In Search of Love Unknown

Chapter 1

It was up to one ship and a handful of people to find a way to do the impossible. They were on a mission unlike any other, the result of which had the potential to decide the fate of the galaxy. Stopping an army of geth commanded by a rogue Spectre on his way to revive an ancient machine race seemed like a job for the Citadel fleet, not a lone frigate. Life was unfair.

Commander Shepard lied on the bed of her private quarters in the Normandy SR-1, the holographic computer screen on the desk on the other side of the room being the only source of light. She was thinking over the events that had transpired since the attack on Eden Prime. She remembered the feeling she had when she saw the once beautiful human colony turned into ash and dust, filled with death and destruction. Nobody was sure who the enemies really were at the time, and yet it was apparent just how merciless they were. It wasn't an image that could be easily forgotten. No one in the colony deserved what they got. And Shepard's job was to make sure that nobody else had to go through that horror again. It was not a job to be taken lightly, and only now did she realize just how important it was that she succeed.

While she would have obviously preferred to have the Citadel Council right by her side during these dark times, Shepard vowed that she'd do whatever she could to thwart any kind of threat, regardless of whether a whole planet's survival hanged in the balance, or the life of a single person. It was just who she was. Being the first human Spectre was not the reason for that. Many people thought that her benevolence came from the Council's demands of her after she had been put in that position, but she had been like that from the very beginning. Being a Spectre only gave her the required resources to act on her intentions.

It was this kind of qualities that made her the charismatic person she was, a leader. That's why so many people had put faith in her, and the fear of letting all of them down was all too real, now more than ever because of the quest she had been given; a quest many would label as suicide. It was overwhelming, and she had to endure that internal struggle alone. It was not a fight she could have a squad standing beside her in. It was not a fight that could be won with guns and grenades. That's why she did the only thing she could. She kept a straight, confident face, never showing her weaknesses, never thinking too much of defeat or whoever she might lose under her command.

"Commander!", Joker's voice over the intercom startled her, bringing her back from her reverie, "There's something you need to hear. You'd better come up here ASAP."

Shepard was thankful that she finally had something to do. These thoughts only threatened to come to her when she wasn't busy fighting or doing a mission of some kind. Judging by the worried tone of Joker's voice, it was evident that something was wrong. They were supposed to be on their way to Noveria, following a lead on Saren, but that would have to wait. Shepard left her private quarters and started running up the stairs towards the CIC, the soldiers saluting her on the way, and then she proceeded towards the bridge to see what the problem was. She approached Joker, looking through the Normandy's window, making sure that there were no evident threats in the vicinity.

"What's going on, Joker?", Shepard inquired, standing over her ship's pilot, his hands feverishly working on the console.

"There's some kind of a distress signal that the Normandy picked up at the far end of the system, Commander", Joker immediately explained, "It's very faint, and if we didn't have that high-end descrambler, we'd have received little more than static noise."

"So nobody else could have picked this up?", Shepard asked.

"Nobody with the conventional tech that comes with most ships, no", Joker shook his head as he replied, "I think you'll want to hear it. It's being sent on a loop."

Joker tried to adjust the Normandy's systems to pick up the signal again as Shepard impatiently waited to hear what the distress call had to say. After a bit of cursing on Joker's part, it finally began playing on the Normandy's intercom.

"To anyone hearing this message, please, help me!", a timid male voice could be heard whispering, "My name is Crin Quinos. I'm locked up in a cell in a ship… I think I was kidnapped by pirates. Please, if you're hearing this, trace this signal and find me before they kill me!"

And then the message abruptly ended until it started repeating itself from the beginning. Joker disabled it as soon as it was heard by the crew a second time.

"Not a lot to go on", Shepard sighed, "Good find regardless, Joker. Trace the signal."

"I already have", Joker replied, pressing something on the console to show a hologram of a massive cruiser, not quite resembling any known dreadnoughts, "This is where it's coming from. It's a big one, Commander, and it's flying around the planet of Veles. It could be a new Terminus warship for all we know."

"I don't think they'll just let anyone board", Shepard suspected, analyzing the ship's exterior as shown by the hologram.

"No, ma'am, I doubt they would", Joker said, scratching his head as he added, "Wonder how that guy has managed to send that call, though it does make sense that they wouldn't be able to pick it up if they lack the proper equipment."

"I guess I'll be going in alone", Shepard concluded after her scrutiny of the ship, pointing her finger at a certain vent at the bottom half of the hull, "This is where they dump their garbage, I take it?"

"What? You are not actually thinking of going there? Alone?", Joker protested, looking at Shepard with a very rare earnest and concerned expression on his face, "Commander, even with Normandy's stealth drive, they'll still be able to look through a window and see that they'll be about to have an uninvited guest! And going through the vent is risky, what if they decide to dump…"

"It's a risk I'm willing to take, Joker", Shepard interrupted her pilot, "I know it's dangerous, but I believe I can infiltrate the ship without being detected and find the guy", and as soon as she noticed that Joker was about to protest once again, she added, "Come on, how many times have we thrown ourselves in harm's way? You're acting as if I've never put my life on the line before."

"You really think it's worth the effort, Commander?", Joker asked, obviously still not convinced.

"Every life is worth the effort. We won't turn our back on anyone who needs us", Shepard replied with unyielding confidence, "Sometimes we have to remember why we're saving the galaxy, Joker."

Joker looked as if he was about to reply, but stopped himself at the last second, thinking over what Shepard had just said. The Commander had just begun to outline her plan of attack in her head when she heard her name being called by a certain approaching turian, striding through the Normandy's bridge.

"Commander! I heard the message over the intercom", Garrus said, "I know this Crin Quinos. He was a friend I met back on Palaven until I joined C-Sec. I tried to reach him in the last couple of years but I haven't heard from him since."

"Your friend's got himself into quite a predicament", Joker commented.

"I'll do what I can to save him, Garrus", Shepard assured, "This message has been on a loop for quite some time. I can't say for certain if he's still alive, but if he is, I'll do my best to bring him back."

"Wait… You're not going in alone, are you?", Garrus replied indignantly, a concerned look on his face that slightly resembled Joker's, "You have no idea what defenses this ship may have, and by the looks of it, it's bigger than any turian dreadnought I've ever seen!"

"Yes, Garrus, fighting a ship like that head-on is definitely not a good idea. That's why I'm going in as quietly and discreetly as I can", Shepard answered firmly.

"Commander, I understand you feel the need to do this, but I have a personal stake in it, as well", Garrus retorted, looking over the ship schematics that were still being projected, "Let me help. I can be a ghost when I want to be."

"It's not going to be easy. And if they discover us…", Shepard managed to say until Garrus interrupted her.

"I know", he said, now looking at Shepard, as determined of his decision as she was, "That's why I'm coming with you, Commander. I promise I won't screw up."

"All right. I can see there's no dissuading you", Shepard gave up, withholding a chuckle when she realized just how stubborn Garrus was, reminding her of herself, "We'll be breaking through their garbage vent."

"Right on. Meet you in the cargo hold?", he inquired, already half-turned towards the CIC.

"You bet", Shepard nodded, and with that, Garrus bolted towards their rendezvous point.

"Be careful, Commander", Joker turned to Shepard, "I'll have to make myself scarce as soon as I drop you off."

"I will. Try not to get into trouble while we're gone again", Shepard smiled and headed towards the cargo hold herself.

"Hey, you can't blame me for those colonists going berserk on us back here!", Joker yelled so that Shepard could hear him as she went on further, recalling the Feros incident.

Quickly walking past the CIC and running down the stairs to the elevator, Shepard rummaged through her locker next to the sleeping pods to pull out all of her gear, including the helmet she would have most definitely needed while being in open space. Thoughts of potential failure did not come to her this time, as with all of her prior missions, she was once again swept up in the storm. It was what she was disciplined to do. Besides, having Garrus with her did bring her some degree of comfort; he always knew what he was doing while out in the field, and his tactical prowess would have helped immeasurably. Most importantly, though, she needed someone she could trust with her life on this mission, and with all they've been through together, however little that was, Garrus had earned that trust.

Shepard had already put on her armor and picked up the weaponry that came with it when she got on the Normandy elevator leading her towards the cargo hold. Boy, did it take a little too long to move down a single floor. The door to the elevator finally opened, and as it did, Shepard immediately saw Garrus, who was standing next to the lockers and had put his helmet on, checking every inch of his sniper rifle to make sure it was flawless. A habit he had before going out on a mission, and while Shepard did it as well with all of her weapons, Garrus was so thorough that it was amusing.

"I don't know about you, but I bet that we'll mostly be fighting in close quarters on that ship, Garrus", Shepard smirked, "Think you might be at a disadvantage when you can't use that sniper rifle all the time?"

"Hey, I know how to hold a rifle, Commander", Garrus slouched on one of the lockers, "It's yourself you should be concerned about. Say your biotic amp glitches for some reason. You might actually have to use a gun for a change."

"Careful I don't use it on you", Shepard teased back, crossing her arms, trying to look threatening.

"Commander, get ready!", Joker suddenly said over the ship's intercom, "We're approaching the ship, stealth systems are online. I won't be able to stay too long so you'd better jump into the vent as soon as I open the cargo bay doors."

"Understood, Joker. We're ready", Shepard replied, walking up to the door along with Garrus.

Taking a deep breath, Shepard prepared herself for the worst. It was a very daring plan, but sneaking in was the only way she thought of to have a chance at rescuing the prisoner. She glanced sideways at Garrus, and could notice that he was on edge, as well. That didn't reassure her much, but at least he was going to be there with her. Somehow she knew that she would regret going in alone, even though she had felt that it was the right decision at the time.

Thankfully she didn't have much time to dwell on it as Joker's voice came on the intercom again to announce that the cargo bay doors were opening and that the Normandy was already below the ship.

As soon as the doors started lifting up, the room they were in was depressurized, and Shepard could immediately feel the weightlessness. A part of the massive cruiser could already be seen through the door, but most of it was blocked by the vent the Normandy had almost attached itself to. It had definitely seen better days as there was obvious damage to both of its sides as what would have been a clear silver wall was now smudged from the lack of proper maintenance. There was enough ground for a person to jump onto, but the vent was sealed shut and it was not meant to open from the outside.

Garrus was the first one to leap across, surprising Shepard with his determination. He landed safely on the other side, making sure to let his Commander know that it was safe to follow him, nodding his head in a sign of reassurance. It wasn't long before Shepard found herself next to him, and then the Normandy immediately flew away towards the nearby planet of Veles. Everything was up to them now.