Elizabeth Shepard woke up screaming. It was the dream again. The memory. She got up, checked her clock, 2:30 AM, went to the bathroom, and looked in the mirror. She had changed since that day.
She now stood at 6'5, had straight red hair, with dyed orange and yellow streaks, down to her shoulders, many scars from fire fights over the years, highly developed muscles, and a small UTA insignia tattoo on her right breast, the four races holding each others hands. She could see the tattoo, mainly because she was wearing only a pair of boxers.
She turned on the faucet and splashed some cold water in her face, then stared into her own eyes, like she did every night. The same jade green, with a few flecks of brightest red and vivid blue.
She went back to her room, nearly tripping on a beer bottle on the way, and just curled up in bed, trying to stay awake as long as possible, to avoid the dreams. She drifted off into a dreamless sleep, the closest thing to peace she got. She woke up to an alarm, 9:35. She grunted and punched the glowing holo button.
She slowly got out of bed, giving her alarm a death stare. As she started through her room, she once again nearly tripped over the same goddamned beer bottle. "I've got get a fucking maid, or start caring about how my apartment looks." She walked down the stairs, stopping at a framed picture of her family. 'I'm sorry,' she thought, then shook herself and went to the kitchen.
"Look at what Commander Elizabeth Shepard is doing right now, feeling sorry for her self."
She turned, and saw Admiral Hackett standing in her kitchen, dressed in UTA military garb. She realized she was pretty much naked except for the boxers, then realized she didn't care.
She just went over the fridge and pulled out some leftover Chinese takeout, sweet and spicy chicken dumplings, and went to the countertop.
"What do you want Hackett?" She asked, her beautiful voice full of disdain.
"You know, I made a promise to your father Liz, should anything happen to him, or your mother, I would take care of you as though you were my own daughter. And I have, and it's my duty to get you out of this, funk, I guess would be a good word."
She lowered her head, and couldn't look him in the eyes.
"But as an Admiral, I'm telling you to get off your stubborn ass, what happened on Iolus was not your fault. And I have a mission that you would be a critical part of."
She considered for a moment, then asked,"And tell me what this mission is, like countless other spec ops missions I've went through,"
"There's been a disturbance on Eden Prime, and we haven't been able to get through to them."
She perked up at that, Eden Prime was one of the UTAs most defended colonies, due mainly to its strategic value, and partly because of the large number of Prothean ruins.
"And you want me to go, don't you?"
"Well, you would get your own ship," he smirked at her. Her already steely features tightened.
"A bribe? That's how you plan on having me do something I never wanted to do again? I retired for a reason Hackett." She said, glaring daggers at the holographic image.
Hackett smiled, and shook his head. "I'm not bribing, I want to see you get out of this depressive spell and see the REAL Elizabeth Shepard come back."
For a long moment she stared downward, picking at the food in front of her. Finally, she looked back up.
"Fine, I'll do it."
"Come by my office, understood Commander?"
She smiled at him for the first time in a long time,"Understood Admiral."
His hologram disappeared, and she was alone. She finished her breakfast, and went upstairs, stopping at a framed picture. It showed her at 7, wings out, her brother hugging her, that same goofy Dolphin grin on his face, and their parents smiling at them.
"I'm sorry I wasn't strong enough then, but now, I'll make sure what happened to us, won't happen again."
Her fingers brushed her father's face. She suppressed a sob, and went to go get her uniform on.
CODEX ENTRY: UTA PLANETS: Iolus ( Previously named Roloposch)
A medium sized garden world, it was initially discovered by Batarian Hegemony, but was later abandoned due to attacks from a primitive silicon based species based on the planets moon. The reason the primitives drove off the Hegemony was that they could use crystalline based technology to kill non silicate life forms using intense waves of ultrasonic vibrations.
The UTA later discovered the world and made diplomatic relations with natives who call themselves the Hyog.
Iolus's surface is covered in numerous mountain ranges and deep valleys, with only one ocean. Though despite this the world is very fertile due to the massive insectoid life forms which continually turn the soil, distributing water to the massive three hundred foot tall trees. Because of the massive heights and cutting winds, the world was renamed after an ancient Terran deity of wind. To live on Iolus one would need to be adapted for either flight or gliding, such as the case with many of the beings within the UTA.
CODEX ENTRY: Iolus Incident
On Iolus there was a recent bout with civil war, caused in large part by an Asari Matriarch by the name of Denica F'Levik. She had gained a large following by proclaiming the people of the world to be oppressed by the UTA. Though the main reason she gained such a large following though, was due to the fact that only about 7 percent of the population was wealthy, including her. She incited widespread rebellion and finally took the planet's governor and his family in a hostage situation. Commander Elizabeth Shepard, a highly decorated N7 spec ops soldier, and child of late high ranking UTA official Rex Shepard, tried to take control of the situation, but accidentally caused the death of the governor and his wife. Matriarch Denica was taken into custody and the governor's daughter was was given over to immediate family.