DISCLAIMER! I do not own any of the characters or places based off the Mass Effect Series, they are Biowares. This is a fan creation.

War, it seems to be a very common feature of earth. We fight against our own kind for years. Whether it is a hatred of religion or just the desire to control another country. And war doesn't even cover the murders of those who are just different or doing their jobs. For a time it seemed we would just set space exploration on the back burner for a while but they finally allowed for a group to go to Mars. The Rover there was eager to lead the explorers to a particular mountain. They couldn't see its significance until they dug a little. Then there it was. A strange metal object, one of the workers examined it and immediately told them how we could build better ships and that there was a way to use the new object to find ways to travel even farther into the galaxy. The earth erupted in excitement over the new discovery. Scientist Dr. Severson led the rest of the researchers to the different relays near the Sol solar system. They finally reached a relay they called 314, but they were also greeted by aliens.

Sadly the aliens who came were not friendly. They called themselves Turians, they had three fingers and long almost spikes on their heads and around their mouths. Many had what looked to be war paint on their faces, and they did not look like they were going to play nice. Severson was spared if he would tell earth to surrender. They arrived to earth and transmitted the vid onto the many screens below. He froze realizing his daughter who was now married would see this. He grit his teeth telling earth to prepare for battle.

"Hannah my little girl. Be strong show these monsters what we're made of!"

Then the feed was cut. Hannah stared at the screen in her home in horror as she stopped rocking Jane in her arms. The one month old baby was fast asleep. Hannah would remember their faces, she was making a promise to get her father back safely and protect her child. They would pay for everything they did that day.

"Hannah."

She looked up at the face of Anderson with Shepard on his left. They were on a shuttle heading to Shanxi, it had been 2 years since Hannahs father was on that screen telling them all to prepare for battle. The Turians had told humans that we were being aggressive for no reason, and that opening the Mass Relay 314 was a declaration of war against the council. Whatever the council was. Tadius Ahern had sent a message about how they held off the Turians before they could leave from Shanxi, he also gave the sad news of finding the body of Dr. Severson. Then General Williams had decided to surrender in light of the difficulties the Turians were causing on Shanxi, he also desired to protect the civilians from further heartache.

"Hannah?" She stopped grinding her teeth and looked at Shepard. He placed a hand on her shoulder, "I know this has to be difficult for you, but we'll get Shanxi back I promise."

She nodded, her jaw relaxing from the tight pressure she had been putting on it. Hannah looked at her husband her heart was sore, they had chosen to leave Jane with Andersons wife. She wanted to fight after the discovery of her fathers body, but Cynthia wasn't very approving especially with how her marriage was going with Anderson. David Anderson was very focused on humanity, especially since he was the first to graduate from the N7 program, Derek Shepard following right after him.

"I know dear. It's just I'm worried about coming with," Hannah said placing her head in her hands, "What will our little one do if we die?"

"Don't think like that Hannah," came Andersons reply as he clicked his guns safety off, "We'll all be returning home soon. Besides the child needs to be on earth for a while. If I know you after this war you'll all still be exploring space."

"We just have to win this," Shepard said pulling his pistol out and checking its thermal. She nodded standing up and pulling out her sniper. She checked through the scope adjusting it a little. She made sure the safety was off and that the thermal was ready. The shuttle shook as it descended. The rest of the second fleet was scattered in space and two other teams were on the ground. They were the group to clear out the turians main base, setup the charges and blow it to hell.

They all filed out of the shuttle quickly grabbing cover as bullets began to be fired at them. Hannah felt her blood boil after seeing just one of their faces. Anderson and Shepard signaled to her to be ready as they would give cover fire so she could climb up a tree and proceed to take out the enemy from there. She was grateful Admiral Drescher had allowed for her and Shepard to be together, though she didn't like the idea. Because if they both die today then Jane would grow up alone. Screw it, as if she was going to die. Like her father she was fighting to protect her family, and she would not let these alien S. live.

Hannah found a place to nestle in the branches aiming her sights on her first target. She fell with ease from her first shot, at least she thought that was a female Turian, no long spikes on her head made it seem that way. She repositioned to another target before firing again. She shifted then feeling like something was wrong. A bullet whizzed by cutting her hair and neck as it flew by. Her shifting just saved her from a bullet through the throat. She looked in the direction it had come from and held the gun. The turian was aiming again. She quickly fired off a round striking him in the shoulder. He snarled before looking at her through his scope.

"This is gonna be fun," she muttered into her comms.

"You ok?" Came Shepards reply.

"Just having fun with a turian sniper. He's good that's what I can say," she said dodging another of his fires before returning it, "I think I'm gonna need to go ground side to take him out. We're equally matched."

"Hah, just be safe Hannah we'll push forward," Anderson replied.

"Roger."

His mandibles were rubbing the side of his face as they fired round after round, both nearly dodging a lethal hit. Then she dropped from the tree as he fired another shot for her head. she hit the ground hard but quickly got to cover before placing the sniper on her back. She grabbed her pistol and breathed before army crawling towards his tree.

The other turians were being dropped quickly by Anderson and Shepard.

"Hannah we're going to keep pressing forward. Make sure we are clear from behind and follow when you finish," Anderson said over the comms, "These bombs have to go off."

"Roger, see you soon." She smirked as the chuckle ended from the other side. She quickly made it to the turians tree and climbed up it quickly. He was looking for her everywhere but from behind. She lifted her pistol, cursing when it clicked from still having the safety on. He immediately turned and slammed his rifle into her face. She felt her body buck back from the force. Her hands grabbed his cowl dragging him with her. They tumbled from the tree, spines, waists, and all hitting each branch as they approached the ground. He was below her and she quickly straddled his waist before they struck the ground hard. Her chin smashed against the edge of his cowl. A growl of pain exited his throat as one of his spikes bled and was bent to one side from the impact. Hannah shook her head regaining some stability before wrapping her hands around his throat.

He bucked his hips throwing her over his head, her nails digging into the scaley soft flesh of his neck. He snarled covering the scratches with his three fingered hand.

"Hannah?" It was Shepards voice on the comms.

"Un, I'm fine. Are the bombs set?"

"We're almost done, Anderson is outside keeping the turians away from me. I just need to finish this final charge. Are you sure you're ok?"

Hannah looked up at the turian as he turned to her before charging.

"We'll see!" She shouted before he grabbed her by her throat slamming her hard against a tree. Her eyes blurred and she coughed as he tightened his grip.

"That was foolish human," he spat in her face, his growl more intense as he lightly touched the crooked spike, "Glad I have no one to impress anymore. Now I want a name and how you snuck up on me."

"Like hell you'll get a name!" She screamed lifting herself up to ease the strain on her throat. It helped a little but her vision refused to focus. 'I can't die, Shepard.'

"Han-...we're under…...being over-...I love y-...setting bombs off-" Hannah froze as a loud explosion echoed over the ear piece.

"No," She barely whimpered out before the tears fell. The turian holding her looked very confused and she took advantage slamming her knee into his waist, he groaned his grip loosening. She pried his fingers off and rammed into him. They fell to the ground and immediately she began to punch his face over and over. He gripped her throat throwing her off and against a tree. She then couldn't see at all, her vision was like looking down a tunnel. She tried to get up only to have her arms give out. She saw his foot and grabbed it pulling it towards her. He fell and before she could let go she was tumbling with him again.

"Hannah! Shepard…...I couldn't, I'm sorry. Don't die, Hannah! Don't die!"

"Stupid crazy bitch! Now my comms and omni tool are broken. Great and we're stuck in some kind of cavern. Crap."

Her head was throbbing but it didn't last when she felt a sharp kick to her stomach. She recoiled into herself as the pain seared. Hannah opened one eye to the bloodied turian from before. One of his mandibles had a chunk missing and his face was scraped up from the fall.

"Are you happy now, I should just kill you but I need your help. After all this is one of your colonies so you should know it pretty well."

"Why should I help you? Dying seems fine to me." She spat the blood from her mouth before sitting up wincing from the bruises and scrapes. A slap hit her face before she could react he was walking away. She sighed realizing her guns weren't on her body, 'they probably fell off as we fell.' She found the knife she had and smiled. She could finish what they had started at least. She went to unsheath it when he spoke.

"Vakarian, Garloc Vakarian. There now tell me your name if we're to die together," he said as he plucked a rock against the ground.

"Hannah, Hannah Shepard. Happy?" She snapped before pulling the knife fully out and holding it close to her thigh so he wouldn't see it.

"Ecstatic. Maybe, does your comms work?"

"As if I would tell you that," she snorted before gently pressing to see if it was working, all that came was silence. It was destroyed. She took it off tossing it hard against the rock wall before burying her head in her arms. Vakarian seemed fine with the silence. Hannah looked up to see if now would be a good time to attack. But the thought fled when she saw him drawing in the loose dirt with his fingers. It seemed he was drawing a family?

"You have kids?" She couldn't stop the question as it came out. He looked up at her sighing as he removed his armored glove and rubbed what looked to be talons for a bit. 'Well Ahern was right they do resemble an eagle from earth.'

"Yeah two of them. My oldest is a little girl she's going to be two in a cycle, and my youngest is a little boy he's barely one fourth of a cycle old." He said before removing the other glove and setting them down as he rubbed his talons together.

"You have a wife?" She asked watching as he froze.

"Wife? What is a wife?"

Her eyes grew wide as she remembered he was not a human. Hannah touched the knife really considering to end it all just to get away from the horror, that Shepard was dead and she was now trapped with an enemy. 'What would happen? Would Cynthia still be willing to raise Jane alone?' She sighed before answering.

"A wife is a mate. She commits herself to one male and bears his children for him. It is a great honor." She couldn't help the tears that fell, wondering what she was to do if she even survived could she raise a child alone?

"Then no, I have no wife. Mates yes but no wife. I had one mate who bore me both my children but she died quickly in a pirate raid. I guess she was the one closest to being a wife in your terms," he started to remove his boots then, "So do you have a mate?"

"Had," Hannah choked before burying her face in her arms, "Can you just stay quiet now? We're not friends."

Silence was his answer and she was ok with that. 'To be honest I am surprised he isn't trying to climb out.' It felt like hours until she heard scratching and rocks falling before looking up to see Vakarian trying to hold onto the rock wall. 'Ah, that was why he took his gloves and boots off.' His talons dug into the rock but they did little more than scratch the rocks surface. He huffed before letting go, his armor was off and he was only wearing the under armor. He seemed a bit smaller without the bulky armor covering him. She stood up walking over to him. He snapped his head and a snarl was his response to her approach.

"I think we should try to find something to eat before we try that," she said before noticing he was glaring past her at the ground. 'Crap, the knife.' Hannah froze staring at him. He reached out and placed one of his sharp talons against her throat.

"So you can kill me when my back is turned? Unlucky for you humans, I always have knives on me," he snapped before he gripped the back of his neck. She looked at him as he crouched into himself, she could hear the sorrow tear through his throat. "My father was right, I should've just left the Turian military when I had kids. Becoming a specter was a poor choice. Now I may die and never see them again."

She looked at him as his shoulders shook, in what could only be sorrow. Her heart squeezed and her stomach churned in worry as she thought of Jane growing up alone with no parents. She couldn't help the sorrow that tore through her own throat. She slammed her fist against the rock. Vakarian looked up at her, there were no tears just eyes filled with anger and grief.

"I have a two year old back on earth, or two cycle whatever you called it. Little Jane Shepard," she sighed crouching down beside Vakarian looking at him more closely. He had rich blue eyes with a royal blue paint on his face, "She already tells me stories of going on big space adventures. Finding more aliens in our galaxy and making peace. When we left I promised her mommy and daddy would return home to her safely. But now I fear she will never see us again. My husband died to blow up your main base, because you couldn't be peaceful."

Vakarian blinked a few times before he gripped his spikes on his head rubbing them before he spoke.

"The mass relay you were trying to open was illegal," he sighed leaning back against the rock wall, "We didn't know you were new aliens. The only aliens who knew of the relays were the ones already on the citadel. So we responded in kind as we do to every other alien, we attacked. But the sad truth was we learned far too late you were new and that what we had just done was an act of war towards a race that had no clue about us or any of the other alien races on the citadel."

"You have said things about a council and you've called yourself a specter," Hannah sat down beside him, all thought of the knife gone and instead replaced with curiosity.

"The council is the head of the galactic races. The first and oldest are the Asari, they are monogender. Their skin is a blue color varying slightly between each individual. They have tentacles that adorn their heads. They look the most like you, two mounds on the chest, lips that are smooth and tinged a different color. Their legs also bend the same as yours," he pointed to her leg before placing his hand on his lap, "Then there are the Salarians. They're very smart, but they can be just as deadly. The first specter was a Salarian, and you'll see what I mean by deadly when I explain more about the specters. They are amphibious, their legs bend like mine, their chests are also concave. They have large eyes and two horns on top of their heads. Then there is my race. Of course you've seen us enough, but I'll just explain what you've broken so you better understand. You broke my prominent fringe, it's used to attract a mate. My mandibles are what help me to express myself they also serve in my digesting of food."

"What of the paint?"

"The paint, is a symbol of the heritage you belong to. My ancestors held a big part in turians being able to live civil lives," he said stroking his paint, "It also is a status mark. So what about you? I mean you the females have these weird lumps on their chest. What are those for? And why are you covered in fur?"

Hannah started laughing, she could see his confusion in the human build. After all the only other aliens he knew of were aquatic so they would not have hair. She wiped her eyes looking at his face seeing the plates above his eyes shift in confusion. She pulled her knees under her chin before she began.

"These lumps are called breasts. They are what mammals use to nurse their young till they can eat solid food."

"Why not regurgitate it to them?"

"Does your planet have no mammals?" She asked staring in shock at him. Vakarian shook his head staring at her even more confused. 'So they have no clue about us at all. We probably seem like monsters to them."

"Mammals are what live on earth, they have hair or fur that covers their whole body. It depends where the fur is at like on my head it is long and full where as on the rest of me it can be soft and barely noticeable," Hannah began before getting up to let her hair out of it's tangled bun. The locks got knotted in each other from being set free and she worked on it gently pulling each knot out before she could run her fingers through it. Looking back up she could see the shocked look on Vakarian his mandibles and mouth were slacked as he stared at the hair in front of him. She took in a deep breath before grasping his hand and pulling his talons to her hair before running them through it.

He yanked his talons back before staring at the smile on her face. He reached out again touching her hair.

AN: Hey so this is my first time on this website. I have had this fan fiction story running through my head for a long time. And so I decided to write it and put it out on here. Mind you this is kind of a weird take on the whole Mass Effect story but I wanted to do a story based on Shepards mother Hannah as well as Garrus's father. So yup lol.