literature

Daddy was a Rolling Stone Long

Deviation Actions

RickF7666's avatar
By
Published:
1.8K Views

Literature Text

She didn't belong here.


The Presidium of the Citadel bustled about as it had for centuries.  Beings of many races moved with purpose across the arching bridges that spanned manicured parks.  Few gave the armored, blond haired human more than a glance as they went about their various tasks.  Military personal rarely had free range on the Presidium.  This was the venue for diplomats and powerful businessmen.  But this was no ordinary soldier.  This was one of the most famous members of the Citadel Counsel's elite operatives.  She was the first human Specter, Commander Shepard: hero of the battle for the Citadel!

Because of the events of that battle, many non-humans feared and even hated her.  Her decisions --though heroic-- led to the deaths of the original counsel ...and its replacement by a Human-only counsel, headed by Counselor Udina.

As Commander Shepard leaned on the curving railing of the bridge, looking out at where the habitat ring curved out of sight, a tall dark haired man walked up beside her.  Placing an arm comfortably around her waist he said, "Credit for your thoughts."  She stood straight, a frown on her face.  

"I'm really regretting my decision to support Udina as the head of the Counsel.  If he doesn't watch it, he'll find out that his title doesn't afford him the same protection as a biotic barrier."  

A frown then creased Kaidan Alenko's face as well.  "You really shouldn't say things like that.  You're already on thin ice with the powers-that-be, because of your association with Cerberus."

The look she gave him spoke to the conversations that they had had earlier.  Kaidan knew just how close he had come to losing her.  Shepard had always seemed invincible.  Standing against Saren and Sovereign when few believed she wasn't out of her mind.  But then came that terrible day when the Collectors destroyed the Normandy and she sacrificed her life for Joker.  But then, two years later, she miraculously showed up on Horizon and saved the colony from a Collector attack!  

Upon seeing her then, Kaidan was both elated and hurt.  Had she "faked" her death as the rumors had said?  Why hadn't she contacted him?  And the further shock of finding her in the employ of Cerberus was almost too much for him to bear.  How could she work for them after all the atrocities they had witnessed committed by Cerberus operatives --not to mention what those operatives had done to Admiral Kahoku?  

Kaidan had felt betrayed.  After he had allowed his emotions to calm, though, it sank-in that she, too, had paid a price.  The glowing scars that had lacerated her face were testament to the lengths that Cerberus had gone to bring her back.

But now the Collector threat had been defeated and, to his shame, he had not stood beside her.  The mission she had now taken on was to prepare the galaxy for the coming Reaper invasion.  She didn't know when it would come.  A year?  Two?  A thousand??  No one could know.  But that mission is what had brought her back to the Citadel and back into his life.  Somewhere along the line she had fixed the scarring on her face, but the fire behind those eyes still burned.  It had taken some time for them to work past their various feelings and get back to a semblance of their previous relationship.


"Well at least Cerberus takes the threat seriously, unlike that self-important bureaucrat."  

He understood her frustration.  After she had "died", she'd gotten a state funeral and a plaque with her name on it...and then they promptly swept everything she had said under a rug.  

"You have to cut them a little slack.  The attack is still fresh in their minds.  The lower wards are still cleaning up the mess --and that was just one Reaper.  Now you're telling them there is an entire armada --bent on wiping out all life-- headed their way?  Of course they don't want to believe it!"

She opened her mouth for a rebuttal when she was interrupted.  

"Excuse me, but are you Commander Kira Shepard?"  

They both turn to the new arrival.  He was short for a Human, balding, and wearing an old style business suit that was completely out of place on the Citadel.  Shepard looked down at the man and simply replied, "...Yes..."  

"Oh, my heavens!   I cannot tell you what I have been through tracking you down!  I have a message from your father!"

Fewer words could have been spoken that could have had a greater impact than those uttered by this odd little man.  

The problem was that Shepard had never known her father.  He had left her mother when she was pregnant.  Her mother had died when Shepard was only five years old, and she had grown up on the streets of New York in a gang called "the Tenth Street Reds."  For some reason things from her past seem to be popping up lately.  First it was Finch from the old gang -- and then Major Kyle from Forfan -- and now a message from her father!  

"...What kind of message?"  

"Pardon my excitement, but who could have known that this message --put in our care all those years ago-- would lead one to a genuine hero!"  

"Would you just get on with it?"  

"Right you are!  My name is 'Milo Wolowitts', of Hammon, Stern and Wolowitts, pa."  He handed her a small rectangle of paper which appeared to magically jump to the end of his fingers.  "My firm was contracted to deliver this message to you on your twentieth birthday!"  

Kaidan chuckled at that and said, "I think you missed it by more than a few years" --for which he got an armored elbow in the ribs.  

"Yes, well, you were a might hard to track down!  We thought we had tracked you down last year, after the attack on the Citadel, but then you were reported as having died!  Imagine my delight at having found that not to be true!"

Kaidan knew the warning signs.  Shepard was about to do something violent.  

"We are happy for you, but could you just - give - her - the - message - already??"  

"Right you are!  Right you are!  But first things first.  If you could just put your hand on this DNA scanner, to verify your identity..."  

At which point Milo reached into his archaic briefcase and pulled out a piece of equipment that at least looked like it had been manufactured this century.  After getting a positive scan result he then produced a sealed plastic envelop.  Opening it up, Commander Shepard found an old-style video disk.  Looking back at Milo she sniffed, "You're kidding, right?  I doubt that I could find anything to play this thing with anywhere on the Citadel."  

"Not to worry!  Not to worry!  I have a player right here!"  At which point he pulled out a portable viewer.  "It has its own screen, but it's also wireless...so you shouldn't have any trouble hooking it up to any view screen.  And now --with your kind permission, Commander-- I can go back to Earth!"


After the small man had left, the two headed back to where the Normandy II was docked.  "Sooo...a message from your father.  Do you remember anything that your mother might have mentioned about him?"  Looking pensive, Shepard replied "Now that I think about it --what little I can remember, of course-- she never spoke badly of him.  As a matter of fact, I think she once said that he was a hero."  

"What kind of 'hero?'  Was he in the military?"  

"I don't think so.  Maybe...Ah, hell --I was only five when she died, and it's not really something I've dwelled on."

Arriving on the Normandy II the pair was greeted at the airlock by a guard.  While it had been well-lit on the Citadel, the lights on the Normandy where only set at half --being that it was late in the ship's evening.  Few of the crew were about, and the two headed to the lift.  Arriving in the Captain's Cabin, Shepard turned to a display right inside the door.  

"Edi I have a rather old video disk player.  Can you connect to it and display the image over on the armor-select console?"  A pleasant, if somewhat artificial, woman's voice responded, "That's not a problem Commander."

Shepard and Kaidan walked down the stairs from the cabin's "office" to its living space.  Sitting on the edge of the bed they looked at the holographic display on the port side bulkhead.  An image formed of a man of middle years, with dark brown hair and a neatly trimmed moustache.  He was, if anything, a rather nondescript man...but there was something in the eyes: a hidden intensity...a quiet resolve.   

A woman's voice, not unlike Shepard's, said off-camera "Alan it's recording."  

The man smiled pleasantly and announced, "Yes, Kira, you have a father."  At which point he chuckled at some inner joke.  "My name is Alan Johnson, and I'm your father.  I've asked Helen not to tell you much about me, as whom and what I am is a little...er, complicated.  So I'm recording this as a twentieth birthday gift, and I really hope that you will understand all that I have to tell you...and maybe forgive me for not being there as you grew up."  A sadness filled his eyes, but he quickly got it under control and the smile returned.

"The first thing I need to mention is that I'm not from your world.  I am from Earth, but not this Earth."


Shepard's mouth opened, to voice a question that never came.

The recording of Alan continued.  "Several years ago I and several others were involved in an event that --well-- shunted us from our reality...and we have been trying to get back to it ever since.  I'm not going to get into all the science behind it as it doesn't really matter at this point.  What does matter is that I don't have a choice in leaving.  If it had only been me travelling, then I would have stayed here with you and your mother.  I can only hope that one day you'll understand how, sometimes, obligations can override any personal desires you might have to the contrary.  Also...if the choice was there, I would have brought you and your mother with me --but the journey is hazardous, and I will not risk your lives.  This is --in case you were wondering-- why you have your mother's last name.  I don't exist here and bureaucracies handle unanswered questions better than answers that aren't covered by one of their forms."

Alan Johnson's eyes strayed toward the ceiling and he stroked his moustache, his voice briefly muffled behind his hand.  "I think you might be wondering just who am I.  Well...I was born in Chicago...in 1960."

Chuckling, he continued, "Oh, I'm not as old as all that!  One of the problems with travelling between realities is locking onto the date.  Again, it's complicated -- but I think we are getting better at it.  By trade I'm and engineer.  By hobby, well ...that might be a little hard to believe.  This Earth has only just started to reach out to the stars, and you have yet to encounter any non-human civilizations...although by the time you see this, that might not be the case.  Once humans encounter aliens you might find that they have abilities that humans don't, such as telepathy or telekinesis."  

"I'm telling you this because you yourself might have these abilities!  Because on my Earth they are not uncommon and...well...I, and other members of my family, have them."

"WHAT??"  That last comment by Alan had brought Kaidan to his feet, staring in disbelief between the screen and Shepard.  

"Edi pause please."  The image of the man stopped moving just as he was opening his mouth to say something else.  

Kaidan continued.  "Were you or weren't you exposed to Element Zero??"  Shepard smiled up at him, guiltily.


"Actually...I wasn't."  


"As a matter of fact, I never even had biotic implants until Cerberus got a hold of me.  After I joined the Alliance Military and started using my abilities, everyone just assumed that I had implants...and I didn't see any need to dissuade them of the idea.  Now, are you going to sit down so we can continue this?"  Shaking his head, Kaidan suspiciously returned to his spot next to Shepard.  

"Edi please continue the recording."

Alan continued to speak, "On my Earth people with abilities are called "Phenoms"...and occasionally some would band together for various reasons.  As it turns out, I am a member of one of those bands ...which is how I came to be on this little journey.  As for how your mother and I came to be together… well, you can't always predict who you'll connect with, or the situations you might find yourself in."  Shepard and Kaidan briefly looked at each other.  

"I fell in love with your mother and I'm not sorry.  Never regret love.  If you ever have the opportunity to fall in love, cherish it.  It may not last, but that's no reason to avoid it."  

"Helen, get over here and say hello to your daughter!  I know young people never believe that their parents were once young, too."  Alan slid to the side and a young woman stepped into view.  Except for the hair style and the makeup, she could have been Shepard's twin.  She must have been very early in her pregnancy, because she didn't show at all.  She smiled and said, "Hello, Kira sweetie.  Happy birthday!"  She blew a kiss and stepped out-of-frame.  Kaidan looked over at Shepard and, while her face might have been carved of stone, tears rolled down her cheeks.

Waving at something off-screen Alan said, "Kira, there are a few people that I would like you to meet."  The man who stepped into frame next to Alan could have been a photo copy of him, and yet the differences where striking.  While Alan was relatively thin, this man had the physique of a body builder, was clean shaven, and wore his hair in a close-cropped flat top.  On someone else this look might have been a little scary, but this man's face was open and warm.  "Say hello to your niece, Steve."  Steve wrapped his large arms around Alan's shoulders.  

"Well, happy birthday young lady!  As I can't give you any other kind of present, maybe I can give you the small benefits of what little wisdom I have been able to collect.  Learn!  Never stop learning: from every situation you find yourself or any person you might meet.  Remember: no one person can know everything, so everyone you come in contact with has maybe learned something that you haven't.  So listen and learn!  Don't be too quick to prove you're smarter that everyone else --because you might find that you aren't.   I hear and I forget; I see and I remember; I do and I understand."  

Alan smiled, eyes rolling heaven-ward and pushed Steve out of the frame.  "God-- enough with the Chinese proverbs!"


"Next up is Robyn!  Say something nice, please."  The camera frame moved, for the woman who stepped in was at least six inches taller than Alan.  For someone of obvious Middle-Eastern descent, she strangely had dark red hair!  Although a sturdy-looking woman, she was still quite handsome.  Kaidan was struck by how similar the bearing of this woman was to Shepard's.  The eyes that looked out weighed and judged.  She spoke.  

"I understand, for I too grew up without my father.  I joined the military at a young age and, if you also choose this path, remember: you stand at the gate.  Stand firm!  Against the wild-eyed hordes that would take all you hold dear from you --you stand firm!  Never give ground to the enemy for he will just take more until you have nothing!  So you stand firm!"  Alan looked a little nervous.  "Thanks Robyn."

After she had stepped from the frame, Alan leaned toward the camera and said, "Don't worry honey, she kind of scares me, too."


"And now for a completely different perspective", boomed a laughing voice.  Stepping into frame was a wall of a man.  He stood at least another half foot taller than the tall woman who was just on screen, and the camera tilted yet again.  The top of Alan's head now just poked into the bottom of the frame.  The laughing man had long blond hair and a full beard.  His hair was pulled back in a ponytail revealing pointed ears.  His ears weren't the only thing a bit off about him.  While he was defiantly handsome, there was something just a little off about his features --something more felt than seen.  

"I, my dear, am Marcus...and if your parents are to be judged, one can only hope that you take after your mother."  A hand reached up and punched Marcus in the shoulder --appearing to have no effect on the mountain of a man.  

"If I were to be asked for advice on life...I would have to say... LAUGH.  A wise man once said "laugh at the small stuff --and it's all small stuff!" or something to that effect."  His face became serious.  "You can't predict what the universe will send to you or take from you.  Remember that no matter what is taken, if you can still laugh --you still have something."  He looked thoughtful for a second and then said, "A little parting wisdom.  What is brown and sticky?  ...A STICK!"  This sent the large man into deep, loud laughter!  A pair of hands came up and pushed him off screen.


"Shane!  Come on over and say hi to my daughter!"  

A tall man came into view --not nearly as tall as Marcus, but still taller than Alan.  Shepard began to suspect that Alan was, in fact, kind of short --or he had a lot of really tall friends!  "Shane" had black hair, slicked back.  He wore a black jacket, and a shirt underneath marked with a "bull's-eye" of alternating black and yellow circles.  He also wore a pair of dark sunglasses, which he reluctantly took off to reveal a pair of piercing blue eyes.  The corners of his mouth pulled up, more a smirk than a genuine smile.  

" 'Ello."  He had a very pronounced English accent.  

"Hmm...people don't normally come to me what for advice, and I don't normally give it --other than to tell them to go get stuffed!  ...Still, there is one thing I've learned recently.  Y' can't pick the family you come from, but you might find that the people you surround yourself with have, in time, become your family.  And if your travels take you far from your family...if you keep them in your heart you are never truly alone."  

The next instant Shane disappeared from the frame.  Literally disappeared!  The camera did not stop or pause.  Shane simply vanished!  Alan Johnson looked around a bit and then shrugged.


"I guess that makes you next, Christopher."  Alan pulled a thin black man into camera range.  While the thinnest person seen so far, he looked no less fit.  Normally he would be unremarkable except for the large ugly scar that ran from his right forehead, across the bridge of his nose and continuing to the far side of his left cheek.  And yet, for all that, his demeanor was shy but excited.  

"Uh, hi Kira."  When he waved Shepard and Kaidan were suddenly taken with the desire to wave back.

"My advice?  Er... I don't know.  I guess, love what you do.  If you don't love what you do...do something else.  Oh, and fly whenever you can.  I love to fly."  With that the young man lifted off and flew out the top of the frame.  Shepard and Kaidan stared at each other unsure if they could believe what they had just seen.


Alan turned back to the camera when Marcus's voice suddenly boomed, "Val's back!  Vallarri!  Alan is making a video for his daughter!  We're trying to give her some advice.  You should say something!"

"Alright sugar...I'll see if I can impart some insight."  The voice was educated Australian, with an overtly sultry tone.  

The woman who that voice belonged to was, without a doubt, the most beautiful woman either of them had ever seen!  They had both seen intensely beautiful Asaris, but none of them came close to this woman's supernatural beauty.  She moved with a sexual grace that would leave most sentients who encountered her speechless.  

"Everyone has gifts...some more than others.  The point is to use everything you have --always!  Develop what you have as far as it will go!  If you have been given a gift, do not think that using it is beneath you.  Do not curse the gifts of others just because you do not have them.  And finally, share your gifts.  You are young, that is a gift that you will not always have, so enjoy it while you do.  You are a woman, which is also a gift.  You might not always think so.  You might wish you had a man's strength, but you don't need it --because you are the woman, and he will give it freely.  Really, it does no good to spend all your time pining over what you don't have.  Use what you do have!  Have a Happy birthday, honey."  With that she bent over, kissed Alan on the cheek, and left.  Alan reddened as he lightly rubbed at the residue of her lipstick.


"Well, you're the last one, Cynthia."  

"I don't want to freak her out", chirped a voice that was pitched very high -- almost at the edge of human hearing.  At first they thought that the voice must belong to a child.  

"Cynthia, you've never been camera-shy before.  I'm certain she'll be fine."  

Shepard and Kaidan had traveled the galaxy and had seen many different aliens --which was the only reason they didn't "freak".  They were at a loss to imagine the environment that had produced this woman, for it was clear this was no child.  She barely stood four feet tall, had a petite frame, and was covered in a short white fur!  Arching across her head was a brilliant-blue Mohawk which traveled down her back like a horse's mane.  She didn't have a nose --just two vertical slits where one would have been.  Her ears were large and pointed.  Her unusually large eyes were neon orange in color, but with an attractive, possibly- Asian cast.  But "Cynthia's" most dominant feature was the pair of huge, fluttering butterfly wings that were attached to her back!  Stunning, patterns of brilliant blue, orange and white cascaded through them.  And finally, she had a tail...both long and seemingly prehensile.  

Alan, for the first time, fully stepped off-camera and Cynthia began to sing.  Her audience sat captivated, for her voice was what they might imagine an angel would sound like.  She sang of loss and hope, of what could be and what will never be.  Kaidan felt embarrassed that he might break down sobbing.  He found that he was desperately holding Shepard's hands and he looked into her face and saw his own emotions reflected.  

They clung to each other as the singing ended... and, in that same high-pitched little girl voice, "Cynthia" said "Happy birthday" and walked out of frame.


It took a few seconds for Alan to come back into view.  His eyes were red, and Shepard and Kaidan knew that they weren't the only ones affected by the long-ago-recorded song.  Struggling to get his smile back in place Alan said, "Well, that's everybody.  I hope you had a wonderful twentieth birthday, Kira...my daughter.  Know that I love you very much and will always be thinking of you."  

Oddly, they noticed that Alan's smile had become a bit strained and he winced, like someone was shouting in his ear.  Suddenly he yelled, "FINE!  You can come out and say something -- just don't do anything that might scare her!"  

Then something inexplicable began to happen.  Alan began to fade as a white film seemed to cover him.  It didn't cover the entire screen --just him.  Once he was covered, the swirling white film appeared to expand.  It reminded them of being out on the frozen tundra, when the wind would pick up and blow the snow so hard you couldn't see anything.  It was known as a white-out.  The white-out expanded and took on a new shape, solidifying into some new form.  The figure that now filled the screen was even more alien than Cynthia had been --and even more startling, because of its size!  The closest description was of a humanoid dragon!

Standing, it would have been at least fifteen feet tall!  But what really was the first thing they noticed?  There was so much to take in!  The reptilian head atop of a long, snake- like neck?  The four powerful arms --each ending in clawed hands with two thumbs?  The huge wings tucked tightly against its back, so as not to destroy anything in the large room that was clearly not meant for someone of his size?  Or maybe the long, flexible tail that snaked out behind him?  Its skin was like that of a snake, but brilliant white and shiny enough to reflect the rest of the room.  The camera pulled back so that they might see all of him.  

This new figure was so improbable that Kaidan began to question whether or not this was just some sort of elaborate hoax!  The thing's head arched closer to the camera.  Colors danced across its multifaceted eyes, and this creature smiled!  A voice so low the two observers felt it in their bones spoke,

"I am "ICEWING"...andd you may considerr me as your... adopted brother."  At that he winked.  

"I have wisdomm --even iff these others do nott think such."  At that he turned and stuck out his dark red tongue.  

"The secrett to accomplishing anything is PASSION!  Yes - yes... all these platitudes and proverbs fill the airr so nicely, but it is PASSION thatt you really need!  PASSION for something is whatt gets you off your spindly carcass and doing it!  PASSION is why you will rise againn when you are introducedd to the ground...or when you are told something cannott be done!  If you have PASSION, people will try to KILL it --but you will nott let them!  When they TRY, you will scream your defiance!  And when they try harder, you will knockk them down!

That...is all I have to say.  Happy day-of-birth, little one...and good hunting.


The screen went dark and Commander Shepard sat speechless.  Edi interrupted with, "The disk contains a variety of still pictures.  Would you like to see them?"  

Shepard stared at the now-blank screen for several seconds more.  "No thank you, Edi.  That'll be all for tonight."

"Good night Shepard."  


Kaidan stood and stretched, asking no one in particular "...So...do you actually think that's real??"  
Shepard laid back on her bed, staring out though the skylight at the nebulous clouds that surrounded the Citadel.  She smiled, wistfully.  "At this point, I'm not sure."


"...And quite frankly, I'm not sure I want it to be."
Here is the longer version of the story that includes what my other characters had to say. The shorter version was in fact edited down by Richard Konkle, who said that while he and I might like my characters most people wouldn't care. So I'm posting both.

To repeat myself from the other story. All Characters and Events referenced here from the Mass Effect game are the property of Bioware.
© 2010 - 2024 RickF7666
Comments1
Join the community to add your comment. Already a deviant? Log In
TacehtWollem's avatar
VERY KOOL!!!!! I like how you were able to integrate your Phenom characters into a game that you like so much. Well done!