I had this story on my mind for a while now, but only now decided to post it. I'm using the same Emilia Shepard as the one in my previous ME stories. This is a story about what happened on Akuze, and the story behind the sole survivor background. There are some new characters, but also Toombs who was in ME.
It was well past 10 p.m. and her body realized it sooner that she did. Maybe she should've listened to its moaning an hour ago, but she kept pushing herself further, until her eyes were the first ones to give up. She couldn't make out the targets, couldn't quite hit a single "enemy". But she took another deep breath, pulling more air into her lungs, bracing her muscles for yet another run.
He noticed the signs, she forced her breathing to slow down, her body tensed under the weight of the pain she's been holding back for an hour now. But she was ready to go at it again, until she would finally pass out, her body unable to make another move. A deep sigh left his mouth, followed by a puff of smoke from the cigarette he let fall to the ground. This is madness, he thought, but his lips curved into a smile as he saw himself running through the same training course some years back.
Ready to walk through the door with a tight grip on her weapon, the door suddenly closed shut right before her eyes. Confused, she looked around until her gaze stopped at a man walking towards her. She relaxed, knowing the man and his reasons for stopping her. But her head lowered and a faint blush crept to her cheeks, and it had little to nothing with the hard training she's been through.
"You did it again, Shepard." he says, his voice quiet but intimidating. He stopped right in front of her, his tall figure covering all possible ways of escape. But he knew her too well then to think she'd run from him.
If he wanted to hear her apologize, he'd have more luck with teaching a cat to bark. There was nothing to be sorry about, she felt herself lacking and falling behind other members of their team, so she trained to match them. She may have pushed herself a bit harder this time, but she meant well by it. Too bad the captain didn't see it that way.
"Ready for another run then?" he asks mockingly, but he means his every word. Emilia looks up to meet his eyes hidden behind dark sunglasses. "Are you waiting for a written invitation?" there is a faint Russian accent in his voice as he raises it to make his point clear.
She can hear the door behind her open again, but she hesitates to face the training ground. Neither one seems to be backing down, both too proud to admit their wrongs, though only one of them is truly guilty. So she makes a step back, straightening herself for a salute, but the numbness of her muscles finally catches up with her brain. She can no longer maintain standing and she stumbles back, landing on her ass. Groaning in pain, she shifts her weight on her right hand, trying to stand up, but falls back to the ground.
Captain laughs soundly when he meets her eyes, burning with anger and embarrassment. He walks up to her and offers her a hand, she takes it and gets back up to her feet without looking at him. Under different circumstances, this situation would be awkward and Emilia knew that she should feel nervous, disappointed, maybe even depressed, but captain Sasha Nordin pats her shoulder as if nothing happened.
"Better?" he asks with a smile on his lips and the whole room suddenly brightens up. Sasha Nordin was the best captain Emilia Shepard could ask for, being an Earthborn like herself, she felt being drawn to him, like they had so much in common, like they were family. But they didn't even look alike, their hair were of different colors, hers light brown, his raven black. Sasha's eyes were dark gray, and like in a fog, you could get easily lost in them. Emilia's eyes matched her hair, brown was a color that didn't stand out, she liked it that way.
Sasha was born in Vancouver, while Emilia was born and raised in New York. She had no family, while Sasha had a father, retired Alliance advisor, and a sister, a famous writer. And thus there was no doubt about it, they were two different people, who'd hardly exchange a glance if meeting on a street.
But in here, in Alliance, they were brother and sister, no one could tear them apart. Sasha felt that strange connection growing stronger ever since she joined Alliance. He still remembers her first training, she was so full of herself. Raised on the streets, she was used to looking out for herself, trusting no one. But the training taught her otherwise, he taught her otherwise.
She returns a smile, her eyes are half awake, she tries hard to hide a yawn. Then, her head jerks forward as if pulled with a string and she registers a stabbing pain in the back of her head. These signs of affection were common in their unit, Sasha made sure to teach his teammates respect like he'd teach it to bunch of teenagers, by slapping them on the head.
"Hit the showers and bunker down-" Sasha didn't complete his sentence, focusing his attention on omni tool strapped to his wrist, "You know what, scratch that, I've got a priority message from HQ, come on." They left the training area and headed straight for the headquarters, where most of the teams and their teammates were already awaiting a briefing.
Corporals Alvarez and Toombs waved at them, motioning at two empty seats next to them. "Training hard, Shepard?" asked Toombs, noticing her tired look and fast breathing. Shepard took a seat next to Toombs, answering his question with a side look.
"What's with you two, coming in together? Something I should know about?" Alvarez glanced at captain, then Shepard, before his head twitched after a head slap. "None of my business, captain." He replied to his own question and rubbed the back of his head.
"Listen up people, yesterday at 0700 we lost contact with pioneer team on Akuze. Might be nothing, might be something, but you're going to give me some damn answers." Commander Simmons was the one giving orders, considering the situation to be a high priority. Akuze was a starting colony, and if anything was to happen to it, Earth would lose resources from the planet.
"You'll be leaving first thing in the morning, and given more details on the ship. Any questions?" he scans the room for any raised hands, when he sees none, he dismisses his soldiers.
Corporal Toombs sighs, remaining seated as the room clears, "Just my luck, only one more fucking week till my leave and now this happens."
"Suck it up, corporal, or I'll make sure you stay here for another month at least." replies the captain. Toombs raises his hands in defense and follows his squad back to barracks to get some rest before the mission.