The Citadel
Destiny Ascension Docking Bay
January 4, 2183 20:47
Lt. Haric Ward

That damned ship is destroying everything, and those zealots are following it blindly. What had Shepard called the Geth's "god" when she tried to warn us...? Sovereign? A Reaper? Whatever that son of a bitch is, it's here and it's tearing us apart. The center of our galaxy is in flames right now and it didn't even try to send out a distress signal… They must have had a back door into the system; if they already have control of the Citadel then I don't think anyone can stop this now.

Hell they even had an ambush waiting for the Council, that squad of Geth Primes really did a number on me… at least the Council got off the station… I sacrificed my left arm for them, probably even my life for those aristocrats… ah hell I never really used my left one anyways, if... if I survive this I'll make things right... Shit... I can't believe I'm probably going to die here, in this damn corner. I always thought I would die on some piss hole of a planet in the Terminus System, without anyone knowing my name or why my black ops team was even there, no glory or honor for this soldier… Instead I get to die on the Citadel while some unknown machine is destroying everything I know.

Hmm curious… they all say when you die you see the faces of your dead loved ones or even those you've killed. Maybe it's because I'm swimming in medi-gel but all I can see now is that smug look on Jane's face when she is awarded the Medal of Valor for her saving of the Council. Oh hell I can see it now "Alliance Golden Girl, Commander Jane Shepard, Saves the Council and Citadel from Certain Destruction" posted on every extranet site. It'll go right to her head, always did. She always was the strongest out of us, just like back in at the academy...

8 years earlier...

Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Earth
The Villa
February 21, 2175 18:00
Lt. Haric Ward

"Recruit, RECRUIT! Are you listening to me!?" The annoyed drill instructor yelled at the blonde hair recruit next to Haric, everyone snapped to attention, only momentarily distracted by the sticky, humid Rio de Janeiro heat. On the flight over to the Interplanetary Combative Training academy, Haric over heard some of the others refer to it as "The Villa", which in his opinion made it sound much more pleasant of a place to be in than it really was. It was a beautiful view of the Brazilian landscape flying in, but the beauty hides the grueling training that goes on inside The Villa. Haric and a few others from all over the Alliance were handpicked to join the prestigious N-School.

"It is a great honor to be chosen for this training, but the truth is most of you will not be able to wear the fabled N7 patch on your uniform!" the buzzed-cut instructor continued to bark, "You will fail. This course is meant to weed out the weakest of you and leave only the strongest standing to lead!"

An older man with a scar on the right side of his face, wearing the blue and gold trimmed uniform of a member of the Alliance brass, walked to the center of the courtyard and began to address the soldiers in a voice that commands respect from decades of service, "I am Admiral Steven Hackett, and I have no doubt you all know why you are here. You are the best the Alliance military has to offer. However, this is the Interplanetary Combative Training Academy and this will be the most difficult training you will ever experience. We will break you down to your core and then the real training begins... We will forge you into the mightiest soldiers this galaxy has seen. You will be the tip of the Systems Alliance spear, the vanguard of all humanity and you will go where no one else can, to do things that no one else would have dreamed possible. The difficult we do immediately, the impossible takes a little bit longer. And that is what we will train you to do, the impossible. Good luck and God speed." The Admiral's words hung in thick air as he walked away, leaving the troops at the mercy of Drill Instructor Hart.

Pacing back and forth Hart declared "We will assemble here at 0700, is that understood troops?"

A unified, "sir, yes sir" was heard from the soldiers.

Before dismissing them Hart added, "one last thing, there is beer and food in the mess hall. Celebrate, it's Carnival around here." With those parting words he dismissed them.

Everyone grabbed their gear and started to head for the mess hall to celebrate the accomplishment of making it this far at least. Haric decided to put his things in the barracks before heading off to the celebrations. While walking to the barracks he watched the soldiers, who had been here long before his shuttle arrived, practicing and sharping their deadly skills. He wondered why those troops were not going to the festival but quickly dismissed it. This celebration was obviously for the new recruits.

As the green eyed Haric rounded the final corner to the barracks, he caught a glimpse of fiery red hair and noticed that an attractive girl wearing a navy blue uniform was running into what looked to be the communications building and for a brief second thought of going after her. However, before he could even finish his thought the door closed and locked behind her. Curiosity almost got the better of him, until he remembered the celebration going on across the courtyard.

The young navy officer quickened his pace to the barracks and found his footlocker, which read "Ward". After depositing his belongings in the footlocker he looked around at the hard grey building that would be his home for the foreseeable future and sighed. "This should be fun." Without thinking he rushed to the mess hall to join the rest of the green recruits.

The music was blaring; it was some sort of Latin techno music. The celebrations were already in fully swing when he entered the hall so he decided to jump feet first into the festivities. None of them could resist the traditional food and drinks of Carnival but what really caught the men's eyes was the beautiful ebony hair swirling as the young Latin girls danced to the beat of the music. After Haric ingested some "liquid courage" he decided to go flirt with one of the dancers but before he could, a drunken marine slammed into him and spilled his drink all down the front of Haric's uniform. The marine was too drunk to even notice or care so instead of picking a fight on his first night in camp Haric thought it would be best to head back to the barracks for the night.

The walk back was uneventful, only the patrolling guards were out now. When he made it to the barracks, they were mostly empty. The light that shown in from the flood lights outside was the only illumination in the barracks, Haric felt at ease and relaxed in the darkness of the barracks. It was getting late and he knew that N-School was not going to be easy, so getting some sleep before tomorrow would be the best course of action. He climbed into the not very comfortable bunk and closed his eyes to thoughts of reading under the steel gray skies of London.

What felt like only seconds since drifting off to sleep a thunderous BOOM erupted and sirens all around the base started going off, jolting Haric. Before much could register in his sleep clouded mind of what was happening, the red haired woman was yanking him out of his bed and slamming him to the ground.

A/N: here begins the story of my character. This story will mostly focus on the exploits of Haric, but will include Jane Shepard. This will story will help shed some light on the commander before she had to track down Saren and defeat the Reapers. A back story of Shepard seen through another person's eyes. I hope you enjoy, R&R.

~Ad Astra Per Aspera