A/N: Well, this is my very first story written here on fanfiction, and my first story that I have written in years. I apologize if my writing isn't up to par, and I am extremely open to feedback. I owe my inspiration to Melaradark, LogicalPremise, OriginalAlcy, and others for giving me platforms to formulate my own ideas and plots, and providing me the motivation to finally put them to paper. I can only hope and dream that this becomes anywhere near as popular as their fanfics, and you should definitely check them out if you haven't.

This fanfic will be my own telling of the Mass Effect Universe. Zoe Shepard. Along the way, there will be some OC characters thrown in there. In this prelude, I'll be introducing one of the main OC characters. His name will be Aidan Randal. There will be other OC characters in the series, and I'm excited about writing this. I don't know how often I update, but I am really looking forward to getting ideas out of my head and onto paper. I will say, some of the characters in this fic will be messed up (especially Aidan, and to a lesser extent Zoe Shepard). There will be elements of AU/OC/Non-canon missions in this fic. I hope you like the direction I take this in, and I'll begin with the setting up of Aidan's character in a build up to the events of ME1. I feel it's necessary to have the beginning to set up Aidan's character, so hopefully people won't be too angry that they have to wait a bit for the Mass Effect portions of the story. Just stick with it, and I promise you will be rewarded. Hopefully people like this and I'll take it all the way through ME3, but we'll see. Thus, I introduce you to the life of Aidan Randal. Enjoy!

March 2nd 1987

New York, NY

Mount Sinai Medical Center

Michael and Patricia drove up to the hospital in their beat up old Chevy. Patricia was in the back howling in pain from the contractions. Stupid bitch, had to get pregnant didn't she, Michael thought. He supposed that he liked 'Tricia, but this wasn't what he had in mind for his life at all.

They had just met 9 months ago, but he didn't see this coming. He had just bought a nice helping of some coke when this hot, skinny looking woman came over and asked him what his name was. They made small talk, but he knew what she was really after. She was a broke whore looking for a fix, and he was a junkie looking for a good time. The arrangement wasn't that hard to agree to. However, in his lusty high and stupidity, he forgot to wrap it up. They fucked like animals all night, and soon started to date each other. 9 months later, here they were driving up to the Emergency Room with Patricia screaming her head off in pain.

A doctor came running out yelling at them. "You can't park here! You're blocking where ambulances may need to come in!" the doctors yelled.

Michael didn't give a fuck what the uppity doctor wanted, and blurted at her. "Get your bitchy ass over here and help my girlfriend, she's got a little shit trying to rip her in half and I don't have time to deal with a bitch telling me where to park!"

Doctor Sherry had seen, heard, and expected all sorts of rudeness being a female doctor in New York, but she thought this was one of the rudest men she had ever met. She called for some assistance to help get Patricia into the building and found her a room to deliver the baby at.

Michael paced back and forth in the small delivery room they were placed in, nervous and irritated. It had been an hour already, filled with screaming and nurses coming in and out. Patricia was enjoying a mix of both excruciating pain and a high off the drugs the docs were giving to her, and the doctor was working diligently between her legs. "How long is it going to take for the little shit to come out? I ain't got all day," he glowered. He was growing increasingly agitated at the time being spent there and wanted to get out of there. He hated the smell.

"She's crowning now, calm down and step back now!" Doctor Shelly was extremely agitated from this bastard treating her like shit and hovering over her shoulder since he got there. A few hard pushes later, a large cry erupted into the room from the newborn baby boy.

An hour later, they were on the way back with their new mouth to feed and Patricia still high on drugs. "Well, at least we didn't have a little slut to deal with, though a daughter would have come in handy later," Michael pondered. Michael was more talking to himself as Patricia wasn't really all there.

Just earlier, the hospital had asked for a name. He didn't know, nor did he really care what to name the little shit. He lied and said that they needed more time to decide. They didn't have any money to pay for the delivery, not that he'd pay for the kid anyways. They decided to have the bill sent to Patricia's father to piss the fucker off, and to get the doctors off their back about payment and insurance.

He finally pulled up to his destination, a small project building in the streets of New York. It was a dainty and musty building filled with low life drug dealers and addicts. He muttered to himself lowly "Welcome home you little shit." He looked to his right and saw Patricia was still awake, and astounded to hear there wasn't a peep coming from the little guy. He got out of the car, and walked over to help the lady and the baby out and up into their 'home'.

Their little room in the building, if you could really call it a room, was really just a small square that had a very small shower, toilet, a bed, a small table, and a little dresser. The table was cluttered with used up syringes and white dust clouding up the surface. The room had a very raunchy stench to it from a lack of care to clean. Michael didn't seem to care too much for the state of the apartment. He let Patricia fall to the bed and simply regarded the small bundle in his hands. "Well kid, you better not be causin' me any problems, 'specially when I'm tryin' to get it on with her," he said pointing his finger back at the sleeping form on the bed, even though the motion wasn't understood by the other.

He simply sighed out of stress and sadness, wondering again what he had done to get himself in this mess. Second she's able, me n' her are gunna have a nice looong fuckin'. Hope that little shit didn't ruin her completely. He regarded the bundle in his arms again, and looked the baby in the eyes. "This fucker ain't goin' nowhere. He ain't got that look in his eyes. Looks pathetic. Couldn't be any son of mine, bitch better not have been sleepin' around on me ya hear you little shit?" He laughed at the thought he was talking to a baby, shrugged, then gathered some dirty clothes and towels together in a pile on the floor. He placed the bundle in his hands down on the pile of clothes, stripped down out of his clothes, and joined Patricia on the bed.

Michael was awoken to the sound of a crying baby and Patricia screaming her head off at it. The baby was on the dresser, Patricia trying to change the diaper of the baby with a futile effort. He sat amused for a second, entertained at the idea that she couldn't change the diaper of the baby. Almost feel sorry for the little shit, probably gotta sit around in it's shit and piss for most of the time.

"You gunna sit there and watch, or you gunna get your sorry ass up off that bed and help!" Patricia yelled at him, taking him from his thoughts. He instantly felt his temper start to rise, and rose to his feet.

"Damnit woman, move outta the way." He went to the dresser, grabbing some tape off the ground, took the diaper and jury rigged it to stay on. "See, simple as that, can't believe it took you that long to figure it out," he snorted in amusement, then turned to the table behind him and sat down.

"You didn't even put it on right! We don't have tape fallin' out our asses we can keep using on him," she hollered at him.

She was right, but damn if he could care right now. He just wanted another fix. "Yea, well we'll figure it out eventually." The baby was still crying, and it was seriously getting on his nerves. "Shut that fucker up 'Tricia! Pull out your tit, give it a little milk, then get over here so we can have some fun." He gave her a lustful smile, and she could hardly resist fucking on a high.

She let the child suckle for a minute, then like a toy simply discarded it back to the pile of clothes that had been designated Little Fucker Area. She hurried over to the table, eager to let the drugs flow through her system, and for Michael to be inside her as well.

It wasn't until much later that they had come down from their high and bountiful orgasms. It was obvious to them that they had been going at it for way too long, both extremely sore and exhausted. They hadn't even noticed the crying of the baby again.

"Guess the little greedy fucker is hungry again, better go feed him," Michael said while laying back down on the bed.

Patricia cursed and got up from the bed, and picked up the boy and started feeding him again. "You should let Dave know, he's been real excited about this thing for whatever reason," Patricia said over her shoulder. "I can never figure out why he even bothers with us. We don't need his pity and him looking down on us."

Michael shrugged. "Eh, it's just my big bro's way of making sure I don't end up in the gutter somewhere dead." He gestured to the kid, "He figures havin' that little shit will help me turn my life around." He laughed to himself a bit, then shook his head. "I'll give him a call in the morning, let him know. Half tempted to unload the little fuck on him, but Dave would be disappointed with the fuck up that kid's gunna be. He looks like he won't amount to shit."

Patricia frowned a bit, but had to agree. The little guy was pretty scrawny, looked terrified, and just had a pathetic look on his face. It looked like he was trying to figure something out and was grasping with the futility of it. She shrugged, then looked at Michael. "I can see it, but hell this guy could have some uses. People go ape shit for babies, might get us some free stuff. Might even get some more money from the government."

Michael grinned, and laughed at his companion. "I like the way you think girl. Boy might have some uses after all." He went over some possibilities, and simply gave a wicked smile to himself. He'd find some use for the boy, useless as he thought the little fuck would be.

"Shit Mike, I'm tired. This shit is gunna wear me the fuck out. Any residual from my high is fucking gone now." She was angry, as she was still trying to enjoy the last bit of pleasure from their day of drugs and sex.

"Then put the damned shit down and come over here, have a nice fuck, and fall asleep." Michael opened up his arms and waved for her to come to him. She put the child back on it's pile of clothes that now acted as it's crib, and she to the bed.

As the two grown adults fucked each other on the other side of the room, the small child looked around with a quizzical look on it's face, trying to make sense of this new world that it was thrust into. It felt utterly exhausted from the days events, and the small baby boy's eyes slowly drifted closed, falling asleep. The child had no idea the harshness of the life that awaited him.