Author's Note: This chapter took a lot longer than I would have liked; and I'm still not completely happy with it, but I'll get over it.
R&R Please!
Disclaimer: I do not own Mass Effect.
Shepard slowly opened her eyes, her head throbbing, wow, she thought; did I get drunk last night? She looked around quickly with her eyes, trying to avoid aggravating her headache, at her surroundings; she lay in a cold stone cell, if this is C-Sec, they seriously need to remodel she thought.
She slowly leaned up, her body aching and protesting, she put her head in her hands to fight the wash of dizziness when she noticed she was in her usual fatigues that she wore on the ship; she wore a plain, white tank top and black shorts that she always had under her armour. My armour, something tickled the back of her mind, but the headache kept it at bay; where is my armour?
Shepard looked to her right and saw Ash lying on the floor, dressed in much the same fashion as Shepard except for her tank top and shorts being navy blue. Again that tickle at the back of her mind; Shepard concentrated on it, trying to bring it into focus. Screams filled her mind… and gunfire; what happened? Shepard asked herself. Her eyes focused back on Ash as she turned her head, still asleep, towards Shepard and she could make out a dark bruise on the right side of her face; the memories came rushing back.
Shepard heard Ash yelling at Liara to run as she charged the Marines after Shepard fell. She remembered hearing the assault rifle that Shepard had bought Ash firing into the group of Marines… then… silence. Shepard crawled quickly over to Ash and checked her for any other wounds; when she finished she took a closer look at her surroundings.
Their cell was of solid gray rock with a sliding, electric door in the upper right corner. There was a straw mattress in the back, (Who uses straw anymore?), along with a thin blanket. Gathering Ash in her arms, her left shoulder screaming in pain, Shepard carried her to the mattress and pulled the blanket over both of them to keep warm. She quickly examined her shoulder and noted the purple bruise that spread across it, probably dislocated when I fell; she thought as she settled on the mattress and pulled Ash closer.
Shepard laid Ash's head on her right shoulder, a flash of white hot anger filled her as she brushed the hair the hair from Ash's face and made out the fuzzy shape of the butt of a shotgun in the bruise. There were 18 Marines there, Shepard thought, there should have been 25 in a patrol. Where were the other 7? Where are the other patrols?
"Skipper…" Shepard was pulled from her thoughts at the sound of Ashley's voice, "Shepard did we get drunk last night?" Shepard couldn't help a small snort at the thought that her and Ash had the exact same though upon awakening, "I'm afraid not," Shepard said, "What do you remember?"
"I remember the message from Hackett… and… oh God, the ambush!" Ash turned towards Shepard, "I though you were dead! You hit the bottom and didn't move and I ran to try to help you and go knocked out by a Marine… Don't you EVER scare me like that again!" Ash's voice rose as she spoke until she was practically yelling at the end.
Ash was about to continue her worried tirade when the door beeped and four guards walked into the cell, two held weapons trained on Ash and Shepard, "Shepard, come with us." Shepard studied the guards, the one that spoke was a Turian, the two with guns were Batarians, Shepard suppressed a shudder at the thought, and the last one was a human, anger flared in Shepard as her eyes fell on the human.
"Get. Up. Shepard," the Turian demanded, biting off each word. Shepard slowly stood up, careful of her hurt shoulder. When Ash began to rise as well, Shepard signaled her with her hands, Wait and watch. Shepard waited until Ashley grudgingly nodded then walked slowly towards the guards. The Turian ordered the human to stay and stand guard then turned for the door, one of the Batarians turning as well, knowing the Spectre would follow.
This is going to hurt, Shepard thought as she passed the human. Shepard kicked the first Batarian in the back of the knee, sending him to the floor, she blocked a punch from the second Batarian, white hot pain searing into her shoulder. Shepard kicked him to his knees and slammed her knee into his face, knocking him unconscious.
Shepard turned to the human guard, who was reaching for his pistol holstered at his side. She knocked the gun out of his hand and slammed him into the wall, her hand at his throat. Shepard leaned in close and whispered into his ear, the human's face filled with fear and he nodded fiercely as Shepard backed away.
Shepard slowly raised her arms up, resisting the urge to grimace at the pain in her shoulder, when she saw the Turian with a gun pointed at her chest. Shepard smiled at the Turian, "you might want to pick up your friend," she said nonchalantly as she nudged the unconscious Batarian with her foot.
The Turian kept his gun raised, but glanced at his companions; one Batarian was climbing to his feet, the other not moving, and the human stood at rigid attention. Looking at the state of his guard the Turian couldn't help but feel admiration for the Commander. "Ibos, get Doma to the infirmary," the Turian said to the Batarian without taking his eyes off of Commander Shepard.
Ibos grabbed his companion, Doma, and dragged him out of the room, grumbling the entire time. The Turian lowered his weapon slightly as he spoke, "Our boss wishes to speak with you, will you come peacefully Shepard? Or will I have to have your companion convince you?" There was a tone of threat in the Turian's voice in the last sentence as he glanced at Ash, who stood when she heard the threat.
Shepard took a menacing step toward him, her voice dripping with deadly threat, "Don't you dare touch her!" The Turian's mandibles flared in amusement before he abruptly turned towards the door, speaking over his shoulder, "Come, my boss is waiting."
Shepard gave a final glare at the human guard and a halfhearted smile to Ash before she followed the Turian out of the cell, the door hissing shut behind her. She found herself at the end of a hallway, the walls made of the same grey stone as the cell. She followed the Turian up the hall, passing other branching hallways on either side. After passing six branches the Turian stopped at a wooden door. Straw beds and wooden doors, like a captive situation out of those old books on Earth, Shepard thought as the Turian knocked, waited, and then entered at a command from behind the door.
Behind the door was a lushly decorated office, it had pure white carpet and the wall were paneled with darkly finished wood. What caught Shepard's eyes were the heads on the walls; Turians, Batarians, Asari, Salarian, and Human heads all mounted on plaques with a name and date engraved below them.
Shepard finally focused on the Batarian that stood behind a massive wood desk in the center of the office. As the Turian walked around to the person, Shepard studied the familiar face of the Batarian. The Batarian had a scar running across his face, and as Shepard focused on the scar, recognition filled her.
A sixteen year old Jane Shepard crouched in a tree, gripping the only weapon she had, a knife, tight as she watched the Batarians below her. Her mother and father kneeled before two Batarians, ignoring them when they asked about her whereabouts. One of them got impatient and leveled his pistol at Shepard's father and pulled the trigger; her father's head disappeared in a flash of red and his body slumped forward.
Shepard struggled to keep quiet as the cries of her mother filled the air; followed by another shotgun blast, then the sound of her mother's body hitting the ground. Shepard watched as the Batarian that had killed her parents collapsed his helmet and surveyed the bodies with disgust, kicking her mother's body.
White hot anger filled Shepard as she flung herself atop the Batarian, slashing wildly with the knife in her hand. She felt the knife meet resistance and heard the cry of the Batarian beneath her as a fist stuck her and she tumbled to the ground. The
Batarian cursed as blood ran from a diagonal but across his face; his eyes focused on Shepard and he pulled a knife from his belt, "I'm going to make you pay for this bitch," he hissed advancing towards her.
She tried to scramble away, but the Batarian grabbed her foot and drug her to him; she tried to slash him again, but he knocked the blade away and backhanded her across the face. She watched in a pain filled daze as he put the knife to the right side of her face and cut down the side of her face.
Suddenly gunfire filled the air and the Batarian let go and ran into the forest. Shepard slumped to the ground; she saw human soldiers fill the area, one of them was taking to her, but she couldn't make out the words as the world went black.
Shepard glared at this shadow from her past, "you bastard!" She screamed as she threw herself over the desk.