Author note: I know that strictly speaking, the Siege of Torfan was an act of vengeance for the Skyllian Blitz. I also know that for reasons pertaining to the plot of this universe, I prefer to have it the other way around. So there. As ever, all reviews are appreciated.

Edit: I have decided on a soundtrack for this work that I have to listen to to provide the appropriate atmosphere as I write. The track is 'In a heartbeat' by John Murphy, of 28 Days later and Kickass fame. Listen to it when things are getting dramatic, it makes everything better, honestly.

Mass Effect: Activation

Chapter 1: Angel Eyes

Thaddaeus Shepard had no interest in the greater good of the human race. All he was interested in was looking after himself, and doing something he enjoyed, for instance killing people. Even this didn't particularly incline him towards service in the human Systems Alliance Military, for, as a great man once said, "If you're good at something, never do it for free." The Alliance wasn't known for being generous with its soldiers in monetary terms, or in any others, really. Most cold killers gravitated towards the various mercenary organisations, or went freelance. Thaddaeus Shepard was the best, which was probably why he was never given much choice in the matter.

Once he discovered his true calling at the 'tender' age of ten , he had enjoyed a few golden years of innocence running with a London gang called the Black Sun, before he managed to attract the attention of the bigger fish. One of them was called Miranda Lawson. She had employed his services in order to escape from the tyranny of her egotistical father, and join and receive the protection of the human supremacist group Cerberus. The plan had been for Shepard to join up with her. Of course, the second golden rule of the universe, after 'entropy always wins', was 'what can go wrong, will go wrong'. Murphy's law.

As it turned out, Miranda's father was slightly less worried by the thought of Cerberus' protection than she had hoped, and he had attempted to retrieve them. Shepard managed to foil the attempt, but was captured by Lawson's men in the doing, and had been expecting an unpleasant death, before the man had placed another option on the table; 'Join the Alliance, serve humanity, and, when the opportunity arises, kill my daughter.' Given that the alternative was nothing like as straightforward as a bullet to the brain, the fifteen year old Thaddaeus had accepted the offer.

He was detained by Lawson's company, Rossum, for three years until he was old enough to join the Alliance. Clearly Lawson had taken the boy's notice that he would have compensation seriously enough, and decided to deny him the opportunity until he was detained by his duty.

Shepard still snorted at the concept. His only duty was to himself, although he had been wise enough to conceal his psychopathic tendencies from the Alliance's rather primitive psychological examinations. He had gone on to excel himself in his training, proving himself as an incredible marksman and a brutal close-quarters warrior, both of which would have secured him a place as a front-line grunt, perhaps eventually earning him a position in command.

However, three things stopped this. Firstly, there was the fact that Shepard was seriously intelligent, with an IQ of 197, which clearly indicated that he'd be wasted as a 'squaddie', as he contemptuously referred to them. Second, there was the fact that while he'd been able to prevent a diagnosis of psychopathy, a genetic scan indicated that he had the 'warrior gene', a clear indicator that he was at risk, and he had displayed behaviour that at the very least put him on the autistic spectrum. These things made it clear that he wouldn't be a kind, compassionate, or even necessarily stable leader in combat. Finally, there were the biotics.

Shepard had hoped to conceal them, but a genetic anomaly on the scan combined with a rather too attentive close quarters combat instructor revealed the truth, as Miranda had predicted it; Shepard was a mutant, and much more than simply that; he was a human who had been given latent biotic potential with no exposure to element zero; simply through his genetics. The only case even remotely similar was the entire asari species, yet they didn't have the same instinctive grasp of biotics that Shepard did. He used them to guide his bullets and his movements, as well as holding his body together should it become injured, and he didn't even have to think about it.

Naturally, Shepard had 'declined' to become the subject of experiments ("Do you have any idea how much damage I could do even in one of your poorly equipped research laboratories?") relating to his mutation, which indicated to the Alliance yet again that a man whose loyalty is only to himself shouldn't really have a place in command of other men. So, they settled for making him an infiltration specialist in the first platoon of the 95th Marines, and giving him the rank of Serviceman 1st Class/Corporal. He had the authority to give his tactical suggestions merit, but wasn't responsible for anyone but himself. Shepard had originally reflected that that suited him just fine.

Then, the drawbacks began to appear. Shepard, as an ex-assassin, had no issues about working for people, and had assumed that therefore he would have no issues obeying orders, either. Then, on his first mission, a counter-op against a mercenary group that was overstepping its bounds into Alliance space, Shepard encountered orders that were... well, wrong. He queried the order, even made a suggestion to amend it in order to make it viable, as it had been his life at stake, which had then worked without a hitch, but at the end of the mission, he was officially reprimanded by the Gunnery Chief he'd been taking the order from.

Shepard was furious at the sheer nerve of the fool, but wisely kept his mouth shut, then went to his CO, a Major Kyle, and requested a transfer to his squad. Shepard respected Kyle, having seen a sound and stable grasp of tactics and a willingness to use good ideas wherever they came from.

The other drawback, of course, was the call sign. During his London days, Shepard had chosen to be known to the underworld as 'Ombre'; French for 'shadow'. He'd liked it. It suited his tactics. But in the Alliance, you don't pick your call sign. Your squad does. Shepard knew that he'd gained respect among the platoon in his 'first' action, and on his part he trusted them to get their job done (just), but allowing a group of borderline illiterates to name him was pushing it.

Eventually, they gave him the name 'Angel Eyes', both in reference to the pale blue eyes that contrasted with his obviously Greek olive skin, and gaunt, sunlight-starved face, and to the flawless accuracy that made him their 'guardian angel'. Shepard felt that if that was the case, they could at least have named him 'Lucifer', or 'Beelzebub', or 'Samael', but there it was. It could have been worse, he supposed. At least they had recognised him as a superior being...