[Book Four] Chapter 23: Loss, Gain, New project, New challenges

Chapter 23: Loss, Gain, New project, New challenges

The tale of the Normandy’s crew and its fight against the Reapers had been over for a year now and people were still talking about it. Many things have changed since then. Arianna had entered the Celeste Academy a year early as a fifth year, just like Dorothea had done three years prior and was doing again. Some students at first mistook her for a lost child of one of the faculty members but were soundly shocked when she told them she was a new student like them too. She was well known by now by the upper years after participating in all her parents' biotics classes and they all confirmed that she was telling the truth. The age difference made things difficult at first but the common interest in the subject of study allowed Arianna to make some good friends. Rick would deny it to his dying days but he had cried tears of relief when a few months into the first semester Arianna had invited some of her friends home. Thankfully he was wearing his helmet at the time and nobody saw it though Arianna must have known as she simply hugged her father tight and whispered a beautiful ‘thank you’ for pushing her to go to school because she was loving it and because she finally had friends.

The cure for the Asari had turned out to be permanent and both Mordin and Rick were given a special status for their service to the blue alien species. They were considered friends of their people and would be always welcome and helped in any asari world they might end up in.

This was the last project Mordin ever did as he died in his sleep just before the end of the year, content with what he had done with his life and his legacy. Arianna, who loved the Salarian and his classes, was devastated at the news and it took both Jane and Rick to comfort her. An homage was made at Celeste Academy (which had landed on Sur’Kesh for the funeral) and everyone was free to attend. Many students (current or former), colleagues and friends came to pay their respect. Some matriarchs and former Ardat-Yakshi came too, among them Samara and her daughters. Wrex and Eve came with their eldest girl named Mordin to show her the one she was named after and had saved their species. A small statue of him was displayed in the hall of the tech sector with a plaque saying ‘Dr. Mordin Solus - The very model of scientist Salarian’. It was wearing a teaching stick in its hands, a graduate hat and a scholar robe.

David’s and EDI’s project bore fruit and they could now generate eezo just like the Mass Relay did. For consistency they named the generator GREEN for the green glow it emitted because of the green transparent material used. They use the energy from a BLUE to power up the subspace  where they dump heavy particles in it that are transformed into eezo after being changed by the energy inside the subspace. From there they send a negative current inside the subspace to generate dark energy and harness it to make a mass effect field. Effectively, what David and EDI did was render obsolete every mining company in the galaxy.

With a regular ship with BLUE installed they added the GREEN and their own Mass Relay technology. The vessel full of a synthetic crew was supposed to make a short ‘jump’ from Celeste which was currently in the Krogan DMZ, to the Exodus Cluster. Both clusters had no Mass Relay in common and were relatively close, it was the perfect test. Ten seconds after the test ship left, Rick received a transmission from Hilary aboard the Normandy reporting that the ship had arrived, though it had deviated a lot. That was a simple matter to fix as it was just about making a better navigation system.

GREEN was a success and so was the self Mass Relay.

The first thing to do on the list was to equip the Celeste with it.
The second was to taunt Hackett with it.

Both were done just before Arianna’s eighth birthday. However just like RED, GREEN was too dangerous to make and its potential even greater. The use of Mass Relay limited the paths a ship could take. The potential could bring chaos and would make uploading order in the Galaxy even more difficult so it was kept a secret, they did however, make a small battery for the GREEN called YELLOW. People would only pay a tenth of the price for the same amount of dark energy produced. 

When Christmas came, Rick’s ladies were delighted with their presents from him. Even Jennifer had her own dresses made of leather with some spikes and was okay to wear it despite being a dress. The only one who didn’t get one or any present was Hannah, simply because Rick didn’t know she would be present for the holidays or may have forgotten. That was fine with her and she simply got her own present herself.

On Boxing Day, Rick thought that either Ashley or Jane was feeling playing and tried to wake him up with a morning blow job. Since it was late and neither of them was by his side he left up the sheet to see red hair bobbing up and down before putting it down and enjoying the gift.  That was so far the best blowjob Jane had given him and wondered when she got the time to practice. He got an answer when Jane entered the bedroom to wake him up so he could say goodbye to Ashley who had to leave. Both siblings froze. Ric looking at Jane and Jane looking at the form moving under the sheets. In a flash the sheet was removed and a lingeried clad Hannah was revealed, deepthroating the biggest cock she ever had in decades.

““MOM!””

Hannah very slowly pulled back her head, dragging her lips against Rick’s hard as steel breeding tool making him moan against his will. When his crown left her mouth it was with a very loud pop. Her eyes were crossed as she looked at the cock she had created in her womb more than three decades ago as she answered her children.

“Yes?”

And with that she let her mouth attack the side of Rick’s dick sliding up and down his length.

““Seriously?!””
“I’m getting my Christmas present. Or trying since both of you keep on interrupting.” she finally said as she leaned back up her hand still griping the fuck stick.
“Raped by my own mother…”
“What are you talking about? So for you never said no, or asked me to stop. In fact you just moaned!” Shepard senior defended with a frown.
“She does have a point.” Jane said as she looked knowingly at her brother.
“... Okay fine!”
“Good, now shut up and…”
“Not so fast. Ashley is about to leave.”
“It’s that late?!” Rick exclaimed as he got out of bed pushing his mother away and quickly dressed and exited the bedroom.
“Really, Jane?” accused Hannah with an unhappy face.
“Oh please, you’re here for a few more days. And I told you he was mine.”
“Oh! So every slut in here can have a go but not me?”
“That’s not…”
“Save it, I don’t want to hear it.” said Hannah as she got out of bed and picked up her discarded dress on the floor.
“Mom…Tonight. Okay? Give me time to coax him a bit.”

Her mother grumbled something she didn’t understand but interpreted as an agreement.

____________________________________________________________

Rick could say anything about Hannah Lily Shepard but being a bad lay wasn’t one of them. She was up there with Benezia and Aethyta in the ‘how to handle a cock properly’ category. The hate fuck he gave her had been fantastic and watching mother and daughter fighting for his man meat had been arousing to the extreme. In the end he never regretted having obliged Jane's request to sleep with their mother.

Speaking of request, Miranda and Jennifer had come to him with one too. After years of convincing the former and convinced the latter to have a go at pregnancy. The fact that Jennifer was a very good mother to Sandra (which the little one often said) helped her make the decision along with her own desire growing with time and a wife that encouraged her to go with it. There would be no artificial insemination however and everything would be done the old fashioned way. Which was fine for everyone involved. Jennifer wanted the baby to be born in Summer, meaning they would have to wait at least eleven months to try for it. That was more than welcome news for Rick that wanted a bit of peace. The babies of the family were not much of a baby anymore as they were three at the minimum. No more waking up during the night or things like that and he wanted to enjoy that for a bit.

When the year 2196 started Eve came back to teach again for six months, Tuchanaka had changed a lot in almost ten years and the Kelpic Valley was not the only habitable and prospering area on the planet. Between Rick’s company and the thesis projects of some students, the desolated rock had seen a quick development of agriculture. With more food than they ever got since their nuclear war the krogans began to repopulate faster as Wrex had lifted the law restricting the amount of children they could have. There was no point in raising your numbers if you couldn’t feed them. Reconstruction went along well and many temples and habitations were finished. There was one thing that never changed, the danger of living on Tunchanka. Wrex on advice of some elders and shamans, planned to still have numerous wild areas so that krogans could still grow strong in face of danger. As a result most of the old dissident krogans that only had war on their mind quieted down a bit. Their values were not put aside and they were content with that. Of course they would have preferred to start the rebellions again but even they had to admit that now was the time for the krogans and Tuchanka to heal and that their people needed more than just warriors and shamans. The three krogan scientists who graduated the previous years were welcomed as heroes on the planet. Mordin had been amazed and proud to have seen this before passing away.

A new change at the Academy was the possibility to practice your religion. Kahlee had agreed with Rick’s idea during summer break that they should do something for the religious students and teacher. Free space in the central tower was used for the main religion in the Galaxy. She contacted every species and asked if some priests or whatever their job’s name was, would be interested in leaving at the Academy to guide the youngest and brightest people. They had to agree to be a teacher of their ways just like Eve was. All spots were filled in before the second semester even began and some students were grateful.

Project wise, Rick got the idea to explore. Not just this Galaxy but another. Andromeda was the closest and with now the possibility to create Mass Relay it could be something possible in his lifetime. The problem was the eezo needed was way more important that what a GREEN could produce. They needed a gigantic Mass Relay to send a ship to Andromeda, and of course create another one there to get back. That could take decades and Trillion of credits. Despite Rick’s insane fortune, he wasn’t going to shoulder the price of such a project alone.

That was why he had shared his idea to his mother, Anderson and Hackett and learned that a similar project was already underway. The Andromeda initiative launched in 2185 after ten years of development and sent multiple Arks  ships to the Andromeda Galaxy.

“Are they… retarded? It would take… roughly six hundred years for them to reach Andromeda with FTL and I mean FTL without being juiced by BLUE, let alone RED. Any information we have about the Galaxy is around 2.5 billion years old! And that’s if they are lucky and didn’t encounter Reapers on their way in the Dark Space! Who the hell got that moronic idea?”
“An eccentric Billionaire by the name of Jien Garson.” Anderson replied.
“...Are you discreetly implying that I’m of the same caliber?”
“Not at all.”
“Good. Because I’ll have you know, as of last September, I’m a trillionaire.” said Rick and got smacked on the head by his sister.
“Regardless of the similarities or lack of it between Garson and you… There is already one project running, is it wise to start another?” said Hannah.
“Yes. In the best case scenario, our Galaxy would not proffit of that Andromeda initiative before at least thirteen hundred years. My project could give us results in around four decades. Less if the construction time of the Mass Relay on the other side is shortened.”
“Shorten how?”
“Find a way to disassemble the Mass Relay in small enough parts that it could be loaded on a ship and sent there. When I say ship, I mean ship the size of Celeste. We could also find a new way to not need to build that gigantic Relay at all or… anyways we would definitely have results before hundred years had passed.”
“““...””””
“You just want to be the first there, don’t you?” Jane inquired, voicing her suspicions.
“Noooo.” he denied innocently. Or thought he did.
“I knew it!” she exclaimed.
“What’s wrong with that?! It’s not like it’s the primary objective!”
“You’re definitely a Grissom.” Steven said, amused to which Hannah snorted.
“Anyway… I think it’s worth a shot.” shared Anderson.
“I agree. Our galaxy is rich in resources but golden worlds are too rare and with the ever growing population, especially the krogans conflict may be inevitable in the long term.” voiced Hackett.
“So I share the idea with the council?”
“Not yet mom. I need time to explore the possibilities at hand and make a full dossier. A year should suffice.”

With everyone in agreement the meeting ended.

____________________________________________________________

“You’re insane.”
“I’m aware, EDI but thanks for reminding me.”
“Calculating a path and a destination from 2.53125 billion years old data. It’s… not impossible but it will take time. And a lot of processing power.” replied the AI.
“It’s a good challenge.” commented David.
“The question is. What’s the best way to do it? Build a Mass Relay or a ship?”
“A ship. More versatile, more useful but it has to be big. Bigger than Celeste, smaller than the size of the Mass Relay.” noted David.
“That presents one problem…”
“The energy needed is astronomical both for the thrusters but also to maintain the ship shields, the electrical installation, the mass effect field and the corridor. A RED won’t be enough. The ship would be stranded.”
“It’s the eezo needed that worries me. How many GREEN to go the distance?”
“For the Celeste, it would be a bit more than a dozen I think, for something bigger…” Not finishing his sentence David began to think.
“It’s alright, I don’t need an answer now David, we have one year before I present the project to the council.”

Saying goodbye to David he ended the call then turned to EDI.

“What do you think?”
“I think that if someone could make that project succeed it’s you.”
“I was more asking about you wanting to be part of the expedition.”
“I’m coming of course. Exploring a new Galaxy, maybe being the first AI to get there.”
“Now, I just need to convince the rest of the family to go for it.”
“Good luck with that.”

Standing up from his chair he gave her a kiss on the cheek and exited his office to go to Tali’s lab. The quarian was working on some hardware of a ship that he didn’t recognize, and was humming happily. Clearly she was having fun and was as happy as can be.

“Are you going to speak or will you keep looking at my ass all day?” she asked not to turn around from what she was doing.
“Looking at your beautiful ass until you’re done with what you’re doing. Didn’t want to intrude on your fun.”
“A bit late for that and… I’m done anyway.” she said as she assembled the thing on her workbench. “Is it a business visit or...”
“Business, though I wouldn’t mind the latter afterward.”
“Oh, definitely but business first. What do you need?”

Rick simply smiled evilly at her. She knew then that she was in for something crazy.

____________________________________________________________

He had shared his ideas with Liara, Ashley, Miranda and Jennifer and all called him insane. None of them said no at the prospect of traveling to Andromeda after all it was a decade away. Kahlee was not happy about it when he told her but knew she wouldn’t be able to change her brother’s mind.

At the end of the said year, Rick presented the entire dossier to his mother and Hackett with Anderson and Jane present and for reason unknown Helena. EDI had used past data collected on Andromeda (up to the prothean) to extrapolate the current situation of the galaxy. Rick had to up her processing power again though with the limited space on the Normandy she had to upload herself to a server room entirely dedicated to her on the Celeste. David made some breakthrough with the RED and used a heavier element to produce more energy. He called it D-RED for the color Dark Red. as the generator was darker in color than the simple RED (which was blue, go figures). Rick called it DREAD though because the energy that it could produce was ten times one RED and that scared him. Who knew what people could do with that much energy?

Tali had designed the ship based on the Citadel but smaller. It had two modes, travel and space station or rather closed and opened.
Closed it looked almost like an exact copy of the citadel while Open, the ring of the presidium was replaced by what looked like on the schematics a gigantic dome, which everything a small town would need. She had taken inspiration from her own design of Celeste for that and the design of Rick’s bunkers.
The ship was not just a ship but a space station that would have to sustain life for a long time until they found an appropriate planet to land on and live.

Everyone was impressed with the work done. Hannah would present discreetly the project to the council and if validated would be presented to the parliament. To stop any shenanigans it was agreed that while the council may sponsor it, it was a private project belonging to Rick’s company. That wouldn’t please many but after talking about it with Jane, she had accepted to be the one captaining the ship. Her notoriety alone would stop any complaints or power grab from happening.

At the end of the meeting, Helena held Rick back.

“Do you have some free time?”

Rick looked at Jane who shrugged, indicating she knew nothing about this. He looked at his mother and Hackett and they didn’t seem to be in the know either.

“Sure, what for?”
“I want to test how well you’d have done in the N6 final test.”
“... Come again?”
“With the new tech your company is making and the biotic training you provide at Celeste Academy, N school needs to upgrade their tests. Or rather upgrade their N6 test since from N5 to N1 they’re just adapting the difficulty.”
“And you need my help with that because?”
“Because I believe you to be the best suited for the task. All you’d have to do is take the N6 test, we will analyze your results and come up with better tests to gauge the recruits.”
“...You just want to know how well I would have done…” Rick replied flatly.
“... Okay you got me.Though we do need to upgrade the tests.” replied a sheepish Helena.
“How long does that last?”
“Three months.” Jane answered. “Including one month of survival with basic gear in a hostile rural environment and the asteroid test.”
“Asteroid test?”
“You and a group of others are stranded on an asteroid with no navigation and gain with just your basic gear. The test ends when the last person runs out of oxygen.”
“What happens to the others, are they left to die? Because I’m in if that's the case.”
“No, they are evacuated.” Helena replied after snorting.
“That’s a bummer. No survival of the fittest I suppose.” Turning to Jane he wanted to ask but couldn't.
“Go ahead, do it if you want to. You’ve been raising the children while we all did whatever we wanted. You earned the right to be a bit selfish.”
“It’s three months.”
“And Ash has been absent for far longer. Liara and I have been teaching and training students. Tali is having her dream job and so is Miranda. We’ve all been selfish thanks to you. Be selfish too. Stop creating things because an idea came to mind and actually do something for yourself for once.” his sister replied.
“... When and Where?” Rick asked Helena.
“The N6 course starts in May. Come to N-school and we’ll shuttle you away.”
“Won’t the others be pissed that I don’t have to go through N1 and up?”
“Possibly, you’d just have to put them in their place.” Helena said with a smile on her face.
“I like the sound of that. Honestly, I’m surprised that you’re related to Stevie over there. Way more chaotic.”
“I know, right!”
“She got that from her mother who got it from our mother. A real natural disaster.” Hackett commented with a grunt.