A/N: This is the new version of A love for the end of everything. It's changed a lot, first off it now starts in ME1. I'm not going to explain the background of my FemShepard, as that is shown in this chapter. I will say this she is Paragon/Infiltrator. Please Review if you like, it really gets me motivated to continue. Even if there are problems please let me know.
Chapter 1: Beginnings
It always snowed on Mindoir this resulted in life on the colony to be incredibly difficult. Given the near constant blizzards that plague the surface of the world, combined with the extreme cold most organic life would freeze to death if not properly heated. This resulted in the colony on the world being a system of tubes connecting one habitat to another. It was a maze of tunnels and lights, but the seasoned Mindoir colonist could easily navigate, this went double for the children who were born and raised on Mindoir. The first habitat that was properly set up was a station for vegetation to grow unhindered by the freezing cold of the planet surface. This was created with a combination of heated ventaliation and a synthetic sun creating the appropriate level of light for photosynthesis to occur. Shortly after that homes were airdropped down and created to facilitate the colonists. It became apparent that the blizzards resulted in severe buffeting of the colony ships causing them to veer off target and be lost out in the cold. A total of thirty five colonists were lost in this manner.
Once the facility was properly situated the colony began to function as needed, teams were divised to handle to necessary details of the day to day; those being the hunt and mapping of Mindoir, by using a vehicle to properly protect the crew from the cold. As it became slowly apparent the hostility of the local wildlife, a Mako was used to protect the hunters, this became unnecessary as slowly the creatures learned to not attack the convoys. In the forty years that the colony had been standing they had mapped three fourths of the planet and had gone so far as found what wildlife was edible for which race. It seemed the planet actually housed more food for Turians then most planets this side of the Terminus systems. The export of Turian food became the main selling point of Mindoir and as such the colony became known as a hunter colony. This meant that most of the colonists were taught to handle a rifle and to kill the wildlife, to skin them, and then to package and prepare the meat pristinely. Most children learned to handle a pistol at the age of ten and were subsequently sent out on a hunt with their parents. The child would make their first kill and then be taught the S.P.P method, Skin, Prepare and Package. The pelt of their first kill would then be hung in their family's main hall as a symbol of their growth. When the child turned sixteen they'd be sent out once more this time with a sniper rifle, they had been given the year before, and once more they'd kill, two experienced hunters would join the Teen for this hunt. This was the coming of age ceremony for the Mindoir colonists, and it came early by human standards, but such was the life on the frontier.
Michelle Shepard smiled broadly as she felt the click of the rifle in her hand as the Rover shook on the rocky terrain around them. The snow was coming down lightly for once letting the three colonists fully enjoy the view of their home. It was a frozen, every inch covered in snow, mountains of white and rivers of ice dotted the area around them. Trees of snow leaves, born to leaf a gentle color of blue, like water reflected through strands of ice and snow. The leaves danced as soon landed upon their surface. Wind swept through the leaves tearing them from their branches and scattering them unto the frozen ground. Michelle felt a gloved hand grab at her jacket and she turned a hooded face to the person beside her. The beefy man beside her pointed forward at a small dot in the distance and Michelle raised the rifle to her shoulder. The Rovers see-through metal roof rolled back and cold nipped at the three. Michelle brought the scope to her masked face, her mask situating the visual so that she could get a full view of her target. A simple deer-like creature, at least that's how Captain Rick described the creatures. They were white with antlers, but the face held a sharp row of teeth the creatures would use to tear into the flesh of anything that had fallen to their gaze. Strong legs would carry them impossibly fast, going as fast as seventy miles per hour. The creature was feasting upon its own kind as Michelle lined up the shot. The creature turned and bounded away as a roaring entered the atmosphere. A ship was breaking through the atmosphere.
"What the fuck? Rick we expecting a drop today?" A woman's voice from the driver's seat spoke up.
"No. Michelle scoot over darling let me get a look at that ship." Rick said and Michelle switched places with the Captain and he brought his own rifle up to his shoulder. A gasp ripped through the stoic man's breath.
"That's no human vessel, it bears the colors of the Batarian hegemony. Get us back to the colony Jamie, double time." Rick said and the metal cover snapped back into place. The Rover was accelerating, turning on a dime and slightly losing control as Jamie gunned it back to the Colony. Smoke was rising from over the hill and the Rover slammed into an opening inbetween two hills. The Rover rocked hard as it was sent careening from a misalignment of the angle for entry. It stabilized and Jamie's left hand shot out hitting a button that opened the metal gate before them. No sooner had it opened had the Rover shot in and the gate closed behind them. The familiar music that played throughout the colony met Michelle's ears as she exited the vehicle. An explosion ripped through the garage sending the Rover she stood beside careening into the door they had just entered through. As the vehicle burnt a single person clambered out. It was Jamie, she had managed to get out and she staggered as blood poured from an open wound to her shoulder. Michelle ran to her, but a hand from Jamie alerted her to the situation behind her. Michelle turned and there standing before her was a Batarian. A fist lashed out connecting with Michelle's mask the mask fragmented, spewing glass into Michelle's delicate skin. Green eyes met the Batarian's as Michelle swung the rifle in her hands. It cracked the Batarian hard across the face sending the thing sprawling. No sooner had it fallen had Michelle pulled the skinning knife from her belt and jammed it roughly into the Batarian's head. Bile filled her mouth as she held back a vomit. She slowly swallowed it back down gagging at the taste. Jamie was at her side then.
"Michelle get to your home see if you can secure it, lock it down or just hide out. We just need to make it till the Alliance gets here. I'm checking on my family, and then I'll be right with you." Jamie said and she took off. Jamie was only eighteen, but she had proven herself to be an ace when it came to recon. In her first hunt she had been the one who had noticed the small dot on a hill. She had pointed to it and her parents drove to it. They had disabled the creature and Jamie had finished the kill. Jamie was a prodigy for the Mindoir colonists, every hunt she went on resulted in thousands of credits going the colonies ways. Her score weighted down the rover and made it a long journey home, but it was always worth it for the colony.
Michelle followed the orders of her senior and slowly made her way through the tunnels of the colony. She hid from the Batarians who were dragging her fellow colonists off into their ships. She knew if she stepped to save them, she'd be the next one to end up on their ship. The door to her families compound was blown open, debris littered the main hall. Panic filled her as she snuck her way through her home, no one was there. The Batarians had already claimed her family. Tears broke out on her face. She wanted to run wanted to get out of here, but she steeled herself. She pushed the couch against the wall and pulled at the ventilation shaft cover. Slowly it gave way and she pulled herself inside. She slammed the cover back into place and sat there watching the wall of her home. She sat there for hours, as explosions continued to rock the colony. The heat was still on which was good, as she'd freeze quickly without her mask.
"Michelle. You here?" A quiet voice in her room spoke up. It was Jamie. Michelle put her fingers through the metal bars of the ventilation cover and Jamie ran to them.
"Michelle, its not good here. The alliance isn't here yet, and most of the colony is taken. Scoot back I'm coming in there." Jamie said and Michelle pulled herself farther into the shaft. Jamie's hands shot to the cover.
"Put your hands down human and come here." A voice from the room spoke up. Jamie's eyes widened in fear as she stared at Michelle.
"I said come here human" the voice repeated. Michelle shook her head pleading with Jamie to just run, but Jamie did not listen. Her hands left the cover and she turned to the front door of Michelle's home. Slowly Jamie walked till Michelle could no longer see her. A scream filled the room followed by a dull thud as the Batarian must have struck Jamie. Tears welled in Michelle's eyes. She wanted to cry, wanted to scream, but she couldn't. Silence filled the colony, the explosions ceased and all Michelle could hear was the sound of ships breaking through the atmosphere. The Batarians must have left. Michelle pulled herself to the cover and broke it back out. She fell to the couch and ran. She ran trying to find any survivors. Dead eyes met her every corner, every home, dead men, and no women. Several Batarians dotted the colony but not enough to make any impact.
-Several Hours later-
Fear gripped Michelle's heart as the sound of a ship breaking through the atmosphere filled her once more. She waited and waited for a Batarian to come through to claim her. She brought her rifle to her shoulder and lined the scope up. She aimed at the one entrance to her home, and planned to take as many of the bastards as she could before she was claimed.
"L.T. Anderson, no one is here." A human female voice sounded out
"Keep looking, there has to be someone." Another voice spoke, this time human. Hope filled Michelle's heart followed by bitterness. She waited until one of the humans was in her scope and fired at the feet. The bullet dug into the fake dirt of the tunnel.
"What the fuck?" the same woman spoke up
"You're late Alliance. Everyone else is dead." Michelle shouted out and three human soldiers entered her home. She stood from behind the couch where she had been hiding and turned to face the humans.
"I see, we are very sorry about the delay miss. We got the S.O.S and came as fast as we could." The man from before spoke up
"Yeah yeah. Save it. Your excuses aren't going to bring anyone back." Michelle said bitterness flowing through her voice.
"Come on miss, we're getting you out of here." Anderson said and Michelle nodded, she wanted to demand that they went after the Batarians, but she had heard that these attacks happened and the Alliance couldn't do anything. Everytime they had demanded reparation from the Council, they had been told that that was the risk of settling in Terminus systems. She prayed that Jamie would be ok, but deep down she knew the terror she'd face. She swore she'd make the Batarians pay for what they did here, she swore she'd kill them with prejudice.
-Seven years Later Elysium-
Michelle giggled lightly as her best friend tickled her sides. Michelle had just passed N-7 training and had been given shore leave. She and Amanda decided to spend time on Elysium, as it was a beautiful garden planet. It had trees and great open forests. It was a far cry from the home she had grown up on. Here one could walk around without a hood and mask, one could run through toes through grass. Michelle smiled as Amanda pulled away from her. Black eyes met green.
Slowly they leaned in, a moment that would change their friendship, and yet it was something they both wanted. Michelle's hand grabbed at Amanda's dainty waist as Amanda followed in kind. Amanda's hand ran through Michelles red hair, their lips inches away from each other before they were interrupted by the sound of ships breaking through the atmosphere. Michelle's eyes widened in fear, memories of Mindoir played through her mind and Michelle was off. Running to her bunk to grab her sniper rifle. Explosions ripped through the sky as ships came tumbling down.
The Forests around the colony lit up in flames as Elysium burned. Michelle grabbed her rifle and made her way through the colony to a sniper perch. Her Mantis rifle secured to her shoulder and the scope to her eye. She pulled back a second to scout a target and found one, a batarian grabbing at a colonist who had not managed to get to the bunkers. Her gun fired piecing the Batarian's skull and the colonist ran.
She popped the clip and reloaded from the batch beside her. Her eyes roamed the colony; she could see her allies rallying against the Batarians. A grin came to her face, the Batarians made a mistake attacking Elysium it was a pure military relieve colony. All the colonists were either wives, husbands of marines, or marines themselves. The colony rebelled against the threat.
From her perch Michelle tuned into the military ground channel and began to make her orders. Her perch gave her access to the entire field. She made her calls stationing troops as best she could. Her gun picked Batarians off as they came from the burning forest. Slowly the ground team faltered from the onslaught, and soon she watched in fear, as she and a handful of others were all that protected the civilian bunker. The marines on the ground created a circle with her perch as the center. Her thermal clips were running low, but a runner had been sent to grab some from close bodies. A gunshot rang out and Michelle felt her body rock. The shot wasn't clean but it had torn into her left arm, making her aim slip, as she couldn't hold her rifle. She groaned as she bent down to protect herself from the next shot. More shots and screams filled the coms. Her marines had fallen. Michelle reached to the pistol on her waist and aimed it at the ladder. No Batarian would get through there. A head popped into her view, and she shot. Killing the Batarian. She could hear the Batarians below her working on opening the gate. Suddenly more gunfire and she heard the Batarians screaming. She pulled herself to the ladder and pushed the dead Batarian on the ladder off. She made out the symbol of the Alliance on the man standing below her perch. His masked face looked up at her and he tore his mask from himself. There before her was Captain Anderson, the man who had saved her on Mindoir.
"We have got to stop meeting under these circumstances Captain." Michelle said with a grin. Anderson smiled up at her.
"Yeah well, imagine my surprise here I am picking up my new commander for my vessel and she's in a sniper perch with dead Batarians around her. Seriously Shepard do you just invite trouble upon yourself?" Anderson said a smile on his face
"Oh you know me the Batarians love me Captain." Michelle said before she slipped as she tried to climb down the ladder. Anderson reached out and caught her.
"Sorry sir, I'm a little dizzy." Michelle said before her eyes closed. She found herself being carried as her consciousness faded.