The sound of an alarm jolted me out of my slumber. I turned to slap the snooze function on my omni-tool as a rough voice could be heard yelling from upstairs. "Nate, you going to sleep all day? C'mon I need you to wake up. We've got some things to discuss about your plans going forward."

"Ten minutes." I groaned and rolled over, smothering my head with the covers for a brief moment before something stopped me. Pausing for a moment, the wafting smell of breakfast cooking upstairs quickly jolted me out of my sleep-induced stupor. Throwing a shirt over my head, I rushed up the ladder leading out of the hidden room and through the store. Another set of stairs on my right led me to the portion of the building where Jack Ramsey spent the hours he wasn't working. At the kitchen table Dax was seated, waiting patiently at the table while the other occupant of the room cooked over stove top.

He turned away from his cooking for a moment and looked over his shoulder, noting my hurried entrance into the room. "I figured that would get you upstairs pretty fast. Go ahead and Sit down. Food'll be ready in ten so I hope you're hungry. And don't worry Dax I made a run to the store this morning to pick up some dextro food for you. Even though I had to go to three different stores to find it."

I turned towards the turian. "So Len, how you feeling? Your shoulder feeling any better with a night's rest?" I moved mine around, rotating it in an effort to loosen it up a bit. "Mine is still sore as hell and I wasn't even shot."

"Another nickname? I don't think my name is that difficult to pronounce is it?"

I grinned. "Nah, but your name is just so easy to make nicknames off of I can't help myself."

Sighing, he returned to the conversation. "Fine, but to answer your question the shoulder is much improved. The medi-gel worked really well but it's still sore and I accidentally touched it this morning and the pain was almost unbearable. I won't be able to do much with it for a few weeks I think."

At that point Jack came over carrying trays of scrambled eggs, bacon, pancakes and some other food I had never seen before in my life. Setting the food down on the table he took a seat. "Dig in while the food is still hot." He pointed to the unknown food. "This is all yours Daxyrus, eat up."

Mouth full of food, I pointed towards the unknown substance that had been given to Dax. "What's that? I've never even seen anything like that. You mind if I try a bite? It looks interesting."

Dax chuckled a little bit. "I don't mind but your body might not agree with you afterwards. Best case you're vomiting it all up and have a severe allergic reaction. Worst case you're dead. So if you have any sense of self-preservation I would strongly advise against it."

"Nate, weren't you listening at all when I was just talking about picking up dextro food? That was literally two minutes ago. Just in one ear and out the other huh?" He raised his hands palm-up above his shoulders in bewilderment.

I rubbed my black hair as I turned a shade of light red in embarrassment. "I was distracted by the food? Kinda zoned out there. So note to self. Turian food is bad and might cause death. Do not eat it even if someone dares you."

"Very good. You're a quick learner I can see." The turian equivalent of a smirk crossed his features. "I can also tell you that getting shot is bad. I highly recommend avoiding it if at all possible."

"Hey it's not my fault the ex-Marine over here," I pointed over to Jack, "taught me more about shooting a pistol than what to eat and not to eat. Most of the time as long as it looks good it's fine so I don't worry about it."

"What about your parents? Or your schooling, didn't they teach you about alien culture wherever it was that you attended."

I sat back, pushing away my plate. "Well mom's dead and dad might as well be, never even met the guy. She said he took off once she became pregnant and I haven't heard a damn thing. Don't know if he's dead, strung out on sand, or actually made something of himself and frankly I don't give a shit either way. Jack's the only parental figure I've got. And as much as I like to poke fun at him every once in a while for being an old crusty geezer he's not too bad. Even lets me man the counter and perform maintenance on the weapons every now and then."

He looked up from his food. "Nate you do know I'm still in my forties right?"

"Exactly. You're old as shit." I coughed. "All interruptions aside. I was actually complimenting you for once. And as for the school part, the various assortment of foster parents I had growing up usually made me go but once I reached about fifteen I started ditching class and hanging out in the streets even more than I was before. That's how I fell in with Finch."

Len nodded in understanding. "But how did you two wind up that close? Obviously Mr. Ramsey here isn't really the foster parent type I assume so what happened?"

Mr. Ramsey started laughing loudly as I looked down in embarrassment for a second time in a short period. "I uh, think you should handle this one Mr. Ramsey I'm gonna take a walk or something."

"Fine Nate. Well anyway, I'm just running my store one day and this kid who's obviously got something tucked under his coat starts walking toward the exit. And I shit you not he's literally whistling nonchalantly as he leaves. So obviously I stop the teenager and pull the pistol he's trying to steal out of the jacket. He's freaking out the whole time, telling me not to tell the foster home and just about on the verge of breaking down into tears."

"I was not about to cry! Dax he's making that up, don't listen to him."

"Now who's interrupting? Anyway, like I was saying. He tries stealing the pistol so I ask him what the hell he's doing and if he even knows how to shoot the thing. Of course Wolf here says no. Then I actually offered to teach him which was about the last thing he expected. After that he started coming by every couple days to learn firearms and just hang out. He started telling me about his past and eventually I kinda just took the little guy under my wing. And that's the story."

I smiled at the recollections. "Yup. Then I fell in with Finch and started running with the 10th Street Reds as a junior member. I got branded, ran into you, shot some guys in the leg, you got shot in the escape and now we're hiding out so we don't get shot again." Pausing for a moment I directed a question towards the turian. "What about you Len? Now that you know my life story, what got you into this situation?"

"I uhhh ran into some trouble back on Palaven." He coughed nervously as he continued. "I was in a bad place. I needed to get out of there and get some space so I came to Earth. Hope you don't mind but I really would prefer not to talk about it. It's still a sore spot."

Jack turned towards Dax to address him. "That's fine Dax. No one's forcing you to talk about anything if you don't want to." He turned towards me, putting on a serious face. "What we do need to talk about though is where you two are gonna go to, especially you Nate. A lot of people would recognize you out on the streets and as much as I'd love to keep you here to protect you eventually you'd be found out by somebody. Weisman can hold a grudge and I don't think that smug bastard is going to let you get away with shooting him in the leg that easily. You need to leave town, at least for a while. I have an idea but I wanna hear what you think first."

I paused, contemplating everything in my head before speaking. "Honestly Jack I just don't know. Obviously I can't stay in Detroit anymore but this is the only thing I've known my entire life. I don't really feel like just heading to another city and wandering the streets again. I wanna do something worthwhile for once. Gang life was kind of a big game to me when it was just me and Finch running things together but then I met the boss, saw the operations and realized how wrong it was. What I was doing was hurting innocent people, no one was killed or anything like that but I'm guilty by associating with them so I might as well have pulled the trigger. I'm just sad I couldn't see it before things went south. Leaving the only family I've ever had behind is gonna be really hard and I know it needs to be done but that doesn't make things any easier. If you guys don't mind I'm gonna head back downstairs for a bit to think things through." I stood up and put away my plate in the sink. "Thanks for breakfast Jack. I'll be back up to talk about it in a bit but I just need some time ok?"

He put his hand on my shoulder. "Sure thing Nate, just don't make it too long. I couldn't live with myself if I let something happen to you that I could've prevented. The Reds will figure out what happened sooner or later and you should be far away by the time that happens."

A week and a half passed by after the incident with the days all being very much the same. In the mornings and evenings while the store was closed we all hung out in the furnished portion of the building. When the store was running the two of us headed down to the hidden room and just talked until closing time. Much of my time was spent thinking about what it was that I was going to do now that I couldn't stay in Detroit. Nothing came to mind until something happened that would forever change my path.

LINE BREAK

The store was just about ready to open so I headed back down to the hidden room, bringing up my omni-tool. The bright orange display sprung to life showing the main screen with today's breaking news. As I surfed through, nothing particularly caught my attention until a certain headline popped up on the Alliance News Network. "Elysium attacked by Batarian raiders. Lt. Caleb Shepard to be awarded for outstanding heroics." Opening the link, a black-haired news reporter interviewing a tall man in his young twenties sporting the Alliance Marine dress uniform and a tight blonde buzz cut began.

"2nd Lt. Shepard thank you for your time. After everything that happened I appreciate you taking some time out of your busy schedule to relay your story to the people."

"It's no problem at all ma'am. The public has the right to know what happened here at Elysium these last few days and my commanding officers were kind enough to give me a short break so we could talk."

She began flipping through her notes and once she had settled cleared her throat to ask the first question. "Now Lt.-"

The soldier cut in. "Please, just call me Caleb."

She smiled back. "Ok, now Caleb, from my understanding you weren't there on Elysium in official Alliance capacity but were there for shore leave is that correct?"

"Yes ma'am it is. I was in the middle of taking my ten-day military leave there when the attack began."

"And you still decided to pitch in even though nothing was expected of you and you could have just hidden and no one would have blamed you." She cocked her head to the side quizzically. "Why is that?"

"Well I feel like people who have the capacity to act have the responsibility to act in those kinds of situations ma'am. As one of the few people there with military experience, I took it upon myself to organize a defense and I think we did a fairly good job of that considering the unfortunate circumstances we were thrust into. I just wish I could have saved more."

She began to scroll through the notes she had taken on the omni-tool. "I'm sure the men and women you saved appreciate that thought but are plenty thankful that it was you organizing it and nobody else. Now from what I've heard of the events, you almost single-handedly gathered up the able-bodied men and women in the area, doled out weapons to all of them before manning the perimeter for fourteen hours straight. All the while, making sure that the border you had established held and organizing shifts of combat so they were constantly manned." Holy shit, this guy managed to not only organize a resistance but arm them and then make an effective defense. "One eyewitness noted that several times when the slavers breached your defenses you pushed them back and re-fortified with no weapons but your barrier, biotics and fists, is that true?"

"Well, he might have exaggerated a bit." He actually began to get a little red in the face from the praise he was receiving. "I had lots of help re-taking the barricades when they were penetrated but yes I decided that since I've been blessed with biotics that I've worked hard to hone since then, I let the others there take whatever weapons and armor we managed to scrounge up on such short order. The Alliance fatigues I was wearing were all I needed."

The news reporter looked flabbergasted. "You mean you fought for fourteen straight hours completely unarmed."

"Yes ma'am. That's correct in a matter of speaking, however I never consider myself unarmed. I have my biotics and military training so I'd like to think I'm never helpless in a fight."

"I see. Still, to hold that position and sacrifice firearms so other men could take them is selfless on your part. I understand that you've been awarded with the Star of Terra, the Alliance's highest award. In addition to that you're being given such nicknames as "The Lion of Elysium," and they're comparing your stand to the famous three-hundred Spartans that withheld the legions of Persia, except you managed to survive."

"I'm just doing what any other soldier would have done in my situation ma'am. Obviously I'm honored by the accolades they're giving to me but the ones who truly deserve that are the Marines and civilians, aliens and humans alike, who took up arms with me. They gave their lives to repel the slavers that threatened our beautiful colony of Elysium from the slaver scum who would kidnap and do harm to our people."

The newscaster smiled warmly. "Very well said Caleb. Now I'm getting a lot of messages of thanks from Elysium natives whose lives you saved and also a few questions. If you don't mind I would like to read a few of them if you have the time and are willing?"

He nodded. "Sure. I'm in no rush so ahead with the questions. I'll answer to the best of my ability but there are a few things I'm not allowed to talk about however. I'm sure you understand."

"Of course. Now hold on one moment and I'll have the first one here." She fidgeted with her omni-tool again, the neon display springing from her wrist, as she asked the first question. "Ok, now the first question is from Matt in London. He asks if the Alliance plans to retaliate because of the slaver raid on the innocents here and also what steps are being taken to prevent such a thing from happening again?"

"Well I'm not in a position to know what exactly is being done. I'm still just a Marine grunt and that's more of an issue for the big brass but what I can say is that the leaders of the Alliance will do whatever it takes to protect our people. If that means a punitive strike then that's what will be done I'm sure. I can also tell you that if we find the men responsible for this damage that has been done today and the lives lost. We will end them, quickly."

The reporter took on a less serious expression and began grinning. "Alright, on a light hearted note this is from Jennifer in Southern California. She simply asks if you're single and planning on being in the area anytime soon."

The blonde Alliance Lieutenant who had faced down a horde of angry slavers weaponless now began to turn red once again in embarrassment. "Well in answer to the first one yes, I am currently single. And to the second one I couldn't really say right now, but if I'm ever on leave in the area I'll let you know."

"This comes from Mitchell W. on Terra Nova. He's wondering how many Batarians you would estimate you defended your position from over the course of the day."

Stroking his bare chin in though Shepard paused for a moment. "That's tough. I really wasn't keeping track too much since I had some other things on my mind, which I'm sure you understand." He flashed a weary but still jovial grin that lit up the screen. "If I had to guess then the total would probably be almost a thousand."

"A female admirer in Australia sent this in…" Now it was the interviewer's turn to get red from embarrassment as she smiled nervously. "Oh, ummm hold on a second. I don't think I can read this on the air so I guess that will conclude our interview with 2nd Lieutenant Caleb Shepard, The Lion of Elysium. Thank you for everything, and I wish you the best of luck in your Alliance service."

"Anytime. I'm glad I could do my part in protecting the people of the Skyllian Verge and I will continue to do my part as long as I'm still able to stand on my own two feet."

I closed my omni-tool as the interview ended, remaining seated on the cot set up in haste and thinking about the interview with the powerfully built soldier. As a new idea in terms of my future began rattling around in my brain a knock on the door interrupted my musings. "Yeah come in."

A three fingered, or clawed if you will, hand was seen opening the door and Dax began walking towards me before he sat down on the cot directly opposite me. "Nate, you have a few seconds to talk?"

"Sure, go ahead Daxy. What's on your mind?" He sighed at the moniker.

"Alright. Now if I'm overstepping my bounds just cut me off but I have to say this because I don't know when Jack will. I've only known you for a couple weeks so far and while that isn't a long time, it's been long enough for me to tell that you're a decent guy. Now I don't know why you were trying to join the Reds and frankly I don't give a crap. When a tough decision had to be made you did the right thing. What I really wanted to say though is that you need to get out of here before something bad happens and Jack cares about you too much to push you into it. This is something you need to figure out on your own. What are you going to do?"

"Y'know Lennie…it's funny you should say that." He sighed at another new nickname I had found for him. "If you came and asked me ten minutes ago I would say I have no idea but now I think I've got an idea. I just saw this interview with an Alliance Lieutenant who had single-handedly fought off an invasion of Batarian slavers and saved hundreds, maybe even thousands of people from being forced into slavery. The guy's a hero galaxy-wide and even got a great nickname, 'The Lion of Elysium.' I mean come on how bad ass can one guy get. Plus he got a ton of fan mail from chicks everywhere so you get to throw that benefit in too."

"Not exactly the best reasons but the idea itself isn't too bad. I was in the turian military when I was young and it takes a lot of hard work and discipline to excel but I think you've got it in you. If this is what you want let's go upstairs and tell him." We left the small room, heading upstairs and back into the residential portion of the building where Mr. Ramsey was sitting on the couch waiting, coffee in hand which he was sipping from occasionally.

"Hey Jack, I want to join the Alliance."

A/N: So. Kind of slow and short chapter here, sorry for that. It'll be mostly set up chapters like this that establish the backstory for the next three or so and then after that we'll start getting into the meat of the story.

Third chapter of the re-write is now done. Onto the next one.

Unity9: Thanks for the review and glad to know you're enjoying it so far!