"Keelah, I owe everything to Shepard. Blessed ancestors, please help her."

"She never thinks about herself, God, that's why she's in trouble."

"She's struggling. Spirits, let Shepard be safe."

"I don't know whatever or whoever's out there, but please, help my sister tonight."

"By the goddess I love her. Athame, watch over her tonight."

Far away in a place beyond the known universe, in another realm of reality that mortal life could not understand, the three makers sat in discussion. They had watched the life they had created for billions of years; watched as it all unfolded before them. But their focus had been particularly drawn to the Milky Way galaxy for quite some time.

When the race known as Leviathan set about creating synthetics to preserve life at all cost, the makers were intrigued. The Leviathan were the first life the makers had created which had evolved and advanced the furthest. The makers were sure that the Leviathan were destined for greatness. However, all went downhill when the synthetics they created turned against them. The makers sat and watched as the synthetics slaughtered their masters and turned them into the machines that went on to terrorize the galaxy.

The Reapers. Every 50,000 years the makers would watch as new civilizations rose only to be wiped out by the machines, and it pained them greatly. However, as much as they wanted they could not intervene, they could only guide. The life they had created had brought this on themselves, and therefore the makers would wait until someone managed to break the cycle. And eventually that someone came. A female human, known as Shepard, destroyed the Reapers and created a seemingly everlasting peace within her galaxy. It was this 'Shepard' that the makers were currently discussing.

"A lot of people are asking for help for that human Shepard."

"Jane Shepard. Yes. The saviour of the Milky Way. Tonight is her crucial night."

"We'll have to send someone down immediately, whose turn is it?"

"Isn't it Clarence's turn again? He hasn't got his wings yet."

"He'll do, we'll send for him."

"You sent for me sirs?"

"Yes Clarence, a female human in the Milky Way needs our help."

"Splendid! Is she sick?"

"No worse, she's discouraged. At exactly 10.45pm Earth time, that woman will be thinking of throwing away our greatest gift."

"Oh dear! Her life! Then I have only an hour to dress! What do they wear these days?"

"Never mind that, you will spend that hour getting acquainted with Jane Shepard."

"Shepard? Oh isn't she the human who stopped The Reaper machines?"

"Yes."

"Oh wow. Well sirs, If I accomplish this mission will I be receiving my wings? I've been waiting around 200 years now and the rest of the angels are beginning to talk."

"What is that book in your hand?"

"Oh it's a story from Earth, 'The Adventures of Tom Sawyer.'"

"Clarence, you do a good job with Jane Shepard and you'll get your wings."

"Really? Thank you!"

"Now sit down and watch Clarence. If you're going to help the human, you want to know something about her don't you?"

"Of course."

"Good, then we'll start at the beginning."

3rd January 2164 – Mindoir, Attican Traverse

The small, but thriving farming colony of Mindoir was covered in a thick blanket of snow and ice. Albeit it was January and the planet was in its winter orbit, yet snowfall was an uncommon occurrence. Mindoir itself had only been colonised some 10 years ago, before humans even knew they were not alone in the universe. The First Contact War in 2157 had made little impact on the planet's towns, with the exception of a few dead citizens who had signed up to join the fight. Aside from the lack of snowfall, geographically Mindoir was very similar to the land found in the United North American States on Earth. The land was filled with luscious green landscapes and crystal clear waters that were very good for farming and fishing. The Alliance had settled in two small towns on the eastern face of the planet; Demeter and Ceres, which housed the entire population of 5,000. The Shepards lived in a small town house on the outskirts Demeter. Thomas and Hannah Shepard had settled there 9 years ago with their children John and Jane, after emigrating from New York. Thomas was a pig farmer, who sold much of his stock to the Alliance base canteen based on Mindoir and Hannah was a history teacher at the local high school. It was a simple life, but a good one.

Jane Shepard and her older brother John were currently on vacation for the winter holidays, and like many other kids their age they were out enjoying their freedom. They'd gathered up a few of the other kids from school and took their sleds to the local park, which had turned into snow covered haven overnight. The kids had climbed to the top of this big hill in the centre of the park and right at the foot was a large pond that had frozen over. Jane stood with her hands on her hips and looked across the landscape. She was wrapped up in a big, thick red duffel coat that matched her brother's; her mom had a habit of making them look alike. A gust of cold wind blew at her ears so she pulled her bobble hat further down over her red hair.

"Okay boys, who's gonna go first?" she asked, her face wearing a cocky grin.

"Why don't you Plain Jane?" replied one boy with sandy blonde hair and dark brown eyes.

Jane scoffed and turned bright red. Okay maybe she liked Seth more than she let on, screw the cooties.

"Ugh don't call me that Seth, and fine I will."

She placed her sled on the ground and sat down, putting her feet either side. She turned and gave the guys one last smile before pushing off and shooting down the hill. The sled whizzed down the hillside and gained more and more speed whilst Jane laughed the entire way down, spurred on by the cheers of the boys. Finally she reached the bottom where the sled slid out onto the thick ice of the pond. Jane stood up and pumped her fists in the air.

"Come on guys! It's awesome!" she hollered to the rest.

One by one, the kids came down the hill and stopped near her until it was only John left at the top. He was a year younger than Jane and the others so he usually faced the brunt of the teasing.

"And next on the list, my baby brother Johnny!"

"I'm not a baby!" John retorted before setting off himself.

Jane led the kids in a chorus of chants.

"Go Johnny! Go Johnny! Go Johnny!"

John safely made it down the hill and began to slide across the pond. However his sled overshot the other kids and proceeded to head onto a thinner sheet of ice. The ice collapsed underneath and John dropped into the ice cold water.

"Jane! Help me!" John spluttered, coughing out mouthfuls of water before slipping beneath the surface.

"Johnny I'm coming!" Jane yelled, before diving in after her brother.

The other boys formed a human chain beside the ice and latched onto Jane's free hand as she pulled her brother from underneath the water. With all of them working together, they managed to pull the Shepards out safely. The siblings collapsed on the ground and caught their breath, shivering with cold. It was only when Seth came and wrapped his jacket around her shoulders and spoke to her did she realise that she couldn't hear anything out of her left ear.

"Jane saved her brother's life that day, but it caught her a severe case of flu resulting in an infection. For eight years she couldn't hear a thing out of her left ear."

"Really? Eight years? And did it go back to normal or something?"

"Had it fixed up when she enlisted into the Alliance military, but we're getting ahead of ourselves. Keep watching Clarence."

"Okay, where are we now?"

"Shepard's high school, she's 16. This is when everything changed."