Summary:
Before she was savior of the galaxy, a commander in the Alliance Navy, an N7 vanguard, or even Shepard, she was simply Aerin, an Earthborn human child. The streets of London had been her home and her prison. She did what she had to do to survive; even join a xenophobic gang called the Tenth Street Reds. All she had to do was pretend she was one of them—no matter the cost.
Disclaimer:
I do not own Mass Effect or its amazing universe. The only credit I take is for my character, Aerin Shepard. Also, this may not be entirely canon, because I took some liberties.
It began with a spark. Literally and figuratively.
The streets of London were soaked of three days' worth of rain and reeked of the aftermath. Pockets of citizens and travelers strode upon the pavement with drenched umbrellas clutched, ready for the next onslaught. Cars zipped by, both new and old age, due to the transition between.
It was the year 2168, three years after the human race had gained an embassy aboard the Citadel. Humanity was still reeling from the First Contact War, but in the short time of a few years' span, technology was advancing quickly. It was surely a remarkable time for the people of Earth, but it also had its downsides.
Alleyways, abandoned buildings, bridges—they all teamed with the homeless and the hopeless. Orphans from the war, hardworking beings put out of their jobs because they were replaced by technology; they were all suffering. The higher the suffering, the more criminal activity. The abandoned began to rise up to crime and gangs were formed, all with the intention of putting down the alien scum that put them there.
Aerin, an orphan long before the war, was fourteen years old at the time. Abandoned as a child, she had no choice but to grow up fast. She worked odd jobs whenever they were available and did what she had to when they were not. It was only in the more recent years things had become increasingly difficult for the young girl. Jobs were near to extinct—at least for someone her age—and the others in her shoes became cutthroat.
She had been on her way home from the mines on the outskirts of the city when the spark ignited.
Her thin jacket did little to stave off the crisp, icy air that whistled down the block. Half of her was grateful for the cool air as she was still overheated from the work she had done for the day and the other half was annoyed. It was June, for crap's sake. Why was it so cold in the middle of the year?
Her musings were cut short by the sound of a car engine accelerating. It was in that moment time slowed to a crawl and lasted what she thought was minutes, not seconds. The bright blue of the sky car was the only glimpse she got of the vehicle before she brought up her hands to her face in a defensive position. A buzzing filled her ears and her entire body tingled with the strangest sensation.
It was a minute afterwards that the buzzing dissipated and her body went numb. She dropped her arms like wet noodles and observed the remains of the sky car scattered about her. A perfect circle, a foot in circumference, encompassed her where she should have been obliterated. Instead, pieces of human and metal surrounded her, outside the circle that had been formed. It dawned on her then that she had created a barrier. Using biotics.
Her body unfroze and in a panic, she ran. Not once did she look back.