Graduating

At the Grissom Academy, they had been working on developping new biotic implants, so when Raïzel was told that she should undergo the surgery if she wanted to stabilize her biotic abilities, she asked one of her professors if she could wait until the L4 were indeed ready.

"Well it depends, you'll have enlisted by the time they're finished, right?" asked professor Solomon.

"Well, yes. But I plan on applying for the Officer Candidate school, can I postpone the surgery until then?"

"I can't promise you anything, but you will need to be implanted by the time you graduate from the Officer school, that much is certain, they will never let you embark on a ship without an implant. Let's hope the L4 will be available then."

In fact, Raïzel was soon to graduate from the Grissom Academy, and just like many of her fellow students she planned on enlisting in the Alliance. She had been in the Ascension Project for four years now, and she had reached the end of the sentinel training, she would soon turn 18 and the graduation ceremony was scheduled for May the 29th, exactly one month after her birthday. Many of her friends had gone through the surgery and had been implanted with the L3 version, only a few had wished to wait for the L4 like her, but most of the teachers did not approve of their choice, except for those who were actually working on the L4; "Of course you'd want to wait, the L4 are going to be so much better than the L3, they will allow you to use your biotics with greater precision and efficiency, I'd wait too if I were you" they would tell them, some would even wink at the students to show their support in a moment of complicity. Raïzel did not feel particularly at ease after professor Nimoy had winked at her. He was too old to wink at his students, and too weird : he was your typical mad scientist; with crazy eyes and shaggy hair, and with lots of creepy stains all over his lab coat and shabby jeans.

After they had had the surgery, the biotics of her friends had gained in precision, not so much in power or strength – because that was mostly due to the training itself and the individual affinity with dark energy – but the precision of the biotic strikes, of the singularities or the warp bursts was amazing; Raïzel was quite envious. Caroline had decided to wait for the L4 at first, but eventually gave up; she had no desire to go into the Officer Candidate class, and therefore could not wait anymore. When Raïzel asked her why she didn't want to go to the Officer Candidate school, Caroline simply replied that it would be useless; biotics usually rose up in ranks much faster than any other soldier, she thought there was no need to speed up the process any further. Caroline would be a commanding officer in good time, she was sure of it, and besides; she had had enough of learning theories, sitting comfortably in a classroom. Raïzel shrugged; that was good enough a reason. she just did not share her friend's opinion.

"Well, I want to learn to command as fast as possible, I won't wait until I'm old to command my own ship."

"Yeah, that's always been a big dream of yours, I know." Caroline smiled. "Hey, maybe I'll serve on your ship one day, who knows, if you actually manage to become captain" she teased.

"Oh I will, you may be sure of that, my friend. But I don't know if I'll put up with your insubordination," Raïzel grinned back. And they both laughed at the idea.

Raïzel spent her 18 birthday in a pleasant way; her father called, obviously, telling her that her present should arrive on the following day, and her friends threw a nice party for her as well, although not a very big or loud one – you just couldn't in the Academy, with the teachers always keeping an eye on the youngsters. Raïzel's mother did not call, but Raïzel did not expect her to; she hadn't called for the past three years, so why would she now?

The graduation ceremony soon followed, the students were all more or less excited, and the teachers more or less proud. While she was receiving her diploma, Raïzel looked back on the years she had spent in the Academy, the happy memories smiling back at her, the difficult moments pinching her but she shrugged those off easily; it was all part of the way and Raïzel did not regret anything that had happened here, not even the mistakes; they had helped her become a more mature person. Her fellow students had become her family and it was painfully sad to leave them, but they would keep in touch, and they would meet again. When came the time to board the shuttle that would take them all back to Earth, Raïzel and her friends were surprised to see that they owned very few things, they had not had the opportunity to wear anything else beside the uniform for years, and the clothes they had arrived in years earlier were obviously much too small now. It was a strange feeling : realizing that you owned nothing apart from your memories and the time that you had spent together in one place. Caroline and Raïzel then made a promise; they would call each other at least once a month and try to see each other whenever and wherever it be possible.

There were plenty of Alliance Formation centers across the planet, and when Raïzel was asked in which city she wanted to sign up, she said London. She wasn't sure why she had said London, it had been her home for years, but then the Grissom Academy had become her new home and a lot of things had changed. Her mother was most likely still in London, was this why she had said London? Doubtful, Raïzel hadn't heard from her mother in years, and she did not come back to Earth with the hope of receiving some news about her, so why London? She was silent for long while, thinking about this, trying to find a satisfying answer, but none came up. London was a beautiful city, it was her hometown, but then New York was beautiful as well. Paris, Tokyo, Shanghai, Sidney, Moscow... she could have gone somewhere new, somewhere different, where she would have been a stranger. But no, instead, her mouth had said London. Well, at least she could help other recruits find their way into the city. How exciting. The formation center was situated near Stratford, East of London. Raïzel was not much acquainted with the neighbourhood; she had grown up in Chiswick, wich was pretty much on the other side of the city. At least, she would not bump into her mother accidentally. And then she remembered that her mother was an instructor, and therefore could simply and very easily walk in the center, and into her daughter.

"Bollocks!" she blurted out.

She turned on her omnitool and checked the list of instructors working in the center; her mother's name did not appear on the list. Raïzel sighed; Lea Crawford was posted in another center, given the fact that her flat was in Chiswick – unless she had moved out since 2177 – she was more likely to be posted in the other Alliance recruits center which was located near Twickenham. Raïzel relaxed, she would not walk into her mother after all. That fact was many big cities like London had more than just one recuits center was a blessing, Raïzel thought, who had been lucky enough not to end up in Twickenham.

During her time in the Alliance Formation center, she would regularly call someone at the Grissom Academy and ask about the development of the L4 implants, her commanding officer and many instructors would tell her almost everyday to "get that bloody implant ASAP". She waited for a very long time to get them, she passed through the formation class – which she finished with great scores and several commendations by the way, despite the missing implant – and even through the Officer Candidate training. She had been learning everything there was to know about the Alliance and the Navy during those three years, as well as what it meant to be a commanding officer, how to theoretically manage one's crew, one's ship and one's assignments. There had been many simulations of all sorts, and the training was coming to an end; graduation day would soon come and she would soon need to be implanted.

"I've got great news for you!" Caroline shouted from the communicator.

"Yeah?"

Caroline was now grinning, a grin of perfectly aligned teeth which Raïzel was so familiar with. "I received a call from professor Larson this morning, saying that the L4 implants are finally ready!"

"Really? Brilliant!" Raïzel was genuinely thrilled – and relieved – to hear it.

"Yup, they won't be available before next year though, but they are willing to make an exception for all the students who have been leaving the Academy without an implant for the past three years. Especially you, apparently." Caroline's smile widened and her mischievous eyes were twinkling. "Because 'you've always been one of his favorites' he said", she chuckled, air-quoting the words of the professor, and then laughed at the puzzled expression on Raïzel's face.

"Haha, that is so funny, Caroline. Or a nice try at least, but no one who knows professor Larson will believe you."

"Ah, yes, I know. Anyway, it's still true. You'll have the procedure scheduled as soon as you're able, just need to call Larson to book it with a surgeon. A surgeon of his choice, no doubt."

"Undoubtedly, yes. And how's life on the SSV Manilla?"

The two friends kept on chatting for a while until someone behind Caroline called her away. Raïzel herself had things to attend to anyway, such as calling professor Larson for the implant operation.

The procedure went smoothly, contrary to what she had anticipated, but the implant left an odd sensation at the back of her neck which proved difficult to get used to. But Raïzel would, in time. She was also quite struck at the difference with which her biotic powers would now display. They stabilized all right! They were a hell lot more precise! And somewhat more efficient too, not as much as she had expected, but professor Larson had assured her that it was because the implants did not actually increase the strength of the biotic abilities, but merely made them easier to use. And then, easier biotic abilities could be used more often, with more precision and help the biotic soldier save their strength. "The appearance of greater strength from biotics who have been implanted is, in the end, only the effect caused by the newly-found ease of the bearer", Larson had explained to them back in the Grissom Academy. The new precision felt amazingly well, Raïzel now saw herself as a truly accomplished sentinel; she rediscovered how fun it was to detonate combinations of powers – biotic or tech, it didn't matter; she liked the power it provided, the strength which was steeping her whole body when she used her special abilities.

Her life had taken quite a good turn after the departure of her dad and the downfall of her mother, considering all that had happened. Everything had not been nice and easy, neither at the Grissom Academy nor at the Alliance recruits center, of course not, she had had to learn many things, how to put up with idiots of all kinds, how to bear hours and hours of exhausting training, and eventually how to ignore her own pain, and the hunger – because no one feels hungry like a biotic. No one. She remembered nights when she would literally fall asleep on her bed, her stomach desperately empty, because she had not even had the remaining strength to get back up for dinner. And many kids at the Academy – or biotic recruits in the Alliance quarters – would do exactly the same. In fact, the part about being hungry worsened after she had arrived in London, probably because the people at the Grissom Academy knew precisely what they were dealing with and were prepared consequently, whereas the people in the Alliance centers definitely weren't. And who even came up with those menus? She had hoped that the food in the Alliance would not turn out to be as bad as she had heard, but it did. She had hoped again when she had entered the Officer Candidate school that the food standard would rise a bit, just a little bit. But again, it did not. Such a surprise! Raïzel put her hands on her belly, thinking of this; she was feeling hungry right now. She had some free time, which was rare, and decided to take advantage of it and have a nice cup of coffee (with a bit a milk, preferably no sugar) and a snack. Oh yes, that would be lovely.

It was April already, she had been back in London for almost three years and hadn't checked once on her mother. She wondered sometimes; was she still in their old flat, way up in that greyish tower in Chiswick? Was she still drinking? Raïzel did not really want to find out, too afraid to be disappointed still if her mother were indeed still drinking. She sighed. Perhaps, she should go and find out. She most definitely should, but did not want to, she wasn't ready to confront her mother, not yet. She asked herself if she would ever be ready.

Summer soon came, and with it, graduation day. It was an agreeable day, the weather was mild for once, the sun was warm but the wind prevented it from getting too hot. The numerous satellites and debris floating in Earth's atmosphere had rendered the weather pretty hectic and violent about a century earlier, and as a result, it would change very often now, daily in certain regions, because the wind was constantly blowing forcefully. The rain would pour ever more violently, in a roar, and storms and hurricanes had become the normal bad weather. But it was summer, and for the moment the sky was showing no sign of storm. The graduation ceremony was being held outside, in the gardens of the Alliance Headquarters, which weren't big, but pretty enough. The decorations on the officers' uniforms were sparkling softly in the sunlight. The ceremony did not last long, quite fortunately, for those pompous assemblies always bored Raïzel to death. A few speeches were given, this and that, and Bob's your uncle, they could all relax now. Drinks were served afterwards, along with canapés, and then the people scattered, going back to their daily occupations. Raïzel walked back to the recruits' quarters, up to her tiny little room which she shared with two other future officers and would leave soon, once she received her first assignment. Her first assignment. She was eager to find out what it would be! Where would she go? Where would she be sent and what would she experience? She couldn't wait.

What Raïzel had not noticed is that her mother had been at the graduation, in the middle of the audience, wearing her decorations just like all the other officers who were present, with other parents and family members. Raïzel hadn't noticed, but she hadn't really looked either, she hadn't expected her mother to show up. But Lea had been there, feeling very proud and deeply sad as she stared at her daughter, who had turned into a beautiful young lady without her mother watching her grow up. Lea wanted nothing more than to talk to her daughter, however, after years of neglect and alcoholism, she did not dare. Raïzel would probably not accept her apologies, and Lea grew afraid, afraid that it was too late for any chance at reconciliation. She cried bitter tears that day.

It finally came. Her first assignment! Raïzel was so excited; not just about receiving it but about what it contained as well : she would report to Captain Hannah Shepard, on board the SSV Orizaba, which would be completed by the fall. A brand new ship! And a dreadnought at that! And Captain Shepard, mother of the most famous human soldier in the galaxy. Now, that was some assignment!

Commander Shepard had disappeared about a year ago, and though she was still listed as MIA, many people said that she had died. But nobody knew what had happened exactly. There were rumours, obviously, and tons of them. Some said indeed that she had died, others that she had deserted, others (more likely) that she was on a secret mission for the Council... But nobody knew. It seemed strange that she should be on a mission, but without her ship or without her crew. Plus, there had been reports about the destruction of the Normandy, people died and those who did survive had been reassigned, scattered across the galaxy and refused outright to talk about what had happened. It had been a big blow to the Alliance, Shepard was the first human spectre and probably the best soldier there ever was; the survivor of Akuze, the savior of the Citadel. Amazing record. Raïzel had followed the ascension of Commander Shepard on the extranet, just like everybody else, and was just as amazed at the woman. Jane Shepard was not just an incredible soldier, she was a badass biotic and a great leader, she was elegant but not girly, and she had that deep yet feminine voice that made you want to follow her all the way to Hell and back. So what the fuck had happened to her?

They could still hear Councilor Anderson's warnings about the 'Reapers' waiting patiently in 'dark space' for the right moment to invade all worlds in the galaxy, crushing them down as they would march. But his words were becoming whispers, stories like nightmares, and fewer people believed them. Raïzel herself doubted that such a race of sentient machines could really exist. It all seemed too surreal, grotesque even, like bad horror stories for children. She wondered what was Captain Shepard's opinion on this, though she might never hear it.

She was to report on the following day at 0800 sharp in the Alliance spaceport of Vancouver. Raïzel would need to book a ticket on a night flight right away in order to be there on time; she hadn't finished packing yet!

The starship was not officially complete, but the crew had already been assembled and most of them had started moving in. It took some time to load a ship this size with all the supplies she needed for her voyages, food and medical equipment were still to be determined, and the commanding officers needed that kind of list to be thoroughy detailed. But they still had a couple of months before the official date at which the Orizaba would need to take off, so there was still plenty of time to figure out the details.

Upon arriving, Raïzel presented herself to the Staff Lieutenant who was standing just by the side door of the ship.

"Operations Chief Crawford reporting for duty, sir." she said firmly.

"Let me see your credentials and your assignment note." he simply replied. "Alright, welcome aboard, Chief. I'm Staff Lieutenant Tony Sherman. From where do you hail, Crawford?" he then asked in a friendly manner.

"From London, sir."

"Explains the accent! Well, I'll let you settle in. Lieutenant Dubois here," he said as he grabbed the arm of the woman passing by, "will show you to the quarters."

"Right this way", replied the red-haired woman.

Raïzel followed her down to the crew quarters and unpacked quickly and asked Lieutenant Dubois the current situation of the ship.

"We're still loading her with the military equipment, food will come in last of course. We're expecting the delivery of a couple of shuttles and another couple of M35 Makos by the end of the week. What's your name by the way?"

"Raïzel, what's yours?"

"Lucie, nice to meet you. You're British, right? Took a night flight?" Lucie asked.

"Yeah, jetlag hasn't taken its toll yet. Where are you from?"

"France, took a night flight too. I got here about a week ago. Isn't it exciting? A brand new ship?" Lucie's whole face was smiling, from the mouth up to the eyes. She was obviously thrilled to be there.

"Yes! She's a smashing new ship!" Raïzel replied.

Lucie Dubois showed the ship to Raïzel while they were chatting, making quite the tour. She was huge, and smelt like novelty, you could just tell from that smell that she hadn't seen any action yet, anything at all. She gleamed from the inside out, she was beautiful, Raïzel thought, a beautiful new dreadnought, and she was part of the crew to first fly her. Raïzel's heart was beating hard, she was so excited about this!

"So," Lucie interrupted Raïzel's daydreaming, "our XO is Major Hisae Hanajima, our Chief Engineer is Sophie Beckerman, our Flight Lieutenant Juliet Johnson; they're all women! This ship is going to be run by women from top to bottom!"

"Really? Well, that's just brilliant. A ship run by women, people will not comment on that, at all." Raïzel said ironically.

"Ha! That's going to be fun!" Lucie laughed.

And people did talk about the new dreadnought, commanded by women, by the end of the year, the Orizaba was already nicknamed the 'Matron Ship', when she hadn't even started her maiden voyage yet, that was just splendid, Raïzel thought, half-amused, half-annoyed.

There was an agreeable atmosphere prevailing aboard the ship, and Raïzel was surprised to have been able to become rather close with Lucie over such a short period of time. It would take some longer time to be as much at ease with the rest of the crew, but she already felt like they were good people, trustworthy people. For most of them, that is. Lieutenant Samuel Hopkins was another piece of work, she already considered him to be a bloody idiot, by her standards, and could barely stand talking to him, let alone listening to him or looking at him. You could tell, just by looking at his stupid face and the expression on it – or rather the lack of expression – that there was probably not much inside his head beside lemon-flavoured jelly. And as to how on Earth he had managed to be promoted Lieutenant puzzled her exceedingly. Huh. Raïzel winced in disgust. He was such a dope, and the worst about him was his boasting. Always bragging about some thing or other, all mouth and no trousers that man was, Raïzel thought; and she felt like kicking seven bells out of him every time he opened his bloody mouth, which was pretty much all the time. But since it was reprimandable, she would take in on the chin and try to ignore him as best as she could. Apart from that nuisance, the other crew members were fine. Tony Sherman seemed like a serious, solemn kind of man, did not talk much, and wasn't particularly warm, but neither was he cold, he did his job with care and dedication. Major Hanajima and Commander Earnshaw were intimidating, yet amazing. They seemed to be glowing with an internal aura, an aura of experience and focus, of determination, everything Raïzel dreamt to obtain one day. Obviously, the Captain was even more magnificent, Hannah Shepard had all of the above and added grace on top of it; she was inspriring, Raïzel thought.