The Teaser
By: Dirty Reid
Chapter 11: The Old Guard
We've all heard it before. A young race with an unquenchable thirst for knowledge, rushing pell-mell through the stars, only to be put to the sword by a species unsettled by their impetuousness. After rising to the call of war, the peacemakers cry out, beseeching both sides to drop their guns and the newcomers to join them. As they do, they uncover facets of the aggressors' culture that make blame difficult to bestow, especially compounded with the laws imposed by the greater government.
There will be dissidents, of course. Dissidents who decry the limitations on fleet numbers and sharing technologies, despite reassurances of assisted border protection and returns on technology. Dissidents who decry trusting aliens who allowed the travesty that was their first contact to happen, and the attack dogs who perpetrated it. Even dissidents who mourned the fact that the aliens were allowed onto their worlds.
Of course, these were the men and women who were not smart enough to keep their views to themselves, further colouring their species in all the wrong ways. The smart ones who shared their views kept silent, accepting the decisions of the politicians with quiet consternation. One man whose hatred for the 'attack dogs' could char a continent, served as the exemplar of the dissidents despite the position thrust upon him.
Before he was appointed to his position, serving the alien leaders, one of whom he wished a slow and painful death upon, he was held as an example for recruits whose superiors wished to prove that one who came from nothing could become great. The man, born to a blue collar family from Detroit, Michigan, grew up with next to no luxuries. At the age of seventeen, with fake papers and biometrics, he enlisted in the Systems Alliance Marine Corps. By the time his superiors realized their mistake, he had proved himself to be highly suited for warfare, with a particular emphasis on adaptability. A year out of Basic, he and his unit were shipped off to a brand new frontier world for the purpose of running through military exercises with the Colonial Marine branch stationed there.
Very quickly, the military exercise became a baptism of fire.
Through burning wrecks of buildings, dismembered bodies of both creeds and storms of bullets, he survived. Even when he was forced to fight and kill one of the invaders- superior in every way except deviant thinking- in the oldest method in existence, he came out on top. By the end of the very short war, at the signing of the Treaty of Armistice, his dedication to the cause, despite methods bordering on barbarism, earned him a Bronze Star and the rank of Corporal. Two years later, after three tours of their borders, relentless work and use of the same psychological warfare he used during his first campaign, he was promoted to Staff Sergeant. In a startling display of skill, within three years of enlisting, he proudly pinned the golden bar of a 2nd Lieutenant to his dress blues. After five more years, he had transferred from the Marine Corps to the Navy, and as a Captain, served as the CO aboard the frigate SSV Carthage. Ten years later, now a Commodore, he was assigned to Operation BLACK PEARL, a retaliatory strike against a known staging area for various pirate and slaver bands operating out of the lawless arms of the galaxy. This particular area had sheltered the animals who had dared to attack his people, and now he had the chance to pay them back for it. From the air, his wiliness had netted the Carthage three frigates and even a cruiser. No small feat for a fast-attack vessel. His achievements were pushed to the side in favour of the true star of BLACK PEARL, Felicia Kingry, who was later christened 'the Butcher of Torfan'. The Admiralty's decision was probably for the best, seeing as he had broken formation, dove into the atmosphere and bombarded various weapon emplacements and sensor suites with his ship's entire payload of disruptor and JAVELIN torpedoes.
Despite morally questionable actions, he was given the two stars of a Rear Admiral and given command of the cruiser SSV Oslo. For the next five years, he quietly served as the guard of his people, and doing his damnedest to undermine the aliens he would never forgive for their insult against his people. Come 2183, the ambassador for his people would finally be granted the privilege to have one soldier evaluated to join the elite arm of the collective government; a large step towards his people's dream of shaping galactic policy. From his place on the side, he expressed quiet approval, never expecting the subsequent call from Steven Hackett, a fellow admiral and his longtime friend.
There were many candidates from the Human Systems Alliance that could have been put forward for SPECTRE evaluation. Staff Sergeant Kristoff Stottzmann, N3 combat engineer, and the sole survivor of a thresher maw attack on Akuze; Lieutenant-Commander Kayleigh MacLaren, L3 biotic of the 103rd, and the only reason Elysium was still standing after 2176; hell, even the infiltration and sabotage expert Felicia Kingry, who was looked upon as a mass murderer- both in the conventional sense, and for the fact that she had sent most of her unit to their deaths at Torfan- was a good pick, known for always getting the job done.
Instead, they chose him. A no-name Rear Admiral who, while clever and with a few notable achievements, was a lifer who just did his job. He had been told on numerous occasions that he ought to run both the Carthage and the Oslo tighter, but in his nineteen years of experience, he found that being friends with the crew formed a tighter bond between them. He had kept his incredible distaste for the more influential aliens- one much more than the others- to himself, knowing that expressing those views could draw attention to his quiet support of pro-human elements. And to be perfectly honest, he wondered how the hell his unique brand of psychological warfare hadn't made the 'attack dogs' call for his execution.
To the people, he was nigh unknown. To his soldiers (the women) he was quietly called 'the Silver Fox'. To the Admiralty, he was a member of the 'Old Guard'. Who was he?
He was Rear Admiral Bruce Shepard, the Headhunter of Shanxi.
A.N.: I've been floating this idea for a while. Having not seen too many fics where Shepard doesn't adhere to the Spacer/Colonist/(Impoverished) Earthborn and Sol Survivor/War Hero/Ruthless background, I feel that this story could be a breath of fresh air. Please...
1) Tell me whether or not you liked this installment
2) Tell me what you SPECIFICALLY liked about this installment
3) Tell me what you DIDN'T like about this installment
4) Recommend a suitable improvement
5 (Optional) Refer me to a purely Mass Effect story where Shepard does not fit into the backgrounds BioWare has given us.
Cheers,
DR