"Sleep, I just want to sleep." I let my forehead smack my desk at work, allowing my blonde hair fall into my face as I close my eyes. "I haven't had a day off in two weeks and this three to midnight schedule is killing me." I groan.

"Amber, you have ten minutes until you are out of here for two days, quit being so dramatic." A sweet feminine voice coos to me from a cubical over.

"That doesn't mean that I am any less tired at the moment boss." I open my eyes and sit up, brushing my hair behind my ears. "I just need a break, school and work… Work and school… I need a day without either." It wasn't like working in a call center was the most difficult job in the world, but asking customers if there is anything else you can help them with was an opening to getting screamed at.

"That's why we have something called vacation. You would know what it feels like to take a break if you actually used your time off." My boss stated with a condescending tone.

"Vacation is for chumps." I stand up looking at the clock, "Can't I just leave? It's not busy, no one has called the 1-800 number in hours, and I could really use the head start on the weekend."

"I suppose I could let you leave a few minutes early." She smirks at me as I turn to look at her, "Just this once."

"Awesome!" Suddenly revitalized, I close the system down and smile at her, "Thanks boss, I owe you." As fast as I can manage, I grab my purse and head for the nearest exit to leave the building. The wind blows against my skin giving me goose bumps as I walk out the door. I start to make the nightly beeline for my car, it's an old worn out thing that was a hand me down from an older brother but it's reliable enough to help me make the one hour commute to work each day.

I stick my key in the door and throw my purse on the floor of the passenger seat. The door slams shut as the wind grabs it, causing me to jump at the unexpected noise. I place the key in the ignition and turn on my MP3 player as I try to calm myself back down before taking off. Speeding out of the parking lot and down the street in front of the building I reached my first stop. Usually, I take the left turn since it takes you to the interstate and therefore is the fastest way to start my hour long drive home. Leaning forward in my car, I can see the lights of several cop cars and ambulances that are intervening in an accident and blocking the frontage road and my direct route home.

"Damn." Taking the left turn was now out of the question. I switched the blinker and decided to make the right turn down some back country road. There was nothing down this way but a few cows and farmland that had been strategically placed in the middle of the city for some reason. I came to a creepy intersection and stopped the car.

"Get out!" A woman screamed at me dressed in black and red armor, "Get out of the damn…" She looked at my grey Ford Tempo, "vehicle?" She questioned.

"Holy shit!" I looked at the gun in her hand and at my old Ford Tempo, "Here, take the damn thing." I tried to open the door but she stood there staring at me, "Hey! You can't pull a gun on me then act all uninterested!" I yelled at her.

"It is a vehicle isn't it?" She looked at me with steely blue eyes and bright red hair that was cut to her chin, "I just wasn't aware that any planets with humans were still so primitive."

"Look lady, it's my car. It's the best I can afford and you are the one taking it from me at some ungodly hour in the middle of nowhere. Beggars can't be choosers and some garbage." I again tried to open the door.

"You have a smart mouth." She looks at me and bends down to my window, "It's going to get you in trouble."

"Lady, I've heard that my whole life. Now move so I can give you this damn piece of shit car and move on with my life." I looked at the N7 logo across the chest of her armor, "You're dressed in cosplay? I recognize that armor from Mass Effect. What the hell are you doing out here?"

"What's cosplay?" She looked at me narrowing her eyes.

"Where you dress up like a character from a video game or comic book, you know like, pretend. Evidently you are supposed to be the commander, funny I always pictured her as a blonde personally. How the hell did you end up out here?"

"Short version of the story, I had to make a difficult decision and I woke up here." She looks at me as she lowers her weapon, "Name is Jane, Jane Shepard."

"Riiiight, you're that into your character. Whatever... Look it's late, I have to go. If you aren't going to kill me can I give you a ride somewhere?"

"Can you take me to a data console so I can figure out where I am?" She looks at her wrist "My damn omni-tool isn't working out here."

"Damn, you are really into this. Alright sure, climb in the other side. Careful, the door sticks." I watch her run to the other side, "Lift up on the handle." She sits in the seat, cramped with the armor on.

"This is not comfortable. Reminds me of when I started the N-series training." Jane looks at the dashboard and then closes the door.

"Okay, if you say so Jane. I'm Amber, I'll take you back to civilization. There is a shopping center about five minutes down this road over here, where it meets back up with the city. Maybe you can find some answers or call someone to take you back to you convention. I've seen some Mass Effect get ups in my day but that one… "

"Mass Effect? You must be talking about the technology that we've been using for ages now. I can't believe that you are still driving something that stays on the ground and uses dead fossils."

"Don't hate on my car, it's taking you back to someone who gives a damn about a freak lost in the middle of nowhere wearing fake armor." I snap at her.

She looks at me and shakes her head, "This planet looks untouched from the war. How did you end up so lucky?" Jane squirms in her seat.

"What war are you… Oh, yea yea yea, the reapers and destroying the galaxy, all that stuff from Mass Effect. You are really into this aren't you?" I look around the intersection before I start driving again. Jane continues to wiggle in the seat as I drive the five minutes to the shopping center.

"You cannot be serious? Where are all the consoles?" Jane looks at me at shakes her head, "This all seems so wrong."

"Look Jane," I say sarcastically pulling into the shopping center, "This might be funny for you, but it's Friday night and I have things to do. You already pulled a gun on me and screwed up my whole flow of things."

"Again with your smart mouth," Jane nods her head, "I'm telling you, there is something wrong with this whole situation. I made the decision like that little bastard told me to, and now I'm here with some smart ass kid."

"That's it! Take the car or get out of the car! Either way get me the hell away from you." I scoff at her, "You are so into whatever role play you've concocted that I can't even talk to you like a normal person." I grab the steering wheel while I look at her.

"Look, I'm Jane Shepard, I had to make the decision to control the reapers and ended up here. The last thing I can remember was a bunch of blue light and bleeding from my gut. Now, here I am wearing this armor that looks brand new talking to your smart ass."

"You've got to be kidding me." I throw my head back into the head rest, "Please tell me this is some nightmare and I am going to wake up any minute." I turn my head to look at her and see Shepard smirk.

"Does that mean you are going to help me? I mean I could just pull the gun back out." She gives me an evil smile.

"I just wanted a damn day off, you know without school or work… Why? I shouldn't have tried to get off early." I sigh as I put the car in drive.

"Just take me to something Alliance related and I'm sure we can sort this out there." Shepard tries to make herself more comfortable in the car as I pull out of the shopping center.

"It's late, I'm going home and I can show you exactly why I think you are crazy." I smile.