Bullets flew by, some bouncing off the rock that she was sheltered behind and others past it. She waited for her chance then pushed up off of the rocky ground and raced forward to her next bout of cover. Gripping her level 5 Firestorm shotgun tight she spun the corner and started to take out drones aiming for their heads but the recoil on the gun caused her to jerk and from the far range the weapon wasn't doing much damage, she had to get closer. A few deep breaths waiting for another break in the fire then she took off in another sprint towards the enemy. A smile broke out under her helmet as she had a clear path and a good visual on the main drone yet something felt off, that's when it struck her mind 'Snipers!'. But it was to late, the red dot zeroed in on her and she felt the shot pierce her armor. Her foot caught a rock and she stumbled, falling forward and rolling in the dust. she lost her grip on her main weapon and it slid away from her. Her breathing came sharp as she struggled to clear her head and gain her thoughts again, she pushed up but a solid boot came down on her chest and pushed her into the ground. She opened her eyes to the barrel of an M8 Avenger Assault and gasped loudly. That's when the alarm sounded and a flash of red covered the large room. The drone stood straight and moved away back towards the charging room.
"OPERATIVE SHEPARD! WHAT WERE YOU THINKING CHARGING IN, IN SUCH A MANNER! YOU ARE IN THE HIGHEST LEVEL OF THE SPECIAL FORCES UNIT NOW ACT LIKE IT" A loud voice rang over the coms. "YOU WENT IN WITHOUT EVEN THINKING! ON THE ACTUAL FIELD YOU WOULD BE DEAD! YOU ARE IN LEAD TO BECOMING A COMMANDER IT IS UNACCEPTABLE TO ACT LIKE THIS!" A large set of sliding doors seemed to slam open as a tall Turian figure appears before her storming up his fists clenched. without warning he grabs the small Asari by her armor and lifts her up and off the ground "What would your father say?" he growls locking eyes with the girl through her helmet.
This seemed to fuel something in her because she reached up and pulled the helmet off revealing her soft blue skin, she threw the heavy black metal to the side "I wouldn't know what she would say I didn't get to meet her REMEMBER!" she snaps as she struggles in the man's grip. "Besides 'Commander Vakarian' I'm not trying to be my father, I don't want to waste my life on the galaxy, I don't even want to be here! I wanted to train with the Justicars but mother wouldn't let me" she explains.
Vakarian growls and drops her to her feet, her looks her over for a moment then his expression softens and he sighs "Chora look… No one is pushing you to be your father… But you're still here and you still have to do your best. We're sending you in for your first Earth drop in 48 hours and I'm your commanding officer so I'm the one who has to be sure that you're ready to fight if the moment occurs. Go home and get some rest, I'll meet you pick up point, The mission specs were sent to your omni tool." He grips her shoulder once more almost in a loving gesture as he studies her face "I know you don't want to accept it, but you have many of your father's qualities in you. She was a good soldier but she would have been a better parent" he looked like he wanted to say something else but he held his tongue and turned and walked to the door. He turned back at the last moment "Your mother is waiting for you in the Presidium near the Mass Relay Memorial" with that he turned and left the young marine alone in the combat training room.
Chora made her way to the exit scooping the helmet and gun up as she walked. Her mind was shifting through many thoughts and she didn't notice herself wander into the locker room till she was standing before her locker, she looked up to the cold teal metal then down to the helmet in her hands "why did you have to save the galaxy…" she whispers and sighs softly. The tumblers in the lock click as she punches in her numerical combination and pulls the door open, inside were her folded clothes, a jacket and a set of dog tags that were 'mandatory' for her to wear outside of the training proceeded to gather her clothes and set them on the bench behind her along with her backpack, leaving her armor, gun and helmet in the locker she walked off to shower and change so she could head home.
Chora stepped from the new Citadel training center and looked out before her at the enormous space station. From where she stood she could see out over the whole Precidium and even see the Citadel tower and every memorial there was but she was to high to spot her mother but she could see the Mass Relay memorial and that's where she needed to head. Chora headed for the elevator, tugging at her bag that was uncomfortably digging into the side of her neck, it was heavy due to the fact that she always carried her father's first N7 stripe helmet with her and it wasn't light. She decided to try and tug the hood of her hoodie between the strap and her neck to at least give it some cushioning. The trip down seemed long as she thought about how she was going to tell the Doctor about her first drop and on earth nonetheless right where the final battle against the reapers took place, no one had been able to do surveys there or any form of scouting missions due to the relays being down but now that most of them had been fixed they were able to send in drop ships and soldiers to discover what was happening on earth. Finally the doors hissed open and she looked up out of her thoughts, the memorial was right in front of her and standing there was a light skinned asari in a slim purple and white dress the same kind most of her race would wear when out, the women had her back to the elevator and seemed to be staring up longingly at the memorial. Chora was quiet as she walked up behind her and laid a heavy hand on her shoulder "Sup Doc?" she asks almost in a teasing voice. The women seems startled for a moment then lets out an exasperated sigh "why do you refuse to call me mom or mother?" she asks as she turns with her arms crossed. Chora let out a sly grin seeming happy to see the shorter women "because I know it irritates you when i call you 'doctor, liara, or even T'Soni" she says, chora had gained her father's height and eye color which was unusual for asari, she was taller than her mother and had bright green eyes which reflected her emotions. Liara shook her head and hugged her daughter contently "how was training?" she asks and looks her over "you aren't hurt are you?" she sounds worried as she lets the maiden go. "No I'm alright mom don't worry it was just simulation training… though… they are sending me in the first wave of scouts… I'm going to earth in a few days" she says gently and looks down then back up to see her mother's expression, she didn't look happy infact the older asari looked nervous but it was like she wasn't trying to show it. "Chora please promise me you'll be safe out there" she almost seems to beg "especially around the Catalyst explosion area" Liara explains then looks into her daughter's eyes "I don't know what you're going to see there… But be warned nobody has been there since the war so no one knows what they are going to find" she says and glances over her daughter's face. To her Chora always looked different than other asari, she has bright green eyes like her father which is untypical of their race, normal asari have blue, teal or purple eyes but never full on forest green. Chora's height rivaled her fathers as well she was about five foot eleven inches even reaching six feet on a good day, the same height of the famed Jane Shepard. Her soft blue cheeks were spotted with freckles and she held herself at a slight slump, it seemed everything even down to her stubbornness matched up with her father. But the girl didnt wish to admit that, she hated when people were able to recognize her on the street and liara knew how uncomfortable Chora got as random Drell or Hanar would approach her claiming her to be the reincarnation of Shepard, when this happened Chora would seem to become angry yet she never said anything she would just storm on ahead leaving the poor soul to question what they did wrong.
Liara sighed and closed her eyes taking her daughters hand, she caught herself in her thoughts and realized that the taller woman was staring down at her "mother? are you alright?" Chora's soft voice asks as she squeezes Liara's hand. she opened her eyes and looked up then laughed nervously and put on an awkward smile reaching up to rub the back of her neck "oh I'm sorry! I got lost in my thoughts again" she says and sighs as she suddenly starts to walk ahead "Come on lets go home and get dinner you've been busy and i have to clean anyways" she says. Chora rolls her eyes as she follows behind her mother to their waiting skycar.
Chora was always happy when she entered her house, her mother kept it clean and warm and the smell of food was always present for some unknown reason. The girl flung her bags down next to the door and flopped back onto the couch picking up a data pad to read the day's news, she still had her boots on and her clothes were still dirty from training. Liara rolled her eyes and looked at her daughter "you know the rules now go change and get ready for dinner… and don't forget your bags" she expressed sounding exasperated as she turned and walked into the kitchen to begin dinner. Chora rolled her eyes but pulled herself up from the black couch reaching her arms up to stretch and crack her back, she snatched her bags from the floor and headed towards her room. When she got there she looked around, it was fairly simple, her bed off to the side, posters of famous Asari clung to her walls, her tv wires and game system controllers were all tangled on her shelf, small ship models filled the rest of the shelf space. Chora redressed in a t-shirt and pair of lounge pants, when she finished she headed back out to see her mother setting the table 'did i really take that long' she questions herself as she walks out and grabs a chair pulling it out and plopping her ass right into the center. Liara smiled and carried the plates of food over "I made your favorite" she coos softly as sets the plate before the other girl, it was a traditional Asari dish Daava, it consisted of steamed fish and vegetables native to thessia with a spicy fruit sauce over a bed of what seemed to be rice though it had a different name in their culture. Chora smiles happily as she looks down at the steaming hot dish her mouth watering "It looks really good mom… thanks" she adds as she looks back up to see her mother's smiling face, Chora loved her mother, she loved her more than anything in the world, she looked up to her and felt proud to call this woman family. When chora was young she always wanted to be like her mother, strong, proud, independent and hard as a rock, but over the years Chora grew and learned that her mother wasn't as strong or resilient as she thought, on many occasions she found her mother crying over old photographs and holo-messages, she would watch her mother's mood fall as she saw mention to Shepard, sometimes her mother would even become angry like when the young Asari stole her father's old N7 jacket, it scared her how her mother's mood could change on the dime so Chora grew up learning how to get around that and keep her mother happy.
Dinner went well and the hours after she spent talking about the mission with her mother was all fine but when bed finally came around Chora felt scared, her mind wandered over what would be left on earth, she wondered if she would find bodies or Husks, she feared that worse mutations could have formed over the 28 years since the final battle against the reapers.
That night Chora was unable to sleep, she tossed and turned, any time her eyes closed and she drifted even slightly she would be sent into horrific nightmares and wake up in a cold sweat, shaking and whimpering. Finally the first few rays of dawn showed through the blinds. Chora laid on her back watching the ceiling, her eyes felt heavy and her head was pounding. With a heavy sigh Chora dragged herself out of bed and towards her dresser. She changed into a normal T-shirt and jeans then looked into her mirror and sighed rubbing her face in exhaustion. Chora didnt know if her head was working correctly because she thought she heard the front door open. She pulled on her boots and walked out of her room to see her hero standing in the living room talking to her mother, Samara the Justicar. She was a tall beautiful asari who was just entering her matriarch years. Samara was everything chora wanted to be.
Without hesitation Chora ran over and hugged the tall blue woman tight "Auntie Sami" she exclaims like a child. Samara seems surprised but then rolls her eyes and sighs "Why did you have to somehow pick up on that nickname that your father gave me" she says almost sarcastically as she pets the girls head "I heard you were going on your first drop tomorrow" Samara commented as Chora let go. Chora puffed up her chest and stood tall smiling proudly "yes ma'am" she says and smiles "i'm in the first team to be dropped at the explosion sight right where the conduit exploded" she says trying to act tough. Samara sighed and closed her eyes "why must you act like your father as well?" she questions "I can tell you are afraid and that is why your mother called me here, I am going to work with you and meditate to help you relax before the drop" she explains and walks past her "come with me child, it is a nice day out and your mother suggested the balcony" she says curtly as she walks towards the glass door.
Chora and Samara sit out on the balcony for hours meditating calmly. Choras energy slowly returns as she breaths and concentrates with her biotics being sure to focus her mind on the ball of energy in front of her, her mind regains its stance on believing that the drop will be easy and quick with no surprises. Samara now has stopped meditating, she watches the child quietly. Samara had been there since the day Chora was born, she helped liara raise the rambunctious asari. Ever since samara lost her last daughter Falere during the last attack she had felt empty but learning of Liara's pregnancy changed something in her mind, she became close to the small family making sure to be there as Chora grew up. But now as Chora was grown all Samara had to do was watch as she lived her life, she knew she wasn't the girl's father and she knew that in Liara's mind she could never take Shepard's place but still Samara wanted only the best for the young girl and she hated that Liara had pushed her daughter to join the Alliance at such a young age instead of letting her choose her own path as a maiden. In reality Samara felt jealous, she knew the girl wanted to follow her as a Justicar but Liara wouldn't hear of it, Samara knew that Liara was trying to turn her daughter into Shepard even if the other woman didn't know it.
As the day ended Samara said her goodbyes and gave her last words of wisdom before departing with a wave. Liara looked to her daughter "Well that was… nice that she came by and helped you right?" she asks but seems to have something else on her mind. Chora seems lost in her own dreams but looks to her mother "Yeah it was cool…. Why don't I make dinner tonight? Yeah i'll go do that" She mutters quickly as she spins and heads for the kitchen. Liara watches in silence as her daughter disappears through the door, her heart seems to sink and she hugs herself. The women sighs and walks quietly to her room, her head a mix of dark emotions. When Liara gets there she sits on the edge of her bed and picks up the holo-message left on her nightstand, she takes one glance at the door before looking back down at it and pressing play. A holographic image of Commander Jane Shepard herself appears, she's smiling as she hangs over the Asaris shoulder laughing "Come on Lia relax a bit just say something into it! you got one of me for 'future generations' so now it's your turn." she laughs more as she wraps her arm tighter around the blushing, giggling asari to hold her in front of the camera "No Shepard stop! leave me alone i'm trying to work and you're bothering me! Go mess with Jack or Garrus or someone" she tries to pull the redheaded women off of her "Quit it!" she laughs more. Jane giggles and kisses her cheek to mess with her then looks at the camera "I'm Commander Shepard and this is my favorite Asari in the entire Galaxy" the message cuts off with that leaving Liara alone with herself once again, tears slowly drip down her light blue cheeks and into the lap of her dress. Her head hangs as she clutches the holo-box. A soft shuffle is heard by the door and Liara's head snaps up to see Chora standing there crying as well. "Mom?" she whimpers as she watches her tears falling from her green eyes "w… what did i tell you about crying?" she asks and walks over slowly seating herself next to her mother "it makes me cry too and I don't like it" she hugs the older Asari tight "Mom". Liara sets the Holo-box down on the bed then turns and hugs her daughter, she buries her face in Choras shoulder and sniffles "I'm sorry I just… I don't feel well… I'm sorry". Truth was, was that liara was scared. Chora was going to the same place her father died and there was a large chance that it was still dangerous there and she didn't want anything to happen to her precious baby. She pet Choras head softly as she held her "Chora promise me you will come home safe tomorrow" She whispers and kisses her head moving her back to look into her eyes "I need you to promise me that" she says. "Mom I promise you I will be safe, I will come back, I'm going in with Commander Vakarian and he will keep me safe you know he will" she says softly and reaches a hand up to touch her mother's face "Mom I love you and I promise you I will come back". Liara smiled softly and let out a light chuckle "By the Goddess you look so much like your father that it's scary" she says then laughs. Chora frowns and rolls her eyes "And I thought this was a serious talk" she giggles a bit, happy to see her mother laughing "why don't we just go out for dinner?" she suggests softly as she grabs her mother's hand to pull her up "somewhere fun for the night". Liara nods in agreement and grabs her bag to follow her daughter out the door still rubbing her eyes to get the last of the tears to go away.
That night Chora stayed with her mother, she needed a reason to feel safe and she knew that Liara was just as afraid as she was. Chora was up for an hour or so after her mother had fallen asleep just listening to the sounds of the large apartment, in her mind, this could be the last time she gets to be in her house.
As the clock hit around four in the morning chora dragged herself out of bed, her eyes scanned the room for a mere moment before she finally stood walking from the door and to her own room. The young Asari gathered up her bag and her supplies then walked to the front hallway, she had said her goodbyes to her mother the night before so she really just wanted to slip out now without waking the woman. Chora turned the handle and stepped from the house into the darkness of the Presidium, they were in the end of the night cycle but it was still dark along the streets. The sound of a skycar engine came closer and she looked up to see the Alliance vehicle approaching to pick her up for her first drop mission. With a heavy sigh Chora climbed aboard and took one last look towards her home.
Chora stood ready with her team at the drop ship door, she clutched her level 5 Firestorm shotgun tight and breathed deeply under her helmet. The Turian Commander gave his signal and the doors to the ship opened, they were about 20 feet up but unable to land due to the rough terrain around the dropzone. Chora knew her cue, her foot hit the edge of the ship's platform and she pushed off dropping towards the hard rock covered ground below, she had done high drop training before so this was the easy part. As her feet hit the ground her radio crackled to life "alright troops you're down. You're going in as scouting. Any civilians report it to us and send them towards base camp no matter how they are found, If you judge something to be hostile do not hesitate to attack. If you find anything of interest instantly call me to your locations. Good luck out there troops and be safe". Chora took in her surroundings and looked to the Alliance marine next to her "Its hard to imagine this is where the final battle happened" her voice is dry as if the over powering energy of the place was making her weak. She did not say another word to the human as she headed off towards the one place she knew everyone wanted her to go, the Catalyst explosion site. The trek was long but they had dropped within three miles of it so she was able to move there rather fast, her biggest obstacle being all of the demolished buildings. Finally she looked up to see the holow crater like spot where the Catalyst had been used to take its last stand, now all that was left in its place was the broken old metal shell and shards of cement scattered in piles around its base. The whole site was eerie, it was to quiet for her liking and she became tense gripping her gun tight, it was as if no animals or anything had come to reclaim the stretch of land, no wildlife, nothing living, but the one thing she did see that sent shivers up her spine were the twenty seven year old decaying corpses of Aliens and Humans alike that had fallen during the final battle never able to be given a proper burial.
Chora climbed up to the middle of the Catalyst looking out over the large war site, it was incredible. The sun cast long shadows over the old structures and caught anything shiny just right to make it sparkle, the view seemed to relax her a bit but something else was there, she was drawn to the center of the machine she felt like she needed to be there, maybe it was because it was the spot her father had sacrificed her life for the good of the galaxy or maybe she was overthinking it. Chora looked down and lifted a small round rock lying at her feet, she needed some noise around here and she was going to make it, she turned towards the back of the site and tossed the rock. It bounced off of other debris knocking some out of the way and falling with a satisfying knock. Chora stopped, something small and shiny caught her eye. She slid down an old piece of cement and walked towards it bending over and lifting the piece of metal up, it was an old dog tag. Chora let out a sigh but respectfully decided to read the name expecting to see the name of some soldier who never got his name in the paper 'Commander Jane Shepard' She was about to drop it without thinking then she froze, her heart began to race and she quickly lifted the tags back to eye level reading it outloud "Commander Jane Shepard" the words felt dry in her mouth and she instantly flipped on her com "Commander! Vakarian! Garrus I found dad's tags!" Her voice radiated with excitement. "Good job Chora but return to base I'm sure the Alliance and your mother would enjoy to see those." His voice came smoothly over the com systems. "I will but I would like to look around some more" She says then takes another look around 'how could these have survived the blast?' she thinks her eyes scanning the area. She takes a moment to look around the space narrowing her eyes "Wait" she mutters out loud and walks closer to a pile to get a closer look "Armor?" she whispers and tilts her head looking through a hole in the rocks. Chora's heart was still racing as she grabbed hold of the large piece of asphalt, She switched the reserved in her armor to be able to lift it. Rocks tumbled from the top of it falling to the sides. The piece was large and heavy but Chora managed to lift it on an axsys, once she got it up she took a breath then opened her eyes and looked down. The figure instantly struck her and took all forms of emotion from her, her heart was racing yet she felt cold and flushed, she was frozen in spot. She finally got up the ability to speak into the coms but it came out as no more than a whisper "Dad?".