Aria's Advisor (Mass Effect SI)

[Xeno Major]

Nick.

Nick.

Niiiiick.

This is a voice in your head speaking. More than likely a manifestation of your fractured psyche trying to compensate for all the shitty things happening to you, but not something that'll turn your brain into a BROB.

Fuck you and get bent, lucky bastard. Just shut up and take the mind tentacles like a true man.

That is all.

Click to shrink...

Heh. Nice, I'll stick that in as an Omake (with permission, of course).

I...I want to laugh. I really do...But-

At this point, your SI feels so pathetic to me that...I'd feel like i was laughing at a crippled little kid.

It's just sad at this point.

Click to shrink...

Yeah, I'm in shambles at this point. Nervous breakdown, HOOOO.

I emphasized that feel so much because I wanted to make a point.

Nobody could just step in to a fictional universe without some form of angst, some amount of difficulty. I prefer to add a touch of realism, to show just how much of a struggle this really is for someone in another world.

However, this is about as far as that point will go. 'Woe is me' makes for a good point, but a bad story.

Next snip, expect Kenn's guns, Geth messages, STG contacts, and a lot stuff that SB will like.

You should have kept the 'I start to ramble' cutoff, it would have been funnier.

Click to shrink...

Hmm... honestly, I'm not so sure about either way. I've edited it back to that for now to see how it fits, but I think it's a little too unpolished to end with. I'll decide later.

But is it sex if you spend the whole time remembering videogames? And is the mind sex just as fun as physical sex?

Click to shrink...

Well, there's room for a whole debate about that first part, but I can say that the second part is (supposedly) just as fun, if not more, because the asari can directly stimulate the pleasure centers of your brain without any hassles.

I always wondered. At what stage are Vasir and Aria. End of matron, beginning of Matriarch? Or middle matriarch? Anyone got a clue? Xeno Major, you really need to get over the fictional character thing. Running into Kai Leng or TIM with that mindset? Very bad for your future.

Click to shrink...

Again, emphasizing a point, and the familiarity will soon ensue.

Aria's around about Matron/Matriarch, same as Vasir.

 

[Xeno Major]

If this keeps up you should prepare for the galaxy's biggest Mass Effect fetish. Or at least some bizarre sexual associations.

Click to shrink...

It's an accepted part of Mass Effect canon that everyone wants asari.

I always presumed that it had something to do with the skin-tone, the shape, the voice, things like that. But different people prefer different things, so the fact that the asari can directly stimulate the pleasure centers of your brain is a unifying factor.

Wait, I don't understand half the words I'm using. Oh well, it's for an argument! (tongue-in-cheek)

Or then again, Mordin in ME2 giving you materials to read up on and advice about ingesting if your partner is Dextro... Explains why it seems like he's smiles so much in ME2.

Click to shrink...

Perma-glow on Mordin? Makes sense, I can easily see him running away from an unwanted harem of asari, given that he's (in canon) attractive by pretty much every species's standards.

 

[Vaermina]

All this talk brings up a scary and intresting question.

Just what would people like Aria and Vasir consider a good Date?

 

[Xeno Major]

Eh...

For Aria, instead of showing up with flowers, you show up with blackmail on her or on a high-ranking government member.

You take her to a good restaurant, where everyone (patron, staff, and paparazzi) are in your pocket.

Then you lace her food with a harmless flavoring that could easily be poison.

You finish it off by melding with her and showing that you can manipulate the meld efficiently (which is apparently the sign of a good mate).

As well, you need to show that you can keep your secrets from her, specifically in the meld (all while revealing that you could have killed her if you had wanted).

Aria respects strength, as well as the knowledge that she is just as powerful as you. She's very alpha in that way, so you have to be a mix of alpha/beta. Show that you are alpha enough to play the Great Game, while being beta enough to submit to her ultimate authority.

In that regard, I fail on the second, third, and fifth counts.

For Vasir, you show up apologizing that you have to cancel the nice dinner, because you found some critical information about a threat to the galaxy (note: it has to actually be a threat, not a made-up situation for the occasion).

Then you say that you don't need her help, but she's welcome to tag along if she wants.

Impress her with your critical thinking skills by either ferreting out where the threatening group is located, or by having a pre-set information network which gathers the necessary info for you.

Show that you can handle yourself with some action (either blackmailing or fighting).

Finish it off with a firm reminder that you are sorry about the date, but galactic safety comes first.

Then round it off with an admission that it's not too late to catch a bite to eat and a quick meld.

Vasir is, first and foremost, a Spectre, and she has one goal, which is the safety of the galaxy.

Showing her that you already plan on handling it yourself shows that you have a similar mindset to her, but you still have to be different enough in attitude/temperament.

The information shows you are independent enough to not need Vasir to pull all the weight.

Fighting well means Vasir doesn't need to protect you (though you never know, she might get off on that kind of stuff).

The reminder tells her more about your mindset, your philosophy (since the previous parts of the date should have gotten her interested enough to inquire).

And the last bit about food and melding informs her that you are casual about both galaxy-threatening situations, and about casual sex (or the equivilant).



This, by the way, is also tongue-in-cheek, and would probably be things to not do if you wanted to date Aria T'Loak or Tela Vasir.

I may or may not include this as an omake.

 

[Xeno Major]

Chapter 9.5 (Snip 6)




Memories fly by in a blur, weeks of knowledge being absorbed in mere hours as Vasir, Aria, and I carefully inspect my stored memories for any mention of Mass Effect.

Games, books, web discussions, everything is examined, reviewed, and either let alone or played through, painstakingly slow, in real time.

I'd protested that I'd never seen anything like this in the canon explanations of melding, but Vasir had refuted that simply by asking me if I really thought that a hundred-year old asari virgin was the pinnacle of the famed asari meld.

Fair point, I mused.

The game's action scenes are forgotten, while the dialogue is watched slowly, carefully, all three of us commenting on certain words.

Heh, it's almost like a Rifftax of the games.

Quiet, boy, Aria says. Focus.

Yeah, yeah, Aria, I think.

It's alright, she's just annoyed that there was a possibility about that whole 'Kai Leng' thing, Vasir comments.

It would have never happened that way, Aria denies hotly.

Times like these, I wish I could see your face.

Shut up, Nick. You know we can't inspect memories and have a mental construct for each of us, Aria says, though her 'tone' (if you can call it 'tone' when you are tasting the emotions with your brain instead of your ears) tells me that she's mostly amused.

You have to admit it would be funny to see your face. Your lips kinda twitch when you get irritated.

Focus, Vasir tells me, but the 'taste' of her emotions telling me that she is struggling not to laugh (well, convey amusement instead of physically laugh, but that's beside the point).

We sift through memories carefully, and every time the memory shifts away from the computer screen, I have to fight off waves of nostalgia, because every time, I see Home. I see what I have left behind, what I can never see again.

Sometimes it is my old house director, Mr. P (which is actually what we called him, funnily enough), and sometimes it is my good friends knocking on the door for a favor.

When the memory turns away from the game, Aria and Vasir usually fast-forward until they find the next relevant memory, but they stopped a few times to inspect my life, over my pleading.

Familiar faces haunt me. My old rowing crew, the few juniors I took under my wing, or even just the sight of my old, familiar room.

Aria and Vasir do a good job to move quickly onto the next important memory, but each irrelevant memory that seeps through does a number on my morale, on my motivation, and I think that Aria and Vasir can see it.

I don't know how long we spent going over memories, since I have no physical perceptions to root me to a sense of time.

Eventually, though, we had seen everything.

We had debated, analyzed, and browbeat every piece of information to death, and we were finally done.

Content, now? I ask, directing my thought-question to both of the asari.

Yes, Vasir answers for them both.

We are quite content, but now we want to know more. What is our plan?

I can't tell which of the asari said that, as I'm starting to get a headache (which is a bit of a problem when you're in a meld).

Hmm… would that affect the two asari in my head?

Or is it me in their minds? A shared mind-space, composed of all of our heads combined? I genuinely don't know.

And for once, not knowing doesn't bother me. It might be the first time I wasn't bothered by not knowing something.

He's getting confused, one of the asari says.

Which one are you? I question slowly, the headache starting to 'fog' my vision.

He's been melding too long, answers the other asari.

We need to break the meld now.

Xxxx

Sluggishly, I prize my eyes open, a familiar pounding headache playing a conga beat on my skull.

The headache only gets worse as my senses start working again. My eyes seem oversensitive, while my nose is overloaded with the sweet smell of Vasir's perfume. The well-worn leather seems to be scratchy and painful beneath my fingertips, instead of the usual smooth and comfortable, but I know that this period of disorientating sensory overload will soon pass.

Luckily, the noise in the safe room is minimal, or my ears would be aching right now.

"Is…" I struggle to say. "Is… that normal?"

"I don't know, kid." Vasir admits slowly, from her position lying on Aria's Couch. "I've never – ooh – been under that long."

Vasir stretches, almost cat-like, along the length of the Couch. She groans, obviously feeling a headache herself.

"How long?" I mutter, testing each limb in turn as I rub and massage my muscles. "How long were we melding?"

"Looks like six hours," Aria groans, rubbing her temples along the faint lines of her tattoos. "I didn't think it would take that long."

"Six fucking hours?" I reply incredulously. "We've been looking over my memories for six hours? I was planning on talking about our plans while we had a little privacy, you know? The meld is the ultimate privacy; since we aren't actually speaking, there's no chance of being overheard, right?"

"Don't doubt my safe room." Aria grumbles, and I raise my eyebrows at the small glimpse beneath Aria's normally impenetrable façade. "A lot of money went into creating this room, I'd appreciate it if you didn't belittle it."

"Okay, darling." I deadpan. "But we still need to discuss plans. Any chance we can go back into the meld to get that sorted out?"

"Not unless… ugh… you want to fry your brain." Vasir groaned, sluggishly sitting upright. "If you were asari, then maybe. Our physiology can cope with the strain – but I'm not sure that yours can. If you'd like to test that, then we can go again."

"No, no – no no no," I quickly refuse. "I'm good with staying alive, personally."

"Then we're doing it here and now." Aria says, sighing. "So, what do you want to start with?"

"The Geth. Better guns might be useful, but we need to level the playing field, and for that we need the Geth." I say, as Vasir shakily stands up and treads over to the bar full of the exotic drinks, carefully cropped from Afterlife's finest selection.

"I managed to get a hold of three STG message probes," Vasir informs us, her experienced hands mixing a few quick drink. "They're designed to hold up large amounts of information, and should work for our purposes. We can preset them to transmit that information as soon as they enter the Tikkun system, to minimize the chances of the Geth shooting them down without hearing the message."

As Vasir moves back to her seat next to Aria, she pauses to hold out the drink in her hand, proffering it to me. I shake my head, but Vasir doesn't move.

"Drink it. It'll help with the post-melding aches and pains."

I don't like it, but I nod. Tipping my head back, I slam the drink back as quick as I can, thinking it is some kind of medicine.

It's not.

"Fuck, Vasir!" I splutter as my throat catches fire. "I thought I told you that I don't drink!"

"I don't care." Vasir said, shrugging as she knocks back her drink. "It'll loosen you up, help you relax a little. With how tense you've been lately, I wouldn't be surprised if you had a nervous breakdown."

"That's not funny!" I grunt, the alcohol's initial rough burning slowly fading away. "That's not funny, Vasir!"

"So you say," Aria says, her lips twitching slightly upward, while Vasir chuckles and plops herself down on the armrest of my recliner.

The chuckling and gentle ribbing (literally, as Vasir takes advantage of my seated position beside/beneath her) goes on for a few more minutes, Aria and Vasir doing a pretty decent job of making me feel at ease considering that I'd just downed something that tasted about as nice as Everclear.

"Alright, alright," Aria chuckles, allowing herself a rare smile. "That's enough joking around, let's get back to business. Nick, what info did you put in the first probe?"

"Uh, specific terms, really. The kind of stuff that only the Geth know, like what they call themselves, what they call the Geth Rebellions – the Morning War, they call it – along with similar stuff, like what the Reaper Sovereign introduced himself as to the Geth, as well as the Geth Consensus's ultimate plan, which is to create a Dyson Sphere to house the assorted Geth programs." I explain, as Vasir distractingly runs a hand gently through my hair.

"Stop that, please," I tell Vasir, briefly looking up and locking eyes with her. "It's distracting."

Vasir pouts, using her youthful asari features to try to guilt me into letting her continue.

"That's won't work on me," I continue without pause, smirking a little. "I grew up in a family with several Basset Hounds, so I am quite familiar with the puppy-dog-eyes routine. You'll find no respite in adorability and cuteness, not from me, anyway."

 

[Xeno Major]

Anyone else think Xeno deserves a medal? He just wrote a scene where two hot alien chicks literally fucked his brains out and he successfully incorperated it as a plot device, rather than some sort of wish fulfillment fetish. Bravo

Click to shrink...

I'd never have been able to do it without Bioware.

Seriously, what kind of crazy writer makes up a species that transfers memories via sex?

I wonder if Legion would be diverted to meet you.

Click to shrink...

We'll see. It depends if he's already been sent on his mission to find Shepard or not.

Legion has already been created, but where in the galaxy is he?

 

[Xeno Major]

While I love the idea, the Geth Consensus is only going to custom-make one unique multiple-programed (1,183, to be exact) Geth body.

 

[Xeno Major]

Chapter 9.6 (Snip 7)




"Fine, fine." Tela Vasir says, leaning on my side as she sits on my recliner's armrest. "I'll stop the pouting."

"Good; it's hard to concentrate on plans to conquer the universe when you're doing that."

"Conquer the universe? Ambitious, are we?" Aria asks, her face holding slight grin at my words. "How did we go from 'defending the galaxy' to conquering it? Maybe you've a bit too much to drink, or maybe you're just not used to the kick of good asari drink."

"Aria, you know full well there's no way that the drink is already starting to affect me." I reply lightheartedly. "Besides, I've had some real drinks before. I might not like to drink, but that doesn't mean I haven't had a few drinks before."

"Oh, the kid finally shows some spine." Vasir teases playfully, pushing my shoulder. "Well, he didn't really have much in that, did he Aria?"

"No, I don't think so." Aria agrees casually, as she carefully stands up. "And while I'd love to continue this conversation, I think we're going to need some food before we discuss Nick's plan to conquer the galaxy."

"I'll agree to that," I nod, wincing a tad as my stomach starts aching. "But… only one of us should go out. Vasir can't be seen in Afterlife, and if both of us show up at the same time, people are going to start talking."

"Good thinking." Aria says. "We'll discuss what to do with Santiago while you're away. Massani is a skilled bounty hunter, and I want to keep him on my payroll as long as I can."

"Alright," I concur, nodding once as I get back on my wobbly feet. "I'll just be back in a minute, then."

Xxxx

Twenty minutes later, I strode back in through the security doors, carefully balancing a stack of covered trays. Glancing around, I automatically rule out the low coffee table and the chairs, because I don't want to risk spilling food on those. Not only would it be disgusting, but we'd also have to have them cleaned, and that would probably be a security risk.

"Over here, on the table." Vasir says, beckoning me over to a good-sized wooden (which is a fairly luxurious item on Omega) table in the corner of the dim small security room.

"That table wasn't there earlier." I note as I carefully set down the heavy trays onto the warm wood. "And I doubt it was hiding around the corner, folded up. Where'd you guys get it?"

"There's a few storage closets in the back," Aria informs me, gesturing to the other side of the room. "I keep a few useful items back there, and this old table's one of them. Why, would you rather eat on the chairs?"

"No, no, just curious is all. Thought it was a security risk." I admit while distributing the trays and opening them up, releasing the scent of warm food. "Plus, I haven't seen a wooden table since… well, Home."

I run my hand across the table, feeling the texture of the wood beneath my fingers as I trace the grain.

You can take the boy out of the logging town…

It was a small and plain table, capable of seating six, eight if you squeezed in. No polish or fancy gilt decorated it. It was there to be used, it's not there to be looked at.

It was, in short, the perfect table for me.

"He's getting sad again, Aria; do you think a meld would cheer him up?" Vasir optimistically asked.

"No, Tela, you know that'd just fry his brain." Aria dismisses the suggestion as she takes a seat at the head of the small wooden table. "Sit down and eat, Nick. It'll help."

"Dad always said that we got emotional when we were hungry." I muse softly as I take a swig of my bottled protein shake (thankfully, protein shakes in the future tasted positively divine when compared to some of the stuff I'd had back Home) and grab a plate.

"Oh look," I continue with a surprised tone of voice. "I'm a moody bastard. I guess he was right."

I chuckle, but there's no humor in it.

Maybe that's the booze starting to kick in? Residual effects from the six-hour Marathon Meld?

Fuck if I know, at this point. If I wasn't worried about my control, I'd have another shot of that asari drink, if only to dull the loneliness. Of course, that wouldn't help.

Sighing, I reach for a slice of the homemade pizza that I'd pilfered from the kitchen, cursing one more time that Afterlife's human cuisine was comprised solely of the most 'popular' human dishes. Pizza, of course, was one of them.

At least, I reflect, it's proper thin Sicilian pizza. Call me a purist, but I just prefer it that way.

Without another time-wasting thought, I unhurriedly take a bite of the warm pizza.

Huh?

What?

I pause, and look at my slice in confusion.

My lips purse as I inspect the seemingly plain pizza, which at first glance contains no extra ingredients.

"Steak pizza." I mutter under my breath, while Aria and Vasir dig into the other dishes. "Huh. Well, score one for the future."

The food is warm and good, and I take a few minutes to sample some of the asari cuisine that I'd brought for the ladies.

I'd always liked trying different cuisines, but I cautiously avoided sampling the squid-looking bits. As a rule, I don't eat any seafood that isn't salmon or clam chowder. Instead, I pluck an oddly colored biscuit away from it's stack.

Biting into it reveals a curious wealth of tastes, starting sweet and ending sour. I wince again as the sour taste slowly fades.

Personally, I'm good without one of those taste-changing treats. I'll stick to meat, bread, and nutrient shakes.

We eat in comfortable semi-silence, only talking when Aria or Vasir tried to get me to eat various bits of asari food, all of which I politely refused after tasting that biscuit.

The room may be small (not quite cramped, but close), but the friendly behavior of the two asari beside me makes it seem warm and welcoming. The décor is inviting, a mixture of expensive and plain, and the room itself seems inviting.

That seems to reflect Afterlife's employee's section quite well. The grey metallic walls might be cold and dull, but the friendships that are slowly starting to build up are making it quite hospitable to me.

I pull duty shifts with Anto, and we talk quite amicably while working. Zaeed works me into the ground in the gym, but there is comradeship there. Hell, even Len, the turian bartender I work with, is starting to get a little friendlier.

I eat with them, work with them, and sleep under the same roof as them. It shouldn't be any surprise that I'm becoming friends with them… but…

Perhaps, I think as I polish off my sixth piece, I might find another home here.

It wouldn't be the first time. Boarding school for four years, then off to college (which barely counts because I ended up here after the first year)… I hadn't had a home; I'd had a dorm.

Perhaps… I might like it here.

Heh.

Yeah, I might like it here on Omega, home of criminals and scum, land of opportunity and chaos.

I chuckle at the absurdity of that thought, and Vasir raises an eyebrow in askance as I do.

"It's nothing," I dismiss.

"Now that we've eaten, let's get back to your plan, Nick. Tell us, what other grand plans do you have for our little galaxy?" Aria questions.

"We're gonna need an army if we're gonna fight the Reapers. Well, a navy, 'cause we've already got a few armies."

"The Reapers smashed through our fleets in a few months the first time." Vasir says, taking another sip of her drink.

"Even with Thanix Cannons, we lost three dreadnoughts for each of theirs," she continues, "Obviously we need more ships, but aren't they going to be thrown away anyway? Even if we could get rid of the Treaty of Farixen and get every race to start stepping up their dreadnought creation, how useful are those ships going to be?"

"You people love your dreadnoughts…" I murmur, thinking hard.

"What about carriers? Humanity went through a similar problem before World War Two, with battleships. Aircraft carriers took charge, replacing battleships easily. Developments in planes made aircraft the dominant force, and made battleships obsolete. What if we could apply that here? How viable are fighter-bombers for naval operations?"

"Neither fighters nor bombers have been capable of turning the tide of a battle for thousands of years." Vasir says, doubtful. "There just isn't enough of a technological edge for a fighter to pierce a larger ship's kinetic barriers."

"What if we arm the fighters with Thanix tech?" I speculate, mind racing. "We already know that the Reapers can take out dreadnoughts nigh-instantly with their massive tech advantage, so we can't match them blow-for-blow. Why not take the opposite route? Massive fighter-bomber swarms that dodge hits instead of taking them."

"Lack of pilots, lack of skill, lack of coordination." Aria ticks off, looking unconvinced. "The more ships we put out, the more we have to coordinate them. That'll mean dedicated coordinators, the best electronic warfare specialists in the galaxy, and large numbers of pilots to begin with. There're less complications with a dreadnought, at least to the bureaucratic fools that run the militaries. Besides, can a fighter even mount a Thanix Cannon?"

"So we built the fighters a little bigger." I shrug, pressing my point on. "The Geth can do that easily enough. We don't need any life support or cockpit for a Geth, and their reactions are going to be a lot faster than a pilot's, so that frees up a lot of space for weapons or engines. The only real problem is the lack of skill."

"We could get around that." Vasir agrees, putting a finger to her lips as she thinks. "The problem with machines is that they fly predictable routs, with predictable flight paths. When we fought the Geth – the Heretic Geth that Saren had, anyway, the fighter kill ratios were always in our favor. But V.I.'s are always improving. We just need to improve the Geth."

"Good idea." I agree warmly, as Vasir nears my idea. "But the Geth are still just V.I. linked together. Would a full A.I. do better? A true A.I. can learn, can adapt, and Legion turned into a full A.I. simply by interacting with Shepard for a few months, by being isolated from the Consensus, and by thinking of itself as a single unit, rather than a collection of programs. Is that a line of thought we want to pursue?"

"I don't know." Vasir sighs. "But if we're going to try to figure this puzzle out, then we'll need experts: true tacticians, not two asari and a kid. We'll need engineers, and scientists, and all manner of experts. At the moment, we have none of those."

"Well, we need to get on that. Since we can't do that until the Shadow Broker is gone, that's our first goal." I murmur, glancing briefly at my twitching left hand.

It's been twitching a lot lately. I used to think my hands twitched because of my psychological problems after killing, but Aria and Vasir have been helping me overcome those.

It's nerve damage, then.

I remember hearing a doctor tell me that nerve damage has six months to fix itself, once the doctors finish up. After six months, it won't grow/heal any more. That might mean that I could never shoot again.

It can wait, I decide. I need to focus, now more than ever, and the condition of my arm is not as important as the fate of the galaxy.

 

[Vaermina]

You know you can avoid the entire dreadnaught problem by building your ships 799 meters in length instead of 800. Since anything less then 800 meters isn't considered a dreadnaught by Citadel law.

But if you have your heart set on fighters try a Quantum Linked remote piloting system.

 

[Cyclone]

actually that brings up another question, we never see nukes used against the Reapers...

Click to shrink...

Not on-screen and not in ship-to-ship combat, but there is that bit of dialogue where you hear Glyph reporting to Liara about a colony that nuked all their cities when the Reapers landed, and there's also the Miracle of Palaven.

 

[Xeno Major]

They could bring Shepard back to life at the start of ME2. I find hard to believe they couldn't heal a bit of nerve damage.

Click to shrink...

First off, is that current medical knowledge or future medical knowledge. Secondly, is the doc who told you that right. You'd be surprised how many aren't.

Click to shrink...

Snthsnth got it.

That bit is based off of current knowledge, but I'm (in-story) not on the top of my game at the moment.

Whilst focusing on all the other things, I didn't think to ask about medical improvements, and my future-knowledge is getting mixed up with my Home-knowledge.

Vasir or Aria will call me out on this before the chapter is over, though.

Maybe they can heal it, maybe they can't. We shall see.

Plus, Shepard was being resurrected by Cerberus, who spent a couple billion (probably more) doing so. That's a bit beyond most in-house doctors.

Which comes to think of it... seems kind of small... We have nukes today that can do a hell of a lot more than that.

actually that brings up another question, we never see nukes used against the Reapers...

Click to shrink...

PD, volume of fire and overkill. There's also logistical issues that are not as present in mass drivers.

Click to shrink...

Point.

I believe at this point, most cultures have been using ME weapons so long that they've stopped building them.

However, what about as bombs?

The Systems Alliance can be all high and mighty and stay away from nukes, but that doesn't mean that I will.

Not on-screen and not in ship-to-ship combat, but there is that bit of dialogue where you hear Glyph reporting to Liara about a colony that nuked all their cities when the Reapers landed, and there's also the Miracle of Palaven.

Click to shrink...

Hmmm..... I'll have to look into that a little closer. Thanks, that helps.

Regarding emissary's to the Geth. My headcanon had always been that it was the Heretics who intercepted any organics who tried to make contact, on the grounds that the one ship we see in ME1 had its crew converted to Husks. I don't remember anything in the game which stated it was the Orthodox Geth.

Click to shrink...

The Heretics only broke off from the Consensus thirty years after the Mourning War, which means that for thirty years, the Geth shot down everything that approached. Nothing has returned from beyond the Veil.

Which is why I'm sending message probes for a while before I physically go to the system. We need the Geth, but I'm not going to rush in like an idiot and get my ship blown up.

 

[PainGod85]

Is it Concentrated Sunlight Day already?

i love the gun on the A-10, it's so powerful the plane actually goes backwards if it fires the gun for more than 5 seconds.

Click to shrink...

Actually, the recoil of the GAU-8 is around the thrust of one of the A-10's engines. So while firing it for longer than a few seconds at a time will make it slow down quite a bit, that kind of deceleration is not even close to pushing the aircraft into going backwards during an attack run. That said, it is a bloody awesome gun/plane combination.

 

[SemiSaneAuthor]

*Snip Vid*
Small potatoes. Think big, people.

Click to shrink...

Tsar Bomba barrage of nukes from a factory that makes nukes by the thousands every Second?

 

[Vaermina]

kinetic barriers stop kinect energy, so the heat from the plasma should go through and the x-ray laser beam from the lasing rod will be uneffected by the barriers.

Click to shrink...

The bomb pumped laser was already suggested and shot down as being too expensive.

 

[Lone Wolf 666]

Earth core converted to pure weapons grade plutonium, and the outer layers into powerfull explosives?.

 

[Vaermina]

Earth core converted to pure weapons grade plutonium, and the outer layers into powerfull explosives?.

Click to shrink...

Um what?

 

[Vaermina]

I think he's suggesting turning a planet into a nuclear device?

In that case why bother, just blow up the star. It'll be easier.

Click to shrink...

I thought I was reading it wrong, because I seriously didn't think anyone who knows anything about mass effect could suggest they had the tech to do anything of the kind.

 

[Xeno Major]

"Nuclear Launch detected."


"Its just one missile what is it going to do-"

"Nu-Nu-Nu-Nu-Nu-Nu-Nu-Nu-Nu-Nu-Nu-Nu-Nuclear Launched Detected-d-d-d-d."

"Oh..."

"Dont worry I'm building more!"

Click to shrink...

Possible Omake... I'll consider it.

Instead of the old fashioned nuke how about something more modern ? Like a fusion warhead ? I mean ME ships are powered by fusion reactors right ? It won't be too hard to turn it into a weapon.

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Fusion would be nice.

"I do believe that few infestations exist in this world that a big gun and lots of bullets can't solve." - A-10C Thunderbolt II pilot = Muv Luv verse

Click to shrink...

"No. Listen, explosions are God's gift to man. Big explosions, little explosions, fiery explosions, concussive explosions... Each and every one is beautiful. There is no problem that can't be solved with an explosion of the right size, in the right time, and the right place," - Alex Mercer, From Unfamiliar (CPL_Facehugger)

Is it Concentrated Sunlight Day already?

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This is SpaceBattles, it is always Concentrated Sunlight Day.

I think he's suggesting turning a planet into a nuclear device?

In that case why bother, just blow up the star. It'll be easier.

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Ah, Hypernovas. Also known as the Admiral Cole Special.

Y'know, I think the Renegade (Tiberium/Mass Effect) thread once came up with the idea of Earth as a gigantic Tiberium bomb, with Liquid Tiberium as the power source. I don't remember the details, but I think it was deemed as ineffective past point-blank range.

As for bombpumped. Expensive.

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No, it just didn't fit the setting.

I'll allow exceptions on a case by case basis, if somebody could give me a convincing argument for a canon example that could be expanded/reproduced.

 

[Fallenblades643]

GAU-8 up in da house!

 

[Xeno Major]

Unless you've changed it for the purpose of this story, its Morning War, not Mourning War.

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D'oh.

I played with and without subtitles, and assumed that it was the Mourning War.

Thanks for the correction, I'll fix that in the 'fic.

I haven't been able to find a reference for the date of the Orthodox/Heretic split. The Codex seems to think that it happened just prior to ME1, but it also thinks that Sovereign was a Geth Dreadnaught.

Contacting them from a distance first is a very good idea.

Click to shrink...

I've heard thirty years after the Morning War, and -

ASSUMING DIRECT CONTROL

YOUR PUNY FORM AMUSES US, HUMAN XENO MAJOR, BUT YOUR KNOWLEDGE IS INCORRECT.

In2162, one ofEdan Had'dah's survey teams discover Sovereign orbiting an uncharted world in an obscure star system near thePerseus Veil. Had'dah is abatarianentrepreneur who sends teams out to search for ancient alien technology, usually Prothean, which he would either sell or research for profit. However, when his people report their find, Had'dah soon realises he has something unprecedented on his hands.
Had'dah quickly isolates the survey team on the planet and searches for an expert who can help him unlock Sovereign's secrets. He eventually finds Dr. Shu Qian, a scientist specializing in AI studies who has defected from the Alliance.
Sovereign's indoctrination effect is already working on Qian. Even a brief visit to the "artifact" also affects Had'dah's mind, until the two are obsessed with researching the ship. During his investigation of an attack on theSidonresearch facility, theSpectreSaren Arteriusbecomes intrigued by what he heard, wondering if Sovereign is the weapon he has been looking for to bring humanity to its knees. He kills both Qian and Had'dah and takes their research, then goes to find Sovereign for himself.

Click to shrink...

 

[Lone Wolf 666]

GAU-8 up in da house!

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My mind now imagine that hump, as someone using the GAU-8 as a sniper weapon.

 

[Cyclone]

Hmmm..... I'll have to look into that a little closer. Thanks, that helps.

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Relevant links for the Miracle at Palaven and the destruction of Tyvor.

 

[SwiftRosenthal]

We already have fusion bombs, they're just called Thermonuclear or Hydrogen bombs.

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Hmmm... how much antimatter could Geth industry manufacture on short notice? Who needs sun-missiles when you can spam M/AM instead?

 

[Delusionist]

-
I think we has talking bout pure fusion weapons so that the relatively hard to find rare earths like uranium are not required, making mass production much easier.

Click to shrink...

These people are spacefaring. It's not at all hard to find uranium in asteroids.

 

[Xeno Major]

Chapter 9.7 (Snip 8)



"So you can fix it, right?" I ask Holly, glancing at the now-exposed skin on my shoulder, as if trying to see the nerve damage.

My hands twitch, and I tightened my lips in annoyance.

"Roughly speaking, yes." Holly answers, directing me to sit down on top of the operating table as she disposes of the used medi-gel patch.

"The specifics of the operation are quantum – not literally, of course – but it's possible. I'll need to have Marsh procure a couple things for the operation but it should be a fairly easy procedure," she explains.

"That's the best news I've heard all day, doc." I reply earnestly, with a happy grin. "So, when can we get this out of the way?"

"I'll need to talk to Marsh to be sure, but at least a month." Holly informs me solemnly with her bizarre British accent, laying a gentle hand on my good shoulder.

"A month?" I repeat incredulously. "I understand that it takes some time to get your instruments, but – but this is an advanced society, surely we an get these things faster?"

Holly's weary face looks unamused by my question.

"Nick, to regrow and re-connect a nerve isn't a small operation." Holly explains. "It isn't exactly something that can be with a scalpel and some thread, you know?"

I nod slowly, looking once more at where Holly had peeled away the medi-gel patch, revealing a mess of scar tissue.

"What does this mean for me in the short term, doc?"

Holly sighs.

"It means no more training. You have no doubt noticed the infrequent tremors by now; I can't let you put any weight on that arm. If you were to have another tremor whilst you were training, then God knows what could happen; a weight crushes your windpipe, Mr. Massani breaks your nose, et cetera," she explains seriously, locking eyes with me.

"Under no circumstance can you participate in any physical activity that uses that arm. No training, no shooting, no duty."

"No shooting?" I repeat, horrified and protesting. "But if I shoot with a rest, I don't need my other arm!"

"Fine," Holly allows, with the slightest tinge of a smile at my childish antics. "But don't complain if your accuracy is shite."

"Thank you, Holly!" I say quickly, enveloping her surprised form in a hug.

"I thought that I might not be able to use this arm any more... You've helped me massively; if you ever need anything, please, just say the word."

"Yes, yes." Holly chuckles, amused as I pull back from the hug. "Don't fuck up your arm any more that it already is, and we'll get along just fine."

Grateful, I thank her one more time and politely duck out of the infirmary.

Slowly, taking my time, I amble down the dull grey corridors of Afterlife's secure sections (man, we need to come up with a better name for the base), thinking about the situation.

Zaeed was going to be pissed.

The only reason he wasn't getting paid a ridiculous amount of money for his usual contracts was because he was supposed to train me on Aria's orders. Now that I can't train, he's going to want to get back to his contracts.

I'll go explain to Aria, then. Hopefully, Vasir's intel on Vido Santiago's location will be a good enough bonus that Zaeed'll come back when I've fully recovered.

I may bag on the old man's borderline abusive training habits, but they've helped me come a long way from the panicking boy that I was.

Granted, I'm still a panicky kid, but at least now I have the discipline to pull the trigger on another being, however sick it makes me.

Leaving the infirmary behind, my old worn runners silence my steps as I walk slowly through the dull grey corridors of Afterlife, glancing at the occasional cable or interface to break up the monotony.

"Hey, Nick!"

Glancing over my shoulder, I smile as I see Anto jogging up to me.

"Hey, Anto." I greet. "What's up, man?"

"Not much. I'd heard you got out of surgery, but when I went you, you'd vanished." Anto replies, as we keep walking.

"Yeah, Aria had a few questions for me." I shrug off.

"Questions that took six hours?" Anto asks perceptively, nudging my good shoulder as he barks out a quick laugh. "C'mon, Nick. We're not blind around here."

My blood runs cold for a minute, and I realize what I've done.

"Tell me," I start carefully, watching Anto's reactions. "What do they say about Aria, now that this has come up?"

"They say she's finally taken another to her bed. It's been a while since Aria publicly had someone in that position." Anto informs me bluntly.

Our conversation halts briefly as we squeeze past a couple of armored turians coming off duty as bouncers, and we nod in respect to our coworkers.

Oddly enough, the turians give me a nod of respect alongside Anto, something that most of them usually didn't do, given my status as a young, unproven, non-military human.

Neither of us speaks until the noise of the turian's boots clanking fades away.

"Let me know, eh? If there's any trouble with kind of stuff." I murmur to Anto, looking eyes briefly to let him know how serious I am.

Of course, then I realize that I don't know with set of eyes to look at. Batarian problems, eh?

"Aria can't handle this on her own?" Anto questions shrewdly, lowering his voice as the topic turns more serious.

"Of course she can," I deny. "She's Aria. But if… associating with me causes any problems, then…"

I trail off, not knowing how to finish that statement.

Anto nods, and my respect for him goes up a notch.

"I just… well, this isn't to say anything about you personally, but this is Omega; I don't want there be any amongst the guard, ok?" I mutter to him, the words tasting like ash in my mouth.

Anto's features tighten, completely justified given that I just doubted the loyalty of everyone we work with.

"We're working for the ruler of Omega. Everyone here knows just how ruthless she can get. If any of Aria's enemies try to get to her through you, we'll kill them." Anto says brusquely.

"Dump the bodies in river, things like that?" I muse idly.

"More like out the airlock, but yeah." Anto shrugs. "Nobody told me this was a fair galaxy."

"Yeah… same here." I respond slowly, unwilling to let my mind wander down that dark and depressive path again.

"You're off-duty, right?" I ask Anto, deliberately turning the corner to the club rather than heading towards my room. "Let's get a drink, relax a little."

"Oh, you're finally gonna have a drink?" Anto smirks. "Try not to puke all over me, alright? It's bad for Afterlife if one of the bouncers can't hold his drink down."

"You know, I have has a few drinks before." I return, as we near the door to the club. "I can hold my drink down, and besides, I won't be drinking anything heavy. Aria'd have my guts if I embarrassed her; I don't need any more incentive than that."

Anto chuckles warmly, his deep batarian voice rumbling through the empty corridor.

Xxxx

"What's your report, Kenn?" Aria questions, swirling the glass of Noverian Rum in her off hand while she reclines on the Couch.

The music pulses loudly in Afterlife, but the intensity dims in Aria's loft, whether due to acoustics or some kind of generator I don't know.

The flashing neon lights up the skin of exotic dancers as they twirl around on stage, making the crowd roar.

It's a good night for the club, drinks are pouring liberally, and there's only been a few problems (or so Garka told me), so everyone's happy.

"I've managed to incorporate wedge-firing mechanisms in almost every shotgun in our armory, Captain." Kenn tells her, his helmet's light flashing brightly, before pausing. "S-sorry, old habits are… hard to break."

"Just Aria, Kenn." Aria permits him, smirking slightly at his uneasiness.

"Relax, buddy, she's not gonna bite you, unless you ask real nice." I chuckle from my position on Aria's left, waving at Kenn with an easy reassurance. "So, what's up with the rifles we just got?"

"I know the basic idea on what to do with the Mattocks, but a basic idea isn't going to get me far." Kenn says, shaking his helmet slightly. "I can rig up a few up with heat-sinks, but the firing rate is going to have be limited; I know the idea is for semi-automatic, but firing too fast into a jury-rigged system risks detonating the rifle, and that's not good."

I nod, having followed that stream of babble easily enough.

Tentatively, I take a sip of the Noverian Rum that Aria'd told me to drink, saying that I was 'too tense' and that I needed to 'mellow out a little.'

I haven't had the chance to experiment with alcohol as much as some of my former schoolmates have, so this is the first time I've had rum, but so far, it seems pretty good.

Unconsciously, I was expecting a gargle-blaster, perhaps unfairly, but this rum is a smooth, semi-sweet concoction that's actually damn good.

Given how tightly Aria's holding her own drink, though, I think she might be talking to herself a little.

I don't know how well she's taking all the new info that I've dumped on her, but hopefully she doesn't shatter the glass in her hand.

"Is this a resource problem, or an expertise problem?" Aria probes, her eyes narrowing slightly as Kenn stands nervously at attention.

"A bit of both, I'm afraid." Kenn admits. "Marsh got us a dozen Mattocks, and I've already taken apart two without any significant improvements in the prototypes. As well… I-I'm not as good with rifles as I am with shotguns."

"Hmm…" Aria murmurs, taking a swallow of her rum as she thinks.

Kenn tries to hide his hands behind us back, but from where I'm sitting I can see that they're shaking.

Dammit, he's no good to us if goes through a nervous breakdown, I recognize.

"Kenn, it's alright." I assure him. "We're really happy with the work you've done on our shotguns. Aria understands how hard you're working, so don't worry about that. If anything, I'd say you should get a bonus for working so hard. It couldn't've been easy to modify all those guns by hand."

Kenn nods back, and the shaking peters out as he slowly relaxes.

Aria nods, having listened to my encouragement.

"I am very happy with your work, Kenn." Aria tells him, her tone smooth. "But as you said, rifles aren't a specialty of yours. I supposed we'll have to bring in some other experts to help you figure it out. That'll be your job, Nick."

A little surprised by the order, I nonetheless nod in confirmation.

"Alright, but, there's the matter of me returning to the Flotilla, and-" Kenn starts to chatter quickly, his confidence coming apart.

"Kenn, I'm not firing you." Aria calls out, a slight undercurrent of amusement in her tone. "You're going to work with these experts, and I see about contacting the Quarian Fleet for you."

"You keep this work up, Kenn, and you'll be helping the Fleet gain a big advantage over the Geth, and earn a tidy paycheck in the process." I say amicably to Kenn. "And you don't need to worry about your work harming the Fleet; so long as the Quarian Fleet leaves us be, we'll leave them be. I don't see the Admirals deciding to attack Omega any time soon, so we're good, eh?"

Kenn seems to nod (I'd say smile, but I can't tell under that helmet) at that, at least, and bows awkwardly to Aria.

"Oh, no need to be formal." Aria dismisses, hiding her smile with another sip of her drink. "That's all Kenn; Nick will stop by later to follow up."

Kenn nods, then hastily bids an nervous retreat.

Aria gazes at his retreating form for a moment, then turns her head to me.

"Remind me to get that boy a dance, Nick." Aria instructs idly. "It'll help him unwind a little."

"Aria, is your approach to everything just to – to get them a dancer?" I inquire jokingly, the good buzz from the rum loosening my tongue.

"Why not?" Aria asks rhetorically, glancing at the dancer twirling around on the circular stage. "Everyone needs to relax now and then; why shouldn't I earn a little money off that?"

I laugh once more and take a slow sip of my drink, noting that I should probably get some solid food in me if I'm going to be sitting up here for the rest of the night.

The crowd cheers, and on a whim I stand, surveying the bizarre and eccentric floor of Afterlife.

Gazing out over the crowd, I watch humans toast turians, batarians reminisce with krogan, and more.

Hell, what's wrong with enjoying the sights for a few minutes?

It's a beautiful day to be alive, I've got a challenge to keep me busy, and things are only going to get more interesting.

Silently, I hold up my glass, toasting the club and taking another sip. Behind me, Aria chuckles, and I let out a little smirk.