Unbroken

A Mass Effect story

Summary: Shepard's been tasked with infiltrating a Turian slave ship. Shepard hardly has the disposition of a slave and Garrus has no idea how to command his commander.

Author's Note: It was always in the peripheral. Slavery. I was unhappy with how the Mass Effect Universe shed so little light on it. A much darker place they never touched; maybe because it was a game. How the Batarians could get away with it. How the Krogans were neutered. How the Salarians could capture and experiment to their heart's content. The Hanar and the Drell. So many unanswered questions. So I started writing and of course Shakarian is always a good excuse to make a point :) Enjoy and drop me a note if you like.


CHAPTER 2

Shepard stood in front of the holographic mirror and frowned at her appearance. It was true. The brain massage Morinth had given her was still singing in her head. A part of her wondered if it was really the time to put herself in this position. Playing a role she could have easily been living for the rest of her life if she'd let the ardat yakshi win. If Samara hadn't come in time. If Garrus hadn't picked her up and run to Dr. Chakwas in time. No one had spoken to her about it. Even Garrus seemed to give her space.

But the experience reminded her of just how awful the universe was to people without power. Shepard had nearly given in to the pull of the ardat yakshi's lure. The immense will Shepard had to muster, bolstered by her biotics had barely been enough to lift her head out of the sparking cloud and see Morinth for the monster she was. For her, there had always been a very clear line between good and evil; right and wrong. Now…she wasn't so sure. Because in that moment she hadn't felt guilt in letting her Justicar put the Asari down.

The concept had prompted her to take this mission before others. A slave, even in one's own mind, was an atrocity Sarah Shepard had seen little of in her life as a spacer kid or even an N7 soldier. How sheltered her life had been, she lamented. Her companions had each been through so much. Jack, Garrus, Miranda, each with their own personal hell to survive.

Her cabin door pinged and she took a deep breath before smoothing the non-descript grey dress down her arms. It was decent, but threadbare and clung to her like a skin. When Aria had sent over necessities, she had frowned at the dress until she saw the one thing that still grated on her nerves. Smudged, weakened and destitute she could pull off with the turmoil in her head.

But the leash.

She kept staring at the leather and chain contraption and grit her teeth. How the hell was she going to pretend to be okay with putting that thing around her neck?

"Shepard," EDI prodded her gently. "Officer Vakarian is waiting outside your door. Should I let him in?"

She eyed the leash one more time before reaching for the one thing that would remind her who she was. An old, leather jacket her mother had given her at the docks when she had left for her service. Sarah had kept it on hand to remind her how much she had to live for. How someone always waited for her to come home. She slid the cold leash into the pocket and walked to the door with as much bravado as she could muster.

She was about to free a lot of slaves from a madman. There was no way in hell she was backing down because a dog collar made her uncomfortable.

/

"This is not going to work. I should never have let you talk me into this. We're docking on a ship we know nothing of. About to make a deal with slaver we have no info on. This is the most idiotic mission I have ever let you drag me to."

Shepard smiled faintly at the Turian still grumbling from across the seat. "Just like old times."

Garrus Vakarian frowned. "You overuse that phase. I'm beginning to think you don't really understand what it means."

Shepard sighed and darted a glance at the Drell sitting silently by the window of the shuttle they had commandeered to get to the slavers ship. "Garrus, I know you wanted someone else to play this part, but let it be. You got me.

"You think you understand what you're playing at Shepard, but you don't!" The Turian leaned forward and for a moment Shepard's breath stilled in her chest. There in front of her was the Archangel glaring back at her, elbows on his knees, blue eyes like steel. Her old friend was gone. In fact, ever since she retrieved him from Omega, she saw less and less of him. This Turian was bigger, meaner and much darker than the callow C-Sec officer that stepped on the Normandy. Settling things with Sidonus hadn't helped even though she'd kept him from killing the turian; Garrus was still colored black and blue.

"Garrus," She purposefully kept her tone neutral even though she was rattled by his aggressive stance. "We handled the bounty hunter. We can handle this."

"Do you KNOW the kind of atrocities you're going to witness!"

A muscle hardened in her jaw. "Did YOU think I would subject Jack, or Miranda or anyone else to them after all they have been through!"

Garrus stilled when the woman snarled, her whiskey hued eyes like fire. "This is war Shepard. You think you can protect them." He shook his head. "That's why you took on Morinth on your own, isnt' it?"

She glanced away. "Samara said the power would attract her. They gave me a lot when they remade me."

"Are the others any less powerful than you? Dammit Shepard, is this what you're doing?! Taking one for the team because you think you are expendable? Because you came back from the dead? You might not get a third chance Shepard!"

There was a rumble as the shuttle landed. Avoiding those perceptive eyes, the woman rose and held out her hand. "We're here. Put this on me."

Garrus's heart keened with pain as he saw the offending thing dangling from her hand. "Get Thane to help you," Garrus grunted and turned away to secure his armor and recheck his weapons.

He would die before putting her in that thing himself.

A part of her knew it was a true. She didn't just wake up and discover how horrible the universe could be. But her stint on the Citadel, her time in the Terminus systems had opened her eyes. And death? It had made her fearless. Almost.

Slavery was real. The council didn't regulate the Batarians and the Hegemony because it was easier to just let them be. As long as their own backyard was clear. The Rachni, the Collectors, the Drell, the Reapers, even the Krogan. The council seemed to think it was natural to control someone one way or another. Then she'd seen Jack, the experiments on the children, Miranda's father genetic engineering, more experiments. Illium. Oh god, she remembered how it was taken in stride when they spoke of indentured servitude.

She slid a finger under the deceptively strong, but soft leather strap of the leash. Garrus stood a few feet away, speaking with a guard in the docking area. Thane had disappeared even before the shuttle door had opened. Shepard, kept her eyes down, but her vision was sharp, searching and clear.

Time to get to work.

The Agrippa was huge. Batarian, Turian, Asari, even Quarian. Every species on the galaxy was present. She'd spotted a few that she'd never seen before. Violent. Suppressed. Imperious…mostly broken.

A muscle tightened in her jaw, then she let out a slow breath. Later, she promised herself. Memories of Morinth pried into her mind, only tainting her mouth with more venom.

Then the nearly invisible mass effect chain glistened and she almost face-planted into Garrus' side as he yanked on leash. She held back a hiss of surprise when an armored arm wrapped around her waist and his plated mouth touched her ear. "Pay attention pet," he purred loud enough for the guard to hear.

Turning her head, she stared at him in horror when she realized her mistake. She really should have picked someone else to play her handler. Because his claws on her had suddenly set fire to her skin and she realized there was more danger in this mission than just being discovered,

It was all show, but the shudder that racked her frame was very real. Real because suddenly her gorgeous Turian friend was an apex predator and his voice did delicious little funny things to her nerves.


To be continued...