//------------------------------// // Prologue // Story: Mass Effect: Shepard's Rebirth // by Redbow Rose //------------------------------// Prologue “Have you decided?” As the commander considered his options one thing was apparent... no matter what he did, Commander Shepard wasn’t getting out of this alive. Commander Shepard stood in a previously undiscovered room, in front of him was the being that it housed... The Catalyst. All around the Citadel the Commander could see the destruction wrought by the still raging battle.The once awe-inspiring space station now buried under its own rubble. Outside, the cost of Commander Shepard’s desperate gamble could be seen. The remains of thousands of ships, with casualty counts reaching into the billions, was not unlike the debris field that once surrounded the Collector base. Cluttered, dead, and suicidal to traverse.Yet, despite all that, the Reaper threat was almost over. Commander Shepard rallied the Galaxy’s forces for the largest confrontation the galaxy has ever seen, the battle for Earth. Shepard’s forces came en masse through the relays, massive, Element Zero powered constructs capable of sending a ship to the other side of the galaxy within minutes. Immediately after arriving the ships started hitting the Reapers with all they had, but the Reapers were prepared. Both sides sent fighters for initial combat. With Admiral Hackett leading the main force, Commander Shepard along with others involved in Operation: HAMMER, the force tasked with ensuring the success of the Crucible, flew down to Earth to assist the ground force led by Admiral Anderson.Unfortunately, Reaper forces were stronger than expected. By the time the Commander got to the forward operations base, less than 25% of HAMMER’s forces arrived. Even with such small numbers, the Commander and what remained of HAMMER made one last push to the Beam, the only entrance into the Citadel. The Beam was a large matter transport used by Reaper forces to get human bodies onto the Citadel. If even one person made it, then they would be able to open the arms of the Citadel. Doing so would allow Admiral Hackett to attach and arm the Crucible, a super weapon designed by all the harvested civilizations before to end the Reaper threat once and for all. Everything was going as well as they dared hope, with a direct path to the beam in front of HAMMER after fighting through the rubble-strewn streets of London. Before HAMMER could reach the Beam, however, Harbinger appeared. It attacked HAMMER with devastating energy beams, and with no cover in sight Harbinger decimated the force as they stormed the Beam, quickly turning the clear strip of road into a dead man’s land. The Normandy, Commander Shepard’s personal ship, was called in to evacuate those who were badly damaged. All those who stayed died.  All but two, Commander Shepard and Admiral Anderson. Suffering heavy wounds, they were able to reach the Beam and enter the Citadel. Shepard and Anderson were soon confronted by the Illusive Man,  the man who funded Project:Lazarus and brought Shepard back from the dead. The head of Cerberus, a pro-human organization with a habit of going too far, had become indoctrinated and infused with Reaper tech just as Saren had 3 years beforehand. Obsessed with the belief that he could control the Reapers, he prevented Shepard and Anderson from opening the arms of the Citadel to connect and complete the Crucible. Using his new powers the Cerberus leader forced Shepard to shoot Anderson, a lethal shot to the gut, though the admiral remained standing. The Commander was able to help the Illusive Man fight the Reaper influence, causing the Illusive Man to shoot himself in the head, preventing the Reapers from regaining control and leaving the path clear for the Commander and Admiral to open the arms and allow Admiral Hackett to complete the Crucible. With staggered steps, Shepard reached the console to open the station and sat down next to Anderson. After sharing final words and moments, the Commander's beloved friend died, the Specter soon to join him. As fate would have it moments after Anderson died and Shepard prepared to join him Admiral Hackett alerts him to the fact that the Crucible wasn’t firing. Shepard had to use the main console and fire it manually. Unfortunately the Commander had lost his strength due to to his wounds and found it failing him as he reached for the console, blacking out inches from his goal. When he awoke, much to Shepard’s surprise, he found himself in an unexplored section of the Citadel. He could see Admiral Hackett’s forces still battling the Reapers outside, but losing steam. The room itself had only three things of notice. To his left the Commander saw what seemed to be an exposed power conduit, blue energy going through. To his right Shepard saw what seemed to be another power conduit, but closed and lighted by a red glow. Directly in front of him Shepard saw a beam of energized Element Zero, constant and illuminating. “Hello there” Shepard turned to the source of the voice and saw the hologram of a child. A child that’s been haunting the Commander ever since he fled Earth. Ignoring the disturbing, ghost-like image the Commander asked the hologram “who are you?” “I am the Catalyst.” “I thought the Citadel was the Catalyst.” “The Citadel is my body. I am it’s mind. Now, you have come here hoping to stop the Reapers. Correct?” “I have.” “Well then, before you do so I ask you to listen to the truth behind the Reapers. They are not the evil you think they are.”“I’ve seen little to convince me otherwise.” Shepard replied. “A choice?” “A choice that will determine the fate of the galaxy. As I’m sure you’ve noticed that there are three point of interest in this room. They are your choices. If you still wish to destroy the Reapers then destroy the power conduit. Doing so will overload the Crucible and in turn annihilate the Reapers, but be warned. This will destroy all synthetic life, such as the Geth. Remember that this will most likely destroy you to, as you are also partially synthetic. If you believe that you can lead the galaxy into a brighter future then grab the pylons. Your body will be destroyed, but your mind will be downloaded into the Reaper network as the main AI. If you wish to promote harmony between synthetics and organics by eliminating the distinction between the two then dive into the beam of Element Zero. You body and mind will be lost, but organics and synthetics will become equals.” “What if I don’t choose those options?” The Commander asked. The Catalyst looked at him and said, without any change in tone, ”The cycle will continue, And you will die. You have five minutes to make a choice. After that you will lose the strength to live.” Even as he said it Shepard could rapidly feel his life force draining away. He had to make a decision, and soon. He couldn’t destroy synthetic life, the Geth had just gained individuality and were giving their best to save the galaxy that hated them. He didn’t trust himself with the control of all Reapers. He feared that his mind might collapse after the experience was over. If he didn’t choose anything then the war was lost. That left only one option. “Have you decided?” The catalyst asked. “Yes, I have.” “Then go.” Commander Shepard looked ahead at the glowing beam of Element Zero and, taking a deep breath, slowly started to run. ******** “So, why are we here again?” asked Rainbow Dash for what, to Twilight at least, seemed to be the hundredth time. “I told you, Rainbow, I’m going to conduct an experiment with an artifact that pre-dates even the Discordian Era. Because of the nature of the experiment and the age of the artifact I assumed you girls would like to watch. If this works it could be one of the most important discoveries in Equestrian history, possibly even more important than Starswirl the Bearded’s work on-” “Yeah that’s cool and all, but why'd you think we want to watch?” “I knew you liked ancient artifacts so I honestly thought you would be the most excited.” “I like the stories of retrieving ancient artifcts. Everything Daring Do gets has a book behind it. All you did was find it without any strings attatched.” “Well, Rainbow, did you know-” “I’m so sorry for interrupting, but I'm interested to see what has you so excited, Twilight. The suspense you’ve built up is absolutely dreadful.” Interrupted Rarity, stopping Twilight Sparkle and Rainbow Dash from having yet another debate. “Well at least someone here can appreciate history." Twilight said, giving her prismatic friend a pointed look. Darn Rainbow Dash, she really needs to appreciate history more. At least the others seem to be eager to see. I did do my best to get them excited about it so the suspense is probably killing them. Besides, if this works it’ll show Rainbow that an artifact doesn’t have to be the result of of a Daring Do adventure to be interesting. Twilight Sparkle had been given a very special task after Discord’s reformation by Princess Celestia herself. “Twilight, I have a very important favor to ask of you” Twilight was standing outside the Golden Oaks Library when the princess came up to her.”Anything for you, Princess Celestia!” “It’s nice to see you’re chipper after todays events, Twilight. Especially after what you and your friends went through.” Princess Celestia said with a warm smile.”In any case I think you’ll like this one. A few days ago my sister mentioned to me that a very important artifact was found intact at our old castle. I would like you to go to the castle and complete the research on it, if you can.” “Research?” “Yes. unfortunately the artifact was lost in the rubble after the...Nightmare incident.” Princess Celestia gave a small frown as she recalled what happened years beforehoof, but it quickly disappeared as she continued on.“Many bright minds have poured their heart and soul into this research, including Starswirl the bearded.” The princess flashed Twilight a knowing smile as she tried, and failed, to keep herself from fanfillying over the thought of completing research Starswirl himself worked on. “Now I know you’ll want to start on this right away”, continued Princess Celestia,”but remember to be careful when traveling to the old castle, eat, sleep, and other necessary things, Twilight.” “D-Don’t worry princess, I promise I’ll take care of myself.” Said Twilight, blushing from the princess’s jab at her old study habits. That had been a week ago. Fortunately the preservation spells on the old research scrolls were still intact, albeit faltering. The notes themselves were also nearly to a testable level. It seemed that the research team was on the verge of a breakthrough. After a week of intense work (all the while heeding the princess’s advice) Twilight was ready to experiment with the artifact. After getting her best friends together Twilight brought them all to the old castle. “Everything's ready for you now, Twilight!” Said Spike, having just done a check on Twilight’s materials. “Thank you, Spike,”Twilight said before levitating over a rock.”Now, girls, are you ready to see history in the making?”Twilight asked cheerfully. “Not to be rude, Twi, but ah'd like to see what yer makin’ such a fuss about.” AppleJack said. “Fine,” giving her friend AJ a small frown Twilight levitated the small rock into the middle and held it there. Before Rainbow could start complaining about nothing happening the rock, which before had been black, was now a glowing blue. A few moments later, with a large CRACK, the rock broke apart and left behind a glowing blue aura (growing more purple by the second) that soon seeped into the artifact. Twilight and the others watched, awestruck, as the ancient gyros started turning and purple cracks appeared on the artifact’s ancient coating of dirt and grime to reveal the elegant machine beneath. “My goodness, Twilight, I must say that this looks quite beautiful without all that dirt!” Said an awestruck Rarity. “Yes, Twilight, it’s very pretty.”Fluttershy quietly commented. “Well, it looks cool,” said Rainbow Dash, recovering from her surprise,”but what does it do?” “This time I’ll just show you.”Said a smirking Twilight.”Apple Jack, may I borrow a bit please?” “Uh, sure, Twi.” Said a confused Apple Jack as she hoofed over a bit.”Thank you, Apple Jack. Now watch the bit closely.” If my calculations are correct this bit will shot far past the moon. The ponies and dragon watched the bit get closer and closer to the artifact. A bolt of energy suddenly grabbed the bit, and before anypony could react, the bit was shot off towards the night sky. “What just happened?” Asked a stunned Rainbow. “You see, Rainbow, the artifact used the rock’s energy that I boosted to condense and accelerate the bit’s mass. Right now the bit is far past our solar system. The spell I put on it will bring the bit back for us to examine in a few minutes.” “Why does it do that?” Pinkie Pie asked. “Well, I think it’s actually a prototype space travel device.”Pinkie suddenly gasped. “Does that mean that there are ALIENS! Oh my gosh I can’t believe it, real aliens! Are they ponies too? What if they walk on two legs, have things called hands, and watch a show that’s all about us?! That would be sooo cool, and weird. I mean what if they saw me get all sad that one time and made a scary fanfic with a sad me, Rainbow Dash, and CUPCAKES!? I wouldn’t like that at all because I would never bake Rainbow into a cupcake, I mean-” “PINKIE! For the love of Celestia please stop!” “Okie Dokie Lokie, Rainbow!” “Umm, Twilight?” “Ugh. Yes, Fluttershy?”Twilight replied while trying to stop the oncoming headache. “Is the artifact supposed to be going that fast?” “What do you mean?” As Twilight looked at the artifact and saw what had caught Fluttershy’s eye. The artifact gyros, which were going at a slow pace beforehoof, were now moving at a considerably faster rate, and were visibly getting faster and more unstable.”Uh, Twilight? Ah don’t think that’s ‘spose tah happen” Apple Jack had also caught on and gave her friend a worried look. Seeing the overload signs Twilight knew only one thing to do. “Everypony, get by me, now!” Seeing the danger Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie, Rarity, and Spike rushed to Twilight, Fluttershy, and Apple Jack as Twilight created a barrier over them all. Right after the artifact exploded and an object crashed down through the open roof of the castle filling the air with dust. ******** Every step was an agony worse than hell. Any lesser man would have been driven insane from the pain. Any lesser man would have died the moment he sustained such wounds. Despite this the Commander went on, his goal growing ever so closer. With every step he remembered who had died for this moment.Kaiden, Thane, Morden, Anderson. Tali The true face of the woman he loved flashed through his mind. He promised her that he would live. He promised her that they would build a house on Rannoch. I’m sorry, Tali, but I won’t be coming home after this. As the Commander took one last leaping step one more thought presented itself to him. Garrus. Please take care of Tali and everyone. Don’t let Joker try to save me. Please...live. Shepard dove into the beam of Element Zero and stopped feeling pain. His DNA was being absorbed. His body, a balance between synthetic and organic, was a perfect example for the Crucible to replicate. He would die, yes, but others would li- Shepard felt a dull thunk on his backside. A millisecond later the Commander felt his nerves come back to life as his body was racked in mind shattering pain. His body twisted and convulsed, as if trying to recreate itself but forgot how it was supposed to look. Shepard's existence was only pain for what seemed like eternity, the Element Zero trying to gain the needed DNA by dissolving him, while his body fought back by recreating itself, as if by magic. Eventually It seemed that the Element Zero got all it needed, as Shepard fell from the beam’s hold and was pulled by whatever had hit him in the first place. Suddenly, when the Crucible fired the Commander could feel himself being shot towards an unknown location at Mass Relay speed. He was barely aware of the field that kicked in when he reached his destination, or the crash that followed. ******** Shepard regained consciousness soon after the crash. His body, sore and exhausted, barely had enough strength to get him up on his hands and knees, let alone up on his feet. Looking around he could only see dust, but he could hear coughing. That meant that others had gotten caught up in the crash. “H-Hello?” Hearing the voice the Commander tried to locate the owner, but to no avail. His senses weren’t working properly. “M-My name is Tw-Twilight Sparkle. Wh-What’s your name?” Sounds feminine… and nervous...no surprise… I just crashed through the roof…I probably look like hell…”My name is…Commander Shepard…” Damn… I won’t be able… to stay conscious…for much longer…”A-Are you okay?” The voice asked. Finally able to pinpoint the location of the speaker, the Commander looked forward past the raised dust to see ...a purple unicorn? Unable to stay conscious for any longer the Commander collapsed on the floor.