Intro

My name's Sam. There's a lot to say. So let's get started. I write fanfiction. I write other things too, but today, I'll focus on this fanfiction. As you can see by my profile, my favorite video game series is the Mass Effect series. And I even have proof of this, since I've written more stories for Mass Effect than any other fandom. I initially wrote this story with a generic premise in mind. One last adventure for Commander Shepard and at the end it would be all friendly and happy. It bored me. Too safe. All of my writing has been too safe.

I posted this chapter up months and months ago. It sat there with a half-completed second chapter, just waiting to be updated. Even though it was only one chapter, it did receive a surprising amount of feedback for a first chapter. I knew I could do something with it. I knew.

So after committing to write two series, along with my Spider-Man fanfics – Origin of the Species – I thought long and hard about a story I would like to write. Maybe something new? Something different? I came up with ideas pertaining to that. I'll get to them one day. But none of them grabbed me.

So I looked through my old stuff to maybe gain a spark. And there I came across the tons and tons of notes I had written down for Mass Effect: Rapture. I had some interesting ideas, some that I wanted to elaborate on. So I took those ideas and put them into a new story, but I couldn't bring myself to write down the words. So I thought… maybe combine the two? Make the ultimate Mass Effect story with all of my ideas, all of my inspiration, all of the things I've wanted to write about, and most importantly, all my love for it.

Mass Effect changed my life for the better. I mean this legitimately. I could go into why and how, but that doesn't matter right now. What matters is that it happened and I am now a different person with different values and ideals. But, in the end, I need to move on. Like how Mass Effect Andromeda will not be focusing on Shepard any longer, I shouldn't either. So I intend this fanfic to be one of, if not the, final story I write about Commander Shepard.

So, this is intended to be my greatest work. Not just in fanfiction, but in general. My love letter to Mass Effect and Commander Shepard. I dedicate this to my mom who has always supported me through thick and thin.

Enjoy.

Chapter 1

Vocal key is required.

Welcome Councilman, how can I help you today?

Commander Sam Shepard… bringing up file now…

Name: Samuel Shepard.
Rank: Commander.
Race: Human.
Age when MIA: Twenty-nine (Thirty one, but because of his status as dead for two years, he's twenty-nine by technicality)
Gender: Male.
Date of Birth: April 11th, 2154.
Hometown: Vancouver, Canada.
Height: 6'2"
Weight: 219 lbs.

Status: MIA.
Family Status: Orphan.
Origin: Colonist
Reputation: War Hero.
Occupation: Spectre, Alliance Operative.
Class: Soldier.

Choices:
-Spared Fist.
-Spared the colonists on Feros.
-Spared the Rachni Queen on Noveria.
-Aided Gianna Parasini on Noveria.
-Encouraged Garrus to be more paragon.
-Helped Tali with her personal pilgrimage.
-Spared Rana Thanoptis.
-Rescued Kaidan Alenko.
-Spared Wrex during the Virmire mission.
-The Council was saved.
-Saved the hostages and did not kill Balak.
-Did not punch Khalisah al-Jilani.
-Accepted reinstatement as a Spectre.
-Prevented Tali's exile.
-Kept the graybox.
-Defeated the Shadow Broker.
-Ended Project Overlord.
-Completed Operation Firewalker.
-Saved Maelon's Genophage data.
-Heretic geth were destroyed.
-Killed Morinth.
-Destroyed the Collector Base.
-All squad members and crewmates survived the Suicide Mission.
-Stopped the Arrival.
-Diana Allers joined the crew.
-Jack's students were used as support troops.
-The Rachni Queen was saved once again.
-Samara did not commit suicide.
-The Volus Fleet joined Shepard's cause.
-Omega's reactor was slowly rerouted.
-Oleg Petrovsky was shot in the head.
-Exposed the Dalatrass' plan and secured Krogan support.
-Saved both the Quarians and the Geth.
-Maya Brooks was taken into custody.
-Shepard had an energetic party at the Citadel, which died down into a quiet one.
-Shepard destroyed the Reapers.

Are you sure you want to mark Commander Samuel Shepard as deceased?

Confirmed.

Logging you out, Councilman Wrex.

~X~

There aren't many times Sam Shepard has woken up in his life and things have been peaceful. Mostly, he wakes up with his heart beating a hundred beats a minute, sweat coating his brow as he wonders if it really was all a dream. If there was something his mind was trying to tell him. He'll usually always begin every day that way, following that up with a cup of tea and relaxing on the couch, doing something menial like playing games or whatever else he felt like doing at the time.

"SHEPARD! G-"

And when Shepard was shaken and bumped around on his bed, it became clear this was going to be one of those days.

The first thing that came to were Shepard's eyes, which peeled themselves open only to be met with a blinding, flickering light that seemed to sway up above him. The next was his hearing, which was almost too much, as the pops of booming enveloped his ears as if they were being dipped into water. His taste, his sense of smell, everything else came to him all in a flurry as he was flung off of his cot and onto the cold, steel floor, the feeling of pain returning to him at once.

"Kckngh…" Shepard gurgled out something as he felt a needle break off in his arm as the tube it was attached to was crushed under his weight. The IV apparatus attached to him clinked onto the floor as his mass pulled the wire down with him.

The Commander pushed his weight up and his other hand reached to his arm, yanking the broken needle out of his flesh and feeling the warm blood trickle down over his skin. He was able to get into a sitting position as he observed his surroundings.

Things had quieted down for a moment, the booms had stopped and he saw the hospital room he was in thrown about, his bed laying on its side and fluid pooling on the ground somewhere near him. The air was crisp and thin, like any space station, but it felt more hostile this time, more energetic than it usually does. A lamp swung around above him, the bulb flickering such as to warn any occupiers that it'll break soon. The dim light glinted off of the metal floors and furniture, reflecting against the window that just showed a more chaotic scene out in the hallway.

A profound sense of a déjà vu overcame him as he got to his feet, shaking ever so slightly. All he needed was a cold Aussie woman screaming at him to get up. Except there wasn't. This wasn't Cerberus. He knew that as his eyes glanced over to the logo plastered on his wall. This was a Systems Alliance base and he knew that for damn sure.

Shepard looked across the room at the poor soul who tried to warn him of the attack, a guard, who must have tried to get to him before someone else did, but the shock of the blast seemed to have killed him, as his neck was turned in a way it shouldn't be. The Commander was definitely no stranger to death, but despite his exposure, it didn't make it any easier to see another servicemen dead at his feet. He saw too many for one lifetime during the push in London.

But his survival instincts took over at this point and he rushed the corpse, pulling the body roughly until another quake overwhelmed the station, and Shepard's footing was lost as the ground's shaking became violent. He fell right on top of the corpse and rolled around with it for a bit until the short explosion had stopped. At that point, he went into overdrive, and ripped the armor off the body as fast as he possibly could, pulling it over his own body in record time. As he went, he picked the M-3 Predator pistol off the ground and inspected it before holstering it.

As the hardened soldier made his way out the door and started down the hallway, he thought about his last memories. He remembered Earth, his final push against The Reapers with the love of his life and best friend, Tali and Garrus by his side. He remembered Anderson and himself sharing a final moment after The Illusive Man killed himself. He remembered the Star Child… he remembered destroying The Reapers. And that's where it goes blank. He must have been in a coma; he does know that an explosion went off after he fired off several shots into The Crucible. But for how long? Where exactly is he? What's happening to the base I'm in right now?

And as he turns a corner, he gets an idea of the answer to the last question as a gunshot reverberates off the walls and into his ears. He skids to a stop and crouches down low next to a wall, the sounds of yelling and gunfire following him.

Some force has invaded the base. The explosions are most likely coming from outside in space or possibly coming from the base itself.

He looks down the hallway he would have run through, seeing an opening into a larger room, and what seems to be a gunfight happening right in front of his eyes. He can't tell exactly where the enemy's coming from his current position, but he can tell that some of the yelling isn't from a human, so whatever army or force that's invading the base is of an alien origin. And that was pretty much confirmed when a Batarian, coming from the left, takes cover right next to the entrance of the hallway, ducking his head low.

And Shepard has a straight shot at him.

So, with the fluidity of someone who has seen as much combat as Shepard, he whips out his predator and fires a straight shot into the Batarian's forehead, taking him out of the picture entirely. His first kill of the day. Wonderful.

Commander Shepard books it down the passageway and slides into cover next to the alien's dead body, his pistol already locked, loaded, and aimed straight at the attackers, popping heads one by one.

"Sh-Shepard…!?" An officer exclaims from his right, and after a few moments that same officer pipes up again, "Shepard's awake! Now's our chance! Push!"

A torrent of gunfire erupts from the right, mowing down the alien intruders one by one, their exo-blood splattering against the virgin walls with every well-aimed shot. Shepard's pistol fire joins in with the rest as he takes out a couple of intruders.

"Retreat!" A Batarian screams as he and his men tuck their tail between their legs and rush back through the doorway of the room, closing it behind themselves.

Shepard shoots off a few more shots, but when they're out of sight, he lets out all the pent up breath inside him and stands up from cover. Counting the bodies, he realizes at least half of them weren't Batarian. Some were Vorcha. Some were Quarian. What the hell was going on?

Almost immediately, a Systems Alliance soldier patters up to him, saluting.

"Commander! You're awake! Corporal Marcus Johnson."

He nods at him curtly, "At ease. Let's make this quick. What's the situation?"

Johnson takes a few moments to answer, "That's going to be hard to explain quickly."

"Try."

"Commander, while you've been under, after the reformation period ended in about half a year, the galaxy got into a Civil War with most of the races of the Terminus Systems. This is an attack by them on this station, which is called The Pride.

Shepard was speechless for a number of reasons. He gulped down some built up bile in his mouth and rubbed his stubble, which had turned into mostly a beard at this point.

"First… how long have I been comatose?"

"You weren't exactly comatose. You were dead for all intents and purposes. But since you were mostly intact, it wasn't hard to… bring you back to life, per say."

"Jesus Christ. Again. Tell me how long."

"About three years, Commander."

His knees began to buckle. He was already near a wall, but now he decided to lean against it. Thoughts turned over and over in his head. Three years. He remembered hearing news like this before, from Jacob, a long while ago. It wasn't any easier now. It doesn't matter how many times you hear that you've been gone for a long time. It always shocks.

"Three years."

"I understand this must be difficult to hear, Commander."

"Three years."

"Are you okay?"

Shepard shook his head. Thoughts of Anderson, Tali, Garrus, Kaidan, all of his friends rushed back into his mind at once at the mention of three years. However, he pushed it all out of his mind. It wasn't time to be sentimental. It was time for war.

"Civil War with the Terminus. There are a lot of questions just about that as well but I'll save 'em for later. Right now, you tell me where I need to go to finish the fight."

The soldier smiled slightly, "You know, you're as cool as they say you are," but with the determined stare of the Commander boring into his very soul, the soldier cleared his throat, "We're pinned down in three locations. This was one of them. The others are located just below us and the other one is at the very bottom of the station, in the main hall where civvies come in."

"How do I get to the bottom?"

"There's an elevator over there, but it's out of commission for now. You're going to have to go down through the station. We're on floor fifteen about now so you have a bit of bulk to get through."

Shepard closed his eyes for a moment and files through some strategies he can go through. When he thought he found a good plan, he opens his eyes, "Tell the other men to head down to the second point and flank the intruders. Johnson, you're with me."

"All right, I-wait. Sorry. Say that one more time?" Johnson's eyes widen slightly.

Shepard began to walk off to the cache, but takes a moment to look back to point at him, "I said you're with me! Get your gear and then meet me at the elevator!"

"Um… okay." Johnson scurried off to go tell the men the orders the Commander gave them and they file in and head off to the next checkpoint.

Shepard rummages through the stack of weapon as he tries to kick negative thoughts out of his mind. He's never fought well when his minds on other things. When he was first falling in love with Tali, he had to have the rest of his team carry him through a couple of missions, just cause she was all he thought about. Hell, he wouldn't let her fight for a little while, and they got into a few fights about that.

After shaking the bad thoughts out of his head, he takes a trusty M-8 Avenger Assault Rifle, an M-92 Mantis Sniper Rifle, a Grenade Launcher, and an M-23 Katana shotgun. He gives them a quick inspection and then meets Johnson by the elevator door, who is fidgeting with his armor in the meantime.

"All right. You ready?" After the corporal nods, he glances at the doors, "Stand back."

The soldier does as he's told and Shepard, taking a few steps back himself, pulls out his grenade launcher and shoots a round into the door, blowing them wide open. Johnson covers his face, but when the dust settles, he just stares bewilderingly at the Commander.

"We're going to climb down."

"Um… have you done this before?"

Shepard just nods as he heads toward the large hole in the doors, "Plenty times. Let's go."

Johnson watches as Shepard grabs onto the ladder next to the door inside the shaft and begins to climb down. The corporal follows suit hesitantly, but he knows how to follow orders, so he does as told without complaint. And hell, he knows better than to question the guy who saved the galaxy three times over. He probably knows what he's doing. Probably.

Shepard heads steadily down the ladder, coughing once or twice on the dusty air. He couldn't tell if it was soot from an explosion or if it was just dirt, but it was definitely present all around him.

He was a little surprised at himself. He didn't feel tired. He didn't feel like his head's not in the game. That's probably the biggest difference from this instance than the Cerberus one, that he felt completely normal. Most likely because he wasn't rebuilt from what was basically hardened ashes this time around.

"You good up there?" Shepard checked in on his fellow soldier.

Johnson stopped to answer him, "Uh. Yeah. Arms are getting a little tired."

"Mine too. We should be-"

And that's when the doors right next to them opened up. And peeking through to see what's up were two Batarians, one with his helmet on and another with a bandana on his forehead. When their eyes met, it felt like they were waiting there for a full minute before someone made a move, but it was more like a second than a minute.

"Humans! Get them!"

"Oh shit."

Shepard swung his body back sharply and then toward the attackers, grabbing the chestplate of the helmeted attacker as he fell down, pulling him onto the ground and using him as a ledge to grab onto as his legs dangled above what seemed to be a fifty plus foot drop.

"Get off! Shoot 'im! Shoot the damn human! Agh!"

The Commander's eyes darted around as the Batarian struggled to shake him off, but he couldn't find something immediate to grab onto. All he saw was a barrel of a shotgun. And that might've been the last thing he ever saw again but Johnson came flying from above, tackling the Batarian with the bandana straight off the ledge and into the shaft below.

"NO!"

But it was too late. The two figures yelled until they faded off into the distance. Shepard angrily grabbed onto the Batarian's helmet and pulls himself onto the body of the Batarian, grabbing his pistol and rolling into the hallway, shooting him in the back of the head and watched him drop into the shaft along with Johnson and the others. Shepard cursed again and again; slamming the butt of his pistol onto the ground.

"Damn it! Damn it!" Shepard gritted his teeth as he stood up. His eyes went to the number of the floor and found he was right above the main hall. "Bastards. Goddamn bastards!"

He had been back for little over an hour at this point and already someone young and undeserving died around him. He could have gone on to become a father or even a grandfather. He could have become the most important general in the galaxy, but no, now Johnson is only known as the young hero who sacrificed himself to save him. So many have already done that. He didn't need to as well. Damn it.

Shepard holstered his gun and pulled out his shotgun, walking straight into the staircase. He stomped downstairs and opened the door to see a gunfight happening to the left of him. And instead of finding a different route to take or a position to flank them, he just walked straight down the main hallway to the Alliance barricade, taking potshots at the invaders.

"Who the hell's leading you, huh!? Whose the goddamn bastard that's leading all the rest of you goddamn bastards!?" Shepard keeps firing off shots until he gets to the barricade. A lot of the soldiers are in awe that he's alive, but they just keep firing.

"Wait! Wait, wait, wait!"

A distinctly Batarian voice from behind the invading force at the main doorway into the hangars rung out through the hall. Everyone eventually stops firing at the sound of it, but Shepard just vaults over the barricade and walks right into the middle of the hall, shotgun on his shoulder.

"Commander Shepard?"

"Right here. Who the hell are you?" Shepard cocks his shotgun.

The Batarian stepped out from his troops, standing at the forefront, looking down upon Shepard. He wore dark grey armor with a red design on it, a helmet with a white skull overlay on it, and had two heavy gauntlets typical of the famed Batarian Brawlers. He holstered his shotgun next to his assault rifle and sword as he stared down upon The Commander.

"Back from the dead again, eh? Only fitting you don't recognize this voice, Commander. I wouldn't expect any more of you."

Shepard took a moment to search through his memories. He recognized the armor, the way the man moved…

And then it came to him. The mercenary that came after him after he dealt with Sovereign. On Illium. He captured Tali.

"Spartan. You're Spartan."

"Heh. So you do recognize me, Commander."

Shepard's guard is let down slightly, "What the hell are you doing here? You're leading this invasion?"

"You've been gone a while, Commander. Things have changed. I've become a hero to my people. I've become a hero to all races of the Terminus."

Shepard scoffed, "Hero? Hero!? You're nothing but a mercenary! A terrorist!"

One of his men's voices is barked out through the crowd, "He's not a terrorist! Shut up!"

"At ease, soldier," Spartan gives a hand gesture, "You see… I am what I claim, Commander. But what are you? Just a-

KRAKOW!

Spartan ducked down and narrowly avoided a shotgun blast. Shepard, aiming down his sights, snarled.

"Shut up."

Spartan growled, "Fire at will!"

The mercenary began to rush down toward Shepard, pulling out his sword from his waist. He opened the fight with a downward slice, which Shepard blocked with his shotgun. The two growled in each other's faces before Spartan smashed his shoulder into his chest, knocking him back a few feet.

"Hragh!"

Spartan began a series of sword slashes as bullets fly over their heads toward both of their opposing forces. Shepard continued blocking his attacks before spinning around, using his hips to whack the Batarian's arm away, then smashed the butt of his gun into the Batarian's side.

"Agh!"

Spartan retaliated with a sharp punch to Shepard's jaw and then followed up with a snap kick to Shepard's stomach. The soldier stumbled back and narrowly dodged a sword slice across his chest, which grazed his armor, leaving a long and narrow scratch and swiping the shotgun out of Shepard's hands. And finally, to end the combo, he takes one rolling savate kick, sending Shepard flying into some furniture.

"You're pathetic. You at least gave me a fight before!"

"I'm not looking to fight."

Shepard kicked his legs back and into the air, and then pushed himself up into the air, executing a kip up onto his feet. This sudden move surprised Spartan, leaving him open enough for Shepard to give him a hard superman punch and then sends his other arm's elbow straight into Spartan's chest. He spun out of the attacks and then tackles Spartan through the air and into the edge of some furniture. Shepard rolls off of him and onto the seat, leaving Spartan on the top of the couch.

"I'm looking… to kill you," Shepard growled his words out, getting up onto his knees.

"Hrgh!"

Spartan rolled over Shepard and wrapped his arms around Shepard's waist from behind, deadlifting him into the air and suplexing him straight through the glass table next to the couch.

"GRRAAHHH!"

Shepard yelled in pain as the glass slashed the skin on his head and hands up, his blood splashing over the floor and the remaining glass pieces. He grunted and whimpered in pain as he pushed himself to his hands and knees, the shards digging farther into his skin. He continued to struggle to breathe as Spartan stood up.

"That's too bad, Shepard. I'm not dying yet. Now that you're alive? You and me have a lot of unfinished business."

Spartan leaned down, grabbing Shepard's head as he dragged him out of the glass and onto the floor, landing a right straight punch on his face.

"Do you remember what I said all those years ago? Huh? I told you I'd ruin your life just like you did mine. I won't stop. I will destroy everything you hold dear. I promised."

Shepard bared his teeth, "And I told you to fuck off."

BLAM!

"AGH!" Spartan yelps as he feels a shot tear through his side. He looked down to find Shepard's pistol lying in wait. Shepard uses all of the momentum he can muster to pull back and release a hard strike into Spartan's head, knocking him to the floor.

As this happened, the soldiers from the first and second checkpoint began to file in, letting down a barrage of shots toward the enemy, pushing them back further and further.

"Rggh!"

Spartan crawled up the ramp as gunfire bounces off around him. Quickly, his soldiers lay down covering fire as medics attend to him.

"I'm not done, Shepard. I'll make… ngh… sure we'll meet again. I promised."

Spartan is dragged off through the doors to the hangar and quickly, his troops retreat with him. Soon enough, their ships began to fly out of the base, and the turrets were able to pick off a few of them.

"Hngh…"

Shepard stood up, blood dripping from his wounds as the entire place erupted in a cheer and surrounded their Commander. Congratulations and yells of admiration came from all sides, but Shepard was only focused on how Spartan had left. On how Spartan's coming after him. On how he's been gone for several years. On...

~X~

And on Rannoch, someone in their house they took a year to build is watching the vids of the attack on Base Pride on her omni tool, when she sees a familiar face come out through the crowd of Alliance soldiers.

A face she had been wishing would come back to her every single night and morning for three years. A face she had been aching to see every single time she even thought of him. A face she loved more than anything in the galaxy.

And without any words, she stood up and ran out the door.

To Be Continued…

Hey guys,

For more information on Spartan's character and his origin story, click here - Mass Effect: Rapture - Spartan: s/11024859/1/Mass-Effect-Rapture-Spartan

Hope you enjoy this new tale by me!

Thanks,
Sam.