Mass Effect 2 Story Fill
I was forwarded this prompt by one of my college friends.
Request: I'd love it someone could please write a fic set immediately after Overlord, when David is taken to the Academy. Seeing how David reacts to being free would be good, as would seeing him on the Normandy for a short while. I'd also love to read something about male Shepard's interactions with him, with Shepard being protective of him.
Alternatively, a fic about male Shepard seeing David at the Academy a good while later (maybe not recognizing him at first, with David finding this extremely amusing and possibly using it to try and weird Shepard out a bit) would also be very cool. Feel free to make that one slashy if you like (although preferably not reaching full lemon status)!
Tell me what you think
Jean Shepard was livid. His skin tingled as he held the mass effect field in place around David's thin body while Tali and Garrus carefully disconnected him from the gruesome nest of machinery that had held him prisoner for Maker knew how long. Gavin Archer was slumped in a chair several feet away. His hands had been bound tightly behind him, and a dark bruise had formed across his cheek where Shepard had pistol whipped him.
David was still murmuring his mantra quietly, and Shepard could still feel the lingering effects of the savant's hacking of his cybernetics, like someone had rubbed sandpaper against his nerves. This kind of cruelty was abhorrent to him. He'd seen enough of it over the years, both as serving the Alliance, and in his village on Mindoir. Though, at least the baterians had been decent enough to let their victims die eventually.
“Alright that should do it.” Tali informed them, her omnitool powering down as the last of the cables came free. Shepard floated the broken young man out of the jumble of wires and Garrus held an emergency blanket in his hands, which the turien wrapped around the shaking figure. Jean held David against his armored chest plate as the glowing field dissipated. He could feel the young man shaking hysterically even through the thick armor he was wearing, and it only served to fuel the rage boiling up inside of him.
“Joker, make sure Chakwas is ready for us.” Shepard ordered, while Tali hauled Archer up by the back of his lab coat. He chose to ignore the quarian woman as she shoved the scientist a bit harder than necessary, making his way quickly through the too bright corridors toward the waiting Hammerhead. “Garrus, I want you to have Tali, and Legion go over this whole place with a fine tooth comb, have them take Zaeed as well in case Cerberus left any more surprises. I want every file, the names of every person connected with this hell hole. I want all of the security footage from every last inch of the entire compound.”
“And then?” Garrus asked, though the former C-Sec agent knew what the answer was going to be.
“Tell them to blow this cesspit off the galactic map. The planet is dead in a century anyway, but I want nothing of Overlord left. If the Illusive Man doesn't like it, he can tell me in person.” Garrus nodded, making an effort not to stare at his friend's eyes. The cybernetic implants had started to glow with that dark orange color that appeared when Shepard was particularly pissed off or upset about something. It was disconcerting sometimes, but they made for a fantastic way to gauge the human's mood. Right now, they told him that Shepard was livid. The human was letting his anger simmer to avoid scaring the younger human he was carrying, but it was going to explode at some point so Garrus made a mental note to make sure the Normandy was planetside when the commander let loose. The engineers were still banging out the dents from the battle with the Collectors, and so they probably wouldn't appreciate having to repair damaged bulkheads from their CO engaging in a biotic-fueled tantrum.
Activating his comm link Garrus heard Joker's voice but the turien cut him off before he could begin talking. “Joker, make sure that Chakwas has the medical bay ready for us. And have Jacob find somewhere we can stuff a prisoner. Guy's a sick freak but Shepard doesn't want to leave him here.”
“Alright Chakwas has her team standing by.”
“Thanks, we'll be in the air in a few minutes. Garrus out.” Garrus watched Tali manhandle the scientist out of the large doors and into the waiting shuttle. The quarian had shown an incredible amount of anger at the actions they'd uncovered in the Project Overlord, and Garrus was actually surprised to see such an amount of temper from his friend. She'd probably need to have an eye kept on her as well.
*`*`*`*`*`*
Marian Chakwas was unhappy. Commander Shepard had brought her a patient who was malnourished, covered in what she would classify as marks of torture and had been obviously subjected to dozens of highly invasive surgeries which served no medical purpose. The commander hadn't given her many details beyond what was crucial to her ability to treat her patient when he had left the man in her care several hours ago, before he'd disappeared up to the loft with Garrus trailing behind him.
David Archer was sleeping for the moment. A small band wrapped around his upper arm administered a cocktail of sedatives and painkillers in small injections every thirty minutes. She'd also set up an IV to give the boy nutrients while his body adapted itself back to being able to ingest solid food again. Even through the sedative, the young man slept fitfully, clearly having nightmares of his ordeal.
Pulling the bed sheet up to his chin, Chakwas rested a hand against her patient's forehead gauging the mild fever he was developing, and set the sensors on his bed to monitor for any temperature spikes. Settling back at her desk, the doctor began putting together a patient file for Archer, David. She wanted to make sure that Grissom Academy had a full report on their newest student's condition.
The door hissed open and she looked up, half expecting Miranda trying to get a report on David Archer to submit to her superior. The doctor had already shooed the woman out of the infirmary twice since the boy had been brought on board, the latest time using the threat of sedatives and bed restraints.
But it was Shepard.
Jean had changed out of his armor into a black long sleeved shirt and matching workout pants, his long black hair was loose from its confining ponytail and hung loose and damp around his face. Chakwas raised an eyebrow at the outfit, which had replaced the typical crew's uniform the commander typically wore while on board the ship. The loose fitting clothes made the man look unusually small and younger than his thirty-one years. Though, the doctor supposed part of that could be blamed on Cerberus meddling when they 're-built' Shepard. She had snorted in disgust at Miranda's insistence that Jean was exactly the same as he had been before the original Normandy had been destroyed. Chakwas wasn't naive enough to believe that for a second.
“How is he doc?” Shepard asked, nodding towards the bed where David lay sleeping.
“He is going to need a lot of time and care, if he ever recovers from what was done to him at all.” Chakwas replied grimly. “I can't even begin to guess at the amount of psychological trauma the boy has suffered. For what it's worth, I think you chose well, sending him to the Academy. It really is the best place for cases like this.”
“I know. He'll be safe, cared for and best of all, far out of Cerberus' hands.” Jean wasn't looking at her as he spoke, his eyes fixed on the sleeping patient, while on hand played idly with the hair tie he had slipped onto his wrist like a bracelet. “If he's well enough to leave the infirmary doctor, don't force him to stay, just notify myself or Garrus and we'll come get him.”
“Understood commander. I will notify you of any changes. However,” She peered down her nose at him, quiet a feat as the woman was quite a bit shorter than her commanding officer, “I would like to perform a few scans on you, just to be safe. Also, I want to check for any adverse affects to the, hacking attempt that young Mr. Archer did to your system.” She activated her omni-tool and waved him over to the bed clostest to the AI Core. “The last thing you need is to find out that he managed to download a virus or something into you. Although that would make for quite and interesting note in your medical files.”
He grinned wryly at her and sat down on the edge of the bed while Chakwas began setting up her equipment. “Remove you amp please, I don't want it interfering with my scans.” She held out a sterile tray and waited patiently while he disconnected the device and handed it to her. Chakwas frowned at the think milky film coating it and sighed. “I'll proscribe you another antibiotic for the infection. I wish you would come tell me these things before I see this,” She held the amp delicately between two fingers and indicated the pus coating it. “Commander Shepard, you have defeated some of the greatest threats the known galaxy has ever know, faced down unimaginable horrors and come out stronger for it, only to be killed by a viral infection.” She set the tray to one side to be sterilized later.
“Alright then Commander, let's see what other health concerns you've been hiding from me.” She pushed him down and activated the med scanner. The readouts appeared on the nearby console and she skimmed over them with a practiced eye. “Hmm, cracked ribs I see but no bullets for a change. You've suffered a bit more scarring from the L5s but nothing nearly as back as your old ones. At least Cerberus had enough sense to fix that when they brought you back to life.”
Chakwas adjusted something on the console. “As I thought, a minor infection in your amplifier's port but nothing that a mild round of antibiotics and some rest won't cure. Your cybernetics look good, no red flags coming up but I'll check again in a few days.” She activated her omni-tool and began inputting information. “I am having you placed on medical leave until that infection clears up Commander, no point in you passing out in the field. I've prescribed a round of heplacore for treatment, which I expect you to be taking ever morning and evening, yes I shall be checking. Also, I have informed the mess sergeant that you have lost weight and instructed him on a suitable diet to prepare in the mean time. Real food commander, not that synth crap which I know is all you've been eating, staying chained to your desk while not out on missions.”
She shut off the console and turned to grab a tray of medical equipment from a nearby shelf. Donning a pair of sterile gloves, she laid out cleaning solution, a pair of rubber coated forceps and a wrapped pad used for dressing burns. “Turn over commander, and move your hair out of the way. I'll clean out the surface infection for you here, so you don't go fumbling around blind.” Jean nodded, combing his hair away from the back of his neck and rolling onto his stomach so she could get at the area more easily.
He'd always hated this part. The sensation of things poking around in his head. Shepard could understand the necessity though, even if he despised it. He inhaled sharply when the first dab of the sharp smelling liquid hit the exposed wiring, sending a jolt through his spine.
“Sorry Commander, but I'm afraid that warming the solution won't do much to help.” Chakwas' tone was apologetic, as she carefully swabbed out the infection with the cloth held by the rubber tipped forceps.
“So long as you aren't using metal tweezers I think we're good doc.” Shepard replied. He'd folded his arms above his head and was gripping them painfully tight, fighting not to move as the bio-amp's port sent sparks along his nerves.
After a few moments, Chakwas removed her tools and carefully inserted a plastic plug which would keep the port sealed from contaminants while the bio-amp was not in place. “There you go, that should take care of any infection in and around the site. I'm going to clean your amp myself, it's going to need a better sterilization job than you can manage in your bathroom I'm afraid commander. How does it feel?”
Shepard exhaled slowly and loosened his grip on his arms, feeling the circulation return slowly. Make but did he ever hate that. “It's fine doc, thanks for the help.”
“Oh it's no trouble commander.” Getting to her feet, Chakwas carefully picked up the amp and placed it in a jar of the thick gel that was used to clean bio-amps and opened the pharmacy locker to retrieve the prescription. “Now then, would you rather pills or an injector?” She asked.
“Whatever gets me back on my feet faster doc.” Jean replied, combing back his hair with his fingers and tying it into a short braid.
“That'll be an injector. Keep in mind though, heplacore can cause some rather unpleasant bruising when administered this way so if any starts come see me and I will switch you over to the pill form immediately. You'd do well to avoid anything that might cause ruptured blood vessels while suffering an infection.” She held up the small case and stared at him, her green eyes hard. “I am serious Jean, if you start to experience any side effects, come and see me immediately. You've always had a touchy immune system and more than one infection at a time will keep you out of the field longer.” She wagged her finger at him in that mother-like way that always made Jean feel like he was eight again and being scolded for dragging his brother into some kind of trouble. “Here, now get upstairs and get some rest. I'll see to it that David is taken care of, and some food is sent up to you. You are on bed rest for the remainder of the day, Doctor's orders. If I have to I will send Grunt up and have him sit on you.”
“You would too doc.” He took the case and tucked it carefully into the pocket of his pants. “When can I expect to get that back?” He nodded at the jar of cleaning fluid.
“You'll get it back once I'm sure you aren't about to go off and do something stupid like fight a gang war while sick. I may be old commander, but I am far from senile.” She patted him gently on the arm before returning to her desk. “Now then, go and enjoy your day off.”
Watching him leave, she made a note to check up on him later, just to make sure the commander was following orders. Chakwas activated her omni-tool and typed out a message to Joker, instructing the helmsman to intercept any reports intended for the commander. Between the pair of them, Joker and EDI would be able to keep Miranda and any of the other Cerberus lackeys running in circles for long while.