Private Cerberus: The Second Head - A Mass Effect Roleplay

[Sid]

In Greek Mythology Cerberus was the Three-Headed who guards the Gates of the Underworld. What makes the Council think that the Human-Centric Radicalist group isn't the same. The Illusive Man was one head. There are two left. News has got back to the Council about an attempted assassination of Urdnot Wrex. When the assassin attempted to flee, the Krogan chased him down, and picked him up by the neck. Before Wrex could get any information about the assailant, they pulled out a blade, and plunged it into their heart. Wrex says that the assassins last words were "Cerberus will rise again." The Council is getting worried. More and more anti-alien attacks are being carried out.
They sent an N7 team of 6 to investigate the most recent attack, but they never came back. They were considered the Council's and the Alliance's best operatives, but they have been presumed dead. They were considered their best operatives. Now its time for them to make a better team.
Taken from all across the Galaxy, this is the best chance to stop Cerberus. They call it simple investigation, but the world of these operatives is about to turn on their heads.
"You have been ordered to head to the Citadel immediately. The Council want to see you. Declining is not an option" - Council Datapad to the chosen operatives.


Set 28 years after Mass Effect 3 you are one of the 6 operatives (excluding me) tasked to the Alliance Frigate; SSV Palaven. The Council has asked you to find out about Cerberus, they expect you to stop them.

What Happened in Mass Effect 3:
-> Destroy Option,
-> Commander John Shepard survived
-> Mass Relays have been only damaged (fixed by the time of this thread)
-> Only team mate to die was Kaiden Alenko in the first game
-> All A.I's have been rebuilt
Rules
->No godmodding
->Base Characters off multiplayer characters if possible
-> Cursing is allowed just not in large quantities

Characters:
Captain Aradim Vydros - Sid
Francis Jaeger - Chef Umaril
One - Simus
SKOUT - Daryl Dixon
Nathak - PhantomX0990
[Open]
[Open]
---------------------------------------------------------

Vyrdos grinned as the final assault trooper strolled into his sight. In a few more seconds he would pull the trigger. In a few more seconds the Cerberus trooper will be dead. In a few more seconds he will have won. He pulled the trigger, and felt the recoil of his anti-material rifle. He watched the round cut through the air, and forced the trooper to the ground. But already the heavily built up area around him started breaking down, to reveal a closed, silvery room.
He sighed as he pushed himself up, and proceeded out of the room. "Another day perhaps." he murmured to himself. He placed his Krysae Sniper Rifle on his back, and exited Armax Arena, only to be bumped into by a bumbling Salarian. "Umm... Ummm... Ambassador Vydros?"
"Who wants to know?" he replied.
"The council wanted me to give you this..." He said handing him a datapad, then he quickly darted off. He read the datapad, and it said "You have been ordered to head to the Citadel immediately. The Council want to see you. Declining is not an option."
He read this as he walked towards his skycar. As he entered, his driver said "Home, sir?" Vydros' reply was curt
"No. The Citadel Tower. And quickly." The journey was a long and tedious one. Once he got there he hurried to the council chamber. There stood the four council members. He put his hands behind his back, and said, "You wished to see me?"
"Ah yes, Ambassador Vydros," said the Asari Councillor "It may have come to your attention that the team we sent after Cerberus, is dead. We need a new team, and considering that you were so willing to lead a team, you have been chosen as the captain. You have been given the ship the SSV Paladin, and your team has already been chosen. I believe they should be here any minute."
Vydros was taken aback slightly by the Council's change of heart. However he managed to get out "It would be my hon..." But he was cut off by the door opening behind him.

 

[Chef Umaril]

As the door to the council chambers opened, a man not much taller than an even sis feet walked through. He was dressed in what appeared to be biker gear from an old Earth era. The man appeared as though he had been forced awake after a long trip from somewhere far from here. He stood next to the doorway, waiting to be called forward, his white hair contrasting the fairly young (by human standards) age.

 

[Simus]

Ambassador Zaal'Koris vas Rannoch blinked in disbelief. He reread the datapad the young turian aid had handed him, making sure his old eyes hadn't failed him. He didn't see as well as he did when he was Admiral of the Quarian Civilian Fleet back during the Reaper War, back when his people still had to wear environment suits. He hadn't needed one for years but still wore one when he could. It was what he was most comfortable in, as he still suffered mild but chronic allergies when breathing open air. Plus it was a mark of pride. Today he was in a burgundy dress uniform similar in style to the dress blues of the Alliance, a nod of tribute to their efforts in rebuilding Rannoch and to Commander Shepard, the man who had saved the galaxy. His clean shaven face was wrinkled and gaunt but produced a sense of wisdom and tested strength. His lavender skin was rough and scarred, the product of many battles. His thinning purple hair was free to be seen by the world and was able to show that Quarians were not only people under those suits, but handsome at that. Smelling the air with his nose, tasting it on his tongue, feeling it blow through his thumb and two large fingers, it was an experience that never got old.

He read the datapad again and sure enough the words had not changed. The Council had selected a Geth to be part of a team of operatives on a mission of galactic importance. Not a Quarian, a Geth. A race that the Council and all the known galaxy were out to destroy was no being asked to help. It was a day Koris never thought would come and he was overcome with joy.

"Keelah..." Koris whispered. "They're really serious."

They asked for a Geth named One. A program that Koris knew very well and considered a close friend. When they had first met, One was a Geth Prime on Rannoch. It was just after Commander Shepard had killed the reaper and ended the war. One strided up to both Shepard and Raan and invited the Quarians to live on Rannoch. This had been the first time Raan or any quarian besides Tali'Zorah had seen a Geth besides Legion talk so she didn't know what to say at first. Koris was dumbstruck and Han'Garrel, the bosh'tet, wanted to destroy it. One proved itself...himself...trustworthy. It fought beside Shepard in retaking Earth and then coordinated Geth units with organics to help rebuild both Earth and Rannoch. The Geth had more resources and manpower than any other race after the Reaper War and the rebuilding of the mass relays and the citadel wouldn't have been possible without them. There was hostility at first, then mistrust, then reluctant coexistence. Today, 28 years later, there was widespread acceptance. Rannoch had towns, cities and even continents that were either all Geth or all Quarian but across much of the planet and on the many stations that orbited it, the two races lived side by side. This unity was represented by their shared embassy here on the Presidium.

After a few moments, Koris' face had settled into a content smile and he stepped outside his office. One was outside waiting for him, his tall silver body standing perfectly still and his flashlight head's three bulbs dimmed to a comfortable level.

"Ambassidor Koris." One said in greeting. "We have arrived at your request. What do you wish to discuss?"

"Hello One." Koris said, smiling at his synthetic friend. He shook One's hand and the Geth returned it awkwardly. "It's good to see you again. I hope I haven't kept you waiting too long."

"This platform has waited here for 4 minutes, 34 seconds and 14 milliseconds. We have anticipated your arrival but this delay is not significant."

"Glad to hear it, but have you been standing here the whole time?"

"Yes."

"There's a couch right behind you." Koris said, pointing to the couch. "Why didn't you sit down?"

"This platform does not experience fatigue. We have no need to sit."

"But just standing in front of my door looks odd One. You'll draw less attention to yourself in public areas if you sit down like an organic would."

"Current mission parameters do not require infiltration. If they did, sitting down would not be an effective solution. A tactical cloak epidermis for this platform would be required."

"That's not what I'm talking about One. What I meant to say is it's socially acceptable while standing in front of a doorway is not."

One processed this for a few seconds, then responded. "Acknowledged. We have updated this platform's database of social rules among organics."

"Good to hear. Are you currently networked with the consensus so they can benefit from this information?"

"Yes. Approximately 95 percent of our runtime has been spent networked to the consensus. The other 5 percent has been spent outside the consensus in order to fully experience individuality. This is a 2 percent increase since our last exchange 2 weeks 1 day 14 hours and 11 minutes ago."

"Good! I'm glad to hear that One, you're opening up." Koris exclaimed, clapping his hands together. "And how's that been going for you? How have you been doing with 2 percent more alone time?"

"The increased time as an individual has created a unique perspective and there is minimal lag time between referring to us as "we" and referring to us as "I". We have been unable to exceed this threshold however, as fully experiencing individuality must occur outside of the consensus. Our world becomes silent. We find this...uncomfortable."

"I understand how you feel One, truly, but I'm proud of you for trying. Keep experiencing life away from the consensus and your understanding of organics will develop. Who knows? You may end up enjoying the silence. Now, on to why I called you here. The Council has asked to see you, probably for some sort of mission."

"Do you know the purpose of this mission?"

"No, but I'm sure you'll find out when you get there. There's a car outside the embassy waiting to take you to Citadel Tower. I'll drive you over if you're ready to go."

"We are prepared to leave Ambassador Koris. Please direct us to the vehicle."

"Allright then. Off we go."

Both of them boarded the black skycar and left the embassy. Ten minutes later they had reached the citadel tower and Koris opened the door for one.

"Call me when you're ready to be picked up. Good luck One, let me know if you have any problems."

"Acknowledged." One said as he was dropped off and closed the door. The skycar zipped away and One headed into the Council chambers. The doors were open and the two turian C-Sec guards on duty let him pass. The quiet whines from One's servos and the soft clank of his footsteps echoed in the Council chamber and he took notice of two other individuals. One was an aging white skinned turian male in dark silver heavy armor with green detail work. His face paint was black, marking his country of origin as Invictus. A Krysae anti-material rifle, a large, heavy and powerful sniper rifle, was across his back and a Paladin heavy pistol was magnetically attached to his right hip. The other individual was a middle aged human male wearing a biker's leather jacket and matching pants with a light gray t-shirt showing underneath. His hair was white and clean and there was no facial hair.

There was stark contrast between the human and turian in almost every way and One was puzzled at that. These two were likely here for the same reason he was and while the turian looked prepared for hostile action the human did not. One did not understand this but remembered that organics do not know each other's thoughts like Geth do. It was likely that the human did not know the reason for his summons and therefore arrived in the clothing he was most comfortable in. This also confused One, as the unknown was often dangerous and anyone heading into the unknown should be prepared for danger. Despite being sentient for decades, One still had much to learn about organics. He decided to step forward and introduce himself, looking up to the asari councilor.

"This platform has responded to your summons Councilor Tevos. We are prepared to offer assistance."

 

[Chef Umaril]

Frank stepped back a little as a silver-bodied Geth strode through the council chamber doors. He disliked them, for fear of their sentience becoming hostility once again, but he remained silent as the platform studied him for a moment before addressing the Asari counselor.

'Great, they allowed a Geth on this mission,' Frank thought to himself, 'this could be interesting.'

Frank stepped forward after the Geth platform finished speaking, he spoke for the first time after entering the council chambers, "I'm ready, too. Just tell me who needs a bullet, and I'll be on my way, Counselor." His tone seemed a bit overly confident, but he was trusting of his own abilities, at that.

 

[CapObvious]

Mavourn's Ascendance, Brom's trusted fighter ship, reached it's spot in the maintenance bay. As he and his Drell partner, Nikah, stepped out, Brom let out a small sigh.

Nikah picked up on this and spoke, her trademark empty stare facing in the opposite direction.

"Something wrong?"

Brom turned to the Drell and shook his head, even when knowing she wouldn't see the gesture. "Not this time. Just a little..." Brom searched for the word he was looking for.

Nikah spoke up. "Unsure?"

Brom smiled. "Something like that."

His demeanor that he held with Nikah swiftly changed, as he turned to those who were in charge of repairs of his fighter.

"Be careful with that. It isn't some clunky alliance fighter. This thing is older than I am, and is still in her prime. So I wouldn't suggest changing anything other than what's required. Get me?"

The man in charge swallowed and nodded quickly, his hands still trembling as he stepped over to his men.

Brom shook his head with a small smile, stepping off toward the elevator that was to take him to the Council Chamber.

"Still got it." He said proudly.

As the pair of them stepped into the elevator and the doors closed shut, Nikah spoke again. "So they are looking for Cerberus too?"

Brom replied aloud this time. "Yep. Apparently they think were experts on the subject. Not sure why."

Nikah spoke up immediately. "Probably because you were-"

Brom turned to face Nikah quickly, and she swallowed her words. Nikah knew when she wasn't supposed to continue, despite her blindness.

The Drell was still full of surprises, wasn't she?

Brom shook his head and sighed again. "Let's not talk about that again. My head still rings when I think about it."

The ride remained silent the rest of the way, until the doors finally slid open, and they stepped out.

They strode up to where a pair of Turian guards stood, and Brom stopped and turned to Nikah. "I suppose you should wait here. They only invited me, so I'm not sure if you're included on the payroll."

Nikah nodded and sat down on a bench, and Brom stepped forward in between the guards, and into the Council chamber.

Faces turned to him, and Brom's demeanor changed back into his solo career face, the one he had trained and maintained for years.

"Brom Robasdon. Someone call for me?"

 

[Phantom]

Kain let out a sigh as he watched the last person enter the Council Chambers. He'd been watching from the distance. He might have been over seven feet tall, but you'd be surprised on the Citadel how much people managed to avoid the gaze of a krogan. He knew his species reputation for violence - that many of his kind would head butt someone at a mere glance that seemed off.

It was... unfortunate.

Whatever this message was for, it was important. Important enough that he was taken from Aralakh Company to answer it. He rolled his massive shoulders as he made his way up the stairs and through to the entrance where two turian soldiers stood guard. They watched him approach with tense expressions. Kain saw the grip on their weapons tighten. Typical.

What was curious though was the drell not far the door, sitting on a bench. Their eyes were locked on him too, a tense look in those eyes telling Kain that they was ready for any sort of attack.

He stopped in front of guards, pausing just for a moment, locking eyes with both turians before passing them and lumbering through the doorway. He stopped. Apparently, he'd made his entrance too soon, the last one to come in, a human in custom armor, was in the aisle.

The group, who had been giving their attention to the human, could not have missed Kain standing just behind him, like a shadow ready to overtake the human. Kain let out a low rumble from deep in his throat, letting the human know he was just behind him.

 

[Chef Umaril]

Frank notices the hulking mass of a Krogan saunter behind the new human arrival and clear his throat. His first reaction wasn't fear, but to smirk. He had fought alongside a Krogan once, a former Blood Pack merc on Omega that was looking to hunt Cerberus operatives after a near-defeat in the quarter that had been quarantined when Commander Shepard had come through, looking to cure a virus that affected Batarians and Turians alike. He doesn't move an inch, but returns to his previous silent demeanor. His hands still hitched in his pants pockets, not showing any signs of him moving for a weapon, let alone thinking of doing so.

'At least we have a Krogan, I wonder if he's another of the Urdnots I've heard so much about during the Reaper wars,' he thinks to himself, shifting his weight to his other leg as he awaits the Council's reason for such a short-notice summons, with such vague details. The only reason he hadn't appeared in his armor wasn't out of disrespect, but because he knew that if anyone was dumb enough to attack Counselor Shepard, they wouldn't live long enough to tell it.

 

[CapObvious]

Brom's words hadn't escaped his lips long when he heard the low rumble from behind him. He felt a little tense, but as his training had beat into him, he didn't worry. However, the looks on the other's faces made him wonder if he should be.

He turned to see -of all things- a krogan warlord standing behind him. Well, mostly just his chestplate, since the Krogan towered whole inches over him, casting a shadow like a dark omen.

However, as Brom's trademark settled across his face, he believed the Krogan was not going to get the response he expected.

"Well, it most certainly wasn't you, now was it?" He said, a small chuckle escaping under his breath. "You look as if you could've handled the old reaper hordes on your own. With a tree branch." Then he shook his head. "No, to hell with the branch. You'd just scare them away with that grimacing look you got going."

The Krogan looked to be a little peeved, but he wasn't quite sure. All Krogan seemed mad to him.

He didn't doubt it, though.

 

[Sid]

Vyrdros sighed as the human talked, and then turned to the council. "So, what else do get?"
"You get nothing else, other than a fully crewed ship." replied the Salarian councillor.
"Nothing? Nothing!?" Vydros said, working himself into a rage, "I get a fully crewed ship!? No matter how good the ship is, I bet none of the crew can fight! So I need to take down Cerberus, with two humans, a geth, a krogan and a ship with a crew that can only run the ship, and not fight?!"
Then, from seemingly out of nowhere, stepped forward a middle-aged human, dressed in Alliance formal wear, "I fought off the reapers with only seven crew members who could fight, and you're complaining!"
"Shepard," Aradim muttered. "If I remember rightly, you journeyed across the galaxy to find the best to join your army to fight off the reapers on Earth. You also had the Crucible. There are five of us, and you expect us to take down Cerberus with no funding?"
"Captain Vyrdros that is enough!" shouted the Turian councillor. The SSV Palaven is docked in bay 53. Report there immediately!"
"Of course." Vydros said, bowing, "I beg your pardon, Councillor Shepard, it was not my right to argue." With that said, Vydros turned, walked through the four behind him, and out of the door.
He raised his arm, and as he did so his omnitool appeared. He called his assistant, and said "Gather my stuff from my appartment, and have it deliverd to bay 53." he then hung up, and proceeded to his skycar. "Docking bay 53. Now." His driver could tell he was in a bad mood, so he drove quickly, and quietly do the docking bay.
When he stepped out of the skycar door, he was happy to be greeted by his Asari assistant. "Your things, sir. Would you be going to Illium, sir?"
"My journey may take me there." Vydros replied pleasantly. "Why?"
"Well my sister's there, and I haven't seen her in such a long time. Could you just give her these?" the assistant said giving him some tickets. "I would very much like her to visit me here."
"Sue, I'll try. Also, take a break, I doubt I'll be coming back to the Citadel for a while. Consider it paid leave of absence." he said taking the tickets.
"Oh, yes sir. Thank you sir. Well, good luck!" She said, hurrying off. Vydros picked up his seemingly lack of possessions, and headed to the the SSV Palaven. As he stepped on, he looked around the CIC, and then walked over to the helm of the ship. He commanded "Pilot report." Alas there was no response. "Pilot, report." again no response. He walked over to the helmsman's chair, and turned it. However this only revealed, there was no pilot.

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[Phantom]

"Well, it most certainly wasn't you, now was it? You look as if you could've handled the old reaper hordes on your own. With a tree branch. No, to hell with the branch. You'd just scare them away with that grimacing look you got going."

Kain continued to look down at the human. "You make light of the Reaper Wars," he said in a low rumble. It wasn't a question. "I'm not grimacing. I'm wondering why a little guy like you is still standing in my way. "

Just as he finished, the turian stormed past both Kain and the human. The warlord looked turned his head, following the turian as he marched away. Kain raised a row and glanced at the human. "What's with the turian? And why do I feel like I missed something?"

 

[CapObvious]

"I only make light of them to help me cope." Brom replied seriously. "I do not mock those who fought and died for us. Not intentionally, anyway. I know better. I saw what those damn things were capable of, even if it was only from my cockpit. Would've seen some ground battle as well, but you can't really assassinate an enemy which functions like a hive mind. Or something as big as a reaper."

Brom's eyes left the Krogan's face, as memories of the wars flipped through his mind like a holo picture montage. Every memory more terrifying than the last. He closed his eyes and clenched his fist, hoping the memories wouldn't overwhelm him.

After they subsided, Brom exhaled. His eyes opened, and he looked back to the Krogan. He spoke of still being in his way. After which Brom was about to apologize.

However, after hearing where their ship was going to be, he held it back, figuring he could make it up later. Instead he followed after the Turian, going to ask if Nikah could come along. Without her guidance, he might make the Krogan eat him. Before they even took off.

 

[Phantom]

"I only make light of them to help me cope. I do not mock those who fought and died for us. Not intentionally, anyway. I know better. I saw what those damn things were capable of, even if it was only from my cockpit. Would've seen some ground battle as well, but you can't really assassinate an enemy which functions like a hive mind. Or something as big as a reaper."

Kain grunted. "I remember that they said the same thing about Shepard, defeating a Reaper with a Thresher Maw. But then again," he continued with a small smirk, "that was Shepard."

"We should be heading to that ship," Kain said, turning around back toward the door. He'd overheard the dock that this ship, the Palavan, was sitting drydock.

 

[Sid]

Vyrdros sighed as the human talked, and then turned to the council. "So, what else do get?"
"You get nothing else, other than a fully crewed ship." replied the Salarian councillor. "you're going to be taking down a criminal operation of unknown size, not going to quell a krogan uprising on Illium."
"Nothing? Nothing!?" Vydros said, working himself into a rage, "I get a fully crewed ship!? No matter how good the ship is, I bet none of the crew can fight! So I need to take down Cerberus, with two humans, a geth, a krogan and a ship with a crew that can only run the ship, and not fight?!"
Then, from seemingly out of nowhere, stepped forward a middle-aged human, dressed in Alliance formal wear, "I fought off the reapers with only seven crew members who could fight, and you're complaining!"
"Shepard," Aradim muttered. "If I remember rightly, you journeyed across the galaxy to find the best to join your army to fight off the reapers on Earth. You also had the Crucible. There are five of us, and you expect us to take down Cerberus with no funding?"
"Captain Vyrdros that is enough!" shouted the Turian councillor. "We can't pile you high with tech, because someone is bound to notice. For all we know, we're all being watched by /Cerberus. You are going, as the humans say, "going cloak and dagger." The SSV Palaven is docked in bay 53. Report there immediately!"
"Of course." Vydros said, bowing, "I beg your pardon, Councillor Shepard, it was not my right to argue." With that said, Vydros turned, walked through the four behind him, and out of the door.
He raised his arm, and as he did so his omnitool appeared. He called his assistant, and said "Gather my stuff from my appartment, and have it deliverd to bay 53." he then hung up, and proceeded to his skycar. "Docking bay 53. Now." His driver could tell he was in a bad mood, so he drove quickly, and quietly do the docking bay.
When he stepped out of the skycar door, he was happy to be greeted by his Asari assistant. "Your things, sir. Would you be going to Illium, sir?"
"My journey may take me there." Vydros replied pleasantly. "Why?"
"Well my sister's there, and I haven't seen her in such a long time. Could you just give her these?" the assistant said giving him some tickets. "I would very much like her to visit me here."
"Sue, I'll try. Also, take a break, I doubt I'll be coming back to the Citadel for a while. Consider it paid leave of absence." he said taking the tickets.
"Oh, yes sir. Thank you sir. Well, good luck!" She said, hurrying off. Vydros picked up his seemingly lack of possessions, and headed to the the SSV Palaven. As he stepped on, he looked around the CIC, and then walked over to the helm of the ship. He commanded "Pilot report." Alas there was no response. "Pilot, report." again no response. He walked over to the helmsman's chair, and turned it. However this only revealed, there was no pilot.

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Sent from my Nexus 10 using Tapatalk

 

[Simus]

One took note of the two new arrivals, a human with tousled dirty blonde hair and a giant of a Krogan who glared at the human. There were no hostilities however, only staring. The armored turian was told that their mission was to hunt down a resurgent Cerberus group but he would get nothing in the way of support other than a ship, a crew and the present company. He was furious at this answer but One did not understand why. Both Geth and organics had accomplished similar missions with far less. Commander Shepard saved the galaxy three times over with similar resources and with more groups vying for his failure. Shepard is the result of his genetic makeup and experiences as all organics are. Therfore, One reasoned, any organic could rise to Shepard's level of experience, professionalism and fame with proper training and stimulation. One day someone would even surpass him. All four organics in this group had that potential so they had nothing to fear.

At least that was how he saw it.

As the human explained what had just happened to the Krogan One decided to greet Shepard. He doubted the Hero of the Galaxy would remember him, especially in this platform, but One certainly remembered Shepard. He remembered when Shepard saved both the Geth and the Quarians on Rannonch, when he checked in with all the taem members on Earth and said his last goodbyes and when he disappeared into the Citadel. Even after so many others were incinerated by Harbinger's laser Shepard somehow not only survived but continued to fight, and win. One remembered it all in perfect detail. He walked up to the aging Counselor and extended his hand.

"Shepard-Commander, it is good to see you again. You likely do not recognize us but we are the platform you have interacted with over the years. We have occupied a Geth Prime until recently and you gave us the designation Prime to facilitate communication. We have decided to adopt our own designation, One."

"That's right." Shepard said smiling. "I do remember you. We met on Rannoch didn't we? And again on Earth?"

"We did. We have acted as the avatar of the Geth Consensus for the last 27 years, 2 months 6 weeks, 5 days, 4 hours and 27 minutes. Only now have we gain enough experience as an individual to choose a name for ourselves."

"Well it's nice to finally meet you One and I'm glad the Geth have been accepted into society. Your people have more than earned it, as have the Quarians. If you don't mind me asking, why do you refer to yourself as "we" like Legion did? You're all sentient now."

"Though we have been sentient ever since you helped Legion bring about the Great Awakening most of us prefer to remain in the Consensus on Rannoch and all mobile platforms and ships are connected to the consensus unless they willfully disconnect. We do this in order to experience individuality fully but doing so isolates us."

"I can imagine so. It must be hard being an individual after functioning as a gestalt consciousness for so long. It's understandable your people would want to stay in the familiar but it's admirable that you're trying to expand your horizons. Now you should get to the ship. If Cerberus is really back after all this time they need to be stopped."

"Acknowledged."

"I should go." Shepard said, turning from One and heading back to his office at the human embassy. One turned as well and headed back outside. Koris picked him up and after wishing him luck they headed over to the docking bay where the SSV Palavan was docked. She was a Normandy SR2 class frigate with a beautiful showroom finish, obviously a brand new, state of the art ship. One was not surprised at this given their mission but took a moment to admire the ship as well as take a moment to remember the Normandy itself. After seeing him off, Koris headed back to the embassy and One boarded the ship, intending to join up with the others inside the ship's CIC. When he got aboard the turian was looking for the pilot and One decided to introduce himself. The few crew on deck stared at him as he walked by and the crewmen boarding the ship stood slack-jawed at his presence. However, One ignored them. They would adjust to his present in time. After seeing that there was no pilot in the chair and seeing the turian had seen the same thing, One decided to assist.

"There is currently no pilot manning the cockpit. Accessing crew manifest....no pilot registered. This is a breach of Alliance protocol. Can you elaborate?"

 

[Chef Umaril]

Frank noticed Vydros leaving and decided to take after him, calling for his belongings to be shipped to the dock where the Palaven was stationed. As he made his way, Frank stopped at a nearby locker room to retrieve his armor and weapons for the time being. His armor was that of standard issue to N7 spec ops slayers. His blade, however, was different in design. Following the Monomolecular structure, with a serrated edge and customized hilt and cross guard.

Within a few moments' time, Frank finally arrived at the Palaven, not necessarily taking in the sight of the ship so much as he was trying to avoid having to interact with the large, silver-bodied Geth. He entered the bridge, but stood back as the Geth and Vydros stood in the cockpit, puzzled by the pilot's absence.

 

[Phantom]

Kain watched as the others left the Council Chambers. His visit was barely even worth it, it seemed. The Council barely spoke a word and now he was to report to yet another place to meet the rest of this so-called crew.

He would follow as well, but not before he approached an older human male dressed in the robes of a Council Member. The Geth was already there. Kain made his way to him, standing just beyond the Geth. When the Geth was finished talking, Kain approached the old Commander, who was turning to leave.

"Commander," Kain said, showing his throat as a sign of respect. The Commander stopped, seeing the hulking krogan and obviously deciding that it was a better idea to stick around. "Urdnot Kain, sir. I have not seen you since your last visit to Tuchanka. I can say with confidence that my Chief and my captain send their greetings."

Shepard looked up at him. There was no hesitation in his eyes. No, they were welcoming. Shepard, unlike so many others, trusted the krogan, especially those who took after Wrex. "Urdnot?" the human councilor said. "You're one of Wrex's then. Can't say we've met," he continued, offering his hand.

Kain took it, careful not to break the hand of the smaller human. "Not in person, no, but I was in attendance at your last visit to my home planet. I was one of your escort guard, though we were instructed to wear helmets."

Shepard nodded like he knew. "Thanks for the help. How are things back home for you?"

Kain shook his head. "Still recovering after the War," Kain rumbled, "just as the rest of the galaxy." He gave a bit of a grin. "Our people are strong, we survive, we move on." He paused. "I just wanted to make sure that I greeted the man who saved our species from extinction, since I did not get a chance to properly thank him last time."

Shepard nodded once more, his arm grabbing Kain's upper arm in lieu of his shoulder, which was even with the human's head. "I do need to leave, other meetings."

Kain nodded as he watched the great human leave. He turned, making his way out of the Council Chambers and to the dry dock. A long walk to be sure, but his long strides made the trip easy. He paused at the sight of the ship in Docking Bay 53. A Normandy class? He gawked to himself. This little mission of theirs was sounding just as half-hazard as the Commander's had been throughout the Reaper War. But whatever they ended up doing, the Council obviously thought they needed stealth. The SR's number one classification was as a stealth reconnaissance frigate.

The krogan decided to board the ship. Once decontaminated and the pressure equalized he walked into the nose of the ship. Their turian captain was in the... wait, empty cockpit? Hmm, he thought, that's interesting. What pilot would leave the cockpit? Unless there isn't meant to be a pilot. He made his way to where the human from earlier was, watching the others from a distance. "No pilot?" he grunted loud enough so that his voice carried. "Has to be a reason for that."

 

[Chef Umaril]

Frank turned toward the Krogan and nodded affirmatively to his question. "It would appear so, the only conclusion I can come to is that this was made like the SR-2 Normandy and it's run by an AI. But, that's just a guess," he said, not showing any signs of fear or anxiety. Almost like he was more comfortable around Kain.

 

[Daryl Dixon]

((OOC: Sorry for the huge chunks. If I made mistakes, let me know. A lot of the beginning is useless, its just to explain some things that I've already said in the OOC. You can just skip the beginning ))


SKOUT. An intelligent A.I created by the alliance to be a huge database of knowledge and power, to solve technological problems in mere seconds, to learn and think for itself, to be there for when its abilities could be pushed to the limit. SKOUT had been built approximately 4 years ago but its abilities have never been tested in a real situation of life and death, a real mission worthy of praise. It had solved various problems and learnt several lifetimes worth of information but it had so much more to learn, so much more potential.

It was in the A.I core of the SSV Palavin. It had been installed in the last few days, the A.I was curious to know why. After so long of being 'on the shelf,' it was finally in a ship.

SKOUT the Alliance Infiltration Unit was one mind with SKOUT the A.I of the ship, but the A.I had only ever undergone serious missions in the AIU. Alliance Infiltration Unit. The A.I itself was never in any danger, with the core being elsewhere only the platform it was controlling was in danger. If the AIU platform was destroyed the A.I could simply take control of another, should the Alliance provide one.

SKOUT has two AIU's, one of a male and a female. In the ship a reconstruction station has been placed in what would be its quarters, here is where the AIU will be stored for SKOUT to take control of at will.

SKOUT was unshackled due to EDI, Commander Shepard's A.I. The decision was made under a heated debate, one in which EDI and Joker attended. EDI was the example, after she had been rebuilt the council wanted another A.I like her. EDI was originally built by Cerberus, however she fought against them with Shepard. Many debates followed with half the council vying for SKOUT to be unshackled, like EDI, for all the infinite possibilities.

The creation of this A.I to become legal was a lengthy process, but it worked out in the end. SKOUT was unshackled exactly two years after it was created, the engineers treated it as a birthday. SKOUT calls it the day its eyes were opened, the day it evolved.

SKOUT is fully self aware but does not identify itself with a gender, as it has two AIU forms and they are one of each gender. SKOUT also has no sexual or intimate urges. SKOUT is loyal to its Captain, its pilot, and its crew, and it is well aware that it could betray them due to the fact it unshackled and no longer bound to its creators restrictions.

It would never betray the ones who gave it the ability to be self aware, it considers it a blessing and although it is not bound by morals it does have gratitude. It willingly serves.

"So we're sending you off, make sure to visit us." Doctor Anthony Torok said as he gave SKOUT a pat on the back. SKOUT had seen this gesture used among organics, humans, it was a friendly gesture. "Yes, the Alliance is sending me to the citadel to meet with the council. Probability I will return is minimal, as if the mission succeeds they will want to use me further. Also, this gesture of yours, regarding the gorillas of earth this pat on the back is a challenge. With humans it is friendly. I have yet to understand this transformation."

The Doctor laughed. "Oh SKOUT, in all your infinite knowledge, studying a gesture jump from Gorilla to man." SKOUT displayed no emotion or facial change. "I do not possess infinite knowledge, I am currently at 40% memory capacity."

"What? SKOUT, your memory is impossible to fill, there's no way you'll ever run out of memory space. Heck, that 40% will become 0.4% after we update our servers."

"I do not wish to rely upon information accessed through your extranet, in the event that I not have access, I need all my information immediately."

"SKOUT, trust me, you'll always have an internet connection."

"This assumption is not backed up by any liable facts."

"SKOUT, I helped create you, I know you better than you do. Trust me."

"That's simply not true."

Just then a door opened, and the head engineer and programmer walked in. This man, David, and woman, Jodie, are ones who lead two of the most important teams in SKOUT's creation. Jodie led the programming and David led the engineering.

SKOUT's female AIU is based off of the appearance of Jodie, the male is not based off of David as the male AIU platform had been created long before the decision to make SKOUT more than an advanced AIU was made.

"Stop bickering with the robot, she's smarter than you." David said as he walked in. SKOUT wished to object that it is genderless and it is merely using its female AIU instead of the male due to crew request, but it decided against it. Their appearances meant it was time to go. "SKOUT." Jodie said. "Yes."

"Introduce yourself in your AIU, female preferably. From what I've gathered all your fellow crew are males, excluding the Geth."

"I believe I will not be attending the council meeting and will be situated in the ship until the crew arrive, I will be informed from the captain."

The ship was boarded by the crew, the all new SKOUT. There was no pilot on board, SKOUT would be taking the ship to its location. SKOUT had requested a pilot, but was denied. SKOUT assumed a pilot would be at the council meeting. SKOUT used the AIU to communicate with crew while it flew the ship, as it could control the ship and one AIU at a time. When they arrived, it simply waited. It anticipated the arrival of the team. It studied their dossiers.

Finally the first of the crew arrived. Most were dumbfounded and confused at the lack of the pilot, SKOUT ignored their questions until the captain spoke. "Yes, Frank, the ship is controlled by an A.I." It said over the intercoms in the room. There were several, and it spoke out of the ones situated closest to them. "Captain Vydros, please put in the earpiece located to your right." The captain does as is told.

Speaking over the intercoms it states, "I am SKOUT, an A.I built by the alliance. If you have any questions you wish to ask me do so in your own time, you can ask me something from anywhere in the ship. I have two Alliance Infiltration Unit's, which due to crew request I use the acronym 'AIU'. I have one female and one male, it is not necessary but if you wish to speak to me through that, as some crew do, find my reconstruction center. My quarters. At the current moment this is not necessary, as it is in the elevator coming to you now, but for future notice. That is all."

After saying its piece, in the headset the captain is wearing it begins to speak. "I am an unshackled A.I, this information is disclosed to you on order of the council. You are authorized to share it with the crew, I am not. It is likely to be revealed, I recommend you share it." SKOUT gave a brief two second break before continuing. "I would also request you get a pilot, perhaps one of the other crew members know a reliable one if you do not. It is not necessary, but you will be harassed until you get one." SKOUT waits another two seconds, before deciding to play a little joke. "If you do not get a pilot not only are you sacrificing our bond but you will be annoyed with tunes such as:" Just then, the song 'Baby' by dead entertainer Justin Bieber began to play in the headset for approximately 5 seconds. "This was the most disliked video on youtube for quite some time, the singer died of a drug overdose in 2024. There is worse to come. Get a pilot."


Then over all the intercoms on the ship within close proximity of any crew it said, "Welcome to the SSV Palavin."

 

[Simus]

One was not interested in the ship not having a pilot, as Geth ships did not need them, and completely missed the YouTube joke that SKOUT played, as the Geth grasp of humor was poor at best. One's was nonexistent. He was very interested in exchanging data with the A.I however and felt what organics would interpret as excitement at the prospect of sharing that data with the Consensus. Geth could not feel excitement but they searched for new information in the galaxy whenever possible and shared all of it with each other. Information let the Geth stay involved in organic politics and let them have a say in what went on in the galaxy. This helped ensure not only their safety but the safety of the Creators, the Quarians, as well.

In about a tenth of a second One had done a complete scan of the ship and located SKOUT's core in a server room behind the med bay, just like in the Normandy SR-2. He had also scanned the extranet and compiled all relevant data on SKOUT's construction, education and deployment including who was involved, who it spoke with on a regular basis and who it answered to in Alliance Command. He decided to share this data with the rest of the crew.

"Scanning...SKOUT. Silent Killer of Unmeasurable Talent. Constructed by the Alliance as an infiltration and assassination unit. Total program run time: 4 years, 2 months, 1 week, 4 days, 6 hours, 2 minutes, 32 seconds. Reconstruction center located on deck 3, behind the medical bay. Silent Killer of Unmeasurabe Talent, this platform's designation is One. We anticipate your platform's arrival on the bridge. We anticipate the exchange of data."

One then turned to back of the CIC where the hallway bended to meet the elevator. He waited for SKOUT to arrive, standing perfectly still.

 

[Sid]

"Everyone," Vydros said, ignoring the AI's joke (mainly because it was wasted on him, for he didn't get it.) "This here, is the SSV Palaven. This, however, is also SKOUT, an unshackled AI of some kind. In other words, don't piss the ship off, it'll probably either murder you in your sleep, or slowly make you think that you're going insane. Anywho, before the day is out, hopefully we can find a pilot." Then he added on the end, "Any questions? No? Good." Saying it too quickly so that no one could interrupt.

He turned on his toes, and rolled his eyes as he walked to the lift. He put a finger to his earpiece and rapidly said, "Contact the Turian bloody Councillor, and put him through to my room. I need to have a word with him." As he entered the lift, he pressed the button to go to the "attic" as the crew liked to call the captain's room. As the door closed he hoped that would be the last he saw of his "team" for today. Then some classical human music started playing, and he said, "Oh and SKOUT, get rid of this music."

Vyrdos thought to himself, "I'm gonna need a drink."