Mass Effect characters/places are property of Bioware and inspiration was taken from playing the games (1 & 2).

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The teenage girl sat on the med-table, her leg bouncing in synch with the tremble that wouldn't cease. Her eyes were unfocused as the doctor treated her, and the Alliance lieutenant hesitated in his questions. Her cheeks were blushed where they weren't bruised, only allowed to keep on slinky white tank top and a thin cotton sheet over her legs.

"Is there anything else you can tell us, Miss Shepard?"

She felt naked and exposed. She'd felt that way since… Jade closed her eyes and shook her head, trembling more roughly as she tried to keep the tears from her eyes. She didn't think she could cry anymore. She didn't think she'd ever stop.

"I think you've done enough." The intern shot a venomous glare back at the soldier, resting her hand down on Jade's. The girl looked down at the touch, the shivering heavily once more.

The lieutenant poorly hid his annoyance, but turned to stride out of the medical room anyway. Alone with the doctor, Jade's chest shuddered and she started crying again. The girl was one from the handful that had been rescued from Mindior.

Jade pulled away from the doctor's ministrations, running her hands over her arms suddenly to scrape away the bandages and peel at the medigel on her wounds. She didn't care anymore, she wanted to feel the pain, she wanted to feel anything other then the emptiness that was left inside.

"Jade, please." The female doctor spoke gently, wrinkles about her eyes as she tried to stop the girl's hands. "You don't want to bleed anymore… you don't want an infection either."

"Yes I do." Jade's voice was raspy and broken, despite its girlish pitch, and she wrapped her arms around herself, pulling away as she bent over herself. Concealed against her legs, the thin sheet itched her skin, and she shuddered and cried. She could feel the trickle of blood where she'd torn the medi-gel. The burn reminded her she was alive. Alive when no one else that mattered was.

Her father roughly grabbed her, eliciting a sharp cry from Jade, and she looked up to him as his fingers dug into her shoulder.

"This isn't a game, Jade." Robert Shepard looked over her face, seeing the confusion of fear and innocence in her features. He shook his head, pushing her backwards forcefully.

"But Dad, wh-"

"Just do as I say!" His eyes didn't meet hers as he punched in the code on the weapons locker. In the streets outside the sound of gunfire pierced sharply, its sound disjointed and foreign to the agrarian community. Pushing her back into the confined space, Robert looked at her one more time before saying, "I love you. You have to stay here."

Before Jade could protest her father had slid the crate shut, leaving her almost immobilized in the confined space. She cried out, hitting on the door, panicked at finding herself in the crate. Two slots in the container let her see the room, trembling as her father went and helped her little brothers into other crates. Jordan was screaming the loudest, barely six, but he was fit into a container none the less.

The metal muffled the sounds of their anguish, and she started twitching again as she tried not to hit the container in frustration. Why were they doing this? Why were they attacking the colony? What had they ever done to anyone? In the scant view she was afforded one of the tables was hit, knocking over the sample tubes she'd helped her father collect that morning.

Trapped in the locker, the sounds of gunfire and screams were only magnified, echoing off the metal around her. Jade's stomach churned, closing her eyes as the screams of her brothers gained a frantic, panicked edge. She pressed her eye to the break in the door, trying to see that they were allright, unable to see any movement in the room.

The commander strode across the room to sit in the chair beside Jade. His uniform was neatly pressed and he was going bald, but his voice was softer then she thought it'd be. He was another strange face in the many that had come to see her the past week.

She was wearing simple slacks and a shirt she'd been given. The cheap fabric was clinical and contributed to her alienation and shock.

"We've been able to find you placement in a boarding school for Alliance children. It's near here, you're on the Arcturus station. Did you know that?"

Jade shook her head emptily, gaze down back into her lap again. It had been years since she'd even been on a spaceship. Her memory harkened back to a hazy time her father had taken her to Earth to go to a conference with him. She hadn't liked it.

"Miss Shepard, I know this is very difficult for you. It's a blessing you're alive. You'll receive one of the finest educations available. A trust has been set up from your family's accounts to ensure that all the costs will be looked after."

Was it a blessing? Jade wondered if he'd want to be alive after losing everyone he knew. She was picking at the medi-gel on her forearm, expression blank as he spoke.

"I've read into your past, you're a bright young woman." He tapped a data pad on his knee, still watching her, even though she didn't look up. He'd never had children, nor did he plan to. "If you know what's good for you, you'll make the best of this opportunity.

Succeeding in ripping some of the medi-gel away, Jade cringed and pressed her fingers to the bleeding cut. "Yes, Sir." She responded as she should, the knotting stress of loss tightening in her chest. She didn't want them to see her crying anymore.

The charge of the batarian's rifle reverberated in the metal of the weapon's locker, and Jade's fingers pressed against it, trying to stop her shaking. Jordan's screams had made them break into the storage room, she knew it. Why hadn't Dad put them together, she could have calmed him down. She could have kept him quiet. One of them was hacking the lock on his crate.

"Get it done. They're what we came for. I'm tired of playing target practise with the adults." The batarian snickered and looked to his companions, striding forward to look out the latticed window into the streets.

The gunfire had slowed the day before, and Jade had thought they'd escaped. She'd spent the entire time cramped in the locker, unable to sleep and unable to escape the screams of her trapped siblings. Her legs ached and so did her stomach, and as the second night passed, she'd started to feel hope that all the raiders had left. But here they were, in her house, trying to get to her and her brothers. Where was Dad? Why had he abandoned them? Why wasn't anyone coming to save them?

The rapport of a pistol echoed in the streets, distantly dimmed and muted by the walls. But the sound of it roused the guarding batarian. The lock on the crate was bypassed, and Jordan's screams rang clear. Jade felt panicked and sick.

The batarian put a hand to the comm. at his ear, and looking between his companions ordered, "Stay here and get these open. Looks like the Alliance showed up."

One of them snickered, and in the small view Jade was afforded she could see Jordan move, roughly handled like cattle. The batarian smacked him, mussing his cries, and she jerked, her jaw dropping as she recoiled in the small space. They put some device around his neck, and his screams spiked, renewed.

How did he even have a voice still?

The batarian pushed the child over, grumbling to his partner, "Put him with the others."

Jade felt panic sweep through her all over again, almost hitting the crate, but some iota of survival instinct stopped her before any sound was made. She clamped her hand over her mouth as tears broke down her cheeks, trying to stop herself from hyperventilating.

Walking quickly down the hall, Jade clutched her things close, using the data pad to conceal herself. The passage was packed with teenagers near her own age and height, and she wove amongst them relatively unseen. They knew she wasn't a military brat, and in the months she'd been there she'd made relatively few friends. Her studies had given her somewhere to focus away from her thoughts, absorbing all the things she'd always been curious of, but that her father had never allowed her to touch.

You don't need to learn how to use a pistol, Jade. Why would you ever want to?

She'd become obsessed with them. Obsessed with learning how they fit together, why they worked, and as much, how she could get one. She spent her nights in the dorms taking things apart. It made her roommate uneasy. Especially when Jade had installed a homemade secondary lock for their door. She never felt safe. The quiet girl had promised to keep it quiet though, after the look Jade gave her.

When her fingers tired, she lost herself in absorbing anything she could. Her grades were flying, the classes were easy – her parents had never let up on the importance of her education. They'd wanted her to go to university, study like they had, so she could come home and be an asset to the community.

It was with that thought she saw Vana up ahead, pinned on the wall by a boy she recognized – Conner. He often poked fun at Jade for how she dressed, you'd think for a captain's son he'd be used to women less girly. She could see her roommate was uncomfortable under the boy's invasive eyes.

"Hey Vana."

"Hey Ja-"

"Can't you tell you're not welcome." Conner's hand rested on the wall by Vana's head as he flicked a look at Jade, an arrogant smirk on his lips.

The mousy girl shrunk back against the wall a little more.

"Vana's supposed to meet me in the lab." Jade kept his gaze as she crossed her arms, the data pad of her work tucked under her arm.

"She's busy."

Vana looked from Conner back to Jade, a subtle pleading in her eyes. "Yea.. I know." Jade's words were sarcastic, and she reached to give Vana's arm a tug, urging her to come with her. She could see Conner was agitated by her presence, but she didn't really care. She dropped her right foot back as he released his hand from the wall, eyes turning back to her.

"If you think a little shit colony girl tell me what to do, you're stupider then I thought." The cut of his words drew some heads from others in the hall, and Vana moved a bit closer to Jade, escaping out of Conner's body space.

"We're just gonna go, Conner." Jade sighed with a bit of exasperation, looking aside from him to punch something in on her data pad. She handed it to Vana, who edged closer still.

Conner reached and grabbed Jade's shoulder, and her eyes snapped up to him. "You know, my Dad told me about you."

"You better let go." The ire was rising in Jade's throat, and it escaped in her words. There was a slight murmur from two of the people nearby, glancing their way as they hesitated going to class.

"Must be some kinda freak they didn't take you too. Wasn't even worth killing." Conner let go, his other arm swinging round to push her in the chest. He didn't get the chance.

Catching his arm, Jade bent his wrist, repositioning herself and transferring the energy of his subtle aggression. Conner was caught by surprise, and a 'what the f-' barely escaped before Jade flowed to roughly plant him face first against the wall. His arm twisted behind him in her grasp, Jade's chin just barely reaching his shoulder in height. There was some laughter from the two strangers, and they turned away at the embarrassment of his predicament.

Jade tested the strained tension in his arm, and the 'fuck' finally escaped Conner's lips as he winced.

"I'm sure captain daddy would love to know how some girl broke his son's arm." Directing him with the pin, she slid him aside off the wall with a push. "Run along before you get hurt."

Vana's smile in her periphery was unavoidable.

The pistol charged and the shot went off before Jade could realize what had happened. She couldn't stop shaking, hearing the slump of dead weight to the ground, seeing the colour of her brother's shirt pass by the slotted view. A pained sound caught in her throat, and she closed her eyes, mind screaming at her for being unable to keep it in.

Why'd he struggle, why didn't he just go with them?

She heard the batarian's weighted steps towards her hiding place, and closing her eyes, clamped her hand over her mouth again, shuddering as new tears streaked over the dried ones on her cheeks.

"There's more still, huh?" The door of the weapon's locker shook as the batarian hit it.

His companion kicked the fallen boy with his foot before answering, "We didn't bring enough collars from the ship."

The body of the batarian blocked the morning light that had been filtering into the confined space. They'd found all her brothers, she'd listened to their screams and cries as they put those things on them. She'd done so well keeping it back, keeping herself hidden, rotting inside as she saw them pulled away out of the room. One by one as the crates her father had hid them in were cracked. Except for Dean. He was on the floor now.

The sound of a ship's engine tore overhead, and a garble of words crackled on the second batarian's comm.

"They've sent in ground troops."

The batarian working on the lock of the weapon's crate ignored it, a few erroneous sounds fizzling away. He sighed and tried a few more times, before delicately prying the panel free to access the circuitry.

"This house is an outlier from the blockade." The batarian by Dean's body spoke again, a bit more of an edge to his voice.

The soft chime of the lock arrested Jade's senses, and she had to close her eyes as the brightness flooded in, the door of the weapon's locker sliding aside with a soft 'shh'. She shielded herself with her hands, body jerking with the tremble of stress in her, tears on her cheeks, near-paralysed with the thought of what was to come.

Jade gave the corer a twist and pushed it down deep into the soil. Nearby her father flashed her a smile, and she offered a quick grin before stooping down. Gathering the sample cylinders, she capped them off and wrote a quick identifier on the lid.

The air was filled with the sweet scent of chaffed grain and the stubble crunched underfoot. A breeze kicked up the loamy smell of the earth, catching her hair too and giving it a carefree toss too. She could see storm clouds on the horizon, obscured in the wavy, humid haze that rose from the fields, but for now the sun shone and warmed her skin.

"Hopefully if these tests are what we expect, they'll be able to get the next round of crops in."

"The plot's doing well?" Jade entertained his excitement. She'd never understood her father's fascination with soil – and didn't expect she ever would. She slipped the cylinders into her satchel before slinging it back over her shoulder. Strolling over through the dry fields, she linked her arm with his and gave it a squeeze. Shaking the small tube of solution in his hands, he hesitated and leaned to return the affection, kissing her brow.

"Mom called about lunch a bit ago. I think we're about done. Ready to head back?" Jade smiled warmly as she rocked on her toes, and she laid a hand on the satchel, "Think I've got all I can carry anyway. The other fields are on the other side of the settlement."

Breathing in deep, her father assessed the horizon and nodded conceit. He knelt to slip the few tubes in his hand into a strapped case and sealed it before slinging it over one shoulder.

"Probably should let her feed you." He smiled down at Jade and gave her a squeeze before they turned to make their way back to the rover.

The batarian grabbed the front of her shirt and hauled Jade out of the weapon's locker, her arms catching on the unprotected metal edges. A dance of cuts blossomed red on her arms and she shrieked and tried to recoil from the man. His other hand came up across her face, hardsuit leaving a mark on her cheek as she crumpled in his grasp, loosing her balance and gasping away into silence.

"Shut it." The other batarian strode forward and snatched her arm, eyes narrowing down upon her as she looked up. Jade had trouble looking away, seeing their peculiar ocularity up close.

"You learn to keep your eyes down." His own hand swung up and Jade tried to turn to avoid it, but the armoured hand still caught across her cheek and nose.

A guttural sound breathed out in Jade's throat as she caught her footing, unable to keep from closing her eyes as the lattice of pain washed over her face. The odd step brought her bare foot down into a thick, cooling pool. Face downcast, she reflexively opened her eyes, seeing her toes in the pool of Dean's blood. She recoiled back, a soft scream of anguish in her throat, and the batarian wrenched her arm to force her to his will.

Her translator crackled as he spoke, his tone firm and harsh, "The more noise you make, the worse it'll be. Don't wanna end up like him, hey?" He linked his hand through to her other arm, holding her at his side as she trembled, unable to look away from her brother on the ground.

The batarian moved and she was forced to jerk along with him, blooded half-footprints left where she staggered. The blister of gunfire sounded closer, magnified in the streets as Jade hung in his arms.

"That's all of them. We better get moving."

Strong cold hands shifted and gripped her upper arms, directing Jade to walk out through the door. The serene hues of morning filled her home, innocently illuminating the scene for her. The pulse of pain in her face intensified as her eyes darted between the bloodied bodies of her parents, and she bit hard on her tongue to keep the cry in her throat down. It didn't keep the tears from her cheeks.

Grappling her partner, Jade used his momentum to roll on her unbalanced knee, flipping the boy and locking his arms behind him with a precise, sly flow of her body. She panted out as he grunted in frustration, her pulse hard and fast.

Hearing the command from her Sensei, Jade released Thomas, rolling fluidly aside to rise up. He got up more slowly, stretching his limbs, and turning around to her, his feet came together. Jade ran her hands down her quilted blue training suit, and meeting his eyes, smiled and placed her hands on her thighs, respectfully meeting his mirrored bow.

Striding off the mat, the Sensei smiled at her, and she reached to rest a hand on Jade's shoulder as they both meandered away from the practise mat. Behind them another match started.

"You're doing so well, Jade, I'm always surprised by the spontaneity of your moves." She smiled at the girl. "I heard you've enlisted."

Jade smiled, her skin flushed from the bout and she dropped her hands to her sides. "I'd been thinking about it for a few months." They both turned around to watch the match, and Jade crossed her arms in a casual way.

"Since your birthday?"

A tightness squeezed Jade's breath, but she kept smiling either way. It was a different anniversary. "Yes – thought since I'm old enough now."

The Sensei rested her hand on Jade's back in a motherly way. She'd become like one – nothing like Jade's real mother, Hannah. She was alive, for example. She was more earnest then her social worker too, something Jade had used to push herself in her training.

Her eyes danced away to look at Thomas. He was smiling at her. She looked away just as fast, smile still held on her lips. He had tried speaking to her earlier, before class had begun. Something about going to see a vid. She was sure he'd joined the jujitsu class in the spring because she was in it. She felt miles away from him – from any of them, really. She had to look after herself. They didn't.

Maybe that was why joining the Alliance excited her so much.

Drawing her hand back, the Sensei lightly said, "My son's in the Alliance, you know."

Jade turned her smile to the woman as she nodded. Her thoughts were elsewhere, but she tried not to let it show. She didn't like people asking questions anymore.

"He here on the station?" It was easier to get others to talk. Most wanted to.

"Oh I wish! No.. no he's in the Fifth Fleet." The Sensei's attention drifted back to the match, and she walked to the edge of the mat, leaving Jade behind.

Jerking in the batarian's arms as the gunfire echoed in her ears, Jade was whipped aside, his free hand still clutching her wrist tightly. She'd done her best to keep quiet, but the frustration of the encroaching marines had led to her increased rough handling. The two batarians were pinned down behind a rover - they had been pushing to make it to the fortifications where the rest of their people were.

Her brothers were nowhere to be seen, and the rigid pressure in her chest had bled out into her limbs, muting all the sounds and the pain of the abuse they gave her. She'd read about batarian pirates on the extranet and wondered if she should try and get herself killed. The bubbled memory of scaring Dean with the stories wicked bile up her throat, and she closed her eyes as she swallowed it away, folding over and hanging heavy. The batarian jerked her arm, forcing her upright again.

Unseen to her, a trio of Alliance marines edged along the roof of a house close to the rover. The main squadron had been pinned back by the automated turrets the batarian pirates had erected at key positions around the settlement, protecting them as they packed their captured slaves onto the ship. The bodies of those who'd resisted littered the streets, wide eyes clouding over in the hours since death, flesh sagging. The smell was beginning to infiltrate every breath.

The second batarian cursed as he pulled back into cover, his four-eyes blinking closed as he sunk hard against the rover. His free hand went to his arm, trying to recalibrate his shield.

"We need to move." The man restraining her growled a bit as he spoke, looking to his partner.

"Be my guest." The other batarian reloaded his rifle, looking from him to Jade with a glare.

In a sudden burst of white light, Jade's senses dissolved into the deafening blast amidst them, and she staggered as the grip on her loosed. Disorientated and blinded, her hands instinctively went to her face, senses consumed by the loud ring in her ears, muting the sudden volley of gunfire on all sides. She collapsed to her knees with a soft cry, its own sound lost in the chaos.

Curled on the ground, the girl's vision slowly returned, though her ears felt packed with cotton, and she'd started to tremble again. She was afraid to move, even though it seemed the concussive sensation of gunfire had dimmed. She cringed lower into herself as she felt a hand on her back.

"Miss… - Miss?" The words were muffled and distant, but Jade tentatively raised her head, blurry eyes watering, as she chanced to look about. She was in the midst of three of marines, the batarians shot dead nearby.

"Extraordinary people don't come from ordinary situations, cadet." The special forces recruiter tossed the datapad on his desk, turning aside from her to stride around to where she stood. "You've got potential, Shepard. Any of your superiors I've spoke to haven't hesitated to speak highly of the work you've done."

"Thank you, sir." At ease before her superior, Shepard kept her hand linked to her wrist behind her, feet shoulder width apart. Her posture was more relaxed, but no matter what, she never dismissed the formal air afforded those who had proven themselves.

"All that's left is your confirmation and I'll approve the transfer."

Her head turned from its focus on the windows behind the recruiter's desk to look to him, "I thought there was more entailed."

"In most cases, yes. But with how you've applied yourself… Shepard, you're remarkably self-disciplined." The recruiter reached to snatch back the pad, smirking as he looked at her with dark eyes and more harshly said. "However much you'd like me to give you details to swell that pretty little head of yours, just imprint the damned contract."

Taking the data pad from him, Jade's eyes dropped to the subtly glowing orange print on its screen. Hesitating only a moment more, she pressed her thumb into the square and gave the vocal authorization.