Rebirth: The Mass Effect. Book 1 old V2

Rebirth: The Mass Effect

Nytare, Горный цветок.

Part 1: Under the Shadow of the Lord

Chapter 1: Hello, new incarnation!

  The woman standing at the viewing screen suddenly screamed thinly and sank to the floor, writhing in short convulsions. His eyes rolled back in his head, his hands scrabbled on the metal floor, and only wheezing and squawking came out of his throat.

  People in dark military uniforms ran in, and the woman was taken to the infirmary. But the checks showed nothing: the commander, who was having a seizure, was completely healthy! But the brain activity was off the charts...

  The seizure ended as abruptly as it had begun. The female body suddenly went limp, the indicators calmed down and did not differ in any way from the standard data of a soundly sleeping person.

  A tall man in a paratrooper's uniform asked quietly:

  "Doctor, what's wrong with her?"

  "Sorry, guys... I don't know." the doctor spread her hands in confusion.

  "How is she?"

  The indicators are stable. Captain Shepard is just sleeping.

  Let me know when she wakes up.

  "Yes, sir."

  The man abruptly turned around and left the infirmary. The doctor sighed heavily and went back to work, carefully examining the readings taken during the captain's strange attack.

* * *

  A day later

  The agony of death still dominated my senses, shaking my body with spasms and convulsions, but gradually the phantom pains subsided, allowing me to take control of my new body. There were sensations, I felt smells when I inhaled, a metallic taste on my tongue, stiffness of the couch, tingling on my fingertips. Synchronization has ended. My soul settled into a new place, the connections were restored, the aura began to slowly unfold, recreating layer by layer, and I launched a diagnostic of the body. I need to know who I've been thrown into this time.

  I was pleased with the result: the body is feminine, healthy, human, at the peak of its development. An ideal option for rebuilding. Gradually, as my aura unfolds and I assimilate with my soul, my body will change, acquiring the properties that I have managed to consolidate. Regeneration is activated first. Then there's mentalism, as soon as the eighth layer is restored. And, as an ideal, my Gift and the transformations it grants. As soon as the inner layers settle down, the memory of the recipient whose body I have occupied will begin to be absorbed.

  Did I feel sorry for the woman whose existence I had so abruptly ended? Not for a moment! My soul went into rebirth without damage and with a decent supply of energy, so the next birth will be extremely successful and happy — this is my compensation, a kind of payment for the interrupted rebirth. And experience tells me that this woman's life would be... Stormy. Very violent and bloody. It doesn't throw me into other destinies... At least for the last four hundred years, which I more or less remember.

  The second layer unfolded. The racing thoughts calmed down. My mind cleared, my psyche stabilized, and my mind cleared. The third layer will take several hours to open and give me power over my body. The fourth will unfold by the end of the day, and with the activation of the fifth, I will begin to absorb information from the host's brain. I'm lying somewhere safe, judging by the way my body feels. There is no need to jump up and crawl somewhere in a semi-dead state. Means... sleep. A short mental command, and my mind obediently went out, plunging me into sleep.

  Consciousness turned on with a jerk. At the edge of perception, a sense of life unfolded, the beating of some powerful energy, a conversation carried by the ear, but the mind was in no hurry to comprehend someone else's speech. My MEMORY unfolded in front of me. The memory of a woman named Rin Shepard. Judging by the name, the girl had Japanese roots in the family, or it was someone at St. Patrick's orphanage who decided to make fun of one of the educators. The girl was thrown on the threshold at the age of two without documents.

  Looking through the stingy, partially incomplete memories, I didn't know whether to laugh or cry at the realization of WHAT embodied reality I was thrown into! And even at the moment of the beginning of Branching. Or, in other words, a couple of days before the start of the canon.

  I couldn't help but giggle. I never thought that one day I would be reborn in the embodied reality of the Mass Effect! I'm usually thrown off the world... not so developed, although sometimes much more perverted. Oh well, at least a touching childhood dream will come true.: I'm going to space! I will see alien races, visit other planets...

  The beginning euphoria was interrupted by the rustle of opening doors and the barely audible click of heels. Well, Rin, it's time to wake up and explore a new world. Fortunately, the upcoming meeting with the Protean lighthouse will allow me to write off all my oddities and extensive memory lapses to him.

  Blinking in the bright light, I opened my eyes. A soft cry, the rustle of clothes. I carefully propped myself up on my elbows, peering at the ash-haired woman who jumped up to me. A copper-red strand fell over her eyes. Whatever her name is... I've been trying to remember, but at least something is coming up. Karin Chakvas, trauma surgeon, staff physician at Normandy. Ash-gray hair, a medical worker's outfit. Grey eyes, kind eyes.

  "Captain Shepard!" Karin's voice turned out to be very pleasant, low and full of sincere concern.

  "Doctor? What happened? Why am I in the infirmary?"

  "Is unknown." The doctor stared intently into my face with intelligent gray eyes.

  "You suddenly have cramps. No injuries, no abnormalities, but the body was in agony. After seven minutes, the cramps stopped, and you fell asleep for a day."

  "That's how..." I nodded slowly. The agony of death, as always, ricocheted through the body. Things happen. "Strangely, I feel quite well. Where are we?"

  The doctor understood my question quite correctly:

  "We just jumped through a repeater into the Utopia system."

  That's it! The Beginning Of Branching. Eden Prime. The first distortion is always difficult. Reality does not want to deviate from the "canon", from the matrix according to which it was embodied. Especially if the world was not created by a creator who was nostalgic for earth and other worlds, but the world was formed by itself on the energy of the egregor. I can only do one global Distortion. But what is it? Need to think.

  I stood up, interrupting the doctor's objections with a gesture, and silently left the infirmary. I need to find my immediate superiors and let them know that I am alive, healthy and ready to work. However, I didn't have to decide for a long time, as the intercom informed me that they were waiting for me in the briefing room. Then I'll crawl around the ship, poke my curious nose, but for now... Eden Prime is waiting for me! It's been a long time since I've fired a good sniper rifle. Where's my viper? In the locker, as well as the scorpion armor.

  A tall Turian man was waiting for me in the briefing room. THE SPECTR OF Naylus Kraik. Stopping at the entrance to the gym, I leaned against the wall, staring intently at the man standing with his back to me, turning the crease inside out. The recipient's memory unleashed on me a wave of negativity and suspicion towards the SPECTR, which suddenly found itself on board with some kind of incomprehensible task. In principle, I can understand Rin: Nilus behaved with a degree of arrogance and coldness, cutting off any possibility of contact, and the hot-tempered Shepard, following the slight xenophobia and opinions of the crew, openly disliked the powerful Turian, although she observed strict neutrality. What do I know about this guy? Naylus Kraik, a student of Saren Arterius. Tough, ruthless, however, he does not reach the mentor either in cruelty or in this very ruthlessness, he treats people with cautious benevolence. He's a loner by nature, a great fighter. He nominated Rin as a candidate for Spectre. He'll die on Eden Prime, shot in the back of the head by Saren.

  Or he won't die.

  I have one global distortion of reality. Two intelligent people from my environment who can somehow influence the further development of this reality will die on this planet: Jenkins and Nilus. The first one gets a bullet from a Geth drone, the second one gets the same thing from a mentor. Only one person can survive. It's easy to save Jenkins. Naylus is almost impossible, but their influence on events directly depends on the static nature of fate. Well... I have some time to come to a final decision.

  I detached myself from the wall and sauntered over to the Turian, greeting him with a nod of my head. It's time to start preparing this reality for Change!

  "Commander Shepard," the Turian's voice was surprisingly low and deep, with a slight metallic tinge and a barely audible rumble, as if a huge cat was speaking. "It's good that you came first. We'll have a chance to talk."

  I tilted my head to the side, peering with interest at the man slowly pacing in front of me. The Turian is a tall, powerfully built humanoid. Her figure is powerful, but surprisingly slender. A similar illusion was created by a thin waist and long legs, and the peculiarity of a cat's step: without full support on the foot. The appearance did not cause hostility. A beautiful race. Predatory. Dangerous. The light grace of a wild beast, the smooth, honed movements of a fighter, economical gestures, the gaze of bright green eyes, looking somewhat wary. A face with a hard chitinous integument, but moderately expressive, however, facial expressions can be determined solely by the eyes and movable mandibles. The harmony of the face falls under the definition of "beautiful" and therefore the Turian does not fall into the category of "freak".

  "We can talk." I easily agree, smiling a little.

  There is wariness and distrust in the green eyes. Yes, Naylus is far from stupid, and the crew's attitude towards him is well understood and felt. You can even sympathize. The negativity was felt even by my neutered empathic sense.

  "Don't mind?" The mandible twitched slightly.

  Reality wavered. A minor digression. The beginning of the stratification of the chain of events. The first sign of a Change and rejection of the Branch of reflected reality from the main tree of embodied reality. Continue... The history of embodied reality does not like digressions... she will try to return events to the programmed course. Let's see what I can change. I hope Naylus survives. I don't give a damn about Jenkins. He's practically useless.

  "No. Talking to an intelligent interlocutor is a pleasure that has been so rare lately. Especially if the topic does not affect the service."

  The SPECTR understood my irony. He bowed his head slightly.

  "You weren't so friendly the last time we talked, Commander Rin."

  I shrugged my shoulders.

  "The status obliges. Who better to know this than you?"

  The man nodded.

  The conversation turned aside. Nilus on Eden Prime... He didn't even mention it. That's wonderful. To listen to pretentious nonsense, which the SPECTR itself does not believe in... why?

  "What brings you aboard the Normandy, SPECTR?" I smiled at the way the Turian flinched. "Don't tell me stories about stealth system testing."

  "You've already figured it out." not a question, but a simple statement of fact.

  "I hope I'm not stupid."

  "Don't take my words as an insult." The Turian waved a four-fingered hand in alarm.

  His attempt at justification is to apologize so much... it is touching and funny, which causes only a smile and a slight touch of emotion. It's funny when such a powerful being apologizes for such a small thing.

  "I won't count it. And yet, Naylus, what brings you to the Normandy?"

  Anderson, who entered the round room, saved the Turian from having to get out. With the man's first words, the story returned to its original tracks. I listened to Anderson with half an ear, carefully watching the Turian standing next to me, forming his image. My eyes involuntarily clung to the little things that were so insignificant at first glance: small reflex gestures, the way he moved, the timbre of his voice, the fleur of his emotions that I vaguely felt, the expression of his surprisingly green eyes. Anderson started talking about the mission on Eden Prime. Nielus immediately tensed up. Her mandibles were pressed tightly against her cheeks, and her eyes were alert. Waiting for my reaction?

  "And what do you want to take off the planet?" I asked with a slight irony in my voice, looking into Nihlus's green eyes a little maliciously.

  The captain answered me:

  "During the excavations at Eden Prime, scientists found some kind of lighthouse. Most likely, it's a prothean."

  I chuckled.

  "How can you be sure that this is a lighthouse and not something else?"

  The captain had no answer to this question, and he hesitated, not knowing what to say. The Turian's green eyes were filled with bewilderment and confusion. I was frankly falling out of the image that I had managed to create during my time on board the ship.

  "Let's say it's a lighthouse, and let's say it's a Prothean." I looked at the confused Turian with interest. "I understand your desire to take the device out of Eden Prime. As far as I know, there is no way to study such devices on this planet. Am I right in my assumptions?"

  Anderson and Nilus nodded in unison.

  "Correct me if I'm wrong about anything." The SPECTR flinched at my kind smile, but did not look away. "An artifact has been found on the planet, presumably a Prothean beacon, with great potential value for all races living in Council space. Since there is no way to examine the device or ensure its safety on Eden Prime, it was decided to take it out. The Citadel, I suppose."

  Nihllus nodded. Anderson blinked and remained silent.

  "I will not touch on the political side of this decision. It is multifaceted, although it can be described in one word." Seeing the interest in the green eyes, she pressed: "Rollback. Advice from human". I grinned harshly.

  Nihlus was embarrassed and looked away. Of course, he understands the background of what is happening. Captain Anderson chuckled.