Solace
Chapter 1
Darkness swirled all around her like a maelstrom. Her body felt cold and warm at the same time. Unknown muffled voices came from above. Krysta Shepard strained to make out who was talking and what was being said, but it was a feign attempt. The last thing she remembered was the hellish inferno of the Normandy and the coldness of space. Did she die? Was this the promised afterlife? Her mind floating in darkness? She yearned to speak out in hopes that someone would hear her and place light back into where she was, but no words would come out. Her voice was only heard in her mind. "Where the hell am I? Hello?! Joker, do you copy?!" She struggled to suppress fear and panic.
"Shepard…" Kaidan Alenko's soft response put a sense of calm upon her.
"Kaidan?" There was no sign of him around. His voice was so distant.
"I know you." He replied with a soft chuckle. "You are strong, Krysta. You really think they would get to you?"
"Kaidan...how can this be? Virmire…I thought you were dead." Her words trembled. Did he somehow overcome the nuclear blast that took out the breeding facility? How could that be possible?
"Listen. I don't have much time." Alenko became sterner as she could almost feel his warm breath against her skin. "Humanity needs you. You are not out of this fight." Then a transparent outline of his form appeared before her. His brown eyes staring back at her. She could feel his hand caressing her face, a smile spread across his lips.
She nuzzled against his hand and tried to touch him back. "Kaidan, I need you."
"I love you, Shepard. Your time is not here yet. I can wait." He chuckled.
"What do you mean?" She asked.
The deafening sound of klaxons made the darkness quickly disappear along with her former love. "No!" She reached out to grab him, but he was gone within an instant. Bright lights made her shield her eyes as she groggily sat up on the table to view her surroundings. Explosions rocked her location nearby.
"Shepard! You need to get out of there! The facility is under attack!" An unfamiliar woman's voice came over the intercom. "Hurry, Shepard!"
Krysta examined the empty lab with her brown eyes. She was dressed in a military casual attire and her body ached all over. A Cerberus insignia decorated the door. She narrowed her eyes, recognizing it. What did a known human terrorist group want with her? Kaidan told her that humanity needed her, but even he was against Cerberus. "I guess I can't mull over it now…" She muttered under her breath as she made herself shove off the table to gain her footing. A little wobbly, but once she found her balance, she sprinted towards the door.
"Move a little faster!" The woman barked at her again through the PA system.
Krysta glared up at the speaker. "That bitch is really getting on my nerves."