by Colin Cook
"I think the seal got torn apart when things started blowing up," Alec remarked as I caught it and began looking over some of the scratched portions around its open neck
area.
"Really? Dammit!" I said with a start, feeling a sharp wave of regret at the prospect of losing the Iron Man suit completely. Off to the side Polly, Sparky, and a few other
Replicator spiders had started crawling up onto the table's surface, each of them carrying a dented piece of the suit along with them. As Polly rolled the left hand
gauntlet/stabilizer out in front of himself, I placed the helmet upright on the table and slid it over toward the group.
"What's your best guess? Think you can put it back together the way it was?" I asked with a hopeful arching of my eyebrows. Sparky pressed one of his legs against the
helmet, lifting it up slightly to look at the severe scratches potted across it's skin. After a few moments of hissing between the various spiders, the pressure from Sparky's
leg accidentally tipped the helmet over onto its side, causing the crunch of breaking glass to sound out as the screens in the two eye-sockets shattered. Polly was the one
who finally turned to me and gave a small raising of his legs, as if he were trying to imitate the act of shrugging.
"I'll take that as a maybe," I said somewhat optimistically to the group. Suddenly I cringed, my hand flashing up and pressing against my stinging cut, the previous
movement from my eyebrow arching having just fully re-inflamed it.
"You look like you could use a Band-Aid," Alec remarked with some concern as a small streak of blood seeped out from under my palm and gradually trickled down
around the side of my eye socket. I gave a conceding chuckle to that despite the tingling pain, nodding as I used the back of my hand to wipe away as much of it as I
could.
"Its not as bad as it looks, there should be plenty of medi-gel for it in the Med-bay," (no shit) I reassured him. But after mentioning that, a thought suddenly occurred to
me.
"Speaking of the Med-bay, what happened to Jango?" I asked to everyone around the table.
"Oh yeah, about that. After you left to go tag Shepard with the Dart, we finally managed to fix Jango's arm and ankle before moving him into the ship's sleeper-pod area
just off from the Med-bay. We also made sure a few Replicators built a nice cozy cell around him incase he woke up and decided to go back on his word," Alec explained
with a small wince, stretching out his injured limbs before making his body briefly glow silvery-white to heal his wounds.
"Good, I wanted to speak with him before we made any decisions about where to drop him off. Hopefully I can change his mind about leaving all together," I said as I
began making my way around the table toward the main bulkhead spanning the back of the CIC.
"I don't know, he was pretty adamant about splitting from us after we made it off the station. In his mind he'll have already kept up his end of the deal, and he'll expect us
to hold to ours," Alec said with a shrug, following me across the deck until we both came to the Med-bay's sealed door on the ship's starboard side that Yoda had
indicated the last time I had been onboard. Pressing the glowing red pad set up next to the door, I turned to Alec and deliberately cocking my left eyebrow to avoid
another wave of pain.
"Aside from the fact that he slept through most of that escape, I really think that if we told him about the imminent danger threatening this galaxy he just might change
his mind about leaving us."
"I already sold him that pitch and he outright refused, saying that he didn't know enough about this place to risk his own hyde helping to save it. Besides what do we really
need him for anyway? Sure he's great in a fight but he's still just a contract bounty hunter, a ruthless mercenary who only cares about his own profit. He'd sooner stab us
in the back than remain loyal to the cause as soon as someone waved a larger pay-check in front of him," Alec pointed out somewhat sourly with a nod of his head into
the now open Med-Bay.
"While that's all true he's more than just a bounty hunter Alec, he's a Mandalorian, and one who once even held the title of Mand'alor for a while. He fights for profit now
but he didn't start out that way; if I can appeal to his buried sense of honour and provide him with an offer he can't refuse, we'd have one of the greatest Mandalorians
ever fighting at our side against the Reapers and the forces of Lord Viraden when they eventually come to make their wars of conquest," I explained in depth to the
Guardian, while at the same time trying to think of what kind of offer I could possibly present to Jango that would fully grab his attention.
Other than the unfounded promise of direct passage back to his home universe (since according to Alec I had to first defeat the Reapers and their long list of Bad-Guy
allies before I could even try to manage the feat of opening a portal to another universe on my own) there was nothing I could truly provide that would make Jango jump
at the chance to join us on a death defying adventure across three entire games.
What exactly would make a former warrior, a man who now fought only for his own personal gain, be willing to change his mindset and risk his life for the sake of billions?
As I thought on this, Alec's voice soon brought me out of my pondering.
"But that brings us back to my original question. What do we really need him for? Sure he's a Mandalorian, but he isn't from the KOTOR universe; he never fought in any
great crusades against galactic armies or took part in noble causes to save entire civilizations. The only noble thing he did while he was Mand'alor was to ensure that he
and the rest of the True Mandalorians continued to fight as honourable mercenaries. What exactly do you see in him that could be of vital importance in our quest to stop
the impending armada of Space Squids from devouring everyone in this galaxy?" Alec asked me inquisitively, casually folding his arms and mentioning the Reapers with one
of his usual analogies. While we both smirked after finding that title somewhat funny, Haxon didn't seem to share our sentiments.
"Devouring everyone?!" the A.I. blurted out, unable to contain his bafflement after hearing the Guardian's words. I was about to say something to belay his fears when
Yoda abruptly spoke up, having walked over to the end of the conference table closest to us.
"Much more than a Mandalorian he is. The original template for the creation of the Clone Army, and also the instructor from which each and every Clone Trooper was
programed with their advanced training he was," the Jedi began, grunting slightly as he dropped down from the edge of the table to the metal flooring.
"From his skills and military knowledge it was that enabled the Clones to overcome the droid armies of the Galactic Confederacy…" he continued before pausing slightly,
his face taking on a subtle look of distant pain.
"And it was also from his elite martial training that gave them the prowess to outmatch even the strongest of Jedi when the Great Purge finally began." Both Alec and I
dropped our smirks immediately, the mention of Emperor Palpatine's use of the Clone Army to enact his notorious Order 66 making us feel very uncomfortable. While Alec
shifted awkwardly, averting his gaze from Yoda's, I closed my eyes for a moment and let out a slow breath.
"I'm sorry Yoda, I wasn't meaning to bring up bad memories. I just thought that if we could…" I began solemnly, now feeling completely inconsiderate at having spoken
about this in front of him. But to my surprise Yoda only croaked/chuckled softly and held up a hand to stop me, lightly shaking his head.
"Unneeded your apology is Axel, understand I do. Jango Fett's skills as a warrior invaluable make him, both as a travelling companion and a potential teacher for the army
that we will surely need to raise in order to combat the forces of Lord Viraden and his multi-universal Empire, along with whatever manifestations these Reaper creatures
intend to use against this galaxy. Besides, long dead Fett was before the Purge; taught them the skills they would later use against us he may have, but the fault of the
Sith it was for our demise, not his." I gave a thin smile, feeling a bit relieved that Yoda was onboard with my idea.
But right away Alec turned his head to both of us while raising his hands in a sort of mediating way, his face holding a look of surprise and disbelief after catching on to a
tiny little detail that Yoda had just mentioned.
"Waaaait a minute, back that up for a sec. Did you just say 'army'? You're seriously thinking about building an army this early in the mission? We only just got off the
Citadel five minutes ago, and now you want to go head to head with The Emperor of the Multiverse?" he asked down to the Jedi, his expression never changing.
"Failed to destroy Commander Shepard his plan has, now ever-present Lord Viraden's forces shall be on the roads ahead Alec, ready to strike so that they may finish off
he and his crew. If to protect Shepard our goal is so that his destiny may remain mostly unaltered from our interference and from Viraden's future attempts on his life,
then confront his warriors at every turn we must." A green fist lightly fell into the other with an audible clap for added effect after that last word.
"To accomplish this, patience and cunning to our advantage we must use, as well as an army of our own to match that of his when the time comes for our now inevitable
battles to commence across land, and amongst the stars." The wise Jedi Master imparted this knowledge gravely, his final words containing a firm and heavy emphasis on
their importance and the danger with which they posed.
I was stunned by this sudden truth. By ourselves we couldn't do much damage against an Empire and the massive Reaper fleet quietly hibernating in Dark Space. If we
wanted to have any chance of achieving victory over both of these behemoth enemies, we were indeed going to need an army or a large group of really good people
fighting at our flanks.
As I looked a bit deeper into it I realized that there wasn't any real choice in the matter anyway, my actions on the Citadel had inadvertently pushed us down this broad
path; by stopping Viraden from succeeding in his plan to destroy Shepard and the crew of the Normandy, I had discovered a dangerous new threat that could very well
over-shadow that posed by the Reapers. And what made it even worse was that we were the only ones who knew about it. Even the soon to be great Commander
Shepard, the prime target of this entire fiasco didn't truly know what was happening.
For the moment we were now the only hope of protecting a small galaxy under threat from damn near all of Science-Fiction itself!
"He's right. It's the only chance we have of winning this now." I stated finally with a slow nod, rubbing my chin absently after having thought on the issue for a long
moment.
Alec turned to me and stiffly gestured down to Yoda, his face taking on the expression of someone saying 'Are you fucking crazy?!'
"An ARMY?! Out of what, fellow criminals and terrorists?! We've barely even started licking our wounds yet…" he demanded while sweeping a hand to indicate all of the
damage and rubble strewn about the room, right before getting interrupted by a small explosion of sparks bursting out from a section of exposed wires in the ceiling
behind him.
This was accompanied by a dying robotic sigh that sounded like a person fainting from sheer terror. As that happened, a soot blackened Replicator spider tumbled out
from the inside of the exposed paneling, flopping down to the deck in an unconscious heap amongst his brethren. All three of us winced and uttered out a collective pained
'oooh' as we looked upon the series of burns covering the machine's body before returning our attention to the debate.
"Let alone begun preparing to house and maintain a Galactic Fighting Force!" the Guardian finished, picking up from where he left off right away.
"Alec we're talking about a galaxy wide war on two fronts. From what little we know already we're gonna be going up against Jaffa, Sardaukar, Stormtroopers, and who
knows what else Viraden's pulled together from all the universes he's conquered. We need something that can counter all of that," I semi-implored to him while quickly
listing off the numerous threats by extending a finger for each one on my hand.
However my double remained resolute in his conviction, jumping in with a response almost before I'd even finished.
"Axel I rode against the chariots of Darius III, I was there when the Roman Empire was reaching its peak; I saw the landing of the Great Heathen Army on the shores of
England. I know quite well what's required to build a force of the scope you guys are talking about, and I'm telling you now its going to be almost impossible to do while
we're being hunted down by the largest government in the ENTIRE GALAXY!"
I opened my mouth to counter that but immediately Alec raised a hand and gestured to me, still not having finished his point.
"You're a soldier. More then that you're an officer in the Canadian military, one of the most level headed and painfully honest fighting forces on Earth. You know just as well
as I do that to create an army of this size and have it work effectively we're going to need: a base of operations, we're going to need chains of supply, we're going to
need weapons, vehicles, ships, ammunition, and most importantly of all, people. We're going to need soldiers and specialists who are not only willing to work alongside a
bunch of wanted criminals but are also willing to die protecting this galaxy from an extra-universal threat."
As he said this he mirrored my previous finger counting so as to list off all the vital components that we were definitely going to need if we wanted to create a force the
size of which Yoda was talking about.
"And…they're also going to need to be people who can accept the truth about this threat and where it really comes from, which means we're probably going to need to
tell them the truth about where we come from too," Alec added in quickly, pointing to me again before tapping himself on his chest-plate to indicate the both of us.
I kept my expression neutral before slowly cocking my uninjured eyebrow and giving a single deliberate nod.
"I know Alec; all of that does need to happen if we want this to work, and that's exactly what we're gonna do."
Immediately I turned my head to the rest of the crew, projecting my voice more clearly so that everyone could hear.
"We're going to find a base to work out of, we're going to forge alliances, stockpile supplies, and we're going to muster an army of men and women into a fighting force
capable of matching Viraden's armies gun for gun. We're going to make it happen, all of us."
My calm but firm words caught everyone except Yoda by surprise, causing the entire Replicator horde to abruptly stop whatever they were doing and turn to look at me.
Alec was struck speechless, his eyes widening and his face scrunching up into a frown of bewilderment.
"But…" he tried saying, only to be cut off as I turned back to him with a raised hand and a few agreeing nods.
"You're right, you're absolutely right, if it were just the Reapers we were dealing with like we had originally thought then yes I would say that this is a horribly bad idea. But
they aren't anymore, so our plan has to change."
Alec's head reared back slightly, unable to process the fact that I was genuinely considering this insane plan.
"You can't be serious. We're already going to have our hands tied just trying to keep track of Shepard to make sure Viraden doesn't get the
drop on him. We won't stand
a chance if we try to take on both him and the Reapers at the same time."
I could only empathize with my Guardian's logic, the risk of us all getting killed simply by trying to overcome these two giants was already at the forefront of my mind this
very second, but it could no longer be helped. Our hand had being forced down this road; there was no turning back now. As Yoda would say "Do, or do not. There is no
try." We could either abandon everything and wait for Viraden to conquer the Mass Effect Galaxy, or we could take a stand and fight him on behalf of Shepard while at the
same time aiding the Commander with our knowledge and otherworldly talents when he and the others finally faced off against the Reapers. Whichever path we chose,
there would be no room for trying. We were either going to be committed to the mission, or we were not, but there would be no trying.
"We don't have a choice anymore, the decision was made for us the moment he tried to kill Garrus. We need to stop Viraden and the Reapers, plain and simple. And to do
that we need an army," I stated to him solemnly with a hopeless shrug and a shake of my head.
Alec tried to interject again, but before he could make a sound I cut him off with a stern point of my finger, which was followed by an even harsher tone.
"Ah! We were going to have to deal with the Reapers anyway! Either by helping Shepard from behind the scenes, or joining him on the Normandy, or even outright
abandoning him to his fate, we were still going to have to deal with both them and their allies one way or another, and we still do regardless of the choice we make here!"
Everyone was watching me intently, awaiting my next words; even Yoda's usually grim expression was caught up in an odd look of attention and curiousity. After slowly
looking around at each of them, silently stressing to them the gravity of what I was saying, I turned back to the Guardian.
"Now there's another threat that we have to face, one that's going to easily, no hilariously, overwhelm Shepard and the other races when they try to confront the
Reapers. And that's definitely going to happen if we let it."
