A/N: Hola readers! Mass Effect is probably the game closest to my heart and I'm actually surprised that this is the first Mass Effect fic that I've started to write! It starts in the second game and I hope you guys enjoy reading it as much as I enjoy writing it and I'm just gonna ask that you get to upset with me when it takes me forever to write a chapter. Vet tech school is pretty much taking up all of my spare time and my weekend is filled with work :/ Anyway, feel free to review! I look forward to hearing from you guys!
Also forgive and ignore any silly mistakes like spelling or crazy punctuation :3
DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN MASS EFFECT OR ANY OF ITS CHARACTERS. THEY ALL BELONG TO BIOWARE.
Camille Shepard sighed as she landed face first onto her bed. The datapad she was reading was still clutched in her left hand, turned face down as well. She had just received a new message from the Illusive Man and let's just say that she was not happy about it. Apparently the Illusive Man had looked up her family and discovered that her brother had a young daughter. A daughter that was extremely skilled in not only the combat department, but the technical department as well. While Shepard loved her niece, she didn't feel like it was a good idea to bring her onto the Normandy, especially if she was supposed to go on a suicide mission. Not to mention that her niece could sometimes be reckless. Shepard chuckled to herself as she remembered yelling at the young girl when she came home with a busted lip and black eye.
"What happened, Lucille?!" Shepard crossed her arms as the little girl in front of her huffed and pouted slightly. "Tell me now before I go get your father." Shepard kneeled down in front of Lucille.
The girl turned from her and scoffed. "I don't need to explain myself to you."
She was only 7 or 8 at the time and Shepard couldn't believe her attitude. "Excuse me?" Shepard grabbed her arm and tugged her slightly until she was facing her again.
Lucille cocked an eyebrow and snatched her arm back. "For one, it's Lucky! I hate that stupid name…" the little girl stepped back and sighed heavily. "And I might have gotten into a fight at school…" she paused for a moment before continuing. "…over a chair in the cafeteria." Lucille dropped her head and wiped her busted lip with the back of her hand.
Shepard stood and shook her head in disbelief. "Why are you so reckless, Lucky?" A small smile spread onto both of their faces and they began to laugh as Shepard lifted Lucille into her arms.
It had been years since Shepard had seen her little niece. Going on a mission to stop Sarren and then dying would do that to you. If she was correct, Lucille was probably in her twenties now. Shepard pushed herself off her bed and headed for the elevator. If her datapad was accurate, she would be picking up Lucille on Omega. While the thought of bringing her niece aboard the Normandy was unsettling, the thought of her running through the streets of Omega were even worse. The girl didn't always think before she did something. That was a dangerous mind set to have when on Omega. Shepard also had to find a Doctor Mordin Solus while she was there so she would be killing two birds with one stone.
Shepard made her way down to the crew deck. She decided to take Garrus Vakarian and Grunt with her on this little mission. Garrus was her best friend and she basically took him on every mission since the day she recruited him back, this one would be no exception. Grunt, on the other hand, was just what she needed when going to Omega. Krogan were tough and hard to beat. Everyone knew that, and Shepard thought it would make the mission go quicker if she had Grunt by her side. Besides, he was simply adorable and fun to have around.
She palmed the button to the main battery door. It slid open silently and Shepard couldn't stop the smile that jumped to her lips. Before her stood a tall Turian, silver and blue armor, his hands busy at work as they slid over the console in front of him. Shepard walked up beside him and leaned onto the metal bar that was placed there.
"Shepard. Need me for something?" Garrus glanced up from what he was doing briefly to acknowledge her presence before dropping his gaze once more.
She chuckled and shook her head. "If you're not too busy with your calibrations, I would like you to join me on my next mission."
His quickly moving fingers stopped instantly and he turned to face her. "You know I can never say no to that."
Lucille "Lucky" Shepard huffed as she stood from her place on the ground. She swiped her hand over her mouth where a trail of blood now made its way down her chin. Stumbling slightly, she made her way over to the closest cover and glanced to her side to check on her companion.
"Mordin! You alright?"
Her gun was held up beside her shoulder as she glanced over her cover to see how many Eclipse members were left. Staying up slightly too long, an Eclipse had spotted her and proceeded to shoot in her direction. Before she was able to duck her head, she was violently pulled down and off to the side causing her to slam into the hard railing she was hiding behind. The air rushed from her lungs and she groaned slightly in pain.
"Shouldn't stay up too long. Will be noticed." Mordin Solus had seemingly appeared out of thin air. She hadn't seen him when she glanced to the side earlier.
"Don't lecture me, Mordin. I know what I'm doing. Where did you come from anyway?"
Lucky stood up for a moment and was able to down two of the Eclipse members before taking cover once more. Mordin had glanced at her with a smirk before using his omnitool to take out the remaining foe.
"Lucky, you are still young, much to learn."
He stood and offered his hand to Lucky, which she gladly accepted. He effortlessly pulled her from her seated position and was greeted with a scowl. She made her hand resemble a mouth and she flapped it up and down in front of Mordin as if she were mocking him. "Blah blah blah, Mordin. I'm not dead yet am I?"
He crossed his arms and shook his head in disapproval. "Come. We must get back to work, no time to waste."
Lucky couldn't stop the chuckle that bubbled to the surface as Mordin placed a hand on her lower back and began to lead her back to the clinic to continue helping out their patients.
Shepard placed her gun securely back into its holster as she entered the clinic. She was told that Mordin Solus was the one that ran this clinic and she was here to recruit him to help out with their mission against the Collectors. Shepard, Garrus, and Grunt fought their way throughout the apartment complexes, dropping Eclipse and Vorcha alike before they were finally able to reach the clinic.
As they entered the area a woman at the counter narrowed her eyes at them but Shepard simply ignored her. Garrus began to cough lightly and she glanced back at him, her face scrunching in worry.
"I told you, you should have stayed on the ship." Shepard placed her arm on Garrus' arm but he laughed and shook his head.
"And leave you by yourself? Who would have your back?" he coughed once more and Shepard sighed.
"Well hopefully this Mordin knows what he's doing and will be able to help you."
She quickly turned from him and seemed to be speed walking through the clinic until she reached the back. Off to the right was a large dimly lit room filled with multiple crates and extra equipment. Right in front of the door, however, was an examine table with a sick Turian curled up in the middle. Some type of assistant or nurse stood off to one side of the table while a Salarian was opposite her. They both seemed to be busy as their fingers typed away furiously on their omnitools.
Shepard walked in quietly and made herself known without hesitation. "Professor Mordin Solus?"
The Salarian raised his head toward her voice and seemed to be making his way over to her, but he completely ignored her as he used his omnitool to scan Garrus, who was standing close behind her. Garrus watched as the scan passed over his body and glanced at Shepard, who cocked an eyebrow in confusion.
"Turian physiology, resilient with simple immuno booster. Should be fine now. Now to greetings. Human. Curious. Don't recognize you from area. Too well armed to be refugees. No mercenary uniform, quarantine still in effect. Here for something else? Vorcha? Crew to clean them up? Unlikely. Vorcha a symptom not a cause. The plague? No. No."
At this point a groan came from behind one of the pile of crates followed by a flying pillow that managed to slam into the back of Mordin's head. Shepard stepped back slightly and waited for the pillow thrower to show themselves.
"For the love of God, Mordin. Whoever you're talking to probably came for a reason and doesn't have time for your bull."
Slowly another woman climbed over the crates before dropping down next to Mordin, her eyes were squinted shut to try and block out what little light was lighting up the room and she made no effort to see who Mordin was talking to. She rubbed the heel of her hand into her eyes and tried to tame her wild hair.
Shepard couldn't believe her eyes. Not only had she managed to find Mordin Solus, but she was also surprised to find her niece crawling out from some dark hole in the back of a clinic filled to the brim with sick patients.
"Lucille?"
The girl's head instantly shot up at the name, which also caused Mordin to glance at her before returning his gaze to Shepard. "Lucille. So you know my assistant. Old friends? No. Family? Likely. You share similar features."
Lucky socked Mordin in the arm and pushed him aside so that she was standing in front of Shepard. "Aunt Camille!" she embraced Shepard tightly. "I haven't seen you in forever! What brings you down into this hell hole?" Lucky pulled back and smiled at Shepard as she waited for an answer.
Shepard shrugged off her niece's hands and crossed her arms, a stern look on her face. Lucky's smile instantly dropped and she glanced behind Shepard to see Garrus and Grunt snickering. Her eyes darted back and forth for a second showing her confusion before Shepard finally decided to answer her.
"I should ask you the same damn thing, Lucille! Why would you ever think going to Omega was a good idea?!"
Lucky's head lowered slightly and her face was scrunched. She glanced back at Mordin who was absolutely no help. He was simply typing away on the console in front of him, not even paying attention.
"Lucille Shepard! You will look at me when I'm talking to you!"
Lucky scoffed and gave Garrus and Grunt the evil eye as their laughter finally broke out into the room. "I'm 21 years old, Shepard. I don't need you to baby me anymore. I'm perfectly cable of making my own damn choices."
"Well I know how reckless you tend to be and personally I don't believe you." The two were now face to face.
At this point Mordin finally stepped away from his work and placed his hand on Lucky's shoulder, causing her to disengage slightly and pull back. "Lucky is right. Reckless, yes. But perfectly capable."
Lucky cocked her eyebrow at her disgruntled aunt and smirked.
"I don't have time for your nonsense, Lucille. Although you being here is actually a good thing…this time."
With this statement, Lucky's anger was replaced by curiosity. "Speaking of, why are you here then?"
Shepard turned to Mordin at this point who instantly started up with his inner monologue. "Said you were here to recruit us. For a mission. What kind of mission? Who sent you?"
"I'm techinally with Cerberus, though it's not a very comforting thought. We're going to destroy the Collectors, Dr. Solus. We need you to help us get there."
Mordin shot Shepard a thoughtful look. "Cerberus? Yet a Turian and Krogan stand behind you. Thought they didn't like aliens."
Shepard nodded and glanced back at Garrus and Grunt. "Normally I would agree with you Doctor. But my crew is very diverse. And all are welcome."
Lucky stepped forward and looked back and forth between Mordin and Shepard. "Well, what about me then? You said you were looking for me too. Mordin is a doctor and scientist so I can see why you need him, but why me?"
Shepard sighed and rubbed her neck. "The man who is funding this mission is the one who provides me with the dossiers. Somehow and for some reason unknown to me, he looked you up. He believes that your technical skills and combat abilities will be useful."
Lucky smiled. "Well alright! Let's get going then!" she turned to go and collect what little belongings she had but before she got far Mordin interrupted her.
"Before we leave Shepard, I require your assistance."
Shepard nodded and stood quietly while Mordin explained to her how to help stop the spread of the plague. After she had completed this task, Mordin and Lucky agreed that they could return to the Normandy and go from there.