(Disclaimer: I do not own Mass Effect. All characters, except the OCs, belong to Bioware.)

Shepard:

Milky Way, Earth Systems Alliance Space, Local Cluster, Sol, Earth, England, London

April 10th, 2166—Earth Standard

Earth was a lie, a farce. A front the Alliance put up to make humanity seem more important than they actually were. Earth was a dump filled with criminals and anti-alien garbage. Ever since the Alliance started colonizing new planets, everyone left looking for an adventure or a fresh start. Those that stayed, however, thought themselves to be more superior to the other species. Thought they didn't need their help, or their Council.

And that was—arguably—what annoyed Eleonora Shepard the most; that she was surrounded by complete and utter heathens. For twelve years she lived in the slums of Earth. For twelve years she put up with the Tenth Street Reds and their pro-human bullshit just to survive another day in the streets of hell.

A movement on one of the screens got her attention, and she frowned. Eleonora switched to the monitor screen that was hooked up to the camera outside her door. A few more buttons were pressed, and the image was combined into the twelve screens in front of her.

Two people, and only one she recognized. Finch was hard to miss with his greasy dark brown hair and his boastful personality. But the other man got her attention. He was older. Too old to be around a bunch of orphaned kids, or even making a deal with them. And there was something about the way he carried himself that put her on edge. Like he was expecting trouble. The blue-white armor he wore wasn't one she recognized from any of the local gangs, either.

She turned up the sound just in time to hear the last part of Finch's speech.

"—A savant. Best tech expert you'll ever meet. Guaranteed."

The savant blinked, and dedicated half of the monitors to run a background check on the mysterious man. The monitors spewed out his information at incredible speed, and her green eyes flickered over them. Absorbing everything.

Zaeed Massani. An ex-Alliance soldier. Dishonorably discharged. Became bounty hunter for years and later co-founded the Blue Suns mercenary group with Vido Santiago.

Her fingers froze over the holographic keyboard. The co-founder of the Blue Suns was in the Reds' hideout. She'd heard rumors about the space-faring mercenary group, rumors that would make the Reds sound like child play.

"Better be straight up with me, kid," Massani's gruff—and accented—voice sounded through her speakers, "The Blue Suns only work with the best."

"Ya, no one's better than Shep," Finch boasted, "Not even them quarians."

Finch compared her to the exiled race. The same race that built the AIs—the geth—then lost their homeworld to them. The quarians weren't smart. Not by a long shot.

Shepard cleared her screens, and started twelve different and separate searches on anything that was not related to mercenaries, the Blue Suns, or Massani himself. The doors to her haven opened just as the new searches appeared.

"That little thing is the your tech expert," she heard Massani spit behind her, "I'm not a goddamn babysitter. Deal's off."

Zaeed pulled out his assault rifle and aimed at Finch's sweaty brow. He gritted his teeth, and pulled the trigger. Finch closed his eyes, and waited for the blast of the gun to go off, but all he heard was quick successive beeps coming from the weapon. The young boy dared to open his eyes, and saw the seasoned mercenary pounding on his overheated gun. An orange glow disappeared from behind Zaeed, and Finch smirked, crossing his arms.

"Thanks, Shepard," Finch called, smugly, and turned back to the mercenary, "So, about that deal…?"

Zaeed looked over his shoulder at the little 'tech-expert'. The little girl couldn't have been older than ten, but she still managed to sabotage his M-8 Avenger—his Jesse—halfway across the room. That kind of tech was only available to the military, and that kid somehow got her grubby little hands on it. The little redhead might be better than he had ever hoped.

Massani crossed his arms, and leaned on his back leg, "Fine. But she better be as good as you say, kid."

Finch grinned, "If you send us the resources you promised, she will be."