Summary: Sometimes, people make choices in their life. Sometimes, it's all down to luck. A look at how earthborn Olivia Shepard joined the Alliance.
A/N: This is how I imagine my earthborn Shepard ended up joining the Alliance. It's an idea that's been floating around my head for quite a while and, even though I should be finishing off my KKM story, I just had to get it written down while I had the chance (I start year 13 tomorrow, so I'll be pretty busy). I hope you enjoy it and please leave a review at the end.
Warnings: There's some bad language on two occasions, which is weird because I hardly ever swear, but it just seemed kind of necessary here.
'Raining again, huh? I suppose I should be used to it by now'. At this thought, Olivia Shepard listlessly raised her head to look at the almost invisible, dark cloud that loomed overhead, pouring rain down upon her where she sat.
For a moment, she was surprised by how quite everything seemed. She knew she'd found a safe spot outside this particular club and some of the younger soldiers walking past her even smiled at her; the pity was always evident behind those smiles, but they were still welcome. 'This is as good a spot as any to spend the nights', she thought to herself, heaving a heavy sigh as she tried to get even remotely comfortable.
Heavy footsteps contested against the sound of the falling rain and Olivia didn't need to look up to know exactly to whom they belonged. Her hand dived instinctively into her pocket, ensuring that she had a tight grip on the palm-sized, circular disk that she had stashed there for just this occasion.
The man in the middle of the trio spoke as he approached, "Well, well, it's nice to see little Olive doing so well without us." The man was shorter than his two companions, but, due to his considerable bulk, was by far the most intimidating. His dull, brutish features contorted into a twisted smirk, his eyes lighting up, as he watched the young woman struggling to her feet on legs that were weak from malnutrition. "I'll bet you're really regretting leaving us, huh? Wishing you could run on home and we'd just forget all about this little mistake?" He burst out laughing and his two lackeys joined him. "But I'm afraid it's a little to late for that." He added, his eyes flashing again with malicious intent.
Olivia finally lifted her gaze to observe the three men that had been sent this time, using the hand not hidden in her pocket to aggressively push her long, lank hair, that was usually so striking in colour but now was dulled by the rain, out of her eyes in order to properly see their faces.
"Big talk from a man who had to bring an entourage just to take down one little girl." She sneered, trying to seem confident, trying to get them angry and stupid so that she might profit from their mistakes. Somehow, she felt like her luck might run out tonight.
The three men lurched forward, two suddenly brandishing weapons that Olivia identified as a crow bar and, possibly, a tyre iron. She quickly ducked behind a pile of smashed crates that lay against the wall of the bar, at the same time pulling her right hand free from her pocket and catapulting the object from within towards the trio. Upon hitting the wall behind the crates, she shut her eyes as tight as she could, covering them with her arm to protect them from what she knew was coming. In a second, she heard the distinctive metal click of the disk hitting the floor and heard the pained groans of the three men as they staggered backwards from the shock, only the shortest of them managing to stay on his feet. The flash of light emitted from the small device would have seemed bright even in a well-lit room, but its light was intensified by the darkness of night that enveloped the surroundings and amplified as it reflected off the many droplets of rain that pelted the ground.
Unbeknownst to Olivia, a crowd of younger soldiers, mostly privates, had gathered at the windows and doorway of the club upon seeing the flash from inside, watching the scene unfold with great interest, but not daring to get involved for fear of being reprimanded by the higher-ranking officers. They watched as the red-headed young girl, for that was what she looked like to them, grasped the opportunity her diversion had granted her and tried to run in the ensuing chaos. However, her luck did, indeed, prove to be wearing thin, as the two taller thugs recovered from the shock more quickly than she had anticipated and again came lunging toward her, wielding their makeshift weapons. The lithe girl expertly ducked as the crow bar was swung close to her head, spinning low to the ground and kicking out her leg to take away her attacker's balance. Then, as she was returning to her standing position, she felt herself grabbed from behind by the leader of the group. Although short, he still stood a head taller than Olivia herself and upon seeing the other brute moving forward for an attack, she dealt him a swift kick to the stomach, managing to give herself enough leverage to headbutt her captor, causing him to recoil in pain and drop her to the ground. Trying to get to her feet again, she suddenly noticed that the first attacker was no longer sprawled on the floor at her feet. A feeling of dread squirmed throughout her entire body as she felt a presence looming behind her and heard the ever-familiar click of a flip-knife being engaged. Knowing it was too late to react and believing that this was a fate that she had simply avoided for too long, she took a deep calming breath, bracing herself for the final attack.
"What the-? Who the fuck are you?"
Olivia tentatively turned around to the sight of her attacker being restrained by a handsome, middle-aged man in what appeared to be military fatigues, though they were different from those worn by the young privates that had sometimes brought her food from inside the bar.
The look of sheer bewilderment on her assailants' faces would have made her smile on any other day, but, right now, she felt just as confused as they looked. She watched, open-mouthed, as the man who had apparently saved her life twisted the wrist of her knife-wielding opponent behind his back painfully and leant in to whisper harshly, but calmly, into his ear, "Go. Now. And don't ever come back around here again or I'll have you arrested for assault and attempted murder."
Upon being released, the man fled towards where he could see the already retreating backs of his two comrades, leaving Olivia and her rescuer alone.
"Thank you, sir," Olivia started, feeling completely exhausted, "They would have got me for sure this time." She said, trying to force a smile onto her face.
"This time?" The man questioned, raising his eyebrow.
"Yes, sir," She answered automatically, his air of authority making her feel obliged to tell him more than she would any other stranger, "This isn't the first time they've come after me, but it's the first time they didn't send someone alone," She finished, laughing nervously as the man just continued to stare down at her, making her feel as if she was being scrutinised, not to mention making her feel very small and insignificant.
Suddenly, she felt very unsteady on her feet, her legs starting to give way beneath her weight and that of her sodden, and therefore heavy, clothing, causing her to stagger forwards. She felt herself blush as she was pulled into the as-of-yet unidentified man's grasp and led somewhere, though she lacked the energy to care where it was she was being taken. "C'mon, kid," He said gently, "Let's get something warm inside of you. When was the last time you ate something?"
It was then that she realised she was being led toward the doorway of the pub. "I can't," She meekly protested, knowing she had to elaborate as the man's quizzical stare settled on her once again, "I mean, I can't go in there. It's only for the Alliance soldiers, right? And besides, I don't have enough money left for…" She trailed off. 'I don't want to sound like a charity case', she thought.
"Never mind that," The man said, smiling warmly at her, "You'll be my guest, just for tonight." As he saw the young woman was now about to protest, he added, in a tone that left no room for argument, "and it'll be my treat."
Olivia, losing the will to argue, allowed herself to be dragged into the somewhat dreary pub, past the enquiring glances of the soldiers within and right up to the bar, where she was told to take a seat as the middle-aged man seated himself next to her. He ordered her a meal of soup with bread and the chef special and asked for a pint of lager for himself and a soft drink. Their drinks arrived quickly and Olivia drank hers in one go, prompting a chuckle from her companion, who ordered her another drink to go with her meal.
They sat in silence until Olivia's meal arrived and she promptly dug in to her food as if she hadn't eaten for days. As if believing that a full stomach might loosen her tongue somewhat, the soldier did not start talking until she had finished her soup and bread.
"So, kid, what's your name?" He asked, as soon as the girl's bowl was empty.
"Shepard…," She started, feeling more unsure about answering this man's questions than she had before, "Olivia Shepard."
"How old are you, kid?" He asked. From the looks of her, she was no older than 15 or 16, "Do your parents know you're out here at this time of night?"
"I don't have any parents." She answered bluntly, without so much as a flinch; It was a fact she had accepted long ago and she had never felt like she was missing out on anything. "And I'm 18," She continued, "So I can look after myself… sir."
"At least you've got manners," he said, laughing, "That's more than can be said for most of the recruits we take on. It's usually the first thing we've gotta teach in basic."
Olivia smiled back at him and her grin widened when she noticed the plate of hot meatloaf that was placed in front of her. She picked up her fork to dig in.
"So… why were those guys after you?" He asked casually.
"I got sick of their shit… sorry," She added, understanding that this man was obviously important in the military and feeling like she should show him respect. She failed to notice how this prompted a smile from the older man, "They weren't happy that I left, so the obvious solution was to get rid of me."
"So you wanted a fresh start?" He added, a hint of hope in his voice.
"Exactly." She said, a smile on her face, but sadness in her eyes.
"You were doing pretty well to hold your own against three of them, especially after they hit you with that flashbang."
"Oh, that was mine," She said and held back a smile at his flabbergasted expression.
"Where did you get your hands on that?" He asked, a worried edge to his voice.
"It wasn't a real flashbang. I made it. You'd be surprised what you can make from the junk that people leave in the street." She happily explained around mouthfuls of meatloaf.
"You want a fresh start, right, Shepard?" He asked and Olivia nodded in agreement. He pulled out a pen and what appeared to be a business card to write something down, "I see something special in you, kid, something I don't see all that often." He said, making the red-head frown in confusion. "Here." He handed her the card and she flipped it over to see an address written on the back, "If you really want a fresh start, go to this building tomorrow, it opens at oh-six-hundred, and enlist." He stated bluntly.
"Enlist?" She asked, stunned at this sudden proposition.
"It's not every 18 year old girl that can take on three thugs single-handedly." He said by way of explanation, " And it's certainly not every 18 year old girl that can make her own flashbangs. You don't want to be here anymore, that's obvious, and we need people like you." He added, noticing that Olivia had stopped eating was just staring at the card in her hand. "I'm not gonna force you into anything, but, just think about it."
xXx
The rain had finally let up as Olivia was settling into her makeshift shelter for the night. She pulled out the card that had been handed to her earlier that evening and rolled it around between her fingers. The man's words echoed in her mind 'We need people like you… if you go, tell them Hackett sent you and give them the card. Good luck, Shepard.'
Shepard smiled then, thinking about what he had said to her. '"Good luck", huh? Maybe my luck hasn't ran out just yet.'
A/N: Thanks for reading and I hope you enjoyed my take on why Shepard enlisted. Please leave a review as this is my first Mass Effect fanfiction and I'd really like to know what you think, good or bad. I may be writing more about Olivia Shepard in the future, I'm not really sure, but it may be that I'll play the game again before trying to write anything within the timeline of the actual story. Again, thanks for reading!