Atlantis – Audionautix

REDUCED MASS 2

"Doc, he's awake!"

"That's not right, I just gave him sedatives."

"Well, I'm guessing you didn't give him enough."

I weakly open my eyes and try to look around. I feel like someone held a shotgun under my chin and pulled the trigger… but not before hitting me over the head with a ball peen hammer a few times.

"Uh... I…," I manage to croak out. "Where…?"

My eyes are only sending me blurry pictures, but I can faintly make out three figures standing over me.

"Try and stay calm," a soothing voice says. "You're safe."

I begin to blink the tears of strain out of my eyes. I don't have a clue as to where I am.

"Where… am I?" I groan after putting my full concentration on forming sentences. My vision is beginning to clear up more, and I begin to see familiar faces.

"You're aboard the Normandy," an all too familiar voice answers. "You took quite a hit back on Eden Prime."

The memories that I had temporarily forgotten about all come rushing in at once and I begin to feel extremely nauseous.

My mind clears up with the sudden danger of vomiting and I manage to sit up straight on the edge of the bed.

"I need a bucket," I say, remarkably clearly.

A bucket appears out of the corner of my eye and I grab it out of the persons hands. Just in time as well, as just as I hold it under my mouth, the contents of my stomach come tumbling out without warning. As soon as I'm done, the bucket magically disappears out of my sight once again.

"David," another familiar voice says, fully of worry. "Are you alright?"

I look up and take in my surroundings with an odd sense of calm. My eyes instantly meet with Shepard's.

"I'm fine," I say, giving Shepard a weak smile. "At least… I think I am."

"It's my fault," Kaidan says from a few steps behind Shepard. "I shouldn't have gotten so close to the beacon."

I wearily rub my eyes free from the last of the tears and dirt.

"Don't worry about it," I verbally shrug. "I survived, didn't I?"

"Barely," a calm yet assertive voice disagrees. "You were clinically dead for thirteen seconds."

I look past Shepard and see Dr. Chakwas crossing her arms.

"I… uh…," I stammer out. "I'm sorry?"

"I believe a thank you would be in order," the doctor deadpans. "That wasn't an easy task, you know."

"You're lucky Dr. Chakwas is one of the Alliance' best doctors," Shepard adds, also crossing her arms.

"Thank you Dr. Chakwas," I say groggily. "I owe you one."

"I'll be sure to redeem that favor in the future," Chakwas says, her tone now lighter than before. "I'm just glad I was able to resuscitate you."

"How long was I out?" I ask, effectively changing the subject.

Dr. Chakwas bring up her omni-tool to check the time.

"Seventeen hours."

"We thought you'd be out for longer," Shepard says. "But you're too stubborn to be effectively sedated."

I snort out a laugh.

"You know me too well," I say.

"Your brain was giving off an unusual amount of beta waves," Dr. Chakwas interjects. "You must've been dreaming a tremendous amount while you were out."

Ah right. The vision.

"I… yeah, I was," I say while rubbing my temples, trying to rid myself of the last of my now fading migraine. "The beacon transmitted some sort of… vision to me."

"A vision?" Kaidan asks.

"Yeah," I answer. "I saw… well I saw a lot of things."

"Like?" Shepard presses on.

"I saw the death of the galaxy, among other things," I say. "Trillions of corpses, cities burning, giant machines of some sort."

"Very interesting," Chakwas says. "That would explain the brainwaves."

"I think the protheans were trying to warn us," I say as I shakily get up of the bed and stand up.

"Warn us about what?" Shepard asks, taking a step forward as she notices that I'm still shaky on my feet.

"I… I don't know," I shake my head, lying. "Maybe the vision will make sense over time. But what I saw was… disconcerting to say the least."

I notice a glass of water standing next to the bed. I take it and drink the entire glass before setting it down again.

"Where did you put my armor?" I ask Dr. Chakwas, noticing that I'm standing around in only a t-shirt and the pair of sweatpants I had under my armor.

"We stored it in the cargo bay," she says. "But you shouldn't be running around, at least not for another two hours while the sedatives wear off."

I wave a hand through the air dismissively.

"I'm fine doc, really," I say, trying to reassure the doctor. "I just need some food and water and I'll be up in no time."

"David, take her advice," Shepard says, putting a hand on my shoulder as I try to push past her. "Two hours isn't a long time."

I look at Shepard and see that her eyes are still lined with a faint amount of worry.

"Fine," I sigh, sitting back down on the bed. "Why would I ever turn down an order to rest anyways."

Kaidan chuckles.

"Responsible decision," Dr. Chakwas nods. "I'll come check up on you in an hour."

Dr. Chakwas walks out of the med-bay, leaving only Kaidan, Shepard and I.

"I'll leave you two to catch up," Kaidan says shortly after. "No doubt you have a lot to talk about."

Without another word, Kaidan also leaves the med-bay, leaving only Shepard and me.

"There's probably a lot of things that you want to ask me," I say sheepishly.

"Yeah, there is," Shepard replies dryly, taking a seat across from me on the other med-bay cot.

"Well, ask away."

Shepard takes a deep breath before continuing to speak.

"After Rio," she begins. "What happened?"

"Do you want the full story or the short version?" I chuckle.

Shepard gives me a look that suggests that I shouldn't even have asked.

"Alright, alright," I say apologetically. "Right after Rio, I went back to New Canton."

"New Canton?" Shepard asks, raising an eyebrow. "There's nothing on that world but forests and mountains."

"That's where you're wrong," I say. "It just happens to be one of the bounty hunting world's best kept secrets."

Shepard looks at me incredulously.

"Yeah I know, I was surprised too. The largest mountain on the planet houses one of the biggest illegal trading hubs in the galaxy. Slaves, weapons, bounty hunters… what ever you want you can get."

"And what were you doing there?" Shepard asks, crossing her arms.

"I worked for New Canton's boss," I continue. "Bigshot information broker by the name of Donnie."

Shepard looks at me and doesn't say anything. But she's listening very intently.

"Donnie then sent me on a mission to kill my best friend on Omega… which I didn't do. Then Aria made me take out a krogan slaver that was causing her problems in exchange for a new identity… which I did."

I take a deep breath.

"And that's when I landed on Eden Prime. I've been living legally ever since."

Shepard seems to be processing the information as she begins to chew on the inside of her cheek.

"What about the beacon you allegedly found?" she asks, breaking the short silence.

"I didn't allegedly find it," I huff. "I did find it. Then the Alliance decided to repossess my dig site and announce to the world that they found a working prothean beacon. Look how well that turned out."

"The Alliance was just following protocol," Shepard says defensively. "The prothean protection act is a council space wide law that the Alliance adopted into their laws."

"I know, I know," I say resignedly. "It doesn't matter now at any rate. Can't take back what transpired. The beacon is gone, and I lost my best friend in the process."

Tears begin to well up in my eyes again.

"I'm sorry about Ming," Shepard says, trying to console me. "He'll get a proper burial, we retrieved the body."

"Thank you," I say, blinking the tears away as I look back at Shepard. "I didn't get a chance to properly say goodbye."

Shepard gets up from the cot and walks towards me, handing me a tissue.

"I'm glad you're ok David," Shepard says as she sits back down. "I was worried sick about you."

"Thank you, that means a lot," I smile. "I do have a knack for getting myself into trouble, don't I?"

Shepard scoffs, but the smile on her face gives away her sarcasm.

"That is the understatement of the millennium," she laughs, shaking her head. "In hindsight, I'm not even surprised that it was you that dug up the beacon."

"Yeah," I say diffidently. "I hope I didn't give Kaidan that much of a scare."

"Alenko will be fine," Shepard says. "He looked like he'd seen a ghost after you threw him away from the beacon."

"I'll have a talk with him after Dr. Chakwas dismisses me."

A short silence forms between Shepard and I.

"Listen, David," Shepard says, her expression turning serious. "There is one more thing I wanted to ask."

"Go ahead."

"About what you said on Rio… right before you left."

I feel a nervous knot forming in my stomach. I'm terrible at these sorts of talks.

"Yeah?" I say, a lump forming in my throat.

"Commander, Captain Anderson wants to speak to you in the Comm Room."

The voice of Joker interrupts the oncoming revelation.

"We'll talk later," Shepard says as she gets up from the cot she was sitting on.

Just as she's about to leave the med-bay, she turns around.

"I'm happy you're here," she says. "You still owe me a drink."

"Oh you're Right! Elysium… totally forgot," I laugh. "I'll write it in my calendar."

Shepard smiles and leaves the med-bay.

The med-bay is now completely silent save for the quiet humming of some equipment, and my mind begins to wander again.

I've been in this universe for nine years, and it still doesn't feel real sometimes. Now more than ever with me being on the Normandy.

But it's all real. Everything I've experienced, felt, and lost. And Ming's death hurts more than anything I've experienced in my time here.

Tears begin to fall again, and this time I let them flow. I've there's one thing I need to get out of my system. It's this.

After a few seconds, I begin to cry freely as all the pent up emotion I've kept inside my body over the years finally find a way out.

All the pain and death I've experienced.

I can't keep it locked up in myself forever.

I step out of the med-bay and look around. Dr. Chakwas cleared me a few minutes ago after giving me some Ibuprofen should my headache flare up again. Even hundreds of years later, Ibuprofen is still a go-to painkiller.

I never would have guessed.

At any rate, I do feel a lot better now. My little moment came and went, and I actually managed to take a somewhat restful nap.

"Hey, David!" Kaidan calls over from the mess hall table. "Have a moment to talk?"

"Sure," I say. I hope my eyes aren't too red from crying.

I take a seat across from Kaidan.

"What's up?"

Kaidan rubs his hands nervously.

"I wanted to thank you for dragging me away from that beacon," he begins. "I… I should have known better. I shouldn't have gotten that close."

"It's not your fault," I say. "I got just as close when I dug it up; nothing happened then so nobody could've predicted it happening when you got too close."

"Still, thank you," Kaidan says. "I owe you one."

"Ah, don't worry about it," I grin. "The only thing you owe me is a beer if we ever get the chance."

"Yeah, it's the least I could do," Kaidan chuckles.

"Let's talk more later," I say as I get up from the table. "I want to walk around a bit, get my circulatory system going a bit."

"There's coffee shots in the fridge, that might help," Kaidan says, pointing over to the small kitchen across the mess hall.

"Thanks, I'll see you around."

I don't remember there being a kitchen here, but hey, I'm not complaining.

I open the fridge and take out a tiny can of what seems to be what Kaidan was talking about.

'Uncle Carlo's Caffeine Capsule'

Interesting name, I wonder how much caffeine it actually has.

The contents of the can instantly make me recoil in disgust, garnering a laugh from one of the crew members of the Normandy in the process as she walks by.

"It's not supposed to taste good!" Kaidan calls from across the room. "It's just supposed to give you an energy boost!"

I scrunch up my face as I pour out the rest of the contents of the can into the sink.

"Remind me to get some real energy drinks when we get the chance," I say after rinsing my mouth out of with some tap water.

"That's insultingly bad."

"Noted," Kaidan snickers.

That reminds me, I should get my armor out of the cargo bay.

After mentally making a note to never drink that caffeine capsule again, I push past the mess hall and towards the large elevator into the cargo hold.

Conveniently enough, the door is open.

The elevator screeches to life at a pace that I can only describe as the slowest pace I've moved in my entire life. It sounds like it's really trying not to die.

Maybe it just needs some WD40.

The door lurches open as I reach the bottom level, and I come face to face with the Normandy's Mako for the first time.

I whistle in amazement as I begin to walk around it, examining every inch.

"First time seeing a Mako?" a voice startles me, and I jump in shock.

"Jesus!" I shout. "What is it with you alliance folk and sneaking up on people?"

I turn around to face Ashley sitting a few meters away on a crate assembling her rifle.

"Sorry, but I think you're just blind," she jokes. "I've been sitting here this entire time."

"Right… I knew that," I mumble. "But to answer your question, yes. First time I've seen a Mako in years. From this distance at least."

"She's a beauty, isn't she?" Ashley says as she gets up from her crate, putting her now fully assembled rifle to the side. "A lot better than what we had before."

"The grizzly, was it?" I ask, and Ashley nods.

"Yeah, was a lot roomier than the Mako, but a lot slower and less maneuverable."

"I can imagine," I hum in agreement.

"How are you feeling?" Ashley asks. "You know, after coming back from the dead."

"Hah well, considering the circumstances, I feel fine. Dr. Chakwas is a miracle worker it seems."

"That's good to hear," Ashley says. "If you're looking for your armor, its in the lockers across the cargo bay."

"I was just about to ask," I reply. "Thank you."

"No problem."

Ashley walks back to the crate and begins to fiddle with her rifle again while I walk over to a locker that, remarkably enough, has my name on it.

I internally smile as I open the locker. My armor, my pistol… everything is here along with an assault rifle. Brand new by the looks of it.

Before I can put on my armor however, my omni-tool beep, indicating that I've received a message.

Ming? That can't be right.

The head of the message reads 'Contingency'.

David,

I hope this message is never received by you. If you have received it, then I have expired.

I am forwarding all my important files and contacts to you.

You are the only one I trust with my information.

Take Care.

Attached to the message is an encrypted file with the same name as the message title.

Huh, Ming really did think of everything. This will come in handy for sure.

I close the message and begin to put on my armor. As always, it's all muscle memory and my armor is on within 2 minutes. I decide to leave my helmet and pistol in my locker for the time being.

I close the locker and begin to wander around the ship again.

I manage to clear the last step on my way up to the top deck of the Normandy before I'm stopped by an older, balding man.

"Can I help you?" I ask.

The man extends a hand and grins.

"Charles Pressly," he says.

Ah, of course. How could I forget.

"Pleasure to meet you," I say as we firmly shake hands.

"I was wondering when I'd finally meet you in person," he continues. "Hell of a thing you did on Elysium."

"Thank you," I smile. "You were there too, if I remember correctly?"

"One of the first to arrive." Pressly nods. "I lost count as to how many pirates we gunned down in the Agincourt."

"Yeah, I can't remember how many how many pirates I ended up killing," I chuckle. "Left with a nice souvenir too."

Pressly laughs.

"Well, welcome aboard," he says. "If you have time in the future, we could share some stories about the blitz. Commander Shepard told me about your actions, but I want to hear your part of the story as well."

"Gladly," I say. "

Pressly nods and steps back to his station.

Well, this is a nice change of pace. It's actually refreshing to be in a setting where not everyone is trying to kill you, is a criminal or just a shady character in general.

I could get used to this… but I know better.

Things might seem okay now, but shit is going to hit the fan real soon.

Interestingly enough, meeting people like Kaidan, Ashely or Pressly isn't as shocking or surprising as I thought it would be after arriving here. I guess I've just been in this universe for such a long time that it seems normal.

I don't get a moment of respite.

"David, Captain Anderson wants to speak with you," Shepard says as she walks out of the comm room.

I follow Shepard wordlessly into the comm room and come face to face with Captain Anderson for the first time.

Even though I've never met him before, he commands a tremendous air of respect.

"It is good to finally meet you," Anderson says as he extends a hand in greeting.

"The pleasure is mine," I say as I shake his hand. "No doubt you have a lot of questions."

"Just a few," Anderson replies, motioning for me to sit down.

"The Commander told me about what transpired on Eden Prime," Anderson continues as he remains standing in the middle of the room. "She told me about the vision you had."

"Yeah… it was all a blur," I say while rubbing the back of my neck. "I saw everything and nothing at the same time. It's difficult to explain but I think the protheans are trying to warn us about something."

"It is an interesting find," Anderson muses. "Ambassador Udina has asked us to meet with him once we arrive on the Citadel. We can discuss more about your vision then."

Anderson takes a seat on the edge of one of the chairs of the comm room.

"The more pressing issue is figuring out why the geth wanted the beacon… and how Saren may be involved."

"Sir, with all due respect," I begin. "I only saw what Shepard saw. I do not have additional information."

"Did your friend at the beacon see anything?"

I can feel my expression turn somewhat sour.

"Last thing he said to me is that he tried to stop a turian. He didn't mention Saren's name."

"We don't have much to go on, but we have an eyewitness account," Anderson sighs. "He's using the geth to try and wipe out humanity, and we need to try and stop him."

I have to suppress a sigh.

If only I could tell you, Anderson.

"I'm here to help," I say to Anderson. "After Eden Prime, I want to nail the bastard that's responsible. If it's Saren, I will do everything in my power to take him down."

"That's good to hear," Anderson says. "It won't be easy, but we have to at least try."

"Well, whatever may happen, I would like to be along for the ride," I say, looking to Shepard.

"That's Anderson's decision," Shepard says, looking to the captain.

"I'll decide after we've gotten a chance to talk to Udina," Anderson says as he gets up. "Both of you are dismissed. If you need anything, I will be in the captain's office."

Anderson walks out, leaving only Shepard and I in the comm room.

"I don't think the testimony of one rattled dock worker will nail Saren to the cross," I say after a short bout of silence. "If it's Saren's word against Powell's, who do you think people are going to believe?"

Shepard slinks down on a chair across from me.

"So you'd rather do nothing?"

"What? No, I'm not saying that," I say, somewhat surprised. "I just think we can't go and cry wolf until we have actual, solid evidence."

"And how do you suggest we find evidence on a Council Spectre?" Shepard asks, annoyance creeping into her voice.

"Did I ever tell you about Ming?" I ask, taking Shepard off guard.

"No, what does that have to do with Saren?"

"Well, Ming was an information broker. Small scale, but he was one of the best in his field of work," I say. "Now, when he died, he left me all of his encrypted files. Names, contacts, networks… you name it he's left it to me."

Shepard taps her index finger on her chin in thought.

"You think that we may be able to find something on Saren through the networks?"

"It's worth a shot," I shrug. "Better to have looked and found nothing than to have just not used an asset."

This may very well be the best cover I have. With the vision and Ming's files, I could be a big influence in and of the future without blowing my cover.

"Go for it," Shepard says. "We need to follow every lead we can."

"Great!" I exclaim. "I'll start immediately."

Just as I try to get up and leave the comm room, Shepard stops me.

"David, wait," she says.

I guess there's no way around it.

"What's up," I say as I sit back down across from Shepard.

"When we last met in Rio," Shepard says, a hint of uncertainty lining her words. "Well… what you said before you left..."

"I meant what I said," I say, somewhat shakily. "I know it was a long time ago, but my feelings haven't changed."

I take a deep breath.

"I care about you Olivia. I hope you can forgive me for what I did on Rio and how I left our friendship up in the air… just leaving you like that was a mistake that I won't make again."

"You know, I tried hating you once you left," Shepard says. "But I can't for some reason. I hate what you did on Rio… but I can't hate you as a person. In some twisted and fucked up way I understand where you're coming from."

"I just want you to know that I've finally put all of that past me," I say. "After what happened with Donnie, I never want to do anything like that ever again."

Shepard looks at me searchingly.

"As difficult as it may seem," I sigh. "I need you to trust me on this. As hard as it may be for you to believe it, I have changed."

"I believe you," Shepard replies. "I do, although it doesn't seem right."

My heart sinks a little.

Shepard gets up from her seat.

"Listen, I need some time to think all of this over," she says. "This is a lot to digest."

"Take all the time you need," I nod in agreement.

"Don't make me regret trusting you," Shepard says as she walks out of the comm room.

Silence fills the room again as I stare into space.

Well, that went better than I thought. All my feelings are a jumbled mess anyways, and the moment Shepard and I shared in Rio was years ago.

In hindsight, I really shouldn't have just left her sitting there. But what else was I supposed to do?

It's all in the past now anyways. What's done is done.

I need to clear my head.

I decided to find a quiet spot in the cargo bay between a few crates and think for a while.

We're about to arrive on the Citadel and I've decided that I'm going to take a more proactive approach to things now.

With the vision and Ming's files at my disposal, I realized that I can believably pass off knowing a few things in advance without too much difficulty. There's no point in taking a back seat and letting things pan out like they're 'supposed' to.

I have the power to change things, and that's what I plan on doing. I can't let the beacon debacle dishearten me; that was out of my power to a certain extent. That, and trusting a person like Sambora is a mistake I'll never make again.

At any rate, I've started coming up with a few small plans as to how I want to influence what's to come next.

Will it work?

I have no clue.

There's quite a commotion on board now that we're getting close to the Citadel. News of the attack on Eden Prime has traveled to every corner of the galaxy and the Normandy is the only vessel that has any available eyewitness accounts of what transpired.

I've heard reports on the number of casualties… and that number just keeps on rising.

The destruction of Shikai and Eisenhower alone cost at least eight-hundred thousand people their lives. The death toll on the farmland is still unknown.

I make my way into the comm room of the Normandy. Everyone present on Eden Prime has taken a seat around Anderson, who's standing in the middle.

I take a seat next to Kaidan and nod my greeting to Anderson.

"Listen up," Anderson says resolutely. "Udina has forwarded the report that I sent to him about what happened on Eden Prime to the Council. They are willing to meet with us to let us plead our case."

Everyone in the room exchanges surprised glances.

"We will meet with Ambassador Udina first," Anderson continues. "He wants to be informed on what has transpired."

"He also wants to have a talk with you," Anderson says while looking at me.

"Why?" I ask.

"He didn't say," Anderson says, focusing his attention back on the group.

Well, this is starting off worse than I expected.

"Anything that is discussed at the Embassies is strictly classified, do I make myself clear?"

"Understood, sir," we all say in rough unison.

"Dismissed."

Kaidan leans over to me.

"Why do you think Udina wants to talk to you?" he asks in a hushed tone.

"I have no clue," I verbally shrug. "Doesn't sound like a positive talk though."

I get up from my chair.

"I'll keep you posted," I say to Kaidan as I make my way out of the comm room.

I have a feeling that whatever he wants to talk to me about has something to do with my history on the Citadel. Ming, Zaeed and I left quite an impression on the station. Some of it was positive, most was negative.

At least I get to see my old, trusted friend Pallin again. It's a good thing Ming still kept the incriminating data on him around.

"Airlock. Four minutes," Shepard says as she hurries past me. I don't get a chance to reply.

I walk over to the airlock and begin to idly browse the data file that Ming forwarded to me.

"So you're that guy?" A voice asks from the pilots seat of the Normandy.

"What guy?" I ask, turning to face Joker for the first time.

"You know, mysterious stranger type person," Joker shrugs. "I hear you're quite the character."

"I hear the same about you," I say, raising an eyebrow. "Joker, correct?"

"That's Mr. Joker to you," he says in a half joking tone.

"Noted," I chuckle. "I'm guessing you're the pilot."

Joker turns around to look at me.

"No, I'm actually the janitor. I spaced the pilot a few days ago."

"Huh, that would explain the shitty flying," I muse.

"The what?" Joker asks, slightly taken aback.

"I'm joking," I laugh. "Didn't mean to hit a nerve."

Joker seemingly realizes that I was only joking and begins to smirk.

"You know, there's not enough room for two smart-asses on this ship."

"I'll leave that job to you," I concede. "I don't want you to space me next."

"Smart," Joker chuckles as he turns his attention back to flying the ship into the docking clamps.

I continue to idly scroll through Ming's file's. The data on Pallin is actually still there, which is good. So is-

Huh, what's this?

I focus my attention on an unnamed audio file neatly filed between the endless stack of virtual files.

This is new.

The file itself only has the date and what time is was recorded time stamped onto it.

June twenty-second; nine in the morning.

That can't be right, that was during the attack.

I press play on the file and turn the volume to a level to where only I can hear it.

"Set the charges. Destroy the entire colony. Leave no evidence that we were here."

My jaw practically drops to the floor as I listen to the message.

Is that…?

No way. Ming, you beautiful bastard.

Well, it looks like we've already found the proof that we were looking for.

"Ready?" Shepard says as she walks up to me.

I look to Shepard and grin.

"Yeah, definitely."

This ought to be very interesting.

Earlier than expected!

We're starting this one out a little slower with an interaction chapter but don't worry, we'll see more action soon enough. It feels a little surreal finally being able to traverse into game territory with this story… but it also feels great.

I haven't decided how far off the beaten path I'm going to go with the canon just yet. I definitely will, otherwise the story would get boring pretty fast, but I don't quite yet know what I'm going to tweak and change and how.

We did get some posthumous help from out favorite noodle shop owner though. Things are going to get very interesting in the coming chapters.

As always, stay tuned for more updates!

Don't forget to leave reviews!

Cheers

David