**Updated**
I do not own Mass Effect nor any of the characters.
Chapter 1: Fall of Eden Prime Part 1
Some call him a hero. Others call him a criminal. The Paragon of humanity or the Renegade soldier. While the debate continues to rage to this day, one thing is for sure. Since humanity's emergence on the galactic scene, there has been no member of their species as influential, nor as controversial as Commander John Shepard.
A past that remains, to this day, shrouded in mystery, there might not be a more well-known name in this galaxy. My goal with this publication is to correct the inaccuracies that many other works have published, as well as to shed some light on the man whose decisions still shape the galaxy today.
Excerpt from "Life and Legend; Commander John Shepard", by Rania T'Vera, 2197.
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In the year 2148, explorers on Mars discovered the remains of an ancient spacefaring civilization. In the decades that followed, these mysterious artifacts revealed startling new technologies, enabling travel to the furthest stars. The basis for this incredible technology was a force that controlled the very fabric of space and time.
They called it the greatest discovery in human history. The civilizations of the galaxy call it…
MASS EFFECT
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John Shepard looked through the small port window into the endless expanse of space. The ship he was currently on was orbiting a small planet, the name of which he did not care enough to learn. At the moment he was in between missions and waiting for the Alliance's next orders for him.
He knew at the moment two men were meeting to decide what his next job would be. The two men were named Captain David Anderson and humanity's ambassador on the citadel Donnel Udina. Anderson was someone he had had a long history with. He had met him not long after joining the Alliance and enrolling in the Academy. Anderson had come in to deliver a lecture to his class when Shepard had walked in late. Anderson had then spent the next five minutes chewing him out and the rest of the lecture slipping not-so-subtle references back to him.
Not that there was anything Anderson could really do or say that could change anything about him. Shepard had been the way he was for years and even though he may show up late sometimes or flunk a test his field abilities and physical exam scores were off the charts. Also there was one other reason the Academy was taking a special interest in his training. Anderson had returned several more times after that to be a guest instructor for his class and at first glance this might seem normal Shepard believed it was anything but. It was more likely the Alliance was bringing him in to evaluate him. Whatever they were looking for they obviously found it because as soon as Shepard graduated the academy, a feat he accomplished faster than anyone in the Alliance's history, he was entered into the special N7 program.
N7's were the elite of the elite, more valuable than a thousand regular soldiers all put together. Regular soldiers could be trained, any existing abilities enhanced to the level needed to become an efficient part of the fighting force. N7's were different, what they were could not be taught nor trained. N7 operatives were forged in the fires of combat, their skills sharpened in the most dangerous and challenging of situations. The day he entered the N7 program he became the only person ever to do so without first serving in the Alliance military. As a result he also became the youngest to ever enroll in the program.
'Well…no sense just standing here and wondering what comes next.' He thought to himself.
Turning away from the window he cast his gaze around the lounge of his current ship. The captain of said ship was probably off sleeping in his room which meant at the moment he was in command of the ship, even if there was nothing to do. Eventually his eyes feel upon a cute little redhead dressed in the standard military uniform. He gave her an appreciative once over and catching her gaze delivered his patented mischievous smirk. Face turning red she batted her eyelashes back at him shyly.
Two minutes later he was pushing said redhead into a nearby closet and following after with that same smirk on his face.
There's always something to do when your name was John Shepard.
Meanwhile thousands of lightyears away two men were meeting together to discuss Shepard's future.
"So the Council has decided?" An aging black man dressed in a highly decorated military uniform.
"It seems so. As you know, humanity has long been pushing for a greater role in making decisions in the galaxy. The addition of one of our own to the Spectres would go a long way towards making that happen. Luckily what happened to you was successfully swept under the rug giving us a clean slate." An elderly man dressed in a white uniform responded.
Anderson could do nothing but cast his gaze down to the ground. He was still angry and resented what had happened to him all those years ago but there was nothing to be done about it now. So instead he had dove into monitoring the progress of several promising young humans and sending along reports to the man next to him, Ambassador Udina, who then passed them on to the Council.
For some reason the Council had fixated on Shepard almost immediately. While it was true he seemed to stick out from the group based on his raw talent and physical skills there were still several other potential candidates that the council had just refused to acknowledge.
"Well I agree. In terms of combat ability and tactics there's not a signal person better." Anderson proclaimed.
"Perhaps. But there is still far too much about him we don't know. The council may be testing him out but they have also stated that they have launched a full investigation into his past. If they turn up anything they don't like they could use it to keep him out of the Spectres and we won't be able to do a damn thing about it. We don't even know what to keep them away from." Udina exclaimed.
"We knew the dangers when we submitted his application all those years ago." Anderson replied. "We have conducted our own investigation into Shepard's past but after years of searching we have hardly uncovered anything. I doubt the Council will be able to uncover something truly damaging in a week of searching that we haven't been able to find in years."
"We had better hope so." Udina said. "Shepard has been their clear favorite and if it turns out he has some dark secret it will mean at least another decade before they even consider another candidate."
"Well there's nothing we can do about it now. All we can do is trust in Shepard's ability." Anderson said with his standard confidence. Unlike Udina he had met Shepard face to face several times. Everything he had seen from this young man had convinced him that he would be the perfect candidate for entrance into the Spectres. Sure some may say he had an attitude problem, sure they might be right about him having an attitude problem, but there was denying the kids natural talent.
"Still, I've been rereading his assessments and there are several red flags every year. He has had a bad attitude ever since the Academy and that hasn't changed over the years. During school he continually failed to turn in assignments and now that he is on active duty his mission reports are always late. Every instructor or commanding officer has stated he has a continuing problem with authority. Not to mention the fact that for about ten years of his life we have no idea where he was or what he was doing. Is that really the kind of person we want protecting the Galaxy?" Udina ended his rant with the question.
"It's the only kind of person that can protect the Galaxy." Anderson responded.
Udina stared at the Captain for another minute before breaking off and nodding his head.
"I'll make the call."
Back on the Alliance cruiser Shepard was busy thrusting into the moaning redhead he was currently pinning to the wall of the closet. The girl he was busy thrusting into was clutching tight to him with her arms wrapped around his neck and her legs around his waist. As caught up as he was in the act Shepard was still aware enough to hear footsteps proceeding down the hall towards them. Ignoring the questioning and frustrated look on the face of…well…he had no idea what her name was, he slapped a hand over her mouth to halt the question forming on her lips to listen in.
At first he simply thought it was a random person walking by however as he got closer he was able to identify the voice as the Captain calling down the hall towards another officer.
"Has anyone seen Shepard? I just received a call from Captain Anderson and he needs to be briefed on what's happening."
Shepard waited a few more seconds until the voice of the Captain had faded and before lowering his hand from the girl's mouth.
'So Anderson finally called with my next mission. I should probably go and see what it is' Shepard thought to himself.
However turning his attention back to the girl still wrapped around him he gave a shrug and thrusted back into her without warning. Giving a little exclamation of surprise the girl responded by digging her nails into his shoulders the two picked up where they left off.
'He can wait a little longer but I should probably make this quick.'
Twenty minutes later Shepard tracked the Captain down on the bridge of the ship talking to the ships pilot.
"Captain Willis, I heard you were looking for me."
"Shepard, where the hell have you been? I've been looking all over this ship for you." Willis shouted irritably.
"Sorry I was busy." Shepard responded with a smirk.
Willis's face grew red at the uncaring statement. If there was one thing Willis stressed on his ship it was military protocol and the fact that Shepard refused to do anything formally was a continuous poke in the eye to the captain.
'I will be so glad when this disrespectful little shit is off my ship. He may have all the talent in the world in the field but that attitude of his is a real deal breaker.' Willis thought to himself.
"I received a call from Captain Anderson, they require your presence on the Citadel." He said to his pain in the ass XO.
"The Citadel huh, it's been a couple months since I've been there." He replied.
'Wonder what Captain Anderson could want with me. Ah never mind. I just hope this job will be more interesting than the last one. Target went down way too easily.' He thought to himself.
And so it was that Commander John Shepard came to be onboard the most advanced ship in the Galaxy, The SSV Normandy. This ship itself was at the pinnacle of Galactic engineering. It was designed by a specialized team comprised of human and Council races. It would serve as a stealth cruiser, completely invisible to any long range scans meaning it could move from location to location virtually undetected.
Shepard was somewhat surprised that he would be serving as the ships XO, it's second in command, right under Captain Anderson himself. For the most part he had spent the last five years of his life, the entire time he had been a fully active N7 agent, moving from ship to ship. He would be assigned to a ship and crew for no longer than a single mission. He would lead his team to the objective and get them back out. Thus far he had never served with the same team twice.
Based on the background Shepard was able to come to the conclusion that this mission, what they were calling nothing more than a shake-down run, was complete crap. They would have no need for an N7, let alone arguably the best N7 they had in their ranks, for something as trivial and low-key as a trial run. And he was damn sure there would be no need for a freaking Spectre if that was all this mission was. The final clue was the simple reality that there would be no reason to have both a Spectre and an N7 on the same mission.
These thoughts continued to swirl through his mind as he stalked through the corridors. His destination was the bridge so he could talk with their smart ass of a pilot Jeff Moreau, AKA Joker'. He needed to make sure everything was going smoothly. If this was what he thought it was, he was about to get an opportunity to break free of everyone's command. In order to do that, it meant impressing one man, or more accurately one Turian. Nihlus, the Spectre currently travelling with them.
'If only I had time to check in with my sources on the Citadel before we left but there was no time. We were leaving pretty much right after I arrived so whatever is really going on we clearly have a time limit.' He thought to himself.
He got to the bridge just in time to hear Nihlus give a compliment to their pilot.
"1500 is good. Your captain will be pleased"
After saying this Nihlus turned and walked back out off of the bridge, sparing only a brief glance and a small nod in Shepard's direction. After the Spectre was gone Shepard turned his attention back to what was going on between the Pilot and Lieutenant.
"He gave you a compliment, so you hate him." Alenko was saying to Joker.
"You remember to zip up your jumpsuit on your way out of the bathroom, that's good. I just jumped us halfway across the galaxy and hit a target the size of a pinhead, that's incredible."
If there was one thing Shepard had learned about Joker from the few hours he had known him it was that he had a bit of an arrogant streak. Not that it was unfounded, if everything people said about him was true he must be the greatest pilot in the Alliance. Judging by the simple fact he had been selected to be part of this crew Shepard guessed they must be at least mostly accurate.
"Speaking of which… when was the last time you went to the bathroom Joker?" Shepard asked casually.
"Right before we left the base…why?" he responded curiously.
"No reason," came Shepard's answer.
Joker opened his mouth to press the matter further however was interrupted as the voice of Captain Anderson came through the comm channel.
"Joker, is Shepard still there with you?"
"Yea he is. Why, do you need him?"
"Tell him to report to the meeting room. I have some things I need to discuss with him."
"Aye aye Captain."
Finishing the conversation Joker turned to the figure still on his left.
"You get that Shepard?" he asked the Commander.
"I heard. I'm on my way." After saying this he turned around and proceeded to leave the bridge area however he had only gone a few steps when he stopped and called back to the pilot from over his shoulder.
"Oh and Joker."
"Yea Commander" came the pilot's curious response.
"Your fly's down." After saying this he continues walking, just picking up the sound of Joker swearing as he does so. Despite himself he couldn't completely block the grin that came across his face.
'Maybe this mission won't be so bad. At least there's someone on this ship that knows how to have a little fun.' He thought to himself.
Walking past the giant glowing map of the galaxy detailing where they were and where they were going he gave a short nod to Navigator Pressly. They had met each other once during the aftermath of the Skyllian Blitz.
As he was passing by Dr. Chakwas he overheard the discussion she was having with some young soldier. Just by looking at him Shepard could tell that he had not seen much if any real action. The kid's eyes were far too bright and hopeful to be that of an experienced soldier. If he had to guess, he would say this was his mission out of the Academy.
"Come on doc, I've gotta get out there and show what I can do." He was saying as Shepard made his way over. "Oh, commander. It's such an honor to meet you. You're like a legend back at the Academy."
"I'm not a legend. There's no such thing as legends." Came his stoic reply. Shepard had always had a problem with these young kids fresh out of the Academy. All of them were looking to 'prove' themselves and 'show what they could do'. Far too many of them had died trying to be a hero or 'become a legend'. The truth is there are no heroes or legends. There are only survivors and the dead.
He watched as the glow in the kid's eyes dissipated.
"What's your name Corporal?" He asked.
"Jenkin's sir. Corporal Richard L. Jenkins." Was the kid's reply.
"This your first time out of the Academy Jenkins." He asked.
"Yes sir. How'd you know?"
"Your eyes. You're much too excited to be any sort of experienced soldier. No one who's ever been on a mission is ever excited to go on another." He replied.
"But everyone always says that right before a mission they see you get this light in your eyes. They say it's like you're excited to go." Jenkins replied in confusion.
"Where'd you hear that?" Shepard asked.
"After the Skyllian blitz one of the networks did a report on you. They asked a bunch of soldiers and colonists questions and that's what one of the officers that saw you said."
'Damn I really need to do a better job hiding my emotions. I've already had to go through 4 psych evals during my time on active duty, I really don't want another one.'
"I don't know what they think they saw but I assure you I'm just the same as anyone else. If I'm going on a mission it means that something's wrong and you don't ever want something to be wrong." Having said this Shepard turned away to go meet Anderson however couldn't keep from adding one last thing before he walked away.
"By the way I overheard what you were saying to Dr. Chakwas. If we are ever out on a mission together and you try to play hero I'll make sure you're stuck behind a desk for the rest of your career."
After his run in with Jenkins and Chakwas he finally made it to the meeting room. To his surprise Captain Anderson was not there yet however someone else was.
"Nihlus, what are you doing here. I thought Captain Anderson needed to see me." He asked.
"Anderson will be here in a moment. I just thought I'd use this time to ask you what you knew about this planet, Eden Prime." The Spectre asked him.
"Not much. It's not like I've ever been there myself. All I know is it was humanity's first successful colony outside our own section of the galaxy. Since then it's been nothing more than a peaceful settlement, not good for much else besides farming."
"But that's doesn't mean it isn't valuable does it Shepard." Nihlus responded. "Eden Prime has become something of a symbol to your people hasn't it? It's proof that humanity can survive and even thrive away from your native planet. But is it really as safe as you all think it is?"
"Honestly, I don't think anywhere in the galaxy is as safe as people like to think. A threat can come from anywhere on any place. I learned that lesson on Elysium." Shepard responded with a casual shrug.
Nihlus seemed to give him an appreciative grin. Apparently whatever answer he had been looking for he got it.
Just then the door to the Comm room opened and in stepped Captain Anderson, looking as professional as he always did.
"Well, what do you think of Shepard here?" Anderson asked the Turian.
"I must say from everything I've heard I didn't think he could live up to the reports. However I must say as far as first impressions go this was a pretty good one. However he must prove how good he is in the field if he wants to join our ranks."
"Hold on. Does someone want to tell me what's going on because I'm missing a few details here?" Shepard's irritated voice interrupted the two men.
The two shared a glance before seeming to come to an understanding. Nihlus then stepped back and waited as Anderson explained what was going on.
"This mission isn't actually a simple shakedown run." The Captain revealed.
"No…really." Shepard's responded, voice dripping with sarcasm. "Everyone on the goddamn ship has probably already figured that out. You don't send Spectres out on simple shakedown runs. So what exactly are we actually doing?"
Anderson ignored the sarcasm and slightly disrespectful tone Shepard was using to a superior officer. He was more than used to it by this point and lecturing him would be less than useless. That old human expression 'in one ear and out the other' did not even come close to describing what would happen. More like approaching one ear before it was slapped away and stomped into the dust.
"About a week ago our colony on Eden Prime made a remarkable discovery. They unearthed an intact Prothean beacon. This could be a huge discovery for the entire galaxy. The last time humanity discovered a Prothean artifact it jumped our technology forward 200 years. Just think about what this could do for us. What knowledge it could hold." Anderson eyes were alight with a kind of joy Shepard had never seen him with before.
"Ok, I'm sold. But why are we sharing it with the rest of the galaxy. If we keep it for ourselves wouldn't that give us an advantage?" Shepard asked.
Nihlus bristled at the comment however kept his mouth shut and allowed Anderson to continue doing the talking.
"There were some that thought exactly the same. However the bottom line is the other races have far more experience dealing with Prothean technology than we do. Not to mention think of the impact it would have on our standing with the council."
Shepard nodded conceding the point.
"Alright, fine by me. I was just asking. Personally I agree with you. Sharing something like this would do so much more for us than keeping it to ourselves. The other races hate us enough as it is."
The irritation that had been evident on Nihlus's face slowly faded away. It was a valid question Shepard had asked and judging by everything he had managed to find on this man he could see no history of discrimination or prejudice towards any of the other races. An incredible feat considering some of the things he had been through during his life.
"So what's the plan?" Shepard asked after a moment had gone bye.
"You will lead a ground team consisting of Lieutenant Kaiden Alenko and Corporal Richard Jenkins to secure the Beacon and get it loaded onto the ship. Nihlus here will tag along to offer any support should the need arise and to evaluate your performance." Anderson responded.
"Wait a minute. Why is Nihlus evaluating me? What for?" Shepard asked.
"Nihlus isn't just here to make sure the beacon is secured. He is also here to monitor you and report back to the council if he thinks you're good enough." Anderson said.
"Good enough for what?"
"Good enough to become a Spectre."
Shepard didn't respond for a moment. Sure he knew he was under consideration and he had even vaguely suspected Nihlus was here to monitor him but it was still somewhat surprising to hear it confirmed.
"Today will be the first of several missions together." Nihlus chose now to jump in to the conversation. "During this time I will report back to the Council with my evaluations of you and they will decide if you have what it takes to join the Spectres. The truth is you impress me Shepard. The way you handled yourself on Elysium during that Batarian raid was nothing short of spectacular. Not to mention your ability to not only survive on Akuze but to actually complete the mission even after your entire team had been wiped out. If you are half as good in real life as you are in the reports I've seen you'll make a great addition to the Spectres. That's why I recommended you in the first place."
"Wait, you recommended me? I've been under consideration for this since the Academy." Shepard said disbelievingly.
Anderson shot him a slightly surprised look. That fact was meant to be kept secret from any of their candidates. After all, they didn't want them getting a big head and thinking they were better than they were. Shepard noticed the look and shot Anderson a slightly cocky grin.
"I have eyes and ears everywhere. Very little went on in that Academy that I didn't know about."
"Every discussion about this topic was done over a secure connection. How did you hear about this?"
"Do you really want me to answer that question Captain?" Shepard asked seriously.
Anderson thought about it for a moment before shaking his head no. It didn't matter anymore, clearly knowing hadn't hampered his growth and to be honest he really didn't want to know.
"To answer your question Shepard yes, you have been under consideration for years. However you are not the only one that has been under consideration. For the last several months myself and a few other Spectres have been going over the files and narrowing down the list of candidates. Some of the others might find themselves being reevaluated for Spectre status in time however right now we have chosen you. You have the opportunity to become humanity's first Spectre. Your admission into our ranks could set the stage for more humans to enter over time."
Shepard nodded in confirmation. "Well at least there's no pressure right. By the way, Captain?"
"Yes Shepard."
"I'm not so sure about your choice of Jenkins as a part of the team. I overheard him talking to Chakwas and it didn't exactly inspire confidence."
"What do you mean?" Anderson asked.
"He's still green. Doesn't understand the way the universe works. Thinks it's all glamor and gold stars. I can see it in his eyes, he wants to be a hero. I've seen a lot of men like him die young because they weren't ready to accept the truth. Went headfirst into a situation thinking they could handle it and that it would be their chance to prove how strong they are."
"I hear you Shepard." Anderson said. "But the bottom line is he graduated one of the top of his class from the Academy. He needs to get experience sometime and this seems like a good mission for him. He grew up on Eden Prime so his knowledge of the colony might help you out."
The skeptical look on Shepard's face did not change.
"It's your call Captain but I'm still against this. I hope I'm wrong."
Anderson opened his mouth to say more on the matter however was interrupted by Joker's voice coming over the comm channels.
"Captain, incoming distress call from Eden Prime. You might want to see this."
"Put it up on screen Joker."
A moment later they were watching a video from Eden Prime, though it looked nothing like the golden paradise they had heard about. The sky was a black and reddish color and all the green that was supposed to be there was splashed with red from the flames that were scattered across the landscape. They could not see the cameraman however they got a good look at a young woman who was calling for help.
In the middle of the chaos they saw a giant ship descend onto the colony. It looked a lot like a hand except it only had four fingers. A moment later whoever was holding the camera went down, most likely shot, and the feed went dead.
"Looks like we aren't the only people after the beacon." Shepard commented.
"But how. This discovery was kept top secret, not even the colonists know about it." Nihlus wondered.
"Little thing I've picked up over the years." Shepard began. "Nothing is ever top secret. There are always those more than willing to give out any secret to someone willing to pay enough for it."
"Well it looks like this mission just got about ten times harder." Anderson said. "This isn't just a simple pick up mission anymore. It's now an extraction. Your job is going to be to locate the beacon, secure it, radio us with its location, and keep it secure until we arrive to load it onboard and get it the hell off this planet."
"What about the colonists or any of the surviving military personnel?" Shepard asked.
"Helping survivors is a secondary objective. If you see any in trouble on the way by all means help them out but the beacon is the main objective. You do not have time to get drawn into any long term battles, the beacon will be long gone if you are."
"Understood captain."
"We should be reaching Eden Prime in about ten minutes. Go get ready while I brief Jenkins and Alenko on what's happening. You three need to be ready to go the moment we reach the colony."
Having said this Anderson turned and disappeared from the room, leaving only the Spectre and Spectre candidate standing and considering the mission before them.
"Well Shepard, looks like this mission is going to be more challenging than I thought. That just means I'll have a better chance to evaluate what your like under pressure. Successfully retrieve the beacon and it will go a long way towards proving to the council that you're worthy. I need to check my equipment one last time, I'll meet you and your team down in the cargo hold."
And with that Shepard was alone with his thoughts.
'And here I thought this mission would be boring.' He thought to himself.
Knowing there was no one around to see him he let a manic smile break through his controlled expression.
'Thank god.'
Ten minutes late Shepard and his team were down in the cargo hold with Captain Anderson and the Turian Spectre. Anderson was in the process of giving them their final instruction while the Turian was busy checking his pistol.
"Since time is of the essence we are not going to be able to land in the colony. Our last reports have the beacon about 5 miles outside of town, still at the original dig site. Because of this the four of you are going to have to parachute in. We don't know what that ship was but we do know that Eden Prime has turned into a warzone. As such you will need to pull your chute as ate as possible to avoid detection."
Anderson paused after this to make sure everyone was following him. He wasn't worried about Nihlus, the Turian was a Spectre. He knew what he was doing. He wasn't worried about Shepard either, he had done hundreds of these in N7 training alone. Kaidan and Jenkins however, not so much. While it was true all Alliance personnel had to pass this type of exercise in the Academy it was far fewer in number. They had maybe done this a dozen times, far fewer than Shepard and Nihlus.
"Now we do not know the exact location of the dig site, it was kept secret so as not to give away the beacon's location. Alliance military troop 212 was charged with guarding it so if you should run into any of them they will be able to take you to the dig site."
"Approaching drop site Captain." Joker said over the comm channels.
"Acknowledged Joker open the cargo bay. Everyone put on your helmets." Anderson replied.
After the hanger door was open the wind made it much too loud to hear Anderson any more. Thankfully the helmets were equipped with comms so the four could stay in contact with each other.
"I know I'm supposed to be monitoring you on this mission Shepard." Nihlus said. "I'll be keeping track of you from afar however this mission is much too important to risk jeopardizing so we'll be splitting up. I'll be landing to the northern edge of the search zone. You and your team will land more towards the southern edge. If either of us should find the beacon we will transmit our location to the other. Good hunting Shepard."
Without even waiting for a reply Nihlus leapt out of the ship and disappeared from sight. Anderson gave Shepard a nod from where he stood off to the side gripping one of the ropes hanging from the ceiling to keep himself from flying out of the ship.
Before jumping Shepard had one last message to his team.
"Listen, I'm in charge of this mission. You stay close to me on the fall and pull your chute when I tell you to. Don't worry about what I'm doing you listen to what I say. Pull your chute early or late and I will make it my mission to ruin the rest of your career. Are we clear?"
Receiving nods from both his men he turned back towards the opening that lead out into air.
"Alright then. Follow me.
And with that both he and his team leapt out of the plane and began their 30,000 foot plummet towards the surface of the planet. He knew his two teammates were most likely keeping an eye on the top right corner of their helmets visor where an altitude meter kept track of how far from the ground they were. Shepard's eyes however were on the ground beneath him. From here he could see the devastation that was Eden Prime. From the air he saw several clearings that could be the site of the beacon however had no way of narrowing down which one it could be. He had no need for the number in the corner of his vision. Over the course of hundreds of jumps like this all N7's developed a finely tuned sense as to how far off the ground they were.
'Must be nearing 10,000 feet now.' He thought.
Glancing up at the number he saw he was at almost 10,000 exactly. He smirked to himself.
'Still got it.'
"Get ready to deploy chutes." He said over the radio.
"But Commander…" Began Jenkins.
"Don't make me say it twice." Came Shepard's stern response.
"Yes Commander."
A second later an alert came up on his visor showing that the chutes of his two teammates had been successfully deployed. If they had been through the kind of training he had he would have waited another thousand feet or so but when compared to himself they were nothing more than amateurs. He let himself plummet for a little while longer, enjoying the feeling of the air rushing past him as he plummeted towards the ground. At some point during the fall his eyes had shut.
He couldn't explain why or how he became this way but after the excitement of his first couple jumps he had found a calm peace in the experience. There was something about the rushing wind drowning out even his own thoughts had a calming effect on him, allowing him to block out everything be it his past, the present, or the future. This had caused a slight problem during his N7 training when they were practicing atmospheric edge jumps. As the name implies the students were taken up to the edge of the atmosphere and were then tasked with hitting a target 3 meters in diameter. Shepard had missed the target on his first try by a wide margin. Apparently he had fallen asleep on the way down and the wind had blown him way off course. Thankfully he had woken up before he could hit the ground and successfully deployed his chute. Needless to say his instructor had been beyond pissed with him for missing his mark and telling him he missed it because he fell asleep failed to make things any better. For some reason it seemed to make it even worse. Of course this only lasted another two hours. During which time he successfully completed the next two jumps with the fastest times of his squad.
His internal clock started to signal it was time for him to deploy. Eyes snapping open he brought his hand to his Omni tool and with the simple press of a button released his parachute into the air and slowed his progress. Even so he had been travelling at such a fast pace the ground continued to rush towards him. He could vaguely hear shouts from Jenkins and Alenko. No doubt they thought he had misjudged his timing. Shepard could only smirk as he continued to fall. When he was approximately fifteen feet off the ground he unattached his chute and dropped. When his feet hit the ground he let his legs give out and rolled, completed several cycles, before coming to a stop still in a crouch with his assault rifle drawn. His eyes were scanning the small clearing they had landed in for any sign of an enemy.
He had to wait another two minutes for his teammates to touch down. During that time he could not see nor feel anything coming near him. They were still very much in the dark as to what had attacked this settlement.
"Let's go guys. We need to find somewhere we can get a look down on the landscape." He ordered.
A few minutes later they arrived at a cliff that looked down over what used to be the main settlement. Even from this distance they could see the smoke still rising from the burned out buildings. And above it all was the giant ship they had seen in the video.
"Good God, What happened here?" Jenkins asked.
"Destruction" was Shepard's only reply.
"Eden Prime will never be the same." Was the only thing Kaiden could say.
As they watched the large ship began to lift up off the ground. For a ship that large it was extremely impressive to see how fast it could get off the ground and disappear off the planet.
"Shepard to Normandy…Hello…Joker? Anderson? Anyone?"
He waited a few seconds longer before finally giving up ad turning back towards his team.
"Sorry guys, guess we're on our own. Whatever we're dealing with here must be blocking all our communications. I can't even get in touch with Nihlus, luckily we were smart enough to have an old school backup." Shepard said holding up a strange looking pistol.
"That a flare gun commander?" Kaiden asked.
"Maybe if that flare gun was on steroids…a lot of them. This son of bitch is strong enough to carry a hell of a lot higher than normal flare guns, and brighter. That way teams on the ground and any ships scanning out in space will be able to pick up our location."
Holstering the gun Shepard replaced it with the assault rifle he had been holding and activated the telescope feature in his helmet. N7 technology was way above that of normal soldiers. Shepard's helmet came fully equipped with several applications, not to mention its own shielding to help guard against headshots. Unfortunately it wasn't foolproof, if the round was heavy enough or if the shields were drained it would be no better than plastic. At least it was better than what regular alliance soldiers received. Kaiden and Jenkins were fitted with nothing more than a half visor, which may come with a few applications but offered nothing in the way of protection.
"Better keep moving. Every second we waste here is a second for someone else to get that beacon."
They continued walking for another ten minutes before they came up on the edges of what was once someone's property. It had the appearance of an abandoned old home no one had lived in for years. The roof had collapsed inwards and the walls looked on the brink of falling down. The only problem, if Shepard's guess was right that house had been perfectly fine at the start of the day. The main problem however was about to present itself.
The second Jenkins' eyes landed on the house they widened and his pupils dilated. His breathing quickened and his legs started moving before he even realized it.
"Mom" he shouted, at this point sprinting out of the tree line and into the open space.
"Jenkins" Shepard yelled, starting to follow the green rookie before stopping as his ears picked up a whirring sound. Something was coming their way and if he had to guess he doubted it was friendly.
"Son of a bitch" He said before sprinting forwards once again, this time at a much faster pace. He was still a good 20 yards away when he picked up movement out of the corner of his eye. Coming into view from down a hill to his right was a pair of flying machines with what appeared to be guns underneath them. He could see the weapons underneath start to swivel, targeting the man he was currently chasing who was still too far away from the house to make it to cover in time, not that he was aware of the threat yet.
Swearing again he allowed the familiar blue glow to surround him and focused the energy inside of him. Just as the machines were about to open fire he exploded forward in a burst of speed and blue energy. The deadly streams of energy flew through the air and towards their target who was just beginning to realize the danger he was in. If he was with any other person he would be lying dead on the ground, thankfully he was with one of the few men in the galaxy capable of saving him.
For as fast as the shots were travelling towards him Shepard was just a tiny bit faster. Slamming into Jenkins as breakneck speed the momentum carried the two of them through the air and into the house. Jenkins may have been saved but Shepard was not so lucky. Several of the shots found there mark and while his shields stopped most of them, one was still able to get through and into his shoulder.
All of this happened much too fast for Jenkins to process. One second he was running and watching the bullets fly towards him and the next he was lying on the floor of what used to be his mother's house. Outside he could hear Kaiden laying down some fire and the two machines returning.
Ignoring his shoulder for the moment Shepard leapt to his feet and drew the sniper rifle he had strapped to his back. Moving towards a window he used the butt of the gun to knock out the glass and used the bottom of the frame to lay the barrel down on. Taking a deep breath and peering through the scope he took aim at his targets. Letting the air out and quickly inhaling a moment later a shot rang out. A second later he repeated the whole process again and one more shot travelled through the air.
The first heavy round he fired targeted the machine on the right, smashing straight on into the machines main processor, kind of like the thing's head. The next shot targeted the remaining machine with the same result. In the course of two seconds he had taken down both threats. Taking another deep breath he allowed his head to move away from the scope and the rifle to drop. His suit had already begun to deploy medigel onto his shoulder wound.
Now that the danger had passed he turned a glare onto the soldier still lying on the ground. While he may have saved him from the enemy's bullets he had slammed into him at a very fast pace. If he had to guess he would assume Jenkins had several broken ribs he was dealing with. Probably also had the wind knocked out of him.
"What the hell were you doing?" He said in a calm yet extremely threatening voice. Shepard had learned at a very young age that that low threatening voice could be more effective than yelling as loud as he possible could. This was another such time.
"I'm sorry commander. I just saw my mom's house like this and I had to find her and…" Jenkins began in a shaky voice before getting cut off.
"And what. What could you have possibly done? If your mom was in this house she would have been long dead. If she wasn't there was no need for you to run into the open like moron. You wanted action didn't you, excitement. Well here you go. You got your wish. You'd better enjoy it because this'll be your last mission for a while, or ever if it's up to me."
Having said what he wanted he turned his back to the young man and let out a deep breath. He heard Kaiden enter the house and drop down to check on his teammate while he proceeded deeper into the house. If Jenkins mother was here at least he would know and not get his hopes up. If she wasn't it might serve to motivate him to take this mission seriously. Needless to say this mission had knocked that naive green rookie out of him. There was nothing glamorous about the life they lead, and it was about time he figured that out.
It took him about five minutes to do a sweep of the house but he didn't find any trace of a body. At least this might stop him from sulking. Returning to the entrance he noticed Kaiden had gotten Jenkins back on his feet.
"Alright listen up. I didn't find any trace of a body nor any blood. That doesn't mean she's alive but there is a chance."
He could see Jenkins eyes soften and his mood brighten. Hope did wonders for a person's mentality. On one hand he was definitely motivated now but on the hand it could prove to be a giant distraction.
"Now I know your first instinct is to try and find her but you need to remember the beacon is our priority. You've already done enough to endanger this mission and our lives so put one more foot out of line and I'll have you working behind a desk in the archives faster than you can say Alliance. Understood." He said in his stern 'commander' voice.
"Yes sir." Came his reply.
"Good. We've wasted enough time as is, let's just hope Nihlus is ahead of us."
Author's Note:
Thanks go out to everyone that's made it to this point. This is the first chapter to my first story. Title still a work in progress and will most likely change. My plan is to make this a trilogy with each story covering one of the games, depending on interest. As you'll no doubt find there will be several changes however I intend for the story to still follow the games for the most part. It may take some time in between updates because I plan for each chapter to be about this length if not longer.
Please like, comment, and favorite. The more interest in the story the more motivated I'll be to update.