As Liara continues staring deeply into his eyes, she suddenly realizes she's acting strangely. She quickly steps back and turns around, saying, "I am sorry. I am still very confused about what happened. I will try to get some rest."
"No problem. I'll see you later," Alex responds, leaving the room.
As he walks away, one of the Normandy's crewmembers approaches him hurriedly, "Lieutenant, I've been looking all over for you. The Commander wants to see you and she sounded really pissed. Did you privately smuggle something aboard the Normandy?"
"No… I didn't!" Alex replies, slightly surprised.
I just smuggled and kept that thing from that damn Hanar, but Shepard knows about it!
He quickly rides the elevator down to the Cargo Hold—the same level where the Mako is stored and where Ashley, Garrus, Tali, and Wrex usually hang out.
In a corner, Alex sees Shepard, Ashley, Tali, Garrus, and Wrex huddled together, clearly in discussion. They're standing around a few large crates.
What is this?
As Alex approaches, Shepard notices him and immediately glares. "Explain!" she demands.
"The fuck—what's even going on?!" Alex asks.
"You don't know?" Ashley asks, obviously surprised.
"This is quite an interesting present you got!" Tali comments.
"Let me see!" Alex says, stepping closer.
"It's addressed directly to you! We discovered it during our routine inspection. One of the crew members must have picked it up after Noveria while we were resupplying essentials," Shepard explains.
"These are… Mechs!" Alex says, noticing the five human-like machines inside.
These weren't popular during the events of Mass Effect 1. According to the lore, only after the battle of the Citadel, where people took heavy losses, did they see the need for expendable troops.
"Weak. I could crush something this pathetic in three seconds!" Wrex brags.
"This… is probably from my sister. Or maybe it's a bomb from Aldrin Labs," Alex says.
Garrus twitches slightly upon hearing the word 'bomb,' "Don't joke like that…!"
Alex inspects the Mechs more closely, realizing the huge crate actually contains five units. They appear primitive, almost unfinished.
Checking his Omni-tool for messages, Alex notices one from Menchi.
[Menchi: Hi there, Alex! Don't be surprised—Jewel came up with this idea. When we were back home, we discussed various tactics on how to handle whatever awaited us. We were always stuck on Virmire; you remember? Jewel suggested this solution. We managed to meet quite a few people here on the Citadel, including someone who was willing to sell us a few Mechs. These are decent models, capable of fighting and handling various tasks. You probably know what I'm getting at, right? These things can do quite a lot of work… including arming a bomb.]
Hmmm, can that work? No, it probably can't… or maybe…
[Alex: Thank you so much. Hug the Princess for me. We just finished Noveria… a few of us are injured, but we managed to pull through.]
"Now you're writing messages?" Ashley asks, sounding a bit annoyed.
"My sister… thought we could use some backup. These Mechs can be remotely controlled over long distances or programmed to work independently. She gave us all the codes and permissions. They don't possess artificial intelligence like the Geth, so there's no need to fear them," Alex explains.
"Why would we need that junk?" Shepard asks, genuinely confused.
"These things can be sacrificed without worry. You know, sooner or later, we'll face off against Saren and Sovereign. They could be useful—for example, we could hand them grenades and then order them to self-destruct," Alex suggests.
I can't say what the real purpose is, but this is close enough, I guess.
Everyone seems to fall deep into thought.
"Anyway, Commander, they're now property of the Normandy. You can control them however you see fit. Maybe Joker or a few other crewmembers could manage them."
"I guess that's fine. Your sister's a weird one, Kerber," Shepard remarks.
If she only knew it was my pet who did this…
"So, what's next?" Alex asks, interested.
"We don't know yet. I received a message earlier that the Council wanted to speak to me before this issue came up… I'll get back to them now," Shepard says. "Rest and prepare yourself. We could move out soon!"
The group disperses, and Shepard leaves to speak with the Council.
Alex decides to check on Tali, who'd been injured during the encounter with Benezia.
"I am fine!" Tali immediately insists as Alex approaches, clearly worried.
"Really? You got hit pretty hard. I ate that damn Warp myself during the fight—I know how much impact it packs," Alex says, not buying her excuses.
"Dr. Chakwas is treating me. It's just a bruise, nothing broken. I'll be fine soon enough," she explains reassuringly.
"Take care of yourself… okay?" Alex asks gently.
"Sure…" she says quietly. Alex then walks away, ignoring the quiet 'Bosh'tet' muttered behind him.
Finally, he makes his way toward the cockpit.
Joker is sitting alone, looking bored.
"Just hovering in space, Joker?" Alex remarks as he approaches.
"This is so boring. Frankly, what are we even doing? Our three leads all turned out to be useless," Joker complains.
"Maybe? Still, we learned quite a bit. Just because we're not sure exactly what to do next doesn't mean we haven't made progress," Alex replies.
"Anyway… I wanted to talk to you about something! You are the right guy for the job, I think!" Alex adds, grinning as he takes a seat next to Joker.
"…"
After about thirty minutes, Shepard enters the cockpit.
"Joker, we're heading to Virmire right now!" she announces.
"Virmire? Where is that again? It's rare, but the name doesn't ring a bell, Commander," Joker says.
"Then find out!"
"Okay, I'm on it…" Joker mutters, typing quickly into his onboard computer.
"New mission?" Alex asks Shepard.
"Yes… A Salarian recon team went missing. They managed to send a static message on a mission-priority channel, and the Council's worried. Apparently, they're STG—a Special Task Group. These guys are elites among the Salarians."
"How does that relate to us, huh? Who cares about a Salarian recon team?" Joker chimes in sarcastically.
"Joker… I said, do your job! Of course, I asked the very same question. The team's assignment was to investigate anything related to Saren… so a message on the mission-priority channel means Saren or the Geth are likely involved. It's more than a clue, and we're checking it out," Shepard explains, gently placing her hand on Joker's shoulder and gradually squeezing tighter. "Honestly, we have nothing else going on; it might be something minor, but I've got a feeling we're on to something."
Joker types wildly until he finally finds what he is looking for.
"I got it, I got it! Sentry Omega Cluster, Hoc System—exactly the third planet… Virmire! It's a tropical planet, a little too hot for my taste, but it almost looks like paradise from space."
"So, how many people live there? Which race owns the planet?" Shepard asks.
"I… need to research," Joker replies hesitantly.
"No need, Joker, Virmire is not colonized. The Sentry Omega Cluster is a border cluster located right between the Attican Traverse and the Terminus Systems. The Council and most races are wary of the Terminus Systems. They're basically the ghetto of the universe—controlled by countless minor races—and obviously, the Council holds no influence there. Surprisingly, nearly all major races still have some presence there. Even so, these minor races are a joke compared to the Council races. The only reason the Council doesn't want war is profit. Pirates are bad for business. Plus, recent decades have simply been too peaceful. Politicians are probably scared of messing things up, so they're sticking with the status quo and choosing not to provoke the Terminus Systems," Alex rambles casually.
"You… know quite a lot," Joker comments.
"I'm not surprised. You like to surprise, don't you, Kerber?" Shepard says, staring at Alex.
Alex shrugs. "I'd better leave and get ready. Any ETA?"
"It's on the other side of the galaxy! It'll take a day at the very least. I'd estimate about thirty-two hours," Joker explains.
"Thanks!" Alex says, leaving the cockpit.
A few hours later, Alex lies on his bed, gathering his thoughts.
I guess it's time to reap the rewards!
System! Use my [Chest Enlarger 3000] on the gold chest I picked up from Benezia!
[Chest Enlarger 3000]
World: Fantasy Realm
Quality: Deep Gold
Effect: Expands a chest, increasing it from a normal-sized chest into a large chest. Limited to Gold Quality chests and below.
Note: Everybody likes large chests. Developed and created by Fizzix Bangweld, who recently passed away after an unfortunate explosion! May he rest in pieces.
Note: Can't be traded. This item will disappear if not used within the next three missions.
[Chest Enlarger 3000 activated]
You have lost Chest (Gold)
You have received Large Chest (Gold)
Since we have a long trip, I guess I'll open the chest now. There could be something inside to help me with the mission. Considering it's a gold-ranked chest, I suppose I should boost my stats with [Drakul's Vitality].
You have lost Blood Essence
All Stats Increased by 6
Alex, his fingers twitching slightly, opens the chest.
Please, give me something good!!
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