Beta: pixelatrix
Bioware owns the Mass Effect universe and all its characters. If you don't recognize a character, it's probably mine.
Her father stumbling through the living room in a drunken haze was what woke Lucy Shepard nearly every morning. How he managed to get up and go out to work on their farm, she'd never figured out. But every morning, he did just that. And every evening, he would go into town and get slobbering drunk before coming home and crashing on the couch.
Today's wake-up call was different. It was earlier than usual and it wasn't her father that woke Lucy, but her older brother Kevin as he threw open her bedroom door.
She blinked a few times to clear her vision and squeaked as he grabbed her by the arm and dragged her out of bed.
"We have to go. Now."
"What's going on?" she asked thickly, catching the clothes he tossed in her general direction.
"Batarians. They're in the town, but they'll be at the farms soon enough. Hurry!" With that, he ran from the room. As she exchanged pajamas for a t-shirt and the sweatshirt and jeans and pulled on a pair of boots, she glanced at her alarm clock.
It wasn't even 11 pm.
"Hurry up, Lucy!"
She ran out into the living room as Kevin was loading one of his heavy pistols. A second one lay on the shelf in front of him. "Where's Dad?"
"Where d'you think?" He shook his head. "He was still in town. Sent me a message."
"Was?"
Kevin shoved one of the pistols into her hands. "It's a damn slave raid. How long you think he's gonna last out there?"
"He's a soldier, Kevin."
"He used to be a soldier," he corrected. "Now he's just a drunk who pretends to be a farmer."
She glanced down at the weapon in her hands and back at him. "What the hell do you want me to do with this?"
He took the gun back for a moment and wrapped his arms around her. "Go. Run as fast as you can, anywhere that's not... here."
"That didn't answer my question."
He gently kissed her forehead and pressed the gun into her hands again. "Shoot anything that moves, that's not me or Dad. That's not... human."
"Where-"
There was a crash as the front door was smashed open.
"No, Lucy. Go. Now!" He spun her around and shoved her out of the back door and into the darkness.
She stumbled a moment and ran headlong into an armored chest. She looked up and screamed as the four-eyed alien staring back at her easily grabbed the pistol from her and threw it across the yard. He reached out, grabbed her by the throat and lifted her a few inches off the ground. He squeezed hard, causing a talon on the thumb of his gauntleted hand to slice into her neck. Before she could do more than grab his arm with both hands, a bullet caught him in the side of the head and he fell to the ground, taking Lucy with him.
She struggled a moment to dislodge the talon from her neck but finally freed herself and scrambled to her feet. As she fumbled in the dark for the pistol, she looked around for the shooter, but found no one in the area except the dead batarian.
What the fuck?
As soon as her hand closed on the cold metal of the gun, she started running. She didn't know where she was going, or how long she ran. She just kept going until her lungs felt like they were on fire.
When she stopped, she was at the treeline bordering the back of the family farm. Figuring the trees would make a good temporary cover, she stumbled on a bit further before collapsing against a large fir tree. She slid down the trunk to the ground, clutching at a pain in her side as she gasped for breath.
She could still hear the explosions and gunfire in the distance, mostly in the direction of the farms. But the relatively early time meant there were a few people left in town and she knew the batarians were likely still there as well.
She closed her eyes, trying to concentrate on something else, anything else, that would take her mind off of the horror of slavers and the cut on her neck, which apart from being painful had started to itch. But all she saw was the bullet going into the batarian's head. She couldn't help wondering who the hell had shot him. When this was over, if she managed to get out alive, she intended to find them and thank them.
Endless hours passed. Lucy jumped at every twig that cracked, every animal noise. But eventually, fatigue set in and she passed out. She woke to the sound of voices nearby. Her grip on the pistol tightened instinctively as she opened her eyes and saw flashlights entirely too close by for her to feel safe in her current location. She hadn't seen a single human since Kevin had pushed her out the door and she wasn't at all optimistic at the chances of these being human either.
Her thoughts were interrupted by a ping on her omni-tool that echoed loudly in mostly silent woods. She looked down at the message and her hand flew to her mouth to stifle a cry of surprise.
If you are still alive, tell me where you are so I can find you. -Uncle Steven
It had been years since she'd seen her uncle, not since her mother's funeral when she was ten. He had stayed with the Alliance after the First Contact War, was now an Admiral and if Kevin was to be believed, he cared more about his career than his family.
And yet now...
She sent a quick reply: I'm in the woods behind the farm. -Lucy
As soon as she hit send, she heard a second ping not far off, in the direction of the flashlights and voices. Suddenly, one of those voices started calling her name. She tried to get up, but her legs refused to cooperate, giving out almost immediately, and she fell back against the tree.
"I'm over here!" she called out as loudly as she dared, still not quite wanting to believe the lights and voices belonged to humans. One of the lights broke away from the rest and started towards her. As they got closer, she couldn't help the feeling of dread that swept over her, that she'd made a mistake and now she was about to die just like everyone else.
The voice behind the lone flashlight was calling her name again. And this time, she recognized it as her uncle's voice.
When he had seen the burnt remains of the farm, Hackett's faith that his niece was alive had dwindled to almost nothing. His heart had nearly leaped out of his chest when he'd received her return message. And now, here she was, not 50 yards away.
"Thank God," he said as he reached her. He knelt beside her, shining his flashlight on her. "Are you hurt, Lucy?" he asked in alarm, taking in all of the blood that covered her sweatshirt.
She shook her head, though he noticed it was with a slight wince. "I'm okay. The blood isn't mine." She looked at him in confusion. "Why are you here?"
He was taken aback by the question. "What do you mean? Mine was one of the ships that responded to the attack. But-"
Her face fell. "Oh."
He lifted her chin with one hand and brushed a tear from her cheek with his thumb. "But the reason I'm here right now is because of you, sweetheart." She nodded slightly. "Now would you mind telling me whose blood that is if it's not yours?"
"A batarian at the house," she said quietly, staring off into the darkness. "Somebody, I don't know who, shot him when he grabbed me."
Hackett stood then and held a hand out to her. "Can you walk?"
"I think so," she said, gripping his hand tightly as she stood on shaking legs. "Apparently not well, but..."
He wrapped an arm around her. "Let's get you out of here."
She stopped suddenly. "What about Kevin?" she asked, trying to pull away.
He tightened his grip on her shoulders. "He's... I'm sorry, sweetheart. He's dead."
She pulled away violently and tumbled forward. He caught her around the waist before she hit the ground and pulled her back against his chest, even as she fought to get away. "No! We have to go back and check! We can't leave him!"
"Lucy, I need you to get a grip sweetheart." She stopped struggling then and turned wide pale grey eyes towards him. He shook his head before continuing in a gentler tone. "We went by the farm first, or what's left of it. I saw him with my own eyes. I'm sorry."
She slumped against him and started sobbing against his chest. It was then he noticed the pistol she was clutching tightly in one hand. He tried to take it from her and she resisted.
"I-I can't. It's all I have left," she said quietly.
"I know, sweetheart." He put a hand over hers. "Just... let me take the bullets out. You won't need them anymore. You're safe now."