Phee Is the Person to Be
TheOneAndOnlyPhoenix
Phoenix Shepard (Phee) had lived on ships most of her life and was horrible at making friends. Then again, it's not like Phee wanted friends to begin with, she had made a point about that. She probably fought with more kids then the average child should. Her biotic powers making her advanced in combat, especially at close quarters.
The ability to know when you left her alone or helped was the difference between making her feel better or getting a few bruises yourself. She was one that mostly everyone feared, except for one kid she met at the age of 12. Phee had been on the S.S. Ferrel when she saw someone who was different from the rest of the usual crowd. It was a turian boy about the age of her. He seemed to be part of an important group of people though, as they were followed by security guards down the hallway. Phee, being Phee, slowly followed after them, slowly and quietly.
After 15 minutes of walking they came to abrupt stop. Phee had begun daydreaming and almost bumped right into the older Turian. She quickly took a few steps back and hid behind and odd plant. The security guards opened the door and brought the adult Turian in, leaving the boy out. The young turian began walking around and staring at the (ugly) wallpaper that covered the walls.
"Hey, you must be new. Mind if I ask your name?" Shepard said as she walked out from behind the plants. This scared the kid and made him jump.
"I'm uh..Garrus." He said, putting his hands behind his back and straitened his posture, then proceeded to salute her. Garrus studied her for a second. She was human and a female, around his age. She had short black hair and eyes that reminded him of waterfalls.
"No need to be formal. I'm not some important person in a 12-year-old disguise." She paused and then added "Though that would be interesting. I'm Phoenix Shepard, but you can call me Phee." She smiled and held out a hand.
She could tell the kid didn't understand the meaning of a 'high-five'. She grabbed his taloned hand and slapped it against her own and chuckled.
"It's a high-five. You ever heard of one? Wait, don't answer that. Anyways, you want to go do something? My biotics can pretty much get me anywhere." She said, as she flared a light blue and gave him a grin.
"Sure. Anywhere is better than with my father. He isn't the best person to be around." He told her, as they began to walk down the hallway.
"Hey Garrus, I'm going to have to teach you to act your own age. You seem to stiff; like you think someone's watching your every move."
- 3 Years Later (15)-
"GARRUS! Where are you? I mean come on, where would you hide? A cactus?" she chuckled. Calling him spikey was one of the best ways to tease him.
"What's a cactus?" Garrus said, walking down the hallway casually. He was dressed in a turian styled tuxedo, and carrying a snack bar.
"Garrus! We were supposed to be to the dance 5 minutes ago." She huffed, as she began to glow blue.
"I was uh, hungry?"
She chuckled and grabbed his arm. "Come on.. We need to hurry, or I won't be able to show you what human music sounds like."
"Is it any good?" he questioned, as he bit another bite out of the bar.
"No, I just thought it be fun you to hear it." She as she pulled him up to the main deck. It was filled with balloons and an antique disco ball. They could hear the music almost pulsing through them as if it was there heartbeat.
"Damn it Phee, what is this?" yelled Garrus, over the music.
"The music of my people!" She said, putting her hands out into the air and laughing.
Garrus walked out of the room as quickly as possible, with Shepard in tow. Shepard was grinning like an idiot, while Garrus was still trying to get that awful sound out of his ears. "So, how'd you like it?" Shepard said as she looked at her freaked out turian friend.
"Awful. Can we go to your place instead? I can beat you in a game of Future Warfare 23." Garrus said, nudging her with his elbow.
Phee chuckled and replied "You're on, Vakarian."
-2 Years Later (17)-
Phee had been trying to do her homework for over 2 hours now. She was smart, but her daydreaming overpowered the will to do anything else. She had been thinking about what she wanted to do when she was older. Her mom was and admiral, her dad was a scientist, and she wanted to work in the Alliance, but it was a matter of figuring out if her parents would allow it. Sure, they wanted her to have the freedom of being able to choose her own life, but being on a battlefield wasn't what they had in mind.
One night she had asked her father what she should do, and his opinion didn't help much at all.
"Hey dad, you mind if I talk to you for a bit?" She said, peeking her head into his office. He usually was in his lab, unless he was documenting facts or looking at data. Right now he was skimming through a data pad; he quickly glanced up and said "Sure, come in. Have a seat."
Phee took a seat on the opposite side of his desk and began her talk with him. "Hey dad, I've been thinking a lot about working in the Alliance." She carefully voiced her opinion, while trying to make sure he was listening.
"Yes, I think that outfit goes together exceptionally well. Nice talk, now if you will excuse I have to go check on a few experiments." He said getting up from his table and jogging into the next room. Phee sighed, Thanks for listening, dad.
The next person to talk to was her mom, Admiral Hannah Shepard. She was usually in meetings from dawn to dusk, but here in there she had an hour off. With Phee's luck, she quickly located her mom in her bedroom. She was watching an old romance movie.
"Hey, uh, mom? Can you hear me? Mom?" Phee said as she waved her hands in front of the TV.
"Huh? What do you need, Phoenix?" Hannah said as she paused the movie. She looked at her daughter and gave her a smile.
"Just wondering what your opinion is on join the Alliance on the battlefield."
"Phoenix, I like the idea of you joining the Alliance. Be easier for me to keep an eye on you. You can also make some new friends if you decide to join a ship. Plus, you could get a ship of your own someday and do whatever you want with it."
"But I would never want to be an admiral!" Phee complained
"You wouldn't need to be an admiral. You could stay a crewmen or commander of the ship for the rest of your life if you want. It's your decision, make the best of it." Hannah turned the TV back on, which meant for Phee to get the hell out.
"Being 17 is hard.." Shepard whined as she walked back to her room and to the unfinished homework.
-1 Years Later (18)-
Message Received at 12:08 AM Sender: Garrus
Hey Phee you haven't been at school all week, and you haven't answered any of my calls. What happened?
Message Received at 12:10 AM Sender: Garrus
Phee, please talk to me. What's wrong?
Message Received at 12:15 AM Sender: Garrus
I don't care how late it is, I'm coming over there right now, okay? And I won't leave until you tell me what's bothering you. I'll be there in 2.
Message Received at 12:15 AM Sender: Phoenix
I'll unlock the door.
Phee sighed, and then looked into her mirror. She looked like an absolute mess, the little mascara she wore was smeared and her face was as red as a tomato.
A couple minutes later she heard someone knock on her door. Her Mom had went to a meeting so she was alone in the house. Before opening the door she tried putting on a brave face, but the waterworks came as soon as she saw the concern on the turians face.
She was never one for coming close then 2 inches from someone, but she gave Garrus a hug and began crying. This confused Garrus, he thought Phee was sick, not sad.
"Phee, what's wrong? Why are you crying?" He said as he hugged her back.
"I-it's my father. When he went on the trip a week ago to go study a planet, they were..A-attacked by Blue Suns. I guess they're a popular mercenary group. No one..survived." She looked up at him, her once lively blue eyes were now filled with tears that shouldn't be there, and she was filled with pain no one should feel.
Garrus didn't know what to do. He wasn't good with this sort of thing, but he could tell she needed it comforting and a friend should be there for her. So, he hugged her back. She was shaking and crying for a good hour, and they stood there for that whole hour. Finally she stopped and looked up, this time she was smiling.
"What?" Garrus questioned.
"Thanks…a lot. My mom's too busy trying to work and forget about it so I was alone. I-I'm glad you came by, G."
"Anytime, Phee. Although, you could of told me a week ago."
She chuckled "Yea, well, I'm not good with telling people shit; Comes with being a Shepard." She paused, and then added "It also means I'm stunning in combat, and quite the heroic type."
He laughed "I have a feeling that Phoenix Shepard is going to be quite the hero."
-9 Years Later (27)-
Garrus was swerving between people, dodging large carts, and running at full speed through the Huerta Hospital. When he got to the desk he took a breath and said "Where is Phoenix Shepard?"
An asari looked up at him. She had dark blue skin and bright almost white eyes. She smiled and asked "How do you know Phoenix?"
Garrus began talking at the speed of light "I'm her good friend, Garrus Vakarian. I'v known since I was 12…We-"
The desk lady nodded, understanding. She quickly checked up her room number and said "Room 238. You're lucky; she was just cleared for visitors an hour ago. You can go in whenever you like. Please be careful."
Garrus breathed a sigh of relief and headed to her room, carrying along a few presents for his dear friend.
When he walked into her room she was alone and staring up at the celieng. She seemed to be thinking hard. Garrus tried to be careful not to alarm her.
"Hey G. Looks like I completely failed at being heroic." She said solemnly.
This made Garrus angry. "Phee, you couldn't have saved anyone. Those thresher maws came out of nowhere. I'm just glad you came out alive. If you didn't I wouldn't have anyone to make fun of me and that would drive me crazy not being called 'Spike' every day." Garrus said, giving a turian smile.
Phee chuckled then looked at Garrus. He was the only friend she ever had and probably the best one. She remembered when she had first met him. The mischevious tomboy girl and too proper turian becoming friends was the oddest thing, yet now he seemed to actually be a person. Garrus had cut ties with his father after he made him join C-Sec.
"Wheres Hannah?" questioned Garrus, interrupting Phee's daydream.
"She can't come. Too busy, I guess. Too busy to see her own daughter who survived 10 thresher maws, too busy to actually talk to her daughter, too damn busy to even look at her daughter!" Phee realized the hot tears streaming down her face. They were full of hatred.
Garrus tried calming Phee down "Phee, forget about that. You can't let that get in the way of you and your mom. Don't give up on her. She'll come around."
"Yea, I suppose your right, but when will she come around? It's been like this for almost 9 years now. When is she going to get over dad? Or atleast pretend to?" Shepard said angrily.
"I-I don't know, Phee. But I'm here, alright? Ever need me for something I'll just be a call away."
Phee sighed and looked out the window. The artificial sun was a bright orange. Down below there were bright flowers of every color. It reminded her of the last time she visited Earth.
"Thanks G. Don't worry, I won't get into too much trouble again." She chuckled.
"Yea, for some reason I highly doubt that promise will be kept long. Atleast try not to get kill-"then his omni-tool beeped a message from his C-Sec partner. "Shit, I got to go. Officer Vakarian has to save the day from an alcoholic." Garrus said as put his jacket around him so it looked like a cape.
Phee laughed and said sarcastically "Do be careful! You never know what a drunk is going to do!"
"Get out of this place soon alright? I'll swing by again tomorrow." He paused and handed her the 3 presents he had brought her "Almost forgot, bye Phee!"
Phee waved then stared curiously at the boxes. She opened the smallest one first revealing a pendant the color of Garrus's markings; a deep blue. Inside was a small note reading 'I got one the color of your bright blue eyes. Cheesy, I know. ' she chuckled and put the pendant on the table next to her.
The second present was a little larger inside was a new amp for her biotics. This made Phee squeal like a school-girl. She quickly looked around to make sure no one heard her and then placed it to the side, smiling.
The last present was holding shiny black armor that came with a head piece. Phee felt like jumping up and dancing. She then realized no one would want to see her dance, especially when she couldn't feel her left leg. She put on the headpiece, put the amp at the end of her bed, and put the pendant in her pocket.
"Thanks G." she whispered.
Phoenix Shepard was in an elevator on the way to meet the council. She was constantly being annoyed by her comrade, Kaiden Alenko.
"Commander Shepard, are you sure you're fit for duty?"
"I'm fine Kaiden. I was just hit by a green beam and saved your ass. Oh, and I had a vision about something being destroyed. The thing being destroyed could have been our civilization. Besides that I'm fucking great." Phee replied sarcastically.
That's when Ashley spoke up "Ma'am no need to scare the armor off the guy. I'm pretty sure he was just checking to see if you're alright."
Phee sighed then heard the ding of the elevator reaching the correct floor. "Let's just go. Pretend everythings normal. We're just up here to talk to the Council, nothing more."
Phee began walking towards the Council meeting when suddenly she heard a very familiar voice that made her want to smile and forget about everything important.
Just then a C-Sec officer walked up to her and began talking
"Hello, I'm Garrus-"He looked up when he heard a laugh. This made Garrus smile "Damn it Phee. You could have saved me from looking like a fool."
"Nah, It's hard to stop you from looking like a fool, G." She gave him a hug and looked at Ashley and Kaiden. "Guys, this is my friend, Garrus Vakarian. He is one bad ass C-Sec officer."
"He's a turian, Commander." Ashley snarled. This made her commander angry and Ashley realized she had just unleashed the beast inside her sarcastic commander.
"Ashley, care to repeat what you just said? I don't think I heard you over all the bullshit." Phee spat back.
Garrus tried not to laugh as the scared human stuttered an apology. Shepard looked back to Garrus and said "What brings you here?"
"I've been trying to stop Saren. There's something not right about him." Garrus replied.
This made Shepard become serious "We heard about him when we went to Eden Prime. A survivor believed he heard Nilus, the spectre who came with us, get shot by Saren. You have anything I can use?"
Garrus sighed "Nothing, everything he touches his confidential, sorry. Although I was just about to head off-"Garrus checked his omni-tool. "Shit, uh Phee? I'll catch you later. I have to be somewhere."
He ran off before Phee could say goodbye. She sighed and she began heading up the steps with two irritating people in tow.
Shepard looked over the dead body of the thug. He wasn't well equipped. She then looked up at Garrus who was standing by the scared doctor.
"Garrus I can't leave you for 30 minutes without you heading into trouble. Not to mention you almost killed the women in the process" Shepard huffed.
"Sorry, Phee. I got him though, right? That's the only part that matters."
"What if you didn't get him? What if you shot her instead? You're coming with me, G. I'm going to teach you how to be a true hero." She said, grinning. She turned to her group and said "Ashley head back to the ship. Too many people could cause trouble. And I know what will happen if I allow you to be within 2 feet of him of Garrus."
As Ashley walked off in a fit of rage Garrus joined Shepard by her side. "Why'd you have her leave? It would have been fun."
"Yea, you killing her would have been quite enjoyable." Shepard replied, chuckling. She grabbed her pistol and said "Ready to kick some ass?"
NOTES:
Phee and her background story is my own creation, everything except the attacked by thresher maws on a mission piece.
I picture Huerta to be much larger than what you see of it in Mass Effect 3. Just my opinion though.
Phoenix's name is kind of a joke, I know, when you think about Mass Effect 2. A Phoenix is able to be reborn from its own ashes. –Shrugs- Reminded me of it.
I honestly don't know if I'll post any stories about Mass Effect 1. Since Mass Effect 2 is my favorite (Where most stories will come from).
Yes, Garrus is fucking adorable. It's a fact. Trust me, he'll become the awkward Garrus we all know from Mass Effect 2 soon enough.
Mass Effect 3 Extended Cut will be a chapter, I promise you. I want nothing more, but to fix the ending to my liking.
*If you enjoyed it, or have some tips to improve my writing , please comment! It makes my day :3