A/N: Italics indicate internal thought.
Bold indicates Shepard Reaper speech
Bold Italics indicate Reaper internal speech
Please comment and review
This is my first attempt at a story, so I am open to constructive criticism. Also if anyone has suggestions for the story feel free to give them.
Lion's Roar part 2
Location: Illyria, Elysium
Date: 2nd June, 2183
Time: 1740 CST
The four of them were jogging down the road. While travelling they encountered small groups of slavers but were easily able to dispatch them.
Eventually the quartet found themselves in front of a massive plaza, and quickly hid.
The Plaza was completely packed with invading forces, there were hundreds of slavers.
"You got a plan Shepard?" Jacob asked quietly.
John eyes scanned over the Plaza, he gritted his teeth as he recognised the location, "those bastards! This is Victory Plaza. This is where my mother held off the invaders during the war," as he seethed, John's eyes locked onto an open-back vehicle equipped with an anti-infantry gun.
"All right I'll make my way to one of the heavy weapons near the back. When they turn around, you open fire." John stated, "got it Shepard" Kaidan responded nonchalantly while pulling out a sniper rifle.
John carefully made his way around to the back of the Plaza by sneaking through the abandoned buildings of the colony, whether the inhabitants had fled in terror or been torn from their homes, he didn't really want to know.
Nearing the anti-infantry gun, Shepard identified the person, who was most likely the leader of this group. His teeth almost cracked as he gritted them in anger at the sight of a human leading these invaders.
"What the hell is the hold-up? This was supposed to be the weak point in their defences. Why the hell aren't we advancing?" the man yelled to one of his subordinates.
"I don't know what to tell you Haliat. Reports show that we injured the highest-ranking guy and they were pulling back…. But some stayed behind. Every guy we sent down there is dead. Even those Black Talon guys."
Haliat massaged his brow in frustration, "elite operatives my arse," he mumbled, "how many defenders stayed behind?" He asked.
The Turian looked away uncomfortably, "one," he muttered.
The human's eyes widened, "ONE?!" He yelled, "all the troops we sent… And they were killed by one person."
John couldn't help but grin at the pirate's frustration.
John had made it behind the vehicle with the anti-infantry gun without being detected. He drew his combat knife.
Shepard snuck directly behind the Batarian manning the weapon, out of instinct the four eyed alien turned around. Just in time for John to swing his knife and slashing the squint's throat. The Turian in the driver's seat of the vehicle quickly looked behind him at the noise, but Shepard had already fired at him. Slugs tore through his body and after a few seconds the mass of flesh was barely identifiable.
Hearing the gunfire, all the slavers in the Plaza turned towards him. Shepard re-aimed the heavy weapon and fired, roaring while he did so. The stream of high velocity slugs shot across the square. Dozens and dozens of aliens were cut down before they could even register what had happened. The head of a Batarian was reduced to a fine mist. A Turian was bisected. A Krogan's arm was severed, causing him to fall to the ground screaming in pain despite his redundant nervous system. All across the plaza, bodies fell in droves.
Seeing the distraction his friend was causing, Kaidan aimed down the scope and fired. Two Salarians fell to the ground dead, the single shot having passed through the midsection of both amphibians.
Shepard continued to strafe the anti-infantry gun back and forth. More and more slavers were ruthlessly cut down. The chest of a Batarian exploded in a mass of blood and gore, next to him a Turian's head went flying as a shot severed it from his shoulders. The invaders were panicking now, desperately trying to find shelter from the storm of high velocity slugs raining on them. Tripping over the deceased and dismembered forms of their comrades, they screamed in terror.
It was at this point the other two humans attacked. James opened fire with his assault rifle on the slavers still facing towards Shepard, nailing two in the back. Jacob used his biotics to pull one of the slavers towards him. The Batarian landed on his back at Jacob's feet. The alien barely had time to register anything as a boot slam down his throat, killing him. Kaidan fired another shot, hitting a Turian straight through his eye.
James and Jacob slowly advanced, firing their assault rifles, eliminating several more slavers. All the while Shepard was still firing, continuing the bloodbath. By this point the aliens had realised they were being attacked from their rear, resulting in them returning fire at the two humans. Seeing several of the invaders take aim directly at him, James quickly jumped over a nearby crate, narrowly avoiding death has the rounds hit the other side. He grabbed a grenade and threw it over. It landed perfectly between the group firing on him, and after a second consumed them in an explosion.
Kaidan kept firing his sniper rifle, eliminating threats and providing cover for his friends. He grinned as he fired again tearing through the midsection of another Batarian. Jacob fired his rifle again killing a Turian, he then noticed an Asari making her way to James from behind. Jacob quickly started running towards his friend's position, gunning down two more enemies as he did. Just as the Asari was about to open fire on James, Jacob wrapped his arm around her throat and in one swift twist, broke her neck.
By some miracle the remaining slaver forces had been able to get some semblance of organisation and started opening fire on their attackers. But being fired upon from both directions still meant they were dropping like flies.
Salvation seemed to arrive for the invaders in the form of a small tank. John recognised it as a Hegemony armoured assault vehicle, he quickly adjusted his aim and opened fire on it, however he was not able to pierce the armoured chasse. The tank opened fire with its own machine-gun, causing Shepard to jump down from his position and take cover. As the tank began to move towards the other humans, more trouble appeared as a slaver shuttle slowly began to descend into the Plaza, ready to drop off reinforcements.
Just as the doors of the shuttle opened, John quickly jumped back onto the gun and opened fire. With no cover, the group of slavers inside the shuttle was shredded to pieces and the inside was painted with blood. The shots continued to rip through the insides of the shuttle, even killing the pilot and causing it to crash to the ground.
Not pausing for even a second, Shepard pivoted the weapon back towards the armoured vehicle and opened fire again, the high velocity slugs ricocheting off the armoured plates. Seeing that his friend needed help Vega looked around desperately, after a few moments his eyes landed on one of the slaver supply creates….. one full of ML-77 missile launchers. Hefting one onto his shoulder James aimed it at the small tank and yelled, "say hello to my little friend, penehos" and fired. The missile soared through the air and hit the underside of the vehicle. It was sent flying in a massive explosion and the burnt husk crashed back to the ground.
As the sound of the explosion faded Shepard finally realised that they had killed every slaver in the Plaza…. except one.
Elanos Haliat ran down an alleyway, panic etched on his face, he was desperate to escape, to survive. He turned the corner…. And gasped in pain. John Shepard stood there, his knife embedded in the slavers stomach, a cold expression on his face. John pulled his knife out as the pirate's body fell to the ground.
"Damn. Are we badass or what?" Jacob boasted, proud of their victory.
"We're not done yet," John stated, gesturing to the orbital defence cannon down the street.
000
The doors to the operating station opened and the four soldiers moved in, sweeping the room with their assault rifles. After checking there were no enemies, they lowered their weapons.
Kaidan checked one of the bodies of several Alliance marines in the room, "he was shot right through the back of the head," Kaidan said, "never saw it coming."
"Careful. There's still a MAKO parked out the front, someone could still be here," Shepard responded.
The four of them carefully made their way over to the console. Kaidan tried to activate it, but to no avail, "there's no power to the controls, we can't fix the defences like this," he explained.
"Let me have a look," Shepard responded and made his way behind the console. Taking off the back-panel, Shepard could immediately see what the problem was, the main cable had been slashed.
Sabotage he thought inwardly, cringing at the implications.
"Main power cable was slashed, I'll try and repair it," John said, as he started reattaching the two cables. "We still have a problem though, even if you reconnect the power it's gonna take a while to the power this up," Kaidan responded.
"I'll try to see if I can jumpstart it," John fired back. After quickly making sure that Jacob and James weren't watching he grabbed both ends of the cable. Red electricity surged around his hands, and the controls instantly lit up.
"Nice going Shepard," Kaidan praised as John made his way back round to the others.
Suddenly all four of them heard the 'click' of an assault rifle behind them, "that's quite enough," the four of them turned around to see a human wearing an alliance uniform pointing a M-8 Avenger at them.
"Wait…" Jacob said, taking a step forward, "Lieutenant Sartor?"
"So, I suppose you must be the group responsible for all the screaming coming from Victory Plaza a moment ago. I'm sorry to say but your little heroics end here," the Lieutenant said with an arrogant sneer.
"What the hell is happening here?" James asked, a scowl forming on his face.
"It's pretty obvious James," Shepard started, "the dead guards. Sabotaged equipment. No signs of resistance. Those are all signs of a traitor," Shepard stated. Although his outside demeanour was calm, he was barely containing his rage.
Sartor merely gave a smug grin in response. "You're a clever one Shepard. You know all of this is actually your mother's fault. Her victory on this planet all those years ago serves as a symbol of humans' strength. And there are many individuals in the galaxy who are willing to pay very handsomely to destroy that symbol," he continued as if he was boasting.
"You son of a bitch…. Do you know how many people have died today?!" James yelled.
"And I promise I shall bear the guilt of all the deaths I caused for the rest of my life," Sartor said, his voice lacking any true compassion. He turned back to John, "tell me Shepard did you really think you could come here and be the hero…. Be like your mother was…. This is what happens to heroes."
As he aimed his rifle at the four, Shepard surrounded himself in blue energy and launched himself at the traitor with a biotic charge. He slammed Sartor into the wall hard, he grunted slightly as a slug passed through his left side, the wound already healing. He quickly knocked the assault rifle from the man's hands and held him against the wall by the throat. He slammed his fist into the lieutenant's traitorous jaw, knocking a few teeth out.
Sartor looked up at him in panic, "all right, all right, I surrender please stop," he begged, barely able to get words out, as his mouth filled with blood.
He is begging for mercy?... We should teach him a lesson John…. teach him that traitors…. have no say.
"Traitors have no say," John said in a monotone voice. He quickly pulled out his pistol and without hesitation, blew the man's brains out.
"John did you really need to…." Kaidan tried to say but trailed off. "Bastard deserved a lot worse than that if you ask me Loco," James said, enthusiastically.
"Never mind that," John said, "get the defences back up and running," Kaidan quickly got to work typing on the console, "there, AA guns and the orbital defence cannons are back on line and already targeting enemy vessels," he reported.
A grin spread across Shepard's face, "let go watch the fireworks then."
The four of them quickly made their way outside the building. Already they could see enemy shuttles and gunships being blown out of the sky by the city's AA guns. The massive orbital defence cannon could be seen charging up. It then fired a massive shot at one of the slaver cruisers. The massive chunk of metal travelling at a fraction of the speed of light, smashed right through the ship as if it were a toy. The vessel exploded a second later.
"Ha Ha Ha," Jacob laughed, "now that's what I'm talking about."
"Just in time," Kaidan added, pointing up into the sky. Alliance warships could be seen breaking the atmosphere. The large vessels opened fire on the invading ships, reducing many of them to slag. Squadrons of Alliance fighters soared through the air, firing at other vessels and taking down enemy shuttles.
The three couldn't help but smile at this, but Shepard knew they weren't done yet, "guys there's one more thing we need to do," he said, pointing towards the Slaver light cruiser that had landed on the outskirts of the city.
He then looked at the nearby MAKO, an almost insane grin formed, "I'll drive."
000
Rovan Sakcakan paced around anxiously at the foot of the ship's ramp. The same slaver ship that had landed on the outskirts of Illyria. There were several groups of slavers standing around nearby. His fists clenched and un-clenched in frustration.
This is not how all of this was supposed to go….. This was supposed to be my great victory….. acquiring an impressive number of new slaves for the Hegemony….. and erasing one of the greatest sources of pride for those fucking apes….. This was supposed to make my name go down in glory….. He assured me that this would be an easy victory, he ranted internally.
Once the colony's defence systems had come back online, the tide had immediately turned. The bombarding warships were blown to pieces, the AA guns destroyed any air superiority they previously had. Slavers all over the planet were surrendering by the dozen. In addition, with the arrival of the Alliance fleet, they couldn't even get off the planet anymore.
I can't die an a stinking mudhole like this….I am….
Rovan was violently brought out of his thoughts by the sound of a massive explosion. He turned his head to see a dozen of his subordinates consumed in a large fireball. His shock only doubled when a MAKO came flying out of the inferno, it's jump jets propelling it through the air. The wheels of the tank were already revving before it had even landed, causing the vehicle to shoot forward at uncontrollable speed.
The Batarian was so shocked by this insane display of driving that he barely noticed the turret taking aim. At least not until it opened fired several times, demolishing several gun emplacements, and annihilating several groups of slavers.
The tank made a beeline for the ship, it suddenly twisted to the right, causing it to stop at the foot of the ramp after a massive skid.
Rovan's breath caught in his throat as he saw a human soldier jump out before the vehicle had even come to a complete stop. The human quickly raised his assault rifle and gunned down two nearby slavers, then charged towards the ramp like an enraged bull.
Rovan felt an overwhelming fear set in and quickly threw his hands up, "I surrender… I sur-," he didn't finish as a fist smashed into the side of his face, due to the human backhanding him, knocking him over, "get out of my way!" The human roared as he ran up the ramp and onto the ship.
From his new position on the ground the Batarian had a good view of the area in front of him. He could see dozens of MAKO tanks and KODIAK shuttles landing, depositing dozens of alliance soldiers who quickly went about subduing the remaining invaders.
He looked at the MAKO that had arrived first. There were three other humans around it. It looked like they were leaning against the vehicle to support their shaking legs, "we…. We are never riding with Loco again," one of them said, weakly.
000
Shepard quickly ran through the corridors of the ship, the target clear in his mind.
I know there is a lot more to this invasion. I just need to find the proof.
A set of doors opened as he stepped into the CIC of the ship. Immediately he saw a Batarian crouched over one of the terminals. "Back away, slowly," John demanded, aiming his assault rifle. The Batarian looked up at him in shock. After a few seconds he tried to draw his own gun, but a high velocity slug to the head stopped that.
Walking over towards the terminal Shepard activated it.
Let's see what you were trying to hide.
John saw that the Batarian had been trying to erase a vid log, so he decided to play it. His eyes narrowed in rage.
After downloading a copy of the Vid to his omni-tool he made his way back outside, a scowl firmly in place. He exited back at the ramp to see Kaidan, James and Jacob standing guard over a group of invaders. Kneeling down with their hands held behind the heads. The scene was the same across the fields outside the ship.
"You alright John?" Kaidan asked, "this is worse than I thought Kaidan," John responded.
"So, you are the one in charge of these uncivilised primates," an arrogant voice called out. Kaidan and Shepard both turned their heads to see that one of the Batarian prisoners had stood back up.
"I have already surrendered peacefully, yet your subordinates have continued to assault me as if I were still a combatant," he sneered.
Shepard couldn't help but raise an eyebrow at that tone, that accent…. No way this guy is just some Terminus thug…. Shit I know who he is.
"Maybe you'd like to tell us what the son of one of the Batarian Hegemony's highest-ranking officials is doing leading a slaver attack, Rovan Sakcakan?" John asked rhetorically.
The Batarian's eyes widened slightly in surprise, before a cruel smile spread across his face. "So, you know who I am, well then you must truly see the futility in all this," he said smugly.
James jammed his assault right in the man's four eyed face, "futility what squint?" he yelled, "you'll spend the rest of your sad life rotting in a cell."
Rovan actually gave a small laugh at that, "you really have no understanding of how this galaxy works, you ignorant Ape. When the Hierarchy arrives, you will be forced to surrender custody of all of us to them. All I have to do is make a call to my father and I will be released," he then let out a maniacal laugh, "hahahahahaha, I will never even see the inside of prison cell."
John just glared at the man, full of hate.
You know he speaks the truth….. You know how far the corruption of this galaxy runs…. You cannot entrust him to the justice of this pitiful system…. You know what you must do
Shepard let the words sink in before looking the Batarian in the eye, "you know what…. I believe you," he said in a cold tone. A second later drew his pistol and fired several shots into the slaver's chest. Rovan's eyes widened in horror, he began to cough up blood, then he collapsed, his body tumbling down the ramp.
Everyone looked at him completely stunned. He just looked down at the body with cold eyes.
"To all Alliance soldiers," Shepard spoke into his omni-tool, his voice broadcasted throughout the city, "this is Corporal Shepard, this isn't an order but please hear me out. This scum attacked this world. Killed many of our comrades, our friends. With the intent of tearing people from their homes and selling them like property," John's voice got more and more aggressive, "we have already secured victory, but now they think they can just surrender. So I would like to remind everyone of something….. They are not enemy soldiers from a legitimate government. This scum does not have any rights. They are not prisoners of war. They attacked Elysium to send a message. That we could never stand against them, that we are inferior to them."
All over the colony Alliance marines of all ranks tensed up in anger. Fingers tightening around weapons, but it seems Shepard wasn't finished yet.
"So, I say we send a message to all the Bastards out there who think that. We show them that if they come here looking for a weak opponent they can easily defeat. The only thing they will find…is DEATH!" John yelled the last word. All over the colony humans reciprocated his roar. The face of the prisoners were suddenly filled with fear.
Jacob and James looked at the kneeling prisoners with rage in their eyes. Having realised what Shepard was referring to they raised their guns and fired. Brutally gunning down the small group of slavers.
They weren't the only ones. The air was soon filled with the sound of gunfire and screams as all across the colony, Alliance marines gunned down the defeated invaders.
In a back alley, a dozen slavers were lined up against a wall. They didn't even have time to cry out as they were gunned down. In the nearby street two Turians ran desperately, but were shot from behind, soaking the streets in blood.
Kaidan only looked at the back of Shepard in shock as his friend looked out at the citywide mass execution. The cold expression still on his face.
000
Location: Illyria, Elysium
Time: 2000 CST
Shepard was standing in the city square, overlooking the relief effort for the inhabitants of the colony, injured soldiers and civilians alike being taken for medical treatment.
"Hey Shepard," hearing his friends voice, John turned towards him and saw Kaidan gesture behind him, looking past him Shepard saw three figures. Two were Turians, they were wearing red armour and had white face tattoos. The third figure was a human, he had dark skin, black hair in a buzz cut and was wearing an Alliance officer's uniform. The three of them were making their way towards him.
As the three stopped in front of him, John could immediately identify the first Turian as general Salvitus from the Cerberus files. "So, we heard that you are the soldier responsible for almost single-handedly stopping this invasion," Salvitus said with scrutiny. "A considerable feat. Although Turian forces would have been able to rout an invasion such as this hours ago," his tone changed to one of arrogance.
John gritted his teeth before smirking, "really? I'm afraid I'm tempted to question that claim considering how long it took for you Turian's to get here." Salvitus' became outraged, "you will show proper respect when speaking to a superior officer human," he said glaring daggers at Shepard. John met the Turian's glare with his own, "first thing, I'm not part of your 're-forged sword' programme, so you're not my superior officer. Second, maybe you should earn respect and get your asses here faster next time, Turian."
Salvitus looked like he was about to punch the human but the other Turian jumped in, hoping to diffuse the situation, "our utmost apologies, we had to ensure that the threat was genuine before we could mobilise ships," John turned his gaze to the other Turian, "of course, and also the Alliance couldn't mobilise without your permission, right?" he said scathingly. The Turian only looked away in response.
"Whatever the case," Salvitus said, "this invasion has been thwarted, the threat is now over."
"I'm afraid that's not true," John said seriously, "I'm afraid this was only the precursor for something much worse."
Salvitus gave a small laugh, "surely you're exaggerating. I will admit the force assembled to attack this world is was considerable. However, there is nothing to suggest that there is a larger force at play. This was just another slaver attack soldier." With a smug expression he said, "of course it would have been easier to obtain information on the current situation in the Terminus system if we had prisoners to interrogate. I'm not sure if you know this, but that tends to work best when they're alive."
Shepard's eyes narrowed, "I do have something to back up what I'm saying, but in regards to what I did. My justification is simple, I was sending a message."
Salvitus looked at him indifferently, "what kind of primitive message did you hope this mass execution would send?" he asked.
Shepard just smiled at him, mockingly., "That if they attacked, they would receive no mercy. That we would completely and utterly destroy them. That's the Hierarchies war philosophy, right? The Tiptree 'garrison' learned that," John said, putting heavy sarcasm into the word garrison.
Salvitus seethed at the impudent human before him. Seeing the rising hostility, the other Turian decided to step in again, "you said you had information?" he asked.
Shepard activated his omni-tool, "I pulled this from the ship's CIC computers," he said playing the video log he downloaded.
The image showed a large gathering of people, different species, all wearing armour. The Turian's eyes widened, he'd only recognised about half a dozen faces and it was already unsettling. The individuals he was seeing were some of the most ruthless and influential criminals of the Terminus systems. The vid continued, showing a figure obscured by shadows standing up to address the crowd of mass murderers and pirates. "Thank you all for coming here. I know it must not be easy to stand in a room with some of these people without trying to kill them," the crowd gave small menacing chuckles that, "I know the concept of working under someone must make most of you want to vomit, but I'm confident once you hear my proposal you will be willing to put your pride aside," the figure continued, "get to the point, what the hell is it you want us for?" Someone in the crowd shouted. "What I want is simple, I want to drive every trace of the filth known as humans out of the Traverse for good. All of you want to plunder colonies and acquire slaves. Under my leadership, we will both get what we want."
"You talk like it's not easy to raid some human world and just grab em," another of the crowd yelled.
"I'm not talking about those small patches of dirt they call colonies," the figure continued, "I'm talking about worlds like, Elysium and Eden Prime," that statement caused the audience to go silent.
A Batarian stood up, "did you really come here and expect us to be your fucking cannon fodder, you think attacking planets like that is simple," he yelled.
The figure raised his omni-tool, "with my help it will be," the omni-tools of all present activated, their eyes widened at what they had just received, "is this…?"
"It is," the figure confirmed, "I promise you, united under me…WE WILL REMIND THE GALAXY WHY IT SHOULD FEAR US," the figure roared. Soon all the others were yelling in affirmation.
John deactivated his omni-tool, "that isn't the whole recording, but I take it this is sufficient proof about what I claim," Shepard said, his eyes hard.
Salvitus twitched, he looked as if he was still trying to find a way to deny the corporal's claims of a larger conspiracy. "This threat is real general. Someone has united the Terminus clans. They have a massive force at their command and somehow, they had Alliance clearance codes," John stated seriously.
The other general placed a hand on his colleague's shoulder, "We can't deny this evidence Salvitus. We need to report this back to Palaven," Salvitus shook himself a little to regain his composure, "we shall do that Victus," he turned to the other human next him, "rest assured captain Anderson, we will investigate this matter thoroughly and find who within the Human Systems Alliance has leaked this information," he said.
"You're implying the leak came from the Alliance," Shepard cut in, "last I checked the Hierarchy also had access to these codes," he said scathingly.
Salvitus looked enraged again, but promptly turned around and left with Victus. Anderson stayed with John and soon the two Turians were out of sight.
"Damn John, I knew you were way beyond normal back at boot camp, but what you've done today is nothing short of incredible," the man said in admiration, "you remember when I told you when I fought alongside your mother on this very planet all those years ago. Well I truly never thought I would see something as incredible as her in action again, but you've proven me wrong," the older man chuckled.
"Thanks sir," John responded with a genuine smile.
"You know the hinge heads have already 'requested' that I give you extended leave so that you can recover from this ordeal. Do you have some things you want to do during your leave?" David said, a knowing expression on his face.
Shepard grinned, "I can think of the few things, after all, hell always needs guard dogs."
David nodded and walked away. Shepard's omni-tool then activated. "I thought that the whole purpose of establishing an identity as an Alliance soldier was to keep a low profile," Miranda's voice was heard, clearly annoyed.
"Desperate circumstances Miranda," John said, "I'm sending you over the data now, but the short answer is we need to move up our timetable."
"I see. You do also know you're not going to be able to pretend you didn't do this. The news is already being broadcasted all over the galaxy," Miranda explained.
Damn
000
Location: Mindoir, Shepard Farmstead
Date: 3rd June, 2183
Time: 1200 CST
"Yesterday the colony of Elysium was besieged by an army from the Terminus system on a scale never encountered before. There were times when defeat looked imminent and the future of all the inhabitants of the colony looked bleak. But victory was snatched from the jaws of defeat, although there were many brave heroes responsible for the colony's salvation there is one man who went beyond anyone else to save the people of this world. Corporal Jonathan Shepard."
As the news report continued. Abigail, Arthur and Molly Shepard were sitting on the couch in the family living room, watching the news report on the vid projector. Their eyes widened in surprise for a moment, before they suddenly erupted in cheers for their eldest brother's accomplishments.
Behind them, Hannah Shepard also watched the news report and couldn't help but smile.
Location: Palaven, Hastatus Decurion.
"From video footage we have obtained, Jonathan Shepard held off enemy forces, single-handedly, for no less than seven hours, while his comrades established a defensive line."
In the Academy common area, several human cadets could be seen watching the report on their omni-tools, several of them giving loud cheers and pumping their fists in the air.
Liz Shepard was also watching the report, she was sitting next to a raven-haired young woman. Both smiling proudly, as recordings of John's actions were shown.
Location: Citadel, Bachjret Ward, T'soni apartment.
"But that was not his only accomplishment. With only three other soldiers, Shepard charged straight through enemy lines, completely decimating one of the slaver staging grounds, and regained control of the colony's automated defences. Essentially turning the tide against the invaders."
A crash was heard as Liara dropped the glass she was holding. She and Tali both stared at the screen.
Location: Torfan.
"It should be stated that years ago, corporal Jonathan Shepard's own mother, Admiral Hannah Shepard, was responsible for virtually single-handedly saving the same colony. That achievement earned her the title 'Lion of Elysium'. Well in this reporter's opinion her son has inherited that title. On behalf of everyone, I would like to offer my utmost thanks to the new, Lion of Elysium."
A large assortment of pirates and criminals were watching the broadcast, seething in rage at how their first attack had been a complete failure.
A shadowy figure stepped forward, the same figure from the recording Shepard had recovered. His arms trembled in rage, before he proceeded to grab his pistol and fired several shots into the projector. Yelling in rage, "that bastard again".
Location: Khar'shan, Rovan Sakcakan family palace.
"Alliance command has stated that corporal Jonathan Shepard will receive the illustrious star of Terra for his actions. The highest honour the Alliance can bestow."
The sound of yelling was heard, and a bottle of alcohol was thrown at a projector, destroying it.
Prathan Sakcakan was one of the highest ranking members of the Hegemony, and right now he was shaking in uncontrolled rage.
"HE KILLED MY SON! HE KILLED MY SON AND THEY'RE HONORING HIM!" He roared.
He turned to one of his guards, "get me in contact with her. I will make that bastard pay for what he has done."
