Working title: (Survival, not heroism) - Chapter 9 - Parker_Fox (2024)

Chapter Text

The rustle of leaves.

The prickle of wind on a chill autumn day.

The smell of soil, damp from the morning dew.

Light filters in through the leaves, and through the clouds. There is no sun here, not through the mist and the sky. Diffused until it’s dim and grey, the dawn’s light seems without direction. It simply is.

In the odd hue of morning, the trees seem all but black. Silhouettes that reach and claw at the sky, holding aloft the dancing shape of leaves.

There rings a somber note.

Flecks of black drift through the air, and with them comes the smell of wood. The smell of embers, their light fading as they drift from the sky.

The leaves rustle. The bushes are still.

A laugh echoes through the stalks, and he turns to look for them. He gazes through the trees, through the haze. The noise was sourceless, but that doesn’t stop him from looking when the sound is heard again. A young laugh, a child’s.

There is a child. One within the woods, kneeled beside a bench. It plays in the dirt.

He moves for the child.

His limbs are slow, and heavy. The accessories he’s accustomed to seem cold, and at the same time numbing. He trudges ahead, forces his legs to drag through the space. To take each step, to approach. To reach the child.

A rumbling, from the sky. A tremble in the air.

The child turns, and he sees its face. His face.

A glow of red, and the sound of impact. The drone of the machine. It’s awful discordant chiming.

The child’s face is his. One he knows, one he remembers. It’s his.

The child’s green eyes look at him, vacantly. Expectantly.

He tries to speak, but he chokes on the words. They do not come. The only sound is that of the somber note.

He reaches for the child, but the child does not move. The child only watches. He cannot reach it. He cannot touch it. His limbs are like ice, and yet the child burns. Out from the machine, he catches fire.

It’s his face. It’s his own face, when he was young. Nearly half a life ago, when the powers were new. When he didn’t know.

The machine sinks into his wrist, and his body burns. The child burns, and becomes fire. Still the gaze is vacant. When the form becomes itself anew, and he again sees his own molten face. When the alien device forms on his chest.

The fire crackles. The woods burn.

His limbs are like ice. He cannot move. And yet he burns.

He is not on fire, but he burns. He would scream, but there is only somber and that rumbling drone.

His eyes are hollow, and everything will burn to ash.

His eyes open.

With a gasp like breaching the surface of water, he shoots up. He pants, desperately gasping for air as the world shifts into focus.

The Normandy. The room he was given. He’s safe. He’s fine.

His hand reaches for his chest, gripping the fabric of his shirt. He breathes. He looks out at the drifting stars beyond the ship, and he breathes.

He shifts his body off its place of rest, setting his feet on the ground. His left hand grips the surface under him to steady his position. His right eventually lets go of his shirt, leaving the 10 on his chest visible once more.

He pushes himself up off the couch to get to his feet, and he steps towards the starboard window. He leans himself against it and steadies his breathing.

It’s not long before he turns to leave the room, grabbing his jacket from the couch on his way out of the Observation Lounge.

He only makes it a few steps away from the door before another figure comes around from the other side of the elevator. Finely scaled blue skin, a crest of inflexible tendrils, and wide eyes that focus on him as soon as she comes into view.

“Oh, Ben. You’re awake.” She notes, slowing to a stop by the elevator doors.

Ben does the same out of courtesy, assuming that they’ll talk for at least a moment.

“I was just about to go up and see Shepard.” She tells him.

“Rrright. I was about to get some food.” Ben returns, gesturing around the elevator shaft to the mess hall behind.

“Ah, I see. Of course.” Liara acknowledges.

She half turns from him, reaching for the door to the elevator, when she pauses. Her attention shifts back to him, and she lingers for a moment. She watches as he goes to turn away from her and head around to the mess hall.

“Are you alright?” She checks.

“Huh?” Ben is unprepared for the question, forced to stop in his tracks and focus on her again. “Yeah, of course. Why wouldn’t I be?”

“Oh- I’m sorry, I did not mean to offend. I just…” Liara pauses, trying to find the right words.

“Had a bad dream, that’s all. Nothing to worry about.” Ben assures her.

“I see.” Liara acknowledges.

“Go on up, I’ll be fine.” Ben insists.

“Of course.” Liara hesitantly accepts, finally committing to opening and stepping into the elevator.

She knocks on the metal surface of the hatch, then waits for a moment. That’s as long as it takes for her to hear the sound of the door unlocking and sliding open, revealing Shepard stepping up to her from the other side.

“Liara,” He acknowledges her, as if slightly surprised by her presence. Or perhaps relieved. “can I help you?”

“I’ve been forwarding the turian councilor information on the Prothean device.” Liara begins.

Shepard steps out of his cabin. Liara turns herself as he passes by, watching him lean himself against the railing of the area they’re in. The small airlock sort of space between the elevator door and Shepard’s quarters, the sides of which reveal the Normandy’s crawlspaces.

“It can’t be built without Council support, but he’s not budging until their primarch is safe.” She continues.

“I know.” Shepard says.

“Are you alright?” Liara checks, catching his tone.

Shepard leans off the rail with a sigh, and a certain stiffness in his shoulders. He turns to face her, but his focus doesn’t quite land on her.

“I didn’t get what you’d call a good night’s rest.” He explains.

“You are not alone in that respect. I would call it stress, but…” Liara steps in close to Shepard, to a distance that seems almost intimate. She narrows her eyes to examine Shepard’s face. The softer impressions of emotion, sculpting his more jagged features. “There’s more to it than that, isn’t there. What’s really bothering you?”

It’s a moment before Shepard has the words. Before he resolves himself to open up, and to broach the weight in his mind. “When the Reapers hit… I could hear people screaming in the streets below me. We left a lot of them behind.” He interprets his own feelings.

“There’s no way for you to save them all. But I know you’re doing everything you can, and you’ll get back there in time to help.” Liara assures him.

“I hope you’re right.” Shepard accepts, though seemingly as a courtesy. The words do little to hearten him.

Liara shifts away from Shepard, putting enough space between them to feel respectful.

“Don’t blame yourself, Commander.” She tries to encourage him.

It does little to sway his feelings, but the sentiment is appreciated.

“Well, uhm. I should get back to work. Come see me when you have a moment.” Liara turns to head for the elevator, and Shepard nods to approve of her exit.

There’s only a moment of silence before the sound of the intercoms click to life.

“Shepard. Admiral Hackett is waiting for you at the vid comm.” EDI informs him.

“Thanks, EDI. I’ll be right down.” Shepard accepts.

The hologram sputters and fizzles into form as Shepard approaches, manifesting the appearance of Admiral Hackett.

“Commander, Udina updated me on your meeting with the Council. Sounds like they’re running scared.” He notes.

“We did present them with a lot of unknowns. They’re feeling threatened and want immediate solutions, not theories.” Shepard tries to empathize with them.

“Theories are all we’ve got right now. What’s your plan?” Hackett asks.

“I’m trying to get the turian primarch for a summit meeting with the asari and salarians. I’ll bypass the council and appeal directly to their leadership.” The commander explains.

“That’s good. I like it. This is where we stary laying the groundwork for our counterattack.”

“Unfortunately, we don’t have a whole lot to back it up right now.”

“Then build alliances. Gather everything and everybody you can for the cause.” Hackett instructs him.

“What about the Prothean device?”

“Find me people who can help build it. And if you can’t, I’ll take ships, soldiers, supplies… whatever you can get. We need to keep hitting the Reapers across every theater of war they open, buy us time to figure out the device.”

“And when it’s finished?” Shepard checks.

“Assuming it ever is, we pool all our resources. Think of it as a giant armada for delivering the device when the Reapers are most vulnerable. The stronger you make the armada, the better its chances of punching through.”

“What about Earth, sir?”

“We’ll just have to hope Anderson – and what’s left of the Alliance forces – can hold out until we’ve dealt with the enemy.” The Admiral tells him.

“I understand.”

“Good. Then make it happen, Commander. I’ll be expecting regular updates on your progress. Hackett out.”

Just as quickly as the dialogue began the hologram is dispersed, and the call ended.

A deck below, Ben sits at the forward table in the mess hall. He’s stabbing at a loaf of what is arguably food. It might be meat, or a meat substitute, or maybe even some kind of bread. Whatever it is, Ben is using their version of a fork to put a lot of little holes in it. He’s already eaten a lot of what he was served, and is at this point just trying to wake up.

“You’re Ben Tennyson, right?” Intrudes his stupor.

His eyes shift up to a figure across from him. A woman. Older than him, but closer to his age than a lot of the crew. Slightly shorter than Shepard. Medium skin, dark black hair in a short cut, eyes that are almost heavy with dark eyeliner, a narrow mouth, and an english accent of some regionality.

“That’s me.” Ben confirms.

“I’m Comm Specialist Samantha Traynor, with Alliance R&D.” She introduces herself. She sits down across from him, placing down her tray.

Ben raises an eyebrow, like part of what she said didn’t quite clarify who she is as much as it raised another question.

“I was part of the team retrofitting the Normandy after Shepard turned it over to the Alliance.” She elaborates, a certain formality in her tone. Almost like she’s giving a report.

“Okay, first of all, chill out with the formal stuff. I’m not a soldier, I’m a superhero. And… Yeah, I was wondering about that. That’s why deck 2 is all messed up, right?” Ben asks.

“Well- It’s not “messed up.” The ship’s in line with Alliance regs now. The war room was a necessary inclusion. Admiral Anderson had intended to use the Normandy as his mobile command center.” She explains. “I’d be happy to give you the tour sometime.”

“Eh, I still miss the lab. Well, whatever. So, if you were just doing the upgrades, why are you here still?” He asks.

“Well, a few of us were on-board when the Reapers hit… In truth, I’m used to working in a lab. I never thought I’d be serving on a ship.” She explains.

“Yeah, it’s a big change. Before all this I mostly spent my time on Earth. My earth. Getting used to ship life took a while.”

“So… that’s true, then?” She leans forward, resting her elbows on the table. “You’re really from another… Earth? I mean, I read the stories, I saw the vids, but… Well, seeing is one thing. Believing is another matter entirely.”

“Yeah, I am.” Ben leans back, resting his hands behind his head. “A whole other universe. Maybe you can come visit after we deal with the whole Reaper thing. You know, if you stick around. I’m sure Shepard would be happy to let you get off next time we’re at the Citadel, if you want to bail.”

“Oh. Well. I’m, uh… not sure yet. It is an honor to serve under Shepard, for as long as he needs me. But they did only assign me to the Normandy to oversee the retrofits…” Traynor begins to trail off.

Before she decides on another statement, the device on Ben’s wrist chimes. Traynor leans back as Ben brings his arm around to look at the Omnitrix. He taps its face, and it responds with a chime.

“What’s up, EDI?” Ben asks.

“I have already requested that Shepard allow Traynor to remain.” EDI speaks from the Omnitrix, at a volume that only allows the two of them at the table to hear her. “Some of our systems require further testing, and Specialist Traynor has been extremely effective during installation.”

“Oh, alright.” He acknowledges, turning his attention back to the woman across from him. “Guess you’re sticking around then. Good to have you.”

“Wh- Wait. Since when does a virtual intelligence make requests?” She questions.

“Since- what? EDI?” Ben asks.

“Jeff requested that I pretend to be a simple VI to protect myself.” EDI explains.

“Oh, I knew it! I knew Joker was lying.” Traynor reacts.

“I apologize for the deception.” EDI tells her.

“Thanks, EDI. And I apologize for all those times I talked about how, uhm… attractive your voice was…”

“Okay. Anyways. I guess EDI pretending to be an IV or whatever makes sense with how weird you guys are about Ai. You seem chill enough about it though.” Ben notes.

“Of course. I have to trust the Commander’s judgement. And of course, EDI’s been in this ship since Cerberus gave it to Shepard. She’s had plenty of time to show her true colors.” Traynor rationalizes.

“Sure.” Ben accepts easily enough.

Traynor takes a breath to continue, but the sound of approaching footsteps gives her pause. She glances behind herself and find Shepard standing there, looking at her and Ben. She can’t help but tense, her shoulders stiffening and her back straightening to give Shepard full attention.

“Commander.” She acknowledges him.

“Could I have a word with Ben?” Shepard asks, nodding to the table.

“Oh- Yes, of course.” Traynor responds, quickly grabbing her tray and rising to her feet to get out of Shepard’s way. She gives him a nod, then turns to make her way to another table.

Shepard takes the seat across from Ben, focusing on the teen.

“Whatcha need, Shep?” Ben asks.

“Just wanted to check in. We haven’t really had a moment to talk since you got back.” Shepard explains.

“Yeah? Well, it’s the same old me. Anything specific you got on your mind?”

“I’m still not clear on the details. What exactly happened when you went back to your universe?” Shepard inquires.

“Not a lot, really. I went to see Azmuth first – you know, the guy that made my watch – to get him started on a way to get back here. Turned out to be a waste of time, since the dark energy your mass effect stuff messes with totally bugs out his equipment. In the end Paradox showed up to give us the navigational whatchamahoosit.” Ben explains.

“And after that?”

“Lots. I caught up with the plumber’s kids, who were keeping Earth safe while I was gone. Those are the hybrid kids the Rooters brainwashed to kill me or whatever. I left them in charge of my Earth while I’m here helping you guys. I put in a request to speak with Plumber high command pretty much as soon as I got back, but it took them like a month to get back to us. And then all they said is that they couldn’t help.”

“What was the reason for their non-involvement?” Shepard thinks to ask.

“They didn’t have ‘sufficient evidence of a threat to our universe” or something. Basically, your galaxy is pretty far behind when it comes to technology. If the Plumbers came over, none of you guys would really be able to stop them from becoming the main galactic superpower. So unless the Reapers are a threat to more universes than just yours, they can’t risk involvement with a developing system. It would set a bad president.”

“So if we told them about the projector on Earth, they might send reinforcements?” Shepard checks his understanding.

“Maybe. But even then, we can’t go back to my universe until the Omni-TRUK is fixed. I’m sure Rook is working on it, but for now we’re stuck here. And anyways, I wouldn’t risk going back to my universe until your Earth has reinforcements. With how things are going right now, the Reapers might find that tech any day now, and I need to be here if that happens.”

“And how did you construct a vehicle to return to this universe?” Shepard asks.

“This con-artist I know had a multi-dimensional engine sort of thing. He owed me one, so he let me ‘borrow’ it. Then Kevin and Rook spent a few weeks working on a new TRUK for it. We used to have another ship, but it sort of got trashed at some point. Kevin and Gwen should be coming over in another few weeks, once they make another ship.”

Shepard nods, thinking on all of that. He then takes a moment to consider everything else he needs to ask.

“Your friends, Rook and Ester, you mentioned them a couple times while we were taking down the Collectors, but you never went into detail. Is there anything I should know about their background, or species? What should I expect from them?” Shepard asks.

“Well, Ester’s half human. She spent a lot of time growing up on Earth too, so she’s pretty easy to get used to. She’s half kraaho though, so she’ll need somewhere warm to stay. I think she’s kind of gotten comfortable in that area under engineering where Jack used to be.”

“And your partner, Rook?”

“He’s a Revonnahgander, so he basically grew up out in the boonies. He only left world to join the Plumber’s academy. Then he graduated top of his class or something. When it comes to Plumbers, he’s as good as they get. He could rattle off protocol until your ears fall off. Trust me, I’d know. But he’s a good guy. One of the best friends I’ve got.” Ben answers him.

Shepard takes another moment to consider what he wants to ask before speaking again. He almost wants to inquire more about Ben’s side mission to get Vetra’s sister, but decides against it.

“How are you settling back into the Normandy?” He asks.

“Not sure about some of the changes you guys made, but it’s still the Normandy. I saw that my old room’s being used as a cargo hold again, so I got a few hours of shut-eye in Starboard Observation.” Ben explains.

“We can set you up in Starboard Cargo again, if you’d prefer.” Shepard offers.

“Yeah. The lounge is definitely more comfortable, but for long-term I’d rather be down by the loading bay. Doesn’t take as long to get out of the Normandy.” Ben accepts.

Shepard thinks if he has any other questions, but eventually just nods and begins rising from his seat.

“Alright. Thanks for telling me about all that.” Shepard says, seemingly leading himself out of the conversation.

“Anytime, Shep.” Ben watches as Shepard turns and heads for the back of the mess hall, toward the door to the XO quarters.

Ben simply turns his attention back to the sparse assortment of food left on his tray, and the fork-like implement half embedded in not-quite meat loaf.

Shepard goes to speak with Liara again. He finds that she’s already had some equipment installed in the XO quarters. Only what she was able to get while they were on the Citadel, so a few secured terminals, a databank, and a “small” array of a half dozen screens. She assures Shepard that she plans to have more moved over to the Normandy when she has the chance, she just needs to find time to have things shipped over from her ship on Hagalaz.

“But you have access to your resources?” Shepard makes sure, given how important of a position Liara occupies in the galaxy.

“What I can get. We’ll need it to research this Prothean device.” Liara assures him. Even while they converse she isn’t able to stop working, moving from one station to another, sitting down at a terminal at the back of the room to correspond with one of her countless sources.

“Until we understand precisely what it does, it’s far too dangerous to use.” She continues, glancing back over her shoulder to make herself audible to Shepard.

“It’d be nice to know we’re not kids playing around with a loaded gun.” He acknowledges her point.

“Absolutely. The damage it could cause if it backfired is unthinkable.” Liara rises from the terminal again, stepping back across to the room to the small array of screens on the right wall. “This will be difficult, even for us. If something happens on a mission, if either one of us are hurt…”

There’s a notable pause in her speech, a certain conflict in her mind. In a moment she turns to Shepard completely, finally pausing from her work.

“Shepard, there’s something I need to ask before we go any further.” She resolves herself to address the question. “I know you and Tali grew close. Is that… in the past? Should I forget there was anything between… us?”

Shepard pauses at the question, a slight conflict on his face. The emotion quickly shifts to remorse as he comes to decide on his response. “A lot has happened since then, Liara. I don’t think we’d work anymore.”

“Really? I–” It’s almost like she wants to argue, wants to refute this point, but she doesn’t. She accepts it in hardly a second, she respects his decision. “Thank you” She eventually decides to say. “…for letting me know.”

“I think it’s best for both of us.” Shepard tries to offer condolences.

“Of course.” Liara accepts. There’s no ill-will or resentment in her tone, but the fact of the rejection still lingers with her. She turns away from Shepard and back to the screens. “Well, anyway, I should get down to business. There’s a lot to do if we’re to discover what the Protheans left us.” She makes herself busy.

Shepard only nods before he turns to exit the room.

Down on Deck 5, Rook sits inside the Omni-TRUK. His focus isn’t on repairs, or calibrations, but instead on reading through codex entries. Mostly the new ones that were downloaded by Ben’s Omnitool when they docked on the Citadel.

He’s taking his time to digest the various encyclopedic datablurbs covering various facets of this universe. The “Mass Effect” universe, dubbed so by Ben for their technological reliance on the concept. He’s using the TRUK’s systems to view the entries, as the vehicle is still connected to Ben’s Omni-tool, hooked into the ship’s dashboard.

Two knocks on the hull of the vehicle. That’s what grabs Rook’s attention away from his reading. He spins his chair around to face the back of the cabin, where he finds Shepard drawing his hand away from the wall.

“Ah, Commander Shepard. I was told to expect you.” Rook acknowledges, reaching back to close the TRUK’s menus so they don’t distract from the dialogue. “Though, I did assume Ben was joking when he told me to expect a routine check-in.”

“We have to depend on each other in combat. I like knowing what kind of men I have at my back.” Shepard justifies the behavior.

“Of course.” Rook accepts.

“You settling in alright?” Shepard wonders, meandering slightly further into the cabin before stopping at a comfortable distance from Rook.

“I am. Your crew have been very polite and helpful, especially given the circ*mstances.” Rook notes.

Shepard nods with a smile, seemingly pleased by that information.

“I will admit that I expected more trepidation from the residents of this universe, considering the low number of sapient species they would need to familiarize themselves with.”

“Exactly how many sapient species have made it onto the galactic stage in your universe?” Shepard wonders.

“It is hard to be certain. I could not give you an exact number from memory, though I know the number ranges in the tens of thousands. At least a million have been recorded as fully sapient by the Galvans, who are considered the authority on technologic scaling and genetics in our universe.” Rook informs him.

Shepard thinks on that, taking a moment to accept the information.

“… You seem… cautious of this information, Commander.” Rook notes.

“No, just… trying to wrap my head around it all. It was one thing talking to Ben about your universe, but another to hear it from someone like you. Ben’s never been good about specifics, so a part of me has always assumed he’s been exaggerating.” Shepard explains.

“I understand.” Rook acknowledges.

“I’m glad the crew’s been respectful.” Shepard jumps back to the original point of discussion, in a way that almost surprises Rook given his lack of familiarity with the way Shepard converses. “The crew of the Normandy has had more experience with aliens than most human vessels, given the crews I put together when taking down Saren, and the Collectors.”

“Yes, I imagine that would help. I read about those missions while we were building this ship. Your exploits are quite impressive, even by the standards of my universe. If you were not spoken for by the Alliance and the Council, you would make an excellent Plumber.”

“I appreciate that.” Shepard accepts. The commander takes a moment to think, glancing around the cabin of the Omni-TRUK as he does. He can’t help but notice the bold scorch marks from where the Reaper blast deflected off Chromastone. He also notices how little it’s really damaged the ship’s interior, the damage being primarily cosmetic.

“Let me know if you need anything.” Shepard offers.

“Actually, I would like to make use of the Normandy’s resources.” Rook takes the opportunity to tell him. “Several of your crew seem well suited to help with my ship’s repairs. I have already made plans with Lieutenant Cortez, who has taken particular interest in the ship.”

“I wouldn’t mind.” Shepard approves.

“Thank you. I will keep in touch with EDI to make sure that I do not hinder the Normandy’s functions. Once the TRUK’s FTL capabilities are restored Ben and I will be able to lead missions of our own while your crew are occupied.”

“As long as you remember who’s in charge, you can do whatever you want.” Shepard approves.

The remark is casual, something Shepard doesn’t think anything of, but it sticks out to Rook in the wrong way. Shepard’s about to turn to leave the TRUK when Rook speaks again.

“Shepard, you… are not my commanding officer.” Rook makes known, stopping Shepard and causing him to turn back.

This point causes Shepard’s brown to stern, thinking, but also waiting for Rook to elaborate.

“I understand that Ben makes ranks difficult to distinguish, he has never respected them in our universe either. Allow me to clarify that we are not soldiers. We are Plumbers. I am a Magister of the Earth Plumber station. I am here to work with you, not for you.” Rook chooses his words carefully. His intent is not to offend, but make a clear distinction between what Shepard must have assumed their dynamic to be, and what it is.

It takes a second for Shepard to really catch up with what Rook is saying, and when he does he turns to Rook fully and stands more rigidly, giving him full attention.

“I apologize.” Shepard easily acknowledges. “Protocol’s gotten a little muddled since Ben joined the crew.”

“That is expected of him. I do not intend to undermine your authority aboard this ship, but I must make it clear that Ester and I are not serving under you. We are here on behalf of Ben, and the Plumbers. For now, I will accept your experience with this universe. If I have a problem with your plans, I will bring it to you directly.” Rook elaborates.

“I appreciate that.” Shepard accepts, turning again to leave the ship. “Let me know if you need any materials or resources for your repairs. I’ll make sure you get them next time we’re able to make requisitions from the Alliance.”

“Of course.” Rook accepts, watching Shepard go.

A deck up Ben steps out of the elevator, idly walking the ship’s halls. He doesn’t even seem to notice as he makes his way through the side doors toward engineering, wandering the same areas he spent so much time in and around when last aboard the ship.

He’s not even really thinking about where he’s going, he’s just going. Before he realizes it he’s entered engineering, and is just sort of staring at the empty work stations.

He’s actually caught off guard when a man in an alliance uniform walks back down the walkway that observes the mass effect core. The man seems a little surprised to see him as well, his whole posture formalizing for the moment it takes him to realize who the teen by the door actually is.

“You’re Ben Tennyson.” He realizes. He awkwardly hesitates, as if re-thinking it a moment too late, but eventually salutes Ben. It’s an informal salute at best, and gets a chuckle out of him.

“Uhh… hey. Sorry, I guess I was kinda looking for Gabby and Ken.” Ben explains.

“The Cerberus engineers, right? Yeah, I heard they joined the Alliance after everything that happened with the Collectors. They were posted off-world when the Reapers hit Earth. Shepard might have them reassigned to the Normandy, but only if there’s time the next chance we get.” He efficiently explains.

“Right. So… you are?” Ben questions.

“Engineer Adams. I was put in charge of the drive core retrofits.” He explains.

“Ah.”

“My experience on the SR-1 made me an obvious choice.” He justifies the assignment.

“Oh yeah, heard about the SR-1. Got here a couple years late to actually see it. Well, I saw the body cam footage of the wreck on Alchera. Doesn’t really give me an idea of how they compare.” Ben tells him.

“The SR-2’s incredible. If there’s one nice thing I can say about Cerberus, it’s that they know how to build a ship.”

“That right? You don’t mind the AI it comes with?” Ben asks, seemingly as a slight prod.

“Actually, we had a good talk during the retrofit. A little strange at first, talking shop with an AI. Of course, at the time she was pretending to be a VI, but I saw through her. I mean, have you seen her hardware? Processing power is off the charts. And then there were the problems that kept fixing themselves. If I hadn’t had her pegged, I would have sword I was losing it.” Adams explains.

Ben has a slight chuckle at the idea.

“You never expressed any skepticism, Lieutenant Adams.” EDI interjects from the speakers without warning, causing both men’s heads to flick up towards the cameras and speakers in the room.

“I figured I’d better play it safe with the Cerberus AI, EDI. No offence.” Adams explains.

“None taken… as long as you keep your fingers out of my cognizance processors.” EDI advises.

Adams chuckles, turning his attention back to Ben.

“In the beginning, I tried disconnecting her from key process without giving myself away. Easier said than done. But Joker seemed to trust her, and in time I saw her advantages. Even grew to like her.”

“Alright, you seem chill.” Ben eventually accepts, leaning off the wall by the door to start wandering the space.

“So, you come down just to see the old Cerberus techs, or did you have another reason in mind?” Adam wonders, carefully keeping an eye on the teen as he makes his way across the room and leans around the wall to look down at the drive core.

“Nah. I guess I kinda just came down out of habit.” Ben explains, not paying the behavior much mind. “Tali used to work down here. I’d always come and bug her when I got bored.”

“The quarian? I’d heard she was serving on the SR-2 before it came to Earth. I remember when she worked on the SR-1, she was the best damn machinist we had.”

“I heard she was planning to head back to the Floatilla before I went missing. I wonder what happened to her.” Ben thinks aloud.

“About that…” Adams leads, getting Ben to turn and focus on him. “Most of the crew’s been briefed on you, but… honestly? It’s a bit much to believe.”

“You mean Rook and Ester being here didn’t convince you?” Ben points out.

“Well it’s one thing to accept that you’ve showed up with some new aliens. It’s another thing entirely to accept that you’re from another universe.” Adams explains.

“But you believe the bit about transforming?”

“I’m on the fence.”

“Alright.” Ben rolls his eyes, brining his wrist up so he can engage the device on his wrist. “You leave for a couple months, and suddenly everyone stops believing you exist.”

Adams takes note of the motion, freezing where he stands to cautiously watch Ben.

“This is going to be settled once and for all when we finally get to Palavan, but until then I’m going to prove it to you so you can spread the word. It’s called the Omnitrix. It lets me turn into over a million different aliens.” Ben finally finds the one he wants in the selection dial. He draws his hand back from its glassy face to lock in the selection, and the faceplate slides back to let the core pop up.

He slams it back down almost as quickly, and instantly his body beams a stark green light. His features shift and morph. Bones rearrange, skin changes hue, even his clothes are broken down and reformed in the split instant it takes for him to transform.

His eyes glow beneath a screen of colored glass, his whole body is wrapped within a simplified environmental suit, and the Omnitrix reappears as a node on his chest. He’s a quarian. He’s not just wearing a quarian exo-suit, he’s a quarian. He has only two fingers, and clearly digitigrade legs, and stands several inches taller than he was. Adams is stunned speechless.

“See? I call this form Seals. A quarian seemed fitting, given the conversation.” Ben speaks with a slight accent, and the distinct metallic tinge of his words being processed by the suit. He reaches for the node on his chest, and in another flash he reverts back to his human form.

Adams tries to speak, but he sort of fumbles over his words with a startled chuckle.

“You- Wow. Okay, you’re really everything they say. I guess I’ll believe the bits about being a Reaper killer when I see it, but for now I’ll take your word for it.” Adams seems to accept.

“Cool.” Ben acknowledges, turning to head for the door out of the room again. “I’ll see you around, dude.”

“Yes, sir.” Adams says, still a little rattled by the transformation, barely turning his attention to Ben again by the time he’s through the doorway.

Ben chuckles at the formality, but the door closes before he thinks to make another comment about it.

The elevator doors open to the deck below, and Ben steps out.

It’s busier than the old hangar was. There’s a lot more alliance personnel on the floor, maintaining the shuttles and managing the Normandy’s inventory.

Like before, Ben sort of just wanders through the space. Getting a sense of the layout, seeing who’s around, and vaguely heading in the direction of the Omni-TRUK at the back left of the bay. “Back left” assuming that one is looking at the bay from the entrance of the elevators and considers the far wall to be the back.

Just like in engineering, it doesn’t take long for someone to notice and have something to say about Ben. In this case, it’s James. The Alliance soldier that left Earth with Shepard.

“Hey, kid.” He calls out, causing Ben to stop in place.

“Hey, guy.” Ben responds, turning his attention to the soldier.

James was seemingly working out in a makeshift exercise area/workstation he’s made for himself between the cargo crates. He’s wiping the sweat off his forehead with a rag in one hand, and chugging a bottle of water with the other. He tosses both back towards his station before walking out toward Ben.

“You’re Ben, right?” James asks.

“That’s me. Who are you?”

“Lieutenant James Vega. Your pals have been telling me a lot about you.” He nods toward the TRUK, and extends a hand to Ben. “Nice to finally meet you.”

“You too.” Ben shakes his hand. Unlike most of the new crew, Ben can’t help but be slightly endeared to the attitude James led with. Hearing that he’s been getting along with his friends doesn’t hurt either.

“Never been all too sure about all the stuff they’ve said about you, but if Shepard says you’re solid I’ll trust his judgement. Looking forward to seeing you in action.”

“Dude, you have no idea how nice it is to hear that.” Ben laughs.

“Most of the guys here don’t really buy your whole deal, huh?”

“That’s one way to put it.” Ben confirms.

“Most of ‘em weren’t really ready when the Reapers hit, either. They were preparing for it, sure, but only ‘cause the brass were telling them to. What happened back on Earth? Most of them couldn’t have imagined it a month ago. I get why they’re having a hard time believing that some civilian kid is gonna help turn the tide.” James explains it.

“But you trust Shepard’s judgment?” Ben double checks.

“The Commander’s been telling us about the Reapers for almost 3 years now. If he says you can take down a Reaper with your bare hands, I might have a hell of a time imagining how, but you can be damn sure I’ll believe him. Just give it time. I’m sure in a few missions the crew will feel the same way.”

“Thanks, James.” Ben acknowledges, starting to walk again to continue towards the Omni-TRUK.

“No problem, Ace.” James says, turning to head back to his station.

Ben stops in his tracks and swings his attention back around to James.

“Ace?” He questions, causing James to stop as well.

“Well, yeah. You know, like our ace in the hole. Since you’re our big trump card against the Reapers, and all that.” James explains.

“You give everybody nicknames?” Ben wonders.

“Well, hah… I mean, just helps with remembering people. Some people just don’t match their names, you know? So I just give ‘em a new one.” He explains.

“Yeah, I definitely get that.” Ben approves, turning to finally continue towards the TRUK.

Ben passes by Shepard as he enters the Omni-TRUK, the Commander evidently on his way out of the cabin. Ben only spares him a glance, then looks back to Rook a the teen places himself down on the side benches.

“So, you already get through Shepard’s ‘welcome to the Normandy’ friendly interrogation?” Ben interprets.

“That is... certainly one way to put it. Indeed.”

“It takes a bit, but he’s a good guy. Just not the most charismatic.”

“His crew certainly seem to hold him in high regard. Perhaps this universe has different standards…” Rook suggests, getting a laugh from Ben.

“Yeah… So, what have you and Ester been doing since we left the Citadel?” Ben asks.

“I believe Ester is currently on the Deck 2, with the Normandy’s physician.”

“Makes sense. Chakwas would want to get a sense for her physiology in case of emergency.” Ben accepts.

“I have been reading a number of Codex entries that were not part of the collection you brought back with you.” Rook says.

Ben fakes a yawn as he rises from the bench. “Boooring.” He criticizes, dropping himself into the copilot’s seat.

“I have also been refreshing myself on our destination. The military base on Menae, Palaven’s largest moon. Much of the information available to the Normandy is not public.” Rook tries to educate him.

“You learn anything useful, or just boring stuff?”

“Mostly boring stuff.” Rook admits. “Much of the information on the moon is classified.”

“Wait, what?” Ben’s attention is finally caught, getting him to actually focus on Rook. “What do you mean?”

“According to Normandy databases, almost no information about the moon is available publicly. They have been… one moment.” Rook taps a key on the Omni-TRUK’s console, summoning a holographic screen. “They have been ‘shrouded in secrecy since the dawn of the turian space age.’ They feared the Krogan could use Palaven’s moons as weapons.”

“How?”

“By smashing them into Palaven.”

“Okay, that’s kinda cool.” Ben admits.

“Research is a useful tool.”

“Don’t get all lecture-y on me, dude. I did plenty of research when I was here before. But now I’ve got you to do it, so what’s the point?”

“Ben.” Rook disapproves.

“I know, I know. But like everything I need to know I usually find out after we’re on the ground. Unless I’ve got time to kill, there’s not much point.”

“We still have plenty of time before we reach Menae. Perhaps you would”

“Lalalalala, not listening.” Ben cuts him off, rising out of the co-pilot’s seat. “You have fun with the entries, dude. I’m gonna go check in with some old friends.”

“Right.” Rook accepts, watching Ben walk back down the length of the TRUK and out into the bay.

In not very much time at all, Ben ends up on Deck 2 of the Normandy, heading down the length of the ship and onto the bridge. Where he, expectedly, finds one Jeff “Joker” Moreau. Also, the chess-piece like hologram EDI uses to represent herself, projected to the pilot’s left.

Joker glances back over his shoulder when he hears Ben come in.

“Hey, Ben. Need something?” He asks, listening as Ben walks over and sits down in the open crew seat on the right of the room that he usually takes for their conversations.

“Just wanted to check in.” Ben says.

“We’re in the Trebia System, but we’re still about a half hour out from Palaven.” Joker tells him. “The Commander will probably want you down in the Shuttle Bay pretty soon.”

“What, so I can sit in the Kodiak for 15 minutes during final approach? No thanks. I’ll go down when we’re almost there.”

“Alright. It’s your ass on the line, but I guess it’s not like the Commander can dock your pay or something.” Joker rationalizes.

“That is not technically correct.” EDI notes, her holographic representation displaying the waveform of her synthetic speech.

“What do you mean?” Ben questions.

“While not officially part of the Alliance military, you are assigned to the Normandy in an official capacity. As such, you have been receiving bi-weekly pay for time spent aboard, since originally joining Shepard to stop the Collectors.” EDI informs him.

“Wait, are you kidding?” Ben checks.

“I am not. Despite your anomalous nature, the Alliance has established galactic identification, as well as a banking account, in your name. You are being compensated for your efforts.”

“Well isn’t that wild to think about.” Joker remarks. “I bet at this point the kid has enough tucked away to get a place on Earth when this is all over. Assuming there’s anything left of Earth to live on, of course.”

“There will be.” Ben assures him.

“I hope so. Wouldn’t be much of a victory if after the Reapers are gone all that’s left of Earth is a smoking pile of rubble. I mean, I’d still take that over the worst case, but you know.”

“Millions every day.”

“Right.” Joker confirms, lingering on the idea for s few moments too long. “Well, anyways, enough about that. It looks like your friends are heading down to Deck 5. Well, the pink one is. Rook’s already down there. So I’d guess Shepard’s just about ready.”

“Alright, fine.” Ben accepts with a groan, pushing himself out of the seat so he can head for the elevator.

When Ben steps out of the elevator he finds Shepard, Liara, and James all gearing themselves for the mission. Liara doesn’t wear any more armor than her usual outfit, but Shepard and James are in the process of pulling on their combat gear.

“Ben.” Shepard notices the teen as he walks out. The commander has almost all of his armor on, with the exception of the helmet that he holds under his arm. “Where’ve you been?”

“I’m here, aren’t I?” Ben deflects the question, heading for the armor locker to pull out a kinetic barrier mesh. He takes one look at it before deciding it doesn’t want to deal with putting it on right now, and shoves it back into the locket. “We’re headed to a moon, right? Does it have an atmosphere?”

“An artificial one. The air will be pretty thin, but you don’t need an enviro-suit.” Shepard answers him.

“Well that’s good.” Ester interjects, making her way over to the group from the Omni-TRUK. “Ben wouldn’t wear a space suit if his life depended on it.”

“Hey, that’s not true.” Ben instinctively argues.

Shepard and Ester both turn and just stare at him. Because, obviously, him arguing that point is inherently ridiculous. He has relied on the Omnitrix instead of a space suit on numerous occasions that both of them are privy to. It’s so blatantly obvious that Ben’s full of hot air that neither of them even bother to correct him.

“Anyways.” Ester moves them along. “You need me and Rook for this mission?”

“Probably not. This should just be a quick extraction. Right, Shepard?” Ben turns to the Commander to check.

James and Liara have readied themselves at this point. James goes ahead and hops up into the Kodiak, while Liara stays behind to listen to the conversation.

“That’s what we’re hoping.” Shepard confirms. “Reapers hit Palaven a little after Earth. We’re not sure how bad it is yet, but if all goes to plan we should be leaving within an hour.”

“Yeah. So you and Rook can probably stay here. A smaller team’s better for quick jobs, and we should have someone here than can fly the TRUK in case something goes wrong.” Ben explains.

“Alright.” Ester accepts easily enough. “I’ll tell Rook.” She adds, turning to head back toward the Omni-TRUK.

With Ester leaving, the remaining squad members head for the Kodiak. Each of them climb inside and find a place to sit. Then it’s just a few minutes before Steve’s gone through the pre-flight checks and lifts them out of the Normandy’s bay.

The whole battle slams into focus as the Normandy decelerates out of FTL. Turian frigates and destroyers become the terrain for smaller fighters to maneuver around and between. Whole fleets and squadrons do what they can to maintain formation while confronting their opposition.

Reapers. Entire, living dreadnaughts. Their limbs reach and grasp at the turian ships like fingers curling around cardboard boxes. The turian cruisers crumble and tear against the even the smaller Reapers, put under enough stress and torsion for them to ignite, only to again extinguish in the vacuum of Palaven’s outer orbit.

Smaller reaper drone buzz about the field, chasing after fighters and harassing the larger ships. The force is overwhelming. Even at a glance, the sheer number of ships is only dwarfed by their utter indifference to all forms of assault. Their sheer defiance to the weathering of the battle that eats at the turian’s numbers every moment.

They do not notice the Normandy. The human ship glides through the cascade of ignitions and torn metal, on and away until the conflict is but distant flashes of fire and light. They sail on towards the moon, and on the final approach the front facing bay door hinges down, letting the Kodiak emerge.

Within, Shepard and his squad watch the unfolding conflict through monitor at the front of the cabin. The distant firefight, and the glow of orange painting large parts of the planet beyond. The burning swaths of country side, where cities uses to be. It takes them a moment to process the sight, to understand what they’re actually seeing.

“Oh no… no… Palaven.” Liara’s the only one that can put it to words. Shepard’s just quiet, at least until he catches the look James gives him.

“We have an old friend there…” Shepard explains, looking away from the screen. “Strongest military in the galaxy and the Reapers are obliterating it.”

“Was it like this on Earth?” Liara wonders, looking to Shepard.

He doesn’t answer. Too many thoughts roil in his mind, too many emotions to keep stilled. To keep focused on the mission.

“Yeah.” Ben answers for him, causing Liara to look to him for a moment. “It was about this bad when we left.”

“Shepard… I’m so sorry.” Liara turns her attention back to him.

“Yeah.” The commander responds.

“Commander!” Steve shouts back from the cabin, drawing everyone’s focus to him. “The LZ is getting swarmed!”

Shepard immediately rises to his feet, reaching up to grab a bar on the ceiling to steady himself against the turbulence. With his other hand he reaches around to his back, pulling a rifle off the back of his armor.

“What’s an LZ?” Ben has to ask.

His unfamiliarity with even that term catches James by surprise. It takes him a second to accept it before he answers.

“Landing zone.” James fills him in.

“Got it.” Ben accepts, bringing up his wrist to use the Omnitrix.

The side of the shuttle hisses, sliding out before hinging open to give Shepard a view of the ground below. He readies his rifle, but pauses when he sees the ground forces. Husks. Scrambling up the side of the cliff faces and across the valleys, with such desperation and force that the Turians fighting them struggle even to hold their ground.

Shepard doesn’t fire. He even reaches out to stop James when he tries to ready his own rifle. The Commander instead looks to Ben.

“Ben, Husks.” He says.

The Omnitrix beeps and warbles as Ben scrolls through the list, but as soon as Shepard gives him the assessment of their opposition Ben looks up from the dial and pulls his hand back.

“On it.” Ben assures.

He doesn’t even bother to see what was selected before he slams the core down.

His body morphs with its usual flash of green, barely leaving the shapes of his body visible. His arms split vertically to create an additional set, his clothes thin and rearrange themselves into a harness that holds the Omnitrix, his spine restructures and forms new segments to manifest a tail, his eyes multiply into a set of six solid green beads, and his entire body is covered in a layer of blue fur. Spidermonkey.

His body falls forward, landing on his new primary limbs. James flinches at the process, stepping back and out of Ben’s way as he steps up to the open hatch. He takes just a second to scan his eyes over the jagged grey landscape before spotting the husks erratically dashing towards their landing site. Ben grips the edge of the Kodiak’s floor, then leaps forward. He completely sails over the field, either strong enough or light enough to clear the gap and touch down within range of the husks.

The ground is coarse and covered in a later of grit and dust that coats Ben’s fur. He only takes a moment to adjust to the gravity and the thinned atmosphere before turning his attention to the husks below him.

He landed atop of a ridge of stone, which itself forms a wall of the flattened pathway below. Across from him is a prefabricated housing unit, lacking most of the walls a typical shelter would have. It seems intentional, making it useful as a combat shelter rather than housing. It only has a back wall to hold up its roof, and a half wall in front to provide cover to the turian soldiers inside.

The turian soldiers that take no time to spot Ben’s vibrant blue coat, and consequently turn their aim toward him. He barely has the time to leap out of the way of their fire with a startled screech, jumping across the valley and onto the roof of their shelter.

“Hey, I’m on your side!” Ben shouts at them.

“What the hell!?” One of the turian soldiers exclaims.

Ben doesn’t have time to focus on them, instead looking back to the Husks. Mindless human corpses mutated and modified by the Reapers to serve as ground troops. They’ve changed direction, having notices him from all the shouting. Ben whips his tail around, ejecting several globs of webbing to lock them to the ground.

“I need you guys to not shoot at me for a moment, okay?” Ben calls down to the turians again.

“What are you?” One of them shouts back up at him. Ben can hear that they’re still keeping a tight grip of their weapons, prepared to aim at him the moment he jumps down.

“I’m a Spidermonkey!” Ben tells them. This obviously doesn’t help, so after a moment he clarifies. “I’m Ben 10, here with Commander Shepard. I need you to not shoot me, or the Husks. I’m going to cure them.”

There’s a moment of silence before he hears a resigned sigh.

“Alright.” The turian soldiers below agree.

Wasting no time, Ben leaps forward off the encampment and down to the squad of husks. 5 in total.

Ben can see the Kodiak landing down the path from him at this point, and Shepard’s squad quickly barreling out to catch up with him.

Ben carefully walks up to the husks, reaching with one of his secondary arms to interface with the Omnitrix, priming it for the task. He keeps his distance from the husks, still struggling against the restraints with enough force to risk hurting themselves if they weren’t already dead. Good thing Ben plans to fix that.

“Omnitrix, repair genetic damage.” He orders it.

“Preparing.” The device responds.

Shepard’s marched up at this point, along with James and Liara. Both of whom keep a more cautious eye on Ben. Shepard only spares him a glance.

“You got this under control?” Shepard checks.

“Think so.” Ben confirms.

“James and I will go ahead. Liara will stay with you.” Shepard decides, turning to look at the Turian soldiers who have been keeping an eye on Ben this whole time. They shift their attention to Shepard when they see him approaching them.

“If you’re looking for command, it’s around the corner, past the first barricade.” The turian soldier tells him.

Shepard nods, and marches on. James hesitates by Ben, but turns to march after Shepard in just a moment. Liara stays with Ben, watching the Omnitrix shift brightness, listening to it chime and hum.

“It is… working?” She questions.

“Well it should be. It’s fixed them before, I don’t know what’s taking it this time.” Ben answers.

The Omnitrix makes a noise, as it’s prone to. A harsh, not-quite buzz that seems to imply something negative.

“Genetic damage exceeds parameters. Attempting recovery. Function requires primary matrix sequence.” The device announces, barely giving Ben the time to understand what it means before his form flashes with light and morphs back to his human form. His lack of armor stands out even more than it did before, his plain shirt and cargo pants seeming entirely insufficient for the battlefield around them.

“Oh, great. Guess the Reapers got some ideas since last time.” Ben groans.

Liara nods in understanding and turns to keep her eyes on the surrounding terrain. Craggy barrens of grey stone, forming hills and canyons across the moon’s surface. In the distance there are entire crashed freighters, acting as landmarks among the far more common crash sites of turian fighters.

It’s no wonder what took them down. Marching across the surface of the moon are two entire Reapers. Their deep rust colored hulls gleams like silver in the distant light of Palaven’s star. They reach so high into the sky that they pierce Liara’s field of vision even when she’s looking straight up. They are impossibly large, so immense and refined that they might be beautiful. If not for their purpose. The blood that their actions ring from the galaxy.

The Omnitrix resounds with another buzz.

“Damage too severe for repair.” The Omnitrix states.

“Wait, what? But you could do it before.” Ben argues.

“Damage too severe for repair. Cybernetic augmentations too extensive for removal. Gene damage irreversible.”

“What can I do?” Ben asks it.

“Damage too severe for repair.” The device repeats. The droning noises of its calculations and processes come to a stop, and the light of the watch’s face becomes consistent again.

“Ben…” Liara speaks, understanding what the Omnitrix means just as quickly as Ben, but accepting it slightly faster than him.

“I… I thought I could save them.” Ben says. His usual air of confidence is lost. His arrogant certainty is shattered by the simple fact of his inability to help.

“Ben. The Reapers killed them, not you. There are still billions of people we have to save.” Liara reminds him.

Ben fails to replace the casual certainty he arrived with, but he accepts her words. His eyes focus on the husks below him again. No longer people to save, only corpses. Writing, snarling bodies. Dried grey skin clings to muscle and machinery. Deep empty sockets hold glowing eyes. They’ve been stripped of everything that makes them people, and Ben can’t do anything about it. Scalped, shriveled, naked, and invaded by cold pulsing machinery. These were people once, but no longer.

“They did this so I couldn’t save them.” Ben says, turning his attention away from the husks and to the Reapers marching across the horizon. “They did this because of me.”

“We’ll stop them.” Liara tries to assure him. She doesn’t know how else to keep him in line. To keep him on their side, focused on the mission.

Ben is silent for a moment before he starts marching toward the camp. Liara turns her gun to the husks to deal with them before she follows Ben.

It doesn’t take more than a moment to make it into camp. More of the prefabs line the perimeter of the area, with their backs against risen sections of stone. It’s as safe as anywhere gets here. Some are filled with body bags, some are filled with soldiers. They appear to serve all the purposes. Barracks, medical, armory, morgue, and central command.

The turians seem weary of Ben, confused by him, but they don’t stop him. A few even gesture in the direction of the other humans that just came through, helping Ben to catch up with Shepard. Ben and Liara hop up the ramp into the shelter, finding their places beside Shepard.

The commander has been talking to a turian, as is expected. A General, if Ben overhears the adjacent chatter correctly. The turian leans over a table that displays a holographic map of the area. He has dark brown skin, but a lighter face decorated with white or maybe light blue markings.

He glances to Ben when he walks up, but doesn’t lean away from the table. He only sighs in a way that almost implied amusem*nt.

“Ben Tennyson, I presume. Shepard mentioned you were here. Said you were dealing with the Reaper ground troops, but I’m not hearing much of a change with my men.” He says.

“Yeah, turns out the Reapers are more clever than I thought. I don’t know what they did to the Husks, but the damage is too severe now. There’s not enough left for the Omnitrix to fix.” Ben explains.

Shepard shifts his attention to Ben, thinking on that fact. On how much harder it’s going to make their job.

“What about the Primarch?” Ben asks.

The general’s mandibles tighten against the sides of his face, and he looks to Shepard’s entire squad again.

“Primarch Fedorianis dead. His shuttle was shot down an hour ago as it tried to leave the moon.” He tells them.

That statement strikes a chord with Ben slightly more than the others. It rings a sense of guilt in him. He sighs with exasperation, but no words come to him.

“I’m sorry. I hear he was a good man.” Shepard manages the tactful response.

“And a friend. He would have been an outstanding diplomat.” The general adds.

“So… We came for the Primarch, if he’s dead, what now? We can’t just leave.” Ben asks.

“The turian hierarchy provides very clear lines of succession.” Liara tells him.

“But with such heavy casualties, it’s hard for me to be certain who the next primarch is. Palaven Command will know.” The general says.

His hands move to manage to holographic table, focusing on a section of the field around them. A tower, marred by a cycling orange graphic.

“However, at the moment, contacting them is impossible. The comm tower is out. “Husks are swarming that area – we can’t get close enough to repair it.” He explains.

“It’s always something.” Liara comments.

“Don’t worry, General. I’ll get your tower operational.” Shepard assures him.

“Thank you, Commander, I’ll take care of things on this end.”

The squad turn and head down the ramp into the main floor of the camp. Ben’s slightly slower to follow than usual, and it’s enough for Shepard to notice. The commander slows to a stop a few paces out from the prefab, and turns back to look at the teen. Ben only half notices, his focus somewhere else entirely.

Shepard looks to Liara and James and gestures for them to go ahead, and they both catch his meaning. They go on, heading towards the end of the camp to check in with the turian soldiers, getting a sense for the kind of opposition around he comm tower, as well as the state of the encampment. Shepard stays by Ben, giving the teen a second to catch up with the fact the Commander stopped.

“Ben, you alright?” He checks.

“Huh? Oh, yeah, sure Shep. Fine.”

“No, you’re not. What is it?”

“Not important.” Ben tries to deflect, moving to walk around Shepard and catch up with the others. Shepard stops him, reaching out to grab his shoulder.

“Ben. Right now I need your head in the fight. If you’ve got something that can’t wait, I need to hear about it.” Shepard tells him.

Ben pauses for a second just to think about that. It takes a moment, but eventually he accepts it.

“I…” He sighs, accepting the need to talk about it. The need to tell Shepard. “On the way to the Citadel, when I was with the Initiative guys, I forced us to make a detour.”

“To help the turian’s sister.” Shepard remembers.

“Yeah. Vetra said she needed help, and I couldn’t ignore that. We went to this turian colony. I took down a Reaper, and we saved some turians from batarian slavers.” Ben finally give him the story.

“How long did that all take?” Shepard catches onto the direction Ben is heading in.

“More than an hour.”

There it is. Shepard finally gets the piece of information that’s bothering Ben. He took over an hour to save some random turian kid, and the Primarch paid for it. Ben might actually be right in thinking he could have been here sooner, too. Had Ben arrived at the Citadel sooner, Shepard would have been able to convene with the Council sooner, and they might have gotten to Palaven in time.

“You think it’s your fault that the Primarch is dead.” Shepard understands.

“I definitely think I could have saved him, if I hadn’t wasted time.” Ben phrases it a little differently, but confirms the notion.

Shepard understands where Ben is coming from, but only in part. He understands the guilt of it, of failing to help as much as he thinks he could have. He can only imagine how much more he’d feel that responsibility if he had the Omnitrix strapped to his wrist.

“The Primarch was going to help get support for Earth, right? He was going to coordinate for Palaven too? That’s two planets that’ll pay for it, because I couldn’t ignore someone in trouble. I argued to go get Sid. It was my choice, and now…” Ben’s eyes turn to the world in the sky. The one that’s burning. Its skies darkened by the sheer volume of Reaper forces setting the world to burn.

“Ben.” Shepard says firmly, getting Ben to shift his focus to him. “Don’t do that to yourself. You can’t focus on the people you weren’t able to save.” Shepard steps back, gesturing out toward the colossal machines standing like monoliths atop the lunar surface. To their swarming drones in combat with the Turian fighters. “There are still hundreds and thousands of people fighting and dying right now. I need you focused on them.”

It takes a second, but the idea sets with Ben. He focuses on those distant figures, the Reapers, and his hand moves for the Omnitrix.

“…Okay.” He accepts, letting the watch choose a form for him. His body rolls over itself in a flash, morphing into a deep red manta-ray like alien. Wings of stretched skin that reach from his wrists to his tail, a crest of golden horns, and two eyes that glare at the distant Reapers. The same species as Swift, but far less human. Jetray.

His wings push down and his body lifts off the ground faster than anything organic should be able to. He sails out towards the Reapers at a startling speed, and almost every turian in the camp can’t help but turn their attention his way when he does.

Shepard begins running down the length of the camp, in the direction of the comm towers. As he does, he quickly puts a hand to the side of his helmet, connecting to the short range comms in the camp.

“General, Ben’s assisting your fighters. If you can, let them know.” Shepard tells him.

“I’ll try, Commander, but until that tower is back online even contacting our air support has been a challenge.” The general responds.

“Understood.” Shepard accepts. His team sees him approach and start moving with him when he passes them, heading out of the camp.

In the distance, Ben flies toward the Reaper with unprecedented speed. He swings around it before it even seems to process his approach, beams of green energy pulsing out of Ben with pinpoint precision. They strike the sections of more intricate machinery at the joins of its legs, and the Reaper actually seems to feel it. It roars out, a bellowing grind of a noise that almost feels like it quakes the very air. It shifts, turning from the turian fighters to focus on Ben.

Its plates shift to reveal its firing cylinder, and a moment after a beam so hot and volatile that it ionizes the air around it fires at Ben. It very nearly hits him, but he’s swift enough to glide around it, circling the Reaper faster than it’s able to turn itself.

For as much discomfort as he seems to cause the Reaper, he doesn’t seem to actually harm it very much at all. Instead, his efforts mainly draw the Reaper’s focus away from the turians. Even the Reaper’s probes shift to seeking Ben, giving the turians ample time to regroup and coordinate. It’s a respite they were hard pressed to find otherwise.

On Shepard’s end, it doesn’t take him long to reach the comm tower. With the knowledge that the husks are beyond saving, he and his squad focus on tearing through them. Bullets and biotics rend rotten flesh and the augmentations that keep them moving. It takes a minute, and Liara and James defending Shepard while he gets the tower working again, but soon enough it comes online.

The moment there’s a brief reprieve from the Reaper troops Shepard activates his commlink to the base, waiting just a second for it to connect.

“General, do you read me? The comm tower is now operational.” Shepard tells him.

“Much appreciated, Commander. I’m already getting word from my men about the help that shapeshifter of yours is being. I’ll contact Palaven command.” The general tells him.

“Let me know when you’ve got something. I’ll help your men ‘till I hear from you.”

“Understood.”

It’s not long before the general contacts him again, telling him to get back to the base so he can update the commander. He recommends that Ben come to hear the news too. Shepard does just that.

The cat and mouse game Ben is playing with the Reaper has to come to a close when he gets this summons. He wasn’t trying to drag the battle out, he was sincerely trying to ground the Reaper with the species he was given, but he couldn’t do much more than irritate the construct. When the second Reaper turned its attention to the conflict Ben changed from being a nuisance to a distraction.

It takes Ben a moment to think of a way to take them down fast, but he comes up with something. He swings wide, putting a large berth between him and the Reaper he’s been focusing on, then swings back. He accelerates at much as he can in the few miles he gave himself. It’s almost like watching a bullet accelerate without the barrel, or a ship enter FTL without the buildup. He blitzes across the sky, and the moment before impact he hits the Omnitrix, hoping for the right form.

He gets it.

His body changes. Thin limbs and skin change to bulk and shell. His white and yellow form curls over itself to form a ball. A single shot moving at enough speed to tear through almost anything put in its way. The Cannonbolt strikes the reaper with a flash, the impact enough to ignite the metal on impact. The collision is enough to put a dent in the Reaper, caving in its hull enough to cut off its metallic screech. It topples over. Not quite dead, but too wounded to ever get back up. Its legs twitch and scrape at the moon’s surface, while Ben unfolds and pulls himself out of the impact site. He’s a heavy creature laden with blubber, pale off-white skin accented with black lines and a stark orange-yellow segmented carapace on his back. His eyes narrow on the other Reaper in the distance.

The other Reaper actually seems to take pause at this. It doesn’t fire on Ben, likely to avoid striking the other Reaper if nothing else. It watches Ben, this tiny mutated creature that just downed one of its kind. It studies him with caution, and consideration. An intelligence that’s utterly beyond the miniscule goings-on of this battle.

Then, with a bellowing groan that quakes the hills, it begins to rise. It leaves the moon entirely, rising into the sky before Ben can follow it. It doesn’t fire on him or anything else, it simply evacuates.

Ben doesn’t look a gift horse in the mouth. He turns his focus to scan over the hills until he spots the base, the curls himself into a ball again and launches off from the Reaper’s shell.

It doesn’t take too long for him to roll across the moon and back to the camp. He launches himself over the walls of the base and lands in its center. The Omnitrix automatically shifts him back into a human as he hops up into the prefab serving as the command center.

“God damn.” James is the first to speak, entirely keeping his focus on Ben.

“You can say that again. Most of the men here have heard the stories about you, but I can’t say we believed them.” The general says, still not looking up from the holographic table for more than a few moments at a time. He flicks through different displays, pulling up and closing menus to check and manage a litany of things.

“I wasn’t even sure Cannonbolt could take the hit. I didn’t think I’d do that.” Ben says.

“Hell yeah, you sent that thing running.” James praises him.

“I’m almost sure they’re mounting a counter attack, but for the moment you’ve given our fighters room to breathe. Thank you, Tennyson.” The general affirms.

“I always knew you were a… oh, what’s the human phrase? A kick in the teeth? But I’m sure not even the Reapers could have seen that coming.”

The group all turn to address the new voice. A turian, slightly higher pitched than the others, making his way towards the command station.

“Garrus!” Shepard recognizes him, equal parts relief and excitement in his voice.

“Vakarian, sir – I didn’t see you arrive…” The general addresses him.

“At ease, General.” Garrus assures him, holstering his rifle as he walks up the ramp of the shelter unit. “Now, not that I’m not glad to see you all, but what are you doing here?”

“We’re here for the Primarch.” Shepard tells him.

“The Primarch?” Garrus reacts. Surprised, but not as much as he could be. “Well, if that’s who you need. General Corinthus?”

“Of course. As your partner said, succession is usually simple. But right now, the hierarchy’s in chaos – so many dead or MIA. I thought I knew who it was when I called you back, but they were identified deceased.” Corinthus explains.

“I need someone – I don’t care who, as long as they can get us the turian resources we need.” Shepard makes clear.

“Of course. Give me just a moment.” The general asks.

With the group waiting, Shepard turns his attention to Garrus. He steps around the general so he’s on the same side of the shelter as Garrus, and the others do the same.

“It’s good to see you again, but I thought you’d be on Palaven.” Shepard says.

“If we lose this moon, we lose Palaven. I’m the closest damn thing we have to an expert on Reaper forces, so I’m…” He shrugs. “advising.”

Shepard turns back to the two squadmates at his side, stepping out from between them and Garrus.

“James, this is Garrus Vakarian. He helped me stop the Collectors. He’s a hell of a soldier.” Shepard introduces them.

“Lieutenant. Good to see you too, Liara.” Garrus gives her the turian equivalent of a smile, his mandibles loosely rising up and out for a moment.

“Good to see you in one piece, Garrus.” Liara returns the sentiment.

“You too, Ben.” He turns to the teen. “Though, next time you plan to vanish…”

“Went back to my universe, didn’t gave a chance to say goodbye. Tried to get plumber help, but they said no. Took a while to make a ride to get back here. Only got back a couple days ago, just after Earth was hit.” Ben catches him up.

“Understood. Well, it’s good to have you back. And killing Reapers, no less.”

“Okay.” Corinthus speaks again, getting the group to turn around and focus on him. “Palaven Command tells me that the next primarch is General Adrien Victus.”

“ ‘Victus?’ His name’s crossed my desk.” Liara reacts.

“Know him, Garrus?” Shepard checks.

“I was fighting alongside him this morning. Lifelong military. Gets results, popular with his troops. Not so popular with military command – has a reputation for playing loose with accepted strategy.” Garrus says.

“You think he can get the job done?”

“We both know conventional strategy won’t beat the Reapers. Right now he could be our best shot. And I trust him.”

“Okay. Let’s get him on the shuttle and get out of here.” Shepard decides, turning to head down the ramp and into the open center of camp.

“Commander! Shepard, come in.” Joker cuts in over their comms, stopping Shepard dead in his tracks. It stops the rest of the group too, after they’ve followed Shepard down the ramp.

“Can this wait, Joker? We’re in the middle of a war zone.” Shepard responds.

Ben quickly wakes up the Omnitrix, connecting it to the radio frequency to listen to the conversation.

“We’ve got a situation on the Normandy, Commander. It’s like she’s possessed – shutting down systems, powering up weapons. I can’t find the source.” Joker explains.

“I need the Normandy standing by; we may have to bug out.”

“Should I go back and take a look?” Liara suggests.

“Do it.” Shepard confirms.

Liara turns and heads for the gate they entered the camp from, intending to get back to the shuttle. Shepard then turns his focus to the turian in their company.

“Garrus, you said you were with Victus this morning?” He checks.

“I was, but we got separated. Something about a flagship needing to get off the moon. He was cagey about it; I don’t know any more. He could be anywhere out there.” Garrus informs him.

“Commander, Palaven Command is giving me his location now.” The general speaks again, causing the group to turn back to look at him. “He’s…” Corinthus hesitates, like he isn’t sure he should tell Shepard. Or isn’t sure he’s allowed to tell Shepard.

“General, where is he?” Garrus asks.

“Somewhere I’m not even supposed to know about. A project that Command has been siphoning my men to since this war began.” The general tells them cautiously.

“General, now is not the time to be protecting secrets. If we don’t stand together now, we might not have anything left to save by the time we do.” The commander announces, somewhere between annoyance and irritation.

“… You’re right. Victus is… at a sort of mega-ship on the far side of the moon. Right now its stuck in its docking structure, totally open to Reaper forces. He and his men are trying to get it clear enough to launch.” Corinthus explains.

“An Ark?” Ben quickly asks.

There’s a look of genuine confusion on the General’s face, as hard as it is to read because of his turian physiology. It takes him a second to speak.

“How do you know about that?” He asks.

Ben completely dismisses him, turning his attention down to the Omnitrix. Not to dial in a form, but to connect it with a previously used channel.

“We have a few friends working for the Initiative.” Shepard explains. “Where is it?”

“With my fighters freed up, I can have a shuttle take you there. Just head to the airfield and speak with my men.” Corinthus directs him.

Shepard thanks him with a nod, and turns to start marching toward the air-field. James is right behind him, but Garrus hangs back to keep an eye on Ben.

“What are you doing?” The turian checks.

They’re walking in the direction of the air field, but most of Ben’s focus is on the Omnitrix.

“Trying to reach some friends of mine… c’mon…”

The Omnitrix chimes, and the line connects.

“Yes.” Ben cheers.

“Hello, Ben.” A synthetic voice greets him.

Garrus’s eyes narrow at the voice.

“SAM. I have a location on the Turian Ark. The far side of Menae. I’m headed there now.” Ben says.

“That is the location of the ark’s construction. I will inform Ryder immediately. We will meet you there.” Sam tells him, and the call cuts out.

“Was that… an AI?” Garrus suspects.

“Yeah. It’s a whole thing, we’ll fill you in on the way.” Ben says, finally turning his attention to the path ahead of him. He and Garrus catch up with Shepard, and hop into a turian shuttle to get across the moon.

It’s not a long trip, but its long enough to get Garrus up to speed. On the Arks, and the Initiative, and Ben’s friends back on the Normandy. Whom Ben contacts during the flight, telling them about the Ark, but saying that they probably aren’t needed yet.

On final approach to the Ark’s docking site the group turn their attention to the monitor at the front of the cabin.

It’s just as massive as the last ark. A kilometer and a half of finely sculpted and manufactured metal composing the hull of a colony ship. A ship that’s clearly based on a mass relay, only designed by the races of the galaxy. It’s the first most of the group have seen. A monumental achievement in any context.

Unfortunately, it’s in ruin.

Reaper drones swarm the skies over the vessel, giving chase to the turian fighters that have been redirected to the site. Two Reapers loom in the distance, irrhythmically firing off their beams at the forces that try to aid the ark’s escape. The hills are dotted with Reaper forces, swarming and traveling like insects. More fall from the sky every moment, like flecks of firelight burning through the open air.

The ark itself is torn open. Not destroyed, but damaged to a severe degree. If they had begun moving colonists into stasis, many of them are already lost. It doesn’t look mounted in the docking structure; the ark looks as if it’s crashed atop it. The only comfort is that it still looks capable of flying, assuming it has a way to escape the gravity of the moon itself, but that’ll change as soon as the Reapers will it.

“Commander. We can’t get any closer than this, you’ll have to go the rest of the way on foot.” The turian pilot shouts back to them.

“Understood.” Shepard accepts, rising to his feet.

They aren’t quite to the ark, but they’re close enough to get there on foot in a couple of minutes. Garrus and James get to assembling their helmets, sliding them on and sealing their suits for the vacuum outside. Ben notices them doing this, and triggers the Omnitrix to give him a space-worthy form.

It complies, though with a form he didn’t expect. He shrinks down, widening and becoming heavy and round. His skin becomes a green, almost translucent layer of fat, his face stretches out to both connect seamlessly with his torso, and become about a third of his total height. He looks somewhat like a living garbage bin.

“Oh, wonderful. I was hoping to see this one again.” Garrus remarks sarcastically. “What charming name did you give it, again?”

“Upchuck.” Ben answers, his voice low and gurgled.

“Right. Upchuck.”

“Hang on, you give your aliens names?” James notes.

“Helps me remember them.” Ben says, which James has a very easy time accepting.

The shuttle touches down and soon after the squad moves out. Ben isn’t as slow as his tiny legs would suggest, but he does have to work slightly harder than the others to keep pace.

“You guys need help, or should I go ahead?” Ben checks with Shepard.

“Don’t wait for us, Ben. We need the primarch alive.” Shepard responds.

“Got it.” Ben affirms. He skids to a stop while the others keep running, turning his attention to the stone around him. His mouth hinges open and from it a series of tentacle-like tongues emerge to grab a large boulder. It’s yanked off the ground and dragged into his mouth. His body has to stretch to accommodate the width of the stone, but as soon as he gets his jaw around it it’s crushed down to be ingested.

He then turns his head down to the ground under him, letting the energy churn and convert before he hurls it up. The sheer force of the impact is enough to send him rocketing into the sky and towards the ark, where he continues to eject plasmatic fumes to guide his travel.

“Ah man…” James reacts.

“I know.” Garrus confirms.

“Husks ahead.” Shepard announces, getting both of them to focus back on the path. The three men all slide into the nearest cover before their barriers are broken by the volley of gunfire hurled their way.

“Just me, or those Reapers look like turians?” James calls out to the other, peeking out of cover to fire off a quick series of shots, only to duck down again.

The troops James refers to do indeed resemble turians, in the way that standard husks resemble humans. Decayed, defiled, and mutilated. Far more armored than the husks are, and retaining enough cognitive function to carry an assault rifle, but just as dead.

“Started dealing with them a couple hours after the Reapers got here. The men have been calling them Marauders.” Garrus fills them in.

“Great, and here I thought husks were bad enough.” Shepard groans, focusing himself to start charging his biotics. He turns and leaps over the section of rock he’d been using as cover, using his biotics to send himself sailing towards the nearest marauder. He slams into it, knocking it back and into the ground with enough force to crack open what’s left of its body. The commander then rolls for another point of cover before his shields give out.

“And New York’s crawling with the creepy bastards!? Agh… Never should have left Earth.” James says, talking down another marauder, and a pair of husks that clambered up over the cliff faces.

“It’s gonna be bad all over.” Garrus assures him.

“Leaving the fight just pisses me off.”

“But you’re here asking Victus to do the same thing. Leave the fight to make nice in some boardroom.” Garrus contextualizes it.

“This summit is the only chance we’ve got. None of us are beating the Reapers alone.” Shepard says,

“I know, Shepard.” Garrus assures him. “It’s just hard to see the big picture from the trenches.”

“Then let’s focus on getting to that ship, and worry about the big picture once we’re out of this mess.” Shepard decides, leaping out of cover to charge another marauder as soon as his biotics have recovered.

“I’m right behind you, Commander.” James shouts, charging out after him with most of their opposition out of the way.

When Ben eventually lands again it’s at the ark’s construction platform. Though, calling it that is generous. Even a quick glance to the sky shows that most of the construction scaffolding is in orbit, where the ark was held before it crashed into Menae. The facility on the moon’s surface appears designed for auxiliary support to the ark, and as an early dock for individual sections before they’re lifted into orbit. It was never designed to hold the finished ark.

Clearly the fine details of the ark’s construction still aren’t understood by the turian hierarchy, and that’s probably intentional to some degree.

The docking station, if it can be called that, is comprised of a series of Initiative designed prefabs. A couple dozen rooms and facilities, connected with modular tubes. Most of which are set on leveled lunar surface, but some of which are built atop sections of industrial flooring. The kind Ben has seen before at human colonies, though clearly designed with turian sensibilities.

It’s a compound. A wide network of buildings, most of which seem oriented towards housing or manufacturing, and the occasional ship. Of course, the ark itself is also lying across the compound, its hull strained from the impact of crashing on the moon.

It takes Ben a moment to process all of this. The view from the shuttle did little to prepare him for the actual structure of the area, let alone how to navigate it. Nor did it give him an idea of how inundated the compound would be with Reaper forced. None of the buildings are without damage. Either from husks and marauders clawing their way inside, or the bullet holes of the turian troops trying to repel them.

It's bleak. The base camp they landed at was a war zone, yes, but it was designed to be. The shelters were put in place for the express purpose of being a base camp. The sides of the area were fenced off, and guarded. The killed and wounded turians were taken care of. It was a war zone, but it looked like it was supposed to be.

This is different. This place wasn’t meant for combat.

These are homes, communal eating facilities, places for people to relax when they aren’t on duty. The work that happened here was scientific, not military. It was sanctioned by the military, as anything on this moon would have to be, but it was engineered and constructed by civilians. The soldiers don’t belong here. The Reapers don’t belong here, they’ve brought war here. They have inflicted misery and death on a place that wasn’t meant for it, onto homes and families. It’s all to clear that retribution will never come soon enough to make up for what they’ve done.

At some point Ben must have passed within the base’s mass effect field, as he can feel that there’s a breathable atmosphere again. He’s been slowly making his way through the compound this whole time, but he speeds up when he realizes that most of the action will be happening around the Ark. His bouncy body is able to leap onto the building’s roofs, and start hoping across the gaps between them.

He can’t quite figure out why Palaven Command hasn’t given up on the ark yet. The fact they’re sending support to it at all must be in response to the Reaper’s interest in it, understanding that if the Reapers want the Ark, it’s probably a good idea to at least slow them down. The battle must have started in orbit, like the Hyperion did, but now the Ark has crashed.

Several million tons of metal hit the moon and part of the base. If it hadn’t been slowing its decent, the whole complex would probably be a crater at this point. The fact the Ark itself is still in one piece is nothing short of a miracle. The idea of it taking off again is a fantasy. Which means that it’s only a matter of time until they abandon the ark.

This close to the ship, Ben’s able to read its name. Written across the silver hull in massive white letters. Natanus.

The closer Ben gets to the ark, the clearer the sounds of gunfire become. When he finally reaches the firefight, it’s clear that it’s not just Turian military who have taken up arms. Initiative workers have armed themselves, and are desperately trying to fight back the husks that are trying to get into the ship.

The troops defending the ark have stationed themselves by one of the prefabs that collapsed during the impact, using it as both cover and a rear wall to prevent themselves from being flanked. Most the prefabs that are still standing are off the ground, on stilts. The prefabs that are built directly onto the ground aren’t numerous enough to corral the reaper troops down manageable paths, and the walls that are built on the wide platforms are generally short enough for the husks and marauders to just climb over. This has left the turian troops pinned down, defending themselves on too many sides to manage.

So Ben creates new cover. He leaps off the roofs of the prefabs and tumbles down into the middle of the battle. He’s just strange enough for the turians to pause before opening fire on him, noting that he lacks any signs of Reaper tech all the ground troops they’ve been fighting have had. Ben has enough time to spit out his tongues, grabbing into the support structures keeping the prefabs aloft and yanking them into his mouth. This both sends many of the housing units crashing into the ground on the side near to the turian platoons, and also gives Ben ammunition to fire back at the pathways that he intentionally leaves open to the husks, blasting them back.

This whole ordeal gives them a moment to breathe. None of the turians are stupid enough to think Ben is on the Reaper’s side after that, but none of them yet understand what he is. When he turns to the scattered and battered groups of turians he just saved, many of them are still aiming their weapons his way. They only grow more confused when, with a flash, his body changes in shape to that of a human.

Ben marches up to the makeshift encampment, crudely constructed out of whatever scraps of the compound were small enough for them to move. It doesn’t have the organization of the base Ben was at barely an hour ago, it’s a mess. Ben walks toward them without any concern for the guns aimed at him, only stopping when he’s close enough to speak with them.

“Who’s in charge?” Ben gets to the chase.

“Not so fast. Who the hell are you?” One of the nearest turians bark back at him.

“Ben 10. Alliance superhero. I’m here to help. Now, who’s in charge?”

“Ben Ten.” A turian chuckles, walking up from the back of the group and past the other soldiers. He keeps a rifle firmly in hand, but aims it at the ground instead of Ben.

He sounds tired, like he hasn’t had more than a moment to rest in well over a day. He’s wearing an Initiative uniform. Black and white metal, accented with a bluish green. The same unusually thin and flexible armor worn by most of the Initiative soldiers Ben’s seen.

“My name is Macen Barro. I’m the turian pathfinder. SAM said you were coming, but I had a hard time believing it.” He tells Ben.

“The human pathfinder should be here soon.” Ben tells him.

“SAM told me that too. Seemed too good to be true, but you won’t see me turning down help.” His words aren’t just tired, they’re labored. Heavy, and forced. Ben glances down to his body again. His right arm keeps a firm grip on his rifle, but his left holds his side. A dark blue fluid leaks from a tear in his armor, below where his hand covers.

“You’re hurt.” Ben realizes.

“We’re running low on Medigel, but I’ll make it.” Macen assures him.

Ben’s still cautious about the wound, but he doesn’t have time to argue. With the conversation going the way it is, most of the other soldiers have relaxed about Ben. He’s trusted enough to continue forward, around their barricades and into the camp. Macen walks with him, leading him in the direction of an opening into the Ark.

“I’m here with Commander Shepard. He needs the primarch. A general, Adrien Victus.” Ben explains.

“Victus is primarch?” Macen realizes. There’s both an air of dread in the knowledge that the former primarch is dead, but also reverence in the fact that he seemingly knows the new one. “He and his men are inside the Natanus. He’s been fighting his way to the bridge with my second in command, Avitus Rix. Communication has been spotty since the ark came down. As pathfinder my connection with SAM has been stable, but Avitus and Victus’s team have been in the dark. We and a few other squads around the ark have been holding the perimeter, trying not to let anymore of these Reaper bastards in. That stunt you pulled with the prefabs will make our job a little easier.”

They reach the entrance to the ark. A relatively small hole in the side of the craft, still large enough to drive a caravan of Mako through. There’s a rough path inside, down through the damage.

“Can the ark still fly?” Ben checks.

“That’s what Victus was going to find out. Don’t ask me how the Hierarchy found out about the Initiative, but it seems like they don’t want to write us off until they’re sure this thing is a lost cause.”

“Lucky.”

“You won’t hear me complaining.” Macen confirms. “Still, the odds are slim. SAM tells me the ark’s a lost cause if we can’t get support in to help get the Ark airborne, and with those damn Reapers shooting down anything larger than a fighter… well, you get the picture. The ark just isn’t built to launch from the ground, it’s too big. Too heavy, even in Menae’s gravity.”

“But if the ark was in the air again, you’d be set?” Ben checks.

“Not quite. The ODSY drive core is offline, the system overloaded when it came down. The hope is that Victus can get the drive online from the bridge, but more likely we’ll need someone to do it manually. Even then, we’d still need to deal with the Reapers, or they’ll just shoot us down again. And we need a team on the bridge to pilot the Natanus once it’s flying again.”

“And Shepard needs the primarch for a war summit.”

“It’s my duty as the Pathfinder to keep this ark and everyone onboard safe. But if the Natanus is lost… I’ll help you save the primarch.” Macen accepts.

“Let’s not count the Ark out just yet, I’m just trying to get a list of objectives. Get a team on the bridge, get a team to fix the engine, get the Ark in the air, deal with the Reapers before they shoot it down, clear the front so it can jump to FTL, and get the primarch to Shepard.” Ben plans.

“We just don’t have the resources. In the best case, with a few days of preparation, we might have a chance of saving the Natanus. But the cost…”

“Yeah, I’m gonna save the ark, I’m just trying to figure out how…” Ben shuts down his realistic concerns.

Ben turns away from him and hits the Omnitrix, connecting to Shepard’s team.

“Shepard, you there?” Ben checks.

“What is it?” Shepard responds after a moment, stunted by the ruckus of gunfire and the buzz of biotics.

“I’m at the ark. Victus is inside and he’s headed to the bridge. The Reapers have the ark pinned, the drive core is offline, and the ark isn’t built to launch from the ground.” Ben explains.

“Sounds like a lost cause.” Garrus assesses.

“What’s your plan?” Shepard asks Ben.

“You guys get to the bridge to get Victus. I’ll talk to the Initiative team and get them to the drive core. Once that’s fixed, I’ll try to get the ark in the air, deal with the reapers, and give it a clear path to hit FTL.” Ben explains.

“That sounds like a lot resting on you.” Shepard notes.

“You know someone else that can do those things?” Ben wonders.

“You know your limits, Ben. I trust you.” Shepard tells him.

Ben pauses at the genuine trust Shepard places in him, slightly gratified by it remaining even after being gone so long. He takes a second to focus on the mission again.

“Head for a camp by the back of the ark. The turian pathfinder is here, a guy named Macen. He’s keeping husks from flooding in through a breach, and he’ll tell you where to go.”

“Understood. Updating my map now.” Shepard affirms, letting Ben end the call.

Ben then turns to where Macen was standing before, but doesn’t find him standing there. Ben has to scan his eyes over the camp to find him again. Dozens of turians, and most of them aren’t fighters. The lower half of their clothes is coated in the dust of Menae’s surface, for a lot of them it’s also mixed with the dark fluid that the husks and marauders bleed. They’re run ragged, but they’re still fighting.

They’re at the point of reusing thermal clips after they cool down, that stretched for resources. They’ve done what they can to break up the small area they were able to hold. Corpses in one area, the wounded in another. Their stock of medigel is so thin that it’s being carefully partitioned, many of the soldiers that are still on their feet outright refusing it so the more severely wounded have a better chance.

Soldiers with tired postures line the side of the camp that faces the direction husks will come from. There are occasional bursts of gunshots when husks begin to come from the still-open pathways, but it’s easier to manage than before Ben arrived. There’s even a turian biotic in the group. One of the Initiative workers, doing their best to keep a barrier up to protect the wounded from the occasional marauders firing on the camp.

Ben finds Macen towards the back of the camp, under the roof of a prefab unit that was cracked open by the ark’s landing. He’s with another turian that’s dressing his wound with gauze, having removed some of his armor to do so.

It’s odd to see a turian without their armor on. Very few are ever so exposed, especially on the field, but with how deep the gash in his side is it’s necessary.

“Macen.” Ben gets his attention.

His sharp eyes flick up to Ben, waiting for him to continue. The turian working on his wound doesn’t stop, but they do move aside slightly so they aren’t standing between Macen and Ben.

“Commander Shepard and his squad are on their way here. I told them that you could direct them to the bridge.”

“Very well. I’ll make sure to stay alive until they get here.” He says with some levity.

“Cool. I’m gonna go find Ryder’s team.” Ben turns away from him, his hand moving for the Omnitrix to dial in another alien form.

“One more thing,” Macen stops him, causing Ben to look back. “I know it’s selfish, but… if you could, please keep Avitus safe.”

“Is he important?”

“To me, he is.”

Ben takes a moment to figure out exactly what he means by that. The softer rumble in his voice, the way his mandibles tuck tight and high into his cheeks, the slightest narrowing of his eyes like a wince. The thought of Avitus dying pains him more than the notion of his own death ever could.

“If I can help it, you’ll both make it out of this in one piece.” Ben promises him.

“Thank you.” Macen breathes, letting Ben turn away from him again.

The Omnitrix has never been so cooperative. Ben flicks the dial without paying much attention to the selection, a form is chosen by the device, and Ben slams down the dial. Skin to crystal shards, pants and shirt become bodysuit and heavy boots. Spikes jut from his back as the same time that he rises in height. His jaw becomes pronounced, locking like a helmet around the bottom half of his head. His eyes narrow, conforming to the ridge that emulates a brow, glowing the same green as the Omnitrix node on his belt. Diamondhead.

Ben gives a look to his hands, flexing his heavy fingers, then curling them into fists.

“Diamondhead …Nice.” Ben accepts.

The leap into the Natanus isn’t as disorienting as it could have been. Ben suspected the artificial gravity would still be in effect inside the ark, but finds that it isn’t. It’ll likely return once the drive core is reengaged. For the moment, this leaves the floor at an odd angle to gravity, meaning he has to keep his core low to balance himself.

He also has to keep his core low to avoid hitting his head when he passes through the doorways, but that’s a different issue.

He taps the face of the Omnitrix and twists the dial, and in a moment the line connects.

“SAM, you guys here yet?” Ben checks.

“Indeed. Putting the Pathfinder team through now.” SAM responds.

There’s a brief moment of silence before he hears breathing on the other side of the line, slightly labored.

“Alec, that you?” Ben checks.

“It is.” Alec responds. “We touched down a couple minutes ago. SAM gave us the sitrep.”

“Shepard’s going to head for the bridge when he gets here. He’s after the primarch for a war summit. I want to get this ark out of here while I have the chance. I need you guys to head for the drive core to get it back online.” Ben explains.

“That’s a good plan. Where are you now? We can meet you on the way.”

“Uhh… SAM?” Ben asks.

“Ben is in section 4B. Assuming you and he both travel towards the drive core, you should arrive at approximately the same time. Be advised, there is a considerably Reaper presence onboard the ship.” SAM informs them.

“Okay. I’ll meet you there.” Ben accepts.

It’s a long walk to the Ark. Even once they reach the initiative complex, they still have to fight their way through droves of reaper forces. Husks charge them relentlessly, marauders make open spaces even more of a hazard. Half the time Shepard’s team is hiding behind whatever objects or walls they can find, waiting for a break in the enemy fire so they can shoot back.

Every time they’re caught off guard they have to scramble for cover, hoping to find a solid barrier before their shields are taken out. They’re competent enough to achieve this for the most part, only occasionally getting so entrenched with husks that one of them gets a lucky hit in.

It’s agonizing though. Getting slowed down. Forced to make do with sub-par cover, with no defense against getting flanked. A lesser squad would be dead before they made it to the ark, but Shepard’s team is the best of the best. That still doesn’t change the tension of the moments when they wait.

They’re in the low light of the moon’s far side, gradually moving out of the sun’s line of sight. The bases lights are mostly on, but the shadows are getting starker. Easier for things to hide in. Every time enemy fire breaks, Shepard’s team glide out of cover and tear through their opposition, then push forward. Deeper toward the Natanus.

“Still hard to believe. That even after we got the galaxy to listen to you about the Reapers, we still weren’t ready for them.” Garrus speaks. He doesn’t have to speak very loudly for his voice to carry on their radios, still wearing his helmet from before they entered the atmospheric bubble.

“I know what you mean. The Reapers hit Earth before we even know what was happening.” Shepard tells him.

“Same here. I was off world when it happened, but from the way I’m hearing it… I guess it could be worse, but not by much.” Garrus explains between the moments of action.

“You got any family still on Palaven?” James asks.

“My dad, a sister.” Garrus confirms.

“I’m sorry.”

“Yeah, well, if anyone can make it out of that, they can. But… hope’s hard to come by right now.”

“We’ll make it through this.” Shepard assures. It’s almost like an order, with the way he says it. So much authority and certainty that it snaps the other two men to focus.

“Yes, Commander.” Garrus agrees.

It takes longer than they’d like, but they eventually get to the encampment Ben mentioned. The turians on guard almost fire at them when they come from the few viable paths that remain, but once they get recognized they’re quickly escorted in and to the pathfinder.

“You must be commander Shepard.” The turian remarks on his approach, walking to him from the back of the group.

“You’re the pathfinder?” Shepard checks.

“I am.” Macen confirms. “Vakarian.” He then recognizes, looking to the company Shepard keeps.

“You know each other?’ Shepard wonders.

“No, but I know of you.” Macen clarifies. “You made waves after coming back to Palaven. You’re the reason we weren’t able to finish the ark in time.”

“I’d apologize, but given that I was trying to prepare for the Reapers…” Garrus states.

“Of course, I didn’t mean otherwise.” The pathfinder accepts.

“Ben said you could direct us to the bridge. We’re after the primarch.” Shepard says.

“I know, and I can.” Macen raises his left arm, flicking his wrist to summon his omni-tool. It only takes a second for him to transfer the navigational data to Shepard, who’s suit displays the travel markers on his hud.

“Best of luck, Commander.”

Shepard nods, and his team is off.

A number of the doors between Ben and the drive core are completely jammed. Either lacking power or bent in such a way that they’re unable to slide open. This means that Ben has had to physically push the hatches open. His geometric crystal fingers sink into the gap between the piece of metal and he yanks them apart, usually with a harsh metallic wail from inert systems being forced to move.

That’s not to mention the husks onboard. Absent from most of the sealed off chambers, but present in the sections of the ark that have been breached. They aren’t a challenge for Ben, but every body he’s forced to flatten or pierce with a shot of crystal is another reminder of what the Reapers are doing. Still, he makes good time, reaching the back of the ship in just a few minutes.

The drive core chamber isn’t too dissimilar to the one on the Normandy, only considerably larger. It’s a spherical chamber, with walls that hold circular arrays of projectors, managing the output of the circular engine in the center. The way the drive core actually works has always gone over Ben’s head, but he can still recognize that it’s offline. The core would usually be quaking, creating a visible ripple in the cooling mist that should surround it, resonating with the illuminated conductive arrays on the walls. Instead, the core is still and dark.

There’s are several levels meant for observation and maintenance. Having entered from the bottom of the Natanus, Ben is currently on the lowest of these. He walks out into the open center of this platform and looks up to the decks above him. Hundreds of meters up he’s able to hear motion.

He drops down and connects a hand with the floor, then yanks up. In doing so, a large pillar of crystal is erected. Tearing through the metal floor and shooting upward with enough force to launch Ben all the way to the upper most level. He just barely clears the railing, rolling over it and tumbling onto the metal floor with a loud clang and thud. He does manage to roll onto his feet, letting him rise back to full height immediately.

Across the platform from him he sees the main entry hatch struggling to move itself, and Ryder’s team backing through it. Alec, and two of the crew that came with him from Hyperion. Cora and Liam. They’re firing into the hall they just came from, seemingly dealing with a few dozen husks.

“Anyone else in the hall?” Ben calls out at them.

Among all the fighting, it seems the team hadn’t actually noticed Ben yet. Him shouting at them was what finally got their attention, and amidst the tension and action the first member of the crew to turn to him is too caught up to register what he is. Liam can’t stop himself from firing a shot at Ben.

It’s just a pistol and the shot ricochets off Ben’s face without leaving a mark, but it still causes him to wince.

“Agh, dude. Come on, I’m on your side.” Ben complains, walking ahead and past the group toward the door.

“Sorry, sorry-” Liam quickly realizes his mistake.

Ben looks through the hatch before grabbing its sides, and finds another member of the team still outside the room, firing at the hoards of husks to keep them at a distance. He reaches through and grabs the back of her suit, yanking her off the ground and back through the hatch. There’s an audible gasp of surprise, but she doesn’t argue when Ben digs his fingers into the two sides of the doorway and forces them together, sealing off the hall.

“sh*t. Could’ve used some warning, but thanks.” Vetra gasps, collecting herself.

The Omnitrix resounds with several automatic beeps as Ben turns to face the group, and an instant later his form shifts down into its human shape.

“Sorry, Ben.” Liam repeats.

“Don’t worry about it. Just tell me one of you can get the engine started again.” Ben hopes.

“We’ll need to see what the damage is, but we hope so.” Alec confirms, turning to march off toward the control panels at the back of the platform.

“It’d be easier if the Natanus engineers were here to help, but from what we know they died in the initial attack.” Cora says. She turns to head after Alec at almost a jog, while Vetra and Liam match pace with Ben’s slower approach.

“So, I thought Shepard and you guys were here to get the primarch. Why are you doing here?” Liam questions.

“Fedorian’s onboard.” Vetra tells him.

Ben almost stumbles as he abruptly comes to a stop, caught on that answer from Vetra. Liam and Vetra both turn to him, Liam having an easier time understanding the expression of turmoil on Ben’s face.

“What?” Vetra asks.

“Fediorian’s dead. A guy named Adrian Victus is the new primarch.” Ben informs them.

Both of them express shock in their own ways. Their eyes widen, and while Liam’s mouth hangs aghast, Vetra’s mandibles twitch and tuck against her face.

“sh*t.” Liam reacts.

“Yeah. …sorry.”

“I’m… not even formally a turian citizen. I’m not mourning, just… surprised.” She clarifies.

“His ship was shot down trying to leave the moon. About an hour before I got here.” Ben tells her.

Her features stern. Her pupils narrow, her mandibles retain their tension but drift out from the sides of her mouth. She understands the implications.

“If we hadn’t gotten Sid,” She verbalizes the idea, getting Liam caught up with why they’re both as effected as they are.

“Yeah.” Ben confirms.

“… f*ck.” She sighs, turning away from Ben. The three of them stand there for a moment, until Vetra lets out a deep groan and starts walking again. “Let’s do our job; try not to lose another one.”

Shepard’s team has a significantly harder time getting through the Ark. They’re also heading toward the back of the ship, to where the connections to the other levels are. Though, unlike Ben, every jammed or unpowered door creates a couple minutes of fending off husks while they look for another route, or try to override the systems.

It’s relatively standard fare for Shepard, all things considered.

He’s not following the same path as Ben. Each arm of the ark has multiple levels, and Ben leapt to a higher one than Shepard is traveling down now. Shepard is, however, following the path that Victus took. As is evident by the trail of bodies, and the pathways that have been found through the ship. Vent covers have already been removed, certain doors that need power had it previously, but the power was repartitioned to doors further along the path. A process Shepard has to undo and then repeat.

It's a tedious and tiresome progression, but eventually Shepard makes it to the elevator shaft leading to the central arm of the ark. A smaller, thinner level that stretches down the length of the craft to the bridge. Of course, the elevator is unpowered. This means the three of them have to begin the arduous process of climbing up the shaft. By the time they reach their intended level all three of them are tired and out of breath. It takes them a moment to start moving again, heading down the ship.

Most of the journey was on the lower level, as there aren’t more than a couple doors and a handful of husks between them and the bridge. Of course, as they finally begin approaching their destination, they can’t help but hear the sound of fighting ahead. Gunfire, and shouting.

“That sounds bad!” James notes.

“Okay, double time! No Reaper’s taking this primarch from me!” Shepard announces, picking up his pace.

“Right behind you!”

Evidently, they weren’t the only ones headed for the bridge. In addition to Shepard and Victus’s teams, dozens and dozens of reaper troops flood the room. Passing through the final hatch, Shepard and his men step into a frenzy of action. Husks climb in through the broken viewscreen, having scaled the sides of the ark. Marauders take defensive positions on the lower level, fortifying the other troops. There’s a smattering of scions about the space, hurling biotic shockwaves at any form of cover they turian squad has managed to find.

Of particular note are the two massive bodies assailing anyone that would otherwise be able to hold their own. Made from more flesh than could come from a single body, more machine than corpse at this point, navigating the world with the upper half of a turian’s head for eyes. That’s what Shepard’s team focuses on.

None of the turians have the time to question Shepard’s presence, but they appreciate it. They’re downright impressed when he leaps over the railing of the upper level, sending himself sailing down with a biotic charge straight into the brute.

The battle goes as well as it could, given how outnumbered they are. Frankly, it goes better than could be expected. The way Shepard takes on the brute himself, with only occasional support from Garrus and James while his biotics recharge, is something most of the men wouldn’t believe if they didn’t see it in person.

By the time the last of the reaper soldiers are dealt with both Shepard and Victus’s teams are exhausted. It’s through sheer force of will that they pick themselves back up, and continue their job. Shepard makes his way back up to the higher level.

“General Victus?” Shepard asks, heading for the man that seemed to be giving orders during the main battle. A dark skinned turian, white face, blue markings. He’s wearing a standard suit of turian armor, only colored black with red glowing indicator lights.

“Yes?” The turian responds.

“I’m Commander Shepard of the Normandy.” Shepard informs him.

“Ah, Commander. I know who you are. Not that I don’t appreciate your help, but I find it strange that you’ve come all the way here.” Victus notes, his attention lingering on the Commander for just a moment longer before turning to Garrus as he walks up to Shepard’s side. “Vakarian. How’d you end up here?”

“Came to get you, actually. You’re needed off planet.” Garrus informs him.

“I’m not going anywhere until this thing is in the air, and then I’m going straight back to the fight. It’d take something beyond important for me to leave my men, or my turian brothers and sisters.”

“Fedorian was killed. You’re the new primarch.” Garrus states.

“You’re needed immediately to chair the summit and represent your people in the fight against the Reapers.” Shepard clarifies.

Victus just stops. The response he would have given is lost, and in its place is a look of shock. His eyes fall from them, focusing with confusion and realization, but at the same time staring off into the middle distance. He turns from them, looking instead to the glass windows at the front of the bridge. The starry sky, and the reapers that pervade it. He steps away from the group just to think, and Shepard doesn’t stop him.

“And I thought we were running out of bad news.” Another turian says, walking up from the lower level to where Victus stood before. This turian wears Initiative armor, similar to what Macen wears. He has a pale face, with dark black or brown markings. It’s hard to tell in the emergency lighting of the room. “Avitus Rix.” He introduces himself.

“Commander Shepard.” He responds.

“I’m familiar with you. Former Spectre, until I signed on with the Initiative.” Rix explains himself.

“You were a Spectre?” Shepard questions, surprised by the fact.

“I was. Recruited by a turian named Saren Arterius. I believe you’re familiar.”

Even through the visor of his helmet, Shepard’s shock is clear. He leans back somewhat, taking a second to reassess the person in front of him.

“I still have a hard time believing what they say about him. The Saren I knew was ruthless, not crazy, but… after everything that happened, I had to resign. I didn’t belong there anymore, couldn’t keep doing the council’s dirty work until I hit my breaking point. I found a place with Macen and the Initiative. I was going to retire when we got to Andromeda… now the Natanus is in ruins.” Avitus tells them.

Shepard takes a moment to focus on the task again, forcing himself to move past the association.

“How bad is it?” Shepard asks.

“Bad. Without Victus’s team, it might’ve been hopeless. I wouldn’t have made it here without him.” Avitus says, turning to head for the operational console at the front of the bridge’s upper level. A few paces left of where Victus stands now.

He holsters his weapon and boots the console. The screens flicker to life. Several of the holograms it should project are fragmented or otherwise broken, but Rix makes do.

While Avitus tries to assess the state of the ark, Shepard walks to Victus’s side.

“I’m primarch of Palaven? Negotiating for the turian hierarchy?” He speaks.

“Yes.” Shepard confirms.

He looks down from the view outside, slowly turning to look at Shepard and his group again.

“I’ve spent my whole life in the military. I’m no diplomat… I hate diplomats.” Victus says.

“War is your resume. At a time like this we need leaders who’ve been through that hell.” Shepard assures him.

“…I like that.” Victus seems to accept. “You’re right.”

“And honestly, uniting these races may take as much strength as facing the Reapers. The devastation on Palaven? Double that for Earth. I need an alliance. I need the turian fleet.”

Victus has to think for a moment, still considering everything it means to be primarch.

“…I can’t leave yet. Not while there’s still hope for the Natanus. If the worst comes to pass, if the Reapers are as unstoppable as the past few days have shown, then this ship is the legacy of my people. If there’s a chance it can be saved, I have to try.” He explains.

“I understand.” Shepard assures him. “But the galaxy needs you. Once this ship is taken care of, will you come with me?”

“I will.” Victus confirms.

“Good. I came with Ben Tennyson. He and the human pathfinder should be at the drive core now.” Shepard says.

“They are.” Avitus speaks. “Alec Ryder is diagnosing the ODSY Drive now. If his team can get it running, I think enough systems are intact to get this ship to the Nexus. Assuming we can get it airborne.”

“Ben will take care of that.” Shepard says.

“If you say so. Not like we have a better option right now.” Avitus tentatively accepts. “SAM’s been routing what’s left of the power to the cryo bay, but as long as we hold this bridge we should be able to save the ark.”

“Finally, some good news.” James expresses.

“I want two men at either viewscreen breach. The rest of you, with me. We’ll hold the atrium.” Victus announces, and immediately his men rise to action, marching to his assignments.

“For now, it all hinges on Alec’s team.” Avitus states.

With matters handled, Shepard and his squad are able to have a moment of rest. They don’t relax, they’re still ready for whenever the Reaper’s forced make their next assault, but they can catch their breath.

“Without Victus here, there’s a good chance we lose this moon.” Garrus mentions to Shepard.

“Without him up there, there’s a good chance we lose everything.” Shepard responds.

A deep breath is pushed out through Garrus’s nose. His eyes drift away from the room, out to the marching constructions in the distance. The unworldly machines standing like skyscrapers on the moon’s plains.

“Look at that… And they want my opinion on how to stop it? Failed C-Sec officer, vigilante… and I’m their expert advisor. Be honest with me, Shepard. Do you think you can win this thing?” Garrus asks.

“Yeah, I don’t know, Garrus. But I’m sure as hell gonna give it my best shot.”

“I’m damned sure nobody else can do it… For whatever it’s worth, I’m with you.” Garrus says.

“Welcome aboard.” Shepard says, to a soft chuckle from Garrus.

The drive core is a mess. It was already designed unconventionally for the unique purpose of traveling to another galaxy, and with the damage done by both the Reapers and the crash it’s hard to imagine fixing it. Ryder is in constant communication with his SAM, the two of them trying to figure out exactly why the drive core is off, and how to get it running again.

Cora and Liam aren’t as much help as they’d like to be, but they’re useful as extra sets of eyes on the system manifest.

Vetra and Ben are just watching. They’re leaned against the wall by the door, waiting for the other to decide on their next course of action.

Liam is doing a lot of legwork, running back and forth between the workstations. Cora is spending more time at Alec’s side, slightly more skilled at reading through operational logs.

“Where are the twins?” Ben asks after a moment.

“Still on the Tempest. Ryder thought a small team would be easier to get through.” Vetra answers him.

Part of their job is trying to get diagnostic systems online so SAM can do more to tell them what’s happening. The AI would have a far easier time going through the unwieldy bulk of data than the humans are.

“Is Sid settling in alright?” Ben wonders.

“…Yeah. She sent a message a couple hours after we left. Bailey – that C-Sec friend of yours – he found a place for her where her skills won’t go to waste. She’s still upset that she couldn’t come with me, but she feels useful.” Vetra says.

“Good.”

Every time Ryder gets another system online, SAM finds another point of fault that they have to address. It’s like trying to get to the ocean from a waterfall. They’re following the river downstream, but they keep getting lead down dead ends. They need a map, but the Ark’s systems just aren’t designed for the kind of damage it’s sustained.

“Man… You two were supposed to be here, huh?” Ben asks, looking up at the damage in the room.

Less damage than most of the ship suffered, but enough to make the room look derelict and abandoned. Even understanding the full scope of the space is difficult, given that most of the lights on are emergency power. Dimmer, and less frequent than the standard lighting the ship should have.

“No. Like I said, Sid and I aren’t recognized as turian citizens, not really. We were going to be on the Nexus. We were supposed to be in stasis months ago, but with everything happening the way it did, they kept us out. I was more useful to Kesh getting the equipment she needed.” Vetra explains.

“Right, you’re a provisioner or something.” Ben remembers.

“That’s right. And when official supply lines got strung up by every race in the galaxy preparing for the Reapers, I knew who to talk to for alternative solutions.”

“Alternative solutions?” Ben quotes her, his tone heavily questioning her meaning.

“Junk, salvage. Outdated tech people didn’t need anymore, or stuff that was too hard to maintain. We couldn’t always get what we wanted, but I made sure the Initiative always had what they needed.”

“Right, so the arks are made from old washing machines.” Ben jokes.

“Not exactly. But some of the systems are made from parts that need some extra maintenance. Wiring arrays that need insulation and pressurization, or they’ll boil in the vacuum. Signal networks that run at a lower frequency, which newer systems read as a malfunction. Fuel manifolds that are worn down, so the computers need to be calibrated for the higher volume. Older capacitors that need manual rebooting… Oh.” It clicks in Vetra’s head, and she pushes off the wall. “Oh. Ryder, let me those system reports.” Vetra calls out, marching over to the main console Alec has been working on.

Ben follows after her. He stays out of the group’s way, but is close enough to listen in on the conversation.

“I know how to get it running.” Vetra realizes.

“I didn’t realize you were an engineer.” Cora notes.

“I’m not, but I got the parts this thing is made of. I know how to get them working.” Vetra insists.

“What do we need to do?” Alec asks.

Vetra’s not a terrific teacher, but she’s succinct with giving orders. She and the rest of the team leap down to the lower levels, using their jump jets to soften their landing. Vetra leads them to the maintenance shafts, explaining what they’ll have to do on the way. A lot of small workarounds, which likely would have been ironed out and standardized if the ark had time. Even SAM notes that with his limited perspective on the environment, he wouldn’t have been able to understand the issue.

Vetra explains how they’ll manually jump the system, and that as soon as they do they’ll have to get the hell out of the maintenance tunnels so they don’t get hit with the discharge of the drive starting. Alec’s team understand and get to work.

Vetra gives Ben an estimation of ten, maybe twenty minutes to get it started. At which point, he’ll need to get the ark in the air. Alec says that SAM will tell him when they’re ready. Ben accepts, and heads for an exit to the ship.

He finds the nearest breach in the hull of the Natanus and climbs his way out. He leans at the edge of the ship’s outer plating, and just looks out at the horizon. Where the turian fighters battle with the Reaper drones. Where the Reapers themselves stand larger than anything. Where squadrons fight against the relentless hoards to give the ark time.

The moon has turned away from the sun at this point. The Reapers are dark figures, outlined by the stars behind them, and the network of lights visible through the seams of their armor. Like a city, trapped in the shell of a creature meant only for annihilation. For harvest.

He has time to wait. To think. He could go out and fight the Reapers right now, but he won’t. They aren’t doing much, and he knows that if he attacks them they’ll respond with reinforcements. He wants to take them by surprise when they’re finally ready. He wants to get the ark out of the area before more Reapers even have time to show up.

It’s comforting, for something this big and important to be possible. With just one of him, it’s possible. Shepard and Victus have taken the bridge by this point, and the human pathfinder’s team is restarting the drive core. Ben will do the one thing they can’t, he’ll get the ark back into the sky. They’re handling the rest.

It’s comforting that Vetra makes it possible.

Ben wasted time. Going to Yamm wasted time that could have been spent here. His impulsivity, his insistence to save everyone he can, is the reason the turian primarch is dead. Maybe Ben wouldn’t have been able to save the primarch even if he was here sooner, but he knows that he could have been here. He wasn’t, so it’s his fault. The leader of the turian homeworld died today, because Ben wasn’t there.

Instead, he saved one turian kid. He gave one turian colony the chance to evacuate. He helped one person, and her sister. And now, she’s the reason Ben’s able to save the Natanus. He saved Sid, so Vetra stayed with the Pathfinder’s team, and she was the only one that could consider the patchwork of the ark’s drive with how strained resources became.

He made the right choice. This time, he made the right choice. He couldn’t have known, and he still doesn’t know if the new primarch will help Shepard, but he knows that the Natanus would be lost if he did anything different.

“The ODSY Drive has been engaged. The Natanus will be able to launch in less than a minute.” SAM speaks through the Omnitrix.

“It should be in the air when that happens?” Ben checks.

“Indeed.” SAM confirms.

Ben taps the Omnitrix, giving the aliens it suggests a look. Lodestar, Diamondhead, Humongousaur, Waybig, Upgrade. Some of those are real options, but Ben has a better idea.

He locks in his selection, letting the core rise out of the device. Ben leans off the Natanus, letting himself fall forward from its massive arms. He slams down the core, and with a flash his body changes.

Skin to crust, muscle to mantle, and bone to core. He solidifies and expands into a creature of living earth. The Omnitrix asserts itself on his massive forehead, while his clothes morph to cover just his hips in the form of thin black shorts. His outer curst is a leveled terrain of limestone, glossy black, and baked red. His head merges with his upper chest, and his confident smile widens into an array of jagged teeth. Gravattack.

He could slow his descent, but he doesn’t. He slams into the ground with enough force for the quake to be felt by the entire ark. When he rises to his full height he looks out to the Reapers in the distance, narrowing his vivid green eyes.

He raises his hands and a deep, vibrant glow manifest around them. Almost like the glow of biotics, his hands gleam with a bluish purple aura. Pulsing, and resonant. It hums with the force of the universe, and the growl of the Reapers responds.

The two distant bodies wail and grind. They stumble, stutter, quake under the force Ben puts on them. The sheer gravitational mass he gives them is enough to bend their form. To cause them to warp and sink. Their firing cylinders emerge from the plates of their head and they try to fire, but Ben is smart enough to keep them turned away from him. They desperately fire off into he sky, massive beams sweeping across the sky in desperation.

They fall. They literally fall. They topple over, their legs unable to hold the weight of their bodies, and they sink into the moon. They crush the stone under them until they are embedded, trapped in hills they stood over a moment before.

It's almost too easy. He holds his hands forward and the world obeys. The reapers collapse with a gesture, and in barely a moment they’re no longer a factor. Ben doesn’t think he took them out for good, but he put enough force on them to keep them out of the fight for a while.

Ben grips himself with the same force and launches himself up into the sky. He drifts to a stop a short way above the ark, then reaches out to it.

“Hey, SAM. Tell the guys to get on the ark. And fast.” Ben says, almost groaning with the amount of effort he’s putting into his current task.

“Done.” SAM responds.

The entire vessel groans under the force he exerts. The weight isn’t the problem, as with Ben’s powers the vessel’s weight is irrelevant. Weight is an expression of mass in relation to gravity, and Gravattack has full control over the second variable. It’s the sheer size of it that’s the problem. He has to enforce his powers over the whole thing simultaneously just to avoid tearing it apart.

Then come the drones. The reaper air forces that start targeting him when they notice what he’s doing. He has to shift himself to lift the ark with one hand, while using the other hand to bat the drones out of the air. Applying gravitation force to them so rapidly that they fall out of the sky and shatter against the ground.

Despite the hinderance, the ark does rise. The Natanus lifts from the moon like it weighs slightly less than nothing. Drifting away from the complex as if repelled by the moon’s gravity instead of attracted by it. Ben winces and scowls, gritting his teeth with the exertion.

It’s like watching the corpse of a ship move again. An empty shell, compelled to fly by a force overruling. A power that should be impossible, but is none the less present. It rises slowly but consistently, gliding up into the open sky. Ben simply shatters anything that tries to shoot down the ark, assuring a safe journey.

Then it comes back online. The drive core is activated, and all at once the entire ark lights up. Every system is go, and the engines fire. It comes back to life. Every station awake and ready, every airlock is sealed before the atmosphere and pressure can be dragged out of the ship.

Within the ark Shepard grips the nearest thing bolted to the ship and taps the side of his helmet to get his comms active.

“Joker, dock with the ark, now.” He says.

“Holy shiiiit. Uh- I mean, yes sir, Commander.” Joker responds.

The Normandy, previously keeping its distance from the action, flies in to the scene. Despite the unconventional construction of the ark, the pilot is more than skilled enough to connect the ships. This ensures that when the Natanus accelerates they’ll travel with it.

Anything that tries to stand between the ark and its intended path is either dragged aside or crushed outright. Nothing stops the vessel from lifting off, gliding up into the sky. This is undeniably the easy part. When all Ben has to do is the impossible, that’s when everyone can relax. Ben travels with the ark, carrying it far enough out from Menae that it won’t get dragged back. He then flies in through one of the hangars, getting inside the ship just in time before it jumps to lightspeed.

Once they’re in FTL they have time. It’ll be hours before they reach the system’s relay, which is when the Normandy will depart. For the moment everyone is finally able to collect themselves.

With the drive online the ship has enough power for most of the systems to be functional again. The Natanus’s SAM is able to isolate or eject most of the remaining Reaper troops. The SAM is also able to connect the disconnected teams, and guide everyone toward the bridge or the hangars.

Shepard and Victus make their exit from the bridge, into a space dubbed the atrium. The primarch makes his preparations, sending his men ahead to board Normandy. Before he joins them he takes a moment to speak with Shepard.

“One thing. Commander, I appreciate your need for our fleets, but I can’t spare them. Not while my world is burning. But… if the pressure could be taken off Palaven…” Victus says.

“That’s a pretty tall order.” Shepard notes.

“We need the Krogan. I can’t see us winning this thing without them. Get them to help us, and then we can help you.”

“The krogan…”

“Looks like your summit just got a lot more interesting.” Garrus remarks.

Shepard thinks. In another moment Victus departs, and Shepard nods for James to accompany him back to the Normandy.

It’s jarring how clearly civilian the ship is now that it’s functional again. It’s spacious and decorative. Shepard and Garrus are out of place in the open room outside the bridge, where they both rest in wait for Ben.

It’s soon discovered that Macen and a number of other initiative personnel had time to get onboard the Ark before it took off. This news comes much to Avitus’s relief, and means that the two of them will be able to address any further struggles with the Turian ark when they get to the Nexus.

On this topic of which, it’s not that long before Alec reaches the front of the ark, intent on contacting the Nexus with Macen. He expresses his gratitude to Shepard on his way onto the bridge, but this is the point at which their goals deviate. Alec and Cora head onto the bridge, while Liam departs to get back to the Tempest. Vetra considers going with him, but instead decides to wait for Alec.

It’s a little awkward. While the pathfinders converse in the other room, Shepard, Garrus, and Vetra all stand there not talking to each other. Shepard and Garrus are standing by one another, but Vetra is across from them standing by a different wall. Shepard and Vetra have spoken, and don’t especially need to speak again, but it’s only so long before Garrus decides that he can’t deal with not acknowledging the other person in the room.

He leans off the wall by Shepard and makes his way across the floor. Vetra obviously notices his approach, giving him her attention by the time he comes to a stop.

“Hey.” He leads, very charismatic. “I saw you were with the, uh… human pathfinder’s team?” Garrus continues. He got through exactly one word with confidence.

“Yeah.” Vetra confirms, almost amused by his faltering introduction. “You work with Shepard?”

“You could say that. Garrus Vakarian.” He introduces himself.

“Vetra Nyx.”

“Nyx… Nyx. Where have I… Your mother wouldn’t happen to be-”

“An awful person? Yeah, she is.” Vetra cuts him off.

“Ah… heh. Well, glad that’s clear.”

“I’m a provisioner. I make sure the Initiative has what it needs. At least, I did before all this.”

“I’m sort of a…” Garrus lets out a breath that’s almost a chuckle when he considers what his job sounds like. “Reaper consultant, I guess. Helped Shepard take down Sovereign way back. Palaven called me in to lead a taskforce after the galaxy started taking Shepard seriously.”

“Hmm. Might have heard of you back then.” Vetra thinks.

“I wouldn’t be surprised. Failed C-Sec officer joined the first human Spectre to stop Saren and his army of geth. It was, eh… dramatic. We were all over the news channels until the Council started shutting down the ‘Reaper’ rumors.” Garrus recalls.

“And that turned out so well.”

Garrus chuckles at the comment. In part out of amusem*nt with Vetra’s somewhat blunt manner of speech, and in part out of validation.

Before either of them decide on what to say next their attention is turned to the far end of the room, the side opposite the bridge, where a hatch opens. The form that strolls in is immediately recognizable. The young human that recently lifted all of them into the stars. Ben walks over, taking stock of everyone that is and isn’t present.

“Where’s Alec?” Ben wonders, slowing to a stop by the two turians.

“He’s on the bridge.” Vetra gestures with a nod. “Probably talking with Kesh right now.”

“And the primarch?”

“Alive.” Garrus assures him. “He just went to the Normandy. Shepard and I stayed to wait for you.”

“Thanks.”

“SAM gave me a look a the footage of you lifting the ark…” Vetra struggles to continue the though, failing to the find the words she wants to use to convey the sheer scope of what Ben accomplished.

“Yeah, you’re welcome for saving you and this whole ship.” Ben accepts the opportunity to boast. “But honestly? Probably looked cooler than it felt. For Gravattack it was kind of like dragging a car and smacking pigeons.” Ben immediately downplays the enormity of what he just did, getting another laugh from Garrus.

“You wouldn’t mind sending me a copy of that, would you?” Garrus asks Vetra. “I have a quarian friend that might get a kick out of it when I see her again.”

“Well-” Vetra has to stop herself from asking what it’s worth to him, instead she flicks up her omni-tool and quickly runs through the process of sending it over. “Anything for a friend of Ben’s.”

After a moment Garrus’s tool pings, letting him know he got it.

“Cool. Well, you know how to reach us. Tell the Ryders to send a message when you got to the Nexus, alright?” Ben requests.

Vetra nods, letting Ben walk off toward Shepard. He slows to a stop in front of the Commander, waiting for a moment as Shepard’s attention shifts to him.

“We do everything we need to?” Ben checks.

Shepard nods.

“What’s next?”

“The krogan have been invited to our summit. Palaven needs their reinforcements before they can promise us troops.” Shepard explains to him.

“You mean the same krogan that the turians and salarian sterilized?” Ben checks, rhetorically.

Shepard nods again.

“… It’s never simple, is it?”

“I’m about to give my report to Admiral Hackett, if you’d care to join me.” Shepard tells him.

“Yeah, I’m coming.” Ben says.

The commander heads back to the Normandy with Ben in tow, preparing to start the next leg of their mission.