ME New Realities Ch: 1

Chapter 1: New Beginnings

John Shepard was approaching the Normandy when he was approached by his captain.

"Captain Anderson," he said with a salute. "Is there something you need?"

"At ease soldier, just wanted to chat," answered Anderson. John relaxed and immediately took notice of the women who was walking up behind him. Anderson took notice of his expression and said "Shepard, meet Jane Hiller. She's an alliance soldier like you and will be joining us on this mission."

"Hello, it's a pleasure to meet you in person Shepard," she said while putting her hand out, albeit a little shaky.

John noticing this asked, "Is there something wrong? You look like you've seen a ghost."

Jane having heard his statement snapped her mind back into reality. "Sorry, it's just you look like someone I know. Don't worry, it's alright," she said trying to sound reassuring.

In her mind things were not alright. She had not been expecting to see someone working on the Normandy with the same last name as her. The fact that he looked similar to her was startling but there was another issue…he was a guy. The fact that he was male had dumbfounded her. Jane made a mental note to herself to find a file concerning his past.

As the trio boarded the Normandy both Jane noticed another individual boarding with them and realized it was Nihlus Kryik, the spectre that had first put her name up for spectre consideration. She was overjoyed at first upon seeing the now living spectre but grim realization dawned on her once she remembered why he was there.

Eden Prime

The thoughts of what had happened there were still in her mind. The colony destroyed, the husks' first appearance, Nihlus dying, Saren's betrayal and the beacon destroyed. For the life of her she did not want history to repeat itself. One thought kept popping up in her mind as she made her way to her room, "Can I save Nihlus discreetly?"

Unfortunately no answer came so Jane took the moment to instead read over John's profile.

- - - - - -

Meanwhile up at the cockpit Joker was making some last minute system checks as the Normandy exited the Arcturus Prime Relay. "Thrusters... Check. Navigation... Check. Internal emissions sink engaged. All systems engaged. Drift... Just under 1500k."

"1500 is good, your captain will be pleased," commented Nihlus as he left the cockpit.

A moment passed before Joker said "I hate that guy." John had at that point moved in behind him to listen to the conversation.

"The guy gives you a compliment…and you hate him?" Kaiden said not understanding Joker's reasoning.

"Remember to zip up you're your jumpsuit when you left the bathroom?" Joker said sarcastically. "That's good. I just jumped us halfway across the galaxy and hit a target the size of a pin head. So that's incredible! Besides Spectres are trouble. I don't like having them on board. Call me paranoid."

"You're paranoid," Kaidan responded, eyes rolling. "The Council helped fund this project. They have a right to send someone to keep an eye on their investment."

"Yeah, that's the official story. But only an idiot believes the official story."

Shepard decided to intervene in the conversation there with "They don't normally send spectres for shakedown runs. Kaidan is right about watching their investments but a spectre doesn't add up. Why not an engineer, a supervisor or a bureaucrat."

"Even the captain knows more than he's letting on," commented Joker. "He single-handedly picked the crew of this ship. You Shepard are one of the best soldiers the Alliance has, so why pick you. We shouldn't be expecting any fights during testing."

"Well, not all the crew was picked by Anderson," said Kaidan. Joker looked over to him with a slightly confused face. "It's that engineer that just came aboard… Jane Hiller I think was her name. She actually requested to work on this ship."

Joker upon hearing the name had his mouth agape. "Seriously, are we preparing for war or something. First a spectre, then Shepard, now her." Both Shepard and Kaidan looked at Joker waiting for an explanation. "Okay, Shepard look. I just said you are one of the best Alliance soldiers out there. Jane is no exception. You should see her record. Her skills are on par with yours."

John thought that over for a moment before saying "Next time I see her I'll have to remember to start a conversation with her." Joker and Kaidan both looked like they had something to add but were interrupted by someone.

"Joker! Status report!" Anderson yelled over the comm. link.

"Just cleared the mass relay, Captain. Stealth systems engaged. Everything looks solid."

"Good. Find a comm. buoy and link us into the network. I want mission reports relayed back to Alliance brass before we reach Eden Prime."

"Aye, aye, Captain. Also thought you should know, Nihlus is headed your way."

"He's already here, Lieutenant. Been here for the past few minutes." Joker shook his head slightly from embarrassment. "Also I need you to send word to Shepard and Hiller to meet in the comm. room for debriefing."

"He sounds upset," commented John. "Something must have happened."

"Captain always sounds like that when he's talking to me," said Joker sarcastically.

"Can't imagine why," Kaidan said rhetorically, again rolling his eyes.

- - - - - -

Jane had just finished reading John's file and was amazed at how similar his background was to her. He had suffered all the same events as her, even brought up the same way. The only difference regarding it all was that he was older. She was still getting over the shock when her Omni tool activated saying someone wanted to talk.

"Jane, this is Joker. You've been called down to the CIC room along with Shepard."

"I'm on my way," was all Jane said as she went to leave her cabin.

She met John as he was talking to their Navigator, Pressly she believed his name was. She didn't hear the entire conversation but she did catch points like Turian Spectre on a shakedown run and doesn't add up. If she hadn't known what was going to happen she would have agreed. As she approached from behind Pressly stopped himself and greeted her.

"Ah, Miss. Hiller it's good to see you out of your cabin. You've been in there since we've left."

Jane nodded "Thank you for your concern but I assure you nothing is wrong." She turned toward John and stuck her hand out "It's nice to see you again. We never got the chance to properly talk before."

"Likewise." John firmly shook her hand and continued "Unfortunately we still won't get the chance. As I recall we got to go to the-"

"Oh Shepard, come over here." a male's voice said interrupting John. This was followed by a women saying "He's in the middle of a conversation. Talk with him later."

Both John and Jane looked back to see who had called them. "Is there something you needed Jenkins?" asked John. Jane on the other hand had recognized him and the women beside him as Jenkins and Dr. Chakwas.

"Nah, just wanted to chat. We're not gonna be staying on Eden Prime too long, will we?" questioned Jenkins "I want to get back to some real action."

"I sincerely hope you're kidding," said the women beside him "Your 'real action' ends up with me patching up people in the infirmary."

Jane was amused at how similar the conversation was to hers and it caused a barely noticeable laugh when John said the same thing she had said.

"Just treat it like every other assignment and everything will work out. You've got a long career ahead of you so don't make mistakes."

"Right, right. I'll keep that in mind," replied Jenkins.

"Anyways we shouldn't keep the two of you here anymore. As I recall, you both have to head down to the CIC room." That came from the doctor who for the most part had remained quiet.

"Alright we'll be on our way," He also added "It was nice talking to you two." Jenkins response was a smile and a nod.

"Come on Jane. Let's get moving," now addressing her. Jane simply nodded and followed behind him.

When they reached the room both were momentarily surprised that the only one present was Nihlus. He had his back turned to them and was viewing an image of Eden Prime. Upon hearing the door open he turned around to address the two new people.

"Ah I was hoping you two would come here first. Give us the chance to talk."

John wound up asking "What about?"

"I want to know more about this colony."

"I haven't been there but-"

"I've been there. It's a paradise," said Jane interrupting John. "If I wasn't in the Alliance military I'd settle down there."

"Yes... Eden Prime is a symbol to your people. A perfect little world at the edge of your territory." Nihlus turned around to face the screen. "Proof that humanity can not only establish colonies, but also protect them. But how safe is it really?" Nihlus faced the two again.

"So, you planning on telling us what's going on?" asked John.

"Or are we gonna keep playing games?" continued Jane.

"You two are quick to catch on." commented Nihlus.

"I think it's time we told the two of them what's really going on," said a voice from behind. Both Jane and John turned around at the new voice and saw Captain Anderson at the door. "This mission is far more than just a shakedown run."

"I figured as much," answered John. Gesturing to Jane he continued "and I believe Jane knew as well."

"Yeah, I did," was all Jane said "You aren't that good at hiding it you know," now with her arms crossed. Jane knew the exact reason why they were here but was making a conscious effort to say something along the lines of what she had said before in her universe during this mission.

"I'll keep that in mind Jane," answered Anderson "Now then the real purpose of this mission is a covert pickup. That's why we needed the stealth systems."

"Mind telling me what we're picking up?" asked John. "With all the secrecy it must be important."

"It is, you see Shepard the excavation teams found some sort of beacon. It was Prothean." explained Anderson. "The last time humanity found something like this, it jumped our technology forward two hundred years. Unfortunately, Eden Prime doesn't have the facilities for this sort of thing. We're bringing it back to the Citadel for proper study."

"Obviously, this goes beyond the interests of humanity. This discovery could affect every species in Council space." continued Nihlus.

"Well it's good to have a few extra hands on board for this sort of thing." commented Jane.

"The beacon isn't the only reason why I'm here."

"Nihlus wants to see you in action. He's here to evaluate you. Both of you." commented Anderson nodding at both John and Jane.

"The spectres are considering humans?" asked John.

"Two of us?" continued Jane momentarily surprised. Back in her universe they had only considered one person and that was her. However the more she thought about it, the more it made sense to her. Her skills that got her spectre consideration in the first place were much better than before and since John was just a male counterpart to her his skills were just as good.

"The Alliance has been pushing this for a long time," said Anderson breaking her out of her thoughts "Humanity wants a larger role in shaping interstellar policy. We want more say with the Citadel Council. The Spectres represent the Council's power and authority. If they accept a human into their ranks, much less two, it will show how far the Alliance has come."

"I was…beyond impressed when I read both of your records," Nihlus said turning toward John. "Strong moral foundations, extremely powerful biotics. Plus your actions in the Blitz, Akuze and Torfan." Now Nihlus turned to Jane. "Your record was also surprising. Genius intellect, you use technology that you've created, attacks that you use are things that we've been trying replicate since we saw them such as that Cryo Shot." He turned to face both of them again. "If I didn't know any better I'd call both of your files a string of tales to falsify two super soldiers. That's why I put both of your names for spectre consideration."

John simply said "I assume this is good for the Alliance then."

"Earth needs this. We're counting on the both of you." Anderson said to which both John and Jane gave a salute.

"I need to see both of your skills for myself. Eden Prime will be the first of many missions together." Nihlus said.

"Your ground team will be responsible for securing the beacon and getting it onto the ship ASAP. As for who will lead the team, that is up to you but I trust you will make the right decision. Nihlus will accompany your team to observe the mission."

"So when are we going?" asked Jane.

"We should be approaching Eden-" started Anderson but was interrupted by Joker talking through the ship's comm.

"Captain! We've got a problem."

"What's the problem Joker?"

"We've got a transmission from Eden Prime, sir. You better see this." was his only reply before a holoscreen in front of them changed to show a recording of a battle. A female soldier in white and pink armour helping to fight an attack. All four soldiers were watching the screen intently but couldn't tell who the enemy was. The screen then ended with static.

"Everything cuts out after that," Joker said. "No comm. traffic. Just goes dead. There's nothing."

"Reverse and hold at 38.5," Anderson ordered.

The video reversed and held at 38.5 seconds. It showed a red Dreadnaught that had red lighting spark around it.

"Geth," Jane mumbled. She had almost said heretics but remembered that Legion wasn't with them to talk about the two factions. She hated herself for classifying the two Geth factions under one banner when the two didn't work together but she knew it was necessary. Caught up in her own thought she didn't realize that John, Anderson and Nihlus were staring at her.

"Okay, how do you know that?" questioned John. After hearing the word Geth he had created a theory about them but was curious to see Jane's reasons.

"Well," started Jane, "A dreadnought of that size would require an advanced drive core in order to enter the atmosphere like that. The Geth are the only ones I can think of that would have that technology." Again she knew she was lying to herself and again she hated herself for it. 'It's for the best. No one would believe me at this point if I said something about the Reapers now anyway' she thought to herself.

Someone's talking broke her train of thought. "Geth…why are they here?" She looked up and realized that it was Anderson talking.

"We'll find out once we're on the ground," said Nihlus.

"Jane, John, time to gear up," ordered Anderson. "Jenkins and Alenko will be joining you two groundside."

Nihlus left the room and was quickly followed by John soon after. Only Jane and Anderson were still in the room looking at the ship.

"Is there something wrong Jane?" asked Anderson.

"No, but there will be trouble soon," she answered in a voice so low that Anderson could barely hear it as she left the room to prepare.