Disclaimer: Bioware owns the Mass Effect Universe and it's characters, but I own my imagination. I try to stay as close to the original ME story as possible while staying away from most in-game scenes.
Rated M for language, adult situations and a little Shenko smut. Enjoy!
April 14, 2183. That was the day Shepard took her first steps onto the Citadel. This was her first extended shore leave in six years and she intended to enjoy every minute of it. Afterwards, she was to report back to Arcturus Station for her new deployment instructions.
Being an N7 Systems Alliance soldier was an incredibly taxing undertaking, so in the meantime, she wanted to drink, dance badly, and perhaps, find a cute marine to take to bed. The former two were mandatory, the latter, a perk. She always had a "live life to the fullest" mentality, and shore leave was no exception. This philosophy was understandable considering the amount of time she spent getting shot at.
The last time she received more than a weekend off from her duties was shortly following the Skyllian Blitz. Seven years ago, she had singlehandedly saved a colony on Elysium from pirates while on shore leave. She was given a month off to recuperate from the mental and physical injuries she sustained in the victory against the Batarians. A lot of her leave included press tours and public relations obligations that left little time for any actual relaxation. It was for the best considering that her personality did not know the meaning of the word relax.
As much as she dreaded being one of the most well known faces of the Alliance military, and a hero to many, she accepted the responsibilities that came with being awarded the Star of Terra. It was the highest honor one could receive from the Alliance, and she understood its significance as did those around her.
She was the Badass of the Blitz, as the grunts referred to her, and was constantly reminded of the feat. There were two scars on her arm from enemy fire. The Star inscribed on her dog tags was always around her neck, and vids of her were plastered all over the galaxy's extranet. She always had to be at the top of her game. She always had to be an example to her fellow marines. She always had to be the first to volunteer to walk into hell.
Those responsibilities were never taken lightly, but she sometimes dreamed of going back to being just another face in the crowd. She could not escape from the images of herself, a situation that her closes friends found highly amusing. Some of the extranet vids were interviews with ungrateful reporters, others were taken directly from battle, and others still were taken by her adoring "fans".
It was not difficult to find information about her life or her service career, and she was not at all comfortable with the exposure it brought. However, if her accomplishments encouraged the next generation of Alliance marines to give their all to it's service, then it was worth the invasion into her privacy.
But she still did not like it.
Her father also had the privilege of receiving the Star thanks to his remarkable service during the First Contact War. She was too young to remember those events, but she always wished she could have had his experiences to draw from. Unfortunately, he was killed by a Batarian during a small, almost forgotten, Alliance skirmish leaving Shepard to grow up without a father.
Her only memories of him were from the vids that she always carried with her on her omni-tool and from the tales of his admiration told to her by all who knew him. Despite the outcome, she still grew up bouncing from military post to military post due to her mother's illustrious service career.
Her mother often stated proudly that her daughter, "The Great Elliott Shepard", inherited everything from her father, even his name. She was teased as a child for having what was perceived to be a boy's name, but she never let it bother her. Bravely, she wore it with pride, because it was one of the few things she had that tied her to her father. They decided on the name "Elliott" before she was born and after the young couple were told their first and only child was to be a boy. However, Shepard had an unpredictable nature about her and it was told that this was the first prank, on a long list to come, that she ever pulled.
Her parents received a tiny Alliance uniform with "Elliott Shepard" monogramed on the nameplate as a gift from their commanding officer. They were so in love with it that it was the only outfit they brought to the hospital with them when she was born. At first, they were apprehensive about putting her in a uniform with a potentially inappropriate name sown onto it. Of course, once they did, they could not imaging naming her anything else. Elliott just seemed to fit her perfectly.
The truth of the matter was that she inherited just as much from her mother as she did her father. Hannah Shepard's self-deprecating nature disguised the fact that she was an equally capable soldier who had been decorated and promoted due to her own acts of valor. As junior cadets at the same Alliance military school, her parents became high school sweethearts after bonding over their own parents' service backgrounds. They enlisted in the Alliance together directly following graduation, but she managed to outranked him by the time they were married. It was not much of a surprise to anyone considering she graduated at the top of their class.
This rapid promotion up the chain of command might have annoyed most men; the kinds of men that did not like to take orders from females despite their qualifications. He, on the other hand, admired her more for her achievements. He knew and appreciated the way she complimented him.
For example, she was much more politically savvy then he was and had a way with persuasion. She always knew the right things to say to get what she wanted from peace treaties to hostage negotiations. He was much more proficient with weapons and warfare, not that she was lacking in this area. Combined, these were the characteristics that made the younger Elliott thrive.
Everyone who knew Ellie, as her mother called her, knew that she was one of the best soldiers to have ever put on an Alliance uniform. In addition, there was no denying her leadership skills after the Blitz. Her superiors trusted her judgement and her subordinates would follow her to hell and back. It was a lot of pressure to handle and she sometimes wondered what it would be like to have a more normal profession.
Upon further examination, she recognized that her skills were much more conducive to protecting the weak and enforcing galactic stability than they were to selling furniture, being a doctor, or anything in between. It was as if several generations of talented military professionals came together to hone their genes into the perfect soldier. Of course, it was just happenstance, but she often got a kick out of the idea of being bred by forces unknown to be the best soldier the galaxy had ever seen.
Needless to say, she had dissenters too, but most of that was due to their own egos or some degree of jealousy. Those were the kinds of people she could do without. The kind of people that liked to bring everyone else around them down because of their own insecurities and shortcomings. She wanted nothing to do with those types, but she did not let them bother her when she had no other choice.
After all, she was fully aware of her capabilities, her assets, and her ability to compartmentalize every aspect of her emotional being when the circumstances called for it. Most people around her were aware of them too. They clung to her like a shadow hoping that she may, in some way, rub off on them or teach them something that only she could. The dissenters were gravely outnumbered.
She received top marks during her N7 training while becoming the second woman to complete the program requirements. And that was only due to her being born a year too late to be the first. Simply being invited into the N program was an achievement in and of itself. It was the type of program that you could not apply for but hoped to be invited into. The seven levels were all substantially more difficult than the last and once you reached seven, you gained a level of respect that no other distinction could duplicate.
It was hard to question the expertise, military prowess, and combat capabilities of an N7 soldier. Most marines could not come close. The skill and dedication that it required was far too intense for mere mortals. Every Alliance recruit dreamed of being an N7; only the elite of the elite made it all the way through.
Shepard was quite exceptional, even for an N7. She broke many long standing records during training that were set by men twice her size but only half as good. Her body was physically unimposing upon first glance. She was of average height and weight...for a human female. Her muscles were trained for agility and reflex as opposed to sheer strength. She used her stamina to out maneuver her opponents in hand to hand combat and her brain to outwit everyone else.
Her biotics, on the other hand, were strong and powerful. She had a natural ability to use them. It did not require much training for her to harness the dark energy into a barrier or a nicely timed throw. Guns also seemed to be an extension of her own body. She learned to handle them at a young age, and again, she had a natural ability to use them. She often tried to think of where she would be if she only had one or the other. Biotics or guns? It was a pointless question, she knew she could kick ass with either one.
Regardless, she did not need to prove anything to anyone but herself. She was good. Damn good, because she pushed herself harder than anyone else ever could. She spent hours on the range taking target practice and what seemed like days in every combat simulator she could find. Her guns danced like puppets on strings controlled by the puppet master to do her bidding.
They were almost like children to her. Most of her money went to purchasing upgrades for them or armor for herself. Most of her time went into cleaning and maintaining them to ensure that they were always in top form. Combat was the thing she was best at, but she was good at almost everything she tried. She would see and executed moves on the battlefield that no one else could. At the same time, she could cook better than any professional chef on Arcturus. She was exceptional.
Author's Notes: I am not sure if Batarian is supposed to be capitalized. I have noticed that most people do not, but I do because it is a race like Turian or Human. I will continue to do so for consistency. Additionally, I tend not to use contractions due to years of writing professional papers, so I apologize if it throws you off a bit.