Anna could barely contain her excitement as she took her first step onto the SSV Azure's Grand Kodiak shuttle transport. As she made her way toward the back of the shuttle clutching her backpack to her chest, she took in the faces of the other shuttle passengers. Faces mirrored her own – excitement and nervousness running rampant across the shuttle bay full of thirteen year olds. About halfway to the back of the shuttle, Anna's foot caught on a loose strap of a bag and the redhead went sprawling forward. Just as her face was about to hit back of one of the seats, she felt a hand grasp her shoulder, stopping her descent.
Exhaling a sigh of relief, Anna steadied herself before looking up to thank her guardian – a petite Korean girl in jeans, a white t-shirt, and a black leather jacket. Noticing the empty seat next to her, Anna asked if she could sit. In lieu of a vocal response, the girl simply nodded her head in the direction of the empty leather surface while popping a rather large bubble of her chewing gum. The redhead shrugged to herself while shimmying her way to the window seat and settled down, stowing her backpack beneath the seat in front of her.
As Anna buckled herself into the harness of the shuttle, an image of a woman, probably in her late thirties or early forties, appeared on the screen in the front of the bay. The first thing she noticed was that the woman had fair skin and blonde hair – a recessive trait that was close to dying out at this point in human history, and something that Anna felt akin to, as her own red locks were a near-extinct trait. The second thing she noticed was that this woman was wearing a uniform – blue with silver bars indicating her rank of First Lieutenant. Just as the redhead began to ponder who the blonde woman was, the holoscreen came to life and the woman began to speak:
"Hello cadets. My name is Kahlee Sanders. I am a First Lieutenant in the Alliance Navy, and head of the Board of Directors for Grissom Academy – your home for the next several years. On behalf of the Alliance Navy, I would like to personally thank you for your upcoming contribution to the study and advancement of tech and biotics at our prestigious school."
"For those of you with biotic abilities, this school is here to help you, but also to allow us to study the development of human biotics in a safe environment. Thank you for accepting this task. For those of you who were selected for your tech knowledge, know that you are all in the top one percent of the top one percent. The human race looks to you to develop the next cutting edge of technological advancements in the fields of medicine, engineering, and military."
"In time, I hope you come to enjoy life here. This is much more than a school, or a laboratory – it is your home – at least for the next several years; and so, on behalf of the board of directors, and the rest of humanity, welcome to Grissom Academy, and good luck." The hologram blinked out of existence and for a moment there was silence as the group of kids took in the information. Soon enough, the kids were alight with conversation, discussing everything from why they had been selected to attend Grissom Academy to hobbies, and the like.
Wanting to make conversation, Anna turned to her neighbor, "So… uh, hi. My name's Anna," the redhead extended her hand to the girl.
At first, the Korean girl merely looked at Anna. The young girl could feel her neighbor's eyes assessing her, from her jeans to her hoodie, before she finally sat up slightly, accepting Anna's hand and shaking it. "Go Go," was all the girl said.
"Nice to meet you… Go Go? I got asked to come here because I made a triple heat sink chamber for a sniper rifle. So uh, what brings you to Grissom?" Anna kept at it, curious about the girl of few words next to her.
"Tech," was the single-worded reply.
"Ooookay, the redhead said as she sat back in her seat, resigned to a silent trip.
Anna watched as her classmates finished stowing luggage around the cabin. Despite the shuttle being remodeled for civilian transport, the cold steel of the exterior walls was very evident to Anna – particularly when she leaned up against the wall to gaze out the window to give a last wave to her parents. Anna's mother, Idunn was still weeping while clutching Agdar, her husband and Anna's father's arm. It suddenly hit Anna, as a stray tear streamed down her face, that she would most likely not see them again for several years.
But by the time I get back I'll be one of the Alliance's top engineers! I'll have created new tech that will help with so many cool things. Anna's attention was drawn to the bouncing four year old at her parents' side who was waving frantically with a huge grin on his face as he was being assaulted by a young brunette, holding the boy back from lunging at the shuttle platform.
Anna sighed, I'll miss those two the most. At that moment, the brunette, Rapunzel, locked eyes with Anna through the small window of the shuttle, "Take care of him," she mouthed, grinning when she received an enthusiastic nod and a thumbs up from her cousin.
Just then, Anna felt a small jolt as the couplings that held the ship in dock were released, leaving the shuttle floating in space. The redhead felt the pit of her stomach drop slightly as the shuttle began moving forward. Anna watched her family as she drifted further and further away from them, their images blurring gradually until they were just specks on the Citadel's platform. Anna sighed as she turned to sit forward in her seat.
Anna closed her eyes as she let her body sink into the surprisingly comfortable seat of the shuttle. Her mind wandered to birthday parties, watching game holos with Rapunzel, the all-Elcor cast performing Hamlet, and tucking her little brother into bed at night after he woke up from a bad dream. She'd miss those moments, the proof in the tears that had begun to silently fall down her cheeks as the reality of her choice to attend Grissom hit her – for the first time in forever, she was alone.
By the time the Grand Kodiak broke citadel orbit and docked with the SSV Azure, Anna had finished her silent lament of her former life and was bouncing in her seat slightly as the shuttle doors opened to reveal the open hanger and weapon's bay of the Alliance frigate. The new recruits filed out of the shuttle absorbing the sight of several military personnel engaged in various activities in the hanger.
As the group made its way to the elevator, Anna noticed a nearby marine struggling with a heat sink on a utility bench. Slowing her pace she watched as the marine threw the rifle she was holding onto the bench, letting out a growl of frustration as she paced the floor. Approaching the bench, Anna discovered instructions for an upgrade the marine was attempting to install to increase ammo capacity in the rifle.
An astoundingly loud noise jolted her attention to the right as she observed another marine firing a Widow. Clip expended, the marine hit the switch to bring the target closer. Growling in frustration, the marine smacked the stock of the rifle grumbling about recoil before reloading and sending the target back out – only one shot would have been a kill shot. A quick glance around the room revealed that the rest of her shuttle-mates were standing around watching the marines training. Anna took the opportunity to approach the marine with the Widow.
Drawing in a breath, Anna garnered the attention of the marine, asking to see the rifle for a moment. "You're one of those brainchildren from Grissom, right?" the marine asked, still clutching her rifle close.
"I- well, we're on our way there, yes, I wouldn't exactly say I'm a brainchild but I think I can help yo-" Anna was cut off as the marine unloaded the rifle and handed it to Anna.
"Don't break it," came the warning as the marine took a step back, eyeing Anna carefully.
Anna carefully lay the rifle on the nearby workbench before drawing an item out of her backpack. The marine's headed cocked to the side slightly as she watched Anna skillfully remove the side paneling of the Widow rifle before removing the heat sink chamber and replacing it with the contraption. Anna replaced the siding before loading the rifle with the nearby heat sink. Glancing around and finding no more nearby, she looked to the marine.
"Do- do you have any more heat sinks?" She asked timidly.
Still wary, the marine handed a pack of four to the young redhead before watching Anna insert two more into the rifle and handing it back to the perplexed marine.
Just as the marine was raising the rifle to her shoulder to test it, a scream broke out from further down the hanger followed by gunfire. Reacting quickly, the marine tucked several nearby children under her workbench before posting up and aiming down the hanger bay.
Anna peered down the corridor looking for signs of activity as a body in fatigues went flying across her field of vision before slamming into a pile of crates with a sickening crunch before crumpling in a heap on the ground. By this time, the remaining marines had formed a protective semicircle around the Grissom recruits, eyes peeled and guns held high.
Anna's stomach dropped as she clung to Go Go's arm. A human man had stepped out from behind a Kodiak shuttle, arms wide, features glowing. A few shots popped off by various marines confirmed that his biotic barrier was up and holding strong when the projectiles bounced harmlessly away.
The unidentified man laughed, taunting the marines, "Do you realize the children are actually protecting you?"
Confused, Anna's brows furrowed while she tried to process the mysterious assailant's words. Just then, she heard an amused grunt from next to her, glancing over to see Go Go stand up, rifle in hand.
"Go Go, No!" Anna exclaimed, reaching out in vain as her friend walked toward the biotic.
"Join us, young one," was the response to her aggression.
"And who is us, exactly?" Go Go inquired, not lowering her rifle.
Pointing to his arm, motioning to a diamond-shaped insignia unfamiliar to the Korean girl, he smirked, "Cerberus. We stand for the advancement of the Human race and for it to take its rightful place as the dominant force in the universe. Interested?"
"Sounds crazy. Humanity's doing just fine if you haven't noticed."
"Shame," the Cerberus agent sighed, raising his hands, a glow returning to them, "I suppose The Illusive Man won't mind if most of the kids make it…"
The next several moments passed by in slow motion for Anna as she watched a wave of tiny mass effect fields explode in succession headed directly toward her courageous (or stupid, Anna wasn't quite sure which) friend. In that same instant, several biotic shields deployed, visible as the explosive shockwave pierced them one by one, losing momentum with each successive shield it destroyed. She then watched the remaining fields erupt underneath Go Go, rocketing her backward through the air as several deafening shots rang out from somewhere above her.
Without thinking, Anna sprung up and raced the few steps to her right that it took to put her in an intercept course with Go Go – still plummeting through the air, before colliding with each other, Anna's flesh softening the impact that would otherwise have been onto the solid metal wall that the two now crashed into, albeit the impact being significantly softer than had Anna not moved.
Rubbing the her ribcage where Go Go had made contact whilst massaging her head where it had made contact with the wall, Anna slowly looked up, and, while met with relief, immediately wished she hadn't. She saw Go Go moving, albeit tenderly, and was happy that her friend seemed to have made it okay, but that relief was short-lived when she saw the bloody mess that was a few yards in front of her. The majority of the Cerberus agent's corpse was lying nearby, while a large blood spray with… bits of what Anna could only assume was a head, neck, and shoulders, lay strewn behind it. The redhead made to cover her mouth as she choked back vomit from the grotesque scene. Looking away, she noticed the majority of the students and marines looking up. Following their gaze she saw a Turian in blue and silver battle armor with the Citadel Security logo on it, with a very large, familiar-looking sniper rifle perched on some cargo crates.
Hopping down from his nest, Anna was shocked when the Turian looked directly at her, "Nice mod, kid. Might I suggest using Warp Ammo, though? Packs a punch…" he trailed off, setting the rifle down on the nearby workbench before striding off to the elevator.
Anna couldn't believe it. Her invention had just saved the people present. She almost squealed until she was instantly sobered by a group of medics rushing by with several marines on stretchers, several missing limbs.
This. This is why I was chosen to come to Grissom, Anna thought as she watched the marines pass by; the fewer images of this that she had to endure the better, especially if she could be the cause of less violence, the better. Realizing she was falling behind the group which had been ushered into the elevator to get to a safer area, the redhead scurried after the rest of the group, catching up just before the doors shut, before being assigned to a bunk for the remainder of the journey to Grissom Academy.