Author's Notes:
After many years of reading, I've decided to try my hand at writing a fanfic. Mostly because I doubt anyone else would be interested in writing this story, and even if they did, it wouldn't be my story. So here it goes. Concrit is welcome; please review so I know what works and what doesn't, but flames will be used only for cooking.
Also, while this story has a romantic pairing, it will not be a focus of this story. Other authors have written much on those subjects, and in finer style than I could.
Lastly, between work, family, and not being a writer at all, updates will likely be sporadic. Please bear with it – if I end up abandoning this fic (which will only happen if there's no interest), I will explicitly state it in the summary.
AN2: Yes, this chapter has changed a little. Mostly just mechanical, although I did change Shepard's background from the original version. I had multiple reasons for that, but mainly it ended up being a better fit for my story. It really is a minor change though. I also moved my style key and disclaimer to this chapter.
Style key:
"Normal speech" is enclosed in quotes.
Thoughts are in italics but without quotes.
"Radio/comm transmissions" are both italicized and quoted.
{Speech in another language}, if I ever use it, will be italicized and enclosed in something other than quotes.
"Reaper Speech" and similar powerful beings will be boldfaced in quotes, once I get to those parts of the story.
Disclaimer: I'm not Bioware or Electronic Arts, so I don't own any bits of the Mass Effect franchise. I'm also not Masaki Kajishima or Hiroki Hayashi, so I also don't own anything that comes from the various Tenchi Muyō series. Additionally, some dialogue is taken directly from the game. This will be the only disclaimer.
Chapter 1st posted: 2013/4/14
-NFEZ-
Prologue
No Need For Beacons
In one spiral arm of the galaxy, in a cluster of stars that held few habitable planets, a great space station floated in the midst of a dimly lit nebula. This is the Citadel, the center of galactic politics and commerce for many races, and it has been so for hundreds of years. In one brightly lit room on the Presidium, three men were having a somewhat heated discussion. Little did they know just how significant that conversation would become.
"Well, what about Shepard? She's a spacer, lived aboard space ships most of her life," one said in a somewhat nasal tone.
Another answered, "Military service runs in her family. Both parents were in the Navy." This one sounded satisfied, like a man speaking about his favorite grandchild.
A third chimed in, the voice of hard experience: "She proved herself during the blitz – held off enemy forces on the ground until reinforcements arrived."
"She's the only reason Elysium is still standing," asserted the second speaker proudly.
"Yes, she received the Star of Terra for that. Well, we can't question her courage." The first voice spoke, almost reluctantly.
"Humanity needs a hero, and Shepard's the best we've got." Again, the proud mentor.
The first speaker finally nodded. "I'll make the call. Now what's this notation about an 'atypical skill set?'"
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Coincidently, a similar conversation was beginning in another place, between another three voices. However, these women's voices echoed with power and the wisdom of the ages. Their venue was simultaneously a high-tech scientific lab, a garden of wild trees and flowers, and the blackness of space, broken only by unblinking stars. However, the subject matter was the same.
"Yes, what about Shepard? We've been watching her for a while, and she seems a reasonable choice," said a young-sounding voice that flowed like water and shone like sunlight through the leaves.
"Well, she's got the ability, I'll give her that. And the attitude reminds me…" spoke another in precise, controlled tones, before trailing off into remembrance.
Another added in a neutral voice, "Her occasional disregard for authority is pleasing, as is her capacity for chaos. She may perhaps be suitable."
"Hmm," voiced the second reluctantly. "True enough, and she has an appreciation for technology, if not the drive of a true scientist. She also controls her more disorderly behaviors well – for her age. And species. And…"
"Yes. She is well balanced," the first speaker interrupted. "And the human is correct; a hero is needed, though not just for humanity. Are we agreed?"
"Agreed," said chaos.
"…Agreed," said order finally.
-NFEZ-
Eden Prime. It was supposed to be a poster-world, a showcase to display humanity's ability to colonize peacefully and with great success. Now the young colony lay in ruins; its pre-fab buildings gutted or outright destroyed, its people slaughtered or turned into weird zombie-things. And there was nothing that could be done about it. At least not now.
Shepard knew this, pushed her anger to the side for the sake of the mission. It was supposed to be a simple retrieval of a Prothean beacon from the archeological expedition a few klicks away from the colony proper. Now it had turned into a race. Not only was she to secure the beacon for the Alliance, but now she had to deny it to whomever was behind this attack. So far, all she'd seen were Geth and the undead husks of the archeologists.
But the Geth weren't known for attacking colonies, much less one so far from the Perseus Veil. The marine chief they'd helped survive the Geth didn't know of any reason for the attack. Just that it had occurred shortly after the beacon had been unearthed. That seemed logical; as soon as the Geth routed the marines and the dig team, they had moved the beacon.
With that, the three marines continued up the hill, where they found, among other things, two survivors inside a locked pre-fab. With new information, the team continued on towards a tram station that connected to the nearby space port, and from there back to the colony itself. After clearing the station approach of more Geth, they found their ally, and Shepard's Spectre evaluator, dead; shot in the back by another Turian, according to the dock worker they found hiding amongst the cargo containers. Shepard would remember the name, "Saren."
The path to the space port was inundated with Geth, but between her sniper rifle, Williams' Avenger assault rifle, and Alenko's biotics and pistol, they made short work of the enemy's rear guard. Then the real excitement began. Try disarming four high-explosive demolition charges while being shot at from multiple directions. Then add a time limit and code-locked control panels. Shepard was just glad that the Geth had such confidence in their encryption protocols and hadn't just destroyed the control interfaces on the bombs. Fortunately, her own skills in hacking and electronics were formidable enough that she was able to disarm the explosives before their countdowns completed.
Strangely, once the demo charges were disarmed and the few remaining Geth eliminated, they found the Prothean beacon sitting peacefully and obviously activated on the landing pad. Strangely because you'd think after all this trouble, the Geth and/or this Saren guy would have taken it with them or destroyed it. However, Shepard wasn't going to look a gift beacon in the emitter and called the Normandy for pickup.
Then it happened: Alenko wandered too close to the beacon and got caught in some kind of field, like a low-powered biotic pull or something. Shepard rushed over, grabbed the Lieutenant, and threw him back towards Williams, who had just turned around when her commander started running. Shepard then tried to continue, using her momentum to exit the field, but she'd spent it all getting Alenko free. Shepard was pulled to the beacon and then lifted into the air.
Then her mind was assaulted by images-sounds-thoughts, all coming at her at light speed. It made no sense, what little she could focus on past the enormous headache it was causing. Screams of the dying, screams of attack, screams of tortured metal. It was too much. She couldn't keep up. After a few seconds, the flow of information stopped and Shepard sagged into unconsciousness. Then a scanning beam of some sort came from the beacon and ran up and down her form. Suddenly four beams of concentrated white light stabbed out from the beacon and impaled her wrists, throat, and forehead. Even unconscious, Shepard screamed, and the light spread out from the beams' impact and slowly enveloped her entire body until she was glowing.
Then it was over. And Shepard dropped bonelessly to the ground.
