48 – Captain Anderson

Before Samael went after Tela, he had to inform humanity about the Reapers threat. A day or so had passed since the meeting he had with the Council, and he was certain a lot of the species were already informed about it.

He asked Tevos to be the one to inform the humans, and he would do that now. 

Samael even knew the person to call. Tapping his omni tool a few times, a call was made.

After 10 seconds or so, someone picked up, '' Hello, this is Anderson. With whom I'm speaking?''

Anderson didn't know the number who called him or who called, so he asked that.

Samael smiled upon hearing the man's voice. Anderson was a good friend, and it was nice to 'meet' him again in this cycle. Officially, that is.

'' Hello, my name is Samael. I don't know if the Alliance has intel on me, but it doesn't really matter. I'm LD's creator and owner. Nice to meet you.'' Samael didn't know how far the information about his identity had spread, but again, he really didn't care about others knowing about him. At this point in time, almost no one could threaten him.

Anderson was quiet on the call. As this was a normal one and not holographic, his expression wasn't seen, but it was clear the man was taken aback. But, as if to prove his will of steel, he recovered after a few seconds, '' Yes, we heard about you. Can you imagine how the government reacted when they found out the LD owner was from the slums? It was quite the sight.''

Samael snorted at that. While he lived multiple cycles, his disdain towards the people in power only consisted, as with each cycle, the reactions they had toward people who threatened their so-called influence only got worse. It is safe to say that while Samael would not outright go after them if they stayed quiet, he would not help them either.

'' I'm sure it was.''

'' Ok, I'm not sure why LD owner called me, but I doubt it was to hear that. What do you want?'' Anderson thought that Samael was going to ask something of the Alliance, and as he was one of the most influential officers, it made sense to come to him first.

Samael sighed, '' I'm afraid I don't have good news for you, nor the whole galaxy.''

'' Oh?'' The tone and what Samael said intrigued Anderson. He stopped what he was doing, and his whole attention was on the call, '' Go on.''

With a heavy heart, as it should, as he was basically telling Anderson death was coming for them all, Samael started speaking, '' First things first, I'll start from the beggining.''

'' LD was digging around Eden Prime when we found a Prothean base. As I'm sure you know, inside that base was Javik, the Prothean who appeared on all news channels weeks ago.''

'' Yes, the revelation shocked a lot of people. Please, continue.''

'' He was in a cryosleep for 50.000 years, but after making sure he was okay, we woke him up. The first thing he said was, '' Did we win?''. Confused, we asked why he said that.''

Samael took a deep breath, '' It was then that he explained to us that the Prothean didn't just die peacefully or go away to another galaxy. No, they were in a war against a species called Reapers, immortal, deadly machines. You may have heard about them from the fairytales, but let me tell you, they were very real.''

''They were the ones responsible for the Protheans disappearance, as they exterminated the entire race.''

Anderson was silent as he tried to process the information. It was a lot to take, but he didn't understand why Samael was telling him that. It was then that a thought struck him, and he didn't like it one bit. Before he had the chance to speak, Samael continued talking.

'' Worse thing is, the Protheans found out that the Reapers had been doing that to other species, forming a never-ending cycle of death and destruction. Basically, every 50.000 years, the Reapers come to the galaxy, wipe out all intelligent species, and then go away. No motives, they just come, kill, then disappear.''

'' And ... 50,000 years have passed since the last cycle. We have proof that shows the Reapers are coming to the galaxy once more. Anderson, we have a war of a magnitude the galaxy has never seen before coming to us.''

'' I was tasked to inform humanity, as the Council and the Spectres were tasked to inform all other species. I ask you to relay the information I just gave you, to the government.''

'' I could've done it, but your words have more weight than mine at the moment.'' Samael then tapped his omni-tool and sent Anderson the files Vigil had given his crew, '' Here are the data we have on them.''

Vigil files had a lot of things in them, and it helped immensely. It explained the indoctrination, what the Repaers looked like, what they were capable of, etc. A god-sent gift.

Anderson looked at the files in a hurry, and for a minute or so, the call was silent. Soon, after he recovered from the shock, he said slowly, '' This is quite a lot to take in.''

'' I'm sure it is, and I also know for a fact that the governments of other species must already have received the same news. Just give someone a call to confirm it. This is serious.''

Anderson sighed. Life just got a lot more complicated, not just for him, but for everyone else too. ' Just when things seemed to go okay.'

After he 'lost' the chance to become a Spectre, Anderson tried his best to not let it get in his way of happiness. So, he focused on his work and even helped Shepard, a girl he had 'adopted' earlier on in his carrer, advance rapidly through the Alliance ranks, and now she even has her own crew.

But now, it seems dark days are ahead. Of course, when the call ends, he will confirm with the Alliance intelligence and ask them to ask other governments about it, but from what he can gather, it seems legit.

He doubted LD owner would call him just for an end-of-the-galaxy prank.

'' ... I'll confirm the information, and if everything is okay, I'll pass it on to the higher-ups.''

'' Please do. Also, I know you have contact with Jane Shepard. Can you give me her files?''

That made Anderson pause. Things just took a weird turn, so he asked, '' Why do you want her files?''

He didn't notice, but he was acting like a father trying to protect his daughter.

'' It's like this. I'm not sure if you know, but LD has been ... supporting Shepard with credits, guns, or other things. We saw her potential and decided to help her.''

That made it even more confusing, '' Why not just make a file from that then?''

'' It's because I want the Alliance one, the official one. You see, LD managed to secure a Spectre position, thanks to a few sacrifices. And.-''

'' You want Shepard to be it.'' Anderson wasn't dumb. He knew Shepard's potential, and her becoming a Spectre seemed normal to him.

'' Yes. She is a natural leader, and with the crises that are about to happen to us, it is nice to have a human representative within the Spectre ranking, don't you think?''

Anderson wasn't going to lie, while it hurt a tiny bit to see another human become a Spectre, he was even more proud that it was Shepard who was chosen. I mean, he trained her and taught the girl everything he knew. It was almost like his second chance.

'' I'm sending it to you. It might take a few days, though.'' Anderson could've sent the file right away, but to be honest, Shepard only had one mission under her. He now wants to increase her curriculum, and that will take some time.

'' I can wait. Thanks.''

'' One more thing before we end this conversation.''

'' Ask away.''

With a little hint of fear in his voice, Anderson asked, '' How much time do we have until those Reapers arrive?''

'' 10 years at max, 1 year at worst. We will do our best to stop them. LD will help others with research projects and funds, as agreed in the Council meeting. Oh, I forgot about it. I'll send the files with the whole meeting to you.''

Samael then sent Anderson the video and audio he captured in the meeting. Of course, he took out the part where he had the conversation with Tevos, as that was a huge secret.

'' While the news I delivered to you wasn't nice, it was nice to meet you. I had heard a lot of your feats, and after just a little talk, you seemed to deserve all the praise.''

'' Likewise. Now, if you excuse me, I have a lot of people to call now.'' Anderson sounded tired already. He could see the tiredness he would have in the upcoming hours.

'' Bye.''

The call then ended, and now humanity would get in the loop about the Reapers. Samael calculated that by now, every single government of major species, and those affiliated with the Council, must already know this.

He also knew that they would not listen and would call for a lot of meetings before they started to act for real.

' Shity politics always ruin things.'

Samael sighed and looked around. The crew had already left Chora's Den after helping clean it and were now going to the hangars. Wrex was there too and was saying goodbye to everyone.

'' Did you buy the things I asked for?'' Samael asked RR, who was beside him in her android form. While they could communicate by using his omin tool, he liked talking with RR in this form.

'' Yes.'' RR pointed at a small ship beside the SSV Phoenix. '' The ship is the best the Citadel has to offer, it's bellow LD standarts, but that will have to do. Also, we can can build EDI's body now.''

The ship was one of the gifts Samael would give Wrex. Inside it, there are also a lot of goods, ranging from food to guns.

'' Thanks.''

'' Don't mention it.''

When both finished talking, Wrex was alone, watching them. Samael and RR approached the Krogan, who hugged the Android.

'' While I do think you are a little crazy, it was nice meeting you. Also, if you ever rebelled against the galaxy, please don't kill me.'' While Wrex faced countless beings before, even he was afraid of what RR, or any other AI, could do if they went rogue.

''Don't worry, I'll leave you for last.'' RR hugged him back and then went inside the ship.

'' Thank- wait, what?!'' When Wrex looked back, RR was nowhere to be seen. He could only sigh and face Samael.

He had a lot of things to say about the young human, but he knew he didn't need to say them out loud. It was almost like they were equal in all terms, whether by age or strength.

Of course, the Krogan knew it was unlikely, but it was a feeling.

The Krogan extended his hand to Samael and said, '' While short, the time we spent together was one of the best I had in a long time. You gave me a lot of credits, and you are making a cure for my people. I don't know how I can repay you.''

Wrex knew that paying the Genophage with Credits was far from enough. LD, and by proxy, Samael, was risking a lot by even researching it.

The Krogan species wasn't exactly seen by others with good eyes, and Wrex knew it was with reason, as his species does tend to be aggressive. But they were good people, if you let them show you.

So, Samael doing all that to help the Krogan really did move the old dinosaur.

Samael accepted the handshake and said, '' You can repay me by getting ready for the upcoming war... Wrex, I'm sure you know, but this is it. The fight of our lives—everything that we did or will do—will not matter in the face of the Reapers. We are not ready, so I ask you to help me prepare the Krogans.''

Wrex smiled at that, '' My species likes a challenge, and the Reapers are good as the last 'boss'. Don't worry, I'll put all of them under my banner and train them the best I can.''

'' Good.''

After that, they broke the handshake, and Samael went towards the SSV Phoenix while Wrex went to grab a ride. 

When Samael looked back and saw him leaving the hangar, he called him out, '' Wrex!''

The Krogan looked back, confused, '' What!?''

Samael pointed to the ship he purchased to the Krogan, and said, "That is yours!"

'' ... WHAT?'' That took Wrex by surprise. He didn't expect that.

'' RR didn't tell you?''

'' She didn't.''

Just in cue, as if waiting, RR peaked out of the ship and threw the keys to Wrex, who grabbed them. She winked at the Krogan and went back.

Wrex blinked. He could not even be mad at the AI. So, he could only say, '' Thank you. I'll use it well.''

Samael waved one last time and then embarked on his ship.

Wrex looked at the keys once more and vowed to do his best to stop the Reapers. Even if only to repay the kindness he was shown.

And what he said earlier, about this being one of the best times he had was true. The crew treated him with respect, not just as a mercenary.

It was nice.

But now, he had to enter battle mode. What he was about to do was big and ambitious. Others tried to gather all the clans of the Krogans under one banner but failed.

They made one mistake, though.

They weren't him.

Wrex boarded his ship and was flabbergasted by the huge amount of stuff inside it. But now it was not time to look around, it was time to go home.

Soon, Wrex's ship departed from the citadel, even before the SSV Phoenix, going towards Tuchanka.

That was the start of the Great Krogan Empire, but that is a story for another time.

--

Veronica asked Samael as soon as he entered the cockpit, '' Where to?''

'' RR will pass you the coordinates. Just follow it.'' 

They would follow Tela's path to a T and find the Shadow Broker. Again, while he knew the whereabouts, in the same area where the game counterpart was located, Samael didn't know the exact location, as it was years into the past.

With Tela's path as a guide and with the information he had, Samael was pretty sure he could find the Shadow Broker. He also knew it would not be the same Shadow Broker from Mass Effect 3, as this was a position where the figure changed very fast.

It was dangerous to be the Shadow Broker, but also rewarding, as you quite literally know everything about anyone.

'' Leave it to me.''

SSV Phoenix then left the Citadel, going after the Shadow Broker.