Shepard had reappeared, looking around to see where he was now. Shepard appeared to be in an Alliance drop ship over The Atlantic Ocean. The ship was dark, only the artificial call lights were lighting the cabin. There were several metal chairs welded against the hull, each having a marine in training combat armor. The marines each were holding an avenger assault rifle, examining them to make sure they were functional.
Shepard looked at the child. "This is my N3 training, my advanced tactics and spec ops simulation," said Shepard. "It was a simulation of a real life black operative mission, each were to be given a special objective and 5 hours to complete it." "My mission was to find and neutralize an 'assassin,'" said Shepard looking at his younger self. "We all were dropped in different locations across Earth."
The intercom buzzed on, a man said, "Corporal Shepard, your drop point is in 30 seconds, prepare for the drop."
The younger Shepard got up and began to hook up his helmet. The younger Shepard was only around 20 years old, but started to retain the features of the current Shepard. His hair was still short, but was beginning to style his current hair. He had also grown in his goatee, something he would keep for the next ten years. Shepard was wearing an onyx styled armor, specially plated to create an aerodynamic flow and an "easy to remove" feel to it.
The back hatch had opened up, revealing a clear blue sky to the marines. The light had flashed green, revealing to go signal for Shepard. Shepard ran and leaped out of the back of the ship, parachuting his way down towards an island. Shepard deployed the chute, aiming towards the non-populated part of the island.
The current Shepard and the child appeared down on the island, awaiting the younger Shepard's landing. He eventually hit the ground, tumbling until he cut the cord, allowing the chute to fly safely into the trees. Shepard lost his rifle on the way down, something he knew would cause problems in his mission.
"Shit," said Shepard, "Now What?"
Shepard sat on the beach for a few moments, thinking about what to do. Shepard started to strip his armor of, revealing a set of casual Alliance clothes. He tossed the armor aside, leaving it on the beach. Shepard turned his Shirt inside out, as not to reveal his status as a trainee to the town. Shepard started to walk through the jungle and towards the town.
After some walking, Shepard managed to enter the town; he was located in large city near the coast. The city was composing of mid-21st century architecture, along with some older buildings. The town's population was consisting of many tourists, mostly human, but a few Asari and Salarians. The roads were relatively old, containing bikes and a couple of cars.
He tried to remember his original plan; he was to sneak through the outskirts of the town, in the jungle, to place known as Monty's Bar. He was to wait nearby until a man in red, bald and around the age of 50, left the bar. He then was to attack the man with his assault rifle, neutralizing him. Then await contact from The Villa. He realized that he obviously needed a new strategy.
Shepard decided to pursue an undercover angle. He would infiltrate the bar and take the man down; even if it was by himself. Shepard looked around at the various shops in the town. He noticed a smoke shop, a clothing shop, and finally a video shop. He decided to enter the clothing shop.
He came out wearing a pair of sunglasses and a hat. The hat had a logo of a puma on it, recently stitched into the hat. He began to walk down the street, noticing the people. They were often not very well off, wearing rugged clothing and carried some form of concealed weaponry. He walked past a group of tourists, looking for a certain restaurant. Shepard finally stopped at a nearby phone booth, looking for the address to Monty's bar.
After finding it, Shepard began to walk to the bar. He was approached by a man in a coat. The man asked, "Hey buddy, can I offer you some locally grown herbs? Some of the world's finest!"
"No." said Shepard, still walking to the bar and not making eye contact.
Eventually, Shepard came to the bar, a few minutes until he was supposed to actually arrive. He looked at the building. It had a glowing purple neon sign that said "Monty's Bar." The building was constructed from bricks, a material mainly used back in the late 20th century. A dog was tied outside the bar, sick and throwing up. The bar had several windows, all blocked by various ads for beer and local events. Shepard opened the metal door and entered into the bar.
The bar was filled with a dozen people, all enjoying a drink or watching the stripper near the back. The inside was wooden, giving the bar a rustic feel to it. The bartender was pouring a shot for one of the patrons. Music was played over the speakers, mainly to give the stripper something to dance to. Shepard scanned the bar for the man in red. He noticed only a single man, wearing a red T-shirt and jeans. He was sitting near the back end of the bar, enjoying a glass of beer and watching the show.
Shepard approached from behind, waiting to see if the man moved. Shepard knew he would have to somehow get the man outside the bar, knowing that he knew everything about Shepard.
"Excuse me," said Shepard, "I believe your… car is being towed outside."
"I don't have a car," said the man, still looking at the stripper, "Are you drunk or something?"
"Sorry, I guess I just had the wrong guy," said Shepard, "I just got in, and I thought the bar with the sick dog out front was the perfect place to go," sarcastically said Shepard as he ordered a beer.
"Charlie's sick? Aww Shit," said the man, who proceeded to rush outside to the dog. Shepard, not realizing how lucky he was, followed the man outside. Shepard turned towards the man, who was treating his sick dog. Shepard simple kicked the man in the side of his head, knocking him out cold.
"What the hell?" said a man who had appeared from behind a car. "Corporal, what are you doing outside your armor?" "Or better yet, why did you kick him in the face?"
"Sir," said Shepard, saluting his commanding officer, "The mission parameters changed; I simply took a different approach to the problem." "The assassin was stopped and nobody noticed me take him down."
"Well…" said the officer looking at the downed man, "You did offer an impressive ability to improvise, still managing to take down one of our N6s."
"He's an N6?" said Shepard, "What was he doing out here?"
"Shore leave," said the officer, "But Francis here, seemed to forget that there's no such thing as shore leave."
"Now let's get him back to base," said the officer, "Then continue with your training."
Shepard and the officer picked the man up, and then carried him towards a shuttle in the back alley. The current Shepard watched as the two took off in the shuttle. He walked towards the front of the bar, looking at the sign again.
"Hard to believe that he was an N6," said Shepard, "He thought he was going to get that well deserved break from all this, but instead was the victim of that same program." "I learned that I was never safe there, everyone did." "I guess that was supposed to teach us to be on our guard, always alert." "Instead, it only seemed to spark paranoia for everybody else," said Shepard.
The child walked up to Shepard again, looking at the same sign he was looking at. "Come," ordered the child, "We are going again."
"Okay," said Shepard. He looked at the newly formed doorway. "How much more?" Shepard thought, "How many memories that I've long forgotten must I wade through?" "How much pain is this worth?" "I'm lost in my mind, trapped in a sea of troubles." "I don't want to continue."
He thought of The Normandy crew. He pictured Joker and Chakwas. He saw Adams, Gabby, and Ken down in Engineering. He saw Liara, Garrus, and Tali. He thought of Ashley. He saw Ashley as he saw here last; wounded, carried by Liara and him to The Normandy. He decided to continue on, hoping to see her and hold her again.