Waking
- Thread starter Ina_meishou
- Start date
ôShepard, Good to see you haven't lost your skills. We received a copy of the initial debrief from the Quarians you encountered. Hopefully, they'll be as forthcoming with the full files once this 'Veetor' is back on the flotilla.ö
Back in this damn room; or close enough, the hologram is really very good. Just as before, the room is nearly empty. No databads or terminals, nothing to show he's actually working at all.
Either the Illusive Man is a lot less hands on than I've been lead to believe, or he's got some way of knowing I'm going to show up before I actually do.
Redundant comm setups just to look more omniscient...
Jackass.
ôTreating people like people can work wonders.ö
ôIt can, when it works.ö
I nod, conceding the point. I'm hardly in a position to talk, really. There's more than one good reason they call me The Butcher.
ôSo, now we know that the Collectors are behind this disappearance, probably the others as well. I assume you have something in mind?ö
ôConfirmation of the Collector's involvement is a solid step, we'd suspected as much for months now. More pressing is their methods. These 'swarms' the quarian spoke of. We'll need to find a way to neutralize them before we can go on the offensive.ö
ôHow long will your lab boys take, or should we start outsourcing?ö
His eye flicks, I think; hard to tell with those implants. I'm pretty sure he's not used to talking with people as equals though. It's throwing him.
Good, I'll take all the leverage I can get.
It's a momentary thing though, and almost before it registers he's all smooth ease again.
ôThere's a Salarian on Omega by the name of Mordin Solus. He has an impressive service record. I'd like you to recruit him, set him up with the data we recovered and see what he comes up with. While he's at it, you need to put together another team like the one that stopped Saren.ö
ôIf I'm going to start picking up strays again, I'll need something bigger than a shuttle.ö
Hell, I'd appreciate an upgrade regardless, an actual cot, or at least a z-can would be a huge improvement over the damn bench.
TIM is smirking again, which means he's probably relishing whatever he's about to pull out his ass.
ôI thought you might say that. I'll leave you to get acquainted with your new command. I'll forward Solus' dossier and any others that make the grade.ö
He reaches for the disconnect button floating just beside his hand before pausing.
ôOh, and Shepard, give my compliments to your helmsman.ö
And on that eerie ass note, the scene blinks out, leaving the plain walls of the com room.
ôHey Commander, just like old times, huh?ö
It couldn't be...
It is.
Seeing Joker again is...odd.
It's another friendly face, another person I trusted. But he's here, with Cerberus.
And to me, it's barely been two days since I was falling out of orbit, cursing his crippled ass for getting me killed.
I'm not really focused as we walk up out of the comm room. He's saying something about being grounded by the Alliance brass after the Normandy went down. And Joining Cerberus for the chance to fly and the promise of working with me again.
Fair enough, and it's after that I realize he took a left instead of a right out from the com room and we're in a corridor I've never seen before. One whole wall is nothing but banked windows looking down into blackness.
ôYou really trust Cerberus, Joker?ö
He snorts.
ôI don't trust anyone who makes more than I do, no offense.ö I snort myself at that. Man hasn't changed a bit. ôBut they're not all bad. Brought you back, let me fly, and...ö
He tips his head at the windows, and in what has to be a choreographed bit of timing, the lights snap on beyond the windows, revealing a good sized sealed dock.
And in it...
It's beautiful. The sharp, arcing lines of the Normandy, but bigger, and smoothed out into graceful curves. The stupidly over designed arm mounts for the main thrusters are gone, replaced by four variable mount thrusters set on angled wings. The bottom isn't arced upward, instead remaining flat, more living space relative to the size with a minimal increase in profile.
The only real downside...Is the gigantic Cerberus logo blazoned across the side of the hull.
ôWelcome Home, commander,ö Joker says, ôwell, she will be once I finish the last tune up this afternoon.ö
ôI...it's good to be home Joker.ö I grin ôBut first, don't you owe me a beer?ö
Back in this damn room; or close enough, the hologram is really very good. Just as before, the room is nearly empty. No databads or terminals, nothing to show he's actually working at all.
Either the Illusive Man is a lot less hands on than I've been lead to believe, or he's got some way of knowing I'm going to show up before I actually do.
Redundant comm setups just to look more omniscient...
Jackass.
ôTreating people like people can work wonders.ö
ôIt can, when it works.ö
I nod, conceding the point. I'm hardly in a position to talk, really. There's more than one good reason they call me The Butcher.
ôSo, now we know that the Collectors are behind this disappearance, probably the others as well. I assume you have something in mind?ö
ôConfirmation of the Collector's involvement is a solid step, we'd suspected as much for months now. More pressing is their methods. These 'swarms' the quarian spoke of. We'll need to find a way to neutralize them before we can go on the offensive.ö
ôHow long will your lab boys take, or should we start outsourcing?ö
His eye flicks, I think; hard to tell with those implants. I'm pretty sure he's not used to talking with people as equals though. It's throwing him.
Good, I'll take all the leverage I can get.
It's a momentary thing though, and almost before it registers he's all smooth ease again.
ôThere's a Salarian on Omega by the name of Mordin Solus. He has an impressive service record. I'd like you to recruit him, set him up with the data we recovered and see what he comes up with. While he's at it, you need to put together another team like the one that stopped Saren.ö
ôIf I'm going to start picking up strays again, I'll need something bigger than a shuttle.ö
Hell, I'd appreciate an upgrade regardless, an actual cot, or at least a z-can would be a huge improvement over the damn bench.
TIM is smirking again, which means he's probably relishing whatever he's about to pull out his ass.
ôI thought you might say that. I'll leave you to get acquainted with your new command. I'll forward Solus' dossier and any others that make the grade.ö
He reaches for the disconnect button floating just beside his hand before pausing.
ôOh, and Shepard, give my compliments to your helmsman.ö
And on that eerie ass note, the scene blinks out, leaving the plain walls of the com room.
ôHey Commander, just like old times, huh?ö
It couldn't be...
It is.
Seeing Joker again is...odd.
It's another friendly face, another person I trusted. But he's here, with Cerberus.
And to me, it's barely been two days since I was falling out of orbit, cursing his crippled ass for getting me killed.
I'm not really focused as we walk up out of the comm room. He's saying something about being grounded by the Alliance brass after the Normandy went down. And Joining Cerberus for the chance to fly and the promise of working with me again.
Fair enough, and it's after that I realize he took a left instead of a right out from the com room and we're in a corridor I've never seen before. One whole wall is nothing but banked windows looking down into blackness.
ôYou really trust Cerberus, Joker?ö
He snorts.
ôI don't trust anyone who makes more than I do, no offense.ö I snort myself at that. Man hasn't changed a bit. ôBut they're not all bad. Brought you back, let me fly, and...ö
He tips his head at the windows, and in what has to be a choreographed bit of timing, the lights snap on beyond the windows, revealing a good sized sealed dock.
And in it...
It's beautiful. The sharp, arcing lines of the Normandy, but bigger, and smoothed out into graceful curves. The stupidly over designed arm mounts for the main thrusters are gone, replaced by four variable mount thrusters set on angled wings. The bottom isn't arced upward, instead remaining flat, more living space relative to the size with a minimal increase in profile.
The only real downside...Is the gigantic Cerberus logo blazoned across the side of the hull.
ôWelcome Home, commander,ö Joker says, ôwell, she will be once I finish the last tune up this afternoon.ö
ôI...it's good to be home Joker.ö I grin ôBut first, don't you owe me a beer?ö
Miranda orchestrating the attack actually makes sense. Remember these simple facts:
1) she says everyone but Shepard on the station is expendable.
2) First thing first, she starts running tests to make sure Shepard was brought back 100% as-was. That, of course, should include combat tests. Making the mechs go haywire is perfect. Sucks for the people on the station, but hey, expendable, remember? And a live fire test will be excellent for that.
As for Wilson? He's an Engineer. Engineers spec in AI hacking, among other things. Just because he doesn't HAVE clearance doesn't mean he can't GET it. And I'm pretty sure he's quite enamored with his own life. On top of that, the datapad where you meet Wilson implies that what he cares about is getting his efforts recognized, not so much money. Yes, he wishes the boss threw some more his way - but when you watch some guy spend BILLIONS just to revive a single man, you probably get pretty annoyed at your own pay level compared to how much money's being sunk in the guy in question.
In short: given how Cerberus operates (Hi, Project Overlord!), I wouldn't be the least bit surprised if MIRANDA did it to test-run Shepard and just conveniently blamed Wilson. She's certainly enough of a stone-cold bitch to callously disregard anyone else's life in pretty much every other circumstance even in-game.
Of course, it's likely that in actual canon, it in fact WAS Wilson. But Shepard had been successfully revived, he needed a test run, and now that the Project was completed Miranda had no use for the highly expendable cell on the station. So it's just as likely it was the first test for rezzed!Shepard.
Just my 2 cents.
Also: HOW CONVENIENT THAT THERE ARE A GUN AND SHEPARD'S ARMOR IN A MEDICAL BAY. Miranda attempts to handwave the gun (poorly) with it being unloaded... but the armor? Come on, it's a wee bit too unlikely to have it conveniently placed RIGHT there for such an occasion. And in Shepard's size to boot.
1) she says everyone but Shepard on the station is expendable.
2) First thing first, she starts running tests to make sure Shepard was brought back 100% as-was. That, of course, should include combat tests. Making the mechs go haywire is perfect. Sucks for the people on the station, but hey, expendable, remember? And a live fire test will be excellent for that.
As for Wilson? He's an Engineer. Engineers spec in AI hacking, among other things. Just because he doesn't HAVE clearance doesn't mean he can't GET it. And I'm pretty sure he's quite enamored with his own life. On top of that, the datapad where you meet Wilson implies that what he cares about is getting his efforts recognized, not so much money. Yes, he wishes the boss threw some more his way - but when you watch some guy spend BILLIONS just to revive a single man, you probably get pretty annoyed at your own pay level compared to how much money's being sunk in the guy in question.
In short: given how Cerberus operates (Hi, Project Overlord!), I wouldn't be the least bit surprised if MIRANDA did it to test-run Shepard and just conveniently blamed Wilson. She's certainly enough of a stone-cold bitch to callously disregard anyone else's life in pretty much every other circumstance even in-game.
Of course, it's likely that in actual canon, it in fact WAS Wilson. But Shepard had been successfully revived, he needed a test run, and now that the Project was completed Miranda had no use for the highly expendable cell on the station. So it's just as likely it was the first test for rezzed!Shepard.
Just my 2 cents.
Also: HOW CONVENIENT THAT THERE ARE A GUN AND SHEPARD'S ARMOR IN A MEDICAL BAY. Miranda attempts to handwave the gun (poorly) with it being unloaded... but the armor? Come on, it's a wee bit too unlikely to have it conveniently placed RIGHT there for such an occasion. And in Shepard's size to boot.
It was him alright. He was actually a plant from the Shadow Broker. If you dig a little during ME2, you discover that Cerberus is actually hurting pretty badly thanks to Shepard actions during ME1 as well as a high number of surprise attacks on their facilities.
Then in the Lair of the Shadow Broker, you discover that the whole "anti-Cerberus" campaign was actually the SB's doing as a way to get back at Cerberus for stealing Shepard's corpse from him.
Then in the Lair of the Shadow Broker, you discover that the whole "anti-Cerberus" campaign was actually the SB's doing as a way to get back at Cerberus for stealing Shepard's corpse from him.
GH is pretty much spot on here for why Miranda did what she did in this fic. Though add in that everyone on the station needed to die anyway just for Opsec and to make sure nobody but Cerberus ever learned how to bring back people from the dead.
And first thing isn't quite a new paint job. But close.
And first thing isn't quite a new paint job. But close.
I didn't find the armor and weapon in the medlab to be particularly suspicious; the armor was there, and his/her size, because Shepard was bound to wake up soon, and a familiar outfit (armor at that) would go a good ways to setting his/her mind at ease.
The gun? Well, I'll grant you, that was probably a test. If Shepard reacted violently on waking up, or on finding out he was in a Cerberus facility, and went for the closest gun, there'd be a good few seconds where he'd be figuring out that the ammo system had been changed significantly in the years he'd been out of it, and by the time he figured out it was basically a dud weapon, the Cerberus agents would have had time to react and attempt to subdue him.
I suspected Wilson pretty much as soon as I saw him; he claimed to have been shot in the leg by robots, but there were no robots in the room, damaged or otherwise, no blood trail showing he'd crawled into the room to hide, and he was sitting not twenty feet away from some medi-gel.
The gun? Well, I'll grant you, that was probably a test. If Shepard reacted violently on waking up, or on finding out he was in a Cerberus facility, and went for the closest gun, there'd be a good few seconds where he'd be figuring out that the ammo system had been changed significantly in the years he'd been out of it, and by the time he figured out it was basically a dud weapon, the Cerberus agents would have had time to react and attempt to subdue him.
I suspected Wilson pretty much as soon as I saw him; he claimed to have been shot in the leg by robots, but there were no robots in the room, damaged or otherwise, no blood trail showing he'd crawled into the room to hide, and he was sitting not twenty feet away from some medi-gel.
First impressions go a long way, and my first impression of the interior of this new ship are a mixed bag. The layout is familiar, too familiar. A mirror image of the Normandy, save for being twice the size.
It's a colossal waste of space. There's also over a dozen control consoles lining the walls. Far more than needed to run the ship. It's like each crewman has a personal console that isn't shared with other operators.
More waste.
The schematic hologram across the p-way from the airlock showed five decks, and if they're all as poorly designed as this...insult...I might just have to knock some Cerberus eggheads around. Though it's as good an excuse as any to run the crew hard for a while, knocking together some new bulkheads and getting this place set up sensibly.
The equipment itself, whatever flaws in it's placement, looks top rate and brand new. Everything is covered in polished chrome and lit with artistic perfection by indirect lights.
This thing is a damn showpiece.
ôI assume your boss already has a chain of command in mind?ö I ask.
Lawson is, as usual, ready with an answer instantly, ôYou're in command of this mission and this ship, I've been assigned as your XO. Other than that, we have a full crew and are ready to depart whenever you're ready.ö
It takes me a few seconds to process that.
ôYou're XO?ö she nods. ôAlright then, here's some work for you. First off, I want a full set of ship schematics and a full crew roster waiting in my quarters when I get there, and I assume this play-yacht does have quarters?ö Another nod. ôFantastic. That roster needs to have full profiles and background details for all crew, that includes you and Mr. Taylor.ö
That last didn't go over well at all. Hands clenched, lips pursed, face just starting to flush. She does not look happy.
ôThen, while I acquaint myself with whatever load of racist bastards I've been saddled with, you can go over this ship from top to bottom and erase every icon, symbol or logo that might possibly connect us with Cerberus, inside and out, that goes for crew uniforms and personal possessions as well. Once that's done, get this ship a registration from some port, something disreputable but not outright suspicious. Any questions?ö
ôNo.ö there's a wealth of emotion in that word. You can almost see the urge to shoot me rolling around in her head.
ôGood, we un-dock at 0800 station time, day after tomorrow, so you have,ö I check my omnitool's chrono, ôthirty six hours to get it done. Go.ö
I'll give Lawson one thing, when you give her something to do, she goes to it. She's not running of course, that wouldn't be dignified, but she's moving quick enough for me.
Which leaves Jacob. Or, as the infodumping Bitch so cordially informed me, ôTailor Jacob, Security chief for Lazarus Cellö.
Now that Lawson is gone, I lean back against the consoles surrounding the central holotank. Lawson is a cold, ambitious bitch, but she seems quite well conditioned to respond to authority.
Jacob, is another animal entirely. His whole posture, his speech, his attitude, all of it screams that he won't respond to the same treatment Lawson just got.
Which, frankly, is fine. Taylor is a hell of a lot less annoying than Lawson.
It's a colossal waste of space. There's also over a dozen control consoles lining the walls. Far more than needed to run the ship. It's like each crewman has a personal console that isn't shared with other operators.
More waste.
The schematic hologram across the p-way from the airlock showed five decks, and if they're all as poorly designed as this...insult...I might just have to knock some Cerberus eggheads around. Though it's as good an excuse as any to run the crew hard for a while, knocking together some new bulkheads and getting this place set up sensibly.
The equipment itself, whatever flaws in it's placement, looks top rate and brand new. Everything is covered in polished chrome and lit with artistic perfection by indirect lights.
This thing is a damn showpiece.
ôI assume your boss already has a chain of command in mind?ö I ask.
Lawson is, as usual, ready with an answer instantly, ôYou're in command of this mission and this ship, I've been assigned as your XO. Other than that, we have a full crew and are ready to depart whenever you're ready.ö
It takes me a few seconds to process that.
ôYou're XO?ö she nods. ôAlright then, here's some work for you. First off, I want a full set of ship schematics and a full crew roster waiting in my quarters when I get there, and I assume this play-yacht does have quarters?ö Another nod. ôFantastic. That roster needs to have full profiles and background details for all crew, that includes you and Mr. Taylor.ö
That last didn't go over well at all. Hands clenched, lips pursed, face just starting to flush. She does not look happy.
ôThen, while I acquaint myself with whatever load of racist bastards I've been saddled with, you can go over this ship from top to bottom and erase every icon, symbol or logo that might possibly connect us with Cerberus, inside and out, that goes for crew uniforms and personal possessions as well. Once that's done, get this ship a registration from some port, something disreputable but not outright suspicious. Any questions?ö
ôNo.ö there's a wealth of emotion in that word. You can almost see the urge to shoot me rolling around in her head.
ôGood, we un-dock at 0800 station time, day after tomorrow, so you have,ö I check my omnitool's chrono, ôthirty six hours to get it done. Go.ö
I'll give Lawson one thing, when you give her something to do, she goes to it. She's not running of course, that wouldn't be dignified, but she's moving quick enough for me.
Which leaves Jacob. Or, as the infodumping Bitch so cordially informed me, ôTailor Jacob, Security chief for Lazarus Cellö.
Now that Lawson is gone, I lean back against the consoles surrounding the central holotank. Lawson is a cold, ambitious bitch, but she seems quite well conditioned to respond to authority.
Jacob, is another animal entirely. His whole posture, his speech, his attitude, all of it screams that he won't respond to the same treatment Lawson just got.
Which, frankly, is fine. Taylor is a hell of a lot less annoying than Lawson.
I did actually wonder about some of those things. The empty consoles, for example, and the insignia.
TIM was looking to impress, but when he hired Shepard for what amounts to a covert ops mission, he should have been concentrating on efficacy.
All in all though, I found the crew members you can speak to to be capable, non-racist people.
TIM was looking to impress, but when he hired Shepard for what amounts to a covert ops mission, he should have been concentrating on efficacy.
All in all though, I found the crew members you can speak to to be capable, non-racist people.
This was intentional. About half the crew of the SR-2 are Alliance personnel who left after Shepard's death. Ken, Gabby, Chakwas, Joker, probably more. The other half are people who never got involved with the nasty stuff, like illegal experimentation, and would be shocked to hear the REAL details on the "rogue units".
The Illusive Man did this intentionally so that Shepard would be able to work with the crew, if not Cerberus, with a clean conscience. Remember that only about one hundred people are actually directly employed by Cerberus as agents...
The Illusive Man did this intentionally so that Shepard would be able to work with the crew, if not Cerberus, with a clean conscience. Remember that only about one hundred people are actually directly employed by Cerberus as agents...
YES.
I always thought that was such a stupid goddamn idea. Fine, I can understand putting the Cerberus logos on the inside of the ship, where most people will never see them, but painting the logo of a known terrorist organisation on the OUTSIDE of the ship?
IDIOCY.
I'm surprised Jack was the only person to completely flip out over it.
I always thought that was such a stupid goddamn idea. Fine, I can understand putting the Cerberus logos on the inside of the ship, where most people will never see them, but painting the logo of a known terrorist organisation on the OUTSIDE of the ship?
IDIOCY.
I'm surprised Jack was the only person to completely flip out over it.
Watashiwa said:
Ina_meishou said:
I am aware of this 
But as I said, Shepard isn't, yet. Character knowledge is not Author knowledge.
But as I said, Shepard isn't, yet. Character knowledge is not Author knowledge.
Either way, your Shepard is all sorts of awesome. Have you read the ME fic "Renegade"?
I have not, mainly because I find C&C tiresome and Peptuck a generally dull writer.
Hm... another possibility I suppose, but sense I got with the quarian thing was that it was a Cerberus operation that went south, but with another cell, and Miranda was briefed on it, as a 'oh, one of the other cells fucked up, this is what happened, in case you ever run into some quarians' type of thing. I also got the impression that it might have been TIM that was the one who screwed up, but one or both are liable to be wrong.