Mesina2 wrote...
Someone With Mass wrote...
I agree that the death was a pretty bad move. Could've just said "Two years after the battle of the Citadel" and then give people different reasons to leave or another event that held the tension for a little longer than five minutes, like the Collector attack.
But then there would be no reason for Paragon Shepard to work with Cerberus.
So hence entire work for Cerberus plot wouldn't work, which Bioware aimed for.
Well, let's look at another way.
What if Shepard was horribly maimed, instead of killed? Not the 'badass wound and slap on a Geth arm' sort of maimed: messy, never recoverable, can't even write/walk/eat without help. Crippled for life, even in future tech. It's just that bad.
Spectre duties can't be done. Can't be a marine if you need a tube to breath. Can't let the galaxy know that the Hero of the Citadel is a horribly disfigured mess either: that'd be inconvenient. About as inconvenient as letting Shepard go on about those Reapers that have been dismissed.
So what does the Council do? They cover it up.
Crippled!Shepard is sent to a nice, comfortable, but reclusive veterans hospital. Publicly, the Commander is declared MIA. The Normandy crew knows, but they aren't allowed to talk. Maybe not even visit. Shepard isn't allowed visitors from the outside, lest he go on about the Reapers. Anderson tries to visit, but he's struggling with Humanity's, and his, new responsibilities. He's failing at the Reapers as well. The VS is blocked from visiting in person, and is busy with new Alliance duties as well.
Crippled. Marginalized. Impotent. As good as dead, really. And Shepard can only watch on the news as colonies disappear in the Terminus, and no one cares.
And then... an opportunity appears. A Human charity group that does extreme rehabilitation work for Alliance soldiers so badly wounded that only advanced experimental technology gives a chance. Leading-edge stuff, highly experimental. No guarantees, but no other choice either. They've found out about Shepard, and make an offer to attempt to help Shepard.
Shepard, eager to get back into the fight and unwilling to let the Reapers go unchallenged, grabs opportunity with both hands.
The group? The Lazarus Foundation.
Shepard's grateful, but curious. Where does the money come from? Who's backing the Lazarus Foundation? Doctor Miranda Lawson gives him the boilerplate, about various Human corportations and interest groups.
After a period of monthes of extensive work, Shepard is walking again. More than walking, but running, shooting, better than he ever had before. Doctor Lawson may be a beautiful ****, but she knows her stuff. Security Jacob Taylor knows his stuff with a gun, and he is helping run Shepard through the final fitness trials. Done for the (turtorial), Jacob and Shepard comiserate about the Alliance's inaction about the Terminus colonies.
Then... an attack! People are being killed!
As Shepard makes his way out of the station, he starts to uncover the hidden secrets of the Lazarus Foundation. A nearly unlimited budget. An Illusive Man. The other patients being treated? Test subjects for Shepard's own rehabilitation: they were the ones the experimental implants were tried on first. Not all implants were survivable. Synthetic derivatives of Thresher Maw acid play a role. Etc.
And, of course, Shepard realizes that the Lazarus Foundation is a front company of Cerberus. Jacob and Miranda are revealed as Cerberus Operatives. They mention that their goal has been to rebuild Shepard to fight against the Reapers, and the colony abductions. Their boss wants to talk more.
'Resurrected' by Cerberus, and having seen with his/her own eyes the Council and Alliance's refusal to openly address the colony issue, Shepard agrees to give Cerberus a chance. One chance.
===
And we're back on track.
How long does that take? Not much longer, actually. Rewrite the Normandy-going-down section a bit. In saving Joker's crippled ass, Shepard himself gets nearly oblitterated. Hazy time-sequence establishing the extent of injuries (Shepard is unreconizable, maimed. Anderson comes in for a rare visit, and he and Shepard establish the context (Council ignorring Reapers, hiding Shepard away). Anderson introduces the Lazarus Foundation, and Miranda.
Time skip. Reframe the Lazarus Project. The basic tutorial segment is 'obstacle course/target range with heat sinks' with Jacob, rather than 'jump over crates/sprint!' from Miranda.
Nearly all the things the death-sequences was supposed to give us (alienation by the Alliance/Council, a debt to Cerberus, a reason to work with Cerberus due to Alliance/Council inactivity) can be established if Shepard is maimed, rather than dead. Cerberus is still the only one who was willing to spend the money to bring back Shepard. Shepard still has reason to feel driven away from the Council and Alliance (because they tried to hide him away, out of sight). The colonies are still the primary basis for cooperation.
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