Mass Effect: Crossroads

January 12th, 2215

Unknown Council Station

Unknown sector of the Attican Traverse

Priority: Citadel Council w/ Guest(s)

It had been nearly thirty years since the Reaper War, the Geth-Quarian treaty, the Krogan induction to the Council Races, and the unification of the Galaxy underneath the banner of life itself. In those thirty years, many things had come and gone. Smaller skirmishes had occurred because of old hostilities, the beginning of Reconstruction, and the new deployment of the Galactic N7 Peace Corps. However, the Councilors were concerned with one specific individual from the new N7 corps. Specifically, a certain few that fought alongside the Engineer before them.

He stood at 6'7", wearing jet-black N7 armor, with blue streaks across the arms and shoulders. His features were certainly able to draw attention, having paled purple skin, brown hair, and small flashing lights in his neck and eyes. The reason for his odd appearance was apparent to the whole Galaxy, seeing as how this was the son of Commander Shepard. A product of the greatest soldier to ever see the light of day, and the Quarian Admiral, Tali'Zorah nar Rayya vas Rannoch. However, during this phase of procreation, the Geth insisted that they were to help in stabilizing the child's DNA, seeing as how he was dying from the mix of Levo and Dextro cells. The result, one of the greatest Engineers to ever don the symbol of N7, according to previous commanders. "The Prodigy Child," he was called. Despite his Quarian and Geth mix into his mind, he still carried the name of his father, as they say he deserves.

They examined his pace as he personally escorted them to one of the ship bays in the station, careful to not get lost as he constantly flashed his Omni-tool for directions on his Heads-Up-Display integrated into his eyes. He walked with confidence through the station, checking each corner for guards and turning back to see the Council members.

There were five now, since the Reaper War, but still kept the same air of importance none the less. The Asari Councilor, Tevos, stood there with her hands behind her, trying to seem high and mighty. The Salarian Councilor, Valern, stood with his hood draped over his face as if to keep a secret. The Turian Councilor, Sparatus, stood tall with his hands at his sides, and eyes trained on the young Shepard. The Krogan Councilor, Urdnot Wrex, was behind Shepard by only a few paces, donning his red armor and Claymore shotgun. Shepard smiled inwardly at the Councilor, remembering how Wrex described him as a nephew of sorts. Shepard thought of Wrex as an uncle, similarly. The last Councilor stood with a slight hunch, and a slight limp, since his combat on Earth. Councilor Anderson, Shepard's wise mentor and voice of reason, since his induction to the Alliance. He wore blue and red robes with his old N7 cap, scars and stitching apparent over it.

As they continued on, more personnel started to fill the halls, until it became conclusive that a ship was indeed taking off soon. He stopped every now and then to return a salute, and butt a few heads. As they neared an observer hatch, the Councilors pulled Shepard's attention to them.

"Shepard," Sparatus started.

Shepard turned on the dime and looked to the Councilors. Tevos approached him as she began.

"In your career, we have seen a massive progression towards a rather... unique skill set. You've proven yourself adept in combat and a worthy leader."

Shepard cleared his throat and stood at attention as he replied.

"With all due respect, ma'am, Councilors, I don't believe that I've done anything that noticeable."

Veron pulled up his Omni-tool and started chanting Shepard's profile.

"You have been reported to have stopped 17 different pirate raids, 39 sneak-attacks, 15 boardings, both attacking and repelling, 217 counts of full-frontal warfare, and holding off a force of 8,932 Rampant Geth, on your own. Your own father could barely do that with a squad by him, let alone a full-on war against Juggernauts and even a number of Colossus. You've been commended on 398 different operations, put in for promotion nearly 2,000 times, and have even been noted as a hero to certain colonies."

Wrex stepped forward and slugged Shepard in the arm with a hardy laugh.

"Not only that, but, you've made entire Krogan companies look like Pyjacks the way you can clear a battlefield. I've been told to put you through 58 Rites of Passage to be welcomed into Clan Urdnot. You've proven your keep to the name 'Shepard' in my books, and you deserve what comes with it."

Sparatus approached, "Also, we have a certain cause for this to come to light."

All the Councilors stood together in a row before Shepard, Anderson to the right of Wrex, by the blocked window. They each pulled up an Omni-tool and began to address Shepard.

"By order of the Citadel Council, on unanimous decision, we have voted to induct Captain Anthony Shepard into the Special Tactics and Reconnaissance. Welcome to the Spectres."

Shepard stood in awe as they then confirmed his promotion and saluted the newest Spectre. He quickly returned the salute and released after them.

"Thank you, Councilors. But, what made you decide this? With all due respect."

Anderson stepped forwards and came up to Shepard, nearly whispering to him.

"We've got a lead on Cerberus. A cruiser was pinged as KIA near an uncharted Relay. The last transmission from it, identified one of the commanders."

He leaned in and looked Shepard in the eye.

"General Oleg Petrovsky."

At that, Shepard's eyes narrowed massively, and he felt his blood boil in rage at the name. He gathered himself with a cough and retorted.

"What would I be doing?"

"Well," Wrex started, "you'd be doing us all one great service for one, and making the Galaxy a whole lot happier."

Veron cleared his throat to draw attention.

"You will be investigating the ship, in case it's a trap, and extract any data on the location of the remaining Cerberus forces. And by rules of the mission, if you see Petrovsky at any time, you have permission to shoot on sight."

Shepard nodded to the Councilor and then began again.

"What's the situation on my crew, and the ship?"

Anderson chuckled slightly as he leaned against the armored window next to him, just as the door opened to reveal a group of familiar faces to the Engineer.

There was a deep green Geth Infiltrator with a red eye and circuits, with a Javelin Sniper Rifle on its back above a Plasma Shotgun. Next to it, on the left, was a female Turian Cabal, with blue armor and a Tempest SMG and Phaeston, along with a yellow armored Krogan Warlord Sentinel with a Claymore and M8-Avenger, on the right.

Shepard quickly recognized the squad and watched with glee as they made their way to him as he called them out.

"Hunter! Veria! Banlik! What are you three doing here!?"

The three came up to him and began exchanging head-butts, hand shakes, and arm-bumps as the Councilors watched as Sparatus answered the question.

"They are here as your first members of your new crew. We thought it would be best to bring in some... friendly faces to make this easier on you."

"Speaking of which," another voice started, "where's my welcome? What am I, chopped liver?"

Shepard turned to the source of the new voice to find a slightly older man with an Alliance uniform on, with a scruffy greyed beard, and a cap that had a signature card in the front.

"J-Joker?" Shepard asked.

"You know it. Who else would be piloting for a bat-shit crazy suicide mission like this?" he stated as he came up slowly to the group at the window.

"You're the pilot? Why?"

He crossed his arms as the windows began to unlatch form the outside.

"They said only I could drive it, and they're right. Take a look."

As the view finally became present to them all, Shepard felt his heart nearly stop in shock. Below, was a white hull with blue lines that formed a half-cylinder, smoothed on the bottom, that lead to a vehicle bay that donned a thicker black armor. On the sides came out the thrusters for the ship, having two rectangular propulsion engines on either side, with larger parts shooting forwards, in front of the wings. A familiar shape that was only confirmed by the name on the sides of the ship:

'NORMANDY SR3'

"Damn fitting. Like father, like son, eh?" Wrex added.

"The Normandy SR3," started Joker, "newest ship in the line. New stealth drives that actually make us stealthy! Plus, it's got way more to back up it's speed and stealth, unlike the last one. It's got newest end Geth anti-fighter Plasma Torpedoes for close-range, anti-air GARDIAN batteries that retract into the frame for ground engagements, Kinetic Barriers that even a Dreadnought would have a hard time punching through, and new top-of-the-line experimental armor plating and main battery. They wouldn't tell me what it is, but they said it's a prototype that only we have!"

Shepard took in all of this as he gazed at the ship, eying the massive difference in armor, size, and weaponry from what he remembered of the SR2 museum model. The ship seemed to be longer and slightly smoother on top as opposed to the slightly more hunched previous ship. As he made note of the differences, Anderson and Joker took place on either side of him.

"You've got a great career ahead of you, Shepard," Anderson began with, "just remember what we taught you over the years, and never forget about your team or your crew, because they'll be about as much as your family as we are." With that, he patted Shepard on the back.

"So, want to see the inside, or are we just going to stand here and take pictures, cause I'm good with either." Joker said.

With that, he turned to the Councilors, who began to walk towards their previous path. Anderson turned and addressed Shepard.

"Sorry, but we've got to clear out and ready the station for your launch. Council perks. Take care, soldier."

Shepard saluted, "Yes, sir." and turned towards Joker, who then lead them to the docking tube, and into the ship.

The interior was somewhat dark, with lights scattered along the ceiling and floor, across the dark grey metals that made up the walls and floors. They entered the main stretch of the Command Deck, and were greeted by walls that were imbedded with a number of chairs that had large orange and red holographic displays. To the left was a room with a large rotating leather seat underneath a mass of more holo-controls and a massive collection of windows. To the right, Shepard and his team made way through the deck to the center, which opened up to a massive triangle with the Normandy on display, showcasing the armor, weapons, and shielding upgrades as purple instead of the basic orange shared by the rest of the ship, and above it was a small incline with safety bars, most likely the Captain's nest. There were two doors behind the incline, one that was massive and likely the main elevator, and another to the left of it. Before Shepard could guess at what it was, a woman with dark skin and black hair in a communications uniform came up to him.

"Sir! Chief Comms Specialist Samantha Traynor, at your service." she saluted.

"At ease." Shepard replied, noticing that he was still in armor.

"Thank you, sir. And may I say, it is an honor to serve once again under the name 'Shepard'."

"You knew my father?"

"Oh, yes. During the Reaper War, I was the Normandy's Communications officer, like I am now, only I didn't get a chance to properly sign up the first time. I would like to welcome you to the ship, and give you a full introduction to the ship and it's crew and levels, respectively."

"Please." Shepard said, watching as his teammates went into the elevator and left the deck collectively.

"So, first off, this vessel is one of the few to sport a crew consisting of more than one or two species at a time. On this level, we have Asari and Humans that manage communications and functions of the ship overall. Beneath us is the Crew Deck, consisting of the crew quarters, mess hall, and lounges for casual or calming moments. Below that, is the Medical Deck, which is managed by Dr. Michel, who, may I add, also met your father some years ago. The deck also functions as a lab, run by former STG agents from Sur'Kesh. For emergency, there are elevators that run from Medical directly to the lower decks on the Port side. Beneath Medical is the Engineering Deck. The officers in charge also served with your father. Chief Engineer Greg Adams, Engineer Kenneth Donelly and Engineer Gabriella Daniels. The core itself is very impressive, might I add, and I would recommend you visit sometime. Also, some of the crew is actually Quarian. Beneath Engineering, we have the Arms Deck, which holds the ship's armory, weapons and armor repairs, and a shooting range for weapons testing. I recommend you don't try anything, the Turians down there are rather hard pressed due to their combat history. And finally, the lowest and largest level, the Hanger Bay. It's roughly 40 meters in height, 70 meters in width, and 120 meters in length. The ship is also packed with 2 Kodiak shuttles, 2 Hammerhead ground-combat vehicles, and 4 high-end Fighters, all ready to deploy at a moment's notice."

Shepard nodded as the decks were explained in detail to who runs them, locations, and purposes, trying to place where his squad would go first and where they would likely retire to, and then looked up when Traynor cleared her throat.

"Also, the only deck above us is the Captain's Cabin. I would highly suggest if you're feeling a bit uncomfortable in the armor at the moment, you could deposit your armor into the personal armory installed in it, as well as a personal weapons bench for personalizing a load-out. There's an intercom system if you want to invite someone up, and a personal bathroom as well."

Shepard looked at his armor and nodded.

"Thank you, Traynor. I'll go do that now."

She saluted and turned to one of the chairs in the wall and began to talk to an Asari crew memeber at her station. Shepard turned to the elevator and opened it, surprised by the pristine whiteness, stepped in, and went up to the Captain's cabin. Upon exiting the elevator, he found a massive room with a bed in the back corner, a sofa, trophy room with a door to what he assumed was the bathroom, a sofa by the bed, a holo-screen for personal communications, and a weapons table with a closed rack and armor closet.

Shepard approached the armor locker as he removed the black and blue armor, and opened the door with his Omni-tool. Inside was a standard black and blue Alliance uniform, a weird vest and leather pants, a white shirt with an N7 jacket and jeans, and a very formal suit. He finished removing his armor and locked it into the side of the locker as he pulled out the Alliance uniform, and began to put it on.

Just as he finished, the holo-screen roared to life. Shepard turned around and saw a dark figure in a bloody red room. The figure was completely distorted and unrecognizable as any kind of being, and gave a threatening air of sorts.

"Hello, Shepard." It spoke with a voice too deep to be natural of any kind, with an electronic echo in the background. "Do not try to hack this transmission, it's beyond secure. You're accomplishments are legendary, but I want you to know now: the Shadow Broker is amused. I've left a... gift, for you in your armory. It is not an explosive, and not a trap of sorts. It is merely a token to your mission. You might think it's primitive, but trust me: it's got a familiar touch to it. With that, know that I will be watching you, waiting for something big to come up. I will know. I always know. Now go, behold my contribution to your efforts, and contemplate."

Shepard turned to the weapons locker above the bench as it began to hiss open, revealing a rack of weapons. There was an M-77 Paladin, an M-11 Wraith, an M-98 Widow Sniper Rifle, an M-12 Locust SMG, and on top, an M-7 Lancer Assault Rifle. His father's Lancer. Shepard reached out and held the weapon in his hands, and felt the weight. He remembered firing it with his father years ago, and how right it felt to him. He turned to the screen, where the Shadow Broker waited.

"Well?" the Shadow Broker spoke.

"I'll keep them. And agree to your terms. I'll personally give you all of my mission details through direct chat, if you want."

"Good."

"One more thing."

"Yes?"

"Thanks, aunt Liara."

The screen flickered a bit before going out, leaving Shepard laughing a bit before he placed the rifle back with the other weapons.

"Captain." Joker's voice came up over the room's comms.

"Yes, Joker?"

"Ship's about to take off, want to come watch us off and give some speech, or something?"

"I'll come watch, but probably not a speech."

"Alright then."

The comms went out again as Shepard made his way to the elevator, but then decided to take a look into the other door.

"Holy shit, a real shower!"

\\\//////

Shepard stood at the new Galaxy Map underneath the Captain's platform in the center of the deck, and stared intently at the path laid down for the Normandy. It lead to the outer parts of the Attican Traverse, and out towards the edge of the disk itself, seemingly falling off the map. The map vanished as Shepard stepped down, squeaking his Alliance uniform boots on the metal plating underneath, as he made his way to the Pilot's nest in the front of the ship. He passed by Asari, Quarian, Turian, and Human alike on the way, and felt the ship lurch a bit as they began to disembark.

"Ready for take off." Joker spoke over the comms.

As Shepard came up to the nest, he watched out the windows as the white metals of the station turned into the black depths of space, stars coming into view as well. They passed by a fleet of Turian and Asari ships with ease.

"Throttle's check, preparing for FTL jump. Mission timer reads 30 seconds til official beginning."

Shepard gripped the chair as he felt the engine rumble in the heart of the ship, preparing the Mass Effect core for the shift in mass to propel the ship into deep space.

"Jumping in three, two, one..."

The windows lit up with lights and whiteness as they began to close for safety, and the ship slightly jumped a bit under his feet, sending the ship into the depths of space, chasing a rogue terrorist into the edge of the Galaxy.

\\\//////

*Unknown Time Earlier*

\\\//////

Spike was having an alright day, seeing as how the usual flow of stacking and re-stacking books had been cancelled, and Twilight and her friends had gone to Canterlot for royal business, meaning he had the Library to himself for a few days. He invited the CMC over for the night for games and food. He had been planning this for some time, and was happy that his new cooking skills would be put to the test with the three fillies and their picky tastes.

He heard a knocking at the door and went downstairs to see who it was, and saw Owlicious on his stand.

"Hoo."

"Yep, they're here alright. You're gonna be good to them, right?"

"Hoo."

Spike shrugged and assumed it meant yes as he continued to the ground floor. He opened the door, and saw the three fillies waiting eagerly outside.

"SPIKE!" they all called.

He walked outside to them and closed the door.

"Hey girls, what's up?"

They all came up to Spike with smiles.

"You ready for tonight?" Sweetie Belle asked.

"Yep. Got the food ready and made the beds. Your sisters all said they'll be back tomorrow, right?"

To which they nodded accordingly.

"Great. Well, let's go-"

Before Spike could utter another word, or even turn, a loud roar-like sound came from the sky. They all turned to find the source of the sound, and then settled their gazes over Canterlot. Above the mountain kingdom, was a trio of large white blocks of... something scary. They started moving closer to the city and then let out swarms of smaller white flying things that began to fly over the city. One of them let off a massive sound as a blue bolt released from the front end of it, and exploded the shield around Canterlot with a massive boom, granting the smaller ones passage to the city. He stood there mouth agape as the one above the city began dropping small dots into the city, and stared in disbelief as the city began to erupt in smoke, drowning out the city's pristine glow, the foundation, even the mountains behind it. One of the large things moved away from the city and began to lift into the air. As it got close, Spike saw what looked like a symbol on the side. A symbol that was now burned into not only his mind, but the eyes of Equestria. And unknown to them, into the entire Galaxy.