"Well?"

I look up from my cup of coffee. "Well, what?"

Emily rolls her eyes in impatience and taps the datapad. "Well, you two were obviously interested in each other. Please tell me you went somewhere with that interest."

"Of course I did," I reply, feeling slightly affronted.

"Well?" She repeats.

I take a sip of my coffee, "Well, it didn't happen overnight. We spent a long time just talking between missions. Often I didn't get to see her for more than five minutes at a time. Shepard was important – you know, the first human spectre, commanding the Normandy, leading the fight against Saren – and that meant she was busy. I was okay with that."

"Liar."

My eyes widen as I splutter, "What?"

The reporter shrugs, "I have never known any man to be 'okay' with his woman being kept away from him, whether it's by work or by another man. C'mon, Kaidan, you didn't even know her first name! Now spit it out – what happened between you two? You had to get to know her somehow."

"I... I did... But it wasn't a fast process. I had to let her come to me, you know?"

Emily frowns, drumming her fingers on the table. "You read her file."

"No! No, I didn't." At Emily's knowing stare, I let the mask of denial fall away. I grin awkwardly, "Yeah. I did. Please don't write that down."

Emily chuckles, "Of course not Major. But you admit that you were at an impasse."

"It was not... No! It was not an impasse!" I put my hands in the air in protest. Then I sigh, "Okay. It was. But I didn't leave it that way... I let her know it was okay to talk to me."

"Good, then tell me about her. I mean, we all know the official story, but I want you to tell me about her history – tell me what made her who she was. Shepard grew up in the colonies. Did she ever tell you what that was like?"

I run a hand through my hair, "Yeah, she did. It was hard for her, you know? I could tell she didn't like remembering that stuff. I had to let her come out with it in her own time."

"Do you want to talk about it?"

I nod reluctantly, "I guess so. It doesn't seem fair to leave it out." I finish my cup, sitting back once more. "Shepard grew up on Mindoir..."


-2170-

"Kira? It's six thirty and dinner is almost ready."

"Okay, Mom."

The light is fading, sending a pale pink glow across the sky. On the horizon, the tell-tale rainclouds are beginning to mass, just like they do every night here on Mindoir. Kira estimates they have at least another hour before the rain comes. She returns to her friend, a little boy of eight, who is kicking a ball around the grass on her front lawn. "Isn't it almost time for you to go home, Sam?"

Sam just laughs and keeps playing with the soccer ball Kira had given him. "Just one more round, Kira! Please?" His big blue eyes plead up at her. "It is my birthday tomorrow. Please?"

Kira laughs and steps back, giving in to his pleas. "Alright, one more round."

"Alright!" Sam exclaims, kicking the ball toward her.

Kira's shoe connects with the ball, sending it back across the grass to her young friend. "And there's the kick off!" She adopts the voice of a sport commentator, to the boy's great amusement. Sam is giggling mischievously as Kira dodges tauntingly from side to side, "It is the Mindoir Matadors versus the Eden Excelsiors – who will win the battle of the decade? This is the deciding round. Who will emerge with the champion's trophy?"

Sam swings his leg around and fires the ball back at her. Kira lunges for it, blocking it from landing between the two bushes behind her. "And Eden blocks a goal!" Sam yells.

"Now the ball is coming back down the inside of the field. Is this Eden's chance to save the game?" Kira kicks the soccer ball from foot to foot, grinning impishly as the little boy moves to match her.

"The Matadors are ready!" Sam shouts.

"And Eden is going to make a move – is this it? Is this the winning goal of the season?"

"No!" Sam is laughing, racing to meet her in the centre of the yard. He kicks the ball from between her feet. "This is the winning goal!" His shoe connects with the skin of the ball, and it lands with a triumphant thud between the bushes.

Kira throws her hands up in the air, putting on a face of mock devastation. "And Eden has lost – the Matadors have the trophy!"

Sam pulls his shirt up over his head, running around the lawn with a victorious yell. It's Kira's turn to laugh. She seizes the boy gently by the arms, swinging him off the ground and ruffling his hair.

"Well done, Sam. Now quick – you'd better get home before your mother starts to worry," she gives him a gentle push on the back.

"Thanks for the game, Kira!"

"See you tomorrow." She waves to him from the front gate, then turns and walks inside.

The smell of hot bread greets her, wrapping itself around her like a warm hug. She can't help but smile. This is her favourite time of day. The birds are singing as the sun sets outside, and inside, her mother is laying the dinner table. Her father is in the living room, sitting in his favourite chair and reading the evening headlines. He'd done that every day since she was very small. Even though it has been almost ten years since they relocated to Mindoir, her family had hardly changed. Part of Kira knows they never will, and the notion makes her silently grateful.

"Sam looked like he had a lot of fun today," her mother, Anna, says to her from the kitchen doorway. She holds out a platter of sliced bread toward her, "You are so good to him."

Kira smiles, taking the tray from her mother's hands. "He's been good for me too. I never thought I'd be any good with younger children."

Anna shakes her head, "You have an old mind, sweetheart. Don't let it condemn you before you've even begun."

"I'll try not to," Kira nods as she takes the tray into the dining room.

Her father looks up from his datapad. "Hey, Button."

"Hey Dad."

"Is dinner ready?"

"I think so." She places the bread on the table, and then leans over the back of the chair to press a kiss to his forehead. "Anything interesting in the headlines?"

"Yandoa had an incident yesterday. A cargo ship exploded in their atmosphere, causing wide-spread exposures to element zero," William sighs, standing up and stretching his arms. "I can't even begin to imagine what sort of consequences that will have on the colonists there."

"Kira, sweetie, can you go and close the front door?" Anna wipes her hands on a tea towel, "I think the rain is going to start early this evening."

"Sure."

Walking down the hall, Kira pauses as she feels a faint tremor beneath her feet. Her brow furrows as her dad exclaims, "Did you feel that?"

Kira is just wrapping her hand around the door knob when suddenly it happens again. This time, it's much stronger. The glass vase on the sideboard topples onto the ground, shattering around her feet. The pictures on the wall are shaking, scraping against the plaster. As Kira glances out the door, she can see the tiles falling from their roof and shattering on the ground.

What is going on?

A moment later, a ball of flame erupts overhead. The houses across the street are vaporised as a shockwave rolls across the ground. The force of it knocks Kira off her feet. She lets out a scream, closing her eyes against the wind that lashes at her through the screen of the door.

Strong hands grip her by the shoulders, pulling her back and away from the heat of the blast.

"It's okay, Button, I've got you."

She reaches up and wraps an arm around his neck. "Dad..."

"It's okay."

Kira looks up to see that her father has pulled a gun from the drawer of the sideboard. Her eyes widen, her throat tightening.

Her father was a doctor. While he had always kept the gun in the house, it was never loaded, and it was definitely never touched. Now, he was reaching for a heat sink, sliding it into the chamber with a dark look on his face.

"Anna, Kira, stay here and stay down."

Anna reaches out and grabs him by the arm. "Be careful, Will."

He nods, and then slowly opens the front door, disappearing beneath the thick blanket of smoke that has now enveloped their house.

Kira stands up, shakily at first, but soon her legs have regained their strength. "What was that?"

Anna's face is pale. She bites her lip and doesn't answer.

Then they hear it – gunfire. Long bursts of it come from across the street, followed by harsh screams.

Anna's grip on Kira's arm tightens. "Oh my..."

Suddenly, the front door is thrown open. The silhouette of a man fills the doorway, his gun outlined in the ghostly smoke. He aims the barrel straight at Anna.

"Step out here, now!"

Terrified, Kira's mother complies. Now the ghostly figure points at Kira, "And you."

She swallows back the bile rising in her throat. Her feet don't budge.

The figure takes a step inside the house. As he does, Kira can begin to see his face more clearly now. She realises that he's a Batarian – and that he's wearing camouflage gear, just like the mercenaries in the news.

"Get over here," He growls at her, cocking the gun menacingly.

Kira shrinks back, "What do you want with us?"

The Batarian sneers, "You'll find out. Now move."

Her mind races with options. After a long moment, Kira slowly shakes her head.

Anna's mouth drops open, "Kira—"

Another Batarian appears in the doorway, grabbing her mother violently by the arm and putting a gun to her head. "Gorak, leave the girl. Code fifteen. We need to go – now."

They back out of the house, slamming the door behind them and leaving Kira alone in the murky darkness. A drop of sweat rolls down her face.

What now?

Then she hears it – a low whistling sound.

In an instant, she's thrown to the ground, lying helplessly on her back. The world disappears in a flash of brilliant white. She can't hear or see. Her arms are pinned to her sides as debris rains down around her, pinning her down, burying her legs and her body... Somewhere beyond the confusion she can hear screaming. A voice echoes in her mind, shrieking, calling her name. Then she hears the gunfire, and the voice falls silent. As the bricks settle, Kira struggles to breathe. Her head swims from the pain.

Can't... Can't move...

She slips into unconsciousness.


"Hello?"

A sharp jolt brings her back. It feels like just a few seconds have passed since the house caved down on her, but as Kira wakes, something warns her that it may have been a lot longer. Water is dripping down onto her face. She realises that somewhere above her, it is raining.

"Can you hear me down there?"

She slowly forces her eyes open. There is a tiny stream of light coming through the rubble above her. Water is seeping down through it, blinding her temporarily. "Yes... Yes I can." Her voice is weak and raspy.

"Thank God." It's a man's voice, deep and reassuring. "Don't worry; we'll get you out of there."

Kira's arms are scratched and bleeding, but nevertheless she manages to sit up a fraction in the small air pocket. A steel girder has come to a rest just above her, stopping the rest of the debris from burying her completely. Somehow, she's still alive. Kira breathes a quick prayer of thankfulness. "What... What happened?"

"Just hang on."

A rope is lowered down through the hole, and Kira grasps it with both hands.

"Are you able to move?"

"I... I think so."

"Good. We're going to pull you out, so wrap the rope around your waist."

She follows the instructions, and sucks in a shaky breath. "I'm ready."

The first pull is excruciating. Kira cries out as agony shoots through her. She fights to pull her legs out from under a pile of loose brick. She closes her eyes, fighting to stay conscious as dizziness and nausea set in. The next pull is a little kinder. Now she's slowly inching her way up the narrow shaft. It's only a few meters, but it feels as though it's taken hours to get this far.

Finally, hands grip her shoulders and heave her out and into the rain. The water washes over her, rolling off her face as she collapses on her back. A man leans over her, his worried face obscured by a bright torch beam.

"You're safe now," he tells her in that kind voice.

Kira manages a nod despite the darkness seeping into the corners of her vision.

"My name is Atton Anderson. What's yours, child?"

"Shepard." She takes a deep breath, gulping in the cold night air. "Kira Shepard."