar to pillar. Ducking out of cover for only a second, he aimed his left hand toward the monstrosity before firing a discharge of strange, blue energy, landing a direct hit on the praetorian. The creature was encased in a peculiar blue aura, as its movements were nearly frozen in time. The beam it was firing seemed to have stopped in mid air, clothes-lining several charging husks. Shepard and Isaac immediately focused their fire on the airborne creature, searing through its shields and burning through its exterior. The blue light began to fade, and the monster was released from its time-woven prison. It began to scream as its body disintegrated into dust, falling to the floor in decaying values of blue.

 

"There's our window! Let's move!"

 

Miranda let loose another biotic wave, sending the remaining husks skyward before slamming them into the ground, killing them instantly.

 

"So... a portable stasis cannon?" said Miranda as the pulsating biotic energy enveloping her began to ebb. "Impressive..."

 

"Wait, so you guys have stasis too?" said Isaac, attempting to catch up wit his accomplices.

 

"Not exactly like that..." replied Shepard. "... But yeah."

 

Another bulkhead door opened up, revealing a familiar pathway that led to their exit.

 

"Must be the way we came in."

 

"Everyone hurry! We only have three minutes left!"

 

Their exit was soon blocked off by none other than the colonists, breaking out of their glowing capsules, bleeding, roaring, ready to bring the living flesh in front of them into their ranks.

 

That's when Isaac noticed the pile of bodies from before was absent.

 

Just as Shepard began to open fire on the bloody, twisted abominations before him, a thunderous, deafening roar pierced his ears. He felt tremors rippling through the floor, repeating in a dreadful, steady rhythm. Something was coming. Something very, very big was coming.

 

As he finished off another slasher, Isaac paused as the roar reverberated throughout the chamber. 'Shepard..."

 

"I have a feeling you know what that was, Isaac... any special advice?"

 

"Well, given our fast-closing window, and the fact that this thing is armored enough that nothing can penetrate it unless you hit it in the back, I think we only have one remaining option."

 

"And that is?"

 

"Run."

 

No sooner had Isaac said that when the source of the roar crashed in through a closed bulkhead, sending the ruined, crumpled remains of the doors flying into the room. It was massive, pounding its gargantuan fists into the deck with incalculable force. The remains of what was recognizable as a human face peered out with beady eyes between massive, plated shoulders. Its brow was expressionless, and its lower jaw absent. Its teeth had become nothing short of long, thin daggers, bristling from the upper jaw of the monster's head. Emitting another ear-splitting roar, it charged full speed towards the three, bellowing as it closed in on its quarry.

 

"We only have a minute and a half left! We don't have time to fight this thing!" Miranda exclaimed, as her fire merely bounced off of the brute's armored plates.

 

The monster soon found itself frozen in a blue haze, wavering only a few meters in front of the trio.

 

"There! Isaac's frozen it! Everyone back to the Normandy! GO!"

 

Without even a second thought, Isaac, Shepard and Miranda made a break for the open door, the Normandy's shuttle waiting outside. The stasis wore off on the brute, its speed gaining on the fleeing squad. Shepard could hear the beast's rumbling gait linger ever closer. He could feel the shockwaves its roar exuded on his back. The hairs on the back of his neck raised as the brute closed in, only yards behind them. Their ride out was only a few feet away...

 

Miranda was the first to make it in. Shepard following suit, jumping as far he could, utilizing the reduced gravity to its fullest. Isaac however, lagged behind, the brute just behind him. The door was just within reach. The abomination's hand reached out to grab Isaac, to force him into those powerful jaws where he would be hewn and crushed between bloodied shards of bone. Despite the monster's efforts, Isaac was determined that this wasn't where he was going to die. Passing the door, he pressed the holo-panel on its surface, closing it behind him. The massive bulkhead doors came together with tremendous force, pinning the brute between them, catching its head and right arm. The beast roared and wailed as the doors continued to crush it. Within a split second, they came together, messily bisecting the creature, which now lay lifeless on the deck as Isaac clambered inside the shuttle.

 

"That was way too close..." Isaac said, catching his breath

 

As the shuttle flew off towards the Normandy's open hangar bay, Isaac looked out the small window in the vessel's side, watching as the collector ship started to fall apart from the inside out. Explosions popped up on its surface, dotting the entire length of the ship. Slowly, section by section, it began to blow apart completely, the stern and engines bursting into bright shades of blue. It overtook the ship, cracking it all the way up to the bow, until finally, the entire vessel went up in an instantaneous explosion. The shuttle picked up speed to avoid the incoming shrapnel, quickly dodging its way into the awaiting Normandy.

 

Two hours later, and Isaac finds himself in the tech lab, gazing out into the stars as the Normandy sped through the cosmos faster than light itself, making its way to the nearest relay. They had already done a fly-by of what was left of the collector ship. The signal EDI had detected earlier was no longer showing up on her scanners, and not a single piece of the marker could be found. IT gave Isaac some comfort, but even with the Marker gone, Isaac knew there had to be more. It couldn't have been the only one that followed him here. The horror he witnessed on that ship, the horror he had already seen unfold may times before him, would repeat. He remembered the vow he had made to himself. He remembered his promise.

 

"This will end. No matter what."

 

"This will end..."

 

Isaac didn't realize that he was saying his vow aloud, and in Mordin's company.

 

"What is it that is ending, Mr Clarke? Collector threat? You entrapment in this reality? Perhaps. Former seems more likely, given latest blow dealt to them. Not certain about latter. Promise to help, but may take-"

 

"No, its... It's nothing, Mordin." Isaac replied. "Hey, uh, what was it you said you were again? I'm uh, still trying to get acclimated to the whole 'I'm not alone in the universe' thing, and I don;t think I've seen anything that really looks like you so far, so... yeah."

 

"Ah yes, nearly forgot about that." Mordin said politely as he retreated form his console. "Think you may need to know more than just my race, however. Would not be very good to see you ask every sentient being its race while on shore leave."

 

"I guess that makes sense..."

 

"Would be amusing to watch you go for their hips, however..." Mordin said, chuckling to himself.

 

"... You guys are never letting me live that down are you?"

 

"Most likely."

 

Mordin proceeded to impart everything he knew about the galaxy to him. Unlike the last time he and Isaac conversed, Isaac hadn't asked for the short version. This time, he felt he needed to know more. Even though the threat of the markers was now calling on this reality's doorstep, Isaac couldn't help but be curious. All the recent tumult had taken a toll on his sanity and time. Now that he was finally somewhere where he could gather his thoughts and rest, he was more than eager to try and find out as much about this place as possible. Mordin told him about the council, the galaxy's main, central government, and how most of the galaxy adhered to it, along with all the races that it encompassed. He told Isaac about the geth, how they came to be, and how they rebelled against their quarian masters, forcing them into a nomadic lifestyle, leading them to lose their immune systems, as well as their seat in the council. He proceeded to tell him about how the asari found the citadel, and were joined by the turians, followed by his own race, the salarians later on. He covered the Rachni wars, and the Krogan rebellions that followed. He went over how the batarians lost their council seat after attacking humanity for entering their colonial space, resulting in a race-wide grudge that beget pirate and slaver attacks on human colonies. Mass effect fields and biotics were also discussed, as Mordin explained how eezo worked and how it reacted with organic life, specifically anything with a nervous system, which would develop nodes that serve as conduits for mass effect fields that could be made more powerful by implanted amplifiers.  He elucidated on how humanity came to enter the galactic scene. Pluto's moon, Charon was in effect a mass relay. Humanity had never seen such a machine, and they had only just discovered mass effect/eezo technology. Unfortunately, they were also unaware of galactic law, which forbade anyone from activating any inactive relay without permission from the council, leading to the first contact war, in which humanity fought against the turians.

 

"Wow... we really rocked the boat when we showed up, didn't we?"

 

"That you did." Mordin said politely before returning to his work. "That's all for now. Much work to be done. More enlightenment on galactic subjects later?"

 

"Yeah, that's fine."

 

"Enjoyed speaking with you, Mr Clarke."

 

As he exited the tech lab, Isaac took a good, long look at the ship that, for now, was going to be his home. Everything in sight seemed to contrast life on the Falcon to the extreme. The whole interior was ablaze with light. Holo-panels dotted many areas of the ship. A large display of the Normandy took center stage, while another display of the milky way resided behind it, Yeoman Chambers manning a console in its right. Well dressed, clean, well-groomed staff manned the computers that lined the interior partitions of this "Combat Information Center" as the words written on the walls implied. This whole place was nothing like the dark, dank interior of a mining vessel like the Falcon. There was no dirt or grime on the walls, and the tubes and pipes that would line its walls were no where to be found here. Isaac would remember how dirty and greasy his clothes and RIG would be every time he came home from a mining op, unlike all the neat, tidy faces he saw manning the computers and talking near the Normandy display. It struck him odd to be in such a sterile, clean environment. Cramped space and stale air were more or less all he knew. This would take some getting used to.

 

Soon enough, he figured that he wasn't getting used to it any faster just standing there. It was time he got acquainted with the Normandy.

 

Isaac wandered over to the Armory, examining all the exotic weaponry that lined the tables and racks. He looked at each one of them in detail, eyeing their contours and moving parts, wondering what they looked like inside, wondering how they worked, how they could be taken apart and reconfigured.

 

"Can I help you?"

 

"Oh, sorry. Just uh... just checking out the kit you've got here."

 

"In any case, I'm gonna have to ask you not to touch them. Those are for use by Shepard's squad in missions, or by the crew in case of emergency. Either way, they don't need to be tampered with."

 

"Got it. I didn't catch your name, by the way."

 

"Name's Jacob Taylor. I'm the Armory officer aboard the Normandy."

 

"Interesting... You know, I'd really like the chance to get to know how these things tick."

 

"I think the doctor over in the tech labs might be able to help you on that one. I'm a little busy maintaining our armaments. Too busy to try and give a lecture on how they work"

 

"Mordin already told me the basic premise. I just want to get some hands-on experience."

 

"That's gonna have to wait, Mr Clarke."

 

Sighing under his breath, Isaac complied. "Fine... be seeing you around."

 

"Well, that was a waste of time..." Isaac said to himself as he exited the armory. "Where to next..."

 

Isaac couldn't help but feel a little clueless as he looked around the CIC. He was almost sure he had been through the majority of it, and he wasn't sure exactly were he was going next. That's when a familiar "face" came out of a projection port next to him.

 

"Pleasure to see you, Mr Clarke."

 

"Oh. It's you again. I remember you showing up when were about to overload that collector ship's core."

 

"Indeed that was me." EDI replied. "I assume you're lost."

 

"That's more or less where I'm at, yeah."

 

"I see. The elevator behind you can take you to any deck on the ship. You've used it before, when you returned from the collector vessel."

 

"Yeah, I remember. That was from the hangar, though. How many decks are on the ship?"

 

"Five. You're currently on the second deck, which serves as the combat information center. Deck one is the captain's quarters, although i advise that one stays out of Deck one unless personally invited. Deck three is the Crew's quarters, where most of the ship's personnel spend their downtime. You'll also find the ship's main batteries here. Deck four is engineering, which houses the engine and all affiliated functions and staff. I believe you've already been to deck five, which is the hangar."

 

"Alright, thanks for the... wait, um... what do you call yourself?"

 

"EDI. Short for Enhanced Defense Intelligence. I operate all the ship's electronic warfare suites, as well as its stealth and drive functions"

 

"Wow... okay then. Thanks for the info." said Isaac as he walked towards the elevator"

 

"Logging you out, Isaac."

 

Entering the elevator, Isaac saw a panel, displaying the multiple decks. He chose Deck Three, and the elevator doors closed, sending Isaac below to the crew's quarters. He wasted no time getting out of the elevator, wanting to see what more the Normandy had in store. Right ahead of him was a familiar, scarred face. Garrus was busying himself with the ship's main battery, calibrating its targeting systems.

 

"Hey."

 

"Well well well, look what the varren dragged in. Sightseeing are we?"

 

"I guess you could say that, yeah. Just looking around."

 

"That's all well and good. Just don't touch anything up here." said Garrus pointing to the calibration monitor. "Last thing we need is a stray torpedo hitting someone off in deep space.."

 

"Gotcha. Hey, I don't wanna be too intrusive, but where'd you get.... That?" Isaac said, making a circling motion with his hand over the right side of his face. 'I mean if it's too personal, I ca-"

 

"Ah, it's nothing." Garrus replied. "As you know Shepard was dead for two years before Cerberus brought him back. Beforehand, me and several others were part of his team. I won't blab all day about the intermitting story, so I'll cut to the chase. Come two years after Shepard goes down on the Original Normandy, I'm fighting off mercenaries on this godforsaken rock called Omega. Soon, I notice that three of them are shooting their comrades in the back. They come upstairs and, lo and behold, there's Shepard. A bit scarred up but alive nonetheless. He offers me a place in the team again, and needless to say the return journey was a little... bumpy. Gunship came in and gave me a run for my money."

 

"Wow... so how long have you known him?"

 

"As of now about two and a half years, if you can count the time he was spending dead."

 

"That's pretty interesting..."

 

"It's quite  yarn alright." said Garrus while turning his attention back to his console. "now, as you can see, I'm a little busy. Not to be rude or anything, but this gun still needs calibrating."

 

"I see. Catch you later."

 

"You too."

 

Isaac spotted a sign above a door on the deck's port side. "Executive officer's Quarters". He had a good feeling of who was in there, and he knew he didn't want to talk to her, of all people. She was suspicious, to say the least, as her little slip up aboard the Collector ship seemed to be all isaac need to know about her. Wanting to take the Marker... surely someone who would come up with that kind of madness was either under its influence, or simply too arrogant or careless to realize that it would mean their doom.

 

Descending down the elevator once more, Isaac found himself in engineering. It was a little more dark in there, and the piping and stuffing tube he was familiar with lined the walls. For a moment, he felt almost at home as he descended a staircase down into a lower level. That's when he realized he wasn't alone.

 

"The hell are you?" asked an irritated voice from within the bowels of the ship.

 

"Oh, no one. Just having a look around the Normandy."

 

"Well, don't look here" Said Jack as she came into the red light.

 

"Look, I'm sorry if I bothered you bu-"

 

"How bout you take your cerberus BS and shove it? I asked shepard for a solitary quarters for a reason."

 

"Jeez, who pissed in your coffee? I'm not even Cerberus! I'm new! I'm just familiarizing myself with the ship!"

 

"Hmm... yeah I don't see any cerberus insignia on you. Nevermind. Either way, there's nothing really special for you to rummage around if that's what you're looking for."

 

"Oh."

 

"Hey what's with the weird, glowy outfit? Especially that weird-ass fur collar..."

 

"Well, it is two-hundred years old and made for cold climates."

 

"Well, that explains it. Soooo... yeah. Like I said. Nothing to see here."

 

"Alright. Hey, wait, did you ever tell me your name?"

 

"Do you remember me telling you?"

 

"No..."

 

"Then chances are, I haven't told you. It's Jack. Just Jack."

 

"Okay... Isaac. Isaac Clarke."

 

"Whatever... see ya."

 

"Yeah, see ya."

 

Isaac went back up the stairs into main engineering, still a little confused as to what to make of the scantly clad, tattooed woman who lurked within the bowels of the ship. She was an odd specimen, that was for sure. Whoever this, "jack" was, however, Isaac felt quite confident (and relieved) that if she were to have any further dealings with him, it wouldn't be anytime soon. That one was stuck in her shell good, and it didn't seem like there would be a whole lot that could pry her out.

 

Reaching the top of the stairs, Isaac was met with another sight that he wasn't sure he was seeing right. For the most part, this deck seemed awfully reminiscent of ship he had already been on. Now, as he looked at what was most likely the engine room, he was taken aback by just how sterile and clean the entire place was. Everything shone in some sort of indigo haze, including the immense, spherical structure that lay ahead of him. An oscillating hum radiated from it as it vibrated in its enclosure, accessed by a single, open catwalk.

 

"I thought you might come snooping around." said a familiar voice coming from one of the consoles to his left.

 

"Oh! Tali, its you!" Isaac replied. "Good to se you again!"

 

"You too, you crazy bosh'tet." she said warmly. "I've been meaning to talk with you, actually."

 

"Yeah, I still remember how you told me that aboard the Falcon.' said Isaac facetiously. "Do you always talk with your hand like that when you get excited?"

 

"Oh, come on! You have to give me a pass on that one! I got excited! What, with the fact that you had just destroyed an entire flight of batarian slavers with a bunch of asteroids towed with... well, I don't even know what that was! How did you reel them in like that?"

 

"Mining technology? We just use those to either lift a piece of a planetoid up, or reel in any asteroid that the scanner says is rich in resources. It's just standard gravity-tether tech, You guys don't have that?"

 

"What was your first clue?"

 

"Heh... yeah, I see I've still got a lot of smoke and mirrors this galaxy seems to want. Especially the Shockdrive. Seriously, you guys never figured it out? Just how long has everyone been stuck on this relay network? I mean, Mordin told me all about this eezo tech and whatnot. It's all pretty impressive, but it kind of limits you guys, you know?"

 

"That's exactly what I thought when we were perched outside the galaxy. Really, I couldn't believe what I was seeing! Just how commonplace are voyages like that back home? Just how far do they usually go?"

 

"You bet they are. We go way farther out than that most of the time. It's funny, i mean, we haven't really cracked half of our own galaxy either. We just use advanced detection equipment to find any system rich in resources and shock out to it. Most of the unexplored galaxy is like that because there's nothing there to grab."

 

"Wow... I'm not going to lie, but it sounds like your reality is a bit depressing. Just how resource strapped is it over there?"

 

"It got bad enough at one point that we almost kicked the bucket. AT that point, there was literally not a single drop of resources left on earth. We had nowhere to go but the stars, so we just decided it was time to put aside all differences and reach out to space. We've stripped entire planets bare trying to rebuild ourselves. Now we're more or less overpopulated everywhere we are."

 

"'Stripping planets bare'? That sounds horrible! How is that even possible?"

 

"Planetcrackers. That's how. I was an engineer for the biggest mining company in the business: the CEC, or concordance extraction corporation. They had some pretty big ships in their fleet, some of the first of that size to be fitted with shockdrives. Just about any one of these ships was at least twice the size of that collector ship. They would basically use gravity tethers like the Falcon's, only upscaled like crazy, big enough to need ground based counterparts. You see, we'd establish a colony planetside, where we'd set up the ground tethers, conduct research on the planet, all that jazz, then we'd "pop the cork". Basically the ship lifted a massive chunk of the planet with its tethers. We'd smelt that piece for any metals or resources, then proceed to mine the rest of the planet until we've gotten everything we needed."

 

"That's unbelievable...."

 

"It sounds pretty insane doesn't it? However you want to take it, it kept us alive. Now that I look at it, it's pretty drastic, but that's how it went down."

 

"At least tell me everything got better on earth..."

 

"Not really. We may have brought ourselves back from the brink, but it came at a price. The skies haven't been blue in decades. Half the oceans are toxic. Barely any animals or plants remain. If you looked at it from space, all you'd see is a dirty, grey ball. The whole place really is a dump. I can only hope things are better here..."

 

"They are, actually. I'm not from earth, obviously, but from what I've seen in news vids, earth is really entering a golden age."

 

"Interesting."

 

"Hey, you said you were an engineer before, right?"

 

"That I am."

 

"Great minds think alike, I suppose."

 

"Oh, you're an engineer too?"

 

"You bet! I mean, all us quarians are pretty tech savvy, but yes, I dabble in just about anything artificial."

 

"nice!"

 

Just then, the door opened behind them, and a rather large, top heavy figure entered the room.

 

"Isaac!" boomed a hearty, familiar voice as its source charged into the room. "Heard you were on board!"

 

"Oh, uh, hey Grunt." said Isaac, somewhat surprised by the Krogan's intrusion. "What brings you here?"

 

"My quarters are on this deck. EDI gave me heads up that you were on board. I could detect your scent when you entered the deck."

 

"That's... cool... Well, you have my attention. What's up?"

 

"I.... uh... I dunno."

 

"Really? Nothing?"

 

"Uhhhh... I guess not."

 

"Okay... so that's it?"

 

"WAIT WAIT WAIT, I almost forgot! Don't tell Shepard about this, but... uh... do you have any more batteries for that contact beam thing?"

 

"I'm pretty sure there's tons on the Falcon... that said I don't remember lending you any..."

 

"Yeah, I kinda borrowed some while we were in the cargo bay. I'm all out though."

 

"Really? Where'd you get to shoot all of it, exactly?"

 

"Uhhhh... nevermind. I just, um... lost it.. somewhere... So yeah, I'll... I'll see you later."

 

"Okay..."

 

"Just don't tell Shepard."

 

"Bye..."

 

"bye..."

 

A brief pause ensued as Grunt left the room. Both Isaac and Tali just stood there, not knowing exactly what to do next. Isaac may not have been able to see Tali's face, but he knew what expression it bore, one which mirrored his; eyes wide, lips tucked, brows raised.

 

"How many things do you think have new holes in them?"

 

"Probably everything."

 

"Wanna check?"

 

"I'm not sure If I'm ready..."

 

Stepping into the hallway, Isaac and tali look out of the window into the cargo bay. What they saw next was, predictable, to say the least.

 

"How much do you think this is going to cost?"

 

"Too much..."

 

"What about that... wait, was that a box of spare parts or something?"

 

"That was a probe."

 

"Oh."

 

"How didn't you see this when coming back from the collector ship?"

 

"It wasn't like this when we got there..."

 

"Should we tell Shepard?"

 

"Well, he asked me not to..."

 

"I think he ought to know."

 

"Probably."

 

"Maybe we will and say we didn't?"

 

"That's a good idea."

 

Meanwhile, in the briefing room, Shepard was having a heated discussion with his primary ally.

 

"Don't try to overstep me, Shepard." The Illusive man said, tapping the butt of his cigarette. "You came into contact with this "Isaac" and didn't notify me first ting. That's the bottom line."

 

"In case you haven't been listening, we had our hands full trying to figure out what to do with him. I'd  think you'd be at least a little more appreciative seeing as how my first thought was to recruit him!"

 

"And in doing so, you almost let him slip through your fingers! Yes, I would've approved of him joining your crew, but that doesn't mean you have to get clingy on him. You may have meant well, but your tactics regarding him were nothing less than an outright blunder!"

 

"Either way, he's on our side now. We can discuss the semantics when they actually start to matter. Of all people who would start questioning the means to an end, I would've thought you be the last person to do so."

 

"I don;t like the way you worded that, Shepard. I may be direct, but don't try to paint me as some ruthless creature devoid of consideration or foresight. Besides, judging from what both you and EDI have revealed to me, he came aboard your ship on his own free will, not your beckoning! In tandem with that, he came aboard because of a new threat. A threat that apparently followed him into this reality! Shepard, very few things get me worried but what I saw from that transmission that EDI intercepted... Shepard, you saw it for yourself. That thing was at least the size of a small planet! If that arrives here, it may be on par with the Reapers! We haven't even dealt with their collector puppets yet."

 

"I think we may be able to avoid the Reapers altogether if we play our cards right with the tech Isaac came in with. We could possibly evacuate the entire galaxy with that technology alone."

 

"Interesting you bring that up, Shepard. Before I even hear a peep about anything that man has on his ship, you let him give half a lecture on how it works to the Migrant Fleet. That better be forgetfulness behind that, Shepard."

 

"Why do you insist that I have to wrangle him up before I even have his trust? What should I have done? Board the Falcon and kidnap him to be sent over to your HQ for questioning? He has his own itinerary. I can't force him out of it. Didn't you just say that I should have been more subtle with him?"

 

"I think the word you're looking for is 'asserted yourself'. Try not to confuse that with waving an 'enlist now' poster in his face."

 

"Oh, I'm sure that would've worked. Given his probable mental state and recent history, I'm sure he'd love to have some paramilitary force him at gunpoint to join."

 

"You keep making those strawmen, Shepard. Just know that you've really hampered how much I can trust you."

 

"Oh, is that so? Well, why don't you explain that little turian signal back on that collector ship."

 

"A calculated risk. I had confidence in you and your team's ability to succeed."

 

"Calculated risk, huh? Did that include the Marker? Or the Necromorphs?"

 

"There's no way I could've predicted that Shepard."

 

"Calculated or not, that was quite a risk to take."

 

"We'll talk about it later Shepard. We need to gather all the resources we can. We're not facing just one threat anymore. There's two storms about to make landfall and we need to be ready. You're dismissed."

 

---

 

"So, what are the specs on this thing? Does it require any outside power source?" asked Kenneth as he examined the strange tool on Isaac's wrist.

 

"Nah. It runs on the RIG's power."

 

"Amazing... I do suppose that heat sink makes it a bit uncomfortable though."

 

"Yeah, it heats up a little if you overuse it."

 

"I'm a little more interested in that stasis cannon, though." said Gabby. "We have stasis in this reality, it's kind of different. The collectors have some sort of swarm that activates a stasis field, and we have stasis pods to stabilize life over long periods of time, but shooting a burst of it out of your wrist? That's awesome! Does it run off the RIG's power too?"

 

"Nah, it doesn't work that way. It runs on an energy canister that gives it a few more shots, kind of like ammo in a rifle."

 

"Am I interrupting anything?" asked Shepard while entering the room.

 

"Just a little engineer sowing circle." Ken replied. "Who would've thought that our first contact with someone from another reality would be a greasemonkey too?"

 

"Good to see you, Shepard." said Tali. "Anything we can help with?"

 

"That's okay. Just wanted a word with Isaac in the briefing room. Isaac?"

 

"Yeah, sure. I'll be right back guys."

 

"And we'll be here when you get back." Ken replied.

 

The doors to the briefing room shut, and Isaac and Shepard found themselves alone.

 

"I see you and the engineering crew have gotten to know each other."

 

"Yep. Techies stick together y'know?"

 

"I can see that. Y'know, I'm no techie, but I'm a little interested in that kit you were showing the others."

 

"Okay, then why pull me aside? I was already starting to cover the stasis module"

 

"I got a call from Jack. Turns out some 'weird guy in a 200 year old suit' came blundering by."

 

"Oh, her. She's uh... she's a piece of work, I'll tell you that much."

 

"That may be true, but if it's also true that the suit you're wearing is two centuries old, I think it's time for a trip to the tailor."

 

"You guys have that on the ship?"

 

"Not really, but I'm thinking a change of attire may be appropriate. I'm gonna be pretty frank here, that thing looks worn out. Badly."

 

"I see. Sooooo, is that why you pulled me over? Just offer me a new suit?"

 

"Nope. I just wanted to see what resources you needed."

 

"Resources?"

 

"Isaac, do you consider yourself a part of the team?"

 

"I'm gonna be honest, I'm not really digging the idea of being conscripted into anything. I'm leaning more in favor of a partnership."

 

"Which I have nothing against. That said, I assume you're not looking forward to wearing any kind of uniform."

 

"Is that a trick question?"

 

"That's what I expected to hear. You're also an engineer, am I correct? Like to build things? Get your hands dirty?"

 

"Shepard, what are you getting at? What did you mean by 'resources'?"

 

"I'm asking if there's anything you need to build yourself a new suit."

 

Isaac just stood there silently, eyes widening just a little. Slowly he turned his head towards Shepard, still wearing a blank, wide-eyed expression.

 

"Isaac, are you alri-?

 

"Gimme a minute. I've gotta compile a list."

 

Down on engineering, Tali, Kenneth and Gabby were beginning to wonder where their haggard, fur-collared friend had gone off to. It had been about twenty minutes, and he still hadn't returned from the briefing room. They were just starting to get to the point where they started contemplating simply getting back to work, when suddenly, a haggard man dressed in a worn jacket and Levis, carrying what seemed to be a full body suit and a datapad, rushed into the room.

 

"Isaac? is that you?" asked Tali.

 

"Yep. I was wondering, is there any spare room I can use? A table, maybe?"

 

"Isaac? What are you working on?" asked Gabby. "And...Ugh! Why do you smell like you haven't showered in...?!"

 

"Three days? Probably because I haven't. Let's just say I've been a bit preoccupied." said Isaac.

 

"Well, if you're looking for space to work, you can go below. Lots of room down there."

 

"I think you forgot about Crazy McTatbody down there." Isaac replied.

 

"I heard that!"

 

"Sorry!"

 

"Anyways, whats going on?" asked Tali. "Why's your suit off?"

 

Isaac tossed the datapad to her. "See everything on that list? We got all that?"

 

"We should over in the storage areas... just what are you up to?"

 

"A little wardrobe overhaul. Mind helping me out?"

 

"Sure!" Replied Ken. "Where do we start?"

 

"Right here. Follow me"

 

Ken took out a table from storage, setting it up in the engine room. "I know this isn't a whole lot of space, but it'll have to do for now."

 

"It's fine." Replied Isaac. "Get it set up. I'll see what parts from this suit are salvageable. Gabby, you have those hardsuit components?"

 

"Got em right here."

 

"Tali. you got the tools?"

 

"Out and ready!"

 

"Alright. Let's get started!"

 

Within moments, the entire engineering deck was ablaze with activity, with Gabby and Ken going back and forth, fetching needed resources, while helping disassemble key components from the spare hardsuit. Each shield generator, every ceramic composite plate was separated and inspected. Each part on the list was taken to Tali. The quarian worked her hardest to get every part into the desired arrangement. She looke over Isaac's rough sketches, looking at what parts would fit best and which ones had to be "altered". She tore at the underlaying fiber mesh, cutting it to it's appropriate size and shape in accordance with Isaac's blueprints. Isaac himself was occupying himself with his suit, taking a blowtorch and screwdriver to its metal parts, separating them from the cloth body. He detached the titanium-ceramic composite boots, examining which parts were no longer useful. All the boosters were slightly worn, but could be fixed. Several of the thrust vectoring flaps were in bad shape. Fuel cells had corroded to a certain point even before he had found the suit. They had power, but only enough for about an hour of sustained flight. They required replacement.

 

"Where's that box of eezo cells? These propulsors might need some new juice."

 

"You're going to use eezo in those boots? Are you sure they're compatible?" asked Tali.

 

"Not right now, but with the right modifications, They'll work like a charm."

 

"If you say so. Over to your left. It's clearly marked."

 

"Thanks."

 

"Hey Isaac!" Called Gabby from the back of the room. "Found a few more tables. Think we can set 'em up in there?"

 

"Not a whole lot of room back here, but yeah, I think Tali could use one."

 

"Thank you. It was getting a little tiresome crouching on my knees and elbows like this. The floor makes for a very poor workbench."

 

"I'm pretty sure Shepard wouldn't mind watching you work like that." said Isaac, chuckling to himself as Tali got up from her near-prone position, her hips on full display.

 

"Wh- how did you kn-"

 

"Tali, please. It's not like it was hard to notice you two lovebirds on our little trip aboard the Falcon. Remember?' Isaac replied teasingly.

 

"Oh Keelah..."

 

"Oh come on, you guys were so cute!" Isaac said, turning back to his work.

 

"Har har."

 

"Here's some more of the plating, Tali." said Ken, handing over more of the hardsuit's pieces over to her as she set up her new workstation. "How's it going over there, Isaac?"

 

"I'm reconfiguring a couple things, mostly involving the air reserves and stasis... Mordin sent me these formulas on how this 'eezo' stuff creates mass effect fields and how said fields affect matter and compression... I think I can get a little cheeky with how much air or stasis I can use..."

 

"I just hope you know what you're doing, Isaac..." said Tali.

 

"I know half of what I'm doing... does that count?"

 

"It'll do..."

 

Shepard had more or less nothing left to to do with his spare time. He'd already checked up on most of his crew, as per Kelly's advice. All his messages had been checked. One from the Illusive man that he couldn't care less about, several from the Migrant fleet, and one or two from the council. Every one of them had something to do with the man who was now on board his ship. The Illusive man wanted to know about his mental state. There was at least a dozen from the quarians, many asking if "Mr Clarke was okay", others warning that he had better not be so brazen with one of their leaders again. Yet more asked about what exactly was on that screen, or whether or not it was a hoax. The messages from the Citadel seemed the most interesting. They had more than several offers to get Isaac's tech onto a production line. They seemed to want to pay Isaac for his tech. The amount they were offering was nothing less than a small fortune, and the Normandy could very well use that money, seeing as how it needed upgrades to face the collectors, and Isaac didn't seem to be the type who would embrace the glamorous life. Still, it didn't seem fair not to ask him about it.

 

"I'm gonna see how our new engineer is doing. Hold the fort down, Kelly."

 

"You got it."

 

Stepping out of the elevator, Shepard overheard several cheers and whoops from the room behind him.

 

"Alright! There we are! Finished!"

 

"Well, what're ya waiting for ya git?! Try it on!"

 

"Wait, hold on, someone's coming."

 

"Shepard!" Tali exclaimed. "Perfect timing! We just got finished with Isaac's new RIG."

 

"How'd it go?"

 

"See for yourself."

 

Entering the engine room, Shepard beheld a sight he wasn't sure what to make out of. Ken and Gabby were sweaty and spotted with grease on their uniforms. Tali's visor was smeared with hydraulic fluid, and the purple swirls on her hood were sullied with all sorts of grease and soot. Isaac stood near the back, now wearing his t-shirt and jeans, which were also nearly covered in black stains, as was the dirty brown jacket that hung over a cluttered table. The entire engine room was cluttered past recognition. Spare parts, pieces of what used to be vacuum-worthy cloth, projectile-resistant mesh, and ceramic-composite plate were strewn all around the floor. Toolboxes lay open, their contents spilling out of disorganized trays, screwdrivers, torque wrenches, blowtorch canisters. The entire engineering deck was swathed in a great, greasy, cluttered mess.

 

"Well... I can see you guys have been busy..."

 

"Very busy." Isaac replied. "And to think, we accomplished in five hours with four people what would have taken ten people a week to finish, or a computer a day. You've got some pretty talented folks here, Shepard."

 

"Boy, don't I..." Shepard replied while wading through the sea miscellaneous junk while entering the engine room. "I'm guessing it worked out?"

 

"Hell yeah, It worked out! Here it is..."

 

Isaac grabbed what looked like a giant, jagged metal briefcase. It was almost bigger than his torso, and was covered in clean cut plates of composite armor, plains of sleek vacuum-safe fabric and combat mesh underlying. Isaac inserted his hands into it, spreading his arms as he lifted the device in front of him. The device cracked open, letting two pant legs extend, open vertically from ankle to hip. They came onto Isaac's legs, enveloping them in a thick suit of armor and mesh. Zero-g boots assembled themselves around Isaac's feet as he lifted them to accommodate the soles., their thrust vectoring flaps moving up and down, calibrating themselves. The arms and torso opened themselves, encapsulating the rest of Isaac's body, sealing itself at the back. The many propulsion vents and flaps clicked open and shut, assuming all their possible positions. Finally, The console on the suit's chest opened up, flush with the armor plating from which it erupted. From it's berth, a hook picked up its payload, as its counterpart on the top of the glowing blue spine of Isaac's RIG released its own in perfect synchronization. In a matter of seconds, several dozen plates assembled themselves, latching upon one another to form an airtight seal. As the plates came together into their final form. Three tiers of blue light shone into the eyes of all in the room, while the sound of air being sealed within the helmet resounded in the room in a droning hiss. Isaac stepped forward, the matte black plates of his armor refusing to reflect to blue light emanating from the ship's engine. his gauntlets were rugged, plates welded perfectly together to form a tight bracer, strapped to his wrists with clean cut bands of composite armor, and his left gauntlet was adorned with the stasis and kinesis modules. Several plates of armor covered his chest, divided into four tiers, The first formed a protective breastplate, strapped to the spine of the RIG by solid titanium bands underlined with padding. The second tier was a series of smaller plates, segmented like the carapace of an insect. The bottom two consisted of a series of ribs, each with enough space between them to allow decent flexibility. His knees, shoulders, and elbows were clad in protective padding, overlaid with black plates. Needless to say, Isaac's audience was blown away.

 

"I gotta get me one of those." said Ken, his eyes widened in pure astonishment.

 

"I wonder if I can deck out my suit like that..." commented Tali.

 

"You'd certainly look at least fifty times more intimidating..." Replied Gabby. "What do you think, Shepard?"

 

"Hmm... that depends, are you guys up for another round... ?"

 

"What do you mean?" said Isaac.

 

"... because I wouldn't mind having a suit like that myself..."

 

All eyes in the CIC found themselves on Isaac as he stepped out of the elevator with the commander. His black and grey armor bore a grim, sleek, intimidating aura as his steel footsteps echoed throughout the room. Shepard lead him to the glowing display of the galaxy that lay near the center of the room. Multiple points were highlighted, pointing out the many destinations and stops that the galaxy had to offer. Isaac found his thoughts now cluttered with conjecture and curiosity. He recalled Mordin's exposition, remembering the many names he saw on the display; Palaven, Thessia, Tuchanka, Sur'Kesh. Each name incited genuine interest in Isaac, making him wonder what a visit to each would be like, what sights he'd see there.

 

"Y'know... this all makes me realize just how alone we really are back home. It just makes me wonder what else I've been missing."

 

"Doesn't mean you can't catch up. Did Mordin tell you about the Citadel?"

 

"Yeah, he told me about the council and everything. Said it was the seat of galactic power or something along those lines."

 

"That it is. Said council just sent me a message about you. They heard about how you got here, and your little encounter with the batarians."

 

"Huh... Did they want anything?"

 

"Yes. You're the galaxy's first extra-dimensional contact. As such, they're pretty eager to meet you."

 

"They also hear about shockdrives, I assume?"

 

"That they did. A lot of the quarians that were on the Falcon have relatives on the citadel. When those relatives got a hold of the video recording their family had taken, you can imagine just how fast the news spread."

 

"As long as they don't know about the first half of the Falcon's voyage recorder-"

 

"Isaac, the whole fleet saw that. Everyone who was watching the broadcast saw it."

 

"...great."

 

"Don't worry, I've already made arrangements to make sure you're not smothered with morbid questions when we set foot on the station."

 

"Are you sure? I really don't need trillions of people on my back about my past."

 

"You might end up with trillions on your back about other things anyway, but don't worry. Until we can get a good hold on this marker business, everything's gonna be under wraps."

 

"But didn't you just say the whole-"

 

"I said, I have it handled. Just bear with me Isaac. Let's just see what the council wants to know"

 

"Yeah..."

 

"Joker, set a course for the Citadel. Isaac's got an appointment with the council."

 

As the blue light of the relay jump vanished, The Normandy found herself facing an endless sea of stars. violet clusters of hot, burning hydrogen glowing in the distance. The black ether of space was permeated with the glow of countless points of violet light. The Normandy turned herself towards her destination. It was massive, more immense than anything Isaac had ever beheld before. Five immense plains of glowing orange light, arranged around a titanic circle, basked in the ample starlight. Isaac stepped further up into the cockpit, wanting to see more of this incredible structure. The rays of lavender light shone between each of the long, gleaming tendrils that drifted behind the massive ring that held them together. Up until this point, Isaac was the one who played host to sights that no one had seen before, sights that he had long acclimated himself to. Now he was experiencing the exact opposite. It was his turn to be spellbound by a beautiful sight, and he was basking in it.

 

 

"Oh my God.... Shepard, this cant be real..."

 

"Oh, it's real all right."

 

"That... that has to be at least several hundred miles long....."

 

"That it is."

 

"Just how many live on that thing?"

 

"Millions."

 

"That's unbelievable..."

 

"Believe it."

 

"Shepard, we're approaching our dock." said joker as he pulled into the immense station's moors.

 

"Ready to see what it's like up close?"

 

"You bet."

 

The mag-locks clamped themselves onto the Normandy's port side, keeping her still while the docking cradle made contact with the airlock, sealing the connection between ship and cradle. As he stepped into the airlock doors, Isaac activated his helmet. Plates of composite ceramic and titanium folded out and onto each other, metal clicking and servos whirring as they locked into place. His visor lit up, washing the airlock with glowing teal light.

 

"What's with the helmet?" asked Shepard.

 

"People haven't seen me in this suit yet. Long as I keep my face concealed, they won't have anything left to identify me by."

 

"Good thinking, but I assure you it won't be that necessary. No one's going to ask you about anything ugly. Trust me."

 

"Regardless, I just want to make sure. Nothing's wrong with erring on the side of caution."

 

"True, but there is something wrong when your first visit to the citadel is concealed behind a visor."

 

"Alright, fine." Isaac said as the plates of his helmet meshed back together. "I just hope you know for sure."

 

"Trust me, Isaac. I've got it under control."

 

The Airlock doors opened, and once more, Isaac took his first steps into an alien world.

 

looking all around him, Isaac saw what was probably the most unbelievable sight that had ever met his eyes. Millions of ships and transports flew overhead, their engines humming and echoing against the walls of the station. Immense crowds moving about their daily schedule reminded him of the Rayya, albeit less crowded. Races that Mordin had told him of, but he had never seen, moved along their normal routine, riding up the elevators, walking along the numerous pathways and walkways, and conversing with each other. The violet starlight had brightened to an oceanic blue, and its glow filled the entire station, cascading through the gaps in between its rotating sections. Each of them seemed the size of any given city at home. In addition, just about any city on earth or any other planet inhabited by humanity was no less than a quagmire of filth and hopelessness. This place was beautiful. Every wall, every passageway, every floor gleamed pure white, unmarred by the dirt, soot or other filth that pervaded every corner of his home plane. It was a metropolis the likes of which Isaac had never seen before, and it absolutely enthralled him.

 

"There's no way this can be real..."

 

"Oh, its real all right."

 

"This dwarfs anything we have at home..."

 

"I bet it does." Garrus said, walking out of the airlock. "Ready for your appointment with the council?"

 

"Let's just se wh-"

 

Before he could finish his sentence, Isaac found himself cut off by a growing throng of eager faces.

 

"OH MY GOSH, IT'S HIM!"

 

"DID YOU GUYS REALLY LEAVE THE GALAXY?"

 

"HOW CLOSE WERE YOU TO FINISHING THAT MOVIE?!"

 

"WHAT OTHER VIDS DID YOU STAR IN BACK HOME?"

 

Isaac just stood there dumbfounded. He was grateful that not a single question regarded life-consuming monstrosities, or the safety of their wives and children. He could be grateful that no one held him at gunpoint, demanding answers to their terrified pleas. That much he could be thankful for, but for now, he could only stand there, completely at a loss for words before slowly turning towards Shepard,

 

"Shepard..." he whispered under gritted teeth. "Why am I now a famous actor from another dimension."

 

"Well you are from another dimension aren't you?"

 

"That's almost funny."

 

"Hey, at least they saw what they've been told is a high-budget movie, not an apocalyptic horror."

 

"I dunno whether to thank you or curse you Shepard..."

 

"Let's just get moving."

 

Powering through the excited crowd, the three made their way up to a taxi bound for the presidium. Leaving the growing crowd behind, Isaac looked back, watching them swarm like ants to a piece of bread that was no longer there.

 

"I really don't know if this is better or worse then being a lone survivor.."

 

"Just stick with us. When we meet the council, keep in mind that they know it wasn't a movie. You think you can handle that?"

 

"Yeah... yeah I can handle that."

 

The taxi door opened, and the trio emerged into the pristine walls of the presidium. Mordin had told Isaac of this place. This was where the power of the galaxy resided. This was where the lives of trillions were governed. It reminded Isaac of EarthGov. The sleek, white walls reminded him of the sterile atmosphere that permeated every inch of the Sprawl's government sector. The notion of an all-powerful government reminded him of EarthGov's hubris, its unwillingness to understand the boundaries of power and influence. Boundaries that were already long broken by the time they had thrown away their prudence and consideration of risk. Though he felt it unfair to make presumptions, Isaac only felt it appropriate to take precautions. Whoever was in this "Council", whatever they wanted, Isaac knew he would have to play a cautious hand.

 

A pair of sleek, nearly silent doors opened to reveal none other than the former Admiral Anderson, embattled by the other members of the council.

 

"He'll be here whe- Oh! Shepard! You've arrived!"

 

"It's been a long time, Anderson. How have the last couple years treated you?"

 

"There's been a few rough spots. It's good to have you back."

 

"Glad to be back."

 

"I see you've brought our inter-dimensional contact as well. Good to see that. We can kill two birds with one stone this way. Nice to meet you Mr Clarke."

 

"You too... wait, how should I address you?"

 

"Councilor Anderson. Good to have you on board, Isaac."

 

"We've heard many rumors surrounding your unexpected return, commander." Piped in the Salarian counselor. "Some of them are... unsettling."

 

"We called this meeting so that you could explain your actions, Shepard. We owe you that much." said the Asari counselor. "After all you saved our lives during the attack on the citadel by Saren and his geth."

 

"Let's not forget the arrival of Mr Clarke." added the Turian counselor. "The technology he can afford us may be of incredible use to the galactic community."

 

"First of all..." said Shepard. "That wasn't Saren's geth. They were under the command of the reaper, Sovereign."

 

"Ah, yes, 'Reapers'... the immortal race of sentient starships allegedly waiting in dark space. We have dismissed that claim."

 

Anderson pulled Shepard aside. "Shepard, you're the only one who spoke with vigil and learned the truth about the reapers. Only you and your crew ever spoke with Sovereign. I believe you, but without that proof, the council has no reason to think that Sovereign was anything other than a geth ship."

 

"What about the collectors?" Isaac added. "Mordin told me all about how they've been operating throughout the galaxy for ages. Mostly the Terminus. How have you guys not realized what they are? We examined a dead one, and found that they've been genetically altered. Long story short, they're what's left of the protheans. No modern race has ever come in contact with a living prothean, or at least I've been told. The reapers did that, and there's no way you or anyone else can deny it!"

 

"Given the fact that they operate mostly within areas that don't fall under our jurisdiction, I'd say it would be hard for us to even find one. They've been listed as a rumor for a reason."

 

"You want proof, huh? Well, guess what. I took a recording of it." Said Isaac as his RIG's projector opened a small screen, depicting his encounter with the fallen collector. "This is what's left of the prothean race. We've analyzed the DNA structure. It's the only other race that shares this quad-strand genetic structure. Like I said, no one has ever encountered a live prothean, let alone re-structured it's DNA to create some odd aberration. The Reapers did this. Bottom line."

 

Shepard wasn't sure what to say. The council always struck him as nothing short of incompetent skeptics who never gave him their full attention. Now they stood (holographically) before him, eyes widened by the revelation. He thought it would take a miracle to open the council's eyes. Turns out all he needed was a dogged engineer.

 

"This is... an unsettling observation." said the Asari counselor. "As ominous as this threat is, at least we have time to prepare. However, we may have to put Shepard's involvement in question. He has allied with Cerberus, an avowed enemy of the council. This nothing short of treason, which is a capital offence...."

 

"Oh, excuse me?!" Isaac exclaimed. He had certainly grown to trust Shepard to a certain degree, even if it was only a little. On the other hand, this "Council" had proven itself more of a bureaucratic nuisance than he had anticipated. He had never seen a reaper, save for the several recording Mordin had showed him of Sovereign. Nonetheless, it was obvious that they were a threat. A threat that they had ignored under a veil of ignorance and skepticism. Now they were trying to accuse Shepard of treason. It was the final straw in Isaac's mind. The final reason he needed to believe this council was nothing short of a group of blithering idiots too stuck inside their own mantras and agendas to pay attention to any real threats. "Shepard saves your lives and the lives of the millions on this station, and you try to pin him with treason for being affiliated with some special interest group? Especially since he had no choice, seeing as how they more or less revived him? I haven't even known you people for more than ten minutes an you're already proving to be a nuisance!"

 

"I concur!" Anderson added. "Shepard is a hero! I'm a part of this council too, and I won't let this whitewash continue."

 

"Perhaps there is a compromise." said the Asari counselor. "We cannot directly intervene given your ties, but we can offer peripheral support."

 

"Shepard, if you keep your operations within the Terminus systems, the council will reinstate your status as a spectre."

 

"What does that entail? Do I have to start filing reports"

 

"That won'r be necessary. This is merely an act of good faith on our part." Replied the salarian counselor.

 

"Given that you are operating in the terminus systems, we cannot offer direct support. Our jurisdiction does not extend there. However, reinstatement shows our personal support."

 

"What about what Isaac just showed you?" said Shepard. "I realize it may take some time for this to sink in, and real countermeasure may take time to formulate, but aren't you going to do anything about the reaper threat?"

 

"We.. may need some time to come up with preparatory measures." replied the turian counselor. "Nonetheless, you have our attention. I assume we have time to prepare, but this information will be restricted to more elite echelons of the council's military affiliates. The last thing we need is public despair throwing everything into chaos."

 

"We can at least be glad it's the only storm we're facing." said Anderson.

 

"I concur." replied the Salarian counselor. "The public may only know of Mr Clarke's voyage recording to be a horror vid, but Mr Clarke can specify otherwise. We can only be grateful that such a threat is not present here, not to try and offend you, Mr Clarke."

 

"I'm afraid we're going to have to correct you, counselor." said Shepard.

 

"On the same ship in which we encountered the deceased collector, we found all the missing terminus colonists." said Isaac as he pulled up another recording from his RIG, showing the thousands of pods erupting on the ceiling of the collector ship. "They were deceased, but not for long. Counselors, this threat has followed me into this reality."

 

The council froze for just a moment, including Anderson, who only knew as much as his fellow counselors knew. Their expressions changed from emotionless and professional to a barely contained horror which shone through widened eyes and upturned brows.

 

"Excuse me..." said the Asari counselor, losing some of the inherent professionalism in her voice. "How... how are you sure..."

 

"Just watch."

 

The recording continued. and the council watched as thousands of re-animated human corpses clambered out of strange, orange pods. They watched in horror as the broken, bloodied creatures raced towards the camera, getting themselves cut down by blasts of plasma to their limbs. Their eyes widened as they saw the surveillance footage, and the terrible, bisected red spire that glowed ominously within the vessel's cargo bay.

 

"Mr Clarke..." said the Turian counselor, not without a hint of concern in his voice. "Tell me that this threat is at least somewhat contained."

 

"We destroyed the entire vessel and the red marker within, but there's no telling how many other markers are out there."

 

"Markers? I'm assuming that the red structure in that cargo bay was what you're referring to?" said the Asari counselor.

 

"I am. That's what re-animated those colonists and turned them into necromorphs."

 

"Necromorphs? I assume that's the nomenclature issued to those.... things?"

 

"Yes. As you can see they're very resilient to any shots fired towards center mass. There's a lot more to tell you, but I've already compiled several logs that should account for everything you need to know." Isaac said as his omni-tool activated around his arm, this time glowing bright teal. "I was given your extranet inbox before we got here. I'm sending you these logs right now."

 

"Very well, Mr Clarke..." said the turian counselor. "We'll see that these are transferred to our higher military officials. Now, as for your technology..."

 

"Iv'e compiled all the information already. Turns out synchronizing this "omni-tool" to my RIG wasn't  as much of a problem as I anticipated. Anyways, this is all information I gathered from my old CEC manuals."

 

"Are you sure that's all we'll be needing?" replied the Turian. "I have a feeling you may be skipping out on us."

 

"yes, it seems you're very eager to get this over with, rather than letting the galaxy more thoroughly partake of your technology, Mr Clarke." added the Salarian.

 

"Believe me counselor, If I were to explain everything to you here and now, you's be stuck here for days, even with another engineer translating all the techno-babble. There's blueprints, manufacturing data, specifications, and everything you need to re-create the vast majority of my world's tech. Now, I hear you've offered to subsidize several manufacturing companies in order to reproduce my tech, not to mention my cut of the profits..."

 

"Ah, yes." The Asari replied. "I'll see to it that you are credited for this. You won't go uncompensated for this, I promise. The possibility of intergalactic travel... I have to say, this is nothing short of remarkable."

 

"Of course, if he is to be paid, he'll need to have citizenship..." said the Salarian.

 

"Right then." Anderson replied. "I'll see if we can get Mr. Clarke situated."

 

"I'll see of this goes to the mission, Shepard." said Isaac. "We're going to need all the funding we get."

 

"In the meantime, we don't have to be caught funding Cerberus." replied the Asari. 'This is turning out to be quite a win-win situation."

 

"Long as we can get ourselves prepared for these threats, at least." said the turian, a hint of fretfulness still lingering in his voice.

 

"We're already on it." replied Shepard. "Just make sure you do what you can on this end. I'm going to need to know of any new developments."

 

"I'm afraid we can't be caught answering to Cerberus, Shepard."

 

"Then report to me." replied Isaac. "I'm not formally affiliated with Cerberus, and we need to know if anything comes up. I can report to you from my own ship."

 

"Very well, Mr Clarke. Shepard, we wish you luck on your end of the investigation, and for your quick end to your relationship with Cerberus."

 

Isaac's eyes were closed. His ears picking up nothing but the soft hum of the Normandy's engine. It was a slow, deliberate, oscillating sound, like a massive sheet of steel was vibrating continuously, the air around it constantly compressing. He felt a slight trace of its oscillation in the wall, shaking the engineering deck ever so slightly. Though his eyes were closed, they could see just the smallest trace of the azure light of the room, seeping just barely past his eyelids. Not a single thought pervaded his mind. Nothing concerning the citadel. Nothing pertaining to the task at hand. That was, until, a familiar voice interrupted his inert state.

 

"Hello? Anyone in there?"

 

"... Hey Tali."

 

"Wake up, sleepyhead, we're almost there."

 

"There?"

 

"The fleet, genius! Remember, after getting your citizenship, you and Shepard set out to retrieve the Falcon?"

 

"Oh yeah... that" Isaac said, yawning. "That wasn't very nice, you know."

 

"What wasn't nice? Letting you doze off? Come on now! Get with the program!" Tali said playfully, turning her attention back to her console.

 

"'The program' is for squares. Come on, Tali. You know I haven't gotten much shuteye since I got here."

 

"You got five hours back on the Falcon. That should do you until your ship is full of those quarian volunteers you asked for."

 

"I'm just glad your admirals let me back on the fleet."

 

"Well, to be honest, I think she kind of deserved it. She's always been after the craziest of things. She even wants the geth back at our call. All I can say is that, rash as that little choke-hold was, I got a little kick out of it. It's also kind of a good hing that only the Admirals know your recording was genuine. Everyone else seems to have bought it being a vid in the making."

 

"To be honest, I'm not sure if Shepard's little 'plan' is gonna help in the long run. I mean, we've gotta spill the beans eventually, right? I have a feeling that not everyone's going to buy it when we try to tell them my 'vid' was actually the real deal."

 

"You managed to convince the council that the reapers were a genuine threat when Shepard has been struggling to get it through their thick skulls for ages. I have no doubt that you'll be able to wake everyone up when the time comes."

 

"Maybe... anyways, I'll be doing some homework until we get there."

 

"Homework?"

 

"Yeah, just more research into this place. I know I can just ask Mordin, but he's almost always busy, and when hes not he's just about impossible to keep up with. Plus, I have a few more things to calibrate on this 'omni-tool' thing. I've managed to sync it with my RIG, but I haven't figured out all its nooks and crannies yet."

 

"Ah, I see. I'll leave you to your work then. See you later."

 

"Well, yeah, I'll only be a few meters away."

 

"Right..."

 

Isaac sat down in one of the smaller chairs Ken and Gabby arranged earlier, the only thing that hadn't been put away. He eyed the now turquoise panels of light that enveloped his forearm. There were so many things about it to discovered, so many things to understand. He could go on forever installing new software into it. The fact that it was now connected to his RIG only further opened the possibilities.

 

Deeply engrossed in this new hardware, he almost didn't notice the giggling coming from the other end of the room.

 

"Oh wow... you're not human are you?..." Shepard said, doing his best to impersonate Isaac.

 

"Why no, Mr Clarke..." Tali giggled. "You've never seen a quarian before?"

 

"Why, I don't believe I have, Nezala." Shepard teased. Isaac could see their shadows, and Shepard's hands freely wandering over Tali's suit.

 

"M-Mister Clarke..." Tali squealed, barely containing her laughter. "That's quite enough..."

 

"Oh I don't think so..."

 

"So, you two into role-playing?"

 

Shepard and Tali immediately looked to their right to see Isaac leaning against the wall, smirking ear to ear.

 

"Your impersonation was a bit baritone, Shepard. I'd work on it."

 

Joker's voice crackled over the intercom. "Shepard, Migrant Fleet's right ahead."

 

"Looks like we've reached our stop. See you two up top." said Isaac as he went up the stairs, still smirking all the way up to the elevator.

 

"... yeah I think it's about time we head up. Might need you to get us clearance and all." said Shepard.

 

"Yeah, that's a good idea..."

 

The Flotilla once again found itself within the Normandy's sight. Shepard watched as the massive convoy of ships trailed through the cosmos, floating slowly towards a nonexistent destination. Tali joined him, reciting her pass-phrase to herself before Isaac came running into the helm, almost bumping into the two.

 

"Where have you been?" asked Shepard.

 

"Surely you didn't hurry us up for nothing..." Tali added.

 

"Just took a shower. Wasn't keen on smelling like death for four days in a row" He said, yawning. "Holy crap, I'm tired..."

 

"Just soldier on through, Isaac." Shepard replied. "You can doze off when the Falcon's been accounted for."

 

A quarian crew member asked for clearance, notifying that the ship was flagged as Cerberus.

 

"After time adrift among open stars, along tides of light and through shoals of dust, I will return to where I began."

 

"Permission granted. Welcome home, Tali'Zorah."

 

The docking cradle latched onto the Normandy by her airlock, sealing the connection between her and the Rayya. Isaac could see the Falcon from the Normandy's cockpit, still latched onto cradle eighteen. He'd be reunited with her soon enough. More importantly, he'd be reunited with the captains quarters.

 

"Ah, Isaac!" said Nezala as the squad exited the Normandy's airlock. "Funny I should be the one welcoming you here... again."

 

"Yeah it is, isn't it? So anyways, I've heard there's a few folks trying to sign up for the Falcon's roster?"

 

"Yep. We got the message from Tali here about the man from another dimension needing a few new hands."

 

"How many takers?"

 

"About forty slots and all are taken. Mostly kids setting out for pilgrimage trying to prove themselves. They're unproven, but eager to help. Don't worry, Tali sent me a list of all the qualities you seem to be looking for. Even if the guys who made the list aren't to your liking there's quite a few in queue wanting a place on the roster if you'd like a look at them."

 

"That's alright. Wait, I remember Tali mentioning 'pilgrimage' before, but I don't think she ever really explained it."

 

"It's more or less a rite of passage." Tali replied. "When a quarian comes of age, they must leave the fleet and retrieve something of value. It proves that they won't merely be a burden on the shoestring resources their captain has to offer. When they return, they are welcomed as new, valuable members of society."

 

"Interesting... anyways, lets see what we've got."

 

The hallway at docking cradle eighteen was filled with at least forty young, bright-eyed volunteers, each of them eager to meet their new captain. Several came with nothing more than the suits on their backs, waiting to see what the unexplored cosmos had in store. About a third were a tad older, having had much experience outside the flotilla. Those who had experience were armed, knowing that danger was imminent. They may not have known that what they had seen on the voyage recorder was genuine, but they knew that peril was everywhere in the galaxy, let alone outside of it. Isaac looked over the list. All the candidates and their respective credentials were listed on a datapad. Isaac looked it over. Each of them seemed qualified enough. Every one of them had something to contribute. Many were tech specialists. Others still were soldiers who had already completed their pilgrimage. Most of the names on the list were young quarians eager to carry out their pilgrimage, others wanted to see the universe and all it's wonders. There were very few familiar names on the list, except for a few at the bottom...

 

"So, you volunteered, huh?" Isaac said, turning to Nezala.

 

"Yep. You need a chief security officer, don't you?"

 

"And a chief science officer!" another, somewhat squeaky, bubbly voice called out from the crowd.

 

"Rizea... you volunteered huh?"

 

"You bet! I'm already somewhat familiar with the Falcon, so why not?"

 

"Okay.... You've got the job, I guess."

 

Within Three hours, Isaac had checked everything he had needed to get underway. The crew had been approved. The Falcon was prepped and ready to go.

 

"Alright, everything looks green. Thanks for all the help guys."

 

"Well, remember Isaac, this isn't farewell." Tali Replied. "The Falcon is more or less tagging along for the ride."

 

"Never said it was goodbye." said Isaac. "Just saying thanks for everything you've done. I wouldn't be able to come this far alone"

 

"Our pleasure, Isaac." Shepard replied. "Make sure you guys keep in contact. We're together on this."

 

"To the end."

 

"Make sure to keep us posted on anything you and your crew find, Isaac."

 

"You bet. Be seeing you guys."

 

"You too, Isaac. Keelah se'lai"

 

"Take care of yourself, Isaac"

 

"Will do." Isaac replied, turning his attention to hi new crew as Shepard and Tali took their leave. "Give it the go, Nezala."

 

"Alright, everyone. Rack 'em and pack 'em. We're casting off in fifteen."

 

Isaac's new helmsman readied the ship for departure. Airlock was sealed. Nezala and her staff were already manning the security and monitoring stations. Engineering gave an all clear on the ship's engines. All fourteen months worth of dextro-amino food supplies had been accounted for. All systems were green to go.

 

"Let's hit it."

 

The dock separated from the Falcon, and the well-worn mining ship was underway. She drifted freely for several seconds as her engines prepared to launch her into the unknown.

 

"Alright, Coordinates received from Normandy..." said the Falcon's new pilot, Taraan. "Uploading to shockpoint computer." The Falcon was unable to use the Relays at the moment, but that doesn't mean she was unable to follow the Normandy, as each system in the galaxy could be located with a coordinate grid. "Preparing to enter shockspace..."

 

Rays of blue light flashed across everyone's eyes as the Normandy jumped from a nearby relay.

 

"Normandy is out. Coordinates and exit vector locked... entering shockspace in 3, 2, 1..."

 

In the blink of an eye, The falcon vanished, leaving only a trail of white sparks as its wake.

 

Flowing, spectral streams of blue light enveloped the Falcon as it traveled the ethereal passage of shockspace. Hundreds of thousands of light years of space passed on by, compressed into a corridor of compacted space. Some who were on the new crew had been acquainted with what the otherworldly realm of shockspace was like. Nonetheless, everyone aboard the vessel save for Isaac was utterly enthralled by what they were seeing.

 

"Is this going to take two hours like last time?" asked one of the new hands.

 

"Nope." Isaac replied. "Just another ten or fifteen minutes and we should be there."

 

"Where are we headed anyways?" asked Rizea.

 

"Just following Shepard for the moment. We're heading for a refuel depot to stock up. then we're going for our primary objective. As you all know, I'm under council commission, and in direct collaboration with commander Shepard. We've got a mission to carry out, and it's not going to be a walk in the park. I'm sure that you've all been warned of the danger apparent..."

 

"Yes, we were told countless times when we signed up for a piece." Rizea replied. "We know it's going to be dangerous."

 

"You just don't know how dangerous." Isaac replied sternly. "When we're done refueling, I'll give you guys a briefing. Trust me. What you'll see on this mission will be unlike anything you've encountered before. I know a lot of you guys are eager to prove yourselves, but don't get too eager, especially for you guys who are on pilgrimage, seeing as how you're inexperienced as is. I'd caution even those of you who have seen combat to remain wary. It's not going to be a smooth ride... Alright everyone, get to your quarters. Make yourselves at home, set up whatever equipment you'll be needing and gear up. We're seven minutes or so away from our de-shock. See you guys on the other side." With that, Isaac retreated back to the captain's quarters, as the Falcon's newfound crew scurried to their stations.

 

Isaac could only be grateful that FTL drives from his dimension did not differ greatly from those found in this plane. The fuel was, for the most part, similar in composition to the fuel at home. Used in the Falcon, the native fuel would only burn at three-fourths efficiency, but it would have to do. As the ship's tank filled up, Isaac decided now was the time to inform his new crew of what the path ahead would have in store for them. Opening the comms in the captains quarters, Isaac alerted his whole crew to gather in the crew's quarters. The Falcon didn't have a briefing room, but whatever the case, Isaac knew his crew would have to be informed of the peril they were dipping in.

 

Within a few minutes, everyone on the Falcon had gathered into crew's quarters. It was somewhat cramped, but the new quarian crew members of the Falcon were no strangers to constricted space. Isaac managed to bustle his way in, taking a crate and standing on it in the center of the room. For a few seconds, Isaac wasn't sure of what he was going to say. How was he going to unveil the horrors of the markers to these young, inexperienced faces? How was he going to tell them of the reapers, or the way they transformed the protheans into the collectors? Isaac knew it would be hard to break it to them, but he had no choice. They needed to know what they were up against. They needed to brace themselves for what was to come. As soon as Isaac realized this, the words that he was looking for came to him.

 

"Alright everybody, listen up. Before we head out, I think it's time everyone be prepared for what they're up against. I imagine you guys think we'll be up against geth, or perhaps slavers or mercs..."

 

"Isn't that what we're facing?" another young quarian asked from the back of the room. 'I mean, I know the you have direct ties with the council now, and that you're collaborating with commander Shepard... "

 

"Trust me. It's a lot more complicated than that." Isaac replied."

 

Isaac activated his RIG's holographic display, toggling back to one of his video-logs. 'How may of you remember the voyage recording?" How many of you remember when Admiral Xen rolled back to that older footage? Remember how SHepard insisted it was a 'vid'? That I was some actor?" Isaac said right before pressing play. "I assure all of you. It's real."

 

As he pressed play, the crew began to recoil as footage of dead, human corpses bursting out of capsules on the ceiling of a massive ship played before their eyes. The corpses had been changed dramatically. Their skulls were broken, bloodied, and jutting with horrible spines and elongated teeth. Blood dripped from the ceiling as their torn, rent bodies shambled down the walls. "Don't look away." Isaac said, noticing the fear in some of their silver eyes. "You need to see this. You all need to know what you're facing."

 

"What happened to them?" asked a fretful voice from among the crew's ranks. "how did they end up... like that?"

 

"The collectors kidnapped them. Put them into those pods for transport. However, when their power went out, so did the life support within the pods. Everyone in them died. That's when they were transformed by the marker."

 

"The marker?"

 

Isaac cut to the footage of EDI's surveillance tap. 'That's the marker. Or at least A marker." he said pointing towards the wispy, shrouded twin spires within the collector's cargo hold. "It emits a signal that re-animates dead tissue, and invades the minds of those who come in direct contact, driving them to insanity and murder. I don't know how it followed me here, but it did, and it's a genuine threat. We destroyed that one when we destroyed the entire collector ship, but there's more out there."

 

"So... we're going to have to hunt them down aren't we?" asked another worried voice. "Every Marker that may have made its way here?"

 

"Yes, and that's not all." Isaac added.

 

Isaac rewinded the footage, stopping to a still shot of what looked like an open pod. "how many of you have ever seen a collector?"

 

"None of us..." replied Nezala. "Sightings by just about anyone are rare enough that some people think of them as a myth."

 

"Well they're not... and they're not what they seem either."

 

He pressed play once more, and the contents of the pod were revealed. The Falcon's crew watching and listened in awe as EDI explained the origins of the odd, insect-like alien corpse.

 

"The Collectors were prothean?" asked one astonished voice from within the crowd. "H-how did they... who are these 'reapers'? They're the ones that did this?"

 

"You remember the attack on the citadel? That massive vessel that was labeled a 'geth capital ship'? He was a reaper. One of many. They're out there, waiting in dark space. They intend to wipe out all life in the galaxy, just as they've done thousands of times before."

 

The crew began to murmur, more than taken aback by what they were facing. Slavers or mercs seemed dangerous enough. But collectors? Reapers? Necromorphs? It all seemed much more than what they bargained for.

 

"I know that this seems to be a bit much, and I realize it may be more than what you're all prepared for." Isaac said, noticing the fear that was permeating the atmosphere. "With that said, these threats are real. They're not going to stop until they've reached their ultimate goal. That means an end to civilization. That means an end to everything and everyone you care about. We have no choice."

 

The murmuring stopped as soon as those last words left Isaac's mouth. Every one looked at him, Fear still gripping their hearts.

 

"Now... It's only fifteen minutes back to the fleet. I realize that many of you may be inclined to leave. If that's the case, I would understand. For several years of my life, I tried to hide from it until I realized that it had to be done... So with that, I give you my final offer: are you in, or out?"

 

They all looked at each other. Others saw friends they have had for years, joining them into the cusp of adulthood. Others had seen violence. They had seen what dangers the galaxy had to offer, and knew that these new threats added to them infinitely. No matter who it was, each one of them was tied with apprehension, wondering just what their answer would be. Isaac too looked concerned. He knew he couldn't do this alone. After what seemed to be a lifetime of silence, a single voice called out from the crowd.

 

"I'm in."

 

Isaac looked round about him, finding a quarian with his arm raised.

 

"I'm in too!" called another.

 

'Count me in!" called Nezala.

 

"In!" called yet another voice.

 

Soon enough, the entirety of the crew's quarters was alive with the clamor of forty invigorated quarians, all of them proclaiming that they were, for all intents and purposes, "in".

 

Isaac gave word to the Normandy that everything was up and ready. The azure light emanating from the nearby relay's eezo core intensified as the Normandy flashed away in a streak of blue. The Falcon's engines powered up as her shockpoint computer processed a new set of coordinates, passed on to her beforehand by Joker. Her shockdrive kicked in, and within less than a millisecond, she vanished into the distance, a tiny sparkle of light being her only mark.

 

"So, where are we headed anyways?" asked Nezala as the ship passed through the indigo shroud of shockspace.

 

"A brown dwarf in the Thorne system. Mnemosyne." Taraan answered.

 

"Shepard and his team need to pass through the Omega 4 relay, where the collector home base presumably lies." Isaac added. "The only ships noted to pass through that relay safely are the collectors. When me and Shepard were aboard the Collector ship we found that they were using a reaper Identify Friend or Foe device. We weren't able to find or salvage it, but Cerberus had found a derelict reaper, set up a research station to investigate the IFF, and it went dark a while ago. That's where we're headed."

 

"A derelict reaper?" asked Rizea. "As in dead, or just disabled."

 

"It's stuck somewhere in the middle." Isaac replied. "It's mostly disabled, but some functions apparently still remain operational. Somehow, one of the races the reapers were harvesting managed to disable it several million years ago. There's no trace of them left, but their handiwork is obviously still floating around."

 

"I don;t know how I feel about helping Cerberus..." Rizea replied.

 

'We're not. We're helping Shepard." Isaac retorted. "Now, we've got about twenty five minutes till de-shock. I want combat teams geared up and ready to go in ten. Remember, Taraan. We're gonna be cutting it close to a brown dwarf so stay tight on the exit vector. Let's get this done."