Mass Effect Blues
Emily Rose
Note: After playing Mass Effect back to back three times, I lost the motivation to play any other video games. Mass Effect left a huge gaping hole where my gaming heart should be. It is one of the most amazing games I've ever played. A friend of mine suggested that I try writing a fanfic on how I WANTED the game to go so this is my attempt at it. It's been years since I've ever written anything so wish me luck. Side note, I'll most likely play and write this on my fourth play though.
Blood on snow. Blood and snow everywhere. She doubled over and coughed as another spurt of blood flew from her mouth to land in the snow. She was tired, oh so very tired. She rubbed her fisted hand across her face to wipe the last few drops of blood off her chin.
"Looks like you're all out of fight little girl." The voice slithered down her spine sending chills and mental images of dark hallways and screaming. So much screaming.
"Why don't you just come over here and get on your knees, and things will get so much easier for you." The voice continued on.
She balled her other fist as blue currents slowly traveled up and down her arm. She was a freak, a freak according to her gang that she used to consider her family.
"Come on Emi.." The voice continued "We don't want to have to kill you. Just come with us."
"The boss will kill us if the merchandise is damaged anymore. You know those Biofreaks can sell for a lot of money in the right hands. She ain't even got a implant yet." Another voice droned on.
Merchandise. That's what she was to them. Ever since the blue static started dancing on her skin two weeks ago. She didn't think of the time before, where the only time they noticed her is when her fingers were too slow in picking pockets or cleaning the guns.
She tightened her fist, as the blue static climbed up higher on her arms, across her shoulders and down to her legs. She closed her eyes and continued to push. The blue static formed a bubble around her.
She blinked and bit her lip as the shadows stretched towards her and released. Sending blue static traveling down the alleyway before everything went completely dark.
"What can you tell me about her? Well aside from her being able to knock out ten city blocks with that stunt she pulled." A voice spoke over her head.
"Well aside from being a biotic, we have absolutely no records of her. No immunization, testing records, home, school or even an address for some third great aunt." Another voice said while she heard the scratch of a pen on paper.
"But from any indication, she was probably involved with a gang. See the tattoo here?" She feels cold fingers pressing into her hip bone.
"Remove the tattoo. Any thoughts on implanting her or would it be to late?" The first voice asked.
"What are you talking about Doctor Malis? We can't implant her, she went this long without an implant who knows what will happen if we just stick one on her. She will just have to learn how to control her self in BAaT." The second voice answered.
BAaT. She's heard of that before. One of her 'friends' talked about how his parents were going to send him to Vancouver for training. But he opted for running away instead.
"She looks to be about seventeen, eighteen years old. Of mixed descent, most likely from one of the east Asian countries. And a orphan. If that is the case, we won't need parental consent to have her enlist." Doctor Malis commented as he put the chart back on the bottom of the bed.
"If she'll even want to enlist! You're overstepping yourself again Ron!" The second voice quipped while fingers tightened around her wrist.
"She's a Biotic, she will have to enlist. We can not have her running around unchecked causing damage to the city!" Doctor Malis growled out.
She coughed, and let out a whimper as she opened her eyes slowly and blinked at them.
"Water..." She mumbled as she struggled to sit up.
A glass was placed into her hand and she quickly emptied it. She looked around, and looked at both doctors.
"I'll join." She said while staring at Doctor Malis with dark brown eyes.
"Good." He said while patting her hand. "I'll file the paperwork. We just need a name."
"Emily. Emily Rose. I. I don't know my last name. But the boss would call me his little Emily Rose when I was smaller." She looked down at her hands, before quickly looking back at him.
"We'll just give you a last name. How about Shepard?" He said looking pointedly at the second doctor.
"But...but that's MY last name!" The second doctor mumbled.
"Well it would seem fitting since you're the one that treated her when she first arrived." Doctor Malis said while he began to fill out paperwork from her charts.
"Emily, you'll be shipping out tomorrow for training." He continued as he slowly made his way out of the room.
She looked around the tiny hospital room that was hers for a short time. Running her fingers through her newly cut dark brown hair.
"Are you ready?" Doctor Shepard asked while smiling at Emily.
"Yes father." She responded teasingly while rewarding him with a smile.
Elysium
"At ease Private Shepard." The man said from behind the desk.
"Aye, aye sir." She responded as she relaxed her posture and curiously looked around the office.
"I'm here to discuss your shadow." He said with a twinkle in his eye.
She let out a soft sigh and turned to look behind her at the little girl with bright red hair and bright green eyes standing outside the door staring at her in worry.
"I'm sorry sir, she took to me and would sometimes follow me around during my patrol." Emily said softly.
"She's not interfering with my patrols Sir." She continued.
He laughed softly and shook his head.
"It is okay Private. We're here for a while so it isn't a problem to make friends with the colonists. I'm only summoning you to mention the girl's father would like to meet with you. And has requested you escort his daughter home."
"And here, why don't you give her this?" He continued as he placed an Alliance pin on his desk, while winking at her.
"Who knows, maybe you'll inspire her to enlist when she's old enough. But as of right now, Private you're dismissed till your next shift. Enjoy the rest of your day." He said as he watched the little girl staring at Private Shepard with something akin to hero worship.
She snapped out a smart salute and quickly turned around to walk out of the office.
"I'm sorry if I got you in trouble Emily! I'll go and tell him its all my fault!" The girl said quietly while looking at her shoes.
"Oh it is fine Clara. I have the rest of the day off and it appears that your father wants me to bring you home."
Clara looked up at Emily and sketched out a quick grin, showing off the tiny gap between her front teeth.
"Oh yes! Daddy said he wanted to meet you because well..." She looked down at her shoes again as her voice dropped to a mumble.
"Since I would ditch school to follow you." She bit her lip and looked back up at Emily guiltily.
Emily quirked her lip and shook her head at the little girl. Quickly dropping to her knees in front of the girl to look into her face she let the smile bloom.
"Clara, you shouldn't skip school you might miss out on something your teachers teach."
Clara toed the dirt floor and let out a soft sigh.
"I already know everything they're going to teach, I always pass all my tests and I don't even have to study! I don't see why I should stay and learn things I already know!" Clara mumbled while still looking down.
Emily smiled again and poked the girl lightly on her freckled nose.
"Oh it's okay, maybe your father can talk to your teachers to give you harder material so you'll feel challenged. But here look I have something for you." She said as she took out the pin and showed it to Clara.
"Oh wow it looks like yours Emily! Can you pin it on my shirt please!" Clara said with a big smile on her face.
Emily shook her head and quickly pinned the badge on the girl's shirt before standing up and looking around the base. Suddenly sensing something slither up the back of her spine.
Seeing no immediate danger, she slung her rifle behind her back and held out her hand for the little girl to take.
"C'mon kiddo, lets see what your father has to say." She said as she smiled down at the girl who held her hand tightly.
Hours later after leaving Clara's house, she meandered her way back to the base. Remembering the way Clara's father Richard smiled down at her with his crystal clear green eyes. And the look of joy on Clara's face when her father gave her her mother's necklace.
'So..thats what family is huh...' She thought to herself quietly and shook her head. She tilted her head up and looked at the clouds that gathered in the sky. She let out a soft sigh as she turned her thoughts inwards, trying to remember anything from her childhood aside from the drugs, violence and gang activities that she's been apart of since she was just a child.
Not remembering anything, she slowly turned her steps towards her barracks and unslung her rifle and shotgun. Carefully placing them on her bed.
"Hey why are the comm towers out? I can't get a line to SSV Agincourt." A cadet called out into the base.
Something slithered back up her spine again as she reached for her weapons and quickly ran out of the barracks towards the cadet.
"What do you mean you can't reach the SSV Agincourt?" She asked as something built up in her stomach.
"It...it sounds like something or someone scrambled the lines Sir." The cadet quickly saluted while looking around worriedly.
"THERE! Look in the sky!" Someone shouted as a ship broke cloud cover and quickly flew towards the colony.
"That..that doesn't look like any of the Alliance ships I've ever seen." Emily said as fear slithered up and down her spine.
"SHIT! Sound the alarm, everyone to your stations we've got pirates incoming! Make sure the colonists are safe!" She shouted out as blue static formed over her skin.
"NOW QUICKLY!" She shouted again.
She ran towards the colony as the first wave of mercenaries hit them from the side. She charged off into the group while blasting anyone who got in her path with a shotgun blast.
"EMILY!" a voice screeched out. "EMILY HELP! PLEASE DADDY..SOMEONE!" The voice continued from one of the back alleys.
"CLARA!" She shouted out again as she quickly tossed a sphere of blue static at a group of Batarian mercenaries which caused them to get slammed into the wall.
"Emily...daddy he's dead. They they killed him..." Clara cried out in anguish. Her arms wrapping tightly around Emily's waist.
Emily patted Clara's head slowly and bit her lip as her eyes scanned the chaos around her.
"Clara, we need to get out of here, I need your help. You think you can do that for me please?" She asked Clara while quickly pulling her towards the center of the colony.
"I'll...I'll try...I'm scared Emily...I'm really scared." Clara hiccuped out as she fisted her eyes.
"It'll be okay sweetie, we need to defend the colony till help arrives. So I need you to be brave okay?"
Clara blinked up at Emily slowly and nodded. Determination tightening in her tiny jaws.
Emily closed her eyes and allowed the blue static to cover her body again.
"Just stay behind me okay? We'll gather as many people as we can to defend the colony" She growled out as she quickly shot more mercenaries.
She leaned down and grabbed a pistol from one of the dead mercenaries and dropped to her knees in front of Clara.
"Clara remember when you told me your father taught you to shoot? You remember it right?" She asked the girl while looking into her eyes.
"Look at me Clara, I know you're scared. I'm scared too okay? But I need you to do this. If anyone comes at you, I want you to shoot them. Okay? If you run out of ammo, grab another gun and keep going. I need you to keep fighting with me okay?"
Clara nodded as her grip tightened around the butt of the pistol. Her eyes quickly scanning the area around them.
Emily closed her eyes as a memory flashed into her mind. She was only a few years younger than Clara when she first killed someone. The man, drunk and feeling that a tiny girl would be easy prey attacked her in a dark alley. Only for Emily to shoot him in the stomach to get away. She had adapted quickly in the streets and learned how to protect herself.
She shook her head to clear the memory as another wave of mercenaries ran towards them. She quickly threw out another orb of blue static and took them out quickly while Clara fired shots behind her.
"We need to keep moving, we need to clear them out quickly." Emily said as she grabbed Clara's hand and ran.
"There is a breach!" Someone yelled out as another wave of mercenaries came at them from an alley.
She pushed Clara behind her as she threw blue orbs left and right, shooting anyone that got in her range.
"Just give up. We might spare you if you do!" A mercenary shouted out while taking a shot at Emily.
Emily gritted her teeth as her eyes scanned the darkness in front of her. She tossed another blue orb in the direction of the voice and carefully took her shots.
Hours later, leaning against the makeshift wall feeling drop dead tired she looked at the remaining military and colonists gathered around her as the SSV Agincourt broke cloud cover finally arriving to the rescue.
"Who's in charge here?" A voice called out.
Emily quickly stood up and sketched a salute.
"I am Sir!" She called out recognizing a higher ranking officer.
"You did good Private. At ease."
"I'm sorry Commander, I did the best I could. Half the base was on shore lea.." Emily broke out.
"You saved them Private. You did the best you could. You did what you had to do to get the job done."
Emily nodded and looked down. "Aye, aye Sir." She said quietly.
She looked in the mirror, noting the scars healing on her face and arms. Her finger tracing the small scar the slashed towards her eye where a piece of shrapnel grazed her face. Then her eyes drifted towards the medal pinned to her chest, the Star of Terra. Her memory drifted to the award ceremony. Standing in front of millions of people and being called a hero. She quirked her brow and gave her reflection a small smile.
'We've come a long way haven't we?' She thought to herself as she ran her fingers through her hair. Letting the pins, and clips clatter to the ground. She slowly unpinned the Star of Terra and placed it in a box. As she felt two tears course down her cheeks slowly.
'So much lost...so many good people died. And here, they call me a hero.' She shook her head and closed her eyes. Arms wrapped tightly around her self.
"Emily...?" A child's voice came from behind her.
Emily quickly wiped her tears and turned to look at the now sober looking Clara standing in the doorway.
She smiled sadly at Clara.
Clara ran to her and wrapped her arms around Emily's waist.
"I'm going to miss you...I wish I could just come with you but...I have to live with my aunt and uncle now." Clara rushed on as tears streamed down her cheeks.
Clara took a step back and looked up at Emily.
"When I'm old enough I'm joining the military. I don't...I don't want..." She broke down and cried harder. "I don't want anyone to get hurt like that again! So I'm going to fight. Like you and protect people and keep them safe!" She continued.
Emily bit her lip to keep herself from crying too. She sank to her knees in front of the girl and pointed to the pin.
"You're already in the Alliance Clara. You helped saved the colony too."
Clara hiccuped and nodded, reaching up to her neck she took off the necklace.
"Emily... I...I want you to have this." She said as she handed Emily the necklace.
"To remember me by and and to thank you for saving my life too. I'm going to miss you so much."
Emily smiled at Clara and put on the necklace.
"Thank you Clara, I'll cherish it always and I'll remember you. Now your aunt and uncle gave me permission to contact you whenever I want so I'll try and keep in touch okay? I promise you though, that I'll always look out for you when I can. And when you're ready to enlist. WHEN you're old enough. I'll give you my recommendation and remind them of what a brave and smart girl you were." Emily said while wiping the tears off her face and nodding to Clara.
"Good bye Emily." Clara said solemnly sketching her a salute and walked back towards her aunt and uncle.