Mass Effect is own by BioEAWare. The Church of Jesus Christ and the Latter-Day Saints was founded by Joseph Smith.

Author's Note: I am not, nor have I ever been, a part of the LDS Church. Yet Mormon Missionaries are seen worldwide today, with some 70,000 doing it full-time in acts of proselytizing, secular services, humanitarian aid, and community service. The next time you see a well-dressed group of young men or women with the white name tag knocking on your door and still have no interest in joining, remember that these young people are doing work for their church instead of drinking, smoking, playing video games, getting knocked up, using drugs, or just lounging about the house.

This story isn't about the faith, but the work.

So the next time you get a pair of well-groomed, well-dressed young men (yes, you know what to look for) who ask you if you'd like to know more? You can, of course, politely turn them down. But be nice. Offer them refreshments. Thank them for their efforts. Most of them pay out of pocket to do what they see as Christ's work for mankind, saving their own money from mowing lawns or babysitting to do their two-year volunteer work to help mankind in the name of their Lord and Savior. Over a million Mormon Missionaries have traveled the world to open up soup kitchens, get charity donations to the needy, organize clothes drives and food banks, and start up youth programs for children throughout the world.

I might not be a big fan of their religion (yep, I'll admit to it publicly; we all have our flaws), but I certainly respect their values and ethics.

Any error that I make towards the missions and rigors are purely my own, some set for the story (which I will identify), others out of ignorance (in which I apologize).

"Go ye forward, and teach all nations." - Holy Bible, New Testament, Book of Matthew, Chapter 28, Verse 19.

The Shepard Farmstead, New Edmonton, Mindoir, Magellan System, Voyager Cluster, April 10, 2170

Tomorrow was the big day. So was the next.

Jane Catherine Shepard packed her bags for had to be the umpteenth time as she folded and refolded all her dresses, unzipped the pouches that had her datapads that had her necessaries downloaded, from the Holy Bible, the Book of Mormon, the Doctrine and Covenants, the Peril of Great Price, the Missionary Handbook, and the current Preach My Gospel edition. She had return home just the week prior from her Missionary Training Center in Provo, Utah, spending six weeks on Earth in preparation for her mission.

Jane, like many colonists born on one of Earth's sister colonies, had never set foot on the Homeworld of Mankind, in awe of the experience as she set foot on the tarmac of the Salt Lake City Interstellar Spaceport, seeing Earth from the ground level for the very first time with hundreds of other soon-to-be Missionaries from the colonies. Jane hadn't been the only one moved to tears at the sight of Salt Lake City, set up in a grid throughout the entirety of the city based upon the ground work by Brigham Young back in 1847, its streets running true north-south/east-west to create the more organized city on Earth. She had seen pictures, heard stories, and was told by her mother and her father of their own trips to Zion when they went on their missionary work and visited Utah… but words were nothing in comparison to the sight where Mormon pioneers had finally settled, free of persecution, to make a semi-arid land near a great salt lake they had called Deseret; the Promised Land. Starting with the Temple Square, the city had been gridded in perfect squares as best as possible in the Wasatch Front, bordered by the Wasatch Mountains and the Oquirrh Mountains, with lakes set in between the Great Valley where Salt Lake City, Provo, and Ogden existed along with other towns. Her father James had told Jane what it would look like and what to expect, but those had been words. Loving words from a devoted father to his eldest child, but words proved to pale compared to the experience.

Upon landing, Jane had wept at the sight, as had many other colony children just like her.

Missionary Training Center was all Jane thought it would be and more. A school of secular discipling, training, and activities set next to the legendary Brigham Young University, the young almost-sixteen year old teenager had gone through six weeks as oppose to the normal three-week course that would teach young missionaries the rules of their work, church and personal conduct and doctrine, the enforcement of their schedules, how to proselytize, proper interactions with people, and any additional training and information that was needed. For most, Missionary Training was three weeks, the need for foreign language teaching having been done away thanks to the Universal Language Translator that translated not only foreign Earth languages to the users' native language, but also foreign species' languages as well if one bought the licenses and downloads. Most of the girls in Jane's classes were gone after three weeks, while hers would run for six. Others had been amazed upon learning where she would go. Most new missionaries were assigned missions at stakes where there was a mission president in one of over the thousand missions throughout Earth Alliance Space, the Church of Jesus Christ and Latter-Day Saints taking to faith the words of Matthew; "Go ye therefore, and teach all nations." The President had declared over a decade ago that 'nation' meant anywhere where Humanity resided, and missions were sent to colonies, space stations, outposts, and providences. Of the dozens of worlds and hundreds of colonies throughout Earth Alliance Space and the Attican Traverse, young missionaries went out to the stars to fulfill their volunteer work by spreading the word of their Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, as well as engaging in community services and humanitarian aid efforts.

That's where the other missionaries did, at least.

Jane had an idea when she was thirteen years old, saving up money for her own mission as she had since she was nine. She was just old enough to start understanding the galaxy as a whole, and remembered seeing something on the news that had her wondering, wondering if she could do that. It was a new thing, likely never done before, and the thought of it charmed her. Oh, she told her mother and father, and they were not at all pleased at hearing of the idea. But she had prepared for this, showing demographics and pics she had found, explaining her ideas that she had taken notes on to organize and hit key points. Her father, James Shepard, had done missionary work in the People's Republic of China when the government finally allowed religious missionaries to come officially without persecution back in the 2140's. Her mother, Heather Shepard, had done her missionary work in the Federal State of Alaska for the North United American States, working with the Native Inuit in several of the remote towns out in the Yukon. They had forged ahead into areas that would be difficult, where the locals would be less likely to be polite, intending to do good work to people who truly need it. In that, Jane saw them as the heroes they were; bringing the Word of Christ to people who had least likely to have encounter it, people who could use a good pair of hands to help them in their lives and their struggles. Her father was proud to say that he had started the first Church of Jesus Christ and Latter-Day Saints in China along with three dozen other missionaries, building it with their own hands and bringing people to that very tabernacle. That was what Jane wanted to do.

So, of course, she picked the Citadel.

It took almost three years of paperwork, preparation, more paperwork, getting licenses, saving Credits, even more paperwork, the appropriate notifications and acceptances, and finally… more paperwork. She had to write to the Systems Alliance Ministry of State for a legal passport to leave Earth Alliance Space, write another to the Citadel Security Services Visitation and Immigration Section (after explaining what a missionary was), get the evangelical licenses that allowed her to supposedly evangelicalize in the appropriate areas, and save up enough money to not only afford the flight to the Citadel, but to support herself for the next two years. Jane had to cram herself in school to finish her education two years early, prepare herself for Missionary Training Center, go to Worship on Sunday as well as her bi-weekly Scripture Study, watch out for her younger siblings and make sure they weren't doing anything rash, and do her thirty hours of monthly community service with the Young Women's Society to help out the mostly agrarian colony of New Edmonton (or New Eddie, for short). It was a great deal of hard work, but the young woman was proud of that; a simple road to traverse was not a road that taught one the values of walking forward, after all. She took each obstacle and difficulty in stride, finding ways to conquer each of them with proper pride and accomplishment. After almost three years of work, she had finally done it.

Seeing the other missionaries asking here her stake would be and watching their jaws drop had been… okay, it was pretty priceless to see them go why didn't I think of that!

The extra three weeks of training was Cultural Studies.

The Headquarters of Jesus Christ and Latter-Day Saints weren't exactly thrilled that Sister Jane Shepard would be going on her own to the Citadel; no missionary partners to work with, no missionary leader who had the necessary visas and licenses to aid her in her efforts. Missionary work was suppose to be done in teams, to help each other while making sure they stayed on track and on course. She would be a pioneer; the very first. Oh, they were excited at the prospect of spreading the Gospel and Scripture of Father Smith to a location that had never been touched, men and women living on the Citadel certainly included in the ecclesiastical order teach all nations, but at the hands of a lone sixteen-year old woman? They had initially stalled at the thought, and Jane had sent letter after letter with different ideas and avenues into when to encourage her acceptance. She had already done much of the groundwork and paperwork on her own, and denying her would deny anyone going for an equal length of time. Finally, the President Himself made the decision after listening to the Quorum of the Twelve, giving her the green light for her missionary. That had the teen-aged woman practically giddy; all her hard work was paying off, and the President approved! The Church had gotten her someone to be her missionary leader, finding a Catholic Priest who operated a small parish in the Tayseri Arm of the Citadel to help her adjust to life on the Citadel and help her with her work, one Father Simon Caldwell accepting the young Mormon Missionary and to guide her as best he could. Jane had already messaged the priest a few times to gain correspondences as well as exchanging the differences of their religious duties and how to best fit what was needed. Father Caldwell had been a priest for nearly a century and had expressed his surprise and his approval at what she was doing, having done the same thing when Humanity gained the right to populate the Citadel seven years prior and making it his mission to be where Man and God needed him. There would be little hiccups, of course, Catholics and Mormons not exactly having the same belief structures or scriptures, but both had promised to make it work, seeing the other for what they were; those who did the work of the Lord.

Tomorrow, Jane would be sixteen years old. And on the next day, she would be taking off to the Citadel.

"I'm going to miss you, sister."

Jane turned to see her younger brother, Matthew having just turned thirteen three days prior. He had always been in her life as far as she could remember, the bubbly little boy that, somehow when she turned around, was starting to go down that road where he would be a young man. He was already in his Boy Scouts of Humanity uniform, as impeccable as ever, working towards his Eagle Scout Badge. Jane turned from her packing and repacking to give her brother a hug, knowing that she was going to miss so much when she was gone. She rested her head on his auburn locks, her own coppery curls gotten from their mother while he had gotten their fathers' darker red hair.

"I'm going to save up every hug I can and smother you with them when I return, Matty." Jane promised, holding her brother tightly as she tried not to cry. "I know you'll do good like you always done, and I want to hear all about it when I come home."

"Proud of you, Sister Jane." He emphasized her new title, making her laugh/sob as she slowly, regretfully pulled away to look into her younger brother's green eyes, seeing that they were moist. She had been a part of his life every single day, no doubt an almost three-year old Jane Shepard touching her mothers' swollen abdomen at the wonder of the life held within. Until she went to Missionary Training, they had never had a day apart save for little things such as Boy Scout field trips or her own work with the Young Women's Society. Even then, it had been but for a day or two. Not weeks. Not months.

Not years.

This is what the mission is really about, Jane realized as she gave her brother another hug, almost smooshing him with the fierceness. It's not just the work of the Lord that I'm doing; it's also the work I'm doing for me. To go off to foreign lands (or stations), to be away from the comfort of family and home, it was meant to teach missionaries those values and ethics, to reinforce what really mattered. She knew of other religions that did something similar; she recalled that the Amish would leave their communes at sixteen and be obligated to live in the broader world for at least two years, to return if they so desired. Now she knew why.

To learn. About herself, about creation, about the people around her. And how she could help with her own hands. To build, to help, to foster.

"Watch over the little ones while I'm gone?" Jane was trying not to tear up, but it was oh so hard. There were five of them, and somebody was always underfoot. "Jennifer's only four. Help her… help her understand?" Michael was ten and knew what Jane was going to do, the youngest brother of the Shepard family in awe of his big sister going out into the galaxy to do the Lord's Good Work. While he didn't understand the all of it, he was still pretty young, he did get the gist of it. One day, it would be Matthew's turn, and then it would be Michael's. Then there was Elizabeth, whom Jane was going to miss her seventh birthday. Elizabeth was now faced with the reality that she was going to be the big sister, and when Jane had returned to Utah, Lizzy had grappled her left leg as tight as a squirrel and pleaded for her not to go. That… had been heart-wrenching. Jen-Jen had squealed with delight when Jane had returned, practically tackling her with a hug, but didn't really understand that big sister Jane was going to be gone for a long time. That had been equally as heart-wrenching.

And her parents… she could see it in the corner of their eyes, at the edges of their words. They were trying to be strong for her, for their family, but they felt it too.

This… this is what goodbye feels like.

For her sixteenth birthday, Jane was the host to a good many people of her Church coming over to the family farmstead, all of them to both celebrate her birthday as well as congratulating her for her completion of Missionary Training as well as giving her their fond wishes towards the next journey of her life. Unlike most people, those of the Church didn't shower children with an abundance of gaudy gifts or flashy trinkets to turn them into semi-electronic zombies. Yes, she got presents, mostly of the practical variety that included good cloths for when she was at the Citadel, the digital download credit for the Tabernacle Choir release (which Jane heard was exquisite), a basic Samsung Electronics' Universe-S DataPadd so she could write to her family, and several donations of funds to help her on her mission to the Citadel.

Over two hundred members come bringing food and well-wishes while children of all ages came to play and celebrate, and the now-sixteen year old realized this was one of the happiest days of her life; they had all come for her because of her accomplishments at such a young age, encouraging her to continue on as she braved a direction further than any of them had ever gone. There were many who spoke of their missionary work with pride, of the locations they went to and the work they accomplished, some back when there was only Earth and the Sol colonies, others back during the Golden Age of Expansion, and several who had been part of the Shanxi Reconstruction right after the First Contact War, rebuilding the colony after the devastating war with the newly-discovered Turians. Many expressed their awe at her tenacity at getting approval of the Citadel, the Church members already knowing that it had taken a couple of years to get all the necessary paperwork and approvals in order to succeed. The Bishop of her ward, Bishop Eric Clancy, shook her hand and told her how proud he was of her, for braving new frontiers both in the galaxy and within herself. The celebration lasted many hours as many families came to see her off in the next big step in her life, and to wish her a good and productive journey.

Then, the day came.

It was April 12th on the Earth Gregorian Calender, and together Jane's entire family got into the family ground car and made the drive to Victoria City fifty kilometers away, where the Mindoir Interstellar Spaceport was located. Seven year old Lizzy had held Jane the whole time, knowing what was going to happen and refusing to let go. Jen-Jen had babbled happily in her child safety seat, finding the trip exciting while both of her brothers Matthew and Michael were uncharastically silent; they knew better than Lizzy, and the boys were struggling to put on brave faces for their younger sisters. With the exception of little Jen-Jen, the trip was silent for the adults and the children save the youngest, Mom and Dad practically squeezing each others' hands as James Shepard drove the ground car down the paved highway, that brave, brave man holding it in that his oldest child, that little girl that stole his breath and heart away when she was but minutes old in his hands, was going to be gone. Heather Shepard was almost a sobbing wreck, holding it in like a cracked dam, remembering feeling the utter joy she had felt when she had gotten an official pregnancy test at a Doctor's Office to confirm that she was in fact pregnant, that first flutter in her growing woman that represented a baby's movement, the trials of labor that were so richly rewarded at the sight of her squalling newborn baby daughter given to her.

Everyone in the ground car wished that they could stop time. Except Jen-Jen, too young and too happy to know.

The Spaceport came all too soon, and Jane could feel it, her resolve crumpling, the fear beating out the excitement, the two long years without the parents she had for her entire life and the brothers and sisters she couldn't imagine being without. The structure was like a gateway to eternity, to take her so far away as to where she could never return, and she was faltering. Getting out of the ground car, her luggage in her hand, it was all she could do as to not break down and cry. That dam exploded when she found herself holding her father, sobbing into his chest, ready to beg him to take her back, that she wasn't ready.

Then he spoke.

"I remember when I left," James Shepard said to his oldest child, his own eyes wet with tears as he soothed her coppery curls. "Now I know how my parents must have felt, so ready to whisk me away, to hold me on a little bit longer. I cried on that flight to China, missing my Mom, my Dad, my brother and two sisters within the hour, only thinking of the years away. But I arrived, and I found myself with friends and work, and that help eased the ache." Jane pulled away to look up to her father. "Soon I was helping out, visiting folks who needed help, help fixing and building, and soon we were building a church for people to come and visit when the government had suppressed such activities for so long. I learn, I grew, I met people less fortunate than I and I realized just how lucky I was to have such a loving, caring family that supported me and missed me. And then I got to show people how that felt like, helping by teaching them values of family, of commitment, of community service and bringing morals back to where they belonged, starting at home. I missed my family, but I helped made new ones in return, watching them coming together a little bit closer, helping them improve by showing them what a strong family could bring." Her father smiled, and despite the tears, she could see that he was proud of her. "You will cry, you will miss us as we miss you, and yet here you are on the first steps of your life, being a pioneer, helping bring change and work to a portion of the galaxy no one else has ever considered. I have no doubt it will be long and hard, and there will be days and weeks where it will feel like you're changing nothing. But believe in yourself, and soon that will catch, and others will believe in you, too.

"I'm proud of you, Jannie. I love you with all my heart, and watching you walk into that Spaceport will be the hardest thing I will have ever done. But know that I do so because I believe in you." He whispered to her, his words for her and her alone. She hugged her father fiercely, threatening his ribs with that hug, and he never said a word. He would remember how fiercely she had hugged him, she as she would remember how gently he held her, his precious little girl about to become a woman amongst the stars.

Her mother's tearful goodbyes had been even harder, somehow.

"I knew this day would come, and Lord help me if everything I thought I could do to prepare myself for this didn't just get swept away." Heather Shepard said sobbing, holding Jane just as fiercely as she held her father. "I just want to turn back time to the day I first held you in my hands, to that little girl who kept bringing in stray animals to feed, the little Girl Scout who went door-to-door to raise money for disaster relief, that first day of school when the bus took you away and I sobbed like a little girl myself." Jane had no words, so she used hugs instead, holding her slightly-shorter mother tightly. "Here you are, so brave and ready and I'm just… just so… proud…" Her mother sobbed, "…there isn't a word to express it just how happy I am for you. You fought for this and fought for it and never took no for an answer. Now you're going to where you want to go, to do the work you want to do, walking where no one else has. My precious baby girl's all grown up and… I'm just as happy as I am sad, I want that little girl back as much as I want to see you return triumphant, a woman in your own right."

"I love you, Momma." Jane couldn't say anything else 'lest she breakdown again. But she knew what her mother meant; it hurt to see her go, but she wanted to see her get that chance to show what she was worth, to show what she could do. To prove herself, her mother had to let her child go, like the mother bird helping its baby fly from the nest, granting them the wings of freedom. "You'll be proud of me, I swear."

"I already am, sweetheart."

Her brother, Matthew.

"I'll send letters every week." Her brother promised, the thirteen year old fighting his own tears as he hugged her hard, Jane cradling him fiercely in return. "And… I'll read yours to Jen-Jen so she knows her big sister is thinking of her." That almost broke the dam again. "When you get back, you can tell me all about it, and… and… I be ready for mine." Jane felt her heart skip at that; Matthew would be fifteen by the time she returned, less than a year from his own missionary work. Four years apart from little boy so threatening to become a man right before her eyes.

"Then make sure you help Mom and Dad, especially for the next few weeks." Family was important, and this was going to be hard on all of them. "Lean on them when you need it, and be there for them when they need it."

"I will, I promise.

Michael.

"I don't know what to say." Michael was practically ready to bawl as Jane knelt to hug her youngest brother, the ten year old boy struggling with something so profound, just like everyone else. "You're not even gone and I miss you already. I love you, Jane. You're the best big sister ever, and I can't wait for your letters."

"I love you too, Mikey, and don't be afraid to venture out yourself, to show what you're made of." Jane smiled as she brushed back his unruly mop of coppery hair. "You were always the bravest, always full-steam ahead when you were a little boy, always wanting to be the first up a hill or around a corner, always exploring. You're going to do great things, too." She gave him a kiss on his forehead, making him sob.

Elizabeth.

"I DON'T WANT YOU TO GO!" The seven year old girl burst into tears, rushing her and hugging her so hard that Jane almost couldn't breath. "YOU CAN'T GO!" Lizzy was sobbing wildly as Jane felt her own tears leak down her cheeks as she held her little Lizzy, cradling her and soothing her by rocking her from side-to-side, the little girl inconsolable. Mom ended up taking over, hoisting up Lizzy as she sobbed, the sixteen year old having to wipe away her own tears as she bid her younger sister goodbye.

Jennifer.

"You're… going?" Jen-Jen asked, evidently catching on thanks to Lizzy's tantrum. The little girl looked confuse and bewildered. "Where are you going, Jannie?"

"I'm going to the Citadel, sweetheart. I'm going because there are people here who need help, and I'm going to help them." Jane told the youngest Shepard child in a tone that was more accustomed for young children, comforting and reassuring.

"Are you coming back?" Those blue eyes were catching on. Leaving meant goodbye, and her auburn-haired sister was a little too young to grasp it all but the simple concept.

"Yes, honey, I'm coming back." Jane replied with a catch in her throat, knowing it would be impossible to explain it to a four year old in a way they would understand. "Can… can you show me six, sweetheart? Can you show me six fingers?" Jen-Jen held up both hands, showing all five digits with one hand, and her forefinger with the other. "W-when you're that old, that's when I-I'm coming back." She could hear her own voice cracking as she did her best to explain it to her youngest sister. Jen-Jen contemplated this for a moment and showed her six fingers one more time.

"Am I this old yet?" Jennifer Shepard asked innocently, those blue eyes pleading.

The dam broke.

On April 12, 2170, a Sukhoi Spacejet 400 Civilian Transportation Spacecraft left the Mindoir Interstellar Spaceport under the auspices of six pairs of tearful eyes as they watched the spaceflight-capable vessel launch itself into the atmosphere while a singular set of eyes looked out through a viewport, a loving hand pressed against the alumniglas as its owner sniffled and sob as her home shrank before her very eyes, the journey begun. The young woman in seat 27D sat back in her seat, wiping away the tears as she tried to control her emotions, so much rolling through her at once after a long tearful goodbye with her family. The day she had been looking forward to for years, and now that the day was here, all she could do was think of home. The vessel shook as it left the atmosphere, the Captain letting the passengers know that they would be allowed to move about the cabin now that they had past Mindoirs' atmosphere, able to use their trays and electronic devices. The young redheaded woman in seat 27D opened up her carry-on bag and reached inside, and pulled out, of all things, a physical book, bound in leather. She looked to its soft spine, where the gold embossed words of the four books it contained were presented to her, word she knew by heart. Several cloth ribbons were placed within the books' many pages, marking out sections she thought she would need. She flipped to the first ribbon, which marked the Book of Job; certainly a start pertaining to trials and tribulations in which a man was to reaffirm his faith in God despite the maladies he suffered.

"God, I haven't seen a physical book in ages." The older gentleman next to the young woman said from his seat, looking over to her tray as she read. "I don't think I've seen someone under the age of fifty ever crack one open. Good for you." There was approval in his tone, obviously one of the older generation seeing one of the younger one doing something right. "What are you reading?" He asked, curious, making polite talk.

The young woman looked to the man, and put on a smile that they taught her in Missionary Training Center, the one that was friendly and sincere, to be inviting.

"Would you like to know more about the Church of Jesus Christ and the Latter-Day Saints?" Sister Jane Catherine Shepard asked with a smile.

Author's Note: I remember when I went to Basic Training, we weren't allowed to call home or whatnot for the first couple weeks (Red Phase having the most restrictions). The first time we got phone privileges about four weeks in, we got fifteen minute phone calls. I remember calling and my Dad picking up and I probably didn't say ten coherent words; I bawled like a little girl. Not because Basic was horrible (tough, certainly, but nothing horrible or unexpected) but because every other time in my life I could have visited and seen my parents when I wanted, only living a few miles away when I moved out. There's probably nothing less manly than seeing a twenty-year old man crying, but I was most certainly not the only one to be that way. I remember how precious it felt to get a hand-written letter.

Traditionally, Missionary work is done at the ages of 19-21, though it can be done later. It's highly suggested that you be unmarried and without children (both, not multiple choice), and that the men do two years while the women do eighteen months. I have probably seen a hundred male missionaries… and exactly two female ones, which shocked me because I literally had no idea that Mormon ladies did missionary work.

Most of my facts were gleaned from the great library of Wikipedia. The facts about Salt Lake City, the Missionary Training Center, the books a missionary would carry, and a general idea of what a missionary will learn in Provo are, as far as I'm aware, factually correct. I did change/futurize some things (forgoing the 9-week language immersion class in lieu of an Universal Translator) but opted for a Cultural Study course for foreign interaction.

Yes, missionaries do fund their own missions. Yes, the Church (be it ward or stake) does help out, but the LDS Church is pretty big on personal responsibility. As well as families, personal health, community service, charity, and values. I do highlight some of their values and ethics in this story. It's really not that embellished.

This is a work of fiction. Public commentary and constructive criticism about this story is supported; bashing, trolling, and venting are not.